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BCDA awards lease & dev’t of 2-ha SCTEx lot to Sea Oil

Economy

Nov 242013

BCDA awards lease & dev’t of 2-ha SCTEx lot to Sea Oil

MANILA, Philippines – The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) has awarded the lease and development of the two-hectare Concepcion service area along the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) to Sea Oil Philippines, Inc. “We gave he notice of award to the lone complying bidder Sea Oil last week,” BCDA Asset Disposition Program Committee chairman Nena Radoc said in a telephone interview. Radoc said Sea Oil submitted a proposal higher than the minimum acceptable starting annual fixed lease for the service area set by the BCDA at P2.240 million. The BCDA expects to enter into the lease and development contract with the winning bidder next month. The lot will be leased for 25 years, renewable for another 25 years upon agreement between the BCDA and the winning bidder. Under the contract, a one-year grace period in the payment of the lease will be given to the winning bidder to allow it to put up the facilities in the service area such as gas station, restrooms, parking slots, emergency First Aid station, potable water and lighting system, emergency vehicle repair shop and convenience stores. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The lease is subject to annual escalation of five percent. Upon contract signing, the winning bidder will have to pay the BCDA the lease for the first three years covering the second until the fourth year of the lease term. As for the two-hectare Macangcung service area also located along SCTEX which did not receive bids during the auction conducted Read More …

AIG assists in calamity recovery

Economy

Nov 242013

MANILA, Philippines – In response to the cities and neighboring provinces ravaged by Typhoon Yolanda, AIG and its 3,000 employees in the Philippines are actively providing support to local calamity recovery efforts in disaster-impacted communities in the Visayas region. AIG’s disaster relief is focused on both immediate aid efforts and the longer-term rebuilding effort which is anticipated. AIG companies in the Philippines including AIG Philippines Insurance, Inc. and AIG Shared Services, have donated relief goods, money and employee support, to typhoon relief recovery efforts and routed via partner organizations World Vision and Philippines Red Cross. Immediate relief contributions included donations of cash, clothes, blankets, canned goods, bottled water and medical kits as well as providing paid time off for employee volunteers to package and prepare goods for shipment. AIG is committed, as well, to the longer-term recovery of afflicted communities and is partnering once more with non-profit organization, Habitat for Humanity Philippines, to address housing restoration, construction and community-building efforts. AIG has pledged an initial commitment of $100,000 to Habitat for Humanity Philippines as well as an employee matching grant which will match each contribution of up to $5,000 each. Paid time off for volunteer opportunities to its individual employees is being provided for long-term rebuilding projects in partnership with Habitat for Humanity Philippines. Based on experience with disaster relief and risk management from communities around the globe, AIG’s philosophy is focused across the spectrum of disaster response; from relief to rebuilding, and to fostering of sustainable communities with Read More …

Remittances seen to surge this year

Economy

Nov 232013

MANILA, Philippines – The country is expected to see a sustained robust inflow of remittances amid an improving global economy and as Filipinos abroad are expected to send more money to their families following recent calamities. The research arm of the Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. said in a weekly report that remittances growth is expected to hit six percent this year, faster than the five-percent assumption of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. “Research forecasts annual remittances growth this year to be at six percent amid prospects of more positive growth in some major OFW (overseas Filipino workers) host countries,” the bank said. Money sent home by Filipinos living and working abroad summed up to $16.480 billion in the nine months January to September, up 5.8 percent from the $15.571 billion recorded in the same period last year. Metrobank noted that aside from rosy prospects in countries with a big number of Filipino workers, the 7.2-magnitude earthquake and the Super Typhoon Yolanda that devastated the Visayas region are expected to boost remittances. “The recent calamities that struck the Visayas region is seen to further prop remittance inflows as we close the year, in addition to the expected surge in time for the holiday season,” Metrobank noted. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Last year, remittances amounted to $21.391 billion, 6.3 percent higher than the $20.117 billion seen in 2011. The continued growth in remittances this year is foreseen to further boost the country’s economic output as money Read More …

DOT needs to rethink tourism strategy, says travel exec

Economy

Nov 232013

DOT needs to rethink tourism strategy, says travel exec

MANILA, Philippines – The government should rethink its tourism campaign following the damage brought by Super Typhoon Yolanda to parts of the country, according to a hospitality consultancy firm executive. C9 Hotelworks Co. Ltd. managing director Bill Barnett said in an interview that while the Philippines would want to continue to attract tourists to visit the country, the government should rethink how it will undertake promotion efforts following the damage left by Yolanda. “I think for us, the key issue is, what does the Philippines do with its ‘It’s More Fun in the Philippines’? For us that is really a profound question,” he said. He said that continuing to promote the country as a tourist destination using the ‘It’s More Fun’ slogan may not be appropriate at this time as the country is still assessing the extent of the impact of the typhoon and conducting relief efforts in affected areas. “It isn’t really the right time to start advertising ‘It’s More Fun in the Philippines’ after all these events. We think that is a challenge for the government,” he said. The Philippine government, Barnett said, needs to assess whether the slogan is still relevant and whether it is sending the right message. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “You have to be sensitive to that (disasters)…When things change, you have to change your strategy,” he said. He noted that while other countries which were hit by natural disasters in the past such as Indonesia and Thailand have Read More …

SEC plans hike in transaction fees

Economy

Nov 232013

MANILA, Philippines – The Securities and Exchange Commission plans to substantially hike its transaction fees and charges. The proposed new rates are in line with higher costs and capacity building measures in the pipeline, the corporate regulator said in a public notice. “The primary purpose for increasing the fees and charges is better public services delivery,” the SEC said. “In general, the increase in the registration fees and annual fees is being proposed in view of the increasing cost of registration, supervision and monitoring of SEC-registered entities,” the agency said. The SEC said other factors it took into consideration include the inflation rate since current rates were implemented in 2004, higher cost of hiring and retaining qualified personnel, and increased cost of improving and maintaining the SEC’s systems to properly supervise and monitor licensees. Higher rates will also support the “increase in complexity of work assignments, oversight of new products and new markets, investment in capacity building measures, and overhead expense,” it added. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Domestic corporations, foreign companies and multinationals, financing and lending companies, stock market brokers and dealers, investment houses and transfer agents, and self-regulatory organizations and central depositories will have to bear the increase in rates. Transaction fees and charges might spike to as much as 100 percent. For instance, the revision fee for amended articles of partnership will double to P2,000 from P1,000 and charge for the amendment in by-laws to P1,000 from P500. For foreign multinationals, petitions for Read More …

Playing the wrong card

Economy

Nov 232013

Both the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs are after a local cigarette maker that is allegedly engaged in technical smuggling and tax evasion. But instead of addressing the issues being raised against it squarely, Mighty Corp. has instead opted to play the underdog card, claiming it is a simple case of a purely Filipino company being bullied by multinational giants. But how can a company that is claimed to have resorted to illicit trade practices to dodge paying taxes amounting to P4.9 billion in the first six months of 2013 alone possibly convince Filipinos to be nationalistic and take Mighty’s side? Government is investigating reports that Mighty has been under-reporting its sales, grossly undervaluing its imports and making illegal withdrawals from its bonded warehouses to evade the payment of the correct amount of taxes and duties to the government. The taxes which should have been collected from Mighty from January to June this year is estimated at close to P5 billion, an amount that could go a long way in aiding the calamity victims. Even anti-tobacco groups are not buying Mighty’s spin. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Groups like the Action for Economic Reforms, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Alliance, Medical Action Group, Philippine College of Physicians, and WomanHealth Philippines have lauded and supported the investigation launched by BIR commissioner Kim Henares against Mighty. They agree the accusation that Mighty Corp. has not been paying the proper taxes is credible since Read More …

Petilla threatens to cancel drill contract of Cinco-1

Economy

Nov 212013

Petilla threatens to cancel drill contract of Cinco-1

MANILA, Philippines – Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla has threatened to cancel Service Contract (SC) 55 after its proponents failed to submit a concrete drilling plan for the Cinco-1 well in offshore Palawan. The SC 55 proponents include BHP Billiton, Otto Energy, Trans-Asia Oil and Development Corp. and Energy Development Corp. BHP Billiton, an Australia-based oil and mining firm, earlier withdrew its participation in the Cinco-1 oil and gas project. Cinco-1 is believed to have potential gas reserves, being located near the Malampaya natural gas field in Northwest Palawan, the biggest natural gas find in the Philippines. “If Otto Energy does not find a drilling partner then I’ll just have to cancel it. Unless they ask for an extension because they are still interested to drill it then we will extend it. Otherwise, if there is no chance for them to drill it then might as well cancel the contract,” Petila said. The energy chief said the DOE had been informed that BHP Billiton might have been experiencing some financial difficulties, thus the decision to pull out of the SC 55 drilling project. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Their budget was cut by 35 percent. Not only in the Philippines but even in India they decided to cancel their participation in another contract. I think Otto Energy might file legal actions because BHP Billiton has contractual obligations,” he said. Petilla, however, pointed out that should the remaining members of the consortium opt to continue with the Read More …

Preparing for the next one

Economy

Nov 212013

I know. We are not quite done with the last big one. But strangely enough, now is an appropriate time to start thinking of how to prepare for the next one while the lessons of the last one are still fresh in our minds. Once things really get back to normal, the sense of urgency will be lost and all those thousands of our countrymen died in vain. We have clearly seen that government’s disaster response planning fall short in many ways. Let me cite one example and I am sure there are many others. I was told that the PNP SAF was ready to deploy on day 2 or Saturday. They were indeed at Villamor but were unable to get a ride on the C-130s for some reason. They waited the whole day, but nothing happened. Some managed to leave the following day when commercial airlines agreed to bring them to Cebu. If they got to Tacloban on Day 2 or even Cebu for immediate airlift to Tacloban, the security problems would have been avoided. It was unfortunate that the disaster response planning did not include transporting the augmentation team of the PNP… ridiculous, isn’t it? As pointed out by former CNN correspondent Maria Ressa, a seasoned reporter with experience covering more disasters than she cares to remember, security is the first concern in a post Yolanda situation. Other concerns cannot be addressed if security is absent. It was also not very reassuring that Defense Secretary Volt Gazmin was quoted saying they Read More …

Clarification of news article

General

Nov 212013

MANILA, Philippines – We write in connection with the news article written by Mr. Victor C. Agustin entitled “Cash-strapped Erap targets big-name tax delinquents” published in the Money-Go-Round column of The Philippine STAR yesterday, Nov. 18, 2013. The said article reads in part: “After seizing the Harrison Plaza open carpark in favor of City Hall, Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada has unleashed his revenue-strapped minions on other bold-faced names for alleged real estate tax delinquencies. Top on the Erap list: the Tutuban shopping center which is leased by Prime Orion Philippines Inc. for allegedly having accumulated a whopping P845 million in unpaid taxes since 2002. xxx” In the spirit of fair play and by way of clarification, please be informed that the alleged real property tax (RPT) delinquency pertains not to Prime Orion Philippines Inc. (POPI) (a listed company), but to the Philippine National Railways (PNR). PNR owns the land where Tutuban Center (which is owned by Tutuban Properties Inc. (TPI), an indirect subsidiary of POPI) is located. We understand that PNR has previously received RPT assessments from the Manila City Government, and PNR has filed a case against the latter questioning the validity of said assessments. However, a Notice of RPT Delinquency and Warrant of Levy were recently served on PNR. Neither TPI nor POPI has received any such notices. Under TPI’s Contract of Lease with PNR, TPI has the obligation to pay the RPT on improvements, which taxes have been paid faithfully by TPI; on the other hand, the Read More …

Gov't passes $4.22 B worth of infrastructure projects

Economy

Nov 212013

Gov't passes $4.22 B worth of infrastructure projects

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) – The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board has approved a series of infrastructure projects that worth P184.2 billion (about $4.22 billion) today. The list of seven projects include three rail projects and one airport, transport terminal, hospital, and water supply projects. Of the seven projects approved by the NEDA Board, six will be undertaken through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. “The rail projects will connect the train systems and make it convenient for passengers to transfer from one train to another. This will also help reduce passengers’ travel time,” the Director- General of the NEDA Arsenio Balisacan said. Meanwhile, the other projects included Mactan-Cebu International Airport New Passenger Terminal Project ($401.60 million); the Development of Transportation System at the Southern outskirts of Metro Manila ($176.70 million); the Modernization of the Philippine Orthopedic Center ($128.51 million); and the Bulacan Bulk Water Supply Project ($559.94 million).

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