Chinese fishermen were checking on USS Guardian?

 News
Apr 142013
 
Chinese fishermen were checking on USS Guardian?

By Marlon Ramos, Jerry E. EsplanadaPhilippine Daily Inquirer 4:12 am | Monday, April 15th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—The Chinese crew of a fishing boat that ran aground on Tubbataha Reef last week could have been checking to see if the Americans had installed “military equipment” in the protected marine sanctuary where a US Navy minesweeper got stuck on an atoll nearly three months ago, a Philippine military officer said Sunday. The officer, who asked not to be named for lack of authority to talk to the media, said it was possible the 12 Chinese nationals on board the Ming Long Yu were “Chinese soldiers who were sent on a mission.” “This is just one of several possibilities the Philippine government should look into. The Chinese boat could have been part of a Chinese military operation,” the officer told the Inquirer. The source, who was familiar with previous incidents of Chinese military intrusions in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), said there were several indications the 48-meter-long Ming Long Yu was “not a fishing boat.” “As has been noted, the Chinese boat was not like the fishing vessels used by Chinese poachers who were arrested in Palawan. It was not carrying ice to preserve their catch. It did not have refrigerated storage,” he said. It was also noted that the men had “flawless” complexions, not the dark leathered skin of fishermen. He said there was “speculation” the Chinese military sent the 12 “fishermen” to conduct an inspection of the area where Read More …

Infra lack hinders Mindanao growth

 Economy
Apr 142013
 
Infra lack hinders Mindanao growth

MANILA, Philippines – The government must continue to address nagging issues in Mindanao to spur its economic growth as the  recent upgrade by international credit rating agency Fitch Ratings will not be enough to generate investments in the region, an economist said over the weekend. Economist and University of the Philippines professor Benjamin Diokno said the Fitch Ratings upgrade does not necessarily translate to the influx of investors in Mindanao, where many issues need to be addressed. “Overall, the upgrade is a necessary but not sufficient condition for higher private investment. Much remains to be done by the government,” Diokno said. He said government must provide better public infrastructure, reduce the cost of doing business, improve its revenue generating capacity, ensure policy consistency, and relax some restrictive provisions in the Constitution, among others. “Mindanao as an investment destination has added wrinkles. Power supply adequacy and reliability and peace and order problems are quite severe,” he said. Power outages in Mindanao average eight hours daily as the island suffers from a power shortfall of 294 megawatts with demand at 1,157 megawatts against an actual supply of only 863 megawatts. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Diokno said government should also look into  Mindanao’s “inefficient sea and air transport system.” “Sadly these problems cannot be solved overnight. But they should be addressed with great sense of urgency,” he said.

Alliance Global unit sets P20-B tourism estate

 Economy
Apr 142013
 
Alliance Global unit sets P20-B tourism estate

MANILA, Philippines – Global Estate Resorts Inc. (GERI), a subsidiary of Alliance Global Group Inc. (AGI), is spending P20 billion to develop the Twin Lakes tourism estate. “(GERI) is actually infusing about P20 billion for the next five years in the development of Twin Lakes,” Erwin Francis Go, GERI’s vice president for sales and marketing told reporters in a briefing for the launch of the project. The 1,149-hectare Twin Lakes overlooking Taal Lake, will be the first vineyard resort community in the country. The project features a vineyard, commercial and retail hubs, residential villas and condominiums, a nature park as well as a university park. Among the components of the project is the 177-hectare Vineyard community which comprises of an actual vineyard for growing grapes to be used to produce wine. “We are devoting 10 hectares of land to develop purely the grapes which will be used in making wine,” Go said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The production of wine will be handled by Emperador Distilleries Inc., the food and beverage arm of AGI. “That is what makes us stand out among all the developments. We are the only vineyard resort community and we have that vineyard as a take-off for the project,” Go noted. The Vineyard community will also have a winery or chateau, as well as a hotel and resort. Aside from the vineyard, GERI is developing the 1.3-hectare Shopping Village and 24-hectare Laketown Shore Center in Twin Lakes which will have commercial Read More …

PAGASA: Cold front to bring Cagayan Valley rain, warm weather anew elsewhere

 News
Apr 102013
 
PAGASA: Cold front to bring Cagayan Valley rain, warm weather anew elsewhere

Satellite Image as of 8 a.m., 10 April 2013. | Weather Central Rain from the diffused tail-end of a cold front may fall over the Cagayan Valley in northern Luzon on Thursday, while Metro Manila and other parts of the country may continue to expect warm weather, state weather forecasters said. PAGASA forecaster Ricky Fabregas said the easterlies, or warm winds from the east, are expected to prevail anew and bring hot weather to most of the country. “[Kahapon] nagkaroon ng shifting ng hangin from easterlies naging northeast, kaya binabaan ang forecast temperature. Ngayon nakita natin magpe-prevail ang easterlies kaya tumaas uli ang forecast,” Fabregas said in an interview on dzBB radio. He said Metro Manila may expect temperatures of 24 to 35 degrees Celsius Thursday. On Wednesday, Metro Manila had experienced a high of 35.3 degrees Celsius. PAGASA’s extended forecast said Tuguegarao City may experience temperatures of 23 to 34 degrees Celsius, while Olongapo and Angeles Cities may expect temperatures of 24 to 35 degrees Celsius. Thursday outlook PAGASA said the diffused tail-end of a cold front would affect northern Luzon Thursday. “Cagayan Valley will experience cloudy skies with light to moderate rain showers and thunderstorms. Metro Manila and the rest of the country will be partly cloudy with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms,” it said. It added moderate to strong winds from the northeast will prevail over Northern Luzon and its coastal waters will be moderate to rough. Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate coming from the Read More …

Attachments to the ITR

 Economy
Apr 102013
 

THE DEADLINE for filing the annual income tax return (ITR) is just around the corner, as they say. Individual taxpayers and non-individual taxpayers adopting the calendar year accounting period are required to file their ITR not later than April 15, 2013. By now, most taxpayers have already filed or are in the process of finalizing their annual ITR for eventual filing.

FilAms mark Bataan Day; vow to finish fight for WWII vets’ rights

 News
Apr 102013
 
FilAms mark Bataan Day; vow to finish fight for WWII vets’ rights

By Jon Melegrito INQUIRER.net U.S. Bureau 4:25 am | Thursday, April 11th, 2013 WASHINGTON, D.C.– Leaders of the Filipino American community in this city, Philippine Embassy officials, students and supporters of Filipino World War II veterans on Tuesday marked the 71st anniversary of the Fall of Bataan by pledging to continue the fight to negate the effects of the 1946 Rescission Act, which stripped Filipino soldiers of their official status as U.S. military veterans, Their immediate demand: recognize the claim of more than 24,000 surviving veterans whose service certifications have been rejected by the U.S. Army. A bill providing monetary compensation to eligible veterans was signed into law by Pres. Barack Obama in 2009. But of the 43,000 claims of surviving veterans who applied for benefits under the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation (FVEC) Act, only 18,615 were granted. “The Fall of Bataan is considered one of the darkest moments in our nation’s history,” said Philippine Ambassador Jose Cuisa, Jr. “We recognize the injustice done to those who have been denied because of documentary requirements and we will continue to press the relevant US government officials to clarify the procedures in certifying claims and to assist our veterans who are appealing.” The embassy is calling on the Filipino American community to join a nationwide letter-writing campaign to the White House. “We want to bring attention to the injustice caused by the certification process,” Cuisa added. In response to public pressure, the White House six months ago formed an interagency task force Read More …

Bishops contest SWS survey claiming fewer Pinoys attend Mass

 News
Apr 102013
 
Bishops contest SWS survey claiming fewer Pinoys attend Mass

Catholic bishops on Wednesday contested findings by pollster Social Weather Stations which said Filipino Catholics’ church attendance had dwindled from 64 percent in 1991 to a mere 37 percent now. In an article on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines news site, bishops maintained Mass attendance was still strong. “I think a scientific study should be made to validate such observation… In the diocese, I do not see this observation and in fact the number of churchgoers increased because we have mall Masses,” Cubao Bishop Honesto Ongtioco said. Quiapo Church rector Msgr. Clemente Ignacio added he could not believe the SWS survey claim, citing a big increase in churchgoers and devotees of the Black Nazarene. Devotees of the Black Nazarene are among the most demonstrative, taking part in a yearly procession, which can be characterized as near-dangerous, of the Black Nazarene to the Quiapo Church. For his part, former CBCP president and Jaro (Iloilo) Archbishop Angel Lagdameo said church attendance has been good in Iloilo province’s 93 parishes. “It’s a matter of minus and plus. There are those who no longer go to Sunday Mass but there are also new Catholics who started to go to Sunday Mass,” Lagdameo said., He added the nine Masses in Jaro cathedral are still filled to capacity. Meanwhile, in Mindanao, Marbel Diocese in South Cotabato built a new parish last December 30. Marbel Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez added that they will inaugurate another new parish this coming June 24., “In our 26 parishes, church Read More …

LP candidates on way to rally lost at sea, end up in Sabah jail

 News
Apr 102013
 
LP candidates on way to rally lost at sea, end up in Sabah jail

By Nikko Dizon Philippine Daily Inquirer 3:53 am | Thursday, April 11th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—Rough seas swept away a motorboat carrying a Liberal Party mayoral candidate, his running mate and 30 supporters from Tawi-Tawi on Tuesday and took it to, of all places, Lahad Datu in Sabah, site of five weeks of fighting between Malaysian security forces and followers of the sultan of Sulu. As a result, Rommel Matba, his vice mayoral running mate Amman Matba and 30 village leaders from Languyan town in Tawi-Tawi landed in a police station in Sandakan, where Malaysian police took them on suspicion they were reinforcements for the decimated forces of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III. Jamalul’s press officer Abraham Idjirani confirmed on Wednesday that Matba and his group were politicians campaigning for local elections in Languyan and not members of the sultanate’s security forces. “I was told they were traveling to Mapun municipality, also in Tawi-Tawi, for [a Liberal Party] rally when they were lost at sea because of strong currents in Tambisan Bay,” Idjirani told the Inquirer by phone. Capt. Rene Yongque, commander of Naval Task Force 62, reported that rough seas swept the Liberal Party group’s motorboat across the border at Taganak Island in Tawi-Tawi where it was intercepted by Malaysian border police. Rescued? But Acting Gov. Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao used a different term to describe the misadventure of Matba’s group. “They were rescued by Malaysian maritime personnel and were taken to Sabah,” Hataman said. “We Read More …

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