GOLDEN PERFORMANCE CARLOS YULO plucked two medals—one of them a gold—on the first day of men’s artistic gymnastics competitions in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games Monday in Phnom Penh. The two-time world champion tops the individual all-around event and leads Juancho Miguel Besana, Ivan Cruz, Ace de Leon, Jhon Santillan and Jan Timbang to the team all-around silver behind Vietnam. ROY DOMINGO
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N.G.’S MARCH DEBT HITS RECORD HIGH OF P13.86T w
A TOAST TO WRITERS The Nick Joaquin Literary Awards, halted by the pandemic, recently came back with a vengeance, drawing some of the country’s finest writers in ceremonies at Winford Hotel in Manila. In first photo, Chairman D. Edgard A. Cabangon receives, on behalf of businessman Ramon S. Ang, the Patron of Literature plaque and medal for his sustained support for the NJLA and major initiatives of the Philippines Graphic, the oldest newsmagazine in the country. The plaque and medal were handed by publisher T. Anthony C. Cabangon. In second photo, Ian Rosales Casocot (second from left)—first prize winner for the short story “Ceferina in Apartment 2G”—is flanked by Dr. Jose “Butch” Dalisay, NJLA 2023 chairman of the board of judges, and co-judges Dr. Susan Lara and Marra PL. Lanot, editor, Philippines Graphic Reader. BERNARD TESTA
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Tuesday, May 9, 2023 Vol. 18 No. 204
FROM ‘FUN’ TO ‘THE BEST’: PHL BARES NEW COUNTRY BRAND
@sam_medenilla
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HE recovery of the tourism industry and other sectors have contributed to a steep decline in the number of unemployed during the first quarter of the year, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). In its latest Job Displacement
HE country’s outstanding debt hit a new record-high of P13.86 trillion as of March after posting additional P104.15 billion in obligations from domestic and foreign sources, the Treasury bureau said on Monday. in the first quarter of 2023, as the government and the private sector continued to ramp up infrastructure activities in the recovery phase from the pandemic. This ramping up was expected to increase the government’s indebtedness.
Aligned with fiscal plan
DOMINI VELASQUEZ, chief economist at China Banking Corp., said that the government debt is still aligned with the fiscal program. Slow and offsetting growth rates in revenues and expenditures have kept the deficit, and consequently resulting debt, in check.
Tourism rebound behind thinning ranks of jobless By Samuel P. Medenilla
By Raadee S. Sausa
As of first quarter, the debt pile is 95 percent of the expected P14.63trillion debt by end-2023, it added. According to Michael Enriquez, president of Sun Life Investment Management and Trust Corp., the increase in government debt was expected by the market as the government continues to spend on infrastructure projects. “Debt-to-GDP [gross domestic product] continues to be within the expected level announced by the government,” he noted. Recently, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno projected a possible 7-percent economic growth
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 28 pages |
By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo
@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror
W
E give the world our best. That is the new country brand being rolled out by the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., starting with a campaign to promote overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). See “Country brand,” A2
Report (JDR), DOLE’s Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) said that the number of reported unemployed workers in tourism dropped to just 1,268 from January to March 2023 from 11,552 in the same period last year. Rounding up the top 5 sectors with significant year-on-year decline in displaced workers are wholesale and retail trade; repair See “Tourism,” A2
THE new Philippines branding campaign: “We give the world our best” is seen here in a wraparound ad on a London bus. The photo has been circulating among Viber groups. The branding effort was confirmed by the Presidential Adviser on Creative Communications Paul Soriano. IMAGE: CTTO
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PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 55.2920 n JAPAN 0.4100 n UK 69.8614 n HK 7.0457 n CHINA 8.0041 n SINGAPORE 41.7141 n AUSTRALIA 37.3110 n EU 60.9650 n KOREA 0.0420 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.7442 Source: BSP (May 8, 2023)