nilampasan na naman tayo. Kase ang diprensiya sa aten at sa kanilang lahat ang gobyerno nila ay malakas. Very strong central govt. which will not tolerate nonsense.

Well, Philippine infrastructures is ahead of Vietnam by 20 years and they will have to play catch up with us and the rest of the SEA to come up with that level of development. Ho Chi Minh city isn't even considered a World City yet compared to Manila.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_city

I agree, the media are again over-hyping certain countries. Well, foreign investors owned a lot of media companies therefore they can create an exagerrated image and perception to draw other investors to buy the market.

At least RP does not over-hype or create misleading perception or rosy pictures. If any, RP has been under rated for many years. Behind the negative image played by the media, there is a huge potential in RP. The country can exists with or without any help from the cunning foreign investors (though they make development faster).

Well, Philippine infrastructures is ahead of Vietnam by 20 years and they will have to play catch up with us and the rest of the SEA to come up with that level of development. Ho Chi Minh city isn't even considered a World City yet compared to Manila.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_city

true. But if they grow at an astonishing rate for 20 years then they may. Good for them.
and it's true that hype perception created by media can make or break you.
I'm just saying the govt. should move at a much aggresive pace so we don't get left behind again.

I agree, the media are again over-hyping certain countries. Well, foreign investors owned a lot of media companies therefore they can create an exagerrated image and perception to draw other investors to buy the market.

At least RP does not over-hype or create misleading perception or rosy pictures. If any, RP has been under rated for many years. Behind the negative image played by the media, there is a huge potential in RP. The country can exists with or without any help from the cunning foreign investors (though they make development faster).

^^ That or maybe because Vietnamese are confident about themselves. You have to realize that most investments in Vietnam are from mostly East Asian countries and Oversea Vietnamese who settling back in Vietnam. Do you think companies just invest without proper study? Attracting people's attention is one thing, PROVING them that the country's capable of handling and creating profits for that company is another different thing. You're talking about hundred of million dollars to billion of dollars here.

^ I noticed that too. Vietnamese are more aggresive . It's just a different culture. The Filipinos are mostly Christians and Vietnamese were used to communist ideology.

Actually, the GMA administration has been really aggressive in pursuing macroeconomic reforms, budget deficit reduction and infrastructure development which are coming into fruition (albeit slowly on infrastructure). RP is now considered as an emerging market again. Now it’s time for the government to be more aggressive with the microeconomic reforms in order to reduce poverty so that the poorest of the poor can feel the economic growth. The key is job assurance so that the poor could received salaries enough to feed, cloth, educate their families and build a house they can call their own.


Enjoying the stability dividend
DEMAND AND SUPPLY By Boo Chanco
The Philippine Star 12/04/2006
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200612040716.htm


Last week I heard a Filipino economist working for a European bank say that investors are starting to get used to our usual political noise. This explains why the stock market is booming despite the inflammatory language being used in our political arena. Not even coup rumors can panic the investors, who are now able to see beyond the superficial veneer of our political discourses.

That should be good news for the country. If this economist is correct, the country should start to benefit from what we can call a stability dividend. In the past, the nature of Philippine political debates scared investors or at least, provided enough reason for them to look for opportunities elsewhere. But fund managers are now savvier about emerging markets. They are able to evaluate risks better than they had ever been able to.

As far as the Philippines is concerned, they seem happy enough that we have been able to take care of the fiscal deficit problem. This economist feels there is minimal risk of excessive government political spending next year to ensure victory for administration candidates. If government puts its money in vitally needed infrastructure projects, there would even be benefits for the economy moving forward.

It would seem that given the limited options available in the US and other Western economies next year, the risks for investing in emerging markets like the Philippines are manageable. It doesn’t take too much to satisfy investors looking for options with better yields than what are available in their home markets. Even lackluster macroeconomic performance doesn’t bother them that much. Oh, this particular economist is even expecting a multiple upgrade from the credit ratings agencies for the Philippines.

This reminds me of how the Financial Times reported last week, the last working day of Mexican President Vicente Fox. Economic growth in Mexico has been acutely disappointing under his six-year tenure, the FT reports, but the markets are going to miss him.

Fox, according to the FT, made no progress on his agenda of structural reform for the economy, which included widening the tax base, privatizing electricity, opening the oil industry to foreign investment, and loosening labor laws. "GDP per capita fell in the first three years of his tenure. This year, economic growth is on course for 4.7 per-cent, the best year of his sexenio, but still nothing exciting."

BUT, the FT observes, "Mexican stocks have prospered. In dollar terms, the benchmark IPC index has returned 310 percent since he took office (26.6 percent per year). In peso terms it is up 380 percent (30 percent per year), according to Bloomberg data. For comparison, the S&P 500 has gained 2.8 percent a year over the same period; and the Nikkei 225, 1.2 percent. The MSCI emerging markets index has gained 17.5 percent per year… This goes beyond stocks. Mexico has the world’s fastest-growing derivatives market, while corporate bond issuance has risen at more than 60 percent per year under Fox."

How could this happen? According to the FT, "Mexico achieved this because of a stability dividend. At the macroeconomic level, the authorities have been orthodox, driving down the budget deficit and squeezing out inflation. At the level of microeconomics, a series of reforms to bankruptcy, corporate governance, housing finance, and pensions, have lowered the cost of capital. The pool of patient capital represented by the Afores private pension funds has quadrupled under Fox and now stands at almost $100 billion."

The lesson for emerging markets, the FT says, is that stability pays . "Fox leaves office amid social unrest in Mexico’s poor south. If governments adopt such policies, the key question for investors is political: can politicians persuade the populace to remain patient while waiting for that stability to pay dividends?"

I can see the Philippines in Mexico’s shoes. We have to give credit to Ate Glue’s ability to rein in the fiscal deficit. And even if other structural reforms are taking long to realize, many of them are now in place. We also have the added advantage of having OFWs and their remittances. Believe it or not, we may actually be starting to enjoy the stability dividend FT is talking about.

Hopefully, as FT wrote about Mexico, our politicians can persuade our masa who have so far been eluded by any dividend from our economy’s upside to remain a little more patient and wait for that stability to pay a large enough dividend to benefit them too. The large number of people who are going hungry in our country is a very real threat to stability.

Also, with our penchant for shooting ourselves in the foot, I cannot help being skeptical that a happy ending is in store for us between now and 2010. I see our politicians breaking the stability story next year as they desperately try to force constitutional changes down the throats of a population that are not too eager to allow them to do just that. It is time for de Venecia, Nograles, Pichay and company to think nation first before personal political ambitions. But that’s asking too much.

Yeah i believe GMA is taking us in the right direction and we're finally moving I'm just worried about sustainability given our kind of politicians and boom and bust cycle.

This is important!!!!

The Administration needs to strengthen governance in the macroeconomic transactions as we've been losing income and victime of flight capital by foreign capitalists/money launderers.

RP loses $8B/yr in hidden international transactions
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=58199
By MA. ELISA OSORIO
The Philippine Star

The country loses an estimated $8B every year in hidden international transactions, an amount that could have been used to finance economic activity or reduce poverty, an economist said.

In a paper titled Forensic economics: Hidden balance of payments of the Philippines, Edsel Beja Jr. of the Ateneo de Manila University stated that from 1990 to 2005, total unrecorded international transactions reached $128B.

"The results reveal a problem in macroeconomic management: weak or weakening capacity in the governance of international transactions," Beja said.

He said the figures suggest that large amounts of resources remain hidden when funds are needed to finance economic growth and development.

"The amount could have been used in the country to finance economic activities in order to generate additional output and create more jobs, or finance poverty reduction programs," he noted.

In addition, Beja said the unrecorded international transactions point to other economic issues as well, such as a prevailing domestic investment anemia, together with large underutilized productive capacities, and complicated by the unceasing domestic political uncertainties.

This means there is a weak or weakening capacity to direct resources into productive domestic investments to support industrialization and realize robust economic growth of the country.

He said available data show that the balance of payments or the official transactions of the Philippines with other countries, does not record "large amounts" of international transaction.

For example, he said capital flight or the funds that leave to avoid risks, uncertainties and/or social controls in the domestic economy, is not recorded in the BOP, even if it is a capital outflow.

In like manner, Beja said, international trade data may be misreported because of systematic trade misinvoicing and smuggling.

He said the budget deficit would have been lower if only these hidden transactions were recorded. In 1990, a $2.6B deficit in current account was recorded. Factoring in hidden transactions of $1.5B in systematic trade mis-invoicing and $732M unrecorded remittance, the deficit would have only been $456M.

In 2005, Beja said the current account surplus would have been higher if only the $5.4B in hidden transactions were considered in the computation pushing the surplus to a staggering $8.1B.

"Put simply, the unrecorded transactions make the BOP (and so BOP analysis) inaccurate. Obviously, this issue has important policy implications, particularly with regards to capital flows management but, more generally, on the macro economy," he explained.

Beja surmised that the reason why the government tolerated or overlooked the large unrecorded international transactions is because of weak, or malfunctioning, financial governance.

More worrisome is that the magnitude of the unreported international transactions has been increasing, specifically during the financial liberalization period, he said.

The economist warned that with the deregulation and liberalization of the economic environment, there are more avenues available for financial flight, trade misinvoicing, and other hidden transactions. Economic growth may be lower than GDP stats.

This was on the cover of the Manila Times when I think they should be covering what is going in in Bikol.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v198/louman84/MT12_03.jpg

They do have a little something about it on top.

Just want to reiterate this article:

This is important!!!!

The Administration needs to strengthen governance in the macroeconomic transactions as we've been losing income and victime of flight capital by foreign capitalists/money launderers.

RP loses $8B/yr in hidden international transactions
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=58199
By MA. ELISA OSORIO
The Philippine Star

The country loses an estimated $8B every year in hidden international transactions, an amount that could have been used to finance economic activity or reduce poverty, an economist said.

In a paper titled Forensic economics: Hidden balance of payments of the Philippines, Edsel Beja Jr. of the Ateneo de Manila University stated that from 1990 to 2005, total unrecorded international transactions reached $128B.

"The results reveal a problem in macroeconomic management: weak or weakening capacity in the governance of international transactions," Beja said.

He said the figures suggest that large amounts of resources remain hidden when funds are needed to finance economic growth and development.

"The amount could have been used in the country to finance economic activities in order to generate additional output and create more jobs, or finance poverty reduction programs," he noted.

In addition, Beja said the unrecorded international transactions point to other economic issues as well, such as a prevailing domestic investment anemia, together with large underutilized productive capacities, and complicated by the unceasing domestic political uncertainties.

This means there is a weak or weakening capacity to direct resources into productive domestic investments to support industrialization and realize robust economic growth of the country.

He said available data show that the balance of payments or the official transactions of the Philippines with other countries, does not record "large amounts" of international transaction.

For example, he said capital flight or the funds that leave to avoid risks, uncertainties and/or social controls in the domestic economy, is not recorded in the BOP, even if it is a capital outflow.

In like manner, Beja said, international trade data may be misreported because of systematic trade misinvoicing and smuggling.

He said the budget deficit would have been lower if only these hidden transactions were recorded. In 1990, a $2.6B deficit in current account was recorded. Factoring in hidden transactions of $1.5B in systematic trade mis-invoicing and $732M unrecorded remittance, the deficit would have only been $456M.

In 2005, Beja said the current account surplus would have been higher if only the $5.4B in hidden transactions were considered in the computation pushing the surplus to a staggering $8.1B.

"Put simply, the unrecorded transactions make the BOP (and so BOP analysis) inaccurate. Obviously, this issue has important policy implications, particularly with regards to capital flows management but, more generally, on the macro economy," he explained.

Beja surmised that the reason why the government tolerated or overlooked the large unrecorded international transactions is because of weak, or malfunctioning, financial governance.

More worrisome is that the magnitude of the unreported international transactions has been increasing, specifically during the financial liberalization period, he said.

The economist warned that with the deregulation and liberalization of the economic environment, there are more avenues available for financial flight, trade misinvoicing, and other hidden transactions. Economic growth may be lower than GDP stats.

5.5M rise out of poverty
Government programs will lift 3 million more by 2010
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/dec/04/yehey/top_stories/20061204top1.html
By Ricardo Saludo, Secretary of the Cabinet

Are the poor benefiting from economic growth and government programs?

It may be hard to see amid city and countryside squalor, but poverty has been declining significantly in this decade—by as many as 5.5 million souls. That is the common conclusion from government, private and international reports. And with both the economy and development spending on the upswing, poverty is set to fall even more.

As 2006 comes to a close, the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), which compiles data from government agencies, estimates that poverty incidence, the percentage of families living below the poverty threshold income level, is about 23 percent today, down from 27.5 percent in 2000.

In terms of warm bodies, that drop means some 5.5 million Filipinos rose out of poverty in the six years under President Arroyo.

Social Weather Stations (SWS), a top private research organization, conducts quarterly surveys of self-rated poverty (SRP), asking people if they believe they are poor. The average SRP rating under President Arroyo is the lowest under any leader since the surveys began in 1986 (see charts).

With the current economic upturn, the SRP fell a hefty eight-percentage points between July and September this year. And in Metro Manila, where normally the impact of economic resurgence is first felt, hunger incidence as measured by the SWS has steadily declined, from 21 percent last December to 12 percent nine months later.

With the government aiming to cut severe hunger by at least 400,000 families within a year, the overall hunger incidence should further diminish.

The World Bank indicator for extreme poverty is the percentage of people living on less than $1 a day. In the Philippines this figure is now under 10 percent for the first time ever, dropping to 9.6 percent this year. The World Bank expects a further decline to 8.4 percent in 2007. That would pull some 1.7 million Filipinos out of destitution in just two years.

“We have achieved major advances in the President’s all-out drive to help poor Filipinos lift themselves out of destitution,” says Domingo Panganiban, National Antipoverty Commission lead convener. “With more funds going into social services, livelihood programs and development infrastructure, we will see even steeper declines in poverty.”

In the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP), which won kudos from Harvard professor and The End of Poverty author Jeffrey Sachs, poverty incidence is targeted to decline by five-percentage points to about 18 percent between today and 2010.

If achieved, the reduction would liberate another 3 million Filipinos from the chains of destitution—more than one-sixth of the poor today.

Elizabeth Bedra is a poster lady in the war on poverty. Many years ago the wife and mother of two daughters from Tumana, Barangka, was worried every time she saw her husband Rolando’s earnings as a construction worker depleted just paying rent. After a talk at Barangka Credit Cooperative, she borrowed P5,000 to buy a passenger “pedicab.”

In six months Aling Abet had repaid the loan and borrowed P10,000 more for a tricycle. Then came more “trikes,” and now Bedra is looking forward to another addition to their family with ample earnings to raise and educate the new child.

“I never thought I could pay back what I borrowed and still earn,” recalls Bedra, 31. She now has three tricycles and has even guaranteed a P40,000 loan for a friend.

Like Aling Abet, millions have followed her path out of poverty and borrowed from microfinance conduits of the government. To date, the People’s Credit and Finance Corp. (PCFC) counts more than 2 million active microfinance borrowers added to its rosters since July 2004, with loans totaling nearly P50 billion.

That is two-thirds of the target in President Arroyo’s Ten-Point Agenda, prompting her to instruct the PCFC to raise its goal for microfinance at the Cabinet meeting last week. The President also ordered upward revisions of targets in jobs training, low-cost medicines and food production, in light of rising government revenues.

“Our fiscal and economic gains must be harnessed for the benefit of the ordinary Filipino,” the President told the Cabinet at their November 28 meeting. “With more resources at our disposal, let us ramp up our programs and their benefits for the poor.”

This will accelerate the already substantial gains in income and living standards of the poor in the first Arroyo administration. The NSCB data shows that between 2000 and 2003, per-capita income of the 30 percent of families earning the lowest income rose by about 30 percent.

For the poorest 10 percent, or decile of families, the increase in per-capita income was 38 percent, for the second-poorest decile 33 percent, and for the third-poorest decile 28 percent. The increase includes not only actual earnings, but also the money value of goods, services and assistance received by the poor.

The rise in per-capita income is reflected in better-living standards for the poor. The Annual Poverty Indicators Survey (APIS) shows major improvements in employment, social services and people empowerment for the underprivileged masses.

Notably, the percent of poor households whose main breadwinner has some kind of employment, whether full-time or part-time, increased from 58% in 1999 to 92% in 2004. Poor families with free health insurance trebled from 6.9% to 28%.

There were also improvements in children able to go to school, access to electricity, and family members joining people’s organizations. And with the resurgent economy and burgeoning government revenues, the rise in income, living standards and assistance to the poor will accelerate.

The economy is now on its 24th consecutive quarter of expansion, the longest in at least a generation. Average annual GDP growth of 4.4% and job creation of 897,000 a year under President Arroyo are also the highest since 1986, while inflation is the lowest, even with escalating oil prices since 2004.

Indeed, the Philippines, under Mrs. Arroyo, is back to the growth rates of the sixties when it was the most progressive country in Asia after Japan. Only three other leaders have seen higher annual average GDP expansion than President Arroyo’s 4.4%, Elpidio Quirino (8%), Ramon Magsaysay (6.7%) and her father, Diosdado Macapagal (5.2%).

And the poverty-eradicating growth is set to continue, with the unabated rise in business confidence. The quarterly Business Expectations Survey of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas hits an all-time high for the current quarter, almost doubling the previous index and with every sector in all 17 regions of the country bullish about the economy.

On top of job-creating growth, the poor will benefit from more government spending on social services, asset reform and infrastructure. The 2007 budget has raised the allocation for social and economic services and infrastructure by double-digits. Social services are now the biggest component in 2007 appropriations, exceeding debt service for the first time in many years.

With these resources, more than P700 million has already been added to funds for Technical Education and Skills Development Authority’s job training scholarships, including one each for the country’s 42,000 barangays. The target for half-price medicine outlets is doubled to 30,000 nationwide, while the program for backyard vegetable gardens for poor households will be escalated from the current 17,000 goal.

Add to these expanded programs the doubling of infrastructure spending for the Superregions, to 4.45% of GDP in 2007-10. The bulk of the P1.71-trillion outlay will go to the countryside, where most of the poor are, including P890 billion in roads, railways, airports and seaports sorely needed in the rural areas.

At last Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Mrs. Arroyo told Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap to speed up projects for small irrigation and farm-to-market roads. She has ordered that P1 billion be spent every month, equally split between the two initiatives, especially in the North Luzon and Mindanao Superregions.

In its report on the Philippines published soon after the President’s State of the Nations address in July, Goldman Sachs, one of the world’s leading investment banks, declared: “The creation of superregions around competitive advantages makes a lot of sense. The President is very focused on fast-tracking infrastructure, and her record in execution has been better than her neighbors.”

Myrna and Lucrecio Dimanarig of Ocampo, Camarines Sur, do not need a global investment bank to tell them that the government can deliver. “We have to seize what the government has to offer,” says Myrna. She attended many seminars under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) to enhance the yield from their 3.3-hectare land.

The couple were chosen as one of the outstanding CARP beneficiaries of 2006. “Now, I can truly say that it’s nice doing business with CARP,” says Aling Myrna, who has also gone into hog raising and other livelihood enterprises. Her family now lives in a two-story home, after decades in the humble house built by her carpenter-father.

With the economy and government initiatives now on a higher performance plane, more and more of the poor will follow Aling Abet and Aling Myrna on the road to a decent life and a brighter future.

[SIZE=3]

The World Bank indicator for extreme poverty is the percentage of people living on less than $1 a day. [B]In the Philippines this figure is now under 10 percent for the first time ever, dropping to 9.6 percent this year. The World Bank expects a further decline to 8.4 percent in 2007. That would pull some 1.7 million Filipinos out of destitution in just two years.



10% ayyy?? Why is it that the world media always quote the poverty level in the Philippines to be "one third of the population" then???....so bloody infuriating.

Juventus Noster eyes RP-China partnership

BEIJING—A young Filipino-American businesswoman who is an advocate for juvenile and child rights’ protection in London, California and the Philippines is eyeing a partnership with Expedia for the establishment of the Juventus Noster Foundation here to widen the coverage of her program for the protection of the young.

“Serious efforts must be made to push for the adoption of Chinese children by childless couples in the United States and other European countries,” Juventus Noster chairman Jo Victoria Edralin Yupangco said, even as she noted the substantial number of European couples who have adopted Chinese children while she was staying at the Beijing Marriot West Hotel.

She has been shuttling from London, San Francisco, Beijing and Manila for the last couple of months to finalize the acquisition of five-star hotels in Beijing, Dalian and Guillin.

Yupangco graduated cum laude from the London School of Economics with a Masters Degree in Media and Communications and summa cum laude from Kings College London with a BA in English Language and Communication.

Early this year, Yupangco lauded the passage of the Comprehensive Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 in the Philippines whose core goal is to redirect children who commit petty crimes, such as stealing morsels of food or violating curfew hours, out of the criminal justice system, and hence, out of adult jails.

In an article last April 18 in Standard Today, J.V. Edralin Yupangco said her family’s trepidation started in the summer of 2005 as a result of a CNN report on how juvenile offenders in the Philippines are detained in the same jail facilities as hardened adult criminals.

“While my mother Josephine Edralin and my sister Joana Bautista were watching television, sitting in our comfortable vineyard estate in the Napa Valley, we were confronted with profoundly poignant images of young children behind bars. Even more devastating was that the report recounted the number of minors who fall victims to pedophiles while in these prisons. It was whilst watching this shocking reality unfold on our television screen that we made a decision in both mind and heart that we had do to something to help address this deplorable situation. We felt it our duty as native-born Filipinas,” wrote Yupangco.

“The noble intentions of the Juventus Noster [Latin words meaning ‘our youth’] should at the very least deserve the support of well-meaning individuals and institutions if only to push for the protection of the juvenile and child rights in the Philippines and China, “ she said.

Juventus Noster president Joana Edralin Bautista expressed elation that groups like Expedia Inc. through its Emerging Market Global Communications director Laura Pinones have inquired about the foundation’s activities whose goals include building facilities where children can be truly rehabilitated and kept out of prisons in the Philippines. “In China, it will provide young children a brighter future as adopted children of caring and willing parents from the United States and Europe.”

==http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=politics4_dec4_2006

10% ayyy?? Why is it that the world media always quote the poverty level in the Philippines to be "one third of the population" then???....so bloody infuriating.

i think what they do is base this on the national wage average and if you fall to a certain percentage below that you would be called poor

TYPHOON “Reming” (international codename: Durian) may have taken on the dimensions of a national calamity but the devastation it has brought will not prevent the economy from reaching this year’s growth target range of 5.5-6.1 percent, the government's chief economic planner said.

“I don’t want to downplay it, but its effect on economic growth in the fourth quarter will not be much,” Economic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri said in an Inquirer phone interview.

Government estimates put the "Reming" damage to crops and fisheries at over P800 million as of the weekend.

The agriculture sector accounts for one-fifth of the gross domestic product.
Neri said the effects of the super-typhoon would not reach even half a percentage point in the GDP growth.

He noted that Typhoon “Milenyo,” which struck in late September, had little impact on GDP growth in the third quarter.

Neri said the drag on the economy in the third quarter came largely from restrained government spending, as the government operates on a rolled-over 2005 budget after Congress failed to pass the proposed national budget for 2006, amounting to P1,053 billion. The 2005 budget was about P100 billion less.

The economy grew 5.7 percent in the first quarter and 5.8 percent in the second, but a disappointing 4.8-percent growth in the third brought the three-quarter average to 5.4 percent.

To reach a full-year growth of 5.5 percent or more, the fourth-quarter growth has to be at least 5.7 percent.

Neri earlier said 5.7 percent was doable in the fourth quarter with the decelerating inflation, strong inflows of dollar remittances from Filipinos overseas and a P46.9-billion supplemental budget approved by Congress for the national government.

Neri said the supplemental budget would help increase government spending in the fourth quarter and could be used up before yearend.

i think what they do is base this on the national wage average and if you fall to a certain percentage below that you would be called poor

what about the poverty level of other countries then?? It has always been based on the $1 a day basis..why would they exempt the Philippines?? I found this article before how, they are comparing the poverty level Vietnam and the Philippines...they specifically quoted that the poverty level in the Philippines is at 30% whilst Vietnam I believe is around 10%...do you actually believe they used the same kind of data to compare the two countries?? I hightly doubt that...

^^Maybe because Vietnam is socialist/communist somewhat.

Although we are richer than Vietnam our poverty rate is higher because the rich in the PHils. love to horde their money. There is a greater disparity between the haves and have nots. In vietnma it ismore equitably distributed.

^^ the problem here is not acquiring wealth but distributing it... our society is feudal, kaya poor remains poor... Kaya kung hindi magbabago ang society structure, maiiwan na tayu ng Vietnam and that may happen in the very near future. Imagine, theyve now been constructing their first subway...

once again, you guys are missing some important information

WE ARE A DEMOCRACY and that ladies and gentlemen makes things more challenging for us, but in the end the result, i hope, are better.

what I want to know is,... and I really want to know, is in earth's history what nation is the most utopian?? the closest we have had to perfection, I wonder??

what about the poverty level of other countries then?? It has always been based on the $1 a day basis..why would they exempt the Philippines?? I found this article before how, they are comparing the poverty level Vietnam and the Philippines...they specifically quoted that the poverty level in the Philippines is at 30% whilst Vietnam I believe is around 10%...do you actually believe they used the same kind of data to compare the two countries?? I hightly doubt that...

yeah i think its just for philippines standards... i mean, the average is based on the country and not the whole world. Thats what im talking about. But yeah, $1 a day... -_- oh well

^^ the problem here is not acquiring wealth but distributing it... our society is feudal, kaya poor remains poor... Kaya kung hindi magbabago ang society structure, maiiwan na tayu ng Vietnam and that may happen in the very near future. Imagine, theyve now been constructing their first subway...

and what did you not understand about my post..

nasa atin na ang lahat para umunlad.natural resources,human resources,pero
hindi tayo nagkakaisa kaya ganito ang sitwasyon natin its about time na,isa isa na tayong nalalampasan ng mga katabi nating bansa pero hindi pa tayo namumulat,

read this foreigners take on why we're not progressing as fast as other Asian countries , it's an old writeup but much of what he cites still applies to today.



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« China dispatch: Handful of kuai“The Economics of the Colonial Cringe,” about The Economist magazine; Washington Post, 1991 »A Damaged Culture: A New Philippines?
This 1987 Atlantic Monthly article was a finalist for the National Magazine Award in the United States and has remained the subject of controversy and attention in the Philippines. This is the text as originally published in the magazine.Copyright 1987 Atlantic Monthly Company

The Atlantic Monthly: November, 1987

A DAMAGED CULTURE

A New Philippines?

IN THE UNITED STATES THE COMING OF THE AQUINO government seemed to make the Philippines into a success story. The evil Marcos was out, the saintly Cory was in, the worldwide march of democracy went on. All that was left was to argue about why we stuck with our tawdry pet dictator for so long, and to support Corazon Aquino as she danced around coup attempts and worked her way out of the problems the Marcoses had caused.

This view of the New Philippines is comforting. But after six weeks in the country I don’t think it’s very realistic. Americans would like to believe that the only colony we ever had–a country that modeled its institutions on ours and still cares deeply about its relations with the United States–is progressing under our wing. It’s not, for reasons that go far beyond what the Marcoses did or stole. The countries that surround the Philippines have become the world’s most famous showcases for the impact of culture on economic development. Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore–all are short on natural resources, but all (as their officials never stop telling you) have clawed their way up through hard study and hard work. Unfortunately for its people, the Philippines illustrates the contrary: that culture can make a naturally rich country poor. There may be more miserable places to live in East Asia– Vietnam, Cambodia–but there are few others where the culture itself, rather than a communist political system, is the main barrier to development. The culture in question is Filipino, but it has been heavily shaped by nearly a hundred years of the “Fil-Am relationship.’ The result is apparently the only non-communist society in East Asia in which the average living standard is going down.

Now a few disclaimers. Some things obviously have gotten better since Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos fled the country at the end of February last year (though most Filipinos seem to think that the threats to the Aquino government –of which the worst was the bloody August coup attempt –imperil such progress as the country has made). Not so much money is being sucked out at the top. More people are free to say what they like about the government, without being thrown in jail. Not so many peasants are having their chickens stolen by underpaid soldiers foraging for food, although the soldiers, whose pay has been increased, are still woefully short on equipment and supplies.

The economy has stopped shrinking, as it had been doing in the late Marcos years, and some rich Filipinos have brought capital back home. I was not in the Philippines during the Marcos era and can’t compare the atmosphere firsthand, but everyone says that the bloodless dethroning of Marcos gave Filipinos new dignity and pride. Early this year, on the first anniversary of the “EDSA revolution’ (named for Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, where many of the crucial events took place), television stations ran round-the-clock replays of all the most emotional moments: the nuns’ attempts to protect the ballot boxes, the defection of Marcos’s two main military supporters, Juan Ponce Enrile and Fidel Ramos, the abortive swearing-in of Marcos, his sudden disappearance in an American helicopter. It was inspirational and moving and heroic, and as late as this summer, just before the attempted coup, some of the same atmosphere remained. Filipinos are famous for their love of religious icons. A visitor would have to be blind not to see the religious element in Corazon Aquino’s public role. Stores sell small Cory dolls with bright yellow dresses and round-rimmed glasses. They’re not exactly icons, but I’ve seen them displayed in homes and cars as if they were. Even when beginning to grumble about her government, many Filipinos speak of Cory’s goodness, patience, and piety in tones that suggest they think of her as a secular, widowed Blessed Virgin, and as the only person with even the potential to hold the country together.

Democracy has returned to the Philippines, in a big way. As if to make up for all the years when they could not vote, Filipinos have been analyzing the results of one election and preparing for another almost nonstop since early last year. Election disputes have returned too. For three months after the legislative elections last May, long recounts dragged on to determine whether Juan Ponce Enrile, Marcos’s former Defense Minister, whose switch to Aquino helped topple Marcos, would get one of the twenty-four seats in the Senate. Senators are elected nation-wide, in what often resembles a popularity contest. Among the new senators is a Charles Bronson–style action-movie star; Enrile is about as well known as the actor, and though he has made many enemies, most foreigners I spoke with found it hard to believe that in an honest vote count he would have lost to everyone on Aquino’s list of nominees, which included a number of newcomers and nobodies. Finally, in August, he squeaked in as number twenty-four.

Democracy has unleashed a Philippine press so varied and licentious as to make even Americans feel nervous– or rather, to recall standing in grocery check-out lines looking at Midnight and Star. Newspapers are always starting up and closing, but at any given time Manila has at least twenty dailies, most of them in English. Each paper features its stable of hardworking star columnists, any of whom is capable of turning out 2,000 to 3,000 words of political commentary and inside gossip–the equivalent of a whole American op-ed page–in a single day. Philippine politics has a small-town feel, because so many of the principals have known one another all their lives. This adds to the velocity and intensity of gossip–especially the rumors of impending coups, which have cropped up every week or ten days since Aquino took power, and which preoccupy political Manila the way scandals preoccupy Washington.

One final disclaimer: it can seem bullying or graceless for an American to criticize the Philippines. Seen from Manila, the United States is strong and rich. Seen from anywhere, the Philippines is troubled and poor. Why pick on people who need help? The Filipino ethic of delicadeza, their equivalent of saving face, encourages people to raise unpleasant topics indirectly, or, better still, not to raise them at all. Out of respect for delicadeza, or from a vague sense of guilt that the former colony is still floundering, or because of genuine fondness for the Filipino people, the United States tolerates polite fictions about the Philippines that it would ruthlessly puncture if they concerned France or even Mexico. I don’t pretend that my view of the Philippines is authoritative, but I’ve never before been in a country where my initial impressions were so totally at odds with the standard, comforting, let’s-all-pull-together view. It seems to me that the prospects for the Philippines are about as dismal as those for, say, South Korea are bright. In each case the basic explanation seems to be culture: in the one case a culture that brings out the productive best in the Koreans (or the Japanese, or now even the Thais), and in the other a culture that pulls many Filipinos toward their most self-destructive, self-defeating worst.

The Post-Kleptocratic Economy

CONSIDER FIRST THE OVERALL ECONOMIC: PICTURE. Officials in both South Korea and the Philippines have pointed out to me that in the mid-1960s, when the idealistic (as he then seemed) Ferdinand Marcos began his first term as President, the two countries were economically even with each other, with similar per capita incomes of a few hundred dollars a year. The officials used this fact to make very different points. The Koreans said it dramatized how utterly poor they used to be (”We were like the Philippines!’ said one somber Korean bureaucrat), while to the Filipinos it was a reminder of a golden, hopeful age. It demonstrated, they said, that the economy had been basically robust until the Marcoses launched their kleptocracy. Since the 1960s, of course, the Philippines has moved in the opposite direction from many other East Asian countries. South Korea’s per capita annual income is now about $ 2,500–which gives the country a low-wage advantage over Japan or the United States. That same income makes Korea look like a land of plenty relative to the Philippines, where the per capita income is about $ 600. The average income in the Manila area is much higher than that for the country as a whole; in many farming regions the per capita income is about $ 100. The government reports that about two thirds of the people in the country live below the proverty line, as opposed to half in the pre-Marcos era. There are technical arguments about where to draw the poverty line, but it is obvious that most Filipinos lack decent houses, can’t afford education, in some areas are short of food, and in general are very, very poor. The official unemployment rate is 12 percent, but if all the cigarette vendors, surplus bar girls, and other underemployed people are taken into account, something like half the human talent in the country must be unused.

Some Filipino economists contend that the country is about to turn the corner, is ready to make a new start economically as it has done politically. Is the world price of sugar stagnant? Plantation owners can flood seaside sugarcane fields and raise shrimp, which bring high prices and for which Japan has an insatiable demand. Are American, Japanese, and European companies shifting their production sites worldwide? Why not build more of the plants in the Philippines, which believes it has a well-educated work force and relatively low wages. Just before the first anniversary of the EDSA revolution I spoke with Jaime Ongpin, an intense, precise businessman in his late forties, who had become the new Finance Minister. For the immediate future, he said, the trends looked good. The government was breaking up some of the cartels run by Marcos’s “cronies’ and exposing them to competition. Construction and small-business activity were picking up. The price of copra (the country’s leading export) was finally rising. And the economy might grow by five or six percent this year–more than the economies of Japan and the U.S. Another economist, Bernardo Villegas, has been predicting an East Asian–style sustained boom for the Philippines.

Many man-on-the-street Filipinos share a version of this view, which is that Marcos was the source of all their problems, so his removal is itself a solution. There is some truth to what they say, especially as it concerns Marcos’s last ten years in office, when he had graduated from his earlier, nationalistic, land-reform-and-industrialization phase and formed the “conjugal dictatorship’ with his wife.

Still, for all the damage Marcos did, it’s not clear that he caused the country’s economic problems, as opposed to intensifying them. Most of the things that now seem wrong with the economy–grotesque extremes of wealth and poverty, land-ownership disputes, monopolistic industries in cozy, corrupt cahoots with the government–have been wrong for decades. When reading Philippine novels or history books, I would come across a passage that resembled what I’d seen in the Manila slums or on a farm. Then I would read on and discover that the description was by an American soldier in the 1890s, or a Filipino nationalist in the 1930s, or a foreign economist in the 1950s, or a young politician like Ferdinand Marcos or Benigno Aquino in the 1960s. “Here is a land in which a few are spectacularly rich while the masses remain abjectly poor. . . . Here is a land consecrated to democracy but run by an entrenched plutocracy. Here, too, are a people whose ambitions run high, but whose fulfillment is low and mainly restricted to the self-perpetuating elite.’ The precise phrasing belongs to Benigno Aquino, in his early days in politics, but the thought has been expressed by hundreds of others. Koreans and Japanese love to taunt Americans by hauling out old, pompous predictions that obviously have not come true. “Made in Japan’ would always mean “shoddy.’ Korea would “always’ be poor. Hah hah hah! You smug Yankees were so wrong! Leafing back through Filipinology has the opposite effect: it is surprising, and depressing, to see how little has changed.

BECAUSE PREVIOUS CHANGES OF GOVERNMENT HAVE meant so little to the Philippines, it is hard to believe that replacing Marcos with Aquino, desirable as it doubtless is, will do much besides stanching the flow of crony profits out of the country. In a sociological sense the elevation of Corazon Aquino through the EDSA revolution should probably be seen not as a revolution but as the restoration of the old order. Marcos’s rise represented the triumph of the nouveau riche. He was, of course, an Ilocano, from the tough, frugal Ilocos region, in the northwest corner of Luzon. Many of those whom he enriched were also outsiders to the old-money, old-family elite that had long dominated the country’s politics. These elite groups, often referred to in shorthand as Makati (the name of the wealthy district and business center of Manila), regarded Marcos the way high-toned Americans regarded Richard Nixon: clever and ambitious, but so uncouth.

Corazon Aquino’s family, the Cojuangcos, is part of this landowning elite. (Their name illustrates its Hispanic pretensions. Her great-grandfather came from China and was reportedly named Ko Hwan Ko, which was gentrified into Cojuangco. Most educated Filipinos speak fluent English, but in the stuffiest reaches of the upper class, I was told, the residual Spanish influence is so strong that it is a sign of greater refinement to speak perfect Castilian Spanish.) Her husband, Benigno Aquino, was also from a famous family. Her running mate in the 1986 elections, Salvador “Doy’ Laurel, is the son of Jose Laurel, who was the Quisling-like President under the Japanese. Many of her first Cabinet appointees and sponsored candidates for the Senate bear old, familiar names. And so when Corazon Aquino replaced Marcos, it was as if Katharine Graham, having driven Richard Nixon from office through her newspaper, succeeded him as President–or Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, or Mrs. C. Douglas Dillon III. The traditional upper class was back in its traditional place. Carmen Navarro Pedrosa, a writer some of whose work was banned under Marcos, recently published a debunking biography of Imelda Marcos. Its killing blow, in its final chapters, was its assertion that while Imelda always pretended to be an aristocrat, Corazon Aquino really was one: “Her jewels were truly heirlooms, not recent purchases from Van Cleef and Arpels. She was a true blue stocking, educated in the United States, and fluent in French. She represented all that Imelda had ever aspired to.’

Especially on my second trip to the Philippines, in the summer, many Filipinos told me that Aquino had become strangely passive in office, acting as if her only task had been to get rid of Marcos and ride out the periodic coups, rumored and real. As long as she did those jobs–that is, stayed in office–she did not feel driven to do much else. Perhaps she will do something to prove that judgment unfair; the August mutiny and preceding social unrest may force her not only to control the army more tightly but also to take economic problems more seriously. But even with the best will in the world, she will have trouble dramatically improving the country’s prospects.

One morning this summer, as I stared out the window at the monsoon rain, I listened to two foreign economists describe the economic trap in which the Philippines is caught. The men had worked in the Philippines for years and had absorbed the ethic of delicadeza. They did not want their names, or the name of the bank they worked for, revealed. This reluctance might suggest that their views were unusually critical, which was not the case: they were remarkable only for how concisely they summarized what I’d heard in other banks, in embassies, in business offices, and from a few Philippine government officials. The men ticked off the list of possibilities for Philippine development and explained the problems in each case.

Manufacturing? “There were not many viable sectors to begin with, and most of them were taken over by cronies. The industrial sector is used to guarantee monopoly and high-tariff protection. It’s inward-looking, believes it cannot compete. People are used to paying a lot for goods that are okay-to-shoddy in quality. Labor costs are actually quite high for a country at this stage of development. They should be like Sri Lanka’s but they’re like Korea’s, because union organizing has run far ahead of productivity. It’s a poor country–but an expensive place in which to produce. American and Japanese firms have set up some electronics assembly plants, but they’re only buying labor, not building subsidiary industries or anything that adds real value.’

Agriculture? “It’s been heavily skewed for fifty years to plantation crops. All those traditional exports are down, sugar most of all. Copra is okay for the moment, but it’s never going to expand very much. Prawns are the only alternative anybody can think of now.’ Agriculture is also nearly paralyzed by arguments over land ownership. Since the Spanish days land has been concentrated in a few giant haciendas, including the 17,000-acre Hacienda Luisita of the Cojuangco family, and no government has done much to change the pattern. “You could argue that real land reform would lead to more productivity, but it’s an entirely hypothetical argument,’ an Australian economist told me. “This government simply is not going to cause a revolution in the social structure.’ Just before the new Congress convened, as her near-dictatorial powers were about to elapse, Aquino signed a generalized land-reform-should-happen decree. Most observers took this as an indication that land reform would not happen, since the decree left all the decisions about the when, where, and how of land reform to the landowner-heavy Congress.

Services and other industries? “They’re very much influenced by the political climate. I think this has tremendous potential as a tourist country–it’s so beautiful. But they don’t have many other ways to sell their labor, except the obvious one.’ The obvious one is the sex business, visible in every part of the country–and indeed throughout Asia, where Filipino “entertainers’ are common. In Davao, on the southern island of Mindanao, I watched TV one night and saw an ad repeated over and over. Women wanted for opportunities overseas. Qualifications: taller than five feet two inches, younger than twenty-one. When I took cabs in Manila, the drivers routinely inquired if I wanted a woman. When my wife returned our children’s rented inner tubes to a beach vendor at Argao, the vendor, a toothless old woman, asked if she was lonely in her room and needed a hired companion.

Resources? “Exploiting natural resources has always been the base here,’ one of the economists said. “But they’ve taken every tree they can easily get. It’s not like Brazil or Borneo, with another fifty years to rip out the heart of the earth.’ Every single day Japanese diners take hundreds of millions of pairs of chopsticks out of paper wrappers, use them for fifteen minutes, and throw them away. Most of the chopsticks started out as trees in the Philippines, though more and more of them now come from American forests. The Philippines has more naturally spectacular mountains and vistas than Malaysia or Indonesia, but you can travel for miles in the countryside and mainly see eroding hillsides stripped bare of trees. Like Americans who speak of “conquering’ the frontier, Filipinos sometimes take a more romantic view of what “taking every tree’ can mean. F. Sionil Jose, a prominent novelist in his early sixties, who grew up in Ilocos, has written a famous five-volume saga–the Rozales novels–about the migration from the harsh Ilocos region to the fertile plains of central Luzon. The Ilocano migrants made a new life for themselves, he observes, and they did it by cutting down the jungle and planting rice. “There is some hope with minerals and gold,’ one of the economists said. Indeed, a Forty-ninerstyle gold rush is now under way in Mindanao. I was told that communist rebels, Moslem separatists, and former Philippine Army soldiers now work side by side in the gold mines, proving that economic development can be the answer to political problems.

The economists went on: “Geographically, the country is fractured beyond belief. The most controllable area is right around Manila, but beyond that the government’s writ has never run very far.’ For instance, the newspapers that blanket Manila have virtually no circulation in the rest of the country: among a population of 55 million, the combined readership of all twenty-plus daily papers is about five million. “The education system has run down terribly.’ The Philippines spends about one eighth as much money per student as Malaysia does. Free education runs only through the lower grades, and after that the annual fee of $ 10 a student keeps enrollment down to 50 percent. “The fifteen-to-twenty billion dollars that Marcos creamed off has had a big effect. There’s a kind of corruption that just recycles the money, but all this was taken out.

“And then you have population growth, which is closer to three percent than two-point-five, even though the government says two-point-two. The population could go over a hundred million in fifteen years. Since the economy doesn’t grow that fast, the per capita income keeps going down.’ Most people I met in the Philippines asked me how many children I had. When I told them, the normal response was, “Only two!’ By the end of my stay I was experimenting, raising the number to test the response. “Only six!’ a priest said on my last day.

The economist concluded, “All in all, you’d have to say it’s a worrisome situation.’

The Meaning of Smoky Mountain

YOU’D HAVE TO SAY SOMETHING MORE THAN THAT. Most of the time I spent in the Philippines, I walked around feeling angry–angry at myself when I brushed off the latest platoon of child beggars, angry at the beggars when I did give in, angry at the rich Filipinos for living behind high walls and guardhouses in the fortified Makati compounds euphemistically called villages, angry as I picked my way among piles of human feces left by homeless families living near the Philippine Navy headquarters on Roxas Boulevard, angry at a society that had degenerated into a war of every man against every man.

It’s not the mere fact of poverty that makes the Philippines so distressing, since some other Asian countries have lower living standards. China, for instance, is on the whole much poorer than the Philippines, and China’s human beasts of burden, who pull huge oxcarts full of bricks down streets in Shanghai or Beijing, must have lives that are among the hardest on the planet. But Philippine poverty seems more degrading, for reasons I will try to illustrate through the story of “Smoky Mountain.’

Smoky Mountain is, I will admit, something of a cliche, but it helps illustrate an important and non-cliched point. The “mountain’ is an enormous heap of garbage, forty acres in size and perhaps eighty feet high, in the port district north of Manila, and it is home to some 15,000 Filipinos. The living conditions would seem to be miserable: the smell of a vast city’s rotting garbage is so rank and powerful that I could not breathe through my nose without gagging. I did finally retch when I felt my foot sink into something soft and saw that I’d stepped on a discarded half-full blood-transfusion bag from the hospital, which was now emitting a dark, clotted ooze. “I have been going to the dumpsite for over ten years now and I still have not gotten used to the smell,’ Father Benigno Beltran, a young Mod Squad–style Dominican priest who works in Smoky Mountain, has written. “The place becomes infested with millions of flies that often get into the chalice when I say mass. The smell makes you deaf as it hits you like a blow to the solar plexus.’

The significance of Smoky Mountain, though, is not how bad it is but how good. People live and work in the garbage heap, and say they feel lucky to do so. Smoky Mountain is the center of an elaborate scavenging-and-recycling industry, which has many tiers and many specialized functional groups. As night falls in Manila, hundreds of scavengers, nearly all men, start walking out from Smoky Mountain pushing big wooden carts–about eight feet long and shaped like children’s wagons–in front of them. They spend all night crisscrossing the town, picking through the curbside garbage dumps and looking for the most valuable items: glass bottles and metal cans. At dawn they push their carts back to Smoky Mountain, where they sell what they’ve found to middlemen, who own fleets of carts and bail out their suppliers if they get picked up by the police in the occasional crackdowns on vagrancy.

Other scavengers work the garbage over once city trucks have collected it and brought it in. Some look for old plastic bags, some for rubber, some for bones that can be ground up for animal feed. In the late-afternoon at Smoky Mountain I could easily imagine I’d had my preview of hell. I stood on the summit, looking into the lowlands where trucks kept bringing new garbage and several bulldozers were at work, plowing through heaps of old black garbage. I’d of course heard of spontaneous combustion but had never believed in it until I saw the old garbage steam and smoke as it was exposed to the air. Inches behind the bulldozers, sometimes riding in the scoops, were about fifteen or twenty little children carrying baskets, as if at the beach. They darted among the machines and picked out valuables that had been newly revealed. “It’s hard to get them to go to school,’ a man in his mid-twenties who lived there told me. “They can make twenty, thirty pesos a day this way’–$ 1 to $ 1.50. “Here the money is so good.’

The residents of Smoky Mountain are mainly Visayans, who have come from the Visayas region of the central Philippines –Leyte, Negros, Cebu–over the past twenty years. From time to time the government, in embarrassment, has attempted to move them off the mountain, but they have come back: the money is so good compared with the pay for anything else they can do. A real community has grown up in the garbage dump, with the tight family bonds that hold together other Filipino barangays, or neighborhoods. About 10 percent of the people who live in Smoky Mountain hold normal, non-scavenger jobs elsewhere in Manila; they commute. The young man who guided me had just graduated from college with an engineering degree, but he planned to stay with his family, in Smoky Mountain, after he found a job. The people of Smoky Mountain complain about land-tenure problems– they want the city to give them title to the land on which they’ve built their shacks–but the one or two dozen I spoke with seemed very cheerful about their community and their lives. Father Beltran, the young Dominican, has worked up a thriving business speaking about Smoky Mountain to foreign audiences, and has used the lecture fees to pay for a paved basketball court, a community-center building, and, of course, a church. As I trudged down from the summit of the mountain, having watched little boys dart among the bulldozers, I passed the community center. It was full of little girls, sitting in a circle and singing nursery-school songs with glee. If I hadn’t come at the last minute, I would have suspected Father Beltran of putting on a Potemkin Village show.

The bizarre good cheer of Smoky Mountain undoubtedly says a lot about the Filipinos’ spiritual resilience. But like the sex industry, which is also fairly cheerful, it says something depressing about the other choices people have. When I was in one of the countless squatter villages in Manila, talking with people who had built houses out of plywood and scavenged sheet metal, and who lived eight to a room, I assumed it must be better to be poor out in the countryside, where at least you had some space and clean air to breathe. Obviously, I was being romantic. Back home there was no way to earn money, and even in Smoky Mountain people were only a four-cent jeepney ride away from the amusements of the big city.

In Smoky Mountain and the other squatter districts, I couldn’t help myself: try as I would not to, I kept dwelling on the contrast with the other extreme of Filipino life, the wealthy one. The contrast is relatively hard to see in Manila itself, since so much of the town’s wealth is hidden, literally walled up in the fortified “villages.’ But one day, shortly after I’d listened to scavengers explain why some grades of animal bone were worth more on the resale market than others, I tagged along with a friend and visited one of Manila’s rich young families in the mountains outside town.

To enter the house we had to talk our way past a rifleman at the gate–a standard fixture not only of upper-class areas of Manila but also of banks, office buildings, McDonald’s–and then follow a long, twisting driveway to a mountaintop palace. The family was, of course, from old money; they were also well educated, public-spirited, sincere. But I spent my day with them in an ill-concealed stupor, wandering from room to room and estimating how many zillions of dollars had been sunk into the art, furniture, and fixtures. We ate lunch on the patio, four maids in white dresses standing at attention a few paces off, each bearing a platter of food and ready to respond instantly when we wanted more. Another maid stood behind my chair, leaning over the table and waving a fan back and forth to drive off any flies. As we ate, I noticed a strange rat-a-tat sound from inside the house, as if several reporters had set up a city room and were pounding away on old Underwoods. When we finished our dessert and went inside, I saw the explanation. Another two or three uniformed servants were stationed inside the cathedral-like living room, incessantly twitching their flyswatters against the walls.

The War of Every Man Against Every Man

AM I SHOOTING FISH IN A BARREL? SURE–YOU COULD work up an even starker contrast between Park Avenue and the South Bronx. But that would mean only that the United States and the Philippines share a problem, not that extremes of wealth and poverty are no problem at all. In New York and a few other places the extremes are so visible as to make many Americans uneasy about the every-man-for-himself principle on which our society is based. But while the South Bronix is an American problem, few people would think of it as typical of America. In the Philippines the contrasting extremes are, and have been, the norm.

What has created a society in which people feel fortunate to live in a garbage dump because the money is so good? Where some people shoo flies away from others for 300 pesos, or $ 15, a month? It can’t be any inherent defect in the people: outside this culture they thrive. Filipino immigrants to the United States are more successful than immigrants from many other countries. Filipino contract laborers, working for Japanese and Korean construction companies, built many of the hotels, ports, and pipelines in the Middle East. “These are the same people who shined under the Japanese managers,’ Blas Ople, a veteran politician, told me. “But when they work for Filipino contractors, the schedule lags.’ It seems unlikely that the problem is capitalism itself, even though Philippine Marxists argue endlessly that it grinds up the poor to feed the rich. If capitalism were the cause of Philippine underdevelopment, why would its record be so different everywhere else in the region? In Japan, Korea, Singapore, and elsewhere Asian-style capitalism has not only led to trade surpluses but also created Asia’s first real middle class. Chinese economists can’t call what they’re doing capitalism, but they can go on for hours about how “market reforms’ will lead to a better life for most people.

If the problem in the Philippines does not lie in the people themselves or, it would seem, in their choice between capitalism and socialism, what is the problem? I think it is cultural, and that it should be thought of as a failure of nationalism.

It may seem perverse to wish for more nationalism in any part of the Third World. Americans have come to identify the term with the tiny-country excesses of the United Nations. Nationalism can of course be divisive, when it sets people of one country against another. But its absence can be even worse, if that leaves people in the grip of loyalties that are even narrower and more fragmented. When a country with extreme geographic, tribal, and social-class differences, like the Philippines, has only a weak offsetting sense of national unity, its public life does become the war of every man against every man.

Nationalism is valuable when it gives people a reason not to live in the world of Hobbes–when it allows them to look beyond themselves rather than pursuing their own interests to the ruination of everyone else. I assume that most people in the world have the same mixture of selfish and generous motives; their cultures tell them when to indulge each impulse. Japan is strong in large part because its nationalist-racial ethic teaches each Japanese that all other Japanese deserve decent treatment. Non-Japanese fall into a different category. Individual Filipinos are at least as brave, kind, and noble-spirited as individual Japanese, but their culture draws the boundaries of decent treatment much more narrowly. Filipinos pride themselves on their lifelong loyalty to family, schoolmates, compadres, members of the same tribe, residents of the same barangay. The mutual tenderness among the people of Smoky Mountain is enough to break your heart. But when observing Filipino friendships I thought often of the Mafia families portrayed in The Godfather: total devotion to those within the circle, total war on those outside. Because the boundaries of decedent treatment are limited to the family or tribe, they exclude at least 90 percent of the people in the country. And because of this fragmentation–this lack of nationalism–people treat each other worse in the Philippines than in any other Asian country I have seen.

Like many other things I am saying here, this judgment would be hotly disputed by most Filipinos. Time and again I heard in interviews about the Filipino people’s love of reconciliation and their proudly nationalistic spirit. The EDSA revolution seems emotionally so important in the Philippines not only because it got rid of Marcos but also because it demonstrated a brave, national-minded spirit. I would like to agree with the Filipinos that those four days revealed the country’s spiritual essence. To me, though, the episode seems an exception, even an aberration.

For more than a hundred years certain traits have turned up in domestic descriptions and foreign observations of Philippine society. The tradition of political corruption and cronyism, the extremes of wealth and poverty, the tribal fragmentation, the local elite’s willingness to make a separate profitable peace with colonial powers–all reflect a feeble sense of nationalism and a contempt for the public good. Practically everything that is public in the Philippines seems neglected or abused. On many street corners in downtown Manila an unwary step can mean a broken leg. Holes two feet square and five feet deep lurk just beyond the curb; they are supposed to be covered by metal grates, but scavengers have taken the grates to sell for scrap. Manila has a potentially beautiful setting, divided by the Pasig River and fronting on Manila Bay. But three fourths of the city’s sewage flows raw into the Pasig, which in turns empties into the bay; the smell of Smoky Mountain is not so different from the smell of some of the prettiest public vistas. The Philippine telephone system is worse than its counterparts anywhere else in non-communist Asia–which bogs down the country’s business and inconveniences its people–but the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company has a long history of high (and not reinvested) profits. In the first-class dining room aboard the steamer to Cebu, a Filipino at the table next to mine picked through his plate of fish. Whenever he found a piece he didn’t like, he pushed it off the edge of his plate, onto the floor. One case of bad manners? Maybe, but I’ve never seen its like in any other country. Outsiders feel they have understood something small but significant about Japan’s success when they watch a bar man carefully wipe the condensation off a bottle of beer and twirl it on the table until the label faces the customer exactly. I felt I had a glimpse into the failures of the Philippines when I saw prosperous-looking matrons buying cakes and donuts in a bakery, eating them in a department store, and dropping the box and wrappers around them as they shopped.

IT’S EASY TO OBSERVE THAT JAPAN’S HABITS ARE MORE useful economically than those of the Philippines, but it’s harder to figure out exactly where the destructive habits come from. The four hundred years that the Philippines spent under Spain’s thumb obviously left a lasting imprint: at first glance the country seems to have much more in common with Mexico than with any other place in Asia. The Spanish hammered home the idea of Filipino racial inferiority, discourging the native indios from learning the Spanish language and refusing to consecrate them as priests. (The Spanish are also said to have forbidden the natives to wear tucked-in shirts, which is why the national shirt, the barong tagalog, is now worn untucked, in a rare flash of national pride.) As in Latin America, the Spanish friars taught that religion was a matter of submission to doctrine and authority, rather than of independent thought or gentleness to strangers in daily life. And the Spanish rulers set the stage for the country’s economic problems in the twentieth century, by giving out huge haciendas to royal favorites and consigning others to work as serfs. As in Latin America, the Spanish thereby implanted the idea that “success’ meant landed, idle (that is, non-entrepreneurial or commercial) wealth. The mainly Malay culture with which the Spanish interacted was different from the Aztec and other Indian cultures in Latin America; for instance, societies throughout the Malay regions (including what are now Indonesia and Malaysia) are usually described as being deferential to their leaders, passive rather than rebellious. Perhaps for this reason the Philippines has not overthrown its clergy or its landed elite in the twentieth century, the way most Latin American countries have tried to do.

But for all that might be said about the Spanish legacy, the major outside influence on the modern Philippines is clearly the United States. America prevented the Filipinos from consummating their rebellion against Spain. In 1898 the United States intervened to fight the Spanish and then turned around and fought the Filipino nationalists, too. It was a brutal guerrilla war, in which some half million Filipino soldiers and civilians died. Losing an ugly war has its costs, as we learned in Vietnam; but wining, as in the Philippines, does too. In opposing our policy in the Philippines, William James said, “We are puking up everything we believe in.’ His seems a prescient comment about the war, especially compared with President William McKinley’s announcement that conquest was necessary to “Christianize’ a country that in ironic point of fact was already overwhelmingly Catholic.

In its brief fling with running a colony, America undeniably brought some material benefits to the Philippines: schools, hospitals, laws, and courts. Many older Filipinos still speak with fondness about the orderly old colonial days. But American rule seemed only to intensify the Filipino sense of dependence. The United States quickly earned or bought the loyalty of the ilustrados, the educated upper class, making them into what we would call collaborationists if the Germans or Japanese had received their favors. It rammed through a number of laws insisting on free “competition’ between American and Philippine industries, at a time when Philippine industries were in no position to compete with anyone. The countries that have most successfully rebuilt their economies, including Japan and Korea, went through extremely protectionist infant-industry phases, with America’s blessing; the United States never permitted the Philippines such a period. The Japanese and Koreans now believe they can take on anybody; the confidence of Filipino industrialists seems to have been permanently destroyed.

During the Second World War, Filipinos fought heroically against the Japanese, both before and after the fall of Corregidor brought on the American surrender of the Philippines, in early 1942. Following the war the United States “gave’ the Philippines its independence and was in most measurable ways its benefactor: offering aid, investing in businesses, providing the second largest payroll in the country at U.S. military bases. But in unmeasurable, intangible ways it seems to have eroded confidence even further, leaving Filipinos to believe that they aren’t really responsible for their country’s fate. Whether I was talking with Marcos-loving right-wingers or communists who hated the United States, whether the discussion was about economics or the U.S. bases or the course of the guerrilla war, most of my conversations in the Philippines ended on the same discouraging note. “Of course, it’s not really up to us,’ a soldier or politican or communist would tell me. “We have to wait and see what the Americans have in mind.’

In deeper and more pernicious ways Filipinos seem to have absorbed the idea that America is the center and they are the periphery. Much local advertising plays to the idea that if it’s American, it’s better. “It’s got that stateside caste!’ one grinning blonde model says in a whiskey ad. An ad for Ban deodorant warns, “Hold It! Is your deodorant making your skin dark?’ The most glamorous figures on TV shows are generally light-skinned and sound as if they grew up in Los Angeles. I spoke with a black American who said that the yearning toward “white’ culture resembled what he remembered about the black bourgeoisie of the 1950s. College or graduate education in America is a mark of social distinction for Filipinos, as it is for many other Asians. But while U.S.-trained Taiwanese and Korean technocrats return to improve factories and run government ministries, many Filipinos seem to consider the experience a purely social achievement, a trip to finishing school.

“This is a country where the national ambition is to change your nationality,’ an American who volunteers at Smoky Mountain told me. The U.S. Navy accepts 400 Filipino recruits each year; last year 100,000 people applied. In 1982, in a survey, 207 grade-school students were asked what nationality they would prefer to be. Exactly ten replied “Filipino.’ “There is not necessarily a commitment by the upper class to making the Philippines successful as a nation,’ a foreign banker told me. “If things get dicey, they’re off, with their money.’ “You are dealing here with a damanged culture,’ four people told me, in more or less the same words, in different interviews.

It may be too pessimistic to think of culture as a kind of large-scale genetics, channeling whole societies toward progress or stagnation. A hundred years ago not even the crusading Emperor Meiji would have dreamed that “Japanese culture’ would come to mean “efficiency.’ America is full of people who have changed their “culture’ by moving away from the old country or the home town or the farm. But a culture-breaking change of scene is not an answer for the people still in the Philippines–there are 55 million of them, where would they go?–and it’s hard to know what else, within our lifetimes, the answer might be.

America knows just what it will do to defend Corazon Aquino against usurpers, like those who planned the last attempted coup. We’ll say that we support a demoncratically chosen government, that this one is the country’s best hope, that we’ll use every tool from economic aid to public-relations pressure to help her serve out her term. But we might start thinking ahead, to what we’ll do if the anticoup campaign is successful–to what will happen when Aquino stays in, and the culture doesn’t change, and everything gets worse.

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Associated with Mercantila

the senate is a big embarrassment,look at the composition and yet they are
so arrogant.i can name 2 or 3 who are deserving of the position.instead of serving the nation,they use the senate as a stepping stone for their own
selfish aims.its about time this institution to abolish.

our government system is bullcrap thats why

Business leaders back economic integration

Southeast Asian businessmen will back the region’s transformation into a single economic community and will urge their governments to rise beyond national interests to make the plan a reality.

Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Business Advisory Council (ABAC) said they would push issues such as common customs laws and movement of natural persons as the regional grouping’s leaders meet over the next few days in Cebu.

The Philippine delegation to the ABAC said the council would move as one in the areas of trade facilitation and trade negotiations. Proposals hammered out in a parallel business summit in Cebu will be presented to government officials, they added.

Donald G. Dee, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and a member of the Philippine delegation to the ABAC, said ASEAN leaders will be urged to fast-track the single window mechanism and the recognition of professionals.

These schemes are geared toward making cross-border trade less costly and time-consuming, he added.

"Every country looks at its own national interests ... But even leaders agree that when it comes to the areas of trade negotiations, it was felt that the ASEAN 10 should move as one," ABAC chairman Jose Concepcion, Jr. said.

Mr. Concepcion added that ASEAN governments should implement "institutional and infrastructure reforms" in order to become a single economic bloc. Eliminating corruption, upgrading of customs laws, and eradicating smuggling, in particular, should be pursued, he said.

Some countries, he said by way of example, have shrugged off the smuggling problem, seeing it as a "way of life".

The single window mechanism, where custom and trade procedures and documents will be made uniform across the region, would "get our products going at a lowest cost," Mr. Concepcion said.

Mr. Dee, meanwhile, said they would request ASEAN leaders to mutually recognize professionals from member countries. "If the Philippines has issued a license [for a professional], it should not be questioned in other ASEAN countries," he said.

ASEAN has already approved a mutual recognition agreement (MRA) on engineers and will next week sign a similar agreement concerning nurses. Trade officials have said MRAs on architects and accountants are in the pipeline.

Mr. Dee said they would also like to see governments commit to the opening up of 11 industries: electronics, information technology, healthcare, wood-based products, automotives, rubber-based products, textiles and apparel, agro-based products, fisheries, air travel and tourism.

By harmonizing these sectors, ASEAN would become a single market and production base and a more dynamic and stronger segment of the global supply chain.

While ASEAN countries have committed to reduce tariffs to zero by 2015, a crucial step in the economic integration plan, the region has yet to set a concrete schedule for the 11 sectors.

Industry officials have said only the electronics segment is making headway. Representatives of the ASEAN electronics sector are to meet in Manila starting today to discuss developments.

Mr. Dee said the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, which is private-sector led, would identify the needs and challenges in fulfilling integration commitments.

In the rubber industry, for instance, Mr. Concepcion said the Philippines could tap Malaysia and Indonesia, two major rubber producers, for industry upgrades.

If the region can produce one product efficiently and achieve economies of scale, ASEAN could counteract the influence of China and India, two countries that are currently attracting a significant amount of investments.

In the age of globalization and free trade agreements, "there must be a meaningful partnership between the private sector and the government. [They] must work together," Mr. Concepcion said. — Kristine L. Alave
Security, trade and energy top ASEAN summit agenda

Security, trade and energy will top the agenda when Asian leaders meet in the Philippines next week, with declarations expected on combating terrorism, accelerating economic integration and boosting energy resources.

North Korea’s nuclear weapons program will also be discussed when the heads of China, Japan and South Korea meet their counterparts from 10 Southeast Asian countries in the central city of Cebu on December 11-13.

The Philippines wants to use its chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to promote regional social development. But guns and money are likely to overshadow the theme of "One Caring and Sharing Community".

Counter-terrorism will take center stage during the ASEAN summit on Dec. 11 when leaders hope to sign a convention clamping down on the unregulated movement of arms and Muslim militants among Southeast Asia’s remote isles.

National security agencies would have to coordinate efforts to track down, arrest, detain and rehabilitate suspected militants as well as beef up border controls and suppress terrorist financing, according to a draft document seen by Reuters.

Wary of China’s growing regional might, Southeast Asian leaders are also set to agree to accelerate a goal for an ASEAN community in economics, security and socio-cultural affairs to 2015 from 2020.

But hopes for a European-style single market for goods, services, capital and skilled labor are unlikely to be realized in nine years, given the wide variations in economic development in Southeast Asia. And the region’s free trade area, launched in 1992, remains riddled with temporary exclusions.

On the security front, ASEAN’s annual meetings and regular dialogues have helped lower tensions among states with lingering border and maritime disputes. So plans for improved military and police cooperation were seen as realistic.

The Southeast Asian countries also hope to sign agreements on the rights of migrant workers and children as well as HIV prevention at the summit.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The leaders of ASEAN will hold an East Asia summit with the heads of China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand on December 13 when, in addition to North Korea, the countries will discuss maritime relations.

The East Asia gathering will also look at energy security, including calls, led by the Philippines, to require diesel and oil used in the region to have a 20% biofuel component by 2015, according to a senior energy official. But an agreement on energy stockpiling is unlikely to be inked because of reluctance among some ASEAN countries to build up costly reserves.

Efforts to create an East Asian community have been stymied by continuing bitterness between China and Japan, and there are also tensions within ASEAN over Thailand’s recent coup and Myanmar’s refusal to heed calls for democracy. Myanmar’s military chief General Than Shwe will skip the summit.

Embarrassed by an international pariah in their midst, ASEAN leaders are looking at possibly sanctioning members who seriously violate their rules and jettisoning the principle of consensus in guidelines for drafting a charter next year.

"The fact that Myanmar has largely resisted ASEAN’s attempts at soft diplomacy makes it more likely that ASEAN will decide to have more teeth," said Malcolm Cook, program director for Asia and Pacific at Australia’s Lowy Institute. — AFP

ASEAN integration is NOT good for RP. It will only benefit the western countries that pour a lot of the investments in the Asean but it will do no good for each individual country particularly the Philippines.
This is just a ploy of the rich western countries to save money but RP will certainly lose money while the Asean countries where rich western nations have showered most of the investments will be the only one that will benefit the most. Why else are they asking for that integration? To serve their own selfish agenda that is. The fact is, the Philippines can survive the threat of China and India.
It's a ploy by rich western countries to save business transactions and to lift other Asean countries with limited natural resources and human resources, and the poorest of the member nations, but it will do NO GOOD to RP for sure.
..... and Long live the Philippine Peso!!!!

The Philippines continues to be the frontrunner, if not the winner already, in the competition to bag the $1-billion new investment of American semiconductor firm Texas Instruments (TI).

TI has been looking at the Philippines and China for its new manufacturing facility.

TI already has an existing $27-million manufacturing facility in Baguio.

However, TI has already expanded four times and reached the full capacity of its manufacturing facility at the Baguio Export Processing Zone.

According to Trade and Industry Secretary Peter B. Favila, Texas Instruments is set to announce its final decision by the end of this month or in January next year.

The Philippines’ chances of bagging the $1-billion investment, Favila cautiously, but optimistically disclosed, remains very good, giving a double thumbs up sign to emphasize his optimism.

Norberto Viera, TI Philippines president, is currently in Dallas, Texas where official announcement of TI’s decision would be made.

However, instead of Subic, TI is opting for a 36-hectare site at the Clark Special Economic Zone.

If TI does choose to invest in Clark, it is expected to generate employment for at least 4,000 workers and would boost the economy of Pampanga as suppliers would follow TI and locate in the area.

Ernesto Santiago, executive director of the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries of the Philippines Inc. (SEIPI), pointed out that the edge of the Philippines over China is that TI’s Baguio plant is the most efficient and the Filipino workers’ skill and efficiency is already well-proven.

The government. Santiago pointed out, is extending an all-out welcome to the American semiconductor firm.

On the other hand, TI still does not have any presence in China, Santiago said, and with the huge market potential of China, TI is keen on establishing a presence there.

Santiago admitted that the global outlook for the semiconductor and electronics industry is very bright so much so that at least 10 local firms have already indicated their intent to expand.

1 billion dollars. wow that's good news I hope we bag it.

oh pray for divine intervention that we bag that TI investment. China has it all already, they can't just get it all

WOW! that's P50B^^ :applause:

Ibig sabihin very competitive pa din tayo kahit mas mababa labor cost sa China. I have batchmates in college working in Intel in Cavite, and according to them their are rumors that Intel will shot down its Philippine operation which is one of the biggest in the world, instead Intel will expand its China operation. They stopped hiring new emloyees few moths ago. I hope this is not true..:ohno:

Ibig sabihin very competitive pa din tayo kahit mas mababa labor cost sa China. I have batchmates in college working in Intel in Cavite, and according to them their are rumors that Intel will shot down its Philippine operation which is one of the biggest in the world, instead Intel will expand its China operation. They stopped hiring new emloyees few moths ago. I hope this is not true..:ohno:

Well, there are other companies who are expanding their operations in the Philippines. There are some who are already planning to build coco-biodiesel plants since the Biofuels Act has been passed. The bill gives incentives to investors in the production, development and marketing of biofuels.

^^ Ang alam ko matagal na nag downsize ng operations ang Intel sa Philippines. Bulk of their investments e napunta na sa Vietnam and China... Sa sobrang cost-cutting nila, wish ko lang di maapektuhan ang quality ng products nila...

The Philippines continues to be the frontrunner, if not the winner already, in the competition to bag the $1-billion new investment of American semiconductor firm Texas Instruments (TI).

TI has been looking at the Philippines and China for its new manufacturing facility.

TI already has an existing $27-million manufacturing facility in Baguio.

However, TI has already expanded four times and reached the full capacity of its manufacturing facility at the Baguio Export Processing Zone.

According to Trade and Industry Secretary Peter B. Favila, Texas Instruments is set to announce its final decision by the end of this month or in January next year.

The Philippines’ chances of bagging the $1-billion investment, Favila cautiously, but optimistically disclosed, remains very good, giving a double thumbs up sign to emphasize his optimism.

Norberto Viera, TI Philippines president, is currently in Dallas, Texas where official announcement of TI’s decision would be made.

However, instead of Subic, TI is opting for a 36-hectare site at the Clark Special Economic Zone.

If TI does choose to invest in Clark, it is expected to generate employment for at least 4,000 workers and would boost the economy of Pampanga as suppliers would follow TI and locate in the area.

Ernesto Santiago, executive director of the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries of the Philippines Inc. (SEIPI), pointed out that the edge of the Philippines over China is that TI’s Baguio plant is the most efficient and the Filipino workers’ skill and efficiency is already well-proven.

The government. Santiago pointed out, is extending an all-out welcome to the American semiconductor firm.

On the other hand, TI still does not have any presence in China, Santiago said, and with the huge market potential of China, TI is keen on establishing a presence there.

Santiago admitted that the global outlook for the semiconductor and electronics industry is very bright so much so that at least 10 local firms have already indicated their intent to expand.

masayang balita 'to, ibig sabihin magmumura na ang mga texas instrument na calculator, tag wa wandred yata isa nun

peke ata yun, hehehe at saka never heard meron silang calculator brand. baka casio. hehehe

nope...you are wrong

in fact right now i have a TI graphical calculator which I use for my engineering course. So yeah, wiki it and you should be able to find these facts.

yap kailangan kailangan mo yun sa calculus, how can u survive w/out that :lol:

^^Mano-mano:lol:

total napaguusapan ang China kaya e2...

China warns 15 million will not find jobs next year

BEIJING -- China will be unable next year to create jobs for 15 million people -- nearly equivalent to the entire population of the Netherlands, state media reported Friday.

An estimated 25 million urban residents will be seeking jobs and they will be competing for just 10 million vacancies, the China Daily said, citing a government think tank researcher.

"We anticipate employment pressure will remain high in 2007," said Yang Yiyong, deputy chief of the Economic Research Institute under the National Development and Reform Commission.

To make things worse, 120 million surplus laborers have migrated to the cities, mostly from the countryside, looking for odd jobs, he said in the "2007 Analysis and Forecast on China's Economy."

A record number of 4.95 million new university graduates -- 820,000 more than in 2006 -- will face a "grave" situation in the job market next year, according to the Ministry of Education.

The urban registered unemployment rate in China was 4.2 percent in 2005 while no figure is immediately available for this year, the report said.

Foreign economists have frequently criticized China for publishing unreliable unemployment statistics.
They especially target the fact that rural unemployment tends not to be counted as part of the figures.

To alleviate the employment strains, the country will have to vigorously expand the service industries and subsidize re-employment efforts, Yang said.

The central budget has earmarked 25.1 billion yuan ($3.2 billion) to fund reemployment this year, according to the newspaper.

Yang's institute has proposed that central and local governments should allocate at least 40 billion yuan next year, it added.

The Chinese economy grew 10.7 percent in the first three quarters over the same period last year.

However, productivity gains mean employment opportunities do not increase at a similar rate.

:

that's what you get for a having two billion people. they also have to worry about the tons of pollution their newly industrializing economy is generating.
and someone here said for the philippine pop. to keep growing so we can emulate them.

^^1.3 Billion, 2 B is too much.

well most of the bad news, at least the most unattractive isn't being revealed by china to the world. Ahhhhh, the wonders of communism or communism lite

^^1.3 Billion, 2 B is too much.

No it's 2 billion counting the underthe table stats and the millions scattered around the world. They even have Chinese in South America.

^^ wow.... this is the legacy of zheng he

No it's 2 billion counting the underthe table stats and the millions scattered around the world. They even have Chinese in South America.

I prefer "official" statistics I believe. Pero tama ka, sobrang dami nga nila.

Governance problems hinder investments in power sector
By Donnabelle L. Gatdula
The Philippine Star 12/10/2006
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200612100703.htm

Governance problems in the power sector have been identified as one of the major obstacles in attracting investments into the country, a local research and consultancy firm said.

In its latest economic review, Lazaro, Bernardo Tui & Associates Inc. (LBT) noted that foremost of these issues is the inability of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) to sell the assets of the National Power Corp.

LBT also cited the recent controversy faced by PSALM at the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM).

Another issue, LBT said, is the government’s seemingly lax attitude towards a possible power crisis in three years’ time.

On PSALM’s failure to dispose of the Napocor assets, LBT said "The deadline for disposing of 70 percent of government’s power assets has since become a moving target with the latest schedule showing an end-2007 deadline."

"Out of 31 power plants with over 4,000 megawatt (MW) of generating capacity that are up for sale, government to date has succeeded in disposing of only six plants, five of which have rated capacity below 3.5 MW and one with a 112-MW rated capacity. The sale of the 600 MW Masinloc could not be concluded two years after its award to the highest bidder," it said.

Though LBT recognized the positive impact of the signing of the transition supply contact (TSC) between Napocor and Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), it said the deal may also have a downside.

"Napocor’s recent signing of a TSC with Meralco, its biggest customer, should be a positive news. What this means though for plant buyers’ ability to secure bilateral contracts down the road remains to be seen. Heretofore, the lack of supply contracts (which assures buyers of a base market for generated power) to go with the power plant has been a major obstacle to disposing of these assets," it said.

It also took note of the impact of the price manipulation issue of PSALM on its reliability.

"The integrity of the WESM, where excess generated power may be traded, is also something that needs to be developed, especially following the recent controversy regarding price manipulation. This has been since been traced to the need for the PSALM, the dominant player in the WESM, to charge true cost recovery rates following the low rates asked for in the first five months of the WESM’s operations," it said.

According to LBT, the issue of possible power shortage in the near-term should be properly addressed by the government as this will surely affect the sentiment of potential investors.

"The outstanding issues in the power sector needs to be resolved soonest if the country is to avert power crisis. At the rate which the economy is currently growing, capacity in the power sector is forecast to be used up by 2010 and it requires two to three years to put up base load capacity," it said.



________________________________________



ADB extends $45M loan to RP to stabilize power situation
INQ7
http://business.inq7.net/money/breakingnews/view_article.php?article_id=37451

THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it is lending $45 million to the Philippines to stabilize the country's electricity supply situation.

The loans would be used to help the Philippine government restructure a power sector burdened by high levels of debt, the ADB said in a statement from its headquarters in Manila.

The multilateral institution warned that the country could face power outages, higher electricity charges and decreased economic growth if the reforms were not undertaken.

RP ranks poorly in ICT index
By Ma. Elisa P. Osorio
The Philippine Star 12/10/2006
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/news200612100701.htm

There are still a lot of Filipinos who have no access to computers and the Internet, according to data released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) based on an international study.

Out of 65 Asian countries studied, the Philippines ranked a poor 51 in terms of the e-Readiness index. This dismal ranking is a result of the low connectivity in terms of broadband and wireless Internet penetration. Also, most of Filipinos are still unable to have access to personal computers.

The Philippines ranked in the middle of most of the ICT indices. Under the e-government category, the country was ranked 41 out of the 191 countries studied, 70 out of 115 in network readiness, 97 out of 180 in ICT diffusion and 94 out of 180 in digital opportunity.

"Generally, the ICT scenario in the country was better than the situation in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao P.D.R., Myanmar and Vietmam," the study said. However the country lagged behind Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Brunei Darussalam.

In addition to this, the study said businesses are still resisting technology. "The slow adoption of e-business practices among consumers and businesses contributed to its poor ranking," the study stated.

The study, conducted by global technology policy and management consulting firm McConnell International, said electronic preparedness measures a nation’s capacity to participate in the digital economy.

It likewise said electronic preparedness is a source of economic growth in the era of interconnectedness and the requisite to carry out successful electronic business.

As a result, it would be difficult for any business or a country to grow substantially if the main electronic pillars are not in place. The firm said countries who have only taken a first step denotes complacency which has an adverse effect to future development.

On the other hand, an e-ready society is one that has the necessary physical infrastructure (high bandwidth, reliability, and affordable prices), integrated current information and communication technology (ICTs) throughout businesses (e-commerce, local ICT sector), communities (local content, organizations online, ICTs used in everyday life, ICTs taught in schools), and the government (e-government).

Meanwhile, the country performed relatively well in terms of the quality of infrastructure, openness to trade and investment, vision regarding digital-age advances and high educational level.

Arroyo hit for postponing ASEAN summit
ABS-CBN News
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=58916

President Arroyo is facing growing criticism at home over the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, whose last-minute cancellation has raised questions about her handling of the event.

Her government insisted a looming typhoon in the Pacific -- and not planned street protests and reports from foreign governments about a pending terror attack -- was the reason for pulling the plug on the high-profile event.

But after the storm passed far from the summit site on Saturday, politicians, opposition groups and analysts blasted Arroyo's decision.

"It's a sign of a weak government," said Tomas Osmeña, mayor of Cebu City, where the ASEAN summit and a wider meeting of regional leaders had been due to begin on Sunday.

"We would not have cancelled it and we live here," Osmena told Agence France-Presse.

The abrupt cancellation, terror worries and other problems -- X-ray security machines were covered in plastic bags to keep off rain dripping through the $10-million convention center -- have given her critics more ammunition.

"It's brand new and the roof is leaking," said one official with the ASEAN business and investment summit held before the main events were canceled. "This will be remembered as the summit that failed."

Mrs. Arroyo had wanted to use the ASEAN summit and its associated meetings to showcase the progress the Philippines has made during her presidency.

But critics say her report card is not looking good.

Poverty is still widespread with more than 40 percent of the country's 84 million people living on less than P100 or an equivalent of US$2 a day and her administration is regularly cited as one of the worst in the region on human rights.

Just before the canceled summit, Japan said it was concerned about the killings of left-wing journalists that have been blamed on the government and said improvements on rights would be a condition for further aid packages.

"Arroyo is not fooling anyone," said Lidy Nacpil, one of the organizers of a series of protests by leftist groups that had been planned for the summit. "Not even the ASEAN leaders would have believed her alibi of a typhoon."

The President had earlier been harshly criticized over the convention centre site, where squatter camps were bulldozed to make way for the summit -- whose theme, chosen by Mrs. Arroyo herself, was "a caring and sharing community."

Despite assurances from Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia that the building would be completed on time, workmen were still painting and decorating as local and foreign media moved in last week.

But the main source of public anger at Arroyo was her decision last week to try to bypass the Senate as part of her unpopular plans to change the constitution in what is seen as a way to solidify her power in office.

The proposal has triggered street protests which includes those from the powerful Catholic Church, and other religious and business organizations, as well as broad civil society and social movements.

"Political noise in Manila over Arroyo's plans to change the constitution might have played a part in the decision to cancel the summit," said one delegate to the summit who asked not to be named.

Ben Diokno, a professor at the University of the Philippines, said Arroyo had been "scared of the mass action" that had been planned for the summit.

"Political survival for her comes first," he said. "The weather was a good excuse."

Hurdles seen to be in step with AEC
By IRMA ISIP
Malaya
http://www.malaya.com.ph/dec09/busi2.htm

The Philippines expects to encounter problems to be in step with partners in the region should the timetable to create an Asean economic community be speeded up from 2020 to 2015.

Bureau of International Trade Relations executive director Ramon Vicente Kabigting said the Philippines may have to lift restrictions in trade, services and investments under the Constitution.

He added however that there are safety nets that would allow some countries and certain sectors to buy time or be helped as part of "sharing and caring" vision of Asean.

The AEC blueprint would be submitted by the economic ministers to the leaders during the Asean Summit in Cebu.

The leaders are expected to sign a declaration accelerating the creation of the Asean Community to 2015 instead of 2020.

."That is where problems may lie. The AEC would require full liberalization within Asean by 2015 and if we will have to meet that commitment, then yes we will encounter some problems," Kabigting said.

Kabigting said Asean economies would have to offer certain commitments and thresholds of equity they would open to foreigners that would be acceptable for specific industries, including those barred under the Constitution.

But Kabigting said the Philippines is not alone in this problem as Malaysia and Thailand are in similar positions.

Although there is no opt-out provision in the AEC, Kabigting assured that the Philippines could phase in later so a not to disrupt the progress of AEC for the rest of Asean economies.

He said AEC is envisioned to be a zone where there is free trade and all tariff and non-tariff barriers would have to be dismantled in trade, in services and in investments.

However, he said, it would also be a zone of competitiveness where the products and services of the AEC can hold their own against similar products and services anywhere in the world in price and quality and where the economic environment is also comparable for investments.

"It would also be a `caring and sharing society’. There are provisins to bridge the economic divide and development gaps and assist those who are lagging behind. You have provisions for those who get hurt by the immediate influx of severe competition," Kabigting said.

He said President Arroyo wants the Philippine hosting to carry this theme.



___________________________________



ASEAN's market dreams face tough reality
Agence France-Presse
Last updated 11:57am (Mla time) 12/10/2006
http://business.inq7.net/money/breakingnews/view_article.php?article_id=37438


CEBU -- Needing to forge a regional single market to fight off competition from China, ASEAN nations were supposed to sign a deal this week moving up the target date five years to 2015.

While the deal was delayed because of the cancellation of the ASEAN summit, the bloc is still aiming for that goal -- but there is growing doubt about whether 10 such different nations can integrate in so short a time.

From convincing the private sector it can work, to establishing the institutions necessary to oversee a true European-style single market, the dream of integration needs a reality check, experts and political leaders say.

"Institutions are central to the whole process of setting up the economic community," said Charles Goddard with the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), a think-tank.

He said the "spaghetti-like" proliferation of bilateral free-trade agreements within the bloc only complicated the "very daunting task" of establishing the mechanisms needed to make a single market work successfully.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has already embarked on an ambitious program to slash import tariffs on most products moving through the politically and ethnically disparate region of nearly 600 million people.

The stakes are high for the group's members, many of which have rebuilt their mainly plantation economies in just over a generation to become global trading players and key production bases for the world's largest firms.

Exports now account for more than 70 percent of ASEAN's economic output, but that transformation means that much of the bloc has become reliant on exports at a time when China is grabbing an ever-larger share of international trade.

"China would significantly crowd out ASEAN exports in most western and other non-East Asian economies by 2020 if China unilaterally liberalizes and ASEAN does not," said Ponciano Intal, a Manila-based economist.

An EIU report released this week said that Chinese exports have already overtaken those of ASEAN's top seven economies combined -- Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam and Myanmar.

Intal said one of the main challenges would be to improve the institutional and infrastructure capacities in the poorer countries of ASEAN -- a must if the bloc is to move to an integrated region with uniform rules and standards.

For Scott Price, Asia-Pacific chief executive of global express carrier DHL, the pace of integration would depend on "how quickly you can give up all the emotional issues of control."

Experts say that developing a full-fledged single market means moving to rule-by-law, a major step for a region that -- both politically and economically -- is accustomed to doing things by informal consensus.

The EIU's Goddard said the reduction of tariffs already undertaken by the bloc, for example, had been difficult.

"I can't think of any reason for us to think, at this point in time, for the projected ASEAN economic community to do any better," he said.

Ong Keng Yong, the secretary general of ASEAN, admits that the dream of integration is still far away.

"Many of the ASEAN economies -- in fact all the ASEAN economies -- are not ready," Ong said, adding this meant the bloc needed to save space for dealing by consensus and not just the strict laws of a single market mechanism.

"There are problems here and there. So we take flexibility," he said.

But experts agree that time is running out.

The EIU study said that with both China and India are becoming stronger forces in international trade, forging a true single market was essential to keeping ASEAN competitive.

"Setting up proper, empowered pan-regional institutions will require a strong political effort, particularly given ASEAN's traditional stance of 'non-interference' in the domestic dealings of fellow members," it said.

DUE TO HIGH DEBT RATIOS
Moodys sees no rating upgrade for RP
By MAX ESTAYO
Malaya
http://www.malaya.com.ph/dec09/busi1.htm

Moody’s Investors Service yesterday said the Philippines is not likely to get an upgrade in its credit rating unless its "debt ratios" fall from their "current high levels."

Thomas Byrne, senior credit officer of Moody’s, said the stable outlook on the country’s credit rating holds for now.

A team from the New York-based rating agency, led by Byrne, is currently in town for a weeklong review of the country’s fiscal, monetary and financial fundamentals.

The rating agency is expected to give its new rating assessment for the country in February next year.

Moody’s, considered the most conservative of the three rating agencies, raised its credit outlook for the country to stable from negative last month, encouraged by the slowdown in the government’s fiscal deficit and external borrowings.

It kept its ‘B1’ rating for the country, four notches below investment grade.

Byrne said while the stable outlook remains "current," it may take a while for the government to get an upgrade in the rating.

"There has to be continued deficit reduction and debt ratios will have to be reduced from their current high levels," Byrne said.

"Our main concern now is the long-term fiscal management," he said.

Byrne said improved perception will be easily reflected in the ratings.

"If any country has a strong fiscal position, it gets reflected in the rating. As I’ve said before, we have a stable outlook in the rating so there’s really not much more than that," he said. The government’s debt to gross domestic product ratio was at 72 percent in 2005, much higher than the 50-55 percent among Asean countries.

Finance Secretary Margarito Teves last month said the ratio will go below the 50-percent level only in five years or 43 percent by 2010.

The government raised its sales tax by two percent in February to generate P75 billion in additional revenues.

In the meantime, it has tightened on spending to cut its deficit, which stood at P56.3 billion through October from P115.5 billion last year.

The government has lowered its 2006 target to P115-P110 billion from P125 billion or 2.1 of GDP. Next year, the deficit is expected at P63 billion or just a percent of GDP.

In February, Moody’s said it sees the ratios of Philippine government debt and public sector debt to revenue improving slightly to 423 percent and 370 percent this year from 498 percent and 419 percent, respectively in end-2005.

But, it said, these are still high compared to the estimated B median average of 264.3 percent.

Other countries in the ‘B median that include Jamaica, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Suriname and Ukraine had an average ratio of 281 percent in 2005.

Byrne said the declining ratios are encouraging but stressed they should fall at a faster rate for the country to merit a rating upgrade.

Standard and Poor’s and Fitch Ratings raised their credit outlook for the country to stable from negative ahead of Moody’s.

S&P keeps a ‘BB-’ while Fitch holds a ‘BB,’ which are three and two notches below investment grade, respectively.

Anti-corruption measures ‘slowly put in place’ -- Palace
By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
INQ7.net
Last updated 06:04pm (Mla time) 12/10/2006
http://newsinfo.inq7.net/topstories/topstories/view_article.php?article_id=37446

MALACAÑANG on Sunday admitted that corruption continues to hound the Arroyo government but insisted that measures to curb the menace “are slowly being put in place.”

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye also stressed that corruption did not start with this administration but is a generations-old problem.

Bunye was reacting to anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International’s (TI) “Global Corruption Barometer 2006” survey, which gave the Philippine government a poor grade in fighting graft.

At best, the TI said, the administration has failed to fight corruption. At worst, it "actually encourages" corrupt practices. It also showed that Filipinos gave the police,
legislators, revenue agencies and political parties scores just a point shy of the rating for "extremely corrupt."

"Eliminating a problem which has been with us for generations remains a continuing challenge for this administration. But the programs and the systems are slowly being put in place," Bunye said.

He also pointed to "dramatic improvements" in revenue collection as proof that the government has been making headway in the fight against cheats, both in government and the private sector.

World Bank extends grant for gov’t procurement system
http://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS2006120781797.html
By EDU H. LOPEZ

The Philippine government has secured a $ 300,000 grant from the World Bank (WB) to support the public procurement system.

The grant aims to establish of a career path and certification program for government procurement practitioners that will help ensure fair and transparent public procurement.

A public procurement system would result in a more efficient and more accountable utilization of government expenditures, said WB country director Joachim von Amsberg.

"This grant is part of the WB’s support to the Philippines’ procurement reform agenda. Procurement reforms are a key element of the Philippine efforts to fight corruption."

Von Amsberg stressed that an increase in the number of procurement professionals in government will contribute to a fair, transparent and more competitive procurement process, which will help create a level playing field, thus, encouraging more legitimate bidders to participate.

"While this grant will empower civil servants, the real beneficiaries are the citizens for whom public goods and services are intended," said Von Amsberg.

The IDF project has two components. The first is to provide technical assistance to the government in creating the career stream for public procurement practitioners.

The career stream and positions will be strategically structured to help government sustain the procurement reform in the country by providing recognition and professional affiliation to public procurement practitioners.

The second component will support the development and roll-out of a complete public procurement and logistics training modules and certification program.

The IDF is a World Bank grant facility designed to support government efforts to improve public expenditure management and financial accountability; procurement; monitoring and evaluation systems; and, systemic legal and judicial reforms.

WB has noted that the government has taken significant steps to improve public procurement.

In January 2003, the Government Procurement Reform Act (RA 9184) was enacted and the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) were issued later in the same year. This Act paved the way for the creation of the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) which was mandated to handle all procurement matters affecting national interest.

The use of the Government Electronic Procurement System was likewise made mandatory, and standard bidding documents were developed and issued.

GPPB Chair and Budget and Management Secretary Rolando Andaya said the GPPB and its technical support office, as the implementing agency, will ensure the full utilization of the grant to sustain and advocate the implementation of the country’s procurement reform program.

He cited the benefits of reforms in procuring textbooks.

"With the procurement reforms in the Department of Education, the government was able to significantly reduce the cost of textbooks."

The cost of books acquired in the past six years has been reduced by half. Before, a book would cost around P90 to P100. Now, it costs around P40 to P50 per copy.

As a result, the government has acquired a significant savings of at least P2.63 billion and now, each student has a book of his own in Mathematics, Science, English, and Filipino. Before the year 2000, at least five children had to share one copy, said Von Amsberg.

Von Amsberg also cited the benefits of the procurement reforms in the health sector.

"From P98 per pack of tuberculosis (TB) drugs before 1998, the price dropped to just P48 per pack. The new procurement law attracted more domestic and international pharmaceutical companies to participate in the bidding process, thus resulting in an average price reduction of about 40 percent."

The IDF project has two components. The first is to provide technical assistance to the government in creating the career stream for public procurement practitioners.

The career stream and positions will be strategically structured to help government sustain the procurement reform in the country by providing recognition and professional affiliation to public procurement practitioners.

The second component will support the development and roll-out of a complete public procurement and logistics training modules and certification program.

The IDF is a World Bank grant facility designed to support government efforts to improve public expenditure management and financial accountability; procurement; monitoring and evaluation systems; and, systemic legal and judicial reforms.

WB has noted that the government has taken significant steps to improve public procurement.

In January 2003, the Government Procurement Reform Act (RA 9184) was enacted and the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) were

issued later in the same year. This Act paved the way for the creation of the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) which was mandated to handle all procurement matters affecting national interest.

The use of the Government Electronic Procurement System was likewise made mandatory, and standard bidding documents were developed and issued.

GPPB Chair and Budget and Management Secretary Rolando Andaya said the GPPB and its technical support office, as the implementing agency, will ensure the full utilization of the grant to sustain and advocate the implementation of the country’s procurement reform program.

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/dec/10/yehey/top_stories/20061210top1.html

Rights issues strain RP ties with allies
International critics admit ‘complex nature’ of killings
By Francis Earl Cueto Reporter and Nora O. Gamolo, Editor, The Manila Times-Barangay News

(First of four parts)

As the Philippines struggled Friday night to contain the fallout from the postponement of next week’s summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation and the wider East Asian grouping, Japan dealt another blow to the country’s prestige.

The normally taciturn Japanese government warned the Philippines that its poor human-rights record was endangering the flow of badly needed official development aid.

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso told his local counterpart, Secretary Alberto Romulo, that his government was concerned over mounting reports of extrajudicial killings in the country.

Aso brought up the issue as the two officials discussed a $1-million Japanese aid proposal.

He said his country was willing to help the Philippine meet its development needs. But, he warned, “in Japan, some people are extremely concerned about political killings in the Philippines, particularly the killings of leftist-oriented individuals and journalists.”

“In order for us to release more economic aid, I want the Philippines to understand the strong concerns among some people about the human rights record of the Philippines,” Aso said.

Philippine diplomats said the government was also bracing itself for some criticism by New Zealand Premier Helen Clark, who told a rights group based in that country that she has ordered diplomats to raise the issue “at senior levels in the Philippine government.”

Clark had earlier raised the issue of human rights in March, shortly after President Arroyo declared a state of emergency that led to a raid on the offices of an opposition-linked newspaper.

The government said it understands the concern raised by its allies but insists reports of extrajudicial killings and disappearances of activists were artificially bloated by communist fronts.

Reforms

President Arroyo, her Cabinet aids say, has tried to resolve the problem with the creation of the Melo Commission, which militant activists have boycotted.

The President, they add, also invited Amnesty International (AI) to visit the country and see firsthand how the government is trying to improve the human-rights situation.

There was just one problem with the last scenario. Weeks after Mrs. Arroyo tendered the invite, an association of retired military officers urged AI to be labeled persona non grata, a proposal promptly seconded by the incumbent Armed Forces brass.

Just weeks back, the Melo Commission released a rare finding on some cases of killings, these ones submitted by Task Force Mapalad.

Mapalad is a left of center organization but hardly communist. In fact, it has found itself at odds with both mainstream communist rebels and splinter leftist groups.

Senior State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuñio, a member of the Melo Commission, said the fact-finding body had cleared the AFP and the Philippine National Police of the crimes. The commission, he added, believed the killings related to land disputes in Negros Occidental haciendas were the handiwork of communist rebels for hire.

There was also a problem with the last statement. The Revolutionary Proletarian Army (RPA), have long been known to collaborate with both the AFP and the PNP.

The human-rights group, Karapatan, claims that more than 760 activists have been killed since Mrs. Arroyo came to power in 2001.

Of the total, 118 were members of Bayan Muna, a Left-leaning political party that won two seats in the House of Representatives in the 2004 elections. Other victims belong to militant party-list organizations and mass groups allied with Bayan Muna.

The government has denied involvement in the killings, blaming many of them on factional fighting between leftist groups.

Moving backward

Activists were set to make the Asean summit, which has been scuttled due to terror threats and an incoming typhoon, a platform for fanning international attention to extrajudicial killings in the Philippines and the narrowing of democratic space by a beleaguered Arroyo administration.

Authorities immediately warned against unauthorized demonstrations and, on December 6, immigration lawyers barred entry to American lawyer Brian Campbell on the vague charge of being a troublemaker.

Campbell was no ordinary hothead. His group, the International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF), helps cash-rich US trade unions in choosing their investment targets. The aim is a blend of labor-capital cheek—using workers’ wealth to influence the world’s giant corporations into improving the plight of peers in the developing world.

Campbell was part of an international fact-finding visit to the special economic zones of Southern Luzon this year. The probe, he told reporters, seemed to establish earlier reports indicating the Philippines as among the most dangerous countries for union organizers.

The ILRF’s lobby eventually prompted a joint letter from giant firms, including leading US retailer Wal-Mart, urging the Arroyo government to protect human and labor rights. Other signatories included corporate responsibility chiefs for American Eagle Outfitters, the Jones Apparel Group that includes the Anne Klein and Nine West brands, Gap Inc.; Liz Claiborne; Phillips-Van Heusen; and Polo Ralph Lauren.

These firms subcontract many of their designer wares to Philippine corporations or foreign locators in the country’s economic zones.

The ban on Campbell was ironic as the Eminent Persons Group collating proposals for Asean policy shifts had recommended softening the group’s “elitist” tag by allowing representation from sectoral groups and nongovernment organizations in the alliance’s policy-making tasks.

International labor groups have also scored the continuing detention of Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran, accused by the government of aiding an alleged coup plot last February. His fellow militants in the House of Representatives, Satur Ocampo and Teodoro Casiño, are free only because friends and security managed to elude arresting officers, forcing them to deal with Congress leadership.

Stormy weather

Activists said the storm that scuttled the Asean Summit reflected the political situation in the Philippines.

While the country has gotten good marks for its economic gains, a defensive administration has reaped criticism for a human-rights record that, Karapatan says, shows the country going backward.

Clark, in her December 4 letter to concerned constituents, pointed out that the UN Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has expressed concern about the “seemingly systematic” assaults on Left-leaning activists in the Philippines.

“New Zealand supports the work of the CHR’s Special Procedures, which include the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary and Arbitrary Execution and the Working Group on Enforced Disappearances.”

The Special Rapporteur (UN specialist tasked to conduct visits and investigations to advise the Council, among others) has expressed intent to visit the Philippines and confirm reports about the country.

Clark, however, also lauded recent positive developments towards protecting human rights in the Philippines including: the abolition of the death penalty; the movement of the Philippines off the list of countries with serious human trafficking problems; the passing of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act; and the approval of a bill which prohibits torture and maltreatment of people in the custody of the police, military and other law-enforcement agencies.

The Philippines won its bid to become one of 13 Asian countries with a seat at the United Nations Human Rights Council based in Geneva, Switzerland, but Filipino activists and their supporters have effectively brought their voice to the halls of this body.

International lobby

On September 22 Filipino NGO representatives attending the Second Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council slammed the Philippine government’s statements in its right of reply to a statement made by the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD) and Forum Asia, calling the attention of the Council to the extrajudicial executions in the country.

The five-person delegation of Philippine NGOs who spoke to the special rapporteurs, representatives of UNHRC working groups and other international NGOs, was composed of Danilo Ramos, secretary-general of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (National Peasant Movement); Rhoda Dalang of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance; Tess Vistro, secretary-general of Amihan (Women Peasant Union); Marie Hilao-Enriquez, secretary-general of Karapatan (Alliance for the Advancement of Peoples’ Rights) and Edre Olalia, human-rights lawyer from the Counsels for the Defense of Liberties (CODAL).

Karapatan’s Marie Enrique said that the Philippine Mission to the UNHRC did not include the chairman or any member of the Commission of Human Rights.

In its right to reply, the Philippine representative said that the Philippines is pursuing all measures to address the problems of the killings, including the creation of a task force of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and the Melo Commission to “investigate alleged political killings and attacks against journalists” and a meeting between President Arroyo and the AI “to discuss means and curb and prevent such crimes, including the possibility of independent experts to assess the situation.” “Discretion is necessary before the conclusive labeling of reported offenses as human rights violations,” said the Philippine representative. “There is need to look into motive behind allegations [and] distinguish between actions of state agents made in the course of their duties and common crimes, or those classified for personal ends. It should only be after proper court trial that certain offenses are classified conclusively as human-rights violations. Substantiation of allegations is essential. Accusation should not be equivalent to conviction.”

The NGO representatives said the government’s attempt to label extrajudicial executions as cases involving “actions made by state agents in the course of their duties, common crimes or those committed for personal ends,” was a way to hide culpability.

The position, NGO representatives said, “shows a very dangerous tack of washing off its hands of responsibility in these cases of extrajudicial executions.

Peza investments at P70b
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=business6_dec9_2006
Investments approved by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority jumped 41 percent to P70.175 billion in the first 11 months of the year from P49.87 billion a year ago.

Peza director general Lilia de Lima said the sustained growth in approved investments showed the continued confidence of investors in the Philippines as an investment location, particularly in Peza’s economic zones.

The approved investments from January to November will be channeled to 411 projects from 355 projects a year ago.

About 106 projects are in the information technology sector with estimated investments of P8.727 billion. These IT projects are expected to generate 35,557 additional jobs. Elaine Ruzul S. Ramos

The high debt ratio is not the fault of the Arroyo administration. Her government has inherited it from the previous administration. It is under the Arroyo government that the high debt ratio began to decrease.


RP foreign debt burden down by $2.7B
Strong peso prompts borrowers to prepay loans
http://business.inq7.net/money/topstories/view_article.php?article_id=37486
By Doris Dumlao
Inquirer
Last updated 00:29am (Mla time) 12/11/2006

THE PHILIPPINES has trimmed its foreign debt stock by about $2.7 billion as of end-September as local borrowers took advantage of strong foreign exchange inflows and the strengthening peso to pare their external obligations down.

Documents from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (the Philippine central bank) showed that in the first nine months of the year, public and private sector borrowers contracted new foreign debts worth $15.39 billion.

These included proceeds from the national government's latest global bond offerings--$764 million in global bonds maturing in 2024 and another $435 million falling due 2031.

But the Philippines has ceased to be a net borrower. Both public and private sector borrowers made principal payments of $15.17 billion and interest of $2.9 billion, or a net outflow of $2.7 billion as of end-September.

This net outflow was bigger than the comparable period last year when $1.24 billion in net outflow was registered.

"These transactions reflect the decisions of both public and private sectors, both awash with external liquidity, to pay down their external debt obligations," a BSP report said.

The BSP, the cash-strapped National Power Corp. and state-owned lender Development Bank of the Philippines led the list of institutions that made huge payments in the first nine months.

Excluding revaluations, these transactions could ease the country's external debt stock to $51.2 billion from the latest report of $53.9 billion at end-June.

Official creditors--consisting of multilateral institutions, such as the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank, and bilateral creditors like the Japan Bank for International Cooperation--account for about 40 percent of the country's total debt.

Foreign holders of bonds and notes account for 34 percent, and foreign banks and other financial institutions, 22 percent. The rest of the creditors are mostly foreign suppliers.

Despite the net outflows from debt servicing during the nine-month period, the Philippines posted a balance-of-payments surplus of $2.62 billion following double-digit growth in overseas Filipino workers' remittances, a narrowing trade deficit due to strong merchandise exports, sustained foreign direct investment inflows and higher investment income of the BSP.

The BOP measures the foreign exchange transactions between the domestic economy and the rest of the world.

Any transaction which gives rise to a payment by a Philippine resident like importation or debt servicing is a deficit item in the BOP while a transaction that gives rise to a receipt like borrowing, exporting or inward remittance is a surplus item.

The strengthening of the peso against the US dollar in the last few months alongside the bullish regional currency market has given the BSP the opportunity to further build up its reserves while smoothening excess market volatility.

The peso, which was now trading at the 49 level for the first time in four-and-a-half years, has risen by about 6.7 percent since the start of the year.

Sorry no link as this was only forwarded to me via e-mail...Dang Bad News nanaman! :bash:

RP Gov't found most corrupt in Asia after Indonesia
BY REGINA BENGCO

THE Philippine government has failed to fight corruption, with lawmakers and the police perceived as the most corrupt, according to the anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI).

The findings are contained in TI¢s Global Corruption Barometer 2006 survey released Dec. 7.

The survey, which was done by Gallup International between July and September 2006 as part of its Voice of the People Survey, had 59,661 respondents in 62 low, middle and high-income countries.

The survey showed the Philippines ranking second in the Asia-Pacific region in corruption behind Indonesia (18 percent), followed by India (12 percent) and Thailand (10 percent).

In the survey, 16 percent of respondents who had had transactions in the Philippines admitted to paying a bribe last year, while 84 percent said they did not.

Thirty-one percent said government actions against corruption were "not efficient;" 24 percent said government "actually encourages it;" and 23 percent said government "does not fight it at all."

Only 13 percent said the actions were "efficient" and 8 percent "very efficient."

The police and the legislature were rated as the sectors suffering most from by corruption, followed by revenue-generating agencies and political parties.

On a scale of 1-5 with 1 as "not at all corrupt" and 5 as "extremely corrupt," respondents for the Philippines gave Congress and the police a 3.9 rating, or just one point shy of being "extremely corrupt."

Other sectors got the following ratings: taxation, 3.7; political parties, 3.5; military, 3.4; legal system, 3.4; business, 3.2; registry and permit services, 3.2; education. 3.0; utilities, 2.9; medical services, 2.9; non-government organizations, 2.6; media, 2.5; and religious sector, 2.1.

The respondents also said corruption affects mostly political life, business environment and personal/family life.

The same survey listed the Philippines as among 17 countries where between 16 to 40 percent of respondents reported having paid a bribe in the last 12 months.

The others were Bolivia, Congo-Brazzaville, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Greece, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Moldova, Nigeria, Paraguay, Peru, Romania, Senegal, Ukraine, and Venezuela.

Between 51 to 70 percent of respondents believed corruption has affected political life in the Philippines and 28 other countries "to a large extent."

The TI survey showed that in most cases, people tend to be very negative about their government¢s attempts to fight corruption. It also showed that only one in five surveyed worldwide thinks that government is effective to some degree in fighting corruption while nearly two in five say their government¢s anti-corruption drive is "not effective."

One in six surveyed globally also thinks that their government actually encourages corruption rather than fight it.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the TI survey is based on perception, which everyone is free to make.

"But definitely a country such as ours is trying to maintain the ability to be able to keep its ship of state upright and going in the (right) direction in spite of rough seas. Pero hindi naman siguro in the manner na pinapalabas nila na ang corruption is unabated," he said.

Ermita said there are government agencies such as the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission, Ombudsman, and Commission on Human Rights, to name a few, that are on hand to check corruption.

He said President Arroyo is naturally not pleased with the survey results.

Officials from the PAGC, Ombudsman, Presidential Commission on Good Government, Anti-Money Laundering Council, and the justice and foreign affairs departments are taking part in the UN convention against corruption in Jordan from Dec. 10 to 14.


____________________________________________________


Sa kaka-magic/kaka-doctor ng statistical numbers, di na tuloy ma-reconcile at magtugmatugma. Hirap talaga maniwala sa lahat ng pinagsasabi ng ating Gobyerno. Mahilig magpa-ikot ng mga ulo buti na lang hindi lahat madaling maniwala.

No Free Lunch : Is manufacturing growing or shrinking?
By Cielito Habito
Inquirer
http://business.inq7.net/money/columns/view_article.php?article_id=36175

ONE OF the items that I call genuinely good news in my recent economic briefings is the improving performance of the manufacturing sector that has been apparent for the past two years.

This is a key sector of the Philippine economy, as it accounts for close to one-fourth of our total output and nearly one-tenth of all jobs.

Based on the quarterly National Income Accounts (NIA)--better known as the GNP/GDP statistics--manufacturing output has been growing at a steadily increasing rate since early 2004. From a 3.9 percent annualized growth in the first quarter of 2004, it had picked up to 4.9 percent a year later, ended 2005 with 5.9 percent, and improved further to 6.3 percent early this year. Most recent data show the sector's growth moderating to 5.9 and 4.8 percent in the last two quarters, but these continue to be very respectable rates of growth indeed.

Contradiction
But wait a minute--that's what the National Income Accounts (NIA) say.

The National Statistics Office (NSO) also releases data on manufacturing output every month, based on the Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industry or MISSI.

And from those data, a totally different story comes out: Manufacturing output has been falling continuously since the start of the year!

From the MISSI, growth of the Volume of Production Index (VoPI) in manufacturing has been consistently negative since January, ranging from -2.8 to -13.9 percent.

That is, manufacturing output has been continuously falling since the start of the year, whereas the NIA figures tell us output has been growing at a healthy pace, and growing faster in fact. So which figures are we to believe?

Even more puzzling to me at first was the knowledge that the NIA data on manufacturing are actually based on the MISSI anyway.

How then could these two sets of data tell an entirely opposite story?

Anecdotal evidence
Meanwhile, while talking in the past months about the good news in the growth of manufacturing, I got constant feedback from listeners, readers and friends that their own experience belied the supposed good news. They kept telling me of actual downturns in their businesses and those of their friends, contrary to the growth the numbers were showing.

The common claim is that unfair competition from cheap or smuggled imports from China has been eroding their markets and driving them out of business.

But I could only point them to the official data, which not a few started suggesting may be erroneous, or even downright deceptive.

Erroneous, maybe, but deceptive? I'm pretty sure our government statisticians would not risk their reputations by engaging in outright data manipulation just to sugar-coat our economic performance.

I ought to know; I used to work with them directly before.

So I started meeting with them and calling them up.

Sampling bias?
Most people suspect that the sample of establishments being surveyed in the MISSI may no longer be representative of the entire manufacturing sector.

For one thing, I was told that the firms included in the sample are the larger ones.

Thus, in times when the growth in output is coming more from smaller enterprises--as may indeed be the case these days--the sample data may underestimate actual growth.

Or it could also be the other way around.

While the survey sample does get updated periodically, the MISSI data may also understate actual output growth if a big part of the growth happening in between sample updates is coming from new start-up firms.

But the situation may also look better than it actually is at times when there are a lot of firm closures outside of the sample.

But this still doesn't explain the divergence between the trends shown by the NIA and the VoPI, both of which come from the same body of data, the MISSI.

For this, I had to talk to NSO and NSCB directly.

Prices, time lags
NSO derives the aggregate volume of production from the value of production data (which has to be the basis for adding up across industries, since you can't just add electronics and processed mangoes) by dividing the latter by an index of producer prices.

NSCB, I was told, converts the value data into volume terms using a different price index, the "GDP deflator," which is based on a different set of goods.

Herein may lie a key difference, NSO Administrator Carmelita Ericta suggests.

NSCB secretary general Romulo Virola believes that the divergence may be explained more by the fact that the NIA figures benefit from more complete data.

He notes that the VoPI figures are released with a time lag of only 45 days, thus forcing NSO to work with still incomplete or preliminary MISSI data.

In contrast, the NIA figures are released with a 60-day time lag, thus permitting use of more complete and updated data.

In addition, NSCB uses data from other sources like the Department of Energy (for petroleum products), other government surveys, and data from major industry associations. Thus, he believes that the NIA data showing good news gives the more correct picture.

In the meantime, NEDA's Secretary Romulo Neri, who supervises both statistical agencies, has instructed that release of the monthly VoPI data by NSO be suspended until the issue is further clarified.

So the verdict, for now, is that the news on manufacturing is really good.

If you're one of those manufacturers with the opposite experience, then too bad for you: Our statisticians can only conclude that you may be in the unlucky minority.

GIR exceeds full-year goal of $22 billion
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/front06.php
By Jun Vallecera
Reporter

WITH $22.49 billion in international reserves—quite above the full-year goal of $22 billion—and with the December inflow still to be counted, government economic managers could now better shield the country from external and domestic shocks or settle some of the more expensive foreign loans to save on funds that are better used for domestic programs.

The gross international reserves or GIR at the end of last year was $18.5 billion. The end-November figure is more than 21 percent of that and is enough to cover more than twice the short-term external debt based on residual maturity and more than four times based on original maturity.

Central bank sources said the BSP can also use it to temper the strength of the local unit, whose steady appreciation in recent months has given the high-growth export sector a bad case of nerves.

BSP governor Amando Tetangco Jr. traced the GIR growth to a number of factors, including a loan the Asian Development Bank extended and proceeds from the bond sale of the National Power Corp.

The BSP also realized hefty gains from its foreign exchange transactions and income from lucrative investments abroad.

Tetangco said, “The steady buildup of the GIR enabled the BSP to prepay during the month $215 million worth of loans and notes originally maturing in 2008 and 2010, as well as service its maturing foreign exchange obligations and those of the national government.”

Those paid in full included the expensive Brady bonds allowing large savings in interest expense. The IOUs were named after then US Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady, who helped craft a debt-restructuring plan in the 1980s for highly indebted emerging markets like the Philippines. But their interest is high.

http://business.inq7.net/money/topstories/view_article.php?article_id=36189
RP seen likely to miss '07 growth target
By Michelle Remo
Inquirer

THE PHILIPPINE economy is likely to miss the official growth target of 5.7 to 6.5 percent next year, owing largely to the slowdown in the economies of the United States and Japan, the country's biggest export markets.

This was the projection made by the Congressional Planning and Budget Office (CPBO), the economic think tank of the legislature. The CPBO's economic growth forecast for next year ranges from 4.7 percent to 5.3 percent.

CPBO said in its latest paper on the Philippine economy that lower demand from the United States and Japan would retard the export growth of the Philippines. The US and Japan account for about 35 percent of the Philippines' export revenues.

The assumption that the US economy would continue to decelerate next year was based on the consecutive interest rate hikes that the US Federal Reserve implemented for two years ending last June. The US economy grew by 2.2 percent in the second quarter from 2.6 percent the previous quarter.

According to the National Economic and Development Authority, income from exports is equivalent to about 50 percent of the Philippines' economic output. In the first nine months of this year, export earnings hit $35.118 billion, representing a 16.4-percent growth from a year ago.

Robust exports, however, was still not enough for the country to meet its official economic growth targets. The Philippine economy grew by only 4.8 percent in the third quarter, falling short of the 5.2 to 5.8 percent target for the period, and by 5.4 percent in the first three quarters. The government set a growth target of 5.5 to 6.1 percent for the full year.

But the Neda is still confident that the GDP growth target for 2006 will be attained. The Neda cited the slowdown in inflation, increase in remittances from overseas Filipino workers, and the release of the P46.9 billion supplemental budget for the government that are expected to boost spending.

Because the CPBO's economic growth target is lower than the official goal, the think tank likewise sees the government missing its revenue collection target for next year.

Philippine GDP comes in below forecast
By Roel Landingin in Manila
The Financial Times

Economic growth in the Philippines fell sharply in the third quarter, coming in far below expectations, in what the government’s chief economist called a sign the country needed more than fiscal reforms to spur expansion.

Gross domestic product rose by only 4.8 per cent in the three months to September 30, down from the previous quarter’s 5.8 per cent as gains in farm and factory output flattened because of bad weather and weaker growth in exports.

Government economists had expected that third quarter GDP growth would reach 5.2-5.8 per cent and independent analysts had forecast 5.4 per cent.

On Wednesday, the main stock market index closed 1.21 per cent lower but the peso shrugged off the news.

Romulo Neri, the economic planning secretary, said: “This slower growth is worrisome. Fiscal and monetary reforms are not enough. We need regulatory and microeconomic reforms, especially in the telecoms, transport and power industries.”

He said the government needed to do more to reduce the cost of doing business and promote competition to achieve a faster pace of economic expansion. “This slowdown should be a wake-up call for us on the need for regulatory reforms.”

The economy expanded 5.4 per cent in the first nine months of the year, higher than the 4.8 per cent GDP growth over the same period last year but slightly below the government’s full year growth target of 5.5-6.1 per cent for 2006. The economy needs to grow at least 5.7 per cent in the fourth quarter from a year ago to hit the low end of the government’s 2006 goal.

This year’s improved economic growth has helped fuel a boom in Philippine shares and bonds following the government’s success cutting the budget deficit and public debt to more manageable levels.

As a result of higher taxes, a series of power rate increases and tight government spending, the budget deficit is expected to fall to less than 3 per cent of GDP this year from a peak of 5.5 per cent in 2002, according to Fitch, the credit rating agency. The government debt-to-GDP ratio will likely drop to about 65 per cent from close to 80 per cent in 2004.

Fixed capital investments, which are needed to sustain output growth and create jobs, fell by 1.1 per cent in the third quarter after dropping by 0.3 per cent in the second quarter. Last year, investments slid by 3.8 per cent.

The Asian Development Bank has said the Philippines must grow by 7-8 per cent a year for the government to meet its target of halving poverty to 19 per cent by 2010. It also said growth in capital stock needed to triple from the historical average of 3 per cent to 10 per cent.

^^^^ 3CR, pls check if the topics of your articles are recent, that is old news. almost two weeks ago

I wonder what the chances are of the economy growing 7-8% on average for the next 3-4 years. I think an increase to 6-6.5% is very possible, but I'm not so sure about 7-8%. Perhaps with the positive upswing it might just be possible. Here's to hoping the government doesn't mess this up!

I don't see why not, if everybody works couple it with the increasing ofw remittances.
But in order to do so We need to raise the morale of the people. JUst like in ateam you can't win if you don't have the spirit and good morale.

^^^^ 3CR, pls check if the topics of your articles are recent, that is old news. almost two weeks ago

^^ Oh didn't know articles have to be up to the minute current. I posted it more for it's relevance/importance though you're right it's about a week or so ago which is still fairly recent naman. Just got some of those over e-mail kasi eh which I've not been religiously checking lately. Pasensiya na.

RP, Japan to sign ODA worth $700M during Abe’s visit to RP
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/eco03.php
By Estrella Torres
Reporter

CLOSE to $700 million worth of official development assistance (ODA) will be signed between the Philippines and Japan when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits the Philippines on December 8 and 9, said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Thursday.

DFA Assistant Secretary for Asia Pacific affairs Romeo Manalo said Prime Minister Abe is attending the 12th Asean Summit, the Asean Plus 3 and the East Asia Summit being held in Cebu.

The Japanese high official is scheduled to meet with President Arroyo where comprehensive agreements are expected to be signed.

These include: 1) Exchange of notes on the Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement Project (Phase II amounting to ¥8.5 billion ($73.7 million); 2) protocol amending the convention between the Republic of the Philippines and Japan on the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income; and, 3) Philippines-Japan joint statement: partnership between close neighbors for comprehensive cooperation.

A day before the arrival of Prime Minister Abe, twelve grassroots projects in the amount of $624,515 for the conflict-affected areas in Mindanao will also be signed.

During the meeting with Abe, Mrs. Arroyo will discuss the contribution of Japan to the Mindanao peace process, particularly its participation in the International Monitoring Team, cooperation in disaster preparedness and mitigation and the resumption of yen loan development projects.

“In regional matters, the President is interested in Abe’s foreign policy priorities and the two may exchange views on the developments in the Korean Peninsula and the resumption of the Six Party Talks on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula,” said Manalo in a statement.

The two leaders are also expected to touch on the controversial Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (Jpepa) whose ratification is now facing rough sailing at the Philippine Senate due to the issue on the reported clause allowing Japan to dump toxic and hospital waste to be dumped into the Philippine waters.

“Prime Minister Abe, who won elections in September 2006, is the youngest postwar Japanese prime minister to be elected. Succeeding Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Prime Minister Abe’s leadership is expected to steer Japan toward a greater role in regional peace and security. As such, his visit to the Philippines is expected to focus on Japan’s increasing role in the building up of an East Asian community as well as its increasing participation in the Mindanao peace process,” Manalo said.

Japan is the Philippines’ second largest trading partner with total trade amounting to $14.85 billion in 2005, a leading source of imports and among the top investors in the Philippines.

Japanese investments in the Philippines amounted to $4.20 billion in 2005, most of which is in manufacturing and construction.

japan has given us loads of money over the past years.... i dont know why but...

I see 3CR, your e-mails are inundated by the negative news while positive news do not matter at all. It just shows your true color that you are an oppositionists out to discredit the government and your continuous denial of it makes you an oxymoron. I wonder who are the destabilizers that inundate you with negative news.

BSP sees cut in transaction time with e-rediscounting facility
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=58885
The Bangko

Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said it has improved its credit-delivery system to the banks under its electronic rediscounting system to spur lending operations, especially to the countryside.

In a statement, the BSP said it set aside P20 billion for its rediscounting window, of which P11.2 billion remains.

Rediscounting is the process by which banks obtain loans or advances from the BSP by using eligible loan papers of their borrowers as collateral. It is used by the BSP to influence the volume of credit consistent with its objective of keeping prices stable.

Banks can avail of this credit facility starting December 13, so they can liquefy their financial position and meet the increasing demand for credit by the commercial, industrial and agricultural sectors.

Loans extended by commercial banks grew 6.1 percent year on year to P1.597 trillion as of September this year. This was the highest growth rate recorded since May 2005, consisting mainly of borrowings made by financial institutions, real estate and business services.

The BSP has been pushing banks to lend more to the public. It recently restored a tiering scheme, wherein banks’ money placements with the central bank that go beyond a set threshold would be paid a smaller interest rate.

With the adoption of e-rediscounting, a bank can file and submit its loan application on line without leaving its workstation. Under the present system, the borrowing bank manually submits its loan applications to the BSP.

The new system will reduce not only the processing time of loan application and payment but also the intermediation cost of borrowings by doing away with the cost of preparation and transportation of loan documents.

Within a matter of minutes, the bank will know the result of its loan application.

The BSP expects these benefits to trickle down to the banks’ clients. --Maricel E. Burgonio

ASEAN okays tariff cuts
...but RP appliance sector wins reprieve from fast-tracking
http://www.bworldonline.com/BW121106/content.php?id=001
Cebu City — The 12th ASEAN Summit may have been postponed but Southeast Asian trade ministers still managed to approve the fast-tracked elimination of tariffs on a number of products under so-called priority integration sectors beginning January 1, 2007, three years ahead of the original 2010 deadline.

While the Association of Southeast Asian Nations accelerated the dismantling of tariffs on more products such as wood and rubber, at least one Philippine sector — downstream electronics — was given a three-year reprieve, with tariffs preserved until all Common External Preferential Tariffs under the ASEAN Free Trade Area are eliminated in 2010 to give domestic manufacturers some protection.

Ramon Vicente T. Kabigting, director of the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Bureau of International Trade Relations, said local makers of appliances such as washing machines and air-conditioners which use chips were given "a little support."

The Philippine Appliance Industry Association last year requested the DTI to exclude several items from the 2007 accelerated tariff elimination, arguing that nine factories have closed and 4,000 workers have lost jobs because of tariff reductions in the last five years. The request, signed by association chairman Raul Joseph A. Concepcion of Concepcion Carrier Air Conditioning Company and president Fernanditas T. Malit, said 13 factories have survived, employing an estimated 8,000.

Aside from tariffs, ASEAN trade ministers agreed to eliminate non-tariff barriers — anti-dumping measures, countervailing duties, import restrictions, quotas — starting January 1, 2008 for Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, followed by another package in 2009 and then 2010. The Philippines received a concession and will begin eliminating non-tariff barriers only in 2010, with the remaining packages to be removed in 2011 and 2012.

Trade Secretary Peter B. Favila said he pushed for flexibilities to protect Philippine manufacturers, saying "You can’t zero out everything."

The four newest ASEAN members — Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam — were given extra time and won’t have to accelerate the elimination of tariffs in priority sectors until 2012. The "CLMV" countries also won’t dismantle non-tariff barriers until 2013.

Mr. Kabigting said a 12th sector, logistics, has been added to the 11 priority integration areas: electronics, information technology, healthcare, wood-based products, automotives, rubber-based products, textiles and apparel, agro-based products, fisheries, air travel, and tourism, to further lower the costs of doing business.

The priority sectors account for more than 54% of total ASEAN trade. In 2005, intra-ASEAN exports reached $163.7 billion, up by 16%. Intra-ASEAN imports went up by 19% to $143 billion, official data showed. Global ASEAN trade totaled $1.2 trillion last year.

ASEAN decided to accelerate the dismantling of tariffs on priority sectors in 2004 during the leaders’ summit in Vientiane, Laos. The region has advanced a goal to become an ASEAN Economic Community to 2015, from 2020, although not adopting the style of the European Union. Tariffs are already down to zero to 5% for nearly 100% of products in an inclusion list.

Before packing up as leaders decided to postpone the Cebu summit to January, trade ministers decided to finish some work and signed six of seven agreements Friday night. Four of the documents were "intra-ASEAN" agreements: an agreement to allow nurses to practice throughout the region, commitments to lower barriers on services trade under the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services, and two others relating to accelerated tariff cuts.

The other two agreements relate to the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area — a protocol acknowledging that the Philippines had joined an "early harvest program" of initial tariff cuts in 2005, and that China and Vietnam had ironed out a few concessions in trade in goods that did not meet the deadline.

Chinese officials, however, requested that the signing of the trade in services component of the ASEAN-China free trade deal be postponed so it can be witnessed by ASEAN and China’s heads of state.

Trade ministers also agreed to improve customs procedures by implementing the "ASEAN Single Window" by 2008, allowing single submission of data and information; single and synchronous processing of data and information; and single decision-making for customs release and clearance of goods.

An ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, which pushed through despite the postponement of the Cebu leaders’ summit, ended yesterday with ASEAN Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong pledging more consultations with businessmen.

Donald G. Dee, special envoy for trade and president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, noted that integration has been hastened but a few "landmines" need to be cleared, such as the need to move ahead with the single window project and allow professionals to practice in all 10 ASEAN countries.

Mr. Ong said: "We are 10 different countries that cannot easily become one."
New summit schedules bared

Cebu City — The 12th ASEAN summit as well as the group’s meetings with dialogue partners has been rescheduled for January 11-14, 2007, organizers yesterday announced.

The dates have been sent out to senior officials of ASEAN countries and dialogue partners for confirmation of the attendance of their respective heads of state, National Organizing Committee (NOC) chief Ambassador Marciano A. Paynor, Jr., told a news conference at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC).

The 12th ASEAN summit has been set for January 11, ASEAN Plus Three for January 12 and the East Asian summit for January 13.

Mr. Paynor said they have been assured of the "100% attendance" of ASEAN heads of state during these dates although Japan, a dialogue partner, has indicated it "may not be convenient for the prime minister."

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe — who pushed through with a state visit to Manila over the weekend — has a scheduled trip to Europe on these dates.

The NOC expects confirmations within the week. If only one or two heads of state cannot confirm, Mr. Paynor said they will be asked to send representatives so the meetings can still push through.

"All possibilities are being discussed, including holding just the ASEAN summit for now," Mr. Paynor said.

During the January summits, delegations may be reduced by about 20% since more than half of meetings have wrapped up. These include the senior officials, economic ministers and the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) meetings which pushed through last week.

Foreign ministers, meanwhile, have opted to hold their meetings next month and are expected to start arriving on January 8 for a conference the following day.

The EPG will be back next month to present their report on the proposed ASEAN charter to the heads of state.

Ambassador Victoriano Lecaros, NOC spokesperson, said "more than half" the documents expected to be signed this month have already been inked.

Despite the smaller delegations, Mr. Paynor said organizers are still concerned about accommodations because of the Sinulog festival on January 21.

"We took the Sinulog into consideration and we understand that the hotels have been pre-booked, but we feel that we can work around this," he said.

Asked about funding, Mr. Paynor declined to give a figure but said with the postponement, there will be additional allocations "where necessary."

Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn F. Garcia said the province may set aside more funds to improve the P515-million CICC. The facility sprang leaks on Saturday when rains brought by typhoon Seniang hit the city.

A four-day holiday declared for schools and government offices in Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu Cities, and Cordova town, has been revoked. Private and public schools and government employees will return to school and work today.

Mr. Paynor said they will discuss whether a similar holiday next month will be necessary. — Karen Flores-Garcia

Customs’ electronic system to expedite services
http://www.itmatters.com.ph/news.php?id=120506a

The Bureau of Customs (BoC) will soon launch an electronic-to-mobile system to expedite its services and allow its customers to transact business with just their mobile phones.

"We have requested telephone companies to provide mobile phone solutions to Internet-based solutions," Alexander M. Arevalo, Customs deputy commissioner for management information systems and technology said.

He declined to identify the firms.

Mr. Arevalo said the bureau will launch the "e2m" technology middle of next year, after its Internet-based data processing system becomes fully operational.

He explained the plan is not only to automate BoC processes and make its services available on the Internet, but also to expedite the delivery of these services.

"The plan might be to migrate to faceless, paperless and queueless transactions, but what if a port official is out in the field and cannot go to a computer to approve transactions? The answer is to go wireless," he said.

He added that since the bureau does not have the resources to increase personnel or upgrade most of its equipment, the solution lies in the "multiplier factors" of technology.

"An entity must be allowed to do multi-tasking at higher speed and least cost, and with more transparency and predictability," he said.

The plan calls for making the Customs bureau easily accessible through Internet or mobile phones.

Customers who will use the mobile technology, Mr. Averalo said, might be issued special SIM cards that will allow them access to the Customs system.

The SIM will allow number portability — those who will use it will retain their mobile phone numbers and continue to make calls or texts.

The cost to BoC will be very minimal since it will be the telephone companies that will develop the system.

"Our prime consideration is, mobile solutions should be faster than the Internet. If the Internet response time is five to 10 seconds, this should be shortened to three to five seconds," he said.

"What I am looking at is a governance experience that makes one feel as if someone is taking care of his or her requirements even through a mobile phone."

The e2m project is part of the P500-million ASYCUDA (Automated System for Customs Data) World project that the BoC is undertaking.

An important component is the migration to ASYCUDAWorld, an upgrade of ASYCUDA++, which was adopted in 1994 as part of the Philippine Tax Computerization Program.

Under the ASYCUDAWorld project, three major ports — Port of Manila, Ninoy Aquino International Airport and the Manila International Container Port — 12 provincial ports and 32 sub-ports will be linked up end to end.

Internet-based transactions will be enabled.

One using this electronic processing system will simply log on to a Web site that will be maintained by a third party "value-added service provider."

I see 3CR, your e-mails are inundated by the negative news while positive news do not matter at all. It just shows your true color that you are an oppositionists out to discredit the government and your continuous denial of it makes you an oxymoron. I wonder who are the destabilizers that inundate you with negative news.


^^ Sandrin, Hindi lang ako sipsip kay Ate Glo gaya ng iba. FYI I do get good news e-mails as well but many of you usually post them here already so it will be redundant to repost them again don't you think. Besides the bad news should not be taken as a negative but an incentive to find solutions and work harder (to solve the said problems) as it only shows there is still alot of work that needs to be done. Paranoid lang yung iba diyan kanya they take such posts as a personal attack and criticism of their idol. Sino kaya ang makitid ang ulo ngayon?

^^Wala naman siguro masama kung mag post ng negative things, talagang ganon my maganda meron ding pangit..:)

^^ Sandrin, Hindi lang ako sipsip kay Ate Glo gaya ng iba. FYI I do get good news e-mails as well but many of you usually post them here already so it will be redundant to repost them again don't you think. Besides the bad news should not be taken as a negative but an incentive to find solutions and work harder (to solve the said problems) as it only shows there is still alot of work that needs to be done. Paranoid lang yung iba diyan kanya they take such posts as a personal attack and criticism of their idol. Sino kaya ang makitid ang ulo ngayon?

Incentives from Malaya and the Tribune? :lol: If your motive is only to show that "there is still a lot of work that needs to be done" then you shouldn't be getting your news from those publications. Otherwise I wouldn't blame anyone who mistakes you for an oppositionist. It's an Erap machine for crying out loud. I'd prefer the Inquirer with all its sensationalism any day.

^^Wala naman siguro masama kung mag post ng negative things, talagang ganon my maganda meron ding pangit..:)
^^ Exactly. You hit the nail on the head. The thread's title is "Philippine Economy" so it doesn't have to be only good news. How can all these problems be addressed and possibly find solutions for them if the problems themselves can't be posted here and identified as some would like. Ang problema yung iba kundi bulag eh naprapraning sa katotohanan kanya they would rather not worry/face the problems the country is facing. Gusto lamang nila panay good news lang but what good will that do kung lalo lamang nagiging complacent tuloy ang mga tao imbis na lalong magsipag since there are alot more that need to be done. Diba just like in business/corporations, if the company is not doing well, then the CEO is answerable in the end of the day. Same thing with a country, the President in this case must be ultimately responsible as he/she is running the ship. I just call it as I see it maski sino pa ang nakaupo sa trono. Nagkataon lamang si Ate Glo ang nandiyan. Kung wala namang ginagawang kalokohan at maganda ang patakbo ng bansa eh wala naman sigurong magrereklamo di ba?



SWS: Arroyo net satisfaction ratings drops to -13

President Arroyo’s net satisfaction rating dropped to -13 as more Filipinos expressed dissatisfaction with her performance, results of the latest Social Weather Stations revealed Monday.

The latest SWS poll said 47 percent of respondents were dissatisfied with Mrs. Arroyo’s performance compared to 34 percent who were satisfied. The latest survey interviewed 1,200 respondents and was conducted on November 24 to 29.

“President Arroyo's national net rating has now been consistently negative for two and a half years, from third quarter 2004 to fourth quarter 2006,” SWS said in a statement.

The research firm’s third quarter survey released in September revealed 48 percent dissatisfied and 37 percent satisfied for a net satisfaction rating of -11.

Arroyo losing support in Visayas
The new SWS survey shows Mrs. Arroyo’s net satisfaction rating dropping drastically in the Visayas from +6 in September to -7 in November. Forty-five percent of Visayas respondents said they were dissatisfied with Mrs. Arroyo’s performance, up from 39 percent in September), while 38 percent said they were satisfied with Mrs. Arroyo’s performance, down from 45 percent in the earlier survey.

Mrs. Arroyo’s net satisfaction ratings dropped among Luzon respondents from -10 percent in September to -16 percent in November and in Mindanao from -8 percent in September to -16 last month.

Net satisfaction became less negative in Metro Manila from -41 to -16.

Upper classes not as bad as before

Mrs. Arroyo's net satisfaction rating became less negative among class ABC from -20 percent in September to -14 last month.

Class D respondents gave Mrs. Arroyo a lower net satisfaction rating from -6 percent in September to -9 percent last month.

Public satisfaction with the President declined among class E, with satisfaction at 30 percent now compared to 34 percent in September, and dissatisfaction at 54 percent now compared to 53 percent before, bringing her net satisfaction down to -25 percent from -18 percent previously.

Satisfaction with the President fell in urban areas, where those satisfied went from 35 percent in September to 29 percent in November, while those dissatisfied remained at 51 percent, bringing her urban net satisfaction from -17 in the previous quarter to -21 in November.

In rural areas, on the other hand, those satisfied went from 42 percent to 40 percent, while those dissatisfied remained at 43 percent.

Incentives from Malaya and the Tribune? :lol: If your motive is only to show that "there is still a lot of work that needs to be done" then you shouldn't be getting your news from those publications. Otherwise I wouldn't blame anyone who mistakes you for an oppositionist. It's an Erap machine for crying out loud. I'd prefer the Inquirer with all its sensationalism any day. Diba the same thing can be said for other newspapers/publications that others see as being pro-gov't naman? Pati ba naman sa Pinas there is no objectivity with news reporting? And if Malaya and Tribune are not credible (as you said) are you implying the news being reported there are mere fabrications? If so then why are they not being sued left or right for libel or shut down for that matter? Wala naman sama sa tingion ko infact I think it's good as it serves as a counter-balance as well as provide a different perspective on what's going on in Pinas. It's up to the readers then to decide what they want to believe in diba? Btw what publication would you recommend as a better read and actually objective reporting. I think I asked you before but do not remember getting an answer. Salamat! :)

FRESH FUNDS GO TO ELECTRONICS SECTOR
Jan-Sept foreign investments up 64%
Malaya
http://www.malaya.com.ph/dec12/busi3.htm

Net inflows from foreign direct investments rose by 64-percent to $1.6 billion in the first nine months from just $997 million last year as investments reversed to inflow in September, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said yesterday.

Investments during the month stood at a net inflow of $156 milion, a turnaround from the net outflow of $132 million posted last year.

The September level, however, was lower than the $243 million posted a month earlier.

BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said net equity capital placements amounted to $418 million in September, the highest since April 2002, fueling the growth in net inflows during the month.

Net inflows from equity capital during the month stood at $404 million from only $21 million last year.

Tetangco said fresh foreign funds, particularly from the Netherlands, were invested mostly to the local electronics manufacturing industry.

"By contrast, FDI flows in earlier months were dominated by the ‘other capital’ or intercompany borrowing and lending between foreign direct investors and their local affiliates," Tetangco said.

For the nine-month period, net equity capital was at $942 million, lower than $1 billion last year.

Tetangco said the gross placements of $1.2 billion during the period were channeled to the manufacturing and service sectors, construction, real estate and financial intermediation.

Major investors to the country during the period were the United States, Japan, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Federal Republic of Germany and Switzerland.

In September, the other capital account reversed to a net outflow of $255 million from net inflow of $130 million a month earlier. It was higher than the net outflow of $138 million posted last year.

However, for the nine-month period, the account stood at a net inflow of $705 million from a net $173 million outflow a year earlier.

In September, investors kept a small portion of their profits with the net reinvested earnings amounting to just $7 million, declining slightly from $9 million a month earlier but swung from a $15-million outflow last year.

For the nine-month period, however, investors chose to repatriate their funds with net reinvestments remaining at an outflow of $11 million from $15 million last year.

The BSP expects net foreign direct investments of $2 billion this year, higher than $1.1 billion last year.

Tetangco said investors’ sentiment on the country remains bullish as the government continues to implement its fiscal reforms.

The BSP said investment growth with continue, with net FDIs seen at $2.2 billion in 2007.

3CR, regarding ur post about the lower than forcasted GDP growth, that was posted the day the article came out so i thought it was "redundant" as you mentioned earlier to post bad news that has already been posted.

^^ I didn't see it the first time it was posted.

Diba the same thing can be said for other newspapers/publications that others see as being pro-gov't naman? Pati ba naman sa Pinas there is no objectivity with news reporting? And if Malaya and Tribune are not credible (as you said) are you implying the news being reported there are mere fabrications? If so then why are they not being sued left or right for libel or shut down for that matter? Wala naman sama sa tingion ko infact I think it's good as it serves as a counter-balance as well as provide a different perspective on what's going on in Pinas. It's up to the readers then to decide what they want to believe in diba? Btw what publication would you recommend as a better read and actually objective reporting. I think I asked you before but do not remember getting an answer. Salamat! :)

I agree... it's upon the readers to whom they in themselves think speaks of truth... anyways... I think it's also good that we read news that is "biased" on the "other" camp.... at least we can judge or analyze both sides of the coin and not being single-minded.... and I hope that we don't need to attack a person's opinion here if they are against what we believe in....

anyways... I'd suggest that we keep ourselves careful of what we read and trust and not put much bias to one side... our local politics and press as well are very tricky and tend to play on the minds and feelings of the people for their own gain....

and also there are still members of the local press that are being paid or supported by the administration or the opposition to beautify themselves or to throw rubbish to the other camp...

Inflation is expected to go down even further in the next couple of months as transport rates and power generation rates adjust to the decline in oil prices.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said that based on their initial calculations, the reduction in transport fares alone could bring the inflation rate down by less than half a percentage point.

Jeepney fares went down from a minimum of P7.50 to P7, effective yesterday. Bus fares are also scheduled to go down, bringing down further the cost of public transportation.

According to Tetangco, every one percent change in transport fares translates into a corresponding decline in the headline inflation of 0.044 percentage point over a period of 12 months.

"Roughly, this adjustment in transport cost is equivalent to about 6.6 percent decline," Tetangco said. "So that’s roughly equal to a 0.29 percentage-point decline in inflation."

However, the BSP said it also has to factor in the adjustments in power rates as a result of declining oil prices since the country’s energy mix consisted of about 30 percent bunker fuel.

"Directionally, we can say inflation rate would go down but it would depend on the magnitude of the decline in these other components," said BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo.

According to Guinigundo, there is an expected drop in power generation cost which would be translated into a rebate to power consumers.

However, this could be wiped out by the subsequent increase in transmission rates.

"It will also depend on when these rates would be applied," he said.

A decline in the headline inflation rate is an indication that the increase in domestic prices are slowing down as the cost of the major components of goods and services go down.

As of November, the prices of consumer goods increased by an average of 4.7 percent, the slowest price increase recorded since May 2004.

Data from the National Statistics Office (NSO) showed that prices have slowed down by an average of 6.4 percent so far this year because of the decline in oil prices combined with the strength of the peso.

The actual November inflation rate was within the 4.5 to 5.2 percent range projected by the BSP which has been expecting prices to decelerate in the second half of the year.

The NSO said the slowdown in the annual inflation rates of all the commodity groups except for housing and repairs (H&R) contributed to the downtrend. Inflation a year ago was 7.1 percent.

Excluding selected food and energy items, the NSO said the core inflation eased to 4.7 percent in November from 5.1 percent in October.

With the continued appreciation of the peso, Tetangco said the BSP expected to be able to meet the target inflation rate for 2007 pegged at 3-4 percent.

I agree... it's upon the readers to whom they in themselves think speaks of truth... anyways... I think it's also good that we read news that is "biased" on the "other" camp.... at least we can judge or analyze both sides of the coin and not being single-minded.... and I hope that we don't need to attack a person's opinion here if they are against what we believe in....

anyways... I'd suggest that we keep ourselves careful of what we read and trust and not put much bias to one side... our local politics and press as well are very tricky and tend to play on the minds and feelings of the people for their own gain....

and also there are still members of the local press that are being paid or supported by the administration or the opposition to beautify themselves or to throw rubbish to the other camp...

Actually that may be true if the people here are posting editorials and opinions but this is the economy thread and most of the postings here are projects and investments in the offing, tangible things that can and have materialized. They are facts and cannot be biased.

FDI...up by more than 60% to US$1.6B :applause:

I agree... it's upon the readers to whom they in themselves think speaks of truth... anyways... I think it's also good that we read news that is "biased" on the "other" camp.... at least we can judge or analyze both sides of the coin and not being single-minded.... and I hope that we don't need to attack a person's opinion here if they are against what we believe in....

anyways... I'd suggest that we keep ourselves careful of what we read and trust and not put much bias to one side... our local politics and press as well are very tricky and tend to play on the minds and feelings of the people for their own gain....

and also there are still members of the local press that are being paid or supported by the administration or the opposition to beautify themselves or to throw rubbish to the other camp...

Yup censorship does not solve anything imho. Censorship only hides them. That's not a good thing.

Property up 26% in Q3, highest in 24 years—NSCB
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=business4_dec13_2006
By Roderick T. dela Cruz

The real estate sector grew 26.2 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2006, the highest growth in 24 years.

“This was the highest growth recorded since the third quarter of 1982,” the National Statistical Coordination Board said yesterday.

The NSCB used the constant 1985 prices to calculate the year-on-year growth of the real estate, which stripped the impact of inflation.

“Brisk sales from residential projects by overseas Filipino workers, the strong demand for business office spaces from the business process outsourcing [BPO] industry and higher income from rental and leasing operations from newly opened supermalls propelled the growth of the real estate in the third quarter,” the statistics agency said.

The growth of real estate was even more pronounced using the current prices. Data show that real estate expanded by 33.9 percent year-on-year to P16.977 billion at current prices in the third quarter of 2006.

In the first three quarters of the year, the sector grew 23.1 percent to P44.547 billion at current prices from a year ago.

Property research firm Colliers International had reported that the continuous expansion of the BPO sector have brought down the average office space vacancy rate at the Makati and Ortigas commercial business districts to 5 percent of the total office space stock as of the third quarter from 6 percent in the second quarter.

Colliers estimated that until the fourth quarter, vacancy rate in the Makati CBD would drop further to 4.7 percent while that in Ortigas CBD would contract to 1.2 percent.

Aside from office space, new residential and commercial developments, powered by solid growth in remittance inflows, led to the fastest growth of real estate in the third quarter.

The country’s official development assistance (ODA) disbursements for the first nine months of the year went up by three percent to $867 million compared to the same period the previous year, a top economic manager said.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Romulo L. Neri said the main sources of ODA are Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC), World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Of the three, only JBIC increased its commitment to the country by 1.3 percent to $546.8 million from $539.7 million.

On the other hand, ADB cut its disbursements by more than half, registering a 59 percent drop to only $59.8 million from $144.6 million while the World Bank disbursements fell by 1.2 percent to $86 million from $87 million.

Other ODA sources increased by 136.8 percent from $73.1 million to $174.4 milloin.

As of October, total ODA loans for ongoing projects stood at $8.29 billion. JBIC financed 57 percent or $4.73 billion, 14 percent or $1.14 billion from ADB, 13 percent or $1.11 billion from the World Bank, and 16 percent or $1.31 billion from other sources.

"This indicates continuous improvement in our absorptive capacity," Neri said.

However, NEDA said the performance of the implementing agencies lagged as they disbursed only 76 percent of target ODA-assisted projects, lower when compared to last year’s 83 percent disbursement.

"Factors cited by the implementing agencies for the decline in disbursement performance include budget constraints; low demand of credits; and delayed procurement and processing of contracts/subproject preparations, awarding of contracts; delivery of equipment, acquisition of right-of-way, and submission/processing of documents to effect disbursements," Neri said.

Sixty percent of the loan commitments were allotted to National Government agencies and local government units (LGUs) while 40 percent to government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) and government financial institutions (GFIs).

Exports sustain double-digit growth at 15.5% in October
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200612130711.htm
By Ma. Elisa P. Osorio
The Philippine Star 12/13/2006

The country’s export earnings went up by 15.5 percent in October, sustaining a double-digit growth seen since March this year due to a strong global demand for electronic products.

The National Statistics Office (NSO) reported yesterday that exports rose to $4.19 billion in October from $3.635 billion in the same period last year.

The October figure brought exports for the first nine months of the year to $39.3 billion, up 16.4 percent over the same period last year.

Electronics, which accounted for 63 percent of total export earnings for October, increased by 9.9 percent year-on-year to $2.64 billion.

Among the major groups of electronic products, components devices (seminconductors) still get the major share of 16.8 percent to total exports with earnings of $1.962 billion in October.

With the exception of consumer electronics, all other groups of electronic products showed increases. These are electronic data processing, up 6.7 percent; automotive electronics, 3.6 percent; office equipment, 23.6 percent; telecommunication, 19.9 percent; and communication/radar, 18.2 percent.

Following electronics are articles of apparel and clothing accessories with a combined export share of 5.5 percent. This translates to an income of $231.39 million, or an 11.4 percent increase when compared to a year ago figures of $207.81 million.

Overseas demand for men’s, women’s, children’s and infants’ wear, as well as cotton women’s/girls’ trousers and breeches and cotton and knitted/crocheted jerseys, pullovers, cardigans, waistcoats and similar articles has increased thereby fueling the country’s income from this segment.

Export of manufactured goods grew 13.4 percent or $3.691 billion from $3.255 billion during the same period in 2005 while earnings from mineral products reached $202.98 million or 4.8 percent of the total export revenue.

Woodcrafts and furniture likewise posted triple digit growth at 157.9 percent. With shipments worth $87.32 million.

On the other hand, exports of petroleum products went down by 25.6 percent to $59.96 million from $80.57 million.

The United States remained to be the major market receiving almost 19 percent of the exports worth $793.46 million followed by Japan with 16 percent share or $670 million.

PNOC-EDC shines in stock mart debut

PNOC-Energy Development Corp., the Philippines’ largest geothermal energy producer, yesterday surged 42 percent in its stock market debut to close at P4.55 per share from its initial public offering price of P3.20.

The geothermal power producer, a unit of state-owned Philippine National Oil Co., listed 5.2 billion in primary and secondary shares, generating up to P16.7 billion in proceeds.

The Department of Energy said the listing of the shares of PNOC-EDC at the Philippine Stock Exchange indicated the continuing confidence of investors in the privatization of the country’s energy assets.

Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla Jr. with fresh funds from the initial public offering, PNOC-EDC would be better-positioned to pursue its expansion projects, to attain country’s energy independence goal.

PNOC-EDC president and chief executive Paul Aquino said during the listing ceremony attended by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo that the robust market condition provided the perfect time for the company to launch an IPO.

“The economy has taken a positive turn, and investors have never been this bullish on a government corporation since our sister company, Petron, went public in 1994,” he said.

Approximately 74 percent of the total offering was allocated to foreign institutional and corporate investors and 26 percent to the domestic market. ]

Over 160 foreign institutional investors, including International Finance Corp., the investment arm of the World Bank, subscribed to the international offering. Aquino said investors saw that the company’s financial position was at its healthiest and its excellent business performance could be raised when the company ventured in the global arena.

Richard Taylor, head of PNOC-EDC’s financial adviser CLSA, said he was confident the company would exercise the overallotment option.

PNOC-EDC earlier allotted between 635 million and 783 million shares to cover the over-allotment option.

Aquino said PNOC-EDC would receive half of the proceeds from the offering while parent firm PNOC and the Department of Finance would share equally the other half.

The geothermal firm said it planned to invest $150 million to $200 million to upgrade its 20-year-old drilling equipment and fund its short-term capital needs and exploration ventures.

The company currently operates 11 geothermal steam fields in four contract areas where it has obtained exclusive rights to exploration, development and utilization through service contracts with the energy department.

Business news today feature about the 42% jump of PNOC-EDC shares in the stock market. This further pushes forward our positive stride over our economy.
From its initial offering of P3.20, it closed at P4.55 per share yesterday. By the way, PNOC-EDC is the Philippines' largest geothermal energy producer.

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has improved its inflation forecast for 2006 because of easing oil prices and food prices.

At the same time, the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) has adjusted its inflation target in 2007.

In a press briefing, BSP Governor Amando M. Te-tangco Jr. said BSP assumes inflation to reach 6.3 percent in 2006 from the original forecast of 7.3 percent to 7.9 percent.

“We expect the whole year at 6.3 percent due to deceleration of inflation rate in December because of easing oil prices and impact of good harvest in food prices,” Tetangco said.

Moreover, the continued appreciation of peso contributed to the adjustment of in-flation target. In addition, the effect of the lifting of exemptions in value-added tax (VAT) last year is hardly felt in December this year.

However, DBCC revised its inflation target to 4 percent from the original 3 percent for 2007 as the tolerance interval during the shift from a range inflation target to a point target effectively widens the BSP’s target brand.

A broader target band is seen to provide added flexibility to monetary authorities in steering inflation, particularly in the Philippine setting where consumer prices are subject to large supply stocks because of the sizable share of food items in the consumer basket.

It helps ensure that the design of the inflation target is consistent with the country’s economic circumstances and helps align the monetary practices in the country with those in other inflation-targeting countries.

Tetangco also announced that government exports in 2007 could grow 13 percent to $15.95 billion and the gross international reserves could reach $24 billion next year from the estimated $22 billion in 2006.

Total remittances from overseas Filipino workers are projected to further improve at 15 percent year on year to $14.083 billion in 2007.

Hey, so i read this great article on rolling stone magazine regarding America's current economic health and status. The article was written by Paul Krugman, who writes real good opinion pieces for the New York Times, im sure Lili and Boybaha recognizes his name. His article basically sums up what's going on in the American Economy, which i completely agree with. But what struck me was what he wrote in the last 2 pages of his article regarding the economies of latin america.

He figures that Latin America's economic disappointment is due largely to its vast economic inequality (the gap between the rich and poor). This inequality he postulates was the result of spanish rule and is the main cause of STATE CORRUPTION!!!! OMG, Its the Philippines!!!!!!!!!

i'll post a link

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/12699486/paul_krugman_on_the_great_wealth_transfer/1

so, u decide, are we comparable to the economies of Latin America???????

I tend to think that we are somewhat in a better position, but all this depends on, well, WE THE FILIPINO PEOPLE

mightve because of the religion shoving their nose in every movement

Hey, so i read this great article on rolling stone magazine regarding America's current economic health and status. The article was written by Paul Krugman, who writes real good opinion pieces for the New York Times, im sure Lili and Boybaha recognizes his name. His article basically sums up what's going on in the American Economy, which i completely agree with. But what struck me was what he wrote in the last 2 pages of his article regarding the economies of latin america.

He figures that Latin America's economic disappointment is due largely to its vast economic inequality (the gap between the rich and poor). This inequality he postulates was the result of spanish rule and is the main cause of STATE CORRUPTION!!!! OMG, Its the Philippines!!!!!!!!!

i'll post a link

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/12699486/paul_krugman_on_the_great_wealth_transfer/1

so, u decide, are we comparable to the economies of Latin America???????

I tend to think that we are somewhat in a better position, but all this depends on, well, WE THE FILIPINO PEOPLE


Rolling Stones is not a credible magazine to get information on the economy. Neither is New York Times. I terminated my subscription a long time ago.
The Philippines has always been the exception of all exceptions so comparison with Latin America and/or SEA is wrong. Their prediction that RP would default like Argentina had failed. So was the prediction that RP might stir to commies' direction like Venezuela.
Instead the Philippines has pre-paid a huge amount of it's debt, of which some are ready for retirement and the commies embers are successfully being stamp on.
And RP wasn't poor up until the 1970s. It was only after the martia law that our economy plunged. That was the mistakes of the modern day Filipinos. Blaming our distant past (when RP as a nation) was rich is not a reason but merely a scapegoat.
Therefore, it is wrong for any one to compare the RP with either Latin America or SEA. We're the exception of all exceptions.

Unemployment rate down to 7.3% in October
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200612160711.htm
By Ma. Elisa P. Osorio
The Philippine Star 12/16/2006

The country’s unemployment rate fell to 7.3 percent in October from 7.4 percent a year ago despite shrinking work opportunities in the agriculture sector, the government reported yesterday.

Farm sector jobs fell by 7,000 to 12.16 million and employment in this sector accounted for 36.7 percent of the national total.

In real terms, the unemployed persons numbered 2.6 million in October with one in every three unemployed was at most a high school graduate, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said.

Employment, on the other hand, went up to 92.7 percent in October from 92.6 percent a year earlier due to a rise in the number of employed persons in the industry sector.

Employment in the industry sector rose by 12,000 to 4.895 million accounting for 14.75 percent of the total.

For October, the total labor force grew to 56 million from 54.80 million last year.

The National Capital Region (NCR) had the lowest employment rate among all the regions at 85.3 percent while the Zamboanga Peninsula had the highest at 97.2 percent closely followed by Cagayan Valley at 97.1 percent.

The increase in employment was attributed mainly to the growth in the service sector as almost half of the people working or 48.6 percent are employed in this sector. Total number of employees in the sector is at 16.1 million as of October, almost two percent augmentation from the 15.8 million October last year as employment in all services sub-sectors increased except in the sub-sector for other community, social and personal service activities which declined by 8,000.

Looking at occupation groups, service workers and shop and market sales workers posted the highest increase at 135,000 while the 32 percent who are classified as laborers and unskilled workers declined in number, from 10.61 million in October 2005 to 10.591 million in October 2006.

NSO data showed that the number of unpaid family workers went up four percent. It further noted that one in two employed persons was a wage or salary worker. Salary or wage workers are 16.8 million.

Classifying workers by the number of hours spent at the work place, full time workers, or those who work for 40 hours or more, went down 0.5 percent at 20.5 million in October 2006 compared to 20.6 million in October 2005

On the other hand, the part-time workers, or those who work for less than 40 hours, increased by 3.2 percent, from 11.8 million in October 2005 to 12.2 million in October this year.

Judging by job ads in classifieds, there seems to be a slight increase in jobs available. The 2007 economy should be better than 2006, ceteris paribus, as the 'fruits' of the increased economic confidence starts to kick in.

Rolling Stones is not a credible magazine to get information on the economy. Neither is New York Times. I terminated my subscription a long time ago.
The Philippines has always been the exception of all exceptions so comparison with Latin America and/or SEA is wrong. Their prediction that RP would default like Argentina had failed. So was the prediction that RP might stir to commies' direction like Venezuela.
Instead the Philippines has pre-paid a huge amount of it's debt, of which some are ready for retirement and the commies embers are successfully being stamp on.
And RP wasn't poor up until the 1970s. It was only after the martia law that our economy plunged. That was the mistakes of the modern day Filipinos. Blaming our distant past (when RP as a nation) was rich is not a reason but merely a scapegoat.
Therefore, it is wrong for any one to compare the RP with either Latin America or SEA. We're the exception of all exceptions.


Ewan ko ba sa mga "experts" kuno na yan, laging may palusot, either better or worse than expected and GDP grpwth, laging may palusot...

Govt expects economy to grow 5.8% next year

The Philippines’ economic growth is forecast to hit 5.8 percent in 2007, up from 5.7 percent projected for this year, documents from the Development Budget Coordinating Committee show. A noted foreign bank, meanwhile, expects the economy to grow by 3.1 percent next year due to lower export volume.

Exports, which the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas expects to grow 13 percent next year, will boost the gross domestic product (GDP) despite a slowdown in the US economy. The central bank forecast is higher than the projection of 5 percent by the International Monetary Fund . Exports this year are expected to grow 12 percent.

CLSA, the Asian investment banking arm of Credit Agricole, sees the domestic economy of the Philippines slowing to 3.1 percent due to waning electronics exports and diminished private consumption.

CLSA said in a report entitled “Eye on Asian Economies 4Q2006” that the country’s domestic economy as measured by the GDP would slow down to 3.1 percent next year from the projected 5.7 percent this year.

The investment bank attributed the projected contraction of the domestic economy to the additional threat that the Philippines faces as a result of the economic downturn in the US.

“With both exports and private consumption affected, we forecast real GDP to slow to 3.1 percent in 2007,” CLSA said in the report.

Central bank deputy Gov. Diwa Guinigundo said “we expect the economic growth performance to continue to improve for the next five year precisely because the fiscal performance is improving. This is very important to be able to finance the critical requirements for infrastructure including power, telecom and other public works like roads and bridges, and ports, both airports and sea ports.”

Guinigundo said the Philippines’ growth potential has been constrained by lack of infrastructure in the past decades and the new focus on infrastructure needed to expand the level of potential output.

The committee’s baseline forecast on gross domestic product growth is at 4.9 percent with the baseline forecast for next year placed at 4.7 percent. But its emerging forecast is higher at 5.7 percent and 5.8 percent for this year and next year, respectively.

But the Philippines will need to raise its growth rates to the 7 to 8 percent levels reported by its neighbors if it wants to reduce poverty.

The CLSA report said private consumption would be affected by the US economic downturn as about 60 percent of the remittances from US-based Filipino migrant workers.

However, it pointed out that next year’s GDP forecast was better than the original projection of 2.8 percent.

Retirement, medical tourism eyed in 2007 IPP
Call centers contribute $1 billion to economy
By Maricel E. Burgonio and Angelo S. Samonte, Reporters
Manila Times
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/dec/18/yehey/business/20061218bus1.html

CALL centers and other business-process outsourcing (BPO) firms contribute a billion dollars to the economy each year, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

“Based on partial results of our survey, there could be at least $ billion inflows from this industry,” BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo said.

The BSP is completing its survey on the sunrise industry, which includes medical and legal transcription firms, call centers and other BPO firms. This project is in line with the government’s attempt to capture the economic benefits from this sector, as well as its impact on the country’s balance of payments position.

BPO inflows are currently recorded in the services account, which is one of the main drivers of the economy.

Guinigundo said the BSP is studying whether BPO inflows will be treated as a separate item or included in the BOP payments account.

“We’re studying that but we have to make sure there will be no overlapping or double entry,” he said.

He said it is difficult tracking the transfer of funds to the local BPO sector, as transfers are made through private accounts and not through intercompany accounts.

Besides the BSP, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is conducting a separate survey to determine the BPO sector’s contribution to the economy.

At present, industry growth is measured through the aggregate number of seats generated.

In a related development, the government plans to include the retirement and medical tourism industries in its investment priorities plan (IPP) for next year, a Board of Investments official said.

“The BOI is now drafting and reviewing the 2007 IPP and we support the inclusion of these sectors as beneficiaries of government incentives,” Francis Ferrer, BOI governor, said, adding that the agency is formulating incentives such as income-tax holiday and duty-free importation of capital equipment for the retirement and wellness centers.

“We are working to tailor fit incentives to the retirement industry,” he said.

Ferrer said at least six project proponents have sent feelers to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority [PEZA] and BOI, and started to look into Laguna, Tagaytay and Leyte, where land is cheaper than in other urbanized areas.

Ferrer said the BOI may also grant incentives to centers of excellence, which offer specialized training courses and English classes to improve the skills of Filipinos.

This year’s IPP focuses on the sectors identified in the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) 2004-10. The major government goals included in the 2006 IPP are job creation, agribusiness development, entrepreneurship and micro, small and medium enterprise development, energy independence, modernization of infrastructure and logistics, market-driven export development, building a network of transport and digital infrastructure, and strengthening the country’s global competitiveness.

This IPP utilizes the industry cluster approach to enhance industrial competitiveness, promote investments in the countryside, develop micro, small and medium enterprises and support the One-Town, One-Product Program.

Economic outlook up despite US slowdown
By Likha C. Cuevas, Reporter
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/dec/18/yehey/business/20061218bus2.html

GIVEN its recent resilience, the Philippines is likely to tide over the feared slowdown of the United States economy, according to an investment advisory firm.

In a research note, CLSA said its outlook on the country improved to the positive investor sentiment, enhanced government credibility and low interest rates. “Investment which has been absent for so long from the Philippines may be starting to turn up,” it said.

Better infrastructure—including the power sector—would spur projects by investors as they are assured of the country’s competitiveness, CLSA said.

However, the Philippines still faces risks as it is vulnerable to the US downturn since its export base is not diversified enough and it would leave the economy exposed to declining electronics demand. The firm said it expects that exports would contract by 4.5 percent year on year after the 15.4-percent projected growth for 2006.

OFW remittances—which boosted private consumption—would decline since about 60 percent of remittances come from the US. With both exports and remittances affected, CLSA predicts that economic growth would slow down to 3.1 percent next year.

The advisory firm said that control of the fiscal deficit is the main reason for improving sentiment, which is why it predicts the fiscal gap for this year and next would be kept below the ceilings of P125 billion and P63 billion, respectively.

The outlook for interest rates also was favorable given the strengthening of the peso, which kept interest rates low. “This will underpin private-sector demand even as overseas remittances slow,” CLSA said.


__________________________


Napocor negotiates debt absorption by national government

In light of the government’s improving finances, the National Power Corp. (Napocor) is negotiating for the possible absorption of the rest of its outstanding obligations. The plan to transfer the rest of its financial obligations to the national government is aimed at making the sale of its assets more attractive to investors.

Nieves Osorio, Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (Psalm) president, said that Napocor wants to pass on another P300 billion of its outstanding debt.

“It doesn’t have to be direct absorption, it can be in different forms,” Osorio said. “It would really depend on the national government. That’s the policy decision that has to be made by the national government.

We gave our various options and I don’t want to preempt them.” “But right now we have to demonstrate first our liability management program,” she said.

Last year Napocor cut its debt after the national government absorbed P200 billion of the firm’s P500-billion debt, as provided for under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act.

Along with a stronger peso, Napocor cut its outstanding debt to $7 billion from the year ago $10.2 billion.

Gov’t to absorb more Napocor debts
BY MAX ESTAYO
Malaya
http://www.malaya.com.ph/dec18/busi1.htm

The government plans to absorb an additional P200 billion more of Napocor’s debts to make the power company more attractive to buyers.

Not wanting to break the streak of good luck attending the sale of power companies in the past couple of months, Nieves Osorio, president of Power Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. said the balance sheet of the National Power Corp. will be cleaned up some more.

"We are exploring ways how to go about it", she said. " It doesn’t have to be a direct absorption, it could come in many other forms," Osorio, said without elaborating.

In the past couple of months, PSALM has been able to sell the Pantabangan Masiway complex to the First Gen unit of the Lopez Group. Last week, the Aboitiz Group offered $530 million for the Magat hydropower plant. A couple of days ago, the Philippine assets of Mirant were also sold to Tepco and Marubeni.

The listing of the PNOC-EDC was also a success with the IFC investing close to a third of the issue.

The decision to take in more of Napocor’s liabilities gained ground after the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank, two of the fundamental sources of loans for power development, said they support government’s plan to help the company.

The government assumed P200 billion of Napocor’s P500 billion debts under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act.

If the government absorbs P200 billion, Napocor will be left with P100 billion debts which it could now easily restructure.

With lower debts, Napocor will also command lower risk premiums on its borrowings.

Psalm last week completed Napocor’s borrowing program for the year with the issuance of P10 billion 5- and 10-year bonds. It had initially planned to sell P6 billion.

The 5-year bonds fetched a coupon rate of 5.25 percent while the 10-year were priced at 5.875 percent, both lower considerably than the benchmark rates at the secondary market.

Total tenders for the issue reached P24 billion and Osorio said with the warm reception for the issue, Psalm may consider borrowing more in 2007 to fund Napocor’s deficit and support operations.

"If there’s appetite, we’ll go for peso," Osorio said.

Psalm sold $500 million bonds in October, raising two-thirds of the state-owned power firm’s financing requirement for the year.

Napocor has an approval for $700 million, which will be used to fund maturing obligations of about the same amount this year.

The peso borrowing, Osorio said is a "step towards better management" of Napocor’s debts.

The government is selling up to 70 percent of Napocor’s assets.

BoI seeks incentives for medical tourism
By Elaine Ruzul S. Ramos
Manila Standard
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=business4_dec18_2006

The Board of Investments is considering the possibility of including sunrise industries such as retirement and medical tourism in the 2007 Investment Priorities Plan.

Board Gov. Francis Ferrer said government was crafting the 2007 listing of sectors that the government prioritized through the grant of fiscal and non-fiscal perks.

He said the agency planned to formulate incentives such as income tax holiday, duty free importation and other perks to further encourage more investments into the two sectors.

“We are supporting wellness centers. We are formulating incentives such as ITH, duty free importation, etc. We also want to tailor-fit incentives to the retirement industry,” said Ferrer.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has earlier declared the development of the local retirement industry as a flagship project of her administration.

Ferrer said several companies were seriously looking at venturing into the development of retirement villages. Among the areas being considered are Laguna, Tagaytay and Leyte where land prices are still relatively low.

Ferrer said at least six groups have sent feelers to the Department of Trade and Industry and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority for possible investments in new retirement villages in exchange for government perks.

The board is also looking at granting incentives to centers of excellence.

“These are activities that will improve the skills and knowledge of Filipinos,” said Ferrer.

He cited centers that offer specialized training courses as well as English and other languages classes.

The board is drafting the 2007 IPP, a rolling annual list of sectors prioritized by government with the grant of incentives. The plan includes the sectors as well as the incentives that granted to investors. The listing is prepared and reviewed annually by the board in consultation with other government agencies as well as the public.

DBP to put up more int’l units for OFW remittances
By FIL C. SIONIL
Manila Bulletin
http://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS2006121882657.html

The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) is taking its remittance operations on a higher gear this coming year by putting up centers to service the requirements of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the United States and Eastern Europe.

"In 2007, we are setting up offices in Italy, the United States and the Middle East in 2007," DBP President and Chief Executive Officer Reynaldo G. David disclosed.

The DBP is also preening its eyes on Greece, considered to be the base of cash-rich sea-based OFWs with shipping, mainly manned by world-class, most sought-after Filipino seamen, as the major industry of this Eastern European country.

Though, relatively late comer in the business, DBP, to date, has handled roughly about $ 20 million worth of dollar remittances from OFWs based in the region following the opening of DBP Remittance Center HK Ltd., engaged in both the remittance and trade business mid this year.

Articer Quebal, DBP consultant for remittance service, expounded the bank will set up its subsidiary to be based in Houston, Texas, which will be its headquarters for its US operations.

The subsidiary, tentatively, named, DBP US-Remittance Center Inc., will be the hub of the bank’s overall operations, Quebal told Business Bulletin, in an interview.

Under the blueprint of its US operations, the plan is to establish remittance satellite offices both in the West and East Coasts, notably California, Las Vegas and New Jersey, among others, where is a large concentration of Fil-Americans.

Capital investment is placed at $ 2 million. Quebal said DBP is looking at the second quarter of 2007, most likely sometime in April, to start-up the remittance business.

"We are awaiting approval from the regulators," he said.

DBP has to obtain a clearance from the Monetary Board, the policymaking body of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), for this as an add-on to its other existing services.

The BSP, likewise, has to approve the $ 2 million investment since it is considered as a capital outflow.

All offshore investments require monetary authorities’ go signal as part of the monitoring and supervision process of the country’s financial system, particularly, the outflow of dollars, which could impact on the capital account matrix of the balance of payments position.

It could to some extent influence the movement of the foreign exchange rate.

After the BSP, the next step is to seek clearance from US banking regulators, Quebal said.

Remittance operation is one of the new projects DBP has embraced for the year.

In fact, DBP went a step further, not only servicing the delivery of heardearned money of OFWs to their beneficiaries.

As a strategy in eatingup a market share of this lucrative business, DBP introduced a complement program, offering a financing facility for OFWs by providing pre-departure, multi-purpose, enterprise development, and housing loans.

"We want to make sure that our OFWs and their families are well-taken care of," David said.

The objective is to assist OFWs’s in managing their resources by investing significant amount of their savings in entrepreneurial activities so that when they go home for good, they will have something to bank on, he explained.

The stock market will likely rise this week with the traditional year-end window dressing expected to provide the boost.

Analysts said the strong gains registered by Wall Street on Friday were also expected to inspire investor sentiments in the stock market.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average soared to a new all-time closing high of 12,445.52 Friday with a weekly gain of 1.12 percent.

The broad-market Standard & Poor’s 500 advanced 1.22 percent for the week to a fresh six-year high of 1,427.07 while the tech-weighted Nasdaq composite index climbed 0.81 percent to 2,457.20, its best level since early 2001.

AB Capital Securities said while the local stock market had finally breached the 2,850-point resistance level, which could indicate the beginning of the annual year-end window dressing, there were key risks that investors had to take into consideration.

One of them is the concern for anti-charter change demonstrations.
AB Capital said investors, who are ready to take profits on the slightest indication of political instability, would closely watch this development.

“Notwithstanding, the market will most likely creep higher instead of surging like it did in the past months. In our opinion, we have already seen this year’s best runup already. Key risks for next week will be the developments on the political front,” AB Capital said.

Meanwhile, analysts said the index seemed poised for a runup to 2,900-2,932 as investors started positioning for earnings prospects for the first quarter of 2007.

“A generally buoyant tone is expected to rule the market this week, driven mostly by liquidity. Strong influx of remittances and overwhelming reception on PNOC-Energy Development Corp. international offering have supported the peso’s strength against the greenback, coupled by stable single-digit interest rates,” 2TradeAsia said.

The stock market last week closed higher at 2,856.29 from the previous week’s close of 2,831.40 on positive economic reports. Average daily value turnout ballooned to P6.4 billion, up 140 percent from last week’s P2.7 billion due mainly to the listing debut of EDC last Wednesday.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas also reported that remittances from Filipino workers overseas surged 36.7 percent in October, bringing the total inflow from January to October this year to $10.3 billion.

Data showed that the $1.19-billion remittances for October were the highest monthly inflow so far this year. The country’s unemployment rate fell to 7.3 percent in October from 7.4 percent a year ago, despite shrinking work opportunities in the agriculture sector.

Jobs in farm sector, which accounted for 36.7 percent of the total, fell by 7,000 to 12.16 million.

Peso hits 4 ½-year high, stocks at 9 ½-year peak


The peso hit another four-and-a-half-year high on Monday, closing at 49.32 against the US dollar.

The close was bolstered by overseas Filipino workers' remittances, which are expected to hit record highs by year-end.

Share prices closed 0.75 percent higher Monday, with fund managers buying up blue chips and window dressing their portfolios as the year draws to a close, dealers said.

The composite index rose 21.54 points to 2,887.83, its highest level in nearly nine and a half years, after moving between 2,856.29 and 2,885.67.

It was the index's best finish since June 19, 1997 when it settled at 2,905.97.

Hey, so i read this great article on rolling stone magazine regarding America's current economic health and status. The article was written by Paul Krugman, who writes real good opinion pieces for the New York Times, im sure Lili and Boybaha recognizes his name. His article basically sums up what's going on in the American Economy, which i completely agree with. But what struck me was what he wrote in the last 2 pages of his article regarding the economies of latin america.

He figures that Latin America's economic disappointment is due largely to its vast economic inequality (the gap between the rich and poor). This inequality he postulates was the result of spanish rule and is the main cause of STATE CORRUPTION!!!! OMG, Its the Philippines!!!!!!!!!

i'll post a link

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/12699486/paul_krugman_on_the_great_wealth_transfer/1

so, u decide, are we comparable to the economies of Latin America???????

I tend to think that we are somewhat in a better position, but all this depends on, well, WE THE FILIPINO PEOPLE

I don't think we're entirely like Latin America, but you have to admit that we are in the same vein. Our cultures are alike and the histories shared, and of course, Spain. But just like how it is with our culture, Philippines has something different about it that clearly separates us from our Latin American friends. This effect is the same in our economy as well, which is why the truth is we are in a much better and much organized state than many of the latina americana countries, although they've been improving the same time as us as well.

SSS exceeds collection target by P790M
By Ma. Elisa P. Osorio
The Philippine Star 12/18/2006
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200612180708.htm
The Social Security System (SSS) exceeded this year’s collection target of P52 billion by P790 million as the state-run pension fund intensified its collection campaign.

"We are making sure that our collection exceeds benefits so that we will not dip in our reserve fund," SSS president Corazon S. dela Paz said in a separate interview.

In an attempt to further drive up collections, Dela Paz said they will partner with Shoemart bayad center to encourage voluntary members to pay their premiums together with their other bills.

Dela Paz explained that they are looking for other ways to collect premiums because some people find lining up in banks inefficient and time consuming.

In line with this, for the first time in five years retirees will receive a 10-percent increase in their benefits as the state run pension fund last month approved the retroactive increase, a top official said.

Dela Paz said the retirees will have a happy Christmas as they are set to receive five months worth of pension with the 10-percent increase during the holiday season.

"Because it (increase) was effected Sept.1, they (pensioners) will receive retroactive adjustment for September, October, November plus December plus the 13th month pay. That’s five months with 10-percent increase," Dela Paz said.

In addition to augmenting the benefits for its members, SSS has likewise extended the life of the fund by 16 years from 2015 to 2031. However, the impact of the 10-percent additional benefit and the one percentage point increase in contributions are not factored in the computations.

SSS has increased its premium by one percentage point but ordinary members will not feel any strain in the upward adjustment as President Arroyo ordered employers to absorb the additional cost.

Dela Paz explained that employers will shoulder the increase which will start Jan. 1, 2007. "Since employers are not really raising the salaries of their workers, shouldering the additional contribution is not so bad," she noted.

NY hedge fund invests P460m in Premiere Bank
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=business2_dec18_2006
By Eileen A. Mencias

A New York-based hedge fund, the Rohatyn Group, is investing P460 million in Premiere Development Bank, a thrift bank with trust functions and a foreign currency deposit unit license.

Premiere Bank said in a statement that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas had approved the investment.

Premiere Bank reported at the end of June a return on equity of negative 8.71 percent and a bad loans ratio of 17.91 percent, which is higher than the industry average.

The Rohatyn Group is a specialist emerging markets investment company with headquarters in New York and offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Buenos Aires. The firm has 10 partners and 85 employees and has more than $1.8 billion worth of funds under management. Argosy Advisers Inc. advised Premiere Bank on the transaction.

The new investors in Premiere Bank have picked Herminio Famatigan Jr. as the new president and chief executive of the bank. Famatigan is part of the Rohatyn Group and has 20 years of banking experience.

Central bank sources said the Rohatyn Group would now own 50 percent of the bank. The Reyes family previously controlled Premiere Bank.

The Rohatyn Group will be joined by the Madrigal and Gonzalez families in the venture. The two families will subscribe to new shares in the bank and own a substantial holding.

Premiere Bank chairman Edgardo Reyes said the investment would make the bank the fifth-largest capitalized thrift bank in the country and position it for strong growth in the future.

Reyes said the investment of the Madrigals, Gonzalezes and the Rohatyn Group was a “big vote of confidence in the bank and its future.”

Premiere Bank, one of the oldest thrift banks in the Philippines, was established in 1960 by Procopio Reyes to cater to the needs of entrepreneurs.

The bank ranks 10th among the independent thrift banks in the country with assets of P1.873 billion at the end of 2005.

The capital infusion will allow the bank to expand its lending to small and medium enterprises and enter the consumer market. The bank plans to enhance its information technology capacity and improve the services of its 38-online branches located mainly in Calabarzon and Metro Manila.

Banks are again under pressure to raise new capital by next year when regulators implement tighter banking standards under Basle 2. Last year, banks raised new capital with the implementation of stricter accounting and financial reporting standards.

Labor chief bares scheme to create more jobs
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=politics4_dec19_2006

Labor Secretary Arturo Brion called on big businesses to support self-employed workers to transform themselves into “worktrepreneurs” and spur progress.

He defined “worktrepreneurs” as informal sector workers who provide their services and at the same time engage in small business, thus providing livelihood to other workers.

He urged the business sector to find ways and means in helping the informal sector.

“By devoting their energies positively to uplift the disadvantaged sector, they are showing that even business has a social conscience, and thus in the process will bequeath the best in corporate social responsibility,” Brion said.

Undersecretary Arturo Sodusta of Policy, Programs and International Affairs relayed the message of Brion in the recent Regional Summit for the Informal Sector in San Pablo City, Laguna, with more than 300 individuals attending.

During the summit, presidential adviser on transportation Secretary Ariel Lim, Cavite Gov. Ireneo Malicsi, Josephine Parilla, a representative from the informal sector, and officials from various Laguna local government units manifested their support to help the self-employed workers.

“Let us make business work for the poor by making the IS sector a catalyst and engine of the country’s growth rather than a source of poverty,” Brion said.

He appealed to the private sector to extend assistance to the disadvantaged informal sector workers and help these workers become “productive managers” of their own small businesses or livelihood endeavors.

He said the labor department would conduct a study and come up with programs to help the worktrepreneurs.

He gave the assurance to give his support for the self-employed workers. Rio N. Araja

Index continues to surge as investors gobble up blue chips

Share prices closed 0.75 percent higher yesterday, with fund managers buying up blue chips and window dressing their portfolios as the year draws to a close, dealers said.

The composite index rose 21.54 points to 2,877.83, its highest level in nearly nine and a half years, after moving between 2,857.29 and 2,885.67.

It was the index’s best finish since June 19, 1997 when it settled at 2,905.97.

The broader all-share index rose 15.69 points to 1,795.56.

There were 77 gainers and 34 losers with 55 unchanged. A total of 5.12 billion shares worth P3.75 billion changed hands.

Dealers said sentiment was also lifted by Wall Street’s extended advance on Friday and President Arroyo’s move to abandon her divisive plan to amend the constitution. Her move has helped ease political tensions.

"This could be part of the Santa Clause rally that the market usually goes through before the year ends," said Astro del Castillo of First Grade Holdings.

"We also continued to benefit from the additional liquidity brought in by the listing last week of PNOC-EDC. It helped generate interest in a number of stocks," Del Castillo said.

Top-traded PNOC Energy Development Corp. added 25 centavos to P4.55.

Ayala Land advanced 25 centavos to P15.25.

Profit-taking hit Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) which fell P5 to P2,435.

San Miguel A shares were unchanged at P66 but its B shares rose by P1 to P72.

"The market is really strong. You see a lot of investments coming in, and this may be a result of positive economic growth and low interest rates," said BPI Securities assistant vice president Spencer Yap.

The Bangko Sentral held its overnight rate at 7.5 percent for deposits of up to P5 billion and kept lower payments for higher amounts to spur banks into lending more to private companies.

The central bank won’t lift the tiered interest rate structure until it sees that lending growth is "more or less sustained," BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said.

The bad loans ratio rose to 18.8 in 2001, the highest rate since 1997. The ratio was at 6.7 percent in February 1998.

Other gainers were consumer-related stocks such as SM Prime, up 4.6 percent at P10.25, and San Miguel B shares, available to local and foreign investors, which gained 1.4 percent at P72 on hopes of strong Christmas consumer spending. – AFP

Mining industry to gain $6.5B from 24 projects
http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view_article.php?article_id=39201
Agence France-Presse
Last updated 06:03pm (Mla time) 12/19/2006

THE Philippine mining industry is poised to get at least $6.5 billion in investments if 24 priority projects finally push through, the head of the industry association said Tuesday.

This amount could go to as high as $10 billion if other projects in the pipeline get done despite recent criticism of the mining industry by activist groups, said Benjamin Romualdez, president of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines.
Government figures presented by the chamber showed the value of Philippine minerals production in the first half of 2006 had risen 48 percent to P24.86 billion ($502 million) compared to the same period last year.

Romualdez told a forum of foreign correspondents that the industry was recovering after coming under fire earlier this year following a spill in a tailings pond at a mine operated by Lafayette Mining.

As a result, the influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines had called for a ban on mining, with many environmental groups joining the outcry.

This was an embarrassment to the government, which had opened the mining industry to foreign investors only in 2005 and raised fears that Manila might reverse its new open-door policy.

Despite the controversy, "all major mining companies in the world have re-established themselves in the Philippines," said Romualdez, adding that there was also "a flurry of investment houses and banking institutions making constant rounds of presentations to mining companies."

He said the industry had identified 24 "priority projects" that could bring in an estimated $6.5 billion in new investments. Five of these projects have begun initial operations, including the Lafayette Mining project in Rapu-Rapu island south of Manila.

The Rapu-Rapu mine, which is expected to produce copper, gold, silver and zinc, was suspended from operation by the government after the tailing spill but has since been allowed to conduct test runs to see if it is ready to resume operations.

Romuldez said two of the priority projects were already in the construction stage while eight others were conducting final feasibility studies and sealing accords for financing. The other projects are all in the pipeline, awaiting approval.

Romualdez said the 24 projects, covering gold, copper, nickel and other metallic minerals, located across the Philippines, could easily earn the Philippines $11 billion a year in export revenues if they were all put into full operation.

WON’T FOLLOW THAI MOVE
BSP to keep liberal forex policy
By MAX ESTAYO
Malaya
http://www.malaya.com.ph/dec20/busi1.htm

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said yesterday it is keeping its liberal stance on foreign exchange and will not take the lead of the central bank of Thailand, which yesterday took a drastic move to curb the baht’s appreciation.

The Philippine central bank’s current liberal foreign exchange policy remains appropriate, Governor Amando Tetangco said yesterday.

"Country specific conditions require specific measures," Tetangco told reporters by mobile text message, adding foreign exchange inflows were an important driver for economic growth in the Philippines.

"In the case of the Philippines, we believe that a liberal and market-oriented policy stance on capital flows remains appropriate.

The Thai central bank locked up a portion of dollar deposits entering the financial system as a form of forex control and prevent speculation on the domestic currency.

The move caused a sharp decline in the baht and pulled down regional currencies including the peso.

The Philippines and Thailand share a similar story of huge forex buildup, which props the domestic currencies but at the same time potentially poses inflationary risks.

The BSP was widely expected to move in tandem with its Thai counterpart after the peso closed at 49.32 to the dollar on Monday, its highest level in nearly six years.

BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said the BSP’s policy stance "remains appropriate" and well suited to the local environment.

"Foreign exchange inflows are an important driver of economic growth. We shall ensure the consistency of our policy with this principle," he added.

The BSP allows the peso-dollar rate to be determined by market forces but that it leaves "some scope for intervention" to smoothen the volatility in the rate.

The BSP’s policy-making monetary board is to meet Thursday and is likely to discuss the proposals on the overbought and oversold limits.

"We will look into the proposal of the BAP [Bankers Association of the Phils.] to use the banks’ capital adequacy ratio in determining the levels, although actually this can wait," Tetangco said.

Commercial banks prefer using the ratio to peg their dollar holdings instead of using a nominal number to determine how much dollars they can hold.

The BSP is planning to increase the banks’ overbought or long position or the maximum amount of dollars they can hold while it is looking at capping the oversold or short position, which is currenly unregulated.

The measures ensure that there is adequate forex supply to support the economy but at the same time excess liquidity is kept in control.

Tetangco said the overbought and oversold limits are not aimed at the peso but will be implemented for "prudential reasons."

"These are prudential regulatory measures, part of risk management. They’re not directed at the movement or behavior of the peso or not meant to influence the peso," Tetangco said.

Govt sees lower budget gap of P80b
By Lawrence Agcaoili
MAnila Standard
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=business2_dec20_2006

The Philippines posted a budget deficit of P2.2 billion in November and is likely to outperform its fiscal goals for the fourth straight year this year due to improved revenues and controled spending.

Finance Secretary Margarito Teves told a press conference that the national government would likely end the year with a budget gap of P80 billion to P90 billion, lower than the target of P125 billion or 2.1 percent of the gross domestic product.

“Our forecast for the full year is between P80 billion and P90 billion. We brought it down from the P105 billion to P115 billion we projected last month,” Teves said.

With the full implementation of the Expanded Value Added Tax Act of 2005 and prudent spending, the government managed to trim its budget deficit by 52.5 percent to P58.3 billion from January to November this year compared to P122.8 billion in the same period last year.

Tax and non-tax revenues jumped 18.6 percent to P882.4 billion from P744.1 billion while expenditures rose 8.5 percent to P940.8 billion from P866.9 billion.

The tax take of the Bureau of Internal Revenue rose 19.3 percent to P594.1 billion from P497.9 billion while revenue collections of the Bureau of Customs jumped 34.9 percent to P181.1 billion from P134.2 billion.

The tax take of the Bureau of Treasury declined 6.9 percent to P59.1 billion from P66 billion while that of other offices increased 5 percent to P48.2 billion from P45.9 billion.

The government managed to control spending after operating on a rolled-over 2005 budget of P918.6 billion after Congress failed to pass the proposed 2006 allocation of P1.05 trillion. Congress approved a supplemental budget of P46.9 billion.

“We were constrained because we were operating on the 2005 budget, the supplemental budget was approved last October,” Teves said.

For the month of November alone, the government managed to narrow the deficit by 71.6 percent to P2.1 billion from P7.3 billion in the same month last year. Revenues rose 18.8 percent to P86.7 billion from P73 billion while expenditures went up by 10.6 percent to P88.8 billion from P80.3 billion.

The government has posted surpluses of P17.6 billion April, P5.8 billion in May, P12.7 billion in June and P14.3 billion in August.

http://dynamic2.philonline.com/home_December_2006/fp122106_b.gif
Economy 101. The central bank’s main office in Manila graphed the Philippine economy instead of presenting the usual Christmas greetings. Ey Acasio

http://dynamic2.philonline.com/home_December_2006/fp122106_b.gif
Economy 101. The central bank’s main office in Manila graphed the Philippine economy instead of presenting the usual Christmas greetings. Ey Acasio

nice idea!! :)

The Philippine economy will grow 5.5 percent in 2006 and expand at a faster rate of 5.7 percent in the last quarter of the year, the National Economic and Development Authority said yesterday.

In a news briefing, Neda policy and planning director Dennis Arroyo said the gross domestic product, or the total value of products and services produced by the economy, is expected to post a 5.7 percent growth in the fourth and final quarter of 2006, after a dismal 4.8 percent in the third quarter.

“Our growth estimate is conservative,” said Arroyo. “The stock market index is at a nine-year high, inflation at a two-year low, and peso at a six-year high.”

Despite its lackluster performance in the third quarter, GDP grew 5.4 percent in the first three quarters while the gross national product, or the sum of GDP and earnings from abroad, accelerated by 6.3 percent during the same period on the back of solid growth in remittances.

Arroyo said despite the impact of typhoons Milenyo, Paeng and Reming on the economy, GDP was poised to grow 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter as massive inflows of remittances continue to drive consumption.

Because of strong remittances, which topped $10 billion in the first 10 months of the year, Neda sees the GNP growing by 5.9 percent in 2006 and 6.0 percent in 2007.

Arroyo said that apart from the increase in remittance inflows, other factors that would drive growth in the fourth quarter are subsiding world crude oil prices, softening of the inflation, more crops in harvest season, robust performance of the local stocks and the peso, and the approval of the P46 billion supplemental budget that is seen to boost government spending.

He conceded, however, that Neda’s growth estimate for the quarter did not take into account the impact of typhoon Seniang on agriculture and the postponement of the 12th leaders summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Cebu this month.

Economic Planning Secretary and Neds director general Romulo Neri said the growth in infrastructure investment enhanced by microeconomic reforms would enable the GDP to grow by at least 5.7 percent in 2007.

Agriculture is projected to grow 3.4 percent next year; industry, 5.8 percent; and services, 6.6 percent. Exports are seen to increase 10.5 percent in 2006, after rising more than 16 percent in the first 10 months of 2006. On the other hand, imports are expected to rise 12 percent in 2007.

Neda also maintained the economic growth projections for the 2008-2010 period.

GDP is seen to grow at a range of 6.0 to 6.8 percent by 2008; 6.3 to 7.2 percent by 2009; and 6.4 to 7.4 percent by 2010. GNP is predicted to expand at 6.2 to 7.0 percent by 2008; 6.5 to 7.5 percent by 2009; and 6.7 to 7.7 percent by 2010.

http://dynamic2.philonline.com/home_December_2006/fp122106_b.gif
Economy 101. The central bank’s main office in Manila graphed the Philippine economy instead of presenting the usual Christmas greetings. Ey Acasio

GUD IDEA!!!


maganda nga lahat ng agency ng government lagyan ng ganyan or kahit sa streets para ma aware ang mga filipino na umuunlad tayo kahit papaano, para ma force din silang magpaunlad ng sarili nila.........

walang maaasahan sa media eh, puro negative nlng pinapakita nila even pati yung CICC, nilalagyan ng anomalya!

^^ It's really a nice view. We're seeing how our economy performs in just a glance. It’s very unique and informative.

I'm looking forward for a more aggressive economic recovery next year. In as much as the NEDA posted a higher economic growth for 2007, all the positive economic indicators we have seen this year will definitely matter as we open up a new year in 2007.

I hope our economy will grow to at its highest level in history next year....

Sana nga magtuloy-tuloy na ang progress ng Pilipinas. That's what we all hope for naman sa ating bansa! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all! May the coming year be even better than the last. Peace! :) :) :)

damn.. at 2010 the projected growth is more than 7%, the sad thing is thats the time when changes happen with thegovernment... arroyo leaves her seat.. and i do hope.. that by that time the filipino voters would be smarter and at the same time i hope when that transition occurs that it will go smoothly.. and hopefully a president who can deliver.

And who knows, by 2020 we would have achieved the state that china is in now... grabeh!

Investments up 21% in 11 months—Favila


Committed investments registered with the Board of Investments and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority surged 21 percent in the first 11 months of the year, Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila said yesterday.

Data showed that combined investments of the two agencies amounted to P243 billion from January to November this year or P42.2 billion higher than the P200.8-billion investments a year ago.

In a year-end report dubbed “Press Chat with Economic Managers,” Favila said the committed investments accounted for 96 percent of the full-year investment target of the investments board and Peza.

“We are confident that these investment approvals will further fuel exports and employment growth next year. This momentum will be sustained through structural reforms aimed at improving the country’s competitiveness across a broad range of business concerns,” he said.

Favila said the approved investments were expected to generate employment for 130,000 workers.
He also said that investments continued to shift from manufacturing to infrastructure and industrial facilities.

Statistics showed that investments in infrastructure and industrial service facilities jumped 1,799 percent to P97.2 billion, representing 40 percent of total registered projects of the two agencies.

Investments in manufacturing followed with P70.5 billion or 29 percent of the total.

Investments in wholesale and retail trade amounted to P26.7 billion or 11 percent; followed by real estate with P21.9 billion or 9 percent, and information technology services with P14.6 billion or 6 percent.

-http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=business2_dec22_2006

this is fantastic news and makes me feel really good, but not only for me but for others and this country. i like this idea at bangko central with the charts as lights. it's also a nice place for them because those ones relaxing in the baywalk and roxas can see it while enjoying their time there.

damn.. at 2010 the projected growth is more than 7%, the sad thing is thats the time when changes happen with thegovernment... arroyo leaves her seat.. and i do hope.. that by that time the filipino voters would be smarter and at the same time i hope when that transition occurs that it will go smoothly.. and hopefully a president who can deliver.

And who knows, by 2020 we would have achieved the state that china is in now... grabeh!

i think so, maybe even sooner. what is needed are the good politicians, good laws, but also discipline and care from the people. it's our responsibilities too. we need to aim together and work together all of us! put us first and look out for each other. i do believe so much because look around you'll see many pang-first-world or first-rate things, these are the things many of the world's countries do not even have. :)

FDIs worth $3B seen in 2007


By Doris Dumlao
Inquirer
Last updated 02:30am (Mla time) 12/22/2006

Published on page B1 of the December 22, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE Philippines may expect at least $3 billion worth of fresh foreign direct investments to come in next year as the government strives to improve the country’s global competitiveness.

The $3 billion in projected FDI commitments for 2007 may even be considered a “conservative” estimate, Trade Secretary Peter Favila said at the sidelines of yesterday’s yearend economic briefing held by the government’s economic managers.

Favila explained that, based on historical patterns, FDI flows to the country rises by at least 10 percent each year.

Citing a recent study made by a foreign chamber of commerce, Favila said that the Philippines is even capable of attracting as much as $6 billion in FDIs each year.

“Providing an enabling environment is the main factor,” he said, noting that mining and infrastructure would be among the sectors that would benefit from the surge in foreign inflows.

Favila added that the export sector had likewise remained vibrant despite the doomsday predictions by some analysts that the electronic sector would succumb to a contraction in global demand.

The export sector accounts for about 40 percent of the country’s domestic economic output.

The Philippines slipped in the global competitiveness ranking by five notches to 126th out of 175 countries, according to the World Bank group’s latest annual survey on ease in doing business.

“Doing Business 2007: How to Reform” is a joint research project of the World Bank and its private sector lending arm International Finance Corp. It indicated that the country did not implement enough reforms to enhance its business climate from 2005 up to April 2006. The country now lags behind Southeast Asian neighbors Thailand (18th), Malaysia (25th), Taiwan (47th) and even Vietnam (104th). Indonesia came in at 135th place.

The Philippines, for its part, has formed a national competitiveness task force to formulate a multisectoral agenda to shore up the country’s ranking from the current bottom third of 175 countries.

In terms of starting a business, for instance, the government has committed to cut the number of days needed to complete the start-up process from 48 to 24, at par with some industrialized countries like Germany and Japan. The number of tax payments will also be trimmed to 26 days from 59.

Meanwhile, Finance Secretary Margarito Teves reiterated the need for the government to spend more on infrastructure to be able to draw in a bigger share of investments pouring into Asia. He said he was hoping that Congress would expedite the process of approving the national budget to resolve the gaps in infrastructure and social spending.

The 2007 public expenditure program prioritizes infrastructure and basic education.

Some P20.9 billion has been earmarked for road-building, P8.3 billion for airport development, P6.4 billion for flood control, P5.5 billion for schools, P4.8 billion to support development in Muslim Mindanao, P3 billion to complete the nautical highway, P2 billion for the procurement of textbooks and instructional materials and P1.1 billion for the rehabilitation of irrigation systems.

SSS posts hike in end-Oct. income
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=60335
Social Security System (SSS) posted a significant growth in net income in the first 10 months of the year, driven by higher contribution collections and investment earnings.

In a statement, the state-run pension fund for private-sector workers reported a net revenue of P7.5 billion, showing a P2.4-billion increase from the P5.05 billion it earned during the same period last year.

The pension fund’s contribution collections and investment earnings rose 12 percent to P43.94 billion and P10.2 billion, respectively.

Corazon de la Paz, SSS president, said the main revenue drivers were the expanded payment systems, vigorous coverage and collection, rise in income from government securities or IOUs, and improvement in the value of its investments in the stock market.

SSS has benefited from a bullish stock market, with the Philippine Stock Exchange composite index hitting a four-year high of 2,557 at the end of the third quarter this year from 2,179 at end-June.

“SSS’ collections have been a steady source of income for the institution, which is anchored mainly on vigorous and intense coverage and collection and the expansion of our payment systems,” de la Paz said.

“Combined with bullish stock market, SSS hopes to surpass its targets for the year,” she added.

For the third time since 1999, contribution collection exceeded benefit payments by P2.2 billion in the first 10 months, which is almost a 1,000-percent jump from the P217-million contribution-benefit surplus for the same period last year.

Assets grew 12.67 percent to P225 billion from the registered P200 billion as of end-December.

The SSS Reserve Fund went up 11.7 percent to P219 billion from P196 billion as of end-December.

Total disbursements for sickness, maternity, disability, retirement, death and funeral benefits increased by 7 percent to P42 billion compared with P39 billion for the same period in 2005.

Meanwhile, releases for retirement pension remain the highest among the benefit disbursements registering a 9.9-percent increase to P19.2 billion year on year, followed closely by disbursements for death pension, which rose 5.9 percent to P14.7 billion.

Francis Lim, PSE president, said the increased interest of foreign investors is one of the main reasons behind the continued surge of the local stock market and the peso.

In the first 11 months, the PSEi closed at 2,788.46 points, or 33.03 percent higher than its 2,096.04 level at the end of 2005. The 11-month gain comes on top of the annual 15-percent growth in 2005 and the 26.4 percent advance in 2004.

“The figures could only mean that the surge in stock prices is accelerating, and that speaks a lot about investors’ confidence on the country’s economic prospects,” Lim said.

The peso, on the other hand, closed at 49.763 to the dollar for the same 11-month period this year, or 6.23 percent higher than its 53.067 close against the greenback at the end of 2005.

Total foreign buying from January to November this year went up by 55.2 percent to P303.5 billion. Foreign selling reached P250.05 billion, or 45.4 percent higher than a year ago. Net foreign buying is the difference between total foreign buying and selling.

Value turnover for the first 11 months of the year expanded by 38.5 percent to P502.8 billion. Average daily value turnover also rose 37 percent to P2.2 billion.

Total market capitalization of all listed stocks surged by 16.4 percent to P6.92 trillion.

Cheryl M. Arcibal and AFP

www.abs-cbnnews.com

Metal output soars 47% in 9 months
http://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS2006122483076.html
By MELODY M. AGUIBA

The country’s metals production, boosted by soaring prices, posted 47 percent growth to P40.671 billion from January to September this year.

A global boom in minerals caused value of base metals (copper, nickel, chromite) to post a 47 percent growth (P14.029 billion). Precious metals (gold, silver) also moved up by 27 percent (P26.642 billion).

"Global demand for copper and nickel is increasing rapidly mainly because of the tremendous amounts of these key metals required as the result of the industrialization in Asia," said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Mines and Geosciences Bureau (DENR-MGB).

Top performer was nickel concentrate which climbed by 252 percent to P4.38 billion along with volume of nickel concentrate’s production of 10,602 dry metric tons (DMT), a 252 percent increase, owing to Coral Bay Nickel Corp.’s increased output.

Direct shipping nickel ore augmented by 158 percent to 2.674 million DMT valued at a higher P5.465 billion, up by 27 percent as nickel price in the world market averaged at .66 per pound, up by 27.89 percent over the same period last year.

Mines with increasing volume of direct shipping nickel ore were Rio Tuba nickel project, up by 43 percent to 212,759 DMT (P380.7 million, but this value is down by 24 percent); Hinatuan Mining’s South Dinagat, up by three percent to 129,367 DMT (P792.4 million, up by 31 percent); and Cagdianao, 389,781 DMT, up by 31 percent (P1.355 billion, up by 136 percent).

For copper concentrate, while volume dropped by eight percent to 52,058 DMT, value (P4.099 billion, up by 75 percent) was pulled up by increased copper price that averaged at 299.57 cents per pound, up by 90.15 percent, coming from the country’s lone producing copper — Philex’s Padcal mine.

For gold, while volume is down by three percent to 27,145 kilos, soaring gold average price of 6.18 per ounce pushed value up to P26.34 billion, up by 27 percent.

Expanding production were from Philex’ Padcal, 2,388 kilos, up by 27 percent (P2.317 billion, up by 71 percent); TVI’s Canatuan, up by 197 percent to 1,166 kilos (P1.086 billion, up by 272 percent); Lepanto’s Victoria, up by six percent to 870 kilos (P868 million, up by 39 percent); and Philsaga Mining’s Banahaw gold, up by 152 percent to 238 kilos (P234.8 million, up by 236 percent.

For silver, output was up by 32 percent to 17,449 kilos (P304.68 million, up by 86 percent). Increases were from Victoria, up by two percent to 1,133 kilos (P21.145 million, up by 50 percent); Canatuan, 13,714 kilos, up by 48 percent (P234 million, up by 106 percent); and Padcal, 2,242 kilos, up by 14 percent (P42.36 million, up by 69 percent).

RP posts current account surplus of $3.3B
http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view_article.php?article_id=40025
OFW remittances offset outflow from loan payments
By Doris Dumlao
Inquirer
Last updated 09:42pm (Mla time) 12/24/2006

THE PHILIPPINES posted a current account surplus of $3.3 billion in the first nine months of the year, dwarfing the $995-million windfall in the same period last year, as record-high inflows from overseas Filipino workers more than compensated for the country's trade deficit.

The current account is a major component of the balance of payments (BOP), which measures the foreign exchange transactions between the domestic economy and the rest of the world. In the BOP, any transaction which gives rise to a payment by a Philippine resident like importation or debt servicing is a deficit item while any which gives rise to a receipt like borrowing, exporting or inward remittance is a surplus item.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported that the sharp increase in the current account surplus for the first nine months contributed to the $2.62-billion BOP surplus during the period. The current account also easily offset the deficit in the capital and financial account, which posted a net outflow of $710 million or a reversal of the net inflow of $5 billion a year ago.

The deficit in the capital and financial account, which includes debt, foreign direct and portfolio investment flows, was due to the repayment and pre-termination of some of the country's external debts.

"The ample foreign exchange liquidity from the strong current account receipts and the net inflows in foreign direct and portfolio investments, coupled by the appreciation of the peso, encouraged the public and some private borrowers to prepay part of their foreign borrowings," BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said.

"The pre-termination of loans and bonds payable, amounting to $1.4 billion, reduced the capital and financial account balance. Without the prepayments, the BOP position would have been stronger by the same amount," Tetangco said.

The BSP chief said the current account surplus, equivalent to about 4 percent of the country's gross domestic product, was driven by higher inflows in current transfers as well as a lower deficit in the trade-in-goods and services accounts, which negated the higher deficit in the income account.

The net inflows in the current transfers account increased by 13.7 percent to $9.6 billion due mainly to the robust inflows from remittances of non-resident OFWs.

Meanwhile, the trade-in-goods balance registered a narrower deficit of $5.15 billion, or an improvement of 15.2 percent from the year-ago level as the export growth of 16.9 percent outpaced the 11.4-percent expansion in the import bill.

The key export drivers were manufactured goods such as electronics, garments, chemicals, mineral and petroleum products.

The net outflow in the services account also narrowed by 52.6 percent to $507 million from $1.07 billion a year ago following the higher net inflows from travel, communication, computer and information and other business services.

The capital and financial account incurred a deficit as the other investment account deficit widened to $5.05 billion from only $794 million a year ago.

Direct investments grew by 67.6 percent to $1.57 billion owing to equity capital placements by non-residents combined with the improvement in the other capital account.

Among the recipients of these inflows were manufacturing, services, real estate, financial intermediation and construction industries.

Major investors were from the United States, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Switzerland and Germany.

On the other hand, portfolio investment net inflows remained significant at $2.73 billion. However, this was 43.6-percent lower than last year's level following the pre-termination by the BSP and the national government of its notes/bond payable and certain maturing bonds owed by the private sector.

http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view_article.php?article_id=40208

Peso seen breaching 48 to $1 in early 2007

By Doris Dumlao
Inquirer
Last updated 02:50am (Mla time) 12/26/2006

DEVELOPMENT Bank of Singapore expects the peso to break into the 48 level against the dollar early next year and further to 47 in the second semester despite market jitters over the May elections and fears of an interest rate cut by the central bank.

“We like the peso, but expect volatility with the May 2007 elections,” DBS said in its economics markets strategy recommendation for the first quarter of 2007.

“Appreciation will rely more on inflows with the central bank cutting rates in 2007,” it said.

DBS said it expected the central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), to trim its key policy rates twice next year -- by 25 basis points in the first quarter and again in the second quarter, to bring down the overnight borrowing rate to 7.00 percent from the present 7.50 percent.

“Monetary policy should help support domestic demand,” DBS said, projecting that the country could sustain a growth in gross domestic product of 5.5 percent next year.

Alongside the projected appreciation of most Asian currencies, the peso is expected to hit 48.50 to the dollar in the first quarter and 48.20 to the greenback in the second quarter before further climbing to 47.80 in the third quarter and 47.50 in the fourth quarter, DBS said.

While the peso and other Asian currencies are expected to rise further, the outlook remains bleak for the dollar, it said. “We expect the dollar to continue softening -- dollar fatigue again, as the Fed cuts rate twice during the second half of 2007.”

The yen, whose movement influences other Asian currencies, is also expected to spike higher with projected monetary tightening by the Bank of Japan, DBS said.

“The yen has the greatest potential to outperform in 2007,” it said. “Japan is the only G3 country where a steady stream of rate hikes is expected in 2007. The yen may shift from a funding currency to a reserve currency.”

“Interestingly, the currency hump forecast in US dollar is relevant to Asian currencies. The latter continue their modest appreciating trend versus the dollar.” DBS said, noting that the yen and China’s yuan are appreciating further even while the euro is losing firmness.

The bank also said it expected the now Democrat-led US House and Senate to put more pressure on China’s “gradualist” approach to yuan flexibility.

“The yuan should appreciate at a 5-percent pace in 2007, a bit faster than its recent pace,” it said.

Meanwhile, the Thai baht, Asia’s best performing currency in 2006, is not likely to have the same distinction in 2007, DBS said, projecting it to soften to 37.50 to the dollar in the fourth quarter. With INQ7.net

http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view_article.php?article_id=40209

Net foreign buying in stock market up 128% as of November

By Elizabeth L. Sanchez
Inquirer
Last updated 02:50am (Mla time) 12/26/2006

NET foreign buying in the stock market from January to November reached P53.46 billion, up 127.6 percent from P23.49 billion in the same period last year, the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) said.

This is one of the reasons for the continued surge in stock prices and the continued strengthening of the peso, PSE president Francis Lim said.

The PSE index ended November at 2,788.46 points, up 33.03 percent from 2,096.04 at the end of 2005.

Last year, the PSEi rose 15 percent over 2004. In 2004, it advanced 26.4 percent over 2003.

“The figures could only mean that the surge in stock prices is accelerating, and that speaks a lot about investors’ confidence on the country’s economic prospects,” Lim said. With INQ7.net

haiz.. i hope the elections would fare well

Peso rallies to highest in nearly 6 years

Closes at 49.195 to $1; may breach 48 level soon

By Doris Dumlao
Inquirer
Last updated 07:58pm (Mla time) 12/27/2006


(UPDATE) The peso on Wednesday rallied to its highest in nearly six years at 49.185 before closing at 49.195 to a dollar on the influx of overseas remittances and investment inflows after the four-day Christmas holiday break.

The local currency would have gained more if not for some open market intervention by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), currency traders said. The Philippine central bank was believed to have bought dollars at 49.20 to stem the peso's sharp appreciation at the Philippine Dealing System.

Wednesday's peak was the highest reached by the peso since touching 49.14 on March 28, 2001. The closing rate of 49.195 was also the strongest finish since ending at 49.16 on March 27, 2001.

A strong regional currency market, supported by the Thai baht's rebound against the dollar, also helped keep the local currency buoyant.

The Bank of Thailand was forced to partially reverse capital control measures after the Thai stock market plunged 15 percent last week, but investors remained wary of that country, the epicenter of the Asian currency turmoil of 1997.

This developed as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reaffirmed its commitment to a market-oriented approach to capital flows in the aftermath of Thailand's recent bold moves to curb the appreciation of the baht, Asia's strongest currency this year.

"We consider foreign flows as an important, in fact, a critical ingredient to sustain economic growth," BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said.

"There's no viable substitute to market-oriented approach to capital account transactions," he said.

Before the long Christmas break, the peso also gained from some offshore investors switching to assets in other Asian currencies following the Thai scare.

Marcelo Ayes, senior vice president at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said Wednesday that the peso could break into the 48:$1 level in the next few days.

"There's no way to go but up," Ayes said.

Aside from remittances from overseas Filipino workers, which seasonally remain strong until early January, prospective foreign investments inflows are keeping the market bullish on the peso.

Ayes said the payment for the purchase by the First Pacific group in local telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. would again flood the market with dollars before the year ends or early next year.

Guinigundo said the government was confident that the Philippines' improving economic fundamentals would sustain investor interest while maintaining a free market.

"If we are convinced that what we're doing is right and what we're seeing in terms of macroeconomic fundamentals is good then by all means let the market decide for itself. Let the market review the emerging situation and see the durability of various economic reforms we have undertaken especially in the fiscal sector," Guinigundo said.

"To us, the flexible exchange rate system remains the appropriate mechanism for determining not only resource allocation but also capital flows. If you look at the exchange and how it's doing, you know it's flexible and there's no moral hazard there, unlike before when the peso's movement is likened to the heart of a rock," he explained.

Guinigundo also explained that the Philippines was nowhere near the danger zone as it was still in the very early stages of a boom cycle.

He noted that the main-share Philippine Stock Exchange composite index was still around the 2,800 levels as against the historic high of 3,400 during the pre-Asian crisis regime. Neither is the country nearing an asset price bubble, with real estate prices, though on an uptrend, were still too low relative to pre-crisis levels.

^ 6- year high? This means we beat the record again. The continuous appreciation of peso proves to be beneficial for our economy. Also, the composite index at the PSE surged by 25.16 points. This shows that we are on the right economic track for this year. I hope we can maintain this positive outlook in 2007.

RP prepays $ 219.7 M today to exit from IMF program.

RP to pay $219.7-M debt to IMF
By Des Ferriols
The Philippine Star 12/29/2006
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200612290702.htm

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is to pay in full its $219.7-million debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) before the year ends, BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said yesterday.

In a statement, Tetangco said the repayment will allow the country to exit early from its post-program monitoring (PPM) arrangement with the IMF.

The PPM arrangement was originally due to end next April.

No financial assistance was extended to the Philippines under this arrangement, which has been in place since 2000, but the economy remains under close watch by the IMF.

"The prepayment will serve as a watershed event in the Philippines’ relationship with the IMF, since it will end the country’s use of IMF resources after nearly four-and-a-half decades ," Tetangco said.

"With the central bank’s international reserves at a record high, the prepayment of the IMF debt is expected to send a clear signal to the international community that the structural reform process and macroeconomic prudence in the Philippines have firmly taken root to allow reduced engagement with the fund," Tetangco said.

An early exit from the PPM arrangement, he said, "sends a stronger, more positive signal to financial markets that the Philippine authorities can independently craft and pursue a credible policy framework and reform program that will extend the trajectory of the country’s economic growth and contribute to more durable external viability."

Tetangco said the Philippines has been considered a "prolonged user" of IMF resources, with 23 IMF-supported programs since 1962. These consisted mainly of standby arrangements and extended fund facilities.

Looking forward, the IMF said its new role in the Philippines would be somewhat limited but probably more relevant to the emerging stage in the country’s development.

The PPM involves more frequent consultation between the IMF and the government whose arrangement had expired but continued to have IMF credit outstanding. These discussions focus on policies that have bearing on external viability.

Following the end of the stand-by arrangement with the IMF in December 2000, the Philippines entered into the PPM where the Fund conducted periodic review of economic developments and assessment of economic policies.

The PPM is supposed to last until the country’s outstanding obligations go down below 100 percent of the membership quota that all IMF member countries were required to pay.

Although the country’s obligations have fallen below the quota, the government has decided to stay under the PPM process to assure its creditors that it was being closely monitored by a credible third party. – with AFP

More:
http://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS2006122983341.html

wow finally imf no longer has the right to stick their nose in our affairs

^^ This is indeed good news. After paying our remaining debts to IMF, we will surely have fewer burdens to think about especially when our legislators allot the national budget for the year. It has been usual for us to allot more than we could have for our foreign debts. Now, we can prioritize more on major concerns of ours like education, housing, employment and infrastructures.

It's a good start for the coming year.

Looking good for the Philippine Economy

the saying "hindi pa nga pinapanganak mga anak at apo naten, may utang na agad sila" will be banished as well!

that's good news talaga.. imagine, for 40 years, the philippines has been in debt and now, it's payback time! who wouldn't think we'll be able to pay our debts to IMF this soon? :banana:

^ Shocking, but in a good way. Very welcome news at the close of the year. Makes us feel more optimistic for 2007, giving us the assurance that our economy is growing. It's a great that we can finally close off our debts to the IMF.

"The Philippines' ability to repay the Fund early reflects a strong balance of payments position, achieved through impressive fiscal reforms that have substantially reduced the fiscal deficit and debt," IMF acting managing director Takatoshi Kato said in a statement.

IMF welcomes early Philippine repayment of debt (http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS_FLASH122920062082_6.htm)

RP dollar bonds hover at record peak

Hong Kong — Bonds from the Philippines, Asia’s most active sovereign debt issuer outside Japan, hovered at record levels yesterday after topping returns in the region for 2006.

The 2016 bonds were quoted at 113.625/114.125 and the long- dated 2031 bonds were quoted at 113.50/114.

Five-year Philippine credit default swaps (CDS) — insurance-like contracts that protect against defaults and restructuring — were unchanged at 120/126 basis points (bps).

"The offers are at record highs after last night’s US housing data," a Manila-based trader said.

Sales of new US homes rose by a higher-than-expected 3.4% in November, although they were still 15.3% lower than a year ago, a government report showed.

On average, prices in the broad market were steady with investors looking to the resumption of new issues and return of market participants from the holiday season.

Other Asian bonds were steady in thin trade, with sentiment buoyant after strong housing data in the US helped boost investor risk appetite.

Emerging debt investors are closely monitoring the US real estate market to gauge the health of the world’s largest economy and the impact of its slowdown on developing nations.

In New York trade, yield spreads between emerging markets bonds and US Treasury notes, an important measure of risk aversion, tightened by four basis points (bps) to an all-time low of 171 bps, according to benchmark JP Morgan’s EMBI+ index.

Asian offshore bond issuances outside Japan fell by 11% this year from 2005, to an aggregate of $41.64 billion, Reuters Basis Point data showed, and bankers expect a further decline in 2007.

But a surge in high-yield issuance in 2006 will be repeated next year as Asia’s rapid economic growth and a global search for yield draw investors to lower-rated borrowers.

"Lower international interest rates may encourage more high-yield and subordinated debt while the volume of high-grade debt is likely to remain the same," said Fergus Edwards, director of Asia Syndicate at UBS. He said many active sovereign borrowers like the Philippines and Indonesia were expected to lower their borrowing requirements in 2007 following a drop in local interest rates.

The prospects of lower supply have boosted prices of debt from these two high-yield sovereign issuers, whose bonds are the best performers among the region’s offshore bonds. The JPMorgan Asia Credit Index for high-yield sovereigns in Asia showed a year-to-date return of 15.78%. This was largely contributed by the Philippines with 16.64% and Indonesia with 15.17%.

The investment grade sovereign index for the region has risen by only 5.03%.

paying big amount like that to IMF is a very good sign. i'm quite surprised but feeling positive.

^ Shocking, but in a good way. Very welcome news at the close of the year. Makes us feel more optimistic for 2007, giving us the assurance that our economy is growing. It's a great that we can finally close off our debts to the IMF.

Hopefully, the positive outlook of Filipinos for the year 2007, according to an SWS survey, will be fully justified. A few years ago people were still talking of the Philippines ending up like Argentina. Now, finally, we are nearing an exit from the IMF's claws. If we could keep up this momentum, who knows but that the next generation or so might actually see the country progress to being a first world country.

S&P: Good signs in RP, but debt ratios key
ABS-CBN News
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=60937

A string of positive economic figures from the Philippines bodes well for its sovereign rating, but any upgrade will require a consistent performance and an improvement in key debt ratios, Standard & Poor's said on Friday.

S&P rates Philippine sovereigns at BB-minus with a stable outlook, which is below investment grade and raises the country's interest costs when it seeks external funding. S&P will review the rating in the first quarter of 2007.

Many analysts have said positive economic data from the Philippines this year -- including controlling the budget deficit, increased government revenues, sharply higher remittances from overseas and a strong peso currency -- augur well for a ratings upgrade.

On Thursday, the central bank announced it was paying the last of its obligations to the International Monetary Fund ahead of schedule, a sum of about $220 million, thereby ending four and a half decades of drawing on IMF resources.

"As far as the prepayment of the IMF debt is concerned, I think that in itself won't have much of an impact on the ratings because that is a drop in the ocean compared to the $35 billion of outstanding external public debt," S&P credit analyst Agost Benard said in a telephone interview.

But he added: "It conveys the country's external finances are on the right track and there is a diminishing dependence on external funds. And this is the just the latest in a string of positive developments which we have seen throughout this year."

But a ratings upgrade will have to be preceded by a change in the outlook to positive from stable, Benard said. And there were other factors to be considered.

"The big question with respect to all these positive developments is to what extent are they one off and to what extent do they signal a permanently improved environment -- both a political and a policy environment," he said.

Question marks

Also, the Philippines' debt ratios are quite poor -- its foreign debt-to-GDP ratio fell at the end of the third quarter, but was still high at 48.6 percent.

Debt servicing was at 11.4 percent of total exports of goods and services in the first nine months of the year.

"When you look at those figures, debt to GDP, general government interest to revenues, debt to revenues, the Philippines is still an outlier in the BB-minus rating category," Benard said.

"Those ratios are still a lot worse than the median for similarly rated countries, in fact a lot worse than a lot of single B-rated countries."

And while government revenues have risen, much of the increase resulted from a new expanded value-added tax, which was raised to 12 percent from 10 percent in February.

From next February, the annual comparison won't benefit from the increase in the rate.

"Once that base effect falls out in February, only then will you be able to see how much improvement there has been in collection, administration and enforcement," Benard said.

Despite the caution, financial markets have marked the improvement in the Philippines economic performance.

Philippines sovereign debt has returned almost 17 percent this year. The peso has risen more than eight percent this year and the main stock market index is up around 42 percent.

"The Philippines has had a turnaround in sentiment since September 2005," Benard said. "Since that time, things have improved much further.

"Economic, political, financial, fiscal matters have all been positive this year," he added. "It's a combination of all these developments rather than any one thing that will determine the ratings.

I am glad for this news. I just hope that the Philippines does not have debts with other countries or institutions though (i.e. China, etc.) in lieu of this for its development projects. But then, if the terms are less onerous, then maybe that will still be more preferable than being stuck with self-perpetuating loans.

I'm happy that the campaign against smuggling has come into fruition thus contributing more earnings into Philippine coffers.

BoC posts biggest revenue in 104-year history
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=61000
BY EDU PUNAY
The Philippine Star

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) ended the year with a whopping P196-billion revenue, the biggest so far in the agency’s 104-year history.

Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales said the record-high revenue was an offshoot of the bureau’s reforms and its relentless campaign against smugglers.

Morales also revealed a collection surplus for 2006, but said official figures would be released next week.

With its 2006 performance, the BOC remains the top revenue-collecting agency of the government.

"We achieved this not by sheer luck, but through our combined hard work. This success in our revenue collection campaign is the fruit of all measures and programs we implemented this year — including our intensified drive against smugglers," Morales said.

Morales revealed it was only Friday when the two big oil companies, Petron Corp. and Pilipinas Shell Inc., paid their respective import taxes for shipments in December, which amounted to P3 billion.

He said BOC also collected Friday the remaining P1 billion in import taxes from other government agencies, or tax expenditure fund, through the Special Allotment Release Order from the Department of Budget and Management.

BOC registered some P4.911 billion surplus in total collections as of Nov. 30. The agency only needed to raise P14.39 billion to meet this year’s collection target.

A report by the Customs Finance Services showed the agency registered some P181.6 billion in cumulative monthly collections from January to November, which was 2.8 percent above its target revenue of P176.7 billion for the period.

The BOC reported lower-than-target collection only for April, October and November. In the other months, the agency had surpassed its targets with some port districts led by Port of Batangas and Port of Manila consistently putting in billions of surpluses.

Morales said the BOC managed to post huge collection despite the strengthening of the peso.

He said the target of BOC for 2006 was based on last year’s exchange rate of P56 to a dollar. The peso currently hovers around P49 to $1.

"In previous years, the target of BOC was moved simultaneously with movement in the exchange rate. But this year, they didn’t adjust our target collection since they feel we would be able to meet it anyway," Morales stressed.

The BOC chief set in place measures aimed at boosting collection. These include "flexible office hours" in which Customs personnel work in two shifts — from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Customs chief said BOC will further boost its collection drive next year in view of a bigger revenue target of P235 billion set by Finance Secretary Margarito Teves.

"It would be a tough assignment but we will accept that as my fighting target," Morales said.

Morales attributed BOC’s successful collection drive to the stepped-up campaign against smugglers through the Task Force Anti-Smuggling (TFAS) and Run After the Smugglers (RATS) program.

In his yearend report, the Customs chief said the bureau conducted a total of 58 successful raids in the last nine months and seized some P250 million worth of smuggled items.

One of the most notable operations of TFAS this year was the raid last March on the popular 168 Mall in Binondo, Manila where millions of unpaid import taxes were collected.

This year, the TFAS expanded its operations with the creation of regional offices in Northern Luzon, Central Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. A secretariat office was also created for the task force to provide centralized policy and industry research.

Morales also revealed that a total of 28 criminal cases against 147 suspected smugglers have been filed with the Department of Justice under the RATS program. He said 10 of these cases are likely to be filed with the appropriate courts next month.

The BOC also filed administrative charges against six Customs personnel and pursued six other cases of the so-called "white collar" smuggling.

The BOC chief also said the stricter measures on importation, including the tightening of accreditation process for importers under the TFAS secretariat office helped the BOC in its anti-smuggling program.

Lawyer Reynaldo Umali, executive director of TFAS and head of BOC Legal Services Division, earlier explained that implementation of checks and balance mechanism in the accreditation process had prevented spurious importers from doing business with the agency.

He said the bureau had accredited only 8,900 importers this year out of the 16,000 who were recognized in 2005. "For us this is cleansing of the list of importers. The importers who did not pursue their applications were those who were avoiding prosecution," Morales said.

"As we said before, we want to stop smuggling at the earlier possible time, which could be found in accreditation of importers. Smugglers resort to dummy corporations and use of fake documents just so they could penetrate the bureau," Umali said.

This anti-smuggling formula of BOC has earned support from various international and local institutions. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is set to allocate $3.135 million for the agency through its Millennium Challenge Account in support of the RATS program.

It was learned the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC) is also giving RATS additional budget of P105 million in 2007. Customs officials said the new funds would be used to further develop preventive and legal measures of the anti-smuggling drive.

Umali said the financial assistance from USAID and PAGC only proved the credibility of RATS. "I don’t think these institutions would entrust such huge amount to us if they don’t believe we can use them productively."

With the success of anti-smuggling drive this year, RATS officials have vowed to further intensify their campaign in 2007, especially with the use of new equipment like X-ray machines in major port districts.

Also this year, the competence of BOC personnel is expected to improve with establishment of the Training and Development Division (TDD) by January.

Under the new training program, all 5,000 officials and employees of the bureau would be required to undergo several retraining courses on computer skills competence, and values and public accountability. With Rachel Ann Nadal

S&P: Good signs in RP, but debt ratios key
ABS-CBN News
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=60937

A string of positive economic figures from the Philippines bodes well for its sovereign rating, but any upgrade will require a consistent performance and an improvement in key debt ratios, Standard & Poor's said on Friday.

S&P rates Philippine sovereigns at BB-minus with a stable outlook, which is below investment grade and raises the country's interest costs when it seeks external funding. S&P will review the rating in the first quarter of 2007.

Many analysts have said positive economic data from the Philippines this year -- including controlling the budget deficit, increased government revenues, sharply higher remittances from overseas and a strong peso currency -- augur well for a ratings upgrade.

On Thursday, the central bank announced it was paying the last of its obligations to the International Monetary Fund ahead of schedule, a sum of about $220 million, thereby ending four and a half decades of drawing on IMF resources.

"As far as the prepayment of the IMF debt is concerned, I think that in itself won't have much of an impact on the ratings because that is a drop in the ocean compared to the $35 billion of outstanding external public debt," S&P credit analyst Agost Benard said in a telephone interview.

But he added: "It conveys the country's external finances are on the right track and there is a diminishing dependence on external funds. And this is the just the latest in a string of positive developments which we have seen throughout this year."

But a ratings upgrade will have to be preceded by a change in the outlook to positive from stable, Benard said. And there were other factors to be considered.

"The big question with respect to all these positive developments is to what extent are they one off and to what extent do they signal a permanently improved environment -- both a political and a policy environment," he said.

Question marks

Also, the Philippines' debt ratios are quite poor -- its foreign debt-to-GDP ratio fell at the end of the third quarter, but was still high at 48.6 percent.

Debt servicing was at 11.4 percent of total exports of goods and services in the first nine months of the year.

"When you look at those figures, debt to GDP, general government interest to revenues, debt to revenues, the Philippines is still an outlier in the BB-minus rating category," Benard said.

"Those ratios are still a lot worse than the median for similarly rated countries, in fact a lot worse than a lot of single B-rated countries."

And while government revenues have risen, much of the increase resulted from a new expanded value-added tax, which was raised to 12 percent from 10 percent in February.

From next February, the annual comparison won't benefit from the increase in the rate.

"Once that base effect falls out in February, only then will you be able to see how much improvement there has been in collection, administration and enforcement," Benard said.

Despite the caution, financial markets have marked the improvement in the Philippines economic performance.

Philippines sovereign debt has returned almost 17 percent this year. The peso has risen more than eight percent this year and the main stock market index is up around 42 percent.

"The Philippines has had a turnaround in sentiment since September 2005," Benard said. "Since that time, things have improved much further.

"Economic, political, financial, fiscal matters have all been positive this year," he added. "It's a combination of all these developments rather than any one thing that will determine the ratings.


Well, at least its a start for reversing 40 years of economic and financial damage of the country. There is a sign of progress. I do hope this positive trend can be sustained for many more years to come.

By BERNIE CAHILES–MAGKILAT

The business community sees bullish prospects for 2007 citing continuing improvement of the business climate in the country even as they stress the need for sustainability in the government’s revenue collection efforts to sustain the momentum.

This was the assessment made by Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman Miguel Varela, who is also chairman of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP).

"All indicators lead to bright prospects for 2007," Varela said expressing confidence that the first quarter is expected to immediately usher in a good start for business.

Varela cited the growth of investments, which have exceeded targets, the lower than expected budget deficit and the growing government revenue generation.

"Our international reserve level is unprecedented. The outlook for our stock market is bullish for the next year," he said.

Varela further projected the peso to further climb to P48: by the new year due to the increased surge of foreign remittances.

Investments, he said, are expected to pour strongly in the infrastructure sector as this sector’s development was highlighted in the President’s State of the Nation Address.

The privatization of the power sector will help sustain and boost opportunities for more investments, he said.

"One important element of our good prospects for next year is the improved capacity of government to raise revenues," he said as he cited the improved collection of government revenues enable us to cut the government’s chronic deficits as well as prepay some debts.

With the improved government revenue collection, the business community has cited the Bureau of Internal Revenue for a job well done with 23 percent year-on-year increase in its collection.

"Our revenue inflows are now at unprecedented levels.

This is so despite the fact that it appears there has been no increase in the budget for BIR," he said.

Varela, however, stressed the need to ensure the sustainability of revenue performance if the government has to keep the momentum of a resurgent economic growth going.

"This is the important factor in the virtuous cycle we now see in the domestic market and the fiscal condition," he said.

Varela’s bullish economic projections were supported by the revised growth projections of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank for a conservative economic growth of 6 percent.

Interational ratings firms Fitch Ratings and Standard and Poor’s also revised their outlook on the Philippines from ‘negative’ to ‘stable’ because of improved fiscal consolidations and stable political scenario.

This improvement has removed the threat of a credit-rating downgrade in the near term, and increased the likelihood of a possible upgrade in the ratings in future, Varela said.

An increase in the ratings means an improvement in a government’s credit worthiness, which would result in lower interest rates imposed on its borrowings.

Another positive growth indicator is the strong performance of exports for October reflects broad based growth as major commodities stepped up their exports.

With regard to wages, the ECOP and the PCCI have expressed strong opposition to the recent passage on third reading by the House of Representatives for a P125 wage increase of P125 saying it would negate the recent accomplishments achieved in the past.

According to Varela, such magnitude of wage increase would accelerate the decimation of hundreds of thousands of micro establishments and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the formal sector, which would run counter to the flagship program of the Arroyo Administration to promote and strengthen the micro enterprises and SMEs as key generators of employment and economic dynamism in the value chain.

Furthermore, since it is not anchored on productivity and competitiveness, it would cause cost-push inflation to escalate. If the cost of labor as a factor input is unduly raised by mandated wage increase, then it would cost more to produce the same quantity of output and the increase cost is then passed on to the market.

To avoid this scenario, Varela strongly suggested that wage adjustments should better be left to the proven process of Tripartite wage adjustments through the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards.

With all the positive prospects for the future, the business community also raised caution because 2007 is also an election year.

"The PCCI expects the first half of 2007 to experience economic slow down as the country braces itself for the forthcoming elections. During this period, we can expect the relatively increased spending and usual political bickerings, that is normally associated with Philippine politics, to somehow derail the economic momentum now appearing," he said.

Also, our strong economic fundamentals enable us to bounce back despite losses from three successive super typhoons.

"Overall, we expect the economy in 2007 to be better than this year," Varela said.

The business community also reiterated its support for constitutional changes liberalizing the economic provisions in the charter.

"The PCCI believes that these economic reforms will help address the setbacks the country experienced in the past," he said.(BCM)

http://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS2007010183501.html

PHILEQUITY CORNER By Ignacio B. Gimenez
The Philippine Star 01/01/2007

2006 was a very good year for Philippine stocks, bonds, the peso, and the economy in general. Indeed, the economic reforms which were instituted in the past couple of years have set a virtuous cycle in motion. The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) ended the year up 42.3, while the peso strengthened by 7.6 percent against the dollar.

Looking back, what we said at the start of 2006 set the tone of what would transpire throughout the rest of the year: "We continue to be long-term bullish on Philippine assets on the basis of improving fiscal and macro fundamentals... If we play our cards right, 2006 will be a banner year for the Philippine economy." (Philippine peso No. 1 in Asia & No. 5 in the world – Jan. 2, 2006)
We are now looking forward and planning out our strategies for 2007. In order to do this, we have to review what we said in 2006, to evaluate our calls, and draw lessons from how the financial markets have behaved last year.

On currencies:

• General weakness of the dollar." The US Fed is already on its last moves this year on its tightening policy stance. This would effectively end the high yield trade that led to the general strength in the US dollar in 2005." (Buy Asian currencies – Jan. 30, 2006)

"The current trend of US dollar weakening is very evident. There is a good chance that the Fed tightening cycle is over so the carry trade that was favorable for the US dollar last year has started to unwind. The US economy is also in for a soft landing so the US dollar will continue to weaken against other currencies." (Staying the course of reforms – July 31, 2006)

The dollar declined against most currencies in 2006. Among the major currencies, the British pound appreciated the largest, up 13.6 percent, followed by the euro which strengthened 11.5 percent. Only the Japanese yen weakened against the dollar, down 1.2 percent.

• Bullish on Asian currencies. "We are bullish Asian currencies and we believe that 2006 is the ripe time for these currencies to shine." The first month of the year saw much volatility in the currency markets with Asian currencies appreciating strongly against the US dollar. Due to cyclical reasons, this trend is likely to continue through the rest of the year. By now, we reckon that China has already overtaken Japan as the world’s largest currency reserve holder. With the Chinese economy running huge current accounts and balance of payments surpluses, the Yuan is poised to strengthen further even with continued intervention. A stronger Yuan, in turn, would permit other central banks in Asia to let their currencies to trade higher." (Buy Asian currencies – Jan. 30, 2006)

The Thai baht which appreciated 13.6 percent against the dollar was the best performer despite the recent attempts on capital control. It was followed by the Indonesian rupiah which strengthened 8.4 percent and the Korean won which appreciated eight percent.

• Bullish on the peso. "We are now seeing that what happened to Brazil and Chile in 2005 (when their central banks had to intervene to support the US dollar against their strong currency) may also happen to us. With the peso-dollar rate now heading towards 50:$1, we expect the Bangko Sentral to step in every once in a while to help cushion our exporters from the peso’s aggressive moves." (Peso nears 51 – what’s next? – Feb. 13, 2006)

"Clearly, the current peso strength is not only influenced by factors internal to the Philippines but by external factors as well." All things being equal or as economists often say ceteris paribus, we are maintaining our peso target at P50/$1. However, if the US dollar continues to weaken against regional currencies or if the Chinese Central Bank decides to loosen its grip on the yuan further, we will not be surprised if the peso indeed overshoots our target as some foreign houses have predicted." (BSP firmly at the helm – April 10, 2006)

The peso in fact hit our target of 50 ahead of time, leading us to amend it to 49.25 last November. It closed the 2006 even higher than our amended target at 49.03, up 7.6 percent year-on-year.

On equities:

• Bullish on global equities. "We view the last week’s sharp sell-off in the US and equities markets around the globe as a major correction rather than the start of a bear market. Strong corporate fundamentals and no evidence of heavy selling by long-term players such as pension funds and insurance groups reinforced our view." (When the US sneezes, the world catches a cold – May 22, 2006)

"Unlike past market corrections, the sharp decline in global equity markets in May-June did not reflect a change in long-term fundamentals. Absent was the irrational exuberance in equity price valuation that we experienced in April 2000. Nor was there a loss of confidence in emerging market economies saddled with huge current account deficits experienced during the Asian crisis in 1997. In fact, equity valuations today are reasonably in line with long-term fundamentals and the emerging market economies have significant current account surpluses and are in strong financial standing." (All eyes on the US – July 10, 2006)

"The Fed was less hawkish - the key change in the FOMC statement gives rise to a less affirmative stance on additional tightening... the sharp sell-off in equities over the past two months has brought valuations back to undemanding levels. At this point, we see the downside risks to be significantly less than the potential upside." (Markets regain their footing – July 3, 2006)

Global equities ended the year strong. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was up 16.3 percent while the S&P 500 gained 13.6 percent. Meanwhile, the MSCI Emerging Market index rose 25.6 percent.

• Bullish on Philippine equities. "Fundamental support for a positive case in the Philippines is very much valid both structurally and cyclically. Fiscal consolidation has progressed well. Good economic growth prospects, a stable peso, low interest rates, and subsiding inflation still provide the cyclical support." (All eyes on the US – July 10, 2006)

• "The fiscal reforms are on track and that the country’s economic fundamentals remain strong. Looking forward, we are counting on a resurgence of foreign direct investments (especially in the power and mining sectors) and government pump-priming on infrastructure and tourism projects to further boost economic growth." (Staying the course of reforms – July 31, 2006)

The PSEI ended 2006 on a 10-year high at 2,982, up 42-percent year-on-year. This is the fourth straight year of positive returns as the Philippines remained among the top performing equity markets in the region.
On politics, terrorism, natural calamities & the stock market
• Political maturity. "Coup attempts, coup plots, destabilization moves ‘real or unreal’ always succeed in spooking investors. Apprehensive investors have hung on every rumor, every unfolding event as if their very lives were at risk. If recent history is to be our guide, investors should bear in mind that the stock market possesses an amazing resilience. To some degree, there is always a negative knee-jerk reaction to ‘sudden political shocks.’ Stocks tank immediately, but after a while, they go back to doing what they always do – which is looking for value and aligning with long-term economic fundamentals." (Failed coups & the stock market – Feb. 27, 2006)

"Amid all the various tales being rammed down our throats through the media by the spin doctors of both camps, we all have learned to think critically. We all have gotten tired and weary of swinging from one end of the pendulum to another. This is apparently true not only for the individual Filipino but also among investors and the business community. Regardless of the motives or objectives behind today’s political noise, local politics has taken the backseat as far as investors are concerned. Everything now boils down to fundamentals." (Politics has taken a backseat – July 17, 2006)

• Resiliency of markets vs. rising geopolitical risks & natural calamities. "There are continued fears of a major sell-off in the global equities markets in case the current crisis between Israel, the Palestinians and Lebanon erupts into a regional conflict. While the immediate impact of such events will unquestionably be negative, it has been shown throughout history that equities markets have withstood the short-term effects such momentous "non-economic" events. In most cases, such catastrophes did not have a lasting impact as investors weighed down the risks versus the positive economic fundamentals." (Resilience of man & markets – July 24, 2006)

• "Unexpected natural calamities such as the recent typhoon may affect the stock market in the short term" it reminds as of how powerful nature can be and how fragile mankind is in the face of such enormous forces of nature. In the end, however, we are all comforted by the relentless determination of man to claim its place, to reclaim what has been taken and to carry on against all odds." (Typhoon Milenyo closes financial markets – Oct. 2, 2006)

As we have seen, the Philippine stock market has recovered strongly (to finish 2006 on a high note) after suffering short-term declines during these one-time, non-economic catastrophic events.

http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200701010713.htm

With its strong balance of payments surplus, the Philippines will no longer seek financial help from the International Monetary Fund, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas affirmed.

“Only those with difficulty accessing commercial fund have to go to IMF . . . We do not expect that kind of position,” BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo told reporters.

BSP’s prepayment last year of its remaining outstanding obligations with the lending institution amounting to $220 million has allowed the Philippines to exit from IMF’s post-program monitoring (PPM) arrangement earlier than the original schedule in April 2007.

It also ended the country’s credit with the IMF after four and half decades.

However, the Philippines and the IMF will continue to tackle the remaining policy challenges such as the need to reduce further debt.

“The Philippines’ ability to repay the IMF early reflects a stronger BOP, achieved through impressive fiscal reforms that have substantially reduced the fiscal deficit and debt,” Takatoshi Kato, acting managing director of IMF, said.

The forecast for the country’s overall BOP surplus in 2006 was revised upward to $2.8 billion from $2.0 billion estimated in July owing to strong current account and capital and financial account inflows.

The forecast in current account (CA) surplus was upgraded to $3.8 billion, or 3.3 percent of gross domestic product from $2.1 billion, or 1.8 percent of GDP. Drivers of growth in the current account include OFW remittances, strong exports of goods such as electronics, garments and mineral products and services such as travel and receipts from business process outsourcing and other IT-enabled services.

BOP posted a surplus of $579 million in the third quarter of the year, spurred by the continued strength in the current account. This was, however, lower by 21.1 percent compared with the surplus recorded in the same quarter last year as the capital and financial account reversed to a net outflow following the country’s repayment and pretermination of some of its external obligations.

Since 1962, IMF provided financial assistance in the country in support of the government’s economic and financial programs on 24 occasions and has also drawn from the compensatory financing facility seven times because of shortfalls in exports.

IMF was conceived at a United Nation’s conference convened in New Hampshire, USA, in July 1944. It seeks to promote economic stability and prevent crises. It has 184 member countries with total loan outstanding of $28 billion as of July 2006.

“There will be a surplus so it will tend to support peso,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. has announced.

Tetangco said earlier that the balance of payment could hit $1.6 billion in 2007, which is significantly lower than the $2.8-billion surplus projected for this year.

BOP is a summary of the economic transactions of a country with the rest of the world for a specific time period. It serves as an accounting statement on the economic dealings between residents of the country and nonresidents.

BSP initially made a conservative forecast in its economic targets and improved its targets in the later part of the year.

BSP forecasted peso to reach P51 to P52 to the dollar in 2007.

Traders said peso could reach P48.80 next week due to expected higher inflows of remittances, and there will be no significant commercial demand.

The peso closed stronger to P49.03 to the dollar in the last trading day of 2006 driven by strong inflows of remittances by overseas Filipino workers. This is much better than the flat P53 at the end of 2005.

At the Philippine Dealing System on Friday, the peso opened at P49.05 and averaged at P49.045. It dipped to P49.09 and rose to P49.02.

The total volume turnover reached $335 million.

Dealers said BSP intervened heavily to avoid peso from breaching the P49 level.

More blessings!!! i hope those noisy politicians won't blow it this time!

galing :applause: very positive

’06 investments hit P191b

The Board of Investments registered P190.66 billion worth of new investments last year, up 16 percent from P163.28 billion in 2005 and overshooting the 2006 target of P180 billion.

Trade Undersecretary and BoI managing head Elmer Hernandez told reporters that last year’s actual full-year investment figure, driven by big-ticket projects in the infrastructure sector, was also 6 percent more than the 10-percent target set annually by the agency.

“[The year] 2006 was a good year in terms of investments. We are optimistic that this can be further sustained in 2007 in view of the much-improved fiscal conditions, improved business environment, reduced cost of doing business and the country’s improved credit rating.”

Hernandez said investments in infrastructure were the main driver of growth for the agency.

He said preliminary data show that investments in infrastructure, mainly telecommunications and power, accounted for around 60 percent of last year’s total.

GN Power Corp.’s coal-fired power plant topped the list of big-ticket projects that availed of fiscal and non-fiscal perks from the government. GN Power is shelling out P43.9 billion to put up a coal-fired power plant and help reduce the country’s dependence on expensive imported crude.

The country’s three biggest mobile telecommunications providers also helped boost the investment body’s figures as the service providers rolled out the infrastructure for the third generation mobile communications technology, more popularly known as 3G.

Smart Communications initially committed to invest P33.178 billion for a multi-year rollout of the 3G technology. Ensuing developments later prompted the company to re-evaluate its investment figure.

The Gokongweis’ Digitel Mobile Philippines Inc., which carries the Sun Cellular brand, is investing P6 billion for its rollout, while Ayala-led Globe Telecommunications Inc. is pouring in P5.48 billion within the first year of its 3G rollout.

The Yuchengco group’s first foray into cement manufacturing comes with more than P10 billion in investments. South Western Cement Corp. sought fiscal and non-fiscal perks from government for its greenfield development of a cement plant for P12.138 billion.

Another new investment in the cement sector came from Eagle Cement Corp., which is reportedly partly owned by San Miguel Corp. chairman and chief executive Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. in his personal capacity.

Eagle Cement Corp. is investing P6.731 billion for a new cement plant that proposes to offer a product cheaper than what is currently available in the market. The cement production complex will have its own power source to help bring down the costs.

---http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=business1_jan2_2007

I feel so great seeing and hearing news like this!

^^Now that everything's on its way up, reaching the peak is one thing, sustaining that is another. These good news about our economy are really very encouraging!

S.E.A country "foreign direct investment"



Philippines FDI report
2006 - $3.94bn
2005 - $1.59bn
2004 - $1.82bn
2003 - $841.40mn




MALAYSIA FDI report
2006 - $1.14bn
2005 - $1.46bn
2004 - $1.72bn
2003 - $3.82bn


Indonesia FDI report
2006 - $5.62bn
2005 - $9.64bn
2004 - $8.40bn
2003 - $5.27bn


Thailand FDI Report
2006 - $2.74bn
2005 - $3.84bn
2004 - $9.98bn
2003 - $8.95bn


Vietnam FDI report
2006 - $9.74bn
2005 - $5.02bn
2004 - $4.50bn
2003 - $8.30bn



Cambodia FDI report
2006 - $1.06mn
2005 - $129.00mn
2004 - $54.50mn
2003 - $32.00mn



The philippines gain for about $2.5bn in 2006.. vietnam is the biggest gainer for the year 2006, on the other hand malaysia and thailand reportedly declined annually....cambodia is the biggest loser from $129mn down to $1.6mn...

indonesia also decline by $4bn, but still, higher than the philippines.


source:http://www.locomonitor.com

wow that is really great news. It almost doubled from 2006. and look at 2003 ,pathetic. I know this year 20007 we'll triple that figure. :banana: :cheers:

The Board of Investments yesterday said it is confident of achieving the 10-percent growth target in registered investments this year with several big-ticket projects in the pipeline.

“Investments this year should be up 10 percent year-on-year at the very least. On the pipeline are several projects in the power, mining and infrastructure sectors,” Trade Undersecretary and investments board managing head Elmer Hernandez told reporters.

The board registered over P190 billion investments last year.

With a 10-percent growth target, as mandated in the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan, registered investments this year are expected to hit P209 billion.

Hernandez cited the country’s improved fiscal condition, renewed investor interest in various sectors, including power, mining and infrastructure, the peso’s strength against the US dollar and improved credit rating as among the host of positive economic fundamentals.

He said even stock market analysts expected that major investments would go to the power sector as investors looked at opportunities on a looming power shortage in the country by 2010.

“I also expect more investments in infrastructure. President Arroyo has made it a priority to make the country’s infrastructure more competitive. Along with infrastructure, we also see investments in logistics since these are crucial in ensuring faster delivery for our exports,” he said.

He also said at least two big mining projects were scheduled to open this year.

“We are expecting at least two new big mines to be opened this year. These are not yet registered with the BoI. The two mines are currently being developed and are expected to yield copper and gold,” he said.

Projects slated for opening this year are the Tampakan and Didipio copper and gold mining projects.

Hernandez said ordinary Filipinos seemed to be bullish about the country’s prospects this year.

“The latest Social Weather Station survey showed nine out of 10 Filipinos are expecting a better year and this augurs well for us,” he said.

Information and communications technology is also expected to be among the beneficiaries of investment inflows, given the country’s competitive advantage in human resources, among other things.

“We should see major investments picking up this year in the services sector, particularly health care and wellness,” he said.

Hernandez said the manufacturing sector was no longer expected to contribute substantially to investment inflows, except for those export-related projects

The government’s tax take from foreign and local companies doing business in the Philippines went up close to 24 percent during the first 11 months of 2006 due to the higher corporate income tax rates under the reformed value added tax law.

Data from the Bureau of Internal Revenue show that taxes on net income and profit collected from companies reached P181.79 billion from January to November last year or P35.09 billion more than the P146.7 billion collected in the same period of 2005. The amount was P8.77 billion short of the P188.56 billion target set for the period.

Incomes taxes voluntarily paid by companies jumped 32.7 percent to P89.09 billion from P67.13 billion. The amount was P1.35 billion lower than the goal of P90.45 billion.

Taxes paid by companies from goods and services rendered by third parties also increased 15.5 percent to P92.69 billion from P79.55 billion. The amount, however, was P5.41 billion short of the P98.1-billion target for the period.

Despite strong opposition from the business sector, the government raised the minimum corporate income tax to 35 percent from 32 percent on Nov. 1, 2005 under the Expanded Value Added Tax Act of 2005. The rate would be reverted to 30 percent starting 2009.

Finance Secretary Margarito Teves earlier explained to reporters that corporate earnings were affected by the lower-than-expected gross domestic product growth during the third quarter of last year as well as the continued decline in interest rates.

Teves said studies showed that a percentage point decline in the GDP growth results in reduced corporate taxes of about P6 billion.

Data also revealed that taxes collected from individual taxpayers rose close to 11.94 percent to P117.57 billion during the first 11 months of last year from P105.03 billion in the same period in 2005. Individual tax payments during the period was P340.9 million lower than the goal of P117.91 billion.

Higher tax collections from companies and individuals raised the total taxes on net income and profit collected by the BIR to P346.54 billion from January to November last year or P47.02 billion more than the P299.52 billion collected in the same period in 2005.

However, taxes on net income and profit collected by the BIR was P26.77 billion short of the collection goal of P373.31 billion because of lower interest rates that pulled down the taxes collected on bank deposits and less taxes withheld on government securities.

Foreign buying at PSE surged 191% in '06

As foreign inflows grew, trading also picked up

By Elizabeth L. Sanchez
Inquirer
Last updated 01:23am (Mla time) 01/03/2007


NET FOREIGN buying in the stock market last year surged 191.2 percent to hit P68.53 billion from P23.53 billion in 2005, according to preliminary figures from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

Net foreign buying is computed as the difference between the total value of stocks bought and sold by foreign investors.

PSE president Francis Lim said in a statement that the increased interest of foreign investors was one of the major reasons behind the growth in the market last year, the fastest in 13 years.

"The market's superb performance in 2006 is proof that economic reforms being implemented by government, specially its efforts to manage the budget deficit, tame inflation and stabilize interest rates have once again paid off," Lim said.

PSE's preliminary data showed that total foreign buying in 2006 increased 68.7 percent to P349 billion, from P206.88 billion in 2005.

Total foreign selling, on the other hand, reached P280.47 billion, 53 percent higher than P183.35 billion during the previous year.

As foreign inflows to the market grew, trading also picked up.

PSE figures showed that the total value turnover in 2006 amounted to P572.63 billion, 49.3 percent higher than the P383.52 billion in 2005.

Daily value turnover averaged P2.32 billion or 48.7 percent higher than P1.56 billion in 2005.

The PSE index (PSEi) closed at 2,982.54 in 2006 or 42.3 percent higher, from 2,096.05 in 2005. The 2006 index level was its best finish after it hit 2,990.96 points on April 7, 1997.

The index also posted its fastest growth rate in 2006 since it recorded a 154-percent annualized hike in 1993.

With the surge in the PSEi, the market's capitalization--or measure of a firm's value based on current market price--also advanced.

Total market capitalization of all listed firms in 2006 reached an all time high of P7.17 trillion, or 20.6 percent higher than P5.95 trillion in 2005. Of the total, market capitalization of listed domestic firms or those based here, amounted to P3.35 trillion, or 57.4 percent higher than the P2.13 trillion level in 2005.

Those considered foreign companies listed on the bourse are the likes of Manulife Corp. and Sunlife of Canada.

"The PSE has high hopes that the market will replicate, if not surpass, its performance in 2006," Lim said.

wow vietnam is kicking ass too
my aunt's friend works in vietnam as a teacher and she said that hochi minh is the same as quiapo but cleaner

yup that's true I can vouch for that^^
I don't know why its so hard for us to keep and maintain anything clean.
sayang ang quaipo

ate marites, its all about discipline, people need and should be disciplined. Unlike vietnam, our government is not powerful enough to keep everyone in line in terms of behaviour. Sana ganun din, but its the price we pay for being more free

wow nakita ko yung PSEi sa bloomberg 3,000.00 na!!

The House of Representatives has approved on third reading a proposal that would enhance government support for small and medium businesses.

House Bill 5811, authored by Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats Rep.

Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado of Bulacan, chairman of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Development, seeks to pass Republic Act 6977, the Magna Carta for Small Enterprises, which raises the mandatory allocation of the banks’ loan portfolios for small and medium enterprises from 8 percent to 10 percent.

The bill, otherwise known as an “Act Promoting Entrepreneurship and Supporting the Development of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises,” also promotes the welfare of micro, small and medium businesses by proposing to direct concerned agencies to relax their procedural rules and requirements, within their respective offices and in coordination with other agencies in terms of registration, availing of financing and accessing other government services and assistance.

Alvarado said these could be achieved by putting up business one-stops in regional and provincial centers to assist MSMEs in complying with procedural requirements without the delays and hassles of bureaucratic red tape in such basic procedures as business registration.

“These will expedite business registration and encourage others to put up their own enterprises, thereby expanding the base of our MSMEs,” he said.

Another salient provision of the measure increases capitalization and funding of small business corporations, a component of the Department of Trade and Industry in charged with overseeing the relationship of SMEs and the banking sector from its current authorized capital stock of P5 billion to P10 billion for the expansion of its lending and guarantee capacities.

--Maricel V. Cruz
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2007/jan/03/yehey/metro/20070103met6.html

^^Now that everything's on its way up, reaching the peak is one thing, sustaining that is another. These good news about our economy are really very encouraging!

We really have to sustain this momentum. We have reached record high late last year which we should maintain. As of now, the peso is still appreciating which we should maintain. As per economic forecasts, we may sustain the P49- P48 level this year which is really good.

Looking back, peso was as high as P56. Now it's up by P7 and still counting.

^^ yes i remember in 2003, 2004 it went to P56.

Philippine Export Zone Authority (PEZA) – approved investments reached P83.674 billion in 2006, 24.59 percent higher than the P67.156 billion registered in 2005.

The total number of approved economic zone projects for last year also went up by 19.02 percent to 463 projects from only 389 projects in 2005.

Information technology (IT) investments alone amounted to P9.424 billion in 2006, posting a 31.18-percent growth compared to the P7.184 billion in IT investments in 2005.

Expected annual average direct employment to be generated by the P9.424 billion IT investments is 37,235 jobs, 23.90 percent higher than last year’s 30,052 jobs.

According to PEZA Director-General Lilia B. de Lima, "our investments grew by 24.59 percent, overshooting by P9.8 billion our target for 2006 which was P73.865 billion or just 10 percent higher than the 2005 investments."

The total investments in 2006 of P83.67 billion, De Lima boasted, is 113 percent higher than target.

The bulk of investments, de lima pointed out, were for the expansion of existing companies, both for manufacturing and for IT.

The expansion investments, De Lima said, accounted for almost 70 percent of total locator-investments in 2006.

Investments from existing locators, de Lima elaborated, totalled P69.842 billion, of which 70 percent was invested for further expansion.

According to de Lima, the additional investments by existing locators "is an indication that those who are here are very confident and very comfortable in doing business in the Philippines as they continue to expand their operations both for export manufacturing and IT companies.

Investments by developers alone amounted to P13.8 billion.

Actual employment from the new investments as of October 2006 amounted to 544,318 new jobs, surpassing the target of 496,407 new jobs.

Earlier, PEZA reported that actual exports from Jan. 1 to Oct. 31 this year amounted to $29.829 billion, posting a 13.289-percent increase over the comparable period in 2005.

Let us congratulate ourselves for a vibrant economy last year and hope for a better one this year. In our own little way, we are all part of this. Some of us helped by demanding receipts and invoices in every business transaction. Some helped by paying their taxes. We all swallowed the VAT as a necessary bitter pill. Everybody helped by giving their talents and skills for a higher GNP. And some sent dollars home.

Thanks to the President's political will and to our economic team led by Finance Secretary Gary Teves.


From the Manila Times:

EDITORIAL

The economy in 2006


WHILE partisan politics divided the nation in 2006, slowed down legislative work, drove priority programs to the background, wasted time over constitutional change and damaged the national image on the world stage, the Philippine economy grew quietly and steadily to boost business, create jobs and improve the life of many Filipinos.

Gross national product grew and tax collection improved last year. The peso strengthened and workers’ remittances increased to new levels. Employment growth improved modestly and more Filipinos continued to find jobs overseas.

Our balance-of-payments position improved greatly. The government has begun to tame the budget deficit. Foreign direct investments rose in 2006. Inflation rates dropped from January to November to help Filipinos enjoy lower-cost goods and services.

Respectable and impressive was the economic growth in 2006. The growth reflected progress in many parts of Asia and the world. In our case, we surged despite natural and man-made disasters, a two-headed insurgency, restiveness in the military and bad politics.

Some specifics:

The gross national product rose to P1.6 trillion in the third quarter of 2006, from P1.3 trillion in the first three months of 2005, an increase of 21.34 percent in 21 months.

Revenue collection for 2006 grew 19 percent to P882.4 billion from P744.1 billion last year. Fiscal reforms and a reenacted budget enabled the government to close the fiscal gap in 2006. Exports registered a double-digit growth.

From P53.61 in December 2005, the peso strengthened to a record-breaking four-and-a-half year high of P49.28 to the dollar on December 22, increasing buying power. Overseas remittances and positive sentiment over the country’s healthy fiscal performance boosted the peso, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said....

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2007/jan/04/yehey/opinion/20070104opi1.html

It was really a year of economic recovery for 2006. We have experiences a lot of record high's last year as we reap the fruits of economic reforms instituted by this administration. Hopefully, we can sustain the positive stance of our economy this year.

New today averred that we almost reached a 10-year high on stocks. The peso continues to gain as well. It seems it is truly a good year for us.

^^ Let's hope that we can sustain it; this year and onwards... :)

Despite the 4 strong storms which hit our country, the Philippines was still successful in economic terms last 2006, and it is continuous!

2007 will be another year but I believe it will be better than the previous one!

P/$ rate closes at P48.88 to $ 1 (http://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS2007010483694.html)


The peso rate closed higher at P48.88 to the US dollar yesterday at the Philippine Dealing System of the Bankers Association of the Philippines from P48.915 the previous day. The weighted average rate appreciated to P48.867 from P48.926. Total volume amounted to $ 579 million.

slowing down of the economy is being anticipated every poll season. I hope this year's economic performance surpass last year's though..

OPERATING on a reenacted budget this year runs the risk of slowing economic growth, as the absence of counterpart funding would derail many big-ticket infrastructure projects, according to government officials and economists.

After Congress failed to pass the 2007 General Appropriations Act, the government is poised to operate this year using the 2005 spending bill. This would be the second straight year that the Philippines has to run on a smaller budget.

Finance Secretary Margarito B. Teves said operating on the 2005 budget this year would allow the economy to hit only the low-end of the government’s growth target of between 5.7 percent and 6.3 percent.

“If we gauge it from last year, we might attain the low-end, but maybe we might look at it again because we cannot use 2006 as a gauge. So again this is something we should take a closer look at later,” he said.

Although a reenacted budget would allow the government to wipe out its deficit this year, underspending would undermine the economy’s growth prospects in the medium term, Teves said.

Department of Finance estimates show that the government would be unable to spend about P180 billion if the P942-billion 2005 budget is reenacted and the revenue goal of P1.12 trillion is retained. With the present 90-percent absorptive capacity of line agencies and the policy of belt-tightening, the government may incur a P70-billion surplus, excluding proceeds from the sale of state assets.

“[However] this is going to be a very temporary accomplishment for us if we don’t have the infrastructure support. Eventually it would also affect the revenue side so I’d rather that we don’t focus on that,” Teves said.

Augusto Santos, deputy director general of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), confirmed that a reenacted budget would have a minimal impact on infrastructure projects funded by official development assistance (ODA), as these require counterpart funds from the government.

The Arroyo administration is banking on increased ODA funding to boost infrastructure spending and offset the likely impact of a slowdown in the country’s exports this year.

“If we continue to use [the] old budget our economy will be hurt in the long run,” Peter Lee U, dean of the University of Asia and the Pacific School of Economics, said, adding the government can buy time for another year or two on remittance-led consumer spending.

Consumer spending has been the country’s main growth driver, with consumption fueled by the growing inflows of remittances from overseas Filipino workers.

“[But] we’re underspending on the education and infrastructure,” Lee said.

“Our call centers [are] having a difficulty in getting people. If you don’t improve the education, the country’s sunrise industry may not take-off,” he added.

Growth forecast at 5.7 percent

Bernardo M. Villegas, UA&P senior vice-president, said growth this year may come in at 5.7 percent, with the agriculture, industry and services sectors expanding at 3.1 percent, 5.2 percent and 7 percent, respectively.

“The economic growth engines in the medium term are infrastructure spending, tourism, business-process outsourcing and manpower exports. Other possible high-growth sectors are logistics, high-value garments, agribusiness and furniture exports,” Villegas said.

However, this would depend on how government improves the country’s infrastructure and investment climate, he said, adding inaction on these matters would mean another year of “muddling through.”

In the event that the budget impasse persists, the country’s economic managers would have to decide on whether to ask Congress for a supplemental budget.

The Philippines is likely to meet its budget deficit estimate of P80-90 billion ($1.6-1.8 billion) for 2006 despite the failure of the Bureau of Internal Revenue to hit collection targets, Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran said yesterday.

The BIR was P31 billion short of its target, collecting P644.4 billion last year, lower than the official target of P675.4 billion.

"The deficit is so good," Beltran said. "It’s much below the target, so that whatever shortfalls there are in tax collection have no consequence for the attainment of fiscal consolidation."

The budget deficit in 2005 was P146.5 billion.

The BIR which collects two-thirds of the government’s annual revenues, has blamed the shortfall to lower issuances of bonds.

The Bureau of Customs exceeded its target of P196 billion last year by P1 billion.

The government is raising a total of P974.1 billion revenues in 2006.

"Non-tax revenues will offset the shortfall in tax collections. We expect to have higher Bureau of Treasury collections, as well as dividends will be strong," Beltran said.

mabuhay ang pilipinas! mabuhay ang pilipino!

December inflation up 4.3% yr-on-yr


Xinhua Financial News Service
Last updated 09:58am (Mla time) 01/05/2007


CONSUMER prices in December rose by an average 4.3 percent from a year earlier, within the central bank's projected range of 4.2-4.8 percent, after nine straight months of declines, the National Statistics Office said.

The average inflation rate for 2006 was 6.2 percent , it said.

The December CPI, the lowest since it hit 4.2 percent in March 2004, reflects easing inflation mainly in food and energy items, the NSO said.

Last month's CPI came in below the 4.6-4.7 percent range forecast by three economists polled by XFN-Asia, who all expected inflation to remain tame this year given the strong peso.

Consumer prices rose 0.1 percent in December from the previous month, unchanged from a 0.1-percent month-on-month rise in November, the NSO said.

Central bank governor Amando Tetangco Jr said the December inflation rate "bodes well for a within-target inflation rate for 2007, barring any adverse shocks."

The government has set an inflation target of 4-5 percent for 2007.

"It also affords the central bank greater latitude in the conduct of monetary policy," Tetangco told reporters via mobile text message.

Core inflation, which excludes selected food and energy items, slipped to 4.6 percent in December from the previous month's 4.7 percent. It averaged 5.5 percent in 2006 compared to 7.0 percent in 2005.

Prices in the food, beverage and tobacco index rose by a slower rate of 4.7 percent last month from 4.9 percent in November.

Prices in the fuel, light and water group also decelerated, up just 5.4 percent in December from 7.7 percent the preceding month.

Clothing prices were up 3.0 percent in December after rising 2.9 percent in November.

Prices in housing and repairs were up 3.7 percent year-on-year in December, services rose 4.4 percent, and miscellaneous items inched up 2.5 percent.

RP-India deal paves way for closer investment ties
http://www.bworldonline.com/BW010507/content.php?id=051

Philippine and Indian businessmen have teamed up to encourage investments in each other’s markets as a way of strengthening bilateral economic relations between the Philippines and India.

Donald G. Dee, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce, and Saroj K. Poddar, president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Dec. 11 last year to boost trade and other business interaction between their members.

"The fundamental objective of the MoU is to further the development of bilateral economic relations by providing a forum for businessmen of both the countries to meet, discuss and explore business opportunities in trade, investments, transfer of technology, services, and other industrial sectors," the two-page document said.

PCCI president Donald G. Dee yesterday said the agreement should be able to boost trade between the two countries.

The pact provides a "forum" for investors on both sides to get to know the business environment, taxation rules, investment opportunities, trade policies and legislative changes in both countries. In an earlier interview, Mr. Poddar blamed the lack of familiarity with each other’s operating environments for the low level of cooperation between Philippine and Indian businessmen.

Bilateral trade between India and the Philippines now stands at around $750 million a year, although two-way trade could increase to $2 billion by 2010 if both sides explore more opportunities.

Both the PCCI and the FICCI said Filipino and Indian businessmen should undertake bigger joint-venture projects as investments from both sides are still insignificant.

Mr. Poddar had said there are many opportunities for Philippine businessmen in Indian sectors like manufacturing, real estate development, food processing, and agribusiness. He said Filipino investors would especially be attracted to invest in the latter two industries because of India’s growing population and food requirements.

He also noted that real estate development is booming in India, a phenomenon on which Filipino mall and real estate developers can capitalize.

He added that the Philippines could teach India the best practices in tourism and nursing, while India could transfer high-value information technology knowledge to the Philippines.

According to Mr. Dee, the agreement should prod businessmen on both sides to identify more areas of cooperation and possible business ventures. "I hope that, with the agreement, we can identify specific projects," he said.
A few Filipino firms have entered the Indian market via joint ventures. Ayala Corp., for instance, is keen on the Indian real estate industry and on forming more partnerships in the utilities sector.

The Philippine government has also undertaken initiatives to attract Indian tourists to the Philippines and relax the working visa requirements of Indian businessmen visiting Manila.

— K. L. Alave

01/06/2007

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said international reserves hit an all-time high $23 billion at the end of 2006, breaching an estimate of $22 billion as expected.

International reserves have risen 24 percent from the end-2005 level of $18.5 billion, largely due to the Central Bank’s foreign exchange operations, incomes from investments abroad and borrowings by the central government.

The end-December reserves level was equivalent to 4.4 months worth of imports of goods and payments of services and income, the Central Bank said.

In terms of reserve adequacy, the end-year GIR level could cover about 4.4 months of imports of goods and payments of services and income. This level is also equivalent to four times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 2.3 times based on residual maturity.

Compared to the month-ago and year-ago levels, the end-December 2006 GIR was higher by $0.35 billion and $4.51 billion, respectively.

The significant accumulation of reserves was attributed mainly to the BSP’s foreign exchange operations and income from investments abroad as well as the national government’s deposit of the proceeds of its various program loans.

The current level of reserves was accumulated even after the $220-million prepayment of the BSP’s remaining credit to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as well as the central government’s $72 million prepayment on various ADB loans.

Without these prepayments, the GIR level would have been higher by $292 million.

Net international reserves (NIR), including revaluation of reserve assets and reserve-related liabilities, rose by $570 million to $22.97 billion from the end-November 2006 level of $22.40 billion.

The end-2006 NIR level was also higher by $5.31 billion compared to the end-2005 level of $17.66 billion. NIR refers to the difference between the BSP’s GIR and the combined total of short-term liabilities and use of IMF credits.

01/06/2007

The government said it saved an estimated P30.8 billion in interest payments on its huge P1.4-trillion debts last year as a result of the strong peso.

Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya said the government spent an estimated P309.2 billion in interest payments on foreign and domestic debt last year, below a programmed level of P340 billion.

“The downtrend (could be) attributed to a stronger peso which had stayed below the 50 pesos to a dollar level in the weeks leading to the close of 2006,” Andaya said in a statement.

The peso ended 2006 at 49.03 per dollar, a gain of 8.28 percent from the 2005 close of 53.09.

Interest payments on debt amounted to P292.9 billion in the 11 months to November last year, 2.17-percent lower than the P299.4 billion the government spent in 2005.

For 2007, the government has forecast interest payments would go down by 6.4 percent to P318.2 billion from last year’s programmed level of P340 billion.

The government borrows in both the domestic and foreign markets to pay off maturing debt and fund its budget deficit, which is expected to reach P63 billion in 2007, or 0.9 percent of projected gross domestic product (GDP).

Full-year disbursement outlook for debt service is not expected to exceed P309.2 billion, which is P30.8-billion lower than the P340 billion programmed for the year, the Budget department said in a briefing paper.

Last year’s P340-billion debt service allocation was anchored on a 56 per dollar peso rate, but the peso rallied from 53.06 per dollar at the start of the year to below 50 per dollar in the last quarter.

“This would impact on a lower deficit for the year. Lower interest payments is a big factor on our deficit number,“ Andaya said.

This year, interest payments are programmed to go down to P318.2 billion, a 6.4-percent decrease from last year.

^^ Let's give ourselves a big hand!

:applause: :applause: :applause:

We can do it again!!!

yep... wala munang politika!

^^ Yes. Politics, or specifically Marcos/Erap/Lacson politics limit the effectiveness of GMA's administration, which is doing it's best to move this country forward. Let's hope that they forget their self-interests and egos until 2010, and be statesmen in the process.

[QUOTE=SamwiseGamgee;11145223]Let us congratulate ourselves for a vibrant economy last year and hope for a better one this year. In our own little way, we are all part of this. Some of us helped by demanding receipts and invoices in every business transaction. Some helped by paying their taxes. We all swallowed the VAT as a necessary bitter pill. Everybody helped by giving their talents and skills for a higher GNP. And some sent dollars home.

Thanks to the President's political will and to our economic team led by Finance Secretary Gary Teves. QUOTE]

if it is really true that we have a vibrant economy last year .... why should we be thankfull ?

they were paid their salaries, perks, etc by the peoples from the taxpayers money. it is only fair that they should do their job correctly... and should be honestly without corrupt practices... :lol:

P.S.

to our subordinates we have to do some appreciations and some boladas to make them work harder
and fulfill the goal.

but to our superiors or government officials why we should be thankful. they have do their job correctly, efficiently, honestly, and without any corrupt practices.

its common courtesy to say thank you even if one of those everyday practices that we do. I.e. have you ever said to the cashier in a grocery store thank you, and also the person who packs up your groceries thank you??? You cannot say that you dont need to because its their job to do it and they are getting paid to do it, you say thank you because they put an effort into what they did. Everybody should say thank you and youre welcome all the time. Even to the bus drivers before you go down you say thank you. I know its hard to conceptualise this, but in other countries it is common courtesy. It boosts your morale, it makes you feel good - both the one who says thank you and to the one who was thanked, and it makes this world a better place to live on.

Otherwise, it shows that you dont care for other people that much. As long as you get what youre supposed to get youre ok, the only time you say something is when something goes wrong. Why not say something when something is right???

its common courtesy to say thank you even if one of those everyday practices that we do. I.e. have you ever said to the cashier in a grocery store thank you, and also the person who packs up your groceries thank you??? You cannot say that you dont need to because its their job to do it and they are getting paid to do it, you say thank you because they put an effort into what they did. Everybody should say thank you and youre welcome all the time. Even to the bus drivers before you go down you say thank you. I know its hard to conceptualise this, but in other countries it is common courtesy. It boosts your morale, it makes you feel good - both the one who says thank you and to the one who was thanked, and it makes this world a better place to live on.

Otherwise, it shows that you dont care for other people that much. As long as you get what youre supposed to get youre ok, the only time you say something is when something goes wrong. Why not say something when something is right???

Well.... of course I always say " Thank you " to almost everyone, even to our maid, to Sekyu, to Bank tellers, etc.

The message I posted I honestly intended to be a sort of jest.
Btw I think I made a lapse of judgement in making this kind of of joke.

I am sorry and I apologize my friend...
Thanks a lot.

P.S.
I think a simple thank you is enough for govt officials especially the top brass so that they may not think that the peoples is indebted to them for doing their own job correctly. baka lalu pang lumaki ulo nila. katunayan mas marami silang ginawang kapalpakan.

Telecommunications companies, particularly those in the PLDT group, and firms in energy-related businesses dominated the list of the country’s top corporations in terms of profits and sales in 2005.


Data from the Securities and Exchange Commission showed that the top ten money makers for 2005 are:

1. Smart Communications Inc. P22.92 billion

2. Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company P20.23 billion

3. Pilipino Telephone Corporation P13.46 billion

4. Chevron Malampaya LLC P11.09 billion

5. Globe Telecom Inc. P8.57 billion

6. Bank of the Philippine Islands P6.36 billion

7. Nestlé Philippines Inc. P5.833 billion

8. SM Prime Holdings Inc. P5.827 billion

9. Petron Corporation P5.77 billion

10. Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation P5.76 billion

The 11th to 20th most profitable firms are mostly power generators and banks such as First Gas Power Corporation, Mirant (Philippines) Corporation, American Power Conversion Corporation, Mirant Pagbilao Corporation, Mirant Sual Corporation, Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company and Citibank N.A.

Meanwhile the top corporations ranked according to sales are:

1. Petron Corporation P191.65 billion

2. Manila Electric Company P176.35 billion

3. TI (Philippines) Inc. P151.77 billion

4. Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation P149.13 billion

5. Toshiba Information Equipment (Philippines) Inc. P100.34 billion

6. Chevron Philippines Inc. P74.66 billion

7. Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company P68.46 billion

8. Nestlé Philippines Inc. P65.38 billion

9. Smart Communications Inc. P65.23 billion

10. Philippine Airlines Inc. P54.94 billion


The country’s top oil firms all made it to the list of the top ten firms that posted the biggest growth in sales in 2005:

1. Petron Corporation P45.97 billion

2. Manila Electric Company P26.53 billion

3. Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation P22.24 billion

4. Panasonic Communications Philippines Corporation P14.19 billion

5. Fujitsu Computer Products Corporation of the Philippines P14.03 billion

6. Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corporation P11.45 billion

7. Total (Philippines) Corporation P10.63 billion

8. Chevron Philippines Inc. P9.93 billion

9. Philippine Airlines Inc. P9.81 billion

10. Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation P9.76 billion

The SEC noted that, despite its slow start, the Philippine economy managed to grow by five percent in 2005 owing to strong fourth quarter finishes by the economy’s three major sectors.

However, of the three, only the industry sector managed to sustain its pace throughout the year, growing 4.9 percent in 2005 from 4.7 percent the previous year.

While the services and agricultural sectors also registered fourth quarter improvements, their full year growths still fell short of their 2004 levels.

Because of the economy was sluggish through a considerable part of the year, the country’s top industry players achieved only small to modest gains from 2004 with overall revenues and profitability of the market leaders weaker in 2005 than they were in 2004.

Revenues grew by only 6.36 percent compared to 13.55 percent in 2004, while profits had a minimal 1.8 percent growth in 2005—a considerable decline from its 55.09 percent jump in the previous year.

The trade sector dominated the Top 5000 in 2005 with 1,738 firms listed although the manufacturing sector was still well-represented with 1,533 firms. The two sectors combined accounted for about 65 percent to the total number of players in all 16 industries.

Only 9 out of the 16 industries had positive sales growths, while only 7 of the 16 industries achieved higher profits in 2005 compared to 15 in 2004.

The mining and quarrying industry was the only sector that registered a three-digit sales growth which translated to an 18.74 percent improvement in profits.

Topping profit growth was the health and social work sector with 126.51 percent while the financial intermediation sector once again took the largest share in total profits (22.95 percent) for 2005.(JAL)

Customs: We topped ’06 collection by P57B
ABS-CBN News
The Bureau of Customs on Sunday denied as “foul and unfounded” allegations it had padded its 2006 collection report.

In a statement to The Manila Times, Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales said by end-December it had collected P198.1 billion or P2.1 billion above the P196-billion target the Department of Finance had unilaterally imposed on the agency.

“What can’t be assailed is that we exceeded our collection last year by about P57 billion, which is no small feat. Our collections grew by 29 percent, the highest in history,” Morales said, reacting to a Times’ January 6 report.

Morales disputed charges that it was irregular for the Customs to include in its collection report taxes paid on rice imports by the state-owned National Food Authority (NFA).

Unlike other agencies, which pay in special allotment release orders (SAROs), the NFA, Morales explained, pays its taxes in cash.

Morales cited a resolution by the interagency Department and Budget Coordinating Council, that taxes paid by the government on its own imports be “reckoned as collection.”

Morales said the resolution was issued on November 2005.

“Draw downs from the tax expenditure fund were factored in by the council in our 2006 target,” Morales said. “When the council gave us our target, projected releases from tax expenditure fund were already considered. The tax expenditure fund is embedded in our target.”

He also refuted claims that the P174.6 billion the agency collected from January to November 2006 included P7.8 billion in tax expenditure fund arising from rice importation made by the NFA.

More:
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=61907

its common courtesy to say thank you even if one of those everyday practices that we do. I.e. have you ever said to the cashier in a grocery store thank you, and also the person who packs up your groceries thank you??? You cannot say that you dont need to because its their job to do it and they are getting paid to do it, you say thank you because they put an effort into what they did. Everybody should say thank you and youre welcome all the time. Even to the bus drivers before you go down you say thank you. I know its hard to conceptualise this, but in other countries it is common courtesy. It boosts your morale, it makes you feel good - both the one who says thank you and to the one who was thanked, and it makes this world a better place to live on.

Otherwise, it shows that you dont care for other people that much. As long as you get what youre supposed to get youre ok, the only time you say something is when something goes wrong. Why not say something when something is right???

^^ Thank you for a very nice piece, Ikra... You made our friend Emesber/TheAvenger realize his folly... :D


Well.... of course I always say " Thank you " to almost everyone, even to our maid, to Sekyu, to Bank tellers, etc.

The message I posted I honestly intended to be a sort of jest.
Btw I think I made a lapse of judgement in making this kind of of joke.

I am sorry and I apologize my friend...
Thanks a lot.

P.S.
I think a simple thank you is enough for govt officials especially the top brass so that they may not think that the peoples is indebted to them for doing their own job correctly. baka lalu pang lumaki ulo nila. katunayan mas marami silang ginawang kapalpakan.

^^ Thank you TheAvenger for thanking our economic team, albeit grudgingly, "for doing their own job correctly".

Also, our relations with China seemed to be improving as we are about to sign 20 agreements with China in time with the upcoming summit. More than this, our growing partnership with China gives us a $5B in agribusiness deals.
Aside from having a positive stance with our bullish stock market and appreciating peso, we are also improving our foreign relations with other countries. With the upcoming ASEAN Summit, we'll be mingling with more of other Asian countries. For sure, we will be developing more positive economic relations when ASEAN Summit comes.

you are welcome my dear friends :)

By Lawrence Agcaoili

The yield of the benchmark Treasury bills yesterday plunged to new record lows in the first auction day of the year due to the country’s robust economic fundamentals and government’s strong fiscal position.

“This is an all-time low, across-the-board. This is the lowest ever,” National Treasurer Omar Cruz said.

The 91-day T-bills, used by banks in pricing their loans, fell 104.2 basis points to an all-time low of 3.795 percent from 4.837 percent on Nov. 6 last year. Tenders for the P500-million offering reached P4.555 billion, prompting the auction committee to accept P200 million worth of non-competitive bids.

The rate of the 182-day T-bills dropped 92.1 basis points to a record low of 4.317 percent from 5.238 percent on Nov. 20. Tenders amounted to P14.54 billion for the P1.5-billion issuance with the committee awarding an additional P600 million worth of non-competitive bids.

On the other hand, the 364-day debt paper fetched a new low of 4.604 percent, or 90.1 basis points lower than the 5.505 percent yield on Nov. 20. Bids reached P14.405 billion with the government making a full award of P2 billion.

The new rates erased the previous all-time low in April 20, 2002 when the 91-day T-bills hit 4.299 percent, followed by the 182-day that averaged 4.771 percent and the 364-day at 5.190 percent.

Cruz told reporters yesterday that several factors pulled down interest rates to their lowest levels across all tenors.

Cruz said they included the lack of supply of government securities, the absence of short-term tenor, the smaller offered volume, the positive outlook on the country’s fiscal position and strong economic fundamentals.

Other factors were high liquidity in the financial sector, the better-than-expected inflation for December and speculation that interest rates would slide further.

“These factors are relevant to the pulldown in interest rates,” the national treasurer said.

The Department of Finance expects to trim the budget deficit to a range of P80 billion or 1.3 percent of gross domestic product to P90 billion or 1.5 percent of GDP last year compared to P146.8 billion or 2.7 percent of GDP in 2005.

The range was better than the original forecast of P125 billion or 2.1 percent of GDP due to the improved revenues with the full implementation of the Expanded Value Added Tax Act of 2005 and prudent spending due to the rolled over 2005 budget.

The domestic economy as measured by the GDP also likely expanded by 5.5 percent last year from 5.1 percent in 2005 while inflation slowed down to 4.3 percent in December.

Cruz said the government’s strong cash position would enable it to further trim the budget deficit to P63 billion or 0.9 percent of GDP this year and allow it to reduce its borrowings.

“Our strong fiscal position has allowed us to adjust our borrowings accordingly. We have always wanted to go for the long-dated issuances for greater duration and maturities,” Cruz added.

The ratio of public debt to GDP is still high at 87.6% but at least it’s going down. I hope we could achieve a debt ratio of below 50% of the GDP soon.


Public sector debt down to 88% of GDP
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=business5_jan9_2007

The ratio of the country’s outstanding public sector debt to the domestic economy fell to 87.6 percent of gross domestic product in the second quarter of last year due to lower deficits incurred by the national government and state-run corporations.

The Department of Finance reported yesterday that public debt stood at P5 trillion or equivalent to 87.6 percent of GDP in the second quarter of last year, or P46.4 billion higher compared to P4.95 trillion or 89 percent in the first quarter of 2006.

This was 8.8 percent lower than the P5.483 trillion or 108 percent of GDP recorded during the second quarter of 2005.

The public sector debt is the sum of the liabilities of the national government, local government units as well as government-owned and -controlled corporations.

Data show that the domestic public sector debt inched up by 1.7 percent to P1.648 trillion from P1.621 trillion while foreign public sector debt increased by 0.6 percent to P3.352 trillion from P3.333 trillion.

Data also show that non-financial public sector debt inched up by 0.8 percent to P4.614 trillion in the second quarter from P4.577 trillion in the first quarter while the debt of financial public corporations retreated by 0.6 percent to P1.074 trillion from P1.081 trillion.

The outstanding debt of government financial institutions led by Development Bank of the Philippines, Land Bank of the Philippines, and Tidcorp rose 3.8 percent to P166.8 billion from P160.6 billion while that of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas declined by 1.4 percent to P908.1 billion from P920.7 billion.

In 2005, the Philippines managed to bring down the ratio of the government’s public sector debt to GDP below 100 percent for the first time in seven years.

The public debt stood at 93.4 percent of GDP or P5.1 trillion in 2005 from 109 percent of GDP or P5.3 trillion in 2004. This was the lowest ratio since 1998 when the public debt stood at P2.552 trillion or equivalent to 94.6 percent of GDP. Lawrence Agcaoili

^^ This just proves that our economy is improving since it resulted to lower public sector debt. Hopefully, we can continue this trend so that we will have less problems in the future.

If it will not be so much, we might even contemplate lower public sector debt in the future.

This is what those who keep clamoring for GMA's ouster can't see - the solid achievement of her administration in regard to our fiscal and economic standing. While they have been making baseless allegation after allegation, she and her economic team have steadily plodded on and made the hard, unpopular decisions that have redounded to the benefit of the country in increased investor confidence.

Yeah imagine what more we could have achieved without the destructive politicking. time is precious once it's gone you cannot bring it back.

well politics will always be politics.. and in my observation of the past year... even there was political noise... the people has become more of an observant now rather than a participant in the war between the opposition and the administration...

and.. I just realized that the Garci scandal and the I'm Sorry events has just happened last year...

^^ The peso hits its 6-year high yesterday at P48.66. The continuous appreciation of peso also contributes to the growing confidence of our investors to the Philippine economy. The economic team just proves that it is on the right track with their strategy to improve the economy.

Contrary to the numerous allegations of others, this administration has proven that what is being done is to improve the economy. In turn, it can bring better lives for its people.

Well, we forgot to say thank you to our modern day heroes...the OFW's....

Without these people, bringing in back the dollars they earned, we will not achieve to make this economy running. The forumula and the equation is inevitable. More and more people will migrate or work abroad at a rate of 1M/year.

The first batch who left during the late 70's after the travel ban, who migrated already to foreign lands are starting to retire. Now, they are buying condos and investments here and starting their own business......

Bravos for these people who had decided not to retire abroad...iba talaga ang pinas....iba ang ligaya at saya...

^^ Yeah, thanks to our OFWs and everybody else who sent dollars home... :)

well politics will always be politics.. and in my observation of the past year... even there was political noise... the people has become more of an observant now rather than a participant in the war between the opposition and the administration...

and.. I just realized that the Garci scandal and the I'm Sorry events has just happened last year...

yeah but last year was a little calmer than usual.
The peso actually improved to 46 or something the moment ERap was ousted . We could have had started gaining ground thereafter but what ensued was constant scandals, coups, allegations which only jittered investors and diverted attention from the urgent issues of concentrating on economic reforms.

Well, we forgot to say thank you to our modern day heroes...the OFW's....

Without these people, bringing in back the dollars they earned, we will not achieve to make this economy running. The forumula and the equation is inevitable. More and more people will migrate or work abroad at a rate of 1M/year.

The first batch who left during the late 70's after the travel ban, who migrated already to foreign lands are starting to retire. Now, they are buying condos and investments here and starting their own business......

Bravos for these people who had decided not to retire abroad...iba talaga ang pinas....iba ang ligaya at saya...

And also to those who have remained in the Philippines and contributed to national development instead. The contributions of those who have remained in the Philippines are not less necessary to its progress just because they are not bringing dollars in. Everyone is important; everyone has a role to play in the country's progress. The OFWs are not more heroic than those who have opted to stay and work in the country.

^^ Yeah, thanks to all who remained at home and contributed their talents and skills for a higher GNP... :)

Pls note that for more than 30 years I was an OFW sending Dollar remittances to my family and relatives that greatly helped our economy.

For 9 years and counting, I am sending money to the Philippines, investing in stocks and property and my actual line of work is to design business proposals to create call center and bpo jobs for our country. Whatever gains we have today are in spite of and not because of an uninspiring, unpopular and corrupt leadership under GMA. The OFW phenomenon and its gains is not a pure brainchild of any president or economic manager, but a mere offshoot of a failure to spur domestic economic growth and rewarding job opportunities in our home soil. While it has inherent economic benefits because of high consumption that keeps the economy afloat, it has social costs and its impact is not sustainable as opposed to getting direct capital investments on infrastructure and manufacturing. Why aren't we getting those investments and losing out to Vietnam? Because we can't attract them due to corruption and poorer business climate. Thank the OFWs for giving GMA a good cover.

But make no mistake, we know where to put credit where credit is due. My vote in May will not go to those who tolerated lying, cheating and stealing.

For 9 years and counting, I am sending money to the Philippines, investing in stocks and property and my actual line of work is to design business proposals to create call center and bpo jobs for our country. Whatever gains we have today are in spite of and not because of an uninspiring, unpopular and corrupt leadership under GMA. The OFW phenomenon and its gains is not a pure brainchild of any president or economic manager, but a mere offshoot of a failure to spur domestic economic growth and rewarding job opportunities in our home soil. While it has inherent economic benefits because of high consumption that keeps the economy afloat, it has social costs and its impact is not sustainable as opposed to getting direct capital investments on infrastructure and manufacturing. Why aren't we getting those investments and losing out to Vietnam? Because we can't attract them due to corruption and poorer business climate. Thank the OFWs for giving GMA a good cover.

But make no mistake, we know where to put credit where credit is due. My vote in May will not go to those who tolerated lying, cheating and stealing.


Neither me will vote those cheaters, corrupt, and plunderers from the administration and opposition parties.

malaysia is the best in southeast asia, other neighbors is just a trash! haaha

malaysia is the best in southeast asia, other neighbors is just a trash! haaha

The best in your own opinion, but in the coming years Malaysia may become turbulent. The Islamic fundamentalist were quite strong near the southern Thailand border, I think in Kelantan and Kedah, besides there was always a friction between the Malays who were running the government and the chinese who were running the businesses.

saya ada djuga banyak kawan orang malayo dari peninsula tapi samua orang bagus,
kemungkinan kamu orang puti atau kerani, atau kamu orang expatriate yang kerja di Malaysia.
atau kamu orang utan ... he he he

Merchandise exports grew 10.8 percent year-on-year in November 2006, its 10th straight month of double-digit increase, led by accelerated shipments of garments, copper cathodes, furniture and minerals to the United States and China.

The National Statistics Office said the country’s outbound shipments amounted to $4.022 billion in November, which put the total exports in the first 11 months of 2006 at $43.348 billion, up by 15.8 percent from a year ago.

The 11-month export growth figure easily topped the government’s revised growth target of 10 percent for 2006, signalling that economic growth last year could be higher than earlier estimates.

Because of improving prospects for the economy, the Department of Trade and Industry revised its export growth target for 2007 from 10 percent to 12 percent. Economists supported this, saying that despite the anticipated slowdown in global demand for electronics this year, Philippine exports, which are becoming more diversified, can grow at least 10 percent.

According to the NSO, electronic exports grew 2.6 percent to $2.534 billion, representing 63 percent of November’s shipments. Electronics include semiconductors, electronic data processing units, automotive electronics, medical/industrial instruments, control and instrumentation, and office equipment.

Garments exports, the second top earner with a share of 5 percent of the total, rose 20.5 percent to $200.02 million in November from $166 million a year ago, solidifying the sector’s recovery from a slump caused by the influx of Chinese goods in the world market.

Exports of copper cathodes by the country’s lone copper smelting and refining plant, the Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corp. soared 419 percent to $157.63 million in November from just $30.38 million a year earlier.

“Except for January and March, this commodity group continued to sustain its triple-digit growth due to increasing demand for the commodity,” the NSO said.

Shipments of woodcrafts and furniture also climbed 170.2 percent to $77.20 million during the month in review. Other top exports were ignition wiring sets, petroleum products, coconut oil, metal components and bananas.

Mineral exports surged 274.6 percent to $253.08 million in November, on the back of higher value of gold and copper.

Top export destinations in November were the United States, Japan, China, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Germany, Taiwan and Korea.

Exports to the US grew 17.4 percent to $725.18 million, but shipments to Japan fell 1 percent to $627.68 million. Exports to China climbed 50.5 percent to $4966.66 million.

-http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=business2_jan11_2007
-By Roderick T. dela Cruz

malaysia is the best in southeast asia, other neighbors is just a trash! haaha

sorry to those my pinoy friends.this guy is just an idiot troll or you can call him DOG. just ignore him.

hoi anjing, apasal dgn nko ni??

Yeah Malaysia is such a beautiful country. I admire Dr Mahathir he's a trully great Malay. The people were also so friendly and helpful when we visited Kuala lumpur specially the Indians and the Malay peoples. Too bad Jack Sparrow is not one of them.
Jack are you single by the way?

The best in your own opinion, but in the coming years Malaysia may become turbulent. The Islamic fundamentalist were quite strong near the southern Thailand border, I think in Kelantan and Kedah, besides there was always a friction between the Malays who were running the government and the chinese who were running the businesses.

kemungkinan kamu orang puti atau kerani, atau kamu orang expatriate yang kerja di Malaysia.
atau kamu orang utan..... he he he

hey dude, there is no any the so-called 'islamist terrorist' in malaysia. what we have is just Islamic Party and they do well in Kelantan. and malay and chinese have no any serious friction, yes we have differences but we know each other in Malaysia.

so please don't ever put any religious and racial intolerance in Malaysia. bcoz, malaysia is malaysia, not phillipine...

hey dude, there is no any the so-called 'islamist terrorist' in malaysia. what we have is just Islamic Party and they do well in Kelantan. and malay and chinese have no any serious friction, yes we have differences but we know each other in Malaysia.

so please don't ever put any religious and racial intolerance in Malaysia. bcoz, malaysia is malaysia, not phillipine...

uhmm.. hi there my friend, I just want to correct you about the spelling of our country. it's PHILIPPINES. thanks

we welcome you in our thread..

For 9 years and counting, I am sending money to the Philippines, investing in stocks and property and my actual line of work is to design business proposals to create call center and bpo jobs for our country. Whatever gains we have today are in spite of and not because of an uninspiring, unpopular and corrupt leadership under GMA. The OFW phenomenon and its gains is not a pure brainchild of any president or economic manager, but a mere offshoot of a failure to spur domestic economic growth and rewarding job opportunities in our home soil. While it has inherent economic benefits because of high consumption that keeps the economy afloat, it has social costs and its impact is not sustainable as opposed to getting direct capital investments on infrastructure and manufacturing. Why aren't we getting those investments and losing out to Vietnam? Because we can't attract them due to corruption and poorer business climate. Thank the OFWs for giving GMA a good cover.

But make no mistake, we know where to put credit where credit is due. My vote in May will not go to those who tolerated lying, cheating and stealing.


Filipinos began leaving in droves during Marcos, and will probably continue leaving for the next fifty years. That's how much you owe your Lolo Macoy. And of course you will be giving him all the credit for the Filipino diaspora, by voting for his progeny and former protegees in the opposition.

Pls note that for more than 30 years I was an OFW sending Dollar remittances to my family and relatives that greatly helped our economy.

Good for you then. You are only doing what any responsible citizen would do - helping your country get back on its feet.

... The OFW phenomenon and its gains is not a pure brainchild of any president or economic manager, but a mere offshoot of a failure to spur domestic economic growth and rewarding job opportunities in our home soil. While it has inherent economic benefits because of high consumption that keeps the economy afloat, it has social costs and its impact is not sustainable as opposed to getting direct capital investments on infrastructure and manufacturing...

True, but how was our economy during Marcos' and Erap's time? Was it not at its all-time lows?

Filipinos began leaving in droves during Marcos, and will probably continue leaving for the next fifty years. That's how much you owe your Lolo Macoy. And of course you will be giving him all the credit for the Filipino diaspora, by voting for his progeny and former protegees in the opposition.

^^ Well said.

Philippine Congress breaks 2007 budget deadlock

MANILA, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Philippine Senate and House of Representatives agreed Thursday to pass the proposed 1.126 trillion pesos (22.74 billion U.S. dollars) budget for 2007, breaking a budget deadlock that prevented Congress from passing the national budget last year.

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, co-chairman of the bicameral conference committee on finance, said senators agreed to realign the 4.7 billion pesos (94.9 million U.S. dollars) elementary school feeding fund, according to a report by ANC news network.

The bicameral panel also agreed to retain the 400 million pesos(8 million U.S. dollars) intelligence fund of the Office of the President, he said.

Salceda said the panel will submit the revisions in the budget allocations for ratification by both chambers of Congress when session resumes on Jan. 22.

The Philippine government is currently operating on a reenacted 2005 budget, amounting to 907.6 billion pesos (18.33 billion U.S. dollars), after the Senate and the House of Representatives failed to pass the 2006 proposal over disagreements in cuts.

The proposed 2007 budget is 83.3 billion pesos (1.68 billion U.S. dollars) higher than the 2006 budget.

Xinhua News Agency 2007-01-11 17:04:00

^^Good news!:lock:

hey dude, there is no any the so-called 'islamist terrorist' in malaysia. what we have is just Islamic Party and they do well in Kelantan. and malay and chinese have no any serious friction, yes we have differences but we know each other in Malaysia.

so please don't ever put any religious and racial intolerance in Malaysia. bcoz, malaysia is malaysia, not phillipine...

Pls note that I have visited many times Singapore and Malaysia since the year1968 up to the year 2004. before I can even speak fluent Bahasa Indonesia / Bahasa Malayo.

In the year 1967 or1968 I passed by Singapore and Malaysia on the way to Europe and I witnessed many soldiers in the street in both Singapore and Malaysia owing to racial riotings.

From the year 1970 to year 1985 I worked in Singapore ships and later as Asssistant Operations Manager in Intrasea Pte. Ltd. Singapore a French- owned chartering company. From the stories of my Eurasians, Chinese, and Malay friends I knew the political situation there in Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia that time.

In the year 1995 to 1997 I returned again in Singapore to work as Captain of one of APL container vessel running between Singapore and Jakarta.

Of course at present, the racial conflict before seems no longer exist. However I am aware that there were many Islamic militants in the border with Thailand as I read in the Far Eastern Economic Review and local newspaper that time.

Also pls note that in the year 1999 up to year 2003, I was employed as Captain of some ships owned by PNSL and later by Malaysia International Shipping Corp in one of their Bulk vessel sailing to Europe and to all ports in the world, so I know Malaysia very well.

Of course I admired Malaysia very much, in the year 1968 my country is very much ahead of your country as I can see when I visited Port Swettenham (now Port Klang) and Penang on that time. And at present Malaysia is very much ahead, we were left behind because of our unpatriotic and corrupt politicians.

I also have many nice orang Malayo friends in KL and other parts of Peninsular Malaysia.
Saya mau minta maaf djuga dan Banyak Terimakasih

Yasalaam Aleikum...

Salam Manis kawan

I was shocked by the title of the thread. i dont see the need to thank our government for whatever happend in the economy last year.

simply put, the only thing that keeps this country going are remittances. i have no reason to be thankful for it. more people are leaving the country. more people are planning to leave. whether they leave for good or not, all stories are more or less the same. the country has become hopeless for most of them.

ill be thankful only when the exodus slows down. only then that I could say that our economic team are really working and really making a difference.

I was shocked by the title of the thread. i dont see the need to thank our government for whatever happend in the economy last year.

simply put, the only thing that keeps this country going are remittances. i have no reason to be thankful for it. more people are leaving the country. more people are planning to leave. whether they leave for good or not, all stories are more or less the same. the country has become hopeless for most of them.

ill be thankful only when the exodus slows down. only then that I could say that our economic team are really working and really making a difference.

I concur ..:)

I was shocked by the title of the thread. i dont see the need to thank our government for whatever happend in the economy last year.

simply put, the only thing that keeps this country going are remittances. i have no reason to be thankful for it. more people are leaving the country. more people are planning to leave. whether they leave for good or not, all stories are more or less the same. the country has become hopeless for most of them.

ill be thankful only when the exodus slows down. only then that I could say that our economic team are really working and really making a difference.

we already have dollar remittances even before .. How come 2006 is totally different from those bad old days? Perhaps the dollars now are quite bigger in size..:D

anyway, i'd like to thank the congress, both the senate and the house of representatives, for the materialization of EVAT. And the executive of course. Our economic gains started after making this evat into a law.

^^ Bigger because not only are OFWs , expats, former Pinoys, etc. sending money to their family members in the Philippines but are also investing and buying all those condominium developments.

Yeah, those dollars are really big thing..but if we do really trace back, it all started when evat was made into a law. The government was able to generate more funds, thus budget deficit hasten. The fiscal performance of the country was better than expected. Resulting to better ratings from various International Credit rating firms, and eventually more loan grants for Infra development.

^^ Perhaps because the eVAT which is automatic taxation on goods and services had addressed some revenue deficits due to the inefficiency in collection of income taxes.

uhum...should BIR collect those uncollected taxes from many big firms i.e. PAL, the economy would have performed even better.

Of course they will approve this year's budget...pork barrels my friend...they need it for campaign purposes....mga buhaya

but that 2007 budget will be effective after the may election.. during the next congress perhaps. Whatever the reason is, the budget has to be approved!

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) ranked among Asia’s fastest-growing bourses last year, preliminary results of a PSE study indicated.

The study showed that, among neighboring exchanges, the PSE posted the second-fastest growth in the main index (42.3 percent) in domestic market capitalization (58 percent), while it recorded the third most rapid hike in value turnover (49.1 percent).

“If it were a car race, I’d say that the PSE earned last year a slot on top of the winners’ podium,” PSE president Francis Lim said. “The podium performance means that our investors on average made money faster than their counterparts in most Asian countries.”

The PSE study is based on the indices of selected exchanges in Asia at the end of 2006, as well as their market capitalization and turnover as of November 2005. The ranking excluded the two stock exchanges in China, which are enjoying phenomenal growth and are leading in almost all aspects of the race among Asian bourses.

Among the exchanges in Asia outside of China, the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) still recorded last year the fastest growth in the index (55.3 percent) and in domestic market capitalization (70.3). In terms of value turnover, the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) recorded the highest upsurge at 51.3 percent.

The 42.3-percent surge in the PSEi, which is the main barometer of local stock price movements, was better than its counterparts in the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx, up 32.2 percent), SGX (up 27.2 percent), Bursa Malaysia (BM, up 21.8 percent) and Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET, down 4.9 percent).

Markets outpaced by the PSEi’s growth also included the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp. (TSEC, up 19.5 percent), Korea Exchange (KRX, up 4.0 percent) and Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE, up 1.9 percent).

Exchanges beaten by the PSE’s 58-percent surge in domestic market capitalization included the HKEx (51.5 percent), SGX (45.5 percent), the SET (35.8 percent), TSEC (31.5 percent and BM (26.1 percent).

In terms of value turnover, the PSE’s 49.1-percent hike trailed that of the HKEx (73.3 percent) and the SGX (51.3 percent). Those trailing the PSE in this category included the TSE (41.6 percent) and BM (36.4 percent).

Lim acknowledged that, in absolute numbers, the value turnover, market capitalization and offering proceeds of the PSE were way below those in other Asian countries.

Whatever their reasons are, at least the budget has been approved, and the super regions projects of the government stand to benefit from this.

PGMA has just signed the Biofuels Act into law. This law aims to encourage investments in the production and development of alternative fuels by giving incentives to investors. It is part of the country's bid for energy independence.

The law mandates that fuels such as diesel and gasoline be blended with one percent bioethanol, an alcohol produced from fermented sugar or starch, within three months of the effectivity of the law.

The blend will be subsequently increased to two to five percent in two years. Within four years, a 10-percent blend will be mandated, with the approval of the National Biofuels Board. more (http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200701120406.htm)

^^ I think they will have to go after those big companies this year. I've just read a news a few days ago stating that there will less tax incentives to big companies that can very well afford to pay taxes. Apparently, these companies are hiding behind the tax incentives of the government. Now, with less of these tax exemptions and incentives, we may be able to collect what is due to these huge companies.

atau kamu orang utan ... he he he

yes...he is orang utan :lol:

By Lawrence Agcaoili

The government has revised upwards the economic growth target and brought down its foreign exchange and interest rate assumptions for 2007 on the back of favorable macroeconomic developments last year.

Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr., chairman of the inter-agency Development Budget Coordination Committee that maps out major economic targets, said in a statement that the government expects the gross domestic product to expand by 6.1 percent to 6.7 percent this year from the previous target of 5.7 percent to 6.5 percent.

“The improvement considered the likely passage of the 2007 budget measure, the strengthening of the peso and a sustained improvement in the current account position,” Andaya said.

He said the peso would likely hover within the range of 48 to 50 against the US dollar from the original assumption of 51 to 53.

The DBCC expects the yield of the benchmark 91-day Treasury bills to decline to a range of 4 percent to 5 percent from the original assumption of 5 percent to 5.5 percent due to declining inflation and ample liquidity from foreign direct investments as well as remittances from Filipino migrant workers.

An expected decline in the benchmark Dubai oil price to $61 to $64 per barrel instead of $67 to $70 per barrel, meanwhile, will help bring down inflation to a range of 3.3 percent to 3.8 percent from the original target of 4 percent to 5 percent.

Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said the higher targets assumed that the proposed P1.1 trillion 2007 national budget would be passed by Congress.

“We’ll operate in the 2007 budget, we’ll have more spending on social and infrastructure projects,” Teves said.

The finance chief added that the DBCC saw exports rising 11 percent from the original target of 10.5 percent after favorable results in 2006 and imports growing 12 percent instead of 11.8 percent.

“Higher exports and imports are also expected and this will mean more raw materials, which will also boost growth,” he said.

Despite the adjustments, the DBCC said the government was sticking to its fiscal goals this year. The government hopes to trim the budget deficit to P63 billion or 0.9 percent of GDP this year from the projected P80 billion or 1.3 percent of GDP to P90 billion or 1.5 percent of GDP this year.

The government originally planned to narrow the deficit to P125 billion or 2.1 percent of GDP last year from P146.8 billion or 2.7 percent of GDP in 2005.

^^Wow, now we're expecting a growth no less than 6 per cent!

bakit ang hirap abuten ng 7%

RP-India deal paves way for closer investment ties
http://www.bworldonline.com/BW010507/content.php?id=051

Philippine and Indian businessmen have teamed up to encourage investments in each other’s markets as a way of strengthening bilateral economic relations between the Philippines and India.

Donald G. Dee, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce, and Saroj K. Poddar, president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Dec. 11 last year to boost trade and other business interaction between their members.

"The fundamental objective of the MoU is to further the development of bilateral economic relations by providing a forum for businessmen of both the countries to meet, discuss and explore business opportunities in trade, investments, transfer of technology, services, and other industrial sectors," the two-page document said.

PCCI president Donald G. Dee yesterday said the agreement should be able to boost trade between the two countries.

The pact provides a "forum" for investors on both sides to get to know the business environment, taxation rules, investment opportunities, trade policies and legislative changes in both countries. In an earlier interview, Mr. Poddar blamed the lack of familiarity with each other’s operating environments for the low level of cooperation between Philippine and Indian businessmen.

Bilateral trade between India and the Philippines now stands at around $750 million a year, although two-way trade could increase to $2 billion by 2010 if both sides explore more opportunities.

Both the PCCI and the FICCI said Filipino and Indian businessmen should undertake bigger joint-venture projects as investments from both sides are still insignificant.

Mr. Poddar had said there are many opportunities for Philippine businessmen in Indian sectors like manufacturing, real estate development, food processing, and agribusiness. He said Filipino investors would especially be attracted to invest in the latter two industries because of India’s growing population and food requirements.

He also noted that real estate development is booming in India, a phenomenon on which Filipino mall and real estate developers can capitalize.

He added that the Philippines could teach India the best practices in tourism and nursing, while India could transfer high-value information technology knowledge to the Philippines.

According to Mr. Dee, the agreement should prod businessmen on both sides to identify more areas of cooperation and possible business ventures. "I hope that, with the agreement, we can identify specific projects," he said.
A few Filipino firms have entered the Indian market via joint ventures. Ayala Corp., for instance, is keen on the Indian real estate industry and on forming more partnerships in the utilities sector.

The Philippine government has also undertaken initiatives to attract Indian tourists to the Philippines and relax the working visa requirements of Indian businessmen visiting Manila.

— K. L. Alave

Indian Tourist usually end up as TNT and engage in pahulugan of Payong, consumer products, and doing some 5/6 money market from Aparri to Jolo. :lol: just joking...

Also, our relations with China seemed to be improving as we are about to sign 20 agreements with China in time with the upcoming summit. More than this, our growing partnership with China gives us a $5B in agribusiness deals.
Aside from having a positive stance with our bullish stock market and appreciating peso, we are also improving our foreign relations with other countries. With the upcoming ASEAN Summit, we'll be mingling with more of other Asian countries. For sure, we will be developing more positive economic relations when ASEAN Summit comes.

Well I really do not trust China all that much, have civil relations with them but always remember that nations that wish to have peace must be prepared for war.

yeah like we're going to declare war on china someday

hahahahaha

ASEAN businessmen back single-market economy by 2015, call for more talks with governments
Six landmark documents up for signing

CEBU CITY — The ASEAN Business Advisory Council will urge today the heads of state and governments of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to push for a "real meaningful partnership" between the government and private sector in working towards a common market by 2015.

Jose Concepcion Jr., council chairman, said the private sector supports the target of 2015 for the integration, or a single-market economy state, of 12 priority sectors. But since most industries in member countries are not ready for a single market economy, support from and regular consultations with the governments are needed.

"In a global economy, the private sector and government must work together. Each one needs the other. We are the engine of change, but sometimes there is no meaningful consultation [between the government and private sector]," Mr. Concepcion said yesterday.

The council, which is composed of 30 eminent business personalities appointed by the leaders to coordinate and advise on economic integration, will meet with the 10 ASEAN leaders behind closed doors at the Shangri-La’s Mactan Island Resort this morning.

"I’m very confident that our dialog [with the leaders] will have positive results. We have been talking of economic integration for the last 20 years," Mr. Concepcion said. He declined to disclose other details as he did not want to preempt the leaders.

The council organized the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit last month to hold focus group discussions on the priority sectors, namely, agro-based products, air travel and air transport, automotive products, software, electronics, fisheries, health care, rubber-based products, textiles and apparels, tourism, wood-based products, and logistics.

Meanwhile, the leaders are expected to sign at least six documents during the 12th ASEAN Summit this weekend, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto G. Romulo said.

Topping the list is the Cebu Declaration on the Blueprint for the ASEAN Charter, which will convert the ASEAN from an informal grouping into a rules-based organization with a dispute settlement mechanism.

The leaders met with the Eminent Persons Group, composed of prominent figures from the 10 member-countries, at the Cebu International Convention Center yesterday evening.

The leaders will also formalize the move to speed up economic integration with the signing of the Cebu Declaration on the Acceleration of the Establishment of an ASEAN Community by 2015. Twelve priority sectors have been identified for integration by 2015.

The Cebu Declaration Towards a Caring and Sharing Community will reinforce the ASEAN members’ commitment to address poverty alleviation and other social concerns.

The leaders will pledge to protect the migrant workers through the Cebu Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers. A covenant to clamp down on cross-border terrorist activities, the ASEAN Convention on Counter-Terrorism, will also be signed by the leaders.

Another document that will be signed is the Cebu Declaration on East Asian Energy Security, which will include a call for free trade in biofuels. ASEAN leaders as well as the leaders of China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand, which form the East Asia community, will sign this document.

There will also be a signing ceremony for the accession of France and Timor Leste to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia.

"Ours will be a community that will be able and willing to engage the rest of the world. Towards this end, France and Timor Leste will formalize their commitment to a peaceful and secure Southeast Asia with their accession to the treaty," Mr. Romulo said.

The opening up of the services sectors of ASEAN and trading partner China will be realized with the signing of the Trade in Services Agreement of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area.

This document was supposed to be signed last December, but Chinese officials requested that the signing be done in their presence.

Leaders of ASEAN members Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam will hold their retreat and meet with dialog partners starting today. The ASEAN+3 Summit is scheduled for Sunday evening while the 2nd East Asia Summit will be held on Monday.

The projected GDP growth next year of 6.1% to 6.7% is indeed welcome. Since the 90s, growth has not exceeded 7% on an annual basis. The highest i think was the third quarter of 1996 (during Ramos's time) at 7.7%. A lot of things are needed to achieve this. I envy Vietnam and China whose economies have been growing at an average of 8% and 10% respectively year after year. This is because their economies are investment driven while ours is consumer driven (70% of our GDP). Mahirap talaga mag lure ng investors if our infrastructure remains as it is now.

Since now we have extra funds, maybe it is about time for the government to spend those on infrastructure, roads and additional access and diversion roads, bridges, ports and port facilities and review investment policies. And i hope Congress stops legislating wages and instead let market forces decide appropriate wage levels. Pag nag grow ang economy, natural lang naman na tataas ang sahod. Instead, government should review why the cost of doing business in our country is so high. Ayusin na nila infrastructure natin para mas mura ang cost of moving goods.

^^ Perhaps because the eVAT which is automatic taxation on goods and services had addressed some revenue deficits due to the inefficiency in collection of income taxes.

Thanks to all of us who swallowed the eVAT as a necessary bitter pill.. :)

The "dollar remittances" phenomenon has been there since the 90s. In the 80s, dollar remittances were a pittance (less than US$1B). It was only during the time of Ramos that dollar remittances started growing rapidly and somehow "saved" the Philippines. To a certain degree, yes, GMA should not get credit for the remittances. But the reforms she has instituted despite the very difficult economic and political conditions should not be underestimated. It took a certain degree of political will to implement them. How will Juan dela Cruz understand that "increasing prices due to VAT will improve their lives?" But despite such challenge, her government bravely implemented them.

The OFW phenomenon started during the time of Marcos, so is the culture of corruption in the bureaucracy. Such culture was already there when Cory took over, then FVR, then Erap then GMA. Tell me, how can this be uprooted? The only option now is to work within that reality while instituting checks and reforms hoping to chip away little by little, the culture of corruption that Marcos tolerated and perpetrated. GMA inherited them. Cory had the chance but she was not successful. So with FVR. Erap had the change, but what did he do? Kaya yung mga charges nya ngayon against GMA, natatawa na lang ako.

It is unfair to blame GMA for the OFW exodus. That exodus will continue regardless of who is in power. It is already in the mindset of majority of Filipinos that one has to go abroad if he wants to earn good money. Even assuming our economy grows at 8% to 9% annually until 2010 (end of GMA's term), i do not think wages will go up and Filipinos will still look for jobs abroad or migrate even.

It is difficult because the GMA administration is not a one-man government. It involves working with people and trusted aides to get things going. Yes, i am disappointed myself with our politicians and local officials. If they had not been selfish, we need not leave our shores for greener pastures. But the reality is, we cannot expect the corrupt elected officials to become honest overnight. One has to work with these elected officials, honest or corrupt, like it or not.

Having said that, inspite of the difficulty of the our political system, GMA has somehow put some sense of macroeconomic financial stability and paved opportunities for cheaper financing for our development needs. Reforms have just started. A lot still needs to be done. What is important is GMA has started implementing the first step of real reforms. Pag na balance na ang budget hopefully in 2008, mas may source na tayo ng pera. Ngayon, di na kailangan umutang pa ng malaki para sa mga development projects. And for that, i congratulate GMA. There are a lot of things that she could have done better but cut her some slack. Kung baga sa progress report, let us give her the appropriate credit she deserves.

^^ Well-said Dex. Thanks. :)

^Nicely said. I have nothing left to say

^Maybe the government should also temporarily outlaw labour unions for now since they are a problem most of the time and easily penetrated by trouble makers. Once the economy is strong then the government will have more resource to monitor them.

GMA had no choice but to impose E-VAT to hold back a budget deficit that started and went berserk during her administration. So when she got into power, she created a huge problem that she is now trying to solve. So hurray for a president for solving a problem she created.

To solve the problem she created she had to get the backing of a used to be united political groups under the administration coalition. Don't forget that it was under Sen. Frank Drilon that the coalition pushed and passed the EVAT bill in the Senate. Sumingaw ang hello Garci and it divided the nation. The Senate turned opposition and she tried to abolish it via Cha-cha. Now who is to blame for the legislative gridlock? Sino pa kundi kundi yung nag-hello kay garci at tapos nag-sorry.

GMA inherited the culture of corruption but instead of fighting it, she had no choice but to perpetrate it to keep herself in power. Result: Good people who fight corruption gets booted out of public service.

But hey, in a democracy the way to punish bad performance is through elections. My single vote will help one opposition congressman and I hope he wins. If we get 80 of them elected in May then GMA is toast.

^^ We'll see... We'll see... :)