June effectivity for RCEP in the PHL projected By Andrea E. San Juan
T THE WORLD ›› A14
KIM THREATENS NUCLEAR WEAPONS USE ANYTIME AS US CARRIER ARRIVES
HE Philippines is eyeing to deposit the instrument of ratification for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) on or before April 3, according to an official of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). “We still have to deposit the instrument of ratification and from deposit, you’ll have to count
60 days and then RCEP will take effect in the Philippines,” Allan B. Gepty, DTI Assistant Secretary and the Philippines’s top negotiator for RCEP, told reporters on the sidelines of a Committee Meeting held in Makati City on Tuesday. “We are just in the middle of domestic preparations and then I think on or before April 3 [our plan is to] deposit [the] instrument of ratification,” Gepty said, partly in Filipino.
With this, the country’s top negotiator for RCEP said the regional trade deal might take effect in June for the Philippines. Within the 60 -day per iod, however, Gepty stressed that the country should be done with the necessary issuances such as the drafting of an executive order, which will contain the “schedule of tariff commitment of the Philippines which will be attached and incorporated.”
During a virtual media briefing in February, after 20 senators voted to ratify the mega trade deal, Gepty explained the process: “And then, of course, once it’s signed by the President, that will be the basis of the Bureau of Customs [BOC] as they issue a Memorandum of Circular implementing the RCEP agreement based on the schedule of commitments in that Executive Order.” See “RCEP,” A2
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Wednesday, March 29, 2023 Vol. 18 No. 165
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PBBM pushes LBP-DBP merger By Samuel P. Medenilla
EAP output growth seen slowing in 2022-2030
@sam_medenilla
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RESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is now pushing for the merger of Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) as part of government efforts to cut costs and boost the efficiency of its banking operations. He greenlit the proposal for LBP to absorb DBP during a meeting with the economic cluster of his Cabinet on Tuesday. “The President expressed the desire to merge the two to make it the biggest bank in the country because of the recent financial developments abroad. And that’s really the best practice—the biggest bank usually is owned by the state globally,” Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said in a press conference in Malacañang. Marcos initially opposed the merger back in 2016, when he was still a senator, saying it can deprive farmers of access to banking services. Diokno, however, noted that the President changed his position after being elected last year See “LBP-DBP,” A2
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OTENTIAL output growth in East Asia and Pacific (EAP), which includes the Philippines, is projected to slow to 4.6 percent a year on average from 2022 to 2030, from 6.2 percent a year in 2011 to 2021, according to a World Bank report. The WB report, released on Monday, stressed that EAP faces “several major challenges” to inclusive and sustainable growth. These challenges, the report noted, include the “slowing global growth and external demand, elevated and rising debt, exacerbated by tighter financing conditions, highly volatile commodity prices and uncertainty related to the outlook for supply chains, trade, technology transfer, and investment amid the war in Ukraine and lingering
PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., together with Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Secretary Jose Rizalino L. Acuzar and Pag-IBIG CEO Marilene C. Acosta, graces the Pag-IBIG Fund Chairman’s Report at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City on Tuesday, March 28, 2023. President Marcos led the announcement on the agency’s 2022 performance and the dividend rates on the members’ savings—Pag-IBIG Fund’s Regular and MP2 Savings 2022 Dividend Rates of 6.53 percent and 7.03 percent, respectively—both the highest since the pandemic. Story below. PNA/ALFRED FRIAS
See “EAP,” A2
‘BEST-PERFORMING YEAR IN 2022’ FOR PAG-IBIG FUND By Samuel P. Medenilla & Raadee S. Sausa
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HE Home Development Mutua l Fund or PagIBIG Fund will be releasing P42.7 billion worth of dividends following its “ best performing year in 2022.” This after Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development’s (DHSUD) Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar announced at the Pag-IBIG Fund Chairman’s Report at the SMX Convention Center on Tuesday that the Pag-IBIG Board approved to increase the payout ratio for 2022 from the mandated 70 percent to 97 percent.
“With Pag-IBIG Fund capably led by its CEO ‘Manang’ Malen Acosta having its best performing year in 2022, we were able to declare the highest amount of dividends for our members’ savings in our 42-year history,” Acuzar said. During the event, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. also disclosed the dividend rates for Pag-IBIG Fund’s regular savings increased by 6.53 percent. Meanwhile, the dividend rate for its Modified Pag-IBIG 2 Savings (MP2) posted a 7.03 percent hike for the same period. Pag-IBIG’s net income rose by 28 percent to a record-high P44.50 billion in 2022 from
P34.69 billion the year prior. The other achievements of the agency: home loans reached P117.85 billion; total membership savings collected hit P79.90 bi l l ion a nd loa n pay ments amounted to P127.42 billion. Pag-IBIG fund also provided housing loans to 105,212 of its members and short-term loans to 2.61 million others. Marcos lauded Pag-IBIG for reaching the milestones and providing invaluable aid in DHSUD ongoing socialized housing initiatives. Pag-IBIG has allocated P250 billion for the DHSUD’s Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Housing (4PH), which
aims to build 6.5 million new housing units. “It makes me proud that your agency’s stewardship of our national savings program has successfully provided affordable shelter financing for our people. Let me thank all of you, the members who are the owners of Pag-IBIG Fund, including concerned housing developers, partners, and other key stakeholders who have been instrumental in fulfilling the Pag-IBIG Fund’s mandate of serving the Filipino workforce,” Marcos said. Pag-IBIG Fund disbursed P53.76 billion in cash loans, See “DHSUD,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 54.4390 n JAPAN 0.4138 n UK 66.8838 n HK 6.9351 n CHINA 7.9132 n SINGAPORE 40.9039 n AUSTRALIA 36.1910 n EU 58.7887 n KOREA 0.0420 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.4966 Source:
BSP (28 March 2023)