TWO more trade missions from the United Kingdom (UK) will visit the Philippines before the year ends as part of the two governments’ intentions to double trade in the next five years, a British official said.
Sep 292013
Sep 292013
Philippine Daily Inquirer 4:28 am | Monday, September 30th, 2013 Environment Secretary Ramon Paje: Philippine delegation head. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines is hosting the 4th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Heritage Parks Conference (AHP), which will see 300 delegates, biodiversity experts and scientists tackle ecosystem degradation and the preservation of the Asean region’s natural heritage. Environment Secretary Ramon Paje will lead the Philippine delegation to the conference spearheaded by the Asean Center for Biodiversity (ACB) in Tagaytay City on Oct. 1-4. The conference stakeholders come from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. ACB executive director Roberto Oliva said there were currently 33 AHPs in Southeast Asia, five of them in the Philippines—Mt. Apo Natural Park, Mt. Kitanglad Range Natural Park and Mt. Malindang Range Natural Park, all in Mindanao; and Mt. Iglit-Baco and the newest, Mt. Makiling Forest Reserve, both Luzon. The Asean Declaration on Heritage Parks was signed by the environment ministers of the 10 Asean member states in December 2003 in Yangon establishing the AHP Program to promote greater collaboration in the region in the management of the parks.—Jeannette I. Andrade Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines. Tags: ASEAN , Asean Center for Biodiversity , Environment , heritage parks , heritage Read More …
Sep 292013
US President Barack Obama (right) and President Aquino: China on the agenda. MALACAÑANG PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Defense cooperation, including China’s incursions into Philippine territory, will top the agenda of President Aquino’s meeting with US President Barack Obama during the latter’s two-day visit to the country next month. In a radio interview, Ricky Carandang, head of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Group, said Aquino and Obama will talk at length on defense cooperation, specifically the “rotational presence” of US troops in the country. The meeting will be held on either Oct. 11 or 12. “Whether or not we will sign something during the Obama visit is not something I can answer at this point. What I can assure our countrymen is that these discussions with the US will lead to enhanced security for the Philippines and that’s why we’re entering into these discussions,” Carandang said. With the pivot of the United States toward East Asia, “our ties will continue to grow stronger,” he added. Carandang said the talks would likely touch on China’s undiplomatic efforts to expand its maritime borders in the South China Sea, including into portions of the West Philippine Sea. “I think we cannot avoid talking about this (territorial dispute with China) because that is part of the context of our action to enhance our maritime security. This is one of the biggest issues concerning not only the Philippines, but also Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and Japan,” Carandang said. The Philippines and the United States are currently Read More …
Sep 282013
MANILA, Philippines – The US Federal Reserve’s decision to keep its asset-purchasing program in place will provide a lift to economic prospects in the Philippines in the short term. However, the research arm of Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. (Metrobank) said volatility still remains as markets await the timing of the Fed’s tapering. “The decision to hold off tapering for now will boost economic prospects in the short term, particularly in the housing and auto industries that are very sensitive to interest rate movements,” Metrobank said in its research report. The Fed on Sept. 18 surprised markets around the world when it said it is sticking to its massive bond-buying program. The move gave a boost to markets, including those in emerging economies, as investors scrambled for high-yielding assets. But Metrobank stressed volatility will still be experienced by markets as the tapering will still be implemented sooner or later. “Tapering is still highly likely to start sooner than later so market volatility will still be the order of the day. Expect the peso-dollar exchange to continue to swing around despite the strong OFW remittances that should peak this coming fourth quarter,” Metrobank said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Emerging markets have experienced sell-offs since May, when the US Fed hinted at tapering stimulus. “[A] major concern is the significant rise in interest rates, largely a market reaction to the Fed’s announcement of the tapering in May. The US 10-year Treasury bond yield increased by nearly 120 Read More …
Sep 272013
By: Alex Llorente LOS ANGELES, CA (September 26, 2013) – Filipino movie enthusiasts will be treated with an opportunity to see four critically acclaimed Filipino documentary films one after another at the OneFilAm Film Festival on Saturday November 16, 2013 at the Barnsdall Gallery Theater in Hollywood. The films, which were official entries to various film festivals, will showcase Filipino values, heritage and culture as portrayed through the lives of soldiers, martial artists and musicians. Forgotten Soldiers is a film about General Douglas MacArthur’s best soldiers and members of the U.S. Army’s Philippine Scouts in Bataan during World War II who were instrumental in preventing the invasion of Australia from the Imperial Japanese forces. It is a collection of personal accounts from some of the remaining veterans who survived the Bataan Death March, actual footage of the battles, reenactments, photographs and WWII memorabilia. Produced and directed by Donald Plata, written by Chris Schaefer and narrated by Lou Diamond Phillips. (www.ww2scouts.com) Showing at 10:00 a.m The Bladed Hand is a documentary on the global impact of the Filipino Martial Arts. It talks about the fighting methods and styles that were devised in the Philippines and the weapons used by early Filipino warriors and modern Martial Artists. From bolos (blade), arnis (wooden stick) and mano mano (bare hands), Filipinos have propagated various art forms of self-defense and made valuable contributions to tactical and combat practices around the world. Produced by Jay Ignacio. (www.twitter.com/thebladedhand) Showing at 12:00 p.m. Harana features three Filipino serenade Read More …
Sep 272013
MANILA, Philippines – Science Park of the Philippines, Inc. (SPPI) is spending P4 billion to develop Light Industry and Science Park IV, a new industrial estate in Batangas amid demand from foreign firms for spaces for manufacturing facilities. “We are developing the latest site in Malvar, Batangas in response to demand from foreign firms,” SPPI chairman and chief executive officer Guillermo Luchangco said in a press conference yesterday. He said they have received interest from foreign firms engaged in electronics, as well as the automotive sectors, to invest in manufacturing operations here. The 200-hectare industrial park is alongside the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR) expressway that links to Makati and Metro Manila to the Batangas International Port. The industrial park would be complemented by a 60-hectare residential and commercial area. Luchangco said SPPI expects to complete the development of the industrial park in two and a half years. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The development of the residential and commercial area though, he said, may take a longer time to complete. The firm intends to fund the development of the industrial estate through internally generated funds and loans from banks. The Light Industry and Science Park IV is the fourth industrial estate being developed by SPPI. The firm has already developed industrial parks in Cabuyao and Calamba in Laguna as well as in Sto. Tomas in Batangas. The development of the new industrial park comes as many foreign firms have expressed interest to bring their manufacturing Read More …
Sep 162013
COMPANIES from Chungnam province, Korea, are willing to invest in the Philippines to expand their global operations, some of the firms said yesterday.
Sep 162013
IMPROVEMENTS in the economy have given the Philippines the highest jump among 60 countries on the annual business growth environment list by Grant Thornton International Ltd.
Sep 142013
Two of three Maralit brothers pose with their high-powered firearms in these photos, copies of which were forwarded to the Inquirer from the US Attorney’s Office that have them and other pictures as evidence. Rex and Wilfredo Maralit who work for the New York Police Department and Customs Border Protection respectively were arrested separately in the US and charged with smuggling weapons to the Philippines. A third brother, Ariel, is in Manila and at large. PHOTOS FROM US ATTORNEY’S OFFICE MANILA, Philippines—The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has asked the United States government for documents on the importation of high-powered firearms into the Philippines allegedly by three Filipino-American brothers to determine if they had accomplices in the country. Fernandino Tuason, BOC Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service director, said he had asked the US Department of Homeland Security for copies of the shipping documents used by the Maralit brothers in their alleged international gun smuggling activities. “(The Americans will) be giving us shipping documents so we can get more information about their modus operandi,” Tuason said in an interview. “Up to now we have not seen any documents; it is just hearsay or news reports so we contacted our counterpart in the US. We will use these documents to backtrack and find out who their contacts are in the Philippines,” he said. Tuason said the BOC could go after the recipients of the firearms if it were proven that they did not pay import duties or failed to secure the necessary gun Read More …
Sep 142013
Somewhere in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, out-of-school kids are learning to read and write in the streets through pushcart classrooms– the same unique learning platform that CNN Hero of the Year awardee Efren Peñaflorida and his Dynamic Teen Company (DTC) use to educate the street children of Cavite. Gerobak Pintar or Smart Cart is a project of the Indonesian nonprofit organization Yayasan Wadah Titian Harapan or Wadah, which partnered with DTC to duplicate the project among the urban poor youths of Jakarta. Inspired by the “Kariton Klasrum”(mobile cart classroom) that made an impact on the lives of underprivileged kids in the Philippines, Wadah founder Anie Hashim Djojohadikusumo approached DTC to help implement the program in Indonesia. Gerobak Pintar was finally launched last July to educate its beneficiary kids and parents in four areas: Education, Health, Extra Food Supplement, and Life Skills. The program will be facilitated by Wadah volunteers, after which it will be turned over to the communities. “Wadah is very grateful for the help and support that DTC has provided to make this project a reality,” said Anie Hashim Djojohadikusumo. “Indonesia and the Philippines are very similar in the sense that we have the same problems in education and poverty. We hope the Gerobak Pintar here will transform the lives of Indonesian children the same way it changed the lives of many young people in the Philippines,” Djojohadikusumo said. Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to Read More …