GCash denies being hacked, assures funds

By Darwin G. Amojelar

GCASH, the mobile wallet of Globe Telecom Inc., said Tuesday its systems were not hacked and no funds were lost despite complaints of missing money from some users.

“We have already adjusted the ewallets of all affected GCash users.

We wish to reiterate that our customers did not lose their funds on GCash,” the company said in a statement.

“The app is now up for service, so you can safely proceed with your regular transactions. Rest assured, your funds are intact, safe and secure with GCash,” it added.

GCash, operated by G-Xchange Inc., assured users that their funds are safe after some customers experienced unauthorized deductions in their accounts.

The company said its proactive cybersecurity policies are in place to protect customers as the safety and security of the account is a top priority.

It said its systems were not hacked after an investigation.

GCash said services were restored after users may have had experienced difficulties accessing their accounts.

“We advise our users to remain vigilant in their online transactions. GCash will never send emails or messages with links nor reach out to customers via calls and other messaging platforms,” GCash said.

GCash received several complaints on Monday evening from customers about unauthorized transactions that were allegedly transferred to bank accounts ending in the number 5239.

East West Banking Corp., said in a separate statement it was made aware of news reports on unauthorized cash transfers from GCash into allegedly certain EWB account.

“EWB immediately acted on these reports and initiated its own internal investigation. Rest assured that we are cooperating with authorities and other institutions involved in the said report. We are working towards the immediate resolution of this matter,” it said.

The bank said it is working towards the immediate resolution of the issue.

With Julito G. Rada

THE country’s trade deficit widened to $4.927 billion in March from $4.585 billion a year ago as exports continued to decline, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show.

The March trade deficit was also higher than the $3.90-billion shortfall in February. This brought the total deficit in the first quarter to $14.57 billion, higher than $13.08 in the same period last year.

Merchandise exports fell 9.1 percent in March to $6.53 billion, following an 18.1-percent decline in February.

Total export earnings in the first three months reached $16.86 billion, down by 13.2 percent from $19.43 billion a year earlier.

Electronic products remained the country’s top export in March with total earnings of $3.49 billion or 53.4 percent of the total. This was followed by other mineral products with an export value of $385.35 million (5.9 percent); and other manufactured goods, which amounted to $351.17 million (5.4 percent).

Meanwhile, merchandise imports also dropped 2.7 percent in March to $11.46 billion, slower than the 11.8-percent decrease in February. Total imports in the first quarter went down by 3.3 percent to $31.44 billion from $32.51 billion in the same period in 2022.

Julito G. Rada

DATA SCIENCE TRAINING. Thirty-one women scholars complete the data science training conducted by the For The Women Foundation with the support of Insular Foundation. With the scholars are FTW executive director and co-founder Cara Wilson, Insular Health Care president and chief executive Noemi Azura and Insular Foundation executive director Ana Soriano, program manager Tere Melad and program specialists Jaja Monsanto and Sheila Geroche. Insular Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of Insular Life, supports data science training as part of its advocacy to empower women through education.

Opening of new office buildings widens Metro Manila vacancy

By Jenniffer B. Austria and Othel V. Campos

THE vacancy rate for Metro Manila’s office sector widened to 21.5 percent in the first quarter with the completion of new buildings, real estate service provider KMC Savills said Tuesday.

KMC Savills said in a report on the domestic office market that more than 69,000 square meters of office space were completed in the first quarter, resulting in higher vacancy rate and a 0.9-percent decline in average rent for office spaces in Metro Manila.

It said that aside from the decline in rents, office landlords also started offering massive discounts from their headline rates to attract large and valuable tenants.

“Landlords are starting to become aggressive in their pricing, and we should expect this to be the norm as occupiers race for quality amidst broader options,” KMC Savills said.

Makati and Bonifacio Global City remained the preferred sites among tenants, although Ortigas Center is also attracting large occupiers because of its affordability and quality stock.

“The added competition may cap any rental growth which could be exacerbated if landlords in Makati CBD further drop rents to remain competitive.

As such, landlords in BGC should keep concessions open to secure occupancies,” KMC Savills said.

KMC Savills also reported that infor- mation technology and business process outsourcing firms continued to transfer their registration to the Board of Investments from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.

It said that by transferring their registration to BOI, the IT-BPO firms would be allowed to adopt 100-percent workfrom-home arrangement without losing their tax incentives.

The transferees, however, are still required to maintain an office inside a PEZA-registered building/ecozone.

“This has broken the monopoly of PEZA-certified buildings on the outsourcing sector during a time when companies implement successful hybrid and work-from-home policies,” KMC Savills said.

By Alena Mae S. Flores

THE Lopez Group‘s clean and renewable energy provider First Gen Corp. on Tuesday reported a 52-percent increase in recurring net income in the first quarter to $89 million (P4.9 billion) from $59 million (P30 billion) in the same period in 2022.

“2023 is off to a promising start for First Gen as the portfolio benefits from the strong performance of almost all of its platforms,” First Gen president and chief operating officer Francis Giles Puno said. Puno said First Gen’s liquefied natural gas terminal in Batangas is on its way to commercial operations as it heads towards commissioning this quarter.

“The operation of the LNG terminal should be beneficial not just for our portfolio, but for the grid in general as we will no longer be solely reliant on Malampaya gas for our operations,” Puno said.

First Gen’s natural gas subsidiaries and geothermal subsidiary Energy Development Corp. delivered higher earnings as a result of better operating income which was partially offset by higher interest expenses.

Filipinas whip Vietnamese, but still fall short of semis

PHNOM PENH—The Philippines

pulled off a 2-1 victory over defending champion Vietnam on Tuesday in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games women’s football tournament at the Smart-RSN Stadium, Toul Kourk District here.

But the heroics of Sarina Bolden and Halli Long weren’t good enough to push the Filipinas to the semifinal round after Myanmar repulsed Malaysia with a massive 5-1 rout at the Old Stadium in the other side of the city.

Both the Philippines and Myanmar finished with a 2-0-1 win-drawloss record, but it was the latter, which joined Vietnam in the semis on a better goal difference

The champs took the top berth with their 2-0-1 slate.

“We tried to win the game. But it wasn’t enough,” said Filipinas’ coach Allen Stajcic.

Bolden put Vietnam on the edge with a penalty shot in the 12th minute.

But Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy, one of the heroines, who helped Vietnam reach the 2023 Women’s Cup with the Filipinas, equalized with her own volley in the 40th minute.

The Filipinas kept the Vietnamese at bay in the second half, before Long penetrated with a goal in the 82nd minute.

Stajcic said he is still proud of the team for putting up a big game against Vietnam.

“Yes, we had our best performance in the tournament. And we saved it for our toughest opponent,” added Stajcic as the Philippines handed Vietnam a second straight defeat following the Filipinas’ 4-0 rout in the AFF Women’s Championships.

The other two semifinalists are Cambodia and Thailand, with their placing to be determined by the result of their clash.

Peter Atencio