Low-cost housing target set at 1M units/year
THE Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) said it hopes to augment the affordable housing stock by 1 million homes a year, including those built by the private sector. The target was set to address the housing backlog, estimated at 6.5 million homes, the department said. Secretary Jose Rizalino L. Acuzar said on […]
Read More →Gov’t signals slowdown on devolution, LGUs to take over health, welfare first
THE National Government said the functions it will immediately devolve to local government units (LGUs) are local infrastructure projects, basic healthcare, social welfare, and agricultural extension. The so-called “small-ticket” items to be shed by the National Government point to a prioritization of activities to be handed over to LGUs rather than a full-scale devolution by […]
Read More →Further P11.56B released for healthcare worker allowances
THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said it released a further P11.56 billion to the Department of Health (DoH) to fund the health emergency allowance claims of public and private healthcare workers between January and June. The Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) was approved on Wednesday for the One COVID-19 allowance (OCA) of over […]
Read More →Marcos: Private help needed to ‘green’ economy
PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. called on the private sector to help in the “greening” of the economy, calling the building of resiliency to climate change a top administration priority. Government agencies, private companies, non-government organizations, and the academic community must work together “to steer our practices and systems towards a greener direction,” Mr. Marcos […]
Read More →Senator floats proposal to refund power bill cost-of-capital charge
THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has been asked to consider ordering a refund of a cost-of-capital charge on electricity as a means of offsetting the impact of rising power bills. Senator Ana Theresia N. Hontiveros-Baraquel said in a statement that the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) charge, which compensates power companies for the interest […]
Read More →USDA raises PHL rice import forecast to 3.4 million MT
PHILIPPINE rice imports are expected to rise to 3.4 million metric tons (MT) in the July 2022-June 2023 period, the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) said, upgrading its previous forecast of 3.3 million MT. “Rice is a highly political crop in the Philippines, and supply sufficiency is very important for the […]
Read More →DPWH signs tunnel engineering deal with Japanese ministry
THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said on Wednesday that it signed a cooperation deal with Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism involving tunnel engineering and road infrastructure development. Public Works Secretary Manuel M. Bonoan said the deal will “open many opportunities for strategic partnership and collaboration to support current efforts of […]
Read More →House adds P77.5 billion to 2023 budget bill
THE House of Representatives approved on Wednesday an additional P77.5 billion for the 2023 General Appropriations Bill (GAB), with augmented allocations for health, education, transportation and other social services. The extra allocations were added during the period of amendments prior to the ratification of the 2023 GAB, Speaker Martin G. Romualdez said in a statement. […]
Read More →Low NEDA review threshold seen deterring investment in local projects
INVESTORS seeking to build local government transport infrastructure are deterred by the low threshold for triggering mandatory National Government review, a feature of the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) law, a Senate committee hearing heard. “No foreign investor would endeavor to enter because there seems to be a legal obstacle here… While (local government units) have autonomy, in reality […]
Read More →The growing popularity of the Board of Investments
Recently, there has been a growing interest from the Registered Business Enterprise (RBE) in the Information Technology and Business Processing Management (IT-BPM) sector to register with the Board of Investments (BoI) because of the need to maintain flexible work arrangements, specifically the ability to allow employees to Work From Home (WFH). On Sept. 14, the […]
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