May 25, 2022
How does the Philippines compare with its neighbors in mining attractiveness?
Source BusinessWorld
Philippines’ situation is ‘very different’ from Sri Lanka — economists
BusinessWorld, May 25, 2022
Tobias Jared Tomas
The Philippines is unlikely to face an economic crisis such as the one being experienced by Sri Lanka right now, economists said, citing the country’s relatively strong fiscal position and economic reforms...
DBCC lowers growth target for 2022
BusinessWorld, May 25, 2022
Tobias Jared Tomas
Economic managers now expect gross domestic product (GDP) to expand by 7-8% this year, as the outlook may be clouded by the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war, economic slowdown in China and monetary policy tightening in the United States...
Concepcion upbeat about economic recovery
Philippine Star, May 25, 2022
Louella Desiderio
Domestic economic activity is expected to be back at pre-pandemic levels by the second half of the year, provided alert levels are not raised, presidential adviser for entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion said...
'Economy back to pre-Covid level by Q2'
Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 25, 2022
Catherine S. Valente
Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose Maria "Joey" Concepcion 3rd is confident that the Philippine economy will return to its pre-pandemic level by the second half of this year provided that alert levels are not heightened...
No ban yet on travelers from countries with monkeypox
Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 25, 2022
Kathleen de Villa
The government is not yet inclined to impose a ban on travelers from countries with confirmed monkeypox cases...
Gov’t allots record P5.3-T budget for BBM in ’23 or 22.1% of GDP
Manila Standard, May 25, 2022
Julito G. Rada
The incoming administration of presumptive president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. will have a full-year budget of P5.268 trillion to spend in 2023, Department of Budget and Management (DBM) officer-in-charge Tina Rose Marie Canda announced Tuesday...
Q1 2022 public infra spending up despite election ban
Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 24, 2022
Ben O. de Vera
Total public infrastructure spending in the first quarter of 2022 inched up 4 percent year-on-year to P252.8 billion despite the ban on new projects ahead of the May 9 presidential elections, which slowed down rollout of the national government’s infra projects...
Dominguez says no basis for BIR closure order vs Megaworld
BusinessWorld, May 25, 2022
Tobias Jared Tomas
A Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) regional office’s plan to issue a closure order against listed developer Megaworld Corp. had no basis, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said...
BSP proposes rules on operation of real-time gross settlement payment system
BusinessWorld, May 25, 2022
KBT
The Central Bank is proposing rules for the operation of the Peso Real-Time Gross Settlement Payment System (RTGS PS), based on a draft circular on its website...
SEC issues draft PERA product regulation
The Manila Times, May 25, 2022
Faye Almazan
Draft eligibility and qualification rules for personal equity and retirement account (PERA) investment products have been released by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)...
Duterte signs laws creating additional Marina offices
The Manila Times, May 25, 2022
Genivi Verdejo
President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the laws creating the new Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) extension offices in Ilocos Sur and Leyte...
Senate OKs new OGCC charter
BusinessMirror, May 24, 2022
Butch Fernandez
The Senate, voting 21-0, approved on third and final reading Monday a new charter of the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel seen to strengthen the OGCC by rationalizing its personnel’s compensation framework...
OWWA to limit free hotel, transport perks for OFWs
BusinessMirror, May 24, 2022
Samuel P. Medenilla
Starting next month, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) will limit the overseas Filipino workers (OFW), who may avail themselves of its free transportation and accommodations aid...
DA restores 60-day SPSIC validity for meat imports
BusinessMirror, May 24, 2022
Jasper Y. Arcalas
The Department of Agriculture (DA) reverted the validity of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance (SPSIC) for imported meat products to 60 days, arguing that problems hounding the global supply chain have already eased...
SEC, Google work on updating policies to protect Filipinos
The Manila Times, May 25, 2022
Kelvin Lester K. Lee
A few weeks ago, I wrote about a successful collaboration between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Google to introduce a screening process for loan apps on Google Play amid the proliferation of unregistered online lending applications...
Stakeholders slam toxic port order
Daily Tribune, May 25, 2022
TDT
Saying that a Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) directive “threatens to cripple the transport and logistics industries and the national economy as a whole,” 14 trade, industry and transport and logistics groups issued a manifesto yesterday seeking its “immediate revocation.”..
EO issued approving first SIPP
Manila Bulletin, May 24, 2022
Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat
Malacanang has approved the Strategic Investment Priority Plan (SIPP), the country’s first list of priority economic activities eligible for government tax and fiscal incentives under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE) Law...
World economy has ‘buffer’ against recession — IMF
BusinessWorld, May 25, 2022
Reuters
While the world economy faces headwinds, current growth forecasts offer a buffer against a potential global recession, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) No. 2 official said on Monday...
Indonesia, PHL recoveries to outperform ASEAN — Bloomberg Economics
BusinessWorld, May 24, 2022
Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson
The disruptions imposed by the war in Ukraine and the lockdowns in China are expected to slow the economic recovery in Southeast Asia but not knock it off track, with Indonesia and the Philippines tagged as outperformers, a Singapore-based analyst with Bloomberg Economics said...
Marcos looking at extending VFA with US
Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 25, 2022
Nestor Corrales
Presumptive President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he has met with Washington’s top diplomat in the country and discussed the “re-signing or the extension” of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the United States...
US IPEF plan consistent with PHL priorities, DTI says
BusinessWorld, May 24, 2022
Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
The US initiative to re-engage economically in the region, known as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), is consistent with the Philippines’ desire to promote inclusive growth and quality job creation, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said...
Economic fragmentation threatens growth – IMF
The Manila Times, May 25, 2022
Agence France-Presse
International Monetary Fund (IMF) leaders warned on Monday that growing pressures undermining global integration, including an increase in trade barriers, threatened economic growth worldwide...
Countries agree to overhaul WHO funding model
Philippine Star, May 25, 2022
Robin Millard, Agence France-Presse
Shaken by the pandemic, the World Health Organization's member states agreed Tuesday to overhaul how they fund the UN health agency, giving it much more money to spend on its own priorities...
Pandemic ‘a bonanza for the wealthy’ – international group
Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 25, 2022
Krixia Subingsubing
Nearly a million people can be pushed to extreme poverty in 2022 for every new billionaire created during the past two years, according to an international group sounding the alarm over the “extreme, new levels” of inequality brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic...
EU eyes tag as global maritime security hub
BusinessMirror, May 24, 2022
Malou Talosig-Bartolome
The European Union is shifting to become a “global maritime security actor”—expanding its sphere of influence to the Indo-Pacific region which may include the hotly contested South China Sea and East China Sea...
North Korea fires three ballistic missiles, Seoul military says
Philippine Star, May 25, 2022
Kang Jin-kyu, Agence France-Presse
North Korea fired three ballistic missiles towards the Sea of Japan early Wednesday, Seoul's military said, just one day after President Joe Biden wrapped up his first Asia visit as US leader...
Asian stocks mostly lower as inflation worries cloud outlook
Philippine Star, May 25, 2022
Asian stocks, including the Philippines, were mostly lower yesterday as worries over inflation tempered optimism over President Joe Biden’s remark that he was considering reducing US tariffs on Chinese imports...
Beijing ramps up COVID-19 quarantine, Shanghai residents decry uneven rules
Rappler, May 25, 2022
Reuters
Beijing stepped up quarantine efforts to end its month-old COVID-19 outbreak as fresh signs of frustration emerged in Shanghai, where some bemoaned unfair curbs with the city of 25 million preparing to lift a prolonged lockdown in just over a week...
Global shares slide on inflation worries
The Manila Times, May 25, 2022
Associated Press
Global shares declined on Tuesday as worries over inflation tempered optimism over United States President Joe Biden's remark that he was considering reducing US tariffs on Chinese imports...
US says ending Russia debt payment exemption
ABS-CBN News, May 25, 2022
Agence France-Presse
The United States will end an exemption allowing Moscow to pay foreign debt held by American investors with funds held in Russia, the US Treasury said, a move that could push Vladimir Putin's country closer to default...
US President: Leaders navigating 'dark hour' after Ukraine invasion
The Manila Times, May 25, 2022
Associated Press
United States President Joe Biden told fellow Indo-Pacific leaders assembled for a four-country summit on Tuesday that they were navigating "a dark hour in our shared history" due to the war in Ukraine, and urged them to exert greater effort to stop Russian President Vladimir Putin's aggression...
Risk of blood clots in lung doubled for COVID-19 survivors — US study
GMA News, May 25, 2022
Coronavirus survivors have twice the risk of developing dangerous blood clots that travel to their lungs compared to people who weren't infected, as well double the chance of respiratory symptoms, a large new study said Tuesday...
Spain's monkeypox tally rises to 48 with 11 new cases
GMA News, May 25, 2022
Health authorities in Spain's Madrid region said they detected 11 confirmed new cases of monkeypox on Tuesday, bringing the total cases in Spain to 48, practically all in the capital city...
All roads clear for nat’l canvass
Daily Tribune, May 25, 2022
Jom Garner, Michelle Guillang And Mj Blancaflor
The canvassing of votes for president and vice president in the recently concluded election has begun after the Congress convened on Tuesday morning as the National Board of Canvassers (NBoC)...
No sustained hike yet in COVID cases, says Health dep’t
BusinessWorld, May 24, 2022
Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza
The Health department on Tuesday said new coronavirus subvariant cases in the country has yet to result in “sustained, large case increases or hospital admissions."...
BBM eyes economic stimulus measure
The Manila Times, May 25, 2022
Catherine S. Valente
President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. is looking at the national budget for 2023 to fund an economic stimulus measure that will help those severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic...
‘Data governance’ missing in COVID response, aid distribution
Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 25, 2022
Jane Bautista
Don’t they have a group chat? According to an information technology expert, that is the constant question expressing public exasperation over the government’s COVID-19 response, which has been marked by conflicting policies of state agencies and which could have been solved through data-driven governance...
Metro Manila’s COVID-19 reproduction number up
Philippine Star, May 25, 2022
Michael Punongbayan
Metro Manila’s COVID-19 reproduction number slightly increased from one to 1.05, the OCTA Research Group reported yesterday...
Duterte hopes BBM would go nuclear
Daily Tribune, May 25, 2022
MJ Blancaflor
Outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte said he hopes his successor, Bongbong Marcos Jr., would explore nuclear energy as an alternative power source to reduce the Philippines’ dependence on fossil fuels...
Proclamation of winning party-list groups remains uncertain
The Manila Times, May 24, 2022
William B. Depasupil
The proclamation of the winning 63 party-list groups remains uncertain even as the results of the special elections in Tubaran, Lanao del Norte would have been known, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec)...
OCTA sees 'weak' Covid surge
The Manila Times, May 24, 2022
Red Mendoza
The OCTA Research group on Tuesday said that it sees a possible "weak surge" in Covid-19 cases as the reproduction number in the National Capital Region (NCR) increased to 1.05 on May 20...
Canvass of votes for president, VP hits snag over missing CoC
The Manila Times, May 24, 2022
Moises Cruz
The canvassing of votes for president and vice president hit a snag on Tuesday when the Certificate of Canvass (CoC) for the province of Surigao del Sur was missing from its ballot box and was later found to have been mixed up with those for the local candidates...
'Constitutional crisis' looms over Marcos DQ case in SC -- ex-Duterte lawyer
The Manila Times, May 24, 2022
Kristina Maralit
With Congress set to officially proclaim Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte-Carpio as the duly elected President and Vice President, respectively, within the week, one question remains on which should prevail: The people's will or the will of the law?...
Nearly 2M Covid doses administered in gov't house-to-house vax program
Manila Bulletin, May 24, 2022
Chito Chavez
A total of 1,934,807 Covid-19 vaccine doses were administered to the unvaccinated and those with incomplete vaccine doses through the house-to-house vaccination process, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Eduardo Año said Monday night, May 23...
PH set to import frozen fish by June to stabilize prices
Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 25, 2022
Jordeene B. Lagare
More imported fish is expected to enter local markets this second quarter as the government seeks to stabilize supply and prices of fish products...
GOCC losses exceed P703B as state insurers adopt PFRS
BusinessWorld, May 24, 2022
Tobias Jared Tomas
The adoption of Philippine Financial Reporting Standards (PFRS) has resulted in a net loss of P703.59 billion in 2021 for government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs), up from P346.54 billion a year earlier, after the new accounting norms forced the recognition of major liabilities among government insurers, the Department of Finance (DoF) said...
External risks to weigh on Q2 growth–NEDA
BusinessMirror, May 24, 2022
Cai Ordinario
External risks are expected to weigh heavily on the country’s economic growth in the second quarter, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda)...
NEDA pressed to review infrastructure projects to manage debt load
BusinessWorld, May 24, 2022
Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza
The incoming Socioeconomic Planning Secretary, Arsenio M. Balisacan, must review President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s active infrastructure projects in order to identify possible savings that may be applied to better managing the national debt, InfraWatchPH said in a statement...
Pre-pandemic economy seen restored by 2022 second half
BusinessWorld, May 24, 2022
Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
The economy will return to pre-pandemic levels by the second half, assuming no return to the stricter quarantine settings, a Palace adviser said...
‘Sound fundamentals’ mitigated Covid impact
BusinessMirror, May 24, 2022
Bianca Cuaresma
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno said the strong economic foundation of the country before the pandemic has insulated it from further negative effects stemming from the global health crisis...
Rates for 10-year bonds rise to 6.89%
Philippine Star, May 25, 2022
Elijah Felice Rosales
Treasury rates for 10-year bonds jumped to almost seven percent yesterday, forcing the government to rethink the tenors of its succeeding borrowings...