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Stuff to do at home (07/31/20)

Clarinets the focus at the PPO Instruments Petting Zoo

AS PART of its ongoing live online program to introduce people to musical instruments, the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) is featuring clarinet player Hernan Manalastas at its regular program called the PPO Instruments Petting Zoo, on Sunday, Aug. 2, at 4 p.m. via the PPO Facebook page. For his instrument petting zoo session, Mr. Manalastas will talk about the clarinet and demonstrate how it is played. He will also perform classical pieces suited for the clarinet.

Metro Community Bazaar

THE last day of the Virtual Metro Community Bazaar is July 31. The activity is part of the ongoing efforts of Cebu-based retailer Metro Retail Stores Group, Inc. to extend care to vulnerable communities across the Philippines. Shop for food (including fresh produce and specialty items) and lifestyle items via Metro’s official website or Facebook page.

Trendsetter Online Bazaar

FOR THREE DAYS (July 30 to Aug. 1) score deals on clothing, shoes, and beauty products at low prices by visiting www.trendsettersbazaar.com. GrabPay, the online payment arm of ride-hailing app Grab is also offering cashbacks for a minimum spend and a chance to win a Samsung Galaxy S10 for shoppers at the online bazaar.

Displacement online exhibit

SIX FILIPINO artists are having their artworks exhibited physically and online at the La Lanta Fine Art gallery in Bangkok, Thailand. Called Displacement, the exhibit features works by Ana Victoria Montinola, Kadin Tiu, Jason Montinola, Ronald Caringal, Valerie Chua, and Wesley Valenzuela, as they express and navigate their feelings while on lockdown. The exhibit will be on view at the La Lanta website (lalanta.com) starting Aug. 5 to Sept. 16.

La Vaquilla on view at Instituto Cervantes de Manila

LUIS Garcia Berlanga’s La Vaquilla (1985) will be streaming for free this weekend as part of Instituto Cervantes’s ongoing “Classics With You” program which features classic Spanish films. The film is a black comedy about the Spanish Civil War and was a blockbuster hit in Spain. The film screening will be on Aug. 1 and 2 and will have English subtitles. An online discussion of the film will be held on Aug. 2, 5 p.m., to be moderated by author Jessica Zafra. She will be joined by gallerist Isa Lorenzo, cinema professor  Patrick Campos, and cineastes Pam Miras and Kristine Guzmán. To join the discussion online, join through https://zoom.us/j/94450783732. To get access to the film, visit the website at https://cultura.cervantes.es/manila/en/la-vaquilla/134432.

Artist Playground Acting Workshops

THEATER company Artist Playground is offering an acting workshop focused on “how to become an effective actor for film, TV, and theater” starting July 27. The workshop spans six sessions, with each session lasting one-and-a-half hours. The workshop will be led by Roeder Camanag. For more information, visit bit.ly/38nvt7Z or visit the Artist Playground Facebook page.

Ballet Philippines streams Gabriel Barredo’s Opera

THE 2016 production of Gabriel Barredo’s Opera, which Ballet Philippines President Kathleen L. Liechtenstein called “one of our finest productions,” is currently viewable online via the new Ballet Philippines website (ballet.ph). The ballet — which is based on Mr. Barredo’s exhibit, Opera, which took its inspiration from a Victorian operating theater (“opera” here means “to operate”) — focuses on the beauty and terrifying aspects of the human body as it tells the story of a pair of twins and their mother fighting against an entity called The Watcher.

Tirada printmaking exhibit catalog now online

THE EXHIBIT catalog of Tirada: 50 Years of Philippine Printmaking 1968-2018, featuring essays by guest curator Patrick Flores and printmakers Virgilio Aviado, Imelda Cajipe-Endaya and Jose Santos Ardivilla, is now available for digital download in the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) website. The exhibit, which was held at the CCP from May 19 to July 15, celebrated five decades of the Association of Pinoyprintmakers, formerly known as the Philippine Association of Printmakers or PAP. The Tirada exhibit catalog may be downloaded using the link https://www.culturalcenter.gov.ph/events/visual-arts/tirada-50-years-of-philippine-printmaking-1968-2018/details.

New show at BenCab Museum

JOHN Frank Sabado’s solo show, Distinction, which is up at BenCab Museum’s Gallery Indigo until Aug. 2, can be viewed online at the museum’s exhibit Facebook page(https://web.facebook.com/pg/bencabmuseum/photos/?tab=album&album_id=3113556848702650). The exhibit features Mr. Sabado’s new series of intricate pen and ink drawings that take a deeper look into the distinct ethnic markers of the peoples of the Philippine Cordillera.

PHL among economies with falling number of young people excluded from jobs, education and training over time

PHL among economies with falling number of young people excluded from jobs, education and training over time

How PSEi member stocks performed — July 30, 2020

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Thursday, July 30, 2020.

Peso climbs to fresh three-year high vs dollar

THE PESO rallied against the greenback on Thursday to reach a new three-year high after data showing improved foreign portfolio investments as well as dovish signals from the US Federal Reserve.

The local unit finished trading at P49.15 per dollar on Thursday, appreciating by four centavos from its P49.19 close on Wednesday, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines showed.

Its Thursday close is also its strongest since Nov. 11, 2016 when it closed at P48.95 per dollar, said Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort.

The peso opened the session at P49.115 per dollar. Its weakest showing was at P49.19 while its intraday best was at P49.07 against the greenback.

Dollars traded rose to $809.55 million yesterday from the $551.71 million on Wednesday.

Mr. Ricafort said the local unit gained “after better portfolio investments data for the month of June”.

Foreign portfolio investments — also called as “hot money” because of how easily they enter and leave the country — yielded a net outflow for the fourth straight month at $253.38 million in June, central bank data released on Thursday showed.

This is wider than the $36.03-million net outflow in the same month a year ago but is the smallest since December and since the start of the virus outbreak.

For the first six months of the year, hot money yielded a net outflow of $3.3 billion, wider than the net $721 million that left the country in same period last year.

Meanwhile, a trader attributed the local unit’s strength to improved sentiment after recent signals from the Fed.

“The peso strengthened anew as US Fed Chairman Jerome Powell affirmed prior market expectations about the US central bank’s dovish policy stance despite keeping its policy rates unchanged near above zero,” the trader said in an e-mail.

After announcing the Fed will keep interest rates near zero, Mr. Powell on Wednesday said the Fed will “do what we can, and for as long as it takes” to support the virus-stricken US economy, according to Reuters.

“We are not even thinking about raising rates. We are in this until we are well through it,” Mr. Powell said in a news conference. — L.W.T. Noble with Reuters

PSE index fails to return to 6,000 at week’s end

By Denise A. Valdez, Senior Reporter

PHILIPPINE SHARES dropped on Thursday, leaving the main index below the 6,000 level ahead of the long weekend, as investors anticipated the government’s announcement on quarantine restrictions come August.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 37.82 points or 0.63% to close at 5,928.45 on Thursday. The broader all shares index removed 7.97 points or 0.22% to end at 3,500.27.

This put an end to the PSEi’s two-day climb and erased hopes it would return to the 6,000 level before the week closed.

“The market shrugged off news reports that the US Federal Reserve would (use) all of the tools in their arsenal to provide a backstop for their markets,” PNB Securities, Inc. President Manuel Antonio G. Lisbona said in a text message.

“There were also some lingering concerns on the rising number of local COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) cases… A recent government pronouncement (said) that if the number of cases reaches 85,000, a return to a more restrictive quarantine scenario may come into play,” he added.

The number of local COVID-19 cases reached 85,486 on Wednesday, breaching the government’s previously announced threshold before reimposing stricter quarantine measures.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte was scheduled to make announcements on Thursday night, which worried investors of the situation next week.

US stocks closed higher on Wednesday, adding to gains after the Federal Reserve repeated a pledge to use its “full range of tools” to support the economy but cautioned that the outlook “will depend significantly on the course of the virus.”

But despite the PSEi’s decline, AAA Southeast Equities, Inc. Research Head Christopher John Mangun noted the decline is still its smallest weekly loss in the last four weeks.

“The PSEi ends the week down 1.25%. This…tells us that selling pressure is waning and buyers can start coming back into the market with less resistance,” he said in an e-mail.

The market is closed on Friday in observance of Eid’l Adha.

Sectoral indices were divided equally among gainers and losers at the end of Thursday’s trading. Mining and oil rose 154.32 points or 2.89% to 5,489.77; services improved 8.62 points or 0.62% to 1,379.39; and industrials added 23.80 points or 0.32% to 7,472.09.

On the other hand, financials gave up 16.50 points or 1.42% to 1,139.13; holding firms lost 48.32 points or 0.77% to 6,151.38; and property dropped 21.36 points or 0.72% to 2,913.03.

Some 1.34 billion issues valued at P5.09 billion switched hands on Thursday, slightly higher from the previous day’s 1.18 billion issues worth P3.57 billion. Advancers outpaced decliners, 114 against 78, while 47 names ended unchanged.

Net foreign selling climbed to P563.91 million from the P86.74 million seen the previous day.

Philippines, Malaysia spar online over Sabah

THE PHILIPPINES and Malaysia revived a long-standing territorial dispute after their top diplomats sparred on Twitter over ownership of the Malaysian state of Sabah.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishamuddin Hussein on Wednesday tweeted that he would summon the Philippine ambassador over his Philippine counterpart’s July 27 tweet that Sabah is not in Malaysia.

“This is an irresponsible statement that affects bilateral ties,” Mr. Hussein said. Sabah is, and will always be, part of Malaysia,” he said, adding that he would ask the Philippine ambassador to explain.

Mr. Locsin on Thursday fired back by tweeting that he would also summon the Malaysian ambassador in Manila.

“Sabah is not in Malaysia if you want to have anything to do with the Philippines,” the top Philippine envoy tweeted on July 27, reacting to a US Embassy post describing the area between the Southeast Asian nations as part of Malaysia.

Mr. Locsin on Thursday stood by his statement. “No country can tell another what it can and cannot say about what the latter regards as rightfully its own,” he said.

“I don’t insist China say only what we want to hear about the arbitral award,” he said, referring to a 2016 UN ruling rejecting China’s claim to more than 80% of the South China Sea. “It is free to say what it wants while we say and do what needs doing. That holds for Sabah,” he added.

“And that’s China we’re talking about — the second biggest economy and military power in the 21st century,” Mr. Locsin said. “I am summoning the Malaysian ambassador.”

Mr. Locsin cited previous meeting with two Chinese ambassadors “time and again to talk about our differences, sometimes heatedly but always forthrightly.” He added that he had “never objected to China making contrary claims, nor China to me doing the same with our uncompromising stand.”

“That’s diplomacy,” he said.

He also said in a separate post he would take the issue up with the US Department of State.

The oil-rich state of Sabah, a territory that is part of Malaysia’s northern Borneo, has been a thorny issue between the Philippines and Malaysia for decades. About 200 armed followers of a self-proclaimed sultan of Sulu in southern Philippines invaded Sabah state in February 2013, leading to clashes that killed several dozens.

The Sulu Sultanate claims to have leased Sabah to the British North Borneo Company in 1878, a deal that Kuala Lumpur sees as an act of abandonment.

The sultans of Sulu once ruled over Sabah and the Sulu islands. Sabah fell under British control after World War II and joined Malaysia in 1963, shortly after the sultanate ceded sovereignty to the Philippines.

Sabah has abundant natural resources. Its primary exports include oil, gas, timber and palm oil and its other major industries are agriculture and ecotourism.

Mr. Locsin said the Philippines would continue to assert its rights over Sabah and in the South China Sea.

“We have and continue to assert our rights,” he said in a tweet. “I am doing that with regard to Sabah. There have been repeated attempts to sell that claim but no Philippine president has succumbed. You’re really stupid,” he said, addressing a netizen.

‘FRIENDLY TIES’
“He was already summoned, it was about to happen,” Mr. Locsin said in another tweet. “They are always trying to sneak in an attempt to implicitly abandon our claim. But I warned our diplomats: ‘Never.’”

Philippine Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III backed Mr. Locsin on social media, noting that “even until recently, the heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu had been receiving rental payments for the occupancy of Sabah.”

Malaysia has stopped paying cession money worth RM5,300 or about P61,300 a year since 2013, Malaysian news agency Bermara said in a July 22 report, citing Mr. Hussein.

The Philippines will pursue friendly ties with Malaysia despite maintaining its claim over the Sabah state, Presidential Spokesman Harry L. Roque said at an online news briefing. He said Sabah was given by the Sultanate of Brunei to the Philippines.

He added that the territorial dispute won’t get resolved soon, and the Philippine government would continue its diplomatic relations with Malaysia.

“This matter  should not affect our ongoing bilateral ties with Malaysia,” Mr. Roque said. “It has not affected it in recent years and we will continue to have healthy bilateral relations with Malaysia despite the conflict on Sabah.”

President Rodrigo R. Duterte said during his election campaign in 2016 he would pursue the Philippines’ territorial claim over one of Malaysia’s 13 states.

In 2016, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia signed a cooperation deal where their navies would work together in fighting Islamic militants in the Sulu Sea. Mr. Duterte and former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak also agreed to set aside the Sabah dispute.

The Philippines has been transporting Filipinos from Sabah back to their home provinces as part of measures to help undocumented Filipinos affected by the global coronavirus pandemic.

This was the subject of Mr. Locsin’s tweet on Monday, in which he reacted to the US Embassy post on aid it had given to “returning Filipino repatriates from Sabah, Malaysia.”

The US Embassy had not deleted or changed the tweet even if Mr. Locsin had urged the embassy to edit the announcement if it knows “what’s good for you.”  — Charmaine A. Tadalan and Gillian M. Cortez

Gov’t targets to hit 2 million COVID-19 tests by next month

THE GOVERNMENT is targeting to do two million coronavirus tests by August after exceeding its daily testing capacity goal for July to 33,000 tests daily.

About 1.4 million tests have been conducted so far, Vivencio B. Dizon, deputy chief enforcer of the government’s anti-COVID-19 efforts, said at an online news briefing on Thursday.

He said the government had started a dry run of pooled testing involving the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Muntinlupa City and the private sector. This would boost testing capacity and allow the state to use testing kits more efficiently, he added.

The Department of Health (DoH) reported 3,954 new coronavirus infections on Thursday, bringing the total to 89,374.

The death toll rose to 1,983 after 23 more patients died, while recoveries rose by a record 38,075 to 65,064, it said in a bulletin.

DoH traced the spike in cases and recoveries to the “enhanced data reconciliation efforts” with local government units.

The agency said 1,320 new cases were reported in the past three days, while 2,634 were reported late.

Of the new cases, 1,703 were from Metro Manila, 958 from Cebu, 177 from Laguna, 90 from Rizal and 87 from Cavite.

Active cases fell to 22,327, 88% of which were mild, 9.6% did not show symptoms, 1.4% were severe and 1% were critical, it said.

Meanwhile, the government said the country had less than 1% efficiency in contact-tracing, Baguio City Mayor and contact-tracing czar Benjamin Magalong told the briefing. The country has more than 65,000 contact tracers, he said.

“It’s sad that our contact-tracing efficiency is low — only 0.68%,” he said in Filipino. He added that of the more than 1,800 local governments asked to respond to a poll on tracing capability, only 614 answered.

Mr. Magalong said contact tracers would be trained in interviewing and using analytical tools and technologies. — Gillian M. Cortez and Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Regulator cited for failing to enforce law on speed limits

LAWMAKERS on Thursday flagged the Land Transportation Office (LTO) for failing to enforce a law that limits the speed of public utility vehicles due to supposed technical difficulties.

The agency had encountered problems in determining the specifications of the speed limiter to be used in public transportation, LTO Assistant Secretary Edgar C. Galvante told an online hearing of the House of Representatives committee on transportation on Thursday.

“It took a while,” he told congressmen in Filipino when asked about the compliance rate, adding that the agency had tried to look for different models of the speed limiting equipment.

He also said they have to consider the varying speed limits on various national roads.

Muntinlupa Rep. Rozzano Rufino B. Biazon said he found it “worrisome” since the law has been in effect for four years.

“The situation is quite worrisome because we have this law, but it is not properly implemented,” he said.

He said Congress passed the law to penalize overspeeding public utility vehicles “and this is just a big concern.”

Under the law, public vehicles may only register with the LTO and apply for a franchise from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board once they have installed a speed limiter.

“I think there should be something done to compel the LTO and other agencies to properly implement this law,” Mr. Biazon said.

LTFRB Chairman Martin B. Delgra III said the lack of a fixed speed limit was among the concerns of operators.

He also failed to answer when asked how many of the bus companies that had been granted a franchise were compliant with the law. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

Regional Updates (07/30/20)

MWSS directs Maynilad, Manila Water to extend grace period for bills

THE METROPOLITAN Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) Regulatory Office has ordered Maynilad Water Services, Inc. and Manila Water Company, Inc. to extend the grace period for customers to pay their bills until the third quarter this year. In a statement Thursday, MWSS Chief Regulator Patrick Lester N. Ty said the extension will cover bills during the strict lockdown periods tagged as enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ). Further, Mr. Ty said the concessionaires have been directed to suspend all water service disconnection activities, resolve billing inquiries and complaints, and give enough time for customers to update payments for accumulated water bills. “The directive was initiated on the basis of humanitarian and public health considerations; and with the intention of providing further economic relief to customers, in addition to the staggered and installment payment schemes currently in effect for ECQ and MECQ water bills,” he said. Manila Water Corporate Strategic Affairs Head Nestor Jeric T. Sevilla, in a mobile phone message, said they will comply with the latest directive of the MWSS. “We will implement the latest directive of the MWSS, as we always have, extending payment and no disconnection until September 30 to help alleviate the current plight of our customers,” Mr. Sevilla said. Maynilad Corporate Communications Head Jennifer C. Rufo said they have already extended the payment deadline for its customers. “We acknowledge that our residential customers need more elbow room for the settling of bills that may have accumulated during the ECQ, so we agreed to the extension of the grace period for payments to the end of the third quarter,” Ms. Rufo said in a mobile phone message. On Wednesday, the MWSS served a show-cause order to the two concessionaires after it received over 400 billing complaints from customers. Maynilad and Manila Water have been given until the end of the week to submit an official explanation. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

More COVID beds ready soon in 2 Metro Manila hospitals

THE DEPARTMENT of Health (DoH) said it is fast-tracking the completion of facilities in two Metro Manila hospitals with beds dedicated to coronavirus patients. One of these is a 250-bed area at the East Avenue Medical Center and 130 beds at the Quirino Memorial Medical Center. At the same time, the DoH again underscored the need for more health care workers while appealing to the public to observe health protocols “to avoid burdening our health facilities, health care workers and the community.” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario S. Vergeire previously said there are now fewer applicants in the government’s emergency hiring program for health care workers. She added that they are now working to partner with universities and other institutions to hire medical graduates for the program.

PH CDC
In another statement, the DoH reiterated the need to create the Philippine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (PH CDC) to improve the country’s preparedness and capacity to handle emerging diseases. “Establishing a PH CDC will help ensure that the Philippine health system is well-prepared to forecast, prevent, monitor, and control emerging and re-emerging communicable diseases and threats both of national and international concern,” it said. Consultations are ongoing if the center will be a separate agency or attached to the DoH. Several bills on the establishment of the CDC have been filed at the Senate and House of Representatives. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Emirates to resume flights to Clark on Aug. 1

DUBAI-BASED Emirates airline announced that it is resuming commercial passenger flights to Clark International Airport on Aug. 1. The airline said it will have six weekly flights to Clark, located in Pampanga north of Manila, starting next month as it aims to boost its global network to 68 destinations. “With the resumption of flights to Clark, Emirates will now operate with scheduled services to two gateways in the Philippines, with services to Manila being in operation since June 11 with daily flights,” Emirates said in a statement e-mailed to reporters on Wednesday. The company currently flies to 13 destinations in southeast and east Asia. Emirates noted that Dubai is now open for business and leisure visitors. It said its government has set air travel protocols for all visitors. The flag carrier of United Arab Emirates said it will cover all medical expenses of its customers if they get diagnosed with the coronavirus disease 2019 during their travel. “This cover is offered by Emirates free of cost to its customers regardless of class of travel or destination. It is immediately effective for customers flying on Emirates until October 31 (first flight to be completed on or before October 31, 2020), and is valid for 31 days from the moment they fly the first sector of their journey,” it said. “This means Emirates customers can continue to benefit from the added assurance of this cover, even if they travel onwards to another city after arriving at their Emirates destination,” it added. — Arjay L. Balinbin 

400-room Bohol 9° hotel breaks ground in Panglao as province readies ‘travel bubbles’ plan

THE BOHOL-PANGLAO airport, which opened in November 2018, is the main international gateway in the province.

THE 400-room Bohol 9° hotel in Panglao broke ground on Tuesday, as the province’s tourism sector met to discuss the development of “travel bubbles” to revive the industry, a major contributor to the local economy. Panglao, an island off mainland Bohol, is the main beach destination of the province. Panglao Mayor Leonila P. Montero led the groundbreaking for the hotel, owned by Chinese nationals Jeff Tung and Jessie Hu. The municipal government, in a statement, said Messrs. Tung and Hu’s realty business is headquartered in Beijing, with a satellite office in Florida, USA. The hotel will be built on a 2.6-hectare area in Barangay Danao.

PLAN
Meanwhile, Bohol’s tourism stakeholders will present its “Bohol bubbles” plan to Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, who is scheduled to visit Friday, July 28. Travel bubbles, also referred to as travel corridors, involve country-level partnerships for direct flights to and from areas that have shown considerable success in containing and managing the coronavirus pandemic. Ms. Puyat has previously said the government is looking at Bohol as a model for such scheme. Bohol Governor Arthur C. Yap, in a statement posted on his Facebook page Wednesday, said while he fully supports the national government’s plan, he “wants to be certain on the two thresholds to cross in reopening Bohol to visitors — to convince visitors that it is safe to come to Bohol and to convince the people of Bohol that it is safe to welcome visitors.” — MSJ

Mati City pitches P150M fish port project to PFDA

THE PHILIPPINE Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA) is now evaluating the P150-million fish port proposed by the city government of Mati, capital of Davao Oriental province. Mayor Michelle N. Rabat said the agency’s top officials visited on July 28 to discuss the project, which may possibly be implemented through two P75-million programs under the 2021 and 2022 budgets. “The bays of Mati have been known as part of the tuna highway. In fact fishermen pass through Mati before going to GenSan (General Santos City) to unload their catch. So once Mati would have a new and modern fish port, then instead of traveling all the way to GenSan they can do it here in Mati City,” she said through Facebook messenger. The port, to be developed on a five-hectare area in Barangay Central, will include a cold storage facility. Ms. Rabat said PFDA suggested private sector participation in the project for the development of a complementary food processing and packing facility. — Maya M. Padillo

Cimatu lobbies for law creating Boracay Island Development Authority


ENVIRONMENT SECRETARY Roy A. Cimatu called on lawmakers to pass the measure creating a permanent agency that will sustain developments under the Boracay rehabilitation program. “This is the opportune time to pass a law creating the Boracay Island Development Authority (BIDA) to sustain the gains achieved by the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF), which term has been extended for only one year or until April 2021,” Mr. Cimatu said. On May 11, President Rodrigo R. Duterte issued Executive Order 115 extending the term of the BIATF by one year. The task force was originally set to end on May 8, two years after it was created in 2018. “It is the tacit duty of the task force to ensure that Boracay does not backslide and slip to a state of environmental degradation especially with all the hard work, cooperation and concern shown by all stakeholders,” Mr. Cimatu said. The BIATF approved on June 11 its own draft of the BIDA bill and endorsed it to Congress. Under the BIATF’s proposal, BIDA is mandated to formulate policies, plans, programs, and projects for the rehabilitation, preservation, and enhancement of Boracay, one of the country’s major tourist destinations. “The proposed framework is focused on developing Boracay as a self-sustaining commercial, financial, investment and tourism center to generate employment opportunities, attract local and foreign tourists and promote productive investments,” the BIATF said.

NOT A GOCC
Boracay Inter-Agency Rehabilitation Management Group General Manager Natividad Y. Bernardino said the BIATF’s version of the bill makes the BIDA a regulatory body while the local government retains its taxing authority. “BIDA will not be a government-owned and controlled corporation akin to the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority,” Ms. Bernardino said. The BIDA board will be composed of 11 members and chaired by the Environment secretary, while the Interior and Tourism secretaries will serve as vice-chairs. Mr. Duterte, in his 5th State of the Nation Address on Monday, urged Congress to pass the BIDA measure. “For the rest of my term, I hope to see concerted efforts in protecting the environment. The rehabilitation of Boracay island showcased our reserve to safeguard the environment,” Mr. Duterte said. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

DTI small business loan program obtains P1B from state banks

REUTERS

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it will be accepting new applications for its small business loan program after obtaining additional funding from state banks.

Its financing arm, the Small Business Corp. (SB Corp.), had received loan applications from under-pressure businesses that were worth more than triple its P1-billion initial funding.

SB Corp.’s COVID-19 Assistance to Restart Enterprises (CARES) program targets businesses affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

SB Corp. obtained an additional P1 billion from the Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez confirmed in a mobile message Thursday.

“We are just completing documentation from the SB Corp. side,” he said.

The new funding could be available starting next week.

The terms of the loan, Mr. Lopez said, are still being finalized. Loans offered under the CARES program are no-interest but feature a service fee.

Mr. Lopez did not discuss whether funding from the state banks would have the same terms.

The department may be able to borrow up to P3 billion more from state banks if needed, Mr. Lopez told a television reporter Wednesday.

“Hopefully before that happens, may masama tayo dito sa stimulus package na may bagong pondo na ‘yun mas mabilis na, hindi na kami hihiram sa LANDBANK, DBP — may pondo na for SB Corp. to use (I am hoping this program is funded by the stimulus, which will be released faster and not need to be borrowed from LANDBANK and DBP),” he said.

Mr. Lopez said that the department may tap for funds its P3 (Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso) portfolio, the economic stimulus package, and the 2021 budget.

Loan applications received by the CARES program now total 23,477 and are worth P3.38 billion.

Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises make up 99.5% of all establishments operating in the Philippines, based on 2018 data. The businesses employ 63% of all workers.

In June, a DTI survey found that a quarter of businesses remained permanently or temporarily shut despite easing lockdowns. — Jenina P. Ibañez

Moody’s backs PHL sovereign rating if reforms pass Congress

THE Philippine credit profile will remain intact despite the pandemic, provided that Congress manages to avoid political distractions and passes reforms urgently needed for recovery, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

The Philippines’ Baa2 sovereign rating and stable outlook, which was affirmed earlier this month, is deemed likely to withstand the risks posed by the pandemic, due to the manageable and affordable debt burden, with the government also improving its revenue potential, according to Christian de Guzman, a Moody’s senior vice-president with its Sovereign Risk Group.

“The progress in terms of increasing revenue by this administration and the past administration over time, it really is remarkable in terms of how much they’ve improved revenue as compared to other Baa2 peers that have seen declining revenue,” he said in an online briefing Thursday.

Mr. De Guzman said despite seeing a 10 percentage-point rise in the debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio this year due to pandemic-related borrowing, debt levels remain “comparatively mild” compared to other Baa2-rated sovereigns. The debt-to-GDP ratio in 2019 was a record low 39.6%.

The Baa2 rating is a notch above investment-grade while the “stable” outlook suggests the rating is likely to be maintained over the next six months to two years.

“The other part of our assessment was that we saw that the Philippines’ external strengths remain intact so there is no worsening of external vulnerability in our estimation,” Mr. De Guzman said.

He added their ratings review also considered the country’s institutional strengths and political risk.

Mr. De Guzman said legislators are prone to a “great deal of distraction” as shown “by the fact that they are focusing on other issues such as the Anti-Terrorism bill and the ABS-CBN franchise.”

“The challenge for Congress is to really move forward with meaningful economic and fiscal reform,” he said.

In June, Moody’s forecast that Philippine GDP in 2020 will contract by 4.5%, much worse than its view of a 2% contraction issued in May. Its pre-pandemic outlook for the year before the pandemic hit was for growth of 6.2%.

It upgraded its view on 2021 to 6.5% growth from 6.4%, citing base effects from a weak 2020. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

BIR registers more than 3,000 online sellers

AROUND 3,254 online sellers have registered with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) by the end of July, with the enrolment deadline extended by a month.

BIR Deputy Commissioner for Operations Arnel SD. Guballa said in a text message that the businesses registered after the bureau issued Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 60-2020 in June, making enrolment mandatory.

Mr. Guballa said roughly 97% or 3,148 were registered as individual online vendors while the remaining 3% or some 106 businesses were corporations.

The bureau issued RMC No. 75-2020 on Wednesday extending the last day of registration to Aug. 31.

The BIR said in the new circular that there will be no penalty for businesses that voluntarily declare and pay taxes on past transactions.

“All those who will be found later doing business without complying with the registration/update requirements, and those who failed to declare past due taxes/unpaid taxes shall be imposed with the applicable penalties under the law, and existing revenue rules and regulations,” according to the circular.

Due to the surge in online transactions during the lockdown, the BIR reminded businesses selling goods and services through online platforms of their tax obligations.

The Department of Finance (DoF) said in May it is working with the BIR on measures that will capture the potential value-added tax (VAT) leakages in the digital economy. The DoF estimates up to P17 billion in fresh VAT collections from online transactions.

On Wednesday, the House Ways and Means Committee approved a bill imposing 12% VAT on digital services provided by companies such as Facebook and Netflix, Inc.

The government’s move to tax e-commerce proved controversial, but officials stuck to their guns and cited the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act, which sets the ceiling for tax-exempt annual income at P250,000. Other laws exempt from VAT entities with gross sales below P3 million. — Beatrice M. Laforga

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