IBM Philippines, Inc. is keen on expanding its presence on Philippine soil. It is currently having negotiations with the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) for a possible partnership in putting up research and development (R & D) centers in strategic locations around the country.

Amidst calls on the reduction of the 12 percent value added tax (VAT)by the different to alleviate the effect of continuing oil prices, Malacañang remained firm on its stand that the VAT will stay. Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas said during a recent visit to Zamboanga that the Aquino administration has no plans of supporting to [...]

Digital Filipino Web Awards awarded Cebu Pacific (CEB) best website as it bested others in the airline category during a ceremony held recently.
CEB VP for marketing and distribution Candice Iyog said expressed appreciation in an interview saying that they are very happy for the recognition given by the Digital Filipino. She said the airline has [...]

The Philippine Peso weakened on Thursday as an effect of investors concerns in the local economy. After hitting its strongest thus far in three years early this week, the peso closed at 42.17 against the US dollar on Thursday. Down by 6 centavos from Wednesday’s 42.11.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will bring business caravan to Antique. The DTI has chosen the province to be one of the sites for the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) caravan which is slated on the 26th and 27th day of this month.
The trade department is encouraging businesses falling under the category of [...]

JG Summit announced last Friday its intention to sell its stake in telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) to NTT DoCoMo of Japan. The Gokongwei-led company said it will be selling to NTT DoCoMo the 2.8-percent stake it will receive from PLDT as part of the telecom giant’s deal with the Digital Telecommunication [...]

A United Kingdom company is offering the Philippines its power solution to help avoid power disruptions in the country.
The British Embassy in Manila said Aggreko, a developer of power solutions, will be coming in the country next week to make a presentation of its product. The embassy said the company’s expertise could help address the [...]

The Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine Cancer Society (PCS) joined hands to launch a program that will allow poor women diagnosed with early stage of breast cancer to have access to medicines and other forms of support. The program hopes to increase the survival rates of breast cancer victims in the Philippines.
Department of [...]

Senator Manuel Villar’s statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) reflects his assets to reach P725,221,964 while maintaining no liabilities. Compared to his filed SALN for the previous year, Villar’s asset were reduced from close to P1 billion to about P725 million in the election year of 2010. Despite the decrease in asset size, [...]

A new 200-room hotel in Davao City will be build by SM Investment Corp. It will be in Lanang district, adjacent to the SM shopping mall.
SM, in its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, said its wholly owned subsidiary SM Hotels and Convention Corp. signed a contract with Carlson, a privately held global hospitality and [...]

Private employees from Metro Manila will receive and additional P22 in their cost-of-living allowance (COLA) per day, in lieu of a wage increase. The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-National Capital Region (RTWPB-NCR) approved Wage Order No. 16 increasing the COLA of employees. This will take effect 15 days after its publication on the daily [...]

A new payment system that will replace the present “fee for service” scheme in reimbursing hospitals will be adopted by the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth) and hopes to implement it next month.
The Philhealth plans to adopt a new system called the “case payment” system which will have fixed rates for medical services and surgical [...]

The Pantawid Pasada fuel subsidy smart cards released last May 2 to jeepney drivers have already been loaded according to the Department of Energy (DoE). The smart cards were loaded with a value of P1,050 and they can be presented at gasoline stations with signs saying “Pantawid Cards Accepted Here.” The energy department also confirmed [...]

Controversial TV show “Willing Willie” will definitely be back on air, as confirmed by TV5 publicist Peachy Guioguio.
TV5’s chairman Manny V. Pangilinan revealed in a recent interview the TV network already considered May 14 as the comeback date for the show, even as the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) suspension will be [...]

Nestlé Philippines has voluntarily recalled a number its Maggi instant noodles after some of the tested were tested for possible salmonella contamination. The company said it found traces of salmonella in two batches of the noodle product’s beef variant. “The product recall is a precautionary measure… to ensure the safety and quality of our products,” [...]

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 [...]

The San Miguel Corp. projected that by 2014, it will be finished with its construction of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) 7 line, and by 2015, the new highway to La Union. San Miguel said in its disclosure to the Philippine Stocks Exchanges (PSE) that before the year ends, it would start work on the [...]

JG Summit Holdings Inc. is earmarking $700 million for the planned expansion this year. Most of these funds are allocated for its petrochemical and airline businesses.
JG Summit president Lance Gokongwei said the petrochemical business will be the company’s priority in the next three years. JG Summit also has stake in a property developer and may [...]

Eight companies are vying for the operations of major Metro Manila train lines. Conglomerate Ayala Corp., San Miguel Corp., and Pangilinan-led infrastructure giant Metro Pacific Investments Corps. are the local groups planning to bid for the P15-billion contract, while five foreign companies have also acquired bid documents worth P500,000 each for the project, according to [...]

Antonio B. Remollo, former mayor of Dumaguete City, is the new head of the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) replacing Benigno Ricafort, Ateneo law school dean Cesar Villanueva assumed post as CDC chairman, replacing Rizalino Navarro.
Ricafort left to Remollo’s charge a Freeport hosting some P77 billion worth of investments of foreign and domestic firms. He also [...]