by admin | Jul 12, 2017 | DTI Updates, Headlines
United Coconut Association of the Philippines (UCAP) recently issued a statement clarifying the American Heart Association’s (AHA) advisory against the consumption of coconut oil.
In the statement, UCAP mentioned that the advisory has gone viral with adverse effect on the coconut oil since it is considered a saturated fat. UCAP called on readers and users of coconut oil to be discerning of the said advisory and news articles drawing conclusion that coconut oil is unhealthy.
According to Dr. Fabian M. Dayrit of the Ateneo De Manila University, the AHA adopted a position that ignores the distinction between medium-chain fatty acid (MCFA) and long-chain fatty acid (LCFA) despite the numerous advances in this certain field of science. Coconut oil is mostly medium-chain saturated fats, the healthy type of fat. Detailed comparison of the fatty acid composition shows that coconut oil is very different from animal fat. Hence, studies that assume they are similar are consequently in error.
Furthermore, Asian and Pacific Coconut Community also highlighted in their recent statement the words of Dr. Bruce Fife, a USA Certified Nutritionist and Doctor of Naturopathy Medicine, “You cannot say LDL is bad and HDL is good.” He explained the two types of LDL: one small and dense, while the other is large and soft. The large LDL is the type that is used in making bile, hormones, and Vitamin D, which are all good for one’s health. Dr. Fife further concluded that, “Eating coconut oil (and other saturated fats) increases both HDL and the “good” LDL, thus, lowering the risk of heart disease. This is one of the reasons why populations that eat a lot of coconut oil have the lowest heart disease rates in the world.”
Department of Trade and Industry’s Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB) concurs with the stand of industry associations such as United Coconut Associations of the Philippines, Inc. and the Asian and Pacific Coconut Community that the advisory is misleading as AHA based its findings on limited studies on saturated fats.
“This is not the first time this kind of negative publicity against coconut oil has happened. If we will look closer to historical accounts, this has happened before. It was magnified this time due to social media and technology,” said DTI Export Marketing Bureau Director Senen M. Perlada.
By and large, DTI will continue to support the industry in sharing the good news about coconut and its economic contribution to millions of Filipino farmers and exporters.
Backed by recent studies and firsthand experiences of its consumers around the globe, DTI will help sustain the impressive health and economic contribution of coconut products such as coconut oil, virgin coconut oil, coconut water, coconut sugar, among others, by continued promotion through roadshows in various markets which will eventually bring additional jobs and income opportunities for Filipinos especially in the countryside.
American Heart Association (AHA) issued a Presidential Advisory on Dietary Fats and Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) on 15 June 2017 which recommended a decrease in consumption of products high in saturated fat such as dairy fat (butter), lard (pork), beef tallow, palm oil, palm kernel oil, and coconut oil.
by admin | Jul 11, 2017 | Headlines, National News
Emphasizes complementation in integration
HONG KONG—In the midst of calls for protectionism and global economic developments, ASEAN stands ready to respond to issues affecting trade and investment, drawing strength from its integrated economies.
Speaking at the Hong-Kong East Asia Summit on 11 July, ASEAN Economic Ministers chairman and Philippine Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez discussed current integration efforts in ASEAN and how these would eventually translate to regional complementation.
“Each economy will be differentiating its products to complement those of other economies. Economies may not necessarily compete, but they may complement each other through product specialization and market segmentation,” explained Sec. Lopez.
The trade chief emphasized that regional integration has resulted to a wider array and selection of products and services offered to ASEAN consumers.
“Regional integration will end up to regional complementation. ASEAN can lead the way and believes in the benefits of regional collaboration. It may work slowly but surely,” he said.
‘Unity in diversity’
“ASEAN shows how integration becomes plausible despite differences in background, culture and stages of development. With all these, we believe there is unity in diversity,” Sec. Lopez added.
As one of the fastest growing regions, ASEAN is the 7th largest economy in the world with a population of over 622 million people. It is also a marketplace with a relatively young, growing labor force and an emerging middle class.
On the benefits of economic integration, Sec. Lopez said that the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) affords ASEAN a bigger role and a more prominent voice in dealing with fellow global economic players.
According to him, with the AEC, the region’s connectedness combined with its diversity becomes strength as the variety in ASEAN pulls investors in, mindful of the region’s stake in open global markets.
Inclusive growth agenda
The ASEAN Community 2025 Blueprint guides ASEAN with measures to address emerging challenges and to attain region-wide inclusive growth. Sec. Lopez recognized the role played by the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the region’s integration efforts.
According to him, to attain inclusive economic growth that leads to shared prosperity, MSMEs need to take on a stronger role in boosting the region’s economies as creators of wealth and providers of jobs and livelihoods for the people.
He added that by heightening innovation, technology research, and human resource development, ASEAN MSMEs can also move up the global value chains.
“The big challenge really is how big companies can integrate MSMEs in their value chains—to empower them and make them more competitive and part of the equation, because it is only then we can really talk about inclusive growth,” he said.
The trade chief also cited need for MSMEs to embrace the digital economy through e-commerce, which provides an innovative platform to market, sell and research. In this respect, technology becomes an equalizer.
Concluding RCEP; FTAs
Citing US’ withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Brexit, Sec. Lopez reiterated the benefits of substantially concluding the ASEAN-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement by end of 2017.
The move towards RCEP means looking at a mega-trade deal, wherein ASEAN ties up with its dialogue partners Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea and New Zealand, unlocking a huge integrated market base of 3.2 billion people or “one half of the world’s population and one third of the world’s economy.”
“The ASEAN-Hong Kong FTA definitely will be a major FTA, too that will allow us to use Hong Kong as gateway to China. This will be a huge benefit for ASEAN,” he said.
The ASEAN-Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement and the ASEAN-Hong Kong Investment Agreement are expected to be signed in November 2017 in Manila
by admin | Jul 5, 2017 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
The Philippines, through Department of Trade and Industry’s Board of Investments (BOI) Governor Lucita Reyes, Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines (SEIPI) President Danilo Lachica and Ionics Vice-President for Operations Mr. Jay Chavez, recently participated at the celebration of World Trade Organization’s 20th Information Technology Agreement (ITA) Symposium held on 27-28 June in Geneva, Switzerland.
According to Magnolia Uy, DTI Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Geneva (PTIC-Geneva), the event allowed for the member countries to highlight ITA’s role of providing households and domestic businesses access to more affordable and higher-quality Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) through tariffs elimination on hundreds of ICT products.
The Philippines, as one of the 82 signatories of ITA, has benefited from the initial ITA signed in 1996 and its expansion of list in 2015. According to the Philippines’ chief ITA negotiator and Board of Investment Governor Lucita Reyes, the country’s ITA membership helped lower prices for key ICT hardware inputs that the BPO industry depends upon. At present, the country’s ICT services exports account for roughly 70% of total services exports while the ICT goods exports account for more than 35% of total exported goods.
In terms of ICT goods exports, Lachica added that the Philippine semiconductor and electronics industry continues to grow at a steady rate, ranking as the 17th largest exporter of ICT products in the world valued at approximately USD 24 billion (out of USD 29 billion total electronics exports).
However, according to Ionics Vice-President for Operations Jay Chavez, to sustain the demand of ICT services enterprises for ICT products, it is imperative for the Philippines to move up the value chain for ICT products by engaging in products and systems design and by taking manufacturing to the next level through the implementation of smart factory and Industry 4.0 technologies.
The ITA was finalized during the 1996 WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong while the Philippines became a signatory to the Agreement in 1997. In 2012, members recognized that technological innovation had advanced to such an extent that many new categories of IT products were not covered by the existing agreement. As negotiations to expand the coverage of the Agreement began in 2012, the ITA expansion agreement (ITA-2) was concluded during the 2015 WTO Ministerial Conference in Nairobi. The Philippines availed of the flexibilities of extended staging of tariff reductions of the Agreement. Executive Order (EO) 21 that mandates the Philippines ITA commitment will enter into force on 1 July 2017.
WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo opened the Symposium and noted how exports in the products covered by the original Agreement tripled from USD 549 billion in 1996 to approximately USD 1.7 trillion in 2015 representing an annual growth rate of 6%.
At present, ITA products account for a remarkable 15% of all global manufacturing exports. ITA membership also increased from 29 WTO members in 1996 to 82 today, accounting for over 97% of global ICT trade.
by admin | Jul 2, 2017 | Features, Headlines
By JUNE S. BLANCO
PHYSICAL Works for the Bonotbonot Small Reservoir Irrigation Project (SRIP) in Buenavista town will go full blast now.
This after Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr., Administrator Ricardo Visaya and Region 7 Director Modesto Membreve of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), Rep. Erico Aristotle Aumentado of Bohol’s 2nd District and Buenavista Mayor Ronald Lowell Tirol led groundbreaking rites at the proposed site on June 26.
As early as November 2015, Aumentado had revealed that the P70-million project to be proposed in NIA’s 2016 fund for insertion into the General Appropriations Act GAA).
The solon’s father, former governor and immediate congressional predecessor Erico Boyles Aumentado and Membreve had proposed the project, along with the Benliw (Ubay) SRIP at P100 million, the Mabini-Cayacay SRIP at P85 million and the Malinao (Pilar) Dam Improvement Project at P200 million.
For Tagbilaran City-based NIA Region 7, only these four projects made it to the cut in the 2016 GAA under its locally funded Rapid, Inclusive, and Sustained Economic Growth projects.
While most regional offices are based in Cebu, the elder Aumentado pushed for the creation of the NIA Region 7 office in Bohol – the region’s rice granary. Bohol used to belong to NIA Region 8 based in Tacloban City.
The Evasco-Visaya-Membreve-Aumentado team also visited Danao town where the Hibale SRIP is also being planned to be constructed.
Aumentado said Evasco and President Duterte are working hard to give more benefits to the farmers. Evasco was Duterte’s campaign manager during the latter’s presidential bid. Both are working towards the realization of their campaign promise of construction more irrigation projects and that farmers will be able to avail of irrigation services, this time, free of charge.
The solon said he and Visaya, retired Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines under President Duterte, will meet in Manila most likely before the Chief Executive gives his State of the Nation Address (SONA), with would-be investors for the Hibale and the Northeast Bohol Catch Basin.
As envisioned by the elder Aumentado, the huge project is expected to irrigate 19,000 more hectares of rice lands in the northern Bohol towns. On top of irrigation, it will also have power, potable water and eco-tourism components.
It will be designed to generate at least 10 megawatts of power. It is also expected to make potable water available to far-flung barangays not yet served by the existing small waterworks projects of the beneficiary towns, the solon added.
by admin | Jul 2, 2017 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
By JUNE S. BLANCO
TAGBILARAN celebrated its 51st foundation anniversary as a city yesterday, Saturday, July 1.
The small budding town attained cityhood on July 1, 1966, chartered by virtue of Republic Act No. 4660.
Since then, the city steadily grew as can be gleaned from, among others, its budget. It started with a mere P600,000 in 1966, to P262,092,983 in 1994.
This prompted Rep. Erico Boyles Aumentado of Bohol’s 2nd District to push for its cityhood during the first regular session of the tenth Congress.
In his explanatory note in House Bill 2435, Aumentado said from the date of its conversion, the city “began to chart its own destiny and undertook measures to carve its own identity.”
The date has long been remembered by the people as a day of heroism, valor and dignity because its founding was achieved with the sacrifices and aspirations of its people to attain cityhood, he continued.
“The date marks also the awareness of the people of their rich historical and cultural heritage, customs and traditions which they have developed all through these years from dawn of history, to the present, Aumentado observed.
He added that the day has been enshrined in their hearts and celebrated with honor and dignity, the recollection of the historic blood compact between Datu Sikatuna and Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, the first international treaty of friendship entered into by a local chieftain with a foreign power.
All this considered, the solon said, it is fitting and proper that the people of Tagbilaran City be allowed to commemorate its founding, charter and attainment of its cityhood by declaring July 1 of every year as a non-working special public holiday.
The Aumentado bill was approved as Republic Act No. 8267, signed by then Senate President Ernesto Maceda on November 28, 1995, and then House Speaker Jose de Venecia on November 27. 1996.
Then President Fidel Ramos signed the act on February 20, 1997. Tagbilaran started enjoying the holiday that same year.
by admin | Jun 20, 2017 | DTI Updates, Headlines
TAGUIG—The government intensifies its support for the continuous development of the information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) industry, following the industry’s generated revenue of around US$23 billion and direct employment of 1.3 million last year.
Speaking at the office opening of financial institution ING Business Shared Services BV on 20 June, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez said that ING’s expansion comes at a perfect time when the Philippines is considered the global leader in IT-BPM, having an annual growth rate of 30% over a decade.
Sec. Lopez also mentioned that IT-BMP’s economic contributions surpass remittances of overseas Filipino workers, making the industry more competitive and growth-driven.
“The industry benefits from an enabling policy environment under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte. I encourage the IT-BMP industry players to continue expanding and specifically take advantage of this moment, when the Philippines is experiencing an economic breakout, as further intensified by efforts to improve ease of doing business,” he said.
The trade chief also highlighted that the country has a qualified, highly-trainable, hardworking work force, with notable English proficiency and fast learning curve.
“Filipinos’ adaptability to universal cultures and their high level of commitment and loyalty prove that the country’s greatest asset has always been its people, who will bring inclusive growth to the rest of the country,” he said.
Globally, the Philippines is competitively positioned in terms of talent, costs, and risks relative to established and emerging offshore destinations. Cities from Metro Manila to Clark, to the cities of Cebu, Davao, Santa Rosa, Bacolod, Iloilo, Dumaguete, and Baguio are listed in the 2016 Top 100 Outsourcing Destinations as reported by Tholons.
While the Philippines is the number one global provider of voice BPM services, it is also rapidly expanding in the value-driven non-voice, complex services segments of the industry.
Non-voice services included range from engineering, health care, legal, financial, creative, and software services for the energy, banking, investment, insurance, shipping, media, and other industries.
DTI has set up Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP) for IT-BPM, wherein the government invests on training for students to work in the industry.
DTI also has a partnership with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the IT & Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) to run the Service Management Program (SMP), a specialized track for business and IT schools to develop skills in students needed to work in the IT-BPM industry.
The first foreign bank that transitioned into a universal bank in the country, ING offers banking insurance, retirement and investments services with global presence in 40 countries.
