BSP relaxes ‘know-your-customer’ requirement for Yolanda victims

 Entertainment
Dec 042013
 
BSP relaxes ‘know-your-customer’ requirement for Yolanda victims

(Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas logo) MANILA  (Mabuhay) – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has relaxed the “know your customer” requirement until the end of the year, as the onslaught of super typhoon Yolanda destroyed essential documents. The monetary board, the policy making body of the BSP, approved to waive temporarily, the presentation of official identification documents in processing transactions of typhoon victims. Under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, the know your customer is a requisite among financial institutions to prevent banks from money laundering activities. It establishes a means of verifying their clients’ identities. It covers residents of affected areas namely Leyte, Samar, Cebu, Iloilo, Capiz, Aklan and Palawan provinces, with daily transactions of up to P50,000 or its foreign currency equivalent. The clients however, should present written certification that they are typhoon victims, although notarization is not required. Once the relaxed period lapses, identification documents will be required and records will be updated. (MNS)

2 Pinoys plead innocent in UAE drug case

 Entertainment
Dec 042013
 
2 Pinoys plead innocent in UAE drug case

Dubai Court of First Instance (photo courtesy of www.7daysindubai.co)m MANILA (Mabuhay) – Two Filipinos on Monday pleaded innocent before a United Arab Emirates court on charges that they were trying to sell 0.26 gram of amphetamine. Both Filipinos, aged 33 and 29, were accused by prosecutors of trying to sell the drug for Dh800, UAE news site Gulf News reported late Tuesday. However, the two Filipinos, who were not identified in the report, admitted before the Dubai Court of First Instance that they were taking amphetamine and methamphetamine. Presiding Judge Wajdi Al Menyawi adjourned the case to hear prosecution witnesses on December 19. Prosecutors charged the two with possessing a banned substance for trading purposes and taking amphetamine and methamphetamine. They asked the court to implement a life sentence of 25 years and a maximum fine of Dh200,000. During the court proceeding, an Emirati anti-narcotics police major testified an informant had tipped them off to the two Filipinos. He claimed the two were looking for someone to buy amphetamine for Dh800, prompting police to arrange a sting operation. Following the sting operation, police found the police money in the pocket of one of the Filipinos, who were not identified in the report. Police also seized in their possession a small weighing scale “used by drug peddlers to weigh drugs,” the major added. But a search of the Filipinos’ house did not yield more drugs. The Gulf News report said an Emirati lieutenant has claimed that the two defendants tested positive Read More …

‘Banana Split’ cast invited to wedding, insists Melai

 Entertainment
Dec 042013
 
‘Banana Split’ cast invited to wedding, insists Melai

Jason Francisco and Melai Cantiveros (MNS Photo) Soon-to-be newly weds Jason Francisco and Melai Cantiveros cleared the air about the controversy surrounding their wedding and the cast of the ABS-CBN gag show “Banana Split.” It was earlier reported that Angelica Panganiban and other “Banana Split” cast may not be invited to the wedding next month. “Invited talaga sila kaya lang hindi pa na-release ang invitation. Ngayon lang talaga namin na binigay,” said Cantiveros. Cantiveros revealed that Francisco even personally delivered the invitations for the cast of the show to co-host Ryan Bang, who will be the best man at the wedding, and Paul Jake Castillo. “Doon pa talaga nagka-issue sa Banana Split?” Cantiveros asked in disbelief. Cantiveros has been part of the cast since 2011. Cantiveros also said she did get hurt by recent remarks made by her co-hosts. Aside from the issue about the wedding invitation, Pooh, another ‘Banana Split’ regular, allegedly questioned Francisco’s capacity to support his future wife and their forthcoming child. “Actually, sa totoo lang may kaunti akong tampo sa kanila. Kasi parang nagtatampo ako na in-uunderestimate nila si Jason. Siyempre, pag nagmamahalaan, bahala na ang saging, basta loving.” Cantiveros also wished the cast was as truthful and direct as her. “Kung sasabihin niyo ganoon, sa personal na lang sana. Kasi nasaktan talaga yung pamilya ni Jason. Sobra talaga akong na-hurt,” she said. Francisco, the subject of the controversy, expressed his frustration over the topic. “And hindi ko maintindihan eh, lahat naman kami masaya para sa Read More …

Power restored in parts of Leyte and Iloilo; Yolanda death toll at 5,235

 Entertainment
Dec 042013
 
Power restored in parts of Leyte and Iloilo; Yolanda death toll at 5,235

Rescue workers carry a body bag containing the body of a five-year-old boy as they walk past houses destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan in the town of Tanauan November 20, 2013. The Philippines and international armed forces and aid agencies are struggling to get help to devastated areas due to the extent of the destruction, which has left four million people displaced, threatening Aquino’s reforms that have helped transform the country into one of Asia’s fastest-growing emerging economies.(MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – The death toll from Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) continued to climb and has reached 5,235 as of Saturday morning even as power has been restored to some parts of Leyte and Iloilo, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said. In its 8 a.m. update, the NDRRMC also said at least 23,501 people were injured while 1,613 are still missing. At least 2,157,529 families or 10,009,000 people were affected in 10,724 villages in 44 provinces. Of these, 74,842 families or 347,426 people are staying in 1,382 evacuation centers. The NDRRMC said at least 552,419 houses were destroyed while 560,312 were damaged. Meanwhile, the NDRRMC said power was restored to Ormoc City in Leyte, one of the areas hit hard by Yolanda. Power was also restored in Anilao, Banate, Barotac Viejo and Ajuy in Iloilo. (MNS)

OFWs a typhoon lifeline

 Entertainment
Dec 042013
 
OFWs a typhoon lifeline

By Jason Gutierrez A man arranges his peso bills inside a currency exchange shop Friday, Nov. 9, 2007, in Manila, Philippines. The dollar closed Friday at 42.795 pesos, where the peso rose to a new seven-year high on prospects of further U.S. interest rate cuts and likely increases in remittances from Filipinos overseas. (AP Photo/Pat Roque) TACLOBAN  (AFP) – The Philippines’ giant band of overseas workers, already regarded as national heroes for toiling in foreign lands, are coming to the rescue again as they dig deep to send more cash back to their typhoon-hit homeland. With relief workers overwhelmed by the magnitude of this month’s disaster and unable to provide adequate support to the millions of survivors living in flattened towns, Filipinos abroad are proving a crucial, direct lifeline. In the ruined city of Tacloban, farmer Teudolfo Barmisa queued up at a money transfer outlet on Tuesday and withdrew the equivalent of $600 sent by his daughter who works as a maid in Hong Kong. “The money will go to buying food first, then other supplies to help us rebuild our home, like plywood and cement,” Barmisa told AFP. Barmisa was among hundreds of people withdrawing cash from financial outlets in Tacloban, many of which had just re-opened more than a fortnight after Super Typhoon killed at least 5,240 people and destroyed or damaged one million homes. Barmisa’s daughter and the other 10 million Filipinos working abroad are commonly referred to at home as “mga bagong bayani”, or “new heroes”, Read More …

A southern drive with the new Volkswagens

 General
Dec 032013
 
A southern drive with the new Volkswagens

MANILA, Philippines – The last time I drove a Volkswagen, the car had its engine way out back and it emitted a very distinctive chugga-chugga sound. It was the family van known in various parts of the world as “Microbus,” “Kombi,” or just plain “Bus.” To VW cognoscenti, it was also known as the Type 2. I was in high school then, and I remember my father being particularly proud of the fact that our 1979 Kombi was the last of the German-made VW’s—subsequent local VW’s being sourced from Brazil. Even earlier than that, I carpooled with a schoolmate who lived one block away. Even if they were several houses away, I could hear him and his mom driving up in their pristine white Beetle. Years after that Beetle and our Kombi, I restored a friend’s Brasilia. I was in college and I had a small car painting and body repair shop. The Brasilia underwent a “body lift” restoration—“body lift” then being the oft-used term for a body-off-the-frame repair. (VW’s of that time had body-on-frame construction—as opposed to today’s unit body or monocoque construction.)        Fast forward 25 years. It’s 2013 and the cars from Wolfsburg, Germany are certainly not my father’s Volkswagens. The wizards from Wolfsburg turned everything 180 degrees. The rear-wheel-drive/rear-engine layouts have become front-wheel-drive/front-engine ones. The new VW’s have also graduated from their humble “people’s car” origins and now bristle with state-of-the-art drivetrains and heretofore higher levels of luxury and equipment. Which is why I looked forward to Read More …

Audi flaunts innovation in Guangzhou

 General
Dec 032013
 
Audi flaunts innovation in Guangzhou

Guangzhou, CHINA – The Hai Xin Sha Tourist Park Island is a master-planned showpiece of art and culture that had famously hosted the Asian Games in 2010. Today, it hums with local and foreign tourists who take in the cool air and sprawling, manicured sights. At its heart beside the Pearl River stands an exhibition hall. Beyond it are four immaculate white spheres a short distance from each other. This is the inspiring venue of the Audi Innovation Exhibition. Even as Tokyo, Los Angeles, and Guangzhou itself bannered its respective motor shows, Audi chose to highlight its affinity for creative automobile solutions through technology—giving credence to its famous tagline “vorsprung durch technik” (advancement through technology). Audi China brand marketing head Rene Köneberg remarks that it is the first time the Ingolstadt-based car manufacturer has staged something this large in Asia, and adds that the four large spheres are actually exhibit pavilions that highlight Audi’s advancements in motorsport and vehicle technology (not to mention reflect its iconic four rings). One of them houses “The Conference of Birds,” an art installation conjured by New York-based French musician and visual artist Sebastien Leon Agneesens. Inspired by the aforementioned Audi mantra, Agneesens filled the room with hundreds of silver foil balloons on the ceiling and the floor. Dangling small speakers resonate with the sound of chirping, and at the center is a dissected version of an R8 E-tron’s chassis. This, says Audi, “presents a new stage in Audi’s development of its ultra-lightweight construction technology—a Read More …

Insular Life resumes operations in Tacloban, Ormoc

 General
Dec 032013
 
Insular Life resumes operations in Tacloban, Ormoc

MANILA, Philippines – Insular Life has resumed operations in Tacloban and Ormoc after being shut down by Super Typhoon Yolanda, which devastated parts of the Visayas when it hit the region on Nov. 8. The company’s Tacloban City office opened its doors to policyholders and their beneficiaries on Nov. 26 amid piles of debris, intermittent communications connection, and crippled basic facilities. “We would have wanted to open earlier because our building sustained only minor damage. However, the city was virtually a war zone — residential houses were blown away, roads unpassable due to debris and fallen electric posts, no electricity, water, transportation, communication and government services,” said Insular Life chairman and CEO Vicente R. Ayllon. Company employees and agents in Tacloban also suffered some personal losses, and needed to be given time and assistance to attend to their concerns, he said in a statement. “A team from our head office and Cebu was deployed to provide the much-needed services to our policyholders,” he added. Its office in Ormoc resumed operations last Monday (Dec 2). In Tacloban, Insular has been able to service death claims, policy loans and dividend withdrawals, and even accepted premium and policy loan payments. But due to the absence of stable communications, electricity, water and other vital facilities, its workers are only able to provide limited services and operate on shortened business hours. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Company officials, said however, this is temporary and they will try to be fully operational Read More …

BSP bats for more reforms Stronger insolvency framework pushed

 Economy
Dec 032013
 
BSP bats for more reforms Stronger insolvency framework pushed

MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the country needs a stronger insolvency framework to reduce the losses incurred by the bankrupt firms’ creditors. “We really need a stronger insolvency framework and this weakness is not only true for the Philippines but it’s also true for other countries, as highlighted by the Asian financial crisis (in 1998),” BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. told reporters on the sidelines of the Forum on Asian Insolvency Reform. “A number of reforms have already been implemented but the task now is really to improve the quality… not only the framework but also the implementing agencies have to be empowered,” Tetangco said. Tetangco explained that weak insolvency systems were one of the key problems of Asian markets that eventually led to the Asian financial crisis  in 1998. Tetangco said the government needs to focus on the proceedings following a company’s declaration of bankruptcy, specifically the liquidation and division of remaining assets to creditors. “Having a well-developed insolvency law is important for the development of an effective insolvency system. But this is not enough, as we have seen in countries that have modernized their laws. We need to ensure its proper, effective and timely implementation,” Tetangco said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “It is equally important thereforeto focus on developing strong institutions that would interpret and implement the laws. Combined, a well-developed insolvency law and strong institutional capabilities provide a good foundation for a smoothly functioning insolvency system,” Read More …

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