Govt crafts natural wealth accounting system B J L. M @jonlmayuga
T WORLD | A12 UN envoy: Myanmar crisis deepens, taking ‘catastrophic toll on people’
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HE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) are jointly working on a plan to establish a natural wealth accounting system for the Philippines. In a news release, DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga said the creation of the natural capital accounting system will significantly support the development of strategies for a science-based, riskinformed, ethical, and equitable stewardship of the environment, which she strongly espouses in the
DENR. Such a system will provide an enabling platform for the DENR and other government agencies to come up with specific policies and programs that integrate climate change adaptation in various economic, fiscal, social, political, and environment decisions, she said. “What we need to do is apply a climate-risk lens to the work of the DENR, which means that climate and disaster-risk assessments will become part of the processes that we will undertake,” Loyzaga had told a press conference during the DENR Multi-stakeholder Forum held on October 5 in Manila. The announcement of the DENR-Neda-PSA joint initiative comes on the heels of a report
quoting an expert from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) warning that the continued reliance of most countries on gross domestic product growth in measuring wealth was setting off the planet on an irremediable course of destruction, as extractive industries and reliance on fossile fuels, for example, spawn environmental problems. Major biodiversity losses in the past few years are “by-products” of the world’s economic growth, according to Francesco Ricciardi, a Senior Environment Specialist, Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department at the Manila-based multilateral development bank. Moving away from GDP as the main economic growth mea-
sure could help reverse this trend. (https://businessmirror.com.
ph/2022/10/25/narrow-focus-on-gdpfueling-biodiversity-losses/)
Ricciardi said the increased polluting emissions in water, air and soil, land-use change, climate change and the spread of invasive species are considered the major drivers of biodiversity loss. The ADB expert said if business as usual happens and no interventions are made, the global economy may continue to grow but only up to a “tipping point” which will force biodiversity to collapse. He said, if the planet dies, there will be no economy to speak of. Ricciardi cited the need for reS “G,” A
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AS REVENUE RISES 24.79% Cascolan role at DOH: Eye on syndicates, rightsizing
B J E Y. A
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@jearcalas
HE national government’s budget deficit in September fell slightly year-onyear to P179.8 billion as revenue collections rose faster than expenditure, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said. The Treasury said revenue growth, which was at 24.79 percent, “outperformed” the 13.63-percent increase in the national government’s expenditure during the reference month. The national government’s total revenues in September reached P288.814 billion, nearly a quarter higher than the P231.4 billion recorded in the same period of last year, BTr data showed. BTr data showed that tax revenues accounted for the bulk of the government’s overall revenue collections in September. Tax revenues during the period rose 18.62 percent to P253.3 billion from C A
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LABOR OF LOVE Aliah Barcelon, caretaker at the Manila Islamic Cemetery and Cultural Hall at the Manila South Cemetery, cleans the premises a few days before the nation marks All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.
Maintaining the cleanliness and orderliness of their cemetery is a yearlong job, she stresses, not just during “Undas.” And, while Muslims do not mark these two holidays as Christians do, the place is open for those who wish to visit their departed loved ones. NONIE REYES
RESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. announced on Wednesday he will task newly appointed Health Undersecretary and former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Camilo P. Cascolan to start the groundwork for the “rightsizing” of staff in the Department of Health (DOH). Marcos made the clarification after several groups questioned his selection of Cascolan for a senior DOH post despite his not being a health professional. He said Cascolan will handle the “special concerns” in DOH, including the planned rightsizing of the manpower of the agency. “It’s not health issues that he has to look at, that’s why he doesn’t have to be a doctor,” Marcos said after his speech at the National Information and Communications Technology Summit 2022 at the Manila Hotel. Cascolan can also conduct investigations on the reports of illegal activities in DOH, including the alleged syndicates reportedly interfering with the procurement process of DOH. “That’s part of his work. If there will be such incidents, he will have to report it to us and we will have S “C,” A
Imported stock keeps frozen pork inventory high B J E Y. A @jearcalas
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HE country’s frozen pork inventory as of October 17 remained elevated at 101,396.57 metric tons (MT) due to higher imported stocks, latest government data showed. National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) data showed that frozen pork inventory in accredited cold storages during the reference period was 2,158.17 MT higher than the 99,238.4 MT recorded level on October 10. On a monthly basis, the latest frozen pork inventory was 18.44 percent higher than the 85,606.6 MT recorded volume last September 19, NMIS data showed.
Likewise, the October 17 frozen pork inventory was 17,750.83 MT higher than last year’s 83,645.74 MT, based on NMIS data. NMIS data showed that nearly 98 percent of the total frozen pork inventory as of October 17 was imported stocks. Imported frozen pork reached 99,171.68 MT, higher than the 96,637.76 MT and 83,062.61 MT, recorded volume in the previous week and last month, respectively. NMIS data showed that locallyproduced frozen pork as of October 17 was estimated at 2,224.89 MT, down from the previous week’s 2,600.64 MT. Likewise, it was lower than the locally-produced frozen pork inventory last month at 2,543.99 MT.
The frozen pork inventory covers the stock inventory in accredited commercial and in-house cold storages (slaughterhouses and meat processing plants), according to the NMIS. NMIS explained that the frozen pork inventory includes local and imported carcass, primal parts and specialty cuts of local and imported pork. NMIS data showed that cold storages in Region 3 held the most volume of frozen pork inventory at 32,598.2 MT followed by Region 4A at 32,449.52 MT. The national government kept the lower tariffs on imported pork products until the end of the year to allow the entry of additional supply amid struggling local pro-
duction due to African swine fever. NMIS data also showed that dressed chicken inventory in cold storages nationwide as of October 17 reached 51,148.16 MT, slightly lower than the 52,353.7 MT on October 10. Imported dressed chicken accounted for more than half of the total inventory at 29,397.15 MT, while locally-produced dressed chicken amounted to 21,751.01 MT, based on NMIS data. Region 4A held the largest dressed chicken inventory during the reference period at 17,115.02 MT, followed by Region 3 at 11,197.55 MT, NMIS data showed. NMIS data said its dressed S “I,” A
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Source: BSP (October 26, 2022)