The House of Representatives on Monday overwhelmingly approved on third and final reading a bill that would define the tax rates for proprietary schools to allow them to avail of the 10-percent preferential rate on taxable income. With 202 affirmative votes, the chamber passed House Bill No. 9913, which seeks to clarify that the preferential tax rate of 10 percent imposed on proprietary educational institutions will be reduced to 1 percent from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2023, after which the tax rate shall be set to 10 percent under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act

A former cadre of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) has challenged the Commission on Audit (COA) to audit the funds received from the national government by the House of Representatives’ Makabayan Bloc. Jeffrey “Ka Eric” Celiz, in SMNI program “Laban Kasama ang Bayan” on Aug. 20, said Makabayan party-list groups receive millions yearly from the government but they are used to advance the programs of the CPP-NPA-NDF (National Democratic Front). “We are challenging, and calling, and appealing to the Commission on Audit. Make a very credible and incisive audit kung saan napunta ang pondo ng mamamayan

After the Philippine team returned from Tokyo with its best Olympic finish with four medals, President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday expressed confidence that Filipino athletes will get better and stronger in securing “more victories” in the future. Duterte made this remark as he led the awarding of incentives to Filipino Olympians, including the country’s first ever Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz, at the Rizal Hall in Malacañan Palace. “I congratulate you once again for bringing pride and honor to the country and for uplifting the spirit of Filipinos amidst the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said in his speech. He also described

Amid reports that state auditors have questioned the transfer of some PHP160 million to the regional offices of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), an official on Monday said that no money or fund is missing. “Walang nawawalang pera (no money is missing),” said TESDA Deputy Director General for Operations Lina Sarmiento in a virtual press conference on Monday, adding the funds were spent on various livelihood and scholarship programs in the 17 regions. She said the PHP160 million apparently transferred for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) projects was already explained by

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Monday said the number of Filipinos who left Afghanistan reached 182 after seven more managed to exit the country since Taliban took over the country last week. In a situation report, the DFA said of the seven new evacuees, five left Afghanistan on Sunday for Almaty, Kazakhstan while two departed last week but have only now confirmed their whereabouts. “Meanwhile the five Filipinos from Jakarta have arrived in Manila and are currently undergoing quarantine,” the DFA said. It noted that some Filipinos who left Afghanistan are not returning to the Philippines for various

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the single-shot Sputnik Light from Russia, National Task Force Against Covid-19 Chief Implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. announced Monday. Galvez said the approval of the Sputnik Light, a variation of the two-dose Sputnik V jab, could hasten the country’s vaccination drive toward achieving population protection by the end of the year. “The majority of the procured vaccines including Pfizer, Sinovac and Moderna, and maybe (Sputnik manufacturer) Gamaleya. They might have an increased delivery this coming September and October,” Galvez said, partly in Filipino, during a media