OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT It’s bound to happen, and some commentaries are beginning to appear even before the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) switches on. And they are no different from the fundamental objections against putting up the MIF out of nothing — not from surplus fund, not from windfall...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT President Bongbong Marcos’ second State of the Nation (SONA) address was cut and dried, no ad libs of old, no rolled up piña barong sleeves. He adhered to the prompted manuscript to the letter, a delight to notetakers who followed what he had to say about his first year...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT There could not have been a better recasting of what to expect from monetary policy in the next few meetings of the BSP Monetary Board than the recent pronouncement of the new BSP Governor Eli Remolona. Contrary to some quarter’s earlier dissonant statement that policy...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT It was the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) that sounded the call last weekend for the public to stop wasting rice for there is a great likelihood of a shortage in the commodity. The threat of El Niño on palay production is more serious than initially thought....
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT We lost touch with the Chamber of Real Estate and Builders Association, Inc., (CREBA) during the last three years of the pandemic. We missed the passing of its indefatigable chairman Charlie A.V. Gorayeb last month who was among those who opposed the imposition of creditable...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT Last Monday, some broadsheets reported the Philippines’ external debt hitting a record $118.8 billion at the end of the first quarter 2023. This news must have sent some jitters across the market because the preliminary report on the country’s level of gross...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT The BSP sustained its drive for its staff to produce more basic and applied research papers, and upgrade their level of engagement with other research-minded economists, think tanks and multilateral organizations. This, it did, through the recently-concluded 3rd BSP...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT It was about to be an existential crisis, that US deadlock over its debt ceiling of $31.4 trillion. If nothing came out of the negotiation between the White House and the US Capitol, the US would have defaulted for the first time in history. Although the Americans were not...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT It is quite rare that international financial institutions (IFIs) and economic think tanks share a consensus view on the Philippines’ economic prospects. But just recently it looks like there’s unanimity among them that our real GDP growth for the second quarter and for...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT With lower inflation forecasts for 2023 through 2025, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Monetary Board decided to take a pause in its series of monetary tightening that started last year. This means its policy rate, based on the overnight reverse repurchase facility...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT Last month’s IMF-World Bank spring meetings always reminded me of the visit of former Prime Minister (PM) Cesar Virata when I served as alternate executive director of the Fund in Washington, DC in 2001-2003. He had nobody to assist him. He himself called me up from the...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT It’s quite easy to understand for inflation watchers to consider a possible pause in the current monetary policy tightening cycle beginning this May. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has time and again indicated it is open to such a possibility should inflation...
