SC to Palace, Congress: Reply to budget suit By Joel R. San Juan
T WORLD » A10
UKRAINE’S DELAYED POWER GRID FORTIFICATION LEAVES IT VULNERABLE TO RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE
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HE Supreme Court has directed the Palace and both chambers of Congress to comment on the petition seeking to declare as unconstitutional Republic Act No. 12116, otherwise known as the General Appropriations Act of Fiscal Year 2025. The order was issued following the Court’s regular en banc session on Tuesday prior to the conduct of the oral arguments on the petitions questioning the constitutionality of the insertions in the unprogrammed appropriations in the 2024 Gen-
eral Appropriations Act (GAA) amounting to hundreds of billions of pesos, as well as the order to transfer the P89.9-billion unutilized funds of Philippine Health Insurance Corporation’s (PhilHealth) to the national treasury. The respondents—the House of Representatives headed by Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Senate of the Philippines represented by Senate President Francis Escudero and Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin—were given a non-extendible period of 10 days from receipt of notice. The petitioners, led by former Executive Secretary and
2025 senatorial candidate Victor Victor Rodriguez and Davao City Third District Rep. Isidro Ungab, argued that the 2025 GA A is unconstitutional for failing to allocate mandatory funding for PhilHealth, unlawfully increasing appropriations beyond the President’s recommendations and allocating the highest budget to infrastructure over education. Specifically, the petitioners argued that the 2025 GAA violated Article XIV, Section 5 (5) of the Constitution, as the budget appropriations to the education sector were merely bloated to give the impression of a “superficial adherence to the con-
stitutional mandate” to assign the highest budgetary priority to education. They added that the 2025 GAA also violated Article VI, Section 25 (1) of the Constitution when the respondents aligned the proposed appropriations under the 2024 National Expenditure Program (NEP), which in effect increased the proposed budget appropriations for Congress and other line agencies. The 2025 budget, according to the petitioners, also violated Article VI, Section 27 of the Constitution when the Bicameral Conference Committee submitted a report with blank items on the GAA Bill.
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Wednesday, February 5, 2025 Vol. 20 No. 116
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 22 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
IN ’24, OR 60.7% OF GDP Net zero for
By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto @reine_alberto
T
Asia maritime
HE national government capped the year 2024 with P16.051 trillion in outstanding debt, representing 60.7 percent of the country’s overall economy. Latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed the outstanding debt climbed to P16.051 trillion as of end-2024, 9.8 percent or P1.435 trillion higher than the P14.616 trillion recorded in end-2023. The P1.31-trillion net issuance of debt instruments and the P208.73 billion valuation effect of the US dollar strengthening pushed up the government’s debt stock year-on-year. The Treasury said the current debt level is aligned with the government’s projections of a P16.06-trillion end-year debt level for 2024. However, the debt-to-GDP ratio, or debt measured against economic growth, of 60.7 percent is higher than the 60.6 percent target after the lower-than-expected economic growth of 5.6 percent in the fourth quarter. This is also above the internationally accepted threshold of 60 percent. The ratio is used to evaluate the country’s economic stability and debt repayment ability—wherein a lower ratio indicates a more sustainable debt level, which can affect its ability to source financing, attract foreign investments and pay off its obligations. “The minimal deviation from the programmed debt underscores the national government’s effective cash and debt management strategies, including its proactive management of the level and timing of its external debt issuances amidst volatile exchange rate environment,” the Treasury said. The government’s debt, broken down, was composed of 68.10 percent in external obligations and 31.90 percent in domestic securities. Domestic debt reached P10.930 Continued on A2
sector comes at high price By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
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RICE TO THE OCCASION On Tuesday, February 4, 2025, the Department of Agriculture declared a food security emergency to address persistently high rice prices, despite previous tariff reductions. Assistant Secretaries Atty. Genevieve Guevarra and Engr. Arnel V. De Mesa briefed the press on this development at the Department’s office in Quezon City. This declaration enables the National Food Authority to release up to 150,000 metric tons from its 300,000-metric-ton buffer stock over the next six months to stabilize retail prices. Agriculture Secretary Francis Tiu Laurel emphasized that the emergency status will remain until price stability is achieved. Related story on A2, “NFA to release rice at P33 per kilo to LGUs, Kadiwa.” NONOY LACZA
TTAINING net zero emissions in the logistics sector will come at a high price for Asia’s maritime industry through massive investments and expensive shipping costs, according to experts from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). In an Asian Development Blog, ADB Transport Sector Office Director James Leather and Asian Transport Outlook Co-Team Leader Sudhir Gota said this will especially be true for developing countries in Asia, including the Philippines. The aim is to attain net zero carbon emissions in the logistics sector in 25 years or by 2050. The experts also said the new International Maritime Organization (IMO) targets also include a 20 to 30 percent reduction in emissions by 2030 and 70 percent reduction by 2040. “This concentration of maritime activity places a significant responsibility on Asian countries to lead the way in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the shipping sector,” See “Net zero,” A2
6 PROVINCES BOAST HIGHER PER CAPITA GDP
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ILIPINOS living in Bataan, Laguna, and Batanes are among those who enjoy higher per capita GDP than the national average in 2023, according to the latest data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). PSA said six provinces enjoyed higher per capita GDP compared to the national average of P186,476 in 2023. These provinces were led by Bataan with an estimated per capita GDP of P314,641. This was followed by Laguna with a per capita GDP of P294,388; Batanes, P286,386; Pampanga, P229,778; Misamis Occidental, P199,106; and
Batangas, P197,984. “These six provinces were the only provincial economies which registered per capita GDP higher than the national level in 2023,” PSA said. In 2023, the total GDP of all provinces was estimated at P11.8 trillion or 56.1 percent of the national GDP in 2023. Among the provinces, Laguna posted the highest economic value, hitting P1.03 trillion in 2023, the first time any province exceeded a GDP of P1 trillion. “This sustained its record as the largest economy among the 82 provinces with 4.9 percent share, in terms of share to the national GDP,” PSA said.
Cavite and Batangas followed Laguna, and posted the second and third largest shares to the country’s 2023 GDP value at 3.7 percent and 3.1 percent shares, respectively. Other provinces which composed the top 10 were Batangas with a share of 3.1 percent; Bulacan, 3 percent; Pampanga, 2.7 percent; Cebu, 2 percent; Pangasinan, 1.8 percent; Rizal, 1.7 percent; Nueva Ecija, 1.5 percent; and Bataan, 1.3 percent. “These 10 provinces accounted [for]around one-fourth or 25.6 percent of the national GDP,” the PSA said. Meanwhile, in terms of GDP See “6 Provinces,” 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
CHINA COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES PHILIPPINES CORPORATION 21st Floor Menarco Tower, 32nd Street, Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig HE, MINGJIAN Chinese Speaking Cabling Infrastructure Technician
1.
Brief Job Description: A Chinese Speaking Cabling Infrastructure Technician is a professional who installs and maintains low-voltage technology systems in residential and commercial settings. Cabling Infrastructure Technician are responsible for using proper tools and techniques. Following project documentation instructions. Working safely and professionally. Understanding the basic functions of writing and termination components and assisting with mounting and installing equipment and system.
Basic Qualification: Able to speak, write, and type in Mandarin language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
See “dole ncr” on A6-A7
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 58.6710 n JAPAN 0.3791 n UK 73.0513 n HK 7.5290 n CHINA 8.1060 n SINGAPORE 43.1722 n AUSTRALIA 36.5286 n EU 60.6951 n KOREA 0.0402 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.6431 Source: BSP (February 4, 2025)