BusinessMirror October 14, 2021 by BusinessMirror

Debt service dents Sept GIR to $107.16B B B C @BcuaresmaBM

HE country’s dollar defenses slightly dipped in September this year, largely due to the national government’s debt servicing dollar requirements and revaluation of gold prices. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Wednesday that the country’s gross international reserves (GIR) settled at $107.16 billion as of endSeptember 2021 from the end-August 2021 GIR level

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of $107.96 billion. It is still, however, higher than the $100.44-billion GIR level recorded in September 2020. Despite the dip, the BSP said the latest GIR level represents a “more than adequate external liquidity buffer” equivalent to 10.8 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income. It is also about 7.6 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 5.2 times based on residual maturity. “The month-onmonth decrease in the GIR

level was attributed mainly to the debt service payment of the national government’s [NG] foreign currency debt obligations and downward adjustment in the value of the BSP’s gold holdings due to the decrease in the price of gold in the international market,” the BSP said in a statement. Data from the BSP showed that the country’s gold holdings hit $8.85 billion in September, down from the $9.155 billion in the previous month. The country’s GIR is the level of foreign exchange holdings being managed by

the central bank during a given period. The GIR is a crucial component of the economy as it is often used to manage the country’s foreign exchange rate against excess volatility. Just last month, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said the country’s strong external position— particularly the country’s strong GIR position—allows the country to manage the impact of shocks, including market reaction over pending move of the US Federal Reserve to normalize its monetary policy.

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Thursday, October 14, 2021 Vol. 17 No. 6

P.  |     | 7 DAYS A WEEK

GOAL, COLLECTS P1.547T BALIKBAYANS RAISE CONCERNS ON NEW PHL ENTRY REQUIREMENTS B M. S F. A

@akosistellaBM Special to the BM

CHRISTMAS lanterns made of bamboo and plastic are on display at Plaza Quezon in Las Piñas City. With 73 days left before Christmas, Filipinos are hoping for better days ahead as the number of Covid-19 cases continues to decline. NONIE REYES

B B D. N

@BNicolasBM

HE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) collected P1.547 trillion from January to September this year, surpassing its goal for the nine-month period.

Tentative data obtained by the BM showed the agency slightly breached its P1.532-trillion goal for the period by over 0.97 percent. BIR Deputy Commissioner for Operations Group Arnel SD Guballa also said this is above the amount they netted in the same period in 2020, at P1.446 trillion.

Year-on-year, this represented an increase of 6.98 percent. For the month of September alone, BIR’s haul amounted to P154.7 billion, also above its P144.26-billion goal for the month by 7.24 percent. This was also up by 9.59 percent

ETURNING Filipinos or balikbayans vaccinated abroad are supposed to present a World Health Organization-issued International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICVP) upon arrival in the country, while the Philippines’s own Covid-19 vaccine certificate (VaxCertPH) has yet to receive reciprocal courtesy with other countries. This was the clarification made by Tourism Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Edwin R. Enrile, as local travel agencies and tour operators handling balikbayan clients were in a quandary over the new arrival requirements recently issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF). “For now, foreigners should present their ICVP,” said Enrile in a Viber message to the BM. In the Philippines, the ICVP is issued by the Bureau of Quarantine (BoQ). A tourism leader pointed out, however, the ease by which an ICVP can be pur-

chased online, filled out, without the BoQ being able to check on the veracity of the document. Under Resolution 142-A, the IATF requires presentation of “the national digital certificate of the foreign government which has accepted the VaxCertPH under a reciprocal arrangement or WHOissued [ICVP] for purposes of verification/confirmation of vaccination status for nonOFWs [overseas Filipino workers] and foreigners fully vaccinated abroad.” This applies to international passengers coming from Green and Yellow list countries.

Can BoQ verify status thru ICVP?

TOURISM Congress of the Philippines President Jose C. Clemente III said his colleagues abroad and balikbayans “wanted to find out if there is a list of countries which already accepts our vaccination certificate or where to get that ICVP,” he said. “Expectedly, they [balikbayan] raised issue about the new requirement. It would have been much easier for them if S “B,” A

S “BIR,” A

Health advocacy group asks DTI to back TRIPS waiver B T J C. P @Tyronepiad

‘D

ON’T waver on the waiver.” A health advocacy organization asked the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to back the measure waiving the intellectual property (IP) rights protection of Covid-19 vaccines, treatment and technology amid the pandemic. Coalition for People’s Rights to Health (CPRH) made its stance known through a protest held in front of the DTI building in Makati on Wednesday morning.

The group stressed the need to scrap the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement to promote equal access for Covid-19 vaccines—a much-needed shot to end the pandemic. “The Philippine government’s support to the TRIPS Waiver is a first step in attaining a greater sense of equity in health beyond vaccination,” CPRH Co-Convenor Joshua San Pedro said. The group’s call is also supported by Bantay Bakuna, Council for Health and Development and other organizations.

The TRIPS Agreement is a multilateral accord on IP covering copyright and related rights, trademarks, geographical indications, industrial designs and patents, among others. The agreement, which took effect on January 1, 1995, sets the minimum standards of IP protection, enumerates enforcement procedures and covers dispute settlement. San Pedro said that “corporate interest and profits,” which are “protected” under TRIPS agreement, prevent countries from achieving health equity. “The development of vaccines,

medicines, and diagnostic tools are still determined by market viability instead of fulfilling the people’s right to health,” he said. “In fact, reports have shown that at least 9 new billionaires have garnered riches from vaccine production, despite also being actually funded by taxpayers’ money.” “Under TRIPS, this ‘right’ to profit will be protected for at least 20 years,” he added. San Pedro stressed that the government should “choose people’s health over condoning monopoly S “H,” A

PESO EXCHANGE RATES ■ US 50.8280 ■ JAPAN 0.4474 ■ UK 69.0702 ■ HK 6.5319 ■ CANADA 40.7995 ■ SINGAPORE 37.4699 ■ AUSTRALIA 37.3535 ■ SAUDI ARABIA 13.5523 ■ EU 58.6148 ■ CHINA 7.8837 Source: BSP (October 13, 2021)