Five new climate projects across the Philippines, totaling nearly ₱100 million, have been added to the list of projects greenlit by the People’s Survival Fund (PSF) Board, bringing the total to ₱1.4 billion. The PSF Board has committed to grant resources for five new projects across the...
Halfway through fiscal year (FY) 2025, the government’s revenue performance is showing mixed results, as the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is seen to meet its target while the Bureau of Customs (BOC) is projected to fall short—a familiar scene from history. Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto...
Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said the Philippines could consider accommodating zero tariffs on certain American goods entering the local market as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s economic managers prefer more free trade agreements (FTAs)—including with the United States (US) after the...
With the Philippines being flagged as one of the developing countries that spent more than 10 percent of its income on debt repayments in 2023, the Department of Finance (DOF) argued that the fiscal strain stemming from mounting debt payments remains under control. “We’re managing it,” DOF...
After receiving zero subsidies this year, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhillHealth) will be getting ₱53.3 billion in government support next year, according to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s chief economic manager. Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Ralph G. Recto told...
The Tokyo-based think tank Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) has flagged rising post-pandemic debt repayments in developing economies across the region, including the Philippines, which are depriving governments of more funding for public goods and services. “Between 2008 and 2019, annual...
The Department of Finance (DOF) has clarified that a new law will not tax the savings of ordinary Filipinos, as it only standardizes the tax rate on interest income, eliminating the unfair preferential treatment previously enjoyed by the wealthy. Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said the passage of...
Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said slapping the online gaming industry with a 10-percent tax could generate at least an additional ₱20 billion in revenues annually. Recto told reporters during an informal press chat that taxing each gamer per bet is more challenging to implement. He said it...
While the Philippine economy has already been recovering from its deep recession during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, hitting its growth potential of six percent would be challenging given the global uncertainties spilling over domestically, according to the Department of Finance (DOF)....
A one-percent excise tax on remittances under the proposed "One Big Beautiful Bill" in the United States (US) could reduce Filipino remittances by $1.9 billion, or approximately ₱108 billion, in 2026, the Department of Finance (DOF) estimated. Finance Undersecretary and Chief Economist Domini...
With only four percent of the total women-led micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) having access to formal financing, Manila-based Asialink Finance Corporation (AFC) has launched its fresh loan product to plug this gap. “Women entrepreneurs can borrow up to ₱20 million depending on...
The Philippines remained one of the world’s best in investor relations (IR) and debt transparency, even as it lost to Indonesia this year the top spot it held last year in the annual ranking of the Washington-based Institute of International Finance (IIF). In the 2025 IIF Investor Relations and...