P-Noy’s top economic governance agenda is fiscal sustainability, DOF says
by Fayette C. Riñen
CEBU CITY, November 4 (PIA) — Fiscal sustainability remains at the forefront of the Aquino Administration’s economic governance agenda. This is the message underscored by a top official of the Department of Finance (DOF) during this morning’s Philippine Economic Briefing in Cebu City.
Habitan said that despite the global economic climate, “our revenues grew close to 14 percent in the first half, surpassing the country’s nominal GDP growth rate of 8.7 percent.”
“Our strict enforcement of administrative measures such as the Run After Tax Evaders (RATE), Run After the Smugglers (RATS) and Revenue Integrity Protection Service (RIPS) are sending the right signals to the market,” Habitan stressed.
The DOF official said that to strengthen its commitment to improving revenue generation, their agency will invest in the revenue generating agencies’ infrastructure, information technology, people and process.
The country’s improving balance sheet is evidenced by the decline of the national government’s debt-to-GDP ratio to 51.3 percent as of June 2011.
“Netting out the debt holdings of government agencies of Philippine debt, real debt of the Philippines is actually just 42.2 percent as of 2010 of GDP. Thereby moving the country much closer to its credit rating peers. The country’s external debt-to-GDP is down to 28.8 percent as of end-June, this year. Our goal is to bring it down to 20 percent,” Habitan said.
Towards the direction for the country to have a positive investment grade, Habitan disclosed that “the Philippines has gone a long way and the government will continue to focus on getting the country deeper into a virtuous cycle of lower debt and lower interest expense to have more fiscal space and spend for infrastructure and social services.”
Habitan said this objective of getting deeper into the virtuous cycle will help us attain an investment grade status.
The briefing was attended by heads of national government agencies and leaders of the business and academic sectors as well as other stakeholders and is the second destination of the domestic roadshow of the Philippine Economic Briefing.
Other areas where the briefing will be conducted are Laoag City, Subic, Baguio City, Batangas City and Puerto Princesa. (PIA-Cebu with PR from Investor Relations Office)
LGUs can borrow P20 million from Pag-IBIG for housing
by TWVillavert
ILOILO CITY, Nov 3 (PIA) — The Pag-IBIG Fund Iloilo City Branch can extend P20 million to local government units to help push their own housing program initiatives.
Semolava said, “the local government units that have already existing lots for housing projects could avail the P20 million assistance from the Pag-Ibig Fund’s Local Government Housing Loan Program.”
“If an LGU has availed of the loan, and has paid at least 50 percent of its initial loan, then said LGU can avail an additional loan of another P20 million,” said Semoval. He also said the Pag-IBIG fund’s Local Government Housing Loan Program aims to assist local government units in financing residential plans for government workers and members of Pag-IBIG.
Semolava said that the interest rate is low. If the package is about P400,000, “the interest rate is only six percent.”
The Pag-IBIG Fund Iloilo City Branch Manager said interested LGUs will know further the details of the housing loan program during the Housing Caravan set to be held November 8-9 in Iloilo City. The event aims to introduce the various housing programs and services of the different shelter agencies.
This will be attended by the heads and representatives of shelter agencies like the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), Pag-IBIG Fund, National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation, Social Housing Finance Corporation, National Housing Authority, Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board.
Vice President Jejomar Binay who is the head of HUDCC will lead the housing caravan on said dates, Semolava said.(JCM/TWV/PIA6-Iloilo)
PNP to tap BPAT for All Saints Day, All Souls Day
by TWVillavert
ILOILO CITY, Oct 30 (PIA) — The Iloilo Provincial Police Office Director Gil Lebin said that police heads in various towns of Iloilo province were urged to tap the services of the Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team (BPAT) for peacekeeping activities and to ensure public safety during the observance of All Saints Day and All Souls Day.
Lebin also said that the IPPO is ready to send personnel augmentation to the police stations should they needed added personnel.
“The Philippine National Police is on full alert. We have made the necessary preparations to ensure peaceful and orderly observance of Undas,” Lebin said.
Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda Lacierda said that the government has been doing all the necessary preparations for the commemoration of the All Saints Day and All Souls Day this November 1 and 2 to assist the people who will rush back to the provinces
Lacierda assured that concerned government agencies started doing necessary preparations for the observance of All Saints Day and All Souls Day.
Lacierda said in a Malacanang press report that as part of the Ligtas na Undas plan said Transportation and Communications Secretary Manuel Roxas III ordered the deployment of a contingency force to ensure the safety of passengers and adequacy of transportation alternatives amid an expected heavy influx of travelers on All Saints Day.(JCM/TWV/PIA6-Iloilo)
NSO’s Stat Display reveals eye-catching facts
by Venus G. Villanueva
KALIBO, Aklan, October 30 (PIA) — Several attention-catching facts were revealed here recently during the province’ mounting of a Statistical Exhibit held at the Provincial Trade Hall, Provincial Capitol Grounds here recently.
The Statistical Exhibit was one of the major activities of Aklan in observance of the 22nd National Statistics Month, held in October.
As one of the leading national government agencies delving on statistics to help the government plan out programs and projects for the people, the National Statistics Office (NSO) also joined in the Statistical Exhibit, and the statistics displayed by the office revealed interesting and attention-catching facts.
One of these interesting facts is that in Aklan, there are more males than females based on the 2007 result of the Census of Population.
In the data, there were 250,445 males while there were only 242,768 females, or a sex ratio of 103 males for every 100 females.
The NSO also revealed that Aklanon females outlive males, as based on the average life expectancy, males have an average of 68, and the females, 74.
In the case of attendants at birth, the figures of the NSO revealed that Aklanons are getting more aware of birth risks, and more mothers now decide to give birth in hospitals or be attended by professional health workers.
Based on the 2011 records of the NSO from January to August of this year, 2,468 live births in Aklan were attended by a physician, compared with 2,298 last year.
Births attended by hilots, on the other hand, decreased this year, with 1,928. Last year for the same period, hilot-attended births reached 2,014.
Midwives also attended to a bigger number of births in the first 8 months of this year, with a total of 1,482. Last year, this group attended to 1,437 births.
Nurses also attended to 94 births this year. Last year, 90 births were attended by nurses, as recorded by the NSO for the same period.
The NSO also revealed that attendants to the birth of 58 babies last year and in the first 8 months this year were not stated in the birth registry, while 2 births were attended by “others”.
For the period this year, a total of 5,972 births were listed, while last year, there were 5,899 births. (JCM/VGV PIA 6 Aklan)
Land Bank 6 release to priority sectors reach P4.84B
NEGROS OCC., October 27 (PIA) — The Land Bank of the Philippines total loans extended to its priority sectors in Region VI has reached P4.84 billion as of September 30, a press release from the bank said.
LB’s priority sectors include small farmers and fisherfolks (SFF) cooperatives, SMEs and microenterprises, livelihood, agri-business, agri-infrastucture projects of LGUs, agri-related projects of government-owned and controlled corporations, agri-and environment related projects, socialized housing, schools and hospitals.
Of the P4.84 billion, 28 percent or P1.35 billion went to SFF coops and other financial conduits such as rural banks, irrigators associations and NGO’s, benefiting 90,000 farmer beneficiaries in Region VI.
The top five cooperative borrowers in Western Vosayas are Options MPC in Sagay City, Negros Occ.: Teachers Federation of Bacolod City, Bacolod Government Employees MPC of Bacolod City, Leon Small Coconut Farmers MPC of Leon and Iloilo Provincial Employees MPC of Iloilo Provincial Capitol, Iloilo.
Meanwhile, the bank’s total loans to SMEs reached P645 million during the third quarter of 2011. Loans to countryside financial institutions (CFIs) grew by 30 percent to P285 million from P219 million a year ago. Loans to LGUs in the region reached P2.56 billion as of September 30 and financed various agri-infrastructure and development projects.
Landbank also released P515 million for palay production from January to September 30, 2011 through cooperatives, rice millers and CFIs. This benefited 8,484 farmers covering more than 16,000 hectares in the region. The bank expects to release an additional P111 million in loans to farmer cooperatives by the end of the year.
The bank was also able to finance various LGU projects through the KFW (Germany) facility and has released P72.89 million as of September 2011.
Meanwhile, Landbank Region VI continues to intensify its support to th Food Supply Chain Program in partnership with the Department of Agriculture and the DOF. A total of P215 million is expected to be released to finance the projects of two indentified anchor firms in the region which are Alter Trade Foundation in Negros Occ and Capiz Sugar Central in Roxas, Capiz.
Land Bank Region VI Vice President Manuel Infante said that the bank is on track of its lending target of P5.378 billion to its priority sectors in the region for 2011.
“Our efforts to deliver credit assistance to our development partners particularly the small farmers and fisherfolk cooperatives, micro enterprises and SMEs in Region VI is in line with the overall commitment of Land Bank to spur growth and progress in Western Visayas,” Infante said. (LB/LOL/JCM-PIA6)
Bacolod screens 34 PNP applicants
BACOLOD CITY, October 27 (PIA) –- The Ad-Hoc Committee of Bacolod City conducted its first screening and preliminary interview of 34 applicants for the Philippine National Police.
The search for new PNP personnel is in line with PNP Memorandum Circular No. 2007-009, on the recruitment, selection and appointment of new members of the force, a Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) press release said.
Senior Supt. Ricardo de la Paz, BCPO Director, said that under Section 4, item C, of the memorandum, the city’s Ad Hoc Committee consisting of four members with the Vice Mayor as Chairman, a representative of the DILG CLGOO, a POC member from the academe and the BCPO City Director, will conduct the screening of applicants.
De la Paz said the initial screening and interview aims to determine the residency, accomplishment required documents, age, height, weight, education and eligibility status, and to establish the worthiness of the applicants to be appointed as law enforcer and his appearance and conversational ability assessed.
He said all qualified applicants will be passed on to the Regional Office and presented to Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia, who, in turn, will endorse them to the Regional Office 6.*(BCPO/CAD/JCM/PIA6)
Capiz BIR recognized for good performance
by Jemin B. Guillermo
ROXAS CITY, Capiz, Oct. 27 (PIA) — Revenue District Office No.72 in Capiz was given recognition during the recent conference of top officials of the Bureau of Internal Revenue in Western Visayas.
Capiz Revenue District Officer Gil Tabanda said they are overwhelmed by the recognition accorded by their top regional officials on the good performance of the Bureau of Internal Revenue in Capiz.
Tabanda said that although they don’t really need recognition, they are also happy to know that their efforts, particularly in revenue collection, are appreciated.
He revealed that based on their record from January to September this year, the Capiz BIR collection reached more than P431.643 million already which is higher by more than P4.61 million compared to its goal in the first nine months of the current year.
For the month of September alone, they were able to exceed their collection by P16.56 million or 41.55 percent, Tabanda said, revealing that the collection for that month reached more than P56.43 million compared to the P39.86 million collection goal.
He said that the sources of revenue collection are the income taxes, value added taxes, other percentage taxes, excise as well as other taxes.
For September this year, the highest collection amounting to more than P35.5 million came from the income taxes, followed by the value added taxes which was posted at more than P16.9 million and the rest from other percentage taxes, other taxes and excise taxes.
According to him, there is also an increase by P54.43 million or 15.04 percent collection in the first nine months of this year compared to the collection during the same period in 2010.
On the other hand, Tabanda is thankful to the Capiceños for their support and cooperation in the tax campaign program of the government. (JCM/JBG/PIA6-Capiz)
Sto. Niño visit to Naval brings message to protect the environment
NAVAL, Biliran, Oct. 25 (PIA) -– The visit of Sr. Santo Niño de Cebu to Naval in the province of Biliran and in Calubian, Leyte together with the image of St. Therese of the Child Jesus brought a message to all the devotees of the place to help protect the environment.
According to Rev. Father Tito Soquiño, Chairman of the Sto. Nino de Cebu Augustinian Social Development Foundation, Incorporated in his message during the forum held at the Naval State University on the occasion of the university visit of the pilgrim images of Sr. Santo Nino de Cebu and St. Therese, he said that as people dominate the world, they have the responsibility to preserve and protect the environment for the existing and future generations to enjoy.
He said that people in the present generation must help protect the flora and fauna up to the seventh generation so that they will be able to enjoy the creations of God.
The Duaw in Naval and Calubian ended with a beach clean-up and mangrove planting along the coastal areas of Calubian, Leyte.
Fr. Soquiño thanked the participation of the various groups in the two municipalities for their active involvement that made the visit of Sto. Niño de Cebu a resounding success.
The “Duaw Sto. Niño” was centered on the theme “Climate Change and What the People Can Do to Respond to the Problem”. (FJ/PIA 8 Biliran)
DOLE-8 forms committee vs child labor
by Aurora J. Casimpan
TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte, Oct. 24 (PIA) -– The report of the International Labor Organization (ILO) baring that there are over 2.4 million children in the country working in dangerous areas such as sex trade, sugar cane plantations, mining and factories has prompted the formation of a Regional Anti-Child Labor Committee in the regional offices of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
In Eastern Visayas, DOLE regional director Forter Puguon is determined to make the committee fuctional saying that it is high time for government to unify efforts to address child labor in the region.
He said that the region ranks second to Northern Mindanao with the highest number of working children in the country.
The labor department has already finalized a memorandum of agreement (MOA) forming a Regional Anti-Child Labor Committee which the members are scheduled to sign early November. The MOA signatories are 20 national government agencies local governments units (LGUs) and non-government organizations.
The ILO has been providing the committee’s budget in the capacity building of the members coming from the public and private sector.
Director Puguon believes that child labor can be minimized through the collective efforts of the government and the private sector. The two sectors need an institutionalized convergence of all efforts against child labor and the formulation of a convergent roadmap towards each child labor-free barangay, municipality, city, province and the region, said the labor director. (PIA-8)
PNP-SoLeyte joins provincewide launching of PIACAT-VAWC
by R.G. Cadavos
SOUTHERN LEYTE Oct 21 (PIA) -– The Philippine National Police-Southern Leyte Police Provincial Office (PNP-SLPPO) joined the launching of the creation of the Provincial Inter-Agency Committee Against Trafficking – Violence Against Women and Children (PIACAT-VAWC) held Wednesday at Sogod, this province.
The creation of PIACAT-VAWC is aimed to coordinate all efforts towards combating trafficking throughout the province, Police Community Relations Chief Abdulmajid B. Jaji in his report to Philippine Information Agency(PIA)-Maasin said.
“Its principal mission is to undertake concrete actions to prevent trafficking in the province, rescue and recover victims, prosecute the offenders, and ensure healing and effective reintegration of trafficked victims in the Province of Southern Leyte,” Police Inspector Jaji disclosed, saying that the members of the committee will monitor and oversee the strict implementation of the national laws relative for the protection of women and children.
Jaji said that the Provincial IACAT is chaired by Gov. Damian G. Mercado with the Sangguniang Panlalawigan Member – Chairperson on the Committee in Women & Children and Family as vice Chairman and the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Officer as head of Secretariat.
The members are Provincial Planning Officer, Provincial Director- SLPPO, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Provincial Prosecutor, Provincial Health Officer, Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Provincial Employment Service Office(PESO) Manager, Provincial- Gender and Development (GAD) Focal Point, Provincial Director (TESDA), Provincial Manager Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), Station Commander Philippine Coast Guard- Provincial Officer MARINA, Highway Patrol Group, Representative from Children’s Sector and Representative from NGO/PO Women’s Sector.
During the launching Gov. Damian G. Mercado, who was the guest speaker emphasized the cooperation of everyone and gave importance to our children as the future leaders in our country, Jaji reported.
The day activity also celebrated the Children’s Month this October carrying it’s theme, ”Local Council for the Protection of Children Para sa Bright Child: Pakilusin, Palakasin, Pagtulungan Natin.” (rgc/PIA-SoLeyte)
