Phl lags behind in use of latest technology for tax administration

 Economy
Jan 052014
 
Phl lags behind in use of latest technology for tax administration

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is lagging behind its Asian neighbors in utilizing information and communications technology (ICT) for its tax administration. Based on a report released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), personal income tax statements that are electronically-filed account for only 0.3 percent of the total filed in the Philippines, as against Malaysia, (69 percent), Thailand, (45 percent), India, (26 percent) and Hong Kong (14 percent). The Philippines is also behind Japan, (44 percent), New Zealand, (71 percent), Taipei, (82 percent), Korea, (87 percent), Australia, (92 percent) and Singapore, (96 percent). For corporate income tax, a mere six percent is electronically-filed in the Philippines as against India’s 100 percent, Taipei’s 98 percent, Malaysia’s 49 percent and Thailand’s 10 percent. Curiously, the value-added tax accounted for highest percentage of electronically-filed returns for the Philippines at seven percent but it is still the lowest among its Asian neighbors, Singapore (100 percent), Taipei (94 percent), Korea (79 percent) and Thailand (14 percent). What may be the edge in the Philippines’ tax administration environment is the use of mobile phone technology for tax payments. In Quezon City, for example, real estate tax can be paid through a mobile platform introduced by telecommunications company (telco). Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “In the Philippines, individual taxpayers can pay tax through an electronic cash service provided by a mobile phone company. Under this electronic cash service, consumers without a bank account can deposit electronic cash at mobile phone shops or shopping Read More …

19 Pinoys intercepted off Sabah – Malaysia news agency

 News
Dec 192013
 
19 Pinoys intercepted off Sabah – Malaysia news agency

At least 19 Filipinos are in Malaysian custody after they were intercepted while allegedly trying to enter Sabah late Wednesday, Malaysia’s Bernama news agency reported Thursday. The Bernama report quoted Eastern Sabah Security Command director-general (Esscom) Datuk Mohammad Mentek as saying the 19 included seven men, four women and eight children. Mohammad Mentek said the 19 Filipinos arrived in a boat at 8:45 p.m. and tried to enter Sabah at the Felda Sahabat in Lahad Datu. http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v7/ge/newsgeneral.php?id=1002263 “The illegal immigrants were detained after (our forces received) information from the public,” the Bernama report quoted him as saying. Lahad Datu had been the site of an armed confrontation between Malaysian forces and followers of the late Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III last February and March. Kiram died last October but sultanate spokesman Abraham Idjirani said the sultan left instructions to his followers to continue efforts to reclaim Sabah. Mohammad Mentek said an initial investigation showed the boat carrying the 19 Filipinos was heading to Sinakut in Labian, Felda Sahabat. — ELR, GMA News

Landmark pact offers 40M people hope

 News
Nov 022013
 
Landmark pact offers 40M people hope

At least 40 million people depend on the sea in areas bounded by three countries—the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia—that have entered into an agreement to protect and jointly manage the rich marine resources that these areas hold. ORLANDO MALIWANAG DAVAO CITY—On the map, the Sulu and Celebes Seas look like semi-enclosed twin basins separated only by a chain of islands called the Sulu archipelago. Experts from the Sulu-Celebes Sea Sustainable Fisheries Management Project (SCS-SFMP), however, noted that the marine life in these two water basins is not separate: The Pacific Ocean flows into Sulu Sea in Northern Mindanao and between the Sangihe-Talaud archipelago in North Sulawesi. “Surface waters from one basin overflow to the other every two weeks,” SCS-SFMP said. Bounded by the Philippines’ southwest coast, Malaysia’s Sabah island on north Borneo and Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, the Sulu and Celebes seas form the Sulu Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion (SSME), a large marine ecosystem now considered one of the world’s 200 most critical, which over 40 million people depend on for food and livelihood. Food security On Wednesday, Oct. 30, a three-country commitment to protect and manage this common marine area was signed with the hope of ensuring food security for over 40 million people, said Romeo Trono, regional project manager of the SCS-SFMP of the United Nations Office for Special Services. The landmark agreement, which environment and fisheries officials from the three countries signed, called for the implementation of a strategic action plan to deal with the impact of declining resources Read More …

Trial of 27 Filipinos in Sabah standoff to start January

 News
Nov 022013
 
Trial of 27 Filipinos in Sabah standoff to start January

By Julliane Love de JesusINQUIRER.net 5:31 pm | Saturday, November 2nd, 2013 In this March 14, 2013 photo released by Malaysia’s Ministry of Defense, Malaysian soldiers discuss strategies at Sungai Nyamuk where a stand-off with Filipino gunmen took place, near Tanduo village in Lahad Datu, Borneo’s Sabah state, Malaysia. File photo MANILA, Philippines—The Malaysian high court will start hearing in January the case of  27 Filipino armed followers of the late Sultan Jamalul Kiram III involved in a bloody clash with Malaysian forces in Sabah in February. In a Malaysian news agency report on Friday, the high court of Malaysia allotted 17 days starting January 6 until February next year to hear the case of the Filipinos and three Malaysian nationals for allegedly being involved with terrorist groups against Malaysia’s head of state Yang di-Pertuan Agong. Justice Stephen Chung set the trial on the following dates: January 6 to10, 15 to17, 27 to 30 and February 10 to14 in 2014. But starting next month, the prosecution and defense will have to file before the court the agreed facts and issues of the case. The report said the hearing, which will be in open court, will be held at the Sabah Prisons Department in Malaysia. The court could have attended to the case last September 17 in a supposed 11-day trial but the counsel sought more time to go through “voluminous documents and recordings as well as satellite imaging in relation to the case.” Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail said Read More …

Filipinos in Malaysia warned of new crackdown on illegals

 News
Sep 032013
 
Filipinos in Malaysia warned of new crackdown on illegals

By Tarra QuismundoPhilippine Daily Inquirer 5:24 pm | Tuesday, September 3rd, 2013 Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Eduardo Malaya. Photo from J Eduardo Malaya Facebook account MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur has called on Filipinos to complete their immigrant documentation and carry their papers at all times after the Malaysian government initiated a new crackdown on illegals this month. In a statement, Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Eduardo Malaya reminded Filipinos to always bring their passports with valid visas and work permits with them as Malaysian authorities conduct immigration checks on foreign nationals. “We wish to remind our Filipino nationals to have proper documents, notably work permit or passport with valid visa, and carry it with them in case of immigration checks, in order to avoid inconvenience.  Also, Filipinos who wish to enter Malaysia for work should have approved work permits or similar papers as they start their jobs here,” Malaya said. On Sunday, Malaysian authorities started an operation to apprehend undocumented foreigners across Malaysia. The crackdown has so far led to the arrest of some 2,433 foreign nationals, but no Filipinos is known to be among them, the embassy said. Among those arrested were illegals from Indonesia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Nepal. “We checked with the immigration detention facility in Putrajaya, and we were informed that Filipinos are not among those arrested and currently held in said facility,” Consul General Medardo Macaraig said in the statement. Philippine Embassy officials made the rounds of areas where Filipinos are known to hang Read More …

US says Japan has long way to go to open markets

 Economy
Aug 112013
 
US says Japan has long way to go to open markets

WASHINGTON — Japan still has a long way to go before it can say its markets are open, the top US trade official said on Friday. Trade Representative Michael Froman said he hopes Japan’s recent entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade negotiations will provide opportunities to tear down those barriers. “I think we all bear the scars of trying to open Japan’s market in the past,” Froman told reporters at a briefing, acknowledging the “historical difficulties” in the trade relationship. In their long history of trade disputes, the US has alleged Japanese markets are closed to imports because of restrictive practices that are tolerated or even encouraged by the government. At the same time, Japan has relied heavily on exports as an engine of growth for its sluggish economy. Froman mentioned autos specifically — one of the thorniest issues in trade relations. “Right now, all foreign penetration of the Japanese auto market is six percent, and so I think everyone believes there is a long way to go before we can really say the Japanese market is open,” he said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Japan formally joined the US and 10 other Asia-Pacific nations in negotiations to create a major new trade bloc during the 18th round of talks in Malaysia last month. With the addition of Japan, the 12 countries would account for some 40 percent of world trade volume. The other 10 countries are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Read More …

Robinsons shelves $800-M IPO of retail group amid volatile mart

 Economy
Jun 282013
 
Robinsons shelves $800-M IPO of retail group amid volatile mart

MANILA, Philippines – The Gokongwei family’s Robinsons Retail Group is postponing its $800-million initial public offering (IPO), making it the second conglomerate to shelve plans of going public amid volatile market conditions. The country’s second largest retailer is waiting for the right timing for its IPO, intended to accelerate its expansion program, its top executive said. “I think you have to wait for the right timing,” said Lance Y. Gokongwei, president and chief operating officer of JG Summit Holdings Inc. “It’s more important that we have a successful IPO, so we’ll wait for the right time.” Robinsons Retail Group is a unit of property giant Robinsons Land Corp., whose parent firm is the Gokongweis’ investment holding firm JG Summit. After hitting its 31st all-time high this year at 7,392.20 on May 15, the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index has since slipped, ending at 6,465.28 yesterday. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 On June 13, the main index plunged 6.75 percent or 442.57 points to finish at 6,114.08, marking its deepest single-day drop since sinking by a record 12.27 percent on Oct. 27, 2008 at the height of the Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy that resulted in the global financial crisis. Gokongwei said Robinsons Retail Group has filed an IPO registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the share sale, which was previously targeted late this year. Robinsons Retail Group is planning to sell around 35 percent of the company’s stocks to the public, Gokongwei said. The retail group Read More …

PH road quality on par with Indonesia’s but well behind Thailand, Malaysia

 News
Jun 242013
 
PH road quality on par with Indonesia’s but well behind Thailand, Malaysia

By Jerry E. EsplanadaPhilippine Daily Inquirer 12:26 pm | Tuesday, June 25th, 2013 INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA—About 73 percent of national, provincial, city, municipal and barangay roads nationwide remain unpaved, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways. Despite this, the DPWH has noted a slight improvement in the quality of Philippine roads following the “adoption of new construction design specifications like the increase in concrete pavement thickness from 230 mm to 280 mm and outsourcing project inspection and quality control,” among other measures. In its midterm accomplishment report, the department said the country’s roads were already “at par with Indonesia” and targeted to be comparable to those in China and Thailand by 2016. Citing the latest Global Competitiveness Report of the World Economic Forum, the DPWH reported that on a scale of 1 to 7—1 being extremely underdeveloped and 7 extensive and efficient by global standards— the Philippines scored a 3.4 for its road network in the 2012-2013 period. That was an improvement of 0.3 from the 3.1 it scored in 2011-2012. The country’s roads scored 2.8 in the 2010-2011 period. Of 144 countries worldwide, the Philippines ranked 87th (from 114th during the previous WEF survey) for the overall state of its roads and bridges. Other countries in the region garnered the following scores for the quality of their roads in the 2012-2013 period: Malaysia, 5.4; Thailand, 5: China, 4.4; Indonesia, 3.4; and Vietnam, 2.7. Earlier, the DPWH said the government would look at Malaysia “as a benchmark Read More …

State weather forecasters say little chance of Indonesia haze reaching PHL

 News
Jun 232013
 
State weather forecasters say little chance of Indonesia haze reaching PHL

Philippine state weather forecasters believe there is little chance of the haze that has affected Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia reaching the Philippines. A report on Bombo Radyo quoted PAGASA as saying the winds from the southwest monsoon are likely to keep the haze out of the Philippine area of responsibility. In past days, a haze has affected Indonesia, caused by illegal forest fires on Sumatra island to clear space for palm oil plantations. The haze reached Singapore and now threatens Malaysia. According to reports on Malaysia’s The Star Online, winds from the southwest carried the haze from Riau to the central and southern part of the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, with several schools in Malaysia having to be closed due to the haze. — BM, GMA News

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