Traders show mixed reactions on spate of business closures

The local business community has mixed reactions on the spate of business closures, particularly of multinational Caltex Philippines refinery in Batangas and Solid Mills in Parañaque.

Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) president Sergio Ortiz-Luis was unperturbed, pointing out that "every year there are closures and there are companies that open."

"At the end of the day," Ortiz-Luis said, "that would even it out."

Thus, Ortiz-Luis said, the questions is whether there are more closures than openings. "So far, I think there are more openings than closures."

The PCCI president added that "I’m not perturbed because I would rather look at the totality rather than just two companies."

Ricardo Romulo on the other hand, expressed the viewe that the decision of Caltex to close its refinery in Batangas is "not a good sign."

However, Romulo said the government must find out why Caltex decided to shut down. "Whether it is because its cheaper or if there are other reasons," Romulo said, adding that "the closures, immediately affects the employes of the firms."

Caltex's closure, specifically because it is a multinational company, has a bigger impact, Romulo noted.

Caltex, in announcing its decision to close down its Batangas refinery, cited the fact that upgrading the facility would be more costly and, thus, chose to just convert its Batangas facility into an import terminal for finished oil products.

Solid Mills for its part reportedly decided to terminate its operations due to continued losses.