Experience better mobile banking with the New ‘PNB Digital’ App

June 8, 2021 | 11:04 am

In line with its strengthened digital banking thrust, the Philippine National Bank (PSE: PNB) has recently launched a new and improved mobile banking platform – the PNB Digital App.

Providing a secure and easy way of banking anytime, anywhere, the enhanced mobile banking app offers clients a better experience through a fresh look, intuitive design, and quick access to frequent banking transactions with a customizable dashboard to boot.

PNB President and CEO Wick Veloso said that the new PNB Digital App answers the need for better digital solutions in light of the increasing customer preference for online banking amidst today’s health and safety concerns and quarantine restrictions.

“Consumer expectations have changed especially now in the ‘new normal’. As a bank that is truly masasandalan (one can lean on), we worked hard to come up with the new PNB Digital App to address our clients’ growing need for a more reliable and user-friendly online banking solution,” Veloso said.

Clients don’t have to leave the safety of their home because they can now conveniently register their accounts in the app using their PNB account number, debit card, or credit card number. Upon successful registration, they can login securely and conveniently via Face or Touch ID. They can use the app to view their balance and transaction history; transfer funds to another PNB account via QR code; send money to local banks through InstaPay; pay their bills for utilities, credit card, and other partner merchants; as well as locate PNB branches nationwide and overseas.

PNB customers can now try and experience PNB’s new Digital App by downloading the app for free via the App Store or Google Play.

Staying true to its brand promise of being the bank that people can lean on, PNB has been on constant lookout for innovative ways to bring relevant banking solutions to its customers, whenever and wherever they need them.

Factory output rebounds in April after 13 months of decline – PSA

June 8, 2021 | 10:52 am

Industrial production recovered in April following 13 straight months of falling output, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported this morning.

Preliminary results of the PSA’s latest Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries showed factory output, as measured by the volume of production index (VoPI), surged by 162.1% year on year in April. This marked a reversal from the 73.3% annual decline recorded the previous month as well as the 64.8% drop in April 2020.

April’s growth snapped the 13th consecutive month of contraction in manufacturing output.

So far, factory output averaged a 19.6% drop this year.

The capacity utilization — the extent to which industry resources are used in producing goods — inched up to 63.6% in April from 63% recorded the previous month.

Eighteen out of 22 industry divisions averaged a capacity utilization rate of at least 50% in April, led by the manufacture of furniture (81.3%), non-metallic mineral products (80.9%), and electrical equipment (75.2%). — B. T. M. Gadon

Unemployment rises in April

June 8, 2021 | 10:38 am

THE RANKS of unemployed Filipinos increased in April, around the time when the government tightened lockdown restrictions in Metro Manila and nearby provinces due to a surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, the government’s latest jobs data show.

Preliminary results of the Philippine Statistics Authority’s April 2021 round of the Labor Force Survey (LFS) released earlier this morning showed an unemployment rate of 8.7%. This was higher than the 7.1% reported in March.

To recall, Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal were placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) from March 29 to April 11 amid a surge in COVID-19 cases. This was later relaxed to a more lenient modified ECQ from April 12 to 30.

Nevertheless, this was lower than the 17.6% jobless rate in April 2020 — a month into the first implementation of lockdowns in Luzon at the onset of the pandemic.

In absolute terms, there were 4.138 million unemployed Filipinos in April versus the 3.441 million in March and 7.228 million in April 2020.

The underemployment rate — the proportion of those already working but still looking for more work or longer working hours — worsened to 17.2% in April from 16.2% in March. This translated to 7.453 million underemployed Filipinos, more than the 7.335 million in the previous month’s survey.

The latest figure was lower than April 2020’s 18.9% underemployment rate, albeit there were fewer underemployed Filipinos (6.398 million) as many have left the labor force that time.

The size of the labor force was about 47.407 million in April, down from 48.772 million in March. This brought the labor force participation rate to 63.2% of the working-age population in April from 65% the previous month.

The employment rate — the proportion of the employed to the total labor force — stood at 91.3% in April, down from 92.9% in March. This is equivalent to 43.269 million Filipinos in April compared with 45.332 million in March. — Lourdes O. Pilar

Philippines approves Sinopharm’s COVID-19 vaccine

June 8, 2021 | 10:33 am

vaccine-health-worker — PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

The Philippines has cleared Sinopharm Group Co. Ltd.’s coronavirus vaccine, adding to the more than 15 million doses expected to arrive in the coming weeks as the nation aims to accelerate inoculation and revive the economy.

Sinopharm was approved for emergency use so the government can receive the state-owned company’s vaccine donations, Food and Drug Administration head Eric Domingo said on Monday evening at a weekly briefing. The Philippines has inoculated about 6 million, of which 1.5 million have received their second dose, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez said.

The nation has received 9.3 million doses of vaccines and is expecting 11 million to arrive this month including 4.5 million from Sinovac Biotech Ltd., 2.28 million from Pfizer Inc. and 2 million from AstraZeneca Plc through Covax facility and 250,000 from Moderna Inc, Galvez said. More than 5 million doses could come in July and as much as 17 million in August, he said.

The Philippines has started vaccinating about 35 million workers and is monitoring how other countries will inoculate their young population as guidance for about 29 million Filipinos in that age group, according to Galvez. The economy, which suffered a record contraction in 2020 after implementing one of the world’s longest lockdowns, is counting on vaccines to aid its rebound. It had to revert to the strictest movement curbs for 2 weeks starting late March as infections rose.

President Rodrigo Duterte, at the Monday briefing, urged Filipinos to make sure they’re taking the second dose of the vaccines after data showed that about half of those who had their first shot didn’t come back for the second one. — Bloomberg

Oriental Petroleum and Minerals Corporation announces schedule of stockholders’ meeting

June 8, 2021 | 9:00 am

Philippine Realty and Holdings Corporation sets schedule of virtual stockholders’ meeting on June 30

June 8, 2021 | 8:00 am

Megawide schedules virtual stockholders’ meeting

June 8, 2021 | 8:00 am

MEGAWIDE CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION
No. 20 N. Domingo Street, Barangay Valencia, Quezon City
Tel. No. (02) 8655-1111

NOTICE OF ANNUAL STOCKHOLDERS’ MEETING

To the Stockholders of MEGAWIDE CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION (the “Company”):

Notice is hereby given that the Annual Stockholders’ Meeting of the Company will be held on 30 June 2021, at 2:00 P.M. The meeting will be conducted via remote communication and can be accessed through the following link: https://bit.ly/3yRdaF8

The agenda of the meeting is as follows:

1. Call to Order

The Chairman will call the meeting to order.

2. Proof of Notice and Quorum

The Corporate Secretary will certify that notices of the meeting have been duly sent to the stockholders of record date as required by the By-Laws. He will also attest to the attendance at the meeting and whether a quorum is present. Except as otherwise provided by law, a quorum shall consist of stockholders owning majority of the outstanding capital stock (exclusive of treasury stock) participating in person, in absentia, or by proxy.

3. Approval of the Minutes of the Annual Stockholders’ Meeting held last 30 June 2020

The Minutes of the Annual Stockholders’ Meeting held last 30 June 2020 will be submitted for approval. It contains the following matters: (a) approval of the minutes of the Annual Stockholders’ Meeting held last 02 July 2019; (b) Chairman’s Address and President’s Report; (c) Election of Directors; (d) Amendment of the Articles of Incorporation to Increase Authorized Capital Stock; (e) Approval of the 2019 Audited Financial Statements; (f) Appointment of the External Auditor; and (g) Ratification of All Acts of Management and the Board of Directors.

A copy of the Minutes of the Annual Stockholders’ Meeting held last 30 June 2020 is available in the Company’s website and attached to the Definitive Information Statement as Exhibit “5”.

4. Approval of the Minutes of the Special Stockholders’ Meeting held last 21 May 2021

The Minutes of the Special Stockholders’ Meeting held last 21 May 2021 will be submitted for approval. It contains the matter on the Amendment of the Articles of Incorporation to Increase Authorized Capital Stock for Preferred Shares.

A copy of the Minutes of the Special Stockholders’ Meeting held last 21 May 2021 is available in the Company’s website and attached to the Definitive Information Statement as Exhibit “6”.

5. Chairman’s Address and President’s Report

The Chairman and President of the Company will give a welcome address and provide the operational highlights of 2020.

6. Election of Directors

The stockholders will approve the election of the regular and independent directors to hold office until the next Annual Stockholders’ Meeting and until their respective successors have been elected and qualified. The nominees were evaluated on the basis of all qualifications required by the Company’s By-Laws, New Manual on Corporate Governance, and that no provision on disqualification would apply to them. The profile and qualifications of the nominees are in the Company’s Definitive Information Statement and Annual Report (“SEC Form 17-A”) which are available in its website.

7. Approval of the 2020 Audited Financial Statements

The 2020 Audited Financial Statements of the Company will be submitted for the approval of the stockholders.

8. Appointment of the External Auditor

The stockholders will approve the appointment of Punongbayan & Araullo as the Company’s external auditor.

9. Ratification of All Acts of the Board of Directors and Management

For ratification of the stockholders are all acts of the Board of Directors and Management in the ordinary course of the Company’s business. A list of such acts is too voluminous to be included in the Definitive Information Statement. These acts pertain to obtaining government permits and clearances, execution of contracts, availment of services from banks, and other acts necessary for various construction projects of the Company.

10. Other Matters

The floor will be open for questions from the stockholders.

All stockholders of record at the close of business on 13 May 2021 are entitled to notice of and vote at the annual meeting and at any adjournment thereof. The stock and transfer books of the Company will be closed from end of business day on 14 May 2021 until 30 June 2021.

Please refer to Exhibit “1” of the Definitive Information Statement (available in the PSE EDGE website) or visit

https://mcc-stockholders-meeting.web.app/

for the full details on the submission of proxies, procedure for voting, participation in the Annual Stockholders’ Meeting, and to view the SEC Form 17-A.

Quezon City, Philippines, 02 June 2021.

ANTHONY LEONARD G. TOPACIO
Corporate Secretary

Tighter watch on rice imports sought

June 8, 2021 | 12:34 am

RICE-police-personnel — PHILIPPINE STAR/EDD GUMBAN

FINANCE SECRETARY Carlos G. Dominguez III ordered the Bureau to Customs (BoC) to keep a closer watch on rice imports after the government temporarily reduced tariff rates.

In a statement on Monday, Mr. Dominguez said the country may experience a surge in imports from other countries that benefited from the temporary uniform rate of 35% in an attempt to avoid higher tax rates.

As rice prices from countries within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region have been increasing, Mr. Dominguez said there may be a shift to rice imports from other countries, such as India.

“I think there will be a shift in the imports of Thai and Vietnamese rice, and Burmese (Myanmar) rice, to rice from other countries where the value is much lower. Just keep an eye on that,” Mr. Dominguez told Customs chief Rey Leonard B. Guerrero.

Mr. Guerrero said that the BoC is looking at the discrepancy seen in some rice imports from Vietnam where the bulk of shipments were declared at values lower than prevailing market prices.

“We discovered that many of these importations are under a tentative assessment so we are reviewing the payments,” he said.

In May, the average value of rice imports, mostly from Vietnam, fell by 12.7% to P19,312 per metric ton (MT) versus P22,119 per MT in the same month last year, Mr. Guerrero noted. This was also lower than the P21,066 per MT average recorded in April and P22,119 per MT in March.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte issued Executive Order No. 135 on May 15, cutting the most-favored nation tariff rates for rice to 35% from 40% for in-quota and 50% for out-quota volumes for a year. The move is aimed to boost local rice supply and tame rising inflation.

The BoC collected P5.67 billion in rice tariffs from January to April, higher by 3.7% than the P5.46 billion it generated in the same period last year.

Customs’ revenues from rice imports increased even as the volume of shipments shrank by 9.2% to 804,360 MT. Mr. Guerrero attributed this to the bureau’s better valuation, with the average value of rice imports rising 14% to P21,096 in the first four months of the year versus a year ago’s P18,508 per MT.

To recall, the BoC in September 2020 revealed that the government lost P1.42 billion in revenues due to under declaration by several importers to evade tariffs.

For Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) National Manager Raul Q. Montemayor, the BoC has been very slow in plugging the loopholes in their valuation and classification of rice imports.

Mr. Montemayor said the bureau has not yet posted the reference rates for rice shipments from China, and some from India, Pakistan, and Myanmar.

“Without reference prices, they will not be able to determine which shipments are undervalued or not. I do not see why DoF has to issue a special reminder to BoC just because the tariff rates have been set to a uniform rate,” he said in a Viber message on Monday.

“In fact, this should make the job of BoC simpler. And the risk of undervaluation and misclassification will still exist whether the tariff rates are changed or remain the same,” he added.

The FFF earlier criticized the government’s move to lower the tariff rates for the staple, citing the policy’s lack of basis and ample rice supply in the local market.

“We believe that this will not result in lower prices for consumers, since importers will just pocket the savings in tariffs. At the same time, (this) could threaten to dampen palay prices much to the detriment of rice farmers,” Mr. Montemayor said. — Beatrice M. Laforga

POGOs, real estate brokers required to register with AMLC

June 8, 2021 | 12:33 am

THE ANTI-MONEY Laundering Council (AMLC) released amended rules to include new covered persons such as real estate developers and brokers as well as Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) and service providers, reflecting the revisions to the country’s anti-money laundering law.

The amended Anti-Money Laundering (AML)/Counter-terrorism Financing (CTF) Guidelines for Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions will allow recently included covered persons to secure their certificate of registration from the AMLC within the next six months, without incurring any penalties.

Newly established entities that fall under the regulator’s expanded covered persons will now be required to register with AMLC before they can begin operations.

The new guidelines replace the previous regulation issued in 2018 for designated nonfinancial businesses and professions which only covered jewelry dealers; company service providers for corporations; and lawyers and accountants involved in transactions with corporations, businesses, and financial institutions.

The rules require covered persons to practice customer due diligence to prevent transactions with criminals and adopt appropriate AML/CTF risk management systems in accordance with existing laws and regulations. They should also fully cooperate with AMLC directives in relation to the fight against “dirty money” and terrorism financing.

Under the enhanced guidelines, cash transactions with real estate developers and brokers exceeding P7.5 million will be included among covered transactions of the AMLC.

This is in accordance with Republic Act 11521 legislated in January this year which tightened the country’s Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) of 2001.

To secure a certificate of registration from the AMCL, one should submit a copy of business registration or permit; list of operating office locations; proof of attendance of officers in an AML seminar; and the most recent clearance of all officers of a covered nonfinancial institution from the National Bureau of Investigation or its equivalent foreign jurisdictions.

“The AMLC may deny the issuance of the certificate of registration or cancel a previously issued one if the designated nonfinancial business or professional fails to provide truthful, accurate and complete registration requirements,” it said.

The guidelines also included a new section which requires designated nonfinancial businesses and professions to promptly file suspicious transaction reports to the AMLC within five working days after an “occurrence.”

“For suspicious transactions, ‘occurrence’ shall refer to the date of establishment of suspicion or determination of the suspicious nature of the transaction,” AMLC said.

The Philippines beat a Feb. 1 deadline set by the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to tighten its guard against dirty money and terrorism financing with the legislation of the amendments to the AMLA. However, the country still needs to prove these tighter laws are being implemented.

An assessment by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in April warned that the country could still be back to the FATF’s “gray list” of countries with serious deficiencies on AML and CFT measures if the Philippines does not implement any major reforms by June 2021. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

ERC task force to look into plant outages, price spike

June 8, 2021 | 12:32 am

Rotating brownouts hit parts of Luzon last week. — PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

A TASK FORCE will look into the recent power plant outages and the subsequent surge in spot market prices, the energy regulator said on Monday.

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said in a statement that the task force already identified four generation plants which need to undergo technical inspection to verify the outages and the actions taken to get back online.

ERC Commissioner-in-Charge Floresinda G. Baldo-Digal told BusinessWorld on Viber that these four facilities are TeaM Sual Corp.’s Sual coal plant (unit 2), AP Renewables, Inc.’s Makban geothermal plant (unit 2), GNPower Mariveles Energy Center Ltd. Co.’s Mariveles coal plant (units 1 and 2), and the Sem-Calaca Power Corp.’s Calaca coal-fired plant (unit 2).

She said that the task force named these four plants after rotating outages hit portions of Luzon last week. Earlier, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) placed the Luzon grid under red alert for three consecutive days amid plant outages and higher recorded temperatures.

On Monday, the ERC said the group is also looking at identifying the plant compliance with respect to their outage reporting and reliability indices; analyzing hourly market data and the factors which lead to price increases resulting in the imposition of the secondary price cap (SPC), among others.

The SPC, according to the Independent Market Operator of the Philippines, is a price-mitigating mechanism designed to limit the “persistent high market prices” in the electricity spot market.

“The power supply shortage during the summer months has been a perennial problem, and the regulator has been monitoring the situation from day one…. The Commission has been undertaking all the necessary efforts to help mitigate, if not totally address this recurring challenge,” ERC Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer Agnes VST Devanadera was quoted as saying.

The ERC also said it will be issuing show-cause orders to generation companies (gencos) that failed to comply with the reporting requirements.

The agency ordered gencos last week to explain plant shutdowns after noting that some of these firms have exceeded the maximum limit of allowable unplanned outages in April.

PROBE SOUGHT
Consumer group Laban Konsyumer, Inc. (LKI) said the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) should be the autonomous entity to investigate the power plant outages.

“Laban Konsyumer is batting that ARTA should be the independent prober…. The investigation by ARTA should include all the 17 power plant owners earlier issued notices of violation by the ERC. ERC should defer to ARTA to ensure the probe by an impartial judge,” LKI President Victorio A. Dimagiba said in a statement issued on Saturday.

He added that the Department of Energy (DoE) should also be “part of the entity to be investigated.”

In April, the energy department said that it does not expect any red alerts to be placed on the Luzon grid during the dry months, adding that yellow alerts are likely to happen until July.

But on Friday, the DoE said that red alerts are likely to happen this week if power plants do not return to service, based on its estimates.

When reserves fall below ideal levels, the grid operator issues a yellow alert. This is downgraded to a red alert if the supply-demand balance worsens.

Meanwhile, a senator filed a resolution on Monday seeking to conduct an investigation over the failure of the concerned government agencies to lower power rates in the country.

In a statement, Senator Risa N. Hontiveros-Baraquel said she filed Senate Resolution No. 746 which sought to determine the deficiencies and failures of the ERC and DoE to bring down power rates, on top of the other objectives to ensure quality and security of electricity supply, 20 years after the enactment of the Republic Act No. 9163 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) on June 8, 2001.

Ms. Baraquel said the resolution would also try to look at the feasibility of reducing power rates by at least P2.00 per kilowatt-hour. — Angelica Y. Yang and Vann Marlo M. Villegas

P100 NCR wage hike petition dismissed

June 8, 2021 | 12:31 am

THE WAGE BOARD has dismissed the petition of two labor groups seeking a P100 across-the-board wage increase for private sector workers in the National Capital Region (NCR).

In a resolution dated May 4, the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) – NCR said it has no jurisdiction to act on the petition filed by labor group Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) and progressive party-list Anakpawis for a P100 “emergency wage relief” across-the-board increase in minimum wages.

“The grant of an across-the-board minimum wage increase does not fall within the jurisdiction of the (RTWPB). It is limited to granting regional wage increases to employees earning the statutory minimum wage rates based on the standards/criteria established by law,” the wage board said in the resolution.

UMA and Anakpawis in April filed the wage hike petition, citing the rising inflation rate and higher prices of basic goods, as well as elevated unemployment and underemployment rates amid the pandemic.

The wage board in late March dismissed a similar petition filed by Defend Job Philippines.

“We are disheartened [by the] dismissal of Defend Job Philippines’ P100 emergency daily wage subsidy for technical reasons,” UMA told BusinessWorld in a Facebook messenger chat. “It only shows their bias against labor and more in favor of capital as they do not or don’t want to see the real situation of workers on the ground.”

Citing Republic Act No. 6727 or the Wage Rationalization Act of 1989, the board said it “continuously reviews and assesses the socioeconomic conditions in NCR taking into consideration the impact of the prolonged quarantine and health protocols, state of business activities including closures and retrenchments, regional employment situation and supply and price of basic commodities, among other caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.” — K.A.T. Atienza

D&L looks to complete Batangas plant expansion

June 8, 2021 | 12:07 am

D&L Industries, Inc. remains committed in its efforts to complete its First Industrial Township (FIT) expansion plan in Batangas despite experiencing delays due to the new round of pandemic lockdown.

“We remain committed to this expansion which is deemed to come at an opportune time as this will mainly cater to D&L’s growing export business in the food and oleochemical segment,” Alvin D. Lao, president and chief executive officer of D&L, said during the company’s stockholders’ meeting on Monday.

D&L’s key strategies include ramping up its export business to complement domestic operations. The company said the plant will be instrumental in its future growth as it develops more coconut-based products and as it dips into new international markets.

The company is still assessing the completion date of the plant expansion, after experiencing equipment and supply chain shipping delays due to the new round of pandemic lockdowns in the country.

It will give further information on the plant’s production capacity and other details in the coming months.

Despite this, D&L is confident it can still meet demands despite the hiccup in construction.

“Even if the construction is delayed, mukhang (it looks like) our existing facilities are able to cater to our current requirements and so from an operational perspective, the delay is not going to be that significant for us,” Mr. Lao said in a press briefing.

The company’s stockholders also approved of its plan to issue peso-denominated fixed-rate bonds worth P3 billion, with an oversubscription offer of up to P2 billion.

D&L is aiming to issue the bonds in the first or second week of September, subject to regulatory approvals. Proceeds from the offer will be used to help finance constructions in D&L’s Batangas plant.

The listed manufacturing company’s net attributable income rose by 35% to P694.9 million in the January-to-March period from P514.56 million last year.

“Assuming that first quarter 2021 income holds steady in the next couple of quarters, the company is set to reach its net income level at least in 2019,” Mr. Lao said, adding that the company’s balance sheet remains in a good position to withstand external shocks.

On Monday, shares of D&L at the stock exchange closed higher by 1.39% or 11 centavos at P8.05 each. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte