Philippines: Metrobank improvement in Philippines's tax effort ratio.

Section: General News - The Metrobank Research has cited the government's moves to improve tax effort ratio after this year's second quarter figure improved to 14.5 percent from the previous quarter's 12.3 percent and the 12.8 percent in end-2009.

In a research note for the week covering Sept. 20-26, 2001, Metrobank, on the other hand, said that while this is indeed an improvement, it is still below the country's overall tax effort prior to the Asian financial crisis, when it stood at a record high of 17 percent.

The report noted that tax effort in the country has been relatively low, which in turn, has been cited by ratings agencies as a factor for the country's …