Trade deficit widens further in June to $5.8 billion 

The country's trade deficit further ballooned in June to $5.84 billion, as imports posted a double-digit growth anew while exports rose by only 1%, according to Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) figures released Tuesday. The deficit grew 75.4% annually during the month, quicker than the 74.7% expansion recorded in May. It is the highest tally since the start of the PSA series beginning January 2020. The country's imports totaled $12.48 billion in June, up 26% year-on-year. This fell behind the 30.2% growth the month prior, where imports were at $11.87 billion.

Debt-GDP ratio eases, but still above 60% threshold

Latest data released by the Bureau of  the Treasury (BTr) showed that the Philippines’s debt-to-GDP ratio hit 62.1 percent in the second quarter of the year. While this is down from the first quarter’s 17-year high of 63.5 percent debt-to-GDP ratio, it is the second consecutive month this year that the country has exceeded the 60-percent recommended threshold for an economy.

Foreign direct investments climb to $4.2M as of end-May

Foreign direct investments rose to $4.17 million by the end of May, up 18.8% annually, said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). The five-month tally was boosted by the $742 million recorded in May alone, a 64.1% year-on-year increase. The BSP attributed the year-to-date climb to debt instruments, considered a safe portfolio by investors, which grew 42.7% to $3.12 million during the stretch. For the month, the tally was at $544 million, nearly double the $282 million recorded in May 2021.

PHL aims to become high-income economy by 2045 at the latest [mention]

THE PHILIPPINES now aims to become a high-income economy by 2045 at the latest, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said. “Assuming that the economy can regain its growth trajectory in the next decade, also the trajectory targeted for the medium term of this administration, and hold on to it for two more decades, the Philippine economy can become a high-income economy by the first half of the 2040s,” Mr. Balisacan said on Thursday during the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines luncheon meeting. Mr. Balisacan told reporters after the event that the timeline for achieving high-income economy status was pushed back to 2045, from 2040 previously, reflecting the impact of economic scarring from the pandemic.

Digitalization efforts backed by WB 

The World Bank is eager to support the Philippine government in its bid to digitalize services and modernize the bureaucracy, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said. In a statement, the Department of Finance (DOF) said Diokno and Diop met to discuss further alignment and expansion of cooperation between the Philippines and the World Bank based on the Marcos administration’s socioeconomic priorities. The administration is implementing a comprehensive eight-point socioeconomic agenda that includes measures to optimize digitalization in improving tax administration and broadening financial inclusion. Diokno said he aims to digitalize half of all retail payments and onboard 70 percent of the adult population to the formal financial system by 2023.

EPR law, tax proposal to reduce plastic waste

The Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) believes the enactment of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act of 2022 mandating companies to establish EPR programs for their plastic packaging would significantly reduce the amount of plastic wastes dumped on creeks, rivers and oceans. The EPR act which lapsed into law on July 30 also amended the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act. Through EPR, obliged enterprises or through their Producer Responsibility Organizations, will have to recover or offset their generated plastic product footprint by 20 percent in 2023 and to 80 percent by 2028.

OCTA says COVID-19 surge 'may have' peaked in NCR, still rising in other areas

The surge of COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila over the past few months may have finally already peaked, independent pandemic monitor OCTA Research said Friday. Earlier, OCTA Research pegged the peak coming within the week of July 16 to 23 based on the data they had at the time, a projection that ultimately fell through, which the think tank admitted after cases suddenly started rising again after weeks of going down. In a radio interview aired over DZMM TeleRadyo on Friday morning, OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David said that the group observed a decreasing growth rate within Metro Manila in the past few days. 

House creates special panel on nuclear energy

The House of Representatives established a special committee that will focus on creating measures related to nuclear energy — from developing infrastructure for nuclear power plants to ensuring that it cost competitive. The lower house elected Rep. Mark Cojuangco (Pangasinan) as the chairperson of the 25-member Special Committee on Nuclear Energy. Lawmakers also amended the jurisdiction of the existing Committee on Energy to explicitly state that nuclear energy, its sources, and infrastructures will be beyond its jurisdiction. The newly established committee will be in charge of handling “all matters directly and principally relating to the policies and programs to the production, utilization, and conservation of nuclear energy, including the development of nuclear power infrastructure.” 

Marcos pushes creation of virology institute, disease control center

To better consolidate research, knowledge sources and new data related to the pandemic, President Marcos yesterday pushed for the passage of measures creating a virology institute and a disease control center even as he urged health researchers to continue exchanging information due to the evolving nature of COVID-19. Measures seeking to create the Virology Institute of the Philippines and a disease control center are included in Marcos’ 19 priority bills. Marcos, who has caught COVID-19 twice, said openness of mind and the continuing flow of information among different agencies have become critical, given that the virus is mutating.

DOLE, TESDA to help build skills workers need to thrive in gig economy, IT-BPM sector

The Labor department will develop skills training modules to meet the rapidly changing demand of the Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) industry, gig economy and other sectors. In a television interview on Thursday, Labor and Employment Secretary Bievenido E. Laguesma said he is now closely coordinating with the Technical Skills and Development Authority (TESDA) to come out with modules crucial to industries so they could fill up their manpower needs. 

State bank loans to agri hits P258B

The Land Bank of the Philippines said its loans to the agriculture sector is now at P257.7 billion as of the first half of the year. The bank said the amount is equivalent to a 15.5 percent increase compared to the total outstanding loans from the same period a year ago for the sector at around P223 billion. In the first six months of the year, Land Bank said it also assisted in the construction and improvement of 138 kilometers of farm-to-market roads which is among the priorities of the current administration for the agriculture sector. The bank said it has cumulatively assisted more than 3.3 million farmers and fishers nationwide, of which 566,462 or 17 percent came from the 20 poorest provinces in the country.

DOH plans Omicron-adapted vaccine purchase

The Department of Health (DOH) has bared its plan to procure Omicron-adapted vaccines from other countries once these become available. DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said that these vaccines, referred to as new generation vaccines for COVID-19, specifically target the Omicron subvariants. She added, “These are what the (vaccine) manufacturers have been saying that it is specific to Omicron, because the previous formulations of vaccines were specific for the other variants but not for Omicron.” 

First monkeypox case’s close contacts still in quarantine

Ten close contacts of the first monkeypox case in the country are still in quarantine and have remained asymptomatic, the Department of Health (DOH) reported yesterday. “The 10 close contacts of the patient are still undergoing the required quarantine period,” the DOH said, adding that “to date, there has been no new case of monkeypox in the country.”

Philippines may get monkeypox vaccines in 2023: DOH

The Philippines may get access to monkeypox vaccines by 2023, the Department of Health said Wednesday, amid rising demand for the jab. DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said the agency is coordinating with the private sector in procuring vaccines for the disease. The DOH is exploring other avenues to acquire at least a minimal amount of monkeypox vaccines, which will be first given to healthcare workers, she added. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plan to purchase the jabs as a whole is still at initial stages, Vergeire said. More than 16,000 confirmed cases have been recorded in 75 countries so far this year, according to the World Health Organization. 

Marcos appoints Arnell Ignacio as new OWWA chief

Television host Arnell Ignacio is set to return to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has appointed him as the agency’s new chief. The Office of the Press Secretary on Wednesday confirmed that Ignacio will be the new OWWA administrator. Ignacio, who served as OWWA deputy executive director and deputy administrator from 2018 to 2019, thanked the President for giving him the trust to lead the agency dedicated for the protection of Filipino migrant workers.