Policy & Regulation

Analysis of policy and regulatory shifts, compliance tightening, and policy decisions that reshape industries and rewrite the rules of participation. Focused on structural consequences, not headlines.

Sen. JV Ejercito’s Income Tax Exemption Threshold Bid Breaks From the Senate’s Own Number

Sen. JV Ejercito’s income tax exemption threshold bill aims higher than the Senate consensus, and DOF has not priced his version yet.

July 31, 2026

Deceptive Online Ads Survive Because No One Owns Them

Deceptive online ads like fake close buttons keep working because the ad supply chain spreads responsibility across too many parties to trace.

July 30, 2026

Marcos Tax Relief Package Praised, Then Picked Apart

Marcos tax relief package promises relief for workers and small businesses, but economists warn it lands as BIR’s own revenue targets are falling.

July 29, 2026

DOE: System Loss Charge Removal Still a Year Away

DOE says system loss charge removal needs an EPIRA amendment and up to a year to implement, as PHILRECA and Meralco set their own terms first.

July 29, 2026

Manila Truck Ban Exemption Fees Went Underground

The Manila truck ban exemption once ran through a documented city permit process. Operators say it now runs through an unlisted personal contact instead.

July 27, 2026

The Siargao Israeli Community Exposed An Old Loophole

The Siargao Israeli community sits at the center of a land dispute exposing a foreign ownership loophole Philippine regulators left open for years.

July 25, 2026

US Slaps Philippines With 12.5% Tariff on Exports over forced labor

The US imposed a new 12.5% tariff on Philippine exports on July 24 after Manila failed to pass the law that would have cut the rate in half.

July 24, 2026

Pax Silica Locks In Land Before It Locks In Terms

Pax Silica has already reshaped New Clark City with land deals and power contracts, months before the terms governing the zone are even finalized.

July 20, 2026

The Minimum Wage Exemption Inside NCR’s ₱85 Wage Hike

NCR’s ₱85 wage hike carries a minimum wage exemption clause letting small employers opt out, and DOLE’s coverage numbers do not account for it.

July 17, 2026

Judicial AI Governance Turns Into a Procurement Gate

The Supreme Court’s judicial AI governance framework clears only one AI tool for courts, turning adoption into a compliance test for vendors.

July 16, 2026

The Solar Land Use Policy the DOE Never Wrote

The Philippines still has no solar land use policy five years after DOE flagged the risk, and farmland keeps losing the trade to renewable energy targets.

July 14, 2026

DOE Power Generation Compliance Enforcement Moves Past Paperwork

DOE’s power generation compliance enforcement drive has moved past paperwork, turning 121 non-responses into grounds for inspection and sanctions.

July 13, 2026

InstaPay Fees Fall Under a New BSP Pricing Mandate

InstaPay fees dropped across GCash, Maya, BPI, and RCBC this week after a new BSP circular required fair pricing, not because of market competition.

July 8, 2026

Marcos’s Canada Investment Pledges Are Mostly Not Money

Marcos returned from Canada citing $2.5 billion in investment pledges, but only $14 million traces to an actual dollar figure. Here is the gap.

July 7, 2026

Kojiesan Recall Exposes a Cosmetic Compliance Blind Spot

The Kojiesan recall shows a registered product can still fail FDA testing, exposing a compliance gap retailers and resellers did not see coming.

July 6, 2026

NPC Data Scraping Compliance Now Has Regional Enforcement Behind It

The NPC’s data scraping compliance rules now connect to a regional enforcement grid. Here is what changed for AI, fintech, and ad-tech operators.

July 3, 2026

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