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By Luis Leoncio  Economic managers bared over the weekend a P3.767-trillion budget for next year, which is equivalent to 21.6 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and represents a 12.4-percent increase from the P3.350-trillion allocation this year. 

Despite President Duterte’s decision to reject European Union (EU) grants and aid with conditions involving governance, the EU continues to offer financial assistance to the country. 

Merchandise export receipts in April increased 12.1 percent year on year to $4.8 billion from $4.28 billion, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed. 

Budget watchdog Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) said President Duterte and his economic managers are resorting to the previous administrations’ economic growth mantra of using “capacity to pay” as a measure of debt sustainability and economic soundness. 

The value of registered investments for the first five months of the year grew 25 percent compared with the same period in 2016, or from P137.3 billion to P174.5 billion, Trade Secretary and Board of Investments (BOI) Chairman Ramon Lopez said.

China and the Philippines celebrated its 42nd year of diplomatic ties last June 9 which showed the close neighbors, separated only by a strip of water and sharing both blood and cultural connections, have strong bonds despite some irritants. 

Switzerland has urged the Philippines to ratify the free trade agreement (FTA) with European Free Trade Association (Efta) to make the deal enforceable. 

The Filipino-Chinese community in Baguio City celebrated the friendship day of both nations last June 9 with a gift-giving activity and the donation of the development at the Fil-Chi Friendship Park of the Botanical Garden. 

By Riza Lozada  Economic experts do not see the martial-law declaration in Mindanao and the Resorts World Manila (RWM) tragedy to have a lingering effect on the economy, as the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) maintained its projected growth forecasts for this year and next, given the Philippines’ strong economic fundamentals. 

Bigger gains in the country’s competitiveness can be achieved by assuring strategic infrastructure investment, enhanced market competition and a simple and progressive tax regime, according to the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) Policy Center after the 2017 World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY) showed the Philippines rose a notch on the list, from 42nd out of 63 economies last year to 41st.