General

Manila: The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will extend the dry-run of the odd-even scheme on the Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) for one month beginning June 16. In an advisory on Tuesday, the MMDA announced that the dry-run, which was initially slated for only one week, would serve as an information drive for the new traffic scheme to ensure motorists are aware of the policy before violators are fined. According to Philippines News Agency, the MMDA stated, “Walang huhulihin sa loob ng isang buwan. Ang mga lalabag ay sisitahin lamang at padadalhan ng notice pero hindi pa papatawan ng

Kuala Lumpur: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. made a strong pitch for climate justice during the 2nd ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, urging developed nations to contribute to the newly established Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), which the Philippines now hosts. According to Philippines News Agency, Marcos highlighted the shared vulnerability of ASEAN and Gulf nations to the worsening impacts of climate change – from rising seas to extreme heat and biodiversity loss. He emphasized the importance of addressing climate change as a defining challenge of our time and pointed out the significant

Manila: The Philippines and Hong Kong have embarked on the first round of negotiations to establish a Comprehensive Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement (DTA). This endeavor is led by Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr., who spearheads the Philippine Negotiating Panel, and his Hong Kong counterpart, Commissioner Benjamin Chan Sze-wai of the Inland Revenue Department. According to Philippines News Agency, the discussions took place from May 21 to 23, 2025, at the Inland Revenue Centre in Kowloon. The primary focus of these negotiations is to strengthen international tax cooperation and promote economic partnerships. The meeting addressed key

Leyte: A PHP237 million World Bank (WB)-funded project will modernize banana chips processing in three Leyte towns, turning small-scale farming into a sustainable and profitable enterprise. According to Philippines News Agency, the Eastern Visayas Banana Processing and Marketing Enterprise (EVBPME) will see the Omaganhan Farmers Agrarian Reform Cooperative (OFMPC), based in Tabango, Leyte, consolidate banana produce from 27 farmer clusters. These clusters comprise 679 members across the towns of Villaba, Tabango, and San Isidro. The Department of Agriculture (DA) regional office stated on Tuesday that these farmers will supply raw cardaba bananas to a modern processing facility in Villaba. This

Manila: The Philippines stands to unlock access to the massive sovereign wealth fund of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), a senior trade official said Tuesday. On the sidelines of the Doing Business in the Philippines forum in Taguig City, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo stated that once CEPA is signed and enters into force, this trade and investment deal will allow the country to tap into the sovereign wealth funds of the UAE, which is valued at around USD2.39 trillion as of May 2025, according to