...the most underrated country

PH most underrated country in the world, says Purisima

 

by Iris C. Gonzales,

The Philippine Star

03/24/2012

 

 

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines is the most underrated country in the world, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said yesterday during a forum organized by the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines.

 

Purisima said that the credit rating of the Philippines– currently below investment grade – “are four levels below where it should be.”

 

“The Philippines is the most underrated country in the world. I am confident that the credit rating agencies would catch up with their ratings sooner rather than later,” he told reporters.

 

He believes the Philippines deserves an upgrade soon because of “the improving fiscal situation, the well-managed macroeconomy and also because of the Aquino administration’s good governance platform.”

 

Purisima recently met with a review team of global debt watcher Standard & Poor’s (S&P).

 

The S&P team met with fiscal and monetary officials as part of its regular assessment of the country’s economic fundamentals.

 

The review team also sought updates on measures to raise revenues including the status of the proposed sin tax measure which is pending in Congress.

 

The government is pushing for House Bill 5757, authored by Cavite Rep. Joseph Emilio Abaya. The measure, currently pending at the House Ways and Means Committee, calls for the adoption of a unitary tax system for tobacco and liquor and indexation of taxes to inflation.

 

In December, the global debt watcher upgraded the credit rating outlook of the Philippines to positive from stable in December 2011.

 

An improved credit rating translates to lower borrowing costs of the government which, in turn, would result in an improved fiscal position or more resources for social service and infrastructure.

 

In 2011, the government incurred a budget gap of P197.8 billion, well below the P300 billion ceiling set for last year.

 

In February, Purisima met with representatives from S&P, Fitch Ratings, and Moody’s Investors Service in London to provide them an update of the Philippine economic landscape

...the FB's new apps

PH techies create app, win big in Facebook tilt

By: Paolo G. Montecillo
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Saturday, March 24th, 2012

From “text capital” to “social media capital of the world.” That’s how the Philippines would henceforth be known, thanks to four Filipino programmers who bagged a major prize at the recent Facebook Mobile held in Singapore.

Besting other programmers from several Asian countries, Jason Sia, Miko Ignacio, Melvin Fetalvero and Josh Basarte, programmers working for home-grown technology firm Chikka.com, won the “Hackathon’s” Best Mobile Open Graph award for creating “Hear Me,” an application that lets users post audio notes on their Facebook home page.

The term Hackathon was coined by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Featured in the Academy Award winning film “The Social Network,” Hackathons are Facebook’s main recruitment method for finding talented programmers to work for the Internet giant.

At the recent Hackathon in Singapore, developer teams were tasked to conceptualize, write programs and present the finished application within a short period of time.

“I don’t think we won because of what we came up with in four hours, but because of what  Hear Me can become in the hands of other Facebook users and the developer community,” said Chikka team leader Melvin Fetalvero.

iPhone app

“They can surely build on it (and) run with it to launch very engaging content: think rapping bouts and ‘pick-up line’ battles. They can now bring those experiences to social media,” Fetalvero said.

The Hear Me application was developed as an iPhone application or “app” that would allow users to record voice greetings and post these on their own or on other users’ Facebook pages. Other users can then listen to the recording, “like” it, and even share it with their friends.

The app was created using Facebook’s Open Graph application programming interface (API), which enables developers to create apps that take advantage of Facebook’s social ecosystem.

Web, mobile integration

The team from Chikka—now a subsidiary of Smart Communications—was able to create Hear Me in just four hours and without the need to use expensive IVR (Interactive Voice Response) and VoIP (Voice Over IP) systems-technologies used in popular Internet communications software such as Skype and Yahoo! Messenger.

In a statement, Chikka founder Dennis Mendiola said: “It seems like only yesterday when we were called the text capital of the world. Today, it’s well documented how we are the ‘social media capital.’ It is why the world tends to expect innovation in this area from Filipinos; we take to social media like fish to water.”

Chikka’s flagship Chikka Text Messenger, which allowed Internet users to send short messaging service (SMS) or “text” messages to mobile phone users, was the world’s first commercially successful integration of web and mobile services.

Mendiola said Filipino telecom firms also invented the card-less over-the-air and peer-to-peer exchange of load between mobiles, which is now adopted in major mobile markets all over the world. Filipinos are pioneers as well in user-generated status broadcasts to a base of mobile followers, a precursor to such popular social media apps as Twitter, he said.

Passion and pride

“It’s in our blood. The Facebook Hackathon represents some of the world’s finest mobile applications developers. Beyond expertise, talent and creativity, there is passion and pride in what we do,” Mendiola said.

Chikka.com recently merged with Wolfpac Mobile Inc., also owned by Smart Communications, to form one of the largest web and mobile applications developers in the Philippines that cater to mobile Internet communities’ demand for apps of high utility and high entertainment value.

“We’re very happy with what the (group has) accomplished in Singapore,” Smart spokesperson Ramon Isberto said in an interview. “This is very much in line with our push in innovating in the application space,”  he added.

“As you know, smartphones are now becoming more popular and at the core of this are relevant applications,” Isberto said, adding that Smart Communications would build on Chikka’s success to create more developer activity in the Philippines “so we can generate more innovations here to find international markets for Filipino developers.”

...the Bloomberg awardee

PHL NGO awarded by NY Mayor Bloomberg for anti-tobacco fight

 

 

March 22, 2012

GMA News

 

 

Singapore - A small Philippine advocacy group was honored at a major international conference in this city-state Thursday for its fight against the tobacco industry.

HealthJustice Philippines was given a Bloomberg Award for Global Tobacco Control by New York City Mayor and billionaire philanthropist Michael Bloomberg for "its terrific job" in monitoring tobacco industry interference in public health policy in the Philippines.

In his acceptance speech, HealthJustice president Dr. Daniel Tan called tobacco industry interference "the single biggest threat to tobacco control."

The award comes at a time of vociferous debate in the Philippines over Congressional proposals to increase sin taxes, including the cigarette tax, to raise government revenues and lower tobacco consumption, especially among the youth.

Proponents argue that a powerful tobacco lobby composed of cigarette companies and congressmen from tobacco-growing regions stands in the way of new sin taxes and other efforts in the Philippines to keep up with tobacco control initiatives in other countries.

Dr. Tan, a pulmonologist, said the tobacco industry's "interference" includes cigarette companies' challenges in court to anti-tobacco policies such as graphic warnings on cigarette packs and even "personal attacks" on advocates like himself.

Tan said in an interview that he and his colleagues once received a postcard of the Marlboro Man with the message on the back, "You don't know what you're getting into."

"That scared us," Tan said.

He and his colleagues can boast of a powerful ally in Bloomberg, one of the world's leading philanthropists, who pledged at Thursday's awards ceremony an additional US$220 million in the next four years for global tobacco control.

HealthJustice will need all the help it can get considering that the Philippines has one of the highest rates of smoking prevalence among the youth in Asia and the cheapest cigarettes.

In addition to HealthJustice Philippines, five organizations from four other countries received awards from Bloomberg, who was introduced by World Health Organization Director General Margaret Chan.

The awards were part of the program at the 15th World Conference on Tobacco or Health, where Chan was the keynote speaker. -- HS, GMA News

...the strong performer

Philippine Environmental Policies' Strong Performance

March 21, 2012

Manila Bulletin

Editorial

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is ranked as a “strong performer” in environmental policies in the latest biennial Environmental Performance Index (EPI). The Philippines was ranked 42nd among 132 countries under the "strong performer" category in 2012. It retained its ranking of 8th in the Asia-Pacific Region. It gained perfect scores in the indicators for outdoor air pollution, change in forest cover, and growing stocks in forests.

The government attributes the country’s strong performance to several factors, among them, intensified regulatory efforts, issuance of Executive Orders 23 and 26 dealing with forest protection, more stringent motor vehicle emission standards, tighter monitoring of private emission testing and vehicle inspection centers, and better enforcement of laws against smoke belching.

The EPI ranked 132 countries on 22 performance indicators across 10 policy categories under two policy objectives – Environmental Health and Ecosystem Vitality. These indicators gauge how close countries are to achieving environmental policy goals. A higher EPI rank, such as “strong” indicates that a country or region is close to achieving its established goals in environmental policy.

The EPI, developed by the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy of Yale University and the Center for International Earth Science Information Network of Columbia University, in collaboration with the World Economic Forum and the Joint Research Center of the European Commission, analyzes how the global community is doing on policy issues against environmental pressures, and steers countries toward environmental sustainability. The index, designed to supplement the environment targets set forth in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, is being used as benchmark by governments, policy and decision makers, environmental scientists, advocates and the general public. For 2012, the EPI’s “strongest” performers that ranked first to 10th are Switzerland, followed by Latvia, Norway, Luxembourg, Costa Rica, France, Austria, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Sweden.

Government, the private sector, and civil society continue to exert efforts for cleaner air in Metro Manila and other urban centers of the country, and to fully implement the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. Local government units assist by stepping up their anti-smoke belching campaigns and strict implementation of emission tests prior to vehicle registration to help the national government succeed in its goal of a pollution-free environment. CONGRATULATIONS!

...the Future Electronic site operation

Canada’s Future Electronics eyes expanding PHL operations

 

March 22, 2012

GMA News

 

 

Canada’s Future Electronics, distributor of electronic and electrical components, plans to expand its Philippine operations, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Thursday.
 
The Canadian company operates a distribution facility in the Philippines and is eyeing to expand its marketing and technical training in its Philippine operations, as well as its distribution business, according to the DFA.
 
"Future Electronics has operations in 169 locations in 42 countries in the Americas, Asia, and Europe. It currently operates a distribution facility in Muntinlupa, Metro Manila which connects to its regional hub, based in Singapore," the department said in a note on its website.
 
Philippine Ambassador to Canada Leslie Gatan called on Future Electronics president Robert Miller last March 16 at the company’s headquarters in Montreal, Canada.
 
Miller welcomed assurances from Gatan, saying he was impressed by investment opportunities in the Philippines and its considerable human resource pool, the DFA noted.
 
"Further details of the expansion will be worked out and is expected to be announced in the coming months," the DFA said.
 
Future Electronics generates annual sales of over CAD$4.5 billion. — VS, GMA News

...the tourism record high

PHL tourist arrivals up 17% to record high in Jan. – DOT

March 22, 2012

GMA News

Visitor arrivals reached a record-breaking high of 411,064 last January, up 17.5 percent from 349,713 a year earlier, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said Thursday.

That was the same month that the government launched its popular "More fun in the Philippines" tourism slogan, which quickly became viral and a meme with countless online participants.

“We are happy to set a new all-time high for the industry, as we have now reached and surpassed the 400,000-visitor arrival mark for the first time in any single month,” the department said in a statement, citing Tourism Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez Jr.

It may also signal that the country has finally overcome the tourism setback caused by the massacre of eight Hong Kong tourists in August 2010, resulting in an immediate drop in tourism arrivals. The government has also had to cope with the effects of kidnappings of foreigners, including two bird scientists in Tawi-Tawi in late January.

The US' State Department issued a stern warning to its citizens in Juanuary about the dangers of travelling in the Philippines.

Jimenez is said to be a marketing genius, creating a spin that highlights the joyful spirit of Filipinos and papers over the country's myriad problems, from a high crime rate to unmaintained public toilets to an international airport repeatedly called one of the world's worst.

“We expect that these numbers will continue to steadily increase with the introduction of our new brand campaign this year and the convergence initiatives and efforts that the DOT has been undertaking with other government agencies and the private sector,” Jimenez added.

Koreans accounted for the biggest number of visitors at 102,166, or 24.9 percent of the total. “This achieves another feat for PHL tourism, as this also marks the first time that a market achieved more than 100,000 in any single month,” the department said.

Visitors from the United States were the second largest at 63,160 or 15.4 percent of the inbound traffic.

The Chinese market bested the Japanese market as the third biggest volume of 42,868 arrivals — a triple-digit growth of 173.8 percent from 15,656. The heavy influx of Chinese tourists was attributed the Chinese New Year in the third week of January.

The Japanese and the Taiwanese ranked as fourth and fifth top visitors, with 32,089 and 21,995 arrivals, respectively. The Japanese arrivals were 1.6 percent higher year-on-year and accounted for 7.8 percent of the total arrivals.

Tourists from Taiwan was 60.7 percent more in volume terms, capturing 5.4 percent of the total arrivals.

Overseas Filipinos — or Filipinos permanently residing abroad —accounted for 15,531 arrivals, or 3.8 percent of the total volume.

“We are excited to meet our year-end target of 4.6 million arrivals with the full roll-out of the campaign “It’s More Fun in the Philippines,” Jimenez said.

“Policy reforms and convergence projects with other government agencies will seek to address impediments to tourism growth, particularly accessibility, connectivity and entry procedures,” the secretary noted.

“More importantly, everybody’s support is critical in creating the fun and competitive image that we are selling to the world,” he added. — VS/HS, GMA News

...the growth momentum

Phl poised for faster growth - BSP

 

Philstar

22 March 2012

 

 

“Our country is poised to achieve solid growth this year with both our monetary and fiscal engines running” -  Amando Tetangco Jr., Governor, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

 

MANILA, Philippines – Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said the Philippines is poised for a faster economic growth this year on the back of the emerging economic recovery in the US and the resolution of the debt crisis in Europe. Tetangco told reporters on the sidelines of the 2012 Convention of the Chamber of Thrift Banks yesterday that the two most recent external developments point to a stronger and faster gross domestic product (GDP) expansion for the Philippines this year.

 
“While the global economy continues to grapple with the adverse impact of the debt crisis in Europe and slower growth in developed countries, the Philippines continues to generate good macro-economic numbers,” he said.

The BSP chief pointed out that the country’s export sector would benefit from the signs of recovery in the US economy with the release of favorable economic data.

The weak global demand that pulled down the country’s export earnings by 6.9 percent as well as cautious spending by the Aquino government resulted in a slower GDP growth of 3.7 percent last year compared to 7.6 percent in 2010.

He also noted the recent favorable developments pertaining to the sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone area after Greece reached an agreement with multilateral lenders led by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a second bail-out package.

According to him, there is emerging stability in the situation in Europe unlike last month when there was a great deal of uncertainty on whether Greece would be able to come up with an agreement.

“Europe is still a concern but there are signs of stabilization. This would lead to less volatility in financial markets, equities with the Philippine Stock Exchange index has been showing record high level,” Tetangco added.

Likewise, the BSP chief explained that cautious government spending that pulled down last year’s economic growth has been addressed as the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has already disbursed about 80 percent to 90 percent of this year’s budget.

“Our country is poised to achieve solid growth this year with both our monetary and fiscal engines running,” he said.

The Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) sees the country’s GDP growth expanding between five percent and six percent this year.

So far, Tetangco said inflation rate dipped to a 29-month low of 2.7 percent in February from four percent in January while the PSE index continued to hit new all-time high levels.

He added that the country’s external payments position remained healthy with the gross international reserves (GIR) hitting a new record level of $77.7 billion and balance of payments position (BOP) posting a surplus of $1.45 billion as of end-February this year. - By Lawrence Agcaoili (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)