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2017 budget release rate 96.9%

THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) released 96.9% of the P3.35 trillion 2017 budget, up slightly from the 96.2% rate in 2016.

At the end of 2017, the Budget department had released P3.246 trillion to government agencies, according to the DBM’s Status of Allotment Releases report posted on its Web site.

Allotments released from automatic appropriations — which include pensions and local governments’ share of national government revenue — totaled P892.66 billion in 2017, or 97.2% of the P918-billion program.

Budget releases do not mean that funds have been spent by agencies. The DBM will still need to issue a cash authority to agencies for the disbursement or actual withdrawal of the funds from the Bureau of the Treasury.

At the end of November, government spending totaled P2.494 trillion, up 10% from the first 11 months of 2016. December totals have yet to be released.

This is equivalent to 85.73% of the government’s P2.909 trillion worth of disbursements for 2017.

In 2018, the budget is P3.767 trillion. —Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

First, we park

My former art director and my one-time publisher at the automotive publication I used to work for, have put up a car-themed shirt brand called First/We/Drive. I like the name. It means driving above all else — that the target buyers are individuals who are so passionate about automobiles that they will drop everything just to get behind the wheel and go for a spin.

I feel like it’s the principal mantra of car buyers in the Philippines, especially in Metro Manila. Purchase a car now, drive all we want later. It’s as if the act of driving is the only thing tied to car ownership. Never mind all the other important concerns of acquiring a vehicle — insurance, preventive maintenance, repairs, fuel and, of course, parking.

It’s the last item that is particularly tricky, because we hardly think of it when we’re inside the showroom listening intently as the salesperson tries to foist a large SUV on us when our house can barely accommodate a pedicab. In our minds, we simply picture ourselves driving and how cool we would look doing so.

The problem starts when we get home and realize our neighborhood isn’t really a safe place for cars parked on the street. But what choice have we got? We’d construct a garage if we could, but that would mean demolishing the adjacent apartment. So we just leave the new car in front of our house, and maybe cover it to protect it from playful kids and cats. If you’re okay with the risk of your vehicle being stolen or vandalized, that’s free parking right there. At the expense of traffic flow on your street, that is.

But until when will we be able to park our cars on the road without paying anything and without running afoul of government regulations? As you may already know, there’s a pending bill called “Proof of Parking Space Act,” which would require car buyers to present evidence of own parking before being sold a new vehicle. In other words: no parking, no car. Put another way: no parking, no driving.

I completely support such a law. It’s about time. Drive to side streets these days and see if you won’t encounter double-parked vehicles that take up half the road width. Not only is this a hassle for other motorists, this is absolutely a safety hazard. I grew up in Baclaran, where streets are narrow and vehicles are garage-less. My family survived a handful of fires that got out of control because fire trucks couldn’t squeeze past the cars that lined up the path leading to the blaze.

And street parking will only get worse in the coming years, as unscrupulous city engineers allow high-rise condominiums to be erected without sufficient parking for residents. I should know. I live in a condo and I park my car in another building, because my condo has long run out of parking slots.

When I bought my car 11 years ago, parking wasn’t a problem. We had a garage in Baclaran, and I had my own parking slot in my previous office. When I moved to my current place eight years ago, parking still wasn’t an issue, as I just left my car in the office (my condo is right next door). My predicament surfaced when I left the company that provided the free parking space.

Today, I spend about P300 for a day of parking if I’m home (I have free parking at my new workplace). I’ve refused a lot of test units of some of the nicest cars in our market just because I have nowhere to park them. I recently accommodated an SUV test unit and left it for a couple of days in a parking facility in Bonifacio Global City. I paid a couple of thousand bucks — more than the price of a full tank of gasoline for my personal car.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m in favor of expensive parking fees to discourage motorists from using their vehicles irresponsibly. Let’s tax car usage — make it costlier for anyone to drive a motor vehicle. And that includes parking. This would be good for traffic volume management.

Most Filipinos still view cars as status symbols. Own one not to efficiently get around but to let society know they can afford it, as though being carless is a disgrace. Let me give you a tip: There is nothing shameful about commuting if owning a vehicle defies practicality. What is actually ignominious is getting a car you can’t properly maintain. And parking is technically part of car maintenance.

Before you shop for a new car, please prioritize parking space. Believe me, you will save yourself a world of trouble if you do.

Maynilad spends P1.92B for pipe replacement

MAYNILAD WATER Services, Inc. said it spent around P1.92 billion last year to replace 286 kilometers of old, leaky pipes within its west zone concession area in Metro Manila, the company said on Tuesday.

“Replacing old pipelines was a priority project that enabled us to provide reliable water supply to our customers. But our work does not stop there, as we aim to renew 100% of the old pipe network by year 2023,” said Ramoncito S. Fernandez, Maynilad president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

The company identified the areas as portions of Manila, Quezon City, Caloocan, Valenzuela, Parañaque, Muntinlupa and Las Piñas, as well as Kawit and Noveleta in Cavite province.

The pipe replacement project allowed the recovery of about 32 million liters per day of potable water, which Maynilad said was enough to supply around 55,000 households.

Maynilad said the project also translated into the creation of 6,000 jobs, including those generated by the contractors and suppliers of the company.

Since its re-privatization in 2007, it had replaced almost 2,000 kilometers of old and damaged pipelines, which approximates the distance between Manila and Bangkok, Thailand, it said.

“This is about 40% of the distribution network Maynilad inherited in 2007 that includes the oldest water system in Asia, with some portions dating back to the Spanish era,” the company said.

Maynilad earlier said that it had spent P1.5 billion in 2017 to build new pumping stations and reservoirs in Las Piñas, Quezon City and Muntinlupa.

At present, Maynilad has 28 pumping stations and 32 reservoirs in strategic locations throughout its west concession area, up from only seven operational pumping stations and reservoirs in 2006 before the company was re-privatized.

Maynilad serves certain portions of the cities of Manila, Quezon and Makati. It also covers Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas and Malabon in Metro Manila.

Outside the Philippine capital, it serves the cities of Cavite, Bacoor and Imus, and the towns of Kawit, Noveleta and Rosario, all in Cavite province.

Maynilad, the largest private water concessionaire in the Philippines in terms of customer base, is an agent and contractor of the state agency Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System for the west zone of the greater Manila area.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which has majority stake in Maynilad, is one of three Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT, Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Victor V. Saulon

Magnitude 6 quake sparks panic in Indonesia; no tsunami warning issued

JAKARTA — A strong quake rattled Indonesia Tuesday, sparking panic in the capital Jakarta and ripping roads apart in the countryside.

Office workers rushed outside as buildings began swaying, while riders were thrown off their motorbikes by the force of the 6.0 magnitude rumble.

Footage broadcast on Indonesian television showed trucks swaying violently from side to side at a port in Banten province on the northwestern tip of Java. Pictures posted to social media showed huge cracks splitting roads and minor damage to vehicles and buildings.

It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties.

“I was sitting when the building suddenly started shaking,” said Jakarta department store worker Suji, 35, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

“I ran outside the building. It was quite strong and I was afraid.”

The United States Geological Survey said the 6.0 magnitude quake struck at a depth of 43 kilometers (27 miles).

There was no warning of any tsunami.

The epicenter was off the coast, about 130 kilometers southwest of Jakarta, a sprawling city of more than 10 million people.

“The epicenter is in an area prone to quakes. More aftershocks are very likely,” Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics agency chief Dwikorita Karnawati told Metro TV.

“I’m calling on people to be prepared, especially if you are in buildings with a weak structure,” he added.

The tremor came as US Defense Secretary James Mattis was in Jakarta for an official visit.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” where tectonic plates meet, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.

At least three people were killed following a 6.5-magnitude earthquake just outside the coastal town of Cipatujah on Java island in mid-December.

The tremor was felt across the densely populated island, causing damage to hundreds of houses and other buildings.

An earthquake struck Indonesia’s western province of Aceh in December 2016, killing more than 100 people, injuring many more and leaving tens of thousands homeless.

Aceh was one of the areas worst hit by the devastating 2004 tsunami triggered by a magnitude 9.3 undersea earthquake off the coast of Sumatra.

The wall of waves killed 220,000 people in countries around the Indian Ocean, including 168,000 in Indonesia. — AFP

PSEi stops short of 9,000 as GDP data fuel hopes

LOCAL EQUITIES ended Tuesday at the year’s sixth peak, closing just under a point short of the 9,000 mark as initial investor disappointment over slower-than-expected fourth-quarter economic growth gave way to optimism that 2017’s full-year clip provided momentum for expansion in 2018.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) finished 48.40 points or 0.54% higher at 8,999.02 — also an intraday peak — while the all-shares index went up 41.60 points or 0.80% to close at 5,214.61.

“The PSEi plunged into the red zone a few minutes after opening and stayed there almost until the close,” RCBC, Inc. noted in its stock market daily recap.

“However, buying before close sent the index back up to close a hair’s breadth below 9,000, specifically at 8,999.02… a new record high for the market.”

The Philippine Statistics Authority in the morning reported 6.6% gross domestic product (GDP) growth for 2017’s fourth quarter — against market expectations of 6.7% — flat from a year ago though slower than the third quarter’s upwardly revised 7%. That brought 2017’s full-year pace to 6.7% against an official 6.5-7.5% target and 2016’s 6.9%.

“It’s quite a good number,” UPCC Securities Corp. equity trader Aristotle D. Reyes, Jr said in a telephone interview.

“I think the analyst consensus for the full 2017 is 6.6% only, and despite all the challenges last 2017, we still had 6.7% GDP,” he noted.

“So I think going to 2018 there’s still optimism.”

Mr. Reyes added that the market also anticipated generally positive corporate year-end reports due for release soon. “We are up also because investors are very optimistic on reports for the 2017, which are coming maybe first week of February or late this January,” he said.

Only one sectoral index ended lower: financials, which shed 9.85 points or 0.43% lower to end at 2,277.02.

The rest closed with gains: holding firms increased by 109.98 points or 1.19% to 9,291.18; mining and oil rose by 77.27 points or 0.65% to 11,968.38; services went up by 9.06 points or 0.54% to 1,665.81; industrials added 56.54 points or 0.47% to 11,939.4; while property edged up by 16.62 points or 0.41% to 4,072.75.

In a reversal from previous days, stocks that advanced outnumbered those that fell 125 to 84, while 47 were unchanged.

A total of 1.19 billion stocks worth P8.55 billion changed hands, compared to Monday’s 890.17 million issues worth P8.14 billion.

Foreigners marked their eighth straight trading day of net buying, though 40.9% smaller at P264.82 million from Monday’s P448.38 million.

Tuesday’s list of most active stocks showed nine gained, led by San Miguel Corp. and SM Investments Corp. that went up 3% to P140.90 apiece and 2.34% to P1,095 each, respectively, and eight lost, led by LT Group, Inc. and Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. that fell 4.08% to P23.50 apiece and 2.65% to P64.25 each, respectively. — Arra B. Francia

A minute to arrive, a minute to leave

By Raju Mandhyan

A FEW YEARS AGO, I’d taken up three speaking assignments in one day. The first was in Antipolo, a location 25 kilometers north from Makati City where I operate from in the Philippines. The second speaking assignment was in Makati City and the third, late in the afternoon, was at a convention center in Pasay City which was about 10 kilometers from Makati City.

I had calculated the speaking and the travel time well for all three engagements and also did make it to each one of them in time. But, I must confess that my speaking performance in each one of them wasn’t of the quality that I’d like to fondly remember. Getting from one venue and event to another had my nerves so frayed that on stage it was more about overcoming the wobbly knees from driving than from the fact that I was on stage. Though I don’t want to remember the day, I am sharing the story in hope of purging it from my system and preventing others from such mistakes.

I don’t quite know what it is about us humans and humanity itself that wants us to pack our hours and minutes with so much to do.

From the moment we wake up we get hooked to our smart phones, our tablets and every other thingamajig that we think will help us get productive. We also sign up for meetings, get-togethers, lunches, workouts and late night online sessions to fill our days. All these activities are frantically weaved in with reading news, posting, liking, sharing and commenting on every little beep on the blooming internet. We call it living it out loud in the Volatile, Uncertain, Changing and Ambiguous world.

In this messy scramble of commitments and appointments we claim that we can make it because we are of the 21st century and we are multi-tasking, multi-talented, omnipresent creatures lurching into future. No, we are not!

Research in neurosciences will tell you that we are on and off between tasks. That means we do one thing, we stop and then we do another. We do not do many things at the same time. We stop, we start, we start, we stop and eventually end up burned at both ends. Research by the Mindful Leadership Institute in 2010 showed that barely 2% of business leaders succeed at this, 47% are, usually, in a state of chaotic, mind-wandering and 70% confessed to constantly tuning out from the tasks at hand.

The answer lies in what a professor, unknown to me, at the Ateneo de Manila University makes his students practice when they enter his classroom. He invites them to sit down, be still and then just be silent for one whole minute. His claim, as I have heard my son share the story, is that when we move from one venue, one event to another we must let our minds catch up with our body.

My “mind” enter my body? That is exactly what I hadn’t done on that day when I’d zoomed from one speaking engagement to another and then to another. I was a maniac driver on the road and a zombie pontificating on stage.

Today, I practice a habit called “one minute to arrive.” Get up in the morning and take a minute to arrive and appreciate the day outside. Sit at breakfast, take a minute to arrive, smell the food and appreciate the company. Enter the car and take one minute to arrive and be amazed at the wonders of technology. Enter a business meeting and spend a whole minute to take note of the place, the people and the potential in the room. Connect everything to an inner quietness, a greater awareness, and curiosity for what is and what else may unfold. Some people call this grounding while others call it quiet time. Regardless of what it is called, the beauty lies in the fact that it increases our calm, our clarity and our abilities to become creative and productive.

The same practice can also be applied to leaving a room or a meeting. One can just sit up after all the talk is over and let all the little and big conversations come together in our heads then let them find their way into our deeper memory. Call this “a minute to leave” and has similarities to a respectful “paalam” in the Philippines.

The beauty behind this practice is that our forefathers knew of it and, thus, created words and rituals to remind us of it. Another truth behind this practice is that science is quickly catching up on its mental, emotional and performance benefits. Practice it for a day and it will impact you. Practice it for a few weeks and it will become a good habit. Hang on to the good habit and it will become a trait of being present in the here and now. Think of it gently, “a minute to paalam.”

 

Raju Mandhyan is an author, coach and speaker.

www.mandhyan.com

Prudential agrees to sell Vietnam consumer finance unit for $151M

PRUDENTIAL PLC has agreed to sell its consumer finance business in Vietnam to a unit of South Korea’s Shinhan Financial Group for $151 million, as the UK’s largest insurer seeks to focus on its core insurance arm in the Southeast Asian nation.

Prudential Vietnam Finance Co Ltd is the country’s fourth-largest consumer finance company by outstanding loan balance, and was the first foreign, non-bank financial institution licensed for consumer lending, a company statement said on Tuesday.

Reuters had reported in October that Prudential sought the sale of its Vietnam consumer finance unit, which could fetch up to $150 million. The sale attracted many buyers, including private equity firms and financial services companies.

The sale of Prudential Vietnam Finance, which offers personal and mortgage loans, marks the British insurer’s first major asset divestment since it named its former group CFO, Nic Nicandrou, as the head of its Asia business in July last year.

The move comes as some global insurers are selling smaller and non-core units in Asia to sharpen focus on their main insurance businesses in a region, which is attractive due to low insurance penetration but is also hyper competitive.

“PVFC is a high-quality business, but not core to our strategy in Vietnam,” Nicandrou said in the company statement, referring to the consumer finance unit in the Southeast Asian country.

“Vietnam remains an attractive and important market to Prudential where we have high-quality and fast-growing life insurance and asset management operations.”

Under the terms of the transaction, Prudential and Shinhan, a diversified financial group with interest in banking and insurance, have also agreed to a new long-term bancassurance partnership in Vietnam and Indonesia, the British insurer said. — Reuters

Philippines’ gross domestic product performance

THE PHILIPPINE ECONOMY expanded last quarter at a pace slightly slower than expected even as full-year growth fell within the government’s target and cemented the country’s place among Asia’s fastest-growing economies, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported yesterday. Read the full story.
GDP

How PSEi member stocks performed — January 23, 2018

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Tuesday, January 23, 2018.

Banks need human upgrade to remain competitive — study

FOR ALL THE reorganizations the financial services industry has undertaken in recent years, it won’t achieve long-term success unless it dramatically changes the way new managers are hired, consulting firm Oliver Wyman said in a report.

In a survey on the state of finance released on Tuesday, Oliver Wyman found that a “gnawing sense of concern” was afflicting the industry even though it enjoyed a strong 2017.

“Much of the regulation has been absorbed, global prospects are better, valuations have improved, and interest rates have begun to turn,” according to the report. “We don’t encounter a celebratory mood, however, in conversations with bankers and insurers around the world.”

Oliver Wyman researchers found that growth in the financial services industry significantly lagged global technology firms, which have done a better job in meeting customer demand. The industry also fell behind its historic performance. In addition, the long-standing models that once supported profits and returns in banking and insurance have also deteriorated, the report said.

Financial firms still had time to “bridge the customer value gap” and fend off “tech usurpers,” according to Oliver Wyman. The key: bringing men and women with deeper backgrounds in science, technology, engineering, art and math.

Organizations will have to adopt “a dramatically different human capital model, fully integrated business experts with a new set of skills, and spearheaded by business-building, entrepreneurial leaders,” it concluded.

The survey included input from 4,000 customers from the US, UK, France and Australia, and a digital focus group of 100 mass-market customers in the US. — Bloomberg

Government center construction starts in New Clark City

BUILDERS have broken ground on the first phase of the  P13.16-billion National Government Administrative Center in New Clark City, Tarlac.

The groundbreaking covers the construction of offices for government agencies taking up over 60 hectares (ha.) of the 200-ha. complex, as well as areas for business locators and two sports centers.

The sports complex will host athletics and water sports, with completion expected in time for the Southeast Asian Games in 2019.

The athletics stadium will have a seating capacity of 20,000 while the aquatic center will seat 2,000.

“Once completed in 2019, the project’s Phase 1B will commence for the construction of additional government office buildings, government housing units and support service facilities on a 20-hectare land,” the Bases Conversion and Development Authority said in a statement.

“Aside from this, retail and service facilities including banks, health centers and hotels will be put up in adjacent zones.” — Anna Gabriela A. Mogato

Nation at a Glance — (01/24/18)

News stories from across the nation. Visit www.bworldonline.com (section: The Nation) to read more national and regional news from the Philippines.

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