Developing private piers in the Philippines is a delicate balance of several public interests such as environmental protection and economic development

What You Need to Know About Foreign Investments in the Philippines

Philippine renewable energy (RE) projects present promising sustainable returns to investors.

Experiencing a breach of contract is a common issue that can arise during the life of any agreement.

According to the Department of Migrant Workers, about ten (10) million Filipinos live abroad and around a million leave the country each year.

“In labor contracts, the nature of employment of a worker is prescribed by law, regardless of what the contract and the parties present it to be. Employment contracts are not ordinary contracts because they are imbued with public interest.” (Citations omitted.) (Ditiangkin v. Lazada E-services Philippines, Inc., G.R. No. 246892 (2022))

“When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” — When Harry Met Sally

One of the goals in passing the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act is to support businesses to recover from the global pandemic. With the easement of restrictions imposed during the pandemic, the imposition of certain tax rates will revert to their application pre-pandemic, i.e., the higher tax rates will now again be applied.

One of the principles behind tax assessments is that they are presumed correct. “[T]ax authorities enjoy the presumption of regularity in the performance of their duties in relation to tax investigation and assessment.

Taxes are the lifeblood of government. In general, “[T]he self-assessing system governs Philippine internal revenue taxes.  [x x x] [S]elf-assessed tax is a tax that the taxpayer himself assesses or computes and pays to the taxing authority.

Taxes are the lifeblood of the government and “upon taxation depends the government’s ability to serve the people for whose benefit taxes are collected” (Vera v. Fernandez, G.R. No. L-31364 (1979)).

Debt-financing is usually one of the ways of maximizing investment opportunities. Thus, for businessmen, resort to borrowings—whether from a private party or the bank—is a viable option.

Prior to the enactment of R.A. No. 11534, also known as the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act, which took effect on 11 April 2021, different laws provided special tax regimes to enterprises registered with various Investment Promotions Agencies (IPAs), such as the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), and the Board of Investments (BOI). The incentives were intended to attract more investments in the Philippines.

According to the World Bank, the Philippines, anchored on more robust domestic activities, is poised to grow 5.6 percent on average in 2023 – 2024 amidst intensifying global uncertainties. Just recently, “The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved financing to support the Philippine government’s efforts to boost the resiliency and sustainability of its financial sector and strengthen economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The banking industry is a highly regulated  institution, being one imbued with public interest, and thus, it is mandated to exercise the highest degree of diligence in all its dealings. Aside for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas—which has the power of supervision over banking operations—banks are likewise regulated by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC)

When a company is presented with various business opportunities, but lacks certain resources to proceed and go on with prospective projects and ventures, what could be the company’s best recourse? Usually, one of the most viable options would be through debt-financing

Serving a formal written demand produces a legal effect. It is often an essential part of the process. Article 1169 of the Civil Code for instance states that, generally

The Constitution provides in Article XII Section 7 that, “Save in cases of hereditary succession, no private lands shall be transferred or conveyed except to individuals, corporations, or associations qualified to acquire or hold lands of the public domain.” Case law tells us the reason: “[It] is to preserve the nation’s lands for future generations of Filipinos [x x x].” (Vasquez v. Li Seng Giap, G.R. No. L-3676 (1955))

An individual or entity wanting to do business in the Philippines would typically be dealing with certain government agencies to facilitate its business activity, whether in its startup stage or in ensuring its continuous operations, in case it is already operational. For individuals, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is the primary government agency that is tasked with facilitating trade, industry and other investment activities in the Philippines.

In order to get the best possible workforce, at times, it is necessary to extend the search even outside the Philippine territory after careful evaluation of the advantages and limitations of such a search. For one, the prospective foreign employee may contribute to the company’s productivity and even growth through the introduction of new concepts that would be of help to the company’s business development. Having different perspectives on how to do things, such as learning the best practices across the relevant sectors around the world, is key to having effective performance, especially given the fast-paced world that we live in. Effectiveness, in return, equates to stability and profit which is good for business.

Foreign investors look for the best possible investment opportunities where they can maximize their potential business operations, and one of the factors usually considered is the ease of doing business in a country they wish to invest in.