The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is pulling out of its pockets at least $3.3 billion in loans to sustain support for Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s ambitious “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program, a record high. New ADB president Masatsugu Asakawa met with Duterte for the first time on Monday (Feb. 24) at the Department of Finance […]
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MANILA, Philippines–President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered an investigation into the reported entry of more and more dirty cash into Philippine shores during the past few months while strengthening the government’s anti-money laundering arm. Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said Tuesday that he was able to talk to the President during a Cabinet meeting on […]
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MANILA, Philippines — Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said he came into contact with a person who tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during the March 5, 2020 toll road inspection event led by President Rodrigo Duterte. Tugade told the Inquirer the event was for the inspection of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) Harbor […]
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MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is seeking $1 billion (over P51 billion) in loans which would nearly triple its war chest in the fight against COVID-19, including the P27.1-billion package unveiled by President Rodrigo Duterte’s economic team. Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said Tuesday that “negotiations for $1-billion loans for combating COVID-19 were still […]
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MANILA, Philippines – Business groups want Duterte to have special powers that would enable him to deal with the health crisis, but they said the final law should neither be overly broad nor over-reaching. Without criticizing the versions of the proposed bill filed in both houses of Congress, 22 business groups threw their support for […]
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The Duterte administration’s order for ABS-CBN Corp., the country’s largest television network, to stop broadcast operations over an expired franchise might be a first. National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) deputy commissioner Edgardo V. Cabarios told the Inquirer in an interview that he did not recall any instance when the NTC issued a cease and desist order […]
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The Bureau of Customs (BOC) will start collecting an additional 10 percent duty on oil imports, an essential product, following President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive to raise more funds for COVID-19 response. Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero issued Customs Memorandum Circular (CMC) No. 125-2020 on May 5, telling all deputy commissioners, district and port collectors […]
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MANILA, Philippines – President Duterte’s chief economic manager is firm: No government asset will be sold to finance the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic response. Asked over the weekend if he had new discussions with the President after presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the government was ready to dispose of assets to purchase COVID-19 vaccines, […]
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A total of P14.3 billion was slashed in June from the budget of several departments, including the offices of President Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Leni Robredo, as the government scrambled to secure more funds for its new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) response before the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act expired. Latest data from the […]
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MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has named V. Bruce J. Tolentino and Anita Linda R. Aquino as full-time private sector representatives to the seven-member Monetary Board, the highest policy-making body of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). Tolentino — who first joined the board on June 18, 2018 — will have a fresh term […]
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From breaking the duopoly to recent threats of a takeover, President Rodrigo Duterte’s relationship with industry giants PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom has been a tense affair since the start of his administration. With his term ending in 2022 and the launch of a telecommunications startup controlled by campaign donor Dennis A. Uy of Davao […]
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Finance officials are taking a close look at what could be the impact on government revenue of President Rodrigo Duterte’s sudden decision to shut down all betting formats of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office especially on funding for the Universal Health Care Act next year.
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The administration of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is expecting to breach the P4 trillion mark, or some P1 trillion more than its programmed expenditures in 2019, in government income from tax and non-tax sources as a result of a boost in revenue from its comprehensive tax reform program, according to government documents.
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A leading economist urged the government to tap the private sector for partnership programs again as the Duterte administration’s ambitious “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure campaign appeared to sputter with key agencies enforcing it continuing to underspend. “The absorptive capacity of infrastructure agencies need to be given an earnest look,” said economist Cielito Habito, a columnist […]
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The Philippines and China sealed an agreement for a $219.7-million preferential buyer’s credit facility to fund the project management consultancy of the Philippine National Railways’ south long haul project, the Department of Finance said on Thursday. This infrastructure project under the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” program will link Metro Manila to Legazpi, Albay; Legaspi […]
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MANILA, Philippines — The almost three-year low inflation in August was a proof of the “sound and resilient” anti-inflation measures of the Duterte administration, Malacañang said Thursday. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo issued this statement as “the country’s headline inflation has further eased to 1.7% in August of this year.” The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said […]
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Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said on Friday, Sept. 13, that top legal and economic minds of the administration will study President Rodrigo Duterte’s idea to compute corporate taxes based on gross revenue rather than taxable net income, the current practice. The President brought this up at a speech on Thursday, Sept. 12, saying the […]
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The Philippine government has shunned any financial assistance from the 18 countries that voted to approve a United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution calling for an investigation of summary killings linked to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war and worsening human rights situation in the country. A confidential memorandum, dated Aug. 27, from the […]
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MANILA, Philippines — The House leadership is hopeful that an economic expansion of 6 percent or above —as targeted by the Duterte administration’s economic team— remains “doable” by ramping up state spending in the last quarter, Deputy Speaker for finance Luis Raymund Villafuerte, Jr. said Tuesday. In a statement, Villafuerte called on the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory […]
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The World Bank’s projection that the poverty rate will dip below 20 percent by 2020 is consistent with the government’s goal to reduce poverty by the end of President Rodrigo Duterte’s term. Malacañang on Thursday hailed the World Bank’s Macro Poverty Outlook for East Asia and the Pacific as “good news” that should encourage civil […]
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Delivering President Rodrigo Duterte’s ambitious “Build, Build, Build” program at the end of his term in 2022 would be a struggle that may require more than just guts, according to an international think tank. The global business intelligence provider The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), in a Dec. 5 report, said Build, Build, Build had a […]
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MANILA, Philippines –President Rodrigo Duterte’s approval rating climbed nine notches to 87 percent in December, the latest Pulse Asia Research Inc. survey showed and which his economic team attributed to lower poverty rate and a festive mood following the country’s hosting of the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games). After a meeting of the National Economic […]
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MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte was “ecstatic” over a proposal to turn the Philippines’ main gateway, Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), into a national park once the Sangley Point International Airport (SPIA) is fully operational in the next few years, according to Cavite Gov. Jonvic Remulla. “We showed what could be done to the […]
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MANILA, Philippines — Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, the country’s chief economic manager who supported President Duterte’s campaign during the 2016 elections, on Monday night said ABS-CBN Corp.’s account of the issue on unaired political ads “does not tally” with their own experience. Asked to comment on the claim of ABS-CBN president and chief executive […]
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President Rodrigo Duterte will leave behind a record P13.7 trillion in debt when he steps down in 2022, elevating debt-to-GDP ratio to its highest in 17 years, as the government borrows more in the near-term to fight COVID-19 and revive the economy. In a presentation to the House appropriations committee on Friday (Sept. 4) at […]
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MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos should brace for possible new or higher taxes before President Rodrigo Duterte steps down in 2022 so that the government can repay the bigger debt it incurred to better respond to the health and socioeconomic crises inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic. “I think sometime in the late 2021 or early 2022, […]
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MANILA, Philippines—Eugenio “Gabby” Lopez III, the media mogul at the center of President Rodrigo Duterte’s devastating attacks on ABS-CBN Corp., resigned from the company on Thursday (Sept. 24), giving the next generation of leaders a free hand in navigating a crisis triggered by the loss of its franchise in the middle of a pandemic. The […]
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MANILA, Philippines—Despite the COVID-19 pandemic that shed millions of jobs and shuttered thousands of businesses, the state-run pension fund Social Security System (SSS) on Monday (Dec. 7) said the scheduled increase in contribution rate to 13 percent from 12 percent at present will push through in January 2021. SSS president and chief executive Aurora C. […]
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MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has ordered government departments and agencies to jump-start their budgeting process for 2022 in order to submit President Rodrigo Duterte’s last spending plan in time for his final State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 26. Budget Secretary Wendel E. Avisado on Jan. 6 […]
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MANILA, Philippines — As presidential spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. wished rigor mortis on critics of the Duterte administration, the country’s economic managers scrambled to stop the economy itself from “sinking deeper and deeper” as President Duterte himself bemoaned earlier this week. To accomplish the mission, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III had earlier conceded that the […]
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MANILA, Philippines – Inflation climbed to a 26-month high of 4.7 percent year-on-year in February as food costs, especially of meat and fish, remained elevated even as pork prices eased in Metro Manila due to the ongoing price cap to the detriment of consumers elsewhere in the country who shouldered more expensive products. The rate […]
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MANILA, Philippines—Banks should take advantage of time-bound tax exemptions and fee privileges under a new law meant to make it easier for financial institutions to cleanse their books of loans that went bad during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was the appeal made by the head of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), who said his […]
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The Department of Agriculture (DA) will put in a budget request of P250 billion for the final year of President Duterte’s administration next year —three times more than the 2021 allocation—to at least keep pace with agricultural developments in Southeast Asia. “We pray that the country’s agriculture sector could be afforded that long-delayed financial support,” […]
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MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte’s economic managers will meet on Monday to take a closer look at the local impact of the Ukraine-Russia war, especially on food and oil prices. National Economic and Development Authority Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon told Saturday’s Laging Handa briefing that Neda, the Department of Finance (DOF) and the Bangko Sentral […]
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MANILA, Philippines – Infrastructure spending must remain a priority for the next President despite the need for fiscal consolidation or narrowing of the record debt and budget deficit wrought by bigger expenditures but weaker revenues amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Finance (DOF) said. “In the medium-term, there is a need to bring […]
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MANILA, Philippines — New and higher taxes, plus a three-year deferral of income tax reductions scheduled for individual taxpayers will be the bitter pill that Filipinos must swallow to repay ballooning debts and bring down the level of these obligations that piled up amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, President Rodrigo Duterte’s chief economic manager said. […]
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If government coffers could afford it, the Marcos Jr. administration is looking at a “slightly” bigger 2023 national budget—its first full-year spending plan —than the record P5.268-trillion cap set by President Duterte’s economic managers. Also, incoming Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said in an interview last week that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) under […]
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Before President Duterte leaves office on June 30, the Philippines will borrow $178.1 million from the World Bank (WB) for a project aimed at addressing prevalent stunting among Filipino children. The latest documents showed that the Philippines’ multisectoral nutrition project, to be jointly implemented by the departments of Health (DOH) and of Social Welfare and […]
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In his State of the Nation Address in 2017, President Duterte promised to usher in a “golden age of infrastructure” for the Philippines through an ambitious P8-trillion “Build, Build, Build” initiative. This had led to the roll out and completion of infrastructure projects that included roads, highways and expressways, bridges, flood mitigation projects, as well […]
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MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered all government departments, agencies, institutions and branches to support the implementation of the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion 2022-2028 (NSFI) to “harmonize” measures, policies, and other efforts on financial inclusion. The NSFI, which the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas spearhead, aims for inclusive growth and financial resistance for […]
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