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Humans cause nine out of 10 data breaches in the cloud: Kaspersky Lab

Incidents in public cloud infrastructure are more likely to happen because of a customer’s employees rather than actions carried out by cloud providers, according to a new Kaspersky Lab report –‘Understanding security of the cloud: from adoption benefits to threats and concerns’.

Companies expect cloud providers to be responsible for the safety of data stored on their cloud platforms. However, around 90 percent (SMEs (88 percent) and enterprises (91 percent)) of corporate data breaches in the cloud happen due to social engineering techniques targeting customers’ employees, not because of problems caused by the cloud provider.

Cloud adoption allows organizations to benefit from more agile business processes, reduced CAPEX and faster IT provision. However, they also worry about cloud infrastructure continuity and the security of their data. At least a third of both SME and enterprise companies (35 percent SME and 39 percent enterprise) are concerned about incidents affecting IT infrastructure hosted by a third party. The consequences of an incident may make the benefits of cloud redundant and instead evoke painful commercial and reputational risks.

Even though organizations are primarily worried about the integrity of external cloud platforms, they are more likely to be affected by weaknesses far closer to home. A third of incidents (33 percent) in the cloud are caused by social engineering techniques affecting employee behavior, while only 11 percent can be blamed on the actions of a cloud provider.

The survey shows there is still room for improvement to ensure adequate cybersecurity measures are in place when working with third parties. Only 39 percent of SMEs and half (47 percent) of enterprises have implemented tailored protection for the cloud. This may be the result of businesses largely relying on a cloud infrastructure provider for cybersecurity. Alternatively, they could have false confidence that standard endpoint protection works smoothly within cloud environments without diminishing the benefits of cloud.

There are some specific measures that Kaspersky Lab advises businesses take, to ensure their data remains secure in the cloud:

  • Explain to employees that they can become victims of cyberthreats. They mustn’t click on links or open attachments in communications from unknown users. Dedicated awareness training, such as gamified Kaspersky Security Awareness, can help with this.
  • To minimize the risk of unapproved use of cloud platforms, educate staff about the negative effect of shadow IT and establish procedures for purchasing and consuming cloud infrastructure for each department.
  • Use an endpoint security solution to prevent social engineering attack vectors. It should include protection for mail servers, mail clients and browsers.
  • Implement protection for your cloud infrastructure as soon as possible after migration. Choose a dedicated cloud cybersecurity solution with a unified management console to manage security across all cloud platforms, and support automatic detection of cloud hosts, as well as auto-scale the roll out of protection to each one.
  • Kaspersky Hybrid Cloud Security offers businesses multi-layered protection for multi-cloud environments, unified cybersecurity and seamless orchestration. The solution detects common and complex threats and protects the entire cloud infrastructure — from on-premise virtualized environments to public cloud platforms — such as AWS and Microsoft Azure.

“The first step for any business when migrating to public cloud is to understand who is responsible for their business data and the workloads held in it,” said Maxim Frolov, Vice President of Global Sales at Kaspersky Lab.

“Cloud providers normally have dedicated cybersecurity measures in place to protect their platforms and customers, but when a threat is on the customer’s side, it is no longer the provider’s responsibility,” he said. “Our research shows that companies should be more attentive to the cybersecurity hygiene of their employees and take measures that will protect their cloud environment from the inside.”

IMF flags gaps in state spending practices

THE GOVERNMENT is on the right track in ramping up spending, especially on infrastructure, but much remains to be done to improve project planning and implementation, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a May 16 report that was e-mailed to journalists on Wednesday.

The technical assistance report — which resulted from an Aug. 9-22, 2018 mission in the country from the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department that was requested by Philippine authorities — gauged public investment management practices against 15 indicators, namely: fiscal target and rules, national and sectoral planning, coordination among entities, project appraisal, alternative infrastructure financing, multi-year budgeting, budget comprehensiveness and unity, budgeting for investment, maintenance funding, project selection, procurement, availability of funding, portfolio management and oversight, project management and monitoring of assets.

“Overall, the Philippines has better institutional framework than the average of emerging market economies, including emerging Asia, in the areas of national and social planning, budget comprehensiveness and unity, budgeting for investment, availability of funding, and monitoring of assets in terms of both institutional design and effectiveness,” the report read.

“However, in terms of effectiveness of institutions, the Philippines is weaker than its peers in the areas of project appraisal, multi-year budgeting, portfolio management and oversight, and procurement,” it noted, adding that the country “also shares similar weaknesses with its peers in the areas of project selection and project management.”

A summary of the team’s findings bared “high” institutional strength in national and sectoral planning, availability of funding and monitoring of assets; as well as “high” effectiveness in terms of budgeting for investment.

At the same time, the report identified as “reform priority” five fields that are marked by “low” effectiveness, namely:

• project appraisal (land issues and resettlement, as well as detailed designs and risk mitigation are not always considered during appraisal);

• multi-year budgeting (no published projections, no multi-year ceilings for projects, updating of cost without effective cost validation);

• maintenance funding (routine maintenance not costed appropriately and not adequately funded);

• project selection (land and resettlement issues not resolved before projects are funded);

• and procurement (low competition in most public investment sectors and no systematic review of procedures to induce competition).

The report also cited three other fields as reform priorities, namely:

• alternative infrastructure financing (no gateway process for preliminary assessment of fiscal risks and for post-award proactive management of fiscal risks);

• portfolio management and oversight (certain major projects are monitored but with significant time lag, and review of actual gains or losses is not conducted systematically);

• and project management (project adjustments are not confined to unforeseen technical issues; there is a need for rules on cost overruns; and there are limited audits on actual gains/losses).

In order to address these weaknesses, the IMF mission prescribed eight “priority” ways to strengthen the country’s public investment management framework, namely:

• Strengthen fiscal assessment of actual gains or losses of infrastructure projects by forming “a dedicated unit” within the Finance department, the Budget department and the National Economic and Development Authority that will be responsible for conducting such thorough ex-ante assessment of projects focusing on long-term fiscal sustainability and fiscal risks, including contingent liabilities and proposing mitigation measures for accepted risks;

• Broaden the framework for private participation in infrastructure, particularly at the local government level;

• Expand medium-term budgeting, particularly by introducing a multi-year perspective for public investment per line department;

• Make project appraisal and selection more rigorous and comprehensive — by including right-of-way readiness and resettlement of affected residents — in order to prevent or at least minimize delays and cost overruns;

• Improve routine infrastructure maintenance;

• Foster effective competition in infrastructure procurement (the report noted that “[M]any procurements result in a single bidder) by addressing potential constraints to effective competition, such as projects that are too large, qualification criteria that are too strict, deadlines that are unrealistic, or specifications that are poorly defined, while sanctions for anti-competitive practices by bidders should be steeper and procurement Web sites should be revamped to make procurement information more easily accessible to the public;

• Improve regulations for project cost adjustments, among others by allowing cost increases only for unforeseen technical issues and not to address inadequate design and planning and changes to the scope of the project;

• Strengthen central monitoring of implementation of major projects.

PHL growth outlook eases with rest of the world

SIMMERING trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies, the United States and China, will weigh on global economic prospects, the United Nations (UN) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reported on Wednesday — a factor that led Fitch Solutions Macro Research to slash its own gross domestic product (GDP) growth projection for the Philippines in particular for this year.

Fitch Solutions said in a May 21 note, titled “Philippine stimulus to only partially offset external drags,” that it expects the country’s GDP expansion to “fall below the government’s 6-7% annual expansion target in 2019, growing by 5.9% (down from a previous 6.1% projection) before rebounding modestly to 6.3% in 2020.” GDP expanded by 6.2% last year, marking the slowest pace in four years.

“Trade tensions and a general softening of external demand will continue to drag on headline growth,” the note read, noting that actual GDP expansion slowed sharply to 5.6% in the first quarter, also the worst performance in four years.

At the same time, Fitch Solutions said it expects that “economic growth will pick up modestly from Q1[20]19 and into 2020, supported by government consumption and still-strong household demand,” while “monetary policy will once again become more accommodative to support growth over the coming quarters.”

In a separate note on the same day, Fitch Solutions said it expects the BSP to fire off another 25-basis-point cut to bring the key policy rate to 4.25% by end-2019 and 25 bps more to four percent next year. “We see scope for a further cut as early as September [26], given the economic and global market backdrop provides some room for further easing.”

A week after cutting policy rates by 25 bps to a 4-5% range, the BSP on Thursday last week also announced a three-phased 200 bsp cut to big banks’ 18% reserve requirement ratio between May 31 and July 26.

In the face of “[e]scalating trade conflicts and dangerous financial vulnerabilities”, Wednesday saw the OECD projecting global economic growth to slow to 3.2% this year from an estimated 3.5% in 2018, before picking up to 3.4% in 2020, and the UN slashing its world growth forecast from January by 0.3 percentage point to 2.7% this year from an estimated three percent in 2018, and its 2020 projection by 0.1 percentage point to 2.9%.

In a press briefing on Wednesday, Sun Life Asset Management Company, Inc. announced a cut in its Philippine economic growth forecast for this year even as it expects the government to accelerate infrastructure spending.

Sun Life Financial Philippines Chief Investments Officer Michael Gerard D. Enriquez said GDP growth will likely clock in at 6.4% this year, still faster than 2018’s 6.2%, but lower than its 6.6% projection as of Sept. 6, 2018.

“Definitely, both private consumption (and) public consumption in terms of government spending will… help accelerate GDP growth for the country,” Mr. Enriquez said, adding that he expects that “policy rate cuts will continue.” — RJNI and KANV

Gov’t exempts gold sales to central bank from taxes to boost reserves

REUTERS

THE GOVERNMENT has exempted from excise and income taxes the sale of gold by small-scale miners to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in a bid to “further build up” the country’s foreign exchange shield against external financial shocks.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte on March 29 signed Republic Act No. 11256, titled: “An Act To Strengthen The Country’s Gross International Reserves (GIR)” — a copy of which was furnished reporters on Wednesday — which also covers small-scale miners’ gold sales to accredited traders for the eventual sale to the central bank.

Sought for comment, BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo said in a mobile phone message that the move can be expected to add “at least $1 billion every year” to the GIR, which climbed for the fifth straight month to $83.956 billion in April from the upward-revised $83.613 billion in March and the $79.608 billion logged in April 2018. “But it can be much more especially now that sale to BSP is tax free. They don’t have to sell to the black market and get lower price,” Mr. Guinigundo said.

“RA No. 11256 seeks to remedy the 99% drop in BSP’s domestic gold purchases from more than 900,000 fine troy ounces (FTO) in 2010 to around 10,000 FTO in 2019 as a result of the taxation of the sale of gold to the BSP beginning July 2011,” the central bank explained in its own statement.

Sought for comment, Finance Assistant Secretary Antonio Joselito G. Lambino II said in a separate text message that the tax exemption can be expected to result in “about P900 million” in foregone revenues, although the BSP said separately that “the national government would only forego around P35 million annually from its income on BSP’s gold purchases…” — Arjay L. Balinbin

Five charged for $81-million 2016 Bangladesh Bank heist

THE DEPARTMENT of Justice (DoJ) charged five current and former officials of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) with money laundering in connection with the February 2016 Bangladesh Bank heist.

Charged on May 20 at the Makati City Regional Trial Court Branch 141 were former RCBC treasurer Raul Victor B. Tan and former senior Customer Relationship officer Angela Ruth S. Torres, as well as National Sales Director Ismael S. Reyes, Regional Sales Director Brigitte R. Capiña and Customer Service Head Romualdo S. Agarrado.

The case stemmed from the theft of $81 million from the account of Bangladesh Bank at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and their transfer to four accounts registered under fictitious names at RCBC’s Jupiter Street branch in Makati City. The said funds were withdrawn by suspects who used them to play in casinos. Only about $15 million of the stolen funds have so far been returned to Bangladesh.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in August 2016 imposed a P1-billion fine on RCBC for lapses that enabled the cybercriminals to run off with the funds. The amount is the biggest fine ever imposed by the BSP as administrative sanction on banks and other supervised financial entities for failure to comply with banking laws and regulations.

In a press statement, DoJ Undersecretary Markk L. Perete, the department’s spokesman, said prosecutors denied in a May 10 resolution the motion for reconsideration of the five RCBC officials over their indictment in February last year, insisting that they were “remiss in their duties and thereby facilitated the offense of money laundering.” The bank executives were charged for violation of Section 4(f) of Republic Act No. 9160, or the Anti-Money Laundering Act, which states that money laundering is committed by anyone “who performs or fails to perform any act as a result of which he facilitates the offense of money laundering.”

In a statement, RCBC legal counsel Thea A. Daep said: “We are confident that they will be vindicated since our investigation, conducted by independent third parties, concluded they had no knowledge about the alleged money laundering activity at all.”

“We expect the complaint to be dismissed consequently.”

DoJ’s Mr. Parete said the five were found “instrumental” in lifting the temporary hold order on the four beneficiary accounts that got the funds “wrongfully taken” from Bangladesh Bank and allowing their transfer.

According to information filed with the court, the DoJ said Mr. Tan ordered the lifting of the hold status of the four accounts without first “escalating the matter” to RCBC’s Anti-Money Laundering Committee and without directing the conduct of enhanced due diligence, while Mr. Reyes dispensed with investigation after being informed of the suspicious remittances. Mr. Agarrado, for his part, “approved large cash withdrawals and transfers from fictitious dollar accounts to the bank accounts of Willian Go/Centurytex Trading, Philrem Services Corp. and Abba Currency Exchange,” while Ms. Capiña failed to conduct enhanced due diligence. Ms. Torres, according to the DoJ, allegedly processed the withdrawal from bank accounts of Centurytex Trading of $20 million and the transfer of these funds to the bank account of Philrem Services Corp., and of an additional $13 million and its transfer to the bank account of Abba Currency Exchange.

The DoJ also upheld in the resolution dated May 10 the “willful blindness doctrine” which, according to the Supreme Court, is a “deliberate avoidance or knowledge of a crime, especially by failing to make a reasonable inquiry about suspected wrongdoing, despite being aware that it is highly probable.”

“There is no better way to describe the acts of respondents Tan, Capiña, Reyes, Agarrado and Torres than this… Their complacent attitude in handling the suspicious remittances is unacceptable, and rocked the integrity of our banking system,” the DoJ said.

The prosecution also said that from the moment they were aware of the transaction, an investigation on the matter was the “most prudent thing to do” or at least they should have sustained the hold order until they confirmed with the Bangladesh Bank.

In January, a Makati court convicted former RCBC Jupiter Street branch manager Maia Santos-Deguito of eight counts of money-laundering. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

SEC wants to curb lending firms’ unfair debt collection practices

By Arra B. Francia, Senior Reporter

THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) wants to prevent financing companies (FC) and lending companies (LC) from using “unfair” debt collection practices, such as harassment and threats, on its borrowers.

In a draft circular posted on its website, the commission said that it has received several complaints against FCs and LCs that “allegedly harass borrowers and employ abusive, unethical, and unfair means to collect debt.”

This prompted the issuance of the proposed guidelines, which details how such firms can go about their debt collection and how they can engage third-party service providers (TPSPs) to collect the debt.

Section 1 of the proposed rules state that FCs, LCs, and the TPSPs they hire may resort to “all reasonable and legally permissible means to collect amounts due them under the loan agreement” in good faith, and without using “unscrupulous and untoward acts.”

The corporate regulator identified unfair collection practices as: the use or threat of use of violence or other criminal means to harm the physical person, reputation, or their property; the use of obscenities, insults, or profane language; and the disclosure or publication of names or other personal information of borrowers who supposedly refuse to pay debts.

FCs, LCs, and TPSPs are also prohibited to use false representation or deceptive means to collect or attempt to collect any debt.

They must further refrain from contacting borrowers at unreasonable hours, defined as before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., unless the borrower has lapsed in his payment for more than 60 days or unless they have been given express permission to do so.

The SEC also wants companies to keep borrower’s data strictly confidential, except when the borrower has consented to the disclosure of their information; when it has been ordered by a court or any government office or agency; when exchanging information with other financial institutions; or disclosure to collection agencies, counsels, or other agents of the FCs or LCs.

LCs and FCs may also disclose borrower’s information to TPSPs to help them in administering their business. They may also disclose information to third parties such as insurance companies, “solely for the purpose of insuring the FCs and LCs from borrower default or other credit loss.”

When using in-house collectors or TPSPs, LCs and FCs must also make sure that his/her full name is made known to the borrower. The SEC wants the president or chief executive officer of LCs and FCs to submit a sworn certification that they will comply with such provision within 30 days from when the guidelines take effect.

LCs will face a penalty of P25,000 and P50,000 for their first and second offense, respectively. Fines for FCs will be heftier at P50,000 and P100,000 for the first and second offense, respectively.

The third offense will constitute grounds for the suspension or revocation of the firm’s Certificate of Authority to operate as a financing or lending company.

The commission is accepting comments and suggestions for the draft circular until June 4.

The SEC exercises regulatory and supervisory authority over FCs and LCs, through Republic Act 8556 or Financing Company Act of 1998 and R.A. 9474 or the Lending Company Regulation Act of 2007.

AC buys back P3B of its shares from Mitsubishi

AYALA CORP. (AC) has bought back P3.19 billion worth of common shares from Mitsubishi Corp., completing the Japanese firm’s portfolio rebalancing exercise for its investments in the country’s oldest conglomerate.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Wednesday, the listed conglomerate said it has purchased 3.806 million of its shares held by Mitsubishi at P838 each.

“We value our relationship with Mitsubishi which remains as our second-largest shareholder. This transaction completes their portfolio rebalancing exercise with regard to their Ayala holdings, which now stands and will remain at around six percent,” AC Chief Finance Officer Jose Teodoro K. Limcaoco said in the disclosure.

Mitsubishi had earlier unloaded P11.7 billion, or about $225 million, worth of shares in AC last January, as part of the firm’s portfolio management and rebalancing of assets.

Prior to this, Mitsubishi also sold almost P8 billion worth of AC shares in March 2018, equivalent to a 1.36% stake. Mitsubishi owned 10.15% or some 63.08 million shares in AC before it started reducing its stake last year.

The transaction also forms part of AC’s share buyback program approved by the company’s board from 2007 to 2010.

“At current levels, our stock price is quite undervalued and this buyback of shares will benefit all existing shareholders,” Mr. Limcaoco said.

AC has accelerated its spending to P262 billion this year, as it gears up for the continued expansion of its property, telco, energy, infra, education, and health care units.

About half of the group’s capital expenditures will go to Ayala Land, Inc., which has committed to open more residential project, shopping centers, offices, and hotel and resort rooms moving forward.

The company has also allocated P22.6 billion at the parent level to boost its investments in AC Energy Holdings, Inc., AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp., and AC Healthcare Holdings, Inc.

While growing its existing businesses, AC has also resolved to invest $150 million into start-ups across Southeast Asia that are in the areas of data and analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, financial technology, automation, real estate, retail, transport, energy, water, health and wellness, and food.

This is in addition to the $250 million worth of funds that AC has poured in to different industries in previous years.

AC generated a net income attributable to the parent of P8.03 billion in the first quarter of 2019, driven by higher equity earnings contributions from its business units at P9.9 billion. Consolidated revenues stood at P74.34 billion, five percent higher year on year.

Shares in AC jumped 6.47% or P55 to close at P905 each at the stock exchange on Wednesday. — Arra B. Francia

Oriental Mindoro eyes cultural heritage, agri-tourism as draws

By Michelle Anne P. Soliman, Reporter

IT WAS a few minutes past 7 p.m. when spectators gathered to watch young Pandanggo sa Ilaw dancers performing in the streets of Calapan, Oriental Mindoro at the 2019 Pandang Gitab (Festival of Lights) on April 27.

Pandanggo sa ilaw (fandango with lights), a traditional dance which involves dancers performing while carrying and balancing lighted candles, originated in Lubang island. Old stories tell that fishermen would come to shore following the light of the candles women would be holding at dawn to guide their path. The ritual included dancing as a symbol of security and abundance in fishing.

Since 2001, the pandanggo sa ilaw has been performed as a street dance and it served as the primary tourist attraction for the province’s 51st founding anniversary.

This year, the festival had six groups participating from the city of Calapan and the municipalities of Socorro, Baco, and Pola. Each group had 60 to 100 performers who danced a route stretching from the Calapan City Plaza to the Oriental Mindoro National High School.

According to Oriental Mindoro tourism officer Dhon Calda, this year was the first time they held the festival in April since February, which is when the festival is held, was unusually rainy.

The festival was recognized as a representation of the Oriental Mindoro’s cultural heritage through Provincial Ordinance No. 25 passed in 2012.

BIYAHENG ORMIN PROJECT
The province of Oriental Mindoro is located in MIMAROPA Region IV and lies 45 kilometers south of Batangas and 237 kilometers south of Manila.

According to the province’s vision statement published in a coffee table book titled Gold on the Horizon, the provincial government of Oriental Mindoro aims to be a “preferred agri-eco-tourism destination in MIMAROPA” by 2025.

During a media tour from April 25 to 28, Mr. Calda told members of the press that half a million local and international tourists visited in 2018. They aim for an increase to 2 million by 2025.

In an effort to boost tourism in the province’s 14 municipalities, the Provincial Tourism, Investment, and Enterprise Development Office (PTIEDO) launched the Biyaheng OrMin Project — a package with a variety of activities ranging from cultural heritage to agri-tourism sites.

The destinations are:

• The Gabutero organic farm — The 15-hectare Agricultural Training Institute (ATI)-certified organic farm in Bogabong, Oriental Mindoro, allots eight hectares to rice production and the remaining areas to organic fertilizer production, leisure areas and accommodations. “We have a diversified organic farming system where the land is used to plant fruits or crops depending on the season,” farm operator Nelson Gabutero told the press.

To educate the locals on organic farming, free training programs on topics such as vermiculture, vermi-composting, and organic rice production are offered to interested participants. Participants attend the training programs for 23 days and undergo assessment by Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) for certification.

Gabutero Organic Farm is located at Sitio Tubigan, Barangay Labonan, Bayan ng Bongabong, Silangang Mindoro. For more information, e-mail gabuteroorganicfarm@yahoo.com

• The Silonay Mangrove and Conservation Park — Established in 2010, the Silonay Mangrove and Conservation Park in Calapan City is one of several marine protected areas of Oriental Mindoro. With an area of 41 hectares, it is the biggest mangrove conservation and eco-tourism area and currently has 15 species of mangrove. Guests may take a leisurely walk on a newly cemented bridge to explore the site and volunteer to plant mangroves. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/pg/SilonayMangroveConservationAndEcoTourism/about/?ref=page_internal.

• Simbahang Bato of Naujan — Simbahang Bato or Bancuro Church of Ruins was established by Agustinian friars in 1679 — it is the oldest church in Naujan and the only stone church in Mindoro. In September 1842, the church caught fire in during an attack by Moro raiders. A chapel now stands within the ruins of the original church. The church is located at Brgy. Bancuro, Naujan.

• Island-hopping — One can take island-hopping tours in the municipality of Bulalacao. One can take a motor boat from Bulalacao bay and visit three islands: Aslom island, which has a curved sandbar; the stingray-shaped Target island, which was a testing ground for bombs and weapons of American soldiers during the Second World War; and Suguicay island, where one can have lunch under the native huts. For information and inquiries, contact the Provincial Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office at (043) 288-1157 or (043) 441-9133, or e-mail byahengormin@gmail.com.

In an effort to improve accesibility to the province, there are plans to build a floating bridge.

In 2011, former provincial governor Alfonso V. Umali, Jr. discussed with former President Benigno Aquino III regarding the construction of the 14-kilometer Mindoro-Batangas Super Bridge.

According to Mr. Calda, the feasibility study on its construction and costing is ongoing at the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). The bridge is estimated to costs P18 billion, taking five years to build. Once finished, it will be the longest floating bridge in Asia.

More Power inks PSA with AboitizPower unit

By Emme Rose S. Santiagudo, Correspondent

MORE Electric and Power Co. (More Power), which is poised to take over the power distribution in Iloilo City, has signed another interim power supply agreement (PSA) with one of the country’s largest power producers, Aboitiz Power Corp.

MORE Power President and CEO Roel Z. Castro and AP Renewables, Inc. (APRI) President and Chief Operating Officer Alexander B. Coo signed the contract on Wednesday at the Seda Atria Hotel Iloilo.

The deal will pave the way for 10 megawatts (MW) with an option to add 5 MW of power to be supplied from the clean and renewable power plant of AboitizPower under the company’s Cleanergy brand for one year.

The power will be supplied by APRI, which operates the Tiwi and MakBan geothermal power plants in the provinces of Albay, Laguna and Batangas, respectively.

According to Mr. Coo, AboitzPower’s portfolio of power plants all over the country makes it an ideal partner for More Power and the people of Iloilo City.

“Geothermal power is definitely unique because it is renewable energy yet it can be baseload — meaning, it delivers power 24/7 with a zero carbon footprint. For a growing metropolis like Iloilo City, this makes perfect sense. We are definitely excited to be partners with More Power and even more excited to be part of the growth of Iloilo City,” he added.

Mr. Castro said the partnership with AboitizPower would ensure reliable and consistent power supply, especially with the geothermal power source.

“Among the renewables, geothermal is a more reliable and consistent unlike other sources which are intermittent,” he said.

The brand of AboitizPower as one of More Power’s suppliers is also important, according to Mr. Castro since critics are questioning the reliability of More Power.

“As we would be coming, the name of AboitizPower is important because some people questioned our reliability. If we have Aboitiz, I don’t know who is going to question this,” he said.

Moreover, AboitizPower has also offered one of the lowest price in terms of power supply at P4.27 kilowatt per hour (KWh), according to Mr. Castro.

Last week, More Power also signed an interim power supply agreement with KEPCO SPC Power Corporation (KSPC).

The agreement provides a 5-megawatt supply from KSPC, with the option for another 5 MW. The interim power supply agreement is also good for one year.

With both the AboitizPower and KSPC at P4.27 and P4.665 KWh, Mr. Castro said the blended rate would definitely go down.

Meanwhile, Mr. Castro said they are still eyeing two more power suppliers to meet the current demand of Iloilo City now at 116-120 MW.

“As of now we are looking at the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) and the Global Business Power Corp. (GBPC),” he said.

According to Mr. Castro, they are still finalizing the negotiations with GBPC.

“There are ongoing negotiations because we cannot accept their contract with the current distributor. We opt for cheaper rates,” he said.

More Power is signing one-year deals with power suppliers until the Competitive Selection Process (CSP) will be conducted.

The new power firm is aiming to unseat the long-time distributor Panay Electric Co. (PECO) after securing a congressional franchise via Republic Act 11212 last May 14.

Under the law, More Power is allowed to avail of emergency power supply through negotiated procurement, provided this will only be for a period of one year and the rates must not be higher than the latest Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC)-approved generation tariff for the same or similar technologies in the area.

The agreement will take effect once More Power begins its operations.

Employee readiness key to digitalizing business

By Denise A. Valdez
Reporter

A KEY consideration for companies embarking on a digital transformation is finding a platform that people will easily adapt to, as employees are said to be the most important element in digitalizing a business’ operations and systems.

Jojo S. Guingao, chief digital officer of Aboitiz Equity Ventures, took note of this in a recent interview about the Aboitiz Group’s journey into digital revolution.

“The biggest thing for us in terms of transformation is we need to get the people ready to make sure that they’re agile,” he said. “We’re transforming the workplace. It’s for people to be agile, to make sure that we can quickly react and take advantage of whatever.”

The Aboitiz Group started using Workplace by Facebook last year, which Mr. Guingao said has been helpful in training people to adjust to the company’s push for a mobile work platform.

Along with the company’s efforts to be completely on the cloud by 2021, he said the Aboitiz Group wants to transform the way its businesses operate by using a digital platform to link people from its offices in the provinces and abroad all at once.

With a background in working in Silicon Valley, Mr. Guingao said the challenge for a country like the Philippines is it takes quite a while for people to learn technology.

“At the end of the day, you’re dealing with people that either don’t understand or don’t believe in it. And you need to educate them a lot. That takes a while in terms of implementing a technology… I think from that aspect, it slowed the process a little bit more. Because it’s important that you put a lot of effort on the people aspect,” he said.

But he noted that with a platform like Workplace by Facebook, the transition was relatively easier as employees are more likely familiar with it.

“When we launched Workplace, it’s an enterprise platform but it’s zero training. People just started using it. Majority of the people know how to post, know how to like, know how to share. It was natural for everybody,” he said.

Mr. Adam Bowden, the strategic client manager of Workplace by Facebook for APAC, said in an interview that the same ease of adaptability is the main reason the platform was created.

“The design is obviously built around the Facebook infrastructure. We’ve taken advantage of the Facebook infrastructure, which is what 2.7 billion people use every month and are familiar with. And add on to that, what types of framework, what types of tools and features you need on a day-to-day working environment,” he said.

“One of the big challenges of any technology is how to train people, how to teach people, how to do that at scale… We’re lucky we got a platform that is the largest, most successful community for collaboration in the world,” Mr. Bowden added.

Mr. Guingao said it’s important getting everyone on board in a company’s digital transformation, because that way, its purpose of easing communication from all corners of a company is fulfilled.

“You will actually hear voices that you’ve never heard before,” he said, citing examples where rank and file employees are able to communicate with C-level executives.

“It’s important for us to have this open, collaborative, agile office. We want to create a culture and a mindset that we’re agile, we can react to whatever future problems that we’re going to be facing,” Mr. Guingao added.

Why line up for Popeyes?

THE LONG lines snaking around Pasig’s Arcovia when Popeyes opened last week is solid proof of how much Filipinos wanted the Louisiana-style fried chicken.

One can hardly blame them: Popeyes in the Philippines closed about 10 years ago, and its return is perhaps akin to welcoming back an old friend.

The US-based but Canadian-owned chain (at least since 2017, after its acquisition by Restaurant Brands International) has about 3,000 locations around the world. The restaurant was brought here by the Kuya J restaurant chain, which is behind the giant, membership and volume supermarket Landers, among other restaurants.

The group’s sheer size is probably the reason why you shouldn’t join the crowds at Arcovia: Francis Reyes, CFO of the Kuya J Group, says that they plan to open more than 20 branches of Popeyes within Metro Manila in the remaining days of 2019, so you won’t have to wait too long in line if you just wait a few more weeks.

But again, who can blame you for wanting to line up now? The prices are low for an international brand: with items ranging from P97 for a chicken sandwich meal to P167 for a two-piece meal with chicken and rice.

The chicken is good; very good (but not good enough to dislodge Chickenjoy and KFC from this writer’s heart) with just the right amount of peppery seasoning. But then, neither of the two restaurants mentioned have Cajun rice (a Louisiana recipe with rice, sausages,meat, and spices), and for this alone, combined with the chicken, I would gladly join the lines again.

The biscuits are available in three flavors: the classic honey, and two new flavors exclusive to the Philippines — white chocolate and hazelnut. Mr. Reyes said that there is a chance that the two new flavors might be incorporated into the international menu, so he said, “If you ever find a chocolate biscuit in the US, you have to eat it with pride, because it started in the Philippines.”

For nitpickers, Mr. Reyes assured media guests during the opening last week that they had spent months perfecting the recipe, so that, “The experience of eating Popeyes chicken in ths US will be enjoyed by Filipinos in the Philippines.

Filipinos arguably already have a favorite fried chicken, (I’ll say it again; it just might be Jollibee’s Chickenjoy) so how and why, would a global giant even try? “Filipinos love their chicken. All of us would want to have the best-tasting chicken, regardless of wherever it may be, and Popeyes is here to give you a different flavor,” said Mr. Reyes.

But then, he points out a similarity in the culture between the Louisiana melting pot and the Philippines: “We’re a fan of big and bold flavors. We’re fans of parties and celebrations, just like in New Orleans.

“Filipinos love to be happy when they’re eating chicken.” — Joseph L. Garcia

Tech logistics start-up eyes Singapore expansion

TECHNOLOGY logistics start-up Shiptek Solutions Corp. is setting sights on expanding to Singapore by late this year to early next year. This as the company officially welcomed on Wednesday Union Bank of the Philippines, Inc. as a strategic investor.

“We’re looking at later this year to next year to start expanding to our first country… We’ll probably expand to Singapore because that’s one of the major hubs in the world, one of the biggest port cities in the world. Then from there, we see where we go,” Shiptek Chief Marketing Officer Nico Martin R. Gonzales told reporters Wednesday.

UnionBank, through digital unit UBX Philippines Corp., bought 52.37 million shares in Shiptek, or 30% of the company, via a share purchase agreement signed May 9. Mr. Gonzales said the entry of the Aboitiz-led lender positions Shiptek to boost its domestic presence and gives it room to focus on going international.

“With the partnership with UnionBank, we secure our hold of the Philippines, make it easier for us to expand in the Philippines. But we are looking for that strategic market that will take us to the next level as well for global expansion,” he said, adding that the company is looking at China, Hong Kong and India.

Shiptek is a Filipino firm led by Eugenio “Jun” S. Ynion, Jr., which developed digital platform XLOG that streamlines the freight forwarding logistics process for containerized cargos and couriers.

It is targeting to handle 500,000 to 1 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) by yearend, from the mid- to high-thousand TEUs it has been recording the past six months.

“With the support of UnionBank and their expertise in dealing with shippers and service providers alike for their financial needs, we really believe we can hit our target aspiration of 500,000 to 1 million TEUs by the end of the year,” Mr. Gonzales said.

UnionBank said its investment in Shiptek is part of its aim to find industries where banking services could be embedded.

“This whole concept of embedded banking is really built around how to facilitate the banking activities around a particular ecosystem… The whole idea is you need to be able to embed the banking experience as part of the activities in these ecosystems, and all of these ecosystems are moving to platforms,” UnionBank Senior Vice-President and Platform Development Head Ramon G. Duarte said.

“Logistics is a key stage in the whole supply chain process that happens between corporates, their suppliers and their customers. Wherever there is a logistics activity, there is very likely to be a financial transaction as well,” he added.

Mr. Duarte noted after Shiptek, UnionBank is currently in discussions with health maintenance organizations (HMOs) over possible joint ventures. He also cited opportunities in education and health care sectors. — Denise A. Valdez

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