T3 sa Senado

With two Tulfos figuring in the top five of the magic 12 in independent surveys on the senatorial race, the possibility of the hard-hitting brothers collectively known as T3 from a defunct television program looms.

House Deputy Leader ACT-CIS Rep. Erwin Tulfo said the phenomena of the trio of brothers as senators should be left to the people to decide in the absence of a law restricting it.

Ben Tulfo, a broadcast journalist, filed his certificate of candidacy for a Senate run as an independent bet on Saturday while Erwin filed his CoC last Sunday as a member of Lakas-CMD. Raffy Tulfo is an incumbent senator.

The law against political dynasties that would ban family members in multiple positions in government has long been stuck in the archives of Congress since it couldn’t generate enough support from legislators.

“For now, since we have no law banning the Tulfos’ candidacy, let the people decide,” according to Erwin.

“Do voters want one Tulfo, two Tulfos, three Tulfos? Do we want one Duterte, two Dutertes, three Dutertes? One Marcos, two Marcoses, three Marcoses? It is up for the people to decide,” Erwin, who has been topping the surveys, said.

One of his programs if he is voted into the Senate will be the reform of the social amelioration program of the government, Erwin said.

“The government gives out too much ‘ayuda’ to the point that we are teaching people to be lazy,” indicated Erwin, who is a former Department of Social Welfare and Development (DWSD) secretary.

BSP fed gold speculation?

Did the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) contribute to the global gold trade turning speculative after its massive sale of the yellow metal in the first half of the year?

The BSP said it sold its gold reserves to generate additional income, reducing its gold holdings from $10.6 million as of the end of 2023 to $9.9 million in June before gradually raising it back to $10.2 million as of the end of August.

Gold as a percentage of total gross international reserves dropped to 9.5 percent in August 2024 from 10.2 percent in December 2023.

The price of gold has climbed by 28.8 percent year-to-date, ending just slightly below $2,660 an ounce recently.

The rally seemed to be fueled mostly by demand from exchange-traded funds and hedge funds, as well as American investors following the Federal Reserve’s jumbo rate cut in September.

Online retailer Gold Avenue reported a 66-percent increase in purchases since the Fed cut its rates, although the company also saw a 13-percent increase in customers selling back their gold since then.

Online market platform BullionVault commented that gold prices defy logic by “setting fresh record highs even though visible demand has either collapsed or gone negative across pretty much all segments.”

AP Securities said the price of the precious metal could remain elevated in the near to medium term as it continues to attract investors looking for a place to stash their cash as bond yields drop.

“The upside will likely be very limited without physical demand underpinning prices and downside risk is steadily increasing.”