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Jobs at risk as Philippines’ garment exports slump

By Jenina P. Ibañez
Reporter

PHILIPPINE garment exports to major buyer countries fell by 39% during the coronavirus pandemic, putting hundreds of thousands of local jobs at risk, the International Labour Organization (ILO) said.

The Philippines is one of the countries that saw the largest percentage of decreases in garment exports to major buyers, along with China, India, and Sri Lanka, the ILO said in a research brief titled “The supply chain ripple effect: How COVID-19 is affecting garment workers and factories in Asia and the Pacific.”

The 39% decline is based on garment imports to the United States, European Union, and Japan in the first half of 2020, compared with the same period last year.

“While the 39% decline appears large, this is a decline from quite low levels: in 2019, garments accounted for just above 2% of Philippines’ total goods exports,” ILO said in an e-mail on Thursday.

The organization said the export decline puts its estimated 629,000 workers in the local sector at risk.

Philippine garment exporters expect to cut over 20,000 jobs, reducing a fifth of around 112,000 employed by companies under the Confederation of Wearables Exporters of the Philippines, Nikkei Asia reported.

According to ILO, major buying countries’ imports from garment exporters in Asia plunged by 70% in the first half as consumer demand fell, governments imposed lockdown measures, and raw material imports were disrupted.

Compared with its counterparts in East and South Asia, the garment sector in Southeast Asia and the Pacific is the most vulnerable to input supply chain disruptions, the ILO report said.

The disruption impacts employment in the sector, with order cancellations and suspended factory operations resulting in widespread layoffs, delayed wages, and salary cuts.

ILO reported that half of the jobs in the garment supply chain in September depend on demand from consumers in markets with strict lockdowns and declining retail sales.

“The typical garment worker in the region lost out on at least two to four weeks of work and saw only three in five of her co- workers called back to the factory when it reopened. Declines in earnings and delays in wage payments were also common among garment workers still employed in the second quarter of 2020,” ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Labour Economist Christian Viegelahn said in a press release.

ILO said that the health and safety of the workforce must be prioritized to minimize the spread of the virus.

It added the labor force must have freedom of association, noting that trade union membership remains low in the Asia- Pacific region. ILO said it had asked the Philippine government to comment on freedom of association and collective bargaining in the country. Total garment exports last year was valued at $906 million. Textile exports were valued at $197 million, footwear exports were at $131 million, and travel goods and handbags exports were at $747 million, the Philippine Statistics Authority said. Total 2019 merchandise exports were valued at $70 billion.

During the lockdown, local garment exporters shifted production to manufacture personal protective equipment (PPE). In August, firms asked the government to prioritize their products over imports.

Given the pandemic, ILO expects that the global garment industry will be restructured in the coming years, as the sector reshapes its supply chain and technology shifts production and the role of the workforce.

“It remains to be seen as to whether the post-pandemic global garment industry will undergo a fundamental restructuring to forge a new — and possibly more sustainable and resilient path — or whether it will revert back to a largely ‘business as usual’ scenario,” ILO said.

“Whichever trajectory the industry now takes, workers and enterprises will be on the frontline of its impact.”

Drop in investments to continue in second half

THE Philippines is likely to see the steepest drop in investments among six Asian economies in the second half of the year, as Metro Manila’s return to a strict lockdown for two weeks last August dented recovery prospects, the Institute of International Finance (IIF) said.

In a note titled “Macro Notes – EM Asia: Gradual Recovery in Capital Flows” published Thursday, the IIF said it expects a 41% drop, equivalent to $7 billion, in non-resident capital flows to the Philippines in the second half.

This is the biggest decline among the Asia-6 grouping, which includes India, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand.

“The Philippines, where pandemic-related lockdowns were the most stringent in the region, are expected to experience the largest drop in percentage terms (-41% or -$7 billion). The country also reinstituted restrictions in August, which have led to further damage to the economy,” IIF said.

Metro Manila and nearby provinces were once again placed under a modified enhanced community quarantine from Aug. 4- 18 to curb the increasing number of coronavirus infections. Since then, Metro Manila is under a general community quarantine, with restrictions gradually being eased to revive a sluggish economy.

India is estimated to record a $38-billion decline in capital inflows, while Korea and Malaysia are seen to lose $12 billion and $5 billion, respectively.

Thailand will likely record an uptick in investments but the IIF expressed concern over the political tensions in the country.

Next year, investment flows to the Asia-6 sub-region would see a gradual recovery, driven by the expected increase in foreign direct investments (FDI) as more countries diversify their supply chains away from China.

“The Asia-6 are benefiting from better growth prospects, solid macro fundamentals, the advancement of reforms, and strong external positions. A new wave of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) infections, similar to current developments in Europe and the US, and the potential need for renewed lockdowns represents the main downside risk to the outlook,” it said.

The IIF expects FDI inflows to the region falling to $90 billion by end 2020, before rising to $119 billion in 2021 as economies recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

FDI net inflows to the Philippines fell 11% to $3.795 billion in the January to September period.

“In the medium term, the region’s positive growth outlook and a potential diversification of global supply chains away from China will continue to drive robust increases. Turning to foreign holdings of domestic government debt, we see reductions in all except in the case of Korea,” it said.

“We expect foreign investors to continue to differentiate within the region on the basis of macroeconomic fundamentals, reform steps taken, and assessments of political stability,” it added. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Bicol’s economic growth outpaced NCR in 2019 — PSA

THE ECONOMY of the Bicol Region grew the fastest among the 17 Philippine regions last year, exceeding the growth rates posted by the capital as well as the national average, the government reported on Thursday.

Preliminary results from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Regional Accounts showed Region V or the Bicol Region expanded by 7.4% in 2019, quicker than the National Capital Region’s (NCR) 7.2% and the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.0%.

Aside from Bicol and NCR, four other regions posted gross regional domestic growth (GRDP) above the national average: Davao Region (7%); Ilocos Region (6.9%); Cagayan Valley (6.7%); and Western Visayas (6.4%).

On the other hand, Soccsksargen logged the slowest GRDP at 3.5%.

The results were based on a revision and rebasing of regional accounts that shifted the base year to 2018 from 2000, in line with the previous update on the national accounts earlier this year.

The overall revision and rebasing widened the coverage of the regional accounts to include emerging industries and products as well as changes in the “regional structure,” according to the PSA.

For instance, the weight of NCR was changed to 31.8% from 37.5% previously. On the other hand, significant weight increases were noted in Central Luzon (11.3% from 9.3%) and Bicol Region (2.9% from 2.1%).

With the exception of NCR, Central Visayas, Davao Region, and Soccsksargen, the weights for the other regions were either unchanged or increased.

“The updated data set gives a more accurate picture of the economy as we can see that over time, development has moved out from the NCR, to other high growth areas… We also note relatively faster growth in areas such as Ilocos and the Visayas, which is a welcome sign in terms of development,” ING Bank N.V. Manila Senior Economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa said in an e-mail.

Still, Metro Manila remained the biggest contributor to the economy in 2019 with a 32.2% share of the national economy. Other regions with significant shares in the country’s output were Calabarzon (14.6%) and Central Luzon’s 11.2%.

“[W]e may actually record faster GDP growth in areas outside Metro Manila in 2020 and into 2021 with much of the areas outside the NCR and its surrounding localities returning to some form of normalcy while NCR remains in partial lockdown,” Mr. Mapa said.

“However, the growth will not likely be much better (or in some cases, slowed declines) given that much of the business activity still emanates from the capital and with the NCR area knocked out or under quarantine, areas outside the capital will still likely feel the heat from the economic recession we are currently experiencing,” he added.

In terms of sectoral output, Caraga Region posted the fastest growth in services at 11% in 2019, followed by Bicol Region at 10% and Eastern Visayas and Cagayan Valley, both at 9.1%.

For industry, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) recorded the quickest growth at 10.2%, followed by Davao Region and NCR at 9.6% and 7.5%, respectively.

In agriculture, the regional top performers were Cagayan Valley (7.2%), Mimaropa Region (4.7%), Bicol Region (4.7%), and Cordillera Administrative Region (4.2%).

In terms of per capita GRDP in 2019, NCR led all regions with P457,034, around 2.5 times the national average of P180,528 and up 5.8% from 2018.

On the other hand, BARMM had the lowest per capita GRDP of P54,020. — Marissa Mae M. Ramos

Asia faces long recovery slog, IMF says

THE Asia-Pacific region is likely to see economic output remain below pre-pandemic trends over the medium term, even as China’s recovery leads the rest of the world, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In its latest assessment of the region, the IMF warned of significant downside risks and economic scarring as labor market participation falls with the most vulnerable likely to be the hardest hit.

While the Washington-based lender said Asia is slowly clawing its way out of its worst-ever recession, it lowered its regional growth forecast to -2.2% in 2020, 0.6 percentage points lower than the forecast in June. The downgrade was mostly due to sharper contractions in India, the Philippines and Malaysia. The fund tips China to grow 1.9% this year.

“Returning to full capacity will be a long slog,” the IMF wrote in its Regional Economic Outlook report, citing ongoing fears of infection, social distancing measures and border closures that will especially hammer countries that rely on tourism.

“Not being premature with withdrawing support both fiscally and monetary should be on the agenda for policy makers not just in China, but globally,” Helge Berger, the IMF’s China mission chief said in an interview on Bloomberg TV.

The IMF’s downbeat outlook for Asia underscores how hard the road to recovery will be even in a region that drives global growth and where, in countries like China and South Korea, the virus has largely been contained.

Also hampering the recovery is employment that has taken a much bigger hit than during the global financial crisis, with women and younger workers suffering the most.

Among support measures governments and central banks can offer to their economies, the IMF said debt monetization can be an option.

“In some cases where inflation remains low, debt monetization could be appropriate, provided it is well communicated, limited in size, time-bound, and implemented within a clear operational framework that preserves central bank independence and does not impede monetary policy,” the fund said.

The current crisis has prompted some central banks in Asia, like Bank Indonesia, to buy sovereign debt directly, while others have said it’s an option that can be used if needed. Critics say the policy risks fanning inflation and undermining the currency in emerging economies, thereby eroding foreign investors’ confidence.

Geopolitical tensions, particularly between the US and China, can also put a break on the recovery given Asia’s central role in global value chains, the fund warned.

“Although China’s recovery can boost regional trade, weak global growth, closed borders, and festering tensions around trade, technology, and security have worsened the prospects for a trade-led recovery in the region,” the IMF said. — Bloomberg

Japan firm to build factory in Bataan

Yokowo to invest P230 million to produce automotive wiring harness

JAPAN-BASED company Yokowo Co. Ltd. is investing P230 million in an automotive wiring harness and components production facility in Bataan in which it is expecting to hire around 800 people.

The company will break ground for the 3.7-hectare wire harness factory in the Hermosa Ecozone and Industrial Park in Bataan by January 2021, the Trade department said in a press release on Thursday. Operations are set to begin in April 2022.

Yokowo manufactures products for the electrical machinery and automotive industries, specializing in antennas, fine connectors, microwaves, and advanced devices for the automotive, semiconductor testing systems, and medical sectors, among others.

The company registered a 100% wholly owned business Yokowo Manufacturing of the Philippines at the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“The Philippine venture will support Yokowo’s in-vehicle communication equipment business which accounts for about 60% of the Group’s consolidated sales,” Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Special Trade Representative Dita Angara-Mathay said.

According to Yokowo Manufacturing of the Philippines Chief Executive Officer Yutaka Fujita, Philippine operations will be part of the regional supply chain that will respond to expected business volume increases and global expansion of its major clients.

This investment is the second Japan-based wiring factory to do business in the Philippines this year, with Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Ltd. breaking ground for its new factory in Pangasinan last month. The project is expected to add 10,000 workers to the company’s 55,000 local workforce.

The Philippines has a 6.5% share in the $80-billion global wiring harness market, DTI said in an earlier statement. IHS Markit in April forecast global auto sales to fall 22% to 70.3 million units this year compared with the figure in 2019. — Jenina P. Ibañez

Travel, gaming slump hits City of Dreams lessor

BELLE Corp., the listed lessor and co-licensee of City of Dreams Manila, swung to a loss in the third quarter due to the continued impact of low tourist arrivals and the ban on gaming operations because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The listed firm reported on Thursday that it booked an attributable net loss of P45.91 million during the three months to September, a turnaround of last year’s attributable net profit of P513.51 million.

Its total revenues dropped 43% to P905.05 million, as gaming revenues slumped 85% to P76.89 million.

On a year-to-date basis, Belle’s attributable net income is down 90% to P236.11 million, while its revenues were halved to P2.91 billion.

Its consolidated recurring net income, which excludes extraordinary and one-time items, dropped 75% to P680.3 million.

“The decreases in revenues and profits resulted primarily from COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) related developments,” the company said in a regulatory filing.

Even before the lockdowns, Belle said it had seen declining tourist arrivals hitting its operations. The blow sunk deeper when the government imposed a ban on casino operations in mid-March, pushing the company to temporarily suspend gaming at City of Dreams Manila.

Gaming revenues from the integrated resort and casino — the primary growth driver of Belle — dropped 86% to P324.8 million during the nine-month period.

Aside from the impact on City of Dreams Manila, the coronavirus pandemic has weighed on Belle’s 50.1%-owned Pacific Online Systems Corp., which leases online betting equipment to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. The company reported a 71% revenue decline to P221.3 million.

Revenues from real estate likewise slid 10% to P2.37 billion because of lower sales from the company’s properties in Tagaytay.

Shares in Belle at the stock exchange closed at P1.47 each on Thursday, up seven centavos or 5% from the last session. — Denise A. Valdez

P13.7-B subsidy proposed for 13th- month pay

A LEGISLATOR has proposed a P13.7-billion subsidy for distressed employers to help them pay their workers’ 13th month salaries.

In House Resolution No. 1310, Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez noted that between 1.5 million and 5.1 million micro, small, medium enterprises (MSMEs) have been affected by the pandemic and are in need of assistance.

Mr. Rodriguez said Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III estimates that P5 billion to P13.7 billion would be needed to subsidize struggling MSMEs to allow them to provide the 13th month pay as required by law as well as any other holiday bonuses.

“The government, specifically the Department of Labor and Employment, should come in to implement a subsidy program and provide funds for qualified and distressed employers, particularly MSMEs,” he said.

He said that due to the pandemic, private sector employers “are suffering losses and do not have the funds to pay the mandatory 13th month pay even if they are willing to do so.”

“In fact, the pandemic has forced scores of businesses to close shop, some temporarily, others permanently,” he said. “Our workers in the micro, small and medium enterprises have suffered so much since March 15 from layoffs or reduced working days up to now, and it will be cruel to deny Christmas to them by not giving their 13th month pay.”

Presidential Decree 851 requires sector employers to pay rank-and-file employees a 13th month pay not later than Dec. 24 of every year.

Mr. Bello has said standby funds or savings might also be considered by the government to help finance 13th month pay of all distressed employers, on top of the Trade department’s P10 billion worth of funding for MSMEs. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Cebu Landmasters posts 14% growth in reservation sales

CEBU LANDMASTERS, Inc. (CLI) booked a double-digit growth in reservation sales as of the third quarter this year despite an overall economic slowdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement on Thursday, the Cebu-based property developer said it recorded P10.5-billion reservation sales from January to September, up 14% from the same period last year. Some P3.1 billion came from sales in the third quarter.

This puts the company in a position to outdo its overall sales performance in 2019, when it ended the year with P12.67 billion reservation sales.

“Demand for CLI housing has remained strong despite the pandemic. And we attribute this to our focus in meeting the needs of our buyers in each of the fifteen key VisMin cities we serve in terms of product, service and pricing, and making use of our wide sales and construction networks throughout the region,” Jose Franco B. Soberano, CLI vice-president and chief operating officer, said in the statement.

Much of the reservation sales came from CLI’s economic housing brand Casa Mira, which accounted for 62% of the take-up during the nine months. Some 24% came from CLI’s mid-market brand Garden Series.

Focusing in Visayas and Mindanao also continues to bode well for the company, as 48% of its sales came from projects in Cebu, 21% from projects in Iloilo, 13% from projects in Cagayan de Oro and 12% from projects in Bacolod.

“We are always mindful of finding and serving the market segments where real estate demand is strongest. And our goal is to always remain close and fulfill the needs of our customers no matter the circumstance,” Mr. Soberano added.

CLI has so far launched five projects this year with a combined value of P5.5 billion. It continues to expand to new locations such as in Iloilo and Bohol.

The company is targeting to launch P19.4-billion worth of projects this year, equivalent to 14 new projects by yearend, to boost its inventory that has been down to about P10 billion as of June.

CLI has allocated around P10 billion to support its capital expenditures for the year.

Earnings of CLI slid 7% to P791.8 million in the first semester of 2020, while revenues were flat at P3.54 billion, due to sustained demand from local buyers during the lockdown.

Shares in the company at the stock exchange closed flat at P4.62 apiece on Thursday. – Denise A. Valdez

Discovery World eyes P304M after share deal with JT Perle

DISCOVERY WORLD Corp. is issuing shares to JT Perle Corp., a company led by its chairman, to raise up to P304 million to support its capital requirements.

In a disclosure to the exchange on Thursday, Discovery World said its board of directors had allowed JT Perle to subscribe to up to 190 million shares in the company, which will be priced at P1.60 each.

At the price, the company may raise up to P304 million from the issuance of shares, which will be taken and issued from its authorized and unissued capital stock.

“All of the funds to be raised from the subscription of JT Perle will form part of the corporation’s working capital,” Discovery World said.

As a result, JT Perle would own more than 10% of Discovery World’s resulting outstanding capital stock. This qualifies the deal under the Rule on Additional Listing of Securities of the Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE).

The PSE decided to issue a one-hour trading halt on the shares of Discovery World on Thursday, which lasted from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. The company’s shares closed at P1.90 apiece, up 30 centavos or 18.75%.

Discovery World is also required to get the approval of its shareholders for the planned transaction with JT Perle. It scheduled a special stockholders’ meeting on Nov. 26.

In 2018, Discovery World told the exchange that JT Perle bought a total of 35,000 shares of the company. At the time, it said John Y. Tiu, Jr., the chairman and chief executive officer of Discovery World, held 60% of the outstanding shares of JT Perle.

Discovery World is a hotel and resort operator with several facilities across the country, such as Discovery Shores Boracay, Platitos Resto-Bar, Sands Lounge, Indigo Resto-Bar, Sunken Pool Bar, Forno Osteria, Estate XI, 360 Roof Lounge, Terra Spa, and Club Paradise.

In the first semester, the company recorded an attributable net loss of P153.25 million, reversing last year’s attributable net profit of P42.13 million, due to travel restrictions brought by the coronavirus pandemic. — Denise A. Valdez

Poor access to financing hampers MSME growth

THE DIFFICULTY faced by micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in obtaining bank financing has been holding back the sector’s growth, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said.

“Access to finance is a chronic barrier for MSMEs to survive and grow; the share of MSME credit to total bank credit has been falling to less than 10% since 2013. Microfinance operations by banks have been expanding since 2016, although compliance with mandatory lending levels to micro and small enterprises has not improved,” the multilateral bank said in its Asia Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Monitor (ASM) 2020 report published Thursday.

The ADB said the share of MSME loans to banks’ total lending portfolio fell to 6.1% (P588.8 billion) last year from 11.7% in 2010 as more lenders did not comply with the mandatory credit allocation to the sector, preferring to just pay the penalty rather than take on the risks associated with lending to these firms.

“Microfinance remains critical for enhancing access to finance for the poor, low-income households, and MSMEs,” it said, noting lenders focused on microfinance recorded P10.8 billion of savings and P27.3 billion in loans last year. Of the total loans, microenterprises accounted for 84% or P22.9 billion, while the rest were extended through microfinance plus, micro-agri loans, and micro-housing loans.

“The nonbank finance industry is small in scale and NBFIs (nonbank finance institutions) do not specially target MSMEs for financing; however, they are a viable funding source for MSMEs, especially microenterprises and the self-employed,” the report said. Meanwhile, the capital market is not yet seen as an “effective alternative funding venue” for expanding MSMEs, the ADB said, as the SME equity market is still small and has low liquidity, with the SME Board valued at P11.6 billion at the end of 2019.

The multilateral bank said the country’s sole credit bureau system, the Credit Information Corp. (CIC), and the national ID program would help expand financial inclusion among MSMEs.

“Not only will [the national ID] address the persistent issue on the lack of acceptable IDs, but it can also boost account ownership by enabling remote and more seamless on-boarding. PhilSys (Philippine Identification System) will also enable online identity verification that can support the digitalization of financial services,” it said. Government data showed the number of successful pre-registrations to the national ID system exceeded its target by 48% to hit 1.06 million as of Oct. 20, less than 10 days since the process began. The government plans to register five million heads of households this year and 40 million more per year through 2022.

MSMEs make up 99.5% of total businesses and 63% of the total labor force in the country.

“Micro-enterprises involved in traditional trading activities hold the dominant share of MSMEs in the Philippines; agribusiness and technology-based MSMEs have much growth potential with government support,” the ADB said.

The sector’s contribution to the country’s gross value added (GVA) accounted for 35.6% to P752 billion in 2006, led by small firms and those in the manufacturing sector according to the latest available data.

However, most MSMEs still focus on the domestic market as they do not have much exposure to global markets or value chains, but several firms are going into export.

“Technology is spread widely across the Philippines and e-commerce has been growing rapidly; yet there are few domestic e- commerce players, while information technology-business process outsourcing or IT-BPO continues to grow, supported by government programs,” the ADB said.

It said the government’s efforts to lower the corporate income tax and reform the tax incentive system will benefit MSMEs as a high corporate income tax is a heavy burden on their operations. It also noted the soft loans extended to help businesses boost their adoption of technology.

The ADB said in the region, MSMEs remain to be a “driving force” for Asian economies as the sector accounts for 97% of all enterprises and 69% of the national labor force on average. However, their contribution to growth has been limited to 41% of each country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

“MSMEs in Southeast Asian economies mainly focus on domestic markets and their level of entrepreneurship remains suboptimal. Supporting the development of MSMEs, particularly in technology adoption and participation in global supply chains, will contribute to inclusive growth and aid in recovery efforts from COVID-19,” said ADB Chief Economist Yasuyuki Sawada. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Employers prize worker versatility during pandemic

SOME 64% of Southeast Asian recruiters prize “Internal Mobility (IM),” a key measure of employee adaptability across many roles, more than their counterparts in many other regions, according to professional networking site LinkedIn Corp.

In its “The Future of Recruiting” report released Thursday, LinkedIn said the value placed on IM is slightly higher than the Asia-Pacific average (62%) and much higher than the global average (19.5%).

“Southeast Asia talent professionals are also thinking more about how they can fill roles internally. They were above the Asia- Pacific average in agreeing they would be filling open positions with current employees,” the report said. The report added 55% of Asia-Pacific talent professionals view “adaptability” as the most important skill they are looking for over the next year.

The flexibility to take on multiple roles in the company emerged as a valued skill set during the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The report called IM a “must-have” for recruiters in the Asia Pacific, where companies have opted to look internally for talent rather than hiring from outside.

In the Philippines, LinkedIn said the IM rate of the workforce is about 20% this year, defined as “internal transitions made to dissimilar roles as a percentage of all transitions.”

The report surveyed 1,500 recruitment professionals globally, 500 of them in the Asia-Pacific. — Gillian M. Cortez

Ghost hunting in Intramuros

While the walled city of Intramuros was founded in 1571, when Miguel Lopez de Legazpi declared Manila as the capital of the brand-new colony, a thriving community had existed in the area prior to the arrival of the Spanish. Since then — through the Spanish, American, and Japanese Occupations, and everything else that came in between and after — something has always been standing on Intramuros. It is built with layers and layers of stone, and then layers and layers of souls. If one believes in the paranormal, one, two, or 10 of those souls should still be lurking in a city so old.

On Oct. 30, the night before Halloween, guided tour group and content creators WanderManila will hold an immersive online tour called “One Night in Intramuros,” to be streamed on Facebook. 

“The ‘One Night In Intramuros’ tour is, for all intents and purposes, an audiovisual presentation. I will not actually be walking around Intramuros during the tour,” explains Benjamin Canapi, Head Tour Guide of WanderManila. “As per GCQ regulations, tourism initiatives are still not allowed in Intramuros, and this definitely includes touring. Instead, I will be at the comfort of my home, presenting my stories while aided by music, photos, and videos.”

This is the second time the group will conduct the Halloween tour — though the one last year was, of course, live. Mr. Canapi says that it had been their biggest tour, with over 70 participants. “That tour got good reviews and feedback, hence our desire to stage it again for this year’s Halloween. However, since GCQ prevents us from doing a live tour, we pivoted to a live presentation instead,” said Mr. Canapi in an e-mail to BusinessWorld.

While the elite of Spanish-era Philippines converged in Intramuros, by the Japanese Occupation, they had moved on to other communities. Intramuros, then less of a residential hub, still hummed with activity with the presence of the oldest churches in the country (among them San Agustin Church, the country’s oldest stone church), numerous schools and universities, and other establishments. One can imagine the number of people who lived — then died — in Intramuros. 

“I will say that all the stories I will relate are historically accurate and have been checked for accuracy by the Intramuros Administration itself. I need to single out Reynaldo Cadiz, the Intramuros Administration’s resident archeologist, for showing me stories, research material, articles, and maps that helped with the research of this tour. A paranormal expert (who must remain unnamed, unfortunately) gave me insights on certain locations in Intramuros,” said Mr. Canapi.

There would be several reasons for ghosts to thrive in Intramuros: it bears the scars of historical trauma. 

There’s old Fort Santiago, which held many prisoners, including Jose Rizal, in its long history. Deaths among them would be expected. 

Then there is the fact that Intramuros had been one of the most damaged sites during the Battle of Manila in 1945, when Japanese and American forces each tried to wrest control of the city. Hundreds of thousands of civilians were caught in the crossfire. Intramuros, and most parts of Manila, were pulverized. 

“To be perfectly frank, Intramuros is not overly haunted, but, yes, there are a lot of areas in Intramuros that have massive negative energy. If the Battle of Manila did not happen, we would be dealing with simple run-of-the-mill ghost sightings we usually get from typical old structures,” said Mr. Canapi. “However, Intramuros suffered massive trauma due to the Battle of Manila. Intramuros was one of the worst hit areas of Manila. Absolutely no building inside Intramuros survived the bombing and shelling except for the San Agustin Church. Thousands of people died within the walls, either through the indiscriminate carpet bombing of the Americans, or through any number of inexplicable massacres the Japanese forces committed on innocent Filipino citizens. 

“It’s not that nobody else died outside Intramuros, it’s that there was so much death and destruction in such a compact, concentrated area. Some of the problematic zones in Intramuros coincide with massacre sites. It all adds up,” said Mr. Canapi.

Some ghosts around the world are either those of celebrities, or else have become celebrities themselves. Do any such famous ghosts wander Intramuros? “Now here’s the thing. If you go to Intramuros expecting to see a ghost, you may be disappointed,” said Mr. Canapi. “There are ghost sightings, but not so much. Instead, what most people FEEL (emphasis his) is a palpable heaviness in certain areas. If you’re lucky/unlucky, you might photograph light orbs, or a stray foot or hand where it doesn’t belong, but that’s mostly it.”

While paranormal tourism is a small niche in many tourist spots around the world, it still creates some buzz. It adds a layer to a city. The lost souls become a boast that something has always been there, and something always will be. 

Mr. Canapi said, “For a city as historically rich and significant as Manila, ghost stories by themselves are good and all, but the stories behind these sightings give depth and meaning to the city. For example, one of the favorite stories of Intramuros employees is the ghost of the mother and baby running inside the Plaza San Luis Complex. That in itself is freaky, especially if you’ve seen it. But, when you take into account why that particular ghost was running inside the complex, whether it was to run away from the Japanese, or seeking shelter because of an earthquake, the sighting is now given context and meaning, which in turn provides another thread in the tapestry which is Manila.”

Watch out for updates on WanderManila’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/WanderManila/ . — Joseph L. Garcia

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