Marcos scrutinizing ‘Konektadong Pinoy’ bill By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla
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ISRAELI FIRE KILLS 25 AID SEEKERS IN GAZA AMIDST PUSH FOR PALESTINIAN MIGRATION
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ALACAÑANG said President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is now reviewing the Konektadong Pinoy bill (KPB) as opposition to it continues to grow. Palace Press Officer Claire Castro confirmed that the Chief Executive has received the enrolled bill, which was ratified in the 19th Congress. “It has been given to the President and is now being reviewed,”
she said in a press briefing last Thursday. Earlier this week, PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. also joined mounting calls for Marcos to veto KBP citing its supposed unconstitutionality, regulatory imbalance and its potential to expose the public to cybersecurity risks. Last June, the Federation of International Cable TV and Telecommunications Association of the Philippines (FICTAP), the Philippine Association of Private Telecommunications (PAPTELCO), and the CitizenWatch Phil-
ippines have already voiced their opposition to the bill. The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev), however, backed the passage of the bill since it is expected to make internet services cheaper for consumers and help boost the country’s digital economy. The DICT assured that foreign entities would be subject to multilayered national security vetting and that core digital infrastruc-
ture would remain protected under existing laws. Castro said Marcos will get the position of all the concerned stakeholders before he decides on the matter. PLDT said they were asked by the Office of the Deputy Secretary for Legal Affairs of the Office of the President to comment on the bill. The measure, approved on third reading in February, seeks to ease market entry for more than 1,000 small internet providers, especially in remote and underserved areas, See “Marcos,” A2
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INVESTMENT PLEDGES DOWN BY HALF IN Q2 www.businessmirror.com.ph
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Friday, August 15, 2025 Vol. 20 No. 306
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By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
NVESTMENT pledges from both foreign and Filipino nationals contracted in the second quarter of 2025 as approvals for several industries recorded significant declines during the period, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Approved investments from both foreign and Filipino nationals in the second quarter of 2025 reached P299.08 billion, a
58.5-percent decline from the P720.1 billion reported in the same period a year ago. See “Investment,” A2
LOCAL CALL CENTERS TIE UP WITH EX-LAWMAKER TO DEFEND INDUSTRY FROM ‘MAJOR THREATS’ By Andrea E. San Juan
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@andreasanjuan
HE Philippine business process outsourcing (BPO) sector is teaming up with a former lawmaker to shield the local industry from isolationism, rapid rise of automation and the “aggressive” upskilling of competitors like Vietnam. In a statement on Thursday, Joey Sarte Salceda, who also chairs local think tank Institute for Risk and Strategic Studies said he has secured the backing of the Information Technology and Business Process Associa-
tion of the Philippines (IBPAP) in a “joint push” to defend the local BPO sector from the three major threats. Salceda said IBPAP President and CEO Jack Madrid sent him a letter, citing the former lawmaker’s “swift action” on the Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025 and his recommendation to consolidate advocacy efforts with IBPAP to create a “unified position” as crucial in strengthening the country’s “collective voice.” “We fully support your call to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for early engagement with Washington D.C., recognizing See “Local,” A2
MONSTER FINANCING Environmental groups stage a creative protest outside the Asian Development Bank (ADB) headquarters in Mandaluyong City on Thursday, August 14, 2025, where a
costumed “Ultraman” battles a giant fossil fuel “kaiju.” The rally denounced ADB’s continued financing of fossil fuel projects, which activists say accelerates climate change and undermines the shift to renewable energy. The demonstration comes as climate advocates worldwide step up pressure on financial institutions to divest from coal, oil, and gas. NONOY LACZA
‘New law bolsters judiciary independence’
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SHINING BRIGHT The SM Little Stars 2025 Grand Winner and runners-up lit up the stage
at SM Mall of Asia Music Hall on August 9. In photo are Xian Echo Zamora of SM City Cabanatuan hailed as the grand winner, followed by first Runner-up Mary Jazzlyn Capillas of SM Center Sangandaan, Second Runner-up Kirsten Danielle Ball of SM City Trece Martires, and Third Runner-up Jazzie Vrianna Cataran of SM City Manila. They were joined by SM Supermalls executives including Assistant Vice President for Marketing and Leasing Hanna Carinna Sy, representatives from National University and Sparkle Artist Center, celebrity judges, SM Little Stars 2024 grand winners. SM SUPERMALLS
O ensure greater independence of the courts from other branches of the government and boost the efficiency of their service delivery, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed Republic Act (RA) 12233 or the Judiciary Fiscal Autonomy Act (JFAA). The new law operationalizes the Constitutional provision, which mandates fiscal autonomy of the Judiciary branch of the government, by barring Congress from reducing its appropriations below its appropriated budget in the previous year. Marcos said RA 12233 will help improve the service delivery of the courts. “And this is why we continue to help the Judiciary become secure in its resources and perform its duty to serve our people without any delay,” he said during the ceremonial signing of RA 12233 last Thursday in Malacañang. Under the new law, the proposed
budget of the Judiciary must still be submitted to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) so it can be included in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) with the agency’s comments and recommendations on its provisions. Once the budget is enacted, the Chief Justice can augment any item in the Judiciary in the general appropriations law using the savings in other items appropriated in the said branch of the government and modify its allotment through an en banc resolution. A Judiciary Trust Fund will also be created from the funds collected by the courts, which it can use for its urgent needs. DBM will automatically release the budget to the Supreme Court (SC) every month. RA 12233 also allows the SC to create new offices and reorganize its administrative structure. In exchange for having an en-
hanced budgetary autonomy, the SC must submit accomplishment and financial reports to the President and Congress every quarter of the year. The Judiciary expenditures and revenues will also be subject to post-audit from the Commission on Audit (COA). The SC will release the implementing rules and regulations of RA 12233 within six months after the effectivity of the new piece of legislation. In a related development, Marcos also signed RA 12232 last Wednesday, which deferred the conduct of the next Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) from December 2025 to November 2026. It also set the term of all elected Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials from three years to four years. The SC led by Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo welcomed the
signing into law of RA 12233. In a statement, the Court said the JFAA would strengthen the constitutional guarantee under Article VIII, Section 3 of the Constitution which mandates fiscal autonomy for the judiciary. The provision also provides that the judiciary’s budget cannot be reduced below the previous year’s allocation and must be automatically and regularly released. Despite this provision, the SC lamented that the judiciary’s budgetary requirements are sometimes unmet due to the complexities of the budget process, thus, affecting the SC’s operations and modernization efforts. The Court said the JFAA would address this concern as it allows the SC to submit its original budget proposal directly to Congress, as an attachment to the National Expenditure Program prepared by DBM. Samuel P. Medenilla and Joel R. San Juan
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 56.8880 n JAPAN 0.3863 n UK 77.2539 n HK 7.2484 n CHINA 7.9259 n SINGAPORE 44.4646 n AUSTRALIA 37.2161 n EU 66.5931 n KOREA 0.0412 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.1612 Source: BSP (August 14, 2025)