Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – Rep. Carlos Zarate of party-list group Bayan Muna warned the public yesterday that the administration’s tax reform program would result in an increase in fuel prices of P6 to P10 per liter. Such a huge adjustment would certainly hurt the poor, he said. “We hope the Department of Finance (DOF) will follow President Duterte’s instruction to lift anti-poor and gender-biased taxes and not add more tax burden to the public,” he said. Under the tax reform package unveiled by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, the government seeks to impose an excise tax of P6 per liter on diesel and P10 on gasoline. Zarate said oil companies would just pass on the tax to their customers. This means the retail price of diesel and gasoline would go up by P6 and P10 per liter, respectively, he said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 He said that since most, if not all passenger buses and cargo trucks use diesel, higher diesel prices would translate into higher fares and increased cost of consumer products like rice, fish, meat, and vegetables. Diesel is currently excise-tax free. The tax reform program also seeks to impose an excise tax on kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Zarate disagreed with the DOF’s view that the plan would hurt the rich more than the poor. He said higher fuel and consumer prices would hurt the poor sectors of society and middle-income groups more than the rich and corporate executives. “Diesel, LPG and kerosene Read More …

“There will be more cancellations, without a doubt. We will announce on Thursday but [I’m sure], there will be more,” Environment Secretary Gina Lopez told reporters in a chance interview. ABS-CBN PR/File/Released MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) warned more mining firms would face suspension following the end of a month-long audit on the industry. “There will be more cancellations, without a doubt. We will announce on Thursday but [I’m sure], there will be more,” Environment Secretary Gina Lopez told reporters in a chance interview. Last July, Lopez issued her first memorandum order subjecting all operating and suspended mines to an audit to determine their compliance with environmental standards.  In particular, the audit was aimed at determining the adequacy and efficiency of environmental protection measures, identify gaps in protection measures and determine appropriate penalties in case of violations. The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) aimed to raise the bar on responsible mining in the country with a stricter set of criteria in the audit of around 40 metallic mines nationwide. Since then, 10 mining firms had been suspended including all operations in Zambales – Benguet Corp. Nickel Mines Inc., Zambales Diversified Metals Corp., LNL Archipelago Minerals Inc. and Eramen Minerals Inc. – for breach of environmental standards. Other firms that were suspended include the country’s only iron-producing mine Ore Asia Mining and Development Corp., Samar-based operations Mt. Sinai Exploration Mining and Development Corp., EMIR Mineral Resources Corp., Berong Nickel Corp., Claver Mineral Development Corp., and Citinickel Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – State-run think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) said grants for water supply and sanitation projects in the municipalities must be redesigned to expand coverage and ensure the sustainability of investments. In a new policy note, PIDS said current regulations for the the water supply and sanitation sector are insufficient to drive investments in local government units (LGUs). “The current state of economic regulations for the water supply and sanitation sector is not effective enough to compel LGUs and water districts to expand, improve the quality of their services, and upgrade their service standards,” said PIDS. “This situation is most pronounced in LGU-run utilities given their conflicting proprietary and regulatory mandates. Without a regulatory stick, the realistic option for government to drive investments in the medium term is to offer financing incentives. Grant resources, therefore, will still be necessary to achieve the goal of universal coverage for water supply by 2025 and sanitation services by 2028,” it added. Addressing the water supply and sanitation requirements of the country has been a key component in the development plans of previous administrations. The medium term development plans of the past two administrations laid down mechanisms for the attainments of the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) for water supply and sanitation. The Philippine Water Supply Sector Roadmap 2010 Update laid down the direction for attaining universal water coverage in the country by 2025. The Philippine Sustainable Sanitation Roadmap also provides for means to universal access to water sanitation by 2028. Read More …