4 ECONOMY EDGEDAVAO
VOL.12 ISSUE 37 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2019
DOLE announces 29 job fair venues on Labor Day
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OIL PRICE HIKE. A fuel tanker unlaods petroleum products at a depot in Sasa, Davao City on Tuesday. Oil firms will implement another round of fuel price hike as petroleum producing countries continue to withhold supply. Gasoline prices
will be increased by P0.75 per liter while diesel will be hiked by P0.80 per liter. Lean Daval Jr
Security Bank cites sustainable growth of core businesses D uring the annual stockholders’ meeting of Security Bank Corporation (PSE: SECB) on Tuesday, 30 April 2019, the following were elected to the Security Bank Board: incumbent directors Diana P. Aguilar, Philip T. Ang (independent), Anastasia Y. Dy, Frederick Y. Dy, Joseph R. Higdon (independent), James J. K. Hung (independent), Jikyeong Kang (independent), Napoleon L. Nazareno (independent), Cirilo P. Noel, Takahiro Onishi, Alfonso L. Salcedo, Jr., Rafael F. Simpao, Jr., Masaaki Suzuki and Alberto S. Villarosa, and new independent director Gerard H. Brimo. During the organizational Board meeting, key appointments were for Frederick Y. Dy as Chairman Emeritus,
Alberto S. Villarosa as Chairman, Anastasia Y. Dy as Vice Chairman, and Alfonso L. Salcedo, Jr. as President and Chief Executive Of�icer. In his report on 2018 operations, President and CEO Alfonso L. Salcedo, Jr. pointed to 2018 as a milestone year. After �ive years, Security Bank has built the retail banking business as a strong third business pillar of the Bank. Security Bank is now a full-�ledged universal bank with wholesale banking, �inancial markets and retail banking as its three business pillars. Importantly, Security Bank is well-positioned for sustainable growth. 2018 net income was Php 8.6 billion, lower by 16% versus 2017 primarily due to a decrease in trading
gains and an increase in provision for income taxes. 2018 showed continued strong growth in Security Bank’s core businesses. Net interest income from customer loans and deposits increased 30% compared to 13% for the top ten private domestic universal banks. Fee income increased 26% versus industry’s 11%. Bancassurance, which commenced in 2015, has now become the largest fee income contributor. Security Bank’s retail loan portfolio continued its strong growth momentum, increasing by 47% in 2018. Its compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) for the �ive-year 2014-2018 period was 53% versus the Philippine banking system’s 17%. This growth was driven by
all �ive retail loan products of the Bank, namely, home, auto, credit card, small business and personal loans. Retail loans now account for 20% of the Bank’s total loans, versus 7% in 2014. Security Bank’s total loan portfolio has grown by a CAGR of 21% versus industry’s 17%. Asset quality remained healthy, with gross non-performing loan ratio at 0.7%, lower than industry’s 1.3%. Deposits grew 18%, faster than industry’s 9%. Security Bank’s deposit growth has consistently outperformed industry in the last �ive years, growing at a CAGR of 19% versus industry’s 11%. Security Bank is the best capitalized bank among the top ten private domestic
President Brian Cu said in a statement on Monday. Starting Monday, a PHP 50 cancellation fee will be charged to passengers who cancel the ride after 5 minutes of getting assigned a driver and a PHP 50 no show-up fee if a passenger did not show up at the pick-up point within 5 minutes for GrabCar and 3 minutes for GrabShare upon the driver’s arrival. The cancellation fee will be applied on the next ride booking of a passenger if they paid in cash and will be paid to the driver to reimburse fuel costs and time spent for traveling to the destination point of the rider. A passenger’s account could be suspended for 24 hours if they cancel rides twice in an hour, thrice in a day or a total of 5 cancellations per week. Drivers will also be locked out of the platform
for a temporary period of time if they forced passengers to cancel ride bookings without any reason and for being selective of passenger destinations. Grab clari�ied that fees will not be imposed for the following situations: - Passenger cancels within 5 minutes of getting an assigned driver. - The driver is not moving towards the pickup point or going to the wrong direction. - Driver takes 15 minutes longer than the �irst estimated time of arrival. - The driver indicates that he/she has arrived when he/she has not. The �irm assured that it will refund any fees that were charged wrongly within 48 hours, when reported via their in-app Help Centre. The new policy will be implemented on a staggered basis for both riders and passengers and is
expected to be completed by the end of May. “We will be implementing this initially to the �irst 10 percent of the riders and drivers with its full implementation set by end May. We will be rolling out of�icial communications for passengers and drivers starting this Monday,” Grab public relations manager Krhizzy Pasigan said in an interview with the Philippine News Agency. The company has noti�ied the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board on the new policy. Ride-hailing �irm Uber used to impose a PHP 100 cancellation fee to passengers that cancel rides more than �ive minutes after a booking is made before its ride-hailing operations in the country were halted in April last year due to its acquisition by Grab. (PNA)
SECURITY, P9
Grab starts implementing cancellation, no-show fees
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rab Philippines will be imposing a PHP 50 fee to passengers who will cancel their rides after �ive minutes of getting assigned a driver or those who did not show up at pick-up points within minutes of a driver’s arrival. The ridesharing �irm explained that the new policy aims to reduce unreasonable cancellations by both drivers and passengers. “Grab is mindful that cancellations are frustrating for both the passengers and our drivers. At the same time, we are cognizant of the fact that sometimes, cancellations are necessary during special situations. Our intention in implementing this new policy is to create a better ride-hailing ecosystem, where both passengers and drivers practice the responsible use of the Grab platform,” Grab
he Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is inviting job seekers to a nationwide job fair on May 1. In a post shared online, DOLE has announced some 29 venues for the job-hunters on Labor Day. In Central Luzon alone, it said more than 12,000 jobs are open for application. In partnership with other government agencies, the one-day Trabaho Negosyo Kabuhayan (TNK) and Business Opportunities will be held at the Kingsborough International Convention Center in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga. Other locations are set at the Ayala Mall South Park, Muntinlupa City; Vista Mall, Tuktukan, Taguig City; and City Social Hall and Sports Complex of Paranaque City. There are more areas prepared in Northern Luzon at Baguio City High School - Main Campus; Magic Hall, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan; Robinsons Ilocos Norte Activity Center, San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte; Pangasinan PESO Compound, Lingayen, Pangasinan; and Cagayan Coliseum, Tuguegarao City, Cagayan. In Southern Luzon, the venues are the Paci�ic Mall in Lucena City, Quezon; Robinson’s Mall, City of Gen. Trias, Cavite (May 2);
Bulwagang Panlalawigan, Provincial Capitol Complex, Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro; Puerto Princesa City, Palawan; and Paci�ic Mall in Legazpi City, Albay. In a press brie�ing, DOLE 7 Director Salome Siaton said over 18,000 local and overseas jobs are up for grabs for applicants. Seven key areas in Visayas will be venues for the fair including Robinson’s Place, Jaro, Ilo-ilo City; Trade Hall, SM City Cebu; North Reclamation Area, Cebu City; Mandaue City Hall, Cebu; Social Hall, Cebu Provincial Capitol; Main Atrium, Robinsons Place, Calindagan, Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental; Tacloban Convention Center, Tacloban City; and Ormoc City Superdome, Ormoc City. DOLE 10 meanwhile disclosed some 16,798 jobs available in Mindanao. The job hunters may set their clocks early and go to KCC Mall de Zamboanga in Zamboanga City; The Atrium, Limketkai, Cagayan de Oro City; Gaisanao Mall, Davao City; KCC Convention and Events Center, General Santos City; and Balanghai Hotel in Butuan City. The project is in line with the celebration of the 117th Labor Day nationwide with the theme, “Pagpupugay sa Manggagawang Pilipino”.(PNA)
Gov’t eyeing targeted NFA rice distribution
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ranking National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) of�icial said the government is currently evaluating a proposal to offer subsidized rice only in areas where it is badly needed. This, after Republic Act (RA) 11203, or the Rice Liberalization Act, removed the regulatory and import licensing functions of the National Food Authority (NFA) and instead mandated the agency to maintain the country’s emergency buffer stock that will solely be sourced from local farmers. NEDA Assistant Secretary Mercedita Sombilla, in a brie�ing Monday, said NFA rice could be released on a targeted basis instead of being made available nationwide, as is currently the case. She explained that although price of NFA rice may likely go up by around PHP2 or PHP3 per kilo from the current PHP27 a kilo “I don’t think we will allow NFA to put it at a price wherein they would cover their pro�its.” “What we are trying to do is for NFA to really sell it at a price that they will not be shortchanged. But for households and bene�iciaries that really
need the rice for a very low price then the government will keep on subsidizing the rice,” she said. Sombilla said they have not determined what areas will be covered by this policy, noting that this depends on several factors like vulnerability to calamities, population and proportion of households in those areas. Before RA 11203 was signed into law, the country was using the maximum access volume (MAV) as system for importing rice. Now, businessmen are allowed to import rice freely but the imports will be subjected to tariff and a Sanitary and Phytosanitory Import Clearance must �irst be secured from the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Plant Industry (DA-BPI). Determining how much rice buffer is needed is still under study but authorities have said that the optimal level is for an inventory enough to accommodate the country’s requirements for 15 to 30 days. The buffer will be primarily distributed during disaster relief programs but the rice supply can also be sold to the public before the grain’s quality deteriorates. (PNA)