Maharlika, ROTC, RCEP among Marcos priority bills

The executive branch and Congress have agreed to push for the passage of 10 priority bills by June 2, including the measures on the mandatory Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) and the Maharlika Investment Fund, Malacañang said. One of the priority bills to be passed at the end of the first regular session is the mandatory ROTC and National Service Training Program, which has been certified as urgent by President Marcos. Also in the list of priority measures to be passed by June is the bill establishing the Maharlika Investment Fund. Other priority bills are the amendments to the Build-Operate-Transfer law/Public-Private Partnership bill, proposed Internet Transactions Act/E-Commerce Law. Malacañang said the LEDAC has also vowed to seek the ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a mega free trade deal that requires the concurrence of the Senate.

ECCP supports the Creation of Water Resources Management in Phl

Cognizant of the water security of the country, the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines welcomes the creation of the Water Resources Management Office as a transitory body pending the creation of a Water Resource Department. The ECCP, together with its Environment and Water Committee strongly advocates for regular multi-stakeholder engagement to be institutionalized in order to allow exchange of insights, facilitates coordination and come up with effective solution on water-related issues. 

BOI hits 40% of investment goal

The Board of Investments (BOI) has achieved 40-percent of its P1-trillion investment target in over a month, its undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said. In a statement released by the Presidential Communications Office yesterday, Rodolfo at the PCO Forum on Saturday, said BOI as of February 9 registered P414 billion. Rodolfo expressed confidence the agency would hit the target following the aggressive promotional strategy of the government. He said based on the DTI’s tracking, investment pledges from Japan amount to around $10 billion or between P500 billion an P550 billion. He said those which registered with BOI are interested mostly in export manufacturing.

PHL, EFTA partners working to improve trade deal utilization

THE Philippines said it and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) are working to improve utilization of their free trade agreement (FTA), which were 31% for the Philippines and 30% for the four-member EFTA bloc in 2020. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said the decision to tap the trade deal more extensively was arrived at during the inaugural joint committee meeting on Jan. 10. “This agreement facilitates increased market access, reduction of non-tariff barriers, trade and sustainable development, and protection of intellectual property rights among others, which we see as crucial for the Philippine economy,” Trade Secretary Pascual said.

P28.9-B fund to help LGUs build capacity for devolution

THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said the P28.9-billion Local Government Support Fund will be deployed for capacity-building projects ahead of the imminent devolution of National Government (NG) services. “We will formulate capacity-building training, and seminars for our LGUs (local government units) to help them — so that by the time we have full devolution, they can stand on their own feet,” Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said. The LGUs will be aided in operations about to be shed by the National Government, such as procurement, project planning and identification, and implementation, she added. “The Department of Finance’s Bureau of Local Government Finance may also provide guidance on how LGUs may use their budgets,” she said.

Marcos gov’t goes all out on PPP infra strategy

The Marcos administration amped up its rhetoric on revitalizing public-private partnerships (PPP) as a way to push its infrastructure program as it also drummed up investor interest in key areas of possible cooperation, particularly in renewable energy projects. Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said that aside from renewable energy, investors may also look at “high-impact sectors” such as manufacturing, infrastructure, services and agriculture. With the goal to maintain infrastructure spending at 5 to 6 percent of gross domestic product yearly, the administration expects that its investment-led growth strategy will lead to more employment opportunities and more high-quality and green jobs for Filipinos.

Villar vows to put more teeth into anti-smuggling law

THE SENATE agriculture and food committee chair will propose changes to the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016 to categorically include profiteering, hoarding, and engaging in cartel as acts of economic sabotage. “I will make the amendment to the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act to be explicit and very specific so that there will be no room for the implementers to interpret the intent and spirit of the law through the implementing rules and regulations,” Senator Cynthia A. Villar said. The proposed changes come after the cost of onions rose to as much as P750 per kilo despite farmers from Occidental Mindoro having sold them to traders for at least P8 per kilo during harvest season. 

Senate seeks amendments to 50-year-old Building Code

The Senate is looking at amending the National Building Code to update the 50-year-old law to meet current standards and technologies and ensure that buildings and other structures in the country can withstand strong earthquakes. The upper chamber’s committee on public works, chaired by Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr., is scheduled to hold a hearing tomorrow with the Department of Public Works and Highways, local government units (LGUs) and other stakeholders regarding compliance with the building code passed in 1972. Sen. Francis Tolentino said amending existing provisions in the National Building Code is long overdue to ensure the structural integrity of establishments and their resiliency should a destructive earthquake – similar to the one that happened in central Turkey and Western Syria – hit Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

PBBM lauds First Gen and Tokyo Gas LNG project

President Bongbong Marcos on Friday praised the LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminal facility of Tokyo Gas and Lopez-owned First Gen and noted its key role in the country’s transition from fossil fuels to green energy. In his meeting with Tokyo Gas officials, led by its president and CEO Takashi Uchida, and First Gen chairman and CEO Federico “Piki” Lopez, Marcos said the opening of the LNG plant would increase the participation of natural gas as an energy source for power and transportation in the country. First Gen is expected to start commercial operations of its LNG terminal in Batangas by June. The Lopez firm forged an 80-20 partnership with Tokyo Gas.

BSP may deliver 50-bp hike — poll

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is widely expected to raise benchmark interest rates at its meeting on Thursday, with some analysts forecasting a 50-basis-point (bp) increase after inflation accelerated to a fresh 14-year high in January. A BusinessWorld poll last week showed 17 out of 18 analysts see the Monetary Board hiking its benchmark interest rate at its first meeting of the year on Feb. 16. Nine analysts see the BSP raising borrowing costs by 50 bps, while eight analysts anticipate a 25-bp increase. Only one analyst expects the BSP to keep rates unchanged.

Marcos: Gov’t eyeing ‘stronger’ tripartite alliance with US, Japan

The Philippines is considering strengthening its tripartite alliance with the United States and Japan, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. told foreign media. The Presidential Communications Office announced this on Sunday, citing Marcos’ interview with Kyodo News during his Japan visit. “It is something that we certainly are going to be studying upon my return to the Philippines. I think just part of the continuing process of strengthening our alliances because in this rather confusing, and I dare say dangerous situations, that we have,” Marcos said.

Banking, consumer sectors seen leading Q4 earnings

Banks and retailers are seen to have outperformed other listed companies in the fourth quarter of 2022 as the economic reopening provided a needed boost to loan demand and consumer spending. “Philippine lenders are expected to have improved profitability due to the further reopening of the economy, which led to greater loan demand, higher revenues and better asset quality,” Globalinks Securities and Stocks, Inc. Head of Sales Trading Toby Allan C. Arce said in a Viber message. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) raised the benchmark interest rate by 350 basis points (bps) to a 14-year high of 5.5% in 2022. 

PH to donate $100,000 in humanitarian aid to Turkey quake victims

The Philippines will donate $100,000 in humanitarian aid to Turkey earthquake victims through the House of Representative Speaker’s Disaster Relief and Rehabilitation Initiative. According to Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, the money also counts as a gift and symbol of gratitude from the Philippines to Turkey for helping Leyte, and many parts of Eastern Samar in November 2013 – when Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) ravaged parts of the country, killing at least 6,000 people. The Speaker said the $100,000 humanitarian aid will come from his office’s Disaster Relief and Rehabilitation Initiative which was launched during his 59th birthday celebration last November 14, 2022. Romualdez said he is set to turn over the $100,000 to Turkey Ambassador to the Philippines Niyazi Evren Akyol and his wife Inddri Puspitarasi on Monday, February 13 at his office at Batasang Pambansa Complex in Quezon City.