Business NEWS

Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo recently met with the private sector led by the Judicial Reform Initiative (JRI), an umbrella organization composed of major business associations, foreign chambers of commerce, and judicial advocacy groups that promote the advancement of the rule of law, sustainable economic growth, global competitiveness, and socio-economic justice.

Today is the start of the “hard lockdown” in Metro Manila and adjoining provinces recommended by OCTA Research, an independent think tank composed of academicians from the University of the Philippines and the University of Santo Tomas that has been providing analysis reports on the country’s pandemic situation.

When it rains, it pours. This adage is especially true for 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz, whose historic achievement last July 26 has overjoyed her fellow Filipinos worldwide. She is set to receive more than P50 million worth of prizes – in stark contrast to her predicament two years ago when the champion weightlifter asked for financial ‘ayuda’ (aid) from the private sector while pursuing her quest for Olympic glory.

July 7, 2021 was an auspicious day for iWave Advanced Research Group Inc. (iWar), a subsidiary of Filipino-Japanese venture iWave Inc. On that date, iWar unveiled the Global Trade Exchange (GTX) at the Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB) in the first-class municipality of Mariveles.

Since March 2020, our country has been experiencing widespread unemployment and underemployment. Rising inflation continues to be exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, which has recorded the longest lockdown in the world. As our economy is bolstered by OFW remittances, the limited economic activity in other countries has also affected the livelihood of almost 10 million Filipinos working abroad.

The National Capital Region (NCR), our country’s engine of growth, is gradually coming back to life after three months of virtual isolation inside the “NCR Plus” bubble. It seems like déjà vu if one recalls the early months of the pandemic last year, when the Philippine economy plunged to the lowest level since World War II.

Colleges and universities in the Philippines will not go back any more to the “old normal” of face-to-face classes. According to Commission on Higher Education (CHEd)  Chairman Prospero de Vera, the national government agency that oversees tertiary schools recently adopted a policy to further pursue the implementation of flexible learning in school year 2021-2022 and beyond.

Business leaders are taking great lengths to protect the country’s private sector from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Large companies as well as small and medium enterprises are procuring vaccines for their workforce instead of waiting for the government to provide the long delayed inoculation.

That is the title of SM Prime Holdings Inc.’s first-ever integrated report presented during its annual stockholders meeting last week. According to SM Prime President Jeffrey Lim, the Integrated Report 2020 translates the listed company’s business cycle into a concise, thorough, and transparent document combining both financial and non-financial information into one report.

A year after the National Capital Region (NCR) and the rest of Luzon Island went into the dreaded ECQ, or enhanced community quarantine, for two months, here we are back to square one with the resurgence of COVID-19 cases and hard lockdowns in NCR plus the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal.

What was previously unthinkable happened this month in the country’s biggest and westernmost province, Palawan. A non-government organization (NGO) achieved a rare victory against powerful state forces in the recently concluded plebiscite seeking the Palaweños’ approval of a law that divided Palawan into three smaller provinces.

A new era of high-speed connectivity is about to begin in the Philippines, which has long suffered from having the slowest internet services among Indo-Pacific nations.

March 16, 1521 was the day when Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan “discovered” the Philippines on behalf of the Spanish Empire. However, this fact is being downplayed during the commemorative activities that are lined up for the milestone celebration in our staunchly Roman Catholic country.

The Senate has approved on third and final reading a bill seeking to regulate the Philippines’ liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) industry. Otherwise known as the LPG Act of 2021, Senate Bill (SB) No. 1955 will ensure consumer welfare against business malpractices.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is planning to roll out its Starlink broadband services in the Philippines by the third quarter of 2021. SpaceX vice president for satellite government affairs Patricia Cooper disclosed this during a recent videoconference with Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, chairman of the Senate committee on foreign relations.

Last week, the Philippines’ coronavirus scoreboard hit the half-million mark. Based on the latest tally from the Department of Health (DOH), the number of confirmed cases has reached 500,577 with more than 24,000 still active, almost 466,000 recoveries, and nearly 10,000 deaths.

Dignity and Compassion: The Life Story of Jejomar C. Binay was one of the books I received during the holiday season that has just ended. Fresh off the press, the 320-page biography is co-authored by Joey Salgado and Krip Yuson.