Inter-agency committee formed to streamline land acquisition for nat'l railway projects [The Philippine Star, April 2, 2024]
In a news release by the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) on Monday, it said that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued Administrative Order (AO) No. 19, creating the Inter-Agency Committee for Right-of-Way (ROW) Activities for National Railway Projects.
Ayala ties up with Japan firm for ‘complex’ construction projects [Philippine Daily Inquirer, April 2, 2024]
The construction arm of Zobel family-led Ayala Land Inc. has launched a new company with Japanese firm Takenaka Corp. to explore “complex” design and construction projects in the country.
Microsoft splits Teams from Office after antitrust scrutiny [Associated Press, April 2, 2024]
The tech giant said Monday that customers buying Office subscriptions starting this week won’t get Teams bundled with the service. Microsoft will start selling the two products separately around the world, following a move last year to separate the products in Europe.
Capitol defends plans to relocate in Balamban [Cebu Daily News, April 2, 2024]
The Cebu Provincial Government defended its plans to relocate its seat of power to Balamban town in western Cebu amid criticisms following site redevelopment in the locality’s mountains.
Google to purge billions of files containing personal data in settlement of Chrome privacy case [The Manila Times, April 2, 2024]
The massive housecleaning comes as part of a settlement in a lawsuit accusing the search giant of illegal surveillance.
DTI seals lease deal with Filinvest [The Philippine Star, April 2, 2024]
Gotianun–led property developer Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) is supporting the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)’s plan to consolidate its various operating units with a deal to lease the company’s entire Filinvest Buendia building in Makati to the agency.
Filipino joint venture moves a step closer to Internet voting contract [ABS-CBN News, April 2, 2024]
With a bid amount of P112 million, the joint venture of SMS Global Technologies, Inc. and Sequent Tech, Inc. bested three other bidders for the Online Voting and Counting System (OVCS) contract of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
The accountant shortage is so bad that it's delaying key reports at companies like Tupperware [Business Insider, April 1, 2024]
In a regulatory filing, Orlando-based Tupperware blamed the delay on "significant" past and present accounting attrition, "which has resulted in resource and skill set gaps, strained resources, and a loss of continuity of knowledge."
DMW pushes for scholarships, training programs for overseas Filipino nurses [ABS-CBN News, April 1, 2024]
According to figures from the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), overseas deployment of land-based nursing professionals reached 81,213 in 2023 - more than double the 38,457 tallied in 2022.
Hackers bent on targeting digital payment platforms, says Visa [Philippine Daily Inquirer, April 1, 2024]
The Visa official explained the perpetrators can now access the dark web to buy ransomware, card number generator, deepfake tools and other software they can use to launch their digital attacks.
Taiwan firms reward Filipinos [The Manila Times, April 1, 2024]
Bello cited the case of I-Mei Foods Co. Ltd in Taoyuan, which has hired over 10,000 Filipinos for over 30 years. It is a food company founded in 1934 and became a popular consumer brand in Taiwan. I-Mei is also a major milk processor.
2 Japanese locators open facilities in Science Park [GMA News Online, April 1, 2024]
The Science Park of the Philippines Incorporated (SPPI) has welcomed two Japanese corporations as its new locator companies in its two industrial parks in Cebu and Batangas.
CDC welcomes UPS expansion efforts at Clark Airport [The Manila Times, April 1, 2024]
This move is poised to further bolster the ease of doing business within the Clark Freeport Zone and Clark Special Economic Zone, enhancing operational efficiency and logistics capabilities.
Recto wants expanded ties with SEC in tax enforcement [Philippine Daily Inquirer, April 1, 2024]
Both the SEC and BIR have long been collaborating mainly to tighten tax enforcement.In September last year, the SEC partnered with the United Nations and nonprofit organization Open Ownership to aid the BIR in its campaign against tax evaders.
MMDA to impose fines vs 2 contractors after unfinished EDSA projects cause heavy traffic [GMA News Online, April 1, 2024]
Citing the explanation of the contractors, Artes said there was a delay in the project because of a mistake in the logistics schedule for the delivery of cement.
SEC jacks up penalty for late filing of reports by 900% [Philippine Daily Inquirer, April 1, 2024]
After 22 years, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has raised penalties for companies that will be late in filing requirements set by the corporate watchdog.
Senate inquiry on BIR’s imposition of 25 percent withholding tax, 12% VAT on cross-border services sought [Manila Bulletin, March 31, 2024]
“This could hike the cost of doing business in the Philippines, which will further erode the country’s competitiveness in attracting foreign investors,” said Gatchalian.
Probe sought on foreigners owning land, duping banks [Philippine Daily Inquirer, March 28, 2024]
House Assistant Majority Leader Faustino Dy V is seeking a congressional inquiry on how foreigners were able to own land and defraud local banks by posing as Filipino citizens, claiming these exposed the country’s security and economy to potential risks.
Jollibee plunks down $28m in US drinks firm [Inquirer Mobile, March 28, 2024]
In a stock exchange filing on Wednesday, Jollibee said it would shell out $28 million for a 10-percent ownership stake in Botrista Inc., a company known for providing “all-natural” ingredients for craft drinks through beverage technology development.
BRT office to tap Cebu university for archeological impact study [Philippine News Agency, March 28, 2024]
The Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project management will tap a university here, as it complies with the archeological impact assessment as required by the National Commission for Culture and Arts (NCCA), the project management head said Wednesday.
PayPal funds can now be redeemed via GCash [Inquirer Mobile, March 28, 2024]
Freelancers and digital nomads can now cash in their earnings sent via multinational online payment provider PayPal through GCash after the financial technology players inked a partnership.This collaboration is expected to make fund transfers easier and more convenient for freelancers who usually work remotely for clients abroad.
Philippines sees increase in hotel bookings from overseas in 2023 — report [The Philippine Star, March 28, 2024]
SiteMinder, a software platform containing world hotel booking data, said that this is a 33% increase from the previous year, also in line with the global average.
ERC suspends reserves market billing, settlement [The Manila Times, March 27, 2024]
In an order dated March 26, 2024, the ERC directed the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC) and the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines Inc. (Iemop) to suspend the implementation of Section 8 on the Billing and Settlement of the Price Determination Methodology (PDM) of the co-optimized energy and reserve market in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.
Senate bill for new pay hikes, addt’l benefits for gov’t employees filed [Inquirer.Net, March 27, 2024]
Senator Jinggoy Estrada, through his Senate Bill No. 2611, also known as Salary Standardization VI, said the granting of additional benefits and modification of salary schedule would allow civilian employees to “cope” with the rising prices of basic commodities.
P28 billion losses since 2020: Lance Gokongwei to shovel another P10 billion investment to money pit JG Petrochemical [Bilyonaryo, March 27, 2024]
During a briefing for analysts, Abacus Securities reported that JGS management revealed plans to inject P9 billion to P10 billion to JG Summit Olefins Corp. (JGSOC) this year.
SM to buy 29% of Citicore Energy REIT for P5B [Philippine Daily Inquirer, March 27, 2024]
SM Investments Corp., the country’s most valuable conglomerate, has gained foothold in the real estate investment trust space with a deal to buy close to 29 percent of renewable energy property landlord Citicore Energy REIT Corp. (CREIT) for about P5 billion.
RCBC to surrender trust license [The Philippine Star, March 27, 2024]
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) is looking to surrender its license to engage in trust and other fiduciary business as part of its efforts to make RCBC Trust Corp. a stand-alone trust entity.
10 Most Expensive Condominiums in Metro Manila [Spot.ph, March 27, 2024]
The aftermath of the pandemic sees the Philippines’ economy on the mend and with it, a booming interest in luxury condominiums with a starting price of P20 million and upwards.
