The Philippine government has asked the World Bank to restructure and partially cancel over $2.34 million in unused proceeds from a Duterte-era loan supporting the country’s flagship Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), even as the Washington-based multilateral lender cited the project’s...
More than a decade after the World Bank approved financing for the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project, the flagship urban transport initiative remains far from achieving its original objectives, with only a short section of the corridor substantially completed before the loan expires in...
The government is nearing the end of its year-long search for a private partner to manage its nationwide value-added tax (VAT) refund system (VRS) for foreign tourists, as the Department of Finance (DOF) moves to formalize the accreditation process for global operators. Bureau of Internal Revenue...
The Philippines will repay until 2044 its biggest-ever loan from the World Bank, which will bankroll a sweeping agricultural transformation program aimed at boosting food production, modernizing farming systems, and strengthening climate resilience. Documents showed that Finance Secretary Frederick...
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is prepared to provide up to $1.75 billion in additional financing to help the Philippines, its host country, manage the economic fallout from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. In a statement on Friday, May 15, the Manila-based multilateral lender said ADB...
Local government units (LGUs) are borrowing in larger amounts during the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same three-month period last year, with total financing requirements surging despite a dip in the number of LGUs needing to borrow. The latest Department of Finance-Bureau of Local...
During intense deliberations that preceded the 2005 enactment of the Expanded Value Added Tax (E-VAT) Law, which also covered oil and electricity, lawmakers defended the measure as a treasury-tightening mechanism; an unpopular but calculated imposition designed to raise massive revenues so it could...
The World Bank has canceled part of the loans for the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) while as project scope was pared down with only five months left before its financing closes. A May 8 restructuring paper seen by Manila Bulletin showed that the Washington-based multilateral lender, effective Jan....
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Philippine government have launched a technical cooperation project aimed at strengthening sustainable finance and climate-related transparency frameworks in the country. In a statement on Saturday, May 9, JICA Philippines said that it signed...
President Marcos’ chief economic manager brushed off concerns over the country’s fiscal position, assuring markets that the government remains financially stable and still has room to borrow further if needed to cushion the economy from energy shocks. This comes against the backdrop of...
The Department of Finance (DOF) is moving to overhaul the country’s real estate taxation, targeting 2028 for the full rollout of a market value-based property valuation system. In a statement, the DOF said the initiative aims to replace the long-standing and currently suspended zonal value...
The Philippines faces mounting economic and financial risks from climate change, with projected losses reaching as much as 13 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2040 unless the country urgently scales up climate financing and aligns adaptation and mitigation efforts, according to state-run...
