Q1 infraspend rises on road works, DND upgrades
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PENTAGON COMMITS TO CONTINUOUS WEAPONS SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE AMIDST RUSSIAN ASSAULT
OAD projects, defense modernization projects of the Department of National Defense (DND), and support for local government units (LGUs) boosted the government’s infrastructure spending in the first three months of the year, according to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). Based on the latest data, DBM said the government’s infrastructure and other capital outlays amounted to P216.8 billion, P20.1 billion or 10.2 percent more compared to the P196.7 billion posted in the same period last year. In March 2024, the DBM data showed infrastructure and other
capital outlays rose to P96.3 billion, P12.6 billion or 15.1 percent higher than the P83.7 billion posted in March 2023. “The sharp increase was largely due to the strong spending performance of the DPWH for payment of progress billings [i.e., completed/ partially-completed works] for various road infrastructure programs [e.g., road and bridge networks, flood control/mitigation structures, right-of-way acquisition], alongside payment of mobilization fees/advances to contractors for infrastructure projects under the FY 2024 budget,” DBM said in its report. T he DBM sa id t he overa l l
infrastructure disbursements, which inc lude inf rastr ucture components of subsidy/equity to government corporations and transfers to LGUs, reached P266.3 billion. This was P22.5 billion or 9.3 percent higher than the P243.7 billion posted in March 2023. “The sturdy growth of the total infrastructure spending resulted mainly from the implementation of road infrastructure projects of the DPWH and defense modernization projects of the DND, alongside the higher local development fund of LGUs—equivalent to 20 percent of their NTA [National Tax Allotment] shares,” DBM said. The agency said this helped
boost public construction in the first quarter 2024 economic performance, where general government-led construction grew by 12.4 percent. It contributed 2.9 percentage points to the 6.8-percent growth of the construction sector, and nearly 0.4 percentage point to the overall 5.7 percent real GDP growth. In the first three months of 2024, Government Final Consumption Expenditure (GFCE) grew 1.7 percent. This was slower than the 3.8 percent posted in the same quarter in 2023 but faster than the 1 percent contraction in the fourth quarter of last year. Cai U. Ordinario
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TRADE GAP, DEBT WIDEN APRIL BOP DEFICIT–BSP By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
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EBT payments led to a wider Balance of Payments (BOP) deficit in April 2024, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). The BSP said the BOP deficit widened by 331.76 percent to $639 million in April 2024 from the $148-million deficit in April 2023. This led to a reversal in the January to April 2024 performance to a BOP deficit of $401 million from a $3.3-billion surplus in the same period last year. “The BOP deficit in April 2024 reflected outflows arising mainly from the National Government’s [NG] net foreign currency withdrawals from its deposits with the BSP to settle its foreign currency debt obligations and pay for its various expenditures,” BSP said. In the January to April 2024 performance, the BSP noted that another contributing factor was the country’s trade in goods deficit. Based on the preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) International Merchandise Trade Statistics (IMTS), the trade deficit for January-March 2024 reached $11.2 billion, down from the $14.5 billion deficit posted in January-March 2023. “Based on preliminary data, this cumulative See “BOP,” A
PHARMA DRAMA Atty. Joseph Vincent Go, representing Bell-
Kenz Pharmaceutical, files a cyber-libel case against Dr. Tony Leachon at the National Bureau of Investigation Cybercrime Division in Quezon City on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. The case alleges that Dr. Leachon spread malicious accusations against the pharmaceutical company, involving an alleged multilevel marketing (MLM) scheme in the medical industry. The allegation that the MLM scheme is corrupting doctors and hurting patients is part of a Senate investigation. NONOY LACZA
IPEF TO HELP PHL BOOST VALUE FOR PROCESSED NICKEL ORES By Andrea E. San Juan @andreasanjuan
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NDO-PACIFIC Economic Framework (IPEF) countries are in talks to assist the Philippines in adding more value for processing nickel ores, according to an official of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). “So there is an ongoing discussion among the IPEF countries to try to add more value for processing this further but in a green way and this is very important,” Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said
during the US Indo-Pacific Business Forum. Rodolfo said this when he underscored that 70 to 80 percent of the nickel ore that the Philippines mines are exported in raw, unprocessed form to a “big country” that is dominant when it comes to batteries. “And that particular country is dependent on our nickel ore,” Rodolfo noted, adding that about 89 percent of the volume of nickel ore that the said country imports comes from the Philippines. See “IPEF,” A
Farm damage by El Niño climbs to ₧9.5B, says DA By Ada Pelonia @adapelonia
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HE agricultural damage caused by the El Niño phenomenon has climbed to P9.5 billion, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA). In its latest report, the DA said the volume of production losses reached 426,798 metric tons (MT). Palay sustained the most damage at 185,561 MT; corn, 180,807 MT; and 48,949 MT for high-value crops. Agriculture Assistant Secretary and Spokesperson Arnel De Mesa said the production losses are equivalent to P4.6 billion for
rice, P3.1 billion for corn, and P1.6 billion for high-value crops. “Actually malaki ang inakyat nito from the last bulletin kasi ang last bulletin P6.3 billion so ito na siguro yung mga huling papasok na report. [Actually, the increase is higher from the previous bulletin which recorded P6.3 billion. This is probably the last incoming report],” De Mesa told reporters on Tuesday. According to de Mesa, Mimaropa remained the most affe c te d re g ion , w it h d a m a ge reaching P2.6 billion; Cagayan Valley, P2.1 billion; and Western Visayas, P1.7 billion. See “El Niño,” A
PESO EXCHANGE RATES Q US 57.7630 Q JAPAN 0.3697 Q UK 73.4110 Q HK 7.4076 Q CHINA 7.9847 Q SINGAPORE 42.8923 Q AUSTRALIA 38.5106 Q EU 62.7364 Q KOREA 0.0425 Q SAUDI ARABIA 15.4018 Source:
BSP 21 May 2024