THE Department of Energy (DoE) said Luzon was under yellow alert Thursday between noon and 3 p.m. due to power plant outages and limited output received from the Malampaya gas field.

PHILIPPINE Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) said it is requesting that casinos be allowed to reopen, citing the funds that will not go to various government social programs should the company remain unable to generate gaming revenue.

THE health care sector’s ability to deal with the pandemic has grown based on metrics like testing capacity, but hospitals are under pressure due to rising costs as well as a sharp decline in non-coronavirus patients, health officials and industry representatives said.

THE tourism industry may include firms that have no option but to exit the industry, and the government’s recovery plan should support such companies, a think tank official said.

THE P4.8-billion Bicol International Airport will be ready “within the year,” the Department of Transportation (DoTr) said Wednesday, hedging on the long-delayed project’s original launch date of July.

THE average farmgate price of palay, or unmilled rice, rose 1.33% week on week to P19.06 per kilogram in the second week of May, with prices increasing 4.15% year on year, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

THE Department of Finance (DoF) said it will propose a tax on digital services provided by online platforms once an international consensus emerges on how to tax the industry.

THE House Committee on Trade and Industry approved a substitute bill on Wednesday seeking to amend Act 2137, or the Warehouse Receipts Law, which would allow farmers to use their crops as collateral for bank loans.

From TRABAHO (Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-quality Opportunities) to CITIRA (Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Rationalization Act) and now CREATE (Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises), the elusive Package 2 of the government’s tax reform program may finally see the light.

STATE-RUN Philippine Guarantee Corp. (Philguarantee) hopes to provide 50% guarantee cover on loans taken out by at least 12,000 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) affected by the coronavirus crisis.

THE Increase in urban poverty as a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is not expected to last, but the countryside represents longer-term problems, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Acting Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said.

BUSINESSES have been granted a 30-day grace period on rent payments counting from the date businesses are permitted to operate, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.