Monthly Archives: July 2021

By Ben O. de Vera, 30 Jul 2021 After receiving flak for an alleged erroneous interpretation of tax rules, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has stopped the implementation of a regulation which would have jacked up the income taxes paid by private schools by 150 percent.

By Ben O. de Vera, 30 Jul 2021 The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has suspended the implementation of a regulation that slapped a 12-percent value-added tax (VAT) on some previously zero-rated transactions of exporters.

By Ben O. de Vera, 29 Jul 2021 The tax reforms enacted so far alongside the implementation of big-ticket infrastructure projects under the ambitious “Build, Build, Build” program allowed the Duterte administration to accomplish thus far about 85 percent of its economic agenda, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said.

By Karl R. Ocampo, 29 Jul 2021 President Duterte had promised in previous editions of his State of the Nation Addressed that under his administration, the agriculture sector would be modernized, food prices would be lowered and that the “Plant, Plant, Plant” (PPP) flagship program would jumpstart urgently needed innovations in the vital sector.

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by Lawrence Agcaoili (The Philippine Star), 28 Jul 2021 MANILA, Philippines — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lowered its economic growth forecast for member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN-5) as the recent high COVID-19 infection rates continue to dampen the region’s recovery from the pandemic-induced recession.

(The Philippine Star), 28 Jul 2021 MANILA, Philippines — The number of self-employed and voluntary members (SEVM) of the Social Security System (SSS) increased by 20.2 percent to 8.43 million as of May 2021.

by Jenina P. Ibañez, PHILSTAR, 27 Jul 2021 THE FORMER Hanjin shipyard in Subic may reopen before the end of the year under a North American company as talks are almost finalized, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) said.

by Ben O. de Vera, 27 Jul 2021 President Duterte’s final year in office became doubly challenging as the COVID-19 crisis reversed much of the prepandemic gains made toward the administration’s goals to sustain robust economic growth, reduce joblessness and move up to upper-middle income country status.

by Helen Flores (The Philippine Star), 27 Jul 2021 MANILA, Philippines — About half of Filipino families rated themselves as “mahirap” or poor, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) said in its latest survey.

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By Ferdinand Patinio, 27 Jul 2021 MANILA – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Tuesday has issued rules in determining the employment relationship between food delivery and courier riders and their respective digital platforms.

(Philstar.com), 26 Jul 2021 MANILA, Philippines — Job creation, lower prices of goods, and plans to accelerate the country’s COVID-19 vaccination drive are among the top topics that Filipinos want to hear when President Rodrigo Duterte delivers his final State of the Nation Address, results of a Pulse Asia survey showed.

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By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos, 26 Jul 2021 MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte has maintained high approval and trust scores despite the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic for over a year now, according to the latest survey by a political consultancy firm.

Nearly half of adult Filipinos said their quality of life had gotten worse in the past year while over a third remain optimistic about the next 12 months, according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.

by Louella Desiderio (The Philippine Star), 25 Jul 2021 MANILA, Philippines — The Tariff Commission (TC) has thumbed down the imposition of safeguard duties on vehicle imports following its investigation into the case.

By the Inquirer Bureaus, 25 Jul 2021 @Team_InquirerWhen President Duterte addressed the nation in 2017, he promised that the following years would be the “golden age of infrastructure” in the Philippines that would “enhance our mobility and connectivity.”

(The Philippine Star), 25 Jul 2021 Most workers now prefer hybrid setup MANILA, Philippines — The office is re-emerging as employees’ primary place of work post-pandemic as work-from-home (WFH) fatigue grows and productivity levels decline, according to the latest survey by global property research and advisory firm JLL.

by Federico D. Pascual Jr. (The Philippine Star), 25 Jul 2021 If President Duterte runs for vice president in the May 2022 elections as he has said often enough, he will likely have former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos as his presidential partner.

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by Shiela Crisostomo, Paolo Romero (The Philippine Star), 24 Jul 2021 MANILA, Philippines — The number of health care workers infected with COVID-19 has gone down as most of them have already been vaccinated, the Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday“We’re getting this kind of report also from our other hospitals where there has been…

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By Pilar Manuel, CNN Philippines, 23 Jul 2021 Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 23) — President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration has done a lot in reforming the economy, but it still has some remaining business to take care of, the Asian Development Bank said.

By: Krixia Subingsubing, 23 Jul 2021 President Duterte will leave behind an “endless, failed” war on drugs in which, up to his last year in office, at least two people are killed in a day despite his administration’s claims that it is “winning” the campaign, according to an independent monitoring group that is tallying the…

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Louise Maureen Simeon (The Philippine Star ) – 22 Jul 2021 MANILA, Philippines — The government has only a medium chance of achieving its development goals once President Duterte steps down from office next year.

by Louella Desiderio, Elijah Felice Rosales (The Philippine Star), 22 Jul 2021 MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has agreed to suspend the imposition of the 12 percent value-added tax (VAT) on local purchases of raw materials and packaging products of exporters, according to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and House…