February 2014 – Page 13

Fil-Am Honolulu city councilor to run for US Congress

News

Feb 162014

Fil-Am Honolulu city councilor to run for US Congress

INQUIRER.net US Bureau 4:49 pm | Sunday, February 16th, 2014 Joey Manahan HONOLULU – Joey Manahan, current Honolulu City Council Member and Filipino immigrant, declared his candidacy for Hawaii’s First Congressional District House seat. If elected, Manahan would be the first Filipino immigrant to serve in the US House of Representatives. “The American Dream is what led my mother to bring me to the US from the Philippines when I was just ten years old. This country gave us opportunities we otherwise would not have had and I’m so grateful for that,” said Manahan. “But today, too many Hawaiians feel that dream slipping through their fingers. We need leaders in Congress who understand what it takes to ensure that every person living in this great nation has the chance to succeed,” Manahan added. Manahan was born in Makati, Philippines and came to America with his mother, Maite. They first lived in San Jose, California, before moving to Honolulu. His grandfather was Dr. Constantino Manahan, a prominent obstetrician in the Philippines. In addition to his current role as City Council Member, Manahan previously was elected to the Hawaiʻi State House of Representatives and spent two years as the Vice Speaker of the Hawaiʻi Legislature. He has focused on upgrading schools and housing projects and promoting Hawaiʻi’s tourism industry for job creation. Manahan also authored the first successful legislation in any state to designate October as Filipino-American Heritage Month. He has advocated for improved veterans’ benefits and reunification among the families of Read More …

The Fab Four Live!

News

Feb 162014

NEW YORK— The first sign was hair. Not the Broadway musical, with its trademark nudity on stage, psychedelic light show, and celebration of the Age of Aquarius, but one’s own hair. You might say our rebellion had its roots, forgive the pun, in the simple act of allowing one’s locks to grow to lengths frowned upon at school and polite society. Nothing of course compared to our more radical confreres at the University of the Philippines, for whom demonstrations were part and parcel of student life. In contrast, in the staid precincts of Ateneo’s Loyola Heights campus, we had a Prefect of Discipline patrolling the halls on the lookout for infractions of the dress code: neckties and regulation haircuts. The fact that he was a balding ex-Marine added a frisson of irony to his search-and-destroy missions. The administration was afraid that even a slight loosening of the code would lead to us students letting our hair down, literally and figuratively, so best not to have too much of it. As editor of Heights, the literary magazine, I remember wanting to publish an editorial railing against this curtailment of our right, but the moderator (a professor who had oversight) nixed it, saying the university was acting in loco parentis. To us, it was simply loco. The agents provocateur were the English lads, the Fab Four: John, George, Paul and Ringo. My introduction to the Beatles was when my oldest brother, Henry, who had been living in New York, returned for a Read More …

The kid from the mall

News

Feb 162014

Michael Christian Martinez of the Philippines competes in the men’s short program figure skating competition at the Iceberg Skating Palace during the 2014 Winter Olympics, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014, in Sochi, Russia. AP For roughly a half hour on Friday, Michael Christian Martinez was the top male figure skater at the Sochi Olympics. He skated early in the finals, earning a score that put him ahead of several other athletes, including another young man from Kazakhstan where it was minus 27 Celsius as the competition was wrapping up. The top-ranked skaters eventually took over the competition, led by Japan’s Hanyu Yuzuru, who won the gold. Nobody really expected Martinez to win a medal, and he himself said was quoted in interviews that he’d be happy just to make it to the finals. And he did that just that, and with so much class that he impressed TV commentators and the international media who celebrate with Filipinos the incredible journey of Southeast Asia’s first Olympic competitor in figure skating. And one thing also is worth noting: Martinez didn’t finish last as one would expect. Instead the kid from a hot tropical country out-skated athletes from five countries with snowy and icy winters. Martinez finished 19th, but who would argue that it was still a triumphant performance? And we have to thank him for turning Sochi into a memorable Olympics for Filipinos, especially given the country’s recent forgettable summer Olympics . And we now could also look forward to the upcoming winter Read More …

COL Financial finalizes more partnerships to boost income sources

Economy

Feb 152014

COL Financial finalizes more partnerships to boost income sources

MANILA, Philippines – Listed online brokerage firm COL Financial Group Inc. is finalizing more partnership deals with top asset managers and investment houses looking for new channels to distribute their products. New agreements will make COL a one-stop shop for investments while boosting its fee-based income, an executive said. “The intention of COL is to give customers a chance to invest in different funds out there,” said company president and CEO Conrado Bate said. “Our role here is not only to provide these funds on the website but also to select funds that will meet their investment objectives at the least possible cost,” Bate said. In January, the online brokerage firm entered into an agreement with Ayala Corp.’s BPI Asset Management and Trust Group and Sun Life Asset Management Company Inc., allowing COL to distribute mutual funds and Unit Investment Trust Funds, investment schemes. Given these deals, COL can also start offering money market funds, bond funds, fixed income funds, actively-managed funds, balanced funds and index funds, making it a one-stop shop, Bate said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 These deals, Bate said, will allow COL to cater to different client preference and risk profile. COL is confident its technological platform is ready to handle not only online trading transactions but investments in professionally-managed funds. “[Partnering with different institutions] will also help expand the revenue base of COL,” Bate said, adding that management fees provide stable earnings and more predictable flow of revenues. Given continuing market Read More …

ADB extends $250-M loan for LGU review

Economy

Feb 152014

MANILA, Philippines – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has extended a $250-million loan to help the Philippines design ways to improve the financing system of local government units (LGUs). The reform program will receive parallel co-financing of $150 million from the Agence Française de Developpement. The loan will be used to fund a comprehensive review of the country’s Local Government Code “to boost municipal revenues streams for the provision of better basic services and to assist local economic development and job creation.” ADB’s Southeast Asia Department senior public management specialist Juan Luis Gomez noted that the Philippines has taken significant steps to improve the financing system of LGUs and foster transparent and accountable local governance practices. “Reforms should help raise revenues and therefore improve services,” Gomez added. Despite these efforts, weak local tax bases and flaws in the design of transfers make it hard for poorer local governments to deliver the services their constituencies require. As a result, regional disparities in living standards remain wide. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 This, however, could be efficiently addressed with a review of the Local Government Code. LGUs represent close to 17 percent of total government expenditures and play a critical role in the provision of basic services like health, education, or housing and community development. The reforms include performance-based mechanisms such as the Performance Challenge Fund, which ties greater access to funding to performance, and the “Bottom-up-Budget,” which can improve budget transparency and alignment of national and local Read More …

Educational plans top insurance priorities of Mindanao consumers

Economy

Feb 152014

Educational plans top insurance priorities of Mindanao consumers

MANILA, Philippines – Educational plans, health and life insurance are the priority of Mindanao residents according to a survey by Sun Life of Canada (Philippines) Inc. It noted that 42 percent of respondent said getting an educational plan stood as the most urgent concerns in the next couple of years, while 36 percent said they plan to purchase health insurance. Conducted in Davao and Cagayan de Oro with 200 respondents in the second half of 2013, the survey showed that more Mindanaoans aim to purchase products including educational plan, health insurance, life insurance, and pension plan. Twenty-eight percent is considering purchasing life insurance and 24 percent intend to get a pension plan. However, Sun Life said the intention does not necessarily ensure the respondents will actually push through with the purchase. The Mindanaoan’s budget is still allocated to food, house rental or mortgage, and education. But only one percent of the respondents stated that investments and insurance are included in their monthly budget allocation. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “What they could be missing is that it is with investments that they could grow their money and insurance is their means to protect it,” the survey indicated. While they will have to spend for both, the benefits may well be worth it. “In the long run, these could benefit them far better than entrusting all their money in a savings account – which, according to the survey, is how Mindanaoans define financial security (37 percent) as Read More …

IPOPHL vows to get Phl out of USTR watchlist

Economy

Feb 152014

IPOPHL vows to get Phl out of USTR watchlist

MANILA, Philippines – As the Philippines continues to be kept out of the Office of the United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) Notorious Markets List, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) intends to strengthen efforts to be taken off the watchlist of countries with intellectual property rights (IPR) violations. According to IPOPHL director General Ricardo Blancaflor, being out of the latest Out of Cycle Review of Notorious Markets for a second year is a positive development. The USTR first took off the Quiapo shopping district from its Notorious Markets List in its report released in December 2012. The Quiapo shopping district was among the markets which took action to address widespread availability of pirated or counterfeit goods. “These are welcome developments but we are still working on additional submissions to strengthen our national position with regards to the 301 watchlist,” Blancaflor said. Given the recent development and favorable feedback of American companies and associations on the government’s efforts to protect IPR, the IPOPHL hopes the country would be taken off the watchlist. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Some American companies and associations gave positive comments on Philippine efforts to address IP protection and we acknowledged these. We addressed constructively some of the concerns,” he said. In the USTR’s 2013 Special 301 Report, the Philippines was retained in the watchlist of countries with IP violations, subject to further review of progress in key areas. Countries placed on the watchlist are those which need to address underlying Read More …

Phl to benefit from EU-Asean open skies

Economy

Feb 152014

MANILA, Philippines – The proposed “open skies” agreement between the European Union (EU) and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is expected to result in higher standards of safety and regulation as well as more reasonable fares for airline passengers. Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said the ASEAN would have to first achieve a single aviation market as part of the ASEAN integration in 2015 before entering into a comprehensive air agreement with the EU. “It is still a long way. This is still in its infancy stages. Immediate goal is to first achieve an ASEAN single aviation market. This should be achieved as part of ASEAN 2015,” abaya said. According to Abaya, the proposed “open skies” between EU and ASEAN would translate to higher safety standards for airlines as well as cheaper fares for airline passengers. “This will allow competition, higher standards of safety and regulation and more access to flights and more reasonable fares for our people,” he said. Civil Aeronautics Board executive director Carmelo Arcilla said the EU has been helping the Asean achieve a single aviation market through a project called the Asean Air Transport Integration Project (AATIP) that serves a venue for exchange of info on practices within ASEAN and the EU and capacity building for aviation authorities of ASEAN. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “The proposed EU-Asean comprehensive air transport agreement is a welcome development and is something to look forward to especially so, that the trend in Read More …

Butuan Airport, ordered closed after an airplane accident, may reopen Sunday

News

Feb 152014

Butuan Airport, ordered closed after an airplane accident, may reopen Sunday

Operations at the Butuan Airport may resume by 4 p.m. Sunday, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said Saturday after a Cebu Pacific airplane went off the runway earlier that day. According to the CAAP, the Butuan Area Manager has issued a runway closure order which will be in effect until Sunday afternoon. CAAP said the closure order “may be revised or cancelled earlier if status thereat changes.” Cebu Pacific flight 5J 220 from Butuan to Cebu was grounded “after the aircraft nose wheel went off the runway 30 of Butuan Airport as it was turning in preparation for takeoff.” The accident prompted Cebu Pacific to cancel the Butuan-Cebu flight as well as “two turn around flights of Cebu Pacific from Manila to Butuan and back on flights 5J 785/786 and 5J791/792 and Cebu Butuan Cebu 5J 223/5J22.” The plane, an Airbus A319, has been grounded and the CAAP has sent a team of aircraft accident investigators to determine what caused the accident. — JDS, GMA News

Miriam: Enrile's presence in Tuason-Gigi Reyes meeting enough to prove conspiracy

News

Feb 152014

Miriam: Enrile's presence in Tuason-Gigi Reyes meeting enough to prove conspiracy

Miriam grills Ruby Tuason on ‘pork’. Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago questions potential state witness Ruby Tuason during the continuation of the Senate blue ribbon committee’s inquiry on the alleged P10-billion pork barrel scam on Thursday, February 13. Benjie Castro The mere presence of Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile during the meetings between his former chief of staff Atty. Gigi Reyes and Ruby Tuason over alleged pork barrel scam deal was enough proof of conspiracy. Santiago was referring to Tuason’s affidavit that was one of the subjects in Thursday’s Senate probe on the supposed P10-billion pork barrel fund anomaly. In a news release on Saturday, Santiago’s camp quoted the affidavit as saying Tuason had coffee with Gigi in the presence of a “silent” Enrile. “Enrile would join us [Tuason and Reyes], when we are almost done, for a cup of coffee..,” the news release quoted from Tuason’s affidavit. “He did not stay long. After coffee, he would leave and sometimes he would come to pick up Atty. Gigi Reyes,” the statement quoted the affidavit further. In the news release, Santiago also said Tuason’s statement was “sufficient to pin down Enrile, under the principle of conspiracy in criminal law.” “…his mere presence is sufficient to convince the court to a moral certainty that he was the mastermind pulling the strings of Reyes, so that they could profit from the illicit scam,” Santiago added. She also said Tuason’s statement proves Enrile’s guilt “to a moral certainty.” “Human experience teaches that there was no reason for Read More …

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