Philippines – Page 67

DOTC sees completion of P13.25-B aviation system by 2015

Economy

Jul 072013

DOTC sees completion of P13.25-B aviation system by 2015

DOTC Sec. Joseph Emilio Abaya MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) expects the completion of the P13.25 billion world-class communication, navigation and surveillance system by 2015 or before the end of the term of President Aquino. Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said the joint venture between Sumitomo Corp. of Japan and Thales Australia Ltd. has committed to complete the Communications, Navigation and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) Systems Development Project Package–I by November 2015. “I don’t expect any further delay. I know the whole project is estimated to be done by November 2015,” Abaya said. The CNS/ATM Systems Development Project was first conceptualized in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Global Air Navigation Plan, and would replace the aging vital communications, surveillance, and air traffic control equipment at selected airports nationwide. The DOTC awarded the two work packages to Sumitomo-Thales joint venture. The first package which entails the design and construction of the ATM Center and ATM Automation System, as well as the final integration of the whole CNS/ATM system was awarded in November 2010. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The second package which involves the design and construction of a surveillance and communication system was awarded in April 2011. The CNS/ATM project aims to enhance safety, reliability and efficiency of air traffic and airspace systems in the Philippines. The existing air traffic control systems, navigation, communications and surveillance equipment in the country fall short of the required number, are aging Read More …

Pinoy prelate remembers John Paul II as pope who 'out-prayed' priests

News

Jul 062013

Pinoy prelate remembers John Paul II as pope who 'out-prayed' priests

A Filipino prelate who had the privilege of dining often with the late Pope John Paul II was among those who were least surprised by the Vatican’s announcement that the globetrotting pontiff will soon be declared a saint. In a phone interview with GMA News Online, Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz said Pope John Paul II was such a prayerful man that he even “outprayed” priests at his dinner table. “Ang tagal niya magdasal before and after a meal. Kaming mga kasama niya excited nang kumain, pero siya, taimtim pa ring nagdarasal,” Cruz said. “Pagkatapos kumain, matagal na naman siyang magdadasal. Sobrang tagal natunaw na ata yung kinain niya,” the former President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) added in jest. The Vatican on Friday announced John Paul II, the first non-Italian pope in 450 years, and the “good pope” John XXIII, will be made saints. Cruz said his close friendship with John Paul II began when he was chosen as the secretary general of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences (FABC) in 1983. As an FABC executive, Cruz traveled to Vatican at least once a month to meet with other senior officials of the Catholic Church. Cruz said John Paul II had an “aura of holiness” that the late Jaime Cardinal Sin once said he used to feel whenever he embraced the pontiff during meetings at the Vatican. “May nararamdaman kaming space ‘pag niyakap namin siya. At ang sabi nga namin, yung space na ‘yun ay personal space niya Read More …

PH sets conditions for continued Golan Heights deployment

News

Jul 062013

PH sets conditions for continued Golan Heights deployment

By Tarra QuismundoPhilippine Daily Inquirer 3:47 pm | Saturday, July 6th, 2013 Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario. AP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—President Benigno Aquino is willing to extend the deployment of Filipino peacekeepers in the conflict-stricken Golan Heights if the United Nations agrees to certain conditions regarding the safety of the Filipino soldiers, Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said Saturday. Del Rosario said the President was open to maintaining the country’s troops in the volatile ceasefire zone between Syria and Israel beyond the scheduled troop rotation on August 11 if safety and security conditions improve. At least 340 Filipino peacekeepers are detailed to the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) at the ceasefire zone, which has been wracked by a spillover of violence between Syrian government and rebel forces. “We are submitting our conditionalities [to the United Nations] for enhancing safety and security of Philippine peacekeepers in UNDOF,” Del Rosario told the Inquirer. “If these are approved, and the risk exposure does not exceed tolerable limits, the President has agreed for our people to remain beyond August 11 with a reassessment thereafter to be made every six months.” Del Rosario earlier proposed to Aquino the withdrawal of the Philippine contingent, currently UNDOF’s biggest, following two separate abductions of Filipino “Blue Helmets”—21 in March and four in May— and the wounding of one during heavy fighting among Syrians in June. The Philippines sent an assessment team to the Golan last month to determine if safety and security conditions in the area Read More …

PHL bishops: John Paul II's sainthood to draw more youths to Catholic faith

News

Jul 062013

PHL bishops: John Paul II's sainthood to draw more youths to Catholic faith

The Vatican’s decision to canonize the late Pope John Paul II may draw more young people to the Church, a Philippine Catholic bishop said Saturday. Legazpi Bishop Joel Baylon said John Paul II served as an inspiration to the youth and had been a role model to Church leaders and the world’s Catholics. “He could draw thousands of young people and listen to him so I hope this time that he is becoming a saint, he could draw more young people closer to the Church,” Baylon said in an article posted Saturday on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines news site. Baylon also noted John Paul II was instrumental in “awakening the spirit of generosity and enthusiasm among the young people to love the Church.” Filipinos particularly have a special place in their hearts for John Paul II, who visited the Philippines twice – in 1981 and 1995. In his 1995 visit, he interacted with young Filipinos and youths from all over the World during the World Youth Day celebration. “That’s why it’s really a blessing for the youth that he will become (a) saint,” Baylon said. The CBCP noted Pope Francis on Friday approved a miracle needed to canonize Pope John Paul II, and waived some Vatican rules to honor Pope John XXIII. Both popes are closely identified with the historic Second Vatican Council meetings that brought the Church into modern times. For his part, Lipa (Batangas) archbishop Ramon Arguelles said the canonization of the two popes “speaks Read More …

US warns against travel to Mindanao

News

Jul 062013

Agence France-Presse 2:24 pm | Saturday, July 6th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—The United States has warned Americans against travel to Mindanao just days after Australia and Canada issued similar advice. A “security message” from the US embassy in Manila earlier this week said diplomatic staff had been restricted from travelling to three cities on the southern island of Mindanao. It was followed by a US State Department travel warning dated July 5 advising Americans to exercise extreme caution when travelling to Mindanao, citing “criminal gangs… (and) terrorist groups” in the area. It also called on Americans to defer non-essential travel to the Sulu archipelago, a chain of islands off Mindanao where Al-Qaeda-linked extremists are active. “It (the travel warning) reflects continuing threats in the Sulu archipelago and the island of Mindanao due to terrorist and insurgent activities,” the US embassy said in a statement. Australia and Canada issued warnings on Wednesday about fresh threats of terrorism and kidnapping in the southern Philippines. Canberra has barred its diplomats from travelling to Davao, Cotabato and Zamboanga — the same three Mindanao cities that US embassy staff are not allowed to travel to. An embassy spokeswoman declined to comment on the nature of the threat against Americans. The Philippine National Police also did not know of any specific threat against Americans in Mindanao, said spokesman Senior Superintendent Reuben Sindac. Mindanao and surrounding islands are a hotbed of various armed groups including communist guerrillas, bandits, Muslim insurgents and the Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic extremist group Read More …

BSP eases forex rules anew

Economy

Jul 052013

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s foreign exchange rules were liberalized anew on what the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said was part of efforts to prepare the Philippines for the financial integration of Southeast Asian economies by 2015. “The objective is to further broaden the scope for regional and international transactions as we become more integrated with financial markets globally,” BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said in a text message to reporters. BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo, in a separate text message, said the new rules were meant to “prepare the Philippines for a more integrated financial markets” of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) by 2020. Tetangco said the central bank is allowing non-residents to invest in foreign companies listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange. Peso earnings from these investments may now also be converted into dollars. Prior to this, Guinigundo said only Philippine residents could register with custodian banks in order to buy shares of PSE-listed non-resident companies. Registration of portfolio investments – inflows to equities, bonds and peso deposits – through custodian banks are necessary to allow remittance of earnings and convert them into other currencies. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “We are setting the stage for the eventuality that trading links (among the ASEAN nations) are established,” he told reporters. “This is in connection also to the planned cross-listing” on regional bourses planned under the ASEAN financial integration, Guinigundo explained. In addition, the BSP is also allowing the pre-payment of central Read More …

Consumer prices inch up in June

Economy

Jul 042013

File photo of consumers in the Philippines. MANILA, Philippines – Consumer prices slightly accelerated in June from the previous month but the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said inflation continues to remain manageable. Inflation picked up to 2.8 percent in June from 2.6 percent in May, the National Statistics Office (NSO) reported on Friday. “This was due to higher annual increments in the indices for alcoholic beverages and tobacco, health, transport, recreation and culture, and education,” the state agency said in its website. Excluding food and oil prices, core inflation settled at 2.9 percent, slightly losing pace from three percent in May. The BSP welcomed the latest inflation print, which fell within its 2 to 2.9 percent forecast for the month. The result “further supports our assessment of manageable inflation and the current appropriateness of our current policy stance,” BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said in a text message to reporters. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 As of the first half, inflation settled at 2.9 percent, slightly below the BSP’s three- to five-percent inflation target. The central bank, Tetangco said, will be watchful of external developments, especially on how other monetary authorities abroad will calibrate their policies. “We will monitor the impact of these factors on global and domestic investor sentiment and growth dynamics to see if there is any need to adjust our own policy settings,” Tetangco pointed out. The BSP has kept policy rates at record-lows of 3.5 percent and 5.5 percent since October, Read More …

Phl making big push to lift agri, other sectors

Economy

Jul 042013

Phl making big push to lift agri, other sectors

MANILA, Philippines – The Aquino Administration is making a big push to expand its manufacturing, agriculture, infrastructure and tourism sectors as it works toward achieving sustainable, inclusive growth. Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad said the government would focus its efforts on attracting investments into the country as well as creating jobs to keep the local economy moving forward. “There’s going to be a greater push for expansion in industries because of the challenge of inclusive growth, that’s why more investments are needed to promote poverty reduction and job generation,” Abad said. In particular, he said the Aquino Administration is looking to get more investments into the country’s infrastructure development program as it rolls out more projects to boost infrastructure spending to five percent of GDP by 2016. Abad said increased infrastructure spending would help spur the growth of key industries like agriculture and tourism while at the same time getting more people into work. Between now and 2016, the government must adopt measures to create a total of 14.6 million jobs. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “We’re going to be rationalizing the infra program because unlike in the past, each agency was worrying about its own infra program. But since we’re very clear about economic targets, this time around we have to operate differently, meaning there has to be somebody who will oversee the government’s infra plan,” he said. In the five months ending May this year, government infrastructure spending reached P106.4 billion, up 35.6 Read More …

Del Rosario invites Chinese foreign minister to Manila

News

Jul 042013

Del Rosario invites Chinese foreign minister to Manila

By Tarra QuismundoPhilippine Daily Inquirer 4:03 pm | Thursday, July 4th, 2013 Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario. AP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario has invited Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to visit Manila for “consultations” as the Philippines wished to defuse tensions over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). In a brief interview Thursday, Del Rosario told reporters that Wang said “he will consider” the invitation. The two top diplomats had a “testy exchange” over the dispute at the close of the recent Association of Southeast Asian Nations ministers’ meeting in Brunei, where the regional maritime question became a centerpiece issue. “What might be of interest is I invited the (Chinese) foreign minister to come and visit Manila so that we can have a full and constructive discussion on all issues,” Del Rosario said. “I indicated to him that perhaps it’s time for him to do this because I have been to Beijing three times since I became foreign minister and all throughout that time, we have had no visits from the Chinese foreign minister,” he added. Del Rosario did not deny what happened behind closed doors during Sunday’s tense meeting in Bandar Seri Begawan, where he reportedly rebuffed Wang’s speech in which the Chinese official enumerated complaints against the Philippines over the West Philippine Sea. “I don’t think I should be discussing that but I did not deny what has been reported. As I said, there’s probably no need to add to it,” Del Rosario Read More …

PHL govt welcomes China's decision to hold talks on sea code

News

Jul 042013

PHL govt welcomes China's decision to hold talks on sea code

The Philippine government on Thursday described as a “forward step” China’s decision to discuss a code of conduct on the South China Sea with the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries. At a press briefing, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the Philippines is ready to discuss its draft of the code with Chinese officials to try to diffuse tension at the South China Sea. “We have already drafted the code of conduct, and we have asked them to discuss it with us. China has already said that they are discussing with us, so this is a step in the right direction,” Lacierda said. The President’s spokesperson refused to “speculate” when asked if the Philippine government thinks China is only using talks on the code as a delaying tactic. On Monday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said his country has agreed to hold “official consultations” on a proposed code of conduct on the South China Sea with Southeast Asian nations. Sea dispute China is asserting its historial claim on the entire South China Sea. The Philippines, however, is claiming its ownership of some parts of the South China Sea—which it calls the West Philippine Sea—under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei also have claims over parts of the South China Sea. Lacierda said that the Philippines will continue to seek international arbitration on its territorial dispute with China while talks on the sea code are ongoing. “We have used the proper approaches, Read More …

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