Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – Government borrowings slightly declined in the first 11 months of 2014 due to lower borrowings from the domestic market. Based on data from the Department of Finance, the government borrowed P330.72 billion from January to November 2014, down from P333.25 billion a year ago. Of the total amount, P235.12 billion was sourced locally mainly through the sale of treasury bonds. The amount marked a 53.8 percent drop from the P509.28 billion recorded in the 11 months ending November 2013. On the other hand, foreign borrowings, done largely by tapping loans from development lending institutions, grew more than three-fold to P95.6 billion. Debt secured from foreign lenders was in the form of P55.34 billion in program loans and P11.59 billion in project loans aimed at supporting post-Yolanda relief and recovery initiatives. The government borrows to pay maturing obligations and plug the deficit in its budget. The higher the fiscal deficit, the higher will be the borrowing requirements of the government. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 In November alone, borrowings by the government increased to P33.9 billion from P31.52 billion. Debt incurred from the domestic market went up to P33.28 billion from P30.65 billion. The country’s outstanding debt rose to P5.72 trillion as of the end of November last year due to higher domestic obligations.  A big chunk of this amount or 66 percent was accounted for by peso-denominated liabilities while the balance of 34 percent comprised debts denominated in foreign currencies. The government has Read More …

“On Heaven and Earth”Image (Division of Random House)English Translation, 2015 By Dante M. VelascoContributor BISHOP Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, has been in the world’s headlines since he was chosen Bishop of Rome and leader of Catholicism around the world. Last Friday, the Pontiff made a state visit to the President of the Philippines, and we saw first hand that it was no ordinary visit. The “radical Pope,” according to an article in the latest issue of the Reader’s Digest, was in Tacloban, Leyte, to be with the survivors of Supertyphoon “Yolanda.” It is very much in character that this Pope would be with suffering people, people who have admirably shown the “triumph of the human spirit.” He was also set to meet leaders of diverse faiths in the Philippines—Protestants, Evangelicals, Muslims, Jews, et al.—and deliver a clear message that interfaith dialogue leading to unity is a possibility devoutly to be wished. Pope Francis has captured the imagination of the world and has opened possibilities of dialogue due to his openness with various faiths and religions. The English language translation of the book “On Heaven and Earth” is recently off the press, and has thus made available an interesting dialogue—or “encounter”—between the then Archbishop of Buenos Aires Bergoglio and Argentine rabbi Abraham Skorka. The first edition was published in Spanish in 2010. The conversation between the two religious leaders in Argentina in this book may be dated. And yet the more recent pronouncements of now Pope Francis have been Read More …

Only seven days after four groups filed separate cases against the fare increases in all three light rail line in the metropolis, the Supreme Court ordered the DOTC to explain what seemed to be its hurried move to increase the fare. Well and good. It is just that the fare increase now seems to be the wrong target of public dismay. It is now clear, at least based on talk in business circles, the real culprit is the “concession agreement” forged by the DOTC with a private group. In September last year, the DOTC awarded the much-delayed P65-billion LRT-1 “extension project” to a consortium called Light Rail Manila Corp. or LRMC, which is owned by the group of Manuel V. Pangilinan with 55 percent, the Ayala group with 35 percent and the foreign group Macquarie with 10 percent. Under the agreement, LRMC was supposed to use its own funding to construct the 11-kilometer “extension” of LRT-1 from Baclaran to Bacoor (Cavite), plus operate the existing line between Baclaran and Roosevelt on Edsa in Quezon—for all of 30 years. Originally, by the way, the government set the “extension project” to start by June last year, with the first phase (Baclaran to Sucat) already operating by June 2016, or toward to the end of the term of our dear leader Benigno Simeon, a.k.a. BS. For some unknown reasons, the project hit some snag and nobody in the Aquino (Part II) administration can even dare say when the trains on the additional LRT-1 Read More …

DAVAO CITY — New investment here amounted to P6.3 billion in 2014, almost half of which came from the P3-billion mill set up by Steel Asia Manufacturing, Inc. and the rest coming mainly from real estate development ventures, according to data from the Davao City Investment Promotion Center (DCIPC).

MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Internal Revenue has identified 27 priority programs this year to shore up collections and meet its revenue target of P1.7 trillion. The BIR missed last year’s collection goal of P1.45 trillion, which was based on the assumption that the economy would grow by 6.5 to 7.5 percent. Gross domestic product grew by only 5.8 percent in the nine months to September 2014 on anemic public spending. One such initiative is the establishment of an online system for transfer tax transactions to expedite processing of one-time transactions, issuance of certificate of Certificate Authorizing Registration (CAR) and boost collections.  This program aims to provide a facility for BIR officers to review and approve online the one-time transactions filed by taxpayers. One-time transaction includes not only transfer of real properties and stocks not traded in the stock exchange but also transfer of properties in connection with estate tax and donor’s tax. The BIR also plans to put in place a web-based system that generates the CAR with barcode and electronically transmits data to Land Registration Authority.  This is expected to eliminate or reduce revenue losses from all trips of transfer tax transactions. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 An online system for accreditation importers and customs brokers will likewise be adopted. This will automate the manual accreditation process from the filing of application to the issuance of importers/brokers clearance certificate. The BIR shall also put in place a system that will automatically compute the Read More …