MEDAL COUNT R
KNOCKOUT START Aira Villegas, a 28-year-old native of Tacloban, kicked off the country’s Olympics boxing campaign with a unanimous-decision win against Morocco’s Yasmine Mouttaki in the women’s 50kg preliminary match on Sunday, July 28, 2024. This victory propels her into the Round of 16, where she will face Algeria’s Roumaysa Boualam, a historic boxer who made waves at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as Algeria’s first female Olympic boxer. AP/JOHN LOCHER
ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA JOURNALISM AWARDS
2006 National Newspaper of the Year 2011 National Newspaper of the Year 2013 Business Newspaper of the Year 2017 Business Newspaper of the Year 2019 Business Newspaper of the Year 2021 Pro Patria Award PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY 2018 Data Champion
COUNTRY
G
S
B
T
1
Japan
4
2
1
7
1
Republic of Korea
4
2
1
7
3
Australia
4
2
0
6
4
United States of America
3
6
3
12
5
France
3
3
2
8
6
People’s Republic of China
3
2
2
7
7
Italy
1
2
3
6
8
Kazakhstan
1
0
2
3
9
Belgium
1
0
1
2
10
Germany
1
0
0
1
10
Hong Kong, China
1
0
0
1
10
Uzbekistan
1
0
0
1
13
Great Britain
0
2
2
4
14
Brazil
0
1
2
3
15
Canada
0
1
1
2
Last updated: July 29, 2024 at 16:13 Source: olympics.com
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MATURING COVID LOANS TO SWELL DEBT TO P17T DBM turns over P6.35-T ’25 NEP to lawmakers
By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
T
HE national government’s outstanding debt is seen to balloon to a recordhigh P17.353 trillion at the end of 2025, according to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). Data from the Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing (BESF) showed the P17.3 trillion is higher by 8.08 percent than the projected P16.056-trillion outstanding debt for 2024, which also increased by 1.35 percent from the P15.841trillion outlook in 2023. Broken down, domestic debt is expected to jump by 9.64 percent to P11.976 trillion in 2025 from P10.923 trillion for this year. External debt in 2025, meanwhile, will also inch up by 4.75 percent to P5.377 trillion from the P5.133 trillion projection for 2024. Budget Undersecretary Joselito Basilio said the government has relied on borrowings during the Covid-19 pandemic, and debt could reach its peak in the next few years. “As the [gross domestic product] GDP expands and we are able to pay off our debts, after its peak, debt will eventually go down,” Basilio explained in a media briefing on Monday. Basilio said the DBM’s outlook is for inflation and interest rates to stabilize as soon as this coming second semester of the year so that debt payments would also decrease in that sense.
2025 borrowing plan THE state will borrow P2.545 trillion in 2025 to finance the national government’s programs and projects. See “Covid,” A
By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie
T
EXPENDITURES EXPLAINED At the executive lounge of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), a press conference was held Monday to discuss the 2025 National Expenditure Program under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s administration. DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman (center) presented the 2025 National Expenditure Program, detailing the budget of expenditure and sources of finance to the media. From left: Undersecretary Janet Abuel, Principal Economist Dr. Joselito Basilio, Undersecretary Rolando Toledo, and Assistant Secretary Mary Anne Dela Vega. BERNARD TESTA
HE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on Monday submitted the 2025 P6.352trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP) of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., with job creation, quality education, expanded health care, and social protection as top priorities. The proposed national budget for Fiscal Year 2025, themed “Agenda for Prosperity: Fulfilling the Needs and Aspirations of the Filipino People,” amounts to P6.352 trillion. The proposed budget makes up 22 percent of the country’s GDP, and is a 10.1-percent increase from the P5.768-trillion budget for this year. “On behalf of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., it is my honor and privilege to transmit to Congress—for its perusal, deliberation, and approval— the Fiscal Year [FY] 2025 National Expenditure Program [NEP],” Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said in her message during the turnover. “Let us sustain the momentum and stay on track with our Agenda for Prosperity. Through this budget, we can achieve our target of a single-digit poverty level and an upper-middle-income economy. See “DBM,” A
PRA CHIEF: SPORTS GOODS SALE TO RISE 20-25% By Andrea E. San Juan @andreasanjuan
T
HE sales of sports goods in the Philippines is seen to grow by 20 to 25 percent in 2024, likely fueled by the entry of new sports such as pickleball as well as the Paris Olympics, which is generating “strong” following among spectators in sports, according to Philippine Retailers Association (PRA) President Roberto S. Claudio Sr. “The Philippine sports market in 2024 is expected to reach [pre-] pandemic level of 2018 and is expected to continue to grow in the next five years,” Claudio, who’s also the chairman of Toby’s Sports, told the BusinessMirror
in a Viber message. “We are expecting a high growth of 20 to 25 percent growth with worldwide growth of about 30 percent,” Claudio added. The sporting goods market, he noted, has been growing not only in the Philippines but worldwide. This can be attributed to the post-pandemic trend, brought about fitness and wellness concerns during the Covid-19 pandemic. “Similarly due to the work from home that has made casual and athleisure wear a way of dressing down for office and business dressing,” he also noted. The chairman of leading multi-brand sports retailers in
the Philippines Quorum International Inc. (Toby’s Sports), said lifestyle shoes, sneakers and performance have “exploded” in growth in the past five years. Meanwhile, he said “New sports such as pickleball and paddleball have been growing in participation,” adding that the Paris Olympics is also generating “strong following spectators in sports.” “For as long as there are people on earth, we will need to stay fit, engaging in sports will be the most affordable to do so,” said the PRA chief. Claudio said Filipino children will be “drawn out of juveSee “PRA,” A
PESO EXCHANGE RATES Q US 58.4440 Q JAPAN 0.3802 Q UK 75.2233 Q HK 7.4858 Q CHINA 8.0610 Q SINGAPORE 43.5337 Q AUSTRALIA 38.2808 Q EU 15.9122 Q SAUDI ARABIA 15.5788 Source: BSP (July 29, 2024)