EU OK of PHL seafarers’ certificates ‘political’ By Malou Talosig-Bartolome
T
HE European Commission’s continued recognition of the Philippine certification for Filipino seafarers is a political decision and the Philippine government should not be complacent in enforcing international standards in training and educating mariners, a manning industry leader said at the weekend. Department of Migrant Workers Secretary Susan “Toots” Ople said the Philippine government is aware of the hard task ahead to sustain efforts to correct deficiencies unearthed in an EC body’s audit, and continues to address them. On Friday, the EC DirectorateGeneral for Mobility and Trans-
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
port said the regional bloc has extended its recognition of the Philippine-issued certificates for seafarers called International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW). Related story on A10, Second Front Page. The decision practically averted a “crisis of monumental proportions,” Migrant Workers Secretary Ople said, as this would allow the 50,000 Filipino masters, officers and crew to continue working in Norwegian, Greek, Maltese and German-flagged ships. Edgar Flores, general manager and ship owner representative of Eastern Mediterranean Manning Agency, said European shipowners cannot afford at this time to lose
50,000 Filipino seafarers whom they believe are very competent in seafaring. “Shipowners said they will either go to the European Parliament to lobby against the ban or they will change the flag of convenience just so they would not lose the Filipino seafarers,” manning industry leader Flores told BusinessMirror. He said that since the war in Ukraine, European ship owners have also lost Ukrainian seafarers. There are around 76,442 seafarers from Ukraine, accounting for 4 percent of the global workforce. “European shipowners have already lost Ukrainian seafarers because all men are required to join the Army to fight the war. They could not afford to lose their Filipino sea-
farers,” he added. The International Chamber for Shipping (ICS) and the European Community Shipowners Association (ECSA) issued a statement “warmly welcoming” the EC decision. “As a major seafaring nation, Filipino seafarers are a vital and valued part of the seafarer workforce. This decision made by the European Commission is a testament to the Philippines’s hard work to make sure seafarer training complies with regulations,” Guy Platten, ICS Secretary General, said. “This is a positive development as Filipino seafarers play a central role in European shipping and in keeping European trade moving,” noted ECSA Secretary General Sotiris Raptis. See “EU,” A2
BusinessMirror
EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS
BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR
(2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021) DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
2018 BANTOG MEDIA AWARDS
ASSET QUALITY, CREDIT w
n
Monday, April 3, 2023 Vol. 18 No. 170
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 18 pages |
RISKS TO BANKS FLAGGED A By Cai U. Ordinario
@caiordinario
BSP: PHL’s net liability position hits $40B as of Dec
SSET quality and credit risk were considered as top risks to bank operations in the next two years, according to the results of a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) survey. Based on the results of the Banking Sector Outlook Survey (BSOS), other identified risks were macroeconomic, operational, and cybersecurity risks. Asset risk and credit risks were the top operation risks for thrift banks (TBs) and rural and cooperative banks (RCBs). For universal and commercial banks (UKBs), macroeconomic risks posed the most serious threat; and for digital banks (DBs), global risks and cybersecurity threats. “Cognizant of these risks, banks
T
have continuously strengthened various aspects of their risk governance to protect depositors, investors, and institutions,” the BSP report stated. “Respondent banks disclosed the top three strengths of their banks’ risk governance framework, with board of directors and senior management oversight topping the list, followed by comprehensive risk management policies, and appropriate risk appetite for the bank’s business, resources, and capital,” it explained. See “Asset,” A2
HOLY WEEK The faithful wave palaspas (ornately woven palm fronds) during Palm Sunday Mass at San Felipe Neri Church in Mandaluyong City on Sunday, April 2, 2023. Also called Passion Sunday in the Catholic tradition, the first day of Holy Week and the Sunday before Easter, the event commemorates the story of Jesus's triumphal entry into Jerusalem for the Jewish feast of Passover. According to the Gospels, people lined the streets to greet him, waving palm branches and shouting words of praise. ROY DOMINGO
LIQUIDITY GROWS 6% TO P16.1T IN FEB
D
EXPLAINER »B4
TRUMP’S INDICTMENT: HERE’S WHAT TO KNOW
OMESTIC liquidity or M3 grew 6 percent in February 2023, according to the latest data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). The data showed M3 reached P16.1 trillion in February 2023, higher than the P15.17 trillion in February 2022. The BSP said this was also 0.6 percent higher than the P15.99 trillion recorded in January 2023. “M3 may also be derived as Net Foreign Assets (plus) Domestic Claims, net of Liabilities excluded from broad money and transfer-
able and other deposits in foreign currency (FCDs-Residents),” BSP explained. However, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) Chief Economist Michael Ricafort said the M3 growth was among the slowest pace in nearly two years or since July 2021, and among the slowest in a decade since August 2012. “(This was) amid moves by monetary authorities in recent months to siphon off some of the excess pesos/ liquidity from the financial system to help stabilize the peso exchange rate, import prices/costs, and overall
inflation as well as inflation expectations,” Ricafort said. Ricafort noted as well the reduction in pandemic-era “liquidity infusion measures” and higher inflation particularly in recent months. He said that in the coming months, M3 growth could remain at mid single-digit levels as seen in recent months. However, this could be offset by increased weekly siphoning of excess liquidity through the BSP Term Deposit Facility (TDF) auctions. See “Liquidity,” A2
HE net international investment position (IIP) of the Philippines indicated a net liability position of $40.1 billion as of December 2022, based on preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). The data showed that this was 30.3 percent higher than the $30.8 billion in the end-September period in 2022. “This development was primarily driven by a 7-percent increase in the country’s total external financial liabilities, offsetting the 3.8 percent growth in its total external financial assets,” the BSP said. As of end-December 2022, total outstanding external financial assets recorded $229.1 billion, while total outstanding external financial liabilities amounted to $269.3 billion. The BSP also said the expansion in the country’s external financial liabilities quarter-onquarter came amid an 8-percent growth in foreign direct investments (FDI) to $113.0 billion from $104.6 billion and 10.8 percent growth in foreign portfolio investments (FPI) to $82 billion from US$74.1 billion. The data showed non-residents’ placements of equity capital (FDI) and their holdings of equity securities (FPI) grew by 13.4 percent and 18 percent, respectively. “This was due mainly to the p os it ive pr ice re v a lu at ion s, which reflected the rise in the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) in end-December 2022,” the BSP said. See “BSP,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 54.4290 n JAPAN 0.4103 n UK 67.4430 n HK 6.9339 n CHINA 7.9215 n SINGAPORE 41.0011 n AUSTRALIA 36.5327 n EU 59.3657 n KOREA 0.0420 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.5005 Source: BSP (March 31, 2023)