Biz Buzz: Populism trumps safety
As National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) had been warning for some years now, thousands of informal settlers residing under its transmission towers nationwide pose a threat to the facilities of the power grid operator and the illegal settlers themselves.
This very issue was demonstrated with dramatic effect last week when a fire broke out in a squatter colony built directly under one of NGCP’s high-voltage towers in Alabang, Muntinlupa City.
The inability of firefighters to access the densely populated site resulted in the massive flames weakening the steel tower until it eventually collapsed. Fortunately, that particular transmission line was supported by a backup facility, preventing a wider power outage that could have crippled a wide swath of Metro Manila in the middle of a hot summer morning (only the immediate areas in the vicinity were affected).
The unfortunate thing about this incident is that the transmission company actually tried to clear the area of illegal settlers as early as three years ago. Biz Buzz learned that in October 2014, NGCP’s line group issued a “notice of electrocution hazard” to the illegal residents (comprising about 70 families back then) under and around this particular facility through their leader (a certain Ms. Manalangit).
In 2015, NGCP conducted no less than four meetings with the Office of the Mayor of Muntinlupa and Office of Building Officials to discuss the hazards of having houses under the Binan-Sucat/Muntinlupa 230kV lines. By September 2016, NGCP conducted an information campaign with illegal settlers on the dangers of living under high-voltage lines and just in February of this year, the company conducted a public safety information campaign at the Intercity Subdivision of Barangay Cupang, Muntinlupa City.
It is now apparent that the company’s pleas fell on deaf ears. Last week, a day after the Alabang fire, some government officials predictably refrained from backing NGCP’s campaign to rid its transmission facilities of illegal settlers.
Biz Buzz has received information that no less than Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor Chair Terry Ridon has called NGCP president and CEO Henry Sy Jr. to a meeting tomorrow, April 25. What will the commission say? Well, if Ridon’s statement on TV is any indication, it’s unlikely that NGCP will get any sympathy from the agency.
His message, in essence, was that you just can’t take the illegal settler’s out of there. And so NGCP’s woes continue. And the risk to the country’s power grid —and the very lives of the illegal settlers themselves—are bound to remain. —DAXIM L. LUCAS
‘Post-war’ Ortigas
Long-time Ayala Land Inc. chief finance officer (CFO) Jaime Ysmael had to give up his post to work full-time as chair, president and chief executive of OCLP Holdings, a land-rich holding company where Ayala and SM groups are now both partners of the Ortigas clan.
Since the Chinoys and Kastilaloys ended their tug-of-war over the Ortigas firm and decided to instead work together to unlock values from its valuable landbank, the redevelopment of Ortigas properties is moving at a faster pace.
The most valuable of all these, of course, is the 16-hectare Greenhills shopping complex. With Unimart supermarket moving to a new building, the old site, combined with a portion of the existing mall, will be used to build a second residential tower Connor, to supplement the first tower Viridian, which is now nearly sold out.
In preparation for the major redevelopment of Greenhills shopping center into a mixed-use complex, Ysmael said OCLP was building interim carpark buildings. Construction will be done in stages but with an intention to fast-track by possibly buying out remaining long-term lease contracts.
“The master plan has been done. It will be a mixed-use development that will have a residential enclave and commercial enclave that are segregated by road to make it more conducive to living there. We’ll be launching this project within the year,” Ysmael said.
Another major OCLP project is the 10-hectare Capitol Commons. Three residential towers are now being offered to the market. The Royalton, which has topped off, is 80-percent sold while the higher-end The Imperium is 60-percent taken up. The first tower of mid-income development Maven is more than 50-percent sold.
OCLP is also expanding the Estancia mall component, with Estancia 2 and 3 intended to house more affordable retail shops as opposed to the high-end positioning of Estancia 1. Unimart, which will open by mid-year, is seen to become the much-needed anchor and bring foot traffic to the complex. The new wings of Estancia will also have regular department stores, cinemas as well as smaller shops and services. Beyond these, OCLP is also planning to build business process outsourcing (BPO) buildings.
Also to be redeveloped is Fontera Verde a.k.a. the Tiendesitas complex. This 16-hectare estate will be master-planned into an integrated mixed-use complex. It will soon offer its first residential tower for sale, first office building for sale as well as shopping and office complex for lease on a large footprint.
For residential complex Circulo Verde along Calle Industria, which now has five residential towers, the last residential tower is now under construction.
OCLP also owns 70 percent of publicly listed Concrete Aggregates Corp., which has almost 300 hectares of landbank in Angono, Rizal. This land is now a quarrying site but Ysmael said this could be eventually developed into residential community.
Ysmael said OCLP also had several “contingent” landbank that it could tap in the future. He must be referring to the portion of Camp Crame (10 hectares) and Camp Aguinaldo (30 hectares) that were donated by the Ortigases to the government a long time ago but which it had the right to buy back in the future.
Needless to say, Ysmael’s hands are full in leading OCLP to be a major urban developer on its own, with support from the country’s two largest property firms. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA
Speaking of which …
Taking over Ysmael’s post as new Ayala Land CFO is Augusto “Toti” Bengzon, who is now the chief information officer and chief compliance officer.
Bengzon joined ALI in 2004 as its group treasurer and has led various funding initiatives that have been instrumental in the company’s strong and sustainable growth. These capital-raising transactions included successive equity top-up placements and debt capital market issues that bagged awards for innovation and execution. He has also implemented cash optimization, liquidity and receivables management programs across the group while serving as treasurer or director in various subsidiaries.
In November 2016, he was appointed deputy group CFO, concurrent to his role as treasurer of Ayala Land, thus paving the way for the smooth transition.
Bengzon holds his BS Management degree from Ateneo de Manila and obtained his MBA from AIM under a full scholarship. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA
Monkey business
Unless they belong to relatively wealthier households, or have accumulated substantial savings, military and police personnel who reach the mandatory retirement age of 56 (or have rendered 30 years of service) are left with limited options of maintaining sufficient income that can sustain them in their senior years.
This is not really a problem for high-ranking officers since they receive hefty retirement benefits and subsequent monthly pensions. Many of them are also offered senior executive positions in the private sector, government agencies, government corporations or in the Cabinet.
But for lowly paid ordinary policemen, retirement is a dilemma that confronts them, year after year. Thankfully, they have the savings and loan associations (SLAIs) for members of the uniformed services to lean on.
These SLAIs are non-stock, non-profit organizations that provide financial assistance to retirees, including various loan packages of up to P1 million, payable up to five years at interest rates that are very competitive with those of commercial banks. These loans provide retirees and pensioners with enough start-up capital for small businesses like a modest restaurant or bake shop, a market stall, ukay-ukay shop, retail outlet or tricycle operation.
But there are always challenges.
Recently, stories have surfaced that some unscrupulous parties supposedly representing the SLAIs have been exploiting financially distressed Philippine National Police pensioners through dubious schemes that yield enormous financial rewards for the schemers.
Here’s how it goes: They entice retirees to apply for new or additional loans although these people are still paying for previous loans from other lending agencies. Pensioners are told that they need not pay their previous loans because private lending agencies are no longer authorized to extend loans to them and some of these are even closing shop. Allegedly, they’re told they don’t even need guarantors and that their loans will be approved even if they don’t have ATM cards (a common requirement).
Supposedly also, the additional loans will not be a problem since they will be getting pension increases and the amortizations for the new loans will only start after their previous loans are fully paid. Reluctant would-be borrowers usually agree after being offered plane tickets or bus fare to Manila.
The victims—many from the Visayas and Mindanao—only discover that they were fooled after the proceeds of their new loans are handed to them. But minus deductions of up to P200,000 or more, supposedly for travel expenses, board and lodging, and “SOPs” for certain officials. Of course, these are but excuses to satisfy the cupidity of those who have twisted the SLAIs’ legitimate loan operation into a very profitable money-making monkey business of their own.
It seems improbable for this scam to prosper considering that all loans are subject to such conditions as single borrower’s limit and the net-take-home pay and capacity to pay of borrowers. There is, therefore, an urgent need for both the officials of the SLAIs and PNP Chief Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa to look into the possible complicity of people inside the SLAIs. And perhaps inside Camp Crame itself? —DAXIM L. LUCAS
Mapping out UCPB’s future
Apart from the much-awaited leadership change in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, there are still some vacant posts in government-controlled corporations that President Duterte has yet to fill. One of these is the chairmanship of United Coconut Planters Bank, where the government has a controlling interest.
To recall, the Supreme Court ruled with finality in 2012 that the government owns the UCPB shares claimed by businessman Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr. and that these should be used for the benefit of the coconut farmers. The SC ruling covered a 75-percent stake in UCPB identified to have been funded by coco levy. Only 25 percent of UCPB’s outstanding stock remains sequestered by the government.
It remains to be seen whether the Duterte administration will pursue efforts to privatize the controlling stake in UCPB. From what we hear, efforts to bring in a new controlling investor in UCPB will be continued.
On the chairmanship of UCPB, we heard that one strong candidate is businessman Jose Leviste Jr., who chairs OceanaGold (Philippines) Inc. He is also the Philippine resident representative of the Australia-Philippine Business Council.
Leviste is an Economics graduate from the Ateneo University and had an MBA degree from Columbia University and an MA Economics degree from Fordham University in the United States. He was granted a Doctorate in Humanities, Honoris Causa from the Nueva Vizcaya State University for his work in social, civic and community work as chair of OceanaGold Philippines.
Whoever will be named UCPB chair will work with bank president Higinio Macadaeg Jr. to recapitalize the bank—and most likely privatize control of it—amid cutthroat competition in the banking system. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA
