RURAL power utilities are asking the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to ease their obligations under power contracts entered into with generating companies, while promising to provide consumers relief from bill payments as ordered.

FOURTH-GENERATION (4G) video quality in the Philippines declined in March, which most Filipinos spent indoors after the government imposed an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) to contain the spread of the coronavirus, UK-based Opensignal Ltd. said.

As the world continues to face the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has acknowledged its immediate fiscal impact, including the adverse consequences on tax collections in recent months. Having missed collection targets by a significant margin starting in March, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) expects future collections to also fall below target as an effect of the economic slowdown.

JOBSTREET.COM, an online job search portal, said postings by employers advertising new job opportunities started to pick up in May after having fallen 30-50% year on year during the first full month of the Luzon lockdown in April.

THE Philippines is set to take part in field trials for a potential vaccine against African Swine Fever (ASF).

AGRICULTURE Secretary William D. Dar made his pitch for the role of farming in reviving the economy, claiming that an “agriculture-driven” approach will help the Philippines rebound more strongly from the pandemic.

REMITTANCES could fall 2-4% if the Philippines is determined to be lax in policing money laundering and terrorist financing, which will compel international banks to treat transactions by Filipinos with extra caution, Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Executive Director Mel Georgie B. Racela said.

THE resumption of operations at Santolan, Katipunan, and Anonas stations of the Light Rail Transit Line 2 (LRT-2) was delayed to September due to the pandemic, the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) said Tuesday.

THE standards for licensing Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) businesses emerged as a sticking point during hearings for a proposed bill regulating the industry, with most members of the industry not complying with the Department of Energy’s (DoE) requirements in 2019.

THE government said second-tranche aid distribution under the social amelioration program (SAP) is expected to be more efficient due to the use of electronic payments.

EMPLOYEES returning to work should be tested for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to minimize possible transmission by asymptomatic persons, a former Health Secretary said.

BUSINESS GROUPS are seeking more stimulus programs directed at large companies, including expanded eligibility for the Net Operating Loss Carry Over (NOLCO), and backed immediate passage of legislation reducing the corporate income tax.