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Peso weakens on ‘hot money’ data

THE PESO declined further versus the dollar on Thursday on data showing more foreign portfolio investments exited the country in July.

The local unit closed at P48.63 versus the greenback on Thursday, depreciating by 11 centavos from its P48.52-per-dollar finish on Wednesday, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines showed.

The peso opened Thursday’s session at P48.57 against the greenback. It reached a peak of P48.55 while its intraday low was at P48.68 versus the dollar.

Dollars traded climbed to $776.07 million on Thursday from Wednesday’s $481.5 million.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said the peso weakened following the release of “hot money” data.

Foreign portfolio investments left the country for the fifth straight month in July on weak investor confidence amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Hot money — called as such 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) released yesterday showed. This was the fifth consecutive month of net outflows since March.

The year-to-date tally likewise yielded a net outflow of $3.8 billion, surging from the net $706-million that exited the country in the January to July 2019 period. The central bank expects $2.4 billion in net inflows of hot money this year.

Mr. Ricafort added that the dollar strengthened on improved appetite for the dollar amid progress in the clinical trials of the Moderna vaccine being conducted in the United States.

For today, Mr. Ricafort expects the peso to move within the P48.55 to P48.75 levels versus the dollar. — K.K.T. Jose

Local shares drop further on coronavirus worries

THE MAIN INDEX closed nearly flat on Thursday, trading with a negative bias as investor sentiment remained tepid due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) slid 9.78 points or 0.16% to close at 5,921.55, while the broader all shares index picked up by just 0.17 point to end at 3,544.41.

Investors were trading conservatively during Thursday’s trading as COVID-19 uncertainties continued to weigh on the outlook for the economy, AAA Southeast Equities, Inc. Research Head Christopher John Mangun said in an e-mail.

“This is a trend that we are seeing worldwide. The difference is that markets abroad are at multi-year and all-time highs, recovering almost all losses for the year, while our market still reflects losses caused by pandemic,” Mr. Mangun said.

“Our market has tracked the economy more realistically compared to markets abroad,” he added.

US markets continued their uptrend at the close of Wednesday’s session: the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indices all increased 0.30%, 1.02% and 1.73%, respectively.

In Asia, most markets were going up in the past days before economic data tempered their climb on Thursday.

These developments came despite global COVID-19 cases still rising every day, hitting 24.18 million based on data from Johns Hopkins University. The Philippines reported 5,277 new cases on Wednesday, reaching a total of 202,361.

Besides growing COVID-19 cases, the “perceived notion of a lack of stimulus from the government” was another factor that brought the PSEi down, Mr. Mangun said.

Eleven of 30 PSEi members ended Wednesday’s trading in red territory, led by Manila Electric Co. (-3.19%), Bloomberry Resorts Corp. (-2.91%), Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. (-2.49%), LT Group, Inc. (-1.78%) and SM Investments Corp. (-1.58%).

“Market was slightly down despite the positive market breadth after it was dragged lower by the SM block,” Diversified Securities, Inc. Equity Trader Aniceto K. Pangan said in a text message.

Four of six sectoral indices also closed the session with losses. Holding firms went down 37.81 points or 0.61% to 6,148.30; services shed 6.05 points or 0.41% to 1,464.72; property trimmed 9.04 points or 0.32% to 2,758.96; and industrials slid 20.80 points or 0.26% to 7,832.04

Gainers were mining and oil, which rose 236.65 points or 4.06% to 6,054.86; and financials, which went up 18.89 points or 1.69% to 1,132.42 at the end of trading.

Value turnover on Thursday stood at P17.46 billion with 5.08 billion issues switching hands, up from P4.91 billion with 1.22 billion issues during the previous day.

Advancers outnumbered decliners, 98 against 86, while 57 names ended unchanged.

Net foreign selling continued for the eighth straight day and ballooned to P1.11 billion on Thursday from P614.1 million on Wednesday. — Denise A. Valdez

PhilHealth task force finds slow filing of cases vs erring officers

By Vann Marlo M. Villegas, Reporter

FILING OF cases against Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) officers and health care institutions allegedly involved in irregularities has been slow and low in number, according to the task force recently formed to look into anomalies in the state insurer.

In a statement on Thursday, the Department of Justice-led task force said thousands of cases previously investigated have yet to be filed.

Rodolfo B. Del Rosario, Jr., who has just resigned as PhilHealth senior vice president for the legal sector, confirmed in a closed-door hearing conducted by the task force on Tuesday that only 70 cases have been “processed” and only 50 resulted in formal charges against employees.

A case against the employees allegedly involved around P2.1 billion, according to the task force citing Mr. Del Rosario.

Mr. Del Rosario also reported that around 1,700 cases involve medical facilities over the period 2011 to 2019, and his office has reviewed and endorsed 1,300 for filing of criminal complaints by the regional offices.

“However, he admitted that only 11 cases as of date have been filed. Losses related to cases involving HCIs (health care institutions)  — which include fraudulent claims — were estimated at around P4.7B,” the task force said.

Mr. Del Rosario also said that the management policy favored settlement, instead of prosecution of cases and there are alleged limitations in resources in regional offices that prevented them from filing complaints against HCIs immediately.

The task force has created a team to probe the state-owned insurance company’s legal department.

PhilHealth’s legal sector received a zero rating in its evaluation for 2017 and 2018 from the Governance Commission for Government-Owned and -Controlled Corporations due to delays in filing of cases.

Ricardo C. Morales, who was appointed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte last year as PhilHealth president and chief executive officer, resigned on Wednesday.

He earlier filed a medical leave amid investigations by the task force as well as in Congress, revealing that he is battling cancer.

The Senate found in its inquiry that there was gross overpricing of equipment procured by the agency and favoritism in releasing interim reimbursement mechanism funds to hospitals.

Thorsson Keith, a resigned PhilHealth anti-fraud legal officer, told a Senate hearing that the state-run insurance company’s executive committee members were allegedly involved in defrauding P15 billion from PhilHealth.

Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said any resigned, retired, or dismissed officer may be held liable for any criminal act or omission committed during his or her tenure in office.

“Termination of service, except by death, is not a mode of extinguishing criminal liability under our penal code and criminal statutes,” he told reporters via Viber.

House bill filed supporting higher local gov’t budget

A PROPOSED law institutionalizing the Supreme Court ruling that grants a larger share of national revenues to local governments has been filed in the House of Representatives.

House Bill No. 7430 seeks to amend the Local Government Code, under Republic Act No. 7160, particularly provisions on the basis for the computation of the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA).

IRA is the annual fund that local governments — provincial, city, municipality — get from the national government.

It is taken from the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) collection and computed based on the local government classification, land area, and population.

A Supreme Court decision in 2019, however, ruled that the IRA must also include other government income such as those from the Bureau of Customs and value-added tax (VAT), among others.

   The bill’s author, Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez, said the proposed amendments are seen to augment local funds for the implementation of COVID-19 response measures.

“At this time of a prolonged COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic, our LGUs (local government units) need more funds to take care of the health and economic needs of their constituents. The resources of the LGUs are fast drying up because of this pandemic,” he said in a statement.

Under the bill, Mr. Rodriguez seeks to include in the IRA computation such items as income tax, estate and donor’s taxes, and VAT, among others enumerated under section 21 of the national tax code, as well as tariff and customs duties.

It will also cover 50% of VAT in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and 30% of all national taxes in the region;  60% of national taxes raised from national wealth development and exploitation; about 60% of government revenues from tobacco products; and 5% of the 25% franchise tax on horse races, among others.

Of the total collection, 23% will go to provinces and cities, 34% to municipalities, while barangays will get the remaining 20%.

Further, if enacted, the law will mandate LGUs to appropriate at least 20% of their annual fund for development projects. — Charmaine A. Tadalan 

Senator joins call to lift deployment ban on nurses

A SENATOR on Thursday pushed for the lifting of the deployment ban imposed on healthcare workers during the coronavirus pandemic, which has mainly affected nurses who already have contracts for work overseas.

“The travel ban hostages their chance to have a decent work-life balance and give their families a better future,” Senator Maria Lourdes Nancy S. Binay, vice chairperson of the labor committee, said in a statement on Thursday.

The ban, ordered by the national task force handling the coronavirus response, was adopted by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) in April.

Ms. Binay said the restriction should be lifted unless the government can offer them a “competitive compensation.”

The task force imposed the ban to supposedly ensure the adequacy of health care workers as the country grapples with the pandemic.

The Department of Health (DoH) on Tuesday said they projected some 16,500 health workers are needed, but has so far approved only 10,468 slots for hiring.

As of Aug. 24, only 7,850 have been hired with DoH officials previously admitting that there has been a dearth of applicants.

Ms. Binay, citing a 2017 DoH data, said there are 750,000 licensed medical professionals in the country, including 204,437 who are active in the health sector. — Charmaine A. Tadalan 

Nationwide round-up

3,249 new COVID cases recorded, Metro Manila still highest

THE DEPARTMENT of Health reported 3,249 confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases on Thursday, bringing the country’s total to 205,581. The death toll increased by 97 to 3,234 while recoveries rose by 566 to 133,990. There were 68,357 active cases, 91.3% of which were mild, 6.6% did not show symptoms, 0.8% were severe, and 1.2% were critical. Of the new cases, 1,584 were from Metro Manila, 147 from Cavite, 143 from Laguna, 140 from Negros Occidental, and 123 from Batangas. Metro Manila also had the highest number of newly reported deaths with 63, followed by Calabarzon region with 15, Zamboanga Peninsula with seven, Central Visayas with five, Central Luzon with three, two were repatriates and one each were from Western Visayas and Davao regions. More than 2.2 million individuals have been tested for COVID-19. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

P3B set for ‘smart campuses’

A P3 billion fund has been allocated to establish “smart campuses” for state universities under the Bayanihan 2 bill, which only needs the signature of the President to become law. Commission on Higher Education Chairman Prospero E. De Vera III, in a briefing on Thursday, said the proposed budget will ensure that public universities have “connectivity” as flexible learning systems are implemented amid the continued coronavirus outbreak. There are over 100 state universities and colleges in the country. Mr. De vera further said P300 million was also set as assistance to part-time teachers and non-teaching staff who were not able to avail of aid during the first Bayanihan law. — Gillian M. Cortez

78 immigration staff COVID-positive

THE NUMBER of Bureau of Immigration employees who have tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has reached 78. In a statement on Thursday, Immigration Commissioner Jaime H. Morente said of the infected employees, 29 have recovered and only one was hospitalized. The others who have mild or did not show symptoms are in quarantine facilities, he said. “We are still fortunate that none of our workers have succumbed to this virus,” Mr. Morente said. Immigration Medical Section Chief Marites Ambray said 76 other employees have been ordered to isolate as they had exposure to confirmed patients. The bureau’s main office in Manila has launched an online appointment system to better implement health safety measures. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

ARTA finds most cellular tower applications to be incomplete

ONLY 122 out of over 1,500 applications for cellular towers had complete requirements and the resulting delays were not due to inaction by local government units (LGUs), according to the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA).

In a Laging Handa briefing Thursday, ARTA Director General Jeremiah B. Belgica said companies should be “fair” when accusing LGUs of sitting on their applications, when their own compliance may be lacking in terms of documentary requirements and payment.

“Nagbigay ng listahan ng telcos sa atin ng 1,571 applications na submissions according sa kanila. Noong ating ito sinuri, ang lumabas ay 122 lang sa mga list nila na pending na kumpleto na at bayad. Kaya kailangan maging fair sila minsan na mabagal ang mga LGUs (The telcos gave us a list of 1,571 applications that have been filed. When we evaluated them, what came out is only 122 on that pending list had complete documents and were paid up. We need to be fair sometimes with LGUs that are slow),” he said.

The 122 completed applications are from across 44 LGUs. He said that the ARTA has sent 55 orders to the LGUs to submit compliance reports, receiving 21 reports so far. The submitted reports cover 47 applications in total, with seven applications deemed qualified for automatic approval, based on the processing times prescribed by the Ease of Doing Business Law.

Mr. Beligica said starting next week, ARTA will be holding a summary hearing to address the claims and counter-claims of LGUs and the telecommunication companies regarding these applications before issuing certificates of automatic approval.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte warned LGUs earlier this month over delays in the application process for cell towers and ordered the streamlining of the application process. He also called on telecommunication companies to improve signal and connection especially when reliance on their services is high during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. — Gillian M. Cortez

PHL download speeds improve during pandemic

OPENSIGNAL, a UK-based wireless coverage mapping company, said Wednesday that download speeds and the availability of fourth-generation (4G) network services in the Philippines improved in the first half of the year despite greater reliance on the system during the pandemic.

The average download speed experienced by Filipinos in the first three months rose 21.43% to 8.5 megabits per second (Mbps), from 7 Mbps a year earlier.

The download speed for the second quarter increased 2.67% to 7.7 Mbps.

“Operators in countries with high GDP (gross domestic product) per capita find it easier to invest in the latest network equipment and the cost of rolling out networks in countries with low population densities is higher in those where the population lives only in dense urban areas,” it noted.

“We previously found that when a user’s download speed experience is compared with GDP per capita, the Philippines is in the middle of the pack,” it added.

OpenSignal said that between the last quarter of 2017 and the first quarter of 2020, the average download speeds observed by users of Globe Telecom, Inc. and Smart Communications, Inc. increased by “3.5 Mbps (84.2%) and 4.3 Mbps (78.1%), respectively.”

“Smart has consistently been in the lead for this measure of the mobile network experience,” OpenSignal noted.

OpenSignal said an important contributing factor was the improvement in the availability of 4G.

“4G availability rises as operators invest in their 4G networks and it is very sensitive in this regard, as the most common dead zones users struggle with occur indoors and this is where most of our availability data is collected. Given that 4G speeds far exceed those typically seen on 3G, an increase in 4G availability is typically associated with a rise in average download speeds,” it explained.

“Between Q4 2017 and Q2 2020, the 4G availability seen by our Filipino users rose by 19.5 percentage points and pushed past the 80% mark. Our users in the Philippines have also seen at least 10 consecutive quarters of improvement in the proportion of time that they spend connected to 4G,” it added.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte in his recent State of the Nation Address threatened to shut down telecommunications companies if they fail to improve their service by December. A subsequent meeting with industry officials identified local governments as the bottleneck.

“As we’ve seen, the mobile network experience of our users in the Philippines has improved significantly in terms of both download speed experience and 4G availability since the start of 2018. However, should the Philippines wish to accelerate this trend then one possible approach would be to draw on some of the actions taken by regulators from around the world to ensure that speeds remained resilient despite the increased load on telecommunications networks that was triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic — such as increasing the availability of spectrum and cutting red tape,” OpenSignal said.

The Anti-Red Tape Authority recently ordered local governments to release pending permits for telecommunications towers, applying the rules of the Ease of Doing Business Law to remove bottlenecks in the tower permit process.

Smart is the wireless unit of PLDT, Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Grant Thornton launches advisory services for retailers expanding in ASEAN

GRANT THORNTON said it has launched a service to help retail businesses relocate or expand to Southeast Asia in the wake of the pandemic and continued trade tensions between the United States and China.

The professional services company is offering advisory services to medium and large enterprises looking to invest in ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries.

In a statement Thursday, Grant Thornton said its experts in various countries can offer business insights on risk and cost management, investment returns, and cultural differences.

“We offer seamless cross-border services to all the medium to large enterprises looking for opportunities to expand their retail businesses across the ASEAN region,” P&A Grant Thornton Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson Marivic Espano said.

The company offers auditing, tax, and advisory services with member firms in Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.

Ms. Espano said that companies must focus on liquidity, cost management, and debt and restructuring to restore value for their businesses as lockdown restrictions are eased.

The company recently produced “Retail: Navigating the Impact of COVID-19, in which it concluded that the pandemic could have effects beyond a shift to online retail.

“If a significant number of businesses decide to retain homeworking as an operating model, the number of commuters could reduce as well,” the report said.

The company recommended that retailers grow their online presence and nurture a loyal customer base.

The Philippine Retailers Association said that it is seeing some improvement in demand as Metro Manila restrictions are eased, but still expects consumption to be below pre-pandemic levels due to a lack of public transport and customer reluctance to go shopping. — Jenina P. Ibañez

Surveying for 2020 census to start in September

AFTER a four-month delay due to the pandemic, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said it will start conducting the census on Sept. 1, with results set to be published in the early second quarter of next year.

“Kami ay nakipag-coordinate sa mga local executives… kung may mga areas or households na medyo high risk, ito po ay aming iiwasan muna. Babalik na lamang ang aming mga enumerators kapag okay na, (We have held discussions with local executives… If there are areas or households that are deemed high risk, those will be avoided in the meantime. Our enumerators will get back to them once it is safe,” National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa said during an online press briefing Thursday.

The census, according to Mr. Mapa, will run from Sept. 1-30. The census was originally scheduled for May 4 to June 1, but had to be delayed due to the pandemic.

PSA will report the results of the census, formally known as the Census of Population and Housing (CPH) in April or May next year, Mr. Mapa said.

Data collection will be carried out through face-to-face interviews; self-administered questionnaires; over the phone or paper-assisted telephone interviews; and computer-aided web interviews.

More than 100,000 enumerators and Census supervisors will conduct the census and will follow health and safety protocols by wearing face masks and observing physical distancing, among others. Census interviews are expected to take 15 to 30 minutes per household.

Among the data to be gathered are sex, age, marital status, education, religion, ethnicity, disability, occupation, and births and deaths. Information on the main sources of water, electricity, fuel resources, garbage disposal, toilet facility, ICT devices, vehicles, and internet access will also be collected.

The 2020 CPH is the 15th census of population and the seventh census of housing to be undertaken since the first one in 1903.

The last census was performed in 2015, showing a population of 100.98 million, against 92.34 million tallied in 2010.

The population was last estimated at 108.77 million as of July, according to the Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM), which issued its tally on Dec. 27, up 1.38% from a year earlier.

In the same report, POPCOM cited a moderating trend in population growth running for more than two decades. Growth is seen at 1.52% in the last half of the decade, against 1.73% between 2010 and 2015. — Jobo E. Hernandez

DA urges LGUs to add chicken in relief packs

LOCAL GOVERNMENT units (LGUs) were urged to include chicken in their relief packs for vulnerable communities to address the supply glut and normalize prices, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.

Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar encouraged LGUs to help address appeals from members of the United Broiler Raisers Association for government support due to weak demand, which has increased the surplus of chicken meat during the pandemic.

“The inclusion of fresh chicken in the relief goods would raise demand and increase the farmgate prices of broilers. We need to explore new markets to prop up demand, after a great number of food establishments and restaurants have discontinued or reduced their operations,” Mr. Dar said.

In addition, Mr. Dar said the DA is in talks with the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) about possible markets for the surplus chicken.

Mr. Dar said that Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III is open to including chicken under the DoLE’s employment assistance program.

“We will also present the proposal to the DSWD to include chicken meat in their relief food packs,” Mr. Dar said.

According to the DA, the food packs distributed by the national government consist of mostly shelf-stable goods like rice, sardines, noodles, and sugar. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

DA to promote crops harvestable in as little as one month

QUICK-TO-HARVEST crops that can generate income in as little as one month will be a focus of the Department of Agriculture (DA) to ensure the stability of the food supply, Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said.

Mr. Dar said the DA will push for emergency or “short-gestating” food production with farmers’ cooperatives and associations, the private sector, and local government units.

“In addition to vegetable production, we will promote raising of native chicken, quail, and goat, including cattle feedlot fattening, and aquaculture, among other agri-livelihood projects that can be harvested, as early as one month,” Mr. Dar said.

Mr. Dar said such products can generate income in the shortest possible time for producers.

Mr. Dar said the pending Bayanihan to Recover As One Act (Bayanihan II) economic stimulus bill, which aims to kick-start the economy, will include projects for the agriculture sector.

Projects to be funded by the P165.5-billion stimulus package include agri-fishery productivity and income-enhancement projects, social protection and amelioration initiatives, and cash assistance for vulnerable communities.

The proposed funding will also seek to create jobs and cash-for-work opportunities for the unemployed.

“All this will stimulate consumer spending, and that must be supported by sustained food production,” Mr. Dar said. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

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