Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – Newly installed Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) administrator Avelino Andal has promised to address the problem on cocolisap, a pest that is preventing coconut trees from bearing fruit, in Basilan province. Andal was sworn in yesterday as the new PCA head by Secretary to the Cabinet Leoncio Evasco Jr. in a simple ceremony at the Malacañang Palace. President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Andal, a former Quezon provincial board member, last Nov. 8. “I promised to advance the interest of coconut farmers in the country,” Andal said after the oath-taking ceremony, stressing he would first address the problem in Basilan where thousands of coconut trees were cut because of cocolisap infestation. On the issue of distributing the coco levy fund back to its contributors, he said the issue would need to be discussed with Congress. The fund is estimated to have ballooned to between P100 billion to P150 billion in assets. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 It became a controversy in the ‘80s after allegations that former president Ferdinand Marcos, businessman Danding Cojuangco, Senator Juan Ponce Enrile and several other cronies conspired to tax coconut farmers, promising them the development of the coconut industry and a share in the investments. The money was reportedly used to buy the United Coconut Planters’ Bank and some shares of San Miguel Corp. Andal said that since the Supreme Court has already ruled on the issue, he would look into the possibility of using the funds to assist farmers in Read More …

No less than the Constitution has declared that cooperatives are instruments for social justice and economic development. Pursuant to the policy of the state to promote social justice in all phases of national development, Republic Act (RA) No. 9520, otherwise known as the Cooperative Code of the Philippines, was enacted to foster the creation and growth of cooperatives. They are granted tax incentives, some of which are the exemption to pay taxes and fees for transactions with its members. To avail of such exemptions, a cooperative must apply for a certificate of tax exemption (CTE) following the guidelines for the issuance thereof in Revenue Memorandum Order (RMO) No. 76-10. The same RMO specifically states that a cooperative’s authorized official must prepare a certification under oath of the list of cooperative members with their respective TIN and their capital contributions. For the issuance of the corresponding CTE, the original copy of said certification along with a duly-accomplished BIR Form No. 1945 (Application for Certificate of Tax Exemption for Cooperatives version 2016) and the other documentary requirements must be submitted to the Revenue District Office (RDO) having jurisdiction over the principal place of business of the cooperatives. Pertinent to the TIN requirement, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) issued Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 102-16 on Oct. 24 to clarify that a cooperative may choose to submit an original copy of certification under oath of the list of its members with their full name and capital contribution. In doing so, the RDO Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Total investments registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) plunged 38 percent in the 10 months to October as political uncertainties created at the start of the Duterte administration likely put a damper on investor interest. Data provided by the office of new PEZA director general Charito Plaza yesterday showed investment pledges approved by the agency as of end-October this year reached P107.34 billion, lower than the P174.27 billion recorded by the agency in the same period last year. Property consultants interviewed by The STAR agreed the slowdown may have been caused by President Duterte’s rhetoric. Duterte early in his term had unleashed verbal assaults against long-time Philippine allies such as the US and the European Union which, in turn, caused concern from investors in these parts of the world. Plaza, who assumed office only a little over a month ago, is confident investment pledges would pick up in the coming months, especially after Duterte’s successful state visits in countries like China, Japan, Malaysia and those in the Middle East. Plaza said the investment approvals could also easily grow to P300 billion to P500 billion annually in the next two to three years following the agency’s new thrusts in ecozone development under her watch. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Investors are really waiting to invest in the Philippines, an example of which is when I went to the Middle East. Almost all countries in the world want to invest outside,” she said. Read More …

A recent study completed by the International Energy Consultant (IEC) for Meralco showed that the distribution company’s customers over the last four years have enjoyed some of the largest tariff reductions compared to other countries in the region. As a result, Meralco’s average tariff improved from its ranking of 9th highest in 2012 to 16th this year in a survey that included 44 countries. While Meralco’s rates are still 11 percent higher than the average tariffs of the surveyed countries, this is definitely an improvement from four years ago when its charge was 24 percent higher than others. For residential consumers, electricity charges have dropped by 25 percent since 2012 despite an increase in the consumer price index of 7.5 percent. More importantly, Filipino households within the Meralco franchise area now pay close to what other households included in the survey are charged. It must be underscored that not all components of the electricity price charged by Meralco to its customers pertain to distribution costs, which comprises 17 percent of the total cost in its customer billings. All other charges, like the generation and transmission charges, are simply passed on by Meralco to its consumers. Reasons Overall, including generation costs which account for 59 percent of total charges, Meralco’s charges have likewise seen substantial decreases due to three factors. The first was attributed to successive declines in the cost of crude oil and oil products like diesel and bunker and coal; the second was due to increased competitive supply contracts Read More …