Honda Cars PH to stop automobile production in March

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22) — Automobile maker Honda announced
on Saturday that it will stop production operations in the country by next month.

Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. said the company will close its production plant in Sta.
Rosa, Laguna in March. The company is known to produce passenger cars and models
such as the BR-V and City.

HCPI said closing the plant was necessary to meet customer's needs through "efficient
allocation and distribution of resources."

"As such, after consideration of optimization efforts in the production operations in Asia
and Oceania region, Honda decided to close the manufacturing operations of HCPI,"
said HCPI in a statement.

The company said it has around 650 employed associates in the country but it did not
detail how many may be affected by the closure. However, it clarified that automobile
sales and after-sales services will still continue.

Labor group Defend Jobs Philippines claimed that there are 387 people who will lose
their jobs over the closure of the plant. The group said workers from 60 other
companies who supply parts to HCPI will also be affected.

Defend Jobs Philippines said it has urged the Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III to
“directly intervene, conduct impartial investigation and thoroughly look into” the reported
closure.

"Our government must not just allow the announced closure of HCPI without undergoing
proper evaluation and assessment but rather consider the holistic benefits of Filipino
workers," said Thadeus Ifurung, Defend Jobs Philippines spokesperson.

HCPI has a capital investment of ₱1.9 billion. It was first established in 1990 and it
started production in 1992.

Last month, Honda, along with fellow automaker Toyota, recalled millions of

vehicles due to safety issues. Honda recalled 2.7 million cars - of which 2.4 million are
in the United States. On the other hand, Toyota called back 3.4 million cars, 2.9 million
of which are in the United States.

In February 2019, Honda also announced that it will shut down its only British factory on
2021, which employs 3,500 people. Honda said production would shift to Japan, North
America and China. Christian Stadler, an auto expert and professor of strategic
management at Warwick Business School, said Brexit or the United Kingdom's
departure from the European Union may have been a factor in the automaker's
decision, CNN reported.

REFLECTIVE ESSAY;

We all know that Honda Automobile Production is a big company in the field of
Business but HCPI said closing the plant was necessary to meet customer's
needs through "efficient allocation and distribution of resources." We cannot
deny that there will be lot of competitors in business. In that case many workers,
employers will be affected due to shut down.

Philippines records 230 Covid-19 cases, imposes travel ban on foreigners

MANILA: The number of Covid-19 (coronavirus) infection cases in the Philippines rose
to 230, the Department of Health (DOH) of the Philippines reported on Friday (March
20).

Undersecretary of DOH Maria Rosario Vergeire said that a 65-year-old Filipino male
patient from Metro Manila with a travel history to Singapore died on March 17, bringing
the total number of Covid-19 deaths to 18.

In addition, eight patients in the Philippines have recovered from the Covid-19.

The rising number of COVID-19 cases forced the Philippine government to place the
main island of Luzon, including Metro Manila, under a 30-day "enhanced community
quarantine" on Monday to restrict the movement of people in an effort to slow down the
Covid-19 infection.

Moreover, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) of the Philippines announced "a

temporary travel ban on foreigners" entering the Philippines starting midnight March 22.

"Only overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), repatriating Filipinos, their foreign spouses
and children (provided that the foreign spouse and children are travelling with the
Filipino national), foreign government and international organization officials accredited
to the Philippines, will be allowed to enter the country," said the DOTr statement.
Departing Filipino tourists are temporarily not allowed to leave the country.
The DOTr said land, air and sea travel of policemen and soldiers for official business,
especially those transporting medical supplies, laboratory specimens related to the
Covid-19, and other humanitarian assistance, will be allowed.
Meanwhile, the DOTr said sweeper flights for foreign nationals to bring them to the
airports will be allowed to continue operations.

In order to restrict the movement of the public, the Philippine government suspended
work, mass transport, shuttered schools and imposed travel restrictions. - Xinhua/Asian
News Network
Meat processors' group warns of shortage of their products by mid-April
MANILA - A group of Filipino meat processors appealed on Friday to the Department of
Trade and Industry (DTI) for help, warning their inventory of processed products has
dwindled to only 15 days or less.

Rex Agarrado, spokesperson of Philippine Association of Meat Processors, Inc. (PAMPI),

said in a letter that this was due to the sudden demand for their products and travel
restrictions, following the announcement of the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon
this week.

While the inter-agency task force (IATF) has ordered authorities to ensure unhampered
passage of food products and raw ingredients, Agarrado said they are unable to receive raw
materials for packaging due to the quarantine, citing difficulties of company shuttle services
getting through checkpoints.

“It’s just that the LGUs (local government units) at this point who are manning the
checkpoints do not recognize tin cans, do not recognize carton boxes, do not recognize
labels, do not recognize flexible films, as byproducts of food production. Our systems are
shutting down because it cannot get through,” he said.

Agarrado also appealed to the Bureau of Customs as their imported raw materials are held
up at ports because their brokers are not authorized to travel.

“Please recognize that yung spices na yun, they are part of the product. Without the spices,
we cannot give you the corned beef, we cannot give you the meatloaf, we could not give
you the tuna,” he said.

Because of the impact on their operations, Agarrado said at least one company in their
group has suspended its operations, and that another will close this weekend.

He also warned that if their operations are still hampered, they won't be able to supply
retailers, which might lead to a severe shortage of their processed meat products by mid-
April.

"We thus leave it to you and the IATF to determine if our situation is salvageable," Agarrado
said.

Last Tuesday, DTI chief Ramon Lopez said only producers of basic goods needed in the
time of COVID-19-- like food, medicine, disinfectants -- will be allowed to continue
manufacturing operations under the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon.

He said reports of trucks and other vehicles stopped from transporting necessities to other
provinces, including Metro Manila, have reached his office.

(It's important there's only one policy, especially for cargo...that no one will stop cargoes.
That's what we talked about with the military and the PNP.) –

REFLECTIVE ESSAY;
 In this year we face a crisis in our nation due to the Pandemic that hits in
the whole world the COVID 19, we all know that COVID19 is dangerous because it
can cause death of a human the advisory of our local government is to have a
lockdown in every place so that the virus will not easily be scattered to other
people. It may be hard to adjust in others because many people affect with this
pandemic because some of the company temporarily closed due to the
mandatory of the Government others establishment has been suspended. The
tourism in our country affected because some of the foreigners are ban to travel
in other country. The economy may affect of this Pandemic Crisis. There’s a
shortage of Products especially in Basic needs the government make ways to
help those place that affected most of crisis. We all know that our lives and health
are more important of everything, we need to obey the regulations that made by
the LGU so that we can avoid the dangerous of this Virus.

Bribery, corruption on the rise in PH – report

Bribery and corruption have been on the rise in the Philippines in the last two years, a
global research group says, pointing out that about a fifth of companies reporting they
were asked to pay grease money.

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 3) — Bribery and corruption in the Philippines
have spiked in the last two years, with a fifth of businesses saying they were made to
pay grease money, a global survey disclosed.

A study done by PricewaterhouseCoopers, or PwC, showed that 42 percent of

companies reported experiencing fraud in the past two years, losing anywhere between
$5 million and $50 million (about ₱254 million to ₱2.54 billion) since 2018.

A total of 101 businesses were covered by the survey, which involved a balanced mix of
local firms and multinational companies. Of them, 43 percent said they have
encountered fraud at least twice, while a tenth claimed they experienced such incidents
over six to 12 times.

In 2018, the London-based business consulting firm recorded that 54 percent of

Philippine-based businesses encountered fraud, but that came from a study covering
just 63 companies.

According to PwC’s Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey 2020, asset
misappropriation was the most common form of fraud, accounting for 52 percent of the
cases. This went against the global decline in instances that involve tinkering with
records to profit from company property.
Meanwhile, 21 percent of firms operating in the country said they have been asked to
pay a bribe. It added that 14 percent of respondents claimed they "lost a business
opportunity" because their competitor paid grease money to get ahead.

"This is concerning as businesses operating in the Philippines may be more likely to

contemplate paying bribes as a feasible option to take in order to win business
opportunities against competitors," read the report published Tuesday.

Other major issues among industries were customer fraud (24 percent), procurement
fraud (21 percent), cybercrime (19 percent), and deceptive business practices (19
percent), the study revealed. In contrast, customer fraud and cybercrime were the
biggest threats reported globally.

REFLECTIVE ESSAY;

Corruption is now rampant in our country now a days Bribery and corruption have
been on the rise in the Philippines, a global research group says, pointing out that about
a fifth of companies reporting they were asked to pay grease money. The major issues
among industries were customer fraud, procurement fraud, cybercrime, and deceptive
business practices, the study revealed. In contrast, customer fraud and cybercrime were
the biggest threats reported globally. PwC noted that more cybercrime threats are
emerging as technology evolves, going beyond the usual fake emails, online
scams, and identity theft. Now, some fraudsters use digital channels for
unauthorized money transfers and payments, as well as to make fake purchases
online.