Before King Carlos, there’s Kuya Caloy, his siblings’ idol
MARK ANDREW YULO (center), father of Olympics gold medalist Carlos Yulo, proudly holds a childhood photo of Carlos, flanked by his siblings and fellow athletes Karl Eldrew (left), a silver medalist at the Asian championships, and Eliza, a four-time gold medalist at the Cebu City Palarong Pambansa, at their home in Leveriza, Malate, Manila. Their family story and journey to Olympic success is featured on News A2. NONOY LACZA
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SEIPI PUSHES EXEMPTION FROM BOC’S ICT SYSTEM n
NG borrows P1.57T in H1, 12.9% more than 2023
By Andrea E. San Juan
T
HE Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc. (Seipi) is seeking the exemption of electronics exporters from the implementation of Electronic Tracking of Containerized Cargo (E-TRACC) as this is expected to add around P1 million to P2 million a month to logistics cost, which could result in loss of competitiveness. E-TRACC is a measure that enables the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to “generate real-time and accurate information and to monitor the movement and location of containers using tracking devices and linking it in real time with the electronic documentation system.” According to Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 04-2020, this shall cover the “inland movements of containerized goods using an Information and Communications Technology (ICT)-enabled system to protect the revenue due the government.” Seipi President Danilo C. Lachica said this policy will entail additional cost to electronics exporters. “Additional cost. It’s really a redundant policy and we met with the BOC yesterday and they’re saying...it’s a revenue loss… [I said], the more you will lose revenue [if the] companies leave,” as a result of the implementing this measure. Explaining the “redundancy” of the measure, the Seipi chief said logistics providers already have a tracking system in place. “They’re saying they will reduce the lead time, that’s not the point. The point is that’s a redundant policy. Our logistics providers have a GPS system so that’s being tracked, and secondly, I’ve told them this, in the 50 years of the electronics industry, there has been no incidence of technical smuggling,” the Seipi chief added. Illustrating the impact of additional fees for Continued on A2
By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
T
DEFENSE SYNERGY German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (left) meets with Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. in Manila, Philippines, on Sunday, August 4, 2024. The two countries committed to finalizing a broader defense cooperation arrangement, marking the 70th anniversary of Philippines-Germany diplomatic relations. This partnership revitalizes their longstanding defense ties, dating back to the 1974 agreement for training Philippine officers in Germany. AP/JOEAL CALUPITAN
SHOULD AMERICANS RETIRE IN THE PHL? WHY, WHY NOT By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo Special to the BusinessMirror
A
N INTERNATIONAL business publication has removed the Philippines from its list of “The Best Places to Retire Abroad in 2024,” after it included natural hazards and climate change risk among its evaluation factors. In a piece on July 26, 2024, Forbes recommended 96 places in 24 different countries, where Americans can retire safely, the first list since the Covid-19 pandemic. The list also evaluates costs, amenities, health care, climate risk, language, crime, and whether they welcome American retirees (https://tinyurl.com/33y59spt). “[This] our first that takes into account climate change and natural hazard risk abroad…. That’s a major reason why The Philippines, on every Forbes foreign
retirement list since 2011, is missing. The Pacific Ocean island is No. 1—meaning the worst—among 193 countries on the latest World Risk Report compiled under the auspices of the United Nations,” the publication explained. Aside from the Philippines, which has a World Risk Index (WRI) of 46.86, the other countries considered most risky include Indonesia (WRI 43.50), and India (WRI 41.52). The Philippines has topped the WRI for the last 13 years. The United States placed 20th in 2023. (https://tinyurl.com/4ftmfepa).
US pensioners abroad reach 701K
THE World RiskReport (WRR) 2023 is published by the Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft and the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV) at Ruhr University Bochum, and assesses
a country’s risk for disasters, the impact on marginalized groups, and government support for these individuals. Forbes noted there were 701,000 American social security pensioners who live outside the US, a 20-percent increase over the last 10 years. While most retire Stateside, “an impressive 85 percent of Americans 65 and older have traveled abroad and the US dollar is at its strongest level since the 1980s, making both foreign travel and a foreign retirement more affordable.” In contrast, the US News and World Report listed the Philippines among “The Best Places to Retire Overseas where English is Spoken, in a piece published on June 21, 2024. The country ranked after Belize, Ireland, Malaysia, Malta, New Zealand, and Panama, and ahead of Portugal and Puerto Rico, citing the website Live and Invest Overseas.
HE national government borrowed P1.570 trillion from the domestic and foreign debt markets in the first half of 2024 to meet the country’s financing requirements, according to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr). Data from the Treasury showed the government’s gross borrowings grew by 12.87 percent from January to June 2024 from the P1.391 trillion recorded in the same period in 2023. Broken down, gross domestic borrowings reached P1.303 trillion as of end-June this year, up by 27.12 percent from the P1.025 trillion in the same period a year ago. This makes up the bulk or 83 percent of the government’s gross borrowings in the first half of the year. Under domestic borrowings, the government raised P584.861 billion from the issuance of Retail Treasury Bonds (RTBs) in February 2024. The state has also borrowed P609.207 billion through Fixed Rate Treasury Bonds (T-bonds) and P109.070 billion from Treasury Bills (T-bills) so far. Meanwhile, gross external borrowings went down by 27.02 percent year-on-year to P267.412 billion in January-June 2024 period, from P366.441 billion. Gross foreign borrowings accounted for 17.03 percent of the overall gross borrowings as of end-June 2024. The bulk, or P115.247 billion came from the issuance of Global Bonds in May 2024, followed by Program Loans amounting to P100.498 billion and Project Loans at P51.667 billion. For the month of June, the government borrowed P132.476 billion from the domestic debt market, lower by 7.95 percent than the P143.920 billion it raised in the See “NG Borrows,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 58.3150 n JAPAN 0.3905 n UK 74.2933 n HK 7.4625 n CHINA 8.0479 n SINGAPORE 43.6490 n AUSTRALIA 37.8989 n EU 62.9452 n KOREA 0.0426 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.5411 Source: BSP (August 2, 2024)