Maniolas

GIVEN the tax reform bill pending in Congress and an alleged revenue loss consequently looming upon the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the massive task of meeting tax revenue targets may become even more challenging for the tax bureau. Even without the tax reforms pushing through, the BIR is already experiencing difficulties in terms of enforcing existing tax laws as it continues to encounter implementation challenges. This is to be expected if the BIR is seen to continue to go beyond its quasi-legislative functions.

MANILA, Philippines – Property giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI), in partnership with Leonio Land Inc., is pouring in P75 billion over the next 20 years to develop a masterplanned township in Central Luzon seen to be the new hub for business and leisure in the region. Alviera, a 1,100-hectare integrated mixed-use development in Porac, Pampanga, will be “a town that is complete in itself” and the Ayala Group’s largest development in Central Luzon to date, ALI officials said in a press briefing yesterday. “This project allows us to do what we do best, and that is develop large-scale, integrated mixed-used communities. Expect great things to happen with Alviera,” ALI president Bernard Vincent Dy said. ALI and Leonio Land are readying P8 billion for the first phase of the project that will include the development of a quarter of the entire property or 207 hectares over the next three years. Dy said funding for the first phase would come from a mix of internal cash flows and potential loans from financial institutions. The first phase of Alviera will consist of an industrial park, three residential communities, two educational institutions, and a country club. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “With ALI’s rich legacy in developing integrated mixed-use communities, Porac will be transformed to a masterplanned township unlike any other in the province and in the whole of Central Luzon. Makati, Nuvali in Laguna, and Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, all stand as testament to the kind of development Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – I was walking along the parking lot of a mall in Makati when I came across two unlikely cars: a gleaming 1976 Colt Lancer L-Type and an equally pristine 1979 Ford Escort parked right across each other. There being no old school car show or car club meet ongoing at that mall, I chalked it up to coincidence that two well-kept compact sedans from the ‘70s would find themselves parked near each other at the exact same moment.  Then it hit me. Compact. The Escort and Lancer L-Type were the iconic compact sedans of their time. But parked among a sea of late-model Civics, Altises, and Elantras—likewise compact sedans—I was struck by the vast difference in sizes between the cars of two different eras. The Escort and L-Type were dwarfed by their contemporary brethren. The L-Type, in particular, seemed tiny–seemingly smaller and narrower than even a current Ford Fiesta, which is now classified as a subcompact car. What happened? Did we, as human occupants of these cars, double in size? I’d like to think not. But even if obesity is more a concern now than three decades ago, it’s more due to better public awareness than the fact that the population is growing in width. Well, at least not as fast as our cars are growing and gaining weight. Thirty years ago a car like a Corolla or a Lancer would weigh 1,800 to 2,000 pounds. Today they’d weigh at least 2,200 pounds and can tip the Read More …