Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – BDO Unibank has partnered with Emirates NBD, the leading bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), for the latter’s money transfer service called Direct Remit 60 Seconds. The service was introduced last month to the Philippines and is known as the fastest direct bank transfer service in the UAE. It enables the transfer of Philippine peso to BDO bank accounts in 60 seconds. Direct Remit 60 Seconds benefits the remittance beneficiaries of the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), numbering over 700,000, stationed in the various parts of the UAE region, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi. “This is another channel that will bring security and ease to our remitters,” BDO senior vice president for remittance distribution Geneva T. Gloria said. Gloria described the alliance with Emirates as a good fit because of the resemblance between the two banks. Both are leading industry players in their respective countries and serving a considerable number of Filipino clients. “Most of their Filipino clients who maintain an account with them are also enrolled in Emirates’ online banking facility. Using this platform, these customers can send money to the Philippines anytime, anywhere and can also pay their bills, insurance premiums or loans payments via their BDO accounts,” she added. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 International money transfers, mainly personal remittances, amounted to $22 billion in the first 10 months of 2014, or 6.7 percent higher than remittances in the same period in 2013. Filipinos deployed to the UAE rank second Read More …

A YEAR after they launched the fund-raising program Balik Balay, organizers of the Balik Cebu group announced they will begin the construction of 50 nipa huts in Esperanza, Pilar, Camotes this month. “The resettlement area in Esperanza, which can accommodate up to 100 nipa huts, was purchased last December. With that, we will embark on the groundbreaking and construction of the 50 nipa huts as soon as possible,” said Tetta Baad, chairperson of the Cebu City Tourism Council (CCTC) and Balik Cebu. According to Baad, the groundbreaking was initially scheduled last Jan. 4, but bad weather limited access to Pilar, Camotes, so the ceremony was postponed. Every year for the past 14 years, Balik Cebu, which is a program under the CCTC, has rolled out the red carpet to welcome balikbayans. Last January 2014, the organization embarked on a major campaign to help survivors whose homes were wrecked by super typhoon Yolanda last Nov. 8, 2013. Donations The Balik Cebu committee received tremendous financial support from the balikbayans, who expressed willingness to help typhoon survivors rebuild their homes, Baad said. For each 15-square-meter nipa hut, donors had to raise at least P35,000.Donations are still welcome for the next 50 houses. The Balik Cebu committee launched last Thursday the Balik Cebu Booth located near the concierge counter of Ayala Center Cebu. The booth, which is open from Jan. 8 to 18, allows balikbayans and tourists to purchase tickets for the Balik Cebu Homecoming Dinner on Jan. 15 at The Terraces, seats Read More …

FIFTEEN public-private partnership (PPP) projects in the Philippines have been identified by the World Bank’s Singapore Infrastructure Hub as key projects for the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) plans to improve the region’s connectivity with the rest of the world, Philippine officials said.

THE P18.99-billion Davao Sasa Port Modernization project will be the first public-private partnership (PPP) project to be rolled out this year, with the Transportation department set to publish the invitation to bid within the week.

THE HOLIDAYS and gift-giving season may be over for some but it seems it is just getting started as far as our tax officials are concerned. As a belated gift to the hardworking employees making their contributions to the economic growth of our country, the Secretary of Finance, upon recommendation by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, issued Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 1-2015 dated 5 January 2015. The RR expands the list of tax-exempt benefits to include those benefits received by an employee by virtue of collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) and productivity incentive schemes to the extent of P10,000 per employee per taxable year. De minimis benefits are facilities and privileges of relatively small value and provided by an employer to employees merely as a means to promote their health, good will, contentment, or efficiency. These benefits are exempt from withholding tax on compensation (WTC) and fringe benefits tax (FBT).