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Waiver of March charge could cost Manila Water nearly P500 million

By Victor V. Saulon
Sub-Editor

AYALA-LED Manila Water Company, Inc. expects the cost of its move to voluntarily waive the minimum charge of its entire client base for March plus the waiver of a full month’s bill of its most severely affected customers to hover below P500 million, its top official said on Monday.

Monday also saw 14 business and industry groups release a joint statement pressing the government to “take immediate action” to improve water supply.

“From the P150 [million], it will definitely add a few more hundreds of millions in my estimate,” Ferdinand M. Dela Cruz, Manila Water president and chief executive officer, said in a press briefing in Makati City after the company’s annual stockholders meeting on Monday.

Asked whether the cost would reach P500 million, Mr. Dela Cruz said: “It will probably hover around that area, but probably just below that number, [based on] my estimate. I just don’t want to give a specific number that will be quoted because the billings are not done.”

Mr. Dela Cruz announced the waiver scheme on March 26 to compensate customers after a water shortage hit customers.

He had said that if the computation were confined to the waiver of the minimum charge alone, the cost could reach P150 million.

“The April billings are not over yet,” Mr. Dela Cruz said, adding that the computation is on a per-customer basis and that the company would disclose “round figures” by May.

He previously said that the minimum charge ranges from P75.84 per month for Manila Water’s lifeline or low-consuming customers, and up to P656.52 for industrial customers. The minimum charge for domestic customers is P133.56 a month and for commercial customers, P606.84 a month.

He said the minimum charge represents 10 cubic meters (cu.m.) covering water, environmental and sewer charges. Consumption beyond 10 cu.m. will be billed. He described the hardest hit customers as those without water for at least seven days whether continuous or intermittently from March 6 to 31. These customers were not be charged for their water consumption in March.

The east zone concessionaire has been experiencing a water supply deficit since March 6, although it has now brought down the shortfall to 107 million liters per day (MLD) from 150 MLD at the height of the shortage.

The deficient supply came about as water demand reached 1,750 MLD while supply remained at 1,600 MLD. A new water treatment plant failed to meet its target launch in late 2018 due to technical issues.

Earlier on Monday, Mr. Dela Cruz told stockholders during the company’s annual meeting that Manila Water has measures to plug the water deficiency.

“Cardona [water treatment] plant is now 50 MLD as committed, so it’s now running for phase one. We expect phase two at around August for another 50 [MLD]. We are now running about 32 MLD of deep wells and then we expect that in the next few weeks of April and through May the cross-border flows committed by the other concessionaire of about 50 [MLD] will add to that,” he said.

“And then we will continue with our push for deep well, so that we will close the 150 [MLD], which will bring us to the regulatory standard of 7 psi (per square inch), 24/7 by the end of May,” he added.

During the meeting, Manila Water Chairman Fernando Zobel de Ayala said that as of April 20, “we have reached up to 99.83% availability. Customers have at least 8 hours of supply per day, of these customers 83% had at least 16 hours of supply, and 56% had 24/7 supply.”

Mr. Dela Cruz said the company has yet to factor in the cost of the one-time penalty to be imposed by Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System.

On Monday, shares in Manila Water fell 1.25% to P23.65 per share.

Also on Monday, 14 business and industry groups released a joint statement pressing “the Executive and Congress to prioritize water security and take immediate action” to improve water supply in Metro Manila.

They called for speeding up development of new raw water sources, “including tapping the full potential of Laguna lake”; promoting water conservation and efficiency partly through new technologies; developing a water security master plan “for Metro Manila and the entire country”; strengthen the National Water Resources Board through an executive order; as well as rehabilitating wetlands, bodies of water and supporting ecosystems.

Issuing the statement were Alyansa Agrikultura; American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines; Australia New Zealand Chamber of Commerce; Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines; European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines; Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines, Inc.; Korean Chamber of Commerce Philippines; Makati Business Club; Management Association of the Philippines; Philippine Association of Agriculturists, Inc.; Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters, Inc.; Philippine Association of Water Districts; Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and the Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. — with Janina C. Lim

Budget dep’t expects contract awards to surge after polls

THE DEPARTMENT of Budget and Management (DBM) sees a “surge” in contract awarding once the 45-day ban on public works lifts after the May 13 mid-term elections.

“We expect as soon as the election ban is lifted, talagang magse-surge ang releases and awards,” DBM Officer-in-Charge Janet B. Abuel said at a House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations hearing on Monday.

Ms. Abuel explained the 45-day ban covers fund release and project implementation, but will not apply to early procurement activities. “Starting last year up to now, nagbi-bid out na po sila, short of award,” she said.

Citing preliminary data from the Bureau of the Treasury, the Finance department said on Thursday last week that state disbursements missed the program by 11% at P777.99 billion in the first quarter, although they edged up a percent from a year ago, as the government operated on a reenacted national budget that left new programs and projects unfunded.

Economic managers in February submitted to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) a list of priority infrastructure projects under the “Build, Build, Build” program that they wanted exempted from the election ban. Comelec, however, required “voluminous documents” for each project, forcing concerned agencies to cut down their list. “The strategy now, considering there is barely a month left before the ban is lifted, is we have required or instructed agencies to just submit the more urgent projects, individually with all the documentary requirements because apparently they cannot give an omnibus exemption,” Ms. Abuel said.

Appropriations vice-chairman Rep. Federico S. Sandoval II of Malabon conducted an oversight hearing on the P4.1-trillion 2020 national budget, aiming to draw lessons from disagreements between DBM and the House, and later on between the House and the Senate, that led to a four-month delay in enactment of the 2019 budget.

When President Rodrigo R. Duterte last April 15 signed this year’s national budget into law, he vetoed about P95.3 billion in appropriations — including P75-billion funds realigned to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) budget — that he said were not in accordance with his administration’s priorities, slashing this year’s national budget to P3.662 trillion.

“The controversy of the 2019 budget began with the ceiling issue. That’s why we need to know the ceiling now. As we understood as it was presented to us in July 2018, the DPWH had a ceiling of less than P500 billion but when the GAA (General Appropriations Act) came, it was almost P600 billion. That’s why we want to be clarified now. That’s something we want to avoid in this coming budget,” Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said in the same hearing.

She then asked the DBM to submit to the committee the budget ceilings for ongoing programs and projects, as well as those for new or expanded programs and projects.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo on Monday said that Malacañang hopes for stronger support for its reforms in the new 18th Congress that opens on July 22.

“Unang una may bago nang Kongreso (First of all it will be a new Congress).It will not be the present Congress. After election may bago na ’yan (there will be many new faces in the House of Representatives and the Senate),” Mr. Panelo said. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

Aboitiz eyes RE project acquisitions in Vietnam

By Victor V. Saulon, Sub-Editor

ABOITIZ Power Corp. is looking at acquiring renewable energy (RE) projects that are under development in Vietnam with capacities of between 50-100 megawatts (MW) each to take advantage of the feed-in tariff (FiT) scheme being offered in the Southeast Asian country.

Erramon I. Aboitiz, president and chief executive officer of AboitizPower, said the company is considering projects that employ solar and wind energy technologies.

“There are different projects, RE, anywhere between 50 to 100 MW or so are the projects that we’re looking at,” he told reporters in a briefing in Makati City after the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting on Monday.

Asked about the target total capacity for solar and wind, Mr. Aboitiz said: “We’re looking at several. We don’t have a specific target, frankly. We are just being opportunistic in what is available.”

Mr. Aboitiz said Vietnam’s FiT scheme, which offers a fixed rate to RE developers over a given period, is projected to go on for several more years.

“What they’ve done is they have an agreed FiT price that expires within a certain period. I think, for example, the one of wind, the price today expires October 2021. After that, they’ll have a new price,” he said. “The strategy is that they want to really build their RE capacity.”

Mr. Aboitiz said the company’s target RE plant should have to be ready and running by that time, thus he was looking at “projects that have been developed to a certain extent already.”

For solar, he said the new FiT rate should start after June or July this year, thus an “old project” would be an option. A partnership with a Vietnamese partner is the strategy, with the equity dependent on how much it is willing to sell down, he added.

In the local front, AboitizPower Chief Operating Officer Emmanuel V. Rubio said the energy company is bullish on renewable energy, especially solar power, with the government’s stance to implement rules on renewable portfolio standard, a program that requires utilities to source a portion of their requirements power from RE sources.

During the briefing, Mr. Aboitiz announced the appointment of Mr. Rubio as his replacement as president and CEO of the company once he retires at the start of 2020.

“We’re confident that Manny (Mr. Rubio) will continue to bring AboitizPower to greater heights,” he said.

PSA SIGNED
Separately, AboitizPower disclosed on Monday that subsidiary Therma Mobile, Inc. (TMO) had signed a power supply agreement (PSA) with Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).

“This contract is a timely response of both AboitizPower and Meralco to the call of government for stable and reliable power going into the midterm elections and beyond,” AboitizPower Oil Business Unit President and COO Celso C. Caballero III said.

TMO, with four floating power barges moored in Navotas, has a combined gross capacity of 242 MW. The facility went into preservation mode on Feb. 5, 2019, as well as voluntarily disconnected from the grid and de-registered from the energy market.

Meralco has also signed a PSA with Millennium Energy, Inc. for the purchase of 70 MW of electric power, subject to a net dependable capacity test, from the latter’s 100-MW gas-turbine power plant in Navotas Fishport Complex, Navotas City.

On Monday, shares in AboitizPower rose by 0.14% to close at P36 each.

FLI hikes capital spending to P32B

By Arra B. Francia, Senior Reporter

FILINVEST Land, Inc. (FLI) is ramping up spending to P32 billion this year as it plans to further expand its leasing portfolio.

In a statement distributed during its annual stockholders’ meeting Monday, the Gotianun-led property developer said it has allotted P30-32 billion for its capital expenditures (capex) in 2019. This is about 45% higher than the P22 billion it spent last year.

The listed firm allotted P13 billion for development of properties across its three major hubs in Clark in Pampanga, Alabang, and Cebu. About P7 billion will go to land acquisitions, while the remaining balance will be spent for residential and township developments.

FLI is accelerating investments for its recurring income portfolio in an effort to take advantage of the strong demand for logistics, light manufacturing, technology, and e-commerce firms with inventory management needs.

Part of the company’s strategy is to develop industrial parks, including the first phase of New Clark City which spans 64 hectares. Groundbreaking for the 120-hectare property will start this May, with completion slated for 2020. Locators are also seen to start setting up by then.

“(Inquiries) are quite positive. There are different types of locators like factories and also logistics…some people want to do their own warehousing requirements so that will include cold storage as well,” FLI President and Chief Executive Officer Josephine Gotianun-Yap told reporters after the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting in Alabang on Monday.

Ms. Gotianun-Yap noted that most of the interested locators are Asian firms. Lot sizes can range from one to 10 hectares, depending on the locator’s requirements.

For its office and retail leasing segment, FLI looks to end the year with around 934,000 square meters (sq.m.) under its portfolio, compared to 712,000 sq.m. last year. Office spaces account for around 647,000 sq.m., while the retail unit will have 287,000 sq.m.

The expansion of its office, retail, and logistics businesses will allow the property firm to have 1.645 million sq.m. in gross leasable area by 2023. By 2021, FLI’s leasing business will account for half of its total income, although Ms. Gotianun-Yap said they could hit this target much earlier.

Demand from business process outsourcing (BPO) firms continues to drive their office leasing business, while Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) account for about 20% of their total office space. Ms. Gotianun-Yap, however, noted that they are watching their exposure to POGOs to keep a diversified tenant mix.

“We always believe in market and geographic diversification. Anything that adds to the business is okay, but it’s always good to have a good mix,” Ms. Gotianun-Yap explained.

FLI plans to conduct a bond issuance worth between P5-10 billion this year to finance its capex requirements. The last time FLI offered bonds to the public was in 2017, since the firm opted not to have any issuances last year due to high interest rates.

Shares in FLI jumped by a centavo or 0.66% to close at P1.52 each at the stock exchange on Monday.

HARI sales rise 12% in Q1

HYUNDAI Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI) reported a 12.5% rise in first-quarter sales, driven by a reinvigorated local demand for light commercial vehicles (LCVs), trucks and buses.

In a statement on Monday, the official distributor of Hyundai vehicles in the Philippines said sales reached 9,949 units during the January to March period, up from the 8,847 units in the comparable period in 2018.

In March, HARI sold 3,412 units, a 5.9% increase from March 2018’s 3,223 units.

For the passenger car (PC) segment, HARI saw a 12.9% drop in sales to 5,404 units from 6,205 units during the three-month period. PC sales slumped 13% to 1,914 units in March.

However, strong demand for the Reina helped offset the slump in Accent, Elantra and Eon sales. To date, the Reina, launched in February, has sold 1,576 units, accounting for nearly 16% of HARI’s total first-quarter sales.

Meanwhile, sales of Accent models dropped 8.93% to 3,551 units from 3,899 units. The model still accounted for the segment’s bulk at 65.71% in the first quarter.

The LCV segment posted a 70.5% surge, selling 4,306 units in the first quarter, against the 2,526 units sold in the same period last year. In March, sales of LCVs increased 45% to 1,413.

HARI said the LCV sales were driven by the Kona Crossover (1,043 units sold in the first quarter) and H1-000 (1,901 units sold, up 93% year on year). The Kona Crossover and the H1-000 account for 24% and 44% of LCV sales, respectively.

HARI reported sales of commercial vehicles (CV) more than doubled to 239 units in the first quarter, of which H250 accounted for 112 units.

“Driving the ascent of Philippine business is Hyundai’s trucks and buses which closely mirrors the buildup in economic activity as a result of the government’s infrastructure program,” the company said.

HARI said it may establish seven more local dealerships that will mainly sell commercial vehicles, adding to its current portfolio of six CV-dedicated dealerships. — Janina C. Lim

A view of Paradise

By Zsarlene B. Chua, Reporter

WHEN the first Seda hotel opened in Taguig’s Bonifacio Global City in 2013, Ayala Land Hotels and Resorts Corp. (ALHRC) envisioned the brand as focusing on business hotels located in strategic and bustling cities around the country. But in 2017, the company opened its first five-star property, Seda Vertis North, in Quezon City — with 438 rooms and a grand ballroom — making it the largest hotel in the city.

Now, the hotel chain named after the Spanish word for silk has ventured into another hotel category, this time opening a resort in the 325-hectare Ayala-owned Lio Tourism Estate in El Nido, Palawan.

Seda Lio is a 153-room resort hotel on the shores of the four kilometer-long Lio Beach. Opening in August last year, it is the largest of the ALHRC-owned hotels in Lio — it has much smaller boutique hotels there like Balai Adlao (20 rooms), Casa Kalaw (42 rooms), and Hotel Covo (20 rooms).

The resort is targeted towards business travelers, tourists, and those who want destination weddings (in fact, during a media trip in March, the group encountered a beach wedding), which is why it has function rooms for up to 300 people.

The hotel has three room categories, the Deluxe Room (45 square meters), the Suite room (76 square meters) and a Presidential Suite (148 square meters).

For people who are familiar with Seda hotels, Seda Lio bears the same trademarks of the brand: the cream and wood color palette; walls filled with photos taken by Jaime Zobel de Ayala, who, aside from being the Chairman Emeritus of the Ayala Corp., is also an art photographer; and the all-day dining restaurant, Misto, which is present in all Seda hotels.

Unlike other Seda hotels, it has a game room, a two-level infinity pool, a pool bar and a spa.

“[We’ve been having] a lot of incentive travelers and weddings,” Brett Hickey, Seda hotels group general manager, told the media during the trip.

Currently, Mr. Hickey pegs the market as skewed toward foreign travelers. “We’ve had a lot of tour groups from Israel and Europe here,” said Mr. Hickey.

And it’s easy to see why Lio is becoming a hot, premium destination for travelers with its white sand beach and a more relaxed, quiet atmosphere. In fact, it’s so relaxed that Mr. Hickey can sometimes be spotted watering the plants.

“I love coming here,” he said, adding that it is a place to unwind.

Lio also has its own private airport, located a kilometer away from Seda Lio. The airport is operated by AirSwift, another Ayala-owned company. It offers multiple daily flights from Manila to El Nido via Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 4 and daily flights from Caticlan airport in Boracay to El Nido.

IN PURSUIT OF SUSTAINABILITY
Aside from the convenient location and atmosphere, what Mr. Hickey is proud of is the newest Seda property’s sustainability efforts which serves as the blueprint for similar efforts to be introduced in other Seda hotels.

The hotel rooms nixed single-use bottles of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and lotion in favor of refillable pump bottles; biodegradable materials are used to package other toiletries; and gray water is used to flush the toilets. No plastic water bottles are offered and glass bottles are used instead because the estate has banned the use of plastic.

Curiously, AirSwift offers onboard water bottles to passengers inflight.

Mr. Hickey also said that he is doing a cost analysis in order to replace the toothbrushes and other toiletries for bamboo versions.

“I’m looking at bamboo options [for toiletries] right now, there’s a local supplier [we’re talking to],” he explained.

He added that Lio’s being a premium destination works well with the sustainablility efforts because having higher price points would deter masses of tourists from coming in and compromising the environment.

“In the past 10 years [the number of tourists] swelled: we saw a thousand people on the beach and we thought, ‘well, how sustainable will that be?’” he said, adding that their sustainability efforts in Seda Lio will make their way towards other Seda hotels in the future.

Such is their commitment to sustainability that “no Seda Lio structure [will exceed the height of] the coconut treeline,” and buildings at the beach front are built with “some distance from the water line in anticipation of storm surges,” according to a company release.

Also, only 45% of the entire 325-hectare property is developable and Mr. Hickey noted that when they started the construction for the hotel (and for any other properties in the estate) they tried to lessen the cutting of trees as much as possible.

“The shortest and easiest route [to development] is not necessarily the best route [for the environment],” he said, explaining the need to be careful when developing such a large estate.

WHAT TO DO IN SEDA LIO
Lio beach might have a more relaxed atmosphere than bustling Boracay, but it also has a lot to offer, from trekking trails to touring using bamboo bikes.

One can island hop via small motorized boats, or go big by bringing a group and tour on a yacht as the media did during their trip.

Travelers can book yacht tours with the El Nido Yachting Club and choose from its fleet of speedboats, a 50-foot catamaran sailing yacht, or a traditional wood-hulled boat. Prices range from P4,999 per person to join a boat group tour or P25,000 to charter a speedboat for six people.

Each boat tour includes lunch on board or served picnic-style on a secluded private beach, and the tour lasts from early morning until late afternoon.

The tour, depending on the package, can bring tourists to famed El Nido attractions including the Big Lagoon, the Small Lagoon, the Snake Island sandbar, the Secret Beach, and Shimizu Island.

Those who would prefer staying on dry land can walk along Lio beach towards the Shops@Lio which offer retail and dining options including the vegan restaurant Shaka, which offers big servings of pad Thai, lasagna, and burgers. (The pad Thai is especially good with the well-sauced noodles having a chewy, springy texture.)

Also within the estate is Kalye Artisano, a small artists village that is a pet project of Bea Zobel Jr. and Paloma Urquijo Zobel who came up with the idea of setting up a community-based artisan village.

The village, made up of structures resembling bahay kubo, features a handful of stores selling souvenir shirts, home decor, jewelry, local food products, and artworks.

And if you happen to be in Lio at the right time, you can participate in the Lio Beach Festival (held several times a year), a free music and arts festival for the environment. The festival prides itself in having no trash left behind after its run.

Fox PHL gambles on exorcism film

FOR ITS first foray into scripted entertainment, Fox Networks Group (FNG) Philippines, decided to take a gamble on Mark A. Meily’s Maledicto, a “character-driven horror film” about exorcism and a skeptical priest which is set to premiere on May 1 in cinemas nationwide.

“It started with a pitch-brief. Fox said they were looking for something that was either fantasy or horror but should have a local flavor and regional appear. So when we were coming up with the story, we thought exorcism is something that… exist in all parts of the world and yet the way we experience it [in the Philippines] is our own, it’s very local. We thought it was a good theme to expand on and make a story on,” scriptwriter Jonathan Guillermo told the media during a press conference on April 16 at Solaire Resort and Casino, Parañaque City.

From brainstorming to full film, the entire process took four years, said the film’s director as unlike his other horror films — like 2016’s Cristine Reyes-starrer Elemento about a boy who returns from a field trip with something sinister inside him — Maledicto demanded thorough research about the material.

“We consulted with an exorcist priest and researched on how the Vatican did their exorcisms,” he said.

The film revolves around Fr. Xavi (Tom Rodriguez), a former psychologist turned skeptical exorcist who meets Sr. Barbie (Jasmine Curtis-Smith), a young nun who can see spirits. Together, they try to solve the case of Agnes (Miles Ocampo), a teenager seemingly possessed by a demon.

While acknowledging that exorcism in films “can be a whole genre in itself,” there was a conscious effort by the production team to differentiate Maledicto from predecessors like The Exorcist (1974) and a host of others that came after it by treating it like a horror-procedural.

“That’s how we differentiated [the film] in how… it’s not just this premise for jump-scares. We tried to highlight the procedures and the uniqueness that this is a 21st-century institution that has procedures in place to discern if something supernatural is occurring,” Mr. Guillermo said.

For this “character-driven” horror film, Mr. Meily tried to “design an experience” and not just tell a story. It was initially meant to be a TV series until Fox and its co-producers, Cignal Entertainment and Unitel Productions Inc., decided that they would do a movie first to test the waters.

“That was the original intent [to create a series for Fox Filipino], so we went to Hollywood to figure out how to create a Filipino series and then we looked at the economics of many, many episodes and determined that it probably didn’t make sense to create all these episodes right away and have a theatrical release first to see if there’s traction,” Jude Turcuato, SVP and general manager of FNG Philippines, told the media on the sidelines of the press conference.

He added that if Maledicto does well in cinemas, they have plans for a sequel and a TV series.

Maledicto will be the barometer with which the company will base its decisions on whether to go ahead with producing other scripted original content in the Philippines.

“There’s nothing specific yet. The only one that is specific is there is another script waiting in the wings if this one does well,” said Mr. Turcuato.

“We wanted to do something differently, we want the story to be different, even though exorcism is familiar. We wanted to put all our efforts into one thing because I don’t want to have any regrets… [if we do too many things at once] you get distracted,” he explained.

Maledicto opens in cinemas nationwide on May 1. — ZBC

Mindanao Container Terminal to get upgrade

ictsi
BW FILE PHOTO

INTERNATIONAL Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) is upgrading its port terminal in Mindanao, with significant improvements expected as early as this year.

Mindanao Container Terminal (MCT) said in a statement on Monday it wants to introduce a new terminal operating system and modern equipment to turn it into a premier international gateway in the region.

The ICTSI unit said it has “installed new reach stackers, terminal tractors and trailers, and other cutting-edge equipment that are expected to be completed this year and in the middle of 2020.”

“We aim to help spur economic growth in the countryside, especially now that Northern Mindanao, through the Misamis Oriental economic zone, is poised to become a prime investment hub in the region,” the MCT management was quoted as saying.

MCT noted it expects an increase in shipment volume this year and has therefore ordered additional equipment to support the growth.

“Now that more investments are coming into the Misamis Oriental economic zone, we have to be ready to accommodate the surge in demand,” the port operator said.

MCT currently operates the terminal in the Phividec Industrial Estate at Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental. It facilitates both international and domestic shipments that offer container handling services, yard management, reefer monitoring services and water bunkering, among others.

ICTSI posted an attributable net income of $221.5 million in 2018, 22% higher from the $182.1 million it saw the previous year. It is allocating $380 million in capital expenditures this year, a portion of which will be used for new equipment, upgrades and carry-over maintenance works. — Denise A. Valdez

Davao takes stock of future water demand amid housing boom

DAVAO CITY — The Davao City Water District (DCWD) has started reassessing the future water requirement of the fast-growing city with applications for new connections at 62 for condominiums and high rise buildings, and 54 housing projects.

DCWD Spokesperson Bernard D. Delima said some of these planned developments are expected to be in place by 2021.

“One condominium, depending on the number of units, we will compute how much volume of water they will be needing. This is based on the records given to us by the City Planning (and Development Office). Some of them already started developing. This is the reason why we will get their water requirements for us to anticipate their needs,” Mr. Delima said in a forum on April 15.

As of July 2018, he said, they have computed an additional 82 million liters per day (MLD) demand from completed condominiums and office buildings, including those from major developers such as Vista Land and Lifescapes Inc.’s Camella Communities, Ayala Land Inc., Euro Towers International, Inc., and homegrown firms Damosa Land, Inc. and Escandor Development Corp.

For horizontal residential projects, the computed demand as of the same period is 119 MLD.

DCWD currently has around 224,000 service connections and a 300 MLD supply from groundwater sources.

Mr. Delima said they require high-rise developers to put up a cistern or underground water tank with the capacity to supply the water requirements of all units.

“During peak hours, they will not get water from DCWD, we will put a pressure cistern valve that will only open during off-peak (10 p.m.) for the water to come in. Meaning they will be storing water in their cistern only during off-peak. The cistern will automatically close by 6 a.m so that nearby communities have water during peak hours,” he said.

This mechanism, he added, is already implemented in existing buildings.

By the first half of 2021, Mr. Delima noted that the P12.6-billion bulk supply project of the Aboitiz-led Apo Agua Infrastructura, Inc. is expected to start delivering 300 MLD.

Apo Agua, which is 70%-owned by Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. and the remaining 30% under JV Angeles Construction Corp., broke ground in November last year for the project that will source supply from the Tamugan River.

Once the bulk supply becomes operational, DCWD intends to give its ground water sources a rest and just maintain these as back-up.

Mr. Delima added that they also have an existing permit to develop the Mt. Talomo-Lipadas River as a supply source in the future.

DCWD has been implementing since 1993 its Integrated Watershed Management Program in the major water recharge zones, particularly Malagos, Mt. Talomo-Lipadas, and Mt. Tipolog-Tamugan watersheds.

The water utility has also been undertaking a P2-billion pipeline network improvement and expansion program since 2015. — Maya M. Padillo

Zsa Zsa Padilla promises something different for her next concert

SINGER Zsa Zsa Padilla

VETERAN singer/actress Esperanza “Zsa Zsa” Padilla marks another year in the music industry with a May 16 concert at Resorts World Manila, promising a night where she performs “like never before” by singing hits of the decades in various personas.

“Without giving away too much detail, we’re doing a song with two versions: a classic one and a newer one. We’re merging the old songs with the new in this concert and it’s something I haven’t done before and I have long wanted to do something like this with costumes and everything,” Ms. Padilla told the media during an April 11 press conference in El Calle Food and Music Hall in Resorts World Manila (RWM).

“We have songs that I feel my type of audience would appreciate… I always hear it from my audience, ‘we want to hear songs from our time,’” she added.

The concert, titled Totally Zsa Zsa!, is directed by Floy Quintos with musical direction by Homer Flores.

Concert-goers will see Ms. Padilla as a 1950s Hollywood Star, a swinging It Girl from the ’60s, a disco queen from the ’70s, and an Original Pilipino Music icon from the ’80s and ’90s.

Last May she marked her 35th year in the entertainment industry with a concert called Best Day of My Life in the same venue, RWM’s Newport Performing Arts Theater.

“I think the songs today are also very meaningful, I use a lot of Spotify so I’m very familiar with the new songs — it’s just that there’s already a disconnect [between the audience and me] so when I sing [the newer songs] it feels like it doesn’t fit me,” Ms. Padilla said.

She explained that while British crooner Ed Sheeran has ballads like “Thinking Out Loud” and “Perfect” which can be sung by everyone, she feels that despite enjoying the music of British singer Dua Lipa, her audience wouldn’t appreciate her belting out hits like “IDGAF” or “New Rules” in her concerts.

“That’s where this concept came about, I feel like if I keep singing my songs [the audience] will ask for added flavor. Instead of focusing on Top 40 [songs] which my audience feels don’t suit me, I will tackle songs from the ’50s and ’60s which are also very beautiful,” she said.

Joining her onstage are actor/fledgling singer Stephen Ian Veneracion, her daughter Ana Karylle Tatlonghari-Yuzon, and Pinoy Big Brother alumnus Zeus Collins.

“It’s also like a Mother’s Day concert because it’s in May so Karylle will be singing with me in this concert,” she said.

Totally Zsa Zsa! will be held on May 16, 8 p.m., at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Resorts World Manila, Pasay City. Ticket prices range from P2,158 to P8,090, and are available at the RWM box office (908-8000 loc. 7700) or via Ticketworld (www.ticketworld.com.ph or 891-9999). — ZBC

Belle may apply for 2nd gaming license

City of Dreams Manila

BELLE CORP. looks to apply for a second gaming license with the Philippine Amusement Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) in a bid to level the playing field with its competitors.

Belle President and Chief Executive Officer Manuel A. Gana cited how other licensees in Metro Manila, namely Bloomberry Resorts Corp. and Travellers International Hotel Group, Inc. (TIHGI), each have two gaming licenses.

TIHGI currently operates Resorts World Manila in Pasay City, and is set to open Westside City casino resort by 2021. Meanwhile, Bloomberry owns and operates Solaire Resort and Casino, and is scheduled to start construction on its second casino called Solaire North in Quezon City this year.

“When he (Bloomberry Chairman Enrique K. Razon, Jr.) does that (opens Solaire North), we’d be totally in our rights to ask PAGCOR for a second license to level the playing field. So that’s definitely on our mind,” Mr. Gana told reporters after the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Pasay City Monday.

Belle leases land to integrated resort and casino City of Dreams Manila, out of which it gets a share in gaming revenues.

“We figured it’s going to be easier once Solaire opens the Quezon City casino…the thing is to be flexible based on unfolding economic and political situations, so we will have to seek an opening,” he added.

Mr. Gana declined to comment on whether their second gaming facility will be within Metro Manila, since they have yet to secure the license from PAGCOR.

“Right now the hope is to get a license…we’re not partial. In fact some provincial locations are even better than Metro Manila, or Clark,” Mr. Gana said.

The listed firm also disclosed yesterday that net income dropped by 19% to P700 million in the first quarter of 2019, compared to the P851 million it generated in the same period a year ago. Revenues also slipped by six percent to P1.9 billion during the January to March period.

Belle attributed the slower performance to weaker results from Pacific Online Systems Corp., which is partially held by subsidiary Premium Leisure Corp. (PLC). PLC’s attributable profit also dropped by four percent to P495.06 million during the period.

Pacific Online leases online betting equipment to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) for its lottery and keno operations.

“It’s hard because the main reason is the PCSO legalized small town lottery and allowed it to operate side by side with the electronic lottery. And since our ticket prices are higher because of the TRAIN (Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion) Law, and because TRAIN Law taxes winnings now versus small town lottery, we have a disadvantage,” Mr. Gana explained.

Mr. Gana said Pacific Online is looking at a way to control costs as well as other business options to reduce its reliance on electronic lottery.

“But our core businesses, City of Dreams, both gaming and lease, continue to do well so we expect those to do well for 2019. Pacific Online we hope it will stabilize at least,” Mr. Gana said.

Shares in Belle dropped 1.61% or four centavos to close at P2.45 each at the stock exchange on Monday. — Arra B. Francia

Office stock up in Q1 but concern over cement supply lingers

By Vincent Mariel P. Galang
Reporter

METRO MANILA’S office stock grew by 3% in the first quarter of the year, according to Pronove Tai International Property Consultants.

For the first quarter of 2019, Pronove Tai said the growth in supply is equal to 276,000 square meters (sq.m.). Makati City is still the top office district with additional supply at 18,000 sq.m.

However, Ortigas Center had the biggest growth among the eight districts considered in Pronove Tai’s report. Ortigas Center grew its supply by 6% or an addition of 94,000 sq.m. with the addition of The Podium West Tower, which is a joint venture of Keppel Land Ltd. and BDO Unibank, Inc.

“There are other developments that will be completed in Ortigas. We have Unioil (building) that I think will be completed by the end of this year, so whether it will be sustained we will continue to see increase in supply,” Monique Cornelio-Pronove, chief executive officer of Pronove Tai told BusinessWorld in an interview after the briefing.

Unioil Petroleum Philippines, Inc. owns Exquadra Tower, which recently held its topping-off ceremony. The 38-storey building is located along Exchange Road, Ortigas Center.

CEMENT SUPPLY
Pronove Tai flagged cement supply as the biggest concern for this year, noting this has already affected the pace of construction of some buildings in the first quarter.

“The delay is 30%. From 21 buildings that was supposed to be completed this quarter, we went down to 15 buildings. In terms of square meters the supply is 276 (thousand square meters). It was supposed to be 360 (thousand sq.m.),” she noted.

Michael Muñoz, research manager of Pronove Tai, said that the cement supply was largely affected by imposition of tariffs on imported cement. The annual cement demand of about 32 million metric tons goes to the construction of offices, residential and industrial projects, as well as public infrastructure.

“The tariff is around P8.40 per bag of cement, which was P1 (tariff) before, so that is almost eight times and how many bags of cements are we talking about. Definitely it will create a big impact,” Mr. Muñoz said.

“Cement is very important because we’re seeing in the next two years it will average around 900,000 thousand sq.m. of supply… Technically, we need more construction supply, particularly cement to complete these projects,” he added.

For Ms. Pronove, “to act on it now rather than wait or else the impact for real estate is that we will continue to have unhealthy vacancy. Vacancies will go down again and that will make our rates and capital values higher.”

ROBUST DEMAND
For the first quarter, the information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) sector accounts for the bulk (36%) of office demand or 130,000 sq.m. of space. This is followed by traditional firms at 35%, or 126,000 sq.m., and offshore gaming companies at 29% or 106,000 sq.m.

Makati City and Taguig City continue to command the highest rental rates at P1,590 per sq.m. per month (/sq.m./month), and P1,320/sq.m./month, respectively.

“It’s always supply and demand, so if your demand is very strong but your demand is low, then that will impact on your rents, your capital values. In Makati, the reason why it keeps going up… (because of) low supply,” Ms. Pronove explained.

Note that Makati City had a 3% vacancy rate, which can be considered unhealthy, while Taguig City had 7%. Makati City’s supply grew by only 1%, while Taguig City had no added supply for the quarter. While this may be good for investors since it will drive rents up, tenants can be at the disadvantage if this were to continue.

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