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Regional Updates (08/27/20)

3 isolation facilities with 120 beds completed in Iligan City

THREE EXISTING multi-purpose buildings in Iligan City, which has the highest number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in Northern Mindanao at 186, have been converted into isolation facilities. The completed projects have a total capacity of 120 beds, which will free up hospital beds for moderate, critical or severe COVID-19 patients, said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in a statement on Thursday, following the formal opening of the facilities. DPWH implemented the conversion in partnership with the city government. The facilities will be operated by the city health office for the isolation of probable COVID-19 cases and returning residents. Of the total cases in Iligan, 33 are in hospital, 121 in isolation, 24 recoveries, and eight deaths. Cagayan de Oro City, the Northern Mindanao regional center, previously offered the use of some of its isolation units to Iligan City. The entire region had 1,222 cases as of August 26, including 669 recoveries and 20 deaths. Majority of the cases at 855 are returning residents from overseas or other parts of the country.

Toll road operators ordered to go on full cashless system by Nov. 2

ALL TOLL roads will be required to have a full cashless system by November 2 as part of measures to avoid coronavirus transmissions. “Magiging (It will be) cashless, contactless na transaction ang toll ways, no later than November 2, 2020 ayon sa DOTr (according to the Department of Transportation),”

Palace Spokesperson Harry L. Roque said on Thursday. Existing toll roads operated by private firms are all in Luzon, located in surrounding areas north and south of the capital Metro Manila. One of the operators, San Miguel Corp. (SMC), said they support and are ready for this measure to ensure the safety of both motorists and their employees. “We have completed the reconfiguration of these cashless lanes to help ensure a smooth transition and hopefully, minimal delays for motorists. Implementing this measure is a priority for us because it is in line with government health regulations and it will better protect both our motorists and expressway employees,” SMC president Ramon S. Ang said in a statement.— Gillian M. Cortez

Elite police team to be deployed to Jolo

THE PHILIPPINE police chief, Gen. Archie Francisco F. Gamboa, has rejected calls to sack the entire police force of Jolo, Sulu following the deadly twin explosions that killed at least 14 people and wounded at least 75 others on Monday. Instead, Mr. Gamboa ordered the deployment of one Special Action Force (SAF) battalion. The SAF commandos, considered as the the elite police unit, will help local security forces in hunting down members of the Abu Sayyaf, the Islamic State-linked group that has claimed responsibility for the bombings. “Unless there is sufficient evidence establishing criminal involvement or administrative lapses leading to the attack, the PNP (Philippine National Police) maintains full confidence in our ground personnel,” Mr. Gamboa said in a statement on Thursday. The additional 284-man SAF contingent will augment 60 others who were posted in Sulu prior to the bombings. — Emmanuel Tupas/PHILSTAR

‘Hot money’ flees PHL for 5th month

FOREIGN PORTFOLIO investments (FPI) fled the Philippines for the fifth straight month as investor confidence remained weak amid uncertainties brought by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis.

FPI — also referred to as “hot money” due to the ease by which these funds enter and leave an economy — yielded a net outflow of $453.17 million in July, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Thursday showed. This is the fifth consecutive month of FPI net outflow since March.

The July figure is a reversal from the $15.02-million net inflow logged a year ago. It is also nearly double the $235.38- million net outflow in June, but slimmer than May’s $1-billion outflow.

For the first seven months of the year, net outflows surged to $3.8 billion, more than five times bigger than the $706-million net outflow in the January to July 2019 period.

Uncertainty over the extent of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the global economy and financial system continued to dampen investor confidence, the central bank said in a statement.

Tensions between the United States and China, as well as “corporate governance issues” involving water concessionaires Manila Water Co., Inc. and Maynilad Water Services, Inc. also weighed on sentiment, the BSP added.

For the month of July, FPI inflows totaled $719.11 million, 57% lower than the $1.68 billion last year and 29% down from June’s $1.019 billion.

Meanwhile, outflows in July amounted to $1.172 billion, a 30% decline from the $1.665 billion seen a year ago, and 6% lower than the $1.254 billion in June.

“Singapore, the United Kingdom, the United States, Bahamas, and Hong Kong were the top five investor countries for the month, with combined share to total at 84.6%,” the BSP said.

The bulk (96.5%) of the investments went into the stock market, specifically utilities companies, holding firms, real estate, banks, and retailers. The rest flowed into government securities.

The central bank projects $2.4 billion in hot money inflows this year, just nearly a third of the previous forecast of $8.2-billion net inflows penciled in November 2019.

The key to improving hot money flows is more than just reopening the economy or easing restriction measures, said UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc. Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion.

“A more fundamental improvement in FPI would entail more ‘confidence’ in the government’s efforts at virus containment and how the government responses, through monetary and fiscal policies, are being effectively carried out,” he said in an e-mail.

The Philippines has the most number of COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia, with 205,581 infections as of Tuesday.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said the passage of timely legislative measures such as the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan II) and the CREATE (Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act) bill will stimulate economic activity and boost investor sentiment.

The Bayanihan II, a P165-billion stimulus program to respond to the pandemic, is awaiting President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s signature. Meanwhile, the CREATE bill, which will immediately slash corporate income tax to 25% from 30% is still pending in the Senate. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

Gov’t plans to borrow P160B in September

By Beatrice M. Laforga, Reporter

THE National Government is looking to raise P160 billion from the domestic market in September, after the issuance of 35-day papers was shelved as the central bank plans to offer its own securities.

According to an advisory posted Thursday, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said it will borrow P100 billion in Treasury bills (T-bills) and P60 billion via the Treasury bonds (T-bonds) next month.

Auctions for T-bills will be held weekly, while T-bonds will be offered fortnightly.

The BTr will auction off P5 billion worth of 91- and 182-day debt papers each, and P10 billion worth of 364-day securities every Monday.

The Treasury is also planning to raise P30 billion from the issuance of three-year T-bonds on Sept. 11, and another P30 billion from 10-year notes on Sept. 24.

However, it will no longer offer 35-day T-bills every other week unlike the previous months. The Treasury reintroduced the tenor in its borrowing program in April to offer to accommodate the demand for short-tenored securities.

A bond trader said the decision not to offer the 35-day instruments next month may have considered the upcoming issuance of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) own securities.

The central bank in July said it will launch its own securities within the third quarter, which will reportedly be offered in small volume with short-term maturities.

“The move to go back to 10-year (papers) is not a surprise given the disappointing 20-year auction. While issuing a 3-year paper (assuming it’s a new bond) makes sense because we lack a proper benchmark on that space and many are still looking to extend to one to three years for slight yield pickup,” the trader said via Viber on Thursday.

The September borrowing plan is lower than P170 billion originally programmed for August.

However, the BTr raised P143.033 billion from the local market this month, broken down into P113.033 billion in T-bills and P30 billion in T-bonds.

The Treasury rejected all bids during the Aug. 25 auction for the 20-year T-bonds after rates shot up.

It also raised a record P516.3 billion from its offer of five-year retail Treasury bonds earlier this month. The bonds fetched a coupon of 2.625% amid strong liquidity in the market.

The government is looking to borrow around P3 trillion this year from local and foreign lenders to plug a budget deficit that may hit 9.6% of gross domestic product.

It plans to maintain a 74:26 borrowing mix in favor of domestic sources to mitigate external volatilities and shocks.

Business group pushes for public transport reforms

By Arjay L. Balinbin, Senior Reporter

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION should not be suspended whenever the government implements lockdown or quarantine measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a business group said.

The Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) on Wednesday submitted to Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade a set of recommendations to further improve the state of public transportation amid the pandemic, including allowing rail transit to operate at 50% capacity and adopting a congestion pricing scheme for private vehicles in Metro Manila.

“COVID-19 is a virus we may have to live with over an indefinite period requiring periodic quarantine/lockdown (hopefully on a localized basis); thus, we strongly recommend that public transportation be reclassified as an essential industry that must not be suspended during a selective quarantine/lockdown but the number of buses, jeepneys, light rail trips and tricycles should be reduced to comply with the level of quarantine/lockdown,” the MAP said.

The business group suggested allowing the rail transit system in the National Capital Region (NCR) operate at a 50% load factor, similar to jeepneys and buses under a general community quarantine (GCQ).

The MAP noted the movement of people and cargo via rail is “one of the most efficient forms of public transportation as it allows high passenger throughput, exclusive right of way and use of full rolling stock.”

Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC), the private operator of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1), told BusinessWorld the Philippines is the “only country in the world left with tight load restrictions.”

“All ASEAN countries have lifted public transport restrictions. Rail also offers the fastest journey. It is safer since there is less time for possible exposure….  We are confident that we’ll be able to continue operating LRT-1 safely should the rail transit system be allowed to operate at a 50% load factor,” Jacqueline S. Gorospe, LRMC corporate communications head, said in a phone message.

With Metro Manila under GCQ, the LRT-1 is allowed to ferry 158 passengers or 12% of its capacity per trip, while the LRT-2 can ferry 160 passengers or 10% of its capacity per trip. The Metro Rail Transit Line 3 is allowed to have 153 passengers or 13% of its capacity for every trip, while the  Philippine National Railways train can have an average of 148 passengers or 20% of its capacity.

To address problems regarding public buses, the MAP said all buses should have speed limiters to ensure they will comply with the maximum speed limit of 40 kilometers per hour. Buses should also follow a fixed headway of two to three minutes, with one minute to unload and pick up passengers at designated stops.

“The timing of the bus arrivals and the MRT arrivals/departures from the MRT station should be synchronized as much as possible so that a seamless flow between MRT and bus passengers is achieved,” it said.

The MAP also suggested stiff penalties for bus drivers who violate speed limits and loading/unloading times. A bus driver may face cancellation of driver’s license, while the bus operator may be slapped with a P50,000 fine. 

“Ang average speed naman talaga sa EDSA is less than 40 kilometers per hour…. Siguro they recommended that because there are barriers on the side and we saw a lot of accidents because of that,” Victory Liner Spokesperson Alex R. Briones said in a phone interview.

Mr. Briones said there are already existing regulations on speed limits, so what is needed is strict implementation.

Meanwhile, the MAP emphasized that jeepneys are necessary to meet the transport demands in Metro Manila. The business group proposed a fixed salary for jeepney drivers and the reorganization of routes.

“There is a need to deploy jeepneys as soon as possible due to public need for which rationalization of jeepneys should be considered in terms of consortia, a strict vehicle inspection system and driver’s fixed salaries (rather than the current boundary system),” the MAP said.

CONGESTION PRICING
For the medium term, the MAP suggested a congestion pricing for private vehicles in order to address NCR’s traffic problem.

“Congestion pricing should be considered for private vehicles to manage congestion in the still to be identified business centers and chokepoints in the 17 LGUs that compose the NCR,” it said.

Transportation Assistant Secretary Goddes Hope O. Libiran told BusinessWorld via phone the concept of congestion pricing, which has been proposed by various groups, is not a priority of the department for now.

“It’s not timely to implement that kasi may mga limitations pa sa travel because of the general community quarantine. I proposed that five years ago because of the traffic congestion, but it cannot be immediately implemented because you need time to put the electronics, the devices to implement that. It needs about a year or two to do that,” transport expert Rene S. Santiago told BusinessWorld in a phone interview.

“It’s worth a study now but you cannot implement it during this time…. Apply the road congestion pricing when all the transport capacities are all there,” he added.

Rebound in excise tax collections seen starting 2021

THE government expects excise tax collection on goods to bounce back next year as economic recovery is seen picking up from this year’s slump.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) aims to collect P432.807 billion in excise taxes in 2021, up 51% from this year’s already revised P286.57-billion target, according to the latest Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing (BESF).

However, the target is still 16% lower than the P517-billion excise tax goal penciled in before the coronavirus pandemic hit.

Broken down, the BIR is expected to collect excise taxes worth P204 billion from tobacco products; P114 billion from alcohol products; P48 billion from fuel; P40 billion from sweetened beverages, P7.1 billion from mining; P2.7 billion from automobiles, among others.

For 2022, the BIR’s goal is to collect P540.2 billion in excise taxes on goods, but is still 8% lower than the pre-pandemic estimate of P588.29 billion.

The bureau targets to generate P271 billion from excise taxes on tobacco products; P129 billion from alcohol products; P50 billion from fuel; P43 billion from sweetened beverages, P8.2 billion from mining, and P3.1 billion from automobiles.

The projected excise tax collections in 2021-2022 are seen rebounding from the P286.576 billion goal for this year, which was revised from the P193.757-billion goal adopted in May.

However, this is still a fifth smaller than the initial P360-billion goal set prior to the coronavirus pandemic and 10% lower than the P317.27 billion it collected last year.

The estimated excise tax revenues already included proceeds from the measures under the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program.

Economic managers slashed revenue targets over the near term because of the expected sluggish economic activity, said Finance Undersecretary and Chief Economist Gil S. Beltran in a text message on Wednesday.

The economy plunged into recession in the second quarter, and is seen to further shrink by as much as 6.6% by yearend. In 2021-2022, gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to bounce back by 6.5-7.5%. — Beatrice M. Laforga

UN pushes sustainable shift to digital finance

THE UNITED NATIONS (UN) has encouraged countries to ramp up the use of technology in financial services while ensuring its sustainability to help them achieve their Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

In a report released Thursday, the UN’s Task Force on Digital Financing of the SDGs said the coronavirus-induced crisis made people more aware of the importance of digital finance as it helped in fast-tracking the release of cash handouts to affected sectors and in allowing retail businesses to go online to stay afloat, among others.

“This surge in the digital world amplifies the opportunity and the need for it to be harnessed in the longer-term pursuit, and financing, of sustainable development,” the report titled “People’s Money: Harnessing Digitalization to Finance a Sustainable Future” read.

“The international community should act in reshaping financial systems in line with sustainable development. If we fail to do so, we will fail to deliver the 2030 Agenda,” it added.

It said the push for digitalization should be “citizen-centric” where citizens are empowered both on their basic financial affairs and about public financing as well. This could also widen financial inclusion, it said.

“Digital technologies, which are revolutionizing financial markets, can be a game-changer in meeting our shared objectives,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres was quoted as saying.

The Task Force made three recommendations: advancing catalytic opportunities; building foundations for sustainable digital finance such as infrastructures, digital ID, planning, institutions and capacity-building, as well as strengthening related policies and regulations.

It laid out five catalytic opportunities to guide countries in aligning digital financing with the SDGs, namely: “to channel domestic savings into development financing; enhance financing for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs); digitalize public financing and make public budgets and contracts transparent; embed SDGs into decisions financial and capital markets; and shape consumption decisions through improved information and choice architecture.”

However, the UN warned that new risks may emerge as digitalization efforts ramp up, such as the increase in fraudulent transactions, illicit financial flows and security breaches.

“Digitalization may increase short-termism in financial markets. Digitalization increases the likelihood of a new generation of highly concentrated financial markets because of its tendency to provide ever-increasing benefits to scale. It may reduce an autonomous economic policy space through the loss of control over macroeconomic and monetary policy,” it said.

The Task Force, established by the UN Secretary General in November 2018, is mandated to study and recommend short to medium-term framework on how digitalization can be used to accelerate financing of the SDGs.

The recent publication is the Task Force’s final report.

The UN Secretary General has set a roadmap for digital cooperation aiming to achieve universal connectivity by 2030; promote digital public goods; expand digital inclusion; improve digital capacity-build; make sure human rights are protected; support global cooperation on artificial intelligence; establish trust and security; and build better architecture for cooperation.

Member states of the UN committed in 2019 to achieve the SDG agenda by 2030, which includes the goal to end poverty and hunger, provide quality education, promote inclusive economic growth and reduce inequality, among others. — B.M. Laforga

BSP wants to count green loans against Agri-Agra compliance

THE CENTRAL BANK is looking to encourage lenders to build up their  sustainable loans by counting these as part of the mandated Agri-Agra credit,  Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said.

“We are looking for regulatory incentives that can be granted to banks that adhere to these principles. This includes our proposal to consider lending for green projects as compliance to the Agri-Agra requirements,” Mr. Diokno said in an online briefing on Thursday.

Under Republic Act 10000 or the Agri-Agra Reform Credit Act, lenders are required to allocate 25% of their loanable funds to the agriculture and agrarian reform sector.

However, compliance with the agriculture segment quota was only at 10.8% while the agrarian reform side only consisted 1.09% of banks’ total lending, both well below the 15% and 10% credit quotas, respectively. Mr. Diokno has said they observed banks would rather pay the 0.5% penalty instead of loaning to the sector which they perceive to be high risk and high cost.

The central bank chief said BSP Circular No. 1085 which lays out a sustainable finance framework for banks so far does not prescribe a minimum loan requirement for green and sustainable products.

“This will depend on the bank’s strategic objectives and risk appetite in relation to the adoption of sustainability principles,” Mr. Diokno said.

Lenders will be given three years to adapt to the provisions of the sustainable finance framework, which lays out the adoption of sustainability principles through environmental and social risk management systems.

So far, local banks have issued sustainability bonds worth $1.795 billion and social bonds totalling P21.5 billion, BSP data showed.

In 2019, 10.6% of the total loan portfolio of the banking system went to finance green and social projects that are in line with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, the BSP said. — L.W.T. Noble

Meralco fined for lockdown billing woes

THE CORPORATE regulator has fined Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) P19 million for ignoring advisories on billing customers during the lockdown.

The utility giant failed to inform clients that their bills for March to May had been estimated, while failing to comply with an order to allow them to pay in installments, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said in a statement on Thursday.

“Meralco’s neglect to provide accurate and timely information especially during this time of pandemic has created chaos and confusion to most of the electricity-consuming public,” the regulator said.

“This serious neglect by Meralco resulted in a multitude of complaints filed by its consumers to this commission,” ERC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Agnes VST Devanadera said.

The regulator said it had evaluated billing statements submitted by complainants, its own employees, the office of Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian and consumer group National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms.

It charged the utility P100,000 for every continuing violation that started on May 5, when the ERC first issued its advisory on lockdown billings, to July 9, when Meralco issued personalized letters to consumers explaining their bills.

The company will study the order and file an appropriate pleading after consulting its lawyers, said Meralco’s Regulatory Management Head Jose Ronald V. Valles in a statement. It said it had not received the ERC ruling dated Aug. 20.

Clean power advocacy group Power for People Coalition welcomed the regulator’s decision, but said the fine was unlikely to hurt Meralco financially.

“We prefer that ERC instead look into the issue of consumer money that Meralco is holding on to, as these refunds amount to billions and can have a direct positive impact on the cash flow of residential customers, more than any fine ever could,” it said.

Ms. Devanadera said distribution utilities should take the commission’s advisories “very seriously.”

“Our advisories were issued to aid electricity consumers in light of the ongoing pandemic,” she said. “It was supposed to provide a respite from the various financial woes of consumers.”

A number of consumers reported a spike in their May electricity bills, which later turned out to be just estimates. The government had allowed such estimates based on consumers’ power usage three months before the lockdown.

This prompted ERC to order electricity distributors to conduct physical meter readings and charge consumers for actual consumption during the quarantine months.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte locked down the entire Luzon island in mid-March to contain a coronavirus pandemic. People should stay home except to buy food and other basic goods, he said.

The lockdown on the island was extended twice and thrice for Metro Manila. The lockdown in most areas has since been relaxed.

Meanwhile, the ERC ordered Meralco to cover the distribution, supply and metering charges of its lifeline customers — those that consume less than 100 kilowatt-hours — at the next billing cycle. The charge accounts for about a fifth of the utility’s total charges.

The estimated P200 million worth of discount is a form of temporary economic relief for more than two million poor consumers. The company must file a compliance report to the ERC.

Meralco President and Chief Executive Officer Ray C. Espinosa told congressmen at a hearing on Wednesday that the company would shoulder P101 million in distribution charges on its lifeline customers.

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

FDCP grants incentives for foreign film/TV shoots in PHL

TWO films, an action TV series, and an offshoot of the Survivor reality show franchise were announced as the first recipients of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) film incentive programs meant to encourage more producers to shoot their films in the Philippines.

“The goal of these incentives is to open up the industry for collaboration with the rest of the world, for people to discover how talented we are, how good we are in providing service, and how the Philippines can be a global creative hub for films,” Mary Liza B. Diño, chairperson and CEO of the FDCP, said in a statement.

Last year, the FDCP announced two incentive programs: the Film Location Incentive Program (FLIP) and the International Co-Production Fund (ICOP). Both programs allow films shot in the Philippines or a Filipino feature film with an international co-production to get a cash rebate of up to P10 million of qualifying production costs which include artist and technician fees, film permits, transport, food expenses, among others, incurred in the Philippines. The minimum spending requirement for the film location incentive is at P8 million while the co-production incentive has a minimum spending requirement of P5 million.

The two incentive programs are under the overarching the FilmPhilippines program.

The first cycle of the incentive program was launched in January 2020.

Almost Paradise, a video-on-demand series directed by Dean Devlin (of Independence Day fame), is the first FLIP recipient as the series was shot in Mactan, Cebu. The series follows the adventures of a former US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agent who relocated to the Philippines. Meanwhile, Survivor Russia, the Russian edition of the long-running survival reality series, shot 13 episodes in El Nido, Palawan.

Both Survivor Russia and Almost Paradise will receive a 20% cash rebate on qualified production expenses.

For the co-production incentive, FDCP named Nocebo, a supernatural thriller by Lorcan Finnegan, and Kapag Nawala na ang Alon (When the Waves are Gone) by award-winning film auteur Lav Diaz, as the first two recipients of the incentive.

Nocebo, shot in Ireland and the Philippines, tells the story of a Filipina maid who is out to take revenge on the Irish family she worked for. The film is a co-production between Wild Swim Films from the UK, Epicmedia Productions, Inc. from the Philippines, and Lovely Productions from Ireland. Nocebo is getting P6.5 million from the incentive fund to cover qualified production costs.

Kapag Nawala na ang Alon (When the Waves are Gone), meanwhile, is a film shot in Lisbon, Portugal and in Tagaytay and Manila in the Philippines. The film is a revenge drama and a reinterpretation of Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo co-produced by Epicmedia Productions, Inc. from the Philippines, Snowglobe from Denmark, and Films Boutique from France. The film will get P6 million to cover qualified production costs.

As an accompanying program, FDCP’s Film Location Engagement Desk (FLEX) helps assist local and foreign productions with government transactions and endorses international productions to Filipino production companies registered with FDCP’s National Registry.

“We need to highlight what sets the Philippines apart from the rest of Asia: English is a second language to us. That’s a significant advantage. We are also flexible when it comes to accommodating sudden changes in production. We certainly make things happen,” Ms. Diño said of the program.

Those interested in applying for the incentive programs can do so starting Sept. 1 to Nov. 27.

For more information, visit www.filmphilippines.com. — Zsarlene B. Chua

Pandemic may push Japan banks’ credit costs to crisis levels — Suzuki

TOKYO — Japanese financial institutions may see credit costs balloon to levels hit during the global financial crisis if a resurgence in coronavirus infections hammer the economy, Bank of Japan (BoJ) board member Hitoshi Suzuki said.

Suzuki said the BoJ’s massive stimulus programme was helping cushion the economic blow from the pandemic, with the benefits of ultra-loose policy still exceeding the costs.

But the strain on financial institutions from ultra-low rates could intensify as they respond to government requests to boost lending to firms hit by COVID-19, Mr. Suzuki warned.

“With the economy having lost momentum to achieve our price target due to the pandemic, our monetary easing will last even longer” and would require the central bank to be more vigilant to the accumulating side-effects of its policy, Mr. Suzuki said.

“If a second and third wave of infection hits Japan, financial institutions’ credit costs could balloon to levels near those hit after (the 2008) collapse of Lehman Brothers,” he said in a speech in Asahikawa, northern Japan, on Thursday.

Japan has seen a resurgence in coronavirus infections after nationwide state of emergency measures ended in late May. The country has reported 64,904 cases in total and 1,230 deaths.

The BoJ has eased policy twice this year amid a deepening recession and created a lending facility to encourage banks to boost lending to firms hit by COVID-19.

But the massive loans backed by the BoJ and the government may squeeze financial institutions’ margins further by weighing on lending rates, said Mr. Suzuki, a former commercial banker.

The impact of ultra-low interest rates on the economy may also be limited as companies pile up savings instead of boosting investment, he added.

Japanese companies’ total internal reserves stood at a record 463 trillion yen ($4.37 trillion) in fiscal 2018, up 65% in the past decade, according to government data. — Reuters

Phoenix Petroleum lists P3.1 billion of debt paper at PDEx

PHOENIX PETROLEUM Philippines, Inc. has listed P3.1 billion in securities on the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. (PDEx), which it plans to use to fund its fuel and lubricant imports.

The company listed the 332-day commercial debt paper on Aug. 26 after the Securities and Exchange Commission approved it, it said in a stock exchange filing on Thursday.

The listing of the notes, which have a 5% annual discount rate, is the fourth tranche of Phoenix’s P7-billion commercial paper program launched earlier this month.

“We are grateful that against the backdrop of bounding uncertainties in the market, we have been able to successfully return to PDEx,” President and Chief Operating Officer Henry Albert R. Fadullon said at the company’s virtual listing.

Limited inventory due to credit tightening had made it difficult for Phoenix to recover in the second quarter, resulting in weaker-than-expected volume in domestic fuel, it said in a separate statement on its quarterly performance.

“Regional and local developments within the industry and credit markets have tightened access to working capital,” Mr. Fadullon said in the statement. “We saw this hamper our recovery as we had to divert resources to debt service and pull back on inventory replenishment.”

Phoenix posted a net loss of P5 million in the second quarter, which it said was “significantly lower” than its P386-million loss a quarter earlier. Revenue for the three months through June fell by 30%.

Phoenix shares rose by 0.18% to close at P11.20 each. — Adam J. Ang

Writer, publisher, art patron Gilda Cordero-Fernando, 90

RENOWNED writer and publisher Gilda Cordero-Fernando, known for her musings on Philippine arts and culture and a great supporter of the arts, passed at the age of 90 on Aug. 27.

Her death was confirmed by her family who wrote that there was “no need for funeral services” as Lola Mad (as she was called) “held her own wake earlier,” according to a Facebook post by her son, Mol Fernando.

Mr. Fernando was talking about a 2012 column Ms. Cordero-Fernando wrote for The Phiilippine Daily Inquirer where she talked about having her wake while still alive because she wanted to enjoy it. She talked about being inspired to do so after hearing “Oh Moon of Alabama” sung by Marianne Faithful. She also talked about wanting a paper house mansion (because she always wanted to own a mansion) like those found in Chinese wakes as the Chinese believe that burning paper embodiment of material goods (paper, houses, cars, etc) will make the spirit have it in the next life. She found one in Ongpin but found it so expensive, she just decided to make one. Ms. Cordero-Fernandez also chose 10 “shock-proof” friends (Eric “Kidlat Tahimik” de Guia, Jose Estrella, Mariel Francisco, and Rody Vera, to name a few) to make three-minute presentations to celebrate her life.

Celebrating a wake before her actual death is indicative of what kind of personality Ms. Cordero-Fernando had as a multi-hyphenate creator (writer, publisher, visual artist, fashion designer, art curator, playwright, and producer) and lifetime patron of the arts. National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin once said of her: “We have no other writer capable of such sublime nonsense.”

In a more scholarly form, she was described by the Ateneo Library of Women’s Writings (ALIWW) as the “Philippine culture’s towering figure, for the broad, impressive range of her accomplishments.”

Her short fiction titles, The Butcher, The Baker, The Candlestick Maker (1962), A Wilderness of Sweets (1973), and its compilation version, Story Collection (1994) were said to “ring in the reader’s ears in well-turned English and fill the mind with curious characters — people in the war, sunburned Filipinos with the American twang, queer designers in the world of high fashion, the humble folk cooped in a bust, a Dust Monster, even the Anti-Christ,” ALIWW noted.

She also wrote the book Philippine Food and Life (1992) with Alfredo Roces and worked on Filipino Heritage, a 10-volume study on Philippine history and culture in 1978. She founded GCF Books that published a dozen titles about Philippine culture and society including Turn of the Century, Philippine Ancestral Houses, and The History of the Burgis.

She won many awards in her life including the Carlos C. Palanca Memorial Award for Literature and the Philippines Free Press award. Her Palanca-winning stories are “The Morning Before Us” (1954), “Sunburn” (1957), “A Wilderness of Sweets” (1964), and “Early in Our World” (1967.)

The Cultural Center of the Philippines awarded her its highest honors, the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining for Literature and Publishing, in 1994.

As a visual artist, she painted a series of women portraits now sold as a card set. In 2001, she produced Pinoy Pop Culture, a show and book for apparel company Bench. It was a night filled with Filipino novelty and pop songs and camp with a burgis audience.

Her shows were things that defied basic definition: in 1995, she staged “Jamming on an Old Saya,” a show at the Cultural Center of the Philippines to launch the book of the same name. It was a play, it was a fashion show, it was a celebration of the Philippine traditional dress, and it had an almost-nude man painted in gold on stage. She also held a birthday celebration for the wheelchair-bound hero of the Revolution Apolinario Mabini where she and other artists bedecked wheelchairs with wings and other decorations, turning them into mobile art.

“This is my theory in life: Some people create the same things over and over and over — and they make masterpieces. I don’t like doing the same thing again and again, ever. Sometimes I’m doing a play; sometimes I’m doing a fashion show; sometimes I’m doing whatever. I will never do the same thing. My happiness is the change, the movement, the difference in the things I do,” Ms. Cordero-Fernando told High Life magazine in 2017, and no words could describe her better than the words she used to describe herself. (https://www.bworldonline.com/celebrating-beauty-gilda-cordero-fernando/)

Such was her character and contribution to Philippine arts that it feels like writing an obituary would be a disservice to her when her life is better told in her own writing, as an author of books and short stories, as a columnist for the Manila Chronicles and Philippine Daily Inquirer, through her various stages and exhibits, and through countless anecdotes.

Gilda Cordero-Fernandeo was born on June 4, 1930 and passed on Aug. 27, 2020. This writer hopes she got the mansion she wanted. — Zsarlene B. Chua

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