Good News....

[jerx d great]

---

peso is aiming high to 51.22 a dollar!!!!!

[grabehbebe]

Subic authority gets to issue ECCs anew

INVESTMENTS are expected to flow easier into the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has agreed to re-empower the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority to issue environmental compliance certificates (ECCs), SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza said.

A "fine-tuned" memorandum of agreement between the department and the SBMA returns to the SBMA Ecology Center the responsibility of issuing ECCs to businesses operating in Subic, Arreza said.
The department will provide technical support and validate the ECCs the SBMA issues, he said.

Arreza said locators in Subic no longer had to worry about issuance of ECCs and SBMA-processed permits will "be more efficient and faster."

The agreement also provides that any investor that plans to set up a business in Subic may go directly to the SBMA Ecology Center for the entire process, from application for an ECC, to technical review and evaluation, to release of the permit.

Arreza last month announced that three more Taiwan-based companies that were hoping to expand their Southeast Asian operations had visited Subic in January looked into the possibility of putting up projects there.

Earlier, 10 Taiwanese companies committed a total of $1 billion in investments shortly after Taiwan's Economic Minister Ho Mei-yueh came to the Philippines for a joint economic forum late last year. With INQ7.net

http://money.inq7.net/topstories/vie...3&dd=07&file=1

[gareb]

Peso surges to 51.65 to $1; stocks up 1.6%

THE PESO surged to 51.65 to the dollar Tuesday from Monday's closing rate of 51.96 to the greenback as political tensions eased, on expectations that the state of national emergency would be lifted soon.

The stock market surged as well, with the main price index jumping 33.6 points or 1.6 percent to 2,122.96. This was the best close of the Philippine Stock Index since Feb. 6, when it ended at 2,133.13.

The peso opened trading at 51.77 to the dollar and hit an intra-day low of 51.815 and a high of 51.64.

http://money.inq7.net/topstories/vie...3&dd=01&file=1

kudos to MIGHTY PANDAK :mrgreen:

good news will be when this is reflected to the prices of basic commodities and if this leads to an oil price rollback.

if not then for the vast majority, this will be just another useless statistic.

[bcasabee]

I hope dili ta maglalis diri.....What we want in this thread are all good news.........

[grabehbebe]

Job opportunities for over 14,000 Caloocan residents

Caloocan City Mayor Enrico "Recom" Echiverri said yesterday some 14,355 city residents were given opportunities to secure employment in the two separate job fairs initiated by the local government.

Echiverri said the job fairs at Caloocan City Hall (Main) Rizal Plaza on Feb. 9 and Caloocan City Hall (North) compound, Zapote Road, Camarin II on Feb. 24 were conducted in line with the celebration of the city’s 44th founding anniversary.He said Labor and Industrial Relations Office-Public Employment Service Office (LIRO-PESO) had solicited 15,700 jobs from 186 companies.

The mayor pointed out that of the 112 of the companies that participated in the main City Hall job fair, 41 were direct hiring companies, 43 were local recruitment agencies and 11 were recruiting workers for jobs abroad.Of the 74 companies that participated at the City Hall North job fair, 29 directly hired workers, 36 were local recruitment agencies and nine were overseas recruitment agencies.

A total 10,292 showed up for the first job fair while 4,063 applicants attended the second in Caloocan North. Echiverri said 359 of the applicants were hired on the spot. Some 2,610 applicants were noted as qualified for the job, but needed to submit additional requirements.

Over 11, 000 applicants were scheduled for interviews.


-----http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200603086306.htm

[tolstoi]

mao ni kapait natong pilipino kung mutaas ang peso basulon ang gobyerno kung mo depreciate gani basulon nasad kai walai epikto sa price and commodity..asa man gyud ta mulugar ani?

[LytSlpr]

this thread is very insipiring and exhibits all the good that this woman president has done despite all the issues against her. she has done more than any president (even better than ramos) in history to alleviate the plight of our people. it's truly unfortunate some people cannot accept that.

[grabehbebe]

Local execs urge political opposition to accept GMA’s reconciliation offer

Let there be peace so development efforts may thrive.

The mainstream opposition was urged to accept President Arroyo’s hand of reconciliation as a way to stop endless politicking and to allow the nation to move forward with its political and economic reconstruction through constitutional reform.

The call was made by the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP), which noted that the urgency of carrying out bold reforms to jump-start economic growth had prompted local officials to back the twin reform initiatives of converting Congress into a constituent assembly (con-ass) and a grassroots-driven advocacy campaign on Charter change (Cha-cha) to create lasting political stability and spur economic growth.

"Given the economic turnaround, it is incumbent upon our national political leaders to transcend their partisan interests for the greater good of the overwhelming majority," said ULAP president and Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado. ULAP represents some 1.7 million local government unit (LGU) officials and employees nationwide.

He said the President’s political detractors should set aside their personal interests and accept, once and for all, her appeal for reconciliation so that national focus could be brought back to the pressing issue of constitutional reforms.

He said ULAP’s advocacy campaign is meant to show the people that, if the hard-fought restoration of democracy 20 years ago failed to translate to a better life for the masses, then the Philippines must reform its outmoded political and economic structures.

Aumentado said the Arroyo administration had made impressive inroads on the economic front — as shown by the robust peso, the bullish stock market and the lower budget deficit — adding that it would be a terrible loss for the Philippines if this "golden" opportunity for vibrant growth were to be wasted because of incessant political strife.

Aumentado, who also heads the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP), said most local executives are supportive of the con-ass and an advocacy drive for Cha-cha because these moves will raise public consciousness on the issue and make the people realize the urgency of carrying out such reforms.

"If we really want to address the decades-old problem of poverty and provide a bright future for every Filipino family, then we should remove all obstacles to the country’s rapid economic growth," he said. "The only way we can do that is through a political ceasefire that would create an environment conducive to a sweeping political and economic reform agenda."

During a radio interview, the President said that while the economy remains her top priority, she remains open to reconciling with her political foes.

Mrs. Arroyo said she will focus her time and energy on maintaining the "momentum" gained by the strengthening peso and narrowing the budget deficit to ensure that the poor would immediately benefit from positive economic developments.

The peso’s value hit a three-and-a-half-year high on Tuesday, closing at 51.06 against the dollar, while the stock market continued its bullish streak, buoyed by the lower-than-expected budget deficit in January.

Mrs. Arroyo said her government had already set in place the necessary reforms to strengthen the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals, so that what the country needs now are matching political reforms designed to keep the nation’s economic takeoff on track. — Cecille Suerte Felipe

http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200603090415.htm

[fingolfin]

peanut lovers

Bright prospect eyed for peanut farming
By Maricar Aranas

PEANUT farming is starting to gain headway in Negros Oriental with the successful harvest at the 100-hectare peanut production project managed by the provincial agriculture office in Barangay Sandulot, Siaton.

The Provincial Government invested P1 million for the project.

Governor George Arnaiz has started looking for market outside the province for the product to recover the P1 million investment that would be used to further enhance the peanut industry.

The local price for peanut is only P14 per kilogram.

Arnaiz invited an investor from Bohol to buy the product after learning that a kilogram of raw peanut costs as much as P45 there.

The governor is hopeful negotiations would be fruitful and be a starting point to build a good marketing relationship with Negros Oriental.

The provincial agriculture office has identified four areas in the province that are suitable for peanut farming. They are Sta. Catalina, Pamplona, Mabinay, and the Siaton pilot site.

Arnaiz plans to expand production once the province has established a stable market for peanut with the success of the pilot project in Sandulot.

[grabehbebe]

Customs, BIR top goals in 2 months

http://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS2006031058234.html
BY MARIO B. CASAYURAN

The national government’s main revenue collection agencies — Bureau of Customs (BoC) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) — have surpassed the January-February 2006 revenue collection targets set for them by the Department of Finance and their cash collections compared to the first two months of 2006.

This surfaced during the second public hearing by the Congressional Oversight Committee on the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP) co-chaired by Sen. Ralph G. Recto and Rep. Jesli Lapus at the Senate hearing where BoC Commissioner Napoleon Morales and BIR Commissioner Jose Mario Bunag briefed them on the performances of their respective agencies.

Morales said this bureau collected P25.4 billion in cash or P5.6 billion (28.4 percent) more during the first two months of 2006 compared to first two months of 2005. In terms of collection target, the customs bureau collected P25.498 billion or P1.13 billion (4.7 percent) during the same comparative period.

Bunag, on the other hand, collected P92.32 billion during the January, February 2006 period compared to P88.7 billion for the same comparative months this year.

Recto said the two revenue collection agencies posted revenue collections which are higher by 20 to 25 percent compared to last year’s cash collections.
Asked to explain the BoC and the BIR made such "impressive" performances, Recto cited as reasons good laws passed by Congress and measures easier to implement.

One such law is the Attrition Law which is having a good psychological effect on the BoC and BIR personnel where their stay in the service depends on their positive performances, Recto said.

Tomas Alcid, Zamboanga port collector; Rene Benavidez, Legaspi port collector; D. Azarraga, Iloilo port collector; Roberto Sacramento, Cagayan de Oro port collector; and Adelina Molina, Batangas port customs collector were the top five revenue grossers among the 15 port collectors.

Alcid posted the highest revenue collection with 57.1 percent, followed by Benavidez with 50 percent, Azarraga with 36.8 percent, Sacramento with 30 percent and Molina with 26.4 percent.

Recto also asked the BIR and BoC officials to share their data with the Department of Energy (DoE) on the volume and cost of oil imports or petroleum products so that government can determine whether the oil companies are overcharging consumers or not.