Julito G. Rada

Farmers want Diokno, Balisacan fired over rice tariff cuts

September 15, 2023
Farmers groups on Friday called for the resignation of Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan for their support for moves to cut tariff rates on rice imports from 35 percent to 10 percent. “Today, we stand together to oppose, in the strongest terms, the efforts of Secretaries […]
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International organization sees Philippines growing 5.9% in 2023

September 12, 2023
The Philippine economy will likely post a slower growth of 5.9 percent in 2023, compared to the 46-year high of 7.6 percent in 2022 amid weaker external demand, the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) said Tuesday. AMRO, an international organization that carries out macroeconomic surveillance in the ASEAN+3 region and is composed of the 10 […]
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Diokno, economists in favor of Balisacan taking over Agri post

September 11, 2023
Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno and private sector economists are in favor of seeing National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan lead the Department of Agriculture. Diokno, the head of the economic team, said it was a “sound proposal.” “He [Balisacan] has heard it many times, and Arsi’s undergrad degree is in Agriculture Economics,” […]
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Unemployment rate lower than last year, higher than in June

September 8, 2023
The country’s unemployment rate in July 2023 fell to 4.8 percent from 5.2 percent a year ago as the economy continues to reopen, resulting in more economic activities, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Friday. National statistician and civil registrar general Dennis Mapa said in an online briefing that the July 2023 jobless rate was, however, […]
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Inflation rises to 5.3% on higher rice, food, beverage prices—PSA

September 5, 2023
The rate of inflation rose to a two-month high of 5.3 percent in August after dropping for the last six months, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Tuesday, blaming higher prices of food — particularly rice — and non-alcoholic beverages for the increase. National Statistician and Civil Registrar General Dennis Mapa said in an online […]
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P1.42 trillion eyed for infrastructure under ‘24 budget

September 5, 2023
The government is allocating a bigger P1.42-trillion budget for infrastructure development under the 2024 National Expenditure Program in a bid to spur higher economic growth, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandman said. In a statement Tuesday, she said the amount is 6.6 percent higher than the P1.33 trillion allotted for this year. “To create more jobs and […]
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