BIZ BUZZ: ‘Cement wars’ mimicking ‘sugar wars’

The raging debate about sugar importation versus local production has, of course, given both sides of the long running cement wars in the country an opportunity to buttress their own positions vis-à-vis public opinion and, perhaps more importantly, win the hearts and minds of policy makers in government as well.

After all, Biz Buzz hears that the Tariff Commission is set to soon decide whether to continue to allow cement imports from countries like Vietnam under more favorable tariff conditions, or to cave in to the demands of at least one influential local producer who is seeking greater protection for its locally made cement.

Recall that in 2019, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) imposed so-called safeguard duties on imported cement for three years to provide temporary relief to the domestic cement industry while it undertakes measures to boost its competitiveness.

In December 2021, the DTI imposed an additional antidumping duty on cement imports from Vietnam for similar reasons.

The Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines welcomed the imposition of duties. But these duties will end next month, and the local manufacturers are now moving heaven and earth to extend the tariff scheme, naturally.

Cement manufacturers, of course, point out that their industry would suffer with the entry of cheaper imports and, as such, deserve protection from government.

But the importers are saying: “Hold on a minute. You’ve enjoyed government protection for decades. What about the consumers who suffer from high cement prices? Don’t they deserve to be heard as well?”

Indeed, DTI’s own price monitoring reports in 2019 and 2022 showed that the retail prices of cement increased substantially when higher tariffs on imports were imposed.

The importers point to this and say that the steps taken by government to support local cement manufacturers are detrimental to consumers (who must now pay more because of this protectionist policy).

Given that the country will now need millions of tons of cement for the Marcos administration’s infrastructure buildup program, should the government, the private sector and consumer be paying substantially more for locally produced cement when it can source the same products more cheaply from overseas?

The Tariff Commission’s decision will determine the answer. Abangan!

—Daxim L. Lucas

Governance champion

The Ayala Group was cited anew for strong corporate governance and sustainability practices. In fact, the conglomerate and some of its core businesses have been included in the Financial Times Stock Exchange-Russell Group (FTSE) 4GOOD Index Series for several years now.

The measure tracks companies demonstrating strong environmental, social and governance practices.

Ayala Corp. itself has been part of the FTSE4GOOD series since 2016. Moreover, Globe Telecom and Ayala Land have been on the list for seven consecutive years while Bank of the Philippine Islands was named a constituent since 2020.

Albert de Larrazabal, who serves as Ayala’s chief risk and sustainability officer, apart from his role as chief finance officer, was proud of the recognition, adding that the index encourages “positive change in corporate behavior and align their portfolios with their values.”

Many firms around the world only claim to follow such principles, a practice often known as greenwashing or outright false marketing.

Ayala recently displayed how serious the group is when it comes to good governance.

We’re referring to the disquieting series of disclosures announcing the resignation of Fernando Zobel de Ayala from all board positions in the conglomerate and its subsidiaries to focus on “his recovery and health.”

Zobel, who has been on medical leave, resigned from management roles and committee memberships within the group last month.

It’s usual for founders—or family stewards, in the case of the country’s oldest conglomerate—to keep their board seats despite being on medical leave. But Zobel might have felt it was best for the company and shareholders to have a board that was unencumbered by any health issues while he recovers.

To step back from such a high profile role to the benefit of many is a rare move and admirable even.

—Miguel R. Camus

Mabuhay Miles mishap

Philippine Airlines (PAL) recently reported a cybersecurity incident that affected some of its Mabuhay Miles customers. This was confirmed to the flag carrier by Accelya, its third-party information technology service provider behind the loyalty program.

Accelya, a global technology firm providing services to over 250 airlines across the globe, said the “impacted information” includes only member names, birth dates, nationality, gender, joining date, tier level and points balance.

More sensitive data like contact details, credit card information, passport numbers, membership passwords or flight ticketing information were not compromised, the company assured.

“PAL is closely coordinating with Accelya which confirmed to us that the incident has been contained. We urged Accelya to fortify security measures to ensure that there can be no recurrence,” PAL senior vice president and data protection officer Alvin Limqueco said.

“Accelya assured PAL and other affected airlines that it has stopped the spread of the malware and put in place further security measures to prevent a similar incident from happening in the future,” the airline added.

The flag carrier said it had reached out to the National Privacy Commission to address the matter. It also has begun notifying affected customers.

The local airline advised that customers change their account password regularly.

PAL also assured the public that the cybersecurity incident had no impact on its internal information technology systems.

—Tyrone Jasper C. Piad INQ