Trade & Economy

Speaker Martin Romualdez on Tuesday said the USD1 billion worth of investments from firms participating in a high-level United States (US) trade and investment mission represent a substantial "vote of confidence" in the Philippine economy.

In a press conference, Deputy Speaker David Suarez commended President Marcos for his role in facilitating the high-level US trade mission to Manila, acknowledging his efforts in promoting the country abroad.

During the plenary session, the chamber passed through voice voting House Bill 9794, otherwise known as the CREATE MORE (Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy) bill, which aims to make the country's tax regime both compliant with the minimum global tax and competitive.

University of the Philippines Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea director Jay Batongbacal said China would be in trouble if it engages in a trade war with the Philippines.

“There will be a high-level delegation comprised of 22 business delegates, C-level representatives from strategic sectors and ‘yung pag-uusapan po (the discussion) next week is, of course, how to enhance our trade and investment relations,” DTI foreign trade service officer Jollan Margaret Llaneza said in a weekly news forum in Quezon City.

“This interest is confirmed in Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040 where four key sectors were identified as investment priorities in the Philippines, to wit, agriculture and food, education and skills, resources, and green transition,” Marcos said in a video message uploaded on state-run Radio Television Malacañang early Thursday morning.

During the Japan National Day reception in Taguig on Friday night, outgoing Japanese Ambassador Kazuhiko Koshikawa expressed optimism that this would further convince Japanese firms to do business with the country.

In a statement, Marcos welcomed the latest Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) report, which showed that headline inflation further eased to 2.78 percent in January 2024, the lowest since the 2.3 percent recorded in October 2020.

In a statement, ULAP, representing the collective interests of local government units and officials across the nation, said it supports prioritizing investments in key sectors such as infrastructure, education, healthcare, social protection, technology, and livelihood development as a strategic approach to create jobs, improve living standards, and enhance the overall quality of life for the Filipino people.

Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez on Friday commended the leadership of the Bureau of Treasury (BTr) for organizing financial literacy sessions, saying such initiatives encourage more investments that would help improve not just Filipinos’ lives, but the national development as a whole.