Visa-Free Entry of Filipino Tourists to Myanmar to Take Effect on January 4, 2014

Following the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and Myanmar Foreign Affairs Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin earlier this month, the agreement will take effect on January 4, 2014.

Under the agreement signed by Myanmar’s and the Philippines’ Foreign Affairs representatives, Myanmar grants Filipino nationals who hold ordinary passports the privilege to enter and visit in Myanmar without a visa up to 14 days. Prior to this signed agreement, Myanmar nationals are already allowed to enter the Philippines without a visa for up to 30 days under the signed Executive Order 408.

The effectivity of the visa-free entry agreement hopes for a boost in Myanmar’s tourism and trade and investment industry with the Philippines.

Read more: http://www.ofwguide.com/article_item-2143/Visa-Free-Entry-of-Filipino-Tourists-to-Myanmar-to-Take-Effect-on-January-4–2014.html#ixzz2oqTBUQsg

OFWs Ask: Things to Know About Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC)

As Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) take holiday breaks, some choose to go home in the Philippines and spend time with families and friends. Due to this, it is necessary to arrange and process some documents prior to or after the travel. One of these documents is the Overseas Employment Certificate(OEC) or more commonly known as travel exit clearance.

So just a heads up to our Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) kababayans, whether vacationing/returning to the Philippines or not, here are the basics that you must know about why, how and what OEC is all about:

Q: What is Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC)/ POEA travel exit clearance?

A: It serves as a proof that you are a documented OFW (among many other documents, such as your employment contract and job order) who is allowed to exit the Philippines to fulfill job contracts overseas. It is also a clearance/certificate that proves that your exit or departure to the Philippines is valid since you are returning to an employer abroad.

Q: What are the use of an Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC)?

A: An OEC serves for the following purposes:

• it serves as an exit pass for OFWs at the airport
• it exempts you from paying travel tax and airport terminal fee once presented to the airline counter and airport terminal fee counter.
• It assures that a worker is covered by government protection, benefits and assistance.

Q: How long does it take to process an OEC/travel exit clearance?

A: There are two ways of applying and processing the OEC:

1. By walk-in application. Depending on the volume of walk-in applicants, this may take one whole working day.
2. By appointment system. You may log-in to the BM online appointment system and set a schedule as to when and where you want to claim your OEC. If you completely bring all the required documents, it may just take less than an hour to encode your details, claim and pay for the OEC.

How to Apply for Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) via the BM Appointment System

 

Q: Where Can Bm OECs Be Secured?

A: You may secure an OEC in any of the following processing centers:

• Balik-Manggagawa Processing Division (BMPD) – POEA main office
• POEA Regional Centers – Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao
• POEA Regional Extension Units / Satellite Offices
• Labor Assistance Centers (LAC) – at international airports in Manila, Cebu and
• Mindanao. (OEC issuance at LACs is limited to those classified as regular balik-manggagawa, vacationing workers, rehires, POLO-registered workers – with confirmed airline bookings on the date of request of BM OEC issuance, and whose leave does not exceed FIVE (5) days. (BM) Name Hires cannot be issued BM OEC at the LACs.)
• Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLO)

Q: For how long is an OEC valid?

A: An Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) is valid for sixty (60) days upon the date of issuance.

Q: I frequently travel to and from the Philippines in connection with my job, do I need to apply for OEC every time I depart from the Philippines to go back to my employer?

A: An OFW whose job requires travel to and from the Philippines more than once can secure Multiple OECs, or multiple travel exit clearances (MTEC). MTEC is a set of two or more exit clearance documents that allows an OFW to travel to and from the Philippines multiple times within a 12-month period.

Q: I lost my OEC, should I get a new one?

A: No, as there will be no -reissuance of a lost OEC. An OFW/BM who lost his/her OEC must be issued/request a certification of the particulars of his/her previously applied/lost OEC from the POEA office, POLOs or BM Regional Processing Divisions upon submission of an Affidavit of Loss.

 

A lost OEC may cause an non-exemption to the travel tax and airport terminal fee, though.

Q: My OEC expired before I used it, what should I do?

A: Go to an OEC processing center, such as the POEA office, POLOs and BM Regional Processing Divisions. Present your previous OECs, together with your latest OWWA/Philhealth payment receipts. Make sure that the details (destination, employer, etc.) in your previous OECs are still the same, as it will be carried over to your new OEC.

These are just some of the most commonly asked questions by OFWs unfamiliar with the Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC). Any questions unaddressed should be directed to the Philippine Overseas Employment Adminsitration via their contact information:

Landline: 722.11.44 / 722.11.55

E-mail: info@poea.gov.ph

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/poea.official

Read more: http://www.ofwguide.com/article_item-2140/OFWs-Ask–Things-to-Know-About-Overseas-Employment-Certificate–OEC-.html#ixzz2oqSSGRrn

PSE eyes amendments in SBL rules for insurance companies

The Philippine Stock Exchange eyes amendments to the rules for its securities borrowing and lending (SBL) program next year to allow insurance companies to lend liquid securities in their portfolio to spur liquidity in the market, executives said.

The PSE is in talks with the Insurance Commission to allow insurance companies to lend portions of the portfolio on more liquid securities to the market, president and CEO Hans Sicat told reporters during the 10th listing anniversary briefing in Makati City.

“We need to ensure the environment around it, the legal framework, as well as the taxation framework that governs it, is aligned to current global practices,” he said.

“If that happens, we will have a good chance of launching it in 2014,” Sicat added.

SBL allows an owner or controller of securities to lend to a borrower who needs funds. In the case of the stock market, the shares of stocks act as the securities to be lent or borrowed.

In February 2011, the PSE board approved the draft framework for public comments but the program was put on hold since then.

Under the framework, the owner and lender will execute a written contract called a securities lending authorization agreement (SLAA), which defines the stock owner’s right to cash and stock dividends, stock rights and other corporate actions, and specified rate or income from the transaction.

The parties will also execute a master securities lending agreement (MSLA) — a written contract that defines and specifies the general terms and conditions of the arrangement — and submit it to the Bureau of Internal Revenue for registration in order to avail the special tax treatment.

Sicat noted that without the framework, insurance companies — which are long on equities — do not have enough leeway to do strategic hedging exercises.

“That has been the missing ingredient… Once that happens, you will have the ingredients for a more robust ability to borrow and hedge,” he said.

Since the Insurance Code was revised, implementing rules and regulations will be flexible enough to allow borrowing and lending, spurring interest from insurance companies.

The PSE president said they have talked to the Social Security System and Government Service Insurance System pension funds.

“They are quite excited about it. They realized it’s another source of fees for them as long as we have a well-defined structure,” Sicat said.

“They do realize there is such a product but we will have to ensure charter or internal rules and regulations will allow them to lend certain parts of their portflio,” he added. — Danessa O. Rivera/JDS, GMA News

source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/341512/economy/moneyandbanking/pse-eyes-amendments-in-sbl-rules-for-insurance-companies

Don’t have a Philippine e-Passport yet? Read this

e-Passport

MANILA – Filipinos are urged to apply for the e-Passport before their green or maroon passports expire, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

“All Filipino nationals holding Machine Readable-Ready Passports (MRRP; green passports) and Machine Readable Passports (MRP; maroon passports) will no longer be allowed to apply for an extension of the validity of these passports after October 31, 2014,” the DFA said in a statement.

The e-Passport, which is also maroon, was first issued in 2009. It has the logo of a microchip just below the cover.

“They must instead apply for a new e-Passport as soon as possible before the expiry of their current MRRP (green) or MRP (maroon) passports. Those who fail to do so will likely encounter difficulty at immigration checks when traveling through any ports of entry around the world after October 2015,” the DFA said.

The new e-Passport is in compliance with the standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

The DFA added that all non-machine readable passports may no longer be extended beyond October 31, 2015 and must be completely phased out by November 24, 2015.

Passport holders are also reminded about the strict rules for applying for an extension of the validity of expiring or expired passports.

Passports that are valid for less than six (6) months or those that have already expired may be extended once only in the following instances:

• death in the family requiring the OFW and members of his/her dependent family to urgently travel to the Philippines;
• medical emergencies requiring the OFW and members of his/her dependent family to urgently travel to the Philippines or another country for medical treatment;
• OFWs returning to their employers abroad with valid employment contracts processed by the POEA; and
• those going home on final exit visas (for Filipinos in the Middle East).

“In these instances, proof of urgency such as a copy of the death certificate, medical certificate, valid employment contracts processed by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) or any of the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLO), along with plane tickets with confirmed flight details should be presented,” the DFA said.

source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/12/26/13/dont-have-philippine-e-passport-yet-read

Malacañang: 2013 a year of foresight and prudence

Malacanang on Saturday described 2013 as a year of foresight and prudence for the Aquino administration which faced political challenges and disasters in the last 12 months.

“The past year has been a remarkable year for the Filipino people: one in which the President showed his indomitable will to lead the nation forward, and where the mandate for change was renewed in the year’s midterm elections,” Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said.

“It has been a year wherein the foresight and prudence of the President and his team—holding fast to the long-term vision of a more prosperous, stable, and dynamically competitive Philippines—has been upheld time and again,” she said.

“It has been a year of challenges not only for the Administration but also for the Filipino people. Another year where our collective commitment to persevere and to stand shoulder to shoulder enabled us to overcome the trials set before us, thus making the world admire and respect us all the more,” she added.

In the first quarter of the year, as the government was starting its rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental that were hit by typhoon “Pablo”, the Aquino administration was  thrown into a sudden crisis in Sabah when Sultan Jamalul Kiram III invaded it to reclaim its as part of their ancestral right.

The February Saban incursion was followed in May by another foreign problem: the fatal shooting of 65-year-old Taiwanese fisherman Hung Shih-Cheng off the Balintang Channel that sparked a rift between the Philippines and Taiwan, with Taiwan imposing sanctions on the Philippines that adversely affected the state of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the island state.

Before the cloud over the Balintang tragedy could settle, the country was rocked by the pork barrel or the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scandal that continues to drag until now.

But it was the “ber” months that proved to be the most challenging, starting with the September brazen siege of Zamboanga by the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founding chairman Nur Misuari and his men. The Zamboanga standoff caused the displacement of more than 120,000 individuals and the destruction of more than 10,000 homes. There were also 200 people who died and 270 members of the MNLF had been captured by government forces while 24 of them surrendered during the standoff.

October had been a month of natural disasters as typhoon “Santi” ravaged Central and Northern Luzon while Bohol and Cebu had been rocked by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake. But the biggest one came in November as super typhoon “Yolanda” devastated Eastern Visayas.

But 2013 is not without its good news. Valte cited the Philippine economy’s positive performance with the country able to get an investment grade in all three major credit rating agencies: a BAA3 (positive) from the Moody’s Investors Services; and a BBB- (stable) from both Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings.

The country’s GDP has also remained within seven percent: at 7.8 percent in the first quarter; 7.5 in the second quarter; and seven percent in the third quarter, she said.

Peace with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is also within reach as three of the four annexes had been signed this year: the Transitional Arrangements and Modalities Annex, signed on Feb. 27, 2013; the Revenue Generation and Wealth Sharing Annex, signed on July 13; and the Power Sharing Annex, signed on December 8.

In terms of the government’s efforts against corruption, this year a total of 157 cases had been filed against smugglers; 195 cases filed against tax evaders; and plunder, malversation of public funds and other charges filed initially against 39 individuals and 34 more individuals in the second batch, including businesswoman Janet Lim – Napoles.

“Our achievements only tell us that nothing is impossible to the Filipino people,” Valte said, citing the achievements of Filipina beauty queens and Filipino athletes all year round.

“Maraming mga Pilipinong namayagpag sa ibang bansa at nagdala ng karangalan sa atin [A lot of Filipinos took center stage in the international arena and brought honor to the country],” she said.

These include “Pambansang Kamao” Manny Pacquiao, and beauty queens Megan Young (Miss World); Bea Rose Santiago (Miss International); and Mutya Johanna Datul (Miss Supranational 2013), among others.

source: http://www.mb.com.ph/malacanang-2013-a-year-of-foresight-and-prudence/