Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Ralph G. Recto is confident about the country’s economic outlook for 2025, driven by the recent passage of two major laws to boost tourism, local spending, and food security. Both Republic Act (RA) No. 12079, or the Value-Added Tax (VAT) Refund Mechanism for...
Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) has secured a $115 million (over P6.676 billion) financing deal with homegrown non-bank Asialink Finance Corp. (AFC) to boost the latter’s working capital and support small businesses, particularly those owned by women. ADB Director General for Private...
Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $14.8 million (P856.8 million) technical assistance grant to boost climate action, drive innovation, and enhance private sector growth in its regional projects. ADB, in its Dec. 5 statement, said the assistance will support initiatives in...
The Philippines' public debt as a share to gross domestic product (GDP) rose in the third quarter alongside slower economic growth, even as private-sector debts continued to fall before the onset of downward interest rates. The latest Global Debt Monitor of the Washington-based Institute of...
While the Marcos administration’s economic team has widened its full-year growth target for 2025, it stated that the worst-case scenario for the Philippine economy next year is a slowdown to six percent. The Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) revised its macroeconomic assumptions...
Only a few major differences will be tacked by the bicameral conference committee on disagreeing provisions of the 2025 budget according to Senate Finance Committee Chair Senator Grace Poe. Sen. Grace L. Poe delivers her opening remarks as the head of Senate panel and chairperson of the Committee...
Even with the controversial P1.3 billion budget slashed from the Office of the Vice President (OVP), Senate Finance Committee chair Senator Grace Poe said the office can still perform its mandate with P733 million. In a press conference on Wednesday, November 27, Poe said that members of the Upper...
Vice President Sara Duterte’s allies in the Senate have accepted the inevitability they won’t be able to press for a higher budget for the Office of the Vice President (OVP) for 2025 given the current circumstances. Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa said the OVP’s budget for next year...
The Philippine government has made inroads towards greater digital transformation, as required by the newest loan it secured from the World Bank. The Washington-based multilateral lender disclosed on Nov. 26 that Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto, on behalf of the government, signed the loan...
Voting 18-0-1, the Senate approved on third and final reading on Tuesday, Nov. 26, House Bill 10800 or the P6.352 trillion 2025 General Appropriations Bill (GAB). In plenary, Senator Grace Poe enumerated during the period of committee amendments how the Senate maximized the budget to secure the...
The Philippines has secured a government-to-government financial and development cooperation agreement with Sweden, aimed at enhancing economic security and investment in key projects. The DOF announcement follows the signing on Nov. 22, 2024, involving Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto and...
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has called on the Philippine private sector to intensify efforts in disaster risk reduction (DRR) and resilience building. “People talk about DRR here; the government has a lot to say about DRR, but the private sector,...
