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It has been around 217 days or close to seven months, yet the COVID-19 pandemic is still with us in the form of quarantines and lockdowns of varying levels on most people except essential workers. Consequently, we have seen how operations have been disrupted for many businesses — a growing number of companies with office-based work, including our firm, have continued with and strengthened work-from-home (WFH) arrangements to keep things business as usual in these unusual times.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused not only a global health crisis, but also economic slowdown and disrupted business operations. The adverse economic impact resulted in companies, if not going out of business, employing cost-reduction measures by reducing headcount using various means.

With the emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), many businesses have collapsed, unemployment rates have increased, while many Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are on the verge of bankruptcy. In cognizance of the adverse impact of the COVID-19 on the Philippine economy, government mechanisms are currently being put in place to contain the damage.

It has been over six months of quarantine and the fight against this pandemic has been challenging. Coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19, is an unusual enemy that does not allow us to fight back head-on or face-to-face. It is the type of enemy that makes us hide and stay at home if we want to win the battle. Nonetheless, I believe that resilience is inherent among us Filipinos, with all the difficulties we may have probably experienced in our lives.

Wikipedia defines due process as the legal requirement that the state must respect all the legal rights owed to a person. This balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual person from it. In law, due process contemplates notice and opportunity to be heard before judgment is rendered.

The world we are living in right now is very different from the one we were used to. Whenever I hear news about the rising number of COVID-19 cases, employees losing their jobs, and businesses shutting down their operations, which were all brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, I find myself helpless.

For foreign and domestic investors, selling shares in Philippine companies have always been fraught with difficulty and uncertainty. In the past, the most complex issue has been the determination of the fair market value of the shares to be sold. The rules created various complications and requirements that sellers and buyers had to be aware of before even considering the transaction. Hence, any move to simplify the process is certainly a welcome development. One of these new developments is Revenue Regulations 20-2020 (RR 20-20) published on Aug. 19. The revenue regulations make the determination of fair market value relatively easier for shareholders selling shares.

The year 2020 is like no other. With a pandemic still raging, a volcanic eruption, explosions, wildfires, plane crashes, social unrest, tragic deaths, and many other unexpected events — each one of us is affected one way or another. The year is not yet over but it has dished out something out of the ordinary to each and every one of us.