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Taiwanese businessmen plan to relocate to the Philippines

Roy — Fri, 06 May 2011 08:51:26 +0000

Taiwanese businessmen are seriously considering relocating their manufacturing facilities to the Philippines from mainland China. The Manila Economic Cultural Office (MECO) said the decision was made by the Taiwan diplomatic row with the Philippines following their frustrations from the stringent labor requirements in China.

The Taiwanese businesses are engaged in industrial plastics manufacturing with estimated investments of at least $120 million, according to MECO chairman Amadeo R. Perez Jr. He said they are considering relocating their factories from China to Subic and Clark Freeport zones for their export-oriented investments.

Perez said that four plastic products manufacturers have already visited Subic and Clark and another will be coming over to visit Batangas and Clark. One company engaged in bed frames and mattresses production is eyeing a warehouse in Clark which it can is suitable and can be converted for its business. “One project alone can command at least $20 million in investments,” Perez said. For the six projects that would translate to an estimated $120 million worth of prospective investments.

The bed frame and mattresses manufacturer is exporting its products to the EU, Asia and the US while the plastic products manufacturers are producing industrial products which are used for packaging applications and are exporting them all over the world.

Perez added that some of the Taiwanese have already gone to Vietnam and Indonesia because those countries are not very choosy due to their high unemployment rate. He said Taiwanese investors in mainland China have been turned off by policy changes in the labor sector.

MECO is implementing a major campaign to attract more Taiwanese investors into the Philippines, following the successful resolution of the bilateral issue early this year. However, Perez said the country’s only problem is the high cost of electricity, and Vietnam and Indonesia could beat the Philippines on that factor.

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Isuzu Philippines temporarily shuts down production operations

Roy — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 10:22:00 +0000

Isuzu Philippines Corp. (IPC) temporarily stopped its operation, starting from April 18 and will resume production on May 2. The work stoppage was due to the shortage in parts and components supply which are coming from Japan. The country’s all-commercial vehicle assemble is still optimistic though that it would be able to sustain its 17 percent growth target for the year in spite of what happened to Japan.

IPC executive vice-president Yuki Kato said during the exclusive Isuzu Truck show dubbed “On the Right Truck to a Better Future” held recently at the World Trade Center, the temporary work stoppage will not lead to layoff but the 300 production workers will be asked to take this opportunity to avail of their leave credits.

IPC is the latest among local car firms who have announced a temporary shutdown of operations as an aftermath of the Japan disasters that disrupted the supply chain for the auto sector globally. The others were Ford Group Philippines, Honda Cars Philippines Inc. and Toyota Motor Philippines.

The company official stressed that their work stoppage would only be limited to eight working days, since there’s no work on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, IPC does not work on weekends and that May 1, being Labor Day, is a holiday.

Kato further explained that they cannot yet go back into full commercial operation even if they resume production on May 2 because Japan has a week-long holiday on the first week of May. “Perhaps, we will have a clearer picture on the second week of May,” he said.

The work stoppage would effectively translate to a 50-percent reduction in production volume of IPC for the month of April because they would be operating only for two weeks for the month. The average production volume of the company is between 900 units to 1,000 units of various IPC commercial vehicles.

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Immigration barred 34 OFWs from leaving

Roy — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 02:04:46 +0000

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) barred 34 prospective overseas Filipino workers from leaving the country. The passengers were prevented from boarding a Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight to Bangkok after confessing that they were OFWs disguised as business travelers after intense questioning from immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

BI airport operations chief Lina Andaman Pelia said, “They were offloaded for not having the required clearances and employment permits from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).”

The Bangkok-bound passengers said they were supposed to find employment in Thailand. Some of them had work in Dubai and other Middle East countries. They were allegedly travelling on a business visa that was provided by a company in Dubai that was supposed to process their work permits in Thailand.

BI Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. commended the immigration officers for their vigilance and asked them to be more careful and step up their efforts in not allowing undocumented OFWs. The immigration office, however, refused to divulge the names of passengers as the anti-human trafficking law prohibits the public disclosure of both the traffickers and their victims.

During the course of their investigation, the immigration officer found out that the travelers were going to work for the Super Giant Touring Carnival owned by Apirom Properties Company Ltd., an affiliate of the Big Fun World based in Dubai and where many of the passengers previously worked.

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DOLE to conduct job fair on Labor Day

Roy — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 05:39:30 +0000

As part of the oncoming celebrations for Labor Day on May 1, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) disclosed the venues that will hold jobs fairs that will provide some 30,000 job opportunities. According to DOLE secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, the Labor Day celebration on May 1 will carry the theme, “Matuwid na Daan Tungo sa Kaunlaran Para sa Lahat.”

She said in a news release posted on the DOLE website, “We are offering workers the opportunity to find productive jobs, as well as safety nets and non-wage benefits, in the Job and Livelihood Fairs that are one of the centerpiece events of the celebrations.”

The government will partner with the private sector in the commemoration, to highlight its policy reforms of inclusiveness and social dialogue to foster social justice, increase productivity, and promote economic growth. The labor secretary added that there are initially 150 local employers who are already committed to the job fair in Metro Manila to be held at Rizal Park. About 50 licensed private overseas recruiters are also said to join the job fair to offer employment overseas.

The venue for the job fairs in the DOLE’s 16 regional offices to provide job opportunities in their respective regions are:

• Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR): SM Baguio and Baguio Convention Center
• Region 1 (Ilocos): SM Rosales, Pangasinan
• Region 2 (Cagayan Valley): Francisco L. Dy Coliseum, Cauayan, Isabela
• Region 3 (Central Luzon): SM San Fernando, Pampanga and SM Baliwag, Bulacan
• Region 4A (CALABARZON): SM Sta. Rosa, Laguna and SM Rosario, Cavite;
• Region 4B (MIMAROPA): Divine World College, Calapan City
• Region 5 (Bicol): SM Naga City
• Region 6 (Western Visayas): SM Iloilo and SM Bacolod
• Region 7 (Metro Cebu and Central Visayas): SM Cebu City, Cebu International Convention Center, Abellana Sports Complex City, Cebu City and Macias Sports Complex, Dumaguete City
• Region 8 (Eastern Visayas): Tacloban City Convention Center
• Region 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula): Western Mindanao State University Gymnasium, Zamboanga City, and Gaisano Capital, Pagadian City
• Region 10 (Northern Mindanao): SM Cagayan de Oro
• Region 11 (Davao Region): SM Davao, Gaisano Mall Davao
• Region 12 (Central Mindanao): KCC Mall General Santos
• CARAGA: DOLE Regional Office.

Jobseekers and other interested parties may visit www.phil-job.net for more details.

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AirAsia Inc. sets hub of Philippine operations in Clark

Roy — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 11:29:40 +0000

Clark airport in Angeles City Pampanga beats Subic International Airport in Subic, Zambales in bidding for the right to host the hub operation of AirAsia Inc. in the Philippines. AirAsia, Inc., an affiliate of Malaysia’s AirAsia Group, picked Clark as the base of its operation in the country. It will have its office at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport when it starts operating international flights from the airport in the fourth quarter of 2011.

AirAsia Berhad chairman Tony Fernandez said that their choice of Clark is in line with the airline company’s commitment to developing transportation and tourism hubs outside Manila. Chief executive officer Marianne B. Hontiveros of AirAsia Inc. said, “This is part of our plan to contribute to the development of the country as whole.” She added, “AirAsia Inc. is excited to start contributing to the economy of Clark and the rest of the country by boosting tourism and offering job opportunities to Filipinos.”

The Clark airport is located north of Manila and is accessible to 23 million people from the National Capital Region, Central and Northern Luzon. Incidentally, it is also where the airline’s sister company, AirAsia Berhad has been flying to and from Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu since 2005.

Hontiveros said, “We plan to make Clark the hub for flights to popular destination including Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Thailand, Korea and Japan,” adding that it would make travelling much easier and more affordable for tourists and overseas Filipino workers.

AirAsia Inc. is owned by Hontiveros, Antonio O. Cojuangco Jr. and Michael L. Romero who has total shares of 60 percent, while the 40 percent is owned by AirAsia Berhad. AirAsia Inc. in Clark will become the 13th hub of the AirAsia Group in the region.

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More employment opportunities in Clark this year

Roy — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 05:26:05 +0000

The Clark Development Corporation (CDC) said that it expects the employment at the Clark Freeport Zone to surge this year as operations of new investments starts. The CDC said as early as the end of January 2011, the number of workers in Clark had already grown by an annual 4.7% already. The Freeport Zone administrator said that workers inside Clark’s 453 locators reached 60,322 as of January 31 versus the 57,602 they have in the same period last year.

The CDC said that this workforce is composed mostly of employees in the electronics assembly industries, the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, and from other manufacturing industries. The state agency said at least 7,000 more jobs are expected to be generated in the near future because of several projects coming this year.

Some of these projects include the “multi-billion dollar” investment of Phoenix Semiconductor of the Philippines, the expansion of Yokohama Tire Philippines, Inc., and of course, more investments from the business process outsourcing sector.

The CDC broke down the figure as follows: 3,000 workers would be needed by Phoenix Semiconductor; Yokohama Tire would need 1,500; and BPO locators like Cyber City Teleservices, Inc., Sutherland Philippines, Inc. and Global Streaming, would hiring at least 2,500 more additional employees. “The improvement in employment in Clark is an indication that the Freeport Zone is becoming an investment haven for multi-national firms,” the Freeport zone administrator stated.

With the expected surge in employment, the CDC is projecting to reach a 15% increase in investment pledges to P30.508 billion this year after commitments had already grown by more than four-fold to P26.529 billion in 2010.

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PALEA filed a new strike notice

Roy — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 02:35:58 +0000

Looks like the worst is yet over from flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) as its ground crew union filed a new notice of strike last Friday before the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Citing unfair labor practices, the Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (PALEA) through its president Gerry Rivera, accused the PAL managers of talking with employees individually, convincing them to accept the mass layoff which will be implemented because of the planned outsourcing of the airline company. The said outsourcing of some services by PAL has already been approved by Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz.

Rivera said they decided to file the notice of strike because the said attempt by the management to convince union members individually constitutes interference in their right to self-organization. “These are issues separate although related to the question of the mass layoffs recently decided by the labor secretary,” he added.

The new notice of strike is the second by PALEA this year. The first was last January wherein the union, representing more than half of the company’s rank and file employees, threatened a strike when it learned of the airline’s management’s plan to outsource its services.

Services that would be outsourced would include in-flight catering operations, airport services and call center reservations, which is said to affect 2,600 employees. The PAL management, for its part, said the outsourcing of services will help them save on costs and make the company more competitive.

Last October, DOLE ruled that the outsourcing plan was “a legal exercise of management prerogative,” which prevented the PALEA from pushing through with the first strike plan. In their recent notice however, PALEA charged management with bargaining directly with union members which it said “is tantamount to interference with, restraint, and coercion of employees in the exercise of their right to self-organization.”

Rivera said the mass layoff, which will lead to the dismissal of 62 percent of the present union leadership is tantamount to union busting. “The 1,000 union members who will remain then will be the subject of the next round of outsourcing which is already in management’s drawing boards and will be perfectly legal using the Baldoz decision as a precedent,” he said.

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May 3 is declared holiday

Roy — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 12:55:10 +0000

Labor Day, May 1 falls on a Saturday, following the holiday of economics being observed by the government, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has declared May 3, the nearest Monday to May 1, as a regular holiday throughout the country in observance of the Labor Day.

The declaration is being consistent with the provision under Republic Act 9492 which was enacted on July 24, 2007, indicating that the observance of Labor Day would be on the Monday nearest to May 1. The president followed the provision of the law to allow employees to enjoy a long weekend.

“A longer weekend encourages families to get together and strengthen their relationship towards a more productive environment, as well as promotes domestic tourism and enables employers to plan their work schedules effectively and efficiently, resulting in improved productivity, which is achieved whether the holiday falls on a Friday or Monday,” the Proclamation stated.

The president also instructed the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to issue appropriate circular to implement Proclamation 2043 for the private sector. Because the holiday was moved to May 3, the labor department clarified that those who would work on May 1 will not get holiday pay, but those who will be reporting for work on May 3, will do.

The DOLE also issued the holiday pay guidelines, which will be applied for those who will work on Monday, May 3, which are as follows:

•   If the holiday falls on an employee’s regular workday:
-   If worked, the employee is entitled to 200 percent of his basic wage for the first eight (8) hours and, for work in excess of the 8 hours, an additional 30 percent of his or her hourly rate on the said day.
-   If unworked, the employee is entitled to 100 percent of his or her regular daily rate, provided he or she was present, or was on leave with pay, on the work day immediately preceding the holiday.

•   If the day is the employee’s rest day
-   If worked, the employee is entitled, for the first 8 hours, to 200 percent of his or her daily rate plus 30 percent, and for work in excess of 8 hours, plus 30 percent of his or her hourly rate on the said day.
-   If unworked, the employee is entitled to 100 percent of his or her regular daily rate, provided he or she was present, or was on leave with pay, on the workday immediately preceding the holiday.

The labor department said that those who would like to make clarifications regarding the holiday pay rules may call their call center at telephone no. 527-8000.

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Infosys BPO company plans opening more sites in the Philippines

Roy — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 03:00:40 +0000

Infosys BPO Ltd. is planning to put up 3 more call center facilities, expanding its presence in the country. The business process outsourcing firm chief operating officer Ritesh Idnani said, “We are very bullish about the Philippines and we will continue to invest in the next few years.”

Idnani said that while their Philippines operations only account for just five to six percent of the company’s entire revenue, they expect it increase to eight to 10 percent in the next 18 to 24 months. The company is also optimistic that it expects its revenues to grow by 100 percent by the end of its fiscal year ending March 2010.

Idnani noted that because of the availability of quality workforce and service areas in the country, the Philippines would remain to be an attractive BPO destination. He added that aside from the area of customer service, but the country is also emerging as a knowledge process outsourcing and legal process outsourcing services.

He is also quick to point out attrition in the country as one of the major challenges of BPO firms. He recommends that BPO agents be registered to monitor proper exits from previous employers. “The top 15 BPO firms must tie up to address attrition,” Idnani said.

Because of its planned expansion, Infosys delivery center head for the Philippines Madhusudan Menon said they would be creating an additional 2,000 jobs this as it eyes new site by the second half of 2010. Areas being considered for their next Philippine site are Quezon City and Clark, Pampanga

The company presently has a 1,100-seat call center facility at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig where it has 650 employees. This would be expanded to include 3,000 seats by next month.

Infosys is a BPO subsidiary of Infosys Technologies.

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Another BPO firm gears up for expansion

Roy — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 14:54:34 +0000

Another opportunity rises for job seekers as another business process outsourcing firm (BPO) gears up for expansion. The Stream Global Services Inc., a BPO company which is partly owned by the Ayala group is looking to fill up 1,500 seats in the 60 days and open one or two more new sites during the first half of the year.

Scott Murray, chairman and chief executive officer of Stream Global Services, said in a briefing last week that the company actually is seeking to reach as many as 50,000 employees here in the country. They have, at present, an employee base of around 11,000.

He said, “In the next 60 days, we will hire 1,500 new employees. We’ve never seen such significant demand for the Philippines as in the 45 days. We’ve had a lot of client visits. We want to grow to 50,000 within three to five years, and be the second biggest employer here, next to the Philippine government.”

The company’s operation in the Philippine soil, according to Murray, contributes to about 20 percent in their global revenues at present. He added that, depending the how much more new business the country would be able to generate for the company, how well its employees perform and how supportive the government would be in the coming months, the Philippines’ revenue contribution to the company could reach 30-4 percent.

Right now, Stream Global is doing site evaluations, as it prepares for its programmed expansion for the year. It wants to determine which areas would be the best locations for the company’s new facilities, Murray noted.

He said, “Our next site could be in central Manila or Cavite, or we can still expand in the buildings where we are already in. We really need to expand soon because we’re almost at full capacity now.”

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More jobs from UST Global

Roy — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:43:24 +0000

UST Global inaugurated recently its new offshore development center in McKinley Hills, Taguig City. The new center is part of the company’s aggressive expansion plans in Asia, and is targeting to haul in $32 million revenues in its first year and catering to 2,000 clients in North America and Europe.

California-based UST Global is one of the world leader in information technology (IT) and business process outsourcing (BPO). Recognizing that the Philippines is an emerging destination for IT outsourcing, the company is hiring around 1,000 IT Filipino professionals at their new office in the next 12 months. That is just the first part of their expansion. The company plans to increase its local workforce to more than 5,000 IT professional in the next few years.

President Arroyo, who was there to grace the inauguration said in her speech, “We believe that we need to focus on three areas to develop IT in Philippines; connectivity infrastructure, policies and good business environment, and human resource development. We have half a million jobs created in the BPO space and it our time to move to the next level of value-added services, that’s IT. We thank UST Global for investing in the Philippines and providing opportunities for Filipino nationals both experiences as well as fresh graduates thereby increasing our competitiveness.”

UST Global president Joe Nalkara said, “We zeroed in on the Philippines because of the highly skilled and refined work culture we’ve observed here. This is a perfect match with the style of functioning we follow elsewhere in our centers.” Nalkara predicts that the Philippines center will be a strategically significant geographical and business locations for the growing Asian presence of UST Global.

UST Global is part of the $6-billion Comcraft group. The company, who’s now 10 years old, employs 7,000 employees in Asia, Europe and North America. It focuses on the Fortune 500/Global 1000 market, specifically catering to Healthcare, Retail and Consumer Goods, Utilities, Entertainment and Media, Manufacturing, Banking and Financial Services, and transportation and logistics.

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BPO sector prepares for the challenge of the new decade

Roy — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 10:40:37 +0000

In the year 2010, the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, is seen to continue growing as it marks its 10th year in the Philippines. For this year, BPO is expected to earn at least $11 billion and continue employing over one million people in the country. But while the sector is optimistic, it also needs to keep itself updated to meet fresh challenges in the onset of a new decade.

Jon Kaplan, President of TeleDevelopment Services (TDS), acknowledges the challenge and said, “This is a big year for the BPO industry as it signifies the 10th year anniversary of call centers in the country.” He added, “As we approach this milestone, it is necessary to evaluate and carefully map our plans for our continued development. We need to resolve training challenges for a more specialized workforce to addressing the increasing demand for high-value and value-added services.”

In the past, voice services helped spurred the growth of the call center industry in the country, however in the years to come, complex services like the knowledge process outsourcing (KPO), are expected to be the sector’s next revenue earners. Kaplan said that all allied sectors of BPO should be prepared and develop the talent, technology, and the infrastructure to meet the new challenges.

Kaplan noted that the upcoming Annual Call Center and BPO Training Convention will be a good venue to discuss all these challenges and help all industry players to prepare for it. His company, TDS, will be organizing this year’s convention, in cooperation with marketing communication firm TeamAsia. The convention, which is now on its 4th year, will have “The Vision of the Next Decade: Conquering Uncharted Ground” for its theme. It will be held in March 11 to 12, at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel.

The convention will be attended by players from the BPO sectors as well as those from their allied sectors.

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Top OFW destinations for 2009 – Saudia Arabia is still No. 1

Roy — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 13:14:32 +0000

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia still tops the list of land-based destinations of overseas Filipino workers, according to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). The agency also said that the Saudi Arabia even improved by 8.2 percent in terms of the number of OFWs deployed as of October 2009.

The POEA also noted that the deployment of OFW in 2009 improved by 11.7 percent, compared to that of previous year. Per the agency’s record, 900,127 of these OFWs were deployed in the oil-rich Middle Eastern country as of October 2009. For the same period last year, there 831,968 OFWs deployed.

Coming in at second with 160,242 OFWs deployed as October 2009, was the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which includes the debt crisis-stricken Dubai. The figure however, was 1.4 percent less than the 162, 466 OFWs who were deployed for the same period last year.

The third top OFW destination for 2009 was Hong Kong with figures pegged at 75,742 deployed OFWs. Qatar is fourth with 72,176, followed by Kuwait (38,729); Singapore (34,914); Taiwan (26,991); Italy (20,944); Canada (15,131); and Bahrain (12,800).

There 190,575 more land-based OFWs deployed as of October 2009, which were shared by different countries.

The figure for Taiwan was 22.1 percent below with that of previous year, this was attributed to the effect of the global economic crisis. Taiwan recorded the highest number of OFWs displaced by the global financial crisis, according to Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) secretary Marianito Roque. The labor secretary said at least 4,197 OFWs were laid-off in Taiwan from October 2008 to February 2009.

But for 2010, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office had assured that Taiwan’s economy would pick up, and so is its need for foreign workers for its manufacturing and computer parts industries.

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RD Corp. to expand tuna cannery business

Roy — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 23:25:25 +0000

The RD Corporation, a Filipino owned company, is planning to expand its investment in the tuna cannery business and is earmarking about $15 million for its prospect. This was disclosed by RD Group chairman Rodrigo Rivera, who said that they will be starting the new cannery by the first quarter of 2010 and will be based in General Santos City. The group has already existing 6 canneries in the city.

With the planned cannery plant, the company hopes to increase their output of 140 tons per day to 200 tons daily. What more, the new plant will also create about 1,200 to 1,500 new jobs in the area. According to Rivera, tuna cannery is a very labor intensive business.

The company has 11,000 employees at present, of which 7,000 are in General City. Rivera said that 90% of their workforce is women.

Aside from the Philippine operations, RD Corp also has cannery plants in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The Indonesia plant produces 80 metric tons, while the Papua New Guinea plant produces 200 metric tons.

In the Philippines, they are the biggest exporter of canned tuna, with about 380 million metric tons of exports per year. RD Corp. exports 14 containers every day, and one container costs $40,000, said Rivera. Their exports comprised 30% of their canned tuna production. Aside from exporting canned tunas, they also sell scrap of fish overseas.

The RD Group is composed of four fishing companies. These are RD Fishing Industry Inc., RD Tuna Ventures Inc., South Sea Fishing Ventures Philippines Inc. and Asia Pacific Allied Fishing Ventures Corp.

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IBM plans to set up Innovation Center in the Philippines

Roy — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:45:28 +0000

Because of the continuing growth of technology-based industries in the Philippines, and the support that they get from the government, computing giant IBM plans to pour more investments in the country. IBM developer relations general manager James Corgel said the Philippines, particularly Quezon City, was one of the only 40 locations worldwide which was chosen to host an IBM Innovation Center. Corgel said this was precisely because of the country’s conducive technology environment.

“There’s a willingness to cooperate among government, universities and local players, and a willingness to do new things. There’s also a huge growth potential, as shown by the growth in Internet use in the country,” Corgel said. He added, “Our decision to choose the Philippines was also driven by the country general manager (James Velasquez), who was aggressive enough in saying that he wants a center here and here are the reasons.”

Corgel said the establishment of the Innovation Center in the Philippines was part of the company’s strategy of “localizing before globalizing.” “The Innovation Center is meant for the local market. There’s a need to provide education to the local business community, and we can do that through the center. People are curios, so we’re giving them a physical place where they could learn.”

He added, “It’s also a venue for technology enablement – putting knowledge to work. More important than just giving general awareness is providing the answer to the huge ‘now what?’ question. The Innovation Center is all about collaboration. It will help connect Philippine businesses to businesses in other countries,” he added.

For its innovation center at the University of the Philippines – Ayala Land Techno Hub, the company aims to provide small and medium businesses a venue to test their applications before they release them to the market. They could also get a chance to network with other businesses in various innovation center located around the globe.

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Two families received Model OFW Family Award

Roy — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:05:30 +0000

Two overseas Filipino workers (OFW) families were recognized for their efforts in helping residents in their community gain employment or livelihood through promotion of entrepreneurship. The first OFW was from Lipa, Batangas, and the second one was from Baleno, Masbate. They were named this year’s Model OFW families.

The Model OFW Family of the Year Awards (MOFYA) 2009 winners are the Lubis family of Lipa, Batangas and the Bello family of Baleno, Masbate.

Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said, “The Lubis family represent the land-based OFW sector while the Bello family represent the sea-based OFW sector. These exemplify OFWs model families in the country who have demonstrated the best practices of OFWs and their families in overcoming the challenges of migration.”

The recognition was handed to them last Thursday by Vice President Noli de Castro.

In their evaluation of this year’s winners, the DOLE report said that the Lubises, with the initiative of its patriarch, Engr. Rodolfo Pita who had worked in Saudi Arabia for more than 30 years, invested their overseas earnings in various agri-business enterprises where they were able to provide jobs to more than 200 workers.

Aside from their various agri-businesses, the Lubis family also developed their first Gawad Kalinga Reunion Village which allows them to provide more employment opportunities to residents, as well as livelihood capital, and scholarship for their children. They were also able to plant more than 45,000 Narra and mahogany trees as their contribution to the “Greening of the Environment.”

Meanwhile, Captain Bello worked as a seaman for almost 29 years. He started as an ordinary seaman in 1971. His overseas earnings were invested by his family in various agricultural and retail business ventures which also allowed them to provide employment opportunities to the residents in their community.

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“Hot jobs” for 2010

Roy — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:49:50 +0000

JobsDB.com, one the premier online jobs search website came up with the “hot” jobs that Filipinos should apply for 2010. These include nursing, accounting, teaching, and even dog-handling. According to Jayjay Viray, managing director of JobsDB.com, while nurses and accountants continue to be in demand next year, other not-so-popular, but surprisingly high-paying jobs should also be looked into by Filipinos.

Viray said that dog-handling and security-related jobs are third on their list of “hot jobs” for next year. “Just for the Middle East, we’re seeing a demand of about 10,000 dog-handlers,” she said. According to her, a dog-handler in Middle East could get a monthly pay of as much $2,500.

One of the reasons for this, Viray said, is the continuing global fight against terrorism and security consciousness. This, she said, is pushing the demand for dog-handlers, especially those who handle bomb-sniffing dogs. “In the Middle East, security is a serious concern for many of the well-off people there,” she added.

Even here in the Philippines, there is also a demand for dog-handlers. Viray said that this is evident by the presence of bomb-sniffing dogs in the malls and in buildings.

Meanwhile, information technology (IT) is top on their list of “hot jobs” for 2010. IT workers “will still be the most in-demand locally and overseas,” she said. With many internet businesses being put up and numerous companies going online to do their selling and promotion, the demand for IT employees would still be strong.

Those who are skilled in search engine marketing and search engine optimization would be the most sought after IT workers, said Viray.

She also noted that jobs becoming in demand are those that look for skills that could be acquired by taking up short-term or vocational courses.

A certificate in dog-handling can be acquired by attending a short course could last only for six months. IT workers, on the other hand, could be a computer technician by taking up a vocational two-year computer technician course.

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PAL suffers net loss, trims down number of flights and employees

Roy — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 06:14:46 +0000

The Philippine Airlines (PAL) will report a net loss for the period July to September, mainly due to low passenger demand and a slowdown in traffic. Its fiscal year ends in March.

PAL president Jaime Bautista said, â€œFrom our original target, our passenger load is 10 percent below. So there is a reduction in capacity from July to September. Second quarter is always a losing quarter. We were affected by a slowdown in tourism, particularly from Japan and Korea, our traditional source of tourism.â€

While he hopes for a better outlook in 2010, Bautista said the outlook for this fiscal year, remains extremely challenging with early indications that both cargo and passenger demand will remain depressed in the months ahead.

Because of this the flag carrier will lay off workers and reduce the number of their flights. The company also plans to outsource non-core businesses such as catering and cut the of its security personnel nationwide.

The company has also â€œtapped new traffic schemesâ€ and â€œredeployed underperforming flight frequencies onto other routesâ€ to cub the effects of the current global slowdown. PAL also â€œdeferred all non-essential spending, suspended all non-essential programs, and cut fixed operating expenses.â€

â€œThe situation we are facing is very serious and your management has taken initiatives to further reduce costs and also increase revenues,â€ Bautista said during the PAL Holdings Inc.â€™s stockholdersâ€™ meeting.

Aside from trimming down its workforce by anywhere from seven to ten percent, the airline company will also reduce seat and flight capacity by seven percent. Flight capacities for US and Australia have already been cut by seven percent according to Bautista.

PALÂ employees were given until October 31 to accept the retirement packages, anytime after that, management will undertake a rationalization program.

For its fiscal year ending March this year, PAL posted a net loss of $301 million from a net profit of $30.6 million in the fiscal year ending March 2008

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No-work, no-pork policy proposed in the House

Roy — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 03:09:50 +0000

Recurring absenteeism in the Congress has been an age-old problem, that there are more sessions being cancelled because the house wasnâ€™t able to complete a quorum. To curb this problem on absenteeism, Nueva Ecija Rep. Edno Joson proposed a â€œno-work, no-porkâ€ policy to be adopted.

â€œIf pork barrel fund releases of absentees are withheld, maybe they will be forced to attend sessions,â€ Joson said. If there is a no-work, no-pay policy for private sector workers, he said there should be a no-work, no-pork rule for absentee members of the House of Representatives.

But Joson was quick to add that such threats do not have to be made on lawmakers â€œsince we have to be conscientious in doing our duties, one of which is to attend sessions. The Constitution commands us to be honest and diligent in doing our job.â€

For his part, Speaker Prospero Nograles said he could not adopt Josonâ€™s suggestion. â€œProjects are the entitlements of the legislative districts and not a personal property of the congressman or woman who merely represents the district. Our only role is to identify projects. We canâ€™t waive the entitlements of our constituents by absenteeism, laziness, tardiness, or the like,â€ he said.

Threats of pay and pork barrel fund cuts have also been made in the past, together with a shame campaign plan that called for the publication of the names of absentees in newspapers of national circulation. But none of these materialized.

Joson is one of the few House members who make it a point to be present in all session and sit through them until adjournment. Representative Roilo Golez of ParaÃ±aque City and Carlos Padilla of Nueva Viscaya, and some militant party-list members, are some those who were always present too.

Some newly-proclaimed party-list representatives have been said to be often absent. Five of them joined President Arroyoâ€™s visit to the United States late last month until the first week of August after barely warming their seats.

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Australian outsourcing firm to set up BPO hub in RP

Roy — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:00:00 +0000

Call Design, an Australian-based outsourcing firm is looking to make the Philippines its central hub in delivering contact services to its clients all over the world. Specializing in contact center technologies, Call Design announced it entered into a deal with local outsourcing firm Transcom, which currently employs 4,000 workers in Manila and Bacolod.

Miles Stanton, managing director of Call Design, said the company is keen on making the country its central hub because of the positive growth in the local business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.

Stanton said â€œCompared to other Asian countries, the Philippines has the strongest teams in the business process outsourcing space. Teams that understand the marketplace and use technology to resolve issues.â€

The services of the company, according to Call Design, are focused on enhancing productivity of contact center agents. Stanton said, â€œIn the BPO space, call center agents determine the success of companies.â€

The Aussie firm currently serves clients in 25 countries. The companyâ€™s goal, according to Stanton, is to encourage more companies in Australia to outsource instead to the Philippines.

He also said that local contact centers should learn from India, where many Australian firms pulled out outsourcing ties due to â€œbad pressâ€ on the performance of call center agents.

Local country Jaime Sese said, Call Design also plans to invest people in training while expanding its operations in the country.