With the Delta variant of the coronavirus spreading, remote work looks like it will continue throughout 2021. Data privacy and data protection are big concerns since hackers have become more aggressive, prompting stricter regulations around the world. "A lot of companies are still in infancy stages of implementing their data protection management programs. They still have to come up with a lot of policies, processes, and standard operating procedures to govern their management of personal information," said Edwin A. Concepcion, Straits Interactive country manager for the Philippines. 

In this B-Side episode, Mr. Concepcion tells BusinessWorld reporter Bianca Angelica D. Añago the outlook of data privacy and protection in the Philippines during the pandemic. "Privacy and data protection would definitely become an integral part of negotiating for international trade and business," he said.

This episode was recorded remotely on July 2. Produced by Paolo L. Lopez and Sam L. Marcelo. 

Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, and Elon Musk are in the news for competing with each other in a space tourism race. Like these billionaires, the Philippines also has ambitions of exploring the final frontier — but for much more practical reasons, such as detecting illegal mining activities and measuring environmental parameters like air quality and soil moisture. 

The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA), an attached agency of the Office of the President, is in charge of handling national issues and activities related to space science and technology applications. 

In this episode of B-Side, PhilSA Director General Joel Joseph S. Marciano Jr., Deputy Director General Gay Jane P. Perez speak with BusinessWorld reporter Angelica Y. Yang about why a developing economy like ours should set its sights on the stars. 

This episode was recorded remotely on June 25, 2021. Produced by Paolo L. Lopez and Sam L. Marcelo.

The “play-to-earn” movement is an emerging phenomenon in gaming, wherein players collect rewards in the form of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) within a game and later convert them to real cash. Guilds have also cropped up to invest in in-game assets, loan these out to a player community, and educate others who may want to join in. 

“We do not only serve players themselves but it could actually be those who think like investors, who would like to own these gaming assets,” said Beryl C. Li, co-founder of Yield Guild Games (YGG), which has more than 2,000 scholars all over the world, including Philippines, Indonesia, and Brazil.

As of July 1, these gaming scholars have earned around 19 million in-game tokens known as Small Love Potions, equivalent to around $2.5 million. NFT gaming is a gateway to the larger world of decentralized finance and cryptocurrency. “It’s a very good way to really learn,” said Ms. Li. “They’re able to make decisions (on) what to do with their rewards.”   

In this B-Side episode, YGG’s Ms. Li tells BusinessWorld reporter Brontë H. Lacsamana how play-to-earn works, the economics behind it, and how NFT gaming got a boost over the pandemic.

This B-Side episode was recorded remotely on June 25. Produced by Paolo L. Lopez and Sam L. Marcelo.

More than 60,000 book titles will be available at steep discounts in the online edition of Big Bad Wolf, a book fair that has, in the past, attracted half a million visitors over a single run.  

In this episode of B-Side, Big Bad Wolf (BBW) founders Jacqueline Ng and Andrew Yap tell BusinessWorld reporter Patricia B. Mirasol how two years of planning went out the window because of the pandemic.  

The rising cost of logistics will leave a mark on the book industry, they said, and traditional booksellers will have to go beyond the printed page and embrace digital events, e-books, and audiobooks. Post-pandemic brick-and-mortar bookstores, they added, will have a community aspect. 

The Big Bad Wolf founders also share how they grew from a tiny operation into a traveling book empire that visits more than 34 cities around the world. 

The online edition of the Big Bad Wolf book sale runs from June 30 to July 7. Visit signup-ph.bbwbooks.com.

Recorded remotely on June 23. Produced by Paolo L. Lopez and Sam L. Marcelo.

The Philippines isn't sleeping well. The anxiety-inducing pandemic has done no favors to a country that has a robust business process outsourcing industry that operates in a different time zone. "We have a lot of shift workers that usually go against their internal clock," said Dr. Jimmy V. Chang, head of the Comprehensive Sleep Disorders Center of St. Luke’s Medical Center, Quezon City, and chair of the Philippine Academy of Sleep Surgery. In this B-Side episode, Dr. Chang speaks to BusinessWorld reporter Patricia B. Mirasol about "coronasomnia," sleep issues and their corresponding remedies, as well as the restorative nature of sleep. 

Recorded remotely on June 14. Produced by Paolo L. Lopez and Sam L. Marcelo.

Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) — which are among the most vulnerable to economic disruptions brought about by the pandemic — have had to accept digitalization or lose business entirely. 

"There are a lot of benefits for MSMEs to adopt digital solutions, including increasing productivity, reducing costs, and improving profit margins," said Dr. Denis Hew, director of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Policy Support Unit, in a fireside chat that was part of the special edition of the BusinessWorld Virtual Economic Forum, a two-day event held on May 26 and May 27 tackling the digital economy and its role in the country's economic recovery.

Titled "Helping SMEs survive and thrive through digital tools: an APEC perspective," the fireside chat between Mr. Hew and BusinessWorld multimedia editor Sam L. Marcelo streamed on May 27.

Produced by Paolo L. Lopez and Sam L. Marcelo.

Recreate, a new TV show hosted by UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Daphne Oseña-Paez, documents the ways artists, local businesses, and cultural institutions are persevering despite the pandemic. 

"There's a lot of innovation in technology, there's a lot of new businesses coming out … but it's still a creative thought process that is driving all of these changes," said Ms. Oseña-Paez. "People have the power to dig deep into themselves and use expression as a way to move forward." In this B-Side episode she talks to BusinessWorld reporter Michelle Anne P. Soliman about the creative process and the importance of sharing human interest stories.

The Philippines, often hailed as one the most gender-equal countries in the world, placed 17th out of 156 countries in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2021. In the Asia-Pacific region, the Philippines came in second only to New Zealand, which ranked fourth globally. 

The report doesn't paint the whole picture, said Nathalie Africa-Verceles, director of the Center for Women and Gender Studies at the University of the Philippines. "There are still many laws that need to be enacted and still many provisions of existing laws that need to be revised because there are provisions in existing laws that are discriminatory to women. But when we talk about gender, we don’t only refer to women," she said, emphasizing that gender equality includes the rights of the LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and/or Questioning) community.

Congress, she added, should prioritize passing the SOGIE (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression) Equality Bill. "I'm very disappointed it's taking so long."

In this B-Side episode, Ms. Africa-Verceles speaks with Gillian M. Cortez (who was a reporter for BusinessWorld at the time of the interview) about contradictions between Philippine culture and Philippine laws, in terms of gender equality. 

This B-Side episode was recorded remotely on May 18. Produced by Paolo L. Lopez and Sam L. Marcelo.

The Philippine government went on a borrowing spree to support its pandemic response and make up for the plummeting revenues at the height of the coronavirus crisis. For 2020 alone, its gross borrowings — which does not include all the payments made during the period — hit P2.74 trillion, matching the P2.757 trillion debt incurred from 2017 to 2019. 

In this B-Side episode, Alvin P. Ang, a professor at the economics department of the Ateneo de Manila University, speaks with BusinessWorld reporter Beatrice M. Laforga about the government’s rising debt and its impact on the economy. 

"I think the next government will still have to borrow because this is not a usual crisis. What they need is to spend as much as possible on health, on building our capacities and increase confidence once again," Mr. Ang said. "The government is the only entity that can really help the private sector and the consumers to get back into their groove of what they're supposed to do."

This episode was recorded remotely on May 13. Produced by Paolo L. Lopez and Sam L. Marcelo.

Investment pledges approved by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) dropped by nearly a fifth last year after lockdown restrictions dented investor confidence.  

In this B-Side episode, PEZA Director General Charito B. Plaza tells BusinessWorld reporter Jenina P. Ibañez how the investment promotion agency is planning a comeback over the next few years. PEZA is eyeing pharmaceutical companies, agro-industrial firms, and manufacturers of military equipment.

Recorded remotely on May 4. Produced by Paolo L. Lopez and Sam L. Marcelo.