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The Department of Transportation (DOTr) wants to expedite the long-delayed Mindanao Railway Project (MRP) Phase 1 through immediate payment of settlement to landowners affected by Right-of-Way (ROW) issues of the P81.6-billion rail line in southern Mindanao. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier directed the DOTr to accelerate land acquisition for the railway. Transportation Acting Secretary Giovanni Lopez said they are in the …

Approximately 64% of Filipinos cannot afford to pay a P10,000 medical bill without resorting to borrowing or using a health maintenance organization (HMO), according to a new study by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a global management consulting firm. BCG’s Filipino Family Study involved 1,515 families surveyed nationwide. The report revealed that 20% of respondents would likely borrow for a medical …

The public is being warned against consuming unregistered alcoholic drinks that are being sold in the market during the holiday season. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urged vigilance and caution when purchasing and consuming alcoholic beverages. The FDA said, “As the holiday season approaches, social gatherings and celebrations are expected to increase. The FDA’s Center for Food Regulation and …

Packworks, a tech startup, reported that sari-sari stores using Artificial Intelligence (AI) registered a 46% increase in sales volume. A Packworks study showed that AI is no longer a “distant concept” for micro enterprises. but becoming a tool that directly supports day-to-day store management and sales performance for neighborhood stores. It analyzed more than 300 stores over a two-week period …

The torrent of evidence delivered to the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI) should have been the turning point—finally, a chance for accountability in a country long accustomed to seeing corruption scandals swell and recede like seasonal floods. With boxes of documents arriving from the Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Justice, Philippine Competition Commission, National Bureau of Investigation, …

VOTING for the PBA Season 50 All-Star game begins when action in the Philippine Cup resumes on Dec. 5. Fans can now vote on their favorite players to become part of the All-Star game to be held at the Candon City Arena in Ilocos Sur in March of next year. Voting can be made through online or in-game venues. The …

Joining The Market Monitor team is Diego C. Cagahastian, former news editor of The Manila Bulletin and editorial writer of Malaya Business Insight. Cagahastian writes weekly columns in Opinyon Media Advocacies and The Chronicle.   He lends his editorial skills in the Business Section of The Market Monitor starting this issue. Cagahastian also worked in the government — as Public Information Chief at Manila City Hall under …

By Tracy Cabrera  UGONG, Pasig City — Noting the anger felt by taxpayers over the scandalous rape of public coffers by corrupt government officials, businessman Dennis Anthony Uy has suggested a formula that could somehow assuage the ire of majority of Filipinos.  The technology tycoon cited the slim chances of government’s efforts of recovering hundreds of billions in squandered funds and …

By Tracy Cabrera  MALATE, Manila — Amidst reports of a ‘money-making scheme’ involving the issuance of audit documents, the Department of Finance (DoF) has ordered the suspension of all Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) field audits as a necessary step toward a systemic overhaul of the agency’s audit operations. In an official announcement, finance secretary Frederick Go disclosed that the halt on …

By Tracy Cabrera  DILIMAN, Quezon City – The University of the Philippines (UP) and provincial government of Northern Samar have teamed up to advance geological heritage conservation, research collaboration and sustainable development initiatives in the province. The meeting and signing of the memorandum of agreement was held recently at the UP National Institute of Geological Sciences in Quezon City with Northern …