PH eyes VFA with Japan, more

EDCA sites for US

By David Santos, CNN Philippines
Published Nov 16, 2022

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 16) — The Philippine government will
review proposals to boost defense cooperation with long-time allies United States
and Japan.

This comes amid austerity measures in its military budget to finance the acquisition
of much-needed assets.

After the US and Australia, the Philippines is now eyeing a visiting forces agreement
(VFA) with Japan.

The 1987 Constitution bans foreign troops on Philippine soil unless covered by a
treaty.

Officials have said Manila and Tokyo should hold joint exercises to address common
security issues ranging from natural disasters to external threats.

"Japan and the Philippines would like to have a VFA in order for the Japanese troops
to conduct exercises in the Philippines," Department of Defense officer-in-charge
Jose Faustino Jr. said on Monday.

"Right now they cannot," he added. "They are just observers or we just have to
conduct HADR (humanitarian assistance disaster response) exercises."

Meanwhile, the United States is also eyeing to set up more temporary facilities under
the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). Under the 2014 agreement,
the US can build temporary structures for its troops and equipment storage.

The proposed additional locations are Zambales, Cagayan, Isabela, and Palawan —
all facing China, Taiwan, and the Korean Peninsula.

The agreed locations to store equipment and supply are Basa Air Base in
Pampanga, Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, Antonio Bautista Air Base in Palawan,
Benito Ebuen Air Base in Mactan, Cebu and Lumbia Airport in Cagayan de Oro.

Defense officials are consulting the Department of Foreign Affairs regarding the
proposals.

"We have to consider some constitutional provisions, some of our national laws
before we could go into that," Faustino said.
The Philippines is also upgrading its military arsenal deemed as among the most
modest in the region. It is set to deploy its first ground-based air defense system in
key areas.

The Air Force is counting on its FA-50 jets as its first layer of defense against air
intrusion.

"Ngayon, kung makalusot ‘yung ating threat sa ating mga fighter aircraft, nag-dog
fight sila tapos nakalusot, eto ngayon ang sasagot, ang magne-neutralize sa threat
na pumapasok para hindi nila masira ‘yung ating critical infrastructure," Air Force
chief Lt. Gen. Connor Anthony Canlas said.

[Translation: If the threat escapes our fighter aircrafts, this will block it. It will
neutralize the threat,so it cannot destroy our critical infrastructure.]

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier said it is crucial for the country's military to
continuously modernize.

However, given its limited fiscal space, Manila will have to rely on long-time allies to
make up for what it cannot afford for now.
Halted Kuwait deployment
may affect 47K first-time
DH
By Nestor Corrales, Philippine Daily Inquirer
Published February 10, 2023

The government’s decision on Wednesday to ban the deployment of first-time

domestic helpers to Kuwait would affect about 47,000 overseas Filipino workers
(OFWs), the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said.

The agency arrived at the estimate based on the number of Filipino domestic helpers
that went to work in Kuwait in 2022, according to Undersecretary Hans Leo Cacdac.

Speaking at the Laging Handa press briefing on Thursday, Cacdac said the
temporary ban would hold until the Philippine government had seen “reforms” for the
stronger protection of OFWs in the Gulf state, following the killing of domestic helper
Jullebee Ranara last month.

Ranara, 34, was reportedly also raped, her body burned and buried in the Al Salmi
desert, by her employer’s 17-year-old son, who was later arrested.

Cacdac said the deployment ban was applied to first-time OFWs because they were
considered “most vulnerable” to abuse and had more difficulty in adjusting to their
new environment.

“We will not allow them to go to Kuwait until we are assured of tighter protections,
stronger provisions of the standard employment contract,” he said, adding that the
DMW would make sure only legitimate recruitment agencies would send migrant
workers to that country.

The government would like to see steps being taken for a more “effective monitoring”
of the OFWs’ well-being, like orientation campaigns or seminars for both workers
and employers in Kuwait “so that they can better understand our culture, customs”
and “reduce misunderstandings.”

“These are parts of the reforms we expect to have before we can lift this deferment
of (OFW deployment),” he added.
91% of PH workers
believe internet
infrastructure needs to
improve faster - survey
By Gelo Gonzales, Rappler.com
Published April 21, 2022

MANILA, Philippines – A recent survey by multinational IT firm Cisco found that 91%
of the Filipino workers they surveyed believed that faster or more dramatic
improvements to internet infrastructure are needed to meet demands from citizens.
The same percentage of respondents also think the improvements are needed if
they are to be fully supported working from home, while in public places, or on the
move.
The numbers come from Cisco’s Broadband Index 2022: Workforce Insights on
Access to Internet Services, in which the firm surveyed almost 60,000 workers
globally across 30 markets about their home broadband access, quality and usage,
and attitudes on how universal access to the internet could benefit economic and
societal growth. 
The study was completed in December 2021, with respondents composed of those
who either work “full-time remotely; full-time in an office; hybrid, between home and
the office; or on the frontline.” The specific number of respondents per country was
not provided. 
Notably, the percentage of those wanting faster internet improvements appears to be
higher in the Philippines (91%) than the global average of about 75%. For further
comparison, in Southeast Asia, that percentage is 78% in Singapore, 81% in
Malaysia, 83% in Vietnam, 86% in Indonesia, and 87% in Thailand. At least
according to this survey, Filipinos are among those clamoring the loudest for
accelerated improvements to internet access. 
The study added, “With almost half (48%) of workers [surveyed in the Philippines]
revealing they use their domestic Internet connection to work from home or run a
business, demand for better connectivity everywhere is unlikely to waver.” 
Here are other key findings from the survey: 
 75% of workers state three or more people in their households are are
simultaneously active online throughout the day, for an average of 10 hours per
household. 
 In terms of future Internet usage, 28% expect their household to be online more or
the same amount during the 12 months ahead.
Also in the 12 months ahead, 22% expect internet services to be used less than
they currently do, but not like it was before the pandemic.
 43% expect changes as their household returns to the office or back to school.
 52% say they will seek to upgrade their home Internet service in the year to come,
with 22% indicating they won’t upgrade because it’s too expensive to do so.
Pricing is also believed to be a concern among respondents. “A large majority (78%)
of professionals in the Philippines feel access to affordable and reliable broadband
will become a major issue for people. Respondents believe this is a particular
problem for low-income families, with 87% saying the high cost of broadband is
pricing those households out of connecting.”
“More than 9 in 10 (92%) say fast, reliable connectivity is crucial for economic growth
in the Philippines; a further 90% say it is the basis of developing a well-educated and
informed population.”
Major providers such as PLDT and Globe have regularly updated the public on the
improvements they are rolling out, and issues such as right-of-way and permit
processes that could slow down deployment. Internet speed has also seen
considerable improvements recently, at least according to one analytics firm, Ookla.
 
Despite these, the working sector – specifically those relying on the internet to make
a living  – has expressed a desire for even faster improvements to internet
infrastructure, and a belief that pricing has to become more affordable to allow more
Filipinos to be able to connect to the internet reliably.
Government sees inflation's
peak as it misses target for
second straight year
By Ramon Royandoyan - Philstar.com
Published January 5, 2023 
MANILA, Philippines — Inflation accelerated to its fastest pace in 14 years in
December, with the national government missing its annual target for the second
straight year amid a supply-demand imbalance that has stoked painfully high price
growth.
Inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, quickened to 8.1% year-on-year
in December, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported Thursday. Data showed this
was the fastest reading since November 2008.
For the entire 2022, inflation averaged 5.8%, way above the Bangko Sentral ng
Pilipinas’ 2-4% target for this year. This means BSP Governor Felipe Medalla would
have to explain to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who took office in June last year,
why the inflation target was not met.
At the start of its term, the Marcos Jr. administration projected inflation would settle
between 4.5-5.5% this year. But supply chain issues, expensive fuel prices, and a
weak peso caused more problems than the government had thought they would.
Economic managers later revised their annual inflation forecast to 5.8% in their year-
end briefing. 
Core inflation, computed without volatile items such as fuel and food, rose to 6.9%
year-on-year in December. 
Food prices were largely responsible for the uptick in December, peak spending
season as Filipinos welcomed the holidays. National statisticians saw increases in
the prices of vegetables (32.4%), rice (3.4%), and fruits and nuts (7.6%). 
The BSP, which aggressively hiked interest rates this year to temper resurgent
demand and bring it in line with limited supply, projected inflation would peak in
December. Likewise, the BSP expects inflation to slow down beginning in 2023.
Domini Velasquez, chief economist at China Banking Corp., said that while inflation
likely peaked in December, "we are not out of the woods yet".
"In 2023, we expect inflation to breach the BSP’s target yet again, possibly higher
than 5.0%. Key domestic risks are higher electricity and water tariffs, continued
higher prices for food, and calls for wage and transport fare increases," Velasquez
said.
"On the international front, oil prices will likely not fall as initially expected as China’s
reopening will drive up demand for the commodity," she added.
BSP to stay hawkish?
National statistician Claire Dennis Mapa told journalists that the uptrend in food
prices, especially vegetables, was due to typhoons that battered various parts of the
country amid the monsoon season.
The inflation of vegetable prices averaged 7.8% in 2022. In December alone,
vegetable inflation jumped 32.4% year-on-year, the highest since February 1999
when it hit 44%. The price of red onion, a staple vegetable that has proven to be
more expensive by the day, increased in the weeks leading to December, according
to the PSA’s monitoring.
Rice prices could see increases in the coming months as well. Regular rice, which
cost P38 in 2021, rose to an average of P40 in 2022.
Even Noche Buena fixtures, such as ham (14.4%) and fruit cocktail (9.4%), saw
prices shoot up in December.
The Marcos Jr. administration would need to mount a heftier policy response to
inflation. Citing market force as largely responsible for the uptrend for most of the
year, core inflation averaged 3.9% in 2022, an increase from the 3% average
recorded in the preceding year. In 2019, this stood at 3.4%.
But analysts like Nicholas Antonio Mapa, senior economist at ING Bank in Manila,
expect inflation to slow down this year.
“Storm damage to crops may have helped fan price pressures for basic food items
but elevated transport and utility costs for nearly a year may have also contributed to
price pressures spreading across the CPI basket.  Meanwhile, resurgent demand
reflected in the stronger-than-expected GDP growth, fanned inflation even further
with notable increases in inflation for the services sector,” he said in an emailed
commentary.
The ING economist expects the BSP to keep a hawkish stance in the coming
months.
Mapa also expects the BSP to match the US Federal Reserve’s moves to tame
inflation. Experts everywhere expect the global economy to land face first into a
recession in 2023, due in part to interest rate hikes by central banks.
“However, once the Fed carries out its much-anticipated ‘pivot’ we believe Governor
Medalla could consider a pause of his own as policy rates are currently already in
restrictive territory,” he added.
 Rubrik sa Paggawa ng Power Point Presentation
Pamantayan 10-7 6-4 3-1
Nilalaman Malinaw na nailahad May kakulangan sa Maraming hindi
ang mga detalye o paglalahad ng mga nailahad na mga
kaisipan at walang ideya o kaisipan at ideya o kaisipan sa
naiwang paksa. may mangilan-ngilang presentasyon.
naiwan na paksa.
Biswal/Imahe Napakahusay at Mahusay subalit may Hindi angkop ang
angkop ang mga mga imaheng hindi mga imahe sa
imahe sa maunawaan ang presentasyon sa
presentasyon nang kaugnayan nito sa paksang
maiugnay sa paksang tinatalakay. tinatalakay.
paksang tinatalakay.
Rubrik sa Pag-uulat
Paglalahad Maayos at angkop Hindi gaanong May kalabuan ang
ang ginawang maayos at angkop ginawang
paglahad. ang ginawang paglahad.
paglahad.
Kabuuan

Rubrik sa Paggawa ng Power Point Presentation

Pamantayan 10-7 6-4 3-1
Nilalaman Malinaw na nailahad May kakulangan sa Maraming hindi
ang mga detalye o paglalahad ng mga nailahad na mga
kaisipan at walang ideya o kaisipan at ideya o kaisipan sa
naiwang paksa. may mangilan-ngilang presentasyon.
naiwan na paksa.
Biswal/Imahe Napakahusay at Mahusay subalit may Hindi angkop ang
angkop ang mga mga imaheng hindi mga imahe sa
imahe sa maunawaan ang presentasyon sa
presentasyon nang kaugnayan nito sa paksang
maiugnay sa paksang tinatalakay. tinatalakay.
paksang tinatalakay.
Rubrik sa Pag-uulat
Paglalahad Maayos at angkop Hindi gaanong May kalabuan ang
ang ginawang maayos at angkop ginawang
paglahad. ang ginawang paglahad.
paglahad.
Kabuuan