Neda admits: Inflation goal dims
By Cai U. Ordinario
Business Mirror
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/06032008/headlines02.html

OIL prices appearing to still have a higher ceiling than the $135-a-barrel quoted futures this week, a weaker peso and a host of other factors will make it impossible for the government to achieve its target average annual inflation rate for this year, even at the already revised 5.5 percent to 6.5 percent.

A National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) simulation showed oil at $200 per barrel—which had been forecast by several foreign economists—will push up full-year inflation to 9.3 percent and cut growth to 5.3 percent this year. The revised growth forecast is 5.7 percent to 6.5 percent.

Acting Director General Augusto Santos said that while the Bureau of Agriculture Statistics, in its latest report, had said commercial rice prices are already stabilizing at the P32-to P40-per-kilo level, oil prices are still on the rise.

“Given recent developments in local prices, exchange rate, slowdown of exports and other economic indicators as of end-April 2008, scenarios of higher oil prices would push up inflation and undermine economic growth,” said Santos.

The Neda simulation also showed that at a $125-per-barrel oil price, which had already been surpassed on May 30 with $127.35 futures, full-year inflation may increase to 8.6 percent and cut the country’s full-year economic growth to 5.61 percent.

“So far, this administration recorded the highest inflation rate of 8.6 percent in December 2004, and this may be surpassed in the coming months,” he said.

Santos said the increase in oil prices, particularly Dubai crude, is likely to continue due to the tight supply and high demand, although a number of internationally recognized economists have said much of the rise in prices is not from tight supply but due to speculation—with some calling the situation as the “crude or oil bubble” because they expect it to tumble down when speculators unload due to some new economic event.

In the domestic front, pump prices have also followed suit and just last week, oil companies increased gasoline prices by P1.50 per liter and liquefied petroleum gas by P3.50 per kilo despite, according to Santos, “the respite provided by the strong peso since the rise in international crude prices offset the price gain provided by the exchange rate.”

The government now expects poor families belonging to the 1st-to the 5th-income decile to have their budgets extremely ruined, so that such basic needs as food and transportation may not be met at all.

If the price of Dubai crude oil reaches and stays at $200, adjustments by industries and utilities will require that poorest families to cough up an additional P2,269 a month to meet their basic needs.

Santos added those families belonging to the sixth decile or middle-income families will not escape experiencing a shortage in their incomes at that level of the price of oil.

well, at the rate her administration is doing, surely majority of the filipinos already despise her. surely its best that she stays in office till 2010..but im sure she knows what will happen to her come 2010!!!...so she better be prepared for all that she had sinned against this country!!!

for sure the administration will most likely lose in the coming elections as did last election 2007!!!

with this...there is still so much HOPE for the country!!and hopefully a genuine HOPE comes genuine change!!

ung mga zobel, ano ba citizenship nila? Are they Philippine passport holders also?

^^ Yes, their relatives do have double citizenships from USA and Spain. They also own properties in affluent parts of the San Francisco Bay, CA (ex. in Tiburón) and in Spain also (ex. in Andalucía).

http://www.consuelo.org/images/pic_Zobel-Family.gif

Ja ja ja. I read somewhere that most if not all of them carry a Philippine passport eventhough not all of them were born in the TIERRA ADORADA.

At oo nga pala. Not only that, they all PROUDLY pledge allegiance to the WATAWAT NG REPUBLICA NG PILIPINAS.

:horse:

J.P.

http://www.consuelo.org/images/pic_Zobel-Family.gif

Ja ja ja. I read somewhere that most if not all of them carry a Philippine passport eventhough not all of them were born in the TIERRA ADORADA.

At oo nga pala. Not only that, they all PROUDLY pledge allegiance to the WATAWAT NG REPUBLICA NG PILIPINAS.

:horse:

J.P.

STATEMENT OF SOCIOECONOMIC PLANNING SECRETARY AUGUSTO B. SANTOS ON THE RELEASE OF THE FIRST QUARTER 2008 NATIONAL INCOME ACCOUNTS

http://www.neda.gov.ph/

The domestic economy continued to remain firm notwithstanding the growing difficulties in the external environment. Therefore, for the first quarter of 2008, gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.2 percent while the gross national product (GNP) extended its run to expand by 7.3 percent on account of the 30.3 percent growth registered by the country’s net factor income from abroad as compensation inflow grew by 7.2 percent and property income increased by 22.8 percent.

Going into the details, the 3.0 percent growth posted by the agriculture sector can be traced to the higher output of palay, corn, banana, coconut, and poultry. In addition, the significant increase in the country’s agro-based exports particularly coconut products, pineapple, coffee, rubber, and seaweeds also helped prop up the sector. The services sector rose at a healthy 6.9 percent, bolstered by real estate, finance, and trade. The real estate subsector continues to be buoyed by demand for office space as well as residential spaces from OFWs. However, industry growth was sluggish at 3.9 percent compared to the 6.6 percent posted in the same period in 2007, on account of the decline in public construction and weak exports. Noteworthy though is the mining sector’s continued robust performance due to the 22.6 percent rise in copper output in the first quarter of this year.

On the demand side, the external sector continues to struggle in an environment characterized by high oil prices and weak global demand. Nonetheless, domestic demand provided significant support to overall economic growth as both consumer and investor confidence held up well in the first quarter. Private consumption expenditure rose further by 5.1 percent as households consolidate their income on food (5.4%), transportation and communication (12.2%), household furnishings (9.7%), beverages (3.0%), household operations (2.8%), and miscellaneous expenses (2.8%). Overall capital formation registered a respectable growth of 7.3 percent in real terms. A noteworthy development is the strong growth in investment coming from durable equipment, which grew by 8.2 percent. Data showed increasing investments in agriculture, textile, sugar milling, mining and construction machineries, pulp and paper, air and water transport, and office machines. These investments are seen to enhance the competitiveness of and productivity in these industries.

Looking forward, given the uncertainties and risks prevailing in the external environment, full-year GDP growth is expected to settle between 5.7 – 6.5 percent. During the meeting of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) yesterday, the members of DBCC committed to finetune the fiscal program in order to support this growth.

STATEMENT OF SOCIOECONOMIC PLANNING SECRETARY AUGUSTO B. SANTOS ON THE RELEASE OF THE FIRST QUARTER 2008 NATIONAL INCOME ACCOUNTS
neda website (http://www.neda.gov.ph)

The domestic economy continued to remain firm notwithstanding the growing difficulties in the external environment. Therefore, for the first quarter of 2008, gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.2 percent while the gross national product (GNP) extended its run to expand by 7.3 percent on account of the 30.3 percent growth registered by the country’s net factor income from abroad as compensation inflow grew by 7.2 percent and property income increased by 22.8 percent.

Going into the details, the 3.0 percent growth posted by the agriculture sector can be traced to the higher output of palay, corn, banana, coconut, and poultry. In addition, the significant increase in the country’s agro-based exports particularly coconut products, pineapple, coffee, rubber, and seaweeds also helped prop up the sector. The services sector rose at a healthy 6.9 percent, bolstered by real estate, finance, and trade. The real estate subsector continues to be buoyed by demand for office space as well as residential spaces from OFWs. However, industry growth was sluggish at 3.9 percent compared to the 6.6 percent posted in the same period in 2007, on account of the decline in public construction and weak exports. Noteworthy though is the mining sector’s continued robust performance due to the 22.6 percent rise in copper output in the first quarter of this year.

On the demand side, the external sector continues to struggle in an environment characterized by high oil prices and weak global demand. Nonetheless, domestic demand provided significant support to overall economic growth as both consumer and investor confidence held up well in the first quarter. Private consumption expenditure rose further by 5.1 percent as households consolidate their income on food (5.4%), transportation and communication (12.2%), household furnishings (9.7%), beverages (3.0%), household operations (2.8%), and miscellaneous expenses (2.8%). Overall capital formation registered a respectable growth of 7.3 percent in real terms. A noteworthy development is the strong growth in investment coming from durable equipment, which grew by 8.2 percent. Data showed increasing investments in agriculture, textile, sugar milling, mining and construction machineries, pulp and paper, air and water transport, and office machines. These investments are seen to enhance the competitiveness of and productivity in these industries.

Looking forward, given the uncertainties and risks prevailing in the external environment, full-year GDP growth is expected to settle between 5.7 – 6.5 percent. During the meeting of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) yesterday, the members of DBCC committed to finetune the fiscal program in order to support this growth.

another way businesses prevent price increase is by making their products smaller.
For example i noticed the greenwhich pizza only has four shreds of cheese on it.
You can really count how many shreds of cheese is on the pizza.
terrible terrible.

So joke lang ito ni odyssey barukdok?

T@#g na joke yan.

hindi. sa tingin mo, sinong nawawala sa sarili? your guess is as good as mine ;)

http://www.consuelo.org/images/pic_Zobel-Family.gif

Ja ja ja. I read somewhere that most if not all of them carry a Philippine passport eventhough not all of them were born in the TIERRA ADORADA.

At oo nga pala. Not only that, they all PROUDLY pledge allegiance to the WATAWAT NG REPUBLICA NG PILIPINAS.

:horse:

J.P.


sosyalin magpoposing

ung mga zobel, ano ba citizenship nila? Are they Philippine passport holders also?

actually, they're more proud of being Filipinos than the rest.

...when you own most of it's best places you tend to be...

Arroyo gets pat on the back from bishops

By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
INQUIRER.net (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20080604-140770/Arroyo-gets-pat-on-the-back-from-bishops)
First Posted 22:25:00 06/04/2008

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines -- Getting flak from leftwing groups for her cash aid programs to ease the burden of the poor, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo this time got encouraging words from the Catholic bishops.

Nueva Vizcaya Bishop Ramon Villena said Wednesday the prelates recognize the President’s efforts in addressing today’s pressing problems that are hitting the working poor hardest.

"She's doing something, but she can't do it by herself," Villena told reporters after a Mass here.

Arroyo, together with the bishops and Papal Nuncio Edward Joseph Adams, attended the Mass at the Baguio Cathedral at 4 p.m. Wednesday. The bishops were here for the Luzon North Regional Rural Congress, a gathering of some 220 members of the clergy from 21 dioceses, archdioceses, and apostolic vicariates from north and central Luzon to discuss responses to problems basseting the country.

In the evening, Arroyo hosted dinner for the bishops at the Mansion, where they also had dialogue with several Cabinet officials, including Health Secretary Francisco Duque, Public Works Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., and Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman.

In her speech after the Mass, Arroyo said eradicating poverty remains the "central mission" of her administration.

"Since the global situation became apparent many months ago, I have been committed to helping increase and stabilize the price of rice, as well as to deliver targeted subsidies (to those) who are most directly affected by the global prices," she said.

This year, Arroyo said the government will spend P3 billion for conditional cash transfers of between P500 and P1,500 that will benefit the 300,000 poorest families, including those from Abra and Apayao, the poorest provinces in north Luzon.

"We thank God that despite escalating prices of food, hunger incidence has fallen in the last six months,” she told the bishops. “May things are left to be done. Our dialogue continues."

In his homily, Adams said the church and the country's leaders have a big role to play to alleviate the plight of the poor.

"We can't ignore the tragedies around us," he said.

http://www.zobel.dlsu.edu.ph/images/logo.gif

http://www.zobel.dlsu.edu.ph/images/pages_pics/santi2.jpg

Jacobo Santiago Zobel, after whom the school is named, was the eldest son of Enrique Zobel who was then President of Ayala Corporation when the School was established. The School was made possible through the generous donation of part of the site by Ayala Corporation and the Madrigal Family and through financing by Filipinas Life Assurance Company.

Santi was born on August 15, 1954. As a student, he was always willing to try to learn. His greatest gift was the ability to make friends and to share with them the wonders of his little world.

Santi died of pneumonia on September 7, 1965 at the age of 11.


:horse:

J.P.

...when you own most of it's best places you tend to be...

I think WE should be PROUD of being FILIPINO regardless of creed, family and politcal affiliations.

well, at the rate her administration is doing, surely majority of the filipinos already despise her. surely its best that she stays in office till 2010..but im sure she knows what will happen to her come 2010!!!...so she better be prepared for all that she had sinned against this country!!!

for sure the administration will most likely lose in the coming elections as did last election 2007!!!

with this...there is still so much HOPE for the country!!and hopefully a genuine HOPE comes genuine change!!

Genuine Opposition ba kuya?

Hehehe, since sa tingin ko magagaling talaga ang mga local government officials ng administration (mayors, governors) e mukha yatang only the national level would be changing their faces, the local government officials will remain almost the same. I will not say they are very corrupt but in fact, they are doing a good job...

Manila Times

Thursday, June 05, 2008
Royal take on OFW remittances

By Chino S. Leyco, Reporter

PRINCE of the Netherlands said Wednesday the country’s economic buoyancy could not be sustained by overseas Filipinos’ remittances alone.

Prince Constantijn, also the Hague Process on Refugees and Migration chairman, said the Philippine government should keep its people from moving abroad and instead create an opportunity for “people at home.”

To date, there are 160,000 Filipinos residing in the Netherlands.

The prince said: “In the end, it’s not sustainable to have a large part of the economy actually abroad, I think you have to do both. I don’t think [OFW remittance] is the solution to economic progress in the long run.”

Money sent home by OFWs grew by about 16 percent in February to $1.258 billion, causing remittances in the first two months to increase by 15.5 percent to $2.522 billion compared with $2.184 billion in the same period last year.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has forecast remittances to increase to $15.7 billion this year from $14.449 billion last year.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration reported that the number of deployed new hires in the fields of engineering, medical/healthcare, education, and food and hotel service rose year on year.

The number of deployed workers grew by 14.6 percent to 199,378 from 174,046 a year ago. By deployment, land- and seas-based workers increased by 13 percent and 20.3 percent, respectively.

The major sources of remittances are the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Italy, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong.

BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo earlier said stable remittance inflows would likely offset the impact of high oil prices and prop up domestic economic growth.

He said increasing demand for OFWs would support the peso’s strength against the dollar and temper inflation.


We need to support Philippine businesses and give more jobs to more Pinoys in the country....

OFWs should invest wisely their earnings. They can opt to buy real estates (residential, agricultural lands not condominium, invest in stock exchange, open small businesses i.e. food, metals, fuel and not in pyramiding ponzi scams...and limit the consumption of luxury goods...

Philippine Star
Opinion
A suspicious sudden concern for the Filipino
AS I WRECK THIS CHAIR By William M. Esposo
Thursday, June 5, 2008

“Beware the Greeks giving gifts,” the seer Cassandra did warn in the Trojan Epic. Not heeding the gifted seer, the Trojans accepted and brought into their city the Greek trophy that was to be known as the Trojan Horse.

For that mistake, the Trojans lost their city and were slaughtered.

In like token, beware Madame Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) and her henchmen giving us gifts in the form of no tuition fee hikes, no text charges, cheaper electricity and so forth.

True, all of us could use a price break in whatever form — be it on the price of rice, gas, tuition and text messages. Our situation has evolved from hard times to desperate times.

However, it is cause for worry when the greedy suddenly become overly generous. When what we know as jackals and hyenas are behaving like sheep, then it is time to be wary, be very, very wary. It is said that people do not really change in character. When they appear to do so, it is for a reason. It is to hide an agenda.

In normal market situations, the freebies that come with those special promotions are in fact not exactly free. In 9 out of 10 cases, these are already tucked into the cost of the products we buy. In other words, we are paying for these incentives to induce us to buy these products.

The only exceptions are instances when a company is desperate, unable to match competition, and thus resorts to adding freebies. Just the same these will eventually redound to added costs for us because when the situation normalizes for that company, expect to be charged for the added freebies.

For a regime that never really had the Filipino’s real interest at heart, we have more than enough reasons to be wary that this sudden surge of generosity is hiding a sinister agenda somewhere.

During the start of the Iraq War misadventure, Madame Gloria Macapagal Arroyo recklessly engaged Filipino troops with the Coalition of the Willing of US President George W. Bush. Filipino interest called for protecting the many overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who may become targets of Arab reprisals.

True to form, when the Iraqi resistance kidnapped OFW Angelo de la Cruz, GMA immediately reversed course and abandoned her commitment to the US president.

During the 2004 Presidential Elections, we saw so many freebies being given away by the regime, Philhealth Cards the most notable. What did we reap after that election? We woke up to find ourselves with a gaping budget deficit. We now bear a 12% EVAT burden because of that deficit.

GMA sponsored our entry into globalization when she was still a senator. She favored reliance on imported rice instead of implementing Food Security Programs that would have ensured that our people had locally-produced food that were sold at affordable prices.

Now, GMA is scampering all over Asia courting the Thais and Vietnamese to sell us the rice stock we will need in July when our rice stock level becomes critically low. If we are able to buy rice, be ready for the stiff price we must pay in the seller’s market situation we now find ourselves in.

GMA has been bludgeoning Meralco over high power rates when easily 60% of the cost of power — the generation and transmission — are under her control. She exploits the information and education gaps our people suffer from to promote whatever hidden agenda she harbors in this Meralco shake up.

Sure, we are paying high electricity rates presently but imagine what these rates will be like if and when GMA is in full control of the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity.

Now, her minions are trying to shake up the telecom firms, the most impressive performers in our business scene. They have been pushing for the removal of the charges for sending text messages from our mobile phones — the new Filipino favorite pastime.

Is this a real concern for us Filipinos or is this another one of those destabilizing moves when greed takes a moist eye on the lucrative telecom business? Is this a move to reduce our cost burdens or to squeeze (read extort) money from the profitable telecom firms?

Somehow, when I see a regime lapdog decry the huge profits that the telecom firms are making — I read the body language saying “share that with us!”

When they say “us” — they don’t mean us Filipinos. By “us” — they don’t mean us consumers. By us, they mean “we the insatiable, greedy extortionists who utilize government functions like regulation and legislation as means to fatten ourselves.”

At the end of the day, don’t expect any real cost savings from your mobile phone bills. At the end of the day, the telecom firms will likely make less profits but it won’t result in Filipino consumer benefits.

I think you know where that money will go.

hmmmmm.....:shifty:

Business Mirror
Editorials:
June 5, 2008

Yet another gimmick

During the Cabinet meeting Tuesday, President Arroyo approved a P500 one-time subsidy for so-called lifeline electricity consumers, meaning those who use 100 kilowatt-hours or less a month. As explained by Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes, the subsidy would be sourced from a P4-billion windfall from value-added tax (VAT) collections on oil.

The disclosure raised several disturbing issues.

First, the government itself has become a party to the gouging of consumers of gasoline, diesel, kerosene and other products of imported petroleum. Its officials even candidly—and unthinkingly—acknowledged that the sudden increase in oil-tax collections was a “windfall,” which is precisely the term used by Big Oil executives to describe their megaprofits from skyrocketing crude prices.

Second, the government’s description of the increased oil-tax revenue as a stroke of luck, which is what “windfall” means, indicates that the additional collections were never projected by its budget programmers. Therefore, the government could continue to operate even without the increased revenue from oil.

Third, that Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral has been charged with implementing the lifeline subsidy is virtual admission that the subsidy is really a dole-out.

Fourth, the government—like a lotto winner—does not know what to do with its unexpected boon. Worse, it is in serious danger of squandering the additional VAT collections from oil; and waste is precisely what the one-time dole-out to lifeline electric consumers would ultimately amount to. In Tagalog, the subsidy would probably be called balato by its intended beneficiaries, many of whom would not appreciate it much, anyway.

Finally, if the government could be so ready to spread around so much cash—for what we cannot help but suspect are political purposes—to a specific sector of society, why can’t it spread the bounty to the entire population?

If the government can spare at least P4 billion from its VAT collections in its bid to curry the favor of low-income consumers, then it most certainly can do away with the oil tax—or, at the very least, reduce it—and make the entire country benefit.

If the problem is how to spend billions in unexpected oil-tax collections to help Filipinos with the energy crisis, then the government certainly has other, far more practical options.

One of the participants in the Clean Energy Forum 2008 at the Manila headquarters of the Asian Development Bank, also Tuesday, was Enrique Peñalosa, former mayor of Bogota, Colombia.

As reported by this paper the other day, Peñalosa said saving energy requires drastic changes, particularly in the use of funds for infrastructure.

Speaking evidently from experience, Peñalosa pointed out specific down-to-earth measures that his local counterparts could take a cue from. He said redirecting infrastructure funds to serve pedestrians more would reduce air pollution and energy consumption in any city.

The former mayor said Bogota reduced traffic jams when the city directed its infrastructure funds to construct bicycle lanes instead of roads for cars, and widening sidewalks instead of building small sidewalks where pedestrians could barely walk on.

“The friendlier a city is to cars, the less friendly it is for people,” Peñalosa said.

The former mayor did not say so, but apparently sidewalks and bicycle lanes—compared with motorways—require less funds to build, perhaps in the order of the amounts mentioned as oil-VAT “windfall.”

Rather than hand out a one-time balato to what Cabral estimates as four million “beneficiaries,” the money would be better spent on energy-saving projects that have real long-term value for all Filipinos.

Enough already with the gimmicks.

alisin ang vat sa oil at koryente...

alisin ang vat sa oil at koryente...

Yun ang itinutulak sa lower house Kuya jpdm... sana nga maaprubahan...

Philippine Star
Opinion
A suspicious sudden concern for the Filipino
AS I WRECK THIS CHAIR By William M. Esposo
Thursday, June 5, 2008

“Beware the Greeks giving gifts,” the seer Cassandra did warn in the Trojan Epic. Not heeding the gifted seer, the Trojans accepted and brought into their city the Greek trophy that was to be known as the Trojan Horse.

For that mistake, the Trojans lost their city and were slaughtered.

In like token, beware Madame Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) and her henchmen giving us gifts in the form of no tuition fee hikes, no text charges, cheaper electricity and so forth.

True, all of us could use a price break in whatever form — be it on the price of rice, gas, tuition and text messages. Our situation has evolved from hard times to desperate times.

However, it is cause for worry when the greedy suddenly become overly generous. When what we know as jackals and hyenas are behaving like sheep, then it is time to be wary, be very, very wary. It is said that people do not really change in character. When they appear to do so, it is for a reason. It is to hide an agenda.

In normal market situations, the freebies that come with those special promotions are in fact not exactly free. In 9 out of 10 cases, these are already tucked into the cost of the products we buy. In other words, we are paying for these incentives to induce us to buy these products.

The only exceptions are instances when a company is desperate, unable to match competition, and thus resorts to adding freebies. Just the same these will eventually redound to added costs for us because when the situation normalizes for that company, expect to be charged for the added freebies.

For a regime that never really had the Filipino’s real interest at heart, we have more than enough reasons to be wary that this sudden surge of generosity is hiding a sinister agenda somewhere.

During the start of the Iraq War misadventure, Madame Gloria Macapagal Arroyo recklessly engaged Filipino troops with the Coalition of the Willing of US President George W. Bush. Filipino interest called for protecting the many overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who may become targets of Arab reprisals.

True to form, when the Iraqi resistance kidnapped OFW Angelo de la Cruz, GMA immediately reversed course and abandoned her commitment to the US president.

During the 2004 Presidential Elections, we saw so many freebies being given away by the regime, Philhealth Cards the most notable. What did we reap after that election? We woke up to find ourselves with a gaping budget deficit. We now bear a 12% EVAT burden because of that deficit.

GMA sponsored our entry into globalization when she was still a senator. She favored reliance on imported rice instead of implementing Food Security Programs that would have ensured that our people had locally-produced food that were sold at affordable prices.

Now, GMA is scampering all over Asia courting the Thais and Vietnamese to sell us the rice stock we will need in July when our rice stock level becomes critically low. If we are able to buy rice, be ready for the stiff price we must pay in the seller’s market situation we now find ourselves in.

GMA has been bludgeoning Meralco over high power rates when easily 60% of the cost of power — the generation and transmission — are under her control. She exploits the information and education gaps our people suffer from to promote whatever hidden agenda she harbors in this Meralco shake up.

Sure, we are paying high electricity rates presently but imagine what these rates will be like if and when GMA is in full control of the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity.

Now, her minions are trying to shake up the telecom firms, the most impressive performers in our business scene. They have been pushing for the removal of the charges for sending text messages from our mobile phones — the new Filipino favorite pastime.

Is this a real concern for us Filipinos or is this another one of those destabilizing moves when greed takes a moist eye on the lucrative telecom business? Is this a move to reduce our cost burdens or to squeeze (read extort) money from the profitable telecom firms?

Somehow, when I see a regime lapdog decry the huge profits that the telecom firms are making — I read the body language saying “share that with us!”

When they say “us” — they don’t mean us Filipinos. By “us” — they don’t mean us consumers. By us, they mean “we the insatiable, greedy extortionists who utilize government functions like regulation and legislation as means to fatten ourselves.”

At the end of the day, don’t expect any real cost savings from your mobile phone bills. At the end of the day, the telecom firms will likely make less profits but it won’t result in Filipino consumer benefits.

I think you know where that money will go

^^
pano mo ii-endorso ang ticket mo sa darating na eleksyon kung wala ka'ng padulas sa publiko:)

Steel is a Basic Strategic Industry. With high price of steel, this is good news because it will increase local supply and might lower local prices od steel products...

A boost to the Philippine economy and our industrialization efforts...this billet plant is a very important backward linkage to our steel industry...

This will decrease imports, increase foreign savings, more jobs and employment to Pinoys:cheers:


Manila Bulletin
India’s Tata Group forges P3.9-B joint venture with local Steel Asia
june 5, 2008
By BERNIE CAHILES MAGKILAT

Tata Group of India has tied up with the Steel Asia of Ben Yao for a P3.88 billion joint venture that would operate the idle Bacnotan Steel Mills in Calaca, Batangas for the production of reinforcing steel bars.

Tata has been indirectly here in the Philippines.

Steel Asia is the first ISO certified reinforcing steel bar manufacturer in the Philippines has had links with Tata Steel for years.

Steel Asia is a joint venture with Natsteel of Singapore, whose steel operations was acquired in 2004 by Tata Steel of India.

Tata’s entry into the Philippines would fire up a competition with another Indian-controlled company Global Steel Philippines Inc., owned by Vinod and Pramod Mittal.

The vehicle entity being formed by the joint venture is initially called High Street (SPV-AMC) Inc.

The group would revive the idle, which is expected to start commercial operation in June, 2010 employing 530 people. The plant has an annual capacity of 300,000 metric tons.

The joint venture, which is 40 percent owned by Tata, has acquired the shares of stock under SPV (special vehicle purpose) of Bacnotan Steel Mills in Batangas.

The P3.88 billion investments would be used to acquire, modernize and rehabilitate the rolling mill and melt shop for billet making and for the production of reinforcing bars.

The Calaca steel plant has been idled since 2000 as there were technical problems in the operation of the facility.

At present, Steel Asia operates a steel mill in Meycauyan, Bulacan.

Bacnotan Steel is a subsidiary of listed holding firm Bacnotan Consolidated Industries, Inc. and a member of the Phinma Group.

Bacnotan Steel Industries, Inc. is the anchor locator of Batangas Union Industrial Park in Calaca, Batangas also owned by the Phinma Group

It used to be a joint venture with Japanese firms Kawasaki Corp., Mitsui of Japan and a number of banks in 1997.

The steel mills went into rehabilitation because of the Asian financial crisis. Banks including Philippine National Bank and Bank of Philippine Islands took over.

But earlier reports said the steel firm ran into a P3-billion debt.

At that time, the 300,000 MT-billet shop was considered the biggest.(BCM)

Recent data released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) and the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) have revealed that 32.9 million out of the 88.6 million total population or up to 34% of Filipinos are presently living in poverty.

The alarming figure refers to individuals who are not earning enough to maintain a decent standard of living and are barely striving to make ends meet.

With poverty incidence growing in spite of the supposedly improving economy, more Filipinos are still beset with daily struggles for survival amidst rising oil, rice, and commodity prices, higher unemployment, and the global food crisis. The spiraling cost of daily living is creating a detrimental effect on the budget of families, not only among the poor but even the middle class sector.

Such budget cuts within the household are likewise affecting the allotment for various basic needs, among them healthcare, which leads to more incidences of illness and disease. Ideally, Filipino families are believed to allocate about 40 percent of their budget for the purchase of medicines – a significant figure that the indigent population usually will sacrifice to afford food and other crucial needs.

Manila Bulletin
June 5, 2008
Business
From Generics medicine to benefit 33 M Pinoys living in poverty



This must be solved....

Grains agency, local officials move to stabilize rice prices
Business World
http://www.bworld.com.ph/BW060508/content.php?id=072

DAVAO CITY — A concerted effort has been launched between the state grains agency and local government units in major cities to address a perceived shortage of the staple that has recently resulted in abnormally high prices.

The regional National Food Authority (NFA) office said it released to the market a higher volume of Thai rice, which is considered a better variety compared to those from Vietnam.

Davao Manager Lorenzo A. Camayang said Thai rice is sold at P25 per kilogram as against P18.25 for the Vietnam rice. He added 253 bags have been allocated to accredited outlets.

He said about 124,000 bags of Thai rice recently arrived in the city, on top of an additional two shipments that will still come from Vietnam.

The city has Vietnam rice stocks of 395,000 bags which is good for about two months consumption.

Vice-Mayor Sara Z. Duterte quoted NFA chief Jessup P. Navarro as saying they will assess the market within two weeks. "If nothing happens, they will augment the supply."

She added the local price monitoring council did not report any incident of hoarding among retail outlets.

The Department of Agriculture noted that millers have stopped buying palay since farmers have run out of produce.

"I don’t feel that they are hiding stocks. They just can’t buy anything," said Romulo Palcon, Agriculture assistant regional director.

Mr. Camayang said commercial rice retails at between P42 and P52 a kilogram, a week after prices breached the P40 level. He added they could not explain the sudden increase in rice prices.

Juanito N. Loyola, Metro Davao Grains Association immediate past president, said one explanation could be the shortage of palay (paddy rice) as some millers have stopped operating due to the shortage.

In Zamboanga, the city government has created a monitoring team to check on increasing prices of the staple.

Mayor Celso L. Lobregat, chairman of the price coordinating council, said the monitoring team will determine the reasons behind the price spike.

The team will be headed by the Department of Agriculture with the Department of Trade and Industry, NFA, police, Grains Retailers Association, and a consumers’ watchdog as members.

Meanwhile, releasing more NFA rice into the market will not reduce the soaring prices of the staple. The artificially high prices is due to the lean season for palay (paddy rice) production, a provincial grains official said yesterday.

The lean months for palay production in the region began last month with the start of the planting season; harvest is expected by October.

Angelina M. Lucena, NFA-South Cotabato assistant manager, told a radio interview that NFA rice can only bring down prices of commercial rice if the cheaper staple can fill in at least half of the market requirement. But she admitted the NFA is unable able to do so.

Ms. Lucena said they have started increasing the allocation of NFA rice to some retailers.

And if the supply is still inadequate, she said the provincial office can still request for a higher volume from the central office.

The Bureau of Agricultural Statistics in Central Mindanao said prices of commercial rice in the area is now between P38 and P48 a kilogram.

President creates new body to ensure energy, food sufficiency
Business World
http://www.bworld.com.ph/BW060508/content.php?id=071

Fiat institutes power-saving measures in government offices
AGAINST SPIRALING food and fuel prices, Malacañang yesterday formed yet another inter-agency panel, this time tasked to ensure both energy and food sufficiency.

The panel, named National Food and Energy Council (NFEC), was formed through Executive Order 728 signed by Executive Secretary Eduardo R. Ermita on June 2.

"Parallel with the programs on food security, the government is also giving equal importance to the energy needs of the nation, including power sector reforms There is a need to create a council that will give top-level attention and priority action on food and energy needs of the nation," the order read.

The NFEC will assess the food and energy situation and prospects, and formulate, adjust, or monitor long-term policies, programs and projects to ensure adequate and competitively priced food and energy supply.

It will come up with a five-year projection of supply, demand and prices of essential food stuffs and energy sources, to be adjusted periodically and with targeted impact of policy actions incorporated in the forecast.

The council will be headed by the President and will consist of the Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority, the secretaries of the departments of Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources, and Energy, and the heads of the National Anti-Poverty Commission, National Security Council, National Power Corp., Philippine National Oil Co., and National Food Authority.

The heads of relevant committees in Congress and representatives of sectoral groups, academe and other nongovernmen-tal organizations may be invited as full members or observers.

Mr. Ermita said the creation of the council will not lead to redundancies even as Malacañang had recently created a task force on energy contingency and a study group tasked to find ways to lower electricity costs.

"We will ensure there will be coordination between the task forces. A task force is temporary and if the program [it seeks to implement] is already ongoing, it can be dissolved," he said.

Energy cost-cutting

Meanwhile, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo directed agencies to implement measures aimed at reducing the government’s electric bill.

In Administrative Order 228 signed on Monday, Mrs. Arroyo ordered all state offices to cut transport fuel consumption by 10% starting this month.

The fiat also required all government buildings to turn off air-conditioning units at 4:30 p.m. Offices on 24-hour operations such as government hospitals are exempted.

Mrs. Arroyo also directed all offices to discard the use of incandescent lamps by September and convert 20% of their vehicles to liquid petroleum.

"Agencies shall install or adopt other energy-saving technology, with the help of the Department of Energy and the Department of Science and Technology," Mrs. Arroyo said in her order.

As this developed, Mr. Ermita said the government will provide each farmer nationwide as much as P1,500 worth of fertilizer subsidy.

"There is a measure being undertaken by the Department of Agriculture in compliance with the promise of the President during the April food summit when FIELDS program was launched. The department is making available P500 coupon for the purchase of fertilizer with P1,000 counterpart from local government units, meaning P1,500 for buying fertilizer," he said.

"Such money will assist the farmer who will need five to six bags of fertilizer per hectare."

Budget Secretary Rolando G. Andaya, Jr. said the money will come from the P12.5 billion given to local governments last month to compensate for the unreleased allotment due to the reenactment of the national budget in 2001 and 2004. The P12.5 billion was ordered released on May 12.

Earlier, Malacañang bared a P43.7-billion FIELDS program that seeks to improve food production and agriculture research.

FIELDS stands for Fertilizer, Irrigation, Education and training of farmers and fisherfolk, Loans, dryers and other post-harvest facilities, and Seeds of the high-yielding and hybrid varieties.

Consumer confidence in economy drops – survey
By Ted P. Torres
Thursday, June 5, 2008
PhilStar
http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Business&p=49&type=2&sec=27&aid=2008060425

Filipino consumers have turned less confident on the country’s economy, mirroring a global plunge in consumer optimism, new results from a Nielsen survey showed.

Nielsen managing director Benedicto L. Cid told a press briefing yesterday that the drop reflects less optimism in terms of the economy, job prospects, personal finance and spending.

The survey, conducted from April 21 to May 6 this year, covered an online poll of 28,253 respondents in 48 countries from Europe, Asia Pacific, North America and the Middle East.

There were about 500 respondents from the Philippines.

Based on survey results, consumer confidence in the Philippines dropped nine points to an index of 99, still higher than the global average of 88.

The worldwide average, Cid said, fell eight points – the biggest decline in three years – as 39 out of the 48 countries registered negative feedback toward economic growth.

The most optimistic people are from Norway, India and Indonesia while the most pessimistic ones are from Japan, Korea and Poland. The Philippines was ranked somewhere in the middle.

Majority of the respondents believed that their respective economies are in recession, expressing the opinion that the economies of the United States and Europe were responsible for the global slowdown.

On a bright note, Filiipinos were ranked second highest next to the Singaporeans in terms of the tendency to save on extra cash, with 57 percent of respondents saying they were inclined to save spare cash.

This, however, was a substantial drop from 65 percent in the same survey two years earlier.

But Cid noted that there was an increasing number of Filipinos prepared to put money into mutual funds and stocks.

In addition, 24 percent of Filipinos surveyed were willing to spend on vacation on holidays against a higher 31 percent in 2006.

Globally, the economy remains the biggest concern but the Philippine survey shows that job security, and work/life balance are the prime considerations of respondents.

The survey results also indicate that Filipinos tend to want to pay their debts, credit cards and loans if they have extra cash over home entertainment.

Cid also commented that Filipinos are more concerned about unemployment, inflation, debts and political instability over the general economy, health, environment and retirement.

May inflation highest in 9 years, interest rate hike looms
(http://business.inquirer.net/money/breakingnews/view/20080605-140860/May-inflation-highest-in-9-years-interest-rate-hike-looms)
Thomson Financial
First Posted 08:58:00 06/05/2008

MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE) Annual inflation jumped to a nine-year high of 9.6 percent in May, coming at the top end of the central bank's forecast and bolstering expectations of an interest rate hike when policy makers meet later Thursday.

Government data showed food and energy prices continued to soar last month, pushing inflation to its highest level since January 1999 when the rate stood at 10.5 percent.

The central bank had expected last month's inflation to range from between 8.8 percent and 9.6 percent.

Inflation in April was 8.3 percent.

"It's bigger than what the market had expected. The central bank will hike rates by at least 25 basis points and will raise rates further in the coming months," said Frederic Neumann, economist at HSBC.

"We expect the central bank to tighten monetary policy with rate hikes totaling 75 basis points by yearend."

Policy makers have kept the overnight borrowing rate at 5.0 percent and overnight lending rate at 7.0 percent at the last two meetings.

The central bank slashed rates by a total 100 basis points between October and January, as inflation last year averaged at 2.8 percent, below the target of 4.0 percent to 5.0 percent.

The widely anticipated rate hike on Thursday will be the first since October 2005.

Central bank officials declined to comment ahead of the outcome of their policy meeting.

Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. has said that the central bank will "remain vigilant and act preemptively and decisively once we see signs that our inflation outlook for 2009 is at risk."

HSBC’s Neumann said crude oil prices might be on a downward trend but would likely stay above $100 a barrel.

"Unless oil falls dramatically, the inflation pull will be higher in the Philippines. Inflation is driven not just by oil but food, primarily, and other items such as services as indicated by core inflation at 6.2 percent," he said.

The Philippines imports nearly all of its crude oil requirements and is one of the biggest importers of rice whose prices have surged amid low global supply.

Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, rose from April's 5.9 percent.

Consumer prices rose 1.5 percent in May from the previous month, slower than the 2.0 percent rise in April.

For the first five months, inflation averaged 6.9 percent, well above the central bank's full-year target of 3.0 percent to 5.0 percent.

Food inflation climbed to 14.3 percent from 12.0 percent in April, with rice prices surging 31.7 percent. Prices of corn, cereals and dairy products also rose at double-digit pace.

Inflation for the fuel, light and water group rose to 8.2 percent from 8.0 percent in April.

"Over the coming two months, the headline reading may breach into double-digit territory before dropping back on account of easing global commodity prices and slowing economic activity," Neumann said.

"However, the recent upside surprises in the headline reading suggest a significant upside risk to our initial forecast (of 7.7 percent for the whole year)."

Asian economic miracle at risk all over again
Business World
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/06052008/opinion03.html

Depending on whom you ask, China is either on the verge of a big slowdown or an inflation surge. Some worry Asia’s second-biggest economy faces both risks.

China’s situation suggests Asia is on the cusp of its worst couple of years since 1997. From Seoul to Jakarta and from Beijing to New Delhi, officials are grappling with a rapidly worsening inflation picture.

It would be nice if there was less concern about the phenomenon and more action to address it. Asia may be nearing the point of no return—one where the region’s so-called economic miracle goes off the rails anew.

Asia isn’t about to revisit the darkest days of 1997 and 1998. It was then that speculators tested central banks’ resolve to defend currencies. Thailand’s devaluation in July 1997 set in motion a crisis that suspended the Asian miracle. It prompted investors to leave Asia and sent contagion around the globe.

A decade later, Asia faces the flip side of that experience. The turmoil of the 1990s was about deflation and recession; the situation today involves overheating. Central banks may already be remiss in a different way than they were during the last crisis: They are falling behind the inflation curve.

“Inflation really has become THE issue,” says Richard Grainger, a director at Barclays Capital in Hong Kong.

Surging inflation is adding pressure on officials to raise interest rates as record oil and food prices undermine growth. That has created what central-bank heads such as Amando Tetangco Jr. of the Philippines call a “monetary-policy dilemma.”

Touchy time

This is, admittedly, a touchy time for central banks. They are being asked to tame forces they can’t fully control as “bond vigilantes” take matters into their own hands and boost bond yields. Central banks also feel they must tread carefully to protect hard-won gains in independence. Politicians are already warning officials not to go overboard raising interest rates.

Yet negative real rates are more the norm than the exception in Asia. Annual inflation rates are above benchmark borrowing costs in China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

Bottom line: Interest rates need to go higher in many economies. With household expenses rising, Asia may very well overheat unless central bankers do their jobs. The longer they delay, the bigger the costs to long-term prosperity and the bigger the risks of disappointing investors.

Inflation scare

Asia has thus far withstood the US credit-market debacle remarkably well. If that was the only threat in the global financial system, 2008 might have been a much better year for the region. Oil at more than $135 a barrel and record food prices have conspired to restrain growth and worsen inflation.

That balancing act is clear to anyone walking the streets of Indonesia these days. Prices are hurting families already close to the edge. Indonesia is but one government in Asia—where about 600 million people exist on less than $1 a day—that is divided between reining in prices and supporting growth. What good is growth when inflation eats up the gains?

“While there are many investment opportunities, this won’t be an easy year for Asian governments,” says Dessi Natalegawa, a managing director at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in Jakarta.

Headlines across the region explain why. There are food-related protests in the Philippines; top-level power struggles in Malaysia, the fastest inflation in Singapore since 1982, public battles between politicians and the Bank of Korea, a whiff of financial disaster in Vietnam and talk of a coup in Thailand.

Avoiding bust

Asia has come a long way since its last crisis. Government debt is down, living standards are up, corporate governance has improved, currency reserves have been amassed and central banks are more autonomous. Policymakers still must keep Asia’s boom from becoming a bust.

For central banks, that means openly and clearly declaring the intention to attack inflation. Big, destabilizing rate increases might do more harm than good. A gradual yet steady campaign to tap on the brakes could both soothe investors and avoid restraining consumption.

One reason central bankers need to act carefully is the risk of another flare-up in US markets. Standard & Poor’s reminded investors of that on June 2 when it lowered credit ratings for Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch & Co. and Lehman Brothers, saying they may have to book more writedowns on devalued assets.

It’s impossible to generalize Asia’s experience. China’s postearthquake rebuilding efforts, for example, may boost growth and inflation. Wealthy Japan isn’t as vulnerable to surging food costs as, say, Indonesia or the Philippines, where many families live on poverty’s edge.

The key commonality is a sense of caution. With credit markets still in disarray, aggressive moves are a non-starter. Yet, acting now means central banks can make headway on an inflation problem that isn’t about to go away.

Hanging in the balance is nothing less than the economic miracle that investors are betting on in Asia.

Neda Board OK’s P41.22-B new ODA projects
By Cai U. Ordinario
Business Mirror
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/06052008/economy01.html

THE National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Board has approved P41.22 billion worth of projects to be funded through official development assistance (ODA).

The three projects are the P28.29-billion Road Enhancement and Asset Preservation Management Program (REAPMP), the P10.73-billion President’s Bridge Program (PBP)-Mega Bridges for Urban and Rural Development Project and the P2.2-billion Bicol River Basin and Watershed Management Project (BRBWMP)-Flood and Hazard Mitigation Component.

The REAPMP, which will be implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), aims to improve, preserve and manage its National Road System and complement the World Bank-assisted National Road Improvement and Management Project.

The biggest portion of the total program cost, which amounts to 51 percent, will come from loan proceeds proposed to be financed under the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

Around 39.1 percent of the government counterpart will come from the General Appropriations Act and 9.6 percent will come from the Motor Vehicles User’s Charge special funds allocated primarily for road maintenance.

The total cost of the project also includes a P97.6-million grant from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), which comprises about 0.3 percent of the total cost and is intended for technical assistance.

The REAPMP will be implemented over a period of seven years from 2008 to 2014. On the first year, engineering and procurement of contracts for civil works will be done, while the remaining six years will be used for the proposed intervention activities.

Maintenance works for its components, the Long-Term Performance Based Maintenance-cum-Enhancement, Upgrading/Improvement roads will continue in 2015 onward.

Meanwhile, the PBP, which will also be implemented by the DPWH, involves the nationwide construction, installation and establishment of a total of 10 girder-type flyovers and 72 national bridges along the country’s congested highways and road network utilizing permanent prefabricated modular steel technology from France.

When completed, the project will provide vital linkages or road network access along the Strong Republic Nautical Highway and Pan Philippine Highway.

Of the total project cost, around P9.45 billion, or 88 percent, will be sourced from foreign financing, while the remaining 12 percent, or P1.28 billion, will be financed by the government.

“The project is proposed to be financed through a combination of French Export Credit [Buyer Credit] and Tied Commercial Loan,” Neda documents said.

The project will be implemented over a four-year period starting from the second quarter of this year until 2012.

Meanwhile, the Flood and Hazard Mitigation Component (FHM) component of the DPWH’s Bicol River Basin and Watershed Management Project is a comprehensive development program on natural-resources management and water-resources projects within the context of a river basin planning management.

This is composed of subcomponents in flood mitigation; Hazard Assessment and Mitigation, which will be implemented by the DPWH with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Mines and Geosciences Bureau Office of the Civil Defense, and Philippine Atmosphere, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration; and Land Acquisition and Resettlement.

Of the total FHM component, P1.2 billion, or 56 percent, will be sourced from ODA financing, while the remaining 44 percent or P1 billion will be the government’s counterpart.

The Neda said the project will now be proposed for financing by the World Bank instead of the JBIC since many of the other components of the BRBWMP are already financed by the WB.

The whole BRBWMP will be implemented over six years from 2008 to 2013. Preparatory activities started in 2007 and implementation of the different project components will start this year.

May inflation soars to 9-year high at 9.6%
Thomson Financial / Inquirer
http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20080605-140860/May-inflation-soars-to-9-year-high-at-96

MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE) Annual inflation jumped to a nine-year high of 9.6 percent in May, coming at the top end of the central bank's forecast and bolstering expectations of an interest rate hike when policy makers meet later Thursday.

Government data showed food and energy prices continued to soar last month, pushing inflation to its highest level since January 1999 when the rate stood at 10.5 percent.

The central bank had expected last month's inflation to range from between 8.8 percent and 9.6 percent.

Inflation in April was 8.3 percent.

"It's bigger than what the market had expected. The central bank will hike rates by at least 25 basis points and will raise rates further in the coming months," said Frederic Neumann, economist at HSBC.

"We expect the central bank to tighten monetary policy with rate hikes totaling 75 basis points by yearend."

Policy makers have kept the overnight borrowing rate at 5.0 percent and overnight lending rate at 7.0 percent at the last two meetings.

The central bank slashed rates by a total 100 basis points between October and January, as inflation last year averaged at 2.8 percent, below the target of 4.0 percent to 5.0 percent.

The widely anticipated rate hike on Thursday will be the first since October 2005.

Central bank officials declined to comment ahead of the outcome of their policy meeting.

Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. has said that the central bank will "remain vigilant and act preemptively and decisively once we see signs that our inflation outlook for 2009 is at risk."

HSBC’s Neumann said crude oil prices might be on a downward trend but would likely stay above $100 a barrel.

"Unless oil falls dramatically, the inflation pull will be higher in the Philippines. Inflation is driven not just by oil but food, primarily, and other items such as services as indicated by core inflation at 6.2 percent," he said.

The Philippines imports nearly all of its crude oil requirements and is one of the biggest importers of rice whose prices have surged amid low global supply.

Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, rose from April's 5.9 percent.

Consumer prices rose 1.5 percent in May from the previous month, slower than the 2.0 percent rise in April.

For the first five months, inflation averaged 6.9 percent, well above the central bank's full-year target of 3.0 percent to 5.0 percent.

Food inflation climbed to 14.3 percent from 12.0 percent in April, with rice prices surging 31.7 percent. Prices of corn, cereals and dairy products also rose at double-digit pace.

Inflation for the fuel, light and water group rose to 8.2 percent from 8.0 percent in April.

"Over the coming two months, the headline reading may breach into double-digit territory before dropping back on account of easing global commodity prices and slowing economic activity," Neumann said.

"However, the recent upside surprises in the headline reading suggest a significant upside risk to our initial forecast (of 7.7 percent for the whole year)."


_______________________________________



Peso slumps to 44.10 to $1 on 9-year high inflation rate
By Doris Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer
http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20080605-140922/Peso-slumps-to-4410-to-1-on-9-year-high-inflation-rate

MANILA, Philippines – The peso weakened past 44 to the US dollar for the first time in eight months on Thursday on reports that consumer prices rose at their fastest pace in nine years.

The local currency opened at 44 and hit an intra-day low of 44.10 in morning trade, despite suspected sporadic intervention from the local central bank. This was after the National Statistics Office reported that the country's annual inflation hit 9.6 percent in May.

It was the peso’s lowest level since it touched 44.18 on October 25 last year. The peso lost 6.0 percent so far this year due to inflation-related jitters. It was Asia's best performing last year when it gained nearly 19 percent against the US dollar.

Currency traders said the peso would have slipped further if not for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) which was found selling US dollars.

The foreign exchange market was also jittery ahead of the BSP's monetary board meeting on Thursday. The market had factored in a quarter-percentage point rate increase, said Banco de Oro Unibank strategist Jonathan Ravelas.

"If I were BSP, if I want to curtail (the peso depreciation), I’d raise the interest rate by 50 basis points. If they raise by only 25 basis points, the peso would still depreciate. But if they (BSP) don't raise at all, it (the peso) would hit 44.50 immediately," Ravelas said.

But he said the likely adjustment to be announced later Thursday would be only a 25-basis point increase in the overnight borrowing rate, currently at 5.0 percent.

"The market's behavior today already factored in the high inflation rate and a 25-basis point adjustment," he said.

When inflation is on the rise, central banks tend to tighten monetary policy – either by lifting interest rates or the reserve requirement on deposits and deposit substitutes or other tools – to discourage consumer and business spending caused by excess money supply.

The peso closed at 44.07 against the greenback Thursday.

^^Teacher PGMA: People of the Philippines, kindly check your status, if you can't buy item #1, then you belong to class B-, if you can buy item#5 then youre a class A+...

Despite high inflation, investments grew 54%
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/june/06/yehey/top_stories/20080606top3.html
By Chino S. Leyco, Reporter

AMID gloomy picture of rising inflation in the country, investments in the first four months of the year outgrew by more than half those that came in during the same period in 2007, the Department of Trade and Industry announced on Thursday.

In a statement, Trade Secretary Peter Favila said investment-promotion agencies have approved 272 projects amounting to P113.65 billion in January to April this year, 54 percent higher than the P73.63 billion for the same period in the previous year.

Of the total, the Board of Investments accounted for P75.51 billion and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, P38.14 billion.

“The committed investments are expected to generate 54,373 additional jobs when the projects become operational,” Favila said.

Although bulk of the investments was in electricity, gas and water supply, he added, the real-estate, renting and business-activity, infrastructure or industrial-service and transport, storage and communication sectors remain upbeat.

Investments in the utility sector cornered P43.21 billion, or almost a three- fold jump from last year’s P10.85 billion.

“Investors are correctly reading the country’s need for more power and water supply in the near future. These projects have a long gestation, just in time to meet the growing need for industries and the population,” Favila said.

Information-technology requirements for office and mass housing for the population accounted for P17.15 billion in investments, or 20 percent more than last year’s P14.35 billion.

Investments in infrastructure or industrial service reached P10.89 billion.

Transport, storage and communication accounted for P7.29 billion, or a six-fold increase from last year’s P1.02 billion.

Manufacturing, with P28.43 billion in investments this year, however, contracted 38 percent. It accounted for P39.31 billion during the same period last year.

Information technology, a component of the manufacturing sector, generated P4.07 billion, lower by 32 percent than last year’s P6.02 billion.

Trade Undersecretary Elmer Hernandez, also the managing head of the Board of Investments, said the information-technology sector’s investments, will create 14,236 new jobs.

Local investors accounted for P60.08 billion, while P53.57 billion came from foreign investments.

Investors from South Korea topped the list, putting in P20.5 billion, followed by Britain, P11.5 billion, and the United States, P8.42 billion.

Favila said the investment performance for the period showed that businessmen were unfazed by the current political noise in the country.

“It is business as usual. The economic opportunities abound in the country and are open to those who want to venture to the Philippines,” he added.

dito kaya to?:D

Arroyo critic jailed for libel in Philippines: court official
A Philippine newspaper editor and critic of President Gloria Arroyo was convicted of libel and sentenced to almost two years in jail on Thursday, court officials said.

Ninez Olivarez, editor of the Daily Tribune newspaper, said she expected the verdict but would appeal and has asked to be granted provisional liberty.

Olivarez was convicted for alleging in a 2003 article that a prominent law firm had tried to use political connections and bribes on behalf of its client in a suit over a mothballed airport terminal in Manila, court records show.

The law firm, Carpio Villaraza Cruz, charged that the article was unfounded and that it had been maligned by her article.

But Olivarez said the story was based on reliable sources. She also argued that the article is of "grave public importance" and that the Tribune had a duty to act as a media watchdog of the government.

The court however found the article to be "derogatory" adding that Olivarez "failed to exert efforts to verify the truth of the statements" against the complainants.

Aside from the jail sentence, Olivarez was also required to pay five million pesos (114,419 dollars) in damages.

"I expected to be convicted," she told AFP. "What can you do? There are so many powerful people."

She expressed determination to fight the case, vowing to take the law firm all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary, even if it took 20 years.

"Probably, in those 20 years, I will have died already," she said.

Olivarez has long been a critic of Arroyo and her presumed allies and in 2006, government troops raided her newspaper on suspicion that she was involved with military coup plotters trying to overthrow the president.

Businessmen want 'rice terraces' other tourist spots privatized (http://beta.ph.news.yahoo.com/gma/20080603/tbs-businessmen-want-rice-terraces-other-1da90e5.html)

GMANews.TV - Wednesday, June 4

MANILA, Philippines- An influential business group wants the government to privatize a handful of the country's major tourist spots, a move that they said will ensure the preservation of the areas.

Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry president and appointed tourism private sector chief Samie Lim said the Philippine Tourism Authority should sell some of its major assets which have the potential to become even more attractive to both foreign and local visitors.

Among those spots that should be privatized are the Banaue Rice Terraces, Picnic Grove and Palace in the Sky in Tagaytay City, and Burnham Park in Baguio City.

Another tourist spot that could be privatized, Lim said, is a beach resort in La Union that is not being managed well.

Lim said that by having private groups to manage the destinations, the country could have a better chance of attaining its goal of hitting some 10 million tourists arrivals by 2010.

Department of Tourism (DOT) data showed the country accommodates an average of 3 million tourists annually.

Apart from this proposal, Lim is also raising the posibility of privatizing all the government-controlled duty-free shops.

“These shops could even earn more if placed under a private management," he said. - GMANews.TV

Philippine dollar reserves up
by nearly half year on year (http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/june/07/yehey/business/20080607bus1.html)

By Maricel E. Burgonio, Reporter

THE country’s dollar reserves last May were up by nearly half from a year ago, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

In a statement, BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said the country’s gross international reserves (GIR) reached $36.6 billion at end-May from $36.4 billion at end-April.

The country’s foreign exchange reserves stood at $25.6 billion at end-May last year, so this year’s figure translates to a 43-percent increase year on year.

The end-May GIR allows the country to pay for 6.2 months of imports of goods and payments of services and income. Alternately, this would allow the country to pay 5.2 times over its short-term external debt based on original maturity, and 3.4 times over its debt based on residual maturity, which includes current portions of long-term liabilities.

Excluding the country’s short-term liabilities, its net international reserves stood at $36.6 billion from $36.3 billion at end-April. The BSP expects to end the year with a dollar surplus of GIR to increase to $37 billion this year from $33.751 billion last year.

A rising reserve level helps temper consumer price increases, as the increasing amount of foreign exchange boosts the peso’s value, thus pulling down the cost of imported goods.

Stronger reserves however may also be inflationary, as the surge in foreign exchange inflows increases domestic liquidity or the money supply.

The BSP ascribed the increase in the country’s reserves level to the government’s proceeds from asset sales, and the central bank’s income from investments abroad.

Tetangco said the increase in reserves was mainly due to the money raised by state-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (Psalm) from the sale of generating plants of the National Power Corp. (Napocor). Also contributing to the country’s reserves level was the central bank’s income from its investments abroad.

“These receipts were partly offset by outflows arising from payments of maturing foreign currency denominated obligations of the [government] and the BSP,” Tetangco said.

The Philippines had maturing obligations amounting to $160 million at end-May, with the government accounting for $148 million and the BSP, $12 million.

Psalm netted $262 million while the BSP earned $95 million from its investments abroad.

Psalm, which is tasked to dispose of Napocor’s power plants, already achieved a 42.8-percent privatization threshold and would need only auction off a couple of facilities to meet the 70 percent minimum provided for under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001. Attaining this minimum would usher in the so-called open-access regime, under which consumers can choose their power suppliers.

Despite high inflation, investments grew 54%
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/june/06/yehey/top_stories/20080606top3.html
By Chino S. Leyco, Reporter

AMID gloomy picture of rising inflation in the country, investments in the first four months of the year outgrew by more than half those that came in during the same period in 2007, the Department of Trade and Industry announced on Thursday.

In a statement, Trade Secretary Peter Favila said investment-promotion agencies have approved 272 projects amounting to P113.65 billion in January to April this year, 54 percent higher than the P73.63 billion for the same period in the previous year.

Of the total, the Board of Investments accounted for P75.51 billion and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, P38.14 billion.

“The committed investments are expected to generate 54,373 additional jobs when the projects become operational,” Favila said.

Although bulk of the investments was in electricity, gas and water supply, he added, the real-estate, renting and business-activity, infrastructure or industrial-service and transport, storage and communication sectors remain upbeat.

Investments in the utility sector cornered P43.21 billion, or almost a three- fold jump from last year’s P10.85 billion.

“Investors are correctly reading the country’s need for more power and water supply in the near future. These projects have a long gestation, just in time to meet the growing need for industries and the population,” Favila said.

Information-technology requirements for office and mass housing for the population accounted for P17.15 billion in investments, or 20 percent more than last year’s P14.35 billion.

Investments in infrastructure or industrial service reached P10.89 billion.

Transport, storage and communication accounted for P7.29 billion, or a six-fold increase from last year’s P1.02 billion.

Manufacturing, with P28.43 billion in investments this year, however, contracted 38 percent. It accounted for P39.31 billion during the same period last year.

Information technology, a component of the manufacturing sector, generated P4.07 billion, lower by 32 percent than last year’s P6.02 billion.

Trade Undersecretary Elmer Hernandez, also the managing head of the Board of Investments, said the information-technology sector’s investments, will create 14,236 new jobs.

Local investors accounted for P60.08 billion, while P53.57 billion came from foreign investments.

Investors from South Korea topped the list, putting in P20.5 billion, followed by Britain, P11.5 billion, and the United States, P8.42 billion.

Favila said the investment performance for the period showed that businessmen were unfazed by the current political noise in the country.

“It is business as usual. The economic opportunities abound in the country and are open to those who want to venture to the Philippines,” he added.

yay for that.:banana:
hope the masses would feel this good news.

Palace: Responding to inflation
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/0606&072008/nation02.html
By Mia M. Gonzalez
Reporter

MALACAÑANG asserted on Thursday that it has been “responding strongly” to the challenge posed by inflation and urged all sectors to work together in building up national economic defenses against soaring oil and food prices.
“The 9.6-percent inflation underscores the need for the government, business and other key sectors to join hands in boosting production, conserving resources and sustaining growth in job creation to protect our living standards and competitiveness against the global escalation of prices,” Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo said in a statement.
Saludo noted that the government has taken “major steps” to help consumers and the business sector cope with rising inflation, among them, the recently launched P4-billion “Katas ng VAT” assistance to the poor, sourced from proceeds of the value-added tax on oil.
Saludo also cited the P6 billion spent by the government in rice subsidy through the National Food Authority, as well as the Department of Trade and Industry’s petition to lower charges of the Manila Electric Co.
“We continue to build or upgrade roads and ports to cut transport costs, especially for food, expand irrigation and other farm supports to increase food production and tighten measures against hoarding. The government is responding strongly to inflation’s challenge,” he said.

'Why is the Philippines Poor?'

Nestor Mata

http://www.malaya.com.ph/jun07/edmata.htm


IN THESE TIMES of economic instability and other multitudinous national problems, not a few Filipinos are wondering why the Philippines is poor. But someone else says that we can still reverse the path of economic decline and moral decadence through prayer.

I got two messages sent through the Internet, one from a Dr. Arsenio Martin of Fort Arthur, Texas, USA, who posed the intriguing question "Why is the Philippines Poor?", and the other from Jesuit Father James Reuter who offered prayer as "our only hope" for national salvation.

Here are excerpts from Dr. Martin's message: "The difference between the poor countries and the rich ones is not the age of the country. This can be shown by countries like India and Egypt that are more than 2000 years old, but are still poor. On the other hand, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, only 150 years old, are rich and highly developed countries.

"The difference between poor and rich countries does not reside in the available natural resources. Japan has a limited territory, mountainous, inadequate for agriculture and cattle raising, but it is the world's second economic power. It is like a floating factory, importing raw materials from all over the world and exporting manufactured products.

"Another example is Switzerland. It does not plant cocoa, and yet is has the best chocolates in the world. In its little territory, the people raise animals and plant the soil only during four months of a year. Not enough, and yet they produce dairy products of the best quality. It is a small country that transmits an image of security and order, and the world's strongest and safest place in the world.

"Executives from rich countries who communicate with their counterparts in poor countries show that there is no significant intellectual difference among them. Race or skin color is also not important. Immigrants labeled lazy in their countries of origin are the most productive in rich European counties.

"What is the difference then? The difference is in the attitude of the people, framed along the years by education and culture and flawed tradition.

"On analyzing the behavior of the people in rich and developed countries, we find that the great majority following these principles in their lives: Ethics, Integrity, Responsibility, Respect for laws and rules, Respect of the rights of other citizens, Work loving, Strive for savings and investment, Will of action, Punctuality and Discipline.

"In poor countries, only a minority follow these basic principles in their daily life. The Philippines is not poor because we lack natural resources or because Nature has been cruel to us. In fact, we are rich in natural resources. But we are poor because we lack the correct attitudes. We lack the will to comply with and teach these functional principles of rich and developed societies.

"If you love your country, let this message circulate so that many Filipinos could reflect about this and change their attitudes and ACT!"

Here are excerpts from Father Reuter's message of what he calls "the only hope" for the Philippines: "The signs are clear. Our nation is headed towards an irreversible path of economic decline and moral decadence.

"It is not the lack of effort. We have seen many men and women of integrity in and out of government, NGOs, church groups and people's organizations devote themselves to the task of nation-building, oftentimes against insurmountable odds.

"But not even two People Revolutions . have made a dent in reversing this trend. At best, we have moved one step forward, but three steps backward.

"We need a force far greater than our collective efforts, as a people, can ever hope to muster. It is time to move the battle to the spiritual realm.

"It is time to claim God's promise of healing the land for His people. It is time to gather God's people on its knees to pray for the economic recovery and moral reformation of our nation.

"Is prayer really the answer?

"Before you dismiss this as just another rambling of a religious fanatic, I'd like you to consider some lessons we can glean from history.

"England's ascendancy to world power was preceded by the Reformation, a spiritual revival fuelled by intense prayers.

"The early American settlers built the foundation that would make it the most powerful nation today - a strong faith in God and a disciplined prayer life. Throughout its history, and especially at its major turning points, waves of revival and prayer movement swept across the land.

"In recent times, we see Korea as a nation experiencing revival and in the process producing the largest Christian church in the world today.. No wonder it has emerged as a strong nation when other economies around are faltering.

"Even from a purely secular viewpoint, it makes a lot of sense. For here there is genuine humbling and seeking of God through prayer, moral reformation necessarily follows. And this, in turn, will lead to general prosperity.

"Yes, we believe prayer can make a difference.

"It is our only hope!"

Foreign chambers get an earful from Enrile.
Given no chance to read statement at power hearing
http://www.malaya.com.ph/jun07/news1.htm

BY DENNIS GADIL

OFFICIALS of the Joint Foreign Chambers were grilled yesterday as senators took turns assailing them for opposing amendments to the Electric and Power Industry Reform Act (Epira).

Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, chair of the finance committee and senior member of the Joint Congressional Power Commission, again slammed the JFC for intervening in the country's affairs.

Enrile particularly lashed at Hubert D'Aboville, the group's spokesman and president of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, for the JFC's "intrusion into the domain of policy."

He said it was "disrespectful" for the JFC to bring up matters on lawmaking in the Philippines to individuals like President Arroyo other than lawmakers themselves.

Enrile also told JFC to take their business elsewhere if they cannot respect their host country's institutions.

D'Aboville tried to explain their side but Enrile cut him off several times.

"Who are these legislators you are referring to as making 'unwarranted accusations' before the President?" Enrile asked D'Aboville.

He added: "You may be a Frenchman, but you cannot outthink a Filipino."

D'Aboville replied: "I know sir. My wife is a Filipina. I live it on a daily basis."

D'Aboville said their letter to President Arroyo "should not be misinterpreted" as they are only expressing their "opinion" as regards the amendment of Epira.

Sen. Joker Arroyo said that if JFC officials propose solutions on how to bring down power rates, the Senate is willing to listen.

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, chair of the energy panel, said JFC officials failed to identify the proposed amendments in the Epira which they oppose.

"Ang sagot nila lang nila ay wala dito ang mga technical consultants," she said.

Henry Schumacher, executive vice president of ECCP, said it was the first time he was "invited out" of the country.

D'Aboville said: "I have never been treated like this before."

The group, in its prepared statement which D'Aboville failed to read before senators, said their letter to President Arroyo was in line with their objective of fostering closer economic and business relations between their countries and the Philippines.

"In order to achieve an environment conducive to doing business and attracting new investment to the country, it is essential to have a competitive and stable business environment," the JFC said in a two-page statement.

"It is in this context that we have raised the concerns regarding the Philippine Power Sector and have reiterated the positions we have taken in meetings with the House leadership."

But JFC stressed the Epira law is better implemented fully than being subjected to premature amendments.

"The Epira law is a reform legislation that has no match in the region. Once fully implemented, it will create a competitive electricity market in the Philippines that should result in more efficiency and fair energy costs," the group said.

The group also said their foreign chambers came to the country to invest "because they saw a climate that honored contracts, was progressive, and clearly intending to create a level playing field where competition for the best price was the intention."

The JFC counts as members the American, Australian-New Zealand, Canadian, Japanese and Korean chambers of commerce and the Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters Inc.

-------------------------------



IMHO Many of Our FILIPINO politicians are again getting lost in the details and taking things of national interest way too personally. The good intention is again being misinterpreted and abused as a convenient tool to advance their own political aggrandizement.

Shame, Shame, Shame.:nono::nono::nono:

:horse:
J.P.

GMA finally signs Cheaper Medicine Law
By Marvin Sy
Saturday, June 7, 2008
PhilStar
http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Headlines&p=49&type=2&sec=24&aid=20080606138


The long wait is over.

Filipinos can now expect more low-cost medicine in the market with the signing into law of the Universally Accessible, Cheaper and Quality Medicine Act of 2008.

The signing ceremony for Republic Act 9052 was held yesterday at the Laguna Provincial Hospital in Sta. Cruz, Laguna with the principal authors of the bill in the House of Representatives and the Senate joining President Arroyo.

Mrs. Arroyo said the existing generics law is an important piece of legislation that aims to bring down the cost of medicine in the country but it is “incomplete.”

“Now with the cheaper and quality medicine law, we have completed, I believe, our legislative reforms in bringing
affordable medicine to the people,” the President said.

RA 9052 allows the conduct of parallel importation of patented medicine from other countries where the prices are significantly lower than the prevailing price in the Philippines.

The government, through the Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC), has been conducting parallel importation of medicine from countries such as Pakistan and India, selling these at state-run pharmacies aimed at the poor communities.

However, the PITC has faced strong resistance from the multinational pharmaceutical firms.

Sen. Manuel Roxas II, principal author of the bill in the Senate, said the PITC can now continue with its parallel importation with the signing of the new law.

Roxas said the PITC can now include more brands and types of medicine in its list of imports and it can also import higher volumes.

Apart from the PITC, Roxas said that even private groups or organizations can now import medicine directly from other countries provided that they register themselves with the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD).

Under the law, the BFAD plays an important role as it is the agency tasked to ensure that all of the imported medicine is of high quality.

The law strengthens the BFAD by allowing it to retain its revenues for the upgrading of its facilities, equipment and human resources.

Roxas explained that by directly importing the medicine, the private entities would be able to save more since they no longer have to go through any middlemen.

The new law also provides for the use of the “early working principle” which allows local generic medicine manufacturers to test, produce and register their generic versions of patented drugs so that these could be sold immediately upon the expiration of the patents.

In order to prevent the owners of patented drugs from extending the term of their patents by declaring newly discovered uses for the components of their medicine, the law now prohibits the grant of new patents using this provision.

The law also allows the government to use patented drugs when the interest of the public is at stake.

Upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Health, the President has the power to impose price ceilings on various drugs, including those that are used for chronic illnesses, for the prevention of diseases and those in the Philippine National Drug Formulary Essential Drug list.

Drug outlets or pharmacies are now required to carry a variety of brands, including those brought in through parallel importation, in order to provide consumers with more choices.

The Generics Act was amended so that all generic drugs would now carry a label that has the statement of the BFAD about the therapeutic efficacy of the drug.

The Pharmacy Law was also amended to allow supermarkets, convenience stores and other retail establishments to sell over-the-counter medicine.

A congressional oversight committee would be created to monitor the implementation of the new law.

The Department of Health has been tasked to formulate the implementing rules and regulations for the new law within 120 days of its signing.

“We will not allow anything, not even a comma in the IRR, that would dilute the efficacy of this law. We will continue the fight, we will continue to monitor the implementation of the law in order to ensure that our people would have access to quality affordable medicine,” Roxas said.

“This new law will bring about competition. The prices of medicine will go down because of the increase in competition in the country,” Roxas said.

Healthier Philippines

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III yesterday gave assurances of a “healthier” Philippines as more Filipinos could now afford treatment for both common and potentially fatal diseases.

Duque said the DOH is set to launch very affordable treatment packs for common diseases and put 15,000 Botika ng Barangay (BnB) nationwide by 2010.

“DOH would make available treatment packs for common diseases at maximum prices of P100 for a one- to two-week treatment course,” Duque said.

The health chief explained that the country spends a total of P200 billion for health, half of which is spent on drugs and medicine.

“Since the cost of medicine in the country has been consistently and continuously prohibitive, the poor have limited access to these essential goods, bringing a perpetual cycle of impoverishment, deaths and diseases,” he pointed out.

“This law breathes new hope and life to all of us and gives a chance to the government to prove that health comes first before business interests,” Duque said.

Even labor unions are getting ready to import and sell medicine directly to workers with the new law.

Leaders of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, Federation of Free Workers, Alliance of Progressive Labor and others met with the representative of the PITC and Roxas recently to discuss how their groups could distribute medicine to their members and ensure that they would benefit from the lowering of prices of medicine.

TUCP secretary-general and former senator Ernesto Herrera said they had been waiting for this kind of measure for the sake of the laborers.

He expressed appreciation for the preparatory meetings with the PITC so that they could start immediately the importation of cheap medicine.

Herrera said laborers need maintenance medicine that are costly at present.

‘Fight not yet over’

The principal sponsor of the Cheaper Medicine Bill in the House, meantime, said the fight for low-cost drugs is not yet over.

“Proper implementation is the key to the measure’s promise of bringing down the prices of medicine,” said Palawan Rep. Antonio Alvarez, trade and commerce committee chairman.

“The next battleground for the law is in the drafting of its implementing rules and regulations (IRRs), where interest groups are expected to lobby for an interpretation of the provisions that will serve them,” Alvarez said.

“But the law cannot be tweaked or twisted because a House-Senate oversight committee that the law created will be looking over the shoulders of the agencies that will issue the IRRs,” he said.

An inter-agency panel composed of the DOH, Department of Trade and Industry, Intellectual Property Office, and BFAD will issue the implementing rules.

Alvarez said in addition to the rules, administrative measures are needed, including the strengthening of BFAD’s technical and manpower capabilities so it can properly evaluate pharmaceutical preparations.

Foreign chambers get an earful from Enrile.
Given no chance to read statement at power hearing
http://www.malaya.com.ph/jun07/news1.htm

BY DENNIS GADIL

OFFICIALS of the Joint Foreign Chambers were grilled yesterday as senators took turns assailing them for opposing amendments to the Electric and Power Industry Reform Act (Epira).

Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, chair of the finance committee and senior member of the Joint Congressional Power Commission, again slammed the JFC for intervening in the country's affairs.

Enrile particularly lashed at Hubert D'Aboville, the group's spokesman and president of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, for the JFC's "intrusion into the domain of policy."

He said it was "disrespectful" for the JFC to bring up matters on lawmaking in the Philippines to individuals like President Arroyo other than lawmakers themselves.

Enrile also told JFC to take their business elsewhere if they cannot respect their host country's institutions.

D'Aboville tried to explain their side but Enrile cut him off several times.

"Who are these legislators you are referring to as making 'unwarranted accusations' before the President?" Enrile asked D'Aboville.

He added: "You may be a Frenchman, but you cannot outthink a Filipino."

D'Aboville replied: "I know sir. My wife is a Filipina. I live it on a daily basis."

D'Aboville said their letter to President Arroyo "should not be misinterpreted" as they are only expressing their "opinion" as regards the amendment of Epira.

Sen. Joker Arroyo said that if JFC officials propose solutions on how to bring down power rates, the Senate is willing to listen.

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, chair of the energy panel, said JFC officials failed to identify the proposed amendments in the Epira which they oppose.

"Ang sagot nila lang nila ay wala dito ang mga technical consultants," she said.

Henry Schumacher, executive vice president of ECCP, said it was the first time he was "invited out" of the country.

D'Aboville said: "I have never been treated like this before."

The group, in its prepared statement which D'Aboville failed to read before senators, said their letter to President Arroyo was in line with their objective of fostering closer economic and business relations between their countries and the Philippines.

"In order to achieve an environment conducive to doing business and attracting new investment to the country, it is essential to have a competitive and stable business environment," the JFC said in a two-page statement.

"It is in this context that we have raised the concerns regarding the Philippine Power Sector and have reiterated the positions we have taken in meetings with the House leadership."

But JFC stressed the Epira law is better implemented fully than being subjected to premature amendments.

"The Epira law is a reform legislation that has no match in the region. Once fully implemented, it will create a competitive electricity market in the Philippines that should result in more efficiency and fair energy costs," the group said.

The group also said their foreign chambers came to the country to invest "because they saw a climate that honored contracts, was progressive, and clearly intending to create a level playing field where competition for the best price was the intention."

The JFC counts as members the American, Australian-New Zealand, Canadian, Japanese and Korean chambers of commerce and the Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters Inc.

-------------------------------



J.P.

If these group of people decided to pull the plug on what could have been investments in the Philippines, who do you think will be at a disadvantage?
Perhaps the Philippines need to listen to these group of people for they will be the ones bringing in investments. Filipino politicians may not have to agree in the manner of how these foreigners aired their concerns but the bottom line they have to be diplomatic about how they treat the foreigners, they should not be too condescending and rude.:ohno:

http://www.zobel.dlsu.edu.ph/images/logo.gif

http://www.zobel.dlsu.edu.ph/images/pages_pics/santi2.jpg

Jacobo Santiago Zobel, after whom the school is named, was the eldest son of Enrique Zobel who was then President of Ayala Corporation when the School was established. The School was made possible through the generous donation of part of the site by Ayala Corporation and the Madrigal Family and through financing by Filipinas Life Assurance Company.

Santi was born on August 15, 1954. As a student, he was always willing to try to learn. His greatest gift was the ability to make friends and to share with them the wonders of his little world.

Santi died of pneumonia on September 7, 1965 at the age of 11.




:horse:

J.P.






Ah so yan pala ang name behind DLSZ school. How sad, ang bata pa nya. By the way where do the Zobels live? Sa Forbes ba? Curiousity lang kasi di ba sila may ari nun?

Smuggling flourishing, says Sen. Gordon
Corrupt government officials, indifferent Filipinos blamed
By Ernie B. Esconde, Correspondent
Manila Times
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/june/08/yehey/top_stories/20080608top6.html

MARIVELES, Bataan: Sen. Richard Gordon claimed that smuggling is flourishing because it is profitable and some corrupt government officials are receiving payoffs from it.

Meanwhile, he said, the people are not doing anything to stop the illegal trade. He blamed the apparent complacency on government leaders who set bad examples.

Gordon also claimed that when he was eased out as chairman of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, the government lost millions of pesos in revenues from smuggling of second-hand cars, liquors and oil products.

The senator made the claims on Friday on reports that freeports have become vehicles for increased smuggling during the first on-site consultative hearing conducted by the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs here.

Sen. Loren Legarda, committee chairman, also raised concern on smuggling in the freeports with Region 3 Director Remigio Mercado of the National Economic and Development Authority.

“The predicament on smuggling is not institutional but a law-enforcement problem,” Remigio said.

Legarda led a hearing on a proposed bill seeking to convert the Bataan Economic Zone located in Mariveles to the Bataan Special Economic Zone and Freeport Authority. She was met by placard-bearing supporters of the conversion.

The proposed law under Legarda’s Senate Bill 2188 and House Bill 1425 authored by Rep. Albert Garcia of Bataan’s Second District also seeks the creation and appropriations of funds for the proposed economic zone and freeport authority.

Gordon, first chairman of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, said he favored the conversion. He recounted his pitch for the transformation of Subic Naval Base into what is now the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

Under the proposed changes, Gordon said, local government units will be accountable for any smuggling activities.

Congressman Garcia and his father, Gov. Enrique Garcia, said officials of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority had admitted that the Bataan Economic Zone has been losing money and only survives with the support of other economic zones in the country.

Francisco Legaspi, an engineer and newly installed administrator of the Bataan Economic Zone, said that when the Philippine Economic Zone Authority took over the administration of the former Bataan Export Processing Zone in 1995, the economic zone has made remarkable accomplishments. He admitted, though, that the Bataan Economic Zone has been operating at a loss for the past three years at P30 million annually.

Former Mariveles Mayor Oscar de los Reyes voiced the objection of the Mariveles People’s Coalition against the conversion of BEZ.

Legarda and Gordon urged the oppositors as well as those in favor of the conversion to submit additional documents to the committee. Legarda said she will create a technical working committee to study the recommendations.

A gargantuan waste of funds for nothing
Business Mirror
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/0606&072008/opinion01.html

AS expected, militant groups are criticizing the P1,500 fertilizer subsidy promised by Malacañang, and, noting the administration’s track record in earlier similar scams—er, schemes—expressed serious doubt the dole would reach the intended beneficiaries. After all, in an ironic twist, the new subsidy was announced on the day the news broke that a US court had rejected the plea for asylum of the man most associated with the P728-million fertilizer scam just before the 2004 elections, former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “Jocjoc” Bolante.

Skeptical reactions are not surprising from the likes of the national peasant federation Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), the fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) or the Amihan-National Federation of Peasant Women.

Yet, ideologies aside, the three groups have a point, and who can blame them? What should give the public confidence that, this time around, a fertilizer subsidy to help farmers buy fertilizer would really go to them and yield the intended result, i.e., boost rice production as envisioned in the P43.5-billion program unveiled by the President last month, when the rice crisis was at its peak?

According to Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, the Department of Agriculture (DA) will take charge of the fertilizer-subsidy program and coupons will be distributed to farmers to claim the P1,500 fertilizer fund. Of this amount, P 1,000 will come from the DA, and the P500 from local government units.

What is the apprehension of the three groups? That, besides throwing in more good money (fertilizer subsidy part 2) after bad (fertilizer scam part 1), the administration is barely scraping the surface of the whole problem of food security, and is instead wasting even more scarce resources on tokenisms and placebos that cannot ensure long-term solutions to hunger and inflation.

For one, they cited a reluctance to extradite Mr. Bolante, so he can have his day in court in connection with the fertilizer scam. On a second point, the release of billions in government funds for a purpose that is, at best, vague, and the details of which are too sketchy, could be a perfect means for covering up the release of billions of taxpayers’ money in preparation for the 2010 national elections.

Earlier, the government had gotten ample warning from multilateral agencies and institutions against throwing its fiscal program completely off-track with haphazard populist measures that give people fleeting relief—if they get the doles at all—but do not ensure sustainable solutions, while creating new fiscal megaheadaches.

Now, this isn’t a brief for blindly following foreign dictates, but there is every reason for heeding sound advice—at least up to the point that discourages the use of scarce resources to throw money at hastily conceived solutions.

It is hard to imagine that the government, with all its experts, does not know the problems of farmers, particularly in fertilizer. How, then, one must ask, can they believe that a one-time dole of P1,500 would have any real impact and help attain rice self-sufficiency?

Hence, the militants like Pamalakaya cannot help but theorize that the P43.5 billion agricultural fund is more intended for the 2010 presidential, senatorial and local elections.

“Malacañang merely brokered the news to Palace-ally politicians that there is enough money for them in the 2010 elections.”

The finance department said it would source the P43.5 billion from the windfall tax revenues the government collects from high petroleum prices, where it would get at least P18.6 billion in taxpayers’ money. Other sources will come from foreign aid and loans—in other words, burdens of taxpayers for whom the politicians were supposedly bleeding for in the first place. Surreal.


_________________________________


Two economists unimpressed with Arroyo power subsidy program
By INA REFORMINA
ABS-CBN News
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=121002

Two economists on Saturday said they were not impressed with the Arroyo administration’s program to provide subsidies supposedly to mitigate the impact of rising fuel and electricity prices.

Malacañang announced Tuesday a P2-billion power subsidy for poor families. On Friday government began distributing P500 each for lifeline users or households consuming 100-kilowatt hours a month or less. The pay out started in Metro Manila to lifeline customers of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).

The two economists, Prof. Leonor Briones who is a former National Treasurer and Benjamin Diokno who is a University of the Philippines economist and former Budget Secretary, insist that the handout is a palliative solution to the high cost of electricity.

Second, they said, the president should not be touching funds that were not allocated in the 2008 budget or without permission from Congress.

"Matagal na rin ako sa gobyerno pero di pa ko nakakita ng, for the first time mamimigay ka ng cash sa mga tao... wala naman akong nakikita sa 2008 budget na fuel subsidy," said Diokno.

"Will it solve the power crisis? Two, will it solve your poverty problem? I don't think so… Dapat i-challenge ng media, i-challenge ng civil society ang Congress because the power to make decisions as to what to do with the public's money is in Congress," said Diokno.

The two economists said government should instead use the P2-billion for long-term solutions for programs like alternative sources of energy.

They believe that there is also no certainty that the beneficiaries of the fund would use the money to pay their electricity bills.

For Diokno and Briones the Arroyo administration may have had other motives.

"The only gain I see of course is political," said the former National Treasurer.

"Dapat permanent, long term ang solution hindi itong parang pampapogi lng talaga," said Diokno.

^^

they should have simply removed the R-VAT on fuel and electricity...this is to make the commodities cheaper...and whatever savings that the public can derived from it can be used for consumption (and the government can tax it)...


..puro pa-cute kasi...awash with cash daw pero panay pa rin ang pag-utang sa loob at labas ng bansa...

...may billion pesos surplus pala bakit hindi binili ang Petron...

Foreign reserves hit $36.6b
By Eileen A. Mencias
Manila Standard
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=business1_june7_2008

The gross international reserves of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas rose to a new all-time high of $36.6 billion at the end of May despite the central bank’s sale of dollars in the spot currency market.

The central bank in a statement yesterday attributed the rise in foreign reserves from $36.4 billion at the end of April to proceeds from the privatization of a power plant by Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. and the bank’s income from abroad.

The reserves consisting mainly of dollars, gold, investments overseas and other foreign currencies serve as gauge for investors and creditors on an economy’s ability to pay for its imports or service its debt. The end-May reserves were enough to pay for more than six months’ worth of imports and over thrice its short-term debt.

The central bank’s reserves are placed mainly in foreign investments amounting to $32.2 billion. Some $3.795 billion are in gold and $455.66 million in foreign exchange.

The central bank also has foreign exchange swap agreements with commercial banks that are not reflected in the international reserves.

The swaps refer to the dollars that the central bank lends to banks in exchange for pesos for a specified period of time. The central bank gets its dollars back when the swaps mature, with the banks receiving the equivalent amount in pesos.

The central bank used the swaps last year to sterilize the huge amount of dollars coming into the country from investments and remittances.

It unwound over $2 billion of its foreign currency swap agreements with banks in April to increase the supply of dollars in the market and stabilize the peso.

Central bank data show that foreign exchange swaps fell to $9.03 billion at the end of April, $2.3 billion less than the level at the end of March. Some $2.9 billion of the central bank’s swaps matured in April while another $3.8 billion were unwound in May.

The dollars that the central bank puts in the swaps are not included in the official reserves. The Monetary Board, however, capped the amount of central bank swaps at a little over $13 billion in May from an earlier ceiling of $10 billion.

Including swaps, the central bank’s dollar holdings would easily run up to $45 billion.

The central bank, aside from the heavy use of the swaps last year, expanded its special deposit account facility to mop up excess liquidity coming from investments and remittances of migrant Filipino workers.

Bangko Sentral’s rate hike fails to boost peso
By Karl Lester M. Yap
Manila Standard
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=news1_june7_2008

THE peso fell again yesterday despite an interest-rate hike by the central bank, completing an eight-week loss on concern rising oil prices will widen the trade deficit and quicken inflation.

The unit declined for a fourth day against the dollar after crude oil rose more than $8, closing at 44.135 against 44.07 on Thursday.

It fell even as oil distributors said they would raise petroleum prices by another P1.50 a liter this weekend to recover their losses from spiraling world oil prices.

“As long as the oil firms are sure their price adjustments are reasonable and justified, they can move their prices whenever they like,” Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes said.

In Malacañang, an official said consumers using 100 kilowatt hours or less of electricity could start cashing their P500 in government subsidy starting Tuesday to pay for their power bills this month.

Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said the government had already released P500 million to the state-run Land Bank to cover the subsidy for four million small consumers.

In Bangkok, oil rose above $130 a barrel Friday in Asia, extending gains made in the previous session when the euro rose against the dollar in response to comments by the head of the European Central Bank.

Including gains in the previous floor session, that put oil more than $8 higher than at the middle of the weak.

The Philippines imports nearly all its energy requirements, and higher oil prices caused the trade deficit to widen to $928 million in March from $79 million a year earlier.

“Higher oil prices spooked sentiment in the peso despite a rate hike by the central bank yesterday [Thursday],” said Catherine Tan, head of regional foreign exchange at Thomson Financial Asia.

“It will put a dent into the trade deficit outlook and may cause a second-round inflation impact.”

The central bank yesterday raised its key interest rate for the first time in more than two years on Thursday after record energy and rice prices pushed inflation to a nine-year high last month.

The increase in borrowing costs may help strengthen or stabilize the peso, central bank Deputy Gov. Diwa Guinigundo said Thursday.

Ten-year government bonds rose for a second day, pushing yields to the lowest in a week.

The yield on the 5.875-percent note due January 2018 declined 18 basis points to 9.12 percent, according to the 11:15 a.m. fixing at Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp.

The price climbed 0.97, or P97 per P10,000 face amount, to P79.49. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.

I don't think Arroyo's proposed power relief is meant to be LONG TERM. It will take a great deal of energy and fight to get a good long term solution to the energy problem. The focus here is to bring immediate relief as soon as possible to the Filipino people in regards to high energy costs.

^^ ang trabaho ng media ay iparating ang kung anumang kasinungalingan na papabor dyan sa illegal squater sa tabi ng Ilog Pasig na mabantot!

^^ ang trabaho ng media ay iparating ang kung anumang kasinungalingan na papabor dyan sa illegal squater sa tabi ng Ilog Pasig na mabantot!

Tama! :bash:

Manila Times
Monday, June 09, 2008

RP faces ‘perfect economic storm’

Growth slowing, inflation rising


The Philippine economy faces a “perfect economic storm” of inflation at nine-year highs as food and oil prices soar, rising interest rates and slowing growth, analysts said.

They said inflation was unlikely to ebb soon after hitting an annual rate of 9.6 percent in May, leading the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to hike borrowing costs on Thursday for the first time since 2005.

“Throw in rising unemployment and you have the recipe for a perfect economic storm,” former Budget Secretary Ben Diokno told Agence France-Presse.

Official data showed food prices rose 14 percent in May as rice, the national staple, rocketed 31.7 percent and corn 27.1 percent. Petrol, kerosene and diesel prices have also surged.

“If inflation pressures persist into next year and it feeds into further price increases, or leads to an economic slowdown and job losses, then we may start to see unrest,” warned political risk consultant Roberto Herrera-Lim.

“It is when you combine the two—job losses and inflation—then things become troublesome,” Herrera-Lim, the Southeast Asian analyst for New York-based firm Eurasia Group, said in an interview published on the ABS-CBN television web site.

The government has already announced measures to ease the pain on the country’s poor, such as a one-time P500 ($11) subsidy to help pay electricity bills, which will cost around $45 million.

It has also announced a $68-million quarterly fuel subsidy for the public transport sector and loans to help convert buses and taxis to alternative fuels.

Meanwhile, farmers are to be given fertilizer subsidies and poor students scholarships, with the government going to the international debt market to raise $750 million to help pay for it all.

But at the same time economic growth is slowing, falling to an annual rate of 5.2 percent for the first quarter compared with 7.2 percent for all of 2007.

Last year’s economic performance was the best in 31 years and inflation in 2007 was just 2.8 percent.

The government has now abandoned hopes of balancing the Philippine budget this year for what would have been the first time in a decade.

“Giving away cash grants for food and electricity consumption, subsidies for farmers and the transport sector and borrowing from abroad to pay for them show desperation,” Diokno said. “It doesn’t help the situation in the long run.”

Rommel Macapagal, chairman of Westlink Global Equities, said the government’s handouts were short-term solutions.

“The problem is that it can do very little about rising fuel and food costs on its own because it is a worldwide problem.”

Other experts warned inflation could rise into double digits, potentially heralding still higher interest rates.

Cayetano Paderanga, an economist at the University of the Philippines, said it was too late to stop inflation hitting double-digits.

“The inflation rate will still go up before it goes down and there is a very good chance that it will breach 10 percent,” he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper, adding it would then be increasingly difficult to control.

“Ten percent is an important threshold. Beyond this level, the psychology of the people changes and it becomes more difficult to control their expectations of price increases.”

It could create a situation like “stagflation,” he said, where economic growth slows but inflation stays high, posing a severe test for policymakers.--AFP

I hope the government can do something about this...

Perfect storm brewing
Tribune

Of course a perfect economic storm is brewing. It has been for sometime, and most everybody knew it — including Gloria Arroyo and her economists, even if they refuse to admit it, as they continued on with their fairy tale of the country forging forward towards First World status.

Didn’t she claim, not too long ago, while crowing over the one quarter gross domestic product (GDP) of some 7 percent that she has put the economic house in order and all her successor will do is to enjoy the economic fruits of her “hard work?”

There was also that time when she equated the rising index of the stock market and the rising peso against the dollar as proof of sound fundamentals of a healthy economy. She says nothing of that these days, as the market is in the doldrums, with hot money leaving the country, along with the dip in economic growth and the peso falling.

Now as the economy deteriorates, and inflation shoots up to double digits, with the problem of stagflation coming into the economic picture, she points to world’s problem as the cause of the country’s economic ills.

But Gloria certainly knows that which Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno warns against is coming, and worse, also being expected is a confluence of events “that would add up to serious economic problems such as soaring oil and food prices, slowing world economy and rising unemployment.

He added: “What we have is the recipe for a perfect economic storm.”

She certainly knows it, which is why she has been on this “cash subsidy” binge, whether for rice, or for electricity bills. What's next fuel subsidy?

Notice, however, that the cash subsidies (a one time P500 cash subsidy for users of 100 kWh a month) is centered in Metro Manila, and not nationwide, when there are many more of the same marginalized consumers in balance Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

So why focus on Metro Manila?

Simple. Everything starts in Metro Manila, especially in matters of revolt. Edsa l and ll were mainly Manila-based. In other problems, more often than not, if these are the problems in the Visayas and Mindanao, they somehow do not make it to the national news. Unfair perhaps, because Metro Manila is not the Philippines, but for Gloria’s Malacañang propaganda points, it’s in Metro Manila that the impact — news wise — is felt.

But what Gloria and her image makers do not seem to realize is that this will boomerang on her when crunch time comes. She cannot forever give out cash subsidies for Meralco bills and subsidized rice to the marginalized. As things stand, her cash subsidy, it was made clear, was a one-shot deal.

The bigger problem is that Gloria has caused the poor to cement their mendicant attitude, which will be all the more difficult for her to calm down the poor when price increases drives them to a more deteriorated poverty situation, when they start expecting more doleouts from government to keep up with the high prices of fuel, food and everything else, as the rising inflation already indicates.

What then will she do when the poor — and worse, the middle class itself, as they are both being hit by these high prices and lowered their already low living conditions? Give out more cash subsidies that per person, is peanuts, considering the skyrocketing of food and fuel prices?

Gloria and her managers are definitely in hot economic water and it will get much worse in the coming months, as the economic growth deteriorates and inflation shoots up some more.

When the perfect economic storm comes about, and it certainly looks like it is coming soon, there will be major consequences as well as impact not just to the people but to our leaders as well.

Perfect storm brewing
Tribune

Of course a perfect economic storm is brewing. It has been for sometime, and most everybody knew it — including Gloria Arroyo and her economists, even if they refuse to admit it, as they continued on with their fairy tale of the country forging forward towards First World status.

But Gloria certainly knows that which Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno warns against is coming, and worse, also being expected is a confluence of events “that would add up to serious economic problems such as soaring oil and food prices, slowing world economy and rising unemployment.


But what Gloria and her image makers do not seem to realize is that this will boomerang on her when crunch time comes. She cannot forever give out cash subsidies for Meralco bills and subsidized rice to the marginalized. As things stand, her cash subsidy, it was made clear, was a one-shot deal.

The bigger problem is that Gloria has caused the poor to cement their mendicant attitude, which will be all the more difficult for her to calm down the poor when price increases drives them to a more deteriorated poverty situation, when they start expecting more doleouts from government to keep up with the high prices of fuel, food and everything else, as the rising inflation already indicates.

What then will she do when the poor — and worse, the middle class itself, as they are both being hit by these high prices and lowered their already low living conditions? Give out more cash subsidies that per person, is peanuts, considering the skyrocketing of food and fuel prices?

Gloria and her managers are definitely in hot economic water and it will get much worse in the coming months, as the economic growth deteriorates and inflation shoots up some more.

What's that slogan of PGMA....ekonomiya...ek..ek..hmmmm.....? She should get real! I'd been saying this all along, the economic growth that we experienced during the time of PGMA is empty (ampaw) because it is propelled by consumption.....as the prices are skyrocketing...consumption on the hand..keeps on diving.....

PGMA should be serious in coming up with real solutions to our economic problem and not those pa-cute dole outs and massive importation binge....

...What is PGMA doing to cushion the impact of runaway oil and food prices?

....i think she is still in the press release binge....and no REAL help in sight from her administration....:ohno:

Pessimism growing in RP
BY ALEXIS DOUGLAS B. ROMERO, Reporter
Business World
http://www.bworld.com.ph/BW061008/content.php?id=001

PERSONAL OUTLOOKS on the quality of life have fallen to a neutral level and expectations about the economy are now even more negative, a new Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed.

The independent survey research institution’s first-quarter Social Weather Survey, made exclusive to BusinessWorld, found 29% of Filipinos optimistic about their personal quality of life — barely changed from 30% — and another 23% pessimistic that it would get worse, a plunge from 16% previously.

The rest said they expected no change.

Net personal optimism thus hit +6, which the SWS described as a neutral figure that compares to previous double-digit positives ranging from +14 to +29 during the September 2006 to December 2007 period.

Pessimism about the Philippine economy, meanwhile, worsened to 45% from 37% previously and the ranks of the optimistic also thinned to 15% from 17% last year.

The net optimism score fell to -29 from -20. It had been neutral over September 2006 to September 2007, only falling to negative in December 2007.

A National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) official said the pessimism may have been triggered by rising prices and admitted that the same sentiment could extend to succeeding quarters.

An economist, meanwhile, said the government needed to focus on job generation and agriculture enhancement if it wanted to improve the quality of lives.

In terms of changes in the personal quality of life from a year ago, half of the respondents said it had worsened, compared to 45% previously. Those who said it had improved barely changed at 18% from 19%.

At -31, the "gainers-losers gap", as the SWS calls it, was a return to levels last seen in 2001-2005, when the gap was never less than 21 points and had even reached a high of 45.

By region, net personal optimism fell to -9 in March 2008 in Metro Manila from +9 in December 2007. The SWS said it used to be double-digit positives for one year during September 2006 to September 2007, ranging from +17 to +32.

In Mindanao, it fell by 15 points to +2 from +17; by six points in the Visayas, to +3 from +9; and by two points in the Balance of Luzon to +14 from +16.

In terms of socioeconomic classes, net personal optimism fell to a neutral +6 from +15 among the class D, and to -1 from +6 among class E. It fell slightly among classes ABC to +22 from +24.

"Most of the time in the past two decades, the middle-to-upper ABC classes have had an advantage over classes D and E in terms of personal optimism," the SWS said.

Net economic optimism, meanwhile, worsened in all areas: It fell to -35 in Metro Manila from -31, hit -37 in the Visayas from -17, was at -21 in Mindanao from -8, and tallied -28 in the Balance of Luzon from -24.

By classes, it was down to -33 from -20 for class D and -24 from -17 for class E. It was less negative among the ABC class, at -20 from -27.

"Optimism about the future economy is based on a question about the economy in general and not about oneself in particular," the SWS said.

"It is normal to be more optimistic about one’s own quality of life than about the economy as a whole."

The gainers-losers gap also widened in most areas: it went to -32 from net -14 in Mindanao, hit -42 from -23 in the Visayas, and rose to -44 from -35 in Metro Manila. It slightly improved in the Balance of Luzon to -23 from -31.

In terms of classes, the gainers-losers gap widened to -40 from -31 among class E, and to -32 from -25 among class D. It narrowed to a neutral -6 from -19 among the upper-to-middle classes ABC.

"Over the past three quarters, the chance of being a loser rather than a gainer has been much higher among classes E and D than among classes ABC," the SWS said.

Reactions

In a telephone interview, NAPC chief Domingo F. Panganiban said the pessimistic outlook "may have been caused by the higher prices of rice and oil. There may be more pessimists in the next quarter."

This could also have been triggered by the tendency to compare their situation with others, he said.

"They look at other people and they tell themselves that these people are more fortunate than them. These are the attitudes that must be eliminated," Mr. Panganiban said.

Leonor M. Briones, former National Treasurer and now an economist at the University of the Philippines, said she was not surprised by the poll findings.

"Among well-informed professionals in urban areas or those who are tuning in to the media, there is ground for pessimism," she said.

"People have felt the rising prices of gasoline. Those from the lower middle class who are just getting by may have been downgraded as pessimists."

Ms. Briones said she expects more Filipinos to be particularly pessimistic this month as the opening of classes required families to spend more.

"The government said economic fundamentals are sound but the problem is the social sectors that cannot wait [for the economic gains to trickle down to them]," she said.

"If economic fundamentals are alright, we can go on as usual but if some sectors cannot wait, we will really have a problem."

Mr. Panganiban, however, gave assurances that the government was staking steps to improve the lives of Filipinos.

"We will double our efforts to provide skills training. We will also continue with the microfinance program because there is a clamor for it," he said, adding that the government had been providing the poor access to cheaper rice.

Ms. Briones, however, said the government must do away with subsidies as these are not sustainable and may even be politicized.

"What will reduce poverty are jobs and not conditional cash transfers. We must also focus on enhancing our agriculture ... This is the time where business and the civil society move in to help the poorest of the poor," she said.

The first quarter Social Weather Survey was conducted from March 28 to 31. It used face to face interviews with 1.200 adults divided into random samples of 300 each in Metro Manila, the Balance of Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

Sampling error margins were plus or minus 3% for national percentages and plus or minus 6% for area percentages.

RP prepared to face global crisis: Palace
Business World
http://www.bworld.com.ph/BW061008/content.php?id=072

MALACAÑANG YESTERDAY maintained that the country is prepared to face the looming global economic slowdown as the government has implemented measures to mitigate the rising prices of commodities.

"With the unprecedented strongest economy for the past 28 quarters, we are ready to face any approaching economic dangers. Our vibrant economy is giving this government enough flexibility to cushion the effects of soaring global prices of oil and food," said Deputy Presidential Spokesman Anthony T. Golez, Jr.

"President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has immediately put in place urgent programs that will support and respond to the needs of our poor sector and the demands of other stakeholders in our country. For every perfect storm, there has to be good contingency plans and the resources to implement its plans."

On Sunday, economists warned that the country may be facing a "perfect economic storm" due to record high inflation and unemployment.

Political risk consultant Roberto Herrera-Lim said job losses and inflation would lead to unrest, while University of the Philippines (UP) economist Cayetano Paderanga, Jr. said inflation, which soared at a nine-year high of 9.6% last month, may breach 10%.

Partly due to rising oil prices, the growth dropped to 5.2% in the first quarter from a high of 7% in the same period last year.

These global developments prompted the government to cut its full-year economic growth target to 5.7%-6.5% from an earlier 6.3%-7% and to defer this year’s goal of a balanced budget to 2010.

It now expects to incur a deficit of around P75 billion or 1% of the gross domestic product (GDP) this year, as it plans to hike spending on infrastructure and social services to maintain growth. GDP is the measure of the country’s output in terms of goods and services in a year.

To cushion the impact of rising prices, the government has allotted P4 billion to three programs designed to provide assistance to the poor.

The funding will come from the value-added tax (VAT) collections from oil which the government expects to reach P18 billion this year.

Half of the funding, or P2 billion, was earmarked to subsidize part of the electric bills of four million small users of electricity while P1 billion was interned to help public transportation workers convert their vehicles to make them more energy-efficient. Another P1 billion was earmarked for scholarships and student loans.

But former Budget Secretary and now University of the Philippines economist Benjamin E. Diokno said giving subsidies does not address poverty in the long term.

Deputy Presidential Spokesman Lorelei C. Fajardo noted the need for the private sector and the government to join hands in addressing the impact of the global economic slump.

"This is the perfect time for all sectors to contribute their efforts be it in conservation or in production. We must as a people stand together to weather this storm," she said.

"With the cooperation of Congress, the executive is committed to seek innovative ways to improve production and ease the effects of the rising prices of fuel."

I am puzzled at how some people in this forum have so much time posting one negative comment after the other (not you 3cr, i appreciate your contribution here) when he/she should be hunkering down, preparing for the end of the Philippines.

I am puzzled at how some people in this forum have so much time posting one negative comment after the other (not you 3cr, i appreciate your contribution here) when he/she should be hunkering down, preparing for the end of the Philippines.

^^ I know what you mean. Contrarian views are most welcome if the opinions are constructive. However, some are just plain bashers, highlighting anything and everything negative, with nary a costructive comment presented, just to show his/her disgust against the government. :nuts:

I am puzzled at how some people in this forum have so much time posting one negative comment after the other (not you 3cr, i appreciate your contribution here) when he/she should be hunkering down, preparing for the end of the Philippines.


I agree with you dancethingy, too much negativeness in these thread. 3CR is our bestfriend and golden boy/girl here in the thread and he always delivers true and nothing but true economical news. But others do not cooperate... I believe those who has more to say negatively has the best chance of allowing our nation to keep on sinking. Pls. inspire us either..

Pessimism growing in RP
BY ALEXIS DOUGLAS B. ROMERO, Reporter
Business World
http://www.bworld.com.ph/BW061008/content.php?id=001

I am puzzled at how some people in this forum have so much time posting one negative comment after the other (not you 3cr, i appreciate your contribution here) when he/she should be hunkering down, preparing for the end of the Philippines.

I think this is perfect, @Ben. :D

Thanks for the confirmation guys, i was about to go stock up on rice. hahaha

By Gloria Ramos (http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/opinion/view/20080609-141652/Holiday-economics-blues)
Cebu Daily News
First Posted 15:10:00 06/09/2008

June 12, 1898 marked the birth of the nation when Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the sovereignty and independence of the Philippine Islands from Spanish colonial rule. However, our country was again subjected to American Rule from 1898 to 1942, occupied by Japanese forces during World War II, and again by the United States for a short period after the war. The country gained complete independence on July 4, 1946.

Initially, the nation’s Independence Day was held on July 4. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s father, President Diosdado Macapagal, moved it to June 12, the date on which the Philippines declared independence from Spain in 1898. Filipino-American Friendship Day was created in its place, and coincides with the United States’ observance of July 4 as Independence Day.

This year and in the years to come, the observation of Independence Day is moved to the Monday nearest June 12, unless June 12 happens to be a Monday. Today, June 9, the nation celebrates in advance Independence Day, which falls on Thursday. To the patriots and historians, it is blasphemous to trivialize a significant day in the life of the nation. They are asking, “Is nothing sacrosanct on this side of the world?”

Our country must be one of the few, if not the only, country that plays around with its Independence Day celebration. Thanks but no thanks to “holiday economics,” which Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo coined and instilled, to prevent disruption in production, boost domestic tourism and give extended furlough for employees. This practice of shifting the observance of national holidays has dire consequences to how people and future generations regard, observe and appreciate meaningful events that led us to where we are now – and where we are going.

Does our meek acceptance of this atrocious practice mean that the historical events that shaped us and our society are not meaningful to us anymore? Is this practice legal? Can the President issue a proclamation to change the observance of the dates of the regular holidays as mandated by law?

Sad but true, there is a law supporting this practice. In 2007, Republic Act No. 9492 was enacted amending a provision of Executive Order No. 292, otherwise known as the Administrative Code of 1987 issued by President Corazon Aquino, which enumerated the nation’s regular and special holidays. RA 9492 institutionalized GMA’s “holiday economics” and “rationalizes” (whatever it means) the celebration of regular holidays.

Thus, majority of the regular holidays are now celebrated on Mondays nearer the event. Except for New Year’s Day (January 1), Christmas Day (December 25), All Saints Day (November 1), and the last day of the year (December 31), all national holidays are moved to Mondays. Thus, June 12 celebration is now celebrated on June 9 because it is the Monday closer to June 12. If the holiday falls on a Sunday, the celebration will be on the Monday that follows.

The law further provides that for movable holidays, of which majority are so considered as such, the President shall issue a proclamation, at least six months prior to the holiday concerned, the specific date that shall be declared as a nonworking day.

Questions: When May 1 was celebrated this year on the day itself, a Thursday, upon the clamor of the labor sector, was RA 9492 violated? Or did the President issue a Proclamation, as required by said law, at least six months before the specific date that is declared as a nonworking day?

A closer examination of the law renders the questions moot and academic. The President has the last say on the matter by the phrase “unless otherwise modified by law, and or proclamation.” In other words, what the President says is the Law, as this practice has been so allowed for ages.

The practice is legal, but is it sound? Unlike other laws crafted by Congress, which specifies the public policy being protected and the rationale for the statutory enactment, Republic Act 9429 does not even explain why Section 26, Chapter 7, Book I of Executive Order No. 292 was amended. The proponent(s) must be hard-pressed to justify the same and could not say “no” to some sectors or personalities pushing hard for its existence.

What is the philosophy behind holiday economics? Is this not a philosophy anchored on purely selfish grounds: prioritization of our convenience, our own comfort, and our own wants and in the process discarding and destroying the sense of history, pride in our past and heritage and a sense of unity as a people, with shared aspirations and sentiments?

Is this practice not destroying the fabric of nationalism and good citizenship, for which people are expected to sacrifice personal interests for the good of society and country? Does the practice of changing the observance of Independence Day augur well in instilling among the citizens and the future generations a sense of patriotism and loyalty to the country? Can we justify personal convenience as basis to trifle with history? Are we keeping faith with the past? Lastly, is this a tradition that we can be proud to hand in to the future?

List of countries by future GDP estimates (nominal) for the next 5 years

Philippines
2008 180.332
2013 372.550

United States
2008 14,195.032
2013 17,862.630

World
2008 60,109.392
2013 81,978.052

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_future_GDP_estimates_(nominal)

me too i wanna see their houses ew mansion pala..ehheheh..!!

one time nakita q xa sa blog ni Rachel Alejandro when they performed at the residence of the Zobel de Ayala,,!! Simple lang anman xa but lookz very modern..!!

Napanood q rin last night sa episode ni Ms. Cheche Lazaro "Gintong Pamana" ang speech ni Don Jaime regarding sa mga "ancient jewelries" na naka display sa Ayala Museum..!!

Hmmmp..ano kaya ginawa nila binili nila un..or don8tion ng mga kaibigang nakabili..!! grabeh some of the pieces specially the "Golden Belt'" was a 2000 year old item..!! emagine ang value nun..!!

Philippine Inflation Can Be Reduced If the Power Rate is lowered.

Ibaba ang Presyo ng Kuryente sa Pilipinas


Relief via cheaper power
http://www.bworld.com.ph/BW061108/content.php?id=001
A GOVERNMENT panel tasked with drawing up plans to mitigate the impact of rising energy costs yesterday proposed a package of measures it said would provide Filipinos relief within the year.
Speaking to reporters following a Cabinet meeting, Finance Secretary Margarito B. Teves said the proposals, if implemented, could reduce power rates by an average of P0.64 per kilowatt-hour (kWh).
"We may reduce electricity rates by about P0.64 per kWh. Over the longer period, [Energy] Secretary Angelo [T.] Reyes will continue to review initiatives to lower electricity costs," Mr. Teves said.
The Finance chief said the task force had agreed to recommend:
asking distribution utilities to absorb the value-added tax (VAT) on system losses;
a review of the cap on systems losses to lessen the burden for consumers;
that state-owned National Power Corp. (Napocor) offer flat rates of P4.11/kWh to Manila Electric Co. (Meralco); and
ensuring that local government units (LGUs) allocate part of their tax share for lifeline subsidies.
Mr. Teves said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was supportive of proposals.
"It seems that the President supported these measures so she asked us to come here to convey to you (the media) what transpired during our Cabinet meeting. These were the recommendations we presented and [they] were largely approved by the President and the Cabinet," he said.
Asked to comment, Meralco spokesman Elpi Cuna said the firm needed to see the details.
"I have not seen the proposals. These would have to be studied first," he said.
Mr. Teves said that once distribution utilities agree to shoulder the VAT on systems loss, consumers can expect a reduction of around P0.07/kWh in their power bills.
"The VAT on systems loss is presently absorbed by consumers. What we would like to see, with the negotiations taking place between government and distribution utilities, is for them to absorb the VAT and consider treating that amount as part of their operational expense. In other words, the VAT that we should have collected would go to distribution utilities."
Systems loss involves electricity lost either from pilferage or technical inefficiencies. This is initially shouldered by the utility and passed on to consumers.
Expenses directly related to business operations are allowable deductions from the gross income subject to the general tax.
Cabinet Secretary Ricardo L. Saludo said the government hopes that distribution utilities begin absorbing the VAT on systems losses in July.
Meanwhile, Mr. Teves said the task force would be studying if the cap on systems loss, currently at 9.5%, could be lowered to reduce costs for consumers.
"The second proposal is to review the cap on recoverable systems loss ... Anything in excess of 9.5% is absorbed by distribution utilities. We will see if that cap can be further reduced, from 9.5 to, let’s say, 8.0% or 7.5%," he said.
The Finance chief said that for every percentage point reduction, the rate charged to consumers could be cut by 6.5 centavos/kWh in Luzon and by five centavos in the Visayas and Mindanao.
"We think this can be decided upon by the Energy Regulatory Commission. At the same time the IRR (implementing rules and regulations) of EPIRA (Electric Power Industry Reform Act) have to be changed and this can be done by the Joint Congressional Power Commission, whichever comes earlier."
Offering Meralco a flat generation rate, meanwhile, will also benefit consumers as the Lopez-led utility is currently buying power at a much higher price from its independent power producers (IPPs).
"Currently, the prices that Meralco pay for power are quite high as it is buying from its IPPs at peak hours. If Napocor’s offer is P4.11/kWh, of course this can be passed on to consumers," he said.
The generation rate of Napocor plants in Luzon was said to average P4.06/kWh hour while Meralco’s IPP purchase price was said to be averaging P4.44/kWh.
Mr. Teves said the task force also recommended that LGUs allot 80% of their tax share to provide subsidies to lifeline users — those using less than 100 kWh monthly.
"This measure is envisioned to reduce the lifeline subsidies being shouldered by non-lifeline users. The President’s instruction is to see to it that the LGUs are implementing it. So Secretary Reyes through his network will try to determine the extent of implementation of the national wealth tax," he said.
Lifeline users are currently being subsidized by industrial and commercial users.
Mr. Reyes, meanwhile, told the Palace briefing that the government was also considering the following:
That the Philippine Economic Zone Authority implement open access by the middle of next month, which he said would provide relief to locators as this foster competition. Open access is a regime where users can choose their electricity supplier.
Renegotiate existing government contracts with IPPs. The Philippine Independent Power Producers Association has opposed this, saying it would foster uncertainty among investors.
Implement a nationwide energy conservation plan. This includes shifting to compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) from incandescent bulbs. Mr. Reyes said the Asian Development Bank is willing to provide the country $30 million to promote the use of CFLs nationwide.

New threat to food system: pricey fertilizer
Soaring fertilizer prices pose threat to global food system
By Russell Blinch and Roberta Yahoo News
Mon Jun 9, 8:37 PM ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080610/wl_nm/food_fertilizer_shortage_dc


WASHINGTON/WINNIPEG (Reuters) - It powered the Green Revolution and helped save millions from starvation, but now one of the most important tools on the farm is being priced out of reach for many of the world's growers.

With food prices soaring and stocks thinning, the world is in need of bumper harvests but once one of most bountiful of commodities, fertilizer, is becoming scarce and expensive.

It's estimated that one third of the protein consumed by humans is a result of fertilizer. So high prices and spot shortages are yet another stress on the world's ailing food system.

"You can't really expect a bigger harvest if you will not use fertilizer, but the cost is killing us," rice farmer Jaime Tadeo in the Philippines told Reuters, adding that a bag of fertilizer now sells for nearly 1,800 pesos, or $43, up from less than 1,000 pesos a year ago.

"It's totally out of our control because if prices of oil continue to shoot up, the prices of fertilizers will also increase. I am afraid, many of us would not be able to afford it."

Fertilizers are like vitamins for soil and consists of three main types, nitrogen, potash and phosphate.

Because some fertilizers such as nitrogen require energy to produce they track energy prices. But other kinds are just in high demand, even though experts say the shortages are not due to a lack of supply.

Last month China agreed to pay more than triple what they did a year ago to get hold of tight supplies of potash, sending the shares of global fertilizer makers to record levels.

China, the world's biggest import market for the nutrient, will pay $650 to $670 a tonne for the product, analysts estimated.

"With the intense pressure on global food production and continued growth in potash demand, this is the reality for our industry for the foreseeable future," said Bill Doyle, chief executive of Canada's Potash Corp, the world's top producer.

The rising price is a burden on rich and poor farmers alike as they represent a big investment upfront, despite high world prices for crops. If all goes well, a farmer can earn $3 for every $1 invested in fertilizer.

"We're all hoping Mother Nature cooperates and we can fill the bins, because ...we've got a lot on the line," said Robert McLean, a farmer in Canada's grain belt as he hauled a tractor-trailer load of canola harvested last fall.

Phosphate prices are up 50 percent over last year at C$570 per tonne when McLean, who grows wheat, barley and canola in south-central Manitoba, booked supplies in January.

Farmers who waited to buy until spring have had to cough up as much as C$1,230 per tonne, McLean said.

"We were hearing reports it was going to go up quite a bit. Nobody envisioned that it would go up 100 percent. It's just god-awful ugly, I think is a good way to express it,"

With enough rain and heat, fertilizer will help farmers reap historically high grain prices. But poor yields would leave them struggling to pay for next year's supplies.

GREEN REVOLUTION

Fertilizers were seen crucial in the Green Revolution of the past few decades where farmers, especially in poor countries, were able to dramatically increase crop yields.

The Green Revolution took root in the 1940s and newly developed inorganic fertilizers -- leaving rudimentary additives such as manure in the dust -- helped spark an explosion in food production, and saved countries such a India from famine.

World fertilizer use grew more than 11 times from a mere 14.5 million tonnes in 1950 to 169.4 million in 2007, while population ballooned from 2.5 billion to 6.6 billion.

But now with high fertilizer and fuel prices, some worry many of the gains could unravel, putting strain on all farmers but especially in the developing world.

"This has been a significant problem for the low income farmer," said Rajiv Shah, who manages the agriculture development program at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has extensive aid programs in Africa.

He said fertilizer use has long been a challenge in Africa, where farmers use about one tenth of what is applied by American farmers.

But now the problems are worsening with farmers forced to use fertilizers even more sparingly. They are also facing shortages and dealing with unscrupulous dealers selling poor quality products. All in all they have a lot on the line this season.

"If it doesn't rain that year, you can lose your entire crop and your family will struggle to get enough to eat," Shah said in a telephone interview.

In the sultry, sprawling palm oil plantations of Malaysia, which produces one of the developing world's most important cooking oils, shortages of fertilizers are already being felt.

"The fertilizer shortage is a huge problem," said Martin Bek-Nielsen of United Plantations, who sees it as inevitable that some farmers will have to cut back.

"Most plantations will not cut back, but small holders who have limited sources will reduce input. The impact on yields will not be immediate, it will be felt in a year or so."

Some believe one possible solution will be for higher government subsidies for poor farmers.

Pedro Sanchez of the Earth Institute at Columbia University said he thinks heavy subsidies for fertilizers is the best way for the farmer to cope with the "worrying" prices.

"The way they are coping is they are getting subsidized fertilizers and improved seeds," he said. "And they are basically tripling their yields of their basic food crops, like corn. And they are having surpluses."

(Reporting by Russ Blinch and Roberta Rampton; Additional reporting Naveen Thukral in Kuala Lumpur and Manny Mogato in Manila; Editing by Eddie Evans)

‘Serious risks imperil growth’
Business Mirror
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/06122008/headlines01.html

RISKS to agricultural growth, a continued weakening of manufacturing, a decline in government consumption and the fragile state of exports and imports top the threats to the Philippine economy’s ability to sustain growth this year, as serious global challenges are seen to prevail, the congressional think tank has said in a report.

“External and domestic downside risks such as the weakening of the US economy, the persistent surge in global fuel prices, rising inflation and the continuous appreciation of the peso have constrained GDP growth during the period,” said the report of the Congressional Planning and Budget Department (CPBD), commenting on the first-quarter performance of the economy.

It noted that as a result of these constraints, “the government has already scaled down its full-year GDP target for 2008 to a range of 5.7 percent to 6.5 percent.”

The first quarter has reflected the slowdown from the impact of these risks, with GDP growing at 5.2 percent from a 7.0-percent growth in the same period last year.

“On this note, the CPBD would like to cite key issues and concerns facing the Philippine economy that should be considered by policymakers in order to sustain the growth momentum over the long term,” said the report, endorsed to lawmakers by CPBD director general Rodolfo Vicerra.

The risks to farm growth, said the report, will likely be topped by the La Niña phenomenon, “which according to Pagasa will last until June this year and would affect the eastern section of the country.” The CPBD also noted the high cost of farm inputs, such as crude-based fertilizers, and the high prices agricultural commodities.

Agriculture, fisheries and forestry, which accounted for 19.1 percent of total GDP, slid down by 3.0 percent in the first quarter of 2008 from 4.0 percent in 2007.

“Notable in the industry growth,” said the report, is the “lackluster performance of the manufacturing subsector,” which makes up 22 percent of the total GDP and “is considered to be the main driver for job-creation/job-generation.”

In the first quarter of 2008, manufacturing slowed down to 2.3 percent growth, compared to 4.1 percent in the same period last year, “due largely to the weakening of the US market, and the high cost of production inputs such as fuel, electricity, among others.”

The economic stimulus provided by the May 2007 elections has since waned, and government consumption expenditure (GCE) contracted by 1 percent in the first quarter of 2008 from 9.5-percent expansion a year ago, said CPBD. It also noted the 9.5-percent decline of public construction during the period.

The delay in the passage of the 2008 national budget may have also hampered the government’s plan to prime the economy through infrastructure and social development programs, said the CPBD.

Citing the fragile trade data, the report noted that total exports dropped sharply by 11.1 percent in the first quarter of 2008, from 10.8-percent increase in the same period a year ago. Merchandise exports that have huge local content, which could be a major source for foreign exchange earnings, plummeted during the period, noted the report, and citing them as: garments (down by 8.4 percent), shrimps and prawns (down by 32.4 percent), and desiccated coconut (down by 18.4 percent).

“The huge decline in exports is attributed to the sustained appreciation of the peso, the weakening US economy—which is a major export market of the Philippines—and the continuous increase in the cost of production inputs, i.e. i.e. fuel, electricity, wages, etc.”

Meanwhile, total imports plummeted by 6.6 percent in the first quarter of 2008, after it contracted by 1.8 percent last year. The drop in exports—dominated mainly by electronics and semiconductors with high import content—influenced the downtrend in total imports. The decline in imports is indicative of a weaker economic activity in the future, particularly manufacturing, said the report.

The Congress think tank warned the 5.2-percent GDP growth recorded in the first quarter of 2008 “is a manifestation of the inherent weaknesses of the Philippine economy. Analysts have even speculated that the worse is not over yet and negative sentiments on the Philippine economy may still persist until the end of the year.”

It noted how, despite the record high fuel prices and the perceived slowdown of industrialized nations, “some of our neighboring countries in Asia have actually exceeded expectations and have grown faster than the Philippines in the first quarter of 2008.” Thailand grew 6.0 percent, Indonesia 6.3 percent, Singapore 67 percent, Malaysia 7.1 percent and Vietnam 7.4.

Given these, the CPBD urged the government to sustain structural reforms “in order to achieve a sustainable and broad-based growth that would ultimately redound to the improvement in the lives of Filipinos.”

Among others, it pitched the following policy advocacies:

• The increase from 2 percent to 5 percent of GDP of the government’s allocation for infrastructure upgrading—i.e paved roads, rural electrification, potable water supply, and school buildings, among others; and the grant of incentives for greater private-sector participation in infrastructure development. The oversight of infrastructure projects should be intensified to prevent corruption in government transactions, particularly, through the passage of the Freedom of Access to Information Act;

• The enactment of the Indigenous and Renewable Energy Bill to promote the development and utilization of indigenous alternative energy sources such as wind power, solar energy, hydropower, geothermal and biomass, among others;

• Efforts to stimulate innovation, harness new technologies, and invest in research and development in order to fuel growth in agriculture and other local industries. Specifically, through the passage of a Technology Transfer Law;

• More financial support for agricultural development coming from the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (Acef), to be channeled towards projects with high economic returns—farm-to-market roads, irrigation, post-harvest equipment, etc. Relatedly, the CPBD is pushing for passage of the Farmland as Collateral Bill and enactment of a National Land Use Policy;

• Removal of barriers to productivity and fostering competition in order to reduce vulnerabilities and sustain the growth momentum;

• In the energy sector, the proposal to amend the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) should be geared towards the urgent implementation of open access and retail competition, which will empower electricity end-users to choose where to source their power requirements;

• Passage of a National Competition Policy to promote a level playing field among industries and rid the country of harmful monopolies, cartels and anti-competitive activities.

Asean think tank to focus on ‘3 pillars’
By Estrella Torres
Business Mirror
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/06122008/headlines010.html

MEMBERS of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), along with their East Asian dialogue partners, have established a regional think tank that will provide intellectual and capacity-building support for the creation of an Asean single-market economy by 2015.

Asean secretary-general Dr. Surin Pitsuwan said the regional think tank, called Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia (Eria), will focus on the three pillars of the Asean economic community that seeks to deepen integration, narrow the development gaps and promote sustainable development in East Asia.

Among the first issues to be addressed by the Asean think tank are the escalating oil and food prices, energy security and infrastructure development.

The establishment of the think tank was witnessed by members of its governing board at an inaugural meeting last week at the Asean secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia. The board comprises the Asean secretary general and the eminent individuals from the government, business and academia of the 16 countries participating in the East Asia Summit (EAS).

Dr. Surin emphasized the role of Eria in building the intellectual foundation for East Asian integration and its contribution to the establishment of the Asean economic community by 2015 in terms of “policy-oriented and strategic economic research and capacity building.”

He said the regional think tank “would help to create the world’s largest business space in a vibrant and more integrated East Asia.”

The Asean secretary general emphasized that the “Asean economic integration is the key to wider regional integration.”

“Asean’s role as a driver of regionalism and a hub creating linkages among Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand has brought the best out of their individual contributions to East Asian community building,” said Dr. Surin in a statement issued by the Asean secretariat.

Participating countries in the East Asia Summit include Asean members the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Brunei and Burma/Myanmar and their regional dialogue partners Japan, South Korea, China, Australia, India and New Zealand.

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said Eria is designed to be a think tank, similar to what the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is to the developed world.

The Japanese government will finance the operations of Eria for its first decade.

Dr. Dinh Van An, president of Central Institute for Economic Management of Vietnam, was elected as the first chairperson of the Eria governing board for the first three years. At the same time, Hidetoshi Nishimura, special assistant to the chairman of Japan External Trade Organization on Eria Matters, was appointed executive director of the Asean think tank.

Proof of the pudding
Business Mirror
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/06122008/opinion01.html


Questions have been asked on whether the government is really intent on cutting excessively high electricity rates in view of recent developments that suggest it may be more interested in playing politics and pandering to the peanut gallery than in advancing consumer welfare...


THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) recently ordered the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the country’s biggest distribution utility, to refund customers P2.7 billion in meter deposits which they have been paying since the 1980s when applying for electric service.

But it’s not just Meralco but also other distribution utilities and electric cooperatives nationwide that should now refund their customers for these meter deposits, plus interest. What the ERC order means is that Meralco—along with other power distributors—should not have charged these deposits in the first place.

The ERC order is one small step forward in bringing down electricity rates at a time when the nation is already reeling from high food and fuel prices. There’s also a clamor for power utilities to reduce or even scrap system-loss charges that add up to a considerable chunk of consumers’ monthly electricity bills, and that’s probably what the ERC should look into next.

Questions have been asked on whether the government is really intent on cutting excessively high electricity rates in view of recent developments that suggest it may be more interested in playing politics and pandering to the peanut gallery than in advancing consumer welfare.

At that televised hearing of the Joint Congressional Power Commission, officials of the Joint Foreign Chambers who had written the President to ask for the full implementation of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) were instead called the worst possible names and told in no uncertain terms to leave the country, if they could not stand what’s going on here.

It was ironic that the bullying was done by proadministration senators, led by Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, who surely could have found a more civil way of telling off the foreigners—who, after all, have long been asking the government to do something to lower electricity rates. The saving grace was the cool, even-tempered censure by Sen. Joker Arroyo, who at least took pains to explain to the foreign chambers that it wasn’t their badgering for lower rates that got the lawmakers’ goat, but their implicitly accusing senators of attempting to impair contracts (with independent power producers) by the pending initiative to amend the Epira.

Senator Arroyo asked the chambers if the foreign businessmen in their respective countries meddled as blatantly in the work of their parliament as they did in the Philippines. While lawmakers are open to hearing out their concerns, the act of addressing to President Arroyo the letter-appeal not to amend Epira and just fully enforce it as it is, as if with an implied request for the Executive to order Congress around, was the one that reaped the senators’ ire, according to Senator Arroyo.

Politics is also signaled in the attempt by the state-run pension firm Government Service Insurance System to wrest control of Meralco. Last week Makati Business Club issued a statement that it “stands firmly against the use of state power to intimidate the private sector and vigorously opposes the nationalization of the electric-power industry. Reverse-privatization is the worst way to bring down the cost of electricity, as state-owned enterprises in this country are vulnerable to political patronage and are inefficient due to lack of competition. . . Damaging public institutions in this way is plainly bad governance. It sends the signal to the private sector that this administration is prepared to sacrifice public institutions and its own reform program for political objectives.”

If the government really wants to lower electricity rates, it should look no farther than its own backyard, because that’s where the big chunk of our padded monthly electricity bills comes from. It must look at all components of the power rates—generation to transmission and distribution, as well as system loss and taxes—and take firm steps to cut the rates in each component. That’s the rational way to do it, not by finger-pointing and playing politics at the expense of consumers both big and small.

The real peril

AFTER Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Finance Secretary Gary Teves unveiled to reporters the initial recommendations of a Cabinet panel tasked to look for ways to give people relief from high electricity rates and prices, among other things. As this paper’s Palace reporter summed it up, the options included subsidies, inducements, renegotiations and options that, in the long term, are seen to redound to the tax take of the government and invite more investments if it forgoes these tax revenues for the time being.

Here’s how Teves explained the impact of the package: “Through these immediate measures, we can possibly reduce cost of electricity by about 64 centavos per kWh [kilowatt-hour] . . . A number of these are still subject to negotiations, but you can see the direction and the potential of the savings within the year, and then there are more savings as we move along if we implement the other measures in the long term.”

Among those approved by President Arroyo is for Meralco to buy power from the National Power Corp. at a flat rate of P4.11/kWh, which is seen to reduce rates by P0.58/kWh. Teves said this “would have an immediate impact on the cost of electricity within the year.”

Another recommendation is to negotiate with distribution utilities to absorb the value-added tax (VAT) on system loss, now shouldered by consumers, by treating that amount as “deductible from their operating expense.”

The panel also recommended: (1) enforcing open access inside economic zones by mid-July, considering that “Meralco is now inclined to withdraw the injunction case against the Philippine Export Zone Administration” on open access; (2) reducing the cap on system loss recoverable from consumers, now at 9.5 percent with every 1-percent reduction in system loss passed on to consumers seen to cut power rates by P0.065/kWh in Luzon, and P0.05 in Visayas and Mindanao; (3) a renegotiation with the Malampaya consortium of a possible reduction of the take-or-pay volume, or the gas price; and (4) a review of the rules affecting rates in the wholesale Electricity Spot Market.

The local government units (LGUs) are also being targeted with regard to the use of the national wealth tax. The Palace position is that 80 percent of the national wealth tax being provided to LGUs should be used to lower electricity rates. “This measure is envisioned to reduce the lifeline subsidies being shouldered by nonlifeliners,” explained Teves.

Offhand, the Executive’s power-initiatives list deserves serious consideration. Yet, what is troubling is the parallel list of initiatives to beat inflation, which smack too much of one-time doles (for fertilizers, for food) that could cause good money being thrown away recklessly down a bottomless pit of want, as prices keep surging and no sustainable measures are taken. In the end, we may simply end up with more new debt—since not all of the measures will be funded by the VAT windfall—yet remain in greater want than ever.

MABUHAY ANG PILIPINAS!!!

http://anton.blogs.com/flag/large.jpg


MABUHAY ANG PILIPINO!!

MABUHAY ANG ARAW NG KALAYAAN!!

:horse:

J.P.

MABUHAY ANG PILIPINAS!!!

http://anton.blogs.com/flag/large.jpg


MABUHAY ANG PILIPINO!!

MABUHAY ANG ARAW NG KALAYAAN!!

:horse:

J.P.

I just want to share my opinion.

everybody were very good explaining why we are poor and i mostly agree with almost everything but I don't really think that the church is a big issue , i think is our fault not god's spokesmen ones.

I'm not very religious I don't really believe in this church or other churches i think they are just bunch of politicians dressed in holy skirts and as regular politicians they cost a lot in term of money !

Anyway why blame these people ? I mean they are the ones that make love with your partner every given night , day and afternoon ??
They are just there saying don't abort give your seed a chance right ?

I understand that sex is quite good especially without condom but you can't have always what you want , do it without in safest days and do it with it when is not safe just count the days is not that hard afterall !

The lack of responsibility of some people is really the issue . Why making 6 children when you can barely feed yourself ? That's not church fault ?
Think about how much cost a child these days ?
They are horrible the first 2 years , expensive food , doctors almost everyweek ,buying clothes every month beacause they grow really fast , school fee and when they are 10 they whant an Iphone !!! ohhhhh :bash:

And you are making 6 of them ??? and you blame the church because you are too drunk almost every night and you forget to wear a condom ?

Despite our shortcomings as a people and as a nation, despite the massive poverty that stalks our land...this country is the most beautiful for me and worth dying for....:)

I always believe that we can surmount any problems that come our way as long as we Pinoys are united....:)

Happy Philippine Independence Day!:banana:


MABUHAY ANG BANSANG PLIPINO!MABUHAY ANG PILIPINAS!!:cheers:

Thursday, June 12, 2008
Manila Times

Foreign investors dump RP

By: Likha C. Cuevas-Miel Reporter

AMID widening risk aversion, foreign investors have pulled their money out of the local stock market in the first five months this year, reversing last year’s exuberant buying of shares of listed companies.

Based on data from the Philippine Stock Exchange, foreign money fled the country as shown by the P18.8-billion worth of net foreign selling from January to May. This was a huge turnaround from the P46.56 billion in net foreign buying during the same period last year.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Gov. Diwa C. Guinigundo said risk aversion among foreign investors propelled fund managers to sell down their holdings in the country as the US subprime mortgage crisis deepened. From January to May 18, the BSP recorded a net outflow of $95 million.

In January, the BSP saw “hot money” amounting to $236.96 million leaving the country for the biggest sell down to date. The following month, $370.87 million entered the country but investors started selling again in March as net outflows reached $197 million. A month later, another $49.8 million worth of portfolio investments left.

This ties up with the PSE data showing the largest selling in January at P11.9 billion, of which P1.4 billion bailed out in January 17 alone.

“Since October [last year], the outlook on equities was bearish. In January, they continued selling (which) is an indication that the prospects for 2008 are not good,” Jose L. Vistan of AB Capital Securities told The Manila Times.

The sell down caused the peso to weaken against the dollar, as portfolio investment inflows are a major boost to the local currency. The peso, which held its ground in the first two months this year due to the dollar’s weakness, has since fallen, ending Wednesday at 44.430 against the greenback.

The buying spree in the first few months last year was spurred by the generally optimistic environment as the domestic economy expanded amid benign interest rates and healthy corporate earnings.

“However, there was already warnings of a sub prime [meltdown] but [investors] chose to ignore it [since] the warning was not loud enough,” Vistan said.

Ric Puig of ATR KimEng Securities said that foreign fund managers might have embarked on a selling program during the period to give returns to their clients. He didn’t rule out general risk aversion, as investors tried to minimize their losses from emerging markets like the Philippines.

Puig however said that trading volumes have already steadied, which is a sign that financial markets have calmed down. Last year, trading volume hit an average of P6 billion, a far cry from the current P1.5 billion to P2.5 billion, he added.

On Wednesday, share prices closed down 2.5 percent due to continued concerns about inflation and weakness in the US economy, dealers said.

The composite index fell 66.67 points to 2,579.28 points. The all-share index fell 1.67 percent to 1,639.08 points.

Only 23 stocks advanced compared with 87 decliners and 44 unchanged. Turnover fell to P2.797 billion compared with P4.25 billion in the previous trading day.

The peso slipped to 44.43 to the dollar, from 44.425 the day before.

“Inflation is still a major concern even though oil prices have fallen slightly,” said Rommel Macapagal of Westlink Global Equities Inc.

“The past few weeks, we have been looking for directions and the direction we got was the big drop on Friday in the US market,” he said.

“The next support level is 2,550. Hopefully some bargain hunting could come in and lift us above the 2,600 level,” he said.

Telecom giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. fell 4.1 percent to P2,335. Top conglomerate Ayala Corp. dropped 4.9 percent to P290. Bank of the Philippine Islands fell 1.01 percent to P49.

San Miguel Corp. saw its A shares, available only to Filipinos, fall 2.4 percent to P40.50 while its B shares, which are available to foreigners, were unchanged at P41.
--With AFP

We should be challenge from all negative news like this one....this will remind us that we should always be on guard and strengthen our capabilities.....

...This situation in the PSE can be remedied if more Pinoys invest in the stock market and not in pyramiding and non-productive investments (i.e. jewelries, real estate, condominiums and cars)

Opinion
A worrisome suicidal tendency
AS I WRECK THIS CHAIR By William M. Esposo
Thursday, June 12, 2008

I’ve kept this observation to myself until now.

However, too many events have unfolded to worry me that Madame Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) may just have a suicidal dark side to her character. National leaders with a suicidal dark side tend to bring their country down. They inflict immense suffering on their people.

The best example of one such suicidal national leader was Adolf Hitler who recklessly plunged Germany into World War II barely 20 years after Germany lost World War I.

German Blitzkrieg may have covered up the reality of Germany’s no-win situation with a series of initial victories. France fell and Great Britain may have been overrun too if not for the British advantage of being an island separated from the European continent.

However, instead of negotiating for a peace settlement after the German defeat in Stalingrad and in Africa, Hitler dug in and a year later even launched a desperate last offensive which was to be known as the Battle of the Bulge. This was a move that definitely reeked of suicidal death wish.

Again, Hitler could have prevented the massive destruction of Germany right after the Allied Forces made their successful Normandy landing on June 6, 1944. After the Allied defeat in Operation Market Garden (September 1944) in Belgium, that would have been a good time to go for a peace settlement — right after your enemy has tasted what you can inflict on him.

But again, Hitler ignored the facts and pursued the war even if he was already running out of soldiers and had to resort to enlisting teenagers. These were all acts of a national leader with a suicidal tendency who was prepared to have his people share his death bed with him.

As a result, German cities were unnecessarily razed. Over half a million Germans were killed by the Allied bombings. In the end, Hitler committed suicide.

Other than dictatorial tendencies, GMA bears similar Hitler traits. Lying is one of them. Failure to accept facts (and persistence to live in a fantasy world) is another. Then there is the megalomania ‑ in the case of GMA the desire to be projected in the best light, even if all pretense, and to display superiority over her minions, like berating and humiliating them in public.

Most of all, both Hitler and GMA have the ability to assemble thugs around them. You can easily find the counterparts of Himmler, Goebbels, Goering, Eichmann, et al in GMA’s inner circle, operators and her Congress and Senate defenders.

She occasionally calls for an all-out war in Mindanao, a war we can hardly afford. She persistently pursues a failed anti-Communist insurgency program while disregarding a successful anti-insurgency formula. She places the country at the mercy of superpowers like the US and now China. She irrationally adheres to globalization and World Bank policies despite its disastrous effects on our economy. These are some of the more glaring instances that lead me to fear that GMA, like Hitler, could be suicidal.

It may not be a conscious attempt to destroy us all. Suicides are psychiatric disorders and those who take their own lives are rarely in their normal selves. But if true, the effect will be just as deadly as what Hitler did to Germany.

How else do we also consider the recent bullying of the members of the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce (JFCC) during last Friday’s televised inquiry into the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA). Do you think that these foreign investors were treated that way without the blessings of GMA?

And yet, these JFCC members, especially those who are investors in the power sector, are badly needed if we are to avert the expected 2010 power crisis. So why treat them that way?

She is the first to emphasize the need to attract foreign investors. In fact, she uses this as her main reason for not addressing those mega issues like the ZTE scandal and the Spratly’s sell-out to China. So, how else could this recent maltreatment of foreign investors be interpreted but as another manifestation of suicidal tendency?

How about the recent appointment of former Pampanga Governor Mark Lapid as officer-in-charge of the PTA (Philippine Tourism Authority)? Mark Lapid had such a lackluster term as Pampanga governor. He has a reported pending case in the Ombudsman. His educational background is at best suspect.

So why appoint such a questionable person to head a vital cog in the government agency that shepherds the now booming Tourism industry?

Here is one healthy and fast developing Philippine industry. It has attracted three times the number of tourists we have been getting since the 1980s. It has been creating many jobs where most of our other industries have been downsizing. Still a mere fragment of what our neighbors in ASEAN have been registering ‑ we can easily double our in-bound tourists annually.

Do you think Mark Lapid is the man who will bring our tourism potential into full fruition? Or will he be the man who will derail our tourism momentum?

Hmmmm.....

Business
BOC exceeds May collection target by P1B
By Iris C. Gonzales
Thursday, June 12, 2008

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) exceeded its monthly tax collection target for the month of May, mainly because of skyrocketing oil prices, a ranking official said yesterday.

BOC deputy commissioner Reynaldo Umali said initial figures show that the agency’s collections for May “look positive.”

The BOC, the government’s second biggest revenue earner next to the Bureau of Internal Revenue, collected roughly P22 billion in May, or P1 billion higher than its revenue goal for the month of P21 billion.

In May last year, the BOC collected P17.53 billion.

“I don’t have the final figure but it looks positive and I guess our collections particularly from oil will help us get a positive performance for May,” Umali told reporters yesterday on the sidelines of the confirmation of Finance Secretary Margarito Teves by the Commission on Appointments.

Higher oil prices have allowed the BOC to collect more during the period due to higher collections from oil tariffs.

Aside from high oil prices, the BOC is also benefiting from the weakening of the peso against the dollar.

The peso is currently trading at P44 to the greenback but the BOC had assumed a P42-to-the-dollar rate in setting its target.

Estimates from the Finance department showed that every one peso appreciation or deprecation of the peso translates to a corresponding increase or decrease in BOC collections, amounting to P2.7 billion.

In April, the BOC generated P21.7 billion in revenues or 26.4 percent from the P17.2 billion recorded in the same period last year.

This was also higher than the target of P20 billion.

This allowed the government to post a budget surplus of P25.8 billion in April, the highest April surplus recorded since 1986.

The latest figure is more than double the P12 billion surplus recorded in the same month last year.

BOC revenues from January to April, meanwhile, improved by 23 percent to P70.6 billion from the P57.4 billion recorded in the same period last year.

^^^^

VIVA Filipinas!

I agree with you dancethingy, too much negativeness in these thread. 3CR is our bestfriend and golden boy/girl here in the thread and he always delivers true and nothing but true economical news. But others do not cooperate... I believe those who has more to say negatively has the best chance of allowing our nation to keep on sinking. Pls. inspire us either..

Indeed, we should always keep an eye on creative solutions. The oil price crisis right now for example is an opportunity to fix the traffic congestion in the Philippines that has made the daily lives of millions of Filipinos miserable and expensive.

^^^^

In times of crisis, we should work harder. Let us support President Arroyo in waging a war against:

- corruption
- traffic congestion

it's such an irony that other countries recognizes PGMA's drive to pump up the economy, yet we fail to appreciate her efforts. Siguro mentality nating mga pinoy na tingnan yung mga pagkakamali ng ating kapwa, and exaggerate things to make it more sensational. Like yung ginagawa ng abs-cbn. They magnify every bit of controversy regarding arroyo's administration in lieu with their profitability and control in politics..

it's such an irony that other countries recognizes PGMA's drive to pump up the economy, yet we fail to appreciate her efforts. Siguro mentality nating mga pinoy na tingnan yung mga pagkakamali ng ating kapwa, and exaggerate things to make it more sensational. Like yung ginagawa ng abs-cbn. They magnify every bit of controversy regarding arroyo's administration in lieu with their profitability and control in politics..

It's ironic indeed that world leaders recognize PGMA's efforts for the betterment of the country, but self-righteous hypocrites in our own country continue to wallow in conspiracy theories. How can we achieve first world status when many Filipinos continue to swallow the scandal constantly dished by mediocre media outfits.

Amen.

Mabuhay ang lahat ng PILIPINO.

:horse:

J.P.

well it is very normal for world leaders to be diplomatic with their foreign counterparts. kaya saying that world leaders recognize GMA for all efforts is not remarkable!

did you know that many BIG time foreign investors are shying away from the philippines? now, let us think of petro dollar investments (funds from the middle east). did you know that in Asia majority of those funds are being invested in singapore, malaysia and thailand. why is that? it is because the foreign investors finds these countries to be more investor friendly and less red-tape.

but here in the philippines it is a different story! bakit kaya? although it is not right to blame PGMA for all our shortcomings it is our mentality that is failing us to move forward.

so who do you think should lead/ guide us to make genuine progress? tayo bang mga tao? or ang mga leaders natin?

i beleive that genuine change should come from each and everyone of us but that our leaders will serve us our tool to guide us to the right path to progress!!

but is it happening now?

well, sadly it is not because our country is highly divisive. why are we in that state??
because we filipinos keep on pulling each other down!

yes, we should support our leaders, but does our current leaders deserve our support?

Yes, becasue atleast they are doing something positive and NO, why?

because theyre not good leaders that should set an example!! why am i saying this?

because of the massive corruption issues! remember the $ 1 billion TONG-PATS (patong) MRT-7 contract just to name a few...

if only all of us filipinos will make her accountable for all their wrongdoings, then thats the only time that we can slowly heAl the wounds that these leaders have caused us1

kaya at this current state,,,to those people justifying that it is best to just follow and support gloria is really uncalled for!! why? because there is still so many unanswered questions that they have to face.. does it mean ba na magbulagbulagan nalang tayo sa mga kaso ni gloria????

Hoy Sugo ni JDV, stop spreading lies on MRT 7.

The Mass Transit Component of the MRT 7 project $1.2 billion.

The real estate component is different and separate from the MRT 7 train, stupido! Gumawa ka na naman ng tsismis at katangahan!
That ULC will be required to contractually undertake to accomplish the committed real estate development as programmed in the business plan. The real estate component of the project is expected to cost as much as $2.2 billion.

Hoy Sugo ni JDV, stop spreading lies on MRT 7.

The Mass Transit Component of the MRT 7 project $1.2 billion.

The real estate component is different and separate from the MRT 7 train, stupido! Gumawa ka na naman ng tsismis at katangahan!
That ULC will be required to contractually undertake to accomplish the committed real estate development as programmed in the business plan. The real estate component of the project is expected to cost as much as $2.2 billion.

HOY ODYSSEY!!! IKAW ang gago dito at STUPIDO!:bash::bash::bash:

how did you know that your figures are correct???

do you know who my sources are here???

we are very close to the foreign representatives of the main foreign project developer of MRT 7.

and also to the main proponent of MRT-7 who also developed some major infrastructure projects in manila..

these people will not malign their names for silly stuffs like what you are saying!!...grabe ka naman!! this are the foreign people highly involved in the project and yet you will dismiss them as lies!!

i dare you to meet us all so you can see for yourself what we all know about this mother of all scams!

if hindi ka magpapakita samin...then you might just be kidding yourself!!!:nuts::nuts:

the original contract is really around $1.2billion dollars but it ballooned to more than $2billion dollars with TONG-PATS (patong) of roughly $1billion dollars. it is just outrageous!!

syempre naman the govt will hide their patong in such a way that it would look like its above board!!

kaya nga nakalagay dun for real estate component kuno when in fact its all in the $1.2 billion dollars!!!

im sure naman na many corrupt officals go that route oh hiding their share under those so-called technical details/component.

obviously the foriegn groups cannot in any way stop the govt from doing wat they want!!its a rule that when dealing with the govt you really have to satisfy this corrupt officials. since corruption as many say is in the sytem of govt here in our country!!

and for your info..walang kinalaman si JDV dito!!!

ikaw nga jan ang TUTA ni presidente!!!

@mikoskyhigh

I've been reading your post here for quite a while but it didn't make any sense at all...

bulagbulagan???? hayyyy....all this saga gives me headin' really. I am trying to stop myself commenting on this but it's getting on the nerves...

well just the same thanks for reading!!!

ikaw, do you really believe that press releases whether by the administration or the opposition speaks of the ultimate truth and fairness?

Miko Hell-Low,

Ikaw ang gago, puro ka yung tita ko na nagtatrabaho sa congress knows something….we are close to foreign somebody….. IF there is an iota of truth in what you are claiming, then let them come out. Until them, all you’re accusations are just your own inventions. Stupido, Gago ka!

A Name Dropper like you who CANNOT identify any Name is a Stupid Person.
You cannot fool any forumer here, tarantado

Puro ka Tsismis, you’re mind is ridden with gossips like the opposition.

Sige nga patunayan mo, walanghiya ka. Don‘t ruin this forum with your unwarranted tsismis, gossip, name-dropping shits.

In case you don’t know, the MRT 7 has two Components ( The Train Transit Component and the Real Estate Component are separate):

1.) The Transit Component which is composed of the train, train stations and train tracts which costs $1.2 Billion

2.) The second component is the real estate which is composed of malls and residential, other transportation stations and hotels along the train stations cost $ $2 Billion

Putang-Ina, Wala kaming Pakialam sa tita mo na nagtatrabaho kay JDV o sino mang Oposisyon. Mga Walang-Hiyang oposisyon na Kagaya nyo KINARMA ng HUSTO.

PTI Ka, TUTA NG KINARMA NA OPOSISYON!



HOY ODYSSEY!!! IKAW ang gago dito at STUPIDO!:bash::bash::bash:

how did you know that your figures are correct???

do you know who my sources are here???

we are very close to the foreign representatives of the main foreign project developer of MRT 7.

and also to the main proponent of MRT-7 who also developed some major infrastructure projects in manila..

these people will not malign their names for silly stuffs like what you are saying!!...grabe ka naman!! this are the foreign people highly involved in the project and yet you will dismiss them as lies!!

i dare you to meet us all so you can see for yourself what we all know about this mother of all scams!

if hindi ka magpapakita samin...then you might just be kidding yourself!!!:nuts::nuts:

the original contract is really around $1.2billion dollars but it ballooned to more than $2billion dollars with TONG-PATS (patong) of roughly $1billion dollars. it is just outrageous!!

syempre naman the govt will hide their patong in such a way that it would look like its above board!!

kaya nga nakalagay dun for real estate component kuno when in fact its all in the $1.2 billion dollars!!!

im sure naman na many corrupt officals go that route oh hiding their share under those so-called technical details/component.

obviously the foriegn groups cannot in any way stop the govt from doing wat they want!!its a rule that when dealing with the govt you really have to satisfy this corrupt officials. since corruption as many say is in the sytem of govt here in our country!!

and for your info..walang kinalaman si JDV dito!!!

ikaw nga jan ang TUTA ni presidente!!!

Philippine Star
Opinion

EDITORIAL – Dole-out nation

Friday, June 13, 2008

Electricity consumers are already subsidizing households with a monthly power consumption of no more than 100 kilowatt-hours. Check out the fine print: this is the lifeline subsidy in your monthly billing from the Manila Electric Co. The government then collects value-added tax on this subsidy; the VAT is added to your bill. Now the government is using more public funds for yet another subsidy — a one-time P500 dole-out for each consumer whose monthly electric bill does not go beyond P500.

No one will begrudge direct aid to the poorest of the poor in these times of economic uncertainty. But because most electric meters are registered in the names of property owners, we cannot be sure if those happy recipients of the taxpayer-funded dole-outs are really among the poorest of the poor, or people merely renting out property while they live in more comfortable homes with much higher electricity consumption.

But dole-outs earn brownie points among the poor for a President whose net approval rating is way below zero. This has to be among the reasons why Malacañang is pushing for a three-year, P316-billion subsidy program called “Noah’s Ark” to tide over the poorest of the poor amid a global food and fuel crunch.

There have been numerous suggestions to bring down power rates. Among them is reducing, suspending or scrapping altogether taxes collected on energy, locally sourced natural gas and imported fuels that are used for power generation. Laws that allowed power distributors to pass on systems losses to consumers — something that is done by other electricity distributors apart from Meralco — can be amended. Or else Meralco can be persuaded to lead the way in absorbing systems losses.

Emergency food aid can be reasonable, but such outright dole-outs cannot be sustained over protracted periods and at the expense of taxpayers, many of whom are subsisting just barely above the threshold that would qualify them for state subsidies.

The Noah’s Ark analogy is apt: only a few are rescued from the flood while the rest are left to drown. That P316 billion is better invested in programs that would allow the nation to achieve long-term security in its food, fuel and energy needs. This long-term security is possible only with political will and good governance.

Indeed, the government should focus on long-term solution. Anyway, I hope DA and DOE will seriously pursue programs that will help the country attain food and energy sufficiency....

Its time for all of us to work extra hard....And start helping each other specially our local entrepreneurs.....in order to keep employment, income and business in our country...

Philippine Star
Business
Consumer confidence dims in 2nd qtr
By Des Ferriols
Friday, June 13, 2008

Consumer confidence dimmed considerably in the second quarter as consumer outlook on personal and overall economic prospects darkened in the wake of weakening global and domestic economy.

The latest Consumer Expectations Survey (CES) of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) revealed that consumer confidence index dipped to its lowest level since the survey was started last year.

The BSP said the decline in consumer expectations was a leading indicator that demand would be depressed in the coming months as households brace against the full impact of soaring prices and slowing economy.

“The CES is an advanced indicator of economic activity,” said Iluminada Sicat, director of the BSP’s Department of Economic Research.

Sicat said the results of the recent survey indicated there would be a slowdown in purchases and buying intentions over the next 12 months for durable goods.

According to the BSP, its survey indicates that confidence levels declined across all income levels although high-income families were less affected than lower-income groups.

Feeling the impact of surging prices of oil and food, the consumer confidence index plummeted to -43.8 percent, pulled down by the dramatic decline in economic confidence where the index took a sharp plunge to –73 percent.

Sicat said the lowest confidence index was also in the lowest income group where confidence level dropped to below -90 percent.

High income groups, on the other hand, also declined although the index remained on the positive side, indicating that among the rich, optimists outnumber pessimists.

Based on survey results, BSP said surveyed families expect their household expenditures to increase in the second quarter and the next 12 months particularly on food, electricity, fuel, education, personal care and effects.

The increase in expenditures, however, would not result from higher income therefore higher consumption but from the increase in prices which forced households to spend more for the same commodities.

Sicat said this meant future spending on consumer durables such as motor vehicles, housing and property would be lower in the second quarter up to the next 12 months.

Beyond the dimming outlook on the economy in general, Sicat said consumers were also pessimistic about their own family financial situation with the index dropping by 12.7 index points quarterly to -40.6 percent.

Sicat said only rich families saw their family incomes actually improving in the next 12 months while families in the middle and lower class foresee serious belt-tightening.

According to Sicat, the CES results showed that consumers from the capital region and areas outside the capital were uniformly pessimistic, indicating that consumers expect to be indiscriminately affected by higher prices of oil and food commodities.

It's ironic indeed that world leaders recognize PGMA's efforts for the betterment of the country, but self-righteous hypocrites in our own country continue to wallow in conspiracy theories. How can we achieve first world status when many Filipinos continue to swallow the scandal constantly dished by mediocre media outfits.

Yes, Filipinos should unite, act and work harder in making the Philippines a better country. Right now, traffic congestion is costing the country billions of pesos a year. It's high time that Filipinos join and support a "war on traffic congestion".

^^

Indeed we should unite and work together...but working together means respecting each others opinion and let the ones with better idea prevail...and thats democracy..:cheers:

..but of course...

.... without resorting to idiotic, stupid, acid-tongue, self-righteous, foul-mouth, fucked up mentality and personal or ethno-linguistic insults.:puke:

and when they are 10 they whant an Iphone !!! ohhhhh :bash:

Im gonna scold that kid!

And you are making 6 of them ??? and you blame the church because you are too drunk almost every night and you forget to wear a condom ?

forget to wear condom? the c.church is against in wearing condoms

The Truth is This Miko Hell-Low Poster is a TROLL. Yes, a poster boy for trolls.

He did not contribute anything positive on this Forum.

All his posts focus on Accusing PGMA and spreading concocted lies that his Tita Tange and his foreigh TiTo knows something.......Katangahan.

This Miko is only using the Search For Truth as an alibi, kuno. Yung ebidensya puro Haka-Haka.

TROLL!!!!

i just want to share this...

"The difference between STUPIDITY and genius is that genius has its limits"

astig!

The Truth is This Miko Hell-Low Poster is a TROLL. Yes, a poster boy for trolls.

He did not contribute anything positive on this Forum.

All his posts focus on Accusing PGMA and spreading concocted lies that his Tita Tange and his foreigh TiTo knows something.......Katangahan.

This Miko is only using the Search For Truth as an alibi, kuno. Yung ebidensya puro Haka-Haka.

TROLL!!!!

Moderator, calling the moderator, we are invaded by a TROLL, i ban nyo na. hehehehe :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Go MRT7 !

Mahilig lang ako mag basa dito sa forum na to ngayun lang ako ulit magpopost.......... IMO lahat naman ng naging presidente ng Pinas eh may magandang hangarin.....and IMO gloria has done so many infastracture projects some are finish, some on hold, some still planned....Walang ibang presidente ang nakagawa nun.......and still ang may mga tao dyan na hindi napapansin ang mga ginagawa nya mas napapansin pa yung mga story na gawa gawa lang. She is doing great!!!!! balancing everything...........kung sinasabi nyo na nag bubulag bulagan ako eh bahala kayo. Mas madali kasi ang tumingin ng mali kaysa tingnan yung mga nagawa. I'm sure pagkatapos ng termino nya she will be remembered as great president for me!!!

Pilipinas umunlad ka!!!!!!!!!:banana:

forget to wear condom? the c.church is against in wearing condoms

So now we do what the church say ??? Wear it they will never know !

Anyway the church is againts heavy drinkers too and everytime i go back to the Philippines All i see is people drinking ? And these people don't even drink in decency of a bar or in their houses , but on the streets !

So what people only choose what to pick and not the whole package ??

Mahilig lang ako mag basa dito sa forum na to ngayun lang ako ulit magpopost.......... IMO lahat naman ng naging presidente ng Pinas eh may magandang hangarin.....and IMO gloria has done so many infastracture projects some are finish, some on hold, some still planned....Walang ibang presidente ang nakagawa nun.......and still ang may mga tao dyan na hindi napapansin ang mga ginagawa nya mas napapansin pa yung mga story na gawa gawa lang. She is doing great!!!!! balancing everything...........kung sinasabi nyo na nag bubulag bulagan ako eh bahala kayo. Mas madali kasi ang tumingin ng mali kaysa tingnan yung mga nagawa. I'm sure pagkatapos ng termino nya she will be remembered as great president for me!!!

Pilipinas umunlad ka!!!!!!!!!:banana:

Hello, post more comments... :)

I'm confused about the topic thread, poor philippines and wearing of condoms? :) Anyway, there is now a law banning people to drink in the streets. From time to time, policemen catch these erring citizens.

I maybe a critic of PGMA, sans all those "tongpats", admittedly she made a good job in having those vital infrastructures finished under her administration....

...I hope before finishing her term in 2010, she can finally forced MIAA to fasttrack the operation of NAIA 3 and an expanded and modernized Clark and Bohol airport...:)

should this be just a one sided forum??? hell no!!! dun pa lang sa topic ng thread na ito already speaks of 2 sides so why stop people from airing their legitimate grievances here about the topic!?

also i am not at liberty to tell directly who the sources are. you all just have to wait till this "mother of all scams" get exposed!

I DONT CARE if the very few demented peeps here will not beleive me!!

all i know is that IM EXTREMELY GLAD that this MRT-7 mess has gotten in the consciousness of the people!! now its up for them to think whether its true or not!!

BUT BELIEVE ME, just wait until all these mess are exposed to the public! then we will all be vindicated by all our efforts here!

hahahahaha, kakatawa tong thread na to:D

^^ I guess we could be critical about the people we call leaders but we must also know what we should do as citizens of this country. It is two- pronged: be critical and observant on what is happening in our country and do your part as citizens of this country.

We cannot simply criticize her. Criticisms will not solve any of our problems. Cooperation, to a certain extent, will help us with our concerns. If I may say, GMA is doing a lot for the benefit of this country. Indeed, they were unpopular decisions, but such decision is helping us now in this time of crisis.

^^ I guess we could be critical about the people we call leaders but we must also know what we should do as citizens of this country. It is two- pronged: be critical and observant on what is happening in our country and do your part as citizens of this country.

We cannot simply criticize her. Criticisms will not solve any of our problems. Cooperation, to a certain extent, will help us with our concerns. If I may say, GMA is doing a lot for the benefit of this country. Indeed, they were unpopular decisions, but such decision is helping us now in this time of crisis.

Well said. Even in Thailand and Vietnam, both are rice exporting countries, they are experiencing sharp increases in basic commodities including rice! It is not all the faults of GMA.

I commend her administration for getting rid of the informal settlers along the rail road tracks. It is only her adminstration thru Noli :) that the squatters are relocated from this long stretch. During the long weekend last week, I passed by the SCTX, all of us said, thank you! for giving this in our lifetime.

Pros and Cons of PGMA.....hmmm.....

pero kinukuyog pag may negative comments kay PGMA o government....

hmmm...

public forum ba ito o mutual admiration site or fans club website ni PGMA....

Kala ko Skyscraper City ito at hindi government website.....

Anyway....

Opposing views should be respected. A forum will not be a forum if this will just be one-sided.

If this forum becomes one-sided, it should be turned into a PR thread for PGMA and the government....

Now, speaking of those people who do not tolerate opposing arguments ....specially those demented, self-righteous, fucked up brain dead ogres, hooligans and estero smelling foul mouths......they should be disciplined by moderators who keep on attacking and harassing some scc members... to silence them from posting different perspectives!!PTI!:bash:

:D galit ka?

Ayay sir/ma'm. puro pro-GMA po kami dito. mga GAGA po kami, Gays for GMA. :jk:

I still believe GMA has done a lot for our country and one of the best we ever had. I can't understand why others hate her so much. I'm fed up with all this allegations. Yung ibang nag we-welga sa kalye at walang magawa, reklamo nang reklamo sa gobyerno that in fact, sila mismo ang may kagagawan ng kanilang kahirapan.

I don't believe that this forum is one sided. It only happens that most of the forumers here (including me), believes in what GMA has done for our country and fed up of the issues against her....

seven percent lang kasi ang anti GMA dito:D

Criticisms are good in a sense that they encourage a conscious evaluation of our leaders' shortcomings, but, criticisms that have no basis and are purely fabricated sensationalized facts are uncalled for. Let us all be accountable for our own words okay?

Pros and Cons of PGMA.....hmmm.....

pero kinukuyog pag may negative comments kay PGMA o government....

hmmm...

public forum ba ito o mutual admiration site or fans club website ni PGMA....

Kala ko Skyscraper City ito at hindi government website.....

Anyway....

Opposing views should be respected. A forum will not be a forum if this will just be one-sided.

If this forum becomes one-sided, it should be turned into a PR thread for PGMA and the government....

Now, speaking of those people who do not tolerate opposing arguments ....specially those demented, self-righteous, fucked up brain dead ogres, hooligans and estero smelling foul mouths......they should be disciplined by moderators who keep on attacking and harassing some scc members... to silence them from posting different perspectives!!PTI!:bash:

It seems sir that you are the one who's depriving others of their opinions. Your argument is contradictory. You negate your own stand. Try to analyze your sentence structure, both the premise and the conclusion.

I think we have sufficient Laws, rules and regulations in the Philippines.

What we lack is proper ENFORCEMENT OF THESE LAWS.

:horse:

J.P.

:D galit ka?

bakit, concern ka?:naughty::wink2:

Criticisms are good in a sense that they encourage a conscious evaluation of our leaders' shortcomings, but, criticisms that have no basis and are purely fabricated sensationalized facts are uncalled for. Let us all be accountable for our own words okay?

Of course..no problem..I suggest you should tell that to all scc members in this economy and political thread.:)..

It seems sir that you are the one who's depriving others of their opinions. Your argument is contradictory. You negate your own stand. Try to analyze your sentence structure, both the premise and the conclusion.

hmmmmmm......:sly:

bakit, concern ka?:naughty::wink2:

baka ma stroke ka:D concerned nga ako:D:lol:

^^ I guess we could be critical about the people we call leaders but we must also know what we should do as citizens of this country. It is two- pronged: be critical and observant on what is happening in our country and do your part as citizens of this country.

We cannot simply criticize her. Criticisms will not solve any of our problems. Cooperation, to a certain extent, will help us with our concerns. If I may say, GMA is doing a lot for the benefit of this country. Indeed, they were unpopular decisions, but such decision is helping us now in this time of crisis.

I totally agree with you!!

as i have said before, we the people should start to be pro-active and be more vigilant with our govt.

that is the very things that is lacking in us kaya thru the past decades no genuine change happened. kasi madali tayong makalimot sa mga pinaggagawa ng mge leaders natin before.

now is the time for us to act collectively be vigilant to ensure that corruption from top to bottom is minimized! there has to be a clear check and balance in government.

at the same time we should be critical w/ our govt if such anomalies transpired like with the ZTE scam.

and our criticisms on govt should just be directed to the issues at hand.

like what is happening now, with all the skyrocketing prices of oil and rice, we should not put the blame on the govt! but at the same time we should be very critical with the ZTE issues as well. it is common sense that there really is a probable cause to warrant a full investigation of the anomaly. and up to this point ay hindi pa tapos un kaya abangan nalang natin!

i would have to agree that GMA accomplished a number of things that is commendable! but at the same time i am a keen observer of the govt that is why i can be critical at times like the ZTE and MRT-7 issues.

with regards to big projects, it is common knowledge that this is were big anomalies occur, kaya let us not be blinded that whatever the govt does in closing contracts that it will always be fair and aboveboard!

we hve had enough of all those scandals kaya had GMA and her cohorts MODERATED THEIR GREED just like what Neri said naminimize sana ang impact diba!!!

if we cannot be critical of her, magmumukhang bobo naman tayo mga pilipino because we would always seem to be agreeable to whatever the govt does!

kaya now is the time for us for a paradigm shift from being a mere passive to a more pro-active kind of thinking! Now is the only time for us to make that genuine change ourselves or it will never come!!!..diba ang daming EDSA revolution na but how come there is no real change? kasi madali tayong makalimot mga tao!!!

kaya if GMA is out of office na by 2010 and still finds probable cause to indict her, then let us all support it to achieve justice just like what happened to erap!!

but if she is proven right against all this accusations, it is good for her and also for the country!!

kaya tayo hindi dapat nagaaway!!!

anyway re the MRT-7 fiasco, let us just wait and see the outcome of this mess!! if proven true then we will all be vindicated but if not, then sorry for us!! kaya huwag kayo mag react violently agad.

atleast its better that you know two sides of the coin!

Maybe condoms and other artificial birth control methods are unaffordable or unavailable for the masses to use. Let's face it the church says no adultery or fornication and obviously it's not being followed. So why would they heed the no condom policy of the church.

poverty is relatively measure. that is poor in A country is rich in B country.

Criticisms are good in a sense that they encourage a conscious evaluation of our leaders' shortcomings, but, criticisms that have no basis and are purely fabricated sensationalized facts are uncalled for. Let us all be accountable for our own words okay?

^^ That's what they call bashing. Some posters here are really good at it. :ohno:

gus2 ko sanang magreply pero naintimidate ako sa walls of trolleyful txt :lol:

I like PGMA because of her dedication to subsidize the financial problem in the country.
On the other hand, PGMA should also look/ focused on a long term solution.

baka ma stroke ka:D concerned nga ako:D:lol:

thanks ha..:wink2::naughty:

Honestly, I think the title of the thread is misleading, kaya maraming nag-aaway sa thread na ito. Grammatically speaking, the use of "pros" and "cons" refers to a proposal or an action, not a person. That's what I have learned so far in BC11, BC12, and BC25, and research. Nevertheless, I'm open to criticisms.. =)

:yes:Honestly, I think the title of the thread is misleading, kaya maraming nag-aaway sa thread na ito. Grammatically speaking, the use of "pros" and "cons" refers to a proposal or an action, not a person. That's what I have learned so far in BC11, BC12, and BC25, and research. Nevertheless, I'm open to criticisms.. =)

pro's and con's whatever, I do believe we all want the same things out of the government and out of our country.

Philippine Daily Inquirer

Rallies set vs VAT on oil, power

By Jerome Aning
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:09:00 06/15/2008

THE LEFTIST GROUP BAGONG Alyansang Makabayan has announced it will launch rallies and other forms of mass actions to press the Arroyo administration to remove the value-added tax (VAT) on oil and power.

“The more she (President Macapagal-Arroyo) ignores the clamor to remove the VAT, the more the protests will escalate. Rising oil prices are now a volatile political issue. The question being raised is government’s ability to protect the public from rising prices,” Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said Saturday in a statement.

Citing studies by the anti-VAT coalition, “Kontra-kulimVAT,” Reyes said that the Arroyo administration pocketed an additional tax take of P5.5 million daily from every peso increase in oil prices.

“A P1.50 per liter increase may bring the amount to more than P7 million in estimated additional daily revenues from the VAT. This amount is being shouldered by the consumers,” Reyes said.

He said that removing the VAT would translate to savings of about P150 a day for jeepney drivers, P23 a day for tricycle drivers, P55 a day for fisherfolk and savings of P68 per tank for cooking gas users.

“These benefits are much better than any token subsidy from the government,” he said.

He added, “There have been studies saying that as much as 60 percent of world oil prices come from price speculation alone. Government has a duty to protect its consumers from such an exploitative scheme. Government should not allow the big oil companies to merely pass on the alleged under-recoveries. Transfer-pricing and the deregulated regime are conditions being exploited by price speculators.”

Members of Bayan and Kontra-kulimVAT briefly blocked passing oil tankers in their protest action at the Welcome Rotonda in Quezon City Saturday.

Hmmm......

I like PGMA because of her dedication to subsidize the financial problem in the country.
On the other hand, PGMA should also look/ focused on a long term solution.

SAme with me pero may Negative Point din ako kay GMA.

it's such an irony that other countries recognizes PGMA's drive to pump up the economy, yet we fail to appreciate her efforts. Siguro mentality nating mga pinoy na tingnan yung mga pagkakamali ng ating kapwa, and exaggerate things to make it more sensational. Like yung ginagawa ng abs-cbn. They magnify every bit of controversy regarding arroyo's administration in lieu with their profitability and control in politics..

I dont fail to recognize her efforts in helping the economy of the Philippines. I even appreciate how the peso was able to strengthen against the dollar and all of those subsidies done by the government. But what she should also focus on is to bring back the trust of the people to the government and its officials.

From the election scandal of 2004, to the hello Garci Scandal, until the Zte, which is also preceded by the rice supply problem, I think what makes a credible administration is transparency. Most people do not trust her administration because she failed to show the public a clear stand from her side. Adding to that are her allies in congress who continued to blanket her alleged wrongdoings from the public and on to the alleged regalo from her office to the congressmen which was exposed (if im not mistaken) by a Governor of Pampanga.

In the first place, public service pertains to public trust. I think trust from the public should come first before the people's recognition of a person's deed in service. But on what happened through her administration, trust did not come first because of the alleged 2004 election manipulation.

^^ Are you going to join these rallies mr jpdm?

.............. I even appreciate how the peso was able to strengthen against the dollar...

Indeed, you should appreciate and credit must be given to our heroic Pinoy overseas workers and expats (and no one else) who keep on bringing their hard-earned foreign exchange to the country (through the banks and remittance firms).....:cheers:

...i believe there are some here in scc..:applause:

^^

..concern ka?:D

..anyway, secret....:wink2::naughty:

The concept of trust is a noumenon. It cannot be perceived, nor manipulated. You can do the best that you can to gain people's trust, yet there are some self-righteous hypocrites who delights your demise. More important than public trust and credibility, is accountability and proactivity. All of us should take part in nation-building, not just the government leaders, but the people as well.


SILLIMANIAN LINE OF THINKING -VIA VERITAS VITA

"the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE"

^^ Hehehe, oo mejo concerned, baka masaktan ka ng mga tao ni Gloria eh.

The concept of trust is a noumenon. It cannot be perceived, nor manipulated. You can do the best that you can to gain people's trust, yet there are some self-righteous hypocrites who delights your demise. More important than public trust and credibility, is accountability and proactivity. All of us should take part in nation-building, not just the government leaders, but the people as well.


SILLIMANIAN LINE OF THINKING -VIA VERITAS VITA

"the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE"

agree!!!:cheers:

Who got overprice in SCTEx project?
POSTSCRIPT By Federico D. Pascual Jr.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
CLARK FIELD — If you think the cancelled $320-million Chinese government-funded NBN/ZTE deal was one of the most scandalous foreign-assisted projects in recent memory, think again.

Immediately before this was the unfinished multibillion-peso NorthRail project, also Chinese-funded and overseen by the Bases Conversion Development Authority.

And before NorthRail was the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx), another BCDA project funded by a loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation that will cost taxpayers a whopping P30 billion upon completion next year.

The SCTEx itself is now hounded by allegations that it was overpriced by more than P5 billion. If this was with the knowledge of the JBIC, project consultants and Filipino officials is still being determined from documents.

* * *

OVERPRICING: We have noted in Postscript that while the SCTEx is supposed to serve Clark, it is unusual that the 93.77-kilometer expressway does not have an interchange, ramp or exit in this former American base turned into an industrial-tourism complex.

The explanation of most people in the know is that the P21.5 billion earlier borrowed for the ambitious expressway had run out, because some well-connected individuals bit off big commissions or payoffs made possible through overpricing.

Sources familiar with the deal said the overprice stemmed from unauthorized design changes, rigged bidding, reduction of works and collusion among some of the parties.

* * *

FUNDS RUN OUT: When the project was drawn up in 2001, the cost of the entire expressway as certified by the BCDA, NEDA-ICC and the Japanese consultant, Pacific Consultants International, was just P15 billion.

That figure grew to P18 billion in 2003 despite reduction of works — the dropping of the interchanges in Porac, Floridablanca and the Friendship Gate in Mabalacat. But next thing we knew, the figure being whispered was suddenly P21.5 billion!

Like water bring poured into dry lahar, the P21.5 billion sunk into the project still proved to be inadequate even after the removal of the three vital interchanges, including that one in Clark itself.

With this excuse, the proponents now want to get another loan from Japan. How much? First, the proposed new loan was said to be for P7 billion, but lately that figure has grown to P8 billion — for a total project cost of P29.5 billion!

Don’t be surprised if one morning we hear BCDA saying that the ambitious infrastructure would cost at least P30 billion. To keep in step with the rising cost of everything, including graft?

* * *

PACKAGES: In 2005, when the project was bid out, the cost was already P21 billion broken in two packages: Package 1, Subic-Clark (P12 billion); and Package 2, Clark-Tarlac (P9 billion).

Critics said the first overprice occurred at that time allegedly with the consent or knowledge of JBIC and the Japanese government, plus the grudging approval of BCDA.

The NEDA reportedly then pre-approved the two winning general contractors: Kajima-Obayashi-Japan Steel-Mitsubishi (KOJM) Joint Venture for Package 1, and Hazama-Taisei-Nippon Steel (HTN) Joint Venture for Package 2.

They said it was strange that Hazama was allowed to bid despite submitting allegedly fake documents and widespread reports that it was at that time already insolvent, if not bankrupt.

A third bidder, Maeda-Toyo-Ishikawa-jima‑Harima (MTI) Joint Venture was also allowed to participate, only to lose in both bids but after being rewarded with a certain percentage of the total project cost. That, the critics said, was the second overprice.

* * *

REBIDDING: Because of the substantial variance of the bids from the original contract price, the NEDA-ICC and the Solicitor General recommended the re-bidding of the entire project, a move reportedly approved and ordered by President Gloria Arroyo no less.

For some reason, however, BCDA officials were able to “convince” the President, NEDA, the Solicitor General and the JBIC not to rebid the project and just proceed with the award of the allegedly overpriced contracts.

As work started, change orders amounting to P2 billion were reportedly approved by BCDA management through a certain General Lena, said to be a project manager.

Thus, when the SCTEx had a soft opening last Holy Week, the total cost had already soared to P23 billion — or P8 billion more than the original price.

We were told that the overprice was divvied up by Japanese contractors, some JBIC officials and very important people (VIPs) in and out of government, but we are still awaiting proof.

* * *

STILL UNPAID: What appears to be the unkindest cut of all is the fact that after collecting on 90 percent of its total contract for Package 2, the Hazama-Taisei-Nippon Steel Joint Venture has yet to settle its obligations running into millions.

Among those left holding the empty bag were some Filipino firms who had to content themselves with “bare bones” subcontracts as they try to keep up with the work schedule of the main contractor.

And to think that HTN, which allegedly has not paid fully its subcontractors, is reportedly angling to get the additional work on the three interchanges and realignments!

As of this writing, HTN reportedly owes local contractors — such as Engineering Equipment Inc.,  P100 million; and CMC Ravena, P60 million — who have been trying to collect for years.

Lately, First Worldwide Marketing also complained to the BCDA that HTN has been delinquent in its payments.

These firms are just the more vocal complainants. There are many more, such as the Tarlac provincial government which has a claim of P15 million, and counting, for quarrying fees and local taxes.

OH NO NOT AGAIN!! totoo ba ito?

remember that early 2007 Mr. Jarius Bondoc a writer of the philippine star exposed the anomalous ZTE deal to the public. and the end result of the expose? GMA ordered it cancelled because she admitted that there indeed was a big anomaly! kasi naman kung wala talagang anomaly ung ZTE eh there is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON for GMA to cancel it kahit anung ingay ang gawin ng iba!... agree?

but sadly if this accusations are TRUE again, then its too late for us since the project has already been consummated and finished!!

SANA NGA MALI TALAGA YUNG SINULAT NUNG WRITER para wala ng gulo!!!at para hindi na makasira sa GMA govt!

i have got a solution to propose to everyone:

why wont our public servants live and act like servants for once?

you know, no more astronomical salaries and allowances, out with their processional-sized staff, no more special privileges...etc

^^

Aray ko...may tongpats na naman pala.....ano ba yan....tindi gahaman talaga!!:bash:

sosyalin magpoposing

Actually, credit the photographer for 'posing' them very stately. Like any other family, why should they be denied wanting a record of their members? They just happen to be a very landed, rather good-looking breed -- very different from the majority of their kababayans. :lol:

Gov’t sees Q2 growth at up to 5.9%
http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20080617-143086/Govt-sees-Q2-growth-at-up-to-59
Reuters
First Posted 01:49:00 06/17/2008

he Philippine economy is likely to show growth of 5.3-5.9 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, picking up from the first quarter due to higher farm output and a recovery in consumer spending, a senior official said on Monday.

“Agriculture is rebounding,” economic planning chief Augusto Santos said, adding that an official economic growth projection would be released in early July.

“The economy is getting used a little bit to high prices and, therefore, production and consumption is resuming.”

Rocketing inflation, spluttering growth in the United States and the soaring cost of importing oil dragged annual growth in the first quarter down to 5.2 percent, well below expectations, and down sharply from the previous quarter’s 6.4 percent.

Inflation hit a nine-year high of 9.6 percent in May and will likely go higher as the rise in fuel costs showed no letup.

Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said Monday that this meant interest rates were likely to go up.

Speaking to Reuters at a finance ministers’ meeting in South Korea, Teves refused to comment on how much monetary policy might be tightened, and said the central bank would need to be mindful of the policy’s impact on the real economy.

The central bank has “more information than we have,” Teves said. “But I will make sure they are able to interact with the real sector as well.”

Santos’ upbeat comments about consumer spending jar with more pessimistic forecasts from companies relying on private consumption.

Last week, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., the country’s largest telecom group, said inflation would crimp its revenue in the second half of the year.

Analysts said annual growth in the second quarter would probably be at the low end of Santos’ range.

“I think the 5.9-percent higher-end range is probably a bit optimistic,” Barclay’s Capital economist Nick Bibby said, adding that he expected annual growth of between 5.3 and 5.6 percent.

“Until the latter part of the second quarter, the problem with inflation had not fed through, so I am thinking the third and fourth quarter is where it is going to be more problematic,” Bibby said.

Last month, the government cut its full-year economic growth target to 5.7-6.5 percent from 6.3-7.0 percent.

Underlining the economic pressures exerted by rising import costs and investors’ reluctance to keep pouring money into the Philippines, the central bank Monday cut its forecast for this year’s surplus in the balance of payments to $2.5 billion from $3.4 billion.

“While lower, it’s still a decent surplus, given the challenging environment,” the central bank governor, Amando Tetangco Jr., said in a mobile text message.

The equity market, which gained 21 percent in 2007, is down around 28 percent so far this year. On Monday, the index finished up 2.58 percent.

The Philippine peso is down nearly seven percent against the dollar this year. In 2007 it rose 19 percent, helping the Philippines digest rising import costs.

^^ :) We'll nice it grows higher than 5.2%. :applause:

BIR collections up 16% to P77.5B in May (http://http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Business&p=49&type=2&sec=27&aid=2008061657)
By Iris C. Gonzales
Tuesday, June 17, 2008

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) collected P77.5 billion in May or 16 percent higher than the P66.7 billion collected in the same period last year, according to preliminary data from the tax agency.

However, compared to the agency’s goal of P78 billion for the month, the latest figure is short by P500 million, data further showed.

“It’s almost break-even,” a BIR official yesterday said.

The source said the shortfall was mainly due to lower collection of the 20-percent withholding tax on government securities as the government opted to reject bids for its debt papers during the period.

However, the source stressed that the agency has yet to announce the final figures for the month of May.

While the agency’s May tax collection is slightly below target, the source said this was still better than what the BIR had expected.

“We were anticipating a P10-billion shortfall during the period,” said the BIR official.

He attributed the better-than-expected figures to strong first quarter collections from corporate income tax which came in during the month. He noted, however, that final figures on the latest corporate income tax collection are still unavailable.

Aba!!! ha ha ha... Talagang ok etong BIR ha ..... Im quiet impressive.. hmmm dalawang buwan na etong revenue craze.. he he he... Anyway, im totally happy for it... :applause:

Break free from the bondage of poverty—President Arroyo (http://http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=122027)

OPINION By PRESIDENT GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO

Instead of colonizing powers, we must now protect our freedom and future as a nation from global economic storms and security threats.

One hundred and ten years after we broke free of foreign bondage, we remember with deep gratitude our heroic forebears who paid the ultimate sacrifice on the altar of freedom so that we may live as a sovereign people.

The centuries-old struggle continues. Instead of colonizing powers, we must now protect our freedom and future as a nation from global economic storms and security threats.

The Philippines has built up a strong economy which is helping us meet the challenges of the global surge in the price of food and fuel. A strong and growing economy has been the central pillar we have labored to create to help guarantee peace, order and stability in our country. It is paying off: our economy reached its highest level of growth in 30 years last year, the peso is strong, and we are close to balancing our budget.

As a result of our economic comeback, we are able to invest in key sectors to cushion the harsh impact of rice and fuel on our poor. We are also able to continue to invest in necessary infrastructure like roads, bridges and education, to name a few. All the while, we are balancing these vital investments with a commitment to meet our fiscal obligations and balance the budget in 2010.

We have been working tirelessly to address challenges arising from the slowdown in the global economy combined with the spike in oil and food prices. The government is working to make sure that our food supplies remain stable and that we put food on the table for every Filipino.

In terms of oil, the high price of gasoline and everyday commodities hits our poor the hardest. While the high price of oil is a global issue and outside the control of government, we have introduced measures to lift the burden of our people.

Global problem

However, no matter what actions we take, this is a global problem. We must work together to resolve this if there is going to be any long-lasting improvement.

As a responsible member of the international community, we are doing our part to create a world that is more humane. We have reached out in sympathy to our Chinese brethren in Sichuan Province.

Likewise, we have sent medical teams and continue to make those teams available to help the people of Myanmar. And we coordinate with our ASEAN neighbors/ on the level of financial aid that each of us sends to Myanmar.

Now that ASEAN has taken tangible steps to be a true union, it must accept its responsibility to advance the cause of economic and social justice within its membership.

Asean charter

As for the passage of the ASEAN Charter: we would love nothing more than to see ASEAN consolidate its gains and move closer together. However, we’ll leave this up to the Philippine Senate which has been asked to review the charter for ratification.

Certainly, economic integration among Asian nations is imperative if we, as a region, are to take advantage of the expanding global trade and economic opportunities. We are thrilled at the prospect of a vibrant ASEAN. We hold great hope for the ASEAN Charter

which will be the first and the boldest step towards the creation of a regional economic community.

Our strong course of global engagement has been an essential part of our economic turnaround.

International partners

It is important to acknowledge the important role that our international friends and allies have made to our national development. This includes the countries and organizations who are our development partners and the foreign investors who have become part of our business community and who have brought their technologies and capital to the Philippines.

You are a part of the Philippine economic success story. We are grateful for your

contributions and your commitment to our nation and our people.

Be with us in our steadfast desire for the Philippines to break free from the bondage of poverty and to be able to join the first world in 20 years.

These are excerpts from the President’s speech during the reception for the 110th anniversary of Philippine independence at Malacanang Palace on June 12, 2008.

I am hoping that we will be able to do that again for the second time and also i want to see my nation in prosperity despite many challenges awaits us in the near future, as a citizen we must know our goal and responsibility being the citizen of this nation and let us work togehter with the gov't to move our country forward and not backward, let us invest to our economy and our people to be able to join to other prosper nation in 2020 so far to 2030. God Bless Philippines!

Philippine Tribune
Half-baked apology

EDITORIAL

06/17/2008

After seven long years, the Catholic Bishops, in a position paper released last week, said they realized the mistake they made in Jan. 20, 2001, when they, along with the Edsa ll elite coup plotters, embraced mob rule instead of upholding the rule of law.

They admitted that the mistake they made had weakened the democratic and political institutions in the country, saying that which should have been done then was to allow the process of impeachment of then sitting President Joseph Estrada to go through.

But bishops are hardly morons or even slow-witted. They certainly knew that the plot to oust Estrada was going against the constitutional grain, along with the rule of law and worse, they certainly knew they were actively thwarting the sovereign will of the people who had elected him to the high office for six years, with only the Senate, acting as impeachment judges, and as national representatives of the Filipino people, was vested with the constitutional mandate to convict or acquit him of the charges leveled against him by the House of Representatives’ prosecutors.

Apart from this, even before the Edsa ll coup d’ etat ousted Estrada, the Vatican itself made it clear that it frowned on the local Catholic Church leaders’ active participation in ousting a democratically elected president, stressing too, that the church is likely to lose the Filipino flock and that the faith would suffer.

Yet even the papal guidance received by the church leaders was ignored by the bishops. It also wasn’t just Jaime Cardinal Sin that called for his ouster. It was also the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, through its then president, Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, that was in the thick of the plot to oust Estrada.

While an admission of a grievous error committed by the church hierarchy was made, which passes for an apology of sorts, the same bishops, however, have not quite come clean with either Estrada or the Filipino people.

In all the seven years, these bishops not only knew that which they did was wrong, but also knew without doubt that Gloria Arroyo was a thoroughly illegitimate president, whether in the remaining term of Estrada and even from June 30, 2004, all the way to 2010.

The bishops knew she was unconstitutionally placed in the presidency through the rule of force and against the rule of law. They knew she had cheated, and massively during the 2004 polls, yet the CBCP, despite the evidence of fraud presented by the opposition after the polls, did nothing to correct this, and even claimed there was no massive fraud and that the will of the people was not thwarted by the “minimal” cheating.

And even when the proof of that fraud, through the “Hello Garci” tapes which caught Gloria and then poll commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, was publicly exposed, the same bishops continued to support her and her illegitimate government throughout, with the CBCP even coming up with the pastoral letter stating that getting her impeached was a useless endeavor, along with another letter stating that the bishops have decided to work on critical collaboration with Gloria and her government, which government it called “morally bankrupt,” but which they continue to support, even now, with their latest position paper stating that the church will no longer take part in such political activities such as people power.

That position is still in support of Gloria because with that, the church leaders not taking a moral stand, nor taking up political issues that have a moral dimension. At the same time, however, they continue to interfere anyway in matter of state affairs, such as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program and even in pressuring government to give away legally acquired private land for agri business to the so-called Sumilao farmers who were not genuine Sumilao farmers and were already, in fact, beneficiaries of Carp.

The Catholic church continues to support Gloria, despite its mea culpa, as it even moves to dampen the passion of the people to remove her from her illegally-occupied office, whether through the constitutional route, or the extra-constitutional path. No wonder the Palace is extremely happy with the CBCP paper.

But the bishops claim that which they will do, by way of atonement for the mistake they made in Edsa ll, would be to help in strengthening the weakened democratic institutions.

How, pray tell, when the bishops know only too well, that Gloria’s corruption and bribery of officials in these democratic institutions — including the bishops, are the very measures taken by her to keep her in the presidential saddle?

Sad, but even with their admission, the bishops continue to embrace hypocrisy.

hmmm....

yup. i totally agree with the recent statement of the CBCP.

had the CBCP not supported EDSA 2, there would have been no clear and dangerous divisions in our society.

Erap would have finished his term while GMA would still be president in 2004 til 2010!

and had that been the case im sure Erap and GMA would stand together to ensure that genuine progress not just economically and socially but politically as well can be realized!

by now, there would have been no clear warring opposition and administration forces.

well, im sure all of us will learn from it!

Puro nalang rhetorics and false claims ang naririnig ko kay Madame President. People are already sick and tired of it and yet she can't even clean up the mess her family is making. Tumahimik nalang sya dahil kumakapal lalo ang mukha nya. :lol:


Indeed.

She has still 2 years to redeem herself by focusing on long-term solutions......

Pinoys should always be on guard regarding the government's performance....criticism must not be always construed as mere political bashing....

....criticism is meant as a form of check and balance in order for the government to realize if they are doing the right thing...

In fairness to the present administration, the E.O. stopping the sale of dangerous used imported vehicles outside Freeports, the passage of the biofuels act, the dangerous drug act, E.O. on Buy Pinoy, cheap medicine act and the income tax relief for wage earners are some of its laudable accomplishments...

in 2010, I hope pinoys will unite and elect leaders that truly love our country....and not their self-interests alone...

i remember reading an editorial where Rizal was quoted: "i go to where there are no slaves" ek-ek...and how uneasy he would be in his grave, knowing that many filipinos nowadays are slaves of both foreign and filipino 'colonizers'

http://Clark to house $1-B Samsung Electronics plant

Clark to house $1-B Samsung Electronics plant
06/19/2008 | 05:51 PM

Email this | Email the Editor | Print | Digg this | Add to del.icio.us MANILA, Philippines- A strategic are inside the Clark Special Economic Zone will be home to the planned $1-billion production plant of top chip maker Samsung Electronics.

A top government official privy to the negotiations said that the government gave Samsung a choice between Clark and Subic Ecozone, but Samsung Electronics preferred the latter instead due to the lack of available land inside the Subic Bay.

"In fact, there is already an area reserved for Samsung inside Clark," he said.

Samsung Electronics is one of the largest semiconductor manufacturers in the world and South Korea's top electronics company. It makes various types of consumer devices including DVD players, big-screen television sets, and digital still cameras, computers, color monitors, LCD panels and printers.

It also manufactures semiconductors such as flash memory and communications devices ranging from wireless phones to networking switches. The company which is the flagship member of Samsung Group, also makes microwave ovens, refrigerators, air conditioners, and
washing machines.

The official further confirmed that it took the government over a year to finally close the deal with Samsung who wants to engage in chips production for exports to other major countries worldwide. The delay was caused by the tax evasion issue against its company president in
South Korea.

The official said Samsung's operations in Clark would be similar to what Texas Instruments is presently into.

Clark was the same zone where United Parcel Service housed its services, until recently, when

yup. i totally agree with the recent statement of the CBCP.

had the CBCP not supported EDSA 2, there would have been no clear and dangerous divisions in our society.

Erap would have finished his term while GMA would still be president in 2004 til 2010!

and had that been the case im sure Erap and GMA would stand together to ensure that genuine progress not just economically and socially but politically as well can be realized!

by now, there would have been no clear warring opposition and administration forces.

well, im sure all of us will learn from it!I agree with the above opinion.

We should work hard....


Business Mirror
June 20, 2008
RP ranks poor 82nd in 1st WEF
Global Enabling Trade Report

By Cai U. Ordinario
Reporter

THE Philippines did poorly in its ranking and trailed behind its Asean counterparts in the first Global Enabling Trade Report 2008 recently released by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

The country ranked 82nd among 118 economies included in the report with an index score of 3.57.

The Global Enabling Trade Report 2008 aims to present a cross-country analysis of the large number of measures facilitating trade.

The Philippines achieved the lowest rank among Asean member-countries, such as Singapore, which ranked second overall with a score of 5.71; Malaysia, 29th with 4.75; Indonesia, 47th with 4.27; and Thailand, 52nd with 4.18.

“We hope to raise awareness about the importance of trade for development, and the many factors that can hinder or facilitate trade. Our aim is to provide businesses and policymakers with insights into priorities for reform in each country, helping them to more fully benefit from the opportunities offered by global trade,” the WEF said in the study.

The report ranked countries according to its performance in four subindexes. The Philippines ranked 80th in market access with a score of 3.86; 82nd in border administration with a score of 3.54; 83rd in transportation and communications infrastructure with a score of 2.95; and 95th in Business Environment with a score of 3.93.

The WEF said that the first subindex measured the extent to which the policy and cultural framework of the country welcomes foreign goods into the country, while the second subindex assesses the extent to which the administration at the border facilitates their entry.

The third subindex, the WEF said, takes into account whether the country has the transport and communications infrastructure necessary to facilitate the movement of the goods from border to destination; while the fourth subindex looks at the overarching regulatory and security environment impacting the transport business in the country.

In terms of market access, the country ranked 88th in tariff and nontariff barriers, and 51st in proclivity to trade; while in border administration, the country ranked 88th in efficiency of customs administration, 48th in efficiency of import-export procedures, and 104th in transparency of border administration, respectively.

In transport and communications infrastructure, the country ranked 88th, 75th and 80th in availability and quality of transport infrastructure, availability and quality of transport services, and availability and use of information communications technology, respectively.

In terms of business environment, the Philippines ranked 81st and 89th in regulatory environment and physical security, respectively.

In a statement, the WEF said that besides Singapore, also included in the top 10 in the index were Hong Kong, which ranked first; Singapore was followed by Sweden, Norway, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Switzerland and New Zealand.

The WEF said the results were testaments to Hong Kong and Singapore’s openness to international trade and investment as part of their successful economic development strategy.

“Both countries have put into place customs administrations that are highly efficient in getting goods over borders. They are also endowed with well-developed transport and telecommunications infrastructures ensuring rapid transit to final destination. These attributes are further supported by business environments that are conducive to the logistics and transport industry,” the WEF said in a statement.

The Enabling Trade Index was developed within the context of the Forum’s Industry Partnership Program for the Logistics and Transport sector in close collaboration with the project’s data partners: Global Express Association, International Air Transport Association, International Trade Centre, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the World Bank and World Trade Organization.

The forum also received important input from Industry Partners ABX Logistics Worldwide, Agility, Deutsche Post World Net, DP World, FedEx Corp., Stena, TNT and UPS.

Business Mirror
June 20, 2008

Aggressive jobs programs needed
to hike employment in RP–Neda

By Cai U. Ordinario
Reporter


THE National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) remained unfazed by the almost flat growth in employment seen in the April 2008 Labor Force Survey (LFS) and said what the country needed was more aggressive employment programs to provide more employment opportunities for Filipinos in the coming months.

Neda officer in charge (OIC) Margarita Songco said in her statement to President Arroyo that employment programs such as the timely implementation of infrastructure projects this year and an increase in employment protection will also be necessary to secure employment, particularly for members of the industry sector for the rest of the year.

The Neda OIC noted that based on the LFS released by the National Statistics Office (NSO), rising inflation and the global economic slowdown resulted in reduced employment in the industry sector, which posted a 4.6-percent drop in employment.

Songco, currently a deputy director general of the Neda, was assigned OIC of the agency since Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Augusto Santos is currently out of the country.

“Most of the sectors with employment losses were also the sectors where production output in the first quarter of 2008 also slowed down, based on the National Income Accounts. Further employment losses in these sectors should be averted in addition to concerted and aggressive efforts to generate employment,” Songco said in a statement.

Songco also said that economic growth this year is expected to be driven by the mining and quarrying, construction, business-process outsourcing,real-estate and tourism sectors. With this, she said policies and programs that support these sectors are necessary in order to generate more employment.

Manufacturing, which employed the most number of persons in the industry sector, also recorded a decrease in employment of about 183,000 workers, or a contraction of 6 percent, which is a further decline compared with -0.9 percent in April 2006 and -3.1 percent in April 2007.

The services sector also exhibited a positive performance of 0.2 percent growth in employment despite the decrease in wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles and personal and household goods.

Songco noted that there was significant employment in hotels and restaurants, which expanded by 6.44 percent, and in real estate, renting and business activities, which increased by 5.1 percent.

Meanwhile, she also said that the Department of Agriculture’s FIELDS (Fertilizer, Irrigation, Education and training of farmers and fisherfolks, Loans, Dryers and postharvest facilities, and Seeds of the high-yielding, hybrid varieties) initiative is expected to revitalize production and employment in the agriculture sector.

The agriculture sector, Songco said, employs the second-largest number of the Filipino labor force. Employment in the agriculture sector expanded slightly by 0.4 percent but this was a sharp decrease from 5.1-percent growth in the same period last year.

On the other hand, University of Asia and the Pacific economist Victor Abola said that the loss of jobs in the manufacturing industry was the “main culprit” for the drop in net total jobs.

“The strong peso’s medium-term toll was felt most in manufacturing enterprises, which lost 183,000 jobs from April 2007. Surprisingly, even the buoyant mining industry also cut back 34,000 people from its payrolls. Antimining advocates must be jumping for joy while the ones who lost their jobs took a big hit,” Abola said in a statement.

Another cause for concern, Abola said, is that with the latest LFS, private firms seem more cautious and not so keen on hiring new employees, which was reflected in the number of working hours of the country’s labor force.

Abola said the LFS reflected employees’ preference for longer working hours, as the average working hours per week rose by 5 percent, even as the number of employed people working less than 40 hours per week was fewer by 15 percent.

Private think tank IBON Foundation, meanwhile, said the LFS results strengthen their belief that the country’s employment situation remains the greatest challenge for the Arroyo administration.

“The government survey reflects the country’s employment situation where unemployment is in an all-time high and jobs are low-paying and low in quality that workers continue to seek more work,” IBON said in a statement.

IBON said the LFS showed that one in five employed workers reported that they were seeking more work because they were not earning enough for their and their families’ needs.

The April LFS showed that the underemployment rate, or the percentage of employed workers who said they were looking for more work, grew to 6.6 million workers during the survey period from 6.4 million in the same period last year.

More significantly, IBON said is that the growth was in those considered “invisibly” underemployed, or those who already worked 40 hours or more a week.


One of the effects of our massive importation binge...:bash:

We must protect local industries. We must buy Pinoy goods and help save local employment.

http://Clark to house $1-B Samsung Electronics plant

Clark to house $1-B Samsung Electronics plant
06/19/2008 | 05:51 PM

Email this | Email the Editor | Print | Digg this | Add to del.icio.us MANILA, Philippines- A strategic are inside the Clark Special Economic Zone will be home to the planned $1-billion production plant of top chip maker Samsung Electronics.

A top government official privy to the negotiations said that the government gave Samsung a choice between Clark and Subic Ecozone, but Samsung Electronics preferred the latter instead due to the lack of available land inside the Subic Bay.

"In fact, there is already an area reserved for Samsung inside Clark," he said.

Samsung Electronics is one of the largest semiconductor manufacturers in the world and South Korea's top electronics company. It makes various types of consumer devices including DVD players, big-screen television sets, and digital still cameras, computers, color monitors, LCD panels and printers.

It also manufactures semiconductors such as flash memory and communications devices ranging from wireless phones to networking switches. The company which is the flagship member of Samsung Group, also makes microwave ovens, refrigerators, air conditioners, and
washing machines.

The official further confirmed that it took the government over a year to finally close the deal with Samsung who wants to engage in chips production for exports to other major countries worldwide. The delay was caused by the tax evasion issue against its company president in
South Korea.

The official said Samsung's operations in Clark would be similar to what Texas Instruments is presently into.

Clark was the same zone where United Parcel Service housed its services, until recently, when

Nice!:banana:

I think this has been cleared already. Member-bishops said that there was nothing to apologize for regarding the participation of some CBCP members during the ouster of the plunderer president. For one thing it's already fait acompli so this apology from one bishop has no bearing. Even without the prodding of Cardinal Sin, people who were unhappy with Erap's running the country will still go out in the streets and call for his ouster.

I think this has been cleared already. Member-bishops said that there was nothing to apologize for regarding the participation of some CBCP members during the ouster of the plunderer president. For one thing it's already fait acompli so this apology from one bishop has no bearing. Even without the prodding of Cardinal Sin, people who were unhappy with Erap's running the country will still go out in the streets and call for his ouster.

^^ Agree.

natawa naman ako, all time high daw sabi ng IBON ang unemployment rate. :lol:

MAD MAD MAD!!! :bash: Damn this people! And they say they're for the "poor". DUH!

http://business.inquirer.net/money/breakingnews/view/20080620-143855/Electrification-project-forced-to-close-due-to-insurgents

Electrification project forced to close due to insurgents

Agence France-Presse
First Posted 17:54:00 06/20/2008

MANILA, Philippines -- A Filipino-French company in the Philippines has been forced to close half of a rural electrification program after communist rebels torched its equipment and demanded "revolutionary taxes," the company said Friday.

The Paris-Manila Technology Corp. (Pamatec) is in charge of transporting and installing French government-funded solar panels and a mini-grid diesel system as part of a rural electrification project on the central island of Masbate, one of the poorest provinces in the country.

Pamatec chief Hubert d’Aboville told AFP that he had been forced to close the program in the south of the island after members of the New People's Army (NPA) attacked the company's assets.

"We had received several threatening letters which I had replied to in a most courteous way," he said.

"But still they attacked. It is just extortion. Nothing more," he said.

He said the project aims to bring cheap electricity to more than 100,000 poor people living in villages on the islands of Masbate and Ticao.

"We are now concentrating our efforts to the north of the main island of Masbate," d'Aboville said.

The project is worth over P1 billion ($22.7 million), and when finished, will provide electricity to 18,000 households in 128 remote villages in Masbate Province.

"I am very disappointed," d'Aboville said.

"These are people who have nothing, and all we are trying to do is improve their lives just a little bit. But the NPA obviously doesn't see that."

The 5000-strong NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, has been waging a Maoist armed struggle for a communist state in the hinterlands of the country for the past 39 years.

The insurgents raise funds by extorting money from businesses in rural areas such as mining companies and electrical and telecom firms. Those companies that refuse to pay their "revolutionary tax" are subject to NPA attacks.

^^ GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

^^^ Very frustrating!! and yet people keep on voting communist/terrorist parties like bayan muna, akbayan, sanlakas among other communist parties & representatives...eeeekkkk....

JPDM,
I LIKE YOUR ATTITUDE

WORK HARDER,IS THE ORDER OF THE DAY

ARNEL PINEDA IS THE PROOF

Hindi ko alam kung anong KM ang sinasabi mo, Barukdok.

Ang alam ko ay Knights of Rizal na kung saan kabilang ako bilang isang opisyal at may selebrasyon sa Kawit, Cavite sa JUne 12 at June 19 sa kaarawan ni RIzal


Sabi nga ni Barrera Marquez taga-imus ako.

Kamag-anak ako ng isa sa dalawang senador ngayon na galing din sa Imus, Cavite--isang oposisyon at isang taga-administrasyon.

Kasama rin ko mga kamag-anak ng dating gobernador at kongressman dito sa
mga proyekto nila para sa mga tao lalo na sa mga mahihirap.
JPM,




O ano, sa palagay mo ba, komunista ako pards?

Kaya, pakiusap ko sa iyo pards yang mga patutsada nyo, lalo na ikaw sa akin na may-padisco-disco ka pa (PTI) sa mga kritiko ng gobyerno na komunista ay iwasan at tigilan na ninyo. Hindi rin masama ang pagiging militante lalo kung maraming taong natutulungan.

Ikaw ba marami ka ng proyektong pinatupad sa bayan o probinsya nyo? Marami ka na bang kahit papaano naisalba sa kahirapan?May nabigyan ka na ba ng college scholarship?

Ako bumabanat man ako sa pamahalaan yung national leadership lang. Sa kabila nuon, tumutulong pa rin ako upang hindi mawala ang tiwala ng mamamayan kahit sa local government man lang.

madali kang maghusga at ibang forumers dito, akala mo kung sino! (PTI)

Baka naman puro dakdak ka lang at yung iba rito, pan-iinsulto (maraming adik sa isang forum, komunista na patay pa sa disco) at trolling ang ginawa mo at iba rito, ha pards?

Hindi lahat ng bumabanat sa pamahalaan makakaliwa.

Ikaw Barukdok, at iba pa ritong mahilig pumuna bago kayo bumanat linisin nyo muna baho at basura sa mga isip nyo at bunganga nyo (PTI)

Ikaw ng ganda sana advocacy mo pero pag tinatawag ang kapwa mo forumer na adik at komunista e nagiging basura ka sa mga magagandang tanawin na yan.

Konting ingat sa walang habas ninyong pang-iinsulto at pagtawag sa tao na komunista dahil lang iba ang opinyon.

DONT LET THIS LOW LIFE GET IN YOUR SKIN

LOT'S OF PEOPLE APPRECIATE YOUR WORK

THANK'S AND ALSO 3CR.....YOU'RE THE MAN

ARE WE BETTER OFF NOW THAN BEFORE(way back to marcos)?

i say we came a long way

check and balance is working

The 5000-strong NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, has been waging a Maoist armed struggle for a communist state in the hinterlands of the country for the past 39 years.

The insurgents raise funds by extorting money from businesses in rural areas such as mining companies and electrical and telecom firms. Those companies that refuse to pay their "revolutionary tax" are subject to NPA attacks.

Tsk tsk tsk. This is the real corrupt system. They do nothing but kill our soldiers, steal our money and spit on our nation's sovereignty. What bastos and cowards.

GMA releases funds as birthday gift to Chavit
By Teddy Molina
Sunday, June 22, 2008
http://philstar.com/index.php?Nation&p=49&type=2&sec=28&aid=2008062192

VIGAN City – All is fully well between President Arroyo and former Ilocos Sur governor Luis “Chavit” Singson as she gifted him during his 67th birthday celebration yesterday by releasing overdue funds for the province and neighboring provinces.

The former governor announced the fund releases when he acknowledged the greetings of a jampacked crowd gathered at his sprawling Baluarte residence compound in Barangay Tamag here where the celebration was held.

“Nangted ni Presidente ti kasapulan tay unay a pondo (The President gave us much needed funds), “Chavit told the crowd who came from various Ilocos Sur villages including the hinterland areas and delegations from other Ilocos provinces.

Mrs. Arroyo didn’t make it to Chavit’s special day as she was reportedly preparing to leave for official visit to the United States yesterday.She had always been attending Chavit’s birthday in the past.

The two parted ways after the President granted pardon to Chavit’s nemesis former President Joseph Estrada who was convicted of plunder. Chavit was the government’s main witness in the case.

Chavit said he asked Mrs. Arroyo to release the funds which he said are very much needed by the Ilocos provinces to cushion the impact of the increase in oil and food prices.

He noted the spiralling costs of agricultural inputs needed by the farmers as a result of the increasing fuel prices. In turn, prices of food are jacking up and beyond the reach of our people, he said.

He appealed for national unity and asked everyone to set aside political differences in the face of a worldwide food crisis and oil price surge as he noted reports on bloody skirmishes and unrest in other countries due to food shortages.

Among the guests in attendance were Public Highways Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane, Ilocos Norte Gov. Michael Keon, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, Deputy Speaker Eric Singson, Quezon City Rep. Vincent Crisologo, former Sen. Heherson Alvarez, Superintendent Romeo Hilomen, chief of PNP Region I, and the Ambassadors of Italy, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Pakistan and Turkey.

Ilocos Sur Gov. Deogracias Victor Savellano told The Star that the bulk of the fund releases came from the tobacco excise tax collections of the national government.

R.A. 7171 which was authored by Singson during his stint in Congress in l987 mandates the government to provide shares to the Virginia tobacco producing provinces – Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, Abra and La Union – from the tobacco tax proceeds.

Savellano disclosed to The Star that Ilocos Sur was alloted P57,232,355. The amount represents part of the province’s share for last year’s tobacco tax collections, it was learned.

The governor said that the partial release would empower the provincial government in helping the farmers with fertilizer and other requirements.

He expressed hope that the President will also release the remaining balance of the province’s revenue share which is reportely “bigger.”

Chavit also announced that P500 million was released by the President for the Salomague Port development in Cabugao town. The port, a pet project of Singson which he rebuilt during his term, has been listed as a super region project of the national government.

He reported that Mrs. Arroyo pledged to support all other mega projects in the region including Phase 2 of the Banaoang Irrigation Dam project initiated by Rep. Eric Singson.

Phase one that will benefit eight towns of Ilocos Sur’s first district will be completed and inaugurated next year, Chavit said. Former Rep. Salacnib Baterina with Chavit’s support started the project four years ago. – With Myds Supnad

How is the average person's life in Chavit county. Is their quality of life good? proper health care, education and housing. How come he lives in a sprawling mansion.

yung toilet nga nya yung sobrang high tech na galing Japan pa.

DONT LET THIS LOW LIFE GET IN YOUR SKIN

LOT'S OF PEOPLE APPRECIATE YOUR WORK

THANK'S AND ALSO 3CR.....YOU'RE THE MAN

lowlife daw o. have you even bothered to read my response to jpdm?

and do you even know it's rude to type in ALL CAPS on online forums? lowlife my pretty ass.

DONT LET THIS LOW LIFE GET IN YOUR SKIN

LOT'S OF PEOPLE APPRECIATE YOUR WORK

THANK'S AND ALSO 3CR.....YOU'RE THE MAN


What is this idiotic post? Flame-baiting again?

Nice treacherous hit JVillanueva. Out of nowhere you switched on you trolling forked tongue without any provocation.

I am already trying to prevent from posting negative reactions against fellow scc members or posts that might bring to much negativity.

Then, here you go again.

Pwes, mas lowlife ka, damn you! Without any provocation you insulted me.

Wala akong atraso sa iyo..tinira mo ako.

And I will not let you, damn lowlife to get into my skin also!

^^ teka, sino bang tinawag nyang lowlife, ikaw o ako?

Kayong dalawa raw. :lol:

^^


Para nga.

OT

Anyway, bakit nasa 10th place lang ang Mayon Volcano? But I hope the 4 entries from the Philippines make into the top 7.

The inclusion of these very famous Philippine sceneries with definitely boast tourism in our country....and a plus to our economy:)

^^it's just that how well will this list be known to the rest of the world once its announced?...Probably the results of this New7wonders campaign will only be known to the countries that are actively participating in voting ie. Vietnam, India, Philippines, etc. it doesn't seem that North America and Europe are actively participating in voting which may mean that they are not aware of this campaign.

^^
Anyway, at least we can score some good points and let other people from other countries know that we have these beautiful places and help sell the country as a tourists destination.

Tourism is such a lucrative business and a big help to our economy...:cheers:

IMF cuts Philippines' 2008 GDP growth forecast (http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/IMF-cuts-Philippines-2008-GDP-growth-forecast-FU8HU?OpenDocument)
By Rosemarie Francisco of Reuters

MANILA -- The International Monetary Fund said on Sunday it had cut its 2008 economic growth forecast for the Philippines to 5.2 per cent from 5.8 per cent due to slowing external demand and softening consumption.

"Growth is expected to slow and inflation will likely remain elevated," a statement from an IMF team that visited Manila earlier this month said.

"Continued prudent macroeconomic policy management is needed to navigate through the challenging times ahead."

The IMF said inflation was likely to stay close to double-digit levels in the coming months but the central bank's monetary policy was appropriately hawkish.

Inflation hit a nine-year high of 9.6 per cent in May and central bank governor Amando Tetangco has said inflation may peak at 10-11 per cent in the third quarter with no let up in rising fuel and food prices.

The central bank raised its headline policy rates by 25 basis points this month, the first increase in nearly three years, and Tetangco said the economy could weather further interest rate rises that may be necessary.

The Philippine government said last month it expects economic growth to slow this year to 5.7-6.5 per cent, weaker than its earlier target of 6.3 to 7.0 per cent, after hitting a three-decade peak last year of 7.2 per cent.

Annual growth in the first quarter slowed to 5.2 per cent, well below expectations and down sharply from the previous quarter's 6.4 per cent expansion as rocketing inflation, a slowdown in the United States and the soaring cost of imported oil took their toll.

Anxious to support the economy, the Philippine government abandoned its goal of balancing the budget this year.

Manila now expects to post a budget deficit of as much as 75 billion pesos ($US1.7 billion), or 1 per cent of gross domestic product, as it spends more on infrastructure and social services in a bid to pump prime the slowing economy.

But the IMF said the Philippines must protect its fiscal programme for 2009, when it expects to post a small budget deficit, to convince investors the country was committed to its fiscal consolidation programme.

"The mission is supportive of a targeted increase in pro-poor spending that may entail a modest fiscal deficit in 2008, but it is important to protect the 2009 fiscal program," the statement said.

"The recent reduction in public debt, from about 100 per cent of GDP in 2003 to 62 per cent in 2007, has provided some scope for increased social spending."

The IMF said the government must adopt legislation, possibly on reforming fiscal incentives and tax administration, to recover lost revenues from recent reforms in personal income taxation and a planned reduction in corporate income taxes in 2009.

global naman po yata ang recession, 'dba?

^ don't worry. Life's tough in the US right now as well.
We've never had so much problems since moving here 10 years ago.
The Philippines is not alone.
I suggest those good for nothing, uneducated protestors stop blaming the Philippine government on the hike in GLOBAL prices and just try their best to save as much resources and money as possible. Arroyo doesn't have to power to end the soaring prices.

^^ ito ba iyong may scanner and aiming system ang temperature controlled bidet ?

^ don't worry. Life's tough in the US right now as well.
We've never had so much problems since moving here 10 years ago.
The Philippines is not alone.
I suggest those good for nothing, uneducated protestors stop blaming the Philippine government on the hike in GLOBAL prices and just try their best to save as much resources and money as possible. Arroyo doesn't have to power to end the soaring prices.

The protesters are glad to see problems local or global. They could link it to the president:D

^^ ito ba iyong may scanner and aiming system ang temperature controlled bidet ?

basic function lang yan. yung minamasahe ng machine ang kanyang betlog ang pinka haytek function:D

global naman po yata ang recession, 'dba?

The crisis is being felt by most countries worldwide, except for few ones like UAE, Saudi, for obvious reason: oil.

^^ other nations can strike and not visit the tourist city Dubai, which will seriously piss off the Prince. :lol:

The crisis is being felt by most of the countries worldwide, except for few ones like UAE, Saudi, for obvious reasons: oil.

Kailan kaya darating ang panahon, na hindi na natin kailangan ang oil nila, yung pagsisihan nila ang ginagawa nila ngayong sobrang pagtaas ng presyo. Sana solar-powered na lahat ng gamit

Despite our shortcomings as a people and as a nation, despite the massive poverty that stalks our land...this country is the most beautiful for me and worth dying for....:)

I always believe that we can surmount any problems that come our way as long as we Pinoys are united....:)

Happy Philippine Independence Day!:banana:


MABUHAY ANG BANSANG PLIPINO!MABUHAY ANG PILIPINAS!!:cheers:



totally agreed!!!:)

Better future for Filipino women (http://www.cpa.org.au/garchve08/1369cult.html)

In her office at the end of a long corridor in the South Wing of the spreading complex of the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Batasan, Quezon City, Representative Luzviminda Ilagan receives hundreds of letters every day from around the country seeking legislative help to tackle various problems faced by Filipino women.

Elected last year as the second congresswoman from the country’s left-wing women’s political party Gabriela, Ilagan and her party are proposing three bills at the Congress to promote women’s rights — the bill to fight violence against women and children, the bill to check trafficking of women and the bill to extend maternal leaves from 60 days to 120 days.

In an interview with the Xinhua newsagency, Ilagan said Gabriela’s aim is to represent half of the population, the majority of whom are still struggling for a better life and a better future for their children, as well as the right to education, employment, health care, safety and equality with men.

"We are living in a developing country. The Filipino women are experiencing all the economic and political problems of men in the country, such as poverty and rampant corruption, which affect all the population", she said.

As the National Chairperson of Gabriela and a vanguard in the advancement of women’s rights since 1980s, Ilagan, a retired faculty member of the Ateneo de Davao University in Mindanao, southern Philippines, has been active in the political arena for more than two decades, at both local level and national level.

Also a pianist and receiver of several prestigious awards, she is a well-known lecturer and trainer both for local governments and private companies and is active in protecting the rights of indigenous women.

She said that although the Philippines has had two female presidents since 1986, a majority of Filipino women, especially the poor, are still in a disadvantageous position in society compared with men, and many of them are subject to discrimination and exploitation of various forms.

"In the rural areas, Filipino women are not recognised as farmers, so they cannot avail themselves of credit or loans for self-development as men do", she said.

The lawmaker is particularly critical of the big plantations owned by big clans of the country and multilateral plantations of fruits, where many women work long hours in hard conditions but have very meagre income in return, most of whom have salaries below minimum wage level.

She said what is more serious is that because of poverty and insufficient jobs in rural areas, many women are lured to work in big cities but are cheated. It is not unusual that these young women end up as prostitutes. Ilagan said in urban areas of the Philippines, poor women, illegal residents and squatters live in very miserable conditions, and housing is a serious problem there.

"Many poor women live with their families in gutters, lacking electricity and clean water, and cannot afford to send their children to school", she said. She said the poor women are particularly vulnerable when they get pregnant and give birth to children, and maternal death rates are very high.

"When pregnant, they can only go to government hospitals, which provide free services. But due to lack of money, in these hospitals it often happens that three women share one bed for accouchement", she said.

But poor women are also those who bear more children compared with well-off women in the country, she added.

Each woman has an average of 5.9 children in the poor families, as compared to an average of two children in the wealthiest households, according to a latest National Demographic and Health Survey conducted by the government in 2003.

Ilagan said over the past several decades, women throughout Asia have won more rights and made progress in increasing economic independence, participating in political activities, and raising awareness of their own rights.

"Women in Southeast Asia have to struggle against some backward forms of cultural characteristics, which came down from its feudal and patriarchal traditions highlighted by male-domination in both families and society as a whole", she said.

The lawmaker said it is encouraging that governments, private institutions and non-government organisations of countries in the region hold seminars and conferences on the issue of women regularly.

She said in the Philippines, academicians in universities and women’s activists are collaborating with each other to promote the role of women in the society. "Academicians provide the fuel, activists are working in the field", she said of the model being worked out by Gabriela.

As for the specific issues being addressed by Gabriela, she said the political group has recently been conducting an information drive about family planning, despite staunch opposition from the powerful Roman Catholic Church.

Gabriela is also considering introducing a bill that allows divorce in future, which is also a taboo in the predominantly Catholic nation.

"Reproductive health is what Gabriela is concerned about most for women", she emphasised, adding that family planning in the Philippines is not so much about the two percent population growth rate, but about the quality care for children and health for women.

According to a government survey in the country, six out of 10 sexually active Filipino women were at risk of conceiving a child with an elevated risk of mortality, either because they were impregnated before 18 or after 35, or have had more than three previous births at an unacceptable short birth interval.

The protection of overseas Filipino workers — 80 percent of whom are women — is another major issue on the agenda of Gabriela.

The party had sent letters to the Philippine diplomatic missions in the Middle East, calling for better protection of Filipina maids and other workers there. The party has also called on the government to lower the payment to government agencies responsible for deploying workers abroad.

Gabriela has also been active in calling for the protection of the environment in mining areas, helping indigenous people who have been displaced by conflicts and mining projects, urging the Japanese government to compensate for the surviving "comfort women", and providing help to some former entertainers who are still living in Japan by giving them training in the English language so that they can teach Japanese kids English.

Ilagan regretted that the country’s media has not paid enough attention to the majority of the ordinary Filipino women but only focus on the elite, celebrities and the wealthy.

She said while the media only report on the professionals, lawyers and doctors who are playing a high-profile role in the women’ s cause, the majority of Gabriela’s supporters are working class women, who she said are the "invisible".

Founded in 2000 and having 100,000 members nationwide, Gabriela is not only dedicated to promoting the rights and welfare of the Filipino women, but also seeks to harness the potential, initiative, skills, and leadership of marginalised women towards empowerment, justice and equality, she said.

The group drew international attention when its members staged demonstrations in front of the US Embassy in Manila in November 2005, after a Filipina woman was raped by six US Marines in the former US Subic military base.

The three women lawyers who acted for the rape victim which led to the conviction of one US Marine in a Filipino court were also active supporters of Gabriela.

Apart from frequent publicity, the party focuses more on the basics to change the Philippine society for the better. The party has been organising training for women on how to earn their livelihood and encourage families to let their girls complete schooling.

It is good that girls have fared better than boys in terms of enrolment indicators in elementary and secondary education, with female enrolment ratio computed at 77 percent, as is shown in a government survey in 2007, she said.

But all difficulties and problems faced by Filipino women, such as poverty, landlessness and slow justice, have their root causes which need to be addressed sooner or later, and the improving of people’s lives should be the priority of the government, Ilagan pointed out.

http://www.bworldonline.com/BW062508/content.php?id=003

Upgrade possible if revenues improve

BusinessWorld
June 25, 2008

THE PHILIPPINES may merit an upgrade in its sovereign ratings outlook if revenue-generating capacity improvements allow for both debt reduction and continued spending, global debt watcher Standard and Poor’s (S&P) said.

In a new report, entitled "Asia-Pacific Sovereign Report Card: Stability Predominates, But Macroeconomic Headaches Remain Intense," S&P outlined the strengths and weaknesses of each economy in the region and examined the buffers each one has against worsening global economic conditions.

It said strong fundamentals have helped cushion the impact of external pressures, although some economies still failed to apply prudent policy measures to offset the effects of the global economic slump.

S&P said that while the Philippine government’s decision to delay its balanced budget goal will not have any implication on its creditworthiness, the key issue remains the government’s ability to increase collections from recurring revenue sources.

"The key issue remains that revenue collection should meet [the government’s] goals and so address this long-standing deficiency," S&P credit analyst Agost Benard said in the report.

"The outlook could be revised to positive on evidence that revenue-generating capacity has fundamentally improved, such that a sustainable, expanded revenue base provides for continued fiscal consolidation and debt reduction while also allowing for ongoing capital spending," he added.

S&P recently affirmed its ratings of "BB-" long-term foreign currency and issue ratings, "B" short-term foreign and local currency sovereign ratings, and "stable" outlook on both the country’s foreign and local currency ratings. These ratings indicate some vulnerability to nonpayment of obligations, due largely to uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial and economic conditions, though the Philippines is deemed able to meet its financial commitments.

Moody’s Investors Service currently rates the country’s debt papers at "B1" or four notches below investment grade with "positive" outlook, while Fitch Ratings rates the country’s sovereign debt papers a "BB" or below investment grade.

The government has announced that it will defer its balanced budget goal to 2010 as it aims to increase spending on infrastructure as well as provide subsidies to help underprivileged sectors cope with the rapid escalation of prices of oil and food.

It said it would provide a subsidy worth P3 billion per quarter for the public transport sector, P2 billion to help small power users, P1 billion for scholarships and student loans, and another P1 billion to help public utility vehicle drivers convert to engines that use alternative fuels.

The government now expects a budget shortfall of as much as P75 billion this year, equivalent to 1% of gross domestic product.

The government posted a budget surplus of P7 billion for the month of May alone, the highest monthly surplus in 12 years, on strong revenues coupled by slower spending.

Expenditures grew by merely 4.1%, slower than the 7.9% growth recorded in the same month a year ago, which went against original plans that the government would front-load spending in the first half to offset the effects of the global downturn.

A strong tax intake has so far helped to narrow the budget shortfall to P18.8 billion in the first five months of the year, lower than the P41.8 billion recorded in the same period last year.

However, the tax effort — a measure of the government’s ability to collect more taxes as the economy grows — remained low at 12.79% in the first quarter, a bit higher than the 12.2% in the same period last year but still lower than the 15.2% programmed for this year.

S&P warned that the outlook on the country’s ratings could still be changed to "negative" if the fiscal position is endangered by stalling reforms or weakening revenue efforts to the extent that the deficit begins to widen or that budget goals can only be met by cutting on spending at the expense of future growth.

Are the Zobels and Ayalas allowed to marry a commoner? ( Tama ba ang term ko, meaning ung from the middle class basta hindi super rich tulad nila? )

GMA should be rewarded:D

Why not?:bash:

This is a problem that needs immediate and long-term solution.

Our country should not remain in trade deficits all the time because it prevents us from saving precious foreign exchange that can be used for development projects.

Gising!:ohno:

(UPDATE 2) Trade deficit hits $531 million in April :bash:

By Enrico dela Cruz
Thomson Financial
First Posted 09:42:00 06/25/2008

MANILA, Philippines -- The country recorded a trade deficit of $531 million in April, with the import bill rising 11.8 percent from a year earlier amid soaring crude oil prices, government data showed on Wednesday.

Total imports for the month reached $4.855 billion, while exports rose 4.9 percent to $4.325 billion, the National Statistics Office said.

For the first four months of the year, the trade deficit stood at $2.6 billion compared to a deficit of $179 million in the same period last year.

Electronics imports, which accounted for a third of the import bill in April, fell 10.7 percent to $1.594 billion.

But imports of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, with a 21.4 percent share of the bill, rose 13.7 percent to $1.037 billion.

Food imports also jumped sharply, with cereals and cereal preparations registering a 222.9 percent increase to $239.95 million or 4.9 percent of the bill.

"The growth in imports in August was slightly weaker than we expected but it's still up double-digit year on year and reflecting the pressure from higher oil and food prices," said David Cohen, chief economist at Action Economics in Singapore.

The continuing sluggishness in imports and exports of electronics, a key dollar earner for the Philippines, reflected slowing global demand, he said. Bulk of the country's imports is raw materials for electronic products intended for exports.

The trade deficit can be remedied by focusing on two very important and very difficult tasks.

Less reliance on foreign oil and self-sustaining rice production

Difficult indeed.

Yes I think so. If you mean in terms of wealth, as far as I know they do marry people not as financially well off as they are.

If I'm not mistaken, Kitkat Silverio (married to Fernando Zobel de Ayala) and Joseph McMicking (married to Mercedes Zobel) are not as well off as the family they married into.

UP President is a woman..Dr Roman

Henry Sy's eldest child (?) is a woman Tessie Sy Coson

Meh senator tayo pangalan jamby hekhekhek

^^mmmm...you mean i still have a chance to marry one of the Zobels/Ayala's hot chicks and be part of their family :D

total engineer naman ako so bagay na maging gold-digger :D

its always the women who clean up the mess...cory of marcos and gma of erap.hehehe

the problem with the philippines is the filipino itself! its us! we are the problem of our country! our country should be ashamed of us!

unless we start doing things right we wont get out of this mess we placed ourselves!!!

lets start by electing the right officials who will guide us! why the hell did the estrada's in our senate got elected? its because of our ignorance!

it's our incompetence in selecting our leaders!!! and why the hell cant we become a federated country? most federated country has an inherent level of stability within in them. coz if one state fucks up! the others wont be dragged with it! the same way our Capital Region fucks up it drags everyone!!!

check out our taxes! from our salaries it goes to the BIR(central government) then from that they distribute it as IRA to provinces, etc! too many hands right? would'nt it be better if a province will just give a share of its revenue to the federal government?

and what the hell! why dont we let foreigners own lands in our country! fucking and foolish patriotism? foreigners bring jobs to us! that way more investments more job and less poverty! choose patriotism over poverty! we could be patriotic while not being poor right?

my opinion!

mao kini ang opinion sa taga cebu!

Yes I think so. If you mean in terms of wealth, as far as I know they do marry people not as financially well off as they are.

If I'm not mistaken, Kitkat Silverio (married to Fernando Zobel de Ayala) and Joseph McMicking (married to Mercedes Zobel) are not as well off as the family they married into.

Correcto. Altho of course Kitkat came from the Delta Motors family (but that empire went under); and McMicking was an aide to Douglas MacArthur; but he was the brains behind developing Forbes Park and the rest of the Ayala Makati.

^^Difficult? I think its impossible. The country's reliance on oil and coal alone is enough to cause large trade deficits. Rice and other food related stuff is another story.
Unless we discover a local source of fuel to accommodate our needs, sustain agriculture, and be able to export large quantity of local products, trade imbalance will be here to stay.

So how are we going to do it if Filipinos are busy politicking, taking on insurgents, etc. We have to get our acts together. That is the fix.

yet they leave with even more mess. ahehehe j/k

^^ Exactly.:lol:
But I think not this time.
Hopefully GMA will have much of a project to redeem herself/or her government from their fiasco.

^^mmmm...you mean i still have a chance to marry one of the Zobels/Ayala's hot chicks and be part of their family :D

total engineer naman ako so bagay na maging gold-digger :D
:rofl:

Yea, I think they are free to choose on who they really want to marry regardless of social status.

Pero, ang bigtime nila. Nakakaintimidate.

It's good that here in the Philippines, we value the elders unlike in some countries where an old age only means they have to be put in some nursing homes. Here, we value our grandparents. I even heard we have grandparent's day celebrated annually.

I think the medical field is also developing geriatric medicine to show that we are not neglecting the elderly. Come to think of it, the best place to retire is here in the Philippines.

Elders? Did you say this because of "Senior Management"?

:lol: Sorry..... that doesn't mean senior citizen, it means manager. :nuts:

:rofl:

Yea, I think they are free to choose on who they really want to marry regardless of social status.

Pero, ang bigtime nila. Nakakaintimidate.


Sayang, happily married na ako:clown:m)):lock:!!!

i have got a solution to propose to everyone:

why wont our public servants live and act like servants for once?

you know, no more astronomical salaries and allowances, out with their processional-sized staff, no more special privileges...etc

sana mangyari yan during my lifetime.,haha ambitious dream:bash:

The Filipino men hold women with respect. Our image of a woman is compassionate, loving and caring. That is why we value our mothers and our wives. Most of the time, women are the officer-in-charge in terms of household budgeting. Also, unlike some country, we refer to our country as Inang Bayan. So definitely, I would say, our country is matriarchal. Sometimes, our people use more of the heart (emotion) rather than the brain (logic).

ipatanggal nlng kaya yung SK and barangay level of administration! overkill na eh! we dont need a barangay captain and his 8 or more councilors! i think the municipal level is enough!

guys you do the math! how many barangays do we have? 41,995? so that 41,995 barangay captains. then 41,995 x 8 councilors!

abolish them! and well save so much!

Just to re-emphasize that the culprit of our huge and terrible trade deficit is attributed to high costs of imported consumers goods which we can easily replaced by local products...

At the same time, with an oversupply of human resources, the country can easily replace also some of our industrial imports...For instance, our IT grads can help in the localization of some of the raw materials use in the production of microchips.....

Again, the solution is basically simple. The government and the private sector should focus their priorities in replacing as much as possible imports that can be source here locally specifically to limit our trade deficits and bring more precious dollars and employment to our country....

Manila Standard
June 26, 2008

Trade gap widens to $2.6b

By Roderick T. dela Cruz

Surging prices of imported petroleum, fertilizer, cereals and other consumer goods led to a trade deficit of $531 million in April and $2.6 billion:ohno: in the first four months of 2008, the National Statistics Office said yesterday.

Imports rose 11.8 percent to $4.855 billion in April, owing largely to a 62.5 percent increase in purchases of consumer goods by value, which offset a 10.7 percent drop in orders for electronic components.

Rice imports soared 174 percent in April while orders for wheat grew 684 percent, which highlighted the country’s growing dependence on imported cereals.

Excessive prices of commodities pushed the country’s trade deficit to $2.6 billion in the January-April period as total imports jumped 17.9 percent to $19.462 billion while exports posted a modest growth of 3.3 percent to $16.86 billion.

Analysts said the widening trade deficit had cut into the country’s balance of payments surplus, which is heavily supported by remittances. The narrowing payments surplus has allowed the peso to depreciate at a rapid rate in recent weeks amid the continuing risk aversion by equity and currency investors.

Orders for electronic products, however, fell 10.7 percent to $1.594 billion in April, a sign that local electronic assemblers are slowing their production because of sluggish global demand.

The same trend was noted in other Asian developing economies.

More than 40 percent of Philippine imports are raw materials purchased by local units of Texas Instruments Inc. and other exporters, whose shipments abroad account for about two-fifths of the $118-billion economy.

“Exports of electronics are not likely to recover very quickly due to lack of investments and increased competition,” said George Worthington, chief Asia-Pacific economist at Thomson IFR in Sydney.

Imports for transport equipment grew 36.4 percent to $304.07 million in April because of the acquisition of new aircraft by local carriers.

Orders for industrial machinery and equipment also increased 35.6 percent to $203.04 million while imports of iron and steel went up by 23.2 percent to $136.42 million.

^^ it's too early to close this thread, my friend :)

Diyos Kong mahabagin......:)

Save us from this economic disaster!!!:ohno:

Parang hindi naaalarma gobyerno nito??:eek2::?

Philippine Star
Business
Trade deficit seen to swell to $11.5B
By Des Ferriols
Friday, June 27, 2008

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) expects the country’s trade deficit to hit $11.5 billion (GRABE!:bash:)this year because of surging oil prices and the projected increase in food imports, particularly grains.

In 2007, the country incurred a deficit of $8.2 billion.

“It’s both because of volume and value of imports which we expect to increase this year,” said Illuminada Sicat, director of the BSP’s Department of Economic Statistics (DES).

NBC news 6/26/08 they say the mortgage crisis will hit bottom june 2009

if this hold to be true,2009 is a good year to buy real estate in the USA

i believe you can find excellent deals if you are debt free and have cash

3cr ,the opportunity to make money is there for the taking

prosperity is coming to those that make the right moves

ipatanggal nlng kaya yung SK and barangay level of administration! overkill na eh! we dont need a barangay captain and his 8 or more councilors! i think the municipal level is enough!

guys you do the math! how many barangays do we have? 41,995? so that 41,995 barangay captains. then 41,995 x 8 councilors!

abolish them! and well save so much!

alam mo bang mahalaga ang ginagampanan ng mga brangay officials sa mga lugar na malimit sinasalanta ng bagyo.

isa sa mga tungkuling ginagampanan ng mga ito ay ang pagtulong sa lokal na pamahalaan sa oras ng kalamidad tulad ng bagyo at lindol.

sa mga bayan na malayo sa kabihasnan, sila ang madalas nagmimintina ng paglilinis ng national road para maging maaliwalas at ligtas sa mga byahero.

sila din ang namamahala ng erigasyon (irrigation) sa mga palayan, nagkukumpuni ng mga sirang daan, at nag-mimintina sa kaayusan ng kinabibilangang kumunidad.

pag piyesta, sila naman ang punong-abala.

kung iisipin, bakit nga ba sila nagtityaga sa kakapiranggot na sweldo na ibinibigay ng pamahalaan kada tatlong buwan.

41,995 x 8 =335,960 na trabaho, pano mo sila bibigyan ng panibagong trabaho?

maaasahan ba ang mga konsehal ng bayan natin... sila ba ay handang lumusong sa kanal para ayusin kapag ito ay barado?

pagkakatandaan natin na iba ang mga barangay officials sa metro manila kaysa sa mga rural na pook.

yun lamang po.

Dont you think kaya na yan ng Municipal or City level of Government? the problem with the barangay level is the buruecracy!!! its much better if the mayor has the highest power among local government. that way he has more hands in developing his city. where as now each barangay has its own program on how to develop their barangay and most of them are not complementing each other. dba? its much better if the mayor can divide his city or municipality according to the city-wide plan. he can divide his city into residential, commercial or industrial, recreational, ect. districts. the present ctwshun is that each barangay wants to have its own residential, commercial, etc. right? so the progress of the city is not organized.

"41,995 x 8 =335,960 na trabaho, pano mo sila bibigyan ng panibagong trabaho?" - you see? it seems like a source of job, income! thats really whats happening now! for them its a source of income and most of them are not doing their job!!!

so why not abolish it. so the government will have more funds to generate services and generate job and for the mayor able to organize the progress of his/her city or municipality and just simplify our buruecracy!

^^wOW~! i wonder how you will reorganize an existing and already developed municipal town...mmmm

bat pilipino ay poor
kasi magaling tayong manalat sa mahjong

^^ its a disaster really, but we are not alone. Vietnam had 11B trade deficit for the first 4 months alone... tsk tsk...

For as long as oil importing nations remain dependant on middle east oil, trade deficits will continue to swell.

The US has been very disappointing lately. The lone superpower has resorted to blaming speculators instead of finding a lasting solution, an alternative to oil.

GMA:
Pros: Batay sa isang survey, #1 si GMA sa kategoryang "Philippine President w/ the Sexiest Legs". #2 Si Cory. :naughty::lol:

PRO's of GMA - she works like hell in trying to lead this nation to prosperity.
- she is very good in manilpulating people and country, so therefore she is
a primary example for all trapos.( although it is not uncommon in our
past politicians).

CON's of GMA - she does not "lead by example".
- apart from working like hell to lead this nation to prosperity, she is also
working like hell to ensure that her family and her cohorts gets fat
fat commissions on all big govt deals. nabuko na kasi sila a number of
times.

PRO's of GMA - she works like hell in trying to lead this nation to prosperity.
- she is very good in manilpulating people and country, so therefore she is
a primary example for all trapos.( although it is not uncommon in our
past politicians). They are all o

CON's of GMA - she does not "lead by example".
- apart from working like hell to lead this nation to prosperity, she is also
working like hell to ensure that her family and her cohorts gets fat
fat commissions on all big govt deals. nabuko na kasi sila a number of
times.

PRO's of GMA - she works like hell in trying to lead this nation to prosperity.
- she is very good in manilpulating people and country, so therefore she is
a primary example for all trapos.( although it is not uncommon in our
past politicians). They are all one in the same!

CON's of GMA - she does not "lead by example".
- apart from working like hell to lead this nation to prosperity, she is also
working like hell to ensure that her family and her cohorts gets fat
fat commissions on all big govt deals. nabuko na kasi sila a number of
times.

PRO's of GMA - she works like hell in trying to lead this nation to prosperity.
- she is very good in manilpulating people and country, so therefore she is
a primary example for all trapos.( although it is not uncommon in our
past politicians). They are all one in the same!

CON's of GMA - she does not "lead by example".
- apart from working like hell to lead this nation to prosperity, she is also
working like hell to ensure that her family and her cohorts gets fat
fat commissions on all big govt deals. nabuko na kasi sila a number of
times.

^^ its a disaster really, but we are not alone. Vietnam had 11B trade deficit for the first 4 months alone... tsk tsk...

Yes, they are worse, Vietnam's inflation is at 25% and could grow higher. But the gov't should address our inflation seriously, currently running close to 10%.

nag stuck up ba ang enter key mo?:D sa sobrang galit mo kay PGMA?

malay mo yan ang uso ngayon...

malay mo yan uso ngayon.. :colgate:

malay mo yan uso ngayon ..:colgate: :colgate:

anong nangyari sayo kyle?

anong nangyari sayo kyle?

anong nangyari sayo kyle?

anong nangyari sayo kyle?

anong nangyari sayo kyle?

anong nangyari sayo kyle?
anong nangyari sayo kyle?

putik! bakit ganun:D

wala naman...

wala naman..:colgate:

sinisinok kayo

ikaw hindi?

hindi

hindi hik

ano ang hik..??

ano ang hik..?

PRO's of GMA - she works like hell in trying to lead this nation to prosperity.
- she is very good in manilpulating people and country, so therefore she is
a primary example for all trapos.( although it is not uncommon in our
past politicians). They are all o

CON's of GMA - she does not "lead by example".
- apart from working like hell to lead this nation to prosperity, she is also
working like hell to ensure that her family and her cohorts gets fat
fat commissions on all big govt deals. nabuko na kasi sila a number of
times.

agree :cheers1::banana:

agree :cheers1::banana:

i beg to disagree:D

i beg to disagree:D

i beg to disagree:D

i beg to disagree:D

hik!

PRO's of GMA - she works like hell in trying to lead this nation to prosperity.
- she is very good in manilpulating people and country, so therefore she is
a primary example for all trapos.( although it is not uncommon in our
past politicians). They are all one in the same!

CON's of GMA - she does not "lead by example".
- apart from working like hell to lead this nation to prosperity, she is also
working like hell to ensure that her family and her cohorts gets fat
fat commissions on all big govt deals. nabuko na kasi sila a number of
times.

Correct:carrot::cheers2::naughty:

For as long as oil importing nations remain dependant on middle east oil, trade deficits will continue to swell.

The US has been very disappointing lately. The lone superpower has resorted to blaming speculators instead of finding a lasting solution, an alternative to oil.

Actually, its the Saudis and the OPEC who are blaming speculators while the US is blaming them....specially KSA...

In the meantime,poor countries like the Philippines are suffering from terrible inflation.....:ohno:

:lol: :lol: :lol: This thread is fuck*$#@ed.

^^ I disagree, Obama and McCain have embraced this "blame the speculators" myth. In fact, both candidates are calling for a crackdown on speculators.

^^ Hindi pa presidente kahit na sino man sa kanila and they are not the US government. :)

JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia - The U.S. energy secretary said Saturday that insufficient oil production, not financial speculation, was driving soaring crude prices.

Secretary Samuel Bodman said that oil production has not kept pace with growing demand, especially from developing countries like China and India.

"Market fundamentals show us that production has not kept pace with growing demand for oil, resulting in increasing prices and increasingly volatile prices," Bodman told reporters. "There is no evidence that we can find that speculators are driving futures prices" for oil. (http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2008/06/us-energy-secretary-dont-blame.html)
He said commodities markets have experienced a huge influx of money from financial investors in recent years, but they have been following the market upward rather than driving the increase in the price of oil.


Speculators do drive the prices of any commodities for some reason such as the law of supply and demand. It is just a reality that prices go up on any items when there is not enough.

Even the US import of oil from Mexico and Venezuela are very low.

The Philippines would always be affected on any changes of the world oil prices.

This became a gossip thread rather a thread discussing the Zobel Dynasty. Mga chismoso! LOL

Are the Zobels and Ayalas allowed to marry a commoner? ( Tama ba ang term ko, meaning ung from the middle class basta hindi super rich tulad nila? )

Yes I think so. If you mean in terms of wealth, as far as I know they do marry people not as financially well off as they are.

If I'm not mistaken, Kitkat Silverio (married to Fernando Zobel de Ayala) and Joseph McMicking (married to Mercedes Zobel) are not as well off as the family they married into.

Don't forget the beautiful Maricris (nee Cardenas) who married the hazel-eyed Inigo Zobel de Ayala.

Correct:carrot::cheers2::naughty:

wrong:lol:

^^ I didn't specify the US government, Bush's administration, i commented on the sentiments of the nation thus far. These two candidates, whatever they say, usually reflect the overall sentiments of the nation, given that they will say almost anything to get elected. Anyway, we digress.

Op-Ed Columnist
Fuels on the Hill
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By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: June 27, 2008
Congress has always had a soft spot for “experts” who tell members what they want to hear, whether it’s supply-side economists declaring that tax cuts increase revenue or climate-change skeptics insisting that global warming is a myth.

Skip to next paragraph

Paul Krugman

Go to Columnist Page » Blog: The Conscience of a Liberal Right now, the welcome mat is out for analysts who claim that out-of-control speculators are responsible for $4-a-gallon gas.

Back in May, Michael Masters, a hedge fund manager, made a big splash when he told a Senate committee that speculation is the main cause of rising prices for oil and other raw materials. He presented charts showing the growth of the oil futures market, in which investors buy and sell promises to deliver oil at a later date, and claimed that “the increase in demand from index speculators” — his term for institutional investors who buy commodity futures — “is almost equal to the increase in demand from China.”

Many economists scoffed: Mr. Masters was making the bizarre claim that betting on a higher price of oil — for that is what it means to buy a futures contract — is equivalent to actually burning the stuff.

But members of Congress liked what they heard, and since that testimony much of Capitol Hill has jumped on the blame-the-speculators bandwagon.

Somewhat surprisingly, Republicans have been at least as willing as Democrats to denounce evil speculators. But it turns out that conservative faith in free markets somehow evaporates when it comes to oil. For example, National Review has been publishing articles blaming speculators for high oil prices for years, ever since the price passed $50 a barrel.

And it was John McCain, not Barack Obama, who recently said this: “While a few reckless speculators are counting their paper profits, most Americans are coming up on the short end — using more and more of their hard-earned paychecks to buy gas.”

Why are politicians so eager to pin the blame for oil prices on speculators? Because it lets them believe that we don’t have to adapt to a world of expensive gas.

Indeed, this past Monday Mr. Masters assured a House subcommittee that a return to the days of cheap oil is more or less there for the asking. If Congress passed legislation restricting speculation, he said, gasoline prices would fall almost 50 percent in a matter of weeks.

O.K., let’s talk about the reality.

Is speculation playing a role in high oil prices? It’s not out of the question. Economists were right to scoff at Mr. Masters — buying a futures contract doesn’t directly reduce the supply of oil to consumers — but under some circumstances, speculation in the oil futures market can indirectly raise prices, encouraging producers and other players to hoard oil rather than making it available for use.

Whether that’s happening now is a subject of highly technical dispute. (Readers who want to wonk themselves out can go to my blog, krugman.blogs.nytimes.com, and follow the links.) Suffice it to say that some economists, myself included, make much of the fact that the usual telltale signs of a speculative price boom are missing. But other economists argue, in effect, that absence of evidence isn’t solid evidence of absence.

What about those who argue that speculative excess is the only way to explain the speed with which oil prices have risen? Well, I have two words for them: iron ore.

You see, iron ore isn’t traded on a global exchange; its price is set in direct deals between producers and consumers. So there’s no easy way to speculate on ore prices. Yet the price of iron ore, like that of oil, has surged over the past year. In particular, the price Chinese steel makers pay to Australian mines has just jumped 96 percent. This suggests that growing demand from emerging economies, not speculation, is the real story behind rising prices of raw materials, oil included.

In any case, one thing is clear: the hyperventilation over oil-market speculation is distracting us from the real issues.

Regulating futures markets more tightly isn’t a bad idea, but it won’t bring back the days of cheap oil. Nothing will. Oil prices will fluctuate in the coming years — I wouldn’t be surprised if they slip for a while as consumers drive less, switch to more fuel-efficient cars, and so on — but the long-term trend is surely up.

Most of the adjustment to higher oil prices will take place through private initiative, but the government can help the private sector in a variety of ways, such as helping develop alternative-energy technologies and new methods of conservation and expanding the availability of public transit.

But we won’t have even the beginnings of a rational energy policy if we listen to people who assure us that we can just wish high oil prices away.

^ Yes! I still have a chance...

^^wOW~! i wonder how you will reorganize an existing and already developed municipal town...mmmm

its really difficult to reorganize what we have now! its because the leaders we had back then were not forward thinkers. But if you agree to me the benefits of reorganizing the current subdivision then its worth the pain and difficulty.

not all municiplay or city are developed in our country. most of those developed are found in manila. and you know why? its because of our centralized form of government. another reason why we should be federated and the revenues from each provinces should just stay within the province or state and it will just pay a tribute or tax as a whole to the federal government!