National Statistics Office

Inflation slips to 3.9% in March

Economy

Apr 042014

MANILA, Philippines – Consumer prices in March eased, the National Statistics Office said Friday.

According to the NSO, inflation in March slipped to 3.9 percent, the slowest so far this year. In January inflation was 4.2 percent and 4.1 percent in February.

“The downtrend was due to slower annual hikes posted in the indices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco; housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels; recreation and culture; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services. Inflation during the same month in 2013 was 3.2 percent,” the NSO said.

Excluding volatile food and energy items, the core inflation was slower at 2.8 percent in March from 3.0 percent in February.

Poe urges Senate committee to initiate a study on suicide prevention in the PHL

Entertainment

Oct 042013

Poe urges Senate committee to initiate a study on suicide prevention in the PHL

Senator Grace Poe-Llamanzares presenting at a budget hearing of the Senate of the Philippines in September 2012 (photo courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Poe) MANILA, Oct. 3 (Mabuhay) – Senator Grace Poe on Thursday sought for the creation of a suicide prevention program for people suffering from depression as it remains the number one cause of death in the country. Poe filed Senate Resolution 257 which urged the Senate committee on health and demography to conduct a study in relatively high rates of suicide and depression cases in the country. “The importance of focused suicide prevention program should be studied and assessed by the government to help people with suicidal tendencies and those suffering from depression,” Poe said in a statement. Following depression, death of a loved one is the second reason for suicide followed by separation or break up from a relationship, loss of custody of children, loss of job, house and money, terminal illness, chronic physical pain, loss of hope, and those who were victims of violence, rape, physical or verbal assault and serious legal problems. The neophyte senator explained that in the Philippines, many people still do not consider depression as an illness, but something that “one eventually snaps out of”. She added that it was also the reason why so many people suffering from depression feel embarrassed to seek help. In a country which is predominantly Catholic and where suicide remains to be unacceptable, Poe explained, suicide incident among family members will likely be reported as deaths from other Read More …

July exports up by 2.3%

Economy

Sep 102013

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s merchandise exports increased by 2.3 percent to $4.836 billion in July 2013, up from the $4.727 billion posted in the same period last year, the National Statistics Office reported on Tuesday. Machinery and transport equipment, woodcrafts and furniture, chemicals, electronic products, and cathodes and sections of cathodes of refine copper supported the country’s exports, which grew by 7.7 percent from the $4.49 billion posted in June 2013. On the other hand, aggregate merchandise exports for the first seven months of the year dropped by 3.4 percent to $30.422 billion from the $31.487 billion posted in the same period last year. Electronic products, the country’s top export, accounted for 39.1 percent of the total export receipts at $1.893 billion, although it dropped by 5.6 percent from the previous month’s $2.006 billion. In terms of groups, manufactured goods made up 79.3 percent of the total export receipts, followed by mineral products (8.2 percent), total agro-based products (7.6 percent), special transactions (2.5 percent) and forest products (0.1 percent). Japan was the country’s top export destination with an 19.8-percent share, followed by China (13.2 percent), United States (12.6 percent), Hong Kong (8.5 percent) and Singapore (6.8 percent). Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

May inflation stays flat

Economy

Jun 042013

MANILA, Philippines – Prices of goods and services in the country stayed flat at 2.6 percent in May amid mixed price movements among commodity groups, the National Statistics Office reported on Wednesday. The indices for food and non-alcoholic beverages and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels registered higher rates while the indices of seven other commodity groups slowed down. The index for transport dipped while the education index retained its previous month’s rate, the state agency said. “This still leads us to an average inflation rate of 3 percent for the first five months of 2013, exactly at the low-end of the Development Budget Coordination Committee’s inflation target of 3 to 5 percent for 2013,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said. Inflation a year ago was at 2.9 percent. Headline inflation in the National Capital Region (NCR) grew to 1.8 percent in May, slightly higher than the 1.7 percent posted the previous month. A year ago, it was at 2.3 percent. Meanwhile, areas outside NCR inched slightly upward from 2.8 percent in April to 2.9 percent in May.

Bill giving P100,000 to Pinoy centenarians nears Congress approval

News

Jan 292013

Bill giving P100,000 to Pinoy centenarians nears Congress approval

A bill giving P100,000 each to Filipinos who reach the age of 100 is just a few steps away from becoming a law after the Senate adopted the House version of the measure. Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, author of House Bill 834 or the “Centenerians Bill,” said the Senate adopted his version of the proposed legislation on Monday afternoon with minor amendments. The bill entitles Filipino citizens who reached and will reach the age of 100 to a P100,000 cash gift, as well as a letter of felicitation from the President congratulating the centenarian for his or her longevity. Lagman said his measure seeks to laud centenarians for their “achievement and distinction” of living to be 100, especially at a time when the average life expectancy in the Philippines is pegged at 71 years. The census conducted by the National Statistics Office in 2010 showed there are around 8,000 centenarians living in the Philippines. Aside from the cash gift, the bill also grants a 75-percent discount on goods and services to centenarians. Lagman initially suggested a 50-percent discount, but the Senate raised the entitlement to the current rate. The measure also proposes the creation of a national committee, headed by the executive secretary, which will validate the true birth year of a centenarian applicant and which will ensure the release of the cash gift within 30 days of the validation. The bill will now have to be ratified by both chambers of Congress before it is forwarded to Malacañang for Read More …