THE Philippines is expected to maintain a current account surplus this year given expectations of sustained double-digit growth in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, with the industry estimated to have grown by 16.4% in 2015.
May 092016
May 092016
With the conclusion of the 2016 Presidential elections yesterday, will Filipinos’ hopes for lower income taxes finally see light under the new administration? Despite the growing clamor of the public and endorsements of income tax cuts from both houses of the Congress and business groups, the current administration stood firm against these reforms.
May 082016
FACTORY output likely grew further in March but may have cooled from the pace seen during the previous month, Moody’s Analytics said, with the expansion seen sustained for the rest of the year as effects of the dry spell wane.
May 082016
THE Philippine electronics industry needs a strategy similar to what the Trade department drafted for the automotive sector, as margins from semiconductors have been going down every year, an industry official said.
May 082016
(Second of two parts) In last week’s column, we wrote about Republic Act 10533, or the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, otherwise known as the K-12 Basic Education Program, and the potential issues faced by both public and private schools in the implementation of the K-12 program. We now continue with a discussion on measures that private institutions can take in order to address the anticipated challenges.
May 072016
Only 17 out of the 66 national candidates attended the signing of the Truthful, Responsible, Upright, Transparent, & Honest (TRUTH) covenant spearheaded by the Archdiocese of Manila and its radio network, Radio Veritas, on Monday (May 2, 2016). According to Fr. Anton Pascual, Radio Veritas president, they have sent invitations to each of the candidates running for the presidential, vice presidential and senatorial seats but many of them were not available as they were in their respective campaign sorties. Left and middle photos show Liberal Party standard-bearer Manuel “Mar” Roxas II and Vice President Jejomar Binay signing the peace covenant for the May 9 elections at the Manila Cathedral. (PNA photos by Avito C. Dalan) MANILA (Mabuhay) – The camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay on Thursday advised other presidential candidates not to celebrate yet amid their rise in the surveys. “To the other candidates: Do not celebrate yet, good things are about to happen, Binay is coming,” lawyer Rico Quicho, the Vice President’s spokesperson, said in a press statement. “It will be a tight race all the way to Election Day,” he added. He said the surveys do not capture the intense ground campaigning by the Vice President’s core supporters and parallel groups nationwide. “These efforts have intensified after April 29 which was the last day of the surveys. The final visibility push this week via motorcades, house to house campaign and sectoral events like the Indigenous People’s summit for Binay in Cagayan de Oro last Tuesday showed the Read More …
May 072016
Bea Alonzo (MNS Photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) — After being romantically linked almost six years ago, Bea Alonzo and Gerald Anderson star in a big screen project for the first time. Alonzo revealed there have been many plans for the two of them to work before, but none pushed through. “Excited ako kasi parang matagal na. Laging almost dapat magtatrabaho kami pero ngayon lang talaga natuloy. Baka ito yung tamang timing,” she said. Sharing the same sentiment, Anderson said he is looking forward to learning from Alonzo, who is known as one of the best local actresses in their generation. However, both admitted that there was some awkwardness between them when they first met for the movie. Gerald Anderson (MNS photo) “To be totally honest, weird because first time namin magkakasama sa pelikula,” Alonzo said. “Kahit sino naman, kapag may bagong leading lady ka or leading man, ganun talaga, magkakaroon talaga ng awkwardness,” Anderson added. In fact, Anderson said he is already expecting that some people will bring up their past now that he and Alonzo are finally working together. “Siyempre kasama talaga yun, it is what it is. Ganun talaga. Sa amin, gusto lang naming magbigay ng magandang movie despite kung ano man ang sasabihin ng iba. Kasama talaga yan, wala naman kaming magagawa,” he said. Since both of them are currently single, is there a chance that something may develop between them? “Well, it’s too early to tell. Right now, ako parang na-excite ako to see him. Look at Read More …
May 072016
Quezon City – By next week, the Philippines will have a new president that will hopefully address the endemic problems the country has been dealing for a long period of time that includes poverty, crime, corruption and unemployment. People are hoping that their next president will be able to rally and unite the fragmented Filipinos into one nation so that it can move on and progress economically like its neighboring Asian countries. Most often than not the country for so many years has been unable to attain economic progress due to partisan politics and pervasive corruption in all corridors of the government. Ever since the downfall of the Marcos regime, the country has not so far attained the economic growth every president after Marcos has envisioned in order for the government to at least improve the lives of millions of destitute Filipinos, particularly those living in far-flung provinces. By Monday, May 9, on election day here in the Philippines, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte appears to be the top choice of most Filipinos to be their next president. Most people that I have talked with, from taxi drivers, restaurant workers, sales workers as well as jeepney and tricycle drivers and young college students, are all rooting for a Duterte presidency. They all have the same answer when asked why Duterte. They want radical change. They said they are tired of all the empty promises of traditional politicians who do nothing to improve the lives of the “common tao.” The frustrations, Read More …
May 072016
By Ferdinand G. Patinio Members of Anonymous Philippines hold a protest calling for the release of Comelec website hacker Paul Biteng, in front of the Department of Justice on Monday. The group urged the government to tap the expertise of hackers who helped identify security loopholes of government sites.(MNS photo) MANILA (PNA) – Although it currently has limited functionality, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has invited the public to make use of its revitalized website, www.comelec.gov.ph. Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez said that the public can view the list of registered voters by precinct, wherein they can find their precincts by choosing their province, city/municipality, and barangay. It also enables voters to view if they are among the list of voters with deactivated status as well as those without or incomplete biometrics data. Jimenez noted that they are still in the process of improving the online site, assuring that it is now more secured. “If we simplify the system, we are decreasing the number of attack surfaces, which makes it easier to protect and, therefore, more difficult to penetrate,” Jimenez added. Last March 27, the website was defaced and has since resulted to the supposed leakage of voters’ personal information. Meanwhile, the poll body official warned the public against attempt of some groups to confuse voters from casting their votes. “As the election draws nearer, there will many of such schemes as these with the intent of discouraging people from exercising their rights to vote,” Jimenez said. Among them is when Read More …
May 072016
Commission on Election Chairman Andres Bautista demonstrates the function of a vote-counting machine (VCM), which will be used for the May 9 national and local elections, at a warehouse in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, Thursday. The machines are currently undergoing Hardware Acceptance Test (HAT).(MNS photo) MANILA (PNA) – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said the proclamation of winning senators may be close to the announcement made in the 2013 polls. Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez noted that the names of the new lawmakers may be known three days after Election Day. “In my estimates, we will not be far from the 72 hours (in 2013),” he said. In the midterm elections, the first six winning senators were proclaimed three days after the elections while with the next three proclaimed a day later and the final three the next day. On the other hand, Jimenez added that it was more important for them to have credible and transparent results in the May 9 polls than beating the previous records in proclaiming winning candidates at the soonest possible time. “We are not looking at any previous performance as a hard target. We are looking at previous performance as benchmarks to improve upon. If we add more procedures or change procedures and they end up being a little more complex or complicated or similar even, that all goes into the determination of whether or not the results are credible,” he said. Jimenez added, “What’s important is that the procedures that we adopt are shown to Read More …