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Volume XII, No. 16
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PMFTC rolls out IQOS e-commerce nationwide, ramps up Smoke-Free Future vision X
Market Indicators
AS OF 6:00 PM JULY 15, 2021 (THURSDAY)
FOREX
PHISIX
US$1 = P 50.3
6,793.31
0.30 cents
X
1.82 points
Briefly 'Sisterhood' ZAMBOANGA City – Officials of this city and Davao City are looking forward to a stronger collaboration that will be mutually beneficial to the two cities. This, as Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte signed on Thursday a sisterhood agreement for the two cities in a ceremony at the lobby of the City Hall. The pact aims to create and fortify an open communicative atmosphere to induce a heightened exchange of ideas, particularly in the fields of tourism and culture, agriculture, and trade and commerce.
Positive outlook THE investment banking arm of the Metrobank Group expects the Philippine economy to recover with a growth of 5 to 6 percent by the end of the year, reversing the 9.6-percent contraction in 2020 amid the pandemic. The First Metro Investment Corporation (FMIC) sees the faster global economic recovery, accelerated vaccine mobilization, sustained supportive fiscal and monetary policies, and the government’s commitment to push infrastructure projects fueling this year’s growth. “Our dependable and resilient OFW (overseas Filipino workers) remittances, which grew 13 percent yearon-year in April this year, and BPO (business process outsourcing) services are anticipated to perform even better. As employment starts to pick-up and more people get inoculated, consumer confidence is also expected to improve,” FMIC president Jose Patricio Dumlao said in a virtual press briefing Wednesday.
PMFTC Inc. is ramping up its commitment to deliver a smoke-f ree f uture w it h the expansion of the IQOS e-commerce coverage, making available nationwide its flagship smoke-free product, IQOS, for Filipino adult smokers 21
years old and above who would otherwise continue to smoke. T he lo c a l a f f i l i ate of Philip Morris International (PMI), PMFTC extended the distribution coverage of the IQOS e-commerce website making heated tobacco devices
and heat sticks accessible through delivery to key areas in Mindanao including Davao City, General Santos City, Palomok, Cagayan de Oro City, Opol, El Salvador, Tagoloan and Villanueva in Misamis Oriental.
“Making IQOS accessible in key areas across the Philippines will help fast track PMFTC’s commitment towards achieving our vision of a smoke-free future. This is in line with PMI’s goal to help adult smokers VISION/PAGE 10
www.iqos.com
WESM eases guarantee for M'danao power grid
T
By MYRNA M. VELASCO, Contributor
HE operator of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) is temporarily enforcing ‘relaxed rules’ – for at least three months, on the prudential requirement (PR) as well as dispatch conformance of trading participants in the Mindanao spot market.
According to Robinson Descanzo, chief operating officer of the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP), “for the initial operation of WESM (in Mindanao), we relaxed the compliance on dispatch and prudential guarantee.” The commercially binding price settlements for WESMMindanao will start October 26 this year, hence, the easing of the rules are anticipated to stay within July to September.
For the prudential requirement that a spot market-buyer distribution utility (DU) will be posting for its WESM transactions, it was prescribed that the amount shall be equivalent to the actual exposure of that particular utility-offtaker into the spot market. For the next three months, Descanzo noted that the DUs sourcing their power from WESM-Mindanao “shall just be required to immediately GUARANTEE/PAGE 10
BRAVING THE FLOOD. With one hand on the handlebar and the other holding an umbrella, a resident of Del Carmen in Iligan City braves the flood with only a bicycle on his way home as heavy rains pummeled many parts of Mindanao late afternoon Thursday, July 15. mindanews photo by bobby timonera
LPA causes floods in CDO By FROILAN GALLARDO, MindaNews
ORO FLASH FLOODS. Rescuers use rubber boats to search for residents trapped in their houses after flash floods spilled over the river banks in Barangay Tablon, Cagayan de Oro City Tuesday night (13 July 2021). photo courtesy of cdrrmd-oro rescue
FLAS FLOODS triggered by a low-pressure area (LPA) east of Eastern Samar forced the evacuation of more than a hundred families in two villages here Tuesday night. Ni c k Ja b a g at , c h i e f of the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO), said the flash floods also spilled over the Cagayan de Oro-to-Bugo highway, stalling hundreds of commuters and passengers
for more than three hours. Jabagat said the river in Barangay Tablon here also spilled from its banks, forcing residents living in shanties in Zone 1, Sitio Baloy to evacuate to the highway. Teams from the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, CDRMMO, and the Philippine Coast Guard took turns in evacuating the residents using rubber dinghies along FLOODS/PAGE 9
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