...the PH internet freedom rank

Philippines ranks 11th in world internet freedom


Sun Star
Friday, October 4, 2013

THE Philippines ranked 11th in terms of internet freedom, according to a group's global assessment of internet freedom for 2013.

Freedom House's "Freedom on the Net 2013" gave the Philippines a "free" freedom-on-the-net status and a score of 25, though it fell slightly from last year's 23.

Iceland topped the list with a freedom score of 6, with Estonia second with 9. Germany and the United States were tied with 17.

Australia (18), France (20), Japan (22), Hungary and Italy (23 each) and United Kingdom (24) rounded out the top 10.

In Asia, the Philippines ranked second to Japan as the most free in the region. Japan had a score of 22.

In its profile on the Philippines, Freedom House said the Philippines had an internet penetration in 2012 of 36 percent, though no apps or social content was blocked.

However, it noted the Philippines passed the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, now suspended by the Supreme Court, allows authorities to block online content without a warrant.

It also facilitates government surveillance and punishes online libel with up to 12 years' imprisonment.

Also, it said eight bills had been filed in the Senate seeking regulation of online child pornography, gambling and phishing, "which could add to overbroad restrictions on cybercrime." (JK/Sunnex)

 

...the PH third major credit rating

Moody's gives Phl 3rd major investment grade rating

            

By Jovan Cerda

philstar.com

October 3, 2013

 

 

 

 

MANILA, Philippines - Moody's Investor's Service on Thursday upgraded the Philippines' credit rating to Baa3, becoming the last major credit rater to give the country an investment grade rating.

Moody's cited the sustainability of the country's robust economic performance, ongoing fiscal and debt consolidation, and political stability and improved governance as reasons for the upgrade. The rating comes with a positive outlook for the Philippines.

"In addition, the stability of the Philippines' funding conditions- during the recent bout of market volatility in emerging markets- points to the country's relative lack of vulnerability to external financial shocks, such as those arising from anticipated tapering by the (United States) Federal Reserve of its quantitative easing policy," the credit rater added.

Moody's likewise upgraded the government's foreign currency shelf rating to (P)Baa3 and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' liabilities have also been assigned a Baa3 rating and a positive outlook.

According to Moody's, "obligations rated Baa are judged to be medium-grade and subject to moderate credit risk and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics."

The Philippines was previously rated Ba1, the highest mark in the junk grade status.

Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, two major credit raters, have already given the country an investment grade rating.

“This is the 17th positive ratings action since President Aquino took office. We are now investment grade in all three major ratings agencies. Despite this, we are still among the most underrated countries since the market rates us at least two notches above investment grade. We will continue to work on strengthening and institutionalizing the reforms so we can sustain this beyond President Aquino's term," Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said.

Purisima added that in line with good governance initiatives, the government has instituted reforms at the Bureau of Customs that President Aquino described as a 'reset button' for the agency.

"We have appointed five new Deputy Commissioners for the Bureau who will be able to work from clean slates and build trust in an agency that has long been saddled by corruption.This and our other good governance reforms have been acknowledged not just by credit rating agencies, but by organizations such as the World Economic Forum, who ranked us 59th in the latest edition of the Global Competitiveness Report, a jump from 87th place in 2009," he said.
 

An investment grade status translates to lower debt interest payments, opening up more credit avenues and luring more foreign investments to the Philippines.

 

...the PH growth forecast (ADB)

ADB hikes Philippine growth forecast

            

By Jovan Cerda

philstar.com

October 2, 2013

 

 

 

 

MANILA, Philippines - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday upgraded its growth forecast for the Philippines, citing booming investment and consumption as key factors to the country's economic renaissance.

The multilateral financial institution revised its 2013 gross domestic product forecast for the Philippines from 6 percent in April to 7 percent. For 2014, growth was revised to 6.1 percent from the previous projection of 5.9 percent.

The Philippine economy grew by 6.8 percent last year and 7.6 percent in the first half of 2013, on the back of election spending, strong investment in construction and expansion in the services sector, ADB said.

"The economy is riding high on the back of hefty domestic demand and investment, low inflation and interest rates, buoyant remittance flows, and upbeat business sentiment,” ADB Country Director for the Philippines Neeraj Jain said.

He added, however, that the economic boom in the country is not translating to more jobs, as 3 million people are unemployed and 7.3 million are underemployed.

The bank said job generation in the past two years has fallen short of the official goal of adding 1 million new jobs a year.

"Services cannot absorb all job seekers, and with employment in manufacturing declining over the past two decades, there is pressure to reinvigorate the sector so more work can be created for semi- or unskilled workers," ADB said.

It added that the government needs to upgrade its infrastructure and improve governance, as well as create plans with the private sector to develop niche market industries in manufacturing and agribusiness.

"Looking ahead, the same drivers will continue to fuel economic activity, supported by the benign inflation and interest rate environment, ample liquidity and a rise in government spending. At the same time the authorities will need to keep a close eye on credit conditions with the possibility of a central bank tightening of monetary policy next year. Strong domestic demand and a weaker peso may put some upward pressure on inflation in 2014," ADB said.

It added that the Philippines is poised to weather the possible effects of the United States Federal Reserve's tapering of its quantitative easing policy, which will see an exodus of capital from emerging markets.

"The Philippines is well placed to withstand any volatility with its current account firmly in surplus and high foreign exchange reserves. Its external debt as a share of GDP is also on a downtrend and the banking sector is healthy, with strong capital adequacy ratios and low levels of non-performing loans," it said.

 

...the PH Q3 growth

Q3 GDP growth seen at over 7%

By Michelle V. Remo
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Tuesday, October 1st, 2013

 

 

The Philippines, which together with China registered the fastest growth in Asia in the first semester, is likely to have posted a growth rate of beyond 7 percent in the third quarter.

This was according to Arsenio Balisacan, director general of the National Economic and Development Authority, who said the combination of rising investments and strong household consumption helped maintain robust economic growth.

Balisacan said weaker-than-expected export revenues would drag growth, but the impact was likely outweighed by local investment and consumption spending.

The clash between government forces and members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in Zamboanga City also had an adverse economic effect, but Balisacan said the impact on growth would be minimal.

The Philippines last year became one of the fastest growing economies in Asia when its economy expanded by 6.8 percent year on year.

It then became the fastest growing economy in Asia, together with China, when it grew by 7.7 percent and 7.5 percent in the first and second quarters of this year, respectively.

The Philippine government’s official growth target for this year was set at a range of 6 to 7 percent.
With the domestic economy’s performance in the first half, economic officials said there was a good chance the target would be surpassed.

The government, however, acknowledged that the fast growth was yet to be felt by the majority of Filipinos.

Poverty incidence in the country, at 27.9 percent as of the first semester of 2012, was one of the highest in Asia and not a significant improvement from 28.6 percent in 2009.