Revenue collection seen at P4.4T by yearend
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HE Philippines’s revenue collection is expected to reach P4.42 trillion at the end of the year—the highest in 27 years—and exceed the full-year target, according to the Department of Finance (DOF). “As a percentage of [gross domestic product], the emerging revenues will climb to 16.7 percent, the highest in the last 27 years or since 1997,” the DOF said in a statement on Monday. The DOF has collected P3.77 trillion in total revenues from January to October. This is a double-digit increase of 16.8 percent from P3.22 trillion during the same period in 2023. Broken down, tax collections
THE WORLD | A11
CHINA RETAIL SALES SLOW AS CONSUMERS HOLD BACK DESPITE STIMULUS MEASURES, HOUSING PRICES FALL
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amounted to P3.23 trillion from January to October, representing an 11.4-percent increase, while non-tax revenues expanded by 64.9 percent to P539.40 billion. The revenue effort translated to a 17.5-percent share of GDP, up from 16.4 percent in the same period a year ago. The Bureaus of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Customs (BOC) were also credited for their improved revenue administration by ensuring the ease of paying taxes as well as expediting their digitalization programs. With no new taxes imposed this year, the DOF said it was able to collect more revenues from other sources to fund the nation’s
P5.768-trillion national budget. The DOF has hiked the mandated dividend contributions of government-owned and -controlled corporations by raising their remittance share to 75 percent from 50 percent of their earnings. The excess funds of staterun firms, such as the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) and Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC), were also ordered for transfer to the Bureau of the Treasury. A P30-billion upfront payment was also received by the DOF from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) modernization project through a Public-Private Partnership.
Moreover, the DOF said the fiscal deficit, currently at P963.9 billion as of end-October, remains “manageable” at 5.1 percent of GDP for the first three quarters of 2024. This is lower than the 5.7 percent of GDP recorded in the same period last year. “The country’s debt also remains manageable at 61.3 percent of GDP as of the third quarter of 2024, with the majority, or around 68 percent of the portfolio sourced from the country’s robust domestic market,” the DOF added. The Philippines’s outstanding debt breached the P16-trillion mark, hitting P16.020 trillion as of the end of October. Cai U. Ordinario
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$3.1-B OCT REMITTANCES 2ND HIGHEST THIS YEAR T By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
HE depreciation of the peso and severe flooding due to typhoons may have encouraged Filipinos to send in more remittances in October leading the central bank to record the second highest inflows this year.
In October, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said cash remittances reached $3.079 billion, an increase of 2.7 percent from the $3 billion posted in October 2023. This is the highest since the $3.085 billion posted in July 2024, the highest since December 2023. The cumulative remittances in JanuaryOctober 2024 increased by 3 percent to $31.49 billion from the $30.57 billion recorded in JanuaryOctober 2023. University of Santo Tomas Research Center for Social Sciences and Education (RCSSED) Director Jeremaiah M. Opiniano noted that the peso depreciated to as low as P58 to the US dollar, similar to July. The month also coincided with typhoons that brought severe flooding in the Bicol region. “We saw three straight weather systems devastate rural areas, and loved ones abroad may be remitting more so that families at home address post-typhoon impacts [e.g., Daet flooding that’s worse than Metro Manila’s Ondoy; Catanduanes’ aftermath given Pepito],” Opiniano told BusinessMirror. “Remittances for loved ones at home thus act as a readily-accessible social protection mechanism after typhoons ravage the country,” he added. See “Oct,” A2
PAGCOR, SMC IN NAYONG PILIPINO COMPLEX Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) Chairman and CEO Alejandro H. Tengco (left) and San Miguel Corporation (SMC) Chairman Ramon S. Ang present the artist’s perspective of Pagcor’s new corporate office, set to rise on a two-hectare site within the Nayong Pilipino Complex in Pasay City. Story on B3. PHOTO COURTESY OF PAGCOR
DA, DTI TO BOOST PHL AGRI EXPORTS, TACKLE BARRIERS By Ada Pelonia
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HE Department of Agriculture (DA) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) inked an agreement that aims to bolster Philippine agricultural exports and tackle market barriers. The agencies signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that seeks to increase export sales of key commodities, including bananas, mangoes, and seaweed while promoting high-value crops like coffee and cacao. Citing data from the Philip-
pine Statistics Authority (PSA), the DA said agro-based exports reached $492.6 million or 8 percent of the country’s total exports in September 2024. “W hile ref lecting progress, this figure highlights the sector’s untapped potential,” it added. According to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., merging the resources and expertise of both agencies would help unlock the full potential of Philippine agriculture. “This partnership is a step See “Da,” A2
PBBM nixes veto, but wants DepEd budget cuts resolved By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla
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RESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is confident the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) will still be passed before Christmas despite their ongoing efforts to increase the budget of the Department of Education (DepEd) and trim the “bloated” 2025 funding of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). While recognizing that the budget cuts were problematic, he shunned an option to use his line item veto power, as suggested by former senator Panfilo M. Lacson. The chief executive also allayed the public’s fears that the decision
of Congress to scrap the P74-billion national government subsidy for the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) will disrupt the state insurers’ service delivery next year. In an interview with Palace reporters in Malacañang on Monday, Marcos said the bicameral conference committee’s decision last week to reduce the proposed P748.65billion budget of DepEd for 2025 to just P737 billion is contrary to their goal to boost the quality of the country’s basic education, particularly in terms of its Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) development initiatives. “Because it was reduced by See “PBBM,” A2
NOTICE OF FILING OF APPLICATION/S FOR ALIEN EMPLOYMENT PERMIT/S (AEP/S) Notice is hereby given that the following companies/Employers have filed with this Regional Office application/s for Alien Employment Permit/s: ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.
NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION
QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE
ACCENTURE, INC. 7f Robinsons Cybergate Tower 1, Pioneer St., Barangka Ilaya, City Of Mandaluyong
CHOUHAN, ANKIT SINGH Order To Cash Operations Manager 1.
Brief Job Description: Responsible for daily operational performance management and ensure both contractual and operational KPIs are met (responsibility of delivering the service within agreed deadlines and at the required quality).
Basic Qualification: CPA an advantage but not required and preferred are graduates of Accounting, Business or its branches. Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999
See “dole ncr” on A10-A11
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 58.4020 n JAPAN 0.3802 n UK 73.7033 n HK 7.5106 n CHINA 8.0299 n SINGAPORE 43.3057 n AUSTRALIA 37.0853 n EU 61.2637 n KOREA 0.0407 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.5469 Source: BSP (December 16, 2024)