Diokno commits unity for economic recovery By Raadee S. Sausa
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AGRI FOR WOMEN In celebration of International Women’s Month, SM Supermalls partnered with the Embassy of France to the Philippines and Micronesia and ACTED Philippines to promote sustainable and inclusive agriculture of Bangsamoro women, featuring the freshest produce and regional specialties of women entrepreneurs from Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao at the Womenpreneur Market, The Podium Atrium, Level 2 from March 24 to 26. SM SUPERMALLS
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HE government will have a unified effort in strengthening intersectoral ties for economic recovery, the Finance chief assured the Filipino-Chinese business community at the weekend. “The Marcos Jr. administration is built on the premise that unity is vital for recovery. We will stay true to this principle and strengthen intersectoral linkages as envisioned in the Philippine Development Plan 2023 to 2028,” Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said during the Federation of FilipinoChinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. (FFCCCII)’s 33rd Biennial Convention recently. The FFCCCII brings together chambers of commerce and trade
associations from all over the Philippines to promote business growth and improve the competitiveness of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The Federation has been a development partner of the government since 1954. “For almost seven decades, the Federation has consistently devoted itself to promoting cooperation and co-prosperity between Filipino and Chinese businesses,” Diokno said. The secretary said, to strengthen intersectoral linkages, the government will harness the publicprivate partnership (PPP) mechanism to help the public sector finance massive Build, Better, More infrastructure programs through mutually beneficial agreements
with private proponents. PPPs can be undertaken through various modes, such as the BuildOperate-Transfer (BOT) Law. Its recently revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) addressed stakeholder concerns on the financial viability and bankability of PPP projects, potential delays, rigid processes and ambiguous provisions. Meanwhile, the PPP Act was approved by the House of Representatives on third reading in December 2022 and is now pending in the Senate. On March 9, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board approved 194 high-impact Infrastructure Flagship Projects (IFPs), with a combined value of P9 trillion.
The 45 of the IFPs are financed through PPPs. Diokno also cited the importance of enhancing the ease of doing business through digitalization, noting the E-Governance bill that recently hurdled the House of Representatives. “Once enacted, the Bill is expected to enhance the ease of doing business in the country and improve public trust in the government. As business leaders, I hope that you will lead the charge in ushering digital transformation initiatives in your respective fields and industries,” he said. Diokno pointed out that the Philippines is now part of the largest trade agreement in the world, along with China. See “Diokno,” A2
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BSP: DEPOSIT RATES UP w
n
Monday, March 27, 2023 Vol. 18 No. 163
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 20 pages |
WITH KEY RATE HIKES T
By Cai U. Ordinario
@caiordinario
Biz groups still opposing PPA order after tweaks
HE successive key policy rate hikes have already passed through to deposits of Filipino account holders, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) disclosed.
Data shared in a recent briefing from BSP Deputy Governor Francisco Dakila Jr. showed interest rates for short-term deposits have increased by 310 basis points (bps). The average interest rate for short-term deposits has reached 3.68 percent in 2023. The same deposits carried an interest rate of 0.58 percent in May 2022. Dakila also said for long-term deposits, interest rates averaged 3.01 percent in May 2022, and this has since increased to 5.14 percent in 2023. This is a 212.4-bps increase.
BSP Governor Felipe M. Medalla said, however, that the passthrough of the rate hikes have a better chance of seeing an impact if the deposits are higher. However, Medalla said, choosing which bank to place deposits in is not solely based on interest rates, but other factors such as branch location and the amount of deposits. “If your deposit is P100,000, you’re unlikely to move to a bank that’s farther away. That’s the nature of the business,” Medalla said. See “BSP,” A2
By Andrea E. San Juan
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SATELLITE ON THE MOVE Two women use their mobile phones connected via satellite as they enjoy a sunset cruise in Zambales. Whether on the road or at sea, one can stay connected for online web browsing, streaming of favorite movies, or catching up on emails: that’s the promise of ComClark SATCOM-on-the-move, designed to deliver always-on connectivity via satellite while on the move. ComClark’s backhaul network is powered by leading fiber broadband provider Converge ICT Solutions Inc. NONIE REYES
THEY PRODUCE FOOD, BUT ARE FOOD-POOR
F EXPLAINER »B4
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ILIPINOS producing the country’s food are among those who could not afford to eat, according to data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Based on the 2021 poverty statistics, the PSA said food-poor Filipinos, in terms of magnitude, comprised those living in rural areas with 13.673 million; children, 10.463 million; and women, 9.986 million. In terms of incidence, the subsistence incidence was the highest among fisherfolks at 10.8 percent; farmers, 10.7 percent;
and children, 9.4 percent. “The fisherfolks sector remained to have the highest subsistence incidence of 10.8 percent,” PSA said. “This indicates that around one in every 10 fishermen belongs to a family that is foodpoor or a family with income that is not sufficient to buy its minimum basic food needs.” Other sectors where there were a lot of food-poor Filipinos were urban residents with 1.874 million; and the youth, with 1.578 million who could not afford their basic food needs. The basic sectors with the least
number of food-poor Filipinos were Persons aged 15 years and above with disability at 86,000; fisherfolk, 122,000; and Senior citizens, 280,000. In terms of incidence, sectors that made up the top 5 in terms of subsistence incidence were rural residents at 9 percent and the self-employed and unpaid family workers, at 6.4 percent. The three basic sectors with the lowest subsistence incidence, meanwhile, were migrant and formal sector workers with a food poverty incidence rate of 2.6 perSee “Food,” A2
AJOR business groups in the Philippines have reiterated their opposition to a policy which details the container monitoring policy of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), which has recently been recommended for pilot implementation by the AntiRed Tape Authority (ARTA), subject to validation. The Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc., in a statement posted on its social media page, announced that ARTA Secretary Ernesto V. Perez with his team, met with major business groups in the country, including PHILEXPORT and Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) to discuss issues in the PPA Administrative Order (AO) 04-2021. The stakeholders asserted that despite the amendments made by the PPA in the provisions, “the major issues—unnecessary extra costs and time to process—remain.” With this, the business groups said they disagree with the pilot implementation of the policy, as this “will surely result in port congestion.” In a statement released by ARTA on March 8, the anti-red tape watchdog announced that upon the result of its evaluation of the PPA’s Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) on Administrative Order 04-2021, the said policy garnered a score of 36 out of 40 or a “Good Practice” rating. See “Biz groups,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 54.4510 n JAPAN 0.4162 n UK 66.9366 n HK 6.9375 n CHINA 7.9740 n SINGAPORE 41.0332 n AUSTRALIA 36.4114 n EU 59.0031 n KOREA 0.0424 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.4959 Source: BSP (March 24, 2023)