BIZ BUZZ: Cement wars, the continuation

The government is considering the possibility of further extending the antidumping duties against imported cement, supposedly to protect the local cement manufacturing industry.

This has raised alarm bells among some cement importers who have turned to the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) for help in addressing their concerns about the safeguard duty, which had been sought by Cemex Holdings Philippines Inc., Holcim Philippines Inc. and Republic Cement Builders and Building Materials Inc.

The local cement industry was able to secure a preliminary antidumping duty on cement, using as justification their claim that imports would “injure” the local industry.

The importers, however, claim otherwise and told the PCC in a recent letter that the continuing imposition of the safeguard duty runs counter to the government’s mandate to ensure lively competition in the marketplace so that consumers can get the best possible price for the products they buy.

The cement importers told PCC chair Arsenio Balisacan that further subjecting imports to safeguard duties would “substantially prevent, restrict or lessen competition.”

They added that granting their rival firms’ petition to extend the imposition of the safeguard duty would give them “undue advantage and benefits, and will cause a concentration of economic power, and may encourage an abuse of dominant position, the very circumstances which the Philippine Competition Act seeks to prevent.”

The possibility of extending the safeguard duty is now up for decision by the Tariff Commission and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). For the cement importers, they hope the PCC can look into this “concerning situation” so that the Tariff Commission and the DTI “can resolve the application for antidumping duties in a manner that is consistent with the Philippine Competition Act.”

Will they? Abangan!

—Tina Arceo-Dumlao

PAL ‘reborn’

Philippine Airlines (PAL) was “reborn” at 81-years old on Tuesday during an anniversary event that honored its renewed commitment to serve Filipinos around the world and also a successful business restructuring in the wake of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic.

PAL was also reborn with a younger set of leaders, led by acting president and pilot Stanley Ng, a former chief operations executive at PAL, and PAL director Lucio Tan III, Tan’s grandson through his namesake, the late Lucio “Bong” Tan Jr.

The elder Tan could not attend the event but his spouse, PAL director Carmen Tan, was present to assure the gathering at the Century Park Hotel Manila that PAL’s future was secure with the next generation of executives at the helm.

“The chairman and I assure you that through the leadership of Captain Stanley Ng, and my grandson Lucio Tan III, PAL will reach new heights,” she said during the anniversary event.

Ng, 42, was a logical choice given his long career at the airline, which he built from the ground up over the past two decades. A “PAL lifer,” Ng is also Tan’s son-in-law who appeared eager to prove himself a worthy successor to pilot the storied flag carrier.

“I’m doing the task of a lifetime,” Ng said during the anniversary event.

He also displayed his passion for the airline and especially its employees, his voice turning emotional when describing the sacrifices they made in terms of pay and lost time to keep PAL in the air during the health crisis.

Ng’s plans for PAL called for a more pragmatic approach to business but leaving room for technological innovation and new revenue sources that would not require significant investments.

Among these was a greater emphasis on cargo, which helped dull the impact of plunging passenger revenues in the last two years.

In fact, Ng wanted more hybrid flights—those that can carry cargo one way and passengers the other direction—to the United States and other markets.

This would be coupled with a foray into “last-mile” ground delivery services via third-party partners.

This would allow PAL to reap benefits from the e-commerce boom without having to devote significant resources and undertaking a deep operational dive into an unfamiliar segment.

Mabuhay Miles, PAL’s loyalty rewards program, would also be “fully revamped” into a lifestyle brand offering more than flight miles.

This might be PAL’s avenue to enter the fintech space by creating its own financial ecosystem to process transactions beyond the airline business. The segment, however, is becoming increasingly crowded so eyes are fixed on how PAL would execute the strategy.

PAL would continue to lean on its core business transporting passengers around the Philippines and the world. The big change would come as PAL finally drops “costly prestige routes.”

“Every route must pay its own way,” Ng said. “We will only tap new markets that make strategic sense.”

Ng said the airline would endure, thanks to the vision and support of the elder Tan but also through the efforts of its employees and flyers.

“We recognize what Kapitan Lucio Tan saw very clearly: The Philippine economy and our people need the services of a strong network airline providing essential global links. This new life for PAL is a sacred trust, and we take this responsibility very seriously,” Ng said.

—Miguel R. Camus

Speaking of which . . .

While one of the jewels in tycoon Lucio Tan’s crown has lost its luster and is only now trying to recapture its value (we’re talking about PAL), another jewel is well on its way to regaining its shine.

We are talking about the Philippine National Bank (PNB) which on Thursday reported a staggering 1,109-percent increase in its net income from only P2.62 billion in 2020—the height of the pandemic—to P31.69 billion last year.

Of course, that’s because of a P33.4-billion gain from a property-for-share swap the bank executed with its holding company to monetize the value of what it described as “low-earning assets” (essentially high value real estate that have yet to be developed, despite being held for decades now).

Excluding these one-time gains, PNB reported income from its core banking operations of P40.1 billion in 2021, growing by 2 percent year-on-year despite the impact of the COVID-19 crisis.

Despite these more modest “normalized” numbers, the good news is that PNB—under the leadership of its president Wick Veloso—has now been unburdened of unproductive assets and is now free to shift to high gear in terms of lending operations.

It is also making inroads in the consumer business with revamped online banking operations that include a new, highly intuitive mobile app that is a lot easier to use than its more cumbersome predecessor.

In addition, PNB has also made it more convenient for clients to open bank accounts, with the entire process now being done online, including the all important identity verification part.

As with anything, however, the key question for PNB now is if it can sustain these early gains to make even more progress in an increasingly competitive banking landscape. Can they do it? Abangan!

—Daxim L. Lucas

Freedom of information

Journalists in the Philippines have been encountering difficulties accessing documents from government agencies for God knows how long. And this reporter has had a fair share of these challenges just recently.

Whenever press releases are sent out to the media, journalists ask a question or two—sometimes more than two questions—to obtain additional information that is not stated in the release.

It is, after all, their responsibility to look beyond what was presented to them and ask relevant questions to add meat to the particular news.

Recently, the National Irrigation Administration released a statement regarding its plans to invest in some projects, but lacked details such as budget and timeline for completion. Hoping to give more context to the story, questions were emailed to the staff of one of the officials.

The agency, however, asked the reporter to submit a freedom of information (FOI) request before it could release more details, saying this was their protocol at the office. And once the request has been lodged, they would facilitate the request immediately.

This was not the first time it happened.

Are reporters supposed to lodge an FOI request if the objective is to seek more information? Biz Buzz talked to a lawyer to shed light on this matter.

Jose Layug Jr., a senior partner at Puno & Puno Law Offices, said while journalists do not need to put forward an FOI request, he suggested writing a formal request although it is not required to secure the necessary information from the government agency or office concerned.

“[There is] no need to lodge an FOI request as a matter of law since what you are requesting should be a matter of public interest and concern,” Layug said.

He cited Executive Order No. 2, series of 2016, in saying “any person may ask for information on matters of public concern as a matter of right.”

The EO defines information as “records, documents, papers, reports, letters, contracts, minutes and transcripts of official meetings, maps, books, photographs, data, research materials, films, sound and video recording, magnetic or other tapes, electronic data, computer stored data, any other like or similar data or materials recorded, stored or archived in whatever format, whether offline or online, which are made, received, or kept in or under the control and custody of any government office pursuant to law, executive order, and rules and regulations or in connection with the performance or transaction of official business by any government office.”

Hopefully, government offices will be more accommodating with inquiries like this moving forward to help the media deliver the news to the public.

—Jordeene B. Lagare