Further announcements were made for the incoming administration this week, easing uncertainty over the incoming administration. The appointments continue to reassure investors and the business community who wanted to see a technocratic economic team. Even organizations that are sometimes critical of the government issued praise in reaction to the picks. In response to the announcement of ...

The business community and international investors continue to eagerly await the announcement of incoming President Marcos’s cabinet. The announcement of a technocratic team of economic managers is likely the single most important step that could be taken to reassure both local and international investors. Headlines continue to circulate about investor anxiety stemming from uncertainty about the ...

Amid concerns about potential blackouts during the 2nd Quarter, and particularly during the May 9 elections, the Department of Energy released a revised power outlook. The outlook accounts for the forced outage at Calaca Unit 2, which is on an extended outage until July 2022. The outlook shows potential yellow alerts in the second half of ...

Philippine Export Zone Authority (PEZA) Director-General Charito B. Plaza said that PEZA will release a memorandum circular allowing 70 percent work onsite and 30 percent work from home for companies based in PEZA zones. According to Plaza, they plan to release the memorandum circular before March 31.   PEZA appears to be basing this interpretation on the ...

Two weeks after the implementation of Alert Level 1 in much of the country, cases are still low and falling in the Philippines. Meanwhile, several other locations in Asia and Europe are experiencing surges in cases and deaths, none more so than Hong Kong. What is happening in Hong Kong continues to highlight that Omicron can ...

Various media sources began reporting on Monday, March 14, that Russia was requesting military and economic support from China. According to the Financial Times, the US told allied nations via diplomatic cables that China had indicated willingness to provide military assistance. The Financial Times reporting cited, surface-to-air missiles, drones, intelligence-related equipment, armoured vehicles, and vehicles used for ...

PSA sat down with Derek Gallimore’s Outsource Accelerator on February 14 to discuss COVID-19 and the future of the BPO Industry in the Philippines. 

Association for the Business Process Outsourcing industry IBPAP is asking for an extension to work from home arrangements in the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) zones. Recent guidelines have allowed PEZA operators to have up to 90 percent of staff working from home until March 31. The Fiscal Incentives and Review Board (FIRB) denied the request from PEZA to extend work-from-home arrangements until September ...

COVID-19 cases continue to fall rapidly in the Philippines and Metro Manila. Metro Manila is experiencing around 200 to 300 cases per day, and the 2-week growth rate is still falling at negative 61 percent (as of February 28). The Philippines as a whole is experiencing about 1000 cases per day, with the 2-week growth rate falling at about negative 69 percent (as of ...