May 16, 2022
Source BusinessMirror
MSMEs may struggle to raise wages
BusinessWorld, May 16, 2022
Tobias Jared Tomas
Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) may face difficulty in complying with the recently approved wage hikes in Metro Manila and Western Visayas as many businesses have yet to fully recover from the pandemic, industry groups said...
Philippines faces headwinds despite strong Q1 GDP
Philippine Star, May 16, 2022
Louise Maureen Simeon
The Philippines may have recorded a stronger-than-expected first quarter performance, but headwinds remain that would likely impact growth in the near term...
Q1 debt payments dip 40% to P313.65B—BTr
BusinessMirror, May 16, 2022
Bernadette D. Nicolas
Government's debt payments in the first quarter of the year plunged by nearly 40 percent to P313.65 billion, official data showed. This, even as the outgoing administration has vowed that a fiscal consolidation plan —crucial amid higher debt and deficit levels in the Covid-19 pandemic—will be ready in time for a briefing with the new economic team...
Metro Manila, other areas stay under Alert Level 1
Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 16, 2022
Jerome Aning
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) has retained the most relaxed Alert Level 1 status for the entire Metro Manila (the National Capital Region or NCR) and various provinces, cities and municipalities from May 16 to 31, Malacañang announced on Sunday...
Trouble in China seen slowing down PH growth in 2022
Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 16, 2022
Ben O. de Vera
A slowing Chinese economy would add to high inflation as another obstacle to the Philippines’ recovery going full steam ahead this year, UK-based think tank Oxford Economics said...
Central Bank seen to raise interest rates
The Manila Times, May 16, 2022
Mayvelin U. Caraballo
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is expected to end its accommodative monetary policy setting this month by raising interest rates for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began, foreign and local observers said...
Call to abolish regional wage boards issued after pay hikes ordered
BusinessMirror, May 16, 2022
Samuel P. Medenilla
Lower-than-expected minimum wage hikes for Metro Manila and the Western Visayas prompted fresh calls for the abolition of the regional wage boards...
DTI seeks removal of tariffs on imported electric vehicles
Manila Standard, May 15, 2022
Othel V. Campos
The Department of Trade and Industry asked the Tariff Commission for the removal of tariffs on electric vehicles, regardless of the source, for a period of five years in line with the government’s promotion of cleaner engines...
P33 pay hike in NCR okayed
Manila Standard, May 15, 2022
Minimum wage earners in the National Capital Region will have a P33 daily hike while those in Western Visayas (Region 6) will receive an increase of up to P110, the labor department announced on Saturday...
DOLE expecting issuance of other regional wage board orders on minimum wage hike
Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 15, 2022
Daniza Fernandez
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III is expecting the issuance of other regional wage board orders for a minimum wage increase in the coming week...
ADB lists ‘best bet’ sectors for rebuilding
BusinessMirror, May 16, 2022
Cai Ordinario
Rebuilding the Philippine economy in the aftermath of the pandemic means boosting wholesale and retail trade, manufacturing, tourism, and the digital economy, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)...
SEAG: Yulo, Mangrobang lead PHL’s golden charge
BusinessMirror, May 16, 2022
Jum Lomibao
World champion gymnast Carlos Yulo bagged two gold medals and double-event athlete Kim Mangrobang snatched her second mint this time in duathlon as the Philippines went on a seven-gold harvest on Sunday in the 31st Southeast Asian Games...
Battle rages for Ukrainian region of Donbas
Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 16, 2022
Reuters
Russia pummelled positions in the east of Ukraine on Sunday, its defence ministry said, as it sought to encircle Ukrainian forces in the battle for Donbas and fend off a counteroffensive around the strategic Russian-controlled city of Izium...
North Korea's Kim orders military to 'stabilize' drug supply amid COVID-19 outbreak
GMA News, May 16, 2022
Josh Smith and Joori Roh, Reuters
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un guided an emergency politburo meeting and ordered the military be used to stabilize the supply of medicines in Pyongyang as the country battles its first confirmed COVID-19 outbreak, state media reported on Monday...
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed becomes UAE president after brother's death
The Manila Times, May 15, 2022
Agence France-Presse
The UAE's long-time de facto ruler Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was named as president on Saturday, confirming his rise to power a day after the death of former leader Sheikh Khalifa...
NATO talks for Finland, Sweden on 'good track'
The Manila Times, May 15, 2022
Agence France-Presse
Talks to overcome Turkey's misgivings about the expected NATO membership bids of Finland and Sweden were on a "good track," Croatia said Sunday, as several members of the alliance eye swift accession for the Nordic states...
COVID-hit Shanghai announces gradual reopening of businesses
Philippine Star, May 15, 2022
Agence France-Presse
Shanghai announced a gradual reopening from Monday of businesses, though it remains unclear when the millions of people still locked down in China's economic capital will finally be allowed out of their homes...
Pope Francis declares 10 new saints, including Dutch priest killed by Nazis
Rappler, May 15, 2022
Reuters
Pope Francis on Sunday, May 15, declared 10 people saints of the Roman Catholic Church, including an anti-Nazi Dutch priest murdered in the Dachau concentration camp and a French hermit monk assassinated in Algeria...
Doctor plans uterus transplant for transgender patient
ABS-CBN News, May 16, 2022
South China Morning Post
A doctor in India is planning to transplant a womb into a transgender woman, to enable her to carry children...
Finland announces 'historic' NATO bid, as Sweden holds key meet
ABS-CBN News, May 15, 2022
Elias Huuhtanen , Agence France-Presse
The Finnish government officially announced its intention to join NATO on Sunday, as Sweden's ruling party held a decisive meeting that could pave the way for a joint application...
Dollar’s strength pushes global economy deeper into slowdown
BusinessWorld, May 16, 2022
Bloomberg
The soaring dollar is propelling the global economy deeper into a synchronized slowdown by driving up borrowing costs and stoking financial-market volatility — and there’s little respite on the horizon...
India bans wheat exports as heat wave hurts crop, domestic prices soar
CNN Philippines, May 16, 2022
Reuters
India banned wheat exports on Saturday — days after saying it was targeting record shipments this year — as a scorching heat wave curtailed output and domestic prices hit a record high...
Philippine power situation uncertain – lawmaker
Philippine Star, May 16, 2022
Paolo Romero
The country’s power situation faces uncertainty with the plan of businessman Dennis Uy of Udenna Corp. to sell his controlling stake in the Malampaya deep water gas-to-power project, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian warned yesterday...
Teachers’ poll honoraria may be out by May 24
Philippine Star, May 16, 2022
Rainier Allan Ronda
Education Secretary Leonor Briones expressed her “wholehearted gratitude” to the hundreds of thousands of public school teachers and Department of Education (DepEd) non-teaching personnel who rendered poll duty in the just concluded May 9 elections...
UP officials hit red-tagging of students
Philippine Star, May 16, 2022
Romina Cabrera
Top executives of the University of the Philippines (UP) have called out the red-tagging allegations made by officials of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC)...
Comelec to proclaim Magic 12 Wednesday
Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 16, 2022
Dona Z. Pazzibugan
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) plans to proclaim the top 12 candidates in the senatorial race, or the so-called Magic 12, by Wednesday and some of the winning party-list groups by Thursday...
Sale of Udenna stake in Malampaya 'alarming'
The Manila Times, May 16, 2022
Bernadette E. Tamayo
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian is worried about the country's power situation amid reports that businessman Dennis Uy of Udenna Corp. plans to sell his stake in the Malampaya deepwater gas-to-power project...
P3K bonus eyed for poll workers
The Manila Times, May 16, 2022
Kaithreen Cruz and Franco Jose C. Baroña
The Department of Education (DepEd) has proposed that teachers who worked longer hours than usual manning voting centers during the May 9 elections be given an additional P3,000...
Unity, economic recovery top agenda of new House
Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 16, 2022
Jeannette I. Andrade
Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, gunning to be the next Speaker of the House of Representatives, vowed to prioritize legislation promoting the next administration’s unity agenda and economic recovery in the 19th Congress, which will convene on July 25...
Marcos Jr. urged to sustain infra dev’t, tax reforms
Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 16, 2022
Ben O. de Vera
President Duterte will leave behind 40 finished flagship infrastructure projects worth P365.2 billion by the end of his term, such that his economic team wants the succeeding Marcos Jr. administration to prioritize infrastructure development, to be partly funded by another round of tax reforms, under the proposed fiscal consolidation and resource mobilization plan...
‘New gov’t must continue reforms’
Manila Standard, May 16, 2022
Julito G. Rada and Rio N. Araja
Vital reforms must continue in the next administration to ensure the continued economic recovery from the impact of the pandemic, the Department of Finance (DOF) said over the weekend...
90% of COC canvassed by Comelec as NBOC
BusinessMirror, May 16, 2022
Samuel P. Medenilla
Over 90 percent of the Certificate of Canvass (COC) from the 2022 polls have finally been processed by the Commission on Elections sitting as the National Board of Canvassers...
‘Extreme legal measures’ vs crime, red tape were hard to pull off–Duterte
BusinessMirror, May 16, 2022
Samuel P. Medenilla
President Duterte has admitted he faced obstacles in passing “extreme legal measures” to combat crime and red tape...
Energy security raised anew over Malampaya ‘changes’
BusinessMirror, May 16, 2022
Lenie Lectura and Butch Fernandez
Will changes in the Malampaya consortium pose a serious threat in the country’s energy supply?...
DOH: Most severe, critical COVID-19 cases in Ilocos Region are unvaccinated
Rappler, May 15, 2022
John Michael Mugas
The Department of Health (DOH) in the Ilocos Region reported on Friday, May 13, that most individuals who suffered from severe and critical COVID-19 in the region during the first four months of 2022 were those who remained unvaccinated...
‘Help solve society’s ills’
Daily Tribune, May 16, 2022
Jom Garner
President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday called on new graduates of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) to lend a hand in correcting society’s “ills” as he bid them goodbye as Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief in Baguio City...
Rep. Romualdez bares 19th Congress’s priority agenda
BusinessMirror, May 16, 2022
Jovee Marie de la Cruz and Butch Fernandez
Unity agenda of the Marcos administration, economic and pandemic measures will be the top priorities of the House of Representatives next Congress, according to House Majority Leader Martin G. Romualdez...
20,000 Saudi-bound OFWs stranded in Philippines
Philippine Star, May 16, 2022
Rudy Santos
About 20,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) assured of jobs in Saudi Arabia are stranded in the Philippines because of a Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) order suspending deployment until giant Saudi construction firms settle the unpaid wages of some 11,000 Filipino employees...
DepEd eyes completion of K to 12 curriculum enhancement in July 2022
Manila Bulletin, May 15, 2022
Merlina Hernando-Malipot
The Department of Education (DepEd) is planning to complete the K to 12 curriculum enhancement in July this year to address congestion, redundancies, and overlaps in the current curriculum...
PHL vows to ‘take back’ lost territories in South China sea
BusinessMirror, May 16, 2022
Malou Talosig-Bartolome
The Philippines has vowed to “take back” lost territories in the South China Sea as it affirms the ruling from the Permanent Court of Arbitration that China’s maritime claim over the disputed islands have no legal basis...
P1B Covid-19 aid released
Daily Tribune, May 16, 2022
Raadee Sausa
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has announced the release of P1.081 billion to the Department of Health (DoH) to cover the death and sickness benefits of Covid-19 frontliners...
Market awaits global, domestic developments
Philippine Star, May 16, 2022
Iris Gonzales
The whole week was red at the local bourse as the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) declined for the fifth straight day Friday, closing at its lowest level in over nine months...
Govt collects P6.6B from Jan-April rice import tariffs
BusinessMirror, May 16, 2022
Bernadette D. Nicolas
RICE import tariffs collected in the first four months of the year reached P6.6 billion, the Department of Finance (DOF) said...
Construction project hike hints at recovery–PSA data
BusinessMirror, May 16, 2022
Cai Ordinario
The gradual recovery of the economy has been reflected in the value of construction projects nationwide, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)...
'Exempt small businesses from pay hike order'
The Manila Times, May 16, 2022
Kristina Maralit
Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose Maria "Joey" Concepcion 3rd wants small enterprises exempted from the order to raise the minimum wage...
Analysts divided on rate hike move
BusinessWorld, May 16, 2022
Luz Wendy T. Noble
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) could still keep rates steady on Thursday as it waits for more proof of a robust economic recovery, although some analysts said a rate hike is likely after the strong first-quarter print...
Tourism, agro-processing seen as critical for post-pandemic growth
BusinessWorld, May 15, 2022
Tobias Jared Tomas
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) said five industries are candidates to become growth drivers after the pandemic — tourism, agro-processing, electronics, garments, and digital trade...
Supermarket association expecting further hikes in goods prices
BusinessWorld, May 15, 2022
Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
Further price increases are expected in grocery items beyond the recent adjustments to the government’s price control scheme, known as the suggested retail price (SRP), the supermarkets association said...
Landbank opens P50-B lending facility for crisis-hit enterprises
BusinessMirror, May 16, 2022
Bianca Cuaresma
State-run Land Bank of the Philippines announced that it has launched a P50-billion loan program for enterprises affected by calamities and other man-made crises such as wars and disputes...
ADB warns of slower economic growth, job losses due to prolonged school closures
Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 14, 2022
Ben O. de Vera
Prolonged school closures — including one of the longest, currently ongoing in the Philippines — would not only slow economic growth but also shed jobs across the Asia-Pacific region even a decade after COVID-19 spread and became a pandemic, the Manila-based multilateral lender Asian Development Bank (ADB) said...
BSP seals gold buy deal with re-opened Didipio mine
Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 14, 2022
Ronnel W. Domingo
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has secured gold supply from OceanaGold Philippines Inc. as part of efforts to capture local output of the precious metal not only from small-scale miners but also from large-scale operators...
Dominguez sets advise for PH debt
The Manila Times, May 14, 2022
Mayvelin U. Caraballo
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd has some suggestions on how the incoming administration could address the nation's mounting debt...