MANILA, Philippines — To ease congestion at the ports of Manila, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) has ordered the transfer of empty containers to Batangas and Subic ports.

BOC Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero in a February 18 memorandum ordered port/district collectors at the Manila International Container Port (MICP) as well as the ports of Batangas, Manila, and Subic to implement Executive Order (EO) No. 172 issued in 2014, which declared the Port of Batangas (POB) as well as the Subic Bay Freeport (SBFP) as the Port of Manila’s (POM) extensions when it gets congested and during emergency situations.

Given the ongoing congestion at the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) and the South Harbor, Guerrero said all empty containers must be transferred to the Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) terminal in Batangas and the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) the terminal in Subic.

“The district/port collectors of POB and SBFP shall exercise authority over the containers to be transferred, while the POM and MICP district/port collectors are directed to immediately transmit all pertinent documents relative to the subject containers for immediate processing and disposal,” Guerrero said.

In January, the industry group Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) cited the return of empty containers as among their concerns at the country’s ports.

During a meeting between Guerrero and PCCI officials, the BOC chief said container yard operators were “amenable with the BOC requirement to lower and maintain their utilization rate to 70 percent.”

“ATI has already transferred empty containers to Batangas port last January 14. Sweeper vessels will also be utilized to transfer empty containers from Manila to Batangas and Subic. This would reduce the utilization rate in the Manila ports,” according to Guerrero.

The BOC had also sought the Department of Finance’s (DOF) approval of the draft Customs Administrative Order (CAO) seeking to slap additional duties and taxes to overstaying containers, he said.

Source: business.inquirer.net

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Photo Credit: ABS-CBN News

Clark Field, Pampanga—Sports facilities that are being constructed inside the New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac are more than halfway done.

The facilities, which showcase Filipino culture and lifestyle, will be used for the coming 30th Southeast Asian Games and are expected to be finished by August.

The sports complex at the New Clark City will serve as the main hub of the Games, which will cater to 22 of the 56 sports disciplines which have been calendared.

Officials of infrastructure developer, MTD Philippines, which is the project partner of the Bases Conversion Development Authority, said the project will be done some three months of before start of the biennial meet, which will take place from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11.

“We are in here for the long haul (on these projects). May athletics stadium, at may aquatics center. Matatapos po ito ng June, at the latest ay July,” said New Clark City project director, admiral Jose Miguel Rodriguez during yesterday’s weekly Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum that was held at the Mimosa Golf and Country Club.

The venues are part of a P13.6-billion project, known as Phase 1A of the New Clark City (NCC).

Other facilities that are being readied for the games are in the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan
The athletes’ village will have 2,100 beds, and will be home to athletes, officials, and volunteers for the duration of the Games.

There are plans to have them operational by Nov. 20.

The aquatics center will have an eight-lane training pool, a 10-lane competition pool and a maximum depth of five meters.

On the other hand, the track stadium will have a 400-meter standard track and nine lanes.

Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee deputy director Arrey Perez said the structures built will be the first major sports facilities to rise in the country since the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex was put up in 1934.

The designers take pride in the design of the oval, which draws inspiration from the “caldera,” or the crater of Mt. Pinatubo and the contour of the surrounding terrain of Zambales and the Sierra Madre ranges.

They used lahar as its building material and incorporated the color of lava, which is active orange, in painting the structure.

Aquatic sports will be done in the New Clark City, along with athletics.

Obstacle course sports, petanque, lawn bowls and skateboarding will be at the Clark Global City, the other venues of the Games within the NCC area are in the parade grounds, which will have archery and rugby.

Baseball and softball will be at the Villages, while dancesport is at the Royce Hotel.

Clark Field in Angeles City, Pampanga will play host to shooting, golf, jiujitsu, kurash, arnis, sambo, wrestling and wakeboarding.
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The new international airport in Bulacan, which is dubbed as the ‘biggest airport in the world, is expected to open in 2022 if the construction will begin this year.

Transportation Undersecretary Ruben Reinoso said that the first phase of the construction, which includes the construction of two runways that would cater to 35 million passengers, could begin as early as this year, reported Philstar.

Reinoso said that the construction of the airport will come in phases as per the Department of Transportation (DOTr)’s rule on projects having “partial operability”.

“So we want to do it in phases, so that once a phase is completed, we want it operational immediately. We will not anymore wait for the entire facility to be completed to operate it. Because once you wait for that, then it may take a while before it becomes operational. For us, as soon there is a terminal and a runway already, then you should start operations immediately,” Reinoso said.

Reinoso added that the airport is crucial as the Bulacan airport is seen as one of the possible alternatives to Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to decongest the country’s main gateway.

In Ramon Ang’s speech during Far Eastern University’s 90th General Commencement Exercises, where he was conferred the degree of Doctor of Business Engineering Honoris Causa, he revealed that Bulacan Airport is set to become one of the biggest airports not only in Asia but in the world.

The Bulacan airport will be named New Manila International Airport.

The business tycoon underscored that the airport will help boost the country’s employment and tourism.

Over 1 million direct and indirect jobs will be available for overseas Filipino workers and locals during its construction phase.

SMC submitted a proposal to build, operate, and maintain an airport in Bulacan. The 1,168-hectare airport can accommodate over 200 million passengers annually, more than triple than Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s (NAIA) capacity.

A city complex will also be built at a 2,500-hectare area along Manila Bay in Bulacan, Bulacan.
Source: filipinotimes.ne

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MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has signed two laws, declaring a special working holiday in the country and a special non-working holiday in Olongapo City and Subic.

The President signed Republic Act No. 11216, declaring September 3 of every year as a special working holiday to commemorate the “surrender of the Japanese military forces led by General Tomoyuki Yamashita at the American High Commissioner’s Residences in Camp John Hay, Baguio City.”

He also signed Republic No. 11217, declaring January 17 of every year as a special non-working holiday in Olongapo City in Zambales and in Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

The local holiday, dubbed as “James Leonard Tagle Gordon Day,” gives recognition to the achievements, contributions and heroism of the late politician.

Duterte signed the two laws on February 14, 2019 and copies of which were furnished to the media on Tuesday.
Source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

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The government aims to extend better social security protection to Filipinos here and abroad under a new law signed by President Duterte.

Republic Act No. 11199 or “Act rationalizing and expanding the powers and duties of the Social Security Commission to ensure long-term viability of the Social Security System” was signed by the President last February 7.

A copy of the “Social Security Act of 2018,” which amends the 21-year-old charter of the state-run pension fund, was released to the media Monday.

“President Duterte has also pushed for a stronger Social Security System (SSS) pension fund by signing into law Republic Act No. 11199 which rationalizes the powers and duties of the Social Security Commission,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said.

“The new measure empowers the SSS to increase its benefits to members, which include retirees and those who involuntary left without jobs. The law further ensures the compulsory SSS coverage in favor of our overseas Filipino workers,” Panelo said.

The new law empowers the commission to raise benefits, condone penalties, rationalize investments, among others.

To strengthen the pension fund, the measure allows the gradual increase in monthly contributions from 11 percent in 2019 until it reaches 15 percent in 2025. It also provides the gradual adjustment of the minimum and maximum monthly salary credit.

The law also provides for the mandatory SSS coverage of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to ensure their social security protection “provided they are not over 60 years of age.”

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) have been directed to negotiate bilateral labor agreements with OFWs’ host countries to ensure the employers pay the required SSS contributions.

Of the 10 million Filipinos working abroad, around 550,000 are reportedly covered by the SSS at present.

The new law will also include unemployment insurance for SSS members who will be involuntarily displaced.
Source: news.mb.com.ph

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