The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has a number of options to influence or address any unusual movement in the peso-dollar exchange rate.

This includes provision of liquidity, adjustment in interest rates and/or reserve requirements as well as moral suasion.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) have agreed to strictly enforce shipment schemes for forest products coming from the ARMM to put a lid on the lucrative illegal logging trade.

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Elisea G. Gozun and DENR-ARMM Regional Cabinet Secretary Kabuntalan P. Emblawa, Al-haj signed last February 26 a memorandum of agreement (MOA) that would stringently monitor transport routes of forest products such as logs, lumber, and plywood from the ARMM to other regions in the country.

In a report to Malacanang, Gozun said the MOA hoped to effectively monitor forest products being transported all over the country, and the ARMM has supported the bid to combat the illegal transport at the source.

"As the agency that implements measures to preserve our natural resources, we must set the tone to seriously regulate the growing number of forest crimes, such as illegal forest products transport, trade, and industrial processing," she said.

Concern for the environment transcends boundaries and regions. It must not be just a mere resolve but a call to action," she added.

Secretary Emblawa said "this is a significant start of a more meaningful collaboration between ARMM and the national government in protecting the environment and natural resources."

"While we need this forestry monitoring agreement, we also hope to have cooperation in other programs such as good environmental governance, technical training of DENR-ARMM personnel and provisions for technical assistance to DENR-ARMM," Emblawa stressed.

Under the MOA, authorized shipping routes as well as loading and off-loading ports were identified in the National Capital Region (NCR), and Regions 6 to 12.

Guidelines were also issued on shipment procedures, including the submission of a Notice of Shipment and Confirmation, wherein prior communication from DENR-ARMM will be formally sent to DENR-national regional official-recipients at least two days before the actual shipping.

In addition, DENR-ARMM will also require strict compliance on transport documents used for shipment timber in whatever form such as Log or Lumber Supply Contacts, Certificate of Timber/Lumber Origin, Auxiliary Invoice, Sales Invoice, Tally/Scale Sheets, Purchase Orders and Official Receipts.

Most of the documents, Gozun explained, will now be printed on security paper by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), under the DENR-ARMM letterhead.

The MOA also outlined the procedure of transporting forest products. It calls on the DENR-ARMM to provide all DENR-national office regional directors in other regions with a list of commercial carriers/shippers, their voyage number, schedules, container van identification/serial numbers and the corresponding timber volume it carries.

DENR-ARMM will also furnish DENR-national a list of legitimate wood processing plants/sawmill operators/lumber dealers in ARMM who are authorized to ship out forest products from ARMM, including the location of their processing plants.

Meanwhile, DENR-national regional officials who will be the recipients of the shipments from ARMM will submit to the DENR-ARMM monthly recapitulation reports of all shipments of forest products from ARMM entering their respective regions, which will then be counter-validated for accuracy by DENR-ARMM.

The EIU said that in a survey of the world’s top corporate executives, 66 percent chose the region as offering the biggest growth prospects for their businesses, followed by Eastern Europe, which was chosen by 40 percent.

The Middle East was voted as the region posing the biggest risks to business in the next three years.

On Jinggoy Estrada case:

Energy Secretary Vicente Perez has lauded the private sector for helping the government alleviate the plight of public transport groups in the face of rising fuel prices brought about by the growing tension in the Middle East.

Earlier, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to come up with measures to avert public transport fare rate increases and avoid its ripple effect on wages and the prices of basic goods.

In a press briefing in Malacaņang Friday, Perez said that early this week, he witnessed the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between Eastern Petroleum and Pasang Masda for the construction of two terminals in Mandaluyong and in Pantranco in Quezon City.

Under the agreement, Pasang Masda members will get volume discounts from these terminals when they load diesel fuel for their jeepneys.

The volume discount agreement between Pasang Masda and Eastern Petroleum has a lifespan of five years, Perez said.

"Another jeepney transport operator is discussing a similar arrangement with a new player somewhere in a Makati terminal. Two other jeepney operators are identifying a similar terminal in Manila and Antipolo," Perez said.

Perez said new players like Seaoil, Unioil, Flying V and Total are discussing similar arrangements with public utility associations. "So we are creating a free market initiative for oil players to give volume discounts to the public transportation group, he said.

The special arrangement allows for up to 60-centavo discount to the prevailing pump price for diesel, Perez said.

Perez also assured the public that the government had always been ready to meet head-on the far-reaching effects on the Philippines of a US-Iraq war.

He said that at present, the country has maintained an oil inventory level of 70 days.

The DOE, he said, had also implemented the Minimum Inventory Requirement provided under Executive Order 134.

The order mandated inventory levels of crude end products of 30 days for oil refineries, 50 days for oil companies with no oil refineries, and seven days for liquefied petroleum gas.

The negotiations for oil from Russia and Iran would serve as additional supply security in consonance with an earlier agreement signed under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Petroleum Supply Agreement (APSA), Perez said.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today stood up for the welfare of Filipina domestic helpers and said she would not take sitting down a perceived unjust slash in the minimum pay of foreign workers in Hong Kong.

The President sought for more time to work on countless positive ways to decide on the issues besetting the welfare of domestic helpers in the former British colony.

In her speech on the occasion of International Women’s Day at the jampacked Marikina City Sports Complex gym, the President cited reports that neighboring Asian nations and government groups in Hong Kong have been pushing for the suspension of a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) decision to slash the minimum wage for foreign workers.

She asked her critics to better understand the issues before opposing government moves to temporarily suspend the processing of all contracts for domestic helpers bound for Hong Kong and review existing policies on the deployment of OFWs in other problem areas abroad.

"Many of our domestic helpers in Hong Kong expressed support for this move. But many have also asked to lift the suspension of the deployment of domestic helpers to Hong Kong. Kaya malaking desisyon ang kailangan ko (I need to work on a major decision on the matter)," she stressed.

She noted that even Indonesia, which also deploys domestic workers to the former crown colony, had opposed the move of the Hong Kong SAR to impose a levy on new foreign labor.

"At sa Abril, baka ang Sri Lanka ay sasama sa boykot (And by April, Sri Lanka might stop deploying their workers to Hong Kong)," she added.

The President also informed her all-female audience that "employers in Hong Kong are giving in and joining the domestic helpers" and they are organizing a signature campaign in favor of maintaining the present level of wages.

"The People’s Opportunities Commission is speaking against the levy, a recognition that a levy, however disguised, is unfair and discriminatory," she said.

"Kaya duon sa mga tumututol sa suspension, bigyan pa ninyo ako ng kaunti pang pisi, dahil baka umubra ito (I am asking those against our moves to temporarily stop the deployment of domestic helpers to Hong Kong to give me more room to decide on the matter. The boycott might still work)," she added.

The Philippines has Indonesia and Sri Lanka on its side. Foreign domestic helpers also have the sympathy of Hong Kong employers and non-government groups.

"But even if I should need to lift the suspension, and that is still something that I have to make a decision about, I can assure you that we will intensify our lobby to protect the rights of our overseas Filipinas," the President said.

She said the Philippine government would bring its case before the International Labor Organization, which incidentally is being chaired by Labor and Employment Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas.

She added that the same case would be brought before the Hong Kong courts. "After all, Hong Kong is a democracy."

Presidential Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today called on mothers to promote responsible parenthood, saying it was not a matter of having unlimited children, but being better prepared for the coming of each child.

Speaking at a program celebrating National Women’s Day at the Marikina City Sports Center, the President explained that responsible parenthood entailed the right spacing between children to allow the mother to recover her health and for her to take care of her newborn.

She said responsible parenthood called for a regular assessment of the couple’s capacity or readiness to have a child.

Citing the economic, psychological, physical, social and other valid reasons for postponing pregnancy, the President said family planning enjoins couples to decide when it is best to have a child.

She stressed that family planning and responsible parenthood were deeply rooted values acceptable to the Catholic Church, to which most Filipinos belong.

The government has also pursued the natural family planning method being practiced by the Church. "Kaya hindi kailangang maghiwalay ang simbahan at (ang gobyerno) sa family planning," she said.

She added that natural family planning referred to the method and planning for child spacing by observing the fertile and infertile phases of the mother’s monthly cycle, with abstinence if pregnancy is to be avoided.

She emphasized that the natural family planning involved very little or no cost.

"You only need to buy a thermometer and recording chart," she said, adding that natural family planning has been internationally known, scientific, practical and 99 percent effective.