Ledac adds 5 key bills to 19th Congress priority list By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie
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ARBOR DAY 2024 In a symbolic gesture of their commitment to tree planting and environmental sustainability, key figures from Manila Water and government agencies gathered at Manila Water Orosa Hall in Quezon City on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, to celebrate Arbor Day 2024 with the theme “Generations of Hope.” Led by Manila Water President and CEO Jocot de Dios and MWSS Administrator Leonor Cleofas, the gathering included Manila Water Project Manager Group Adviser Angel Santiago Gonzalez, Quezon City Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability-Low Carbon Development Section Chief Joemar Capili, DENR-NCR Metropolitan Environment Officer-East OIC-Director Virgilio Licuan, Manila Water Chief Finance Officer Gigi Miguel, and Manila Water Enterprise Regulatory Affairs Group Director for East Zone Atty. Kaye Celera. NONOY LACZA
HE Legislative-Executive De ve lopment A dv i sor y Council (Ledac) on Tuesday agreed to add five more priority measures to its list, bringing the total to 28. These bills are all anticipated to become law over the final 73 days of the 19th Congress. Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez announced the status of the five new Ledac measures in the House of Representatives: amendments to the Foreign Investors’ Long-Term Lease Act (no bill filed); amendments to the Agrarian Reform Law (under committee
deliberations); the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act (approved on third reading); reforms to the Philippine Capital Markets (approved on third reading); and amendments to the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) (approved on third reading). “Most of the bills [25] are already in their final stages and have been approved by the House of Representatives. We are committed to approving the remaining measures named during our Ledac meeting with President Bongbong Marcos, Senate President Chiz Escudero, and other officials. These legislative measures are crucial to the country’s development agenda,” Romualdez said.
“The President has emphasized the importance of passing these measures to advance the policies of the Marcos administration for the country’s continued economic recovery, progress, and stability,” Romualdez added. On Tuesday, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. presided over the 5th Ledac meeting at Kalayaan Hall in Malacañang Palace to discuss the approval of bills for inclusion in the Common Legislative Agenda (CLA). Attendees included Romualdez, Escudero, National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile,
Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo Jr., Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, and other government officials. The Ledac, chaired by Marcos and composed of representatives from the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Cabinet, is a high-level advisory body that sets the legislative priorities of the government. In its meeting, Ledac approved 18 bills as top priority, eight of which are already in advanced See “Ledac,” A
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Wednesday, June 26, 2024 Vol. 19 No. 253
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ANALYSTS: NO KEY RATE CUTS IN PHL THIS YEAR A By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto @reine_alberto
NY key policy rate cuts in the Philippines for this year are seen to be off the table, including the anticipated rate cut as early as August, according to foreign analysts.
ANZ Research reported on Tuesday that it only forecasts rate cuts in 2024 in South Korea, while saying it is likely impossible for the Philippines and Indonesia to reduce key policy rates this year. “Rate cuts in Indonesia and the Philippines are also not on the table this year,” the report said. Earlier, BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona said monetary authorities may start gradually cutting policy rates by August, which may or may not come ahead of the actions of the US Federal Reserve. Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto has also said that the Monetary Board could reduce key policy rates by 150 basis points within two
years. Remolona, however, said it is only possible to bring down key rates by 50 bps this year if there was a risk of a “hard landing.” ANZ Research Chief Economist for Southeast Asia and India Sanjay Mathur pinned the high commodity prices, although receding but “still running close to the upper bound” of the national government’s inflation target of 2 to 4 percent, to the unlikely rate cut this year. Inflation increased to 3.9 percent in May this year, close to breaching the government’s target. This is faster than the 3.8 percent in April 2024 but slower than See “Key rate,” A
PHL, 2 OTHERS FACE RISK FROM TRADE DISRUPTIONS TO TAIWAN By Andrea E. San Juan @andreasanjuan
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INGA POR E, Ma laysia and the Philippines are among the “most exposed” to trade disruptions or could face strong threats to their output if Taiwanese exports are hampered, according to UK-based think tank Oxford Economics. “Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines are among the most exposed in our full scorecard covering 63 countries, and would face strong and immediate threats to their output were Taiwanese exports to be impeded,” the think tank said on Tuesday. The UK-based think tank, in partnership with global leader in time-series data and
analytical software Haver Analytics, measured “direct trade exposure” by constructing a “cross country” matrix of bilateral trade with Taiwan. This, as Oxford Economics laid out its analysis of “crosscountry [gross domestic product] GDP vulnerabilites” potentially brought about by tensions arising from China and Taiwan, which it said could lead to disruption of the global semiconductor supply chain. “To measure direct trade ex posure, we constr uct a cross-country matrix of bilateral trade with Taiwan, as well as Taiwanese and Chinese import penetration into the broader electronics sector, using data from national See “Trade,” A
MUD, FAITH, AND TRADITION Devout Catholics gather at the Church of Saint John the Baptist during the mud festival at Bibiclat, Nueva Ecija, on Monday, June 24, 2024. This unique festival, known as “Taong Putik” or Mud People Festival, has deep roots in the community’s history, dating back to 1836. It symbolizes the unwavering faith and humility of the locals in their devotion to their beloved patron saint, St. John the Baptist. The tradition, passed down from generation to generation, is a testament to the enduring spirit of religious fervor and cultural heritage in Bibiclat. AP/AARON FAVILA
‘RTL, RCEF gave no great boost to rice productivity’ By Ada Pelonia @adapelonia
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HE Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) and the Rice Competitive Enhancement Fund (RCEF) did not significantly improve the country’s rice productivity, according to the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Development (CPBRD). A report by the CPBRD stated that despite the allocation of funds through the RCEF, there was “little” indication of significant productivity improvements. Citing figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), CPBRD noted that the compound
annual growth rate (CAGR) during pre-RTL production data of irrigated palay stood at 2.37 percent, higher than the CAGR from 2019 to 2022 at 1.07 percent. It added that while the postRTL CAGR of 3.5 percent for rainfed farms is larger than its corresponding pre-RTL CAGR of 2.59 percent, this could be attributed to the “significant contraction and subsequent rebound in the productivity levels of rainfed farms in 2019 and 2020.” “It is instructive to emphasize that while the period for evaluation appears to be short, it still See “RTL,” A
PESO EXCHANGE RATES Q US 58.8110 Q JAPAN 0.3685 Q UK 74.6135 Q HK 7.5323 Q CHINA 8.1009 Q SINGAPORE 43.4896 Q AUSTRALIA 39.1387 Q EU 63.1336 Q KOREA 0.0425 Q SAUDI ARABIA 15.6771 Source:
BSP 25 June 2024