Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III says lower rates under the bill overhauling corporate income taxes — from 30% down to 25% for all corporations and as low as 20% for smaller businesses — will be applied retroactively from July 2020, realizing savings for companies in the middle of the pandemic.

The Philippines secured around 2.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca through a ₱600-million donation from the private sector.

India has plunged into recession for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century as the pandemic continues to weigh heavily on Asia's third biggest economy, which economists warn will struggle to recover from the slump.