PBBM: Exports plan, RCEP to boost economy
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President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. emphasizes the importance of dynamic innovation and the exports industry in his speech at the International Trade Forum on Thursday, June 15, 2023, at the Shangri-La The Fort in Taguig City. He highlighted the need to catch up with Asean neighbors for national development targets. “Dynamic innovation within the sectors will be at the heart of this transformation. The exports industry is crucial and indispensable to this development strategy,” he said. JOEY RAZON/PNA
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RESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Thursday assured the Philippines’s foreign trade partners and the international community that the country will be a reliable partner and will be ready to deliver. Keynoting the International Trade Forum organized by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) at the Shangri-La The Fort, Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig City, Marcos rallied support for the successful implementation of the newly approved Philippine Export Development
Plan (PEDP). “I once again call on the private sector and the entire export community to continue to invest their faith and energies in the industry. We also send a message of goodwill to our foreign trade partners and the international community: the Philippines will be a reliable partner. We will deliver,” the President said. Describing the export industry as an “economic linchpin,” Marcos said with the PEDP’s implementation and favorable developments, there is a reason to be optimistic
about the bright future of the local export industry. “But as with any other plan, everything will come down to its effective and efficient implementation. So, together, with a whole-of-nation approach, let us once again declare our slogan: ‘Let’s make it happen’,” Marcos told the forum. In carrying out the export plan, the President promised to reinvigorate the Export Development Council (EDC), to serve as a proactive forum and effective command center for the efficient
implementation of the Plan, the monitoring of milestone accomplishments, and the systematic pursuit of the desired multi-sectoral approach. Resounding in the PEDP, Marcos said, is the need for heightened government support, which requires vital government interventions, such as infrastructure, greater ease of doing business, promotion and marketing, financing, even legislative initiatives, among others.
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Friday, June 16, 2023 Vol. 18 No. 242
See “PBBM,” A2
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WEAKER PESO RATE VS DOLLAR SEEN IN 12-MO LOW
April remittances inch up to $2.49B By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
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ASH remittances sent by Filipinos abroad recorded a 12-month low in April, according to the latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). The data showed cash remittances reached $2.485 billion in April 2023. This is the lowest since the $2.425 billion posted in May 2022. Cash remittances only posted a growth of 3.7 percent compared to the $2.4 billion recorded in the same month last year. R iza l Commercia l Bank ing Corporation Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said, “the recent slowdown in OFW remittances also partly due to the weaker peso exchange rate vs. the US dollar compared to year ago levels [about 10-percent peso depreciation compared to levels before the RussiaUkraine war started on February 24, 2022]...also partly reduced the need to send more OFW remittances due to higher conversion rate for the US dollar vs. the Philippine peso.” The data also showed that cash remittances reached $10.49 billion in the first 5 months of the year.
SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE A powerful earthquake originating in
Calatagan, Batangas, with a magnitude of 6.2, shook Metro Manila Thursday morning, sending tremors throughout the city. Photos show construction workers in Parañaque City following standard earthquake protocols to ensure their safety. The seismic activity also had an impact on scheduled events, such as a graduation ceremony at PICC, which experienced a temporary delay. However, after assessing the situation and ensuring the safety of everyone involved, the graduation proceeded as planned. Story on page A3. NONIE REYES
‘DON’T COP OUT IN ENFORCING PLASTICS LAW’ By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz
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@joveemarie
ITH only about 600 out of 4,000 big enter pr ises obliged to practice the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act, a senior lawmaker wants the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to take more decisive steps in implementing fully a new law on the proper disposal of single-use plastics. Camarines Sur Rep. Lray Villafuerte said this new measure holds big companies responsible for getting rid of or re-
cycling their products’ plastic packaging wastes after these have been sold to and used by consumers. “R ather than seemingly giving up this early the fight against plastic waste pollution, the DENR should do a better job of implementing the Extended Producer Responsibility [EPR] Act, in support of the government goal of advancing a circular economy and mitigating the deleterious impact of climate change,” Villafuerte said. Villafuerte was one of the principal authors of Republic Act (RA) 11898, which institutionalized the practice of EPR
in waste management that imposes on producers, in coordination with their distributors and retailers, the responsibility of properly and effectively disposing of their products after these have been sold to and used by consumers. “ T he ob j e c t i v e he re i s to reduce waste generation and improve the recyclabilit y or reu sabi l it y of suc h wastes as plastic containers or pac k ag ing mater ia ls as part of a wholistic approach in switching to an eco-friendly circular economy,” he said. See “Plastics,” A2
See “April,” A2
PESO exchange rates n US 55.9700 n japan 0.3997 n UK 70.8916 n HK 7.1470 n CHINA 7.8136 n singapore 41.7313 n australia 38.0260 n EU 60.6379 n KOREA 0.0440 n SAUDI arabia 14.9385 Source: BSP (June 15, 2023)