Pandemic slows work on foreign-funded projects — NEDA

Disruptions caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has slowed down the implementation of 59 ongoing programs and projects funded by official development assistance, the National Economic and Development Authority reported. Amid the ongoing crisis, NEDA identified 97 COVID-19-related issues that slowed down the implementation of 59 ongoing projects. More than half or 57 of the issues were left unresolved. The implementation of 35 projects were either delayed or suspended when the enhanced community quarantine or the strictest form of lockdown was imposed in parts of the country. 

Lockdown likely hurt Q3 GDP growth

Rajiv Biswas, chief economist for Asia and the Pacific at IHS Markit, said that Philippine gross domestic product was seen to have grown by 3.8% in the third quarter, sharply slower than the 11.8% expansion in the second quarter but better than the 11.6% contraction in the third quarter of 2020. Sought for comment, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua did not give his third-quarter GDP estimate but argued that the economy saw increased mobility this time compared with the more stringent lockdowns in 2020. He also indicated there was “some growth” in the third quarter, which ends on Sept. 30.

DOH official says NCR to remain under Alert Level 4 for now

Metro Manila will remain under alert level 4 until the end of the month due to its still high healthcare utilization rate, according to the Department of Health (DOH).  In an online press briefing, DOH-Epidemiology Bureau Director said Althea De Guzman noted that while the number of Covid-19 cases in the region started to decline, many of its medical facilities are still filled with infected patients. She noted the average new daily Covid-19 cases last week was down to 17,783, which was lower than the 19,946 cases in prior weeks.  However, she noted the health intensive care unit (ICU) bed utilization for COVID-19 in NCR remains high at 76 percent.   

BSP, payments firms set digitalization schemes

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) announced that it, along with the payments systems industry, is set to roll out an array of initiatives expected to further advance payments digitalization and financial inclusion in the country. These initiatives include the full launch of QR Ph for person-to-merchant (P2M) payments, the higher frequency of PESONet settlements, advancements to debit and payment service facilities. The BSP said the full launch of the QR Ph for P2M payments is expected to be rolled out “in the coming days.”

Alert Level 3 to restore P30B wages

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said the proportion of businesses that have closed to date has declined to 11.7 percent from 16 percent in the National Capital Region (NCR) last month but the ratio increased from 4 percent to 7 percent elsewhere in the country. DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez told the Laging Handa public briefing P30 billion in weekly wages in NCR will be regained if the quarantine alert level is lowered to Level 3. Lopez said he has proposed to the Interagency Task Force (IATF) on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to consider allowing gyms to operate under Alert Level 4 as a policy, noting physical fitness is an essential activity that can help improve one’s immune system.

WFH should be based on revenues, PEZA says

In a statement, PEZA director-general Charito Plaza said she wrote a letter to Secretary Carlos Dominguez and Secretary Ramon Lopez of the Department of Finance and the Department of Trade and Industry, respectively, for the extension of the WFH arrangement based on the gross revenue of the IT enterprises under the WFH guidelines of the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) Resolution No. 21-19. While the FIRB has approved the extension of the maximum 90-percent capacity for WFH if IT-BPO companies, PEZA appealed to the body to reinstate the basis of the threshold of the WFH arrangement to gross revenue instead of the total workforce as a temporary measure available to IT enterprises. 

DOTr proposes 3K cap on international arrivals

Arthur Tugade, DOTr secretary, said that the DOTr has recommended with the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases on Wednesday to increase the daily passenger inbound cap for international flights. Tugade said the proposed increase of the international arrival cap from 2,000 to about 3,000 daily will not only be limited in NAIA but will also be implemented to expand other gateways to help boost domestic tourism.

ODA surges to P1.6T on COVID response

According to the National Economic and Development Authority’s (NEDA) ODA Portfolio Review Report for 2020, the active ODA portfolio of the Philippines in 2020 amounted to $30.69 billion, or approximately P1.569 trillion, translating to a 46.63 percent increase from the $20.93 billion or around P1.07 trillion in 2019. It consists of 30 program loans, 76 project loans and 251 grants. Among these, 20 program loans, 14 project loans and 25 grants were signed in 2020. To support various programs and projects for COVID-19 response, the government entered into a total of 25 ODA loan agreements worth $9.08 billion, or around P464 billion.

‘PHL must tap renewable energy sources’

During the recent webinar, “Energy in Sustainability: Renewable Energy Solutions at the Core of Climate Crisis,” conducted by the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines in partnership with the Philippine Energy Independence Council, they noted that the country’s 53-percent energy sufficiency level must improve by tapping into renewable energy resources. AC Energy President and PEIC board member Eric Francia said the Philippines must become energy independent. “An opportunity that the country has set is to increase its target renewables output from 21 percent to 35 percent by 2030. Renewables definitely have a major, major role to play. Energy independence is a critical imperative in this day and age.”

NCR may remain under Alert Level 4 in October – DOH official

Metro Manila may remain under Alert Level 4 based on current metrics, though experts will continue to review data to determine the region’s new status for October, a Department of Health (DOH) official said. DOH Epidemiology Bureau director Dr. Alethea De Guzman said the announcement on whether Metro Manila will stay under Alert Level 4 or will deescalate to Alert Level 3 may be announced on October 1. The DOH official said Metro Manila’s COVID-19 bed utilization is at moderate risk at 63 percent while its intensive care unit utilization is high-risk at 76 percent. Still,  De Guzman noted a decrease in Metro Manila’s number of average new daily COVID-19 cases.

Locally sourced LGU revenues rise 5% to P169-B in Q2

In a report to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) said the current operating income of provinces, cites and municipalities reached P460.86 billion in the April-June period, representing an increase of P1.74 billion or 0.4 percent from the P459.12 billion posted in the same quarter last year. BLGF Executive Director Niño Raymond Alvina traced this slight increase in collections to the IRA, which grew P273.21 billion over the April-June period, higher by P19.58 billion or 8 percent from the P253.63 billion that LGUs received during the same period in 2o20.

50% population protection enough to start vaxxing minors: Galvez

A 50-percent population protection threshold is enough to start the vaccination of minors aged 12 to 17 years old, Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said. Galvez, who welcomed the latest shipment of 3 million doses of government-procured Sinovac vaccines at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City, said once the "saturation point" in the inoculation drive for the priority sectors is reached, the vaccination of the younger age group can commence. Galvez had proposed the vaccination of youngsters by mid-October, with minors with comorbidities and children of health care workers as among the priorities.

Consumers, business optimistic about Q4, says BSP survey

Filipino consumers are more optimistic about the coming final quarter of the year, but are less upbeat about their prospects for the next 12 months, according to the results of the central bank’s latest consumer confidence survey. At the same time, a parallel business confidence survey issued simultaneously by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that local businessmen are optimistic about the fourth quarter of 2021, and even more upbeat about the next 12 months. In a statement, the regulator said consumer sentiment for the fourth quarter of 2021 improved as the confidence increased to 2.7 percent from the previous survey result of 1.3 percent. But the respondents’ outlook for the next 12 months was less optimistic as the confidence index declined to 18.6 percent from the previous survey result of 19.8 percent.

Energy sector in transition: A rebalancing act

Coal-fired power plant companies in the Philippines have, in recent months, declared plans to rebalance their portfolio into one that has a growing share of renewables in the mix. The move comes as the Energy department issues policies that make renewable energy (RE) projects more lucrative, while announcing a ban on new coal power stations. While energy companies say coal will remain a necessity in providing stable power to a growing economy, they nonetheless disclosed plans to diversify their investments into more renewables.

August BoP surplus biggest in 4 months

The Philippines’ balance of payment position (BoP) hit $1.044 billion in August, the highest in four months, due to increased special drawing rights (SDR) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This was 58% higher than a year earlier and 62% more month on month, the central bank said.This was partially offset by foreign currency withdrawals by the National Government from the central bank as it paid off some debt, as well as the net foreign exchange operations of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).