Amicus Curiae

On 11 November 2024, the President signed and approved the passage of Republic Act (RA) No. 12066, also known as CREATE MORE, into law. MORE stands for Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy while CREATE stands for Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises.

The passage of Republic Act No. 12009, or the New Government Procurement Act (NGPA), introduces transformative reforms to the government procurement framework, building upon Republic Act No. 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Act (GPRA).

The Philippine Bureau of Immigration (“BI”) and Department of Foreign Affairs (“DFA”) recently implemented the e-Visa system for Indian and Chinese nationals, reflecting a progressive shift toward the digitization of visa processes in the Philippines.

In a decision published on 19 November 2024, the Supreme Court departed from prevailing jurisprudence on the filing of complaints by aggrieved workers against their employers before the National Labor Relations Commission (“NLRC”), particularly regarding the inclusion of additional claims.

Section 1, Article 3 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution ensures that “[n]o individual shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall anyone be denied equal protection of the laws”.

Employee theft is a serious matter that carries significant consequences under Philippine law. Among these implications are labor, civil, and criminal aspects, all of which an employer must carefully consider. Various types of theft occur in the workplace, including outright theft of the employer’s money, falsifying payments to vendors and pocketing the budget, and stealing

There are significant developments in fintech in the Philippines. The changes are mainly in the areas of digital payment systems, digital banks, cryptocurrencies, and central bank digital currencies.

The Filipinos’ growing reliance on online platforms has driven massive growth in the Philippine digital economy. This is evident in the 7.7% increase in the gross value added to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

A survey conducted by Capstone-Intel last 22-29 November 2023, involving 1,503 respondents across the country revealed that 9 out of 10 Filipinos are currently using finance applications for their daily transactions, with only 2% of the respondents claiming that they are not using any finance applications.

Sexual harassment is a widespread concern and issue in the workplace. The prevalence of these incidents behooves employers to take decisive and prompt actions to prevent, address, and investigate harassment cases, and to ensure a safe environment for all employees.