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DTI, DOF explain TRAIN package 2 to Japanese investors
MAKATI – In efforts to enhance trade and investment relations between the Philippines (PH) and Japan (JP), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez together with officials of the Department of Finance (DOF) addressed the issues and clarified the concerns raised by Japanese investors on the Tax Reform Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Package 2, which rationalizes tax incentives to investments. “We would like to highlight the aspects of TRAIN Package 2 that would benefit new and existing investors. While Japan is our number one source of investments, there are still a large number of Japanese investors who have not located in the Philippines. The TRAIN Package 2 provides us with the mechanisms both to encourage existing investors to further expand their business, and to attract new investors into the country,” said Sec. Lopez. During the discussion, Japanese investors expressed their concerns on the new tax incentives for new and existing investors as well as the preferential corporate income tax. According to Lopez, the proposed legislation is not meant to remove incentives, but in fact recognizes the important role of incentives and the need to make them more responsive, relevant and effective, i.e. they should conform to the principles of being performance-based, time-bound, focused, and transparent. Board of Investments (BOI) Managing Head and DTI Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo explained further that the second tax reform package will in fact provide better incentives. “First, investors will no longer be limited to just the Income Tax Holiday (ITH) and the 5% tax on Gross Income Earned (GIE)—but will now be able to choose other incentives that may be more relevant, including... read moreThe Philippines 5th Trade Policy Review in the WTO
DTI Secretary Ramon M. Lopez, the Philippines’ Chief Negotiator at the WTO, announced that an inter-agency delegation headed by DTI Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo will appear before the World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Policy Review Body in Geneva, Switzerland on 26 and 28 March 2018 for the Philippines Fifth Trade Policy Review. Undersecretary Rodolfo will be joined by senior officials of the Departments of Trade and Industry, Agriculture, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Labor, Board of Investments, National Food Authority, Food and Drug Administration, Intellectual Property Office and the Government Procurement and Policy, as well as officers of the Philippine Mission to the WTO. The WTO, of which the Philippines has been a member since 1995, conducts individual trade policy reviews, an exercise in which member countries’ trade and related policies are examined and evaluated at regular intervals. For developing countries like the Philippines, the review is conducted once every six years. Substantial developments that may have an impact on the global trading system are also monitored. The last Philippine review was conducted in 2012. According to Secretary Lopez, “This fifth trade policy review will be an opportunity not only to highlight the country’s impressive economic growth but also to share critical policy reforms and aggressive infrastructure program being undertaken by the Duterte Administration. It also signals that the Philippine government is actively engaging the international community, self-confident in the policies we are implementing.” The meeting in Geneva will be a culmination of an intensive process that began last year with the preparation of a Report on Philippine Trade Policy by the WTO Secretariat, which was supplemented by a counterpart Philippine Government... read more
APBC welcomes PH delegation to Australia
THE Australia-Philippines Business Council (APBC) welcomed the Philippine delegation to Australia led by Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez and Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Allan Peter Cayetano through a welcome reception participated in by Australian and Philippine business leaders on 16 March 2018 in Barangaroo, Sydney, Australia. Secretary Cayetano and Secretary Lopez witnessed the signing of Letters of Intent (LOIs) to invest in the Philippines from different private sector leaders/firms planning to maximize the Philippines’ growing economy. Investment includes setting up of an assembly plant for GPS tracking devices, development of a US$10 million biomass power plant, and construction of a US$30 million hotel and residential place in Cebu. Australia’s Macquarie Bank Chairman Peter Warne, Chairman of TMIP Holdings David King, ANZ Philippines CEO Anna Green, AUSTAL CEO David Singleton were among the Australian business executives present. Philippine business leaders like Mr. Jose Concepcion III and SM Investment’s Ms. Teresita Sy-Coson were among the Filipino executives in attendance. In his address to the business community, Secretary Lopez highlighted government’s support programs for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and its initiatives that ensure the growth, development, and competitiveness of these enterprises. He shared DTI’s Negosyo Centers, Pondo Para sa Pagbabago (P3), Shared Service Facility (SSF), market access initiatives that provide permanent space for MSME products, and online digital space programs, which are summed up in the DTI’s 7M strategy on MSMEs. Secretary Lopez shared that increasing the trade base between Australia and the Philippines should be based on complementarity of industries and sectors where growth will be highly recorded. Some examples he...Geeks on a Beach 4th event to be held on August 25-26
Geeks on a Beach (GOAB), the international tech and startup convention will have its fourth run in Panglao, Bohol, Philippines this August 25-26, 2016. “Geeks on a Beach” (GOAB) is a unique international conference featuring the cutting-edge of the tech world in a laid-back atmosphere. With the theme “Empowering startups, leading change”, GOAB4 will once more highlight communities of startups or innovation-driven enterprises based on software or apps, which have seen remarkable growth in the Philippines in the last few years. GOAB has greatly contributed in empowering Philippine startups. “We are looking at startups taking the lead in strategically leveraging opportunities offered by a bigger regional market of ten countries with some 617 million people and a combined GDP of US $2.1 trillion opened up by the Asean integration,” said Mon Ibrahim, Innovation Consultant, Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT). Organized by TechTalks.ph and the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) and co-presented by PLDT SME Nation, Ideaspace, PLDT Innolab and SmartDevNet, the 4th annual GOAB gathering will be held at the Bellevue Resort Hotel in Panglao, Bohol, Philippines. Some of the brightest minds in the industry from the USA, Singapore and other countries will be on hand at the 2016 GOAB. Invited to speak in the confab are Techstars Co-founder and Managing Partner David Brown, Startup Weekend Co-founder Marc Nager, Chris McCann of Greylock Partners, Crowdsourcing Week Founder and CEO Epi Ludvik Nekaj, 500 Startups Managing Partner/Investor Khailee Ng, 500 Startups Corporate Innovation Director Arnaud Bonzom, Zalora Philippines Managing Director Constantine Robertz, PLDT SME Nation Head of Community Partnerships Francis Oliva, Ideaspace.ph Managing Director Diane Eustaquio,...Local News/ Bohol Balita
100-day maternity leave, aprubado na sa Senado
BOHOL, Jan. 19 (PIA)–Aprubado na sa Senado ang balaodnong dugangan ang maternity leave sa mga babayeng kawani sa pribado ug pampublikong sektor ug himuong tulo ka buwan o 100 ka adlaw. Sa kasamtangang balaod, mokabat lamang sa 60 ka adlaw ang maternity leave alang sa mga kawani sa gobyerno ug 60 taman 78 usab sa mga kawani sa pribadong sektor, depende sa ‘mode of delivery’ niini. Matud pa ni Sen. Pia Cayetano, sponsor sa Senate Bill No. 2982, ang kasamtangang maternity leave mas ubos sa 98 ka adlaw nga minimum requirement sa International Labor Organization (ILO). Giingong ang Pilipinas naulahi usab sa ubang nasud sa ASEAN region kalabot sa “maternity leave duration”. Pasabot pa ni Cayetano, ubos sa SBN 2982 o Expanded Maternity Leave Law of 2015, tuyo niining mahatagan og igong panahon ang mga inahan nga mabalik ang ilang kusog ug mahimo ang ilang ‘maternal roles’ sa dili pa mobalik sa ilang trabaho....CSC, mi-klaro sa paternity leave benefit
BOHOL, Jan. 19 (PIA)–Ang Civil Service Commission (CSC) mi-klaro sa polisiya sa mga lalaking kawani sa pribado ug pampublikong sektor nga nag-planong mo-file og paternity leave. Sa usa ka resolusyon nga gi-proklamar niadtong Disyembre 21, 2015, ang CSC mi-preparar og mando ug patakaran sa implementasyon sa Republic Act 8185 o ang Paternity Leave Act of 1996. Matud pa sa Section 20 sa RA 8185, ang paternity leave nga 7 ka adlaw kinahanglang non-cumulative ug non-convertible to cash. Pareho kining magamit sulod sa 7 ka adlaw nga way bugto o putol-putol nga paagi sa adlaw mismo, sa dili pa, atol ug human sa pagpanganak o pagkakuha sa bata sa iyang lihitimong asawa. Kining maong leave ma-avail sa dili pa matapos ang 60 ka adlaw human sa petsa sa pagpanganak o pagkakuha sa bata....7 ka lungsod sa Bohol, nalakip sa EWA sa Comelec
BOHOL, Jan. 12 (PIA)–Ang Commission on Elections (Comelec) dinhi mibutyag nga 7 ka lungsod sa lalawigan sa Bohol ang gi-konsiderar isip election watchlist areas (EWA). Kadaghan niining mga lungsod nga nalakip sa EWA nahimutang sa ikaduhang distrito ug tig- usa usab ang gikan sa una ug ikatulong distrito. Si provincial election supervisor Atty. Eliseo Labaria mibutyag nga ang maong 7 ka lungsod mao ang Buenavista, Clarin, Cortes, Danao, Inabanga, Pilar ug Ubay. Matud pa sa Comelec nga mabutang sa EWA ang usa ka lugar kun adunay grabeng partisan political rivalry didto. Ikaduha, kun adunay mga karaang kaso sa pagpanghasi nga malambigit sa mga milabay nga eleksiyon. Ug ikatulo, kun adunay presensiya sa mga armadong grupo sama sa mga Private Armed Groups (PAGs). Ang maong mga lungsod pipila lamang sa pagatutokan sa Philippine National Police – Bohol Provincial Police Office tungod sa posibilidad sa pagkaylap sa tensiyon o kagubot nga may kalabotan sa nagsingabot nga piniliay sa Mayo 9 ning tuig....P6.5-B KALSADA Program, gilusad sa Bohol
TAGBILARAN CITY, Jan. 11 (PIA)–Ang P6.5-bilyong proyekto sa nasudnong kagamhanan nga Konkreto at Ayos na Lansangan at Daan Tungo sa Pangkalahatang Kaunlaran (KALSADA) gilusad sa Bohol niadtong Enero 8, 2016. Si Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Kalihim Rogelio Singson nitunol sa kapsula ngadto kang Bohol Gob. Edgar Chatto, sa usa ka ‘symbolic turn-over’ atol sa paglusad sa KALSADA Program niadtong Biyernes nga gipahigayon sa Bohol Tropics Resort, ning dakbayan. Kauban ni Singson sila Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Kalihim Butch Abad, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Kalihim Mel Senen Sarmiento, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Kalihim Dinky Soliman ug Department of Health (DOH) Kalihim Janette Garin. Si Singson sa iyang keynote message mipadayag sa pasalig sa DPWH sa pag-usbaw sa kalidad ug kahilwasan sa mga nasudnong dalan ug tulay ug dugangan ang puhunan sa imprastraktura gikan sa ubos pa sa 2% sa gross domestic product sa 2010 ngadto sa 5% sa 2016. Samtang matud pa sa Kalihim sa DBM, ang paglusad sa maong programa makahulogan ug makasaysayan tungod kay nagpadayag kini sa pasalig sa nasudnong kagamhanan sa inisyatiba niining ‘good governance’ nga maghatag og katakos sa gobyerno sa pagbuhat og mas maayo sa paghatud ug serbisyo. Gidayeg ni Abad ang inisyatiba sa Bohol ug nitumbok kang Chatto isip kampeyon sa KALSADA program. Gisunod sa ekspirinsiya sa Bohol, usa kini ka programa nga mo-rehabilitate ug upgrade sa kadalanan sa mga lalawigan ug ibalhin kining mga kabtangan’g kalsada permanente na ngadto sa provincial government nga mao nay mo-mintinar niini. Paga-ugmaron usab niini ang Provincial Road Network Development Plan alang sa matag probinsiya ug ang...BHL i2i boosts innovation in Bohol
The ACCRE (Coral growth booster) of Bohol Island State University (BISU) – Candijay, Bantay Palay (Grain saver) of the University of Bohol (UB) and Cocobot (Transforming coconut toy) of TIRServ lorded the final pitching and judging stage of the Bohol Idea to Innovation (BHL i2i) Competition held last January 8, 2016 at the Belian Hotel, Tagbilaran City. These teams came out on top from the ten (10) finalists selected during the BHL i2i Boot Camp last October 5-6, 2015 at the Bohol Cultural Center. All teams underwent the idea development stage where they were advised by mentors from Ideaspace. In the prototyping stage, they have availed of the services and technical support of the Bohol Fablab, the first fabrication laboratory in the Philippines. An added feature of this competition was the Co-creation Stage with nine (9) Japanese mentors who met with the Bohol teams for five (5) days and did surveys, field interviews and final prototyping. Bohol ICT Council Chairperson Lai Biliran, DOST-Bohol’s Engr. Marcial Tanggaan, Yorbs Electronics’ Roy Bayonas and Concept Mobile’s Thomas Ridenour were the judges and panelists during the final pitching and presentation. During the closing program, messages of support were given by Tagbilaran City Mayor John Geesnell L. Yap II and Bohol Gov. Edgardo M. Chatto who were represented by Mr. Valentino Gamutin and Dr. Glenn Doloritos, respectively. Launched in July 2015 during the Sandugo Regional Trade Expo, the Bohol Idea to Innovation (BHL i2i) Competition, the first of its kind in the province, promotes innovation and start-ups in developing technology-based solutions to local problems through digital fabrication. The competition is composed of four (4)...National News
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