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A broader look at today’s business
Wednesday, May 14, 2025 Vol. 20 No. 213
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PHL HUMAN DEVT INDEX UP, BUT BELOW REGION’S n
POST-ELECTION IN FOCUS From ballots to clean-ups, the 2025 midterm elections continue to unfold beyond the polls. At the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC), Comelec Chairman Atty. George Garcia briefs the media on election results and addresses transparency concerns over discrepancies
between official data and figures on the public access website. The NBOC resumed its session to canvass local absentee votes for senators and party-list groups, witnessed by representatives of candidates, party-list organizations, and international observers at the Manila Hotel Tent. Meanwhile, at the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) command center in Manila, AMA college and senior high school student-volunteers help scan and encode election returns. The PPCRV remains in close coordination with Comelec to resolve data gaps and ensure electoral integrity. In Quezon City, EcoWaste Coalition, joined by city sanitation workers and volunteers, clears campaign debris around Flora Ylagan High School, calling on both winning and losing candidates to clean up their materials and comply with Comelec’s post-election directive. Stories in A3 Nation. NONIE REYES, ROY DOMINGO, NONOY LACZA
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By Bless Aubrey Ogerio @blessogerio
HE country posted modest gains in human development in 2023 but remained below the regional average for East Asia and the Pacific, according to the latest report from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). In its Human Development Report 2025, the UNDP ranked the Philippines 117th out of 193 countries, with a Human Development Index (HDI) score of 0.720—a 1.4 percent improvement from 0.714 in 2022. This placed the country in the “high human development” category, though it still lags behind the
regional average of 0.775. From 1990 to 2023, the Philippines posted an average annual HDI growth rate of 0.59 percent, slower than East Asia and the Pacific’s 1.25 percent over the same period. Per UNDP, the HDI is a summary measure of achievements in three key dimensions, such as a long an See “PHL,” A5
PHL’s use of EU GSP NBOC CANVASSES OVER 20% OF SENATORS, PARTY-LIST COCS plus hits a high of 80% By Justine Xyrah Garcia
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UST a day after the 2025 midterm polls, the Commission on Elections, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC), reported that it has canvassed over 20 percent of the Certificates of Canvass (COCs). According to Comelec data, 33 out of the 175 expected COCs from municipal, district, provincial, city boards of canvassers, and overseas posts were processed by the NBOC as of Tuesday. The 175 COCs cover votes for
senators and party-list organizations, and include 82 provinces, 26 highly urbanized cities, 64 overseas posts, one for local absentee voting, and two legislative districts. Comelec Spokesperson John Rex E. Laudiangco told BusinessMirror in a sideline interview that the number of COCs received this early marks a “significant” increase compared to the 2022 presidential elections. “Perhaps it’s because we’re already using 5G...all the canvassing boards were installed See “NBOC,” A2
By Andrea E. San Juan
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@andreasanjuan
HE Philippines’s utilization rate of the EU Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (EU GSP+) hit an all-time high of 80 percent in 2024 for the 7,000 product lines that are being shipped by the country to the 27-member bloc, according to the EU Ambassador to the Philippines Massimo Santoro. “The GSP plus preference utilization of the Philippines has shown an upward trend over the years, and it was with very good vibes that recently we had four results indications, and it reached 80 percent of use,” Santoro said during the For-
eign Leader Series forum organized by the Makati Business Club (MBC) in Makati City on Tuesday. Santoro told reporters: “In the previous years we have had already high levels but we were around 77,76,73. So 80 percent was the highest, it’s the record so far, 2024. Which is very good because it’s basically almost 7,000 products that from the Philippines entered the EU market tariff-free.” The EU ambassador to the Philippines said the Philippines is the only Southeast Asian country that benefits from the EU GSP+. He stressed anew, however, that should the Philippines attain the See “EU GSP,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 55.6250 n JAPAN 0.3750 n UK 73.2804 n HK 7.1395 n CHINA 7.7176 n SINGAPORE 42.5821 n AUSTRALIA 35.4331 n EU 61.6993 n KOREA 0.0393 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.8306 Source: BSP (May 13, 2025)