Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube
Home Blog Page 10242

Labor force survey (April 2019)

LATEST DATA show improvements in the country’s labor market with the number of jobless Filipinos, decreasing and those wanting more work dropping to an all-time low in April, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported yesterday. Read the full story.

Labor force survey (April 2019)

Tobacco tax bill tweaks to cover health care law’s funding gap

By Charmaine A. Tadalan
Reporter

LAST-MINUTE CHANGES to the measure further increasing tobacco product excise tax rates that partly tap collections of sugar-sweetened beverage and alcohol product levies should help fully fund implementation of Republic Act No. 11223, or the Universal Health Care Act, a senior official of the Department of Finance (DoF) said on Wednesday.

Senate Bill No. 2233, approved on Tuesday evening by both chambers of the 17th Congress, is now expected to yield P130 billion in revenues in 2020 which is more than enough to cover an estimated P63-billion funding gap expected in RA 11223’s first year of implementation.

Of the estimated total projected revenues, P74 billion will be from the increase in excise tax rates on cigarettes; while the balance will be a combination of revenues earmarked from the currently imposed tax on alcohol products and sugar-sweetened beverages, as well as the new excise tax on e-cigarettes.

‘ADDITIONAL COMPONENT’
“There’s additional component that were not included in the initial estimates. ‘Yung total, kasi nag-earmark na din sila sa previously enacted taxes (For the total, the senators also earmarked funds from previously enacted taxes),” Finance Assistant Secretary Antonio Joselito G. Lambino II said in a telephone interview.

The Finance department had initially expected the measure, in its previous form, to yield just P15 billion next year.

The measure, which now just awaits President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s signature, will increase the excise tax on tobacco products to P45 per pack in 2020 and by P5 each year until reaches P60 in 2023, then by five percent annually thereafter.

Cigarettes are currently levied P35 rate per pack, after Republic Act No. 10963 or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act, increased it to P32.50 in January last year from P30 and then to P35 in July 2018. It is scheduled to go up to P37.50 in January next year.

The new measure that was approved last Tuesday also introduced a P10 excise tax per pack of heated tobacco products beginning 2020 and an annual increase of five percent thereafter.

Vapor products will also carry a P10 excise tax for 0-10 milliliters, P20 for 10.01-20ML, P30 for 20.01-30 ML, P40 for 30.01-40 ML, P50 for 40.01-50 ML, and P50 for more than 50 ML with P10 increase for every additional 10 ML. Heated tobacco products and vapor products are currently untaxed.

The measure also amended RA 10963 (2017) and 10351 (2012) which had restructured the excise taxes on alcohol and tobacco products, by earmarking to the health sector 50% of tax collections from sugar-sweetened beverages and from alcohol.

This amendment was introduced during SB 2233 plenary deliberations on Tuesday evening.

“We have the alcohol and the sweetened beverages, earmarked 50%, dati pa napasa ‘yun, ‘di lang naka-earmark (these laws were enacted but funds from collections were not earmarked),” Mr. Lambino explained.

The new measure is now expected to generate about P136 billion in 2021, P142 billion in 2022, P147 billion in 2023 and P151 billion in 2024.

Of this, P77.8 billion will be sourced from tobacco excise tax alone in 2021, growing to P81.2 billion in 2022, P84 billion in 2023 and P85.6 billion in 2024.

The measure bagged final approval after the House of Representatives — in order to do away with the need for a bicameral conference committee to harmonize conflicting provisions and for ratification — adopted the version of the Senate, which had to make last-minute changes in the face of opposition from congressmen representing tobacco-producing areas. The Senate’s initially approved bill provided 50-50 sharing between governments of tobacco-producing provinces on the one hand and cities and municipalities on the other. The Senate changed the ratio to give cities and municipalities 70%.

The measure brings to three the tax reforms approved by the 17th Congress, including RA 10963 and RA 11213 which provides a tax amnesty.

TAX REFORM PRIORITIES FOR 18TH CONGRESS
Asked which of remaining tax reforms the DoF will push in the 18th Congress, which opens on July 22, Mr. Lambino replied that the department will leave it to lawmakers.

“It’s a comprehensive tax reform program, the most difficult one to pass was our original package one,” he said.

“Since package one has already been passed, we’re open to supporting all the other packages, whichever, kung ano ‘yung unang umandar (whichever advances first),” he added.

“In fact, in the 17th Congress, we were initially supporting our legislators in evaluating package two, pero moving forward it was passed in the House kaso sa senado hindi nabigyan ng hearing (but it did not progress in hearings in the Senate),” he recalled, referring to the package that sought to reduce corporate income tax rates, which senators backed, while rationalizing fiscal incentives by removing those deemed redundant, towards which senators were cautious due to opposition from existing economic zone investors who warned of job cuts.

“What was tackled after that was the ‘package 2-plus on the tobacco, so ‘yun ang sinuportahan namin (so that is what we supported).”

WB keeps 6.4% 2019 PHL growth forecast

THE WORLD BANK has maintained its 6.4% gross domestic product (GDP) growth projection for the Philippines this year which the global lender penciled in its economic update in April, even as the latest forecast is 0.1 percentage point less than its January estimate.

The June issue of its Global Economic Prospects, titled: “Heightened Tensions, Subdued Investments”, that was released on Wednesday also shows the World Bank maintaining the Philippines’ 2020 and 2021 GDP growth projections at the 6.5% penciled in April, though also down 0.1 percentage point from January forecasts.

The World Bank’s 2019 projection for the Philippines compares to the country’s 6.2% economic expansion last year and the government’s downward-revised 6-7% target for this year.

At that 2019 projection, the Philippines will outpace most major East Asia and Pacific countries — China’s 6.2%, Indonesia’s 5.2%, Malaysia’s 4.6% and Thailand’s 3.5% — except Vietnam, which is expected to expand by 6.6%.

“In the Philippines, private consumption is rebounding amid slowing inflation and improving employment conditions,” the report read.

“In addition, election-related spending in the first half of 2019 is giving the economy an additional boost and is partly mitigating the impact of weakening exports.”

The global lender expects East Asia and the Pacific to growth by 5.9% this year and next year, and by a slower 5.8% in 2021. The region’s 2019 and 2020 projections are down 0.1 point from January estimates, while the 2021 forecast was maintained. “In Asia, activity is gradually decelerating but remains robust, with output in may countries expanding at a rate of 6-7% despite moderating export growth,” the report read.

Global growth projection has also been slashed by 0.3 point to 2.6% this year, “reflecting weaker-than-expected international trade and investment at the start of the year”. The World Bank expects global growth to pick up gradually to 2.7% next year and then to 2.8% in 2021.

“There’s been a tumble in business confidence, a deepening slowdown in global trade and sluggish investment in emerging and developing economies,” World Bank President David Malpass said in a call with reporters.

“Momentum remains fragile.” — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio with Bloomberg

Cebu Pacific to expand its hubs in Clark, Cebu

By Denise A. Valdez, Reporter

LANCE Y. GOKONGWEI, president of Cebu Pacific operator Cebu Air, Inc. — BW FILE PHOTO

CEBU PACIFIC said it is eyeing to expand its hubs in Clark and Cebu as it continues to boost its fleet with a target of 83 aircraft by end-2022.

Lance Y. Gokongwei, president of Cebu Pacific operator Cebu Air, Inc., said the budget carrier will be adding “a lot of frequency” in its hubs in Cebu and Clark.

“In Clark, we’re going to try to connect the dots so that a lot of North Asia will be able to fly into the south without having to connect through Manila… I think in the next two to three years, you’ll see a lot of flights into Japan, (South) Korea and China from Clark,” he told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of the JG Summit Holdings, Inc. stockholders’ meeting last week.

For Cebu, Mr. Gokongwei said they will ramp up the frequencies of its existing routes, which currently connect the city to both Japan and South Korea. Cebu is a popular destination for Japanese and Korean tourists.

“The (Airbus A321neos), we put them into Manila. Then we pull out the (Airbus A320s) and put them to Clark or to Cebu,” he said.

The carrier is currently on fleet expansion mode and expects the delivery of 12 new aircraft this year, namely six Airbus A321neos (new engine option), five A320neos and one ATR 72-600.

Mr. Gokongwei said in the long term, what Cebu Pacific wants is to make its Clark operations as big as its Manila operations. “We have to complete the Bacolods, the Iloilos, the Taclobans, the CDOs. Whatever we have in Manila, we’ll replicate in Clark,” he said, but noted it may take about 15 years from now.

In a Tuesday e-mail to BusinessWorld, Cebu Pacific said its hubs in Clark and Cebu have already seen rapid growth since the start of the year, both in terms of new routes and frequency of flights.

For the Clark hub, the carrier already increased its capacity to and from Caticlan by 231% after shifting to use the bigger Airbus A320 starting March 31 from the 78-seater ATR 72-600.

It also noted it will be opening daily from its Clark hub going to and from Iloilo, Bacolod and Narita by Aug. 9, and daily flights to and from Puerto Princesa by Oct. 9.

For its Cebu hub, the airline noted it already added frequency to its flights going to Cagayan de Oro, Dumaguete, Siargao, Iloilo, Caticlan, Ozamiz and Zamboanga by an average of 63% since April 15.

“Flights between Manila and Cebu had likewise increased 24%. The increase in flights from its Cebu hub is on top of its six-times weekly Cebu-Shanghai and Shanghai-Cebu routes which began on April 15, 2019,” it added.

Cebu Pacific currently has flights from Clark to Cebu, Caticlan, Tagbilaran, Davao, Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong.

In its Cebu hub, the carrier flies to and from Bacolod, Caticlan, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Calbayog, Camiguin, Clark, Davao, Dumaguete, General Santos, Iloilo, Kalibo, Legazpi, Ozamis, Pagadian, Puerto Princesa, Siargao, Surigao, Tacloban, Zamboanga, Hong Kong, Macau, Tokyo (Narita), Singapore and Incheon.

Listed Cebu Air posted a net income of P3.43 billion in the first quarter, up 138.4% from the same period last year due to a growth in passenger volume and average fares.

20 years of making wine specifically for the Filipino palate

TWENTY years ago, Vicente “Nonoy” S. Quimbo, decided that it was time Filipinos had a wine of their own and he came up with Novellino, a brand of wines created especially for the Filipino palate.

“Around the world, many countries are known for their wines: France, Italy, etc., and so I thought, why not create a wine for Filipinos?” Mr. Quimbo, CEO and founder of Novellino wines, told the media during a plant tour on May 28 in Laguna.

Mr. Quimbo, who spent more than two decades working as a beverage company executive and had been to five continents of the seven continents, told a friend of his idea to manufacture Filipino wines — the friend said he was crazy.

But that didn’t stop him as he made it a mission “to build a wine drinking culture among typical Filipino households,” he was quoted as saying in a press release.

He admitted that it wasn’t easy because very few locations in the Philippines where grapes can be grown — grapes typically grow in temperate climates and can’t handle the country’s often humid weather — so they had to import grapes from other countries.

Another challenge was to create wines that Filipinos would like drinking (he noted that his countrymen like sweet wines better than dry wines) — so they manufacture their wines by arresting fermentation, which means many of Novalino’s wines have low alcohol content; the Rosso Classico blend, for example, is only 4.5% compared to the average of 11% ABV (“alcohol by volume,” meaning the volume percent of milliliters of pure ethanol present in 100 ml of the drink).

“We are a high intervention winery,” Mr. Quimbo said before explaining that because they do partial fermentation, they needed to invest a lot in the technology that would allow them to do so.

Grape juice is fermented in 13 fermentation tanks, each with a capacity of 30,000 liters. After partial fermentation, the liquid is brought to a centrifuge to separate solids from the liquids. The solids are then squeezed to get as much juice out before being brought to a wastewater treatment facility which uses coco coir. The solids and coco coir are eventually turned into fertilizer (“We’re very, very green that way,” Mr. Quimbo said).

The liquids then undergo other sifting methods to ensure that no impurities or solids are left behind. The processes use egg whites (“it helps sediments settle to the bottom”) and 24 layers of differently textured diatomaceous earth — from coarse to very fine — which traps remaining solids.

The company also injects carbon dioxide to some of the wines to make them “sparkling.”

“The entire process [from wine making to bottling] can take four-and-a-half weeks, while other varieties can take up to nine-and-a-half weeks,” Mr. Quimbo said.

“Everything is standardized here [so] we always have consistent years,” he said, before adding half-jokingly that with all the processes involved to turn the juice to wine, people who prefer sweet wine have “more sophisticated palates.”

And because wines are often “aspirational” and are only drunk on special occasions, it is very price-sensitive so the company takes measures to offer affordable wines: Rosso Classico (750 ml), for example, has a suggested retail price of P242.

The company currently produces 12 wine varieties including flavored wines (strawberry, blackberry, and peach), sangrias, and “light” varieties (less calories) with prices ranging from P242 to P297. They also import Italian wines — Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Rosso Del Azienda — for P440 for 750 ml.

“Novellino has helped grow the consumption per capita [of wine] from 0.1 liters to 0.2 liters per year,” said a company press release. This might be a considerable increase, but they believe that there is still a long way to go considering European countries consume “40 liters a year per capita.”

Mr. Quimbo said that he considers his wine career as “missionary work” as he tries to “spread the gospel of drinking wine” to the Filipino populace.

Novellino currently has a 1.3-hectare winemaking plant though only a portion is currently being used because they are “future-proofing” and anticipating a growing demand of wines in the country.

“At maximum capacity we can produce 20 million bottles per year. Currently, we produce less than 4 million a year. Maybe in five years [we’ll be at full capacity],” said Mr. Quimbo, though he acknowledged that many people think that P250 per wine bottle is still expensive so “there are limits to growth.”

Now that they are 20 years old, they are starting to look outside the Philippines, considering exporting to countries like Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, and possibly encourage them to franchise Novellino in their own countries and produce their own wines. — Zsarlene B. Chua

Going to Tacloban? Here is where you can stay and what you can do

By Zsarlene B. Chua, Reporter

ROBINSONS Hotels and Resorts (RHR) has formally opened the fifth hotel under its full-service Summit Hotels umbrella — the 138-room Summit Hotels Tacloban which serves as the company’s vote of confidence in the provincial capital’s potential for growth especially in the tourism sector.

According to data provided by the Department of Tourism (DoT) Regional Office 8, Tacloban City welcomed 559,803 tourists in 2018, 8.51% more than the numbers recorded in 2017. In all, the entire Eastern Visayas Region welcomed 1.78 million overnight guests, up from 1.51 million from the previous year.

The bulk of the visitors — 1.72 million — were domestic tourists.

The increasing numbers and the equally increasing demand for a full-service hotel led to the entry of RHR in Tacloban City.

“For our traveling populace today, their expectations now are higher. Our standards have been raised as we become a prosperous nation,” Arthur G. Gindap, SVP and business unit general manager at RHR, told reporters during a media familiarization trip in early May.

RHR is a subsidiary of Robinsons Land Corp. which operates hotels like Summit, GoHotels, Dusit Thani in Mactan Cebu, Crowne Plaza Galleria, Holiday Inn Galleria, and the soon-to-open Westin in Ortigas.

Mr. Gindap noted that the Tacloban hotel will focus on local tourism and the MICE market (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions), and as such Summit Tacloban has a grand ballroom (1,134 square meters) which can accommodate 600 guests, three function rooms (378 sqm each) which can handle up to 200 people, and three boardrooms which can seat 30-35 people.

The grand ballroom is said to be the largest in the city.

“Our future for Summit is to have a MICE component. So you will see in Tacloban, we [have] the largest facility for MICE for a hotel. We’re moving toward full-service and MICE and convention. We are even considering convention centers. Why only have one in the game?” Mr. Gindap said.

The hotel offers three room categories: the Deluxe and Premiere rooms (both 32 sqm) and themed rooms inspired by the region’s local festivals: the Sangyaw Suite which takes its name from the festival celebrated in June, features floral patterns and chrome accents; the Lubi-Lubi Suite which pays homage to the dance which uses coconuts and coco fronds with a room decorated with leaf patterns and metallic accents; and finally, the Pintados Suite, named after the Pintados Festival held in June, whose decor is inspired by the tattoos of the first inhabitants of Eastern Visayas.

The hotel has one all-day restaurant, Patron, which offers international and local fare, and a swimming pool.

Summit Tacloban is located right beside Robinsons Place Tacloban, a full-service shopping mall. Within the same complex stands Go Hotels Tacloban, a 98-room budget hotel. The entire complex is located five kilometers from the Daniel Z. Romualdez airport and 25 minutes from the San Juanico Bridge to Samar.

Aside from Summit Tacloban, the Summit brand will welcome two more hotels within the year: Summit Hotel Naga and Summit Hotel Greenhills. Soon, RHR will also introduce Go Dorms, a “dormitel” concept “purpose-built for students and young professionals,” according to a company release.

Mr. Gindap also said that group currently has 56 properties currently in operation or under development as they are “set to release its significant expansion plans for the next five years.”

A TRIP IN TACLOBAN
Eastern Visayas offers a myriad of tourist attractions, one of which is Kalanggaman Island in Palompon, Leyte.

The island — 753 meters across — is named after the local word for bird (langgam) as it looks like a bird when seen from above. Some parts of the island are submerged during high tide. The local tourism office only allows 500 people per day to visit the island in order to preserve it. Each group is given two garbage bags for them to segregate their waste and bring it back for disposal in Palompon.

There are no resorts on the island though one can bring or rent a tent if one wishes to spend the night.

The island is about two to three hours away from Tacloban by van though several bus companies ply the road from Tacloban to Palompon. From Palompon, travellers have to journey for about an hour via boat to the island.

While the island offers white — though at times rough — sand and clear waters, tourism officers caution visitors from swimming at the ends of the sandbars as the strong currents might sweep them away.

Aside from Kalanggaman Island, Eastern Visayas also offers other “underrated destinations,” a lot of which are “raw, rustic and natural” where “a lot of hidden gems from reef to ridge await to be discovered,” according to a press release from the DoT Region 8.

Some of these destinations are the Biri Rock Formations in Biri, Northern Samar which has seven rock formations of various sizes created by the wind and waves of the Pacific Ocean; Uwan-Uwanan Gorge in Libagon, Southern Leyte where people trek, rappel, and climb bamboo ladders to reach the cascading waterfalls; and, for people who love historical and cultural tourism, they can stay in Tacloban and visit the MacArthur Leyte Landing Memorial.

SMC’s food and beverage unit bullish on growth

SAN MIGUEL Food and Beverage, Inc. (SMFB) is bullish on growth for the next few years, on back of the steady expansion of its food, beer, and spirits segments.

“SMFB will continue to grow. Wala kaming bad news na cyclical na biglang masama ang takbo. We are immune to economic shocks, or economic downturn,” SMFB President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon S. Ang told reporters after the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting on Wednesday.

The company is banking on the growing consumption of its beer, food, and liquor brands.

“We are investing in new strategically-located facilities to address robust demand. This also allows us to deliver our products to our consumers fresh and a lower cost,” SMFB said in a letter to shareholders.

For its food business, the company will be building new facilities for poultry and fresh meats processing, feed mills, flour milling. It is hiking the capacity for its prepared and packaged food segment for value-added meats, dairy, spreads, and biscuits.

Mr. Ang said the feed mills alone will have a capacity of one million tons each.

“For our beer business, we completed an additional bottling line in Sta. Rosa, Laguna in 2018 and with the brewing facilities already started in 2019, this will be a full-fledged brewery by 2020. We are also building a new brewery in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental,” SMFB said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ang said it will cooperate with the government on the proposed additional taxes on alcoholic products.

“We are going to cooperate with government in sin taxes, basta reasonable, basta kaya ng consumer (as long as it’s reasonable, as long as the consumer can take it),” he said.

He added that they will have to pass on the price increases to customers.

The Department of Finance earlier proposed a P40-per liter tax rate for fermented liquor, which is also reflected in Senate Bill No. 2197. Distilled spirits may face a 22% ad valorem tax on the net retail price as per House Bill No. 8618, which was approved on third reading last December.

On top of that, the House of Representatives moved to add a specific tax per proof liter of P30, while the Senate version provides for a specific tax rate of P40 per proof liter.

Mr. Ang noted that the increase should be similar to how additional taxes have been imposed on cigarette products.

The 17th Congress approved on Tuesday the proposal to increase excise tax rates for tobacco products, which sought to increase the excise tax on tobacco products to P45 in 2020 and by P5 every year until it reaches P60 per pack in 2023. It will then increase by five percent every year thereafter.

SMFB’s net income attributable to the parent dropped 13% to P3.8 billion in the first quarter of 2019, compared to the P4.35 billion it posted in the same period a year ago. This came amid a 14% increase in gross revenues to P75.66 billion. — Arra B. Francia

San Miguel to push for new power projects

SAN MIGUEL CORP. is continuing to pursue power projects. — BW FILE PHOTO

SAN MIGUEL Corp. (SMC) said it will continue putting up new power projects, amid the pending implementation of the competitive selection process (CSP) which favors the lowest-cost provider for consumers.

“We submit ourselves to CSP. We have already advised Meralco (Manila Electric Co.) to start the CSP process. I think narinig naman din natin na everybody will abide. Para sa akin, kahit anong gawin nila na pricing, basta kami sasaali at lalaban sa bidding (I think we’ve heard that everybody will abide. For me, whatever they will do with the pricing, we will still join the bidding),” SMC President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon S. Ang told reporters at the firm’s headquarters on Tuesday.

He added that the Supreme Court decision to push through with the implementation of the CSP was expected.

“Wala naman tayo magagawa talaga diyan at nung araw ko pa ’yan sinasabi sa inyo. Ang taas kasi ng presyo at paano naman tatanggapin ng bayan ’yan? Syempre tinignan ng court ang present value today na very low, talagang di papayagan. Ine-expect na namin ’yan noon pa (We can’t do anything and I have been saying this before. The price of power is high and how can people accept that? Of course, the court is looking at the present value which is low, so it will not be allowed. We have expected this,” Mr. Ang added.

As such, the company remains bent on putting up, among others, the four 150-megawatt (MW) circulating fluidized bed (CFB) coal-fired power plants in Bataan.

SMC, through its power subsidiary, SMC Global Power Holdings Corp., is geared toward expanding its renewable energy portfolio while developing clean coal power plants.

The said CFB coal projects, estimated to cost $2 million per megawatt, are under Mariveles Power Generation Corp. which has a power supply agreement (PSA) with Manila Electric Co.

Besides Mariveles Power Gen, another SMC power unit, Central Luzon Premiere Power Corp., has a PSA with Meralco.

The CSP is a form of competitive public bidding intended for distribution utilities’ purchase of electricity from generation companies, in securing power supply agreements.

The rule became effective on June 30, 2015 through a circular the Department of Energy (DoE) issued then. Its implementation, however, was suspended by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for over 400 days.

The DoE said it will release the list of affected PSAs once received from the ERC which will also issue the guidelines for the CSP. — Janina C. Lim

Pasqualino’s — Italian dining atop a Samar hill

JUST 45-minutes away from Summit Tacloban sits an Italian restaurant atop a hill with a gorgeous view of the San Juanico Bridge.

Pasqualino’s is Cathy Anover-Bonavitacola and her Italian-American husband, Joseph’s second restaurant after Giuseppe’s, the 26-year-old Tacloban haunt famed for its handmade pasta and wood-fired brick oven pizza.

Pasqualino’s is open four days a week (Tuesday to Friday) and can seat 200 people. Because of its location in Santa Rita, Samar, one has to take a private car uphill towards the Roman-style restaurant with white walls, a pool, and various Italian sculptures.

“We opened a few months after (typhoon) Yolanda and we thought we weren’t going to recover,” Ms. Anover-Bonavitacola told reporters over dinner.

She said that the supertyphoon, which devastated much of Eastern Visayas in 2013, brought them “back to zero” as they had no insurance. But rebuild they did and she said that she thinks the province — Tacloban, in particular — came back stronger than before Yolanda hit.

“The storm put us on the map,” she said.

Pasqualino’s, named after her son, Pasqual (much like Giuseppe’s was named after her other son) offers Italian dishes, from antipasto like Antipasto Italiano (P1,000) which comes with homemade flatbread, Italian deli meats and cheeses, to pizzas like salami and cheese (P400).

For dinner, Ms. Anover-Bonavitacola served the media a sampler of their pasta Amatriciana (new menu item) and pasta with prosciutto and porcini mushroom (P595) and a combination of their meat and seafood platters (each at P1,300).

The pasta Amatriciana — well-balanced and hearty dish — features a tomato-based sauce with guanciale (pig’s jowl) and Parmesan cheese. The pasta with prosciutto and porcini mushroom had a cream-based sauce and fusilli pasta. While both dishes featured well-seasoned sauces, the star is undoubtedly the pasta itself as it’s cooked, perfectly al dente, and is said to be freshly made from Giuseppe’s. — Zsarlene B. Chua

Aboitiz on track to plant 9M trees by 2020

THE Aboitiz Group said it is on track to hit its goal of planting nine million trees by 2020, as part of its Simultaneous Tree Planting (STP) initiative.

In a statement, the Aboitiz Group said it has already planted a total of 6.6 million trees or 73% of target as of 2018.

STP is under A-Park, the group’s environmental program that supports the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) Expanded National Greening Program (ENGP).

Aboitiz renewed its partnership with the DENR on Wednesday, in time for World Environment Day.

Under the memorandum of agreement, the DENR will “offer additional support by mobilizing all its bureaus, attached agencies, and DENR regional offices to provide support for the implementation of the A-Park project; providing technical assistance in identifying possible site, for planting and species-site matching; and assisting in the documentation of planted trees, which includes geo-tagging, plantation registry, and mapping, among others.”

“This MOA signing is a crucial step towards ensuring continuity in making a positive impact on our national development. It represents the essence of the Aboitiz Group purpose and brand promise: to drive change for a better world by advancing business and communities,” Sabin M. Aboitiz, executive vice-president of Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. (AEV), said in a statement.

In July, the company will hold its annual STP wherein about 95,000 seedlings will be planted nationwide by Aboitiz members and stakeholders.

With a target of nine million trees planted would also mean the conversion of 189,000 tons of carbon dioxide into oxygen, or about 9,000 hectares of lush reforested areas, which is more than 37 times the size of Bonifacio Global City.

“We strongly believe and adhere to the DENR’s mandate to protect the environment and we anchor our initiatives to the ENGP to sustain ecological balance. Our enduring partnership with the DENR for community-based forest management is a testament to our shared responsibility and highlights our contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal on Climate Action,” Mr. Aboitiz said.

Aside from STP, the Aboitiz Group’s other environmental programs include waste reduction, the “Race to Reduce” program, and the Aboitiz Cleanergy Park which is home to endangered hawksbill turtle or pawikan. — V.M.P.Galang

Earning a pin can make a difference in F&B career

SOME PINS are worth more than others. After gaining a Wine & Spirits Education Trust (WSET) Level 1 Award in Wines, one would be given a blue pin. That doesn’t sound like much, but, as Bel S. Castro, Assistant Dean for College of Hospitality Management for Enderun Colleges, said “…in the UK, you cannot work without this,” pertaining to the thriving food and beverage sector in the United Kingdom.

BusinessWorld attended a review class for the WSET Level 1 Award in Wines, in preparation for the WSET Level 1 examinations which is made up of 30 multiple choice items. A minimum score of 21 is needed to pass the exams.

There were modules about growing grapes, types and styles of wine, grape varieties, food pairing tips, and other topics in the world of wine. BusinessWorld picked up a few tips and tricks. For example, tea and coffee do not grow where grapes grow, 30 and 50 degrees above and below the equator. To properly view a glass filled with wine, one does not hold it up against the light, but rather against a white surface. BusinessWorld’s classmates last week included students from Enderun (the WSET Level 1 is embedded in the school’s curriculum; they can advance to Level 2 as an elective), a banker, a flight attendant, and a bartender. Ms. Castro said that some companies, such as those in the food and spirits industry, send their employees over for the examination and the certification. As we’ve said above, the WSET Level 1 is usually needed for employment in the sector, but in the Philippines, it definitely gives one a competitive edge. “You come in, and you hit the ground running,” said Ms. Castro.

“If somebody’s looking for an F&B career, I think it triggers two things. One, is that you have a genuine interest, and any employer likes people who have genuine interest,” she said. “Between somebody who actually went out of their way to train and get certified versus someone who would just say ‘I’m passionate’ — I mean, somebody has proof, the other one just has promise.”

As for our classmate who worked in finance, Ms. Castro said that she gets a lot of wine enthusiasts and people in other sectors as well. “For some of them, they just want to be able to walk into a wine store, or open a wine list and not look stupid,” she said. “For business people, they do it because entertaining is part of their business.” She points out scenarios, for example, if a foreign delegation is sent over, and one has been tasked to look after them. In some restaurants, meanwhile, she points out that some wine lists can be books, and one might need a certain level of knowledge to navigate through them.

It’s a sizable investment: taking the Level 1 class and examination costs P16,500 through Enderun Extensions, an arm of Enderun that offers non-degree classes in a myriad of topics (Ms. Castro lists down calligraphy and robotics, among others). She estimates that P750,000 is needed to finish the Level 4 class in London. — Joseph L. Garcia

Century Pacific, Shakey’s target to be ‘plastic-neutral’ by next year

CENTURY PACIFIC Group (CPG) on Tuesday said two of its companies are aiming to become “plastic-neutral” by 2020.

This as Century Pacific Food (CNPF) and Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures, Inc. (SPAVI) signed an agreement to co-process post-consumer plastic waste in Republic Cement and Building Materials, Inc.’s cement kilns.

CPG President Christopher T. Po said the partnership with Republic Cement will allow the group to conduct its business in a more sustainable manner.

“Over the years, our companies have implemented various programs to help promote a greener Philippines. These include various recycling initiatives and attempts to reduce packaging waste. As we grow in number of products sold and restaurant outlets opened, we’ve also sought partners to help balance out our environmental effects. This now includes Republic Cement, and we look forward to working with them in this worthwhile endeavor,” Mr. Po was quoted as saying in a statement.

CNPF is the listed food company behind Century Tuna, Argentina, 555 and Birch Tree, while SPAVI operates popular pizza chain Shakey’s.

“We are happy to share this advocacy with the Century Pacific Group to promote and support responsible disposal of plastic packaging materials to reduce its harmful effects on the environment,” Republic Cement President Nabil Francis said.

Republic Cement will co-process non-specific, recovered post-consumer plastic materials at its kilns.

Co-processing is described as a method that “uses very high heat from cement manufacturing to destroy waste materials, and “recovering from them thermal and mineral properties which provide the energy needed to produce cement.” Co-processed waste does not leave any residue.

“This will allow both CNPF and PIZZA to be ‘plastic-neutral’ — offsetting the amount of plastic produced with an equivalent amount of post-consumer plastics to be used for co-processing by Republic Cement,” CPG said.

Republic Cement, a company led by CHR plc and the Aboitiz group, has five cement plants and one grinding station in the Philippines. It is licensed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to use and dispose of qualified waste streams through cement kiln co-processing.

1...10,24110,24210,243...13,574Page 10,242 of 13,574
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube