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Dialog

MAKATI Mayor Abigail Binay shares a light moment with residents of Barangay Singkamas where she recently held a dialog.

PNP to provide security to church leaders

THE Philippine National Police (PNP) said it will provide security to church leaders who are receiving death threats following such a threat against Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio S. David. “Nag-usap kami ni Cardinal Tagle and I assured them we can provide protection doon sa dapat bigyan ng protection lalo na ang ating mga kaparian (to those who need protection, especiallyl the priests),” PNP Chief Director-General Oscar D. Albayalde said. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras

MIB plant upgrades to expand water supply in Iloilo

By Emme Rose Santiagudo, Correspondent
AS PART of its rehabilitation program, the Metro Iloilo Bulk Water Supply Corporation (MIB) started the upgrade of its water treatment plant in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo on Monday to expand the water supply within the franchise areas of the Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD).
“We assure the people of Metro Iloilo that this initiative will result in greater and bigger benefits as MIB commits to provide potable water supply to more and more Ilonggo,” engineer Rolixto V. Jodieres Jr., MIB chief operating officer, said.
The upgrade will boost the capacity of the water treatment facility from the current 37 million liters per day (MLD) capacity to 50 MLD.
Since the upgrade requires shutting down of the pump structures, service areas under the MIWD will experience intermittent low-pressure water supply throughout the repair period from February 26 to March 31.
Mr. Jodieres said the rehabilitation process requires the replacement of electrical and mechanical components of the existing water treatment plant with state-of-the-art facilities.
“The pump structure serves as the main source of raw supply for treatment process. It needs to upgrade the pump capacity and the hydraulic head. During the entire repair process, we tapped other bulk water suppliers in the city to ease the effect of low water pressure,” he said.
MIWD Chairman Dr. Jessica C. Salas said for her part, “We ask for the support of our consumers in Metro Iloilo as we work for the transformation of MIWD into a world-class water service provider. We also enjoin our local government units to support us in this initiative that aims to upgrade the quality of service of our water district.”
The upgrade is among the many development programs in the pipeline following the joint venture of MIWD and Metro Pacific Water Investments Corp. (Metro Pacific Water).
On December 6, 2018, Metro Pacific Water and the MIWD sealed a P12-billion joint venture agreement which aims to improve water distribution and septage management in Iloilo City and seven municipalities under MIWD’s service area.
The signing of the joint venture agreement paved the way for a 25-year concession aimed at ensuring a reliable, sustainable, and improved supply of quality water services in Iloilo.

Groundbreaking on for Jalaur Dam

By Emme Rose Santiagudo
AFTER being stalled for more than three decades, the P11.2-billion Jalaur River Multipurpose Project (JRMP) II in Calinog, Iloilo commenced its groundbreaking and capsule-laying ceremony on Wednesday. The dam, a flagship project of the National Irrigation Authority (NIA)-Visayas, is the first large-scale reservoir outside of Luzon.
Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon for his part said, “The project could very well help in improving agricultural production in Western Visayas and in the country in general considering that 40% of the labor force in the region is engaged in agriculture and fisheries.”
“From an impressive 17.9% growth in 2011, the agriculture sector had a negative growth rate of 1.8% in 2015 and further contracted by a negative 0.5% in 2016,” he also said.
The JRMP-II is seen to help the agricultural sector by irrigating 31,840 hectares in 22 municipalities and two cities in Iloilo, thereby improving the yield of farmlands to 5.2 metric tons per hectare and doubling rice production to nearly 300, 000 metric tons per year.
The project will also supply 86,400 cubic meters of potable water daily and generate 6.6 megawatts of hydro-electric power.
JRMP-II, which is one of NIA’s eight big ticket projects, is also expected to provide 17,000 jobs during its construction in the next three years.
JRMP II was first implemented in the 1960s after the Fourth Congress passed Republic Act 2651 which provides for the construction of JRMP in Iloilo.
The first phase was completed in the 1980s but its second phase was stalled due to lack of funding.
Mr. Drilon sought funding from the Korean government in 2011.
The Korean government through the Export Import Bank’s (EXIM) Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) extended a loan worth P8.9-billion to assist the funding of the project with a counterpart of P2.2 billion from the national government.
NIA Regional Manager and JRMP II Concurrent Project Manager, engineer Gerardo P. Corsiga, said, “There is no word to describe how happy we are with the conduct of today’s ceremony. The journey that we have been embarked and the time and effort that had been invested in this project is all for the contribution to the growth of Iloilo.”
Once the project is completed by September 2022, Mr. Drilon said the province of Iloilo will become a model of rural development.
“If we all unite and work together to attain these goals, we can all say that if we fulfilled our dreams of a better and progressive Iloilo, it is because we all did our share,” he said.

Affected homeowners appeal to DoTr to reconsider railway system alignment

By Carmencita A. Carillo, Correspondent
DAVAO CITY — “Please don’t disrupt our lives,” was the plea made by Paulina C. Pestaño on behalf of the 1,600 lot owners at South Pacific Golf and Leisure Estates Homeowners Association. The high-end subdivision developed by Sta. Lucia Realty, which is also home to an 18-hole par-72 golf course worth P500 million, is one of several areas that will be affected by the alignment of the Mindanao Railway System (MRS) Tagum-Davao-Digos (TDD) segment.
Ms. Pestaño grew up in Davao, relocated and worked in another city and then decided to retire in the city. Her family has been living in South Pacific for two years now after the completion of their house in 2017. Family refers to her and her siblings — one a physician in Zamboanga who visits Davao almost every month and the other one an engineer living in California who comes home twice a year, and the other one a retired CPA who used to manage the family business.
“We decided to retire here and build our retirement home at South Pacific primarily because of the fresh air and of course there is a golf course. If they build the railway there they will destroy the very reason why we invested in the area for retirement,” she told BusinessWorld in an interview.
While the MRS project manager said no house will be directly hit by the railway construction, she said, the construction will still pass through the golf course and the newly-completed clubhouse which cost P50 million to build. If there is construction activity even in hole No. 1 alone, she added, then there will be no more golf since all the golfers have to tee off there.
South Pacific has become a top destination among local and foreign golfers. The 18-hole course placed on 70 hectares of rolling greens together with a great landscape of creeks and ponds was designed by Arnold Palmer. It is one of the few golf courses in the Philippines designed by one of the world’s greatest golfers. Golfers agree that the best thing about the South Pacific Golf and Leisure Estate is not just the greens but the mountainous backdrop.
The number of golfers frequenting South Pacific has increased with the Matina Golf Course already closed down to pave the way for a 22-hectare business district.
While they do not yet clearly understand the technicalities involved in the MRS, Ms. Pestaño said they are certain that it will disrupt their lives even if the government assured them that it will be done in phases. The Department of Transportation (DOTR) revised the design of the railway that will pass the golf course which will not be a tunnel design.
The homeowners were told that the contractor will have to dig, cut and cover which means closing down the golf course for months or years. This will affect the livelihood of over 130 caddies and umbrella girls as well as over 30 golfcourse maintenance workers.
But more than the disruption of the golf course, she said, the railway construction will mean the disruption of the lives of the people living inside the golf course, most of whom are retirees suffering or recuperating from illnesses.
“We were assured that no houses will be damaged but of course during construction there will be dust, noise and security risk since the laborers will be going in and out of the subdivision,” she said. “If there is a railway then there is definitely a train and even if it is underground there will be a disturbance and movement every time it passes,” she added.
Ms. Pestaño said the presentations made by the DOTR technical consultant from HongKong during last December’s City Council meeting showed that the railway alignment failed to consider not only the development plans for the affected community. She also said the maps showing the railway alignment as it passes through the golf course were also based on outdated maps taken from Google Earth because some areas were still marked as parks.
“Even if he were to use Google Earth maps today he would only see the beginning of a golf course. We wonder if the project team even drove through the proposed route of the railway from Tagum to Digos to validate what Google Earth is showing,” she said.
Ms. Pestaño said the retirees who chose to spend their twilight years in this community did so because of the presence of the golf course, affording them fresh, clean air as well as a peaceful and secure environment.
“When asked if he knows of any golf course in the world that has a train inside it the technical consultant replied in the negative,” she said. A train traveling within a few kilometers of one’s home would always be heard especially at night or early in the morning. And whether the railway will be elevated or underground, she added, there will always be pollution and noise.
She said for many of them, building another house or moving to another location is no longer an option.
During the committee hearing, she said, the technical consultant of the railway said the cost per kilometer of railway is P1 billion. This means an additional 3.5 kilometers of railway would cost P3.5 billion which is less than what it would cost the project if it were to destroy the golf course, pay the right-of-way of the properties.
“But even if government pays us, where will we go? We are already retired. The peaceful, serene and secure environment that we would lose cannot be monetarily compensated,” she said.
Residents of another subdivision that will be affected by the railway construction also aired the same concerns. Residents of Monteritz Subdivision are also at a quandary as to how their lives will be disrupted not only by the railway once construction starts, and once it starts to operate.
DoTr Assistant Secretary Eymard D. Eje said there will always be properties that will be affected every time there is a government project. However, he said, if the government considers the complaints of those affected, then they will never be able to even start a project.
He admitted that they are fast-tracking the MRP in order to complete this within the term of President Rodrigo R. Duterte. Otherwise, Mindanao will lose its chance to have a better transport system.
The MRP has undergone many changes in the project scope including the change from a single track to dual track railway. These and other changes brought the cost up from P35.257 billion to P97.386 billion, which requires the government to explore foreign loans such as official development assistance from China.

Nation at a Glance — (02/28/19)

News stories from across the nation. Visit www.bworldonline.com (section: The Nation) to read more national and regional news from the Philippines.
Nation at a Glance — (02/28/19)

Peso rises to P51:$1 level

THE PESO strengthened to close at the P51-per-dollar level.

THE PESO climbed further against the dollar, closing the session at the P51 level, ahead of a meeting between the United States and North Korea.
The local unit closed the session at P51.91 against the dollar on Wednesday, up 11.5 centavos from its P52.025 finish on Tuesday.
This is the peso’s best finish in more than nine months or since it ended at P51.80 versus the dollar on May 10, 2018.
The peso opened the session stronger at P52 per greenback, dropping to as low as P52.08 intraday. However, it recovered to reach an intraday high of P51.905 before settling at its close.
Dollars traded soared to $1.147 billion from the $909.11 million that switched hands in the previous session.
A foreign exchange trader said the peso saw “very erratic” trading yesterday given the wide range.
“The dollar-peso traded in a very choppy manner. There were so many factors, including the meeting of [President Donald J.] Trump and [North Korean leader] Kim Jong-un, as well as the issue between Pakistan and India,” the trader said in a mobile phone message.
“The positive outlook on their meeting may improve risk appetite among investors, as it may bring stability in the Korea and in Asia.”
Mr. Trump was set to meet Mr. Kim in Hanoi, Vietnam yesterday night for their second summit. Mr. Trump has said he will convince Mr. Kim to abandon the country’s nuclear program.
Meanwhile, tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the Pakistani foreign ministry claimed to have shot down two Indian fighter jets.
Another trader attributed the stronger peso to the congressional testimony of US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Mr. Powell echoed his previous statements, saying that the central bank will be “patient” in its monetary stance while acknowledging some “conflicting signals” despite lingering strength in the US economy.
For today, the first trader expects the peso to move between P51.90 and P52.10 versus the dollar, while the other gave a P51.80-P52 range.
“With the break of P51.90, the next level of support should be near the P51.70 level,” the first trader noted. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

Shares drop on lack of leads, net foreign selling

By Arra B. Francia, Reporter
LOCAL EQUITIES fell on Wednesday amid a lack of catalysts, alongside foreign investors’ net selling.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) plunged 1.24% or 99.04 points to close at 7,889.12, falling further down the 7,800 level. The broader all-shares index likewise dropped 0.95% or 46.75 points to 4,849.36.
“Index fell today, dropping 99 points to close at 7,889.12, on a round of net foreign selling of P251 million. Flattish movement from US markets last night didn’t help with the lackluster sentiment felt today,” Papa Securities Corp. Sales Associate Gabriel Jose F. Perez said in an e-mail on Wednesday.
Foreign investors snapped their four-day net buying streak, recording net outflows of P250.66 million on Wednesday against the previous session’s net purchases reaching P1.21 billion.
For Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan, the PSEi’s movement was mainly due to a lack of leads.
“The market drifted on lack of catalysts as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s congressional testimony reiterated the central bank’s wait-and-see approach,” Mr. Limlingan said in a mobile message.
The US Federal Reserve has adopted a more cautious stance on future interest rates as it sees the US economy to be healthy despite “crosscurrents and conflicting signals.”
Markets abroad ended in the red although with minimal losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average went down 0.13% or 33.97 points to 26,057.98. The S&P 500 index dipped 0.08% or 2.21 points to 2,793.90, while the Nasdaq Composite index ended 0.07% lower or 5.16 points to 7,549.30.
Back home, four sectoral indices moved to negative territory, led by holding firms which plummeted 1.88% or 151.83 points to 7,917.54. Services tumbled 1.34% or 21.33 points to 1,562.87; property shed 1.25% or 51.07 points to 4,018.40, while industrials slipped 1.23% or 145.12 points to 11,577.53.
Meanwhile, financials climbed 0.83% or 14.59 points to 1,761.63. Mining and oil also added 0.07% or 6.50 points to 8,686.65.
Shares in PLDT, Inc. were among the most actively traded for the day, slumping 4.37% to close at P1,050 on Wednesday. This followed President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s threats to shut down the firm over its anti-graft hotline, which the president said was “always busy.”
Turnover slipped to P7.43 billion after some 1.96 billion issues switched hands, versus the previous session’s P10.93 billion.
Decliners were almost double the advancers, 123 to 69, while 63 names were unchanged.
“Issues to watch out for would be if net foreign selling still continues for the last two days of the week, and if US markets would weaken tonight more so that the S&P 500 is already near the critical 2,800 resistance level,” Papa Securities’ Mr. Perez said on Wednesday.

Retail T-bond sale bares strong demand

By Karl Angelo N. Vidal
Reporter
THE GOVERNMENT saw strong demand during the sale of the retail Treasury bonds (RTB) to institutional investors on Tuesday in which the five-year debt papers fetched a higher coupon than in previous exercises.
In the rate-setting auction, the Bureau of the Treasury raised P113.772 billion against P121.807 billion in total tenders.
Strong demand from institutional investors prompted the Treasury to upsize its offer fourfold to P120 billion from P30 billion initially.
The bonds carry a coupon of 6.25%, compared to the 4.625% fetched for the five-year RTBs sold in November 2017, the 4.875% of the three-year instruments sold in June 2018 and the 6.142% five-year bond rate at the close of the secondary market yesterday.
The state raised P255.4 billion and P121.765 billion, respectively, in those two RTB exercises.
The RTBs are now offered to the general investing public through 21 authorized selling agents (list at: http://www.treasury.gov.ph/?p=24484) at denominations of P5,000 until March 8.
The bonds can also be bought online on the Web sites of Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).
The latest debt papers, which will be issued on March 12, will mature in 2024.
Following the price-setting auction, National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon said that the Treasury was “extremely pleased” with the result of the coupon-setting exercise, which saw fourfold oversubscription.
“Based on the auction, there’s really strong demand coming from the institutional investors, given the results of the auction today,” Ms. De Leon told reporters on Tuesday.
“We see that investors view this as a last call to be able to get good rates because of the expectations that, eventually, rates will be trending downwards, with the inflation expectations to also continue to decline, particularly with the two bills that were passed by the administration — the rice tariffication and the amendments to the central bank act.”
The rice tariffication law signed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Feb. 14 liberalizes importation of the staple by replacing quantitative restrictions on rice imports with tariffs. This measure is expected to slash inflation by 0.7 percentage point.
Inflation clocked in at 4.4% in January, marking the third straight month of decline from a nine-year high of 6.7% in September and October. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas now expects inflation to average 3.1% this year from 2018’s decade-high 5.2%.
Mr. Duterte had also signed into law earlier this month amendments to the central bank charter that boost monetary authorities’ ability to manage inflation and increased capitalization to P200 billion from P50 billion. It also restored the central bank’s authority to issue debt papers and expanded the list of financial businesses under its watch.
Ms. De Leon said total demand for the RTBs can reach as high as P200 billion by the end of the public offer. “We hope that we will be able to get half… That’s really the ambition… half of the offering would (come) from individual and retail investors,” she said.
Sought for comment, a bond trader said Tuesday saw a “great auction” as the Treasury “got what they wanted.”
“(The RTB sale) pretty much confirmed investor appetite on the five-year tenor,” the bond trader said in a text message.
The Treasury said in a press release that “[p]roceeds from the issuance of RTBs will form part of the Philippine government’s fund-raising efforts for its health services, educational programs and public infrastructure.” The state plans to borrow P1.189 trillion this year to help support plans for bigger spending on infrastructure and social services. Of the amount, 75% will be sourced domestically while the balance will be from foreign creditors.
LANDBANK and DBP are the joint lead issue managers for the 22nd RTB offer. They are also joint issue managers alongside BDO Capital & Investment Corp., BPI Capital Corp., China Bank Capital Corp., First Metro Investment Corp., RCBC Capital Corp. and SB Capital Investment Corp.
The Treasury is also studying an offer of renminbi-denominated “panda” bonds next quarter as well as yen-denominated “samurai” bonds three months afterwards.

Gov’t exploring ways to ease port congestion

THE BUREAU of Customs (BoC) is looking to require international shipping lines to build warehouses outside Metro Manila to store empty containers, while fees charged to businesses that leave empty containers in ports beyond the allowable period could rise, as the government explores more ways to ease congestion at the Port of Manila.
In a statement, Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero floated the idea to push international shipping lines to store containers outside Metro Manila.
Mr. Guerrero told members of the Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc. that international shipping firms “should be required to have their own depot” so that they can store empty containers there and not inside port terminals.
“The space allocation of this facility should be efficiently managed to maximize its storing capacity,” the bureau’s statement read. “As an alternative, a unified or shared facility where empty containers of all shipping companies may be accommodated can also be established.”
These remarks came after the Alliance of Philippine Customs Brokers and Trucking Associations (APBTA) flagged a recurring port congestion in the country’s busiest port, with truckers pointing out that their units cannot find a spot to drop empty containers there.
Mr. Guerrero proposed that these depots must be located near industrial areas, and appealed to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority to find such space to be accredited by Customs.
He also recommended during a Feb. 19 forum with businessmen the strict enforcement of a 90-day limit for empty containers. Re-export bonds and container imbalance charges should be imposed for “overstaying” shipping containers.
The APBTA voiced support for a proposed joint administrative order of the Department of Finance, Department of Transportation and the Department of Trade and Industry to re-export empty containers, noting that Manila ports are already 100% utilized.
Earlier this month, the BoC came out with new rules that now require truck-for-hire companies that ferry goods from and to the country’s ports to register with the agency. The Confederation of Truckers Association of the Philippines said it hopes for requirements to be easy to comply with, as these add another layer of regulation on top of the Land Transportation Office, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board and the Philippine Ports Authority.
The head of the Department of Trade and Industry said separately that the government can increase fees, “if needed,” for those who leave empty containers in port terminals beyond the allowed period.
“We’re changing the charges sa containers — especially sa empty containers — para ma-solve ’yung port congestion… to encourage the retrieval of empty containers para lumuwag ’yung port,” Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez told reporters recently in Makati City. — M. T. Lopez with JCL

Duterte wants reforms sustained under new BSP chief — spokesman

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte has yet to consider candidates to succeed the late Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr. who died of tongue cancer just last Saturday, his spokesman told reporters on Tuesday, but Malacañang expects to see some basic qualities as well as reforms sustained.
“Dalawa lang naman ang palagi niyang sinasabi (There are only two traits that the President always says he looks for): integrity and competence,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo said in a news conference in Malacañan Palace.
Widely perceived to be in the running to succeed Mr. Espenilla are BSP deputy governors Diwa C. Guinigundo, Chuchi H. Fonacier and Cyd N. Tuaño-Amador, who will be the central bank’s officer-in-charge until Mr. Duterte appoints a new acting chief or a successor to serve out the remainder of Mr. Espenilla’s six-year term ending mid-2023; BSP Monetary Board member Peter B. Favila; BDO Unibank, Inc. President Nestor V. Tan; as well as even Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III and House Speaker Gloria M. Arroyo, who had been Philippine president from 2001 to 2010.
Asked on Mr. Duterte’s expectations of Mr. Espenilla’s successor, Mr. Panelo replied: “I suppose it’s the same — it’s the continuity of the work done by the previous governor.”
Mr. Espenilla took the reins of the central bank in July 2017 amid expectations the US Federal Reserve would embark on aggressive interest rate hikes the following year.
He pledged a “Continuity Plus Plus” reform agenda, which meant building on the gains of his predecessor, former BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco, Jr.
Under Mr. Espenilla, BSP’s Monetary Board last year raised benchmark interest rates by a total of 175 basis points to 4.25% for overnight deposit, 4.75% for overnight reverse repurchase and to 5.25% for overnight lending in a bid to tame inflation that had clocked successive multi-year highs beyond the central bank’s 2-4% target range before starting to ease slightly in November.
Headline inflation clocked in at 5.2% for full-year 2018, the fastest in a decade. The central bank forecasts the overall increase in prices of widely used goods to log 3.1% this year, after it was actually recorded at 4.4% in January, down from December’s 5.1%, November’s 6.0% and the nine-year-high 6.7% in September and October.
The central bank last year also saw banks’ reserve requirement ratio trimmed by two percentage points to 18%, which Mr. Espenilla had pledged to bring to single-digit level by the end of his term to free up more cash for lending to businesses and consumers.
Mr. Espenilla had also pushed rollout and use of digital payment systems in a bid to serve unbanked, uncarded Filipinos.
The central bank is looking to lift the share of digital payments to 20% of total transactions from just one percent in 2013, with the country still cash-reliant at present. — A. L. Balinbin

Meralco core income jumps 18% in 4th quarter

MANILA Electric Company saw another strong year, thanks to the country’s continued economic growth. — BW FILE PHOTO

By Victor V. Saulon, Sub-Editor
MANILA Electric Co. (Meralco) posted a core net income of P5.72 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018, higher by 18.2% compared with the P4.84 billion a year earlier largely because of the higher power consumption during the last three months of 2018.
Reported net income, which includes one-time gains, hit P4.81 billion during the quarter, up 7.8% from the P4.46 billion posted in the same quarter in 2017.
Oscar S. Reyes, Meralco president and chief executive officer, described the distribution utility’s performance in 2018 as “another strong year” for the company “partly as a result of relatively conducive economic environment.”
“In terms of GDP (gross domestic product), we’ve seen the last nine years with GDP of over 6% year-on-year, something that the Philippines has managed to move to a new trajectory of growth,” he said during the company’s media briefing at its head office in Pasig City.
For the full-year 2018, core net income rose 10.9% to P22.41 billion from P20.21 billion previously, driven by the 5% increase in volume of energy distributed, higher financing income from the funds deployed due to the improved yields, recognition of service fees, among others.
Reported income was up 13% to P23.02 billion from P20.38 billion.
In terms of energy sales, growth improved by 5.3% to 44,313 gigawatt-hours (GWh), including the volume distributed by subsidiary Clark Electric Distribution Corp., Mr. Reyes said.
Meralco officials said the increase in electricity sales volume was driven by the combined contributions across all customer sectors and the effects of a relatively resilient domestic consumption driven by the rapidly expanding Philippine offshore gaming operators, the steady contribution of the business process outsourcing industry, and the growth in remittance from overseas Filipino workers and migrants.
“Customer base also expanded 4.6% to 6.61 million customers,” Mr. Reyes said.
Betty C. Siy-Yap, Meralco senior vice-president and chief finance officer, said gross revenues last year grew to P304.5 billion, 8% more than the P282.6 billion recorded the earlier year.
She said the increase was a result of higher sales volumes and pass-through charges. These in turn resulted from higher average fuel prices, a weaker peso, higher prices at the wholesale electricity spot market.
“That’s specifically for generation charge,” she said.
Electricity revenues, which accounted for 97% of gross revenues, totaled P295.4 billion, up from P275.2 billion, she said. Generation and other pass-through components as a percentage of total electricity revenues was at 79% in 2018, a percentage point higher than in 2017.
“On a quarterly basis, the fourth quarter revenues were higher than the third quarter when major weather disturbances resulted in unserved energy. Adding to the increase is the continued wrap up of office and retail spaces,” she said.
“Also, sales in the last quarter of the year is normally boosted by higher consumption, the increase in production activities to keep up with demand, and longer operating hours of malls and other establishments during the Christmas season,” she added.
OUTLOOK
Meralco Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan expressed optimism about the distribution utility’s performance this year.
“Financial indicators are good, volume is good, customer account is better,” he said. “We just have to make sure that the tariff for the fifth regulatory period should be okay.”
The Energy Regulatory Commission regulates the power distribution utility within a so-called “reset period” consisting of four regulatory years. The company’s regulatory year begins on July 1 and ends on June 30 of the following year. Its fourth reset period began on July 1, 2015 and ends on June 30, 2019.
Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.

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