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E-commerce seen to contribute P1.2 trillion to PHL economy by 2022

The e-commerce sector could contribute P1.2 trillion to the economy by 2022, representing 5.5% of the gross domestic product (GDP), according to the government’s new e-commerce roadmap.

This projection is double the 2020 baseline of P599 billion, or 3.4% of the GDP, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said at the online launch on Friday. The department also plans to double the number of e-commerce businesses.

“We hope to increase the number of e-commerce enterprises from 500,000 in 2020 to 750,000 by 2021 and one million by 2022,” he said.

To develop the roadmap, the department had conducted focus group discussions attended by organizations in the payment, logistics, platform, and government sectors.

The new roadmap updates the 2016-2022 version, which had aimed for the industry to make up 25% of the GDP by 2020, from 10% in 2015. The previous roadmap had targeted 100,000 micro, small, and medium sized enterprises to venture into e-commerce.

The Trade department said in a press conference that the methodologies used for the new targets have changed after refining definitions on what counts as e-commerce.

The 2022 roadmap has four key factors, including making e-commerce easy and quick, improving ease of doing business to improve market access, digitalizing businesses, and reducing logistics costs.

The increase in e-commerce use during the lockdown amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic last year, Mr. Lopez said, also resulted in an increase in consumer complaints. Consumers had turned to online shopping as health restrictions and public health anxiety lowered mall foot traffic.

The total number of complaints reached 15,967 for the year, Mr. Lopez said.

“For e-commerce to succeed, the government and private sector must install redress mechanisms that are far more efficient than what we have today,” he said.

“But we must also instill values and ethics in our citizens—both merchants and consumers alike—to serve as the foundation of trust in our country’s e-commerce.”

The Philippine Retailers Association had said that the sector’s sales are likely to remain around 20-30% below pre-pandemic levels this year as consumers continue to stay home and scale back spending.

Business name registrations with the Trade department in 2020 grew by its largest margin in a decade, reaching about 900,000 by mid-December, or 41% higher than the previous year.

Online retailer registrations jumped to 88,000 by the end of 2020 from around 1,700 in between January to March.

Cordillera goes under stricter quarantine in Feb.

Because of the increasing number of new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the area, provinces in the north-central part of Luzon will be placed under a stricter community quarantine, the presidential palace said on Friday.

This, after the Department of Health (DoH) flagged the rise of coronavirus cases in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), with the COVID-19 hospital bed utilization rate nearing “moderate-risk” level.

In a televised news briefing, Presidential Spokesman Harry L. Roque, Jr. said the entire region of the Cordillera will be placed under general community quarantine (GCQ) starting Feb. 1, joining Metro Manila and other cities with high rates of COVID-19 infections. The new quarantine classification is valid for the whole month of February.

The CAR is composed of Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Baguio City, Ifugao, Kalinga, and Mountain Province.

Other areas that will remain under GQC in February are Batangas, Davao Del Norte, Tacloban City, Davao City, and Iligan City.

The rest of the country, including Isabela and IloIlo which had been placed under GCQ in January, will be under the more lenient modified GCQ, Mr. Roque said.

At the same briefing, Trade chief Ramon M. Lopez said Metro Manila loses about P700 million in ungenerated wages “every day it is placed under GCQ.”

He said it is likely that restrictions in the capital region will be further relaxed by March if the coronavirus disease case numbers continue to decline.

Meanwhile, Philippine ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez said at a forum that the Philippine government was able to seal deals with three American drugmakers — Novavax, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson — for 30 million doses, 20 million doses, and six million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, respectively.

Case closed

Also on Friday, the DoH said the case of a Filipino domestic helper in Hong Kong who had been found to have a more contagious strain of COVID-19 is considered closed since all of her close contacts in the country have tested negative for the virus.

“All who have undergone genome sequencing have tested negative for the UK variant, that is why the case is closed already,” DoH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire told an online press briefing in mixed English and Filipino.

However, it is still unclear whether the Filipina contracted the virus in the Philippines or Hong Kong.

“It is still uncertain because we were not able to test everybody. We have not been able to test those who had been with her on the flight,” she said. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Gov’t loosens travel restrictions for inbound passengers

Malacanang on Friday said that the government’s task force against the coronavirus will relax travel curbs on foreigners coming from more than 30 countries that have detected cases of the more contagious British variant of the coronavirus starting Feb. 1.

Last year foreigners coming or transiting from countries with confirmed cases of the British coronavirus variant were barred from entering the country. The list, which includes the United States, China, Japan, and Australia, was expanded to more than 30 countries.

The new rules cover foreigners previously allowed to enter the country, including those holding work visas and spouses of Filipinos, Presidential Spokesman Harry L. Roque, Jr. said, adding that tourists would remain banned.

Mr. Roque said that starting Feb. 1, inbound passengers, regardless of their country of origin, “should have valid and existing visas at the time of entry” although those “qualified under the Balikbayan program under Republic Act No. 6768 or the Act Instituting the Balikbayan Program” are exempted.

Other conditions for entry into the country include pre-booked accommodations in a quarantine facility, and that the travellers have to take a COVID-19 test six days after arrival.

All inbound passengers still need to complete a 14-day quarantine.

Mr. Roque said the conditions were included in the newest resolution approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases on Thursday.

“The entry of these foreign nationals will be subject to the maximum capacity of inbound passengers at the port and date of entry,” he said.

Mr. Roque said the Bureau of Immigration has been directed to formulate the guidelines for the implementation of the new conditions. The new rules for foreign travelers will take effect on Feb. 1.

The health department confirmed this week that there has been domestic transmission of the British variant, which has infected 17 people so far, including a dozen in Mountain Province. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, with a report from Reuters

Health department reports 1,849 new COVID-19 cases

The Department of Health on Friday reported 1,849 new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases on Thursday, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 521,413.

The death toll rose by 48 to 10,600, while the number of recoveries increased by 177 to 475,756, the health department said in a bulletin.

There are 35,048 active cases, 2.9% of which are critical, 85% are mild, 9.5% did not show symptoms, 2.2% are severe, and 0.46 are considered “moderate.”

The health department said 11 case duplicates were removed from the total case count. Of these, six patients recovered.

The agency said eight labs were not able to submit their data to the COVID-19 Data Repository System (CDRS) on Jan. 28. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Baguio chief’s resignation as contact tracing czar rejected

Baguio Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong tendered his resignation as contact-tracing czar after he admitted having attended a party in a Baguio City hotel where some guests flouted COVID-19 health protocols, but his resignation was rejected by officials of the government’s taskforce against the coronavirus, Malacanang said on Friday.

“We confirm that Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong tendered his resignation as the government’s Tracing Czar,” presidential spokesperson Harry L. Roque, Jr. said in a statement.

“Mayor Magalong’s resignation, however, has not been accepted,” Mr. Roque said.

Mr. Magalong’s resignation came following his recent admission that he attended the birthday party of socialite Tim Yap at The Manor hotel in Baguio City where health protocols were violated. He also admitted that his wife, who attended the party with him, had also violated protocols by taking off her mask for a photo op with an actress.

Despite the controversy, Mr. Magalong still has the support and trust of the leadership of the task force leading the country’s pandemic response, said the Palace.

“He continues to enjoy the trust and confidence of the leadership of the National Task Force Against COVID-19,” Mr. Roque said.

“Moving forward, we trust that Mayor Magalong will continue to focus on his significant task of tracing those who have been exposed to the virus for proper processing and subsequent quarantine as we commit our support to him in his said colossal job,” Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo said in a statement on Friday.

“Local contact tracing efforts have greatly improved and have become more efficient following the architecture and methodology that Mayor Magalong designed based on his experience,” he added.

This is not the first time that government officials have faced a public uproar for apparently flouting quarantine rules. To recall, Philippine National Police chief Debold M. Sinas, who attended a birthday gathering or “mañanita” despite a ban on mass gatherings back when he was the police chief of Metro Manila, was publicly defended by President R. Duterte. He was later promoted to lead the PNP, known for arresting civilians for violations of quarantine rules. Both Mr. Roque and Mr. Panelo were seen singing karaoke in public at times when the rules disallowed public gatherings and health authorities had warned against public singing for being one way of spreading the coronavirus. Both said that they followed health protocols while singing. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

PHL says may benefit from any pivot to Asia by Biden administration

The Philippines may benefit if there is a renewed emphasis on Asia by the administration of US President Joe Biden, which could help act as a counterbalance to China in the region, Defence Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana said on Friday.

“Being one of America’s allies in the Indo-Asia Pacific region, the Philippines may benefit from the Biden administration’s anticipated pivot to Asia strategy,” Mr. Lorenzana said in a pre-recorded speech shown at an online forum organized by the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines.

A former US colony, the Philippines has long been a treaty ally of Washington, but ties have warmed with China and Russia since President Rodrigo R. Duterte took office in 2016 amid Beijing’s promises of billions of dollars of aid, loans, and investments.

The Philippines welcomed the prospect of a new era of relations with the United States, said Mr. Lorenzana, adding that the longstanding geopolitical rivalry between Washington and Beijing would continue to test the Philippines’ adeptness in balancing relations.

He said the Philippines must remain mindful of the role of the US “as the stabilizing force in the Indo-Pacific Region and a counterbalance to China.”

Maintaining a “stable international rules-based order” is in the best interest of all, Mr. Lorenzana said, adding that Manila would benefit from the US’ “pivot to Asia strategy” under the new administration.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that Washington stood with Southeast Asian nations resisting pressure from China, which claims 90% of the strategically important South China Sea.

China does not recognise a 2016 international arbitration decision invalidating its claims in the waterway, where there are overlapping claims with the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Taiwan.

After years of reclaiming land and building military strongholds in the South China Sea, China has passed a law allowing its coast guard to fire on foreign vessels, if necessary, to protect its claims. The Philippines has lodged a diplomatic protest against the legislation.

The move adds to tensions in the waterway after the United States sent a carrier group through the area to promote “freedom of the seas” last week, unnerving China.

“I’m afraid that we have to now be more circumspect in the way we handle our relationship with both countries. We don’t want to be caught in the middle,” said Philippine ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez in the same forum.

“Meanwhile, we will continue to reach out to new personalities, both in the Executive and Legislative branches – in order to forge a good, or even better, relationship with our long-standing and only military ally. The US Congress is now led by Democrats but we have friends from both sides of the political spectrum, and overall, the bilateral relationship remains in good shape,” Mr. Romualdez said.

Mr. Romualdez said the alliance will “stay the course” and continue to be strengthened as the Philippines and the US remain committed to working together on a range of issues, including countering terrorism and ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific.

“True to his campaign promise of reviving US alliances and partnerships. It’s early days and we ought to give the new US President time to reach out to more of his counterparts,” he said.

“In a few days, the ASEAN Committee in Washington D.C. will have its first meeting with a key member of the Biden administration. We will be speaking with the White House’s Indo-Pacific Coordinator, Dr. Kurt Campbell, who some of you may know during his time as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs,” Mr. Romualdez said.

Mr. Campbell, in his writings, has stressed the importance for a balance of power and an “allied coalition” to address territorial disputes involving China. — Reuters, Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Over 2,000 km of tourism roads completed – DPWH

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) on Friday reported the completion of a number of road projects which aim to improve access and connectivity to tourism gateways and trade corridors.

In a televised press briefing, DPWH Undersecretary Maria Catalina E. Cabral said a total of P120 billion was allocated from 2016 to 2021 for the construction, improvement, and upgrading of about 4,147 km of roads leading to declared tourism destinations.

She said 2,168 kilometers of these roads were completed as of September 2020.

Ms. Cabral said a total of P42 billion had been appropriated for the construction and upgrading of about 1,467 km of access roads leading to industries and trade corridors across the country from 2018 to 2021. As of September 2020, 533 kilometers were completed, she said.

At the same briefing, Ms. Cabral said a total of P38.6 billion was released from 2016 to 2020 for the construction of 3,859 kilometers of farm-to-market roads identified by the Department of Agriculture. As of September 2020, 1,778 km of these had been constructed and improved.

She said a total of P2.4 billion was released from 2016 to 2019 for the construction and improvement of 149.83 kilometers of farm-to-mill roads as identified by the Sugar Regulatory Administration, saying that 86 km of roads under the project were constructed and improved as of September 2020.

Meanwhile, a total of P11.6 billion had been allocated from 2016 to 2020 for the construction of 317 evacuation centers, she said. “As of Dec. 31, 2020, 170 evacuation centers were completed, 132 evacuation centers are on-going construction, and 15 evacuation centers are under pre-construction activities,” she said.

“As of Dec. 31, 2020, a total of 85 Regional Evacuation centers were utilized as quarantine facilities, capable of providing health monitoring and treatment to about 3,339 persons under investigation or persons under monitoring due to COVID-19,” she added.

The P4.5 trillion national budget for this year sets aside at least 1.1 trillion for infrastructure.

“Infrastructure development remains the best driver of economic growth. Now that we are starting to rebuild our communities, we lean on infrastructure buildup to jumpstart our economy. With it’s multiplying effect in terms of employment and inclusive growth, the government is strengthening the ‘Build Build Build’ program to revitalize the economy from the COVID-19 pandemic,” Ms. Cabral said. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

TUCP calls for wage subsidy in the wake of dismal GDP news

After Thursday’s announcement that the country experienced its worst economic decline since World War 2 last year, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) on Friday called on the government to provide a wage subsidy to workers.

In a statement released on Friday, TUCP President and Party-list Rep. Raymond C. Mendoza said, “We have long been urging the Government to get ahead of the recession and put into place wage subsidies for those who are struggling to stay afloat. A wage subsidy is urgently needed, as the economy has not bounced back as predicted by the economic managers.”

The Philippine Statistics Authority on Thursday said that the country has suffered its worst gross domestic product (GDP) contraction since the Second World War, with the Philippine economy contracting by 9.5% in 2020.

This was largely due to the ongoing widespread lockdowns which were first imposed in March last year. A very stringent community quarantine which restricted most economic activity except for essential services was imposed during the first few months of 2020 as a way of controlling the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

The country has had over half a million COVID-19 cases since the pandemic started last year.

Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said on Thursday that they are not expecting any wage hikes this year as most establishments have been badly affected by the pandemic, making them unlikely to be capable of paying a higher minimum wage to workers. — Gillian M. Cortez

BSP-approved foreign loans surged to $17.7 billion in 2020

THE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) approved $17.7 billion in foreign loans last year mainly meant to support the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and economic recovery programs.

The BSP said in a statement on Friday that last year’s total is 82.5% higher than the $9.7 billion approved by the Monetary Board in 2019. It attributed the increase to larger bond issuances and program loans last year.

The three bond issues approved by BSP last year amounted to $6.6 billion, surging 88.6% from $3.5 billion in 2019. Meanwhile, BSP-approved program loans surged by 435.7% to $7.5 billion from $1.4 billion.

The Monetary Board is mandated by the Constitution to approve all government foreign loans to be contracted or guaranteed.

In the fourth quarter alone, the BSP approved $4.2 billion in foreign borrowings that were meant to fund initiatives related to the pandemic and disaster risk management, as well as the government’s general operations.
This was higher by 7.7% compared to the $3.9 billion the central bank okayed in the previous quarter.

Bulk of approved loans in the quarter worth $2.8 billion were for the government’s general financing requirements.

Meanwhile, $700 million were program and project loans for the government’s pandemic response. Loans for disaster risk financing ($500 million), customs modernization ($88.3 million), and water transmission improvement ($126 million) were also cleared by the Monetary Board.

The country’s external debt stock rose 5.2% to $92 billion as of end-September from $87.5 billion as of June, latest BSP data showed.

Meanwhile, foreign borrowings jumped 94.5% year on year to P583.64 billion in the January to November 2020 period, based on latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury.

The government is looking to borrow $3 trillion this year to help the pandemic-hit economy recover after it logged its worst contraction on record in 2020. — L.W.T. Noble

Central bank awards P100 billion in 28-day bills

THE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) fully awarded P100 billion in short-term securities on Friday as the financial system remains flush with liquidity.

The BSP’s offer of 28-day bills was oversubscribed as tenders reached P150.9 billion. However, Friday’s bids were lower than the P162.8 billion in demand seen last week.

“The sustained robust demand for the BSP bills shows that financial system liquidity remains ample as cash demand continues to normalize,” BSP Deputy Governor Francisco G. Dakila, Jr. said in a statement.

The BSP has made full awards of its offer of 28-day bills for 18 consecutive auctions since it launched its weekly securities auctions in September.

Rates for the bills ranged from 1.6% to 1.63%, a slightly wider band than the 1.6285% to 1.645% logged a week earlier. This caused the average rate for the papers to settle at 1.6251%, slipping by 1.11 basis points (bps) from the 1.6362% logged on Jan. 22.

The 28-day securities and term deposits are among tools used by the central bank to gather excess liquidity in the financial system and to better guide short-term market interest rates.

“The 28-day BSP securities auction yield continued to ease after the latest contraction in GDP (gross domestic product) data, though with smaller contraction versus the previous quarter,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said.

The economy shrank by 8.3% in the fourth quarter of 2020, bringing the full-year decline to 9.5%, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed.

The central bank’s easing measures amid the crisis infused about P2 trillion in liquidity into the financial system last year, which is equivalent to about 10% of the GDP. — LWTN

DoF backs transfer of PDIC to central bank

THE Department of Finance (DoF) has signified its support for a proposal to transfer the state deposit insurer — its attached agency — to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Finance Undersecretary Bayani H. Agabin on Friday said the DoF backs the proposed transfer of Philippine Development Insurance Corp. (PDIC) to the central bank from the department, adding that the BSP and PDIC “work quite well” together.

The proposal is part of an unnumbered bill now pending at the House that seeks to amend the charter of the PDIC.

Mr. Agabin said the measure, if passed, would streamline the overlapping functions of the PDIC and the BSP.

“The activities of the PDIC are very well coordinated with that of the BSP… We believe it is better for PDIC to be attached with the BSP for policy and program coordination,” he said during a virtual committee hearing of the House Committee on Banks led by its chair Junie E. Cua.

BSP Managing Director Arifa A. Ala said in the same hearing that the proposed amendment of the PDIC charter “will strengthen the coordination between the BSP and the PDIC.”

In the same hearing, the committee also discussed giving the PDIC the power to adjust the deposit insurance limit based on inflation or other economic factors.

PDIC provides a maximum deposit insurance coverage of P500,000 per depositor per bank. — GMC

Peso up as Wall Street rebounds

THE PESO strengthened against the greenback on Friday as US stocks rebounded following sharp losses.

The local unit gained three centavos to close at P48.08 per dollar on Friday from its P48.11 finish the day prior, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines showed.

Week on week, the peso ended a tad higher than its P48.085 close on Jan. 22.

The peso opened the session at P48.07 a dollar, which was also its strongest showing for the day. It moved within a narrow range, with its worst showing for the day logged at just P48.085 against the greenback.

Dollars traded declined to $685.7 million from $1.188 billion on Thursday.

The peso gained versus the dollar following US stocks rebound overnight, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.99% or 300.75 points on Thursday while the S&P 500 rose 0.97% or 36.49 points to 3,787 on Thursday, Reuters reported. The rally was on the back of optimism caused by the earnings season which toned down fears caused by hedge funds selling long positions to cover shorts.

The US House Financial Services and Senate Banking Committees said on Thursday that they will have hearings to discuss the “Reddit rally” that put a charge into GameStop and other volatile stocks that were touted in an online forum. — LWTN with Reuters

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