THE PHILIPPINE retirement income system is ranked the second lowest in Asia and near the bottom of a Global Pension Index covering 43 economies, after a slowdown in economic growth. Read the full story.
Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Tuesday, October 19, 2021.
STOCKS went up on Tuesday on the back of the improving coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation in the country and the implementation of the new alert level system in other areas besides Metro Manila.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose 46.50 points or 0.64% to close at 7,266.31 on Tuesday, while the broader all shares index went up by 20.47 points or 0.46% to end at 4,451.40.
“Market continued to move on uptrend as reproduction number of the virus slipped to 0.55 per OCTA, which may favor further easing of restrictions,” Aniceto K. Pangan, equity trader at Diversified Securities, Inc., said in a text message.
“The positive sentiment was driven by the improving COVID-19 cases at home with the implementation of alert level system in other areas outside NCR (National Capital Region),” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Senior Research and Engagement Officer Claire T. Alviar said in a Viber message.
Fredegusto Guido P. David, a research fellow at the independent OCTA Research Group, said the reproduction number in Metro Manila went down to 0.55 as of Monday, its lowest since May 18 when the reproduction number was at 0.56.
The Health department reported 6,943 new COVID-19 infections on Monday, bringing active cases to 68,832. The country has recorded nearly 2.73 million COVID-19 cases.
The government on Tuesday said the alert level system piloted in Metro Manila will be implemented in other regions starting on Wednesday, Oct. 20, until the end of the month.
“Net market value turnover was at P8.24 billion, lower than the P9.27-billion average this month as investors await the third-quarter earnings result,” Ms. Alviar added.
Value turnover slowed to P8.54 billion with 1.34 billion shares switching hands on Tuesday, lower than the P11.25 billion with 1.1 billion issues traded the previous day.
Majority of sectoral indices closed in the red on Tuesday except for holding firms, which gained 149.03 points or 2.11% to close the session at 7,197.34, and industrials, which climbed 133.54 points or 1.26% to 10,721.19.
Meanwhile, mining and oil declined by 97.75 points or 0.90% to 10,650.42; financials lost 11.41 points or 0.72% to 1,573.55; property shed 21.97 points or 0.65% to finish at 3,355.23; and services inched down by 8.52 points or 0.45% to 1,871.54.
Advancers outnumbered decliners, 105 against 90, while 51 names closed unchanged yesterday.
Foreigners turned sellers, logging P65.80 million in net outflows on Tuesday versus the P847.51 million in net purchases recorded at the end of Monday’s trading session.
Diversified Securities’ Mr. Pangan said the benchmark index may continue to trade within the 7,000 to 7,450 range for the rest of the week. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte
THE PESO bounced back versus the greenback on Tuesday as oil prices eased and with the new alert level system first implemented in Metro Manila set to be expanded to more areas.
The local unit ended trading at P50.72 per dollar on Tuesday, stronger by 12 centavos from its P50.84 close on Monday, based on data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines.
The peso opened Tuesday’s session slightly stronger at P50.82 per dollar. Its weakest showing was at P50.86, while its intraday best was at P50.68 against the greenback.
Dollars exchanged rose to $999 million on Tuesday from $829.49 million on Monday.
The peso strengthened against the dollar following a slight easing in international oil prices, a trader said in an e-mail.
Reuters reported Monday that oil prices went down after touching multi-year highs as US industrial output fell.
Brent crude oil futures slipped 53 cents or 0.6% at $84.33 per barrel. On the other hand, US West Texas Intermediate crude settled 16 cents higher or 0.19% at $82.44 a barrel.
The government’s decision to implement the alert level system in other regions starting Wednesday also boosted the peso, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said.
Presidential Spokesperson Herminio “Harry” L. Roque, Jr. said 14 provinces and five other cities will be placed under the alert level system, which was first implemented in Metro Manila, amid a decline in the daily coronavirus case tally as well as the improving vaccination rate.
Infections rose by 4,496 on Tuesday, bringing the country’s active cases to 63,637, based on data from the Department of Health.
The Philippines has fully vaccinated 22.48% or 24.307 million of its population, according to latest data from the Johns Hopkins University.
For Wednesday, Mr. Ricafort gave a forecast range of P50.65 to P50.85, while the trader expects the local unit to move within P50.55 to P50.80 against the dollar.
The dollar retreated on Tuesday to a three-week low, hit by a proliferation in rate hike bets in other markets and by improved sentiment that lifted equities and risk-sensitive currencies such as the Australian dollar, Reuters reported.
A robust start to the US earnings season and hopes China will be able to contain its property market malaise boosted global stock markets and some currencies.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six peers, sank as low as 93.58 for the first time since Sept. 28, before inching up to 93.616, 0.35% down on the day. — L.W.T. Noble with Reuters
THE PHILIPPINES will expand a new coronavirus alert level system first tested in the capital region that’s meant to ease the lockdown burden on the economy into other parts of the country starting Oct. 20, the presidential palace said on Tuesday.
“We expanded our pilot implementation after a decrease in cases and improvement of our healthcare utilization rate, which appear to be connected to our alert levels in Metro Manila,” presidential spokesman Herminio L. Roque, Jr. told a televised news briefing in Filipino.
An inter-agency task force has put Batangas, Quezon Province including Lucena City under Alert Level 2.
Also under the same alert level are Bohol, Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu City, Mandaue City and Cebu Province in central Philippines and Davao De Oro, Davao Del Sur and Davao Oriental in Mindanao.
Mr. Roque said Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Siquijor, Davao City and Davao del Norte will be under Alert Level 3, under which theaters would be allowed to operate. The capacity of allowed businesses would also be increased.
Negros Oriental and Davao Occidental will be under Alert Level 4, which bans theaters, amusement parks and playgrounds, karaoke bars, live voice or wind-pipe performances and contact sports establishments.
The Department of Health (DoH) reported 4,496 coronavirus cases on Tuesday, bringing the total to 2.7 million.
The death toll rose to 40,972 after 211 more patients died, while recoveries increased by 9,609 to 2.63 million, it said in a bulletin.
There were 63,637 active cases, 79% of which were mild, 5.2% did not show symptoms, 4.8% were severe, 8.97% were moderate and 2% were critical.
The agency said 47 duplicates had been removed from the tally, 31 of which were reclassified as recoveries, while 145 recoveries were relisted as deaths. Seven laboratories failed to submit data on Oct. 17.
The country’s pandemic task force placed Metro Manila under Alert Level 3 from Oct. 16 to 30.
Meanwhile, the COVID-19 reproduction rate in the National Capital Region had fallen to 0.55 as of Oct. 18, the lowest since May 18, the OCTA Research Group from the University of the Philippines said.
“We hope we can keep this below 0.6 for the rest of the year,” OCTA Research fellow Fredugusto P. David tweeted. The seven-day average of new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in Metro Manila was 1,411, he added.
Also on Tuesday, police said it would deploy more cops in public places to enforce minimum health standards amid bigger crowds after the alert level in Metro Manila was relaxed to No. 3
National police chief General Guillermo T. Eleazar said they “understand the concern of our colleagues in the Department of Health and the medical community” about reports of people flocking to malls and other places of interest at the weekend.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario S. Vergeire earlier reminded the public not to be complacent amid decreasing coronavirus infections.
Many Filipinos flocked to Dolomite Beach in Manila Bay, while some people failed to observe health protocols in parks and churches.
Private Hospitals Association Philippines President Jose Rene D. De Grano told a televised news briefing on Tuesday the downtrend in coronavirus infections was the result of strict enforcement of quarantines from Aug. 21 to Oct. 15.
Under Alert level 3, certain businesses may operate at 30% capacity indoors and 50% outdoors. Tourist attractions and recreational venues such as libraries, museums, amusement parks, swimming pools and movie theaters have also been allowed to operate at reduced capacities. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza and Bianca Angelica D. Añago
PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte’s former police chief on Tuesday said he would block any attempts — if he becomes president next year — by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to probe alleged human rights violations committed in the country’s war on drugs.
“I will not only protect President Duterte but also myself because we are co-accused in the case,” Senator Ronald M. Dela Rosa, who is running for President next year, told the ABS-CBN News Channel.
The lawmaker, who enforced the state’s anti-illegal drug campaign as Mr. Duterte’s police chief, said he would allow ICC investigators to visit the Philippines to “observe” but not to investigate.
An investigation by the Hague-based tribunal would be a slap in the face for Philippine courts that are still functioning, he added.
The ICC has ordered an investigation of Mr. Duterte’s crackdown on illegal drugs that has killed thousands, as it found “reasonable basis” that crimes against humanity might have been committed.
“The ICC works under the presumption of noncooperation of the accused,” human rights lawyer and senatorial aspirant Neri Colmenares said in a statement. “Whether or not Dela Rosa and Duterte cooperate, the ICC will find a way to investigate, prosecute and punish them.”
The presidential palace has said the Philippines would not cooperate with the ICC probe because it lost jurisdiction of the case after the country broke ties with the tribunal in 2019. The withdrawal would not affect the probe, according to the ICC.
Mr. Dela Rosa denied claims that the Duterte administration had committed crimes against humanity and criticized the report of Amnesty International on drug war-related deaths.
Tens of thousands of drug suspects whom police claimed had resisted arrest died in raids, according to the United Nations. The Philippine Commission on Human Rights has accused the state of violating human rights by abetting police abuses.
Meanwhile, Mr. Dela Rosa said ex-Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. should not apologize for human rights violations committed under his father’s two-decade rule.
“The sins of the father should not be blamed on his child.”
The late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos stole as much as $10 billion (P503 billion) from the Filipino people, according to government estimates, earning him a Guinness World Record for the “greatest robbery of a government.“
He was ousted by a street uprising in 1986 that forced him and his family to go into exile in the United States.
The Philippine government has recovered P174 billion of the assets, according to the Presidential Commission on Good Government.
More than 70,000 people were jailed, about 34,000 were tortured and more than 3,000 people died under the dictator’s martial rule, according to Amnesty International.
Mr. Dela Rosa, whom the ruling PDP-Laban picked as its presidential bet two hours before the deadline, earlier said he would give up his slot to Davao City Mayor and presidential daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio if she runs for president.
Under the law, Ms. Carpio may be substituted for Mr. de la Rosa as long as she becomes a member of the party. The substitution period is allowed until mid-November.
Fitch Solutions Country Risk and Industry Research earlier said Mr. Dela Rosa would probably focus on crime and mirror Mr. Duterte’s leadership style if he becomes president.
Mr. Dela Rosa vowed to push changes to economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution and relax foreign ownership rules.
Antonio A. Ligon, a law and business professor at De La Salle University, said foreign investors are attracted to countries that respect human rights and promote democratic values.
Investors are closely watching the views of Philippine presidential candidates on human rights, he said in a text message.
“What good is there in making profit when human beings who are supposed to enjoy the fruit of investments are being treated unfairly and unjustly by violating their human rights?” Mr. Ligon asked. “A good number of investors give due consideration to this.” — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza
THE DAMAGE caused by severe tropical storm Maring (international name: Kompasu) climbed to P2.17 billion from the previous estimate of P2.14 billion, with 78,634 farmers and fishers affected.
In a bulletin on Tuesday morning, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said 103,069 metric tons (MT) of production volume were lost due to Maring. The affected commodities include rice, corn, high-value crops, livestock, and fisheries. Losses were also reported in irrigation and agricultural facilities.
About 86,481 hectares of agricultural areas were affected in the regions of Cordillera, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, and Soccsksargen.
Validation of the reported damage and losses are continuing, the DA said.
Rice had the most losses at P1.5 billion. Lost production volume reached 83,313 MT while affected farm areas totaled 74,947 hectares.
High-value crop losses amounted to P227 million. A total of 9,857 MT of production volume were lost while 2,937 hectares of agricultural area were affected.
Damage to corn was valued at P148.2 million. Affected farm areas reached 8,597 hectares while lost production volume totaled 8,899 MT. Losses to fisheries amounted to P110.1 million.
Livestock and poultry damage reached P84.8 million and consisted of 34,414 heads of various animals.
Losses to irrigation and agricultural facilities were valued at P140.6 million, which comprised of diversion dams, small water irrigation projects, communal irrigation systems, check dams, nurseries, demo farms, and farm to market roads. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
DAVAO City’s tourism sector is now preparing tour packages for the first group of foreign visitors since the start of the pandemic who are expected to arrive with the resumption of Singapore Airlines’ flights by Oct. 31.
The Singapore-Davao flights will be chartered under the carrier’s “northern winter” schedule from end-October to March 6, 2022.
Singapore Airlines, through its former subsidiary Silk Air, used to have regular weekly flights to Davao.
City Tourism Operations Officer Regina Rosa B. Tecson, in a statement on Tuesday, said tour operators and hotels will be offering “staycation packages” for the visitors, who will be required to undergo a quarantine period.
A negative RT-PCR test result taken within 72 hours before travel will also have to be presented.
Under Singapore’s current category as a moderate risk country, or within the yellow list, arriving passengers who are fully vaccinated will have to undergo a 10-day quarantine, and 14 days for the unvaccinated.
‘LITTLE TOKYO’
Meanwhile, a tourism masterplan is under review for a suburban village in the city that was home to a Japanese community in pre-World War II years.
City Planning and Development Office officer-in-charge Ivan Chin Cortez said the plan for Barangay Mintal, which used to be known as “Little Tokyo,” was submitted by consultancy and project management firm Berkman International, Inc. to the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA).
The plan builds on existing tourism resources and takes into consideration community participation, environmental impact, and sustainability for developing Mintal as a cultural and historical destination. — Maya M. Padillo
A HOUSE lawmaker and a former Health secretary on Tuesday questioned the government on their decision to hold the pilot rollout of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) vaccines to minors in hospitals.
House Senior Deputy Minority Leader and Iloilo Rep. Janette L. Garin said such an arrangement was made “without any regard to science.”
“While I understand the need for precautions, common sense would dictate that the hospital setting is not the safest place to be during a pandemic. Doing vaccination in hospitals will expose our teenage children to more viruses and possibly to COVID-19,” she said in a statement.
The pilot run for inoculating minors aged 12 to 17 with underlying medical conditions started on Oct. 15 in selected hospitals in Metro Manila, including the Philippine General Hospital and the Philippine Heart Center.
Vaccine chief Carlito G. Galvez, Jr. earlier said the Philippines would have enough vaccine supply to inoculate 12 million children.
Ms. Garin also said the move to inoculate minors in hospitals will add more burden to frontline health workers who are “already exhausted, overworked, and underpaid.”
“Were hospitals, who are already overloaded, consulted if they have the capacity and the manpower to do the added work? Were parents given a choice if they want their teenagers to go to hospitals or to community vaccination sites,” she said.
More than 52 million coronavirus vaccines had been given out as of Oct. 18, with 24.49 million Filipinos having been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the inter-agency task force managing the pandemic. — Russell Louis C. Ku
SEVERAL labor groups supporting Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo’s presidential bid next year urged her to give labor leader Jose Sonny G. Matula the last spot in her senatorial slate.
“Being in the opposition is not enough if a candidate is not willing to fight for the people’s agenda,” Center of United and Progressive Workers Deputy Secretary General Joanna Bernice S. Coronacion said in Filipino during an online press conference on Tuesday.
Ms. Coronacion, speaking for the alliance called Labor Leaders for Leni, said Ms. Robredo had earlier accepted their group’s labor agenda, which includes ending contractualization, adopting a national minimum wage, and freedom of association, among others.
“Ms. Robredo’s acceptance and agreement with this agenda further strengthened our support for her, and we believe that understanding between parties involved and achieving this agenda will be easier if workers will have a representative in the senatorial slate of the Leni-Kiko tandem (Ms. Robredo and running mate Senator Francis “Kiko” N. Pangilinan),” Ms. Coronacion added in Filipino.
Mr. Matula said he presented his five-point labor agenda to Ms. Robredo last week, and that she was supportive of it and is open to more discussions.
If Ms. Robredo chooses another candidate for her 12th senatorial spot, Ms. Coronacion said the alliance will be “saddened” but will still support her.
The group said they have about 350,000 members and, with their family members, is eyeing to swing two million votes for Ms. Robredo next year. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago
PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte has appointed Jesus Melchor V. Quitain as his new chief presidential legal counsel, according to Malacañang.
Palace Spokesman Herminio L. Roque, Jr. told a televised news briefing Tuesday that Mr. Quitain will replace Salvador S. Panelo, who is running for senator in the 2022 elections.
Mr. Quitain became the officer-in-charge of the Office of the Special Assistant to the President in 2018 when Mr. Dutere’s long-time aide, Christopher Lawrence T. Go, ran for senator in the 2019 elections. He also served as city administrator of Davao City when Mr. Duterte was mayor.
Mr. Roque said the President has yet to name officials who will assume the Cabinet posts vacated by Information and Communications Technology Sec. Gringo B. Honasan and Agrarian reform Sec. John R. Castriciones, who are also vying for a senate seat. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza
LAWMAKERS from the Makabayan bloc is calling for an investigation at the House of Representatives on sexual abuses by police officers following a recent rape incident in Pampanga.
The group, led by Gabriela Party-list Rep. Arlene D. Brosas, filed House Resolution 2305 seeking for the House committee on women and gender equality to immediately hold a probe on the matter.
A cop, identified as Staff Sergeant Robin Mangaga, was recently reported to have allegedly raped a 26-year old female motorcycle rider in Mabalacat City on Oct. 8 after confiscating her keys for driving without a license and brought her to a motel.
The suspect has since been relieved from his post and placed under restrictive custody pending investigation from the Internal Affairs Service of the Philippine National Police.
The lawmakers, citing data from the Center for Women’s Resources (CFWR), said the incident is not an isolated case as there have been at least five cases of rape and sexual assault committed by police officers since the imposition of quarantine restrictions last year.
CFWR also said in a statement on Oct. 13 that 56 police officers have been involved in 33 cases of abuse against women, including 16 cases of rape, during the first two years of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s term in office.
“In many instances, suspects for violence against women and children were not held accountable or were only given light sanctions especially if the perpetrators have power and position,” according to the House resolution.
The group also said that there is a need to impose stiffer penalties on state forces who commit violence against women and children, which should be in the final amendments of the bill seeking to raise the age of sexual consent to 16.
The bill is pending at the bicameral committee level. — Russell Louis C. Ku
