Category: Business Mirror

Aboitiz Power Corp.-backed mobility startup Voltai plans to expand its motorcycle battery-swapping network to approximately 1,000 stations over the medium-term, starting 2027.

Following the launch of 15 stations at Cleanfuel sites, the company is prioritizing the saturation of the National Capital Region (NCR) market before expanding north and south. Currently, Voltai already has the largest 2W electric vehicle (EV) swap network in the Philippines.

‘Our current network density is already sufficient to cover our targets for the next year or so. We’ll probably see more network expansion by next year,’ said Voltai co-founder and chief product officer Nico Policarpio. ‘Our current priority is first to saturate Metro Manila and then go up to the north and south of it.’

The company has successfully tested its EV ecosystem through pilot runs with providers like JRS Express and Xpress, leading to ongoing commercial agreements.

‘Most of our initial pilot partners are continuing into commercial agreements with us, and that’s a great boost of confidence and a testimonial that the ecosystem, the product, and the technology works and can do so on a greater scale,’ Policarpio said.

The Voltai ecosystem offers two-wheel EVs, battery-swapping stations, fleet software, rider apps, and full after-sales support. This is all on a lease basis for a fixed fee, removing upfront vehicles spare parts, and repair costs. Fleet operators have achieved 20 percent to 60 percent in operational savings during pilots.

Maximizing its two battery capacities, a two-watt Voltai motorcycle can travel up to 140 kilometers, with a maximum speed of around 80 kilometers per hour and a carrying capacity of 200 kilograms.

‘At any given time, the platform shows where the motorcycles are in real time, the trips they’ve been on, how far they’ve gone, where they went, and how much tailpipe emissions were avoided,’ added Policarpio.

Plans are also underway to expand in Cebu and Davao.

Voltai is under 1882 Ventures, the startup and innovation arm of AboitizPower.

The Aboitiz energy unit recently reported that its net income rose by 45 percent year-on-year to P18.4 billion in the first half, driven by higher generation margins and capacity expansion.

While earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for generation and retail supply rose 29 percent, distribution business EBITDA declined 3 percent due to higher expansion expenses.

AboitizPower said overall financial performance was buoyed by increased energy sales and contributions from new solar and hydro assets.

More than 20,000 housing loan borrowers of the National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC) will benefit from a one-month moratorium on the payment of their monthly amortizations effective August 5, 2026 to September 4, 2026, following the continuous heavy rainfall brought by Tropical Storm Maymay and the enhanced Southwest Monsoon.

The moratorium forms part of NHMFC’s continuing efforts to provide immediate financial relief to borrowers affected by calamities and severe weather conditions in the provinces of Benguet, La Union, Pangasinan, Bataan, Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales, Batangas, Cavite, Rizal, Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro

NHMFC President Renato L. Tobias emphasized that the measure is intended to give affected families temporary financial breathing room as they recover and address their immediate needs.

‘Through this moratorium, NHMFC is providing our affected borrowers with immediate financial relief while assuring them that we remain ready to support them as they rebuild and recover,’ President Tobias said.

Under the moratorium, payment of monthly amortizations will be deferred for one month, with no penalties or surcharges imposed on the deferred amortization during the period.

Borrowers covered by the moratorium who still wish to continue their monthly payment may do so voluntarily. For borrowers whose accounts are updated, any payment made during the moratorium period shall be considered as advance payments.

Through these relief measures, NHMFC continues to uphold its commitment to responsive public service and to supporting Filipino homeowners during times of calamity and financial difficulty.

The Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) revoked the Alien Employment Permits (AEP) of six Chinese nationals who work at the raided Chuangxing Steel Incorporated plant in Magalang, Pampanga.

Their records were endorsed to the Bureau of Immigration after authorities found that foreign workers had allegedly been brought directly from mainland China without the required employment documents and permits.

Chuangxing Steel was raided by the National Bureau of Investigation and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission in July over the alleged possession and use of radioactive-bearing industrial materials and the production of substandard steel products.

Authorities earlier reported seizing more than P3 billion worth of radioactive-bearing raw materials, substandard steel products and contaminated production equipment from the plant, while hundreds of workers were removed from allegedly hazardous working conditions.

Apart from the issue on employment of foreign workers, labor authorities flagged serious health and safety risks arising from the potential presence of radioactive materials inside the facility.

An investigation also found that the company failed to present basic employment records and allegedly did not properly pay overtime and holiday wages.

Workers were also found without mandatory Social Security System, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG coverage.

Chuangxing Steel also failed to present a workplace sexual harassment policy and establish a Committee on Decorum and Investigation.

Labor Secretary Francis N. Tolentino directed Bantayan Manpower Services to cooperate with DOLE Regional Office 3 in resolving deficiencies involving wages and mandatory employee benefits.

Meanwhile, the work stoppage order issued against the Magalang facility on July 25 remains in effect.

‘This hearing should also bring changes to the mechanism and process for protecting Filipino workers,’ Tolentino said.

AS if by design, Alex Eala lost to Belinda Bencic.

It’s a bold assessment, but I’ll stick to it.

This was last Monday, August 10 Philippine time, when Bencic, the 29-year-old Swiss machine, hammered out a 6-4, 6-0 win over the 21-year-old Eala in the Round of 16 of the National Bank Open in Toronto, Canada.

It was a mismatch, to say the least.

The scores showed it as results never lie.

How can Eala lose a set at love when she had just gallantly, courageously, piled up seven straight wins before she faced Bencic?

There is but only one credible explanation to this: Eala was exhausted going into the Bencic match. Dog tired.

Anyone daring to question that is absolutely out of order.

Eala appeared visibly spent playing Bencic, huffing and puffing to save shots, groaning and groping to retrieve blistering returns that, on ordinary days, were mere chicken feed.

Eala’s been in grueling battles for two straight weeks. She had struggled to win big matches.

Did she not string up five straight wins to win the Mubadala DC Open in Washington for her first WTA 500 title?

That was a tough act to follow as her victims included top notch players like 2024 Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng, defending champion Leylah Fernandez and No. 1 ranked and world No. 3 Jessica Pegula.

In the finals of the Mubadala DC Open, Eala had to buck a 4-6 first-set loss to win the last two sets-capping her maiden WTA crown with a phenomenal 6-0 triumph over Pegula in the third-set decider after a crucial 6-4 win in the second set.

And before she faced Bencic in the National Bank Open third round, Eala hurdled previous tormentor Alycia Parks in another nerve-wracking three-setter, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2, in the first round.

And in her second-round match against American Caty McNally, Eala had to again dig deep into her arsenal of tricks to capture a lung-tearing 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 victory over an opponent that had ousted reigning Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova just the day before.

You complete back-to-back wins in as many days-both three-setters at that-what does that tell you?

Add the previous five energy-sapping wins before that and what have we got here?

A WMD-Weapon of Mass Destruction?

Oh, yes, wait a minute.

What about Eala’s doubles date with Venus Williams?

A disaster as they bowed in the first round-after Eala’s hard-earned win over Parks.

That loss added up to Alex’s fatigue factor.

In the end, though, I’ll give it to Bencic, albeit grudgingly.

Bencic is a 10-time champion to Eala’s solitary title.

A mother of one from Flawil, Switzerland, Bencic knew she had a virtual weakling at her disposal in Eala-Alex was obviously there for the taking, like a game fowl.

The cruel thing in sports is, you are like a soldier. You kill everything that moves.

No quarters given.

But Eala knows, too, that a loss is but a temporary setback. And, in fact, her defeat to Bencic will afford her the luxury of grabbing more rest in preparation for the Cincinnati Open set Aug. 14-23 in Ohio, USA.

Then, after that, it’d be the real deal: the US Open from Aug. 30 to Sept. 13, the season’s fourth and last Grand Slam set in Flushing Meadows, New York.

Not to worry, Alex. The Filipino got your back.

THAT’S IT Birthday greetings to Col. Serge Austria (ret.) on August 11 from his JALOTS wine mates: Jake P. Ayson, mistah Admiral Louie Fernandez (ret.), Los Angeles-based Tony Sisante and yours truly. Isang manipis!

In discussions surrounding Philippine economic growth, Metro Manila’s transport crisis is almost exclusively measured by how slow vehicles move and the hours wasted either in traffic or trying to find a ride.

It’s not only anecdotal-they’ve actually measured how much the country loses daily in economic terms. The Philippine office of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA Philippines) estimates that traffic congestion costs our economy roughly ?3.5 billion in lost productivity daily.

Yet, for millions in the urban workforce, the most damaging aspect of the daily commute does not occur behind the wheel of a private car. It happens on the sidewalk or in one’s home, staring at a spinning wheel in a smartphone application. Five minutes pass. Then fifteen. Should I have just walked to the corner and taken a jeep? What if I just Lalamove myself, get delivered like a package? Well, the good news is, it is now possible to Lalamove yourself through Lalamove Ride.

What is actually going wrong

The problem is not that you booked the wrong place, or too late, or on the wrong app. At its core, it is an imbalance between demand and supply. At rush hour, far more people need a ride than there are cars available to give one. Pricing, matching, and traffic pile on top, but underneath them sits that simple imbalance.

The strain is real and measured. The 2025 TomTom Traffic Index found that Metro Manila drivers lost about 143 hours, nearly six days, to traffic last year – and that counts only time spent moving, not the minutes bled on curbsides waiting for a car that may never come.

It also explains what makes commuters feel a little crazy every morning: opening multiple apps does not help. Fares rise because prices are doing their ordinary work, rationing too many riders against too few cars. And drivers cancel because, with more requests than they can serve, a driver can pass on one booking to hold out for a better one. Even the incumbent platforms have long attributed the difficulty to the same root cause: not enough cars on the road.

So the instinct is to want more cars. But that is not something Metro Manila can freely add. The roads are congested, and the number of ride-hailing vehicles allowed to operate is limited by regulation, precisely to keep that congestion in check. The supply cannot simply be willed upward. Which points to a better question: not how to put more cars on the road, but how to make fuller use of the ones already on it.

Where the answer might come from

This is where Lalamove enters, though not in the way a new competitor usually does. Its network exists for deliveries, but the drivers in it are qualified to carry passengers too, and through Lalamove Ride, they can. The opportunity is in the overlap: a large, already-vetted pool that can be pointed toward passengers at rush hour, without adding a single new vehicle to the road.

The pool is real and sizable, but scale alone is not enough-passengers also need to trust the people behind the wheel. Lalamove Ride’s 20,000-and-counting qualified ride-hailing partner drivers each undergo a strict registration process. Every ride is also backed by built-in safety features: real-time GPS tracking, trip sharing, an SOS emergency button, 24/7 in-app support, and passenger accident insurance provided by Chubb. Together, these measures help ensure that expanding ride availability does not come at the expense of passenger safety.

Deliveries and commuting do not peak at the same times – parcels fill the quieter hours, passengers surge at rush hour – so a driver who can move between the two keeps earning across the day instead of idling between bookings. That answers the obvious worry, too: if drivers can choose, do they just take the better-paying trip, and do deliveries suffer? To a degree, any driver with options weighs them. But a driver free to shift between parcels and passengers is one who keeps working at all, and the rigidity of drivers locked to one kind of trip is part of how the shortage got so stubborn to begin with.

That same delivery backbone is why the service can reach where passenger apps usually will not – out to Cavite, Laguna, Bulacan, Rizal, or Pampanga, the longer provincial trips others quietly decline. It is early, and it will take time for people to learn the option exists. But that is a matter of awareness, not capability, and it is worth the wait.

The morning, returned

It will take working mass transit, honest regulation, better roads, and supply that does not exist yet to fully untangle Metro Manila’s traffic. But relief does not have to arrive all at once. Sometimes it is just one more real option on a bad morning, one more set of cars that could be in the pool, one more chance that the next tap is the one that works. And for the commuter standing in the living room, bag packed, watching the wheel spin, even that is not a small thing.

The camp of Vice President Sara Duterte on Tuesday said it was not surprised by the filing of a grave threats case against her by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and expressed confidence that the charges would eventually be dismissed.

Lawyer Paul Lawrence Lim, Duterte’s counsel in the case, said the Vice President’s legal team had anticipated the development and was prepared to challenge the case filed before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court.

‘Under the prevailing circumstances, we have anticipated and prepared for such an outcome. Under our laws, the Vice President continues to be presumed innocent and is confident that the charges against her will be dismissed,’ Lim said in a statement.

The case involves Duterte’s statements concerning President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.

The same statements are also the subject of Article IV of the impeachment complaint against Duterte.

Lim maintained that Duterte, as the sitting Vice President, may not be prosecuted for the alleged offense.

He said the defense would avail itself of all available legal remedies to address the charges and the legal issues arising from the prosecution.

‘Given these serious legal issues faced by the Vice President, we will exercise all available legal means and remedies in due course,’ Lim said.

As demand for master-planned communities continues to grow in Southern Luzon, Nuvali is drawing another major developer into its expanding eco-city.

Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) has tapped Chan-Toei Properties Inc. (CTP) to develop a new residential community within Nuvali, further broadening the residential offerings in the country’s largest and one of its most established sustainable mixed-use estates.

As one of the country’s leading mixed-use estates, Nuvali continues to generate interest and attract residential developments that align with its vision of creating master-planned,nature-integrated communities. Moreover, the addition of Chan-Toei Properties reflects the estate’s continued evolution as Nuvali grows into one of Southern Luzon’s leading business, lifestyle and residential destinations.

‘We are pleased to welcome Chan-Toei Properties as one of the select residential developers in Nuvali,’ said Meean Dy, President and CEO of ALI in a press statement. ‘Their approach to residential development aligns with our long-term vision for Nuvali as a well-planned, nature-integrated community. We look forward to the new residents, ideas and experiences this community will bring as Nuvali continues to grow.’

The upcoming residential community will be developed solely by CTP. While ALI continues to guide the long-term planning, stewardship and sustainability of Nuvali, CTP will lead the planning, design, development and marketing of the new neighborhood.

Located within walking distance of CTP’s flagship residential project, Hana Garden Villas, the new development builds on the company’s growing reputation for crafting thoughtfully designed homes inspired by Japanese principles of quality, functionality, and timeless design.

The strong market reception of Hana Garden Villas has seen an influx of end-users where nearly all buyers were end-users rather than speculative investors, emphasizing the appeal of CTP’s developments among families seeking homes for long-term living. The sustained end-user demand underscores a growing preference for communities that deliver enduring value, quality craftsmanship, and a lifestyle centered on comfort, convenience, and well-being.

‘We are deeply honored by the opportunity to become part of Nuvali’s continuing story,’ said CTP Chairman Jose Mari Chan. ‘At Chan-Toei Properties, we believe a home should enrich everyday life. We look forward to creating a community that reflects our commitment to thoughtful design, quality craftsmanship and places where families can build meaningful lives for generations,’ Chan said.

The newest community under the CTP will offer future homeowners immediate access to the estate’s expanding network of educational institutions, healthcare facilities, retail destinations and recreational parks that seamlessly integrates Japanese-inspired, family-centric homes into a vibrant and connected environment.

CTP is a joint venture between the Chan family-whose business interests span sugar manufacturing, trading and power co-generation-and TOEI, a subsidiary of IIDA Group Holdings, Japan’s largest homebuilder by number of homes built annually.

LABOR authorities ordered electric taxi operator AMRC Holdings to draw up a work manual covering drivers’ working hours, health conditions and safety measures following concerns over long shifts and revenue targets.

Labor Secretary Francis N. Tolentino was after the Department of Labor and Employment investigated the death of Green GSM driver Arnel Cruz.

Tolentino said the company should establish clearer internal rules as Dole continues to look into its labor and occupational safety practices.

‘Come up with a manual. If you still don’t have one, take into consideration the health condition of the drivers,’ Tolentino told company representatives during a hearing.

Cruz was found unconscious near an electric post while waiting near a charging station and was later declared dead on arrival at the Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center in Marikina City.

He had been employed for 23 days.

His death certificate listed presumed acute myocardial infarction or heart attack as the cause of death.

Dole inspectors determined that drivers receive P755 for eight online working hours and may earn additional incentives after meeting a daily revenue target.

Counsel for some drivers said workers need to generate P2,000 in revenues to qualify for incentives, while a P2,500 target is required for those who want to take their assigned vehicles home.

He said reaching the higher target could require some drivers to remain online for more than 12 or 13 hours, apart from another two to four hours that may be spent waiting for vehicles to charge.

The drivers’ counsel also alleged that workers were not being paid overtime for hours beyond their regular shifts and that some probationary employees had been cited for inefficiency after failing to meet the P2,000 target.

AMRC maintained that drivers have discretion over when to start and end their trips and are not required to extend their shifts.

Company representatives also said that drivers are not required to personally charge their vehicles before turning them over, with some units handled under a separate charging arrangement.

Tolentino, nevertheless, raised the need to clarify how overtime pay should be treated when drivers work beyond their regular hours.

He also said the company should consider the health conditions of drivers assigned to early morning and night shifts and ensure that adequate medical and safety support is available.

The drivers’ counsel asked that existing employment practices should also be considered in drafting the manual, warning against changes that could worsen current working conditions.

He claimed that the revenue target had increased from P1,800 to P2,500 without consultation with workers, which allegedly pushed some drivers to work longer hours to qualify for incentives.

Inspectors also found several labor and occupational safety deficiencies at AMRC, including the failure to present payroll records and proof of statutory remittances.

The company was also cited for having no occupational safety and health program, trained safety officers, certified first aid personnel and proof of mandatory safety orientation for workers.

Tolentino directed the Dole Metro Manila office to continue its investigation and ensure that AMRC complies with occupational health and safety requirements within its correction period.

He also warned the company against dismissing, withholding vehicles from or changing the schedules of drivers who participated in the hearing, saying such actions could amount to constructive dismissal.

Wilcon Depot Inc. on Tuesday said its net income grew 3 percent to P1.2 billion in January to June from last year’s P1.16 billion due to higher foot traffic and sales.

Lorraine Belo-Cincochan, the company’s president and CEO, said its second-quarter results showed solid demand, with total sales up 12 percent and same-store sales rising 8 percent.

‘Every region delivered positive same-store sales growth. The mix shifted toward lower-margin non-exclusive products, which brought down our blended gross profit margin,’ Cincochan said.

‘We are encouraged by the gains in customer count and sales volume. These show we are reaching more customers and give us room to improve the product mix and manage costs in the second half.’ Wilcon opened five new stores in the first half and is targeting to open three more stores for the rest of the year.

‘We have so far spent P1.2 billion in capex [capital expenditures] with the bulk spent on construction of new stores and warehouses,’ Cincohan said. Net sales in the first rose by 11 percent to P18.97 billion from the previous year’s P17.11 billion, as all regions, including project sales, recorded positive comparable sales growth.

On a per format basis, depots accounted for 96 percent of total net sales, as same-store sales drove the increase.

Net income for the second quarter reached P641 million, up 2 percent, from the previous year’s P626 million.

Net sales went up by 12 percent to P9.8 billion from the previous year’s P8.7 billion, the company said.

The company reported last March that net income last year fell by 3 percent to P2.44 billon from the P2.52 billion recorded in 2024, despite higher sales.

Wilcon said net sales for 2025 grew by almost 4 percent to P35.44 billion from the previous year’s P34.62 billion, mainly as a result of those coming from new stores as comparable sales growth closed the year at -0.3 percent.

THE House of Representatives will begin on August 17 deliberations on the proposed 2027 national budget that was submitted by Malacañang on Tuesday.

Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Suansing, House Committee on Appropriations chairman, said the Development Budget Coordination Committee, or DBCC, will be the first to face lawmakers.

Committee-level hearings will run until September 8, after which the proposed budget will be submitted to the plenary for deliberations.

Suansing said the House aims to approve the 2027 General Appropriations Bill, or GAB, on third and final reading by October 9.

As with the deliberations on the 2026 General Appropriations Act, Suansing said the budget process will be transparent. All hearings of the Committee on Appropriations and the Budget Amendments Review Subcommittee, or BARC, will be livestreamed.

Bicameral conference committee meetings are also expected to be open to the public.

Education gets biggest share

EDUCATION will receive the largest allocation under the proposed P7.2-trillion national budget for 2027, as the government directs more than half of its expenditure program to 10 priority agencies and sectors.

The proposed budget is 6 percent higher than the P6.793-trillion allocation for 2026 and is equivalent to 21.7 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

Budget Secretary Kim Robert de Leon said the spending plan supports the administration’s commitments.

‘Most, if not all, of the pronouncements are properly funded in the budget,’ de Leon said.

The 10 biggest budget recipients will receive a combined P3.703 trillion, or about 51.4 percent of the total expenditure program.

The Department of Education will obtain the highest allocation at P976 billion, representing 13.55 percent of the proposed national budget while the Commission on Higher Education and state universities and colleges will receive a combined P176.5 billion, placing higher education ninth among the largest recipients.

The Department of Public Works and Highways ranked second with P644 billion, equivalent to 8.94 percent of the expenditure program.

Health ranked third with P353.8 billion. The amount covers the Department of Health, Philippine Health Insurance Corp. and specialty hospitals. Among the health spending priorities are P133.3 billion for health facility operations, P25.4 billion for the National Health Workforce Support System and P24.2 billion for medical assistance to indigent and financially incapacitated patients.

The Zero-Balance Billing Program for national and local government hospitals will receive P19 billion.

‘The Zero-Balance Billing Program not only extends to national government hospitals but also to local government hospitals nationwide,’ de Leon said.

He added that maintenance and other operating expenses for hospitals increased by 6.21 percent to P66.59 billion.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government ranked fourth with P332.5 billion, followed by the Department of National Defense with P328.8 billion.

The transportation sector, covering the Department of Transportation, Philippine National Railways, and Light Rail Transit Authority, ranked sixth with P302.2 billion.

Agriculture agencies will receive a combined P261.7 billion, placing the sector seventh. The allocation covers the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Agrarian Reform, the National Irrigation Administration, and several government corporations involved in agriculture.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development ranked eighth with P241.6 billion. Its major allocations include P99.1 billion for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, P51.6 billion for the Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens and P33.3 billion for protective services for individuals and families in difficult circumstances.

Higher education ranked ninth with P176.5 billion, while the judiciary completed the top 10 with an allocation of P86.3 billion.