THE Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) said it is near the conclusion of talks with an unidentified US company seeking to take over the lease of a shipyard left behind by the collapsed Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction-Philippines, Inc. “We are nearing completion. Paperwork has already been laid out and done,” SBMA Business and Investment Department […]
Category: Hot News
Private schools ask court to void BIR bid to impose 25% tax
PRIVATE SCHOOLS filed a petition with the tax court Monday to halt the implementation of the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) Revenue Regulation 5-2021, which bars for profit educational institutions from availing of a 1% tax rate. The Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities, the Coordinating Council for Private Educational Associations and 27 Proprietary Educational […]
MGB says automatic renewal looms for exploration periods
THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is expected to release an administrative order that will allow for automatic renewals of the period set for mining exploration, according to an official of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB). Danilo D. Deleña, MGB Mining Tenements Management Division OIC-chief, said during the first day of an MGB […]
Senator calls for amendment to remove listing requirement for generating firms
SENATOR Sherwin T. Gatchalian, who chairs the chamber’s committee on energy, has proposed a measure to do away with the initial public offering (IPO) requirement for power generation companies (gencos) to increase the sector’s attractiveness to potential entrants. “The initial purpose of the public offering requirement for generation companies in the EPIRA (Electric Power Industry […]
Book industry claims losses of P240 million from DepEd ‘modules’
THE BOOK industry will sustain P240 million in losses from teaching materials reproduced by the Department of Education (DepEd) without a licensing agreement, a copyright organization said. Filipinas Copyright Licensing Society, Inc. (Filcols) in a statement Tuesday said that the department’s Order No. 18-2020 directing teachers to reproduce learning modules during the pandemic represents lost income […]
NWRB, DoST collaborating on water resource monitoring projects
THE National Water Resources Board (NWRB) is working with the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) on programs to improve the monitoring of the country’s water resources. Sevillo D. David, Jr., NWRB executive director, said in a recent DoST virtual program that the NWRB is working with the department’s Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and […]
Confirmed ASF cases now contained within 19 barangays
CONFIRMED cases of African Swine Fever (ASF) are now only detectable in 19 barangays in various parts of the country, the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) said. “We are seeing a positive development in the country’s fight against ASF. As of now, areas that have existing ASF cases are 19 barangays,” BAI Director Reildrin G. […]
Peso climbs on vaccine arrival, soft US jobs report
THE PESO climbed versus the dollar on Monday as more vaccines arrived in the country and after the release of weaker-than-expected US data. — BW FILE PHOTO THE PESO strengthened versus the greenback on Monday on the back of the arrival of more vaccines, which could help the government reach its vaccination target and reopen […]
Shares drop on virus concerns, lack of new leads
STOCKS started the week in the red as concerns over the country’s coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation affected investor sentiment on top of the absence of fresh catalysts. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) declined by 32.42 points or 0.47% to close at 6,763.92 on Monday, while the broader all shares index lost 8.97 points […]
Philippines starts labor force mass vaccination
By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza and Vann Marlo M. Villegas, Reporters THE PHILIPPINES started immunizing its labor force against the coronavirus on Monday as government seeks to further reopen its economy after imposing one of the strictest and longest lockdowns in the world. President Rodrigo R. Duterte said the vaccination of essential workers in the […]
Duterte not barred by law from running for VP, says spokesman
THE LAW does not bar President Rodrigo R. Duterte from running for vice president next year, according to the presidential palace, after critics said this would be anti-democracy. “There is absolutely no ban for a President to run for vice president,” presidential spokesman Herminio L. Roque, Jr. told a televised news briefing on Monday. Political […]
Gov’t mulls relaxing restrictions on vaccinated seniors
THE Philippine government may soon allow vaccinated seniors to go outside of their residences for non-essential activities, the Trade department said on Monday as the country aims to further reopen its economy. Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said the government is eyeing to ease restrictions imposed on seniors who have been fully vaccinated. “We just […]
Guidelines on senior citizen, PWD discount for online buys now under consolidation
THE GOVERNMENT will soon release online discount guidelines for senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWD), the Anti Red Tape Authority (ARTA) said. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will put together comments from concerned agencies by June 15 to develop a joint memorandum order, ARTA said in a statement on Monday. The […]
Senator asks gov’t to ease restrictions on vaccinated local, foreign tourists
A SENATOR called on the government to ease restrictions on fully vaccinated local and foreign tourists to boost the reopening of the industry. “If we’re easing travel restrictions on fully vaccinated Filipinos returning from trips abroad, I don’t see any reason why we should exclude those fully vaccinated foreign and local tourists as they are […]
Former High Court justice presents to Duterte draft bill marking PHL’s maritime claim
A FORMER Supreme Court justice has presented to President Rodrigo R. Duterte a draft bill that will specifically name and identify the maritime features that is claimed by the Philippines in the South China Sea. In a statement, retired Supreme Court Justice Francis H. Jardeleza said he sent a letter to Mr. Duterte, along with […]
Bangsamoro gov’t allocates P47-M for renovation of halal verification lab
THE BANGSAMORO region’s Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) has allotted P47 million for the renovation of a halal verification laboratory, which is expected to be completed by July. In a statement on Monday, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao government said work on the facility located in Cotabato City started early this year. […]
Dumaguete City to tap more schools as isolation facilities as COVID-19 cases increase
DUMAGUETE City’s local team managing the coronavirus pandemic has asked the Education department to allow more schools to be used as isolation facilities as cases continue to increase. The local government said it has also asked the city’s coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) task force to plan additional measures “to regulate the entry of non-residents… with […]
Yields on gov’t debt drop on steady May inflation
YIELDS ON government securities (GS) mostly declined last week following the release of May inflation data, which showed that the average rise in prices was steady for a third straight month. Bond yields, which move opposite to prices, edged down by an average of 3.08 basis points (bps) week on week, based on data from […]
Emerging-market stocks in pole position to gain as world reopens
A BULLISH case is building for emerging-market stocks, which have trailed their developed-nation peers this year, with strategists saying the asset class is better positioned to benefit from a global reopening. There are already signs the gap is narrowing, with the MSCI Emerging Markets Index last month outperforming the MSCI World Index for the first […]
Hyundai PHL looks back at a year of ‘phygital’ solutions
ON ITS 20th year in the business, the official distributor of Hyundai in the Philippines looks back at a suite of programs it initiated quickly amid the pandemic which began last year. Embodied in the so-called Hyundai GPS (Guidelines for Protection and Safety), Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI) crafted three main programs — Hyundai HOME […]