The new appointment system at the new consular building of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is in full swing after it was launched last March 9.  The agency said around 55% of people who apply for passport daily have used the system which allow them to complete the process of applying for their passport [...]

International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) is venturing into the overseas bond market. The port operator will be seen in the next few days offering as much as $250 million worth of 10-year bonds. ICTSI would be the first non-bank Philippine corporate issuer to offer the overseas bond market.

Local banks have agreed to help raise and lend the Panay Energy Development Corp. (PEDC) P14-billion for its construction of a 164-megawatt coal-fired power plant in La Paz, Iloilo City. The Panay Energy is owned by George Ty’s Metrobank group, and the loans were arranged by First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC), the investment banking arm [...]

Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) continues its expansion plan for the year especially in Mindanao. The property giant is constructing an integrated mixed-use complex in Cagayan de Oro, which is estimated to cost at least P2.5 billion.
ALI senior vice president and chief finance officer Jaime E. Ysmael, in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), [...]

In Bacolod City, another business process outsourcing firm will be setting up office by the middle of the year. Panasiatic Call Center Inc. brings to eight the number of call centers in the city who have provided more than 7,000 jobs.
Company chief operating officer Nabil Edmon Salamouni said they will be opening the call center [...]

The Philippine flag-carrier, the Philippine Airlines (PAL) will be resuming its service to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on March 28, 2010, after four years its absence in the said city. The PAL decided to bring back its flight to Riyadh in response to the clamor of more than two million Filipino Overseas Worker (OFW) communities in [...]

In Baguio City, enterprising housewives banded themselves together and formed a group which challenged the local government to send the city’s uncollected garbage to them. A challenge which have live up, up to this day.
These women from 10 barangay in the city have doing this for decades now – they have been converting trash into [...]

SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SMPHI), member of the SM group companies, the largest mall chain in the country today, will soon be building the biggest shopping mall in the Visayas and Mindanao. In three years’ time, the P2-billion land deal between SMPHI and the city of Cebu is expected to be finished.

In the efforts to crack down software piracy in the Philippines, the Pilipinas Anti-Piracy Team (PAPT) caught two men installing counterfeit software as an “add-on service” at the Greenhills Shopping Center in San Juan City recently.
The two men, who are now facing up to nine years imprisonment and a fine of P1.5 million for violating [...]

The Magna Carta for Disabled Persons which would mandate local governments to have specific programs for people with disabilities has been approved by the Senate on its second reading. The act which was under Senate Bill 3650 or the proposed act establishing the institutional mechanism to ensure the implementation of programs and services for persons [...]

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 [...]

It’s official – Manny for Manny. Manny Pacquiao for Manny Villar that is. That is because the pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao has declared his support for Nacionalist Party (NP) president and standard-bearer Senator Manny Villar.
He officially joined the roster of NP members when he took his oath allegiance… err, membership, before Villar last Thursday in [...]

Business establishments in Quezon City can breathe a sigh of relief, as the city government announced that it won’t be raising its business taxes until June of next year. Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. made the announcement and assured the local business community that they won’t be increasing taxes until he finishes his term [...]

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 [...]

There were not few negative reactions were given when the organizers of the 21st Philippine Advertising Congress (PAC) decided to move the event from Baguio (its original venue) to Subic after the place was devastated by typhoon “Pepeng.” They believed the Ad Congress could actually help the city ‘rise’ faster if it were held there. [...]

Focusing on its themes for this year involving climate change corporate social responsibility (CSR), the 21th Philippine Advertising Congress was formally opened last Thursday in simple rites led by Olongapo City Mayor Jame “Bong” Gordon and Baguio City Mayor Reinaldo A. Bautista Jr., with Fernando Zobel de Ayala as keynote speaker.

Taguig City was cited as the country’s Most Business Friendly City by the World Bank. The recognition was given to Taguig because of the city government’s initiatives to develop infrastructure and ensure that investors enjoy the most conducive climate to develop and expand their businesses.

His halo-halo business literally brings him called “cold cash.”
Xavier Mercado, a 28-year old entrepreneur from Iloilo, built his restaurant on a secret Ilokano recipe for halo-halo. “I love halo-halo, I consider it as one of the best desserts ever,” Mercado said.
His love story with halo-halo, a favorite summer concoction of Filipinos, started when he was [...]

The government of Davao City is taking serious steps in its effective solid waste management, and this is more evident with the completions of a 3.8 hectare sanitary landfill project. The P268-million facility which opened last Friday boasts of a highly-engineered solid waste disposal facility which is touted as the first of its kind in [...]

The North Philippines Tourism and Travel Expo 2009 (NorthPhil) will be held at the Clark Freeport Zone in Angeles City, Pampanga next month. The international event will showcase the best of North Philippines as it aims to highlight the best cultural, historical, environmental and natural attractions and destinations of Northern Luzon and the rest of [...]