On the day that Pres Duterte signs the tax reform package, IBON underscores how TRAIN will entail price hikes on various goods and services beyond Christmas. Photo from GMA IBON Foundation, Inc. is an independent development institution established in 1987 that provides research, education, publications, information work and advocacy support on socioeconomic issues. Media &…
Trade deals were stalled mainly due to large developed countries’ differences at the recently concluded World Trade Organization (WTO) 11th ministerial conference (MC-11) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The bigger powers especially the United States (US) and the European Union (EU) pushed their own development agendas and set aside that of the lesser economies, while accusing the…
Research group IBON said that recently-released employment figures show that the jobs crisis is worsening under the Duterte administration’s neoliberal agenda, despite reported fast economic growth. The group said, there were jobs lost and an increase in the number of unemployed, primarily due to the over one million job losses in agriculture. These latest figures…
In a Senate hearing following jeepney drivers and operators’ cancellation of a nationwide transport strike, research group IBON said that public utilities vehicle (PUV) modernization should be socially just. The group pointed out that the Duterte administration should be able afford to undertake jeepney modernization without jeopardizing jeepney drivers’ livelihood and commuters’ access to this…
(Exact UP Diliman venue to be specified soon) The Duterte administration’s jeepney modernization program threatens to replace some 250,000 old-type jeepneys. The program slated to commence in January 2018 will phase-out old-type jeepneys and replace these with Euro-4, electric, solar or hybrid vehicles. Jeepney operators are being encouraged by government to avail of the new…
The Duterte administration’s tax program, particularly the fuel excise and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) tax, will cause price hikes and aggravate Philippine poverty, research group IBON said. The Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) will most likely make the burden heavier for the 22 million officially extremely poor Filipinos and more than 60 million living…
Lawmakers should rethink Duterte tax program The Senate version of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) bill remains anti-poor despite amendments. Research group IBON said this following senators’ recent approval of their version of the Duterte tax bill on third and final reading. According to the group, the Senate’s efforts to reduce the…
The government’s assurance of private profits from day one has led to the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) 3 woes that has put commuter welfare on the line, said research group IBON. The latest series of train breakdowns and mishaps is but the tip of the iceberg and will persist under a privatized light rail system….