MORE COMPANIES engaged in oil, gas and mining businesses are opening their books for government and public scrutiny, according to the Philippine Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (PH-EITI).
Feb 012016
Feb 012016
In August 2015, the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) together with the Financial Executives Institute of Cebu, Inc. (FINEX Cebu), the Confederation of Philippine Exporters Foundation (Cebu), Inc. (PHILEXPORT Cebu), and the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants — Cebu Chapter (PICPA — Cebu) submitted a position paper to the Department of Finance (DoF) requesting amendments to the Bureau of Internal Revenue Importer Clearance Certificate (BIR-ICC) and BIR Customs Broker Clearance Certificate (BIR-BCC) requirements in relation to the accreditation of the importer and customs broker, respectively. To date, the petitioners have not received feedback from the DoF. Hence, I reprint below the significant parts of the position paper.
Feb 012016
Philippine Daily Inquirer By: Amy R. Remo, February 1st, 2016 11:58 PM STATE-RUN Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) performed better than expected in 2015 as the agency’s revenues rose by 51 percent to P10.7 billion on the back of windfall profit from the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx). In a briefing Monday, BCDA president and CEO Arnel Paciano D. Casanova said the consistent increases in the agency’s revenues over the past years were due to “good financial housekeeping, which has created more value for assets and led to record increases in revenues.” Boosting last year’s revenues were the P3.5 billion upfront payment made by the Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC). The agreement, which would be in effect for 28 years until 2043, gave MNTC the responsibility over the management services, toll collection, traffic safety and security management, toll road and facilities maintenance and all necessary support services required for the 94-kilometer SCTEx. Gross toll revenues generated from the SCTEx grew by 22 percent to P1.45 billion in 2015 from the previous year’s P1.18 billion. This was due to the growing number of vehicles plying the said expressway. The BCDA also secured P12.5 billion in investment commitments and P312 million in cash inflows from new business contracts for areas being managed by the agency, including Clark Green City, special economic zones, and Metro Manila military camps. As of end 2015, BCDA’s ending cash balance stood at P17.5 billion, which the agency is reinvesting in new projects that can create value and benefit for Read More …
Feb 012016
Chinkee Tan I’m sure that at one point or another, we have experienced rejection in our life. Have you experienced being eased into the “friend zone”? (Ouch!) Have you experienced being rejected by your friends when you offered to sell them your wonderful product? (No sense of gratitude!) Have you experienced being given the cold shoulder when you were trying to propose a bright idea? (You hurt my feelings!) Even your social media accounts aren’t immune to rejections, especially when you get “unfriended” or your posts were “unliked” Rejection is inevitable; it is really a part of life. We got to learn how to live with or it will destroy us. Just like what Miss Columbia said, “Everything happens for a reason.” That’s right! How? I believe rejection exists because… IT IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO LEARN Maybe you didn’t do something right. Maybe it just wasn’t the right time. Maybe they don’t need it at this time. Maybe they just don’t see the benefits yet. Maybe our ideas are good, but we need to always be OBJECTIVE especially in receiving comments about them. Sometimes we get too focused on the details that we miss the whole picture. Aside from that . . . IT MAKES YOU STRONGER Don’t lose heart, but instead use this rejection to challenge you to PROVE to yourself that you are capable of accomplishing something. Just think back to the time before you were rejected. You were not too scared and settled for mediocre. Read More …
Feb 012016
Nadine Lustre and James Reid (MNS photo) “He’s important to me.” These were the words of actress Nadine Lustre when asked to define her current relationship with onscreen partner James Reid. The 22-year-old Lustre continued to fuel speculations about her relationship with her “On the Wings of Love” co-star. “I guess I have this unconditional love na din po for him, kasi nga, since we do everything together. He knows what I feel, I know what he feels,” she shared. Lustre added that she enjoys taking care of Reid while shooting for the hit primetime series. “I take care of him din most of the time, kasi nga walang nag-aalaga sa kanya.” “And he’s very carefree and careless until now. So parang kailangan may nagbabantay talaga sa kanya,” said Lustre, who admitted that she’s naturally a very caring person. And while the two remains “best friends” as of now, Lustre explained that she is not closing any doors on a possible romance between her and Reid. “Hindi naman zero ang chance. Kami, talagang hindi po muna namin iniisip. May chance naman po. Huwag lang muna talaga,” she said. (MNS)