BSP denies Philippines' economy is overhaeting

By Lee C. Chipongian

AMRO chief economist Dr. Hoe Ee Khor said it is time for the Philippine central bank to consider adjusting monetary policy stance to avoid an overheating economy.

AMRO is the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office. “There are signs of overheating for the Philippine economy and at the same, I am saying that these are just emerging signs, it doesn’t mean that the economy will get worse,” said Khor. “The whole idea is to try to cool down the economy. The central bank should take that into consideration (moving rates) and the governor (of the central bank) is fully aware of this that there is a need.”

Khor presented AMRO’s second annual regional surveillance report on the ASEAN+3 Regional Economic Outlook (AREO) which assesses regional economic outlook and financial stability, and the discussion is part of the 51st Asian Development Bank briefings.

In the 2018 AREO report, it placed the country’s business and credit cycles in the “late” stage, along with Japan. The business cycles are in the “early,” “mid,” “late,” and “downturn.” According to Khor, most economies in the region are at mid-business cycles where output gap is small and there is stable inflation. In the credit cycle, credit growth in most economies is “slowing after the peak” or an above-trend growth, stimulated by policy actions.

The Philippines is among those economies with a slowing business and credit cycle, with Myanmar, Cambodia, China, Korea, Lao PDR, Malaysia and Singapore, however except for the Philippines, the rest on the list are in the “mid” cycle.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo, while appreciating the analysis behind the AMRO metrics for business and credit cycles, disagreed with the Philippines’ spot and belied symptoms of an overheating. Economies in the “late” listing indicates overheating concerns. Those in the “mid” cycles, in the meantime, would not require further policy stimulus to support growth such as most ASEAN countries plus Hong Kong.

“Supposed to be, when you are in the ‘late’ business cycle and you are slowing credit cycle, people would readily equate that with some overheating. That may not be true in the case of the Philippines,” Guinigundo said later after presentation. He was commentator to the AREO report.

Guinigundo said there is a higher demand for liquidity and even as credit continues to grow, and output growth “while maybe higher than average” – these numbers are still consistent with the potential output which the BSP assess is between 6.5 percent to seven percent. “It depends what kind of potential output AMRO has computed. In our case… it is still consistent with our computed potential output.”

“For us, we are not into an overheating mode,” he stressed. He cited the methodologies used by the Bank for International Settlements and the International Monetary Fund to further monitor evidence of overheating.

Khor emphasized the need for policymakers in the region to build policy space, especially in monetary policy, in view of a global tightening of financial conditions. “It’s time for authorities (BSP) to take measures to ensure (economy) does not get overheated. Doing a bit of tightening would make sure inflation will come back down.”

A chance of religiousness?

A CHANCE OF RELIGIOUSNESS?

One of the most important parts in my life is the belief in supernatural power which governs the universe. It doesn't matter which religion we belong to or believe in: the recognition of God as object of worship. The form of worship should be our primacy need.

During my stay in several Western countries, I experienced icy and conceited comments such as religiousness isn't popular any more. Religiousness makes people unwilling and morose because of exaggeration and sometimes even hypocrisy.

Increasing negative headlines about the "institutional church" nowadays and also in the past, and embarrassing comparisons lead only to discord. 

How comes? We want to see the religiosity of our fellow creatures. We want to understand their ideology. 

But we are also poking our nose into other people's business too much. Let's look behind the scenes and let's find out what religious behavior promotes: humility in actual life. Maybe. It's hard for us to do without affecting others. We even forget the real meaning of religiousness. St. John Crysostom subscribed the topic "Pagans and Christians" very well: "There would be no pagans if we were good Christians. But the pagans see us manifesting the same desires, pursuing the same objects - power and honor - as themselves, how can they admire Christianity?

They see our lives open to reproach and our souls worldly. We admire wealth equally with them and even more. How, then, can they believe? From miracles? But these are no longer wrought. From our conversion? It has become corrupt. From charity? Not a trace of it is anywhere seen. (Quotation "Winnowing Fan", Vol. XX, June 2003, S of G Foundation, Makati).

I am proud to have people in my surroundings who taught be how to be on the right track - unconcerned and unnoticed. Natural and uninhibited, they showed me how to put real religiousness into action besides praying and going regularly to church. I call such people religious. I mean it as praise because they don't like to blow their trumpets while a acting as Christians in our daily life. Having such people around us make it easier to practice forgiveness... .

I'll be back on air soon. It's Mango Radio 102.7 FM proudly broadcasting from Davao City and Zamboanga City. It's a mission-oriented radio station. I am blessed being together with all these wonderful religious people.

Best wishes and goodbye

My column in MINDANAO DAILY

When letters were the only form of written correspondence, signing off was obvious. Actually I am still  adopting that old tradition. No matter, if it comes to letters or emails. It's just a matter of respect and education.

If addressing a sir or madam, it was unambiguous. You concluded "yours faithfully". When writing to a specific person – for example, a Mr or (hey, ladies first!) – it was simple, your letter would always be signed off "yours sincerely". Only missives to family or close friends would ever finish with a "love from" or "with much love, yours".

For many people, there's a weird status thing when it comes to the more blunt you are in emails. I'm asking myself, why? An email is just a letter - an online one ... .

Sad to say,  the arrival of email has disrupted this etiquette, making the rules far less obvious. Indeed, for many of us there are no rules. A whole subculture of personalized email sign-offs has emerged everything from "TTFN" to "peace out". And of course, it’s not just what we say but why we say it. Neither in English nor in any other language. I get the same stuff in German written emails and even letters or text messages.

"Emails have become the medium of business, leisure, family, love and everything,” says children’s author Michael Rosen. When we sign off emails, we try to give off the "right vibe", he adds. He says it’s all about how we want to come across to the recipient. "Thoughtful, grateful or just very, very busy?" Oh sure, we are all so very, very busy... .

Some of the most successful business people are notoriously blunt in email communication – if they even bother with a sign-off at all.

"There's a weird status thing when it comes to the more blunt you are in emails, the more you can be (blunt) because you're senior in the company," says author Emma Gannon, recalling the editor of a famous newspaper whose response to pitches was often just a curt "yep" or "nope".

Although being succinct can convey a certain authority and status, it also communicates a dose of self-importance or arrogance. And we’ve all dealt with bosses who fire off email edicts of "is this done?" or "update me on that".

Even if they are not so direct, many emailers like to convey a sense of being busy by using or adapting abbreviations. So "kind regards" becomes "KR", or "yours" may do away with pesky vowels to leave "yrs". Heaven forbid!

"When someone signed off 'BR' for 'best regards', I just thought they were cold, brrr," says Gannon. And, in my opinion, sorry to say, I even don't reply anymore after receiving such correspondence. Oh sure, we are all busy, but there should be just a minimum of respect, if I communicate with someone. In business or personal. By letter, email or text message. 

Many times, there are those who pare it down to the absolute minimum, signing off with simply their name or even just the initial letter of their forename. Others might omit a sign off altogether. While this may come across as peremptory or rude, at least it avoids misinterpretation.

Nearly formal but not totally formal, but they're not as informal as 'CU in a MNT on bus OMW'. 

Some people swing the other way and end their emails with an altogether friendlier tone. While most would consider that kisses have no place in a business environment, they often creep into emails – and sometimes from people the recipient has never even met. For some, an "x" at the end of an email is a friendly endnote; for others it is totally inappropriate.

Even just calling someone by first name, is not the way how it should be in business.

What’s clear is that some British terms used to end emails just do not translate well. A casual "cheers" is frequently used as a sign off on UK emails, but can be utterly perplexing for other nationalities. Not surprising when a hearty "cheers" also can be used for clinking glasses at the pub, or to thank a checkout person at the supermarket. Here we have to deal with British and American English.

For author Michael Rosen, emails now occupy a halfway house between texts and letters.

"The key thing is that emails aren't the same as letters. I position them in my mind as a sort of halfway place between texts and hard copy letters: nearly formal but not totally formal, but they're not as informal as 'CU in a MNT on bus OMW'," says Rosen. I strongly agree with him.

And, he adds given their place in this ambiguous no-man’s land of communication, it follows that there will continue to be a whole raft of ways to say "goodbye".

Best wishes and goodbye.

Filipinos relieved by divorce ruling

Divorce obtained abroad by a Filipina married to a foreigner recognized by Philippine top court...

Image Credit: Istockphoto

Published: 17:23 April 25, 2018

Janice Ponce de Leon, Staff Reporter

 

Dubai: Divorce obtained abroad and initiated by Filipinos with foreign spouses will now be recognised in the Philippines in a landmark ruling by its Supreme Court.

The Philippines’ top court on Tuesday ruled in favour of Marelyn Tanedo Manalo, a Filipina divorced from her Japanese husband.

Manalo’s divorce was granted in Japan in 2011. Based on Philippine laws, however, a local court must recognise the ruling before it can be considered valid in the Philippines.

Divorce is legal around the world except in two nation-states — the Philippines and the Vatican. An absolute divorce bill is pending in congress.

Marriages in the Philippines can be dissolved in two ways: through a declaration of nullity or through annulment.

Attorney Barney Almazar, director of Gulf Law and counsel of some Filipinos seeking annulment and divorce in the UAE, said the ruling makes the process easier for Filipinos seeking recognition for their foreign divorce decree. But it is limited in scope.

“Once the foreign decree is recognised, the court will order the civil registrar to dissolve the marriage and annotate the marriage certificate accordingly. This process may take about a year but is definitely faster, cheaper and less complicated than annulment,” Almazar told Gulf News.

Manalo’s court proceedings ran for nearly seven years from the Regional Trial Court until it reached the Supreme Court (SC).

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Almazar noted, however, that the ruling does not apply to two Filipinos seeking divorce.

“Marriages between two Filipinos are not covered by this exemption. If the parties are both Filipinos, only annulment or declaration of nullity of marriage will dissolve the marriage. Divorce secured between two Filipinos will be valid worldwide except in the Philippines and the Vatican,” Almazar said.

“The parties to a divorce may find themselves in a peculiar situation where they have two marital statuses — married in the Philippines and single in the rest of the world,” he added.

Gulf News last week reported the case of Jun, a Filipino who got a divorce in the UAE but is still technically married in the Philippines. Their annulment proceedings have been ongoing for the past three years.

Jun earlier said he favours the divorce bill to be enacted as the annulment process takes a long time and has already burnt a hole in their pockets.

Prior to the SC ruling, only divorce secured by the foreign spouse will capacitate the Filipino partner to remarry. The latter can now remarry even if he or she was the initiator of the divorce, according to the ruling.

Boracay's final day sees ...

... mad rush to sell food, souvenirs

One more swim marks sentimental good-bye to the Philippine island’s talc beaches

Published: 22:08 April 25, 2018

Barbara Mae Dacanay, Correspondent

 

Manila: Restaurants and stores rushed to sell food and souvenir items. Tourists dipped for the last time into the blue sea. Others griped about the presence of Coast Guard vessels, Navy Seals, and police.

Boracay — its unforgettable white and talc-like beach drew two million tourists into central Philippines in 2017 — would be closed for environment rehabilitation for six months starting April 26.

“All I wanna say (about Boracay) stuck in my damn throat,” journalist and nature lover Teddy Montelibano said on his Facebook account.

In reaction to a well-guarded Boracay on the eve of its closure, lawyer Pilo Hilbay complained on Facebook: “The government acts as if they (tourists, local residents, business owners and resort workers) are the enemies.”

“We’ve been selling food at a discount before closing shop,” fast food worker Paula Padalhin told ABS-CBN, a TV network.

“Before Boracay’s closure, we cooked only six kilos of meat per day. In better times, we would cook 60 kilos of meat a day. We stopped serving expensive steaks and ribs. We just served Filipino food like sinigang (fish in sour soup); adobo (meat in vinegar and soy sauce); and sisig (sautéed pig head and liver with lemon and chili) — to finish our stock and recover losses,” Ronald Marquez, supervisor of Willy’s Rock Bar, said on TV.

“Before Boracay’s last day, beers and soft drinks were sold by volumes, if not given away, to staff members,” Marquez said.

“Boracay shirts were sold at 100 pesos (Dh7) each, from a 300-peso price tag. Tourists took home keepsakes before they said good-bye to Boracay.” Franco Dacillo of Island Souvenirs also said on TV.

“We are not saying goodbye. We are preparing for the new phase of Boracay. We are compliant, we are not worried,” Shirley Parcon, manager of Casa Pilar, told Gulf News in a phone interview. The 82-room boutique hotel on a one-hectare lot on Boracay’s Station Three — owned by former mayor Jose Yap, who served from 2010 to 2016 — would be vacant for six months.

“I’m happy. Our identification cards would allow residents to swim in Boracay while it’s totally closed to tourists,” Alina Sarvaez told Gulf News. She did not mind complaints about alleged fraud in the issuance of IDs.

“Boracay’s closure will mean loss of 1.96 billion pesos in six months. It will not affect the country’s GDP,” socio-economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said to allay fears.

But One Boracay, a group of stakeholders, calculated that 56 billion pesos in tourism revenues would be lost due to the tourist ban.

The government has released 2 billion pesos for salaries of 19,000 displaced resort workers, who will be hired to dismantle structures built on creeks, forest, watersheds and wetland areas, near and over the beach. “They will help solve Boracay’s two problems: flooding and environment degradation,” said Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu,

In February, Cimatu discussed with the Ayala Group, owner of Manila Water Company and its subsidiary, the Boracay Island Water Company, Inc. (a water concessionaire), to expand the latter’s waste water treatment services and solve Boracay’s problematic sewage system.

“Some 300 out of 800 establishments in Boracay were found dumping untreated waste water directly into the sea or canals. They were advised to connect to BIWC’s sewage treatment plant or construct their own wastewater treatment facilities,” said Cimatu, adding his department’s Pollution Adjudication Board will slap penalties to non-compliant companies. He did not reveal the government’s total outlay for the rehabilitation of Boracay’s bad sewage system.

On March 5, Duterte approved Boracay’s total closure, after calling it a cesspool in February. He announced transforming Boracay’s 1,000 hectares into land reform area; and rejected plans of Macau-based Galaxy Entertainment and its Filipino partner, Leisure and Resorts World Corp (LRWC), to build a $ 500-million casino-resort in Boracay.

In 2017, TripAdvisor ranked Boracay one of the world’s top 25. In 2012, Travel and Leisure magazine declared Boracay the world’s best beach island. Conde Nast Traveler has consistently praised Boracay.

Department of Tourism warns tourists against bogus travel agents

DOT warns tourists against bogus travel agents

Enlarge Photo

By Bing J. Jaleco 

MANILA, Philippines - DOT Secretary Wanda Teo said hundreds of thousands of Filipino tourists travel domestically during the summer period. 

With the summer season officially on in the Philippines, the Department of Tourism (DOT) reminded the public against bogus travel agencies, which usually offer “too-good-to-be-true” tour packages online. 

DOT Secretary Wanda Teo said hundreds of thousands of Filipino tourists travel domestically during the summer period. 

Based on DOT statistics, at least seven million Filipinos travel around the country between April and May, with Cebu as the top destination for locals. 

With this, Teo said, the public must be ‘WISE’ in their travel plans, an acronym for “Work out your travel plans; Identify tour and travel agencies; See tourism quality seal; and Engage accredited service providers only.” 

The DOT launched the ‘WISE’ campaign last year to help locals avoid being scammed by fake travel agencies that are prevalent on social media. 

“We are in close coordination with the DOT regional offices to make sure that the list of accredited establishment and services are updated and posted in strategic locations, such as airports, terminals, and ports for easy reference,” Teo said. 

She advised the public to verify the legitimacy of travel and tour companies by calling DOT regional offices, or by visiting DOT’s database online at www.accreditationonline.tourism.gov.ph. 

Teo said travellers can also judge the authenticity of the travel agency by checking the tourism quality seal displayed at their offices, websites, and social media accounts. 

She warned DOT-accredited travel agencies found to be involved in illegal activities would be stripped of their accreditation

Pacquiao wants Duterte at ringside

President Rodrigo Duterte raises the hand of Sen. Manny Pacquiao during a courtesy call at Malacañan in December 2016.

The STAR, File

Pacquiao wants Duterte at ringside for Matthysse fight

18SHARES101

Abac Cordero (philstar.com) - April 18, 2018 - 8:02pm

MANILA, Philippines – Manny Pacquiao wants President Duterte to be at ringside when the Filipino boxing icon challenges Argentina’s Lucas Matthysse on July 15 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

“If the President is not busy,” said Pacquiao in Wednesday’s press conference at the City of Dreams.

No sitting President has ever come to watch Pacquiao fight overseas, and Duterte, his close friend, could be the first.

“I want to invite him,” said Pacquiao.

The line was drawn heading to the July 15 title clash in Malaysia when Matthysse, who’s in the biggest fight of his career, said Pacquiao’s “time is over.”

But Pacquiao is not to be carried away, and in his business suit accorded the champion from Argentina a warm welcome.

During the customary staredown, in front of all the cameras, Pacquiao smiled at Matthysse.

Face to face, they sized each other up, with the WBA belt in between them. They shook hands afterwards.

On Thursday night, they will board the same plane that will take them to Kuala Lumpur for another press conference scheduled on Friday.

Then on Saturday, they fly back to Manila, and go separate ways. The next time they meet again will be on fight week.

Matthysse arrived in Manila Wednesday morning, joined by his manager and promoter, Mario Arano, Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez and PR director Ramiro Gonzalez.

“It was good. It was nice. It was a long trip obviously but it was nice. It’s the normal. I’m a little tired. But we were comfortable,” said Matthysse of the journey that took over 30 hours.

Matthysse said he knows little about the Philippines but came to the press conference in Barong.

“Out of respect,” he said.

“I don’t know too much about the Philippines. I know it’s a beautiful country. And the people have been so nice to me since I got here,” added Matthysse.

It was the first time, too, that he met Pacquiao face to face.

“I’ve seen many of his fights on TV. But I’ve never met him in person,” he said.

They're just getting to know each other.

Read more at https://www.philstar.com/sports/2018/04/18/1807206/pacquiao-wants-duterte-ringside-matthysse-fight#By6DoGUTokj7SVcx.99