Philippines

[winston]

Do u understand ?

1 dead, 739 injured in Philippine New Year revelry

MANILA, Philippines (AP) - Philippine health officials say a boy has died from massive injuries from a firecracker explosion in the first known death from violent New Year's revelries that also injured 739 others.

The Department of Health reported Monday that the 10-year-old boy packed a small can with explosive powder, which exploded and injured him seriously when he threw it into flames. He died en route to a hospital in northern Cabanatuan city on New Year's eve.

Officials say 712 others were wounded by firecrackers and 22 by celebratory gunfire. Five kids accidentally swallowed tiny firecrackers.

Despite a government scare campaign, reckless revelries have continued as a New Year's eve tradition across the Philippines in one of the world's most raucous and dangerous celebrations.

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNew ... 50825.html

[winston]

Russians in Manila Bay? What is afoot?

SECURITY Russian warships anchored in the Philippines last week for the first time in 96 years, a sign of intensifying military diplomacy over the disputed South China Sea.

Source: SCMP

[winston]

One dead in strong Philippine quake

A 6.8 earthquake struck off the coast of the central Philippines on Monday, killing at least one person and causing panic in cities where buildings shook, authorities said.

The quake hit 70 kilometres (44 miles) north of the city of Dumaguete on Negros Island at 11:49 am (0349 GMT) at a depth of 46 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said.

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[winston]

Life a constant battle for Philippine squatters by Cecil Morella

The women and children of a shantytown in the Philippine capital huddled along an alleyway while the men battled riot police nearby in a last-ditch stand to save their homes.

Many of the 600 residents had lived in the shantytown in the centre of Metro Manila all of their lives but, without any formal legal title to their homes, were being evicted to make way for a new town hall.

More than two million people in Metro Manila -- or roughly one fifth of the sprawling city's population -- live in shanty towns as so-called informal settlers.

About 3.5 million low-cost homes need to be built across the country to address the squatter problem, according to Antonio Bernardo, chief executive of the national government's Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board.

Bernardo also pointed to a law that said one out of every five homes built by Philippine developers must cost under 400,000 pesos ($9,000).


Source:AFP Asian Edition

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[winston]

Top importer Philippines hit for wasting rice

The Philippines, one of the world's biggest importers of rice, could go a long way to achieving its elusive goal of self-sufficiency simply by wasting less, a global research institute said.

An average of five cups of steamed rice is cooked daily for every Filipino but nine grammes (three tablespoons) of this is wasted, according to the Philippine-based International Rice Research Institute.

These morsels add up to more than 300,000 tonnes a year, or 36 percent of the country's rice imports in 2011, the institute said in a report in its quarterly journal, Rice Today.

"Middle-class families tend to waste more than low-income families. Apparently, the more people have, the more they waste," it said.

The Philippines, with a rapidly growing population approaching 100 million people that uses rice as the staple food, has in recent years become the world's biggest importer of the grain.

Imports peaked at 1.8 million tonnes in 2008 during a global shortage triggered by poor harvests and bad weather.

Some of the problems have been poor farming techniques and frequent typhoons that have devastated vital rice-growing areas.

But corruption, in which officials benefit from importing rice, and a lack of decisive government action to feed the country's booming population, are generally regarded as other important factors.

Source:AFP Asian Edition

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[winston]

Investing in the Philippines by Carl Delfeld

As an example, let’s take a look at the winner of the demographic derby, the Republic of the Philippines.

For some time, the Philippines, a country of 100 million, has been a bit of a laggard in Asia, though lately its prospects are brightening.

The country is now a net creditor and its budget deficit has dropped to 2% of its GDP.

Infrastructure is improving and the political situation seems to stabilizing, and the Philippines’ banking system is the healthiest in Southeast Asia.

All this good news has sparked Manila’s stock market. It was the world’s seventh-best performer in 2011 and, so far in 2012, the Philippines ETF (NYSE: EPHE) is up 25.9%.

http://www.investmentu.com/2012/May/phi ... tocks.html

[winston]

Chinese ship 'accidentally rams' Philippines boat

The Philippines alleged on Sunday that a Chinese vessel accidentally rammed a local fishing boat north of a disputed South China Sea shoal, killing one and leaving four others missing.

"Of the eight fishermen aboard, four were plucked out of sea only yesterday, but one of them died in a hospital," Ramos said. "Four more are still missing."

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, even waters close to the coasts of neighbouring countries. The Philippines says the shoal is well within its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.

The shoal sits about 230 kilometres (140 miles) from the Philippines' main island of Luzon. The nearest major Chinese landmass is 1,200 kilometres northwest of the shoal, according to Philippine navy maps.


Source:AFP Asian Edition

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[winston]

Property boom transforming Philippine skylines

AFP - As a Philippine property boom gathers pace, even Paris Hilton, Donald Trump and high-fashion house Versace are getting a piece of the action.

The good times are into their fourth year, fuelled by steady economic growth, Western firms offshoring jobs to the Philippines, the buying power of millions of Filipinos working abroad and low interest rates.

In Manila, formerly sleepy pockets such as the Fort army base and the rundown Eastwood industrial zone have become chic, new business districts, catering mainly for the fast-growing outsourcing sector.

At the Fort, Ayala Land this year broke ground on its $714-million One Bonifacio High Street project, which when completed in 2017 will host the Philippine Stock Exchange, a Shangri-La hotel, and retail outlets.

The project also has a 63-storey residential tower, with 298 suites ranging from $500,000-$1.9 million that sold out last month in 96 hours, according to the company.

Across the country, more than 850,000 square metres (9.1 million square feet) of office space and 14,000 residential units will enter the market this year, property consultants CBRE Philippines said in a report.

Three of the world's biggest gaming industry leaders are building a $4-billion, 100-hectare (247-acre) Entertainment City complex of casinos on Manila Bay. The first of the casinos are set to open early next year.

Meanwhile, Trump, the New York mogul, has put his name to a $150-million, 56-storey, curtain-glass-walled Trump Tower that broke ground in the financial district this year.

He said 70 percent of the 220 residential units, which are worth up to $1.86 million each, have been sold.

The firm is putting up a nearby tower designed by the Versace fashion house -- the first of its kind in Asia -- featuring individual wading pools as well as its iconic Medusa-head brand imprinted on lamp shades and cutlery.

Century also flew in socialite and hotel heiress Hilton to Manila last year to help design and promote a suburban Manila residential project that features a man-made beach.

The economy grew 6.4 percent in the first quarter, the stock market has surged 20 percent this year to hit all-time highs, and the country's credit rating has been bumped up to just a step below investment grade.

The central bank's benchmark interest rates are also at historic lows -- 4.0 percent for the benchmark borrowing rate -- ensuring large piles of cheap cash for property development.

Aside from the macro economic picture, real estate analysts point to the outsourcing phenomenon as one of the key drivers of the property boom.

From virtually nothing a decade ago, outsourcing now employs more than 600,000 people and is worth $11 billion annually, according to the main industry association which is forecasting 15 percent growth in the years ahead.

Meanwhile, roughly nine million Filipinos who work overseas are sending large chunks of the $22 billion they earn -- equal to 10 percent of the nation's gross domestic product -- back home, often investing in real estate.


http://www.france24.com/en/20120722-pro ... e-skylines

[kennynah]

blowing up soon loh....

[winston]

Appeal to help two million Philippine flood victims by Cecil Morella

Philippine authorities appealed Thursday for help in getting relief to two million people affected by deadly floods in and around the capital, warning that evacuation centres were overwhelmed.

After more than a month's worth of rain was dumped on Manila in 48 hours, entire districts remained submerged although overflowing rivers had started to recede and neck-high waters seen earlier were typically down to knee deep.

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