The legend of the Bluewater Panglao Beach Resort: Bohol's Newest Island

BOHOL - Nestled gracefully on a magnificent cliff at a secluded neighborhood called Danao, Bluewater Panglao Beach Resort is ideally suited for families who want to experience a relaxing weekend, to create a memorable holiday, or simply to have fun because, as most people will agree, the family that plays together stays together.

The Bluewater Playground is set amidst the lush tropical splendor of the gardens that give a feel as though kids are just playing around a familiar ground at school. And for families or groups who want to make the most of their limited time of the day, Bluewater Panglao welcomes walk-in guests to its dramatically gorgeous landscape that resembles a Parterre garden, where guests can laze about, or kick the winsomely winding pavement en route to the Bluewater Beachfront, or just stand in awe of the vast array of its six-hectare greenery.

Of course, what family would want to leave the place without having been stuffed with the resort's sumptuous meal and swam at the family-friendly pool beaming right beside the amiable Bluewater Aplaya Restaurant.

The walk from the reception area to the Bluewater Beachfront may be that long, so that a free ride is warmed up all the time to shuttle guests within the island's dandiest vacation spot. And for guests who prefer meandering around, a brisk walk to and fro will be well worth it, not to mention pass for a good exercise, for as they say, walking is the best exercise.

The Bluewater Beachfront is way beyond cozy, for one can have the time of one's life unlaxing under the trees or under the huts, or basking in the sand. Providing an equally relaxing experience is the Bluewater Amuma Spa. After enjoying the resort's unlimited water activities such as swimming or diving at the beach, or kayaking at the Bluewater Beachfront Marine Sanctuary, one might as well get pampered with the soothing touch of a masseuse or a masseur at the spa.

Amidst the Bluewater Marine Sanctuary floats the Bluewater Drift Bar, where a family can enjoy a nice and peaceful lunch together, or honeymooners may opt for a semi-private discussion about their plans at such a romantic dinner. The floating bar travels between Alona beach and the Bluewater Beachfront. What could be more exciting than Bluewater Panglao Beach Resort's Aquamania package that includes dolphin watching and snorkeling trip to Balicasag Island, or seeing all the best of Bohol's world-famous attractions? Thus an experience that is in keeping with Bohol's crown as the most beautiful island province in the Philippines.

Bluewater Panglao Beach Resort provides unparalleled amenities as well as upscale accommodations, and promises a beyond extraordinary experience like no other. Its entire L-shaped WiFi-zone property commands a breathtaking view of the iconic bridge linking the spacious and well-appointed Bluewater Premier De Luxe Rooms, bedecking the view of the De Luxe Pool from the Baroto Poolside Bar.

Bluewater's contemporary architecture, magnificent artwork and stylish design are extended to the Bluewater Family Lofts, where Mom and Dad can savor their love for each other, let alone show care for their children. Not only does it provide all the comforts of a family, the Loft beckons a promise of privacy and intimacy inasmuch as the rooms afford an air of homey and mesmeric setting.

The Bluewater Honeymoon Pool Villas are perfectly settled for newlywed couples on a honeymoon, or lovers who want to celebrate their anniversary, or a boyfriend who simply wants to treat his girlfriend to a weekend getaway at a best-kept secret. The Villa is an exclusive haven complete with a veranda, a private pool, a sofa set where guests can entertain their visitors over a cup of tea.

Whether they choose to stay at the Premier De Luxe, or the Family Loft, or the Honeymoon Pool Villa, the guests will experience nothing less than first-class accommodation and wholehearted hospitality. They will see nothing but beauty both inside and out, for all of Bluewater Panglao Beach Resort seems like a good-looking yet faithful boyfriend, or a glamorous yet thoughtful girlfriend, that you refuse to keep your eyes off or let go of.

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The Philippines Seeks Investment-Grade Rating - Finance Secretary

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--The Philippines is hoping to move up the rating scale to investment grade, and this week the island nation's finance minister is in New York making its case to credit-rating agencies and investors.

"We have a rare opportunity," said Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima in a meeting with Dow Jones Newswires. Purisma hopes to garner the coveted status during the tenure of current President Benigno S. Aquino III.

A higher rating would save the country millions in interest payments and allow it to attract investment capital.

Currently, Fitch Ratings has put the country one notch below investment grade while Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's have it rated two notches lower. This is after four recent upgrades by the agencies.

Last month, the country repaid 7% of its outstanding foreign debt, about $1.3 billion at a premium of nearly $1.7 billion, the secretary said, as part of a series of broad economic and government reforms it is undertaking to improve the country's image and governance.

The repayment of debt is expected to save the country from making expensive interest payments and takes it a step closer toward its policy goal of reducing foreign currency debt. Like other countries in the region, the Philippines, which is the largest issuer of foreign debt with nearly $16 billion outstanding, hopes to protect its economy from the swings of the currency trade by reducing its dependence on such debt.

Currently, the Philippines peso has weakened against the dollar after a strong showing earlier in the year.

Last week, the peso dropped to ₱43.12, its biggest decline since Nov. 11, 2010, according to Bloomberg data, along with other Asian currencies on broad market declines as the European crisis made investors risk averse.

While this is a cause of concern, "we want to keep our currency market determined," Purisima said.

"We are monitoring our currency versus peer countries like Thailand, India, Vietnam and China, a bit," he said. "We want to make sure we are within the same band."

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IMF: Philippines can survive global economic crisis

Multilateral lender International Monetary Fund (IMF) believes the Philippines has the capability to survive the impact of the fragile economic growth in advanced economies led by the US as well as the sovereign debt crisis in Europe.

IMF deputy managing director Naoyuki Shinohara said in an interview with reporters that the strong external payments position would give the Philippines enough room to maneuver.

"There is no way you can avoid the impact of the slowdown of the European and US economy. Fortunately, the Philippine government has large room to cope with the situation, both in fiscal and monetary policy areas," Shinohara stressed.

He cited the strong external payments position of the Philippines particularly the country's gross international reserves (GIR) and balance of payments (BOP) position.

Latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that the country's GIR jumped 32.6 percent to $75.814 billion in the first 10 months of the year from $57.153 billion in the same period last year on the back of the revaluation of the central bank's gold holdings as well as strong earnings from its investments abroad and foreign exchange operations.

The GIR – the sum of all foreign exchange flowing into the country – is enough to cover 11.2 months worth of imports of goods and payments of services and income as well as 10.6 times the country's short-term external debt based on original maturity and 6.4 times based on residual maturity.

The BSP originally saw the GIR hitting a new record level $63 billion and $64 billion but was later revised to range of $68 billion and $70 billion.

On the other hand, the BOP surplus jumped 166 percent to $9 billion in the first eight months of the year from $3.381 billion in the same period last year breaching the revised full-year target of $6.7 billion on the back of the strong capital inflows into emerging market economies.

The BOP refers to the difference between foreign exchange inflows and outflows on a particular period and represents the country's transactions with the rest of the world.

Authorities see the country's BOP surplus hitting $6.7 billion from a record level of $14.4 billion last year.

"The external position is much stronger than before with large foreign reserves and stronger BOP. So the government here needs to be careful about possible impact of the global slowdown but at the same time I think they have enough room to respond to these situations," he explained.

He pointed out that the Philippines would be affected in terms of its balance of trade as both the US and European countries are major destination of Philippine-made products and are major sources of imports.

"In that extent, the Philippine economy will be hit by the slowdown of growth in those regions as well. As for the financial channels, we have seen in the recent months the decline in equity prices and exchange rate appreciation," Shinohara said.

Weak global trade and underspending by the Aquino administration pulled down the country's gross domestic product (GDP) growth to four percent in the first semester of the year from 8.7 percent in the same period last year.

This prompted the Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) to scale down its GDP growth forecast anew to 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent instead of the revised five percent to six percent this year.

"The growth has slowed down a little bit this year mainly because of the global economic slowdown and the subsequent slowdown in exports as well as the cautious fiscal expenditure. But overall, the Philippine economy is doing well," Shinohara stressed.

The IMF recently downgraded the GDP growth forecast for Asia to 6.3 percent instead of 6.8 percent this year and to 6.7 percent instead of 6.9 percent for next year in line with the weaker global outlook. The lender lowered the GDP growth forecast for the Philippines to 4.7 percent instead of five percent this year and to 4.9 percent instead of five percent for next year.

According to him, the multilateral lending agency believes there is no "quick fix" of the issues involving the US as well as countries in Europe.

The IMF official said the agency supports the efforts of the Philippine government to trim the budget deficit to two percent of GDP starting 2013 until the end of the term of President Aquino in 2016.

"On the fiscal side, it is important that they maintain prudence in policy management. We support the policy goals of the Philippine government in that issue. Of course they need to work on improving infrastructure, safety nets like education, they should come from stronger tax administration and through revenue raising measures," he said.

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