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Saturday, July 27, 2024 Vol. 19 No. 284
CLIMATE, SUPPLY ISSUES
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MAR INFLATION OUTLOOK
5-MONTH NG INFRA SPEND RISES 21.7% TO P472.1B
T
HE national government’s infrastructure spending increased as the state disbursed P472.1 billion from January to May 2024, according to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). Latest DBM data showed state infrastructure expenditure and other capital outlays as of end-May 2024 grew by 21.7 percent to P472.1 billion from P387.8 billion recorded in the same period a year ago. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) fasttracking of completion of ongoing projects, particularly those started in the previous year, drove higher infrastructure spending, the DBM said. DBM also cited the processing of payment claims, as these are all in line with the directive of Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan. This is to “ensure the timely submission of all necessary documentation from contractors to avoid delays in processing and payments, and to enhance the coordination between different units within their department to improve the efficiency of project implementation and disbursement procedures,” the DBM added. For May 2024 alone, infrastructure spending and other capital outlays also increased by 31.4 percent year-on-year to P136.4 billion from P103.8 billion. “The expansion was mainly credited to the sizeable disbursements recorded in the DPWH for the construction of roads, bridges, flood control structures, hospital buildings, and multipurpose building projects,” the DBM explained.
IN Meycauayan, Bulacan, residents navigate flooded streets caused by Super Typhoon Carina, which on July 24, 2024, unleashed severe monsoon rains on the Philippines, causing widespread devastation without making landfall. The flooding exacerbates existing supply issues and inflation concerns, further straining the livelihoods of those affected. ROY DOMINGO
O
By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
NGOING supply issues and potential secondary effects may still cause high commodity prices despite expectations of inflation settling within the target of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, according to analysts.
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In the highlights of the Monetary Board’s meeting on the monetary policy stance on June 27, 2024, released Thursday evening, analysts project “within-target inflation over the policy horizon,” or between 2 and 4 percent. External forecasters surveyed by the BSP for June 2024 said their expectations for inflation will stay near the upper end of the target range for 2024. The mean inflation
forecast for 2024 remained at 3.7 percent. For 2025 to 2026, analysts said inflation has eased further toward the midpoint of the target range. The mean inflation forecasts for 2025 and 2026 declined to 3.4 percent (from 3.5 percent) and 3.3 percent (from 3.4 percent), respectively.
4 Japanese firms in FPIP ecozone looking for over 1,000 new workers
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As ‘Carina’ devastated Luzon, DOST, DILG were leading ‘Handa Pilipinas’ Visayas leg on climate, disaster fixes
FIRST Philippine Industrial Park in Batangas. FPIP.COM
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(FROM left) DOST Caraga Regional Director Noel Ajoc, DOST VI Regional Director Rowen Gelonga, DOST Undersecretary for Special Concerns Teodoro Gatchalian, DOST Undersecretary for Regional Operations Sancho Mabborang, DILG Undersecretary for Local Government Marlo Iringan, DOST Pagasa Administrator Nathaniel Servando, DOST VII Officer-In-Charge Regional Director Tristan Abando, DOST Phivolcs Director Teresito Bacocol during the Handa Pilipinas Press Conference on Wednesday, July 24, at the Waterfront Cebu Hotel & Casino. JOHN EIRON R. FRANCISCO
By John Eiron R. Francisco
C
EBU CITY—As Super Typhoon Carina, in tandem with the southwest monsoon (habagat), was lashing Luzon on Wednesday, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), in partnership with the Department
of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), led on Wednesday the “Handa Pilipinas” Visayas Leg exposition to address the urgent need for enhanced disaster awareness, preparedness, and technological innovations. The Cebu conference that facilitates sharing of disaster “fixes”
THE Mobile and Command Control Center Vehicle (MOCCOV) features a 7x4-meter tent divided into three separate rooms for various operations, along with a foldable boat. JOHN EIRON R. FRANCISCO
also came on the heels of the recent eruption of Mount Kanlaon in Central Visayas. “Science, technology and innovation is crucial to addressing the challenges and disaster prevention and staying ahead of the curve in disaster management,” DOST Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. said in a video statement during the opening ceremony that drew over 400 participants from various local government units (LGUs) in the region and
affiliated agencies. Solidum said this initiative aims to fulfill the government’s vision of fostering a community, republic, region and nation that is well-prepared for hazards. He stressed the need to assess the current condition of cities in the face of rapid urbanization and unregulated development. These factors, he noted, increase the vulnerability of cities and municipalities to
By Andrea E. San Juan
APANESE firms with manufacturing facilities inside the First Philippine Industrial Park (FPIP) economic zone in the cities of Santo Tomas and Tanauan in Batangas said they are hiring over a thousand additional workers. In a statement on Friday, John Carlo Navalta, FPIP external relations manager, said the four Japanese companies—Brother Industries Inc., Canon Business Machines Inc., Ibiden Inc., and Philippine Manufacturing Co. of
Murata Inc.—need at least 1,430 new workers. Navalta also noted that close to a thousand of the new openings are for engineers, accountants, nurses, human-resource personnel and other office-based workers. So far, 457 of the job applicants, most of them fresh or recent Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) graduates, have hurdled the initial screening and will undergo the next stage of evaluation and screening, including interviews. With this, roughly a thousand jobs Continued on A2
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GLOOM IN BATAAN At coastal communities in Limay, Bataan, close to where the oil tanker MT Terra Nova sank on Thursday, residents wait for updates from authorities working to prevent oil spillage. For days, fisherfolk could not sail because of Super Typhoon Carina and the enhanced southwestern monsoon, which swept away several boats and damaged others. Now, they are forbidden from going to sea because a ship carrying 1.4 million liters of oil went underwater a few kilometers from their homes. While worried about their livelihood and even sustenance, they’re using the relative quiet after the storm to repair their boats. Greenpeace urged the government to hold the owners of the tanker and of the oil cargo accountable for any damage caused by the oil spill. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. directed the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to lead the cleanup. Story in A4 News, “No sign of leak–yet– from oil tanker that sank in Manila Bay.” GREENPEACE
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 58.3890 n JAPAN 0.3794 n UK 75.0649 n HK 7.4797 n CHINA 8.0592 n SINGAPORE 43.4701 n AUSTRALIA 38.1689 n EU 63.3345 n KOREA 0.0423 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.5646 Source: BSP (July 26, 2024)