Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

How much has the New NAIA Infra Corp. (NNIC), a unit of San Miguel Corp., accomplished for the Ninoy Aquino International Airport so far?

SMC president and CEO Ramon S. Ang said the NNIC has surpassed all expectations since the company took over NAIA for the purpose of modernization and facilities upgrade a little more than a year ago.

‘It is a demanding task to operate an airport the size and scale of NAIA,’ Ang observed. ‘Thanks to the dedication of our people on the front lines and behind the scenes, the airport is now running more flights and serving more passengers, all in safety and on time,’ he said.

Since the Sept. 14, 2024, takeover, NNIC has upgraded the capability of the airport.

The international gateway handled 283,771 flights that brought in 51.7 million passengers, 2.9 million more than the numbers recorded in the same period the previous year, all under the private operator’s management.

Remittance to gov’t

Over that one-year period, NNIC has remitted more than P52 billion to the government, including the P30-billion payment made upfront. It is also turning over 82 percent of the airport’s revenues to the government.

That means the government will get what it usually earns from NAIA – or even more as the operation expands and becomes more efficient – with no need to appropriate public funds to pay for the cost of the upgrade.

Of the P72 billion that NNIC commits for the modernization project, P3.5 billion has been spent for the purpose so far. But even then, Ang said NNIC has already rolled out a new facial recognition system powered by Collins Aerospace, allowing travelers to check in, drop bags, clear security and board flights using just their face.

The aircraft parking stands have been reconfigured, the taxiway improved and abandoned aircraft removed to free up valuable space for smoother operations. The immediate result: the airport has been able to add new domestic and international routes with 47 airline partners.

More facilities

Inside the terminals, passengers are seeing 11,820 new chairs, 2,500 baggage trolleys, 21 new air-conditioning units and chillers, and Wi-Fi upgraded from 1G to 10G. All escalators, walkalators and elevators are now working like clockwork.

For the convenience of passengers, NNIC is renovating six restrooms, while 10 new ones are set for construction.

The San Miguel conglomerate has ordered 34 new boarding bridges. They will be installed as soon as they arrive.

The transportation system between terminals has improved with a fleet of 20 new shuttle buses, capable of serving half a million travelers. Behind the scenes, baggage handling was streamlined to process 51.3 million bags, keeping pace with the passenger surge without the long queues NAIA has been known for once.

OFW lounge

Ang takes inordinate pride in the OFW Lounge, which he ordered constructed at Terminal 3, immediately after the NNIC takeover. The well-appointed room provides departing and arriving overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) with food, Wi-Fi connection, shower rooms, or just a place to hang out and relax, all for free.

The OFW Lounge has so far served nearly half a million Filipino overseas workers. A second lounge is under construction at Terminal 1.

By December, 60 new immigration eGates will become operational, making departures and arrivals faster.

While hard at work within, NNIC is clearing 266,463 tons of waste and silt from surrounding waterways to protect the airport from floods.

For sustainability of the ecosystem, NNIC is introducing a Tenant Environmental Handbook, which requires ban on single-use plastics ban, water conservation, composting and energy efficiency.

Moreover, the San Miguel subsidiary has begun embracing global standards, pursuing ISO certifications in quality, environment and safety, the company statement said

As Xavier P. Loinaz or ‘XP’ joined his Creator, tributes continued to pour in for the banking luminary who had served as CEO of Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) for 22 years and another 16 years as board member.

During this long tenure as CEO, after all, he had mentored many other bankers who also became CEOs. The roster of mentees include Cezar Consing (BPI and Ayala Corp.), Aurelio Montinola III (BPI), Jose ‘TG’ Teodoro Limcaoco (BPI), Vicente Castillo (Banco Santander Philippines and Philippine Dealing System Holdings Corp), Emmanuel Herbosa (DBP), Manuel Salak (ING Philippines), Alberto Villarosa (Security Bank), Alberto Pascual (Philippine Guarantee Corp.), Alfonso Salcedo (BPI Family Bank and Security Bank) and Joey Bermudez (Chinatrust Philippines).

‘In 1989, Mr. Loinaz convinced me that BPI was the place to build a career in banking. In the two times I left BPI for what I thought were better career opportunities, Mr. Loinaz gave me the reasons why I was wrong,’ Limcaoco said.

‘In both, he was right. But he took me back. For that, and for his lessons on integrity and standing up for what is right, I will always be grateful,’ he said.

Bermudez, on the other hand, recalled that when he was about to leave BPI in 1984, Loinaz told him, ‘there is only one BPI.’

‘To me, the regrettable truth is that there was only one XPL, he of the giant intellect, sharp strategic mind, exceptional work ethic, and a compassionate heart that many people took a while to discover. Heaven has taken another rock star. The world has to try harder now,’ Bermudez said.

Former Finance Secretary and former SGV chair Cesar Purisima referred to Loinaz as a ‘titan of Philippine banking.’

‘As someone who now serves on the BPI board after him, and chairs the audit committee he once led for over a decade, I still hear his big footsteps through the stories of those who worked with him. The size of the shoes he left behind is a reminder of a legend whose integrity, discipline, and quiet strength will never be forgotten,’ Purisima said. – Doris Dumlao-Abadilla

No more Pogo scare

This time last year, we were all buzzing about President Marcos’ move to ban all Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos).

The same question was floating in every industry: What now? What will be the impact?

Well, now the answer is virtually nothing-at least for the property sector.

Real estate broker Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC) reported on Monday the sector was actually doing quite well, with demand in the residential market particularly high.

The office sector has also seen some stability in demand.

‘Now, we can say that the market has stabilized and the impact of Pogo exit is no longer weighing on the contractions,’ said Erika Manasan, LPC senior manager for commercial leasing.

But there’s something else brewing.

While everyone celebrated the Pogo exodus, LPC noted that Philippine inland gaming operators (Pigos) now took up space.

As of the third quarter, Pigos now occupied 37,000 square meters of office space, entailing potential sector growth.

What does this mean, then?

LPC associate director for commercial leasing Ed Gador said it was too early to tell whether the sector will flourish, especially if the government imposes any kind of restriction on Pigos.

With everyone’s attention now at flood control projects, all we have to do is wait. INQ

Jane Goodall, the world’s most famous primatologist, died last Oct. 1 and has been eulogized as one of the world’s greatest scientists, especially for changing the way we look at ourselves, at animals, and at the environment.

It seems that Netflix had to rush a series called ‘Last Words,’ consisting of interviews with famous people while they are still alive (obviously) and promising not to release the episodes until after they die. It seems, too, that they had to rush the production of an episode that would center on Goodall, which is the first one to have been released, just last Friday, two days after her death. The release was international, which meant this one about Goodall is also available now in the Philippines.

I strongly suggest ‘Last Words’ to all of you and your friends. It is not all technical stuff concentrating on primates (apes, monkeys, and humans); in fact, it’s actually very anthropological because Goodall talks about how her work has given her so many insights (and, for us, wisdom) about what it means to be human. It ends up quite philosophical and emotional.

The Netflix episode is actually a dialogue between Goodall and the producer Ben Falchuk, a take-off from a Danish TV series recording last words from the living, to be shown posthumously. Clever idea, literally allowing the dead to speak to us from beyond for an hour.

That’s something for Goodall, who died aged 91, a life well lived. She’s best known for her work with apes, especially chimpanzees, particularly in the Gombe forest in Tanzania. Chimpanzees are humans’ closest relatives, with us sharing 98.8 percent of our DNA with these cousins.

Goodall, who was British, grew up always interested in and loving animals and dreamed of going to Africa to work. She did find a job as a secretary to Richard Leakey, one of the early paleontologists who studied human evolution. She faced many odds pursuing her interests, including British colonial authorities refusing to give her permission to work in the Gombe because they felt it was too dangerous for women. Plus, she didn’t actually have a university degree yet for the work she intended to do. She finally got permission when her mother volunteered to go with her.

Goodall quickly became known for the way she observed apes, the Gombe, and humans; in other words, she set the example for pursuing science. She is best known for discovering, through a chimpanzee she had named David Greybeard, that it is not just humans who can make tools. Greybeard was fishing termites out of a river using a twig.

Goodall was to make many more discoveries about apes, including their social relationships, their forms of communication, and most importantly, their feelings and emotions.

In the Netflix documentary, Goodall talks about Flint, a male chimpanzee coming to terms with the death of his mother, Flo, including how he finally came to accept that she had died, which had him ‘fasting’ for a while.

Goodall’s use of human names for the apes was considered revolutionary; other scientists used numbers to identify the animals. By using human names, she rightly placed them closer to humanity and helped her in her advocacy not just to protect animals but also to give them due recognition as having intelligence, too.

In the Netflix interview, she also talked about humans whom she didn’t quite like, almost suggesting they had much to learn from apes. She said there were some people she would love to see put into a spaceship together with Elon Musk and sent off into space: Trump, China’s Xi, Russia’s Putin, and Israel’s Netanyahu. She believes aggression is innate in apes and humans, but that one could still ‘cure ignorance’ in humans.

Asked who she hoped to see in the next life, she mentioned her chimp friends and her childhood pet dog. Husbands (she had two)? ‘They wouldn’t matter so much,’ but she acknowledged that with husbands, it is a ‘different kind of love.’

The scientist in Goodall alternates with a ‘magic’ (her interviewer’s term) to be able to reach people’s hearts. I don’t want my column to be a spoiler-there is a story she shares about how a CEO in Singapore found his heart melted by an eight-year-old daughter, to be kinder to the planet. Look up the articles about Goodall and her work, and watch the Netflix feature to understand how, as the New Scientist magazine puts it, it took a woman to redefine man (in its most inclusive definition).

Anita Rose Gomez, the Philippines’ representative in this year’s Miss Asia Pacific International pageant, has gained an enviable reputation for having a 19-inch waistline. But the Zambaleña beauty said she has more to offer than just her body.

‘I can offer the heart that I have, the humility, the gratitude in my heart. I know that this will take me a long way. And I think it’s the result of the heart that I have, that I have this crown,’ she told Inquirer Entertainment.

Her killer body, matched with an explosive pasarela (pageant walk) has earned for her the ‘Best in Swimsuit’ award during the closed-door preliminary competition held at the Lapu-Lapu Ballroom of Bai Hotel Cebu on Monday morning, Oct. 6.

She also finished second in the gown segment of the event, a scaled-down program that was mounted in lieu of a grander production that was canceled because of the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that jolted the pageant’s Benefit Gala Night on Sept. 30.

The Miss Asia Pacific International pageant has realigned its activities after the tremor and had the ladies participate in relief missions aimed at helping those severely affected by the earthquake.

Jacqueline Tan-Sainz, the international pageant’s executive director, told Inquirer Entertainment that they decided to mount a preliminary competition at the last minute because the ladies had prepared for it, and were looking forward to one.

The 43 delegates took the stage in swimsuits and evening gowns, including Belgium’s Jana Janssens, who sustained an injury during the quake and had to use crutches for several days.

Gomez said she appreciates the body that she has been blessed with, a 19-inch waistline and all. ‘But at the same time, always be grateful for what we have as individuals. We’re all different, we’re all unique, we just need to embrace our own beauty,’ she said.

She also encouraged people to take care of their health, both physical and mental. She added, ‘Don’t look at what the standard of beauty is. Just embrace who you are. Just be confident. As long as you’re happy with the body that you’re given, that’s a win already.’

Gomez is competing for the Philippines’ sixth Miss Asia Pacific International victory. The coronation night of the 2025 pageant will be held at the Cebu Complex Coliseum on Oct. 8.

After a month of failed attempts to recover the original Facebook page of Mayor Rolando ‘Klarex’ Uy, the Office of the City Mayor has decided to launch a new one to continue reaching residents online.

‘The Office of the City Mayor has created a new official Facebook page for Mayor Rolando ‘Klarex’ Uy,’ the City Information Office (CIO) announced on its Facebook page.

The CIO said it failed to gain access to the original page of the mayor’s office despite numerous attempts.

The new verified page is titled ‘Office of the City Mayor – Cagayan de Oro City’ and will serve as the mayor’s official digital platform for updates and announcements.

Uy’s social media page has been its main platform for public outreach, especially in announcing schedules of its services and programs.

‘We encourage everyone to like and follow the new official page of Mayor Klarex Uy,’ the statement said. ‘Stay updated on the latest news, programs, and announcements from the City Mayor.’

Officials said the change aims to ensure transparency and continued public communication amid increasing reliance on social media for local government information.

The CIO has not issued an explanation why it failed to recover the original account, which has tens of thousands of followers. People who come to Uy’s regular ‘People’s Day’ schedule every week are dependent on his social media page for the announcements, including those for his weekly ‘Kasalan ng Bayan’ and barangay outreach.

The government was able to raise its target amount of long-dated local debt on Tuesday’s dual Treasury bond sale, as yields fell below benchmarks.

The Bureau of the Treasury borrowed P15 billion via reissued T-bonds, which have a remaining life of two years and six months.

Demand for the debt paper reached P34.4 billion, exceeding the original offer size by 2.3 times.

In turn, the T-bond fetched an average rate of 5.698 percent, lower than the prevailing three-year benchmark and the average rate when it was last reissued in July.

The Treasury also raised P20 billion via 10-year T-bond, which was oversubscribed by 2.2 times after demand hit P43.5 billion.

The average rate for the security stood at 6.043 percent, lower than the prevailing 10-year benchmark.

A magnitude 4.3 aftershock struck near Bogo City in Cebu, the Philippine Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported on Tuesday, Oct. 7.

Phivolcs said it was an aftershock of the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck offshore Northern Cebu on Sept. 30.

The aftershock was recorded at 9:29 a.m. at a depth of 10 kilometers (km), with its epicenter located 20 km south southeast of Bogo City.

Instrumental intensities were logged at Intensity II in Villaba, Leyte. This means that it was slightly felt by individuals at rest indoors.

Intensity I was logged in Danao City, Cebu City, and Hilongos, Leyte.

Phivolcs describes this tremor as only ‘scarcely perceptible to people under favorable circumstances.’

As of 8 a.m. this Tuesday, 8,253 aftershocks have been recorded, 1,539 were plotted, and 34 were felt.

Canned fruit maker Del Monte Pacific Ltd. (DMPL) is planning to raise up to $600 million from the issuance of new shares in its Philippine business to cut its liabilities.

In a regulatory filing on Tuesday, the Campos-led company said it was considering an equity raise through private placement at Del Monte Philippines Inc.

This aims to ‘reduce the group’s leverage and address the capital deficit resulting from the recent impairments relating to the US business,’ DMPL explained in the published minutes of its annual general meeting.

It also noted that share dilution would be expected as part of the planned equity raise, but DMPL would remain the majority shareholder in Del Monte Philippines

Senate President Vicente Sotto III has no doubt and is ‘very confident’ about the majority bloc’s support for his leadership.

Sotto made the statement on Monday amid persistent rumors of another attempt to change leadership in the upper chamber, where Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson had warned that the majority’s thin lead over the nine minority senators could potentially lead to another coup attempt.

‘That’s what I told the Senate president. I said, ‘We are 15, they are nine; don’t underestimate the nine,’ Lacson, speaking in Filipino, said at an earlier Kapihan sa Senado.

Sotto’s leadership was supported by 15 senators when he took the Senate presidency from Sen. Francis Escudero on Sept. 8.

According to Sotto, he does not see a change in leadership, at least before the chamber adjourns its session this Friday.

The Senate’s session is scheduled to resume on Nov. 10, and a leadership change in the upper chamber can only transpire when there is a plenary session.

Sotto noted that not one of the 15-member majority is planning on leaving the bloc at present, adding that he does not need to conduct a loyalty test because of the confidence and trust he has in his colleagues.

In a separate text message also on Monday, Deputy Majority Leader JV Ejercito, who earlier admitted that the idea of leaving the majority bloc crossed his mind, dismissed rumors about a Senate coup.

‘No change in leadership,’ he said.

No rift with minority

Frankly speaking, Sotto said he did not know where the talks of the alleged coup against him were coming from.

‘You know, here in the Senate, if a story comes from social media, it would easily spread. But I don’t see it coming anywhere. In fact, the other day, I talked with Senator [Alan Peter] Cayetano and he told me that he is not talking with anyone, and I believe him,’ he said.

Cayetano is the chamber’s minority leader, and unverified reports circulating on social media point to him as Sotto’s potential successor as Senate leader.

Sotto said the rumors could be coming from outside the Senate halls.

‘Maybe someone is just instilling intrigue in the Senate because I talked with the minority leadership and we have no misunderstandings,’ he said.

‘We should not allow these talks to hamper the work of the Senate, and that’s the reason why last week, we’ve decided to suspend the session while the agenda or the pending bills are not yet here. You’ve seen that the pending treaties we’ve already passed, and after that, we suspended the sessions to allow the budget hearings to continue without stoppage,’ he added.

Religious groups on Monday also aired their opposition to possible changes in the Senate, saying that the move will only slow down the ongoing investigation into anomalous flood control projects.

In a letter addressed to government officials, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said they ‘strongly oppose any attempt to preempt or derail the investigation through backroom deals, leadership takeovers, or selective justice.’

‘The Filipino people are watching closely. After the revelations of massive anomalies in flood control projects, any move to change Senate leadership or redirect investigations now would only heighten public suspicion of a cover-up,’ the group said.

Lacson quits

Also on Monday afternoon, Sotto received the resignation letter of Lacson as chair of the blue ribbon committee.

In his letter, Lacson said that in the course of the current investigation, which has implicated some senators in the flood control mess, a number of their colleagues have expressed disappointment with the ‘direction’ of the investigation.

‘Furthermore, some senators publicly and secretly pursue the narrative that I am zeroing in on several of my colleagues while purportedly protecting those members of the Lower House perceived to be the principal actors in the budget anomalies related to the substandard and ghost flood control projects,’ Lacson lamented.

He announced on Sunday that he would resign as chair of the panel.

Sotto said the new blue ribbon chair will be left to the members of the majority bloc to decide.

‘There are three to four members of the Senate who I think would be able to handle the committee. But it’s also hard to follow in Senator Lacson’s footsteps,’ he said.

Sotto said some senators were asking if Lacson, a veteran lawmaker and a former chief of the Philippine National Police, could be urged to stay as blue ribbon chair.

Asked to comment on speculations that Lacson may have resigned to prevent destabilization in the Senate, Sotto said: ‘Everybody is entitled to his own opinion. As far as I’m concerned, as far as the majority is concerned, I’m very sure that the Senate is stable. I’ll make sure that under my leadership, everything will be transparent and accountable.’

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla called Lacson’s resignation a significant loss for the upper chamber’s investigation into anomalous infrastructure projects.

‘He’s probably one of the best investigators in the country . he has a very impressive body of work. It’s also a loss if you think about it,’ Remulla told reporters at the Department of Justice on Monday. – With reports from Gillian Villanueva and Jane Bautista

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) launched Tuesday the third Metro Manila Subway Project’s tunnel boring machine at Camp Aguinaldo Station in Quezon City.

According to Acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez, the tunnel boring machine can drill from seven to 12 meters and is expected to reach the Anonas Station after six months.

The Metro Manila Subway is set to be finished by 2032