The Philippines plans to boost the share of solar in power output to 5.6% in 2030 from 2.4% in 2024, and wind to 11.7% from 3.1%, according to a government presentation, potentially making the archipelago’s grid among the cleanest in the region. The southeast Asian nation expects higher share of solar and wind to offset a decline in the share of other clean sources such as hydropower and geothermal energy, helping non-fossil sources account for 35% of power generation by 2030. Hydroelectricity’s share is set to fall from 10% to 9.1%, while geothermal energy is expected to account for 7.7% of ..read more

Amid the reinvigorated alliance between the Philippines and the United States, economic ties between the two countries have now reached a “golden spot,’’ according to New York Consul General Senen Mangalile. “We’re really in that golden spot,” Mangalile said in a recent press briefing at the Philippine Center in New York. This developed as Philippine companies are expanding in the US while American private equity firms and other funding institutions are on the lookout for investment opportunities in Manila.   Benedict Uy, trade commissioner and head of the Philippine Trade and Investmen ..read more

(Updated for 2018 TRAIN Law) Yes, a foreigner can inherit Philippine assets (with some restrictions). If you are a foreign heir to a Philippine land inheritance, this post is particularly for you. This post answers common questions as to whether you can inherit, how much you can inherit and the process and payments to put the title in another person’s name (this is needed when you sell the property). It also goes through a common real life example of a person who died without a will, but left behind: a family home; a bank account; unpaid real estate taxes. A few notes: Be prepared ..read more

Filipino families living in Metro Manila believe they need to earn P25,000 to keep them from being considered poor, according to the latest survey results of the Social Weather Station (SWS). Based on the Self-Rated Poverty (SRP) data, SWS said a Self-Rated Poverty Threshold of P25,000 is a new record. This is the highest threshold recorded by SWS in the past three administrations or since 2010. The data also marked a threshold poverty gap of P10,000, the third quarter that this gap was recorded by SWS. This is the eighth time this gap was recorded in Metro Manila in three administrations ..read more

In the case of Heirs of Spouses Gervacio A. Ramirez and Martina Carbonel, represented by Cesar S. Ramirez and Elmer R. Aduca v. Joey Abon and the Register of Deeds of Nueva Vizcaya, GR 222916, July 24, 2019, penned by Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, the Supreme Court discussed the requirements when the owner's duplicate certificate of title is lost/destroyed, viz.: "Jurisprudence holds that Section 109 of Presidential Decree No. (PD) 1529 'is the law applicable in petitions for issuance of new owner's duplicate certificates of title which are lost or stolen or destroyed.' "To cla ..read more

The Philippines lags behind some of its Southeast Asian neighbors in terms of readiness in developing smart tourism ecosystems, hampered by high internet costs and accessibility issues in rural areas, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said. In a report entitled “Smart Tourism Ecosystem Development Readiness in Southeast Asia,” the Philippines received an average readiness score of 56. A score of 100 indicates a country’s ability to adopt an enabling environment for smart tourism. Among six Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members in the index, the Philippines ranked fourth, behi ..read more

As it moored under Seville’s imposing skyline on September 8, 1522, the Victoria may not have stood out as anything exceptional among the bustle of Spanish ships arriving from the Americas. When 18 men stepped off board, “leaner than old, worn-out nags,” as one of them later recalled, they stepped into the history books as the first people to have sailed entirely around the world. It had been a brutal voyage, led by the brilliant, if ruthless, Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan. When they set out from Seville, three years before in summer 1519, they were a crew of 240 manning five s ..read more

Metro Manila's economic output expanded by 4.9% in 2023, the slowest pace in two years, due to base effects and weaker output of key sectors, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Thursday. Preliminary PSA data on the latest regional accounts showed that the National Capital Region’s (NCR) economic growth slowed sharply in 2023 from the 7.2% expansion in 2022. This was Metro Manila’s weakest economic growth since the 4.4% print in 2021. NCR growth was also slower than the Philippines’ 5.5% gross domestic product (GDP) print last year. “NCR’s growth, although slower, was still in ..read more

With ageing populations and dementia rates rising fast, the family home — worth more than ever before — is increasingly the focus of discord Last year, John, who is living with dementia, married his girlfriend, Eve. A few weeks later, he told his adult children. Since the wedding, contact has been sporadic. Helen, one of his daughters, says she is worried about his capacity to make decisions and is “saddened by what is happening. There’s no communication, no relationship to speak of, and no way for us to help with his care.” The last time she saw her father, “he was very quiet and seemed qui ..read more

Midway through the dry season, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration has already issued warnings of dangerously escalating heat indexes. Consequently, this forecast signals a looming surge in energy demand, posing a significant challenge for the country amid ongoing issues with power supply. Last week’s successive Red and Yellow Alert declarations by the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines serve as a stark reminder of the strain on our energy grid, foreshadowing what may come in the days ahead as Filipinos ramp up the use of cooling appliances to b ..read more