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Central Visayas wage orders now under review by NWPC

THE Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) in the Central Visayas, or Region 7, said two minimum wage hikes for separate categories of workers have been decided by the region’s wage board, with the decision awaiting review at national level.

DoLE in Region 7 said in a statement Monday that the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB-7) has set new rates for minimum wage earners and domestic workers in Central Visayas.

DoLE Regional Director Salome O. Siaton said that the wage orders have yet to be published. She added in the statement, “Such increase is still subject to the review by the NWPC (National Wages Productivity Commission) and must be approved thereafter by the Secretary.”

Wage Order No. ROVII-22 sets the wage increase for daily prescribed salaries of workers in the private sector while Wage Order No. ROVII-D.W. 02 provides the new minimum wage rates for domestic workers.

According to Ms. Siaton, the wages were set according to a classification defined in RTWPB 7’s last wage order which took effect on Aug. 3, 2018, grouping cities and municipalities in the region by class.

“The reclassification of the wage structure is in line with the thrust of the Board to rationalize the wage structure in the Region. Of course, we did it after taking into account all the recommendations of stakeholders present during the public hearings and consultations conducted.”

Wages for non-agriculture minimum-wage employees in the private sector are set by location. Such workers in Class A cities and municipalities or the Expanded Metro Cebu Area (the cities of Carcar, Cebu, Danao, Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue, Talisay, Naga and the municipalities of Compostela, Consolacion, Cordova, Liloan, Minglanilla, and San Fernando), will now receive P404 daily. Agricultural workers in this category will get P394.

The corresponding rates for Class B (Bais, Bayawan, Canlaon, Dumaguete, Guihulngan, and Tanjay in the province of Negros Oriental; and Bogo and Toledo in the province of Cebu and Tagbilaran in Bohol), will be having a daily wage rate of P366.00. Workers in the agriculture sector will have a take home pay of P361.

Class C non-agriculture workers from all other municipalities are to receive P356.00, while agricultural workers will receive P351.

RTWPB 7 Board Secretary Grace G. Carreon said that the new minimum wage for domestic workers also varies by location. The last wage order issued for domestic workers took effect on April 13, 2017.

She said in a statement Monday, “From the existing P3,000.00 minimum monthly pay, domestic workers or the kasambahay employed in the Cities and First Class Municipalities should now be paid P5,000.00 monthly and those working in other municipalities should now receive not less than P4,000.00 per month from… P2,500.00 (previously).” — Gillian M. Cortez

Property valuation bill passage seen aiding 2020 infrastructure projects

FINANCE SECRETARY Carlos G. Dominguez III urged the Senate to pass a real property valuation reform measure in time to address right-of-way-issues that could delay infrastructure projects in the pipeline for 2020.

In a statement Tuesday, Mr. Dominguez said he hopes the Senate will act on its version of the Real Property Valuation Reform bill which the House of Representatives approved last week in the form of House Bill (HB) No. 4664.

Aside from resolving right-of-way issues, a common source of delay in public works where the government has agree with landowners on an appropriate level of compensation, Mr. Dominguez said the measure will generate additional revenue for local governments, “stimulate the real estate market” as well as attract investment.

During recent committee deliberations, Representative Jose Ma. Clemente S. Salceda of the second district of Albay said right-of-way acquisition will continue to delay the implementation of “Build, Build, Build” projects without a credible valuation system.

The measure proposes the use of a uniform schedule of market values (SMVs) for right-of-way acquisition, to adopt a real property valuation standards on par with international standards and develop a single valuation for the taxation of land transactions, among others.

Mr. Salceda, who chairs the House committee on ways and means, said the case of Evergreen Manufacturing against the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) ran from 2000 to 2017 due to lack of agreement on valuation.

Infrastructure delays in 2019 due to the late passage of the 2019 budget have been blamed for dampening economic performance.

On the sidelines of an event in Parañaque City on Wednesday, Rep. Edgar Mary S. Sarmiento of the first district of Samar said a court administrator at a recent committee meeting promised to designate courts in various parts of the country to specialize in right-of-way issues.

“Maglalagay ang court ng specific branch to address ‘yung right of way issue (courts will be designated to address the right-of-way issues)… That was the commitment to us by the court administrator,” Mr. Sarmiento said in a chance interview.

HB 4664 represents the third package of the administration’s Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP).

“At present, LGUs prepare the SMVs, which is just one of many conflicting values currently used for various government purposes and private transactions. SMVs are also often outdated and set without standard technical procedures, leading to an eroded real property tax base for LGUs,” the Finance department said in its statement. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Ayala purchases 15% stake in YSH for $108.6 million

AYALA Corp. (AC) said yesterday it has already paid the first tranche of its $237-million investment in Myanmar’s Yoma Group.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange Tuesday, the listed conglomerate said it has concluded its $108.6 million worth acquisition of outstanding shares in Singapore-listed Yoma Strategic Holdings, Inc. (YSH).

“(AC and YSH) have closed the first tranche of the placement of shares, with AC having been allotted shares equivalent to 14.9% of the outstanding shares of YSH and having paid the price therefore. The Singapore Exchange has approved the listing of the shares allotted to AC,” it said.

AC is acquiring a total of 474,680,104 shares in YSH priced at $0.3265 each, which represents 20% of the company.

The concluded deal between AC and YSH is the first of two tranches. The second tranche will be worth $46.4 million to represent 5.1% of the YSH’s outstanding shares.

AC said the purchases of YSH shares are subject to the approval of the Singapore Securities Exchange Trading Ltd.

Aside from the deals with YSH, AC’s investment in the Yoma Group also involves acquiring a 20% stake in First Myanmar Investment Public Co. Ltd. (FMI), a publicly listed firm in Myanmar.

The company said the investment in FMI will be in the form of an $82.5-million convertible loan, where VIP Infrastructure Holdings Pte. Ltd. will be its investing entity. The deal will be subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Myanmar.

When AC announced its venture into the businesses of Burmese tycoon Serge Pun last month, it said the transaction is part of its “strategy to pursue international expansion opportunistically.”

“As a diversified conglomerate in Myanmar with overlapping interests in real estate, power, financial services, automotive, and health care, YSH and FMI (Yoma Group) will serve as Ayala’s main platform for strategic investments in Myanmar,” it said.

Shares in AC at the local bourse shed 9.50 points or 1.13% to close at P831.50 each on Tuesday. — Denise A. Valdez

DTI could offer perks for domestic manufacture of new 9-seater PUVs

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it is considering an additional program to support the domestic manufacture of small and affordable eco-friendly public utility vehicles (PUVs).

Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez told reporters at a forum on Tuesday that the target cost for class 1 Eco-PUVs is less than P1 million.

“Para may cheaper alternative (To offer a cheaper alternative) — one that we can sell below P1 million — so operators have options when they need bigger or smaller vehicles,” he said.

The class 2 vehicle supported by an earlier program cost about P1.5 to P1.6 million, he said.

Class 1 vehicles carry at least nine passengers, while class 2 vehicles carry at least 22.

Support would come in the form of incentives depending on the number of units produced.

He said that there have been proposals from Toyota Motor Philippines, Mitsubishi Motors Corp., and Hyundai Philippines.

The additional program was created to support manufacturing, Mr. Lopez said, as well as to address operators’ concerns about the prices of Eco-PUVs.

He added, however, that the larger vehicles make more money for operators.

“Kikita din sila doon kasi mas marami kang pasahero… mas malaki ‘yung revenue mo. Bigger vehicle eh. Ganoon din naman ito, smaller vehicle — mas mura. (They will make a profit with large vehicles because they will have more passengers and more revenue. It’s a bigger vehicle. The trade-off is that the smaller vehicle is cheaper).”

“So the payback periods (for the two types of vehicle) will probably approximate each other.”

The program is expected to launch by the first quarter of 2020, and may be combined with the earlier program for larger vehicles. — Jenina P. Ibañez

PETA’s season final is anthology that tackles stories of HIV/AIDS

THE ARTS can influence our thoughts and actions in the face of a disease.

The Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA)is closing its 52nd theater season with Rody Vera’s anthology drama Under My Skin, from Feb. 7 to March 22 at the PETA Theater Center as part of its Acting on HIV campaign. The show is done in partnership with LoveYourself and The Red Whistle.

UNAIDS country director Dr. Louie Ocampo stressed that the Philippines is the country with the fastest growing HIV epidemic in the world. UNAIDS said the Philippines had an estimate of 70,000 cases at the end of 2018.

“We have always believed in the power of theater to convey important messages to the audience. Theater is a platform that can spark conversation and reflective thinking and action,” PETA Executive Director Beng Santos-Cabangon said at the press launch on Dec. 2 at the PETA Theater Center.

“In the past, PETA has been successful in tackling sensitive topics through theater. Since the early 2000s, PETA has been active in mobilizing and forging strategic partnerships to help further advocacy work,” PETA Artistic Director Maribel Legarda was quoted as saying in a press release. “We believe that theater can be another approach to HIV awareness, be an effective means of public engagement, introspection, and action.”

THE PLAY
Under My Skin is an anthology of stories about Filipinos living with HIV. The stories were based and gathered from the playwright’s friends and relatives, HIV advocates, existing studies on HIV, doctors, and health practitioners.

Playwright Rody Vera intended for the story “to address the misconceptions, the fears, as well as the opportunities for correcting these.”

In a press release, he is quoted as saying “I decided to write in multiple stories that will somehow mirror the overwhelming increase of HIV cases. And yet nobody seems to be as alarmed, thinking that it’s just a ‘gay’ disease.”

The story centers around Dr. Gemma Almonte, an epidemiologist at the Department of Health, who is studying the spread of HIV in the Philippines and hopes to change public perception of the disease and increase society’s compassion for those who have it.

The cases she discusses are those of Dino, a DOTA player who is diagnosed HIV positive after he contracts tuberculosis; Mary Rose, who discovers that her young son contacted a gastro-intestinal infection from the HIV that she passed on to him, after she herself was infected by her husband; and a gay beauty parlor employee who sues his employer for discriminating against those with HIV.

“Under My Skin addresses not only the nature of the disease but also how society views it, their perceived carriers, and the patients,” Mr. Vera says in the release. “It covers medical, political, social and economic factors. It even covers religious and moral issues. Dealing with HIV is not just about dealing with the virus alone.”

Directed by Melvin Lee, the play stars Cherry Pie Picache and Roselyn Perez who alternate in the role of Dr. Almonte. Also performing are Eko Baquial, Miguel Almendras, Mike Liwag Gio Gahol, Anthony Falcon, Gold Villar-Lim, She Maala, Mico Esquivel, Bene Manaois, Lotlot Bustamante, Kitsi Pagaspas, Dylan Talon, Ekis Gimenez, Erold Enriquez, Jarred Jaicten, Joseph Madriaga, Jason Barcial, and Dudz Teraña; with Rachelle Gimpes, Reggie Ondevilla, Roy Dahildahil, and Csai Habla in the ensemble.

There will be discussions with HIV doctors, health practitioners, and representatives from LoveYourself and The Red Whistle after the shows.

“One strength of the material we wish to emphasize is the spectrum of the age and gender that is affected by the epidemic. It demystifies the preconceived notions [about it],” director Mr. Lee said in a mixture of English and Filipino.

OTHER ACTIVITIES
On the days of the performances, audience members can avail of free HIV screening at the theater lobby, and view the Under My Skin photo exhibit by The Red Whistle, done in collaboration with photographer Niccolo Cosme of the Project Headshot Clinic. The exhibit features 200 portraits of people from the theater industry who are HIV/AIDS advocates. Meanwhile, PETA’s official Facebook page will feature a series of informative videos called EduSeries about stories of people living with HIV.

“It’s really essential that education and awareness is supported and pushed because that’s where we begin to find the solution to the problem,” PETA Artistic Director Maribel Legarda said.

“Fear always happens when we don’t know what’s happening. But once we do, we are then armed with a way to deal with the issues in front of us.”

There will be performances from February 7 to March 22 (Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdaysand Sundays at 3 and 8 p.m.) at the PETA Theater Center, No. 5 Eymard Drive, Brgy. Kristong Hari, New Manila, Quezon City.

For tickets and show buying inquiries, contact PETA at petatheater@gmail.com, or TicketWorld at www.ticketworld.com.ph and 891-9999. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman

Hans Sy, Angel Locsin named ‘heroes of philanthropy’

TWO Filipinos have been included by Forbes Asia in its list of 30 outstanding altruists in the region — Hans T. Sy of SM Prime Holdings, Inc. and award-winning actress Angel Locsin, joining the likes of China’s Jack Ma, India’s Azim Premji and South Korea’s Suh Kyung-bae.

Forbes Asia released on Tuesday its “Heroes Of Philanthropy: Catalysts For Change” list, where billionaires, entrepreneurs and celebrities were honored for their efforts in “solving some of the most pressing issues” in the region.

For the list, Forbes Asia said it wanted to identify those that are using their personal money and not their company’s cash for philanthropic work. It also looked at each person’s “depth of involvement” and the “reach” of their efforts and how it supports a “long-term vision.”

Forbes Asia acknowledged Mr. Sy, SM Prime’s 64-year-old executive committee chairman and director, for his work at Child Haus, a center for cancer-stricken patients located in Quezon City. It said Mr. Sy spent around $2 million in 2015 to buy the lot and build the facility as part of his 60th birthday celebration. To date, the heir of the country’s richest family continues to support the facility by taking care of its operating expenses.

For Ms. Locsin, Forbes Asia took note of the 34-year-old actress’ work to support victims of violence, natural disasters and the conflict in Mindanao. It cited several instances where Ms. Locsin helped in times of crisis, such as when she donated P1 million in October to distribute relief goods to victims of the Mindanao quake, when she joined the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines in 2017 to assist displaced victims of the Marawi siege, and when she made donations during Tropical Storm Ondoy in 2009, Typhoon Habagat in 2012 and Typhoon Haiyan in 2013.

It noted Ms. Locsin has shelled out about P15 million over the past 10 years for advocacies supporting education, indigenous people’s rights and ending violence against women and children.

Forbes Asia said India’s Mr. Premji made history this year for being the most generous philanthropist in Asia. It said he donated $7.6-billion worth of his shares in Wipro Ltd. — an information technology firm he founded and chairs — to his education-oriented organization Azim Premji Foundation.

China’s Mr. Ma was also acknowledged for focusing on philanthropic work after stepping down as executive chairman of tech giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

South Korea’s Mr. Suh, who chairs skin care firm Amorepacific Group, was likewise honored for donating $9 million to four South Korean scientists to support their research in improving neuroscience and genetics.

Other notable names in the Forbes Asia philanthropy list are South Korean singer and actress IU (Lee Ji Eun), Japanese leader of band “X Japan” Yoshiki Hayashi, Australian billionaire Judith Nelson and Indonesian mining and agribusiness tycoon Theodore Rachmat. — Denise A. Valdez

Monthly flag ceremony honors modern-day heroes

AS NOTED singer Bayan Barrios sang the National Anthem in the cool morning air on Monday, a giant Philippine flag was raised up the 150-foot tall Independence Flagpole — the highest in the country — in Manila’s Rizal Park.

It was the National Parks Development Committee (NPDC) in partnership with the Salute to a Clean Flag Movement’s third Stop and Salute flag-raising ceremony at the Rizal Monument in Manila City, and served as a tribute to the late artist, tour guide, and cultural activist Carlos Celdran. The ceremony also honored OFWS and the national hero Jose P. Rizal.

This year, the Stop and Salute flag-raising ceremony has honored the heroes of Marawi and teachers in line with World Teachers Day in October, and celebrated National Children’s Month in November.

The audience on Dec. 2 — which included representatives from the Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Education, Bureau of Fire Protection, The Philippine Navy, The Philippine Army, Philippine Marines / Marine Security Escort Group, Philippine Coast Guard Auxilliary, Philippine Veterans Affairs Office, Maritime Industry Authority, Professional Regulation Commission, Manila City Hall, Intramuros Administration, National Library, National Museum, National Historical Commission of the Philippines, National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Nayong Pilipino Foundation, Order of the Knights of Rizal, The Manila Hotel, Rizal Park Hotel, Baranggay 666, Sentro Rizal, Family and Friends of the late Carlos Celdran, Descendants of Jose Rizal and Association Of Philippine Volunteer Fire Brigades, Inc.— then joined together to recite the Panatang Makabayan Panunumpa ng Katapatan sa Watawat ng Pilipinas.

MAKING THE FILIPINO PROUD
The Salute to a Clean Flag Movement was founded by Monique C. Pronove of Pronove Tai International Property Consultants.

It is a non-political project “with the mission of making the Filipino proud of the Philippine Flag once again and making it [important] to the Filipino of today,” Ms. Pronove said in her speech after the 8 a.m. flag raising. It honors “modern-day Filipinos who make us a prouder country for the excellence the have shown in their field of endeavor.”

The Stop and Salute Monthly Flag Raising Ceremony is held at the Rizal Monument every first Monday of the month. The ceremony is open to the public.

“We want to promote nationalism. Everyone is equal under the flag so everyone is welcome to come,” Department of Tourism National Parks Development Committee executive director Cecille L. Romero told BusinessWorld after the ceremony.

Although the Philippine flag at the Independence Flagpole in Rizal Park is permanently hoisted day and night throughout the year, there are official flag raisings done twice a year — on Independence Day on June 12 and on Rizal Day every Dec. 30. So the monthly activity strengthens the value of the flag and our sense of patriotism, said Ms. Romero.

“Sa araw na ito, nais ko kayong imbitahan na pag-isipan ang halaga ng mga bayani sa kasalukuyang panahon (On this day, I invite you to think of the importance of our modern-day heroes),” Ms. Romero said in her speech. “Ang pagmamahal sa bayan ang nasa kaibututuran ng isang bayani. At bukod sa pagmamahal na ito, nakakayanan niyang ibukod ang sariling interes para sa nakararami at sa bayan (Love for country is at the core of every hero. Aside from this love, they can set aside self-interest for the majority and for the country).”

CARLOS CELDRAN
“We, the Salute to a Clean Flag Movement, and the Filipino people pay tribute to the life’s work of the late Carlos Celdran whose overwhelming passion to the Philippines and to the Filipino people had made a remarkable difference in making our history relevant, colorful, and interesting once again to the Filipinos of today,” Ms. Pronove said.

Celdran, who died in Madrid on Oct. 8 this year, was best known for his performance art Walk this Way tours of Intramuros, which he conducted for 17 years; his Livin’ La Vida Imelda one-man show, which was an entertaining but pointed examination of the Marcos years; and for mounting the first edition of the Manila Biennale art festival in the Walled City in 2018. He also was also known for his 2010 “Damaso” one-man protest against the Catholic Church’s meddling with a woman’s right to birth control, for which he was later convicted of “offending religious feelings.”

In her speech accepting the honor granted to her late husband, Tesa J. Celdran quoted from an essay he wrote explaining how he became involved in the preservation of Philippine culture, particularly focusing on Manila’s walled city, Intramuros.

“I had always felt a very strong conviction about the preservation and development of Philippine arts and culture. In [upper] school I lamented the destruction of the grander houses in Malate and Ermita, and volunteering was a way of directly involving myself to help solve this matter,” the then 36-year-old Carlos Celdran wrote. “The… encounters [that followed], which sometimes turned emotional, opened my eyes not only to the volatility of Philippine arts and culture but also the passion that could arise from it.

“…Years later, I became the Intramuros Tour Guy. Visitors through Manila using the city as my stage, performance art, my medium, and Philippine Arts and Culture, both as built heritage and, preservation and development, my message.”

Teresita Herbosa — a descendant of Jose Rizal and great-grand niece of Delfina Herbosa, who, along with Marcela Agoncillo and her daughter Lorenza, sewed the first Philippine flag — noted in her speech that like the national hero and Mr. Celdran, we should stand up for what you believe in. “We should always stand up for what we believe in, no matter if it is against the majority.”

After all the speeches, the Salute to a Clean Flag Movement together with NHCP Acting Executive Director Carminda Arevalo presented a flag to Ms. Celdran.

“Manila made my husband, and he made Manila his mission,” said Ms. Celdran in her speech. “In his younger years, Carlos believed art could transform the world. As we all know, that world always in flux. And as it does, Carlos would add to that formula of art as refinement to include love and gratitude as life.

“Maybe this way we can make his dreams for Manila, this city that he loved, not only live on, come true, but also, to dream a better dream.” — Michelle Anne P. Soliman

Palay prices firm in third week of November

THE average farmgate price of palay, or unmilled rice, rose 0.5% week-on-week in the third week of November to P15.52 per kilogram (kg), reversing an unbroken months-long streak of declines since rice imports were liberalized.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said in its weekly palay and corn price update that the average wholesale price of well-milled rice fell 0.2% to P37.33 per kg week-on-week. Retail prices also fell 0.2% to P41.53.

The average wholesale price of regular-milled rice decreased 0.2% to P33.22 per kg, week-on-week, while retail prices dropped 0.1% to P36.70.

Rice prices at the consumer level are a major component of inflation because food is heavily weighted in the inflation baskets of developing countries. The government passed the Rice Tariffication Law, or Republic Act No. 11203, in March as an inflation-control measure, easing restrictions on the entry of Southeast Asian grain while charging shipments from those markets a 35% tariff.

At the farmgate level, where the key commodity is palay, the form in which farmers sell their crop, prices have been collapsing because private traders must weigh the cost of carrying domestic rice in inventory against cheaper foreign grain. According to reports, traders in some provinces have been offering single-digit prices to buy palay, well below the National Food Authority’s (NFA) support price of P19 per kilo.

Year-on-year, the farmgate price of palay is down 22.6%.

The NFA steps into the market as the buyer of last resort to maintain its minimum buffer stock, but it cannot purchase the entire harvest because of budgetary and storage constraints, leaving farmers to contend with private traders.

To compensate, the government has been trying to organize direct-purchasing programs via local government units to offer farmers a “fair” price. Legislators have also set into motion measures to increase the budget for farmer aid, including emergency loans and conditional cash transfers.

Rice farmers are pushing for the repeal of the law, claiming lost income for 2019 of as much as P140 billion.

The Agriculture department’s Field Programs Operational Planning Division Director Christopher V. Morales said the average increase in palay prices may not be true for all regions, with some also likely to be seeing declines.

“Dapat tingnan saan yung regions o provinces na tumaas. Di ko masasagot specifically yan kasi di naman true to all areas. Dapat i-analyze mo province by province (We need to look at the regions where the price increased. I cannot answer specifically because that is not true for all areas. An analysis should be performed province by province),” he said in a text message.

The farmgate price of yellow corn grain averaged P11.96 per kg, up 0.1% week-on-week. The average wholesale price increased 0.2% to P21.02. The retail price was stable at P25.66.

The average farmgate price of white corn grain fell 0.1% to P13.34 per kg, week-on-week. The average wholesale price increased 1% to P17.10, as did the average retail price, which rose 0.3% to P26.78. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang

Rural banks looking to digitize operations to boost efficiency

RURAL BANKS are joining their larger peers as they go into digitizing their operations to improve efficiency and to ramp up their push for financial inclusion.

Without going into details, Fexco Philippines Chief Executive Officer Cathal Brendan Foley said a rural bank will launch its mobile app by January.

Aside from this, Mr. Foley added that the small countryside financial side institutions are also delving more into introducing cash-out schemes.

“And as I see it for know, we see a huge take up in the cash-out type products because there’s pretty much no ATMs (automated teller machines) [in rural areas],” Mr. Foley told BusinessWorld in an interview on the sidelines of their media briefing held at Makati last Thursday.

Fexco is an Ireland-headquartered financial technology firm which has processed about $15 billion worth of transactions in Asia.

It was established in the Philippines in 2015 and has officially launched its services for partner institutions in 2017.

Among its offerings is the EasyDebit launched in December 2017, which facilitates transactions that include cash-outs with convenience fees that average P30 from touchpoints with small merchants including groceries, sari-sari stores, and pawnshops.

“To date, EasyDebit processed P3.5 billion in terms of cash-out and transaction value and has seen 200% year-on-year growth in transactions,” Mr. Foley said, noting that one of the main things that buoy its growth are cash-outs from conditional cash transfers.

Moreover, Fexco is developing a bank app that can be white-labeled by lenders.

The firm is working with lenders particularly rural banks such as the Rural Bank of Rizal, Cantillan Bank and Al-Amanah Islamic Bank and is also in touch with 1,300 merchants in the country through cash-in and cash-out transactions.

Aside from cash-out schemes, Mr. Foley also sees the potential of business in bills payment, loan applications.

“There’s currently about 11,000 bank branches in the Philippines for 110 million Filipinos. There is never going to be a penetration of brick-and-mortar. I think banks will allow agents to operate on their behalf,” Mr. Foley said.

For 2020, the fintech will launch its Springpoint venture which is a combination of solutions meant for nonbank financial players that would want to delve into cash-ins, bills payments, loans, and accounts opening. — L.W.T. Noble

PHL firms seen to hike salaries by 6% in 2020

PHILIPPINE companies are forecast to increase salaries by 6% next year, as they focus more on retaining current employees, according to a survey conducted by Mercer.

In its 2019 Philippines Total Remuneration Survey, Mercer said next year’s salary increase is higher than the 5.5% in 2019, as inflation is expected to ease.

The survey also showed consumer goods, energy and high tech industries are forecast to have the biggest salary increases at 6%.

Mercer noted that 45% of organizations surveyed will add new hires, lower than the 50% this year.

“While the country’s population is young with a median age of 24 years, workplaces are increasingly becoming multigenerational… At the same time, the rise of the gig economy is growing demand for flexible work arrangements. These emerging realities challenge companies to have more compelling and differentiated value propositions, increase pay transparency, and rethink pay for performance, so they can attract, retain, and manage talent,” Mercer Career Business Leader for the Philippines Floriza Molon said in a statement.

Based on the survey results, Ms. Molon said 55% of Philippine companies are reviewing their benefits package, with 43% looking to raise the budget for employee salaries and 21% hiking the budget for employee benefits.

Retention remains a concern for many companies. For the first six months of 2019, Mercer noted voluntary and involuntary attrition rates were at 6.2%, and 1.9%, respectively.

“While the top reasons cited for employees leaving their organization in Asia varies by age group and gender, the top three reasons for employees leaving their organization are competitive pay, manager interaction, and a lack of clear career path and job security,” Mercer said. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang

After $1 billion theft, German museum turns out not to have insurance

AFTER burglars made off with priceless jewels from a German museum on Nov. 23, pressure is growing on police to find the culprits. One big reason: The diamond-encrusted dagger, pearl necklace, and dozens of other glittering artifacts — estimated to be worth more than $1 billion by the local press — were uninsured.

The German state of Saxony, the owner of the Green Vault museum in the eastern city of Dresden, carried no insurance on the jewels, standard practice because the premiums typically exceed potential damages in the long-term, the state Finance Ministry said Tuesday.

While public museums usually insure works of art that are loaned to other institutions, they often don’t take out policies on their permanent collections, according to Julia Ries, head of fine art and jewelry at insurer Ergo Group AG.

“The budgets of public museums are limited,” Ries said. “You can’t replace such a collection from a monetary or art-historic value. If the jewels aren’t recovered, this part of the collection will be lost forever.”

The insurance shortfall was revealed as more details of the theft became clear. Police believe the burglars set a fire nearby to create a power outage, then broke a window to enter the museum. Though the total number of culprits is unknown, two people quickly smashed a display case, snatched the loot, and fled.

The whole thing took “just a few minutes,” police said.

Here’s how the robbery went down that Monday:

Shortly before 5 a.m.: Streetlights in the area go dark after someone sets fire to an electrical junction box.

About the same time: Thieves cut through a metal grate covering a window and break the glass to enter the museum.

4:57-4:58 a.m.: Two people enter the Green Vault’s jewelry room. One, wearing a headlamp, shatters the display case with an ax to remove the gems.

4:59 a.m.: The two security officers on duty spot the burglars on camera and call the cops.

5:04 a.m.: Police arrive at the scene, but there’s no trace of the thieves.

5:09 a.m.: Sixteen police cars are dispatched throughout Dresden to look for the getaway car — believed to be an Audi A6 sedan.

Around 5:15 a.m.: Police are notified that an Audi A6 is burning in a nearby underground garage.

Monday morning: After the fire is extinguished, Dresden police search the museum and garage for further clues, but haven’t apprehended the criminals.

Bild, a daily tabloid, reported that the jewels are worth about €1 billion ($1.1 billion), without saying where it got the estimate. Museum officials have said the collection includes unique ensembles of diamonds that are of priceless art-historic value, declining to give a financial value.

Even as the scale of the loss became clear, some good news emerged: The thieves weren’t able to rip out all of the jewelry, some of which was sewn onto fabric lining the display cases. And one of the museum’s best-known treasures, the 41-carat Dresden Green Diamond, is on loan to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. — Bloomberg

Palace could issue EO to break Congress deadlock on land use bill

AN executive order (EO) could precede the passage of the proposed National Land Use Act, which has been declared a government priority by President Rodrigo R. Duterte, his spokesman said Tuesday.

Salvador S. Panelo said the EO was discussed during the 44th Cabinet Meeting on Monday. Mr. Duterte called on legislators to pass the proposed National Land Use Act, but pending passage the President could issue the order.

“(T)he President approved the suggestion that the administration first come up with an executive order for the purpose,” Mr. Panelo said in a statement Tuesday.

The EO could establish a body to oversee the classification of land by their appropriate use. Mr. Duterte has declared such legislation urgent in his state of the nation addresses (SONAs), with his 2019 SONA requesting passage by the end of the year.

Congress has yet to approve the National Land Use measure after more than two decades, with bills in both chambers awaiting committee approval.

Senator Cynthia A. Villar, who chairs the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, has not given a statement on when the committee will tackle the bills. Ms. Villar has said that deciding on land use should be left to the discretion of Local Government Units (LGUs).

Representative Eduardo R. Gullas of the first district of Cebu, who chairs the House Land Use committee had also not replied to requests for comment at deadline time on when the House will tackle its own bill.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) had been ordered to draft a National Land Use Law and was able to present key provisions of the draft at the meeting, Mr. Panelo said.

“National Economic and Development Authority Director General and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia and Undersecretary Adoracion Navarro shared the salient points of the draft bill,” he said.

Another subject discussed during the Monday Cabinet meeting was automating documentary transactions for businesses, which was approved by Mr. Duterte.

Mr. Panelo said that Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez called on government agencies “to streamline and automate their processes” in order to improve the Philippines standing in the World Bank next ease of doing business report. In the last report, the Philippines was 95th, up from 124th a year earlier.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) oversees the National Business One-Stop Shop (NBOSS) program, which is currently being pilot-tested. NBOSS hopes to reduce registration for businesses to five steps over a transaction period of five to six days. The DTI hopes to launch the e-registration system next year.

Mr. Lopez has said that the e-registration portal will partially launch next year, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Social Security System (SSS) already on board. The department in discussions with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to also join in the end-to-end system for business registration. — Gillian M. Cortez

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