Law Commons^™

How Trade Liberalization And Labor Development Could Coincide In The Philippines, Aeneas Dr Hernandez, Brendan Emmanuel A. Miranda, Martin William P. Regulano, Andrae Jamal Tecson, Martin William P. Regulano, Ma. Ella Oplas, Tereso S. Tullao Jr, Winfred M. Villamil

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

As the world adapts to the rapid pace of globalization in the 21st century, countries ease trade restrictions by gradually removing tariffs and non-tariff barriers to incentivize the free flow of goods across nations. This prevalence of trade liberalization policies propelled policymakers and economists to investigate the relationship between trade reforms and economic outcomes including wage inequality around the world. They found that trade liberalization, on average, has had a positive impact on economic growth, but prior studies that examine the effects of trade liberalization on wage inequality in developing countries have found mixed results. Recently, Murakami (2021) examined the …

The Establishment Of A Unified Asean Monetary System Following The European Model: Is It Legally Feasible?, James Keith C. Heffron

Center for Business Research and Development

For the last several decades, the drive towards globalization has influenced most of the world’s economic and fiscal direction. Regional cooperation therefore is a natural step towards this thrust. For many years, many sectors have been clamoring for a unified monetary system in the ASEAN patterned after the European Monetary System, the same system that gave birth to the Euro – the European Union’s regional currency. The main benefit of having a regional unified monetary system is price and currency stability. This in turn would result to an accelerated economic growth in the region especially in developing members such as …

Tax Risk, Corporate Governance, And The Valuation Of Tax Avoidance Across Philippine Firms: How Do Investors Value Corporate Tax Avoidance?, Christine E. Ang, Shawn Luther S. Chan, Sean Ellison G. Sow, Siegwald K. Yap, Madeleine B. Estabillo, Anne Go, Angelo A. Unite

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

Tax avoidance has traditionally been thought to enhance firm value because it generates cash savings for reinvestment or distribution to shareholders. More recent literature, however, suggests that tax avoidance valuation may not be so simple. Desai and Dharmapala (2009) introduced the “agency perspective” on tax avoidance, arguing that investors consider the risk of tax avoidance as opening opportunities for managers to extract rents from their firms. Positive tax avoidance value would therefore be conditional on good corporate governance quality. Drake et al. (2017) introduced yet another dimension—tax risk—to the valuation of tax avoidance, arguing that tax avoidance that comes with …

The Future Of Islamic Banking In The Philippines: Finding A Niche, Kenneth Michael A. De Castro

Center for Business Research and Development

Among the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals are economic growth and reducing inequality. Sustainable economic growth can drive progress, create decent jobs for, and improve living standards, whereas reducing inequality ensures that no one is left behind in all aspects of human life. Bridging sustainable economic growth and reduction of social inequality is financial inclusion. As individuals and businesses have access to useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs, it helps them manage their current consumption, invest for the future, and mitigate their exposure to various financial and economic risks. In the case of the Philippines, …

Consumer Protection Of Persons With Disabilities Amidst The Covid-19, James Keith C. Heffron

Center for Business Research and Development

The Persons with Disabilities (PWD) sector was one of the most overlooked and affected sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic. As consumers, PWDs have suffered difficult challenges in the access of essential goods and services, including healthcare, and these challenges have been unduly aggravated because of the crisis. The article exposes and examines the negative impact of the crisis on the consumer rights and behavior of PWDs with a special focus on the novel barriers brought about by the pandemic on their right to access. The current pre-pandemic legislation is not adequate to protect PWDs from these novel barriers as there …

Path Towards Energy Sustainability: Amultidimensional Analysis Of Energypoverty In Philippine Households, Anna Katrina R. Ignacio, Maria Sofia Lei P. Puncia, Arlene B. Inocencio, Marites Tiongco, Mitzie Irene P. Conchada, Alellie B. Sobreviñas, Rens Adrian T. Calub

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

Measuring energy poverty to meet one’s basic needs is vital for household assessments concerning accessibility of energy, affordability of energy prices, usage of energy resources, and sufficiency of energy consumption. In this Policy Brief, we have listed recommendations and rationale to improve the energy conditions of Philippine households.

Resurgence Of Bundling Mechanisms In Digital Services Trade, Tereso S. Tullao, Vicenzo Della Croce Br.

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

The expansion of trade through centuries was pushed through a great extent by the unbundling of commodities from various factors that prevent them from being traded globally. The use of the steam engine in shipping, for example, ushered in the rapid expansion of 19th-century trade as transport cost was drastically reduced and countries realized interspatial cost differences across the Atlantic. The previous untradability of services, on the other hand, was broken by various dimensions of globalization that separated the simultaneous production and consumption of services. This unbundling rapidly boosted global trade in recent decades. However, growing developments and innovations in …

How Did The Youth’S Demand For Cigarette Products Respond To The Sin Tax Reform Act Of 2012?, Francis Ignatius L. Nieva

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

The excise tax on tobacco products in the Philippines has been historically low making the product very accessible even for the youth. In 2012, a Sin Tax Reform Law was passed which increased the excise tax on tobacco products by almost five times its previous value. This price increase is projected to reduce alchohol and tobacco products consumption for all demographic classifications, especially the youth. This study estimated the price elasticity of cigarette demand of the Filipino youth using regression analyses on the pooled Global Youth Tobacco Survey conducted in the Philippines for the years 2004 and 2015. Price elasticity …

How Big Is Illicit Cigarette Trade In The Philippines?, Myrna S. Austria, Alyssa Cyrielle B. Villanueva

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

Illicit cigarette trade or the manufacture, distribution, and sale of cigarettes that evade taxes and violate trademarks, persists in the Philippines. Enhancing the affordability and availability of cigarettes undermines the effectiveness of the series of tax policy reforms meant to lower, if not eliminate, tobacco use in the country. Worse, it results in a loss in government tax revenues. This Policy Brief presents the estimates and recommends policy actions to address the problem. The results from residual methods provide a strong presence of illicit cigarette trade in the country. The magnitude ranges from 3.3% to 42.8% of total cigarette consumption, …

Measuring Illicit Cigarette Trade: The Case Of The Philippines, Myrna S. Austria, Alyssa Cyrielle B. Villanueva

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

Illicit cigarette trade, or the manufacture, distribution and sale of cigarettes that evade taxes and violate trademarks, persists in the Philippines. Using the residual methods, this study estimated the size of illicit cigarette trade in the country covering the period 2009-2017 and the corresponding tax revenue lost. The estimates show that illicit trade has flourished after the increase in excise tax; thus, undermining the effectiveness of the series of tax policy reforms meant to lower, if not eliminate, tobacco use in the country. The magnitude ranges from 3.3% to 42.8% of total cigarette consumption, depending on the threshold of under-reporting …

Will Create Resolve The Philippines’ Unemployment Woes Amidst The Covid-19 Pandemic?, Krista Danielle Yu, Marites Tiongco

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a proposal to amend the Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Reform Act (CITIRA) into the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE) Act. The proposed amendments are as follows: (a) An immediate five percentage point cut into the corporate income tax (CIT) rate starting July 2020; (b) Maintaining for up to nine years the status quo for registered business activities enjoying the 5% tax on gross income earned (GIE) incentive; and (c) More flexibility for the President to grant a combination of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, which will be critical …

Does Partner Satisfaction Influence Contraceptive Use? Findings From The Philippines National Demographic And Health Survey 2017, Renz Adrian T. Calub

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

It is curious that despite campaigns in favor of modern family planning methods and widespread availability of family planning commodities, women still find it hard to meet their family planning needs. Although a myriad of sociological factors may come into play, such as religion or peers, it is interesting to find out how the woman’s propensity to satisfy partner needs factor in her contraceptive use. This paper develops a simple theoretical model to demonstrate how partner satisfaction, channeled through the psychological cost of partner satisfaction, is related to the likelihood of condom use. The empirical analyses suggest that women who …

Assessing The Potential Impacts Of Reducing Philippine Corporate Income Tax And Reforming Sectoral Incentives On Poverty And Employment, Caesar Cororaton, Marites Tiongco

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

The Philippines needs to re-align its corporate income tax rates to its neighboring ASEAN countries to be competitive. Thus, the reduction in the corporate income tax rate, which is 30% at present to 20% in 2029 under the tax reform, is critical. However, because corporate income tax is a major source of government revenue, corporate incentives have to be reduced as well to finance/compensate for the reduction in the corporate tax. Also, to realize the full economic benefit of the reform, the government has to ensure that the resulting higher corporate income is reinvested back to the economy.

Assessing The Potential Impacts Of The Tax Reform For Acceleration And Inclusion And The Build Build Build Program, Caesar Cororaton, Marites Tiongco, Justin S. Eloriaga

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

The Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act has prompted key changes in the personal income tax regime through excise taxes on most goods such as petroleum, sugar-sweetened beverages, and automobiles. The TRAIN was implemented to generate funds for the Build Build Build (BBB) program and at the same time to address income inequality and poverty. This paper aims to assess the potential growth, poverty, and distributional effects of the TRAIN Package 1 and the BBB Program using a computable general equilibrium model with poverty simulation. Results suggest that TRAIN I has prompted additional revenue in social programs and …

The Philippine Sin Tax Reform Law: Is It Effective In Reducing Cigarette Consumption?, Jesson A. Pagaduan, Myrna S. Austria

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

The Philippine government should continue the increase in excise tax on cigarettes and tobacco products to sustain the impact of the Sin Tax Reform Law (2012) in lowering tobacco consumption in the country. This Policy Brief explains why the policy measure is significant and offers recommendations where the government can further intensify the impact of the tax policy reform.

Defying The Tone At The Top: An Analysis On The Effects Of Board Characteristics On The Level Of Tax Avoidance Across Philippine Publicly Listed Firms, John Ryan G. Ledesma, Chester T. Herrera, Sharlene Camille A. Li, Angelo A. Unite, Ailyn A. Shi, Michael J. Sullivan

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

Over the years, the growing culture of tax avoidance among multinational companies around the world has shed light on the importance of improving corporate governance mechanisms. In the Philippines, poor tax collection due to tax leakages has contributed to chronic fiscal deficits in the country. The literature argues that good corporate governance mechanisms (e.g., the structure of the board of directors) play a significant role in ensuring that the management acts in the best interest of the firm and shareholders, thus eventually helping to mitigate the incidences of corporate tax avoidance. Specifically, agency theory argues that the presence of more …

The Grand Maple Dream: Fulfilled, Fading Or Failed?: Filipino Women Nurses In Manitoba And Their Struggles Against Harassment And Discrimination, Emily Sanchez Salcedo

Center for Business Research and Development

The Philippines is a tiny archipelago in Southeast Asia with over one hundred million people wallowing in a third world economy kept afloat for decades by Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW). In 2017, OFWs collectively sent home cash remittances amounting over $28 billion—roughly $645 million came from Filipinos in Canada. This amount is the eleventh biggest contributor to the Philippine economy (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, 2018).

On the other hand, the Philippines has become the top country for new immigrants to Canada in recent years, surpassing India and China (Friesen, 2018). According to the 2016 Census of Population Program, there are …

Assessing The Impact Of The Philippine Sin Tax Reform Law On The Demand For Cigarettes, Myrna S. Austria, Jesson A. Pagaduan

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

One of the significant legislations during the Aquino Administration was Republic Act 10351, otherwise known as the Sin Tax Reform Act of 2012. Considered a landmark legislation, the law addressed the long-standing structural weaknesses of the country’s tobacco tax system. It considerably increased the specific excise tax on tobacco and tobacco products, simplified the tax structure, removed the price classification freeze and indexed the tax rates to address inflation. Prior to the reform, tobacco taxation in the country followed a complex four-tiered tax system using a tax base freeze at 1996 price levels. And since the excise tax was not …

Nurturing Filipino Creativity: Philippine Education Policies In Support Of The Creative Industries, Glorife Samodio

Center for Business Research and Development

The future of the creative industries shows much promise in the Philippines. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the creative industries more than doubled its size from 2003 to 2012 (UNCTAD, 2016). Thus, its development is now carefully monitored, and programs are being created by different government agencies, with the goal of making the Philippines competitive in the creative field versus other countries in the region.

Despite the continuous growth of the sector, the expected increase in financial outcomes is quite low as the creative industries in the Philippines and Southeast Asia do not seem …

Limits, Transparency, And Board Independence Against Tax Avoidance, Francis R. Concepcion, Cheri Mae R. Laguinday, Trisha Amber T. Ong Hianghuy

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

Taxes are levied by the government primarily for public service purposes (De Leon & De Leon, 2016).However, the high tax rates and narrow tax base imposed in the Philippines become burdensome for taxpayers and also decrease total government revenue collections (Diokno, 2008). It is shown in this study that foreign ownership and customer concentration both increase the levels of corporate tax avoidance practiced by firms while board independence decreases the same. Hence, we do not support the government’s plan to ease foreign ownership restrictions through the amendment of the Constitution (Romualdez, 2017) because easing the current restrictions may entail decreased …

Nurturing Wings Or Clipping Them Off: The Philippine Approach To Female Labor Migration And A Potentially Redeeming Role For The Commission On Human Rights, Emily Sanchez Salcedo

Center for Business Research and Development

The large-scale migration of Filipino workers started in the 1970’s as inadequate local employment and livelihood opportunities pointed to overseas opportunities in the booming economy of oil-rich countries in the Middle East. Though initially dominated by male construction workers and seafarers, female migrant workers, mostly in the health care professions, in domestic services and in the entertainment industry, followed suit and, in the most recent available statistical report, have even slightly outnumbered the men. As of the end of 2014, 50.43% of the 2.32 million overseas Filipino workers are women. Collectively, these overseas workers sent about 27 billion dollars in …

Industry Career Guide Ownership Dwellings And Real Estate, Ma. Concepcion G. Latoja, Denise Serrano

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

This industry career guide on Ownership Dwelling and Real Estate (ODRE) aims to inform readers of the range of career options that are open to those who want to work in the industry. By presenting an array of occupations typically found in this field, the reader is informed of the basic requirements to land a specific job in this industry, the associated job environment and possibilities for job movement either in terms of promotion and/or moving laterally from one type of job to another within the industry. In the context of discussing job prospects, it lays out the issues surrounding …

Industry Career Guide: Wholesale And Retail Trade, Christopher James R. Cabuay, Paulynne Castillo

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

The Wholesale and Retail Trade (WRT) industry belongs to the services sector. In the Philippines, it is generally composed of three divisions, namely: Division 50, which consist of Sale, Maintenance and Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles, Retail Sale of Automotive Fuel, Division 51, on the other hand, which consist of Wholesale Trade and Commission Trade, Except of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles, and Division 52, consisting of Retail Trade, Except of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles, Repair of Personal and Household Goods.

Industry Career Guide: Banking And Finance, Tereso S. Tullao Jr, Roberto Raymundo

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

The banking and finance sector performs a critical function in the Philippine economy as it is primarily responsible for the mobilization of domestic savings and the conversion of these funds into directly productive investments. Financing the needs of firms which desire to raise productive capacity by purchasing additional capital equipment, acquiring or leasing idle property, building and expanding factories, and increasing inventory are responsible for sustaining economic growth in the long term, alongside the creation of new jobs. It is very important for the banking and finance sector to continue finding ways to encourage households to save their unspent income …

Getting To Know Fred, Dr. Emily Sanchez Salcedo

Center for Business Research and Development

Family responsibilities discrimination (FReD) is a novel concept in the Philippine workplace. It is novel not because it is a new occurrence but because societal awareness is a fairly recent phenomenon following its unprecedented surge in popularity in the United States that began with the publication of the book, “Unbending Gender: Why Family and Work Conflict and What to Do About It” in 2000 by Professor Joan C. Williams.

Crisis Of Care, Dr. Emily Sanchez Salcedo

Center for Business Research and Development

A couple of months prior to my daughter's first birthday, my husband and I decided with heavy hearts to look for a daycare facility that can accommodate our pressing needs. I was on the final months of my doctoral studies with a dissertation waiting to be concluded and defended while reviewing for the New York bar examination and trying to earn a few dollars as a library assistant - there was no way I could still be a full-time mother at the same time unless sleep goes out of vogue. We were in the United States where house helpers are …

Boon Or Bane: Business And The Anti-Cybercrime Law, Atty. James Keith C. Heffron

Center for Business Research and Development

“The Internet is the first thing that humanity has built that humanity doesn't understand, the largest experiment in anarchy that we have ever had.” – Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman, Google.

Stop, Look, And Listen! The Legality Of Standard Form Contracts, Atty. Edward Chico

Center for Business Research and Development

The proliferation of standard form contracts in today’s market calls for a law that would regulate and in some cases prohibit outright unfair contract terms, which deleteriously affect the buying public.

International Trade And Investments In The Philippines: Some Policy Issues And Implications For Further Research, Angelo B. Taningco

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

The Philippines has embarked on domestic economic reforms and the promotion of regional economic integration and multilateral trade liberalization with the purpose of strengthening international trade and investment. The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), in its Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016, has enunciated strategies that aim to improve the competitiveness of the domestic economy’s industrial and services sectors and narrow the country’s infrastructure gaps. In 2007, the Philippines, together with other Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) countries adopted the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint, with the countries agreeing to accelerate the transformation of the region to an AEC—a region …

International Trade And Fdi Literature In The Philippines: Development And Prospects, Hazel C. Parcon-Santos

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

Trade and investment policies in the Philippines have undergone major shifts through decades. These changes have had important implications on the economy and have been extensively investigated by various scholars. Significant areas which may have important policy implications remain unexplored.