The Philippine Economy

[Weina]

Originally Posted by lazybum

I am so proud of the Philippines. I think it is the only country in the world that has the most women in leadership positions.

on the other hand it has some bitter message to our Filipino men but i don't want to start something which might ignite a sexist battle here so try to figure out yourself why

[Sinjin P.]

Governor Gwen Garcia during Sinulog 2008

image hosted on flickr


photo by kalandrakas (Flickr)

[lazybum]

Originally Posted by Weina

on the other hand it has some bitter message to our Filipino men but i don't want to start something which might ignite a sexist battle here so try to figure out yourself why

Hey, Weina, political correctness is dead...don't hold back - bring it on!! I will speak for myself, I will not get offended.

[gen1]

ang paniniwala kasi ng ordinaryong pinoy kapag babae ang nasa liderato, matino.

kapag mayaman naman ang nasa liderato, mas ok kasi mayaman na, hindi na kailangang magpayaman pa.

Diyos ko 'day, maling-mali tayo.

[lazybum]

Originally Posted by Sinjin P.

Governor Gwen Garcia during Sinulog 2008

image hosted on flickr


photo by kalandrakas (Flickr)

Wow! Sinulog is the Santo Nino festival, right? Hey Sinjin, anything exciting happening in Cebu this coming November? I will be in the Visayas that month and I'd like to spend a week in Cebu.

[bitoy]

Originally Posted by lazybum

How is Vilma Santos doing? Isn't she an elected official in Batangas? I am so proud of the Philippines. I think it is the only country in the world that has the most women in leadership positions.

Also include politicking movie personalities who are mostly comedians even if they don't intend to be one.
.. and some girlie men.

[lightsaber46]

Arroyo happily tells ‘real story for 2008’
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquire...story-for-2008

By Michael Lim Ubac, Tonette Orejas
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:36:00 03/27/2008

MANILA, Philippines—A day after the Supreme Court upheld her power to invoke executive privilege, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared that she was “bullish on our economy, optimistic about our future and committed to being a force for good for our nation.”

In a speech delivered at the opening session of the Philippine Development Forum in Clark, Pampanga, which was broadcast live by the state-run NBN-4, the President reiterated that she would step down at the end of her term in 2010.

This is the “real story for 2008,” she said, adding that the “tough choices” she had made—boosting revenues through tax reforms and modernizing the banking and financial sectors—had paid off.

“It has been a very good year for the Philippine economy, not in over 20 years, but in over 30 years. As we all know, our economy grew by 7.3 percent,” she said.

She said her administration was on track to “modernize” the country, and aired the assurance that the benefits of a robust economy would trickle down to the poor.

“The best thing we can do for the remainder of my term until I step down in 2010 is to stay focused on further economic reforms while providing peace, order and stability. Our last two years will be dedicated to one main objective: Invest, invest and invest some more in the nation,” she told foreign investors, members of her Cabinet and other government officials.

Only once did the President make a reference to the political situation.

She said “political noise” did not have to “interfere with economic progress and reform.”

“This budget helps make that point,” she said in reference to the P1.236-trillion national budget that she signed on March 17, and which she described as “a buffer to mitigate the pain of the deteriorating global economy and the rising prices that affect food and transportation the most.”

“On the issue of corruption that has plagued our nation for several generations, this is an issue we take seriously. As an economist, I know that first and foremost a strong economy is an economy that is transparent and free from corruption,” Ms Arroyo said.

To “fix the corruption,” she reminded her audience that she had called on Congress to pass a comprehensive anticorruption reform act this year.

“On our part, we will hold officials accountable if they are found to be corrupt after due process. Let the chips fall where they may as investigations are concluded and friend and foe alike are brought to account for their actions in the proper courts,” Ms Arroyo said, citing the increased budget of the Office of the Ombudsman, which has led to a conviction rate of 60 percent in the Sandiganbayan.

‘Real story for 2008’

“The people are tired of partisan wrangling; they want all of us to do our job, which is to work for the interest of the people, keeping the nation strong and stable and always moving forward,” she added.

Ms Arroyo said that under her stewardship, the Philippines’ “macroeconomic fundamentals” were “stronger than ever.”

By Ms Arroyo’s account, her administration created a million jobs and drew big foreign investments that included the $1.6-billion facility of Texas Instruments in Clark, the $3.7-billion shipyards of Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Ltd. in Subic, Zambales, and Marubeni’s power projects.

She cited a “substantial” reduction in the budget deficit and a “record high” in foreign reserves.

1st-World status

“I’m confident that the Philippines will tip forward in pursuit of reaching the status of First World within a generation,” the President declared.

But she warned against “clouds on the economic horizon that we must guard against,” referring to global challenges.

To protect the Philippine economy, the government will ensure a surge in investments in people and infrastructure and pursue anticorruption initiatives and cut red tape.

To blunt the global rise in the cost of energy and rice, she said, the government would provide “relief for the poorest among us who suffer the most from the high global price of energy.”

Ms Arroyo thanked the World Bank for “taking interest in relief projects for the poor.”

She sounded off on the need for “a strong middle class to become a strong modern nation.”

She said the 2008 budget reflected the government’s priorities in completing her reform agenda and “proves once again that members of Congress from both the House and the Senate and all parties can come together to work with the executive branch to get things done for the nation.”

Reform agenda

Ms Arroyo said that “while we have accomplished much, more remains to be done.”

“We plan to work hard the next two years until the day our term ends in 2010 to fulfill our Philippine reform agenda,” she said.

This reform agenda includes legislative efforts to improve the banking and finance system, to strengthen the tax collection and continue to broaden taxpayer base, and crack down on corruption and red tape, she said.

She also called on foreign creditors to work with the government in standardizing the use of official development assistance.

Ms Arroyo said that just this month, the International Monetary Fund had lauded the Philippines’ economic growth, the substantial reduction in the budget deficit, the low inflation and the improvement in consumer confidence.

Thus, 2008 holds a real promise for a different reason, she said.

“Not only do we expect to sustain our growth, but as a result of our total economic overhaul, we are well-positioned to weather a global economic slowdown which, unfortunately, will affect all of us,” she said.

She added that there would be “no rest” as the government continued with the pace of progress that had succeeded in strengthening the economy.

Roads, bridges, ports

Ms Arroyo said the 2008 budget was dedicated to investing in vital physical and human infrastructure to continue to modernize the nation through roads, bridges and ports along with education and healthcare.

“We will fight for the economy, education and the environment, to feed the poor, improve job creation and do everything in our power to mitigate the global forces increasing the price of commodities like oil and rice,” she said.

[lightsaber46]

Central bank sees 6.91% GDP growth this year
http://business.inquirer.net/money/t...owth-this-year

Forecast assumes only slowdown in US economy
By Doris Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 16:10:00 03/26/2008

MANILA, Philippines -- The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas sees the domestic economy expanding by 6.91 percent this year, slightly lower than the 31-year record growth of 7.3 percent last year, despite an imminent US-led global economic slowdown.

The central bank's growth forecast, presented during the last Monetary Board policy meeting for the month of March, stood at the upper end of the government's official gross domestic product (GDP) growth target of 6.3-7.0 percent for 2008.

During the meeting where the GDP forecast was presented, the BSP's policy-making board decided to keep its overnight borrowing rate steady at 5.0 percent in view of rising inflationary pressures. However, the board eased the settings of its higher-yielding special deposit facility to free up more loanable funds and help perk up the domestic economy.

Effective March 13, the BSP scrapped the special deposit account (SDA) tenors for two, three and six months and the reduction of interest rates on the remaining tenors.

The SDAs -- uncollateralized fund placements with the BSP open to banks and their trust departments, and government institutions, and eligible as banks' liquidity buffer -- offer a premium over the overnight borrowing rate of 5.0 percent. In February, funds locked up in SDAs reached P580 billion, more than double the amount mopped up using overnight borrowings.

The central bank's GDP growth forecast for this year assumed that domestic consumption would remain robust, compensating for the expected slack in offshore demand.

GDP, deemed as an important indicator of economic performance, refers to the total amount of goods and services produced by the domestic economy.

The BSP also assumed in its growth forecast that remittances from overseas Filipino workers would continue to come in despite the shrinking peso equivalent of these foreign earnings, given that the basic requirements of OFW-assisted households were "inelastic."

However, the BSP's growth forecast for this year assumed only a slowdown and not a prolonged recession in the US economy, despite some emerging views in the global community that the world's biggest economy might turn out to be worse than expected despite aggressive intervention by the US Federal Reserve and a massive fiscal stimulus package from the Bush administration.

"The battle to keep the US out of recession has been lost, and a prolonged workout is likely, which should keep US rates low for one to two years," the London-based global economics unit of American Express Bank said in a March 20 report.

[crappypants]

Originally Posted by tsinoy

Kanya kanya na lang na backup plan. I'm building a bunker that can withstand thermonuclear bombs with food and everything we need that would last for 10 years, tapos, bahala na.

But for now, I better enjoy life and have a goodtime, baka wala ng halaga ang dollar in a couple of years.

Air Force One, here I come ...

i guess you want to go on a happy ending.

[Weina]

ADB: Power, infra costs cripple RP

Bank cites Manila's 'unfinished' transport agenda

By Doris Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 18:56:00 03/27/2008

MANILA, Philippines--The Asian Development Bank sees the "expensive" and "unreliable" electric supply as well as "inefficient" transport network in the Philippines as the two most critical infrastructure constraints to the country's growth.

The ADB cited studies, which included inputs from the World Bank, the Philippine government's unfinished reform agenda for the power and transport sectors.

A comparative study of 10 Southeast Asian cities showed that power tariffs for businesses in Manila were 20 to 80 percent higher than that in neighboring countries, the bank said.

"In addition, the reliability of electricity supply has been poor, and the investment climate survey shows that small and medium enterprises have been losing up to 8 percent of their production due to frequent power disruptions," the ADB said.

Losses due to power failure were estimated at about 8 percent of production.

"Power outages hurt SMEs most, costing them about 8 to 11 percent of production, compared with 6 percent for large firms," the ADB said.

To enhance domestic productivity, the ADB study said the government would have to address the following constraints:

- Financial viability of the National Power Corp. and Power Sector Assset Liabilities Management Corp.;

- The need for new investments in the power sector in view of forecast of power shortage in the near future;

- Privatization of the rest of the state's power generation assets; and,
An efficient and credible regulatory framework and institution.

On the transport network, the ADB noted that more than half of the country's road network was in poor or bad condition. Vehicle operating and inter-city freight costs are reported to be over 50 percent higher than that in Indonesia and Thailand.

"While the Philippine road network is extensive, much of it is in poor condition," the ADB said. "Only 70 percent of the national road network is paved. The national road network is a mere 12 percent of the total public road network."

The bank also said that village roads "are mostly unpaved and in poor condition and comprise more than half of the road network."

Likewise, the report cited a World Bank estimate that the high level of congestion on the main roads alone was costing as much as P185 billion a year.

The ADB said this was ironic because the government had accumulated a substantial amount of money since May 2001, when a law was passed creating the Road Fund, mandating the collection of a motor vehicle user charge from vehicle owners. An estimated P22.6 billion had been collected under this law from May 2001 to April 2005.

"The efficiency with which these funds are used could be improved," it said.

It was also noted that the port of Manila ranked 31st among the top 50 ports worldwide in the 2005 world port rankings in terms of container traffic.

However, ADB also pointed out that the Philippines was way behind other Asean ports in the top 50 list.

The bank added that the Philippines had the highest cost in the Asean for exporting a container, which it attributed to inefficiencies in port handling.

[kiretoce]

Zing! Another Marites classic comeback!

[bitoy]

Originally Posted by crappypants

i guess you want to go on a happy ending.

Hehehe, siyempre naman....

Glad you guys are back, buti na lang, maraming umawat sa akin, kundi, nasama ako sa inyo. Hindi ko na lang pinatulan, it is just senseless.

Originally Posted by kiretoce

Zing! Another Marites classic comeback!

A lot of people really missed her. and hopefully, others would comeback also.

[Weina]

Revenue backstop needed
Fiscal stimulus to address possible economic ‘storm’, says WB exec

CLARK, Pampanga — The World Bank wants the government to firm up measures to improve revenue collection, saying last year’s tax take was not as good as expected.

World Bank Country Director Bert Hofman said the government should implement new tax measures, particularly excise tax reforms and the rationalization of fiscal incentives, as existing programs were "not enough."

"Raising the revenues now and making sure the revenue efforts remain on track is important in case there is a need to increase spending," Mr. Hofman told reporters in a briefing after the two-day Philippines Development Forum (PDF) which ended yesterday.

The World Bank has proposed two options for the government in overhauling the excise tax law. One is a higher and uniform specific rate indexed against inflation, and the other is a rate schedule which will be part of the annual budget submission to Congress.

According to a World Bank study, every P1 increase in the excise tax on tobacco products alone would generate P2 billion in additional revenues for the Philippines.

The rationalization of fiscal incentives is also expected to increase the government’s tax take as it reduces the preferential treatment given to government and private entities.

"There is a need for a more solid basis for revenue so spending for poverty can be accelerated," Mr. Hofman said.

Aside from addressing the needs of the poor, the World Bank executive said increasing revenues would allow the government to "prepare for a possible storm" given volatility in the global economy.

Should a worldwide economic slowdown take place, Mr. Hofman said foreign donors had agreed that the state needs to provide a fiscal stimulus.

"It would be best to have extra spending only if there are extra revenues at this point in time. Strengthening the revenue base remains very important," he said.

Finance Secretary Margarito B. Teves said the government’s main revenue agencies, the bureaus of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Customs (BoC), were working on intensifying their collection efforts.

The Philippines’ tax efficiency was at 14% last year, lagging behind Southeast Asian neighbors which achieved 16-17%.

"We need to continue working on the revenue. What is definite is that we will not sacrifice spending for priority expenditures such as rice for the poor, social services, and infrastructure," Mr. Teves said.

Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. echoed Mr. Teves, saying the government had committed to improve its revenue effort while at the same time spending for infrastructure and social projects.

"Hindi komo gagastos kami ay hihina na ang commitment ni Sec. Teves sa collection ng buwis. Hindi namin gagawin iyon (Spending does not mean a slackening in Secretary Teves’ tax collection commitment. We will not do that)," Mr. Andaya said.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo last month signed the 2008 General Appropriations Act which sets a P1.226-trillion budget for the government. Of the outlay, P1.1 trillion is to come from tax revenues and the sale of state-owned assets.

------------------------------------------

World Bank to lend $300M to RP

CLARK, Pampanga — The World Bank plans to lend the Philippines $300 million in the current fiscal year, $110 million less than the previous year, after delaying funding to a road-building project because of corruption.

"This year, we’re probably going to end up with about $300 million, and hopefully that will include the roads project," Bert Hofman, World Bank country director for the Philippines, told Reuters in an interview.

The granting of new loans to the Philippines depends on the pace at which government agencies work on the requirements needed to get the project going, Mr. Hofman said.

The bulk of lending in the current fiscal year to June will be for the controversial $330 million road-building project.

"This wasn’t a great year to be honest," Mr. Hofman said, referring to the lower level of lending.

The World Bank, which is providing $232 million for the roads project, put the funding on hold late last year after it discovered bid-rigging in the first phase between 2003-2006. The rest of the project financing will be provided by the government.

The second phase of the roads project has been revived and will be presented to the bank’s board for approval in June after the government and the World Bank set up new procurement processes and measures to prevent rigging.

"We’re getting civil society involved in overseeing the results of the building of the roads," Mr. Hofman said.

"We learned from it and in the next phase of that project, actually there are even stronger measures on transparency and competition which we believe are the best guards against corruption," he said.

Corruption is a major problem in the Philippines, particularly when large infrastructure contracts are up for grabs.

The country was rated 131 out of 179 countries by graft watchdog Transparency International in 2007, the same ranking as Libya and Burundi.

In the first phase of the road project, 382 kilometers of roads were built or upgraded across the Philippines and 975 km of existing roads had been paved and maintained across the archipelago, where a dilapidated transport network hinders development.

In the second phase, 146 km of roads will be upgraded and 304 km will be rehabilitated or widened.

Other Philippine projects that the World Bank plans to fund this year are an anti-flooding system in the typhoon-prone Bicol region in the center of the archipelago and some rural electrification projects. — Reuters

http://www.bworldonline.com/

[federalist]

i think Gov. Gwen Garcia is a frustrated model.

for Gov. Vilma Santos, can you please go back to where you belongGMA
or ABS whatsoever

[leechtat]

but don't you think governor V (not for Vendetta but for Vilma) is doing a great job? quite unfair for her, imho..

Gov. Gwen Garcia, kudos to her as well..

PGMA is a good leader as well, she runs the country like a business.. but she failed to control her greedy husband, imho...

There are quite a number of women leaders in the country, but that doesn't mean they can always run a tight ship.

[-TC-]

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080327/economy.html

Economy Sputters With 0.6 Percent Growth
Thursday March 27, 12:19 pm ET
By Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer
Economy Nearly Sputtered Out at End of 2007, Probably Faring Worse Now

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The economy nearly sputtered out at the end of the year and is probably faring even worse now amid continuing housing, credit and financial crises.The Commerce Department reported Thursday that gross domestic product increased at a feeble 0.6 percent annual rate in the October-to-December quarter. The reading -- unchanged from a previous estimate a month ago -- provided stark evidence of just how much the economy has weakened. In the prior quarter, the economy clocked in at a sizzling 4.9 percent growth rate.

The gross domestic product (GDP) measures the value of all goods and services produced in the United States and is the best barometer of the country's economic health.

Many economists say they believe growth in the current January-to-March quarter will be even weaker than the 0.6 percent figure of the previous quarter. A growing number also say the economy may actually be shrinking now. Under one rough rule, the economy needs to contract for six straight months to be considered in a recession. The government will release its estimate for first-quarter GDP in late April.

"The economy just kept its head above water" in the fourth quarter, said Nigel Gault, chief U.S. economist at Global Insight. "We think that GDP will decline, albeit slightly, during the first half of 2008," he said. "The first half outlook is bleak."

On Wall Street, stock were down in morning trading.

In another report, fewer people signed up for unemployment benefits last week, although that didn't change the broader picture of a deteriorating jobs market. The Labor Department said jobless claims fell by 9,000 to 366,000, a better showing than many economists were forecasting. Still, unemployment is expected to rise this year given all the problems clobbering the economy.
The newly released fourth-quarter GDP figure matched analysts' expectations.

Thursday's report underscored the damage to the economy from the collapse in the housing market, which has dragged down housing prices, pushed home foreclosures up to record highs and has led to a glut of unsold homes.

Against that backdrop, builders slashed spending on housing projects by a whopping 25.2 percent on an annualized basis in the fourth quarter, the biggest cut in 26 years.

To limit the damage from the crises, the Federal Reserve has taken a number of extraordinary actions. It has slashed a key interest rate over the last two months by the most in a quarter century. And to relieve turmoil on Wall Street, which intensified after the crash of the country's fifth-largest investment firm, Bear Stearns, the Fed has resorted to its greatest expansion of lending authority since the 1930s. Big securities firms will temporarily be allowed to go to the Fed directly for loans -- a privilege that had been afforded only to commercial banks.

With the nation's economic woes a top concern for voters, the White House and Democrats in Congress have been scrambling to provide relief. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Thursday called for an overhaul of financial regulations.

Consumers, whose spending is indispensable to the economy's vitality, boosted buying at a 2.3 percent pace in the fourth quarter. That was better than the 1.9 percent growth rate previously estimated but still marked a slowing from the third quarter's 2.8 percent pace.

Businesses -- nervous about customers' waning appetite to buy given all the problems in the economy -- cut back sharply on their inventories of unsold goods. That shaved 1.79 percentage points off fourth-quarter GDP, the most in more than two years.

Spending by businesses on equipment and software, meanwhile, rose at a pace of 3.1 percent in the final quarter of last year. That was slightly less than previously estimated and marked a slowdown from the prior quarter's 6.2 percent growth rate.

Businesses' profits also took a hit in the final quarter. A measure linked to the GDP report showed that after-tax profits fell 3.3 percent at the end of last year, after being flat in the prior quarter.

There was a bright spot in the mostly gloomy report, however. Sales of U.S. goods and services to other countries grew at a 6.5 percent pace. That was better than the 4.8 percent growth rate previously estimated, although it was down sharply from the prior quarter's blistering 19.1 percent growth rate.

U.S. exports have been helped by the sinking value of the U.S. dollar, which makes U.S. goods less expensive to foreign buyers. The U.S. dollar recently plunged to record lows against the euro and has fallen sharply against the Japanese yen.

The drooping dollar can aggravate inflation pressures.

An inflation measure linked to the GDP report showed that overall prices increased at a rate of 3.9 percent in the fourth quarter. That was not as high as previously estimated but marked a big pickup from the third quarter's 1.8 percent pace.

Another gauge showed that "core" prices -- excluding food and energy -- grew at a rate of 2.5 percent at the end of last year. That was down from a previous estimate of a 2.7 percent pace but was up from the prior quarter's 2 percent growth rate.

The new core inflation figure is above the Fed's comfort zone -- the upper bound of which is a 2 percent inflation rate.

Although the Fed's No. 1 job is trying to save the economy from a deep and prolonged recession, it is also keeping close tabs on inflation and soaring energy prices.

Oil prices are topping $105 a barrel. Gasoline prices have marched higher, too. High energy prices can spread inflation if lots of companies boost prices charged to customers for a wide range of goods and services. High energy prices also can be a drag on overall economic growth by crimping consumer spending.

The combination of slowing economic growth and rising inflation make the Fed's job more difficult. It also has raised fears the country may be headed for a bout of stagflation, a scenario the U.S. hasn't experienced since the 1970s. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, however, has said that's not the case.
The Fed's rate reductions along with the government's $168 billion stimulus package of tax rebates for people and tax breaks for businesses should help revive economic growth in the second half of this year, economists said.

[3cr]

Population boom, land conversion threaten future food supply
By Kristine L. Alave
Philippine Daily Inquirer 03/26/2008

MANILA, Philippines -- A National Food Authority (NFA) official on Wednesday said the country has enough rice to feed all, but population boom, unabated conversion of arable lands to residential/industrial estates and climate change is putting pressure on the future supply.

Rex Estoperez, NFA spokesman, said the grain agency’s main problem is not the rice shortage -- he said there is no such thing -- but the increases in the price of the country’s main staple.

With the surge in oil prices, it has become more costly to transport rice, Estoperez said.

“There is no rice crisis. If there is a crisis, you cannot buy anything. But there is abundant supply. You can buy rice in the market,” he explained to the media in a forum in Club Filipino.

He noted that the NFA has a current 15-day buffer supply, which will be increased to 30 days’ worth of rice come July, when the typhoon season starts.

But Estoperez said Filipinos should not be complacent as rice consumption might outpace the supply in a few years. For the past two years, there was a “big jump” in the rice consumption, the NFA official said.

At present, the country’s daily rice requirement is pegged at 33,000 metric tons. Two years ago, Filipinos consumed about 29,000 MT of rice a day.

The surge, he explained, was attributed to the growing population and the fact that Filipinos have become dependent on rice more than ever because of the increase in the prices of other staples and grains like pan de sal and corn.

Aside from the population boom, high oil prices, unpredictable weather patterns that can wreak havoc on the planting and harvesting seasons, shrinking agricultural lands are expected to put pressure on the supply side, Estoperez said.

Noting that the National Statistics Office (NSO) sees 90 million Filipinos by the end of the year, Estoperez said: “We have to be ready for the requirement. We have to plan and plan.”

To ensure that there is enough supply, the government has contracted to import 2.1 million metric tons of rice this year, he said. The NFA has already bought 1.2 million metric tons, he added.

Estoperez said the country can still avoid the crisis through rice conservation and a renewed focus on agriculture.

The NFA and other departments, he noted, has ordered stricter monitoring of retailers to ensure that they do not hoard the supply and that their prices are reasonable. He noted that the NFA will implement new measures to weed out unscrupulous price dealers, he added.

As to the growing population, Estoperez refused to make recommendations but said the government should be made aware of its consequences to food security.

The public and traders should also cease speculating about rice prices and not resort to panic buying as it could jack up the prices, he added.

“Don’t throw away rice. Don’t panic. It will just be an opportunity for industrial players to jack up their prices,” he said.

Lastly, Estoperez said the government should intensify its focus on agriculture, noting that the Philippines is an “agricultural economy.”

The Department of Agriculture has ordered maximum use of agricultural properties for rice production. Conversion of arable lands to residential and industrial estates should also be “stopped,” he added.

“Before, you can see farm land from here to Bulacan. Now it’s all houses,” he said.


_________________________________________


Rice’s future availability at risk
Business World
http://www.bworldonline.com/BW032808/content.php?id=002

LOS BAÑOS — It is the staple food of half of humanity but only a handful of countries have large rice surpluses, leaving even some of the biggest producers scrambling to grow enough to feed their own people.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (L), accompanied by Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap (R), inspects some 15,000 sacks of rice during a visit to a National Food Authority warehouse in Butuan City yesterday. — AFP Land endowment determines which countries have enough of the cereal, say the world’s foremost rice experts.

Thailand, India, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and Bangladesh are all blessed with broad riverine deltas and plains with huge tracts suitable for rice farming, and allot more than half of their arable land to it, said International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) economist David Dawe.

Rice importers by contrast are island or peninsular nations with more varied landscapes favouring maize, palm oil or coconut.

Rice yields in the Philippines are nearly double those of Thailand, the world’s top exporter, yet as in Indonesia "there is just not enough land," said IRRI president Robert Zeigler, who spoke to AFP in a joint interview with Mr. Dawe.

The two countries combined have nearly 300 million mouths to feed and are among the most vulnerable consumers of the grain as inflation-adjusted rice prices have recently spiked close to historical highs.

The Philippines has imported rice almost every year since 1869, while Java, Indonesia’s most populous island, has been an importer since the 16th century, Mr. Dawe said.

"I hope that if the situation becomes tight in the Philippines, the Filipinos will not point fingers at the Filipino rice farmer," Mr. Zeigler said.

Another problem facing consumers in the Philippines is hoarding by traders creating a supply shortage in the market and sending prices up.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has said the government will clamp down on rice hoarders who artificially hike prices.

Mrs. Arroyo said the Philippines, is a "price sensitive nation" that feels the strains of pressures from a globalized economy.

"I am asking traders not to jack up prices just because there is a crisis," she said recently.

Just 30 million to 35 million tons, or 7% of the world’s annual rice harvest, is traded in the world market, and because the volumes are so thin they are subject to price shocks.

China is the world’s largest producer and consumer and also has the highest yields, but is not a key player in the export market, said Mr. Zeigler, adding that China guards its rice reserve levels as a "state secret".

"China like any government is extremely concerned that their people have enough to eat, and so they are not going to export until they’re sure they have enough to eat."

An unlucky confluence of events has pushed spot prices close to 1,000 dollars per ton, levels not seen since the scientific breakthroughs of the "green revolution" in the early 1980s boosted yields and had since then helped keep prices below 400 dollars a ton.

Adverse weather in Bangladesh, pests and disease in Vietnam, and political problems in Myanmar — until the 1950s the world’s top rice exporter — have cut stocks usually available in the international market, Mr. Zeigler said.

Myanmar could be a big swing producer, but has "great difficulty buying fertilizer in the world market because of the (international trade) embargo. If they could get fertilizer and they could improve their rural infrastructure a bit they could be a big player," he said.

There was also some potential for large mechanised farms to grow rice in parts of southern Brazil and southern Argentina as well as Uruguay and Paraguay.

"They could conceivably come into the market but I don’t know that they’re going to be large players. They’re temperate zones and they only get one crop a year," he said.

The biofuels industry could also make maize and soybeans more attractive, he added.

While rice is not used to produce ethanol for biofuels, the diversion of other grains toward biofuel can affect the supply of other cereals and further add pressure to supply and price.

"In the US maize is going into ethanol big time. We have some land in Asia that is being redirected towards biofuel — certainly a lot of interest in converting some good land into oil palm plantations for biodiesel. That’s a concern," he said.

Corn and soybean production made more sense for South America "because the prices are much better and more stable."

But this did not lead to optimism about rice production in an already-tight market.

"In general there’s just not much room for areas of growth in the world for rice," Mr. Zeigler said.

[3cr]

RP’s foreign donors want uniform procurement system;
World Bank favors increased spending
BY Chino S. Leyco, Reporter
Manila Times
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/...80328bus2.html

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga: The foreign donors committee wants a uniform procurement system for the Philippines to help lessen rampant corruption in the government, economic official said Thursday.

On the sidelines of the Philippines Development Forum, Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. said the government and its partners agreed there is now a need to institutionalize the harmonization of procurement system and manuals with ODA partners through Implementing Rules and Regulations-B (IRR-B).

“It’s about time we came up with uniform rules, [and] the World Bank is pace-setting the benchmark on this,” Andaya told reporters.

He also said the government is seeking a committee composed of all donors that can speak with one goal and draft the guidelines within one year. The guidelines will include bid ceiling and how funds will be used.

Participants in the PDF identified deepening procurement reform as a priority in improving efficiency and accountability in the use of public funds. The government earlier implemented the procurement law, which includes the use of electronic procurement and consistent application of open competitive bidding methods.

Spend more than balance budget

In the same forum, the international financial community expressed support for a programmed balanced budget, and proposed that the Philippines spend more on priority sectors amid possible US economic recession rather than aim for zero budget gap scenarios at the end of the year.

Bert Hofman, World Bank’s country director, said the government has to keep its revenue efforts on track if it wants to raise its revenue collections. He added the country should be prepared for increased spending in the face of looming global economic slowdown this year.

“There was a broad consensus at the meeting that it would be best to have extra spending only if there are extra revenues at this point in time. Strengthen the revenue-based remains very important,” Hofman.

Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said the government has to work with the Bureaus of Internal Revenue and Customs to support the expenditure program of the government. “What is definite is we will not sacrifice spending for priority expenditures such as rice for the poor, social services and infrastructure,” Teves told reporters.

Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. said it is more acceptable to have a deficit this year than to see people suffering from hunger, adding the government will maintain its commitment to increase revenue collections amid higher expenditure.

Standard Chartered Bank earlier said balancing the budget this year becomes more challenging as a result of an expected slowdown in the Philippine economy and a “moderation” in remittances of overseas Filipino workers.

Standard Chartered added that the target may be impossible to meet because the dollar is expected to correct itself in the second and third quarters as a result of deterioration of trade balance in the near term.

The multilateral lender, however, said poor capacity and weak incentives in the revenue agencies remain a severe constraint to implementing tax administration improvements.

“The rationalization of fiscal incentives and excise taxes would be an important step. These reforms will raise tax effort on a sustainable basis,” Hofman said.

The Department of Finance earlier expressed apprehension over the programmed balanced budget amid the slowdown in the US economy, but clarified it would stick to the original plan of zero budget gaps.


________________________________________


WB, RP government drafting uniform rules on procurement
By Iris Gonzales
PhilStar
http://www.philstar.com/index.php?He...id=20080327146

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga – The government and the World Bank are jointly drafting a uniform set of rules on procurement as part of efforts to minimize or eradicate corruption.

World Bank country director Bert Hofman said the multilateral lender and the Philippine government agreed to fine-tune the procurement rules, citing the slow and inconsistent implementation of the law on procurement.

“We are all in agreement that it is about time that we come up with uniform rules. It’s not one side pointing to another. It’s both sides agreeing that it is high time,” Hofman told reporters during the Philippine Development Forum (PDF) here.

“The time is right that we now come to an agreement and the WB is starting or is setting the benchmark on the implementing rules and regulations,” Hofman said.

The WB, he said, is particularly pushing for increased use of electronic transactions as well as consistent application of open competitive bidding methods.

Hofman said other multilateral lenders have expressed their appreciation for the government’s readiness to come up with better implementing rules and regulations on procurement.

In his closing speech as co-chair of the PDF, Hofman said a number of forum participants cited the need “to control corruption and strengthen the rule of law” but acknowledged the government’s anti-corruption efforts.

“Participants acknowledged the government’s action against corruption and welcomed the establishment of the Procurement Transparency Group,” he said. Finance Secretary Margarito Teves chairs this year’s PDF.

Concerns on corruption

The European Union and Germany issued separate statements voicing concerns on corruption in the Philippines.

The European Union (EU) said in a statement that it finds “the persistent allegations of widespread graft…most disturbing.” The EU delegation to the PDF was led by Alistair MacDonald, head of delegation of the European Commission in Manila.

The EU statement was read by French Ambassador Gerard Chesnel, representing the presidency of the EU.

“Considering that political stability and the eradication of corruption are prerequisites for sustainable development, the European Union finds the persistent allegations of widespread graft in public procurement most disturbing and urges the government and other relevant state institutions to step up efforts to combat it,” the statement said.

“The EU commends the Philippines for its macro-economic achievements in 2007, with controlled inflation, a balanced budget and an improved balance of payments, but wishes to highlight the need to improve the revenue effort and to match this with effective measures to reduce social inequality.”

Germany, for its part, represented by Ambassador Christian-Ludwig Weber-Lortsch, said during the PDF plenary that corruption is at the top of the list of impediments to development.

Vigilance needed

“At the same time, civil society groups highlighted the need for vigilance against systemic corruption that may escape the existing control mechanisms that are mainly geared to control administrative corruption,” Hofman added.

Last year, WB suspended talks for a $33-million national road project loan on suspicion of irregularities. It had rejected two large road contracts between 2003 and 2006.

The project under investigation is the second phase of the National Roads Improvement and Management Program or NRIMP. The WB has yet to come up with a final decision on the matter.

Meanwhile, the government presented over P200-billion worth of infrastructure projects for possible financing by multilateral and bilateral partners and the private sector.

National Economic and Development Authority director general Augusto Santos said at the forum that the power sector has the biggest requirement for private sector investment, with the Luzon grid alone requiring 1,950 megawatts from 2010 to 2014. Initial estimate of the required investment is P80 billion.

Projects ready for financing include four road and bridge projects, two water projects and a rail extension project.

The biggest road project is the proposed construction of a road link between the North and South Luzon expressways. The project is estimated to cost P39 billion.

Other projects on the list are the construction of the 101-kilometer North Luzon East Expressway worth P3 billion and the proposed operation and maintenance of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.

The government is also working on a public-private sector partnership for the completion of the Panguil Bay Bridge Project.

For rail transit development, the government also presented for possible state-private sector undertaking the four-kilometer extension of Metrorail Transit Line 2 from Pasig City to Antipolo.

[TambayBlues]

The infrastracture projects mentioned in an earlier post would'nt really help us much in the coming crisis. The name of the game will be food security. Since China / India would be stockpiling grain in the months ahead we cannot always count on the Vietnamese to sell us their rice coz if market forces are at play they will most likely sell to the highest bidder and it would be tough to go into a bidding war against those two countries considering how large their foreign reserves are. Our focus should be on improving our agricultural productivity, maximize vacant lands for farm use. What we need are more farm to market roads or better yet a more extensive railroad network/ports to create a more efficient means of moving our agricultural produce from the countryside to the cities. We also need more irrigation/dams and technical assistance for our farmers, dissemination of the high yielding varieties of rice and corn. Banana plantations should also be increased to have an alternative source of carbohydrates other than rice. The government should encourage planting even in public lands. Now is the time to focus more on our agricultural sector which has long been getting a lower priority in the past.

[leechtat]

isn't it the projects you mentioned, that will help us in this possible world crisis, already in the government's plan and some of which are already undergoing construction? you're statements clash though... but i agree, that we should invest invest in agricultural development to limit our dependency to agri imports...