Bicam OKs ’25 budget bill, including P26B for AKAP B J M N. C @joveemarie
T THE WORLD | A10
GAZA DEATH TOLL RISES AMIDST HUMANITARIAN CATASTROPHE; 26 KILLED IN OVERNIGHT STRIKES
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
HE bicameral conference committee on Wednesday approved the proposed P6.352 trillion General Appropriations Act for 2025, which retains key allocations for social programs and increases support for soldiers’ welfare. Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez announced that the bicameral panel upheld the House of Representatives’ decision to allocate P26 billion to the Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP), a social assistance initiative designed to support low-income
earners impacted by inflation and other unforeseen circumstances, amid serious questions raised earlier by some senators, who worried that it partakes of a pork barrel and duplicates other social-welfare programs by other agencies. The House of Representatives was expected to ratify the 2025 national budget by Wednesday, while President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is tentatively scheduled to sign the 2025 national budget on December 20. Expressing gratitude to the Senate for their support, Romualdez said, “AKAP will continue to serve as a lifeline for families at risk of falling into poverty due
to infl ation or emergencies. Th is program underscores Congress’ commitment to aiding the most vulnerable.” Despite an initial proposal of P39 billion, AKAP’s funding was adjusted to P26 billion, with P21 billion managed by the House and P5 billion allocated for Senate initiatives. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. Zaldy Co said these significant adjustments to the 2025 national budget, prioritizing social services, healthcare, food security, and electrification, aim to provide long-term solutions and ensure optimal use of public funds.
OVP’s P733-M budget
THE budget also retained the P733 million allocation for the Office of the Vice President (OVP), as previously approved by both chambers. Senate Finance Committee Chairperson Grace Poe confirmed that no additional requests were made by the OVP, although P600 million is earmarked for the office’s social services initiatives. According to Co, “We considered the Senate’s concerns, particularly regarding the Office of the Vice President’s [OVP] budget.” “We retained the P1.3 billion budget cut while ensuring that S “B,” A
BusinessMirror
EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS
BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR
(2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
2018 BANTOG MEDIA AWARDS
A broader look at today’s business
BAD LOANS RATIO HITS www.businessmirror.com.ph
■
Thursday, December 12, 2024 Vol. 20 No. 64
P. | | 7 DAYS A WEEK
3.6%, A 29-MONTH HIGH B C U. O
B
POOR NUTRITION, BAD LGU TO IMPERIL PHL WORKFORCE: WB
@caiordinario
AD loans logged by the Philippine banking system in October 2024 posted a 29-month high, according to the latest data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
B C U. O @caiordinario
P
OOR nutrition and inefficient local governance in general could jeopardize the future Philippine workforce and economic growth, according to the World Bank. In a special chapter of the Philippine Economic Update (PEU), the World Bank said human capital investment (HCI) is crucial in attaining sustainable economic growth. However, the Philippines’ HC score remains at 0.52, significantly lower than peers with similar economic status. The World Bank noted that Vietnam’s HCI is at 0.69 while Malaysia and Thailand are at 0.61. “Human capital is a key driver of sustainable economic progress. Investments in human capital lead to higher productivity, incomes, and living standards," the World Bank said. “The Philippines’ low HCI warns of the constraints to productivity of the next generation of workers given the prevailing rates of mortality, schooling achievements, and health outcomes,” the report also stated. The low HCI made the country among the top 10 economies with the highest number of
BSP data showed gross non-performing loans (NPLs) ratio was at 3.6 percent, the same rate recorded in June 2022 and the highest since the 3.75 percent recorded in May 2022. Gross NPL amounted to P524.31 billion in October 2024 while the total loan portfolio (TLP) of the Philippine banking system reached P14.55 trillion in the same period. The data also showed that gross NPLs ratio were at 3.47 percent in September 2024 and 3.44 percent in October 2023. The gross NPL was at P517.45 billion in September 2024 and P449.45 billion in October last year. The TLP, based on BSP data, was at P14.9 trillion in September this year and P13.07 trillion in October 2024. Meanwhile, the gross NPL ratio of Universal and Commercial Bank (UKBs) averaged 3.31 percent in October 2024, also a 29-month high or the highest since the 3.38 percent posted in May 2022. The gross NPLs of UKBs amounted to P444.9 billion while the total loan portfolio of these major banks reached P13.44 trillion in October 2024. The data showed the bad loans ratio of UKBs was at 3.18 percent in September 2024 and 3.13 percent in October 2023. These amounted to P438.52 billion in the previous month and P379.02 billion in October last year.
stunted children worldwide. The data showed 27 of five year olds are stunted. The report stated that in 2021, about one in four children under the age of five was stunted, or small in size for one’s age; and one in five children was considered underweight and 6 percent were classified as “wasted.” In terms of education, while students in the Philippines spent an average of 12.95 years in school, similar to Vietnam’s 12.86 years, the Filipino students did not learn a lot. The PEU said the average years of learning absorbed by students in Vietnam was 10.68 years while those in the Philippines only logged 7.49 years old learning. “Worldwide, the share of human capital in total wealth increases steadily with the level of development; high-income countries have more human capital than their lower-income counterparts. Development, then, is intimately linked to building human capita,” the report stated. The World Bank said more needs to be done in terms of HCI at the sub-national level. This is because 26 percentage points in S “WB,” A
Thrift banks
MEANWHILE, for thrift banks, the NPL ratio was at 6.84 percent in October 2024. This is lower than the 6.94 percent posted in September S “L,” A
PEAK PERFORMANCE Towering skyscrapers dominate the Makati Business District skyline, symbolizing the Philippines’ robust economic performance
in 2024. With a 6 percent GDP growth in the first half of the year, the country remains among the East Asia and the Pacific region’s fastest-growing economies. The services sector, public investments, and remittances drive progress, as government reforms aim to propel the nation to upper-middle-income status, despite global challenges like inflation. NONIE REYES
ADB: Trump policies likely to impact China, PHL in ’27 B C U. O @caiordinario
T
HE policies of the incoming Trump administration, particularly those on trade, will likely impact China and developing countries in Asia like the Philippines beginning in 2027, according to the Asian Development Bank
(ADB). Based on the December Asian Development Outlook (ADO), ADB said Trump’s policies could impact China’s economy the most, causing it to slow by 1.2 percentage points over 2025–2028 or 0.3 percentage points per year. This will likely lead to a 0.6 percentage point decline in the
growth of developing countries in Asia like the Philippines. Growth in the Euro area and Japan are also expected to decline but at a slower pace of 0.4 and 0.5 percentage points, respectively. “Due to the lagged nature of the underlying policy changes, the growth impacts are not immediate, with most economies impacted
mainly from 2027 onwards,” ADB said. The growth of the US economy will also see a decline of 0.7 percentage points, the second largest decline after China, due to Trump policies. But the impact in the US will come earlier compared to the S “ADB,” A
PESO EXCHANGE RATES US 57.9580 ■ JAPAN 0.3814 ■ UK 75.0240 ■ HK 7.4553 ■ SINGAPORE 43.1974 ■ AUSTRALIA 36.9482 ■ SAUDI ARABIA 15.4267 ■ EU 61.0240 ■ KOREA 0.0404 ■ CHINA 7.9952 Source: BSP (December 11, 2024)