Diwa Guinigundo If the Philippine economy fails to expand at least nine percent over the next three years, Filipinos will grapple with lower wages, joblessness, and worsening poverty, according to an economic expert. “Unless the economy is able to sustain a growth rate of more than nine percent...
Philippine financial markets could be upset following the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte, but this could only be a temporary risk, as foreign investments could bloat in the long run, according to an economic expert. The International Criminal Court (ICC) arrested ex-president Duterte...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT When the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the winners of the Nobel Prize for Economics in Stockholm last Oct. 14, the role of political institutions in economic development and long-term prosperity received some kind of a revival. It’s been 12 years since the...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT Two days ago, Oct. 1, poll aspirants started to flock to various filing centers of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to file their certificates of candidacy (COC) for 18,280 elective positions for the May 2025 national and local elections. Filipinos will be choosing 12...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT While we were rocked by the news of alleged irregularities in the use of confidential funds in one government office, it was as shocking to know of another irregularity in the procurement of laptops in the Department of Education, of all departments. As...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT (Last of two parts) The IMF’s Tobias Adrian talked about 10 metrics aimed at helping central banks (CBs) and policy makers fortify CBs independence. Adrian was quick to point out that “this is the first new CB independence index in 30 years.” These 10 metrics...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT (Part 1) At the IMF, countries are represented by their central banks in the International Monetary and Financial Committee while the finance or development ministers constitute the joint Development Committee to advise both the World Bank and the IMF mostly on issues...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT Bloomberg and online news last Tuesday reported a closing rate of ₱58.27 to a dollar, nearly the same level it did on Nov. 8, 2022, and the worst in 18 months. BSP Governor Eli Remolona emailed media to explain that “the peso weakened beyond ₱58 to the US dollar...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT Let me share some excerpts from my most recent In Brief piece for GlobalSource Partners this week. I thought we need to do a deep dive into the latest twist in China’s bullying of the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea because of its economic...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT There could not have been a more inspiring message from the IMF’s April 2024 World Economic Outlook than the global economy’s avoidance of a recession in 2023. With a strong financial system, steady capital flows to emerging markets, some downtrend in inflation, the Fund...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT During the second review of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) monetary policy last Monday, the Monetary Board decided on what was obvious. The BSP maintained its policy rate at a 16-year high 6.5 percent, the fourth since that off-cycle meeting in October 2023 that...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT It was reported last Monday that securing an “A” sovereign credit rating by the end of the Marcos Jr Administration in 2028 “may be difficult as persistent underspending and the lack of reforms to improve revenue generation continue to constrain the Philippines’...
