Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube
Home Blog Page 8540

Making sense of the pandemic work transition

I was hired as a potential key officer in a major bank. Within the first month on the job, I was placed in a fast-track, entry-level management training position. Rotating through various departments for two years was stimulating and educational. On my third year, however, the high volume of assigned tasks and tight deadlines made it difficult. There was no time to relax and reflect on what’s happening. The learning curve became steep for me. This was made difficult by the lockdown, which forced many of us to work from home. I feel that bank management has tripled the workload to offset the lack of physical monitoring. Now, I feel like quitting. Please give me your advice. — Terrified Anne

Here’s former heavyweight boxer James “Quick” Tillis on his first day in Chicago: “I got off the bus with two cardboard suitcases under my arms in the downtown area and stopped in front of the Sears Tower. I got my suitcases down and I looked up at the tower and said to myself: “I’m going to conquer Chicago. Then, when I looked down, my suitcases were gone!”

Remember the maxim: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” It means that when a situation becomes difficult, only the strong will work hard to meet the challenge. Being “strong” means both physically and mentally. An inspirational quote like this should be enough to get you going, no matter the perceived difficulties you’re facing at work.

You must realize that during this difficult time, many people are losing their jobs. It’s just not the right time to complain. What I’m saying is that you’re very lucky compared to other people who have lost their jobs. I believe many people would choose to be in your shoes.

FIVE SMART MOVES
It’s inevitable that in any management development program, you will be required to take on unexpected new challenges. Consider it a puzzle for you to solve. There’s a Japanese saying: “If you fall seven times, stand up eight.” And to help you to do just that, I’m recommending that you explore the following solutions:

One, divide the tasks into bite-size pieces. South African bishop Desmond Tutu once said: “There is only one way to eat an elephant: one bite at a time.” What he meant by this is that everything in life that seems almost impossible and overwhelming can be accomplished gradually by taking on just a little at a time.

If possible, negotiate with your boss to make goals realistic. If not, find a way to overcome the difficulties by offering practical solutions that may not have occurred to your management. More on this in number four below.

Two, accentuate your value by minimizing your weaknesses. Every one of us has limitations. But it should not prevent you from maximizing your value, thereby offsetting whatever weaknesses you have. This is easy to do and as long as you don’t develop an attitude problem, everything is manageable.

As a candidate on the management track, it’s important to choose your battles wisely. The bank chose you because of your strengths. I’m sure they have an idea of your weaknesses as well. It’s good that they chose to ignore your limitations. They can’t be very wrong in their assessment of your potential. Don’t be the person to debunk their image of you.

Three, accept all difficulties as part of growing up. Reframe your point of view. Be positive about all these challenges coming your way. Not every person has the same opportunities. I believe many of your college classmates might want to trade places with you.

It’s time to take everything in stride. Don’t waste the past three years. By accepting the challenges and proving yourself, you’ll know what you are capable of, and your colleagues will come to respect you as well. In no time at all, you’ll be promoted.

Four, challenge the status quo by offering a better solution. Management people are not always paragons of excellence. Just like you, they commit mistakes. You can discover these mistakes by carefully analyzing all current policies and procedures, many of which were established years ago to solve a problem from the time.

In reviewing a particular system, you might discover that the solution is no longer necessary. Start by asking a lot of “whys.” Be prepared to offer a better option. You’ll be glad you did.

Last, find the time to relax. No matter how busy you are, you can always squeeze in about 10-15 minutes out of every hour. It’s healthy to relieve your eyes from staring computer monitors and to avoid prolonged sitting.

You can also try morning walks of at least 30 minutes. You can also try the morning calisthenics practiced in Japanese-run workplaces. There are many examples from YouTube. Take a brisk walk after dinner. All of these give you a chance to loosen up and bring your best self to the job.

TAKE THE INITIATIVE
Whatever you do, no matter the difficulties, don’t be the first person to complain to your boss and colleagues. Everyone has his or her share of problems and you’re expected to do your part in dealing with your own situation. Sure, you can discuss problems with your boss, but be ready to offer alternative solutions.

Many organizations encourage their people to take responsibility. They want individuals willing to take initiative and a certain amount of calculated risk. In the right circumstances, you will be better off proactively solving problems rather than burying your head in the sand and giving up.

 

Send anonymous questions to elbonomics@gmail.com or via https://reyelbo.consulting

Dilemma of pre-need plan holders

Risk is the possibility of a loss due to an uncertain event that may occur in the future. It includes the probability of the event as well as the severity of the impact. One cannot predict with precision how events will turn out despite all due diligence. This calls for active preparation. A major risk management tool is insurance as a protection for the unknown.

Technically, insurance is the transfer of the risk of a loss from one party (the insured) to another party (the insurer) in exchange for a premium payment. The transaction assures the insured a smaller loss as the insurer compensates or indemnify the insured for the financial loss. Operating based on probabilities and the law of large numbers, the insurer assumes that the premium payments and earnings therefrom will more than cover the operating expenses as well as claims by those insured.

A pre-need plan is one form of insurance. A funeral plan assures that you do not burden your loved ones the details as you pre-arrange everything in case the inevitable happens. Health plans help pay for the covered medical treatments. Education plans help in the matriculation of your children’s school needs. A pension plan is built up during one’s productive years so that one can draw periodic payments upon retirement from work.

On paper, pre-need plans serve a very useful function for the plan holder as it relieves him of the burden when the need arises. For the ordinary citizen, it is putting aside savings and postponing consumption today as a contingency measure so that future needs are adequately addressed.

The Philippines, however, have not been fortunate in the pre-need industry. One big failure in the past was CAP or College Assurance Plan which left millions of Filipino pension and educational plan holders holding an empty bag. People’s hard-earned money were set aside to address a future need but instead even the principal payments were gone after CAP was declared bankrupt. To this day, many plan holders have not even retrieved their principal premium investments in CAP.

This column does not intend to discuss why and how CAP failed. The irreversible truth is that it faltered, and the beneficiaries were paralyzed. The nagging question today is whether history will repeat itself. Please note that when a big player in the industry fails, it is reasonable to suggest that there must be a role that regulators played in the debacle, whether by omission or commission. Economic crises not just here but worldwide always report that both the governed and the governing contribute to the downfall.

I write this in light of an early June 2020 report from no less than the Insurance Commission (IC) that the pre-need industry suffered a net loss of P718.6M in 2019 as companies posted higher liabilities despite an increase in sales. Based on unaudited financial statements, 14 pre-need firms’ combined 2019 bottom line was a reversal of the P2.16B net income posted in 2018. Total liabilities grew 3.81% to P112.78B and reserve liabilities rose 4.7% to P108.65B. Sales, however, increased 11.51% to P22B, 778,033 plans in 2018 vs. 923,370 plus in 2019.

The disturbing element of this report is the performance was prior to COVID-19. With the pandemic, the country was placed in lockdown and in varying degrees of community quarantine. The Philippine GDP is expected to drop drastically in 2020. And surely, the pre-need companies are expected to be affected economically and financially.

There are signs of pending problems. A friend purchased a pre-need pension plan worth P300,000 fully paid over 5 years with the promise of yearly drawdown of P30,000 for X years and return of the principal upon maturity. The company offered a COVID assistance plan through a pre-termination package that will pay lumpsum immediately. Initially, it looked like a generous offer. The catch is the immediate payment is only around P240,000 or 80% of the principal/premium paid. For those with liquidity concerns, the program may be most welcome. But from a rational finance perspective, our plan holder is being literally offered an unwarranted margin discount which pays less than the principal shelled out. He would have been better off not getting the plan from the start.

Another educational plan holder is now entitled to graduation gift per his policy. But the company says because of the pandemic, he will get a 15% margin discount this year, unless he waits for another year to receive the full sum.

What was supposed to be a life vest for emergencies or for an unplanned future is backfiring on our plan holders. Some people will have no choice given the dire situation they are in. But at the end of the day, are our consumers being given a fair deal? Who protects our plan holders? And what lies in the near future once the pandemic economic whammy sets in?

Pre-need plans and insurance are almost real necessities in these days. But if the insured will be at the full mercy of the insurers, how can we help our people who literally have little choice in their hands? Authorities should look into these issues if we are to have a robust and deep financial system which protects the needs of the small and less privileged. Finally, let us not allow the CAP experience to happen again.

Benel Dela Paz Lagua was previously Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer at the Development Bank of the Philippines. He is an active FINEX member and a longtime advocate of risk-based lending for SMEs. The views expressed herein are his own and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of his office as well as FINEX.

ICTSI’s Royal Capital extends tender offer period

INTERNATIONAL Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) announced on Thursday that its subsidiary Royal Capital B.V. was extending to July 29 the period for its tender offer.

In a statement, ICTSI said there was a total nominal principal amount of $65,483,000 of perpetual securities callable in May 2021 submitted by securityholders in the tender offer.

Royal Capital offered a price of $1,007.50 per $1,000 in principal amount of perpetual securities to security holders, ICTSI said.

On July 6, ICTSI announced that Royal Capital was offering cash to the holders of its outstanding $450-million 5.5% senior guaranteed perpetual capital securities. The tender offer ended on July 14 at 5:00 p.m., Central European summer time.

At the same time, Royal Capital had successfully priced a $300-billion offering of senior perpetual capital securities, guaranteed by ICTSI.

ICTSI said the new perpetual securities “confer a right to receive distributions at an initial rate of 5.00% per annum and were priced at 98.979% with a reoffer yield of 5.20% per annum.”

“The new perpetual securities shall rank pari passu with all other outstanding unsubordinated obligations of the issuer, who will have the right to redeem the new perpetual securities on any day from (and including) February 5, 2026 (the first call date) to (and including) May 5, 2026 (the step up date), or on any semi-annual distribution payment date thereafter. The rate of distribution for the new perpetual securities will be reset on the step up date and every five years thereafter,” it added.

ICTSI also reported that the new perpetual securities were widely distributed among fund managers or asset managers, private banks, insurance companies and banks or pension funds, accounting for 64%, 18%, 12% and 6% respectively.

It said that Asia accounted for 91%, while the remaining 9% was allocated to Europe.

“The new perpetual securities benefitted from robust investor demand, allowing ICTSI to implement its largest-ever senior perpetual capital securities tightening of 42.5 bps from initial price guidance of 5.625% area,” the company said.

“This transaction also marks ICTSI’s first perpetual securities issuance since January 2018. The concurrent tender offer was an investor-friendly offering that facilitated investors who wished to roll over to the new perpetual securities whilst improving carry efficiency for ICTSI,” it added. — Arjay L. Balinbin

How PSEi member stocks performed — July 16, 2020

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Thursday, July 16, 2020.

The Philippine peso is around 50% undervalued against the US dollar

The Philippine peso is around 50% undervalued against the us dollar

Stocks recover as gov’t extends relaxed lockdown

By Denise A. Valdez, Reporter

LOCAL SHARES recovered on Thursday after investor worries eased as the government announced the continuation of a relaxed lockdown in Metro Manila.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose 131.15 points or 2.18% to close at 6,147.66 on Thursday. The broader all shares index also gained 63.44 points or 1.79% to end at 3,607.80.

“The PSEi recovered after President Duterte extended the quarantine measures on Metro Manila instead of enforcing stricter restrictions,” AAA Southeast Equities, Inc. Research Head Christopher John Mangun said in an e-mail.

The market was on a downtrend in the past days due to investor anxiety that quarantine measures might be tightened again as the number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases continued to rise.

But President Rodrigo R. Duterte announced Wednesday night that quarantine measures, which have been relaxed since last month, will remain the same until the end of July.

Restrictions in Cebu City, which was on a strict lockdown the past weeks due to rising COVID-19 cases, were also relaxed starting Thursday. Mr. Mangun said this also helped boost investor confidence as several business activities are based in Cebu City.

For Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan, the improvement of the PSEi can be attributed to optimism over the development of a COVID-19 vaccine.

News wires reported that the vaccine being developed by United States-based Moderna, Inc. is about to enter its third phase of trials this month. This news did not benefit the local market the past sessions, but started to influence the PSEi on Thursday.

“The PSEi closed much higher as investors focused on COVID-19 vaccine hopes and early signs of an upswing in business activity during the pandemic,” Mr. Limlingan said in a mobile message.

All sectoral indices closed in green territory. Property climbed 86.93 points or 2.93% to 3,047.81; financials added 25.24 points or 2.14% to 1,199.69; holding firms increased 122.78 points or 1.94% to 6,427.30; services picked up 25.04 points or 1.79% to 1,419.02; industrials rose 94.72 points or 1.29% to 7,416.38; and mining and oil gained 18.10 points or 0.35% to 5,181.43.

Value turnover stood at P4.41 billion with 4.8 billion issues switching hands, lower from the previous day’s P7.29 billion with 2.66 billion issues.

“Selling pressure was minimal, however, buyers were still quite cautious as evident in the trade volumes with turnover value at P3.67 billion, just half of the daily average. We may see the main index start to move higher,” Mr. Mangun said.

Advancers outnumbered decliners, 135 against 62, while 37 names ended unchanged. Offshore investors remained sellers, but net outflows fell to P641.67 million on Thursday from P1.65 billion the day prior.

Peso weakens as remittances sink in April

THE PESO weakened anew on Thursday on risk-off sentiment after the steep drop in April cash remittances, which was the worst in nearly two decades.

The local unit closed at P49.535 per dollar on Thursday, shedding 5.5 centavos from the P49.48 finish the day prior, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines showed.

The peso opened the session at P49.49 per dollar, which was also its intraday best. Meanwhile, its weakest showing was at P49.60 against the greenback.

Dollars traded increased to $768.49 million from the $563.8 million logged on Wednesday.

The local unit’s depreciation came on the back of the deeper contraction in remittances from overseas Filipino workers, said Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort.

“The peso was slightly weaker but still in its strongest levels in more than three years after the weaker OFW remittances data,” Mr. Ricafort said in a text message.

Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) released Wednesday showed cash remittances sank 16.2% year-on-year to $2.046 billion in April from the $2.29 billion logged a year ago. The drop is the worst since the 33.5% contraction recorded in January 2001.

Year-to-date inflows also decreased 3% to $9.448 billion as of April against the $9.739 billion seen in the first four months of 2019.

The BSP blamed the decline on the unexpected repatriation of OFWs due to the pandemic. More than 88,000 Filipinos have been repatriated as of mid-July.

Meanwhile, a trader attributed the peso’s weakness to market worries on brewing US-China tensions.

“The peso depreciated from safe-haven demand after China hinted about imposing sanctions against specified US entities and individuals,” the trader said in an email.

China threatened to impose sanctions as US President Donald J. Trump approved an executive order to end preferential economic treatment for Hong Kong in response to Beijing’s imposition of a controversial security legislation on the special administrative region, Reuters reported.

“No external force can block China’s determination and confidence to maintain national sovereignty and security for Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity and stability,” Beijing’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong said in a statement.

For today, Mr. Ricafort and the trader gave a forecast range of P49.45 to P49.65 per dollar. — LWTN with Reuters

Metro Manila risks reverting to strict lockdown as cases surge

By Gillian M. Cortez, Jenina P. Ibañez
and Beatrice M. Laforga, Reporters

THE presidential palace on Thursday threatened to put Manila and nearby cities back under a stricter lockdown if cases of the coronavirus that has sickened more than 61,000 and killed about 1,600 people in the Philippines continue to surge.

“If there is no improvement in the numbers and people become complacent, it’s possible for Metro Manila to go back to a modified enhanced community quarantine,” he told an online news briefing in Filipino.

He added that President Rodrigo R. Duterte had wanted to put the metro under a stricter lockdown starting July 16 as recommended by experts from the University of the Philippines, but Metro Manila mayors appealed to keep its general quarantine, promising to use targeted lockdowns instead.

Mr. Roque on Wednesday announced new quarantine levels starting July 16. Most areas will be under a modified general community quarantine provided they impose strict zoning.

Reverting to a strict lockdown is a cause for worry for local businesses that have yet to operate fully given restrictions under relaxed quarantine in many parts of the country.

The Department of Health reported 2,498 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, bringing the total to 61,266. The death toll rose to 1,643 after 29 more patients died, while recoveries increased by 467 to 21,449, it said in a bulletin.

A quarter of Philippine businesses remained permanently or temporarily shut despite easing levels of lockdown, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez told reporters in a group message on Thursday.

About half of those that reopened are operating partially, while about a fifth have become fully operational, he said, citing a poll of 2,135 companies made on June 4 to 17.

Sales at partially operating businesses have plummeted by as much as 90%, Mr. Lopez said.

Business closures are “a cause for worry,” the Trade chief said. “But I am confident that we will bounce back because of good economic fundamentals, but we need to save companies and jobs to restart and recover faster.”

The Philippines, which had been one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies before the pandemic, is on the edge of a recession after economic growth shrank by 0.2% in the three months through March.

Economists expect the contraction to have worsened last quarter as an extended lockdown in Manila, the capital and nearby cities took a heavier toll on local consumption.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte locked down the main island of Luzon in mid-March, suspending work, classes and public transportation to contain the pandemic. People should stay home except to buy food and other basic goods, he said.

He extended the lockdown — one of the strictest and longest in the world — for the island twice and thrice for the capital region. The lockdown in Metro Manila has since been eased, with more businesses allowed to reopen with a skeletal workforce. Mass gatherings remained banned.

Mr. Lopez said the government has been helping companies through financing, training, webinars and policies so they can restart operations and stimulate demand.

Barbershops and salons may now operate at 75% of their capacity in areas under a modified general community quarantine, and 50% in places under a general quarantine. Dine-in operations at restaurants will be allowed to operate at the same levels starting July 21.

Loan applications from micro, small and medium enterprises with the Trade department’s financing arm Small Business Corp. have exceeded its P1-billion fund.

Meanwhile, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said looser quarantine in Metro Manila and other key cities was unlikely to help the economy get out of a looming recession.

“I don’t know if it will deepen the recession, it probably will level it off, but certainly it will not pull us up,” he told reporters in a Viber group message.

Mr. Dominguez had wanted the government to ease restrictions in the capital region as early as June, pushing for a targeted lockdown instead to boost an economy that the coronavirus had brought to a near standstill.

Economic managers would review macroeconomic assumptions, he said.

The Luzon-wide lockdown in the first 54 days cost the Philippine economy P1.1 trillion in potential revenue losses, equivalent to 5.56% of economic output, according to the National Economic and Development Authority.

Think tank Capital Economics projected the Philippine economy to contract by 8% this year, warning that a prolonged lockdown and the lack of fiscal support could delay the recovery.

“A long lockdown, which has now been in place for four months, and inadequate fiscal support, will delay the recovery in the Philippines,” it said in a note.

The palace on Wednesday said areas under the modified general community quarantine with strict granular lockdowns are Benguet, Baguio City, Ilocos Sur, Pangasinan, Ilocos Norte, La Union, Dagupan City, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Bataan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Bulacan, Tarlac, Zambales, Angeles City and Batangas.

Also included were Quezon, Lucena City, Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Puerto Princesa City, Albay, Masbate, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Sorsogon, Naga City, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Capiz, Antique, Aklan, Guimaras, Iloilo City, Bacolod City, Negros Oriental, Bohol and Cebu Province.

Also under a modified general lockdown were Western Samar, Leyte, Biliran, Tacloban City, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga del Norte, Misamis Occidental, Bukidnon, Lanao del Norte, Cagayan de Oro City, Iligan City, Davao Oriental, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao de Oro, Davao City, Sultan Kudarat, Cotabato, South Cotabato, General Santos City, Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao.

Areas under a general community quarantine aside from Metro Manila were Laguna, Cavite, Rizal, Lapu Lapu City, Mandaue City, Ormoc City, Southern Leyte, Zamboanga City, Butuan City, Agusan del Norte, Basilan, Talisay, Minglanilla and Consolacion in Cebu Province.

Areas not mentioned in both classifications will be under a modified general community quarantine except for Cebu City, which was placed under a modified enhanced community quarantine. — with Vann Marlo M. Villegas

US lawmakers ask Duterte to repeal anti-terror measure

US LAWMAKERS have asked the government of President Rodrigo R. Duterte to repeal the country’s newly signed Anti-Terrorism Law, which they said arms the state to stifle dissent.

US Representative Janice D. Schakovsky said they sent the appeal through Philippine Ambassador Jose Manuel G. Romualdez.

“The Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 simply represents a new weapon in the administration’s campaign to suppress dissent and will only worsen attacks on the ordinary people in the Philippines,” Ms. Schakowsky said at a briefing late Wednesday.

“I along with 45 of my colleagues sent a letter this morning to the government of the Philippines,” she said.

The law allows an Anti-Terror Council made up of Cabinet officials to perform acts otherwise reserved for courts, such as ordering the arrest of suspected terrorists. It takes effect on July 19.

It also allows the state to keep a suspect in jail without an arrest warrant for 14 days from the previous three days. The law considers attacks that cause death or serious injury, extensive damage to property and manufacture, possession, acquisition, transport and supply of weapons or explosives as terrorist acts.

“This law is over broad and we believe it is already being used to stifle peaceful dissent and target civil society including human and labor rights groups in the Philippines,” Ms. Schakovsky said.

“We fear it will also be used against anyone who protests against the government.” She asked American companies based in the Philippines to pressure the government to repeal the law.

Rep. Judy M. Chu, also among those who signed the appeal, said the letter was meant to put pressure on the Philippine government.

“It tells the Philippine government that we are watching,” she said at the same briefing. “We see the targeted killings of labor rights and human rights activists. We see the silencing of Rappler. We see the ongoing attacks against anyone who dared to speak out.”

“And we are telling them these outrageous attacks cannot stand.”

Senate President Vicente C. Sotto II said the US lawmakers were “misinformed.”

“They are misinformed,” he said in a separate online news conference. He said the Supreme Court wouldn’t be influenced by the congressional move in deciding on several lawsuits against the Anti-Terrorism Law.

Meanwhile, labor groups filed the ninth petition at the Supreme Court questioning the legality of the law.

In a 36-page petition, the Federation of Free Workers, Trade Union Leaders of the Nagkaisa Labor Coalition and Kilusang Mayo Uno asked the court to stop the government from enforcing the law.

The law “carelessly runs contrary, disobedient, or is repugnant to the Constitution,” according to a copy of their pleading. The definition of the crime in the law is “vague and overly broad” and deprives people of their right to due process, they added. — Charmaine A. Tadalan and Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Senate lines up bills on economic stimulus

THE Senate has lined up measures that seek to aid business recovery amid a coronavirus pandemic and opening up the economy to more foreign investment when it opens its second regular session later this month.

Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III on Thursday said they would start work on bills in advanced stages such as the one extending President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s special powers against the pandemic.

Lawmakers are expected to approve the bill when the President gives his state of the nation address on July 27, he said at an online news briefing.

The bill provides for a P140-billion standby fund for low-income households, displaced workers and sectors hit hard by the crisis, including tourism.

Also on the Senate’s priority list is the bill seeking to cut corporate income tax to 25% and streamline fiscal incentives for companies, as well as measures supporting solo parents and coconut farmers, Mr. Sotto said.

Senators would also seek to amend the 83-year-old Public Service Act to clearly define “public utilities” which had been used interchangeably with “public services.” The bill will exempt sectors identified under public services from the 40% foreign ownership limit imposed on public utilities.

Both bills have been approved by the House of Representatives.

Also on the list are bills on medical scholarship, mandatory military training for senior high school students, creation of a disaster agency and condonation of agrarian and agriculture debt, Mr. Sotto said.

He also said he would ask fellow lawmakers to fast-track bills mandating 14th month pay for workers in the private sector, strengthening the government’s anti-illegal drug agency, setting up a hybrid electoral system and penalizing fake news.

“I will move for speedy but comprehensive committee and plenary discussions on these five priority measures which I believe can make a huge impact on the lives of the Filipino people,” he said in a statement. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

Regional Updates (07/16/20)

Zamboanga del Sur presents aquaculture upgrade plan for possible EU program funding

ZAMBOANGA DEL Sur is proposing three priority projects for boosting its aquaculture sector, including labelling for its dried fish products to expand its market. The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) will put the proposal in the list of projects for consideration under the €35.5-million European Union grant for the Mindanao Peace and Development Program. “The popular ‘Pagadian Bulad’ or Pagadian Dried Fish will soon be sold in neat vacuum-packs complete with traceability labels as the Zamboanga Del Sur Provincial Government starts a program to add value to its fisheries products,” MinDA Chair Emmanuel F. Piñol announced Thursday. “Dried Fish-Making is one of the major livelihood activities of fishing families in Zamboanga Del Sur but while the product is popular, it has not really gained a large share of the market because of concerns on food safety and traceability,” he added. The three proposed priority projects are: modern fish-drying and packing facilities;ice factory and cold storage either in Pagadian City or the town of Pitogo; and a milkfish fry hatchery to supply about 10,000 hectared of fishponds. Mr. Piñol said a MinDA team will assist the provincial government in preparing the formal project proposals, which will be submitted before end-August.

Duterte softens position on jailing water company officials

PRESIDENT RODRIGO R. Duterte said he will proceed with amending the contracts of both Metro Manila water concessionaires, but walked back earlier threats of imprisonment for the companies’ executives.

The President’s Spokesman Herminio L. Roque said in a briefing Thursday that the President also called for the return of charges improperly collected by Manila Water Co. and Maynilad Water Services, Inc. from consumers.

“Sabi pa rin ng presidente kailangang amendahan pa rin ang water concession agreement. Kinakailangang ibalik ang dapat ibalik sa taong bayan (The President said it is still necessary to amend the water concession agreements. There’s a need to repay some charges to the public),” Mr. Roque said.

Mr. Roque was referring to the environment fees collected by both companies even while their water treatment facilities were non-operational.

Mr. Roque said dealing with the pandemic has softened the President’s resolve to throw company executives in jail, because the companies proved helpful to the government in dealing with the public health emergency.

“Ang nawala lang ay ang determinasyon na ikulong sila (What has faded is the determination to jail them),” Mr. Roque said.

Mr. Roque said that before the pandemic, Mr. Duterte had assigned him to take the lead in filing charges against Maynilad and Manila Water, but later had to focus on addressing the pandemic. Before the emergency, Mr. Duterte routinely blamed Maynilad and Manila Water for alleged acts of “economic sabotage.”

The President ordered the Justice department earlier this year to draft new contracts for the water concessionaires after finding onerous provisions in the original deals. Mr. Duterte threatened company officials with arrest and lawsuits if they did not accept the new contracts.

Mr. Duterte during a speech in May apologized to the Ayala group and businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan, who controls Manila Water and Maynilad respectively, over his tirades. He expressed appreciation for the help extended by both groups during the pandemic. Mr. Roque said the government’s COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) response was aided by P9.5 billion in aid from the Ayalas and P20 billion from Mr. Pangilinan. — Gillian M. Cortez

1...8,5398,5408,541...13,467Page 8,540 of 13,467
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube