Philippines

MANILA – Rappler CEO Maria Ressa and a former researcher has been convicted by the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 46 of violating Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act specifically for cyber libel. The CEO and Executive Editor and former researcher Reynaldo Santos Jr. was found guilty of cyber libel and sentenced them to six months and …

MANILA – June 12, 2020 will mark the 122nd Anniversary of the Philippine Independence. Instead of the annual in-person celebration and festivities, “Araw ng Kalayaan” will go virtual and online this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Organizer of the festivals from different part of the world will be hosting different online events throughout the month of June. This year’s …

MANILA – Malacañang on Thursday, claried that only online sellers earning above Php 250,000 will need to pay taxes, but all online business should still register their records with the Bureau of Internal Revenue. “If your online business net income does not exceed P250,000, then you don’t have to pay.” Roque said. “If your online business net income does not …

MANILA – The Department of Tourism (DOT) is eyeing on implementing the so-called “travel bubble” between Covid-free areas in the country and abroad. Department of Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat said that these corridors would allow the resumption of tourism in Philippine destinations with zero cases of Covid-19 to foreign tourists from infection-free nations. Puyat added that it’s hard to …

MANILA – The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) are now requiring the online sellers and digital shops to register their businesses and declare their previous transaction and settle the taxes before July 31. According to the memorandum, The government are requiring all persons doing and earning money online to registervpursuant to the provisions of Section 236 of the Tax Code. …

MANILA – Catholics who plans to attend church must fill up personal information forms that will be used for contact tracing to fight the spread of the virus. The Diocese of Pasig, In an administrative decree, said that the requirement would be part of the “new normal” when the church reopens for the celebration of mass. Under the GCQ, government …

MANILA – Sun Cruises Inc., provider of cruise and tour services for Corregidor Island, on Tuesday announced that they will be officially closing down effective last May 16. Sun cruises, on their official Facebook account, posted a statement and a copy of the closure notice that ended a more than 30 years of service to people who are interested on …

Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) has been named the second most helpful bank in Asia-Pacific during the coronavirus crisis – the only Philippine bank who made it on the top 20 list. UnionBank was next only to KakaoBank, the largest digital-only bank of South Korea. The online survey was conducted on April 1-30, 2020 by BankQuality Consumer Survey on …

MANILA – Former foreign affairs secretary Albert del Rosario said on Monday that the government can seize China’s assets and properties as payment for the damaged reef in the West Philippine Sea. Del Rosario cited a University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute study that China owes the Philippines over P230 bil for the environmental damage in the West Philippine …

MANILA – The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) on Monday announced that customers can expect a lower electricity in June, amid months of power rates increase. In an advisory, customers consuming 200 kWh per month will have a reduced rate of ₱4 in their billing, while ₱6 for 300kwh, ₱8 for 400 kWh and ₱12 for those consumers with 500 kWh. …