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Saturday, August 30, 2025 Vol. 20 No. 321
DESPITE TARIFF THREAT, PHL EXPORTS RISE 13.9%
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CITING SIQUIJOR’S PROLONGED POWER OUTAGES, ERC REVOKES SIPCOR PAO
By Andrea E. San Juan
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On Friday, data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed the Philippines’ revenues from outbound shipments amounted to $48.62 billion in the first seven months of 2025. This is 13.9 percent higher than the $42.69-billion export receipts in the same period in 2024. A month before the implementation of the 19-percent country reciprocal tariff imposed by Washington on Philippine exports, exports to the United States grew by 9.7 percent; Hong Kong by 49.7
[FILE] Cambugahay Falls in Lazi, Siquijor—one of the island’s most iconic natural attractions—is drawing growing crowds despite the island’s persistent power outages. The picturesque multi-level falls, popularized by viral travel videos and Anne Curtis’s “fairy walk,” remains a top destination even as blackouts disrupt daily life and threaten Siquijor’s tourism-driven economy. MARIA MONINA REGALADO | DREAMSTIME.COM
SHIPS await loading at the Manila North Harbor Port in Manila on Thursday, August 7, 2025. Despite looming US tariffs, Philippine exports rose by 13.9 percent to $48.62 billion in the January-July period, driven by electronics shipments and diversification into Japan and Hong Kong markets, according to PSA data. AP/AARON FAVILA
Export Composition (USD Billion, July 2025)
“Although I don’t have evidence, the Philippines may be making inroads in diversifying to Japan and Hong Kong markets.”—Former Tariff Commissioner George N. Manzano, on the growth of exports to other top markets
BM Graphics: Ed Davad/Source: PSA
ESPITE the threat posed by US tariffs, exports rose by 13.9 percent to $48.62 billion in the January to July 2025 period, and a former government official said this could be traced to the Philippines’ frontloading and diversification of its shipments to Japan and Hong Kong markets.
percent; and Japan by 14.2 percent. Explaining this trend, Former Tariff Commissioner George N. Manzano told this newspaper that “frontloading is a plausible explanation.” However, frontloading could only be attributed to the growth of exports to the United States. “I would think so [frontloading]. From April to August the reciprocal tariff has been in the range Continued on A2
PHL may hold key rate for rest of 2025, says BSP’s Remolona By Andreo Calonzo & Ditas Lopez Bloomberg
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HE Philippine central bank may stand pat on its key interest rate for the remainder of the year if prices remain cool and domestic demand holds, according to Governor Eli Remolona. “I think we’ve reached our sweet spot for inflation as well as for output growth. If the numbers stay the way they are, then we won’t need another rate cut,” Remolona said Friday in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Yvonne Man and Annabelle Droulers. Remolona, however, left the door open for another rate cut this year if demand weakens. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is also monitoring how the 19-percent US tariff rate on Philippine goods would impact the economy.
“There are risks that our exports could decline,” the governor said. “We thought there would be more clarity by now. That doesn’t happen. We are still in the middle of negotiations.” The peso strengthened further against the US dollar following Remolona’s latest comments, trading at 57.055, while the benchmark stock index edged lower. The BSP chief signaled an imminent end to the easing cycle after another quarter-point cut in its overnight target reverse repurchase rate to 5 percent on Thursday, the lowest in almost three years. The central bank has reduced its key rate by 150 basis points since August last year as inflation slowed, backed by declining rice prices. But the central bank could loosen its policy even further as long as rice prices remain man-
“I think we’ve reached our sweet spot for inflation as well as for output growth. If the numbers stay the way they are, then we won’t need another rate cut.”—BSP Governor Eli Remolona
ageable, said Aris Dacanay, Asean economist at HSBC Holdings Plc. whose base case scenario is for the BSP’s key rate to be at 4.5 percent by the first quarter of 2026.
“Slightly stimulating the economy through monetary policy will help boost the domestic economy to partially offset some of the drag brought upon by a contraction in global trade,” Dacanay said in a note on Thursday. Remolona also said monetary authorities are looking at a real interest rate of 2 percent, or the cost of borrowing after factoring in the impact of inflation. A nominal interest rate of 4 percent “is a bit low,” he added, suggesting that the situation has changed since the pandemic when they had to keep rates very low. The BSP doesn’t see the need to move in lockstep with the Federal Reserve, which is expected to lower interest rates next month, according to Remolona. Remittance growth will likely remain stable despite the threat of taxes from the US, he added.
BACK TO BASICS: Homegrown palay program draws growers back to chemical-free farming By Henry Empeño
Boboy Valles, owner of the BCV Farms which grows chicken, catfish, and fruits and vegetables, says the program grew out of their advocacy to promote sustainable farm production among local growers. “There is a lot of available farming technology out there, mostly from the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Science and Technology,” notes Valles. “What we are doing is adopt these technologies, and show farmers that they’re replicable and effective.”
First of 2 parts
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BA, Zambales—A growing number of rice farmers in this capital town are switching back to farming methods without chemical use following the introduction here last year of the Palay Partnership Program (PPP) by BCV Farms. The program, which focuses on soil enrichment and foliar application, makes use of organic materials like farm waste and kitchen scraps to produce viable alternatives to synthetic fertilizers and chemical sprays.
Success Stories BETTER yield: Richard de Guia (left) proudly shows PPP coordinator Rodrigo Gabriel the fruits of natural farming at his farm in Iba, Zambales. HENRY EMPEÑO
BY all accounts, the PPP provides
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By Lorenz S. Marasigan
HE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has revoked all provisional authorities previously granted to Siquijor Island Power Corporation (Sipcor) to operate as the sole power provider of the Siquijor Electric Cooperative (Prosielco), citing repeated and prolonged outages that culminated in the province’s declaration of a State of Calamity in June. In a decision released to the media on Friday, the ERC ruled that Sipcor violated its contract due to its “continued, prolonged, and unjustifiable failure . . . to comply with its obligations to adequately supply electricity to Prosielco and its member-consumers.” The ERC noted that the revocation was made “without prejudice” to the issuance of show-cause orders for the possible imposition of administrative penalties under Article III of the guidelines for fines and penalties pursuant to Section 46 of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira). To ensure the continued delivery of electricity, the ERC clarified that the order shall take “immediate effect only upon issuance by the Commission of provisional authorities to operate [PAOs] to a different New Power Provider [NPP]” that can supply Prosielco under an emergency power supply agreement (Epsa). Such procurement must be undertaken in line with Department of Energy (DOE) circulars and National Electrification Administration (NEA) guidelines. ERC directed Sipcor to coordinate and synchronize its plant shutdown with the commissioning and synchronization of the new NPP’s generating units to Prosielco’s distribution lines “so as not to cause any interruption in the supply of electricity in Siquijor.” The commission’s order stemmed from multiple verified consumer complaints filed between April 2024 and May 2025 over Sipcor’s failure to provide reliable electricity service. These complaints detailed frequent and extended power outages that disrupted households, businesses, and essential services. On June 3, the Provincial Board of Siquijor declared a State of Calamity, citing the severity of the power interruptions. The outages reportedly disrupted water supply systems, communication facilities, health services, as well as both government and private sector operations across the island. Sipcor was Prosielco’s lone power supplier, operating under two ERC-approved Power Supply Agreements (PSAs) issued in 2012 and 2019. The company ran three major power plants that supplied electricity to the island: the Siquijor Diesel Power Plant Units 1 and 2; the Expansion Units 5 to 8 commissioned in 2019; and the Lazi Diesel Power Plant Units 3 and 4, commissioned in 2015. However, the ERC found that Sipcor failed to deliver adequate and reliable power, having had “poor performance [and] dismal preventive maintenance record among other violations.” The decision, citing a letter from Energy Secretary Sharon Garin, said only 4.9 MW of Sipcor’s installed capacity was available as of August, with five out of eight units reported as non-operational. Despite renting units for supplemental supply, the combined capacity “remained insufficient to meet Prosielco’s peak demand of 9.205 MW, resulting in widespread brownouts,” some “lasting up to 21 hours per day.” “Permitting Sipcor to remain as the sole electricity provider in the Province of Siquijor, despite its numerous breaches of the terms of its PSAs with Prosielco and its obligations as a generation company and recipient of the aforementioned PAOs, places the electricity consumers in the province in a highly untenable situation,” the decision read. It added: “Such disservice from Sipcor is unwarranted for the people of the Province of Siquijor.”
Saint Michael’s College of Laguna (SMCL) 50th Anniversary
From left to right: Dr. Lourdes Almeda Sese, CEO of SMCL; Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano; Department of Education Secretary Sonny Angara; and SMCL Director Anthony L. Almeda at the Gala Dinner for SMCL’s Golden Jubilee
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N celebration of Saint Michael’s College of Laguna’s (SMCL) 50th year, a eucharistic celebration was recently held at the SMCL St. Rose Quadrangle, led by His Excellency Papal Nuncio Charles John Brown. A gala dinner was also held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, which was graced by spe-
cial guests including Department of Education Secretary Sonny Angara and Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano. Dr. Lourdes Almeda Sese, CEO of SMCL, and Director Anthony L. Almeda led the festivities to commemorate SMCL’s Golden Jubilee.
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PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 57.0850 n JAPAN 0.3885 n UK 77.1561 n HK 7.3242 n CHINA 8.0057 n SINGAPORE 44.5316 n AUSTRALIA 37.2708 n EU 66.6753 n KOREA 0.0412 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.2137 Source: BSP (August 29, 2025)