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Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) has asked the government “to take appropriate measures and initiatives” to convince the government of Kuwait to remove the restrictions it imposed on the carriage of passengers and cargo between Dubai and Kuwait, despite the existence of an air-services agreement with PAL allowing such “fifth freedom” flights. 

By Riza Lozada The Department of Energy (DOE) has reactivated its so-called interruptible load program (ILP) that will tap privately owned generators to ease the currently tight power supply caused by the prolonged dry season. 

While the economy remains in a growth momentum, a credit watchdog has warned the government of a “negative bias” on the country’s current investment grade. 

By Luis Leoncio  Local executives want President Aquino’s successor to focus on infrastructure, corruption, and peace and order to spur the country’s economic growth, according to the periodic survey of the Makati Business Club (MBC) that covered the first quarter. 

The government missed all of its fiscal targets last year, despite the glowing claims of the Aquino administration on “fiscal space” resulting from its “prudent management” of the government’s finances. 

By Riza Lozada  The country will eventually be using equal amounts of renewable energy, natural gas and coal by 2030, according to an energy-diversification plan of the Department of Energy (DOE). 

By Luis Leoncio The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the country’s largest trade group, has lauded the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) recent decision not to amend its Securities Regulation Code (SRC) 68 on existing regulations in accepting audited financial statements.

By Riza Lozada The backlash of the cyber heist on Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), where the $81 million stolen from Bangladesh’s central bank was believed to have been deposited, has badly hurt the share prices of the local bank, prompting its owners to shore up its stock.

By Jerry Maglunog and Luis Leoncio  Alarm bells have sounded in the local banking sector over the money-laundering scandal involving the $81-million hacked from the deposits of the Bank of Bangadesh in New York and channeled into local banks and casinos. 

The Philippines continues to waste its huge labor power that is the envy of other developing countries by not producing enough jobs, despite the stellar growth of its economy over the past few years, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has noted in a periodic review. Government attention has been called to this phenomenon several times by University of the Philippines …