THE LABOR department is optimistic the country can retain its trade privileges from the United States as only one issue is left to be resolved in a pending dispute.
May 262013
May 262013
MANILA, Philippines – Low-cost carrier Southeast Asian Airlines (Seair), a unit of Tiger Airways Holdings Ltd. of Singapore, is set to mount flights to Singapore and Hong Kong from Cebu and Kalibo in Aklan. Seair has filed a petition with the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) to impose a fuel surcharge of P500 for flights from Kalibo to Singapore and Hong Kong as well as flights between Cebu and Singapore. Last February, the budget airline started imposing a fuel surcharge of P500 for all its international passengers and P300 for all its domestic passengers flying within the Philippines except Davao. The budget airline also started imposing a P400 fuel surcharge for Manila to Davao passengers. The CAB allows airlines to impose fuel surcharge on international and domestic passengers as a temporary relief to help them recover losses arising from the increase in jet fuel prices in the world market. Latest results of the jet fuel price monitor of the International Air Transportation Association (IATA) showed that average price of jet fuel rose 4.7 percent to $118.1 per barrel from a month ago level. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Seair flies from Manila to Cebu, Davao, Tacloban, Iloilo, Puerto Princesa, Bacolod, and Boracay via the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). Its international destinations include Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, and Kota Kinabalu via the Clark International Airport in Pampanga. In August last year, Tiger Airways through wholly-owned subsidiary Roar Aviation II Pte Ltd. acquired a 40-percent stake in Seair Read More …
May 252013
A group of Taiwanese women wearing mourning attire slipped past presidential guards and managed to hold a lightning rally inside the Malacañang compound in Manila Saturday. The 13 women brought a streamer demanding a public apology from the Philippine government for the death of a Taiwanese fisherman in an encounter in disputed waters on May 9. During their demonstration, presidential guards and anti-riot police had a hard time escorting them out of the compound but eventually allowed them to finish their activity peacefully, radio dzBB’s Divine Caraecle reported. One of the demonstrators was a former Taiwanese councilwoman, according to a GMA News “Flash report.” Presidential guards and police eventually allowed the demonstrators to read the contents of a letter seeking an apology. The dzBB report said the Taiwanese also asked President Benigno Aquino to heed their call for a public apology and to resolve the issue soonest. For his part, Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office head Ramon Carandang was quoted in the GMA News Flash report as saying the Philippines is focusing on the investigation of the incident. Tension remains between the Philippines and Taiwan over the May 9 incident, although both sides have agreed to a parallel investigation on the incident. — LBG, GMA News
May 242013
By Tina G. SantosPhilippine Daily Inquirer 6:46 am | Saturday, May 25th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—Filipino seafarers may file work-related complaints even while aboard ocean-going vessels, according to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). POEA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz had issued Department Order No. 127 directing the opening of communication lines between Filipino sailors and the POEA to strengthen the modes of conciliation and mediation of labor disputes in the maritime industry. “The department order effectively aligns with Regulation 5.1.5 of the Maritime Labor Convention 2006 of the International Labor Organization which requires the mandatory implementation of onboard complaints procedure for the fair, effective and expeditious handling of seafarer complaints alleging breaches of the requirements of the said convention, including labor and employment rights of seafarers,” Cacdac said. Aggrieved seafarers usually filed complaints only upon their return to the country, the POEA said. But Cacdac said a seafarer could now communicate to the POEA an onboard complaint either through postal mail addressed to the POEA administrator, Blas F. Ople Building corner Edsa and Ortigas Ave., Mandaluyong City, Philippines 1501; through e-mail addressed to onboardconci@poea.gov.ph, or by calling the office at tel. nos. 8336992, 5516641 and 5511560. Cacdac said the POEA would provide the seafarer with impartial advice on the complaint and assist him in going through the complaint procedures. He gave assurance that all information gathered during consultation would be kept in strict confidence and evaluated in accordance with existing rules and regulations governing the employment Read More …
May 242013
1:01 am | Saturday, May 25th, 2013 Children of The Filipino Channel (TFC) create art to support programs for child rescue and rehabilitation in the Philippines. Photo by Bryan Reynoso REDWOOD CITY, California—Art classes attended by children of the employees of The Filipino Channel are producing works that will help raise funds for the rehabilitation of neglected or abused children in the Philippines. The art program, Kids heART Bantay Bata, is hosted by the ABS CBN Foundation International in partnership with Filipino-American artist Paolo Mejia, whose work and advocacy supports emerging artists and designers to raise awareness and support for the foundation’s flagship program, Bantay Bata (Child Watch Philippines). The foundation is the corporate social responsibility arm of ABS-CBN International and The Filipino Channel (TFC). “Our philanthropy starts at our home, at TFC,” says Jo Ann Kyle, managing director for the foundation. “The children are deeply engaged and understand that they paint for a purpose. Knowing that kids as young as four years old create art with the less fortunate in mind gives a more layered and solemn beauty to their raw talent,” Kyle adds. Art for charity The classes create original art that will be reproduced on cards and made available with minimum donations to the charity. Proceeds will support the multi-awarded initiative that rescues and rehabilitates impoverished, abused, and neglected children in the Philippines. Notecard reproductions will be available at the Philippine Independence Day Council, Inc. (PIDCI) parade in New York on June 2, 2013 and online Read More …
May 242013
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines stands ready to respond should the planned withdrawal of stimulus measures abroad results into capital outflows. “While there may be a possible effect of an exit strategy, I think investors will still look at the fundamentals, the prospects of individual countries. So it does not mean that suddenly they will just exit,” BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. told reporters yesterday. Should it be necessary, the central bank “have the tools” to respond to possible inflow of capital to the US once it decides to scale down or stop its quantitative easing (QE) program. On Wednesday, US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke told a Senate inquiry that QE — which involves the buying of $85 billion worth of securities every month — is “providing benefits” to US economy still reeling from the effects of the 2007 financial crisis. While he warned against “premature tightening,” minutes of the meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee — the Fed’s policymaking body — showed that some members wanted to “adjust the flow of purchases downward.” This has disgruntled Asian financial markets, causing investors to fly back to safe haven assets such as the dollar. The peso plunged to 41.69 versus the greenback on Thursday, its weakest level in almost eight months. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 In the long run though, Tetangco said it should be expected that QE will stop as the US economy recovers and that Asian nations, such as the Philippines, should Read More …
May 212013
A TASK FORCE that will implement an action plan to improve the business climate in the country was created by President Benigno S. C. Aquino III in a bid to boost the global competitiveness of the Philippines.
May 212013
Agence France-Presse 8:55 pm | Tuesday, May 21st, 2013 President Aquino AP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines — President Benigno Aquino on Tuesday announced a $1.8-billion military upgrade to help defend his country’s maritime territory against “bullies,” amid an ever-worsening dispute with China. The announcement came on the same day that the Philippines filed a protest with China over the “illegal and provocative” presence of a Chinese warship and two other vessels at a Filipino-claimed shoal in the disputed South China Sea. In thinly veiled comments referring to China, Aquino vowed during a speech to mark the navy’s 115th anniversary that the armed forces would be given the resources necessary to protect Philippine sovereignty. “We have a clear message to the world: The Philippines is for Filipinos, and we have the capability to resist bullies entering our backyard,” Aquino told naval chiefs. Aquino detailed a P75-billion ($1.82-billion) military modernization program that gives priority to upgrading the navy, which is one of the weakest in Southeast Asia. He said by 2017 the Philippines would acquire two new frigates, two helicopters capable of anti-submarine warfare, three fast vessels for coastal patrols and eight amphibious assault vehicles. “We will also improve our communications, intelligence and surveillance systems,” he said. The Philippines has been locked for more than two years in an increasingly hostile dispute with China over rival claims to the South China Sea, which is believed to sit atop vast resources of oil and gas. China insists it has sovereign rights to most Read More …
May 212013
Agence France-Presse 9:13 pm | Tuesday, May 21st, 2013 TAIPEI — Taiwan on Tuesday released a satellite record of the route of a fishing boat fired on by Philippine coastguards, flatly rejecting Manila’s allegations that the boat intruded into Philippine waters. The killing of crew member Hung Shih-cheng, 65, sparked outrage in Taiwan, which has announced a series of economic sanctions against the Philippines. Taiwan’s Fisheries Agency said the voyage data recorder from the fishing boat showed it was not in Philippine waters when it came under fire on May 9. “The satellite records indicated that the Guang Ta Hsin 28 had been fishing within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone throughout,” the agency’s deputy chief Tsay Tzu-yaw told AFP. The satellite record showed that the ship was positioned at 122 degrees and 55 minutes east and 19 degrees and 59 minutes north when it was attacked at 10:12 am. The economic zones claimed by each country overlap. “Since the Philippine authorities repeatedly alleged that the fishing boat had intruded into their waters, then why not make public the video records they claim they have taken from the coastguard boat?” Tsay said. The Philippines said Monday it would make “coordinated efforts” with Taiwan to look into the incident. Its coastguards claimed that the fishing boat intruded into Philippine waters and tried to ram their vessel, forcing them to open fire. Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou has termed the killing “cold-blooded murder” based on an initial inquiry by Taiwan, which showed that the boat Read More …
May 212013
8:46 pm | Tuesday, May 21st, 2013 Members of the Philippine Navy SEALS display their gear during a ceremony celebrating the 115th anniversary of the Philippine navy at Fort San Felipe, Cavite city southwest of Manila, Philippines Tuesday, May 21, 2013. The Philippine government is planning to spend $1.8 billion dollars to modernize the Philippine navy with acquisition of additional ships and anti-submarine helicopters. AP MANILA, Philippines—Faced with territorial disputes and worries of external and internal threats, President Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday claimed that the Philippines can fight back and defend itself within its bounds. “Our message to the whole world is clear: what belongs to the Philippines belongs to the Philippines,” Aquino said in a speech at a naval base in Cavite province south of Manila. “We can fight back and defend ourselves every time somebody will threaten us right in our own home ground.” Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said the Philippines denounced the “provocative and illegal presence” of Beijing’s ships off Ayungin Shoal in the South China Sea, adding the area is “an integral part of our national territory.” “We have already sent communications on this. We have already told them about our position regarding these vessels, which have intruded in our EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone),” Hernandez in a press briefing on Tuesday. Asked what such “communications” were, Hernandez said: “When we send communications on things like this, when there are intrusions, we file protests.” The DFA filed the protest with the Chinese Embassy Read More …