ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA JOURNALISM AWARDS
2006 National Newspaper of the Year 2011 National Newspaper of the Year 2013 Business Newspaper of the Year 2017 Business Newspaper of the Year 2019 Business Newspaper of the Year 2021 Pro Patria Award PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY 2018 Data Champion
BusinessMirror
www.businessmirror.com.ph
A broader look at today’s business Monday, June 16, 2025 Vol. 20 No. 246
EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS
BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR
(2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021) DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
2018 BANTOG MEDIA AWARDS
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 18 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
BIG CURRENT ACCOUNT GAP PUTS BOP IN DEFICIT n
By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
T
HE country’s Balance of Payments (BOP) swung to a deficit in the first three months of the year on the back of a wider current account deficit, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
-1.0 -1.5 -2.0 -2.5 -3.0
Q1 2024
Q1 2025
BOP OVERVIEW
Q1 2025: –$3.0 billion deficit Q1 2024: +$238 million surplus Reason: Widening current account deficit
n n
-3.75
-1.0 -1.5
-3.25
-3.50 -3.00
-2.0 -2.5 -3.0 -3.5 -4.0
-2.75 -2.50 -2.25 -2.00 Q1 2024
Q1 2025
CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT Q1 2025: –$4.2 billion Q1 2024: –$2.1 billion n% of GDP: Q1 2025: 3.7% Q1 2024: 1.9%
“Peso overvaluation hurts PH economy, exports” — ANZ Research
n n
Peso has been overvalued since 2019, affecting: Manufacturing sector Export competitiveness
BM Graphics: Ed Davad
0.0 -0.5
0.0 -0.5
Percent of GDP
Deficit (Billion USD)
BOP Value (Billion USD)
PHL BALANCE OF PAYMENTS SWINGS TO DEFICIT IN Q1 2025
See “Big,” A2
INT’L TOURISM SPENDING IN PHL TO BREACH PRE-COVID LEVELS By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo Special to the BusinessMirror
G
LOBAL tourism is projected to grow steadily this year, transitioning from recovery, with visitor spending seen rising by 10 percent, year-on-year (yoy), and contributing some 10.3 percent to the world economy. In its Economic Impact Report Philippines 2025, the private-sector led World Travel & Tourism Council also forecast an 11-percent increase in total tourism jobs to 371 million, yoy. “There are challenges,
however. The world is at an uncertain moment in history. Geopolitical tensions are rising. The threat of a full-scale tariff war looms. If this happens, few businesses will be unaffected; most will face higher costs, with a ripple effect across the tourism supply chain. If prices go up, inflation will put renewed pressure on consumer spending and may dampen demand,” warned WTTC President and CEO Julia Simpson in the report’s foreword. “There is, too, the ongoing threat of climate change and biodiversity loss. See “Int’l,” A2
Freshly Brewed MARKETING WITH PURPOSE, HOSPITALITY WITH HEART Ma. Celeste Romualdo, HSMA Director of Membership and General Manager of The Linden Suites
SHAPING THE FUTURE OF PHILIPPINE TOURISM THROUGH INNOVATION, COLLABORATION, AND STRATEGY »A10
MAFBEX 2025 SERVES UP INNOVATION, CULTURE, AND CONSCIOUS COOKING Now on its 19th year, the Manila Foods and Beverages Expo (MAFBEX) 2025 officially opened Sunday, June 15, 2025, at the World Trade Center Metro Manila in Pasay City, affirming its role as the country’s premier platform for food and beverage innovation. The event features regional products from the Department of Agriculture and celebrates Filipino heritage with traditional dances. Among the crowd-pullers was Chef Michelle Adrillana—“Chef of the World”—who showcased a refined, zero-waste version of the beloved turon. Her interactive cooking demo drew in fans and foodies alike, highlighting sustainable practices in modern Filipino cuisine. NONIE REYES AND BERNARD TESTA
Classrooms needed despite lower fertility T HE fertility rate among women may be declining, but thousands of classrooms must still be built annually to make room for new learners and replace aging educational facilities until 2040, according to the government’s think tank. In a discussion paper published by the Philippine Institute and Development Studies (PIDS), a team of researchers led by Fellow Michael R.M. Abrigo estimated that 6,000 to 8,000 new classrooms need to be built over the next 15 years to address classroom deficits by 2040. They estimated that at P3 million per classroom, this would amount to an investment of P18 billion to P24 billion in new classrooms per year. The PIDS said this, however, within the ballpark of the government’s recent allocations for classroom construction.
“We document that a future with continuous low fertility presents an important tailwind to ease classroom congestion across the country, but headwinds from building obsolescence would require continuous infrastructure investments to address classroom supply deficits in the public school system,” PIDS explained. Given the resources needed, PIDS recommended crafting of a long-term School Building Construction Masterplan to identify locations where classrooms are needed. This needs assessment will consider supply and demand projections as well as building specifications that fit the terrain and climatic conditions of the areas where the buildings will be constructed. The PIDS said this can be complemented by activities such as funding prioritization, precon-
struction activities, and building maintenance to facilitate planning. “Ultimately, such interventions would not only require greater coordination and cooperation among concerned agencies, particularly DepEd [Department of Education], DPWH [Department of Public Works and Highways], and Neda [National Economic and Development Authority, now the Department of Economy, Planning and Development], but also the availability of skilled personnel to implement them,” PIDS said. However, the PIDS researchers also said there are other options to building more classrooms. They recommended that government “hedge on the differential timing and spatial distribution of classroom congestion across grade levels.”
One stopgap measure is for schools with classroom deficits to share excess classrooms in nearby schools. This requires the compensation of schools with excess classrooms for the use of their facilities. The researchers said public-private partnerships can also be explored in the construction of classrooms. This can be done through buildlease-transfer schemes or through education service contracting or voucher programs. The government can also explore transport service schemes for students willing to enroll in uncongested but distant schools. This will ease congestion in nearby schools and maximize the use of available resources in other distant schools. “The costs of these options need to be weighed See “Classrooms,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 55.8550 n JAPAN 0.3893 n UK 76.0857 n HK 7.1162 n CHINA 7.7885 n SINGAPORE 43.6879 n AUSTRALIA 36.4733 n EU 64.7304 n KOREA 0.0412 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.8891 Source: BSP (June 13, 2025)