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US farmers turn back to grains on weak soy demand

CHICAGO — Since the mid-2000s, North Dakota farmer Paul Thomas has planted more of his land with soybeans as China’s demand for the oil seed grew. The shift culminated this year when Thomas planted 1,600 of his 5,000 acres with soybeans, the most ever.
But Thomas and many farmers like him plan to return to the old US farm belt staples in 2019: corn and wheat. The change will reverse a trend that saw US farmers plant more acreage this year with soybeans than corn for the first time in 35 years.
The expected shift to other grains comes as farmers struggle to sell the soybean crop because of President Donald Trump’s trade war with China. China typically buys 60 percent of US soybean exports but has bought almost none for months due to the trade war, pushing prices to a decade low.
Thomas plans to plant more wheat next year, hoping he can earn more by decreasing his reliance on the crop dependent on Chinese demand.
Soybean prices are “kicking our butts,” said Thomas.
Without China, Thomas said local cash prices near his farm are $7.10 per bushel of soybeans, below the $8.50 necessary to cover costs.
The trade war has hit US farmers at a vulnerable time. They had planted more acreage than ever with soybeans this year and are harvesting the largest ever US crop.
But Beijing slapped an import tax on US soybeans in July in retaliation for Trump’s taxes on Chinese imports into the United States.
The US Department of Agriculture, in the agency’s first estimate for next year’s planting to include the impact of the tariffs, on Friday estimated 2019 corn plantings to rise about 3 million acres to 92.0 million acres. Wheat acres would rise to 51.0 million acres, up from 47.8 million this year, while soybean acres would fall to 82.5 million acres.
Acreage of soybeans, planted before retaliatory tariffs were imposed, rose to 89.145 million this year, up about 15 million acres from a decade ago.
Corn acres are up by less than 5 million acres since 2008 to 89.1 million acres while wheat acres of 47.8 million this year were near the lowest in a century.
Aron Carlson, president of the Illinois Corn Growers Association, devoted nearly half of his 3,600 acres to soybeans this year but plans to cut back.
He said he may increase corn planting by up to 20 percent at his farm in northern Illinois. The state is the biggest US soy producer.
Soybeans yield fewer bushels per acre than corn but also require less fertilizer, making them generally cheaper to grow. A switch to corn could raise costs for farmers but benefit some companies including fertilizer sellers like The Andersons Inc. The firm’s Chief Executive Pat Bowe told Reuters he expected a switch to corn would be good for fertilizer use.
Bayer AG, too, expects to benefit from a switch to corn.
“Corn has a longer growing period, more issues with weeds and fungi … This is a benefit for our overall business,” Liam Condon, president of the company’s Crop Science division, said at an event in St. Louis this week.
DEMAND DYNAMICS
While soybean prices tumbled to a decade-low on Sept. 18, corn is not frequently exported to China and slumped to merely a 22-month low. Wheat prices are up 19 percent this year as reserves in many exporting countries have fallen to their lowest since 2007-08.
Corn demand has benefited from long-term growth in the livestock industry and grain-based ethanol. Drought in Brazil and Argentina also made corn importers more reliant on the United States.
Stocks soar on jobs reports, hopes of US-China trade deal
A record 3.2 billion bushels of US corn were consumed from June to September, the USDA said on Sept. 28.
Illinois farmer Eric Honselman said his family farm planted about equal amounts of corn and soybeans on their 5,600 acres. But corn acres next year will likely increase by up to 5 percent.
“Next year, we will be longer corn than soybeans,” Honselman said. “Every time the market tells me to grow corn, I will do it.” — Reuters

Stocks may climb ahead of inflation, GDP data

By Arra B. Francia
Reporter
SHARES may continue their upswing in the week ahead as investors look forward to the release of economic figures alongside more corporate earnings from the third quarter.
The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) jumped 1.77% or 124.23 points to close at 7,140.29 last Wednesday, before the local market paused for the holiday break.
On a weekly basis, the PSEi was up 1.08% or 75.96 points, taking cues from the positive sentiment on Wall Street. The financials and mining and oil counters led advancers, climbing 2.84% and 1.7%, respectively.
“If the index can sustain this run and break above resistance at 7,200 [this] week then this may signal that the main index has bottomed out and is officially in a reversal to the upside,” Eagle Equities, Inc. Research Head Christopher John Mangun said in a weekly market note.
Leads for the week include the release of corporate earnings, including Globe Telecom, Inc.; Ayala Land, Inc.; Manila Water Company; SM Investments Corp.; AboitizPower Corp.; Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc.; International Container Terminal Services, Inc.; 8990 Holdings, Inc.; PLDT, Inc.; and Eagle Cement Corp. These companies account for 39% of the PSEi basket and 26% to the all-shares index, according to online brokerage 2TradeAsia.com.
So far, Mr. Mangun said corporate earnings have exceeded expectations. “This may be just what the market needs right now to draw investors back in.”
Investors will also be looking ahead to the October inflation data, which the Philippine Statistics Authority will release on Nov. 6, Tuesday. Meanwhile, the third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth print will be announced on Nov. 8, Thursday.
“Consensus points to 5.8%-6.3% for 3Q, with the bulk of the downside explained by July to September weather interruptions on agri output,” 2TradeAsia.com said in a weekly market note, noting that the damages brought by typhoons Gardo (international name: Maria), Karding (Yagi), Ompong (Mangkhut), and Paeng (Trami) are valued at around P29 billion.
“Also note that the National Capital Region’s share to GDP is at 36%, Calabarzon at 17%, and Central Luzon at almost 10%. To meet the low end of the government’s revised 6.5% to 6.8% target this year, 3Q GDP may need to rise 6.4% and 6.8% in 4Q,” the online brokerage said.
Meanwhile, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said inflation likely stood at 6.2-7% in October, down from its 6.3-7.1% forecast range for September.
Eagle Equities’ Mr. Mangun also pointed to the slowdown of net foreign outflows likely bringing optimism back to the market, after it recorded net buying for the first time since Aug. 30 last Wednesday.
The analyst pegged the PSEi’s support level at 6,800 to 7,000, while resistance could go from 7,200 to 7,500.

Barclays posts lowest CET1 ratio in stress test

BARCLAYS PLC saw its key measure of financial health sink to the lowest level among 48 banks in a European stress test, which gauged how well lenders could withstand heavy credit losses and other Brexit-related fallout.
Barclays’s fully loaded common equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio, a measure of its highest-quality capital, shrank to 6.37% in a so-called adverse scenario. Fellow London lender Lloyds Banking Group Plc didn’t fare much better in the test, with that gauge of financial health falling to 6.8%. That compared with a comparable ratio of 14.85% for Dutch bank ABN Amro Group NV.
The outcome of the stress test, which has no pass or fail grade, matters because it helps supervisors determine if banks need to add capital and what level of shareholder dividends and staff bonuses they can pay out. Over the test’s three-year horizon, 25 banks would have faced regulatory restrictions and decreased payouts by €52 billion ($59 billion).
Barclays downplayed the importance of the results, saying the European Banking Authority (EBA) test didn’t take into account business strategies and management actions since the end of 2017 or future initiatives. It also said its capital requirements will mainly be informed by the Bank of England’s own stress test results on Dec. 5.
The EBA stress test envisages a scenario with shocks such as years of negative economic growth and a rise in government bond yields, amid Brexit-related uncertainty. In Italy, bank shares have plunged recently as the populist government challenges European Union rules to ramp up deficit spending next year. German lenders have been buffeted by a particularly harsh scenario that assumes a steeper drop in gross domestic product than the rest of the EU.
Gary Greenwood, an analyst at Shore Capital, said Barclays has a “green light” to buy back preferred shares and is talking about share buybacks, so there doesn’t appear to be any concern around capitalization. Barclays CEO Jes Staley said last month that his firm was ready to take on US rivals after recording “the best performance of any bank to report thus far” for the third quarter. — Bloomberg

No retail apocalypse in sight: Why PHL malls are thriving

By Arra B. Francia
Reporter

WORLD-RENOWNED retail expert Paco Underhill likes to avoid using the phrase “retail apocalypse” when talking about the recent shutdown of major retail stores in the United States.
With more than three decades in the retail industry, Mr. Underhill sees the phenomenon more as an evolution of how companies cope with the demands of society. And where most US companies seem to have failed, Philippine firms are seen to be moving toward the right path.
“It isn’t just the growth of the mall, it should be the growth of the all, which is when the mall is connected to housing, and work, and play…. And we’re seeing a new generation of consumers where they just want to live work and play in the same place,” Mr. Underhill said in an interview in Pasay City last week.
The so-called retail apocalypse refers to the closure of brick and mortar stores in North America due to several factors such as bankruptcy, oversaturation of malls, ballooning rents, and the rise of online shopping. Companies that have declared bankruptcy include retail giant Sears, Nine West, and Toys “R” Us, among others.
“What we’re seeing in the US is a number of very prominent firms whose evolution was just too slow. The challenge is can the merchant community evolve along with their customers,” Mr. Underhill explained. “I don’t think of it as an apocalypse. I think of it as a reflection of social change.”
The author of What Women Want noted that this is not the case for the Philippines, as developers have identified what a modern shopping mall should include. Not just a big box filled with different products, Philippine malls are typically located within a complex catering to the live-work-play lifestyle.
“What we see is a more enlightened view so that the modern shopping mall may have a hotel, an office building, and library, a church, doctor’s offices, a daycare center, a playground, and maybe even a sports stadium, all in the same place,” he said.
SECURITY
Mr. Underhill also described how malls in emerging markets like the Philippines offer safety, cleanliness, and a controlled climate for shoppers.
Whereas a customer might be worried at a street in downtown Metro Manila, malls offer a sense of safety with its boxed walls and security cameras.
“Second is that it’s clean, there’s a level of hygiene that makes sense to you. And the third is that it’s climate controlled. It is a place that is secure, clean, and pleasant to be in. There are no exhaust fumes and the roar of motorcycles,” he enumerated.
As for the concerns that online shopping may reign supreme in the years to come, Mr. Underhill said the sensory aspect customers experience when coming to physical stores will remain to be an advantage.
“Part of what we’re watching is a shift in process. The physical store allows me to touch, taste, feel — something that I cannot do online. The advantages for online is if I’m buying the same things over and over again, there’s savings in terms of time and money,” he explained.
Mr. Underhill takes his expertise in the retail industry from serving clients in 46 countries and advising them with what works and what doesn’t work in their stores. His work spans across all retail segments — from convenience stores and gasoline stations to luxury goods and technology platforms.
His company called Envirosell deploys about a hundred people every day to observe the goings on of stores in different settings, whether it be near a bank, a sports stadium, doctor’s office or whatnot. Here, they record what customers do once they enter a store and how their shopping routines are, which is then passed on to a company’s marketing, graphics, or design departments where changes can be made.
“They may look at when you look at the door do you slow down. Do you turn right or left, at what point do you stop, do you touch it, do you pick it up, at what point in the process do you look at the price,” Mr. Underhill said.
While these actions may seem small for the consumer, Mr. Underhill said they actually play a big part on how retailers can better arrange their stores so that shoppers would spend more.
“It is that tactical execution that is critical in order to go from losing to winning,” he said.

How PSEi member stocks performed — November 5, 2018

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Wednesdat, October 31, 2018.
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Philippine Stock Exchange’s most active stocks by value turnover — October 31, 2018
pseiactive110518

DTI expecting positive results from European GSP+ review

THE government said it expects a more positive assessment in the European Union’s (EU) next report on the Philippines’ implementation of 27 international conventions that will help determine continued participation in the bloc’s preferential trade arrangements.
“In our exit interview, the EU raised a few points, but overall their inputs were positive,” Ceferino S. Rodolfo, Undersecretary for the Trade Department’s Industry Development and Trade Policy Group, told reporters last week in Manila when asked for updates on the EU’s third generalized system of preferences (GSP+) review held in early October.
Asked about the EU’s concerns, Mr. Rodolfo said they are the “same” issues the EU has brought up previously, without providing details.
The review assesses whether GSP+ beneficiaries are making advancements in the implementation of the 27 international conventions related to human rights, labor rights, protection of the environment and good governance.
The EU conducts an annual review to monitor beneficiary-countries who are obliged to cooperate as a condition for continued participation in the GSP+ program.
The 2017 EU GSP+ report highlighted “serious concerns” about extrajudicial killings, as well as proposals to revive the death penalty and the lowering of the age of criminal responsibility.
“I think there have been improvements. The talks were positive,” Mr. Rodolfo said.
Asked for comment on the EU’s GSP+ mission, EU Ambassador Franz Jessen said “the mission received good cooperation from the Government.”
“Besides dialogue with the Government, the monitoring mission also involves close interaction with civil society, international organizations (e.g. UN and ILO) present in the Philippines and other stakeholders to get a broad and varied view on the state of play with regard to the implementation of the conventions,” Mr. Jessen said in an e-mail interview.
“The monitoring missions are part of the GSP+ monitoring process that applies in the same way to all GSP+ beneficiary countries,” he added.
The recent mission will mark the third GSP+ monitoring mission. Results from the mission will be published end-2019.
According to the European Commission, the Philippines is the EU’s 6th largest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations while the EU is the country’s 4th largest trading partner.
Bilateral trade in services between the EU and the Philippines was 4.6 billion euros in 2016.
EU exports to the Philippines include machinery, transport equipment, chemicals, food products, and electronic components. Meanwhile the Philippines’ main exports to the EU are office and telecommunication equipment, machinery, food products, and optical and photographic instruments.
EU foreign direct investment stock in the Philippines was €9.1 billion in 2016. — Janina C. Lim

ASEAN makes pitch in UK; PHL welcomes transport firms

PHILIPPINE Ambassador to the UK Antonio M. Lagdameo said British firms “cannot ignore” Southeast Asia’s big plans for infrastructure, and welcomed in particular UK expertise in the transportation industry for the Philippines.
Mr. Lagdameo made these remarks to British businesses during the UK-ASEAN Business Council (UKABC) Sizzling Southeast Asia Roadshow at the University of Warwick in Coventry on Oct. 10, according to a statement issued by the Philippine Embassy in the UK on Wednesday.
“The prospects and potential in ASEAN simply cannot be ignored. Many multinational companies are expanding in ASEAN, attracted by the region’s market potential,” he said.
“The Philippines, for instance, has embarked on an ambitious infrastructure program called ‘Build, Build, Build’…. British expertise in transportation and public works would definitely be welcomed by proponents of this program,” he added.
Mr. Lagdameo, who also chairs the ASEAN London Committee (ALC), also cited ASEAN’s growth potential, the ASEAN Economic Community, and the UK’s longstanding economic ties with member states.
He said “strong support systems” are in place in ASEAN member states to aid businesses planning to expand their operations and investment portfolios in the region.
“Should there be anything we can help you with, all you need to do is ask. I encourage everyone to take advantage of today’s opportunities to engage with ASEAN,” Mr. Lagdameo said.
According to the Philippine Embassy, the road show is a round table event organized by the UKABC to showcase ASEAN as an attractive investment destination for British businesses based in the West Midlands. — Camille A. Aguinaldo

PhilHealth tops GOCC subsidies list for September at P5.30 billion

SUBSIDIES REMITTED by the national government to state-run firms surged in September, going largely to health care, banking, and irrigation arms of the government.
According to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) received P19.58 billion in funding support in September, compared with P2.45 billion a year earlier.
In August GOCCs received P5.04 billion worth of subsidies.
The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) received P5.30 billion in September, or 27.07% of the total.
PhilHealth was followed by the Land Bank of the Philippines, which received P4.95 billion, and the National Irrigation Administration, which got P4.83 billion.
The Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. received P2.28 billion worth of subsidies in September.
In the nine months to September, subsidies remitted to GOCCs totaled P124.83 billion, up 49.27% from a year earlier.
This is equivalent to 66.07% of the P188.93 billion programmed subsidies for this year. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

Former NFA head calls for removal of grains agency’s licensing authority

THE National Food Authority (NFA) should not have regulatory powers and be reduced to a logistics agency instead, its former administrator said.
In a presentation at the Annual Rice Forum held at the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) in Los Baños, Laguna, former NFA Administrator Romeo G. David said: “The re-engineered NFA as a logistics corporation is competent to handle other commodities aside from rice and corn and can therefore better serve the countryside as a versatile anchor facility conveniently linking producers to markets. It can consolidate the produce of small farmers and then find or link institutional buyers for their production.”
Mr. David served as NFA Administrator during the term of President Fidel V. Ramos.
According to Mr. David, when the NFA becomes a logistics agency, it can maximize the use of its main assets such as its manpower, warehouse facilities, administrative and regional offices, independent communication system, fleet of vehicles and processing facilities.
“The sheer size of the present NFA organization affords it to offer services to the intended beneficiaries at cost efficiency which are not readily available from any sector in the grains industry. Access to the re-engineered agency’s facilities would give unprecedented convenience and advantage to the rural folk especially the farmers in terms of value-added potential to their produce without the burden of ownership of these facilities, unlocking their economic potential,” Mr. David said.
Mr. David noted that with the re-engineering, the NFA can provide the missing link to rural growth, bringing producers and consumers together by providing strategic logistics services.
“The national government through the NFA facilities (as a logistics agency) will continue to maintain adequate stocks of food commodities strategically positioned in all provinces and hard-to-reach localities, and the mobility in communications network allows immediate market feedback especially during calamities. Immediate response to calamity-stricken areas and the provision of food relief are assured by the strategic positioning of stocks and continuous monitoring of the supply situation,” according to Mr. David.
In an interview with reporters on the sidelines of the forum, Mr. David said that the NFA should not have any licensing authority as this is a responsibility of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), while production of agricultural goods is a responsibility of the Department of Agriculture (DA).
“The NFA is structured both in assets and manpower but it is also saddled with a lot of expenses and activities that are not germane to the office. So I’m saying, devolve it to the right offices. Example, licensing, give it to DTI. Production, that’s the role of DA. Why saddle the NFA with that?” Mr. David explained.
He also said that the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) can decide where the food stocks of NFA should go.
“NFA just provides the service. If you want to import, we [NFA] will help you import. It is not NFA money so we have no say. They hold inventory. If the government wants to give the rice away, it is the government’s decision. DSWD can decide who it goes to.,” Mr. David said.
A rice tariffication bill has been filed in the Senate, and the provisions include the removal of the import-licensing powers of the NFA as rice would be imported freely while the government would charge tariffs on the shipments.
In an interview with BusinessWorld last month, NFA Spokesperson Angel G. Imperial said that the agency disagrees with the proposal.
“The licensing power should be there because one function of the NFA is to regulate,” Mr. Imperial said.
Mr. David, on the other hand, said that he supports rice tariffication but there has to be a window for importation.
“Open import has to be on window. When the harvest is in, which the government can declare, then they can import. You as an importer know those dates. It’s transparent. If you import earlier or later, automatically, the shipment will be confiscated and becomes government stock,” Mr. David said.
He also said that he thinks that the NFA should increase its holding capacity to 3 million metric tons (MT) from the current 2 million MT.
“You have to have more than enough to supply the demand and overwhelm market consumption,” Mr. David said.
Mr. David also said that the government should absorb the debt of the NFA to give the agency a clean slate.
“The whole debt of NFA has to be absorbed by the government so NFA starts with a clean slate. It has hard assets and its working capital can come from divestment or sale of assets they are not using,” according to Mr. David. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio

CTA voids P508-M BIR tax demand over invalid date

THE Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) said it granted a motion for reconsideration sought by Grand Plaza Hotel Corp., in effect cancelling the company’s 2008 tax deficiency of over P508 million, citing the absence of a valid payment deadline.
The court’s Special Second Division found on Oct. 29 that the 2008 tax deficiency of P508,101,387.12 tax deficiency was cited in Final Assessment Notices issued by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) had due dates of “January 00, 1900” which it said “is not a valid date.”
It added that the lack of valid due date negates BIR’s demand for payment, citing previous Supreme Court decisions.
“To stress, an assessment contains not only a computation of tax liabilities, but also a demand for payment within a prescribed period. The requirement to indicate a fixed and definite period within which a taxpayer must pay the tax deficiencies is vital to the validity of the assessment,” it said.
“Therefore, the invalid date in the Formal Letter of Demand and Assessment Notices negates respondent’s demand for payment and makes the assessment void,” it added.
It also claimed jurisdiction over the petition for review of Grand Plaza after the latter appealed the tax assessment on Feb. 20, 2015, or within 30 days of receipt of the Final Notice on Feb. 16, 2015.
In a July 4, 2018, decision the CTA had ruled that the tax assessment had become “final, executory and demandable” due to Grand Plaza’s failure to protest the Formal Letter of Demand within the appointed.
In its motion for reconsideration, Grand Plaza claimed that the CTA has jurisdiction to review the collection proceedings of the BIR under the term “other matters” on rules pertaining to cases within the jurisdiction of the CTA.
The decision stated that “other matters” include but are not limited to “review of the BIR’s authority and decision to compromise; prescription of the CIR’s right to collect taxes; determination of the validity of a warrant of distraint and levy issue by the CIR and the validity of a waiver of the statute of limitations.” — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Tax court upholds rejection of Carmen Copper refund claim

THE Court of Tax Appeals (CTA), sitting en banc, upheld the rejection of a VAT refund claim made by Carmen Copper Corp. worth over P70 million, citing jurisdiction rules after the company failed to act within the required period.
In an Oct. 19 decision, the CTA en banc affirmed a decision by its Second Division and a resolution of the Special Second Division, saying that the company did “not timely” file its petition for the tax refund of input VAT on capital goods imports representing zero-rated sales for four quarters of the year 2011.
Carmen Copper received a letter on May 23, 2013 dated April 1, 2013 from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) partially granting its claim for a refund of P187,346,503.94, recommending that only P114,709,091.64 be covered by a tax credit certificate.
According to Section 112 (A) and (C) of the Tax Code, a VAT-registered entity needs to apply for the refund or issuance of tax credit over zero-rated sales within two years after the close of the quarter when the last sales were made.
After this application, the BIR is given 120 days from the submission of complete documents to decide the grant of refund or tax credit certificate.
In the case of full or partial denial of the claim for tax refund, or failure of the BIR to act on the application within the prescribed period, the taxpayer has 30 days from the receipt of the decision or after the expiration of the 120 days to appeal to the Court of Tax Appeals.
On May 30, 2013, the company filed a letter request before the BIR-Large Taxpayers Service seeking the reconsideration of the disallowed input VAT. The BIR denied the request on July 18, 2014, citing lack of legal basis.
Carmen Copper then filed its petition for review before the Second Division of the CTA on Aug. 18, 2014.
“It bears stressing that the 120+30-day prescriptive periods are both jurisdictional and mandatory,” the CTA ruled, noting a previous decision which emphasized strict compliance to the 120+30-day periods.
The CTA cited a Supreme Court decision which stated that judicial claim shall be filed within 30 days after the receipt of BIR’s decision or after the expiration of the 120-day period, “‘whichever is sooner.’”
“Furthermore, it is clear that any judicial claim filed in a period less than or beyond the said 120+30-day period is outside the jurisdiction of this Court,” the decision read.
“Since the filing of petitioner’s judicial claim was filed beyond the 120+30-day period, the same is outside the jurisdiction of the Court in Division,” it added.
Carmen Copper Corp. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corp. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Worker reps call ₱25 NCR wage increase inadequate

TWO WORKER representatives on the Metro Manila Wage Board said the reported P25 wage hike for the region is inadequate, ahead of the new wage order’s official announcement today.
In a mobile message to BusinessWorld last week, Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board — National Capital Region (RTWPB-NCR) worker’s representative Angelita D. Señorin said that she does not agree with the P25 wage increase and P10 cost of living allowance (COLA) that the board reportedly decided on.
“The P25 increase and integration of P10 COLA is far from an inclusive increase, given the ‘amazing’ real economic growth. Even as productivity has grown, there has been no real wage increase,” she said.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the labor productivity rate was 8.4% — the highest in eight years.
The other worker’s representative on the wage board, German N. Pascua Jr., concurred that P25 is insufficient for workers in Metro Manila who earn the minimum wage.
“The amount is too small,” he said in a text message to BusinessWorld on Sunday.
He added that he still voted for the P25 wage increase and P10 COLA “with reservations with respect to the amount and coverage.”
RTWPB-NCR worker’s representative Alberto R. Quimpo declined to give his reaction to the wage order and added that the National Wages and Productivity Commission(NWPC) will still have to Review the decision.
“We still have to wait for the National Wages and Productivity Commission to act on the decision of the wage board,” he said in a phone interview with BusinessWorld on Sunday.
The RTWPB-NCR held final deliberations on Tuesday after consultations with the labor and business sectors. The wage board has yet to officially announce the amount the board members voted on, though the decision has leaked as a P25 wage hike.
Last week, Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECoP) Acting President Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, Jr. told reporters that the NCR wage board agreed on a wage adjustment of P25. The employers’ group acting president also said that he will respect whatever the RTWPB-NCR decides regarding the new wage adjustment.
The unofficial announcement of the P25 wage increase caused Associated Labor Union — Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) to note that the decision took into consideration the needs of employers over workers.
“The government and employers took the same side and outvoted labor,” said ALU-TUCP Spokesperson Alan A. Tanjusay during a briefing last week.
TUCP had sought a P334 wage hike last month, close to what it considers a living wage. They also announced later a new offer of P100, “take it or leave it.”
One of the worker’s representatives, Ms. Señorin added, “I dissent to the wage order. Our government and employer partners are partners only in words.”
The Department of Labor and Employment also announced last week that it will officially announce the new wage order for NCR minimum wage earners today.
Wage Order No. NCR-21 took effect on Oct. 5, 2017, raising wages for the region by P21, with a P10 COLA. The lapse of the order’s anniversary last month authorizes the wage board to issue a new order. — Gillian M. Cortez

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