July 8, 2019 | 10:21 pm | BusinessWorld

Visitor arrivals in 5 months to May at nearly 3.5M, up 9.76%

THE Department of Tourism (DoT) said international visitor arrivals in the five months to May totaled nearly 3.5 million, up 9.76%, with arrivals in May and showing the highest year-on-year growth to date.

Farmers say rice tariffs shortchange RCEF

A FARMERS’ GROUP has alleged that imported rice is being undervalued to evade tariffs following the implementation of the Rice Tariffication Law early this year, possibly shortchanging a rice farmers’ fund financed by tariffs.

DTI tells small firms to seize opportunities in Halal market

TRADE SECRETARY Ramon M. Lopez encouraged Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) achieve Halal certification in order to broaden their markets.

China agrees to probe shipping of cigarette making equipment

CHINA’S CUSTOMS AGENCY said it will look into the issue of cigarette-making machines being shipped to the Philippines, in order to help the Bureau of Customs (BoC) deal with domestically-manufactured cigarettes that avoid excise tax, the Department of Finance (DoF) said Monday.

Davao City planning to regulate vacation home rentals

THE DAVAO city government is planning to issue policy guidelines for the online vacation home-rental industry and will use as possible models similar regulations issued in Singapore and Japan.

FMIC cuts GDP view to 6.0-6.5% after budget delay; sees H2 pickup

FIRST Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) reduced its 2019 growth forecast to about 6.0-6.5% from its earlier estimate of 6.8-7.2%, after the delay in passing the 2019 budget dampened spending, with the government’s catch-up program beginning to show a pickup in the second half of the year.

NGCP building P17.9-Billion transmission corridor

NATIONAL Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said on Monday that it is building a P17.9-billion transmission corridor through its western Luzon 500-kilovolt (kV) backbone in response to the expected load growth in the area.

PSALM chooses winning design proposal for Quezon City property

POWER Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) has chosen an “environmentally-friendly” design concept for its Quezon City property that will generate revenue from leasable space.

Mislatel to rebrand as ‘Dito Telecommunity’ after getting license

THE Mislatel consortium plans to rebrand its service as “Dito Telecommunity Corp.” after receiving its operating license, telecommunications regulators said.

Lopez says businesses’ interests protected under Security of Tenure bill

TRADE Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said the Security of Tenure (SoT) Bill, which is currently awaiting the signature of the President, has sufficient protections for businesses while strengthening workers’ rights.

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Urbanization: A challenging future

Having the opportunity to work and live in Manila has been a dream of many Filipinos. Many say there are better opportunities in the capital. For a probinsyana like me who has found luck in the urbane, the big city opened my eyes to different things, people, behaviors, experiences, and learnings. Working in Manila has its ups and downs and its ins and outs. In the past 15 years of living in the capital, I believe I have learned and gone through so much -- and I think many can relate.

Peso weakens vs dollar due to positive US data

THE PESO dropped against the dollar on Monday, dragged by better-than-expected jobs data in the United States.

Shares decline as region weakens on US jobs data

LOCAL EQUITIES fell on Monday as they succumbed to the region’s weakness following strong jobs data from the United States last week.

Gov’t, senate call for sanctions vs Chinese crew

MALACAÑANG ON Monday said the Philippine government will insist on the liability of the Chinese vessel that abandoned Filipino fishermen after an allision incident at the Recto Bank on June 9.

Duterte endorses Cayetano and Velasco under term-sharing for House speakership

PRESIDENT RODRIGO R. Duterte has, after all, named a preference — two, that is — for House speaker in an attempt to end what has become a thorny fight for the post.

The fallacy of good intentions: The Philippine Independent Foreign Policy

Politics is swayed by the tempo and spirit of the times. Administrations in power, no matter how visionary, would always be compelled to act on the demands of the present. The Duterte administration, at the beginning of its term, presented itself as a cut different from past governments. The rhetoric of pursuing an “independent foreign policy” caught the attention of many, critics and supporters alike. Midway in its term, the “independence” of the country’s foreign policy remains contested.

The next Speaker

In my column of June 11, I asked: Are the current aspirants for Speaker of the House of Representatives of the 18^th Congress men of gravitas? Are they presidential timber like a number of previous speakers? Or are they lightweights who can be pushed over the top like Pantaleon Alvarez, who is again an aspirant for the Speakership?

Next critical step in corporate governance reforms in the Philippine publicly-held companies sector

MANY of the corporate governance (CG) reforms pursued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) through its CG Codes seek to usher a system of professional directorship into the publicly held companies (PHCs) and publicly listed companies (PLCs). This includes a system of professional directorship, such as granting more supervisory power to the Boards over its composition, and integrity (i.e., qualifications and disqualifications), as well as the competence and diversity of talents and skills of their members, effecting a system of discipline over their members, and providing for competitive levels of remuneration.

Inflation and TNVS costs

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has reported that the country’s lowest inflation rate this year and last year, or over the span of 18 months, was 2.7% in June. This is indeed good news and can be traced to two major factors.

Gilas Youth ends up 14th at FIBA U19 World Cup

WHAT was a rough campaign at the FIBA Basketball Under-19 World Cup in Greece for Gilas Pilipinas Youth came to an end on Sunday with the team finishing in 14^th place in the 16-team field.

US takes fourth World Cup title

LYON, FRANCE -- The United States won a record-extending fourth women’s World Cup with a 2-0 victory over the Netherlands on Sunday as second-half goals from Megan Rapinoe and Rose Lavelle confirmed their status as the leading power in the women’s game.

Mendiola finally barges into PFL win column

AFTER six tries, Mendiola FC 1991 finally barged into the win column of the ongoing Philippines Football League season, beating Philippine Air Force FC, 3-1, in their battle of winless teams on Sunday at the Biñan Football Stadium in Laguna.

KAPA founder, other officials face 8 counts of estafa complaint

THE NATIONAL Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and three investors of Kapa-Community Ministry International, Inc. (KAPA) filed eight counts of syndicated estafa complaint against the group’s 14 officials, including its founder, Joel A. Apolinario, in connection with its alleged investment scam.

Brazil wins ninth Copa America

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Brazil’s Gabriel Jesus made one goal, scored another and was sent off in the second half as they beat Peru 3-1 on Sunday to win the Copa America for the ninth time in a pulsating contest at the Maracana stadium.

Six more teams make NCAA Season 95 debut

SEASON 95 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association takes further flight today with six more seniors basketball teams set to make their debut in the scheduled triple-header at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan City.

Net satisfaction rate of Duterte highest at +68 — Q2 survey

PRESIDENT RODRIGO R. Duterte’s popularity hit a new record high with the second quarter Social Weather Stations (SWS) report showing a two-point increase in his net satisfaction rating to +68, classified as “very good,” from +66 last quarter.

Tukmakov on Wesley (Part 2)

Last June 13 I reported that Wesley’s former coach GM Vladimir Tukmakov has written a book where he extensively discusses the work he did with Wesley So. I received a lot of questions and request for information from BW readers and this is a good time to respond to them.

Spurned

The Lakers were decidedly angry in the aftermath of the stunning news that broke the Internet over the weekend. It wasn’t just that Kawhi Leonard, fresh off a sterling playoff stint that culminated in a championship and a Finals Most Valuable Player award, spurned their advances. It was that he deigned to align himself with the little-brother Clippers and, along the way, toyed with them like puppets on a string. He made them think -- only too wrongly, as things turned out -- that, in fulfillment of his wish to go home to native California, they were frontrunners in the battle for his services, with the prospect of headlining an unparalleled Big Three too enticing to pass up.

Nationwide round-up

A GROUP of lawyers and registered voters asked the Supreme Court (SC) to compel the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to strictly implement the term limit for members of Congress and local officials.

Only gasoline up this week

OIL PRICE adjustments will be mixed this week as companies announced a price rollback for diesel and kerosene and an increase for gasoline. Prices of gasoline products will increase by P0.25 per liter (/L), while those of diesel and kerosene will decrease by P0.40/L and P0.35/L, respectively. The price adjustment follows the movement of prices in the international market.

Amnesty International report: Bulacan is drug war’s ‘bloodiest killing field’

BULACAN, a province adjacent to Metro Manila, has been dubbed as the country’s “bloodiest killing field” due to the number of “extrajudicial executions” linked to the government’s war against illegal drugs, according to rights group Amnesty International.

Daily Archives: July 8, 2019 | 10:21 pm