NAY PYI TAW, Myanmar) The meeting between President Benigno S. Aquino III and Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will focus on economic and political reforms that are taking place in the two countries, an official said. President Aquino, who is set to arrive here Friday, will meet with Suu Kyi, chairperson and general secretary […]
MANILA (Mabuhay) — A US fact-finding mission has submitted its findings on the grounding of the USS Guardian at the Tubbataha Reef last January 17. President Aquino said the report was given to him last week and it will take some time to go through the 1-inch thick document. “I have to go through it. […]
MANILA, June 3 (Mabuhay) — President Benigno S. Aquino III signed into law a Bill amending an earlier Republic Act regulating the cutting of coconut trees, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte announced on Sunday. Speaking at a press briefing aired over government-run radio station dzRB Radyo ng Bayan, Valte said President Aquino signed last May […]
MANILA, Philippines – The country’s third investment grade rating may be forthcoming as Moody’s Investors Service has lauded the Philippine economy’s robust expansion, the Aquino government’s record budget surplus, and the conduct of generally peaceful elections. Moody’s is the only global credit rating agency that still rates the Philippines one notch below investment grade or BA1. The country obtained its first, investment grade upgrade from Fitch Ratings Services in March. Standard & Poors’ followed suit in May. In a statement issued yesterday, Moody’s said the Philippines’ first quarter GDP (gross domestic product) and record budget surplus are “credit positive,” a sign that that an upgrade may be in the offing. National Treasurer Rosalia De Leon said officials from Moody’s are expected to arrive in the Philippines next month. Last week, the government announced that it posted a P36.8-billion budget surplus in April, the highest monthly surplus it achieved, largely due to a 28.9- percent year-on-year increase in income tax receipts. “The improvement in tax receipts demonstrates that the government’s efforts to bolster tax compliance are gaining traction and helping to boost revenue generation, one of the key weaknesses of the Philippines’ credit profile. The relatively moderate year-to-date fiscal deficit also suggests that a degree of spending restraint in the run-up to the midterm elections held last month and that the government’s spending decisions are increasingly driven by long-term economic objectives rather than short-term political ones,” said Moody’s senior analyst Christian de Guzman. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: Read More …
MANILA, May 30 (Mabuhay) — President Benigno S. Aquino III welcomed Indonesian Presidential Special Adviser and Envoy His Excellency TB Silalahi who called on him in Malacanang on Thursday. Joining Silalahi were Indonesian Minister for State-Owned Enterprises Dahlan Iskan and Indonesian Ambassador to the Philippines Yohanes Kristiato Soeryo Legowa. Joining the President in welcoming the […]
MANILA (Mabuhay) – President Benigno S. Aquino III has appointed lawyer Richard Joseph S. Elias as private representative to the Toll Regulatory Board, a Palace official said. The appointment was announced by Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte during an interview aired over government-owned radio station dzRB Radyo ng Bayan on Sunday. Valte said the Chief Executive […]
MANILA, May 9 (Mabuhay) — President Aquino dispelled fears that Wednesday’s power outage was a dry run for a no-election scenario on Monday. Speaking to reporters, Aquino said the energy department’s inventory has shown that there will be enough supply of electricity on election day. Aquino denied that the administration has anything to do with […]
MANILA, Apr 17 (Mabuhay) — President Benigno S. Aquino III will join his counterparts at the 22nd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit that will be held in Brunei Darussalam from April 24 to 25, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced on Wednesday. In a briefing in Malacanang, DFA Spokesperson Raul Hernandez said […]
MANILA, Philippines – A Magna Carta for the poor remains a viable state instrument for the emancipation of poor families, but its formulation cannot be left alone to “congressional caprice.” This was stressed by economist and former presidential adviser Joey Salceda, saying “the poor are so poor that the Magna Carta for their emancipation is urgent.” “If I were allowed to make an input, I would have phrased it this way: Like IRA (Internal Revenue Allotment) to LGUs (local government units), the poor shall be entitled to at least three percent of the gross domestic product, which would automatically be appropriated annually in the state’s national expenditures,” he said. The poor’s share, he added, should be an integral part of the multi-year development instruments such as the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan and the Medium Term Public Investment Program. He, however, said the poor and the expenditure program must be defined by the National Anti- Poverty Commission, with the secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development as its ex-officio chair. President Aquino vetoed the proposed law recently, saying it was a “mission impossible” because the government has no means to produce the P3.3 trillion budget it requires to uplift the poor. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The Philippine government has only a P2-trillion annual national budget this year. The President, however, has ordered the Cabinet social welfare cluster group to draw up a “substitute measure that will be given to the next Congress, which Read More …
To leave or not to leave, Elections chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. will make his decision by Monday. On Thursday, Brillantes, who was extremely disappointed with the recent decisions of the Supreme Court against the Comelec, said he will talk first with his daughters, especially his eldest who is in Connecticut. “I’ll take a break Saturday, Sunday. Konting meditation, konting pag-iisip tapos I will make a final decision by Monday. I will be talking to some people. I have to talk to my daughters, who are the people behind me. Sila lang naman ang pinaniniwalaan ko,” he told reporters. He said his daughters have been against his taking the post from the start. Brillantes has three daughters. “Matagal na nilang ayaw ako nandito e. Pinagagalitan na nga nila ako noon pa. Seryoso, sabi ko nag-iisip ako na ayoko na. ‘Di ba sinabi ko naman noon pa,’ sabi nung bunso ko, ‘hindi ka naman dapat pumunta na dyan matanda ka na e’,” said Brillantes, 73. It was only his daughter who is abroad whom he has yet to speak with. Asked if he would still pursue his meeting with the President, Brillantes said the schedule given to him was next week. He said he can dispense with the meeting with Aquino since all he wanted to ask from him was the appointment of the two new commissioners. But if the President will ask for him, he will come. Brillantes served as President Aquino’s election lawyer in 2010. He was appointed Comelec chief Read More …