The Board of Investments (BOI) is confident of hitting the PHP1-trillion mark investment approvals this year after the setbacks that happened in 2021 due to the pandemic. Trade Secretary and BOI chair Ramon Lopez is optimistic about the outlook following the improvements in foreign investments in the country. “Buoyed by 2021 FDI (foreign direct investments) results as well as the healthy pipeline of strong investment leads —both foreign and domestic, and with the reforms that we are anticipating to still be passed in the next months, we are confident of hitting PHP1 trillion in BOI approved investments this year,” Lopez

The first day of the implementation of the “no vaccination, no ride” in Metro Manila on Monday was generally peaceful, with commuters complying with the order. The Land Transportation Office (LTO), the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the Inter-Agency Council for Traffic (I-ACT), the agencies primarily responsible for enforcing the policy in the road sector, reported that the implementation saw enforcers explaining the guidelines to the commuters. “According to reports from our men on the ground, most of the passengers were prepared for the policy. They voluntarily handed over their vaccination cards to our enforcers for thorough

Starting this year, all contract of service (COS) and job order (JO) workers in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) are already covered by the state social pension fund. Orly Mabinay, Social Security System (SSS) – Cotabato branch manager, said Tuesday that more than 2,000 contractual and job order workers in the region’s various offices are now covered by the SSS. This came about after BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim and SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Aurora C. Igancio signed a joint memorandum agreement in December 2021 for the program. Under the agreement, Mabinay said all contractual

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez said economic managers have endorsed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte so he could certify it as urgent for the Senate’s concurrence. “We have asked the President to certify this as urgent —the ratification (of) the RCEP— so that we can fast track the ratification of RCEP this January. We have asked other secretaries of other departments, and the economic managers to jointly endorse this to the President. So now it’s in the Office of the President,” Lopez said during the webinar of Chinese Filipino Business

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has a total of 49 projects in the first phase of its 10-year Digital Transformation (DX) Roadmap, of which 14 have already been launched or implemented as of the last quarter of 2021. In a report to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, the BIR said 26 of the 49 DX projects involve “elevating taxpayer experience and innovating BIR service processes,” nine are on “enhancing administration and the BIR’s support services,” another eight are on “aligning policies to a BIR digital workplace,” and six more are on “enabling the digital backbone” of the Bureau. The