DOT: Foreigners make up over half of inbound tourists from visa-free countries as of Feb. 14

Over 5,000 foreigners have entered the Philippines since it reopened its borders for fully vaccinated foreign travelers from visa-free countries this Feb. 10, the Department of Tourism (DOT) reported Tuesday. Some 5,074 foreign tourists have arrived in the country as of Feb. 14, more than half of the total 9,283 inbound tourist arrivals. Balikbayans or returning Filipinos made up the remaining 4,209 for the four-day period. The DOT said most of the foreign tourists came from the United States — accounting for 2,227 of the tally — followed by Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan and Germany.

Approved foreign investments rise over 70% in 2021

Foreign investment pledges rose 71.5% in 2021 after a strong performance in the last three months of the year, latest Philippine Statistics Authority figures showed. The PSA reported ₱133.47 billion in foreign investments (FIs) were approved from October to December, more than triple the ₱36.49 billion logged in the last quarter of 2020. The latest figure pushed 2021’s overall tally to ₱192.34 billion—up from ₱112.12 billion the year prior.

Philippines finalizing 'roadmap' for COVID-19 Alert 1

The Philippines is finalizing a "roadmap" for the so-called "new normal" or loosest of 5 COVID-19 alert levels, Malacañang said on Tuesday, as its adviser and a researcher hoped for an easing of restrictions by March. The declaration of Alert Level 1 requires continued adherence to health rules and a high vaccination rate, especially among the elderly and people with comorbidity, who are most at risk of developing severe COVID-19, said Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles.

Alert Level 1 brings PH closer to 6.7% GDP

Presidential adviser Joey Concepcion yesterday said easing restrictions will help sustain the economic momentum registered in the fourth quarter to lead the GDP to over 6 percent in the first quarter and even to 6.5 to 6.7 percent in the second quarter. But Concepcion warned the country may backslide to stricter alert levels if booster immunization and vaccination slows down, especially after protection wanes. Concepcion expressed hope the Interagency Task Force on the Management of Emerging would consider downgrading the country to Alert Level 1 by March, the last month for the quarter, to sustain the momentum of the fourth quarter of 2021 when the country grew 7.7 percent.

41 million Filipinos now have banking, e-money access

The number of Filipinos with access to banks and electronic money channels jumped to 41 million as of the third quarter of last year, inching closer to the goal of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to include 70 percent of the adult population within the financial inclusion net next year. BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said in a press briefing on Wednesday that the 2020-2023 digital payments transformation road map target would likely be met “sooner rather than later.” Citing BSP estimates, Diokno said that, from about 21 million “banked” adults in 2019, another 20 million were “onboarded” to the formal financial system between 2020 and the third quarter of 2021.

S&P sees above 7% GDP growth for PH

The Philippines economy is expected to grow above 7% in the next few years, but is still grappling with pandemic scars as seen in the lost output gap in the gross domestic product (GDP), S&P Global Ratings said. “As of the latest GDP reading, at the end of the fourth quarter 2021, we still estimate that the Philippine GDP level is 14% below where it would have been without the pandemic,” Vincent Conti, S&P senior economist, said at an online webinar. 

National ID should be accepted for all transactions, Duterte says

Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte has ordered government agencies and private institutions to start accepting the national ID or the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) number as sufficient proof of identification in a bid to improve the delivery of public services and promote ease of doing business. The national ID will serve as the state’s central identification platform for all citizens and resident aliens of the country, Mr. Duterte said in Executive Order No. 162 signed on Monday.

‘Lifting of face mask use possible by fourth quarter’

The government can consider lifting the mandatory use of face masks as a protection against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) only after it has achieved 90 percent full vaccination coverage of the population, a medical adviser of the National Task Force against COVID-19 said yesterday. Dr. Ted Herbosa, during the Laging Handa public briefing, said this may be possible by the fourth quarter of the year. “By that time, if 90 million Filipinos are already fully vaccinated, that’s already 90 percent of our population. Most likely we can do away with the mask if many Filipinos are already protected,” Herbosa said.

Moody’s Analytics hikes Philippine GDP growth to 6.2%

Moody’s Analytics has upgraded its gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for the Philippines from 5.6 percent to 6.2 percent this year as the country continues to recover from the impact of the pandemic. This will make the Philippines the second fastest-growing economy in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with Vietnam leading at 6.5 percent. The growth projection for the Philippines is faster than Indonesia’s 5.1 percent, Malaysia’s 5.4 percent, Singapore’s 4.6 percent, Taiwan’s 4.1 percent and Thailand’s 3.2 percent.

Philippines to 'slowly transition' to Alert Level 1: DOH

Government will slowly transition to the new normal or Alert Level 1, the Department of Health said Thursday as doctors expressed concern that it was easing restrictions too soon. Face masks will be the last to go in transitioning to the new normal, according to Health spokesperson Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire. "The mindset would be we will transition. We're not going to open up sectors drastically...we need to be able to slowly transition into the new normal. We need to go on and move on with our lives," she told ANC's Headstart.

BSP keeps interest rates at 2%, sees faster inflation until 2023

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas kept interest rates on hold this February as it continues to help boost economic recovery by encouraging more lending. The Monetary Board decided to retain policy rates at an all-time low of 2% in its first meeting for 2022, announced BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno on Thursday. This is the ninth straight meeting that rates were untouched since the surprise cut in November 2020. The board also retained overnight deposit and lending rates at 1.5% and 2.5%, respectively.

DBM releases P7.92B for COVID allowance

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has released P7.92 billion to the Department of Health (DOH) for the One COVID-19 Allowance (OCA) of 526,727 eligible public and private health care workers (HCWs) and non-HCWs involved in the pandemic response. Of this amount, P4.5 billion is allocated for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) benefits of 100,313 DOH plantilla personnel in public hospitals, offices and rehabilitation centers including those who are in military and state university hospitals, according to a DBM statement yesterday. The remaining P3.42 billion is for other 426,414 health workers reporting in local government units and private health facilities, among others, DBM added.

PEZA pledges down 27%

Investments registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) fell 27 percent in 2021 but the agency is confident of hitting a 6-percent growth in commitments this year. In a report, PEZA said it registered P69.3 billion projects last year from P95 billion in 2020. Exports of existing locators stood at $63 billion in 2021, up 14 percent from $55 billion in 2020. To date, ecozone locators have 1.78 million workers, an increment of 217,700 or 14 percent from 1.56 million workers in 2020

Air travel rebound seen as early as ’23

Air traffic in Asia-Pacific including the Philippines is expected to reach the pre-pandemic level between 2023 and 2025, according to the latest report of Airbus. “We are seeing a global recovery in air traffic and as travel restrictions are further eased, the Asia-Pacific region will become one of its main drivers again. We are confident of a strong rebound in the region’s traffic and expect it to reach 2019 levels between 2023 and 2025,” Christian Scherer, Airbus International chief commercial officer and head, said in a statement. “With an ever greater focus on efficiency and sustainable aviation in the region, our products are especially well positioned,” he added.

Philippine export performance continues to lag global rebound

The Philippine’s export performance remained lower compared with other Asia-Pacific economies leading the global trade recovery, a United Nations (UN) report said. The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) global trade update released on Thursday showed global trade in goods and services will likely slow this year, after the strong growth seen in 2021. Overall, the value of global trade reached a record $28.5 trillion in 2021, 25% higher than the previous year and a 13% increase from the pre-pandemic level in 2019.

Peza upbeat, clears ₧3.48-B projects in January

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza), which seeks to grow its investment pledges by 6 percent this year, approved P3.48 billion worth of projects in January. In a statement on Thursday, the regulator of ecozones said that the recent approvals include nine new and expansion projects. These are expected to contribute annual export sales of $56.09 million and an expected 732 direct employment. “Despite the pandemic slowing us down for the last two years, Peza is grateful for the unceasing support of our locators and partner investors. Now that the Philippines is attaining herd immunity and reopening our economy, we in Peza continue to thrive in attracting more foreign direct investments [FDI] to the country,” Peza Director General Charito Plaza said.

DoF in talks with banks on maiden green bond offer

The Department of Finance (DoF) is in talks with banks on its $500-million green bond offering this year as it assesses the appropriate tenor, the Finance chief said on Thursday. “We are discussing with various banks the appropriate structure for our maiden ESG (environmental, social, and governance) offering, including size and tenor as well as looking at the window of opportunity in different currency markets,” Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III told reporters in a Viber message.

Philippine passenger traffic shrinks further in 2021

The country’s air travel saw further decimation last year, with passenger traffic shrinking by nearly half amid sustained domestic and international travel restrictions due to the pandemic. Data from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) showed total passenger traffic in the country plummeted by 41 percent last year to 7.72 million. In comparison, passenger traffic in the country was 60.06 million in 2019 or before the pandemic disrupted the aviation industry. Domestic passenger traffic reached 5.53 million last year, 20 percent lower from the 6.89 million recorded in 2020.