One notable law signed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte early this month is Republic Act No. 11765, otherwise known as the Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection Act (FCPA), which gave three financial regulators the power to speed up addressing consumers’ complaints against financial...
The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 8.3 percent in the first quarter of 2022, higher than the 7.8 percent growth achieved in the fourth quarter of the previous year, and a significant reversal of the 3.8 percent decline a year ago. According to Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl...
With a month and a half left to go, a new administration led by presumptive president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will take over. News of prospective Cabinet members and new political movements and alliances will soon fill the news and give us a preview of what a Marcos administration will look like. When...
“Going home to the family” is an act that marks many stages of one’s life starting with the need to be with family during the holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, or death of a relative. There’s also the desire to be with family to share an achievement, or to nurse defeat. In the past week,...
The Hanoi mission could pose a different task for the battle-hardened Filipino athletes who traveled to the charming northeastern Vietnamese city armed with months of training and a big motivation that comes handy with a little prayer. With the cauldron now lit to mark the pandemic-delayed 31st...
Temporarily set aside because of the wall-to-wall coverage of election news was the fact that President Duterte ordered the immediate termination of e-sabong (aka online cockfighting) operations in the country, days after extolling its benefit in helping raise funds for our economy. The change of...
Hours after the start of the partial and unofficial tally of votes for last Monday’s national and local elections began, the top two presidential candidates issued their respective statements. Former Senator Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, Jr., who has emerged as the clear frontrunner with a...
By the time this morning’s newspapers hit the newsstands or are delivered to subscribers’ homes, the readers would be aware of the results of yesterday’s national and local elections. In the first two automated elections for President and Vice President in 2010 and 2016, a clear winner in the...
At 6 a.m. today, May 9, 2022, poll precincts in all parts of the country will open for 65.7 million registered voters — the highest ever, which the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has dubbed as “historic” numbers even with the pandemic still in the background. The 65.7 million voters...
At exactly 12:01 a.m., May 8, 2022, all forms and semblance of campaigning must stop. The miting de avance today of various candidates for national and local posts must also end at that time, formally concluding the 150-day election period that started in Jan. 9. How time flies! And what a ride it...
Better late than never, so it seemed, when President Duterte signed last week Republic Act 11712, or the “Public Health Emergency Benefits and Allowances for Health Care Workers Act.” This law grants mandatory continuing benefits to public and private health workers during the pandemic and...
Tasked with ensuring peaceful and orderly national and local elections, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have deployed a total of more than 80,000 personnel ahead of the May 9 electoral exercise. More than preserving the sanctity of the ballot, the...
