House realigns P65B in 2022 budget

The House of Representatives has realigned P65.5 billion of the proposed 2022 national budget to fund the procurement of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine booster shots, assistance for displaced workers and the downpayment for C-130 aircraft for the military. Eric G. Yap, chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, on Thursday said the amendments to House Bill (HB) No. 10153 or the General Appropriations Act of 2022 have been approved by the small committee composed of majority and minority leaders.

Galvez: Provinces to get bulk of vaccine deliveries

“In line with our recalibrated vaccine deployment strategy, we are sending the bulk of the latest vaccine arrivals to regions and provinces beyond the NCR (National Capital Region),” Galvez said yesterday. He said 87,690,960 vaccine doses arrived in the country as of Wednesday. Galvez was reacting to the concerns raised by Albay Rep. Joey Salceda that Bicol has the lowest vaccine allocation.

Foreign tourists still not allowed to enter Philippines

Despite the downward trend in COVID-19 infections and the easing of some mobility restrictions, foreign tourists are still not allowed to enter the Philippines, Malacañang said yesterday. The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) recently approved the revised guidelines for passengers from countries, territories or jurisdictions in the “green” list or those classified as low risk.

Despite Delta, PH expects to hit ’21 GDP growth goal

With granular instead of blanket lockdowns imposed in COVID-19 hotspots to further reopen the economy, President Duterte’s chief economic manager is optimistic that the 4-5 percent growth target for 2021 will be attained. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III told Bloomberg TV on Thursday that they expect third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth to be lower than the 11.8-percent jump in the second quarter due to the recent spike in infections caused by the more contagious Delta variant.

Economic uncertainty amid COVID-19 still weighing on household spending — report

"For the Philippines, the proportion of households with savings has dropped remarkably," ANZ Research said in its latest report, noting this could have been "aggravated" by the milder pace in overseas worker remittances. The Australia-based organization's report tackled the country's household demand, along with Indonesia's and Thailand's. Uncertainty on the reopening of their economies has "made a lasting dent" on the financial positions and incomes of families, it said.

WHO: NCR vaccine bubble 'premature' until inoculation rates up in Regions 3, 4A

“Our contention is that if we can achieve the rates of higher coverage in [Regions] 3 and 4A, then we may be able to look at it because then the number of people coming into the bubble will be significantly less who are unvaccinated,” WHO representative to the Philippines Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe explained in a Palace briefing. Over 7.7 million individuals in the National Capital Region have been fully inoculated against the disease, yielding a nearly 79% coverage rate. However, the WHO official emphasized it’s “premature” to discuss vaccine bubbles for now since the Philippines has only fully vaccinated 30% of its population so far.

Galvez: Philippines has 'adequate' COVID-19 vaccine supply

NTF Chief Implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr. assured local government units (LGUs) that they would receive "the bulk" of recent vaccine deliveries in the country. The Philippines accepted nearly 16.4 million virus jabs in the first 2 weeks of the month alone, he said. The country has so far received a total of nearly 87.7 million shots since the vaccination program started earlier this year.

All LGUs in Metro Manila now under moderate risk for COVID-19 — OCTA

All 17 local government units (LGUs) in Metro Manila are now under a moderate risk for COVID-19 as the region sees a continuous decline in the reproduction number of coronavirus cases, OCTA Research said Thursday. According to the latest report, the reproduction number in Metro Manila is now 0.60 as the seven-day average of new cases from October 7 to 13 dropped to 1,847, 30 percent lower than the previous week’s average. Reproduction number is the average number of persons being infected by one positive case. Health experts say the ideal reproduction number should be less than one to indicate decreased transmission of the virus

PHL exports and imports post double-digit growth in August–PSA

The country’s export earnings and import receipts continued to post double-digit growth in August 2021, according to the preliminary data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Based on the country’s External Trade Performance report, exports grew 17.6 percent  in August 2021, the fifth consecutive month of double-digit growth this year. Imports, meanwhile, posted a growth of 30.8 percent in August 2021, the fourth consecutive month of double digit growth.

Diversification seen as key to hitting PHL food security goals

The Department of Science and Technology (DoST) said diversification will be key to efforts to ensure food security, bringing into balance cash crops with staples needed by the population. According to its estimates, meat imports and domestic production in 2019 were equivalent to 1.75 times the volume required for the Philippines’ own nutrition model, which is known as Pinggang Pinoy (the Filipino plate). Meanwhile, the available fruit and vegetable volume was well below the quantities required to hit model levels.

Concepcion: Private sector looking into vaccinating children of employees

The private sector is now considering vaccinating the children of their employees, said Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Sec. Joey Concepcion on Tuesday. Concepcion added they were now trying to "pierce the family bubble." He said members of the family can get sick because an unvaccinated child could go out and bring home the virus. In June, the Philippine Food and Drug Administration approved the emergency use of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for minors aged 12 to 15. In September, Moderna’s vaccine was given an emergency use authorization for 12- to 17-year-olds.

Seven ways smart property owners can achieve energy savings mandated by law

A forum of experts proposed practical energy-saving steps following the effectivity of the energy law last March, mandating power users to set strategies to conserve this scarce resource. Lylah Ledonio, executive director of Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC) and chairman of the ECCP Real Estate Committee disclosed that there are practical ways and means building owners can easily adopt.

In record time, Senate panel approves COA’s proposed P14.46-B 2022 budget

The Commission on Audit (COA) set a record of sorts Tuesday as its P14.46-billion proposed budget for 2022 took barely a 10-minute scrutiny to be endorsed by the Senate finance committee for plenary approval. Senator Juan Edgardo Angara, chairman of the endorsing Finance committee, confirmed the swift endorsement of the screening panel to elevate COA’s 2022 budget for plenary approval, noting there were no queries raised by committee members on the COA budget.

2021 growth target achievable–Chua

The country’s chief economist said he would stick with the official 4- to 5-percent economic growth target for this year, despite the bleak outlook painted by several institutions, provided more economic activities would restart and lockdown restrictions would be eased or dismantled.

BSP to continue to support recovery

The Central Bank will continue to maintain support for the economy’s weak recovery, as inflation is expected to slow down in the last months of the year, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said. Inflation eased to 4.8% in September from the 32-month high 4.9% in August, amid slower rise in prices of food and transport. Inflation has mostly exceeded the 2-4% target by the central bank, except in July when it settled at 4%.

NEDA calls for further opening to encourage banks to lend more

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said businesses need to be allowed to operate under less restrictive rules to encourage banks to release funds into the economy. “The more sustainable way to help businesses is to first open the economy,” Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said at a Senate hearing Wednesday. “We have restricted them for more than 18 months already.” He said banks are currently risk-averse because there is no assurance they will have reliable revenue over the life of the loan, noting, “There is a lot of hesitation and uncertainty.”