ADB keeps PHL growth forecasts for ’22, ’23
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War whittles down wishes for wealth with whirlwind costs of commodities
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HILE the Asian Development Bank (ADB) retained its growth forecasts for the Philippines this year and next year, higher commodity prices are expected to push up inflation this year. In the Asian Development Outlook Update (ADOU), ADB maintained its 6.5 percent and 6.3 percent GDP forecast for the Philippines in 2022 and 2023, respectively. However, commodity prices are expected to post faster growth at an average of 5.3 percent this
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year compared to the 4.9 percent estimated in July. Inflation expectations for 2023 were kept at the bank’s July forecast of 4.3 percent. “Inflation is expected to remain elevated over the rest of the year due primarily to supply-side factors, including elevated global commodity prices. Bad weather has constrained the domestic supply of some agricultural commodities, and petitions for additional transport fare increases have been submitted by transport groups to the government,” ADB said in its report. However, inflation is expected S “ADB,” A
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Thursday, September 22, 2022 Vol. 17 No. 349
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Closure of POGOs to bring more harm—solon
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@jearcalas
HE Philippines ranked 67th in the Global Food Security Index (GFSI) 2022, trailing behind half of its Asian peers as the country scored low in terms of food availability and adaptability to the impacts of climate change.
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HE chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations has opposed the proposal to close down all Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO) in the country, saying it will only create an entire underground sector. Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda made a statement following calls to ban POGOs amid the recent spate of kidnappings, and other illegal activities involving Chinese working in the online gaming industry. “Of course, we should enforce against illegal gaming operations. That’s the function of law enforcement. But our policy cannot be to give an entire industry up just because there are bad actors. All industries have bad actors,” he said. “There is a blanket ban on kidnapping. There is a blanket ban on illegal POGOs. All kidnapping is wrong, and all gambling without a permit is wrong. My stand is for the government to wield the full weight of the law,” he added. Currently, Salceda said legitimate POGOs occupy some 1.1 million square meters of office space. “That provides developers with a steady stream of income that they can use to create new office space and housing. The janitors, security guards, and administrative and support staff, and other workers in such office spaces are Filipinos. A sudden downturn in office occupancy at this point will kill jobs and at least P18.9 billion in rental income from offices, and
The GFSI index showed that the Philippines, which had an overall food security score of 59.3, placed 67th out of 113 countries included in the index by Economist Impact and Corteva Science. In the Asia-Pacific region, the Philippines ranked 13th out of 23 countries, behind Azerbaijan and Thailand. The GFSI index showed that the Philippines had a better food security score than India (58.9), which placed 14th, and three Southeast Asian neighbors— Myanmar (57.6), Cambodia (55.7) and Laos (53.1). The GFSI index measures four aspects of a country’s food security, namely, food affordability, availability, quality and safety, and sustainability and adaptation. The Philippines scored 71.5 in terms of food affordability, 55.2 in terms of availability, 65.3 in terms of quality and safety and 41.8 in terms of sustainability and adaptation. “The country performs best in Affordability, owing to steady consumer prices, a low proportion of the S “PHL,” A
@joveemarie
FARMERS dry their harvested palay in Nueva Ecija in a recent file photo. The Federation of Central Luzon Farmers Cooperative is asking President Marcos to raise the farm-gate price of clean and dry palay to P23 per kilo to cover the rising cost of production, including those for fertilizer, irrigation and seeds. NONIE REYES
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AT UNGA, PBBM FLAGS CLIMATE, GEOPOLITICS B S P. M
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PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. addresses the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, at UN headquarters in New York, Tuesday, September 20, 2022. AP/JASON DECROW
@sam_medenilla
N his first ever engagement with the United Nations, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. called for harnessing new technology and international cooperation to stop climate change and other global threats. Speaking in person during the High-Level Debate of the 77th UN General Assembly last Tuesday (New York time), Marcos said climate change is now the “greatest threat” for the international community. Scientific experts have attributed climate change to extreme
weather such as long droughts and super typhoons, which are now devastating many parts of the world. “There is no other problem so global in nature that it requires a united effort, one led by the United Nations,” Marcos said. He noted international solidarity will be crucial for holistic water conservation and biodiversity protection amid the challenges posed by climate change. President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. introduced himself as “Ferdinand Marcos” in his first speech before the UN, omitS “UNGA,” A
PESO EXCHANGE RATES US 57.4200 ■ JAPAN 0.3995 ■ UK 65.3612 ■ HK 7.3152 ■ SINGAPORE 40.7263 ■ AUSTRALIA 38.3910 ■ SAUDI ARABIA 15.2672 ■ EU 57.2592 ■ KOREA 0.0413 ■ CHINA 8.1823
Source: BSP (September 21, 2022)