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Central bank rolls out enhanced credit and equity exposure reporting system

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS are required to submit monthly reports on their credit and equity exposures starting July as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) seeks to boost its surveillance of the financial system.

The BSP is now implementing the Enhanced Comprehensive Credit and Equity Exposures Report of 2023 (COCREE 2.0), it said in a memorandum dated June 19.

“As practiced, COCREE 2.0 shall be submitted monthly through the BSP Relationship Management System (BRMS)–COCREE 2.0 Live Module,” it said.

Under the new reporting system, banks are required to submit the monthly reports 25 business days after the reference period. With its official rollout, the BSP set adjusted deadlines for the reports covering April, May, June, July and August. The deadline will revert to the regular deadline for reports covering September and onwards.

The BSP will begin imposing penalties for reporting violations starting September, while the prior months will serve as an adjustment period for BSFIs.

“Only BSFIs that are actively engaged in submitting COCREE 2.0 through the BRMS-COCREE 2.0 Live Module shall be eligible for the grace period,” the central bank said.

COCREE 2.0 covers universal and commercial banks (U/KBs), thrift banks, rural banks, cooperative banks, digital banks, nonbank financial institutions with quasi-banking functions (NBQB), and trust corporations. The 2021 COCREE only covered U/KBs and their subsidiaries, as well as digital banks.

The COCREE is a collection of credit and equity exposures from BSFIs and forms part of the central bank’s surveillance of emerging risks in supervised entities and the financial system.

The report compiles a monthly average of 31.7 million records, the BSP earlier said. This is composed of granular borrower demographics (11.3 million records) and credit and equity exposure details (20.4 million records), which account for about 95% of the outstanding loan portfolio of the banking system.

“All credit and equity exposures, except written-off accounts with nominal value, are required to be reported in the COCREE. This allows the BSP to conduct an in-depth analysis of borrower performance and behavior, including the portfolio of retail consumers and micro and small borrowers,” it said.

The enhanced reporting system is designed to capture granular information on borrowers and counterparties by addressing critical data gaps, it added. — AMCS

VLF set takes on power play in the Philippines

By Brontë H. Lacsamana, Reporter

Theater Review
Virgin Lab Fest: “Manibalang”
Minating ni Mariah ang Manto ng Mommy ni Mama Mary by Eljay Castro Deldoc
Unang Araw by Ivan Villacorta Gentolizo
Presidential Suite #2 by Siege Malvar

THE VIRGIN Lab Fest (VLF) is once again featuring “untried and untested” one-act plays onstage. For its 20th year, the festival highlighted narratives that speak volumes of the Filipino experience.

This year’s theme is “Hinog,” meaning “ripe,” indicating the ripe fruits of the playwrights’ labor. For the month of June, the Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez (the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Blackbox Theater) welcomed both new and regular festivalgoers curious to see this milestone year’s offerings.

One of the sets was titled “Manibalang,” a word that translates to “nearly ripe,” and the three plays within it all depicted situations nearing their inevitable ends. Most effectively, the three reflected how power plays — in various aspects like religion, politics, and family — drive these circumstances to their conclusions.

Minating ni Mariah ang Manto ng Mommy ni Mama Mary by playwright Eljay Castro Deldoc and director Dexter M. Santos makes a strong first impression, following reformed trans con artist Mariah who is seeking redemption by joining the annual Lenten exhibit.

When she is accused of stealing an antique veil for her display, the audience gradually witnesses the heart-wrenching disconnect between Mariah’s intention to stay true to her faith, and the hypocrisy and discrimination against her by the local priest and devotees.

Mr. Deldoc, the playwright, told BusinessWorld that the work is meant to portray and criticize “the pageantry, principles, and politics of the deep, storied tradition and industry of worship” here in the Philippines. The play utilizes the garish ornamental qualities of relic worship to convey the different forms of devotion, pure and two-faced, that have a hand in Mariah’s fate.

“Dahil core memory ito ng pagiging Katoliko, matagal ko nang gustong makasulat ng dula na tungkol sa mga santo o sa pag-aalaga ng mga banal na imahen (Because it’s a core memory as a Catholic, I’ve always wanted to write a play about saints and our devotion to holy images),” he said.

Following the whirlwind tragedy of the first play was the heightened, deadly tension of Unang Araw by playwright Ivan Villacorta Gentolizo and director Cholo Ledesma. This one is set in the far reaches of Mindanao, where four hitmen are on a road trip covering up their bloody tracks.

It centers on the on-ground reality of state-sponsored killings, echoing the time of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s mayorship in Davao, though the play does not name him explicitly.

“I actually wrote this before the whole trial at the ICC (International Criminal Court). It was all coincidental,” Mr. Gentolizo said. “Aside from reminding people what happened, so that they don’t forget, these kinds of works amplify the call for justice, to make sure that someone takes accountability.”

Though minimalistic in treatment, set in a prop car onstage where the actors sit in, converse, and move around with their firearms, its thick tension and call to action really stay with the viewer.

Finally, Presidential Suite #2 by playwright Siege Malvar and director Johnnie Moran topped off the set with a scandalous story. It centers on the three children of a dying senator accused of corruption, and how they deal with their family’s slipping hold on political power.

Compared to the other two plays, this one delivers the most laughs since it is a satire, yet the reality it paints is just as bleak. The political dynasty at the heart of it is held up by the three actors playing the Zaragoza siblings — a politician, an influencer, and a priest.

Akin to political family sitcoms that have found popularity in prestige TV series and telenovela shows in recent years, this play reflects Mr. Malvar’s strong grasp of how this trope can be seen in the Philippine context.

It also concludes aptly how VLF 20’s Set B, “Manibalang,” paints the clearest picture of the ailments keeping the country from reaching its full ripeness, held back by seemingly eternal problems. The flow from one play to the next kept the audience engaged, be it in the realities of Filipino-style religion, politics, or family power plays.

Aside from this set of plays seen by BusinessWorld, nine other new one-act plays from both veteran and upcoming playwrights are being staged until June 29 at the CCP Blackbox Theater. Shows are held at 2 and 8 p.m.

For more information, contact the CCP Box Office or visit the social media accounts of the CCP, Tanghalang Pilipino, The Writers’ Bloc, and Virgin Labfest.

How many saints can Pope Leo add to his army?

WHERE Francis rests in Santa Maria Maggiore. — HOWARD CHUA-EOAN/BLOOMBERG

By Howard Chua-Eoan

Pope Leo XIV must have found out about the US bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites just like the rest of Europe — first thing Sunday morning upon waking. It was the 46th day of his papacy and he did what the Roman pontiff was expected to do. At his weekly noon message to the vast throng gathered in St. Peter’s Square, he condemned war as an instrument of policy and pleaded with world leaders to remember the suffering of the innocent. The crowd applauded on that muggy morning, but those virtues feel a little toothless in the wake of bunker-busters and the potential for anarchy.

A geopolitical lesson of the late 20th century was never to underestimate the power of the papacy. John Paul II played a part in dissolving the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact and ending the Cold War, but that’s increasingly dusty history. The Vatican has spent the last couple of decades cleaning up Saint John Paul’s administrative messes — from priestly abuse to banking fiascos. The late Pope Francis may have come across as avuncular, embracing, and a liberal, but he was also a tough manager and went a long way to putting the Vatican back on a surer financial footing, although more work needs to be done.

Despite its inadequacies, the Roman Catholic Church remains an enormous globalized organization. It’s had a long head start. The department that oversaw the evangelization — that is, the conversion — of the world was established in 1600. Barocco Globale, an intriguing show at the armory of the Quirinale in Rome, shows the breadth of papal geopolitical interests in the 17th century. It opens with the state funeral that Pope Paul V organized for the ambassador of the Congolese king, who died in Rome after a perilous trip to the Holy See. The diplomat’s posthumous bust — modeled on a version of ancient Rome’s African nemesis, Hannibal — was displayed in Santa Maria Maggiore, the basilica where Francis is now interred.

That’s far from saying the Church was blameless in the colonization of Asia, Africa, and the Americas; only that its transoceanic reach spans four centuries. On that Sunday after the summer solstice — Midsummer day to many European traditions — I could see and hear Rome’s global legacy in St. Peter’s Square among the pilgrims who’d waited hours for a 15-minute appearance by Pope Leo. Apart from Poles and Spaniards and, of course, Italians, there were South Indians, Nigerians, Filipinos, Argentines, Mexicans, Koreans, Chinese from the mainland or otherwise. So how does Leo make sure this diverse flock also moves forward as a united church of nearly 1.4 billion people — the kind of unity that will bolster any and all papal pronouncements on how the world should be run?

As it is, most of the people I spoke to in the crowd mentioned previous popes as their inspiration. Many cited the heroism of John Paul. Even more remembered Francis — especially, his inclusiveness and non-judgmental attitude. So far, Leo — who isn’t yet at 100 days in office — is standing on the shoulders of these giants. Some Catholics — proponents of his self-abnegating predecessor — are worried that he’s shifting toward the gilded glory of previous papacies, favoring Baroque over abstemiousness.

In any event, the church has a way for Leo to march forward — not with armies, but with saints. The death of Francis postponed the canonization of several new saints — beings who lived such holy lives that the Church now declares they are united with God in heaven, thus able to intercede with the creator for the faithful on earth who call on their help. Among them are Peter To Rot, a lay Catholic martyred by the Japanese occupiers of Papua New Guinea. He’ll be the first person sainted from his country. Two Venezuelans — Jose Gregorio Hernandez Cisneros, a doctor to the poor, and Carmen Rendiles Martínez, the founder of a religious order — will also be the first saints from the South American nation. (The elevations may also help reset the Vatican’s dubious ties with the pariah regime in Caracas).

All saints are local — and cause for great celebration — but only the Pope in Rome can mint them. And that benefits not only believers in the far corners of the world the church has preached to for centuries, but the papacy’s hold on their hearts and minds.

Two other incoming saints will speak to the Vatican’s attempt to attract and inspire younger believers. Carlo Acutis nicknamed “God’s influencer,” was born in 1991 to Italian parents living in the UK. A designer of websites with religious themes, he died of leukemia at the age of 15 and will be the first millennial to be canonized. The other is Pier Giorgio Frassati, the son of the founder of the newspaper La Stampa, who died in 1925 of poliomyelitis at the age of 24. An athlete and avid mountaineer with movie star looks, he was also devoted to improving the lives of the poor. At his death, the impoverished citizens of his native Turin petitioned the church to make him a saint. He has a shrine in the same basilica where the shroud of Turin is kept.

You may say that the process of canonization takes a long time (two decades for Acutis, a century for Frassati). But the Church is on a different — call it eternal — timetable. It has, over the centuries, committed terrible crimes in its ambitious reach for spiritual domination, of which it has repented often (if not enough, as many critics say). That’s led to reforms of its methods, but not its agenda. Today, the Vatican isn’t able to wrestle the current powers that be into submission. But it knows how to wait out bouts of midsummer madness — and proclaim, as that character in Shakespeare’s seasonal play, “what fools these mortals be!”

BLOOMBERG OPINION

Asian startups told to show they can scale to entice EU investors

A PANEL discussion at the South Summit Madrid 2025 on June 4. — BEATRIZ MARIE D. CRUZ

By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Reporter

ASIAN startups should focus on gaining international exposure and scalability, while adapting their products to different cultures to attract investors from outside regions like Europe, according to the chief executive officer (CEO) of a global entrepreneurial network.

 “Asia represents a dynamic and constantly growing environment, with an innovation ecosystem driven by strong technological investment, abundant talent and rapid adoption of new digital solutions,” South Summit CEO Nacho Mateo told BusinessWorld in an e-mailed reply to questions.

“This makes the continent a highly promising market for startups aiming to scale globally.”

Mr. Mateo said Western investors value adaptability to culture, financial transparency and business model clarity.

“To attract investment from Europe or Latin America, Asian startups must focus on gaining international visibility, demonstrating scalability potential, and aligning with strategic sectors valued by global investors,” he said.

“If Asian startups strengthen their structures, run pilot operations in Western markets and build partnerships with accelerators or funds with an international presence, they will be better positioned to achieve these goals,” he added.

South Summit, a global networking platform based in Madrid, Spain, seeks to connect all startups, investors and other stakeholders in the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem through its flagship event, the South Summit Madrid.

The company kicked off its Asian expansion with South Summit Korea last year. Held in Suwon, the largest city in South Korea’s Gyeonggi-do province, the event was attended by more than 4,000 participants from 50 countries.

Startups with global ambitions are 35% more likely to become high-growth companies, Mr. Mateo said, citing a 2025 report co-developed by South Summit and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

“This underscores that access to foreign investment is closely tied to having a global vision from early stages — particularly in sectors like artificial intelligence (AI), sustainability, fintech and health, which attract significant investor interest,” he added.

Mr. Mateo said the global startup ecosystem has stayed resilient amid recent geopolitical and economic uncertainties.

“Cross-sector collaboration between ecosystems, investment in emerging technologies like AI and a focus on sustainability are helping turn uncertainty into innovation and, most importantly, into results,” he said.

Madrid is home to 28% of Spain’s startups, with €821 million in investments generated last year, PwC said in a separate report this year.

Mr. Mateo said it is important for startups to have multi-disciplinary teams to ensure collaborative decision-making and the ability to tackle complex markets.

“Collaboration between startups and institutions — through innovation hubs, acceleration programs or public support mechanisms — is also helping build a more interconnected ecosystem,” he added.

The annual South Summit Madrid has served as a launchpad for more than 42,000 startups since it started in 2012.

This year’s summit was held from June 4 to 6 in Madrid and was co-organized by IE University. The event is projected to generate more than €39 million (P2.6 billion) in economic impact, according to PwC.

PhilWeb eyes expansion, cost cuts

STOCK PHOTO | Image background from Freepik

ARANETA-LED electronic gaming technology services provider PhilWeb Corp. is planning to expand its offerings and implement cost-reduction measures after the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) sought the company’s explanation for reporting negative stockholders’ equity.

PhilWeb reported negative stockholders’ equity of P69.39 million as of end-March and P43.87 million as of end-December last year due to the “significant” cost of treasury shares and other shares held by subsidiaries that offset retained earnings, the company said in a disclosure on Tuesday.

The company’s treasury stock consisted of 300.43 million shares, with an aggregate value of P3.12 billion.

“The negative equity is not a result of operational underperformance but rather an accounting impact due to the treatment of treasury shares,” PhilWeb said.

“It is important to emphasize that the group continues to generate positive operating cash flows, which have enabled it to sustain operations and meet maturing obligations throughout 2024 and into 2025,” it added.

To address the negative equity, PhilWeb said it plans to expand its electronic gaming system network and launch new gaming content in the third quarter to boost revenue.

The company will introduce number games such as Numero Uno, alongside existing offerings like RTG, Jili, and Evolution. It is also integrating its platform with the GCash mobile wallet application to enhance accessibility and user engagement.

From December 2024 to May 2025, the number of sites serviced by PhilWeb rose to 105 from 94.

As part of its cost-efficiency measures, PhilWeb closed six non-performing gaming sites, generating P2 million in monthly savings.

The company is also evaluating the monthly performance of its remaining sites and implementing operational efficiency improvements across all areas.

PhilWeb’s stockholders have committed to subscribe to 923.57 million unissued shares until 2027 to generate additional funding and improve its equity position. These include 590.73 million preferred shares and 332.84 million common shares.

PhilWeb also plans to reissue its treasury shares either to the open market or to existing stockholders.

“This reissuance is also targeted to be completed within a three-year period ending in 2027 and is expected to raise additional capital to support operations and strengthen the balance sheet,” the company said.

For the first quarter, PhilWeb posted a net loss of P25.51 million, reversing the P2.3 million net income recorded in the same period last year. Revenue declined by 12.9% to P178.8 million.

PhilWeb shares rose by 10.14% or 22 centavos to P2.39 apiece on Tuesday. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

BDO’s Tan is International Monetary Conference’s first Filipino president

BDO Unibank, Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer Nestor V. Tan — BDO UNIBANK, INC.

BDO UNIBANK, Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nestor V. Tan has been elected as the new president of the International Monetary Conference (IMC), making him the first Filipino to be chosen for the post.

Mr. Tan was elected as president for the 2025-2026 term during the IMC’s annual gathering in Brussels, Belgium, BDO said in a statement on Tuesday.

The IMC is a nonprofit organization made up of chairpersons and chief executive officers of 58 of the world’s largest financial institutions across 31 countries.

“Mr. Tan is the first Filipino to be elected as president of the IMC, and his election reflects his extensive expertise in banking and finance and affirms his leadership standing in the global banking community. It is also a recognition of BDO’s consistent performance and growing influence in the regional and global financial sectors,” the bank said.

“His appointment marks a milestone not only for BDO but also for the Philippine banking industry, which continues to gain recognition in the global financial community.”

Past IMC presidents include KBC Group CEO Johan Thijis, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Chair Carlos Torres Vila, and Citigroup, Inc. Chair John Dugan.

BDO said the IMC serves as a private forum for dialogue among leaders of global financial institutions, central banks, governments, and multilateral institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

“Since its founding in 1954, the IMC has played a key role in shaping international banking practices and policies,” it added. — A.M.C. Sy

Actor who plays Jesus on TV’s The Chosen visits the Vatican

Jonathan Roumie in a scene from The Chosen.

VATICAN CITY – A US actor known for playing Jesus on a popular television show visited the Vatican on Monday.

Jonathan Roumie, star of the streaming series The Chosen about the life of Jesus Christ, spoke at an event ahead of a special Vatican screening of an episode from the fifth season of the show, which will be released internationally in July.

Mr. Roumie was joined by fellow cast members Elizabeth Tabish, George Xanthis, and Vanessa Benavente, who respectively play Mary Magdalene, St. John the Apostle, and Mary, the Mother of God.

“Coming to the Vatican is always an honor,” Mr. Roumie, a practicing Christian, told Reuters. “The possibility of getting to meet the newest pontiff is extraordinary.”

The Chosen is a historical drama that follows the life of Jesus Christ — from gathering disciples to his ultimate persecution at the hands of the Roman Empire.

Season 5 includes Jesus’ last supper with his disciples and many of the renowned biblical events just before his death.

The cast came to the Vatican a day after wrapping up three weeks of shooting for the sixth season of the show which will portray the crucifixion, an episode filmed in the southern Italian town of Matera.

One of the world’s oldest continuous human settlements, with stone houses cut from surrounding cliffs, some of which have been occupied for millennia, Matera stood in for Jerusalem.

US filmmaker Mel Gibson also used the Italian town for his 2004 movie about the crucifixion, The Passion of the Christ.

Mr. Roumie and the other cast members are set to meet Leo, the first US pontiff, during the pope’s general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday. — Reuters

Beyond the blackboard: A school’s ‘built-in’ duty to provide a conducive atmosphere for learning

PHILIPPINE STAR/MIGUEL DE GUZMAN

Schools are not just centers of academic instruction. Years spent in school play a vital role in shaping a child’s character. As noted by the Supreme Court (SC) in the recently decided case of Mother Goose Special School System, Inc. v. Spouses Palaganas, G.R. No. 267331 (2025 Mother Goose Case), every parent who entrusts their child to a learning institution does so with the assurance that the school, owing to its obligation not only to provide but also to maintain a safe learning environment, will protect the child from harm to support his learning.

In the 2025 Mother Goose Case, the school was held monetarily liable for damages in the amount of P650,000 over a bullying incident on its premises. Rhys, a student at Mother Goose, was physically assaulted by classmates Noel and Mark. Reports to school officials led to no action and, despite their admission, Noel and Mark faced no consequences. Calls for investigation also resulted in inaccuracies in the school’s report, with the school downplaying the incident as a “form of teasing” and describing it as “natural and part of the growing up process.”

The SC, in finding the school liable, explained that Mother Goose’s liability arose from breaching its contractual obligation to provide and maintain a safe learning environment for its students (culpa contractual). Citing the landmark case of Philippine School of Business Administration v. CA, G.R. No. 84698, the SC explained that when an academic institution accepts students for enrollment, there is established a contract between them, resulting in bilateral obligations — for its part, the school undertakes to provide education to equip the student with the necessary skills to pursue higher education or a profession; on the other hand, the student commits to abide by the school’s academic requirements and rules and regulations.

Accordingly, academic institutions have a “built-in” obligation of providing “a conducive atmosphere for learning.” This includes providing adequate steps to maintain peace and order within the campus premises. While a school is not an insurer of all risks, it must still demonstrate its lack of negligence. Unfortunately, however, Mother Goose was evidently negligent in performing its obligation. Most telling is its own admission that it lacked a protocol in addressing incidents between students which explains why its teachers were unprepared to respond appropriately.

Consistent therewith, the SC, in the 2004 case of Khristine Rea M. Regino v. Pangasinan Colleges of Science and Technology (Rea), G.R. No. 156109, likewise ruled that upon enrollment, students and their school enter upon a reciprocal contract. Citing Alcuaz v. PSBA, G.R. No. 76353, the Court explained the “termination of contract theory” where the school-student contract subsists only for the semester during which the student is enrolled. This was modified two years later in Non v. Dames II (Non), G.R. No. 89317, where it was ruled that the contractual relationship between the school and the student is “not only semestral in duration, but for the entire period the latter are expected to complete it.”

The school’s obligation to its students was also discussed in Magtibay v. Garcia, G.R. No. L-28971, and Licup v. University of San Carlos, G.R. No. 85839, in which the Court held that, barring any violation of the rules on the part of the students, an institution of higher learning has a contractual obligation to afford its students a fair opportunity to complete the course they seek to pursue.

In these cases, the SC consistently ruled that the contract between an educational institution and its students is by no means an ordinary one. In both Rea and Non, it was stressed that the school-student contract is imbued with public interest, considering the high priority given by the 1987 Constitution (Article XIV) to education and the grant to the State of supervisory and regulatory powers over all educational institutions.

In the 2021 case of St. Benedict Childhood Education Centre, Inc. v. San Jose, G.R. No. 225991, the SC also upheld a school’s dismissal of a teacher after she scolded a student in public which lead to said student being bullied by his classmates. When confronted by the parents, the teacher refused to listen and denied any wrongdoing. In upholding the teacher’s dismissal, the SC, likening her conduct to child abuse, discussed how a teacher, as the representative of the school, had the foremost responsibility to promote the welfare of her students. In citing the Code of Ethics of Professional Teachers, the SC also emphasized that a teacher “must always maintain cordial relations with students’ parents” and “must hear their complaints with sympathy and understanding.”

These jurisprudential precedents underscore the legal duty incumbent upon educational institutions, including their administrators and faculty, to maintain an environment conducive to learning — one that affords students a fair and reasonable opportunity to acquire essential knowledge, values, and life skills necessary for their holistic development and future endeavors. Significantly, these decisions also illustrate that a breach of such duty may give rise to substantial legal consequences, including the imposition of civil liability by way of damages or the administrative sanction of suspension of a school’s permit to operate.

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

 

Chrisha Ver R. Romano-Weigel is an associate of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Department of the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Offices (ACCRALAW).

(632) 8830-8000

crromano-weigel@accralaw.com

Kwik.insure offers affordable HMO coverage to MSMEs

STOCK PHOTO | Image by Vectorjuice from Freepik

KWIK.INSURE, a local insurance tech company, is making health maintenance organization (HMO) coverage more accessible to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) by offering low-cost plans with monthly payment options.

The company started in 2020 as a one-stop digital marketplace for various lines of insurance but has recently narrowed its focus to HMOs.

“What we discovered was that the MSME market — the retail market, meaning individuals and families — was not really being catered to,” Kwin.insure’s Chief Executive Officer Hamilton C. Angluben said in an interview.

“And so, now we’re focusing more on KwikCare, which is really an HMO designed for individuals, families and small businesses,” he added.

KwikCare Health Insurance plans by Kwik.insure are underwritten by PhilhealthCare, Inc. and start at P995.

The entry-level plan covers inpatient, outpatient and emergency services, with a maximum benefit of P50,000 per illness or accident.

It also covers doctor-prescribed tests and consultations, up to the maximum benefit limit.

KwikCare members have access to 1,800 contracted hospitals and clinics nationwide, as well as more than 50,000 doctors and physicians, Mr. Angluben said.

“So really, it’s pretty much the same as what is being offered to large corporations,” he said.

“The main difference is that it’s so much more affordable because one, the price is lower — at least 20% lower than anything available in the market. Second, we are the only one offering a monthly mode of payment,” he added.

KwikCare plans also have no lock-in period, Mr. Angluben said, providing greater access to HMO coverage for underserved sectors such as MSMEs, professionals and the self-employed.

“This segment is really underserved. And sadly, just over 6 million Filipinos have HMO coverage — that’s roughly about 5% of our population,” he pointed out.

Mr. Angluben added that access to low-cost HMO coverage could help supplement the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), the state-owned health insurer.

A 2023 report by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) said that while the national average support value is 55.83%, many PhilHealth members, particularly those in underserved sectors, are covered for only 40% or less, resulting in higher out-of-pocket expenses.

The study was based on PhilHealth data from 2018 to 2021, along with auxiliary datasets from the Department of Health and other sources.

“It’s our current reality that there is a gap… and really, we’re doing our best to make HMO affordable to as many Filipinos as possible,” Mr. Angluben said.

To make HMO coverage more attainable for lower-income groups, Kwik.insure is developing a health insurance plan that costs below P400, to be launched by year-end.

He added that the company is also seeking distribution partners such as e-wallets and payment gateways to improve visibility and accessibility across various markets. — Edg Adrian A. Eva

Cebu ice maker renews RE deal with First Gen

FIRST GEN Chief Customer Engagement Officer Carlo Vega (second from left) and Cebu Cube Ice President and CEO Robert Tiu (third from left) shake hands after renewing an agreement for First Gen to supply Cebu Cube Ice with electricity from an RE source. Also in photo are Arlene Sy (left), First Gen sales and marketing head; and Elizabeth Tiu, Cebu Cube Ice chief financial officer.

LOPEZ-LED First Gen Corp. has renewed its partnership with Cebu Cube Ice Corp., a supplier of purified ice under the “Ice Man” brand, to supply electricity from renewable energy (RE) sources.

First Gen will provide 600 kilowatts (kW) of electricity per month from renewable sources to Cebu Cube Ice’s production facility in Mandaue City, the company said in a media release on Tuesday.

“We are very pleased to continue our partnership with Cebu Cube Ice as they invest in decarbonizing their operations. This proves that large or small, any enterprise can find solutions to reduce their carbon footprint and use electricity more efficiently,” said Carlo Vega, First Gen chief customer engagement officer.

Founded in 1992, Cebu Cube Ice supplies purified ice to nearly 2,000 customers, including major hotels, restaurants, and retail chains such as supermarkets and convenience stores in Cebu province.

The company integrates reverse osmosis in its water purification process to ensure “the highest standards for safety and sanitation in its ice production process.” It has also invested in cold storage facilities across Cebu to ensure a continuous 24/7 supply of ice.

The renewed partnership follows the initial agreement signed in 2022, making Cebu Cube Ice among the first adopters in Cebu of the government’s Green Energy Option Program (GEOP).

Implemented under the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, GEOP allows large electricity consumers with an average peak demand of at least 100 kW to source their power directly from a renewable energy supplier.

First Gen’s power portfolio currently has a combined capacity of 3,668 megawatts (MW) from geothermal, wind, hydropower, solar, and natural gas facilities. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

Central banks eye gold, euro and yuan as dollar dominance wanes — OMFIF

STOCK PHOTO | Image from Freepik

LONDON — The custodians of trillions of dollars of global central bank reserves are eyeing a move away from the greenback into gold, the euro and China’s yuan as the splintering of world trade and geopolitical upheaval spark a rethink of financial flows.

According to a report by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) due to be published later on Tuesday, one in three central banks managing a combined $5-trillion plan to increase exposure to gold over the next one to two years after stripping out those planning to decrease, the highest in at least five years.

The survey of 75 central banks — carried out between March and May — gives a first snapshot of the repercussions of US President Donald J. Trump’s April 2 Liberation Day tariffs that sparked market turmoil and a slide in the safe-haven dollar and US Treasuries.

Gold, which central banks have already been adding at a record pace, was seen benefiting even further longer term, with a net 40% of central banks planning to increase gold holdings over the next decade.

“After years of record-high central bank gold purchases, reserve managers are doubling down on the precious metal,” OMFIF said.

The dollar, the most popular currency in last year’s survey, fell to seventh place this year, OMFIF said, with 70% of those surveyed saying the US political environment was discouraging them from investing in the dollar — more than twice the share a year ago.

In currencies, the euro and yuan stand to benefit the most from a diversification away from the dollar.

A net 16% of central banks surveyed by OMFIF said they plan to increase euro holdings over the next 12 to 24 months, making it the most in-demand currency, up from 7% a year ago, followed by the yuan.

But over the next decade, the yuan is more favored, with a net 30% of central banks expecting to increase holdings and its share of global reserves seen tripling to 6%.

Separately, three sources who deal directly with reserve managers told Reuters they saw the euro as now having the potential to recapture the share of currency reserves lost following the 2011 euro debt crisis by the end of this decade. They cited more positive sentiment among reserve managers towards the euro following Liberation Day.

That would mean a recovery to a roughly 25% share of currency reserves, from around 20% currently, representing a key moment in the bloc’s recovery from the debt crisis that threatened the euro’s existence.

Max Castelli, head of global sovereign markets strategy and advice at UBS Asset Management, told Reuters that reserve managers made many calls after Liberation Day to ask if the dollar’s safe-haven status was at risk.

“As far as I remember, this question has never been asked before, not even after the great financial crisis in 2008.”

The average expectation for the dollar’s share of global foreign currency reserves in 2035 was 52%, the OMFIF survey showed, remaining the No. 1 reserve currency but seen down from the current 58%.

EURO’S MOMENT?
OMFIF survey respondents expected the euro to reach about a 22% share of global reserves in 10 years’ time.

“The euro’s share of global reserves will almost surely rise over the next few years, not so much because Europe is viewed so much more favorably, but because the dollar’s status is diminished,” said Kenneth Rogoff, Harvard professor and former International Monetary Fund chief economist, told Reuters by e-mail ahead of OMFIF’s publication.

But Europe could attract a higher share of reserves sooner if the bloc is able to boost its pile of bonds that are currently dwarfed by the $29-trillion US Treasury market, while integrating its capital markets, the sources that speak directly to reserve managers, told Reuters.

European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde has also urged action to bolster the euro as a viable dollar alternative.

The euro is the “only real alternative currency for the moment to make a significant change in the level of reserves,” said Bernard Altschuler, global head of central bank coverage at HSBC, adding he saw it as “realistic” for the euro to reach a 25% share of global reserves in 2-3 years if those issues are addressed.

The European Union is the world’s largest trading bloc. Its economy is far bigger than the dollar’s other rivals. Capital controls limit the appeal of the yuan.

Momentum for change has gathered pace, with Europe signaling willingness to curb its dependence on the US by boosting defense spending, including through more joint EU borrowing. Germany is ramping up spending, while the EU is trying to revive efforts to integrate its capital markets.

Public pension and sovereign wealth funds, also surveyed by OMFIF, saw Germany as the most attractive developed market.

UBS Asset Management’s Castelli said he was receiving many more questions about the euro, estimating the euro could recover to a 25% share of reserves by the end of the 2020s.

At the most bullish end, Francesco Papadia, who managed the ECB’s market operations during the debt crisis, estimated the euro could recover to 25% in as soon as two years.

Reserve managers he holds discussions with were more willing to look at the euro than before, Papadia, senior fellow at think-tank Bruegel, said.

Zhou Xiaochuan, China’s central bank chief from 2002 to 2018, agreed the euro’s role as a reserve currency could grow. However, there’s “homework to do,” he told Reuters on the sidelines of a recent conference. — Reuters

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs prosecutors show evidence of abuse and instances of consent

Sean “Diddy” Combs on the talk show Late Night with Seth Myers. — IMDB

NEW YORK — Prosecutors at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking trial showed over the past six weeks ample evidence the hip-hop mogul physically abused his former girlfriends and directed them to have sex with paid male escorts, but Mr. Combs’ defense is likely to highlight instances where the women participated willingly in making its own case to the jury, legal experts said.

Prosecutors are expected to rest their case against Mr. Combs, who founded Bad Boy Records and is credited with popularizing hip-hop in American culture, on Tuesday in Manhattan federal court. The defense is expected to put on its own case this week.

Mr. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of sex trafficking as well as charges of racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. The sex trafficking counts carry the highest potential prison sentence if convicted — a mandatory minimum of 15 years, and a possible life sentence.

To convict Mr. Combs of sex trafficking, prosecutors must prove the sex acts were commercial in nature, and that Mr. Combs used force, threats, fraud, or coercion to compel his girlfriends to take part. The defense argues that both former girlfriends, the rhythm and blues singer Casandra Ventura and a woman known in court by the pseudonym Jane, were willing participants in the sex acts.

“There’s got to be a linkage between the force, fraud, and coercion and the participation in the sex act,” said Sarah Krissoff, a former federal prosecutor in Manhattan. “There is some murky testimony and evidence in there regarding that, and the defense is certainly going to hammer that.”

Prosecutors say that for nearly two decades, Mr. Combs forced Ms. Ventura and Jane into ecstasy-fueled, days-long sexual performances, sometimes known as “Freak Offs” with male prostitutes in hotel rooms while he watched, masturbated, and sometimes filmed.

His defense lawyers do not deny that the sex acts took place, and acknowledge that Mr. Combs was abusive in domestic relationships.

But during cross-examination of the government’s witnesses, the defense brought jurors’ attention to sexually explicit text messages in which the women expressed affection for Mr. Combs.

Both women testified that they at times took part in the sexual performances to make Mr. Combs happy, and that they participated well after brutal beatings by Mr. Combs, who was also known during his career as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy.

Defense lawyers will likely use that evidence to try to convince even a single juror that Ms. Ventura and Jane took part consensually, said Ms. Krissoff, now at law firm Cozen O’Connor.

To convict Mr. Combs on any of the five counts he faces, the 12-member panel must unanimously conclude that prosecutors proved their allegations beyond a reasonable doubt.

‘TRAUMA BONDS’
Prosecutors argue the longevity of Ms. Ventura’s and Jane’s relationships with Mr. Combs does not mean they consented to take part in the sex acts. Both women testified that Mr. Combs beat them, threatened to cut off financial support, or publicly release explicit videos he had taken of them.

Legal experts said the testimony from forensic psychologist Dawn Hughes could be key in undermining the defense argument that Ms. Ventura and Jane took part in the “Freak Offs” consensually.

Testifying as an expert witness on May 21, Ms. Hughes said victims of sexual violence can form a “trauma bond” with their perpetrators that can make it difficult for the victims to leave an abusive relationship.

“Such compelling testimony from the victims, corroborated by the other evidence in the case of Combs’ abuse and control, will be very difficult for the defense to try to overcome,” said Stephen Reynolds, a former federal prosecutor and current partner at law firm Day Pitney. — Reuters

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