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Banks waive fees, give grace periods for loans

AMID THE enhanced community quarantine that has caused business disruption and some job losses, more banks are giving their customers leeway, with some extending payment deadlines to up to two months.

“To further alleviate the plight of our businesses and their workers, banks are also extending flexible arrangements to borrowers who need critical support during these extraordinary times,” Bankers Association of the Philippines Managing Director Benjamin P. Castillo said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The banks are committed to provide availability of cash through ATMs and digital platforms to facilitate the payments of goods and services,” Mr. Del Castillo said.

In an advisory, the country’s largest bank, BDO Unibank Inc., said they will give a 60-day payment extension to “qualified credit card, auto, home, SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) and personal loan customers” with loans that have due dates of up to April 15.

BDO said they will send an e-mail and text message to qualified clients.

Other lenders will also implement a 30-day grace period without penalties imposed for borrowers, including Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. and Bank of the Philippine Islands.

Also giving out extended payment periods to qualified borrowers are Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc., EastWest Banking Corp., China Banking Corp., CIMB Bank Philippines, and Philippine Savings Bank.

Likewise, some lenders have also waived fees for bank transfers done through electronic fund transfer schemes InstaPay and PESONet.

“Given the limited mobility due to the enhanced community quarantine, we encourage our fellow Filipinos to optimize the use of digital channels for secure, fast, and convenient financial transactions,” RCBC said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Yuchengco-led lender is waiving transaction fees for both InstaPay and PesoNET.

Meanwhile, UnionBank will do away with charges for InstaPay transactions.

PESONet is a service under the central bank’s National Retail Payment System that allows a batch of fund transfers to be credited to the receiver by the end of the banking day, suited for business to business transactions. Meanwhile, InstaPay is its retail counterpart that allows real-time fund transfers of transactions less than P50,000.

Earlier, some banks said they are expecting lower loan bookings and a rise in bad loans as an impact of the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVD-19) on their operations and business.

BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi G. Fonacier has said banks are aware that their basic banking services should push through, including automated teller machine services, withdrawals, and deposits. — LWTN

Ortigas malls restaurants open for delivery

WITH the entire Luzon island under lockdown and local governments having ordered malls and other non-essential businesses to close, there is a need to know if basic necessities like food and medicine are still available. Ortigas malls — Greenhills Shopping Center, Estancia, Tiendesitas, and Industria — have announced that while the main malls are closed, many of their food establishments are still open for deliveries and take-out.

Below is the list of restaurants open for deliveries in each location and their contact details.

Estancia
Artisan Emporium: 0917-527-5555 (also available for delivery with Lala Food and GrabFood)

Bistro Mardrid: 0915-932-5303

Black Olive: 0917-507-3512 (also available in Lala Food)

Cara Mia: 0905-922-1504 (also available in Lala Food, Grab Food, and Food Panda)

Coco Ichibanya: 8696-1649

Florabel: 02-667-3220; 0917-857-7622; 0917-568-1046

Happy Lemon: available in GrabFood

One Zo Tapioca: 0921-870-4723 (also available in Lala Food, Grab Food, and Food Panda)

Pancake House: 0998-997-3209

UCC Clockwork: 8942-2142

Santis Delicatessen: 8631-2068

Starbucks: 8631-4144

Starbucks Reserve: 8373-5009

Tim Hortons: available in GrabFood and Food Panda

XO46 Bistro Filipino: 8532-1652 (also available in GrabFood and Food Panda)

Greenhills
Bacolod Chicken Inasal: 8721-0737

Bangus: 8725-33038

Kenny Rogers Roasters: 8555-9000

Shakey’s: 7777-7777

Army Navy: 0905-892-8091

Bacolod Chicken Inasal: 8721-0737

Bulacan Lugaw Kitchen: 0917-523-2017

Jollibee: 8-7000

Krispy Kreme: 789-000

Lugang Cafe: 7753-6516

Racks: 8584-2173; 8583-2174

Serenitea: 0933-824-7930

Starbucks: 7906-8840

Subway: 8470-6985

Wildflour: 7946-2005

Tiendesitas
Barrio Fiesta: 8241-5807; 0906-753-7102; 0917-865-8840

Dr. Tams Vegan Haus: 0917-808-7979

Infinitea: 0955-482-4418

Jay J’s Inasal: 650-6015

Max’s Restaurant: 631-7241; 0998-960-3778; 637-7193

Oppa Chicken: 0917-866-8354

Racks: 0917-830-4844

Rico’s Lechon: 0917-895-000; 0977-163-5011

Shakey’s: 8354-6910

Tenya: 234-1604; 0915-849-6291;0936-755-2084

Tom Sawyer: 650-5866; 966-2291

Zullu Coffee: 8961-7279

SEC temporarily changes filing rules amid lockdown

THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is temporarily changing the rules for the filing of structured and current reports for corporations during the government’s lockdown period.

In notices on its website late Tuesday, the corporate regulator said it is implementing new procedures for submission of reports for publicly listed companies and other issuers of registered securities.

In the case of listed firms, the SEC requires the submission of structured and current reports through the Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE)’s Electronic Disclosure Generation Technology (EDGE) platform.

“All reports filed with the PSE EDGE during the effective period shall be considered as having been filed with the Commission,” it said. “The Commission shall also make the proper arrangement with PSE for the latter to furnish the Commission with the reports filed in the PSE EDGE.”

But once the quarantine is lifted, the SEC said it may still require listed companies to submit to it a copy of the reports at a later time.

The PSE posted a memorandum Tuesday night to echo the SEC notice, noting the filings must follow the relevant PSE rules and procedures on submissions.

For all other issuers of registered securities that are not publicly listed, the SEC said the submission of reports must be made with the Markets and Securities Regulation Department (MSRD).

Structured and current reports may be filed via e-mail to msrd_covid19@sec.gov.ph, either as direct e-mail messages or attachments. The same e-mail address may also be used for other communications.

The notices are in effect starting Tuesday until further notice.

The whole island of Luzon has been placed under enhanced community quarantine until the midnight of Apr. 13, in an effort by the government to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.

As of Wednesday morning, the Philippines had 193 confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), with total deaths reaching 14 and recoveries tallying seven. —Denise A. Valdez

BPI sees delay in bond issue, BDO postpones planned offer

SOME BANKS are deferring or expecting delays in their bond issuances after business operations were affected by the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon.

In a disclosure to the local bourse on Wednesday, Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) said the issuance and listing of the P42 billion it raised early this month could be delayed due to restrictions on business operations amid home quarantine protocols.

“BPI anticipates that the actual issuance and/or listing of the Bonds may be delayed until the restrictions on business operations are lifted,” the disclosure read.

It said further announcements will be made regarding the final dates.

However, the bank assured its investors that it “remains committed to proceed to settlement, issuance and listing of the peso fixed-rate bonds as scheduled.”

The lender said it is coordinating with regulators, government authorities and transacting parties including the Trustee, PDTC and Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. (PDEx) to proceed with the issuance and listing “as soon as possible.”

“There can be no assurance that any delay caused by the Government Quarantine guidelines will not affect the final volume of the Bonds. BPI continues to monitor the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) situation and government directives as circumstances develop. The current business and operational restrictions may be increased or lifted (in whole or in part) but the timing of any changes cannot be predicted,” it added.

Separately, BDO Unibank, Inc. said in its own stock filing that it will also postpone its offer of P5-billion two-and-a-half year bonds to give investors a chance to reassess their investments and liquidity amid disruptions caused by the 30-day lockdown.

BDO did not respond as of press time when asked for more details.

Meanwhile, the bank assured that its branches and offices will remain open and operations will continue amid the one-month quarantine. — B.M. Laforga

Zalora halts warehouse operations but still accepts orders for later delivery

ONLINE shopping site Zalora has paused its warehouse operations starting today until the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine is lifted.

“Following the latest press conference and the announcement of enhanced community quarantine measures across the island of Luzon, it has become apparent that we will need to pause our warehouse operations starting today,” Zalora Philippines co-founder and CEO Paulo Campos III, said in a statement on Tuesday.

Mr. Campos said the situation will be assessed on a day-to-day basis and that they will be keeping everyone updated “once the situation changes.”

While the Zalora website will remain active, customer orders “may only be fulfilled after the enhanced community quarantine is lifted.”

Similarly, stationery store Scribe announced that while its branches are closed, it will be continuing to take orders from its online store but deliveries are “suspended until such time that the quarantine is lifted or restrictions to movement/transport are eased,” said a statement posted on its Instagram account on Tuesday.

Skincare brand Kiehl’s Philippines also stopped its shipping and closed its online stores on Tuesday until further notice.

“In light of recent events, we cannot guarantee fulfillment of orders within our service commitment… rest assured your orders will be shipped out as soon as our logistics partners resume operations,” the company said in an Instagram statement. — Zsarlene B. Chua

Toyota partners with Momenta on high definition maps for autonomous cars

BEIJING/SHANGHAI — Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. has partnered with Chinese autonomous driving start-up Momenta to develop a high definition (HD) mapping platform in China for autonomous driving vehicles, Momenta said in a statement.

Maps are key to allowing autonomous vehicles to locate themselves. Toyota’s research arm is developing its so-called Automated Mapping Platform (AMP) to generate data for accurate and updated maps, which it said will also be accessible to industry developers.

Momenta was established three years ago and is backed by German’s Daimler. It is testing autonomous cars in Beijing and Suzhou and will provide its camera-based HD mapping technologies to help commercialize Toyota’s AMP in China, according to the statement.

Toyota autonomous vehicle partnerships also include a venture with SoftBank Corp. and an investment in robotaxi developer Uber ATG.

It has invested $400 million in Pony.ai, another autonomous company with a Chinese background, and $600 million in Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing and a new joint venture to develop mobility services. — Reuters

Philippines slips in freedom scorecard

Philippines slips in freedom scorecard

Release rate from 2020 budget 76.9% at end-February — DBM

THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said it released P3.153 trillion or 76.9% of this year’s P4.1-trillion budget as of the end of February.

The DBM said it released allotments worth P1.828 trillion to government departments, including agencies in the executive, legislative and judicial branches, for a release rate of 76.7% of their budgeted P2.382 trillion.

Of the P467.898 billion worth of special purpose funds (SPF) in the budget, the release rate was 19%, equivalent to P88.7 billion.

These funds include allocations for specific socio-economic purposes, such as budgetary assistance to state firms and allocations for local governments, the contingent fund, the miscellaneous personnel benefits fund, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management fund, as well as the pension and gratuity fund.

Releases for automatic appropriations totaled P1.235 trillion, equivalent to 98.9% of the P1.249 trillion budgeted.

These include Internal Revenue Allotments of local governments, block grants for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, pensions of former presidents, net lending, interest payments, and tax expenditures or customs duties.

The DBM has P946.672 billion left to release over the last 10 months of the year.

Allotment releases from continuing appropriations out of the 2019 budget amounted to P8.467 billion. — Beatrice M. Laforga

DA organizing LGU-based food distribution for locked-down communities

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it is organizing a food-supply system for locked-down communities linking produce suppliers with local government units (LGUs), which will be responsible for estimating the community’s food requirements and delivering rations to households.

Assistant Secretary for Agribusiness and Marketing Kristine Y. Evangelista said the distribution system falls under the current program known as KADIWA ni Ani at Kita.

She said the plan calls for mode-1 distribution of produce delivery to LGUs, which will then package and ship the goods to individual households. Mode-2 distribution calls for delivery of the produce to drop-off points for pickup and distribution by the LGUs.

Drop-off points being considered include the Bureau of Plant Industry in Malate, Manila; Food Terminal, Inc. in Taguig City; and the DA Central Office in Quezon City.

The DA is also studying an order system under which households notify the LGUs of their requirements, which is designed to minimize human contact, Ms. Evangelista said.

The DA listed the food items eligible for passing through checkpoints as rice, sugar, fruits including coconut, vegetables and spices aquatic produce, whether fresh, frozen, chilled, or dried, live hogs and poultry, live carabaos, cattle, goats, and sheep, chicken and duck eggs whether fresh or salted, milk and dairy products, meat whether fresh, frozen, and chilled, meat products, canned food and cooking oil.

In a media briefing, Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said the government task force dealing with the outbreak has agreed to unhampered access for food cargoes through checkpoints, subject to the issuance of vehicle passes, random searches by police, and temperature checks for the driver and vehicle occupants.

Other farm items allowed through checkpoints are feed and feed ingredients like corn, soya, flour, rice bran, wheat, copra meal, all pre-mixes such as enzymes and probiotics, veterinary medicine and biologics like vaccines for poultry and livestock, vitamins and mineral supplements, test kits and reagents for animals and poultry diseases, and items required by farm and meat processing plants like disinfectants, chlorines, machinery, and cold storage equipment.

Fishery items to be allowed through checkpoints are fry or fingerlings, feed, and fertilizers. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

PCCI proposes access to cash-transfer funds to provide relief for small firms

THE Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) has proposed that micro and small businesses be given access to cash-transfer funds normally disbursed to poor households, to help them deal with the impact of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019).

“If large enterprises are already reeling, the impact is magnified among micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME),” PCCI said Wednesday among a list of proposals for relief measures to affected industries and enterprises.

The proposal involves the use of the funding set aside for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), which issues conditional and unconditional cash transfers to poor families. Some of the conditions for receiving assistance include keeping children in school and submitting to periodic health checks.

The chamber also proposed that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) offer special financing for such firms’ working capital and equipment and machinery acquisition needs.

“To say that the business sector is adversely affected is an understatement. Community quarantine means standstill on many economic activities. And for a country whose growth primarily relies on consumption, with services as a leading economic sector, community quarantine could lead to great economic costs,” the chamber said.

The government’s economic team has put together a P27.1-billion stimulus package to cushion the impact of the outbreak, which has shut down transport and kept most people at home.

Of this package, at least P1 billion was allocated to DTI’s loan program for MSMEs.

In a message to reporters, DTI Secretary Ramon M. Lopez described the performance of the Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso (P3) program as “excellent” since it was launched in 2017.

Mr. Lopez reported that the loan program, which was created to discourage small firms from turning to usurers, has a 98% repayment rate.

This year, DTI has a P1.5-billion budget for its loan program, which serves small businesses with assets of not more than P3 million. — Adam J. Ang

Legislator seeks resumption of DSWD safety-net programs

THE LEGISLATOR chairing the House committee on poverty alleviation said he will appeal to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to resume the delivery of basic social services which were suspended due to COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019).

“Resume basic social services which were recently suspended by the good Secretary, from March 15 to April 14, 2020 including: Social Pension Program for Indigent Senior Citizens, UCT (unconditional cash transfers), 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program) Distribution of Cash Cards, and Supplementary Feeding Program. I shall write an appeal on this to the DSWD Secretary,” Representative Dale R. Malapitan of Caloocan City said in a Viber message Tuesday.

Mr. Malapitan also proposed to the Office of the President an Executive Order granting tax breaks to manufacturing companies and suppliers of basic commodities such as water and rice.

In addition, he recommended that the DSWD advance the release of the 4Ps cash grant for February to April.

“I understand that what will be released on March 23 covers only the months of December 2019 and January 2020. I intend to recommend/appeal to DSWD Secretary (Rolando Joselito D.) Bautista to ask the DBM to release funds for advanced payout for the 4Ps beneficiaries,” he said.

The 4Ps are a cash transfer program intended to “eradicate extreme poverty in the Philippines by investing in health and education particularly in ages 0-18.”

Mr. Malapitan also urged the government to provide immediate assistance to poor and near-poor households who are not included in the 4Ps program.

The DSWD announced on Monday a month-long, nationwide suspension of its safety-net welfare programs to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to ensure the safety of its employees.

In a statement, the DSWD said that activities requiring person-to-person contact in the following programs are suspended from March 15 to April 14: the Social Pension Program for Indigent Senior Citizens, Unconditional Cash Transfer, 4Ps Social Welfare Development Indicator, 4Ps over-the-counter pay-outs, 4Ps distribution of cash cards, Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation, Offsite Serbisyo, Listahanan, Emergency Shelter Assistance, Supplementary Feeding Program, Sustainable Livelihood Program, Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan, and Service Delivery Assessment.

The following programs are still operational: assistance to individuals in crisis, limited to senior citizen assistance; burial and medical assistance in the form of guarantee letters; cash assistance to victims of fire; food and non-food distribution, to be delivered by the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines to local government units; Centers and residential care facilities, subject to restrictions on the number of visitors; and the international social services office, which is in charge of providing DSWD services to distressed overseas Filipinos.

In the same statement, Mr. Bautista clarified that “social amelioration will not stop,” adding that, “it is during these trying times that the Department shows its compassionate care to the poor, vulnerable and marginalized,” while recognizing that “health is more valuable than anything else.” — Genshen L. Espedido

Electronic prescriptions authorized for patients vulnerable to COVID-19

FREEPIK

THE Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will allow doctors to issue electronic prescriptions to individuals deemed vulnerable to COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019).

The FDA issued a circular meant to minimize patient-doctor interactions as hospitals brace for large waves of possible patients during the pandemic. President Rodrigo R. Duterte also placed Luzon island under lockdown, officially called “enhanced community quarantine,” with most people ordered to stay at home and public transport suspended.

FDA Circular No. 2020-007 dated March 17 authorizes all licensed physicians to issue electronic prescriptions through e-mail or other alternative means compliant with the Electronic Commerce Act of 2000, which will be accepted as equivalent to written prescriptions.

“To ensure the continuous access of these individuals to prescription and maintenance drugs during the quarantine period, the FDA saw the need to… adopt alternative measures using electronic means of prescribing drugs for the benefit of individuals vulnerable to COVID-19,” according to the circular.

Separate electronic prescriptions are to be issued for antibiotics, anti-infectives, and anti-viral preparations, which are valid for one week after issuance.

Drugstores were ordered recognize the validity of electronic prescriptions.

Senior citizens and persons with disability will be required to issue letters of authorization and send their identification cards to people buying drugs on their behalf. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

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