Cerritos, Calif. – The Filipino-American Chamber of Commerce of Southeast Corridor (FACC-SEC) has slated its maiden mixer and networking on April 23, 2013 at the Boba Café on 17222 Norwalk Blvd. corner of Artesia Blvd. from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. This was announced by FACC-SEC Founding President Felix B. Lopez, CEO of Pinoy […]
Los Angeles 16 April 2013, The Philippine Consulate General successfully launched the first day of elections for Overseas Absentee Voters (OAV) on 13 April 2013 at the Rizal Hall of the Consulate. The Consulate General invites all registered Overseas Absentee Voters (OAVs) in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to cast their […]
Agence France-Presse 6:02 am | Thursday, April 18th, 2013 Members of the Philippine Coast Guard hold a frozen pangolin, or scaly anteater, on board a Chinese vessel that ran aground off Tubbataha coral reef in this April 13, 2013, photo released by the Philippine Coast Guard in Manila. AP PHOTO/PHILIPPINE COAST GUARD MANILA, Philippines—Twelve suspected Chinese poachers could face up to 20 years in prison for possession of hundreds of dead pangolins, or scaly anteaters, Philippine wildlife authorities said Wednesday. The boat carrying the 12 Chinese men ran aground on Tubbataha marine park, a UNESCO World Heritage-listed coral reef near Palawan, last week. “We are preparing a case. We are still compiling supporting documents (but) it carries a heavy penalty of 12 to 20 years’ imprisonment,” Adelina Villena, environment officer of the province of Palawan, told AFP. Mere possession of the threatened species is basis for criminal charges, regardless of where the pangolins were obtained, said Villena. All eight species of the insect-eating mammals are protected by international law. Two—the Malaysian and Chinese pangolins—are on the International Union of Conservation of Nature’s “red list” of endangered species. Prosecutors have already charged the men with illegal poaching and with corruption for attempting to bribe Filipino officials. The Philippine coast guard said Monday it had found hundreds of frozen pangolins, individually wrapped in plastic and hidden in sacks in the cargo hold of a Chinese boat. Pangolins are widely hunted in parts of Asia for their meat, skin and scales and in Read More …
By Cynthia D. Balana Philippine Daily Inquirer 5:07 am | Thursday, April 18th, 2013 Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—The present crop of political leaders should emulate the integrity, competence and efficiency of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the first woman prime minister of the United Kingdom, who died recently, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago said. Santiago said the influence of Thatcher, called the Iron Lady of the ’80s, on world politics will remain indelible in political history. She identified Thatcher, who was buried Wednesday, as one of her role models, together with Cleopatra and Marie Curie. “She was a nonpareil political genius,” the senator said. Santiago recounted to the Inquirer how she met Thatcher in Manila in 1994 after Santiago lost the 1992 presidential election to Fidel V. Ramos. Epitome of forcefulness and conviction “She was amazing. Lady Thatcher had obviously read up on me. She called me ‘Miriam’ and in effect taught me that in politics I should be thorough, passionate for change, tenacious and fueled by determination,” she said. “Thatcher was the epitome of forcefulness and conviction. Like a student, I was so happy to listen to her,” the senator recalled. Santiago said that when Thatcher came to Manila, she had lost weight but was still sharp as ever. She described her British idol as a person of few words, a “disciplined mass of kinetic energy,” both intellectual and physical. “I sensed that she did not suffer fools gladly,” Santiago said. Santiago said that at the time, she Read More …
By Nikko Dizon Philippine Daily Inquirer 4:54 am | Thursday, April 18th, 2013 US Marines from Company B, 1st Battalion Landing Team, 5th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and their Philippine counterparts storm a beach to simulate a combat rubber boat raid in the culmination of their 12-day joint military exercise dubbed Balikatan 2013 between the Philippines and the United States Monday, April 15, 2013, at the Philippine marine base, in Ternate, Cavite. The annual joint military exercise ended Wednesday. AP PHOTO/BULLIT MARQUEZ MANILA, Pilippines—The Philippines and the United States ended their 29th Balikatan joint military exercises on Wednesday, and immediately set about planning next year’s event, raising the possibility of inviting Japan and Australia to make it a multilateral exercise. Brian Goldbeck, the US deputy chief of mission here, described the recently concluded exercise as the “most ambitious intellectual exchanges in the history of Balikatan.” “This year’s exercise featured a medical symposium, an aviation forum, a senior enlisted forum, a chaplain forum and a search-and-rescue forum,” Goldbeck said in his remarks. He underscored the Balikatan activities that went beyond the traditional military exercises like the building of classrooms that can withstand typhoons and floods. He noted that most of the residents in areas where the engagement was held said all they wanted was for their children to have a good education. “So many of the families that our service members met in Zambales echoed the same concerns. They just want their children to be able to go to school. Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – Listed agritechnology firm Calata Corp. is declaring cash dividends as it posts a year-on-year growth in revenues and a slight increase in its net income. In a filing, the company announced that it has approved cash dividends of P0.25 per share on common shares as of May 17, 2013. The company will announce the date of distribution. As a result of its continued business growth, this is the third consecutive year that the company has declared a cash dividend. Calata declared a net income of P110.375 million in 2012 from P100.173 million in 2011. The firm attributed its higher income to increased tie ups with foreign agritechnology companies and exclusive long term supply agreements in 2012. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 It posted revenues of P2.2 billion in 2012 from P2 billion in 2011. Towards the close of 2012, the company established a retail chain of farm input products through its acquisition of Agri Phil Corp. Agri Phil Corp. owns 116 stores located in various parts of Luzon. “This is expected to further improve the revenue and income of the company in the years to come, thereby increasing shareholder value as well as providing an attractive investment prospect to the investing public,” the company said. Early this month, the company announced that it has entered into an agreement with Argentina-based Agroservicios Humboldt S.A for the exclusive distribution of its animal nutrition products in the Philippines. The company was granted the exclusive right to Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – Listed holding firm Phinma Corp. is banking on the recovery of its property unit and the absence of losses from its business processing unit to post an income turnaround this year. Phinma is allotting P3.9 billion in capital expenditures this year that will primarily fund the construction of a power generation plant. “Higher income will come from energy, better property business and no more losses from One Animate Ltd.,” Ramon R. del Rosario, Jr., president and vice-chairman of Phinma, told reporters after the company’s annual stockholders meeting. Lower profits from the Phinma Properties, which was hampered by delays in project launches, and losses in the animation unit resulted in Phinma incurring a net loss last year. Phinma said it suffered from a P36-million net loss last year, reversing the P81-million income in 2011. “The company is poised for a recovery based on a larger sales network and a healthy pipeline of over 4,400 condominium units over the next three years,” Del Rosario said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Regina B. Alvarez, senior vice-president for finance of Phinma, said the company will spend P3.9 billion this year, of which P3.6 billion will be for the power project, P79 million for Phinma Properties and P200 million for steel fabricator Union Galvasteel Corp. Unit Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp. is building a 135-megawatt (MW) power plant in partnership with Ayala Corp. It will start commercial operations in 2016. For the hotels business, Del Rosario said Read More …
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has launched a EUR3.5-million aid for the implementation of the country’s environmental laws and other “green” projects.
THE OPENING of the new Laguindingan Airport has been moved to June from this month, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) said yesterday.
SCIENTISTS have successfully bred a rice variety that is salt-tolerant, which could enable farmers to reclaim coastal areas rendered useless by sea water, a Philippine-based institute said Tuesday.