How PSEi member stocks performed — November 3, 2021
Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Wednesday, November 3, 2021.
Shares climb on higher factory output, AllDay IPO
LOCAL shares on Wednesday continued to climb as investor sentiment got a boost from the improvement in October factory activity and the successful initial public offering (IPO) of Villar’s AllDay Marts, Inc.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) went up by 78.71 points or 1.10% on Wednesday to close at 7,184.72, while the all-shares index gained 31.05 points or 0.70% to 4,433.09.
“The market ended higher as investors may have felt optimistic over the positive manufacturing report for the month of October, and as corporate earnings results continue to be released,” Darren Blaine T. Pangan, trader at Timson Securities, Inc., said in a Viber message.
IHS Markit reported on Tuesday that the Philippines Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) hit a seven-month high to 51 in October, the strongest PMI since March. IHS Markit noted there were signs of improvement in demand as new orders stabilized after six months of decline.
Juanis G. Barredo, chief technical analyst at COL Financial Group, Inc., noted that the benchmark index’s gains were led by SM Prime Holdings, Inc., Ayala Land, Inc., Bank of the Philippine Islands, Ayala Corp., and BDO Unibank, Inc.
Market sentiment got a lift from the strong debut of AllDay, a supermarket chain led by tycoon Manuel B. Villar, on the stock exchange.
“Strong demand for its limited share offer while being priced at P0.60 per share, gave traders both large and small, a new place to dabble and chance for a possible swing to P1 or over,” Mr. Barredo said. “We hope such optimism can allow the index to recoup towards its two-week high of 7,326 — this being [its] next resistance.”
Majority of the sectoral indices posted gains on Wednesday except for mining and oil, which declined by 33.56 points or 0.34% to end at 9,833.97.
Meanwhile, property picked up 102.12 points or 3.25% to 3,238.44, while financials rose 27.48 points or 1.77% to 1,577.67.
Industrials improved by 67.25 points or 0.63% to close at 10,717.57, while holding firms added 13.59 points or 0.19% to finish at 7,057.83. Services also inched up by 2.53 points or 0.13% to 1,898.32.
Value turnover edged higher to P7.52 billion with 2.33 billion shares switching hands on Wednesday, up from the P7.49 billion with 930.47 million shares traded the previous day.
Advancers beat decliners, 104 versus 99, as 46 names remain unchanged.
Net foreign selling stood at P23.75 million, declining from the P177.79 million recorded on Tuesday.
“Participants may be looking forward to the release of several reports in the coming days, to get a clearer sense of the current state of the economy,” Timson Securities’ Mr. Pangan said.
“Support seems to be at the 6,940 area, while 7,320 may be considered the nearest resistance level,” he added. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte
Peso weakens vs dollar
THE PESO retreated versus the greenback on Wednesday amid expectations of a further reopening of the economy, which could lead to higher imports.
The local unit ended trading at P50.57 per dollar on Wednesday, depreciating by 18 centavos from its P50.39 close on Tuesday, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines showed.
The peso opened Wednesday’s session at P50.50 per dollar, also weaker from its finish on Tuesday. Its worst showing was at P50.59, while its intraday best was at P50.45 versus the greenback.
Dollars exchanged decreased to $941.7 million on Wednesday from $1.149 billion on Tuesday.
The peso weakened amid the prospects of a further relaxation of mobility restrictions as cases continue to go down, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said.
“This (decline in cases) could justify measures to further reopen the economy that could entail some pickup in importation activities,” Mr. Ricafort said in a Viber message.
There will be no more curfew hours in the National Capital Region starting Thursday, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Benjamin “Benhur” D. Abalos, Jr. announced on Wednesday. The area is under Alert Level 3 until Nov. 14.
The Department of Health earlier said Metro Manila could be put under the more relaxed Alert Level 2, meaning more businesses can expand their operating capacity.
Active cases rose by 1,591 on Wednesday to 38,014, based on Department of Health data.
Meanwhile, a trader said the peso depreciated versus the dollar as investors were on a wait-and-see approach ahead of the outcome of the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting.
The market is widely expecting the Fed to announce the start of its reduction of asset purchases at the close of its policy review from Tuesday to Wednesday.
For Thursday, Mr. Ricafort expects the local unit to move within P50.45 to P50.65 per dollar, while the trader gave a forecast range of 50.45 to P50.70. — L.W.T. Noble
Metro Manila mayors to lift curfew on Nov. 4
By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Reporter
THE CURFEW in Manila, the capital and nearby cities will be lifted on Nov. 4, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said on Wednesday.
This would allow malls to extend operating hours to prevent the influx of shoppers during the holiday season, MMDA Chairman Benjamin de Castro Abalos, Jr. said by telephone.
“Anticipating the influx of shoppers in time for the holiday season, we requested the malls to extend their mall hours to 11 p.m.,” he said.
Mr. Abalos said mall owners had agreed to adjust their operating hours by “opening an hour later at 11 a.m. and closing at 11 p.m. to make the traffic manageable.
The move, which the mayors of Metro Manila approved, would give both mall goers and workers enough time to get home, he said.
The MMDA would “respect the implementation of curfew on minors based on existing ordinances,” Mr. Abalos said in a separate statement.
The Department of Health (DoH) reported 1,591 coronavirus infections on Wednesday — the lowest daily tally since Feb. 24. — bringing the total to 2.8 million.
The death toll rose to 43,586 after 186 more patients died, while recoveries increased by 4,294 to 2.7 million, it said in a bulletin.
There were 38,014 active cases, 69.4% of which were mild, 5.2% did not show symptoms, 8.1% were severe, 13.87% were moderate and 3.4% were critical.
The agency said 349 duplicates had been removed from the tally, 330 of which were reclassified as recoveries and four were tagged as deaths, while 132 recoveries were relisted as deaths. Seven laboratories failed to submit data on Nov. 1.
DoH said 44% intensive care units in the Philippines were occupied, while the rate in Metro Manila was 39%.
Meanwhile, the country’s vaccine czar said the government aims to give out as many as 1.5 million vaccine doses daily starting Nov. 20.
“We want to achieve 1 million to 1.5 million jabs per day starting Nov. 20,” Carlito G. Galvez told a taped Cabinet meeting in mixed English and Filipino.
The government would activate as many as 5,000 vaccination sites and use malls, schools, gyms, camps and function halls of different government agencies, he said.
Mr. Galvez said the state targets to fully vaccinate at least 90% of teachers, students and other school staff. It also aims to fully vaccinate at least 70% of seniors, the vaccine chief said.
Health workers should receive booster shots by the end of the month, he added.
At the same meeting, President Rodrigo R. Duterte said he had ordered the police and military to use their choppers to fast-track the delivery of coronavirus vaccines to remote areas.
“When the vaccines arrive in the country, the helicopters will take over and will deliver the vaccines to municipal governments,” he said in mixed English and Filipino.
The President also ordered the Interior and Local Government department to punish local officials “who are not performing or using the doses given to them in the most expeditious manner.” “I will hold each and every local government unit accountable for this.”
The Health department said about 60.4 million vaccine doses had been given out as of Nov. 2. Almost 28 million adult Filipinos have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, Health Undersecretary Myrna C. Cabotaje told an online news briefing.
The Philippines began vaccinating children aged 12 to 17 on Wednesday. DoH has said the goal is to inoculate at least 80% of 12 million children by yearend.
The program initially covered seriously ill children. More than 40,000 children with health risks have gotten their first dose as of Tuesday.
DoH has recorded about 30 minor cases of adverse reactions such as rashes, headache and anxiety reaction, Ms. Cabotaje said. Two minors experienced allergic reactions, she added.
The government aims to expand the coronavirus vaccination program to children aged five to 11 years old next year, she said.
The Health Technology Assessment Council and Food and Drug Administration have yet to approve the expansion, Ms. Cabotaje said.
Metro Manila had the highest vaccination rate among all regions, while the Bangsamoro region in southern Philippines had the lowest, she added.
Chinese vessels back in Whitsun Reef, says private US news radio
CHINESE vessels have returned to Whitsun Reef in the South China Sea despite repeated protests by the Philippines, according to a United States-based news radio.
Dozens of ships near the reef in the northern part of Union Banks have been found, Radio Free Asia said, citing images from Planet Labs.
Commercial satellite imagery showed an increasing number of vessels in the reef, which had prompted the Philippines to file diplomatic protests against China this year.
The Foreign Affairs department did not immediately reply to a mobile phone message seeking comment.
The reef, which the Philippines calls Julian Felipe, is 175 nautical miles west of Palawan Island and is within the country’s exclusive economic zone.
Washington-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, which followed the ships’ movements, earlier said they appeared to be Chinese maritime militia because these were not involved in fishing activities.
It spotted 40 ships near the reef in August, but the number had increased to more than 150 by mid-October, it added.
More than 200 Chinese vessels were found near Whitsun Reef in March. Some of them, which China claimed were fishing vessels, started leaving in May. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan
Comelec spokesman denies siding with Marcos in lawsuit
THE COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) would have to rule on a complaint filed on Tuesday seeking to disqualify the son and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos from the presidential race, its spokesman said.
“Now that a case has been filed, opinions no longer matter,” Comelec spokesman James B. Jimenez said in a Viber message on Wednesday.
The Comelec official earlier told One News the Supreme Court had not ruled on whether former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos’s conviction for tax evasion in 1995 involved “moral turpitude.”
Mr. Jimenez said he made the comments before a taxpayers’ complaint was filed at the Comelec seeking to block Mr. Marcos’s presidential bid.
“That quote was not intended in any way as a comment on the current petition recently filed,” he separately told reporters in a Viber message.
Several human rights advocates on Tuesday filed the disqualification case at the Comelec, saying Mr. Marcos is ineligible to run for office after a trial court convicted him in 1995 for failing to pay income taxes. His conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeals and was never appealed before the Supreme Court, the plaintiffs said.
Among the petitioners were Fides Lim of Kapatid, Christian Buenafe of the Task Force Detainees, Ma Edeliza Hernandez of the Medical Action Group, Celia Lagman Sevilla of the Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance, Roland Vibal of the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights and Josephine Lascano of the Balay Rehabilitation Center.
Mr. Marcos’s office issued a statement on Wednesday claiming that Mr. Jimenez had said the disqualification case “has no clear basis.”
“According to Jimenez, Bongbong does not fit the criteria, and that there is no clear basis for the disqualification case,” according to the statement.
Mr. Jimenez called the press release misleading and denied siding with the former senator.
On Tuesday, his lawyer and chief of staff Victor D. Rodriguez called the complaint a “predictable nuisance petition.” He said the lawsuit was propaganda, adding that the Marcos camp does not engage in “gutter politics.”
Mr. Marcos run for vice president in 2016 and lost the race to Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo by a hair.
The taxpayers said the crime for which Mr. Marcos was convicted involved moral turpitude, which disqualifies him from running for public office under the law.
Meanwhile, civic group Kapatid urged the Comelec to act on the complaint it filed with five other human rights groups.
The election body should not wait for the end of the election period “to rid the presidential race of a convicted criminal unfit for public office,” it said in a statement.
“The issue is the dictator’s namesake declared under oath that he has never been found liable for any offense that carries the penalty of perpetual disqualification from public office although he had been convicted for repeated tax evasion,” the group said. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza
ARTA issues show-cause order to 2 PhilHealth officials over unpaid hospital claims
THE ANTI-RED Tape Authority (ARTA) issued a show-cause order against two Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) officials over the state-owned company’s failure to release the payment for claims of seven hospitals in Iloilo City.
ARTA said in a statement on Tuesday that the total amount claimed by the seven medical facilities is at least P690.02 million, and were supposed to have been paid by the end of October.
According to ARTA, it issued a show-cause order against Alfredo Pineda III, PhilHealth area vice president, and Valerie Anne Hollero, PhilHealth regional director.
The two PhilHealth officials are given seven working days from the receipt of the order to clarify the delay in payment.
If their responses are deemed insufficient, they may face charges for violating Republic Act No. 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018.
The seven hospitals are: Iloilo Mission Hospital, St. Paul’s Hospital of Iloilo, Iloilo Doctors’ Hospital, Medicus Medical Center, The Medical City of Iloilo, Qualimed Hospital Iloilo, and the Metro Iloilo Hospital and Medical Center, Inc.
ARTA Director General Jeremiah B. Belgica said the two officials should explain the delayed release of the claims, adding that PhilHealth offices should comply with the 60-day processing period.
“We want them to explain why they have not paid the hospitals yet. Considering that it is a long time ago, they should’ve paid already. They should just pay and do a very efficient post audit afterwards,” Mr. Belgica said.
“For whatever policy or actuarial reason, the hospitals should not be made to suffer because all of their suffering ultimately redound to the disadvantage of the people serviced by hospitals,” he added.
Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines, Inc. President Jose Rene de Grano earlier said several of their members in different parts of the country are already planning to disengage from the state-owned insurer after failing to collect unpaid claims as of end-Oct. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
Philippines completes list of 100 public schools for pilot in-person classes
THE EDUCATION department on Wednesday confirmed that 100 public schools are now authorized to conduct in-person classes starting Nov. 15.
“We have completed the 100 public schools,” Education Secretary Leonor M. Magtolis-Briones told a televised news briefing in Filipino.
“We are now completing the list of 20 private schools,” she added.
More schools could be added later, depending on the pilot run’s outcome, she said.
Fourteen schools in Caraga region in southern Philippines have been approved for the pilot run, a list prepared by the Department of Education showed.
Some schools in Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, Eastern Visayas, and Northern Mindanao were also allowed to participate in the dry run.
Schools in the Philippine capital and nearby cities might be allowed to hold in-person classes after the initial phase, Ms. Briones said.
President Rodrigo R. Duterte approved the pilot run of face-to-face classes in low-risk areas in September.
The Philippines is the last country to reopen schools physically since the coronavirus pandemic. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza
Pharmally files complaint vs Hontiveros
PHARMALLY Pharmaceutical Corp., which has been under a Senate probe for alleged anomalies in pandemic supply contracts, has filed a sedition complaint against a senator, citing bribery and manipulation.
Company representative Jaime B. Vegas, in a press conference Wednesday after filing the complaint against Senator Ana Theresia “Risa” N. Hontiveros-Baraquel, said his co-worker, Veejay Almira, was subjected to manipulation by the solon.
The senator’s chief legislative officer, Ryan T. Lazo, and several others are also named respondents in the case.
Mr. Almira appeared before the Senate Blue Ribbon committee on Sept. 24, where he said that the company delivered expired and substandard face shields meant for medical professionals to the Health department.
Ms. Hontiveros has denied the accusations saying it was Mr. Almira himself who reached out to her office.
“We also have a whole narrative of Veejay pledging in front of notary public that will prove his testimony,” Ms. Hontiveros said in a press conference Wednesday.
“The charge to commit sedition is laughable… I do not need to resort to unlawful means to point out anomalies in Pharmally’s transactions,” she said. “This is clearly a last-ditch effort by Pharmally and its backers.” — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan
Lacson’s Metro Manila plan: Decongest rather than build more roads
SENATOR Panfilo M. Lacson, who is running for the top seat in 2022, plans to ease traffic in the nation’s capital by adapting a policy that will encourage people to leave the metropolis through opportunities in sub-urban areas and the countryside.
He said in a radio interview Wednesday that his agenda focuses on urban decongestion rather than building more roads.
He cited one of his flagship legislative proposals, the Budget Reform Advocacy for Village Empowerment (BRAVE) measure under Senate Bill 23, which aims to allocate more funds for community development projects through the local government units.
“Fixing the traffic situation is attached to village empowerment,” Mr. Lacson told Radyo Singko in a mix of English and Filipino, “because when you disburse the resources of the government and it results in development, livelihood for the people in distant places, they will naturally move to those areas.”
He said the National Capital Region already has “so many layers of elevated highways.”
The BRAVE bill is pending at the committee level. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan
DoTr says Mindanao rail House probe an opportunity to explain procedures
THE TRANSPORTATION department welcomed the proposed investigation on the Mindanao railway project at the House of Representatives, saying it will be a venue for explaining government procedures on right-of-way as well as address concerns of affected residents.
In a statement released to local media Wednesday, the Department of Transportation (DoTr) central office said it understands the position of some stakeholders, particularly owners of properties that are along the railway’s alignment.
It said officials of the department and its project management office on the ground are continuously holding engagements with those affected by the project.
“We wish to assure the committee of the DoTr’s fullest cooperation and transparency, aligned with our commitment to implementing this long overdue mega transport project for Mindanao. In this light, allow us to respectfully note that DoTr is not the entity that directly undertakes the appraisal of properties that need to be acquired for the construction of MRP (Mindanao Railway Project),” the statement said.
On Oct. 28, 2021, Davao City Rep. Paolo Z. Duterte and ACT-CIS Party Rep. Eric Go Yap filed a resolution calling for a committee investigation on alleged “variations in the offers for the acquisition of road right-of-way or expropriation of the private properties by the DoTr and/or its contractors, sub-contractors, or other service providers.”
The inquiry aims to revisit existing laws and rules on right-of-way acquisition and expropriation of private properties affected by government projects.
The first phase of the project, with a P35.91-billion budget that will be financed by China, covers 105 kilometers connecting the cities of Davao, Tagum, and Digos in Davao Region. — Maya M. Padillo