1.

Amid digital disruption, SMEs in the Philippines being driven to transform

SMALL and medium enterprises (SMEs) serve as the driving force of a

country’s economic growth. This is mainly because they make up a large
part of the business landscape in certain countries, especially in Asia. In the
Philippines, there are 4,769 large enterprises, 106,175 small enterprises,
4,895 medium enterprises and a whopping 887,272 units of micro business
establishments. SMEs alone have managed to create over 2.5 million
jobs in the country, further signifying the vitality of these establishments to
the country’s development. Due to the fact that they greatly influence the
country’s income rate and development, they must be able to constantly
meet the global industrial demands, evolve alongside the new globalization
standards and catch up with the digital world. The wave of digital disruption
has hit the Philippines’ SMEs, so business leaders must respond proactively
by embracing technology solutions and be more digitally-enabled.

“To be able to tap business opportunities in the evolving digital economy,

digital transformation is key. This must be done, or else, a company will be
left behind,” said Institute of Corporate Directors President Alfredo Pascual
during a recent conference. As the country gains new digital capabilities
and advances its technology development, it is imperative that SMEs go
digital. New and emerging technologies can be a threat to businesses that
fail to innovate and keep up with the latest advancements. Capabilities like
digital payment systems are core to SMEs as they are increasingly sought
after and help stay relevant in an ever-evolving marketplace.

Pascual also said that as digital disruptions intensify, it is highly critical for
SMEs that wish to succeed, to push forward with innovative efforts and
reinvent their identity and culture. The transformation is necessary not only
to secure greater revenues, but also to increase operational efficiency, boost
data-reliance, improve marketing, and enhance research and development.
An economy expert at the conference further supported this notion by
stating, “[…] the ability to innovate will become — more than ever — an
important element of economic development.” Thankfully, SME leaders that
are more aware, dynamic, digitally-literate, and generally younger, are
progressively going digital. On that note, Pascual urged those in the country
to embrace the change by enhancing digital skills to empower greater
engagement.

At the same time, he also acknowledged the struggle and new challenges
that SMEs have to face amid the digital disruption, citing limited resources
and business services, lack of data as well as “constrained access to markets
beyond their immediate neighborhood”. To counter this, Pascual called for a
thorough improvement of internet bandwidth and prices to allow SMEs to
access digital marketplaces and online services.Of course, the government
bodies are responsible to solve this issue which is why he insisted that they
lead by example, digitizing efficiently and working towards bettering the
means to transform.

All in all, the government must heed the call to go digital by providing SMEs
with the necessary aid and incentives.

Meanwhile, SMEs must charter plans to innovate within their means and seek
viable solutions that can help their businesses flourish.

2. De Lima thanks U.S. Senate for ‘standing strong for larger truths’
MANILA, Philippines – Detained opposition Senator Leila de Lima is grateful to the United
States Senate for approving a resolution that seeks sanctions against Philippine officials linked to
her detention and to the alleged extrajudicial killings under the Duterte administration.

I sincerely thank the granite resolve of Senators [Dick] Durbin, [Edward] Markey, [Marco]
Rubio, [Marsha] Blackburn, [Chris] Coons, [Patrick] Leahy, and [Ben] Cardin, and the rest of
the US Senate for standing strong and firm for the larger truths behind my persecution,” De Lima
said in a dispatch from her jail cell in Camp Crame on Sunday, January 12. sincerely thank the
granite resolve of Senators [Dick] Durbin, [Edward] Markey, [Marco] Rubio, [Marsha]
Blackburn, [Chris] Coons, [Patrick] Leahy, and [Ben] Cardin, and the rest of the US Senate for
standing strong and firm for the larger truths behind my persecution,” De Lima said in a dispatch
from her jail cell in Camp Crame on Sunday, January 12.
The US Senate passed on January 9 Senate Resolution No. 142, which invokes the Global
Magnitsy Act, an American law that gives the US executive branch the power to impose visa and
travel restrictions as well as financial sanctions on human rights violators anywhere in the
world. 
For the Philippines, the resolution covers government officials and security forces responsible
for extrajudicial killings as well those involved in the arrest and prolonged detention of De Lima,
President Rodrigo Duterte’s fiercest critic. 

It also denounced the "harassment, arrest, and unjustified judicial proceedings" against media,
particularly Rappler and its CEO Maria Ressa. De Lima said that the US Senate’s unanimous
approval of Resolution 142 is “a watershed in the history of keeping democracy and human
rights accountability in the country and the role the US play in ensuring it.”
The embattled senator is a staunch critic of Duterte’s violent war against drugs that has
killed more than 6,000 people. Human rights groups, however, estimate the numbers could reach
almost 27,000 to include victims of vigilante-style killings. (READ: The Impunity Series)

De Lima has been detained since February 24, 2017, due to what she called as trumped-up
multiple drug charges against her. (READ: Int'l rights group seeks U.N. experts' help in De Lima
release) "The case against me, apart from being fake and invented, has no internal legal
consistency or integrity altogether and has been fueled by tyrannical powers and alignment of
greed and political opportunism in the Philippine politics,” said De Lima.

That is clear since day [one],” added the senator.

Philippine officials, however, did not take the passage of US Senate Resolution 142 sitting down.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III said the American lawmakers were “misinformed,” while
Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr vowed the country would not give up its authority to try De
Lima in court.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra also said he was shocked and offended by Washington's

move to "interfere" with Manila's judicial process.