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5,000 out-of-school youth to undergo training at McDonald’s

AROUND 5,000 unemployed and out-of-school youth may soon undergo skills training at branches of McDonald’s around the country.

This as YouthWorks PH, a youth employment project of Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) and United States Agency for International Development (USAID), signed a memorandum of understanding with Golden Arches Development Corp. (GADC) for the training program. GADC holds the Philippine franchise for McDonald’s.

“We’re working towards up to 5,000 for the next three years of the project,” PBEd Executive Director and YouthWorks PH Chief of Party Lovelaine B. Basillote told BusinessWorld on Friday.

Under the MoU, young Filipinos aged between 18 to 24 years old will undergo training with partner institutions of the PBEd and at McDonald’s branches.

YouthWorks PH is a workforce development project valued at P1.7 billion, which provides training and employment opportunities for Filipino youth.

“A global American brand that started from humble beginnings in the1940s, made its way from California to the Philippines in the 1980s, and along the way revolutionized the fast food service industry is now working with us to provide education and employment opportunities to underprivileged Filipino youth,” US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim said in a statement.

For his part, GADC CEO Kenneth S. Yang said: “We are proud to partner with YouthWorks PH in providing quality skills training opportunities for underprivileged Filipino youth. Through this partnership, McDonald’s Philippines commits to welcome and train at 5,000 youth in our restaurants nationwide.” — G.M.Cortez

NEDA ICC-CabCom approves P5.45-B Customs Modernization Project

THE NATIONAL Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee (ICC-CabCom) approved on Friday the P5.45-billion Philippine Customs Modernization Project to streamline and improve Customs’ revenue-collecting capacity.

In a press conference on Friday following the ICC-CabCom’s meeting earlier in the day, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said P4.6 billion or 84.5% of the total project cost is proposed for funding through official development assistance (ODA) in one of multilateral lenders.

“This is a revenue-collection infrastructure project that aims to improve the bureau’s (Bureau of Customs) efficiency and transparency by streamlining and upgrading its systems and procedures through the use of information and communications technology (ICT),” told reporters Friday afternoon.

Earlier, a World Bank document showed the lender is proposing to fund $82 million of the Customs Modernization project, scheduled its board’s approval on July 7. Meanwhile, the remaining $15.82 million will be shouldered by the government.

The Washington-based lender said the $82 million will be sourced either through its lending arm International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) or International Development Association (IDA).

It attributed the Customs bureau’s “poor” performance on trade facilitation to “outdated infrastructure and inadequate business practices.”

The proposed project is expected to improve Customs’ efficiency and further lower trade costs.

“The project will support the modernization of the BoC by investing in modern ICT systems and installing ICT equipment (e.g. computers, servers) around the country (locations are not yet known),” the document posted early last month read.

Aside from one approved project, Mr. Dominguez said the committee also discussed the status of other projects and those that were already approved by the NEDA.

He also said all of the 100 projects under the administration’s infrastructure flagship program will be started within their term, while around half will be completed by 2022.

“This provides a very robust pipeline of projects amounting to roughly P2.3 trillion for the succeeding administration, compared with only 14 projects worth about P230 billion that were ready for implementation when the Duterte administration took over in July of 2016,” he said.

So far, he said, a total of 87 projects worth P3.774 trillion have gotten final approval since the start of administration.

“We have identified the bottlenecks on the ongoing implementation of ODA and locally-funded infrastructure projects and explored ways and measures on how to address or eliminate these to accelerate their execution,” Mr. Dominguez said.

“The Duterte administration will continue to ensure all infrastructure projects are implemented on time and on budget. The ongoing implementation of the majority of these projects will provide the economy the impetus it needs to offset the challenges that could dampen growth this year,” the Finance department said in a statement. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Construction starts decline in Q4 2019

By Marissa Mae M. Ramos, Researcher

CONSTRUCTION STARTS, based on approved building permits, declined by 7.7% year on year in the fourth quarter of 2019 amid fewer residential projects during the period, data by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.

Building permits numbered 37,256 in the fourth quarter, less than the 40,369 permits in 2018’s comparable three months.

The projects were equivalent to 9.042 million square meters of space and were valued at P111.58 billion, down 8.8% from a year ago.

Residential constructions, which made up 69.4% of the total approved building permits last quarter, shrank 13.3% to 25,869. The decline was brought about by residential condominiums (-42.2% to 37); single houses (-14.5% to 21,591); apartments/accessorias (-13.6% to 3,387); and other residential properties (-10.2% to 44).

The sole exception was that of duplexes/quadruplexes, which saw a 44.6% increase in permits during the quarter to 810.

Bucking the trend were permits for non-residential constructions, which recorded an increase of 14.5% to 6,289 from 5,491 previously.

Approved commercial structures jumped 23.2% to 3,982, followed by agricultural buildings (7.3% to 234) and institutional buildings (3.9% to 1,316).

Permits for “other non-residential” buildings also grew 35.5% to 149 permits, while those of industrial buildings declined by 8.4% to 608.

Additions to existing structures rose 9.1% to 1,337. On the other hand, the combined number of alterations and repairs of existing structures decreased by 1.2% to 3,761.

Permits at Region IV-A (Calabarzon) — immediately south of the National Capital Region (NCR) — topped the number of approved building permits with 9,808 or a 26.3% share. Coming in second was Central Visayas with 4,880 permits or 13.1%, followed by Central Luzon (9.9%), Ilocos Region (9%), and NCR (7.7%).

“This is still somehow related to the delayed budget of 2019. Construction was challenged in 2019 and it’s not hard to put the two together as the government tried to upscale spending until the end of 2019,” UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc. Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion told BusinessWorld in an e-mail.

Mr. Asuncion was referring to the passage of the 2019 budget, which was signed only in April last year, leading the government to operate on a reenacted budget for more than a quarter. The delay has said to have shed a full percentage point of growth last year.

Meanwhile, President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed the P4.1-trillion 2020 budget last January — the government’s largest spending plan to date. The President has also signed into law a measure allowing the extension of the 2019 budget’s validity until the end of 2020.

With these, UnionBank’s Mr. Asuncion expected construction permits to rebound in the first few months of the year.

“It was a fiscal stimulus of some sort that can help construction activity to recover,” he said.

“With the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) outbreak, there may be some initial reservation of the expected recovery of construction in the next quarters. However, as mentioned, the 2019 and 2020 budget can act as ‘unintended’ fiscal stimulus versus the negative impact of the coronavirus spread,” the economist added.

NPC to end validity of PICs, PIPs in August

THE NATIONAL Privacy Commission (NPC) will end the validity of current registrations to process or control personal information after it launches its automated registration system in July.

NPC in a statement on Friday said the validity of Personal Information Controllers (PIC) and Personal Information Processors (PIP) registrations ends on Aug. 31.

Registrations that were completed by 2018 were previously valid until March 8. The same registrations are now extended up to the end of August.

“The PICs and PIPs covered by the extension are those that previously completed at least Phase-I of their NPC registration,” the statement said.

PICs process or instruct another to process personal data, while PIPs are outsourced or instructed to process personal data.

NPC said those who have not yet registered are required to do so with their data protection officer immediately to avoid liabilities.

PIPs and PICs are subject to compliance checks and NPC cases that result in the issuance of compliance orders.

Under the implementing rules and regulations of the Data Privacy Act of 2012, unauthorized processing of personal information without the consent of the data subject is given a penalty of imprisonment between one to three years, or a fine of P500,000 to P2 million.

Possible imprisonment extends to three to six years and fines grow to P500,000 to P4 million for unauthorized processing of sensitive personal information.

Personal information includes any data that make apparent the identity of an individual.

“Sensitive” personal information includes race, ethnic origin, marital status, health, education, sexual life, social security numbers, and tax returns, among others.

The NPC will begin accepting registrations through its automated system on July 1. — Jenina P. Ibañez

DLSU, IPOPHL team up to develop master’s degree in intellectual property

THE PHILIPPINES may soon offer its first post-graduate degree in intellectual property through a university partnership.

Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) in a statement on Thursday said it signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with De La Salle University (DLSU) to develop a master’s degree in intellectual property.

“The rationale behind the establishment of a post-graduate course on IP is to further professionalize the experts in the field, which would mean raising the bar on the quality of work and service an IP practitioner is expected to deliver,” IPOPHL Director General Rowel S. Barba said.

“Improving the workforce can then lead to a better, more accessible, and more scalable IP system.”

Mr. Barba and DLSU President Brother Raymundo B. Suplido last Feb. 24 signed the MoU, which includes a partnership in producing a semi-annual academic journal on intellectual property management, technology, and innovation.

The two groups will hold a conference, which is tentatively scheduled for the third quarter, for researchers to present papers for possible publication in the journal.

Under the agreement, IPOPHL will provide capacity-building support for DLSU’s program. The two groups also plan to extend intellectual property training programs outside the university.

“The DLSU-IPOPHL partnership is hoped to form the foundations of a stronger relationship between IPOPHL and research institutions that would provide solutions to the country’s developmental and educational concerns,” Mr. Barba said.

IPOPHL’s Intellectual Property Academy plans to further expand its university partners for intellectual property education and training.

IPOPHL Deputy Director General Teodoro C. Pascua, IP Academy Officer-in-Charge Dr. Frederick P. Romero, DLSU’s IP Office Director Atty. Christopher E. Cruz, and DLSU’s Research and Innovation Vice-Chancellor Dr. Raymond Girard R. Tan were witnesses to the signing. — Jenina P. Ibañez

BPI closes bond offer

BANK OF THE Philippine Islands (BPI) on Friday closed its bond offer period, days ahead of the March 17 schedule amid strong demand, with the proceeds meant to diversify the bank’s funding sources and finance its business operations.

In a disclosure to the local bourse, the Ayala-led bank said it decided to shorten the period as the offer was met with strong demand from institutional, high-net worth and retail investors.

The papers have a tenor of 1.5 years and an interest rate of 4.05% per annum payable quarterly.

BPI said the fundraising activity will “support its diversification of funding sources, balance sheet expansion, and general corporate purposes.”

The bank was programmed to raise P5 billion from the offer, with an option to upsize.

Sought for further details, the lender declined to disclose the amount raised and the total order book.

The papers will be issued and listed on the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. on March 27.

This issue marks the bank’s second bond offer this year, following the P15.3 billion it raised in January via two-year bonds. The total volume raised was an upsize of its initial offer of P3 billion.

BPI Capital Corp. and ING Bank N.V., Manila Branch served as the joint lead arrangers for the transaction, with the former as the sole selling agent and latter as the participating selling agent. Development Bank of the Philippines’ Trust Banking Group was the appointed trustee for the offer.

The bank’s net profit jumped 24% to P28.8 billion in 2019 driven by higher revenues, with its fourth quarter net earnings reaching P6.77 billion, up 11.6%.

BPI shares closed at P74.80 apiece on Friday, down 2.86% or by P2.20 from Thursday’s close of P77 each. — Beatrice M. Laforga

EastWest Bank net income up 38% in 2019

EAST WEST Banking Corp. (EastWest Bank) saw its net income climb in 2019, boosted by both consumer loans and deposits.

In a disclosure to the local bourse on Friday, the lender said its net income climbed 38% to P6.2 billion in 2019, mainly fuelled by its consumer loan portfolio growth and low cost deposits.

“We are pleased to report our highest recorded income ever even as the bank faced a margin squeeze in 2019,” EastWest Bank Chief Executive Officer Antonio C. Moncupa, Jr. said in a statement.

Revenues also went up 13% to P28.7 billion from P25.5 billion in 2018. The bank said P2.2 billion of this increase came from net interest income, while the balance was comprised of fees, commissions, and fixed income trading gains, which inched up by a combined 16%.

Meanwhile, return on equity stood at 14%.

Net interest margin slipped to 6.9% from the 7.4% logged in 2018.

“Margins recovered to 7.6% in the last quarter from the 6.4% dip in the first quarter of 2019, where deposit costs went to record highs due to tight market liquidity,” the bank said, noting that both market liquidity and deposit costs were better in the last five months of 2019.

On the other hand, total deposits rose by 6% to P304.7 billion, backed by the 28% growth in current account and savings account deposits.

The bank’s total assets climbed by 11% to P406.3 billion in 2019.

“We expect a reversal in 2020 and recover a good part of the lost margins. Better global and domestic market liquidity should drive deposit costs lower,” Mr. Moncupa said.

The official said there could be risks from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, but is banking on the country’s being one of the “more resilient economies” in the region.

“We also expect our balance sheet to post decent growth as the country is expected to be among the more resilient economies even with COVID-19 and the resulting slowdown in the advanced economies and China,” Mr. Moncupa said.

EastWest Bank’s shares were steady at P10.70 apiece on Friday. — L.W.T. Noble

Peso drops vs dollar on local data

THE PESO succumbed to the dollar’s strength on Friday on data showing a higher unemployment rate and lower-than-expected inflation and the prolonged spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The local unit ended trading at P50.64 versus the dollar, shedding 5.5 centavos from its P50.585 close on Thursday, according to data from the website of the Bankers’ Association of the Philippines.

Week-on-week, however, the local currency climbed 33 centavos from the P50.97-to-a-dollar performance seen on Mar. 2.

The peso opened Friday’s session at P50.65 versus the dollar. Its weakest showing for the day was at P50.77, while its strongest was at P50.61 against the greenback.

Dollars traded rose to $1.389 billion from $945.45 million on Thursday.

According to a trader, the peso’s weakness on Friday was a “delayed reaction” after some weak data released on Thursday.

“Kasi ‘di ba on Thursday, may data na bumagsak ‘yung employment natin (Data released Thursday showed the unemployment rate went up), at saka (and also a) lower-than-expected inflation rate, so theoretically that would mean weak peso, stronger dollar but we stayed on a minimal range on Thursday,” a trader said in a phone call.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Thursday that headline inflation in February slowed to 2.6% from the 2.9% pace in January, on the back of easing food, transport, and utility prices. This headline inflation print is closer to the lower end of the 2.4-3.2% inflation forecast range penciled by the central bank last week.

This also compares to the three percent inflation estimate from a BusinessWorld poll of 17 economists held last week.

Also on Thursday, preliminary data from the Labor Force Survey (LFS) showed the country’s unemployment rate as of January was unchanged at 5.3% from the same period of 2019.

A closer look at the data, however, showed the number of jobless in the country went up by 106,651 to 2.39 million in January from 2.28 million in the same LFS round last year.

Meanwhile, another trader said the peso’s close on Friday came on the back of risk-off sentiment due to the virus spread.

“The local currency weakened from safe-haven demand on renewed coronavirus concerns in the US following newly-reported cases in New York and San Francisco,” the second trader said in an email.

COVID-19 has killed more than 3,330 people and infected over 97,000 around the world. — L.W.T. Noble

Shares back in the red as PHL reports new coronavirus cases

LOCAL shares slumped back into red territory amid renewed worries as the Department of Health (DoH) on Friday reported a Filipino male with no history of travel abroad has tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gave up 114.39 points or 1.66% to 6,770.38 on Friday, while the broader all shares index slipped 55.32 points or 1.35% to 4,039.55.

This puts an end to the main index’s three-day winning streak, pulling it back to the 6,700 level at the end of the trading week.

“Shares in the local equities market closed sharply lower as anxieties about the worldwide spread of COVID-19 lingered and concerns about the ability of governments to control the impact of the disease on their economies sent the benchmark U.S. Treasury note yield to a fresh all-time low,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile message.

As the number of coronavirus cases rose around the world, the DoH reported two new cases — a 48-year-old male that came back from Tokyo, Japan, and a 62-year-old male with no known out-of-country travel history.

Despite concerns about the local transmission of COVID-19, the DoH said it is confident it “can still contain the spread of the virus in the country.”

The PSEi joined other regional markets in the red on Friday, which Diversified Securities, Inc. Equity Trader Aniceto K. Pangan attributed to COVID-19 worries.

“Market was down today as…(COVID-19) continued to spook and create fear among investors as it continues to spread in other US states and the rest of the world,” he said in a text message.

He added that as containment remains a problem, investors across the world are unable to shake their fears, resulting in highly volatile markets.

In Asia Pacific, Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Topix indices lost 2.72% and 2.92%, respectively. China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai SE Composite indices dropped 1.62% and 1.21%, respectively. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell 2.81% and South Korea’s Kospi index shed 2.16%.

Back home, all six sectoral indices closed lower on Friday. Property was the biggest loser at 3,684.87, down 77.92 points or 2.07% from the previous session.

Financials gave up 32.29 points or 1.98% to 1,596.23; mining and oil slumped 102.97 points or 1.61% to 6,281.71; industrial lost 115.25 points or 1.40% to 8,114.07; holding firms dipped 93.40 points or 1.39% to 6,612.26; and services fell 13 points or 0.97% to 1,330.54.

Value turnover stood at P5.88 billion with 632.65 million issues switching hands, down from Thursday’s P6.02 billion with 978.55 million issues.

Decliners outnumbered gainers, 138 to 45, while those unchanged stood at 38.

Net foreign selling reached P271.03 million on Friday, from net foreign buying of P940.79 million on Thursday. — Denise A. Valdez

World no. 6 Tsitsipas in his element in Davis Cup match versus Philippines; Greeks up, 2-0, after Day One

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS of Greece gave Filipino fans a dazzling show of world-class tennis as he overwhelmed the Philippines’ AJ Lim, 6-2, 6-1, on Friday to give his team the opening win in their Davis Cup World Group II playoff tie at the Philippine Columbian Association’s Plaza Dilao courts in Paco, Manila.

The 6-4 Tsitsipas, ranked No. 6 in the Association of Tennis Professionals rankings, towered above the 5-7 Lim, whom he pummeled with an array of shots — from crisp backhands to powerful volleys — to carve out the win that lasted 53 minutes.

Mr. Tsitsipas showed the same form that had gotten him a runner-up finish to Novak Djokovic in the Dubai Championship less than a week ago and made life difficult for Mr. Lim, the country’s No. 2 netter.

It gave the heavily favored Greeks a 1-0 lead while avenging an almost long-forgotten defeat by the 21-year-old Tsitsipas to the 20-year-old Lim in a doubles showdown in their junior days years back.

And more impressive was Mr. Tsitsipas’ admission after the game that he struggled adjusting to the surface of the court as well as the heat.

“I had a difficult time adjusting to the court. It felt like a sauna here, but I still found ways to adjust,” said Mr. Tsitsipas.

Mr. Lim, for his part, was just star-struck by how Mr. Tsitsipas played.

“Unreal,” said Mr. Lim on Mr. Tsitsipas.

Meanwhile, Mr. Tsitsipas’ younger sibling, Petros, made it back-to-back wins for the Greeks later in the day after defeating the Philippines’ top player Jeson Patrombon, 6-2, 6-1.

Francis Casey Alcantara and Ruben Gonzales are scheduled to play Petros and Markos Kalovelonis in the doubles on Saturday followed by the reverse singles pitting Messrs Stefanos and Patrombon and Messrs. Petros and Lim.

Pag-IBIG Fund resolves all 8888 hotline calls, complaints reduced by 78%

Pag-IBIG Fund executives on Wednesday (Mar 4) announced that all concerns received through the 8888 citizen’s hotline last year have been resolved as the agency continues to heed the President’s call for government institutions to improve the delivery of their services.

“In line with President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s directive that all government agencies must be efficient and responsive to the people’s needs, we are happy to report that we have resolved all 2,196 calls from the 8888 hotline in 2019.  Rest assured that we will continuously provide even better and more efficient service to our members as the months go by,” said Eduardo D. del Rosario, Chairperson of the 11-member Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees and Secretary of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD).

He emphasized that out of the 2,196 concerns received in 2019, only 26% or 575 were actual complaints. That number is 78% lower compared to the 2,582 actual complaints received by the agency in 2018.  Del Rosario further noted that the number is even more impressive when related to the more than 27.71 million transactions received by the agency in 2019.

This drop in the number of complaints and the service improvements made by the agency were further affirmed by customer satisfaction surveys conducted in June 2019 and October 2019 by the Philippine Survey and Research Center (PSRC), which showed that 91% of Pag-IBIG members and employers were satisfied with the service provided by Pag-IBIG Fund.

Meanwhile, Pag-IBIG Fund Chief Executive Officer Acmad Rizaldy P. Moti said that the agency also received fewer 8888 calls last year, from 5,075 in 2018 down to 2,196 in 2019.

“If we look at the numbers, we can see a 57% decline in the number of calls. Meaning, there was a vast improvement of service in a span of just one year. And, as we look deeper, we can see that the type of calls also improved.  In 2018, 51% of the calls were complaints. But in 2019, only 26% of the calls were complaints,” Moti said.

He added that numbers are expected to improve further in 2020. In January, the agency received 120 calls from the 8888 hotline. Out of the 120 concerns, only 29 or 24.17% were complaints while 88 or 73.33% of the calls were requests for assistance and simple inquiries. The rest of the calls were commendations.

“It’s still early but we are confident that calls made through the 8888 hotline will continue to drop, especially with the availability of the Virtual Pag-IBIG, our online service portal which is basically a Pag-IBIG Fund branch that never closes and is always accessible. Members can now check their records and loans status, and do their transactions online, anytime, anywhere via the Virtual Pag-IBIG. And with our new and improved system, we can now process cash loans in less than 2 days. So, whether you are online or offline, you can expect better service from Pag-IBIG Fund,” Moti said.

Aliwan Fiesta canceled because of virus concerns

THIS year’s Aliwan Fiesta, which was scheduled on April 23 to 25, has been canceled because of COVID-19, Manila Broadcasting Company (MBC) said in a statement.

“Following the series of advisories issued by various government agencies with regard to health precautions for public events, we regret to inform that we are constrained to cancel this year’s Aliwan Fiesta celebrations,” MBC said in a statement emailed to BusinessWorld on Friday.

The Aliwan Fiesta started in 2003 and is organized by the MBC and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). Dubbed as the “Philippines’ Grandest Fiesta,” the event aims to showcase different Filipino cultures and heritage.

Contingents from different provinces compete in three categories: the float parade, the Reyna ng Aliwan pageant, and the main competition, the cultural street dance competition where contestants perform dances from their province’s own festivals including Iloilo’s Dinagyang Festival, Cebu’s Sinulog, and Baguio’s Panagbenga and less well-known festivals such as Shariff Kabunsuan’s Padang-Padang and Rodriguez, Rizal’s Pamitinan.

The festival features a four-kilometer parade from Quirino Grandstand to the Aliw Theater grounds at the CCP area.

Last year’s street dance champion was the Pasaka Festival which is part of the Pintados Kasadyaan festival of Leyte.

“We have been closely monitoring the situation globally, and there continues to be growing anxiety about this new pandemic. We don’t know how far this will go, and the organizing committee has felt it prudent to consider public safety, and relieve children, parents, teachers, and local officials of any anxiety when the contingents travel to Manila,” the statement read.

MBC also stated that knowing that participants invest “substantial time and resources to prepare for Aliwan Fiesta,” they decided to cancel the event early because they do not want local governments, schools, and students to “make major expenditures” only to cancel the event at a later date.

“And given that Aliwan Fiesta is held during vacation time to make it conducive for students and faculty to participate, we are forced to look at the only possible window to hold it, which would be April 2021,” MBC said.

“We wish to emphasize that Manila Broadcasting Company remains fully committed to the tradition of gathering the best of the best in a grand national championship among festivals throughout the country, and we hope we can count on the continuous support of various sectors in the future staging of Aliwan Fiesta,” the company added. — ZBC