The 120 beds allocated for leptospirosis patients at San Lazaro Hospital are now fully occupied amid a surge in cases, Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Edwin Mercado said on Tuesday, Aug. 25. “Marami nga ‘yung nasa San Lazaro. In fact, ‘yung 120 beds na nakalaan sa leptospirosis ay puno...
The Pasig Magokoro Elderly Care Facility highlighted the continuing Philippines-Japan cooperation in strengthening elderly care and improving services for senior citizens. Japanese government and Department of Health (DOH) officials visited the facility on Aug. 20 as part of the 4th...
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is looking to strengthen its early-warning systems to prevent farm losses from market disruptions such as storms, after the agriculture sector reported nearly ₱2 billion in damages due to recent weather disturbances. In a statement on Monday, Aug. 24,...
The Philippines is seeking a $100-million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to expand solar-powered irrigation systems nationwide, providing small farmers with year-round access to water while improving farm productivity and resilience to drought. The latest ADB documents showed that the...
The Philippines has made significant progress in expanding universal health care (UHC), but inadequate government financing, high out-of-pocket costs, and severe shortages of health facilities and workers continue to constrain access to quality medical services, according to the Asian Development...
More than 4,000 leptospirosis cases have been recorded across the country, down 37 percent from the 6,839 cases logged in the same period last year, the Department of Health (DOH) bared on Monday, Aug. 24. Based on the agency’s data as of Aug. 22, the DOH recorded a total of 4,285 leptospirosis...
Apart from the proposed artificial intelligence (AI) industrial hub in New Clark City, the Philippines plans to establish other projects under the United States-led Pax Silica initiative, including an economic zone focused solely on data centers. Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo told lawmakers...
The government released ₱1 billion to scale up artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities for early flood forecasting and hazard tracking, shifting public expenditure toward predictive disaster prevention as severe weather increasingly threatens infrastructure and economic output. In a statement...
Weak and fragmented data systems are threatening to hold back the Philippines’ artificial intelligence (AI) ambitions, prompting the World Bank to call for greater investment in the infrastructure and governance needed to unlock the technology’s economic potential. In its policy note “From...
Local government units (LGUs) have the discretion to adopt or not adopt the registered business enterprise local tax (RBELT), even as the interagency Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) has required them to review and align local rules with national policies. In FIRB’s latest advisory dated...
The Philippine economy could weaken further in 2026 as the prolonged war in the Middle East, governance concerns, and El Niño threaten growth while elevated inflation and borrowing costs cloud the outlook, the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) warned. “The country’s...
Japanese credit rating agency Rating and Investment Information, Inc. (R&I) expects Philippine economic growth to lag behind its 2025 pace as the country continues to bear the brunt of corruption-led infrastructure spending delays in 2026. This projection comes even as R&I affirmed the...
