Ex-DOE official confirms backing bid to sell gov’t stake in PNOC-EC

By Alena Mae S. Flores

A FORMER Energy undersecretary said Monday he implemented a directive from the Executive Department and the Department of Energy to sell 5 percent of the government’s stake in Philippine National Oil Co.-Exploration Corp. in 2005.

Eduardo Mañalac, also former president of PNOC, said he was compelled to go along with the directive.

Mañalac made the statement at an online forum organized by the National Youth Movement for the West Philippine Sea in response to a question on whether he had a hand in the sale of the government’s 5-percent stake in PNOC-EC to a South Korean firm.

“The instruction to sell the 50 percent, meaning the five percent, of the 10 percent [government stake in PNOC-EC] came from the government, came from the DOF, support- ed by the Executive, by the President,” he said.

“And the reason given to sell the PNOC-EC’s share at that time was that, if you remember, PNOC paid a hundred plus million for the 10-percent [stake]. It was loaned. So, what the government was saying was we have to pay that. We have to raise the money,” Mañalac said.

“So, they gave me instructions to sell half of it. Of course, I was against it, but you have to follow, you argue against it, but at the end of the day, you tried to obey the instructions as best as you can,” he said. He said the sale did not push through when the National Economic Development Authority opposed it.

Mañalac also responded to businessman Enrique Razon Jr.’s statement he brokered the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking agreement with Vietnam and China, which was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

SM Prime raises P30b from bond issuance

By Jennifer Austria PROPERTY

developer SM Prime Holdings Inc.

raised P30 billion from the issuance of fixed-rate bonds to fund expansion plans.

SMPH said in a stock exchange filing the Series S, T and U fixed-rate bonds were listed on the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. Tuesday.

SMPH said that amid strong demand from investors, it exercised a portion of the overallotment option which enabled it to raise P30 billion in proceeds.

The bonds were issued as fifth tranche from SMPH’s P100-billion bond-shelf registration program approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2022.

“We are very grateful for the trust and support of the investing public, as well as to our bank partners, the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp., Philippine Depository & Trust Corp., and PDS Group,” SMPH chief finance officer John Nai Peng Ong said.

“The success of this latest fixed rate bonds will give SM Prime further capabilities to pursue its expansion programs of creating more opportunities for more Filipinos to build a better nation,” he said. SMPH earmarked P80 billion in 2023 capital expenditures to support the expansion of its mall and residential businesses.

SMPH’s fixed rate bonds Series S, T and U were offered on May 8 to 12, with interest rates of 6.2069 percent, 6.2151 percent and 6.3275 percent, respectively.

The bonds were rated PRS Aaa by Philippine Rating Services Corp.

First-quarter revenues fell 9.6 percent to P2.9 billion from P3.23 billion on slowdown of renovation and home improvement spending in favor of travel. “Our Q12023 performance still reflects that challenges from our FY 2022: weakened sales attributable to a clear shift in consumer spending. Travel, leisure and entertainment continue to take precedence as they were suppressed during the heavy quarantine periods and long periods of pandemic circumstances,” said AllHome president and chief executive Benjamin Therese Serrano. AllDay, which operates a supermarket chain, said it booked a first-quarter net income of P88.6 million, a reversal from the P75.6million net loss it recorded a year ago. Store revenues climbed 6.5 percent to P2.44 billion from P2.29 billion. Jenniffer B. Austria GCash rolls out face recognition security

GCASH said it rolled out its “DoubleSafe” face recognition security feature to 100 percent of fully-verified users to protect their accounts from fraudsters.

“The face recognition feature is built within the app and doesn’t require mobile phones with high-end features. We made sure all our verified user base will have access to this security feature as we notice the prevalence of phishing attempts outside the app,” said GCash chief technology and operations officer Pebbles Sy. “DoubleSafe will further protect our customer’s accounts and hard-earned money,” she said.

“Double Safe” uses an industry-first face recognition technology to ensure that the person accessing an account is the same as the one who registered in GCash.

This means, even if users inadvertently give out their mobile personal identification number and one-time pin, their account still cannot be accessed from a new device without scanning the owner’s face. The feature also looks for the user’s liveness to ensure photos can’t be used to bypass the security control.

Darwin G. Amojelar Romualdez lauds SEC for supporting E. Visayas HOUSE Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez lauded the Securities and Exchange Commission for opening a new extension office in Tacloban City which he said could push it into becoming a “thriving hub of business activity” in the country.

“The establishment of this new [SEC] office reaffirms our commitment to fostering an environment that promotes fair business practices and protects the interests of both investors and the public,” Romualdez said in a speech delivered by Atty. Dennis Aran Abril during the inauguration of the SEC Tacloban EO.

“With this new office, we are equipping our city with the necessary tools to attract investment, encourage entrepreneurship, and promote economic growth,” Romualdez said.

The SEC, led by chairperson Emilio Aquino and commissioners Javey Paul Francisco, Kelvin Lester Lee, Karlo Bello and McJill Bryant Fernandez, formally inaugurated the SEC Tacloban EO on May 11. Located on the second floor of the National Economic and Development Authority Regional Office VIII building, Government Center in Barangay Baras, Palo, Leyte, the SEC Tacloban EO marks the commission’s 10th extension office in the country and the fourth in the Visayas.