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2019 — the year of choices for ASEAN’s bond markets

By Aaron Gwak
IF JANUARY developments are any to go by, 2019 looks to be a year of heightened volatility with risk themes across rates, trade, and general economic growth continuing to ebb and flow in the global financial markets. But rather than playing it safe, the availability of choices will be the bond market’s new best friend in this fluid environment.
For ASEAN bond markets to stand out, there needs to be both an availability of varied bond deals for investors and a wider access to debt financing options for issuers. The year ahead will show us how a greater abundance of choices can benefit portfolios and balance sheets.
Intra-ASEAN issuances and regional bond deals denominated in the G3 currencies are expected to feature strongly. In 2018, G3 bond deals as a proportion of overall bond funding in the region rose to 37 percent from 27 percent in 2013. Having a balanced mix of access to both local- and foreign-currency bonds allows borrowers to reach a bigger group of institutional and retail investors.
In turn, more consistent debt offerings by established private companies and larger state-owned enterprises in ASEAN could build a virtuous cycle that leads to the region’s bonds being top of mind for investors. The wider selection, be it in sectors, yields, ratings, and currency exposure, is set to further deepen the liquidity pool of investors by attracting greater interest from homegrown pension funds, insurers, and asset managers.
As the region’s growth outlook remains robust, supported by domestic consumption, retail investors will also become a fast-growing group in the bond market. Take for example Vietnam, where greater prosperity runs through every aspect of the economy, the development of its retail bond market could become a strong force to be reckoned with for neighboring countries such as the Philippines and Singapore. Still, we expect a strong repeat of retail demand in these markets. In Singapore, there was a significant retail play last year with high quality issues such as those by Astrea IV and Temasek. Bond issues by Philippine banks, with their strong name recognition and credit profile, have also been highly sought after by retail investors.

bank statement
The wider selection, be it in sectors, yields, ratings, and currency exposure, is set to further deepen the liquidity pool of investors by attracting greater interest from homegrown pension funds, insurers, and asset managers.

A reliable and stable benchmark in government bonds will also spur more transparency in credit pricing. Government bonds form an important benchmark in many ASEAN local-currency markets, where issuers price at a spread over the respective government yields. To ensure that government bonds are an effective benchmark for credit products, the various initiatives by local regulators have an important role to play in creating diverse products and hedging instruments to further instill stability in local-currency government bonds.
In 2019, regional economic development and global initiatives will bode well for the development of ASEAN’s bond markets. Investors can expect new names from within ASEAN or the international scene. Last year, Standard Chartered successfully brought Laos’ power operator EDL-Generation to Thailand. Such cross-market flows will become a bigger theme this year.
New firsts could also dominate the markets. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) made its debut in the onshore Philippine bond market by issuing peso-denominated green bonds in June 2018. As sustainable development becomes more embedded in government policies and corporate practices, expect to see more of such interest in the region.
Furthermore, with China’s bond markets opening up further, there will be more choices coming out by way of Panda bonds. The Philippine government’s landmark Panda bond transaction last year could see other followers from the region.
Choices will be the theme for ASEAN bond markets in 2019. But choices are only as good as the options are and investors’ ability to discern among them. Standard Chartered, one of the leading foreign banks in the ASEAN bond market, and other financial institutions must continue to add value by bringing regional and international best practices into the region. Only then can our funding pool grow deeper and more liquid.
And now the choice is for you to take.
 
Aaron Gwak is Head of Capital Markets, ASEAN, Standard Chartered Bank.

How was the service?

By Tony Samson
IN CHANGI Airport in Singapore, the toilets have a small touch screen by the entrance with emoji symbols for users to rate the quality of the facility — from grouchy to jubilant in a scale of five to one. The customer just presses the appropriate symbol to register his rating. He is assured that the screen is regularly cleaned to be properly hygienic, considering what the fingers have just been up to before the voting. This instant feedback, tracked digitally, serves to evaluate customer feedback.
Enlightened companies like Walmart consider customer feedback essential. The complaints department is part of this information loop. It records customer dissatisfaction, even when expressed with expletives and raised voices. Perhaps, failed customer experiences provide an unadulterated assessment of service.
Restaurants here have embraced the need for customer feedback. There may be a store manager (or even the chef) coming to your table to ask how the food was. This personal inquiry can be overdone and disrupt the privacy of diners — and is your mashed potato lumpy or just right for your mastication efforts? You should try our anchovy dip with the lettuce.
The customer rating form is routinely inserted in the black folder along with the bill.
The form covers marketing efforts, like how one heard of the new restaurant — whether from a radio ad or the person on top of the escalator handing out flyers. It’s a bother to tell the truth — I haven’t heard of this restaurant before today. I just wandered in as there was no queue outside.
Other questions cover service, especially the responsiveness of the waitresses. (Did your order arrive before your vacation leave was over?) Another category involves product offering — what do you want us to add to the menu (aside from what was not available on it)?
What happens to all this customer feedback?
Not all customers are willing to spend two minutes to accomplish the feedback form, even when a short pencil without an eraser is provided. The customer went there to eat. He orders what he wants from the menu. He expects to be served, eat in peace, pay his bill and get on with the rest of his day. He doesn’t want to be pestered afterwards — please give us your email address and mobile phone number; also your date of birth and TIN.
So, who fills up these forms? They fall into three categories: a) those with time on their hands waiting for a meeting at 3PM; b) those who are unusually peeved by the service and need to rant; and c) those with a perverse sense of humor — your washroom has no toilet paper. So, here you have what statisticians call a biased sample.
Do the servers and store managers peek at the written comments?
One can only surmise the tug of war between management systems (this will go straight to upper management) and self-preservation in case of bad ratings. Guess how this trade-off is resolved. So, what percentage of the forms reaches head office for customer satisfaction evaluation.
Is there a bias for positive feedback? (Your workers see customer service as an opportunity for sanctification. Where do you get such dedicated human beings?) Check the handwriting and the grammar.
So if the ballots are pre-screened, how reliable can the survey be? Maybe the conclusions will involve higher compensation for an overworked but motivated (almost bursting into song) workforce. Perhaps, the menu can do with some pruning, involving the removal of seldom available offerings (like soft-shell crabs).
The important insights are sometimes not found in the form, simply because those who have not eaten in the restaurant (or bothered filling up) are unaccounted for. The non-customers (or potential new business) are not heard from in the on-store survey.
The most significant metric in gauging satisfaction is repeat business, and waiters who recognize regular customers and remember their order — whole wheat pasta for your vongole, Sir? Still, customer intimacy needs to be reined in — I see you’re with a new dinner companion, Sir. This one looks younger.
“Word of mouth” and customer ratings in social media can provide the best information, when these are not being manipulated. Thus, it’s more important when friends are the ones asking — how was the service? The answer to that can attract new customers or lose old ones.
 
Tony Samson is Chairman and CEO, TOUCH xda
ar.samson@yahoo.com

Duterte flags ‘Build Build Build’ setback due to insufficient workforce

By Charmaine A. Tadalan, Reporter
THE GOVERNMENT’s flagship “Build Build Build” infrastructure development program — meant to spur overall economic growth to a sustained faster pace — has suffered delays due to a lack of workers, President Rodrigo R. Duterte himself admitted on Thursday night.
“Eh ‘yang ‘Build, Build, Build’, medyo atrasado nang konti. Walang trabahante (Build Build Build is a bit delayed do to a lack of workers),” the President said in a speech during the kick-off rally of the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan party in San Jose del Monte City in Bulacan.
“Alam mo, dito sa Pilipinas ngayon, maraming trabaho… Ang construction humihinto kasi walang trabahante... (There’s a lot to do here in the Philippines, but construction halts due to a lack of workers like) master electrician, master carpenter, master plumber,” he added.
“Ang karamihan ng may alam niyan wala na dito sa Pilipinas at andun na sa Middle East (Many skilled workers are no longer here in the Philippines but have gone to the Middle East)…”
The current administration has planned to spend up to P8 trillion on priority infrastructure projects up to 2022, when Mr. Duterte ends his six-year term, in a bid to drive gross domestic product expansion to 7-8% annually till then from a 6.3% average in 2010-2016 under former president Benigno S. C. Aquino III. GDP growth, however, slowed to 6.2% last year from 6.7% in 2017, weighed down in part by a struggling agriculture sector that has historically contributed about a tenth to national production.
BAD TREATMENT
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), the country’s biggest labor group, confirmed Mr. Duterte’s observation of an insufficient workforce for his administration’s infrastructure drive.
“It’s true that we have shortage of construction workers,” TUCP said in a press release on Friday, quoting its president, Party List Rep. Raymond Democrito C. Mendoza.
“We are currently experiencing ‘skill and brain drain’ phenomenon because of… bad treatment of our construction workers,” he explained, citing low pay; meager benefits; poor access to certification; and unsafe, unhealthy working conditions.
“The nation is losing fast its vast and excellent reserves of construction manpower to higher pay and attractive benefits offered by companies abroad.”
Citing “different government statistics”, TUCP said in its statement that only about a million of some 3 million construction workers nationwide are certified.
“… [W]e have plenty of certified, skilled and world-class construction workers, but due to meager salary, poor benefits, unsafe and unhealthy working conditions and [since they are] lowly regarded… they prefer to work abroad after a few months of training and actual field experience here because they are dignified there, they are given higher salary and benefits there, and are given free decent housing and paid vacation,” Mr. Mendoza said.
“We have a vast pool of highly, multi-skilled and fine craftsmen, but also because of lack of training facilities and poor access to certification programs we do not tap them to become potentials for the country’s ‘Build Build Build’ programs,” he added, noting that “[m]any of them even have to pay, fall in long lines and travel far just to access national certification.”
“Construction workers even purchase their own personal protective equipment used in working, buy their own drinking water, pay for their food intake during work break to replenish strength, and [are] given a dirty and bad sleeping quarters during the whole duration of the construction project.”
GOVERNMENT STEPS
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo, for his part, said on Friday that Mr. Duterte has directed the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to train more workers in carpentry, welding and other skills needed for the infrastructure drive.
“Sabi ni Presidente sa TESDA: ‘aba, kailangan gawan mo ng paraan ‘yan para magkaroon tayo ng malalim na bench ng mga karpentero, welders, mga electrician dahil marami ang nagpuntahan sa ibang bansa (The President told TESDA to do something about the situation so that we will have a deep bench of carpenters, welders and electricians, because many have left for jobs abroad),” Mr. Panelo told reporters in a briefing in Malacañan Palace.
“In other words, we’re doing something about it.”
For the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), any delay in infrastructure development was due more to the deadlock over the P3.757-trillion national budget for 2019.
“Well, not fatal yet, but it has certainly been set back… by three months siguro because the 2019 budget will be officially approved only by the end of this quarter, or by end of March,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia told BusinessWorld over telephone interview on Friday.
The government has so far been operating under a reenacted 2018 budget since Congress ratified the 2019 national budget only last Feb. 8 after months of bicameral bickering over alleged irregular fund insertions.
Asked about the President’s concern, Mr. Pernia replied: “No, lack of workers, that’s being addressed, especially with the Hanjin closure and we have several OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) are coming home to take advantage of opportunities here. That’s not a problem.”
He was referring to over 3,000 workers of Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Philippines, Inc., which is now under receivership after defaulting on liabilities that include some $412 million owed to six Philippine banks.
Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno declined to comment on the issue, saying Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar, Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade and Bases Conversion and Development Authority President Vivencio B. Dizon “will have to validate the President’s claim”
“What, for instance, is the seriousness of the problem, if there is one? In what areas? What is the DoLE (Department of Labor and Employment) and TESDA doing about it?”

December cash remittances at record high, but 2018 growth slowest on record

By Karl Angelo N. Vidal, Reporter
CASH sent home by overseas Filipino workers (OFW) surged to an all-time high in December and clocked in full-year growth that outpaced the central bank’s growth forecast even as it was the slowest annual increase on record, according to the data which the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) released on Friday.
Cash remittances reached $2.849 billion that month, up 3.9% from the $2.741 billion inflows recorded in December 2017, spurring full-year inflows up 3.1% to $28.943 billion from 2017’s $28.060 a little past the BSP’s three-percent growth projection.
Decembers’ increase was the fastest since October 2018’s 8.7%.
The increase in remittances was propelled by a 2.8% hike in the amounts sent by land-based OFWs, plus a 4.6% pickup in funds sent by those working at sea.
“Cash remittances in 2018 remained strong amid political uncertainties across the globe,” the BSP said in a press release.
Remittances from Filipinos working in the Middle East decreased by 15.3% in 2018, a reversal from the 3.4% growth recorded in 2017, partly due to the continued repatriation program of the Saudi government.
The decline in fund transfers from the Middle East was partly offset by cash inflows from Asia, the Americas and Europe that grew year-on-year by 12.3%, 9.7% and 7.7%, respectively.
For full-year 2018, the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Japan, the United Kingdom, Qatar, Canada, Germany and Hong Kong accounted for 79% of total flows in 2018.
CHRISTMAS BOOST
Sought for comment, two economists said the uptick in December inflows was driven by increased spending back home amid Christmas festivities.
“December is the season for sending back money for loved ones in the Philippines,” Union Bank of the Philippines, Inc. chief economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion said in a mobile phone message.
Remittances usually peak towards December each year as OFWs send more money to support increased spending for festivities and gifts during the holidays.
Household spending, in turn, contributes about three-fifths of gross domestic product. Latest available Philippine Statistics Authority data show household final consumption expenditure growth slowing to 5.4% in 2018’s fourth quarter from the year-ago 6.2%, and full-year increase slowing to 5.6% in 2018 from 5.9% in 2017.
Apart from the seasonal increase in remittances in December, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. economist Michael L. Ricafort cited residual effects of higher inflation that may have prompted Filipino workers abroad to send more money home to help their families cope with higher prices.
The overall year-on-year increase in prices of widely used goods and services eased for the second straight month to 5.1% in December, its slowest pace in seven months even as it was still above the BSP’s 2-4% target band. September and October saw a nine-year-high 6.7%.
“For full year 2018, slower growth in OFW remittances vs. in 2017 may have been partly made up by the +5.3% increase in the US$/peso exchange rate in 2018… that required less OFW remittances for the same amount of pesos needed, assuming all other factors are the same,” Mr. Ricafort said in a text message.
The peso traded at its weakest value against the dollar in 12 years in the latter part of the year, hitting P54.41 against the greenback in October. The local unit ended 2018 at P52.58 to the dollar, compared with P49.93 at end-2017.
UnionBank’s Mr. Asuncion said the slowdown in remittance growth may also be attributed to the lingering negative sentiment due to “recent protectionism issues.”
“Note that markets and economies, both advanced and emerging ones, have been largely affected by the trade tensions between the US and China last year,” he said.
“Even in the last two months, ERU (UnionBank’s Economics Research Unit) has observed that any positive news about the progress of trade talks between the said countries largely affects the general sentiment in global markets, and any negative development brings about the opposite.”
Mr. Asuncion also attributed the slower annual remittance growth to “geopolitical events” as well as the “previous diplomatic issues such as that of Kuwait” earlier last year. In February, President Rodrigo R. Duterte banned Filipinos from working in Kuwait in response to the murder of OFW Joanna Demafelis. He lifted that ban in May.

Duterte signs rice tariffication bill

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte signed into law the rice tariffication bill on the last possible day he could have signed or vetoed the measure, Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III told reporters, as confirmed by television reports.
Television news programs on Friday evening quoted the President’s spokesman, Salvador S. Panelo, as saying that the President had signed the measure.
Mr. Sotto issued the confirmation in a Viber message to reporters Friday evening, saying: “Pirmado na ang additional discounts for poli(tical) ads, Rice tariffication din (The measures allowing additional discounts for political ads has been signed, as well as the rice tariffication bill).”
Rice tariffication liberalizes the import process for rice while taking away the role in importing of the National Food Authority (NFA). In place of the old system, private importers will pay a tariff of 35% on grain shipped from Southeast Asia, raising revenue for the government and also funding a rice industry competitiveness fund.
Had Mr. Duterte not signed the measure today, it would have lapsed into law. The uncertainty surrounding the signing had also raised the possibility that he might veto the measure as farmers’ groups had urged him.
As of 4pm yesterday, the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office had not confirmed whether the measure was signed or vetoed by the President, as of 4 pm Friday.
The measure was transmitted to the Office of the President on Jan. 15. Under the 1987 Constitution, the President has 30 days to act on a bill upon receipt from Congress, or else it lapses into law.
The measure had the blessing of economic managers and the business sector, but farm groups and Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol warned that the country might someday be hostage to a supply crunch in rice-producing countries when their populations grow. The bill’s opponents also said the measure would kill off the industry by discouraging rice farmers from planting the crop.
Former Trade Undersecretary Ernesto M. Ordoñez, in a Feb. 14 column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, cited the position of Alyansa Agricultura on the measure.
Noting that while tariffication is “desirable,” he said 35% is too low, and estimated a 70% tariff as a level sufficient to ensure the survival of domestic farmers.
The Federation of Free Farmers also cautioned that the measure will remove the power of the National Food Authority to regulate the market and limit it to maintaining a buffer stock, to be released during emergencies to shore up the food supply in affected areas.
“Farmers will not be able to depend on the NFA to buy their produce if palay prices fall. Once the NFA accumulates enough for its buffer stock, it will have to stop buying from farmers. Traders will now be free to set whatever price they want,” FFF National Manager Raul Q. Montemayor was quoted as saying in a statement on Feb. 6.
Lining up to support the bill was the Foundation for Economic Freedom, which considers the measure as the “most far-reaching reform” in rice policy.
“By liberalizing the industry the syndicate controlling the value chain will now be nullified by free entry and competition — including entry and competition from foreign rice suppliers,” the group said in a statement on Monday.
The FEF’s members are mostly retired technocrats.
Thirteen business groups also signed a joint statement on Jan. 22, asking the President to sign the measure to ensure food security.
The measure will amend Republic Act No. 8178, or the “Agricultural Tariffication Act,” by lifting quantitative restrictions on rice imports. It is among the bills identified by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council as a priority of the administration.
The measure will restore the minimum access volume to the 2012 level of 350,000 metric tons and impose a 35% tariff or the import duty rate commitment of the Philippines for rice importation, pursuant to the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA).
A 180% out-quota tariff rate will be levied on rice imports originating from non-ASEAN, World Trade Organization member states.
At present, the country has a MAV of 805,200 metric tons on rice imports.
The measure will also establish the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), which Senator Loren B. Legarda confirmed had been given a P10-billion allocation under the 2019 General Appropriations Bill.
The RCEF is intended to serve as a special rice safeguard to protect the rice industry, which will be distributed, accordingly: 50% for machinery and equipment; 30% for rice seed development, propagation and promotion; 10% for expanded rice credit assistance and 10% for rice extension services.
The farmgate price of palay and wholesale and retail prices of well-milled rice dropped in the first week of February, according to data by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) released Friday, ahead of the possible bill signing or lapsing into law.
PSA data showed the average farmgate price of palay, or unmilled rice, dropped in the first week of February by 0.15% week-on-week to P19.70 per kilogram (kg).
The average wholesale price of well-milled rice was P41.49 per kg, down 0.02% from the previous week. The average retail price of well-milled rice was P44.87 per kg, down 0.29%.
The average wholesale price of regular-milled rice fell 0.18% week-on-week to P38.18 per kg. The average retail price of regular-milled rice, on the other hand, rose 0.02% to P41.14 per kg.
The PSA said the average farmgate price for yellow corngrain rose 0.22% week-on-week to P13.93 per kg. The wholesale average price for yellow corngrain was P20.41, up 0.49%.
The average retail price for yellow corngrain was P25.35 per kg, up 0.68% week-on-week.
The average farmgate price for white corngrain rose 3.08% week-on-week to P14.41 per kg, while the average wholesale price was P20.88 per kg, up 0.38%.
The average retail price of white corngrain was unchanged at P28.12 per kg, PSA said. — Charmaine A. Tadalan with Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio

SC sought to reconsider denying Palawan’s share in Malampaya fund

By Charmaine A. Tadalan, Reporter
A MOTION for reconsideration has been filed before the Supreme Court (SC) over its decision denying Palawan its 40% share in the Malampaya gas project.
“We filed a motion for reconsideration in the hope that Palawan will finally get its legitimate share of the Malampaya funds,” former presidential spokesperson Harry L. Roque was quoted as saying in a statement issued Friday.
He said a total of P120 billion is on the line for Palawan, should the Supreme Court decide to allow the royalty share.
Mr. Roque is the legal counsel of Kilusang Love Malampaya, which is among the petitioners of the Malampaya case. He filed the motion for reconsideration on Thursday, Feb. 14.
This stemmed from the SC en banc ruling on the petition denying Palawan its share of royalties from the gas project.
The decision is “a huge step backwards, not only for the people of Palawan, but for all local government units empowered under the 1987 Constitution and the Local Government Code,” Mr. Roque said.
He argued the 1987 Constitution considers continental shelves as part of the national territory, which means it shall be recognized as part the local government’s territory.
“There can be no strict separation between resources that the national government can develop and the local government units that have control over these resources precisely because we are under a unitary system of government, and not a federal system,” he said.
He added: “The means by which local governments can achieve fiscal autonomy and develop are clearly stated in the Constitution and the Local Government Code: 40 percent share from the government’s utilization of their resources. Hence, there is no textual basis or just basis for any other conclusion than that Palawan deserves 40 percent of the revenues from Malampaya.”

PCC, DTI sign MoA on data-sharing, other monitoring components


THE Philippine Competition Commission and the Department of Trade and Industry signed on Friday a memorandum of agreement (MoA) aimed at facilitating data-sharing between the two agencies and ensuring fair competition among the industries on their watch.
“We really have to work together as we watch the industry structure, as well as industry development,” Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said in a press briefing on Friday, adding that “we want to be assured that there is a good number of players, companies because it is competition that will assure competitive prices and benefit consumers.”
The MoA recommended coordination schemes on areas which may fall within the jurisdiction of one of the agencies, as well as investigation and enforcement support.
The MoA allows for easier transfer of data, except in cases where information was provided by private stakeholders and strictly meant for the DTI.
PCC Commissioner Johannes Benjamin R. Bernabe said private stakeholders will be given the option to waive its confidentiality terms to accommodate the PCC.
However, if stakeholders decline to share the needed data, the PCC can take legal steps to obtain the data.
“If they don’t waive, remember, under the Philippine Competition Act, the PCC has the power to subpoena documents,” Mr. Bernabe told reporters on Friday.
Competition Chair Arsenio M. Balisacan said the MoA will be a “game-changer” in fast-tracking their review of sectors and investigation of cases where competition concerns may arise. — Janina C. Lim

Friday marks second straight weekly fall ahead of PSEi rebalancing

WEAKNESS returned to Philippine equities on Friday — marking the second straight weekly fall — as traders adjusted portfolios ahead of the main index’s rebalancing on Monday, as the ongoing Sino-US trade row weighed on investors’ minds amid a lack of more compelling leads at home and as foreigners snapped back to selling mode.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) dropped 82.36 points or 1.03% to finish 7,908.89 — down 2.01% on the week — while the broader all-shares index gave up 28.32 points or 0.58% to end 4,823.32.
RCBC Securities, Inc. noted in a Stock Market Weekend Recap prepared by analyst Fiorenzo D. De Jesus that PSEi joined a regional downturn as “foreigners turned net sellers”, unloading a net P489.937 million compared to Thursday’s P251.895-million net purchases.
For AAA Southeast Equities President William Matthew M. Cabangon, “[a] large part of the moves happened at the close, and this can be attributed to the rebalancing of the PSEi, which takes effect on Monday.”
“Funds are reallocating their assets according to the new weightings all at the same time, exaggerating the moves of the index,” Mr. Cabangon explained in a mobile phone message.
Mr. de Jesus noted that trades of Bloomberry Resorts Corp. — whose stock price surged by 7.62% to P13 apiece and which replaces Petron Corp., which ended down 1.35% at P6.60 each, at PSEi on Monday — “accounted for P1.5 billion value turnover”.
“As funds portion more of their portfolio into BLOOM, they naturally sell the other index stocks in order to rebalance,” AAA’s Mr. Cabangon explained.
“We don’t see today’s -1% move in the PSEi as a reason to worry. It is just rebalancing.”
Timson Securities, Inc. Trader Jervin S. De Celis noted in a separate text message that “Our index closed in the negative territory today as foreign investors led the selloff of their positions in index stocks”.
“This negative sentiment in the PSE trailed the movement of our neighboring countries as China and US are reported far from reaching a deal, urging President (Donald) Trump to reconsider the deadline on March 1”.
Two key Wall Street indices ended Thursday down — the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 0.41%, the S&P 500 by 0.27% — while the Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.09%.
Most major Asian indices followed suit on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 and TOPIX dropping 1.13% and 0.79%, respectively, and the Shanghai SE Composite, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and South Korea’s KOSPI giving up 1.37%, 1.87% and 1.34%, respectively.
At home, only two of the six sectoral indices ended with gains on Friday: property by 6.93 points or 0.17% to 4,036.7 and holding firms by 9.52 points or 0.12 to 7,901.93.
The rest retreated: financials by 48.71 points or 2.65% to 1,786.39, services by 21.92 points or 1.37% to 1,568.54, industrials by 91.59 points or 0.79% to 11,457.29 and mining & oil by 23.28 points or 0.27% to 8,492.91.
Stocks that declined outnumbered those that gained 127 to 83, while 46 others ended flat.
Friday saw 2.814 billion shares worth P16.391 billion change hands, compared to Thursday’s 3.792 billion worth P5.112 billion.
“The top market drag was BDO Unibank, Inc. which tumbled [by 4.98% to P133.60 apiece] following a P5.3-billion placement at P133.00 apiece. BDO’s parent, SM Investments Corp. also pulled back [by 2.02% to P970 each]. Together, BDO and SM accounted for a total of 50.41 points of the PSEi’s losses,” RCBC Securities’ Mr. De Jesus noted.
Friday’s list of 20 most active stocks showed only five that gained. Besides Bloomberry, the others were: Ayala Corp. (3.78% to P961 apiece), Universal Robina Corp. (1.53% to P146), Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. (5.52% to P66) and Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc. (26.98% to P8 each).
SM Prime Holdings, Inc. and Alliance Global Group, Inc. ended flat at P39.40 and P13.86 apiece, respectively. — J. C. Lim

Bong Go leaps to ‘Magic 12,’ Poe retains lead in Pulse Asia poll

Special Assistant to the President Sec. Bong Go — PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte’s special assistant Christopher Lawrence “Bong” T. Go has leapt to the top 12 in Pulse Asia’s latest survey on senatorial candidates conducted last January.
Meanwhile, reelectionist Senator Grace Poe-Llamanzares has retained her lead from Pulse Asia’s surveys last year, followed by fellow reelectionist Senator Cynthia A. Villar.
Mr. Go, who placed 16th in Pulse Asia’s mid-December 2018 poll, leapt to 8th place in the January poll conducted Jan. 26–31, with his awareness rising from 82% to 91%, and voter preference rising from 29.7% to 44.7%.
Otherwise, “(p)ractically all of the probable winners have at one time or another been part of Congress,” the survey noted.
Reelectionist Senator Juan Edgardo M. Angara, who placed 3rd in December, dropped to 6th and was replaced by former senator and Taguig City Representative Pia S. Cayetano, who placed 5th in December. Former senator Manuel “Lito” M. Lapid moved up 4th place in January from 5h place in December, and reelectionist Senator Ma. Lourdes “Nancy” S. Binay moved up 5th place in January from 6th place in December.
Completing the top 12 are reelectionist Senator Aquilino Martin dlL. Pimentel III in 7th place, former Senator Jinggoy E. Estrada in 9th place, former senator Manuel A. Roxas in 10th place (the lone oppositionist in the top 12), Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee R. Marcos in 11th place, and former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla in 12th place.

Keng: Libel case vs. Rappler a ‘private,’ ‘personal’ matter

By Vann Marlo M. Villegas, Reporter
BUSINESSMAN Wilfredo D. Keng in a new statement on Friday maintained that the cyber libel case he filed against online news site Rappler and its CEO Maria A. Ressa is “a private criminal action” and “my personal fight to vindicate my name against the acts of an unethical and irresponsible few.”
“In what may be an ingenious attempt to divert attention away from this singular legal issue, Rappler and Ressa intentionally and wrongfully lump my case together with all other cases that have been filed against them,” he said.
“They falsely place me against the side of press freedom. They posture all such cases, including mine, as alleged concerted silencing maneuvers by the government,” he said, adding that they demean the legal remedy he sought and called it “preposterous and baseless,” an “attempt to intimidate,” “black propaganda,” and “lies.”
“My case does not tackle state suppression of policy criticism or of free expression of sentiment. That being said, its filing and progression do not impinge in any way on freedom of speech and of the press, freedoms which I fully believe in and support,” Mr. Keng added.
Ms. Ressa was arrested for cyber libel on Feb. 13 and was detained overnight at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) but was able to post P100,000 bail the next day at the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 46 which issued the arrest warrant.
Former researcher Reynaldo Santos, Jr. also posted bail on Feb. 15, according to the NBI Cybercrime Division chief Victor V. Lorenzo.
Rappler, Ms. Ressa, and Mr. Santos were indicted by the Department of Justice on Dec. 10 last year for cyber libel over an article on May 29, 2012, four months before the Cybercrime Prevention Act was signed into law, which reported Mr. Keng as being linked to illegal activities and also as the alleged owner of a car used by then Chief Justice Renato C. Corona.
Ms. Ressa told reporters after posting bail that her arrest is an “abuse of power and weaponization of the law.”
“This isn’t just about, and it’s not just about Rappler. The message the government sending is very clear. And someone actually told our reporter this last night, ‘Be silent or you’re next.’ So I’m saying and appealing to you not to be silent even if and especially if you’re next.”
Ms. Ressa’s arrest also prompted outrage from various local and foreign organizations, institutions, and personalities.
Mr. Keng also said he will continue to pursue his case. “I will continue this criminal case against Rappler and Ressa, and am currently exploring all other cases that can be filed against them,” he said.
“I know that I am going up against an extraordinary and powerful accused, supported by politicians, foreign organizations and international outfits. With their combined machinery, they can act as critic, influencer and judge all at the same time. I know that there is a possibility that I may lose,” he added.

JBC comes up with shortlist for SC associate justice

THE Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) has included 13 names in its shortlist for the Supreme Court (SC) associate justice position vacated by the current Chief Justice Lucas P. Bersamin, according to Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra.
Court of Appeals (CA) Associate Justices Edgardo L. De los Santos and Amy C. Lazaro-Javier topped the shortlist with six points each.
Court of Tax Appeals Presiding Justice Roman G. Del Rosario and CA Associate Justices Japar B. Dimaampao and Ramon R. Garcia also entered the list with five points each.
Making it in the shortlist with four points each are: Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo M. Cabotaje-Tang, SC Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez, former Ateneo Law dean Cesar L. Villanueva, and CA associate justices Henri Jean Paul B. Inting, Jhosep Y. Lopez, Mario V. Lopez, Eduardo B. Peralta, Jr., and Ricardo R. Rosario.
Those who did not make the cut are: CA associate justices Nina G. Antonio-Valenzuela, Ramon M. Bato, Jr., Apolinario D. Brusales, Jr., Ramon A. Cruz, Stephen C. Cruz, and Oscar V. Badelles, and Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Efren N. de la Cruz.
Mr. Bersamin left his associate justice position on Nov. 28 last year upon his appointment as chief justice. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Comelec starts crackdown on illegal campaign materials

By Vince Angelo C. Ferreras
THE Commission on Elections (COMELEC) has begun its crackdown on illegal campaign materials, including those oversized or placed outside designated areas, following a grace period for compliance that ended Thursday.
Under COMELEC Resolution 10488, campaign materials should be limited to common poster areas such as plazas, markets, and barangay centers. Posters and tarpaulins should measure about 12 by 16 feet.
“Lilitratuhin natin itong mga mterials at ido-document natin…Kung mapapansin niyo nag-post na kami sa mga social media accounts naming ng mga out of place and out of size posters. Kung makikita niyo, may hawak na dyaryo yung tao natin…that proves the date of the incident,” Comelec spokesperson James B. Jimenez said in a press briefing on Friday. (We will take photos and document them…If you will notice, we have already posted on our social media accounts out-of-place and out-of-size posters. If you will see, some of our staff are holding copies of today’s newspaper…that proves the date of the incident.)
“Then we will write a letter to the candidate informing the violation and then we will take down the material,” he added.
Mr. Jimenez said the Comelec will deploy two teams to go around Metro Manila to monitor violations.
He also warned that, “If warranted, a criminal complaint will be filed for election offense. An election offense is of course violation of Republic Act 9006 and its implementing rules and the penalty is imprisonment up to six years, a fine, and disqualification from holding office.”
Also on Friday, COMELEC Commissioner Rowena V. Guanzon released on social media a list of election candidates with illegal posters. The list is a mix of administration, opposition, and independent candidates: Ferdinand A. Aguilar, Ibrahim H. Albani, Gary C. Alejano, Richard U. Alfajora, Rafael M. Alunan III, Juan Edgardo M. Angara, Paolo Benigno A. Aquino IV, Ernesto R. Arellano, Marcelino P. Arias, Bernard F. Austria, Ma. Lourdes Nancy S. Binay, Edmundo Vicente G. Casino, Pilar Juliana S. Cayetano, Glenn A. Chong, Neri J. Colmenares, Jose Manuel Tadeo I. Diokno, Joseph Victor G. Ejercito, Jinggoy E. Estrada, Lorenzo G. Gadon, Conrado I. Generoso, Florin T. Hilbay, Leborio M. Jangao Jr., Rodolfo B. Javellana Jr., Manuel M. Lapid, Romulo B. Macalintal, Emily T. Mallillin, Falsal M. Mangondato, Zajid G. Mangudadatu, Jose Sonny G. Matula, Luther G. Meniano, Alla S. Montano, Willie T. Ong, Sergio DR. Osmena III, Aquilino Martin De Llana Pimentel III, Mary Grace Natividad S. Poe-Llamanzares, Danilo V. Roleda, Lorenzo R. Tanada III, Francis N. Tolentino, Antonio AS. Valdes, and Cynthia A. Villar.
For his part, Department of Interior and Local Government Spokesperson Jonathan E. Malaya reminded local officials to avoid campaigning in areas that are government property. “I think what we are strongly against is yung paggamit ng (the use of) government property,…government vehicle,…(and) anything owned by the government for any partisan political activities,” he said in part.
He added, “Kung may nakita po tayong mga instances na ganyan, sa panahon po ng social media, madali nang mapicturan yan. Ipadala niyo po sa Comelec at DILG, at matutulungan niyo po kaming dalawa to make that person accountable.” (If you see any instances like that, in this time of social media, it’s easy to photograph that. Just send to COMELEC and DILG, and you can help us make that person accountable.)

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