Electricity subsidies remain necessary to help vulnerable households and remote communities access power, but the Philippine government needs to improve targeting mechanisms to reduce leakages and ensure long-term sustainability, according to experts at a recent webinar organized by state-run...
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...
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo "Ping" Lacson proposed on Tuesday, Dec. 2, a provision in the 2026 budget barring any political involvement in cash aid distribution to prevent politicians from abusing the ayuda (cash aid) distribution. During the period of amendments for the 2026 budget bill,...
Senator Rodante Marcoleta raised questions over whether the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) dozen major interventions—amounting to P212.5 billion under the Senate version of the 2026 national budget—are reaching their intended beneficiaries and meaningfully reducing...
To sustain the government’s ongoing relief and recovery efforts following recent disasters, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has released a total of ₱740.8 million to replenish the Quick Response Funds (QRF) of concerned agencies. In a statement, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman...
To expedite the recovery of victims of recent calamities that have struck the country, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has released a total of ₱1.6 billion for the calamity funds of national government agencies. This amount has been used to replenish the quick response funds (QRFs)...
The Marcos Jr. administration will borrow $650 million, or over ₱37 billion, from the World Bank next year to sustain the conditional cash transfers for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and ensure that its youth beneficiaries land jobs. According to a Sept. 20 project information...
The Philippines will repay until 2053 its latest $400-million (nearly ₱23-billion) loan from the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) that supports the Marcos Jr. administration’s “Walang Gutom” Food Stamp Program. Documents showed that Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto, on behalf of...
Senator Erwin Tulfo has expressed his commitment to discuss possible amendments to the implementation of Republic Act No. 11310, or the law that institutionalized the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). The neophyte senator said this after a consultative meeting with Social Welfare...
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has released a total of ₱1.6 billion to replenish the Quick Response Funds (QRFs) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). This move comes in response to the successive typhoons...
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is batting for the full and effective implementation of the Parent Effective Service Program (PES) Act, also known as Republic Act (RA) No. 11908, to help curb bullying in schools. Senator Sherwin Gatchalian Gatchalian made this call during a public hearing on recent...
The World Bank would greenlight a $700-million (over ₱40-billion) loan for the Philippines in July, aimed at making local communities more resilient to natural disasters. According to a World Bank appraisal project information document dated April 8, the objective of the upcoming Philippines...
