Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – The power unit of sugar miller Roxas Holdings Inc. (RHI) has suspended the operations of its bioethanol plant in Negros Occidental upon orders by the local government unit due to complaints of foul odor. RHI disclosed yesterday La Carlota City Mayor Luis Jalandoni III issued a cease and desist order (CDO) against its ethanol unit Roxol Bioenergy Corp. (RBC) for 30 days due to alleged foul odor coming from its plant at Barangay Nagasi. “The local government said the suspension of the CDO, which was served last Friday evening, may be lifted at any time as soon as RBC demonstrates a substantial mitigation of the complained odor,” RHI said. RHI said RBC is committed to institute long-term solutions to address the issue. Operations of the bioethanol plant had already been suspended prior to the issuance of the CDO. RHI also said RBC immediately implemented the regular annual off-season repairs and maintenance of its plant, 15 days earlier than scheduled, to address the alleged foul odor. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 This is not the first time operations of the RBC plant was suspended. In March 2015, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has temporarily suspended the operations of RBC for polluting the Marayo River, a violation of the Clean Water Act. Bioethanol is produced using molasses, a by-product of the sugar refining process. RBC started operating its bioethanol plant in 2011, after the government announced the guidelines for the much-awaited pricing Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – PLDT Inc. posted a double-digit growth in enterprise business in the first six months from a year ago amid strong usage of data and broadband services. In a statement yesterday, PLDT said revenues from the enterprise business reached over P15 billion in the first six months, 10 percent higher than last year’s level following aggressive roll out of enterprise data-driven services and solutions. “We are seeing sustained double-digit growth as of August this year, further solidifying our position as the preferred digital enabler among the country’s industries and government entities. Our robust growth also reflects the emerging requirements of industries, and businesses to become more connected and utilize innovative IT (information technology) solutions to run their operations,” Eric Alberto, PLDT executive vice president and head of the enterprise group said. To better cater to the needs of companies in keeping up with the digital economy, PLDT’s efforts are being planned by taking into account the different industry roadmaps. “The PLDT Group has steadily put in place the infrastructure necessary to support this growing digital ecosystem that businesses need to thrive in a globally competitive environment, and formed strategic partnerships with IT leaders to serve and grow our portfolio of digital services for the benefit of our country’s enterprises,” Alberto said. In line with PLDT’s digital pivot, the group’s enterprise revenues from data and broadband services jumped 23 percent year-on-year to over P9 billion in the first half with mobile internet revenues surging 121 percent during the period. Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Rep. Carlos Zarate of party-list group Bayan Muna warned the public yesterday that the administration’s tax reform program would result in an increase in fuel prices of P6 to P10 per liter. Such a huge adjustment would certainly hurt the poor, he said. “We hope the Department of Finance (DOF) will follow President Duterte’s instruction to lift anti-poor and gender-biased taxes and not add more tax burden to the public,” he said. Under the tax reform package unveiled by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, the government seeks to impose an excise tax of P6 per liter on diesel and P10 on gasoline. Zarate said oil companies would just pass on the tax to their customers. This means the retail price of diesel and gasoline would go up by P6 and P10 per liter, respectively, he said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 He said that since most, if not all passenger buses and cargo trucks use diesel, higher diesel prices would translate into higher fares and increased cost of consumer products like rice, fish, meat, and vegetables. Diesel is currently excise-tax free. The tax reform program also seeks to impose an excise tax on kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Zarate disagreed with the DOF’s view that the plan would hurt the rich more than the poor. He said higher fuel and consumer prices would hurt the poor sectors of society and middle-income groups more than the rich and corporate executives. “Diesel, LPG and kerosene Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – State-run think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) said grants for water supply and sanitation projects in the municipalities must be redesigned to expand coverage and ensure the sustainability of investments. In a new policy note, PIDS said current regulations for the the water supply and sanitation sector are insufficient to drive investments in local government units (LGUs). “The current state of economic regulations for the water supply and sanitation sector is not effective enough to compel LGUs and water districts to expand, improve the quality of their services, and upgrade their service standards,” said PIDS. “This situation is most pronounced in LGU-run utilities given their conflicting proprietary and regulatory mandates. Without a regulatory stick, the realistic option for government to drive investments in the medium term is to offer financing incentives. Grant resources, therefore, will still be necessary to achieve the goal of universal coverage for water supply by 2025 and sanitation services by 2028,” it added. Addressing the water supply and sanitation requirements of the country has been a key component in the development plans of previous administrations. The medium term development plans of the past two administrations laid down mechanisms for the attainments of the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) for water supply and sanitation. The Philippine Water Supply Sector Roadmap 2010 Update laid down the direction for attaining universal water coverage in the country by 2025. The Philippine Sustainable Sanitation Roadmap also provides for means to universal access to water sanitation by 2028. Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The Departmenty of Energy plans to spearhead the establishment of a liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal, whether the Malampaya deep water gas-to-power project gets extended or not, to ensure continued supply in the country. The DOE will put up a LNG terminal to ensure LNG supply in the country, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said in an interview on the sidelines of a Senate hearing yesterday. “Continuity of the operation is important because we have a huge requirement of at least 2,700 megawatts (MW),” he said. “We will make that LNG (terminal) in Batangas to supply gas to power plants.” Currently, the Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC), the DOE’s corporate arm, is initiating a study for the project, which has garnered interests from the private sector, the Energy chief said. “There are a lot of interest in the private sector. As for us, we are open to that. Whatever is best for the country, that’s our direction,” Cusi said. The LNG terminal is aimed to meet the country’s requirements beyond the life of the Malampaya deep water gas-to-power project offshore Palawan. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Earlier, Cusi said government is eyeing to build a 200-megawatt (MW) LNG plant in the same location to provide an emergency source of power when the Luzon grid loses supply due to plant outages. The license for Service Contract (SC) 38 that allows the exploration of the Malampaya gas field in northwest Palawan will expire in 2024 but Read More …