The Philippines has urged the international community to urgently scale up financing for biodiversity and strengthen cooperation to turn global conservation commitments into real results, as the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP17) got underway here Friday, October 16.

National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) Secretary and Lead Convenor Manny Pacquiao is joining forces with Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. to strengthen government efforts to alleviate poverty, particularly among farmers and fisherfolk, who remain among the country’s most economically vulnerable sectors.

Business groups and tax experts are urging the government to rethink a proposed more-than-200 percent hike in sweetened beverage excise taxes, warning that steep increases could squeeze consumers, hurt small businesses and fail to deliver the expected revenue and public health gains.