BSP likely to keep rates, says gov T REEL STRUGGLES Fishing boats line the waters of Manila Bay in Pasay City, a poignant scene highlighting the livelihoods tied to these makeshift vessels. However, tensions are rising anew as fishers and environmentalists prepare to take action against reclamation and dredging projects in the bay. Two groups said they will file administrative complaints with the Philippine Reclamation Authority and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, citing concerns over the impact of these activities on the bay’s ecology. NONIE REYES
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
HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said it is likely to maintain its key policy rates as inflation remains elevated, according to Governor Eli M. Remolona Jr. Remolona told reporters on Monday that the BSP is “still hawkish” if the inflation rate may have settled to 4 percent in April and amid high inflation. “There is still a leeway,” Remolona said on sustaining policy rates. However, if inflation relaxed to 3 percent consecutively in the coming months and within the target “comfortably,” Remolona said the Monetary Board would have room to cut interest rates by 25 basis points (bps). “One number won’t make a big differ-
ence. We need to look at a few months,” Remolona noted. Remolona said that cutting rates by more than 25 bps would be a “ hard l a nd ing ,” resembl ing a recession, which he added the BSP does not see coming yet. The BSP projected inflation in April 2024 to have settled within the 3.5 to 4.3 percent range, higher than the 2 to 4 percent inflation target this year. “Continued price increases for rice and meat along with higher gasoline prices and the peso depreciation are the primary sources of upward price pressures for the month,” BSP said in its month-ahead inflation forecast. Remolona said the depreciation of
the peso should not be worried about, adding that its movement is not stressed so far. “We’d like to intervene significantly when there’s stress,” Remolona said. As to the US Federal Reserve easing of tight monetary policies, Remolona said geopolitical tensions have been moderated, signaling the stabilization of the peso and other currencies. Based on BSP data, as of May 6, the Philippine peso closed at P57.4110, while the inflation rate stood at 3.7 percent as of March this year. The Monetary Board decided to maintain the Target RRP rate at 6.50 percent during its previous meeting on April 8.
BusinessMirror
See “BSP,” A2
EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS
BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR
(2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021) DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
2018 BANTOG MEDIA AWARDS
4-MONTH N.G. REVENUE w
n
Tuesday, May 7, 2024 Vol. 19 No. 203
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 30 pages |
RISES 12.6% TO P1.42T By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
R
EVENUES generated by the national government through tax and non-tax revenues reached P1.418 trillion from January to April this year, exceeding what it collected in the same period a year ago.
The preliminary revenues in the first four months are higher by 12.63 percent, or P159 billion, than the P1.259 trillion recorded in 2023. Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said on Monday that tax collections continue to grow alongside non-tax revenues which reached P206.4 billion as of end-April. The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) collected P912.9 billion, or an increase of 16.3 percent from the same period last year, according to the Department of Finance. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said on Monday it surpassed its revenue targets for April, collecting P80.822 billion, with a surplus of P3.192 billion. See “4-Month,” A2
HIDDEN GEM Entalula Beach, located south of Miniloc Island in El Nido, Palawan, is a hidden gem in the Philippines that has earned its place among The World’s 50 Best Beaches this year. This pristine beach has captured the hearts of beach enthusiasts worldwide, securing the impressive fourth spot on the list. Story in A5 News, “Palawan, Romblon beaches listed with world’s 50 best.” IGOR_TICHONOW | DREAMSTIME.COM
MNCs’ SCALING BACK ON ESG WON’T DERAIL ASPAC’S MARCH By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
T
BILISI, Georgia—The long history of resilience of countries in the region, including the Philippines, gives the Asian Development Bank (ADB) confidence that no amount of scaling back by multinationals of sustainability efforts can derail climate changerelated activities in Asia and the Pacific. In an interview with the BusinessMirror, Ramesh Subramaniam, ADB’s Director General and Group Chief for the Sectors Group, said the region has gone through
many crises and the current “polycrisis”—that has sent interest rates, inflation and uncertainty rising both for the public and private sectors —is just one of these challenges. Bloomberg earlier reported that multinationals such as Unilever have decided to scale down their Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) efforts given the high costs, especially in the prevailing high inflation environment. “If you look at it from a global perspective, we are actually very confident that obviously these crises are complex, they’re kind of multifaceted, but the global community See MNCSs,” A2
11-fold GOCC dividend rise stirs hope on ₧100-B goal
T
HE national government collected P88.3 billion in dividends from 47 government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) as of May 6, 2024, to earmark the state’s priority projects and programs without imposing new taxes. The total dividends collected were higher by 1,100 percent, or an elevenfold increase, than the roughly P8 billion collected from GOCCs from January to May last year. Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto and President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. acknowledged the topremitting state-run corporations during the GOCCs Day at the Phil-
ippine International Convention Center (PICC) on Monday. Recto underscored in his welcome remarks that GOCCs are “prime movers” of the country’s economic development, turning their profits and sharing their income with the government in the form of dividends. “These dividends form a major source of non-tax revenues for the government, making possible our goal of raising more funds without the need to impose additional taxes on our people,” Recto said. The Land Bank of the Philippines is the top GOCC that contributed more than P1 billion. See “11-fold,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 57.4110 n JAPAN 0.3757 n UK 72.0508 n HK 7.3496 n CHINA 7.9461 n SINGAPORE 42.5109 n AUSTRALIA 37.9429 n EU 61.8087 n KOREA 0.0424 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.3076 Source: BSP (May 6, 2024)