Flash floods to have ‘cumulative damage’ By Cai U. Ordinario
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HE shock brought by the flash floods in various parts of Metro Manila’s largest city this weekend may not have an immediate impact on economic performance, but economists believe that this will certainly have a long-term effect on GDP growth and inflation. On Saturday, in a span of a few minutes, parts of Quezon City struggled to keep afloat as floodwaters came rushing after a heavy downpour. This left Metro Manila residents and workers stunned as they watched floodwater engulf cars, homes, and just about everything in its path. Quezon City, which was at one point named the capital of the Philippines, is now the most populous city in Metro Manila with over 3 mil-
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lion residents. The National Capital Region (NCR) or Metro Manila has a population of over 14 million as of 2024, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). “It is not the floods themselves but the increasing frequency of unusually large amounts in key economic sectors that may be creating graver consequences. The increasing frequency of floods is creating cumulative economic damage,” Ateneo de Manila University economist Leonardo Lanzona Jr. told BusinessMirror. For former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Dante B. Canlas, the impact on the country’s GDP and inflation will depend on how temporary or permanent these occurrences are. Currently, he said, these are just temporary and will only have a moderate impact on the economy. Canlas told BusinessMirror, however, that in non-agricultural areas like Metro Manila,
there may be a slight increase in inflation, but the impact on the rise of commodity prices may not be significant on the country’s GDP growth. Nonetheless, Canlas said, the destruction of crops and fish fry in agricultural areas may take time to rebuild and this will have a negative impact on GDP. This is also expected to have a delayed effect on the price of food in Metro Manila. “The more malevolent forces stem from the just-exposed flood-control project mess. Corrupted funds constitute wasteful public infrastructure spending,” Canlas also said.
Estimated losses, 2022-2050: $124B
CITING available studies, Lanzona said strong storms, heavy flooding and prolonged droughts may result in around $124 billion in losses to the Philippine economy between
2022 and 2050. Lanzona said this is despite billions worth of investments poured into flood control projects. He stressed that the country spent P545.64 billion on 9,855 flood control projects between July 2022 and May 2025, and “yet flood-prone communities remained as vulnerable as ever.” Besides direct corruption, Canlas said the problem of flooding in Metro Manila is also linked to other aspects like the lack, absence or improper implementation of zoning rules. “Dr. [Mahar] Lagmay’s Project Noah has issued an analysis of why QC [Quezon City] bore the brunt of the heavy rains and floods yesterday [Saturday]. Katipunan has many high-rise dorms—SM, Vista, Torre, etc.—that breach carrying capacities of drainage and sewer systems in Katipunan,” Canlas said. See “Flash,” A2
BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business
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7-MO BORROWINGS RISE 11.34% TO ₧1.757T–BTR www.businessmirror.com.ph
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Monday, September 1, 2025 Vol. 20 No. 323
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By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto @reine_alberto
HE government’s gross borrowings ticked up as of the end of July, reaching P1.757 trillion, aided by more debt from foreign sources. Latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed gross borrowings of the government from January to July rose by 11.34 percent from P1.578 trillion in the same period last year. The amount already accounts for 67.57 percent of the government’s P2.6-trillion borrowing target for the year. Broken down, 76.32 percent of the government’s borrowings came from the domestic debt market, while the remaining 23.67
percent were sourced externally. Despite the government’s preference to source its debts locally, Treasury data showed foreign borrowings climbed by 50.98 percent to P415.918 billion as of end-July this year, from P275.475 billion a year ago. About P191.965 billion of the seven-month gross external financing was raised through global bonds, including the multitranche US dollar bonds ($2.25 See “7-mo,” A2
WHAT PHL CAN LEARN FROM AUSTRALIA ON RE VIABILITY
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By Lenie Lectura
YDNEY, Australia—An official of ACEN Australia underscored the importance of energy storage and transmission lines in ensuring economic viability of renewable energy (RE) projects in the Philippines. In a visit to ACEN Australia’s 400 megawatt alternating current (MWac) Stubbo Solar, 400MWac New England Solar, and 200MW hour battery energy storage system (BESS)company executive chairman Jose Maria Eduardo P. Zabaleta said
the Philippines has a lot to learn from Australia’s renewables journey. Australia’s best practices in grid management, expertise in clean energy technologies including energy storage, stronger financial mechanisms, among others, could be valuable lessons for the Philippines’s journey to a more sustainable energy future. “Each country has had its successes and its challenges in the energy sector, but they share many similarities. One area where Australia might allow us to learn from and apply to See “What,” A10
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A BITTER GOURD TO SWALLOW A vendor arranges fresh vegetables at a public market in Las Piñas City on Sunday, August 31, 2025. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) projected inflation in August to accelerate due to rising food prices brought about by unfavorable weather conditions. BSP forecast inflation to settle between 1 percent and 1.8 percent. NONIE REYES
Chief trade negotiator lists tariffs’ top victims By Andrea E. San Juan
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@andreasanjuan
XPORTS of electronic data machines, pineapple juice, coconut oil, apparel, travel goods and handbags, are seen to be among the most affected by the 19percent reciprocal tariff slapped by Washington on Philippine goods, according to Trade Undersecretary Allan B. Gepty, the country’s chief trade negotiator. At a recent hearing of the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs jointly with Foreign Relations and Ways and Means, Gepty was pressed by senators on which products may be the hardest hit by Washington’s unilaterally-imposed 19-percent reciprocal tariff on
Philippine goods. “Well of course, the electronic data machines [this is] important because their major export is to US; then there’s pineapple juice which also has the US as a major market; pneumatic tires; travel and other insulated bags,” Gepty said, speaking partly in Filipino. He said coconut oil is also seen to be hit, “that’s why we are asking them to exempt this because they don’t produce coconut.” Gepty added aircraft parts, ignition wiring sets, other products, travel goods and handbags. “These are the main items we have identified,” Gepty told the Senate hearing. The country’s chief trade negotiator explained that for the Philippines, 53 percent of its total ex-
“The answer is yes. Everything is of course subject to negotiation.” – PHL’s chief trade negotiator Allan Gepty, on the possibility the 19-percent reciprocal tariff imposed by Washington can still be brought down
ports to the US are semiconductors and electronics. Of which, he said, “23 percent are semiconductors
which are exempted.” The problem lies in the remaining part of the pie—the electronic products, which are still subject to the 19-percent unilaterally-imposed reciprocal tariff by Washington. Without this tariff imposed by Washington, Gepty said the tariffs for these electronic products would have been zero, based on the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA). However, he said the Philippine negotiating team is asking Washington to exempt these key products. “That’s why we have submitted a list of exemptions and we told See “Chief,” A10
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 57.0850 n JAPAN 0.3885 n UK 77.1561 n HK 7.3242 n CHINA 8.0057 n SINGAPORE 44.5316 n AUSTRALIA 37.2708 n EU 66.6753 n KOREA 0.0412 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.2137 Source: BSP (August 29, 2025)