BSP supports Internet Transactions bill
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is backing the proposed Internet Transactions Act, which will complement its earlier initiatives on electronic commerce (ecommerce). “The proposed bill can serve as a good starting point in regulating ecommerce in the country,” Raymond Estioko, the central bank’s head for Payments System Oversight Department, said at a recent Senate hearing on the proposed legislation. Formally known as Senate Bill 1591, the measure seeks to establish an “eCommerce Bureau” that will promote the development of ecommerce in the country by building trust between sellers and consumers, stronger online consumer protection, safer epayment gateways, easier online business registration, and formulation of other policies and programs to increase the number of online merchants and customers. “The measure will further enhance the competitiveness of Philippine micro, small and medium enterprises, which, in turn, serve as the backbone of the country, more so with th... Innovation gains to continue — DTI
Despite the dearth of investments among local industries in research and development (R&D), the country is making headways into innovation to reflect Filipinos’ natural character of resiliency, according to government officials.“We are confident that the Philippines can improve its innovation performance and move up higher the Global Innovation Index (GII) in the coming years,” Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez said yesterday.Lopez cited the implementation of the Philippine Innovation Act and Innovative Startups Act as catalyst to pushing innovation higher.“Filipinnovation will remain central to sustaining our competitiveness and national development through this pandemic and beyond,” Lopez remarked.The Philippines recently ranked 50th out of 131 countries in 2020 as reported in the annual GII up from 54th last year. This is the first time that the Philippines has breached the top 50 of the GII, which recognizes the country as an “... Subic expressway expansion finished by year-end
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:02 AM August 13, 2020SUBIC BAY FREEPORT, Zambales, Philippines — The P1.6-billion infrastructure project to expand Subic Freeport Expressway (SFEx) is 50-percent complete and will be finished by the end of the year, according to the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) Corp.In a statement, NLEx said the road improvement resumed in mid-May after the lifting of enhanced community quarantine in the area.The 8.2-kilometer SFEx connects this free port to the 94-km Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, which in turn links to the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway.The SFEx expansion includes adding two expressway lanes, two new spans at the Jadjad and Argonaut bridges, and a new tunnel near the existing one to improve traffic flow and road safety.—Joanna Rose AglibotSource: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1320860/subic-expressway-expansion-finished-by-year-end#ixzz6V3UtXQxF...