PHILIPPINES
Analyst
Diwa Guinigundo
Former Central Bank Deputy GovernorDatabanks
Recent Country Insights
As fiscal space compresses, borrowings bloat
PHILIPPINES · In Brief · 17 Oct 2024
It’s not surprising that the Philippine National Government (NG) should further increase its borrowings both from the local and external capital markets. With revenue collections amounting to P2.993 trillion for the first eight months of 2024, equivalent to 17.1% of GDP, and expenditures totaling...
More opposition to diversion of P89.9 billion to PhilHealth
PHILIPPINES · In Brief · 30 Sep 2024
A couple of days ago, former high-ranking officials including former cabinet secretaries joined the broadening section of Philippine society by issuing a statement opposing the diversion of P89.9 billion of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) funds to the National Treasury to...
POGO Operations in the Philippines: A case of violating Philippine laws
PHILIPPINES · Report · 20 Sep 2024
For the past several months, Filipinos have been closely monitoring what is now considered as an extraordinary case involving a Chinese national who seemed to have succeeded in securing Filipino citizenship, conducting business in the northern province of Tarlac and managing to win an elective po...
Some issues in the labor market
PHILIPPINES · Report · 09 Sep 2024
Some economists and market watchers have raised the issue that when inflation rate was 4.4% in July 2024 in the Philippines, unemployment rate was 3.1%. However, when inflation rate decelerated to 3.3% in August 2024, unemployment rate was reported to have swelled to 4.7%. This is not exactly inc...
Sequestering "unused" funds, a case of bad fiscal management
PHILIPPINES · In Brief · 09 Sep 2024
It is easy to abstract the issue surrounding the Philippines’ Department of Finance circular directing all government owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) including the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to remit what it called excess funds back to the Bureau of the Treasur...
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) remittances: a continuing mitigant in the Philippine economy
PHILIPPINES · Report · 26 Aug 2024
It should be obvious by now that there is no territory in the world where there is no Filipino worker. Globalization has made the world a smaller place to live and work. This is also true for Filipino workers who go abroad on contract or as migrant workers. Diversified across the globe, OFW remit...
Are Philippine flood problems being addressed with inappropriate solutions?
PHILIPPINES · Report · 21 Aug 2024
An answer seems emerging to the question Filipinos ask every year without fail during typhoon season—how long should we have to wait until the flooding problem is finally solved? In Metropolitan Manila, at least, it would take 23 years. Yes, 23 years! This is no exaggeration considering that this...
BSP: Listening to the sirens' song this week?
PHILIPPINES · Report · 13 Aug 2024
In our view, the BSP was right in its decision to keep its policy rates steady despite the preponderance of downside risks to inflation at its June 2024 policy meeting. If the BSP had eased monetary policy two months ago, its decision would have been awkward in the face of the 4.4% July inflation...
The Philippine Maharlika Investment Fund: More delays?
PHILIPPINES · Report · 05 Aug 2024
A little over a year after Republic Act (RA) No. 11954 or the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) Act was signed into law on July 18, 2023, the Philippines has yet to witness the MIF engaged in its first investment activity. The MIF, the country’s first version of a sovereign wealth fund, was contemp...