ECOZONE FIRMS MAY GRIND TO A HALT By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah
E
CONOMIC zone locators are facing a serious risk of funding shortage that could suspend their operations, as they are unable to receive foreign currency from their headquarters overseas with the stoppage of peso-dollar trading. For one, an electronics firm based in Tanza, Cavite could temporarily halt its assembly of parts, as it might fail to pay its workers soon due to financial issues. The firm’s parent unit is located in China and was prohibited on Tuesday from remitting dollars to the Philippines. Transactions for peso-dollar trading and government securities are called off, according to the Banking Association of the Philippines,
A long queue of vehicles is seen on Edsa early on Tuesday (March 17), as the PNP Highway Patrol Group apprehended PUVs violating the ban on public transportation effective midnight as part of the “enhanced” Luzon-wide community quarantine to avert the spread of the Covid-19. NONOY LACZA
w
n
as the state on Monday placed the entire Luzon under community quarantine to arrest the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). “Our operations mainly rely on remittance from our headquarters in China,”an executive of the Cavite-based electronics firm told the BusinessMirror. “We were informed just this morning [of Tuesday] that US dollar trading is suspended.” As with many locators doing business in economic zones, the electronics firm is exporting 100 percent of its output parts and units—in this case, to the United States. As such, the firm has to maintain a healthy account of dollars in its treasury. Failure to do so, its executive explained, could result in the delayed payment of its workers’ salaries, as well as the suspension of factory operations in a worst-case scenario.
Wednesday, March 18, 2020 Vol. 15 No. 160
‘Virus beyond control to cost 4.13% of GDP’ L
By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz
@joveemarie
IMITING economic activity in Luzon in the desperate race to stop the spread of Covid-19 would result in significant losses for the economy, a senior lawmaker and economist said, but weighed this against a far bigger estimate of losses should the chain of transmission get out of control.
In an aide memoire submitted to the leadership of House of Representatives, Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, said a mass transmission of Covid-19 would
cost the economy even more significantly—at least 4.13 percent of the country’s GDP. The vice chairman of the House Committee on Economic Affairs on
Tuesday said this is significantly higher than the lockdown’s impact on the country’s annual GDP, estimated at 2.95 percent. Luzon accounts for around 71.9 percent
Calamity declaration
L
OCAL government units (LGU) will now have access to more funds after President Duterte declared a state of calamity in the entire country due to the public health threat of the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19), cases of which in the Philippines reached 187 as of Tuesday. “There is hereby declared a State of Calamity throughout the Philippines for a period of six months. Unless earlier lifted or extended as circumstances warrant,” Duterte said in Presidential Proclamation No. 929. See “Calamity,” A2
“At first, the Peza [Philippine Economic Zone Authority] gave an assurance that banking won’t be affected by this community quarantine. However, it’s different on the ground. I think this will be a big [problem for] manufacturing if left unresolved,” the executive said. All of the electronics firm’s workers went to the factory on Tuesday to complete the two rotational shifts they run on a daily basis. However, the executive said locators are coordinating with the Peza on how employees will be able to get to work over the next days, with mass transportation suspended until April 14. “We are just recovering from the disaster that hit us early this year and our operations are only starting to normalize, but then this community quarantine was implemented and this could put a dent on the operations of many manufacturers,”the executive added.
P25.00 nationwide | 3 sections 16 pages |
BSP TACKLES CONCERNS OVER REMITTANCES By Tyrone C. Piad
T
@Tyronepiad
HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is addressing the concern over remittances following the suspension of foreign-exchange trading on Tuesday due to the month-long enhanced community quarantine in Luzon. “We’re working on it,” BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said in a message to BusinessMirror, noting that this would be tackled during the meeting of the Inter-Agency Task Force on coronavirus disease 2019 [Covid-19]. He said that this was “one of the birth pains of the new Luzonwide collective isolation,” describing the situation as an “oversight.” Diokno said this “should be fixed starting tomorrow [today].” The Bank Association of the
Philippines (BAP), in an advisory, said that spot trading was suspended until further notice.
‘Business as usual’
Despite this, Bank of the Philippine Islands said that it was business as usual. Security Bank Corp., meanwhile, said that it would continue processing foreign-exchange transactions. “In order to continue to serve our client’s foreign exchange needs, we have teams on hand to price and settle foreign exchange transactions in spite of the temporary closure of the interbank markets,” it said. While the suspension will not weigh on remittances, UnionBank chief economist Ruben Carlo Asuncion said that trading should resume immediately. “Remittances level, I do not think, will be affected by the suspension of trading. See “BSP,” A2
See “Virus,” A8
Meat processors warn of supply gap if panic buying doesn’t stop By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas
T
@jearcalas
HE Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (Pampi) has appealed to the public to stop panic buying and hoarding processed meat products as a surge in demand could deplete the industry’s production supply faster -- to 15 days from the normal 30-day capacity. Pampi also urged the national government to immediately resolve logistical concerns on the ground as some shuttles carrying workers and trucks transporting their products were not allowed to pass through certain check points despite showing necessary documents and identification. Nonetheless, Pampi assured the
PESO exchange rates n
public that it is doing its best to ensure that the country would have a sufficient supply of processed meat products. “There is no reason to panic as far as our supply is concerned. We have sufficient supply, especially of canned goods, which is about 30 days’ inventory,” Pampi Vice President Jerome D. Ong told the BusinessMirror. “But it is based on normal purchase patterns prior to all this panic. The panic buying results in double than usuual volume and that 30-day supply becomes 15 days,” Ong added. Ong said demand from retailers, distributors, supermarkets for certain processed meat products such as hot dogs, corned beef, See “Meat processors,” A2
Senators support relief in filing ITR By Butch Fernandez
C
Some uniformed personnel, given little time to carry out the enhanced quarantine in Luzon and with scant resources, improvised their own personal protective gear. This PNP personnel at a Pasig City checkpoint used a well-angled plastic cover to protect him from Covid-19 virus while checking the temperature of a civilian. BERNARD TESTA
@butchfBM
ONGRESS need not hold a special session to amend the law fixing the deadline for income tax return (ITR) filing, because the Executive can simply waive the penalties for late filing—at least, allowing filing for several days beyond the date provided by law, the Senate chief said on Tuesday. Sought for comment on whether a special session will be held because of Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez’s remark that the April 15 Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) deadline can only be postponed by
US 51.1180 n japan 0.4775 n UK 63.4834 n HK 6.5814 n CHINA 7.2934 n singapore 36.3286 n australia 31.9079 n EU 57.2113 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.6195
See “ITR,” A2
Source: BSP (16 March 2020)