The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has flagged corruption as a major risk to Philippine infrastructure delivery, warning that the multibillion-peso flood-control corruption scandal show that current accountability safeguards remain insufficient to prevent the misuse of...
The Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it stands ready to deploy support to the Philippines should it request assistance during the ongoing Middle East war, assuring close engagement with local authorities through surveillance and policy advice. This remained the IMF’s...
I just received from a nephew of mine a communication he received from a mutual friend, Rafael “Raffy” Moreno Alunan III, about the state of the Philippine economy and, especially, about the horrible actions of some of our politicians. I would like to comment extensively on this missive to the...
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s economic team is adopting a sober yet aggressive posture on the Philippines ' macroeconomic outlook, mobilizing a state-led fiscal catch-up program to counter stalling growth and stubborn inflation. Budget Secretary Kim Robert de Leon told reporters on the...
A stronger and more resilient middle class is critical to sustainably reducing poverty and achieving inclusive economic growth in the Philippines, according to the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev). Speaking at the launch of the World Bank’s Poverty and Equity Assessment...
Citing the rising risk of inflation expectations becoming de-anchored, the Paris-headquartered intergovernmental Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) holds one of the most hawkish positions on policy tightening, penciling in a maximum of 125 basis points (bps) in interest...
Worsening political fragmentation in the Senate is emerging as the premier threat to the country’s macroeconomic stability, risking a prolonged period of stagflation as legislative gridlock deepens, according to GlobalSource Partners Inc. In a June 2 commentary, GlobalSource economist Diwa...
The value of the country’s digital economy is expected to grow with the signing of the Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), which would mark the world’s first region-wide digital economy pact, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Once signed, Trade Secretary Cristina...
The confluence of negative economic developments that have sticken the Philippines is giving Bagong Henerasyon (BH) Party-list Rep. Robert Nazal feelings of doom and gloom. As such, Nazal prodded the government to undertake "urgent action", and told it that it "cannot afford to be complacent and...
I am always flattered when I meet people well-established in their respective professions (those in their 40s to 60s) who tell me that they learned their basic economics from the textbooks I wrote in the 1970s and 1980s for both high school and college students, especially in private schools. The...
Inflation may have surged to as high as 7.9 percent in May, driven by soaring basic commodity prices and the weakening local currency, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Amid intensifying macroeconomic headwinds, global supply shocks filter into the domestic economy, the central...
Economic officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have concluded negotiations for the bloc’s first region-wide digital economy agreement, marking what regional leaders described as a major milestone toward a more integrated and competitive digital economy. In a statement...
