The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has issued Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 27-2026, publishing the updated list of medicines exempt from 12-percent value-added tax (VAT), as endorsed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Released on April 8, 2026, the circular covers 2,263...
United Sugar Producers’ Federation of the Philippines (UNIFED) has called on the government to implement intervention measures such as cloud seeding to counter the impact of dry conditions on sugar production. UNIFED president Manuel Lamata said Negros Occidental province, which accounts for more...
Enhanced energy security and streamlined investment in the power sector will be the centerpiece of a new threshold program being developed by the United States (US) aid arm Millennium Challenge Corp. (MCC) and the Philippines, as the country grapples with surging oil prices and supply disruptions...
Fiscal indicators under the Duterte administration generally trended upward, though the pattern was heavily shaped by the pandemic shock mid-term. In the early pre-pandemic years, revenues grew steadily, bolstered by improved tax administration and the initial impact of the TRAIN reforms. The...
Government subsidies to state-run firms fell sharply in January as the sharp withdrawal of support for rice and irrigation agencies outweighed increased spending on small-business credit and healthcare. Subsidies to government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) dropped 23.4 percent to ₱3.4...
Frustrating security lines dwindled at U.S. airports Monday, clearing the worst bottlenecks as Transportation Safety Administration officers began receiving backpay for working during the government shutdown. Checkpoint lines that at times stretched to four hours at Houston’s George Bush...
Malacañang said there is no movement in leadership within the Marcos Cabinet at the moment. Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said so far, President Marcos trusts all heads of departments. "Hindi pa po naipapaabot sa atin kung mayroon sa ngayon (It has not yet...
Senator Pia Cayetano on Friday, March 27 welcomed the successful drilling of the Camago-3 gas well, saying it a breakthrough for the Philippine’s energy security and local energy production. “This comes as a source of hope and opportunity, especially at a time when the conflict in West Asia...
Senate Deputy Majority Leader Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito on Wednesday, March 25 said he welcomes President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s declaration of a state of national energy emergency but the directive is already “a bit too late.” That is why Ejercito said the government...
Senator Imee Marcos on Tuesday, March 17 scored President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. over the “increasingly rampant practice” of the President to appoint acting Cabinet secretaries. Marcos said this practice of the President, in effect, strips off the Commission on Appointments (CA) of...
As the competitiveness of the Philippines’ sugar industry slowly deteriorate, Senator Risa Hontiveros has called on the Senate to review the country’s existing laws, particularly the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) charter and the Sugar Industry Development Act (SIDA) of 2015. Hontiveros...
The Intramuros Administration (IA) plans to terminate its contract with JSL Security Agency, employer of the two security guards caught on camera assaulting a 17-year-old teenage boy along the Pasig River Esplanade in Intramuros, Manila, on Sunday night, Feb. 8. "The Intramuros Administration...
