Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – Last Thursday was a zestful day for Jaguar enthusiasts, as Jaguar Cars, Inc. (JCI) – the exclusive distributor of Jaguar vehicles in the country – launched the much-coveted Jaguar F-type Coupé in the Philippines.  The  F-type Coupé is now available for the tasteful driver to experience, and comes in 2 variants: The F-type S, that comes with a 380HP, 3L supercharged v6 engine; and the F-type R, which comes with a more powerful 550HP, 5L supercharged v8 engine. Also present at the media unveil was lovely Jaguar brand ambassador Georgina Wilson. “Visual appeal is fundamental to Jaguar and the F-type Coupé builds on the design of the stunning C-X16 concept sports Coupé and the F-type convertible, which won the 2013 World Car Design of the Year Award,” explained JCI President and Chairman Wellington Soong at the launch event. The new, all-aluminum F-type Coupé is the most torsionally rigid production car Jaguar has ever built. Maintaining the car’s low mass albeit preserving its extremely rigid body was key to its sporty driving dynamic. Equally impressive was how the brand’s design vision was not compromised by the engineers’ efforts to exploit the car’s physics. Clearly, there is a lack of B-pillars in this car, to establish a low roofline and exude a dramatically sleek body. This was achieved by using a high-strength, hydro-formed aluminum alloy beam from the front of the A-pillar to the back of the D-pillar; running through the door opening line and towards the rear quarter Read More …

CONGRESS IS eyeing to present the 2015 budget for signature to President Benigno S. C. Aquino III by Dec. 15.

Just before we enter the fourth and last quarter of the year, let’s take a breather by giving way to our readers. The first two letters tackle complaints about the irregularity of perks for senior citizens, particularly about parking allocation in malls. I hope the local governments, particularly of cities, can meet and discuss about standardizing the benefits that accrue to senior citizens. Understanding that not all cities are as affluent as Makati, which has become the model for providing benefits and privileges to seniors, a categorized standard could be agreed on to avoid confusion and complaints. The next two letters feature contributions from readers about our worsening traffic in Metro Manila, which we can expect to even deteriorate now that the gift-giving month of December is fast approaching. Read on. Limited parking slots This one is from Gilda “Vanessa” Figueroa: “May I just inform you that Robinsons Magnolia has only 40 allotted parking slots for seniors; likewise Ayala Trinoma (I forget now how many slots); and others. The senior is asked to pay if there are no more available vacant slots. “Is there a law that says malls and establishments can only give a number of senior citizen slots? Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Please enlighten because we are made to fall in line and wait for a next available slot for seniors even if there are normal slots available. Sometimes it takes almost an hour or more until we just give up and relent Read More …

A number of businesses here and abroad are concluding transactions through electronic means. It has allowed the buying and selling of goods and services from one company to another across borders. In this age, commerce is no longer limited to the physical purchase and payment.  Transactions can now be electronically done. Recently, the Supreme Court held that instructions by investor-clients from abroad to debit their local or foreign currency accounts with a Philippine bank and to pay the purchase price of their investments in shares of stocks in domestic corporations through SWIFT, “Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications”, are not subject to documentary stamp tax (DST).  In purchasing shares of stock and other investment in securities, the investor-clients would send electronic messages from abroad instructing its Philippine bank to debit their local or foreign currency accounts and to pay the purchase price. Section 181 of the Tax Code provides that “any bill of exchange or order for the payment of money purporting to be drawn in a foreign country but payable in the Philippines shall be subject to DST at P0.30 on each P200 or a fractional part thereof, of the face value of any such bill of exchange or order”.  On Aug. 23, 1999, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), through Commissioner Beethoven L. Rualo, issued BIR Ruling No. 132-99 and ruled  that instructions or advises from abroad on the management of funds located in the Philippines which do not involve transfer of funds from abroad are not subject Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Local and foreign investors are encouraged to set up operations in General Santos City’s new economic zone to take advantage of growth opportunities in the area. In a statement, the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. said locating in the new economic zone will allow firms to take advantage of economic benefits. The GenSan Economic Zone was designated as a Special Economic Zone under the Philippine Economic Zone Authority by President Aquino through Proclamation 820 dated July 3. The 50-hectare economic zone is expected to contribute to the goal of achieving inclusive growth in the countryside, particularly in Mindanao. As SOCSKSARGEN (South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, General Santos City) is seen to be a strategic location in the East Association of Southeast Asian Nations Growth Area, the new economic zone is expected to attract investments from the region’s member states and even other countries. The GenSan Economic Zone is being promoted as the premier manufacturing economic zone in the Southern part of the country. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The new economic zone located in Brgy. Tamber in General Santos City is within a five-kilometer distance from key ports such as Makar Wharf and General Santos City Fishport Complex as well as the General Santos International Airport. Investors planning to locate in the economic zone could enjoy income tax holidays (ITH) for four years, extendable up to eight years. Locators are also entitled to five-percent special tax on gross income and exemption from all national Read More …