Good day. Here are the top stories of The Manila Times for Monday, Jan. 8, 2024.
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READ: Marcos signs ease of paying taxes law
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed into law a measure that modernizes the tax administration process and strengthens taxpayer rights, Malacañang said on Sunday. Enacted on January 5, Republic Act 11976, or the "Ease of Paying Taxes Act," is expected by the Marcos administration to significantly contribute to achieving its 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda through much-improved revenue collection through digitalization initiatives. The law classifies taxpayers into micro, small, medium and large; allows electronic or manual filing of returns and payment taxes through an authorized agent bank or authorized tax software provider; provides the option to pay internal revenue taxes removal to the City or Municipal Treasurer; eliminates the distinction between documentation and basis of sales of goods and services; and classifies value-added tax (VAT) refund claims into low, medium and high-risk. The law's implementing rules and regulations (IRR) shall be promulgated 90 days from its effectivity after the consultation of the Finance Secretary with the BIR and the private sector.
READ: House panel sets jeepney modernization investigation
THE House Committee on Transportation will start investigating on Wednesday concerns involving the implementation of the public utility vehicle (PUV) or jeepney modernization program. In a statement issued on Sunday, Antipolo City 2nd District Rep. Romeo Acop, the House transportation panel chairman, said he was securing the approval of panel members to proceed with the inquiry.Even without a resolution or a privilege speech calling for a probe, Acop said they would proceed under Section 2 of the House Rules of Procedure Governing Inquiries in Aid of Legislation. Section 2 allows inquiries to be initiated through motu propio action of a committee through a majority vote of its members, provided that the committee first seeks authority from the House Committee on Rules. In a statement issued on Sunday, Antipolo City 2nd District Rep. Romeo Acop, the House transportation panel chairman, said he was securing the approval of panel members to proceed with the inquiry.
READ: Go Negosyo, CDA deal gives agri cooperatives a boost
GO Negosyo has entered into a partnership with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) to link agriculture cooperatives with the country's leading agri companies and give small farmers a better chance at scaling up. In a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on January 4, the nonprofit organization that advocates for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and the CDA, the lead government agency for cooperatives, agreed to identify and organize coops which will be assisted by private business organizations in consolidating their produce, meeting market requirements, as well as accessing credit, inputs and training. The partnership was created to support and implement the objectives of the Kapatid Angat Lahat Agri Program (Kalap), said Go Negosyo founder Jose Ma. "Joey" Concepcion 3rd. Concepcion said Go Negosyo organized Kalap to establish partnerships between the government and the private sector. Under the program, small farmers are integrated into the value chain of "big-brother" companies, giving them access to mentoring, markets and capital. The partnership with the CDA will help Go Negosyo identify the cooperatives willing to be part of Kalap, said Concepcion.
READ: Orthodox Christmas: Why it's celebrated 13 days after Dec 25
WHILE much of the world has Christmas in the rearview mirror by now, people in some Eastern Orthodox traditions will celebrate the holy day on January 7. Certain Eastern Orthodox churches, including those in Russian and other traditions, follow the ancient Julian calendar, which runs 13 days later than the Gregorian calendar, used by Catholic and Protestant churches as well as by much of the secular world for everyday use. Other Orthodox, including those in the Greek tradition and, now, some Ukrainian churches, celebrate Christmas on the same date as Western churches.
Topping Business
READ: GIR dips in December but still up from 2022
THE country's gross international reserves (GIR) settled at $102.45 billion at the end of December, down slightly from November but substantially higher compared to a year earlier, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported late on Friday. The drop from $102.72 billion a month earlier was said to have been primarily due to national government payments of its foreign currency debt obligations. It remained far short of the record $108.79 billion recorded in 2021 but was still a marked improvement from 2022's $96.15 billion. The latest GIR level, the BSP said in a statement, "represents a more than adequate external liquidity buffer equivalent to 7.7 months' worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income." It was also said to be equivalent to around "6.0 times the country's short-term external debt based on original maturity and 3.8 times based on residual maturity." GIR levels are considered adequate "if it can finance at least three months' worth of the country's imports of goods and payments of services and primary income," the BSP noted.
In Sports
READ: F2 troika completes transfer to Home Fibr
THE PLDT High Speed Hitters officially welcomed their recruits Kim Dy, Majoy Baron and Kim Fajardo for the 2024 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) season. PLDT's recruitment of Dy was the latest to have been announced with the High Speed Hitters making a social media post about her addition to the team on Sunday, January 7. Once she recovers from the knee injury she sustained last October, Dy is expected to strengthen PLDT's wing spiker rotation that already has Savannah Davison and Erika Santos.
READ: Rockets hold off Bucks despite Giannis' big night
LOS ANGELES: Alperen Sengun scored 21 points to lead seven Houston players in double figures and the Rockets withstood a 48-point performance from Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo in a 112-108 NBA victory over the Bucks on Saturday (Sunday in Manila). Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Antetokounmpo added 17 rebounds for a seventh straight double-double, but it wasn't enough in a game that saw Houston take control early before fending off a fourth-quarter Bucks charge. Sengun added 11 rebounds and four assists and Jeff Green and Jalen Green added 16 points apiece for the Rockets, who emerged from a tight first quarter with an 11-point lead that they pushed to 20 at halftime. Antetokounmpo's 18th career game of 45 or more points tied Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most in Bucks franchise history.
READ: Opinion/Editorial
Today's editorial talks about a no clear 'day after' strategy for Gaza. Read the full version on print or on digital or listen to the Voice of the Times. Featured columnists on the front page are Rigoberto Tiglao, Fr. Ranhilio Aquino and Francisco Tatad. Tiglao questions why Philippines' annual spectacle of superstition is declared a holiday; Aquino on 10 precepts to live by in 2024; and Tatad saying that the return of the US bases is not yet written in stone.
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