ECCP at Work

Marcos travels produce $19B in active projects
“There are $19 billion (in investments) already cleared and registered with investment promotion agencies (IPAs). These investments are under categories four, five, and six,” DTI Secretary Pascual said, referring to the classification system for progress made on investment projects.

S&P Global trims PHL growth outlook
In a report, the credit rater cut its growth forecast for 2024 to 5.8% from 5.9% previously. It also lowered its GDP estimate for 2025 to 6.1% from 6.2% earlier. S&P’s latest projections are below the government’s 6-7% growth goal for this year, and 6.5-7.5% for 2025.

BOI green-lights P13B big-ticket projects
The BOI reported it has approved P13.38 billion projects under the higher threshold for big-ticket ventures that the agency is mandated to process starting February. The BOI said the amount will be invested in six projects valued between P1 billion and P15 billion each and approved from February 2 to June 11.

Philippine growth seen running ‘below potential’
In a report, Moody’s Analytics said the Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP) growth is expected to average 5.9% this year, just behind India (6.8%) but ahead of Vietnam (5.8%), Indonesia (5.2%), and China (4.9%).

TIEZA sees changes to CREATE encouraging tourism investment
TIEZA Chief Operating Officer Mark T. Lapid said investors “will benefit because that will level the playing field. Meaning, what you can get in the PEZA, you can also get in the BOI and in TIEZA,” Mr. Lapid said.

PPA to hike cargo fees by 16%, says Philexport
According to Philexport, the increase was confirmed by PPA Manager for Commercial Services Mark Jon S. Palomar’s letter in response to Philexport’s petition “to defer cargo handling tariff hikes until the export industry has recovered.”

DTI SEES SUSTAINED GROWTH: Merchandise exports expand 26.4% in April
The DTI has rolled out several initiatives that would ensure the resiliency of Philippine exports, after goods shipments expanded 26.4% in April from the same month in 2023. This lifted cumulative merchandise exports for the first four months of the year by 9.6% to $24.2 billion compared to $22.1 billion in the same period last year.

BAI assures spread of Q fever under control
The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) assures the public that measures are being done to contain the spread of Q fever which was detected from imported goats in a government breeding station in Marinduque.

Philippines has 25-year window to reap benefits of young population — WB
The Philippines has to take advantage of the changing population structure in the next 25 years, when the working-age population will outnumber dependents, according to the World Bank. The Philippines’ latest Human Capital Index (HCI) stood at 0.52, which means that a child born in 2020 can only achieve about 52% of their productive potential by the age of 18.

ERC sees waning relevance of power supply agreements
The ERC projects that relevance of power supply agreements (PSAs) and competitive selection processes (CSPs) will wane in the next four to five years. This as more customers are expected to enjoy the retail competition and open access (RCOA) and secure their own power supply directly from power generators, the regulatory body said.

Infrastructure spending jumps in April 
Infrastructure and other capital outlays rose by 36.2% to P118.9 billion in April from P87.3 billion in the same month a year ago, according to the latest National Government disbursement report.

Poll: BSP to stand pat for 6th straight meeting
15 analysts surveyed expect the Monetary Board to maintain its target reverse repurchase rate at a 17-year high of 6.5% at its policy meeting. The BSP has raised borrowing costs by a cumulative 450 basis points (bps) from May 2022 to October 2023.

BoI seeing increased investor interest in agriculture projects
The BoI said it is seeing increased investor interest in agriculture, after investment promotion agencies (IPAs) were empowered to approve projects with higher investment thresholds. The BoI said the higher thresholds at IPA level approved by the FIRB helped stimulate interest in farming projects.

Legislator assails drop in internet speed, wants deadline for telcos to shape up
The Philippines’ mobile internet speed dropped to an average of 32.12 megabits per second (Mbps) last month, resulting in a four-spot decline to rank number 83 globally in Ookla’s May 2024 Global Speedtest Index. Makati City Rep. Luis Campos Jr. responded to this drop in rankings, stating, telecommunication companies are simply not doing enough to improve their networks.

DA to press for budget of over P500B in 2025
The Department of Agriculture (DA) said it will seek to upgrade its funding allocation for 2025 to P513.81 billion, nearly double the initial amount approved by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).The DA had proposed a budget of P513.81 billion for 2025. If approved, this would be more than double the DA allocation of P208.58 billion in 2024.

Tourist arrivals in PHL seen returning to pre-pandemic level only in 2025
Tourist arrivals in the Philippines are expected to jump by 33% this year, but will only return to the pre-pandemic level by 2025, Fitch Solutions’ unit BMI said. BMI’s projection is lower than the DoT target to attract 7.7 million international visitors this year.

NEDA open to adjusting rice tariffs before 2028
The government is open to adjusting tariff rates on rice imports if global prices show a steady decline, NEDA Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said on Monday. President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. last week issued Executive Order No. 62, cutting tariffs for different agricultural imports like rice, pork, poultry and corn to 15% from 35% until 2028.

Traders see drop in rice prices next month
Rice prices may drop by as much as P9 per kilo this July, a local rice traders group assured the House leadership on Monday. During a meeting with Speaker Martin Romualdez, the leaders of the Philippine Rice Industry Stakeholders Movement (PRISM)—composed of seed growers, farmers, millers, traders, importers and retailers—said they estimated that rice prices would significantly drop to as low as P42 per kilo by July after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued an executive order reducing tariff rates on imported rice.

Marcos leads opening of PH’s biggest hotel
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday led the formal unveiling of property giant Megaworld’s 1,530-room Grand Westside Hotel, the biggest hotel development in the country today. Expected to provide a big boost to the country’s tourism sector in terms of tourist arrivals and job generation, the hotel will soon be connected to the sprawling Westside Resorts complex at Entertainment City that will feature four big theaters, including a 2,000-seat Grand Opera House.

Study: Metro Manila wages not keeping up with inflation
The daily minimum wage in Metro Manila has not kept up with the rate of inflation or even the productivity of Filipino workers, according to IBON Foundation. IBON said Metro Manila minimum wage hit its highest value in June 2016 when the P491 nominal minimum wage was worth P538 in real terms, measured at 2018 constant prices to take away the effects of inflation. But as of May 2024, the P610 nominal wage is worth just P501 in real terms or seven percent below its peak eight years ago.

NGCP: Hermosa-San Jose line now fully energized
The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) has fully activated the Hermosa-San Jose transmission line (HSJ) but hopes to recover the remaining project costs following its completion last Sunday. The P17.3-billion transmission line covering the provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga and Bataan has a full capacity of 8,000 megawatts (MW) and can accommodate additional power generation for the Luzon grid.

DOTr, DOST collaborate in development of hybrid e-train
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is collaborating with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) for the development of a second prototype of a hybrid electric train (HET) that would ply the southern tracks in Luzon.