PHL to meet 50% digital payments goal in ’23 By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
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HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the country is poised to attain its digital payments target for the year. Based on the data, the share of monthly digital payments to total monthly retail payments volume in the Philippines rose to 42.1 percent in 2022 from 30.3 percent in 2021. The digital payments target for this year is 50 percent. “The latest results show that we are steering in the right direction as we move closer to our goal
of converting at least half of total retail payments volume into digital form by the end of 2023 under the BSP Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap,” former BSP Governor Felipe M. Medalla said in a statement over the weekend. BSP said the top contributors for the increase are merchant payments, person-to-person (P2P) transfers, and salaries and wage payments. Data showed merchant payments and P2P transfers were further digitalized by 35.6 percent and 91.2 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, BSP said it is also noteworthy that salaries and wage payments grew by 41.1 per-
MEDALLA
cent, from just 32 million transactions in 2021. “The numbers tell us that the deliberate reforms and initiatives we have been undertaking are responsive to the shifting
needs of the public towards more efficient payments ser vices. Since the pandemic, which broadened digital payments adoption and acceptance, the upward trajectory of digital payment usage has been sustained. We need to carry on to maintain this trend, focusing on the overall valueadding experience of using digital payments,” Medalla said. These results are aligned with the latest BSP Financial Inclusion Survey Report, which found a significant increase in ownership of transaction accounts, majority of which are e-money accounts, and that more of these accounts are now being used for payments.
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Monday, July 3, 2023 Vol. 18 No. 259
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By Cai U. Ordinario
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Stakeholders, TPB shut out of new tourism drive decision
@caiordinario
HE country’s debt transparency ranking shot up nine notches in the 2023 IR (Investor Relations) and Debt Transparency Report of the Institute of International Finance (IIF), according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). In a statement, BSP said the country’s ranking improved to 3rd out of 41 in just one year. Last year, the country ranked 12th overall. The country scored 47.8 points out of 50 points. With an increase of 6.4 points from a score of 41.4 in 2022, the Philippines registered the most improved score among the top 10 countries on the list. “This makes the Philippines’ IR practices among the best in the 41 emerging markets and developing countries assessed by IIF and indicates the country’s effectiveness in engaging investors and transparency in giving public access to macroeconomic and environment, social, and governance [ESG] data and policy information,” BSP said. The Philippines follows Indonesia at 48.4 (1st) and Turkey at 48.3 (2nd), and precedes Colombia at 47.5 (4th) and Brazil at 45.5 (5th). The BSP said the country’s performance improved based on the BSP Investor Relations Group webpage that now features ESG information in response to investors’ growing interest in the Philippine government’s ESG agenda. Other areas include the dissemination of macroeconomic data; the dissemination of ESG data and policy information; and feedback and communication channels. “The IIF assessment highlights the success of the Philippines in communicating the strength and resilience of the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals and the continuity of sound structural reforms to investors and other stakeholders,” former BSP Governor Felipe M. Medalla said in a statement over the weekend. See “DEBT,” A2
By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo
@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror
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A NUN views the “Popemobile” used by Pope Francis in his 2015 trip to the Philippines. The Popemobile, donated by Isuzu Gencars, is among the items on display at the exhibit on papal visits to the Philippines, which opened at the Manila Cathedral late Thursday. Story below. NONIE REYES
PAPAL VISITS, POPEMOBILE, IN CATHEDRAL EXHIBIT By Eunice A. Reyes
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EMOR I E S a re of ten vague. We might remember details, or small parts of these memories, but as time goes on, we often forget. Souvenirs and memorabilia are objects that represent a certain memory, helping us remember every single fragment of an event. The small exhibit that opened last week at Manila Cathedral, titled, “The Popes in the Philippines,” is a Papal Visit Memorabilia Exhibit. But more than that, it is enough reason to warm the hearts of Filipinos, especially Catholics, who have followed with love the visiting popes everywhere they went. The opening of the exhibit was officiated by the Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Charles John Brown; with Jose Cardinal Advincula, the Archbishop of Manila; and Msgr. Rolly Dela Cruz, Rector of the Manila Cathedral. The opening was capped by
the celebration of holy mass. The exhibit, indeed, abounds with warm memories, comprising photos and memorabilia during the visits of various popes, the last of which was in 2015 by the current one, Pope Francis. In that most recent visit, one item that drew most interest was the vehicle used by Pope Francis, or the Pope Mobile.There are, in all, three Popes who graciously blessed our country with their visit; let us look back at them one by one. Pope Paul VI was the first ever pope to visit the Philippines, in 1970. It was a very fortunate event, but marred by unfortunate circumstances. He had then just disembarked from a chartered plane at Manila airport when Benjamin Mendoza, a Bolivian surrealist painter who was disguised as a priest, stabbed the pope twice. Luckily, he was immediately subdued and arrested. Pope Paul VI survived his wounds, and went on
his trip as planned. At the exhibit, there were archival photos of his Papal Visit, showcasing a wellattended Eucharist celebrated by the pope himself. The second pope who went to our country, this time on an official Vatican visit, was Pope John Paul II. He arrived on February 17 of 1981. His visit was short yet very meaningful to Filipinos. Some of the archival photos from his visit may be seen at on the Manila Cathedral exhibit. Pope John Paul II actually revisited during World Youth Day 1995, where he attracted one of the largest crowds ever at a papal event—over 4 million people. One can see at the exhibit the chasuble he used during his second visit. The most recent papal visit was in 2015, wherein the record for 4 million people in attendance was broken. The last mass Pope Francis conducted gathered almost 6 million people on Luneta Park, and
was to be called “the largest papal gathering in history.” “Lolo Kiko,” as he was fondly called by the faithful, was loved by Filipinos all over the country. He visited Manila, Tacloban, and Palo, Leyte. At the exhibit, the chalice he used, as well as the golden medal which he bestowed as a gift, are on display. Pope Francis actually gave us a chalice, as a token of gratitude for the warm welcome he received during his stay at the Philippines. It is safely stored at the exhibit, together with all the other objects he used during his visit.
Popemobile, big attraction
AT the exhibit, what most awed the people was the vehicle used by Pope Francis during his recent visit. The “Popemobile” is a specially designed vehicle for the Pope to use during his parade, allowing him to be more visible and safe, while greeting the crowd. See “Papal,” A2
HE Department of Tourism (DOT) claims no public funds have been paid to its advertising agency, DDB Philippines Inc., for the carrier video of its “Love the Philippines” brand campaign. The video is now being pilloried in social media for using stock footage of places and activities not shot in the country. T his developed as tourism stakeholders said they weren’t actually consulted before the new slogan and “enhanced” campaign was presented to the public, a commitment previously made to them by Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco. Separate interviews with those who attended a DOT event with stakeholders on June 21, where the slogan was unveiled, said the agency didn’t ask for their feedback. “The presentation on June 21 was called a ‘launch.’ It was not a consultation,” said one tourism leader who spoke on background. “There was no prior discussion/ consultation on this. First we heard of it [on June 21] and it looked like it was ready and poised for the Big Reveal on June 27 [the public launch],” said another industry veteran, speaking on condition of anonymity.
‘Not shot in the PHL’
EVEN the DOT’s own marketing arm, the Tourism Promotions Board, was left out of the decision-making process in the bidding, awarding, and pitching for the branding campaign, in reversal of previous practice. Insiders noted that the slogan and its logo were only showed to the TPB “last week” (the week of June 18), right before the public launch. Over the weekend, some netizens, including a popular Duterte administration influencer, alleged that DDB’s rider video for the “Love the Philippines” launch used several stock footage shot in Thailand, Indonesia, and Dubai to depict fishing in the Philippines, the Banaue Rice Terraces, and the sand dunes in Ilocos. See “Stakeholders,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 55.3620 n JAPAN 0.3825 n UK 69.8281 n HK 7.0631 n CHINA 7.6382 n SINGAPORE 40.8305 n AUSTRALIA 36.6164 n EU 60.1563 n KOREA 0.0419 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.7616 Source: BSP (June 30, 2023)