Baguio Philippines' Temperature Dropped Down 8 Degree Celsius, Winter-like uptown

Baguio Philippines' Coldest Temperature Dropped Down 8 Degree Celsius 5:00 AM 15th February 2017. Photo: Inquirer 

Cold, cold Valentine’s Day as mercury dips in Baguio

BAGUIO CITY—Residents woke up on Valentine’s Day looking forward to a day of warmth, only to be greeted by the coldest morning yet this year as the mercury dropped to 8 degrees Celsius at 5 a.m. on Tuesday.

School children and office workers were in thick jackets, woolen sweaters and scarves as they streamed out of their homes between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. due to the bitter cold.
“My children refused to take a bath. It was too cold,” said a mother in San Luis village here. “It was so cold I could not even wash the dishes.”

Tuesday was the coldest day so far in 2017, following the 9.2-degree temperature on Sunday and the 9.4 degrees on Monday, said Aljon Tamondong, Baguio weather observer of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) station here.
Tuesday’s cold weather exceeded the 8.1-degrees-Celsius temperature reading on Jan. 18, 2014, Tamondong said.

The cold spell was not over and the temperature dropped further due to the cold front, he said.
He said the Jan. 15, 2009, temperature, when this mountain resort city experienced 7.5 degrees Celsius, might be broken if the trend continued.

The coldest day on record in Baguio was still Jan. 18, 1961, when the summer capital experienced 6.3-degree weather. People who remembered that day described it as their closest approximation of winter.

The chill thrilled businessmen and flower vendors.

“Yearly, without fail, when news reports dramatize temperature drops to those levels, tourists flock to Baguio to experience that weather. This is always a boost for tourism of Baguio,” said Frederico Alquiros, cochair of the Baguio Flower Festival Foundation Inc., which is staging the Panagbenga grand parades next week.

“Panagbenga being in February, capitalizes on this weather,” he said.
Temperatures in upland towns like Atok and Buguias in Benguet province are usually colder than Baguio.

Atok residents described the weather condition in the town as if they were “freezing,” although there were no signs of moisture frosting up the leaves of vegetables grown in gardens, said Atok Mayor Peter Alos.

Pagasa monitored on Tuesday the lowest temperatures in the country since the northeast monsoon season—locally known as “amihan”—began in November.

The Pagasa said that aside from Baguio, the lowest temperatures were observed from 4 to 6 a.m. on Tuesday in the following areas: Tanay, Rizal, at 14.3 degrees; Malaybalay, Bukidnon, at 15.8 degrees; Itbayat, Batanes, at 16.5 degrees, and Basco, Batanes, Tuguegarao, Cagayan, and Ambolong, Batangas at 17 degrees.

Metro Manila also experienced one of its coldest days at 19.2 degrees, although a 19-degree temperature was already monitored in January.

“This is the lowest recorded temperatures since the northeast monsoon started in November. We’re seeing a surge in the monsoon; that’s also why we have gale warnings hoisted over some parts of the country,” Pagasa assistant weather services chief Renito Paciente told the Inquirer.—REPORTS FROM GOBLETH MOULIC, KIMBERLIE QUITASOL, VINCENT CABREZA AND JAYMEE T. GAMIL

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Duterte Factor Could Make the Philippines To Hit 7.5% Economic Growth in 2017

A group of Metro Manila Development Authority employees washing dishes following a communal lunch as traffic is seen past Manila's financial district in the background.PHOTO: AFP

Philippines 'highly likely' to hit 6.5-7.5% growth target for 2017: Minister

The Philippines is "highly likely" to achieve its 7.5 per cent economic growth target this year, Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said on Thursday (Jan 26).

"The government will remain steadfast in its work and make sure economic growth is built on people-centered and people-powered policies, stable macroeconomic fundamentals and strong partnership with other countries," Mr Pernia told a media briefing.

The Philippine economy grew a better-than-expected 6.6 per cent in the fourth quarter from a year ago, the national statistics agency said on Thursday, bringing full-year growth for 2016 to 6.8 per cent.

Annual growth was 7 per cent in the September quarter.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the economy would expand an annual 6.5 per cent in the last three months of 2016.

Growth for October-December on a quarterly basis will be released later. The median forecast in the poll was for the economy to have expanded a seasonally adjusted 1.6 per cent, picking up from 1.2 per cent in the previous quarter.

Rising Tiger Philippines Posts Some of the World's Fastest Growth in ASEAN Region

With the World Bank forecasting expansion of more than 6 percent for eight years until 2019 -- unparalleled in the nation’s history -- the Philippines is mimicking gains seen in Malaysia and Thailand in the 1990s as they industrialized. Growth in the Philippines was 6.8 percent in 2016, faster than China’s, data released on Thursday showed.

The region’s former powerhouses are giving way to newcomers like the Philippines and Vietnam, whose younger populations and rising middle classes help lure manufacturers. While Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has alienated some with his anti-U.S. rhetoric and deadly drug war, his ambitious $160 billion infrastructure plan and push for greater investment from China, Russia and the Middle East are strengthening the outlook.

“We are seeing a transformation to a stronger, more developed economy,” said Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asian economic research at HSBC Holdings Plc in Hong Kong. “Recent administrations worked hard to ensure macroeconomic stability which serves as its anchor.”

By 2020, the Philippines can achieve upper middle-income country status with per capita income of at least $4,126, the Asian Development Bank forecasts, joining the likes of China, Malaysia and Thailand.

Even with the strong growth outlook, financial markets have been mixed. While the government last week sold $2 billion of global bonds at the tightest spread ever, the peso is among the worst performing Asian currencies in the past six months and stocks have faltered.

Manufacturing, FDI

The ADB has said that boosting manufacturing is key to creating more jobs. The Philippines is among the least reliant on exports in the region, depending instead on a youthful and growing consumer base. Household spending, which makes up about 70 percent of gross domestic product, rose more than 6 percent for an eighth quarter.

“The economic takeoffs of countries like Thailand and Malaysia were built on their manufacturing prowess and this is where the government must redouble their efforts,” Neumann said. “This is a tough nut to crack. It will require infrastructure improvements and attracting more foreign direct investment to turn that into a reality.”

FDI to the Philippines surged more than five times to $5.8 billion between 2010 and 2015, but that still pales in comparison to Thailand’s $9 billion and Malaysia’s $11 billion.

To compete, Duterte is planning to boost infrastructure spending to 7 percent of GDP from the previous administration’s goal of 5 percent. He is also pushing for changes to tax laws to boost revenue and amend the Constitution to shift to federalism.

“If they manage to push through tax reforms and boost infrastructure spending, manufacturing will now become its next leg of growth, adding to remittances and outsourcing,” said Michael Wan, an economist at Credit Suisse Group AG in Singapore. “This will boost the growth potential to at least 7 percent in the years ahead.” (With report from Blomberg and Reuters)

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