I have to put this in to writing because, well, it's a first.

Anyway, I got a prize for a story I wrote. Every month, our editors pick a Story of the Month. A story becomes the Story of the Month if it it is an exclusive, had all the sides covered and is well-written. If your story is chosen as the Story of Month, you get P10,000 which is taxable but hey, it's still a great amount right? The contenders get a prize as well. Not in the form of cash but gift certificates.

 

I did not get the P10,000 cash prize but my story was among the selections for Story of the Month so I got gift certificates to Fish & Co. Not bad at all. It comes as a shock to me though because I wrote the story a few days right after I was moved back to my first beat. And that was a really tough time for me.

Anyway, I posted the story to this entry just in case you're in the mood to read.

The Economy

Reduced interest in PPP expected

Louella D. Desiderio

March 16, 2011

THE GOVERNMENT expects less appetite from Japanese firms for projects under public-private partnership (PPP) deals this year, as that country will likely focus on reconstruction following a devastating earthquake and tsunami last week, officials said yesterday.

Finance Undersecretary John Philip P. Sevilla said in a telephone interview yesterday that Japanese firms can be expected to focus first on rehabilitation projects at home before considering investments in other countries.

Yes, there would be an impact. It would be crazy to say there would be no impact since they may have to deal with rehabilitation, he said, when asked how the disaster could affect Japanese interest in PPP projects.

It will be recalled that Japan was the second country, after the US, to be visited by Philippine officials who briefed businessmen there on the government's PPP program.

At the same time, Mr. Sevilla said it would be hard to say how much (the impact would be) since there hasn't been a formal mechanism in place (for solicitation of projects).

He recalled, though, that there had been Japanese investors who expressed interest in PPP projects before last week's disaster.

Budget Sec. Florencio B. Abad said it remains to be seen how much Japanese interest has been diverted to domestic needs.

There has been no assessment so far because, as we speak, certain emergencies are still being faced, like continuing nuclear facility crisis and continuing aftershocks, not to mention priority being given to recovery and relief efforts, he said via text.

For his part, Public Works Sec. Rogelio L. Singson admitted that Japanese companies can be expected to focus on the needs of their country first.

I would suspect they would do that...because of what happened (earthquake and tsunami), he said in an interview.

He added, however, that the government will just have to look elsewhere for investors who will take up the slack.

Definitely, we are not banking solely on Japan, Mr. Singson said.

We are expecting also investors from South Korea and China and other countries, he added.