PLDT sets 5G rollout in fourth quarter

June 11, 2020 | 12:01 am

PLDT Inc. will roll out its fifth generation (5G) network by the end of this year, the listed telecommunications company said, citing the current virus outbreak as the reason for the delay.

In a Laging Handa briefing on Wednesday, PLDT Spokesperson Ramon R. Isberto said the 5G services under mobile subsidiary Smart Communications, Inc. will be launched by the fourth quarter of 2020.

“Tuloy pa rin ho iyong 5G project ng Smart. Dahil nga doon sa COVID (The 5G project of Smart will still push through. Because of COVID), we have not been able to move as fast as we want to, so we’re looking at possibly launching the 5G service by the later part of this year, possibly the fourth quarter of 2020,” he said.

PLDT is now looking at the consumer, commercial, and industrial applications of the 5G network.

Mr. Isberto said preparations for the 5G program include improving the fiber networks for PLDT and Smart. Intelligent Fiber Network will be used for the 5G services instead of E-Long Fiber Network.

“We have to overhaul our fiber network of PLDT and Smart. Iyon po ang ginagawa namin together(That’s what we are doing together) with the US company called Cisco. We are transforming our fixed fiber network,” Mr. Isberto said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Isberto said PLDT welcomes the release of guidelines on the Department of Information and Communications Technology’s policy on shared telecommunications towers.

“Our legal team is now in the process of going through the new guidelines, to the new policy. We are preparing a more comprehensive response. But initially I can say that we welcome that provision that allows the telecom operators to set up their own towers if their network roll out requirements demand it,” he said.

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. — Gillian M. Cortez

Dining In (06/11/12)

June 11, 2020 | 12:01 am

Swagat Indian Cuisine offers take-out

Swagat Indian Cuisine, now on its 17^th year of offering authentic Indian dishes, has, like all restaurants, been unable to welcome customers to its premises because of the lockdown. But it has continued to make its food available to its patrons via Grab Food, Honest Bee, Food Panda, and Lala Food delivery service. The unassuming restaurant was opened by Indian migrant Komal Khanchandani in 2003 in Rada St., Legazpi Village in Makati, and helped make Indian food a staple in the country’s financial district. Now at its new home at The Columns at Amorsolo St. cor. Arnaiz Ave., it continues to offer healthy, homestyle dishes like palak pakora, deep fried spinach and spices rolled in chickpea flour; chicken tikka, tender, skinless and boneless chicken marinated in ginger and garlic; sangam biryani or flavored spicy Indian rice with lean, tender pieces of chicken, lamb, cooked in herbs and spices. For customer’s satisfaction, food is prepared based on their preference of mild, medium, hot or extra hot. It is a halal restaurant ideal for Muslim diners, and has a wide array of vegetable dishes for vegetarians. And with the gradual opening up of restaurants for dine in customers, guests can experience dining under quarantine health protocols. Seventeen years and one pandemic later, Khanchandani still exudes with confidence and poses the same challenge to diners since day one: “Don’t pay if you are not satisfied with the food.”

Father’s Day with Cardinal Cakes

Cardinal Cakes has created the new Sugar-free Mocha Cream Pie specially for Father’s Day. Or choose from Cardinal Cakes’ four regular offerings: Dark Chocolate Cake, Naked Red Velvet Cake, Carrot Walnut Cake; and Caramel Cake. Cardinal Cakes delivers via Grab or Lalamove. To order, call 0905-420-4030 or 8821-0057, or via Facebook Messenger at m.me/CardinalCuisine. For more updates, follow them on Facebook and Instagram: @CardinalCuisine.

Trolls World Tour toys, Happy Meal Readers books

McDonald’s is now offering all-new Trolls World Tour toys and Happy Meal Readers books as Happy Meal or McShare Box add-ons for as low as P35 each. Kids can choose from over 10 trolls including Poppy, Biggie, Mr. Dinkles. Meanwhile, The TreeTop Twins return with new adventures. Launched in February, the Happy Meal Readers program offers a book or toy option for every Happy Meal purchase. The books, written by author Cressida Cowell, encourage family bonding through storytelling. The books tell the story of the Treetop Twins and their parents as they go through adventures by traveling in their time machine. Through the Happy Meal Add-On Promo, an extra book or toy of choice can be added to the purchase for P35. The promo allows kids to include as many add-ons as they like, so they can build their collection sooner. Customers can avail of this promo until July 30. McDonald’s is also offering the Happy Meal Complete Set Add-On Promo. With every purchase of a McShare Box, adding P330 will include the complete set of 10 Trolls World Tour toys. The limited time offer is available until June 11 only. Purchase these in the safety of home through the McDelivery Website or App, or the hotline 8888-6236. Starting June 13, customers can also enjoy the P35 Happy Meal Add-On Promo via McDo Messenger, GrabFood, and FoodPanda.

Indulge in Century Park Hotel’s Deli Snack is back

Century Park Hotel Manila has reopened Deli Snack, the hotel’s pastry and deli shop. Open daily for takeout or pick-up from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., a wide selection of breads, pastries and cookies are available for breakfast or afternoon tea at home. The assortment includes French bread, raisin bread, cinnamon rolls, Danish pastries, and empanadas among others. Cold cuts such as ham, pork loin, liver paté and sausages are also being offered. Decadent cakes are among the best buys from Deli Snack. Choose from a wide variety of black forest, blueberry cheese, super moist, choco cheese and apple tart among others. A 50% discount is given on selected items from 5 to 6 p.m. For more information, call 8528-5855, or contact 0917-633-2497 either via SMS or Viber. Century Park Hotel enforces the new normal and standard protocols such as wearing of masks and social distancing on the outlet premises. Furthermore, all Deli Snack products are prepared and handled well to ensure the safety of its customers.

Father’s Day gifts at Healthy Options

Healthy Options is offering free shipping for Father’s Day gifts ordered by June 13. Each gift set also comes with a personalized note customers can write for their father. The Supercharged Dad gift set includes honey oat granola, vitamins, cookies, chips, protein energy meal packet, shaving cream, sunscreen, and protein bars. The Time Out With Dad gift set includes apple chips, chips, cheese snacks, rootbeer, butterscotch beer, multivitamins, chocolate candy, body wash, and roll-on aromatherapy. For deliveries outside Metro Manila, Cainta and Antipolo, shipping time may vary depending on address and may arrive after June 21.

How PSEi member stocks performed — June 10, 2020

June 11, 2020 | 12:00 am

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Wednesday, June 10, 2020.

PSEi declines anew on profit taking, lack of leads

June 10, 2020 | 9:00 pm

LOCAL SHARES failed to keep their momentum on Wednesday as profit takers swarmed the market due to the lack of a strong catalyst.

The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) lost 144.47 points or 2.19% to close at 6,439.37, while the broader all shares index gave up 75.99 points or 1.96% to end at 3,786.10.

“The Philippine market took a breather amid concerns regarding the speed and size of the recent rally,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile message.

After trading within the 5,000 level since late March until the end of May, the PSEi made a strong rebound beginning on June 2 and jumped from 5,930.17 on June 1 to 6,517.49 as early as June 4.

Brokers said the primary driver of investor optimism was the easing of lockdowns in the Philippines and across the world and news of a potential coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine.

But Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Associate Claire T. Alviar said these factors were not enough to sustain the rally on Wednesday.

“The recent rally was supported only by investors participation… There was no strong catalyst aside from the hopes of economic recovery after lockdown measures eased,” she said in a text message.

Mr. Limlingan said investors also opted to stay on the sidelines in anticipation of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting. The US Federal Reserve is set to convene for its monetary policy decision on Wednesday night, Philippine time, amid the ongoing pandemic.

The S&P 500 and Dow fell on Tuesday, pausing after recent strong gains as focus shifted to the Federal Reserve, while the Nasdaq ended at an all-time high for a second straight day after briefly rising above the 10,000 mark for the first time.

US markets closed mixed on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 indices shed 1.09% and 0.78%, respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite index increased 0.29%.

Ms. Alviar said investor sentiment was also dampened by the World Bank’s projection that Philippine gross domestic product may shrink by 1.9% this year and 1.2 million Filipinos may fall into poverty.

All sectoral indices at the PSE closed in red territory. Mining and oil dropped 209.65 points or 3.83% to 5,260.90; financials erased 43.55 points or 3.22% to 1,309.13; property shaved off 85.33 points or 2.57% to 3,229.28; holding firms lost 165.15 points or 2.45% to 6,551.17; industrials fell 93.02 points or 1.13% to 8,127.94; and services trimmed 4.97 points or 0.34% to 1,437.55.

Value turnover stood at P8.96 billion with 825.25 million issues switching hands, slightly higher than the previous day’s turnover of P8.54 billion with 980.80 million issues. Decliners outpaced advancers, 147 against 55, while 41 names ended unchanged.

Foreign investors remained net buyers with net inflows of P318.79 million on Wednesday from P62.32 million the previous day. — Denise A. Valdez with Reuters

Peso rebounds vs dollar on narrower trade deficit

June 10, 2020 | 9:00 pm

THE PESO rebounded against the greenback on Wednesday on news of a narrower April trade deficit and the unsustained rally of US stocks.

The local unit finished trading at P49.85 per dollar on Wednesday, appreciating by 10 centavos from its Tuesday close of P49.95, according to data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines.

The peso opened at P50.05 versus the dollar. Its weakest showing for the day was at P50.07 while its strongest was at P49.83 against the greenback.

Dollars traded climbed to $1.12 billion on Wednesday from the $793.71 million seen on Tuesday.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort attributed the local unit’s gains to trade data released yesterday.

“The peso closed stronger after the [release of data showing the] narrowest trade deficit in nearly five years,” Mr. Ricafort said in a text message.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed the country’s trade deficit was at $499.21 million in April, slimmer than the $3.8-billion gap in the same month in 2019. This, as exports dropped 50.8% to $2.78 billion while imports plunged 65.3% to $3.28 billion.

Year to date, the trade balance was at a deficit of $8.03 billion from January to April, smaller than the $14.14-billion shortfall in the comparable 2019 period.

Meanwhile, a trader said the peso’s rebound came due to weaker dollar sentiment after the US stock market failed to sustain its rally.

“The peso was stronger as investors took in the news that Wall Street gains did not push through on Tuesday,” the trader said in a phone call.

The S&P 500 and Dow fell on Tuesday, pausing after recent strong gains as focus shifted to the Federal Reserve, while the Nasdaq ended at an all-time high for a second straight day after briefly rising above the 10,000 mark for the first time, Reuters reported.

The Fed began a two-day meeting. While no major policy announcements are expected when the US central bank wraps up on Wednesday, investors will scrutinize its remarks on the health of the economy, which has been reopening after coronavirus-related closures.

The Nasdaq’s gains came on the back of strong gains in tech-related shares, a day after the index became the first of Wall Street’s major indexes to confirm a new bull market. Apple, up 3.2%, gave the Nasdaq its biggest boost on Tuesday.

The benchmark S&P 500 fell back into negative territory for the year after temporarily erasing those losses on Monday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 300.14 points or 1.09% to 27,272.3; the S&P 500 lost 25.21 points or 0.78% to 3,207.18 and the Nasdaq Composite added 29.01 points or 0.29% to 9,953.75.

For today, Mr. Ricafort gave a forecast range of P49.75 to P50 versus the dollar while the trader expects the peso to move around the P49.70 to P50.05 band. — L.W.T. Noble with Reuters

COVID-19 spending reckoned at P355 billion

June 10, 2020 | 8:26 pm

GOVERNMENT spending on its coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) containment effort totaled P355.084 billion as of Tuesday, June 9, according to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

The June 9 total compares with the P352 billion reported in the period ending May 27, after more funds were disbursed to relief programs, including the Social Amelioration Program (SAP).

The funds were released through Special Allotment Release Orders, which are a DBM authorization to line agencies allowing them to incur obligations in that specific period and for a defined purpose.

The increased spending was largely due to the P500 million in new allotment releases issued to Small Business Corp. for its Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso program on May 29 and the P2.02 billion released to cover the remaining funding needs for SAP on June 3.

Earlier allotment releases for the P205-billion SAP were the P100 billion released on April 2 and P96.044 billion on April 16.

The DBM estimates that 70% or P246.622 billion of the funds were sourced from discontinued programs, activities and projects, while 27% or P98.217 billion came from special purpose funds. The remaining 3% or P10.245 billion was from current budgets of implementing agencies.

At the level of notices of cash allocation (NCA) issued by the DBM, which are an authorization for government offices to disburse funds allocated to them, a total of P354.455 billion was released so far.

There were no NCA releases for the latest SAP allocations for as of Tuesday.

The documents are posted on DBM’s website and are being updated regularly. — Beatrice M. Laforga

DoT clearance required for hotels to reopen

June 10, 2020 | 8:24 pm

THE Interagency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-EID) on Wednesday ordered hotels and other accommodation establishments (AEs) to obtain an authorization from the tourism department before resuming operations.

IATF-EID Resolution No. 43, Series of 2020, provides that AEs may operate only upon the issuance of a Certificate of Authority.

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said this is intended to ensure the “safety and health” of guests.

“With this ‘No DoT Certification, No Operation policy,’ we shall further implement the DoT Health and Safety Guidelines for Accommodation Establishments Under the New Normal,” she said in a statement Wednesday.

Its guidelines follow protocols issued by the World Health Organization and the Department of Health.

This applies to establishments such as hotels, resorts, and tourist inns restarting their business as the government eases lockdown restrictions.

Luzon was locked down to contain the pandemic starting mid-March, suspending work, classes and public transportation.

The government started lifting restrictions in areas deemed lower-risk starting May 15 and later in Metro Manila and Cebu on June 1.

To obtain the certificate, AEs accredited by the Department need to submit a Letter of Intent to Operate to their respective DoT (Department of Tourism) regional offices. Meanwhile non-accredited establishments need to apply for accreditation.

Ms. Puyat said the application will be free of charge, and warned businesses that failure to comply will be subject to penalties. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

ADB 2020 lending to PHL at record $2.6B

June 10, 2020 | 8:23 pm

THE Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) lending to the Philippines has hit a record $2.6 billion so far this year, exceeding the 2019 level of $2.5 billion.

In a statement Wednesday, the ADB approved a $500-million loan for the government’s conditional cash aid program, known as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

“With this loan, ADB’s total lending to the Philippines has reached $2.6 billion so far this year, exceeding its record lending of $2.5 billion in 2019,” it said.

The ADB said the $500-million loan is for the Expanded Social Assistance Project aiming to “help families maintain health and educational gains for their children” under the 4Ps program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

“The 4Ps program provides vulnerable households with an income supplement to help their children become educated, stay healthy, and leave poverty for good. Our evidence shows that this is working. The 4Ps program has helped 1.5 million people escape poverty since it began in 2008. Through this project loan and technical assistance support, ADB is helping the Philippines expand these gains,” ADB Vice-President Ahmed M. Saeed was quoted as saying.

The 4Ps program provides cash aid every two months to some 4.3 million families on condition that their children stay in school and submit to regular health checkups, while women must attend pre- and post-natal care sessions and parents participate in family development sessions.

The ADB said it will also extend $3.1 million worth of technical assistance to enhance the development sessions, to update the list of eligible families and provide a livelihood package that will help 3,000 families emerge from poverty.

The technical assistance will also help in information technology reforms that will “automate compliance verification and grievance redress” and assist in integrating the 4Ps database with the government’s national ID system.

The ADB said its total assistance to the 4Ps program has amounted to over $1.5 billion so far.

Other loans the ADB approved for the Philippines this year include $1.7 billion approved in April to help the government respond to the pandemic and a $400-million loan for capital market development in June. — Beatrice M. Laforga

New ecozones to generate P6.4B in investment

June 10, 2020 | 8:23 pm

A DOZEN new economic zones approved this year are expected to attract P6.4 billion worth of investment, including seven new zones proclaimed in the last month.

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) said in a statement Wednesday that President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed the proclamation of seven new ecozones starting May 5.

The ecozones include nine information technology (IT) centers, two manufacturing ecozones, and one IT park.

Eight ecozones are in Luzon, while four are in the Visayas and Mindanao.

PEZA did not provide detailed comparative data for recent years, but said that 73 ecozones generating P88.3 billion in investment were approved since 2016.

PEZA Director-General Charito B. Plaza is urging the government to improve fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to support public works, information technology infrastructure, and logistics and transportation hubs.

She requested training programs for workers to match the manpower needs of investors.

“Once these efficiency factors are addressed, it will lower the cost of doing business and will make the country an investment haven in Asia. This will likewise attract more export-oriented industries to the Philippines that would triple the economic gains and inject more investment,” she said.

PEZA manages 408 ecozones, with 4,542 locator companies directly employing 1.6 million workers. — Jenina P. Ibañez

Legislator seeks review of Rice Tariffication Law after gov’t rice imports

June 10, 2020 | 8:23 pm

MAGSASAKA Partylist Representative Argel T. Cabatbat called for a review of Republic Act No. 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) after the government resumed imports on its own account by declaring an auction for 300,000 metric tons (MT) of rice via government to government (G2G) deals.

In a mobile phone message, Mr. Cabatbat said the plan to import rice by the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Trade and Industry, through the Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC), is a “step back” from the original intent of the RTL.

“It disempowers Filipino farmers who deserve to be prioritized and protected because of the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19),” Mr. Cabatbat said.

Mr. Cabatbat asked the DA to clarify why imports were resorted to despite the department’s assurance that there is no impending rice shortage.

“It is more expensive to import rice and it only adds to the burden of our rice farmers, instead of helping them.” Mr. Cabatbat said.

On Monday, the PITC conducted an online auction for rice imports amounting to 300,000 MT, with four countries showing interest.

Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and India have posted bids to supply well-milled long-grain rice with 25% brokens, for delivery to five ports.

Half or 150,000 MT must be shipped not later than July 14 while the other half is due to arrive on or before August 14.

The national government, via the PITC, has allotted P7.45 billion for the G2G imports, while the reference price was set at $497.62 per MT, equivalent to around P25,000.

Mr. Cabatbat said that the reference price indicates that the government is willing to buy rice at double the domestic production cost.

“We have the current supply, and we can produce a metric ton of rice at P12,720,” Mr. Cabatbat said.

“The amount that the DA is planning to spend for imported rice could uplift the rice industry from the visible damage the RTL has visited upon hundreds of thousands of Filipino farmers who found themselves on the brink of bankruptcy during the last planting season,” Mr. Cabatbat said.

On May 12, the DA said that the 300,000 MT of rice will serve as a contingency supply during the lean months.

“This is because the bulk of the rice supply will come from the harvest during the fourth quarter, coupled with continued imports,” the DA said.

According to the DA’s food supply outlook, rice supply at the end of 2020 is sufficient for 94 days.

G2G imports under emergency conditions are permitted under the RTL to ensure adequate supply. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

SB Corp. targets full loan disbursement to MSMEs by Aug.

June 10, 2020 | 8:22 pm

THE Small Business Corp. (SB Corp.) told legislators that it will finish releasing its P1.5-billion loan program to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by August.

“Ang pine-prepare po kasi namin, everyday 500 accounts ang aming maa-approve at mare-release ‘yan the following day. ‘Yun pong P1.5 billion namin para dun sa COVID-19 assistance to restart enterprises (CARES), we should be able to complete the approvals within July and by August ubos na po ’yun (We approve 500 accounts per day and release the following day. The P1.5 billion for the CARES program will have all loans approved by July for release by August),” SB Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer Ma. Luna E. Cacanando told the House committee on MSME development in a virtual hearing Wednesday.

As of June 8, SB Corp. has processed a total of 7,333 loan applications under the CARES program. Of these, 287 were approved while P1.22 million covering 12 applications was released.

The loan is open to micro and small businesses which have been in at least a year of continuous operation by March 2020, and those that “suffered drastic reduction” in business during the pandemic.

Loans can be applied to keeping loan amortizations for vehicles and other fixed assets up to date, inventory replacement for damaged perishable stock, and working capital to restart the business.

Micro enterprises with assets of up to P3 million may borrow between P10,000 to P200,000, while small enterprises with assets not bigger than P10 million may borrow up to P500,000.

With an average loan release of P85,000 per day, Ms. Cacanando estimates that SB Corp. will accommodate 17,000 to 20,000 borrowers.

Deputy Speaker and Ilocos Sur Rep. Deogracias Victor B. Savellano urged SB. Corp to lower its 6% service charge.

“Zero interest but you have a service charge of 6% which I think, hindi na uso ‘yung 6% interest ngayon eh. Kasi ‘yung service charge niyo ano lang ‘yan eh, mapupunta lang sa inyo. (No one charge 6% interest these days, and the funds will do no good if held by the government) You are working with the government, bakit pa tayo may service charge? Dapat babaan pa (Why is there even a service charge? It should be reduced),” he said.

Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) President Emmanuel G. Herbosa said the bank is developing a “terms of engagement” with SB Corp. to help lend its funds to those MSMEs which have the “potential to become larger.”

“SB Corp. is going to be a partner of DBP to help them process those MSMEs that have potential to become larger. We have to understand that SB Corp. has excellent credit expertise kaya lang po minsan talagang nasasapawan sila (but sometimes they get overwhelmed). So, what we’re doing right now is developing terms of engagement with SB Corp. to help them out,” he said.

Mr. Herbosa said that the DBP can provide loans that exceed SB Corp.’s P5 million limit.

“Ang sinasabi natin sa SB Corp…P5 million ang maximum limit nila. So kung meron pa silang on top of the maximum limit, pwede namin dagdagan for certain borrowers they have (DBP can top up loans beyond SB Corp’s limit). If there’s some good local manufacturing, self fabrication, anything that helps enhance our supply chain, replace imports or foreign suppliers, I’m encouraging Luna to pass the loan to us that’s beyond P5 million,” he said. — Genshen L. Espedido

IMF plans bilateral talks on members’ COVID-19 response

June 10, 2020 | 8:22 pm

THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) will engage in bilateral talks with member-countries to gauge their policy responses in containing the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

“The conversation that we would have with each country on the measures they have in place and whether they work or not… will be discussed bilaterally with countries over time,” IMF Deputy Managing Director Geoffrey Okamoto said in a briefing late Wednesday.

Mr. Okamoto said the crisis has delayed the IMF’s in-depth bilateral surveillance of member-countries.

So far, the IMF has received requests for assistance from 100 countries for emergency financing.

“The IMF’s engagement with its member countries is a continuous process. For the Philippines, the engagement involves both exchanges on policy issues (including those related to COVID-19) and capacity development (technical assistance and training),” IMF Representative to the Philippines Yongzheng Yang said in an e-mail.

In its April World Economic Outlook, the IMF said iprojects Asian economic growth at zero in 2020.

“That’s the worst in the last 60 years. It’s worse than the Asian financial crisis, it’s worse than the global financial crisis,” Mr. Okamoto said.

The IMF’s latest forecast for the Philippine economy is a 3% contraction this year. This compares with estimates of between minus 2% to minus 3% issued by the government’s economic team.

The IMF will release its updated estimates on June 24.

According to Mr. Okamoto, the pandemic’s impact on Asia is evident in supply chain shocks.

“Asia is heavily integrated into global supply chains. And for some of them, right, the supply chain shock or the commodity price shock has been just as bad or worse than the health shock,” he said.

UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc. Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion said the trade deficit data reveal the extent of the shock.

“Unfortunately, the Philippine economy has a significant level of trade integration that a supply chain shock would definitely impact,” Mr. Asuncion said in a text message.

The Philippine Statistics Authority puts the trade deficit at $499.21 million in April, against the $3.8 billion deficit a year earlier. Exports fell 50.8% to $2.78 billion while imports declined 65.3% to $3.28 billion.

Security Bank Corp. Chief Economist Robert Dan J. Roces said there are bright spots despite the disruptions.

“We benefit from the depressed world oil prices — low global oil prices and supply disruptions offset each other thus our low inflation rates,” Mr. Roces said in a text message.

Inflation in May was 2.1%, easing further from the 2.2% in April and the 3.2% a year earlier due to lower food and oil prices. — Luz Wendy T. Noble