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LANDBANK partners with Yovel East to expand its agriculture lending program

BW FILE PHOTO

LAND BANK of the Philippines (LANDBANK) has partnered with Yovel East Research and Development, Inc. to expand its AGRISENSO Plus lending program.

LANDBANK and Yovel East signed a memorandum of agreement to formalize the partnership on Jan. 14, the state-run bank said in a statement on Tuesday.

Under the agreement, Yovel East will endorse potential borrowers for AGRISENSO Plus, which is aimed at providing financial support for key players in the agricultural value chain.

The program will also assist Yovel East in managing clustered farms to help its farmer-beneficiaries and promote technology-driven pre- and post-harvest facilities.

“At LANDBANK, we believe that financial assistance is just one piece of the puzzle in addressing the challenges faced by the agricultural sector. Our mission extends to providing comprehensive support across the entire agricultural ecosystem,” LANDBANK President and Chief Executive Officer Lynette V. Ortiz said.

“Providing sustainability and consistency is always the thing that we want to achieve. Through this partnership, Yovel East assures that we will further expand the reach of AGRISENSO Plus and our WeWillRice Program to help more farmers,” Yovel East President and CEO James P. Amparo said.

Outstanding loans under the AGRISENSO Plus program amounted to P494.8 million at end-2024, supporting 3,346 farmers.

LANDBANK saw its net profit decline by 21.07% to P25.14 billion as of end-September 2024 from P31.85 billion a year prior, based on its financial statement posted on its website. — AMCS

First Gen, Precision Crestec renew RE supply deal

FIRSTGEN.COM.PH

INDUSTRIAL PRINTING company Precision Crestec, Inc. has renewed its partnership with Lopez-led First Gen Corp. to power its production facility in Pasig City.

Precision Crestec and First Gen signed a new supply agreement for the provision of 700 kilowatts of electricity from a renewable energy (RE) source, the energy company announced in a media release on Tuesday.

“With an innovative approach, we deliver durable, cost-effective, and eco-friendly packaging designed to enhance product safety and brand visibility while maintaining the lowest possible carbon footprint,” said Purificacion Dizon, president of Precision Crestec.

The two companies began their collaboration in 2021 as part of Precision Crestec’s initiative to meet the growing demand from customers for more sustainable supply chains and products.

Founded in 1962, Precision Crestec provides packaging solutions across industries such as food and beverage, electronics, pharmaceuticals, e-commerce, and retail for local and Philippine-based export companies.

“Our partnership with industrial firms such as Precision Crestec, Inc. enables them to optimize their power utilization and make more informed decisions on how to save on electricity costs. Additionally, they can reduce their carbon footprint in production through the use of RE,” said Carlo Lorenzo Vega, vice-president and chief customer engagement officer at First Gen.

In addition to supplying power, First Gen, along with its sister company Pi Energy, Inc., provides Precision Crestec with energy efficiency solutions designed for the optimal use of electricity. These solutions include a remote energy monitoring system for analyzing and tracking real-time power consumption.

First Gen has a combined total capacity of 3,668 megawatts (MW) from its portfolio of plants, including 1,651 MW from renewable energy and 2,017 MW from natural gas. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

Arts & Culture (02/05/25)

Vinyl on Vinyl exhibits until February

ON Feb. 11, the ongoing January exhibits at Vinyl on Vinyl will come to a close. The exhibitions are Alburoto’s Test the Water; the group show Natural Order with Apok, Barc, Bato, Chase, Distort Monsters, Egg Fiasco, and Nicolo Nimor; the group show Circadian Daze with Dessa Mendoza Reyes, Chuck Ronquillo, Karren Lopez, Les Amacio, KN, Min, Therese Nicole Reyes, and Vitti; and Pattpiha’s first solo exhibit, A Place To Let Go. Vinyl on Vinyl is located in the La Fuerza compound along Chino Roces Ave., Makati City.

MusicArtes presents twin bill

MID-FEBRUARY will feature an intimate and emotionally charged production: Opera Intima, presented by MusicArtes, Inc. It is a twin bill of Francis Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine and the Filipino dramatic monologue Boses. The performances will take place at The Mirror Studio Theater in Poblacion, Makati City, directed by Anton Juan, with musical direction by tenor Arthur Espiritu and piano accompaniment by Rudolph Golez and GJ Frias. There will be shows on Feb. 15, 16, 22, 23, 28, and March 1, all at 8 p.m. Tickets are available via Ticket2Me (https://ticket2me.net/event/22096).

Instituto Cervantes holds exhibit on Spanish wine

WINE LOVERS, architecture enthusiasts, and culture aficionados are invited to the exhibition Wine and Architecture: Wine Tourism Routes in Spain. It is currently on view at the Instituto Cervantes branch in Intramuros, Manila. Curated by Belén García-Noblejas, the exhibit explores the symbiotic relationship between winemaking and architectural design in Spain, a testament of how two distinct artistic expressions can converge and enrich each other to create a unique sensory and cultural experience. On Feb. 21, there will be a talk on Spanish wine and architecture and a classical guitar concert by the Spanish musician Miguel Trápaga, with attendees receiving a glass of wine. The exhibit is presented by the Embassy of Spain in the Philippines, in collaboration with the Tourism Office of Spain, the Spanish Agency for Cooperation, and the Instituto Cervantes in Manila. It runs until March 31.

National Arts Month opens at NCCA, Met Theater

THE National Commission for Culture and the Arts  (NCCA) has opened National Arts Month at the NCCA office in Intramuros, Manila. The façades of the NCCA building and of the Metropolitan (Met) Theater in Manila are now adorned with designs inspired by Bulacan’s Singkaban Festival. For 2025, National Arts Month carries the theme “Ani ng Sining: Diwa at Damdamin” (Harvest of the Arts: Soul and Passion), highlighting the spirit and passion driving Filipino creativity.

UP Concert Chorus marks Taiwan debut

THE University of the Philippines Concert Chorus (UPCC) debuted in Taiwan in a week-long tour entitled Taiwanihan Awakening: A Musical Journey in Kaohsiung City, a few months after their successful European goodwill cultural concert tour. It featured a joint performance with the Taiwanese youth orchestra Strings of Hope at Taiwan’s southernmost point, Eluanbi, the nearest point of land north of the Batanes islands. The concert was live-streamed at the Batanes State College in Basco, Batanes.

Boosting stock trade: A closer look at CMEPA

FREEPIK

The Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act (CMEPA), currently known as Senate Bill No. 2865, has been approved on Third Reading by the 19th Congress. The objective of our lawmakers in passing the CMEPA is to introduce reforms that may help boost trading in the Philippine Capital Markets, by providing a simpler, fairer, more efficient, and regionally competitive passive income tax system.

Based on the current version, the following key amendments are expected to boost and stimulate market activity and attract investment:

• Lowering the Stock Transaction Tax (STT): The CMEPA will lower the STT from 0.6% to 0.1% of the gross selling price or gross value in money. This reduction aims to make trading more accessible and encourage wider participation. The lower rate is said to be at par with the tax rates imposed by our regional neighbors Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. It is expected that the lower transaction costs will boost trading, improve liquidity, and broaden the tax base.

• Lowering the Documentary Stamp Tax: The CMEPA will also lower the DST due from the original issuance of shares from 1% to 0.75% of the par value. It also introduces DST exemption on the original issuance of certificate, redemption, and disposition of Unit Investment Trust Funds (UITFs) and mutual funds. This exemption is expected to make UITFs and mutual funds more appealing, particularly for those seeking diversified portfolios.

• Exclusions from Gross Income: The CMEPA adds “gains from the redemption of shares or units of participation in mutual funds and UITFs” to the list of items excluded from gross income and exempt from taxation. This amendment, aimed at creating parity with other Collective Investment Schemes (CIS), is expected to further incentivize these investment vehicles.

• Removal of Preferential Tax Rates: The CMEPA will also remove the preferential tax rates and exemptions on long-term deposits and investments. The removal will broaden the tax base and address the inequitable distribution of the tax burden between short-term and long-term investments. If approved, the interest income on long-term deposits and investments, like other types of deposits, will be subject to a final tax of 20%.

The CMEPA will also introduce more precise definitions that will clarify terms, such as “Share of Stock,” and “Securities.” Particularly, the changes to the definition of “shares” represent a shift from an illustrative definition to a descriptive one, leaving less room for interpretation. The CMEPA also defines the term “passive income” found in the Tax Code for the first time. These refinements are expected to facilitate proper tax interpretation and simplify compliance for taxpayers.

With these proposed reforms, the CMEPA is estimated to cost the government around P40 billion from 2025 to 2028 (SEPO Policy Brief, 2024). Nonetheless, the CMEPA seeks to offset this loss by removing the excise tax exemption for pick-ups which was previously granted under RA No. 10963 or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law. The exemption was premised on the assumption that pick-ups are predominantly used by small business owners and professionals. The proposed removal of this excise tax exemption, as previously explained by the Department of Finance, addresses the observation from the Department of Trade and Industry that manufacturers would modify pick-up trucks to become passenger, leisure, or sport utility vehicles.

The CMEPA represents a strategic shift from the broader Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act (PIFITA), which aimed to provide reforms across all CIS. The challenges faced by PIFITA necessitated the introduction of House Bill No. 9277 or CMEPA, and its Senate version, Senate Bill No. 2865. The Senate version envisions a more targeted approach.

While the CMEPA represents significant reforms, it is said that there are certain proposals from the original PIFITA bill, such as the reduced dividend tax for non-resident aliens and the graduated DST rate for non-life insurance products, which were not included in the CMEPA. The proposed DST exemption for mutual funds and UITFs was also not extended to Variable Unit-Linked (VUL) insurance products, another form of CIS. The inclusion of which will be more consistent with its goal to ensure a level playing field among the CIS. More particularly, the CMEPA stops short of fully rationalizing passive income and financial intermediary tax rate. The adoption of a single rate for passive income could have further streamlined the tax treatment of various financial instruments.

If the proposed reforms in the Tax Code are enacted, the coming years will be crucial for observing how these changes translate to tangible benefits for investors/taxpayers and the economy. For now, we have yet to see if the CMEPA will indeed boost the trading. n

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

 

Princess Rexille V. Liboon is a senior associate of the Tax department of the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala Cruz Law Offices.

How PSEi member stocks performed — February 4, 2025

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Tuesday, February 4, 2025.

Orthopedic surgeon named PhilHealth chief; SC hears lawsuit vs fund transfer

DR. EDWIN M. MERCADO — PCO.GOV.PH

By John Victor D. Ordoñez and Chloe Mari A. Hufana, Reporters

PHILIPPINE President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has named a US-trained orthopedic surgeon as the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), according to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).

In a statement, the PCO said Edwin M. Mercado took his oath as head of the state-owned insurer before the President at the presidential palace on Tuesday.

“Mercado has dedicated his work to ensuring equitable access to quality medical care and leveraging technology to strengthen health systems, particularly in financial management and primary care programs,” it added.

Mr. Mercado, who has been vice chairman of Mercado General Hospital since 2021, replaced Emmanuel R. Ledesma, Jr., who faced criticism for failing to increase benefits for members even after the agency declared excess funds worth P90 billion.

In a statement, PhilHealth welcomed the surgeon’s appointment, saying his management experience would help the agency carry out its healthcare programs.

“We are confident that through his leadership, PhilHealth will continue to successfully carry out the mandate of the National Health Insurance program and fulfill the aspirations of universal healthcare for the benefit of all 115 million Filipinos,” it said.

Mr. Mercado got his medical degree from the University of the Philippines in 1987 and a master’s degree in medical sciences at Harvard Medical School in 2023.

He was also a lecturer at the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health on medical research methods and implementation science.

The surgeon is also a fellow at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Division of Global Health Equity since July 2023, where he is studying the use of artificial intelligence as a tool for community health workers.

Lawmakers in December stripped PhilHealth of P74 billion in subsidy this year, citing its nearly P90-billion reserve funds that could be used to increase members’ benefits.

In October, the Supreme Court (SC) blocked the transfer of P29.9 billion — the last tranche of PhilHealth’s P89.9 billion in excess funds — to the national Treasury.

The excess PhilHealth funds would have been used to support unprogrammed appropriations worth P203.1 billion, which would support state health, infrastructure and social service programs, critics have said.

In August last year, the Senate passed on final reading a bill that seeks to cut PhilHealth premiums to 3.25% this year from 5% last year under the Universal Health Care Act.

The measure sets PhilHealth premium contributions at 3.25% for those with a monthly income of P10,000 to P50,000, with incremental increases of 0.25% each year

In a statement, Senator Mary Grace Natividad S. Poe-Llamanzares said the agency’s new CEO faces a “gargantuan task” in ensuring reliable and accessible healthcare services to all Filipinos.

“PhilHealth members who now cough up higher premium contributions must feel the benefits of the healthcare system, or at least have peace of mind that they can rely on it in case of need,” she said.

“The new PhilHealth management should also settle its remaining deficiencies to health workers, hospitals and other institutions,” she added.

Meanwhile, Solicitor General Menardo I. Guevarra said the transfer of P89.9-billion PhilHealth funds to the Treasury is a temporary measure to address fund availability for key state programs.

There is “no dark or sinister plan” in the transfer of the excess funds to the national Treasury, he told a Supreme Court hearing of a lawsuit questioning the transaction.

“I assure the honorable court and the people that contrary to what has been portrayed by some critics, there was no dark or sinister plan behind the transfer of the P60-billion fund balance from PhilHealth to the Treasury,” he said.

“The Executive branch determines the government budgetary priorities and activities in line with the available revenues and borrowing limits,” the chief government lawyer said. “Congress, in turn, deliberates and acts on the budget proposals of the President,” he added, citing jurisprudence.

He added that it is the Department of Finance’s job to generate and manage financial resources to help attain the state’s development objectives.

“As luck would have it, however, the money needed to provide these essential services does not come easy on our side of the world,” Mr. Guevarra said. “But as they say, scarcity breeds creativity. And oftentimes, creative and innovative solutions are born out of something as common as common sense.”

COURT HEARING
Meanwhile, Zy-za Nadine N. Suzara, executive director at the Institute for Leadership, Empowerment and Democracy, noted that almost 20% of the national budgets from 2022 to 2024 have consisted of pork barrel or discretionary funds used by lawmakers for local projects that are often linked to patronage politics.

“My analysis of the 2022 to 2024 national budgets reveals that pork barrel now constitutes nearly 20% of the total national budget,” she told the hearing as a friend of the court.

“If left unchecked, politicians will continue to mangle the annual national budgets and divert any available funds of agencies or government-owned and -controlled corporations deemed inefficient,” she added.

Also speaking as a friend of the court, doctor Beverly Lorraine C. Ho said PhilHealth had made progress over the years in providing “incremental” and “piecemeal” healthcare to Filipinos.

“For example, covered inpatient diseases are generally broad, but only 40% on average of total hospital bills are covered by PhilHealth,” she said. She added that of the 9,000 case rate packages of PhilHealth, only 17 disease conditions have been upgraded to Z benefits — a package of services that help cover the costs of catastrophic illnesses for Filipinos.

The rest of the case rate packages — a fixed amount that PhilHealth pays a healthcare provider for treating a patient with a specific condition — are paid by patients out of pocket, she pointed out.

“For the first time in history, we actually have the necessary legal instruments and financial resources, not only to provide insurance coverage to every Filipino, but to expand benefits to a level necessary to finance and provide healthcare that Filipinos deserve,” Ms. Ho said, referring to the Universal Health Care Act of 2019.

Philippines, US hold joint air patrol over South China Sea, angering China

CHINA COAST GUARD VESSEL 5901, nicknamed the “monster ship,” off the coast of Capones Island, Zambales on Jan. 4, 2025. — PHILIPPINE COAST GUARD

THE AIR FORCES of the Philippines and the US held joint patrols over the South China Sea on Tuesday, a move that angered China, which also conducted a “routine patrol” over the disputed Scarborough Shoal.

The Philippines and the US have boosted security arrangements under President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. amid rising tension between Manila and Beijing due to overlapping claims in the waterway.

The one-day exercise by the treaty allies took place in the West Philippine Sea, Philippine Air Force spokesperson Maria Consuelo Castillo said, using Manila’s term for waters in the South China Sea that fall within its exclusive economic zone.

“The exercise aimed to enhance operational coordination, improve air domain awareness and reinforce agile combat employment capabilities between the two air forces,” she said in a statement.

Ms. Castillo said three Philippine FA-50 fighter aircraft and two US B1-B bombers participated in the exercise, which included flying over Scarborough Shoal, where the Chinese air force also carried out what it called a routine patrol.

China has controlled the shoal since 2012.

In a statement, China’s military accused the Philippines of joining patrols that it said were organized by foreign countries to “undermine peace and stability” in the South China Sea.

China’s air force units would keep a “high degree of alert, resolutely defend China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, and control any military activities that disrupt the South China Sea,” the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Southern Theater Command added.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam. It asserts its sovereignty claim through an armada of coast guard ships, despite a United Nations-backed court ruling in 2016 that voided its claim for being illegal.

At a briefing on Tuesday, the Philippine Navy said it was “closely monitoring” three Chinese navy vessels within Manila’s maritime zones, including a Jiangkai-class guided missile frigate.

“The presence of the People’s Liberation Army-Navy reflects the People’s Republic of China’s complete disregard for international law and undermines the peace and stability in the region,” navy spokesman John Percie Alcos said.

On Monday, state news agency Xinhua said the passage of the Chinese fleet was consistent with international law, quoting a spokesperson of the PLA’s Southern Theater Command.

The US and its allies should limit China’s access to technology and data to curb its expansionist ambitions in the South China Sea through coordinated military deterrence, Matthew Forbes Pottinger, a former deputy national security adviser of US President Donald J. Trump, told a security forum in Manila on Monday.

The Philippines has contested China’s sweeping claim in the waterway through diplomatic channels by filing more than 190 diplomatic protests since Mr. Marcos took office in 2022.

“Gratuitous efforts to flatter and reassure Beijing are likely to be taken as signs of weakness,” Mr. Pottinger said.

Countries should also consider banning Chinese-made apps such as TikTok and WeChat to prevent Beijing from conducting what he described as “information warfare” and weaken its “discourse power.”

“All we need to do is prevent Beijing’s platforms from manipulating our discourse at home, while making it easier for Chinese citizens to communicate safely with one another and with the outside world,” he added. — Reuters

Trump trade policies may benefit PHL maritime sector

PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO

By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio, Reporter

THE PHILIPPINES could benefit from US President Donald J. Trump’s trade policies, including his push to revitalize Washington’s shipbuilding industries and improve gas exportation reach, according to the US-based Heritage Foundation.

The US could partner with other countries including the Southeast Asian nation to help decouple its reliance on Beijing’s battery technologies, Brent Droste Sadler, a senior research fellow at the foundation, told a security forum in Manila on Tuesday.

“One of [Mr. Trump’s] top priorities is the maritime industry, [including the] shipbuilding and shipping sectors,” he said. “That’s an opportunity for partnering and working with countries like the Philippines, a merchant mariner powerhouse in the global stage.”

The US commercial shipbuilding sector has weakened in the past decades, with Washington now only able to build fewer than five ships a year from 70 in 1975, according to former US Trade Representative Katherine Chi Tai. Beijing can build about 1,700 ships yearly.

Mr. Sadler said he expects Mr. Trump to issue executive orders that would help kickstart Washington’s revitalization efforts for its shipbuilding industry, which he described as “strategically important” for the country.

The Trump administration would likely push the quick approval of the Ships for America Act, a bipartisan bill touted to improve the US commercial maritime industry, he said.

The Philippines could also benefit from Washington’s push to develop liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities to aid its gas exports, said Lucian Pugliaresi, president at Energy Policy Research Foundation.

“It’s an enormous opportunity for Asia,” he told the same forum. “The US has an opportunity, particularly in the Philippines… for the development of new LNG supplies.”

The US is the world’s largest LNG exporter, shipping 88.3 million tons of the cooled gas last year alone. Mr. Trump lifted an LNG export moratorium signed by his predecessor as part of efforts to increase US energy output.

Former US President Joseph R. Biden put a stop on the processing of LNG export permits in early 2024, citing the need to study its environmental and economic effects.

Washington should help improve Manila’s energy prospects by developing LNG structures in the Southeast Asian nation to help ensure continuous shipments of the super-chilled gas in case conflict in the South China Sea erupts, according to a 2024 Center for Strategic and International Studies report.

The Philippines could also benefit from the efforts of western countries to cut their reliance on Chinese batteries, said Dave McMurtry, a board member of the US National Battery Association.

“Countries like the US, the European Union, Japan and others must ramp up investment in lithium battery manufacturing and mining operations,” he told the forum, citing the need to build large battery factories and improve mineral extracting and refining capabilities.

“I’ve toured the Subic Bay Freeport zone, and I think it’s an excellent candidate for multilateral investment in battery capacity,” he added.

Beijing has a foothold over the battery supply chain, controlling at least 85% of its global production. The extraction and processing of critical minerals such as lithium is also “highly concentrated” in China, according to the International Energy Agency.

“Over-reliance on China for lithium-ion battery supply chains could have three big impacts,” said Mr. McMurtry, noting how it could affect the green energy transition and risk supply chain disruptions and market manipulation.

“As nations, we cannot afford to leave this critical supply chain in the hands of a single player, especially one with strategic interests that may not align with our own,” he added.

China on Tuesday announced export restrictions on five metals used across defense, clean energy and other industries minutes after an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods imposed by Mr. Trump came into effect.

The restrictions are the latest attempt by China since 2023 to leverage its dominance in the mining and processing of critical minerals used in everything from smartphones and electric car batteries to infrared missiles and ammunition.

However, the new rules stop short of outright export bans, which China has previously used against the US, in a continuation of Beijing’s more measured response to the latest round of trade tensions with Washington. — with Reuters

Penalize PR firms, advertisers engaged in online disinformation, lawmakers told

FREEPIK

PHILIPPINE lawmakers should consider crafting laws that would penalize public relations  and advertising agencies engaged in peddling disinformation, rather than individuals engaged in troll farms, experts said on Tuesday.

“[We should] penalize masterminds, especially black PR (public relations) firms engaged in disinformation. There has to be a way to penalize the masterminds rather than individual trolls,” Rachel E. Khan, a journalism professor at the University of the Philippines, told lawmakers during a House of Representatives hearing.

“We won’t achieve anything if we go after individuals rather than those who brought them or those who pay them,” she added in Filipino.

Ms. Khan was speaking before the House joint committee on public safety, public information and communications technology, which launched an inquiry into the prevalence of disinformation in social media platforms, described as a “national security threat.”

“Our goal is to develop a code of conduct for content creators, ensuring accountability and ethical responsibility in this rapidly evolving digital space,” Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace S. Barbers said in the same hearing, according to a statement.

“We need to hold accountable the people at the top, the elites in the advertising and PR industries…. we should not only go after the low-level workers,” said Jonathan Corpus Ong, professor of global digital media at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

“We should also focus on ‘big tech’ corporations,” he added.

Lawmakers should also consider “different kinds of legislation,” focusing not only on penalizing social media users who spread false information.

A proposal against online disinformation should include “compliance measures” for social media platforms to participate in transparency mechanisms with researchers.

“If the law is not specific and not transparent, a ‘top-down’ regulation can actually do more harm than good,” said Mr. Ong.

Ms. Khan said congressmen should consider legislating a mechanism allowing fact-checkers to counter disinformation through a “rapid response mechanism,” just like in Taiwan.

“This approach has been effective in addressing false information quickly. We can replicate it if there is collaboration among and support from fact-checking organizations,” she said in Filipino. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

Meralco franchise bill up for signing after House adopts Senate changes 

MERALCO.COM.PH

THE House of Representatives on Tuesday evening adopted the Senate’s changes to a bill, extending Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco) franchise for another 25 years, allowing the chamber to send it straight to Malacaсang for President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s signature. 

Senators on Monday approved on final reading House Bill No. 10926, which seeks to grant Meralco the franchise to construct, operate, and maintain its electric distribution systems in the greater Metro Manila area, including Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, and parts of Batangas, Quezon, Laguna, and Pampanga. 

Meralco is the main power distributor for the National Capital Region and nearby areas, covering 39 cities and 72 municipalities, delivering electricity to at least 7.6 million Filipinos. It provides power to a region responsible for half of the country’s gross domestic product output. 

“The Senate passed with amendments House Bill No. 10926, renewing for another 25 years the franchise granted to Meralco,” Cagayan Rep. Ramon C. Nolasco, Jr. told the House floor.  

“We have been informed that the committee on legislative franchises, which sponsored the aforementioned bill, as well as the authors, has no objections with the Senate to the said measure,” he added.  

Bills seeking to provide a legislative franchise to companies first originate at the House, undergoing the same legislative process as regular bills, according to the Energy department.  

Congressmen gave their final nod to the bill in November, approving it four years ahead of its initial concession’s expiry.  

Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT, Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio  

Gov’t told to explain 2025 budget

PHOTO BY MIKE GONZALEZ

THE Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday ordered the Philippine government to comment on a lawsuit filed by a former presidential spokesman challenging the 2025 national budget.

The high court en banc directed both houses of Congress and Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin to comment on the petition filed by Victor D. Rodriguez last week within a non-extendible period of ten days from receipt of notice.

On Jan. 27, Mr. Rodriguez asked the high court to declare the General Appropriations Act (GAA) illegal for failing to include mandatory funding for the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), illegally increasing appropriations over the President’s recommendations, and giving the most budget to infrastructure over education.

The petition added the 2025 national budget is illegal as the Bicameral Committee Report on the General Appropriations Bill had blank items.

“You don’t pass an unenrolled bill blank,” he said, claiming that the 2025 GAA “violated Article VI, Section 27 of the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines when the members of the Bicameral Conference Committee signed and submitted a Report on the 2025 General Appropriations Bill with blanks.” — Chloe Mari A. Hufana

House carbon pricing framework bill approved on 2nd reading

FREEPIK

THE House of Representatives on Tuesday approved on second reading a bill establishing a carbon pricing framework for Philippine companies in a bid to meet the country’s climate targets amid climate change concerns.

In a voice vote, lawmakers approved House Bill No. 11375, which mandates Philippine enterprises to offset its operational carbon footprint by reducing its carbon emissions, investing in low-carbon ventures or through carbon credits.

“The measure creates a carbon pricing framework that requires companies exceeding government-set emission targets to spend or invest in environmental sustainability projects to offset their carbon footprint,” Bohol Rep. Edgar M. Chatto, who heads the House climate change committee, told the House floor.

The Philippines ratified in 2017 a United Nations agreement to keep global temperatures rise below 2°C this century.

Medium and large-sized enterprises would be required to partake in the government’s decarbonization efforts, complying with a carbon threshold to be set by the Climate Change Commission.

Covered companies are required to submit a yearly compliance report to the Environment department’s, which should contain greenhouse gases emission levels and its “reduction activities” to lessen their carbon footprint. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

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