Red Dot Pinoys

PH starts trial exports of fruits and veggies to SG

2012-01-26T17:01:00.002+08:00

Expect to see more Philippine fruits and vegetables in Singapore grocery stores. The Philippines will embark on a trial shipment of a variety of vegetables and fruits to Singapore by February, officials of the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.

Jennifer Remonquillo, officer in charge of the DA’s high value commercial crops (HVCC), said that the trial shipment will involve “a few boxes” of pineapples, bananas and squash.

“They want to see the quality of the products we will ship to them. If they approve it, then that’s the time we will finalize discussions on the volume,” said Remonquillo in an interview at the sidelines of the celebration of the 82nd anniversary of the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) held in Manila.
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Why foreigners don't invest in Philippines

2012-01-26T16:58:00.001+08:00

President Noy has been going abroad inviting foreign businessmen to invest in the country.

Only very few investors will answer P-Noy’s invitation.

Ours is not an investor-friendly government and country.

Potential investors will have to reckon with corrupt officials at the Securities and Exchange Commission, Department of Trade and Industry and the Bureau of Customs, which will assess the machinery and equipment to be brought in.

That’s not all.
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Hundreds of DBS customers hit by fraud

2012-01-06T16:05:00.006+08:00

Posted on: Jan 06, 2012

Please be aware of the current issue that hit hundreds of DBS/POSB ATM and debit card holders. There have been a lot of unauthorized withdrawals happened in Malaysia for DBS/POSB accounts even though cards were with the customers in Singapore. Please check your account balances now.

If you think that your ATM or debit card have been compromised, please contact the bank immediately. Please call 1800-220-1111 or visit any DBS or POSB branch. Please do this immediately !!!

And please always be mindful whenever you try to withdraw money. Ensure that your card is inserted to the correct slot. Anything that you think is not ok in the card slot, please inform the bank.

More details of the incident in Today:

In what is believed to be the largest case of its kind to hit any bank in Singapore, around 200 customers here have lost about S$200,000 in fraudulent withdrawals from their DBS and POSB accounts.

DBS said last night it was investigating the unauthorised withdrawals which were made in Malaysia. The average amount withdrawn was about S$1,000 per account, it said. However, the bank assured all customers that it would compensate them in full for any unauthorised transaction within 24 hours.

As news of the fraudulent withdrawals spread yesterday, thousands of DBS customers around the island logged on to the bank's Internet banking website to check their balances. Because of the sudden spike in traffic and the number of users - many could not log onto the website.

The saga began on Wednesday.

Mr Jeremy Soo, managing director and head of consumer banking group in Singapore for DBS bank said that "some customers" informed the bank on Wednesday of "unauthorised withdrawals made in Malaysia" through their DBS and POSB debit and ATM cards. The bank immediately deactivated the compromised cards.

By Thursday morning, isolated cases were circulating on various social media.

Among those affected were student Lisa Nguyen and her boyfriend Dennis Vo. Ms Nguyen had checked her DBS bank account on Wednesday night and discovered three withdrawals of about RM1,500 (S$615) each. Three instances of transaction fees for the withdrawal of money overseas had also been charged. All this while, however, the 25-year-old was in Singapore, with her ATM card on hand. Mr Vo's account also saw about RM500 missing. That night, the couple lodged police reports - only to discover about 10 others in a similar predicament.

At about 6.45pm yesterday, DBS issued its first statement to the media, saying that investigations were underway.

Mr Soo said: "We are treating this matter with utmost priority and would like to assure customers that they will be fully compensated, for any unauthorised withdrawals, within 24 hours.

"We will also issue replacement ATM/debit cards on the spot at any DBS/POSB branch ... We will also be alerting customers should we detect any unusual activity on their accounts."

DBS is now validating all ATM and debit card transactions made in Malaysia over the past few days. Customers who believe their ATM or debit cards to have been compromised, are advised to contact the bank immediately on 1800-220-1111 or at any DBS or POSB branch.

Yesterday, a police spokesman said "several reports" have been made and that the Commercial Affairs Department is investigating the matter.

"Bank account holders may wish to check their bank account and if they believe unauthorised withdrawals had been made, they are advised to lodge a police report," the spokesman said. "The report should include the date, amount, location and transaction description for each unauthorised withdrawal."

Cases involving unauthorised withdrawals involving ATM cards appear rare here. In 2009, an international crime syndicate of nine Romanians made 27 unauthorised withdrawals amounting to S$5,400 here before they were caught. The last major reported case was in 1995 when three people were arrested for making more than 100 unauthorised withdrawals after stealing credit cards and ATM cards 170 people from their vehicles.

Notified by DBS of the cases, the Monetary Authority of Singapore has advised all ATM card users to exercise caution and responsibility when handling their ATM cards, keeping them safely at all times and protected from theft or misappropriation.

Yesterday, two affected DBS customers told today that the bank has contacted to ask if they were in singapore at the time of the unauthorised transactions, and which ATMs they use here. Despite being told that he would be reimbursed if he was not at fault, a victim, 22-year-old national serviceman who found S$930 withdrawn in two transactions said he remains "quite concerned".

Most OFW families are just waiting for remittances

2007-10-18T13:13:00.000+08:00

According to a recent survey, majority of OFW families just sit back and wait for remittances. These families are apparently already contented with this way of life and do not mind that their only source of money are the hard earned "padala."

Furthermore, just almost a third of OFW beneficiaries own a business, which tend to be sari-sari (neighborhood variety) stores, renting out apartments, operating public transportation, buying and selling, [running] a meat shop, canteen or eateries. But I think, most of the capitals used for these businesses also came from OFWs...

This is a very sad common story among us. From Singapore, Hong Kong, to Saudi Arabia, you'll hear this story over and over again: An OFW has no choice but to keep on working else his family will have nothing to eat... else his sibling will not be able to finish college...else his parents will have no medicine. So it is no surprise why there are some Filipinos working in war-torn countries...

Tsk, tsk, tsk...

Click here to read survey.

Employers to provide insurance to foreign workers

2007-09-29T05:08:00.000+08:00

Another healthcare policy will take place on January 2008. It is to require employers to purchase and maintain insurance for the medical expenses of foreign workers. The requirement will apply to:

All new and existing foreign workers on Work Permit or S Pass
All new foreign domestic workers, and existing foreign domestic workers when employers renew their Work Permits

The Manpower Ministry said the coverage must be at least S$5,000 a year for each worker's inpatient care and day surgery, while staying in Singapore. Visit MOM for details.

Author: Celpaby

Hospitalization to cost more for non-citizens

2007-09-27T02:43:00.000+08:00

From October 2007, non-citizens will have to pay more when seeking treatment at public sector hospitals and national specialist centers. Affected are Permanent Residents, foreigners (tourists), and those that are holding Work Pass (EP, S Pass, Foreign workers & Foreign Domestic Workers), as long as you are not a citizen.

Currently all residents, regardless of citizenship status, receive the same subsidies ranging from 20 to 80 per cent:

Class of Ward	Government Subsidy
C	80%
B2	65%
B2+	50%
B1	20%
A	0%

For those who are not yet familiar, check out sample rooms in SGH. The new policy is to, let say for PRs under C wards, reduce subsidy from 80% to 75% on Oct 2007, and from 75% to 70% by Oct 2008. Therefore, by Oct 2008, PRs will be paying 10% more for C wards.

So please let's practice healthy living. If you're not feeling well, don't hesitate to see a doctor. Avoid any further complications that might require you to check-in to a hospital. Lastly, remember that emergency check-in is more expensive than the normal one. This is true even in our home country.

Author: Celpaby