‘Close borders, cut Omicron exposure risk’ By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
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LOSING the country’s borders is one of the most immediate courses of action the government must take to prevent the latest Covid-19 variant, Omicron, from reaching Philippine shores, according to local economists. T he new var iant is a threat, e s p e c i a l l y w it h t he hol id ay s coming up and more foreigners being a llowed to travel to the Philippines, De La Sa lle Universit y economist Mar ia Ella Oplas told BusinessMirror. The holidays usually bring in Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who are eager to spend Christmas
with their loved ones, while foreigners living in temperate regions usually want to relax in tropical countries like the Philippines. This year’s influx of OFWs is expected to be heavier since many of them were unable to come home for the holidays in December 2020. “My recommendation is to protect the borders. Do not allow people with a history of travel to countries with positive cases to enter,” Oplas said. “We should be more restrictive. [We have to be] more protective in terms of our measures.” Oplas said that while this will be a setback to some industries, this is a fair measure considering that this could help prevent placing the country in another strict lockdown,
which, she said, the economy can no longer afford. “It is better that we do protective preventive measures than get exposed again. We have a lot to lose,” Oplas said. “We should do it now so that we can open just before Christmas. If it gets contained, we can open it again.” Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development (ACERD) Associate Director Ser Percival K. Peña-Reyes said closing the country’s borders would be effective but should still adhere to the standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO). What is needed, Peña-Reyes told this newspaper, is for travel restrictions to be put in place swiftly and
Monday, November 29, 2021 Vol. 17 No.52 Tuesday, September 20, 2022 Vol. 17 No. 347
for government to be proactive in imposing them. Previous instances when the country had the opportunity to impose travel restrictions did not prevent the spread of Covid-19. That was mainly because the decision was not made immediately, he said. “Kung papatay patay [If we’re slow] and we get caught flat-footed, [that’s risky] We were too reactive instead of proactive before. We should learn from that,” PeñaReyes said. “It’s a delicate balancing act. We need to push testing and tracing to be properly informed of our decisions. Blanket/shotgun approaches could have dire consequences on the economy.” See “Omicron,” A2
NATL GOVT BORROWINGS DOLLAR-BLEEDING PHL’S FOR 10 MOS DIP TO P2.75T AUG BOP GAP HITS $572M w w
By Bernadette D. Nicolas By Bianca Cuaresma @BNicolasBM
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PBBM urges overseas Pinoys to be the PHL’s ‘ambassadors’
@BcuaresmaBM
HE national HE government’s Philippine gross economy borrowings as of continued to end-October shrank bleed millions of by almost 6 percent dollars in August, year-on-year to data the P2.75from trillion.
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Bangko Sentral ngLatest Pilipinas data from the(BSP) Bureau of the Treasury showed that the governshowed. ment’s gross borrowings during the
10-month period fell by 5.99 percent The Central from P2.92 trillionBank a yearreported ago. on Monday that the country’s With only two months leftBalfor ance of Payments (BOP) yielded this year, the latest figure is already aequivalent deficit of to $572 89.6million percentinofAuits gust this year. This is the eighth P3.07-trillion borrowing program. consecutive month the counBroken down, grossthat domestic bortry’s BOPfrom registered in the deficit rowings January to October territory. settled at P2.23 trillion, down by Continued A5 trillion 5.08 percent from on P2.35 in 2020. The bulk of the amount was sourced from Fixed Rate Treasury Bonds (P1.19 trillion), followed by short-term borrowings from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or BSP (P540 billion), Retail Treasury Bonds/PreBy(P463.3 Cai U. Ordinario myo Bonds billion), Retail Onshore Dollar@caiordinario Bonds (P80.84 billion). In the same period, there was EARLY halfof ofTreasury the Philalso a net redemption ippine population was Bills amounting to P43.94 billion. by various Net debtdisplaced redemption means disasters that occured incomjust there were more debts repaid one decade, according to a study pared to the amount borrowed durby the Asian Developing released the period. ment Bank the InterMeanwhile,(ADB) gross and foreign bornal Displacement Monitoring rowings in the same period also Centre by (IDMC). contracted 9.7 percent to P518.7 In the report “Disaster billion from last year’s P574.4 billion. Displacement Asia and the This was raisedinthrough global Pacific: A Business for bonds (P146.17 billion), Case program Investment in Prevention and loans (P139.98 billion), euro-deSolutions,” ADB and IDMC said nominated bonds (P121.97 billion), between 2010 and 2021, a total a project loan (P86.41 billion), and of 49.3 percent of Filipinos were yen-denominated samurai bonds
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 20 pages | P25.00 nationwide | 3 sections 32 pages |
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PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (inset) addresses the Fil-Am community in New Jersey on the first of his 6-day visit to the US, where he is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly and meet with business leaders. After his speech, many in the enthusiastic audience swarmed the stage to get PBBM’s authograph, while First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos (in red dress) and son Rep. Sandro Marcos provide assistance. Joining him onstage are some of his Cabinet secretaries and Speaker Martin G. Romualdez. TROI SANTOS
RESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. has called on Filipinos living in the United States and other nations to become “ambassadors” to help bring in more investments and tourists for the country’s economic recovery. Marcos made the appeal while addressing the Filipino community at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in New Jersey, United States (US) last Sunday. Over 1,500 Filipinos attended the event, which was the first of scheduled activities of Marcos during his six-day visit in the US this week. See “PBBM,” A2
REPORT: PHL ‘MOST AFFECTED’ BY STORMS IN JUST A DECADE
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(P24.19 billion).
See “Borrowings,” A2
PEOPLE walk past the mural of Gat Andres Bonifacio at Manila City Hall Underpass. The country will celebrate the 158th birth anniversary of Filipino revolutionary hero Gat Andres Bonifacio on Tuesday, November 30. ROY DOMINGO
OVER 3-M FARMERS LISTED FOR P75-B COCO LEVY FUND
displaced by disasters in the country. The Philippines accounted for 21.9 percent of the displaceBy Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas dating its registry following the them. This allows everyone to see ments, more than@jearcalas the contribuenactment of the Coconut Farmwho are listed in the registry and if tion of the whole of Central and ers and Industry Trust Fund law. farmer doesn’t see his name then he West Asia as ORE well asthan the Pacific 3 million Rosales explained that about shall coordinate with the PCA imcombined. coconut farmers and 500,000 coconut farmers and mediately,” he explained at a recent “The Philippines beenregisworkers has are now workers were added to the PCA’s dialogue with coconut farmers. thetered country most affected, regwith the government’s 2018 list that had about 2.5 million “On the other hand, if people as it experiences between istry, which serves as the5 basis coconut farmers and farm workers. would see names on the list and andfor10the destructive number of tropical people to be The PCA’s next step is to conthey think they are not coconut cyclones every year, makingof theTHIS photo provided by Hualien County fire department shows firefighters in the search for covered by the utilization duct an exclusion-inclusion profarmers or their details aretrapped incorit one of the countries most in a collapsed following an earthquake in Yuli P75-billion coconut levy fund. victims cedure by residential making building the updated rect, they cantownship reportinitHualien to the PCA at risk of extreme weather eastern Taiwan, Sunday, September 18, 2022. The for strong earthquake action,” toppled a three-story Philippine Coconut AuthorityCounty,farmers’ registry public, providimmediate he added. events in the Asia and Pabuilding and temporarily trapped four people inside, stranded about 400 tourists on anoted mountainside, (PCA) Deputy Administrator Roel ing everyone the opportunity to The PCA official that cific and the part of averacity passengerof train its tracks. died and nine people hadinitial minor list M.region Rosales saidglobally,” about 3.11 millionand knocked check the theofflist, Ro- One person the completion of the report stated. Taiwan’s Emergency Operations Center said. The magnitude 6.8farmers quake wasregistry the largest coconut farmers and farm work-injuries,sales added. of coconut would
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See “Report,” A2 that have rattled the island’s southeasternbe coast sinceinSaturday evening, a 6.4 ers have been registered with theamong dozens “The list will be posted in public just time for the when expected HUALIEN COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT VIA AP quake struck the same area. government since it started upspaces where people can easily see rollout of coconut levy-funded
programs as President Duterte is expected to sign the industry development plan in early 2022. Rosales said the PCA will not stop updating its list of coconut farmers and enjoined them to register in order to reap the benefits of the decades-long idled coconut levy fund. “We will not stop at 3.1 million. We hope that more individuals will register in our coconut farmers registry,” he said. The updating of the coconut farmers registry is mandated by Republic Act (RA) 11524 or the Coconut Industry Trust Fund Act. See “3-M farmers,” A2
Omicron risk spurs revival of quarantine rules in PHL By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla
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NTER NATIONA L concerns over the possible spread of the more infectious Omicron Covid-19 variant prompted the government to reimpose mandatory FINAL JOURNEYquarantine This photo issued facility-based forbyall Buckingham Palace on Sunday, September arriving passengers in the country. 18, 2022, shows Britain’s QueenspokesperElizabeth II Acting Presidential photographed at Windsor Castle, Windsor, son Karlo B. Nograles announced England, in May 2022. Britain and the world on Sunday that the Inter-Agency are laying Queen Elizabeth II to rest on Task Force for the Management Monday at a state funeral that will draw of Emerging Infectious Diseases presidents and kings, princes prime (IATF) suspended theand implemenministers—and to a million people tation of itsupResolution No. lining 150the streets of London to say a final goodbye A (s.2021), effectively imposing to a monarch whose 70-year defined an stricter protocols forreign all inbound age. Story on A13. travelers. RANALD MACKECHNIE/BUCKINGHAM PALACE VIA AP To note, IATF Resolution 150A had allowed fully vaccinated non-visa travelers from Green List areas to enter the country without the need for facility-based quarantine as long as they secure negative Reverse TranscriptionPolymerase Chain Reaction (RTPCR) test within 72 hours prior to their departure. “Except for countries classified as ‘Red,’ the testing and quarantine protocols for all inbound international travelers in all ports of entry shall comply with the testing and quarantine protocols for ‘Yellow’ list countries,” Nograles said, citing the provision of IATF Resolution No. 151-A. He noted Hong Kong, which has confirmed a case of the Omicron variant, will also fall under the Yellow list countries. The suspension of the rules for “Green List” countries will be in effect from November 28, 2021 to December 15, 2021. Continued on A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 57.3630 n JAPAN 0.4013 n UK 65.5143 n HK 7.3082 n CHINA 8.2294 n SINGAPORE 40.8133 n AUSTRALIA 38.5135 n EU 57.4605 n KOREA 0.0414 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.2683 Source: BSP (September 19, 2022) PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 50.4600 n JAPAN 0.4374 n UK 67.2329 n HK 6.4722 n CHINA 7.9013 n SINGAPORE 36.8968 n AUSTRALIA 36.2807 n EU 56.5758 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.4531 Source: BSP (November 26, 2021)