Maniolas

Dear Editor: The Kalikasang Dalisay para sa mga Mamamayan ng Plaridel (KaDaMay Plaridel), an affiliate of the Diocesan Ecological and Environmental Program (DEEP) of the Diocese of Malolos, wishes to correct the information released by Steel Asia/Del Pilar Steel (DPSI) in its press release on your paper, Philippine Star Business Section  on March 9, 2015 On major issues about people support and transparency: 1. From March 3-9, 2015 alone, we gathered more than 5,300 signatures from residents opposing the DPSI steel mill. Many more are signing, overcoming their fear of reprisals from local influential entities. The Diocese of Malolos, together with Bishop Oliveros and 142 priests of all its vicariates in Bulacan and Valenzuela, has issued letters supporting our opposition, first on 11 November 2014 and then again, on 11 March 2015.  Please refer to attached file. 2. DPSI increased proposed capacity by 50 percent (from 800,000 MT/y to 1,200,000 MT/y) without informing the public prior to its DENR ECC application. Until now there are 50 unresolved issues in the EIS even after the EMB Review committee comments were claimed to have been integrated in their EIS. On major issues about land: Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 3. For the public’s information, the site where the steel mill is proposed to be sited is located in an Environmentally Critical Area, being surrounded by productive ricefields and NIA irrigation facilities, as well as households as close as 100 meters from the site. 4. The proposed site has Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The House of Representatives wants the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to regulate non-government organizations (NGOs) in the wake of the involvement of some of these groups in the multi-billion-peso pork barrel scam. The committee on appropriations chaired by Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab has endorsed Bill 4449, which seeks to empower the SEC not only to register, but to monitor, regulate and if necessary, investigate NGOs as well. Ungab said clarifying the power of the SEC over NGOs would hopefully prevent these organizations from engaging in illegal or fraudulent activities. Laguna Rep. Joaquin Chipeco Jr., principal author of Bill 4449, said     the pork barrel scam has brought to the fore widespread abuses and malpractices committed by some NGOs. “While the 1987 Constitution has laudably enshrined people’s organizations (POs), cooperatives and NGOs as the fleshing-out of the people power legacy of the Filipino nation, it was not long before a number of these organizations were corrupted by predatory individuals in collusion with certain self-serving politicians,” he said. “Registered as non-stock, non-profit organizations, these fraudulent organizations have put honest-to-goodness foundations and NGOs into disrepute,” he said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 He pointed out that people wondered what the SEC has done to stop these NGOs from stealing public funds and if the commission had the power to do so. “The SEC excuses itself from responsibility by claiming that there is no law that specifically mandates it to regulate, monitor and investigate foundations, Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The local unit of Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors Corp. plans to manufacture a new vehicle model after the release of the government’s automotive policy. Outgoing president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (MMPC) Hikosaburo Shibata told reporters that as the Philippine automotive market is expanding, it is in their interest to manufacture a new vehicle model. “We would like to manufacture a new model after the CARS (Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy) program (is released). That is our key agenda,” he said. As the company recently opened its 21-hectare plant in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, which is bigger than its previous 18-hectare facility in Cainta, Rizal, MMPC’s incoming president and CEO Yoshiaki Kato said the firm wants to assemble a new vehicle model in the future. “We opened a new factory in Sta. Rosa. Our new factory has bigger capacity than old one. In future, we need to consider manufacturing new model,” he said. The CARS program is considered important and critical to the firm’s plan. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “MMPC has been in this country for more than 50 years. We want to continue providing world-class opportunities to Filipinos for the next 50 more years,” Kato whose appointment takes effect on April 1, said. Shibata declined to give details on the new vehicle model being considered for assembly in the Philippines, but said that pursuing the plan would still depend on the support the government would provide under the CARS Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s balance of payments position continued to surge to an almost two-year high in February, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported yesterday. A BOP surplus of $985 million was recorded last month, up 186 percent from the $345 million seen in February last year. This is the highest monthly surplus recorded following the $1.099-billion surplus posted in July 2013. The BOP is a summary of a country’s transactions with the rest of the world. Components include trade, foreign direct and portfolio investments, and even remittances from Filipinos overseas. A surplus means more money went into the economy during the period, while a deficit means otherwise. The February figure brought the two-month tally to a surplus of $1.121 billion, a reversal of the $4.135-billion deficit in the same period last year. The BOP posted in a deficit in 2014 after nine consecutive years of being in surplus. Central bank data showed a BOP deficit of $2.879 billion for last year, a turnaround from the $5.085-billion surplus in 2013. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The deficit was blamed to the normalization of policy in the US especially as this resulted in a reallocation of assets among markets and economies. The US Federal Reserve in January last year started reducing its massive monthly purchases, ending the stimulus in October. Analysts now expect the US central bank to begin increasing rates by the middle of this year. For this year, the BSP has forecast the BOP Read More …