Philippines places 75th in revamped 2021 travel and tourism index

Source BusinessWorld

The country is likely to achieve upper-middle-income status in 2023, an outgoing Cabinet official said on Wednesday. “It’s likely, especially since we broadened the economy’s potential with all the reforms that we have done,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay...

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The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is expected to again raise its key policy rate in June, this time by as much as 50 basis points as the government’s team of economic managers raised their forecast for average inflation in 2022...

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The next government should postpone scheduled personal income tax cuts, impose new taxes and remove certain tax exemptions if it is to keep the economy growing and manage the record debt it will inherit from the Duterte administration, the Department of Finance (DoF) said on Wednesday...

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Health experts said on Wednesday that for now, they would not recommend giving second booster shots to other priority groups, particularly, economic front-liners and people with comorbidities...

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Congress, in a joint session Wednesday, officially proclaimed former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Davao City Mayor “Inday” Sara Duterte-Carpio, as the next President and Vice President of the Republic of the Philippines...

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Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua called on the next administration to continue current policies and to deliver the pending reforms of the present administration...

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About 77 percent of the country’s eligible population are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to presidential adviser for COVID-19 response Vince Dizon...

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The incoming administration can only bring down the cost of rice to around P20 to P30 per kilo if the government will help increase the productivity of farmers instead of “blindly” providing subsidies, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda)...

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The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) announced that 11 companies are at risk of being suspended from trading due to their noncompliance with the submission of financial reports...

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A lawmaker on Wednesday pushed the passage of a bill seeking to protect media workers from abuse by their employers...

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Several listed companies vowed to submit the required financial reports after the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) warned 11 firms their shares would be suspended from trading beginning June 1 this year...

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The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will revise its rules and procedures on electoral protest for local positions to speed up the process that normally takes years to resolve...

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With just two weeks left before the current 18th Congress comes to a close, the country’s chief economist on Wednesday urged legislators to pass a number of reform bills still pending despite the Duterte administration’s push...

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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) welcomed the enactment of Republic Act No. 11765, or the Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection Act (FCPA), as it reinforces the agency’s mandate of protecting the investing public...

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With 21 affirmative votes, no negative vote and no abstention, the Senate approved on third and final reading the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) Charter. The Charter aims to help adapt and strengthen the agency to the changing times by standardizing and rationalizing the compensation of its personnel...

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The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), along with other business groups, strongly called for the immediate revocation of an order by the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) that they say threatens the transport and logistics industries and the economy...

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The Head of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) announced on Wednesday that he is suspending quarrying agreements at the Masungi Georeserve with three companies, which have been inactive for 18 years...

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The Department of Transportation (DoTr) said it will shell out an additional subsidy of around P150 to P180 million so that passengers can continue enjoying the free rides on the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) until the end of June...

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If the next administration wants to finally pass the National Land Use Act (NALUA), the government must adopt a “door-to-door approach” used by the current administration in passing the tax reform program, according to the country’s outgoing chief economist...

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Payment company Stripe, Inc. plans to give customers access to Bitcoin four years after suspending support for the cryptocurrency...

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The Social Security System (SSS) is offering a faster and more convenient online pension loan application for first-time borrowers...

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Drones spraying pesticide, sensors taking soil readings, sprinklers that squirt fertilizer at the touch of a button—a Malaysian plantation is using high-tech methods to boost its crop of pungent durians...

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The United States Federal Reserve is pursuing a tight monetary policy to rein on inflation which has affected the American stock markets...

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Incoming President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. is keen on establishing an agreement with India to boost local production of generic medicines...

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A Filipino scientist has been awarded with the United Nations’ Sasakawa Award for his contribution in disaster risk reduction, the Climate Smart and Disaster Resilient ASEAN said Thursday...

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Russian forces on Wednesday pounded the easternmost Ukrainian-held city in the Donbas region that is now the focus of the three-month war, threatening to shut off the last main escape route for civilians trapped in the path of their advance...

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The recovery of developing Asia, which includes the Philippines, continues despite global headwinds brought by Russia’s war on Ukraine, China’s economic slowdown and central banks’ aggressive policy tightening, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said...

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Leaders attending the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, have called for a global initiative coupled with regional capacity building to prepare for the next pandemic...

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Despite all of the global challenges, Asia remains the most dynamic region for growth this year, with business expansions aggressively continuing through the pandemic since the last two years, the chief economist of Asian Development Bank (ADB) said...

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Countries meeting at the World Health Organization this week are thrashing out how to prepare for future pandemics -- amid warnings that the planet is wide open to the next crisis...

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American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer said on Wednesday it would sell its patented drugs on a not-for-profit basis to the world's poorest countries as part of a new initiative announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos...

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Fierce battles raged in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, with Russian troops on the verge of encircling a key industrial city, as President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a bitter rebuke of the West for not doing enough to help Kyiv win the war...

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The United Nations Security Council will vote Thursday, at the request of the United States, on a resolution aimed at toughening sanctions on North Korea after it fired an intercontinental ballistic missile, diplomats said Wednesday...

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North Korea fired a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile early Wednesday, Seoul's military said, just one day after President Joe Biden wrapped up his first Asia visit as US leader...

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Global stocks mostly rose Wednesday as markets adopted an optimistic view of Federal Reserve minutes that reiterated plans to raise interest rates...

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Beijing stepped up quarantine efforts to end its month-old COVID-19 outbreak as fresh signs of frustration emerged in Shanghai, where some bemoaned unfair curbs with the city of 25 million preparing to lift a prolonged lockdown in just over a week...

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India said it has capped sugar exports to safeguard its own supplies and ease inflation, days after a ban on wheat shipments sent global prices soaring in the wake of the Ukraine war...

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Spain will buy monkeypox vaccine, the health minister said on Wednesday, as the number of cases in the country reached 55...

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A majority of the senators of the incoming 19th Congress have this early expressed their support for the call of President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. for an early passage of the 2023 national budget...

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The Transportation department on Wednesday said it will now be up to the next administration to start constructing the Mindanao railway project, as the government has yet to receive from China a shortlist of bidders for the design-and-build contract...

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“Early signals” of another surge in COVID-19 infections are being noted, with instances of reversals in the downward trend of cases posted in the past month, according to an adviser of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF)...

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The Commission on Elections (Comelec), sitting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC), again postponed the proclamation of winning party-list groups to today, May 26, saying disqualification cases and the formula to be adopted in allocating seats in the House of Representatives were still being studied...

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The congressional Commission on Appointments (CA) has postponed the confirmation hearing for five commissioners of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), the Commission on Audit (COA), and the Civil Service Commission (CSC) because of the canvassing of the votes for president and vice president...

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To protect children from COVID-19 now that more Omicron subvariants are emerging, the Department of Health (DOH) yesterday reiterated its call for eligible adults to get their vaccines...

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The Philippine Navy now has a home for its biggest ships after docking its vessels in commercial shipyards for so long...

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The government spent over P29 billion to provide aid to overseas Filipino workers (OFW) who were affected by Covid-19 in the last two years...

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The landmark agreement among e-commerce platforms and brand owners, which aims to curb counterfeiting and piracy online, has successfully resulted in more aggressive efforts against infringers and louder calls for more digital economy players to join the accord, according to the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL)...

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The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will proclaim all winning party-list groups Thursday afternoon despite having pending cases, Commissioner George Garcia said Thursday...

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It appears that passengers of Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT 1) will not yet be paying more for their rides as the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said it could not grant the railway’s private operator’s fare hike request for now amid increasing consumer prices...

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A health expert assured that the Philippines can access the needed vaccines against monkeypox if necessary...

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There is no proof of any vote shaving or vote padding in the recently-concluded May polls, Commission on Elections (Comelec) acting spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco assured the public Wednesday...

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The Duterte administration has demonstrated a strong political will to address climate change from extensive beach cleanups, and tracking emission levels to pushing legislation aimed at building climate change resilient communities, Malacanang said...

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The government has released P20 million in financial assistance to more than 800 public utility vehicle drivers, solo parents, ambulant vendors, marginalized fishermen, persons with disabilities, and other vulnerable workers in the National Capital Region (NCR), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) revealed...

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The Commission on Elections is set to distribute a ₱2,000 honorarium to teachers who worked longer hours during the May 9 polls due to procedural and technical difficulties, an official said Wednesday...

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The government slowed down its infrastructure spending by P5 billion in the first quarter, but vowed to speed up budget releases for the remainder of the year to complete public works...

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The country’s inventory of rice and corn rose slightly in April, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)...

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An agricultural group has urged the government to boost its support for private firms in the agriculture sector, to allow them to expand food production amid the looming “food catastrophe” here and abroad...

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Four telcos’ new projects to improve broadband services, worth a total of P228.8 billion, have been granted tax-exempt status and other perks by the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB)...

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The Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. (PCAFI) is urging the government to provide support for the private sector to enable it to expand food production amid a coming global food catastrophe caused by the Russia-Ukraine war...

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Filipinos should brace for additional taxes and reduced exemptions in the next six years under proposed fiscal reforms for the incoming administration to pay off debts, the Department of Finance (DOF) yesterday said...

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Reform measures that remain pending in Congress during its remaining two weeks of session deserve a second look by the incoming administration, after the pandemic delayed their passage, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said...

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The country’s meat imports in January to April rose by almost 10 percent on an annual basis to nearly 350,000 metric tons (MT), latest Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) data showed...

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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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The Philippines has the potential to harness ample wind energy resources en route to meeting its net-zero goals, according Torbjørn Kirkeby-Garstad, general manager for Southeast Asia of Scatec, a renewable power producer...

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The inspections being conducted by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to verify compliance with government orders to resume on-site work in economic zones has sown confusion within the information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) firms, the industry’s association said...

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Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno said the BSP’s next moves to wind up their accommodative monetary policy will still be driven by the next set of economic data globally and locally...

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The country’s biggest food group pressed the incoming government to shore up support for private businesses following warnings of an imminent food crisis as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine...

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The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) raised alarm over the country’s low gross expenditure on research and development that undermines its target of creating $3.5 trillion to $5.9 trillion in the value of 19 industries led by retail, transport and logistics, travel, healthcare, consumer packaged goods, auto assembly and other activities...

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