by Catherine Talavera (The Philippine Star), 5 Aug 2021 MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has partnered with several private sector firms to launch two projects aimed at accelerating the modernization of agriculture through digital platforms for farmers and fisherfolks.

by Louella Desiderio (The Philippine Star), 5 Aug 2021 MANILA, Philippines — Two-thirds of consumers saw their income negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the second quarter, with the impact more pronounced for Gen X and millennials, according to a survey by information and insights company TransUnion.

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By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, 4 Aug 2021 THE PRESIDENTIAL palace on Wednesday ordered agencies in the Philippine capital and nearby cities to reduce their on-site workers to 20% during the two-week enhanced lockdown meant to contain a more contagious Delta coronavirus variant.

By Ben O. de Vera, 4 Aug 2021 The number of jobless Filipinos increased to 3.76 million in June, equivalent to 7.7 percent of the labor force, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported yesterday.

By Ben O. de Vera, 4 Aug 2021 Debt watcher Moody’s Investors Service on Tuesday said the pandemic-inflicted “deep” economic scarring in the Philippines—one of the worst in Asia-Pacific—would exacerbate social inequality due to job losses and households reverting to poverty.

by Lawrence Agcaoili (The Philippine Star), 4 Aug 2021 MANILA, Philippines — The reimposition of stricter lockdown and quarantine measures in the National Capital Region (NCR) starting Friday could further dampen the recovery prospects of the Philippines from the pandemic-induced recession, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

by Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star), 4 Aug 2021 MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is seeking P2 billion for the distribution of financial assistance for workers to be affected by the re-implementation of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

by Alexis Romero (The Philippine Star), 4 Aug 2021 MANILA, Philippines — The government will set aside more than P13 billion as aid for affected residents as the National Capital Region (NCR) is placed under the strictest enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) from Aug. 6 to 20, presidential spokesman Harry Roque announced yesterday.

by Ramon Royandoyan (Philstar.com), 3 Aug 2021 MANILA, Philippines (Update 1, 10:22 a.m.) — The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that jobless rate was steady in June, but looming harsh lockdowns in Metro Manila could throw a spanner in the works.

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by Doris Dumlao-Abadilla, 3 Aug 2021 Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) aims to stop by 2033 all lending to coal-fired power projects—which form 45 percent of its current power generation portfolio—and channel more funds to renewable energy projects moving forward.

On July 28, the Quezon City government announced that 82 of 161 policemen assigned to the Novaliches police station tested positive for COVID-19. This was harrowing news, as the infected cops account for more than 40 percent of the police station’s complement.

by Rainier Allan Ronda (The Philippine Star), 3 Aug 2021 MANILA, Philippines — Six Filipino students won four silver and two bronze medals at the 62nd International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) held virtually from July 14 to 24.

(Philstar.com), 3 Aug 2021 MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs reported the arrival of its ninth chartered repatriation flight with 374 Filipinos on board, including 78 pregnant women.

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DOLE releases the number of displaced workers in NCR from Jan. To July, 2021. @BusinessMirror pic.twitter.com/6yFaaokuWM — Samuel Medenilla (@sam_medenilla) August 2, 2021

by Karl R. Ocampo, 2 Aug 2021 The performance of the country’s agriculture sector for the past five years fell short of the Duterte administration’s goal to raise the industry’s productivity by at least 2.5 percent yearly as it was overwhelmed by several challenges.

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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