Agriculture Philippines sets to upgrade Standards for EURO Exports

Department of Agriculture Philippines is set to improve monitoring of high-value crops' compliance with phytosanitary standards under the third phase of the European Union's (EU) trade-related technical assistance program (TRTA), an official said yesterday, citing the need to make the country's farm exports more competitive.

"Under TRTA-2, our cooperating agencies in the department were the BAI (Bureau of Animal Industry), BPI (Bureau of Plant Industry), BFAR (Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources) and the PCA (Philippine Coconut Authority), but we focused mostly on fisheries," Peewee Matibel G. Marges, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) desk officer of the Agriculture department's policy research service, told reporters at the sidelines of the TRTA-2 culmination activity in Makati City.

"For the next phase of the program, we want to shift to vegetables and fruits."

TRTA is a technical assistance program jointly implemented by EU and the Philippine government.

Through the EU's funding, the program seeks to enable the Philippines to improve access to the European market, strengthen the country's economic environment to encourage trade and investment, and strengthen trade-related functions of participating agencies, among others.

The first phase of the program ran from 2007 to 2008. The second phase, which began in 2008 and was formally concluded yesterday, was spearheaded by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

Other implementing agencies were the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Bureau of Customs (BoC).

TRTA-2, which received a grant totaling €7.5 million, had four components: the Technical Barriers to Trade, which was implemented by DTI's Bureau of Product Standards; SPS under the DA and its attached bureaus; Trade Facilitation and Customs under the BoC; as well as the World Trade Organization Capacity Building under DTI-Bureau of Internal trade Relations and NEDA.

UNDERSTANDING EU RULES

EU and the Philippines are set to embark on the third phase of the program later this year, according to Trade Undersecretary Adrian S. Cristobal.

"TRTA-3 will build on the success of TRTA-2. It will be implemented by DTI…over a four-year period with a budget of €8.9 million," Mr. Cristobal said during the event.

"It will also include competition policy as an area of support."

Ms. Marges said the Agriculture department, through the SPS subcomponent, will continue implementing its usual array of projects under the TRTA program in the third phase when it starts.

"TRTA has been helpful in enabling the department to assist our agricultural stakeholders in making sure their products meet international standards," she said.

"Also, the program makes it easier for us to understand EU's regulations on trade, which we can also impart to our stakeholders to make it easier for them to tap into the European market."

TRAINING

Ms. Marges said that, through TRTA-2, the department was able keep the European market open to fish exports from the Philippines.

"We were able to conduct targeted training and mentoring to strengthen the food safety and inspection system of the BFAR to help pass EU inspection," she said.

"This ensured that the country's fish exports to the EU, which is comprised of almost 500 million consumers, can continue."

The DA was also able to prepare a blueprint for new food safety standards under the second phase of the program, Ms. Marges added.

"Through TRTA-3, we hope to build on our gains from this recently concluded phase," she said.

Other participating agencies also reported their achievements from TRTA-2 in the culmination activity.

Trade department for one said that it was able to train officials on trade policy analysis to better equip them in trade negotiations, particularly on free trade agreements.

Its Product Standards bureau also reported adoption of over 230 international standards in the field of electronics locally, among others.

The Customs bureau, meanwhile, said that through the program, it was able to develop a cargo tracking system aided by global positioning technology

Philippines Standard Upgrade for exporting shellfish to EU

The Philippines is making use of the third tranche of the European Union's Trade Related Technical Assistance (TRTA) program in order to export shellfish to Europe, according to Agriculture Planning officer Maribel Marges.

Dennis Tiotangco of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) explained that the Philippines needs to comply with EU sanitary and phytosanitary requirements before the latter will import Philippine shellfish.

"For this we need to build our own national shellfish accreditation program. We have asked the TRTA to help us on this," he said.

The Fisheries Bureau had earlier identified mussels, clams, oysters and scallops for cultivation as possible exports to the EU.

The TRTA program supports poverty-alleviating projects in the Philippines "through further integration into the international trade system." It does this by enhancing government agencies' ability to facilitate this integration.

The program assists projects of the Agriculture and Trade Departments, the Bureau of Customs and the National Economic Development Authority.

The TRTA's third tranche offers €8.9 million, or P469.55 million, for all projects that will come under the program. To facilitate the export of shellfish, these monies will be used to build infrastructure such as research and development laboratories.

Under the earlier P435-million TRTA 2, the Philippines was able to strengthen the fisheries, plant and animal bureaus via a number of programs that successfully addressed trade issues.

Particularly, the Fisheries Bureau was able to improve the food safety and inspection systems that ensured continued Philippine fish exports to the EU.

Source: GMA News & Business World Online

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Philippines arrest 357 Chinese Nationals in Manila for online fraud

Philippine police on Thursday rounded up 357 foreigners accused of duping Taiwanese and Chinese citizens in an online scam.

The mostly Chinese and Taiwanese suspects were arrested in simultaneous raids on 20 houses in metropolitan Manila and nearby Antipolo city, said Philippine National Police investigation group chief Samuel Pagdilao.

Those arrested were members of a syndicate that pretended to represent police, prosecutors, courts and insurance companies and told the victims that their bank accounts were being used for money laundering and terrorist financing, he said.

He said the victims were pressured to transfer their money to a ''safe account'' provided by the syndicate.

The syndicate raked in at least 20 million pesos ($472,000) each day using the scam, he said.

Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission head Paquito Ochoa said the arrests were the largest single-day operation against organized crime in the country.

Pagdilao said Chinese police requested assistance in pursuing the syndicate after they determined that an Internet address used by the scammers originated in the Philippines.

The suspects are being held in a gymnasium inside a police camp in Laguna province's Canlubang township south of Manila.

(AP)

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Philippines black market yields gold for China

Up to 90 percent of small-scale Philippine gold production is being smuggled out of the Southeast Asian country, with much of it going to China, Reuters learned on a visit to this mining region in Mindanao, combined with interviews with miners, traders, and officials as well as a review of gold trade data.

The potential revenue being lost is considerable: The Philippines is the world's 18th largest gold producer, according to precious metals consultancy Thomson Reuters GFMS. It produced just over 1 million troy ounces of gold in 2011 – worth $1.6 billion US dollars at current prices – and about 56 percent of that came from small-scale miners.

While production did not slow down, the volume of legal purchases plummeted.

This year, the amount of gold sold by small-scale miners and traders to the central bank in the second quarter fell 98 percent from a year earlier

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau, which regulates mining activities in the country, could only come up with one conclusion.

"The same amount of gold, but they went to underground. Our suspicion is that it' either black market or smuggled out of the country. So 80 percent of gold lost," said Leo Jasareno, director of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau.

Jasareno said miners were telling them that traders sell the gold to foreign buyers.

"There are unconfirmed reports, that gold is going to – this is unconfirmed – is going to Hong Kong, Malaysia, and China," Jasareno said.

He added that they would look into the involvement of organized crime groups in the loss of gold from the legal market, estimated to reach about 24 tons.

Traders and officials say the biggest factor behind the spike in the gold smuggling trend the past year are newly imposed taxes. Since 2011, every sale of gold has been subject to a 2 percent excise tax, and a 5 percent withholding tax, usually borne by traders.

Opposing the tax, many traders have turned to the black market, officials say.

Arthur Uy, who looks after Mount Diwata as governor of Compostela Valley province in southern Philippines, the top small-scale gold mining province in the Philippines, said the black market in gold is mainly based in the capital, Manila.

"The black market now is flourishing, so they would send their produce now to the black market; because the businessmen doing those black market activities, they would only impose, let's say less 2 or 3 percent only," Uy said.

Uy, a two-term governor whose family of Chinese descent partly owns one of the four most productive small-scale mines on Mount Diwata, said 90 percent of gold produced is going to the black market and mostly ends up smuggled to Hong Kong.

If the 1991 small-scale mining law were being followed, all the gold produced by miners in the Philippines would be sold to the central bank, which buys it at around world market prices.

Small-scale gold mines, accounting for more than two-thirds of the Philippines' total output, are the main source of the central bank's gold reserves, which hit a record high of $10.4 billion US dollars early this year

With most of the gold production from these mines now illegally exiting the country, the Philippine central bank is losing its cheapest source of gold reserves.

The problem extends beyond gold to other minerals, which are being smuggled out of the porous and inadequately policed borders of this archipelago of more than 7,100 islands.

The Philippines is believed to hold reserves of gold, copper, nickel, chromite, manganese, silver and iron worth a total of around $1 trillion.

Traders and officials say it looks like much of the gold is going instead to Hong Kong, the main conduit for gold flows into China.

A discrepancy between statistics between Hong Kong's and Philippines has left officials stumped.

Hong Kong's top source of gold imports from 2005 to 2010 was the Philippines, official data from the Chinese territory shows. Philippines gold shipments to Hong Kong hit a peak of 81,471 kilograms in 2010, way above imports of just 11 kilos nine years earlier, and were steady at 81,192 kilos in 2011.

But official statistics in the Philippines, reflecting legal exports, show gold exports to Hong Kong in 2010 and 2011 at just around 3 percent of the total volume recorded by Hong Kong authorities.

The Philippine customs data represent only shipments by big mining firms with supply contracts, as exports of gold from small-scale mines are banned.

Gold prices, which have been trending at or near historic highs for several years, have spurred illegal gold mining around the world. Illegal mining now accounts for up to 15 percent of the global gold output, according to Canada-based Artisanal Gold Council.

Reuters

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Philippine Hybrid Green Cars ready to hit the Roads

Japanese technology for environment friendly hybrid cars on eye for the approval of the House Bill 5460 that aims affordable environment friendly cars in the Philippine roads.

Vehicle manufacturers are eager to test so-called hybrid cars in the Philippine market as soon as legislators pass a bill providing tax breaks for makers and importers of environment-friendly vehicles.

Hybrid vehicles can run on either petrol or electricity, and sometimes on a third alternative power source. 4 of the Japanese Giants with Car manufacturing plants in the Philippines are promoting the Hybrid cars assembled in the country are:

• Honda Cars Phils. Inc.
• Toyota Motor Philippines Corp.,
• Isuzu Philippines Corporation
• Suzuki Philippines Inc

These 4 are among those getting ready to promote such vehicles in the local market.

"We'd like to introduce our hybrid cars as early as we can, introduce to the people the benefits of the environment-friendly cars, such as cleaner air and less dependence on petrol. We are just waiting for the bill on duty and tax exemption. It has already passed Congress (House Bill 5460) and we are now waiting for the Senate," Honda president and general manager Tatsuya Natsume said.

House Bill 5460 aims to make hybrid vehicles accessible and more affordable to Filipinos and this could be done by bringing down their prices through tax breaks, such as exemption from excise, import and value-added taxes.

Toyota vice president Rommel Gutierrez said legislated incentives for makers of environment-friendly vehicles would lower the price of the vehicles and encourage buyers to try them.

If the local automotive industry grows well enough to spur high demand for hybrid cars, manufacturers may consider making them in the country, said Isuzu vice president for corporate business Arthur A. Balmadrid. Isuzu produces its vehicles locally, with 90 percent of its inputs obtained from local sources.

Suzuki is also keen on introducing its prototypes for environment-friendly vehicles when prices are not as "prohibitive," President Satoshi Uchida said.

Inquirer 

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After April 2011, Smart officially Launch 4G LTE service in the Philippines

On April 2011, Smart Communications & PILTEL launched the first LTE (Long Term Evolution) mobile broadband technology as the first country in Southeast Asian countries and 3rd country in whole Asia next to Japan to introduce such high-end wireless connection mobile technology. Japan launched its first LTE last December 2010 with 2100 MHz.  

LTE (Long Term Evolution) Mobile Technology introduction in Asia

1. Hong Kong – November 2010
2. Japan – December 2010
3. Philippines – April 2011
4. South Korea – June 2011
5. Singapore – December 2011
6. India – April 2012

Official Launching of LTE for the Whole Philippines

Smart Communications, a subsidiary of the Asia's famous Telecommunication Company, PLDT has formally announced that it will officially launch  it LTE services to be available in the whole country on August 25, 2012-  the country's first Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile technology.

The announcement comes after a year of LTE test deployments conducted by PLDT's wireless subsidiary in various parts of the country since April 2011.

"Come August 25th, the Philippines joins the growing ranks of countries offering high-speed mobile broadband via LTE. This will be a boon to our customers and help power the country's development," said Smart President and CEO Napoleon L. Nazareno.

"The Philippines' first and only LTE service is here and it's running on Smart's 'super-charged' mobile network," said Smart chief wireless adviser Orlando B. Vea.

The public can take part in the launch by downloading an e-invite www.smart.com.ph/lte.

Smart said its LTE service is capable of delivering data wirelessly at speeds of up to 42 Mbps. This makes possible downloading large files in minutes instead of hours, streaming high definition videos with no buffering, and playing online games with no lag because of its high speed and low latency.

"LTE provides the cutting edge for our mobile broadband network which is also equipped with HSPA+, HSPA and 3G facilities," said Smart wireless consumer division head Emmanuel Lorenzana. "This combination of wireless broadband technologies enables Smart to provide customers with unmatched mobile broadband services in more parts of the country."

Smart's LTE deployment was made possible by the PLDT Group's ₱67.1-billion network technology refresh program which has replaced the base station equipment in all of Smart's over 9,500 base stations nationwide with 4G-ready facilities.

"This enables us to quickly and easily expand our LTE network depending on market demand," Vea said.

This program has also strengthened the PLDT Group's fiber optic networks and overseas fiber optic cable systems to ensure that high-speed broadband services offered via LTE will be fully supported.

Several LTE sites located in Metro Manila, Cebu, Davao, and Boracay have already been active months prior to the commercial launch.

To date, Smart LTE has powered several events such as the Sinulog Festival in Cebu and the Kadayawan Festival in Davao as it streamed the festivities online in full high definition.

During "The First Philippine LTE Forum" held last Aug. 13, 2012, various speakers from Smart and its technology partners Cisco, Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks, Huawei, and NTT Docomo showcased the many potential uses of LTE.

They cited possible applications of LTE in security and surveillance services, transportation management, health care and education.

Manila Standard Today

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Russia, Philippines ratify UN treaty guaranteeing maritime labor rights

ILO Director-General Juan Somavia. UN Photo/Rossana Fraga

21 August 2012 – A comprehensive range of labor standards for the world's 1.2 million merchant sailors, covering decent working conditions and health and safety issues, is now set to go into effect following its final two required ratifications, the United Nations International Labor Organization (ILO) announced today.

The ratification of the Maritime Labor Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006) by Russia and the Philippines fulfils the minimum requirement that 30 ILO Member States – representing nearly 60 percent of global shipping tonnage – ratify the Convention. This means that in a year's time, seafarers working on the majority of the world's shipping will have their rights ensured by the new Convention.

"This is great news for the world's more than 1.2 million seafarers," ILO Director General Juan Somavia said. "It was a dream of the ILO as early as 1920, and I pay tribute to the international maritime community for having made it reality," he added, noting that the ratification was "a remarkable achievement."

The Convention delineates a seafarers' 'bill of rights' while allowing a sufficient degree of national discretion to deliver those rights with transparency and accountability. The Convention also contains provisions allowing it to keep in step with the needs of the industry, and help secure universal application and enforcement.

Its provisions will help to meet the demand for quality shipping, crucial to the global economy. It will apply to all ships engaged in commercial activities with the exception of fishing vessels and traditional ships (such as dhows and junks). The Convention sets minimum requirements for seafarers to work on a ship and contains provisions on conditions of employment, hours of work and rest, accommodation, recreational facilities, food and catering, health and medical care and welfare and social security protection.

Along with protecting the rights of seafaring laborers and mariners, the Convention will also facilitate the inspection of ships through what is known as "port State control" which allows port countries to inspect ships flying under different national flags.

"The maritime labor inspection and certification system is a big step forward by the ILO in taking concrete and specific action to address the very serious problems that arise because of international ownership of ships and the inability of some countries to ensure that their ships meet international standards for quality shipping," noted Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, Director of the ILO's International Labor Standards Department.

When it comes into effect, the MLC, 2006 will replace 37 existing ILO maritime conventions adopted since 1920.

The Philippines is the world's largest provider of Marine officers and world's leading provider of sea fearers. In the 2010 data, Filipino Seafarers contributed 44% of the total OFW remittance to the Philippines of around $7 Billion US Dollars from the total OFW remittance of $16 Billion Dolars.

UN.org

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Philippines, 6th fastest growing in the world: wealth report

The Philippines is expected to be among the fastest growing economies in the world between 2010 and 2050, according to a study released by Knight Frank and Citi Private Bank.

In the 2012 Wealth Report, the Philippines is forecast to post a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 7.3% during the period, making it the 6th fastest growing economy in the world.

FAST GROWING. The Philippines is projected to be among the fastest growing economies in the world, according to the 2012 Wealth Report. This and the graphics below are taken from the report released by Knight Frank and Citi Private Bank.

The Philippines registered a 7.3% growth in 2010, but slowed down to 3.6% in 2011 as the global economy hit demand for Philippine exports and the government spent less-than-planned on infrastructure projects.

The Philippine government expects the local economy to stay resilient despite the economic challenges of key trading partners in the west. It is targeting a 5% to 6% growth this 2012 -- slower than the 2012 Wealth Report's annual growth forecast.

This 2012 Wealth Report mirrors a study released in January by HSBC, which forecast that the Philippines could become the world's 16th largest economy by 2050.

Eastward-bound

HSBC, the multinational British bank, cited demographics and rising education standards to help the Philippines grow by an average of 7% annually over the next 40 years.

The 2012 Wealth Report, on the other hand, cited the "shifting emphasis to the East."

"The global economy expanded, but the pace of growth was much slower than in 2010. The US economy grew by just 1.8% and GDP in the troubled eurozone rose just 1.6%. In contrast, Asia managed to chalk up economic growth of 7.9%, although even this was down on the 9.5% achieved 12 months earlier," it said.

"The London School of Economics professor Danny Quah forecasts that by 2050 the world's economic centre of gravity, a theoretical measure of the focal point of global economic activity based on GDP, will have shifted eastwards to lie somewhere between China and India," it added. "In 1980 it was in the middle of the Atlantic."

The report cited an indicator: the growing number of deca-millionaires or those with $10m or more in assets.

It estimated that there are 18,000 centa-millionaires in the region covering South-East Asia, China and Japan. This is more than North America, which has 17,000, and Western Europe with 14,000. By 2016, this region is expected to have extended its lead, with Ledbury Research estimating 26,000 centa-millionaires, compared with 21,000 in North America and 15,000 in Western Europe.

"These forecasts are influenced by the expected economic performance of countries in the Asia-Pacific region. While rapid GDP growth does not in itself guarantee a sharp rise in HNWIs (high-networth individuals), rapidly growing economies do provide key opportunities for large-scale wealth creation," the report said.

High-networth individuals

Citi Private Bank, a wealth management unit of the multinational financial institution, included the Philippines and the other countries in its list of Global Growth Generators - or "3G" countries that over the next 5, 10, 20 and 40 years are expected to deliver high growth and profitable investment opportunities.

Citi included "Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Mongolia, Nigeria, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam on this ['3G'] list."

Not included were Russia and Brazil -- two of the so-called BRIC nations alongside China and India -- since it said "there are other key countries with promising chances for growth that do not necessarily match the traditional assumptions about where future growth will emanate from."

"All of these countries are poor today and have decades of catch-up growth to look forward to. Some of them, including Nigeria, Mongolia, Iraq and Indonesia, also have large natural resources that we hope will be more beneficial than they so often have been in the past," the report said.

Aside from the Philippines, the other two Southeast Asian countries included in the top 10 fastest growing economies between 2010 and 2050 are Vietnam, which ranks 5th and expected to grow by 7.5%, and Indonesia, ranked 8th with average growth of 6.8% between 2010 and 2050.

Citi projected that China will overtake the US to become the world's largest economy by 2020, which in turn will be overtaken by India in 2050.

Nationality to watch

While Filipinos may not be as important now or in the near future, it is most certainly among the nationalities that should be watched in terms of luxury products and services, including second homes.

The Wealth Report said Filipinos, along with Egyptians, Mongolians, Nigerians, and Vietnamese, are among the nationalities that could be important second home buyers in the future.

The top second home buyers right now are from Russia, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, France, US, Sweden, Germany, China, Singapore, and Canada.

But the nationalities that are growing in importance as primary second home buyers are the Chinese, Indian, Brazilian Malaysian, Norwegian, Kazakhstani, Australian, Indonesian, Turkish, and middle eastern, particularly those from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The 2012 Wealth Report pulled together wealth creation, economic risk and politics in the performance of prime residential and commercial property markets, as well as other luxury products.

Citi Private Bank provides products and services to high-net-worth individuals or those who have over US$25 million of investable assets

Rappler.com 

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PhilHealth Goes International for OFWs

Philippines - Overseas Filipino workers may soon be able to file their claims online so they can be reimbursed for hospital bills incurred abroad.

The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth) is exploring strategies to provide better service to its OFW members.

"We want covered OFWs to receive immediate financial relief in the event they become ill and seek hospitalization in their host countries... Our plan is to install by next year a system that will allow OFWs to simply submit online their individual claims for repayment," Dr. Eduardo Banzon, Philhealth president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

Philhealth is mulling the possibility of contracting primary care physicians abroad to care for its OFW members.  

"We hope to start doing this in selected foreign cities with large concentrations of OFWs," Banzon said.

At present, covered OFWs hospitalized abroad may file claims for reimbursement only by submitting hard copies of the necessary paperwork inside six months to the Philhealth office nearest their Philippine residence.

The papers to be submitted are Philhealth Claim Form 1; a photocopy of the claimant's latest Member Data Record, or contribution payment receipt; a medical certificate with complete diagnosis, period of confinement and services rendered; and a hospital statement of account and/or official receipts with itemized charges and other supporting documents in English.

Philippine-based dependents of OFWs may readily avail of benefits via accredited local hospitals and outpatient service providers.

Philhealth helps pay for the room and board, medicines, laboratory exams, as well as operating room and professional fees for every hospital confinement of not less than 24 hours of the OFW's spouse and other dependents.

Qualified dependents of OFWs who are active Philhealth members are entitled to a separate coverage of up to 45 days confinement per calendar year. The 45 days allowance is shared among all dependents.

Eligible dependents include the OFW's legal spouse who is not a Philhealth member, or whose membership is inactive; the OFW's children below 21 years of age, unmarried and unemployed; and the OFW's parents who are 60 years old and above.

The spouses and children of male OFWs also receive ample medical subsidy in the form of prenatal, maternity and newborn care benefits.

A 1995 law requires all citizens of the Philippines "to enroll in the National Health Insurance Program in order to avoid adverse selection and social inequity."

"We at Philhealth are duty-bound to carry out the law, which mandates compulsory membership and coverage of all Filipinos, including to our OFWs... Even if we wanted to, we are not in a position to exempt our OFWs from compulsory coverage and contributions. Otherwise, we will be remiss in the performance of our duties," Banzon said.

Philhealth now covers some 2.52 million OFWs plus 2.48 million of their dependents.

To enlarge benefit payments and cope with the rising cost of hospitalization and out-patient services, Philhealth has adjusted annual premium contributions.

In the case of OFWs, their more than 10-year-old annual premium of P900 (or P2.50 per day) has been revised in phases to P1,200 (or P3.30 per day) effective January 1, 2012, and to P2,400 (P6.55 per day) starting January 1, 2013.

"The cost of all goods and services has drastically gone up over the years. This includes the cost of health care paid for by Philhealth," Banzon said.

"The fine-tuning is long overdue and reasonable, considering it merely reflects over a decade of health care cost inflation, and in view of the expanded benefits Philhealth has been rolling out as we speak," he said.

However, Philhealth's plan to increase annual premium contributions has sparked protests from OFWs.

ABS-CBN news

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Philippines mourned for the lose interior Minister Robredo – Flag half-mast

Mindanao mourned for the Death of the Great Minister

Tributes for the late Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo poured out from various places in Mindanao Tuesday morning as soon as official word came in that his body had been recovered from the wreckage of a plane that crashed into the sea off Masbate late Saturday afternoon.

All over Davao del Sur flags were lowered to half staff, and officials attending a peace and order council meeting that Robredo had been scheduled to attend Tuesday fell silent and offered prayers for him when news arrived that his body had been found.

Basilan Bishop Martin Jumoad described Robredo's passing as a "great loss to the Filipino nation."

"His heart was always for the people," Jumoad said.

Robredo was supposed to fly to Basilan Tuesday to attend the provincial peace and order council meeting, which was aimed at tackling the recent wave violence in the province, including attacks by suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits on rubber plantations.

When news that Robredo's body had been found, officials attending the council meeting, including civil society members, offered special prayers for the late interior secretary.

"I am very sad because Sec Jesse is gone," Jumoad said.

Jumoad said Robredo was quick to contact him whenever he said something strong about the deteriorating peace and order situation in Basilan.

"He was really very approachable and he always responded once you sent him a message or called him," he said.

"Secretary Jesse is one government official who was always around for everyone," Jumoad added.

Acting Governor  Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao described Robredo as a  reformist.

"He was very consistent in supporting the reform initiatives and played a crucial role in uniting ARMM leaders," he said.

Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong said "Jesse was one of the most decent public servants this country has ever produced."

"He's very amiable. We could easily take up with him any problem affecting my province," Adiong said of Robredo, who was his fraternity brother in the Alpha Phi Omega.

"He was a gentleman, level-headed, unassuming and a very competent public servant," Sulu Gov.  Abdusakur Tan said in a text message.

In Cotabato City, a misty-eyed Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu said he would have wished that Robredo was found alive but "Allah has His ways."

He described Robredo as "a dear friend to us."

"We would have wanted to see him back but we put our trust and faith in Allah," Mangudadatu said.

In Digos City, Davao del Sur Gov. Douglas Cagas said he could not understand "why good men die ahead of the bad ones."

Cagas, who regarded Robredo as a good friend since 1986, said the secretary's death was big loss, not only to the government, but the nation as a whole.

 "God bless the soul of this good man," said Ma. Febes Barlaan, Davao del Sur election officer.

In Bansalan, also in Davao del Sur, Senior Inspector Milgrace Driz said Robredo was the epitome of a true leader.

"He died with dignity and honor as a devoted public servant," she said.

Digos City local government officer Debbie Torres broke into tears on news of Robredo's death and could not utter a word for a while. "He was not only our boss, he was our father," Torres said a while later.

Abito Bernasor, Davao del Sur DILG provincial director, said Robredo was "a true person and a very committed public servant."

"He always walked the talk," he said.

Senior Superintendent Ronaldo Llanera, Davao del Sur police director, said he did not expect Robredo would be found alive given the length of time since the crash. But still the news came as a shock.

"It was already expected but the confirmation of his death still triggered sad emotions in us," he said.

Mayor Joel Ray Lopez of Sta. Cruz town said Robredo was one official who was very serious about the fight against corruption.

"He really encouraged us to implement good housekeeping in government service. He is a great loss for us, knowing that he is really dedicated in his anti-corruption campaign. We are saddened by his death," Lopez said.

All over Davao del Sur, the flag was lowered at half staff when Robredo's death was confirmed.

Philippine flags at all city government offices and schools in Manila were ordered flown at half-mast after the death of Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo was confirmed on Tuesday (August 21, 2012).

Half-mast Philippine Flag for the lose Minister

Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim said he gave the order upon learning that Robredo's body had been found and retrieved from the fuselage of a plane that crashed off Masbate last Saturday.

"I ordered all city government offices and schools to display the Philippine flag at half-mast to mark the passing of DILG Sec. Jesse Robredo," Lim said on his Twitter account.

As Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Robredo supervised the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.

At Camp Crame, PNP chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome said police camps nationwide have been ordered to fly the Philippine flag at half-mast to mourn the death of Robredo.

Bartolome said this is a gesture of "our great respect to a great man and a good leader."

"All PNP camps are hoisting the national colors at half mast as an expression of our great respect to a great man and a good leader who steered the DILG-PNP family through the straight and narrow path of proper public service," Bartolome said in a statement posted on the PNP's Twitter account.

Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has likewise followed suit in honoring Robredo.

"I have already directed that the flag in the DOJ premises be on half mast," De Lima said.

Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas confirmed on Tuesday that Robredo's body was found at 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, 800 meters from the shore off Masbate.

In a press briefing, Roxas said Robredo's body was found at a depth of 180 feet inside the fuselage of the small Piper plane that carried him and three others on Saturday.

"'Yung unang sumabak na mga tech divers 'yung mga puti na nakita natin kahapon, si Matt at ang kanyang team na dalawang babae. At 8:15, kumpirmado na na 'yung isa sa mga katawan ay 'yung kay Sec. Jess Robredo," Roxas said.

Hours before Transportation Secretary Manuel Roxas II confirmed Robredo's body had been found, Lim led activities marking the 29th death anniversary of former Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr., father of incumbent President Benigno Aquino III.

GMA News, Inquirer

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Remains of Philippine Interior Minister Jesse Robredo, 2 pilots recovered

THE REMAINS of local government Secretary Jesse M. Robredo and two others were recovered by technical divers Tuesday morning three days after his plane crashed off the coast of Masbate in the Bicol region, a Cabinet official confirmed.

An emotional Transportation Secretary Manuel "Mar" A. Roxas II announced that the remains of the official were retrieved 800 meters from shore at a depth of about 180 feet.

He was brought to the surface at 8:30-8:40 a.m, Mr. Roxas said in a press briefing in Masbate broadcast over major television network.

Bodies of the two pilots, Capt. Jessup M. Bahinting, owner of Aviatour Flight School, and Nepalese copilot Kshitiz Chand, have also been retrieved.

Mr. Roxas said the remains of Mr. Robredo will be brought to his hometown in Naga City.

Mr. Robredo and two pilots went missing Saturday afternoon after the six-seater Piper Seneca attempted an emergency landing in Masbate. It was on its way to Naga from Cebu City.

The secretary's aide, Sr. Insp. Jun Abrasado, survived the crash after he jumped off the plane before it sunk.

Mr. Robredo was known for transforming Naga from a sleepy municipality to a first-class city.

Before his appointment to the Cabinet in 2010, Mr. Robredo was Naga mayor for six three-year terms, or from 1988 to 1998 and from 2001 to 2010

He was a recipient of the 2000 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service, 1998 Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines and 1996 Konrad Adenauer Medal of Excellence.

Business World Online

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West Philippines (South China) Sea Day of Prayer Worldwide

[photo from flickriver]

August 21, 2012: Over 300 cities and towns in the Philippines, United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and other Asian countries will conduct simultaneous prayer rallies today, Tuesday, for the peaceful resolution of the territorial disputes in the South China Sea or West Philippine Sea.

In a statement posted in the US Pinoys for Good Governance website, the organizers said the prayer rallies would be held as part of the Global Day of Prayer for Peace in the Scarborough Shoal.

The group is also calling on people to "boycott" all China-made products.

According to USPGG spokesman Ted Laguatan, the boycott was a "non-violent" way to dramatize their protest against China's "bullying" tactics towards the Philippines and other claimants in the South China Sea.

"In his State of the Nation Address on July 23, Pres. Aquino asked for solidarity from the Filipino people regarding the issue of China's illegal occupation of the Scarborough Shoal. He asked us to speak with one voice on this issue, and on August 21 we will,  with one voice, express our solidarity with the Filipino people and tell China not to dare invade the Philippines," Laguatan said in a statement released on Monday.

In the Philippines, Laguatan said, there were 200 Church leaders of all faiths and denominations as well as top political and business leaders who would join the prayer rally and express their united stand on the issue.

The prayer rally will be attended by different speakers, such as US Pinoys national chair Loida Nicolas Lewis, Rep. Walden Bello, Rep. Riza Hontiveros, Pastor Francis M. Nicolas, Bishop Leo Alconga of the Philippine for Jesus Movement, Bishop Chito Sanches of the Philippine Council for Evangelical Churches, Albay Gov. Joey Salceda and former Gov. Grace Padaca of Isabela.

In June, the USPGG held a rally in front of the United Nations headquarters calling for a boycott of Chinese products, urging Beijing to stop its "creeping aggression toward countries around the South China Sea."

China claims ownership of 90 percent of the South China Sea based on its nine-dash line, some of which are also being contested by the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Two months ago Beijing established Sansha City and built a military garrison to administer control of   the islands and waters in the South China Sea despite strong protests from Manila and Hanoi.

The city also established its own legislative body and elected members of the municipal government, while Beijing sent officers and soldiers from the People's Liberation Army's to man the garrison.

In an interview, Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said that Manila will try to resolve the issue through diplomatic means and through the application of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea or Unclos.

However, the Chinese government had said it preferred to settle the issue through bilateral talks with concerned countries.

Beijing is also at loggerheads with Tokyo over the Senkaku Island, which the Chinese call Diaoyu, and which both countries claim as their own.

Manila Standard Today

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AFP to get ₱20 Billion from sale of Jusmag property - for Frigates MPAC Eurocopters

[Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Properties sold to upgrade the Armaments of the Philippines]

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is expected to receive a total of more than  ₱ 20 billion for its modernization program from the sale of one of its properties in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, a Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) official said Saturday.

BCDA Executive Vice President Aileen Zosa said the disposition of the 34.5-hectare Joint US Military Assistance Group (Jusmag) area in Fort Bonifacio to realty developers would help fund the military's modernization drive.

"The Jusmag area will generate for the Armed Forces of the Philippines more than ₱20 billion over the years," Zosa said.

The ₱20 billion is expected to fund the government's planned purchase of warships, jet fighters and other equipment to modernize the military in the coming years.

It intends to buy from the Italian Navy next year two Maestrale-class frigates armed with surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles and capable of antisubmarine warfare. The ships will cost ₱11.7 billion.

[ Purchase of 2 Italian Made Maestrale-class frigates armed with surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles and capable of antisubmarine warfare]

The Department of National Defense also plans to acquire 10 T-50 multipurpose supersonic jet fighters from South Korea to secure the nation's airspace.

This year, the military will also get two or four of 10 attack Eurocopters worth ₱3.2 billion from France; 21 UH1 helicopters worth ₱1.2 billion, two multipurpose attack craft (MPACs) and four Sokol helicopters.

Zosa announced the expected windfall from the Jusmag property sale during BCDA's turnover of 64 condominium units in Fort Bonifacio to the AFP for the use of soldiers and their families.

"The BCDA does not only help the armed forces expedite the implementation of its modernization and capability upgrade program, but also recognizes the sacrifices made by our soldiers through significant projects that help military dependents live a better quality of life," said AFP chief of staff Gen. Jessie Dellosa.

"In return for the continuous assistance and benefits from the BCDA, the AFP assures that we will be more enthused to perform our mandate of protecting the people and the state more efficiently and effectively," he added.

As of December last year, the BCDA has already remitted ₱15.1 billion to the AFP from the sale of its other real estate properties.

The House of Representatives has also approved a bill extending the AFP modernization law and providing it with a ₱75-billion budget over the years.

Undersecretary Fernando Manalo, who attended the turnover ceremony of the condominium units in behalf of Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, said these would help boost the morale of soldiers.

[Attack eurocopter - photo from wikimedia] 

The AFP formally received the four residential condominium buildings. Each condominium unit has a total area of 100-square meters with three bedrooms. The five-storey buildings with 16 condo units each can house a total of 64 families of active Army soldiers.

This is part of the BCDA's Jusmag replication program, a ₱700-million project which aims to provide the AFP with 12 residential condominium buildings.

Of the 10 buildings being constructed at Fort Bonifacio, nine buildings are reserved for the Philippine Army and one building for the Philippine Navy. The two other buildings are located within the retention area of the Philippine Air Force in Villamor Air Base, Pasay City.

Inquirer 

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