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BTr to revise borrowing mix

THE government will now source at least 70% of its borrowing program from domestic lenders, revising the previous 75:25 mix as more foreign loans are expected to pour in to help plug its funding needs for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon said the government’s revised borrowing mix could now range between 70:30 and 72:28 — still in favor of domestic lenders to minimize foreign exchange risks and volatility — from its initial target of 75:25 ratio.

She said the government can still source most of its financing needs from the local market amid strong liquidity given the recent monetary easing rolled out by the central bank, such as the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) cut.

“We target between 70 to 72% for domestic borrowings as we see market players now participating as liquidity [gets an] additional infusion from RRR cuts and large redemption of RTB3-08,” Ms. De Leon told reporters in a Viber message, referring to retail Treasury bonds that were issued in 2017 and matured on April 11.

For this month alone, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) plans to borrow P190 billion from the local market via a mix of short-term and long-term government bonds.

For foreign loans, the government wants to borrow P310 billion from multilateral lenders, including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, as well as its other partners to partially fund a P1.17-trillion economic package for its COVID-19 response.

So far, the World Bank has approved a $500-million (around P25-billion) loan to support the country’s disaster response capacity, a part of which will be used to respond to the pandemic. The government is seeking another $100-billion loan from the lender to help fund efforts to contain COVID-19, which is expected to be acted on by the World Bank’s board on April 20.

The government has set a P1.4-trillion borrowing plan this year to be sourced from foreign and domestic lenders to fund its budget deficit as it spends more than its revenues to support infrastructure projects and boost economic growth.

With rising spending needs and an expected decline in revenues amid lower tax collections due to disruptions caused by the virus, the government could increase its borrowings to plug the government’s budget gap that could balloon to as much as 5.3% of gross domestic product, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III earlier said.

UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc. Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion said a 70:30 borrowing mix is still “prudent and safe” and minimizes reliance on foreign currency denominated debt.

However, Mr. Asuncion said the ratio could be revised again as the impact and duration of the COVID-19 outbreak remains uncertain.

“This 5% rise (in foreign loans), I think, is still prudent and safe. However, with the situation fluid and uncertain, the ratio may consequently change. Still, a 70-30 is considered safe,” Mr. Asuncion said via Viber.

“If a considerable portion of our debt are foreign currency dominated and our external position weakens, payment of those debts would be very costly and even unsustainable. The smaller our exposure to foreign currency denominated debts, the better we can manage our debt stock,” he said. — Beatrice M. Laforga

ADB triples rescue package to $20 billion

THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday said it has tripled its rescue package for member countries battling the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic to $20 billion.

The Manila-based multilateral lender added $13.5 billion to its initial $6.5-billion package announced on March 18, acknowledging that the pandemic threatens to push most economies into recession. The additional funds include around $2.5 billion in concessional and grant resources.

“Our expanded and comprehensive package of assistance, made possible with the strong support of our Board, will be delivered more quickly, flexibly, and forcefully to the governments and the private sector in our developing member countries to help them address the urgent challenges in tackling the pandemic and economic downturn,” ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa was quoted as saying in a statement.

The expanded funding package now includes a COVID-19 Pandemic Response Option under ADB’s countercyclical support facility. The ADB will provide up to $13 billion to help governments implement “countercyclical” spending plans to cushion the economic fallout, particularly for the poor.

“Grant resources will continue to be deployed quickly for providing medical and personal protective equipment and supplies from expanded procurement sources,” the ADB said.

The ADB earlier committed to fast-track the approval of a $1-billion quick budget support loan for the Philippines under this COVID-19 Pandemic Response Option.

Another $2 billion will be made available to the private sector.

“Loans and guarantees will be provided to financial institutions to rejuvenate trade and supply chains. Enhanced microfinance loan and guarantee support and a facility to help liquidity-starved small and medium-sized enterprises, including those run by female entrepreneurs, will be implemented alongside direct financing of companies responding to, or impacted by, COVID-19,” the ADB said.

Last month, the ADB approved a $5-million emergency grant for the Philippines’ fight against COVID-19.

The Department of Finance last March quoted Mr. Asakawa as saying the ADB will also speed up approval of the $150-million additional funding for government’s Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program.

(4Ps) and the $100-million emergency project loan for additional health care facilities and procurement of much-needed equipment such as ventilators and personal protective equipment (PPE). — Beatrice M. Laforga

Davao City property companies see project delays amid lockdown

DAVAO CITY — Real estate developers expect delays in the completion of their projects here as the city’s lockdown measures include a ban on construction work to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The local government imposed an enhanced community quarantine starting the first weekend of April and is tentatively set until the 19th.

Under the quarantine guidelines, all construction activities “that are not pertinent to the public health emergency” are ordered to stop.

An official of Suntrust Properties Inc. (SPI), which is developing the four-tower One Lakeshore Drive condominium, said with the anticipated delay in the project’s completion, work would be on a “catch-up” program when the quarantine is lifted.

SPI Senior Assistant Vice-President for Regional Operations Leonora P. Gutierrez said the company had reduced the number of construction workers in March for health safety considerations.

“It cannot be denied that we are also greatly affected by the COVID-19. At first, we implemented flexible workdays in compliance with the mayor’s directive to private businesses,” Ms. Gutierrez said via messenger.

One Lakeshore Drive is within the Davao Park District township project of Megaworld Corp.

The project’s first tower was expected to be finished by December this year and the second by second quarter 2021. Towers 3 and 4 were scheduled for completion by December 2021.

Ms. Gutierrez said she could not determine yet how long the delay would be, but a meeting with contractors would come up with a “catch-up program that will be implemented once everything is back to normal.”

For homegrown developer Damosa Land Inc. (DLI), First Vice President Ricardo F. Lagdameo said he sees a delay of at least two months in the delivery of pending condominium and office units to buyers and lessees.

“This is inevitable at this time, but something we will be able to manage,” Mr. Lagdameo said in e-mail interview.

DLI is working on the 6th and last building for its Seawind condominium complex, and the 17-storey Diamond Tower, an office building within its Damosa mixed-use complex.

Topping off ceremonies were already held for both projects, which were to be completed this year.

Mr. Lagdameo said while the company is eager to turn over the units, “first and foremost is the safety and welfare of our employees, construction workers included.”

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said last week that there is a possibility of extending the community quarantine period. — Maya M. Padillo

Fruitas expands ties with Pan de Manila for product distribution

FRUITAS products are now sold at Pan de Manila stores. — TL-PH.FACEBOOK.COM/PANDEMANILAOFFICIAL

LISTED Fruitas Holdings, Inc. continues to grow its business despite the Luzon lockdown with an expanded partnership with Pan de Manila for the distribution of its products.

In a statement Monday, the food and kiosk operator said it expanded its partnership with the bakery chain operator to bring its fresh fruit juices to more than 100 Pan de Manila outlets across the country.

It noted the two companies had signed a partnership before Metro Manila was put under quarantine in early March. This allowed Fruitas to put its fresh fruit juices in more than 20 Pan de Manila stores so far.

Fruitas products are now sold in Pan de Manila stores located in Manila, Mandaluyong, Pasig and Quezon City, among others. Once the quarantine is lifted, the company plans to bring its products to Pan de Manila stores in Cebu as well.

Partnering with Pan De Manila is part of Fruitas’ plans to diversify its distribution channels, thereby driving growth in sales.

“We are extremely excited with our partnership with Pan de Manila as we are both aligned in our mission to serve fresh local products to Filipinos,” Fruitas President and Chief Executive Officer Lester C. Yu was quoted as saying in the statement.

When it did its initial public offering last year, Fruitas said among its focus areas for capital spending in 2020 was network expansion. The company announced late last year it was allocating P600 million for capital expenditures over the next three years.

Fruitas had 1,068 stores as of end-2019. It operates brands such as Fruitas Fresh from Babot’s Farm, Buko Loco, Buko ni Fruitas, De Original Jamaican Pattie, Johnn Lemon, Juice Avenue, Black Pearl, Friends Fries, The Mango Farm, 7,107 Halo Halo Islands, Kuxina, Shou La Mien Hand Pulled Noodles and Sabroso Lechon.

The company also operates food parks Uno Cinquenta and Le Village and wine store Cellar 150, all located in Quezon City.

As of 2018, the company’s consolidated revenue stood at P1.58 billion, up 37% year on year. Its earnings last year have not been disclosed yet, but it previously said it was projecting revenues of P2 billion for 2019.

Shares in Fruitas at the stock exchange climbed five centavos or 3.76% to P1.38 each on Monday. — Denise A. Valdez

Listed firms postpone annual stockholders’ meeting as pandemic stalls operations

MORE listed firms postponed their annual stockholders’ meetings (ASM) amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic which has temporarily shuttered business operations nationwide.

On Monday, more than 20 publicly listed companies told the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) that they have put on hold or rescheduled their respective ASMs because of the delay caused by the disease pandemic, which sickened thousands of Filipinos.

The following companies have reported their postponed ASMs before the Lenten break starting April 9: 2Go Group, Inc., Oriental Peninsula Resources Group, Inc., IPM Holdings, Inc., GT Capital Holdings, Inc., Millennium Global Holdings, Inc., SM Investments Corp., Seafront Resources Corp., Premium Leisure Corp., Nickel Asia Corp., Belle Corp., PXP Energy Corp., Lepanto Consolidated Mining Corp., SM Prime Holdings, Inc., Xurpas, Inc., Rockwell Land Corp., Cityland Development Corp., BDO Unibank, Inc., SFA Semicon Philippines Corp., Manila Mining Corp., MEDCO Holdings, Inc., Republic Glass Holdings Corp., and East West Banking Corp.

The firms cited delays in their completion of crucial reports to stockholders, especially their respective financial reports from the recent fiscal year and quarterly reports, which presentations fall from March until early June.

The Philippine capital where most businesses operate has been under enhanced community quarantine due to the disease pandemic since March 15. The quarantine period, initially expected to end by April 14, was extended until the end of this month.

Days before the Luzon-wide lockdown, the local bourse operator told investors in an online memo that they may remotely participate in ASMs as a precautionary measure to COVID-19.

“To mitigate the risk of contracting COVID-19, stockholders may prefer to participate in the ASM and vote through remote communication, instead of a face-to-face meeting,” the PSE said.

Republic Act No. 11232, or the Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines, allows companies to participate in ASMs either remotely, in absentia or through a proxy. The requirements and procedures for these options are up to the companies to establish.

Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission has released a memo outlining the guidelines for the conduct of meetings for stockholders remotely or via electronic communication. It also covers board meetings and other regular and special meetings for stockholders.

At least six of these firms have postponed their ASMs which were scheduled this month. — Adam J. Ang

What to do if you think you have COVID-19 but can’t get tested

SHE fell sick right before the enhanced community quarantine started and for 12 days, Mary (not her real name) had difficulty breathing, a sore throat, nausea, body pain, and headaches, all of which can be symptoms of COVID-19 — but she was never tested for the disease.

“I had to deal with sifting through the news, and advice was coming at me from all sides,” she told BusinessWorld in an interview.

Some of the advice given included to “slice onions and put it around the room, put ginger in my pocket, gargle this, eat these PH-whatever foods.” She was also told “it’s just the flu, think positive.”

During the early days of the outbreak, many people pushed the idea that COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, is like the flu with similar symptoms (cough, headaches, body pain, fever, etc.) and mode of transmission (droplets), but recent studies noted that it is not like the flu — it has a longer incubation period (14 days) and, notably, people can infect other people even if they are not showing symptoms, unlike influenza which is only transmissible when there are symptoms. It is this asymptomatic transmission which is problematic — you may think you are healthy but you are actually spreading the virus. The World Health Organization (WHO) posited that a person with COVID-19 can infect two to three other people while the seasonal flu can infect 1.3 people per patient.

WHO also noted on its website that “COVID-19 causes more severe disease than seasonal influenza.”

“While many people globally have built up immunity to seasonal flu strains, COVID-19 is a new virus to which no one has immunity. That means more people are susceptible to infection, and some will suffer severe disease,” it added.

The mortality rate of COVID-19 is around 3.4% (it varies from country to country) while seasonal flu kills less than 1% of those infected.

As of this writing, more than 1.8 million people globally are infected with the disease with more than 4,600 cases in the Philippines.

Mary surmised that her symptoms meant she had COVID-19 though she was untested, which is not unusual since testing is very limited in the Philippines. The WHO has said that most people who contract the disease recover, though there are severe cases needing special treatment, especially among older people and those with other medical conditions (asthma, diabetes, or heart disease)

And because Mary got sick during the early days of the pandemic in the Philippines, she had to rely on online articles to know how to handle her symptoms and how to protect the other members in her household from getting sick as well. At the time, she said information was scarce and much of the information she was looking for — when can one leave isolation and when members of the household can also go out — was hard to come by.

“I’m sure so many [people] are sick at home and quite unsure what to do,” she said.

Then a friend sent her guidelines from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and from the department of health in Tennessee which were helpful. In a document regarding releasing cases and contacts from isolation and quarantine, the Tennessee health department said cases must be isolated for “14 days after onset” and can be released after they have had no fever and are feeling well without using antipyretics for at least 72 hours. Household contacts must quarantine themselves for 14 days after the ill person has been feeling well for at least 72 hours, while non-household contacts must quarantine themselves for 14 days after the last contact with the case.

The Philippine Department of Health (DoH) has also come out with guidelines on how to care for a COVID-19 patient at home and when to release them and the household from quarantine.

In a March 29 post on its Facebook page, the Philippine DoH said that a person with COVID-19 can be removed from isolation if “all household members are in good condition and are without symptoms after 14 days.”

But if a member exhibits symptoms “at the late stage of the 14-day isolation period, said person should still stay isolated for another seven days.”

The DoH said that a cough can linger for several weeks in some people but they need to tell their barangay health workers if they continue having a cough after home quarantine.

People caring for people with COVID-19 or suspected COVID-19 patients need to take the patient’s temperature twice a day and must inform their barangay health response team or the COVID hotline if the patient has difficulty breathing and a high fever (the normal human body temperature is between 36.5 to 37.5 degrees Celsius).

Patients should also be isolated in a room with good ventilation with a separate bathroom if possible. Their personal items, like spoons, plates, and bathing implements, should also be kept separate. The person taking care of the patient must wear a face mask and gloves while tending to the patient, and wash their hands before and after the interaction.

If it’s not possible for the patient to have a separate bathroom, the DoH said that the doors, floors, and the toilet bowl should be disinfected regularly using a solution of 1 part bleach to 100 parts water.

When washing a patient’s clothes, the DoH said the patient’s laundry should also be kept separate and the clothes should be soaked in regular detergent and hot water for at least 30 minutes. Clothes shouldn’t be shaken in order to prevent the possibility of spreading the virus onto nearby items.

In the event that a person taking care of the patient (or any other household member) comes into contact with the patient’s saliva or phlegm, it is advised to wipe off the fluid using tissue and immediately wash the area (provided it’s unbroken skin) using soap and water or 75% alcohol. But if the fluids come into contact with the eyes, mouth, or wounded skin, they should wash the affected area with running water and then go into isolation.

There are still no vaccines or medications for COVID-19 but if everyone stays at home and avoid unnecessary trips outside, wash their hands properly, and practice proper quarantine procedures, this is expected to slow down the infection rate of the disease.

Mary no longer has any symptoms. She and her family are taking the enhanced community quarantine seriously. — Zsarlene B. Chua

Office vacancy seen to rise as travel ban dents POGO growth

By Denise A. Valdez
Reporter

PROPERTY OWNERS should target more traditional tenants as the coronavirus pandemic dampens office space demand from offshore gaming operators.

In a recent report, real estate consultancy firm Colliers International Philippines said the travel ban due to COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) may result in a significant rise in office and residential vacancies with the absence of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), which mainly employ Chinese workers.

In such an event, landlords are advised to proactively seek traditional or outsourcing tenants that may take office and residential space left empty by POGOs.

“Landlords should target traditional and outsourcing tenants considering our expected decline in demand from POGOs,” it said. “Communicate early with tenants regarding flexible lease terms, and emphasize wellness features and certifications.”

The Philippines has suspended air travel to China for the period of the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine which is scheduled to end on April 30.

Colliers is estimating office vacancy in Metro Manila to rise up to 8% if POGOs will stop taking space this year. But traditional companies can help bridge the gap by the second half, limiting office vacancy to below 7%, if the outbreak peaks in the first half and the quarantine does not last too long.

Residential vacancy in Metro Manila is also seen to rise to near 20% from 11% last year, should the situation worsen and the decline in POGO demand persist. Colliers estimates the completion of about 14,720 residential units in key Metro Manila districts this year.

“The concern is on the secondary lease and resale market, especially in the Bay Area where demand has primarily been driven by POGOs. In our opinion, if prices soften, developers are likely to stop launching (new projects),” it said.

Colliers said a “coordinated policy and monetary response” from the government and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas will bring back confidence in the property market by end-2020, assuming the outbreak will hit its peak within the first half.

In the meantime, office landlords should improve wellness features of buildings and boost property management capabilities. Given the virus outbreak, buyers are more conscious about health and safety, making it the right time to highlight efforts to maintain building sanitation.

To attract tenants, Colliers said landlords should offer more flexible terms.

On the other hand, tenants and buyers should “look for units in fringe areas where there is still potential for capital value appreciation and where price increases have been due to end-user demand.”

Philam Life gives 60-day grace period for payment of policies as relief for clients

AIA Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co. Inc. (Philam Life) gave a 60-day grace period for payments of policies due between March 1 and May 31 as a relief to its customers amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Philiam Life, a member of the AIA Group Ltd., said in a press release on Monday that processing of claims has also been simplified for faster transactions while its digital channels including its online customer portal, ePlan, remain open for customer support operations.

“We would like to reassure our people and customers that AIA Philam Life is with them throughout this difficult time. As the world continues to battle Covid-19, we will do our share by taking care of matters that are within our capacity to do so. For our customers, we will continue to fulfill our commitments and provide continuous service,” AIA Philam Life Chief Executive Officer Kelvin Ang was quoted as saying.

“For our people, which includes our agency force and our third-party service providers on top of our regular employees, we have various programs in place to help address their needs,” Mr. Ang added.

Philiam Life said it provided a cash advance support program to its financial advisors, advance payout of training allowance for those under the Elite Advisor Development Program (EADP) as well as a one-month extension for agents hitting their targets for the sales incentives.

The insurer added that its employees will continue receiving scheduled benefits and bonuses while its “marginalized” third-party employees will also be included in their programs.

“We heed the call of government through the Insurance Commission (IC), and will do what we can from the private sector to contribute and mitigate the impact of the situation the best way we can,” Mr. Ang said.

The IC had ordered insurance firms and health maintenance organizations (HMOs) to extend for at least 30 days current policies and agreements expiring during the enhanced community quarantine period.

Several life insurance companies have also adopted general relief measures for policyholders, such as grace periods for premium payments and the inclusion of COVID-19 under the critical illnesses covered.

The enhanced community quarantine period in Luzon was extended until April 30 from the initial schedule of April 12. — Beatrice M. Laforga

ABS-CBN launches new music label

YOUNG JV

ABS-CBN MUSIC INTERNATIONAL launches its new label Not So Famous (NSF), focusing on urban pop and hip-hop music by budding artists in the Philippines and Asia.

The label was founded a year ago by hip-hop artist Eduardo “Young JV” Kapunan in order to help “aspiring artists achieve their recording dreams, and later on as his way of giving back to the industry,” according to a company release.

The label has now partnered with ABS-CBN Music International to produce music for local and global audiences.

Not So Famous currently has Mr. Kapunan, Pau Palacio, Yeliee, King Murph in its roster.

Last February, Young JV released “Close To Me,” a song written by international hitmaker August Rigo who wrote Justin Bieber’s “U Smile” (2009), among others.

“Close To Me” is a song about not wasting time and just wanting to be close to the person that you love. Its music video, featuring Diana Mackey, premieres on April 20.

Meanwhile, actress-singer Pau Palacio will drop her single “Used To Do” on April 17. The music video features Delly Flay, an American singer-songwriter who co-wrote the song with Canadian singer-songwriter Andrew Pederson.

“The bouncy track talks about a couple trying to save their failing affair by finding their own identities within the confines of the relationship,” said the release. The song’s music video will be released on April 27.

Also in the label’s roster is 22-year-old Yeliee Moran, the younger sister of actress/singer Lovi Poe, who works as a pastry chef and actively advocates mental health. Her debut release “Wave,” mixed and mastered in Canada, tackles getting back on one’s feet after hitting rock bottom.

Finally, King Murph is a singer-songwriter, dancer, and choreographer. His self-penned song, “Lungkot,” depicts the sadness he now feels over someone that used to make him happy.

The Not So Famous singers will be performing on April 16, 8 p.m., as part of Star Music’s All Music: Artists At Home Sessions on Star Music’s Facebook page. — ZBC

Wuhan rent protest shows unrest brewing after lockdown

DOZENS of small shop owners protested outside one of Wuhan’s biggest shopping malls to demand a cut in rent, in one of the first signs of unrest since authorities lifted a lockdown at the epicenter of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak.

Sitting down about one meter apart, the shop owners on Friday sat or kneeled outside the Grand Ocean Department Store, wearing masks and holding placards as police monitored. A day earlier they chanted “Exempt rental for a year, or refund the lease” in videos uploaded on the Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo that were quickly censored.

“Can’t survive” said a sign held by one woman who rented a stall at Grand Ocean, which also called on the landlord to return the rent and security deposit during the period of the lockdown.

The woman said the property developer in charge of the mall, which translates to World City, should exempt rent for them because 99% of protesters are small shop owners and they haven’t had any business since the virus outbreak. Most neighborhoods in the city are still facing string restrictions on movement and there’s little business traffic.

Another protester said the government didn’t respond after their protest yesterday, and said the police had assaulted people on Wednesday. None of the protesters Bloomberg spoke with revealed their names due to concern of retribution.

A woman who answered the phone at World City said they haven’t restarted work and couldn’t answer questions. A call to Grand Ocean’s general office was not answered.

Wuhan officially emerged on Wednesday from a mass quarantine put in place on Jan. 23. The strict restrictions helped China stem the outbreak of the deadly disease known as Covid-19, but it also led to a deep slump in investment and consumption that pushed the economy into its most dire situation in decades.

The demonstration, however small, shows the challenges President Xi Jinping now faces in getting millions of people back to work all while preventing a second wave of infections. Early in the crisis, Xi warned the virus posed a threat to “social stability” in China, and since then he’s seen tensions flare both within the country and with the US, its main export market.

The protest in Wuhan this week comes after earlier violent clashes on the border of surrounding Hubei province and neighboring Jiangxi province in late March. Scenes captured on videos posted on social media showed Hubei police clashing with officers from Jiangxi who wanted to keep the border closed.

China has recently signaled its desire to deal with any signs of dissent harshly. Earlier this week, Chinese authorities placed outspoken property tycoon Ren Zhiqiang under investigation after a copy of an essay widely attributed to him criticizing the government’s virus response was circulated on social media. — Bloomberg

PhilJet tapped to help bring stranded French and German nationals home

PHILJETS Aero Charter Corp. said the embassies of France and Germany in Manila had partnered with the business aviation company to evacuate their citizens who were stranded in different tourist destinations in the Philippines due to the lockdown.

In a statement e-mailed to reporters on Monday, PhilJets said it had mobilized its team and coordinated with its network to fly 144 tourists who were stranded in some provinces in the Philippines back to Manila where they would board chartered international flights to return to their respective home countries.

PhilJets said the flights were “mandated by the French Embassy and German Embassy” in Manila.

The foreign passengers were stranded in Boracay, Siargao, Cagayan de Oro, Butuan, Davao, PhilJets said.

It said all passengers were able to connect with their corresponding flights to Frankfurt and Paris on April 8.

Geoffroy Cahen, PhilJets commercial director who was involved in the planning, coordination and operation of the mission, was quoted as saying: “We are all delighted to have contributed to support this initiative and assist hundreds of tourists in need and we are happy they were able to reach their homes safely.”

PhilJets said it also tapped its industry partners to carry out the mission such as flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL), Platinum Skies Aviation, and Asian Aerospace.

“We extend our gratitude to everyone involved in the missions in providing the stranded families a solution to get back home to their loved ones. We will continue to assist and provide our support to customers, partners and the community, to the best of our capabilities. We hope that together, we will manage to get through these difficult times,” PhilJets Chief Executive Officer Robert Reguero said.

PhilJets offers general aviation services including air transport, aircraft management, chartered flights, and tourism flights.

PAL, operated by PAL Holdings, Inc., announced recently that the British Embassy in Manila had arranged special flights to London scheduled on April 7 for stranded British travelers.

PAL, Cebu Air, Inc. (Cebu Pacific), Philippines AirAsia, Inc., Air Philippines Corp. (PAL Express), and Cebgo, Inc. have temporarily shut down their passenger operations after Luzon was placed under an enhanced community quarantine.

Over 30,000 flights were canceled, affecting nearly five million passengers, according to the Air Carriers Association of the Philippines. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Gov’t fully awards T-bill offering

THE GOVERNMENT fully awarded the Treasury bills (T-bills) it auctioned off on Monday as rates mostly declined amid strong liquidity and expectations of a policy rate cut, even opening the tap facility to raise another P10 billion to accommodate strong demand.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) raised P20 billion as planned via T-bills yesterday as the offer was more than twice oversubscribed, with total tenders reaching P50.6 billion.

National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon said the BTr also opened its tap facility to offer P5 billion each in 182- and 364-day papers to accommodate strong demand at low rates.

Broken down, the government raised P10 billion worth of 91-day T-bills as planned out of total bids of P15.48 billion. The three-month papers fetched an average rate of 3.471%, up 5.8 basis points (bps) from the 3.413% seen in the auction last week.

The Treasury also made a full award of its P5-billion offer of 182-day papers as the tenor attracted bids worth P16.193 billion. The average rate for six-month papers stood at 3.409%, 14.4 bps lower compared to the 3.553% fetched previously.

For the 364-day T-bills, it likewise accepted P5 billion as programmed out of P18.976 billion in bids at an average rate of 3.685%, down 16 bps from the previous rate of 3.845%.

Ms. De Leon told reporters that the government made a full award after the rates of the six-month and one-year papers declined and as the higher yield on the three-month T-bills was still within the acceptable range.

“Made full award as rates for both 182 and 364 declined. Also full award for 91-day since still within acceptable range. [We saw] strong liquidity onshore with maturity of P120 billion today and in anticipation of another RRR (reserve requirement ratio) cut as announced by Governor Diokno,” she said via Viber.

Ms. De Leon said investors priced in the possibility of another rate cut as hinted on by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno on Sunday.

A bond trader shared the same sentiment, saying the auction results were “quite expected given yesterday’s statement of Governor Diokno.”

The trader added that investors preferred to put their money in the 182- and 364-day T-bills to preserve these rates in anticipation of the BSP’s monetary easing.

“Because, if you invest in 91 days, there is what you call reinvestment risk. If nag-cut si BSP (If the BSP cuts rates) within that time frame, you will have to reinvest at a much lower rate, so you are locking it na sa (in the) six months and one year to preserve the rate,” the trader said via Viber.

Mr. Diokno on Sunday signaled a “deeper cut” in benchmark interest rates to support the economy amid an expected slowdown due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

The policy-setting Monetary Board has cut rates by a total of 150 bps since 2019, almost completely unwinding the 175 bps in hikes it implemented in 2018 amid multi-year high inflation.

Its latest move was a 50-bp reduction on March 19, which brought the overnight reverse repurchase rate to 3.25% and overnight lending and deposit rates to 3.75% and 2.75%, respectively, in a bid to shield the economy from the virus fallout.

The Monetary Board will meet to discuss policy anew on May 21.

While noting that monetary policy works with a lag and that they will remain “data dependent,” Mr. Diokno said governments worldwide need to ensure a “soft landing” for their economies in the aftermath of the pandemic.

The Treasury has set a P190-billion local borrowing program for April, broken down into P130 billion in T-bills and P60 billion in Treasury bonds. — Beatrice M. Laforga

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