DOF, DND to tackle defense bonds T
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ST. PETER’S BASILICA OPENS TO THE PUBLIC TO PAY THEIR RESPECTS TO POPE FRANCIS BEFORE FUNERAL
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HE Department of Finance (DOF) will weigh the budgetary requirements of the Department of National Defense (DND) in issuing “defense bonds” to fund the modernization of the Philippine military to boost its defense against maritime tensions with China. “I will be meeting with Sec. Gibo soon [to discuss] the budget requirements,” Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto told BusinessMirror. Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro has expressed interest
in tapping the capital markets by issuing bonds as an alternative fundraising source, as the national budget remains limited to finance the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) Modernization Program. Teodoro is awaiting clearance from President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Recto before proceeding with the bond sale, according to a Bloomberg report. Recto said his approval to issue the so-called defense bonds will depend on how much is needed by
the DND. The Marcos administration’s gross borrowings amounted to P552.692 billion as of the end of February 2025, about one-fifth of the government’s P2.545 trillion full-year borrowing program. The government’s outstanding debt, meanwhile, reached a new high of P16.632 trillion. Should the bonds be floated in the market, the proceeds will be used to acquire new equipment and weapons, such as missile systems, fighter jets, submarines and
warships. The AFP Modernization Program was allotted a budget of P35 billion in 2025, while P40 billion remains in the unprogrammed appropriations as these do not have funding sources yet, based on the 2025 General Appropriations Act. Under the DND’s acquisition plan “Re-Horizon 3,” the government aims to procure new weapons and equipment amounting to P2 trillion over the next 10 years to shore up the country’s defenses. See “DOF,” A2
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BSP amends rules on FX, goes strict on derivatives
By Andrea E. San Juan @andreasanjuan
LOT of the goods being shipped by Philippine exporters have been put on hold due to the tariff policy uncertainty, according to the top official of United Portusers Confederation of the Philippines Inc. (UPC).
“Right now the pressing concern is US tariffs. Because right now even the exporters are not in a better position because a lot of their goods may not have been cancelled, but they are on hold,” UPC President Nelson M. Mendoza told reporters on the sidelines of the UPC’s First Stakeholders’
Summit on Wednesday. Mendoza explained that orders from Philippine exporters had been put on hold because of the recently imposed additional tariffs by Washington on its trading partners and now, the 90-day pause imposed by US President See “PHL,” A2
TO BOOST INDUSTRIALIZATION, GOVT EYES ‘NATL STEEL’ REVIVAL By Samuel P. Medenilla
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RESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced there is now an ongoing effort to revive the National Steel Corp. (NSC), which shut down over two decades ago, to help “propel the country’s industrialization.” “There are already discussions among certain groups, both for-
eign and local, that would ensure a partnership to revive the steel mill,” the chief executive said during his meeting with the Regional Development Council of Northern Mindanao (RDC-X) meeting in Cagayan de Oro City on Tuesday. Malacañang said the members of the RDC are lobbying for the revival of the NSC to restore Cagayan De Oro City’s status as
The Filipino Popemobile: A quiet witness to Pope Francis’s journey of faith
The custom-designed popemobile—a modified Isuzu D-Max LS pickup—was customized in the Philippines by Isuzu Gencars, a sister company of the BusinessMirror, in partnership with Almazora Motors. The Isuzu popemobile was initially used during Pope Francis’s historic pastoral and state visit to the Philippines in January 2015; and a second identical unit of the Filipinocustomized vehicle would later be brought to Rome by D. Edgard A. Cabangon on instructions of his father, Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua. The popemobile would subsequently accompany the pontiff on several international apostolic missions. These included World Youth Day in Kraków, Poland (2016), the centenary of the Marian apparitions in Fatima, Portugal (2017), and pastoral visits to Lithuania (2018), Bulgaria, and Romania (2019), among others. With each journey, the popemobile served as both a practical mode of transport and a quiet symbol of pastoral humility—bearing witness to a papacy marked by mercy, compassion, and service until Pope Francis’s final years. PHOTOS VIA DREAMSTIME
By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
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Florence, November 10, 2015
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HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has amended the regulations on foreign exchange (FX) to tighten its control over FX derivatives, or the buying and selling of foreign currency against the Philippine peso. BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona Jr. signed Circular No. 1212 Series of 2025 to amend FX regulations covering FX derivatives involving the Philippine peso and other transactions under the Manual of Regulations on Foreign Exchange Transactions and the Manual of Regulations for Banks (MORB). As such, non-deliverable FX derivatives transactions by authorized agency banks (AABs) must only be used for “legitimate economic purposes.” In the BSP’s previous draft circular, it proposed that AABs transacting in non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) and non-deliverable swaps (NDSs) shall ensure that these products will not be used for “speculative purposes.” Speculation happens when traders buy or sell currency with expectations of profiting from its price movement. NDFs may also be used in engaging in a non-deliverable sell-side FX derivative with a non-resident counterparty, the BSP said. Hedging of permanently assigned capital of Philippine branches of foreign banks or firms will also not be allowed, according to the circular. Should a customer preterminate or cancel a non-deliverable FX derivatives contract, the BSP said the customer may only enter into another non-deliverable FX derivatives contract for the same underlying transaction if there is a change in the original financial terms of the underlying transaction. The central bank also reinforced its oversight over Peso NDF transactions by ordering that deals must be reported separately. Peso NDFs transacted by AABs with resident and non-resident counterparties for their own account must be reported in a separate sheet under Parts III and IV of the “Report on NDF Transactions against Philippine Peso,” the BSP said. A quarterly certification of compliance shall also be submitted in See “BSP,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 56.6910 n JAPAN 0.3977 n UK 75.3934 n HK 7.3072 n CHINA 7.7595 n SINGAPORE 43.2162 n AUSTRALIA 36.1122 n EU 64.4237 n KOREA 0.0397 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.1140 Source: BSP (April 23, 2025)