Businesses still assessing damage caused by Ondoy

Businesses are still assessing the damage wrought by tropical storm Ondoy even as economic zones in the capital and nearby provinces have been little affected, officials said on Wednesday. Majority of outsourcing operations were also back to normal as of Tuesday, the head of an industry association said, but a fastfood chain said it was dealing with "unstable" supplies. "We are conducting a survey to check the damage," said Edgardo G. Lacson, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry which counts as members 14 smaller business groups in Metro Manila. The Federation of Philippine Industries is likewise gathering feedback from members, President Jesus L. Arranza said. He said facilities of several members — steel processors in Pasig, Muntinlupa, and Makati, for instance — were hit by floods. In the meantime, Makati Business Club members will not formally meet to tally the damage, but a number have seen employees unable to come to work, Executive Director Alberto A. Lim said. "But they are coming back now," he added. Ecozones in Metro Manila and adjacent provinces appeared to have weathered the disaster well. Flood waters entered the Asahi Special Economic Zone but did not stop operations, zone manager Nonilon R. Pasamba said. Other sites such as the Amkor Technology Special Economic Zone in Muntinlupa and Macroasia Ecozone in Pasay continue to run, officials there said. It was also business as usual in two zones in Laguna: the First Philippine Industrial Park (FPIP) and the Toyota Sta. Rosa Special Zone. "Operations are ... normal," FPIP manager Shiela Marie P. Pidlaonan said. Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. spokesman Rommel R. Gutierrez said there was "no major effect on the plant and employees." The Cavite Economic Zone and nearby Gateway Business Park were also unscathed, officials said. Clark Freeport in Pampanga was likewise spared, Clark Development Corp. President Benigno N. Ricafort said. For the outsourcing sector, Business Processing Association of the Philippines President Oscar R. Sañez said, "In general there were no major disruptions and only a few sites were affected." "Clients should not be concerned over the quality of work because there was little effect on the industry," he said. The impact appeared to have been greater for food firms, with Margot B. Torres, vice-president for marketing of McDonald’s franchisee Golden Arches Development Corp., saying the storm had affected 45 of its stores, of which eight remain closed. She said the Ondoy’s impact was worse than 2006’s typhoon Milenyo as the latter only damaged external structures. With suppliers among those heavily hit, Golden Arches was running low on some items such as Burger McDo patties. She said the firm was flying in supplies from abroad, adding, "If we run out of that we would offer hamburgers, which are more expensive, but at the same price as Burger McDo." Listed Jollibee Foods Corp., meanwhile, said it had not yet finished tallying the damage, but said some outlets were also suffering from shortages as supplies could not be transported. Jose Victor P. Paterno, president and CEO of convenience store chain Philippine Seven Corp., said the company it still had nine stores underwater of the 30 that were breached by floods. Stephen T. Cua, president of the Philippine Amalgamated Supermarkets Association, said up to seven stores remain closed. He placed the damage at P180-200 million, excluding the SM supermarkets that were flooded. Some members were now experiencing a surge in sales as people try to help in relief efforts, he said, but cautioned that this could drive prices up. "It’s not panic buying ... people and LGUs (local government units) are buying in bulk because they want to help, but this could distort the supply and demand balance." - with reports from Emilia Narni J. David and Don Gil K. Carreon, BusinessWorld