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By Lito U. Gagni Indeed, there is something unique about Tzu Chi volunteers around the globe: It is their sense of duty to serve their fellow men. And they all point to the teachings of Master Cheng, whose thoughts were immortalized as Jing Si aphorisms.

The government’s economic officials have admitted that the effect of massive underspending under the Aquino administration had a lot to do with the disappointing 5.2-percent growth in the first quarter, despite earlier claims this year that it was ramping up its expenditures through frontloading.

By Riza Lozada The United States Agency for International Development (Usaid) and the Department of Energy (DOE) have joined hands to spur investments in renewable-energy projects by cutting red tape.

By Luis Leoncio Despite repeated warnings from economists and other experts, the Aquino administration continues to underspend and as a result, the gross domestic product (GDP) expanded a disappointing 5.2 percent in the first quarter, the slowest pace in three years.

Lawyers of Vice President Jejomar Binay are reported to be mulling over the possible of filing cases against media outfits that published or aired the report of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) on his alleged multibillion-peso accounts, which was the basis of a Court of Appeals freeze order on his assets. The Binay camp had described the AMLC report “erroneous” and …

By Lito U. Gagni I first learned about Tzu Chi and its charity work in the aftermath of Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code name: Haiyan) that devastated Eastern Visayas when I read the news about its cash-for-relief program that cleaned Tacloban and its environs of tons of mud, heaps of garbage and washed-out clothes.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has effectively rejected proposals in Congress to lower individual income-tax payments through a bill updating the tax schedules, as the multilateral lender is requiring a counterpart measure that would offset the revenue losses.

By Luis Leoncio The inefficient use of the budget, which economists have identified as a major cause for the Philippines economy’s failure to achieve its full potential, has become an international concern, with even a United States think tank saying that the Aquino administration, aside from misusing the budget, has also been remiss in reporting government expenditures.

Revealing details of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) investigation on the 142 bank accounts of Vice President Jejomar Binay and his associates is replete with criminal acts, and bank officials and media outfits responsible for the leakage could be held liable, according to former Makati Rep. Teddy Locsin Jr., one of the authors of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (Amla).

By Dean dela Paz (Last of two parts) A product of the peculiarities of the political slime they wallow in, the original legislators crafting the seminal anti-money laundering laws tailored, custom-designed and worked into the law safeguards to address their personal circumstances.