President Arroyo inaugurates
BAGUIO CITY, Jan. 6 - President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo inaugurated Wednesday the Ifugao State University (ISU) which she said will further fortify the excellent quality of education being offered to the populace of the Cordillera region in northern Luzon.
Meanwhile, through a unanimously approved resolution of the Ifugao provincial board and duly approved by Ifugao provincial Governor Teddy Baguilat Jr., Mrs. Arroyo is now an adopted daughter of the province.
The ISU was the third state tertiary educational institution to be established during the tenure of the President, who remains very popular and loved in the mountainous region like her late father President Diosdado Macapagal.
Prior to the ISU inauguration, the President also inaugurated the
The other state university in the area is the Benguet State University (BSU) in La Trinidad, Benguet which was established during the term of the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos.
The institution catered to the education of the
Throughout her speech during the ISU inauguration, the President used the local dialect where she is as proficient as a native and opened the same by saying:" Naragsakak a kumablaaw kadakayo a kailiak kas maysa nga anak ti Ifugao". (I am very happy to greet you as my provincemates being now a daughter of Ifugao)."
She underscored her administration's accomplishments on allowing the youths in the area to have quality education like their counterparts in other areas of the
President Arroyo also observed that education in the region has helped in furtherance of its socio-economic development.
She thanked the officials of Ifugao province as well as of the national government for the completion of her priority infrastructure projects in the region which included the P2-billion Halsema Highway, various bridges and farm-to-market roads which not only improved the output of the agricultural sector but also boosted tourism "especially with the sustained visit and preservation of the Ifugao rice terraces."
Ifugao Rep. Solomon Chungalao said that only President Arroyo and no other Chief Executive of the country has done that much to the
PGMA told
ILOILO CITY – The General Luna-Jalandoni Flyover will become operational in April, or two months ahead of schedule, according to Regional Director Rolando Asis of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who was in town to inspect the ongoing construction, had insisted of an earlier completion date.
The structure is expected to boost investment and increase productivity in the city and surrounding areas on top of the obvious objective of improving the flow of traffic.
“It is originally scheduled for completion six months from now, but we will work overtime to finish the job earlier,” Asis told the President.
The flyover, the second constructed in the city under the Mega Bridges for Urban and Rural Development Project, has five spans and four piers with a total length of 282 meters. It has a P386.6 million price tag.
Other projects constructed in the province at the behest of the President include the P4.2 billion
WWII Veterans Have Six Weeks Left to Apply for New, One-Time Benefit
All Claims Must Be Received By USDVA Office by February 16, 2010
All claims from Filipino WWII veterans for benefits created by the 2009 Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation provision of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 must be received by the U.S. Embassy’s Department of Veterans Affairs office (USDVA) by February 16, 2010. These one-time payments are all new benefits made available when the ARRA was passed by the U.S. Congress and signed by President Obama in February 2009 to recognize the service of qualified veterans.
The new, one-time benefits are available to eligible veterans and widows of eligible veterans who applied before their death. Any change in the law to provide these additional benefits to other survivors would require new legislation in the U.S. Congress. Every application is handled expeditiously so that qualified veterans receive their payments as quickly as possible.
As of December 29, USDVA has approved the applications of more than 11,300 eligible Filipino WWII veterans or their widows; these qualified veterans and widows have been paid a total of nearly P6.4 billion. Approximately half of the nearly P6.4 billion in one-time benefits paid out so far has gone to Filipino WWII veterans with American citizenship, and the other half to non-U.S. citizen Filipino WW II veterans.
There is no “master list” of eligible veterans for this new, one-time benefit. Each claim is unique and decided on its own merits. All veterans who feel they may be eligible are encouraged to apply immediately. The application process is free and simple, and there is no need to pay anyone to assist in completing the form, which can be mailed to the U.S. Embassy. If sending the application by mail, veterans are encouraged to send the application early enough to ensure its receipt by USDVA by the February 16, 2010 deadline. Simply mailing the application by the deadline is not sufficient. It must be received by USDVA by the deadline.
Veterans can also submit their application in person to the USDVA offices at the US Embassy. Veterans can call USDVA at (632) 528-2500 or toll free outside Metro Manila at 1-800-1888-5252 for more information about this option. No appointments are necessary to file an initial application for this new benefit.
Additionally, Outreach activities will be conducted in Cebu and
| Philippine | CENTCOM, Camp Lapu-Lapu Lahug, | January 14, 2010 | 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. |
| Philippine | Door 4, Gutierrez Compound, | February 11, 2010 | 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. |
Veterans who have already applied for this new one-time benefit will receive an acknowledgement receipt from USDVA. There is no need to submit multiple applications, nor any need to obtain additional military service information unless requested by USDVA.
Application instructions for the one-time benefits are on the U.S. Embassy website: http://manila.usembassy.gov.
BIR Reminds Taxpayers of their year-end Tax Obligations
Tan-Torres told employers that they have to submit to the concerned BIR offices BIR Form No. 1604-CF or the Annual Information Return of Income Taxes Withheld on Compensation and Final Withholding Taxes together with its attachment, the Alphabetical List (Alphalists) of Employees including Minimum Wage Earners on or before February 01, 2010.
BIR Form 1604-CF contains information on taxes withheld and deducted by employers from the wages of their employees which shall be filed with BIR on or before January 31st of the succeeding year.
For this year, since January 31st is a Sunday, the deadline will be automatically moved to the next working day, February 01, 2010.
As required, all withholding agents with less than ten (10) employees shall submit to BIR, BIR Form No.1604-CF with Alphalists of Employees in hard copies, while employers with ten (10) or more employees shall submit the same in hard and soft copies. However, those required to file under the Electronic Filing & Payment System (eFPS) shall submit in soft copies regardless of the number of employees.
The file format to be used by the withholding agents in the submission and filing of the 1604-CF form with the Alphalists attachment thru diskette / CD/ email: esubmission@bir.gov.ph as embodied under RMC No. 5-2009.
The Technical specifications to be used, can be found in Annex“A-2009”of the said RMC.
Taxpayers are required to use either the excel format or their own extract program which shall pass through the validation module issued by the Bureau.
Commissioner Tan-Torres also told employers of their other obligations to the BIR that have to be complied with, like the conduct of year-end adjustment on wages of all their employees to ensure that their tax due is equal to their tax withheld and to issue BIR Form No. 2316 to every employee on or before February 01, 2010.
He said that with the result of the annualized computation, employers must effect necessary adjustments and refund excess withholding tax to their employees on or before January 25, 2010 or collect that from the last compensation of the year (December 2009) if there is still amount due.
Commissioner Tan-Torres also told them to file Monthly Remittance Return on Income taxes on Compensation (BIR Form No.1601–C) on or before January 15, 2010, and reminded them of the staggered deadline of filing for those under the Electronic Filing and Payment System (eFPS).
He also reminded Top 20,000 Private Corporations duly identified and notified by the Commissioner, that they are required to submit the Semestral List of Register Suppliers for the second semester of 2009 transactions also on or before February 01, 2010.
He added that taxpayers using calendar basis of accounting (ending December 31) must submit to the BIR the year-end Inventory Lists on or before January 30, 2010.
Teenage hostage freed in Basilan
Fourth Civil Relations Group (CRG) chief Lt. Col. Gamal Hayudini said the victim, Donald John Capili, was freed around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in Barangay Baiwas, Sumisip, Basilan.
Hayudini said Capili was picked up by Mujiv Sakkalahul, the nephew of Basilan Vice Governor Alrasheed Sakkalahul who chairs the Crisis Management Committee (CMC).
Hayudini said Capili was taken to the farm house of the CMC chairman in Barangay Ubit,
He said Capili, who was kidnapped on August 27 last year in Liloy, Zamboanga del Norte, was in good condition when he was released.
Capili, the grandson of former Liloy town Mayor Belchu Uy, was at the family-owned gasoline station in Barangay Baybay, Liloy when the suspects seized him.
Hayudini did not however say whether ransom was paid but reports reaching the CMC that a P100,000 “board and lodging” fee was paid to the kidnappers.
Earlier Tuesday, Zamboanga del Norte police director Senior Supt. Rey Cristeto Gonzalodo told reporters in this city that the kidnappers are asking for P20 million ransom in exchange for the release of Capili.
The numbers of kidnapped hostages who remain in the hands of the kidnappers were brought down to two following the release of Capili.
Still being held captives are Zi Shun Lu alias Oscar Lu, 51 and Bo Shung Tan alias Michael Tan, 27, both Chinese nationals from Guanzhou Province, mainland China, who were kidnapped last November 10 together with Marques Singson, 36, of Magligue, Isabela City, the capital of Basilan province.
They were seized by 30 gunmen who swooped down on a plywood factory in Barangay Marketsite in Maluso town.
The kidnappers believed to be Abu Sayyaf bandits have beheaded Singson whose head was recovered last December 9 at the
The CMC learned that the kidnappers have contacted three days ago George Tan, the owner of the plywood factory but details of the conversation were not revealed.
PGMA opens 1st corn processing and trading center
BAYUGAN CITY, Agusan del Sur -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo formally opened Region 13 or CARAGA’s first corn processing and trading center during her visit here this afternoon.
Built at a cost of P67.55-million, the Corn Post Harvest Processing Trading Center (CPHPTC) is the end product of a tie-up between the provincial government of Agusan del Sur and the National Agribusiness Corp., a Department of Agriculture-attached government-owned and-controlled operation.
Located on a four-hectare lot in Barangay Mabuhay here, CPHPTC will help increase productivity and lower production cost, resulting in increased profit for the farmers. It will thus contribute to the economic development of the whole province.
Through a simplified buying and selling process, the center buys wet corn ears, in effect sparing the farmers the cost of drying and shelling. They are paid half of the prevailing price of the dry grain.
The President also turned over certificates for 18 units of corn shredders to Agusan
The eight rice farmers association representing the 1,200 graduates are from
Corn trading center seen to boost farmers’ income
No wonder then that more than 5,000 people, mostly farmers and their families, turned out to welcome President Arroyo, who came to inaugurate the facility.
For starters, CPHPTC buys wet and unhusked corn, thus freeing the farmers from the time-consuming task of preparing their produce for the market. That will enable them to spend more time in production and boost their income.
The first of its kind in CARAGA, CPHPTC will take care of distribution of the produce to end-users.
Calo, a 69 year-old former who tills 16 hectares of cornfield, was profuse in his thanks to the President for the establishment of the CPHPTC. The barangay captain of Mabuhay in Bayugan, Calo said that he would be able to save time and money.
Danilo Sumaoy, a 47-year old resident of Barangay Canayugan, was equally elated, saying that with the post harvest facility in operation, corn farming has become less difficult.
“It will increase my income as my production cost goes down,” he said in the dialect.
For his part, Lino Asis, Jr., 28, told the President that with the new facility, he and all other farmer beneficiaries will have no problem drying their produce even during the rainy season.
“All we have to do is bring the harvest to the CPHPTC,” he said. (OPS)
