Ang alam ko sila lang yung mga contenders.
Alam ko gusto rin si Binay pero hindi shya mashyado , aligned shya talaga sa maraming special interests groups dyan sa Pilipinas. Delikado yan....
Philippines Defence Forum
- Thread starter Malaya
- Start date
Alam ko gusto rin si Binay pero hindi shya mashyado , aligned shya talaga sa maraming special interests groups dyan sa Pilipinas. Delikado yan....
Cossack25A1
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Saka may kaso siya at ang anak niya na sigurado makaka-apekto sa eleksyon, maliban na lang kung gagamit ng "vote-buying" para makahatak ng botante.
'tang ina talaga yung vote buying djan sa Pinas. Saan talaga ang prinsipyo sa politoko ? Saan talaga ang prinsipyo sa mga voters ?
Sayang talaga....
Cossack25A1
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May haka-haka ang iba dito sa Pilipinas na kaya ayaw ayusin ang ng mga pulitiko anf education system at economic system dahil kapag nagkaroon ng kaalaman ang tao at kakaunti na lang yung naghihirap (at yung mga natitirang mahirap ay may disenteng pamumuhay at hindi palaging gutom), posibleng wala boboto sa mga tradisyonal na pulitiko.
Cossack25A1
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Business News:
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12 groups vie for Mindanao coal power plant contract
By Iris C. Gonzales (The Philippine Star)
Updated April 19, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - Twelve power companies have expressed interest in administering the output of the 200-megawatt coal-fired thermal power plant in Mindanao, the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) said yesterday.
The 12 companies are Conal Holdings Corp., FDC Davao Del Norte Power Corp., FirstGen Northern Power Corp., GDF Suez Energy Philippines Inc., Masinloc Power Partners Co. Ltd., Meralco Powergen Corp., Nexif Pte Ltd., SMC Global Power Holdings Corp., SPC Power Corp., Team (Philippines) Energy Corp., Therma Southern Mindanao, Inc. (TSMI) and Vivant Energy Corp.
The 12 interested investors have complied with the initial requirements set by PSALM, specifically the payment for the non-refundable participation fee and execution of a confidentiality agreement and undertaking. The deadline to comply with these requirements lapsed on April 13, according to PSALM, the government corporation tasked to privatize state-owned assets.
PSALM president and chief executive officer Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. is pleased with the number of companies that expressed interest in bidding for the independent power producer administrator (IPPA) of the 200-MW plant’s output.
“We are delighted with the number of prospective bidders, which is more than our first IPPA bidding for the Mindanao region – that of the Mindanao I and II (Mt. Apo 1 and 2) Geothermal Power Plants. We hope that this one will likewise be a successful undertaking,” he said.
PSALM will conduct the pre-bid conference for the prospective bidders on May 6, 2015, in preparation for the bidding scheduled on Sept. 23, 2015.
Mindanao Coal is a plant in Misamis Oriental which is operated by Steag State Power Inc. of Germany. It is under a 25-year build-operate-transfer (BOT)-power purchase agreement scheme which ends in 2031.
PSALM, created by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA), the landmark power reform law, has been privatizing existing power plants, decommissioned plants as well as IPPAs, which all comprise state-owned power assets.
As of October 2014, PSALM has so far generated $19.9 billion from the privatization of these assets, according to the 25th status report on the implementation of EPIRA.
Of the $19.9 billion in proceeds, actual collection amounted to $9.3 billion.
Furthermore, according to the report, of the $9.1 billion privatization proceeds utilized, $7.8 billion was used for the liquidation of financial obligations.
One of the big-ticket power assets privatized last year is the Angat Hydroelectric Power Plant (HEPP) in Bulacan, which PSALM sold to Korea Water Resources Corp. (K-Water).
Moving forward, PSALM still needs to sell several power plants with a total capacity of 1,600 to 1,700 megawatts and it expects to raise $3.2 billion to $3.4 billion from the sale of the remaining assets which are lined up for privatization up to 2017.
The National Power Corp. (Napocor), the state-owned generation company that suffered from mismanagement and corruption, owns the power assets privatized by PSALM as well as those in the pipeline.
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12 groups vie for Mindanao coal power plant contract | Business, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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SEC renews warning vs One Lightning
By Richmond S. Mercurio (The Philippine Star)
Updated April 19, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues its fight against One Lightning Corp., a company allegedly involved in pyramiding operations.
In a recent advisory, the country’s corporate regulator reminded the public that a cease-and-desist order it issued against One Lightning is still in effect.
“The public is hereby informed that the cease-and-desist order issued by this commission against One Lighting Corporation, its officers, directors, agents, representatives, conduits, assigns and any and all persons claiming and acting for and in behalf and under their authority remains in force and in effect,” the SEC said.
The SEC earlier issued the order against One Lightning after the latter was found to be pursuing investment taking activities under the guise of the sale of its packages including recruiting, referring, or sponsoring prospective members.
Likewise, the SEC said One Lighting has also been offering, soliciting, and selling unregistered securities in the form of investment contracts, pooling of funds, and investment trusts.
“One Lightning has not been issued by this commission a secondary license to publicly offer or sell securities and to solicit investments from the public,” the corporate regulator said.
The SEC is asking the public to report any violation of the issued cease-and-desist order by One Lightning to the commission.
One Lightning is a registered company engaged in the selling and distribution of various cosmetics and healthcare products.
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SEC renews warning vs One Lightning | Business, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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Saudi budget carrier eyes partnership with CebuPac
By Lawrence Agcaoili (The Philippine Star)
Updated April 19, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - Saudi Arabian low-cost carrier flynas is looking at a partnership with budget airline Cebu Air Inc. (Cebu Pacific) of taipan John Gokongwei, a recent analysis of think tank Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) revealed.
In an analysis entitled “flynas benefits from relaxed Saudi fare cap; could become the second Gulf partner for Cebu Pacific,” CAPA said flynas chief executive officer Paul Byrne confirmed that the Saudi Arabian budget carrier could partner with the low-cost carrier from the Philippines.
Even through it ended its Manila to Dammam service late last month, Byrne pointed out Cebu Pacific still operates three weekly flights to Riyadh.
“As Cebu Pacific reported Saudi destinations were some of the most popular connecting markets on Air Arabia, partnering with a Saudi carrier like flynas offers more opportunities,” Byrne added.
Cebu Pacific has embarked on long-haul flights primarily to the Middle East in order to cater almost exclusively to Filipinos living and working in the region. Its footprint in the Middle East is light in terms of destinations and frequency and a partnership with low-cost carrier Air Arabia was necessary for a larger virtual presence.
Cebu Pacific moved its Manila-Dubai flight to Sharjah when the runway at the Dubai International Airport was repaired. It moved back to Dubai international Airport after the runway works, but has mooted launching Manila-Sharjah service in order to tap into Air Arabia’s network.
As Air Arabia only operates Airbus A320 aircraft and does not reach the Philippines, the partnership is complementary. The tie up would cater to Filipino workers with connections to destinations throughout the Middle East, as well as parts of Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Africa.
Air Arabia’s Sharjah hub currently consists of almost 1,000 weekly flights to about 60 destinations.
However, Cebu Pacific could benefit from another partnership as Air Arabia serves Hail three times weekly, while flynas offers a daily flight.
Likewise, Air Arabia offers up to two daily flights to Jeddah from Sharjah while flynas has 11 from Riyadh.
“There will be some logistical issues to work through as Cebu’s Riyadh flight arrives late in the evening, missing many same-day connections,” Byrne said.
Flynas is the third largest low-cost carrier in the Middle East with a fleet of 24 Airbus A320 aircraft following flydubai’s 46 aircraft and Air Arabia’s 36. It is looking at carrying six million passengers this year.
Cebu Pacific is in the middle of a $4 billion refleeting program. It has a fleet of 55 Airbus aircraft and is scheduled to take the delivery of 37 brand new aircraft between this year and 2021.
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Saudi budget carrier eyes partnership with CebuPac | Business, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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Military and Defense News:
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Govt stops P1.2B Huey deal
By Sandy Araneta
Apr. 18, 2015 at 12:01am
THE Philippines has terminated the contract to purchase 21 helicopters worth about P1.2 billion, a Palace official said Friday.
“[Defense Secretary Voltaire] Gazmin terminated the contract and issued a blacklisting order against the supplier,” said Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. in a text message to the Malacanang Press Corps yesterday.
“We only have accepted 7 UH-1 helicopters,” Coloma also said in the text message. “We continue to commit to the observance of our procurement laws and defend what is advantageous to the government.”
The Department of National Defense (DND) earlier said they were planning to scrap the contract for the supply of 21 UH-1 helicopters worth P1.2 billion, citing the supplier’s failure to deliver the air assets on time.
In a notice to terminate forwarded last March to the joint venture of Rice Aircraft Services Inc. and Eagle Copters Ltd., Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin informed the supplier of its failure to comply with the delivery schedule.
“You are hereby ordered to submit a verified position paper stating why the contract should not be terminated within seven days upon receipt thereof,” Gazmin said in the notice addressed to Robert Rice, the official representative of the joint venture.
Gazmin, who cited the procurement law, said the contract for the purchase of UH-1 helicopters will be partially terminated for exceeding the 10 percent maximum liquidated damages.
Gazmin said the liquidated damage is equivalent to one tenth of the one percent of the unperformed portion per day of delay. The supplier pays liquidated damage if it fails to meet delivery timetables.
The government has the option to terminate a contract if the supplier exceeds the 10 percent maximum liquidated damages as provided by law.
Gazmin said the joint venture of Rice and Eagle Copters exceeded the 10 percent maximum liquidated damages on January 31, 2015.
“You failed to comply with the agreed schedule of requirement of the contract agreement which provides that the delivery should be within 180 calendar days upon the opening of the letter of credit,” Gazmin told the supplier.
A letter of credit is a document that assures the supplier that the government will honor its financial obligations.
Gazmin said the letter of credit was opened on March 27, 2014 and deadline for the delivery of contract was on September 23, 2014.
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Govt stops P1.2B Huey deal - Manila Standard Today
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P96M wins it for submachine guns
Julie M. Aurelio
Philippine Daily Inquirer
6:52 AM | Sunday, April 19th, 2015
A firearms company has won a multimillion-peso contract to provide more than 700 submachine guns to the Philippine National Police.
R. Espineli Trading offered the lowest bid at P96,441,400 to deliver 743 9-mm submachine guns to the PNP, besting two other bidders.
Director Juanito Vano of the PNP Directorate for Logistics and chair of the bids and awards committee said, “The submachine guns will be used by our maneuver forces such as the Special Action Force and the public safety battalions.”
R. Espineli’s bid was much lower than the official contract price of P133,740,000.
Two other bidders, P.T. Pindad and Joavi Philippines-Stone of David Tactical Equipment Co., offered bids of P126,718,450 and P101,791,000, respectively.
Another bidder, B and T represented by Wirox International, was disqualified for noncompliance. It may appeal the decision within three days.
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P96M wins it for submachine guns | Inquirer News
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Politics and National Security News:
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Lawmakers urged: Focus on BBL, not Iqbal’s name
By Jess Diaz (The Philippine Star)
Updated April 19, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - A pro-administration congressman urged his colleagues in Congress yesterday to focus on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) and not on the name of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal.
Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. of Dasmariñas City in Cavite accused critics of the BBL of “trying to throw a monkey wrench into the Aquino administration’s only shot at bringing peace and prosperity in Mindanao by making a big issue out of Mr. Iqbal’s name.”
“Detractors are making a mountain out of a molehill just because a leader of a revolutionary organization like the MILF is using a nom de guerre. The question is, is this enough to throw away our best chance at achieving peace?” he asked.
The BBL is the product of years of peace negotiations between the government and the MILF, whose chief negotiator has admitted that Mohagher Iqbal is just one of the aliases he is using.
Several senators and congressmen have tried to force him to reveal his real name for the sake of transparency and confidence building, but he has consistently refused to do so, citing reasons of security for his family.
Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano has revealed that Iqbal’s true name is Datucan Abbas.
Other MILF leaders are also using aliases.
Barzaga lamented that Iqbal’s use of an alias “has been the focus of public discussions instead of the more important issues like empowering the Moro people to choose their own leaders as the BBL provides.”
“The BBL is about creating conditions for our Moro countrymen to choose their leaders through democratic means, it is about creating conditions for peace and development,” he said.
He said giving so much emphasis “on a trivial thing such as Iqbal’s real name diverts the people’s attention from the administration’s aim of giving the Moro people the opportunity to chart a future of true peace and stability.”
“The BBL is not just for the MILF but for all of Mindanao. Those who are against the BBL want us to fixate on the MILF. This is myopic. The BBL has much larger coverage in terms of peace and development,” he said.
He stressed that the proposed Bangsamoro legislation “is first and foremost a human development law.”
“If we allow ourselves to get drowned in the political noise, our countrymen in Muslim Mindanao will continue to suffer. We cannot allow that to happen,” he added.
Barzaga also expressed support for the allocation of P70 billion a year for the envisioned new Bangsamoro autonomous region.
He said Mindanao “has long been on the losing end and the government is now trying to level the playing field.”
“This is why the Palace made sure that strong mechanisms for checks and accountability are in place,” he said.
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Lawmakers urged: Focus on BBL, not Iqbal’s name | Headlines, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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12 groups vie for Mindanao coal power plant contract
By Iris C. Gonzales (The Philippine Star)
Updated April 19, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - Twelve power companies have expressed interest in administering the output of the 200-megawatt coal-fired thermal power plant in Mindanao, the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) said yesterday.
The 12 companies are Conal Holdings Corp., FDC Davao Del Norte Power Corp., FirstGen Northern Power Corp., GDF Suez Energy Philippines Inc., Masinloc Power Partners Co. Ltd., Meralco Powergen Corp., Nexif Pte Ltd., SMC Global Power Holdings Corp., SPC Power Corp., Team (Philippines) Energy Corp., Therma Southern Mindanao, Inc. (TSMI) and Vivant Energy Corp.
The 12 interested investors have complied with the initial requirements set by PSALM, specifically the payment for the non-refundable participation fee and execution of a confidentiality agreement and undertaking. The deadline to comply with these requirements lapsed on April 13, according to PSALM, the government corporation tasked to privatize state-owned assets.
PSALM president and chief executive officer Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. is pleased with the number of companies that expressed interest in bidding for the independent power producer administrator (IPPA) of the 200-MW plant’s output.
“We are delighted with the number of prospective bidders, which is more than our first IPPA bidding for the Mindanao region – that of the Mindanao I and II (Mt. Apo 1 and 2) Geothermal Power Plants. We hope that this one will likewise be a successful undertaking,” he said.
PSALM will conduct the pre-bid conference for the prospective bidders on May 6, 2015, in preparation for the bidding scheduled on Sept. 23, 2015.
Mindanao Coal is a plant in Misamis Oriental which is operated by Steag State Power Inc. of Germany. It is under a 25-year build-operate-transfer (BOT)-power purchase agreement scheme which ends in 2031.
PSALM, created by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA), the landmark power reform law, has been privatizing existing power plants, decommissioned plants as well as IPPAs, which all comprise state-owned power assets.
As of October 2014, PSALM has so far generated $19.9 billion from the privatization of these assets, according to the 25th status report on the implementation of EPIRA.
Of the $19.9 billion in proceeds, actual collection amounted to $9.3 billion.
Furthermore, according to the report, of the $9.1 billion privatization proceeds utilized, $7.8 billion was used for the liquidation of financial obligations.
One of the big-ticket power assets privatized last year is the Angat Hydroelectric Power Plant (HEPP) in Bulacan, which PSALM sold to Korea Water Resources Corp. (K-Water).
Moving forward, PSALM still needs to sell several power plants with a total capacity of 1,600 to 1,700 megawatts and it expects to raise $3.2 billion to $3.4 billion from the sale of the remaining assets which are lined up for privatization up to 2017.
The National Power Corp. (Napocor), the state-owned generation company that suffered from mismanagement and corruption, owns the power assets privatized by PSALM as well as those in the pipeline.
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12 groups vie for Mindanao coal power plant contract | Business, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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SEC renews warning vs One Lightning
By Richmond S. Mercurio (The Philippine Star)
Updated April 19, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues its fight against One Lightning Corp., a company allegedly involved in pyramiding operations.
In a recent advisory, the country’s corporate regulator reminded the public that a cease-and-desist order it issued against One Lightning is still in effect.
“The public is hereby informed that the cease-and-desist order issued by this commission against One Lighting Corporation, its officers, directors, agents, representatives, conduits, assigns and any and all persons claiming and acting for and in behalf and under their authority remains in force and in effect,” the SEC said.
The SEC earlier issued the order against One Lightning after the latter was found to be pursuing investment taking activities under the guise of the sale of its packages including recruiting, referring, or sponsoring prospective members.
Likewise, the SEC said One Lighting has also been offering, soliciting, and selling unregistered securities in the form of investment contracts, pooling of funds, and investment trusts.
“One Lightning has not been issued by this commission a secondary license to publicly offer or sell securities and to solicit investments from the public,” the corporate regulator said.
The SEC is asking the public to report any violation of the issued cease-and-desist order by One Lightning to the commission.
One Lightning is a registered company engaged in the selling and distribution of various cosmetics and healthcare products.
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SEC renews warning vs One Lightning | Business, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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Saudi budget carrier eyes partnership with CebuPac
By Lawrence Agcaoili (The Philippine Star)
Updated April 19, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - Saudi Arabian low-cost carrier flynas is looking at a partnership with budget airline Cebu Air Inc. (Cebu Pacific) of taipan John Gokongwei, a recent analysis of think tank Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) revealed.
In an analysis entitled “flynas benefits from relaxed Saudi fare cap; could become the second Gulf partner for Cebu Pacific,” CAPA said flynas chief executive officer Paul Byrne confirmed that the Saudi Arabian budget carrier could partner with the low-cost carrier from the Philippines.
Even through it ended its Manila to Dammam service late last month, Byrne pointed out Cebu Pacific still operates three weekly flights to Riyadh.
“As Cebu Pacific reported Saudi destinations were some of the most popular connecting markets on Air Arabia, partnering with a Saudi carrier like flynas offers more opportunities,” Byrne added.
Cebu Pacific has embarked on long-haul flights primarily to the Middle East in order to cater almost exclusively to Filipinos living and working in the region. Its footprint in the Middle East is light in terms of destinations and frequency and a partnership with low-cost carrier Air Arabia was necessary for a larger virtual presence.
Cebu Pacific moved its Manila-Dubai flight to Sharjah when the runway at the Dubai International Airport was repaired. It moved back to Dubai international Airport after the runway works, but has mooted launching Manila-Sharjah service in order to tap into Air Arabia’s network.
As Air Arabia only operates Airbus A320 aircraft and does not reach the Philippines, the partnership is complementary. The tie up would cater to Filipino workers with connections to destinations throughout the Middle East, as well as parts of Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Africa.
Air Arabia’s Sharjah hub currently consists of almost 1,000 weekly flights to about 60 destinations.
However, Cebu Pacific could benefit from another partnership as Air Arabia serves Hail three times weekly, while flynas offers a daily flight.
Likewise, Air Arabia offers up to two daily flights to Jeddah from Sharjah while flynas has 11 from Riyadh.
“There will be some logistical issues to work through as Cebu’s Riyadh flight arrives late in the evening, missing many same-day connections,” Byrne said.
Flynas is the third largest low-cost carrier in the Middle East with a fleet of 24 Airbus A320 aircraft following flydubai’s 46 aircraft and Air Arabia’s 36. It is looking at carrying six million passengers this year.
Cebu Pacific is in the middle of a $4 billion refleeting program. It has a fleet of 55 Airbus aircraft and is scheduled to take the delivery of 37 brand new aircraft between this year and 2021.
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Saudi budget carrier eyes partnership with CebuPac | Business, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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Military and Defense News:
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Govt stops P1.2B Huey deal
By Sandy Araneta
Apr. 18, 2015 at 12:01am
THE Philippines has terminated the contract to purchase 21 helicopters worth about P1.2 billion, a Palace official said Friday.
“[Defense Secretary Voltaire] Gazmin terminated the contract and issued a blacklisting order against the supplier,” said Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. in a text message to the Malacanang Press Corps yesterday.
“We only have accepted 7 UH-1 helicopters,” Coloma also said in the text message. “We continue to commit to the observance of our procurement laws and defend what is advantageous to the government.”
The Department of National Defense (DND) earlier said they were planning to scrap the contract for the supply of 21 UH-1 helicopters worth P1.2 billion, citing the supplier’s failure to deliver the air assets on time.
In a notice to terminate forwarded last March to the joint venture of Rice Aircraft Services Inc. and Eagle Copters Ltd., Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin informed the supplier of its failure to comply with the delivery schedule.
“You are hereby ordered to submit a verified position paper stating why the contract should not be terminated within seven days upon receipt thereof,” Gazmin said in the notice addressed to Robert Rice, the official representative of the joint venture.
Gazmin, who cited the procurement law, said the contract for the purchase of UH-1 helicopters will be partially terminated for exceeding the 10 percent maximum liquidated damages.
Gazmin said the liquidated damage is equivalent to one tenth of the one percent of the unperformed portion per day of delay. The supplier pays liquidated damage if it fails to meet delivery timetables.
The government has the option to terminate a contract if the supplier exceeds the 10 percent maximum liquidated damages as provided by law.
Gazmin said the joint venture of Rice and Eagle Copters exceeded the 10 percent maximum liquidated damages on January 31, 2015.
“You failed to comply with the agreed schedule of requirement of the contract agreement which provides that the delivery should be within 180 calendar days upon the opening of the letter of credit,” Gazmin told the supplier.
A letter of credit is a document that assures the supplier that the government will honor its financial obligations.
Gazmin said the letter of credit was opened on March 27, 2014 and deadline for the delivery of contract was on September 23, 2014.
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Govt stops P1.2B Huey deal - Manila Standard Today
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P96M wins it for submachine guns
Julie M. Aurelio
Philippine Daily Inquirer
6:52 AM | Sunday, April 19th, 2015
A firearms company has won a multimillion-peso contract to provide more than 700 submachine guns to the Philippine National Police.
R. Espineli Trading offered the lowest bid at P96,441,400 to deliver 743 9-mm submachine guns to the PNP, besting two other bidders.
Director Juanito Vano of the PNP Directorate for Logistics and chair of the bids and awards committee said, “The submachine guns will be used by our maneuver forces such as the Special Action Force and the public safety battalions.”
R. Espineli’s bid was much lower than the official contract price of P133,740,000.
Two other bidders, P.T. Pindad and Joavi Philippines-Stone of David Tactical Equipment Co., offered bids of P126,718,450 and P101,791,000, respectively.
Another bidder, B and T represented by Wirox International, was disqualified for noncompliance. It may appeal the decision within three days.
-----
P96M wins it for submachine guns | Inquirer News
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Politics and National Security News:
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Lawmakers urged: Focus on BBL, not Iqbal’s name
By Jess Diaz (The Philippine Star)
Updated April 19, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - A pro-administration congressman urged his colleagues in Congress yesterday to focus on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) and not on the name of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal.
Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. of Dasmariñas City in Cavite accused critics of the BBL of “trying to throw a monkey wrench into the Aquino administration’s only shot at bringing peace and prosperity in Mindanao by making a big issue out of Mr. Iqbal’s name.”
“Detractors are making a mountain out of a molehill just because a leader of a revolutionary organization like the MILF is using a nom de guerre. The question is, is this enough to throw away our best chance at achieving peace?” he asked.
The BBL is the product of years of peace negotiations between the government and the MILF, whose chief negotiator has admitted that Mohagher Iqbal is just one of the aliases he is using.
Several senators and congressmen have tried to force him to reveal his real name for the sake of transparency and confidence building, but he has consistently refused to do so, citing reasons of security for his family.
Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano has revealed that Iqbal’s true name is Datucan Abbas.
Other MILF leaders are also using aliases.
Barzaga lamented that Iqbal’s use of an alias “has been the focus of public discussions instead of the more important issues like empowering the Moro people to choose their own leaders as the BBL provides.”
“The BBL is about creating conditions for our Moro countrymen to choose their leaders through democratic means, it is about creating conditions for peace and development,” he said.
He said giving so much emphasis “on a trivial thing such as Iqbal’s real name diverts the people’s attention from the administration’s aim of giving the Moro people the opportunity to chart a future of true peace and stability.”
“The BBL is not just for the MILF but for all of Mindanao. Those who are against the BBL want us to fixate on the MILF. This is myopic. The BBL has much larger coverage in terms of peace and development,” he said.
He stressed that the proposed Bangsamoro legislation “is first and foremost a human development law.”
“If we allow ourselves to get drowned in the political noise, our countrymen in Muslim Mindanao will continue to suffer. We cannot allow that to happen,” he added.
Barzaga also expressed support for the allocation of P70 billion a year for the envisioned new Bangsamoro autonomous region.
He said Mindanao “has long been on the losing end and the government is now trying to level the playing field.”
“This is why the Palace made sure that strong mechanisms for checks and accountability are in place,” he said.
-----
Lawmakers urged: Focus on BBL, not Iqbal’s name | Headlines, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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Cossack25A1
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SCS/West PH Sea News:
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Chinese shoo away Filipino fishermen’s boats
Allan Macatuno
Inquirer Central Luzon
11:58 PM | Sunday, April 19th, 2015
Ship fires water cannon at fishermen
SUBIC, Zambales—Filipino fishermen say a Chinese coast guard vessel drove them away from their traditional fishing ground off Zambales province, where satellite photographs show China is building military facilities.
Deogenes Corseles, 36, said the latest incident of Chinese aggression toward Filipino fishermen happened about 2 p.m. on April 9, when the Chinese vessel used a water cannon to drive away at least 80 fishermen from Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal).
Some of the fishermen, who were mostly from the provinces of Bataan, Zambales and Pangasinan, arrived in this town on Friday to sell their catch at a local fish port after spending a week near the shoal, which China claims is part of its territory in the South China Sea.
Corseles told the Inquirer on Saturday that one of his companions fell off his boat and was hurt.
The shoal, also called Bajo de Masinloc, is located 230 kilometers from Masinloc town in Zambales. It used to be a free zone for local fishermen until the Chinese seized it in 2012.
Corseles said personnel from the Chinese ship used a megaphone to warn the fishermen and played a recorded message in English asking them to leave.
“The Chinese vessel was about 150 meters from our boats when its personnel fired a water cannon. One of us fell off the boat and sustained injuries,” he said.
Corseles said most of the Filipino fishermen, who were in eight boats, were hit by water sprayed by the Chinese vessel. He said they immediately left the shoal, but returned the following day.
Jun Rey Barrios, 33, said Chinese coast guard personnel chased them using rubber boats on April 11.
“Two of the Chinese coast guard personnel held guns that were pointed at our direction. They also took some of our fresh catch and cut off our nylon anchor lines,” Barrios said.
This happened more than a year after a group of fishermen from Pangasinan and Zambales reported that Chinese vessels fired water cannon at their boats while these were anchored at Panatag Shoal.
In January, a Chinese patrol ship rammed three boats carrying 29 Filipino fishermen at the shoal. No one was hurt in that incident.
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Chinese shoo away Filipino fishermen’s boats | Inquirer Global Nation
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Chinese shoo away Filipino fishermen’s boats
Allan Macatuno
Inquirer Central Luzon
11:58 PM | Sunday, April 19th, 2015
Ship fires water cannon at fishermen
SUBIC, Zambales—Filipino fishermen say a Chinese coast guard vessel drove them away from their traditional fishing ground off Zambales province, where satellite photographs show China is building military facilities.
Deogenes Corseles, 36, said the latest incident of Chinese aggression toward Filipino fishermen happened about 2 p.m. on April 9, when the Chinese vessel used a water cannon to drive away at least 80 fishermen from Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal).
Some of the fishermen, who were mostly from the provinces of Bataan, Zambales and Pangasinan, arrived in this town on Friday to sell their catch at a local fish port after spending a week near the shoal, which China claims is part of its territory in the South China Sea.
Corseles told the Inquirer on Saturday that one of his companions fell off his boat and was hurt.
The shoal, also called Bajo de Masinloc, is located 230 kilometers from Masinloc town in Zambales. It used to be a free zone for local fishermen until the Chinese seized it in 2012.
Corseles said personnel from the Chinese ship used a megaphone to warn the fishermen and played a recorded message in English asking them to leave.
“The Chinese vessel was about 150 meters from our boats when its personnel fired a water cannon. One of us fell off the boat and sustained injuries,” he said.
Corseles said most of the Filipino fishermen, who were in eight boats, were hit by water sprayed by the Chinese vessel. He said they immediately left the shoal, but returned the following day.
Jun Rey Barrios, 33, said Chinese coast guard personnel chased them using rubber boats on April 11.
“Two of the Chinese coast guard personnel held guns that were pointed at our direction. They also took some of our fresh catch and cut off our nylon anchor lines,” Barrios said.
This happened more than a year after a group of fishermen from Pangasinan and Zambales reported that Chinese vessels fired water cannon at their boats while these were anchored at Panatag Shoal.
In January, a Chinese patrol ship rammed three boats carrying 29 Filipino fishermen at the shoal. No one was hurt in that incident.
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Chinese shoo away Filipino fishermen’s boats | Inquirer Global Nation
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P-Noy seeking united Asean stand on China Beijing: It’s not an Asean issue
By Aurea Calica (The Philippine Star)
Updated April 21, 2015 - 1:00am
MANILA, Philippines - With China’s actions threatening to “considerably alter the way of doing business globally,” President Aquino will ask the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to take a united stand against Beijing’s massive reclamation activities and other provocative acts in the West Philippine Sea and South China Sea.
Aquino will raise the appeal to his ASEAN counterparts when they meet on April 27-28 in Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi in Malaysia.
Beijing reacted immediately to the plan, saying the maritime dispute is not an issue between China and ASEAN.
“The President has said this is already a global issue, not just a bilateral issue or even a (regional) issue. So what we are pursuing is this track of making people from other parts of the world aware of the seriousness of what is happening on the ground and on the seas,” Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Luis Cruz said yesterday in a press briefing.
Cruz said the Philippines would aim for “a collective statement” from ASEAN leaders on China’s reclamation activities. But he stressed the summit is “not a negotiation among the leaders” and that “they will be there to express their views, not only on the South China Sea, but what they think are the security issues in the region and internationally.”
While the President is expected to raise more issues in the coming summit than in the previous one in Myanmar, the reclamation issue would “definitely be the main topic,” Cruz said.
In a separate briefing, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said ASEAN leaders are likely to discuss “real time and current concerns,” especially the situation in the West Philippine Sea.
“We know that the reclamation activities represent a significant development in the evolution of developments in the West Philippine Sea or in the South China Sea and the Philippines is not the only one concerned about this. Other countries have made a lot of pronouncements already,” Coloma said.
“So it is reasonable and logical that when this is discussed by the leaders of different countries comprising ASEAN, they will discuss the situation and how it can be compared from the past,” Coloma said.
As strong as G-7 stand
Cruz said they hope an ASEAN stand on the issue would be as strong or stronger than the one issued by the Group of Seven industrialized nations.
But he said they would leave it up to Malaysia – as summit chairman – to report on what transpired or was agreed upon during the two-day summit.
The G-7 issued a communiqué on Wednesday last week seeking a stop to provocative actions in disputed waters, particularly land reclamation. The G-7 did not mention China by name, but its communiqué came on the heels of Beijing’s defense of its reclamation projects.
“The President has already said that this is not a bilateral issue, this is not a regional issue, but the world should really be concerned on this issue because of several things, not only the freedom or the safety of navigation, but also the damage that is being done to the marine environment in the area,” Cruz said.
Cruz said the Philippines would continue to push for a code of conduct from the current Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea because a “legal instrument” is needed to guide the behavior of countries involved in the maritime row.
“At this point in time, I think the level of discussion of that joint working group (for the code of conduct) is to identify the elements that can easily be achieved or agreed upon, or what they call the ‘low-hanging fruits,’” Cruz pointed out.
“The President has already said that at least 40 percent of global trade pass through these waters, and if you look at the specific countries in the region, the percentage should even be higher – higher than 40 percent, especially countries in Northeast Asia,” Cruz pointed out.
“Aside from the Pacific, the only passage to the Middle East, to Europe, to Africa, to parts of Asia would be through the South China Sea,” he said.
Asked how Manila would make Beijing realize that the latter is engaged in double-talk and not really serious about a peaceful resolution of the dispute, Cruz gave assurance there are “various ways of doing it,” including discussions behind closed doors. He stressed he was “not at liberty” to discuss the other ways.
“But let me say that we are pursuing other tracks with China. Of course, what is official is that we have submitted this issue before the International Tribunal because we wanted a decision on our entitlements in the regime of waters under UNCLOS,” Cruz said, referring to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Cruz expressed confidence that host Malaysia would support a strong ASEAN position on the issue.
“For one thing, they are also claimants. I’m sure they are very much concerned with this issue. Secondly, as chair, of course they would want to project leadership, and leadership does not only come with how you’re able to organize the series of meetings for the rest of the year, but also how you manage the issues as they pertain to ASEAN activities,” Cruz said.
Vietnam eyes Noy meet
The DFA official also said Vietnam is seeking a meeting with President Aquino on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit, with the maritime dispute with China high on the agenda “because both countries are affected by the developments in the South China Sea.”
Cruz said that while a meeting between Aquino and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is not yet in the schedule, “I will not preclude the possibility of them having this one-on-one meeting” because “normally the chair meets individually with his counterparts.”
Vietnam and Malaysia also have claims in the South China Sea, along with Brunei and Taiwan.
Malaysia is also the facilitator in the peace negotiations between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Coloma said details of a possible strategic partnership are still being worked out.
The President will leave for Kuala Lumpur on April 26 for a gala and barbecue dinner to be hosted by the Malaysian prime minister and his spouse and stay there until Monday for the summit plenary session and meetings with representatives of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, ASEAN Business Advisory Council, ASEAN Youth and Civil Society Organizations.
According to Cruz, the ASEAN integration targeted for this year would also be discussed, along with people-to-people centered programs and projects and a Malaysian initiative regarding a global movement of moderates against extremism.
“That initiative has been on the table for several years already. So global movement of moderates would pertain to like-minded states on how to combat the issue of extremism and prevent terrorism from flourishing in the region,” Cruz said.
Regarding the ASEAN integration due by December this year, Cruz clarified that “it is not the end-all and be-all of ASEAN community-building exercise.”
Situation worsening
For Armed Forces chief Gen. Gregorio Catapang Jr., recent developments in the West Philippine Sea have put the country in a “very difficult situation.”
“We are really amazed by the pace of China’s reclamation. It’s fast but I hope it’s not furious,” Catapang said in a press conference yesterday.
“We are in a very difficult situation because now, they are reclaiming the Mischief Reef. If they reclaim Mischief Reef, we will be cut off,” he added. The Philippines calls Mischief Reef Panganiban Reef.
He said if Panganiban Reef falls into China’s hands, it would become difficult or even impossible for Filipinos to gain access to Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal) and Pag-Asa Island. Panganiban is only 135 miles west of Palawan.
Ayungin Shoal is being secured by a handful of Marines stationed on BRP Sierra Madre, a grounded World War II era Navy ship that serves as a Philippine military outpost.
Chinese ships have set up a blockade to prevent the Navy from sending supplies to the decrepit vessel, which has come to symbolize the Philippines’ fragile ownership of the shoal.
Pag-Asa Island, meanwhile, is the biggest island held by the Philippines in the disputed Spratlys archipelago, which is also being claimed in whole or in part by China, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan.
The island group comprises Kalayaan, a fifth class town under Palawan inhabited by around 200 people. The Philippines has constructed a town hall, a 1.3-kilometer airstrip, a health center, a school and a naval station to assert its sovereignty over the area.
While the Philippines only has modest facilities in Kalayaan, China has installed advanced equipment in its controlled areas, including Panganiban Reef.
The Chinese government has built a garrison, a windmill, solar panels, a concrete platform designed as helipad and a basketball court on the reef, which is within the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.
“We have an arc of defense and if the Mischief Reef is reclaimed, we will have a problem. If they (China) reclaim it, they will threaten all our islands,” Catapang said.
The military also expressed concerns over China’s construction of artificial islets in Kennan (Chigua) and Mabini (Johnson South) Reefs. China is also making progress in its island building projects in Burgos (Gaven), Calderon (Cuarteron), Zamora (Subi) and Kagitingan (Fiery Cross) Reefs.
“As soon as the Mischief Reef is reclaimed and all the reclamation is finished, then the next move of the Chinese might be a difficult or a different one. They might propagate the area with lots of ships,” Catapang said.
“That will really militarize the area and create tensions,” he added.
China has also maintained its presence in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, an area located just 124 nautical miles off Zambales
Local fishermen can no longer enter what used to be their traditional fishing area. The Chinese have been preventing the Filipinos from fishing in the areas since 2012 after a brief standoff between Chinese surveillance vessels and a Philippine Navy ship. The Chinese vessels prevented the Philippine Navy from arresting Chinese poachers, allowing the latter to leave with their illegal harvest of endangered marine species from the shoal.
“In the future, we have to help our fishermen go back to their former fishing grounds,” Catapang said.
“I think the Coast Guard will have to escort them because if we use the gray ship it will unnecessarily provoke the other side,” he added, referring to naval ships.
“We call on China to stop the reclamation activities and to be mindful of its responsibilities as a claimant state and an important member of the international community,” Catapang said.
“We have compelling reasons to raise our voice to tell the whole world the adverse effects of China’s aggressiveness that has created tensions not only among the countries who have overlapping claims in the area, but also among the countries around the world who are using the international sea lanes in the West Philippine Sea for trade and commerce,” he added.
Convene NSC
China’s relentless acts of aggression should be enough reason for the Palace to convene the National Security Council, Sen. Francis Escudero said yesterday.
“I think it might indeed be best to convene the NSC in order to bring everybody in the loop, given that this is an issue facing our country and people regardless of political affiliation,” Escudero said.
“Except to ratify treaties and confirm the appointment of ambassadors and other officials in the foreign service, the Senate, much less Congress, has a limited role in foreign policy determination and foreign relations,” he said.
He said he remains confident of support from allies, especially the US, in ensuring that China would not take more serious actions to assert its claims in the region.
“The United States, together with our regional partners in the ASEAN as well as the international community, will definitely play an important role in keeping China at bay, tempering its bullying tactics and resolving this matter peacefully,” Escudero said.
Anak Pawis party-list Rep. Fernando Hicap, for his part, urged President Aquino to immediately order a shutdown of Chinese mining operations as well as revocation of power generation concessions granted to Chinese firms to demonstrate the Philippines’ seriousness in protecting its sovereignty.
“The mineral resources that China is extracting from our country serve as raw materials for ships, weapons, aircraft and others, which would be eventually used against us, hence, we are being fried in our own fat,” Hicap said in a statement.
He said 26 Chinese mining corporations have been allowed to extract gold, iron ore, nickel, copper, manganese, lead, zinc, chromate and cobalt in the country.
Major Chinese mining operations are located in Zambales such as the Wei-Wei Group’s $100-million nickel processing plant in Masinloc town, and Jiangxi Rare Earth and Rare Metals Tungsten Group Co. Ltd. with a $150-million nickel exploration and cobalt processing plant.
The state-owned Jiangxi is mining for nickel, he said.
The Philippines is China’s No. 1 source of nickel ore, with Indonesia a close second. It has been reported that nickel super-alloys are a critical component in advanced jet engines and are used in the engines of fifth generation jet fighters, he said.
“Thus, we challenge Aquino to order the termination of mining operations of China as they plunder our natural resources and trample on our national sovereignty,” Hicap said.
The lawmaker also lambasted the Aquino government’s allowing the State Grid of China to own 40 percent of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines.With Alexis Romero, Christina Mendez, Paolo Romero
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P-Noy seeking united Asean stand on China Beijing: It’s not an Asean issue | Headlines, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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Former UN Rep: Phl should maintain talks with China
By Patricia Lourdes Viray (philstar.com)
Updated April 21, 2015 - 12:42pm
MANILA, Philippines - Former Philippine Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Lauro Baja Jr. suggested on Tuesday that the Philippine government should explore other options such as backchanneling in resolving the territorial disputes with China.
In an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel, Baja said that the Philippines should maintain communication China despite its aggressive actions in the South China Sea.
"Of course China's aggressive measures prevent any thought of going into bilateral dialogue. The greatest equalizer is facing each other in a negotiating table," Baja said.
The former ambassador noted that even if the Philippines win the arbitration case against China, the two nations would still have to talk.
"Our challenge now is to have a plan in case we lose in the panel... because even if we win in the panel, we have to talk to China. If we lose, the more we have to talk to China," Baja added.
Meanwhile, President Benigno III is set to ask the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to take a stand against China's reclamation activities over the West Philippine Sea and South China Sea.
Baja agrees with the president's intent to bring up the issue to the ASEAN and suggested that Aquino should ask for a statement condemning the aggressive acts of China if possible.
"But of course ASEAN members are either unwilling, unable or afraid to this thing because of their relations," Baja noted.
The former UN envoy also suggested that the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) may be a good measure to oppose China's aggressive acts.
"We may not like EDCA but if our objective is to have something to counter Chinese moves against us then let's not be too reticent about it," Baja said.
Baja stressed the importance of dialogue between the Philippines and China in addressing the said issue.
"Diplomacy should never end... You cannot solve a problem without talking to the other side," the former UN Ambassador said.
China has earlier shrugged off concerns raised by some groups regarding their reclamation activities in the South China Sea and West Philippine Sea, which puts the Philippines in danger of losing some of its territories.
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Former UN Rep: Philippines should maintain talks with China | Headlines, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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IN PHOTOS: Philippine military's aerial shots of China's man-made islands
(philstar.com)
Updated April 21, 2015 - 9:55am
MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Monday released the latest aerial photos of the reclamation and construction activities of China in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
Military chief Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. expressed alarm over the rapid developments in the disputed maritime features.
"We are really amazed by the phase of China's reclamation. It's fast but I hope it's not furious," Catapang said in a press conference Monday.
For the first time, China revealed earlier this month its reasons for island-building in the South China Sea as Beijing officials usually give terse responses to issues raised in press conferences.
China Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said the activities are "maintenance and construction work" to optimize the buildings' functions and improve living and working conditions of personnel.
Hua further enumerated China's many intentions for the activities:
[For] better safeguarding territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, as well as better performing China's international responsibility and obligation in maritime search and rescue, disaster prevention and mitigation, marine science and research, meteorological observation, environmental protection, navigation safety, fishery production service and other areas.
The Philippines and the international community have condemned China's attempt to change the status quo, with the United States reiterating its appeal to keep the strategic waterway free for navigation and overflight.
*PICTURES ARE IN THE LINK*
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IN PHOTOS: Philippine military's aerial shots of China's man-made islands | News Feature, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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Business News:
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Uninspired trades extend market freefall
By Richmond S. Mercurio (The Philippine Star)
Updated April 21, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - The wipeout of gains recorded in recent weeks continued in the local equities market yesterday as the benchmark stock index crashed to its fourth worst session of the year.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell 1.03 percent or 81.62 points to finish at 7,865.27, while the broader All Shares index also plunged 0.94 percent or 42.69 points.
Analysts said the lack of major economic news again prompted investors to take profits.
“Share prices tumbled again as a fresh week of trades began with investors still grasping for clues as the earnings cycle unwinds,” said Justino Calaycay Jr. of Accord Capital Equities Corp.
“There was little investors could go by on Monday with DJIA’s 279-point slide Friday and the troubling situation of Greece,” he added.
The PSEi sank to as low as 7,776.71 before pulling off a late rally to end above the 7,850 level.
Calaycay said yesterday’s trades ranked as one of the biggest single-day loss for the market this year points-wise and percentage-wise.
The PSEi’s only triple-digit loss this year so far happened last week, April 15, when it plummeted 150.03 points or 1.86 percent.
Wall Street indexes ended lower on Friday while most Asian markets were in the red yesterday, with Japan’s Nikkei slipping 0.1 percent.
Calaycay said foreign funds have reversed their flows in the last seven sessions with net proceeds at P6.308 billion, reducing their exposure to P42.872 billion on the year.
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Uninspired trades extend market freefall | Business, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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P-Noy seeking united Asean stand on China Beijing: It’s not an Asean issue
By Aurea Calica (The Philippine Star)
Updated April 21, 2015 - 1:00am
MANILA, Philippines - With China’s actions threatening to “considerably alter the way of doing business globally,” President Aquino will ask the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to take a united stand against Beijing’s massive reclamation activities and other provocative acts in the West Philippine Sea and South China Sea.
Aquino will raise the appeal to his ASEAN counterparts when they meet on April 27-28 in Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi in Malaysia.
Beijing reacted immediately to the plan, saying the maritime dispute is not an issue between China and ASEAN.
“The President has said this is already a global issue, not just a bilateral issue or even a (regional) issue. So what we are pursuing is this track of making people from other parts of the world aware of the seriousness of what is happening on the ground and on the seas,” Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Luis Cruz said yesterday in a press briefing.
Cruz said the Philippines would aim for “a collective statement” from ASEAN leaders on China’s reclamation activities. But he stressed the summit is “not a negotiation among the leaders” and that “they will be there to express their views, not only on the South China Sea, but what they think are the security issues in the region and internationally.”
While the President is expected to raise more issues in the coming summit than in the previous one in Myanmar, the reclamation issue would “definitely be the main topic,” Cruz said.
In a separate briefing, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said ASEAN leaders are likely to discuss “real time and current concerns,” especially the situation in the West Philippine Sea.
“We know that the reclamation activities represent a significant development in the evolution of developments in the West Philippine Sea or in the South China Sea and the Philippines is not the only one concerned about this. Other countries have made a lot of pronouncements already,” Coloma said.
“So it is reasonable and logical that when this is discussed by the leaders of different countries comprising ASEAN, they will discuss the situation and how it can be compared from the past,” Coloma said.
As strong as G-7 stand
Cruz said they hope an ASEAN stand on the issue would be as strong or stronger than the one issued by the Group of Seven industrialized nations.
But he said they would leave it up to Malaysia – as summit chairman – to report on what transpired or was agreed upon during the two-day summit.
The G-7 issued a communiqué on Wednesday last week seeking a stop to provocative actions in disputed waters, particularly land reclamation. The G-7 did not mention China by name, but its communiqué came on the heels of Beijing’s defense of its reclamation projects.
“The President has already said that this is not a bilateral issue, this is not a regional issue, but the world should really be concerned on this issue because of several things, not only the freedom or the safety of navigation, but also the damage that is being done to the marine environment in the area,” Cruz said.
Cruz said the Philippines would continue to push for a code of conduct from the current Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea because a “legal instrument” is needed to guide the behavior of countries involved in the maritime row.
“At this point in time, I think the level of discussion of that joint working group (for the code of conduct) is to identify the elements that can easily be achieved or agreed upon, or what they call the ‘low-hanging fruits,’” Cruz pointed out.
“The President has already said that at least 40 percent of global trade pass through these waters, and if you look at the specific countries in the region, the percentage should even be higher – higher than 40 percent, especially countries in Northeast Asia,” Cruz pointed out.
“Aside from the Pacific, the only passage to the Middle East, to Europe, to Africa, to parts of Asia would be through the South China Sea,” he said.
Asked how Manila would make Beijing realize that the latter is engaged in double-talk and not really serious about a peaceful resolution of the dispute, Cruz gave assurance there are “various ways of doing it,” including discussions behind closed doors. He stressed he was “not at liberty” to discuss the other ways.
“But let me say that we are pursuing other tracks with China. Of course, what is official is that we have submitted this issue before the International Tribunal because we wanted a decision on our entitlements in the regime of waters under UNCLOS,” Cruz said, referring to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Cruz expressed confidence that host Malaysia would support a strong ASEAN position on the issue.
“For one thing, they are also claimants. I’m sure they are very much concerned with this issue. Secondly, as chair, of course they would want to project leadership, and leadership does not only come with how you’re able to organize the series of meetings for the rest of the year, but also how you manage the issues as they pertain to ASEAN activities,” Cruz said.
Vietnam eyes Noy meet
The DFA official also said Vietnam is seeking a meeting with President Aquino on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit, with the maritime dispute with China high on the agenda “because both countries are affected by the developments in the South China Sea.”
Cruz said that while a meeting between Aquino and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is not yet in the schedule, “I will not preclude the possibility of them having this one-on-one meeting” because “normally the chair meets individually with his counterparts.”
Vietnam and Malaysia also have claims in the South China Sea, along with Brunei and Taiwan.
Malaysia is also the facilitator in the peace negotiations between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Coloma said details of a possible strategic partnership are still being worked out.
The President will leave for Kuala Lumpur on April 26 for a gala and barbecue dinner to be hosted by the Malaysian prime minister and his spouse and stay there until Monday for the summit plenary session and meetings with representatives of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, ASEAN Business Advisory Council, ASEAN Youth and Civil Society Organizations.
According to Cruz, the ASEAN integration targeted for this year would also be discussed, along with people-to-people centered programs and projects and a Malaysian initiative regarding a global movement of moderates against extremism.
“That initiative has been on the table for several years already. So global movement of moderates would pertain to like-minded states on how to combat the issue of extremism and prevent terrorism from flourishing in the region,” Cruz said.
Regarding the ASEAN integration due by December this year, Cruz clarified that “it is not the end-all and be-all of ASEAN community-building exercise.”
Situation worsening
For Armed Forces chief Gen. Gregorio Catapang Jr., recent developments in the West Philippine Sea have put the country in a “very difficult situation.”
“We are really amazed by the pace of China’s reclamation. It’s fast but I hope it’s not furious,” Catapang said in a press conference yesterday.
“We are in a very difficult situation because now, they are reclaiming the Mischief Reef. If they reclaim Mischief Reef, we will be cut off,” he added. The Philippines calls Mischief Reef Panganiban Reef.
He said if Panganiban Reef falls into China’s hands, it would become difficult or even impossible for Filipinos to gain access to Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal) and Pag-Asa Island. Panganiban is only 135 miles west of Palawan.
Ayungin Shoal is being secured by a handful of Marines stationed on BRP Sierra Madre, a grounded World War II era Navy ship that serves as a Philippine military outpost.
Chinese ships have set up a blockade to prevent the Navy from sending supplies to the decrepit vessel, which has come to symbolize the Philippines’ fragile ownership of the shoal.
Pag-Asa Island, meanwhile, is the biggest island held by the Philippines in the disputed Spratlys archipelago, which is also being claimed in whole or in part by China, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan.
The island group comprises Kalayaan, a fifth class town under Palawan inhabited by around 200 people. The Philippines has constructed a town hall, a 1.3-kilometer airstrip, a health center, a school and a naval station to assert its sovereignty over the area.
While the Philippines only has modest facilities in Kalayaan, China has installed advanced equipment in its controlled areas, including Panganiban Reef.
The Chinese government has built a garrison, a windmill, solar panels, a concrete platform designed as helipad and a basketball court on the reef, which is within the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.
“We have an arc of defense and if the Mischief Reef is reclaimed, we will have a problem. If they (China) reclaim it, they will threaten all our islands,” Catapang said.
The military also expressed concerns over China’s construction of artificial islets in Kennan (Chigua) and Mabini (Johnson South) Reefs. China is also making progress in its island building projects in Burgos (Gaven), Calderon (Cuarteron), Zamora (Subi) and Kagitingan (Fiery Cross) Reefs.
“As soon as the Mischief Reef is reclaimed and all the reclamation is finished, then the next move of the Chinese might be a difficult or a different one. They might propagate the area with lots of ships,” Catapang said.
“That will really militarize the area and create tensions,” he added.
China has also maintained its presence in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, an area located just 124 nautical miles off Zambales
Local fishermen can no longer enter what used to be their traditional fishing area. The Chinese have been preventing the Filipinos from fishing in the areas since 2012 after a brief standoff between Chinese surveillance vessels and a Philippine Navy ship. The Chinese vessels prevented the Philippine Navy from arresting Chinese poachers, allowing the latter to leave with their illegal harvest of endangered marine species from the shoal.
“In the future, we have to help our fishermen go back to their former fishing grounds,” Catapang said.
“I think the Coast Guard will have to escort them because if we use the gray ship it will unnecessarily provoke the other side,” he added, referring to naval ships.
“We call on China to stop the reclamation activities and to be mindful of its responsibilities as a claimant state and an important member of the international community,” Catapang said.
“We have compelling reasons to raise our voice to tell the whole world the adverse effects of China’s aggressiveness that has created tensions not only among the countries who have overlapping claims in the area, but also among the countries around the world who are using the international sea lanes in the West Philippine Sea for trade and commerce,” he added.
Convene NSC
China’s relentless acts of aggression should be enough reason for the Palace to convene the National Security Council, Sen. Francis Escudero said yesterday.
“I think it might indeed be best to convene the NSC in order to bring everybody in the loop, given that this is an issue facing our country and people regardless of political affiliation,” Escudero said.
“Except to ratify treaties and confirm the appointment of ambassadors and other officials in the foreign service, the Senate, much less Congress, has a limited role in foreign policy determination and foreign relations,” he said.
He said he remains confident of support from allies, especially the US, in ensuring that China would not take more serious actions to assert its claims in the region.
“The United States, together with our regional partners in the ASEAN as well as the international community, will definitely play an important role in keeping China at bay, tempering its bullying tactics and resolving this matter peacefully,” Escudero said.
Anak Pawis party-list Rep. Fernando Hicap, for his part, urged President Aquino to immediately order a shutdown of Chinese mining operations as well as revocation of power generation concessions granted to Chinese firms to demonstrate the Philippines’ seriousness in protecting its sovereignty.
“The mineral resources that China is extracting from our country serve as raw materials for ships, weapons, aircraft and others, which would be eventually used against us, hence, we are being fried in our own fat,” Hicap said in a statement.
He said 26 Chinese mining corporations have been allowed to extract gold, iron ore, nickel, copper, manganese, lead, zinc, chromate and cobalt in the country.
Major Chinese mining operations are located in Zambales such as the Wei-Wei Group’s $100-million nickel processing plant in Masinloc town, and Jiangxi Rare Earth and Rare Metals Tungsten Group Co. Ltd. with a $150-million nickel exploration and cobalt processing plant.
The state-owned Jiangxi is mining for nickel, he said.
The Philippines is China’s No. 1 source of nickel ore, with Indonesia a close second. It has been reported that nickel super-alloys are a critical component in advanced jet engines and are used in the engines of fifth generation jet fighters, he said.
“Thus, we challenge Aquino to order the termination of mining operations of China as they plunder our natural resources and trample on our national sovereignty,” Hicap said.
The lawmaker also lambasted the Aquino government’s allowing the State Grid of China to own 40 percent of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines.With Alexis Romero, Christina Mendez, Paolo Romero
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P-Noy seeking united Asean stand on China Beijing: It’s not an Asean issue | Headlines, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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Former UN Rep: Phl should maintain talks with China
By Patricia Lourdes Viray (philstar.com)
Updated April 21, 2015 - 12:42pm
MANILA, Philippines - Former Philippine Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Lauro Baja Jr. suggested on Tuesday that the Philippine government should explore other options such as backchanneling in resolving the territorial disputes with China.
In an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel, Baja said that the Philippines should maintain communication China despite its aggressive actions in the South China Sea.
"Of course China's aggressive measures prevent any thought of going into bilateral dialogue. The greatest equalizer is facing each other in a negotiating table," Baja said.
The former ambassador noted that even if the Philippines win the arbitration case against China, the two nations would still have to talk.
"Our challenge now is to have a plan in case we lose in the panel... because even if we win in the panel, we have to talk to China. If we lose, the more we have to talk to China," Baja added.
Meanwhile, President Benigno III is set to ask the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to take a stand against China's reclamation activities over the West Philippine Sea and South China Sea.
Baja agrees with the president's intent to bring up the issue to the ASEAN and suggested that Aquino should ask for a statement condemning the aggressive acts of China if possible.
"But of course ASEAN members are either unwilling, unable or afraid to this thing because of their relations," Baja noted.
The former UN envoy also suggested that the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) may be a good measure to oppose China's aggressive acts.
"We may not like EDCA but if our objective is to have something to counter Chinese moves against us then let's not be too reticent about it," Baja said.
Baja stressed the importance of dialogue between the Philippines and China in addressing the said issue.
"Diplomacy should never end... You cannot solve a problem without talking to the other side," the former UN Ambassador said.
China has earlier shrugged off concerns raised by some groups regarding their reclamation activities in the South China Sea and West Philippine Sea, which puts the Philippines in danger of losing some of its territories.
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Former UN Rep: Philippines should maintain talks with China | Headlines, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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IN PHOTOS: Philippine military's aerial shots of China's man-made islands
(philstar.com)
Updated April 21, 2015 - 9:55am
MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Monday released the latest aerial photos of the reclamation and construction activities of China in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
Military chief Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. expressed alarm over the rapid developments in the disputed maritime features.
"We are really amazed by the phase of China's reclamation. It's fast but I hope it's not furious," Catapang said in a press conference Monday.
For the first time, China revealed earlier this month its reasons for island-building in the South China Sea as Beijing officials usually give terse responses to issues raised in press conferences.
China Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said the activities are "maintenance and construction work" to optimize the buildings' functions and improve living and working conditions of personnel.
Hua further enumerated China's many intentions for the activities:
[For] better safeguarding territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, as well as better performing China's international responsibility and obligation in maritime search and rescue, disaster prevention and mitigation, marine science and research, meteorological observation, environmental protection, navigation safety, fishery production service and other areas.
The Philippines and the international community have condemned China's attempt to change the status quo, with the United States reiterating its appeal to keep the strategic waterway free for navigation and overflight.
*PICTURES ARE IN THE LINK*
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IN PHOTOS: Philippine military's aerial shots of China's man-made islands | News Feature, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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Business News:
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Uninspired trades extend market freefall
By Richmond S. Mercurio (The Philippine Star)
Updated April 21, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - The wipeout of gains recorded in recent weeks continued in the local equities market yesterday as the benchmark stock index crashed to its fourth worst session of the year.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell 1.03 percent or 81.62 points to finish at 7,865.27, while the broader All Shares index also plunged 0.94 percent or 42.69 points.
Analysts said the lack of major economic news again prompted investors to take profits.
“Share prices tumbled again as a fresh week of trades began with investors still grasping for clues as the earnings cycle unwinds,” said Justino Calaycay Jr. of Accord Capital Equities Corp.
“There was little investors could go by on Monday with DJIA’s 279-point slide Friday and the troubling situation of Greece,” he added.
The PSEi sank to as low as 7,776.71 before pulling off a late rally to end above the 7,850 level.
Calaycay said yesterday’s trades ranked as one of the biggest single-day loss for the market this year points-wise and percentage-wise.
The PSEi’s only triple-digit loss this year so far happened last week, April 15, when it plummeted 150.03 points or 1.86 percent.
Wall Street indexes ended lower on Friday while most Asian markets were in the red yesterday, with Japan’s Nikkei slipping 0.1 percent.
Calaycay said foreign funds have reversed their flows in the last seven sessions with net proceeds at P6.308 billion, reducing their exposure to P42.872 billion on the year.
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Uninspired trades extend market freefall | Business, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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Cossack25A1
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SCS/West PH Sea News:
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AFP denies China warship fired at PAF plane over Pag-asa Island
INQUIRER.net
4:56 PM | Thursday, April 23rd, 2015
Frances Mangosing
A CHINESE frigate supposedly fired shots at a Philippine military aircraft early this week in Pag-asa Island (Thitu) West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
“There was a near disastrous incident between a Chinese frigate and PAF patrol aircraft early Monday. The frigate fired an illumination round on the PAF aircraft which necessitated grounding all military flights into the West Philippine Sea,” former Interior Secretary Rafael Alunan III posted on Facebook Wednesday night, quoting his source from Pag-asa Island.
But military officials denied such incident happened.
“We strongly deny that any of our military planes was fired upon by the Chinese…,” Armed Forces Public Affairs Office chief Lieutenant Colonel Harold Cabunoc told reporters at Camp Aguinaldo on Thursday.
“Firing incident in the West Philippine Sea is a serious matter that must not be a subject to malicious rumors,” he added.
An illumination round, as described by a military officer, is a type of ordnance that doesn’t explode but launches a flare on a parachute intended to provide illumination in a given target.
“It literally can convert night into day so combatants can see their targets,” the officer said.
A separate source said no illumination round was ever fired but “the Chinese ships did open their powerful lights while our aircraft were flying in the area.”
The incident supposedly delayed the evacuation of a sick radio enthusiast from the island because of the alleged grounded military planes.
But Cabunoc explained that the Nomad plane that was supposed to be used for the evacuation had technical difficulties.
“We confirm that the Western Command was requested to pick up a patient named Chito Pastor using a Nomad plane from Pag-asa Island today. However, Wescom was not able to provide the aircraft because of technical problems. Instead, Wescom allowed the relatives of the patient to use a civilian plane to evacuate patient,” Cabunoc said.
Pastor was evacuated to Puerto Princesa in Palawan at about 1 p.m.
Pag-asa is the biggest island claimed by the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea. There are about 200 residents in the island to assert the Philippine sovereignty.
On Monday, AFP chief General Gregorio Catapang Jr. asked China to stop its reclamation activities in the West Philippine Sea, including in areas claimed the Philippines such as Panganiban Reef (Mischief Reef) where rapid developments have been made.
Also recently, the Chinese Coast Guard has driven away Filipino fishermen using water cannon in Panatag Shoal (Scarborough) off Zambales, that is also part of the West Philippine Sea.
The Philippines has filed a case in the international court to protest China’s territorial claims and aggression in the disputed sea. While waiting for the ruling, the military has repeatedly vowed to continue patrolling the disputed sea. AC
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AFP denies China warship fired at PAF plane over Pag-asa Island | Inquirer Global Nation
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AFP denies China warship fired at PAF plane over Pag-asa Island
INQUIRER.net
4:56 PM | Thursday, April 23rd, 2015
Frances Mangosing
A CHINESE frigate supposedly fired shots at a Philippine military aircraft early this week in Pag-asa Island (Thitu) West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
“There was a near disastrous incident between a Chinese frigate and PAF patrol aircraft early Monday. The frigate fired an illumination round on the PAF aircraft which necessitated grounding all military flights into the West Philippine Sea,” former Interior Secretary Rafael Alunan III posted on Facebook Wednesday night, quoting his source from Pag-asa Island.
But military officials denied such incident happened.
“We strongly deny that any of our military planes was fired upon by the Chinese…,” Armed Forces Public Affairs Office chief Lieutenant Colonel Harold Cabunoc told reporters at Camp Aguinaldo on Thursday.
“Firing incident in the West Philippine Sea is a serious matter that must not be a subject to malicious rumors,” he added.
An illumination round, as described by a military officer, is a type of ordnance that doesn’t explode but launches a flare on a parachute intended to provide illumination in a given target.
“It literally can convert night into day so combatants can see their targets,” the officer said.
A separate source said no illumination round was ever fired but “the Chinese ships did open their powerful lights while our aircraft were flying in the area.”
The incident supposedly delayed the evacuation of a sick radio enthusiast from the island because of the alleged grounded military planes.
But Cabunoc explained that the Nomad plane that was supposed to be used for the evacuation had technical difficulties.
“We confirm that the Western Command was requested to pick up a patient named Chito Pastor using a Nomad plane from Pag-asa Island today. However, Wescom was not able to provide the aircraft because of technical problems. Instead, Wescom allowed the relatives of the patient to use a civilian plane to evacuate patient,” Cabunoc said.
Pastor was evacuated to Puerto Princesa in Palawan at about 1 p.m.
Pag-asa is the biggest island claimed by the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea. There are about 200 residents in the island to assert the Philippine sovereignty.
On Monday, AFP chief General Gregorio Catapang Jr. asked China to stop its reclamation activities in the West Philippine Sea, including in areas claimed the Philippines such as Panganiban Reef (Mischief Reef) where rapid developments have been made.
Also recently, the Chinese Coast Guard has driven away Filipino fishermen using water cannon in Panatag Shoal (Scarborough) off Zambales, that is also part of the West Philippine Sea.
The Philippines has filed a case in the international court to protest China’s territorial claims and aggression in the disputed sea. While waiting for the ruling, the military has repeatedly vowed to continue patrolling the disputed sea. AC
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AFP denies China warship fired at PAF plane over Pag-asa Island | Inquirer Global Nation
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Cossack25A1
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Business News:
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PSEi plunges on weak US growth
By Richmond S. Mercurio (The Philippine Star)
Updated May 1, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - A slowdown in the first quarter US economic growth has sent shockwaves to the local market, dragging the benchmark stock index to its third consecutive losing streak.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) plunged 1.41 percent or 110.65 points to close at 7,714.82 while the broader All Shares index slipped 0.96 percent or 43.22 points at 4,453.
Analysts again pointed to overseas factors as the primary reason for yesterday’s PSEi breakdown, with the US economy’s disappointing 0.2 percent first quarter growth leading the headlines.
“Sentiment took its cue overseas. Thus far, supply pressure remains high, given the recent net foreign selling and negative market breadth,” said Rens Cruz, investment analyst at F Yap Securities.
Abroad, Wall Street indexes slumped overnight. Most Asian markets took its cue from the decline, with Japan’s Nikkei leading the disappointment with a 2.6-percent drop.
Locally, all counters were in red for the second consecutive session led by the services firms which shed 2.03 percent. Three of the six counters lost more than one percent each.
Decliners continued to reign over advancers, 118 to 73, while 40 stocks were unchanged.Value turnover rose to P13.98 billion from P9.7 billion the previous day.
Trading in the PSE today is suspended in observance of Labor Day. Trading will resume on Monday, the PSE said.
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PSEi plunges on weak US growth | Business, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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Phl 2nd biggest ADB borrower in SE Asia
By Ted P. Torres (The Philippine Star)
Updated May 1, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines ranked as the second largest borrower in Southeast Asia from the Asian Development Bank’s sovereign loan portfolio in 2014.
The loans amounted to $2.6 billion or 16.6 percent of the region’s total $15.8 billion borrowings, the ADB said.
The largest borrower in the group was Vietnam with $9.1 billion or 57.5 percent of total loans.
The ADB’s sovereign lending portfolio last year totaled $68.2 billion.
The Philippines, along with Indonesia, Pakistan and Uzbekistan, also recorded poor disbursement ratio due to implementation issues, while Afghanistan was held down by security issues.
India and China were the top borrowers with $11.6 billion and $10.6 billion, respectively.
Other big borrowers in Southeast Asia were Indonesia with $1.75 billion and Cambodia with a little over $1 billion. The rest consists of Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar and Lao People’s Democratic Republic.
The countries with the largest year-on-year increases in value were Pakistan ($1.1 billion), Vietnam ($0.9 billion), India ($0.8 billion), the Philippines ($0.6 billion), Sri Lanka ($0.4 billion), and the PRC ($0.4 billion).
The biggest declines were in Indonesia ($1.1 billion) and Kazakhstan ($0.4 billion).
The leading sectors, meanwhile, were transport (38.8 percent), energy (23.4 percent), water (12 percent), education (4.9 percent) and finance (3.3 percent).
The energy sector disbursement ratio fell from 18.7 percent to 12.6 percent. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and the Philippines were the major countries with poor disbursement ratio in this sector.
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Phl 2nd biggest ADB borrower in SE Asia | Business, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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Military and Defense News:
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US-Phl Balikatan exercise ends
By Alexis Romero (The Philippine Star)
Updated May 1, 2015 - 12:00am
CLARK, Pampanga, Philippines – The Balikatan 2015 bilateral exercise between the Philippines and the United States ended yesterday with officials hailing it as another milestone in the two countries’ relationship.
“In an overall picture, we have attained an enhanced capacity, capability and interoperability in a joint and combined environment,” Philippine exercise director Vice Adm. Alexander Lopez said.
Joni Scandola, acting deputy head of mission of the US, said Balikatan is a manifestation of their commitment to their Philippine allies.
“We are standing with you side by side not just for an annual exercise but for whenever our partnership is truly needed,” Scandola said.
Col. David Womack, commander of US Army forces that participated in Balikatan, said the American troops learned more from their Filipino counterparts during the exercise.
He said US troops were particularly keen in learning jungle survival from Filipino soldiers.
Womack’s counterpart, Col. Laurence Mina, said the American troops have learned things that were not taught in other trainings.
He said the Filipino soldiers showed them first-hand survival techniques in the field during one portion of the exercises.
Mina and Womack said the Balikatan exercises boosted the morale of participating troops and friendship between the two countries.
“Balikatan is not only about the military exercises, it is also about our friendship,” Mina said.
Womack said working with the Filipino troops, even outside the Balikatan, helped each American soldier to develop into more effective disaster responders during past deployments in the Philippines.
Capt. Mark Anthony Ruelos, 7th Infantry Division’s public affairs officer, said part of the Balikatan exercises was the two-day community outreach in Barangay Calaanan in Bongabon town, Nueva Ecija.
He said Filipino and US troops performed medical and dental operations, haircuts, feeding program, circumcision and distribution of Bibles and reading glasses to the elderly.
In Kalikid Elementary School in Cabanatuan City, the participating troops installed improved piping for the water supply system in five classrooms.
Ruelos said the plan originally involved only three classrooms but the good coordination with the school board and principal enabled the soldiers to include two more classrooms.
The troops went on to rewire the entire electricity supply system of the school, he said.
A clean-up drive was also conducted in Camp Pangatian Memorial Shrine, locally known as the Cabanatuan Shrine.
To increase awareness of the importance of the landmark in Philippine history, a lecture was conducted for the participants during the clean-up drive, Ruelos said.
The shrine marks the rescue of 516 prisoners of war by American soldiers and Filipino guerillas from the Pangatian Concentration Camp in Cabanatuan City on Jan. 30, 1945. This has been described as one of the most daring and successful rescue missions of its type in military history. – With Ric Sapnu
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US-Phl Balikatan exercise ends | Headlines, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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PSEi plunges on weak US growth
By Richmond S. Mercurio (The Philippine Star)
Updated May 1, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - A slowdown in the first quarter US economic growth has sent shockwaves to the local market, dragging the benchmark stock index to its third consecutive losing streak.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) plunged 1.41 percent or 110.65 points to close at 7,714.82 while the broader All Shares index slipped 0.96 percent or 43.22 points at 4,453.
Analysts again pointed to overseas factors as the primary reason for yesterday’s PSEi breakdown, with the US economy’s disappointing 0.2 percent first quarter growth leading the headlines.
“Sentiment took its cue overseas. Thus far, supply pressure remains high, given the recent net foreign selling and negative market breadth,” said Rens Cruz, investment analyst at F Yap Securities.
Abroad, Wall Street indexes slumped overnight. Most Asian markets took its cue from the decline, with Japan’s Nikkei leading the disappointment with a 2.6-percent drop.
Locally, all counters were in red for the second consecutive session led by the services firms which shed 2.03 percent. Three of the six counters lost more than one percent each.
Decliners continued to reign over advancers, 118 to 73, while 40 stocks were unchanged.Value turnover rose to P13.98 billion from P9.7 billion the previous day.
Trading in the PSE today is suspended in observance of Labor Day. Trading will resume on Monday, the PSE said.
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PSEi plunges on weak US growth | Business, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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Phl 2nd biggest ADB borrower in SE Asia
By Ted P. Torres (The Philippine Star)
Updated May 1, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines ranked as the second largest borrower in Southeast Asia from the Asian Development Bank’s sovereign loan portfolio in 2014.
The loans amounted to $2.6 billion or 16.6 percent of the region’s total $15.8 billion borrowings, the ADB said.
The largest borrower in the group was Vietnam with $9.1 billion or 57.5 percent of total loans.
The ADB’s sovereign lending portfolio last year totaled $68.2 billion.
The Philippines, along with Indonesia, Pakistan and Uzbekistan, also recorded poor disbursement ratio due to implementation issues, while Afghanistan was held down by security issues.
India and China were the top borrowers with $11.6 billion and $10.6 billion, respectively.
Other big borrowers in Southeast Asia were Indonesia with $1.75 billion and Cambodia with a little over $1 billion. The rest consists of Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar and Lao People’s Democratic Republic.
The countries with the largest year-on-year increases in value were Pakistan ($1.1 billion), Vietnam ($0.9 billion), India ($0.8 billion), the Philippines ($0.6 billion), Sri Lanka ($0.4 billion), and the PRC ($0.4 billion).
The biggest declines were in Indonesia ($1.1 billion) and Kazakhstan ($0.4 billion).
The leading sectors, meanwhile, were transport (38.8 percent), energy (23.4 percent), water (12 percent), education (4.9 percent) and finance (3.3 percent).
The energy sector disbursement ratio fell from 18.7 percent to 12.6 percent. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and the Philippines were the major countries with poor disbursement ratio in this sector.
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Phl 2nd biggest ADB borrower in SE Asia | Business, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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Military and Defense News:
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US-Phl Balikatan exercise ends
By Alexis Romero (The Philippine Star)
Updated May 1, 2015 - 12:00am
CLARK, Pampanga, Philippines – The Balikatan 2015 bilateral exercise between the Philippines and the United States ended yesterday with officials hailing it as another milestone in the two countries’ relationship.
“In an overall picture, we have attained an enhanced capacity, capability and interoperability in a joint and combined environment,” Philippine exercise director Vice Adm. Alexander Lopez said.
Joni Scandola, acting deputy head of mission of the US, said Balikatan is a manifestation of their commitment to their Philippine allies.
“We are standing with you side by side not just for an annual exercise but for whenever our partnership is truly needed,” Scandola said.
Col. David Womack, commander of US Army forces that participated in Balikatan, said the American troops learned more from their Filipino counterparts during the exercise.
He said US troops were particularly keen in learning jungle survival from Filipino soldiers.
Womack’s counterpart, Col. Laurence Mina, said the American troops have learned things that were not taught in other trainings.
He said the Filipino soldiers showed them first-hand survival techniques in the field during one portion of the exercises.
Mina and Womack said the Balikatan exercises boosted the morale of participating troops and friendship between the two countries.
“Balikatan is not only about the military exercises, it is also about our friendship,” Mina said.
Womack said working with the Filipino troops, even outside the Balikatan, helped each American soldier to develop into more effective disaster responders during past deployments in the Philippines.
Capt. Mark Anthony Ruelos, 7th Infantry Division’s public affairs officer, said part of the Balikatan exercises was the two-day community outreach in Barangay Calaanan in Bongabon town, Nueva Ecija.
He said Filipino and US troops performed medical and dental operations, haircuts, feeding program, circumcision and distribution of Bibles and reading glasses to the elderly.
In Kalikid Elementary School in Cabanatuan City, the participating troops installed improved piping for the water supply system in five classrooms.
Ruelos said the plan originally involved only three classrooms but the good coordination with the school board and principal enabled the soldiers to include two more classrooms.
The troops went on to rewire the entire electricity supply system of the school, he said.
A clean-up drive was also conducted in Camp Pangatian Memorial Shrine, locally known as the Cabanatuan Shrine.
To increase awareness of the importance of the landmark in Philippine history, a lecture was conducted for the participants during the clean-up drive, Ruelos said.
The shrine marks the rescue of 516 prisoners of war by American soldiers and Filipino guerillas from the Pangatian Concentration Camp in Cabanatuan City on Jan. 30, 1945. This has been described as one of the most daring and successful rescue missions of its type in military history. – With Ric Sapnu
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US-Phl Balikatan exercise ends | Headlines, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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Cossack25A1
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Politics and National Security News:
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AFP congratulates MILF for Usman kill, bares photo
(philstar.com)
Updated May 4, 2015 - 12:23pm
MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED 2:22 p.m.) — Armed Forces chief Gen. Gregorio Catapang Jr. congratulated the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and government troops as he confirmed the death of terrorist-bomber Abdul Basit Usman on Monday.
"I want to convey my warm congratulations to the MILF and the government forces—both the AFP and the [Philippine National Police] who worked together in neutralizing this notorious terrorist," Catapang said in a press conference.
Catapang also said that the development shows the MILF's sincerity in the peace process with government.
An MILF band under a Commander Marlboro killed Usman at 11:30 a.m. at the adjoining towns of Guindulungan and Datu Saudi in Maguindanao, said senior officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Usman, who was linked to the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah, was responsible for the countless deaths of civilians in a series of bombings in Mindanao the past years.
Catapang said the AFP and the PNP had been a small group led by Usman for two months since the all-out campaign against the BIFF in Maguindanao.
Usman's group would approach MILF communities to divert their pursuers.
"The encounter site is near the vicinity of Camp Afghan, a temporary relocation site for MILF members who voluntarily vacated their homes during the conduct of law enforcement operations against the BIFF in the last week of February 2015," Catapang said.
Washington has offered a $1 million award for Usman's capture and prosecution.
Infighting
Catapang said that infighting among Usman's bodyguards led to a firefight Sunday in southern Maguindanao province, near a designated safe area for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the largest Muslim rebel group that signed a peace deal with the government last year.
He said Usman and five others were killed in a shootout allegedly with fellow members of his group.
But circumstances of Usman's death were still unclear, and Catapang said the military was investigating if he was already dead when Muslim rebels arrived to check the firefight. "What we are confirming is Basit Usman is dead," he told reporters, saying the military has physical evidence, including people who saw Usman's body being buried.
A tussle for the bounty may have fueled the infighting, Catapang said, adding that Usman has become distrustful of his men after a series of clashes with the military.
The military, meanwhile, released a photo of the dead body of Usman, who is seen lying down on the ground with mouth agape.
Catapang said the military will release a report on the incident.
Members of the MILF, BIFF and other armed groups killed 44 Special Action Force commandos on January 25 who were earlier in a raid to neutralize Usman and his Malaysian cohort, Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan, who was killed in the operation. - Camille Diola and Alexis Romero with the Associated Press
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AFP congratulates MILF for Usman kill, bares photo | Headlines, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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AFP: Foreign terrorist leaders next in line after Usman death
By Alexis Romero (philstar.com)
Updated May 4, 2015 - 5:55pm
MANILA, Philippines - After the death of Filipino bomb expert Basit Usman, the military is now setting its sights on two foreign terrorists believed to be hiding in the bailiwicks of local bandits in the south.
Armed Forces chief Gen. Gregorio Catapang Jr. assured the public on Monday that security forces would eventually pin down Malaysian bomber Amin Baco and Singaporean militant Muawiyah.
Both were cohorts of Usman and are believed to have ties with other Asian extremists.
“They are next in line, but we cannot tell you the pecking order,” Catapang said, referring to the order by which the terrorists would be tracked down.
Catapang said while it is important for soldiers to capture Baco and Muawiyah, they would not mind if the two fall in the hands of other groups.
“The bottom line is they will all be neutralized,” the military chief said.
Also known by the alias “Jihad,” Baco is a bomb expert and a member of terror network Jemaah Islamiyah. He has been tagged various bombings and kidnapping incidents.
Baco is one of the targets of Oplan Exodus, a covert anti-terror operation mounted by the Special Action Force in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last January 25.
The other targets were Usman and Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan, who was killed during the operation. Usman and Baco were able to evade the government forces who staged the raid.
Oplan Exodus went awry as it sparked a fierce encounter that resulted in the death of 44 police commandos and 18 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Usman, however, did not live long after that government offensive as he was killed in a clash with members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Guindolungan, Maguindanao last Sunday.
Muawiyah, whose real name Abdullah Ali, is a Singaporean terrorist affiliated with the Jemaah Islamiyah. In 2012, the military reported that Muawiyah was among the terrorists killed in an air raid in Sulu but the information proved to be false.
Captured Abu Sayyaf leader Khair Mundos have described Muawiyah as a “computer expert,” according to earlier reports.
Catapang said the military would also continue its operations against the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a group of Muslim rebels believed to be coddling extremists, and local terrorist group Abu Sayyaf.
“We will continue (exerting) pressure on the remnants of the BIFF and the Abu Sayyaf,” Catapang said.
“We are not yet finished with the BIFF. We want to neutralize the remaining BIFF remnants,” he added.
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AFP: Foreign terrorist leaders next in line after Usman death | Headlines, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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Business News:
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Inflation seen steady in April
By Kathleen A. Martin (The Philippine Star)
Updated May 4, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - Inflation has been forecast to have remained steady in April from the previous month, two banks said in separate research notes published recently.
UK-based Barclays and the research arm of Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. both estimated the rate to have settled at 2.4 percent last month, matching the same level recorded in March.
“Inflation should hold steady as continued falls in rice prices offset ongoing firmness in core inflation,” Barclays said.
The banks’ projection falls within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ 1.9 percent to 2.8 percent forecast range for April inflation.
Official April inflation data will be released by the Philippine Statistics Authority on Tuesday, May 5.
“Domestic prices in April were flat month-on-month, with mixed food prices and slow oil inflation keeping the index within the low end of the BSP’s inflation target,” Mabellene Reynaldo, research analyst at Metrobank said in a report.
“Rice and meat slowed down while fruits and vegetables trended higher. Overall food movement is still generally slow and stable compared to the past two quarters, dragging down the overall index,” she added.
Reynaldo further said that while oil prices were slightly climbing, they remain low versus year-ago levels. She noted there remains supply concerns on the conflict in Yemen, the small increase in the US inventory, and the higher demand forecast by the International Energy Agency.
Inflation eased to 2.4 percent in March from 2.5 percent in February on the back of lower price increases of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels.
This brought the first quarter average to 2.4 percent, near the lower end of the BSP’s two percent to four percent target for the year.
In March, the central bank held key policy rates steady on expectations inflation would continue to fall within the target ranges until 2016.
The BSP also said risks to inflation remain broadly-balanced with upside price pressures coming from pending petitions for water and power rate hikes, and the possible power shortage this year.
Last year, the overnight borrowing and overnight lending rates were increased by a total of 50 basis points to anchor inflation expectations.
The central bank will revisit policy settings next on May 14.
-----
Inflation seen steady in April | Business, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
-----
SEIPI outlook still positive but concerns remain over high costs
By Louella D. Desiderio (The Philippine Star)
Updated May 4, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - While a positive outlook is seen for the country’s electronic exports this year, the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines, Inc. (SEIPI) remains concerned with the high trucking and shipping charges being imposed.
SEIPI president Dan Lachica told reporters the group is still keeping its guidance of five to seven percent growth for outbound shipments of electronic products this year amid strong demand for certain sectors, particularly those for the automotive sector.
“So far, our guidance is still five to seven percent…While certain sectors are growing, there are those that are flat,” he said.
Last year, the country’s total exports of electronic products reached $25.876 billion, 8.1 percent higher than the $23.931 billion in 2013.
Despite the growth expected for this year, the group has concerns on trucking and shipping charges which remain high.
“One key issue is really our competitiveness as a country…We really need to rationalize trucking costs and fees being charged by international shippers,” Lachica said noting the situation and utilization at the ports have improved.
It will be recalled that trucking and shipping charges were raised due to the congestion at the ports last year.
At the height of the congestion at Manila’s ports, trucking fees jumped to P30,000 from just around P8,000, previously.
Shipping lines have imposed additional charges such as the Port Congestion Surcharge (PCS) and Emergency Cost Recovery Surcharge (ECRS).
Twelve major shipping lines have lifted the PCS, but ECRS continues to be collected by some of the shippers.
“Some charges are being kept on the probability there will be port congestion again but there is no port congestion…Utilization of the ports is now at 60 to 70 percent so I think we’re okay,” Lachica said.
With the improved situation at the ports, he said there is a need to look at the breakdown of charges and see whether the fees are reasonable.
“We just want to make sure the charges are reasonable since prices of gasoline also went down,” he added.
Last week, Trade Undersecretary Victorio Mario Dimagiba said the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will be reviewing the components of the charges amid concerns raised by the private sector.
For the shipping charges, a proposal to study the legal basis for regulating shipping charges of international shipping lines will be submitted by the DTI as a member of the Maritime Industry Authority.
As the country’s competition authority under Executive Order 45, the Department of Justice will also look into whether the charges of truckers and shipping lines are still reasonable.
In March, Secretary to the Cabinet Jose Rene Almendras said the port congestion problem has been resolved owing to measures implemented by the government and the private sector.
A truck ban imposed by the City Government of Manila in February last year resulted in the accumulation of containers at the ports.
Even with the lifting of the truck ban in September, the congestion at the ports only started to ease earlier this year.
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SEIPI outlook still positive but concerns remain over high costs | Business, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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===========================================================================================================================================
Satire (But Sadly True) News:
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Report: Philippines Citizens Currently Watching Their Congressman Fight A Guy On TV
SPORTS NEWS
May 2, 2015 Vol 51 Issue 17
MANILA, PHILIPPINES—As boxing fans around the world turn their attention to one of the most eagerly anticipated bouts in years, reports confirmed Saturday evening that citizens of the Philippines are currently watching one of their congressmen fight a man on television.
According to sources throughout the Southeast Asian island nation, roughly the entire Filipino populace has gathered around their television sets in order to witness a member of the Philippine House of Representatives engage in brutal hand-to-hand combat. Reports indicated that the legislator, who has dutifully served the people of the Sarangani province for the past five years, is presently being cheered on by his constituents as he attempts to knock out another man during a live pay-per-view broadcast.
“At the moment, the people of the Philippines are on the edge of their seats as one of our most influential lawmakers carefully circles his opponent in an effort to land some powerful body blows,” said Manila resident Jonathan Ocampo, noting that his congressman is currently drenched in sweat, half-naked, and wearing athletic trunks branded with the logos of Nike and a Malaysian airline. “He’s deflecting hooks and crosses as he advances on his opponent in hopes of punching him in the face. Tens of millions of Filipinos are sitting at home watching a man who took an oath of office vowing to uphold the Constitution do this.”
“This is one of our most dedicated civil servants,” he added, referring to an individual being pinned against the ropes in front of 17,000 screaming spectators at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena.
According to reports, the elected official is sworn to protect the interests of the Filipino people and also recently emerged from a tunnel wearing a satin robe, flanked by a large entourage to the strains of a pop song he himself sang and recorded, in order to face an opponent against whom he has been scheduled to fight one-on-one. The politician, who routinely votes on measures affecting the well-being of roughly 100 million Filipino men, women, and children, then slowly made his way through a crowd containing numerous American celebrities, put in his mouthguard, and was introduced by an announcer as “The Fighting Pride of the Philippines.”
Sources also confirmed that the man, who earlier this week exchanged threatening stares with his opponent while the two were weighed and then photographed flexing their muscles, successfully campaigned for public office in 2010 on a platform of free education and health care, as well as increased funding for vocational training programs.
The 36-year-old second-term congressman also reportedly appeared in a recent promotional video in which he and the person he is currently fighting were depicted slowly walking toward one another in a computer-animated desert.
“All Filipinos are hoping that our government representative inflicts a significant amount of damage on this other human being,” Quezon City resident Pia Bautista said of the man alternately referred to as either “The Honorable” or “Pac-Man,” and who is participating in an event featuring scantily clad women displaying large placards indicating the next three-minute round of a fight. “Certainly, everyone in the country is hoping for a better outcome than a few years ago, when we had to watch this prominent member of the United Nationalist Alliance electoral coalition lie unresponsive on the mat after being knocked unconscious by Juan Manuel ‘Dinamita’ Marquez.”
“Go Manny!” Bautista added in a cheer that is just as likely to be heard during one of the man’s televised fights as it is during his 2016 reelection campaign.
At press time, the man who by many accounts could someday serve as president of the Philippines was having Vaseline applied to his forehead and cheekbones in preparation for the fight’s next round.
-----
Report: Philippines Citizens Currently Watching Their Congressman Fight A Guy On TV - The Onion - America's Finest News Source
-----
I posted the Onion news because I am getting sick and tired of news about the recent match and that Filipinos CANNOT GET OVER THE FACT that Pacquiao lost that I need a satire news to "calm" me down.
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AFP congratulates MILF for Usman kill, bares photo
(philstar.com)
Updated May 4, 2015 - 12:23pm
MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED 2:22 p.m.) — Armed Forces chief Gen. Gregorio Catapang Jr. congratulated the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and government troops as he confirmed the death of terrorist-bomber Abdul Basit Usman on Monday.
"I want to convey my warm congratulations to the MILF and the government forces—both the AFP and the [Philippine National Police] who worked together in neutralizing this notorious terrorist," Catapang said in a press conference.
Catapang also said that the development shows the MILF's sincerity in the peace process with government.
An MILF band under a Commander Marlboro killed Usman at 11:30 a.m. at the adjoining towns of Guindulungan and Datu Saudi in Maguindanao, said senior officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Usman, who was linked to the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah, was responsible for the countless deaths of civilians in a series of bombings in Mindanao the past years.
Catapang said the AFP and the PNP had been a small group led by Usman for two months since the all-out campaign against the BIFF in Maguindanao.
Usman's group would approach MILF communities to divert their pursuers.
"The encounter site is near the vicinity of Camp Afghan, a temporary relocation site for MILF members who voluntarily vacated their homes during the conduct of law enforcement operations against the BIFF in the last week of February 2015," Catapang said.
Washington has offered a $1 million award for Usman's capture and prosecution.
Infighting
Catapang said that infighting among Usman's bodyguards led to a firefight Sunday in southern Maguindanao province, near a designated safe area for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the largest Muslim rebel group that signed a peace deal with the government last year.
He said Usman and five others were killed in a shootout allegedly with fellow members of his group.
But circumstances of Usman's death were still unclear, and Catapang said the military was investigating if he was already dead when Muslim rebels arrived to check the firefight. "What we are confirming is Basit Usman is dead," he told reporters, saying the military has physical evidence, including people who saw Usman's body being buried.
A tussle for the bounty may have fueled the infighting, Catapang said, adding that Usman has become distrustful of his men after a series of clashes with the military.
The military, meanwhile, released a photo of the dead body of Usman, who is seen lying down on the ground with mouth agape.
Catapang said the military will release a report on the incident.
Members of the MILF, BIFF and other armed groups killed 44 Special Action Force commandos on January 25 who were earlier in a raid to neutralize Usman and his Malaysian cohort, Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan, who was killed in the operation. - Camille Diola and Alexis Romero with the Associated Press
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AFP congratulates MILF for Usman kill, bares photo | Headlines, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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AFP: Foreign terrorist leaders next in line after Usman death
By Alexis Romero (philstar.com)
Updated May 4, 2015 - 5:55pm
MANILA, Philippines - After the death of Filipino bomb expert Basit Usman, the military is now setting its sights on two foreign terrorists believed to be hiding in the bailiwicks of local bandits in the south.
Armed Forces chief Gen. Gregorio Catapang Jr. assured the public on Monday that security forces would eventually pin down Malaysian bomber Amin Baco and Singaporean militant Muawiyah.
Both were cohorts of Usman and are believed to have ties with other Asian extremists.
“They are next in line, but we cannot tell you the pecking order,” Catapang said, referring to the order by which the terrorists would be tracked down.
Catapang said while it is important for soldiers to capture Baco and Muawiyah, they would not mind if the two fall in the hands of other groups.
“The bottom line is they will all be neutralized,” the military chief said.
Also known by the alias “Jihad,” Baco is a bomb expert and a member of terror network Jemaah Islamiyah. He has been tagged various bombings and kidnapping incidents.
Baco is one of the targets of Oplan Exodus, a covert anti-terror operation mounted by the Special Action Force in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last January 25.
The other targets were Usman and Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan, who was killed during the operation. Usman and Baco were able to evade the government forces who staged the raid.
Oplan Exodus went awry as it sparked a fierce encounter that resulted in the death of 44 police commandos and 18 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Usman, however, did not live long after that government offensive as he was killed in a clash with members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Guindolungan, Maguindanao last Sunday.
Muawiyah, whose real name Abdullah Ali, is a Singaporean terrorist affiliated with the Jemaah Islamiyah. In 2012, the military reported that Muawiyah was among the terrorists killed in an air raid in Sulu but the information proved to be false.
Captured Abu Sayyaf leader Khair Mundos have described Muawiyah as a “computer expert,” according to earlier reports.
Catapang said the military would also continue its operations against the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a group of Muslim rebels believed to be coddling extremists, and local terrorist group Abu Sayyaf.
“We will continue (exerting) pressure on the remnants of the BIFF and the Abu Sayyaf,” Catapang said.
“We are not yet finished with the BIFF. We want to neutralize the remaining BIFF remnants,” he added.
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AFP: Foreign terrorist leaders next in line after Usman death | Headlines, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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Business News:
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Inflation seen steady in April
By Kathleen A. Martin (The Philippine Star)
Updated May 4, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - Inflation has been forecast to have remained steady in April from the previous month, two banks said in separate research notes published recently.
UK-based Barclays and the research arm of Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. both estimated the rate to have settled at 2.4 percent last month, matching the same level recorded in March.
“Inflation should hold steady as continued falls in rice prices offset ongoing firmness in core inflation,” Barclays said.
The banks’ projection falls within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ 1.9 percent to 2.8 percent forecast range for April inflation.
Official April inflation data will be released by the Philippine Statistics Authority on Tuesday, May 5.
“Domestic prices in April were flat month-on-month, with mixed food prices and slow oil inflation keeping the index within the low end of the BSP’s inflation target,” Mabellene Reynaldo, research analyst at Metrobank said in a report.
“Rice and meat slowed down while fruits and vegetables trended higher. Overall food movement is still generally slow and stable compared to the past two quarters, dragging down the overall index,” she added.
Reynaldo further said that while oil prices were slightly climbing, they remain low versus year-ago levels. She noted there remains supply concerns on the conflict in Yemen, the small increase in the US inventory, and the higher demand forecast by the International Energy Agency.
Inflation eased to 2.4 percent in March from 2.5 percent in February on the back of lower price increases of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels.
This brought the first quarter average to 2.4 percent, near the lower end of the BSP’s two percent to four percent target for the year.
In March, the central bank held key policy rates steady on expectations inflation would continue to fall within the target ranges until 2016.
The BSP also said risks to inflation remain broadly-balanced with upside price pressures coming from pending petitions for water and power rate hikes, and the possible power shortage this year.
Last year, the overnight borrowing and overnight lending rates were increased by a total of 50 basis points to anchor inflation expectations.
The central bank will revisit policy settings next on May 14.
-----
Inflation seen steady in April | Business, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
-----
SEIPI outlook still positive but concerns remain over high costs
By Louella D. Desiderio (The Philippine Star)
Updated May 4, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - While a positive outlook is seen for the country’s electronic exports this year, the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines, Inc. (SEIPI) remains concerned with the high trucking and shipping charges being imposed.
SEIPI president Dan Lachica told reporters the group is still keeping its guidance of five to seven percent growth for outbound shipments of electronic products this year amid strong demand for certain sectors, particularly those for the automotive sector.
“So far, our guidance is still five to seven percent…While certain sectors are growing, there are those that are flat,” he said.
Last year, the country’s total exports of electronic products reached $25.876 billion, 8.1 percent higher than the $23.931 billion in 2013.
Despite the growth expected for this year, the group has concerns on trucking and shipping charges which remain high.
“One key issue is really our competitiveness as a country…We really need to rationalize trucking costs and fees being charged by international shippers,” Lachica said noting the situation and utilization at the ports have improved.
It will be recalled that trucking and shipping charges were raised due to the congestion at the ports last year.
At the height of the congestion at Manila’s ports, trucking fees jumped to P30,000 from just around P8,000, previously.
Shipping lines have imposed additional charges such as the Port Congestion Surcharge (PCS) and Emergency Cost Recovery Surcharge (ECRS).
Twelve major shipping lines have lifted the PCS, but ECRS continues to be collected by some of the shippers.
“Some charges are being kept on the probability there will be port congestion again but there is no port congestion…Utilization of the ports is now at 60 to 70 percent so I think we’re okay,” Lachica said.
With the improved situation at the ports, he said there is a need to look at the breakdown of charges and see whether the fees are reasonable.
“We just want to make sure the charges are reasonable since prices of gasoline also went down,” he added.
Last week, Trade Undersecretary Victorio Mario Dimagiba said the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will be reviewing the components of the charges amid concerns raised by the private sector.
For the shipping charges, a proposal to study the legal basis for regulating shipping charges of international shipping lines will be submitted by the DTI as a member of the Maritime Industry Authority.
As the country’s competition authority under Executive Order 45, the Department of Justice will also look into whether the charges of truckers and shipping lines are still reasonable.
In March, Secretary to the Cabinet Jose Rene Almendras said the port congestion problem has been resolved owing to measures implemented by the government and the private sector.
A truck ban imposed by the City Government of Manila in February last year resulted in the accumulation of containers at the ports.
Even with the lifting of the truck ban in September, the congestion at the ports only started to ease earlier this year.
-----
SEIPI outlook still positive but concerns remain over high costs | Business, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
-----
===========================================================================================================================================
===========================================================================================================================================
Satire (But Sadly True) News:
-----
Report: Philippines Citizens Currently Watching Their Congressman Fight A Guy On TV
SPORTS NEWS
May 2, 2015 Vol 51 Issue 17
MANILA, PHILIPPINES—As boxing fans around the world turn their attention to one of the most eagerly anticipated bouts in years, reports confirmed Saturday evening that citizens of the Philippines are currently watching one of their congressmen fight a man on television.
According to sources throughout the Southeast Asian island nation, roughly the entire Filipino populace has gathered around their television sets in order to witness a member of the Philippine House of Representatives engage in brutal hand-to-hand combat. Reports indicated that the legislator, who has dutifully served the people of the Sarangani province for the past five years, is presently being cheered on by his constituents as he attempts to knock out another man during a live pay-per-view broadcast.
“At the moment, the people of the Philippines are on the edge of their seats as one of our most influential lawmakers carefully circles his opponent in an effort to land some powerful body blows,” said Manila resident Jonathan Ocampo, noting that his congressman is currently drenched in sweat, half-naked, and wearing athletic trunks branded with the logos of Nike and a Malaysian airline. “He’s deflecting hooks and crosses as he advances on his opponent in hopes of punching him in the face. Tens of millions of Filipinos are sitting at home watching a man who took an oath of office vowing to uphold the Constitution do this.”
“This is one of our most dedicated civil servants,” he added, referring to an individual being pinned against the ropes in front of 17,000 screaming spectators at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena.
According to reports, the elected official is sworn to protect the interests of the Filipino people and also recently emerged from a tunnel wearing a satin robe, flanked by a large entourage to the strains of a pop song he himself sang and recorded, in order to face an opponent against whom he has been scheduled to fight one-on-one. The politician, who routinely votes on measures affecting the well-being of roughly 100 million Filipino men, women, and children, then slowly made his way through a crowd containing numerous American celebrities, put in his mouthguard, and was introduced by an announcer as “The Fighting Pride of the Philippines.”
Sources also confirmed that the man, who earlier this week exchanged threatening stares with his opponent while the two were weighed and then photographed flexing their muscles, successfully campaigned for public office in 2010 on a platform of free education and health care, as well as increased funding for vocational training programs.
The 36-year-old second-term congressman also reportedly appeared in a recent promotional video in which he and the person he is currently fighting were depicted slowly walking toward one another in a computer-animated desert.
“All Filipinos are hoping that our government representative inflicts a significant amount of damage on this other human being,” Quezon City resident Pia Bautista said of the man alternately referred to as either “The Honorable” or “Pac-Man,” and who is participating in an event featuring scantily clad women displaying large placards indicating the next three-minute round of a fight. “Certainly, everyone in the country is hoping for a better outcome than a few years ago, when we had to watch this prominent member of the United Nationalist Alliance electoral coalition lie unresponsive on the mat after being knocked unconscious by Juan Manuel ‘Dinamita’ Marquez.”
“Go Manny!” Bautista added in a cheer that is just as likely to be heard during one of the man’s televised fights as it is during his 2016 reelection campaign.
At press time, the man who by many accounts could someday serve as president of the Philippines was having Vaseline applied to his forehead and cheekbones in preparation for the fight’s next round.
-----
Report: Philippines Citizens Currently Watching Their Congressman Fight A Guy On TV - The Onion - America's Finest News Source
-----
I posted the Onion news because I am getting sick and tired of news about the recent match and that Filipinos CANNOT GET OVER THE FACT that Pacquiao lost that I need a satire news to "calm" me down.
Cossack25A1
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2014
- Messages
- 2,566
- Reaction score
- 2
- Country
- Location
SCS/West PH Sea News:
-----
Senate starts probe of Chinese activities in West Philippine Sea
By Marvin Sy (The Philippine Star)
Updated May 7, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - The Senate starts today its inquiry into the alleged reclamation and dredging activities of China in disputed territories of the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, chairman of the Senate committee on national defense and security, would lead the inquiry into the issue based on the resolution that he filed last month.
A separate resolution was filed by Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago calling for an inquiry into the activities of China, which she said might have changed the present situation in the disputed territorial waters.
Santiago cited reports indicating that China’s land reclamation in four of the Philippine-claimed islands and reefs in the West Philippine Sea has reached an estimated 60 hectares.
Aerial photos of Panganiban (Mischief) Reef taken earlier this year showed that dredging activities have also begun in the area.
She quoted Magdalo party list Rep. Ashley Acedillo as saying that upon the completion of China’s reclamation activities, the reefs and shoals would be physically altered to habitable islands and would be able to host structures for military and other personnel as well as support naval and aircraft operations.
Acedillo, a former military pilot, said the Philippines could lose Ayungin Shoal if China steps up air and navy patrols based in Panganiban Reef.
He added these Chinese-built territories function as forward operating bases that could sustain 24/7 naval and air patrols, virtually allowing China to stake its claim to the detriment of other claimants.
“An investigation must be conducted to examine the extent of the construction in the disputed territories,” Santiago said.
“The state should also study whether a more aggressive action should be taken in order to protect the Philippines’ territories,” she added.
Trillanes, for his part, stressed the need for Congress to “look into and review the relevant national policies and international agreements that are pertinent to the Philippines’ claim over the Spratly Islands,” saying the activities of China there may have significantly changed the physical features of the disputed areas.
Trillanes said this could “bring larger geopolitical consequences such as providing a stronger basis for China’s territorial claim, thereby diminishing the Philippines’ assertion of sovereignty.”
China, on the other hand, has accused the Philippines of illegally occupying some of the islands in the Spratlys that Beijing called its own.
China accused the Philippines of conducting large scale construction of military and civil facilities including airports, ports and barracks on those islands for many years.
Beijing also maintained it has never taken action that may complicate and deteriorate the disputes or affect regional peace and stability and called on the Philippines to stop construction work and evacuate its people.
Department of National Defense (DND) spokesman Peter Paul Galvez said China now appeared to be confused while justifying its own provocative acts as it aggressively asserts maritime claim to virtually all of the West Philippine Sea.
“They have been saying too many things that they are now confused. What they should do is to stop all their reclamation activities, dismantle structures and apologize to the international community for the massive environmental degradation they committed in the West Philippine Sea,” he said.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said it would not pull out troops in the Kalayaan Island Group of the Spratlys.
AFP Public Affairs Office chief Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc said there is no reason to evacuate the troops as their primary mission is to protect and safeguard the country’s sovereign rights in the region. – With Jaime Laude, Evelyn Macairan
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Senate starts probe of Chinese activities in West Philippine Sea | Headlines, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
-----
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Senate starts probe of Chinese activities in West Philippine Sea
By Marvin Sy (The Philippine Star)
Updated May 7, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - The Senate starts today its inquiry into the alleged reclamation and dredging activities of China in disputed territories of the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, chairman of the Senate committee on national defense and security, would lead the inquiry into the issue based on the resolution that he filed last month.
A separate resolution was filed by Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago calling for an inquiry into the activities of China, which she said might have changed the present situation in the disputed territorial waters.
Santiago cited reports indicating that China’s land reclamation in four of the Philippine-claimed islands and reefs in the West Philippine Sea has reached an estimated 60 hectares.
Aerial photos of Panganiban (Mischief) Reef taken earlier this year showed that dredging activities have also begun in the area.
She quoted Magdalo party list Rep. Ashley Acedillo as saying that upon the completion of China’s reclamation activities, the reefs and shoals would be physically altered to habitable islands and would be able to host structures for military and other personnel as well as support naval and aircraft operations.
Acedillo, a former military pilot, said the Philippines could lose Ayungin Shoal if China steps up air and navy patrols based in Panganiban Reef.
He added these Chinese-built territories function as forward operating bases that could sustain 24/7 naval and air patrols, virtually allowing China to stake its claim to the detriment of other claimants.
“An investigation must be conducted to examine the extent of the construction in the disputed territories,” Santiago said.
“The state should also study whether a more aggressive action should be taken in order to protect the Philippines’ territories,” she added.
Trillanes, for his part, stressed the need for Congress to “look into and review the relevant national policies and international agreements that are pertinent to the Philippines’ claim over the Spratly Islands,” saying the activities of China there may have significantly changed the physical features of the disputed areas.
Trillanes said this could “bring larger geopolitical consequences such as providing a stronger basis for China’s territorial claim, thereby diminishing the Philippines’ assertion of sovereignty.”
China, on the other hand, has accused the Philippines of illegally occupying some of the islands in the Spratlys that Beijing called its own.
China accused the Philippines of conducting large scale construction of military and civil facilities including airports, ports and barracks on those islands for many years.
Beijing also maintained it has never taken action that may complicate and deteriorate the disputes or affect regional peace and stability and called on the Philippines to stop construction work and evacuate its people.
Department of National Defense (DND) spokesman Peter Paul Galvez said China now appeared to be confused while justifying its own provocative acts as it aggressively asserts maritime claim to virtually all of the West Philippine Sea.
“They have been saying too many things that they are now confused. What they should do is to stop all their reclamation activities, dismantle structures and apologize to the international community for the massive environmental degradation they committed in the West Philippine Sea,” he said.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said it would not pull out troops in the Kalayaan Island Group of the Spratlys.
AFP Public Affairs Office chief Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc said there is no reason to evacuate the troops as their primary mission is to protect and safeguard the country’s sovereign rights in the region. – With Jaime Laude, Evelyn Macairan
-----
Senate starts probe of Chinese activities in West Philippine Sea | Headlines, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
-----
Cossack25A1
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2014
- Messages
- 2,566
- Reaction score
- 2
- Country
- Location
Business News:
-----
BSP seen keeping rates steady
By Kathleen A. Martin (The Philippine Star)
Updated May 11, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is expected to keep key policy rates steady when it meets this week as the economy remains strong and inflation continues to be manageable, four banks said.
Singapore-based DBS, US-based JP Morgan, Anglo-Dutch banking giant ING, and UK-based Barclays said in separate reports that policy settings would likely be left unchanged when the Monetary Board meets on Thursday.
Gundy Cahyadi, economist at DBS, said in an e-mail last week the bank sees “no change” in key rates this week or for the rest of the year.
“The economy remains on a sweet spot, with GDP (gross domestic product) growth momentum steady, while CPI inflation is well within target, given low oil price,” Cahyadi said.
“As it is, we continue to think that the next move by the BSP will probably be a tightening more than a loosening of its monetary policy. Given lingering uncertainties about Fed (US Federal Reserve) rate hike and the fact that other regional banks have been loosening and not tightening, the BSP may only raise its interest rate in early-2016,” he said.
The BSP has maintained the overnight borrowing and overnight lending rates at four percent and six percent, respectively, last March 26, marking the fourth consecutive meeting that it kept key rates steady as inflation expectations fell within the two-to four-percent target for the year.
The central bank will revisit policy settings on May 14.
Meanwhile, central banks in Australia and in Thailand recently cut their rates, while their counterparts in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea, and India kept rates steady.
“Look for stable rates throughout the year. Adjusting the SDA (Special Deposit Account) rate still looks likely at some point this year, given that liquidity remains relatively abundant,” Cahyadi said.
US-based JP Morgan also shared the view that the BSP will leave the key rates at their current levels this week but said adjustments are expected in the second half of the year.
“Despite some upside risk to inflation from tariff adjustments, JP Morgan has penciled in a 25 basis point cut in the RRP (reverse repurchase rate) in the second half of the year which respectively reflects both easing in inflation and moderating risks of capital outflows as real onshore rates rise,” the bank said in a research note last week.
“While firmer growth could ostensibly stay their hand, the revealed reaction function of the BSP appears more driven by inflation, as was the case in 2012/2013 when the BSP cut rates even as sequential annualized growth rates rose at a pace of 7.5 percent,” JP Morgan said.
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BSP seen keeping rates steady | Business, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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Philippines expected to improve ranking in WEF’s travel, tourism competitiveness
By Danessa O. Rivera (The Philippine Star)
Updated May 11, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - The improvements in tourism infrastructure through the Aquino adminstration’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program could propel the Philippines in the upper half of the travel and tourism competitiveness index of the World Economic Forum (WEF).
“I expect the Philippines to be in the upper half of the index by next report as tourism infrastructure will get better,” National Competitiveness Council co-chairman Guillermo Luz said.
The Philippines placed 74th out of 141 countries from 82nd in 2011, still at the lower half of the pack, in the biannual WEF Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2015.
The country’s eight-notch leap was attributed to the improving price competitiveness and growing middle class.
Meanwhile, it scored a measly 3.19 out of seven in tourism infrastructure.
Luz said this could be because the assessment happened when the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminals 1 and 3 were still undergoing rehabilitation.
“People will see the improvements in the airports and (this) would reflect in the next report,” he said.
The rehabilitation of Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1, which started in January 2014, will be completed this month. Improvements in the terminal include new check-in counters, air-conditioning system, better lighting, new display boards, conveyor belts and lavatories.
Meanwhile, NAIA Terminal 3 started operating in full swing to serve foreign air carriers while Terminal 1 underwent rehabilitation.
Luz said that the five airport projects under the PPP program worth P108.2 billion would also help in advancing the country’s tourism infrastructure.
The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has divided the five regional airports into two bundles to attract more investors in the dual-stage bidding process.
The first bundle consists of the P20.26 billion Bacolod – Silay airport and the P14.62 billion Laguindingan airport, while the second bundle cover the P40.57 billion Davao airport, the P30.4 billion Iloilo airport, and the P2.34 billion New Bohol (Panglao) airport.
Five groups, namely the Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and JG Summit Holdings Inc. tandem, San Miguel Corp. (SMC), GMR-Megawide Group, Philippine Skylanders, and the Aboitiz Group are joining the bidding for the airport projects.
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Philippines expected to improve ranking in WEF’s travel, tourism competitiveness | Business, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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IMF expects peso to remain stable
By Kathleen A. Martin (The Philippine Star)
Updated May 11, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - The International Monetary (IMF) the peso to remain stable despite the divergence in monetary policies abroad given the country’s strong external position.
“We don’t think the exchange rate will be under a lot of pressure for the Philippines compared to other countries because you have current account surplus and the reserves are high,” IMF resident representative Shanaka Jayanath Peiris said.
The peso has averaged 44.421:$1 in the four months to April, stronger than its 44.395:$1 average last year, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data showed. The central bank earlier said the local unit remains largely affected by the uncertainty in international oil prices and the US Federal Reserve’s expected rate hike this year.
Last year, the Philippines saw its current account surplus hit a record high of $12.6 billion from $11.4 billion in 2013. The current account, an important indicator of an economy’s health, is made up of the country’s imports, exports, receipts from tourism and the business process outsourcing industry, and even remittances from overseas Filipino workers, among others.
Gross international reserves, meanwhile, amounted to $80.799 billion in April, latest BSP data showed. The figure is enough to cover 10.6 months’ worth of the country’s imports of goods and payments of services and income. It is also equivalent to 4.8 times the short-term external debt based on original maturity and 3.7 times based on residual maturity.
The IMF, in its latest Regional Economic Outlook for Asia and the Pacific, said that the different monetary policies across advanced economies have contributed largely to exchange rate movements in the region.
The US Fed is widely expected to increase rates this year after ending its monthly asset purchases in 2014, while its counterparts in Japan and the euro area implemented their own monetary stimuli to boost their respective economies.
The IMF said this resulted in the appreciation of a number of Asia and Pacific currencies, reflecting the stability of these currencies againts the dollar, while Australia, Malaysia, and New Zealand saw their currencies depreciate.
“Large and rapid realignments of the major reserve currencies could create a dilemma for some Asian countries,” the IMF said, noting the build-up of dollar-denominated debt in Asia especially for Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, China, India, and South Korea.
At the same time, corporations have also increased their foreign currency debt, mostly denominated in dollar, and this has exposed them to exchange rate risk and higher hedging costs, the IMF said.
“For policymakers, this could create an uncomfortable near-term trade-off between competitiveness and financial stability,” the IMF said.
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IMF expects peso to remain stable | Business, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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Miscellaneous News:
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CAEx? Where’s that? Oh, the NLEx
Philippine Daily Inquirer 5:33 AM
Monday, May 11th, 2015
MANILA, Philippines–Soon one may be traversing the CAEx on the way to Baguio from Manila.
The CAEx?
The House committee on public works and highways chaired by Benguet Rep. Ronald M. Cosalan has approved a bill renaming the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) the President Corazon C. Aquino Expressway (CAEx).
The name change was initiated by Nueva Ecija Rep. Magnolia Rosa C. Antonino in House Bill 4820 to “perpetuate the memory of the late President Corazon Aquino, an icon of democracy.”
The 84-kilometer highway has undergone several name changes since it was built in the 1960s as Radial Road 8. It was also known as the Manila North Expressway and the Manila North Diversion Road.
The main highway linking Metro Manila to Central Luzon is currently maintained by the Manila North Tollways Corp.–Gil Cabacungan
-----
CAEx? Where’s that? Oh, the NLEx | Inquirer News
-----
Oh great, one of our highways is named after a HYPOCRITE SAINT-WANNABE!
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BSP seen keeping rates steady
By Kathleen A. Martin (The Philippine Star)
Updated May 11, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is expected to keep key policy rates steady when it meets this week as the economy remains strong and inflation continues to be manageable, four banks said.
Singapore-based DBS, US-based JP Morgan, Anglo-Dutch banking giant ING, and UK-based Barclays said in separate reports that policy settings would likely be left unchanged when the Monetary Board meets on Thursday.
Gundy Cahyadi, economist at DBS, said in an e-mail last week the bank sees “no change” in key rates this week or for the rest of the year.
“The economy remains on a sweet spot, with GDP (gross domestic product) growth momentum steady, while CPI inflation is well within target, given low oil price,” Cahyadi said.
“As it is, we continue to think that the next move by the BSP will probably be a tightening more than a loosening of its monetary policy. Given lingering uncertainties about Fed (US Federal Reserve) rate hike and the fact that other regional banks have been loosening and not tightening, the BSP may only raise its interest rate in early-2016,” he said.
The BSP has maintained the overnight borrowing and overnight lending rates at four percent and six percent, respectively, last March 26, marking the fourth consecutive meeting that it kept key rates steady as inflation expectations fell within the two-to four-percent target for the year.
The central bank will revisit policy settings on May 14.
Meanwhile, central banks in Australia and in Thailand recently cut their rates, while their counterparts in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea, and India kept rates steady.
“Look for stable rates throughout the year. Adjusting the SDA (Special Deposit Account) rate still looks likely at some point this year, given that liquidity remains relatively abundant,” Cahyadi said.
US-based JP Morgan also shared the view that the BSP will leave the key rates at their current levels this week but said adjustments are expected in the second half of the year.
“Despite some upside risk to inflation from tariff adjustments, JP Morgan has penciled in a 25 basis point cut in the RRP (reverse repurchase rate) in the second half of the year which respectively reflects both easing in inflation and moderating risks of capital outflows as real onshore rates rise,” the bank said in a research note last week.
“While firmer growth could ostensibly stay their hand, the revealed reaction function of the BSP appears more driven by inflation, as was the case in 2012/2013 when the BSP cut rates even as sequential annualized growth rates rose at a pace of 7.5 percent,” JP Morgan said.
-----
BSP seen keeping rates steady | Business, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
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Philippines expected to improve ranking in WEF’s travel, tourism competitiveness
By Danessa O. Rivera (The Philippine Star)
Updated May 11, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - The improvements in tourism infrastructure through the Aquino adminstration’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program could propel the Philippines in the upper half of the travel and tourism competitiveness index of the World Economic Forum (WEF).
“I expect the Philippines to be in the upper half of the index by next report as tourism infrastructure will get better,” National Competitiveness Council co-chairman Guillermo Luz said.
The Philippines placed 74th out of 141 countries from 82nd in 2011, still at the lower half of the pack, in the biannual WEF Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2015.
The country’s eight-notch leap was attributed to the improving price competitiveness and growing middle class.
Meanwhile, it scored a measly 3.19 out of seven in tourism infrastructure.
Luz said this could be because the assessment happened when the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminals 1 and 3 were still undergoing rehabilitation.
“People will see the improvements in the airports and (this) would reflect in the next report,” he said.
The rehabilitation of Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1, which started in January 2014, will be completed this month. Improvements in the terminal include new check-in counters, air-conditioning system, better lighting, new display boards, conveyor belts and lavatories.
Meanwhile, NAIA Terminal 3 started operating in full swing to serve foreign air carriers while Terminal 1 underwent rehabilitation.
Luz said that the five airport projects under the PPP program worth P108.2 billion would also help in advancing the country’s tourism infrastructure.
The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has divided the five regional airports into two bundles to attract more investors in the dual-stage bidding process.
The first bundle consists of the P20.26 billion Bacolod – Silay airport and the P14.62 billion Laguindingan airport, while the second bundle cover the P40.57 billion Davao airport, the P30.4 billion Iloilo airport, and the P2.34 billion New Bohol (Panglao) airport.
Five groups, namely the Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and JG Summit Holdings Inc. tandem, San Miguel Corp. (SMC), GMR-Megawide Group, Philippine Skylanders, and the Aboitiz Group are joining the bidding for the airport projects.
-----
Philippines expected to improve ranking in WEF’s travel, tourism competitiveness | Business, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
-----
IMF expects peso to remain stable
By Kathleen A. Martin (The Philippine Star)
Updated May 11, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - The International Monetary (IMF) the peso to remain stable despite the divergence in monetary policies abroad given the country’s strong external position.
“We don’t think the exchange rate will be under a lot of pressure for the Philippines compared to other countries because you have current account surplus and the reserves are high,” IMF resident representative Shanaka Jayanath Peiris said.
The peso has averaged 44.421:$1 in the four months to April, stronger than its 44.395:$1 average last year, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data showed. The central bank earlier said the local unit remains largely affected by the uncertainty in international oil prices and the US Federal Reserve’s expected rate hike this year.
Last year, the Philippines saw its current account surplus hit a record high of $12.6 billion from $11.4 billion in 2013. The current account, an important indicator of an economy’s health, is made up of the country’s imports, exports, receipts from tourism and the business process outsourcing industry, and even remittances from overseas Filipino workers, among others.
Gross international reserves, meanwhile, amounted to $80.799 billion in April, latest BSP data showed. The figure is enough to cover 10.6 months’ worth of the country’s imports of goods and payments of services and income. It is also equivalent to 4.8 times the short-term external debt based on original maturity and 3.7 times based on residual maturity.
The IMF, in its latest Regional Economic Outlook for Asia and the Pacific, said that the different monetary policies across advanced economies have contributed largely to exchange rate movements in the region.
The US Fed is widely expected to increase rates this year after ending its monthly asset purchases in 2014, while its counterparts in Japan and the euro area implemented their own monetary stimuli to boost their respective economies.
The IMF said this resulted in the appreciation of a number of Asia and Pacific currencies, reflecting the stability of these currencies againts the dollar, while Australia, Malaysia, and New Zealand saw their currencies depreciate.
“Large and rapid realignments of the major reserve currencies could create a dilemma for some Asian countries,” the IMF said, noting the build-up of dollar-denominated debt in Asia especially for Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, China, India, and South Korea.
At the same time, corporations have also increased their foreign currency debt, mostly denominated in dollar, and this has exposed them to exchange rate risk and higher hedging costs, the IMF said.
“For policymakers, this could create an uncomfortable near-term trade-off between competitiveness and financial stability,” the IMF said.
-----
IMF expects peso to remain stable | Business, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
-----
===========================================================================================================================================
===========================================================================================================================================
Miscellaneous News:
-----
CAEx? Where’s that? Oh, the NLEx
Philippine Daily Inquirer 5:33 AM
Monday, May 11th, 2015
MANILA, Philippines–Soon one may be traversing the CAEx on the way to Baguio from Manila.
The CAEx?
The House committee on public works and highways chaired by Benguet Rep. Ronald M. Cosalan has approved a bill renaming the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) the President Corazon C. Aquino Expressway (CAEx).
The name change was initiated by Nueva Ecija Rep. Magnolia Rosa C. Antonino in House Bill 4820 to “perpetuate the memory of the late President Corazon Aquino, an icon of democracy.”
The 84-kilometer highway has undergone several name changes since it was built in the 1960s as Radial Road 8. It was also known as the Manila North Expressway and the Manila North Diversion Road.
The main highway linking Metro Manila to Central Luzon is currently maintained by the Manila North Tollways Corp.–Gil Cabacungan
-----
CAEx? Where’s that? Oh, the NLEx | Inquirer News
-----
Oh great, one of our highways is named after a HYPOCRITE SAINT-WANNABE!
Transhumanist
FULL MEMBER
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nice to meet you mr. norway-american ( Transhumanist)..
Nice to meet you was well
. Ms. Norwegian though - a rarity on this forum
. I'm in the US working on a joint US-Norwegian defense project (REMUS, Naval/Joint strike missile, F-35, who can say?), but I don't live in the US or have any American linage. 
I should probably get my location flag changed since it'll be wrong in a few months
.If you ever need me for anything, or my more knowledgeable compatriot @SvenSvensonov you can find me here (most likely):
Nordic Defense News, pictures, videos and history | Page 18
or here
US military news, discussions and history | Page 23
Might I ask your area of interest? I try to keep up on the Asia Pacific, but apart from Japanese, Chinese and American defense and political movement I'm not too well informed, hence my lurking around threads like this.
ang galing mo pare私は日本語を学習している
i notice that japanese ( a ka sa ta na ,a i u e o ) and tagalog ( a ba ka da, a e i o u ) have similar syllables
this was our writing before we got colonize
hmmmmmmm
i cant post pictures because i'm a new member..
yes, yes, didn't the Philippines have its own writing system before the Spanish? It was called baybayin, yes?
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