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Cautious trading seen before central bank policy decisions

MARI GIMENEZ-UNSPLASH

THE PESO is seen trading sideways against the dollar this week as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and US Federal Reserve hold their last policy meetings for 2024.

The local unit closed at P58.47 per dollar on Friday, weakening by 23 centavos from its P58.24 finish on Thursday, Bankers Association of the Philippines data showed.

Week on week, the peso likewise depreciated by 73.5 centavos from its P57.735 finish on Dec. 6.

The peso declined on Friday amid a stronger dollar following the release of key US inflation reports that could affect the Fed’s rate-cut cycle, a trader said by phone.

The move of Indonesia’s central bank to defend the rupiah also affected regional currencies on Friday, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

The dollar headed for its best weekly performance in a month on Friday, as investors priced in the possibility of the Federal Reserve cutting rates more slowly next year, Reuters reported.

The US currency also rose against the yen after reports that the Bank of Japan could forgo a rate hike at its meeting this week.

The dollar index, which measures the currency against six others, was up 0.037% at 107, set for a weekly gain of nearly 1%, its biggest in a month.

US data on Thursday showed the job market is gradually cooling in line with expectations, while producer price inflation helped reinforce the market’s current scenario of a Fed cut on Dec. 18, but a slower pace of reductions in 2025.

Markets fully expect a cut at the upcoming meeting, but only price a roughly 24% chance of another one in January, with March the most likely point for another move, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.

The dollar rose 0.69% to 153.695 yen, its highest since late November.

Meanwhile, Indonesia’s central bank has intervened in the foreign exchange (FX) market in what it called a “bold” way to maintain market confidence in the rupiah, which fell to a four-month low against the dollar earlier on Friday.

“We entered the market with a quite bold triple intervention,” Bank Indonesia’s head of monetary management department, Edi Susianto, told Reuters.

The triple intervention is referring to interventions the central bank conducted in the spot FX market, domestic non-deliverable forwards and buying of government bonds in the secondary market.

For this week, the trader said the peso’s movement against the dollar will depend on the policy decisions of the Fed and the BSP.

The trader sees the peso moving between P58.25 and P58.75 per dollar this week amid “cautious trading” before the central banks’ reviews, while Mr. Ricafort expects the local unit to range from P58.15 to P58.65.

The Fed will hold its last policy review for the year on Dec. 17-18. Investors bet that Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell will signal a pause in policy easing after a widely expected 25-basis-point (bp) rate cut this Wednesday, Reuters reported.

The US central bank started its easing cycle in September with a 50-bp cut and followed it up with a 25-bp reduction at its November review, bringing the fed funds rate to the 4.50%-4.75% range.

Meanwhile, a BusinessWorld poll conducted last week showed that 13 out of 16 analysts expect the BSP Monetary Board to reduce benchmark rates by 25 bps at its policy meeting on Dec. 19 (Thursday), which would bring the target reverse repurchase rate to 5.75% from the current 6%.

The BSP kicked off its rate-cut cycle in August with a 25-bp reduction and slashed borrowing costs by another 25 bps in October. — A.M.C. Sy with Reuters

Proposed 2025 national budget may need to be vetoed, analysts say

BW FILE PHOTO

By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio and Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Reporters

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. should veto the budget bill approved by Congress as it may be in violation of the 1987 Philippine Constitution and various laws, analysts said over the weekend.

“The veto must apply to the whole budget. The PhilHealth problem is inextricably connected to the corruption or bastardization of the whole budget,” Filomeno S. Sta. Ana III, coordinator of Action for Economic Reforms, said in a Viber message. “The whole budget violates several laws and ultimately, the Constitution.”

Their decision to cut the proposed P74-billion subsidy for the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.’s (PhilHealth) for next year violated the 2019 Universal Healthcare Act and the 2012 Sin Tax Reform Law, according to Mr. Sta. Ana.

“Mr. Marcos must immediately order Congress to legislate a new budget bill. Ensure that the budget for PhilHealth will cover the correct premiums of all indirect contributors and restore the budget cuts that Congress did to essential services like education,” he added.

Mr. Sta. Ana was referring to the P10-billion budget cut made to the education sector and funding for the Public Works department that led to a 29.7% increase to P1.1 trillion.

This dwarfed the total allocations for the education sector with the Education department’s budget inching down by 1.47% to P737 billion from P748 billion. The Commission on Higher Education was allocated P33.3 billion from P60.2 billion, while state universities and colleges were given P122 billion from P114 billion, initially.

The budget of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority was not indicated in the bicameral conference committee report of the budget, a copy of the approved committee report of the budget bill showed.

The Philippine Constitution states that the education sector should receive the “highest budgetary priority.”

“The 1987 Constitution mandates… that the State should give priority to education,” National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers President Ephraim B. Cortez said in a Viber message.

“Taken from this perspective, this imposes a duty on the government to prioritize education in its plans and therefore should also be given priority in the allocation of the budget,” he added. “From this point… giving a higher budget to public works is unconstitutional.”

The Office of Party-list Rep. Elizaldy S. Co, who heads the House appropriations committee, did not immediately respond to a Viber message seeking comment. Marikina Rep. Stella Luz A. Quimbo and Party-list Rep. Raul Angelo D. Bongalon, members of the House contingent for the 2025 budget bill’s joint panel, have also yet to respond to Viber message.

Mr. Cortez, however, said in a Viber message that while the Philippine president is vested with the power to veto any measures passed by Congress, the said authority is limited to vetoing specific line-items within budget bills.

“The Constitution is silent as to whether he can veto an appropriations bill in its entirety. Though he has a general veto power, this particular provision in the Constitution, the line-item veto, is made specifically applicable to an appropriations bill,” he said.

A general veto of the budget bill would result in the reenactment of the 2024 spending plan, according to Hansley A. Juliano, who teaches political science at the Ateneo de Manila University. 

“A veto simply means the reuse of the 2024 budget. We have built in structures to ensure the government never shuts down.”

Senator Mary Grace Natividad S. Poe-Llamanzares, who led the Senate contingent of the Bicameral Conference Committee, had explained last week that PhilHealth could tap P600 billion in its reserve funds.   

Advocates have however flagged PhilHealth’s fiscal health as its reserve fund is not enough to shoulder projected liabilities beyond two years, urging the President to return the budget to Congress. 

“The President can return the budget to Congress and ask for funding for PhilHealth and while at that, fix the national budget to reflect the national agenda of prioritizing education and health,” said former Finance Undersecretary Cielo D. Magno, who teaches at the University of the Philippines School of Economics.

The post-dictatorship 1987 Constitution gives the President the power to exercise line-item veto in an appropriation, revenue, or tariff bill “but the veto shall not affect the item or items to which he does not object.”

But Congress may reconsider the veto by a vote of two-thirds of all the members of the House.

Health advocate Anthony C. Leachon, who advised the Department of Health during the pandemic, said removing the government’s subsidy for PhilHealth would violate the Sin Tax Law and the Universal Health Care law “since lawmakers have not allocated funds to reduce the out-of-pocket expenses of Filipino patients.”

The Sin Tax Reform Acts of 2012 and 2019 mandated the government to allocate 80% of revenues from tobacco products and sugar-sweetened beverages for PhilHealth to fund the country’s universal health care program.

“If the President signs the proposed budget, he will go down in history as one of the misinformed presidents who don’t value the health of the people,” he said in an X message.

Failing to cure the contentious budget will “push us again in the dark ages begging for funds from politicians” through dole-outs, he added, citing substantial increases in the cash subsidy programs of the Department of Social and Welfare Development and the Department of Labor and Employment.

Financial expert Enrico P. Villanueva, who teaches money and banking at the University of the Philippines Los Baños, said while PhilHealth may have enough reserve fund to pay for net expenses for two years, “its reserve fund is way below the required provision for projected liabilities beyond two years.”

“PhilHealth has passed on reserve deficiency to the members and charged it against members’ equity,” he said in an X message.

“So paying members are already paying for the mismanagement of the fund. Member’s equity is in fact already negative, rendering PhilHealth as a balance sheet insolvent, with member’s effectively thrust into debt.”

Section 11 of the Universal Health Care Act of 2019 mandated Philhealth to have a reserve fund enough to cover their operations for two years, Ms. Magno also noted.

The law ordered the agency to use its excess reserve fund to enhance program benefits for and reduce the contributions of its members.

In its Statements of Changes in Equity, as of December 31, 2023, PhilHealth booked a reserved fund of P464.2 million.

Its provision for insurance contract liabilities stood at P1.127 trillion, while its total members’ equity reached P663.7 billion.

The agency logged P89.9 billion in unused subsidies in the past three years, P38.8 billion of which was in 2023 and P24 billion in 2022.

“If you look at the financial documents of PhilHealth, if we consider its insurance contract liability, we can see that the fiscal position of PhilHealth is actually negative,” Ms. Magno said.

The health insurer transferred P20 billion and P10 billion of its unused funds to the Bureau of the Treasury on May 10 and Aug. 21, respectively, in compliance with a Department of Finance circular.

The move is now challenged by members of civil society and former government officials before the Supreme Court.

“Reserves are not surpluses. Reserves are contingent funds needed to provide for expanded healthcare services,” Mr. Leachon said. “Any preneed fund manager knows that a fund must always be larger than current demand.”

“The fund transfer out of PhilHealth this year and the non-payment by the government of PhilHealth subsidy for the non-paying members weakens not only the cash position of PhilHealth but also its reserve level and equity. In computing the insurance reserves, PhilHealth assumes government subsidy,” Mr. Villanueva said.

“Taking the subsidy away increases the required provision for liabilities. The government, unintentionally or deliberately, is screwing the corporation and the Filipino people several times over,” he added.

Reduced DepEd budget could hurt initiatives to address learning crisis

Students walk inside the campus of a high school in Quezon City, April 18, 2024. — REUTERS

By John Victor D. Ordoñez, Reporter

PHILIPPINE lawmakers’ move to cut the Department of Education’s (DepEd) 2025 budget by P12 billion will likely stall efforts to address the country’s learning crisis and poor student performance, analysts said at the weekend.

“The P12-billion cut in the DepEd budget is concerning especially in the context of the learning crisis that the Philippines faces,” John Paolo R. Rivera, a senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, said in a Viber message.

“With the country ranking poorly in global assessments, such a reduction may hinder the implementation of critical programs, including the enhancement of basic education facilities, teacher training, and curriculum reforms.”

He said the lack of funding could worsen problems such as overcrowding in classrooms and a lack of reforms in teacher training and curricula.

The P6.352-trillion national budget, as approved and ratified by Congress, earmarked some P737.08 billion for the Education department, which is lower than the P748.65 billion proposed by the House.

In the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) published on Nov. 14, Filipino students showed among the highest levels of mathematics anxiety among 15-year-old students globally.

Previously, 16% of Filipino students attained at least Level 2 proficiency in mathematics, significantly lower than the 69% average across OECD countries.

Filipino students were also among the world’s weakest in mathematics, reading and science as the Philippines ranked 77th out of 81 countries in all categories, performing worse than the global average in another PISA 2022 assessment.

The Philippines also ranked 63rd out of 64 countries in the OECD’s global assessment that ranked 15-year-old students worldwide in producing and evaluating original ideas that would translate into effective solutions.

In a statement on December 12, Education Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” M. Angara said the budget cut was meant for computers and gadgets for public school use.

“That could have funded thousands of computers/gadgets for our public school children,” he said. “Infrastructure is important but so is investing in our people and human capital. The digital divide will widen.”

The House contingent to the Bicameral Conference Committee on Sunday justified the P10-billion budget cut, pointing out the agency’s glaring inefficiency and alleged fund mismanagement.

“Secretary Angara may argue that education funding is sacrosanct, but Congress cannot keep throwing good money after bad. This is not about depriving education; it’s about ensuring proper fund use and accountability,” Party-list Rep. Ramon Rodrigo L. Gutierrez said in a statement.

“As former Senate Finance Committee chair, Sec. Angara knows that the law is clear: unused funds must be accounted for before new allocations can be made. Now that he’s education secretary, he should focus on fixing DepEd’s internal mess. Congress cannot turn a blind eye to these issues” he said.

Mr. Gutierrez cited the Commission on Audit report which revealed that DepEd disbursed only P2.075 billion of its P11.36-billion budget for information and communication technology equipment in 2023.

“DepEd will have little resource to implement strategic projects to address the learning crisis,” Zy-za Nadine M. Suzara, a public budget analyst and former executive director of policy think tank Institute for Leadership, Empowerment and Democracy.

The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) and the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) said in a report in May that there is a “severe underinvestment” in the welfare of very young children in the Philippines, causing their early education to suffer.

The Southeast Asian nation also placed 22nd out of 111 countries in the 2022 English Proficiency Index by Education First.

Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian, who heads the basic education committee, earlier lamented a P4-billion reduction in spending plan for free college education programs

State universities and colleges will get P122.16 billion under the reconciled budget bill.

“The country may not reap the demographic dividend of a young population if the youth are unskilled and ill-equipped for the knowledge economy,” Enrico P. Villanueva, a senior lecturer at the University of the Philippines Los Baños Economics Department, said in an X message.

“The supposed demographic dividend may morph into a societal burden, trapped in low-paying, low value-added job in agriculture, basic industries or tourism services.” — with a report from Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

Securing cybersecurity deals could boost pool of experts

REUTERS

By John Victor D. Ordoñez, Reporter

THE PHILIPPINE government should secure more deals with cybersecurity industry players and international universities to boost Manila’s pool of cybersecurity experts as it tries to beef up defenses before the midterm elections next year.

“To boost its pool of cyber experts, the government should prioritize partnerships with Academia and Industry: Foster collaborations between government, universities, and industry leaders to align cybersecurity education with market needs,”  Dominic Vincent D. Ligot, founder of CirroLytix Research Services and a consultant for the Information Technology (IT) and Business Process Association of the Philippines, told BusinessWorld in an e-mail.

This comes after the Marcos administration added a bill that seeks to strengthen Philippine cybersecurity to its list of priority measures.

“The law should provide funding for research and development in cybersecurity and support training programs for cybersecurity professionals. It should also encourage public education campaigns to promote cyber hygiene,” Ronald B. Gustilo, national campaigner for Digital Pinoys, said in a Viber message.

Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Undersecretary Jeffrey Ian C. Dy earlier told reporters the National Cybersecurity bill would include fines and administrative penalties against groups that operate critical information infrastructure that fail to report cyberattacks to the government.

In 2022, the Philippines only had about 200 cybersecurity professionals compared with 2,000 in Singapore, DICT Secretary Ivan John E. Uy earlier said, noting that 80% of Filipino cyber experts work overseas.

Mr. Uy said the government is finding it hard to attract more cybersecurity experts due to lower pay at about P50,000 a month, compared with about P200,000 in the private sector.

Mr. Ligot also cited the need to invest in robust technology to reduce the likelihood of human error in maintaining critical state infrastructure.

“This includes better identity management solutions, secure authentication methods, and user training that emphasizes the importance of cybersecurity in everyday activities,” he said.

Last year, the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. was hit by Medusa ransomware, with more than 600 gigabytes of data stolen by hackers.

The DICT has identified and addressed more than 20,144 vulnerabilities in state cybersecurity systems this year, DICT Undersecretary David L. Almirol, Jr. told a Senate hearing in October.

“The law should ensure regular updates and reviews to keep pace with technological advancements and establish a monitoring body to ensure compliance and effectiveness of the law,” Mr. Gustilo said.

Groups renew call for labor reforms amid faster inflation

PNA PHOTO BY JOEY O. RAZON

By Chloe Mari A. Hufana, Reporter

PHILIPPINE labor groups cited an across-the-board wage increase and the end of contractualization as their top wish list for the upcoming holidays, emphasizing these measures as essential to addressing the rising cost of living and improving job security for millions of Filipino workers.

Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) Legislative Officer Carlos Miguel S. Oñate urged the House of Representatives to pass the proposed P150 legislated wage hike, complementing the Senate’s earlier initiative for a P100 minimum wage increase.

“Amid token increases by the regional wage boards, the TUCP’s P150 wage hike proposal should be recognized for what it truly is: an urgent and priority measure that the House of the People must pass,” Mr. Oñate told BusinessWorld in a Viber message over the weekend.

University of the Philippines Diliman School of Labor and Industrial Relations Assistant Professor Benjamin B. Velasco noted that high prices and low wages top workers’ grievances, adding a reform on the wage fixing mechanism is urgently needed.

“The regional wage system — called provincial rates by some — is an epic failure. Minimum wages are poverty wages, even below [the] official poverty threshold per region,” he told BusinessWorld in a Facebook Messenger chat over the weekend.

“It is high time to consider the call for a national minimum indexed to inflation and anchored on the living wage mandate of the Constitution.”

Twelve regions have so far issued wage orders, including National Capital Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, I, II, III, IVA, MIMAROPA, VI, VII, VIII, IX and XII.

Regions X (Northern Mindanao) and XIII (Caraga) are in the final stages of the minimum wage determination process after completing their November and December 2024 public hearings.

Region XI (Davao Region) is scheduled to start in January 2025, while Region V (Bicol Region) is still assessing its conditions and recovery after the devastating effects of typhoons on communities and businesses.

Federation of Free Workers (FFW) President Jose Sonny G. Matula, likewise, emphasized that an across-the-board entry-level wage hike is essential for addressing the higher cost of living and advancing towards a living wage nationwide.

In November, headline inflation picked up to 2.5% year on year from 2.3% in October, but it was slower than 4.1% in the same month a year ago. This brought average inflation to 3.2% in the 11 months.

‘REAL’ SECURITY OF TENURE
Mr. Matula also cited in a Viber message to BusinessWorld the abolition of contractualization, more popularly known as endo (end of contract) in the Philippines, as one of the group’s wishes for the upcoming year.

Endo schemes terminate employment before a worker’s tenure hits six months, the period which by law triggers regular employee status.

He added to ensure job security, workers must have a legal framework through “a real Security of Tenure Act.”

For Mr. Oñate, the Security of Tenure Bill of the previous administration must also be revisited.

“Fixed-term contracts continue to be weaponized to evade employer obligations, fueling cyclical unemployment that often worsens after this holiday ‘Ber Months’ season,” he said.

“Not only in the private sector through our TUCP Security of Tenure Bill but also in the public sector through the TUCP bill on civil service equivalency providing for automatic civil service eligibility and plantilla positions for all our government job orders and contracts of service who have served at least 3 years.”

National President of  Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino Renecio “Luke” S. Espiritu said the labor movement next year will continue to campaign for living wages, anti-contractualization, lower prices and public services for Filipinos.

His proposed reforms with the initials “PSST!” (Presyo, Sahod, Serbisyo at Trabaho), pushed for a P750 across-the-board legislated wage hike with the abolition of provincial rate and end of contractualization among others.

Meanwhile, social protection for informal workers in the digital economy — such as app-based and web-based workers — needs urgent attention, according to Mr. Velasco.

“Treating them as independent workers — that is, with social security and other types of social protection, like health and accident insurance, by their putative employers — the apps and platforms — is an improvement over their current status as freelancers,” he said, noting that Mexico recently joined the growing list of countries regulating app workers to improve conditions.

For traditional informal workers, such as street vendors and jeepney drivers, Mr. Velasco emphasized that the 2022 Department of Labor and Employment-International Labour Organization social protection floor study must move from planning to action.

“There is money to subsidize social protection. Just look at the proposed 2025 General Appropriations Act — in which there are billions for Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP), Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) and Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD). But these are full subsidies for [traditional politicians] facing electoral contests.”

Probe on PhilHealth transfer eyed

A CONGRESSMAN on Sunday said he would file a resolution at the House of Representatives to investigate state-run Philippine Health Insurance Corp.’s (PhilHealth) investment and reserve funds.

The proposed congressional inquiry comes after lawmakers decided to cut PhilHealth’s 2025 subsidy for accumulating billions worth of reserve funds.

Party-list Rep. Raul Angelo D. Bongalon, a vice-chairperson of the House appropriations committee, said PhilHealth failed to expand its health benefits or reduce its premiums despite having over P700 billion in reserve funds, with P500 billion in investment funds.

“At just a conservative 4% annual interest, P500 billion could yield P20 billion in income. How much does PhilHealth really make from its investments? Where do they place the funds, and who decides where it’s invested? Most importantly, what’s the criteria for these investments?” Mr. Bongalon asked.

PhilHealth did not immediately respond to an e-mail and Facebook Messenger chat seeking comment. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

DoJ, DILG expand GCTA benefits

BUCOR

THE Department of Justice (DoJ) and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has revised the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the penal code, allowing prisoners convicted of heinous crimes to benefit from Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA).

In his remarks, Justice Undersecretary Raul T. Vasquez conveyed Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla’s message, emphasizing that the 2024 revised IRR of Republic Act 10592, the Revised Penal Code, as amended, is part of the government’s efforts to decongest correctional facilities and jails.

Mr. Vasquez said that about 8,000 prisoners under the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) and 1,000 under the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology are expected to benefit from this policy change.

The BuCor last year freed over 8,000 prisoners, more than double its original commitment to the United Nations Human Rights Council to release 300 convicts monthly.

BuCor Director-General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang, Jr. also reported progress in reducing the congestion rate of the New Bilibid Prison from 350% to 250%, with further reductions expected as new facilities across the country are completed. 

These developments align with BuCor’s modernization initiatives under the Philippine Development Plan, which include: expanding the e-dalaw system, livelihood programs, and rehabilitation mechanisms for prisoners; streamlining processes for parole and probation to facilitate the release of qualified prisoners; and constructing and repairing penal facilities nationwide. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana

Fund wage hikes, not AKAP — group

Workers are at an assembly line in a canned goods manufacturing facility. — PHILIPPINE STAR/KJ ROSALES

A POLITICAL GROUP on Sunday called on lawmakers to legislate a wage hike instead of allocating funds to a Social Welfare department’s indigent aid program for next year, which it said is a “band-aid solution” to the inadequate salary levels of ordinary Filipinos.

Philippine lawmakers last week opted to provide P26 billion to the Ayuda Para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP), which is 29.4% lower than the initial P39-billion funding proposed by the House of Representatives.

The AKAP is a Department of Social Welfare Development (DSWD) program that provides financial assistance to workers whose income falls below the poverty threshold. It provides one-time cash assistance between P3,000 to P5,000 to eligible beneficiaries.

“The P26.159 billion allocated for AKAP in the 2024 budget would be better spent on implementing substantial wage increases for both public and private sector workers. What our people need is not temporary ayuda but a living wage that can sustain their families,” Neri J. Colmenares, one of Bayan Muna party-list’s nominees in the midterm elections next year, said in a statement.

“We demand that instead of temporary dole-outs, the government should legislate substantial wage increases and implement genuine economic reforms that will benefit workers and their families,” he added. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

Grab, Red Planet deliver food in lockers

GRAB Philippines and Red Planet Hotels have teamed up to launch Grab Food Lockers, a contactless and self-service delivery system for its hotel guests.

Through the new model, delivery partners may securely deposit food items in lockers instead of waiting in the hotel lobby.

To conveniently receive their orders, guests will receive a QR code via the Grab app, which will unlock its designated lockers. This aims to eliminate concerns over missing deliveries or having their orders mistakenly claimed by other guests.

Guests can scan the QR code on the designated food locker or enter a unique code to automatically open the assigned locker slot and claim their food at any time, ensuring both privacy and flexibility.

“This collaboration with Grab Philippines sets a new standard, turning simple stays into seamless experiences,” said Mary Grace de Luna, marketing manager at Red Planet Hotels, said in a statement.

Grab Food Lockers sets new standards for convenience and productivity in the on-demand delivery industry, according to Jose Generoso Roño, Grab Philippines director for commercial and business development.

“Partnering with Red Planet Hotels to introduce the Grab Food Lockers is a significant step in our mission to continually innovate and improve the experience for both our users and delivery-partners,” he said.

The Grab Food lockers are available across Red Planet’s 10 hotels in Metro Manila.

The company is also offering a 30% discount for those staying in its Metro Manila hotels during the holiday season.

Earlier this year, Red Planet said it is eyeing to build four more hotels in the Philippines in the next five years. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz

Drones now used to map plantations

DOSE MEDIA-UNSPLASH

BAGUIO CITY — The National Tobacco Administration (NTA) said it has adopted drone technology to map tobacco plantations around the country, marking a significant milestone in its efforts to enhance the agency’s functions.

NTA Administrator and Chief Executive Officer Belinda S. Sanchez said they have embraced drone technology as part of their ongoing digitalization program to validate the actual areas planted with tobacco by their farmer — partners.

Each of the eight branch offices of NTA has been provided with one unit of DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise Drone while another drone unit was given to the Farm Technology and Services Department (FTSD), Ms. Sanchez said.

Director Freddie G. Lazaro, NTA information officer, said the drone supplier, through the FTSD, had conducted a series of training sessions on basic operations, safety, and maintenance of the equipment, including data processing.  Three staff members from each branch office completed the training in December 2023 and March 2024, he added.

According to Mr. Lazaro, “with the high-resolution aerial imaging and geospatial analysis captured by drones, the area of the tobacco plantations will accurately measure and become the basis for the computation of the volume of production.”

NTA oversight official, Agriculture Undersecretary Deogracias Victor B. Savellano cited that the initiative is in line with the agriculture modernization and digitalization agenda of Agriculture department chief Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr.

Farmer leader Bernard R. Vicente, the re-elected president of the National Federation of Tobacco Farmers Association and Cooperatives, hailed the NTA’s utilization of drone technology saying, “it is a faster and more accurate validation of the area planted with tobacco”.

For Cropping Year 2023 — 2024, NTA FTSD Manager Juanito Maloom said 100% of the areas planted with all types of tobacco in Luzon were validated through drone technology.  Among the types of tobacco planted were Virginia, Burley, and Native varieties.

A total of 22,073.09 hectares planted with tobacco by 36,102 farmers in Luzon were already validated through drone technology for calendar year 2023 – 2024. — Artemio A. Dumlao

Moro, Teduray villagers surrender combat weapons to Marines

COTABATO CITY — Residents of five barangays in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte on Saturday turned over to the Marines 19 more combat weapons, including a .50 caliber machinegun and grenade launchers. 

Major Gen. Antonio G. Nafarrete, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division (ID), told reporters on Sunday that the unlicensed firearms and machinegun were surrendered by owners in support of the 6th ID’s Small Arms and Light Weapons Program (SALW), complementing Malacañang’s peace overture with southern Moro communities. 

Mr. Nafarrete said the combat weapons were collected from Moro and ethnic Teduray residents of Barangays Dinaig Proper, Mompong, Linek, Badak, Kusiong and Tapian by Datu Odin Sinsuat Mayor Lester S. Sinsuat, Lt. Col. Lester Mark C. Baky, commanding officer of the 5th Marine Battalion, and his immediate superior, Brig. Gen. Romulo D. Quemado II of the 1st Marine Brigade.

He added the residents of Datu Odin Sinsuat agreed to surrender their weapons after Sinsuat, Baky, Quemado, and officials of the Maguindanao del Norte Provincial Police Office had relayed to them the intricacies of the SALW Program of the 6th ID via backchannel dialogues. — John Felix M. Unson

Speaker bats for creation of anti-rice cartel task force

BUREAU OF CUSTOMS FACEBOOK PAGE

THE GOVERNMENT needs to create a task force to police rice trading, Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said on Sunday, citing persistently high prices of the staple.

In a statement, Mr. Romualdez said his proposed task force should be composed of the Agriculture, Justice, and Trade and Industry departments, as well as the bureaus of Internal Revenue and Customs, and the National Bureau of Investigation.

The task force should be given the power to conduct rice inventory checks and inspect for regulatory compliance. It should also be allowed to “immediately padlock” rice businesses found with violations, he added.

“The Filipino people are paying unnecessarily high prices for rice, which should now be at P35 to P40 per kilo due to oversupply and tariff reductions,” he said. “This blatant manipulation is unacceptable.”

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. issued in June Executive Order No. 62, which reduced rice import tariffs to 15% from 35% to help contain inflation.

The House is conducting an inquiry into a suspected a rice cartel, which is thought to be keeping prices artificially high despite reduced import tariffs.

The retail price of rice remains high despite an “abundant” supply of the grain, Marikina Rep. Stella Luz A. Quimbo said in the same statement. “It is clear that there is collusion between importers and traders.”

In November, the Philippine Statistics Authority  said the average price of regular-milled rice was P49.24 per kilo, with well-milled rice selling for P54.64. Special rice averaged P63.

Mr. Romualdez also directed the House quinta committee, which is conducting a joint inquiry into the alleged existence of a rice cartel, to speed up the drafting of amendments to the 2016 Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act.

“This is not just an economic issue — it’s a matter of food security and national stability,” he said. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

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