PH in right direction

SWS: Pinoys believe PH in ‘right direction

Ralph Villanueva

Manila Times

27 October 2018

THREE of four Filipinos believe that the country is moving toward the “right direction,” a survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) found.

Market goers look for a cheaper goods at the Commonwealth Market. PHOTO BY RUY MARTINEZ

The survey, conducted from September 15 to 23, also found that 22 percent of Filipinos said the country is headed in the wrong direction.

The remaining 3 percent were undecided.

The 75 percent figure is 5 percent higher than June 2018’s mark.

All areas in the country had higher marks compared to last quarter’s numbers.

The survey showed that 89 percent of the people in southern Mindanao, from June’s 87 percent, believe that the country is in the right direction, the highest in the country.

The region is then followed by those in Balance Luzon at 73 percent, from June’s 68 percent; Visayas at 69 percent, from June’s 66 percent; and Metro Manila at 65 percent from June’s 57 percent.

The figure also rose by 4 points in overall rural areas, at 79 percent from June’s 75 percent and by 2 points in overall urban areas at 68 percent from June’s 66 percent..

Those who believe that the country is going in the right direction rose by 5 percent in class D, at 75 percent from last quarter’s 70 percent; and by 2 points in class E, which is at 72 percent, from last quarter’s 70 percent.

The figure, however, fell by 4 percent in Class A, B and C, currently at 80 percent, from June’s 84 percent figure.

The survey was welcomed by Malacañang.

In a statement released on Friday, Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo said the survey shows that the people continue to trust President Rodrigo Duterte and his ways of steering the country.

“We view this as a reflection of our people’s continued trust and confidence in the President and an affirmation that the policies and programs of the current administration are on the right track.

President Duterte emphasized in numerous occasions that as government workers, we are here to serve the people. Our objective as public servants is thus being able to perform our respective duties well,” Panelo noted.

He said he hopes that results of the SWS survey would make more people support the administration.

“We hope this strong public appreciation, which is seen in the uptick of survey numbers in all geographic areas, would further engage our people in supporting this administration in building a nation where all Filipinos can experience comfortable and decent lives under a trustworthy government,” Panelo added.

“Together, let us work hand in hand to realize the President’s vision for the Philippines,” he said.

Those who believe the country is headed in the right direction gave Duterte a +72 net satisfaction rating, while those who say the Philippines is going in the wrong direction gave him a -3 net satisfaction rating.
The survey was conducted among 1,500 adults nationwide.

It had sampling error margins of ±3 percent for national percentages, ±4 percent for Balance Luzon and ±6 percent each for Metro Manila, Visayas and Mindanao.

The new Hong Kong

Manila rising as the ‘new Hong Kong’ 

Othel V. Campos
Manila Standard
September 27, 2017 

Manila is rapidly rising as a megacity powered by a growing pool of high-value talent, real estate expansion and a robust consumption-driven economy, property advisor Santos Knight Frank said Wednesday.

“Manila today is the Hong Kong and Singapore of 30 years ago. The level of development in the metropolis over the last decade has been unprecedented and reflects on the accelerated expansion of the property market. Manila has since become an important hub for industries such as IT-BPO [information technology-business process outsourcing] with huge opportunities of growth for other sectors,” said Santos Knight Frank chairman and chief executive Rick Santos.

He said with a population of more than 25 million people, the Greater Manila Area now had more people than Hong Kong and Singapore combined.

Its demographic is a high-value asset in industries such as IT-BPO, where Metro Manila ranks as fourth in the world based on the 2017 Tholons Services Globalization (Outsourcing) Index. 

Santos Knight Frank chairman Rick Santos discusses the property consulting company’s latest findings on the future trends in real estate in the global cities around the world during a news briefing and launching of Santos Knight Frank’s Global Cities Report 2018 at Makati Shangri-la Hotel. Lino Santos

A fast-growing metropolis, Metro Manila’s property market remains robust vis-à-vis several Asian cities. Prime office rents grew between 5 percent and 6 percent annually from 2011.

Prime office rents in Metro Manila increased 3.4 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, outperforming Tokyo at 3.2 percent; Taipei, 2.8 percent; Beijing, -1.9 percent; Shanghai, -2 percent; Singapore, -5.1 percent; and Jakarta, -8.3 percent.

Meanwhile, Metro Manila had one of the lowest vacancy rates at 3.4 percent across Asia Pacific in the second quarter.

“On a regional basis, the performance and fundamentals of the Manila office market look solid. While some of the other Southeast Asian markets are seeing demand remain sluggish and the major Chinese cities are seeing huge amounts of new supply, the Manila market has one of the tightest vacancy rates in the region and looks set for a strong 2018,” said Knight Frank Asia Pacific head of research Nicholas Holt.

The consulting firm said with a growing number of companies venturing onto the global stage, Metro Manila continued to see diversified demand, not only in the office market, but also in the residential sector, where investors from Southeast Asia, China and the Middle East were putting more capital into the Philippines.

“Over the next four years, Manila will see more than 3 million sqm of new office space added to the market. About 2 million sqm of residential space and half a million sqm more for retail will come online by 2019,” Santos said.

The government lined up 64 major infrastructure projects in the Philippines, several of which are underway in Metro Manila such as the NLEx-SLEx Connector Road, Naian Expressway Phase 2 and NLEx Harbor Link.

To decongest the metropolis and encourage development in the outskirts, important mass transport projects such as Mega Manila Subway, Manila-Clark Railway and expansion of the Light Rail Train are also in the pipeline.

“With limited supply of land in the city core, new districts have emerged in the outskirts of Metro Manila. The next wave of expansion is happening in emerging areas such as Alabang, Nuvali, Bulacan and Clark. It is crucial that infrastructure is in place to provide efficient connectivity between various parts of this growing city,” Santos said.