Outgoing United States Embassy Chargé d’ Affaires John Law said he believes that there is nowhere to go but up for the security alliance and cooperation between the US and the Philippines. “I am confident that our security alliance and our cooperative partnership will continue to thrive in the years to come, and that our countries will grow ever more secure and prosperous. My optimism is rooted in something far more profound and lasting than our shared political and economic interests; it springs from the hearts of our two peoples,” Law said in a September 7 op-ed posted on the US Embassy website.
The peso is expected to be negatively affected by the looming rate adjustment in the US but the country’s robust foreign exchange reserves, among others, are expected to support the local currency. In his presentation during the budget hearing for the proposed 2022 national budget at the Senate on Wednesday, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno said economic managers have set a PHP48 to PHP53 range for the peso against a US dollar for this year. “While we expect some depreciation pressures on the peso from the eventual US Federal (Reserve) rate adjustment, structural foreign exchange flows and
President Rodrigo Duterte has slammed anew the alleged “politicking” of members of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee ahead of the 2022 national elections by nitpicking about his administration’s coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic response efforts. Duterte said the committee is conducting a series of hearings on the purchase of Covid-19 emergency supplies not to search for truth but to find fault with him and his administration. “Now, itong sa Blue Ribbon Committee, sa totoo lang, ang ginagawa niyo sa administration (honestly, what the Blue Ribbon Committee is doing to my administration), it’s really politicking,” he said in a taped Talk
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) ended Wednesday higher despite uncertainty amid the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), but the peso depreciated against the US dollar. The main equities gauge rose by 0.53 percent, or 36.68 points, to 6,949.39 points. All Shares followed with a jump of 0.25 percent, or 10.53 points, to 4,286.29 points. Most of the sectoral indexes also gained during the day with Services rising by 1.19 percent; Holding Firms, 0.62 percent; and Property, 0.51 percent. Both the Financials and Industrial indexes ended sideways with an increase of 0.03 percent. Only
The Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita (Kadiwa) initiatives have played a vital role in the efforts of the government to secure food for households especially during the pandemic in the Caraga Region. The Department of Agriculture-Caraga (DA-13) has recognized the contributions of Kadiwa initiatives particularly carried out by the different farmers’ associations and cooperatives in the area. “Amid the pandemic and community-wide lockdowns, hundreds of agri-fishery food suppliers served as front-liners who ensured that food is made available and accessible to communities,” the DA-13 said in a statement. Thousands of consumers in Caraga have availed essential food and products right
Mexico’s Supreme Court voted on Tuesday to decriminalize abortion, a historic vote in a Catholic-majority country. The high court unanimously voted to overturn several articles of a law of the northern state of Coahuila that establishes jail terms of up to three years for women who have illegal abortions. The court ruled penalizing abortion is unconstitutional. Although the ruling will affect only that state, it established a “mandatory criterion for all judges in the country” who must adopt the same decision if similar cases are brought to their attention, Supreme Court Chief Justice Arturo Zaldivar said. The decision sets a
