THE JOINT Foreign Chambers of the Philippines (JFC) has asked Secretary Cesar V. Purisima, as head of the Cabinet’s economic cluster and the Finance department, to ensure that investors receive its value added tax (VAT) refunds.
May 212013
May 212013
A TASK FORCE that will implement an action plan to improve the business climate in the country was created by President Benigno S. C. Aquino III in a bid to boost the global competitiveness of the Philippines.
May 212013
Philippine Daily Inquirer 5:10 am | Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013 Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz (left) and Saudi Arabian Labor Minister Adel Bin Mohammed Fakeih INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/PHOTO OF MINISTER FAKEIH FROM GCF.ORG.SA MANILA, Philippines—Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz and Saudi Arabian Labor Minister Adel Bin Mohammed Fakeih signed in Jeddah on Sunday an agreement on the recruitment of Filipino domestic workers and the duties and responsibilities of their Saudi employers. The agreement, described by Baldoz and Fakeih in a joint statement as “historic,” came after last year’s pact on the standard employment contract (SEC) to be observed by employers and Filipino household service workers (HSWs) in the Middle East kingdom. The agreement lays down areas of cooperation between the two countries, including the following: a mutually acceptable recruitment and deployment system; recruitment of workers through offices that practice ethical recruitment and are licensed by their respective governments; prohibition to deduct from the salary of the worker any cost attendant to recruitment and deployment; Right of recourse to competent authorities in case of contractual disputes; legal measures against recruitment offices, companies and agencies for any violation of applicable laws, rules and regulations; and resolution of any issue arising from the implementation and enforcement of the agreement.—Jerome Aning
May 212013
More Filipinos experienced hunger in March, with about 3.9 million Filipino families saying they had nothing to eat at some point during that time, according to a new survey by pollster Social Weather Stations. In its poll conducted from March 19 to 22 and posted on its media partner BusinessWorld, SWS said that the 3.9 million families or 19.2 percent of Filipino families that experienced hunger was higher than 16.3 percent in December. This was despite a decline in self-rated poverty to 52 percent during March, or some 10.6 million families, from 54 percent in December, the SWS noted. It added hunger increased among both the poor and the non-poor, even as it pointed out March’s figures were still below the record 23.8 percent recorded last year. Moderate, severe hunger The survey showed a rise of nearly three points in moderate hunger, or having nothing to eat once or a few times in the last three months, to 15.6 percent (3.2 million families) from 12.7 percent. It added severe hunger, where families claimed to experience hunger often or always, remained at 3.6 percent or 726,000 families. SWS noted overall hunger increased in all regions but fell in Metro Manila by nearly four points to 21.7 percent (615,000 families) from 25.3 percent. However, hunger went up sharply in Mindanao to 29.2 percent (1.4 million families) from 20 percent. It also rose to 14.7 percent (1.3 million families) in the balance of Luzon (Balance Luzon) and went up 15 percent (580,000 families) Read More …
May 212013
By Jocelyn R. Uy Philippine Daily Inquirer 4:14 am | Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—Civil society groups Solidarity Philippines and Kontra Daya on Tuesday said they were bringing to the attention of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) the inadequacies and lapses committed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) during the May 13 balloting. Over Church-run Radio Veritas, the groups’ convenor Fr. Joe Dizon said they were resorting to the move because the Comelec had not been transparent in its conduct of the recently concluded elections, the second time automated elections were held using the controversial precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines. During the interview, Dizon said the complaint would include the premature proclamation of the winning senators as well as the glitches that popped up in the voting machines and the compact flash (CF) cards. “First and foremost, the Comelec erred in entering into a deal with Smartmatic and purchasing the PCOS machines because (Smartmatic) was not the owner of the source code,” Dizon said. The source code is the computer program that runs the PCOS machines. The PCOS technology, including the source code, is owned by Dominion Voting Systems Inc., which had severed its ties with Smartmatic following a legal dispute in the United States. Dizon also stressed that the recent elections should merit the attention of the UN body because the Comelec decided to proclaim the winners of the senatorial race even if only 20 percent of the total votes Read More …
May 212013
Agence France-Presse 8:55 pm | Tuesday, May 21st, 2013 President Aquino AP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines — President Benigno Aquino on Tuesday announced a $1.8-billion military upgrade to help defend his country’s maritime territory against “bullies,” amid an ever-worsening dispute with China. The announcement came on the same day that the Philippines filed a protest with China over the “illegal and provocative” presence of a Chinese warship and two other vessels at a Filipino-claimed shoal in the disputed South China Sea. In thinly veiled comments referring to China, Aquino vowed during a speech to mark the navy’s 115th anniversary that the armed forces would be given the resources necessary to protect Philippine sovereignty. “We have a clear message to the world: The Philippines is for Filipinos, and we have the capability to resist bullies entering our backyard,” Aquino told naval chiefs. Aquino detailed a P75-billion ($1.82-billion) military modernization program that gives priority to upgrading the navy, which is one of the weakest in Southeast Asia. He said by 2017 the Philippines would acquire two new frigates, two helicopters capable of anti-submarine warfare, three fast vessels for coastal patrols and eight amphibious assault vehicles. “We will also improve our communications, intelligence and surveillance systems,” he said. The Philippines has been locked for more than two years in an increasingly hostile dispute with China over rival claims to the South China Sea, which is believed to sit atop vast resources of oil and gas. China insists it has sovereign rights to most Read More …
May 212013
MANILA, Philippines – The group of businessmen Manuel V. Pangilinan is eyeing 30,000 hectares of land in Davao Oriental for palm oil production. Pangilinan, the managing director and chief executive officer of Hong Kong based First Pacific Co. Ltd. said the conglomerate’s agribusiness unit PT Indofood has sent a team to Davao Oriental to assess available areas suitable for palm oil production. “We’re still waiting for the assessment of Indofood with regards to a potential palm oil plantation,” he told reporters yesterday. “So far only palm oil has been assessed,” he added. The total hectarage is only 10 percent of what Indofood has secured in Indonesia. Indofood’s palm oil cultivation area in Indonesia is placed at around 240,000 hectares, making it the third largest palm oil producer in the world. “It is large in Philippine standards but not in global standards,” said Pangilinan. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Pangilinan’s group is planning to put up an integrated palm oil production chain starting from palm cultivation to producing crude palm oil from palm branches. Crude palm oil could be processed further into cooking oil and other applications. “We will build not only a plantation but also factories,” said Pangilinan. He said the finished products could be used for domestic consumption or for export. Pangilinan earlier said that his group is looking at sizeable agricultural areas that could be leased for cultivation of palm oil, sugar, rubber, coffee and cacao. He said the conglomerate is more interested Read More …
May 212013
MANILA, Philippines – A technical rebound lifted share prices yesterday, allowing the bellwether index to claw back to the 7,300 as it snapped a three-day skid. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rebounded 0.72 percent or 52.20 points to 7,327.58, while the broader all shares index gained 0.38 percent or 16.90 points to 4,506.74. “Technical rebound for yesterday following corrections of the PSEi in prior sessions,” Freya Natividad, analyst at online brokerage firm 2TradeAsia.com. The local market bucked the trend in Wall Street, which closed lower as investors opted to stay on the sidelines ahead of more information regarding the Federal Reserve’s economic stimulus program. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.1 percent or 19.12 points to 15,335.28 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index shed 0.1 percent or 1.18 points to 1,666.29. Locally, most subindices were in the green, led by property firms that rallied 1.94 percent or 57.89 points to 3,047.63 while mining and oil was again a laggard, falling 0.8 percent or 140.88 points to 17,453.59. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Decliners outplayed advancers, 100 to 70, while 49 stocks did not change. Natividad said there was no good news to push share prices higher, with investors opting to cash in on recent gains. Turnover value improved to P9.72 billion from P8.72 billion on Tuesday. Top-traded Ayala Land Inc. rallied 2.75 percent or 95 centavos to P35.50 given news that the Securities and Exchange Commission already finalized its foreign ownership cap rules.
May 212013
MANILA, Philippines – Ayala-led Globe Telecom Inc. has tapped Dublin-based Nasc Technologies (Nasctech) to optimize and enhance the efficiency of its recently completed $790 million upgraded and transformed network. Robert Tan, chief technical adviser of Globe, said in a statement that the global provider of field operation support system would help further improve network quality, enhance efficiency in its field operations and improve customer experience. Under the partnership, Globe would utilize Nasctech’s Streamline solution to allow for a stronger degree of visibility and control over the management of its field operation resulting in reduced operating expenses. “We selected Streamline to transform our field operations due to the uniqueness of the platform and the willingness of Nasctech to customize to our needs. They have demonstrated their commitment by deploying all necessary resources to deliver the project against aggressive timelines,” Tan stressed. He pointed out that the move to tap Nasctech is in step with Globe’s transformation program covering the recently completed $700 million network modernization and the ongoing $90 million IT upgrade project. Nasctech was incorporated in March 2010 in Dublin and develops innovative enterprise grade field operating expenses management solutions, targeted at the mobile telecoms sector.
May 212013
MANILA, Philippines – The investment holding firm of taipan Lucio Tan grew its profits to nearly P4 billion in the first quarter, driven by its banking and property units. In a regulatory filing, LT Group said its net income climbed 36 percent to P3.8 billion. Consolidated earnings surged 53 percent to P5.8 billion “on the back of the strong performance of the conglomerate’s banking and property segments,” the company said. Revenues picked up 14 percent to P17.7 billion “due to higher revenues from banking, distilled spirits and property development, which offset the revenue drop in the beverage and tobacco sectors,” LT Group said. Specifically, Philippine National Bank (PNB) doubled its profits to P3.7 billion in the first quarter from P1.8 billion a year ago. Revenues of PNB, which merged with Allied Bank to create the country’s fourth largest bank in February, jumped 22 percent to P10.3 billion. Real estate unit Eton Properties Philippines Inc.’s profits surged to P127.5 million from P19 million last year as revenues almost doubled to P1.16 billion from P560 million. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “The increase in revenues is mainly attributed to higher percentage of completion of Eton’s residential and condominium units as well as higher leasing revenues from commercial projects,” LT Group said.