The Philippines should strengthen some fundamental concerns and address key constraints to arrest the country’s inability to capture trade and investment opportunities and compete with the rest of the ASEAN region, according to a senior World Bank economist. Jaime Frias, World Bank senior...
The World Bank raised its gross domestic product (GDP) outlook for the Philippines to 7.2 percent this year from an earlier projection of 6.5 percent in September. The Washington-based multilateral institution said Tuesday, Dec. 6, that the upward revision was driven by “robust domestic...
Income inequality in the Philippines remained one of the highest rates in East Asia despite important gains in poverty reduction following recent strong economic performance and improving access to employment, the World Bank reported. In a World Bank report titled “Overcoming Poverty and...
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is set to start the accounting and mapping of the Philippine's natural resources as part of the efforts to come up with a reliable and accessible localized data in the country's fight against climate change. DENR Secretary Maria Antonia...
Climate change in the Philippines will continue and accelerate, which poses major risks for the nation’s long-term development, the World Bank warned. Based on the World Bank’s report on Wednesday, Nov. 9, climate change could hamper the country’s ambition of becoming a high-income country by...
The World Bank is eager on supporting the government’s bid to digitalize services and modernize the bureaucracy, the Department of Finance (DOF) said. In a statement Thursday, Aug. 11, Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said the Washington-based multilateral institution was willing to extend...
In a day, how many times does an average consumer use a product that comes from a sachet or a plastic wrapper? Food, beverage, cookies, cooking ingredients, shampoo, liquid soap come in sachets. Numerous personal items are packaged in plastic –razor, hair brush, cosmetics, hygiene care products,...
The World Bank has expressed interest to fund various infrastructure projects in Sulu that include roads and a major source of potable water for the residents, an official of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has disclosed. Emil K. Sadain, DPWH undersecretary for Unified...
When was the last time you read a book? Do you click a title that says ‘five-minute read’ – and finish reading the whole article? Reading is one of the most important skills because it leads to knowledge, self-improvement, and better comprehension of the world around us. Even though that is...
The World Bank said the Philippine government’s debt load remains manageable despite recent acceleration amid the prolonged pandemic. Even it has ballooned, Kevin Chua, World Bank senior economist noted that the government’s debts are mostly held by Filipino creditors, long-dated IOUs and...
The Philippine economy is poised to grow at a much slower pace than government’s target this year due to intensifying global uncertainties, the World Bank said on Wednesday, June 8. Based on World Bank’s Philippine Economic Update June 2022 edition, the Washington-based lender projected that...
A World Bank study recommending reforms in the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) has found that the state-run firm’s current approach to agricultural insurance neither provides value for money to taxpayers nor adequate protection to farmers. The PCIC is also “very exposed to catastrophe...
