VOYAGER Innovations, Inc., the digital innovations unit of PLDT, Inc., last week unveiled its new Silicon Valley-inspired headquarters in Mandaluyong City.
Located at the Launchpad Building, Voyager’s new headquarters is patterned after offices of tech giants and start-ups in Silicon Valley.
“This is like a Silicon Valley campus for emerging markets. We have designed our headquarters to be an attractive and agile space for creative innovation to thrive,” Voyager President and CEO Orlando B. Vea was quoted as saying in a statement.
With no cubicles and dividers that separate employees from different units and brands, Voyager promotes a relaxed and collaborative working environment for its mostly millennial work force. It also provides nap rooms and a fitness facility for its workers.
“Digital transformation has helped equalize opportunities for the common folk, in a very profound way, and we are proud that Voyager is behind innovations that push boundaries and tear down walls for the benefit of all,” PLDT and Smart Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan was quoted as saying in a statement.
First established four and a half years ago, Voyager has released breakthrough digital products and platforms aimed at digital transformation of individuals, businesses, and institutions.
PayMaya, a digital payment service platform that allows users to make payments without using credit cards, now has the largest prepaid wallet base in the country.
FINTQ, through its digital loan platform Lendr, now has the most extensive digital lending footprint in the country, with 90% of cities and 8% of municipalities covered and partnerships with over 40 banks and nonbank entities.
On the other hand, Voyager’s digital customer engagement platforms such as freenet and hatch allow businesses to reach further to their audiences through free data access to various apps and sites and robust SMS marketing campaigns.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.
PLDT shares on Friday added P20 or 1.18% to close at P1,720 apiece. — PPM
FORMER ENERGY secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla has joined the board of MRC Allied, Inc. as independent director, adding more former government officials to the mining and property company that is diversifying into renewable energy.
Along with Mr. Petilla, who run and lost in the last senatorial race, former National Electrification Administration (NEA) Administrator Edita S. Bueno has gained a seat in MRC Allied, also as independent director.
The company’s president, Gladys N. Nalda, served as vice-president for legal and corporate affairs of state agency PNOC Renewables Corp. She was also legal counsel of the Department of Energy.
“With the entry of the new directors and pursuant to the company thrust to strengthen its structure and enhance good governance, the Board Committees have been re-organized. Petilla has been named chairperson of the Risk and Oversight Committee, while Bueno has been named chairperson of the Audit Committee,” the company said in a statement over the weekend.
“Petilla and Bueno, who both have a track record of invaluable experience in the energy sector, solidifies MRC Allied’s board and management team,” the company said.
“Their election to the board also bodes well for the company as it is now diversifying into the energy industry, with a focus on the renewable energy sector,” it added.
The company said Ms. Nalda was also a member of the risk and oversight committee. Messrs. Petilla and Bernard B. Rabanzo have been named members of the audit committee.
Based on the company’s corporate profile at the Philippine Stock Exchange, its chairman is Carlos Jose P. Gatmaitan, who is also its independent director. Its vice-chairman is Jimmy T. Yaokasin.
Celia Chao completes the seven-member board, along with Ms. Nalda and Mr. Rabanzo as regular directors. Ms. Bueno and Mr. Petilla are independent directors.
Mr. Petilla also served as governor of Leyte province for three straight terms before joining the Aquino cabinet in 2012.
Last month, MRC Allied announced its plan to enter the energy sector with an ambitious target of putting up at least 1,000 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy in the next five years.
Ms. Nalda said the move was perfectly timed because of the rising demand for electricity, increasing target of renewable energy capacity and the opportunity to buy existing power plants.
The company has a total of 160 MW of solar capacity in the pipeline this year, she said, identifying these as a 100-MW facility in Clark Green City, Pampanga and 60-MW in Naga City, Cebu. — Victor V. Saulon
THE Department of Energy (DoE) has accepted six project proposals that seek to use water from Laguna de Bay to produce power using pumped-storage hydroelectricity.
The process generates electricity from the release of pumped and stored water in a reservoir.
“We have accepted six service contract applications over Laguna Lake,” Mario C. Marasigan, who heads the Department of Energy’s renewable energy management bureau.
“All of these projects are pumped storage,” he said, identifying Citicore Power, Inc. and Phinma Energy Corp. as among the project proponents.
He said the proposals would require pumping water from Laguna de Bay and storing it in a reservoir at a higher elevation. When there is a demand for electricity, the stored water is released through turbines to produce power.
He said the range of capacity targeted by the proponents is from 400 megawatts (MW) to 600 MW. The final figure will depend on the outcome of their feasibility studies, he added.
Mr. Marasigan said the six projects would total around 3,000 MW depending on whether Laguna de Bay is able to accommodate the projects. The projects are distributed around the Rizal and Laguna sides of the lake, he said.
He said the feasibility studies of the proponents would answer whether Laguna de Bay has sufficient water to allow the construction of the power generation facilities. The government has a similar project installed — the Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan power generation complex in Laguna, which has a combined capacity of around 379 MW.
Mr. Marasigan said interest in putting up a pumped storage facility in Laguna de Bay follows the passage of the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 and the Mini-hydroelectric Power Incentive Act of 1990.
He said before the passage of the two laws, only government agency National Power Corp. held the exclusive authority to exploit the country’s river systems and water bodies for power development.
“All six projects are in the pre-development stage,” Mr. Marasigan said.
Sought for comment, Rio Q. Balaba, Citicore energy regulations manager, said the company was awarded about a month ago a service contract to develop certain areas in Laguna.
Citicore’s technical working group was “formulating the project development landscape and procedure on how to move with the project,” he said.
“We are given under the service contract a pre-development stage of five years. But we are as aggressive and very committed for our renewable energy development,” he told reporters.
“We wanted, as much as possible, earlier than five,” he said, adding that the project will depend on the outcome of the feasibility study. — Victor V. Saulon
