Category: Hot News

LOCAL EQUITIES rose on Monday as investors remained cautious ahead of the release of May consumer price index (CPI) data and after US President Joseph R. Biden signed the debt ceiling deal over the weekend. The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) went up by 9.63 points or 0.14% to 6,521.64 on Monday, while the […]

THE PESO weakened against the dollar on Monday due to better-than-expected US labor data and higher global oil prices. The local currency closed at P56.24 versus the dollar on Monday, dropping by 35 centavos from Friday’s P55.89 finish, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines’ website showed. The local unit opened Monday’s session at […]

THE Department of Agriculture said it is still looking for funding sources for the program to subsidize vaccines for African Swine Fever (ASF). “We are discussing this with the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) the possibilities to subsidize but we cannot commit as to whether there will be subsidies bago lumabas ang presyo (before knowing […]

THE National Power Corp. (Napocor) said it has signed a partnership with the German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GPCCI) to study the feasibility of green hydrogen and fuel cell technologies in off-grid areas. “Napocor is excited to partner with GPCCI in exploring the potential of green hydrogen and fuel cell technologies,” Fernando Martin Y. […]

ISRAELI Foreign Minister Eliyahu Cohen said his country’s tourism ministry is seeking to arrange direct air links between Tel Aviv and Manila to boost visitor exchanges and trade. “Direct flights would be good for business and would be beneficial for both our peoples,” he said at the Israel-Philippine Business Forum held at the New World […]

ONLY 15% or about 600 out of 4,000 obliged companies have registered in compliance with a law holding companies responsible for the proper disposal of their products’ plastic packaging, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Registration is required under Republic Act (RA) No. 11898 or the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act of […]

TAX administrators need to adapt to digital platform use by their taxpayers to enhance their ability to capture revenue, the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) said. “In a virtual cross-border world, the effectiveness of existing tax measures is limited. The ease through which online accounts can be set up and deployed as digital storefronts, […]

A BILL has been filed in the House of Representatives limiting all government procurement exercises to 27 days. “Government agencies with major underspending concerns noted ‘public procurement issues’ as a recurring reason for the low disbursement (utilization),” Senior Deputy Speaker and Pampanga Rep. Aurelio D. Gonzales, Jr. said in House Bill No. 7944. The measure […]

THE Indonesian electric vehicle (EV) association has joined the ASEAN Federation of Vehicle Associations (AFEVA) to promote sustainable transportation in the region, becoming the alliance’s third member. The AFEVA members include Dennis Chuah, president of the Electric Vehicle Association of Malaysia (EVAM), and Rommel T. Juan, chairman of the Electric Vehicle Association of Philippines (EVAP). […]

CELSIUS Resources’ Philippine subsidiary Makilala Mining Co., Inc. (MMCI) said it hopes to launch commercial operations at its Maalinao-Caigutan-Biyog (MCB) copper-gold project by 2026. “Hopefully by 2024 we can start the project construction and proceed to first commercial production by 2026,” Judy Rola, head of information management at MMCI, said of the project, located in […]

Taxes have been around forever, and will remain a feature of our civilization. Taxation is a burden we must learn to live with, as they are collected for the welfare of the people. In the Philippines, while there are questions and concerns about the collection of taxes, the BIR has been optimistic about the prospects […]

By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Reporter A LAWMAKER is proposing to totally ban the entry of imported wastes in the Philippines with a tighter monitoring system to be established in all ports. “Many other cases of illegal entry and importation of wastes happen without the knowledge of authorities,” Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund F. Villafuerte, […]

THE CROSS-BORDER nature of plastic pollution in Southeast Asia will require a regional approach to mitigate its impacts, the World Bank (WB) said. “Southeast Asia is a hotspot for plastic pollution, largely due to rapid urbanization, a growing middle class, and underdeveloped waste management infrastructure,” the World Bank said in a blog posted on June […]

THE PHILIPPINES posted 9,107 COVID-19 infections in the previous week with a daily average of 1,307, according to health authorities. The daily average from May 22 to 29 was 22% lower than the average cases per day from a week earlier, the Department of Health (DoH) said in a bulletin. It said there were 77 […]

GILBERTO “Gibo” C. Teodoro Jr. has returned to the Defense department after being appointed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. as its head.  He and medical doctor Teodoro J. Herbosa were appointed as secretaries of the Department of Defense (DND) and the Department of Health (DoH), respectively, on Monday, the Presidential Communications Office said in […]

ISRAELI Foreign Minister Eliyahu Cohen paid a courtesy call to Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. at the presidential palace in Manila on Monday.  This marked the first time in 56 years that an Israeli foreign minister has visited the Philippines.    Mr. Cohen arrived in Manila on Sunday evening for a two-day visit that included […]

A PHILIPPINE lawmaker said there is a lot of room for the government to improve income from excise taxes, particularly for so-called sin products and luxury goods.    “We have to keep evolving our excise tax regime because consumption patterns tend to change,” House Ways and Means Chairman and Albay Rep. Jose Ma. Clemente S. Salceda […]

THE ALERT level for Mayon Volcano has been raised to 2 due to increased activity that could trigger an eruption, the state volcanology agency announced on Monday.  “This means that there is current unrest driven by shallow magmatic processes that could eventually lead to phreatic eruptions or even precede hazardous magmatic eruption,” the Philippine Institute […]

THE PHILIPPINE Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) has warned the public against an illegal gambling website based in the United States using the link www.starspangled200.org.  PAGCOR reported that the link, which redirects to an illegal gambling platform (www.globeinternational.info), has been printed on almost 800,000 registered vehicle plates in Maryland, USA under the guise of being […]

ANTI-NARCOTICS agents arrested five alleged drug den operators who were reportedly providing funds to local terrorist group Dawlah Islamiya in an entrapment operation Saturday in Saguiaran, Lanao del Sur.  Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-Bangsamoro Region Director Christian O. Frivaldo on Monday said the suspects were caught in with the help of local officials and units […]