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In a joint position paper, the country’s economic man­agers have recommended a fund called the Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST) as an alternative to moves in Congress to grant free tuition for all undergradu­ate students in state universi­ties and colleges (SUCs).

By Luis Leoncio The congestion in Metro Manila is now considered an urban nightmare and it has finally instigated the form­ing of a panel at the House of Representatives to look into the possibility of relocating the seat of nation­al government to help decongest the capital metropolis.

Red tape has been costing the government an estimat­ed P140 billion a year and a Senate bill now seeks to fi­nally stop this by removing the bureaucratic layers that had made the country a lag­gard in terms of providing a conducive environment for business.

By Riza Lozada The head of the Philippine Stock Exchange has assailed the “surprise” release of results of the audit by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources of 28 mining oper­ations of firms listed at the lo­cal bourse, saying the move of Environment Secretary Regina Lopez created “a huge issue for those operating the stock exchange.”

Luxury cars, oil and cigarettes appear to be the top sources of revenue leaks, estimated at more than P50 billion a year, or almost 10.68 percent of the annual revenue target of the Bureau of Customs of (B0C) P467.50 billlion.

President Duterte articulated his vision of sustained and inclusive growth by ensuring peaceful and orderly business environment during the Manila Times 5th Business Forum.

SMC Global Power, the power generation unit of conglomer­ate San Miguel Corporation, reported that continuous test­ing since January of its new clean coal technology power plant in Limay, Bataan, yield­ed emission results that were “way, way below” government and World Bank standard lim­its.

Fifteen foreign and local business organizations have appealed to Mala­canang and the Congress to give top priority to the Comprehensive Tax Re­form Program (CTRP) and 11 other legislative proposals that aim to improve the country’s investment climate, create more jobs, sustain the growth momentum and clear the way to economic inclusion.

Merchandise trade grew 5.8 percent last year from a year ago, backed by double-digit growth of imports that offset exports decline, according to the Na­tional Economic and Devel­opment Authority (Neda).

Leading consumer goods company Procter & Gamble (P&G) has signed a memo­randum of agreement with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to pilot “Angat Kita”, a micro-entrepreneur development program that will equip sari-sari store owners with fundamental entrepre­neurial knowledge, skills, best practices and business seed capital.