Philippines

Whether it is basic, elementary or tertiary, the fundamental challenge for the Philippine education system is one of access and quality. The country is now making its boldest attempt to date to correct some of these shortcomings, which have constrained its human resource potential for the last three decades. The administration of President Benigno...

When Typhoon Pablo hit the Philippines’ southernmost island of Mindanao in December 2012, it was a stark reminder of the havoc that unforeseen weather phenomena can cause to agriculture. According to National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reports, the typhoon caused an estimated P26.53bn ($639m) worth of damage in the sector, along...

Taxes in the Philippines are imposed at the national and local levels. At the national level, taxes are levied and collected pursuant to the National Internal Revenue Code, the Tariff and Customs Code, and several special laws. There are four main types of national internal revenue taxes: income, indirect (value-added and percentage taxes), excise...

Caught in the crossfire between a maelstrom of competing interests and agendas, policy makers attempting to hammer out a new regulatory regimen for the mining sector have had a tough go of it in recent years. In an attempt to find a middle ground, the central government has tried time and again to introduce reform and revise the legislative...

As rich in natural beauty as regional tourism leaders Thailand and Malaysia, the Philippines’ history of underinvestment, weak promotion and security troubles has made it one of the least-visited large countries in the area. But the Philippines is pushing hard to develop the potential of its tourism sector. Visitor numbers and revenues have been...