Category: News

Clark Airport Revenue and Profits 2012-2014

Clark Airport Revenue and Profits

Revenue reports from the Clark Airport Annual Reports.

Aeronautical Revenue

Landing and Take off fees, Aircraft Parking Fees, Terminal and Security Fees

2012: 354.3m (pesos)
2013: 293.4m
2014: 255.8m

Non Aeronautical Revenue

Rental Income, Car Parking Fees, Check in Counter Fees etc.

2012: 161.7m
2013: 275.7m
2014: 297.5m

Profits

2012: -7.9m (loss)
2013: 37.8m
2014: 45.5m

Aeronautical Operations and Revenue are dropping, but profits are rising. Maybe due to higher prices being charged ?
Will this drive more Airline Operators away and back to Manila?

Calculations:

Using Flight Statistics data from www.in-philippines.com/clark-airport-2007-to-2015 I have calculated the average income for each flight for each year.

2012 : 12,814 flights with Aeronautical Revenue of 354.3m = average fees of 27,649 per flight
2013 : 10,336 flights with Aeronautical Revenue of 293.4m = average fees of 28,386 per flight
2014 : 6,651 flights with Aeronautical Revenue of 255.8m = average fees of 38,460 per flight

Source: http://crk.clarkairport.com/downloads/annual-report/annual-report-2014.pdf

Clark Airport 2007 to 2015

27th June 2007 PAL president Jaime Bautista is quoted as saying: "Clark will become the premiere airport in the country in the next five years," 2007: A total of 126 flights are now being recorded each week 2014: A total of 128 flights are now being recorded each week

Clark Airport will become the premiere airport in the country by 2012

27th June 2007

PAL president Jaime Bautista is quoted as saying: “Clark will become the premiere airport in the country in the next five years,”

A total of 126 flights are now being recorded each week (2007): 45 international flights, 21 domestic flight, and 60 international and domestic cargo flights.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/net/2007/06/27/clark.airport.to.post.millionth.int.l.passenger.html

29th June 2007
The one millionth international passenger came through The Diosdado Macapagal International Airport [DMIA] (Clark Airport).

The arrival of DMIA’s millionth passenger coincided with the announcement of local carriers Philippine Air Lines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific to make Clark as their hub.

 

And now, the latest official figures available in 2015 are:

Passenger Traffic at Clark Airport

International

2010 : 607,659
2011 : 725,023
2012 : 1,015,319
2013 : 985,419
2014 : 786,809

Domestic

2010 : 46,525
2011 : 42,118
2012 : 300,438
2013 : 215,173
2014 : 90,948

Combined International and Domestic

2010 : 654,184
2011 : 767,141
2012 : 1,315,757
2013 : 1,200,592
2014 : 877,757

Air Traffic Movements

2010 : 6,076 ( 117 ) per week
2011 : 7,580 ( 146 ) per week
2012 : 12,814 ( 246 ) per week
2013 : 10,336 ( 199 ) per week
2014 : 6,651 ( 128 ) per week

Looking at these figures we can see that the Air Traffic Movements were 126 per week in 2007, and is now 128 per week in 2014.

After 2007 things appeared to drop, but then rise again to peak in 2012, but then begin to drop again, with 2014 hitting a low of a similar number of flights to 2007.

2010 to 2012 figures from: http://crk.clarkairport.com/downloads/annual-report/annual-report-2012.pdf
2012 to 2014 figures from: http://crk.clarkairport.com/downloads/annual-report/annual-report-2014.pdf

 

Ormoc Ferry capsizes 2nd July 2015

An Ormoc to Pilar Ferry has capsized on 2nd July 2015

At least 36 people have died, from the 173 passengers and 16 crew, on board a Banka ferry, the MBCA Kim-Nirvana, going from Ormoc, Leyte to Pilar, Camotes Island. the Banka left Ormoc at Midday Thursday 2nd July 2015.

118 had been listed as survivors at 6pm 2nd July 2015

One report stated that huge waves had battered the vessel causing it to capsize.

Camotes Islands is a group of islands in the Camotes Sea, Philippines

The Ferry Trip is about 30 km between Ormoc and Pilar.

This is an EXAMPLE of a Philippines Banka Boat

Philippine Bangka Boat

reuters.com

Did Pope Francis really say “divorce is sometimes Morally Necessary”

Many News Headlines showing the story that the Pope believes that divorce is sometimes Morally Necessary

But does he really mean that, and should Divorce be available ?

From:  www.abcdiamond.com/pope-francis-says-divorce-is-sometimes-morally-necessary

Did Pope Francis really say “divorce is sometimes Morally Necessary”

Why the question?

Some recent Headlines…

Pope Francis says divorce is sometimes ‘morally necessary’ AOL Jun 25th 2015

Pope Francis: Divorce Is Sometimes ‘Morally Necessary’ To Protect Children inquisitr.com 28 June 2015

Pope Francis says divorce is sometimes ‘Morally Necessary’ USA Today 29 June 2015

But what where his EXACT words ?

One of those reports itself has these words: “Pope Francis seemed to justify divorce when he said that it is sometimes “morally necessary” to protect the children of the families that go through it.

So, according to that, he actually said:

Protecting the children in families that get divorced is “morally necessary”

I wonder what his EXACT words, and meaning, were.

Philippine Banknotes to be discontinued from 2016

Old Style Philippine Banknotes, pre 2010, to have no value.

Old style banknotes, the 1985 design printed pre 2010, can be used, in general use only, until December 31, 2015. However, some smaller places may stop accepting them earlier.

These old banknotes can still be deposited into some banks until December 31, 2016.
At least they can in any of PNB’s domestic branches, PNB Savings Bank’s branches, and BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) offices.

Effective from January 1, 2017 these old banknotes will have no value, and will not be accepted for deposit by the banks.

The old style 1985 banknotes are shown below:

click to see larger

The newer 2010 banknotes are as follows:

click to see larger

Top 10 Tourist Spenders in Philippines 2015

Which Countries Tourists spend the most in the Philippines

The United States of America moved up as the top tourism spender for March 2015, with Php 4.03 billion, overtaking Korea’s Php 3.34 billion visitor spent.

Australia was 3rd with Php 1.08 billion, while Japan with Php 1.07 billion, and United Kingdom Php 0.95 Billion provided the 4th and 5th biggest visitor receipts for the month in review.

  1. 4.03 billion United States
  2. 3.34 billion Korea
  3. 1.08 billion Australia
  4. 1.07 billion Japan
  5. 0.95 billion United Kingdom

Top 10 Tourist Spenders in Philippines 2015

Source: http://www.tourism.gov.ph/pages/industryperformance.aspx

Average expenditure for each tourist for the month is stated to be Php 43,956

That covers the spending, but how many Tourists actually arrive.

International Arrivals Jan – March 2015

361,480 Korea
214,057 United States
130,374 Japan
93,043 China
62,899 Australia
46,756 Canada
44,216 Singapore
41,713 Taiwan
40,071 United Kingdom
37,336 Malaysia

Average Spending by person by nationality:

Comparing the two sets of figures we see the following:

214,057 US tourists spent Php 4.03 billion in March 2015 (Est: 13.09b for 3 months) or about 56,480 peso each

361,480 Korean Tourists spent Php 3.34 billion in March 2015 (Est: 10.02b for 3 months) or about 27,719 peso each

An average of Php 43,956 per overall visitor was quoted from the www.tourism.gov.ph webpage.

Department of Tourism (DOT)

According to data from the Department of Tourism (DOT), covering the period from January to October 2013, the following numbers of overseas tourist arrived in that 10 month period of 2013.

  1. 990,486 South Korea
  2. 550,991 United States
  3. 365,905 China
  4. 360,721 Japan
  5. 165,282 Australia
  6. 142,970 Singapore
  7. 120,587 Taiwan
  8. 107,312 Hong Kong
  9. 100,274 Canada
  10. 96,648 United Kingdom

DOT said a total of 3,867,386 visitors were recorded from January to October 2013, a double-digit gain of 11.19 percent compared to 2012 arrivals of 3,478,285 visitors for the same months.  www.abs-cbnnews.com

Comparing the two sets of figures, (although take account of the deferring time period) we see the following:

US tourists spent Php 4.03 billion in ONE MONTH (March 2015)

Korean Tourists spent Php 3.34 billion in ONE MONTH (March 2015)

Multiply that by 10, to get 10 months spending and then divide by the numbers of visitors for the 10 months in the second set of figures, and we get an average spend per person, per nationality, of:

73,141 pesos per person United States
65,343 pesos per person Australia
64,150 pesos per person United Kingdom
33,721 pesos per person South Korea
29,663 pesos per person Japan

These figures seem slightly higher than the March 2015 figures shown at the top.

The accuracy of this is only right of the numbers of visitors per country stayed in the same proportion.  As soon as I can find accurate visitor numbers for March 2015, I will redo that calculation, for a more accurate result.

It also takes no account of length of time each visitor stays. For example an Australian spends twice as much as a South Korean, but may also stay in the Philippines twice as long, meaning they could each spend a similar figure per day.

However, taking that one example further, I have heard that many Koreans spend much shorter time here, than the average Australian, so it could be be closer to say that the average Korean may spend twice as much as the Australian, for each day in the country.

June 12, 2015, Philippines Independence Day

Philippines Independence Day

On June 12, 2015, the Philippines will celebrate the date of the Declaration of Independence from Spanish colonial rule, effective from June 12, 1898.

This independence was not recognised Internationally and not by the Spanish either, who gave the Philippines to the United States after the Spanish-American war. This then led to the Philippine-American war.

On July 4, 2015 the Philippines will also celebrate independence from the United States, which was effective from 4 July 1946.

As the Philippine’s Independence Day is a national holiday the Philippines government offices are closed.

Independence Day was officially observed on July 4 every year until 1964, when the Republic Act No. 4166, was approved and which set the national holiday to June 12.

July 4th has now become the Philippines Republic Day

www.in-philippines.com/philippines-republic-act-no-4166

Republic Day change in 1987

During the administration of President Corazon C. Aquino, the practice of celebrating Philippine–American Friendship Day and Philippine Republic Day as a non-working holiday was formally abolished. The Administrative Code of 1987 specified a list of non-working holidays that did not include July 4.

Source: www.gov.ph/republic-day

Australian National Clayton West killed in Puerto Galera

$5,000 Reward leading to the arrest and conviction of the killers of Australian Clayton West murdered in Puerto Galera

The relatives of a 52-year Australian national who was murdered in a beach resort here recently have sought the assistance of the Philippine government for the arrest of the suspects in the slaying.

Clayton West, an underwater videographer, was bludgeoned to death on his way home on board his electric bike by unidentified assailants at 1:30 a.m. on April 22 in sitio Kabilang Gulod, Bgy. Palangan, this resort town.

West, who has lived in Puerto Galera resident for 18 years, was returning home to Bgy. Palangan after spending the evening in nearby Bgy. Sabang, when he was brutally killed. The victim suffered two wounds at the back of his head.

He is survived by his Filipina wife and two children, ages 6 and 3.

The Puerto Galera police station has yet to come up with a progress or investigation report on the murder of West since his slaying.

Police Chief Marlon Cabatana said the “investigation is still ongoing as of today as there is no autopsy report yet.” The autopsy report will come from the PNP crime laboratory based at Camp Crame, national headquarters of the Philippine National Police in Quezon City, he said.

“We will inform you if there is a development in the case,” Cabatana told The Standard.

Puerto Galera Mayor Hubbert Christopher Dolor said the “municipal police station is really doing their best to follow whatever leads they have right now. The family (West) can be assured that justice will be served in due time.”

Rudy West, a brother-in-law of the slain videographer, said the family of Clayton in Australia has offered a cash reward of US$5,000 leading to the arrest and conviction of the killers.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2015/05/18/kin-of-australian-killed-in-galera-seek-help-from-government/

PHP to AUD Currency Rates

The Value of the Australian Dollar to the Philippine Peso

With the value of the Australian Dollar dropping from around 42 Philippine Peso for each dollar to the current rate of about 32 pesos, it has been a harsh hit to many people relying on Australian Dollars in the Philippines.  These may be relatives of Filipinos living in Australia who send support, or they may be Australians retired in the Philippines living of an Australian pension income.  Both will suffer the same percentage drop in income.

The chart below, from www.xe.com shows how the PHP-AUD rate has changed over the last ten years.

There was a similar drop in 2008 where it went as low as 30 pesos to the dollar in September 2008, but the Dollar began to recover again in March 2009 and reached 44 again by October 2009.

It has hovered between 40 and 46 between October 2009 and September 2014 when the decline appears to have begun.  The 14th September 2014 seems to be the last time the rate was over 40 pesos to the dollar.

On the 23rd January 2015, the rate went below 35 pesos to the dollar. On the 24th to the 26th March 2015 the rate jumped back to 35 again from a low of 33 on the 11th March 2015. But it was short lived and hit 33.5 on the 2nd April 2015.

These rates are the quoted Interbank rate, and NOT the actual rate that a person would get on exchanging.

An example of actual version Interbank is:

Current Interbank rate quoted at 33.86855 pesos to the dollar at 12:22 pm 7th April 2015 at www.xe.com

The actual rate that I can get at my normal FX supplier CurrencyOnline is:  33.37245 at the same time.
However the big banks are different with my Australian bank quoting $ 1.00 AUD = ₱ 30.96 PHP

This does not sound much, but the differences for a A$10,000 sum work out at:

Interbank rate of 33.83855 = 338,385 peso

Currency Online rate of 33.37245 = 333,724 peso (= transfer cost of 4,661 peso or A$140)

NAB rate of 30.96 = 309,600 pesos (= transfer cost of 28,785 pesos or A$929)

PHP-AUD 2006-2015 FX rates

Earthquake Magnitude 4.7 hits Bohol, Cebu. 30 March 2015

Parts of Cebu shake at about 10am March 30th, 2015

An earthquake 9:47 a.m today shook parts of Cebu.

As the ground began to shake for a few seconds, many people near the waters edge were seen to be looking at the water, no doubt with thoughts of “Tsunami” on their minds, but they soon looked away again as there was no movement on the water.

The earthquake was at a depth of 3 kilometers, and was located 8 km south-east of Buenavista, Bohol.

Intensity 5:

San Miguel, Bohol,

Intensity 4:

Lapu-Lapu City and Buenavista, Bohol.

Intensity 3:

Cebu City, Bacolod City, Bogo City, Tagbilaran City and Iloilo City.

Intensity 1:

Pres. Roxas, Capiz

No damage and aftershocks are expected from this earthquake.

Philippine Institute Of Volcanology And Seismology
Earthquake Information March 30 2015

Date/Time                    : 30 Mar 2015 – 09:47:47 AM
Location                       : 10.05°N, 124.18°E – 008 km S 69° E of Buenavista (Bohol)
Depth of Focus (Km)     : 003
Origin                           : TECTONIC
Magnitude                   : Ms 4.7

Philippine Earthquakes of similar or larger magnitude during March 2015 have been:

Date Magnitude Location
27 March 2015 4.9 110 km South 33° East of Governor Generoso (Davao Oriental)
15 March 2015 4.8 250 km South 35° East of Sarangani (Davao Ocidental)
30 March 2015 4.7 8 km South 69° East of Buenavista (Bohol)
8 March 2015 4.7 46 km North 85° East of Legaspi City
8 March 2015 4.7 53 km South 68° East of Sarangani (Davao Occidental)
1 March 2015 4.7 107 km South 23° East of Sarangani (Davao Occidental)

Lubao International Balloon Festival. 26-29 March 2015

The Lubao International Balloon Festival is scheduled for the 26th to 29th March 2015

This is the second event for the Lubao International Balloon Festival and it will take place in Pradera Verde, Barangay Prado Siongco, Lubao, Pampanga.

About 40 hot air balloons are expected from countries all over the world.

The organisers, Pilipinas International Balloon Festival Inc. (PIBF), are holding this event in cooperation with the Arts, Culture and Tourism Office of Pampanga (ACTO) and the Provincial Government of Pampanga.

Balloon flights will take place between early morning (5:00AM to 8:00AM)and late afternoon (4:00PM to 6:00PM).

Tickets are available at SM Tickets outlets nationwide and online at www.smtickets.com.
Entrance tickets are also available onsite at P250 per day.

Barangay Balibago Map from Google

Map of Balibago area on Google

I’ve put this map here, as I was surprised at the actual location of Balibago.

I’ve seen most establishments on Fields as being in Balibago, but this map seems to exclude Fields Avenue from that Barangay.

Balibago Area map according to Google

The Angeles City Government website on Balibago quotes: “Many subdivisions where developed, chief among which are Mt. View, Don Pepe, New and Old Balibago, Severina-Diamond, R and H, Sta. Maria Village 1 and 2, and Manuela Compound.”

Note that the Government places Sta. Maria Village 1 and 2 in Balibago, however, Google places Santa Maria Village II in Malabanis aka Malabanias:
Santa Maria Village II Map according to Google

Fireworks at SM City Clark, Angeles City, Pampanga on Oct. 25 2014

Fireworks at SM City Clark, Angeles City, Pampanga on Oct. 25 2014

The final weekend of the third Pyrofest competition at SM City Clark.

The fireworks begin at the Meeting Place on Oct. 25, 6:00 pm.

Australia Team Explosive Art, Canada’s Boom Boom Pow and China Hengda Fireworks Ltd. will provide exhibitions of the latest, state-of-the-art pyrotechnics.

Performing at 8:30 p.m. right after the pyro competition are Bamboo, with Keik Necessario doing the front act for the bands.

Call 470 2222 for tickets

www.clarkisit.com/sm-clark-3rd-pyrofest-competition-feature-ph-top-bands

2014-10-18 Fireworks SM Clark
2014-10-18 Fireworks SM Clark

Public Holidays in the Philippines 2014

Dates of Holidays in the Philippines for 2014

January

Wednesday, 1 January 2014 – New Year’s Day
Friday, 31 January 2014 – Chinese New Year

February

Tuesday, 25 February 2014 – People Power Day

April

Wednesday, 9 April 2014 – Day of Valor
Thursday, 17 April 2014 – Maundy Thursday
Friday, 18 April 2014 – Good Friday
Saturday, 19 April 2014 – Black Saturday

May

Thursday, 1 May 2014 – Labor Day

June

Thursday, 12 June 2014 – Independence Day

August

Thursday, 21 August 2014 – Ninoy Aquino Day
Monday, 25 August 2014 – National Heroes’ Day

November

Saturday, 1 November 2014 – All Saints Day
Sunday, 30 November 2014 – Bonifacio Day

December

Wednesday, 24 December 2014 – Additional Special Non-working Holiday
Thursday, 25 December 2014 – Christmas Day
Friday, 26 December 2014 – Additional Special Non-working Holiday
Tuesday, 30 December 2014 – Rizal Day
Wednesday, 31 December 2014 – New Year’s Eve

2014 Philippine Holidays

LBC and sending money to the Tacloban area – Problems

The Tacloban LBC office currently has no Internet connection, and is unable to process and release money transfers.

However, this does not stop other branches from accepting money transfers to that area.

They after quite happy to refund the money transferred, on being told that the Tacloban area office is unable to fulfill the transaction.

BUT, they just refused to refund the transaction fee.  Even though they are unable to provide the service, they still want to get aid for it !!

 

That is a black mark against LBC.

Everyone else is trying to help those with problems in that disaster area, but LBC are happy to keep making money out of anyone.

 

Is it all of LBC ?  or is it just the Padre Faura branch in Ermita ?

 

Cebuana was our next choice of transfer. They charge the same 220php as LBC, for a 5,000php remittance. And they WERE able to fulfill the service in Tacloban, with the money having been collected safely.

 

But using LBC first, means we paid 440php for this remittance.

Electricity in the Philippines

Albay is yet again facing total power disconnection if the local Albay Electric Cooperative (ALECO) fails to settle its outstanding electricity bill to the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC).

At 12 noon, 30th July 2013, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines cut off power supply to the Albay Electric Cooperative because of nearly P1 billion in unpaid debt to the Philippine Electricity Market Corporation (PEMC).

As at June 18, 2013, ALECO had an outstanding arrears of P19.9 million, with a further P99.6 million, that would be due on June 25, 2013.

Current news states that Aleco owes a total of almost P4 billion to all the power producers and suppliers (National Power Corporation, PEMC, Wholesale Electricity Spot Market and the NEA).

In 2011, it was stated that the State-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) was owed P27 billion by 90 electric cooperatives around the country. That is an average of P300 million for each electric cooperative.

In 2010 the Albay Governor, Joey Salceda made this statement:

For 35 years, Albay province provided Luzon with the cheapest and cleanest energy, yet Albayanos have no substantial benefits. We serve the country, but what the Albay province got is only a P14-million royalty for four years and Aleco is paying back WESM [Wholesale Electricity Spot Market] of P2.1 billion this is completely unjust.

On face value, it seems that Albay isn’t being given sufficient credit for its own inputs.

The Albay, Tiwi Geothermal Power Plant, has a production of 275Mw.
Luzon uses about 7,000MW per hour according to www.wesm.ph, so this single Albay power plant provides 4% of all of Luzon power, and with its population of 1,233,432 (www.nscb.gov.ph) being 2.5% of the Luzon population based on the figure of  48,520,774, it could maybe get close to becoming self sufficient in power.

Albay Gov. Joey Salceda has declared it is the Department of Energy (DOE) that owes Albay P102 billion, which the latter contributed to the country’s development over 34 years from out of its indigenous geothermal energy, and that the power sourced from Tiwi, Albay, accounts for 11% of the power flowing through the entire Luzon grid.

Electricity has been generated using geothermal power in the towns near Mayon since 1967, and the Philippines has grown to now be the second largest producer of geothermal power in the world.

Electricity rates:

Sept 2010: A figure of P19.19 a kilowatt electricity rate was quoted with Albay having the lowest power rate in Bicol at just P16.50 a kilowatt an hour.

June 2013: Meralco, stated that the the generation charge was now P5.66 per kwh.