MANILA, PhilippinesSen.

Alan Peter Cayetano on Friday reiterated his call for the government to
provide the poor ith more access to capital to start their on small !"sinesses a day after the economy
registered the highest groth rate in Asia for the first #"arter of $%&'.
Cayetano, ho as reelected to a second term on a platform of increased livelihood opport"nities for the
!asic sectors, has repeatedly called on the government to ma(e the co"ntry)s economic gains felt !y the
less fort"nate.
*+y developing cooperatives ith the capacity to lend capital to its mem!ers, e are ena!ling more
Filipinos to start their on small !"sinesses and event"ally provide more employment opport"nities for
other Filipinos,, Cayetano said in a statement.
Cayetano also s"ggested that the government "se the e-isting conditional cash transfer program to enact
a capital.lending program for its !eneficiaries to ena!le them to set "p their on !"sinesses.
*+y "sing the conditional cash transfer program to implement a lending program, e can provide poor
families ith the capital to start their on !"sinesses and create /o!s ith fair ages,, Cayetano said.
*In this case, e)re shoing them ho to 0fish) and stand on their on to feet instead of /"st giving them
0fish) and ma(ing them dependent on elfare,, he added.
Cayetano on Friday commended the e-ec"tive !ranch for the 1.2 percent increase in gross domestic
prod"ct, the highest rate since President A#"ino ass"med office in $%&%.
*34his5 economic groth sho"ld serve to p"sh everyone to (eep the moment"m going for the !etterment
of all Filipino families,, Cayetano said.
*6e praise the contin"ing economic groth of o"r co"ntry !"t e sho"ld ens"re that the effects of a rising
economy translate to a !etterment of the lives of poor families thro"gho"t the co"ntry,, Cayetano said.
7e, hoever, said that *not eno"gh Filipino families are feeling the impact of this economic groth.
*6e m"st do more to create /o!s, loer prices, and increase ages,, Cayetano said
Philippine economy strong but unemployment remains challenge: ADB
8philstar.com9 : ;pdated April <, $%&' . 1=%%pm
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MANILA, Philippines 8Xinhua9 . 4he Philippines remains one of the most resilient economies in So"theast
Asia, !"t s"ch groth is neither s"staina!le nor incl"sive as /o!lessness remains a pro!lem for most
Filipinos.
>A stronger ind"strial !ase is vital for increasing /o!s, and ill help ma(e groth more incl"sive and
s"staina!le,> said Neera/ ?ain, co"ntry director for the Philippines of the Asian @evelopment +an( 8A@+9.
In its latest Asian @evelopment A"tloo( $%&' 8A@A $%&'9 released today, the Manila.!ased lender
forecasts Philippine gross domestic prod"ct 8B@P9 to e-pand C percent this year and in $%&D.
Inflation eased to a five.year lo of '.$ percent. 4he A@+ said itEs li(ely to edge "p to '.C percent in $%&'
on increased cons"mption and a rise in e-cise ta-es on alcohol and to!acco folloing the passage of the
sin ta- la.
A@+Es forecast B@P for this year is a !it sloer than the C.C percent groth posted in $%&$. +"t the A@+
said "p!eat !"siness and cons"mer sentiment, ro!"st private cons"mption, increased fiscal spending, a
!ooming services and constr"ction sectors and higher investment and e-ports ill contin"e to s"pport the
co"ntry Es economy.
+"t a rosy economic o"tloo( doesnEt ass"re that that this ill translate to a !etter life for most Filipinos.
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>4he Philippine economy contin"es to gro !"t Filipinos contin"e to s"ffer d"e to lac( of /o! opport"nity,>
Norio ;s"i, A@+ senior economist, said in a !riefing held at the la"nch of A@A $%&' in Manila.
;s"i said the Philippines has a strong groth in its hand and the ne-t step for the Philippine government
is to translate this strong groth into more /o!s that ill !enefit most Filipinos.
Indeed, according to A@A $%&', >persistently high> levels of "nemployment and "nderemployment remain
a (ey concern in the co"ntry. As the latest data from the National Statistics Affice has shon, a!o"t 1
percent of the D% million la!or force are "nemployed, hile a!o"t $% percent are "nderemployed.
>Contin"o"s deployment of overseas or(ers mas(s the severity of the "nemployment pro!lem,> ;s"i
said, all"ding to the over &% million Filipinos or(ing overseas.
;s"i said that hile the services sector, mostly than(s to a groing o"tso"rcing ind"stry, has provided
more opport"nities to Filipino or(ers, and this is not eno"gh to significantly red"ce "nemployment and
"nderemployment levels.
>4his co"ntry has D% million la!or force, and then its la!or force contin"es to gro !y an average $
percent 8per year9. A!o"t 2%%,%%% ne /o!s sho"ld !e created /"st to s"stain the same level 8of
employment9,> he said.
;s"i said the co"ntry needs to revive its man"fact"ring sector to create more /o!s.
>4he man"fact"ring 8ind"stry9 has higher la!or prod"ctivity,> he said.
;s"i said the co"ntryEs policy ma(ers need to ta(e advantage of the Fitch Fatings latest decision to grant
the Philippines its first ever investment.grade credit rating to attract more investors to the man"fact"ring
sector.
4he ratings "pgrade, ;s"i said, has h"ge implications as investors no see the co"ntry as a ne
prod"ction !ase. 7e added that China, So"th Gorea and ?apan are interested to invest in the co"ntry.
?ain said the government needs to address the infrastr"ct"re gap and implement a more predicta!le ta-
regime that ill entice more investments to come in the co"ntry.
A@+ Principal Hconomist @onghy"n Par( said foreign investors are >ta(ing a serio"s loo(> at the
Philippines, noting that foreign companies are loo(ing to set "p plants in the co"ntry.
+"t he said there are still !ottlenec(s s"ch as the lac( of technical personnel to or( in the man"fact"ring
sector.
NFA: Rice prices going down
By Gristine Angeli Sa!illo
INI;IFHF.net
&&=%% am : 4h"rsday, Septem!er &$th, $%&'
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FILE Photo taken from agriculture-ph.com
MANILA, Philippines Commercial rice prices have started to go don after last ee()s price increases, according
to the National Food A"thority 8NFA9.
In a statement released 4h"rsday, the NFA said prices of commercial premi"m #"ality rice ent don from P&,<$%
per sac( to P&,22% at the Intercity in +"lacan.
Meanhile, prices of medi"m #"ality rice has gone don from P&,2$% per sac( to P&,12%, and imported premi"m
#"ality rice from P&,2%% per sac( to P&,1J%.
4he food agency reminded the p"!lic that they sold reg"lar milled rice at P$1 per (ilogram and ell.milled rice at
P'$K(g.
Increasing rice prices ere first reported after the onsla"ght of tropical storm La!"yo !"t government agencies and
farmer gro"ps said it sho"ld not have happened !eca"se there as no rice shortage.
An Monday, Agric"lt"re Secretary Proceso Alcala said they ere !"ilding cases against sm"gglers and hoarders o"t
to manip"late mar(et prices !y creating an artificial rice shortage.
Alcala said there ere reports of people !eing told to line "p at NFA o"tlets to ma(e it appear that there as a rice
shortage.
4he NFA also said that prices ere e-pected to go don after the harvest season starts near the end of the month.
NFA Administrator Arlan Calayag said in the statement that their s"pervisors o"ld contin"e to monitor the mar(ets
to *ens"re that no NFA rice ill !e overpriced or diverted and sold as commercial rice.,
4he food agency said they still have &.1 million metric tons of rice to last J& days, in addition to their intensified palay
proc"rement in vario"s areas of the co"ntry here farmers have started to harvest their crops.