Book Fest: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

www.amazon.com

Hailed as one of the best books of 2012, Gone Girl tells the story of Nick and Amy Dunne and their journey in their first five years of marriage. But before you conclude that this is one of your usual love stories, I have to say that this book is actually a mystery suspense novel that surprises you.  Why?

First, the presentation is different. It has three viewpoints – Nick, Amy and the narrator of the current event.

Second, you’ll be surprised that there are parts of the first half of the book that are utter lies. That’s the beauty of it, the lies will make you believe that one thing happened only to be gutted halfway the book when you find out that the victim is actually the master manipulator.

Third,  twisted characters.  At the outset, you will love the fun, beautiful and charming Amy. You’ll want to find her, give justice to what her unfaithful husband did to her. You’ll discover his lies, be pissed at his affair with a young lady. You will want to hang Nick. But halfway there, you will see the grand scheme of things actually set-off by Amy, and for that, you will hate her.

That’s not all. You will meet Amy’s neighbor in the small inn where she hid while her family and their community were looking for her. You will also find Desi who has an ulterior motive on helping Amy.

Fourth, the ending is likewise twisted. Just when you thought that the culprit will be apprehended, she will actually get her desired ending. Yes, I just couldn’t believe the ending but don’t quote me.

For mystery-suspense book lover out there, you have to read this.

Good job Gillian Flynn!

Rating 5/5

BIR imposes New Rules for Privilege Stores or popularly known as Tiangge

On August 22, 2013, the Bureau of Internal Revenue issued Regulation No. 16-2013 which imposes new rules on privilege stores or popular known as "tiangge". The new regulation basically provides a clear-cut definition as to who are the operators, exhibitors and tenants who are not tiangge operators.

The tiangge phenomenon is very popular especially to those who would like to try their entrepreneurial skills by joining bazaars which are seasonal in nature or by establishing small stores on limited occasions. So, if you are one of those who would like to engage in the tiangge business, be guided by the new guidelines.

Here is an overview of the new regulation:

What determines whether your business falls under the "tiangge" category is actually the duration of the operations in a taxable period. Pursuant to the regulation:

"... should the store engage in any business activity for a cumulative period of more than fifteen (15) days, it  shall not be considered a “privilege-store” under these Regulations." (Sec. 2a)

In case that a privilege store operator engages in business for more than fifteen (15) days, then the operator shall be treated as a regular taxpayer. They are required to have their own sets of invoices and/or official receipts, pay income tax, business tax and must remit withholding tax especially on rental. (Section 2c)

So how do you determine if you are operating for fifteen (15) days?

If the privilege store is operating more than one (1) business activity in a separate venue or simultaneously operating several or multiple business activities in one (1) venue, it shall be considered one (1) day per business activity in the computation of cumulative number of days in a given taxable year." (Sec. 2a)

In addition, privilege store operators are obligated to do the following:

1. Obligation to deduct and withhold the expanded withholding tax on rental payments to exhibitor/organizer for subleased spaces or lessor/owner of leased property. Take note that the rate of withholding tax is five percent (5%) of the gross rental payments which shall be remitted on or before the 10th day of the succeeding month.

2. Obligation to file annual income tax return or BIR Form 1700 on or before April 15 of every year.

3. Obligation to submit information statement on privilege store activities

4. Obligation to keep books of accounts and issue receipts/sales invoices

5. Obligation to submit list of sales on privilege store activities to the exhibitor/organizer


Read the entire text of BIR Regulation 16-2013 here.

13th Month Pay

It is interesting to note that some readers posted 13th Month Pay related questions. The questions are quite timely, considering that we are nearing the end of the year 2013. 

To begin with, the Revised Guidelines on the Implementation of the 13th Month Pay Law states that "All employers are required to pay all their rank and file employees a 13th month pay not later than December 24"

Q: Are managerial employees entitled to 13th month pay?A: No. A reading of the law states that the 13th Month Pay is mandatory ONLY to rank and file employees. 

In the case of PMTI-ULGF vs Ferrer-Calleja, et. al., GR No. 85915, January 17, 1990, managerial employee is defined as:

The Labor Code recognizes two (2) principal groups of employees, namely, the managerial and the rank and file groups. Thus, Art. 212 (k) of the Code provides:

xxx xxx xxx

(k) "Managerial employee" is one who is vested with powers or prerogatives to lay down and execute management policies and/or to hire, transfer, suspend, lay-off, recall, discharge, assign or discipline employees, or to effectively recommend such managerial action. All employees not falling within this definition are considered rank and file employees for purposes of this Book.

However, the management has the prerogative to give managerial employees with 13th Month Pay, which I think is currently practiced by most of the employers in the Philippines.

Q. I joined the company in March 2013 and I intended to resign this November 2013, am I still entitled to 13th Month Pay even if I was employed less than one (1) year?

A. Yes. The law does not require that an employee has rendered at least one (1) year of service to be entitled for the 13th Month Pay.

However, in the computation of the amount due to the employee, take note the definition of 13th month pay: it shall mean 1/12 of the basic salary of an employee in a calendar year. Moreover, pursuant to the revised guidelines:

6.  13th Month Pay of Resigned or Separated Employee.

An employee who has resigned or whose services were terminated at any time before the time for payment of the 13th month pay is entitled to this monetary benefit in proportion to the length of time he worked during the year, reckoned from the time he started working during the calendar year up to the time of his resignation or termination from the service. Thus, if he worked only from January up to September his proportionate 13th month pay should be equivalent of 1/12 his total basic salary he earned during that period.

So in this case, an employee should compute his total basic salary he/she earned  from March 2013 to November 2013, find 1/12 of the said amount, and that should be the 13th month pay that he/she should receive from his/her employer.

Q: Is 13th Month Pay taxable?
A: Yes if together with other benefits from the company, it exceeds Thirty Thousand Pesos (Php 30,000.00).

Free Online Course for Anti-Smoking Advocates

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/10996265/?claim=abn6xgazuqu">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

I'm a big fan of free online courses offered by schools abroad such as Harvard, Berkeley, MIT and other colleges . I'm amazed that this was made possible because of the advancement of technology - sharing of information, books, notes, and a lot of other things becomes free and accessible.

As an advocate of tobacco control, I would like to share with you this free online course from John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Visit this site for more information:  http://hp.globaltobaccocontrol.org/online_training . It provides a new perspective on tobacco control advocacy and an eye opener for young advocates like me. 

So enroll now! Remember, its free and you can browse the course during your spare time. =)

sites.google.com

BDJ Fair 2013

Hi everyone!

Belle de Jour has an exciting activity for bellas in the Philippines. The BDJ Fair 2013 is happening this coming Sunday, October 13, 2013at SM Mall of Asia Music Hall. Awesome activities and lots of freebies await us there. See you there! :)

For more details, check out the BDJ Power Planner facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/BelledeJourPlanner .

Bantayan Island Escapade

Last September 26 to 28, 2013, M and I visited the awesome beach of Bantayan Island,Cebu, Philippines. According to Wikipedia :

Bantayan Island is an island located in the Visayan Sea, Philippines. It is situated to the west of the northern end of Cebu Island, across the Tañon Strait. As per the 2010 census, Bantayan has a total population of 136,960.The island is administratively divided into three municipalities:

• Bantayan, Cebu (the largest municipality, covering the central part)

• Madridejos, Cebu (covering the northern portion)

• Santa Fe, Cebu (covering the eastern portion)

Here is the map of the island courtesy of Google Map:

Our chosen resort, Kota Beach, is located at Santa Fe where several beach resorts are located.  You may also browse the site wowBantayan.com which I really find to be very helpful.

To reach the resort, we first traveled via plane for about an hour. From Mactan International Airport, we took a cab to the North Terminal for about 30 minutes. (Damage to the pocket: approx. Php 150.00) Take note that we didn't avail of the airport taxis which rates  are  higher than that of the regular taxi. The cueing bay for regular taxi is just across the building from the exit point of the airport.  Look for the signs pointing you to the regular taxi bay or just ask the security guard to tell you the way in case you got confused.

The North Terminal has an aircon buses which ply the route to Hagnaya port. Fortunately, our bus - Ceres - has a free wifi which took the boredom from us for about 3 hours and 15 minutes with one (1) stop-over for comfort room break. (Damage to the pocket: approx. Php 160.00) When we reached the Hagnaya port at around 3 pm, we were informed that there was only one (1) available boat that would sail for Santa Fe port at about 530 pm that afternoon. The boat ride took about 1 hour and 30 minutes. (Damage to the pcoket: Php 170.00) It was already dark when we reached the Santa Fe port. From there, we took a tricycle to bring us to Kota Beach resort. (Damage to the pocket: Php 100.00)

Oh boy, it was a long and sometimes nauseous travel. It actually took us a total of 12 hours just to reach our resort!

I was really sad because I made plans to go afternoon beaching. Unfortunately, the delay in our flight and more than 2 hours of waiting time for the boat prevented us from doing so. 

We dined at the restaurant inside Kota Beach and ordered grilled squid, shrimp and 2 plates (Yes, 2 plates. NOT cups) of garlic rice for Five Hundred Pesos (Php 500.00). I tell you, it is sulit! 

The next morning, we wanted to have a taste of  the regular Bantayan breakfast. Kota Beach rented us bicycles for One Hundred Fifty Pesos (Php 150.00) for each bike until we leave the resort. For cheap seafood, we highly recommend Daddy Doks. They have an array of fresh seafood and you can ask them to cook for you. We biked around Santa Fe and noticed that bicycles and motorcycles are the common mode of transportation in the area. Bihira ang jeep o private cars.

And finally, we hit the beach! I wish I had a better camera to capture the wonderful and serene beach of Bantayan Island. If you want to relax sans a throng of tourists and commercial establishments, we highly recommend this beach for you. We feel that we had the beach to ourselves!

Blue skies + fine white sands + blue green water

Our little paradise

our nook in the corner

No other tourists in sight

M enjoying the sunshine :)

Here is a little tip, if you want to buy danggit to which Cebu is famous for, you can buy straight from the fishermen. Just drop by Ogtong Cave Resort and the tricycle drivers will actually bring you to the shore where fresh unsalted danggit can be bought. A kilo will cost Php 450.00. From Kota Beach, we just biked to the other side of town where Ogtong Cave Resort is located.

We had a very relaxing weekend. Thanks to Kota Beach for upgrading our room to cottage. For more details, you may visit their website at http://kotabeach.bantayanresorts.com. 

I will certainly return to this little paradise especially if I want to escape from the chaotic life of the city.  There are still so many things to do here. Hopefully, I could explore more this island. :) 

The Animal Welfare Act of 1998

The recent viral video showing three women torturing to death a poor puppy drew the ire not only of animal rights groups and animal lovers but even those who even don't have pets. The said video isn't actually the first one. In fact, several videos made the round before showing acts of cruelty such as setting an animal on fire and even hanging them on clothes line.The said acts are abominable and yes, PUNISHABLE UNDER THE PHILIPPINE LAWS.

Pursuant to "The Animal Welfare Act of  1998" or Republic Act 8485:

Sec. 6. It shall be unlawful for any person to torture any animal, to neglect to provide adequate care, sustenance or shelter, or maltreat any animal or to subject any dog or horse to dogfights or horsefights, kill or cause or procure to be tortured or deprived of adequate care, sustenance or shelter, or maltreat or use the same in research or experiments not expressly authorized by the Committee on Animal Welfare. 

Take note that the punishment for torturing animals is imprisonment of not less than Six (6) months but not more than Two (2) years or a fine of not less than One Thousand Pesos (Php 1,000.00) but not more than Five Thousand Pesos or both at the discretion of the court. A year ago, animal rights group, PAWS pushed for a higher penalty for the violation of the said acts to imprisonment of Six (6) to Twelve years of imprisonment and fine of  Ten Thousand Pesos.

So for all of those who have evil thoughts on torturing animals, remember that your acts may lead you inside a prison cell. So think about it, is it worth it? If you cannot feel compassion for these animals, at least don't do anything that would harm them.

UPDATE! According to the news, the President has signed a law raising the penalty to maximum period of three years in jail and/or fine of Php 250,000.