Manila lags in ‘smart’ city rankings

Source BusinessWorld

The country's debt remains "manageable" despite hitting a new record high of P13.52 trillion as of end-September, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said on Wednesday...

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With 21 affirmative votes, the Senate on Wednesday approved on second and third reading the P5.268-trillion budget bill for 2023, which the Palace had certified as urgent...

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Employees in the Philippines can hope for a 5.5-percent increase in their median salaries next year, a trend which marks a return to prepandemic times, following a year of rising inflation and substantial currency depreciation...

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The Coronavirus pandemic is expected to cause long-term scarring of human capital development in the Philippines, which could lead to more Filipinos becoming poor, the World Bank (WB) said in a report on Wednesday...

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The peso climbed to a more than two-month high against the US dollar Wednesday amid expectations that the US Federal Reserve may consider smaller rate hikes in its next meetings following the easing of inflation in the world’s biggest economy...

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A senior lawmaker is pushing for the passage of a bill declaring and developing the 37.2-hectare Pag-asa Island—the largest Philippine-occupied landmass at the northeastern section of the disputed Spratly archipelago—as a recreational and fishing tourism destination...

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“Adding to cart” firecrackers and pyrotechnic products might no longer be a possibility as regulation and restriction of the online selling of these items is being pushed to discourage illegal manufacturers and the presence of prohibited products in the virtual marketplace...

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The Philippines may import 425,000 metric tons (MT) of sugar in the current crop year 2022-2023, as projected local production remains insufficient to meet the country’s total demand for the commodity...

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Vietnam on Wednesday announced it is open to “balancing” its trade with the country by increasing its imports of Philippine goods and services...

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The Philippines has sent a note verbale to China following the incident in Pagasa Island in the West Philippine Sea, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced...

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The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) will send two F-15 fighter jets to the Philippines next week for a joint training on integrated air defense — the first between the two countries — as both seek to strengthen their military cooperation...

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Southeast Asian economies such as the Philippines and Indonesia still have sufficient buffers preventing them from tapping the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM), according to the Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO)...

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Tourist arrivals in the Asia-Pacific region during the first nine months of the year were still below pre-pandemic levels despite the opening of many destinations, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)...

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Fresh Russian strikes battered Ukraine’s already failing electricity grid, causing blackouts across the war-torn nation and in neighboring Moldova, in attacks Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the UN were “an obvious crime against humanity” ...

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There is now an imminent threat of measles spreading in various regions globally, as COVID-19 led to a steady decline in vaccination coverage and weakened surveillance of the disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. public health agency said on Wednesday...

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Russia unleashed a missile barrage across Ukraine on Wednesday, forcing shutdowns of nuclear power plants and killing at least six civilians as Moscow pursued a campaign to pitch Ukrainian cities into darkness and cold as winter sets in...
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Climate change will end up killing people by fueling infectious diseases, the head of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria said Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila)...
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Driving rain and the danger of landslides disrupted work of Indonesian rescue workers searching on Wednesday for survivors of an earthquake that killed 271 people, with an official warning that time was running out for anyone trapped in rubble...
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the United Nations Security Council to act against Russia over air strikes on civilian infrastructure that again plunged Ukrainian cities into darkness and cold as winter sets in...
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The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is eyeing a subsidy for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) so they can give the 13th month pay of their employees as mandated by law...

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Unlike in the past when Filipinos waited in line for hours to get their COVID jabs, many are no longer interested to get vaccinated these days, the head of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) said yesterday...

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Vice President Sara Duterte will have P530 million — P30 million of which will be in her concurrent capacity as education secretary — in confidential funds next year after the Senate on Wednesday passed its own version of the P5.3-trillion national spending program...

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Metro Manila’s COVID-19 positivity rate jumped from 7.4% to 9.2% within seven days, and a wave of infections is possible, according to OCTA Research fellow Guido David...

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The Philippine government should shorten the application process for housing development projects for ease of doing business, according to a stakeholder...

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With over 300 people dying every day on Philippine roads, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) stressed the need to seek justice for victims of road-related crashes...
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The Department of National Defense (DND) maintained that the Chinese coast guard "rudely took" what is believed to be part of a rocket debris that Philippine naval forces recovered in the waters of Pagasa Island near Palawan...

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The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Thursday rebutted claims that the agency received funds from a different agency without the consent of the Congress...

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The country’s envoy to the United States warned Wednesday there will be a time that the Philippines “will rise up” in its fight for its territory in the West Philippine Sea after another aggressive move by the Chinese Coast Guard in the country’s waters...

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President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Wednesday asked Filipino scientists and researchers to stay in the country, vowing to support their careers and the sector...

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The government is now studying giving a new round of assistance for companies struggling to pay the 13th month benefits of their workers, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)...

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Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) President Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis Jr. said the next Philippine Export Development Plan will be “more aggressive” to combat issues such as rising business costs and supply chain disruptions...

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The Philippines needs to fast-track efforts to create jobs for 69.4 million working age Filipinos, according to the Commission on Population and Development (Popcom)...

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Filipinos are borrowing more due to lower income and rising expenses amid high inflation and the lingering impact of the pandemic, according to a survey...

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The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) term deposit facility (TDF) inched up anew on Wednesday, days after it raised its policy rates...

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New motorcycles and phones are among the most expensive gifts that Filipinos save up for the forthcoming holidays, according to data from financial management app Lista...

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The prices of some Noche Buena items increased a month before the Christmas celebration, according to the latest price bulletin of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) released on Wednesday...

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Despite forecasts from analysts that the rate of growth of the Philippine economy will slow down after the 7.6 percent reported for the third quarter of 2022, the government is pushing for the same pace or even higher gear, according to Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman...

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Urgent action to unlock the benefits of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement will need to be taken by countries now amid high inflation and supply side issues, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)...

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A retail executive encouraged retailers to re-strategize the way they do business to cope with inflation...

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The Board of Investments (BoI) has received 163 endorsements of information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) projects seeking to transfer their registration from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)...

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The stock market finished strong yesterday as investors cheered Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe Medalla’s comments that the central bank is ruling out additional huge interest rate hikes...

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