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NEDA revising goals under PHL dev’t plan

Residents of Navotas line up for a free swab test offered by the city government, Aug. 5. — PHILIPPINE STAR/MICHAEL VARCAS

THE National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is currently revising the government’s medium-term development targets under the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022 due to the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

In a Viber message last week, NEDA Undersecretary Rosemarie G. Edillon said revisions to the economic and development goals are “still under discussion.”

The NEDA is updating the government’s medium-term economic development blueprint to include the “new normal,” and consider the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the economy.

The updated PDP will include a wider adoption of digitalization, more inclusive and job-generating programs and a better healthcare system.

NEDA Acting Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said the government is still aiming to meet the goal of reducing poverty to 14% by 2022, despite the impact of the pandemic on the poor.

“We have brought down the poverty rate from 23.5% in 2015 to 16.7% in 2018, or lifting six million Filipinos from poverty four years ahead of the 2022 target. We will double our effort to meet this target with the recovery programs,” Mr. Chua said in a Viber message.

Under the PDP, the government is targeting to achieve the following by 2022: become an upper-middle income economy; a 7-8% annual growth rate; increase per capita income to $5,000 (from $3,850 in 2019); reduce the poverty rate to 14% (from 16.7% in 2018); keep the inflation rate within 2-4%; and lower the unemployment rate to 3-5% (from 17.7% as of April).

An Aug. 4 study by the state-run think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) warned of the COVID-19 pandemic’s significant impact on the poor. Despite the cash aid program rolled out during the lockdown, PIDS said the pandemic will push 1.5 million Filipinos below the poverty line as the economic slowdown reduces their incomes.

PIDS said the goal to become a middle-class society will be affected if the country records lower growth rates as it recovers from the coronavirus crisis.

The government expects the economy to shrink by 4.5-6.6% this year, before bouncing back to 6.5-7.5% in 2021.

The country plunged into recession after gross domestic product contracted by 16.5% in the second quarter when the lockdown brought the economy to a near standstill. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Gov’t eyes deferred CARS output target

By Jenina P. Ibañez, Reporter

THE GOVERNMENT may consider extending the compliance period for automotive companies participating in its incentives program developed to support local parts production.

The Board of Investments (BoI) is asking the automotive companies to submit proposals after an industry leader pointed out that they may not be able to meet the required production volume.

Toyota Motors Philippines Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. are participating in the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) program, which offers fiscal support to car companies that locally produce 200,000 units of high-volume car models for six years.

But Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) President Rommel R. Gutierrez, in an online press conference last week, asked the government to review the conditions for the program after the pandemic caused an industry sales slump.

In a press conference on Friday, BoI Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo said that he understands the “difficult economic environment” the industry is experiencing.

“That’s why we are willing to take a look at their proposals. So kung meron silang (If they have) specific proposals on the volume requirement, on the timeline for compliance with the volume requirement, we are willing to take a look at it,” he said.

“But currently, the policy direction is that we are willing to take a look at a longer time period to comply with the volume requirement without adjusting the volume.”

He asked car companies to submit specific recommendations backed up by data on the units enrolled in the program and overall sales during the pandemic. The interagency committee on the CARS program will convene again, he said.

Vehicles enrolled in the CARS program include the Toyota Vios and the Mitsubishi Mirage, with deadlines set at 2024 and 2023, respectively.

CAMPI’s Mr. Gutierrez had said that the industry needs to collaborate with the government to maintain local production, saying that Vios and Mirage production have also been “badly hit” during the lockdown.

Cars sales saw a 48.7% decline in the first seven months to 105,583 units compared with the same period a year ago, a joint report by CAMPI and Truck Manufacturers Association said.

Year to date, commercial vehicle sales dropped 47.6% to 75,514 units, while passenger car sales fell 51.4% to 30,069 units.

SEC says company owners may now opt for perpetual corporate existence

CORPORATIONS may amend their corporate term to be extended, shortened, or deemed to have perpetual existence after a vote from their respective board and stockholders, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said in its guidelines.

The Revised Corporation Code (RCC) signed into law by President Rodrigo R. Duterte last Feb. 20, 2019 states that firms may now exist forever instead of the previous 50-year limit that can be renewed thereafter.

SEC Memorandum Circular No. 22 released on Sunday said that corporations incorporated when the code was made effective on Feb 23, 2019 will have perpetual existence unless its articles of incorporation provide a specific corporate term.

These corporations, if they have a specific term of existence in their articles of incorporation, may amend their articles of incorporation to extend or shorten their term with the written assent or majority vote of the board of directors or trustees and the stockholders representing two-thirds of outstanding capital stock.

They may do the same to amend their specific corporate term to perpetual existence.

Corporations under the revised code whose articles of incorporation already provide for a perpetual term of existence may amend this for a specific corporate term under the same written assent or vote.

SEC last year said that perpetual existence would create a sense of longevity for corporations to implement long-term projects.

CORPORATIONS BEFORE THE RCC
Corporations that have certificates of incorporation issued before the RCC was made effective will be deemed perpetual without action from the corporation.

To reflect its perpetual corporate term in its articles of incorporation, the board of directors or trustees can vote by majority as well as stockholders representing majority of the outstanding capital stock including non-voting shares. For nonstock corporations, the vote must be cast by a majority of members.

But corporations with certificates of incorporation before the RCC took effect can continue its present corporate term by filing a notice with the SEC, certifying a decision made by vote. — Jenina P. Ibañez

Tax court affirms Air Philippines’ P74-M refund

THE Court of Tax Appeals affirmed the P73.8-million tax refund granted to Air Philippines Corp. representing the excise tax it paid for the importation of the aviation fuel.

In a 22-page decision, the court, sitting en banc, denied the petition of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) which sought to reverse the ruling of the court’s special third division which ruled in favor of the corporation.

The court said Air Philippines complied with the requirements for tax refund.

“Thus, in view of respondent’s compliance with all the requirements to be entitled to refund of excise taxes on imported Jet A-1 aviation fuel, the Court in Division in the assailed Amended Decision had correctly ordered petitioner to refund to respondent the aggregate amount of P73,769,349.40, representing specific taxes paid under protest corresponding to its importation of Jet A-1 aviation fuel for its domestic flight operations covering the period of January to July 2007,” the court ruled.

The court said the certifications from the Air Transportation Office (ATO) presented by Air Philippines to prove that the Jet A-1 aviation fuel was not locally available in reasonable quantity, quality or price during the time of importation must be given weight as it had the means to know the facts, considering its mandated functions.

It also said that Air Philippines proved that the imported fuel was used for its domestic flight operations with the Authority to Release Imported Goods (ATRIG), based on records of the case.

The court said it is precluded from entertaining the issue on the actual use of imported aviation fuel, which was only raised by the bureau on its motion for reconsideration on the court division’s decision in November 2018.

The BIR argued that the corporation’s additional evidence should not have been considered by the court’s division as the Department of Energy is mandated to monitor supply and demand of fuel and not the ATO, nor the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.

The bureau also claimed that ATRIGs alone are insufficient to prove that the aviation fuel was used for its transport and non-transport operations.

Air Philippines, on the other hand, said that it had established that the imported fuel was used for its transport operations as it presented witnesses and documentary evidence.

The court’s third division in November 2018 issued an amended decision, granting Air Philippines the refund. It affirmed the decision in a resolution in April 2019, denying the appeal of the BIR and the Bureau of Customs.

In the 2018 ruling, the court’s special third division said the corporation established that it is entitled to refund the erroneously collected excise tax it paid.

The court said that for the corporation to avail of the exemption under its franchise, it must prove that it paid its basic income or franchise tax, whichever is lower, the imported materials should be used for transport and non-transport operations, and these were not locally available in reasonable quantity, quality, or price. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Swiss tourism says stay home, travel later — but keep us in mind

A YEAR AGO, a video promoting tourism to a certain country or location would have been intended to lure people to the place — showing its amazing scenery, its friendly people, and good food. Switzerland’s most recent video includes the usual, only this time, the country is encouraging potential tourists to stay home, be safe, and travel later.

Called Dream Now, Travel Later, the 30-second video posted in the MySwitzerland YouTube channel in March shows the Matterhorn alongside text to “dream now, travel later” and to stay safe and stay home as Switzerland will welcome them soon.

“Dream Now, Travel Later is a solidarity program during the time that you cannot travel. So instead of promoting our most beautiful destinations and offers, we said we wanted to do more of a mood-making kind of program,” Ivan Breiter, director for Southeast Asia of Switzerland Tourism, told BusinessWorld via an online interview in early August.

Similar campaigns have been launched by Ireland and Australia, both of which serve as reminders not to forget the beauty of the country while travel is still difficult.

Aside from videos encouraging people to travel to Switzerland once it’s safe to do so, Switzerland Tourism also created a program to promote Switzerland as clean and safe — while people from most countries still can’t travel to destinations for tourism, Switzerland has been welcoming tourists from neighboring countries in Europe.

The Clean and Safe program outlines safety measures undertaken by tourist establishments and can be viewed on the Switzerland Tourism website (https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-sg/planning/about-switzerland/clean-safe/).

Switzerland has been able to control the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) outbreak successfully since March and currently has 39,627 cases, 34,100 of whom have already recovered.

But how has the COVID-19 outbreak and limitations to travel and movement affected tourism in the country? Well, Mr. Breiter noted that before the pandemic hit, Switzerland had been seeing a steady increase in tourist arrivals, with hotels recording 39.6 million overnight stays in 2019 according to swissinfo.ch in February.

Last year, the country recorded 46,000 overnights from the Philippines, an increase of 13.3% from 2018 numbers. The number had been steadily increasing, said Mr. Breiter, every year since 2006.

But because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said that they only have “about 20% of overnights” compared to last year.

From March until the end of the year Mr. Breiter said that they are looking at a loss of 25% in terms of tourist arrivals, a complete reversal of the gains made in the previous years. This is despite having a domestic tourist market that has started traveling and tourists from nearby countries like Germany visiting. There is hope for recovery, though he thinks full recovery will come by 2023.

“On one hand we [need] capacity to go up, and then we have problems in hotels that closed down, so there’s going to be less offers available,” he said before adding that as long as “there is no solution for the problem,” referring to a vaccine for COVID-19, a full recovery in the tourism sector won’t be possible. He thinks vaccines will only be available starting 2021.

Will the pandemic change the way people travel? Yes, said Mr. Breiter, but these may be short-term changes.

“What we see is more people traveling using rental cars [and] more people using apartments instead of popular accommodations. More people are also traveling to smaller tourism destinations, to smaller villages. More nature travel is taking place,” he said, before noting that Switzerland is a destination where they have so many different sights and experiences that “no single destination has 10% of the overall overnights in the country,” making it a less crowded tourism destination.

“At this moment, [there is] a change in travel behavior. How this means in a year or two depends on the situation and how it goes,” he added. — Zsarlene B. Chua

DTI moves to source health workers’ protective gear from local makers

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is working on implementing local preference for government procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE).

Manufacturers that have repurposed their business to develop PPEs asked the government to source locally made products, instead of favoring imported products.

The five firms that make up the Confederation of Philippine Manufacturers of PPE (CPMP) have been producing face masks and developing medical grade coveralls for health workers dealing with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

DTI in a press release said that it is working with the Health department and the Department of Budget and Management’s procurement service to implement the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act or Bayanihan 2, which would give local preference to locally made PPEs.

“[We are] anticipating its passage into law; [and we are] aligning PPE demand requirements, timing of procurement, and flow of production,” DTI said.

The department said that it would fill in value chain gaps and work on attracting investments in support services such as local PPE testing laboratories. DTI added that it would develop an online platform to match supply and demand in real time, including demand from private hospitals.

CPMP has also asked the government for tax breaks, while urging instead to impose the taxes on importers.

The PPE makers said that imported products should also be laboratory-tested by the local Food and Drug Administration.

The firms have a total production capacity of 57 million face masks and three million pieces of coveralls and isolation gowns per month. — Jenina P. Ibañez

Trip to Ireland is the big prize in recipe contest using Irish pork, EU beef

THE IRISH Government Food Board, Bord Bia launched its first online culinary competition, called East Meets West, with participants welcome to submit their recipe entries until Aug. 31. The top 10 participants will be announced on Sept. 7, and the five winners will be known on Oct. 23.

“We have opened our East Meets West competition primarily to chefs, culinary students and foodies. However, anyone with a passion for cooking is welcome to submit their recipe via the link available on our Facebook page. We welcome all those with a passion for food and encourage contestants to get creative with fusing European pork and beef in fantastic Filipino cuisine,” said Jack Hogan, Market Specialist for Bord Bia in an e-mail to BusinessWorld. The competition has been held in Hong Kong and mainland China over the last three years, he said. “It was a great success in these markets and we are sure the Philippines will be also,” he said.

The rules are as follows:

• Create and share “the most delicious Filipino or Fusion (combination of Western and Filipino) recipe presented at restaurant standard.

• A recipe should include one of the following meat cuts: for pork: jowl, collar or pork belly; and for beef: short rib, brisket or striploin. The contestant can add two additional components (i.e one side dish, one sauce; or two side dishes) and a garnish.

• For the first round, a recipe should be submitted in text format.

• For the second round (best 10 submissions), the contestant will have to develop a second recipe and present both recipes in a short video.

• The top 10 contestants will receive a cooking kit, which includes Irish pork and beef cuts.

“For extra marks, we encourage a picture of the finished recipe to be submitted alongside the recipe description,” said Mr. Hogan.

The five winners are to win a trip to Ireland, and not just any trip: “The five lucky winners will win a once-in-a-lifetime culinary tour of Ireland. This tour will provide the full experience, from quality food producers to Michelin standard restaurants, the winners will get a taste of everything Ireland’s world-class culinary scene has to offer, with some exciting cultural and tourist activities also on the menu,” said Mr. Hogan.

Aside from Bord Bia’s representatives, the contest will also be judged by chefs Billy King (owner and chef at Le Chef Restaurant in The Manor at Camp John Hay, Baguio), Mark Hagan (executive chef at the Grand Hyatt Manila), and Philip John Golding (founding chairman, Disciples of Escoffier Philippines). All shared what they think would be winning recipes: “Creativity is key. We want contestants to demonstrate their passion and culinary creativity in fusing European pork and beef from Ireland with Filipino cuisine. A winning video would capture the contestant’s attitude and passion for their recipe and effectively communicate the creative process/technique they used to accentuate the many positive qualities of European pork and beef,” said Mr. Hogan.

“A chef should always have something up her or his sleeve that can be added as a final touch, like a personal signature. A winning attitude will always be composed of passion for excellence; confidence in one’s ability and a happy disposition while creating the dish. That’s what gives the profession its artistic prowess,” said Mr. King.

Mr. Golding said, “The winning recipe should innovate Filipino cuisine through outstanding ingredients using simplicity but with strong culinary fundamentals.”

Mr. Hagan says, meanwhile, “Every great dish should tell a story: a childhood memory, a dish your  grandmother served when you came around for a meal. Ireland is very much like the Philippines; we love to get together and share good food.”

He added: “Be creative and true to the food you cook, don’t overcomplicate it.”

Mr. Hogan discussed the significance of the contest. “The aim of the competition is to engage with the vibrant culinary scene in the Philippines and raise awareness of the great quality food from Ireland that is on offer in the market, particularly Irish pork and beef. We want to demonstrate the versatility of Irish pork and beef and show that it can fit perfectly into Filipino cuisine.

“Irish pork and beef is of world-renowned quality. It is endorsed by over 40 Michelin star chefs across the globe. Our dedicated producers are fully invested in producing the highest quality food in harmony with nature, producing natural and sustainable food is their passion. Ireland is a small island on the edge of Europe, we have a population of just five million people, yet we produce enough food to feed 25 million. We are passionate about the food we produce and we want to share it with the world,” he said.

Contest details and the link to submit recipes are on facebook.com/EUPorkandBeefPH/. — JL Garcia

Virgin coconut oil maker sees expansion opportunities

COTABATO-BASED Treelife, a maker of organic goods, sees big potential in expanding virgin coconut oil (VCO) production — but it will have to wait until after the coronavirus crisis.

“When we heard of the study of VCO having the potential to lessen the risk of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), we were hopeful, but as the study was still in its early stages, we as a company continued operations as per usual,” Rochella Marie Taray, marketing and export manager of TreeLife, said in an e-mail interview.

The “usual” operations meant supplying to “current clients who have been with us even before COVID-19 started,” she said.

Treelife, which started exporting VCO in 2017, ships most of its output to Europe.

“We have an agreement with our buyers that we can’t reveal who they are, but our main export market is Europe,” Ms. Taray said.

“There has been a 20% increase (in the second quarter this year) compared to the first quarter,” she said.

The company started selling to the Philippine market this year after finally receiving certification from the Food and Drug Administration in December.

Ms. Taray said there has also been an increase in domestic demand with the Department of Science and Technology’s announcement that the use of VCO has shown positive results in the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 patients with mild symptoms.

“Potentially, there is a large opportunity (for even more demand),” she said, but expanding production to meet that demand during the outbreak is difficult.

She said with continued border restrictions and numerous quarantine protocols, it is difficult to hire people and move goods.

The company, which has various international certifications for its organic and fair trade operations, currently works with and employs more than 800 farmers and residents.

Treelife processes up to 40,000 coconuts per day to make VCO, which accounts for 50% of Treelife’s revenue stream.

Ms. Taray said while the company is planning to expand VCO production, it is also looking into other opportunities such as intercropping cardava banana in the coconut farms.

Treelife makes banana chips apart from various coconut-based products. — Maya M. Padillo

El Nido Resorts gets ready to welcome visitors

PALAWAN, voted the World’s Best Island in 2020 by Travel + Leisure, awaits visitors once more as it reopens its doors, the first among the archipelago’s tourism destinations. Now under the modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), and with the support of the Department of Tourism (DoT) and the municipal government, luxury chain El Nido Resorts is the first to receive the DoT Certificate of Authority to Operate in the town after complying with the guidelines to accept leisure guests at 50% capacity.

El Nido Resorts and the Lio Tourism Estate look forward to welcoming guests back in line with their commitment for safe and sustainable tourism.

The 40-year-old Miniloc Island Resort was the first to open its doors to guests coming from outside Palawan. A maiden flight in mid-July and a follow-through will be conducted in coordination with its partner airline, AirSwift. With satisfactory results and positive feedback from guests and the LGU, it will continue to service guests through scheduled flights from Manila for a three-night vacation from Sept. 11-14.

Under the “travel bubble” setup, guests will have to undergo RT-PCR testing 72 hours prior to their departure, and fill out health and travel declaration forms upon reservation.

The resort chain has been monitoring developments during the community quarantine period and have been maintained by the team members through its Be GREEN, Be Clean enhanced care program.

An eco-discovery island resort, Miniloc offers guests a back-to-basics Filipino coastal rustic village vibe. Guests can swim, snorkel, or dive with the huge jackfish and a variety of marine species at its house reef, or explore the Big and Small Lagoons, Snake Island, and other attractions around Bacuit Bay.

Meanwhile, Huni Resort, located at the Lio Tourism Estate on the mainland, is already accepting bookings from Palawan-based residents.

Earlier this year, the Ten Knots Group, which includes El Nido Resort chain, was awarded the world’s first Sea Turtle Friendly Tourism Certification by the Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network  for its exceptional care for the aquatic animal. The group’s resorts are located in a high biodiversity area, and thus it exercises stewardship over the environment, stressing the importance of preserving nature to all stakeholders.

For inquiries, log on to www.elnidoresorts.com, e-mail holiday@elnidoresorts.com or call 0917-5841576.

Rates of T-bills, T-bonds may move sideways on BSP decision

RATES OF government securities on offer this week will likely move sideways after the central bank kept policy rates unchanged.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) is looking to borrow P20 billion via the Treasury bills (T-bills) on Monday, broken down into P5 billion each from the 91- and 182-day debt papers and P10 billion via the 364-day instruments.

On Tuesday, the BTr will offer P30 billion in reissued 20-year Treasury bonds (T-bonds) that have a remaining life of 12 years and seven months and a coupon rate of 3.635%.

Yields of the T-bills may decline by five basis points from rates seen at the previous auction, Carlyn Therese X. Dulay, first vice-president and head of Wholesale Treasury Sales at Security Bank Corp., said in an e-mail on Friday.

Kevin Palma, peso sovereign debt trader of Robinsons Bank Corp., said via Viber over the weekend that “now that the Monetary Board (MB) held rates as expected, yields may just mirror the results of the previous auction.”

The policy-setting Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Thursday kept benchmark interest rates steady amid a steady inflation outlook.

Rates on the BSP’s overnight reverse repurchase, lending and deposit facilities are currently at record lows of 2.25%, 2.75% and 1.75%, respectively. The central bank aims to keep inflation within 2-4% this year.

The BTr borrowed P20 billion as programmed via the T-bills out of P63.306 billion in tenders last week even as rates inched up.

Broken down, the Treasury raised P5 billion as planned via the 91-day T-bills at an average rate of 1.118%, up from the 1.113% seen in the Aug. 10 auction.

It also made a full P5-billion award of the 182-day T-bills at a slightly higher average rate of 1.388% from 1.386% the prior week.

For the 364-day securities, the Treasury borrowed the programmed P10 billion at an average rate of 1.745%, down from 1.746% previously.

Meanwhile, Security Bank’s Ms. Dulay sees the 20-year notes fetching an average rate of 3.5% to 3.75%.

This is lower than the 5.341% fetched in the Nov. 25, 2019 auction when the Treasury last offered the tenor. It awarded just P12.271 billion out of the P20 billion programmed after market participants asked for higher rates.

“We expect the 20-year auction to receive slightly less demand versus the treasury bills due to its much longer duration. As the market expects the BSP’s easy policy stance to only last until the COVID-19 pandemic is resolved, the market may take more conservative positions in the 10-year (or longer) sector of the curve at this time,” she said.

Robinsons Bank’s Mr. Palma said the upcoming offer of 20-year papers should attract real money investors because of its relatively higher yield than tenors in the belly of the curve.

“In a low interest rate setting, there are two things you can do. Extend the duration of your portfolio or diversify to lower credit or a riskier asset. Popular opinion I think is to extend duration mostly to safe-haven assets,” he said.

At the secondary market, rates of the 91-, 182- and 364-day T-bills stood at 1.191%, 1.437% and 1.787%, respectively, while the 20-year notes were quoted at 3.578%, based on Bloomberg Valuation Service Reference Rates posted on Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp.’s website.

The government has set a P170-billion borrowing program for August. It will auction off P110 billion in T-bills weekly and P60 billion in Treasury bonds fortnightly.

It plans to borrow around P3 trillion this year from local and foreign lenders to plug its budget deficit seen to hit 9.6% of gross domestic product. — Beatrice M. Laforga

SEC move sets back virus fight, says hospital operator

The Medical City (TMC) said the corporate regulator’s nullification of a shareholder group’s acquisitions of majority shares in Professional Services, Inc. (PSI), the hospital’s operator, puts the country’s response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) at risk.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) asked The Medical City to return to its ownership structure in 2013 and return money to investors, alleging that the acquisitions are illegal and fraudulent.

TMC in a press release on Sunday said that this is an additional challenge on hospital operations that are seeing a shortage in healthcare workers and delays in bill payments worth P750 million from state-led Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth). 

“Where in the law, or even in any other case, can you see the SEC telling a private corporation how to classify shares, how these shares should be sold, and when these shares can be paid? It’s almost as if they were preparing the way for a favored party to buy shares of TMC,” TMC Chairman Jose Xavier Gonzales said.

The SEC’s special hearing panel in November last year penalized Viva Holdings (Philippines) Pte. Ltd., Viva Healthcare Ltd., Fountel Corp. and Felicitas Antoinette, Inc. (FAI) for violating the mandatory tender offer rules under the Securities Regulation Code (SRC) and committing fraud in taking over PSI.

SEC said the four parties in 2013 transformed their business relation into beneficial ownership over each other’s shares. It said the entities increased their collective shareholdings in PSI to more than 50%, mainly through subscriptions in the firm’s capital stock increases, as approved by the regulator between 2013 to 2017.

The Commission en banc said that parties made it seem convincing that the purchases were made independently and will not be used to control the management of the company.

All the processes involved in the share purchases, such as subscription contracts, deeds of assignments and deeds of sale were “tainted with illegality and fraud,” SEC said.

But TMC said that the SEC does not have the jurisdiction to determine fraud.

“Lawyers have also pointed out the SEC has no jurisdiction to determine fraud. Unlike court decisions, which have trials and opposing counsels that allow judges to fully understand the information presented, the SEC decides a case based only on select interviews and paperwork,” TMC said.

TMC Chief Executive Officer Eugenio Jose F. Ramos said that the SEC decision comes “at a really bad time.”

“The last thing our staff needs right now is even more uncertainty — it’s hard enough to face patients who may or may not have COVID. It’s hard enough for them to come home worrying that they might be exposing their family to COVID. Now they also have to worry about what is going to happen to their hospital.”

BusinessWorld has reached out to SEC for comment, but has not received a response as of deadline time. — Jenina P. Ibañez

Happy drink in sad times: champagne makers gather pandemic harvest

BETHON, FRANCE — Wine makers in France’s Champagne region are this week gathering a bumper grape harvest, but there is a bitter aftertaste: the slump in demand for bubbly caused by the COVID-19 pandemic means some of the harvest will go to waste.

“We make the wine of happiness, and when people are sad, like during the lockdown, sales of champagne tend to collapse,” said Vincent Leglantier, a 34-year-old wine grower in Bethon, about 120 kilometers east of Paris.

At the Brun de Neuville vineyard collective, to which Mr. Leglantier belongs, teams of pickers in baseball caps worked their way along rows of vines, collecting grapes by hand. Most are migrant workers from eastern Europe who come every harvest season.

But this year is different. Sales are sharply down because weddings and parties — drivers of demand for champagne — are being canceled around the world.

In response, French champagne producers decided this month to put a cap on the amount of grapes they send for processing into wine.

They took the decision because a glut of the drink in cellars and on wholesalers’ shelves would drive down prices and tarnish the aura of luxury and exclusivity that the industry has spent years building up.

But the cap — limiting the amount of grapes that can be harvested from a hectare to 8,000 kg — means that anything over that figure must be left to rot.

The quota is one-fifth less than last year’s harvest and this year because of hot sunny weather that growers ascribe to climate change, the yield in many vineyards is even more bountiful than usual.

“You could say it’s maybe the best of the bad deals we could have reached,” Damien Champy, head of the Brun de Neuville vineyard cooperative, said of the quota as he stood in the cellar where bottles of champagne are left to mature. — Reuters

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