Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – Government agencies are not speaking with one voice on a bill pending in the House of Representatives seeking a 10-percent tax on soft drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages, including juices and so-called energy boosters. While the Department of Health (DOH) has supported the bill of Nueva Ecija Rep. Estrelita Suansing, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) has opposed it. In a position paper submitted to the House ways and means committee chaired by Marikina Rep. Romero Federico Quimbo, SRA Administrator Maria Regina Bautista-Martin said the proposed tax “will negatively affect incomes of sugarcane farmers and hamper development plans in the sugar industry.” She said it is most likely that the tax would be passed on to sugar farmers.  “Most of our farmers have small farms. About 80 percent of farms have areas of five hectares or less. Any sugarcane farmer who is raising productivity and improving efficiency to better compete against imported sugar and sugar-containing products and against sugar substitutes like high fructose corn syrup cannot afford to shoulder either directly or indirectly any new tax measure,” she said. She added that the soft drinks industry accounts for six percent of total national demand for sugar. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 She pointed out that the sugar-producing sector is now in the middle of an upgrading program to prepare it for regional and global competition. “A tax on soft drinks may interfere with this objective,” she said. Earlier, Visayas congressmen led by Negros Occidental Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) plans to conduct across the country more than 80 information sessions focused on the European Union’s Generalized System of Preferences Plus (EU GSP+) to allow more businesses to benefit from the scheme. According to the DTI, it is holding more than 80 information sessions under the Doing Business Free Trade Areas program focused on the EU GSP+ in key cities and towns in the country to help exporters understand how to avail of the scheme. “As tariffs go down, we need to work more closely with Philippine businesses to help them navigate the rules of origin requirements and to hurdle other barriers, for instance product standards,” Trade assistant secretary Ceferino Rodolfo said. The EU GSP+ is a scheme which allows beneficiary countries to export 6,274 products to any of the 28 members of the EU bloc at zero tariff for a period of 10 years. The Philippines, which is the only beneficiary country of the scheme in Southeast Asia, secured EU GSP+ status in December last year. Products that may avail of the duty free access  include coconut and marine products, processed fruit, prepared food, animal and vegetable fats and oils, textiles, garments, headwear, footwear, furniture, umbrellas, and chemicals. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Prior to securing EU GSP+ status, the Philippines was a beneficiary of the regular GSP program which only covered 6,209 products, with 2,442 products subject to zero duty and the rest subject Read More …

I read books. Sometimes, I listen to them. Thank God for audio books. Technology has been providing us with almost limitless means to enjoy books and gives us no reason to say we cannot find the time to read books. Charlie “Tremendous” Jones said, “We will be the same person in five years that we are today except for two things: the people we meet and the book we read.” And how right he was. Months ago, I finished listening to the audio book version of “The Innovators” by Walter Isaacson, a brilliant writer. He wrote Steve Job’s biography. This book traced the history and origins of the people responsible for creating computers and the Internet, both of which, are so prevalent in our daily lives today. I initially thought that the book would appear “techy” for the nerdy folks, but uninteresting for me. Oh how wrong I was. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The moment I started listening to the introduction and first chapter, I felt engaged. The impact on me was so strong that I visited the Computer History museum in Mountain View, California last December. Let me share some things I learned from the book and the things I saw in the museum. Then let me connect them with what is happening today and what we need to do to prepare ourselves for the immediate future. “Will machines replace humans?” This is an old debate question stemming from the pioneers themselves. Here is Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The local benchmark index zoomed to a new record close yesterday following a worldwide rally triggered by the European Central Bank’s bond-buying stimulus program. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) soared 1.79 percent or 132.62 points to record a new all-time high of 7,548.93, shattering its previous high of 7,490.88 set last Jan. 14. It was the third time the PSEi broke into new record levels in just the first month of the year. The All Shares index likewise joined the climb, inching up by 1.55 percent or 67.18 points to end at 4,403.42. “Buying resumed as players heed their guidance from Wall Street’s overnight ascent. Part of drivers were ECB’s $69 billion per month asset purchase plan which is seen to keep low interest rates at bay,” said Jason Escartin, investment analyst at F. Yap Securities. All three indexes in Wall Street finished in the positive territory. The Nasdaq grew 1.78 percent or 82.98 points, the S&P 500 gained 1.53 percent or 31.03 points, and the Dow improved 1.48 percent or 259.70 points. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Asian shares were also up with Japan’s Nikkei increasing by one percent. Locally, counters were all in the green led by property firms and holding firms which surged more than two percent each. Only the services counter grew by less than one percent during the session. Market breadth turned out healthy once more as advancers subdued decliners, 114 to 68, while 42 stocks were Read More …

THE Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Davao Region listed a total of 2,170 fishermen from 46 local government units (LGU) who will benefit from Targeted Actions to Reduce Poverty and Generate Economic Transformation (Target) in the Fishery Sector program of the agency. This program is the government’s poverty alleviation and inclusive growth program for the fishery sector where a high poverty incidence has been noted. BFAR-Davao Director Dr. Fatma M. Idris, in an interview with Sun.Star Davao on Friday, said they were able to identify the 2,170 beneficiaries through the National Program for Municipal Fisherfolk Registration (FishR), which is cross matched with the list of the poorest of the poor of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Based on the data furnished to Sun.Star Davao, most of the beneficiaries are coming from Davao del Sur with 913. The top three LGUs in Davao del Sur with the most beneficiaries are Santa Maria (274), Santa Cruz (165), and Sarangani (140). Davao Oriental has the second most number of beneficiaries at 660, of which Mati City has the most number at 203, followed by Lupon (120), and Banaybanay (78) and San Isidro (78). Compostela Valley has a total of 313 beneficiaries, Davao del Norte has 187, and Davao City has 97. Idris said they have set aside some P10 million for the beneficiaries and the Target program in the region. She said they will be budgeting at least P10,000 worth of livelihood assistance for each beneficiary. She Read More …