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PAL, Cebu Pacific prepare to fly again

BUDGET carrier Cebu Pacific and flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) on Tuesday unveiled their safety measures as they prepare for the resumption of commercial flights.

The Presidential Palace also announced on Tuesday that the temporary ban on international inbound flights, which started on Sunday, will only be until May 8, 11:59 p.m.

Cebu Pacific, operated by Cebu Air, Inc., said all its pilots and cabin crew will undergo rapid antibody tests before deployment. All its operating crew, including ground staff, will also don personal protective equipment (PPE) while on duty.

“Cleaning and disinfection procedures have been ramped-up for all CEB facilities and equipment such as self check-in kiosks, check-in and bag drop counters and shuttle buses. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers will be provided for all passengers and staff at the airport and inside the aircraft,” the budget carrier said.

It said all its aircraft will also undergo extensive daily disinfection, and passengers will be required to wear face masks upon entry at the airport and for the duration of the flight.

Cebu Pacific also said it may initially restart commercial operations with a limited number of domestic flights.

PAL, operated by PAL Holdings, Inc., advised its passengers to be at the airport early: four hours before international departures and three hours before domestic departures from airports in the Philippines.

“Due to the government’s extension of the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine period, all PAL international and domestic flights are canceled up to May 15,” it also said.

PAL said it continues to operate all-cargo flights to carry essential medical supplies into the country from the Asia-Pacific region. — Arjay L. Balinbin

How PSEi member stocks performed — May 5, 2020

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Tuesday, May 5, 2020.

Shares up as Duterte changes tone on water firms

By Denise A. Valdez, Reporter

THE PHILIPPINE market emerged as one of Asia’s best performers on Tuesday as the main index bounced back on the president’s apology to listed water concessionaires.

The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 99.58 points or 1.78% to close at 5,671.67 yesterday. The broader all shares index also added 38.68 points or 1.14% to 3,424.98.

“Positive comments from President Duterte in his speech (Monday night) toward several business leaders improved the general sentiment and increased optimism, pushing the PSEi higher today,” AAA Southeast Equities, Inc. Research Head Christopher John Mangun said in an e-mail yesterday.

“(Tuesday’s) gains wiped out almost all its losses from (Monday). Investors cheered the renewed cooperation between government and the private sector which overshadowed concerns of geopolitical tensions abroad,” he added.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte apologized to the Zobel brothers and Manuel V. Pangilinan on Monday as he said the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has humbled him.

He also said he is “ready to talk” and “will be reasonable,” alluding to the government’s rift with Manila Water Co., Inc. and Maynilad Water Services, Inc. regarding their water contracts.

Manila Water is under Ayala Corp. (AC), while Maynilad is majority owned by Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), listed companies led by the Zobels and Mr. Pangilinan, respectively.

Following Mr. Duterte’s remarks, shares in AC, MPIC and Manila Water surged on Tuesday, ending the session belonging to the market’s top five gainers with a growth of 14.73%, 13.55% and 12.05%, respectively.

Philstocks Financial, Inc. Senior Research Analyst Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said the movement of AC and MPIC stocks were “above 20-day moving average volumes showing that there’s conviction in the rally of these stocks.”

Most sectoral indices closed in green territory on Tuesday: holding firms jumped 177.29 points or 3.29% to 5,560.85; industrials rose 154.23 points or 2.11% to 7,454; property gained 38.95 points or 1.35% to 2,912.92; financials picked up 3.45 points or 0.29% to 1,167.49; and mining and oil added 2.18 points or 0.04% to 4,625.57.

The sole declining index was services, which fell 1.17 point or 0.08% to 1,350.48.

Value turnover stood at P6.43 billion with 619.49 million issues switching hands, up from P5.11 billion the day prior. Advancers beat decliners, 118 against 74, while 38 names ended unchanged.

Foreign investors snapped their 33-day selling streak, with the market recording a net foreign buying of P86.52 million yesterday. “It is not much but it ends more than 20 days of consecutive net selling,” Mr. Mangun said. “We may see the main index move higher in the following days and test resistance at 5,850-6,000.”

Peso climbs on inflation

THE PESO rose due to positive inflation data. — BW FILE PHOTO

THE PESO strengthened on Tuesday on the back of positive market sentiment on easing inflation and amid expectations of another contraction in the US services sector.

The local unit finished trading at P50.52 per dollar yesterday, appreciating by 7.5 centavos from its P50.595 close on Monday, according to data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines.

The peso started the session at P50.61 per dollar. Its weakest showing was at P50.61 while its strongest was at P50.49 against the greenback.

Dollars traded increased to $558.66 million from the $349.35 million seen on Monday.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said the peso’s gain came after the release of April inflation data.

“The peso exchange closed stronger as sentiment was supported by the latest easing trend in inflation which is the slowest in five months,” he said in a text message.

April headline inflation eased further to 2.2% from the 2.5% in March as well as the three percent seen in the same month last year, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Downside risks mainly stemmed from the decrease in transport costs due to falling oil prices. This offset the uptick in food commodities during the lockdown in Luzon.

Meanwhile, a trader said the peso was stronger on profit taking amid expectations of weak US data overnight.

“The peso strengthened due to profit taking amid likely sharp declines in US services reports,” the trader said in an e-mail.

The Institute for Supply Management will report the non-manufacturing index for April overnight.

Reuters reported that the US non-manufacturing index fell to a reading of 52.5 in March, which is the lowest since August 2016 as industries reported moderation in new orders and decline in employment due to the virus outbreak. A reading below 50 indicates contraction.

For today, Mr. Ricafort gave a forecast range of P50.40 to P50.60 per dollar, while the trader expects the local unit to move around the P50.50 to P50.70 band.

Asian currencies were mostly firmer on Tuesday, as easing lockdowns in some parts of the world offset worries about rising tensions between China and the United States.

The Southeast Asian economy has been hit with a double whammy of a slump in oil prices and disruptions caused by virus-driven curbs.

The Taiwan dollar was the best performer among emerging Asian currencies gaining 0.3%, while the Singapore dollar rose 0.2% .

Elsewhere, the Indonesian rupiah weakened as much as 0.3% after Southeast Asia’s largest economy recorded its weakest economic growth in nearly two decades in the first quarter.

The Thai baht weakened marginally after April consumer prices fell 2.99% from a year earlier, well below expectations, to mark its biggest decline in more than a decade. — L.W.T. Noble with Reuters

CITIRA faces ‘tweaks’ to maximize potential as stimulus measure

OBJECTIONS to the corporate tax reform bill could be receding because of its potential for resuscitating the economy, though it may need to be reconfigured before it becomes a full-blown post-pandemic stimulus measure, legislators from both chambers said.

Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III said after a caucus Monday that senators agreed to include the proposed Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Rationalization Act (CITIRA), or Senate Bill No. 1357, in the May 4-June 5 agenda.

CITIRA was initially positioned as a corporate tax reform measure. It lowers the corporate income tax (CIT) to 20% eventually and streamlines fiscal incentives. The measure was passed in the House in September but stalled in the Senate before it recessed for the Easter break, during the course of which the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak locked down Luzon and disrupted the economy.

Senator Juan Edgardo M. Angara, vice chairman of the chamber’s ways and means committee, said the the measure will have to be amended in response to the crisis.

“We should settle the incentive debate to eliminate any uncertainty in the minds of (potential and actual) investors,” he said in a phone message Tuesday. “We may have to tweak the bill given the current difficult economic environment.”

Still pending in the Senate are measures that will simplify the tax structure for financial instruments, and provide a uniform framework for real property valuation. These bills were passed by the House of Representatives in September and November, respectively.

Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is in talks with Congress over the possible incentives that may be granted to essential industries.

“I think it will be a combination of targeted and time-bound tax incentives. There will be credit guarantees and there will also be direct subsidies to their workers,” Mr. Chua said on ANC Tuesday.

He said a longer transition period may be considered due to the pandemic to allow businesses to adjust.

“The core element of the fiscal incentive modernization is really right, and it is about having more performance-based, targeted, time bound and transparent incentives. I think we should still pursue that, and once the transition period has ended, then we can use a new system of incentives to attract even better investments.”

The government has so far enacted measures cutting personal income taxes and increasing or adding levies on several goods and services.

Another law grants an estate tax amnesty and an amnesty on delinquent accounts, while two more laws separately increased the excise tax on alcohol products and conventional and electronic cigarettes.

In the House, Representative Jose Maria Clemente S. Salceda of Albay, who chairs the chamber’s ways and means committee, said any adjustments to the bill should include a marked preference for companies introducing proven technology.

“Somebody who has established technology should be given more incentive than one who has been there for 35 years. Are we reducing incentives? In general, no. We’re just being more transparent and more value-adding,” he told BusinessWorld by phone Monday.

He said sentiment on CITIRA has shifted “because there’s a stimulus being pursued, of course in addressing COVID and addressing congestion in Metro Manila,” he added, referring to proposals to provide incentives for businesses to relocate to the provinces, an initiative known as “Balik Probinsya.”

Metro Manila remains the epicenter of the outbreak in the Philippines, largely because the population in the capital is highly concentrated because of the lack of economic opportunity in the hinterland.

Mr. Salceda has said the House plans to include COVID-19 relief via incentives when CITIRA is discussed at the bicameral conference committee.

In response to Sen. Christopher Lawrence T. Go’s “Balik Probinsya” proposal, Mr. Salceda said CITIRA is “structurally biased towards incentivizing countryside development.”

“While NCR (National Capital Region) projects get three years of income tax holiday (ITH) and two years of enhanced deductions, adjacent provinces get four years of ITH and three years of enhanced deductions. Even better, areas outside these regions get six years of ITH and four years of enhanced deductions,” he said on April 24.

Mr. Salceda said that while CITIRA’s passage is currently in the Senate’s hands, the House is thinking of taxing the e-commerce industry more after consumers turned to online channels during the quarantine.

“We want to tax; we have to cover e-commerce. We have to tap the platforms. Pinag-aaralan na namin (We are studying the matter), actually,” he said. — Charmaine A. Tadalan and Genshen L. Espedido

‘Build, Build, Build’ priorities shifting in favor of health, digital

THE government will assign higher priority to health and digital infrastructure projects in its flagship “Build, Build, Build” program, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said.

NEDA Acting Director-General Karl Kendrick T. Chua said the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) is currently reviewing the infrastructure program to “reprioritize” such projects.

“These are now being reviewed by the DBCC. What we are thinking right now is we have to reprioritize our infrastructure program. We have to give more space to health infrastructure, digital infrastructure, and those are important in the new normal,” Mr. Chua said in an ABS-CBN News TV interview Monday.

Separately, he told BusinessWorld that the government may also consider funding more infrastructure projects via private-public partnerships (PPPs).

“If (the financing structure offers) value for money and will benefit the people of this and future generations, why not,” he said by mobile phone Monday when asked if the economic team will consider increasing the share of PPPs to free up funds for the government.

The government softened its stance on PPP-funded projects when it expanded its P4.2-trillion infrastructure program to 100 projects, 26 of which are to be funded through PPPs. The previous list of 75 included eight PPPs.

Mr. Chua said despite the shifting priorities, the government will forge ahead with the infrastructure program due to its key role in the economic recovery.

Mr. Chua said the government still “stands a good chance” of completing “a lot” of the flagship projects when it continues to implement them in the next two and a half years, despite the disruptions from the pandemic and quarantine.

This year marks the second straight year the infrastructure timetable has been disrupted. In 2019 the budget was delayed until April and public works spending bans were in place because of the May elections, which wasted much of the dry season, which construction firms need to maximize before the rains halt work.

The administration hopes to start all 100 projects and complete “a significant number” before President Rodrigo R. Duterte steps down in 2022.

Mr. Chua said health safety protocols will still be observed once construction works for these projects resume. — Beatrice M. Laforga

PHL crisis spending seen low amid ample fiscal space

THE Philippines may need to supplement its initial crisis spending plans, which are currently the equivalent to as much as 6% of gross domestic product (GDP), but the government retains adequate fiscal space to escalate its stimulus efforts if needed, analysts said.

Alex Holmes, an emerging-markets economist with Capital Economics, said the Philippines has “plenty of space providing more fiscal support” in its efforts to contain the pandemic. He estimates the country’s debt stock to increase 10 percentage points to still-manageable levels.

Mr. Holmes said the economy will need “more fiscal support” to cushion the fallout from the pandemic, with GDP expected to contract 4% this year.

“The government has set aside about 5% to 6% of GDP for health care and economic efforts. Given that debt dynamics in the Philippines do not appear too worrying, there is plenty of space for providing more fiscal support. And we think the economy will need it. GDP is set to contract by around 4% this year,” he said in an e-mail.

The Economist recently ranked the Philippines as the sixth-strongest among 66 emerging economies in terms of financial strength.

The Economist evaluated the emerging markets across four “potential sources of peril:” public debt, public and private foreign debt, cost of borrowing and reserve cover.

The Philippines’ 2019 debt-to-GDP ratio was revised down to 39.6% using 2018 as the base year, after the indicator was initially reckoned at 41.5%. The government’s economic managers set a 46.7% debt-to-GDP target this year.

Meanwhile, Fitch Solutions Country Risk and Industry Research, estimated that the government’s fiscal policy response at about 2% of GDP, noting that the allotted funds “have been relatively small.”

Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa, senior economist at ING Bank NV-Manila Branch said the government will have to roll out fiscal packages “commensurate to the expected economic loss from lockdown and the projected changes to the economy in a world of social distancing.”

Mr. Mapa said among the fiscal packages rolled out by the government for COVID-19 damage control amount to around P400 billion, which includes the cash aid program for poor families, support for the health care sector and the wage subsidy program.

The National Economic and Development Authority in March estimated that the economy could lose P428.7 billion to P1.35 trillion in gross value added , equivalent to 2.1 to 6.6% of nominal GDP this year.

Mr. Mapa said to cushion the economic fallout, the government needs to roll out a “timely and sizable fiscal recovery plan” to help stimulate the economy.

He said providing cash to affected sectors is also expected to drive consumption and while “ample support” to small businesses will keep the “backbone of the economy afloat” as this will ensure many Filipinos will keep their jobs.

“A modest fiscal response or a package deployed in a belated manner could find scores of Filipinos already unemployed, with the cost to save the job market more costly,” he said. — Beatrice M. Laforga

ASEAN April PMI hits all-time low 30.7 after March retreat to 43.4

FACTORY activity in the ASEAN region deteriorated further to a record low in April due to disruption on the supply side while demand dried up during the pandemic, IHS Markit said.

In a statement Tuesday, IHS Markit said the ASEAN Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to “an all-time low” of 30.7 in April, further worsening from a 43.4 reading in March, which represents “by far the largest monthly deterioration in manufacturing conditions since the series began in July 2012.”

“As was the case in March, the headline figure partly reflected a record lengthening of suppliers’ delivery times, the index for which is inverted in the PMI calculation, as longer times are usually associated with improving demand. This was outweighed, however, by unprecedented contractions in output, new orders, employment and pre-production inventories,” it said.

PMIs are reported on a hundred-point scale, with readings above 50 signifying an expansion in purchasing activity. A reading below 50 indicates a decline in such activity.

Purchasing activity, especially in the manufacturing sector, is a leading indicator of overall economic activity, because factories must pre-order their raw materials before they can be processed and sold. Their purchase orders signal how much they estimate they can produce and sell in the short term.

All seven countries surveyed posted declines last month, with the Philippines third with a record-low PMI reading of 31.6, behind Vietnam’s 32.7 and Thailand’s 36.8.

The Philippines had a PMI reading of 39.7 in March.

Indonesia was the weakest of the countries surveyed at 27.5, plunging from 45.3 in March. Myanmar was at 29 in April from 45.3 in March, while Malaysia settled at 31.3 from 48.4 in March.

Meanwhile, Singapore recovered in April to 29.3 from the record low of 18.1 in March.

Purchasing managers surveyed rated their firms’ prospects in five categories with the following weightings: new orders (30%), output (25%), employment (20%), suppliers’ delivery times (15%) and stocks of purchases (10%).

“Central to the substantial deterioration were record rates of decline across all five components of the headline figure, with output, new orders, employment and pre-production inventories dropping markedly across the region to drag the PMI down further as the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak intensified,” Lewis Cooper, economist at IHS Markit, was quoted as saying.

IHS Markit said the survey showed “marked reductions” in output, new orders and exports as domestic

and international demand plunged largely due to lockdowns and other emergency measures imposed by governments.

It said companies across the region continued to reduce headcount last month, “with the rate of job shedding the fastest on record.”

Buying activity, meanwhile, was “scaled back substantially,” declining at its fastest pace in the history of the indicator.

It said due to continued disruptions in the supply chain, supplier delivery times lengthened by the “greatest extent” in the history of the survey.

“Overall, April data highlight the substantial impact of the coronavirus pandemic on ASEAN manufacturers. With measures to restrict the spread of the virus likely to continue for some time, and demand both at home and abroad essentially frozen, firms need to prepare for a tough second quarter,” Mr. Cooper said. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Most renewable energy plants continue to operate during lockdown

RENEWABLE energy power plants are still running with no impact from the disruptions caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emergency, the industry’s regulator said.

“Most if not all RE (renewable energy) plants have been operating in spite of the effects of COVID-19, and were not affected by (the) disruptions,” according to Monalisa C. Dimalanta, chairman of the National Renewable Energy Board (NREB).

“This is one key advantage of RE over non-RE plants, which is highlighted in our current situation,” she added.

The Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) rules for both on-grid and off-grid areas are due for full implementation this year. The standards require power utilities, including electric cooperatives, retail electricity suppliers, and generation companies with directly connected customers, to generate or source some of their electricity requirements from eligible renewable resources.

As of March 31, there are 127 eligible renewable power plants with a total capacity of 2,221.15 megawatts which are potential sources of clean power resources.

Eligible generators include facilities using biomass, waste-to-energy, wind energy, solar energy, run-of-river hydroelectric power systems, impounding hydroelectric power systems, ocean energy, geothermal energy, hybrid systems as defined by the Renewable Energy Act, and other renewable energy technologies that may be later identified by the DoE.

The RPS rules set an annual incremental percentage of electricity sold by power utilities at less than 1% of their annual energy demand.

Households in areas unserviceable by power grids are provided with electricity from renewable resources, the developers of which are entitled to a half of the collected universal charges for missionary electrification.

The NREB is still awaiting the decision of the Department of Energy (DoE) on some other facilities that applied for eligibility. — Adam J. Ang

Exporters urged to explore online channels following trade show cancellations

CITEM

THE Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) export promotion arm is encouraging exporters to explore online platforms after trade shows were canceled in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis.

The Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) promotes Philippine export goods and services through various events, including overseas trade fairs. CITEM in late March said its events for the first half of 2020 have been canceled.

“Stronger digital synergy is the way forward in these trying times since events have been canceled or postponed across the world. Our exporters, particularly the micro-, small- and medium-enterprises (MSMEs), should tap strategic social media platforms and digital tools to widen their online reach and continue their working relations with their clients and stakeholders,” CITEM Executive Director Pauline Suaco-Juan said in a statement Tuesday.

“Exporters can also take advantage of available webinars on business, logistics and online marketing, among others, on how they can navigate or bounce back from their current situation,” she said.

Ms. Suaco-Juan said CITEM is also collaborating with institutions and resource speakers, including creatives and design experts, to promote the Philippines online.

She spoke at Project Ripple PH’s weekly show on Tuesday, joining business professionals and creatives to discuss “influencer marketing” in the Philippines. She will also be joining an online conversation with the Fashion and Design Council of the Philippines, PHx Fashion Conference, and SoFA Design Institute.

The DTI in a statement Monday said agricultural exports entered three new international markets, with maiden shipments of avocados sent in China, cacao products shipped to Belgium, and coconut milk arriving in Russia in March and April.

“COVID-19 may lead to market access issues and non-tariff measures. It may be more difficult to comply with stricter regulations, certifications, external and domestic regulations. The DTI-EMB commits to assist exporters, especially MSMEs, to comply with these requirements and introduce their products to the world,” DTI Export Marketing Bureau Director Senen M. Perlada said.

He has been encouraging exporters to increase their e-commerce presence, especially during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) imposed on Luzon. — Jenina P. Ibañez

Palay farmgate prices ‘normalizing,’ rise above gov’t support price

THE farmgate price of palay, or unmilled rice, rose in several regions during the dry season to levels exceeding the government’s P19 per kilogram support price.

“To date, the national average price of dry palay is at P19.91 per kilogram, while fresh palay sells at P17.22 per kilogram, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority,” Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said.

According to the DA, the highest farmgate price for dry palay in the last week of April was in Northern Mindanao (Region X) at P25.35 per kilogram.

Meanwhile, the lowest farmgate price was in Western Visayas (Region VI) at P17.58.

Dry palay in the Bicol Region (Region V) averaged P20.25, in Ilocos Region (Region I) P20.30, in Cagayan Valley region (Region II) P20.65, in Central Visayas (Region VII) P21, in SOCCSKSARGEN (Region XII) P21.50, and in Davao Region (Region XI) P22.93.

The National Food Authority (NFA), which serves as a buyer of last resort for domestic farmers when commercial traders are out of the market, sets its palay purchase price at P19. During the turmoil accompanying the passage of the Rice Tariffication law, palay prices reportedly fell into the single digits in some provinces.

“Compared to the prices last season, the figures we are seeing now could be a manifestation of the normalization of the rice industry, after our transition from quantitative restrictions to a tariffed trade regime,” Mr. Dar said.

“We recognize the birth pains of the RTL implementation. That is exactly the reason why we set up and rolled out immediate support mechanisms to help small rice farmers adjust and eventually make them competitive. At this time, we are seeing the initial good results,” Mr. Dar said.

Mr. Dar has directed the NFA to continue the procurement of palay at P19 per kilogram and to urge local government units, particularly in major rice-producing provinces, to purchase directly from farmer-constituents. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

GOCCs remit nearly P130 billion to help bolster gov’t funds

STATE-OWNED firms have remitted P129.45 billion worth of dividends to the national government to increase the government’s war chest for containing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, the Department of Finance (DoF) said.

In a statement Tuesday, the DoF said P91.62 billion was remitted to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) during the March 24-April 29 period, during which Republic Act (RA) No. 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act was signed into law, representing the “largest sum ever collected from government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) in span of five weeks.”

The government decided to call in its GOCC dividends ahead of time to add to its cash on hand, after the lockdown upended tax collection, leaving millions of individual taxpayers unable to file their returns after the tax deadline fell within the quarantine period.

The DoF said the remaining P37.83 billion had been remitted between Jan. 1 and March 23, prior to the effectivity of the law.

GOCCs are required by RA No. 11469 to remit to the national government unused subsidies and guarantee fees as well as national government advances, according to the DoF.

RA 11469 allows the President “to allocate cash, funds, investments, including unutilized or unreleased subsidies and transfers, held by any GOCC or any national government agency in order to address the COVID-19 emergency.”

According to the DoF, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas remitted P37.48 billion, followed by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. with P17.9 billion, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. with P12 billion and the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority with P12 billion.

State firms overseen by the Transportation department remitted P17.05 billion, including P6 billion each from the Manila International Airport Authority and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines and P5.05 billion from Philippine Ports Authority .

The Philippine National Oil Corp. also remitted P5 billion; the National Power Corp., P4 billion; the

Philippine Reclamation Authority, P3.8 billion; the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, P2.69 billion; the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, P2.27 billion; as well as P2 billion each from PNOC Exploration Corp. and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.

Other GOCCs that remitted were the National Electrification Administration (P1.55 billion) Metropolitan Waterworks & Sewerage System (P1.43 billion), Clark Development Corp. (P1.13 billion), Light Rail

Transit Authority (P1 billion) and the National Irrigation Administration (P1 billion).

The Philippine Sugar Corp. remitted P875 million; The Sugar Regulatory Administration P659.55 million; the National Housing Authority P513.24 million, the Cebu Port Authority P500 million and the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority P500 million.

Other GOCCs that remitted were the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan, APO Production Unit, Inc., the Philippine International Trading Corp., the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp., the National Development Co., the North Luzon Tollways Corp., the Social Housing Finance Corp., Food Terminal Inc., the Laguna Lake Development Authority and Clark International Airport Corp., among others.

The government has spent P352.7 billion so far in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the funding sourced from tax collections, budget savings, dividends from GOCCs and loans from multilateral lenders. — Beatrice M. Laforga

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