Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) from parts of Region 12 (Soccsksargen) earned around PHP35 million in sales during a week-long trade fair here organized by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Jude Constantine Jaugan, DTI Region 12 director, said on Wednesday the figure was based on the reported cash, booked, and under negotiation sales generated by the 24 MSMEs that joined the Yaman Dose Trade Expo from Nov. 15 to 21 at the SM mall atrium. “The recorded sales exceeded our original target of PHP10 million by 250 percent,” he told reporters. Dubbed the “Best of Soccsksargen,” the

Regulators are studying the operations of play-to-earn entities as an official of a gaming guild claimed they provide their gamers a source of income and aid in the government’s financial inclusion bid. Yield Guild Games (YGG) country manager Luis Buenaventura said the play-to-earn concept allows players to earn. The peso-equivalent of the cryptocurrency that gamers earn can be encashed through electronic money (e-money) services. “Studying our community further, we see how our process has helped make more Filipinos be part of the financial ecosystem and use this to improve their lifestyle,” he said in a statement. YGG currently has over

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) office in Region 5 (Bicol) has released some PHP1.7 million in livelihood aid to typhoon-affected and displaced fishermen in Dimasalang, Masbate. In an interview on Wednesday, Johana Vi Gasga, DOLE-Bicol spokesperson, said the assistance is under the DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP). “The said fund will be used to purchase Kabuhayan Starter Kits or fishing equipment such as new motorized fiberglass boats, gasoline engines, shafting, cross joint, rudder, and other fishing gears to benefit at least 66 affected local fishermen from different barangays of Dimasalang town,” she said. For her part, DOLE-Masbate Provincial

The House of Representatives will pursue the passage of a measure reducing excise taxes on certain petroleum products despite the continued downward trend in oil prices, a lawmaker said on Wednesday. In a news conference, House Deputy Majority Leader and Quezon City Rep. Jesus Suntay said there is a need to give the Filipino people a reprieve from the twin challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and soaring oil prices in previous months. The proposal to reduce excise taxes on certain petroleum products for a period of six months, as proposed in House Bill 10488, was on top of the agenda