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The national budget is the key to unlocking our economic and social goals

BW FILE PHOTO

Government leaders can promise to make certain issues a priority, or commit to supporting a particular sector. Beyond mere rhetoric, however, the national budget is the true test of what the government believes is important.

If we are to go by the proposal of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the 2025 budget will be in the amount of P6.352 trillion, which is 10% higher than the approved budget of P5.768 trillion for this year.

The education sector remains the top priority of the government, set to receive P977.6 billion. This amount is an P8.7-billion increase from this year. Public works is next at P900 billion, with the budget slightly lower from its P997.9 billion allocation this year. Other priority sectors are health (P297.6 billion), interior and local government (P278.4 billion), defense (P256.1 billion), social welfare (P230.1 billion), and agriculture (P211.3 billion).

From a sectoral view, the social services sector with P2.21 trillion accounts for 33.4% of the total, followed by economic services with 29.2%, general public services with 17.1%, defense with 6.6%. Finally, the DBM allotted P876.7 billion or 13.8% of the total for the debt burden.

The latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) show that the Philippine economy remains stable and resilient. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 6.3% in the second quarter, picking up from the 5.8% growth observed in the first quarter. The major economic sectors Industry and Services grew by 7.7% and 6.8%, respectively, compensating for the 2.3% contraction in the Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing sector. In addition, the Philippines’ GDP growth was second only to Vietnam’s 6.9% in the region.

Unemployment in June 2024 declined to 3.1%, meaning there are now 1.62 million fewer unemployed Filipinos compared to the previous period. However, underemployment — the percentage of Filipinos with a desire to put in additional hours of work in their current job, to have an additional job, or to have a new job with longer hours — increased to 12.1%, representing 6.08 million of the 50.28 million employed individuals.

One gut issue that should be of immediate concern is the uptick in the inflation rate, which increased to 4.4% in July 2024 from 3.7% in June. The PSA said this was because of the higher year-on-year increases in the indices for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, as well as food and non-alcoholic beverages. Specifically, food inflation at the national level rose slightly to 6.7% in July 2024, from 6.5% in June 2024.

The government has set economic, social, and national security as its priority. Key themes include developing and protecting the capabilities of individuals and families, the transformation of production sectors to generate more quality jobs and competitive products, and the creation of an enabling environment for business and investments to thrive.

Given these challenges amid the relative resilience of the economy, we should be mindful of how the national budget is crafted. Filipinos — not just lawmakers who hold the purse strings or the Executive that actually implements government programs — need to look closely at how the budget is crafted and whether the items in it are aligned to the country’s overall direction and vision. Now, more than ever, we must scrutinize how public funds are being spent, and whether projects are implemented as planned and in a timely manner.

This is the essence of several pending bills — 12 at the House of Representatives and two at the Senate — all falling under the Progressive Budgeting for Better and Modernized (PBBM) Governance. It boggles the mind why, given their centrality to the Marcos Jr. Administration’s agenda, they are not among the priorities of the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) and as such, will likely not be approved during the 19th Congress.

Budget and Management Secretary Amenah Pangandaman is urging lawmakers to pass this PBBM Governance Bill. This aims to institutionalize three best practices in public financial management. It is important to note that these initiatives are not new — instead, they were begun in previous administrations.

The institutionalization of the Treasury Single Account, from the Aquino III administration, will rationalize agency bank accounts leading to a more economical cash management system. It will provide a holistic view of the cash position of the government. A direct benefit would be a reduction in borrowing costs that arise from cash shortages.

Another initiative from Aquino III — in fact, an Executive Order on this was issued in 2011 — is the adoption of an Integrated Financial Management Information System. This is an IT solution that organizes digitized government financial information to improve the preparation, management, execution, and financial reporting of the budget.

Finally, the institutionalization of the Cash Budgeting System for fiscal discipline was first implemented in 2018 by the Duterte administration, under then-Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno. This system limited the validity of the budget to a year in order to force agencies to practice fiscal discipline. With the shorter period of implementation, agencies are forced to ensure that only properly planned programs, projects, and activities were proposed for budgeting.

We echo the call of Secretary Pangandaman. Let’s make the budget really work for the people.

 

Victor Andres “Dindo” C. Manhit is the president of the Stratbase ADR Institute.

Three PHL startups make it to Forbes Asia list

THREE Philippine startups made it to Forbes Asia’s annual 100 to Watch list this year.

The list, in its fourth year now, showcases small companies and startups in the Asia-Pacific region that grabbed investors’ attention — and their checkbooks, Forbes Asia said in an e-mailed statement on Tuesday.

The Philippine startups were financial management platform Lista, digital bank Zed and Mober Technology Pte., Inc., a construction and logistics firm.

Lista, whose app has had 2.5 million downloads since 2021, has raised more than $5 million in funding. The app gets 75% of its revenue from selling credit scores to consumers, while the rest comes from referral fees from financial institutions.

Another financial startup, Zed, offers credit card services and instead of charging interest or annual fees, it collects a share of network fees that merchants pay with each purchase.

In March, Zed raised $6 million in seed funding, led by Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures, Forbes Asia said.

Meanwhile, Mober, headed by Chief Executive Officer Dennis Ng, operates a fleet of electric vehicles to help businesses achieve their sustainability goals for last-mile delivery. The startup aims to increase its fleet to 238 electric trucks by early 2025 from 60.

Forbes Asia said the 100 to Watch list came from 16 countries and territories, and industries such as enterprise technology and robotics, finance, manufacturing and energy.

Forbes Asia solicited online submissions for the selection process. It also invited accelerators, incubators, universities and venture capitalists to nominate companies.

To qualify, companies must be based in the Asia-Pacific region, privately owned for-profit ventures and have no more than $50 million in annual revenue and no more than $100 million in total funding through Aug. 7, it said.

“Startups on our fourth annual Forbes Asia 100 To Watch list have collectively drawn over $2 billion in total funding to date, with 83 of these companies raising capital since the start of 2023,” Rana Wehbe Watson, editorial director at Forbes Asia, said in the statement.

She said the influx of investment was driven by their innovations, spanning some of the “world’s hottest industries” such as space technology, biotechnology and robotics. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante

SMGP board approves $300-M securities issue

SAN MIGUEL Global Power Holdings Corp. (SMGP), the power arm of conglomerate San Miguel Corp., said that its board of directors recently approved the offer and issuance of up to $300 million in senior perpetual capital securities.  

The proposed issuance will be listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Ltd., SMGP told the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. on Tuesday.  

The company noted that the amount of the new securities may also be “based on prevailing market conditions and as may be advantageous to the corporation.”  

SMGP has tapped Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, DBS Bank Ltd., Mizuho Securities Asia Ltd., and Standard Chartered Bank as joint lead managers.  

It also appointed DB Trustees (Hong Kong) Ltd. as trustee and Deutsche Bank AG, Hong Kong Branch, as paying agent, calculation agent, transfer agent, and registrar; and Latham & Watkins as listing agent.

SMGP said that it intends to allocate part of the proceeds to the costs and expenses related to the offers, and to the predevelopment costs of solar energy projects.

“For the avoidance of doubt, net proceeds will not be applied to finance any of the company’s existing and planned coal-fired power assets,” the company said.

SMGP issued $492.11 million in perpetual securities in November 2019, and another $723.9 million in October 2020. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

With Fed’s shift to job market done, policy now has to catch up

REUTERS

JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming — In 2022, when the Federal Reserve’s focus shifted to combating inflation, it had to ratchet up interest rates fast to get monetary policy caught up with fast-rising prices.

Two years later, the focus has changed again – this time to protecting the job market, as outlined in Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell’s speech on Friday at the US central bank’s annual Jackson Hole conference in Wyoming. A policy catch-up again appears to be needed – in the other direction, albeit at a likely less frantic speed.

Mr. Powell’s signal of coming rate cuts completed a Fed shift that began in January when it acknowledged emerging job market risks, and now it has made countering them its top job.

The open question: Is a weakening job market and rising unemployment rate evidence of an economy settling into a healthy place of steady growth with little upside risk to the jobless rate or part of a slide that will gather speed?

The answer will appear in upcoming employment reports and shape how far and fast the Fed will have to cut rates to prevent what Mr. Powell called an “unwelcome further weakening in labor market conditions.”

“We do not seek or welcome further cooling in labor market conditions,” Mr. Powell said, remarks that seemed to set the current 4.3% unemployment rate as a level he would like to defend as he made the sour admission that “conditions are now less tight than those that prevailed before the pandemic.”

The jobless rate was 4.1% and falling when Powell became Fed chief in 2018, falling as low as 3.5% in 2019 without raising inflation concerns — conditions Mr. Powell said he hoped he could recreate after COVID-19 threw the economy into a tailspin.

The current 5.25%-5.5% Fed policy rate is seen as restricting the economy and putting jobs at risk and is well above officials’ median estimate of 2.8% for the longer-term “neutral” rate. Assuming inflation continues ebbing towards the Fed’s 2% target, job market changes will determine how fast officials head toward that neutral level and whether they need to go even lower to restore full employment.

“We’re definitely cooling, but are we cooling to a point where we’re going to level out … or is this just a pit stop to a stronger cool down?” Nela Richardson, the ADP Research Institute’s chief economist, said on the sidelines of the Jackson Hole conference.

Ms. Richardson, along with many Fed officials and others in attendance, argues the economy remains strong and is likely just settling to its underlying trends — “normalizing” from the pandemic’s extremes. But the sense of urgency around employment has intensified.

THE SHIFT
The Fed’s two-year battle against inflation saw rates rise to a quarter-of-a-century high without any appreciable job-market fallout. Fed officials will next meet on Sept. 17-18 on a very different footing than just a few weeks ago as they prepare to cut rates and debate whether the job market is just slowing or at a precipice.

The Fed’s language around risk began steadily changing this year.

Until January, Fed policy statements said officials were “highly attentive” to inflation risks. Then that month it said “the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals are moving into better balance.”

They said in June that the risks had “moved toward better balance” and in July that the risks “continue to move into better balance,” adding they were now “attentive” to both the job market and inflation.

Mr. Powell’s remarks completed the journey, saying “the balance of the risks to our two mandates has changed” and policy makers would “do everything we can to support a strong labor market.”

Now comes the catch-up.

In September, officials will update interest rate projections showing their sense of the pace of cuts to come. As recently as June they were still worried about sticky inflation, saw the unemployment rate steady at 4%, and anticipated just a single quarter-percentage-point rate cut this year.

Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, who has been predicting a job market slide, called Mr. Powell’s tone “startling” relative to June’s outlook, taking it as evidence the Fed had “waited too long” to shift.

Torsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo Global Management, meanwhile, frets that with layoff rates remaining low, the Fed may still court inflation risk if it cuts rates too fast.

‘VERY DIFFERENT PICTURE’
The Fed is having its own data battles.

The gain of just 114,000 jobs in July was noticeably weaker than the pandemic-era average, but in line with what before the pandemic was considered a reasonable pace to match population growth.

Another closely watched metric, the ratio of open jobs to unemployed persons, has fallen from a historic high of 2-to-1 during the pandemic to 1.2-to-1, akin to pre-pandemic levels in another sign of the economy normalizing.

Mr. Powell on Friday even somewhat downplayed the 4.3% unemployment rate, regarding it as a result of rising labor supply and slowed hiring, not outright job losses.

There is “good reason to think that the economy will get back to 2% inflation while maintaining a strong labor market,” he said.

Boston Fed President Susan Collins said in an interview she sensed there was an “overall resilience” in the labor market, with the unemployment rate possibly about to level off.

“What I have seen is some evidence of plateauing,” she said, “not a ‘blowing through.’”

Still, there are concerns the labor market may be weaker than it seems, risks that could play out in coming months and push the Fed towards faster or deeper rate cuts to defend its “maximum employment” objective.

Fed Governor Adriana Kugler, a career labor economist, said at one of the conference research discussions that both sides of the openings-to-unemployed ratio may be mismeasured — with fewer vacancies than reported in the monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey and more unemployed people if alternate measures of joblessness that include discouraged workers, for example, are considered.

She estimates the jobs-to-unemployed ratio is actually down to 1.1, already near break-even, and perhaps even lower.

“There are many more layoffs now going into non-employment as opposed to standard measures of unemployment,” she said. If other measures of unemployment were included, “you may get a very different picture” of the job market. — Reuters

Ancient ram from naval battle between Rome and Carthage found off Sicily

REGIONE.SICILIA.IT

ROME — An ancient Roman relic from the almost 2,300-year-old naval battle in which Rome defeated its archenemy Carthage has been recovered from waters off western Sicily, regional authorities said on Friday.

The 3rd-century BC bronze ram, which was put on the bow of warships to attack enemy vessels, was found at a depth of about 80 meters in the area of the archipelago of the Aegates Islands, the Sicilian regional government said in a statement.

The Battle of the Aegates Islands, in 241 B.C., was the final naval clash between the fleets of Carthage and the Roman Republic during the First Punic War and marked a turning point for the two powers.

Carthage, located near Tunis in modern-day Tunisia, went into decline after its defeat.

The ram was retrieved this month by divers from the Society for the Documentation of Underwater Sites and taken to Favignana, one of the Aegates Islands, where it is being studied by archaeologists, the Sicilian government said.

The front of the battering ram has a relief decoration with a Montefortino-type helmet with three feathers at the top, while seaweed and shell deposits make it impossible for the moment to see any inscriptions, regional authorities said.

The relic is the 27th ram from the naval battle to have been found underwater since the 2000s, along with more than 30 ancient Roman helmets, two swords, and several coins and amphorae, they added. — Reuters

Politics is again becoming a family business in Southeast Asia

FREEPIK

POLITICS is increasingly returning to being a family business in Southeast Asia, despite its large and vibrant democracies. It’s a worrying trend. Power is at risk of being concentrated in the hands of an exclusive club of entrenched clans. That will disproportionately disadvantage the region’s dynamic youth who are getting more frustrated with nepotism.

While Southeast Asia is not an isolated case — political dynasties are prevalent in the West (think Bushes and Trudeaus, among others)* — the difference is just how many of the familiar names are making a comeback, since unrest and financial crisis in recent decades upended the Old Order in many places.

Take the Philippines, where clans have controlled money and wielded influence dating back to colonial times. Their privilege allowed them to buy land in the post-independence era, after Manila broke free of US colonial rule in 1946. This enriched and propelled them further up the economic ladder. Wealth proved useful in their attempts to succeed in politics.

Six of the country’s last nine presidents have belonged to the Macapagal, Marcos, and Aquino families. The current president, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., is the son of the former autocrat Ferdinand Marcos. During a reporting trip to Manila for the 2022 election, I was struck by the number of ordinary Filipinos who had conveniently forgotten the corruption and avarice of his regime, toppled amid street protests in 1986 after two decades in power. Instead, they chose to believe in a social media narrative that the younger Marcos would bring back a perceived golden era of prosperity and stability.

Tapping into family lore helps with this generation’s allure for voters. The child of a formidable political force has been elevated in Thailand, too. The former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s 38-year-old daughter, Paetongtarn, was appointed earlier this month to his old job (which he lost in a coup in 2006). Her aunt and Thaksin’s sister, Yingluck, previously served in the role before being removed by the Constitutional Court in 2014.

Political dynasties aren’t just confined to raucous democratic systems like the Philippines. In Cambodia, it has been a year since strongman Hun Sen handed over power to his son, Hun Manet, after almost four decades as leader. (For all intents and purposes, he is still running things behind the scenes as president of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party and a lawmaker.)

And then there’s Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest country and economy. Last week, widespread protests suspended parliamentary moves to potentially grant the outgoing president’s son an easier path to political power. The sprawling archipelago had until recently been held up as a model for democracy in a region where corruption and nepotism — which never really went away — seem to be making an increasingly brazen comeback.

When Joko Widodo was first elected in 2014, he was viewed as a breath of fresh air. With a humble demeanor and origins as a furniture maker from a provincial city, he came from outside the usual ranks of generals and elites that have run the country.

But Jokowi, as he is popularly known, has used his second term to ensure that his legacy lasts beyond his departure from office in two months. “Jokowi has built a coalition with so many parties in parliament that he is getting to the point where he cannot be challenged, because of the power base he has created,” Elisabeth Kramer, a senior lecturer in the School of Social Sciences at the University of New South Wales, told me. “This allows him, and by extension his family, to protect their privilege and exclusivity, to ensure that only a certain club of people actually run for election and win.”

Indonesians are used to strong leaders with dynastic ambitions. The archetype was Suharto, whose 32-year dictatorship ended amid violent protests during the Asian Financial Crisis in 1998. Among grievances was how the former general turned a blind eye to the growing greed of his children, and how they used their position as his progeny to exploit the resource-rich nation’s economy, at the expense of ordinary people struggling to make ends meet.

Some Indonesians see parallels. A popular news magazine recreated a cover from the Suharto era, only this time with Jokowi’s face on it — calling him “Raja Jawa” — the King of Java. The not-so-subtle insinuation is that Jokowi and his family are out of touch with everyday Indonesians, living a lavish lifestyle. This is a far cry from the man-of-the-people image he so carefully cultivated when he was first elected.

For now, at least, Indonesian protesters have managed to keep their democracy safe. The outgoing president and others in Southeast Asia with dynastic ambitions would be wise to look at Sheikh Hasina. The daughter of Bangladesh’s founding father was forced to make a hasty and humiliating exit earlier this month, after 20 years of on-and-off rule that became increasingly autocratic, and dismissive of human rights.

In the past, kings and queens would fight wars to ensure their children would inherit the throne. But they were not elected leaders, and their subjects had no choice but to put up with them. That is not the case in democracies today. Eventually, the people will make sure their voices are heard. Leaders would be wise to leave their families where they belong: At home.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

*A 2018 study published in the Historical Social Research journal showed that, on average, one in 10 world leaders comes from households with political ties. The list included former US President George W. Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and the former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

DBP halts lending to some cooperatives under jeepney modernization program

DEVELOPMENT BANK of the Philippines (DBP) has stopped lending to some public utility vehicle (PUV) cooperatives due to their failure to pay their debt, its top official said on Tuesday.

“Even though it’s purely developmental, if we’re not going to be paid, we don’t lend. For example, one of our mandates is the public vehicle modernization. Our past dues have gone up to about 25%, so we put a hold on that. Although it is our mandate, it won’t be sustainable if we keep lending,” DBP President and Chief Executive Officer Michael O. de Jesus said during a Senate hearing.

“We have to understand why there’s a past due and basically address those issues,” he added.

DBP’s Program Assistance to Support Alternative Driving Approaches or PASADA Financing Program is meant to support the implementation of the National Government’s jeepney modernization initiative.

Under the program, DBP will offer financing with favorable terms to transport corporations and cooperatives to allow for the smooth transition to modern public transport vehicles. Loans can partially finance the purchase of brand new PUVs compliant with the government’s vehicle standards, other alternative transport technologies, and the acquisition and/or construction of support facilities and equipment necessary for the proper operations and maintenance of the PUVs.

Mr. De Jesus added that efforts are being made to resume its funding for cooperatives that are part of the PUV modernization program, such as asking for a higher downpayment.

“We also have to make sure there’s a bigger downpayment before we lend. Before, there could be a 5% equity. Now, we’re asking for higher equity, maybe 25%, so they’ll have more skin in the game. We look for ways to make it doable because we don’t want to arbitrarily stop,” he said.

Before lending to these cooperative, DBP checks if routes for the modernized public vehicles have been established by the local government unit, Mr. De Jesus said.

“The route plans are just changed arbitrarily. Before we lend, we have to make sure there are approved route plans by the local government,” he added.

“DBP is still lending to public utility vehicle modernization despite the high past due rate in support of the National Government’s program. However, with the exception of Metro Manila and in areas without an approved route plan,” DBP PASADA Program Head Rustico Noli D. Cruz added in a Viber message.

Senator Mary Grace Poe-Llamanzares, who heads the Finance Committee, said senators recently signed a petition to temporarily halt the jeepney modernization program due to poor execution.

“There are no specific routes yet in many areas and they keep changing the goalposts in the middle of the game,” she said.

She asked the DBP to submit a list of co-ops that have not been able to repay their loans, which they will forward to the Department of Transportation (DoTr) for verification.

“We can talk to the DoTr in confidence and present it to them so they can vet the cooperatives that they are accrediting. Some of them are just getting money from these poor drivers to be part of the cooperative. They obtain a loan and then later they’ll shut down and they don’t really have any operations,” Ms. Poe-Llamanzares said. — A.M.C. Sy

Cebu startup HiveRooms leads digitalization in hospitality sector

CEBU-BASED startup HiveRooms said its digital platform for client bookings, room inventory management and price setting would boost the competitiveness of hotels and resorts.

Herbert Y. Dionzon, chief executive officer and founder of HiveRooms, told BusinessWorld via video call their app cuts the waiting time for bookings compared with some sponsored pages on social media, which have longer response times than the ideal five seconds.

“I created HiveRooms based on my experience with technology, especially hospitality,” said Mr. Dionzon, who used to work as a global distribution manager at Dubai-based Emaar Hospitality Group, where he handled 30 hotels in the Middle East.

He said hotels use a bot to respond to customer inquiries immediately, but the person who is looking for answers would appear two hours to a day late.

“If there’s a guest who is already on his way to the resort, and we are not able to respond immediately to the inquiry, we might lose the booking or client,” Mr. Dionzon said.

HiveRooms partners with leisure property groups to use their “all-in-one platform” that includes a property management system and channel manager.

Its property management system allows partner-clients to access the room inventory and pricing from their smartphones without calling the front office. Hotel owners can also use the app for information on their own properties.

Meanwhile, the channel manager serves as the central platform that connects hoteliers to online travel partners such as Booking.com, Expedia and Agoda.

“With the platform, they just have to log in using their account and then they can see the occupancy of their property, same as if there were inquiries,” Mr. Dionzon said.

HiveRooms has more than 40 hotels, resorts and vacation houses and about 900 rooms, mostly concentrated in Cebu. Other properties are on Bantayan Island, Mactan Island, Negros Island and Pangasinan.

The platform, which works as a commission-based instead of a subscription-based app, has had 3,000 booking transactions to date.

“We provide the platform and then we do the research and development for our partners,” Mr. Dionzon said.

He cited the case of a property in downtown Cebu that was facing occupancy challenges.

After three months of using the app, its occupancy rate jumped to as much as 70% from as low as 20%, Mr. Dionzon said.

But some hoteliers are still hesitant to digitalize, thinking that it would lead to layoffs, he said. But HiveRooms is just a tool to automate tasks and make it easier to run the business, he pointed out.

He added that manual booking tasks make it harder for staff to serve guests and make them feel welcome. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante

ACEN partners with Indonesian firm for wind projects

ACENRENEWABLES.COM

AYALA-LED ACEN Corp. has entered into a partnership with PT Barito Renewables Energy Tbk, an Indonesian firm specializing in renewable energy, to advance the development of wind projects with a capacity of 320 megawatts (MW) across Indonesia.

“This exclusive collaboration, effective immediately, brings together two industry leaders, united in their vision to drive the nation’s shift towards a sustainable energy future,” ACEN said in a media release on Tuesday.

The company said that the partnership will be executed through ACEN’s subsidiary, ACEN Indonesia Investment Holdings Pte. Ltd., and Barito Renewables’ subsidiary, PT Barito Wind Energy.

The collaboration builds on the recent acquisition of three “strategically located” late-stage wind development assets in South Sulawesi, Sukabumi, and Lombok, which was announced in January.

“These assets collectively offer an impressive potential capacity of 320 MW of wind energy, supplemented by cutting-edge battery energy storage solutions, poised to enhance grid stability and efficiency across the region,” ACEN said.

Patrice Clausse, group chief investment officer of ACEN, said that the company’s partnership with Barito Renewables “not only aligns with ACEN’s growth strategy in the region but also exemplifies our dedication to fostering innovative and sustainable energy solutions.”

“Our exclusive partnership with ACEN represents a significant step toward realizing our mission of driving sustainable energy growth in Indonesia,” Barito Renewables Chief Executive Officer Hendra Tan said.

“This strategic move underscores our commitment to pioneering renewable energy solutions and contributing to a greener future,” he added.

Currently, ACEN holds about 4.8 gigawatts (GW) of attributable renewable capacity in operation and under construction, as well as signed agreements and won competitive tenders worth over one GW.

At the local bourse on Tuesday, shares in the company climbed by 4.81% to close at P5.45 each. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

British band Oasis to reunite Definitely Maybe?

OASISINET.COM
OASISINET.COM

LONDON — Oasis, one of the 1990s rock bands that defined Britpop, is set to reunite as brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher teased an announcement early on Tuesday and a newspaper said they were planning shows in 2025.

The band, whose debut album Definitely Maybe was released 30 years ago, split in 2009 when lead guitarist and main songwriter Noel said he could no longer work with Liam, the band’s charismatic frontman.

Hinting at imminent news, the brothers posted the date “27.08.24” and “8am” in the style of the band’s logo on social media late on Sunday.

Liam also dedicated the Oasis track “Half the World Away” to his brother during his set at the Reading Festival on Sunday.

The Sunday Times, citing industry insiders, said shows were planned at Heaton Park in Manchester, where the band was formed in 1991, and at Wembley Stadium in London in summer 2025.

A headline performance at the Glastonbury Festival was also rumored, according to the newspaper.

A tour in 2025 would mark the 30th anniversary of the band’s second album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, which included the singles “Don’t Look Back in Anger” and “Wonderwall.”

The release of “Roll with It” from the album in August 1995 put Oasis head-to-head with rival Blur’s “Country House” in a chart battle that was seized upon by the media. Blur won the coveted number one spot.

(What’s the Story) Morning Glory? went on to sell more than 22 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album of the 1990s in Britain and the band’s breakthrough in the United States.

The brothers were often at loggerheads when the band toured in the 1990s and their hostility continued afterwards.

“He thinks he’s the man and I think I’m the man, do you know what I mean?” Liam said in 2017. — Reuters

At the crossroads of rigor and refinement: Evolving changes in Philippine immigration policy

REUTERS

Recently, the Philippines has grappled with a range of challenges in the field of immigration. Grabbing the headlines are news of a purported foreign individual unlawfully assuming a public office, and the alleged involvement of undesirable aliens in criminal activities. On a positive note, the rise in visa applications and extensions, has boosted revenue for the government. These developments prompted the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to issue two transformative policies: one that fortifies the law with newfound rigor, and another that smoothens the path with refined ease.

For the first matter, the BI issued Memorandum No. IRD-2024-024 on July 26, calling for a thorough assessment of applications for temporary visitor’s/tourist visa extension. The BI enumerated a non-exclusive list of strict assessment measures aligning with the thrust to bolster national security.

The BI’s Tourist Visa Section, Student Visa Section, and all Alien Control officers are mandated to conduct an in-depth interview of the applicants for visa extension to verify their reasons; confirm details such as the itineraries, full addresses, and activities of the applicants; document the findings in the application forms duly signed by the evaluator; conduct a careful document review, ensuring that all submitted documents are authentic and complete; and ensure that all applicants properly fill the application forms and provide in writing their justifications for their extension requests.

Another measure is to perform a records check to uncover any evidence of fraud or inconsistencies in the applications. Instances of foreign nationals exhibiting suspicious motives for extending their temporary visitor’s/tourist visa or indicating suspicious intent to stay, must be immediately reported to the BI Commissioner, through proper channels. Finally, the officers shall regularly submit the name, address, passport copy, and other relevant details of all foreign nationals who have extended their temporary visitor’s/tourist visa for more than one year.

In contrast, and in consonance with RA 110232 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018, the BI approved Resolution No. 2024-001, published on July 12, which streamlined the conditions and requirements for promoted Section 9(g) commercial visa (9(g) visa) holders. This illustrates a dynamic shift from rigidity to refinement and efficiency of immigration policies.

Under the said Resolution, a holder of a valid 9(g) visa who is promoted in rank in the same company shall no longer be required to downgrade the 9(g) visa to a temporary visitor’s/tourist visa, and thereafter apply for conversion of the latter visa to another 9(g) visa. The new policy optimized the process by requiring the company to first formally deliver a Notice of Promotion to the BI, and within 30 days from the BI’s receipt, file for the extension of the applicant’s existing and valid 9(g) visa. The duplicate original or certified true copy of the applicant’s appointment or election to the new position must be attached to the Notice to the BI.

The existing Alien Certificate of Registration Identification Card (ACR I-Card) must also be surrendered for cancellation, and a new one must be applied for with the applicant’s new position.

The validity of the period of extension of the new 9(g) visa shall be co-terminus with the validity of the new Alien Employment Permit reflecting the new position.

Among the documentary requirements include the duly accomplished Consolidated General Application Form (CGAF), the new Employment Contract, Secretary’s Certificate of Election, Appointment, Assignment, or any similar document under the promoted position, reflecting details such as the exact compensation, employment duration, and a comprehensive description of the nature and scope of the applicant’s new position.

The applicant is required to submit a copy of his/her valid passport bio page and latest admission with valid authorized stay, as well as a copy of the AEP or Certificate of Exclusion or Exemption issued by the Department of Labor and Employment which corresponds to the new position.

Meanwhile, the petitioning-company/employer must submit a BI Clearance Certificate, its current Mayor’s Permit, latest and updated General Information Sheet duly filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and latest Income Tax Return with corresponding proof of payment. A sworn statement on the number of foreign and Filipino employees must also be submitted.

For applicants practicing a regulated profession under the Professional Regulations Commission or for an offshore gaming operator or company, their Special Temporary Permit or a copy of their Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.-issued Gaming License must be presented, respectively.

Non-compliance with the above conditions shall result in the denial or disapproval of the extension applied for, and the cancellation of the applicant’s existing Section 9(g) visa, coupled with an Order to Leave.

These BI issuances underscore a fair approach when it comes to immigration policies, highlighting that heightened enforcement can coexist with efforts to enhance procedural efficiency. These issuances show that there is room for balancing rigor with refinement, as policies can be made more effective and accessible even without necessarily compromising strict standards.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. This article is for general informational and educational purposes only and not offered as and does not constitute legal advice or legal opinion.

 

Jewel M. Culala is an associate of the Immigration department of the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Offices (ACCRALAW).

jmculala@accralaw.com
 (632) 8830-8000

Philippines improves in M&A Attractiveness Index

The Philippines inched up six notches to 47 out of 148 countries with an index score of 52% in the 2023 edition of the M&A Attractiveness Index by Mergers and Acquisitions Research Center (MARC) at the Bayes Business School in London. The index ranks countries based on ability to attract and sustain mergers and acquisitions (M&A) business activities using six factor groups: regulatory and political; economic and financial; technological; socioeconomic; infrastructure and assets; and environmental, social and governance.

Philippines improves in M&A Attractiveness Index

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