PRELIMINARY investigations to determine whether safeguard duties should be imposed on imported newsprint, and galvanized iron (GI) and pre-painted galvanized iron (PPGI) to protect local industries will be completed by January and February, respectively.
THE ASIAN Development Bank (ADB) has increased its funding for development projects in the Asia-Pacific by a tenth in 2011-2012 as it recognized the continuing problems of poverty and climate change in the region.
THE TRANSPORTATION agency hopes to award the P3.769-billion contract to expand the capacity of one of the mass railway systems in the metropolis before the year ends, its top official said.
Philippine Daily Inquirer 3:25 am | Friday, December 27th, 2013 Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. AP FILE PHOTO The drug trafficking cartel known as Sinaloa derives its name from Mexico’s remote state. It is said to be the ancestral land of the country’s most notorious traffickers, bound in an “alliance of blood.” Prominent members are cousins by marriage or brothers-in-law. The cartel is headed by Mexico’s most wanted man, Joaquin (“El Chapo” or “Shorty”) Guzman. Often described as Mexico’s most powerful drug kingpin, Guzman escaped from prison in 2001 and then went on a wave of killings in an attempt to dominate the country’s highly lucrative drug trade into the United States. He has been on the run with a $5-million reward on his head since. Guzman was on the Forbes list of billionaires from 2009 to 2012. He was cut from the 2013 list. Forbes said it was no longer confident Guzman, rumored to have been killed in a shootout on the Guatemala border in February, had enough money to count in its rankings this year. About 90 percent of all cocaine consumed in the United States come from Mexico, which is also a major source of heroin, methamphetamines and marijuana. By most estimates, Sinaloa has achieved a market share of 40 to 60 percent, which may be translated to annual revenues of some $3 billion. In the 1980s, Guzman joined the Guadalajara cartel, which was headed by a former policeman known as El Padrino. After El Padrino’s capture in Read More …
Philippine Daily Inquirer 3:21 am | Friday, December 27th, 2013 Federal tax lien: A legal claim against current and future property (i.e. houses, cars) and rights to property (i.e. wages, bank accounts). A lien is the US government’s legal claim against a taxpayer’s property in the event that the taxpayer neglects or fails to pay a tax debt. A tax lien arises automatically once a taxpayer fails to pay in full taxes owed within 10 days after the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sends the first notice of taxes owed and demand for payment. A tax lien attaches to assets such as property, securities and vehicles, as well as to future assets acquired during the duration of the lien. Once the IRS files a notice of federal tax lien, it may limit the taxpayer’s ability to get credit, among other effects. Levy: A legal seizure of property or rights to property to satisfy a tax debt. When property is seized (“levied”), it will be sold to help pay the tax debt. If wages or bank accounts are seized, the money will be applied to the tax debt. The seizure is made only after three requirements are met: The IRS has assessed the tax and sent a notice and demand for payment. The taxpayer has neglected or refused to pay the tax. The IRS has sent a final notice of intent to levy and levy notice at least 30 days before the levy. Notice of intent to levy: The IRS sends Read More …
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO The country’s fight against illegal drugs is facing a new formidable nemesis. A notorious Mexican drug cartel, described by US authorities as the world’s most powerful organized crime group, has traveled across the globe and found its way into the country, the Philippine National Police disclosed on Thursday. PNP Director General Alan Purisima said the presence of the Sinaloa drug cartel in the country was confirmed during a raid on a cock farm in Lipa City on Wednesday during which a Filipino couple and a Chinese-Filipino were arrested after weeks of intelligence operations by local and US antinarcotics personnel. The raid on the LPL Ranch at Barangay Inosluban yielded 84 kilograms of shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) with a street value of P400 million. “Going after this group will entail more hard work,” Purisima told a news briefing at Camp Crame. “We have confirmed that the Mexican (drug traffickers) are already here,” said Senior Supt. Bartolome Tobias, chief of the PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force. Along with agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Tobias’ men carried out the operations in Lipa on Christmas Day. “We have previously received reports that the Mexicans are in the country. But this is the first time we have confirmed that the Mexicans are already here,” Tobias said. Purisima said it was still unclear how the Sinaloa drug group was able to gain a foothold in the Philippines. He said that the Mexicans were apparently “coordinating with the Chinese.” “They Read More …
KC Montero and Rhian Ramos (MNS Photo) Rhian Ramos and KC Montero have ended their relationship after almost two years of being a couple, the actress confirmed Tuesday. “If there’s such a thing as a good breakup, then I have one,” the 23-year-old TV star said, referring to her amicable split with Montero. While she did not specify when they decided to end their relationship, Ramos said it happened before typhoon “Yolanda” made landfall last November 8. Ramos is only happy to remain friends with Montero, saying they continue to regularly see each other even after the separation. “Sometimes kasi, the people that you really want to keep in your life, you just make sure they’re there… I want him to be a friend that I can have around for a lifetime,” she said. Asked if she is ready to entertain new suitors, Ramos said, “No, not really. I just want to be able to take the next bit of time to discover myself and be good to me and, wala, just grow up by myself.” (MNS)
President Benigno S. Aquino III signs into law Republic Act No. 10633, the Php 2.265-trillion General Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2014, in a ceremony at the Rizal Hall of the Malacañan Palace on Friday (December 20). Witnessing the ceremony are Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. and Representatives Pangalian Balindong, Maria Zenaida Angping, Cesar Sarmiento and Emil Ong. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – With more than a week before the end of the year, President Benigno Aquino III on Friday signed the P2.265-trillion budget for 2014 sans the controversial Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF). At a ceremony in Malacañang, Aquino signed the 2014 General Appropriations Act, which is 13 percent or P258.7 billion higher than the current year’s budget. Of the P2.265-trillion budget, 37.2 percent (P841.8 billion) will go to social services; 26.2 percent (P593.1 billion) to economic services; 16.7 percent (P377.6 billion) to debt burden; 16 percent (P362.6 billion) to general public services; and 4 percent (P89.5 billion) to defense. The 2014 budget is supposed to be free of PDAF, which has been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, although budget watchdogs claimed discretionary funds were not completely removed from it. According to the Department of Budget and Management, most of the P25.2 billion originally allocated for PDAF have been “rechanneled” to the regular programs and projects of agencies, especially those needed for response to recent disasters. In a statement on Friday, Senate President Franklin Drilon commended the “speedy” approval of the budget, saying this will “translate to the timely Read More …
President Benigno S. Aquino III bids farewell to United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon at the Malacañan Palace Grounds after the courtesy call on Saturday (December 21, 2013). The UN Chief is also scheduled to visit communities that were devastated by super typhoon Yolanda in Tacloban City, one of the areas hit hardest by the super typhoon when it made landfall in the Visayas and Southern Luzon last November 08, 2013. (MNS photo) MANILA (AFP) – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on donor nations Sunday to ramp up aid to typhoon-battered Philippines as it grapples with a funding shortfall on the long road to recovery. “We must not allow this to be another forgotten crisis,” Ban told reporters a day after touring the storm-ravaged city of Tacloban. He said the UN had only achieved 30 percent of the $791 million in aid it had appealed for to boost relief and rehabilitation efforts in areas devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan last month. “I am appealing (to) the donor community, to speed up, scale up their support,” Ban said, adding that he had met with the ambassadors of key donor countries in Manila on Sunday. He said he was deeply moved and inspired by his visit to Tacloban on Saturday, where despite the many challenges “people are working hard to recover”. Ban acknowledged some bottlenecks in relief efforts in the immediate aftermath of the typhoon owing to logistical challenges in reaching remote central Philippine islands impacted by the typhoon. However, Read More …
President Benigno S. Aquino III, accompanied by Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Emmanuel Bautista, inspects the troops during the 78th AFP Founding Anniversary at the AFP General Headquarters Grandstand in Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City on Friday (December 20). This year’s theme is: “Tagumpay Noon, Bayanihan Ngayon, Karangalan Nating Lahat Bukas”. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) — The government will be acquiring more ships, choppers, and cargo planes for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), President Benigno Aquino III said Friday. “Hindi na po manhid ang gobyerno sa pangangailangan ninyo. Ang tugon natin tuloy-tuloy na modernisasyon,” Aquino said during his speech at the AFP 78th founding anniversary celebration in Camp Aquinaldo. He specifically said that the Aquino administration will be purchasing two more C-130 cargo planes to add to the existing three and two more naval helicopters in addition to the three they recently purchased worth P1.33 billion He also said that they will be adding more ships to BRP Gregorio del Pilar and BRP Ramon Alcaraz . “Malaki ang inaasahan sa ating mga kawal kaya naman marapat lang na bigyan kayo ng estado ng sapat na kapasidad upang tumugon sa inyong tungkulin,” he said. Aside from the new equipment, the President also assured soldiers that the government is working on other benefits for them and their families. “Sa maayos na pamamahala nasusuklian natin ng makabuluhang suporta ang pagmamalasakit ninyo sa ating bayan makakaasa kayong… isinusulong ng gobyerno ang makakabuti sa inyong kapakanan,” he said. Read More …