Maniolas

By Niña P. Calleja |Philippine Daily Inquirer 11:29 pm | Wednesday, September 24th, 2014 MANILA, Philippines—Despite the opposition from overseas Filipino workers’ groups and recruiting agencies, the Manila International Airport Authority is going ahead with its plan to integrate the terminal fee into the cost of airline tickets beginning Oct. 1. But Jose Angel Honrado, the Miaa general manager, said the agency has always been open to suggestions for improving its systems and would continue to be so. “No system is perfect. This is why we are not closing the door to possible improvements. For now, we are determined to proceed, observe and see later on how else we can enhance it to settle all stakeholders’ concerns,” Honrado said in a statement. The main argument for integrating the terminal fee into the airline ticket is to ease the check-in process. The Miaa has noted that some 7 million passengers have to queue to pay for the terminal fee at the Naia. From Oct. 1, all international airline tickets will include the cost of the P550 international passenger service charge (IPSC), better known as the terminal fee. “We are happy that finally, we are raising Naia’s level of service to be at par with its counterparts abroad,” Honrado said. He said the integration would be implemented simultaneously by all airlines worldwide and would cover passengers transiting Manila to any destination point. The process will go through a transition period and is expected to be fully implemented by October 2015, when all Read More …

Associated Press 9:25 pm | Wednesday, September 24th, 2014 Philippine Congressman Rodolfo Biazon, left, Chair of the House Committee on National Defense, during a news conference with Hiroshi Nakada, Head of delegation of the Japanese opposition Party for Future Generations, on Sept. 3, 2014 at Makati City, Philippines. AP BEIJING — State media say China and Japan have resumed high-level talks on maritime issues, in a sign they want to improve relations that have been badly strained in recent years by territorial disputes and wartime historical issues. China’s official Xinhua News Agency said Wednesday that senior ministry officials met for two days in the eastern city of Qingdao to exchange views on issues in the East China Sea and maritime cooperation. Japan’s Foreign Ministry said the two sides agreed to hold talks on setting up a maritime hotline between their defense ministries. Japan’s Kyodo News agency also reported that a Chinese vice premier separately commented on Wednesday that he wants an early resumption of a high-level economic talks with Japan, which have been suspended since 2010. RELATED STORIES Obama: US will defend Japan vs China China, Japan blame each other for jet encounter Follow Us Other Stories: PH, Japanese ships to conduct naval exercises off Palawan Filipino fisher rescued off Taiwan after being adrift for 9 days PH journalist slams Aquino’s Europe trip in column in Chinese media Rising criminality in PH a spin by Chinese state media—Palace Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks Read More …

By Bong Lozada |INQUIRER.net 6:02 pm | Wednesday, September 24th, 2014 The BRP Ramon Alcaraz. US EMBASSY FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Philippine and Japanese ships are set to conduct a naval exercises in the waters off Palawan on Thursday, a Navy official said. Lieutenant Commander Marineth Domingo, Philippine Navy Public Affairs Office Chief, said Philippine Navy’s flagship BRP Ramon Alcaraz would conduct a passing exercise (Passex) with Japan Defense Ship Hatakaze, a destroyer from the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force. Alcaraz and Hatakaze were both participants in Kakadu 2014, an international naval exercise that the Royal Australian Navy hosted on August 25 and until September 12. Domingo said the two ships would conduct the Passex while en route to their separate ports. Alcaraz would set for Manila after a quick visit in Zamboanga while her co-participant Hatakaze would set for Japan from Singapore. “Passex gives us an opportunity to not only practice what we might be called upon to do, but the chance to establish a professional relationship with our allies making us a more capable force working together at sea,” Domingo said. “A passing exercise is composed of sea drills done between two navies to ensure synchronization of communication and cooperation between the participating navies in combined naval operations.” She added that the naval exercise is not meant to provoke China, which has been in a territorial struggle with the Philippines. “It has nothing to do with the South China Sea dispute, this is mainly for training purposes,” Domingo said. Read More …

By Kristine Angeli Sabillo |INQUIRER.net 1:35 pm | Tuesday, September 23rd, 2014 MANILA, Philippines – Malacanang on Tuesday said the Aegis Malaysia video that put the Philippines in a bad light was an advertisement that was “below the belt”. “What we’re very sure of is that we’re the number one BPO (business process outsourcing) center in the world,” Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said during a Palace briefing. RELATED STORIES Aegis apologizes to PH for derogatory video Aegis Malaysia urged to explain derogatory video about PH Follow Us Other Stories: Filipinos in Colorado turn out for passports, dual citizenship Free health fair in LA for everyone, including undocumented Owners of care homes arrested for wage theft in SF Bay Area Malaysia pulls out offensive video Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines. Short URL: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/?p=111559 Factual errors? Contact the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s day desk. Believe this article violates journalistic ethics? Contact the Inquirer’s Reader’s Advocate. Or write The Readers’ Advocate: c/o Philippine Daily Inquirer Chino Roces Avenue corner Yague and Mascardo Streets, Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines Or fax nos. +63 2 8974793 to 94

By Jeannette I. Andrade |Philippine Daily Inquirer 6:54 am | Monday, September 22nd, 2014 Tesda Director General Joel Villanueva. tesda.gov.ph photo MANILA, Philippines–The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) has hooked up with its counterpart in Germany to boost technical-vocational education and training (TVET) in the Philippines. Tesda Director General Joel Villanueva, who joined President Aquino in his four-nation European trip, signed in Berlin a cooperation agreement with the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB), an international center of excellence for TVET research, for collaborative research and development. Villanueva witnessed on Sept. 19 the signing of a joint declaration of intent between Germany and the Philippines on “furthering technical-vocational education and training through consultancy, technical assistance, exchange of information, experiences, best practices, joint research, study tours and expert meetings.” Both initiatives, he said, would further improve the TVET so it could provide the skills needed by the graduates and make them eligible for work, reducing unemployment and underemployment. “In Germany, many students take vocational training, and for those not yet ready, an intensive pre-apprenticeship program backs the youth. Their government has been investing massive amounts of talent and money on TVET and it is paying off,” Villanueva said. “The challenge we face in skills development is the need to increase the permeability of the TVET. Since the issues in the TVET are now global in nature, the more we should consider external support in the design of our training programs,” he said. With the cooperation agreement, the Read More …