Does the current Bank Secrecy law serve as a citadel for investors or depositors against possible abuse of power by the government, or does it provide a shield for tax evaders? Balancing of interests is a continuing challenge for the State, and with the advent of the tax reforms of the Duterte administration and with the introduction of House Bill 4774, the need to balance these interests once again arises.
For former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her son, Camarines Sur Representative Diosdado “Dato” Arroyo, teachers should not stop learning after they graduate from college. The Arroyos have proposed the creation of national teacher academies all over the country to train teachers how to teach subjects areas such as math, science and history, which are commonly taught in elementary and secondary schools. House Bill 3042, also known as the Teaching Profession Act of 2013, mandates the establishment of national teacher academies by qualified recipients which have been awarded grants by the Department of Education on the basis of a competitive bidding process. Each grant authorizes a five-year operation of the national teacher academy, renewable after the period. Higher education institutions, a private non-profit educational organization or a combination of these two will be eligible to apply for the grants. The academies will hone teachers’ skills in subject areas such as basic skills and literacy instruction, civics and government, national writing project, mathematics, foreign languages, history, geography and sociology, economics, life sciences, physical sciences, and the arts, including art, music and the performing arts. Under the proposal, academy staff should be selected from the most accomplished and prominent scholars in the relevant fields of study and in the methodologies. In the bill’s explanatory note, the Arroyos said that teachers in the Philippines have become demoralized in recent years due to the decline in the quality of the teaching profession. “The government must not only toil to address Read More …
Andray Blatche of the New Jersey Brooklyn Nets and seen here on a 2013 invite to his birthday bash is reported to have asked to be naturalized as a Filipino citizen. MANILA (Mabuhay) – The house committee on justice approved Marikina representative Robbie Puno’s House Bill 3783, for the naturalization of Brooklyn Nets big man Andray Blatche. The committee approved the bill though, subject to the condition that Blatche appears before a Philippine consulate to express his intent to be a Filipino citizen. Blatche is also expected to answer questions to be forwarded to the consulate by the Committee on Justice. Meanwhile, Puno withdrew a similar bill filed for the naturalization of JaVale McGee. The Denver Nuggets center is out indefinitely with a fractured tibia. (MNS)
An elderly survivor evacuated from the disaster zone of typhoon Haiyan is wheeled past a V-22 Osprey on tarmac after arriving on a military plane at Villamor Air Base in Manila November 13, 2013. Philippine officials have been overwhelmed by Haiyan, one of the strongest typhoons on record, which tore through the central Philippines on Friday and flattened Tacloban, coastal capital of Leyte province where officials had feared 10,000 people died, many drowning in a tsunami-like wall of seawater. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – A lawmaker has filed a measure increasing the monthly stipend of senior citizens from P500 to P1,000. House Bill 3731, authored by Rep. Anthony del Rosario (1st District, Davao del Norte), also seeks to lower the age of coverage from the present 77 years old to 70 years old. Del Rosario said the present age requirement is no longer reasonable considering today’s average lifespan of senior citizens. “The coverage should be lowered so that our elderly will be able to avail of the benefits longer into their twilight years,” Del Rosario said. The measure amends Republic Act 7432, as amended, otherwise known as the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010. “The time is ripe to re-visit the provisions embodied in the existing law and uphold the time-honored principle that those who have less in life should have more in law,” Del Rosario stressed. “It cannot be denied that over the years the prices of commodities have increased and by increasing the senior citizens’ purchasing power, this Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – A lawmaker has filed a bill similar to the “lemon law” of the United States to protect the buyers of motor vehicles, particularly those that fail to meet the standards of quality and performance. Rep. Mark Villar (Lone District, Las Piñas City) said House Bill 3199 would strengthen consumer protection in the purchase of brand new vehicles and provides legal remedies to buyers who face the ill fate of lemon automobiles ending up in their hands. Villar said the historical antecedents of the lemon law originated in the United States and was crafted primarily to return to the consumer the full value of money. “It provides that if a manufacturer or its authorized dealer cannot successfully repair a defective product within a reasonable number of repair attempts. The manufacturer must either promptly replace or repurchase the product,” Villar explained. Villar said given the fast-paced nature of the current time, owning a motor vehicle now is not considered a luxury but more of a necessity to cope with everyday duties and responsibilities. “Coping with this necessity does not come cheap. Owning a motor vehicle is a big investment and could take a substantial chunk of one’s savings. For some unfortunate buyers, an investment in this endeavor has become for naught after they acquired a ‘lemon’ or those that fail to meet the standards of quality and performance,” Villar said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The lawmaker added that because of this, buyers continue with Read More …
MANILA (Mabuhay) — Paparazzi be warned. In a proposal sure to please the country’s celebrities, the Arroyos have filed a bill criminalizing invasion of privacy committed by photographers. House Bill 1390, or the Anti-Invasion of Privacy Act of 2013, seeks to protect individuals from unscrupulous photographers — as well as videographers — “who trespass properties […]
Congress on Wednesday ratified proposed amendments to the country’s law on youth offenders without lowering the minimum age of criminal liability, which the existing legislation pegs at 15 years old. The ratified committee report on House Bill 6052 and Senate Bill 3324 proposed that children aged 12 to 15 who commit heinous crimes or repeatedly violate the law undergo community-based intervention programs in a residential facility. The House version of the bill originally proposed the lowering of the minimum age of criminal liability to 12 years old, but the Senate version prevailed. The amendments to Republic Act 9344 also provides the maximum penalty for those who exploit children for the commission of criminal offenses. The ratified bills also transfer the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council from the Department of Justice to the Department of Social Welfare and Development. The council is the primary body in charge of implementing the country’s legislation on children in conflict with the law. — DVM, GMA News
MANILA, Philippines -Lawmakers vowed to reintroduce in the 16th Congress a measure expanding the prohibited acts of discrimination against women on account of sex. Rep. Emil Ong (2nd District, Northern Samar), chairperson of the House Committee on Labor and Employment, said amending Articles 135 and 137 of Presidential Decree 442, as amended, also known as the Labor Code of the Philippines, will level the playing fields of women in all areas of employment and job opportunities. “House Bill 4643 will secure equal opportunities and fair treatment for female employees vis-a-vis their male counterparts in the workplace,” Ong said. “The measure was extensively discussed then approved by the House during the 14th and 15th Congress; and transmitted to the Senate,” he added. Rep. Magtanggol Gunigundo I (2nd District, Valenzuela City), author of the bill, said there has been a marked increase in the number of women now working in a variety of jobs in which, at times, their entry and subsequent opportunities are dampened, if not altogether stopped, by discrimination. “This situation makes it imperative to institute mechanisms that will provide equal employment opportunities for all, regardless of sex, which is one step towards departing from the prevailing social and economic inequity in the country,” Gunigundo said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Gender bias, both in the recruitment and in the conditions of the workplace, bolsters the traditional perception of society that a woman’s proper place is at home, a view that has become an obstacle to Read More …
Old and young people will have equal opportunities to get employed under the proposed “Anti-age Discrimination in Employment Act.” House Bill 156, authored by Rep. Edwin Olivarez (1st District, Parañaque City), will protect the not so young job seekers from employers who do not hire applicants because of age and not because of qualifications. “In the face of rising productivity and affluence, older workers find themselves disadvantaged or discriminated against their efforts to retain employment or to regain employment when displaced from their jobs,” Olivarez said. Under the measure, employers who fail or refuse to hire or discharge any individual with respect to compensation and other terms and conditions of employment by reason of age shall be unlawful. “It shall also be unlawful for an employment agency to fail or refuse to refer for employment, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual because of age, or to classify or refer for employment any individual on the basis of age,” Olivarez said. Employers with less than 20 employees shall be exempted from the prohibition of the bill. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The act of segregating or classifying employees, which will deprive individuals of employment opportunity or otherwise adversely affect the status as an employee because of age shall be punishable by law. The measure also prohibits the employer from reducing the wage rate of any employee by reason of age. Any labor organization that shall exclude or expel from its membership or discriminate against any individual Read More …