The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) said intellectual property (IP) filings from January to December 2021 grew 11.6 percent year-on-year (YOY) to a total of 46,496, recovering significantly from the 2020 drop, as lighter quarantine restrictions last year reignited business and IP-related activities. “This significant rebound, notably in UM (utility model), trademarks, patents and copyright, was made possible by our aggressive IP promotion campaigns to reach more inventors, artists and entrepreneurs. On top of this is our continuous work to upgrade, streamline and digitalize our services to attract more customers,” Director General Rowel Barba said in a statement

The country’s first clean energy-themed real estate investment trust (REIT) listing on Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) aims to tap the tremendous opportunities in the local renewable energy market. With its initial public offering (IPO) Tuesday, Citicore Energy REIT Corp. (CREIT) took advantage of the resources from the local bourse to partly fund its 1,500-megawatt expansion project for the next five years. CREIT president Oliver Tan said the 1,500 MW pipeline projects are estimated to cost PHP70 billion, eyeing to inject new assets to the company every year. Tan said CREIT is earmarking PHP3 billion as capital expenditure for this year.

Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Carlos Dominguez III has called on the media to help accelerate climate action in the country by spearheading the education and advocacy campaigns necessary to motivate Filipinos to be at the frontlines of the global fight against climate change. With the media playing an indispensable role in keeping people informed about relevant concerns and contextual issues that frame the daily grind of news, climate change should be among their top priorities given the urgency in addressing this worsening environmental crisis, he told members of the Tuesday Club during their media forum. “I know that environmental

The volume of global merchandize trade may turn up soon as supply chain pressures have partially eased, according to data released Monday by the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO’s Goods Trade Barometer, a real-time trend gauge for trade, decreased slightly to 98.7 in December 2021 compared to 99.5 last November. The figure below the baseline value of 100 signaled a loss of momentum in trade at the start of 2022 but shows signs of bottoming out as supply pressures eased, the WTO said. Relaxing Omicron coronavirus variant related restrictions is expected to boost trade in the coming months, though

The tourism industry in Sorsogon is optimistic about recovering from the economic slump after health authorities downgraded the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) alert status to Level 2, resulting in eased restrictions and the opening of more establishments. In an interview on Tuesday, Bobby Gigantone, chief of the Sorsogon Provincial Tourism Office (SPTO), said they have reopened the “butanding” or whale shark interaction in Donsol town following a multi-sectoral meeting on the setting up of guidelines and protocols that would ensure the safety of both the tourists and locals. Under Alert Level 2, indoor establishments are allowed to have a 50-percent capacity