THE PHILIPPINES has sufficient room to increase credit to consumers and the private sector which could stimulate further economic growth, analysts at Standard Chartered Bank said.
Apr 042016
Apr 042016
THE DEPARTMENT of Agriculture (DA) said its El Niño interventions with regular budget funding are planned through June but also urged the release of more funds to finance its full El Niño mitigation road map.
Apr 042016
As the April 15 deadline for the filing of annual income tax return (ITR) is drawing near, taxpayers shall once again start flocking towards various revenue district offices (RDO) of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). It is at this point that taxpayers should be reminded of the rules on those required to file electronically rather than manually. For those required to file electronically, the available electronic platforms of the BIR are: (a) Electronic Filing and Payment System (eFPS); and (2) Electronic BIR Forms Systems (eBIRForms).
Apr 032016
LOCAL FACTORIES continue to expand their production despite external headwinds, the Finance department’s chief economist said, as imports of capital goods and raw materials continue to increase.
Apr 032016
DAVAO CITY — The Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII) has called on the bidders for the P18.99-billion Sasa Port modernization to abandon the public-private partnership (PPP) project.
Apr 032016
Given the continued efforts of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center to develop bankable PPP projects, more and more local and foreign investors are drawn to invest in these PPP projects. In 2016, the PPP Center registered about 39 projects in its pipeline with an estimated value of $30 billion (P1.4 trillion). The lineup includes roads, railways, airports, water and prison facilities projects and some will be rolled out within 2016.
Apr 032016
In this suffering world, the month of March has just passed with a day devoted to the subject of happiness. The event was heralded as the International Day of Happiness, a global celebration coordinated by nonprofit Action for Happiness in 160 supported by a partnership of like-minded organizations. It was in celebration of the event that the United Nations made available the publication of its 2016 World Happiness Report that revealed astounding results of a survey of people in 157 countries. The survey report gave revealing insights into how “the most cheer most cheerful countries got their way and the richest countries are got that way.” The ranking in the survey was based on parameters that included the participating country’s per – capita gross domestic product (which accounted for more than 30 percent of the total), social support (26 percent), healthy life expectancy (18 percent), freedom to make life choices (12 percent), generosity (8 percent), and the absence of corruption (5 percent). Of the 157 countries surveyed in the report, the United States ranked 13th garnering a score of 7.104 on a 10-point score. Denmark was number one on the list with a score of 7.526 and the least happy, Burundi,a landlocked country in the African Great Lakes region of East Africa. Americans are not exactly unhappy, but there’s room for improvement, according to some observers. Happy Filipinos: The Philippines ranks 82nd among 157 countries studied by the United Nations on happiness as part of a research which was released Read More …
Apr 032016
President Benigno S. Aquino lll delivers his speech during the opening ceremony of Publish Asia 2016 Conference, with the theme “Mapping Challenges and Opportunities in the New Asian Media Game,” held at the Manila Hotel in One Rizal Park in Manila, Wednesday, March 30, 2016. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) will finalize by next week a draft bill aimed at relaxing the country’s strict bank secrecy law in order to combat money laundering. AMLC member and Insurance Commissioner Emmanuel F. Dooc told reporters Thursday that President Aquino has committed to certify the bill as urgent, although he admitted there may no longer be material time to pass the bill before the change in administration by midyear. Dooc said AMLC met Wednesday night, during which they went through the draft bill. “We should liberalize or relax the bank secrecy law because now it is clear that it is a deterrent or obstacle to address money laundering offences,” he said. Dooc pointed out the senators’ frustration with key personalities invoking the law amid an investigation of the $81 million stolen from Bangladesh’s central bank that ended up in the Philippine financial system and casinos. All of AMLC members—including its chair Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. and Securities and Exchange Commission Chairperson Teresita J. Herbosa—were amenable to at least relaxing the bank secrecy law, although Dooc said he was pushing for total lifting. “Now there’s a sense of urgency to review laws with regards Read More …
Apr 032016
Chinese businessman Kam Sin Wong, also known as Kim Wong, shows a photo of the Php100 million delivered to Solaire Resorts and Casino during the Senate hearing on the $81 million money laundering scheme. Wong admitted coursing some of the money to the RCBC Jupiter branch.(MNS photo) Manila, Philippines | AFP | – More than $4.5 million of tens of millions recently stolen from Bangladesh and funnelled into Philippine casinos was recovered Thursday, as a lawmaker in Manila said almost half the haul could still be salvaged. On February 5, unidentified hackers shifted $81 million from the Bangladesh central bank’s account with the US Federal Reserve to a nondescript bank in Manila, and then to the casinos where the trail went cold. Representatives for casino agent Kim Wong, who is under criminal investigation after a portion of the stolen money was traced to his account, surrendered $4.63 million in cash to the Philippine central bank on Thursday. “He kept his promise to return the money,” Wong’s lawyer Innocencio Ferrer said in a statement. Wong testified at a marathon parliament hearing Tuesday that two high-rollers from Beijing and Macau shifted the $81 million to dollar accounts in Manila’s Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC). Wong said he did not know the money was stolen from Bangladesh and that he merely helped the two men – who are also his casino clients – open bank accounts. He offered to return the money, which he said remained in his account in Solaire, one of the Philippine capital’s gleaming Read More …
Apr 032016
Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada (left) endorses Senator Grace Poe for President during his own proclamation rally for reelection in Manila on Monday. Estrada did not endorse Poe’s running mate, Senator Chiz Escudero, but instead chose Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for vice-president.(MNS photo) ANGELES, Pampanga (Mabuhay) – “I am not an OJT (on-the-job training).” This was how presidential candidate Senator Grace Poe shot back at Vice President Jejomar Binay on Thursday when the latter reportedly called her again an OJT, noting how she answered the issue on the West Philippine Sea during the second presidential debate in Cebu last March 20. “Yan ang problema pag nagmamaliit ng mga OJT. Marami naman tayong mga OJT pero hindi naman ako OJT sapagkat matagal na rin ako kahit papano…” she said when sought for comment on Binay’s remarks. (That’s the problem when some are underestimating those undergoing OJT. We have a lot of OJT but I’m not one of them because I have been serving the public for quite a long time.) “Wala sa haba yan kung hindi sa kalidad ng paninilbihan,” she added. (It’s not about the length but more of the quality of service.) During the debate, Poe’s rival Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte asked her what she would do if she was awakened in the middle of the night by news that two of the country’s Coast Guard cutters were bombed by China. “Ang kailangan nating gawin ay, siyempre, ang presidente kailangan bumangon agad at kasama…Hindi ba? Hindi naman pwedeng mamaya Read More …