PHILIPPINES
Analyst
Diwa Guinigundo
Former Central Bank Deputy GovernorDatabanks
Recent Country Insights
National Budget for 2025: more than a zero-sum game
PHILIPPINES · Report · 31 Dec 2024
The Philippines’ P6.3 trillion national budget for 2025 may not succeed in delivering on the lofty social goals enunciated by President Marcos in his July 2024 State of the Nation Address for 2025. The allocations involving some realignment disfavored the priority sectors of education, health and...
Beating inflation: Doing beyond the usual stuff
PHILIPPINES · In Brief · 30 Dec 2024
During the weekend, the Philippines’ central bank, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) announced that the December inflation rate could have tipped the scale at 2.3% -3.1%, well within the 2%-4% target. If inflation hits the mid-point of this forecast at 2.7%, the actual whole-year inflation ra...
BSP's Less Restrictive Monetary Policy to Remain Data-Driven
PHILIPPINES · In Brief · 20 Dec 2024
As we indicated in two broadcast interviews on the next move of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) the other day, the Philippines’ monetary authority was likely to sustain its less restrictive monetary policy. And yesterday, the BSP adhered to such monetary stance and reduced by 25 basis point...
In bad need of a fuse
PHILIPPINES · Report · 19 Dec 2024
With the impeachment complaints having been filed against the Philippines' Vice President Sara Duterte, it is expected of Congress, in exercising its power of impeachment, to investigate the issues of public concern not only because the matters in question put forward involve issues of governance...
Political noise and its more serious impact
PHILIPPINES · In Brief · 29 Nov 2024
It started with unity, and it might as well end up in one single stroke to rock the Philippine economy. The political situation in the Philippines seems to be getting more explosive from an economic standpoint. Indeed, the unity team of President Bongbong Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte wa...
Trump win: Philippines' gain or loss?
PHILIPPINES · Report · 25 Nov 2024
On November 5, 2024, the United States held its 60th quadrennial presidential election, with Donald Trump emerging as the 47th US president by a decisive majority. Trump, together with his vice president, JD Vance, are scheduled to be inaugurated on January 20, 2025. With a change in the ruling p...
The War on Drugs: Did Duterte testify against himself?
PHILIPPINES · Report · 04 Nov 2024
As a cornerstone of his presidential campaign, former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, in his inaugural address on June 30, 2016, vowed to exert relentless and sustained efforts in the campaign against drugs and criminality. This appeared to be his priority as he delegated the formulation o...
Challenges in going digital while future-proofing banknotes
PHILIPPINES · Report · 28 Oct 2024
Working for greater digitalization, the BSP initiated the formulation and implementation of key policies and regulations, including the creation of the National Payment Retail System as well as the establishment of automated clearing houses (ACH), namely, InstaPay and PESONET, electronic fund tra...
Another weather devastation hits Manila
PHILIPPINES · In Brief · 26 Oct 2024
Despite the government of President Bongbong Marcos spending about half a trillion pesos for flood control projects in just over two years, and there are about 5,000 of them, nothing seems to have come out of such massive public spending. Those projects were nothing to tropical storm Kristine, wi...