THE Department of Energy (DoE) has not abandoned its plan to convert the 650-megawatt (MW) thermal Malaya power plant in Pililla, Rizal, into a gas-fired facility after its upcoming turnover to a new operations and maintenance service contractor.

IN LINE with the Duterte administration’s move to extend relations with nontraditional partners, the country expressed intent to export fruits to Azerbaijan while looking at the Eurasian country as an alternative source of oil.

SENATE Majority Leader Juan Miguel F. Zubiri on Monday said the government may look at alternatives, such as renewable energy and electric vehicles, to address the rising costs of fuel instead of suspending the excise tax on fuel.

The World Bank’s Doing Business 2018 report reveals that the Philippines has slipped when it comes to the ease of doing business to 113th place from 99th place last year. 190 countries were surveyed in the report. Perhaps in response to this development, the government recently passed Republic Act (RA) No. 11032 or “The Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018.” This new law, which aims to reduce processing time, cut bureaucratic red tape, and eliminate corrupt practices, enhances the decade-old Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007, which focused on streamlining and improving the current systems and procedures of government services.

THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) will dismiss applications for power supply agreements (PSA) between power generation companies and distribution utilities that fail to comply with the required environmental compliance certificate (ECC) despite the agency’s order.

THE Department of Energy (DoE) targets to receive this month the first shipment of oil from non-members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), including Russia, Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi said.

THE government’s plan to build a cargo train connecting Subic to Clark is targeted to start next year, Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said.

THE Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE), has sworn in 35 new labor laws compliance officers (LLCOs) to strengthen the agency’s monitoring of establishments’ compliance with labor rules.

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte on Sunday said he is leaving the controversial first package of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law to Congress, amid the current environment of inflation and calls from critics to suspend the law.

A NEW mobile application has been launched with the aim of creating a million job opportunities by 2022.

IFRS 9 is an International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) promulgated by the International Accounting Standards Board on July 24, 2014. It addresses the accounting for financial instruments and features three main topics: classification and measurement of financial instruments; impairment of financial assets; and hedge accounting. It will become effective in 2018 and replaces International Accounting Standards (IAS) 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement and all previous versions of IFRS 9. In this article, IFRS 9 is referred to as a “science” because of its systematically organized body of information and measurements on specific topics.

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte is set to sign four memoranda of understanding (MoU) with the South Korean government during his first official visit on June 3 to 5.