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GMA Network
2 days ago
- Business
- GMA Network
PH debt surpasses P17 trillion in June 2025
The Philippine government's total outstanding debt surpassed the P17-trillion mark in June as the administration issued securities during the month, data released by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) on Wednesday showed. The total outstanding debt stood at $17.267 trillion as of end-June, up 2.1% from $16.918 trillion in May, and 11% higher than the $15.483 billion in June 2024. The BTr attributed the increase to 'strong investor demand for government securities,' with $11.950-trilion worth of domestic borrowings during the month—$886.478 billion in treasury bills, and $11.063 trillion in treasury bonds. 'This strategy is consistent with the government's goal to boost the local capital market while lowering foreign exchange risks and building investor trust in Philippine-issued securities,' the BTr said in an accompanying statement. External debt stood at $5.316 trillion, marking a 3.5% increase from the $5.138 trillion in the previous month. This includes $2.602 trillion in loans, and $2.714 trillion in external debt securities. 'The national government's prudent debt management approach strategy reflects the Marcos Jr. administration's commitment to safeguarding fiscal sustainability, supporting inclusive growth, and ensuring that every peso borrowed is used to build a stronger economy for the Filipino people,' the BTr said. — BM, GMA Integrated News
Scoop
18-07-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Trump 20% Tariff On Philippine Exports Hits Workers, Farmers Hardest
July 17, 2025 The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) condemns the July 9 unilateral 20 percent tariff imposed by the United States on imports from the Philippines as an act of economic coercion which will harm the poorest Filipinos the most. 'This unilateral punitive tariff is an act of coercion and humiliation against the Filipino people,' said ICHRP Chairperson Peter Murphy. 'This naked bullying is the economic mirror image of the US action in turning the Philippines into a massive military base for war with China. There is zero respect for the basic right to self-determination of the Filipino people.' While the 20 percent tariff is part of a global Trump attack on almost all trading partners, the US military concentration on the Philippines is part of a tighter US Indo-Pacific Strategy, aimed at assembling all possible military allies alongside US forces for a major war with China in the near future. The tariffs are bargaining chips in Trump's punishment of any country which has a trade surplus with the US or has tariffs on imports from the US. Trump is clearly willing to bargain with his target countries to gain access to more minerals, and to remove or reduce tariffs on US products, as he has achieved with Indonesia. All Philippine elites since 1946, including the Marcos Jr. administration, have facilitated US demands for unfair economic treatment. Trump stands out for the brutality of his approach and the crude terms he wants to impose. No more talk of 'free trade' of 'development' or 'partnership', just 'I want a deal'. With an August 1 deadline looming, the Marcos Jr. administration could theoretically 'do a deal' to cut the tariff back to the minimum 10 per cent rate by making other concessions to Trump. But what would be the cost? Duterte's Rice Tariffication Act demonstrated the danger of removing protections for Philippine industries. Both Duterte and Marcos promised to reduce the price of rice to 20 pesos (US$0.35) per kilogram, but even with massive rice imports the price ranges from 33 to 60 pesos per kilo, depending on quality. The daily minimum wage in Metro Manila is now just 695 pesos (US$12.14), having increased by a paltry 50 pesos on July 1. Rice farmers have been hit hard, and the situation for the people buying rice has become far worse. Masses of Filipinos are hungry. In 2024, the US trade deficit with the Philippines was just $5.29 billion. This is a tiny blip for the US, whose Gross Domestic Product in 2024 was just over $29,000 billion. And since US corporations dominate the export processing zones from which much of the product is exported to the US, the US profits from either a trade deficit or a trade surplus. Trump's trade policy is driven by anti-democratic 18th century theories of empire trade, which are really obsolete because in today's empires investment and finance are supreme. The US already massively dominates in global investment and finance. Trump's policies hurt poor and working class people everywhere, smashing corporate supply chains and sharply increasing the cost of all goods imported into the US. His policies can be defeated. ICHRP stands with Filipino peasants and farmers, and the Filipino people at large whose already poor standard of living is under real threat, and whose long-disregarded political and economic autonomy are being openly derided by Trump. The answer is not more traditional 'free trade' deals with other Global North countries – which have already damaged the livelihoods of Filipino farmers and workers. The answer is international solidarity with farmers and workers everywhere, including in the US, in common struggles to elevate wages for workers and livelihoods for farmers, to stop the attacks on migrant workers in the US and Europe, to stop the attacks on Filipinos across the world, to enable balanced industrialization in all countries, and to shut down the Indo-Pacific military build-up to war with China.
Filipino Times
04-07-2025
- Business
- Filipino Times
DMW shuts down Manila-based recruitment agency and travel consultancy over illegal hiring for Poland
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has shut down two firms in Manila—Reiven Air Travel Tours & Consultancy and Reliable Recruitment Corporation—for allegedly engaging in illegal recruitment of Filipinos for jobs in Poland. Reiven Air, a non-DMW licensed travel consultancy, partnered with Reliable, a licensed recruitment agency with no job orders for Poland. Their tie-up allegedly created the false impression of a legal recruitment operation. DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia, who led the operation, explained that the scheme—known as the 'kabit system'—involves unlicensed firms using licensed agencies as fronts. Applicants were lured with promises of jobs like fruit pickers and factory workers, with salaries of up to ₱90,000, in exchange for a ₱70,000 one-time, non-refundable fee. The closure operation, done in coordination with the Manila Police District, also led to the arrest of suspected recruiters. Both firms will face legal consequences, including the revocation of Reliable's license and inclusion of staff in the DMW's Derogatory List, barring them from future recruitment activities. This marks the 16th closure by DMW this year under the directive of President Marcos Jr., who called for stronger action against illegal recruitment to protect OFWs.
GMA Network
20-06-2025
- Politics
- GMA Network
Palace to Imee: San Juanico Bridge inspected only during Marcos admin
Malacañang on Friday underscored that it was only during the time of President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. that the San Juanico Bridge would undergo rehabilitation. At a press briefing, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro was asked for reaction to the statement of Senator Imee Marcos criticizing the supposed lapses in maintaining the bridge that connects the islands of Samar and Leyte. The senator even said perhaps she should have been the one who ran for President. Castro then said Imee has been a senator, so she should have known the budget of the previous administration for the San Juanico Bridge. ''Lumiliwanag po ba ang ambisyon ni Senator Imee Marcos? Well, anyway, naging senador po si mahal na Senadora Imee Marcos since 2019 at malamang po ay alam naman po niya ang naging budget ng dating administrasyon patungkol po dito sa San Juanico Bridge at apat na taon pong nagkaroon—kung hindi ako nagkakamali, apat na taon since 2018 up to 2022 ang administrasyong Duterte pero hindi nga po nagkaroon ng rehabilitation,'' she said. (Is the ambition of Senator Imee Marcos becoming clear? Anyway, Senator Imee became a senator in 2019 and for sure she knows the budget of the previous administration as regards the San Juanico Bridge and from 2018 to 2022, no rehabilitation was done.) Castro said it was only during the time of the Marcos administration that an inspection was conducted to check the state of the bridge. ''At dapat nga pong magpasalamat po tayo sa panahon po ngayon ni Pangulong Marcos Jr. dahil nang nagkaroon ng inspection, doon lamang po nakita ang lawak na po ng danyos at dapat na kailanganing i-repair sa San Juanico Bridge,'' Castro said. (We should be thankful since it's during the time of President Marcos Jr. that an inspection was done to know the extent of damage to the San Juanico Bridge.) ''Sa panahon lamang po ni Pangulong Marcos Jr. ito nagkaroon talaga nang malaliman na pag-i-inspect para po makita na maaaring ito po ay hindi na magandang daanan at dangerous na po sa mga lumalakbay gamit po ang San Juanico Bridge,'' she added. (It's only during the time of President Marcos Jr. that a thorough inspection was made to see if it is still safe for travelers.) The recent assessment raised concerns about San Juanico Bridge's structural integrity. It temporarily prohibited vehicles weighing more than three tons from crossing the 2.16-kilometer bridge. Marcos issued Proclamation No. 920, placing Eastern Visayas under a state of calamity for a year, to facilitate the repairs on the bridge. The President said the state of calamity took effect on June 5 and may be lifted earlier or extended depending on the circumstances.—LDF, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
20-06-2025
- Politics
- GMA Network
Sara Duterte to skip Marcos' SONA? Palace says it's her choice
Malacañang said Friday it is Vice President Sara Duterte's choice if she prefers not to attend the fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. next month. "Last year, hindi rin naman din po siya dumating. At sa ating pagkakaalam, siya po ay um-attend sa isang kasalan. So, kung hindi po siya a-attend ngayon, kahit siya po ay inimbita bilang Bise Presidente, again, choice niya po iyon," Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said in a briefing. (Last year, she also did not attend the SONA. She attended a wedding. So, if she will not attend the SONA this year, even if she's invited, that's her choice.) "At kung hindi niya po maririnig ang mga programa at kung ano po ang naging trabaho ng gobyerno at ni Pangulong Marcos Jr., hindi po na siguro natin kasalanan iyon. It's her choice," she added. (If she won't be able to hear the programs and the work done by the government and President Marcos Jr., that's not our fault. It's her choice.) Duterte will not be attending the fourth SONA of the President on July 28, House Secretary General Reginald Velasco revealed on Thursday. "We received this note [from her office] that she won't be attending this SONA," Velasco told reporters. Nonetheless, Velasco said the House remains prepared to receive the Vice President should she change her mind. He said that aside from a reserved seat, there will be a designated holding room for the Vice President and her immediate staff since she is considered as an institutional guest alongside heads of government agencies and justices of the Supreme Court. When she announced last year that she would not attend Marcos' third SONA, Duterte said she was appointing herself as the designated survivor. Marcos and Duterte were running mates in the 2022 national elections, campaigning on a message of unity across the country. Their relationship, however, has gone sour following investigations by the House of Representatives into the war on drugs under the administration of her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, as well as the handling of confidential funds by offices under her leadership. In June 2024, the Vice President announced her resignation as education secretary and as vice chairperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). She now faces an impeachment trial in the Senate, which is expected to begin after the 20th Congress opens in July. — VDV, GMA Integrated News
