OFFBEAT MAIL

Relatives and allies of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are overjoyed over the Philippine government's move that finally paved the way for the approval of the frameworks that created the Bangsamoro State in Mindanao. While the moros are celebrating the success of this peace agreement, I'm sure some sectors of the Philippine society are a bit lukewarm to the idea of setting up another autonomous government in place of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), which, in essence, was the same set up except for the officials that will run the Bangsamoro government. To many Moros in Mindanao, the creation of the Bangsamoro State was a crowning glory. But to most Filipinos, the junking of the ARMM was nothing but an insult to the time, efforts and money that were spent to seal off the Tripoli Agreement. I don't want to explore further into the nitty gritty on how the Tripoli Agreement was reached that led to the creation of the ARMM. But surely it was meant t...

Economic growth in the East Asia and Pacific region may slow down by a full percentage point from 8.2 percent in 2011 to 7.2 percent this year, before recovering to 7.6 percent in 2013. Growth in developed countries will remain modest, with recovery in the region to be driven mainly by strong domestic demand in developing countries, said the World Bank in its East Asia and Pacific Economic Data Monitor, released today. The new report says that weak exports and lower investment growth will cut down China's GDP growth from 9.2 percent in 2011 to 7.7 percent this year. In 2013, however, China's growth is expected to rebound to 8.1 percent as the impact of stimulus measures kicks in, supported further by an uptick in global trade. "The East Asia and Pacific region's share in the global economy has tripled in the last two decades, from 6 percent to almost 18 percent today, which underscores the critical importance of this region's continued growth for the rest of the wo...

Individuals and businesses owed the federal government a combined total of US$373 billion in unpaid tax debts. Of this total, some US$258 billion are from individuals and US$115 billion from businesses, says a 2011 report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The GAO reported that some of these tax debts, ranging from US$5,000 to US$25,000 per debtor,  were in the collection process. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS)already notified the tax debtors but some of them resorted to dispute, while others requested for installment agreements, both totalling at least $60 billion. Sadly, some US$110 billion of the total was classified by the IRS as uncollectable. "IRS files tax liens on some tax debts and these liens are public records that credit bureaus routinely pick up and add to their data. Over half of the total amount owed was subject to liens, cutting across the above categories," GAO said. According to GAO, these tax liens and debt data could be picked by ...

Economic turmoil in Europe, slower growth in China and U.S. unemployment are expected to curb business travel growth in the United States through the end of the year, according to the latest GBTA BTI™ Outlook – United States, a report from the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) sponsored by Visa, Inc. With disappointing job gains and the upcoming Presidential election on the horizon, businesses appear to be taking a cautious approach to their investment in travel until there is greater economic certainty.   GBTA now expects total U.S. business travel spending to grow 2.6 percent for 2012, reaching $257 billion by the end of the year. While this is a moderate increase since last quarter, when GBTA estimated growth for 2012 at 2.2 percent, the uptick in spend is largely being driven by rising business travel costs. Total business trip volume is expected to reach 438.1 million for 2012 – a reduction of -1.6 percent from 2011, when total business trip volume was 445 million....

Environmental degradation is a significant factor that reduces the capacity of societies to deal with disaster risk in many countries around the world. This is the key message of the World Risk Report 2012, presented today in Brussels, Belgium by the German Alliance for Development Works (Alliance), United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) and The Nature Conservancy. The report examines the risks of and solutions for natural disasters. The record for the decade 2002 to 2011 is alarming: 4,130 disasters, more than a million deaths and an economic loss of at least 1.195 trillion dollars. The report's WorldRiskIndex, developed by UNU-EHS in cooperation with the Alliance, determines the risk of becoming the victim of a disaster as a result of natural hazards for 173 countries. The Pacific Island states of Vanuatu and Tonga have the highest disaster risk. Malta and Qatar face the lowest risk. Australia ranks 117th and is therefore in the lowes...

The Organization for Islamic Conference (OIC) is trying its best to push for an initiative that will unify the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). This after MNLF chair Prof. Nur Misuari has threatened to file a case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) after it was left out in the negotiations where the Philippine government panel agreed in principle to form the frameworks for the creation of the Bangsamoro governent, in place of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The MNLF rose up against the government during the time of former President Ferdinand Marcos until the reign of power by former President Fidel V. Ramos who successfully brought the MNLF leadership on the peace negotiating table, which led to the establishment of the ARMM. Miisuari said the abolition of the ARMM would mean violation of the Tripoli Agreement.  Prof. Nur Misuari Some political observers interpreted the government's acco...

The month of October should be remembered well as the time when the first wave of Filipinos  settled and worked across the United States. To reckon with,  it was in Oct. 17, 1587 when the first wave of Filipino seamen arrived in Morro Bay in California. Called "Indios Luzones", they were the first group of documented workers aboard a Spanish galleon ship named Nuestra Senora de Buena Esperanza, on orders of the Spanish king at that time to claim the land in California. However, it wasn't until 1763 when the Filipino immigrants established the first settlement in the bayous and marshes in the state of Louisiana. "As sailors and navigators on board Spanish galleons, Filipinos -- also known as "Manilamen" or Spanish-speaking Filipinos -- jumped ship to escape the brutality of their Spanish masters. They built houses on stilts along the gulf ports of New Orleans and were the first in the United States to introduce the sun-drying process of shrimp.," th...