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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