Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will keep financial volatility in check and sees no reason to change its monetary policy stance at the moment, BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said yesterday. “For the moment, BSP is geared to keep the interim financial volatility in check,” Tetangco told reporters in a text message. “We don’t yet see a strong impetus to change the stance of monetary policy,” he said. His remarks came after the European Central Bank launched a government bond-buying program which will pump hundreds of billions in new money into a sagging euro zone economy. “The ECB action to further ease monetary conditions in EU should boost market confidence near-term especially as the “announcement uncertainty” is eliminated,” Tetangco said.  “But in the medium-term, this needs to be followed through by structural reforms in the national economies and adjustments in EU labor market conditions, among others,” he said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The action came following earlier actions of the ECB that still left the euro zone economy with stagnating growth and persistent low inflation.  “While we had been anticipating QE (quantitative easing) from EU for some time now, and the price action in markets in recent months has reflected the divergence in AE (advanced economies’) monetary policies, we still need to see how this policy divergence will continue to play out now that we are in a situation of very low oil prices,” Tetangco said. “For the moment, the Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) plans to conduct across the country more than 80 information sessions focused on the European Union’s Generalized System of Preferences Plus (EU GSP+) to allow more businesses to benefit from the scheme. According to the DTI, it is holding more than 80 information sessions under the Doing Business Free Trade Areas program focused on the EU GSP+ in key cities and towns in the country to help exporters understand how to avail of the scheme. “As tariffs go down, we need to work more closely with Philippine businesses to help them navigate the rules of origin requirements and to hurdle other barriers, for instance product standards,” Trade assistant secretary Ceferino Rodolfo said. The EU GSP+ is a scheme which allows beneficiary countries to export 6,274 products to any of the 28 members of the EU bloc at zero tariff for a period of 10 years. The Philippines, which is the only beneficiary country of the scheme in Southeast Asia, secured EU GSP+ status in December last year. Products that may avail of the duty free access  include coconut and marine products, processed fruit, prepared food, animal and vegetable fats and oils, textiles, garments, headwear, footwear, furniture, umbrellas, and chemicals. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Prior to securing EU GSP+ status, the Philippines was a beneficiary of the regular GSP program which only covered 6,209 products, with 2,442 products subject to zero duty and the rest subject Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Government agencies are not speaking with one voice on a bill pending in the House of Representatives seeking a 10-percent tax on soft drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages, including juices and so-called energy boosters. While the Department of Health (DOH) has supported the bill of Nueva Ecija Rep. Estrelita Suansing, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) has opposed it. In a position paper submitted to the House ways and means committee chaired by Marikina Rep. Romero Federico Quimbo, SRA Administrator Maria Regina Bautista-Martin said the proposed tax “will negatively affect incomes of sugarcane farmers and hamper development plans in the sugar industry.” She said it is most likely that the tax would be passed on to sugar farmers.  “Most of our farmers have small farms. About 80 percent of farms have areas of five hectares or less. Any sugarcane farmer who is raising productivity and improving efficiency to better compete against imported sugar and sugar-containing products and against sugar substitutes like high fructose corn syrup cannot afford to shoulder either directly or indirectly any new tax measure,” she said. She added that the soft drinks industry accounts for six percent of total national demand for sugar. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 She pointed out that the sugar-producing sector is now in the middle of an upgrading program to prepare it for regional and global competition. “A tax on soft drinks may interfere with this objective,” she said. Earlier, Visayas congressmen led by Negros Occidental Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Power utility giant Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), and the Department of Energy (DOE) continue to draw in more participants for the Interruptible Load Program (ILP) which would help ease projected blackouts this summer. As of Jan. 20, total committed capacity under the ILP has reached 685.07 megawatts from customers of Meralco and contestable customers or those with a monthly electricity demand of at least one megawatt and who can source their power supply from retail electricity suppliers. Of the 685.07 MW, 224.22 MW are from Meralco customers and 460.85 MW are from contestable customers. Meralco is still eyeing potential commitments of 233.30 MW from its customers and contestable customers. The latest figure, however, is still below the 1,000-MW target but the DOE and Meralco continue to talk to more potential participants. Under the ILP scheme, big power users will be asked to run their own generators when supply is short in the summer months, instead of getting their power from the Luzon grid. In exchange, they will be compensated for their fuel costs. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The electricity that would not be taken from the grid would be available to households and other users, sparing them from rotating blackouts. There is a projected power supply shortage this summer of at least 700 MW due to higher demand during the hot months.  The three largest participants in the ILP are SM Prime Holdings Inc., the mall development arm of the SM Group Read More …

THE Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Davao Region listed a total of 2,170 fishermen from 46 local government units (LGU) who will benefit from Targeted Actions to Reduce Poverty and Generate Economic Transformation (Target) in the Fishery Sector program of the agency. This program is the government’s poverty alleviation and inclusive growth program for the fishery sector where a high poverty incidence has been noted. BFAR-Davao Director Dr. Fatma M. Idris, in an interview with Sun.Star Davao on Friday, said they were able to identify the 2,170 beneficiaries through the National Program for Municipal Fisherfolk Registration (FishR), which is cross matched with the list of the poorest of the poor of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Based on the data furnished to Sun.Star Davao, most of the beneficiaries are coming from Davao del Sur with 913. The top three LGUs in Davao del Sur with the most beneficiaries are Santa Maria (274), Santa Cruz (165), and Sarangani (140). Davao Oriental has the second most number of beneficiaries at 660, of which Mati City has the most number at 203, followed by Lupon (120), and Banaybanay (78) and San Isidro (78). Compostela Valley has a total of 313 beneficiaries, Davao del Norte has 187, and Davao City has 97. Idris said they have set aside some P10 million for the beneficiaries and the Target program in the region. She said they will be budgeting at least P10,000 worth of livelihood assistance for each beneficiary. She Read More …