PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte will visit local tourist destinations including the world renowned Boracay beach in the coming weeks to encourage local travel amid a coronavirus outbreak, the presidential palace said on Monday.

SENATORS on Monday uncovered an illegal scheme that allows the entry of Chinese nationals for a fee.

POLICE rescued four Malaysian kidnap victims at the weekend and arrested seven of their captors working for an offshore gaming company in San Pedro, Laguna province, according to the police’s Anti-Kidnapping Group (AKG).

THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said it expects lower tax collection for the first two months of the year, as the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the eruption of Taal Volcano last month disrupted company operations.

DOLLAR REMITTANCES, outsourcing and tourism receipts would probably shield the Philippine economy from the short-term effects of Brexit, central bank Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said last week.

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte on Saturday said he would not allow the private sector to pursue new reclamation projects in Manila Bay, saying these will put the Philippine capital environmentally in peril.

THE privately owned company operating the light rail transit’s line 1 has started assessing the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on revenues, its top official said, as rider count further slipped when schools cancelled classes and shoppers avoided malls.

THE Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) upheld its decision granting P166.7-million tax refund to Dole Food Co., Inc. (DFCI) over its erroneously paid capital gains tax.

INVESTORS sold off ISM Communications Corp. shares last week with analysts attributing the movement to overall negative market sentiment as well as news on Dito Telecommunity Corp.’s possible delay in its commercial operations.

CONSTRUCTION will start this year for the initial residential units and the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) graduate school at the Agriya mixed-use complex of Damosa Land, Inc. (DLI) in Panabo City, Davao Del Norte.

ANOTHER alarm goes off at the crack of dawn. Another early morning drive in total darkness. I drag myself out of the house -- still a little disoriented from the lack of sleep -- and set my destination via a link that was sent over Viber to an unmapped location. I arrive at a very non-descript corrugated iron gate that is pulled open just wide enough for my car to squeeze in then is immediately shut behind me. I park, get handed a hard hat, a reflectorized vest, and a lukewarm cup of coffee. I wait.

ABIDJAN/LONDON -- Adverse weather and hoarding in Ivory Coast could see sales of the top cocoa producer’s largest export fall some way short of consensus, which could push global prices higher, traders said.