Positivity pervades
Everybody seems upbeat in this joyous season. We’ve had a good noche buena or midnight feast, and meaningful bonding with our close kin on Christmas. We’re bullish for the coming New Year—the best way to welcome 2024.
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Everybody seems upbeat in this joyous season. We’ve had a good noche buena or midnight feast, and meaningful bonding with our close kin on Christmas. We’re bullish for the coming New Year—the best way to welcome 2024.
IT looks like we will have a jolly holiday season this year, with many of us preparing to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Eve with more festive activities than in the past three years. It is the time of the year when the family members gather around the dining table to thank God for the blessings they received in the past 12 months, and talk about the future.
Rising inflation this year has been the nemesis of Filipino consumers. Spending habits can drastically change when prices of certain goods or services spike at a short notice.
The month of December usually bestows hope and cheer among Filipinos who celebrate what is probably the longest Christmas season in the world.
The Philippines has one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia, judging from the 5.9-percent gross domestic product expansion it registered in the third quarter of the year. Sustaining this robust economic expansion through the next few years is now the challenge.
When credit rating agencies give a nation a thumbs up, it means it is doing good and on the right track, notwithstanding the challenges facing the global economy.
IT looks like the fourth-quarter consumer spending will keep the Philippine economy afloat this year, based on increased mobility and hectic commercial activities in Metro Manila and other urban centers in October and early part of November.
The string of signed investment deals and commitments in the past two weeks is auspicious for the Filipino people and the entire country. They give us something to hope for in the future—especially for our kababayans in search of jobs.
One factor that keeps me hopeful about the Philippine economic growth prospects is the strong interest shown by foreign and local companies in investing in the country, either for expansion projects or new facilities.
Being optimistic even in the face of dark clouds hovering over the horizon has been my guiding principle since I started as a small entrepreneur. This positive mentality allowed me to perceive opportunities ahead and achieve success in the competitive business field.
Foreign tourists are back in the Philippines, and this is evident in the increased number of flights this year, with many airlines announcing fleet expansion to support demand.
WE often hear from private and government economists the term demographic dividend that our nation is now reaping or about to earn in the coming years. Economic experts do not doubt this a bit. The Philippines has a big and young population—an economic asset that must be nurtured and exploited.
Our economic growth story is intertwined with inflation. Rising prices curb consumer spending and make a dent on economic growth. Such adverse economic data serve as fodder for critics and naysayers of the administration.
I am an advocate of making cities and human settlements safe and sustainable. My decades of experience in providing housing to millions of Filipinos taught me valuable lessons about the aspirations of many Filipinos—they want peace and security, a decent quality of life and a shared prosperity with neighbors.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. underscored the importance of keeping consumer prices stable when he ordered a temporary cap on rice prices to make sure our main staple remains affordable to all.
There is still a misconception that selling certain government assets like those that provide essential public services is a mistake. Commonly referred to as privatization, this arrangement gives the private sector a hand at running certain state operations and allows non-government corporations to earn profits—when the state (as some critics argue) should be the one posting the revenues.
WE laud the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for prioritizing infrastructure development to make up for the sluggish public spending that led to lower-than-expected gross domestic product growth in the second quarter.
Many of you, perhaps, are wondering why I am developing Villar City south of Metro Manila. Some of you may be even skeptical about its success and think that it is too late in the game to create a new city.
Our economy grew just grew 4.3 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2023 amid the challenging global environment and elevated inflation and interest rates. It is slower than the 6.4 percent in the first quarter, bringing the average expansion in the first semester to a still impressive 5.3 percent.
IT was a comprehensive accounting of the state of the nation, delivered in exactly 120 minutes and full of optimism for the future.
The infrastructure gap in the Philippines will keep growing unless we put a funding vehicle in place to bridge the divide.
The Philippines is known for its young and productive labor force, but recent data suggest the country may also join its Asian neighbors with large graying population in the coming years.
The El Niño phenomenon, or a period of extended drought, is one climate change problem that needs a long-term solution. It is occurring more often and could have permanent and damaging effects if we do not treat it as a persistent economic threat.
WE can safely say that the Philippines has neutralized the high inflation rate that hounded us at the start of the year. Former Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe Medalla did a good job at taming prices and keeping the economy stable, and I am confident the new BSP chief will follow in his predecessor’s track.
WE can say that the ‘budget season’ season has arrived. The deliberations of the proposed 2024 budget may take some time in both houses of Congress, but one can already take a peek at what is in store for the economy and government’s programs next year based on the initial proposal submitted to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last week.
We’ve been hearing about the government’s aspiration to make the Philippines an upper middle-income country within the term of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. To the ordinary Filipino and some pessimists, the goal is ambitious and another pipe dream of the administration.
The inflation rate to a certain degree is predictable. Prices as measured by the consumer price index readily go up in times of a supply shock, as in the case of a turbulent global oil price market. They also spike seasonally—or when prices of commodities such as rice and vegetables increase on lean harvests because of adverse climate like typhoons that destroy crops and disrupt the supply chain.
When ratings agencies give the thumbs-up sign to a sovereign state, it simply means the subject nation is practicing good housekeeping. As in a household, the state is managing its resources efficiently and trying its best to live within its means.
WE often hear from every new administration about huge infrastructure projects that it will pursue to speed up the development of the Philippine economy and ultimately reduce poverty. Yes, we know that the benefits of infrastructure projects on the economy are enormous in terms of creating jobs and new business opportunities.
The road to normalcy is getting closer and closer. The World Health Organization has recently declared an end to Covid-19 as a global public health emergency.
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