Wealth of PH’s 50 richest rises to $80 billion

THE combined wealth of tycoons in the Philippines’ 50 Richest list of Forbes magazine rose by 11 percent to $80 billion this year from $72 billion in 2022.

Forbes said the increase in their combined wealth happened as the Philippine economy marked two years of continuous expansion since the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than half of those on the list are wealthier this year.

The children of the late tycoon Henry Sy retained the top spot: the net worth of Teresita Sy Coson, Henry Sy Jr., and Hans, Herbert and Harley grew by $1.8 billion to $14.4 billion.

The SM empire's share also "jumped 19 percent from a year ago amid a rebound in consumer spending," Forbes said.

Real estate tycoon and former Senator Manuel Villar was second-richest with a net worth of $9.7 billion on the back of a resilient housing market.

Ports magnate Enrique Razon remained at the third spot as his wealth grew to $8.1 billion.

Forbes said Razon's shares in his International Container Terminal Services increased 24 percent from 2022 due to improvements in supply chains.

San Miguel Corporation president Ramon Ang climbed five spots to the fourth place with a near 40-percent hike to $3.4 billion.

In the fifth spot was Jollibee's Tony Tan Caktiong, whose net worth grew to $3.2 billion.

Boulevard, the CCP Complex were once under water."

"But due to ecological impact it creates, which could ripple inland if it causes a dam effect that could seasonally flood low lying communities, reclamation project is held to a higher bar of standards and compliance," Recto added.

As this developed, the Senate is looking into the possibility of allocating confidential intelligence funds to the Philippine Coast Guard.

"We have an open mind in granting PCG CIF (confidential and intelligence funds) up to a reasonable amount," Senator Koko Pimentel said.

"We will bring this up during the budget deliberations," he added. PCG spokesperson for the National Task Force-West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela said the PCG's intelligence fund has been limited to only P10 million since 2009.

"With what is happening right now in the West Philippine Sea, with the magnitude of the function of the Coast Guard, not to mention the maritime safety, and maritime environmental protection, it is important for the Philippine Coast Guard to receive a larger intelligence fund to support our operations," Tarriela said.

of the House committee on appropriations, vowed to comply with Romualdez's directive to speed up the approval of the budget.

Co said his committee will judiciously deliberate on the money measure, citing "the pivotal responsibility” it holds.

The P5.768-trillion proposed budget is equivalent to 21.7 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and is 9.5 percent higher than the 2023 national budget of P5.268 trillion.

Diokno updated the lawmakers on the government’s fiscal and revenue collection performances and presented sources of funding for the national budget.

The Secretary thanked the House for passing their versions of the priority reforms such as excise tax on single-use plastics (SUPs), Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act (PIFITA), Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform (RPVAR), value-added tax (VAT) on digital service providers, and ease of paying taxes.

He said tax revenue is projected to increase from P3.5 trillion in 2023 to P6.5 trillion in 2028, while non-tax revenues are expected to grow from P191 billion in 2023 to P184 billion in 2028. Pangandaman presented an overview of the national budget, which she said was optimized for ready-to-implement projects, programs, and activities that have to be executed within 2024.

By sector, Social Services will still have the largest share in the budget at P2.183 trillion or 37.9 percent. This is followed by Economic Services (P1.709 trillion or 29.6 percent), General Public Services (P893.3 billion or 15.5 percent), Debt Burden (P699.2 billion or 12.1 percent), and Defense (P282.7 billion or 4.9 percent). (See full story online at manilastandard.net) what scientifically is going to happen in this area, and until we can get a very good sense of how the rule of law can be followed in this area, we want to proceed with much caution,” Yulo-Loyzaga said.

"The declaration is really that all of these projects are suspended at this point. So all are under review, we have to take our time, really beginning with those that are ongoing because they're in fact already impacting the areas and then we will graduate to all those in fact still not yet begun," Loyzaga said in a

EG.5, top COVID strain in US, now in local shores too

A FAST-SPREADING new subvariant of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 — nicknamed “Eris” by health watchers but formally known as EG.5 — recently became the most prevalent strain in the United States, according to recent official estimates, though it does not appear to cause significant illness or pose immediate danger.

According to a Center for Disease Control estimate from Saturday, the EG.5 variant makes up approximately 17 percent of all Covid cases in the US, making it the most dominant strain of the disease.

That number is an increase from the roughly 12 percent share of EG.5-variant cases among all strains in a July 22 calculation. The variant has also been reported in several countries.

There are now 12 confirmed cases of Omicron subvariant EG.5 in the Philippines, the Department of Health said in its bio-surveillance report from July 26 to August 1.

A Reuters report previously said the World Health Organization (WHO) categorized the Omicron sub-variant as a "variant of interest.'' (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

GDP...

From A1 forecast of 6.0 percent and the slowest since 2011, excluding the years 2020 and 2021 when the COVID-19 pandemic smashed the economy, Bloomberg said.

The economy grew by a 46-year high of 7.6 percent in 2022 on the reopening of the economy to greater normalcy.

The government's economic management team said second-quarter growth was underpinned by increased tourism spending and commercial investment.

But the pace was "tempered by high commodity prices, the lagged effects of interest rate hikes, the contraction in government spending, and slower global economic growth", they said in a statement.

In an online briefing, National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said to achieve at least the lower end of the target range, the economy must grow by 6.6 percent in the second half.

"Notwithstanding the challenges, we believe this is still attainable," Balisacan said. With AFP (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

Palace press briefing.

Meanwhile, House Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Ralph Recto said:

“Every policy has a reverse gear. By pausing Manila Bay reclamation activities, the President, as of the moment, merely placed it on neutral.”

“It is safe to assume that this is not in Manila Bay alone – the dumped sand you see there is just the tip of the iceberg – but all over the country,” Recto said in a statement. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)