Taxation - Mining Laws in the Philippines, Copper, Gold, Zinc

With an estimated population of about 94 million people, the Philippines is the world's 12th most populous country. An additional 11 million Filipinos live overseas.

The national economy of the Philippines is the 45th largest in the world, with an estimated 2011 gross domestic product (nominal) of $216 billion. Primary exports include semiconductors and electronic products, transport equipment, garments, copper products, petroleum products, coconut oil, and fruits. Major trading partners include the United States, Japan, China, Singapore, South Korea, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Germany, Taiwan, and Thailand. Its unit of currency is the Philippine peso (₱ or PHP).

Philippine Finance Minister Cesar Purisima said new rules governing mining in the Country, home to some of World's richest deposits of Copper, Gold, Zinc and Nickel, are likely this summer (March – May 2012), but that the government does not intend to block contracts from going forward in the interim.

The new rules are aimed at eliminating corruption and improving environmental protection. They will require mining operators to turn over around 50% of net profits to the government, Mr. Purisima said.

He added that existing contracts will not be reopened, but will be subject to the stricter environmental rules.

Philippine President Aquino during an interview said the mining in the Philippines is just about exploiting the resources and after that it's no more, in fact mining is only 2% of Economic contribution to the Philippines so it is better to prioritize the tourism and ban the mining in all tourism areas.

Mr. Purisima, speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of finance ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Cambodia, said the International Monetary Fund's charter should be expanded to give it more oversight over Global financial risks such as the derivatives market.

"Given the huge amounts, the uneven regulation, an institution such as the IMF can take the lead in helping harmonize things," Mr. Purisima said.

He said the Philippines pays investment grade returns on its debt and he expects it will get an upgrade from the 3 major ratings firms.

"Here we are focusing on things we can control: strengthening revenues, continuing to improve our budget, and setting the proper environment for a faster growth rate," he said.

Mr. Purisima noted the Philippine's reserves are at historic highs, its current account surplus remains strong, due largely to remittances from overseas workers, and its banking sector is well capitalized.

The new laws eliminate some tax incentives and raise taxes on tobacco and alcohol, and are expected to strengthen the Philippines' fiscal situation boosting the case for a ratings upgrade, he said.

A newly industrialized country, the Philippine economy has been transitioning from one based on agriculture to one based more on services and manufacturing. Of the country's total labor force of around 38.1 million, the agricultural sector employs close to 32% but contributes to only about 13.8% of GDP. The industrial sector employs around 13.7% of the workforce and accounts for 30% of GDP. Meanwhile the 46.5% of workers involved in the services sector are responsible for 56.2% of GDP.

The economy is heavily reliant on OFW remittances which surpass foreign direct investment as a source of foreign currency. Regional development is uneven with Luzon—Metro Manila in particular—gaining most of the new economic growth at the expense of the other regions, although the government has taken steps to distribute economic growth by promoting investment in other areas of the country. Despite constraints, service industries such as tourism and business process outsourcing have been identified as areas with some of the best opportunities for growth for the country. Goldman Sachs includes the country in its list of the "Next Eleven" economies.

Bank lending expanded by 19.3 percent by the end of 2011, a pace of growth that the central bank said should help speed up growth of the Philippine economy in 2012.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported that outstanding loans of universal and commercial banks in the country amounted to P2.79 trillion by the end of 2011, up by 19.3 percent from that registered the year before.

The rise in bank lending aided the 6.3-percent growth of overall liquidity within the domestic economy, the BSP also said. It reported that "M3? – a broad measure of liquidity that includes currencies in circulation, savings and other types of deposits, money-market funds, etc. – amounted to P4.7 trillion by the end of 2011, up 6.3 percent year on year.

The credit growth of 19.3 percent is considered robust by central bank officials, as bank lending was growing by only around 10 percent in the previous two years.

Shayne Heffernan oversees the management of funds for institutions and high net worth individuals.

Shayne Heffernan holds a Ph.D. in Economics and brings with him over 25 years of trading experience in Asia and hands on experience in Venture Capital, he has been involved in several start ups that have seen market capitalization over $500m and 1 that reach a peak market cap of $15b. He has managed and overseen start ups in Mining, Shipping, Technology and Financial Services.

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North Korean Rocket debris will land off the Philippines Archipelago – Protests!

The Philippines said Sunday it had filed diplomatic protests over North Korea's planned rocket launch with the UN, China, and Southeast Asian nations which hold a summit this week.

A top US diplomat has previously said that debris from the launch are expected to land off the Philippines, an archipelago made up of thousands of islands.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said that Manila's diplomatic missions at the United Nations and in China, Pyongyang's closest ally, were asked to lodge the protest with their North Korean counterparts.

Del Rosario said protest letters were also sent to North Korea's diplomatic posts in members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which the Philippines is a member, before a meeting of the bloc this week.

The Philippines established diplomatic ties with North Korea in 2000, but Pyongyang has no embassy in Manila and is represented by a non-resident envoy based in Thailand.

"I will look for an opportunity to raise our position in Cambodia at ASEAN," said del Rosario, referring to the group's annual summit, a two-day meeting which starts in Cambodia on Tuesday.

He added that the rocket launch was in clear violation of UN resolutions.

Kurt Campbell, the US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said last month the rocket launch would impact "in an area roughly between Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines."

He made the comments in a message to Australia's Foreign Minister Bob Carr, according to a report by the Sydney Morning Herald.

Pyongyang announced last month it would launch a rocket between April 12-16 to place a satellite in orbit, sparking alarm in the region.

The United States and other nations say the launch is a disguised ballistic missile test, and would breach a UN ban on North Korean missile launches.

Washington has also said that a launch would breach a February deal, under which Pyongyang had agreed to a partial halt to nuclear activities and an end to missile tests in return for food aid.

The US has since suspended plans to provide food aid.

Del Rosario said the Philippines had already asked the United States to help share intelligence information on the rocket launch, while the militaries of both sides were coordinating to track its path.

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High School Boys Kissing and Girls in Bikini with Drinks and Cigarettes barred from Graduation - Philippines

Facebook prank postings by High school students in the Philippines end up barring them from graduation rites. 2 incidents of high school graduating students where 5 boys posting prank kissing in the public and girls in a bikini with drinks and cigarettes fight to march the graduation rite.

The public official parents of the girls came dressed in formal attire and barong Tagalog while their daughters wore their school uniforms.

But the 3 p.m. graduation rites of St. Theresa's College high school went on without them, leaving a sad but calm group of families at the front gate of the campus on General Maxilom Avenue, Cebu City.

Security guards refused to open the gate, seeing they had no admission passes or invitations issued by the school administration.

"Inhuman, animal and cruel," exclaimed one of the mothers. A few other parents muttered complaints. Two of the girls cried.

After a few minutes of waiting, with verbal pleas to the guards to heed a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) issued by the Regional Trial Court directing the school to let two of the students march with their classmates for graduation, the group quietly walked away.

"The court was disrespected," said Cornelio Mercado, counsel of four of five girls being punished by STC for photos posted in a Facebook account showing the students in bikinis and engaging in what the school called "lewd" and "immoral" behavior.

The school's security guards were caught on camera blocking the student – given the pseudonym "Audrey" because she is a minor – and her parents from entry at the school's gates despite them having secured a TRO from Judge Wilfredo Navarro of the Cebu City Regional Trial Court (RTC)

Enrique Lacerna, the lawyer for one of the students, said he was informed by his client they were barred from entering the venue of the graduation rites.

 "Sinabi ng kliyente ko, they were barred (from) entering the premises lalo na to join the commencement exercises (My client said they were barred from entering the premises, much less join the graduation rites)," he said in an interview on dzBB radio Friday afternoon.

 The school earlier banned the students from joining the graduation rites, supposedly over the posting of inappropriate photos on Facebook.

 Lacerna hinted he is considering asking the court to cite the school in contempt for defying the order.

 On Thursday (March 29, 2012), Judge Wilfredo Navarro issued a temporary restraining order to stop the school from enforcing its sanction, effectively allowing the two to attend their graduation rites.

But Lacerna cited information reaching him that the school filed a motion for reconsideration Friday morning.

 He claimed he was not furnished a copy of the supposed motion.

"Walang schedule, ang alam ko ang judge sa Lapu-Lapu (There was no hearing scheduled for that motion for reconsideration. And as far as I know, the judge was supposed to be in Lapu-Lapu City today)," he said.

For now, he said there is nothing to be done to allow the girls to attend their graduation rites.

But he voiced disappointment with the school, which he said claimed last Thursday it will respect the decision of the court.

Justice system in the Philippines is still struggling for flaws in the implementation of laws as usual court orders are influenced by impartiality in favor to the more influenced families and preyed the poor.

Institutions in the Philippines defying court orders if its shows deficiency hinting the country's constitution needs transitions and fixing flaws.

The defiance of the court order shows also that the leadership of the sitting justice remains questionable to the majority Filipinos.

St. Theresa's College is a private Catholic school authorized to instill discipline among students under Department of Education (DepEd) Order No. 88 series of 2010—also known as the Revised Manual of Regulations for Private Schools in Basic Education.

But Section 155 of the same DepEd order guarantees every student the right to be formally apprised of any complaint against her, to be heard by herself and her counsel, to present evidence for her defense, and to appeal the decision on her case to proper authorities.

Although Section 131 of the Revised Manual gives the administration of each private school the responsibility to maintain good discipline among students, such disciplinary authority is limited to students' behavior inside the school campus or outside school premises but only as regards authorized school activities that the students are engaged in.

On the other hand a separate case for the 6 graduating High School boys in the Infant Jesus Academy Manila posting prank in facebook also barred from the graduation rites.

About 600 kilometers from a Catholic learning institution in Cebu City where five graduating girls are embroiled in a "bikini photo" controversy, six senior high school boys from the Infant Jesus Academy in Marikina City were not allowed to march on stage, too, and get their diplomas.

This after the teenage boys, still in school uniform, simulated a kiss in public on Monday and posted photos of their naughty prank on social networking site Facebook.

On Thursday, the boys accompanied by their parents went to Radyo Inquirer to seek the help of the AM station's "Isumbong Mo Kay Tulfo" program.

They said that as a punitive action, the school will not let them join Friday's commencement exercises. And even as they will be officially recognized as graduates, they cannot take their diplomas yet, one of the parents told INQUIRER.net.

The parent also quoted Infant Jesus Academy chancellor Peter Mallonga as saying the school diploma is "sacred."

"For them, the school diploma is sacred. They will give it to the students as the punishment will not be for life. But it will take two years, three years, four years, even eight years," she claimed.

"The officials said they (boys) are not deserving as of the moment to receive their diplomas," she quoted school officials as saying.

The boys, aged between 16 and 17, will be given certification by the school, however, to allow them to enroll in universities, even without their diplomas.

School officials said the students have violated a guideline of the institution, banning "any conduct inside or outside the campus which brings the student, his/her family and the school in disrepute."

The photos, for the officials, were "damaging" to the reputation of the Catholic institution.

But one of the students said it was only a camera trick and done for fun's sake.

"We tried to explain that those were just camera tricks, but they did not listen to us," one of the students said.

In Cebu City, two graduating girls had broken a school rule at Saint Theresa's College, which bans posting Internet pictures that show "ample body exposure", and barred the student from their graduation ceremony.

The girl's family on Tuesday filed a civil suit at a Cebu Regional Trial Court, which on Friday reprimanded the school for the harsh punishment and ordered the Catholic institution to let the girls take their diplomas on stage.

The Philippines is about 80-percent Catholic and the church is hugely influential, regularly campaigning against divorce and birth control.

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Philippines will start the port and Airstrip development in Spratlys

The Philippines has finally determined its destiny to develop its territory to make it more accessible and open to all Filipinos who want to visit and see or tour to the controversial disputed Spratlys archipelago.

The Philippines must be thankful of China' Challenges to the country otherwise the country would be remain behind from all neighboring countries in Asia.

The act of aggressive invasion of China towards Philippines territory wakes up the Filipinos that the time has come to defend and time has come to have a good posture that the Philippines is an independent country and capable to defend its territory.

Finally, the Philippines have decided to develop the Kalayaan Municipality which worried china as they have already invested in their invasion to the undeveloped Philippines territory in Palawan province.

Last year 2011, china tried to delete the old history of the Spratlys archipelago by buying all antique maps around the world that could have a different name of the Spratlys and replaced it with a name Nansha to support the china's claim base on their self coined history for Spratlys.

Any map that would be different from what china proclaimed as the old spratlys were burned but still the UNCLOS is the strongest strength of the scared neighbor to stand and face the china's challenges.

China has expressed concern over the Philippines' plan to build a beaching ramp in the Kalayaan island group in the West Philippine Sea.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China warned on Thursday against any move by claimants that may complicate the dispute.

"China claimed that it has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands or the Spratly islands and their adjacent waters. China opposes any country's illegal activities that infringe upon China's sovereignty over the Nansha Islands," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei in a press conference in Beijing.

The china's claim for indisputable sovereignty in the spratlys is the same as claiming having indisputable sovereignty over the Philippines as the Spratlys is in the Philippine Territory.

Beijing for the national pride of china strengthen is stance in claiming the islands and waters of the Philippines territory after they submitted to the United Nations the 9 dotted lines claiming most part of the Spratlys including the Philippines territory in 2009.

Beijing China has no way to back out as it could be a big shame to the world if they will back out its claim of the Philippines territory. Even though their claim is not according to the international law of seas (UNCLOS) and considered as illegal expansion by the international communities but still Beijing insist as they are now the world super power to admit defeat against small country like the Philippines.

The Philippines municipal government of Kalayaan, in coordination with the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), will construct within the year a beaching ramp on Pag-asa, the largest of the Kalayaan group, which has been occupied by Filipino troops for decades. Apart from the troops, there are about 70 Filipino families living in Kalayaan, which is a municipality of Palawan.

Hong said Beijing is opposed to the Philippines' plan to build a simple wharf on Pag-asa, which China calls Zhongye and considers part of the Nansha Islands or the Spratly islands.

"Relevant countries should abide by the spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the West Philippines Sea (South China Sea) and avoid taking any move that may complicate the dispute so as to jointly maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea," he said.

Though Beijing is calling the ASEAN nations to abide the Declaration of Conduct (DOC) China itself keep violation it by harassing Filipino Fishermen in the Philippines waters and sending their warship in the area.

Mayor Eugenio Bito-onon of the municipality of Kalayaan in Palawan, which has jurisdiction over Pag-asa and other islets in the Spratlys, said the PPA would construct a beach ramp with the help of the Philippine Navy.

Bito-onon, who was visiting Manila last 3^rd week of March 2012 for a series of coordinating conferences with concerned government agencies for the development of the island town, said the construction of the beaching ramp has been long delayed.

He said the island municipality needs the beaching ramp for easier delivery of supplies for local residents.

Once the ramp becomes operational, Bito-onon said this would further enhance the development of the area as roll-off/roll-on (RORO) vessels could be used to deliver and unload their cargo to the island municipality.

In the absence of a beaching ramp in Pag-asa, cargo delivered by boat from mainland Palawan are hauled ashore by smaller boats.

He said construction of the beaching ramp and the repair of the 1.3-kilometer airstrip are part of ongoing efforts to develop existing facilities in the Municipality of Kalayaan, Province of Palawan.

Classified as a 6th class municipality of Palawan, Kalayaan has a regulated population of 67 families, mostly fishermen, aside from the soldiers who are deployed in the area.

At present, the island has a water-filtering plant, power generators, weather station and a private telecommunication tower of Smart Telecommunications.

Aside from the Filipino military contingent, other claimant countries except Brunei has deployed forward troops in their occupied islets and atolls in the archipelago to bolster their respective territorial claims in the region.

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Philippines Air bases open for US Forces - P3C Orion planes deploy in Spratlys

In return for more Military warfare's to protect the Philippines territory, the country  is offering the United States greater access to its airfields and may open new areas for soldiers to use, as the Pacific country seeks stronger military ties with its closest ally, moves likely to further raise tensions with China.

In exchange for opening its bases, the Philippines will ask Washington for more military equipment and training, including a another Hamilton-class warship and possibly a squadron of old F-16 jet fighters, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said.

"As part of building up our minimum credible defense posture, we would like the Americans to come more often," del Rosario said in an interview at his office near Manila Bay.

Manila favors more frequent joint military drills, he said. One such exercise, which will be staged on western island Palawan for the first time, is scheduled for April 16.

"Let's have these joint training exercises more frequently and on a bigger scale. As many times as we can, in different places if we can, that's the objective of the exercise," del Rosario said, the first official confirmation of talks between the countries on increasing the U.S. military presence in the Philippines.

Disputes in the West Philippines Sea (South China Sea) are Southeast Asia's biggest security concern after a series of naval clashes over the vast region believed to be rich in energy reserves.

Chinese navy ships threatened to ram a Philippine research vessel last March 2011, prompting Manila to scramble planes and ships to the area. After that, Philippine President Benigno Aquino started building closer ties with Washington, which has signaled a military "pivot" back to Asia.

Del Rosario said the possible purchase of F-16s and the request for a third cutter for the coast guard would be among issues up for discussion at a meeting between the two sides on April 30 in Washington.

The U.S. is also looking into gaining access, under a "joint use" arrangement, to around half a dozen civilian airfields in the Philippines, where U.S. transports, fighters and spy planes can land for repairs, refueling and temporary deployment.

The talks, between among foreign and defense leaders, will precede a meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and Philippine President Benigno Aquino later this year.

USA-Philippines partnership in intelligence operation over the Disputed Seas

In the last 10 years, the Philippines has received about 22 billion pesos ($512.22 million) in U.S. military aid, Del Rosario said.

Washington is Manila's closest and only strategic security partner, since the two countries signed a mutual defense treaty six years after the Philippines won its independence from the United States.

Del Rosario said he welcomed closer intelligence cooperation in the West Philippines Sea, after the U.S. last year proposed deploying P3C Orion reconnaissance planes to patrol disputed areas of the Spartlys.

"I think any method of cooperation that will provide us additional intelligence in terms of maritime domain awareness is good for us. The more information, the better," he said.

Australia announced last March 29, 2012 that  it could allow U.S. spy flights to operate from a remote Indian Ocean island, the Cocos Island which is located just adjacent of the Southern Philippines.

Manila hopes China will not feel threatened by its increased defense cooperation with Washington.

"We expressed our satisfaction when China was in the process of building up its military, increasing its military budget," Del Rosario said.

"We expect that China, in the same way, would be happy to be able to see the Philippines trying to, in some measure, build up its own capabilities to be able to protect its own sovereignty."

The United States deploys about 600 commandos in the southern Philippine. Del Rosario said it was possible there would be an increase in the number of U.S. troops, aircraft and ships visiting the Philippines, but the two sides were not discussing setting up permanent U.S. bases in the country.

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China starts Maping Disputed seas including Philippines' province and Island of Japan

In the deep of maritime disputes with several of its neighbors, China on Tuesday (March 27, 2012) said it was mapping South China Sea (SCS) or also called West Philippines Sea (WPS) with an aim to step up exploration for oil and gas and to reinforce its territorial claims of the Philippines and Vietnam Waters.

China may step up its exploration of South China Sea to reinforce its territorial claims following announcement that geographical surveys of the area are underway, state-run Global Times reported. "The majority of the disputed waters used to be beyond our reach because we seldom put our claims into action," Zhang Yunling, director of the Institute for International Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the daily.

"By drawing a map, the country can reinforce its jurisdiction claim in the South China Sea particularly in the Spratlys where the Philippines is in control, and further actions may follow, such as exploiting resources near the Nansha Islands," Zhang said.

Located south of China's coast, SCS is connected with narrow straits with Pacific Ocean and covers 3.5 million sq km of the ocean.

China claims the entire SCS as its own. "We owned everything"  Its claim however has been contested by Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan which assert it is part their maritime waters and 200 Nautical Miles Exclusive Economic Zone granted by the United Nations International Laws of Sea (UNCLOS).

China overlapped its claim including the province of the Philippines in Palawan islands and parts of Brunei, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Much to China's disappointment, the US extended tacit support to the small countries and stepped its presence in the Pacific region, calling for peaceful resolution of the disputes.

India's ONGC also drew Beijing's ire by taking up exploration in the blocks in SCS claimed by Vietnam's Exclusive Economic zone in Vietnam shore.

According to a report released by China's National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geo-information (NASMG) a working group jointly set up by 13 government agencies will continue geographical surveying of the South China Sea and draw a map of the sea or its islands to "declare China's stance" on territorial issues.

Similar mapping work will also be carried out on the Diaoyu Islands and other important areas in the East China Sea, (ECS) when the time is right, it said.

Diaoyu islands, known as Senkaku islands in Japan are currently under the administrative control of Tokyo which zealously reasserts its control over the uninhabited islands.

Japan also prohibits fishing by Chinese there which resulted in several skirmishes in the recent times.

"We are currently carrying out relevant work, and further details will be released at a proper time," an official with NASMG's map management office said.

China claims indisputable sovereignty of the Spratlys Islands (Nansha and Xisha islands) and their adjacent waters which are within the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines, but several countries in the region, such as Vietnam and the Philippines, have made competing claims and tried to defend their territory and their EEZ.

Zheng Zemin, a researcher with the Hainan-based National Institute for SCS /WPS Studies, said that through the mapping, authorities may clarify the specific locations of the so-called "nine-dashed line" or "U-shape line" by setting their longitudes and latitudes.

U-shape line or nine-dashed line was a first time claim of china to all the waters in the West Philippines Sea or South China Sea last year 2009.

ASEAN countries who are affected by the claim of china have lodge their protest to the United Nations but China downplayed the protest and instead they used force to drive away Filipino Fishermen in the Philippines Waters claiming as their owned and cut the survey cable of Petro Vietnam

"They may also survey the locations of islands and reefs currently on record, which have changed due to tides over the past decades," Zheng said. Zhuang Guotu, director of Southeast Asian Studies at Xiamen University, downplayed the possibility of the mapping work escalating tensions. "A spat is inevitable but tensions are unlikely to escalate as maintaining cooperation despite disputes has been a basic consensus that China and relevant countries hold," Zhuang said.

The planned survey of China to the reefs and Island of the Spratlys which are within the Philippine territory would become a big challenge for China as the Philippines Navy and Coastguards with the Support of the United States and Japan are closely monitoring the Area.

Any poachers entering the Philippines territory in Spratlys islands without prior approval from the Philippines Government would expect for arrest and detention or another protest to the United Nations to intervene China's invasion.

The United States is eyeing now to set-up their spy drones in Cocos Island south of the Philippines to closely monitor the activity in the West Philippines Sea or other know as South China Sea.

US Warship are now in its routinary visit to the ports of the Philippines as part of courtesy call and US Pivot to Asia.

April 2012 Balikatan Exercises between USA and the Philippines could be the biggest preparation of the Philippines and USA for possible China's invasion to the Philippines territory in Spratlys Archipelago. Philippines is a close ally of the USA in the Asia Pacific,   

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