excavator, construction, site

Infra projects to create 1.6M more new jobs this year–Villar

The big-ticket infrastructure projects currently rolled out by the government will create an additional 1.6 million jobs this year, President Duterte’s infrastructure managers said on Wednesday. Public Works Secretary Mark Villar told the Asia Infrastructure Forum 2021 the government’s “Build, Build, Build” program had so far created as public infrastructure spending was doubled to 5…

PH recovery starts in Q2, says gov’t economic team

President Duterte’s economic team on Tuesday expressed confidence that the economy will rebound starting the second quarter with mass vaccination in full swing and government spending, especially on infrastructure, remaining strong. During the Economic Journalists’ Association of the Philippines’ (Ejap) midyear forum, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said “we might appear to be behind our…

Living with the virus

Chua: The economy needs the young up and about

It is often said—quoting national hero Jose Rizal—that the youth is the hope of the nation. In these difficult times, the country’s recovery from the pandemic-induced recession might as well depend on the young moving about, going shopping and dining out with their families. The country’s chief economist, Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua,…