Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan on Thursday, July 24, called for urgent reforms in government procurement policies to allow farmers to sell rice directly to national agencies and local government units (LGUs). Pangilinan lamented that under the current system, traders are favored over...
Following widespread class suspensions due to typhoons and the intensified southwest monsoon (habagat), a teachers’ group urged the Department of Education (DepEd) on Thursday, July 24, to utilize buffer days before calling for immediate makeup classes. Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT)...
There’s been a lot of talk about this topic lately, to the point of misinformation. In this article, I want to present both sides – the government 's perspective and some statements from the public – to help us understand it better. First off, the public shouldn’t panic about this 20...
South Korean Ambassador to Manila Lee Sang-hwa said that there was a 4,000 percent increase in South Korea’s investment in the Philippines during the first quarter of this year because of the free trade agreement (FTA) that entered into force on Dec. 31, 2024. In a media luncheon on Tuesday,...
The World Bank considers liberalized rice trade as a boost to the Philippine agriculture sector, even as the Marcos Jr. administration is moving to reinstate the National Food Authority’s (NFA) old regulatory powers. “Strategic shifts are underway to reinvigorate transformation of the...
Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada is now pushing for two measures aimed at providing a broader, disaster-ready blueprint for the country: the creation of the Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR) and the establishment of a Food Bank and Stockpile Act. Estrada filed both measures ahead of the...
More Filipino workers are expected to build up their retirement funds under the Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA), following the enactment of the Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act (CMEPA). The Securities and Exchange Commission noted that, among the salient provisions of the...
Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson has refiled his proposed "Parents Welfare Act of 2025," as a way to ensure that elderly parents are not abandoned by their children during times of need. The bill seeks to penalize those who fail to provide the necessary support to their "aging, sick, and...
The Department of Agriculture (DA) will hold on-the-ground consultations with farmers and lawmakers to prepare for the deliberations on the proposed RICE Act, which aims to reinstate the regulatory powers of the National Food Authority (NFA). Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said he has...
A couple of months before the much-anticipated Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act (CMEPA) took effect, my friend Carmen got in touch about a five-year-plus-one placement offered by a publicly listed universal bank, promising a pretty good yield. Considering and understanding that transaction...
While the recent reduction in the cost of trading stocks in the Philippines is expected to boost market activity at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), more needs to be done to develop the local capital market, particularly in investor education. During the bell-ringing ceremony at the PSE marking...
The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday, June 25, expressed full support for the Governance Commission for GOCCs’ (GCG) approval of the long-anticipated reorganization of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth). In a statement, DOH Secretary Teodoro J. Herbosa said the move...
