The step by Solicitor General Jose Calida to ask the Supreme Court to issue a gag order on ABS-CBN while awaiting a decision on his petition for quo warranto violates the Constitution and is detached from reality, said Vice President Leni Robredo Wednesday. The change was also “disconnected from reality” and could set a dangerous precedent, she said. Calida’s quo …

Senator Pia Cayetano urged colleagues on Wednesday to support a bill aiming to lower the country’s corporate income tax (CIT) rate and overhaul the tax incentive program. Advertising Cayetano described Senate Bill No. 1357 or the proposed Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Rationalization Act (CITIRA) as fair and the best deal for everyone in her sponsorship speech as chairman. Under …

Global credit watcher Fitch Ratings upgraded its outlook on two Philippine state-owned banks on Thursday as it noted a “positive macroeconomic policy.” Advertisement Fitch revised its outlook on both the Philippine Land Bank (LBP) and the Philippine Development Bank (DBP) to “Positive” from “Stable,” suggesting a rating-scale upward trend. The sovereign rating outlook review reflects ongoing adherence to a sound …

The government expects public investment spending of more than 400 billion baht in the second quarter to help the flagging economy weather the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, Finance Minister Uttama Savanayana said on Thursday. Even before the epidemic that originated in China, the trade-reliant economy has been under pressure, buffeted by the Sino-US trade war, sluggish investment, a delayed …

The Constitutional Court has ruled a section of the Criminal Code unconstitutional, effectively decriminalising abortion in Thailand. The ruling takes effect 360 days after the ruling date on Wednesday, or on Feb 13 next year.  The court also ordered the section and a related one be amended to make them in line with the 2017 constitution. The ruling came after …

Three Thais aboard the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess, moored in Japan, are infected with the new coronavirus (Covid-19), officials announced on Thursday, as two elderly Japanese passengers were reported to have died from the disease. Foreign affairs spokesman Cherdkiat Atthakor said three Thai nationals, a passenger and two crew members, were now being treated in a hospital in Japan. …

Thailand has called on Israel to review its decision to ban Thais from entering the country in a bid to control the spread of deadly coronavirus (Covid-19). As a result of the ban, the Labour Ministry will have to postpone sending Thai workers to Israel under the employment cooperation project between the two countries. The situation is being assessed daily. …

Two elderly passengers from the coronavirus-hit cruise ship moored near Tokyo have died, public broadcaster NHK said on Thursday, as a second group of passengers began disembarking after two-weeks quarantined onboard. More than 620 of the passengers on the Diamond Princess liner have been infected on the ship, which has been quarantined since Feb 3, initially with about 3,700 people …

137 Wuhan returnees got discharged earlier quarantined at the Sattahip naval base in Chon Buri province while the returnee under observation for possible infection remained, pending retests. Deputy Public Health Minister Sathit Pitutecha said at the naval base that the quarantine on the returnees was successful as 137 people returned home as planned. The other returnee under observation remained at …

The Diamond Princess has proved a fertile breeding ground for the virus with at least 542 positive cases, and there is mounting criticism of Japan’s handling of quarantine arrangements as passengers ready to disperse into the wider world. Relieved passengers began leaving a coronavirus-wracked cruise ship in Japan on Wednesday after testing negative for the disease that has now claimed …