Philippines

[winston]

Down 2.6%. All the Emerging Markets are lumped together and sold ...

[winston]

So sad ...

Hunger stunts Philippine children

A third of Philippine school children are stunted because poverty has forced them to eat too little food for years, according to a government study released this week.

The latest findings of a rolling survey carried out for decades by the government's Food and Nutrition Research Institute reflect the general poverty rate and the boom-and-bust economic cycles of the country.

The latest data, which is for 2008 but was only released on Thursday, showed 33.1 percent of 100,000 students surveyed across the country suffered from chronic malnutrition.

This was due to them not eating enough food over a long period and led to them being shorter than they should be, although the survey did not publish specific heights.

"Being underheight is a result of a long period of inadequate nutrition," Eva Goyena, a science research specialist at the institute, told AFP on Friday.

The chronic malnutrition rate had risen slightly from 32 percent in 2005, the last time the survey was carried out, but was down from a high of 44.8 percent recorded in 1990.

The 2008 study found that Philippine students aged between six and 12 consumed an average of 599 grams (21.13 ounces) of food a day.

Half of the food was steamed rice, while 76 grams were fish and 33 grams were milk products.

"This is really inadequate because rice is mostly carbohydrates for energy and there are more protein-rich foods than fish," Goyena said.

She said a long-term diet of this type would lead to the child becoming stunted.

The malnourished children were deficient in key nutrients such as iron, Vitamin A, calcium and iodine, according to Goyena.

Chronic malnutrition begins in infancy, the study suggested, with more than eight in 10 Philippine toddlers aged between six months and five years not eating enough to meet the recommended daily energy and nutrient intake.

Acute malnutrition, which reflects more recent setbacks such as illness or failing to eat properly over the past week, stood at 25.6 percent in 2008 among school children, up from 22.8 percent in 2005.

Source: AFP Asian Edition

[winston]

US issues travel alert for parts of Philippines

The US State Department warned of the risk of terrorist activity on the Philippine island of Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago, but said attacks could occur anywhere, including Manila.

"Targeted sites may be public gathering places including, but not limited to, airports, shopping malls, conference centers, and other public venues," the State Department said.

The warning said that travelers should use "extreme caution" if traveling to Mindanao or the Sulu Archipelago and that regional terrorist groups have carried out bombings in the areas.

US government employees, it added, must get permission to travel to the two areas.

The State Department noted that "kidnap-for-ransom gangs are active throughout the Philippines and have targeted foreigners."

The Philippines faces insurgencies which include a 33-year rebellion by the 12,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which seeks an independent Muslim state on Mindanao.

Source: AFP Asian Edition

[winston]

You can live well here on just $10/day by Simon Black
Daet, Camarines Norte, Philippines

I first started coming regularly to Daet, in the Bicol region of the Philippines, more than 13-years ago.

It’s a sleepy, quiet, relaxed place without the bustle of Quezon or Manila… perfect for people looking to live an easy, simple life. Despite the bucolic setting, though, the telecom infrastructure is pretty stellar.

At my wife’s hotel last week, I was able to utilize a mobile broadband connection, which cost me the equivalent of $0.25 an hour, to sit and do what I do every day no matter where I am in the world– monitor and trade the Australian stock and options markets.

I even sent out a trading alert to my 4th Pillar subscribers from here when another great opportunity to make some safe money in the Aussie market became available.

I should also mention that Daet is incredibly cheap.

Wages for unskilled workers are about $4.65 per DAY. If you buy food from the local markets or vendors and prepare it yourself, you can have quite a decent meal of fresh local fish, rice, and vegetables for less than $1 per person.

If you have a place to stay, even adding in a few luxuries (beer is about 50c a bottle, for example), you could live well here on $10 a day.

Down the road from my wife’s small hotel is a vacant beach lot for sale. It’s priced at about $35,000, and the owners have spent a considerable amount of money improving it with access ramps and other structures leading down to the water.

The land is already planted with some crops, and there are ponds suitable for fish farming. Of course, construction costs here are quite cheap by western standards, and you could build a nice three-bedroom home for around $60,000.

In total, that’s less than $100,000 for a spacious beachfront home in a quiet, clean, pristinely beautiful place where living costs will only run $10/day.

One thing to keep in mind is that this is largely a cash market; there has been no rampant bubble created by teaser loans and negative real interest rates. Hence, prices haven’t moved much.

I believe it was Milton Friedman who said, “Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon.” From what I’ve observed around the world in property markets, I couldn’t agree more.

Property markets that are based on high leverage and cheap money are the quickest to rise and fall. Where property markets are based on cash transactions, though, prices tend to remain reasonable.

If you’re looking for great value, I’d put that among the key criteria in your search. Assuming you have cash, seek out places where the real estate market is largely cash-based. Daet is just one example of a cash market where there are some real bargains available– both in terms of property and living costs.

In the Philippines, the catch is that only Filipino citizens can buy land outright. A non-citizen may own only a 40% interest in real property. So if you were interested, you’d need a Filipino proxy, or a carefully structured corporate vehicle through which to purchase land here.

I’ll have much more to tell you about the Philippines, my adopted home country, in future letters… including how I don’t have to pay taxes!

http://www.sovereignman.com/expat/phili ... ?a_aid=CRX

[kennynah]

i find manilla a "messy" city...

[winston]

Manila ranked worst property investment site in Asia By Abigail L. Ho

Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - Foreign investors looking to invest in real estate-related businesses have ranked Manila as their last choice among various key cities in the Asia-Pacific.

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/manila-ranked- ... 03386.html

[kennynah]

manila is seriously flooded due to a typhoon that hit her

[winston]

Clinton uses warship to push Philippines alliance
by Shaun Tandon

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday vowed military support for the Philippines, delivering a firm message from the deck of an American warship at a time of rising tensions with China.

Clinton promised a wide-ranging commitment to the Philippines from military to economic cooperation, saying that the United States wanted to update its historic alliances to meet the "new challenges" of the 21st century.

Clinton only indirectly mentioned China, which the Philippines and Vietnam accuse of increasingly aggressive tactics in the South China Sea, and said that the United States did not take any position on territorial disputes.

"Any nation with a claim has a right to exert it, but they do not have a right to pursue it through intimidation or coercion," she said.

Echoing a theme that the United States will likely push at a weekend East Asia Summit in Bali, the statement called for a "rules-based approach in resolving competing claims in maritime areas".

Clinton also signed a pact bringing the Philippines into an initiative called the Partnership for Growth, which directs the US government to find ways to boost trade and investment with the next round of emerging economic powers.

Source: AFP American Edition

http://www.newsmeat.com/news/meat.php?a ... &buid=3281

[winston]

Philippine ex-president Arroyo arrested in hospital
by Manuel Mogato

MANILA (Reuters) - Former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was arrested on Friday for electoral fraud, which carries a life sentence, at a Manila hospital, preventing her departure from the country to seek medical treatment.

"She is now under our control, under our custody," Senior Superintendent Franklin Bucayu, head of the Southern Police District, told a news briefing outside St Luke's Hospital.

"The arrest warrant has been served. We tried to read her rights but her lawyers waived it because of her conditions. She smiled at us and she was expecting it."

Both military and police leaders promised to maintain law and order, dismissing rumors of unrest within their ranks.

"That is the real triumph of justice," said Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.

Arroyo had prosecuted her predecessor, Joseph Estrada for corruption. However after he was convicted of plunder and sentenced to life imprisonment, Arroyo pardoned him.

The alleged vote rigging happened in the restive southern Muslim province of Maguindanao, where all 12 pro-Arroyo senate candidates won a clean of sweep of the province at mid-term elections in 2007, at odds with national trends.

"After finding the existence of probable cause, the court issued a warrant of arrest against the accused," a clerk of Pasay City Regional Trial Court told reporters.

Source: Reuters US Online Report World News

http://www.newsmeat.com/news/meat.php?a ... &buid=3281

[winston]

I thought Typhoon Season is already over

Death toll from Tropical Storm Washi rises to 180 with 400 people missing, Philippines officials say.

Source: CNN International