The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has published its 2017 Rules of Procedure (Rules), which shall guide the PCC in the handling of complaints, referrals from regulatory agencies, and motu proprio inquiries, as well as in the conduct of its investigations. Under the Rules, the PCC, through the Enforcement Office, shall conduct...
“Fintech”, short for financial technology, has become a major buzzword in recent years, especially in the most developed countries of the world. It is, however, still a relatively murky concept in some areas of the Asia-Pacific, even though it has already brought significant change to the economic landscape in the...
On 18 June 2026, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) issued Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 4-2026, prescribing the guidelines and procedures for the availment by micro taxpayers of a one-time abatement of taxes and/or penalties, including surcharge and interest, to settle certain delinquent accounts, assessments and open stop-filer cases. Under these...
On 22 June 2026, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) issued Revenue Delegation Authority Order (RDAO) No. 033-2026, authorizing the Deputy Commissioner of the Legal Group to sign decisions denying requests for reconsideration of the full or partial denial of a taxpayers’ claim for refund, filed and processed within the...
On 10 December 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued SEC Memorandum Circular No. 14, Series of 2025 (Circular) which provides for the recalibrated ceilings on interest rates and other fees charged by financing companies (FCs) and lending companies (LCs). The Circular applies to all unsecured, general-purpose loans offered...
The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has issued Memorandum Circular No. 001-01-2026, requiring the covered public service entities to undergo an annual performance audit conducted by an independent evaluation team. The rules and regulations of the NTC are to monitor cost, the quality of services provided to the public, and the...
On 13 April 2026, the National Privacy Commission (NPC) issued NPC Advisory No. 2026-01 entitled Guidelines on Data Scraping of Publicly Available Personal Data. The guidelines apply to Personal Information Controllers (PICs) and Personal Information Processors (PIPs) that engage in data scraping practices and technologies and PICs that host publicly...
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has issued Circular No. 1232, series of 2026, introducing the Cybersecurity Maturity Framework (CMF) and the Cybersecurity Control Self-Assessment (CCSA) requirement to strengthen information and cybersecurity off-site surveillance and risk assessment among banks and other BSP-supervised financial institutions (BSFIs). The circular amends the Manual...
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has institutionalized a new framework for handling administrative complaints against prosecutors through Department Circular No. 17, otherwise known as the 2026 Department of Justice – Prosecution Integrity Office (DOJ-PIO) Rules of Procedure. The issuance establishes a centralized and uniform mechanism for investigating complaints, imposing disciplinary...
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has broadened the use of notarized Subscription Contracts for corporations seeking to increase their authorized capital stock through cash subscriptions, significantly simplifying documentary requirements for eligible corporations. Issued through SEC Memorandum Circular No. 6, Series of 2026, the new policy expands the applicability of the...
On 26 May 2026, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) issued Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 053-2026. The RMC announced the availability of the Taxpayer’s Portal of the BIR as a secure digital platform that will allow taxpayers single-view online access to their tax information. The portal will provide taxpayers a...
On 8 April 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), issued SEC Memorandum No. 14 series of 2026 on the Rules on Umbrella Funds. The rules shall apply to all newly formed or existing open-end unit-issuing investment companies which consist of, or is to consist of, two or more sub-funds...