Facebook Instagram Linkedin X Youtube
Home Blog Page 12924

DMCI net income up 16%

EARNINGS of DMCI Holdings, Inc. climbed last year, buoyed by the double-digit growth of the coal energy, real estate and construction segments, as well as the recovery of the nickel mining business.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Friday, the Consunji-led firm reported 16% growth in net income attributable to shareholders to P14.8 billion last year from P12.7 billion in 2016 following the restatement of earnings from the housing business.

DMCI Homes restated the 2016 results to reflect the shift in accounting policy from the completed-contract method to the percentage-of-completion method in order to align with current accounting practice in the real estate industry.

Core net income rose at a faster pace of 17% to P14.8 billion from P12.6 billion without the one-time gain of P111 million from the sale of a 10% stake in Subic Water and Sewerage Company.

In the fourth quarter, DMCI Holdings grew its profits by 9% to P3.1 billion from P2.8 billion.

Revenues went up 18% year-on-year to P81 billion from P68 billion.

In a statement, DMCI Holdings Chairman and President Isidro A. Consunji was quoted as saying that “2017 was a challenging year for us but we were able to meet our earnings target of double-digit growth.”

Anchoring the earnings expansion was the strong performance of Semirara Mining and Power Corp., which saw its net profits improve by 15% to P8 billion from P6.9 billion on the back of 20% growth in average coal prices and a 21% jump in gross electric output.

Record real estate sales allowed DMCI Project Developers, Inc. — operating under the DMCI Homes brand — to grow its earnings by nearly half to P3.6 billion from the restated P2.4 billion a year ago.

Construction arm D.M. Consunji, Inc. booked an 11% rise in income to over P1 billion from P938 million due to lower operating costs, favorable settlement of pending claims, and earlier-than-expected completion of some minor projects.

The turnaround of its mining business also pushed the holding firm’s income despite the regulatory uncertainty. DMCI Mining Corp. swung to a net profit of P113 million from a net loss of P65 million following a drop in operating costs and the shipment of 525,000 wet metric tons of nickel ore from its old inventory.

Off-grid energy business DMCI Power Corp. suffered a 15% drop in earnings to P359 million from P424 million primarily due to the expiration of its income tax holiday for its Masbate operations.

Affiliate Maynilad Water Services, Inc. registered a 12% decline in income to P1.6 billion from P1.9 billion because of the delayed implementation of its tariff adjustment coupled with a one-time gain last year from the re-measurement of its deferred tax liability.

In terms of income contribution, Semirara accounted for 54%, DMCI Homes contributed 24%, and Maynilad added 11%. The balance was contributed by the off-grid power, construction, and mining units.

“For 2018, our financial performance will likely be more modest because of tapering electricity rates and the unresolved issues in our nickel mining and water businesses. But we see strong growth from our coal production and real estate segments,” Mr. Consunji said.

Shares in DMCI fell six centavos or 0.45% to close at P13.22 apiece on Friday. — Krista Angela M. Montealegre

DTI open to lowering capital threshold for foreign retail business owners

THE DEPARTMENT of Trade and Industry is open to lowering the paid-up capital threshold for foreigners to own retail businesses in the country to $500,000 at most, the agency’s chief said.

Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez noted that although the agency initially submitted a $200,00 cap proposal, which is in line with the suggestion of the country’s top economic managers and favorable to foreign chambers, he noted that a lawmaker has proposed a “middle ground” at $500,000.

Asked if he would consider this proposal, Mr. Lopez told reporters on Friday: “We’ll look into that.”

“At least it’s a lot lower than the $2.5 [million]. Protected pa rin with that amount, yung talagang small pero you allow na the medium to come in,” he added.

The Retail Trade Liberalization Act of 2000 requires a minimum paid-up capital of $2.5 million for a 100% foreign ownership of a retail business, a stake which will only be valid in the first two years. The maximum stake will be at 60%, thereafter. Meanwhile, two-folds of that or a $7.5 million capital can be wholly-owned by a foreigner without the restriction of a validity period.

Mr. Lope said the entry of more players may boost the market of local enterprises.

“Kung mas maraming independent medium and up size na foreign brands, I can imagine na we could also probably put in…the possibilty na mas maraming supplyan si micro SME,” he said.

“Ngayon kasi si micro SME will only have to talk to the limited big retailers only. Pero kapag marami na yang medium na foreign brand, kapag sourced locally yan, mas marami nang pwede bentahan ang micro SMEs.”

Meanwhile, the Board of Investments (BoI) offered a different solution to striking a balance between protecting micro and small retailers and liberalization, proposing to scrap the paid-up capital threshold for foreigners to own retail businesses here and instead apply the minimum requirement to each store that will be built by an enterprise.

“The $200 million is one of the requirements for pre-qualification so that’s not the money you’ll have to infuse…,” Marjorie Ramos-Samaniego, director of the BoI’s Legal and Compliance Service Division, told reporters on the sidelines of the Euro-PH Advocacy Fora held Friday at the Makati Shangri-la Hotel.

Under the law, foreign enterprises, wholly owned or with a majority ownership, may break up their stores in such a way that each branch has a paid-up capital of at least $830,000.

“If you have $830,000, you have four stores. So you can see how burdensome. You have the $2.5 million, you just come up with four stores which makes $830,000,” Ms. Ramos-Samaniego added.

The BoI said applying the country’s top economic team’s suggestion of a $200,000 paid-up capital is “ still too small” if applied to the proposed scheme.

As such, the agency will conduct a stakeholder consultation with the Philippine Retail Association in determining the suitable threshold that will be applied for each branch to be put up.

“Because to a certain extent, there still should be a safeguard measure,” the official added, noting that the BoI prioritizes protecting the micro and small scale enterprises while seeing the medium enterprise capable of standing on its own.

The regulator’s position stands in stark contrast with that proposed in Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian’s Senate Bill No. 1639 in which terms on the threshold, including pre-qualifiers such as the minimum net worth of parent corporations, are totally removed.

“What we aim to do is simplify [the process] para pumasok and foreign investors at dumami,” Mr. Gatchalian told reporters on Friday.

Mr. Gatchalian said he does not see the move as posing a threat to “mom and pop” stores. — JCL

RCBC Savings posts double-digit income growth

THE SAVINGS ARM of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) booked a double-digit income growth in 2017 on the back of the continued expansion of its loan businesses.

During a media luncheon in Makati City on Friday, RCBC Savings Bank (RCBC Savings) President Rommel S. Latinazo said the lender booked a record-high profit of P1.35 billion, 34% better than it booked in 2016.

Mr. Latinazo attributed the lender’s growth to the “continued expansion of our core consumer loan portfolio and some efficiencies we’ve had in terms of cost management.”

Its core consumer loans were primarily made up of housing and automobile loans, comprising 96% of its consumer business.

Aside from these, Mr. Latinazo added that RCBC Savings also has salary and personal loans.

“We have small portfolio of salary loans with tie-ups from private corporations to support the financial needs of their employees,” Mr. Latinazo said, adding that personal loans also contributed a small share.

Meanwhile, the bank registered a net worth of P11.8 billion and capital adequacy ratio of 14% in 2017.

Looking ahead, RCBC Savings is optimistic of booking another double-digit growth this year.

“I think we will have to take on the higher end of the growth forecast as far as profits are concerned. Mr. [Gil A.] Buenaventura mentioned about 5-10%, but I think he’ll press for more,” Mr. Latinazo said referring to the RCBC’s president and chief executive officer.

Despite its target of another double-digit growth in income and loans, Mr. Latinazo said the bank will have to be conservative this year.

“A few days ago, the auto industry send out a forecast that they see flat sales level in 2018 from a high base,” Mr. Latinazo said. “We’ll have to take the cue from them on how that industry would go considering a big chunk of the business is being derived from the auto [loan] sales, but we have a pretty good coverage of the market.”

As of September 2017, RCBC Savings was the third biggest savings bank in the country in asset terms, lagging behind BPI Family Savings Bank and Philippine Savings Bank, according to the latest central bank data. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

NLEX Corp. to raise P25 B through fixed rate bonds

A TOLLWAY unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) plans to raise P25 billion through the issuance of fixed rate bonds, with P6 billion slated to be offered for its initial tranche.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Friday, MPIC said its indirect subsidiary NLEX Corp. has filed a three-year shelf registration program for the issuance with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company looks to use the proceeds of the offer for its upcoming projects, including the Radial Road 10 (R10) portion of its Segment 10 project.

R10 forms part of the P8-billion Segment 10 project, a 5.7-kilometer expressway spanning MacArthur Highway in Valenzuela City, Governor Pascual Ave. in Malabon City, and C3 Road in Caloocan City.

Local debt watcher Philippine Ratings Services Corp. (PhilRatings) gave the bonds a PRS Aaa rating with a stable outlook, which is the highest issuer rating in the company’s credit rating scale. This indicates that NLEX Corp. has the capacity to meet its financial obligations.

On the other hand, a stable outlook means that the rating is not likely to change in the next 12 months.

PhilRatings said it considered NLEX Corp.’s cash flow, capital structure, the management of its toll franchise, and the demand for toll service in coming up with the credit rating.

“In general, demand for NLEX Corp.’s services is considered resilient as the public continues to use the NLEX and SCTEX (Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway) despite factors such as volatile fuel prices and seasonality of travel, among others,” the debt watcher said in a statement.

NLEX Corp. has P7 billion in outstanding bonds, P4.4 billion of which is set to mature in 2021 and the remaining P2.6 billion due in 2024. PhilRatings maintained the PRS Aaa credit rating for these bonds.

MPIC is one of three Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific, along with PLDT, Inc. and Philex Mining. Hastings Holdings, Inc. — a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc. — maintains an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.

Shares in MPIC were down by four centavos or 0.69% to close at P5.75 apiece at the stock exchange on Friday. — Arra B. Francia

Customs bureau forges data exchange deal with China

THE Bureau of Customs (BoC) has forged a data exchange arrangement with its counterparts in China, as the government eyes to improve safeguards versus smuggling.

Customs Deputy Commissioner Edward James A. Dy Buco reported to the Department of Finance (DoF) Executive Committee that the Philippines has requested imports and exports data from the General Administration of China Customs (GACC) for transactions between 2015 to 2017.

“The request for information was in compliance with the directive of Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III to Commissioner Isidro S. Lapeña for the BoC to check the narrowing but still significant gap between China’s registered export volumes to the Philippines and data on Philippine imports from China officially reported here,” the DoF said in a statement.

For this year, the Philippines also requested data covering Chinese commodity imports and exports to the Philippines to be given on a monthly or quarterly basis. The bureau also asked for export data on all Chinese shipments bound to this country, including the manifest of vessels carrying these cargo.

Mr. Lapeña flew to Beijing from Feb. 8-10 to personally meet Chinese Customs officials led by Deputy Director General Zou Zhiwu. The GACC vowed to support the Philippines’ anti-smuggling initiatives.

The BoC and GACC are set to sign a cooperation deal by April during a scheduled visit of these Chinese officials to Manila.

Mr. Lapeña, who took the helm of the BoC in August, has been pursuing a crackdown on smuggling and corruption within the bureau in order to plug leakages and raise additional revenues for the government.

The BoC collected P458.2 billion in import duties and other revenues last year, 16% higher than the P396.4 billion collected a year ago and nearly hitting the P459.6 billion target, according to the Bureau of the Treasury.

This year, the bureau is expected to raise P637.1 billion revenues.

In December, Mr. Dominguez said official trade data showed huge discrepancies between registered Chinese exports versus Philippine imports from the foreign country. The gap settled at 60% in 2010, 57% in 2016, and 48.7% in 2016, the DoF said.

From January to July 2017, China recorded $17.77 billion worth of exports sent to the Philippines. However, imports data culled by the Philippine Statistics Authority reflected just $9.24 billion, which is just half of the figure.

Mr. Lapeña has said that the gap in trade figures are likely due to misdeclared or undervalued shipments, as well as the use of consignees for hire which allow importers to evade taxes. — Melissa Luz T. Lopez

Bank of Makati to open 40 branch-lite offices

BANK of Makati, Inc. (BMI) wants to open branch-lite offices this year to tap the unbanked and underserved Filipinos in rural areas.

During the launch of BMI’s new building in Makati City on Friday, BMI President Luis M. Chua said the savings lender is looking at opening 40 branch-lite offices nationwide.

“Right now, easily we are looking at about 40 branch-lite [offices] for this year,” Mr. Chua told reporters on Friday.

In December, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) approved the option for banks to set up branch-lite units, a smaller and simplified version of a brick-and-mortar bank branch which can be placed in towns and cities which are unbanked or underserved.

Mr. Chua said BMI intends to set up branch-lite units to reach those who are not in the formal financial system.

“Our branches right now [are] still in the key cities and we want to cater more on the rural side and those which are…underserved and even the unbanked,” the president said, adding that the lender wants to focus more on the underserved Filipinos, or people who are already in the system but are yet to avail financial services.

Setting up branch-lite units instead of the traditional big bank branches, according to Mr. Chua, will be more economical and cost-effective for them to reach unbanked and underserved Filipinos.

Based on the 2015 Family Income and Expenditure Survey prepared by the Philippine Statistics Authority, seven out of 10 families or 16.1 million out of the 22.7 million total families remain unbanked, or families who didn’t make any bank deposits.

Aside from opening branch-lite units, BMI is also looking at cash agency, also in accordance to BSP’s more relaxed regulations.

In January last year, the country’s monetary authority allowed lenders to serve its clients through so-called cash agents or third-party outlets such as convenience stores and pharmacies.

“We want to take advantage [of the new BSP regulations] as soon as possible because the name of the game is whoever gets [to the clients] first,” Mr. Chua noted.

As of end-September, BMI was the ninth largest savings bank in the country in assets terms with P29.31 billion.

BMI was originally established as a rural bank in 1956. It was bought by the Ongtengco family, owner of motorcycle dealer Motortrade, in 2001 and became a savings bank in 2015.

Currently, BMI has 62 branches and 703 outlets through Motortrade. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

Philippine stocks end week in the red

By Arra B. Francia, Reporter

LOCAL stocks closed the week in the red, as the lack of catalysts failed to sustain the market’s early day gains.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) edged lower by 0.11% or 9.34 points to finish at 8,372.51 on Friday, while the all-shares index also dropped 0.25% or 12.69 points to 5,052.79.

“Philippine markets still finished in the red as the broader market lacked a stronger catalyst today. Other news kept the market flat to down,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile phone message.

In contrast, international markets were mostly up, amid United States President Donald J. Trump’s signing of new tariff regulations, imposing 25% tariffs on steel and 10% on aluminum, with the exception of Canada and Mexico.

Hopes for better relations between the US and North Korea also propped up investor sentiment, after Mr. Trump said he was prepared to meet North Korea’s Kim Jong Un in what would be first face-to-face meeting between the two countries’ leaders.

With this, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.38% or 93.85 points to 24,895.21; the S&P 500 index rose 0.45% or 12.17 points to 2,738.97, and the Nasdaq Composite index was up 0.42% or 31.3 points to 7,427.95.

Most Asian indices tracked the performance of US markets, closing the week in positive territory.

Two sectoral indices managed to post gains at the PSE, as property climbed 0.72% or 26.84 points to 3,774.07, while industrial added 0.27% or 30.50 points to 11,473.02.

Services led the day’s losers, giving up 0.39% or 6.92 points to close at 1,755.36. Financials followed with a decrease of 0.26% or 5.65 points to 2,180.75. Holding firms lost 0.21% or 17.46 points to 8,376.84, while mining and oil was down 0.14% or 16.74 points to 11,521.45.

A total of 2.57 billion issues switched hands, valued at P6.58 billion, up from Thursday’s turnover of P5.83 billion. Even as the main index declined, advancers still outpaced decliners, 125 to 82, while 54 issues were unchanged.

Net foreign outflows prevailed for the day, as foreign investors sold down P573.73 million worth of stocks, lower than the net sales of P715.67 million on Thursday.

Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc., which reported its net income fell by 4% to P21.6 billion, saw its shares advance 1.43% to P74.30 each. Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co was the most actively traded stock of the day, adding 0.05% to P96 each.

Atlas Mining posts P1.97 billion net loss

ATLAS Consolidated Mining and Development Corp. reported that its consolidated net loss ballooned by 124% in 2017, to P1.97 billion, despite its production rebounding in the second half of the year.

In a disclosure to the stock market on Friday, Atlas Mining said that despite its earnings having improved, its “mark to market losses for copper price hedges and for effective interest rates on certain loans affected the bottom line.”

“Without these mark to market provisions, the underlying net loss would have been P745 million compared to P879 million for the same period last year,” it read.

The company’s core income dropped by 38% to P746 million from last year’s P1.195 billion while its revenues slipped by 1% to P11.96 million from P12.08 million in 2016.

However, its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) last year went up by 20% to P3.81 billion from P3.17 billion in 2016 due to improved copper prices.

Atlas Mining’s wholly owned subsidiary Carmen Copper Corp. processed 14.24 million tons of ore, producing 78.19 million pounds of copper metal and 21,979 ounces of gold.

This is less than the 16.72 million tons milled in 2016, which produced 102.88 million pounds of copper metal and 33,958 ounces of gold.

“The lower tonnage of ore delivered to the processing plant in 2017 was caused mainly by the unusually high levels of rainfall experienced in the first quarter of 2017 which restricted mine operations,” Atlas Mining said in a press release.

In the second half of 2017, Atlas Mining managed to produce 14% more copper (41.58 million pounds) compared to that produced in the first six months of the year (36.62 million pounds).

The 2017 average realized copper price at $2.78 per pound was 26% more than 2016’s $2.21 per pound, while gold prices increased to $1,259 per ounce from the 2016 price of $1,241 per ounce.

“The provision for mark to market loss represents the accounting valuation of outstanding copper price hedges as copper price increased above the hedge price at the end of the current year,” the company explained.

“This provision changes as the copper price changes and the final variance is determined at the month of settlement.”

Aside from this, the company also said that it had taken into account the difference in the nominal interest rate and the effective interest rate of certain long-term debts.

Atlas Mining also reported that its cash costs were 9% lower at P8.15 billion from P8.97 billion in 2016 despite the 25% increase in average cost per pound to $1.39 per pound due to higher waste charged to operations, lower by-products credits, and lower volume shipped.

To recall, the company saw its consolidated net loss double in the first nine months last year to P939 million from P470 million in 2016, and also pointed to copper price increasing above the hedge price.

This despite registering a steady improvement in production with a 12% increase in copper metal.

Atlas Mining’s shares on Friday closed P0.0100 or 0.20% lower to P5 from Thursday’s P5.01 shares a piece.

Gov’t looking to ease business processes

By Arra B. Francia, Reporter

THE Department of Trade Industry (DTI) looks to enhance the ease of doing business in the country with the use of mobile applications and electronic payment systems for the registration of new businesses, noting such efforts launched by the Quezon City (QC) government.

The QC government on Friday formally unveiled its one-stop shop that will handle new business registrations and the issuance of construction permits. The system allows entrepreneurs to start a business by filing for business permits online, as well as ePayment facilities for business taxes and real property taxes.

“We must make doing business easier. A complicated business registration process is a huge turn off particularly to young entrepreneurs or millennials who would want to start their business. Our current business registration practices are not aligned with the preferences of this demographic who are totally dependent on their mobile devices,” DTI Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said in a statement.

The program is being done in partnership with the DTI, the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

Other than shifting to online process for frontline services, the one-stop shop further seeks to cut the amount of time and number of steps new businesses would have to go through to secure business licenses and construction permits.

New businesses currently have to undergo 16 steps for their registration which could take around 28 days. The one-stop shop aims to cut this process by half, with giving businessmen the ability to process steps at the local level within a day.

The one-stop shop will further reduce the number of steps for securing construction permits for simple structures from 11 to four.

“The basic principle ay pagpunta dito, mag-file ka lang, umupo ka lang, and in 20 to 30 minutes, tatawagin ka at magbabayad ka na lang. Nandoon na kasi yung assessment, nandoon na yung bayad,” Mr. Lopez said in a press conference in Quezon City on Friday.

New business registration and securing construction permits are among the 10 indicators used for ranking economies based on the ease of doing business in the country. Other indicators are getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and resolving insolvency.

The Philippines slipped to the 113th spot from the 99th place among 190 countries in terms of ease of doing business, according to an annual World Bank Group report in 2017.

“Ginagawa natin ito para makapag-attract pa lalo ng maraming negosyante upang magbigay ng trabaho sa mga kababayan natin. Patuloy na ginagampanan ng Quezon City ang kanyang trabaho na mapaikli at mapabilis ang pagrerehistro ng mga bagong negosyo, pagrerehistro ng lupa, at pag-aapply ng building permits sa QC,” QC Mayor Herbert M. Bautista said in the same press conference.

PESO ends flat on trade data

THE PESO ended flat against the dollar on Friday amid the wider yet lower-than-expected local trade deficit in January.

The local currency ended the week closing at P52.03 versus the greenback on Friday, flat from its finish on Thursday.

The peso traded weaker the whole day, opening the session at P52.12-per-dollar, while its intraday low stood at P52.14. Its best showing, meanwhile, was also at its P52.03-per-dollar finish yesterday.

Dollars traded rose to $592.1 million from the $453.7 million that changed hands in the previous session.

Two traders interviewed on Friday attributed the generally weaker trading to wider trade deficit data in January.

“The peso generally depreciated following the release of relatively weaker Philippine trade deficit for January 2018,” a trader said in an e-mail.

The country’s balance of trade stood at a $3.32-billion deficit in January, higher than the $2.47 billion deficit booked in the same period last year.

Preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed imports grew 11.4% to P8.54 billion in January from the P7.66 billion booked in the same period last year.

Meanwhile, exports also grew 0.5% to P5.22 billion in January from the P5.19 billion recorded in a comparable year-ago period.

“This morning, we also saw a slight improvement in the trade data. Probably, that’s one of the reasons why we saw a better close at P52.03,” another trader said on Friday.

The trader added that rhetoric in the US on tariff imposition as well as the jobs data due for release on Friday were among the factors why the pair was consolidating most of the week.

“We continue to see factors affecting the US dollar, but I cannot attribute one event on why we continue to see this move. But among the events that are significant is the tariffs imposed by the US on steel and aluminum,” he said.

Last week, President Donald J. Trump announced he will slap a 25% tariff on steel and 10% tariff on aluminum, seen as a protectionist policy in favor of domestic producers.

However, this move was welcomed with opposition, with European Union threatening to impose tariffs on certain American goods such as Harley-Davidson motorcycles and Kentucky bourbon.

“This creates a risk-off sentiment,” the trader said, adding that investors were also waiting for the non-farm payrolls data. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

SWS poll: 53% of Filipinos support divorce

An average 53% of adult Filipinos nationwide support the legalization of divorce, the results of a poll by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) have shown.

To the test statement, “Married couples who have already separated and cannot reconcile anymore should be allowed to divorce so that they can get legally married again,” 53% agreed (30% strongly and 23% somewhat), and almost a third (32%) disagreed (10% somewhat and 22% strongly). Fifteen percent were undecided on the matter.

This gives a net agreement score (% agree minus % disagree) of +21, classified by SWS as moderately strong.

SWS noted that support for the legalization of divorce used to be split when it first conducted the survey in 2005: 43% agreed, 12% were undecided, and 45% disagreed, for a neutral net agreement of -2.

The question was asked for the second time six years after in 2011 and obtained moderately strong support. When it was asked for the third time three years after in 2014, it went to very strong and stayed at moderately strong up to 2017.

New law grants PNP chief, CIDG power to issue subpoenas

The Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) have now the power to issue subpoenas under Republic Act (RA) No. 10973, which President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed into law on March 1.

RA No. 10973 grants the chief of the PNP and the director and deputy director of the CIDG the authority to administer oath and to issue subpoena and subpoena duces tecum.

The said Act amends RA No. 6975 or the Department of Interior and Local Government Act of 1990.

The new law says the issuance of subpoenas shall be “in relation to” an investigation being conducted by the PNP and the CIDG.

It adds: “[S]uch powers shall be exercised solely by the aforementioned officials and may not be further delegated to any other person or office.”

The new law is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 1239 and House Bill No. 4863. — Arjay L. Balinbin

1...12,92312,92412,925...14,238Page 12,924 of 14,238
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin X Youtube