Ambot ah!

Please check out my post over at ExploreIloilo.com about the Flood in Iloilo caused by Typhoon Frank (International name: Fengshen) and some links to Iloilo Flood Pictures and Videos. If you are willing to give assistance to those affected by the tragedy please visit this page for contact details of relief efforts.

• Peso to hit P25:$1 in 5 years - A presidential economic adviser made this forecast based on the increasing dollar inflows by OFWs. He seemed quite optimistic about it and said that exporters should improve their competitiveness on their own and not rely on gov’t subsidies. For me, there’s a lot more industries that will be adversely hit if the peso further strengthens to that level, which is almost half its current level. A strengthening of the peso isn’t necessarily a good thing for the economy, what investors and businessmen generally want is a stable currency because a fluctuating currency means higher risk. A higher risk will definitely turn off investors. A strengthening of the peso would also mean that the value of the dollar will decrease and this in turn will decrease foreign investments in the country (including “sunshine” industries such as Outsourcing and Call Centers) because investors would get less pesos for every dollar they invest. OFWs will also have to suffer getting less pesos for every dollar they send to the Philippines and less pesos means less spending power of OFW-dependent families and less money circulated from the spending of these families. My income from online advertising will also be affected since most advertising programs use dollar to payout publishers, too bad for me My take on this is that most of us has been adjusted to the level of the peso that we have now any abrupt changes will have a negative impact on a lot of industries in the economy, not just exports.

• RP’s first: Iloilo town bans, criminalizes plastic-use - This is a really good development. I hope the whole country will adopt what Santa Barbara town is doing. Even the U.S. uses paper bags for purchases instead of plastic ones.
• Power problem saddles RP | Camp Delgado PECO bill reaches P2M mark, electric bill 4 months unpaid - The high price and unreliability of power is one of the biggest problems of Iloilo, the rates is one of the highest in the country at P9+ per KW hr.. Even gov’t offices are having a hard time catching up to the high electricity bills, what more the average Ilonggo? I hope our Gov’t officials esp. will do everything in their power to uphold the best interest of their constituents.
• I’ve read in Skyscrapercity that a greenwhich branch will open Iloilo Supermart - Mandurriao branch. I’m so happy with this development since it’s just 5 mins away from my house.