Financing in the form of official development assistance (ODA) and those backed by government guarantees will likely prevail as the “initial model” in lending to renewable energy projects. “Renewable energy projects are financed mainly via official development assistance or those with many years of track record,” noted First Metro Investment Corporation (FMIC) president Francisco Sebastian, [...]

Manila, Philippines- Amid the inevitable increase in fares, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has raised the subsidy of Metro Rail Transit (MRT) for next year by P2.18 billion. Budget and Management Secretary Florencio B. Abad, said the 2011 subsidy allocation of P7.3 billion from P5.12 billion this year will effectively increase the government [...]

Manila, Philippines- Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima announced that the Aquino administration is looking at initially setting aside P15 billion next year for the planned multi-billion pesos Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) initiative. The finance department chief said the initial share of the government in the PPP initiative will be spent on land acquisitions or “right of [...]

If you think gay marriages are not getting any kind of special treatment, think again, as SAS Scandinavian Airlines is planning to host the world’s first gay wedding in the air. The wedding will be onboard an Airbus A340 between Stockholm and New York on December 6. Robin Kamark, chief commercial officer of SAS, said [...]

In two weeks, Samsung’s own iPadversary will go on sale – the Galaxy Tab. The device will be first available in Europe by mid-September. It has a 7-inch screen – relatively smaller than iPad’s, which is 9.7 inches – and uses Google’s Android software. Continue Reading here…

The Supreme Court (SC) has created a special panel that will mediate between the Cojuangco family that owns Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI) and its farmer beneficiaries to resolve the long-standing dispute in the sugar plantation through amicable settlement. Continue Reading here…

Secretary for Operations Herminio Coloma of the Presidential Communications Office is willing to relinquish his post if President Aquino so wishes. Continue Reading here…

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will soon meet with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to discuss whether or not a total gun ban should be re-imposed in connection with the Oct. 25 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls. Continue Reading here…