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UnionBank net income declines in first quarter

UNIONBANK of the Philippines, Inc. booked lower net earnings.

UNIONBANK of the Philippines, Inc. tallied a lower net profit in the first quarter, even as its net interest earnings went up.

In a regulatory filing on Monday, the Aboitiz-led lender said it booked a P2.16-billion net income in the first three months of the year, down 26% from P2.93 billion recorded in the same quarter in 2018.

This translated to a return on equity of 9.6% and return on assets of 1.3%.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, its net profit climbed 75% compared with its income in the October-December period.

The lender posted a lower bottom line year-on-year even as it booked higher net interest income at P4.66 billion in the January-March period, up 12.6% from P4.14 billion recorded in the same period in 2018.

Net loans and receivables were at P315 billion, up 7.5% from last year’s P293.14 billion, with retail loans accounting for more than a third of the bank’s lending book.

Deposits, on the other hand, declined 3.2% to settle at P425.6 billion in the first quarter from the P439.59 billion logged in a comparable year-ago period.

Other income also declined 16% year-on-year to P2.3 billion from P2.74 billion.

Operating expenses stood at P4.3 billion, up 23.6% from P3.48 billion recorded in the same period in 2018.

Overall, UnionBank’s assets grew 15.8% to P704.5 billion from the P608.44 billion recorded last year.

In a statement, UnionBank Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer Jose Emmanuel U. Hilado said yields are starting to catch up in the first three months of the year as assets reprice.

“With a more stable interest rate and lower inflation environment this year, we expect margins to improve towards the end of the year and recurring income to have an increased contribution to our bottom line,” Mr. Hilado said.

Edwin R. Bautista, UnionBank president and chief executive officer, added that the lender is confident it will be able to sustain the double-digit growth expansion of its lending business this year to mark its fifth year of above-industry loan growth.

He said the bank will continue its thrust towards digitalization, including setting up more concept branches called “The ARK,” rolling out more functionalities in its online and mobile platforms as well as deploying 100 cadets from the bank’s Blockchain Institute.

UnionBank shares closed at P60.55 apiece on Monday, gaining five centavos or 0.08% from its previous finish. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

Tolkien film looks at the early years of the Lord of the Rings author

LONDON — J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantastical world of hobbits, elves, and orcs have won over fans around the world in the decades since The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings stories were published.

Now the British novelist himself is the subject of a film that looks at his early years and inspirations for his works.

X-Men and The Favourite actor Nicholas Hoult plays the title role in Tolkien, which follows the author as an orphan, his friendships at school in Birmingham, studies at Oxford University, and on the frontline at the Battle of the Somme during World War I.

“We wanted to honor him and tell our story that we thought was fascinating about his formative years that everyone, I feel as a fan… would be intrigued by,” Mr. Hoult told Reuters.

Mirror Mirror actress Lily Collins plays Edith Bratt, whom Tolkien met when he moved into a boarding house and who would later become his wife and inspire elf Luthien in his fictional Middle-earth world.

“We show her dancing in the forest and… her cheekiness and her love of storytelling and the way that she just would inspire him to continue telling stories,” Ms. Collins said.

Mr. Tolkien, who was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, published The Hobbit in 1937. The Lord of the Rings came in three parts between 1954 and 1955.

More than 150 million copies of The Lord of the Rings have been sold worldwide. The film adaptations and those for The Hobbit trilogy have grossed around $5.8 billion at global box offices.

Mr. Tolkien died in 1973, aged 81, two years after Bratt.

His family and estate have distanced themselves from the movie, saying in a statement last week “they did not approve of, authorize or participate in the making of this film. They do not endorse it or its content in any way.”

Studio Fox Searchlight Pictures said it was “proud” of the biopic and “the filmmaking team has the utmost respect and admiration for Mr. Tolkien and his phenomenal contribution to literature.”

Director Dome Karukoski said he hoped Tolkien’s family would see the movie.

“I’ve actually offered… to watch it with them so they would see it and it’s done with the respect, admiration as from a fan,” he said.

Tolkien begins its cinema rollout from May 3. — Reuters

Shakey’s Pizza creates new subsidiary

SHAKEY’S Pizza Asia Ventures, Inc. (SPAVI) has incorporated a new wholly owned subsidiary that will handle restaurants and food retail outlets both locally and abroad.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange Monday, the listed firm said the Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the incorporation of Wow Brand Holdings, Inc.

“The company’s primary business is to establish, maintain, manage, lease, purchase, acquire, hold and dispose of by sale, lease, or otherwise, in the Philippines or in any foreign territory, restaurants, food parlors, and other food retail outlets,” the company said.

The newly incorporated firm will have an authorized capital stock of P500 million, divided into 500 million shares with a par value of P1 each.

A total of P125 million of the capital stock has been subscribed to by six shareholders. Aside from SPAVI, the shareholders include members of the Po family and SPAVI President and Chief Executive Officer Vicente L. Gregorio.

SPAVI looks to open 20 new stores in the Philippines this year, in a bid to bring its year-end store count to 248. The company also has at least 20 new stores in the pipeline overseas, given its perpetual rights to put up the Shakey’s brand in the Middle East, Asia excluding Japan and Malaysia, China, Australia, and Oceania.

Earlier this month, the company acquired the Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken chain of restaurants from iFoods Group, Inc. The brand has 23 outlets in Metro Manila, 60% of which are franchised and 40% are company-owned.

The acquisition came less than a year after the company amended its articles of incorporation to allow it to operate restaurant brands other than Shakey’s.

SPAVI’s net income attributable to the parent rose 10% to P840.92 million in 2018, driven by an eight percent uptick in revenues to P7.58 billion.

Shares in SPAVI firmed up 0.94% or 12 centavos to close at P12.90 each at the stock exchange Monday. — Arra B. Francia

Zen living at Tagaytay Highlands’ Yume

YUME at Tagaytay Highlands is offering residents a chance to experience Zen living. It is located within the Japanese-themed master-planned community, Katsura, in the Midlands.

Yume, which takes its name from the Japanese word “dream,” features expansive lot cuts of 500 to 751 square meters. Premium lots give residents views of the fairways of the Midlands Golf Course, Taal Lake and Volcano.

Residents can enjoy the crisp air and cool breeze at the Japanese pocket gardens. For those who want a more active lifestyle, residents can have access to the facilities of the country club. Each property purchase comes bundled with membership rights.

DBS posts record profit in Q1 on strong lending

DBS Group Holdings Ltd.’s earnings in the first quarter beat market estimates on strong lending income. — WIKIPEDIA.ORG

SINGAPORE — Southeast Asia’s biggest lender DBS Group Holdings Ltd. beat market estimates to post a record quarterly profit, as strong lending income offset weakness in wealth management, brokerage and investment banking fees.

DBS, the first Singapore bank to kick off the sector’s results, posted an 8.5% rise in first-quarter net profit from a year earlier, and said the macro-economic environment had stabilized.

“By and large, I’m relatively sanguine about the business momentum,” CEO Piyush Gupta told a news conference. DBS maintained its forecast of mid-single-digit loan growth for this year and stable net interest margins, a key gauge of profitability.

The lender’s shares advanced 2.8% to their highest since June 2018, outperforming a 0.9% rise in the broader market.

“Overall, core driver was in line with expectations, we expect similar trends for peers as well,” Jefferies analyst Krishna Guha said in a report. “We were positively surprised by strength in trading gains,” he said.

United Overseas Bank reports results on May 3 followed by Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. a week later.

DBS reported a net profit of S$1.65 billion ($1.21 billion) for the three months to end-March, up from S$1.52 billion a year earlier and an average estimate of S$1.48 billion from four analysts, according to Refinitiv I/B/E/S.

After three years of strong loans growth, Singapore’s banks are gearing up for tougher times as the city-state’s export-reliant economy slows.

Preliminary data for Singapore’s first-quarter gross domestic product released earlier this month confirmed the city-state was experiencing its weakest year-on-year growth in almost a decade. A trade war between the United States and China — two of Singapore’s biggest export markets — has disrupted global supply chains in a blow to growth in many trade-reliant economies including the city state.

DBS, nearly 30% owned by state investor Temasek Holdings, said its loans grew 1% in the latest quarter from the fourth quarter. Non-trade corporate loans rose 3% while trade loans declined 4%.

When asked about the big risks for the business for this year, Gupta highlighted a steep collapse in the interest rate environment if the US Federal Reserve started to cut rates, but said he doesn’t foresee that happening.

He, however, singled out the Singapore mortgage market as a weak spot. “For the first time in a long, long time, we actually show a shrinkage in our mortgage loan book in the first quarter,” Gupta said.

“Our bookings continue to be soft and the amount of refinancing transactions in the market are actually very low, about half of what they were a year ago.”

Still, DBS’s return on equity rose to 14%, its highest in more than a decade. Net interest margin rose five basis points to 1.88%, in line with higher interest rates in Singapore and Hong Kong.

“The record earnings and return on equity progression demonstrate the strengthened profitability of our franchise from digitalization, a shift toward higher-returns businesses and more nimble execution,” Gupta said. — Reuters

Lighting up Puerto Princesa

PUERTO PRINCESA became the first city in the Philippines that has installed connected LED lighting, thanks to Signify, Meralco MSERV and its local government unit.

The first 42 LED smart street lights were installed last March 6. Once completed, there will be 740 60-W Roadflair LEDs managed with Interact City — an LED lighting management software that allows a city to manage public lighting infrastructure.

The implementation of Interact City is part of Puerto Princesa’s road lighting program aimed to make Palawan’s capital more livable and progressive.

“As the first city with connected LED lighting in the Philippines, Puerto Princesa has enhanced its safety and beautified the public spaces… Harnessing the power of the Internet of Things, Interact City is able to monitor and measure electricity, helping lighting and city managers to adjust usage and help plan maintenance,” Jagan Srinivasan, country manager of Signify Philippines, said in a statement.

A treasure trove

SNK 40th Anniversary Collection
Sony PlayStation 4

NOT COINCIDENTALLY, Shin Nihon Kikaku (SNK) picked up steam around the time the video game industry rose in popularity. As the tumultuous ’70s gave way to the optimistic ’80s, gaming arcades and home-console versions of popular titles reached critical mass. And, in the face of rapid growth, the developing, publishing, and manufacturing company was determined not just to take advantage of the boom, but to ensure its sustainability through constant innovation. Soon enough, it became a major player in the coin-operated business, and it astutely leveraged its experience to penetrate the expanding home market.

The rest, as the cliché goes, is history. Intellectual-property giants The King of Fighters and Metal Slug propelled SNK’s prosperity, and the latter rightly sought to dip into the well as often as it could. Sequels would follow, with the franchises figuring prominently in its Neo Geo and other hardware, and, over time, ported over to modern consoles. Meanwhile, precursors in which the company honed its skills flirted with the possibility of fading into oblivion. Thankfully, Nippon Ichi Software and Digital Eclipse saw fit to embark on a passion project that aimed to both preserve the arcade classics and update them for contemporary gamers to enjoy.

The result is nothing short of remarkable. SNK 40th Anniversary Collection is presented with pride, and the labor of love is evident not just in the choice and number of titles included in the anthology, but in the manner they were restored and offered via emulation. Carrying 24 all told, it is certainly representative of the Japanese video game hardware and software company’s first decade of existence. NIS America and Digital Eclipse’s intent is evident: pay homage to its growth years by offering longtime fans an aggroupment of games that reflected its predilection to push the envelope.

To say that SNK 40th Anniversary Collection isn’t slipshod would be to understate the obvious. In fact, the compilation is well thought out; to cover all bases, it presents not just the English and Japanese versions of its offerings, but the home-console and arcade iterations as well. There are brawlers, with Street Smart and P.O.W. headlining the list. There are shooters, among them Alpha Mission and The Ikari Warriors Trilogy. There are side-scrolling actioners, Psycho Soldier and Athena included. And there are groundbreakers like Crystalis and Prehistoric Isle. All have been painstakingly restored and lined up to be enjoyed the way they were originally meant.

Whenever practicable, SNK 40th Anniversary Collection enhances its look and interface for the Sony Playstation 4 Pro. Making full use of the Eclipse engine that enables accurate representations of the classics it carries on cutting-edge hardware, it offers upscaled video in 4:3 or widescreen formats. Parenthetically, the sounds have been preserved; gamers will get to experience the same auditory cues as those of their counterparts in the ’80s. Meanwhile, button mapping is outstanding; controls are both intuitive and customizable.

True, SNK 40th Anniversary Collection breaks no new ground. Then again, its objective isn’t to remake the original releases or update them for current consumption, the welcome introduction of play-through, quick-save, and rewind functions notwithstanding. On the contrary, it seeks to show in pristine form all the titles on its list. And even as the gameplay hasn’t aged well for some, there can be no discounting its worth and, concomitantly, its capacity to inform and entertain. In this regard, the Museum mode — which provides an extensive history of SNK — is a decided boon.

All told, SNK 40th Anniversary Collection is a veritable treasure trove that shines the spotlight on the company’s pioneering efforts. Certainly, Digital Eclipse’s extensive experience in putting together restored work with painstaking precision shows; from Vanguard to Beast Busters to Ozma Wars, it rewards NIS America’s trust with output that both protects history and makes it appealing to contemporary gamers. It’s a definite steal at $40.

THE GOOD:

• Outstanding anthology of arcade classics

• Superb emulation and button mapping

• Presents multiple screen options catering to varied preferences

• Offers modern-day luxuries by way of playthroughs, instant saves, and replays

• Provides extensive information on SNK’s history

THE BAD

• Some games are dated

• Gameplay of a number of titles can be frustrating

RATING: 9/10

POSTSCRIPT:
Don’t be fooled by Assault Spy’s standard plot. Through Japanese spy Asaru Vito and American spook Amelia Smith, it deftly blends action and humor to present an engrossing title that will remind gamers of such popular offerings as Devil May Cry and Bayonetta. Developed by Wizen and published in the West by NIS America, it’s a fast-paced romp of corporate espionage that has gamers choose between disparate modes of combat. One playable character makes use of a suitcase, an umbrella, and literally explosive business cards to take care of enemies, while the other prefers to engage with a spear, a gun, and, needless to say, bare knuckles.

As a relatively small Japanese firm with limited resources, Wazen wisely saw fit to focus on Assault Spy’s interface. There are evident sacrifices: The visuals are on the rough side, with the dialogue occurring in static and cutscenes not quite as polished as expected. On the other hand, audio cues are spot on, and voice acting is outstanding. Moreover, the narrative manages to set up the gameplay well, lacing the dialogue with extremely funny exchanges that serve to keep gamers engaged and adding anticipation and purpose to their subsequent exertions.

The controls for Assault Spy are easy enough to master, and gamers won’t be hard-pressed to pull off combo after combo even against bosses. Fights are sometimes marred by inappropriate camera angles, but lock-on options help in this regard. It doesn’t take long to finish, but, at less than P900 for the Elite Edition (which includes the stellar soundtrack), it’s a definite recommend. (7.5/10)

As a Capcom-Grasshopper Manufacture joint offering that was initially released in 2005, killer7triumphantly makes its way to the personal computer with nary any loss of impact. Even 14 years after, it remains as subversive as any title coming from the delectably convoluted mind of Goichi Suda. An elite group of hitmen operating on orders from the United States government in an alternate reality bereft of nuclear weapons winds up unraveling a deep conspiracy that exposes Japan’s machinations. Along the way, it treats gamers to edge-of-seat action as a first-person shooter with on-rails-adventure elements.

Visually and aurally, killer7 is nothing short of a stunning remaster. With the PC at maximum settings, it’s certainly loads better than how it looked and sounded on the Sony PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube. Decidedly bold and disturbing for its time, it feels freer and more expressive with the trappings of advanced technology. Its stylized presentation jumps off the screen, and its haunting tracks manage to evoke the intended effects with proper channel separation. Controls are a breeze, especially since movement is restricted and paths are predetermined until decision points are reached.

On the whole, killer7 packs a wallop that more than justifies its already-reduced price tag. The Limited Edition available via Steam for under P800 includes an art book and a soundtrack in lossless format. Finishing it requires around 15 hours, and gamers may well be enjoined to start anew given its conscious decision to withhold all but the barest information needed to advance; a second playthrough will certainly add to the appreciation of the story. In any case, it has found its rightful place on the PC. (8/10)

Semirara Mining appoints new president

SEMIRARA Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) has approved the appointment of Maria Cristina C. Gotianun as its president and chief operating operating officer “effectively immediately.”

In a disclosure to the stock exchange, the Consunji-led SMPC said its board of directors had approved the move at a special meeting held on Monday.

Ms. Gotianun was previously appointed by the board as officer-in-charge president of the company and concurrently held the positions of executive vice-president and chief information officer.

The positions became vacant after the death of Victor A. Consunji on Dec. 27, 2018.

Last month, SMPC reported a 15% slide in consolidated next income for 2018 to P12 billion as both its coal mining and power generation businesses recorded lower sales last year.

It said production in its coal segment slightly eased by 2% to 12.9 million metric tons (MT) from P13.2 million MT previously.

The integrated energy company said the lower production resulted in a drop in coal sales to 11.6 million MT, or 12% lower than the previous year’s 13.1 million MT. It said uptake by domestic customers slipped by 2% while coal export sales fell by 22% as output dropped.

However, the 18% higher average selling price per ton offset the drop in sales volume, it said, resulting to an increase in coal revenues by 4% to P30.7 billion from P29.7 billion a year earlier. — Victor V. Saulon

How PSEi member stocks performed — April 29, 2019

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Monday, April 29, 2019.

 

How much did each region contribute to Philippine economic growth?

How much did each region contribute to Philippine economic growth?

TUCP claims wage hike needed to meet gov’t nutrition norms

THE Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) cited “nutritional deficiency” among workers as the reason for its petition to hike the Metro Manila minimum wage by P710, citing government data for recommended levels of nutrition.

The TUCP on Monday filed a petition for a P710 wage increase on top of the P500-537 minimum wage in the National Capital Region (NCR) before the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB).

TUCP President Raymond C. Mendoza said the “Pinggang Pinoy” model produced by the Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) is their “basis for the claim that minimum-wage earners and their families have subsisted on nutritionally-deficient survival meals.”

“Forcing workers and their families to subsist on nutritionally-deficient meals for a long period will definitely have bigger repercussions on business, bigger costs to the government and the economy if (the problem is) continuously ignored,” he added during a press briefing on Monday.

In TUCP’s Petition dated April 29, the group said “Using DoST’s Pinggang Pinoy model and the March 2019 PSA (Philippine Statistics Authority) Media Service Market Price of Selected Commodities, Ateneo Policy Center calculates a daily food requirement in the amount of P734 for a family of four (4) or P61.17/meal/person. A family of five would then require a daily right food budget of P917.50.”

TUCP also described as inaccurate the PSA’s 2018 Household Final Consumption Expenditure (HFCE) Survey, specifically the “Food and alcoholic beverage” estimates, which indicate that a family of five spends P208.83 or P14 per meal/family member daily.

“Clearly, the amount cannot provide for the recommended nutritional requirements for a family of five,” the TUCP said in its petition.

TUCP also said that the P537 minimum wage has long been overtaken by events even though it was implemented in November. “(B)ased on government figures, the real value of P537 daily minimum wage in NCR is only P457…with government-mandated deductions from minimum wage computed at P47.05 daily, the nominal take-home pay of a minimum wage earner is… P416.53/day with a real value of P354.60,” TUCP said.

When asked if the TUCP will be expanding its petition to other regions, Associated Labor Unions (ALU) Vice President for Education Eva B. Arcos said that TUCP is still looking into petitioning other RTWPBs. She added that other wage hike petitions will be close to the P710 TUCP sought for the NCR.

“Nagpa-plano kami (We are planning)to file a petition in Central Visayas. It’s still in process but it will be close to this figure.” she told reporters Monday, after submitting the TUCP petition for the NCR.

The TUCP Policy Office’s Louisivi J. Oliva said the union expects the RTWPB to rule that there are no supervening conditions to justify a wage hike within a year since the last wage order was been issued. New wage petitions can only be filed after a year since the last petition, except when supervening conditions warrant the filing of a petition sooner.

She said workers are still feeling the weight of high commodity prices beyond food since the implementation of the first package of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law last year.

“Sa TRAIN Law, walang pakinabang ang minimum wage earner dahil dati na siyang tax exempt (TRAIN did not make a difference for minimum wage earners, who were already tax-exempt under the old rules). Ang nangyari lang is tumaas lang ang presyo…dahil sa dagdag na excise tax sa fuel, (But prices also rose because of the excise tax on fuel),” she said in a briefing on Monday.

Labor Undersecretary Ciriaco A. Lagunzad III told reporters in a briefing that one of the criteria for minimum wage setting is also the Pinggang Pinoy model of the FNRI. He said, “If you look at the criteria…one of them includes a living wage. One valuable indicator is the study of the FNRI to see if wages are enough to buy food that ensure the minimum calorie requirement.”

However, he added: “The minimum wage is not designed to look only at the food requirement of the worker.”

Last week, labor groups Kilos Na Manggagawa (KnM), Metal Workers’ Alliance of the Philippines (MWAP), and BPO Industry Employees Network (BIEN) filed before the NCR RTWPB a P213 wage hike petition which would bring the NCR minimum daily wage to P750.

Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III backed “in principle” the TUCP wage hike but added that the matter may need to be addressed after the May 13 elections.

“I can understand the timing because of May 1st but it’s also election period. Therefore, it would be wise to address it after the elections,” Mr. Sotto told reporters over the phone Monday.

“In principle, I am supportive.”

Senator Panfilo M. Lacson, meanwhile, cited the need to study the petition carefully and give the wage boards leeway to decide.

“A thorough study must be made in this regard. Wage hikes are always associated with inflation as a consequence of higher prices of goods, especially in the manufacturing sector, not to mention possible loss of jobs since businesses may not be able to cope,” Mr. Lacson said in a separate phone message.

“The regional wage boards should be given enough flexibility since they should be in a better position to decide on the matter. Conditions obtaining in different areas are not the same.” — Gillian M. Cortez, Charmaine A. Tadalan

DA has P5B in initial funding pending generation of revenue for RCEF

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) has been advanced P5 billion from the re-enacted 2018 Budget pending the generation of revenue to finance the Rice Competitive Enhancement Fund (RCEF), with another P5 billion from the RCEF proper expected by the third quarter, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said Monday.

“Mayroon nang napaunang P5 billion (The first P5 billion has been released). About P1 billion out of that has to be given to the farmers. DA is now trying to allocate some parts of it to the various agencies who are supposed to receive the RCEF,” Mercedita A. Sombilla, NEDA Assistant Secretary, said in a briefing in Intramuros.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has said that it has released P5 billion to the DA. However, the DBM also said that the RCEF itself must await the generation of funds from tariffs imposed on imported rice.

RCEF is intended to help cushion the blow on domestic farmers from the liberalization of rice imports and hopes to increase the rate of farm mechanization, access to seed, farmer training and financing, among others.

“Kinakausap na namin ang DA (We’ve spoken to the DA). As much as possible, (it needs to) find measures to allocate some money to PhilMech, PhilRice, and to the training institutes which should be receiving money from RCEF,” Ms. Sombilla said, referring to agencies promoting farm mechanization and rice-growing best practices.

“The additional funds will come third quarter,” according to Ms. Sombilla.

Ms. Sombilla said that the guidelines on how to use the funds are currently being prepared and will soon be rolled out.

The Rice Tariffication Law hopes to bring down the price of rice by bringing in cheaper foreign grain more freely, with the competition potentially affecting farmer incomes. RCEF hopes to make them more productive a few years after the gats are opened to more imports.

Rice prices have been trending down in anticipation of competition from cheaper foreign rice, contributing to the decline in inflation in the first quarter, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has said.

According to Ms. Sombilla, the implementation of the law will also reduce the market share of rice supplied by the National Food Authority (NFA). The NFA has been relegated to maintaining a buffer stock from rice procured from domestic farmers at P20.70 per kilo.

“Targeted na ‘yung beneficiaries, hindi na nationwide (The beneficiaries will be more targeted, and low-cost NFA rice will no longer be available nationwide). Rice might sell for P32 to P34 [per kilo]. The targets will really be poor households. I don’t think we will allow NFA to put it out at a price where they fully cover their costs, but we can probably put it out at a lower price, but subsidized,” Ms. Sombilla said.

Asked how much the government is willing to subsidize, Ms. Sombilla said around P2 to P3 per kilo.

“These are just rough estimates. What we’re trying to do is to get the NFA to sell it at a price na ‘di sila lugi (that will not cause them to lose money),” Ms. Sombilla said.

She added that the targeting process for selling subsidized rice will take in factors like poverty and vulnerability to calamities. “It’s going to be several factors. We have to study,” Ms. Sombilla said.

Ms. Sombilla said that import shipments are assumed for planning purposes to take 28 days at the most. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio

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