Posts Tagged ‘government’
DOF chief vows to rein in expenses in H2
FINANCE SECRETARY Cesar V. Purisima on Thursday said the government could rein in expenses in the second half and that the national budget would no longer be ‘mismanaged’ as it had under the previous administration. Purisima said in an interview that the P196.7-billion deficit incurred in the first half was a simple case of ‘mismanagement of the budget.’ He said that while interest payments fell short of the…
Gov’t loses P1B in revenues to steel smuggling
MANILA, Philippines — Government losses related to technical smuggling of steel products have reached more than P1 billion as of the end of May, with some importers valuing their finished product imports even lower than scraps and raw materials. According to Federation of Philippine Industries chair Jesus Arranza, in the January-May period, around 93,000 metric tons (MT) of steel products were brought…
PHILIPPINES: Risk of fresh violence puts IDPs in danger
web MANILA, 5 April 2010 (IRIN) – Muslim separatists waging a bloody insurgency to carve out an independent Muslim state in the southern Philippines are warning of fresh violence after rejecting an offer for limited autonomy from the government.
Two years after, Sumilao farmers still waiting for land titles under CARP
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines — Farmers from Sumilao, Bukidnon, are still waiting for the titles to the 144 hectares of land supposedly awarded to them under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, two years ago, after an arduous legal and political battle that included a march from Mindanao to Manila.
QC court junks rebellion raps against Ampatuans
MANILA, PhilippinesCiting lack of evidence, the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Monday dismissed rebellion charges against Gov.
MMDA’s bank assets seized over tax issue
MANILA, Philippines–The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has seized three bank accounts of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) for its failure to remit at least P120 million in withholding taxes from 2000 to 2001. Worse, the government agency was also in danger of losing its other assets, including its heavy equipment and even the MMDA main office in Guadalupe, Makati
Carry out 1996 MNLF deal in full, OIC tells RP govt
By Michaela P. del Callar 03/19/2010 The Organization of Islamic Conferences (OIC) top official has called on the Philippine government again to fully enforce a 14-year-old peace agreement with a former Muslim separatist group.
Rain comes to Metro Manila; cold front in Luzon
MANILA, Philippines After weeks of scorching heat, rain has finally come at least in parts of Metro Manila and the government-run weather bureau is forecasting that there will be more due to a cold…
Mindanao waits for calamity declaration
MANILA, PhilippinesEnergy Secretary Angelo T. Reyes Wednesday said the government is now banking on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s declaring a state of calamity in Mindanao to help solve the worsening power situation in the island. This option will allow the government to tap the calamity fund and fast-track the procurement process as projects undertaken under a state of calamity are exempted from bidding, he said
Palace still wishing for Arroyo powers
MANILA, PhilippinesMalacañang is not giving up hope the Senate and House of Representatives can still convene a special session and grant special powers to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to address the power crisis in Mindanao. Gary Olivar, the President’s deputy spokesperson, Sunday said Ms Arroyo might ask her allies in both chambers of Congress, especially those running in the May 10 elections, to take a break from their campaign and attend such a session
Unrealistic
FRONTLINE 02/20/2010 Can an incumbent president bind her successor to what she agrees to with an Islamic secessionist group, by way of a package of obligations? The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has nixed a peace accord with Gloria Arroyo, apparently thinks so, as the rebel group is now saying that the peace deal it seeks with the government can push through with the incoming government as long as whatever is promised by Arroyo to them before she leaves Malacañang, will be binding on the next president. The report, quoting the MILF peace panel chairman Mohagher Iqbal, said the package of obligations the secessionists want included, among others,…
Mindanao peace talks at critical stage
OZAMIZ CITY, PhilippinesPeace negotiations between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front enter a crucial phase this week, with a Malaysian diplomat travelling to the country to oversee backroom talks between the two sides. In the last few months of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s administration, the government remains optimistic a political settlement can still be clinched with the rebel group.
BUT CAUTIOUS ON THE TOP TIER –> Meralco: No borrowing plans this year
BY JOHN POQUIZ The Manila Electric Co. has no need to borrow this year, Meralco treasurer Rafael Andrada recently said
LRT extension to spur increase in ridership
MANILA, Philippines–Extending the Light Rail Transit (LRT) line 2 up to Manila’s port area in Tondo may not be financially viable for the government given the relatively low number of passengers that will potentially come from the area. Instead, Marubeni Philippines Corp., the company that recently concluded a Japan government-funded feasibility study for the project, has…
