PH dominated the Women's Asian Rugby

Philippines women triumph in Jakarta


Asianrugby.com
11 August 2019

The Philippines women recorded a 100% record at the Asia Rugby Women’s Sevens Trophy to claim promotion to next season’s Sevens Series.

With Korea out of the running following defeat on day one, it came down to a round-robin between hosts Indonesia, India and the Philippines.

And it was the Philippines who won both of their matches on day two to guarantee victory in Jakarta.

First they beat India 19-12 with tries from Ono, Helena Indigne and Patrocinia Duffy before they proved too strong for Indonesia.

In the final women’s match of the tournament Aidee Denuyo, Jacquiline Mae Lyden, Ono and Indigne scored the tries in a 26-7 victory.

Veronika Olua scored one of the tries of the weekend with an 80-metre try, but the hosts could not prevent the Philippines from gaining promotion.

“We are delighted to get to the top tier of sevens in Asia,” said World Rugby Council Member and Philippines player Ada Milby. “It was great to come out on top of such a competitive competition. All the teams have improved so much and it is so promising for the future of the sport in our region.”

In the other round-robin match hosts India had beaten Indonesia 21-17 with two tries from Vahbiz Bharucha.

Elsewhere, Korea won the Plate round-robin with 17-14 and 26-17 victories over Laos and Guam with Juyeon Lee scoring a hat-trick in their final match.

Earlier, Paige Surber scored three tries in Guam’s 22-14 win over Laos and added another against Korea, despite defeat to Korea.

Qatar took home the Bowl round-robin thanks to a 44-0 win over Bangladesh where Yasmine Tobun scored a hat-trick and a 36-5 over Chinese Taipei, with Hanna Clark bagging three of her own tries.

OVERALL STANDINGS
1. Philippines
2. India
3. Indonesia
4. Korea
5. Guam
6. Laos
7. Qatar
8. Chinese Taipei
9. Bangladesh

PH FDI magnet

Fitch unit sees more FDIs in Philippines

Lawrence Agcaoili

The Philippine Star

28 July 2019

Tax reform, free trade deals expected to provide boost

MANILA, Philippines — The tax reform program in the country is seen boosting the country’s chances of bagging more foreign direct investments (FDI) , according to the research arm of the Fitch Group.

In its latest industry trend analysis, Fitch Solutions Macro Research said tax reforms in the Philippines would attract foreign investments particularly in the field of medical devices..File

In its latest industry trend analysis, Fitch Solutions Macro Research said tax reforms in the Philippines would attract foreign investments particularly in the field of medical devices.

“The tax reform program in the Philippines will boost the country’s attractiveness and encourage foreign investment. The Philippines currently has the second highest corporate tax rate in East And Southeast Asia,” Fitch Solutions said.

Fitch Solutions said FDIs in the country are somewhat hindered by a high fiscal burden through the high tax rates, which pose operational headwinds to firms and create barriers to investment.

Under the proposed tax reforms, the government intends to reduce corporate tax to 20 percent from 30 percent over 10 years from 2021, as well as reducing the number of capital income tax rates to 42 from 80.

“We believe that this will benefit medical device companies and boost foreign investment, as the tax reforms promote a more business friendly environment in the Philippines,” Fitch Solutions said.

The free trade agreements (FTAs) are also seen further boosting the country’s competitiveness and ease of trading for businesses.

For one, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez held talks with Terumo last March to discuss the company’s plans to expand production of IV catheters at its manufacturing plant in Laguna Technopark in  Biñan, Laguna.

This follows the  approval of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Package 2 (TRAIN-2) in 2018, and as of 2019, the Duterte administration has remained optimistic that all packages of the proposed comprehensive tax reform program will be approved by 2020.

“On the other hand, the extent to which companies will benefit from the tax reforms will be limited by the proposed changes in investment incentives. We note that there have already been reports of some firms putting on hold their planned investments amid concerns of the proposed changes in the incentives regime,” it said.

Fitch Solutions said the changes include shortening income tax holidays for companies, as well as removing the five percent tax incentive on gross income earned, which companies registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) can claim.

“Businesses investing in the Philippines will benefit from a broad range of FTAs. Regional trade for medical device companies in the Philippines is facilitated by the country’s membership of the ASEAN, which has reduced or removed tariff and non-tariff trade barriers for most goods in recent years,” it said.

The ASEAN has also inked FTAs with some of the Philippines’ major trade partners, including China, Japan and South Korea. This will continue to boost the country’s competitiveness and ease the trading process for businesses, making it a more attractive destination for medical device companies.         

Math Wizzards in Hong Kong

Filipino elementary students bag 11 awards in world math contest 

Philippine Star

21 July 2019

MANILA, Philippines — Eight Filipino elementary students recently brought pride to the country as they reaped 11 awards in an international math competition in Hong Kong.

Filipino students and their coaches at the awarding ceremony of the 22nd Po Leung Kuk Primary Mathematics World Contest in Hong Kong. Mathematics Trainers Guild-Philippines/Released

The Mathematics Trainers Guild-Philippines said the eight Grade 5 students represented the Philippines and competed against 144 other students at the 22nd Po Leung Kuk Primary Mathematics World Contest held from July 15 to 19 in Hong Kong.

They won two silver and four bronze medals in the individual contest while four silver medals and a trophy were earned by the delegation in the team category.

MTG said the winning silver medals in the individual contest are Jerome Austin Te of Jubilee Christian Academy and Michael Gerard Tongson of Stonyhurst Southville International School-Malarayat.

On the other hand, the individual bronze medalists are Kody Briones of Emmanuel Christian School, Iris Lexi Ababon of Colegio San Agustin-Makati, Sophie Jill Co of Pace Academy and Sean Jang of Elizabeth Seton School-South.

Ian Gabriel Hong of Pace Academy, Tongson, Te and Briones meanwhile snagged the first-runner up trophy for the team contest. The Philippine Team A were awarded silver medals and a trophy. 

MTG president Isidro Aguilar said they were very proud of the young students.

“We congratulate our Filipino contestants for winning awards in the contest,” Aguilar said.

Aside from the Philippines, students from countries such as the US, Australia, South Korea, China, Bulgaria, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Africa, Thailand, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Singapore and Vietnam also joined the math contest. — Rosette Adel 

Pinay Marvel Hero

Here comes Wave, a Filipina superhero from Marvel


Philippine Daily Inquirer
16March 2019

LOS ANGELES — A Filipina superhero will be gracing the pages of the Marvel Comics soon.

After the release of “Captain Marvel,” the first woman superhero to have its own major film, comic book writer and filmmaker Greg Pak on March 9 unveiled “Wave” on Twitter, designed and co-created by Filipino comic book artist Leinil Francis Yu.

Greg Pak/TWITTER

Wave has been described by Marvel as “a mysterious new Filipino heroine.” She has identifiable Filipino “morena” skin, a green and gold costume, weapons, and she will be teaming up with heroes from China named Aero and Sword Master.

Wave will debut in “War of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas #1,” the first of four “War of the Realms” issues to be released in May. The story will be set in Asia and will center on the New Agents of Atlas led by Korean-American superhero Amadeus Cho (aka Brawn, previously the Hulk).

Joining his team (aside from Wave) are Chinese Kung-Fu master Shang-Chi, Korean-American heroine Silk and SHIELD agent Jimmy Woo.

“Thank you so much for the huge response to Wave, Marvel’s new Filipina superhero, who’ll debut in War of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas #1! Huge thanks to [Leinil Yu], who co-created and designed her,” Pak posted on Twitter.

Marvel’s website, editor Will Moss said that “War of the Realms” will involve all the heroes from the “Avengers,” “Fantastic Four,” “Wolverine” — pretty much the whole line.

All these superheroes are out to fight Malekith, the king of the dark elves, who is conquering all realms including Midgard or Earth.

PH is Regional leader in Antitrust laws

Philippines Steps Up Regional Edge In Antitrust Law Enforcement

By Marvie Chorawan-Basilan

Feb 21, 2019 

A view of nickel ore stockpiles at a port in Sta Cruz Zambales in northern Philippines February 8, 2017. (Photo: REUTERS/Erik De Castro/File Photo)

The Philippines is gradually transforming into a regional leader in the enforcement of antitrust laws as the Southeast Asian country jumped to 5^th place in 2018's Asia-Pacific policy records.

According to local newspaper The Philippine Star, competition news and analysis firm Policy and Regulatory Report (PaRR) revealed in its 2019 "Global Trends Monitor" report that the Philippines stepped up three places higher in the top 10 Asia-Pacific list of economies that allow for fair competition in trade and business.

PaRR's report noted that the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) enhanced its authority, thus strengthening the monitoring activities of markets or trade practices that could be hampering growth in some business sectors in the country.

"The Philippine Competition Commission is strengthening its enforcement framework this year with the introduction of a leniency program and the addition of rules on forbearance and dawn raids to its arsenal of investigative tools," part of the report stated.

Last year, the Philippine antitrust agency recorded a total of 40 acquisition transactions and mergers, accounting for PHP438 billion. Of the M&A transactions recorded, 33 were given the approval to proceed with the projects.

In April, the agency released a draft of guidelines that seek to benefit joint ventures. The merger notification threshold for Philippine exchange was also raised to PHP5 billion.

This year, the PCC is looking to focus on chain logistics, petroleum refining, sugar and pesticides manufacturing, corn milling and trading, and other trading programs that seek to enhance fair exchange in the Philippines, the report added.

Another country that made a significant rise in the ranks is Indonesia. The report found that Indonesia has climbed to 6^th place, one level higher from its 7^th spot record in 2017. The top three economies in antitrust enforcement practices are China, Australia, and South Korea respectively.

AEC News Today reported that Indonesia appointed new competition commissioners as part of its efforts in enforcing antitrust policies. This move also echoed the ASEAN member nations' October move of establishing the Asean Competition Enforcers Network - a program that encourages Asean states to cooperate on competition cases.

Other Asian countries also joined the fight against unfair trade standards as Myanmar eased its foreign investment rules last year and Singapore approved amendments to its competition law.

For its part in the global reinvention of antitrust policies, Vietnam fined companies that engaged in anticompetitive conduct, including Grab. In addition, Thailand finally granted conditional clearance to Glow Energy to imply its willingness in the Asia-Pacific region's goals of providing the trade industry with justifiable practices that will benefit both giants, small, and medium-sized operations.

New PH Tourism Record

Philippines breaks tourism record in 2018


Philippine Daily Inquirer|AFP
24 January 2019

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines welcomed a record 7.1 million tourists to its beaches and dive spots in 2018, despite its most famous resort Boracay being shut half the year to recover, authorities said Thursday.

Tourists relax along a beach on Boracay Island in Malay town, Aklan province, central Philippines on April 7, 2018.  (Photo by AFP)

The archipelago nation of over 7,000 islands saw the number of visitors jump by nearly eight percent over the previous year, with South Koreans leading the way as its top tourists.

This growth came without much help from Boracay, which was closed for clean up from April to October after President Rodrigo Duterte branded it a “cesspool” fouled by reckless development.

Before the closure, the tiny island’s white sand beaches and turquoise waters were seeing some two million sun worshippers a year.

“The challenging act of closing down Boracay… the country’s top sun-and-beach destination has evidently become a blessing in disguise,” said Philippine tourism secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.

Other spots like natural paradise Palawan and beach destination Siargao Island saw a jump in foreign tourists during the closure.

While South Korean led the pack with 1.6 million tourists, Chinese arrivals jumped by nearly 30 percent over 2017 to hit 1.3 million, the department of tourism said.

Americans visitors were at one million.

In a statement, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said the 7,127,168 foreign visitors in 2018 was a 7.65 percent increase from the 6,620,908 tourist arrivals recorded in 2017.

“We are now in a time in need of vigilance – a dedication to the principle of a sustainable and inclusive tourism industry,” Puyat said. — with reports from Christia Marie Ramos, INQUIRER.net  /je/kga