China Starts Building New Military Garrison in Panatag off Zambales Province of the Philippines – Aug 31

 

"We have ... sighted concrete blocks inside the shoal which are a prelude to construction," Gazmin said, displaying air surveillance photos of the rocks.

Photos were taken on Saturday (August 31), describing them as a worrying pattern of construction that would be similar to the building of a garrison on Mischief Reef in the late 1990s.

"First rocks, then a pile-driver, then a foundation," Gazmin told reporters after his testimony. "When you get back again, if you don't survey, there will be a garrison."

China is preparing to build a structure on an uninhabited piece of land in Panatag Shoal, an exclusive economic Zone of the Philippines an a violation of a 2002 DOC regional agreement.

The Philippine armed forces saw three Chinese coast guard ships and concrete blocks in the Scarborough Shoal as of Aug. 31, Gazmin told a congressional hearing in Manila today. The move contravenes a 2002 declaration between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to refrain from occupying land in the South China Sea, he said.

Friction over the South China Sea, which Philippines called "West Philippine Sea" in its 200 Nautical Mile Exclusive Economic Zone, one of the world's most important waterways, has surged as China uses its growing naval might to assert its vast claims over the oil- and gas-rich sea more forcefully, raising fears of a military clash.

Four of the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including Vietnam and the Philippines, have overlapping claims with China.

China and the Philippines accuse each other of violating the Declaration of Conduct (DoC), a non-binding confidence-building agreement on maritime conduct signed by China and ASEAN in 2002.

Philippines Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin told a congressional budget hearing in Manila that China had violated the DoC by getting ready to build new structures on the disputed Scarborough Shoal.

The tensions heighten after Aquino reject China's demand to withdraw the Arbitration case in the United Nations one of the conditions raised by China set for him to attend a trade fair. The Philippines, a U.S. treaty ally, lacks the military force to deter China from controlling disputed waters that may contain oil and gas reserves, and has asked the United Nations to rule on disputes.

"The important thing is we put men there, so this can be prevented," Gazmin told reporters. "We don't have the capability to do that at the moment."

Asked about Gazmin's remarks, China Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a briefing today he had no information about the matter.

China has accused the Philippines of illegally occupying Ayungin Shoal, where Filipino troops have been stationed after a naval ship ran aground in 1999. The Philippines and Vietnam reject China's map of the sea, first published in the 1940s, as a basis for joint exploration of oil and gas.

'Chinese Hands'

Moves by China to build a structure on the shoal contrast with a softer tone taken on the territorial disputes since President Xi Jinping took power in March, according to Li Mingjiang, associate professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. Any structure would likely be a shelter for fishermen or an observation station rather than a military facility due to its remote location, he said.

"It wants to have a small concrete structure installed there just to let the world know it's under Chinese control, it's in Chinese hands," Li said. The Philippines is unlikely to risk using force to halt any construction because it would give China an excuse to take other disputed land features under Filipino control in the South China Sea, he said.

Sea Rules

The non-binding 2002 Asean-China agreement calls on parties to peacefully solve disputes and refrain from "inhabiting on the presently uninhabited islands, reefs, shoals, cays and other features" in the South China Sea. China and Asean agreed to start talks this month on a legally binding code of conduct for the waters.

The Philippines asked the UN in January to rule on its maritime disputes with China, a move that leaders in Beijing oppose. China had demanded the Philippines withdraw its arbitration request for Aquino's planned visit this week to go ahead, the Associated Press reported yesterday, citing two Philippine officials it didn't identify.

China's foreign ministry on Aug. 29 urged the Philippines to work with China "to restore healthy and stable development of bilateral ties," the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

"China has always treasured friendship with the Philippines," the ministry said, according to Xinhua.

Chinese ships have restricted access to the Scarborough Shoal since a standoff last year with vessels from the Philippines. The shoal is about three times closer to the Philippines than China, Aquino's government said in an arbitration note.

The Philippines may give the U.S. access to military bases, including Subic Bay in Zambales province north of the capital, Gazmin said on Aug. 30 during a briefing in Manila with U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. U.S. naval forces occupied Subic Bay before they were forced to leave after the Philippine Senate ended their lease contracts in 1991.

China's biggest violation yet of the 2002 declaration - China said it's for Peace

 

Regional security scholar Ian Storey said that if Gazmin was correct, it would mark the biggest violation yet of the 2002 declaration.

"If China starts building at Scarborough, then it is an occupation and, I believe, the most egregious violation yet of the 2002 declaration," said Storey, who is based at Singapore's Institute of South East Asian Studies.

"It is a very significant development indeed and one that will certainly add to tensions."

Speaking at a China-ASEAN trade fair in the southern Chinese city of Nanning, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said his country was serious about wanting a peaceful resolution to the South China Sea disputes, though signalled it was in no rush to sign a long-mooted accord to replace the DoC.

After years of resisting efforts by ASEAN to start talks on an agreement on maritime rules governing behaviour in the region, the so-called Code of Conduct, China has said it would host talks between senior officials this month.

Li said China had always advocated talks on the South China Sea on the basis of "respecting historical reality and international law".

"The Chinese government is willing and ready to assume a policy of seeking an appropriate resolution through friendly consultations," Li told the audience, which included Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

China would "proceed systematically and soundly push forward talks on the Code of Conduct for the South China Sea", Li said without elaborating in comments aired live on state television.

He also repeated that talks on the dispute should only be carried out between the parties directly concerned, Beijing's standard line which rejects the involvement of outside parties such as the United States or multilateral forums.

Washington has not taken sides, but Secretary of State John Kerry reiterated in Brunei in July the U.S. strategic interest in freedom of navigation through the busy sea and its desire to see a Code of Conduct signed quickly.

Critics say China is intent on cementing its claims over the sea through its superior and growing naval might, and has little interest in rushing to agree to the Code of Conduct.

(Additional reporting by Sui-Lee Wee in BEIJING and Greg Torode in Hong Kong; Editing by Nick Macfie)

News reports sources: RFTBP, Bloomberg and Yahoo News

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Philippines Rejects China's Demands for President Aquino’s Visit in the Expo “inimical to our national interest”

Nanning International Exposition Center

Philippine President Benigno Aquino rejected conditions China set for him to attend an expo in the country, adding to strains over territory in the South China Sea that both claim.

"The president stood firm in the defense of the country's national interest," Raul Hernandez, spokesman for the Philippines foreign affairs department, said in an e-mail. He didn't provide details of the demand, saying he didn't want to embarrass China.

The dispute over the invitation to the China-ASEAN expo in Nanning, where the Philippines is the country of honor this year, is the latest irritant to repairing ties as the two sides refuse to budge over their territorial dispute. The Philippines wants the United Nations to arbitrate the dueling claims, an idea that China rejects.

Citing two Philippine officials it didn't identify, the Associated Press reported yesterday that China had demanded the Philippines withdraw its arbitration request for Aquino's visit to go ahead.

Hernandez called China's demands "absolutely inimical to our national interest." Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei refused to comment on the issue at a briefing yesterday, referring reporters to Foreign Ministry statements last week.

On Aug. 29, the Chinese Foreign Ministry urged the Philippines to work with China "to restore healthy and stable development of bilateral ties," the official Xinhua News Agency reported at the time.

Following is  DFA's full Q & A on the CAEXPO

Was the President invited?

The annual China-ASEAN Exposition (CAEXPO) is an ASEAN-China cooperative event and the usual practice is for the leader of the country of honor to be present. ASEAN countries had strongly urged the Philippines to send the country's highest official to highlight the 10th anniversary of the ASEAN-China strategic partnership this year. Although the President does not need to be specifically invited, the documents we have on the DFA website will show that he was, in fact, invited.

Were there any concerns and conditions from China for the President's attendance?

There were subsequent concerns and conditions to the President's attendance and such conditions were absolutely inimical to our national interest. To avoid embarrassment on the Chinese side, we will not state these conditions but you may wish to address this specific question to H.E. Ambassador Ma Keqing.

Under what circumstances were these conditions conveyed?

These concerns and conditions were delivered by at least three Chinese Foreign Ministry sources. We were advised that these conditions (1) should not be made public and (2) should not be discussed at Ministerial level.

Given the unusual request and the importance of the issue involving our President, it was necessary for the conditions to be confirmed by the two Foreign Ministers at their meeting in Beijing last Wednesday, 28 August 2013.

Did the President accept these conditions?

The President stood firm in the defense of the country's national interest.

Was the President given appropriate and timely advice on the issue?

As in all matters of foreign policy importance, the President is regularly advised in a timely and confidential manner.

(VERA Files is put out by veteran journalists taking a deeper look at current issues. Vera is Latin for "true.")

With report from Bloomberg and Yahoo News

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Agriculture Dept to build 6 Coconut processing facilities; 2 Factories to be started this year

The Department of Agriculture is pushing to build the first two of six integrated coconut-processing facilities this year for coco oil, water and other products.

Plans are afoot and the department is trying to make the final blueprint for the factories.

"I think we have to try one or two within this year... And then next year we will establish four additional plants," Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala told reporters on Monday."If ever the money from the coco levy will be released, then maybe we can use some for expansion," he added.

The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) has allotted P50 million for each processing plant, and PCA Deputy Administrator Carlos Carpio said in a separate interview that Capiz and Agusan were being eyed as sites for the processing plants.  

"There are a lot of mining companies there and they are using coconut to rehabilitate some portions of the mined areas," Carpio said. "We still have to see because putting up this kind of facility is not that easy as there are a lot of products," he added.  

Government data showed Philippine coconut exports rose 14.98 percent to $746.3 million in the first five months of the year from $649 million a year earlier, largely boosted by higher demand for coco oil.

In volume terms, coco exports totaled 1.023 million metric tons (MT) from 570,000 MT in the same comparable period.

GMA news

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ERDB Philippines discovered a “mycorrhiza” natural fungus fertilizer that survives the plant in droughts to replace Chemical Fertilizers

This mycorrhiza includes a fungus of the genus Amanita (Photo source Wikipedia)

It's the right time to imagine that the Philippine denuded mountains will be covered again with forever green grass and trees.

"It's a silent miracle worker and, best of all, it's organic,"

It may hurt the chemical fertilizers business but it would benefit the Mother Nature and the earth as it helps the farmers to have abundant harvest.

"mycorrhiza" is not expensive compared to chemical fertilizer and maybe soon accessible by the farmers to replace the commonly used chemical fertilizer.

Mycorrhiza in the Know

According to Wikipedia, a mycorrhiza (Gk. μυκός, mykós, "fungus" and ριζα, riza, "roots",pl. mycorrhizae or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic (generally mutualistic, but occasionally weakly pathogenic) association between a fungus and the roots of a vascular plant.

In a mycorrhizal association, the fungus colonizes the host plant's roots, either intracellularly as in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF or AM), or extracellularly as in ectomycorrhizal fungi. They are an important component of soil life and soil chemistry.

Philippines banks on fungus to plant 1.5 billion trees

Fungus converts previously useless earth around it into healthy soil

To help it achieve the goal of planting 1.5 billion trees by 2016, the government is counting an unlikely ally — a rare fungus that converts previously useless earth around it into healthy soil.

According to Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Ramon Paje, the government has found a partner in "mycorrhiza" a fungus which the official said would not just help the country plant more trees, but will also wean away Filipino farmers from dependence on non-organic fertilizers.

Mycorrhiza, being a fungus, is inexpensive and can be grown anywhere, he said. It is also safe in comparison to chemical fertilizers that can harm the environment and humans.

"It's a silent miracle worker and, best of all, it's organic," Paje said, adding that the Philippine government had adopted a policy on the wide use of mycorrhiza in agricultural and forestry applications.

"This policy on the use of mycorrhiza has in effect boosted government efforts to encourage the use of organic fertilizers to wean away farmers from chemical fertilizers in order to improve the health of soil throughout the country," he said.

The depletion of the country's forest cover had been largely blamed for calamities such as flash floods that occur in the Philippines with increasing regularity.

According to experts, the country has lost as much as 80 per cent of its natural forest cover.

Based on the 2001-2003 satellite imagery, the Philippines' remaining forest cover is estimated at 7.168 million hectares, or 24.27 per cent of the total land area. The remaining eight million hectares are unproductive, open, denuded or degraded.

In a bid to rehabilitate and restore the country's forest cover, the government of President Benigno Aquino launched the National Greening Program (NGP). Part of this scheme is promoting a new approach to reforestation where the mycorrhiza plays a big role.

Paje explains that other than serving as a fertilizer for trees, mycorrhiza can be used on other crops.

"Aside from trees, mycorrhiza can even be applied on a variety of crops, including sugarcane, onions, garlic and vegetables. It's cost-effective. The cost of adding mycorrhiza is lower than the savings from reduction in chemical fertilizer use. The yield gains add to the profits,'' he said,

Mycorrhiza promotes plan growth by enhancing a plant's uptake of water even in arid or acidic soils. At the same time, it also releases powerful enzymes into the soil that dissolve hard-to-capture nutrients such as organic nitrogen, phosphorus, iron and other "tightly bound" soil nutrients.

According to experts, mycorrhizal fungus possesses "symbiotic ties with plants".

"It attaches itself either on or inside the plant roots to tap into the sugars and carbohydrates present in the leaves for its sustenance. In turn, the fungal hyphae (filaments) grow out from the roots and bring water and soil nutrients back into the plant host," the DENR said.

The Philippines' studies on the workings of this wonder fungus were the result of the efforts of Dr Evangeline T. Castillo of the Ecosystems and Research Development Bureau (ERDB).

"Through her work, ERDB has produced pure inoculants of endomycorrhiza which now have two approved patents from the Bureau of Patents of the Intellectual Property Office-Philippines," said the DENR.

With report from the Gulf News

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SC 55 with 2.2 trillion cubic feet gas reserves in Palawan well drilling to start soon after Environment Compliance

The consortium of Service Contract (SC) 55 could soon proceed to drill the Cinco-1 exploration well in offshore Palawan, following the issuance of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) its much-awaited clearance.

SC 55 is led BHP Billiton that controls 60 percent , while Otto Energy and local partner Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp own the remaining 33.18 percent and 6.82 percent of the oil block, respectively.

"Otto Energy Ltd. has been notified that PCSD has approved the issuance of the strategic environmental plan clearance in relation to drilling of the Cinco-1 exploration well in SC 55," the Australian firm said.

The companies now await the formal written endorsement, which is now being finalized with other concerned parties, including PCSD, BHPB and the Department of Energy (DOE).

The Cinco prospect is located in a 9,000 square kilometer area in offshore Palawan under Service Contract (SC) 55.

Both BHP Billiton and Otto Energy are listed at the Australian stock exchange, while Trans-Asia is a Philippine-listed firm.

"This is a positive step in closing the final regulatory approvals required to progress drilling of the Cinco-1 exploration well. We look forward to finalizing these approvals and the commencement of drilling activities," Otto Chief Executive Officer Gregor McNab said.

Otto further said the SC 55 joint venture will seek confirmation from the DOE of the revised work program.

The consortium had to declare delay in the program, citing force majeure, brought about by the delay in receiving the clearance from PCSD. The clearance was expected to have been issued in September last year

SC 55, also known as the Cinco well, is situated near the Malampaya gas field, which has a potential resource of 2.2 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas compared with the Malampaya's proven reserves of 2.7 TCF.

The Malampaya's production fuels three major power plants that generate more than a third of the country's electricity supply. The field's output, however, is expected to dry up starting 2024.

Earlier, the DOE threatened to award the contract to other interested applicants if the consortium fails to comply with obligations by August.

With report from Business Mirror and Interaksyon News

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China asks Philippines' Aquino to call off visit in apparent snub 'You are not invited"

Philippine President Benigno Aquino makes a speech before the lunch ceremony, during the World Economic Forum (WEF) at the Myanmar International Convention Centre at Naypyitaw June 7, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Soe Zeya Tun

(Reuters) - China has asked Philippine President Benigno Aquino to call off a visit next week for the opening of a trade fair, Manila said on Thursday, in an apparent snub, but Beijing insisted it had never invited him in the first place.

Relations between the two countries have been soured by a bitter territorial dispute in the South China Sea.

Claims by an increasingly powerful China over most of the sea have set it directly against U.S. allies Vietnam and the Philippines. Brunei, Taiwan and Malaysia also claim parts of the waters and China has a separate dispute with Japan in the East China Sea.

Manila has filed an arbitration case before the U.N. International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea, questioning Beijing's claim as China deploys ships on two disputed shoals in the area.

"The president has decided not to proceed to the China-ASEAN Expo taking into consideration China's request for the president to visit China at a more conducive time," Philippine Foreign Ministry spokesman Raul Hernandez said in a text message.

"On the part of the Philippines, we will continue to abide by our principled position that bilateral relations can advance despite differences."

China's Foreign Ministry, in a statement given to Reuters, said Aquino had not been invited.

"China never extended an invitation to the Philippine president," it said, without elaborating.

The expo is an annual trade fair joining China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which the Philippines is a member.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi appeared to take a swipe at the Philippines when he spoke to reporters after a meeting with Southeast Asian foreign ministers in Beijing earlier in the day.

"As for the dispute of the Spratly Islands, they are not an issue between China and ASEAN," Wang said. "We do not believe that one individual opinion should replace the common position of all ASEAN countries, nor do we think that one individual (opinion) should compromise the overall interests of the two sides by pursuing their own selfish interests."

Hernandez told reporters China's request was conveyed to the Philippine government on Wednesday night, hours after Aquino announced his plan to make a 12-hour visit to Nanning on September 3 for the expo.

Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo will represent the president in the September 3-6 event, where the Philippines is this year's "country of honor", Hernandez added.

(Reporting By Manuel Mogato in MANILA and Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Nick Macfie - Reuters)

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Philippine will implement E-Court System in Major Cities – Supreme Court Chief Justice said

Supreme Court Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno revealed yesterday, during her first "Meet the Press" session, that the Supreme Court will be relying heavily on technology to accomplish major reforms in the justice system.

She commented that more than half of litigation time is consumed by the filing of pleadings, sending notifications to lawyers, prosecutors and other parties before a single case is terminated or decided by the court.

"We are trying to find a system for electronic notices. Imagine if you are notified by SMS for the case calendar, and we also received corresponding confirmation by email, we will cut down the two months it takes for the postal return card to be given back to the court," Sereno said.

"However, the problem of decongestion and the problem of prolonged litigation has to be solved by a menu of solutions; not a single solution is sufficient," she said.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Sereno said the most important reform being considered by the Supreme Court is the establishment of an electronic court system (e-Court system) in major cities where there is an urgent need to decongest the backlogs of cases.

The e-Court system will improve the processes of capturing, storing and accessing documents filed at the branch courts so as to avoid duplicated data and repetition in the administrative processes.

Additionally, the new system would also help erase perceptions that "money is leaking in the court system" because the cases will now be "raffled" off electronically and the fees will be automatically assessed by the system.

Its pilot trial was launched at the Quezon City Regional Trial Court last month, and will serve as a model once it is rolled out in all courts nationwide.

"Technology will get rid of redundant procedures to ensure that we can provide citizens with quality justice within reasonable time," she said.

Furthermore, the Supreme Court is also considering setting up electronic kiosks in major cities so that lawyers and can simply scan their pleadings and mail it through for the electronic filing system.

"The beauty of electronic kiosks in major cities is that the judge can identify which case should be given priority since the system has an aging system for the detention time of a prisoner," she said.

News source: Asia Pacific Future Gov

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Philippines posts 7.5 per cent growth in second quarter of 2013 in spite of Political challenges encountered

The Philippine economy is now expanding faster than any other in Southeast Asia, while the second-quarter results are in line with growth in regional powerhouse China.

In spite of several challenges encountered by the country during the second quarter of 2013, GDP still managed to grow and settled at 7.5 % higher than what had been expected.

During the second quarter in 2013 Stock investors in emerging economies in Asia including the Philippines, Thailand and India pulled out their fund for expected growth in the US but the recent imminent war in Syria makes the investors turn their heads back to the Philippines.

Taiwan also imposed 7 economic sanctions to the Philippines but the country's GDP remained resilient as shown in the economic growth.

Typhoon and flooding also devastated the country leaving massive destruction to the agricultural sector.

In Mindanao, the South Philippines also hampered by continues power blackout for power shortage resulting to temporary closure of some manufacturing plants

Several challenges encountered by the country but the GDP growth remained above 7 % which means the trend of the Philippine economy is no longer at 5-6% level.

The country might expect almost double digits economic growth in the second quarter if the enumerated challenges did not happened.

Finally, the Philippines economy settled and expanded to 7.5 per cent in the April-June quarter, data showed Thursday, thanks to an increase in government spending and growth in consumer spending.

The second-quarter figures provide a welcome boost to the government at a time when the country's stock market and currency slump as foreign investors pull out of emerging economies in expectation of an end to the US Federal Reserve's stimulus.

Thursday's data are a sharp improvement from the 6.3 per cent seen in the same period in 2012, the National Statistical Coordination Board said, while it also marks the fourth straight quarter of growth above 7.0 per cent.

The economy is now expanding faster than any other in Southeast Asia, while the second-quarter results are in line with growth in regional powerhouse China.

Socio-economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the news indicated that growth in 2013 would be higher than initially forecast.

"I think we will likely surpass the target growth of 6.0-7.0 per cent for the full year. What we have to sustain now is investment in order to create quality jobs," he told reporters.

"We are in a better position than many of the emerging economies," he said.

His comments come as the Philippines -- like several emerging markets around the world -- sees huge outflows of cash that had been pumped into the economy over the past year as the Fed kept interest rates ultra-low.

The foreign withdrawal has seen markets from Manila to Jakarta to Bangkok slump in recent weeks and their currencies tumble. The pesos has fallen about 8.5 per cent against the dollar since May.

But while Balisacan said the economy had been affected the fears over the Fed's stimulus program, he added: "It is important to recognize the volatility is largely externally driven," he said.

It also brings GDP growth in the first six months of 2013 to 7.6 per cent, compared with 6.4 per cent in the same period in 2012.

By Prince DAN WE, also with report from The Economic Times

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Philippine second quarter GDP matches China; on course to beat full-year goal-Reuters

A customer pushes a trolley as she shops at a grocery store in Manila's Makati financial district November 29, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Romeo Ranoco

(Reuters) - The Philippine economy posted robust expansion in the second quarter, matching the pace of China as the two fastest growing in Asia, as strong fundamentals and domestic spending buttressed the country from the region's fund outflows.

The solid growth pace lifted the peso from nearly 3-year lows and would help the Philippines keep its favored status among investors amid more market volatility.

The Philippines has overtaken emerging economies such as Indonesia as a safer investment bet due to prudent management of fiscal and monetary policy. It secured investment grade from ratings agencies this year.

The economy expanded an annual 7.5 percent in the second quarter, above the 7.3 percent market estimate, and compared with a revised 7.7 percent in the first three months of the year.

From the previous three months, the economy expanded 1.4 percent in the second quarter, higher than the 0.8 percent forecast in a Reuters poll. It was the slowest pace in a year and below the upwardly revised growth of 2.3 percent in the March quarter.

"The growth came mainly from consumer and public spending, buttressed by increased investments in fixed capital," Jose Ramon Albert, secretary general of the National Statistical Coordination Board, told reporters, adding that the services sector and manufacturing and construction also pushed up growth.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan told a media briefing the economy was on course to outperform its GDP growth target this year of 6-7 percent. He also said the country's strong fundamentals would allow it to manage risks coming from market volatilities and global headwinds.

The Southeast Asian country has sustained annual growth of above 7 percent for four quarters in a row.

Like many of its neighbors in Southeast Asia, the Philippines has not been immune to the global downturn or fund outflows as the U.S. Federal Reserve starts winding down monetary stimulus.

The peso is down nearly 8 percent this year. Exports and imports fell more than 4 percent in the first half of the year.

But with a tenth of the Philippines' 97 million population abroad and sending an average $1.7 billion in remittances every month, domestic demand in the country has remained solid, helping cushion the economy from slumping trade.

Higher government expenditures and spending related to the mid-year elections in May also boosted domestic consumption, economists said, while manageable inflation allowed policymakers to keep interest rates at record low levels, supporting growth.

Public construction jumped 31 percent in the second quarter, lower than the previous quarter's 45.6 percent annual gain.

But the Philippines is expected to face growth risks in the second half.

"Government spending may slow post-election, with some concerns that the ongoing case on the abuse of a discretionary fund may curb state expenditure," said Bernard Aw, analyst at Forecast PTE Ltd in Singapore.

He added delays in public infrastructure projects could create more uncertainty that could affect investments, while recent fund outflows due to Fed tapering fears may potentially lead to destabilizing capital flows in the economy.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco said the latest data should help boost investor confidence, and support the peso and the local stock market. He added that the authorities will ensure monetary policy would support non-inflationary robust growth.

The central bank next meets to review policy on September 12. It has kept its policy rate steady at a record low of 3.5 percent since December 2012, but has slashed the rate on its special deposit account (SDA) facility by more than 150 basis points this year to divert credit to more productive use.

(Additional reporting by Erik dela Cruz; Editing by Rosemarie Francisco and Jacqueline Wong- Reuters)

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Q2 Philippine Economic growth of 2013 beats forecast as it defies trend in par with Asian powerhouse

Like other regional markets Philippine stock market has seen high volatility in recent days

The Philippines has posted better-than-forecast economic growth, fuelled by its services sector and higher consumer and government spending.

Its economy grew 7.5% in the April to June quarter, from a year earlier.

It is the fourth quarter in a row its economy has expanded by more than 7% - defying a regional trend which has seen growth slowdown in many countries.

However, the country has been hurt in recent weeks by investors pulling out of the region's emerging economies.

The pull out, which has also hurt stock markets and currencies in countries such as India, Indonesia and Thailand, has been triggered by speculation that the US central bank may start to "taper" its quantitative easing program as soon as next month.

The measure has been used by the US central bank to increase liquidity in the US economy.

'Anchor market confidence'

A part of that liquidity has flowed into Asian markets.

However, the Federal Reserve has said it will scale back the program if the US economy improves, prompting many investors to pull out money from markets such as the Philippines.

That has resulted in the Philippine currency, peso, falling nearly 10% against the US dollar since May this year.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Stock Exchange Index slid to an eight-month low this week.

However, the country's central bank said that the latest growth data should help lift investor morale

"Solid domestic demand should help counter possible negative pressures from global developments," said Amando Tetangco, the governor of the Philippine central bank.

"Hopefully this performance would help further anchor market confidence, and therewith support the local foreign exchange and stock markets."

He added the central bank will "continue to calibrate its policy levers to help ensure that this robust growth is sustained in a non-inflationary environment".

News source: BBC News 

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China's Contractor dominates the bidding for 200 MW Agus 6 Hydro power upgrade in Iligan City, Mindanao

Seven investor groups will bid for a project that seeks to increase the power generating capacity of Units 1 and 2 of the Agus 6 hydroelectric power plant, the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corp. said.

7 Firms purchased the bidding document for submission September 30 the following:

1. Alstom Philippines
2. China International Water and Electric Corp.
3. HydroChina ZhongNan-HEC-BSPJV
4. Kaltimex Energy Philippines Inc.
5. PHP Philippine Hydro Project Inc.
6. Vicente T. Lao Construction
7. Zhejiang Fuchunjiang Hydropower Equipment Co. Ltd.

The 7 firms have purchased the required bidding documents and are currently conducting their due diligence on the project.

"We are happy with the turnout, and we hope everyone submits a bid. Other interested parties may still join this procurement project even until bidding day, as long as they purchase the bidding documents and submit the documentary requirements," PSALM President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel R. Ledesma Jr. said in a statement.

In a supplemental bid bulletin, PSALM through its Bids and Awards Committee announced that the deadline for the submission of bids has been extended to September 30.

The project intends to increase the power output of Units 1 and 2 of the Agus 6 power plant from 25 megawatts (MW) to 34.5 MW each.  It also aims to extend their economic life to another 30 years.

Specifically, the project will include the investigation, design, engineering, manufacturing, installation, testing and commissioning of the new hydropower turbines and blades of the two Agus 6 power units, as well as replacement of electrical equipment, materials and devices necessary for the safe and reliable operation of the power facilities.  Upon award, the project is expected to be completed within 900 calendar days.

The 200-MW Agus 6 power plant is a run-of-river hydro plant located downstream of the famed Maria Cristina falls in Fuentes, Iligan City.  The plant consists of Units 1 and 2 with rated capacities of 25 MW each, and Units 3, 4 and 5 at 50 MW each.

Currently the Philippines lead for its renewable energy in the world and topped for its 28 Hydropower Plants in operational Status, 8 Geothermal power plants and 3 wind Farms.

With report from Business Mirror

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Janet Napoles "Pork Barrel Fund Mess Queen" Surrendered to President Aquino: Philippines

Alleged fugitive Janet Lim-Napoles surrendered to Philippine's President Benigno Aquino III on August 28, shortly after he had announced a reward of ₱10 million Philippine pesos, or $223,940 US dollars for any information leading to her arrest.

Napoles was wanted on charges of "serious illegal detention arising from the alleged kidnapping of Benhur Luy," according to the Philippine government.

She surrendered at 9:37 p.m. +GMT +8 (August 28, 2013)

Napoles is a businesswoman who is accused of working with several elected officials in embezzling billions of Philippine pesos for their own gain.

Luy, Napoles' aide and cousin, was one of the former staff members of Napoles who blew the whistle the scheme, which included the alleged conversion of 10 billion Philippine pesos from the Priority Development Assistance Fund and the Malampaya Fund into kickbacks for Napoles and her company using dummy foundations and forged signatures, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Since the allegations have surfaced, people across the country have engaged in anti-corruption protests.

Napoles has been turned over into the custody of Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas and Philippine National Police Director-General Alan Purisima for processing and booking.

The National Bureau of Investigation is preparing charges against Napoles, some of her staff, some elected officials, and management of some of the non-governmental organizations accused in the scheme, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima told the Sun-Star in a text message.

The whistleblowers won't be charged, de Lima added.

Reynald Lim, the brother of Napoles, is still at large. There's a ₱10 million Philippine pesos, or $223,940 US dollars for any information leading to his arrest. Lim is believed to have been involved in the embezzlement scheme.

#Millionpeoplemarch Photos

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News Sources: Philippine Official Gazette and  Epoch Times

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Philippines topped 4 in ASEAN for Facebook Spying, 4 Pinoys targeted by the Government – Facebook said

The Philippine Government topped 54 (4^th in ASEAN) for Facebook Spying, data revealed.

Who are these lucky individuals that could be among the most notorious pinoy in the Cyber world that triggers Philippine government to asked Facebook to reveal their identity?

It could me, you or your friends but the good thing is they got a fictitious name, wrong birth date, and unknown location but for sure the Philippine Government obtained your IP address during your most recent Facebook Login as FB comply the government request.  

According to the Facebook, the Philippine government requested at least 4 times for 4 individuals' identity but did not mention if the 4 are all Philippine nationals or mixed.  

Facebook complied and released only at least 25% of the personal information of the 4 FB users as the request from the government did not fully meet their required standards and grounds for requesting the personal information.

Among the Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN Bloc) Malaysia topped 1 in spying FB users with 7 requests made for 197 individuals followed by;

• Singapore with 107 requests for 117 Facebook users
• Thailand with 2 requests for 5 Facebook users
• Philippines with 4 requests for 4 Facebook users
• Cambodia with 1 request for 1 Facebook user

Other ASEAN countries such as Brunei, Indonesia, Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam did not bother to spy anyone.

During the wake of North Borneo conflict happened Q1 of 2013, one of the founders of Princess Jacel Kiram's page was blocked by Facebook which allegedly because of the powerful political request.

According to the Facebook, USA remained topped 1 in spying among others with approx. 11,000 – 12,000 requests for at least 20,000 individuals.

Global Government Requests Report - Facebook

Transparency and trust are core values at Facebook. We strive to embody them in all aspects of our services, including our approach to responding to government data requests. We want to make sure that the people who use our service understand the nature and extent of the requests we receive and the strict policies and processes we have in place to handle them.

We are pleased to release our first Global Government Requests Report, which details the following:

The report details the following:

• Which countries requested information from Facebook about our users
• The number of requests received from each of those countries
• The number of users/user accounts specified in those requests
• The percentage of these requests in which we were required by law to disclose at least some data

The report covers the first 6 months of 2013, ending June 30.

As we have made clear in recent weeks, we have stringent processes in place to handle all government data requests. We believe this process protects the data of the people who use our service, and requires governments to meet a very high legal bar with each individual request in order to receive any information about any of our users. We scrutinize each request for legal sufficiency under our terms and the strict letter of the law, and require a detailed description of the legal and factual bases for each request. We fight many of these requests, pushing back when we find legal deficiencies and narrowing the scope of overly broad or vague requests. When we are required to comply with a particular request, we frequently share only basic user information, such as name.

More details about our approach to responding to government requests can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/safety/groups/law/guidelines/.

We hope this report will be useful to our users in the ongoing debate about the proper standards for government requests for user information in official investigations. And while we view this compilation as an important first report - it will not be our last. In coming reports, we hope to be able to provide even more information about the requests we receive from law enforcement authorities.

As we have said many times, we believe that while governments have an important responsibility to keep people safe, it is possible to do so while also being transparent. Government transparency and public safety are not mutually exclusive ideals. Each can exist simultaneously in free and open societies, and they help make us stronger. We strongly encourage all governments to provide greater transparency about their efforts aimed at keeping the public safe, and we will continue to be aggressive advocates for greater disclosure.

- Colin Stretch, Facebook General Counsel

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Philippine Government awarded $18 Million Dollars contract to a US company for SE-Asia’s first DTRA Border Security

Raytheon Company (RTN ) has clinched a Defense Threat Reduction Agency or DTRA contract for maritime border security in the Philippines. This marks the first border security-related contract from Southeast Asia.

Raytheon has worked with the DTRA − a U.S. Department of Defense unit for interdicting the movement of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) − on cooperative threat reduction operations under a number of contracts.

Per the two-year base contract, Raytheon is responsible for designing and developing a National Coast Watch Center (NCWC), thereby integrating data from various agencies into the NCWC. The company will also install and provide training on an automatic identification system as well as radio communications for the government of the Philippines.

Philippine National Coast Watch Center (NCWC) was created in September 2011 under Executive Order 57 signed by the President Aquino, which calls for the establishment of a National Coast Watch Center headed by the Philippine Coast Guard to implement and coordinate maritime security operations in the country.

Raytheon Company through the 2 year base $18 Million US Dollars contract will develop and equip with state of the art Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance technology for the newly created National Coast Watch Center of the Philippines to detect territorial intrusions.

Under the two-year base contract, Raytheon will develop, design and construct the existing  National Coast Watch Center (NCWC); support integration of data from various agencies into the NCWC; and provide acquisition, installation and training on an automatic identification system as well as radio communications for the Government of the Philippines. The contract was awarded July 2013, and will end July 31, 2015.

"The Philippines contract extends Raytheon's border security solutions portfolio to Southeast Asia and confirms that our integration solutions, program management leadership and international expertise are valuable as we expand our support of customers around the world," said David Appel, director of Surveillance, Range, and Infrastructure Solutions for Raytheon's Intelligence, Information and Services business.

"With this contract, Raytheon continues its role in providing critical services and solutions to help other countries deter, detect and interdict illicit weapons and materials that could harm their citizens."

Raytheon has performed similar work for DTRA under other contracts as well. The CTR Integrating Contract (CTRIC II), awarded in April 2011, is a multiple award indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract, and the Philippines project is part of CTRIC II.

In April, Raytheon won a three-year, $35.9 million DTRA border security agreement. Per the agreement, Raytheon is responsible for designing, developing and implementing an integrated surveillance system along sections of the Jordanian border. The company will also provide training, maintenance and repair, as well as equipment. In fact, the Jordan venture is a part of the CTR Integrating Contract (CTRIC II), from Apr 2011, in this field.

Based in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon Company is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. Going forward, revenue and earnings growth would continue to be driven by its strong presence in the areas of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR); air & missile defense systems; border security; air traffic management; training and homeland security; and cyber security. The company remains actively involved in a number of classified U.S. government programs, principally through its IIS and SAS business segments.

Among the large-cap defense players, Raytheon is one of the best-positioned companies. Late last month, the company reported its second quarter 2013 earnings that exceeded our expectation by 26.1% and were also above the year-ago profit level by 4.5%. The beat was driven by strong program execution and the ability of the company to match the security needs of its customers through premium quality products.

State-of-the-art technology and missiles developed by the company allow it to have a competitive edge and ensure a continuous flow of contracts from the U.S. defense department and from its global customers

With reports from The Wall Street Journal, Global Balita and Zacks 

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