PuertoParrot.com

Gov’t Not Proposing Any New Taxes Until Next Year

THE Philippines will not be imposing new taxes until next year, Finance Secretary Ralph Rector said yesterday as the Commission on Appointments (CA) confirmed him as the country’s Finance chief. Recto told the CA finance committee that the government is pursuing only tax measures that “are already in the advance stages in Congress” and made the assurance that there will be no new tax measures until at least next year.

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Published at 2024-03-14 by Puerto Parrot

Categories : News and Events, Politics

Tags: BIR, government

Philippines' Marcos Signs $9 Bn Wealth Fund into Law

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos on Tuesday signed into law a bill creating a $9 billion sovereign wealth fund aimed at boosting economic growth and infrastructure spending, but critics warned it will be prone to misuse.

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Published at 2023-07-18 by Puerto Parrot

Categories : Business, Politics

Tags: Marcos, economy, government

Meeting the China Challenge: We Must Be Bolder

An outdoor screen shows a live news coverage of Chinas President Xi Jinping delivering a speech during the closing session of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People, along a street in Beijing on March 13, 2023.

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Published at 2023-07-16 by Puerto Parrot

Categories : Business, Opinion, Politics

Tags: COVID-19, China, Officials, Power, capital, economy, government

Investing in the Philippines: Improve the Efficiency of Government Agencies

During investment missions to and from the Philippines, government officials and local businessmen have encouraged investments in the Philippines and offered support for foreign investors interested to invest here. My question today is: Are government agencies in the Philippines really supportive of investments? How do they compare with similar agencies in neighboring countries with regards to ease of investment procedures, clarity of regulations and timeliness?

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Published at 2023-03-13 by Puerto Parrot

Categories : Business, Legal, Politics

Tags: business, capital, government

Government Borrowings Decline by 16% in 2022

The government brought down its borrowings by 16 percent last year as the economy continued to recover from the pandemic, with its financing program hitting just 98 percent. Latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed total borrowings in 2022 went down to P2.16 trillion from the P2.58 trillion in obligations in 2021. By end-2022, the government used up 97.8 percent of the borrowing plan it crafted for the year.

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Published at 2023-03-14 by Puerto Parrot

Categories : Business, Legal, Politics

Tags: government

WWII Sex Slave Survivors Reject Compensation Move

Two of some 10 victims forced into sexual slavery by Japanese soldiers during World War II and still alive in the Philippines have dismissed a proposed compensation package saying money is useless at their age. “What can I do with so much money at my age? I can only keep them for my grandchildren,” Narcisa Claveria, 92, told UCA News.

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Published at 2023-03-13 by Puerto Parrot

Categories : History, Legal, News and Events

Tags: Japanese, Rights, country, government, women

Fossils (jeepneys) Belong in a Museum, Not on the Road

The Department of Transportation (DoTr) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) went full catamite in the face of a threatened transport strike by activist jeepney drivers, set to begin tomorrow, March 6.

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Published at 2023-03-05 by Puerto Parrot

Categories : Culture, Legal, News and Events

Tags: Jeepney, government

Philippine Onion: Most Expensive in the World

The retail price of red onions ranging from P550 to P700 per kilo in markets around Metro Manila on New Year's Eve made unpleasant headlines during the festive season. Red onion was sold at P90 to P120 in mid-2021 and P120 to P170 four months ago. Onion prices hover around P85 in Singapore, P55 in Vietnam, P35 in China and in India.

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Published at 2023-01-08 by Puerto Parrot

Categories : Business, Food and Dining, Society

Tags: China, agriculture, country, farming, government, production

Is It Time for the Philippines’ Air Traffic Control to Be Privatized?

When Manila’s airspace went dark on New Year’s Day and left some 65,000 people stranded at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, talks of privatizing the airport and critical services like air traffic control quickly circulated.

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Published at 2023-01-07 by Puerto Parrot

Categories : Business, Politics, Travel

Tags: Power, System, Traffic, airport, government

Migratory Birds Find Home in Pangasinan

There is more to this town than its famous “bangus” (milkfish) and tilapia. As soon as the harvest season is over, hundreds of birds, mostly egrets, take over and swarm into the town’s fishponds in search of whatever is left in areas drained of water.

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Published at 2021-08-29 by Puerto Parrot

Categories : Environment, Fauna and flora, Recreation

Tags: Alaminos, Pangasinan, birds, forest, government, mangrove

With Growing Pressures, Can the Philippines Sustain Its Marine Reserves?

In the town of Pilar in the central Philippines, a community of 11,308 residents looks after one of the most successful marine protected areas in the country: the Pilar Municipal Marine Park (PMMP). Established in 2005, the 179-hectare (443-acre) park stands out among the thousands of MPAs in the Philippines, which experts say are only protected on paper.

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Published at 2021-07-04 by Puerto Parrot

Categories : Communities, Environment, Travel

Tags: Island, System, community, coral, country, fish, fishing, government, marine

Sultan Kudarat Rebel Camp Now a Tourist Enclave

Tucked at the foot of the lush Daguma Mountain Range here, a checkpoint mounted with high-powered weapons, including semiautomatic Barrett precision rifles, awaits visitors exploring the interiors of remote Barangay Lagandang here.

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Published at 2021-04-18 by Puerto Parrot

Categories : Recreation, Travel

Tags: MILF, Resort, Tourism, government

Duterte Lifts Ban on New Mining Permits

President Rodrigo Duterte has lifted a ban on issuing licenses for new mining operations in the Philippines, marking an about-face from a previous anti-mining stance that saw him ban open-pit mining in 2017 and close or suspend 26 mining operations for environmental violations.

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Published at 2021-04-18 by Puerto Parrot

Categories : Business, Environment, Politics

Tags: Chinese, DENR, Duterte, Palawan, environment, government, industry, mining

'Silence is No Longer an Option'

Nimfa Lanzanas is a model mother. Eversince the government imprisoned her son Edward, she attended court proceedings and also joined relatives of other political prisoners in a common cause.

Exactly what crime Nanay Nimfa has committed, only the government knows. But on what is now infamously known as Bloody Sunday, the government had her arrested and turned Nanay Nimfa into a political prisoner herself.

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Published at 2021-03-13 by Puerto Parrot

Categories : Opinion, People, Society

Tags: Cavite, government

Democracy Collapses into Repression in Southeast Asia

Suddenly, over recent weeks, Southeast Asia has seen the collapse or perversion of participatory democracy in virtually every country but Indonesia as leaders have suspended legislatures, arrested common citizens and opposition lawmakers, gone after student leaders and shot and killed growing numbers of activists and protesters. There seem almost no exceptions.

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Published at 2021-03-13 by Puerto Parrot

Categories : Communities, News and Events, Politics

Tags: ASEAN, Rights, Western, country, government