Beyond Covid, PHL focused on economic devt By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla
F
OLLOW ING t he World He a lt h O rg a n i z at ion’s (WHO) declaration of the end of the global health emergency from Covid-19 earlier this month, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said the country will now shift its priorities from pandemic response to economic development. “We can now refocus our priorities on the development of our economy and the betterment of the lives of ordinary Filipinos,” Marcos said in his speech at the
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
Asian Development Bank (ADB) headquarters in Mandaluyong City on Monday. He said the government will now intensif y its efforts to transform the economy so it will be better than its prepandemic levels. “Our goal is still to evolve our economy into one that is defined by sustainability, climate-resi lience, responsiveness and of course inclusivity,” Marcos said. Under the government’s twopronged “transformative agenda,” the government will push for programs that develop and
protect the capabilities of individuals and families, while at the same time boost industry production to help in the generation of more quality jobs. “ To f a c i l it at e t he w hol e transformation process, these must be firmly implanted on the foundation of an enabling government environment that encompasses key aspects and sectors, such as peace and justice, infrastructure, inclusive finance, good governance, and climate and disaster resilience,” Marcos said. He said the government will coordinate with ADB and other
multilateral lending institutions to achieve this goal of “transformative journey.” Marcos stressed that universal health protocols will remain in place despite an economic-centered agenda. Earlier this month, WHO said the pandemic is no longer a global health emergency of international concern amid the growing population immunity against Covid-19, coupled with declining fatalities from the disease. Since it started recording Covid-19 incidents, WHO registered over 765 million Covid-19 cases worldwide.
BusinessMirror
EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS
BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR
(2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021) DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
2018 BANTOG MEDIA AWARDS
FITCH SEES PHL RETURN TO ‘STRONG’ GROWTH w
n
Tuesday, May 23, 2023 Vol. 18 No. 218
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 44 pages |
CULTURAL TREASURE Billowing smoke reflected on the Pasig River marks the loss of a beloved landmark as the historic Manila Central Post Office, a neoclassical architectural masterpiece designed by Filipino architects Juan M. Arellano and Tomás Mapúa in 1926, was completely destroyed by a fire that broke out late Sunday, May 21, 2023. The iconic building, which served as Manila’s main postal office and housed the Philippine Postal Corporation, held a significant place in the city’s heritage. Story in Nation, A3. NONIE REYES
F
By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas
@jearcalas
ITCH Ratings reaffirmed its BBB credit rating for the Philippines and improved its economic outlook for the country as it is projected a “return” to “strong” medium-term growth after the Covid-19 pandemic. In its report, the credit rating agency revised its outlook on the Philippines’s long-term foreign currency issuer default rating (IDR) to stable from negative. Fitch Ratings explained that the revision “reflects” its “confidence” that the Philippines is now “returning” to strong economic growth post-pandemic. Furthermore, the anticipated better economic performance would support the “sustained” reduction in the government’s debtto-GDP ratio.
“The revision also reflects our assessment that the Philippines’ economic policy framework remains sound and in line with ‘BBB’ peers, despite its low scores on World Bank Governance indicators,” the debt watcher said in its report. “The revision comes despite some relative deterioration over the last years in credit metrics that previously had been strengths, including in government debt/ GDP and net external debt/GDP,” it added. See “Fitch,” A2
EU-ABC: ‘POSITIVE’ SIGNALS BOOST PHL BID FOR MORE FDI By Andrea E. San Juan
T
HE EU-Asean Business Council (EU-ABC) said it is now seeing “positive developments” from President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s economic team that will improve the Philippines’s standing as a destination for foreign direct investments (FDI) from Europe. “The Philippines is a country of huge potential but unfortunately has, until now, been underperforming compared to some of its Asean neighbors,” Chris Humphrey, Executive Director of the EU-Asean Business Council. However, Humphrey noted,
“we are now seeing positive developments from the Economic Team under President Marcos Jr. that will surely improve the standing of the country as a destination for FDI from Europe.” According to Humphrey, being part of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will spell a “significant” benefit to the Philippines. Moreover, he said, “Hopefully, we will soon see the recommencement of FTA discussions with the EU: a rapid conclusion of that prospective Agreement, would really put the Philippines on the map for European businesses.” See “EU-ABC,” A2
House okays bill for 30-yr national infra program
V
OTING 254 against three and zero abstentions, the House of Representatives on Monday approved on third and final reading a consolidated bill providing for a 30-year national infrastructure program for 2023 up to 2052. Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said House Bill 8078 aims to put in place a long-term system of funding and sustaining public infrastructure projects for the benefit of the people. “This will be an all-encompassing program covering not only public works like roads, bridges and expressways, which we commonly refer to as infrastructure, but also energy, water resources, information and technology, agrifisheries, food logistics, and so-
cially-oriented structures such as school buildings and other educational facilities,” Romualdez said. “It would institutionalize the ‘Build Better More’ program of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to support a strong economy that would generate more job and income opportunities for our people, and build a resilient and reliable national infrastructure network,” he said. HB No. 8078 mandates the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), in consultation with implementing agencies and stakeholders, formulate the 30year infrastructure program in detail, including measurable targets and the selection, prioritization and phasing of specific projects. See “House,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 55.7080 n JAPAN 0.4037 n UK 69.3732 n HK 7.1267 n CHINA 7.9424 n SINGAPORE 41.4155 n AUSTRALIA 37.0235 n EU 60.2203 n KOREA 0.0421 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.8559 Source: BSP (May 22, 2023)