Category: Business Mirror

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has recently signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to jointly address the persistent mismatch between graduates’ skills and labor market demands.

Labor Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma and CHED Chairperson Shirley C. Agrupis formalized the, which seeks to ensure that higher education programs respond more closely to evolving industry needs.

The MOA outlines mechanisms for better labor market information, curriculum alignment with emerging skills, and bolstered youth employment initiatives, including the Government Internship Program (GIP) and the Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES).

Under the agreement, DOLE regional offices will deliver labor market data and career guidance, while CHED will support in raising awareness of employment services and share monthly reports on its own job placement efforts.

The partnership comes as the country faces a sudden spike in joblessness.

In July 2025, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the national unemployment rate climbed to 5.3 percent, or 2.59 million Filipinos without work.

This was 1.6 percentage points higher than the 3.7 percent (or 2.38 million individuals) recorded in the same month last year.

Meanwhile, the number of unemployed Filipinos aged 15 to 24 rose to 1.08 million in July 2025 from 1.02 million a year earlier.

This pushed the youth unemployment rate to 18.1 percent, up from 14.8 percent in July 2024.

The proportion of youth not in education, employment, or training (NEET) also rose to 15.9 percent from 13.9 percent, while labor force participation among young people dropped to 29.5 percent from 34.2 percent year-on-year.

DOLE Undersecretary Carmela I. Torres said the agreement with CHED is meant to directly confront the country’s employment challenges by aligning education with labor market needs.

‘This partnership turns the policy goals initiated by the President into concrete actions for stronger employment and workforce readiness with the adverse effects of climate change, rapid technological developments, and the persistent challenges posed by job skills mismatches,’ Torres said.

JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla yesterday said the Department of Justice will seek the cancellation of the passport of former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royina Garma following the issuance of an arrest warrant against in relation to the killing of PCSO board secretary Wesley Barayuga in 2020.

At a press briefing, Remulla also said he would be meeting with National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Jaime Santiago on the possibility of requesting a red notice from the Interpol to hasten Garma’s return to the country.

He said Garma and her co-accused will be considered as fugitives if they will not surrender to authorities despite the issuance of the arrest warrant against them.

‘Well, if you don’t surrender, that’s what will happen,’ Remulla said when asked if the respondents can now be considered as fugitives.

The DOJ chief added that the Philippine National Police (ONP) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) should already implement the arrest warrant against the accused.

Remulla also the DOJ will file a petition for the cancellation of Garma’s passport to force her to return to the country.

However, Remulla said Garma would likely return to the country since she has no other place to go following her deportation from the US.

‘I think she will come home, she has no nowhere else to go. She was refused asylum already in the US’ Remulla said.

It can be recalled that Garma was allowed to leave for Malaysia a day after returning to the country from Los Angeles, California, last September 6 following the denial of her application for political asylum.

Garma left as a tourist for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, according to the Bureau of Immigration, on September 7.

Garma was allowed to leave the country after the BI was able to verify that there was no hold departure order (HDO) or warrant of arrest issued against her.

Remulla later on disclosed that Garma has agreed to testify for the prosecution in connection with the crimes against humanity filed in the International Criminal Court against former President Rodrigo Duterte for his bloody anti-illegal drug war.

The DOJ secretary said that the denial of Garma’s bid for political asylum in the United States prompted her to agree to become one of the ICC prosecution’s witnesses against Duterte.

Remulla pointed to former senator Antonio Trillanes IV as the one who facilitated Garma’s inclusion as a prosecution witness against Duterte, who is currently detained at the ICC headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands, awaiting proceedings in connection with his case.

He said Garma left for Malaysia to meet with ICC representatives to prepare for her testimony in Duterte’s crimes against humanity case.

Aside from Garma, the arrest warrant issued by the Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 279 also covers former National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) commissioner Edilberto Leonardo, and police officials Jeremy Causapin, Santie Mendoza, and Nelson Mariano,

They are facing trial for murder and frustrated murder charges.

Barayuga was gunned down by a motorcycle-riding man shortly while on his way home from the PCSO central office in Mandaluyong City on July 30, 2020.

His driver survived the incident, thus filing of frustrated murder complaint against the respondents.

THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) has seized P34.725 billion worth of various goods, natural resources, cigarettes and illegal drugs smuggled into the country as of end-August.

In his presentation of the BOC’s accomplishment report on Tuesday, Customs Assistant Commissioner Vincent Philip C. Maronilla said the bureau carried out 653 seizure operations from January to August this year, confiscating P34.725 billion worth of illicit items.

Confiscated various goods, such as general merchandise, topped the list of the highest-valued commodities, totaling P20.156 billion as of end-August.

This was followed by wildlife and natural resources amounting to P4.784 billion and illegal drugs valued at P4.562 billion.

The BOC also intercepted smuggled cigarettes, tobacco, e-cigarettes and vape products worth P2.104 billion.

Counterfeit goods, such as fake branded apparel and accessories, pegged at P1.041 billion, were also apprehended.

Maronilla also reported the BOC’s ‘record-breaking’ seizures during the month of July to August, conducting 128 seizure operations of smuggled products amounting to P2.390 billion.

The seizure of illicit cigarettes valued at P605.29 million in Plaridel, Bulacan, on August 2 was highlighted, which marked the largest cigarette seizure for this year.

According to the Department of Finance, the government could suffer a revenue loss of about P150 billion this year due to smuggling.

This estimated figure refers to potential revenue losses on the part of the BOC, covering foregone collections from general merchandise and oil.

Maronilla told BusinessMirror earlier that the BOC is strengthening its anti-smuggling measures to offset possible losses from illicit trade.

Maronilla said a new team at the BOC has already come up with a comprehensive anti-smuggling program focused on possible misdeclarations and technical smuggling.

The BOC is also working on revising a cooperation agreement with the Philippine Coast Guard and the Philippine Navy to effectively guard the country’s borders against smugglers.

To further plug expected losses, Maronilla said the BOC is also banking on its Fuel Marking Program as one of the agency’s main revenue drivers, as well as other revenue sources, such as cars, steel and chemicals.

The BOC has collected a total of P622.468 billion from January to August this year, higher by 1.3 percent than the P614.395 billion raised during the same period last year.

In the first seven months, the BOC collected P1.520 billion from non-traditional revenue sources through the Post Clearance Audit Group and P43.267 million from Public Auctions.

This year, the BOC will collect P958.7 billion, which makes up 21.20 percent of the government’s full-year revenue target of P4.520 trillion.

JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Tuesday debunked accusations that former House Speaker Martin Romualdez is being shielded by the government from the ongoing investigation into the multibillion corruption in flood control projects.

At a press briefing, Remulla stressed that the Justice department is now looking into the possible culpabilities of Romualdez over questionable budget insertions and kickbacks from flood control projects.

‘We are already studying everything, liability-wise because [resigned Ako Bicol Party-list Representative] Zaldy Co, as the chairman of appropriations, is well-known as the Speaker’s choice. We all know that.He’s the one the Speaker trusted, and he was the one placed there,’ Remulla explained.

‘So, even from the start, you already know that something was not right with what’s now coming to light,’ he added.

Remulla made the statement after Senator Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero accused Romualdez of providing the script to implicate senators in the flood-control project anomalies in order to divert the public’s outrage away from him.

The DOJ secretary assured the public that no one will be spared from its ongoing investigation.

‘We’re not protecting anyone here. This is really for the country. There is nothing personal here. This is beyond friendships. It’s beyond school connections or fraternal ties. It’s already beyond all that because what’s at stake here is the Filipino people-our country is what’s at stake. ‘We cannot allow this to be neglected,’ Remulla stressed.

‘He is among those we are seriously looking into as someone who may have liability here,’ he added, referring to Romualdez.

Building on the higher volumes of milk and meat collected in the last five years, the Philippines is now aiming to scale up its carabao population to boost rural incomes, according to the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Carabao Center (DA-PCC).

DA-PCC said this in a statement on Tuesday after it revealed that the government national program on genetically improving the Philippine carabao has made ‘headway’ as it recorded 145,181 genetically improved calves in the last five years.

This represents a 31.1 percent increase from 2019 to 2024 and translates to an estimated 12 million kilograms of milk and 114,380 jobs supported by the carabao supply chain.

The attached agency of the country’s Agriculture department said 90 percent of these calves are meant for milk and meat purposes while the remaining 10 percent is for draft power.

In the recent year alone, the DA-PCC said 36,618 superior-breed calves were produced out of the organized crossbreeding program.

‘Building on these gains, the program now aims to scale up the adoption of genetically superior carabaos across the DA-PCC network of service areas,’ the attached agency of DA said in its statement.

Liza G. Battad, Executive Director III of DA-PCC, explained that the ‘accelerated shift toward a more productive carabao population is expected to strengthen farmer cooperatives due to higher volumes of milk and meat handled collectively, enhance market linkages, significantly increase farmers’ incomes, and improve household nutrition through greater milk availability.’

DA-PCC said the carabao topped the list of the national dairy animal inventory, with 82,908 carabaos, followed by goats with 36,022, and cattle with 35,322.

‘With 99 percent of the carabao population owned by smallholder farmers, efforts to improve its productivity directly translate to better incomes and livelihoods for rural households,’ the attached agency of DA noted.

This ‘buildup,’ DA-PCC said, supports the livelihood of 227 assisted cooperative-led enterprises, comprising some 14,000 cooperative members and their families.

The DA-PCC also note the ‘steady increase’ in price per liter of raw carabao’s milk signals the ‘economic viability’ and competitiveness of the industry, underscoring the importance and timeliness of these advancements for the industry.

‘From P63.27 in 2020, a liter of raw carabao milk is now at P84.87,’ the attached agency of DA noted.

To match the increase in production, the DA-PCC assisted cooperatives are ‘actively’ supplying toned pasteurized milk for the national School-based Feeding Program (SBFP) of the Department of Education (DepEd) and Supplementary Feeding Program (SFP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

‘This market channel alone has generated for these cooperatives P2.4 billion from 2019 to 2024 for the SBFP and P504 million from 2020 to 2024 for the SFP,’ DA-PCC said.

Under the Sagip Saka Act or Republic Act No. 11321, community-based organizations such as the assisted carabao cooperatives of the DA-PCC are prioritized as suppliers under the guided procurement.

DA-PCC also noted that other market development interventions are now underway, including the establishment of 80 Dairy Boxes nationwide, 18 of which are positioned as Kadiwa ng Pangulo Dairy Box.

The Dairy Box is a business model by DA-PCC developed to absorb the produce of carabao dairy cooperatives.

The Milka Krem, an advocacy dairy outlet and café managed by the DA-PCC, showcases quality carabao milk and carabao-based products, serving as another market support for dairy farmers.

The Department of Tourism-accredited outlet can be found in Science City of Muñoz in Nueva Ecija and at the University of the Philippines in Los Baños Laguna.

Meanwhile, DA-PCC said there is also a ‘significant’ growing appreciation of carabao meat and consistent increase in meat production with 76,046 metric tons in 2024 from 70,572 in 2020.

‘The demand for carabao meat has also influenced the prevailing liveweight price per kilogram at P164.61 from P110.28 in 2020,’ the attached agency of DA also noted.

DA-PCC said another ’emerging subsector’ alongside the dairy sector is the leather production industry, which taps into carabao by-products and creates additional income streams for farmers.

‘This Cara Cuero brand, a market development initiative by the DA-PCC at Central Luzon State University, seeks to enhance the value of carabao hide by creating high-quality leather products, positioning them in the high-end,’ it also noted.