MANILA, Philippines - Budget airline Cebu Air Inc., the operator of the Cebu Pacific brand, is looking at increasing the number of its hubs in the Philippines to cope with increasing demand for air travel in and out of the country. Cebu Pacific president Lance Gokongwei said the low-cost carrier is set to establish more hubs in the Philippines as it is in the middle of a $4-billion refleeting program covering the acquisition of 49 new Airbus aircraft over the next nine years.

Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares said that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is pushing for easier tax returns filing and payment using an online system. In the Mid-year Philippine Economic Briefing held at the Philippine International Convention Center on Tuesday, Henares said that not only establishments and corporations, but also individuals and self-employed persons may file as well as register their tax returns online by April 2014, and can also choose to pay through banks.

The amount of total approved investments in the second quarter reached P57.8 billion—a 159.6-percent rise compared to the P22.7 billion recorded in the same period last year, according to a National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB). In a statement, the NSCB said that the investment pledges for industries were recorded at P43.3 billion, or a 73.7-percent share of the total foreign investments during the quarter.

House Bill 2387, of Cebu Rep. Gwendolyn Garcia, requires additional requirements for male citizens or subjects of a foreign country such as a certificate of good moral character to be issued by his diplomatic or consular official, before a marriage license can be obtained. “We are all aware of incidents that some foreigners who come to the Philippines to marry Filipino women are vagabonds or social and moral derelicts in their own country, whose real motive is only to take advantage and exploit our women,”

WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama will visit the Philippines in October as part of a Four-Nation Tour that will include his participation in the APEC summit, the White House said Friday. Besides the Philippines, Obama will visit Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia from October 6 - 12, White House Spokesman Jay Carney said in a Statement.