THE coastal geohazard assessment conducted in the province of Leyte revealed that municipalities on the northwest coast are threatened by landslides and rockfall, while some towns on the eastern seaboard are at moderately to high risk of coastal erosion.
MOVES to overhaul the 1987 Constitution continued in Congress, with key legislators signaling their intent to assemble a body to review the charter, broaden foreign ownership in the economy, and reorganize the government along federal lines.
NEW Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi expects to open his term of office reviewing with his staff the target energy mix set by the previous government of 30% each generated from coal, natural gas and renewables, as well as 10% from fuel oil.
When the new Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner, lawyer Cesar Dulay, formally assumed office on July 1, it appeared to many that he intended to make an impression. Wasting no time, the Commissioner took many by surprise with three new issuances. The three, released on Friday, consisted of two revenue memorandum circulars (RMC) — RMC Nos. 69-2016 and 70-2016, and one revenue memorandum order (RMO) — RMO No. 38-2016.
AGRICULTURE Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said he has sounded out Japan about providing access to the latter’s stocks of mandatory rice imports, in order to diversify the Philippines’ sources of supply.
THE new president of the Israel Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ICCP) hopes to attract more Israeli businesses to the Philippines, with a focus on agriculture and information and communications technology.
(Last of 5 parts) In last week’s article, we listed down some of the changes introduced under the new Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), particularly on the new rules relating to abandonment, period of storage in a Customs Bonded Warehouse, advance customs rulings, post clearance audit, record keeping requirements and penalties. In addition to the above, the CMTA also provides the following changes:
Former Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has been recently sworn in as the 16th President of the Republic of the Philippines. A Duterte presidency could very well bring hope to millions of marginalized Filipinos for a better life. Hopefully we will see a change in governance for the better and corruption in government offices to be minimal, if not total eradicated. Duterte won the presidency by a landslide. Thanks to millions of Filipinos who have long been disappointed and dissatisfied with most of their elected officials who they view as either weak, corrupt or inefficient. Most Filipinos, if not all of them, believe that President Duterte is the only elected public official right now who could clean up the corrupted system in government. Filipinos all over the country are optimistic that President Duterte will be able to correct whatever mistakes the Aquino administration may have committed in the past six years for him to lift the lives of millions of Filipinos out of poverty. This is a big and difficult task for President Duterte to tackle. He needs the full support of Congress to implement his economic policies and programs to help turn around the Philippine economy. Some are saying that President Duterte will be spending more of his time in Southern part of the country for him to be able to improve and empower other provinces who have been left behind or neglected by the government in terms of public funding for their development. If Duterte will transfer the Read More …
By Kris M. Crismundo President Rodrio Duterte, accompanied by his children (from left) Sebastian, Victoria, Davao Mayor Sara, and Davao Vice Mayor Paolo. (Malacanang photo) MANILA (PNA) – The Makati Business Club (MBC), one of the country’s premier business organizations, has lauded newly-inaugurated President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s first order to ease transaction with the government. “We laud President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s first order to all cabinet secretaries to reduce requirements and processing time of all applications across agencies and remove redundancies in these requirements and to respect the sanctity of contracts,” MBC Executive Director Peter Angelo Perfecto said in a text message. During his speech, President Duterte identified his first order to cabinet secretaries and head of agencies as “policies and specifics of which cannot help wait for tomorrow to be announced”. The business group likewise welcomed President Duterte’s statement on honoring all existing treaties and international obligations as well as inclusivity in the ongoing and other peace process. MBC is also pleased with the statements of President Duterte and Vice President Leni Robredo calling for the nation to work together and setting aside personal interests for the common good of the nation. “In response to their calls, we reiterate our commitment to work closely with the new government to make people’s lives better, safer, and healthier,” Perfecto said. (PNA)
Around 196 generals, flag and senior officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and 28 Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) officials await confirmation of their promotion by the Commission on Appointments during a hearing at the Philippines Senate in Pasay City on Wednesday. (MNS photo) MANILA (PNA) – Upon his assumption as the next Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief-of-staff this July 1, outgoing Southern Luzon Command head Lt. Gen. Ricardo Visaya pledged to implement a “24/7 fight” in order to neutralize the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) threat in Basilan and Sulu. “We are planning to fight the ASG 24/7. We would like to defeat the ASG the fastest way, that can be the best option to (defeat) them,” he added. The terrorist group landed in the limelight again after it kidnapped seven Indonesian sailors in the Sulu Sea last June 22, eight days after it beheaded Canadian hostage Robert Hall in Sulu. Visaya added that the AFP has more than enough resources for his proposed “24/7 fight” against the bandits as the military has 11 battalions deployed in Sulu alone hunting these terrorists. “There will be some procurements, and there will be realignment of resources also,” he stressed. But he declined to give an exact timetable on how this proposed offensive will defeat the ASG. The incoming AFP chief also stressed that civilian support and cooperation is needed in addressing the ASG threat. “We have than enough forces to match them but they are very hard to Read More …