Q2 data show double-digit dip in construction permits, value

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

D ata from the Approved Building Permits Second Quarter 2023 showed the number of construction permits contracted 14.9 percent; floor area, 20.4 percent; and the value, 17.2 percent.

P SA said during the period, there were a total of 36,136 approved building permits; 7.24 million square meters of floor area; and a value of P87.83 billion.

T he bulk of these construction permits were for residential build - ings, which posted a 20 percent decline in terms of number; 25.6 percent in terms of floor area; and 20.7 percent in terms of value.

T he PSA said by type of construction, residential buildings still reported the highest number of 24,175 constructions in the second quarter of 2023 or 66.9 percent of the total number of constructions during the quarter.

D ata showed majority of the total residential constructions were single-type houses with 21,942 or 90.8 percent of the total.

T he report also showed that non-residential type of constructions was the second highest in terms of number of constructions at 7,928 or 21.9 percent of the total number of constructions during the quarter.

T his type of construction, PSA said, increased in number during the period at an annual rate of 10.1 percent. Most of the nonresidential constructions were commercial buildings with 5,645 or 71.2 percent of the total.

D ata also showed that the addition, which refers to any new construction that increases the height or area of an existing building, and alteration and repair of existing structure contributed 4.3 percent and 6.9 percent to the total number of constructions, respectively.

Compared with their respective numbers in the same period of the previous year, addition-type of construction expanded by 14.7

PAF and key allies hone skills in low altitude cargo airdrop

percent, while alteration and repair posted an annual decrease of 33 percent.

E arlier, the PSA reported that in the second quarter, the country’s Gross Capital Formation (GCF) contracted 0.04 percent in the second quarter of 2023 due to the slowdown in Construction.

C onstruction grew by 2.1 percent in the second quarter of 2023. Financial and nonfinancial corporations and General government both recorded positive growths with 10.2 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively. However, Households and NPISHs1 declined 3.9 percent in the second quarter of 2023.

D urable equipment, Breeding stocks and orchard development, Intellectual property products, and Valuables recorded growths of 10.8 percent, 0.02 percent, 3.6 percent, and 94.9 percent, respectively.

C hanges in inventories posted withdrawals of P31.96 billion during the second quarter of 2023.

PBBM: PHL eyes to deepen ties with Peru and Ethiopia

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos

Jr. said he is open to more “mutually beneficial” collaborations on trade and technology with Ethiopia and Peru amid the emerging new opportunities in both countries.

The Chief Executive issued the statement during the separate presentation of credentials of non-resident ambassador-designate Ethiopian Ambassador Dessie Dalkie Dukamo and Peruvian nonresident ambassador Cecilia Zunilda Galarreta Bazán in Malacañang last Tuesday.

Marcos said the country would

Wildfires

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Wednesday assured the government will provide assistance to Filipinos affected by the wildfires in Hawaii last week.

I n a post in his official X account, the Chief Executive said the Philippine Consulate in Honolulu, Hawaii is ready to provide the needs of the wildfire victims.

“ They can call the 24/7 emergency hotline at +1808 2530-9446 or send a message at the email address honolulu.pcg@dfa.gov.ph for whatever needs of our affected citizens,” said Marcos in Filipino in a brief post.

The President tasked the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) to closely monitor the status of all Filipinos in Hawaii following the devastating wildfire, which engulfed the Western part of Maui island on August 8, 2023.

The incident killed at least 106 people as of Wednesday making it the deadliest wildfire in the United States in over a century.

The death toll can still rise as authorities continue their search in the fire-hit areas.

“ The Philippine Consul General in Hawaii with the local authorities and Filipino community for any information about the incident,” Marcos said.

DFA said among the thousands affected by the deadly wildfires were 50 Filipino teachers. Samuel P. Medenilla explore possible trade and technology transfer exchanges with Ethiopia, which he said is one the rising economies in Africa.

“ I think the whole world is very excited about—how most of Africa is positioned in terms of—now coming and emerging…as a major economy, as they already are,” the President said.

For his part, Dukamo said he hopes Filipino businessmen will consider investing in Ethiopia, particularly in electronics manufacturing if they want to gain access to the African market.

It’s geographically located bridging the Middle East and the rest of Africa and also Western countries. So, if Filipino businessmen come and invest in Ethiopia, it’s possible to take advantage of Africa market,” the Ethiopian diplomat said.

Marcos said he is also interested in entering into new partnerships with Peru to help address the country’s supply chain vulnerabilities.

He noted the pandemic has disrupted the country’s supply chain for food and other essential commodities.

“ We can continue to do what we did before but we still have to find new ways. And I know that these partnerships that we build with our friends around the world will always benefit both—mutually beneficial to our countries. And I hope that’s what we can do now,” Marcos told Bazán.

Bazán agreed with the President and said Peru is now eyeing to increase its agriculture exports to the country, particularly grapes.

The Peruvian diplomat said they consider the country not only as an important trade partner, but also a model in their efforts to improve the processing for their exports.

T he country has maintained diplomatic relations with Ethiopia and Peru since the 1970s as well as economic ties.

L ast year, its total trade with Ethiopia reached $3.38 million, while for Peru it was at $39.2 million.