On 10 March 2020, the House of Representatives approved on the third and final reading House Bill 78, which if passed into law, will amend Commonwealth Act No. 89 or the Public Service Law. HB 78, if passed into law, would put a statutory definition on a public utility which under the current law is considered the same as public service. Putting a definition to, and limiting what is considered a public utility to just a handful of industries would effectively remove foreign-ownership restrictions on the industries not considered as public utilities.…

The COVID-19 or the Coronavirus epidemic that started in Wuhan, China has become one of the more pressing issues the international community is facing right now. Efforts have been made and strategies devised in order to stop the virus from further spreading. However, despite untiring efforts, the viral infection has been slowly spreading worldwide. Coronavirus epidemic that started in Wuhan As of this date, the Philippines has three (3) confirmed COVID-19 cases and there are fears that the number of infected might increase due to the recent influx of tourists and investors…

On 15 August 2012 President Benigno Aquino, Jr. signed into law Republic Act (RA) 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012. This law aims to protect the fundamental right of privacy of communication while ensuring free flow of information to promote innovation and growth. (Sec 2, RA10173) One of the important goals of the aforementioned law is to protect an individual’s personal information from unauthorized processing by any natural or juridical person. The following are the salient portion of RA10173. WHAT KIND OF INFORMATION DOES THE DATA PRIVACY ACT OF 2012…

Public-Private Partnership (PPP) is an agreement between the public sector and private entities to jointly undergo certain projects which are normally provided by the public sector including but not limited to infrastructure and services. PPPs are advantageous to both the public and private sectors as the former can acquire funding for projects and at the same time mitigate their risks. On the other hand, private entities entering into PPPs have the opportunity to invest in projects with a reasonable rate of return. RA 9184: GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT REFORM ACT - PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP (PPP)…

The Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry is a booming business sector in the Philippines. With the Filipino workforce’s competence and high education coupled with the reasonable cost of doing business in the country, the Philippines has become one of the premier destination for outsourcing. For foreign investors looking into entering the BPO sector, there are different options on what type of structure to register for their business. TYPES OF CORPORATION TO REGISTER FOR A BPO BUSINESS BPO TYPE: BRANCH OFFICE OF A FOREIGN CORPORATION – carries out the business activities of the…