So much for sound fundamentals

Solita Collas-Monsod - @inquirerdotnet 06/19/2021

One realizes that our economic managers—nay, the whole administration—must always cast things in their most positive light. That’s part of the job. With the COVID-19 pandemic, this has become much more of a challenge. And the coming…

Why we are again the sick man of Asia

Solita Collas-Monsod - @inquirerdotnet 06/12/2021

Reader, look at any recent analysis of the economic performance of countries in the time of COVID-19, the World Bank’s, for example—and you will find, unambiguously, that the “economic performance across countries continues to depend on (i)…

DOF: COVID-19 vaccine loans only P58.5 billion

Ben O. de Vera - Reporter / @bendeveraINQ 03/21/2021

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Finance (DOF) on Sunday reiterated that multilateral loans in the pipeline to buy COVID-19 vaccines only amounted to $1.2 billion or about P58.5 billion to date, contrary to a senator’s erroneous…

PH ‘sinking deeper and deeper’ into debt

Ben O. de Vera - Reporter / @bendeveraINQ 02/06/2021

MANILA, Philippines — As presidential spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. wished rigor mortis on critics of the Duterte administration, the country’s economic managers scrambled to stop the economy itself from “sinking deeper and deeper” as President Duterte himself…

PH raises to $500M requested loan from WB for advance vaccine payments

Ben O. de Vera - Reporter / @bendeveraINQ 02/04/2021

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines has further raised to $500 million (about P24 billion) the loan it is requesting from the World Bank for coronavirus vaccines as more funds were needed to pay vaccine makers at least half in…

When gov’t ignores its own plan

Solita Collas-Monsod - @inquirerdotnet 12/12/2020

The World Bank launched earlier this week its Philippine Economic Update, entitled “Building a Resilient Recovery.” One of its key findings was that the country’s GDP will likely shrink by about 8.1 percent in 2020. That implies…

A P1.84-trillion loss—due to gov’t bungling

Solita Collas-Monsod - @inquirerdotnet 11/28/2020

What has the country lost to COVID-19? This column will not deal with the number of deaths (8,242), or the number of cases (424,297), or translate these into all sorts of indicators, like number of work days…

$4B in additional loans for COVID-19 response underway

Ben O. de Vera 08/28/2020

At least a dozen more loans worth a total of $4.02 billion (over P195 billion) will be secured by the Philippines this year and in 2021 to finance response to and recovery from the health and socioeconomic…

My new sunrise

Leonora Aquino-Gonzales - @inquirerdotnet 08/15/2020

On Aug. 1, 2019, I retired from the World Bank. I hate to admit it, but my work was my safe haven for close to 25 years. I could have stayed for five more years, so it…

World Bank OKs $100M loan for PH COVID-19 response

Neil Arwin Mercado 04/23/2020

MANILA, Philippines — The World Bank on Thursday said it has approved a $100 million loan to aid the Philippines in its fight against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The World Bank said the loan will be…

World Bank to roll out $160-billion emergency aid over 15 months

04/03/2020

UNITED States — The World Bank on Thursday approved the first steps in a plan to roll out $160 billion in emergency aid over 15 months to help countries deal with the impact of the global coronavirus…

Amid COVID-19 pandemic, World Bank sees PH economy growing 3% at best, contracting 0.5% at worst in 2020

Ben O. de Vera 03/31/2020

MANILA, Philippines — The COVID-19 pandemic will take its toll on economies across East Asia and the Pacific, and the Philippines was no exception given its reliance on tourism and trade, the World Bank said in a…

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