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Maximizing digital opportunities in the energy sector

The ERC, in partnership with the USAID Energy Secure Philippines (ESP), launched the ERC LINKod last July 2023. The event was attended by Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian and Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla.

Many industries face the simultaneous push for digitalization and decarbonization, and our energy sector is not spared from this. Leveraging digital technology is even found to be a significant way to enhance clean energy adoption and improve energy efficiency.

In the Philippines, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is reinventing energy regulation through digital innovation, ensuring that the Philippine energy sector meets the needs of the growing economy.

This innovation comes in the form of ERC LINKod, which seeks to make the processes of its services more efficient through the use of digital technology.

“[ERC LINKod is] a suite of consumer-centric digital programs aimed at enhancing efficiency, transparency and accessibility in ERC provision of public service fortified by an information security management system,” ERC Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer Monalisa C. Dimalanta explained in her remarks during the launch of ERC LINKod last year.

Services currently offered and accessible to the public under ERC LINKod include Billing and Revenue System — Cashiering System (BRS-CS), Consumer Complaints Ticketing System (CCTS), Online Filing and Application System (OFAS), Online Uniform Reportorial Requirements System (OURRS), and Competitive Retail Electricity Market — Monitoring and Reporting System (CREM-MRS).

BRS-CS, according to the ERC’s website, streamlines financial transactions for stakeholders by facilitating the online issuance of billing statements and revenue collection.

CCTS, meanwhile, facilitates the management and resolving of consumer electricity-related issues.

OFAS makes it convenient for stakeholders to file applications seamlessly through electronic submission of required documents.

By simplifying the submission of reportorial requirements and streamlining confirmation process, OURRS seeks to reduce regulatory lags and volume of cases filed and pending before the ERC.

Lastly, expediting monitoring and analysis of data within the competitive retail electricity market, CREM-MRS enables better insights into the retail market, including a score card for reference of contestable customers.

Also accessible under the ERC LINKod tab on the ERC’s official website (https://www.erc.gov.ph/) is the Energy Virtual One-Stop Shop (EVOSS) system. The EVOSS, its own website explains, is a Web-based filing and monitoring system for energy-related applications and a repository of information and permits issued for energy projects, which is shared by all agencies and entities involved in the approval process.

Also part of the ERC LINKod initiative is the enhanced ERC website, which now provides stakeholders with relevant and real-time information in more transparent and accessible means.

Amid a growing need for a more responsive energy landscape, handling consumer complaints remains a challenge, sometimes even hindering the progress of services. In response, ERC LINKod aims to reduce 50% of processing time for all services, ultimately enhancing efficiency and saving time for both the organization and its consumers.

“ERC LINKod is just the first set towards a future of shared success and progress in the Philippine energy sector,” Ms. Dimalanta said.

“As the ERC LINKod advances the ERC into the digital age, the electricity consumers can look forward to a more transparent and responsive energy landscape,” she added.

Secured platforms

Moreover, a significant aspect of the ERC LINKod initiative is the focus on cybersecurity, with the ERC implementing robust global security measures across its digital platforms. The digital platform is supported by the recent Information Security Management System (ISMS), ensuring a better and more secure cyberspace in the ERC platforms.

According to US Agency for International Development (USAID), the ERC has achieved ISO certification ensuring a higher level of security and strengthened security measures in all transactions, making the commission well-equipped to deploy ERC LINKod.

“ERC LINKod also aligns with the government’s priority areas of digitalization, safe cyberspace, citizen-centric governance, digital inclusion and innovation-driven economy as we confront our enormous challenges that remain and those that are yet to arise in the coming years,” ERC’s Ms. Dimalanta said during the launch.

“We hope to add more programs to ERC LINKod as we continue to pursue with all of you the energy sector’s journey towards more efficient, transparent and accessible services,” the ERC chief added.

As the ERC embarks on its own digital journey, it adopts a new regulatory paradigm that leverages digital tools and transform the Philippine energy sector that meet its energy and power needs.

“It is therefore imperative for the commission to adopt a new paradigm in regulating the power sector. One that optimizes the utilization of digital tools. Hence, this digital transformation journey begins with ERC LINKod,” Ms. Dimalanta said.

Partnering with USAID

In forming ERC LINKod, the commission has partnered with the USAID, with the goal to improve energy regulation that will drive the adoption of cleaner energy in the Philippines.

“It is great to see that as public servants, we are all moving forward in providing greater service to the people of the Philippines,” Ryder Rogers, director of the Environment Office of USAID Philippines, remarked during the launch of ERC LINKod. “This will strengthen energy governance and will ultimately advance consumer welfare and energy democracy.”

Factoring in the transformation of the energy sector to a more secured, competitive, reliable and more affordable landscape for Filipinos, the USAID will continue supporting the ERC to enhance its capacity and advance reforms in the sector.

“USAID will continue… to provide assistance to ERC to help strengthen the institutional capacity of the regulator to respond to the emerging challenges of the energy sector and the continuing implementation of the power sector reforms,” the agency was quoted as saying in a BusinessWorld report last December.

The ERC and USAID have a long-standing partnership that dates back to 2001. The USAID recognizes the Philippines as a key partner for sustainable and inclusive development. According to the USAID, it invests approximately $120 million yearly to support development programs in the country.

“The Philippines is a key partner in promoting sustainable and inclusive development in the region. USAID is among the largest bilateral donors to the Philippines and invests approximately $120 million annually to promote inclusive, market-driven growth,” it said. — Angela Kiara S. Brillantes

Why we missed the industrialization wagon: can we still catch it?

A WORKER adjusts a machine at a manufacturing facility in Manila, Dec. 10, 2008. — REUTERS

IN A PREVIOUS ARTICLE (https://tinyurl.com/2xp6ug29), we argued that manufacturing and exports are the “magic bullet” that developing countries like the Philippines need. We are not unveiling here anything new: nihil novum sub sole. This is how countries have managed to overcome the middle-income trap, then become upper-middle- then high-income countries.

But if the way forward is clear, why is it so difficult to get it right? Here comes to our mind the start of Leo Tolstoy’s famous novel, Anna Karenina: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Whereas successful industrialization stories are very similar in their core elements, every developing country has its own set of historical and current obstacles for development.

The Philippines has its own unhappy story. Despite the significant progress in the last decades, its gross national income per capita is still very low, not even $4,000. It is low because wages are low. This is the result of policy mistakes, in the form of not doing what our neighbors did decades ago: industrialize and export. This is also what catapulted China, and more recently, Vietnam. Of course, firms were the ones that ultimately invested in manufacturing and produced goods to export, but the government pushed them in that direction.

We shall not forget that China and Vietnam were not blessed with better “cards” than the Philippines, both in economic and political terms. In 1962, China’s gross national income per capita was less than one third that of the Philippines. China’s economic miracle is well known. Between 1980 and 2010, GDP growth averaged 10% year-on-year, which is by all means extraordinary. This “big push” made it possible for China to match the Philippines gross national income per capita in 2003 — not so long ago. Today, it is over three times that of the Philippines’ ($12,850 in 2022).

Let us look at Vietnam, a much closer success story. Its gross national income per capita was just a meagre 13% of the Philippines’ in 1991. It recently surpassed the Philippines, and in 2022 its income per capita stood at $4,010, 2022. Such a large change in just 30 years is even more remarkable.

How were these two very poor countries — at that time — able to catch up and even surpass the Philippines? How was this possible, especially since the Philippine economy has been registering uninterrupted growth since the 2000s (except for 2020)? We cannot but recall here the understandable reaction of a prominent Filipino politician to this bitter reality: “bobo ba tayo na tatalunin tayo ng lahat, ha?” (Are we so dumb that everyone will beat us, huh?). The difference is not that workers in nations on the other side of the West Philippine Sea are more hard working. It is about a clear public focus and ambition on manufacturing and ultimately exports.

A key difference between the Philippine government and the governments of its neighbors has been the former’s weakness when it comes to directing the private sector to do what is good for the nation.

To understand this, let’s recall The Bell Act of 1947 which rehabilitated the sugar industry and provided the free entry of American products into the Philippines. These made it difficult to develop national industries and, more generally, a manufacturing sector. It can be said that the Philippines’ history after independence is a case of a country that developed “extractive” institutions and was dominated by a landed oligarchy of great families who fought for economic and political power and took over the House of Representatives, Senate, and other important political positions. This has been so since the first Constitution in 1898. This, naturally, led to a weak state. Government capture (powerful landowners are congressmen) prevented change. Countries like the Philippines have developed self-reinforcing mechanisms that perpetuate socially suboptimal institutions. Some initial adopters chose these institutions at some point in the past because they suited their interests, but then the whole system became “locked in.”

One may wonder why these institutions have not changed. The answer would seem to be that powerful vested interests make institutional change politically difficult in terms of distributive conflicts and asymmetries in bargaining power. The tenacity of vested interests, the difficulty of mobilizing collective action to bring about institutional change, and the differential capacity of different social groups for mobilization and coordination are long-lasting barriers to economic progress.

The wealth of politicians derived for a long time from agricultural land. While this is still important, its role has declined as landowners moved to commercial, real estate, or industrial enterprises. This led to a shift during the 1990s from a rentier mentality of the rural agrarian elites to a more urban-based entrepreneurial and competitive mindset. Today, it must be said, the Philippines is more open to competition and to new entrants than agricultural landowners ever were.

To understand the difference between the private sectors and the states of the more successful Asian economies and those of the Philippines, it is important to appreciate the role of rents, i.e., returns over and beyond the economic opportunity earnings, such as extra earnings obtained from enjoying a favorable location, created out of state intervention operating through social processes of political positioning. Given that the successful Asian governments intervened much more than that of the Philippines, it follows that these other economies created more rents as a share of GDP. The difference lies in how rents were used and the type of firms that dominate in each type of economy.

While the successful Asian countries had profit-seeking firms that operated in a more or less competitive atmosphere and were driven to innovate to lower costs, the Philippines was dominated by a few large firms that lived on capturing rents through political influence and then applied those rents to retain or expand their standing. The same economic elite that preached the paramount benefits of liberalism and no public interventionism flourished thanks to monopolistic structures protected from competition, domestic and foreign. The state was not powerful enough to either turn their investments to contribute to the social interest or to intervene to open the market to other firms.

Today, the large firms thrive in the non-tradable sectors of the economy (real estate, banking, tollways and airports, telecom, energy, malls, etc.), do not export and hence do not compete in the world economy. They are convinced that they contribute to the nation’s development as they associate their businesses with the idea of development. This is a self-serving statement that shows that they have little understanding of what “development” is really about.

We are convinced that firms — especially the big conglomerates — are called to be essential characters in a successful development story, but they cannot replace the protagonist, which is the State. There is a widespread ardent belief among the business elite about what we may call “market-driven development,” which actually means minimal public intervention in the economy. Looking again toward China and Vietnam, while embracing a market economy was absolutely necessary for their development, the State remained strong and held the reins of the economy, as in any advanced economy in the world. Firms cannot be game-changers, they are (only) players.

Sadly, all this has led us to a piecemeal development model according to which things are fine because the labor force is still growing (and it will continue growing for some time), several million workers send remittances, and tourism is the future. This is an anti-development strategy. We doubt it will take us to a high income in the coming decades.

The Philippines desperately needs firms that manufacture (the main source of productivity growth) and export (learn and compete). The country has hardly industrialized. The share of manufacturing employment in total employment is very low, less than 10% (although the number of workers in manufacturing is increasing), and we are not a powerhouse exporter. The sad reality is that we do not have firms that manufacture, export, and compete in world markets.

Manufactures and exports are the magic bullets that will trigger the investment that the country needs, both firm-specific equipment and large-scale infrastructure. Reforms that do not focus on these two tickets should not be a priority because they will not deliver what this country needs the most: a significant economic transformation that produces higher wages.

 

Jesus Felipe is distinguished professor of Economics, De La Salle University while Pedro Pascual is a board-certified economist with Spain’s Ministry of Economy and a Partner at MC Spencer (Philippines).

Treasury bill, bond rates may be mixed before Fed policy meeting

BW FILE PHOTO

RATES of Treasury bills (T-bill) and Treasury bonds (T-bond) on offer this week may be mixed as the market awaits signals from the US Federal Reserve’s policy review.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) will auction off P15 billion in T-bills on Monday, or P5 billion each in 91-, 182-, and 364-day papers.

On Tuesday, it will offer P30 billion in reissued 10-year T-bonds with a remaining life of nine years and seven months.

T-bill and T-bond rates could track the mixed movements in secondary market yields, which came amid the peso’s recovery against the greenback late last week, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

On Friday, the local unit closed at P58.52 per dollar, strengthening by 9.1 centavos from its P58.611 finish on Thursday, Bankers Association of the Philippines data showed. This came after it hit a new 19-month low of P58.78 against the greenback on Wednesday.

Year to date, the peso has weakened by P3.15 from its end-2023 close of P55.37 versus the greenback.

“The government securities market traded light today as most were cautious ahead of the US nonfarm payrolls tonight. A few profit takers were seen in the morning session. However, some speculative buyers emerged before the session’s close,” a trader said in an e-mail on Friday.

At the secondary market on Friday, the 91-day T-bill went down by 3.18 basis points (bps) week on week to yield 5.7038%, based on PHP Bloomberg Valuation Service Reference Rates data published on the Philippine Dealing System’s website. Meanwhile, the 182-day and 364-day T-bills went up by 4.07 bps and 1.61 bps to end at 6.0003% and 6.0814%, respectively.

For its part, the yield on the 10-year paper went down by 5.69 bps week on week to end at 6.6947%.

Meanwhile, the trader expects the reissued T-bonds on offer on Tuesday to fetch yields ranging from 6.6% to 6.7%.

“The markets will also take cues from any adjustments in the Fed’s rate estimates at the next monetary policy-setting meeting,” Mr. Ricafort added.

The US central bank will review its policy settings on June 11-12, where it is expected to keep the fed fund rates at the 5.25%-5.5% range for a seventh straight meeting.

The world’s largest economy created a lot more jobs than expected last month, suggesting that the Federal Reserve could take time in starting its easing cycle this year, Reuters reported.

US nonfarm payrolls expanded by 272,000 jobs last month, data showed, while revisions showed 15,000 fewer jobs created in March and April combined than previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls advancing by 185,000.

Average hourly earnings rose 0.4% after having slowed to a 0.2% rate in April. Wages increased 4.1% in the 12 months through May following an upwardly revised 4% annual rise the prior month.

The unemployment rate, however, edged up to 4% from 3.9% in April, breaching a level that had previously held for 27 straight months.

Following the jobs data, the rate futures market has priced in just one cut of 25 basis points this year, either at the November or December meeting, according to LSEG’s rate probability app.

The chances of a rate cut in September declined to about 50.8% post-jobs, from around 70% late on Thursday.

Last week, the BTr raised P15 billion as planned from the T-bills it offered as total bids reached P43.976 billion or almost thrice the amount on the auction block.

Broken down, the Treasury borrowed P5 billion as programmed from the 91-day T-bills as tenders for the tenor reached P19.066 billion. The average rate for three-month paper went down by 2.1 bps to end at 5.698% from the previous auction. Accepted rates ranged from 5.67% to 5.71%.

The government likewise made a full P5-billion award of the 182-day securities, with bids reaching P11.91 billion. The average rate for the six-month T-bill stood at 5.904, up by 1.8 bps, with accepted rates at 5.895% to 5.913%.

Lastly, the Treasury raised the planned P5 billion via the 364-day debt papers as demand for the tenor totaled P13 billion. The average rate of the one-year debt inched up by 0.3 bp to 6.046%. Accepted yields were from 6.035% to 6.055%.

Meanwhile, the reissued 10-year bonds to be auctioned off on Tuesday were last offered on May 7, where the government raised the planned P30 billion at an average rate of 6.825%, up by 38.6 bps from 6.439% fetched for the previous reissue on April 8 and also 57.5 bps above the 6.25% coupon for the series.

The BTr wants to raise P180 billion from the domestic market this month, or P60 billion from T-bills and P120 billion via T-bonds.

The government borrows from local and foreign sources to help fund its budget deficit, which is capped at P1.48 trillion or 5.6% of gross domestic product for this year. — A.M.C. Sy with Reuters

Your Bentley, your way

PGA Cars Chairman Roberto Coyiuto III (left) and Bentley Manila Managing Director Christopher Chan — PHOTO FROM PGA CARS

Improving on ultra-luxury perfection with the Bentley Mulliner Program

IN THE RARIFIED world of ultra-luxury, mere possession of a finely crafted object with a breathtakingly high price tag is quite often not enough.

For the most discerning cognoscenti, the most desirable trait is exclusivity. From an extremely rare timepiece to a bespoke dress or suit from a celebrated fashion house, these buyers cherish the exclusivity that comes with such an item.

This desire for rarity extends even to automobiles. And rarity is virtually the raison d’etre of English automobile coachbuilder, Mulliner — arguably the finest of its time. The company, which originally produced saddles for horses in the 16th century and coaches in the 19th century, made a significant switch in the 20th century by creating exquisitely handcrafted car bodies and cabins, each designed to meet its clients’ exacting requirements.

By the 1920s, Mulliner was no longer alone in the coachbuilding business, but the company was already the leader in creating exquisitely crafted Bentley cars like the 1952 R-Type Continental. Finally, in 1959, Mulliner became part of Bentley and started handling the company’s personal commissioning division.

Bentley’s customers have many options in the company’s lineup, but for those who desire a higher level of customization — beyond what a regular Bentley offers — Mulliner is the answer.

Mulliner offers a range of products and services, from premium options that can be fitted to Bentley production cars as they are built, to truly unique bespoke luxury cars such as the Bentley Bacalar and the latest Bentley Batur.

“Here’s what Mulliner brings to the table: It responds to the requirements of Bentley’s most discerning customers. Today, we have the pleasure of delving into the world of unparalleled craftsmanship with the Bentley Mulliner program. It pushes the boundaries of design, performance, and engineering in crafting Bentleys that are as thrilling to drive as they are captivating to behold,” said Bentley Manila Managing Director Christopher Chan during an afternoon tea with the media.

It is that exclusivity that makes Bentley so successful at selling extremely expensive cars in the Philippines. Bentley Manila’s Mulliner program fulfills the wishes of buyers who want their Bentayga, Flying Spur, or Continental to be distinct from other brands on the road.

Mr. Chan explained that there is nothing quite like the opulence of a Bentley bespoke finish that the Mulliner program offers. For those who opt for the Mulliner program, no request is too difficult to fulfill. From a simple monogrammed upholstery to elaborate tailored body modifications done exclusively by highly skilled Mulliner craftsmen, expect the best that the Bentley brand can offer.

With the Mulliner program, buyers can choose from a virtually limitless palette of colors, leathers, and veneers. “Perhaps you desire a marquetry inlay that depicts a cherished family memory or intricate hand-stitching that embodies your personal design motif; rest assured that our Mulliner artisans will translate your dreams into reality,” he added.

But the Mulliner program is not just about aesthetics. It’s also about creating a car that delivers a dynamic driving experience. Through Mulliner experts, the car’s suspension and powertrain are optimized to bring enhanced and unrivaled performance.

As a result, the Mulliner program in the Philippines has seen significant growth, with year-to-date orders already exceeding the entire year of 2021. To simplify offerings, three new Mulliner tiers were introduced: Mulliner Coachbuilt, Mulliner Bespoke, and Curated by Mulliner.

When you buy a Bentley, you have the opportunity to enhance the car even further. Beyond the standard and extended palettes of Bentley exterior paints, Curated by Mulliner is a great start to make your car distinct from the rest. With Mulliner’s curated premium range of solid, metallic, satin, and pearlescent paints, it’s easy to make your ride a sure head-turner on the road.

The Curated by Mulliner range also includes duo-tone options for the Bentayga, featuring pairs of colors selected by Mulliner’s designers to enhance the car’s sleek form. Commissioning a car with a Mulliner exterior finish is easy since one could simply browse the available colors on the Bentley Configurator and discuss the choices, just as you would any other option. The recently launched Speed powertrain (6.0-liter W12 gasoline engine) on the Continental GT Mulliner best exemplifies this range.

Mulliner Bespoke Bentleys, on the other hand, offer a wide range of stunning bespoke finishes, including specialty veneers and precious metals, making the Bentley a distinctive ride.

Materials like ancient stone veneers, glittering 18-carat gold-plated organ stops, and pinstriped and painted veneers are mostly unavailable to other car manufacturers.

There is nothing quite like the opulence of a Mulliner Bespoke finish, such as the Continental GTC Mulliner (a one-off with the US team), which features contrasting elements and bespoke detail.

Mulliner Coachbuilt is the ultimate in personal commissioning. The Mulliner Coachbuilt team of designers, engineers, and artisans can bring your dreams to life, combining their skills with modern sustainable design, cutting-edge engineering, and innovation.

The Bentleys produced not only exceed the unique demands of those who commission them but also set new standards in luxury design. These Bentleys are very limited, with exclusive production runs which buyers can tailor to their personal tastes.

For the even more discerning few, the Mulliner Coachbuilt Bentley that will be produced may only be one in the world, built from the ground up, making it truly unique.

One of the most recent Mulliner creations is the Umbra, based on the Bentayga S, with a darker, sportier aesthetic inspired by the innermost part of a shadow. The exterior features Bentley firsts, such as a hand-painted fade on the bumper and painted accents on the S wheels, while the interior boasts extended Dinamica and carbon fiber, with a unique perforated fade design on the seats and door cards.

Exclusively available in the Asia Pacific-South market, the Umbra can be ordered in seven accent color options: Vivid Red, Mandarin, Kingfisher, Key Lime, Cyber Yellow, Vivid Purple, and Cherry Blossom.

“Driving a Bentley is a statement of success, but a Bentley Mulliner is a true expression of one’s individuality. It’s a car crafted to one’s desires, a testament to one’s discerning taste, and a legacy that will endure for generations,” Mr. Chan concluded.

Alternergy sees completion of 2 mini hydro projects in 2024, 2025

ALTERNERGY Holdings Corp. said it expects two run-of-river hydropower projects to be completed this year and in 2025.

The company is preparing to build the 4.6-megawatt (MW) Dupinga Mini Hydro Project in Nueva Ecija and the 17.4-MW Kiangan Mini Hydro Project in Ifugao province, which are slated for completion in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

“While we are in the driver’s seat in terms of completing those projects, we are minority shareholders in those,” Alternergy President Gerry P. Magbanua told reporters last week.

Alternergy has a partnership with hydro and wind developer Markham Resources Corp. for the Dupinga Hydro Project.

Dupinga Mini Hydro Corp., the corporate vehicle of Alternergy and Markham for the hydropower project, was awarded a service contract by the Department of Energy in 2017 to develop renewable energy resources of Dupinga River.

In 2022, the company secured a P660 million in funding support from state-owned Development Bank of the Philippines for the development of the hydro power project.

Meanwhile, the company has collaborated with Japanese renewable energy company Renova, Inc. and construction engineering firm Sta. Clara International Corp. for the Kiangan Hydro Power Project.

The DBP granted a P2.65-billion loan in 2022 for the completion of the hydropower project, which will consolidate the hydropower output along the rivers of Ibulao, Asin, and Hungduan.

Alternergy aims to develop up to 474 MW of additional wind, solar, and run-of-river hydropower projects in the next three years. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

BSP draft framework: User protection through risk supervision

WANGXINA-FREEPIK

By Andrea C. Abestano, Researcher

AMIDST the rise in online financial crimes, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) taps into heightened consumer protection through a draft framework that mitigates risks posed by BSP-supervised entities (BSI).

Based on the latest data from the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group, it logged 6,408 cybercrime events from Jan. 1 to May 15, down by nearly a third from 9,361 events in the same period last year.

Swindling or online scams topped the list with 2,797 incidents, followed by 1,278 illegal access cases, and 527 counts of computer-related identity theft.

Given the rise of financial cybercrimes, the BSP had made it its goal to improve user safety through a draft circular of a new consumer protection framework.

The Financial Consumer Protection and Market Conduct (FCPMC) supervision framework of the BSP intends to uphold the provisions of the Republic Act No. 11765, or the Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection Act (FCPA).

These provisions are the consumer protection standards of conduct, namely disclosure and transparency, protection of client information and assets, fair treatment, effective recourse mechanism, and financial education and awareness.

The FCPA also allows the BSP to conduct assessments of BSI’s financial consumer protection compliance separately from prudential regulations compliance.  The FCPMC is thereby responsible for putting actionable steps to the approach outlined in FCPA.

By implementing the framework, BSP-supervised Financial Institutions (BSFIs) will be evaluated on their adherence to the standards of conduct, their management of services and products, and their relationship with the users.

“It will specifically look at aspects of a BSI’s business operations that could potentially result in financial loss or other harm to financial consumers,” the BSP said in an e-mail.

THE FRAMEWORK
The process of the FCPMC supervision framework takes a three-step approach: impact assessment, risk assessment, and supervision.

The framework starts with gauging the market conduct of the BSFIs. Covering all financial institutions under the supervision of the BSP, the framework aims to target institutions that have a higher impact on its consumers.

A BSI’s market conduct is graded as low, moderate, above average, or high based on parameters including the size of retail operations and complexity of financial products offered, dependency on third parties or agents, number and profile of retail client base, and volume and types of consumer complaints.

An institution with a higher impact grade merits higher supervision intensity.

However, the central bank said that since the FCPMC Impact Grade of a BSI will form part of the BSP’s examination process and supervisory outputs, it will be covered by Section 27 of the New Central Bank Act (RA No. 7653, as amended by RA No. 11211).

This provision would protect the BSIs as it prohibits the BSP from revealing information relating to the condition or business of any institution.

The risk assessment step looks at how harmful an institution can be (known as the FCPMC Risk Profile) based on its impact and whether the BSI has mitigated these risks.

This step requires institutions to build a Consumer Protection Risk Management System (CPRMS) that should identify, measure, and address the risks of the institution to the consumers.

The institutions’ CPRMS are then regulated by the BSP via quality assessment that gauges their adherence to the standards of conduct outlined by the BSP Circular No. 11765.

This risk-based supervisory intensity approach expands the general consumer protection standards outlined by Circular No. 1048 or the BSP Regulations on Financial Consumer Protection.

Circular No. 1048 was the founding mandate on which the FCPMC framework was built.

The act was the first to require BSIs to have a CPRMS in place, but it did not have system monitoring from the BSP.

Hence, the risk-based supervision of the FCPMC was a leap from the broad focus of the Circular No. 1048 regarding consumer protection principles and compliance as it would require institutional adherence to specific metrics.

Both impact and risk assessment are periodically updated, and the risk-based supervisory intensity, as defined by the activities that the BSP would follow in monitoring the BSI, may change accordingly to the assessments.

Supervisory activity can be any of the following as the BSP sees fit: FCPMC-focused market surveillance and monitoring, FCPMC-focused onsite examination of individual BSI, FCPMC-focused offsite supervision of individual BSI, and FCPMC-focused thematic risk assessment of a group of BSIs.

ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS
With these planned changes, Security Bank Corp. Chief Economist Robert Dan J. Roces expects that the introduction of the FCPMC framework is a crucial step towards creating a more transparent and consumer-centric financial landscape.

“The framework will address the inherent complexities and information asymmetries that often lead to consumer exploitation and erode trust in the financial system,” Mr. Roces said in a Viber message.

Since the BSP intends to establish market conduct supervision as separate from prudential supervision, it also creates a comprehensive risk-based monitoring system for both systemic risks and consumer protection.

Despite this, the central bank foresees that “at the onset of the framework’s implementation, [there would be a] lack of granular, transactional, and consumer-focused data and information may limit in-depth, evidence-based assessment of consumer protection-related risks.”

Moreover, although constant monitoring would ensure that banks and institutions incorporate these risk protection systems as part of their organizational practices in the long run, it also creates a greater burden on BSIs to meet higher security and safety requirements in the short run.

Due to the monitoring system, there is also a risk of excessive oversight that might stifle the banks’ innovation.

Implementing CPRMS would also require significant resources that would strain both BSP’s and BSI’s resources.

Increased regulatory compliance burden, training costs, and the need for better technological infrastructure are only some of the expected challenges during the transition period.

These limitations are among the normal “birth pains” that are expected when enforcing a milestone law such as the FCPA, the BSP said.

However, by meeting the standards of the new framework, institutions can create a trustworthy profile that protects users from the impacts of their processes.

This creates a bridge that BSIs can utilize to build stronger client relationships.

For the BSP, the framework will not alter the current supervisory approaches but builds upon them by “[providing] a methodology through which consumer protection issues are surfaced and given equal importance [as that of] prudential risks.”

FINANCIAL SAFETY
“Swindling and financial crimes are on the rise because of how easy it is for the wrong people to get a hold of user information,” Daniel B. Benito, a manager at a business process outsourcing (BPO) company, said.

Mr. Benito was one of the 4,000 cases of illegal access cases in the country.

“It came as a complete shock since that money was allotted for my bills and savings, having it gone left damage to my mental stability that time,” Mr. Benito, said reminiscing the events that happened a year ago.

He added that it began when someone who claimed to be from the bank called and said that his card was up for renewal.

The person knew the details of his account and only needed his confirmation and an OTP. Given the number of things he was juggling at that moment, the possibility of it being a scam did not occur to him.

A few days later, while withdrawing from his account, he noticed that his balance was lower than it should be and learned that his savings money was taken out of his bank.

After a series of customer service processes, in the end, he was unable to retrieve his money as the banks said that it was due to his own “negligence.”

For Mr. Benito, decreasing the risks of fraud starts by informing the users of the products and the current dangers that arise.

“I charged what happened to me as a learning experience but if I had been advised earlier that there are scam calls such as that, I would have been able to avoid it,” he said.

With the aid of the FCPMC framework, this can be attained as it mitigates “finance-related crimes and fosters collaboration between regulators and financial service providers,” Security Bank’s Mr. Roces said.

The BSP, on the other hand, said that while the framework does not focus on specific cybercrimes, it is designed to determine risks that are most detrimental to consumer welfare and ensure that BSIs are well-equipped with systems and controls to mitigate such risks.

“Protection of consumer assets against fraud and misuse is among the standards of conduct that the framework assesses,” the BSP said.

In this standard of conduct, BSIs are expected to implement fraud risk management mechanisms, enable multi-factor authentication, and provide timely transaction notifications, among others.

“These are considered essential in detecting and curtailing fraudulent or unauthorized transactions,” BSP added.

Despite the role of the framework, Mr. Roces emphasized that the success of the framework relies on consumers taking an active role in safeguarding their interests and staying informed and assertive in exercising their rights.

Similarly, the central bank said that a big role remains on the users since they are “the first level of defense against threats to the safety and integrity of financial accounts and personal information.”

BEYOND FRAMEWORK
With the FCPMC in place, this ensures that the banks and institutions’ role in consumer safety is met.

However, it does not eliminate the risks of financial crimes especially when the fault lies with the users.

As Mr. Roces said, “Taken together, regulators, financial institutions, and consumers can create a more robust and equitable financial ecosystem that will support economic growth.”

It is only through the successful collaboration of these three that the framework will thrive. The role of users in the framework lies in their use of resources that FCPMC would offer.

“While the myriad of BSP rules and regulations already require BSIs to protect our deposits and investments, [users] must also exercise our responsibilities as protectors of our accounts and finances,” the BSP said.

Bank lending, for example, entails a risk that must be managed by both users and institutions.

Credit risk management, one of the many roles a CPRMS would undertake, handles lending risks.

Credit risk management ensures that appropriate policies, risk strategies, and processes are informed to the lender prior to the credit granting.

Despite the presence of a credit risk management system and the availability of lending services in banks, there remains a rise in lending apps as of late which may lead to greater risks for users.

“It is just easier and more convenient to loan in apps and personally I find it less risky than bank credits which I am not familiar with,” Unice C. Alimurung, a secondary school practicing teacher, said in an e-mail.

When asked about the risks she perceives in banks, she nodded at interest rates.

“I tried to take a loan in [my] bank once and the interest rate was confusing to me. The yearly repricing on a home loan I was looking at also made me scared at the surprises I might have by next year as rates go higher,” she said.

She pointed out that it is also harder to bounce back from credit ratings than to just loan from a new app hence making her shy away from bank lending.

Once FCPMC is enacted, banks will be under higher supervision with their informative campaigns regarding services such as lending. However, even with this in place, users will not be able to know the information available without their initiative.

“The [FCPMC] framework would help of course in ensuring that we are protected but I think it still comes down to how much [users] know and are willing to know,” Ms. Alimurung said.

Hence, for Mr. Roces, the framework’s enactment may empower consumers to make informed decisions by ensuring access to accurate information.

“As more digital financial services continue to evolve, the FCPMC framework will be important in protecting consumers and promoting financial inclusion,” he said.

“In the long run, the ultimate intent of the framework is a system where all BSIs practice ‘doing good’ to consumers because it is already ingrained in their DNA,” the BSP said.

The central bank said that as of end-May 2024, the draft framework is under revision, considering meritorious comments received from internal and external stakeholders, consistent with the BSP’s policy making process.

Put public health over profit

IDIN EBRAHIMI-UNSPLASH

In April 2024, allegations of an elaborate multi-level marketing scheme involving doctors and a pharmaceutical company sparked a conversation on conflict of interest in medicine. This led to an investigation by the Senate Committee on Health and Demography.

Conflict of interest is defined by the Institute of Medicine (2009) as “a set of circumstances that creates a risk that professional judgment or actions regarding a primary interest will be unduly influenced by a secondary interest.”1

In the context of medicine, doctors may face conflict of interest when their prescribing behavior, which should reflect their primary interest (to promote their patients’ welfare) has the potential of being influenced by a secondary interest (usually financial or professional gains from the pharmaceutical industry). Physicians’ interests in their patients’ welfare fundamentally conflict with the interests of the pharmaceutical industry, which center around profit.

Conflict of interest in medicine is a long-standing, normalized, and complex phenomenon. Pharmaceutical companies influence physician-prescribing behavior through med rep visits, providing medicine samples, sponsoring workshops, conventions, and seminars under the guise of “continuing medical education,” providing honoraria, giving gifts like watches, cars, and luxurious travels, and many other tactics.

Evidence shows that physicians with links to the pharmaceutical industry may be more likely to prescribe branded drugs than generic drugs. This threatens the quality of patient care and increases costs for healthcare, disproportionately affecting the poor, especially in the Philippines where medicine is expensive compared to our regional neighbors.

Studies have shown that eliminating direct industry funding of continuing medical education could increase evidence-based physician prescribing practices, make healthcare spending more efficient, and improve the quality of care.

Numerous doctors have boldly taken a stand on the issue of conflict of interest in medicine. One of them, Dr. Tony Leachon, a public health advocate who championed various causes from the sin tax reforms to addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, has unfortunately been the target of scrutiny and flak from the pharmaceutical industry.

But Dr. Leachon remains resolute in his advocacy for restoring transparency and trust in the healthcare system. As he said in his April 30 speech at the Senate Committee on Health and Demography hearing on the issue: “Each instance of misconduct not only harms individual patients but also damages public confidence in our healthcare system. This crisis of trust, if not addressed, could have lasting repercussions, deterring individuals from seeking necessary medical care and dissuading bright minds from entering the already tired and depleted medical profession brought about by the migration of healthcare workers who seek greener pastures.”

Given that our health workforce is underpaid and overstretched, doctors-in-training in medical schools need role models in the form of senior physicians to normalize ethical practices in healthcare.

A study done by Dr. Katherine Reyes et al2 (2020) showed that physicians deem interactions with the pharmaceutical industry as generally positive, particularly referring to the conduct of roundtable discussions, visits by medical representatives and accepting medicinal drug samples. Physicians consider interaction with the industry as acceptable practice among their colleagues. Thus, the authors recommend “role modeling to institute ethical attitudes and practices in healthcare, and to introduce recognition and management of pharmaceutical industry-related conflict of interest early among physicians through training institutions, hospitals, and professional societies.”

While the road to regulating interactions between healthcare providers and the pharmaceutical industry through legislation will likely be long and difficult, the Section 9.2 of the Philippine Medical Association (PMA)’s Code of Ethical and Professional Conduct is a good starting point. It states that “physicians must not solicit favors from the biopharmaceutical and medical device companies for personal interest and gain.”

Conflicts of interest aren’t only salient to medicine; they can have even graver consequences in the public sector. Our public health system is under threat when conflict of interest exists among policymakers being unduly influenced by industries marketing products harmful to health, such as tobacco and e-cigarettes.

Let’s take a look at a recent event with potential for conflict of interest: On April 16, First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos attended the inauguration of a Philip Morris International (PMI) manufacturing plant for its heated tobacco products, IQOS and Bonds, in Tanauan, Batangas. She was accompanied by Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr., and executives from PMI and Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Co. (PMFTC).

President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. has a record of being pro-tobacco. His links to the tobacco industry have been public knowledge for a while. In 2012, civil society and media called out then-Senator Marcos Jr. for conversing with then Philip Morris executive, Mario Zinampan, during a critical moment of the deliberations for the Sin Tax Reform Law on the Senate floor. Marcos Jr., during his term as legislator, was a chief opponent of tobacco taxation.

A few months into his term as chief executive in 2022, he and his wife hosted a luncheon for PMI in Malacañang, posting photos on the First Lady’s Facebook page.

These actions of unnecessary association with the leading tobacco company, not only in the Philippines but also in the world, are concerning, especially given that the Philippines is a signatory to the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The FCTC states that “fundamental and irreconcilable conflict [exists] between the tobacco industry’s interests and public health policy interests.” Article 5.3 of the FCTC states that the government “shall act to protest these [public health] policies from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry in accordance with national law.”

In other words, the President must be sensitive to the conflict of interest that he faces when dealing with the tobacco industry, which he has been linked to in the past. This extends to the First Lady, who, although not officially paid by the government and with no official title, objectively exercises significant power and influence. She spearheads activities and programs as the First Lady (such as her “Lab for All” project), and all her actions in public are seen as having the President’s imprimatur. Thus, her being the guest of honor during the inauguration of the PMI factory may be interpreted as an endorsement of PMI, and her presence at PMI’s major event runs counter to the FCTC.

The First Lady’s presence at tobacco industry events becomes more controversial in light of the tobacco industry’s recent lobbying (or interference) in policy making.

A bill proposing to grant fiscal incentives to vape manufacturers, known as House Bill 9866 or the proposed Electronic Cigarette Manufacturing Act, was filed in February, and is currently pending at the House Committee on Trade and Industry. We agree with the Marcos Jr. administration’s focus on garnering investments, but unfortunately, it is promoting the wrong investments. We do not want to encourage investments in products, even if exported, that are harmful to public health. Certain kinds of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products have already been banned in other countries like the United States and the United Kingdom.

Just like how the Filipino people put our trust in our healthcare providers to heal, we also put enormous trust in our government officials to keep public policy at arms’ length from industries that run counter to health. We urgently need stronger legislation to hold our healthcare providers and public officials to account, which will mandate them to serve the people, not private interests.

1https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK22942/pdf/Bookshelf_NBK22942.pdf

2 https://tinyurl.com/3kyuy3yz

 

Pia Rodrigo is strategic communications officer at Action for Economic Reforms.

Visa and Mastercard to face new lawsuits over fees

BW FILE PHOTO

LONDON — Global payments processors Visa and Mastercard must face a new set of lawsuits over fees charged to retailers, after a London tribunal ruled on Friday that collective cases brought on behalf of merchants can proceed.

The two firms already face a long list of lawsuits in London over multilateral interchange fees, which retailers pay when consumers use a card to shop.

Visa and Mastercard are each being sued by hundreds of claimants at London’s Competition Appeal Tribunal, which is managing the various cases together.

Special purpose vehicle Commercial and Interregional Card Claims brought another set of lawsuits against Visa and Mastercard in 2022, seeking damages on behalf of merchants who were allegedly overcharged.

The tribunal initially refused to certify its cases under the United Kingdom’s collective proceedings regime, which is similar to class actions in the United States.

However, the tribunal ruled on Friday that the cases would be certified, subject to any representations by other parties who might have an interest in the cases. — Reuters

Rice tariff cuts not seen affecting ‘core’ RCEF modernization effort

PHILSTAR

By Adrian H. Halili, Reporter

THE REDUCED duties on rice imports will shrink the pool of money available to allocate as farmer aid under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), but will not affect the core RCEF programs involving farm modernization, analysts said.

Roehlano M. Briones, a senior research fellow with the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, said that the reduced tariffs will be felt mainly in the funding available for assistance to rice farmers.

“But core programs will not be affected, so no effect on production,” Mr. Briones said in a Viber message.

Last week, the Board of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) approved a plan to lower tariffs on industrial and farm goods. This included the further reduction of rice import tariffs to 15% from 35% until 2028.

“What will be affected will be tariff collections in excess of P10 billion which are supposed to fund supplementary programs for farmers such as financial assistance,” Raul Q. Montemayor, national manager of the Federation of Free Farmers, said in a Viber message.

RCEF is supported by rice import tariffs, as authorized under Republic Act No. 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law of 2019. The law originally allocated P10 billion in tariff money to RCEF for six years, though legislators are working to extend RCEF’s term and expand its allocation.

Under the proposed amendments from the House of Representatives, 53% of RCEF will go to mechanization, 28% to rice seed, and the rest to farm credit and extension services.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has said that any potential gaps in RCEF funding will be made good by the department.

Leonardo A. Lanzona, an economics professor at the Ateneo de Manila, said that the government needs to find alternate sources of funds to support RCEF.

“The impact of reduced tariffs on RCEF goes beyond simply funding,” he added, citing the possibility of rice and other crops becoming less competitive.

“Industry is disproportionately favored by this policy,” he added.

He said that the government must implement a comprehensive plan to employ any workers who may be displaced by the tariff policy.

“Unfortunately, we have not heard of such plans since the government is leaving much of these movements to markets. The problem is that markets do not perform well in achieving structural transformation,” Mr. Lanzona added.

Former Agriculture Undersecretary Fermin D. Adriano said that the government has allocated sufficient funding to rice farming.

“Tariff collection as of end of May is already P16 billion, more than the sum required by RCEF. The DA’s National Rice Program has a budget of P30.8 billion this year. This is on top of the NIA (National Irrigation Administration) budget of P42 billion — 80% of its water goes to supporting rice farmers for free,” Mr. Adriano said in a Viber message.

Where the tariff policy could be felt the most is in terms of farmgate prices, according to Rosendo O. So, chairman of the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura, who estimated that reduced tariffs could bring down the price farmers receive for their harvest to about P17 per kilo.

“If the solution to lower rice prices is to subsidize, why are importers and Vietnamese farmers still being (prioritized)?… Why not instead, buy from local farmers?,” he said.

The government is estimating a P6 to P7 per kilo decline in the rice process following the reduced tariffs on imported rice.

“Ang lens ng NEDA ay sa rice prices lang; bahala na mamatay ang mga rice farmers at magsara na sa negosyo ang mga millers (NEDA is focused on rice prices only and is not too concerned with the livelihood of rice farmers or millers),” Mr. So said.

He added that prior to the NEDA Board’s decision the rice industry and the DA had agreed on a floor price for buying palay (unmilled rice).

Millers and traders were to buy palay at an assured price of P25 per kilo, with the government intended to sell the procured rice at between P35 and 40 per kilo, he said.

Q&A: ‘The brand is the priority’

PHOTO BY KAP MACEDA AGUILA

New Nissan Philippines President Yasuhisa Masuda hits the ground running

Interview by Kap Maceda Aguila

AN AVOWED FAN of the Star Wars franchise (he admits to having more than 50,000 pieces of memorabilia) and punk band Green Day, Yasuhisa Masuda has logged over 12 years of service with Nissan. Since joining the brand in 2011, Mr. Masuda has “held various leadership positions in Market Intelligence, Brand and Media Strategy.” Prior to his appointment to lead NPI, he was Nissan’s Chief Marketing Officer for the Japan Marketing Division. Mr. Masuda used to work in the fast-moving consumer goods business.

“Velocity” had a short chat with the executive right after the formal turnover of the NPI presidency to him from Juan Manuel Hoyos. Here are excerpts from that interview:

VELOCITY: What are your priorities for Nissan Philippines?

YASUHISA MASUDA: Definitely, the brand is the priority. That includes everything: the products, dealerships, and also our communication. Improving the brand is my priority, and I want to leverage the past while trying out something new in order to have a strong brand image to the customer. That’s the my priority.

Nissan has been known for pioneering the electric vehicle space in the Philippines through the Leaf. Can you share with us some of your plans for EVs? Do you think we are ready for a bigger number of electric vehicle buyers?

Yeah, thank you for bringing up that point. I can definitely say we are known as the pioneer in EVs; we are being very positive and proactive in expanding our lineup of EVs. Of course, you know we have the Leaf EV and the Kicks (e-Power). We are looking to expand that lineup but at this moment we cannot share the details. We are seriously planning to expand.

How many dealerships does Nissan Philippines have at the moment? Are you looking to grow this number?

We have 54 dealerships, and we’re trying to think not only about how to expand this number, but also the categories. For example, we want to have both permanent dealerships and pop-up stores. We are very open to have events at the mall, etcetera.

You’re looking to grow the brand and, of course, you will need to sell units of your vehicles. What segments are you seeing promise in — segments that will offer the most growth for NPI?

We see three segments that are growing: Pickups, minivans or people movers, and SUVs — (in the third category) we have quite a good lineup from the Patrol to the Kicks and Terra — and we have an opportunity to deliver more vehicles in these segments.

Chanel’s creative director Virginie Viard to leave brand

CHANEL artistic director Virginie Viard is leaving the label, the luxury brand said on Thursday, kicking off speculation over who will replace her in one of the fashion industry’s most coveted positions.

“A new chapter is opening for Chanel Mode,” Chanel said in a statement, confirming the change, which was first reported on fashion news website Business of Fashion.

The privately owned label, known for tweed jackets, quilted handbags with double-C logos and the No. 5 perfume, did not name a successor as it thanked Ms. Viard for her “rich collaboration of five years.”

Ms. Viard, 62, worked at Chanel for nearly 30 years, alongside Karl Lagerfeld, whose role she took over in 2019 following his death.

She favored relaxed silhouettes with an 1980s flare and took a low-key approach compared to her predecessor, sending models along the Seine River and down a street in Manchester for recent fashion shows, for example — marking a contrast with the showmanship of Lagerfeld, who built towering sets — including a rocket ship and indoor waterfall — for his catwalk presentations.

Her departure comes as the industry adjusts to slower growth and several other labels, including Kering-owned Gucci, Valentino, and Burberry seek new creative direction to reignite sales.

The post-COVID pandemic boom, fueled by pent-up demand for fashion, has tapered off as shoppers spend less due to the rising cost of living.

Chanel teams will ensure the “continuity” of collections in the interim period, and the brand will host its fall-winter haute couture show 2024/2025 on June 25 in Paris, it said.

Rumors of a new designer at Chanel have swirled for years, most recently including talk of industry heavyweights like former Gucci designer Alessandro Michele, who has since been recruited to Valentino.

Chanel Chief Executive Leena Nair last month brushed off talk of a designer change, noting that ms. Viard had overseen strong growth in ready-to-wear fashion sales, which have surged two-and-a-half-times since 2018.

Sales at Chanel were up 16% last year to nearly $20 billion, a slower rate than smaller rival Hermes, which grew sales 21% to 13.4 billion euros, but faster than LVMH’s fashion and leather goods division, which was up 14% to €42 billion euros.

The world’s second-largest label after LVMH’s Louis Vuitton, Chanel is owned by French billionaire brothers Alain Wertheimer and Gerard Wertheimer. — Reuters

Villar warns public vs deepfake video pushing investment scheme

MANUEL B. VILLAR, JR.

BUSINESSMAN Manuel B. Villar, Jr. has warned of a deep fake video on social media showing him discussing an investment scheme aimed at scamming the public.

“A deepfake video has been going around that uses a doctored video of myself talking about an investment scheme. This is a scam. Deceptive individuals used an old footage and digitally altered, using artificial intelligence (AI), what I was saying. I urge the public to disregard that video,” Mr. Villar said in a statement over the weekend.

 “There is no such investment program. I enjoin the public to be more discerning and extra cautious when viewing posts and videos that use AI technologies and that promise easy money or success. There is no such thing as easy money. There is no substitute to good, old-fashioned sipag at tiyaga in achieving success in life,” he added.

 In April, Forbes cited Mr. Villar among the top 200 richest people in the world, as his estimated net worth jumped to a record $11 billion this year.

 At 190th spot, Mr. Villar was the highest-ranking Filipino tycoon in the World’s Billionaires list released by Forbes. He was also the only Filipino who landed in the top 200.

 Mr. Villar is a former Senate president and House speaker. He is currently the chairman of listed companies Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc.; Golden MV Holdings, Inc.; supermarket chain AllDay Marts, Inc.; home improvement chain AllHome Corp.; and Vista Malls, Inc. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

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