Subtle but strong message

President Rodrigo Duterte’s inauguration was as promised – simple, no-frills ceremony.

His speech was short, straight to the point, but was effectively able to deliver the needed message.

There was one thing though that was missed by a number of observers.

Noticeably absent were the so-called super majority senators identified with Sen. Koko Pimentel, while those said to be supporters of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano were at the inauguration, reportedly upon the invitation of Duterte.

Even though the President has repeatedly stressed he would not side with anyone as far as the Senate leadership race is concerned, his actions are showing otherwise.

Duterte invited to his inauguration only the senators who expressed support for Cayetano in his bid to become the next Senate president. These include Senators Cynthia Villar, Juan Miguel Zubiri, JV Ejercito and Dick Gordon.

Except for Senator Franklin Drilon, who was present to represent the Senate as current Senate president, conspicuously absent were those who comprise the so-called super majority of Pimentel, who is also after the Senate presidency. That’s because they were not invited.

Perhaps the new President is sending another message regarding his position on the ongoing Senate presidency race.

The first one was during a forum with business leaders in Davao City, where the President called Pimentel “Sotto,” referring to Senator Tito Sotto, who used to be among the contenders for the Senate presidency but is now a staunch supporter of Pimentel’s bid after reportedly being offered a position as the next majority leader.

In the same forum, Duterte jokingly said in front of Pimentel that if former Justice secretary turned Senator Leila De Lima will not shut her mouth, “he will kill her, with love.”

Pimentel reportedly promised the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights to De Lima in exchange for her support for his Senate presidency bid.

Duterte is said to be not happy with the inclusion of his detractors in the senator’s super majority.

Cayetano has questioned Pimentel’s choices for committee chairmanships and has expressed doubt whether some members of the super majority are indeed supportive of Duterte’s legislative agenda.

Office rents still high

The office market is still a landlord’s market and the low overall office space vacancy of four percent is causing rents to increase, according to the Real Estate Market Insight 2nd quarter 2016 report from Pinnacle Real Estate Consulting Services.

According to the report, the growth of the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry has been phenomenal in the last decade, making it the main driver of office space demand during this period and for years to come.

It said that with the BPO sector’s target of 1.3 million employees and $25 billion in annual revenues in the next couple of years, real estate developers are building to deliver over one million square meters of office space in the next two years in major business districts in Metro Manila, on top of the existing six million square meters.

Rents in the Makati CBD remain high at P1,295 per square meter per month for premium Grade A buildings, P905 for Grade A and P695 for B and C buildings. In the Bonifacio Global City, the weighted average rent is P895 while in Ortigas, the average rent of Grade A office buildings is at P650 per sqm per month.

Pinnacle also revealed in its report the new trend in the office market which is the strong selling market especially in BGC. It explained that while corporates typically prefer leasing as compared to buying office spaces due to financial and tax benefits, the strong demand for office space and increasing rents have compelled some companies to simply acquire office spaces.

It noted the REIT Law may further enhance the attractiveness of owning office buildings that generate stable rental income, adding that a REIT company would likely put office buildings in the REIT portfolio since the investing public is well aware of the steady demand for office space and its attendant recurring income.

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