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Palace authorizes extension of 2018 maintenance, fund

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte signed a resolution extending the availability of the 2018 national budget for the maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) and capital outlay (CO), pending delays in the passage of the 2019 budget, Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea said Thursday.
Mr. Medialdea confirmed in a text message that Mr. Duterte signed a Congress joint resolution seeking the “extension of validity of (the) 2018 budget for MOOE and (CO) to Dec. 31, 2019.”
House Majority Leader Rolando G. Andaya, Jr. said during a hearing in Camarines Sur on Thursday that the President signed the resolution.
“It looks like the cash budgeting system will not continue this year because the President already signed that the resolution extending the life of the 2018 budget for this year),” Mr. Andaya said.
“In effect, the President, by signing the resolution extending the life of the 2018 budget, does away with the cash budgeting system,” he added.
The joint resolution amends Section 61 of Republic Act No. 10964 or the General Appropriations Act (GAA) to allow the validity of the MOOE and capital outlay appropriations for another fiscal year or until Dec. 31, 2019.
It stated that the unreleased 2018 appropriations can be used for MOOE and CO to fund “priority projects, aid and relief activities as well as for the maintenance, construction/repair and rehabilitation of schools, hospitals, roads, bridges and other essential facilities of the national government.”
It took note of typhoons and flooding affecting several regions in Luzon and in Mindanao that “destroyed vital infrastructure and affected the delivery of basic services to the affected communities.”
It also stated that the 2018 GAA has limited the release of the MOOE and capital outlay funds only until the end of 2018, contrary to the previous GAAs from 2014 to 2017, which allowed for the said funds to be released and obligated for a two-year period. If unspent, the 2018 appropriations will be automatically returned to the General Fund.
Congress also made the same plea via joint resolutions in 2002 and 2013 to extend the availability of the current appropriations for another year.
Separately, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said it expects to tap only 25% of the re-enacted 2018 budget over the first three months of the year.
In a Circular Letter dated Jan. 3, the DBM told national government agencies to only obligate at most 25% of the 2018 budget, which would cover requirements for the first three months of the year — the period when the government expects to operate under a reenacted budget.
A re-enacted budget means that no new projects can be implemented and salary hikes are frozen until a new budget is enacted.
The DBM expects the 2019 General Appropriations Act (GAA) to be signed into law by February.
“Pending the approval of the 2019 GAA, national government agencies receiving allotment or Notice of Cash Allocation (NCA) from the DBM are authorized to obligate the amount corresponding to their actual requirements for the first quarter of 2019,” according to the circular.
However, obligations should not exceed 25% of the appropriations for personnel services, maintenance and other operating expenses, and capital outlays in the 2018 budget.
The DBM’s instructions exclude appropriations for the creation of new positions, the fourth tranche of the salary standardization law, mid-year and year-end bonuses and cash gifts, clothing and uniform allowances, and productivity enhancement incentives.
However, the DBM will still release 2019 budget-level funding for retirement and life insurance premiums, Pension and Gratuity Funds, Special Purpose Funds, budgetary support to government corporations, Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Funds, Contingent Funds, and Internal Revenue Allotments of local government units, as they are automatically appropriated every year.
“We will do what we can to minimize the damage to the Philippine economy, particularly public construction. You see, as early as the first working day of the year, we have come up with the guidelines for fund releases under the reenacted budget,” Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno was quoted as saying.
“The sooner the 2019 GAA is passed, the better for the economy and the Filipino people. Ramping up our investments on infrastructure and social services will only be sustainable if the budget is authorized by Congress,” he added. — Camille A. Aguinaldo, Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

SC ruling sought on foreign gov’t ownership of third player

THE Supreme Court (SC) has been asked to review the award of third-player status to a consortium led by Mindanao Islamic Telephone Company Inc. (Mislatel), with the tribunal pressed to clarify whether a consortium member, which is owned by a foreign government, can invest in public utilities.
The petitioner also questioned the selection process for the new entrant to the telecommunications industry, outlined in Memorandum Circular (MC) 09-09-18, saying that the terms of selection excluded many potential interested parties.
The Mislatel consortium was declared the provisional third player on Nov. 7, with China Telecom Corp. as its 40% foreign partner.
Other members of the Mislatel Consortium include Udenna Corp. and Chelsea Logistics and Holdings Corp.
In a 44-page petition-in-intervention, Marlon Anthony R. Tonson also asked that MC 09-09-18 be struck down due to certain provisions that prevent “genuine competition” in the selection process, which was conducted by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).
He said that the P1 million cost of the bid documents for the selection process was unreasonably high and kept out “potential participants who simply want to study the requirements before cementing their intent to participate in the selection process.”
The P700 million participation security also “constitutes a substantial deterrent to a more participative selection process.
The performance bond of 10% of the remaining cumulative capital and operational expenditure commitments and the non-refundable P10 million appeal fee “disincentivizes potential players from participating in the selection process.”
Mr. Tonson said that M.C. 09-09-18 lacked a proper screening test to uphold the nationality restriction for public utilities.
Section 11, Article XI of the Constitution only allows Filipinos or corporations or associations 60%-owned by Filipinos, to operate public utilities. “The nationality restriction serves as a proxy at best… with majority ownership belonging to the Filipinos, public utilities will be managed and operated to the country’s interest.”
He argued however that it is not clear whether the constitutional provision allows a foreign state to own a part of the public utility through its government-owned enterprises.
“Given such distinctions, a different rule must therefore apply when it comes to the issue of ownership in a public utility by a foreign State, whether directly or indirectly through a government-owned enterprise,” he said.
The Memorandum Circular also lacked safeguards against foreign control of public utilities as it only stipulated a clearance from the Securities and Exchange Commission that the Bidding Agreement follows the nationality requirements after it confirmed the third player.
Mr. Tonson also claimed that the MC lacks safeguards against the compromise of national individual security or protections against “a number of persons of ill will who would want to use cyberspace technology for mischief and crimes.”
“In the matter of security, the State must be wary, suspicious, vigilant, and forward-looking. Security is, after all, a matter of prevention rather than remediation,” he said.
He also said the selection rules also failed to evaluate the security risk in admitting a foreign-owned entity.
Declaring Mislatel the third player will subject Filipinos “to surveillance and threats to security by a government entity,” putting China in a “strategic position to intrude into fundamental liberties.”
The petition follows Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corp.’s petition before the SC in November questioning its disqualification from the selection process. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Multigenerational event set to mark 50th anniversary of Woodstock this year

FIFTY YEARS after the Woodstock music festival became one of the watersheds of hippie counterculture, an anniversary event will take place in August 2019 on the same field north of New York City.
The Bethel Woods Center for the Arts announced a three-day festival of “music, culture and community” that will celebrate “the golden anniversary at the historic site of the 1969 Woodstock festival.”
The Bethel Woods Center, a nonprofit that now owns the 37-acre (15-hectare) field that was the site of the 1969 Woodstock festival, said in a Facebook posting on Dec. 27 that the Aug. 16-18 festival will be a “pan-generational event.”
It will feature live performances from prominent and emerging artists across multiple genres and decades, as well as talks from leading futurists and tech experts. The festival is a joint venture with concert promoters Live Nation.
Details of performers, tickets and other participants will be announced at a later date, the Bethel Woods Center said.
The August 1969 Woodstock festival, billed as “three days of peace and music,” is regarded as one of the pivotal moments in music history and 1960s counterculture.
Over three sometimes-rainy days, more than 30 acts — including Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Who, The Band, and the Grateful Dead — performed around the clock to a 400,000-strong audience, most of whom watched for free and camped onsite in the mud. The festival was documented in the 1970 film Woodstock, which won an Oscar.
Although it was known as Woodstock, the festival actually took place in Bethel, some 70 miles (110 km) south of the village of Woodstock in upstate New York. Bethel is 90 miles (144 km) north of New York City.
“Fifty years ago, people gathered peacefully on our site inspired to change the world through music,” Darlene Fedun, chief executive of the Bethel Woods Center, said in a statement announcing the 50th anniversary event.
“We remain committed to preserving this rich history and spirit, and to educating and inspiring new generations to contribute positively to the world through music, culture, and community,” Ms. Fedun added.
The Bethel Woods festival is not affiliated with Michael Lang, a promoter of the 1969 festival, who has also spoken of plans to organize a 50th anniversary event but has yet to make any announcement. Woodstock anniversary festivals were also held in 1994, 1998, and 1999.
Many of the 1969 Woodstock artists are now dead. Surviving musicians who are still performing into their 70s include Joan Baez, Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend of The Who, and David Crosby, Neil Young, Graham Nash, and Stephen Stills of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. — Reuters

TRAL says ongoing dispute with Okada won’t affect tender offer

TIGER RESORT Asia Limited (TRAL) has amended its tender offer report to reflect its ongoing cases with Japanese gaming businessman Kazuo Okada, but noted that this will have no significant impact on the transaction.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Thursday, Asiabest Group International, Inc. (ABG) said that TRAL has included the case with Mr. Okada in its latest tender offer report, in compliance with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s order for the offeror to provide the additional information.
Mr. Okada has filed a case against TRAL and its local unit, Tiger Resorts Leisure and Entertainment, Inc. (TRLEI) which controls integrated resort and casino Okada Manila, for his supposedly illegal removal as director and shareholder in the two companies. The case, however, was dismissed by the Regional Trial Court of Parañaque last November 2018.
The Japanese tycoon had previously argued that he will stop the planned backdoor listing should he win his case and return to TRAL’s board.
Prior to his removal from TRAL and TRLEI, Mr. Okada was also removed as chairman and director of Universal Entertainment Corp. (UEC) — the beneficial owner of TRAL — for allegedly fraudulent activities that skipped proper internal approval processes transacted by Mr. Okada alongside former UEC Director Yoshinao Negishi.
UEC then released an investigation report finding that Mr. Okada “caused TRAL to provide a loan of HK$135 million to another company,” which was then spent to buy an art work for personal use.
Mr. Okada was also found to have issued a check worth HK$16 million without going through the necessary internal procedures.
“At that time, Kazuo Okada had asked for an increase in his remuneration, so the issuance of the check was believed to be for Kazuo Okada’s gain,” according to the tender offer report.
With this, TRLEI has also filed various criminal cases against Mr. Okada, including estafa charges for the sums he received without the proper board authority.
TRAL is pursuing the tender offer in line with its plans for backdoor listing through ABG. The company is looking to purchase up to 100 million common shares in ABG from minority shareholders at P3.2325 apiece. The offer period will run until Jan. 9, and will be crossed and settled on Jan. 11.
TRLEI will then be folded into the resulting company to become its wholly-owned subsidiary. The resulting company after the backdoor listing will then conduct a follow-on offering this year.
TRAL said the cases concerning Mr. Okada will not affect its share purchase agreement with ABG and the tender offer, since the transactions were approved by its current directors.
“Thus, the transactions will continue to be valid and binding on the company even if Mr. Okada wins any of the cases, and even if he is able to get back to Tiger,” the company said. — Arra B. Francia

House panel finds flood control projects prone to insertion

THE House Rules Committee found that P14.5 billion of the P75 billion worth of augmentations to the 2019 national budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) was allocated to low-priority flood control projects.
“Out of the P119 billion DPWH budget for flood control projects for 2019, more than P14.5 billion was not from DPWH regular programming,” Majority Leader Rolando G. Andaya, Jr. of the 1st district of Camarines Sur said during a public hearing in Naga City on Thursday.
The P14.5 billion allocation was included in the P51-billion insertion legislators identified during budget deliberations at the House of Representatives, which Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno later upgraded to P75 billion.
Mr. Andaya alleged that the DBM made the insertion before the printing of the National Expenditure Program, following consultations with President Rodrigo R. Duterte and his Cabinet.
“It is clear that P14.5-billion for flood control projects was not contained in the budget that Secretary Diokno showed to President (Rodrigo R.) Duterte and members of the Cabinet,” he said.
He said there is no comprehensive plan for flood control projects, unlike priority roads and bridges, which means such projects are prone to insertion.
“The system is centralized for priority roads and bridges, and these are prepared by District Engineers in a menu submitted by DPWH Central to DBM for funding purposes,” he said. “But flood control projects are not in any menu which is why they are easy to insert in the NEP (National Expenditure Program).”
Mr. Andaya alleged that Aremar Construction Corp., owned by the in-laws of Mr. Diokno, used the triple-A rating of contractors like C.T. Leoncio Construction and Trading to bag contracts.
“Triple-A contractors are there to win contracts and led out their licenses to the actual contractor that will undertake the project,” he said. Mr. Andaya then presented a copy of a deposit slip from a winning bidder in Bicol to Aremar Construction.
Mr. Andaya said he asked the Anti-Money Laundering Council to detail the complete bank transactions between C.T. Leoncio and Aremar Construction for its continuing investigation. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

Kim, Kanye expecting 4th child; West repeats support for Trump

LOS ANGELES — Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are expecting a fourth child — again using a surrogate, according to multiple media reports on Wednesday.
Celebrity magazines Us Weekly and People quoted sources close to the couple as saying the surrogate was pregnant and expected to give birth in May.
Representatives of the reality TV star and her rapper husband did not respond to a request for comment.
Ms. Kardashian and Mr. West’s third child, Chicago, was born via a surrogate in January 2018. The couple has two other children North, five, and Saint, three.
They turned to surrogacy after doctors warned Ms. Kardashian of serious health risks if she became pregnant again after her first two children.
Us Weekly reported that the couple put their plans for a fourth child on hold about six months ago as Mr. West was struggling with mental health issues. The rapper said last year he suffers from bipolar disorder and embarked on a bizarre Twitter spree that culminated in a rambling October meeting at the White House with US President Donald Trump, who Mr. West supports.
“Kim wanted their carrier to be pregnant shortly after Chicago’s birth, but they put those plans on hold when Kanye was having his issues,” an anonymous source was quoted as telling Us Weekly.
“Kanye has been great. He’s been healthy, happy and his head is clear. They are both very excited for this new baby,” the source added.
Mr. West, who said after the Trump meeting that he was distancing himself from politics, kicked off the New Year with a series of tweets reiterating his support for the Republican president.
“Trump all day,” the musician wrote on Twitter on Jan. 1, saying he planned to perform wearing the “Make America Great Again” hat made popular by Trump and his supporters.
“One of my favorite of many things about what the Trump hat represents to me is that people can’t tell me what to do because I’m black,” Mr. West added on Twitter. — Reuters

Six fuel sellers jump the gun on collecting new tax

THE Department of Energy (DoE) has ordered six gasoline stations of Petron Corp. to explain why they prematurely collected excise and value-added taxes on gasoline and diesel products sold at the turn of the year.
The “show cause” order follows the DoE’s estimate that old fuel inventory, which was taxed at the old rates in force in 2018, was good for 15 days.
New fuel taxes took effect on Jan. 1, 2019.
Energy Undersecretary Felix Wiliam B. Fuentebella said in a news conference Thursday that the department was set to serve the order on the same day.
Petron notified the DoE that some of its fuel retailers were collecting the new taxes. It said the fuel stations were located in Tarlac, Zambales, Bulacan and Pampanga.
On Dec. 28, 2018, DoE Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi asked oil companies to dispose of their 2018 fuel inventory before applying the second round of the excise tax to petroleum products for 2019.
Mr. Fuentebella said the imposition of the new taxes comes at a time when prices of petroleum products are declining. He said another price cut is expected to be announced next week.
Based on DoE computations, the first tranche of the tax reform on Jan. 1, 2018 increased the price of gasoline by at least P2.97 per liter. The price of diesel increased by P2.80 per liter and kerosene by P0.36 per liter. The price increases also included the 12% value-added tax.
For 2019, the increase for gasoline prices under TRAIN is P2.24 per liter, while for diesel and kerosene the rise is at P2.24 and P1.12 per liter, respectively.
For 2020, the price increases for gasoline, diesel and kerosene are P1.12, P1.68 and P1.12 per liter, respectively. — Victor V. Saulon

How this coffee start-up plans to overtake Starbucks in China

BEIJING — Chinese coffee start-up Luckin is aiming to open 2,500 new stores this year and overtake Starbucks Corp. as the largest coffee chain by number of outlets in the world’s second-biggest economy, it said on Thursday.
The firm, which only officially launched its business at the start of last year, has expanded at breakneck speed, propelled by a focus on technology, delivery, and heavy discounting even at the cost of mounting losses.
“What we want at the moment is scale and speed,” Luckin’s chief marketing officer Yang Fei, told reporters on Thursday at a presentation in Beijing.
“There’s no point talking about profit,” he said, adding that subsidies to lure in more users would be an important part of the firm’s strategy for the next few years.
Luckin said it was targeting a total of more than 4,500 stores by the end of 2019, which would take it past Seattle-based Starbucks that has long dominated China’s coffee scene and has over 3,600 stores in the country.
Luckin’s caffeine-fuelled expansion is in stark contrast to Starbucks, which opened its first China store in 1999 and has spent two decades reaching its current store count.
The US chain, which spearheaded the growth of a coffee culture in China, started to see competition rise from smaller peers over the last 18 months, though Luckin has stood out as the most aggressive competitor.
But Luckin’s rise has not come cheaply.
The firm recorded a loss of 800 million yuan ($116.34 million) last year, which its chief marketing officer said was in line with expectations as it pushed to expand.
Luckin, backed by Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte Ltd. and China International Capital Corp. Ltd., opened more than 2,000 locations in the last year, gaining a valuation of $2.2 billion after raising $200 million in a funding round last month.
The firm’s chief executive Qian Zhiya, told Reuters last year that Luckin aimed to outnumber Starbucks in China.
Reuters previously reported that Luckin was also in early-stage talks with investment banks about an overseas initial public offering. The firm, however, declined to answer questions about IPO plans on Thursday. — Reuters

All PHL banks, credit card issuers complete shift to EMV technology


By Melissa Luz T. Lopez
Senior Reporter
ALL BANKS and credit card issuers have fully migrated to chip-based cards as of end-2018, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said, which comes after a four-year transition period.
This comes months after the central bank’s June 30 deadline for all firms to shift to the Europay Mastercard Visa (EMV) technology prescribed by the regulator, which has been the second and final extension given for all lenders to comply.
“All BSP supervised financial institutions, consisting of banks and non-bank financial institutions, have fully complied with the BSP requirement to complete the migration of their entire payments system network to EMV technology as of 28 December 2018,” BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi G. Fonacier said in an e-mail interview.
The central bank announced the EMV requirement in 2014 and initially set a January 2017 target for lenders to complete the shift. Apart from replacing cash, debit and credit cards, the central bank also requires banks to upgrade back-end systems as well as point-of-sale and automated teller machine terminals to accommodate the new technology.
An EMV card contains a microprocessor chip which creates a unique transaction code for each payment. This is now the global standard, as it is deemed more secure compared to magnetic strip-based cards that carry a fixed set of data used for all transactions.
Failure to comply with the EMV standard is considered a “serious offense,” Ms. Fonacier said, with banks to be meted out with sanctions and fines as needed.
Prior to the full migration, the BSP instructed banks to set up reserves for potential card fraud so that they can shoulder the burden and settle theft cases for all non-EMV cards still in use.
This effectively shifts the burden on the card issuer whenever their client falls victim to skimmers or identity theft done via the old magstripe cards.
Customer complaints due to counterfeit cards must also be processed and resolved within 10 days rather than the usual 45-day standard.

Superhero movies prove indestructible, lift N. American box office to record high


DESPITE THREATS from streaming services and an overall feeling that Hollywood is bereft of new ideas, the movie industry turned in its best year ever in 2018, with the US leading the way to almost $42 billion in global ticket sales.
Domestic box-office revenue hit a new high, climbing 7% to an estimated $11.9 billion, according to Comscore Inc. That’s a turnaround from 2017, when North American ticket sales fell 2.3% and stoked concerns that consumers were done with the big screen.
“The real growth this year was in North America,” said Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s senior media analyst.
While talk of sequel-fatigue dominated the discussion of why 2017 was so bad, remakes and follow-ons were the big moneymakers of 2018. They included Universal Pictures’ Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, which came in third place globally, and Walt Disney Co.’s Incredibles 2 at No. 4.
All 10 of the top films of the year domestically were superhero films or sequels, and in several cases both. Disney’s Black Panther topped the North American list, with $700 million in sales, followed close behind by the company’s Avengers: Infinity War, the third in that superhero series and the top picture globally.
Fans found films they liked throughout the year, according to Phil Contrino, director of research at the National Association of Theatre Owners. Black Panther soared in February, summer sales rose and the momentum carried through with fall hits such as A Star is Born and Bohemian Rhapsody. The share of 18- to 34-year-olds going to the movies rose slightly to 48% of the box office, indicating even tech-savvy younger people still embrace the traditional experience.
While 2018 had a happy ending, theater executives should still feel a sense of worry — the actual number of tickets sold remains well below the recent high set in 2002. The average ticket price was up about 1.7% this year, according to the theater owners group, which estimates attendance grew about 5%.
MORE SEQUELS
This year will bring more sequels, including The Lego Movie 2, Toy Story 4, and a Jumanji picture that isn’t yet named.
The strong performance of Warner Bros.’ Aquaman, which led the US box office this past weekend and has taken in more than $400 million globally, will likely strengthen AT&T Inc.’s resolve to exploit its newly acquired DC Comics characters. Superhero films on deck for next year include Disney’s Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame, as well as Sony Corp.’s Spider-Man: Far from Home and Fox’s Dark Phoenix, from the X-Men franchise.
Hollywood did take a chance in 2018 on superheroes who were less well known. Black Panther, featuring a largely African-American cast, may be the first superhero film nominated for a best picture Oscar. Sony launched a Spider-Man spin off with Venom, and Disney’s Ant-Man and the Wasp proved those characters have legs, taking in almost $623 million in ticket sales worldwide.
Surprise hits included the Warner Bros.’ romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians, which took in more than twice as much domestically as it did overseas, and Fox’s Bohemian Rhapsody, the Freddie Mercury biopic, which did the reverse.
Disney, with a roughly 26% share of the domestic market, led the box office for the third straight year. The results underscore Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger’s strategy of acquiring well-known film characters and franchises. His $71 billion purchase of 21st Century Fox Inc.’s entertainment assets is expected to close in the first half of 2019.
“Everyone who owns a movie theater needs to stand back and give a big thank you to Disney,” said Barton Crockett, an analyst at B. Riley FBR Inc. “They knocked the cover off the ball with Black Panther and The Incredibles.”
Still, the Burbank, California-based studio had a bunch of duds, including Solo: A Star Wars Story, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, and A Wrinkle in Time.
That proves, perhaps, that no one can quite save the day like a superhero. — Bloomberg

AboitizPower unit sets P1.5-B capex for 2019

DAVAO CITY — Aboitiz Power Corp. subsidiary, Davao Light and Power Company, Inc. (DLPC) is allocating a capital expenditure (CAPEX) of about P1.5 billion this year, which will be used for an underground cable system in Davao City and its rural electrification program.
Rodger S. Velasco, DLPC executive vice-president, said P200 million will be spent for the second phase of its Underground Distribution System project which involves transferring cables underground in parts of the city’s downtown area.
The project “will reduce the vulnerability of the system to power outages by about 75%,” Mr. Velasco said during a press conference in December.
“It will also be not subject anymore to extreme weather conditions like heavy rains and winds,” he said, adding that it can even withstand an intensity 8 earthquake.
At the same time, Mr. Velasco said the company is allocating P130 million for the electrification of remote and small villages in its franchise area.
While DLPC already provides power to all barangays, there are still some smaller areas referred to as sitios and puroks that have yet to be reached.
“We want to intensify our electrification of these small villages,” he said.
DLPC’s franchise area covers Davao City and parts of Davao del Norte province, including Panabo City and the towns of Carmen, Sto. Tomas and Braulio Dujali.
The national government has called on industry stakeholders, particularly in Mindanao, to help in providing electricity to rural areas. National Electrification Administration head Edgardo R. Masongsong said last year that out of the 2.4 million households in the country that do not have electricity, about 1.4 million are in Mindanao.
Meanwhile, Mr. Velasco said DLPC is also allocating P80 million this year for the conversion of sodium street lights into LED lights.
“The target is to complete this project also in the next five years,” he said.
The remainder of the capex will be used to enhance transmission systems, substations and power lines as the company anticipates a power demand growth of 6.5% annually.
“We need to spend to provide better services to our customers,” Mr. Velasco said as the company is projecting that by 2020, the power demand in its franchise area will be at 460 megawatts. — Carmelito Q. Francisco

Election year seen boosting job creation

THE Bureau of Labor Employment (BLE) said jobs created in 2019 may exceed 1 million, with the services sector expected to come on strong in an election year.
The BLE, an agency under the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) said the projection exceeds the general target of 900,000 jobs created in each year of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s administration.
“The target generation of employment is 900,000 to 1.1 million every year until 2022… We hope to surpass this target (in 2019) because this is an election year,” BLE Director Dominique R. Tutay said in an interview with BusinessWorld on Thursday.
Ms. Tutay said in 2019, the services sector will see a boost in employment especially in the Wholesale and Retail Trade segment; as will Public Administration and Defense.
“Many activities during an election year will employ people under the services sector, particularly the wholesale and retail and public administration,” Ms. Tutay said.
BLE also expects the construction sector to play a part in exceeding the 1 million mark due to the government’s ‘Build, Build, Build’ infrastructure program.
In its 2018 Year-End Report, DoLE reported that 826,000 jobs were generated last year, raising total employment in 2018 by 2.0% to 41.160 million. — Gillian M. Cortez

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