DAVAO CITY — The Regional Development Council of Davao is pushing for a separate contract award for the Francisco Bangoy International Airport in this city instead of bundling the project with other airports under the public-private partnership (PPP) program.
THE TRANSPORTATION department wants a January signing for an agreement covering the building of a second common station near SM City North EDSA, connecting Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT-7) and Light Rail Transit 1 (LRT-1), in a move it hopes will help resolve a contract dispute with SM Prime Holdings, Inc.
IN A PREVIOUS column (http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Economy&title=the-oecd-action-plan-on-base-erosion-and-profit-shifting&id=99561), we wrote about the general framework of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) initiative, why addressing BEPS is a key priority for many governments across the globe, and the 15-point BEPS Action Plan drafted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The Action Plan aims to ensure that profits are taxed where economic activities generating the profits are performed and where value is created. In this column, we tackle the OECD Report on Action 1, which addresses the tax challenges of the digital economy.
After reports emerged late last year that Manny Pacquiao was selling his sprawling North Forbes home for more than P700 million, the high society crowd immediately got excited by the rumor. This was especially since a done deal at that price would automatically raise property values in the exclusive Makati enclave the way the boxing champion’s 2011 purchase did. To recall, Pacquiao bought that property from banker Lorenzo Tan for P388 million—a price which was then already significantly higher than the last transacted price in that area. The current rumored asking price of P708 million would see the purchase price almost double in less than four years. But no sooner had the rumor made its first round when doubters emerged. In the first place, there were already doubts among the upper crust of society that the sale was being prompted by his snooty neighbors’ frowning upon his working class guests. “It’s a good story,” said one resident in the area. “But that’s not the real story.” And what’s the real story? Apparently, the upkeep on the home is quite expensive, considering that its acquisition was funded partly by a loan from RCBC (which is run by the home’s former owner, Tan). That loan, alone, costs P7 million in monthly amortization. That amount supposedly makes up almost half of the boxing champion’s monthly expense of—brace yourselves—P15 million, for the upkeep of his household, his charitable work, the expenses for his … uhm … entertainment, and the salaries for his large entourage. Read More …
Everyone says ‘I love you.’ But how many people will commission 83 Mona Lisas for you? When your name is Mona Lisa, the jokes can sometimes write themselves. Grade school art class might prove particularly trying. Your smile might be subject to scrutiny, even in a pre-selfie world. Of course, for some Mona Lisas, it’s not so bad. If you’re artist Mona Santos, you might even find a whole exhibit in your honor. “The Mona Lisa Project” is a collection of pieces inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci’s iconic masterpiece, commissioned by artist and gallerist Soler Santos as a sort of love letter to his wife, Mona. First shown in CCP’s Bulwagang Fernardo Amorsolo gallery in 2013 with 57 pieces, it has since snowballed into an 83-piece strong collection. “It just came from a small conversation about Mona Lisa souvenirs and wondering why we don’t buy them,” Soler explains. “Parang, ‘Sayang!’ We decided to just buy small works from artists, so that we could build a unique collection and support local artists. We initially just asked for letter-size works, keeping in mind our funds and lack of storage.” Lifestyle Feature ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: For the project, Soler was able to assemble works from 83 of the local contemporary art scene’s brightest names: Allan Balisi, Lyle Buencamino, Gino Bueza, Zean Cabangis, Annie Cabigting, Froilan Calayag, Bjorn Calleja, Roberto Chabet, Jonathan Ching, Iya Consorio, Louie Cordero, Jigger Cruz, Don Djerassi Dalmacio, Kawayan de Guia, Bembol dela Cruz, Ranelle Dial, Read More …
Anita Linda in the 2008 film Adela directed by Adolfo Alix Jr. As is the established pattern of Philippine movies, veteran actors need to kiss their careers goodbye once they reach within shouting distance of becoming a senior citizen. The premium on youth is such that there is an expiration date on young stars who are launched at 16, and after playing grandmother in the movies slowly fade away. This is a pattern accepted with happy exceptions like Gina Pareño, Eddie Garcia and Anita Linda. At her advanced age, Anita (Alice Lake in real life) had been content to live her life with daughter Francesca and her three children in Alabang Hills where Anita has stayed for 20 years, tending the garden and caring for her two cats. This was the schedule of her day-to-day life until Adela came along and changed her life immensely. Adela was the Cinemalaya entry of a woman going 90 and who celebrates her birthday alone when her children fail to visit her. The film directed by Adolfo Alix Jr. opened the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival and went on to win the young Critics Circle Best Film of 2008. It gave Anita the Best Actress awards in the Southeast Asia Film Competition category of the Cinemanila International Film Festival and at the Gawad Tanglaw Awards by academicians. Anita winning the 1952 Maria Clara Best Actress award for her title role in Sisa The last movie where she was lead was the 1998 Ang Babae sa Bubungang Lata directed by the Read More …
Former Kapuso child actor Miggy Jimenez could be the next matinee idol.
Rocco Nacino on his blessings: “Lahat ito is just temporary so i-share dapat sa mga nangangailangan.”
There is still no hope or comfort in the current gloomy situation for tens of thousands of homeless typhoon victims that devastated parts of Mindanao and Eastern Visayas region in 2013. Thousands of typhoons “Yolanda” and “Sendong” victims spent their Christmas season in one-room makeshift shelters with no roof, due to government’s ineptness to built houses for them despite a billion-peso budget allocated for such purpose. Secretary Dinky Soliman of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and local officials of the affected regions have been blaming each other for the continued “snail pace” construction of houses for typhoon victims, including its relief operations. About P2.57 billion has been allocated by the government through the DSWD to construct houses for the typhoon victims. However, up to this time, it was reported that only a few hundreds were built, most of them without any roofing at all. A report from the Commission on Audit (COA) showed that portion of the fund was used by some government officials for other purposes not directly related to assisting the disaster stricken victims recover from their sad plight. COA also reported that more than P1.8 billion in Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) funds allocated to DSWD remain unliquidated. As government officials continue to bungle their operations to alleviate the plight of these people, another typhoon hit parts of Mindanao and Visayas last week, triggering floods and landslides and resulting in the death to more than 50 people. The latest typhoon to hit country code named Read More …
Authors of a recent study said they now understand better how to distinguish obese people who will be more prone to ill health from those who may be more protected.©Tom Oliveira/shutterstock.com (MIAMI–AFP) – US scientists encouraged 20 obese people to eat extra fast food for several months, and found that about a quarter stayed in good health despite the additional pounds they gained. The study in the January 2 edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation was led by a team of scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, Missouri. Subjects were encouraged to eat 1,000 extra calories per day, mainly by frequenting fast food restaurants with the goal of adding six percent of their body weight. “This was not easy to do. It is just as difficult to get people to gain weight as it is to get them to lose weight,” said chief author Elisa Fabbrini, assistant professor of medicine. Those not suffering from ailments typically associated with obesity at the outset of the study — such as insulin resistance, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and excess liver fat — did not have these problems even after adding about 15 pounds (seven kilograms) to their already overweight frames, said the findings. The results mirror what scientists have seen in the general population, which is that about a quarter of obese people do not appear to suffer from metabolic complications that can lead to heart attack, diabetes and stroke. But those whose did suffer from metabolic Read More …