Accelerating Power Reforms: Amending the EPIRA
June 2008 (338KB)

Lower power rates, sufficient capacity and an environment equally protective of investors and consumers –these were the end goals of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act when it was enacted seven years ago. The pace of its implementation, however, has been slower than expected, prompting the Senate to propose specific amendments to expedite the much-envisioned power reforms.

Revisiting the Cyber Education Project
May 2008 (161KB) The country’s basic education sector is in an alarming state. Performance indicators have worsened in recent years while the quality, as manifested by the appalling performance of Filipino students in international assessment tests, continue to deteriorate. Given the government’s budget constraint, the question that then begs to be answered is: what is the best strategy to address these problems? The Cyber Education Project (CEP) of the Department of Education (DepEd) promises to improve the quality of education in the country’s public schools by way of upgrading learning standards, but with its cost and all its uncertainties, is it really worth pursuing?

Addressing the Oil Price Increase
January 2008 (217KB)

I. Introduction - 1.1 Oil prices in the world market have increased dramatically in the last few months. The price of the benchmark Dubai crude rose 67.4 percent, from US$ 48.8 per barrel in January 2007 to US$92.6 per barrel in January 2008.

Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA): An Assessment
September 2007 (357KB)

I. BACKGROUND - 1.0 JPEPA is a comprehensive bilateral trade and investment agreement between Japan and the Philippines aimed at increasing trade and investment opportunities between the two economies. It is the first bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) for the Philippines after 50 years. Japan, on the other hand, has signed FTAs...

The Philippine Economy in 2007 and Prospects for 2008
February 2008 (388KB)

The Philippine economy capped the year 2007 with a GDP growth of 7.3 percent, its highest in 31 years. The government and private institutions, however, are in agreement that this feat will be difficult to replicate in 2008 as the Philippines faces three major challenges - the growing risks of US recession; the rapid rise of the peso; and the escalating prices of oil in the world market. The key challenge lies in mitigating the impact of these risks.

The Perks and Perils of a Strong Peso
January 2008 (319KB)

A currency appreciation is often associated with a more robust and stable economy. However, a closer look at the strong peso shows that it has its perks and perils. Because its impact vary among the different sectors of the society, one would be hard put to evaluate whether on the whole, a strong peso is really advantageous or not.

Domestic Economy Posts an Impressive 7.3 percent 1st Sem Growth
September 2007 (555KB)

The Philippine economy turned in its best performance in nearly two decades when it posted impressive GDP growth rates of 7.1 percent in the first quarter of 2007 and 7.5 percent in the second quarter, bringing the first semester growth to 7.3 percent. In the past, the Philippine economy...

Removing Regional Disparity in Infrastructure Development - A Probe into the Proposed 2008 Budget
November 2007 (713KB)

The proposed 2008 budget is marked by a significant increase in real infrastructure spending as a percentage of the national government budget, from 8.41 percent in 2007 to 9.45 percent in 2008. This demonstrates the government’s strong commitment to improve...

Electoral System, Parties and Bureaucracy:
The Missing Links in the Charter Change Debate
September 2006 (227KB)

Efforts to amend the 1987 Constitution have distinctively marked the national agenda since the early 90s. Years of political instability and economic downturns have prompted key sectors of society, and the constituency it has spawned...

Fiscal Report 2007
February 2008 (170KB)

The national government posted a deficit of P9.4 billion for 2007, way below the programmed deficit of P63.0 billion. This represents a significant 85.5 percent improvement from the 2006 fiscal deficit of P64.8 billion....

Doing Business
October 2007 (158KB)

The Philippines was recently tagged as a slow reformer by the World Bank after its ranking worsened from 130th to 133rd in 2007 in their latest business climate report Doing Business 2008.

Fiscal Report 2006
February 2007 (65KB)

The fiscal position of the National Government (NG) improved as the deficit narrowed down to P62.2 billion in 2006, the lowest in 7 years. With the implementation of fiscal policy reform laws in full gear, the NG deficit-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio went down to 1.04 percent, well below the 2.1 percent ceiling set for the year...

Philippine Stock Market
January 2007 (86KB)

The strong performance of the Philippine Stock Market last year has paved the way for economic policymakers to agree that the country’s investment image has finally improved and that good things may be in store for the Philippine economy this year. In fact, stock investment houses see a continuation...

Sustaining the momentum, Making Growth Work for the poor
December 2007 (2.2MB)

This report provides an update of the Five Pillars of Growth: An Economic and Social Development Framework, released by the Senate Economic Planning Office (SEPO) in 2004. It presents a picture of the Philippine economy...

A Profile of Selected Philippine
Government Owned and Controlled Corporations
May 2007 (1.6MB)

The role and impact of the government corporate sector on the fiscal position of the government and the economy continue to be significant to this day. Despite reforms undertaken in the past, according to the Commission on Audit...

Five Pillars of Growth:
An Economic and Social Development Framework
(360KB)

The paper, prepared by the Senate Economic Planning Office as reference to the Senate Legislative Agenda, presents the major results of a short-term research project identifying areas of reforms for sustained economic growth and poverty alleviation...