ECCP at Work

Palace says Marcos to review Konektadong Pinoy bill
Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. will be reviewing the Konektadong Pinoy bill, a priority measure for his administration, amid concerns raised by telecommunications companies over some of its provisions, according to the Palace.

Philippines improves to 51st in competitiveness, but still lags behind in Asia-Pacific
The Philippines saw its ranking move up one notch to 51st place out of 69 economies in this year’s World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY) released by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), but the country continued to lag behind its peers in Asia-Pacific.

DICT goal: All underserved barangays connected; internet costs cut
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is setting an ambitious goal of connecting all underserved barangays and slashing internet connectivity costs by up to 50 percent by 2028, as it intensifies efforts to close the Philippines' digital infrastructure gap.

DoF renews push for general tax amnesty bill
The Department of Finance (DoF) will renew its push for the passage of a general tax amnesty (GTA) bill in the incoming 20th Congress.

Mideast conflict, BSP review to drive sentiment
Philippine shares may move sideways this week as the market monitors developments in the Middle East and ahead of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) policy meeting on Thursday.

17 PCO execs dismissed
Seventeen officials of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) and other government information agencies were dismissed as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. continues the purge of his administration, sources told The Manila Times.

Philippines’ current account deficit doubled in Q1
Latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed the current account balance—the broadest measure of trade because it includes investments—swung to a deficit of $4.2 billion, equivalent to 3.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

Final price caps set for clean energy auction
The regulator released last Friday the Green Energy Auction Reserve prices for various clean energy projects: P5.68 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for rooftop solar and P4.4832 per kWh for ground-mounted solar, etc.

Consumer firms on investors’ radar in face of tariff war
Consumer-focused firms are top investment picks for the next 12 months due to strong domestic consumption, cooling inflation, and high dividends, according to First Metro and DBS.

BSP to cut rates by 25 bps — poll
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is widely expected to cut rates by 25 bps on June 19 due to easing inflation and slower growth, with inflation hitting a five-year low in May and GDP missing targets. Analysts see room for further cuts this year, though risks from global uncertainty and inflation remain.

Philippine mines set for gains amid uncertainty from Trump’s tariffs
The local mining sector is poised to gain from the uncertainty surrounding America’s sweeping tariffs. This, although the industry is on its toes for potential risks caused by global economic slowdowns and trade tensions.

Capital req’ts under SEC crypto guidelines may discourage small players
The new guidelines of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) might discourage smaller players due to steep capitalization requirements.

Palay harvest seen at record volume
The country’s palay harvest in the second quarter may hit a record 4.36 million metric tons, lifting total output in the first half to over nine million MT, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

Coconut exports deemed priority over biofuel — Axelum
Coconut product exports and domestic demand must take precedence before the government raises the coco-methyl ester (CME) content of biodiesel by 1 percentage point, Axelum Resources Corp. said.