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Roque mulls resignation after President confirms hospital visit

PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESPERSON Harry L. Roque, Jr. said on Friday that he is considering resigning after he was “taken aback” by the confirmation of a hospital visit by President Rodrigo R. Duterte last Wednesday, which he said he did not know about.
Mr. Roque, in a press briefing Thursday afternoon, denied rumors that Mr. Duterte was hospitalized when he skipped an event at the Palace last Wednesday. He also said that those who wish Mr. Duterte ill should be ashamed of themselves.
But hours after Mr. Roque’s briefing, Mr. Duterte said in a public speech that he went to the Cardinal Santos Medical Center last Wednesday for a check-up.
“If it’s cancer, it’s cancer. And if it’s third stage, no more treatment. I will not prolong my agony in this office or anywhere,” the 73-year old President said.
On Friday, Mr. Roque said, “I need a weekend to think about my options. But as you can see, I cannot be effective as spokesperson unless I know everything about the President. Now, people think I lied. I’m telling the nation, I did not — I did not know.”
He stressed that he was not aware of the President’s diagnostic examination.
“Therefore, I’m inclined to believe that perhaps I am not in a position to continue with this current function,” he added.
The spokesman also said that Mr. Duterte has asked him to stay “and offered me a position, which currently does not exist yet. While there was no categorical agreement on what to do, I did say I will consider it and I wanted a weekend to think it over,” he added.
Mr. Roque said he will announce his plans on Monday. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Retiring army chief Bautista to head DSWD

PRESIDENT RODRIGO R. Duterte announced last Thursday that he is set to appoint retiring Army Commanding General Rolando Joselito “Rolly” D. Bautista as secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
Last month, Mr. Duterte expressed his desire for Mr. Bautista to head the National Food Authority (NFA).
“Na-announce ko naman (I announced this), the next DSWD secretary, just about a few days [ago], Rolly Bautista,” the President said in his remarks during a dinner with members of the Philippine Military Academy Alumni Associate, Inc. (PMAAAI) at Malacañang Palace on Thursday evening.
Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea, in a text message to reporters, clarified that Mr. Bautista “did not decline” the NFA post, adding that the President originally only “offered” him a “new post.”
In a press release, the Presidential Communication Operations Office (PCOO) confirmed that Mr. Bautista is “retiring from the military this coming October 15 and is set to replace DWSD Acting Secretary Virginia Orogo once officially delegated.”
In his speech, Mr. Duterte also thanked the military for their efforts to cooperate with his administration.
“Thank you for this honor and the show of your camaraderie with me as a government worker like you,” he said.
The PCOO said the PMAAAI organized the event dubbed as “Sama-Samang Pasasalamat Para Sa Pangulo” as their “expression of gratitude” for the President’s “exemplary leadership in fighting corruption and maintaining peace and order both as the country’s leader and as the military’s Commander-in-Chief.” — Arjay L. Balinbin

Court gives deadline for Trillanes’ evidence

THE Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 148 has issued an order for Senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV to present his witnesses and evidence on or before Tuesday, after a court hearing was held regarding the validity of his amnesty for his involvement in two coup d’etat attempts.
Makati RTC Presiding Judge Andres B. Soriano said in an Order dated on Oct. 5, “Counsel for Trillanes is given a period until Tuesday, October 9, 2018 within which to file its Formal Offer of Exhibits, copy furnished by personal service the prosecution, which is given a period of 24 [hours] from receipt of the Offer to file Comment to the same.”
The order added, “Therafter, the Offer shall be considered submitted for resolution.”
A hearing was also held on Friday regarding the Department of Justice’s (DoJ) motion for an arrest warrant against the senator for his role in the Oakwood Mutiny and Manila Peninsula Siege.
In September 2011, the Makati RTC Branch 148 dismissed Mr. Trillanes’ coup d’etat case after he was granted amnesty through Proclamation 75 which was signed by former President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino in 2010.
Mr. Trillanes’ rebellion case in Makati Branch 150 was also dismissed in the same year.
Meanwhile, during the court hearing on Friday, former DND Head of Amnesty Ad-hoc Committee Secretariat Josefa C. Berbigal swore that she had seen the Senator personally submit his application on Jan. 5, 2011, a little over two weeks before the committee’s deliberations. She was ordered to personally greet him before he submitted his amnesty applications.
“It was a directive to personally meet the Senator,” she said but admitted she couldn’t recall if the Senator brought the documents himself.
“I’m not sure if it was my staff who gave the form to him or he had the form,” she added.
Department of Justice (DOJ) National Protection Service (NPS) Acting Prosecutor General Richard Anthony D. Fadullon pointed out to Ms. Berbigal some inconsistencies in her story regarding whether the Senator has brought the application himself.
“If she ushered the Senator, how would she not know?” he argued.
Regarding Mr. Trillanes’ amnesty applications, Ms. Berbigal declared she found no “adverse findings” during the committee’s Jan. 21, 2011 deliberations over the amnesty application submissions of Mr. Trillanes and 38 others.
“They (the ad-hoc committee) went over (the list of amnesty applicants) and did not find any adverse info (in their applications),” she said when she took the witness stand at the Makati RTC Branch 148 after Mr. Trillanes’ lawyer Reynaldo B. Robles asked what were the findings during the committee’s deliberations.
She added that the committee also checked if the applicants had complete required documents. These include the amnesty form, a narrative of the acts or offenses they were involved in, and a charge sheet.
Malacañang and President Rodrigo R. Duterte have been asserting that Mr. Trillanes did not apply for the 2011 amnesty granted to him. Mr. Duterte signed Proclamation 572 on Aug. 31 revoking the amnesty because he did not comply with the minimum requirements to qualify under the Amnesty Proclamation. With the revocation of the amnesty, the dismissed court cases have been revived. — Gillian M. Cortez

LP-led bloc takes House minority leadership question to SC

THE MINORITY bloc in the House of Representatives led by the opposition Liberal Party (LP) has formally challenged the minority leadership before the Supreme Court (SC), filing a case on Friday, Oct. 5.
In a press statement, Marikina 2nd District Rep. Romero “Miro” S. Quimbo’s
“People’s Minority” bloc said it filed before the high court a “petition for certiorari, prohibition, and mandamus,” which seeks to “assail the recognition of Quezon Rep. Danilo E. Suarez as Minority Leader.”
The petition said Mr. Suarez’s posting is “contrary to the Rules of the House of Representatives and the ruling of the Court in the case of Baguilat v. Alvarez.”
The group added that “the Petition seeks the SC’s imprimatur to direct the House Leadership to recognize Rep. Quimbo as Minority Leader.”
Mr. Quimbo said in the statement that they do not expect a swift resolution of the case, but they filed anyway “to ensure that our institutions remain bound by law and logic.”
The current congressmen’s term of office is ending next year after the May mid-term elections.
“We vowed that we would take this matter all the way up to the Supreme Court, and that is precisely what we have done… Judging from the previous case of Baguilat v. Alvarez which also dealt with the issue of House Minority leadership, it is likely this case will take months to resolve, possibly close to the end of our current terms. Nonetheless, we are committed to pursuing this,” Mr. Quimbo said.
Mr. Quimbo’s group cited in its petition “Section 8, Rule II of the Rules of the House of Representatives, which states that House Members who vote for a winning candidate for House Speaker constitute the Majority in the House, as well as the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Baguilat et al. v. Alvarez et al. (G.R. No. 227757, 25 July 2017), which affirmed that those who vote for losing candidates for Speaker and those who abstain from voting constitute the Minority.”
The group noted that “in the aftermath of the election of now Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo last July 23, a struggle for the House Minority leadership erupted between the Quimbo-led People’s Minority and the group led by Rep. Danilo Suarez, who was the Minority Leader during the time of then-Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez. This despite the fact that it was only the members of the People’s Minority who either abstained or voted ‘NO’ during the said election.”
“It was the House Majority which eventually resolved the impasse when it recognized, through viva voce voting on August 7, Rep. Suarez as Minority Leader even though Rep. Suarez spearheaded and voted for the election of Rep. Macapagal-Arroyo as Speaker,” Mr. Quimbo’s group added.
Mr. Quimbo said, “It is plain to see, not only under House Rules but also through our actions, that we are the only group which can claim to be the genuine Minority in the House of Representatives. Even deprived of an official title we have functioned as the legitimate check and balance in the House.”
The members of the Quimbo-led group include LP Reps. Francis Gerald Abaya, Vincent Alcala, Isagani Amatong, Kaka Bag-ao, Teddy Brawner Baguilat, Jorge “Bolet” Banal, Jose Christopher “Kit” Belmonte, Emmanuel Billiones, Gabriel Bordado Jr., Raul Daza, Edgar Erice, Edcel Lagman, Jocelyn Sy Limkaichong, Romero “Miro” Quimbo, and Josephine “Nene” Ramirez-Sato; Makabayan bloc Reps. Arlene Brosas, Ariel “Ka Ayik” Casilao, France Castro, Emmi De Jesus, Sarah Jane Elago, Antonio Tinio, and Carlos Isagani Zarate; Akbayan Rep. Tomasito Villarin; Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano; and Anak Mindanao Reps. Amihilda Sangcopan and Makmod Mending Jr. — Arjay L. Balinbin

DICT to start pilot tests for national broadband plan next month

THE Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said that next month it will start the pilot test of its fiber backbone facility that will be used for the implementation of the national broadband plan.
In a statement released late Thursday, the agency said the pilot implementation, installation, and testing is scheduled for the last two months of the year. This is in preparation for the firing up of portions of its 6,154-kilometer dark fiber network next year.
“Seven point-to-point routes in Benguet, Tarlac, Pampanga, Batangas, Mindoro, Albay, Camarines Sur, Cagayan, and Bohol were identified for the pilot project, which is aimed to test both the integrity of NGCP Optical Groundwire (OPGW) and the latest optical transport technologies in the market,” it said.
The DICT also said on Friday that it has gained support from the House of Representatives in securing its full-year proposed budget of P2 billion for the national broadband plan in 2019.
Parts of the budget will be used to operate the Luzon Bypass Infrastructure (LBI), which will be linked to the fiber optic cables. This backbone will act as a distribution network for the 2 million megabits per second (Mbps) of data capacity that will come from the landing stations.
“We must pick up from our achievements we’ve had this year, so we are grateful for the support of our representatives,” DICT Acting Secretary Eliseo M. Rio, Jr. said in the statement.
In June, the DICT signed a tripartite agreement with the National Transmission Corp. (Transco) and the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) to use the dark fiber assets for the national broadband plan.
It also recently inked a deal with the National Electrification Authority (NEA) and the Philippine Rural Cooperatives Association, Inc. (PHILRECA) for assistance in tapping electric cooperatives for the use of their infrastructure for the “middle mile,” which will link the backbone to the point of presence in provinces.
Mr. Rio previously explained small telecommunications companies get from the point of presence to the “last mile” to link the connection to subscribers.
The DICT is still looking to sign an agreement with cable operators who will help in finishing the last mile connectivity in other parts of the country.
“We are convinced that the (national broadband plan) can finally get rid of our country’s long standing issue of poor and costly internet connection. The DICT is ready, capable, and determined to spearhead this initiative,” Mr. Rio said.
The DICT has been pushing for a national broadband plan as a solution to improving internet connectivity in rural areas in the country by utilizing existing infrastructure. — Denise A. Valdez

Pre-bid conference for rice importation draws 12 companies

TWELVE companies participated in the pre-bid conference for the importation 250,000 metric tons of 25% broken well-milled long grain white rice for the National Food Authority on Friday.
They were: Phoenix Global DMCC, Vinafood 2, Asia Golden Rice, Shwe Hua Co. Ltd., GIA International Corp., Thai Hua Co. Ltd., Ponglarp Co. Ltd., Thai Capital Crops Co. Ltd., ADM Asia Pacific Trading PTE Ltd., Vinafood 1, Capital Cereals Co. Ltd., and Olam International Limited.
According to an NFA statement, the pre-bidding will tackle the eligibility requirements of prospective foreign bidders; the parameters and technical specifications of the rice to be imported; quantity, source, and packaging; specifications on the offer or tender; bid security and performance bond; components of the price offer; penalties; delivery provisions; arrival procedures; surveyor and cargo handler; insurance and payments.
The actual bidding will be on Oct. 18. The 250,000 metric tons of rice is part of the total 750,000 metric tons of rice approved by the NFA Council to be imported this year.
It can be noted that Vinafood 2, a state-owned corporation of Vietnam tasked to export rice and help achieve food security in Southeast Asia, received original proponent status from the NFA through its partnership with Filipino company AgriNurture Inc. in a $1-billion exclusive deal to import 2 million metric tons of rice to the Philippines starting this year.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol also announced on Friday that stakeholders of the rice industry agreed to have a Suggested Buying Price (SBP) for farmers’ produce and Suggested Retail Price (SRP) for rice sold in the market.
“In the proposal, a base price must be set for farm fresh paddy rice and for clean and dry palay. The initial proposal was for a base price of P18 per kilo for farm fresh palay and P21 per kilo for clean and dry paddy rice,” Mr. Piñol said in a statement.
The prices for the SBP will be finalized by Oct. 18, Mr. Piñol said, while the implementation of the SRP will take place at the end of October.
The agreed SRPs are: P39 per kilo of regular milled rice, P42 per kilo of well-milled rice, P44 per kilo of long grains head rice. Prices for heirloom and organic rice still have to be agreed upon.
“In the first rice stakeholders meeting which was called by the Philippine Council on Agriculture and Fisheries which I presided as the new Chairman of the NFA Council, the stakeholders agreed to implement SRP on rice by the last week of October. The traders requested for a two-week grace period so they could dispose of the stocks they bought at higher prices,” Mr. Piñol said.
Meanwhile, the NFA denied Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian’s statement that supermarkets are have to pay for a permit to sell rice.
Mr. Gatchalian had said that “the Philippine Amalgamated Supermarkets Association (Pagasa) revealed that the NFA is requiring retailers with a paid-up capital of P10 million to pay P115,000 for a permit to sell rice.”
According to NFA, this is not true and that the agency is surprised the issue was never brought up by the supermarket owners to the Department of Trade and Industry when the memorandum of agreement was signed to allow Pagasa members to sell NFA rice.
“Based on the NFA rules on licensing, application fee for single-line business is only P110 while multi-line business application fee is only P165. Additional fees for license to retail depends on capitalization. Retailers with capitalization up to P10,000 are only charged with P165 while the maximum is P11,000 for retailers with capitalization of more than P1,000,000,” NFA said in its statement. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio

PSA opts for competitive bidding for National ID system

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez, Senior Reporter
THE government will pursue competitive bidding for the national ID system, with the pilot registration pushed back to next year.
National Statistician Lisa Grace S. Bersales said the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has decided to pursue competitive bidding and did not accept the unsolicited proposal from a private consortium looking to implement the Philippine ID System (PhilSys).
“We have decided to do competitive bidding for the Philippine identification system… Furthermore, we find that if we do competitive bidding, we will be able to manage our timeline of procuring the system and awarding before the year ends,” Ms. Bersales told reporters on the sidelines of a press briefing on Friday.
Republic Act No. 11055 signed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte mandates the creation of a central identification platform for all citizens and resident foreigners in the Philippines, which will effectively do away with the need to claim and present various government-issued IDs for personal and financial transactions.
In August, conglomerates Ayala Corp. (AC) through AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp. and Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. through Aboitiz InfraCapital, Inc. teamed up with information technology company Unisys Philippines to submit a 17-year unsolicited proposal to the PSA, to design and develop the infrastructure for the national ID.
The system will cost around P1.5 billion, which will be charged against a P2-billion budget for the project this year.
“Those who submitted unsolicited proposals to us can of course participate in the competitive bidding,” the PSA official added.
The PSA plans to open the procurement within October and eyes to award the contract by December.
In contrast, the PSA’s experience in acquiring the civil registry system showed that a public-private partnership could stretch the project timeline to over a year, she added. Unisys bagged the P1.59-billion contract for the second phase of this project in 2016.
BusinessWorld is yet to receive a response from the private players when sought for comment.
Also yesterday, the inter-agency PhilSys Policy and Coordination Council approved implementing rules on the PhilSys, paving the way for clearing guidelines as to how Filipinos can sign up for the national database.
Pressed for details, Ms. Bersales said the rules relax the seed document to be requested for Filipinos as well as holders of alien registration to sign up for a PhilID even without a birth certificate. Instead, an “introducer system” will be employed for those who do not have birth certificates, wherein an affidavit will be executed to establish a person’s identity.
Despite this, the PSA has pushed back its target pilot run for the PhilSys registration to March next year, later than their original goal to enroll one million Filipinos by December.
By September next year, the PSA is looking to get 25 million residents aboard every year until 2021. Poor residents, particularly those receiving cash transfers from the government, as well as senior citizens and persons with disabilities will be prioritized.
The PhilSys will collect the full name, sex, date and place of birth, blood type, address, and whether or not the person is a Filipino or resident alien. It will also capture one’s front-facing photo, full set of fingerprints, and an iris scan.
Once registered, residents will get a 12-digit PhilSys Number which should serve as their digital identity across multiple platforms.
The PSA official said they will also appeal for an additional P4.2-billion budget in 2019 to implement the PhilID, as they have only been allotted P2 billion under the national budget currently pending in Congress. The current allocation would allow the agency to register only 6 million residents, Ms. Bersales said.
The PSA has said the entire project will require P30 billion over a five-year period.

ALI issues P8-B in fixed rate bonds

AYALA Land, Inc. (ALI) raised P8 billion from the issuance of fixed rate bonds on Friday, which are expected to fund several mall, office, and hotel projects it has in the pipeline.
The property developer listed the bonds — due 2023 — at the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. yesterday. With this, ALI has fully exhausted its three-year shelf registration program worth P50 billion filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“We have completely exhausted the P50-billion shelf registration six months ahead of schedule, and what we would like to highlight is the fact that this has been very beneficial to Ayala Land, notable of which has been the speed to market,” ALI Chief Finance Officer Augusto Cesar D. Bengzon said during the listing ceremony for the bonds yesterday.
“Through the shelf registration, we have been able to issue tranches successively within an average of two months, which is a full month faster than what we have been able to do,” Mr. Bengzon said.
The bonds carry an interest rate of 7.0239% per annum, and were granted the highest credit rating — PRS Aaa — alongside a stable outlook by local debt watcher Philippine Ratings Services Corp.
Mr. Bengzon reported that after using up its shelf program, ALI has been able to fix up to 90% of its debt portfolio, which could help shield the company from the effects of rising interest rates.
“We have fixed up to 90% of our debt portfolio which should insulate us against the rising interest rates. We have secured up to 95% of our debt in stable term funding, we managed to source 60% of our debt from the capital markets, and we issued a variety of tenors ranging from as short as a year to as long as 20 years and this has allowed us to make our maturity towers quite manageable,” Mr. Bengzon explained.
ALI earlier disclosed that the funds raised from the issuance will be used to partially finance ALI’s pipeline of projects, specifically Seda Hotels Bay Area in Parañaque, Seda Hotels Bonifacio Global City expansion, leasing projects in Arca South, the Taguig Integrated Terminal Exchange, and the Vertis North Corporate Center Tower 3.
The company will also be funding projects outside Metro Manila, namely Ayala Malls Capitol Central in Bacolod, the Bacolod Capitol Corporate Center, and the Cebu Central Bloc mixed-use complex.
ALI’s issuance brought the total outstanding listed securities in the PDEX to P933.06 billion, from 149 securities of 47 companies. A total of P141.18 billion worth of securities have been listed for 2018 alone.
The listed property giant booked P13.5 billion in net income attributable to equity holders of the parent in the first six months of 2018, 18% higher as revenues likewise picked up by a fourth to P80.4 billion.
“We believe the market continues to be supportive of our plans and we will continue to exhibit the performance we have been doing for the rest of the year,” Mr. Bengzon said.
Shares in ALI climbed 1.04% or 40 centavos to close at P39 each at the stock exchange on Friday. — Arra B. Francia

Century Properties sells P2B vacation homes in Nasugbu

CENTURY Properties Group, Inc. (CPG) has pre-sold 342 vacation homes worth P2 billion in its residential tourism estate in Nasugbu, Batangas, more than nine months after it was unveiled to the market.
In a statement issued Friday, CPG said its leisure, tourism, and hospitality unit Century Properties Leisure and Hospitality, Inc. (CPLHI) has pre-sold 342 vacation homes in Batulao Artscapes. The 142-hectare estate seeks to capture local end-users looking for a weekend retreat, as well as families and retirees in search of secondary homes near Metro Manila.
Dubbed as an “artventure community,” the entire property will feature houses designed by Filipino and international designers such as Ed Calma, Kenneth Cobonpue, Budji Layug, and Royal Pineda, Daphne Guiness, and Studio Libeskind Design.
“We are excited to bring something that combines art, nature and adventure into this beautiful out-of-town property. We are optimistic of the market’s continuous positive response to the project given the expanding middle class and surge of domestic tourism in the Philippines,” CPLHI President Tim Hallett said in a statement.
The first 36 hectares of the project will offer around 2,000 homes. Mr. Hallett earlier said that they will also be launching the second phase of the project consisting of 1,700 homes, which is expected to bring in P13 billion in pre-sales for the company.
Batulao Artscapes will house amenities such as a man-made beach with a clubhouse and a lake with a wedding chapel. The company also expects to lure in tourists in the property through a sports park, a “flavor” park, and an art park with museums designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects.
Property technology firm Revolution Precrafted will be supplying the homes for the estate.
CPG targets to deliver the first batch of homes in early 2019, with the entire project to be completed by 2021.
The Antonio-led property developer noted that it would take a 1.5 to two-hour drive to Batulao Artscapes from Makati City via four access points: Daang Hari Road towards the Nasugbu-Kaybiang Tunnel, the Star Tollway to Tanauan Exit, the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), and Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX).
The company also said that the property will be less than an hour away from Tagaytay once the Cavite-Tagaytay-Batangas Expressway is completed by 2022.
CPG booked a net income of P490 million in the first six months of 2018, benefiting from a 40% increase in revenues to P4.7 billion during the period.
Shares in CPG gained 1.15% or 0.5 centavos to close at 44 centavos each at the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday. — Arra B. Francia

Lazada opens first hub in Davao

E-COMMERCE site Lazada Philippines on Wednesday opened its first warehouse in Davao City — its third warehouse in the country — which is expected to speed up the delivery of items to online customers in the area.
The company said in a statement on Friday that the new facility along Diversion Road, Barangay Buhangin can send out 25,000 items to customers every day, and has a holding capacity of 250,000 items from brands like Apple, Samsung, Mac, L’Oreal, and Levis.
“Our new warehouse provides our sellers a distribution hub in a high-potential region, allowing Lazada to fulfill more orders from and to Mindanao faster and more efficiently,” Lazada eLogistics (LeL) Philippines chief executive officer Juan Pavez Spencer said in the statement.
The establishment of a new facility will enable their partners send out items to customers in three days, it said.
Lazada said the new warehouse is hoped to spur the growth of e-commerce in Mindanao, as almost 500 businesses from the region are currently with the online shopping platform. It noted that the warehouse in the south is expected to double the number of shipments to and from the region before the year ends.
“This is just the beginning of e-commerce… and Davao is part of this now,” Lazada Philippines chief executive officer Raymond N. Alimurung was quoted in the statement as saying.
Mr. Alimurung said last month that Lazada is looking to improve its logistics facilities to ensure faster delivery of goods. The company’s goal is to achieve next-day delivery of items in the whole country, similar to what its parent company, the Alibaba Group, aims for in China.
Aside from its warehouse in Davao, Lazada also has a 30,000 square meter (sq.m.) facility in Laguna and a 5,000 sq.m. hub in Cebu. — Denise A. Valdez

Chelsea Logistics acquires two new vessels

CHELSEA Logistics Holdings Corp. (CLC) added two new ships to grow the company’s fleet to 88 as part of its expansion program.
On Friday, the listed company inaugurated the M/T Chelsea Providence and M/V Salve Regina at the Manila North Harbour Port, the two vessels that CLC is preparing to operate.
CLC president and chief executive officer Chryss Alfonsus V. Damuy told reporters they invested $30 million to $35 million for the M/T Chelsea Providence and $13 million to $14 million for the M/V Salve Regina.
CLC said the M/T Chelsea Providence is its biggest registered vessel yet, a 183.3-meter long, medium-range oil tanker that has a holding capacity of 54 million liters of petroleum. The company aims to start deploying the ship within the month.
The M/V Salve Regina, meanwhile, is a roll-on, roll-off (RoRo) passenger vessel with a carrying capacity of 500 passengers and 41 vehicles. Mr. Damuy said it started its soft launch last week.
“In our efforts to provide better customer experience, safe and reliable journey, and convenient travel, the Chelsea Group has been investing in younger vessels and presently brand-new ones,” CLC founder and chairman Dennis A. Uy said in a statement.
The M/V Salve Regina passenger vessel will serve the route linking Batangas to Caticlan. Mr. Damuy said it is also eyed to help boost tourism in the country.
“With M/T Chelsea Providence, we hope to support local oil companies in the importation of various petroleum products and in ensuring a reliable supply of fuel for our growing economy,” he added.
CLC currently has a fleet of 16 tankers, 22 RoRo passenger vessels, 11 cargo vessels, 14 tugboats and one floating dock, operating across its units Chelsea Shipping, Starlite Ferries, Trans-Asia Shipping Lines, Inc. and Fortis Tugs. Meanwhile, the 2GO Group, Inc., has eight RoRo passenger vessels, five cargo vessels and 11 fastcrafts. — Denise A. Valdez

SSS pension loan availments hit over P100M

AVAILMENTS under the pension loan program of the Social Security System (SSS) reached over P100 million during the first month of implementation, the state-run firm said on Friday.
In a statement, the SSS said disbursements under the program reached P107.77 million as of Oct. 3, a month since the facility was announced in September.
A total of 4,341 pensioners secured fresh credit funding for their “short-term financial needs,” the state-run firm said.
The pension fund for private sector employees launched the loan program on Sept. 3 to respond to growing demand from senior citizens for cheap loans — particularly for emergency medical expenses — and steer them away from loan sharks and other informal lenders.
Pensioners can avail of a minimum loan equal to twice the amount of his/her basic monthly pension, while the ceiling is set at P32,000.
Qualified to apply for loans are retired SSS members aged 55 to 80 who have no outstanding loan balances or payables to the pension fund. The retiree must also have no advance pension under the SSS Calamity Package and should be receiving regular monthly pension for at least six months.
The SSS said their Diliman branch saw the biggest loan releases amounting to P17.87 million, followed by Cebu (P8.99 million), Bacolod (P7.26 million), Bacoor (P5.88 million), and Zamboanga (P4.99 million).
The loans will be charged a 10% interest rate per annum. The amount can be repaid within three, six, or 12 months to be deducted from their monthly pension payments. Deductions will start two months after the loan has been granted to the SSS member.
The SSS is awaiting approval on its proposal to raise contribution rates in order to preserve its fund life, which has been shortened following the P1,000 across-the-board increase in monthly pensions which took effect January last year.
SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel F. Dooc wants to raise the monthly rate for members to 14% from 11% in order to make the pension fund last until 2044 from the current 2032.
Mr. Dooc has also cautioned that the signing into law of the 105-day maternity leave for working mothers would mean that the SSS needs to shell out an additional P4 billion every year just to accommodate the additional benefit. This would be on top of the P5.5-6 billion disbursed for maternity leaves every year. — Melissa Luz T. Lopez

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