June 2013 – Page 27

PNoy decision awaited on May 9 report on death of Taiwanese fisherman

News

Jun 152013

PNoy decision awaited on May 9 report on death of Taiwanese fisherman

President Benigno Aquino III has yet to issue any instructions on the report he received earlier this week about the incident wherein a Taiwanese fisherman died on May 9 during an encounter involving the Philippine Coast Guard. “Let’s just wait. Everyone is anticipating what the results will be. At this point we have not received any instructions apart from confirming that the report has been submitted to the Office of the President,” Deputy presidential spokespersons Abigail Valte said on government-run dzRB radio. Earlier this week, the National Bureau of Investigation’s final report on the May 9 incident was submitted to Malacañang, more than a month after the encounter between a Philippine fisheries surveillance ship and a Taiwanese fishing vessel. A Taiwanese fisherman was shot dead in the incident, prompting Taiwan to demand an apology from the Philippine government. Taiwan has frozen the hiring of new labor from the Philippines, and issued a travel alert discouraging travel to the Philippines. The tension has since eased somewhat after a parallel investigation of the incident by both sides. — ELR, GMA News

PCSO cited

Economy

Jun 152013

It has always been this column’s policy to give credit where credit is due. We just learned that the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), over a span of one week, garnered two noteworthy awards. First was an excellent rating from the Civil Service Commission (CSC) for strict compliance with the Anti-Red Tape Act (ARTA). And according to PCSO chairperson Margie Juico, the award is something to be happy and proud about. For years, PCSO had been handicapped by poor and inefficient services. Deplorably, it had also been used as a political milking cow and dumping ground for favored politicians. The mandate to maximize and extend charity assistance to the poor had been sideswept, among other things, by these practices. Juico said that the new PCSO Board has been trying to restore public faith in the agency as the primary government arm for the welfare of the poor. She pointed out that “the tasks have not been easy especially since there are detractors from the outside and within. But I think we have made some significant breakthroughs. The award is meaningful in more ways than one, because it showcases the agency’s very much improved quality of service to its poor clients, especially in their medical needs.” PCSO, for instance, has set up a central public service office desk which serves as a public assistance and complaints desk. A comfortable waiting area with TV monitors for the queuing system has been designated. Free water for the clients is also daily provided and Read More …

Phl banks among group with high risk factors

Economy

Jun 152013

Phl banks among group with high risk factors

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines has been grouped among countries whose banking systems have higher risk factors. The country is among Group 7 nations, with Group 1 as those with lowest risk levels while Group 10 has the highest risk levels. Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Ratings Services’ recently released its Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment (BICRA), which assessed 86 banking systems worldwide. “We also present economic and industry risk trends that we are introducing this year for those banking systems,” S&P said. The Philippine banking system’s credit risk to its economy was ranked “very high” by the rating agency. Among the countries with “low risks” are Switzerland and Germany, while nations with “extremely high risk” include Belarus, Jamaica, Greece, Egypt, Cambodia and Vietnam. The Philippines is lumped with Latvia, Uruguay, Bulgaria, Iceland, Jordan, Morocco, Portugal, Indonesia, Ireland, Russia and El Salvador in Group 7. These countries banking systems have strong or high-risk impact on their respective economies. BICRA is scored on a scale of 1 to 10, ranging from what S&P’s view as the lowest-risk banking systems (Group 1) to the highest-risk (Group 10). The BICRA methodology has two main analytical components: economic risk and industry risk. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The rating agency’s industry risk ranking of the Philippine banking system is a 6 with the highest industry risk level at 10 (Belarus). Some of the 1 ranking, or the lowest risk level, are Hong Kong, Canada, Germany, France and Singapore. The country’s banking Read More …

OFWs earn add’l P12.5M from SSS Flexi-fund savings

Economy

Jun 152013

OFWs earn add’l P12.5M from SSS Flexi-fund savings

MANILA, Philippines – More than 32,000 qualified overseas Filipino workers with active accounts at the Social Security System’s (SSS) provident fund earned P12.54 million in additional income last year, or three times the amount of earnings on their Flexi-fund savings in 2012. SSS senior vice-president and international operations division head Judy Frances See said nine out of every 10 SSS Flexi-fund members qualified for the first-ever release of the annual incentive benefit (AIB) which is based on OFW-members’ personal Flexi-fund equity as of end of the applicable year. “Flexi-fund members with no full early withdrawal claims or benefits filed in 2012 qualified for the AIB. They do not need to file an application for availment because the SSS automatically posts the AIB amount to their flexi-fund accounts.The more Flexi-fund savings a member has, the higher the AIB amount will be,” See said. For 2012, the member with the biggest Flexi-fund equity received an AIB amount of P106,498. According to See, the total AIB is taken from the Flexi-fund’s actual investment income at the end of the year minus the total guaranteed earnings already credited to the accounts of flexi-fund members. The SSS approved higher interest rates as basis for flexi-fund guaranteed earnings effective July 2012. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The prevailing low-interest environment encouraged SSS to revise the program’s policies last year to help OFW-members earn higher from their flexi-fund savings. Previously, the computation of guaranteed earnings was solely based on the 91-day T-bill rate, Read More …

Fertilizer prices fall in May

Economy

Jun 152013

MANILA, Philippines – The average dealers’ price of four fertilizer grades fell month-on-month and year-on-year in May, the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) reported. Data released by BAS late Friday showed that this was caused by the reduction of prices in most regions. The monthly average dealers’ price of Urea in May was placed at P1,194.51 per sack, down 0.54 percent from the previous month’s price level and 8.68 percent from the price in the same period last year. In most regions, Urea prices were lower than the previous month’s levels. The biggest price cuts were recorded in Zamboanga Peninsula and SOCCSKSARGEN with respective price reductions of 3.54 percent and 3.22 percent. Urea prices in Davao Region and ARMM remained at the previous month’s price levels. The average dealers’ price of Complete in May was P1,238.16 per sack. Prices slid by 0.21 percentand 2.56 percent month-on-month and year-on-year respectively. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 In most regions, prices went down by 2.0 percent from the previous month’s records. The biggest markdown was noted in Zamboanga Peninsula at 1.13 percent. Prices of Complete in ARMM remained at last month’s price levels. The monthly average dealers’ price of Ammosul was placed at 750.86 per sack in May, down by 0.44 percent and 2.27 percent against month-on-month and year-on-year. Month-on-month, prices in most regions fell – by 0.09 percent in Cagayan Valley and by as much as 2.08 percent in Zamboanga Peninsula. In ARMM, Ammosul retained April’s price of Read More …

Father’s values are family values

Economy

Jun 152013

Somebody once said, “Father’s Day was both a joy and a worry as my kids were growing up. I was always afraid they were going to give me a present that I couldn’t afford.” What’s the definition of a dad? What are the characteristics of a father? Here’s an old material somebody posted in the net, and I’d like to share this with you: BECAUSE I’M A DAD… • I must hold the television remote control in my hand while I watch TV. If the thing has been misplaced, I’ll miss a whole show looking for it, though one time I was able to survive by holding a calculator. • When I lock my keys in the car, I will fiddle with a wire clothes hanger and ignore your suggestions that we call road service until long after hypothermia has set in. Oh, and when the car isn’t running very well, I will pop the hood and stare at the engine as if I know what I’m looking at. If another guy shows up, one of us will say to the other, “I used to be able to fix these things, but now, with all these computers and everything, I wouldn’t know where to start.” • When I catch a cold, I need someone to bring me soup and take care of me while I lie in bed and moan. You never get as sick as I do, so for you this isn’t an issue. Business ( Article MRec ), Read More …

Shell chief underscores benefits of regional integration by 2015

Economy

Jun 152013

Shell chief underscores benefits of regional integration by 2015

MANILA, Philippines – The benefits of regional integration are numerous not just for the different economies but for the private sector as well as it would encourage companies to further improve their services and products, the Philippine chief of a multinational oil firm said. In a paper on regional integration, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. country manager Edgar Chua said these initiatives could provide an opportunity for companies like Shell to further improve themselves and compete more “through operational excellence.” “Hence, we benchmark our product and services against the best of the best in the world. Benchmarking is our way of knowing where we are vis-à-vis our peers and competitors,” said Chua in an article posted on the company’s website. In Asia, negotiations for various regional integration initiatives have taken off. One such initiative is the negotiations for the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The proposed RCEP, which includes all the 10 ASEAN economies plus their six free trading agreement partners namely, Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea, and New Zealand, would create the world’s largest free trade bloc with huge impact to the world economy, according to the Asian Development Bank in its ADB Outlook 2013. The RCEP economies have a combined total population of 3.5 billion, a gross domestic product of $21.4 trillion and trade receipts of $12 trillion, according to the ADB. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Chua said besides the RCEP, the so-called ASEAN economic community (AEC) has also emerged. With a target Read More …

Aboitiz unit on track with Sabangan hydro project

Economy

Jun 152013

Aboitiz unit on track with Sabangan hydro project

MANILA, Philippines – Hedcor Inc., a fully owned subsidiary of Aboitiz Power Corp., is on track with the completion of its Sabangan hydroelectric power project in the Mountain Province, officials said during the weekend. The Sabangan project will supply 14 megawatts of renewable energy by early 2014, the company said. It is also track with its expansion projects including the Tudaya hydroelectric project in Davao del Sur. Hedcor president and chief operating officer Rene Ronquillo said the company also has small hydropower projects in Bukidnon, Negros and other parts of the Cordilleras. “We believe there’s strong community support because the nice thing about small hydro is that it provides inclusive growth and inclusive development in the communities.” Hedcor, a run-of-river hydropower plant developer and operator, recently celebrated its 35th anniversary. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The company started operating in 1978 the Lower Talomo hydropower plants in Davao, then owned by National Power Corp. (Napocor), the state-owned power firm. In 1985, Hedcor assumed operation and maintenance of the Asin hydropower plants owned by the City of Baguio. The first Hedcor-built hydropower plant was constructed in Benguet in 1988. To date, the company has a portfolio of 19 power plants with a combined capacity of 155 MW. Run-of–river hydropower utilizes the flow and elevation drop of rivers to generate electricity. A portion of the water from the river is diverted into a conveyance pipe and then to a turbine to generate electricity. Once the electricity has been Read More …

PLDT unit hikes stake in BusinessWorld

Economy

Jun 152013

MANILA, Philippines – MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., the media arm of telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) has increased its stake to take control of business newspaper, BusinessWorld. PLDT chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan told reporters on the sidelines of the company’s stockholders meeting late Friday that its acquisition of more shares in BusinessWorld is a done deal. He said that in a meeting held last week, BusinessWorld’s stockholders approved the increase the firm’s capital. “The details are being worked out as to the amount of new money that we will inject to BusinessWorld,” he said. “We would certainly be north of 50 percent, after it is accomplished,” he said further. MediaQuest holds a 30 percent stake in BusinessWorld. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 It likewise has a 20 percent interest in The Philippine STAR and an 18 percent stake in Philippine Daily Inquirer. Established in the 1990s, MediaQuest is owned by the Beneficial Trust Fund of PLDT. It owns media establishments such as Associated Broadcasting Co. (TV5), Nation Broadcasting Corp. and Cignal Digital TV. In a related development, PLDT corporate secretary Lourdes Rausa-Chan said in a disclosure to the local bourse, the firm’s board of directors has approved the declaration of a cash dividend of P2.438 million on all outstanding shares of voting preferred stock of the company for the quarter ending July 15. The payment date is on July 15. “The cash dividend was declared out of the company’s audited unrestricted retained earnings as Read More …

EU gets deal on trans-Atlantic trade pact

Economy

Jun 152013

EU gets deal on trans-Atlantic trade pact

LUXEMBOURG– The European Union worked around French objections on Friday to agree on a free trade negotiating mandate for sweeping talks with the United States that President Barack Obama wants to officially open next week. Under Friday’s deal, trade ministers at a meeting in Luxembourg agreed to France’s demand to keep its movie and television industry out of the hotly anticipated trans-Atlantic talks. But, they said they could possibly come back to debate it at a later time, meaning the deeply divisive issue could resurface. The outcome should allow Obama and his EU counterparts to announce the start of negotiations for a deal expected to provide a big boost to growth and jobs by eliminating tariffs and other barriers that have long plagued economic relations. A free trade pact would create a market with common standards and regulations across countries that together account for nearly half the global economy. France’s longstanding objections, which turned a simple ministerial meeting into a 12-hour negotiating marathon, showed the challenges ahead. Within the EU alone, there is a rift with some nations big on protecting struggling sectors with subsidies and more pro-free-trade member states. Beyond the audiovisual sector, major problems are expected to emerge over agriculture and transport. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Friday night though, Finland’s European Affairs Minister Alexander Stubb tweeted optimistically about the prospect of trans-Atlantic negotiations: “Play ball!” he wrote. All other EU nations have vowed to protect the culture industry as well, but the large Read More …

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