MANILA - The Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) will harmonize all fees collected by investment promotion agencies (IPAs) from their registered investors "to ensure that rates are just and reasonable." The board has directed all IPAs to submit a copy of the fees they collected from registered business enterprises, with a detailed report on cost recovery and income generation. FIRB chair, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, said Friday the board wants to evaluate the fees collected by IPAs as part of its expanded policy-making and oversight functions under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentive for Enterprises (CREATE) law. "The need to evaluate and rationalize fees and charges collected by the IPAs is to ensure that there is equity and shared responsibility between the government and its stakeholders," Dominguez added. FIRB Secretariat head, Finance Assistant Secretary Juvy Danofrata, said the guidelines for the harmonization of charges in all IPAs would be
President Rodrigo Duterte (Screengrab from RTVM) MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte has signed an administrative order creating (AO) a Presidential Transition Committee (PTC) to oversee the transition of power to the next administration and ensure the unhampered delivery of services to the public. Under Administrative Order No. 47, signed by Duterte on May 10, all departments, bureaus, and instrumentalities of government are directed to create their own internal transition committees which will support the PTC in overseeing the proper turnover of projects and continuous operation of their offices during the transition period. The AO states the PTC will be chaired by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea. Other members of the transition committee are Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, Budget Undersecretary Tina Rose Marie Canda, and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Chua. "We will work closely with the representatives of the i
MANILA - The Philippines targets to lure more Singapore-based businesses to put up their operations here. This, as the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Embassy of the Philippines in Singapore will be holding the 3rd Philippine-Singapore Business and Investment Summit on April 27. Cabinet officials, including DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno will discuss business opportunities in the country for Singaporean firms. The government officials will also discuss the monetary policy, business climate, economic growth prospects, and economic reforms achieved by the Duterte administration. Before President Rodrigo Duterte steps down on June 30, his administration was able to pass key economic bills, such as amendments to the Retail Trade and Liberalization Act (RTLA), Foreign Investments Act, and the Public Service Act. These legislations are expected to make th
File photo MANILA - The country's unemployment rate fell to 7.4 percent in October from 8.9 percent in September as restrictions eased in most areas across the country, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported Tuesday. The unemployment rate for October is the third-lowest for this year, only behind July data at 6.9 percent and March data at 7.1 percent. In a joint statement, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, and Budget and Management officer-in-charge Tina Rose Marie Canda said the unemployment numbers proved that the country is on track for "strong and early recovery." "The October 2021 labor force survey results affirmed the soundness of the government's push to safely reopen the economy, restore employment, and manage the spread of Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019). As we relaxed restrictions to Alert Level 2, more people were able to work while Covid-19 positivity, case fatality, and bed o