According to Senate wants fraudulent PH passports probed | Inquirer News, in an effort to find the people responsible for the phony issuing of Philippine passports and other official documents to Chinese nationals and other foreigners, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri requested on November 13 the assistance of the government's intelligence services.The technique, which reportedly implicated corrupt government officials, would undermine national security, Zubiri informed officials of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (Nica) and the National Security Council (NSC) during the resumption of the Senate plenary budget deliberations.Sen. Ronald dela Rosa brought up the issue for the first time during last week's discussions on the Department of Foreign Affairs' (DFA) budget proposal, and Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri stated that the National Bureau of Investigation was looking into it on its own.According to Senate wants fraudulent PH passports probed | Inquirer News, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) claims that the international applicants for Philippine passports had provided valid birth certificates from the Philippine Statistics Authority.As per the Senate President's statement, legislation ought to be submitted to enforce more severe consequences for those who offer foreigners documents that belong solely to Filipino nationals.The NSC and Nica budget recommendations were supported by Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, who stated that the officers of the two intelligence agencies have committed to cooperating with the probe.Zubiri's worries were acknowledged by Senator Risa Hontiveros, according to Senate wants fraudulent PH passports probed | Inquirer News, who also mentioned that Chinese nationals employed by Philippine offshore gaming companies (Pogos) were among those who had obtained legitimate identity cards.According to Senate wants fraudulent PH passports probed | Inquirer News, amidst the recent searches by police in their hubs in Metro Manila, the opposition senator also issued a warning, stating that Pogos were already moving to the countryside.
According to PH economy grew by 5.9% in Q3 | Inquirer Business, The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on November 9 that the country's GDP expanded by 5.9 percent year over year in the third quarter, above market estimates and surpassing the 4.3 percent growth noted in the second quarter.This increased the nation's average gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the year to 5.5%.Arsenio Balisacan, the secretary of socioeconomic planning, according to PH economy grew by 5.9% in Q3 | Inquirer Business, stated at a news conference that the government has to expand by 7.2 percent in the last quarter of the year in order to meet at least the lower end of its projected growth rate of 6 to 7 percent for this year.For a nation struggling with persistently high consumer costs, the most recent data was encouraging. It exceeded most estimates for GDP, which ranged from 4.3 to 4.9 percent.According to PH economy grew by 5.9% in Q3 | Inquirer Business, average inflation between January and October reached 6.4%, much over the government's goal range of 2 to 4%. This is particularly hurting consumer spending, which is the backbone of the economy.The third quarter's growth in household consumption was 5.5%, according to the data, which was less than the 5.5 percent rise in the previous quarter.In an effort to control inflation, which is also stifling development, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has started its most extreme tightening program in 20 years.Currently, according to PH economy grew by 5.9% in Q3 | Inquirer Business, the BSP's consideration of the third quarter GDP statistic will be a crucial factor in determining whether more tightening is necessary once it meets on November 16th.
According to Philippines' agricultural output shrinks at slower pace in Q3 | The Star, During the July-September period, the Philippines' farm and fisheries annual production by value decreased for the second consecutive quarter as agricultural and fisheries output decreased. However, the rate of loss moderated, lessening the impact of the rural sector on growth.According to data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on November 8, livestock and poultry output increased 2.5% and 2.9% in the third quarter, respectively, offsetting the 0.4% and 6.1% decline in crop and fisheries production.Almost half of the product produced by the agriculture industry is made up of crops. According to Philippines' agricultural output shrinks at slower pace in Q3 | The Star, the agriculture sector contributes less than 10 percent of the total production of the domestic economy.During the September quarter, according to Philippines' agricultural output shrinks at slower pace in Q3 | The Star, the nation's paddy rice crop increased by 0.2% over the previous year, which was less than the 1.1% growth of the previous quarter.The government was closely observing the possible effects of El Nino on food prices, according to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who previous recently resigned from his position as secretary of agriculture and gave the position to an executive from a local corporation.According to Philippines' agricultural output shrinks at slower pace in Q3 | The Star, the consumer price index for the Philippines, which includes food as half of its total price, increased 4.9% in October after rising 6.1% in September, but this was insufficient to allay concerns about inflation held by the central bank.As the risk to its inflation projection through 2025 was heavily skewed to the upside, the central bank warned late on November 7 that it was ready to take further policy action if required to fix inflation expectations.Concerned that inflation would get out of control, it provided an off-cycle boost of 25 basis points last month. With an average inflation rate of 6.4% so far this year, it is still much higher than the comfortable range of 2% to 4%.The 3rd quarter annual economic growth figures, which are scheduled for release on Thursday, would be available by the time the central bank convenes on November 16. Second-quarter growth of 4.3% would be surpassed in the third quarter, according to Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno.Additionally, according to Philippines' agricultural output shrinks at slower pace in Q3 | The Star, the statistics office said on November 8 that the nation's jobless rate increased slightly from 4.4% to 4.5% in September.