THE PHILIPPINES’ chief tax collector will submit this month the draft revenue regulation for the Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Act (TIMTA) for the Finance department’s approval.
Jan 052016
Jan 052016
ESCALATING TENSIONS in the Middle East may adversely impact worker deployments to the affected countries and cause a corresponding drop in remittances, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) governor said, though he noted that the effect could be temporary.
Jan 052016
INDONESIA may relax rules on the export of metal concentrates following the collapse in metals prices, while keeping a ban on raw ore shipments, according to Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said.
Jan 052016
Chargé d’Affaires Elmer G. Cato delivers his remarks during a reception hosted by the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Iraq. The reception, which was held at the Babylon Hotel on 30 December 2015, was attended by Iraqi officials, members of the diplomatic corps and the private sector. (Philippine Embassy Photo) BAGHDAD – The Philippines recognizes the progress Iraq has made in the fight against human trafficking and is looking forward to assisting Baghdad in its efforts to strengthen its existing mechanisms to address this concern, the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad said. “We would like to continue our collaboration with Iraqi authorities in combatting human trafficking,” Chargé d’Affaires Elmer G. Cato said in his remarks during a reception the Philippine Embassy hosted to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Manila and Baghdad. . Chargé d’Affaires Elmer G. Cato and former Iraqi Ambassador to Manila Ahmed Kamal Hassan Al-Kamaly, head of the Department of Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, slice the ceremonial cake during a reception hosted by the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Iraq. The reception, which was held at the Babylon Hotel on 30 December 2015, was attended by Iraqi officials and members of the diplomatic corps and the private sector. (Philippine Embassy Photo) “The Philippines is encouraged by the positive steps that the Iraqi Read More …
Jan 052016
President Benigno S. Aquino III inspects the facilities of the temporary shelter at the Cogon Relocation Site in Barangay Cogon, Guiuan during the visit to the province of Eastern Samar on Friday (November 07). More than 200 Yolanda survivors will benefit from the 133 housing units. It was in Guiuan where super typhoon Yolanda, the strongest typhoon ever recorded, made its first landfall on November 08, 2013. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – More than two years after super typhoon Yolanda ripped through the Visayas region, the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) on Thursday said the implementation of projects, programs, and activities (PPAs) envisioned to bring forth rehabilitation and recovery to the devastated areas is nearing completion. In a press statement, NEDA said the overall weighted physical accomplishment (OWPA) of completed and ongoing Yolanda PPAs now stands at 63.2 percent – 30.3 percent completed and 33.1 percent ongoing. NEDA said most of the ongoing projects are scheduled to be completed by 2016. In October 2014, weeks before the first anniversary of Yolanda, President Benigno Aquino III signed the “Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Recovery Plan” or CRRP which identified a total of 18,400 projects, programs, and activities (PPAs) to be implemented in 171 cities and municipalities in 14 provinces in Visayas affected by super typhoon Yolanda. The total funding requirement for the CRRP’s implementation is P167.86 billion ($4 billion), which the government said will be primarily sourced from the national budget. In April this year, Aquino through Memorandum Order No. 79, transferred the Read More …
Jan 052016
Chinkee Tan Have you experienced any of these? Waking up in the morning to see text messages about your loans. You can already be phone-pals with the credit card collection agent with the frequency of his calls. All your income and salary just go to paying your debts. You can’t sleep at night from thinking of how or where to get money to pay off your debts. Having an income that falls short is a sad situation to be in, but there is nothing more tragic than if you are already at the end of your rope or up to your neck deep in debt. It is not just a road block but a dead-end. No detour, not u-turns. Even if you want to pay up, you really don’t have anything more to give. They can search your house or drain you dry, but they will not be successful in getting any single cent more out of you because there is simply none. When this is your situation, what more could you do? Here are my suggestions: FACE YOUR CREDITOR You cannot pay off your debt if you run away or hide from it. Don’t run away from your responsibility. Face it. Personally talk to your creditor or the person you owe money to, to let him or her know your real and honest situation. BE HUMBLE You should learn how to humble yourself. Let go of your pride. More often than not, the person who is in debt is Read More …
Jan 052016
kidnappers ,Western hostages , Islamic militants, Canadians, Norwegian , Brigadier-General Alan Arrojado ,Abu Sayyaf, foreign tourists , Samal,terrorism , John Ridsdel,,Robert Hall, Kjartan Sekkingstad , Antonio Rivera , Samal,Muslim rebel groups , Rodolfo Mendoza Manila, Philippines | AFP | – Philippine security forces clashed with al-Qaeda-linked gunmen believed to be holding foreign hostages on Wednesday, leaving one soldier and eight of the gunmen dead, the military said. The clash occurred near Patikul town on the remote southern island of Jolo, where gunmen from the Islamic militant group Abu Sayyaf are believed to be holding two Canadian hostages along with a Norwegian and a Filipina. Regional military spokesman Major Filemon Tan said that one soldier was killed and four wounded, but did not respond to queries about the status of the hostages thought to be held by the gunmen. Eight of the around 100 attackers were also killed, Tan told reporters, adding that the militants belonged to an Abu Sayyaf faction led by Hajan Sawadjaan. Abu Sayyaf last month released a video of two Canadian tourists, a Norwegian resort operator and a Filipina abducted in another area of the southern Philippines in September, and demanded one billion pesos ($21 million) in ransom. A Dutch bird watcher abducted in the southern Philippines in 2012 is also believed by the military to be held by the same group on Jolo. Founded in the early 1990s with seed money from late Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, Abu Sayyaf gained international notoriety for kidnapping dozens of foreign tourists for ransom in the early 2000s. The group has also been blamed for the country’s Read More …
Jan 052016
Pope Francis acknowledges the people who came in droves at Quirino Avenue to say goodbye to the him on Monday. The leader of the Roman Catholic church capped a five-day visit that showed the intensity of the devotion of the only predominantly Catholic nation in Asia. (MNS photo) Manila, Philippines | AFP | – The Philippine Catholic Church has apologised after a priest was filmed riding a hoverboard in church while celebrating Christmas Eve Mass. In clips that have gone viral on YouTube and social media sites, a middle-aged man in a white cassock sings a Christmas song while riding a self-balancing electric scooter between packed pews. The diocese of San Pablo said the priest rode the hoverboard inside his Miraculous Medal church in the town of Binan, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Manila, “as a way of greeting his parishioners”. “That was wrong. The Eucharist demands utmost respect and reverence… it is the Church’s highest form of worship,” the diocese said. Its statement was released to AFP on Wednesday by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, which named the priest as Father Albert San Jose. “Consequently, it is not a personal celebration where one can capriciously introduce something to get the attention of the people,” the statement added. “The priest said that it was a wake-up call for him; he acknowledged that his action was not right and promised that it will not happen again. “He will be out of the parish and will spend some time to reflect on Read More …
Jan 042016
Associated Press January 5th, 2016 01:28 PM In this Dec. 13, 2015 file photo the sun sets behind an oil pump in the desert oil fields of Sakhir, Bahrain. Oil futures spiked briefly on Monday, Jan. 4, 2016, after the news that Saudi Arabia would cut diplomatic ties with Iran, a development that could be seen as a threat to oil supplies. Investors quickly discounted those fears, however, causing oil prices to fall again. AP DALLAS, United States — It turns out that thanks to a glut of crude, even tension between two big oil-producing countries isn’t enough to drive prices higher. Oil futures spiked briefly on Monday after the news that Saudi Arabia would cut diplomatic ties with Iran, a development that could be seen as a threat to oil supplies. BACKSTORY: Oil prices rise after Saudi Arabia cuts ties with Iran | Oil tumbles 3% after unexpected US rise in stockpiles Investors quickly discounted those fears, however. After rising by $1.35, the price of benchmark U.S. crude ended the day down 28 cents to $36.76 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, reflecting the price of international oils, dipped 6 cents to close at $37.22 a barrel in London. While oil markets were see-sawing, stock markets sagged on evidence that the global economy might be weaker than expected this year. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 276 points, or 1.6 percent, and was down 468 points earlier in the day. New reports indicated that manufacturing Read More …
Jan 042016
CONSUMER PRICES growth likely accelerated in December, the chief economist at the Department of Finance (DoF) estimated, citing the seasonal uptick in demand, after-effects from fuel price movements and typhoon Nona.