No early relief seen for veggie price spike By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas
@jearcalas
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HE prices of vegetables in Metro Manila wet markets continue to increase, with certain crops being even more expensive than some meat products as the country grapples with supply issues. Government price monitoring reports showed that the average prices of vegetables have risen for one straight month after production areas were battered by weeks-long rains brought about by the Habagat (southwest monsoon) last month. The average price of cabbage has more than doubled to P220 per kilogram from P80 per kilogram recorded
last month. Cabbage prices now range from a low of P180 per kilogram to a high of P300 per kilogram. The average price of pechay (baguio) is now 233 percent higher than its previous month price level as it fetches between P150 and P270 per kilogram. In comparison, the price of a fullydressed whole chicken in Metro Manila wet markets ranges from P125 per kilogram to P170 per kilogram, reports showed. Carrot prices doubled to P140 per kilogram, eggplant is up by 75 percent to P100 per kilogram; while both squash and ampalaya prices rose by 25 percent month-on-month to P50 per kilogram and P100 per kilogram, respectively.
The average price of chayote is now at P70 per kilogram versus P40 per kilogram last month, while Baguio beans price increased by 25 percent to P100 per kilogram. Department of Agriculture (DA) officials attributed the price spikes to the adverse impact of Typhoon Fabian and monsoon rains to vegetable farms in Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Regions 2, 3, and 4A. In the CAR region alone—the country’s top source of highland vegetables—the estimated damage to vegetable production reached P80 million, DA CAR Regional Executive Director Cameron P. Odsey said. “The volume of vegetables being traded now in La Trinidad [trading
posts] is declining. Before the Habagat damage, which is up to early August, we were seeing volumes that are bound for Manila at 1,500 metric tons daily,” he told the BusinessMirror. “Then the volume being traded gradually decreased to 1,400 metric tons, 1,300 metric tons, and now we are seeing only 1,000 metric tons per day,” he added.
Till November, December
Consumers may have to endure the high prices for a little longer as highland vegetable supply may only recover in the latter part of November to early December, Odsey explained. Continued on A5
GOVT ’22 BORROWINGS
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Tuesday, August 24, 2021 Vol. 16 No. 314
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 30 pages |
CUT TO P2.5T FROM P3.1T See “Lockdowns,” A5
Members of the Pasig Rescue team measure cracks on Topaz Road in Barangay San Antonio in the Ortigas business district on Monday (August 23). The cracks, stretching around 50 meters, appeared following a severe thunderstorm on Sunday, but experts ruled out a direct hit by lightning or an earthquake fault’s movement as the cause. Mayor Vico Sotto’s office has tasked engineers to submit a report right away. Story on A5. ROY DOMINGO By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM
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YEING a smaller budget deficit, the government has set a smaller borrowing program for next year at P2.47 trillion, down by nearly a fifth from P3.07 trillion this year. Broken down, the government will be borrowing P1.91 trillion from domestic sources while the remaining P560.58 billion will come from external sources, 2022
budget documents showed. National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon told reporters that next year’s borrowing program is smaller due to the expected reduction in the
budget deficit. In its July meeting, the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) said it expects the national government’s budget deficit to go down to P1.67 trillion or 7.5 percent of the country’s GDP from the programmed P1.86 trillion this year or 9.3 percent of GDP. The government’s budget deficit stood at 3.4 percent of GDP or P660.2 billion in pre-pandemic 2019, and this has more than doubled to a record-high 7.6 percent of GDP or P1.37 trillion in 2020. The government expects the downtrend in the budget deficit starting 2022 as the rise in revenues
is expected to outpace the increase in disbursements. Interestingly, the 2022 budget document did not state if the government will once again borrow from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), as it did while shoring up funds for the Covid-19 pandemic response. However, De Leon clarified that they are not closing any doors, saying “it is still available.” “We did not say no more BSP borrowings. It depends,” she said. The last time the BSP extended a P540-billion short-term loan to the government was back in July. Continued on A5
Pay-hike bill targets 200K private HCWs By Samuel P. Medenilla
@sam_medenilla
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ROUND 200,000 private sector health-care workers (HCW) are expected to get better working conditions from the proposed legislation of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), which will upgrade their benefits so it will be on a par with those enjoyed by their public sector counterparts. Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III announced on Monday he will be endorsing the bill to Malacañang so it could be certified as urgent by President Duterte. DOL E c a me out w it h it s
“Since they have more earnings now that they have more patients, it is only fair that they....give the health-care workers in their sector the same benefits that health-care workers in the public sector are getting.” —Labor Sec. Bello
PESO exchange rates n US 50.4240
proposed bill, which specifically benefits entry-level private sector HCWs, after conducting stakeholder consultations. “Anytime now we are expected to submit our recommendation to the Cabinet assistance group for them to gather or collate all this recommendation regarding the proposed bill to improve the benefits of our health-care workers in the private sector,” Bello said in an online press briefing on Monday.
Benefits disparity
Currently, HCWs, particularly nurses, earn higher in government facilities than if they work in private companies.
DOLE noted an entry-level nurse in private institutions earns an average of P9,757 per month, which is lower compared to the P13,500 in government health facilities. The monthly pay for government nurse 1 position was adjusted last year and is now pegged at P22,316. Some HCW groups in private health-care facilities have recently threatened to hold a “medical lockdown” unless their demand to get similar benefits provided to public sector HCWs under the Bayanihan to Recover as one Act (Bayanihan 2) are also extended to them.
MANILA TRAILS ASEAN-5 PEERS IN SAFE CITIES INDEX, RANKS 51ST OF 60 By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
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E A K persona l and health security made Manila the least safe city compared to other Asean-5 cities included in the 2021 Safe Cities Index (SCI) released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (The EIU). Based on the data, Manila ranked 51st out of 60 cities in the 2021 SCI with an overall score of 52.5 out of 100. This is below the average score of 66.1 out of 100. In the Asean-5, Singapore ranked 3rd overall with a score of 80.7 of 100; Kuala Lumpur, 32nd and a score of 66.6; Bangkok, 43rd with a score of 60.2; Ho Chi Minh City, 45th with 58.5; and Jakarta, 46th, 56.4. “The pandemic is an immediate health challenge, but it has also created a potential turning point across every pillar of urban safety. A renewed, more holistic understanding of urban safety gives hope for cities that are not just more
secure, in every sense, but more sustainable and enjoyable places in which to live,” the EIU white paper stated. The index measures safety by looking at five pillars of security —digital security; health security; infrastructure security; personal security; and environmental security. Manila’s lowest score was 46.4 for personal security where it ranked 55th, tied with Bangkok. This pillar measures crime and terrorism as well as the government’s efforts to respond to them. In terms of health security, Manila scored 49.9 out of 100 but was ranked 54th out of 60 cities worldwide. The city’s score was higher in digital security where it scored 47.4 but ranked higher at 49th out of 60. Manila also ranked 52nd out of 60 in terms of infrastructure security where it scored 52.9 out of 100. The city’s best ranking was 41st for environmental security where it scored 65.9 out of 100. Continued on A5
See “Pay-hike,” A2
n japan 0.4594 n UK 68.6926 n HK 6.4726 n CHINA 7.7561 n singapore 37.0139 n australia 35.9170 n EU 58.9961 n SAUDI arabia 13.4457
Source: BSP (August 23, 2021)