SINGAPORE — Two leading American business groups said yesterday that US firms operating in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries are skeptical the regional bloc can meet a 2015 deadline to establish a single market.
Aug 202013
Aug 202013
The United States government is extending the equivalent of P23.65 million in aid for victims of the flooding and monsoon rain in Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon, the United States Embassy said Tuesday. US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas Jr. said the disaster is of “sufficient magnitude” to warrant a response from the US government. “USAID/OFDA [The US Agency for International Development-Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance], working with USAID/Philippines, and the US Embassy canvassed relief organizations operating in the area, and determined that the increasing number of displaced families seeking safe refuge from various evacuation centers and vulnerable families needing emergency assistance warranted an offer of assistance from the US government,” Thomas said. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of those who are affected by the floods, those who have lost loved ones, and important possessions. I want Filipinos to know that the United States stands by them in times of need,” he added. A news release from the US Embassy in Manila quoted USAID Philippines Mission Director Gloria Steele as saying the aid will include $50,000 for emergency non-food assistance and $500,000 for warehousing and logistics support (about P23,650,000 in total) from USAID/OFDA. This will be channeled “through a humanitarian agency working in the Philippines to facilitate the immediate delivery of non-food relief items, potentially including jerry cans, household kits, and tarps, to flood-affected communities,” Steele said. Heavy rain from the southwest monsoon enhanced by Tropical Storm Maring pummeled several parts of Luzon. Read More …
Aug 202013
US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel will visit the Philippines later this month as negotiations on the framework of increased rotational presence of American troops in the Philippines continue between the two countries. In a statement, the Pentagon said that Hagel’s visit will cap the series of stops on the Secretary’s upcoming Southeast Asian trip. Hagel will start in Malaysia from Aug. 24 to 26, followed by Indonesia from Aug. 26 to 27, and Brunei from Aug. 27 to 29 In Brunei, Hagel will “meet with defense counterparts from across the Asia-Pacific region,” said the Pentagon. The US official will meet with defense ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries on Aug. 28. The next day, Hagel will participate in the Asian Defense Ministers Meeting-Plus meeting. “Secretary Hagel will conclude his trip in Manila on August 29-30 and return to Washington the evening of August 30,” the statement said. The visit of Hagel will come as Philippines and US officials are negotiating the framework of the increased rotational presence of US forces in the country. The talks between the US and the Philippines began last Wednesday in Camp Aguinaldo. According to officials, at least three more rounds may be held before an agreement can be reached. The next round of negotiations will be held in Washington later this month, said Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Carlos Sorreta, who heads the Philippine government’s negotiating panel. — BM, GMA News
Aug 192013
By Niña P. CallejaPhilippine Daily Inquirer 9:55 am | Tuesday, August 20th, 2013 Suspect Ericson Mendoza Blacquio MANILA, Philippines—A group of homeowners at the exclusive Hamilton Heights subdivision in Las Piñas City, where an American diver and businessman was killed on Thursday night, has appealed to the suspect, security guard Ericson Mendoza Blacquio, to give himself up to authorities. “We texted him and promised to help him as long as he would face the charges in court. We don’t want to be misunderstood. We condemn what he did but we are convincing him to turn himself in,” Arlene Marie Rodriquez-San Juan, the group’s representative, told the Inquirer Sunday. The killing of Matthew Caldwell, 59, a technical diver who helped search for Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo when his plane fell into the sea off Masbate province last year, shocked residents of Hamilton Heights, an upper middle class subdivision at Barangay (village) Talon V in Las Piñas City. “We know the suspect as a quiet, kind and patient man. But what he did to an unarmed man was completely wrong,” San Juan said. An argument between Blacquio and Caldwell over a subdivision policy turned sour when Blacquio lost his temper and shot dead the American national, police probers said. The disagreement stemmed from an order given by officers of the homeowners’ association that residents who had not paid their monthly contributions would have to lift the boom at the gate of the subdivision themselves, instead of the security guard on duty. The Read More …
Aug 192013
AN INITIAL 12,000 metric tons (MT) of “A” or US sugar have been converted to “D” or world market sugar, an official from the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said yesterday.
Aug 182013
By Julliane De JesusINQUIRER.net 10:07 am | Monday, August 19th, 2013 Dr. L. Masae Kawamura, former president of the North American Region of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, told reporters in press forum on Aug. 15, 2013, about the rising statistics of Filipino patients suffering from TB who are migrating to the United States. She said large proportion of tuberculosis patients in the US are Asians, most of them Filipinos. MANILA, Philippines—A large proportion of tuberculosis patients in the US are Asians, most of them Filipinos, a San-Francisco based medical expert has disclosed. Dr. L. Masae Kawamura, former president of the North American Region of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, told reporters last week about the rising statistics of Filipino patients suffering from TB who are migrating to the United States. She said Thursday in a press forum that TB is an “outcome of poor public health.” She appealed to the local government and health offices to prioritize early TB screening and bolster treatment in the country. “The Philippines exports more tuberculosis patients than import at this point… TB is a disease of poverty and migration, and urbanization [because] people are moving from the rural countryside to the big cities like Manila,” said Kawamura. Ranking second in Asia, the Philippines recorded high TB mortality rate next to Cambodia based on the World Health Organization (WHO) tuberculosis report. Among tuberculosis-afflicted persons, 59 percent came from Asia, the report said. Kawamura said that tuberculosis can be Read More …
Aug 162013
PERSONAL remittances from overseas Filipinos for January-June 2013 amounted to US$11.8 billion, representing a 6.2 percent increase from the level registered in the same period last year. The Bangko Sentral in Pilipinas (BSP) announced that 75.1 percent of the remittances came from land-based workers with work contracts of one year or longer. These remittances increased by 5.1 percent, despite continuing gloom in some major economies abroad. Remittance flows from sea-based workers and land-based workers with short-term contracts grew by 7.5 percent. For June 2013 alone, personal remittances increased year-on-year by 5.7 percent to reach US$2.1 billion, the highest monthly level recorded during the year. Cash remittances coursed through banks for the first six months of 2013 reached US$10.7 billion, sustaining the 5.6 percent growth in the same period last year. In particular, remittances from both sea-based (US$2.5 billion) and land-based workers ($8.2 billion) expanded by 7.4 percent and 5.1 percent, respectively, the BSP also said. Major sources of cash remittances were the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Canada, and Japan. Total flows from these countries represented about three-fourths (74.8 percent) of the total cash remittances coursed through banks. Remittances remained robust partly on the back of continued increase in demand for skilled Filipinos. The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) reported the number of workers deployed overseas in 2012 increased by 6.8 percent to 1,802,031, from 1,687,831 in 2011. “The steady stream of remittances also drew continued support from the efficient network of bank Read More …
Aug 152013
MANILA, August 14, 2013 (AFP) – The Philippines and the United States began talks on Wednesday aimed at allowing a bigger U.S. military presence on the soil of its key Asian ally, amid tensions with China. The talks aim to draw up rules for more rotational, or temporary, deployments of US forces and military assets in the Philippines. The […]
Aug 132013
By Matikas SantosINQUIRER.net 5:09 pm | Tuesday, August 13th, 2013 Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez and Senator Antonio Trillanes INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) disputed the allegations of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV that the negotiations between the United States and the Philippines for increased rotational presence of their troops was being unjustly hyped. “Defending what is ours, securing our nation, and keeping our people safe is a combined effort of diplomacy and defense, the partnership of the DFA and Department of National Defense (DND) is of paramount importance,” DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez told reporters Tuesday. “We need to be transparent to the public; we need to let our people know how we intend to protect and safeguard their interest and welfare at all times,” he said. Trillanes said Monday that the negotiations between US and the Philippines should be a national security matter only and the DFA should not have a role. “I believe that is an operational matter that does not need the consent of the Senate so they should have studied it first before they give it hype,” Trillanes said. “That should be a defense matter, it’s not a foreign relations matter. It is a national security concern, only [DND] secretary Voltaire Gazmin should be speaking about that matter,” he said. The ongoing territorial dispute over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) between the Philippines and China should not be connected to the policy of the US to Read More …
Aug 112013
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 …