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Dining Out (02/20/20)

Bo’s Coffee

BO’S COFFEE officially launched its first store in Surigao, located at Km 3 along the National Highway near The Philippine Gateway Hotel, Surigao City, Surigao del Norte. Bo’s Coffee is looking into opening more branches all over the Philippines and outside the country to promote Philippine coffee across the world. Besides the expansion, Bo’s Coffee sees to create more convenient ways for customers to order their coffee through other digital initiatives such as the Bo’s Coffee Advanced Ordering BOTTY which was introduced recently. Bo’s Coffee is a Filipino-owned enterprise founded in Cebu in 1996. It has over 100 branches in the Philippines. Bo’s Coffee is known for sourcing its coffee beans from farmers in Sagada, Mountain Province, Mt. Kitanglad in Bukidnon, Mt. Matutum in South Cotabato and Mt. Apo in Davao.

Max’s Restaurant

Max’s Restaurant has launched new dishes this month — Red Sinigang, and Max’s Corner Bakery’s Strawberry Chocolate Roll and Chocolate-Coated Caramel Bars. The Red Sinigang (P529) is an elevated version of the traditional Filipino dish. At its base is beef and fish cooked in a rich, sweet-sour soup of tamarind and tomato. Fresh vegetables like string beans, radish, and okra are added. The dish is jazzed up with crispy kangkong. The Red Sinigang can also be partnered with Max’s Sarap-To-The-Bones Chicken with an additional P150 from the House Classics Birthday Bundle Plus. End the meal with the Strawberry Chocolate Roll (P259) — chocolate chiffon filled and frosted with whipped cream, piped with strawberry fruit filling and adorned with chocolate cut-outs and shavings — and Chocolate Coated Caramel Bars (P249). Max’s Restaurant’s Red Sinigang and Max’s Corner Bakery’s Chocolate Coated Caramel Bars are available nationwide for dine-in or take-out, while the Strawberry Chocolate Roll is in Luzon stores only. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/maxsrestaurant/.

Pancake House

PANCAKE HOUSE has come out with a new Rewards Card with which diners can access exclusive deals such as an outright 10% discount for dine-in or take-out transactions worth at least P600. Included in the annual subscription, cardholders can also enjoy free pancakes on their birthday month, a free House Specials Set A when they register online, and many more freebies. This special Rewards Card can be claimed with a minimum single-receipt food purchase of P1,000. For more information, visit facebook.com/PancakeHousePhilippines.

Jollibee

JOLLIBEE has brought back the Tuna Pie in all stores, this time in two variants: Original Tuna Pie and the new Spicy Tuna Pie. The Tuna Pies cost P45, and there is also the Tuna Pie Trio for P132. Tuna Pie is available for dine-in, take-out, drive-thru, and delivery at all Jollibee stores nationwide.

McDonald’s

MCDONALD’S has brought back its Fish and Fries for a limited time together with the Filet-O-Fish. Meanwhile, from Feb. 20-22, get a Rich Chocolate Pie, Coke McFloat, McFreeze, or a Hot Fudge Sundae for P20 each exclusively on the McDonald’s App. The deal can be redeemed at the front counter, take-out counter, or drive-thru. The McDonald’s App is available for download on the Google Play Store at http://bit.ly/mcdoph-app-android and the App Store at http://bit.ly/mcdoph-app-ios.

JPMorgan reshuffling senior management at top of investment bank, appointing ‘rainmakers’ — sources

LONDON — JPMorgan is reshuffling senior management at the top of its investment bank, naming two new global co-heads and shifting some of its most senior dealmakers into new jobs focused purely on bringing in business, two sources told Reuters.

The Wall Street bank has named Viswas Raghavan and James Casey to jointly run its global investment banking unit, one source said.

The appointments are part of a sweeping reshuffle in which some senior executives will take on “rainmaker” roles.

Global M&A co-heads Hernan Cristerna and Chris Ventresca are among those who will drop management responsibilities and instead join a new executive committee of 18 global chairs, the two sources said, focused on winning business from clients.

To fill their shoes the bank is promoting eight bankers to manage specific regions and products, the first source said.

These include Dorothee Blessing and Conor Hillery who will become co-heads of investment banking in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Fernando Rivas who is taking the helm of the same unit in North America.

Raghavan and Casey — currently chief executive officer and head of banking for EMEA and global head of debt capital markets respectively — will both report into JPMorgan’s global banking head Carlos Hernandez who is in turn taking on a new role as executive chairman of global investment banking, one source said.

This source said Raghavan would keep his EMEA chief executive job, reporting to the bank’s co-president Daniel Pinto in this capacity.

JPMorgan’s leadership makeover highlights the pressures big investment banks are under to retain senior staff in the face of increasing competition from rival boutiques which can attract seasoned bankers with more entrepreneurial roles.

Wall Street firms face a tricky balancing act to keep their long-serving top managers happy while providing promotion opportunities for the next generation of leaders.

“This is the bulge-bracket response to the boutiques’ threat,” the second source said.

“It is a good way to motivate senior bankers who tend to move to boutiques when they feel there is nothing more to achieve in their current roles,” he said.

In investment banking, titles such as managing director or senior vice chairman are the ultimate status symbols, a sign that someone has made it.

But with many bankers reaching the “managing director” grade in their early thirties, banks are looking for new ways to motivate them and reward their loyalty.

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Hernandez, who is driving the changes, wants the bank’s global chairman network to focus solely on client relationships and also to mentor a new breed of dealmakers, the two sources said.

“This is not a trophy title,” the first source said. “People will need to bring in real business.”

Current wealth management executive chair Andy Cohen is set to be part of the new global chairmen group while continuing in his previous role.

Three women have made it to the same executive committee, namely global head of equity capital markets Liz Myers and global chairs Isabelle Sellier and Jennifer Nason whose focus has so far been on financial services and TMT respectively, the source said.

The group will also include healthcare rainmaker Steven Frank and several existing vice chairs such as London-based Harry Hampson and New York-based Ben Berinstein, the source said.

Under the new structure, Anu Aiyengar and Dirk Albersmeier will take over from Cristerna and Ventresca as global co-heads of M&A, the source said.

Power sharing will also apply to equity capital markets with Achintya Mangla and Mike Millman becoming global co-heads of ECM while Kevin Foley will run global debt capital markets (DCM) alone, the source said.

Asia Pacific will not be impacted by the changes with Filippo Gori continuing as head of banking for the region and similarly Martin Marron will stay in charge of investment banking in Latin America and Canada.

All the regional and product heads — who will report into Raghavan and Casey — will need to ensure JPMorgan maintains its 2019 ranking, based on Refinitiv data, as the top global investment bank by fees, having earned $6.5 billion in fees, or 6.5% of the overall global fee pool ahead of Goldman Sachs.

They will pair up with some of the newly-appointed global chairmen to foster team-work and a more cooperative culture.

“This is far from being a retirement plan for anyone,” said one of the sources. “The ultimate goal is to breed the next generation of star bankers.” — Reuters

PSALM says overdue receivables hit P95 billion

THE Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) reported on Wednesday that it had accumulated a total of P95.42 billion of overdue receivables in 2019 from electricity distribution companies and electric cooperatives.

In her presentation during a hearing led by the House committee on public accounts, PSALM President and Chief Executive Officer Irene Joy J. Besido-Garcia reported the following uncollected fees: P35.45 billion for power and universal charges, P33.62 billion for independent power producer administrator, and P26.36 billion for “others.”

The P26.36 billion worth of PSALM receivables include financial obligations by the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), Independent Electric Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP), National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, and First Gen Hydro Power Corp.

Anakalusugan Rep. Michael T. Defensor, who chairs the committee, said in a press briefing on Wednesday that PSALM’s receivables are classified into three.

Una, du’n sa power cost and utilities cost. Ito po ‘yung mga utang ng kooperatiba at kung ano-anong korporasyon sa PSALM. ‘Yung pangalawa po, ito ‘yung mga utang ng NPC (National Power Corp.) na nilipat sa PSALM. At yung pangatlo, ito po yung mga kontrata po nila na pinirmahan nung nabuhay ang PSALM,” he said.

(First are the receivables for power cost and utilities cost. These are the debts of cooperatives and different corporations to PSALM. The second are the debts of the National Power Corp. that were transferred to PSALM. And third, are the contracts that were signed when PSALM was created.)

Mr. Defensor said Meralco agreed to pay its financial obligation to PSALM, which amounts to almost P15 billion, but was unable to do so due to litigation cases in the Supreme Court.

According to Ms. Besido-Garcia, if PSALM fails to collect the unpaid receivables, the agency will transfer these to the national government at the end of its corporate life.

“It will end on June 2026, so if we are unable to collect because we are stuck in court because of some litigation that’s still ongoing and dragging on, what will happen is that we will transfer all these unpaid receivables to the national government,” she told reporters.

Ms. Besido-Garcia said that PSALM is still trying to collect the unpaid receivables despite the litigation cases.

“When you are in litigation, you cannot say whether you will win or lose. So what we’re doing now is we are basically trying to collect. So I wouldn’t say we will not be able to collect because some of them… even if there are disputes in court, there’s always a chance to be able to collect,” she said. — Genshen Espedido

Which countries are most at risk from humanitarian crises and disasters?

Which countries are most at risk from humanitarian crises and disasters?

How PSEi member stocks performed — February 19, 2020

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Wednesday, February 19, 2020.

 

DBM reviewing P80B in budget appropriations in lieu of veto

THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has held up the release of funding suspected of being diverted from appropriations for flagship projects under the “Build, Build, Build” program, Senator Panfilo M. Lacson said.

Mr. Lacson said legislators “realigned” at least P80 billion from the infrastructure program in the 2020 budget to fund their “pet projects” under the 2020 spending plan.

“I support the decision of President Rodrigo Duterte and the DBM to withhold the release of these congressional realignments,” Mr. Lacson said in a statement Wednesday.

Budget Undersecretary Laura B. Pascua said the funding hold was laid out in the guidelines released on Jan. 6, the same day President Duterte signed the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2020.

“This was part of the release guidelines we issued last January 6,” Ms. Pascua said in a phone message Wednesday.

Mr. Duterte did not formally veto any provisions when he signed the 2020 Budget, raising the possibility that the spending hold represents some sort of informal veto.

In the preceding year’s budget he vetoed provisions worth over P95 billion, declaring them to be unlawful. The 2019 budget was much delayed due to claims of “insertions” — funding items that were included in the spending plan after both chambers approved a harmonized version of the legislation.

“Following the President’s veto message, Congressional changes especially those increasing appropriations for projects, will undergo checking from the implementing agencies for implementation readiness and approval of the President.”

Mr. Lacson during the budget preparation process flagged allegedly unconstitutional appropriations in the P4.1-trillion GAA, which he had relayed to Senator Juan Edgardo M. Angara, who chairs the Senate Finance committee.

Mr. lacson left the matter to the executive branch, either in the form of a veto or to have the DBM withhold funding for questionable projects.

The 2019 budget was delayed for four months due to an impasse between the House of Representatives and the DBM and later with the Senate on post-ratification realignments.

During the preparation of the 2019 budget, the Senate attached its reservations about the alleged insertions, leading to the presidential veto, which reduced the spending plan to P3.662 trillion. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

QC orders construction halt for MRT-7 station at Memorial Circle

THE QUEZON CITY government has ordered a construction halt for part of the Quezon Memorial Circle station of the Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT-7) pending questions about how the monument will be affected.

In a statement Wednesday, the city said Mayor Maria Josefina G. Belmonte suspended the “above-ground structure” of the Quezon Memorial Circle (QMC) station of the P62.7-billion MRT-7 project pending clarification about how the works will affect the city’s “most famous landmark.”

The Transportation department said it is ready to resolve the issue with the city.

The city government said that Ms. Belmonte issued a temporary cease-and-desist order against the “above-ground construction” of the MRT-7 QMC station pending talks with developer San Miguel Corp., contractor EEI Corp. and the Department of Transportation (DoTr).

The city said “environmentalists and historians pointed out that the station was encroaching on the integrity” of the site.

Ms. Belmonte said the city “is in full support” of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s infrastructure program but it has “grave reservations about the desecration of the famous heritage site, especially as construction was affecting the surface of the park.”

“We want to look for a win-win solution that would protect our open spaces while advancing the welfare of thousands of commuters who will benefit from the mass transport project,” Ms. Belmonte said.

The city government also said Ms. Belmonte has ordered a review of the MRT-7 project, claiming that it has “greatly exceeded the agreed area for construction.”

“Based on the project’s permit and clearance, the contractor indicated 4,997 square meters as its floor area. However, the proposed floor area is more than five times the approved figure,” the city said.

Transportation Assistant Secretary Goddes Hope Oliveros-Libiran said: “We understand that the concern is about the above-ground structure, and that the construction of underground areas may proceed. We will coordinate with the LGU (local government unit) of Quezon City as soon as possible to discuss and clarify this matter. We are certain that at the end of the day, we will be able to strike a balance and obtain a win-win solution.”

Ms. Belmonte said she has initiated talks with stakeholders for clarification and guidance.

The mayor also wanted to hear comment from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and the Quezon-Avanceña Family, the descendants of the late Manuel L. Quezon, because of QMC’s “historical landmark” status.

The Transportation department reported in January that the MRT-7 project — which will run between North Avenue in Quezon City and San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan — was 50.69% complete.

The P62.7-billion MRT-7 project has three components: a 23-kilometer rail transit system with 14 stations; a six-lane highway between North Luzon Expressway and a planned Intermodal Transportation Terminal (ITT); and the ITT itself that can accommodate 200 buses at a time. Travel time from end to end is estimated at 34 minutes. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Taal eruption, coronavirus outbreak boosts government spending 25%

FINANCE SECRETARY Carlos G. Dominguez III said contingency measures to deal with the eruption of the Taal Volcano and the coronavirus outbreak likely boosted government spending by around 25% year-on-year.

“According to Lea (National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon), our national treasurer, we are already up for the first one and a half months, we already up 25% over last year. That’s pretty good,” Mr. Dominguez told reporters Tuesday.

Mr. Dominguez said tweaks to monetary policy will be an appropriate tool in responding to the broader impact of the coronavirus, formally known as Covid-19, based on his discussions with Benjamin E. Diokno, the central bank governor.

The eruption of Taal Volcano in January forced nearby businesses to suspend operations until the ashfall subsided while the outbreak of Covid-19 has affected the tourism industry while disrupting supply chains and dampened overall spending.

The tax take may also suffer during these months, with the government’s two largest tax-collecting agencies detecting weak sales by businesses and a 50% drop in trade volume in the first 15 days of February.

Mr. Dominguez said economic managers are “concerned” about the declines but remain confident that the government will meet its P3.3-trillion revenue collection target for 2020.

He has said the economic impact of the two events is not enough to force the economic team to revise its 6.5-7.5% growth target for the year.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) estimates that 51.8% of the 2020 budget was released in the first month of the year, equivalent to P2.124 trillion out of the P4.1-trillion spending plan.

Some P1.826 trillion in allotment releases was disbursed to line departments, accounting for 76.6% of the programmed P2.382 billion for the year.

A total of P66.982 billion was also released for special-purpose funds last month, out of the P467.898-bilion budgeted for the year. These are allocations for specific socio-economic purposes, such as the 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.

From automatic appropriations, P231.581 billion has been released, or 18.5% of the P1.249-trillion program for the year.

The bulk of the automatic appropriations went to internal revenue allotments (IRAs) for local governments (P162.23 billion), retirement and life insurance premiums (P49.28 billion) and the block grant for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (P15.9 billion).

Releases from the continuing appropriations of last year’s budget stood at P2.964 billion, P1.776 billion of which went to the line departments while P1.188 billion was released to special-purpose funds. — Beatrice M. Laforga

DTI’s Lopez downplays EU human rights findings in GSP+ report

TRADE SECRETARY Ramon M. Lopez said the European Commission should take a second look at the Philippines’ human rights and labor record after the commission raised “serious concerns” in its latest GSP+ report.

“We hope that they really look at the real numbers… right now it’s not even discussed much here kasi wala naman talaga tayong naririnig na violations (because there have been no reports of violations),” he told reporters Monday.

The European Commission expressed concern about the Philippine war on drugs and the President’s veto of the security of tenure bill in its GSP+ monitoring report released last week.

Under the Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP+) up to 6,274 Philippine products enjoy zero-tariff entry to the European Union (EU) if the country buys into 27 core international conventions that include human and labor rights, environmental protection and good governance.

The report said the veto of the security of tenure (SoT) bill “came as a surprise” as the bill was designed to tackle abuse of labor contractualization.

Contractualization denies workers a path to permanent employment and benefits, with companies often terminating employment before the six-month deadline to offer employees permanent status. This forces employees to apply again, on a contract basis.

“Even if you took the veto of the SoT bill, that doesn’t mean we don’t observe labor rights,” Mr. Lopez said, adding that he believes a possible replacement of the proposed SoT bill would strengthen the labor sector.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines party-list in October filed its own version of the bill, which is intended to criminalize all forms of contractualization.

The GSP+ report also called the possible return of the death penalty for drug offenders “a worrying development” that would violate an international protocol ratified by the Philippines in 2007.

“Persistent ongoing concerns since the last GSP report are the reports of thousands of extrajudicial killings of people allegedly involved in drug trade and use and the lack of proper investigation,” the report said.

Mr. Lopez said the commission should be “updated or briefed about the HR (human rights) situation,” saying that there have been more peaceful arrests.

The Philippine National Police in July said it had killed more than 5,500 people during drug raids. Rights groups and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said that the number could be more than 27,000.

Mr. Lopez said he does not know how the European Union stands on the matter of continuing free trade talks with the Philippines.

He said the Philippines continues to be open to a possible free trade agreement with the European Union, and looks to improving the country’s GSP utilization rate.

“So far (what’s important is) we’re able to do the… annual monitoring. We’re able to answer (the commission’s) questions objectively,” he said. — Jenina P. Ibañez

NAIA int’l arrivals dip over 16.7% due to coronavirus

INTERNATIONAL arrivals at the main gateway airport have fallen more than 16.7% since late January due to travel disruptions caused by the outbreak in China of the coronavirus, which is formally known as Covid-19.

In a briefing Wednesday, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Ed V. Monreal said the decline is equivalent to 300,000 tourists.

“We have tracked down since Jan. 25 up to two days ago, February 17, ang kabawasan po ng mga pasahero sa international base sa aming pagtatala ay umabot na ng over 16% in that particular period (the decline in international passengers was over 16% during the period),” Mr. Monreal said.

Jan. 25 was the date of Lunar New Year in 2020, peak travel season for Chinese holidaymakers.

Foreign arrivals over the period amounted to 1,352,692, down from 1,624,698 a year earlier.

Mr. Monreal said aircraft movements — the combination of takeoffs and landings — were down over 22% after Philippine carriers cancelled service to China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan after the government banned travel to and from those destinations.

The virus continues to depress travel activity overall. The World Health Organization estimated as of Feb. 18 there were over 73,000 confirmed cases worldwide, with 99% are in China. — Gillian M. Cortez

WB preparing $500-M facility to boost PHL’s disaster management

THE World Bank (WB) is preparing to approve about $500 million worth of loans to the Philippines in the second quarter, funding projects that will boost the government’s ability to respond to natural calamities and mitigate disaster risk.

According to World Bank documents, the multilateral lender is poised to lend the Philippines $500 million under the Third Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Development Policy Loan (DPL), for release in a single tranche.

The World Bank’s Board has set an estimated approval date of May 21, 2020.

The World Bank said the Philippine government asked the bank for a disbursing Development Policy Loan (DPL), instead of the initial plan for a DRM DPL with Catastrophic Deferred Drawdown option, “following a highly unusual series of disaster events in late 2019 and early 2020.”

“Through this, the government will be able to strengthen institutional capacity to implement the reforms at the national and local levels. This operation provides timely engagement as the government is in the process of enhancing the institutional framework for DRM through the creation of a new department for disaster risk management and climate resilience,” according to the document.

The Department of Finance will be the implementing agency for the facility.

The World Bank noted that the Philippines’ vulnerabiity to natural calamities poses a risk to its poverty reduction initiatives and could negatively affected economic growth and debt stainability.

It said by enhancing the disaster preparedness of local governments through improved planning, financing and implementation programs, the government is expected to speed up its response and recovery efforts following a natural disaster.

“The government has shown strong leadership in pursuing the DRM agenda and the country has already achieved substantial results, with the support from the two DRM DPLs with a CAT-DDO 1 and 2 (Catastrophe- Deferred Drawdown Option Program). — Beatrice M. Laforga

PPA reports 2019 port income of P7.28 billion

THE government’s income from port operations grew 31% to P7.28 billion in 2019, significantly exceeding the P4.94-billion target amid increased automation and the deployment of more efficient port equipment.

In a statement Wednesday, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) said it posted a 2019 net income of P7.280 billion, well above the 2018 result of P5.553 billion.

“As against the target, the actual amount is 47% higher than the target of P4.941 billion,” it added.

PPA said Port Management Offices that turned in “strong performances” last year were South Harbor, Batangas, Davao, Surigao, and Bataan/Aurora.

“The positive deviation comes mainly from lay-up fees, ro-ro fees, domestic dockage fees, pilotage, the utilization of the Vessel Traffic Monitoring System, and other income,” it said.

The port regulator added: “Combining all the growth percentages in the first three years of the current administration, the PPA net income is growing at an annual rate of 17%, the highest revenue growth percentage in any of the last 15 years.”

PPA General Manager Jay Daniel R. Santiago attributed this growth to “various changes” being implemented in the agency.

“The changes range from manual to automated processes, installation of sophisticated, effective, and higher-productivity port equipment, compliance with the world’s best port management practices, and most especially, the shift in the outlook of employees to public service with reliability, integrity, and accountability,” he said.

PPA also disclosed that it will have to revisit its first-quarter performance targets in the next few days “in consideration of the current global concerns,” including the continuing coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) outbreak, the exit of the UK from the European Union, maritime disputes with China, and some safety and environmental concerns, among others.

“Even with the continuing threat of global concerns, ‘business as usual’ is not an option but reducing the risk of these threats coupled with management anchored on best practices and public-service committed government personnel, our gateways connecting to the tourism and trade centers of the world, will remain competitive and responsive to any current global demands,” Mr. Santiago said. — Arjay L. Balinbin