Robust Philippine economy projected

Lito Gagni

IT is heartwarming to see the Philippine economy now going strong after the debilitating effects of the pandemic that saw businesses close down, unemployment rise, and household income decline. In fact, traffic has again slowed down and new buzzwords have cropped up, like “revenge spending,” that shine a spotlight on the extent of the economic recovery.

faithfully perform their notarization functions. While I leave to the Supreme Court whatever reforms this practice needs, I still insist that every word contained in any document signed by the author ought to be kept, with or without the notarial act. Whether the deed produces a mere expectation of a task/event or an obligation to pay/do, the signature of the parties serves a “stamp” of approval if not validity akin to a notarial stamp.

Humans are prone to be insincere with their word, in stark contrast with our Heavenly Father who always keeps His word for His promises are never broken. The same God who made His covenant not to flood the earth again during Noah’s time (Genesis 9:12-15 ) is the same God who “made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) He keeps His word by seeing us as righteous because of the sacrifice that Jesus died for us. Believers are therefore commanded to keep their word just as our Almighty God keeps His, regardless of any notarization requirement. By way of a reminder, Ecclesiastes 5:5 tells us, “It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it.” 1 John 2:5 further prompts us: “But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him.” All signatures, whether in a notarial stamp or by a party to an instrument, tell us one thing—I own whatever I said in that document. It is far from being as cast in stone, but it need not be re-authenticated unless the signature itself is put into question. For signatories to documents, for lawyers who assist clients in signing documents, and for the notaries public, who serve to “add” authenticity to these deeds, where to, indeed? Quo vadis, brethren?

(To be continued)

A former infantry and intelligence officer in the Army, Siegfred Mison showcased his servant leadership philosophy in organizations such as the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Malcolm Law Offices, Infogix Inc., University of the East, Bureau of Immigration, and Philippine Airlines. He is a graduate of West Point in New York, Ateneo Law School, and University of Southern California. A corporate lawyer by profession, he is an inspirational teacher and a Spirit-filled writer with a mission. For questions and comments, please e-mail me at sbmison@gmail.com.

There have been challenges made against the said law before the Supreme Court given the fact that a TNVS like Grab should be treated as common carrier like a public utility vehicle since once online, they make their services available to the public and are available for booking, hence they must be regarded as common carriers without exception.

Constitutional conflict could arise from out of the provisions of the Amended Foreign Service Act or RA 11659 that seeks to entice foreign investors.

The big increase meant monthly payments became unaffordable for would-be homebuyers, forcing many to stay in rentals.

Glenn Kelman, CEO of the real estate brokerage Redfin, said the housing market is stronger than many people expected. But the years of low rates worsened generational inequality. Baby boomers became wealthy as their homes increased in value, but then rates jumped at the time when more millennials wanted to buy and they found themselves priced out.

“A generation ago, boomers owned 21 percent of US wealth,” Kelman said. “For millennials, that number is 7 percent. They’re still on the outside looking in.”

Carl Tannenbaum, chief economist for Northern Trust, said he is surprised that the rate increases have hit housing but not employment. Traditional models assumed that efforts to lower inflation would automatically include job losses. But when he talks to companies, most

“Because the supply of labor has been so starved for the past two years, firms are holding on to who they have,” Tannenbaum said. “The prevailing wisdom is if we have a recession it’s going to be shallow. Firms are going to want to be ready to go.”

As much as Biden says his mission is about giving Americans a sense of confidence, his challenge might rest with an economy in which few things are certain. When the pandemic hit in 2020, the government aid was so overwhelming that a financial market crash turned into a rally. Biden tried to assure the country in 2021 that rising prices were a temporary inconvenience, only to find that inflation defined how many perceived his first two years as president. The expectation was that interest rate increases would ultimately lead to layoffs and higher unemployment, but hiring stayed robust in a sign that the economy is unmoored from traditional expectations.

Everywhere, foot traffic to fastfood outlets, fine-dining places and malls have shot up, which nudged the gross domestic product to grow above seven percent. That growth has impressed International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva who cited the exceptional performance of the economy even with the Ukraine conflict that led to high energy prices and a spike in inflation.

There is optimism all around about the prospects for growth that lead to a brighter Christmas this year, especially with the rise in employment that saw the unemployment rate hitting its lowest in 17 years at 4.2 percent as per reports from the Philippine Statistics Authority. According to the PSA, the number of employed Filipinos in November rose to 49.71 million, with 2 million in the increase attributed to the administration of

President Marcos.

And even the peso has strengthened against the US dollar, from near the P60 level to below P54 as the economic activities came back in full force after being whipsawed as a result of Covid-19. And with the contribution from the country’s overseas Filipino workers as well as Business Process Outsourcing, the economic growth is seen eclipsing its pre-pandemic levels.

For National Economic and Development Authority DirectorGeneral Arsenio Balisacan, “the strong labor market signifies the steady recovery of our economy.” New industries have been sprouting all over the archipelago that guarantee the rise in the ranks of the employed, and the recent news emanating from the Palace shows much promise.

Thus, it gladdens the heart to know that ride-hailing company

Grab Holdings CEO and co-founder Anthony Tan has promised to create half-a-million jobs during his oneon-one with President Marcos last week. For context, that big number of new jobs is a fourth of the 2 million that the President said during the huddle, which was created since he assumed office.

So far, the only dark cloud in the horizon is the rise in the prices of agricultural products such as onions, which went up to a dizzying height of P700 a kilo in some places that resulted in several memes in the social media showing onion bulbs as replacement for the diamond that grace rings. There were even memes of photos of women sporting onion earrings to show the bulb’s newfound popularity.

It is high time for the government to ensure that the economy chugs along fine and for this, it should not attempt to come up with new rules that may result in a “glitch” in the economic order. A case in point is the status of Grab itself where a

RA 11659 sought to reinterpret the investment activity to get around the provisions of the 1987 Constitution and in the case of Grab, a question that arises is whether it is a public utility or not within the ambit of the exclusion of Transport Network Vehicle Services (TNVS) along with telecommunication companies and airlines in the Amended Foreign Service Act.

There have been challenges made against the said law before the Supreme Court given the fact that a TNVS like Grab should be treated as common carrier like a public utility vehicle since once online, they make their services available to the public and are available for booking, hence they must be regarded as common carriers without exception.

Somehow, there is a need to tweak a law that does not run counter to the Constitution. This brings to mind the passage of the Rice Tariffication Law that went through several public hearings before being crafted that led to inclusion of measures that saw to it that the farmers benefit from its passage.

The said law brought about the reduction in the price of rice, raised taxes for the benefit of farmers via “ayudas” and use of modern agricultural implements as well as breaking up the rice cartel.

PPA CHIEF DISPUTES CLAIMS OF NEW ORDER’S CRITICS AS CUSTOMS BROKERS JOIN FRAY

THE ports chief is befuddled why some sectors and groups want to halt digitalization efforts in the shipping industry, accusing them of spreading false information to discredit the program.

Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago said those that oppose the rusted Operator Program–Container Registry and Monitoring System (TOP-CRMS)

“want the status quo” in the industry that, he said, is detrimental to the “ordinary Filipino.”

“We believe some sectors opposed to the program are the ones deliberately spreading false information regarding the program. We don’t understand how P980 pesos in replacement of the P30,000 container deposit will result in a 50-percent increase in the cost of goods. Or that the additional annual import cost will be P35 billion. That’s just unbelievable,” Santiago said.

Julita Q. Lopez, President of Customs Brokers Federation of the Philippines (CBFP), last week said direct financial cost of the new system will result in “almost 50-percent increase in the cost of importing goods,” which in real terms, she said, is an annual cost of P35 billion.

The opposition to the new system gained momentum recently when 17 industry groups, backed by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), among others, wrote President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to ask him to intervene.

In an “urgent open letter” sent to the President seeking the immediate revocation of the PPA order, the 17 business groups said, “The PPA fails to consider that the ultimate victim of these additional costs is the ordinary Filipino consumer, who is already bleeding from an inflation rate of 8.1 percent.”

“It is unclear if the PPA has even considered reaching out to the National Economic and Development Authority [NEDA] to fully understand the impact of PPA AO-04-2021 and TOPCRMS/ECSSSF, especially at a time when the country is reeling from the effects of the pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, fuel price volatility, and global supply chain disruptions,” the stakeholders’ letter read.

Continued on A2