DBP& rsquo;s total assets breach P1 trillion
State-run Development Bank of the Philippines, the sixth-largest lender in terms of assets, joined the elite ranks of trillion-peso banks in the country after posting total assets of P1.04-trillion as of end-2020, 37 percent higher than P761.24 billion recorded in 2019, its top executive said Thursday......»»
PEMC gets teeth vs WESM breach
The Supreme Court affirmed a Court of Appeals ruling declaring valid the memorandum of agreement between the Energy Regulatory Commission and the Philippine Electricity Market Corporation to probe irregularities at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market or WESM. Associate Justice Marvic Leonen in a 12-page decision, said the Court’s Second Division denied the petition filed by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. or PSALM seeking the nullification of the said agreement as well as its accompanying protocol. The ruling affirmed the 2009 CA findings which held that the PEMC has the power to investigate possible breaches of the rules governing WESM. The appellate court also held that the ERC did not unduly delegate its powers in the assailed memorandum and protocol with PEMC. It noted that under the rules and regulations of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act or EPIRA, the Department of Energy with the industry players, were mandated to formulate rules for WESM. Citing the rules promulgated for WESM, the CA found out that PEMC’s investigative powers came from its designation under EPIRA as the autonomous group tasked to implement the electricity spot market and formulate rules. Also, it noted that this was made clear in the assailed protocol, which delineates the actions that the ERC and the PEMC may take. “With the statutory basis for respondent Philippine Electricity Market Corporation’s power to investigate and sanction breaches of the Rules outlined and considering that petitioner failed to show how these acts encroach on the exclusive and original jurisdiction of respondent Energy Regulatory Commission, we deny the Petition,” the SC declared. In affirming the CA decision, the SC, pointed out that the power to investigate violations of the spot market ules is concurrently exercised by the ERC and EPMC. Basis is EPIRA It also explained that EPIRA provides for the establishment of spot market, whose rules are to be formulated by the DOE jointly with industry participants. The spot market would also be implemented by a group to be constituted by the DoE with representation from industry players. “Thus, EPIRA empowered the Department of Energy, together with the industry participants, to develop the governance structure of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market. This structure, as laid down in the Rules, empowered the Philippine Electricity Market Corporation to investigate breaches of the Rules and act accordingly to ensure the members comply with them,” the SC noted. “The Philippine Electricity Market Corporation is likewise vested with the power to resolve disputes between market participants and the market operator and provide adequate sanctions in case of breaches of the Rules,” it added. The case stemmed from the request of PEMC to then Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes to approve the conduct of a formal investigation by its Enforcement and Compliance Office against petitioner for possible breach of WESM rules with respect to six power generating plants whose electricity output is being traded in WESM. PSALM argued that the agreement signed on 31 January 2008 and its protocol constituted undue delegation of authority by the ERC of its exclusive powers under EPIRA to enforce the rules and regulations of the electricity spot market, investigate and act against any participant or player in the industry for violation of any law, rule or regulation governing the same, including rules on cross-ownerships, anti-competitive behavior, abuse of market, positions and other similar acts. It further contended that the procedure adopted for investigation of breaches of the WESM rules under the protocol is violative of due process. But the ERC posed no objection to PEMC’s conduct of investigation. The post PEMC gets teeth vs WESM breach appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Iran takes Canada to UN court over terror compensation
Iran has taken Canada to the International Court of Justice for allowing victims of alleged terror attacks to claim damages from Tehran, the UN's top tribunal said on Wednesday. Tehran's case claims that Ottawa, which listed the Islamic Republic as a sponsor of terrorism in 2012, had violated Iran's state immunity. Iran asked the Hague-based ICJ to make Canada overturn a law passed in the same year that allows victims to collect damages from state terror sponsors in Canadian civil courts. "Canada has adopted and implemented a series of legislative, executive, and judicial measures against Iran and its property in breach of its international obligations," Iran said in its filing to the court. Tehran also demanded compensation from Canada. Iran's application cites a Canadian court judgment in 2022 that awarded more than $80 million in compensation to the families of six people who died when Iran shot down a Ukrainian airliner almost two years ago. Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 was downed shortly after take-off from Tehran on January 8, 2020, killing all 176 people aboard -- including 85 Canadian citizens and permanent residents. Three days later, the Iranian armed forces admitted to downing the Kyiv-bound plane "by mistake." 'International obligations' Iran also cited a 2016 ruling by a Canadian judge ordering Iran's non-diplomatic land and bank accounts to be handed over to victims of attacks by Hamas and Hezbollah. The judgment awarded a reported $13 million to families of Americans who died in eight bombings or hostage-takings in Buenos Aires, Israel, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia from 1983 to 2002. The families, led by the parents of Marla Bennett, who was killed when a suicide bomber struck at a cafeteria at Hebrew University in Israel in 2002, had successfully sued Iran in the United States. "Iran respectfully requests the Court to adjudge and declare that by failing to respect the immunities of Iran and its property, Canada has violated its international obligations toward Iran," Iran's ICJ filing said. Canada broke diplomatic ties with Iran in 2012 as relations frayed over Tehran's support for Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, its nuclear program, and threats to Israel. Iran launched a similar case at the ICJ against the United States in 2016 seeking to unfreeze assets seized by Washington to compensate victims of terror attacks. Judges in March rejected Iran's bid to free nearly $2 billion in central bank assets but ruled the United States had illegally seized funds of some Iranian companies and individuals. The ICJ was set up after World War II to resolve disputes between UN member states. Its judgments are final but can take years. The post Iran takes Canada to UN court over terror compensation appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
ECB fines Goldman Sachs 6.6 mn euros for reporting breach
The European Central Bank has fined US financial giant Goldman Sachs 6.63 million euros ($7.2 million) for misreporting its capital needs, it said on Monday. Goldman Sachs Bank Europe was found to have "breached credit risk reporting rules" in 2019, 2020, and 2021, the ECB said in a statement. "For eight consecutive quarters, the bank reported lower risk-weighted assets for credit risk than it should have done," it said. In particular, Goldman Sachs "misclassified corporate exposures", the Frankfurt-based institution said. "Deficiencies in internal controls prevented the bank from detecting this mistake in a timely manner," it added. A spokesman for Goldman Sachs said the bank recognized the "critical importance of our regulatory reporting obligations" and had "taken all necessary steps to fully remediate this legacy issue". "We have closely cooperated with the ECB throughout and are pleased to have resolved matters fully," the spokesman said. Capital ratios are key indicators of a bank's strength and ability to absorb losses in the event of market turmoil. The ECB tightened its supervision of such ratios after the 2008 financial crisis. It recently said the move had made the European banking sector stronger in the face of fears of contagion over inflation-related struggles facing many US banks. The ECB classified Goldman Sachs' breach as "severe", the third of five possible levels. The ECB, which supervises 115 of the eurozone's largest banks, has imposed some 20 sanctions on private institutions. In July 2017, it fined the Italian bank Banca Popolare di Vicenza 8.7 million euros for missing requirements in quarterly and annual reports. The post ECB fines Goldman Sachs 6.6 mn euros for reporting breach appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
DBP assets breach P1 trillion mark in 2020
State-run Development Bank of the Philippines reported that its total assets as of last year exceeded the trillion-peso mark two years ahead of target as deposits and investments registered double-digit growth rates......»»
DBP& rsquo;s total assets breach P1 trillion
State-run Development Bank of the Philippines, the sixth-largest lender in terms of assets, joined the elite ranks of trillion-peso banks in the country after posting total assets of P1.04-trillion as of end-2020, 37 percent higher than P761.24 billion recorded in 2019, its top executive said Thursday......»»
Assets of Philippine banks breach P19 trillion in end-May
Assets of Philippine banks posted a double-digit growth in end May as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to threaten economies and financial systems around the world......»»
Philippines logs 40 pertussis deaths this year
MANILA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Forty children have died of whopping cough, a respiratory infection also called pertussis, since this year, the Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) has reported. The DOH said in a statement on Wednesday that cases have continued to increase since the start of this year, recording 568 cases from Jan. 1 to March 16. "The total number of cases for the same period in 2023 was.....»»
Infants under six months most affected by pertussis — DOH
Latest data from the DOH showed there were 28 new pertussis infections, bringing this year’s total cases to 568. Of the figure, around 63% were infants below six months. .....»»
Man-made disasters cost Philippines 164.87 mln USD in 2023
MANILA, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Man-made disasters caused the total damage in the Philippines worth 9.29 billion pesos (164.87 million U.S. dollars) in 2023, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Tuesday. The agency said that out of the total annual damage, 4.93 billion pesos (87.5 million dollars), or 53.1 percent, was due to the oil spill. "The reported oil spill in various regions resulted in dam.....»»
Rice imports as of mid-March 886,963 MT
The country’s rice imports as of mid-March have surpassed the total volume recorded in the entire first quarter of last year by a double-digit rate, to over 880,000 metric tons, government data showed......»»
ICT spending in AsPac reaches $1.3 trillion in 2023
Information and communications technology spending in Asia and the Pacific reached the $1.3 trillion mark in 2023, as companies increased their investments on automation and cloud to survive and thrive in the digital era......»»
Taal Volcano back to spewing high-volume of toxic gas
LUCENA CITY, Philippines – After spewing lower volumes of sulfur dioxide (SO2) for the past five days, Taal Volcano in Batangas province again emitted a high level of toxic gas on Saturday, March 23. A total of 14,287 metric tons (MT) of SO2 from Taal’s main crater was measured over the past 24 hours and.....»»
PSALM expects P100 billion from CBK privatization
The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) is expected to generate as much as P100 billon from the privatization of the 796.46-megawatt (MW) Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan (CBK) hydroelectric power plant complex in Laguna, bolstering the cash position of the cash-strapped state firm......»»
Cryptocurrency Market Turns Red as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana Prices Dip Before Halving
The cryptocurrency market kicked off Friday on a bearish note, as major digital assets Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana experienced significant declines in morning trading. Bitcoin,.....»»
Creative economy grows to P1.72 trillion
The value of the country’s creative economy rose by 6.8 percent in 2023 from a year ago as the sector employed more people, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority......»»
BIR attempts ‘friendly’ tack
February is not just the love month, it also marks the start of a yearlong campaign for the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to encourage the public to pay their tax obligations. After all, collecting P3.05 trillion is no easy task......»»
EDITORIAL - Under lock and key
The Civil Service Commission has reminded all government officials and employees of the April 30 deadline to submit their sworn Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth for 2023......»»
Rappler exposes Duterte family s stash of guns
By: CMFR StaffPosted on: March 21, 2024, 5:05 pm CHEERS TO Rappler for its investigative report that revealed the formidable arsenal of guns held by former President Rodrigo Duterte together with at least four members of his family, counting a total of 654 guns. The pie.....»»
Public sector banks doing better in managing NPAs vis-a-vis their private counterparts: FICCI-IBA survey
New Delhi [India], March 21 (ANI): Public sector banks in India are doing better in comparison to their private sector counterparts in terms of non-performing assets, a survey conducted by industry body FICCI and banking association Indian Banks' Association (IBA) found. A nonperforming asset refers to loans or advances that are on the brink of default. According to the survey, a large majority (77 per cent) of the respon.....»»
Rappler exposes Duterte family s stash of guns
CHEERS TO Rappler for its investigative report that revealed the formidable arsenal of guns held by former President Rodrigo Duterte together with at least four members of his family, counting a total of 654 guns. The piece, written by Lian Buan, Jairo Bolledo, and Jodesz Gavilan, ask.....»»