Five lovely beauties from Pangasinan Brotherhood will vie for Miss Pangasinan-USA on Aug. 31, between 5:30 p.m. and 1 a.m. at the Embassy Suites Anaheim-South, Garden Grove to coincide with its 35th foundation anniversary. This was announced by Pangasinan Brotherhood-USA President Eddie C. Ferrer and Marites O. Bautista, chair of this year’s gala night and beauty pagean. The […]
MANILA, Philippines – Several Turkish companies have indicated interest to tap local partners for the distribution of their products and for other business opportunities in the Philippines. In an email-message, Turkish Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Inc. (TCCP) said the companies are set to meet with Philippine firms through a business matching activity on Aug. 27 at the F1 Hotel in Bonifacio Global City. The visiting group is composed of the following firms: Ezinc Metal (solar water heater and storage tanks); Tuna Steel Doors (steel doors, interior doors and special doors); Envai (spices and condiments); Erkut Holdings (construction); Vendeka Group (information and communication technology products and solutions); S&L Fine Foods (importer of food from Europe and Australia); Altus Qualitas Trading Inc. (import and export of goods); JMJ Auction (household appliances and furniture); Erciyes Construction (construction) and Neva Trade (cosmetics and textiles). The event is seen to present opportunities for companies for business; is likewise expected to help enhance the economic ties between the Philippines and Turkey. The TCCP which is organizing the business matching activity, invites firms from Turkey regularly to come to the Philippines to explore opportunities here. The TCCP also arranges business and leisure trips for Philippine companies to Turkey to allow them to see if there are opportunities for them there. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Total trade between the Philippines and Turkey was valued at $171.37 million last year. Philippine merchandise exports to Turkey reached $42.18 million while imports from Turkey Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is studying a recommendation from the Tariff Commission to extend the safeguard measure imposed on imported testliner boards which expired in June. “It (Tariff Commission’s recommendation) is under evaluation,” Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo said in a text message. He declined to say however when the department would decide on the matter. As the DTI has yet to issue a decision, the tariff on imported testliner boards will remain at its current level of P1,211.15 per metric ton (MT). Testliner boards, which are usually made of recycled paper, are used to produce corrugated boxes for the packaging of consumer products. The Tariff Commission has recommended the extension of the safeguard duty on testliner boards, which expired on June 14, for another three years citing that it is necessary to give the local industry time to implement its adjustment plan and prepare for competition from imports. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 For the first year of implementation, the Tariff Commission is proposing a safeguard duty of P1,150.60 per MT, which represents a five percent reduction in the current safeguard duty of P1,211.15 per MT, following the DTI’s formula. The recommendation was made after the conduct of public hearings for the petition filed by the Philippine Paper Manufacturers Association, Inc. in November last year. The Tariff Commission noted that the local testliner board industry needs to prepare as it faces threat from imports, with tariff rates in various free Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM), the agency tasked to oversee the privatization of the government’s power assets, will review the terms for the sale of the 153.1-megawatt Naga Plant in Cebu after last month’s failed bidding. An official said the government would have to “review the price” as it may be too high to attract investors. “PSALM will assess if the price is attractive enough,” the official said, adding that the agency would again try to resell the plant this year. “PSALM will try to do another round of bidding this year,” said the source who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue. In July, the PSALM Bids and Awards Committee (PBAC) declared a failure of bidding for the Naga plant after only one bidder submitted documents deemed compliant by the committee. “Pursuant to the bidding procedures, should only bidder submit documentary deliverables that is deemed compliant by the PBAC, there shall be a failure of bidding,” PSALM said in a notice issued last month. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Under the original terms, the winning bidder will be required to issue a P93.86 million performance bond to PSALM. Sources said the failure of bidding was not expected after four groups earlier expressed interest in bidding for the plant. DMCI Holdings Inc., the Aboitiz Group, D.M. Wenceslao and SPC Power Corp. joined the pre-bid conference for the Naga Plant privatization. The Naga complex in Cebu Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – Employing cloud computing would help small banks increase their competitiveness, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said. “It’s a cost-effective way for them to be able to store, manage data without having to invest heavily in infrastructure,” BSP Deputy Governor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. told reporters. “Actually, it’s a solution which upgrades the competitiveness of small institutions,” he continued. The BSP recently approved the issuance of an enhanced Information Technology Risk Management for financial institutions which includes the need for banks and non-bank financial institutions to adopt cloud computing to improve their services. Cloud computing utilizes the Internet to store and share information. Firms can use a private cloud which will be solely for their own use or a public cloud, which the public or a group of companies can use. Firms can also opt to use a mix of both. “I think we’re actually a pioneer in formulating a regulation that allow banks to do cloud computing,” Espenilla said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Regulators in the Philippines and Singapore are the among the first in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to issue specific guidelines for the use of cloud computing for banks and other financial institutions, Espenilla said. The mandate in the Philippines is effective immediately, he said. Aside from the use of cloud computing, the BSP has ordered banks to replace automated teller machine (ATM) cards with EMV-enabled ones by January 2017. Banks were also mandated to change Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is set to issue a new report to assess the credit card situation in the country. “We are launching in the next few months a new reporting system called Credit Card Business Activity Report,” BSP Deputy Governor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. told reporters late last week. “So all banks, all credit card providers will be required to complete this… so we have a better handle of the information,” Espenilla added. Moreover, this new report will allow the central bank to determine the number of credit cards issued and the number of cardholders in the country. “We also want to know the aging of those so we have a smoother appreciation of the credit card situation,” Espenilla said. Aging is a tool employed by firms to estimate possible losses from uncollected receivables, in this case, from credit cards. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The central bank already tracks credit card debt through the local banks’ report of the loans they have extended. Credit card receivables grew nine percent to P143.684 billion in the first quarter from P131.870 billion in the same period last year. The increase in credit card receivables along with growth in other consumer loans was attributed by the BSP to the favorable macroeconomic conditions enjoyed by the country and the steady inflow of remittances from abroad.
Did the Commission on Audit (COA) err in reporting that P20 million in “pork barrel” funds went to a non-lawmaker between 2007 and 2009? President Benigno Aquino III thinks so. In a recent exclusive interview with GMA News, Aquino said the Luis Abalos referred to in the COA special audit report that bared the alleged misuse of pork barrel funds was incumbent Mandaluyong mayor Benhur Abalos, who was a member of the House of Representatives in 2007. “Yung pangalan nung isang tao na hindi miyembro nung Kongreso, ngayon sabi nila sa ‘tin miyembro ng Kongreso. Mali lang ‘yung binigay na first name,” Aquino said in a report aired on “24 Oras” on Wednesday. Abalos, son of former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Benjamin Abalos, served as Mandaluyong representative from 2004 to 2007. The report said Budget Secretary Butch Abad had himself confirmed that it was Benhur Abalos who was named “Luis Abalos” in the COA report. — Rie TakumI/KBK, GMA News
On August 21, 1983, then-Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., upon his arrival at the Manila International Airport, was shot dead by a lone assailant. He was then coming home from a three-year exile in the United States. One could only imagine what would’ve happened if Aquino — or Ninoy as Filipinos fondly call him — had decided to just stay in the US and fight the Marcos dictatorship from afar. But that was not his style. Dubbed by former Senate President Jovito Salonga as “the greatest president we never had,” Aquino did not let his exile stop him from empowering the country, and, as it turned out, also from becoming the family man his long absence prevented him to become. It all started with his health condition. In March 1980, Aquino, who was incarcerated and on hunger strike to protest his military trial under the martial law, developed chest pain that, upon a brief test at the Philippine Heart Center, turned out to be caused by blocked heart arteries. He had to undergo an emergency triple bypass, otherwise, his attending physician warned, he “may die in six days to six months.” Wary of his situation, Aquino refused offers to have his surgery in local hospitals or to have his doctors see him, as he feared what he might say under anesthesia. Through an offer made by the Deputy Minister of Defense, he wrote a letter to Marcos requesting a flight to America, though bound with two constraints: one, that he Read More …
Associated Press 8:42 pm | Wednesday, August 21st, 2013 With their boat safely docked in harbor, fishermen take the time to repair nets as they ride out approaching Tropical Storm Trami near Toucheng, north eastern Taiwan, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2013.Severe Tropical Storm Trami bore down Wednesday on heavily populated northern Taiwan, prompting schools and offices to close down as heavy rains threatened to trigger landslides and other disruptions throughout the island. (AP Photo/Wally Santana) TAIPEI — Severe Tropical Storm Trami struck Wednesday in heavily populated northern Taiwan, prompting schools and offices to close down as heavy rains triggered landslides and other disruptions throughout the island. At 5:30 p.m.(0330 GMT), the Central Weather Bureau said the center of the storm was located offshore, 100 kilometers (63 miles) northeast of the capital of Taipei, packing sustained winds of 108 kmh (68 mph) with gusts of up to 137 kmh. It was expected to complete its passage of the island’s northern coast by midnight, heading westward on a direct course toward the Chinese province of Fujian. An increase of 10 kph in sustained wind speed would cause the storm to be upgraded to typhoon status, though forecasters were unsure if that would happen. Earlier this week, Trami wreaked havoc in the Philippine capital of Manila and in outlying regions, leaving 15 dead, 41 injured and affecting more than 1 million people as floodwaters swamped wide swathes of the densely-populated region. President Benigno Aquino III visited emergency shelters to distribute food packs and cheer Read More …
By Tina G. SantosPhilippine Daily Inquirer 8:40 pm | Wednesday, August 21st, 2013 FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration has vowed to make the government’s loan assistance program for overseas Filipino workers more flexible by easing requirements and application procedures. “We’re [finding ways to make it] more flexible and accessible to OFWs. We are making adjustments in procedures and requirements in response to reports that some are finding it hard to avail of the loan assistance,” OWWA Administrator Carmelita Dimzon said. Dimzon clarified reports that the OWWA was asking for too many requirements that make it difficult for OFWs to avail of the program. “It’s not true, we have to clear that. The OWWA actually almost [does] not ask for any requirement. We just check with our database if they are members, active or non-active. Then we will provide them with certification, saying they are OFW or former OFW, which they have to show to Land Bank,” she said. “If they will avail of the loan on behalf of the member, they just need authorization. And then, of course, they have to undergo training on financial literacy, which only takes a day,” she added. Under the P2-billion reintegration program, the OWWA offering loans for OFWs, especially displaced or distressed workers, who decide to come home for good and put up or expand an existing business in the country. OFWs may apply for business capital loans ranging from P300,000 to P2 million from the P2-billion Reintegration Loan Fund offered Read More …