Amid criticism over its absence from a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing, the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) said its official representative was unable to attend after being denied entry at a Senate security checkpoint. The clarification came after Senator Rodante Marcoleta hit the OMB over its...
The Philippines is now taking steps to evade the imposition of a 12.5-percent tariff from the United States (US) over its alleged failure to crack down on the importation of goods made with forced labor. Trade Undersecretary Allan Gepty said the government would respond to the proposed duties by...
The Philippines could soon face additional duties of up to 12.5 percent on some of its exports to the United States (US) as a result of its alleged failure to enforce measures banning the entry of goods produced with forced labor. The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) announced in a...
The Philippines successfully avoided the United States’ (US) list of intellectual property violators for a 13th consecutive year, maintaining its status as a regional leader in enforcement despite a surge in counterfeit pharmaceuticals and bureaucratic delays in trademark litigation. In this...
The Philippine government has pushed back against a United States (US) probe, asserting that its labor and trade policies neither enable forced labor nor disadvantage American businesses. In an April 14 position paper seen by Manila Bulletin, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary...
The United States (US) has once again flagged corruption as a major barrier to trade and investment with the Philippines, as recent efforts to clean up regulatory and judicial processes have failed to yield positive results. In this year’s National Trade Estimate (NTE) report, the Office of the...
ZAMBOANGA CITY – A medical representative was shot dead here on Sunday night, Dec. 14. Police identified the victim as 43-year-old Nicolai Torres Asistido. Investigation said the victim was talking to a companion on Calle Real St. in Barangay Mercedes when a man onboard a motorcycle appeared and...
The Philippines has once again secured a quota of 145,235 metric tons raw value (MTRV) of raw cane sugar at a lower tariff rate for the upcoming fiscal year (FY), according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). In a statement over the weekend, the USTR announced that the...
The Philippines remains absent from the United States (US) government’s infamous list of countries flagged for issues on safeguarding intellectual property (IP) rights for the 12th straight year. In the 2025 Special 301 Report by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), released...
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has flagged corruption and a flurry of other barriers to trade with the Philippines that the US government seeks to dismantle, in a report released just days before President Donald Trump’s announcement of reciprocal...
The plenary hall of the House of Representatives (Dexter Barro II/MANILA BULLETIN) The House of Representatives approved on third and final reading the measure postponing the first regular elections of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in...
The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday, Nov. 6, issued an Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order (ILBO) against seven officials of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) who were ordered to appear during the investigation of the House of Representatives. “The secretary (Justice Secretary...
