BUSINESS

By Julito G. Rada

THE chairman of state-run Development Bank of the Philippines on Tuesday described the study that recommended its merger with Land Bank of the Philippines as “legally erroneous”, saying it was done with inordinate haste and encroached on the mandate of the Office of the Solicitor General and the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel.

The study, conducted by the Governance Commission for GOCCs in less than three weeks, concluded that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. could implement the merger of the two Congresscreated state banks without the need for legislative action.

A position paper presented by DBP chairman Dante Tinga, a former Supreme Court associate justice, to DBP employees on May 2 and released to the media on Tuesday said the power to issue a legal opinion on such a delicate issue involving government-owned or

Shell Pilipinas expects

7% income growth in 2023

SHELL Pilipinas Corp., formerly Shell Philippines Exploration Corp., is looking at a 6-percent to 7-percent income growth in 2023 in line with economic growth.

“The Philippines remains to be an attractive market for Shell,” Shell chief finance officer Rey Abilo said after the company’s annual stockholders meeting.

“We can see that GDP [gross domestic product] projection in 2023 is between 6 and 7 percent, and that is a key driver of growth for the company,” Abilo said.

The company posted a net income of P4.1 billion in 2022, up 6 percent from P3.9 billion in 2021 as it sustained its recovery momentum. Abilo said that based on the company’s first-quarter performance, “there’s a bit of a slowdown because of high inflation.”

“But looking at how we are looking at the remainder of the year, we expect to grow core earnings by at least in line with the GDP growth of the country which is between 6 and 7 percent,” Abilo said. Alena Mae S. Flores

Manufacturing output increased 2.2% in March

ELEVATED inflation and higher interest rates resulted in a slower growth of the manufacturing sector in March.

Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the volume of production index registered a year-on-year increase of 2.2 percent in March, slower than the February growth of 5.2 percent. In March 2022, VoPI surged 346.2 percent.

“The slower annual growth of VoPI in March 2023 was mainly brought about by the lower annual rates in the same top three industry divisions that contributed to the slower growth of VaPI [value of production index] during the period,” the PSA said. These were the manufacture of beverages, with 4.9 percent in March from 20.9 percent in February; manufacture of chemical and chemical products, -25.5 percent from -7.8 percent in the past month; and manufacture of basic metals, 18.6 percent from 28.1 percent in February 2023,” the PSA said.

It said 11 of the remaining 19 industry divisions posted lower production in March, with wearing apparel registering an annual downturn of -40.2 percent. Julito G. Rada

Batangas ecozone firms to hire additional 1,500

COMPANIES inside the First Philippine Industrial Park in Batangas province are looking to hire more than a thousand workers to augment the labor requirement inside the economic zone.

FPIP, a part of the Lopez Group, announced the employment opportunities during the “Sulong Buhay Job Fair” which it organized in coordination with Santo Tomas City. The company said at least 14 FPIP locators, most of them manufacturers of various products for the export market, joined the fair to gather both prospective employers and job hunters in one venue.

The locators hired on the spot 196 candidates, with 1,500 positions still open to interested applicants, said Santo Tomas vice mayor Catherine Jaurigue-Perez.

Among the participating companies were Brother Industries Inc.; Canon Business Machines Phils. Inc.; EHS Lens Phils. Inc.; EMD Technologies Phils. Inc.; Honda Logistics Phils. Inc.; Honda Phils Inc.; Ibiden Phils Inc.; JMS Healthcare Phils. Inc.; Nikkoshi Phils. Corp.; Nippon Micrometal Corporation Phils.; Nippon Premium Bakery Inc.; NYK TDG Phils. Inc.; PKI Manufacturing & Technology Inc.;

-controlled corporations belongs to the OSG or the OGCC, depending on the circumstances.

The paper said this is covered by the Administrative Code of 1987 and Republic Act No. 2327 as amended by RA 6000.

It said the merger proposed by Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno was strongly opposed by officials and employees of the DBP, most of whom would lose their jobs if the merger would push through, with LandBank as the surviving bank.

“If merger is inevitable, the DBP, with its richer legacy, more extensive experience and expertise and better track record in development financing, is more deserving to be better surviving bank,” the paper said.

The paper said the legal study by the GCG in interpreting its own Charter is a “self-serving declaration” favorable to its interest and is “not admissible as proof of the facts asserted.”

Diokno said, however, the Supreme Court upheld the authority of GCG to merge GOCCs. He said the proposed LBP-DBP merger is consistent with the principle of sound fiscal management, which the Department of Finance upholds to the highest degree.

“Contrary to the claim that the merger is a ‘dangerous experiment,’ the proposal is the result of a careful analysis of the costs and benefits of this merger, based on solid financial and economic evidence,” Diokno said.

“The Supreme Court has already upheld the authority of the Gover-