DE TORRES, Jei Noriel A.

ECONOMIC PROBLEMS OF THE PHILIPPINES THIS 2014 There is booming unemployment and higher percentage of poverty in the Philippines. The Philippines experienced a stellar year where the peso increased and OFWs were able to sustain the economy with high remittances but the problems are.

Reconstruction activities covering the destruction caused by Typhoon Yolanda in Central Philippines and strong consumer spending on the back of remittances and the boom in business process outsourcing (BPO) sector will fuel the Philippine economy to keep growing in 2014.

The domestic front was also marred by gut-wrenching natural calamities: a 7.2magnitude earthquake and the killer Typhoon Yolanda. The disasters raised concerns over the economy as economic managers noted the impact of Yolanda alone could shed a percentage point from the gross domestic product (GDP).

The cost will cover P183.3 billion in housing and resettlement, P28.4 billion in rebuilding public infrastructure, P37.4 billion in financing education and health services, P18.7 billion for agriculture, P70.6 billion for industry and services, P4 billion for local government, and P18.4 billion for social protection.

Of the total, NEDA director general Arsenio Balisacan said the government has already allocated about P34 billion for the critical immediate actions and will release another P100 billion in 2014.

In contrast, the Philippines, Southeast Asia's new growth pole, is not expecting any leadership transition up until 2016, when the country's powerful elites -- in absence of any genuine mainstream party -- will start negotiating the roster of competing candidates. Despite the devastation wrought by super-typhoon Haiyan, the Philippines is expected to grow at above 6 percent in 2014. Post-crisis reconstruction, with a price tag of $8.17 billion, will further buoy an already booming economy. By most estimates, inflation is expected to stay at around 2-3 percent, while the Philippine Central Bank (BSP) will most likely maintain its current interest rates for much of 2014. This means a steady upward trend in consumption, real estate, and domestic investments. The economic engines will continue to roar, but the real challenge lies once again in the country's whimpering political institutions.

The Philippine peso is expected to weaken further against the dollar on the heels of economic strides in the US, but robust remittance inflows and growth of the BPO sector will cushion the local currency from the onslaught of the rising dollar.

Yes, the peso will weaken but it's actually a wrong impression that it will be bad for the economy as higher exchange rate will give families of OFWs more to spend and afford more and

BPOs to be more competitive, said Victor Abola, professor of economics at the University of Asia and the Pacific.

Summary: 1.) Over reliance with the remittances. 2.) Budget for the reconstruction of the typhoon-hit areas in Visayas 3.) Prediction of the weakening of the peso by experts.

REFERENCES: 1. http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/341918/economy/business/reconstructionweak-peso-among-phl-economic-drivers-in-2014 2. http://www.studymode.com/essays/Major-Economic-Problems-Of-The-Philippines607677.html 3. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-javad-heydarian/philippines-in-2014emerg_b_4521369.html 4. http://ph.news.yahoo.com/why-2014-fateful-philippines-181705688.html