Enchancing welfare of Filipino Seafarers

MANILA, Philippines — Over 300,000 Filipino seamen are on board ocean vessels worldwide – from luxury cruise ships to giant tankers and container ships.

They are cited for hardwork, honesty, perseverance, skill, technical knowhow, industry, reliability, dedication to duty, and good command of the English language.

Our seafarers, the “sailing ambassadors of the country,” contribute about 10 percent of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) remittances that help prop up the economy.

An international agreement has been reached on an increase in the International Labor Organization (ILO) minimum basic wage for seafarers during a meeting in Geneva on April 26, 2011. The current ILO minimum basic wage covering 48 hours of work will increase from $545 to $555 on January 1, 2012, to $568 on January 1, 2013 and to $585 on December 31, 2013.

The Philippine government is fast-tracking its efforts to strengthen the welfare and protection of Filipino seafarers. The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE), supported by local government units, has created more seafarers’ help desks in the country’s 13 regions for more access to services.

It has continued to implement the scholarship program for deserving children of seafarers nationwide, and increased the number of family welfare officers and counselors, who conduct regular family visitations.

The Maritime Industry Tripartite Council (MITC) recently approved two MITC resolutions endorsing the issuance of DoLE rules and regulations governing the employment and working conditions of domestic seafarers and the Philippines’ ratification of the ILO Maritime Labor Convention (MLC) 2006 which protects the world’s 1.2 million seafarers and shipowners.

As the demand for Filipino seafarers increases, the government, with the support of the private sector and international organizations, seeks to provide them with more benefits. It is a way of thanking them for continuing to showcase before the maritime global community the best traits of the Filipino. MABUHAY
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Germany-based Pinay fashion designer urges celebrities to show skin

By YUGEL LOSORATA

MANILA, Philippines -- Germany-based Pinay fashion designer Joyce Pilarsky expressed her desire to see more Filipino entertainment celebrities bare out their flesh in style. This is what she shared to a small pool of reporters who witnessed her latest designs during the recent Philippine Fashion Week for Spring Summer 2012 held at the SMX Convention Center recently.

“I want to see more skin. They have to be more daring,” she said when asked what she thought of the current fashion style of local personalities.

Pilarsky was one of the designers featured in the Ready To Wear show held Oct. 30. Models appeared on the catwalk wearing her state-of-the-art laser-cut flowery designs which she described as “a pattern that goes back to nature.”

In discussing celebrity fashion, she revealed she is presently tasked to deliver corporate suits of actress Vilma Santos for use in the latter’s upcoming movie.

Pilarsky noted that though it is her wish to guide Filipino celebrities in their quest to be extra daring, her being based in Germany limits her from reaching out to them. “Problem is I’m not here in the Philippines kaya wala akong time to seriously campaign for it,” she stressed.

Scheduled to publish next year her own tips book on being sexy, young-looking and gorgeous, Pilarsky comes home because of her involvement in major fashion events.

Retirement funds get BIR income tax relief

Regulations to take effect in Jan. 2012

By: Ronnel W. Domingo
Philippine Daily Inquirer

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Starting January 1 next year, Filipinos here and abroad can invest in trust funds, mutual funds, stocks, bonds and other instruments without paying income tax, although they will be able to enjoy the benefit only after they reach 55 years old.

This was made possible by the Bureau of Internal Revenue, which spelled out in Revenue Regulation No. 17-2011 how investments made under the Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) Law will be taxed.

Enacted in 2008, the PERA law provides for the creation of a voluntary provident savings scheme that complements the mandatory retirement systems—like the Government Service Insurance System and the Social Security System—and provides an alternative tax-preferred financial instrument to encourage people to save for old age.

Under the law, employed and self-employed Filipinos residing in the country may contribute up to P500,000 each to the PERA fund while those staying abroad may put in up to P1 million each.

On a yearly basis, a contributor residing in the Philippines may put in up to P100,000 while one staying abroad may contribute up to P200,000.

A contributor can only put in a maximum of five years’ worth of contributions at any one time, which shall be invested in just one category of investment product.

RR 17-2011 states that the PERA fund may be invested in a trust fund, mutual fund, insurance pension, preneed pension, equities that are traded on the Philippine Stock Exchange, bonds bought from the government or traded in the secondary market, and other such products that regulators may allow.

These regulators include the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Securities and Exchange Commission and the Insurance Commission.

The BIR grants a 5-percent tax credit for the PERA contributions, which the contributor may use against hisincome tax liability or, if living abroad, to settle any nationally levied tax—except the withholding tax as a withholding agent.

Also, the employer of a contributor may shoulder part of the contribution, but this will be on top of social security contributions and other mandatory employee benefits.

Contributions made by the employee are exempt from the withholding tax on income while those from the employer are tax deductible.

However, the amount of tax-deductible employer contribution will be only up to the amount that—when added to the employees savings—will add up to the yearly maximum, although contributing more is allowed.

Further, income from PERA investments is exempt from the final withholding tax on bank deposits and their substitutes; capital gains tax; 10-percent tax on dividends; and regular income tax.

On the other hand, the contributor will still have to pay—when applicable—the value-added tax (VAT); stock transaction tax; documentary stamp tax; and percentages taxes on the VAT-exempt, franchises, banks, insurance premiums, amusement, winning, and similar activities.

When the PERA income is passed on to others, such as by inheritance, the amount is exempt from the contributor’s income tax and the heir’s estate tax.

When in Cebu City, please visit gregmelep.com for your retirement and real estate needs.

Faulty installation causes gas leaks, say experts

By Tessa R. Salazar
Philippine Daily Inquirer

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HAZARDOUS A filler valve inside the trunk greatly increases the risk of LPG leaking into the trunk and the passenger cabin. ALEX P. LOINAZ/contributor

(2nd of a series)

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has been used for decades to power vehicles in developed countries, but drivers or passengers have raised no major health issues about the fuel.

In the Philippines, an increasing number of motorists—mostly drivers and passengers of taxis running on LPG —have complained of respiratory-related distress.

Automotive and fuel experts maintain that LPG, by itself, is a clean and safe fuel.

But a Pandora’s Box of problems arises when ignorance, motivated by the desire for increased profits, becomes the blueprint for the devil-may-care installation of auto LPG systems. Combine that with poor vehicle maintenance, and you get a highly dangerous situation.

Automotive technologist Alex P. Loinaz has documented numerous LPG-powered vehicles in the Philippines, taking note of many suspect practices in installation, maintenance and refueling.

These practices have caused leaks in LPG tanks and seepage into the passenger cabins, causing riders to suffer the classic symptoms of LPG inhalation, he said.

Ironically, it was Loinaz who was the first to apply for an auto LPG retail business in 1977 with the Oil Industry Commission. He was also responsible for the formulation of the Philippine National Standards for Auto LPG in 1983.

The lack of strict enforcement of the standards, however, has allowed the proliferation of numerous “fly-by-night” auto LPG installation outfits, he lamented.

Haphazard fittings

These unauthorized LPG installers commit a virtual combo of haphazard fittings and use inappropriate materials, all to make a quick profit, Loinaz observed.

A few of these dangerous fittings and materials that Loinaz took pictures of include:

Unsealed LPG fuel lines.

Filler valve placed inside the trunk, or near electrical wires and bulbs.

Fuel line joined together with two incompatible metals, such as copper and brass, welded or joined together.

The LPG refueling receptacle requiring an adaptor, which is considered a safety hazard.

Weak tank brackets that cannot stabilize an 80-liter tank especially during violent collisions.

Adding to an already volatile situation, he said, would be the dangerous habit of many taxi drivers to “force-feed” their LPG tanks in order to lessen trips to the pumps.

Loinaz showed to the Inquirer pictures he took of taxis force-filling their fuel tanks to more than the recommended maximum safe limit of 80 percent tank capacity. Sometimes, drivers would order the pump boys to fill the tanks to 100 percent capacity, exponentially increasing the risk of seals, gauges and fittings on the tank to burst and leak fuel.

Problems foreseen

One member of the technical group of the Department of Energy, who refused to be identified for lack of authority to speak for the DOE, disclosed that when the group once conducted gas analyses on several taxis, it discovered high amounts of hydrocarbon emissions, which meant poor combustion even if they were LPG-powered.

The DOE source added that when the government decided to start the auto LPG program and updated and deliberated on the existing auto LPG standard in 2006, the energy department already saw the potential problems caused by these “fly-by-night” auto LPG installers.

The source admitted the existence of these unlicensed converter/installation shops, adding that this would be in direct violation of the Department of Trade and Industry’s Bureau of Product Standards for licensing before LPG conversion and retrofitting.

The DTI has a list of licensed converter shops. The role of the DOE, the source said, has been to go on an information and education campaign and conduct seminar workshops on proper LPG installation, particularly in many key cities like Davao, Cebu and Cagayan de Oro.

Private users of auto LPG

Cielo Regino Fregil, managing director of an accredited LPG conversion and installation system, has installed Italian-made LPG kits in such cars as those of Senator Francis Escudero, Representative Gilbert Remulla, movie producer “Mother” Lily Monteverde, Ilog ni Maria owner Joel Magsaysay and rally champion Vip Isada. Since 2005, her company has been installing LPG kits in taxis and private vehicles.

Fregil stressed that the reason LPG fuel leaks into passenger cabins would be the improper installation of tanks and poor LPG maintenance servicing.

“The LPG kit also needs to be maintained properly. There are filters that need to be changed so it can perform at its optimum,” she said.

Fregil added: “I have been driving my LPG-powered cars for over six years and I have never experienced symptoms of having dry throat and sickness while driving.”

Auto enthusiast Leslie Sy, who started his research in auto LPG in 2005 and watched the entire process as his Corolla GLi fuel line was converted to LPG use in 2006, said he still uses auto LPG, and there have been no ill effects whatsoever.

Too old on the road

Sy said that he had used a carburetor kit modified with an EFI bypass system. “A couple of years later, we had our other cars converted, including a Toyota Camry Gen2, Honda City 1.3L iDSi, N16 Nissan Sentra 1.3L, Mazda3, and Honda CRV 2.0 Gen2.”

Sy said, however, that accounts of increased respiratory illnesses arising from riding in LPG taxis did not surprise him. “It does surprise me that people did not catch the real cause of the problem,” he added.

Sy traced the root of the LPG problem back to several years ago when the Land Transportation Office tried to boost the auto LPG program among taxi operators.

“They gave the taxi companies two-year extensions for auto LPG-converted taxi cabs. This was on top of the five-year franchise for new cabs and another five-year extension for the same car. So the taxi cab would be 12 years old before it was retired from ‘active service.’”

“Now, consider the number of people using the cab in a single day, in a week, month and a year. Consider the lack of maintenance the taxi cabs get, especially with their aircon systems. Consider we live in a tropical, humid country, with spores and molds floating in the air we breathe. Wouldn’t it be conceivable that in those 12 years of daily service, a taxi cab’s aircon system would have some degree of mold or fungus infestation?”