BORACAY REVISITED 2018

BUHAY OVERSEAS ISSUE 119 | www.filipinonews.nz | email: filipinonews@xtra.co.nz | www.pinoynzlife.nz FB: Filipino Migrant News 03
Record high per-capita GDP
under Duterte: Forbes Magazine
B y J e l l y M u s i c o
MANILA - The average
Filipino is doing better
under the administration
of President Rodrigo
Duterte, according to a
report from the Forbes
Magazine.
Forbes.com contributor
Panos Mourdoukoutas
based his assessment on a
report of Tradingecono
mics.com that said that
the Philippines’ per-capita
gross domestic product
(GDP) registered a record
high of USD2,891.36 in
2017.
The all-time high percapita
GDP was well
above the average of
MANILA - “Senior citizens
should be given more
social benefits to enjoy the
golden years of their lives
with,” lawyer Romy
Macalintal said at the
weekly Real News Forum
recently.
Congress should pass a
law increasing the level of
USD1,627.98 for the period
of 1960-2017.
The report, titled 'The
Philippines' Per-Capita
GDP Has Reached An All-
Time High Under
Duterte', said that
Filipinos are doing better
under Duterte when percapita
GDP is adjusted by
purchasing power parity
(PPP).
“That measure, too,
reached a record USD
7,599.19 in 2017, well
above that of USD
4,969.71 for the period
1990-2017,” it added.
The GDP per capita is
obtained by dividing the
country’s GDP, adjusted
by inflation, by the total
population.
“Macroeconomic stability
has helped the
Philippines' economy
demonstrate a great deal
Honeylet is really
my true love: Duterte
By Azer Parrocha
MANILA - President
Rodrigo Duterte described
his partner,
Cielito 'Honeylet' Avanceña,
as his “true love”.
“Out of everyone else
that I know, she’s the
one that I will really
believe in,” Duterte said
during the inauguration
of the Gaisano Grand
Citygate Mall in Davao
City recently.
The President made
discounts for senior citizens
buying medicines as
their age advances further
over the years, starting at
age 70 with a 30-percent
discount and increasing
this by 10 percent every
10 years until the age of
90.
“Beyond 90, the discount
should be as much
as 50 percent,” said Macalintal, who is run-
of resilience in recent
years. At the end of 2017
it grew at an annual 6.9
percent in the September
quarter. That’s the
MANILA - The release
of passports will be shortened
to as early as six
working days starting in
October, the Department
of Foreign Affairs (DFA)
announced.
Passport applicants at
the DFA Consular Offices
in Metro Manila who
ning for senator
in next
year’s polls.
At present
senior citizens
only get a 20-
percent discount,
plus a
12-percent
value added tax
(VAT) discount,
for a total of 32 percent.
strongest growth since the
third quarter of 2016.
And the Philippines’ economy
was still growing at 6
percent at the end of
2018,” the report said.
According to
recent McKinsey
Global Institute
(MGI) studies, the
Philippines is
among the emerging
market economies
“that are well
prepared to
achieve sustained
growth over the
next decade”.
MGI cited the
increase in gross
fixed-capital formation
(investment)
which
“ r e a c h e d
PHP695,414.08 million in
the second quarter of
2018 from roughly
PHP450,000 million in
July of 2015 -- well above
avail themselves
of the
regular processing
for
PHP950 will
receive their
passports after
12 working
days instead of
the current 15
working days.
Those who
opt to pay the
express processing
fee of
PHP1,200 will
receive theirs
after six working days,
instead of seven.
On the other hand,
applicants in DFA
Consular Offices outside
Metro Manila will receive
their passports after 12
working days instead of
20 for regular processing
and after seven working
days instead of 10 for
expedited processing.
At the same time
Macalintal said that senior
citizens should be
extended the privilege of
watching free movies
nationwide, instead of
only where they live.
He lauded cities and
towns that give
PHP100,000 cash bonus
to senior citizens upon
reaching the age of 100.
the PHP303,138.16 million
for the period 1998
until 2018 and an all-time
high”.
However, the Philippines’
per-capita GDP is
equivalent to 23 percent
of the world’s average,
which makes Filipinos
poor.
Mourdoukoutas
advised the Duterte
administration to “keep
an eye on the price of
bread and rice”, rather
than celebrating the
record per-capita GDP.
“And he should look at
his human rights record,
which cannot be balanced
by any economic record,”
Mourdoukoutas said in
his article.
- Courtesy of PNA, our content
partner in the Philippines
Foreign Affairs
Secretary Alan Peter
Cayetano said that the
DFA is working to trim
down queue length for
passport applications filed
at foreign service posts
around the world, that
currently can take as long
as two months.
Cayetano also drew
attention to the shortened
waiting time for securing
online appointment slots,
which is down to as early
as two weeks to one month
compared to two to three
months in 2017.
“From the 9,500 passports
that were being
processed daily in May
last year, we have
increased our capacity to
almost 20,000 passports a
day. We will endeavour to
increase this number to
30,000 by the end of the
year,” he said. - Courtesy
of PNA.
Noted lawyer calls for more benefits for seniors
By Ben Cal
this remark after mentioning
in a speech a
former girlfriend who
happened to be a 'gobernadora'.
Duterte and Avanceña
have been together
for more than 20 years.
They have a 13-year-old
daughter named Veronica,
also known as
Kitty.
The President also
took pride in their
daughter for being
smart, just like
(left) Last Oct. 7 Duterte
and his family spent the
weekend in Hong Kong to
take a break. His former
top aide, Christopher
Lawrence 'Bong' Go,
uploaded photos of himself
with Duterte,
Avanceña and Kitty.
Avanceña.
“She is good at …
Because she’s a valedictorian.
That’s true. Her
daughter takes after
her,” Duterte said.
“Like Honeylet’s
daughter. Her lowest
grade is 91. That’s the
lowest. I told her, ‘Nak,
back then I only studied
just a little'. Because
she’s always complaining,
always studying
and rarely goes out anymore,”
he added.
- Courtesy of PNA
PASSPORT RELEASES
SHORTENED TO 6 DAYS: DFA
By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora
His proposal is to give
PHP100,000 every year
for senior citizens who
have reached the century
mark and beyond while
alive, saying that this will
not drain the coffers of
the government since
there are only a few senior
citizens who are 100 years
old and above.
- Courtesy of PNA.