The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business

Holcim Philippines, a leading building solutions provider, has partnered with Build Change Philippines, an organization focused on building disaster-resilient homes in developing nations, to strengthen local structures against natural calamities. Holcim Philippines Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer Zoe Sibala and Build Change Philippines Country Director Arnel Capili sealed the partnership last May 11 to work on disaster-resilient housing  …

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) will continue to investigate big property developers after the agency received reports that they failed to remit the correct taxes to government. The BIR made the announcement following a directive from Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez to continue its tax review of real estate developers. Dominguez gave the BIR the authority to conduct the tax …

Incoming Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Chief Arsenio Balisacan said he plans to “reinvigorate” public-private partnership (PPP) projects under President-elect Bongbong Marcos’ administration. Balicasan said the President-elect believes the private sector plays a very strong role in economic development. Balisacan explained: “We should reinvigorate, reexamine and bring back PPPs. We’ll reach out to the private …

To ensure that public-private partnerships (PPP) will not be disadvantageous to Filipinos, the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) under Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Chua approved the amended implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law. Chua said the approval of IRR will ensure that project proponents applying for the BOT scheme are qualified to implement properly designed PPP …

The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) is expected to decide on the petition filed by the Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) Inc. to remove the Ramon Cojuangco Building from the status as an Important Cultural Property (ICP). In its petition, PLDT said that it plans to “redevelop and transform [the building] into a modern, ecologically sustainable, and …

For the first four months of 2022, the Pag-ibig Fund has financed 5,411 socialized homes for minimum-wage and low-income members. From January to April 2022, socialized home loans make up 18 percent of the 29,310 units financed by the agency amounting to P2.35 billion out of the record-high P31.97 billion home loans released by the agency. The Pag-ibig Fund’s Affordable …

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) has turned over a thousand houses to internally displaced families affected by the Marawi last week. UN-Habitat awarded the last 462 permanent houses as it marked the end of its four-year engagement in the war-torn city. The funding support of US$10-million came from the Japanese government where the houses were built on the …

Tarlac celebrated on May 28 its 149th foundation anniversary, known as Araw ng Lalawigan ng Tarlac, highlighted with activities promoting the culture, the native products and the different tourist spots of the province and the launch of the countdown for next year’s 150th celebration. The three-day celebration, which started on May 27, featured a trade, agricultural and job fair, a …

Involuntary hunger continues to be a major challenge for many low-income families, especially those who lost their livelihood during the pandemic. In its commitment to uplift the lives of Filipinos, Globe recently launched The Hapag Movement, a fundraising initiative led by the Globe Group which aims to promote an integrated approach to hunger alleviation to benefit vulnerable Filipino families. The Hapag …

Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) cardholders can now transact at ATMs in selected 7-Eleven convenience stores any time without fees beginning 23 May 2022.  Using LANDBANK Cash Cards, Regular ATM Cards, and Debit Cards, LANDBANK cardholders can perform cash withdrawal and balance inquiry for free from over 1,500 7-Eleven ATMs, initially available in Metro Manila, CAMANAVA, CALABARZON, Pampanga, Bataan …