STC guested on 1 June 2021 at the livestream program of Go Negosyo hosted by Betong Sumaya. It is under the initiative of Sec. Joey Concepcion. With PAGASA Pres. STC of Welcome Supermart are PRA Pres. Rose Bosch Ong of Wilcon Builders and Peachy Medina / Managing Dir. of Uratex Industries. Discussed was the dismal performance of the country's vaccination program & its langiushing effect on businesses.

On the hot afternoon of 17 May 2021, as Senate resumes its session, PAGASA joined forces with the PRA and KATAPAT, an NGO, to ran a Motorcade circling the offices of the Senate. This is to remind them that the proposed Amended Retail Liberalization Law which intends to lower the capex requirement of foreign retailers to $100,000 or P5M (from the original $2.5M or P125M) will slowly and surely kill local MSMEs in the retail trade and open up the economy to more smuggled goods. PAGASA's STC was interviewed there live over DZRJ Teleradyo. PAGASA was represented by JC Plaza, Welcome Supermart, Welcome Bac and the support of its 400+ member-stores.

In the afternoon of 10 May 2021, KME KATAPAT, an NGO invited PAGASA and the PRA to a short virtual Meet calling the attention of retailers regarding the thrust of the current Administration to push a more “progressive” retail liberalization law via legislators. The government wants to open up the retail trade Some more to foreigners by allowing them to own 100% of the business by simply investing $100,000.

Ahead of this year's May 1 celebration of Labor Day, DOLE together with the DTI, NEDA, DAP, ADB, WB and the ILO, embarked on a Pre-Summit Dialogue on 23 April 2021 with Industry Leaders & Associations in the fields of Manufacturing, IT, Wholesale/Retail, Transport & Logistics, Tourism, Banking & Finance, etc. to come up with a comprehensive solution to address the issues of growing unemployment & underemployment. PAGASA was invited to participate. Break-out sessions were held to draw up a unified presentation economy-wise come Labor Day.

On 21 April 2021, PAGASA Office welcomed a personal visit by Mr. Mohit Garg, an Indian national who chose to make the Philippines his home. His entrepreneurial spirit urged him to personally meet PAGASA President Steven T. Cua to explore the possibility of supermarkets giving out eco-bags for free to customers when they shop. Mr. Garg is optimistic but will have to push pencils, create designs, pull strings and synergize resources to fulfill his vision of a lucrative trade here resulting in a cleaner Philippines.

The Wholesale & Retail Sector Summit Consultation on Employment Recovery hosted by the DTI's CPAB & the Development Academy of the Philippines took place via Zoom in the morning of 7 April 2021. PAGASA was invited as a panelist/discussant on the local situation for wholesale/retail when it comes to employment in these industries. Also reactors were the Phil. Retailers Assn., Phil. Consumer-Centric Traders Assn., Phil. Assn. of Stores and Carinderia Operators and the Direct Selling Assn. of the Phils. Presenters came from the ILO & the WB. PAGASA Pres. STC suggested to the Dept. of Labor and Employment to allow supermarkets which are cash-strapped to pay salaries partially in the form of groceries/goods. DOLE Asec. Dominique "Nikki" Rubia-Tutay says this is not an accepted traditional form of compensation that DOLE & ILO approves of but given the situation, one may sign an agreement with their personnel to arrange this for say, up to three months only (a temporary arrangement) while economic conditions are bad. STC also suggested that LGUs encourage the elderly or those retired/WFH to go shop at supermarkets from 10:00am-2:00pm when customers are sparse in supermarkets and that Barangays/Community Leaders to continuously announce over loud speakers health safety protocols in their respective areas of jurisdiction.

PAGASA was honored to have been visited personally on the 16th of March 2021 by the Commercial Attache of the Royal Embassy of Cambodia in Manila in the person of Mr. Lao Nguon Eng. He came as a result of a February 17th meeting this year between Phil. Ambassador to Cambodia Ma. Amelita C. Aquino & Cambodia's Minister of Commerce H.E. Pan Sorasak to establish business ties in promoting Cambodian rice/goods to the Philippines.

There was the continuation of the Senate Hearing by the Committee on Agriculture, Food & Agrarian Reform in the whole morning of 9 March 2021 via Cisco WEBEX on the state of ASF and the supply/ prices of pork/chicken. The Dept. of Agriculture came out in full force to present how they intend to immediately increase the supply of pork via imports/quick transport to MM from farms and repopulate the hogs for the future. Correspondingly, the same stakeholders opined on the presentation and the loopholes in the system of the DA.  The SGS also presented how they inspect the imported pork and how they can help in sanitizing hog farms. STC represented PAGASA at this Hearing.

STC attended the 4th Congressional TWG Meeting on Single-Use Plastic Bags on March 1, 2021 consolidating some 61 bills on the issue. This is the most serious effort by the Lower House to come up with a Law that guides LGUs regarding the treatment of used plastic bags as a pollutant in our seas, waterways and landfill. Three presentations filled up the more-than-three hour virtual Meet. First one was by EU-ASEAN Green Technology Expert Dr. Evelyn B. Taboada of the University of San Carlos illustrating the Plastic Materials Flow Analysis and stressing that the Philippines ranks #3 as biggest contributor to ocean pollution worldwide. She also showed accountability by the local corporations as those whose packaging floats out the most to sea. Second presentation was done by Plastic Credit Exchange's (PCEx) Nanette Medved-Po on the worldwide movement of co-processing as having the most comprehensive solution to the problem of improper disposal of plastic bags/packaging and this having the backing of major manufacturers worldwide. A similar concept was presented by World Wildlife Fund's (WWF) Atty. Ina Cojuangco Guingona on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). As the session was about to end, STC commented on the big amounts of fines the DTI and DENR will charge violators if retailers don't charge P5 for new plastic bags if customers don't return so-and-so amount of used plastic bags (as proposed by this consolidated Bill). He politely asked who will enforce this? Inspectors of the DTI or the DENR? He said are the charges here practicable? Can they be carried out effectively? Corollary to this, has any retailer been charged with the fines attached to the No-Shortchange Law? With that, this TWG will resume again to discuss these unresolved issues.