BSP probes 6 people over alleged ‘ghost’ employees
T THE WORLD | A14
NETANYAHU SAYS DEADLY ISRAELI STRIKE IN RAFAH THE RESULT OF ‘TRAGIC MISTAKE’
HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has clarified that six employees are being investigated for irregularities regarding the alleged “ghost” employees. In an official statement, the BSP said six employees are being investigated for irregularities. Of the six, two are supervisors being questioned regarding the alleged four “ghost” employees. Initially, a source told reporters that the investigation on alleged “ghost” employees only included four BSP staff members in the offices of two Monetary Board Members (MBMs). (See: https://businessmirror.
com.ph/2024/05/24/are-thereghost-employees-at-the-bspprobe-underway/) “The BSP is sharing the following information to clarify and respond to recent news reports on six employees on the staff of certain Monetary Board members,” BSP said. “We hope this clarifies, within the bounds of confidentiality and fairness due to ongoing proceedings, the steps the BSP has taken since first receiving reports on the issue, to ensure that any erring employee will be held accountable,” it added. The BSP also began an investigation in October 2023 after
receiving “credible information” from the Office of the General Counsel that several staffers of two MBMs did not report for work for extended periods of time despite receiving their salaries as BSP employees. The central bank submitted an initial report on the investigation to the Office of the General Counsel, which advised the central bank to conduct an in-depth investigation on the matter in December 2023. T he BSP sa id t hat its invest igat ion tea m subm it ted t he f ina l invest igat ion repor t in Ja nu a r y 2024, wh ic h na med t he fou r employees a nd t heir
t wo i m me d i ate s up e r v i sors. T he repor t wa s sig ned by t he Of f ice of t he Genera l Counsel. Between late Februar y and early March, BSP said four employees and one direct supervisor implicated in the report tendered their resignation. Further, BSP said administrative disciplinary cases were filed in March 2024 before the effectivity of their separation. “The irregularities appear unprecedented in an organization that upholds integrity and professionalism at all levels. The BSP remains committed to upholding See “Ghost,” A
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Wednesday, May 29, 2024 Vol. 19 No. 225
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RATE HIKE, COSTLY FUEL TO TRIM GROWTH–BSP By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
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HE rate hikes implemented by the Monetary Board will continue to affect the country’s growth and peak in the second semester of the year, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). In its Monetary Policy Report, BSP said high interest rates, along with expensive fuel, could also temper domestic demand. Consumption accounts for 70 percent of the country’s GDP growth. The slowdown in Household Final Consumption Expenditure (HFCE) in the first quarter to 4.6 percent was blamed for the slower GDP growth of 5.7 percent in the first three months of the year. (See: https://businessmir ror.com.ph /2024/05/10/ spending-cutbacks-to-continue-say-experts/) “Domestic economic activity could ease as the effects of previous policy interest rate adjustments and declining real incomes, along with the possibility of tepid global growth, temper aggregate demand,” BSP said.
Nonetheless, the BSP said, stronger net exports and improvements in global growth could support GDP growth. This will still make the government’s growth targets achievable this year. The BSP expects global growth to be faster at 3.2 percent in 2024, better than the 3.1 percent expected in February 2024. For next year, the outlook for global growth is expected to remain unchanged at 3.2 percent. “Economic growth could settle below the DBCC’s target of 6 to 7 percent for 2024 and 6.5-7.5 percent for 2025,” BSP said. “Stronger net exports amid an improving global growth outlook could support GDP growth.” Other factors that could support See “Rate hike,” A
DEEPFAKE MORE IN USE FOR SOCIAL ENGINEERING TACTICS By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes @brownindio
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EEPFAKE technology is increasingly being utilized to enhance the effectiveness of social engineering tactics, thus posing new challenges for cybersecurity. According to David Rajoo, Senior Systems Engineer, JAPAC Cortex Systems Engineering, the most recognizable AI-generated content in the Philippines that they have recently seen is the emergence of deepfaked videos impersonating media personalities, who
are then used as endorsers for certain products. As AI becomes more accessible, he told the BusinessMirror in an email interview, they expect AI-based attacks to become even more sophisticated and harder to assess in the future. “Our Unit 42 researchers have observed cybercriminals leveraging AI to amplify social engineering attacks, making phishing emails and voice calls more convincing and harder to detect. Moreover, AI enables attackers to accelerate and scale See “Deepfake,” A
MEATING STANDARDS Department of Agriculture Undersecretary DV Savellano, along with the DA’s Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service (AMAS), inspected various meat products at a supermarket in Muñoz, Quezon City, on Tuesday, May 28, 2024. The inspection aimed to assure the public that there is a sufficient, safe, and affordable supply of meat products in the market. NONOY LACZA
Luzon grid placed anew on red, yellow alert by NGCP
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HE Luzon grid was once again placed under red and yellow alerts on Tuesday after the grid’s unavailable capacity reached 3,963.3 megawatts (MW). A red alert status is issued when power supply is insufficient to meet consumer demand and the transmission grid’s regulating requirement. The red alert took effect from 2pm to 4pm and from 8pm to 10pm. A yellow alert is issued when the operating margin is insufficient to meet the transmission grid’s contingency requirement. This was set to take effect from 1pm to 2pm, 4pm to 5pm, 6pm to 8pm, and from 10pm to 11pm. The National Grid Corporation
of the Philippines (NGCP) recorded 12,669MW of available capacity in Luzon as against a peak demand of 12,228MW. Three power plants are still on forced outage since 2023, three between January and March 2024, and 12 power plants between April and May 2024; while 10 are running on derated capacities. Several factors contributed to the raising of red and yellow alerts. These are the forced outage of the Ilijan (600MW), Pagbilao 1 (382MW), 2 (382MW), & 3 (420MW), QPPL (460MW) plants; emergency shutdown of San Lorenzo 50 (265MW); deration Sual See “NGCP,” A
PESO EXCHANGE RATES Q US 58.0930 Q JAPAN 0.3703 Q UK 74.1964 Q HK 7.4408 Q CHINA 8.0183 Q SINGAPORE 43.0765 Q AUSTRALIA 38.6609 Q EU 63.0774 Q KOREA 0.0428 Q SAUDI ARABIA 15.4898 Source:
BSP 28 May 2024