(First of two parts) IN THIS INSTALLMENT of our series on the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) initiatives of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), we will tackle Action Plan 8 on the revisions to Chapters I, II and VI of the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Tax Administrations (2010) (the “2010 OECD TP Guidelines”), which addressed a number of transfer pricing issues on intangibles, namely:
Woman of many hats: Salud Tesoro, here in her first Tesoro’s shop on Escolta, has been hailed as a souvenir trade pioneer, a patron of local crafts, a service-driven shop owner, and a steadfast and resilient businesswoman. MANILA, Philippines – Despite the global outlook of the Filipino, our cultural heritage remains deeply inlaid, carved, woven, or embroidered in our collective consciousness. Credit for this goes to a handful of people like Salud Tesoro, who, despite our fixation on all things foreign, went against the odds and built one of the most enduring edifices dedicated to Filipino folk craft. “Tesoro’s is not just a store. We are the repository of the cultural heritage of the country,” explained Tesoro’s current CEO Beng Tesoro, the youngest daughter of its founding matriarch. “In our stores are the best the Filipinos can do and show the world.” Now, with the country’s tourism boom and a renewed lease on aesthetic patriotism, Filipino handicraft stores are now standard fare in popular retail centers. But, despite our malls’ quick, consumption-driven commercial strategies, the freestanding Tesoro’s store remains intact, enjoying the same level of success it did when it was the only store of its kind 70 years ago. “It didn’t happen overnight,” shared Tesoro, who has a Kellogg MBA. “It was something that we were able to do because we stuck to the values of our founder, my mom, which is ‘customer first, Filipino first, honesty, integrity, innovation, leadership,’” she enumerated. The legacy of the past In order Read More …
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MANILA, Philippines–Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz has urged overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to rise above the “balikbayan box” mentality and think about venturing into business instead. “OFWs should not be blinded by the fact that they are earning good money. I have heard so many stories of OFWs and their painful struggles abroad to earn for their families but who had forgotten to save and invest for the rainy days. And they come home for good only to realize that they have to start all over again. This is a vicious cycle that OFWs themselves can put an end to by saving and investing their hard-earned income,” Baldoz said in a statement. Baldoz said OFWs must learn to resist the urge to spend too much to fill balikbayan boxes with goods for their loved ones back home but instead save the money and use it to invest. “They should open their eyes to the reality that when they come home, they should have a substitute or alternative source of income for their families. They should think of ways their hard-earned savings from long years of working abroad could be put to good and profitable use. That’s what financial literacy is all about,” she said. Changing behavior Ricardo Casco, International Organization for Migration mission coordinator, said enabling OFWs toward financial literacy entails changing their behavior. “Our task is to make OFWs realize that they have an option. That they do not have to spend their lives working abroad with nothing left when Read More …
MANILA, Philippines–Catholic bishops have appealed to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in countries where Christians are persecuted to avail themselves of the government’s offer of repatriation and come home. “I hope that OFWs will be endowed with the wisdom to think of their lives and well-being ahead of the opportunity to earn money,” said Bishop Ruperto Santos of the Diocese of Balanga, chair of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines-Episcopal Commission on Migrant and Itinerant People (CBCP-ECMIP). Santos, in a post on the CBCP website, said his office had teamed up with the Department of Foreign Affairs in an effort to persuade OFWs in countries like Libya, Syria and Yemen to take advantage of the government’s offer of repatriation. “In a conflict-ridden country like Libya, we have more or less 4,000 countrymen working in oil fields, hospitals and medical facilities to whom this offer of repatriation is being extended. Unfortunately, only a few want to take the flight home,” he said. But he said officials of the Philippine Embassy in Syria had talked to 5,000 to 6,000 Filipino migrant workers about responding positively to the repatriation option, while in Yemen roughly 1,000 Filipinos are awaiting the government’s crisis management team. Remain in the country Santos reaffirmed the position of the CBCP-ECMIP that Filipinos should remain in the Philippines to work, instead of having to seek greener pastures elsewhere at great sacrifice to their families. “As we celebrate the 29th National Migrants Sunday, we would like to highlight the beauty of Read More …
ARMI TRENAS: In order to attract the right talent back to the Philippines, the needs of the whole family have to be considered.photo by Ma. Esther Salcedo-Posadas ARMI Stephanie Treñas is a globe-trotting Filipino human resources consultant. She is the founder, president and principal consultant of Learning and Performance Partners Inc. (LPPI). She has been traveling since 2009 to African countries like Sudan, Chad, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo in order to conduct human resource training programs for the United Nations Defense Peacekeeping Organization. Another client, Southeast Asian Association of Central Bankers has also referred her services to other companies in the region (Malaysia, Singapore, and Cambodia). Her key learning and development programs include three courses: foundation of instructional design, evaluating training results and courseware development workshops. She is also the first certified talent economist in the Philippines, a program popularized by Gyan Nagpal, author of the book Talent Economics: The Fine Line Between Winning and Losing the Global War for Talent.” LPPI is currently preparing for the upcoming Certified Talent Economist program to be held on June 3 to 5. (Details are available at www.learnperformance.com) Talent economics “Talent economics teaches that we have to look at talent as a resource, especially at this time when we are competing for talent,” says Treñas. She explains that some companies recruit only to end up losing talent later because they did not look at it strategically. She continues, “For example, a lot of companies would bank so much on retirement Read More …
VINTAGE APPRECIATION Jeremiah Nueve with his vintage Tachihara large format camera, which he uses for black and white photos. “It was a very stiff competition. I competed with established and professional photographers but my enthusiasm toward the project landed me the job,” Jeremiah Nueve, 39, an engineer, says on the photography sessions for Amtrak last November. Amtrak is a publicly funded railroad service, which provides intercity passenger train service in the United States. The project that opens more opportunities for him did not come in just a click. It took him years and quite a fortune to improve his craft that keeps his sanity. Nueve is also one of the few photographers who shoots using vintage cameras and 36mm films. US Air Force to photography In 1989, Nueve was sent by his parents to study in the US. When he acquired citizenship, he served at the US Air Force (USAF) from 2002 to 2006. It was the height of the war on terrorism of the Bush administration. MOVING ALONG An Amtrak train in San Joaquin Valley, California. COURTESY OF JEREMIAH NUEVE FOR AMTRAK “I started photography in 2004 while serving in the USAF as a stress reliever. I worked 12 hours daily and by the time weekend came, I was mentally and physically drained. It was during this time that I searched for something to keep me sane. Photography came into the picture,” he recalls. Those years were tension-filled. Instead of being deployed to the Middle East, their squadron was Read More …