FEATURES: Inquirer recoups with rate hike

With the Philippine presidential crisis now resolved, the Philippine Daily Inquirer is looking to get back on track, with a 10 per cent rate increase introduced on February 1. Critical reporting during the presidential crisis had boosted the Inquirer's sales to 275,000 copies a day, but the subject of its censure - and at times, ridicule - also landed a few punches where it hurt. During the height of the crisis, former President Joseph Estrada had ordered 17 government agencies, his cronies and top business allies to pull out all advertising in the Inquirer. The loss to the Inquirer was swift. Between July and November last year, the paper's income declined by 30 million pesos (about USdollars 620,000) a month or 150 million pesos during the five-month ad ban. But between November and January 2001 - when it became clear that Mr Estrada would be forced out of office - many of the Inquirer's advertising clients began returning, ignoring the presidential boycott order. The country's largest corporations - the Manila Electric Company, Philippine Long Distance Telephone, National Power and major banks, including Metropolitan Bank & Trust - all resumed advertising with the Inquirer. Manila Electric vice-president for corporate communications Elpie Cuna denied that the company had cancelled advertising with the paper. "It's just that we had a very limited budget last year. We never pulled out." Meanwhile, the Inquirer's senior vice-president for advertising and marketing, Renato Reinoso, confirmed that major accounts were back. Even taipan Lucio Tan, owner of Philippine Airlines, is said to be talking to the Inquirer advertising team, although Mr Reinoso insisted that the "Tan issue has nothing to do with Mr Estrada". Said Mr Reinoso: "Our circulation is going strong and the advertising box is good. We are reaching more readers and advertising clients, eating the (Manila) Bulletin's market."

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