PEZA announces P1.39B dividend payout
'As we turn 30, we are focused on future-proofing PEZA to ensure it remains a dynamic force for economic development and nation-building,' PEZA Director General Tereso O. Panga said in a statement.
PEZA noted that it has already contributed P3.68 billion to the government since the start of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's administration.
The Department of Finance (DOF) earlier said the dividend remittances from the earnings of government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs) have reached over P76 billion as of May 15, 2025.
PEZA was also among the 13 state-owned firms that contributed at least P1 billion to state coffers. —Mariel Celine Serquiña/RF, GMA Integrated News
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GMA Network
2 days ago
- GMA Network
Meet Bran Reluao, the 'digital diplomat' and PH's youngest special envoy to Thailand
The world of diplomacy is a highly respected field in which seasoned diplomats represent their countries to foster communication and build relationships with other nations. Traditionally, members of the diplomatic corps rise through the ranks as career diplomats, but the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is welcoming a new wave of younger individuals into the fold. Meet Bran Reluao. At just 28, the communications graduate from Far Eastern University — who also has an MBA in Business Administration from Philippine Christian University — holds the distinction of being the Philippines' youngest Special Envoy to the Kingdom of Thailand. He was appointed in May and assumed office a month later. Unlike career diplomats, his Special Envoy designation is not the result of climbing the traditional ranks, but a Presidential appointment, a role given to individuals tasked with specific roles abroad. Speaking to GMA News Online, Reluao admitted to initially feeling hesitant about the appointment. Engaging with seasoned individuals in the diplomatic world is its own kind of intimidating, after all. But he eventually warmed up to the idea, stepped up for the role, and was even dubbed the "digital diplomat guy." Talking about being the youngest in the nation's diplomatic world, Reluao said he was surprised at how welcoming his colleagues were at the Department of Foreign Affairs to his appointment, washing away his hesitation. "It was a fun conversation that they told me, 'We are so thrilled that there's now a digital diplomat,'" he recalled. "I'm very passionate about digital innovation, so they're very excited and welcoming about it," he added. Tasks as a special envoy While special envoys are typically sent to handle trade and investment partnerships in other countries, Reluao's assignment is unlike most others. His mission in Thailand revolves around technology innovation to promote digital transformation in the Philippines. "My very diplomatic mission is to build a Philippine-Thailand tech corridor. Because there's already a Thailand-Malaysian tech corridor or a Malaysian-Indonesian tech corridor, but there's no existing tech corridor between the Philippines and Thailand," he said. Tech corridors mean the exchange of ideas between two countries through learning and cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence, technology, digital innovation, among others. Reluao's diplomatic mission is part of the country's preparation to host the ASEAN Summit in 2026, where digital diplomacy will be a key theme. Through his Special Envoy role, Reluao aims to draw lessons from Thailand's impressive technological progress, particularly from Thailand's Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA), which he described as "an agency dedicated only to the digital economy." One of his goals is to spark a similar movement like DEPA in the country by advocating for a more dedicated agency focused on digital innovation, beyond what current institutions like the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) can offer. Reluao also seeks to support the President's aim to lower the internet costs in the Philippines by learning from Thailand's impressive internet infrastructure. "Here in the Philippines, our internet per month, for example, P999 is already equivalent to a whole year in Thailand. So the President wants to slash the internet cost," he said. Aside from digital connectivity, Reluao is also looking into Thailand's financial literacy in terms of the widespread usage of digital banking, as well as its rising startup culture. The Special Envoy has already made early strides in his newly minted role. On his latest trip to Thailand, Reluao visited Chulalongkorn University and was impressed by the Integrated Innovation program designed to create startup-ready graduates. "Their goal is that by the end of their four-year term, they would have a business, a licensed business," he said, adding that the idea is something he can push for in terms of education in the Philippines. Meanwhile, in June, he attended the Japan-ASEAN Startup Business Matching Fair 2025, where the representatives of participating countries engaged in meaningful dialogue about trade, investment, innovation, and industrial cooperation. In July, Reluao hosted an appreciation dinner for Thai Embassy officials to culminate their latest cultural visit to Intramuros, the walled City of Manila. With just less than two months in, his visit to Thailand and attendance at the business matching fair in Japan are among the significant things he has done and participated in as a Special Envoy. The pulse of the youth Beyond his diplomatic duties, Reluao is also the chief executive officer of RepublicAsia, a data-driven advertising and media company he founded in 2022, that taps into the youth's sentiments, behavior, and values. "At RepublicAsia, we have data scientists who understand the behavior of the young generation, and then they start creating publication materials based on that," he said. Sharing his insights on today's youth and based on RepublicAsia's latest data, Reluao said Gen Zs place importance on three major things as of the moment: mental health and advocacy, respecting one's gender identity and pronouns, and embracing flexible setups in the workplace. Regarding mental health, Reluao said that in RepublicAsia specifically, he lets his staff take their time with work so as to avoid unnecessary pressure. "Most of the big corporations don't understand that being creative, being a good writer, needs a certain amount of time to [hone your work]," he said. "But some people are pressured to do things because they have certain numbers to [catch]." Reluao champions a culture where young writers and creatives are free to express themselves without pressure by allowing them "to write freely." "We still have an editor-in-chief so it should still be aligned with journalistic ethics and code. But I give them freedom to write in their own way," he said. Meanwhile, Reluao is all for respecting gender identity and knowing one's pronouns. "I have noticed that people in the younger generation are very particular with their pronouns, with their identifications," he said, adding "I think we need to be mindful and be respectful of that, on how they identify themselves." Another trend among the youth, according to Reluao, is the shift toward flexible and remote work environments. "[My staff] keeps telling me that in the office, they are pressured compared to when they are working, say, in coffee shops or wherever they want," he said. Reluao said he has no problem with flexible setups, as long as "they can perform and submit their outputs." The young CEO sees this evolving culture not as resistance, but as a new standard, especially with Gen Zs slowly dominating the workforce. "Big corporations need to understand that we are now becoming more diversified and more outspoken," he said. "Gen Zs are not afraid to talk." Reluao makes his own appointment as a Special Envoy as an example of Gen Zs undeniable presence in the workforce, reflecting Marcos' belief that young voices should be included in shaping the future. "I think the President believes that we need new, young blood in the government," he said. "We need more [of the] younger generation to think, to be outspoken, and not to be afraid," he said. "That's how the country should move forward." Personal advocacy on digital inclusion Staying true to his commitment to digital inclusion and innovation, Reluao launched the Pay IT Forward initiative in April, which aims to provide digital tools and training to underserved students and educators nationwide. This initiative is in partnership with the Department of Education, the Department of Budget and Management, the DICT, and iACADEMY. The Pay It Forward initiative has also partnered with Sparkle GMA Artist Center to give Sparkle artists and Status by Sparkle content creators workshops and scholarships. Earlier in July, Camp Bagong Amai Pakpak Elementary School in Marawi City, a learning institution that previously benefited from classrooms built by the GMA Kapuso Foundation, received a donation of 150 tablets and three 50-inch smart TVs through the Pay IT Forward initiative. According to Reluao, it was his first time visiting Marawi with Atty. Annette Gozon-Valdes, GMA Network senior vice president, for the turnover of the educational tablets and smart TVs. "There's nothing more powerful than the smile of a child filled with hope," he wrote on Instagram. "Seeing the kids light up as they received their tablets was a reminder of the endless possibilities that come with access to education and opportunity," he added. If there is one thing about Reluao, it's that when it comes to making a difference, it's not about the age; it's about your purpose. He may be the youngest Special Envoy in the Philippines, but his vision is far-reaching: a digitally empowered generation and a country that embraces innovation without leaving anyone behind. —MGP, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
2 days ago
- GMA Network
DOF eyes strengthening info campaign amid spread of fake news on CMEPA
The Department of Finance (DOF) on Sunday said it is looking into amplifying its public information campaign following the spread of viral posts on interest income. 'Sa ngayon, hindi pa namin alam kung bakit ito nag-viral. Lesson learned ito sa DOF that we need to intensify our campaign information particularly sa aming mga reporma,' DOF Assistant Secretary Karlo Adriano told Super Radyo dzBB. (As of now, we still don't know why it went viral. This serves as a lesson for the DOF to strengthen our public information efforts, particularly regarding our reforms.) In a separate dzBB interview, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said the spread of fake news related to the Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act (CMEPA) is a move intended to scare and deceive the public. 'Sinasadya talagang linlangin at i-confuse ang ating mga kababayan (It's a clear attempt to mislead and confuse the public),' Gatchalian said. The spread of fake news came right after the passage of the Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act (CMEPA), which mandates banks to implement the uniform 20% final withholding tax (FWT) on interest income, regardless of the term or currency denomination, starting this month. The passage of the CMEPA gained public attention, perhaps due to confusion, as several online posts have circulated claiming it imposes a 20% tax on total savings or bank deposits. 'Ang binubuwisan natin since 1998 ay 'yung interest income ng inyong savings sa bangko. Kumikita 'yan ng interest kapag natutulog sa bangko at 'yan ay binubuwisan ever since 1998,' Adriano explained. (What we've been taxing since 1998 is the interest income from your bank savings. That money earns interest while sitting in the bank, and it has been taxed since 1998.) — RF, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
4 days ago
- GMA Network
Should you bother about CMEPA's 20% tax on interest earned from savings?
The spotlight is on the Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act (CMEPA), signed into law by President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. last May and took effect this month, because of a provision that standardized the tax rate on interest income earned on savings or deposit products in a bank. This provision might have caused public confusion, perhaps due to several posts circulating that it imposes a 20% tax on total savings. The Department of Finance (DOF) has since clarified that only the interest earned from a depositor's savings in a bank is taxed 20%, and not the amount of savings itself. Under CMEPA, all interest income deposited in banks is charged a 20% withholding tax, which local banks started to implement on July 1, 2025. 'A final tax of 20% is hereby imposed upon the amount of interest yield, or other monetary benefit earned or received from any currency bank deposit, deposit substitute, trust fund, or other similar arrangements,' Section 6 of the measure reads. Clearly, the law does not slap tax on total savings deposited in a bank, but on the interests it earns. What is CMEPA? The Republic Act No. 122141 or CMEPA amended several provisions of the National Internal Revenue Code, namely sections 22, 24, 25, 27, 28, 32, 34, 38, 39, 42, 51, 56, 57, 127, 149, 174, 176, 179, 190, 199, and 258, to 'harmonize' and simplify taxation of passive income across financial instruments in a bid to encourage wider public participation in the country's capital markets. The law defines 'passive income' as any income earned from sources that do not require a taxpayer's active pursuit and performance of trade or business. CMEPA and the 20% interest tax: What gives? Prior to CMEPA's enactment into law, all interest earned in a regular savings account is already charged 20%. Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said, '1998 pa may buwis 'yan.' Recto said 99.6% of depositors or those with regular savings accounts are already being taxed on the interest they earned before the law took effect. Below is a sample computation from the Asian Consulting Group (ACG), which shows how a 20% tax on interest earned in a year at 0.250% could be reflected in a regular savings account with P100,000: Before CMEPA After CMEPA Interest earned at 0.250% (1year) P250 P250 Less: 20% final withholding tax P50 P50 Interest income received P200 P200 Prior to the uniform tax rate, taxes on interest earned from savings were tiered and based on the maturity or lock-in periods — 20% for those less than three years; 12% for three years to less than four years; 5% for four years to less than five years; exemptions for more than five years; and 15% for foreign currency deposit units (FCDUs) or dollars. The Finance chief said that only 0.4% of depositors enjoyed the preferential tax rates. 'Kaya ginawang uniform… kasi 0.4% lang ang may long-term savings,' Recto said. With the law in effect, those who will open a long-term time deposit account would now bear the 20% tax on the interest they earn, which was previously tax-exempt if the maturity was over five years. Below is a sample computation from ACG for a seven-year time deposit of P500,000 earning an annual interest rate of 2.50%: Before CMEPA After CMEPA Interest earned (1 year) P12,500 P12,500 Less: 20% final withholding tax Tax-exempt P2,500 Interest income earned P12,500 P10,000 ACG chief tax advisor Mon Abrea echoed Recto's explanation, saying that the 20% tax on interest earned from savings is 'not a new tax.' 'The recently enacted Capital Market Efficiency and Protection Act (CMEPA) does not introduce a new tax on savings or deposit accounts. Interest income from such deposits has long been subject to a 20% final withholding tax under the Tax Reform Act of 1997,' Abrea said. 'What CMEPA does is standardize the tax treatment by also imposing the same 20% final tax on interest income from long-term time deposits, which were previously exempt if held for more than five years. This reform promotes fairness and consistency in the Philippine tax system and aligns with international best practices, where interest income - regardless of the term - is generally subject to tax,' the tax expert said. The Finance Department has further clarified that the standardized tax rate of 20% is 'not retroactive,' meaning it does not apply to financial instruments that were issued or transacted prior to July 1, 2025. 'Therefore, existing long-term deposits made prior to the effectivity of the law will continue to enjoy the preferential rate until their maturity,' the DOF said. Fair or regressive? The Finance Department has argued that the previous 'special tax treatment' favored depositors who can afford to park their savings in long-term deposits, which made the tax unfair for short-term depositors who face liquidity issues and need immediate access to their funds. 'The CMEPA merely corrects this outdated and inequitable system that has placed a heavier burden on ordinary Filipinos who do not have the extra cash to put in banks for longer periods,' the DOF said. Non-profit economic research group IBON Foundation's executive director Sonny Africa, however, is not convinced that the law's standardized tax rate is 'equalizing.' 'Standardizing tax rates may sound fair but equalizing tax on interest income at 20% will be regressive in effect because ordinary savers will end up paying the same rate as the ultra-rich. The DOF is being insensitive — equal treatment of unequals is unequal in effect,' Africa said. 'The uniform 20% tax on interest income is regressive because ordinary savers will pay the same rate as the ultra-rich,' he added. Citing a report from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, IBON's executive director said that 20.1 million or three out of four Filipino families 'didn't have any savings as of the end of 2024.' 'This brute fact should put into context any hype that the new law empowers ordinary Filipinos,' Africa said. Nevertheless, CMEPA does not impose the unified tax rate to provident savings programs under the Social Security System (SSS) and the Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG such as the MP2 and would remain exempt from tax. 'The tax exemptions on SSS, GSIS, Pag-IBIG are welcome because these are public schemes," Africa said. Capital markets With the law's aim to encourage wider public participation in the country's capital markets, CMEPA reduced the stock transaction tax (STT) rate from 0.6% to 0.1%, decreasing the documentary stamp taxes (DST) on original issuance of shares from 1% to 0.75%, and removing the DST on collective investment schemes. It also imposes a uniform 0.75% DST on bonds, debentures, and certificates of stock or indebtedness issued in foreign countries, regardless of jurisdiction, which the government said reinforces neutrality in the tax system. 'These measures are seen to cut transaction costs, encourage market participation and financial planning, boost market liquidity, make the country's equities market regionally competitive, and increase capital market growth,' the DOF said. Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael Ricafort said the CMEPA would help attract more large foreign and local investors with lower stock transactions tax/costs, vis-a-vis other ASEAN/Asian stock markets, as part of making our markets more cost competitive for transactions. 'More importantly, the CMEPA Law would help structurally attract more large scale foreign fund managers and better compete with other ASEAN/Asian markets in terms of reduced transaction costs/taxes, assuming all other factors are the same. Thus, IPOs (initial public offering) and other share sales would correspondingly increase with more stock market transactions/trading activities as incentivized by CMEPA Law,' Ricafort said. IBON's Africa, however, said ordinary low-income Filipinos could not be empowered by CMEPA's new tax structure which, he said, 'clearly also wants to drive money, including from ordinary lower-income families into capital markets.' 'Instead of pushing them to be investors in volatile capital markets and shifting risk to individuals, the government should give more attention to securing decent wages and basic incomes, pensions, and social protections,' Africa said. 'Reducing the stock transaction tax and documentary stamp tax will benefit high-volume large investors or brokers, but ordinary savers are not suddenly empowered by this. They are still burdened by unaffordable risk, lack of disposable income, and poor financial literacy. The DOF should stop thinking that Filipinos are all rich and that financial markets are somehow substitutes for social security systems,' he added. The DOF estimates CMEPA to generate P9.0-billion worth of revenues from 2025 to 2028, the end of the term of the current administration. It is expected to raise P500 million this year; P1.6 billion in 2026; P2.8 billion in 2027; and P4.1 billion in 2028. The government is looking to generate P4.520 trillion in 2025 and P4.983 trillion in 2026 based on the latest report of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC). — BAP, GMA Integrated News
