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Gov’t debt to fetch higher rates

GOVERNMENT SECURITIES on offer this week will likely fetch higher rates anew, with bids on the seven-year Treasury bonds (T-bond) seen to be rejected, as investors price in the possible policy tightening from the local and US central banks.
The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) is offering P15 billion worth of Treasury bills (T-bill) today. Broken down, the Treasury plans to raise P4 billion through the three-month papers, P5 billion via the six-month debt and another P6 billion in one-year T-bills.
The BTr will also auction off P15 billion worth of reissued seven-year T-bonds tomorrow with a remaining life of six years and six months.
Bond traders said last week that the T-bills on offer on Monday will likely fetch higher yields compared to the previous auction.
“Most likely, 10-20 basis points (bp) all across from the previous auction, but safe to say 15 bps,” a trader said in a phone interview on Friday.
Meanwhile, another trader said the T-bills will likely fetch rates 5-10 bps higher than yields at last week’s auction.
The BTr borrowed just P8.316 billion out of total tenders amounting to P20.7 billion during the T-bills auction last Monday, rejecting all bids for the 91-day papers.
Rates on the 182- and 364-day debt rose to 4.597% and 5.4%, respectively.
The trader said yields on the seven-year bonds could likewise climb.
“The seven-year [papers] will go up as well. From 6.9-7.2% if awarded, but they can opt to reject as well just like the other tenors,” the second trader noted.
The Treasury opted to reject all tenders for its P15-billion offer of reissued seven-year papers on July 16. Bids placed by banks reached P13.97 billion, falling short of program.
Had the BTr accepted all bids at that offering, the papers would have fetched an average rate of 6.621%, 64.5 bps higher than the previous auction.
The seven-year T-bonds carry a 5.75% coupon.
“For the seven-year bonds, we’re looking at 6.85-7%. In other words, all bids were pulled back with the impending hikes,” the first trader noted.
At the secondary market on Friday, the three-month, six-month and one-year T-bills fetched 4.0118%, 4.519% and 5.3831%, respectively, while the seven-year bonds were quoted at 6.869%.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is widely expected to tighten its policy settings anew on Thursday.
In a BusinessWorld poll conducted last week, at least 15 economists expect the central bank to increase its benchmark rates by another 50 bps to quell inflation expectations.
BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr. had committed to “take strong immediate action” in response to the faster-than-expected 6.4% August inflation print.
The monetary authority has raised borrowing costs by a cumulative 100 bps since May, with rates currently ranging 3.5-4.5%.
Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve’s policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is also seen to raise rates at its meeting this week.
Reuters reported bond traders are raising bets the Fed will raise its interest rates not only this week but also again in December and twice more in 2019 due to tightening job market and rising inflation.
“Most likely, the BTr would reject all bids on the seven-year bonds so it depends on them whether they would accept it or not,” the first trader added. “If they accept that, may tendency lalong magkaka-drought (there’s a tendency to have more man drought).”
The Treasury is raising P300 billion from the domestic market this quarter through auctions of securities, offering P195 billion in T-bills and another P105 billion in T-bonds.
The government plans to borrow P888.23 billion this year from local and foreign sources to fund its budget deficit, which is capped at 3% of the country’s gross domestic product. — K.A.N. Vidal

Tax court denies Nokia’s refund bid

THE Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) En Banc has denied Nokia (Philippines), Inc.’s petition for review for lack of merit, affirming the Court’s First Division’s decision which dismissed the claim for refund over unutilized input value-added tax (VAT) attributable to zero-rated sales for 2011 amounting to P55,134,694.13.
In the Aug. 17, 2018 decision, the CTA En Banc found the petition without merit as Nokia Philippines filed a petition for review before the CTA First Division ahead of the allowed period and was not able to raise new matters.
Nokia Philippines applied before the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) an administrative claim for refund over unutilized input VAT worth P55,134,694.13 for 2011 on March 1, 2013, which is within the prescribed period of the Tax Code.
Section 112 (A) of the Tax Code stated that VAT registered person with zero-rated or effectively zero-rated sales may “apply for the issuance of a tax credit certificate or refund of creditable input tax due or paid attributable to such sales, except transitional input tax, to the extent that such input tax has not been applied against output tax” within two years after the close of the taxable quarter.
Nokia Philippines prayed to extend the submission of documents to support the application until June 17, 2013.
The BIR has 120 days to grant the issuance of refund or tax credit certificate starting June 17, 2013. However, Nokia filed its petition for review to the CTA on July 29, 2013 when the 120-day period would only prescribe on Oct. 15, 2013.
“Thus, petitioner should have waited until Oct. 15, 2013 before filing the Petition for Review before the Court in Division,” the decision read.
According to Section 112 (C) of the Tax Code, the BIR shall grant a refund or issue tax certificate within 120 days from the submission of complete documents in support of the application.
The CTA En Banc also noted that there were no new matters raised by Nokia Philippines.
“There being no new matters or issues raised in the Petition for Review before this Court and there being no reversible error committed by the Court in Division, the Court En Banc finds no cogent reason to disturb the assailed Decision and Resolution,” the decision read. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Avel x Matteo jeans collaboration opens pop-up at Uptown Mall

THE JEANS line of Filipino fashion designer Avel Bacudio and celebrity Matteo Guidicelli opens its first in-store pop-up mall in Megaworld’s Uptown Mall in Taguig with plans to tour the store in other Megaworld malls in the country.
Avel x Matteo 1Launched two months ago via Southeast Asian e-commerce store, Shopee, the Avel x Matteo jeans includes a collection of seven mens’ and five women’s styles, all of which harbor Mr. Guidicelli’s aesthetic of being “sexy yet wearable,” according to a press release.
“It’s doing well, that’s why we [now] have a pop-up store,” Mr. Bacudio told BusinessWorld in vernacular shortly after the store launch on Sept. 20.
This is their first in-mall pop-up store though they did open a similar pop-up store in ABS-CBN’s ELJ Building in August.
The jeans feature a soft and super stretchable material inspired by the Los Angeles-based premium denim brand, 7 for All Mankind, but for a fraction of the price as Mr. Guidicelli noted on Mr. Bacudio’s website.
“This collection we made makes designer jeans accessible to a broader market,” said Mr. Guidicelli.
And owing it to Mr. Guidicelli’s sexy yet wearable aesthetic, some of the ripped jeans designs are meant to “show just the right amount of skin, making then subtly sexy and easy to pair with anything,” according to Mr. Bacudio’s website.
The pop-up store will be open at Uptown Mall until Sept. 30. The store is located at the upper ground floor Atrium of the mall.
Avel x Matteo 2Each pair of jeans is priced at P1,499 and part of the proceeds will go towards building a shelter for the Northern Luzon Association for the Blind Inc.’s (NLAB) School for the Blind, a school Mr. Bacudio has been supporting for a long time.
“It’s heartening to see that I could help through my jeans,” Mr. Bacudio said before adding that it was Megaworld that approached him and offered the pop-up store space for free.
“Renting out a physical space is expensive and if I have to part with that much money for a store, I’d rather put it towards my advocacy,” he said.
This is also the reason why they opted to start selling the jeans through the online store.
Megaworld, according to Mr. Bacudio, is keen to bring the pop-up store to other Megaworld Lifestyle Malls such as Newport Mall in Pasay and even in the regions.
Aside from the current collection, he revealed that they will soon be introducing limited edition designs called “20/20” this October.
He said they are also planning to expand the collection to feature other items such as tops, but it would have to wait until they have established the brand.
The Avel x Matteo jeans pop-up store will be at Uptown Mall in Taguig until Sept. 30. The jeans are also available online via the official store on Shopee. — Zsarlene B. Chua

Yields rise ahead of hikes

YIELDS on government securities (GS) traded on the secondary market climbed last week as traders factor in the widely expected hike in policy rates on Thursday.
On average, GS yields rose by 8.39 basis points (bp) week-on-week on Friday as bond prices of most notes dipped from a week ago levels, data from the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. showed.
“Prospects of inflationary pressures after Typhoon Ompong and weaker peso recently increased the odds/possibility of another +0.50 increase in local policy rates on Sept. 27, 2018. Thus, interest rates in the secondary market mostly increased, specifically the 3-month to 7-month tenors,” said Michael L. Ricafort, economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC).
First Metro Asset Management, Inc. (FAMI) agreed, saying in a separate interview, “The market is still expecting another round of rate hike by the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) given the high inflation in August. Market expectation is that the BSP will raise rate next week by another 50bps. So [we think] that would give more confidence to the investors.”
Last week, the Department of Agriculture reported that the total damage brought by Typhoon Ompong to farms in Regions 1 to 4 reached P14.27 billion. Of this, 62.82% or P8.97 billion covered rice lands, equivalent to 435,997 metric tons of production loss or 8.64 days of rice consumption in the Philippines. The typhoon’s damage to the whole agriculture sector totalled 553,704 hectares, with an estimated production loss of 731,294 metric tons.
Meanwhile, BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr. remained committed to “take strong immediate action” in response to the faster-than-expected 6.4% inflation rate recorded in August, as well as to address “excessive volatility” in the currency market.
The eight-month increase in prices averaged 4.8%, well above the 2-4% target band. Furthermore, the Philippine peso weakened against the US dollar to close at P54.04 on Friday from P53.97 a week ago.
At the secondary market, movement was focused in the short end to the belly of the curve.
Treasury bills (T-bill) rose, with 91-day papers posting the biggest gain as it climbed 47.86 bps to 4.01%. Meanwhile, the 182-day and 364-day T-bills added 6.93 bps and 20.83 bps to 4.52% and 5.38%, respectively.
Bonds at the belly of the curve also surged. The two-year Treasury bonds (T-bond) yielded 6.13%, up 39.02 bps. Meanwhile, the three-year and seven-year bonds were quoted at 6.09% and 6.87%, 32.22 bps and 11.56 bps higher than week-ago levels, respectively.
Meanwhile, the longer tenors rallied, with the 10-year and 20-year T-bonds yielding 6.9% and 7.54%, down 65.49 bps and 12.23 bps, respectively, from a week ago.
“The short tenors are still the “flavor of the month” of investors and fund managers. You can see that even T-bills are getting more volume this past few weeks. So, the demand is still in the short-term tenors,” FAMI said.
Nonetheless, RCBC’s Mr. Ricafort noted there was some correction in the longer end of the curve.
“Some manufactures reportedly agreed to keep prices unchanged for the next three months [which] could help curb/limit inflationary pressures for now. This may have led to some healthy downward correction in the longest-dated tenors,” he said.
This week, analysts said yields will continue to rise ahead of the Sept. 27 BSP meeting.
“There could still be some residual upside in local interest rates in the secondary market…in view of the widely expected +0.50 hike [in] policy rates, a day after the highly expected +0.25 hike in the key short-term US interest rates by the Federal Reserve on Sept. 26,” Mr. Ricafort said.
For FAMI, “Once BSP raises rates [this] week, we will see the yield curve to stabilize/will move sideways. [Traders] will wait for another catalyst that will drive the market up.” — Carmina Angelica V. Olano

Bill proposes fee exemption for organic fertilizer users

SENATOR Maria Lourdes Nancy S. Binay has filed a bill seeking to exempt farmer cooperatives and associations dealing with organic fertilizers from paying registration, license fees, and other administrative fees imposed by the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA).
Senate Bill No. 1999, filed on Sept. 12, amends Presidential Decree 1144, which regulates fertilizer and pesticide use.
Noting the increasing demand for organic fertilizer and pesticides and the lack of the farmers’ information on the relevant policies, Ms. Binay said a number of farmer cooperatives may have been exposed to possible criminal liability under the presidential decree, which requires that agricultural chemicals be registered with the FPA.
Separate registrations should also be made for each active ingredient of the products, according to the law. Violators may face imprisonment between 10 years to more than 20 years or a fine between P5,000 to P20,000 depending on the amount of the products involved.
“(The bill) does not propose the abolition of the penalties provided above. Instead, regulation should be encouraged in view of the susceptibility of a free market regime to abuse,” the senator said in her explanatory note.
“It is hoped that through this measure, such cooperatives or associations will be encouraged to submit to the regulatory jurisdiction of the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority,” she added.
As another remedy, the proposed measure also seeks to grant amnesties to non-compliant farmer cooperatives and associations to FPA regulations within two years from the enactment of the bill.
The groups will then be required to request amnesty and to apply for the necessary license and registration of the organic fertilizers that they are already selling. An amnesty can be denied if the farmer cooperative or association continued to do business without the required licenses and registration.
The bill also mandates the FPA to conduct an extensive information campaign to all farming communities nationwide regarding the policy and to formulate guidelines for the screening of farmer cooperatives and associations entitled to the exemptions.
It also provides an additional budget of P50 million to cover the administrative costs in the implementation if the proposed measure is enacted into law. — Camille A. Aguinaldo

Commonwealth PHL enhances rep as sneaker source with exclusive Nike release

HALF a decade since landing in the Philippines, specialty lifestyle boutique Commonwealth has become a noted source of premium exclusive sneakers while also enhancing the sneaker scene locally.
Last week, the reputation of Commonwealth was further enhanced with the limited release of the latest collaboration between Nike and Berlin-based Acronym — the Nike Lab Acronym Air Presto Mid.
The latest iteration of the iconic shoe line, the Air Presto Mid, designed by Acronym owner Errolson Hugh, has the classic mesh upper and midfoot overlays evolving from the support structure of the original 2000 Presto. It has a zippered collar for easy on-off functionality and features bold, tech-inspired colors and prints throughout.
It was made available to local sneaker heads only through Commonwealth’s Greenbelt 5 store and via the mobile app Copdate which highlighted the exclusiveness of the shoes.
“We’re happy that these exclusive products are now finally arriving in the Philippines, hopefully this is the first of many. The Nike Lab Acronym Presto Mid is super exclusive. It’s such an important collaboration. Errolson Hugh, owner of Acronym, is a good designer. And to have his design, the Nike Presto release through a big event like this, it’s such a milestone,” said Miguel Rocha of Commonwealth Philippines’ marketing department in an interview with BusinessWorld at the Nike Lab Acronym Air Presto Mid release event on Sept. 19.
The collaboration was also hailed by Nike officials in the country, describing it as a “step forward” in the right direction for the local sneaker culture scene.
“We at Nike are very excited to have this event which is a step forward to really pushing the sneaker culture in the country. This is a nod to the consumers and embraces what Nike and Commonwealth are trying to do in the marketplace,” said Jinno Ferrer, Nike Philippines marketing head, at the release event.
COPDATE
For the exclusive release of the Nike Lab Acronym Presto Mid, which sells for P9,895, Commonwealth used the Copdate mobile app, which allows the reservations of the shoes on a first-come-first-serve basis without the usual hassles of dealing with shopping bots and waiting for a countdown ticker.
The app also aims to give more control to the retailer of the items released.
“What this does is simplify the process of buying, filters things out, and helps the people get the shoes that they want. It’s a pioneering app that we are now adopting,” Mr. Rocha said.
Those who wanted to get their hands on the Nike Lab Acronym Presto Mid secured an entry by getting on the In-Store List by way of Copdate from Sept. 15 to 18.
Winners — or entries selected from the In-Store List — were contacted on Sept. 19 through a direct message on Copdate where they got to confirm their reservation, providing the necessary information for the hassle-free purchase of the item on the release date on Sept. 20.
“This is the just latest of what we hope to be more exclusive releases to come,” said Mr. Rocha.
For more information on Commonwealth Philippines and future releases, follow it on Facebook and Instagram (@commonwealth_ph). — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Australian firm offers to solve holiday port congestion

AN INNOVATION solutions company said the digitization of local port operations is key to ensuring port congestion is avoided as the holiday season comes.
In a statement on Friday, Australian company 1-Stop Connections Pty. Ltd. said its web-based port operations system Terminal Appointment Booking System (TABS) could be an instrumental tool in enforcing a seamless flow of cargo as it allows for easier coordination among port operators.
“As the Philippines seeks to grow its shipping sector, there is a need to increase port productivity through digitization. Since various stakeholders are involved in port operations, efficiency can only be achieved by streamlining processes and facilitating the sharing of vessel- and cargo-related information within the port community,” it said.
The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) earlier said it expects a “high single digits or low double digits” growth in overall cargo traffic by year’s end due to the influx of holiday cargoes.
1-Stop Connections said its TABS technology was able to help port operators International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) and Asian Terminals, Inc. (ATI) in decongesting the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) and the Manila South Harbor in 2014, when it faced port congestion that led to economic losses.
“After using TABS, MICT and ATI reached 60,000 truck transactions per month from what was previously 40,000. Efficiency increased by 25% during peak hours, unclogging ports and the roads leading to them,” it said.
The web-based system allows for real-time sharing and monitoring of container data to let port operators schedule an orderly flow of cargoes.
ATI had previously credited TABS for its record-high volume in the first half at 560,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). It said the system served as a platform to get trucks to pick-up containers from the port quickly and efficiently because of pre-booked terminal transactions.
“Prior to TABS, the trucks would arrive randomly at the port, hence the long queues we’ve had for many, many years. What TABS did was regulate that over a 24-hour period. That has proved successful since we implemented it,” said Edward Ian Baking, ATI assistant vice-president for business development, in the 1-Stop Connections statement.
It also quoted Christian R. Gonzalez, ICTSI’s senior vice-president, as saying, “With a system like TABS which allows us to modify behavior, plan the arrivals and departures of trucks better, we’re now seeing an alignment between what the local government and road departments want and port authorities and national government want.” — Denise A. Valdez

Low-cost produce markets set to open in Manila, Quezon City, Taguig City

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) is scheduled to open stores selling low-cost produce in some of Metro Manila’s poorer neighborhoods, including Payatas in Quezon City and Baseco in Manila, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said Sunday.
The stores, known as TienDA Malasakit outlets, will be op[erated by women’s groups, supported by Local Government Units (LGUs) and will sell vegetables, fruit, rice, sugar and other basic food items.
The DA also plans to open three or four such outlets in Taguig by the first week of October.
“With the establishment of the Malasakit Stores in Metro Manila and other major population centers of the country later, it is expected that the stranglehold of traders and middlemen of the food supply in the country will finally loosen up,” Mr. Piñol said in a statement.
The system works on the basis of LGU-issued passbooks to verify that residents are from the intended areas and prevent middlemen from buying and reselling the goods, according to Mr. Piñol.
The DA staged a two-day vegetable festival last week at the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) compound in San Andres, Manila, selling goods from Bukidnon at below-market prices.
At last week’s market, carrots were sold at P95 per kilo, cabbage at P70, chili peppers, or sili, at P80, refined sugar at P49 per kilo, and cardava banana, or saba, at P17.
“There’s no need to import, we have a lot of vegetables,” Mr. Piñol said during the event.
He also said acknowledged reports that some buyers left the San Andres market without paying, noting that the event “was marred by reports from farmers that some buyers walked off with vegetables and fruits in plastic bags without paying for the items.”
“The farmers, many of them first-timers in Metro Manila, were obviously overwhelmed by the waves of people who swarmed their booths. Since it was their first experience to sell their produce directly, they were not able to cope with the weighing and the payment,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mr. Piñol said that he will present to the National Food Authority (NFA) Council on Monday a proposal to ban private importers from importing higher-grade varieties of rice, and limit them to grades that the NFA will buy.
“On Monday, I will present to the NFA Council my proposal that private importers should not be allowed to import fancy rice, which is expensive. It doesn’t bring down the price,” according to Mr. Piñol, noting that premium grades of rice sell for about P58 per kilo.
He said that premium rice tends to set the trend for the rest of the market, driving domestic rice prices higher as well,” Mr. Piñol said.
Mr. Piñol is the new chairman of the NFA Council after the NFA, along with the Philippine Coconut Authority and the Fertilizer and Pesticides Authority, was returned to the supervision of the DA on Sept. 19, after an executive order issued by President Rodrigo R. Duterte. — Reiclene Joy N. Ignacio

DoTr says $12-B Sangley Point international airport proposal ‘still on the table’

THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) is not closing doors on a private consortium’s unsolicited proposal to build a $12-billion international airport in Sangley Point until the local government of Cavite moves forward with its own pitch.
Transportation Undersecretary for Planning Ruben S. Reinoso, Jr. said on Tuesday the proposal of the consortium formed by Solar Group’s Wilson Y. Tieng and SM’s Henry T. Sy, Sr. would not be scrapped until the final decision was made on the Cavite government’s plan.
When asked if the DoTr is still considering the Sy-Tieng group’s proposal, Mr. Reinoso told reporters, “Yes, of course. It’s still on the table.”
He added, the government only had to set it aside to prioritize the government-to-government proposal of the province of Cavite.
“The proponent for Sangley is the provincial government of Cavite. We have not been informed what legal framework they will use. Kasi (Because) they can opt to adopt several legal [frameworks]. Pwedeng (It could be) local government code, pwedeng (it could be) BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) law. But up to this time, we are not yet advised,” Mr. Reinoso said.
The local government of Cavite, under the leadership of Gov. Jesus Crispin C. Remulla, submitted to the DoTr in February a P552.018-billion proposal to build a Sangley Point airport. In March, Sangley Airport Infrastructure Group, Inc. (SAIG) submitted its $12-billion Philippine Sangley International Airport plan.
SAIG, which is led by All-Asia Resources and Reclamation Corp. and Belle Corp., proposed the development of a 2,500-hectare of land in Sangley Point for an airport and commercial establishments. The group’s proposal covers a 50-year concession period.
The airport will have two runways and is said to be able to handle around 120-million passengers once it’s fully developed.
Aside from the construction of the airport, also included in SAIG’s proposal is the rehabilitation of the Danilo Atienza Air Base to be a general aviation airport that will reduce the congestion at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminals, essentially serving as an “aerotropolis.”
The Cavite government’s proposal, which is prioritized over the Sy-Tieng group’s airport plan, was given a no-objection clearance by the DoTr in July.
Mr. Reinoso earlier said the endorsement was given to the Cavite government provided it will not require any guarantee, subsidy or equity to the national government.
He said on Tuesday they had not discussed setting a deadline for the Cavite government to finalize its plans as they “wanted to move forward with the very advanced proposal of Bulacan, and of course, the one that’s also more advanced, the expansion and rehabilitation of NAIA.” — Denise A. Valdez

Loan disbursements under PLP reach P49.78M

THE SOCIAL Security System (SSS) released nearly P50 million during the pilot launch of the Pension Loan Program (PLP), which is now available in 70 branches nationwide.
In a statement sent to reporters on Friday, the state-run pension fund said 1,976 qualified pensioners availed of the PLP during its pilot implementation with total loan disbursements amounting to P49.78 million, still well below the P10-billion possible exposure allotted for the program’s initial run.
“We are very much overwhelmed with the influx of applicants in our SSS branches,” SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel F. Dooc was quoted as saying in a statement.
“We hope that the loan privileges under the PLP will help our dear pensioners to finance their emergency and short-term financial needs.”
The lending program was launched on Sept. 3, allowing 1.3 million retiree pensioners to borrow funds and veer away from loan institutions that offer steep interest rates.
The loan carries a 10% interest rate per annum, payable within three, six or 12 months depending on the multiple of their loan amount. It will be deducted from the monthly pension of the borrower.
Mr. Dooc previously said the pension fund is willing to increase the P10-billion initial allotment for the program to P30 billion.
For the pilot run, the PLP was made available to 20 branches. The branches that received the highest number of availees on the first two weeks of implementation were Diliman with 406 availees, Cebu with 221 availees, Zamboanga with 157 availees, Bacoor with 119 availees as well as Davao and Alabang with 114 availees each.
14 branches in Metro Manila started offering the loan program on Sept. 19, while an additional 36 branches located nationwide have started receiving applications today.
“[W]e are glad to announce that more SSS branches will receive PLP applications. This is our special way of saying thank you to all pensioners for trusting SSS for providing them adequate social security protection for the past 61 years,” Mr. Dooc added.
Specifically, 20 SSS branches in Luzon have started accommodating PLP applications today, namely La Union, Laoag, Cauayan, Tuguegarao, Balanga, Cabanatuan, Camiling, Pampanga, Malolos, Olongapo, Angeles, Carmona, Lucena, Batangas, Lipa, Puerto Princesa, Legazpi, Daet, Masbate and Sorsogon.
Aside from these, 16 SSS branches in Visayas and Mindanao have also began accepting applications, namely Lapu-Lapu, Tagbilaran, Talisay, Ormoc, Bacolod, Dumaguete, Kalibo, Roxas, Butuan, Iligan, Dacao Ilustre, Tagum, Toril, Koronadal, Dipolog and Pagadian.
The minimum loan amount for qualified pensioners is twice the amount equivalent to their basic monthly loan pension plus the additional P1,000 benefit.
Pensioners can borrow for as much as six times their basic monthly pension plus the additional P1,000 benefit, not exceeding P32,000.
Qualified pensioners who wish to apply for the lending program must have no advance pension under the SSS Calamity Package and have been receiving their regular monthly pensions for at least six months. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

How PSEi member stocks performed — September 24, 2018

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Thursday, September 24, 2018.
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Philippine Stock Exchange’s most active stocks by value turnover — September 24, 2018
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The importance of design in life

IT’S EASY to discount what good design can do for your life, but every aspect of design touches your life in some way. In the act of taking out your phone from your bag to opening an app while sipping water out of a thermos, design has already made an impact on your life. Years and months of planning have gone into the objects that you now hold in your hand.
And whether a design is good or bad can have a major impact on your life.
Rhea Matute, executive director of the Design Center of the Philippines, gives the example of a shoe: sure, we buy a shoe because it looks nice, but is it well-designed? A good shoe can make a difference for a life well-lived. In a bad pair, she says, “You can’t walk beyond 30 minutes, or you end up injuring yourself,” because a badly designed shoe can mess up your skeletal alignment.
Ms. Matute was speaking to BusinessWorld at the sidelines of the 2nd International Design Conference, an initiative by the Design Center of the Philippines, under the Department of Trade and Industry, which was held on Sept. 21 at SM Aura in Taguig.
“Depending on how you want that change to go, design is there. If you want to just stay on the superficial side, or do you really want to use design to change lives or to improve people,” said Ms. Matute.
Her fellow speaker Lenise Logan, Senior Art Advisor for Kalpa Art Coaching and Advisory, noted that every industry is impacted by design and creativity.
“It could be every single industry in the country. It could create new industries. That is what creativity is all about. It’s about removing limits to what’s possible.
“The Philippines has everything it needs” to be a design center and capital, she said. “It has the minds, the hearts, it has the talent, the know-how — it has the structure, to some degree,” Ms. Logas.
There lie the rub: “There is some value in reviewing what capacity the structure [has], not leaving, the talent that’s here.”
“What we’re trying to do in the Design Center is… instead of having disparate efforts, the DTI is also taking the lead to pull together the creative industries, and brand it as one,” said Ms. Matute. — JLG

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