PHL economy: Resilient or barely surviving rough waters? By Cai U. Ordinario
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pared to its peers. “We certainly have faced, encountered many challenges for this year,” the country’s Chief economist told BusinessMirror. “We fell short of what we expected in the national economy. But again, no other economy in our region has met the expectations of their respective economies. And we still are able to maintain our relative position.”
@caiordinario
IKE the characters aboard the Bapor Tabo of Jose R izal ’s second novel, El Filibusterismo, Filipinos found themselves in a similar boat that bobbed up and down with the volatile economic developments throughout the year. The pessimist would call the economy’s performance this year as sailing through treacherous waters, while the optimist would often see the economy as resilient—a word some would argue is overused, abused to describe anything Filipino. In an interview, Socioeconomic
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Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan admitted there were many challenges in 2024 and the government even fell short of its goals. But the economy managed to post respectable growth com-
Growth
Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showed the economy started the year by growing only 5.8 percent, mildly higher than the 5.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023 but short of matching the
6.4-percent growth in the first quarter of 2023. The second quarter saw the economy growing 6.4 percent, the highest since the 7.1-percent growth in the fourth quarter of 2022. Data said government consumption increased 11.9 percent and general government construction spending grew 21.7 percent in the second quarter. In the third quarter, the economy’s performance was slowerthan-expected at 5.2 percent, blow ing the w ind out of the economy’s sails. Analysts attributed this to slower private consumption
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NOV BUDGET GAP UP 128%; www.businessmirror.com.ph
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11-MO DEFICIT AT P1.18T Palace assures: PBBM review of ’25 budget very thorough
By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
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HE country’s budget deficit more than doubled in November 2024, according to the latest data released by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).
The budget deficit increased 128.38 percent to P213 billion in November 2024. This represented a growth of P119.7 billion from the P93.3 billion posted in November 2023. The BTr data also showed the countr y’s budget deficit increased to P1.18 trillion in January to November 2024, an increase of 5.92 percent or P65.7 billion from the P1.11 trillion posted in the 11-month period last year. Meanwhile, in terms of revenues, the data showed this only reached P338.3 billion in November 2024, a contraction of 0.61 percent or decline of P2.1 billion from the P340.4 billion in November 2023. While tax revenues grew 12.7 percent on the back of a 17.77-percent growth in Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) collections, nontax revenues contracted 70.7 percent in November 2024. “The YoY positive growth in the BIR collections for November 2024 can be attributed to the double-digit rise in collections from income taxes, value-added tax [VAT], excise taxes, and documentary stamp tax [DST],” the BTr said. “The increase in income tax can be attributed to the influx of taxpayers filing for their third Quarterly Income Tax Return on or before November 15 of the current taxable year,” it added.
By Samuel P. Medenilla
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SAILING INTO HISTORY Centennial 7 skipper Ernesto Echauz, center, gestures with his all-Filipino crew during preparations for the Sydney to Hobart yacht race in Sydney, Monday, December 23, 2024. This marks the first time an all-Filipino crew will compete in the iconic race, which began Thursday. The 628-nautical mile race, first held in 1945, will see Centennial 7, a TP52 yacht with a storied history, compete against more than 100 entrants. SALTY DINGO VIA AP
ALL-PINOY CREW MAKES HISTORY IN SYDNEY-HOBART YACHT RACE
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YDNEY—There are plenty of “firsts” in the history of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race which was first held in 1945—an all-Filipino crew of 15 sailors makes it another as the annual ocean classic began on Thursday. Veteran sailor Ernesto Echauz is at the helm of Centennial 7 which embarked on the 628-nautical mile (722 miles, 1,160 kilometers) race. One of six international entrants out of the more
than 100-strong fleet, Centennial 7’s crew comprises sailors from the Philippines’ national team and the Philippines Navy. The boat itself is no stranger to the race. Previously, the TP52 yacht was known as Celestial and claimed the Sydney to Hobart overall handicap victory in 2022 under Sam Haynes after being runnerup the year before. See “All-Pinoy,” A2
@sam_medenilla
M I D conce r n s t h at t he proposed P6.352-tr i l lion 2025 General Appropriations Act(GAA) contains unconstitutional provisions, Malacañang on Thursday said President Ferdinand Marcos is now "thoroughly reviewing" the items of the proposed piece of legislation. “The President and the Cabinet are right now [with or without the calls] thoroughly reviewing the various items of the GAA to make them conform to the Constitution, and to see to it that the budget prioritizes the main legacy thrusts of the Administration,” the Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin said in a brief statement to Palace reporters on Thursday. Bersamin made the remark after Senator Juan Miguel F. Zubiri urged Marcos to address the supposed failure of the proposed 2025 GAA to provide the biggest budget allocation to education as stipulated in the 1987 Constitution. See “Palace,” A2
PCCI confers Country Movers Award on NGCP for lowering power costs
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HE Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) lauded NGCP’s efforts to lower electricity costs, benefiting millions of consumers across the country. The PCCI, the Philippines’ biggest business organization, conferred the Country Movers Award on NGCP in recognition of its initiatives that reduced transmission charges, on top of its efforts to stabilize the national grid. “NGCP has made significant strides in lowering transmission charges in the country. This achievement has greatly benefited consumers and contributed to the country’s economic growth,” the organization said. As of October 2024, the group noted that
NGCP charged just an average transmission rate of P0.50 per Kwh, compared to the P0.74 collected by TransCo. “Outages also went down by 83.78 percent since NGCP took over TransCo’s franchise in 2009, proving its commitment to the Filipino people to fortify the country’s grid,” it added. “We thank the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) for recognizing our outstanding efforts with the prestigious Country Movers Award. This recognition fuels our determination to continue leading the way in energy service excellence,” NGCP said. “We take immense pride in witnessing
our vision come to fruition as the Philippines enjoys enhanced services through a stronger, unified grid,” it added. The PCCI earlier awarded the Country Movers Award to NGCP for successfully advancing the nation’s infrastructure and contributing to the country’s economic growth. In 2024, NGCP completed four Energy Projects of National Significance (EPNS), including the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP), the Cebu-Negros-Panay (CNP) 230kV Backbone, the Mariveles-Hermosa-San Jose (MHSJ) 500kV Transmission Line, and the Cebu-Bohol Interconnection Project (CBIP).
See “Nov,” A2
PESO exchange rates n US 58.5660 n japan 0.3721 n UK 73.5472 n HK 7.5404 n CHINA 8.0293 n singapore 43.1712 n australia 36.5276 n EU 60.9496 n KOREA 0.0402 n SAUDI arabia 15.6010 Source: BSP (December 26, 2024)