Domestic air travel surged 116% in Q1

By Darwin G. Amojelar

THE domestic air travel surged 116.5 percent in the first quarter from a year ago on the back of strong demand at the start of the dry season, according to the Civil Aeronautics Board.

Data from the CAB showed that passenger traffic from January to March reached 7.06 million, up from 3.26 million in the same period last year.

The Philippines lifted most travel restrictions in the fi rst quarter to help

In Brief

Grab releases P6.6m worth of refund

GRAB Philippines said over the weekend it has released P6.6 million worth of refund, and affected riders have until July 18 to claim the rebate vouchers via various channels.

The ride-hailing app said it took the “necessary steps” to immediately comply with the directives of the Philippine Competition Commission to notify affected riders of their unclaimed refunds.

“If you are one of these users, your rebate is waiting to be claimed via your inapp GrabRewards catalog,” Grab said in an advisory posted on May 19 which also included instructions on how to access the refunds.

Grab said some of its riders have yet to claim the three-year-old PCC-approved rebate vouchers.

“The reminders were also sent to users via in-app notifications, emails and SMS and were also posted on Grab’s social media platforms and published in major newspapers,” Grab said.

“Refund beneficiaries were likewise reminded that the rebates will expire on July 18, 2023, and unclaimed amounts will be remitted to the Philippine National Treasury per the PCC Resolution dated Feb. 2, 2023,” it said. Darwin G. Amojelar

Ortigas Land eyes P8-b sales from new condo

ORTIGAS Land Corp., a private real estate developer controlled by Ayala Land Inc. and SM Prime Holdings Inc., expects to generate P8 billion in sales from the newly-launched condominium project in the Ortigas central business district.

Ortigas Land assistant vice-president and residential business unit head Jenna Belardo said the 52-story Olin at Jade Drive offers 1,245 units priced between P6 million and P10 million each. Unit sizes range from 19 to 25 square meters for studio and 32 to 36 sq. m. for a one-bedroom unit.

The project, launched in April, was 54-percent sold out, while 671 units worth P5.5 billion were also reserved. Olin at Jade Drive is located along Exchange Drive in Pasig and is right across the Tektite Towers.

“The demand for property, despite market and economic changes, will likely be sustained due to finite land resources. Whether it will be used for personal purposes or as an income source, real estate is a worthwhile investment because housing will always remain a necessity,” OLC said. Jennifer Austria

DOE set to lead audit

of NGCP’s performance

ENERGY Secretary Raphael Lotilla said over the weekend the Department of Energy will lead a comprehensive performance audit of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines to help complete its delayed transmission projects.

“Our job is to make sure that we have the proper, called for a comprehensive study, audit that will be the basis for finding out what are the solutions for finishing these three major interconnection projects,” Lotilla said.

He said the Energy Regulatory Commission conducted the first financial audit in 2009.

“We’re going to do a more comprehensive study in terms of looking at the status of transmission lines, the nature of problems and what are the solutions to these,” Lotilla said.

He said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wanted to finish the transmission projects to avoid a repeat of the recent yellow and red alerts.

“What is important is we finished these projects first and foremost. These are the ones that are going to free up stranded power, as discussed before because there’s 600 megawatts or even more that gets stranded in Bataan,” the energy chief said.

Lotilla said the ERC as the regulator would hold the full regulatory performance review, while the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. and the National Transmission Corp., as the counterparties to the concession agreement, would conduct a performance review. Alena Mae S. Flores in the economic recovery from the pandemic.

Cebu Pacific carried the most passengers with 3.2 million, followed by PAL Express with 1.6 million and AirAsia Philippines with 1.3 million.

Cebgo and Philippine Airlines flew

454,858 passengers and 359,387 passengers, respectively.

International passenger traffic, on the other hand, reached 3.8 million in the first quarter. It said of the total, domestic airlines carried 1.83 million international passengers, while foreign carriers flew 1.96 million. PAL carried the most international passengers with 1.33 million, followed by Cebu Pacific with 230,895 passengers, Philippines AirAsia with 225,032 and Royal Air Charter Service with 41,767 passengers.

Meanwhile, domestic cargo traffic reached 59.01 million kilograms in the first quarter, led by Cebu Pacific with 21.77 million kg. This was followed by PAL Express with 16.16 million kg., Philippine Airlines with 11.10 million kg., Philippine AirAsia with 7.56 million kg. and Cebgo with 401,628 kg.

Globally, the World Tourism Barometer of the United Nations World Tourism Organization showed that the sector’s swift recovery continued into 2023, with international arrivals reaching 80 percent of pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter. Asia and the Pacific accelerated its recovery with 54 percent of pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter, but this upward trend was expected to accelerate now that most destinations, particularly China, have re-opened.

Some 235 million tourists travelled internationally in the first three months, or more than double the same period in 2022. In 2022, more than 960 million tourists travelled internationally, meaning 66 percent of pre-pandemic numbers were recovered.

International tourism receipts grew back to hit the $1-trillion mark in 2022, growing 50 percent in real terms compared to 2021, driven by the important rebound in international travel.

By Julito G. Rada

THE country’s balance of payments position posted a deficit of $148 million in April, lower than $415-million shortfall recorded in the same month last year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said over the weekend.

“The BOP deficit in April 2023 reflected outflows arising mainly from the national government’s payments of its foreign currency debt obligations,” it said in a statement.

PUREGOLD CONVENTION. More than 10,000 sari-sari store owners and trade partners troop to the World Trade Center on the rst day of the three-day Puregold Sari-Sari Store Negosyo Convention 2023 The event kicked o with the presence of Puregold president Vincent Co, Cosco Capital chairman Lucio Co, Puregold chairwoman Susan Co and Senator Imee Marcos who served as the event’s guest speaker. The event also marked the rst live appearance of Puregold’s o cial mascot for the Tindahan ni Aling Puring Program, which has over 800,000 members, composed of small and medium-sized enterprise owners.