FAITH AND FELLOWSHIP: MUSLIMS MARK EID AL-ADHA IN BAGUIO Filipino Muslims from various communities gather at the Baguio Athletic Bowl on June 6, 2025, to perform the morning prayer and celebrate Eid al-Adha, or the Festival of Sacrifice—one of the most important holidays in Islam. The occasion commemorates the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son in obedience to God. Eid al-Adha also marks the culmination of the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca. PHOTOS BY MAU VICTA
BusinessMirror
www.businessmirror.com.ph
A broader look at today’s business n
Saturday, June 7, 2025 Vol. 20 No. 237
GOVT KEEPS FOCUS ON BETTER JOB PROSPECTS
T
BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR
(2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
2018 BANTOG MEDIA AWARDS
P25.00 nationwide | 10 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
BSP POLL: PRICEY FOOD, LOW PAY, FEW GOOD JOBS DIM Q1 OUTLOOK
By Cai U. Ordinario
HE Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DepDev) believes improving Filipinos’ job prospects goes hand in hand with enhancing the marketability of the country as an investment destination. On Friday, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showed there were 9.15 million Filipinos who were looking for new jobs and for better sources of income (See: https://businessmirror. com.ph/2025/06/06/over-9m-filipinos-looking-for-new-employers/). DepDev Officer-in-Charge and Undersecretary for Policy and Planning Rosemarie G. Edillon said the government aims to continue promoting measures that will improve the productivity of domestic industries, particularly those that generate higher-quality jobs to enhance the resilience of the labor market amid external uncertainties. “Attracting more investments to generate higher-quality and better-paying jobs, particularly in manufacturing and higher-valueadded services, and expanding into new markets is essential to broadening our economy and opening up more job opportunities for Filipino workers,” Edillon said.
T
HE high cost of food, low incomes, and grim employment opportunities have made Filipinos pessimistic in the first quarter of the year, according to data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). Based on the results of the BSP’s Consumer Expectations Survey (CES), the overall consumer confidence index (CI) dropped to -13 percent in the first quarter of 2025. This means Filipinos were more pessimistic compared to the previous quarter when the CI dropped to -11 percent and in the first quarter of 2024 when the index reached -10.9 percent. “Survey results indicated that consumer sentiment for
KEY STATS (APRIL 2025, PSA) LABOR FORCE SNAPSHOT: n Labor Force: 50.74 million n Employed: 48.67 million n Unemployed: 2.06 million n Underemployed: 7.09 million n Seeking better opportunities: 9.15 million AVERAGE WORK HOURS/WEEK: n April 2025: 39.9 hours n April 2024: 40.5 hours n January 2025: 40.4 hours EMPLOYMENT BY SECTOR (SHARE OF TOTAL EMPLOYED): n Services: 61.9% (30.14 million) n Agriculture: 20.6% (10.02 million) n Industry: 17.5%
Continued on A2
By Cai U. Ordinario
HE growth of the country’s Gross International Reserves (GIR) is flat in May 2025 on the back of declines in foreign investment and foreign exchange, according to data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). Based on the data, the country’s GIR rose to $105.5 billion as of end-May 2025, a 0.42-percent growth from the $105.02 billion in the end of May 2024 period. Compared to April 2025, the country’s GIR growth was also flat at 0.14 percent from the $105.31 billion posted in April 2025. “[The GIR] corrected slightly higher after declining for 2 straight months [and] after lower for most months since October 2024 or when the Trump factor started as one of the major external risk factors/challenges for the global econ-
omy and financial markets,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said. John Paolo Rivera, senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), said the country’s GIR is expected “to fluctuate modestly” on the back of global conditions. Rivera said other factors include the peso’s performance and the timing of the country’s external debt payments, as well as foreign exchange operations. House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda earlier said the incoming Congress must pursue urgent fiscal reforms amid a tightening budget landscape in 2026, driven by the P464 billion in maturing Covid-era debts. Salceda said in a recent presentation that this looming debt maturity poses a “major fiscal
CONSUMER CONFIDENCE INDEX (CI) More Filipinos are pessimistic about the economy. Q1 2025: -13.0% Q4 2024: -11.0% n Q1 2024: -10.9% n n
the next quarter reverted to negative territory, with the CI settling at -0.5 percent, down from 4.2 percent in the previous quarter and 2.7 percent in the first quarter of last year,” the BSP said. The outlook on their economic condition turned even more pessimistic at -33.9 percent in the first quarter of 2025 from -24.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024. Continued on A2
Preneed firms’ Q1 net income down 64% on reserves buildup THOUSANDS of job seekers flock to the Labor Day Job Fair at SM Grand Central in Caloocan on May 1, 2025. NONIE REYES
GIR flat in May on declines in forex, foreign investment
T
EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS
ALEXEL KORNYLEV / DREAMSTIME.COM
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
BREAKDOWN OF GIR COMPONENTS Component
Value (May 2025)
Foreign Investments
$86.42B
-3.46%
Foreign Exchange
$704.2M
-26.82%
Reserve Position (IMF)
$715.8M
-2.9%
Special Drawing Rights
$3.89B
+3.005%
Gold Reserves
$13.73B
+36.95%
constraint” for the 2026 national budget (See: https://businessmirror. com.ph/2025/06/05/maturing-coviddebts-make-reforms-crucial/). “While the PHP’s recent strength could temper reserve accumulation via forex interventions, it may also reflect improved market sentiment,” Rivera said. “The US credit rating downgrade may lead to some rebalancing in global portfolios, but given the depth and liquidity of the US Treasury market and the BSP’s con-
YoY Change
servative reserve management, we do not expect significant exposure risks,” he added. The BSP’s reserve assets consist of foreign investments; gold; foreign exchange; reserve position in the International Monetary Fund (IMF); and special drawing rights (SDRs). Based on the data, the reserve position in the IMF contracted 2.9 percent to $715.8 million as of the end of May 2025 from the $737.2 Continued on A2
By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
T
HE net income of preneed companies plummeted by 63.80 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025, as they built up their reserves and faced slower growth in investment earnings. The latest data from the Insurance Commission (IC) showed that the total net income of 13 preneed firms fell to P1.17 billion by the end of March 2025, from P3.23 billion a year ago. The IC said this was due to the increase in preneed reserves and the “comparatively slower” year-on-year growth in income from trust fund investments. Still, the IC said the industry’s trust funds remain sufficient to meet preneed reserves, including benefits payable. Trust funds exceeded preneed reserves by P12.51 billion as of the first quarter, increasing by 25.12 percent from P10 billion in the same period last year. “This shows that preneed companies do not only meet their reserve requirements but are likewise able to grow their investments, further reflecting a wellmanaged and financially robust industry capable of timely fulfilling their obligations to plan holders,” the IC said. Meanwhile, plans sold by preneed companies grew 31.23 percent to 218,218 in the first quarter from 166,286 a year ago. The bulk of the plans sold during the
PLANS SOLD
n 218,218 plans sold (Q1 2025) n Up 31.23% from 166,286 n 99.78% were life or memorial plans
period mainly consisted of life or memorial plans, making up 99.78 percent of the total. IC data further showed that premium income of preneed firms went up by 4.41 percent year-on-year to P5.82 billion in the first quarter from P5.57 billion. Ten preneed firms have premium collections out of the 13 reporting companies, the IC noted. Of these companies, only five saw an increase in their premium income. The preneed industry’s total assets amounted to P163.61 billion in the first quarter, 6.55 percent higher than the P153.54 billion a year ago. This is attributed to the 7.60-percent increase in investments in trust funds, which comprises 85.90 percent of the industry’s total assets, the IC said. Total net worth of preneed firms also rose by 9.11 percent year-on-year to P28.84 billion from P26.43 billion. This was driven by the 19.08-percent upswing in retained earnings, which consisted of 73.30 percent of the preneed industry’s aggregate net worth.
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 55.7890 n JAPAN 0.3909 n UK 75.6276 n HK 7.1119 n CHINA 7.7744 n SINGAPORE 43.3683 n AUSTRALIA 36.1959 n EU 63.6999 n KOREA 0.0410 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.8783 Source: BSP (June 6, 2025)