‘June inf lation seen to prompt policy rate cuts’ »Story on B1 HH
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SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2019
Trusted since 1898
Trust in the Constitution of the oceans as key to peace in SCS First word T perplexes m a n y that our tough-talking President Rodrigo Duterte, who has been insolent toward leaders like President Barack Obama and Pope Francis, becomes soft-headed when he deals with Chinese President Xi Jinping and China’s actions in the South China Sea (SCS).
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OBSERVER YEN MAKABENTA
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Juramentado comeback is very worrisome
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Sara, Pulong form ‘Duterte coalition’ A
BY GLEE JALEA
mid the heated speakership race, the children of President Rodrigo Duterte have formed a “Duterte coalition” to unite members of the House of Representatives.
In a joint statement on Friday, House members of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio’s Hugpong ng Pagbabago and Davao City Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte’s Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod called on others “who believe in positive change” to join their group. “The Duterte coalition is a strategic partnership of dynamic public
F the IN MY LINE twin OF SIGHT blasts in a military camp in Sulu were the handiwork of Filipino suicide bombers, as Philippine National Police Chief Oscar Albayalde said, then the public has cause for worry.
servants who are committed to institute governance and development reforms that are necessary for the Philippines to secure its rightful place in the world stage of nations, particularly in the Southeast Asian region,” the members said in the joint statement. The Duterte coalition was led by Pulong
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RAMON T. TULFO
GOING DOWN
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Using a sledgehammer, Manila Mayor Francisco ‘Isko’ Moreno Domagoso initiates the demolition of a makeshift barangay (village) hall on Friday. The hall obstructs the view behind the statue of Filipino-Chinese businessman Roman Ongpin, which is considered as a heritage site. PHOTO BY
ENRIQUE AGCAOILI
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What’s inside DOLE OPEN TO PROPOSED 14TH MONTH PAY
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THE FALLACY OF THE WAR AND UNENFORCEABILITY ARGUMENT
Antonio ContrerasA4
2.7% inflation in June lowest since Aug 2017 THE country’s headline inflation rate decelerated to 2.7 percent in June, the lowest recorded since the 2.6 percent in August 2017, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Friday.
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JOHN LLOYD CRUZ OFFICIALLY BACK IN CIRCULATION EntertainmentD1
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Ano: 85% of ‘Yolanda’ rehab funds liquidated INTERIOR Secretary Eduardo Año on Friday clarified that 85 percent of total funds under the assistance program for the victims of Typhoon “Yolanda” (Haiyan) have already
PACMAN MEETS FANS ON US INDEPENDENCE DAY
Last month’s result was also down from the 3.2 percent inflation rate in May and 5.2 percent in June 2018. It also settled within the 2.6 to
been liquidated by concerned local government units (LGUs) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
REACH US AT: E-mail: newsdesk@ manilatimes.net Tel. Nos.: 524-5664 to 67 Address: 2/F Sitio Grande, 409 A. Soriano Avenue, Intramuros, Manila 1002
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Monsod bares ‘corruption’ in party-list registration BAGUIO CITY: A former chairman of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has disclosed alleged rampant “corruption” in the registration of party-list groups that has seen them passed themselves off as “marginalized” and “vulnerable” when they actually are not. Christian Monsod, also a member of the Constitutional Commission, on Friday said the Comelec is aware of such corruption in the registration of the partylist groups, but he does not understand why the dishonesty has not been stopped since the party-list system became part of the so-called democratic space. Monsod was one of the resource persons at the annual National Press Forum of the Philippine Press Institute here where he shared his insights on the country’s political systems, among others. To stamp out the alleged corruption
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BY MAYVELIN U. CARABALLO
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HE country’s 2.7-percent inflation rate in June gave the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) room to resume its monetary policy easing as early as August, according to analysts. In a comment on Friday, ING Bank Manila senior economist Nicholas An-
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tonio Mapa said “ING is penciling in a policy rate cut by the BSP at its August
meeting, should inflation continue to show it [would] remain within target and 2Q (second quarter) growth is projected to be soft.” With the June figure well within the BSP’s 2- to 4-percent target range, he added that the central bank would “likely look to tap on the accelerator once more after having slammed hard on the brakes in the previous year.”
For his part, Capital Economics’ Alex Holmes said “[t]he renewed drop in inflation in June is likely to continue as the headline rate is dragged down by falling food and fuel price inflation, providing a green light for the central bank to cut rates in August.” The research consultancy firm, he added, expects headline inflation to
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June inflation pushes bourse to 8,100 level THE stock market broke into the 8,100 territory on Friday — a fresh five-month high — as investors cheered news that the rate of the increase in the prices of goods and services in June eased to a nearly two-year low. The bellwether Philippine Stock
Exchange index rose by 0.66 percent or 53.02 points to close at 8,117.94 — the highest since February 1’s 8,144.16 — while the broader All Shares rose by 0.28 percent or 13.69 points to end at 4,945.68.
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PH forex reserves soar to 33-mo high in June
SHADOWY FIGURES
Visitors are silhouetted at a Samsung shop in Seoul, South Korea, on Friday, the day . Samsung Electronics Co. said its operating profit for the last quarter likely fell more than 56 percent from a year earlier amid a weak market for memory chips. AP PHOTO
Money supply up, lending down GROWTH in the country’s money supply eased anew in May amid the slower expansion in bank lending, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Friday. Domestic liquidity or M3 expanded by 6.4 percent year-on-year to P11.741 trillion, slower than April’s 7 percent. Month-on-month and seasonally adjusted, M3 accelerated by 1.6 percent. “Demand for credit eased slightly, but remained the principal driver of money supply growth,” the BSP said in a statement. Expansion in domestic claims also slowed
to 6.8 percent from April’s revised 8.9 percent, “due mainly to the sustained growth in credit to the private sector,“ it added. Meanwhile, net claims on the central government contracted by 6.4 percent, reversing the previous month’s revised 0.6-percent expansion. Net foreign assets in peso terms grew by 4.4 percent, faster than the revised 3.9-percent decline posted in April. “The BSP will continue to closely monitor domestic liquidity dynamics to ensure that
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Ecozone ban can result in loss of 50K IT-BPO jobs – sector group PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte’s recent order to stop the development of economic zones (ecozones) in Metro Manila could cost 40,000 to 50,000 potential jobs in the informationtechnology and business-process management sector (IT-BPM) sector, an industry group warned. In a statement on Friday, the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (Ibpap) said Administrative Order 18, series of 2019 — which effectively bans the building of ecozones in the National Capital Region — reduced the number of Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA)-accredited IT areas and
put the sector’s supply chain at risk. “It is estimated that there are only 126,940 square meters of PEZA-accredited office space versus the [projected] annual demand of 450,000 sqm,” it said. Besides the expected job losses, Ibpap also said the space shortage could also drive up rental fees, which could make the Philippines less attractive for future expansions. The group also flagged concerns over the availability of talent in the regions. “[A]s the industry pivots to digital, talent availability for mid- to high-complexity work
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Wanted: City-level public transport agencies
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‘June inflation seen to prompt policy rate cuts’
PH factory output continues slide in May THE country’s factory output, both in volume and value, continued to contract in May, but at a pace slower than April’s, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed on Friday. Results of the Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries for the month revealed that the volume of production index (VoPI) dropped by 4 percent from last year’s 13-percent expansion, but improved from April’s 14.3-percent plunge. The May volume figure represented the sixth straight month that factory production declined. “Six major industry groups registered annual decreases, with
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SATURDAY JULY 6, 2019
Business Times
CURRENCY RATE
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O improve the mobility of urban Filipinos, we need to have competent, empowered and well-resourced public agencies responsible for transportation services within a geographical area (rather than on a nationwide basis). A crucial missing ingredient are city-level or metropoliswide public transportation agencies that can manage and coordinate services with full
accountability. Many of our mobility problems stem from this institutional deficiency. If we look at two great cities ROBERT SIY — Singapore and London — where commuters enjoy safe, reliable and convenient public transport, a common denominator is an area-wide transportation agency which organizes mobility services and infrastructure
MOBILITY MATTERS
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THE country’s gross international reserves (GIR) surged to a 33-month high of $85.379 billion (P4.37 trillion) in June on the back of higher gold prices, the government’s foreign-currency deposits, and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) foreign-exchange (forex) operations and investment income.
The figure — the largest since September’s 2016’s $86.139 billion — was also 0.02 percent and 10.1 percent higher than those posted in May and a year ago, respectively, preliminary data released by the Bangko Sentral on Friday showed. In a statement, the central bank
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