APEC member economies could learn from
Philippines' financial system, says Central Bank official
(TAGAYTAY CITY, Cavite) The Philippines has a lot
to share in terms of best financial practices, with fellow member economies of
the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) if they want to emulate those
initiatives, Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo
said Friday.
"I think we have distinguished ourselves in
terms of undertaking initiatives in micro finance consumer protection and
inclusive financial system," Guinigundo said during a press conference
held at the Summit Ridge Hotel here following the two-day APEC Finance and
Central Bank Deputies’ Meeting.
The initiatives under this umbrella include the
tweaking of regulations to allow financial institutions to open up windows for
micro finance, he said.
He explained that micro finance allows micro
enterprises to borrow funds without collateral and without credit history,
although the amount of the loan may be limited.
Other countries could also examine the
Philippines' credit surety fund, which the Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas has
initiated. This is leveraging on the country's cooperatives that allows them to
borrow 10 times of their minimum P100,000 contribution, he said.
Under this set up, there is an oversight committee
composed of cooperatives themselves, the Land Bank of the Philippines, the
Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), the Industrial Guarantee Loan Fund,
and the local government units, he said, adding that more than P1 billion has
been granted under this framework.
The good combination of monetary policy and macro
prudential policy is also something that the Philippines can share, he said.
Guinigundo said that in some jurisdictions,
particularly in advanced economies, macro prudential measures are still in
their early stages of being considered, much less implemented.
In the Philippines, these macro prudential
measures serve as a means of ensuring financial stability in case of
sector-specific shocks, particularly in asset markets, such as real estate
properties, and at the same time on the conduct of monetary policy, he said.
The kind of financial reforms that the Philippines
has undertaken would also be a good example, Guinigundo said, noting that the Philippines
had implemented Basel III earlier than 2019 and it is moving quite prudently
across the various components of Basel III, first with capitalization, and
second with stable funding ratio, liquidity ratio, and others.
Basel III is a set of international banking
regulations developed by the Bank for International Settlements to promote
stability in the international financial system. The purpose of Basel III is to
reduce the ability of banks to damage the economy by taking on excess risk.
"This is being done in a sequential, very
prudent manner and this is also something that we like to share with
them," he said.
Participants of the APEC Finance and Central Bank
Deputies' Meeting wrapped up their two-day discussion held at the Taal Vista
Hotel here Friday, with meeting results to be included in the Cebu Action Plan
that will be launched in September. PND (as)
APEC member economies to create public private
partnership knowledge portal to speed up infrastructure investments
(TAGAYTAY CITY, Cavite) Member economies of the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) are gearing up to implement two
initiatives that aim to leverage private funds towards public private
partnership (PPP) projects, including the establishment of a regional PPP
knowledge management portal.
In a press briefing at the close of the two-day
APEC Finance and Central Bank Deputies’ Meeting here, Bangko Sentral Ng
Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo stressed that while many APEC
economies and emerging markets have excess savings, financing for
infrastructure development remains a problem.
“While we have the savings, we do not have a
sufficient number of bankable and credible infrastructure projects. If we are
able to provide the member countries with a sufficient number of projects that
are bankable, that which can be taken immediately, I think we would have a good
use for our excess savings,” he said.
Guinigundo said APEC finance and central bank
deputies explored alternatives for financing infrastructure, including
leveraging private funds to the PPP projects as well as the continuous
disposition of public funds to advance the cost of infrastructure development
in the region.
He said the creation of the PPP knowledge portal
hopes to address this problem, as this will provide basic information on the
opportunities in the region in terms of infrastructure development.
“It will provide the potential investors an idea
of where the opportunities arise and are available and the kind of financing
that is needed in the projects,” he added.
Guinigundo pointed out that some of the key
components of the portal have already been completed by the Philippines’ PPP
Center.
“What we want to do is also to link that knowledge
portal with other PPP portals. So you will have an APEC PPP portal,” he said.
Apart from this initiative, Guinigundo said the
Philippines is also pushing for “standardized” PPP contracts, considering the
differences in terms of legal framework across the APEC economies.
“But the idea was to provide some kind of
template, the key features of what a PPP contract should have. (This is) so
that we can uphold good governance in conducting those PPP projects and in the
process, encourage more interest in the PPP (program),” he said.
The BSP official said standardizing PPP contracts
would be very important in facilitating infrastructure investments.
“Both (initiatives) are short term, so these will
be done within one to two years. We will try to do these very quickly,” said
Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran. PNA (ldv)
Malacanang joins the world celebration of Women's
Day
Malacañang on Sunday joined in the celebration of
the Women’s Day held every 8th of March around the world.
“Nakikiisa ang pamahalaan sa buong mundo sa
pagdiriwang ng Pandaigdigang Araw ng Kababaihan. Kinikilala ng pamahalaan ang
mahalagang papel at kontribusyon ng kababaihan sa ating lipunan, ‘di lamang
bilang ilaw ng ating mga tahanan, kung hindi bilang isang matibay na haligi sa
patuloy na pag-angat ng ating ekonomiya,” said Presidential Communications
Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr., in a radio interview with
dzRB Radyo ng Bayan.
In 1990, Congress declared the month of March as
the Women’s Month through Republic Act 6949. The same law designated March 8
every year as National Women’s Day, which is a Working Special Holiday.
According to the Philippine Commission on Women, this
year’s theme is “Juana, Desisyon mo ay Mahalaga sa Kinabukasan ng Bawat Isa.
Ikaw Na!”
“Sa loob ng mahigit na apat na taon ng Aquino
administration, higit pang pinaigting ng pamahalaan ang pagpapatupad ng mga
programa na magsusulong ng malaya at bukas na pakikilahok at maayos na
pagkakatawan ng mga kababaihan sa lahat ng aspeto ng pagbabalangkas ng mga
desisyon at pambansang polisiya,” Coloma added.
In the 2014 Global Gender Gap Report conducted by
the World Economic Forum, the Philippines ranked 9th and the only country from
Asia out of 142 countries surveyed regarding gender equality and promotion of
women’s rights. PND (ag)
Government addressing concerns pending the
implementation of K-to12 program
The Cabinet cluster on education is currently
addressing concerns before the K-to-12 program is implemented in the academic
year 2016-2017, a Palace official said on Sunday.
In a radio interview with dzRB Radyo ng Bayan,
Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr.,
said the government is encouraging all stakeholders to have a dialogue with the
Cabinet cluster on education to discuss their concerns.
The Cabinet cluster on education is composed of
the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education and
Technical Education Skills Development Authority.
According to reports, many college teachers and
non-teaching personal will be affected by the K-to-12 program once implemented.
“The estimated numbers have since gone down to
around 8,000 during the first year of implementation on June 2016. DepEd will
be hiring around 30,000 and we will be prepared to prioritize those who choose
to apply to our senior high school program,” said Coloma.
He added that many private higher education
institutions are already preparing and have requested DepEd for a permit to
open a secondary high school that could further bring down the number of
affected faculty.
“There is also a proposal from CHED for a
stabilization fund which could be tapped by private higher education
institutions during the transition,” Coloma added.
Under the K-to-12 program, graduating fourth year
students will undergo an additional two more years in the “senior high school”
instead of proceeding to college.
“Kaya para mapunan ‘yung gap na ‘yon, ang
nakikitang alternatibo ay ang pagtatatag ng isang senior high school at doon
pwedeng magturo ang mga dating nagtuturo sa first two years ng college habang
ipinapatupad ang transition na ito,” said Coloma. PND (ag)
Malta's Prince concludes seven day official visit
to the Philippines
The Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Order
of Malta Fra’ Matthew Festing on Saturday night concluded his seven-day
official visit to the country.
Fra’ Festing boarded commercial plane Cathay
Pacific flight CX 902 bound for Hong Kong which left Manila at 7:55 p.m. He
will then proceed to a connecting flight to Rome, Italy for his trip to Europe.
There to bid him farewell were Vice President
Jejomar Binay, Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman, and Manila International
Airport Authority General Manager Jose Angel Honrado.
While in the Philippines Fra’ Festing made a
courtesy call on President Benigno S. Aquino III on March 3, where he also
presented a symbolic key representing Malta’s donation of 700 core shelters to
the Philippines.
On March 5, he visited Basey, Samar to check the
350 core shelters donated by his country. Basey was one of the towns reduced to
ruins by Typhoon Yolanda in November 2013. PND (ag)
