HongKong wants to Ban all Philippine Products, Air flights, No-Visa Access except Maids –could paralyze them

Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee. Photo: South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)

Legco set to back call to withdraw visa-free access to Filipino visitors

Hong Kong Lawmakers ready to put pressure on Manila despite fresh hope of compensation deal

Hong Kong Lawmakers are rallying behind a call to withdraw visa-free access for Philippine visitors to Hong Kong despite reports of progress towards a compensation deal for victims of the 2010 Manila hostage siege.

A non-binding Legislative Council motion urging the suspension of the visa-free scheme looks set to be passed on Wednesday (November 7, 2013) after parties from across the political spectrum (Pro Communist and pro Democrats)  indicated they would support it.

Hong Kong Lawmakers want the government to put pressure on the Philippine leadership and Manila city government to compensate families of eight Hongkongers killed by sacked policeman Rolando Mendoza, as well as the injured.

The call comes despite a joint statement on Thursday by Manila City Council representative Bernardito Ang and Democratic Party lawmaker James To Kun-sun, who is working with the victims and families, indicating that a deal was getting closer.

Former security chief Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, will move the call to stop visa-free access as an amendment to radical pan-democrat Albert Chan Wai-yip's motion seeking sanctions on the Philippines. She has won the support of two leading Beijing-loyalist parties, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong and the Federation of Trade Unions. Pan-democrats are also expected to support her amendment.

Chan's motion is expected to pass. But DAB chairman Tam Yiu-chung says his party may not support an amendment by Democratic Party lawmaker Sin Chung-kai as it "might infringe the existing trade agreements".

Sin wants the government to stop buying Philippine products, halt negotiations on air routes and trade and urge the public to boycott Philippine goods but the Hong Kong  Employer's association opposed of banning the maids as it could paralyze them

But FTU lawmaker Wong Kwok-kin will support both amendments.

"Though the motion has no binding effect, it will exert pressure not only on the Hong Kong government but also the Philippines - as pan-democrats and the pro-establishment camp join forces on this issue," he said.

Security minister Lai Tung-kwok would not comment on the amendments until the meeting. - SCMP

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Sorry, But There Is No Way The Philippines Is The Fifth Best Country For Women

REUTERS/Erik De Castro

The World Economic Forum recently released its annual gender gap index showing the best places in the world to be a woman.

A lot of the recent buzz has been about the unusually high ranking of The Philippines, which at number five is the highest ranking Asian country. For comparison, the United States and the United Kingdom ranked at 23 and 18 respectively.

The report ranks 136 countries based on economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, political empowerment, and health and survival.

While the Philippines has for the last several years been consistently ranked in the top ten, Rina Jimenez-David, a columnist for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, found it "puzzling" that the island nation should be ranked so high, given a number of troubling statistics.

In the column, Jimenez-David spoke to Dr. Junice Demetrio Melgar, the executive director of Filipino reproductive health NGO Likhaan. who was equally confused. 

"Frankly, I don't understand the standards they used," said Melgar. "To think that Filipino women continue to suffer the consequences of different forms of discrimination. Filipino women's enjoyment of their human and sexual and reproductive rights continues to be obstructed …"

From the column:

Melgar cites disturbing statistics: the Philippines has one of the highest incidences of unintended pregnancies (54 percent), teenage pregnancies, unsafe abortion (610,000 a year), stagnant contraceptive prevalence rate, and maternal mortality rate. "We're one of the few countries that cannot meet [Millennium Development Goal] 5 by 2015. In fact, with 221 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, we're way, way behind our target of 52."

She likewise mentions the fact that "we have one of the most restrictive abortion laws (in the world). Even women seeking treatment for incomplete spontaneous abortions (miscarriage) are treated badly in public hospitals ... Incidence of violence against women remains high."

The issue isn't limited to reproductive health:

[Filipino women's] poor health situation "is very much interrelated to women's economic situation and education," Melgar adds. "Filipino women comprise almost 70 percent of our informal economy where workers do not enjoy the benefits their counterparts in the formal economy enjoy.

Underemployment and unemployment among women are also high. A high number of our women are in jobs that are low-paying, under poor working conditions both here and abroad.

Comments Melgar: "We may have more women in government. Unfortunately, this has yet to be translated into more pro-women policies and programs. Many of these women are/were more anti-women than their male counterparts."

The status of women in the Philippines is bipolar. On the one hand, the Philippines has one of the highest percentages of women on corporate boards and the number of progressive women's rights laws aimed at closing the gender gap is impressive. The everyday life of many women in the Philippines, however, is not good.

Patricia Tan Openshaw, a partner at Paul Hastings LLP, drove home the conflict for the women of the Philippines:

Notwithstanding the high percentage of Filipino women representation in corporate boards, together with the increasing number of women entering public service and the fact that the Philippines has had two female presidents, there is a greater number of Filipino women who have no access to employment opportunities due to more fundamental issues pervading Philippine society. Deep poverty remains widespread in the Philippines. Trafficking in women continues to thrive and poverty aggravates such situation. Violence against women is prevalent.

If one of the highest nations in the rankings has such serious issues, it calls into question the validity of the Gender Gap findings.

Here's the full map of the Gender Gap Index's rankings – Business Insider

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₱35 Billion Highways - 3rd Public-Private Partnership Projects (PPP) ready for bidding

Luzon Expressway (SLEX) photo: Wikipedia

MANILA, Nov 6 -- Three groups vying to undertake the 47-kilometer Cavite-Laguna Expressway Project has passed documentary prequalification evaluation by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

This will be the third PPP Expressway Project of the DPWH bid out under the Aquino Administration, with the Daang Hari-SLEX Link Project scheduled for completion by June 2014 while NAIA Expressway Project is under detailed engineering design stage following the signing of concession agreement last July 8, 2013.

Secretary of Public Works and Highways Rogelio L. Singson said that based on evaluation of the Technical Working Group (TWG) for CALA Expressway Project on the submitted prequalification documents last October 23, 2013, Team "Orion,"  MPCALA Holdings, Inc., and Optimal Infrastructure Development, Inc. are qualified to bid for the CALA Expressway Project while another group, MTD Capital Bhd has yet to meet the needed documents on its construction and design experience requirements.

The DPWH Special Bids and Awards Committee for Public-Private Partnership Projects has given MTD Capital Bhd three days to submit the documents for the construction experience requirement and, qualifications and experience required for their design manager.

The Malaysia-based investment holding company failed to provide acceptable documents of affiliation for contractor MTD Construction Sdn Bhd owned by MTD ACPI Engineering Bhd and stated as a subsidiary of MTD Capital Bhd which may be use to meet the construction experience requirement. Another declared affiliate company Contractor MTD Construction Philippines Inc. also lack the acceptable signed document.

Team Orion backed by Ayala Corporation and composed of the consortium of AC Infrastructure Holdings Corporation, Aboitiz Land, Inc., Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Pte Limited together with nominated contractors Obsrascon Huarte Lain, S.A., Bouygues Traveux Publics, and Cavite Ideal International Construction Development Corporation have qualified to bid for the project including the operation and maintenance contractors Egis Road Expressway Corporation, Korea Expressway Corporation and OHL Concesiones, S.L.

To be allowed to submit bid for the project, this consortium needs to submit the notarized and authenticated documents provided in the submitted Annex QD-12 (Certificate relating to Notarization and Authentication of Documents) on or before 30 days before the bid proposals submission date.

MPCALA Holdings, Inc. together with their project civil works contractor Leighton Contractors (ASIA) Limited have qualified to bid for the project but two other nominated contractors, D.M. Consunji Inc. and EEI Corporation, have not qualified for failure to meet the construction experience requirements for expressway, viaduct, flyover or bridge of at least P10 Billion in total value.

With financing by the Metro Pacific Investment Corporation, MPCALA Holdings' affiliate Tollways Management Corporation also fulfilled the operation and maintenance experience requirement for the project while another affiliate Manila North Tollways Corporation (MNTC) was not considered as it is supported by a certification of ongoing project from MNTC itself and not from the project owner, which in this case, was determined by the TWG to be the Toll Regulatory Board.

Optimal Infrastructure Development, Inc. together with construction contractor Hyundai Development Company and operation and maintenance contractor Skyway O&M Corporation have qualified to bid for the project while another civil work contractor GS Engineering & Construction did not meet the ISO Certification requirement. San Miguel Corporation will provide the financial requirement for this consortium.

With prequalification of interested firms already completed, Secretary Singson said pre-bid conference is scheduled on November 19 followed by two sets of one-on-one meeting with pre-qualified companies on November 25-29 and December 9-13 prior to bid submission for the ₱35 Billion worth expressway project set on January 20, 2014.

CALA Expressway Project which will be a four lane expressway that starts at CAVITEx in Kawit, Cavite (km -0.518) and ends at Mamplasan interchange of South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) in Biñan, Laguna (km 46+500) will have a concession period 35 years including design and construction of four years. (DPWH) – (Philippine Information Agency)

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