MECO: TRAVEL BAN IMPERILS JOBS OF PINOYS IN TAIWAN By Recto Mercene @rectomercene
M
ANILA’S decision to impose a travel ban on Taiwan may have put at risk the jobs of some 160,000 Filipinos there due to the possibility of retaliation by Taipei, which considered the travel “unjustified.” Manila Economic and Cultural Office (Meco) Chairman Angelito Banayo said Taiwan is considering retaliatory actions against the Philippines, which will ultimately affect the fate of overseas
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Filipino workers (OFWs) in Taiwan. Recruitment consultant Manny Geslani said some Taiwanese officials have confided to a group of Taiwan recruitment agencies that Filipinos who have acquired work permits, and whose names are on government’s list, will not be allowed to enter Taiwan if this “impasse” between Taiwan and the Philippines is not resolved by February 14. “Taiwan companies have demanded the return of Filipinos who were on vacation and the arrival of those newly hired to keep up with the production of millions of electronic
Friday, February 14, 2020 Vol. 15 No. 127
products,” said Geslani. Among these electronic products are iPhones and other Apple products which are about to be launched. Currently, over 6,000 Filipino workers have travel documents to return to Taiwan. Of the figure, 3,000 are new hires while the rest are vacationing workers who have been processed by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). POEA Administrator Bernard Olalia said in a television interview that 271 Filipino workers leave for Taiwan daily. See “Travel ban,” A2
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CDA presses overhaul of rice import scheme T
By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas
@jearcalas
HE Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) said there is a need to overhaul the country’s rice importation system to prevent unscrupulous traders from using cooperatives as dummies so they can take advantage of the co-ops’ tax exemption privileges. CDA Chairman Orlando R. Ravanera said the agency is capable of determining the capacity of farmers’ cooperatives to import rice.
Despite this, the CDA is not part of the importation process. His startling revelation comes just weeks before the first anniversary
of the effectivity of the rice trade liberalization law, which deregulated the Philippine rice industry. As expected, the months after the law’s effectivity
“[This dummy scheme] never happened before because it was a policy of the NFA that any cooperative that will participate in rice importation must be certified by the CDA [as being] in good standing.” —Ravanera
saw a surge in rice importation activities, making the Philippines’s the world’ top rice importer in 2019. Such surge, however, was marred by allegations that certain big rice importers and traders were profiting from the law by using the licenses of established farmer cooperatives and aggregators. See “CDA,” A2
Shield tourism from impact of COVID-19 –solons to NG
BIR’s online tax haul nearly doubled in 2019 By Bernadette D. Nicolas
By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz
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@joveemarie
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HE leadership of the House of Representatives called on national government agencies to draw up a contingency plan that would prevent the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) from derailing the growth of the tourism sector. The lower chamber has also asked the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to update lawmakers if all local government units (LGUs) have already set up their respective task forces to protect their localities from COVID-19. “We urge tourism stakeholders from the private sector to continue working with us [the government] so as to prevent the displacement of workers affected and the disruption of growth in the tourism industry,” said Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano in a statement. See “COVID-19,” A12
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n
PRICEY LOVE The prices of flowers at Manila’s “Dangwa” area has spiked with the arrival of Valentine’s Day. On the eve of the day of hearts, a bouquet of assorted flowers was being priced at P400 from P250, and some vendors were raising their blooms’ prices from P400 to P600. Still, that didn’t deter people from flocking to the flower market. NONIE REYES
@BNicolasBM
HE Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) electronic payment (e-payment) collections last year nearly doubled to P1.2 billion, from P626.35 million recorded in 2018. The BIR reported to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III that the number of electronic tax payments in 2019 also reached 446,753 transactions, 60 percent higher than the 278,602 transactions recorded a year ago. BIR Deputy Commissioner Arnel Guballa said in his report to the Department of Finance (DOF) that the e-payments were done through the Union Bank Online Tax Payment Facility using automated teller machines or debit cards, the PayMaya smartphone app and the PESONet fund transfer service.
For 2020, the BIR is targeting to further simplify its paper application form and reduce processing times, as well as the number of documentary requirements and signatories for taxpayers to enhance the bureau’s delivery of frontline services and help improve the ease of doing business, according to Guballa. The BIR said the increase in the online processing of tax payments was prompted by the launching of the bureau’s PESONet, an electronic funds transfer which enabled the taxpayers to conveniently pay their taxes anytime and anywhere. Launched on August 15, 2019, PESONet aims to shift over 15 million over-the-counter tax payment transactions collected annually to this online payments service, in sync with President Duterte’s directive to cut red tape and improve the ease of doing business.
US 50.5690 n JAPAN 0.4594 n UK 65.5475 n HK 6.5076 n CHINA 7.2534 n SINGAPORE 36.4830 n AUSTRALIA 34.0683 n EU 54.9938 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.4833
See “BIR,” A2
Source: BSP (13 February 2020)