WeeklyPhilippine Update

WEEKLY UPDATE WE TELL IT LIKE IT IS

VOLUME VI, NO. 32 August 24 - 28, 2015 ______PHIL. Copyright 2002

_ THE WALLACE BUSINESS FORUM, INC. accepts no liability for the accuracy of the data or for the editorial views contained in this report.__ Political

VP Binay camp seeks probes on Sen. Trillanes "Quotes The camp of Vice President last week asked the Senate ethics committee to of the Week" investigate Sen. IV for allegedly using Senate funds amounting to P1.63 million a month for his household expenses. Rico Quicho, Vice Pres. Binay’s spokesman for political affairs, said Senate documents show that more than half of the P2.93 million monthly allocation for Sen. Trillanes’ office goes to the salaries of 63 consultants, including his “We are not just crafting a legal document, but a houseboy, family drivers, media workers, campaign donors, ex- soldiers and a brother political and historical document. We must not who was getting P71,200 a month. Mr. Quicho cited media reports that Sen. Trillanes’ just take into account the technical aspects of houseboy Mr. Eddie Ybañez was getting P3,500 a month and drivers Mr. Bernard Allen Marzan the law, but also infuse into it the history and culture of the various peoples of the and Mr. Jay-Ar Caro were being paid P11,500 and P8,100 a month, respectively. Mr. Marzan .” and Mr. Caro, along with 14 other consultants, were members of the . The Magdalo was behind the Oakwood and Peninsula siege during the time of Senator TG Guingona during the interpellation former President and now Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Among these Magdalo of BBL on the issue of Internal Waters. soldiers are Mr. Segundino Orfiano Jr. and Mr. Ian Lee Punongbayan, who receive P71,200 a “While all citizens have the right to be heard and month, and Mr. Sonny Madarang who gets P71,300 a month. to peaceful assembly, the exercise of these rights cannot impinge on the rights of others or cause inconvenience to anyone.” Senate Electoral Tribunal starts hearing on disqualification case vs. Sen. Poe Interior secretary Mr Roxas on the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) protest. The Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) started last week to discuss the disqualification case filed against Sen. . It met to iron out some organizational matters and has set in motion “What I would tell the public is to wait. Because the case that Mr. Rizalito David has filed questioning Sen. Poe’s nationality and residency there is still a motion for reconsideration [so] status, according to Sen. Vicente Sotto III. The procedure to hear Mr. David’s complaint has wait please.” been started, but he had not provided any details, Sen. Sotto said. The SET reportedly met at Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on Sen. a posh hotel in Manila. Sen. , a member who was also present during the SET ’s exceptional release on regular meeting, refused to comment. The members are now considered “judges” who will humanitarian grounds. eventually weigh evidence on the petition filed against Sen. Poe, she said. Mr. David filed a “There was no deal struck, as some insinuate. disqualification case against Sen. Poe before the SET, questioning her nationality and The talks gave both sides an opportunity to residency. He also filed another case before the Commission on Elections. clarify issues and concerns.”

Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail New MMDA chief to be named in October Vate dispelling rumors that the government The Cabinet will have a few new faces in October. New government officials will be appointed struck a deal with the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC). in October to replace Cabinet officials who will file their certificates of candidacy (COC) in October. President Aquino said he will have to replace Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Francis Tolentino, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority Director-General Emmanuel Joel Villanueva, who intend to run in 2016 elections. Sec. Roxas, Chairman Tolentino and Director- General Villanueva are expected to file their certificates of candidacy before the poll body in October. Sec. Roxas earlier this month offered to resign after he was endorsed by Pres. Aquino in July.

Binays allegedly got P1.26Bn from janitorial deals An estimated P1.26 billion in kickbacks from the janitorial and security services contracts of the city government of Makati allegedly went to Vice President Jejomar Binay and his family, the former head of the Makati general services department (GSD) said. Mr. Mario Hechanova, who apart from being the former GSD head was also a former chairman of the bids and awards committee of Makati City, told the Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee hearing last week that the DISCLAIMER kickbacks were derived from the padding of requirements of the city for security and janitorial The articles in this Philippine Weekly Update (PWU) have been culled from various media personnel and the administrative cost imposed on these contracts. Mr. Hechanova is currently sources. We cannot, therefore, vouch for in the witness protection program of the Department of Justice as a result of his testimony. The the accuracy of what is reported. Vice President’s spokesman maintained last week that all contracts entered into by the Makati City government under the term of Vice Pres. Binay were aboveboard.

The Wallace Business Forum, Inc. 1 Aug. 24 – 28, 2015 Weekly Update

59 state schools suffer budget cuts FINANCIAL INDICATORS Latest Week Week-ago Year-ago Fifty-nine state universities and colleges (SUCs) will suffer funding cuts next year, including the University of the with a P2 T-Bill Rates (August 24, 2015 average) billion reduction in capital outlay. The combined budget for all the 91-day N.T. N.T. N.T. 114 state-owned schools of higher learning, however, will increase 182-day N.T. N.T. N.T. by P1.5 billion, Rep. Terry Ridon of party-list group Kabataan said. 364-day N.T. N.T N.T. Rep. Ridon said that while the total budgets of SUCs increased from P42.3 billion this year to the proposed P43.8 billion in 2016, 59 PESO DEPOSIT RATES (% p.a., August 10 – 14, 2015) SUCs of them would suffer cuts in allocations for maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) and capital outlay (CO). The Savings Deposit 0.00 0.00 0.00 MOOE represents an agency’s budget component for day-to-day Time Deposit operations and utilities, while the CO is provision for new Below 1 year 1.39 1.48 0.99 infrastructure. The total MOOE cuts for the 59 state schools would 1 - 2 years 3.46 2.25 2.26 2.21 Over 2 years 3.19 3.18 0.86 amount to P477.8 million. DOLLAR DEPOSIT RATES (% p.a., August 10 – 14, 2015)

Economy Savings Deposit 0.19 0.19 0.23 Time Deposit Economy picks up pace in 2Q2015 60 days & below 0.62 0.59 0.63 61-90 days 0.68 0.71 0.73 Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) growth improved as 91-180 days 0.79 0.79 0.85 expected last quarter on much-improved state spending but still 181 days & above 1.01 0.98 0.94 failed to bring the 1H2015 anywhere close to the official full-year target. GDP rose 5.6% annually last quarter, picking up from LIBOR/SIBOR (% p.a., August 24-25, 2015) January-March’s downward-revised 5% but still below the 6.7% Libor 90 days 0.33 0.33 0.24 clocked the past year. Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Sibor 90 days 0.93 0.93 0.40 Balisacan cited “the noteworthy recovery of growth in government Libor 180 days 0.52 0.53 0.33 spending,” with the state’s final consumption expenditure rising by Sibor 180 days 1.00 1.00 0.48 3.9% last quarter from January-March’s 1.7%. Despite last quarter’s uptick, the 1st semester GDP grew just 5.3% against a 7-8% full- FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATE (% p.a., August 28, 2015) year goal. To hit even just the lower end of that target range, Sec. PDS Weighted Ave. (P/US$) 46.70 46.37 43.66 Balisacan said, would now be “very hard.” “Given the 1H2015 Blackmarket (P/US$) 46.75 46.60 44.00 performance, we need to revisit the numbers,” he noted. PDS Weighted Ave. (P/EURO) 52.56 51.52 57.54

PRIME LENDING RATE (% p.a., August 28, 2015) PH to stay strong amid yuan devaluation – DOF The Philippines should be able to withstand the impact of China’s Bank of America 6.00 6.00 5.37 yuan devaluation due to the country’s strong economy, Finance BPI 5.45 5.45 5.03 Undersecretary Gil Beltran said. The Philippines’ current account Citibank 4.84 4.44 3.71 surplus hit a record high $12.6 billion in 2014, up from $11.4 billion BDO 5.50 5.50 5.06 Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank 5.68 470 4.55 in 2013. The current account surplus, an indicator of an economy’s ING Bank 4.50 4.50 3.75 health, shows a country’s exports and imports of goods and Metrobank 6.25 6.25 7.00 services, net income abroad, and net current transfers. China’s PNB 7.90 7.90 8.40 intervention on its yuan came following the sustained growth RCBC 6.75 6.75 6.75 slowdown in the world’s largest economy. Analysts believe the Security Bank 6.13 6.13 7.40 Standard Chartered Bank 4.87 5.09 4.10 move could boost China’s trade activities and help lift economic UCPB 6.00 6.00 6.00 growth. Union Bank 7.50 7.50 7.50

BSP firms up grip on rates amid external shocks L/C SELLING RATE-IMPORT (P/US$, August 28, 2015)

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) or central bank sees no Bank of America 46.76 46.35 43.75 need to adjust monetary policy at this point despite external shocks BPI 46.75 46.34 43.70 including the stock market rout, the global economic slowdown, and Citibank 46.60 46.20 43.67 the impending rate increase by the U.S. Federal Reserve. BSP Equitable PCI Bank 46.80 46.45 43.95 Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said the county’s monetary policy Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank 47.36 47.02 44.01 ING Bank 46.75 46.35 43.80 stance remains appropriate. The next policy-setting meeting of the Metrobank 46.80 46.45 43.64 BSP is scheduled on Sept. 24. The BSP has kept overnight PNB 46.90 46.50 44.05 borrowing and overnight lending rates at 4% and 6%, respectively, RCBC 46.76 46.35 43.80 since September last year. Standard Chartered Bank 46.85 46.50 43.90 Security Bank 46.75 46.35 43.69 UCPB 46.80 46.45 44.00 Government starts sale of P300 Bn bonds Union Bank 47.05 46.75 44.05 The government said it has launched the issue of 2025 and 2040 domestic bonds to improve its liquidity and generate savings. The *T-Bills transaction is every two weeks offer, which began last week and will run until September 4, is meant to allow bondholders of eligible government securities to swap their bonds for shorter dated securities. National Treasurer

The Wallace Business Forum, Inc. 2 Aug. 24 – 28, 2015 Weekly Update

Roberto Tan said the government would offer a minimum P50 Corporate Briefs billion for each tenors, out of the maximum issue size of P300 Corp. said its wholly owned subsidiary, Benguetcorp Nickel Mines, billion. The 10-year bonds will have a minimum coupon rate of Inc.’s (BNMI), received an order from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) 3.625%, while the 25-year papers will carry a 4.625% rate. Mr. Tan Region 3, “lifting the suspension on its ore hauling operation, subject to continuing compliance with environmental conditions.” In July last year, the said the pricing of debt papers will be determined on Sept. 7. Environment department suspended the company’s extraction of ores and Holders of government securities maturing between Nov. 25, 2015 expansion of mining areas. Te mine could not be reopened until BNMI was found and Nov. 11, 2024 and between April 4, 2025 and Oct. 24, 2037 to have implemented a systematic mining and cleanup or relocation of ore to can participate in the swap. designated stockpile areas.

Listed contractor EEI Corporation (EEI Corp.) has bagged a deal with Japanese World Bank team evaluates rural development engineering giants for a P7 billion project to build a new airport in . EEI Corp. signed a Subcontract Agreement with Chiyoda-Mitsubishi Joint Venture last program August 26, 2015. The agreement consists of the supply and construction of the A team from the World Bank (WB) is reviewing the progress of civil portion of the project. The construction of the new Bohol (Panglao) Airport is several projects implemented under the Department of Agriculture’s expected to be completed by 2017 at the earliest, and will replace the 850-square meter Tagbilaran Airport. (DA) Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP). The WB team is headed by PRDP task team leader Samik Sundar Das. Officials Nickel Asia Corp. unit Emerging Power, Inc. (EPI) has moved to acquire a 60% from WB and DA-PRDP would visit projects in for the stake in the proposed geothermal project that has a potential capacity of 100-megawatts. The deal was inked with global investment firm Orka Energy, South Luzon cluster, for the North Luzon cluster, Misamis which will be the partner in developing the facility. According to EPI Chairman Occidental and for the cluster, and Martin Antonio Zamora, “the deal will allow the company to expand its renewable Bohol for the Visayas cluster. As of August, P10.96 billion has been energy portfolio.” approved for funding infrastructure projects under the Infrastructure The local subsidiary of Belgium’s Enfinity Group plans to triple the capacity of its Development (I-BUILD) component of the program, while P1.62 planned 50-megawatt (MW) solar farm in province. According to Dennis billion has been allocated for production, processing, and marketing Ibarra, president of Enfinity Philippines Renewable Sources, Inc., “the phase 2 activities of agri-fishery products under the Enterprise Development will be 100 MW on top of the existing 50 MW.” Mr. Ibarra also said the company will finalize lease agreements for the expansion this year. The goal is to finalize (I-REAP) component. According to the DA, a total of 10 the leases from October to November as well as finish the next phase by the end infrastructure projects worth P297.61 million are now being of 2016. implemented and 50% complete, while 33 other infrastructure projects worth P2.02 billion are still below 50% in progress. Philippine Airlines Inc. (PAL) plans to add 8 Boeing 787 Dreamliner or Airbus A350 XWB aircraft through a lease or purchase agreement within the year. The Business new planes would help PAL cut fuel and maintenance costs, and would boost its non-stop flights to the U.S. and Europe. “The flag carrier will also buy or lease additional Bombardier turboprops in 2016 to prop up its domestic operations,” Business confidence down – survey PAL President and Chief Operating Office Jaime Bautista said. In addition, PAL Results of the 3Q2015 Business Expectations Survey which the will replace 6 of its existing Airbus A340 and “possibly” add 2 more with delivery Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) or central bank released showed expected by 2017 or 2018. that the overall confidence index (CI) for the “current quarter” Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) through business unit PLDT declined to 41.4% from 49.2% in the preceding 3 months, but was SME Nation has partnered with Microsoft Philippines to provide the new service still better than the 34.4% logged in 3Q2014. The survey was package Digital Campus Suite to allow students and the academe to access online learning programs. Through the new service package, schools will have conducted last July 1 to August 17 among representatives of 1,516 high-speed connectivity with PLDT myDSL Biz or iGate, as well as online access firms. Respondents attributed their less upbeat outlook to an to training courses of the Microsoft IT Academy Program. By having access to expected slack in demand amid the wet season, lower crop Microsoft’s digital curriculum, educators and students can get IT certifications for production due to El Niño’s dry spell, the closed fishing season in technology skills and other courses necessary to cater to the demand of industries and be employed. Davao Gulf from July to September, and lower consumer spending amid increased expenditures on education. Outlook improved for Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. plans to raise P2 billion through the the quarter ahead, however, with the CI rising to 53.1% from 52.9% issuance of perpetual preferred shares to institutional investors. In its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), Phoenix Petroleum said its board a year ago and last quarter’s 47.3%. approved the issuance of up to P20 million perpetual preferred shares priced at P100 per share. The capital-raising activity will be issued by way of public offering PH ranks 15th in global survey on financial inclusion subject to registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission and listing with the PSE. Washington-based think tank Center for Technology Innovation (CTI) has ranked the Philippines 15th out of 21 countries in terms of Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. will likely conduct its long-delayed initial public access and usage of affordable financial services. The Philippines offering (IPO) next year to comply with a nearly 2-decade old law that requires oil refiners to go public following the deregulation of the industry, officials of earned 68% of the total possible points based on the 2015 Department of Energy said. Melita Obillo, director of the agency’s Oil Industry Brookings Financial and Digital Inclusion Project (FIDP) Report. Management Bureau, said the oil company submitted a letter to the Energy The FIDP report is the first of a series of annual reports examining department last month indicating its IPO plans. financial inclusion activities around the world. It ranked the 21 National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), the country’s power countries which have committed to improving financial access and transmission operator, is upgrading its substations in Pampanga and Nueva usage using 33 indicators spanning four dimensions: country Vizcaya to meet the growing requirements of large industries and mining projects commitment, mobile capacity, regulatory environment and adoption. in these provinces. In a statement, NGCP said it will boost the transmission system reliability with the energization of power transformers in Pampanga and The Philippines placed 8th with a score of 94% in country substations. commitment and 7th place in terms of regulatory environment with a score of 89%. It received its lowest score of 40% to place 15th in Semirara Mining and Power Corp. announced its subsidiary has signed a deal the adoption dimension as it got low marks in financial institution with Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) for the supply of up to 120 megawatts (MW) of electricity. Semirara told the stock exchange its wholly-owned Southwest Luzon account penetration, debit and credit card use as well as mobile Power Generation Corp. (SLPGC) and Meralco’s local retail electricity supplier money use. (RES) segment inked a power supply agreement (PSA). The supply deal is good for 2 years and 9 months beginning March 26 next year.

The Wallace Business Forum, Inc. 3 Aug. 24 – 28, 2015 Weekly Update

SEC wants 25% public float The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) wants the minimum public float of listed companies to gradually increase to 25% from the current 10% in a bid to deepen the local capital markets. SEC chairman Teresita Herbosa confirmed that the SEC is looking at 25% as minimum public ownership, although she noted that “the increase will be gradual and we are also studying if the timing is okay for the implementation of this new rule.” The official said a study was being finalized by the agency’s market securities and regulation department to increase the current minimum public ownership rule, subject to comments from concerned parties. Share prices at the Philippine Stock Exchange are currently on the downtrend, because of the movement of foreign funds from emerging markets, such as the Philippines, to developed economies. Sec. Herbosa said the move aimed to make the local capital markets at par with other Asian countries. Stock markets in Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand impose a minimum float requirement of 10% to 25%.

DOT confident of meeting 5.5Mn tourist arrivals goal The Department of Tourism (DOT) is confident it will be able to meet its target of 5.5 million tourist arrivals this year. Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez said the number of tourist arrivals would be higher in the remaining 4 months of the year. “December and January are the months when we have the highest tourist arrivals. When you look at these aggregately, these are the peak season,” Sec. Jimenez said. In 2014, the number of foreign tourists that visited the Philippines reached 4.83 million, a 3.2% increase from 2013 but was below the government’s 5 million target. The most number of tourist arrivals was in December with 487,654. In the first 6 months of 2015, tourist arrivals reached 2.6 million, which is already half of the 5.5 million goal for the year. This is also 1/4 of the target 10 million tourist arrivals for 2016. Sec. Jimenez said the success of the Philippines’ tourism sector is not measured just by the number of tourist arrivals, but also by the income and the employment opportunities generated from tourism activities.

UN WFP-funded warehouse to rise in Clark A United Nations World Food Program (UN WFP)-funded warehouse will soon rise in the Clark Freeport Zone to support the government in its emergency response initiatives, the Clark Development Corp. (CDC). said. In a letter sent to the agency, CDC said the UN WFP requested for assistance to identify a 3,500-square meter area inside the Clark Freeport Zone which shall become the site for the warehouse project. The site will serve as a food packing center for packages and relief goods during times of calamities, CDC said. CDC also said the UN WFP would shoulder the cost of construction and equipment for the warehouse project. Once the warehouse is built and staff are trained, the UN WFP will donate the facility to the Department of Social Welfare and Development. Clark has been chosen as one of the 3 strategic locations for a disaster response center in the national network which also includes and General Santos. Weekly Indicators DBM releases 95% of 2015 budget The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has released 95.4% of this year’s budget for agencies to hasten spending for projects and programs. In a statement, the DBM said P1.272 trillion of the P1.334 trillion budget for various departments and agencies has already been released as of end-July. The economy grew by a slower-than-expected 5.2% in the 1st quarter, blamed largely on underspending. Latest data showed the government recorded a budget surplus of P13.7 billion in the 1st half of the year, far from the target of P155.083 billion deficit for the period.

Imports rebound to year-high 22.6% growth in June The country’s imports recovered from a slump since March this year to post its highest growth for the year at 22.6% in June, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show. The PSA said spending for imported goods rose to $5.9 billion in June from $4.8 billion in the same month last year. It attributed the recovery to significant increases in imports of raw materials and intermediate goods, capital goods and consumer goods, which offset the continuing decline in the import value of mineral fuels and lubricants. “The significant surge of import payments signals improvement in the external environment. The increase in importation of raw materials leads us to expect a sustained growth of domestic production while the acquisition of capital goods indicates positive investor confidence,” said Economic Planning Secretary and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) director general Arsenio Balisacan.

August inflation likely below 1% again Inflation in August likely decelerated to as low as 0.2% from 0.8% in July on lower power and oil prices, Central Bank Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said. “August inflation could be within [the] 0.2% to 1% range, as continued downward adjustments in power rates and domestic oil prices could temper inflation in the month. Base effects could also be at play,” Mr. Tetangco said. He, however, said inflation will likely move up within target next year. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) or central bank earlier predicted that inflation in 2015 and 2016 would settle within the 2-4% target range.

PSE remains positive on 2H prospects The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) remains positive on the 2nd semester of the year despite the recent bloodbath in the local bourse due to deepening concerns about China’s slowing economy. “Our own pipeline suggests that we still have a reasonably healthy 2nd half,” PSE president and chief executive officer Hans Sicat said. Mr. Sicat said he wants to see more stability in the market. Global equities have wiped off more than $5 trillion in value since China abruptly devalued the yuan by nearly 2%, sparking fears the world’s number 2 economy is weakening quickly. The PSE chief admitted that volatility is a disadvantage in attracting more companies to enter the local market through initial public offerings (IPOs). Net income of the PSE for the 1st half declined by 35.7% to P366.84 million from P570.26 million in the same period last year due to a drop in listing-related income. Revenues also went down by more than a 5th while total expenses increased by 8.2%.

The Wallace Business Forum, Inc. 4 Aug. 24 – 28, 2015 Weekly Update

Infrastructure

DOTC plans more rail projects Despite complaints over long queue lines in the Metro Rail Transit and problems in the newly-implemented tap-and-go system or beep cards in the Light Rail Transit, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has outlined further plans for the country’s mass transit system. The DOTC targets to add 158 kilometers (km) from the existing 103 km of available mass transit lines by year 2021. Under the pipeline are the Dasmariñas Line and Taytay Line which are for National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) approval; Tutuban-Calamba project due for bidding; Line 2 West Extension which is under procurement and the Manila and EDSA bus rapid transit (BRT) which are also subject to NEDA approval. An integrated transport system terminal that will offer seamless transfers among the southwest, south and north terminals is also being planned. South and southwest costs P6.5 billion while the north terminal is still under study.

PH, Japan sign deal for P13Bn infra projects Philippines and Japan on Tuesday signed 2 loan projects worth P13 billion. The 2 projects were the Priority Bridges Seismic Improvement Project and the Davao City Bypass Construction Project (South and Center Sections) which were signed and noted by Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary and Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuhide Ishikawa. The Metro Manila Priority Bridges Seismic Improvement Project of the Department of Public Works and Highways will cover the replacement, retrofitting and reinforcement of the Guadalupe Bridge and Lambingan Bridge to strengthen the resilience of the transport network in Metro Manila in case of large-scale earthquakes. Congresswatch

Proposed FOI law is ‘dead’ According to Right to Know, Right Now! Coalition which has been campaigning for the FOI bill for more than 15 years, the proposed Freedom of Information (FOI) law is dead, and President Aquino and Speaker Feliciano Belmonte should share the blame for its fate. “(W)ithout decisive support from the President and the leadership of the House of Representatives, the bill will not pass,” read the statement from the coalition. The group has been pushing Congress for years to enact the FOI measure saying that the policy would allow greater access to public records and help reduce corruption in government.

House OK’s bill on regulating LPG industry The proposed law which seeks to establish regulatory measures for the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) industry was approved on thr 3rd reading at the House of Representatives. Passage of House Bill No. 5617, also known as the “LPG Industry Regulation and Safety Act,” received no opposition from the more than 200 lawmakers which constituted the quorum during last week’s plenary session at the House of Representatives. The bill, which substituted 2 bills filed previously by Tarlac Rep. Susan Yap and LPGMA (LPG Marketers’ Association) Party-list Rep. Arnel Ty, creates a new regulatory framework for the LPG industry. Covered by this regulatory body – which will be known as the LPG Monitoring and Enforcement Task Force – are activities such as the importation, refining, refilling, transportation, distribution and marketing of LPG. The task force will also cover the manufacture, requalification, exchange and swapping or improvement of LPG cylinders. The task force will work together with the Department of Energy (DOE), who will also deputize the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in the license processing of dealer and retailers.

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