Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino IV called the attention of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) for failure to fulfill its commitment to issue a circular on the quality of Internet standards. Aquino recalled the NTC committed to come out with the memorandum circular in March during a hearing conducted by the Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship with respect to the speed of Internet in the country. “Six months have passed since the NTC committed to come out with the memorandum circular but until now the agency has yet to deliver on its promise,” Aquino said. Aquino said  he intends to raise the issue before the NTC when it appears before the Senate to defend its proposed budget for 2016. “The NTC must provide a detailed and acceptable report on its recent moves to improve the country’s Internet connection service as the approval of their 2016 budget heavily depends on that,” said Aquino, who is one of the vice chairmen of the Committee on Finance. The said memorandum circular would set the Internet quality service in the country, including the minimum speed for broadband and DSL connections. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Aquino, who heads the Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship, has led the hearings on the quality of Internet service in the country, which he said was not only expensive but also very slow. While the two main issues remain, Aquino noted that the committee hearings have produced small victories that Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Dutch financial institution ING Bank sees a more robust capital market in the Philippines after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued the guidelines on the issuance of commercial papers. Consuelo Garcia, country manager of ING Bank in Manila, said in a statement the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Securities Regulation Code (SRC) easing the rules on the issuance of debt papers is out.  The bank said the new amendments would entice more companies to raise funds in the domestic market, plug regulatory gaps, strengthen market and regulatory structures, and encourage global best practices. “The relaxation of the rules on commercial paper issuance, in particular, will widen the availability of instruments in the market and deepen the capital markets,” Garcia said.  Garcia chairs the Capital Markets Committee of the Bankers Association of the Philippines. She said the committee worked closely with the SEC and other industry organizations in coming up with amendments to the IRR that would be more responsive to current market conditions. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 She added the streamlining of the process for the issuance of commercial papers and corporate notes is expected to encourage more corporate issuers to raise funding from the capital markets instead of the bank market. Early this month, the SEC approved the new guidelines to enhancing the existing requirements including the ability of companies to raise funds in the domestic market. SEC chairperson Teresita Herbosa earlier said the new guidelines address regulatory Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino-owned renewable energy company Emerging Power Inc. (EPI) is investing at least $200 million to develop solar and wind power projects at the Subic Special Economic Zone. In a statement, EPI said it would put up renewable energy facilities on Mt. Sta. Rita in Zambales. The solar project, which is expected to reduce coal consumption by 44,300 tons per year, is expected to cost $200 million and should be operational by June 2016. A feasibility report released in March showed the site is a suitable location for a solar energy facility that can produce up to 100 megawatts (MW) of power. The report cited “convenient traffic, superior geographic position and rich solar  energy resources” as factors proving the viability of the project. EPI said it would also build a wind facility in the area but did not disclose further details about the project. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “This time, we are bringing clean and renewable power to SBMA (Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority). What better way to spark progress and growth to the people of Subic and investors in the country’s first freeport than by making clean and stable power available to them,” EPI chairman Antonio Martin Zamora said. He said the projects meet the increasing demand for energy of the emerging freeport while also speeding up the area’s economic and social development. It also meets the objectives of the country’s national energy policy to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and alleviate pollution.  Read More …

Just this week, the Star carried a news item about the Senate ratifying two treaties on aviation.  These of course ensure greater protection and fairer compensation to air passengers in case of accidents during flights.  These treaties refer to the 1999 Montreal Convention (MC99) and the Protocol Relating to an Amendment to the Convention on International Civil Aviation. A quick review of history pertaining to the protocols and conventions leading to MC99 is in order now that the Philippines has adopted this regime as basis for our own aviation protocol. To harmonize private international air laws, the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Carriage by Air, otherwise known as the Warsaw Convention was signed in 1929 in Warsaw although, as agreed upon by the member states in attendance, this came in to force only in 1933. A total of 152 states concurred with all the provisions of the Warsaw Convention, a  significant number insofar as concurrence is concerned, which you will see as you read on. When World War II came to an end, the aviation industry saw more improvements with larger airplanes and much longer routes, more air passengers and increased freight, and the 1929 Warsaw Convention was becoming irrelevant to the times. In 1944, the Chicago Convention brought a measure of order and a smoother flow of air passengers, baggage and cargo, and this took effect in 1947, concurred in by 191 states against Warsaw’s 152. In 1955, the Hague Protocols took place to Read More …