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Philippine tuna company acquires US salmon company

Roy — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 13:51:25 +0000

Philippine company Alliance Select Food International Inc. sealed a deal to acquire 100 percent of US company Spence & Co. Ltd., a Massachusetts-based salmon smoking and curing company who specializes in the production of smoked salmon and seafood, prepared in the Scottish tradition of its founder Alan Spence. The company caters to the high-end market in the USA and Europe.

The Alliance, in its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), said it had signed an agreement to acquired the US fish company lock, stock and barrel through subsidiary ASFI Choice Foods Inc. for $8.5 million.

Alliance spokesperson Rajat Balain said, “An investment in Spence is another step towards Alliance’s goal of diversifying its product line to enhance shareholder value and ensure future profitability. This will be Alliance’s third smoked salmon venture, making it the largest salmon processor in the region, and will help it establish a beachhead in the lucrative seafood market in the US.”

To partly finance the acquisition of Spence, Alliance will be conducting a stock rights offering. The company already gave the approval for the said offering. The PSE suspended trading of Alliance starting 9 a.m. Tuesday pending the submission of additional disclosure pertinent details on the transaction.

Alliance started commercial operations in General Santos City in Mindanao in 2004, it was formerly known as Alliance Tuna International and engages in tuna processing, canning and export of canned tuna products. It exports to Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and South America as a “private label manufacture,” which means it processes and cans tuna using its customer’s brands.

Part of its overseas expansion in recent years is the company’s aspirations to become a regional food company with a “decidedly Filipino DNA.” Alliance is always on the lookout for opportunities in regional seafood companies with high margins and high-value products.

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Crucifixions in Pampanga continue to attract tourists

Roy — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 00:26:01 +0000

Last Good Friday, there were a total of 27 penitents who were nailed to the cross in Pampanga and Bulacan, 22 were crucified in Barangays San Juan, Sta. Lucia and San Pedro Cutud in City of San Fernando, Pampanga, and five in Barangay Kapitangan in Paombong, Bulacan, which include two women.

The nailing began at 9 a.m. with three penitents in San Juan. Three hours later, three more were nailed to the cross in Sta. Lucia. In the afternoon, 16 more penitents were nailed in San Pedro Cutud. The event is a reenactment of Christ’s crucifixion, a tradition practiced in the province since 1955 with the staging of the “Via Crucis” or the Way of the Cross.

Meanwhile, 22-year old Wendelyn Pedrosa was the first woman to be crucified in Paombong, followed by 50-year old Precy Valencia who works as a house help and high speed sewer in Manila. She said she has been participating in the Way of the Cross for 30 years.

The Via Crucis was first performed in San Pedro Cutud 57 years ago. However, it was only in 1962 that an actual crucifixion was witness during the play. Artemio Anoza, an “albularyo” who wanted to become a religious leader and full-fledged healer, volunteered to be crucified then to attain his dream.

This year, 50-year old Ruben Enaje of San Pedro Cutud played the main character of Christ to be crucified in their village. This was his 25th year to be crucified at the same site. Enaje, who was the most known among the penitents nailed to the cross, said the act is his religious vow of thanking God for surviving an accident. He said he will do the act for two more years before he retires.

The Catholic Church does not approve of the crucifixions and whippings, reiterating there is no need for corporal punishment to show one’s faith. Fr. Rolando de Leon of the Fatima parish church in Marilao town said there are other ways to show penance. He added that what flagellants are doing contradicts the Church’s teachings.

But even as the Catholic Church condemns the practice, the crucifixions and whippings have become an annual tradition which attracts tourists, both local and foreign.

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Recue hotlines numbers issued by MMDA

Roy — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 00:07:38 +0000

For all Filipinos heading to the provinces this Holy Week, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority has made available on its website the rescue hotline numbers of different cities and municipalities, as well as mobile numbers of its officials.

Local Rescue Hotline Numbers
MMDA Metro Base: 136
Caloocan: 288-8811 loc. 2295
Malabon: 281-4999 loc. 1017 or 1018
Navotas: BOC: 2884174; TPMO POSO BASE: 283-0287; Disaster: 281-8602, 281-4174, 281-8537
Valenzuela: 352-0000
Pateros: 640-2571 (City Hall)
Pasig: 643-0000
Marikina: 161 / 6462436 to 38
Quezon City DPOS: 928-4396 / 927-5914 / 924-2027
Manila: 527-3087 / 527-0451 (Mayor’s Action Team)
Makati: 870-1940 / 870-1920 up to 44
Mandaluyong MAC: 531-0182 / 532-5001 – 02 loc. 217
San Juan: 722-9952
Muntinlupa: 862-2525 / 862-2664
Las Piñas: 874-3927 / 8745756
Parañaque: 923-2499
Pasay: 833-8512 / 551-7777
Taguig: 994-7538
SLEX: 776-7777
ACTEX (Alabang Calamba Sto Tomas): 0908-8807539, 049-5087539
NLEX: 5808911

Metro Alalay
More than 30 mobile numbers of the “Metro Alalay Semana Santa (MASS)” officials were posted on the MMDA website.

The officials whose numbers were posted were:
(1) MMDA Deputy Chairman Alex Ramon Cabanilla, 0917-8392251
(2) Assistant General Manager for Planning Ma. Cristina Velasco, 0917-7112864
(3) Assistant General Manager for Operations Emerson Carlos, 0917-8220865
(4) Task Force Rainbow head Alexander Umagat, 0918-9486017
(5) Traffic Discipline Office OIC Neomie Recio, 0917-8530459
(6) Task Force Rainbow Amante Salvador, 0922-8102355
(7) MIS-CCTV cameras Milagros Silvestre, 0917-5618708
(8) Medical Division Dr. Josephine Ombina, 0928-6801079
(9) Road Safety Unit Engr. Emil Llavor, 0929-1355144
(10) TEC- Advisory Signs Engr. Renato Paulinom, 0939-8843556
(11) Task Force Lawin Col. Jun Tiqui, 0908-6659273
(12) Task Force Lawin Maj. Maria Delia Pedrezuella, 0949-7426677
(13) Task Force Kaayusan Aldo Mayor, 0918-9067180
(14) Roadway Cleaning Operations Group Francis Martinez, 0939-3790291
(15) Road Emergency Group Edward Gonzales, 0917-5875458
(16) Metrobase Ponciana Salinas, 0917-5216632
(17) Northern Traffic Enforcement Division (Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela) TOO5 Gerry Nazarea, 0908-8911376
(18) Eastern Traffic Enforcement Division (Pasig, Mandaluyong, Marikina, San Juan Mabuhay Lane-Mandaluyong/San Juan) Ruel Poliarco – ETED, 0999-6922445
(19) Western Traffic Enforcement Division (Roxas Blvd., Quirino , Ramon Magsaysay Blvd., Malacañang area, Divisoria area, Mabuhay Lane (R-10), Quezon Blvd, Quiapo) TOO3 Danilo Parreño – WTED, 0919-9330080
(20) Southern Traffic Enforcement Division (Pasay, Parañaque, Muntinlupa, Makati, Taguig) TOO5 Jofrey Agulan – STED, 0929-7967441
(21) Commonwealth Special Traffic District (Commonwealth Avenue) TOO5 Primo Gutierrez – CSTD, 0939-4283219
(22) Central Traffic Enforcement Division 1 (Quezon Ave., Elliptical Rd., E. Rodriguez, Araneta/Aurora Blvd., Mindanao Ave., Visayas Ave., Congressional Ave.) TOO5 Mandy Cabana – CTED1, 0999-3420906
(23) Central Traffic Enforcement Division 2 (Quirino Highway, Belfast, Regalado Ave., Katipunan, CP Garcia, C-5 Tandang Sora, Aurora Blvd., B. Serrano, Eastwood Libis) TOO5 Nestor Dumlao – CTED2, 0939-4664798
(24) EDSA Traffic District Jun O. Bagaporo, 0930-2470516
• Segment 1 (Balintawak – Quezon Ave.) Marco Niño Estrada, 0929-7475661
• Segment 2 (Quezon Ave. – Santolan) Joel Tuazon, 0920-6432430
• Segment 3 (Santolan to Guadalupe) Federick Arucan, 0915-1895446
• Segment 4 (Guadalupe to Magallanes) Rene Salire, 0921-7448089
• Segment 5 (Magallanes to EDSA Ext.) Larry Santiago, 0908-9069747
(25) SCOG operations head Emmanuel Miro, 0928-5550722
(26) SCOG/EDSA Jose Edgardo Lara, 0915-3097633
(27) EDSA Traffic District ground commander Atty. Yves Randolph Gonzalez, 0917-8386632

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SC upholds cityhood ruling

Roy — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 08:11:45 +0000

The Supreme Court (SC), in their last summer session in Baguio City, upheld the constitutionality of laws passed by the 11th Congress on the cityhood of 16 municipalities. The SC justices kept their 7-6 vote, dismissing the appeal of the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) that various cityhood laws be declared unconstitutional.

The cityhood laws questioned were those contained in Republic Acts 9389, 9390, 9391, 9392, 9393, 9394, 9398, 9404, 9405, 9407, 9409, 9434, 9435, 9436 and 9491. However, the resolution was not yet released as it was still being circulated for signature of the magistrate, SC spokesman Midas Marquez said.

The LCP, as well as other sectors, have been criticizing the SC for flip-flopping on the case in its earlier rulings. This time, the High Court stood by its fourth ruling that the cityhood laws do not violate Article X Section 10 and the equal protection clause under Article III Section 1 of the Constitution.

SC junked the contention of LCP that the conversion into cities of the 16 municipalities violated Article X Section 10 of the Constitution, which states that “no province, city, municipality or barangay shall be created, divided, merged, abolished or its boundary substantially altered, except in accordance with the criteria established in the local government code and subject to approval by a majority of votes cast in a plebiscite in the political units directly affected.”

In its ruling last Feb. 15, the SC reversed itself for the third time and reverted back to its second ruling in December 2009, which held that respondent LGUs were qualified cityhood applicants before the enactment of RA 9009: “To impose on them the much higher income requirement after what they have gone through would appear to be indeed unfair.

“Thus, the imperatives of fairness dictate that they should be given a legal remedy by which they should be allowed to prove that they have all the necessary qualifications for city status using the criteria set forth under the LGC of 1991 prior to its amendment by RA 9009. Truly, the peculiar conditions of respondent LGUs, which are actual and real, provide sufficient grounds for legislative classification,” the SC said.

The SC’s new ruling on the case was a result of the change in vote cast by Associate Justice Jose Mendoza, who voted last year for the unconstitutionality of the laws but reconsidered his stand last February.

Republic Act 9009 took effect on June 30, 2001. It amended Section 450 of the Local Government Code by increasing the annual income requirement for conversion of a municipality into a city from P20 million to P100 million. The amendment was intended to discourage the rush of conversion into cities for the purpose of getting a larger share in the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA).

The 12th Congress however adopted Joint Resolution No. 29 which sought to exempt the 24 municipalities whose cityhood bills were not approved in the 11th Congress from the P100-million income requirement.

Only 16, out of the 24 municipalities, expressed intention to be converted into cities. The House and the Senate later approved the cityhood bills which lapsed into law on various dates from March to July 2007.

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Binay’s wife cleared of graft charges

Roy — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 07:35:21 +0000

The P58-million graft case filed against former Makati City Mayor Elenita Binay, together with five other respondents, has been dismissed by the Sandiganbayan ruling that the evidence was not sufficient to prove alleged overpricing of furniture for the Makati City Hall. The anti-graft court’s second division said there is insufficient basis for the trial of the wife of Vice President Jejomar Binay. The former mayor was implicated in the alleged overpriced purchase of furniture worth over P58 million in 2000 to 2001.

Likewise, Binay’s fellow respondents, former city administrator Nicanor Santiago Jr., general services department head Ernesto Aspillaga and private defendants Li Yee Shing, Jason Li and Vivian Edurise of the private company Office Gallery International Inc. were cleared of the charges.

Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice and second division chair Edilberto Sandoval said the prosecution failed to present enough evidence to eventually prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. “This court is duty-bound to spare the accused from the unnecessary burden, expense and anxiety of having to defend themselves in public trial,” the 69-page read. “The admission made in open court early on by the prosecution that the information they filed in this case does not conform with evidence on record foretold a bleak conclusion to this case.”

Prosecutor Rodrigo Coquia supposedly confessed that the charge sheet against Binay was unclear about where the accused were charged with causing undue injury to the government of giving unwarranted benefits to a private firm. The Sandiganbayan said the testimony that the alleged overpricing was found only by simply comparing the layout plan with the purchase request and purchase order is not strong enough.

“It is beyond belief that the prosecution came to court with evidence comprising merely a bare comparison of the number of partitions purchased,” the anti-graft court said, adding that there was not even a confirmatory physical count of the partitions that were actually used for the furniture for city hall. The ruling stressed “In the face of the weakness of the prosecution’s case to prove the elements of the offense charged against the accused, there remains no further reason to hold them for trial under the present indictment.”

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Architect board topnotcher crowned Bb Pilipinas Universe 2011

Roy — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 01:57:19 +0000

A 24-year old beauty and brain lady who hails from General Santos City was crowned Binibining Pilipinas-Universe 2011. Shamcey Supsup, a magna cum laude graduate from UP Diliman who finished B.S. Architecture and June 2010 Architecture Licensure Exam board topnotcher, bested 39 other candidates for the right to represent the country in the upcoming Miss Universe 2011 to be held in Sao Paulo, Brazil this September. Supsup is also a high school salutatorian from the Makati High School.

Aside from the crown and the prestige, Supsup also won several awards like Best in Talent, Miss PAL, and Miss Cream Silk.

The coronation, which was held on April 10, 2011, Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum, was hosted by actors KC Concepcion and Derek Ramsay together with beauty queens Lara Quigaman (2005 Miss International) and Miriam Quiambao (1999 Miss Universe 1st runner up).

Supsup, who stands 5’7” beat 14 other semi-finalists after answering the question, “What worthy cause do you identify yourself with and why?” with “I think the one worthy cause I can identify myself with is valuing education. Because I believe education is something that cannot be taken away from you. You can have money, you can have fame, but in the end, it can be taken from you. But education will always be there to help you.”

Though an early favorite, she was surprised, but nevertheless ecstatic for winning the crown. “I still can’t believe it. It was just like a dream. Whatever happens, it happens for a reason and God has a plan for every one of use… there’s so many beautiful and incredibly talented women,” she said.

Last year’s Binibining Pilipinas first runner-up Diane Necio won Binibining Pilipinas Miss International. Bicolana beauty Necio will represent the country in the Miss International competition to be held in Chengdu, China later this year. Named as Binibining Pilipinas-Tourism was Isabella Manjon.

Mary Jean Lastimosa took 2nd runner-up while Janine Tugonon won 1st runner-up. Best in Swimsuit was won by Queenieric Rehman and Luzelle Felipe took the Best in Long Gown title. The People’s Choice for the Face of Bb. Pilipinas 2011, based on text votes which closed on Sunday at 7 p.m., went to Angelia Ong.

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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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Angeles City beefed up disaster response capabilities

Roy — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 09:02:20 +0000

The Angeles City Local Government has just boosted its capability in responding to people in times disaster with its acquisition of an emergency rescue vehicle and an ambulance. The newly-acquired vehicles, together with the other new rescue equipments, were presented by Angeles City Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan along with the members of the city council during the flag-raising rites at the city hall last Monday.

“These strengthens our capability to respond to emergency and calamitous situations. In case of disaster we have our equipment and rescue vehicle. Now we are ready,” Pamintuan said. The mayor added that the next agenda would be to train the dedicated emergency response unit the Angeles City Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Office (ACDRRMO).

Included in the new equipment were a brand new and state-of-the-art ambulance to be used by the Rafael Lazatin Memorial Medical Center (RLMMC, formerly Ospital Ning Angeles) and a 4×4 rescue vehicle to aid in various disasters such as fires and floods.

The rescue vehicle came with a winch – a device with a horizontal cylinder and a hook attached rope to be used for pulling metal grilles or any other obstructions which hinder the rescue of victims during calamities especially during fire incidents.

A Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA), along with other tools, were also purchased, in order to aid the city’s disaster personnel and firefighters by having a breathable air against billowing smoke during a fire rescue operation. Some of the tools are a chainsaw, an extended ladder for multi-storey rescue operations, portable radio sets, emergency lights and heavy duty flashlights, protective hand gloves and a generator.

The 4×4 emergency vehicle was turned-over to Lito Caparas of ACDRRMO, also last Monday, while the ambulance was turned-over to Dr. Antonio Dizon who is the director of RLMMC.

Another ambulance would be acquired from the Philippine Charity Sweepstake Office (PCSO). City Administrator Atty. Dennis Albert Pamintuan who reported the additional acquisition, said that the cost of the ambulance would be shared by the city government (40 percent) and PCSO (60 percent).

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Initial schedule of Depositors’ Forum set by PDIC

Roy — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 10:58:08 +0000

After taking over the operations of Banco Filipino Savings and Mortgage Bank upon the order of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) has already started processing payment of deposit insurance to the bank’s depositors.

First to be paid out are those whose balances do not exceed P5,000. These depositors need not file any claim, and PDIC will send their payments through mail in the form of postal money order (PMO) which can be encashed at postal offices or Land Bank of the Philippines branches.

For those with balances of P5,000 and above, including those with loan balances and whose records are not updated with the bank, PDIC will hold a Depositors’ Forum to discuss the procedures and requirements for filing claims. The Claim Forms will also be distributed to depositors during the forum.

PDIC sets the initial schedule of the forums on the following dates:

March 22

PDIC Chino Roces Avenue, Makati City, at 9:30 a.m., for Banco Filipino head office depositors

PDIC Chino Roces Avenue, Makati, at 3 p.m., for BF Guadalupe branch depositors

March 23

PDIC Chino Roces Avenue, 10 a.m., for BF JP Rizal branch depositors

PDIC Chino Roces Avenue, 1:30 p.m., for BF Makati Avenue/Benavidez branch depositors

Lazatin Library Museum, Angeles City, Pampanga, 1 p.m., for Angeles City branch depositors

March 24

San Juan Gym inside Elementary School, San Juan City, 9 a.m., for BF Mandaluyong, San Juan and Greenhills branch depositors

March 30

Pamana Hall, City Hall compound, San Pablo City, Laguna, 10 a.m., for BF San Pablo branch depositors

Schedules of the forums for other branches will be announced later.

For those who may not be able to attend the forums, they may get Claim Forms at their branch of account or download it from the PDIC website at www.pdic.gov.ph.

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QC council formalizes business registry portal with an ordinance

Roy — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 16:15:55 +0000

Quezon City council formalizes online business registry with a city ordinance last week. The ordinance also allows the public to research valuable business information in the city. Both domestic and international traders would benefit from it because they can identify their prospective markets in Quezon City with just a click on their mouse.

Aside from that, Quezon City fourth district councilor Edcel “Grex” Lagman, Jr. said that the system would also allow for verifying the legitimacy of a business firms, as well as getting tips and pointers about starting a particular business in the locality. He said the project will use information and communications technology in imparting knowledge to international traders regarding the local business climate.

The online business data registry portal aims to make the Quezon City government the most business-friendly local government unit (LGU) in the country. It also protects both business sector and the consumers as it allows access information that would verify if a particular business entity is duly registered with the city’s Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO).

Lagman, who is also the chairman of the city council’s committee on education and science and technology, said the portal will also make it easy for the Quezon City government to monitor and update business registration. He added that the P25 million of the annual collection from business operators in Quezon City since 2002, which currently is being held in trust, will be used to develop the software and hardware to run the online business data registry portal, which is a joint endeavor of the Quezon City government through its BPLO and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce.

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Cebu dancing tax collectors

Roy — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 06:51:47 +0000

I am sure that by now, many have seen the viral video that was the dancing flight attendants. Not really sure if they were inspired by that video, but not long after that, the Cebu City Treasurer’s Office (CTO) came up with their own dancing tax collectors. And just a few days after their launched, the dancing tax collectors from the treasurer’s office have caught on with the taxpaying public.

No less than their boss, City Treasurer Ofelia Oliva leads the dancing tax collectors. She said that many people, mostly taxpayers, were calling their office asking for the schedule of the dancing collectors so they can go to their office and watch the presentation. “I cannot say it is because of the dancing tax collectors for I have not conducted any survey, but I can see that the taxpayers are really interested about them,” Oliva said.

Edward Kokseng, one of the owners of the restaurant Golden Cowrie in Cebu, who admits that he is a converted fan, went to their office to see the dancing tax collectors. “I usually ask my staff to pay the tax but when I read the news about the dancing tax collectors, I got interested,” he said. Kokseng added that the dancing was an effective measure to encourage taxpayers to pay on time and it helps the employees of the City Treasurer’s office to escape from their work-related stress.

About 320 tax collectors, led by Oliva, performed to a dance medley of 10 songs, including “Material Girl”, “I Will Survive”, “Mambo No. 5”, “Poker Face”, “Let’s Get Loud”, and “She Bangs.” During the performance, Oliva and some of her employees also invite the taxpayers to dance with them.

International media such as Ian McLean, Hawaii-based producer and director of Global Media was said to have caught interest on the dancing tax collectors. He joined local media in covering the presentation and said he will upload it on YouTube.

A special Halloween presentation on October 29 is being cooked by the City Treasurer’s Office and a Christmas caroling number in December, according to Oliva who said that she is very proud of her dancing collectors.

Here’s their video on YouTube

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Faster business registration process at Quezon City

Roy — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 00:43:43 +0000

It’s called BOSS, short for business one-stop shop, an initiative by the Quezon City Government that aims to lessen the burden of businessmen when securing business permit. Launched last Friday, officer-in-charge for the Business Permit and Licensing Office Pacifico F. Maghacot, Jr. said they are expecting to have at least 12,000 new businesses within the year with their new system. “The simplified procedures in licensing will drive individuals to invest or start a business,” he said.

Under the BOSS, Maghacot said that registrants can obtain a permit in nine minutes or a maximum of nine days if the business is requiring an ocular inspection, a process that took three weeks in the old system. “Before, the applicants had to go to all the officers like zoning official, building official, fire official, health and sanitation official, register the business and go to the city treasurer for payment which takes a long time,” he said.

In the new system, business applicants will just need to fill up a business application form, pay the corresponding fees to the city treasurer, and proceed to the Department of Trade and Industry’s Philippine Business Registry System. “All the steps are located in one office so the system is faster,” Maghacot said.

Location clearance, fire and safety inspection certificate and sanitary permit can be submitted by applicants after three months, but they can start operating their businesses even without the permit. “The aim is to encourage the formalization of business and spur investment by reducing the time cost and steps for new business registration at the city level,” Maghacot added.

He noted that there were 8,937 new businesses which have registered in the city from January to the end of July. With the new system, he said that the city expecting an increase of 8% in business registrants for 2011.

BOSS was set up with the technical support from International Finance Corp. (IFC), the financing arm for private sector of World Bank. IFC is also partnering with the cities of Marikina, Mandaluyong and Manila for the same project.

Rashad Kaldany, vice-president for Asia, Eastern, Europe, Middle East and North Africa, said during the launching that BOSS “will help invigorate the private sector and support sustainable economic growth.”

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Convergys, to hire 3,600 more employees this year

Roy — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:40:49 +0000

Convergys Corp., the largest private employer in the Philippines, is planning to hire additional 3,600 new employees as it expands its five existing sites in the country to bring their total number of workforce to 25,000 by the end of 2010. Marife Zamora, country manager of Convergys Philippines, said the expansion is meant to meet the robust demand of its clients, who belong to the top Fortune 50 list of global firms.

“Drawing upon the outstanding service and support Convergys employees in the Philippines provide to our clients around the globe, in addition to the continued demand from these clients to house their customer support in the Philippines, it was only logical that we expand our existing capacities,” Zamora said.

At present, Convergys has 12 sites in the Philippines. Seven are in Metro Manila, three in Cebu City, one in Bacolod City and one in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. The five Convergys sites with expanded capacities are: UP TechnoHub in Diliman, Quezon City; Nuvali in Laguna; San Lazaro in Sta. Cruz, Manila; Cebu i3 in AsiaTown Cebu, and Bacolod. These sites would require 2,300 additional work stations for 3,600 workers.

The Philippines sites of the global contact center now serve 27 clients across a wide spectrum of industries including retail, telcos, cable, technology companies, healthcare, finance and automotive firms belonging to the top 27 of the top 50 Forbes list of companies. All of its clients are mostly US-based, except for one which is based in the United Kingdom.

According to Zamora, they – Convergys Philippines, has been a choice of companies because of their outstanding performance and also of the quality of the local talent pool.

For his part, Convergys director for business development Jose Mari P. Mercado said they are concentrating on building its brand. He said they have mounted a branding strategy to ensure they are on top of mind for the targeted manpower pool.

“Branding is a very critical element and our intention is to be on top of mind and top of heart among jobseekers. In an industry where there is a strong competition for talent, there is a need to establish your brand, he said

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Davao tops list of Next Wave Cities of BPO

Roy — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 13:41:23 +0000

Davao City is being considered to be the next big investment for the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, as well the information and technology sector.

According to Oscar R. Sañez, CEO of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP), Davao was ranked number 1 in their list of Top 10 Next Wave Cities 2010 because of the city’s abundance of graduates and workers, and also the low cost of doing business there as well as in the outlying areas. Other factors that were considered by the BPAP were the city’s infrastructure and business environment.

Sañez said that in their selection of the next wave cities, they scored the quality of roads, access to international and domestic flights, presence of providers of fiber optic networks, reliability of power supply, availability of property sites, and cost of labor office space, among others.

The only thing going against Davao City is its proximity to areas of conflict in Mindanao. Many foreigners tend to associate the island with war and kidnappings. That is why in spite of being top in the BPAP list, it still ranked low in terms of risk management and travel advisories.

Joining Davao in the list of Top 10 Next Wave Cities 2010 were Sta. Rosa, Laguna; Bacolod-Iloilo; Metro Cavite; Lipa, Batangas; Cagayan de Oro; Malolos, Bulacan; Baguio and Dumaguete. These cities are expected to contribute $1.2 billion in additional revenue over the next two years, and at the same time, increase the employment of the BPO sector by 60 percent.

Sañez said that the Next Wave Cities would provide a “great avenue for local empowerment” as the cities are able to redefine themselves and create fresh business opportunities as those in Metro Manila and Metro Cebu.

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San Miguel mulls investing in the redevelopment of DMIA

Roy — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 15:49:52 +0000

If food and beverage giant San Miguel Corporation (SMC), would have its way, it will redevelop the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA), as it being geared to become the country’s premier international gateway.

San Miguel, in its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), that it is evaluating the viability of investing in the redevelopment of the DMIA Terminal 2 at Clark Free Port in Angeles City, Pampanga.

The corporate giant mulls on the investment plan when the Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) announced its opening of its doors for new investors to redevelop and upgrade the facilities in DMIA. The Philippine government hopes to turn DMIA into a major gateway by 2013, replacing Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

CIAC has the mandate to develop, operate, manage and maintain the Clark Civil Aviation Complex, which is located within Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga. It is used to be the biggest American military base outside the United States, and covers an area measuring 2,367 hectares. It has a 3,200-meter runway and associated taxiways, passenger terminal building and related facilities.

CIAC earlier received an offer from the Kuwaiti-led consortium Almal-Pride to redevelop DMIA. However, it was rejected by the CIAC board, which opens up the project to new proponents… such as the San Miguel Corporation.

Aside from the planned investment in the airline terminal, SMC said it commissioned a group of experts to prepare an in-depth study on the construction and operation of bullet train facilities which would cover the Laoag-Manila-Bicol route.

The company is also close to sealing the deal to acquire a majority stake in the modernization of Caticlan airport, which is the gateway to Boracay Island, just off Panay. SMC is coming in as a strategic partner of the group of Chinese-Filipino businessman George Yang, who bagged the right to modernize Caticlan airport under a 25-year concession arrangement with the government.

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Manila government intensified campaign against use of magic sugar

Roy — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 12:47:06 +0000

A substance called “magic sugar” which is being widely used as an artificial sweetener is not safe for consumption. Because of this, the government of the City of Manila is taking measures to prohibit the use of this substance.

Dr. Loraine Sanchez of the city health office said that the authorities are closely coordinating with police and barangay officials in monitoring vendors selling or using “magic sugar” in the food or drinks they sell. Aside from the monitoring, they are also conducting an information drive on the substance and the risk it poses to a person’s health.

Sanchez also said that the sanitary officers are conducting lectures in schools as part of their information drive to inform the students in a bid to stop them from patronizing vendors who are suspected of using the illegal substance. “We also encourage parents to just prepare homemade nutritious snacks for their kids to prevent them from buying foods outside the schools,” she said.

In line with their campaign, the city government also intensified its monitoring of sanitary and environmental sanitation permits among hawkers in Manila, added Sanchez.

The police and city officials issued warning to the vendors that whoever is caught using or selling magic sugar may be charged with violation of Republic Act 3720 or the Foods, Drugs, Devices and Cosmetics Act.

A warning had been issued earlier by health secretary Esperanza Cabral cautioning the public against the use of magic sugar which is allegedly being smuggled into the country. According Cabral, the substance known as magic sugar or artificial sugar is also called sodium cyclamate that could cause dizziness, vomiting and stomach ache.

She said it is banned in the United States “because of some studies that show that it increases the incidence of cancer, such as urinary bladder cancer.”

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Affordable quality laptops from Suzuki

Roy — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:12:05 +0000

A new laptop line was launched formally in Cebu City by Suzuki Technology. The new laptops promise speed, price and performance to attract the fast growing entry-level market segment.

Not to be mistaken, and has no relation with the motor vehicle brand, the company said it have the international trademark for all IT products. The Singapore-based company’s name was taken from its Japanese co-founder.

Singaporean sales manager Andy Ng said, “Price-wise, we are on equal level with other entry level brands but in terms of specs, we are ahead. We have competitive price and a higher specification and we try to add value to the product.” Adding value, Ng said, they could add freebies, like bundling software, optical mouse, flash drives or speakers to get customers to notice the brand.

He said this strategy has beena working well for the company in the last 12 years. Suzuki has established presence in Southeast Asian countries especially in Indonesia and Singapore, and also had a chunk of the market in the Middle East. The company hopes to get a share of the market in the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, the Americas and Easter Europe this year.

Suzuki’s Taiwan-made netbook are priced as low as P15,000 and its full-sized Intel Core 2 Duo powered laptops are just over P20,000. This makes it a good buy for students and the price-conscious market. The company posted a 30-percent increase in its sales last year.

Avelino Dy Relucio of Gilmore Computer center said the Suzuki brand has been doing well in less than a year after it was introduced in the Philippine market. Cebu-based dealers report that they often run out stock and the company usually scrambles to deliver units just to meet the demand.

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More passport applicants avail of the new appointment system

Roy — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:51:29 +0000

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 within 30 minutes as long as they have complete supporting documents.

With the new system, passport applicants with appointments for the day will be ushered directly to the processing area to have their documents verified. After which, they will proceed to the second floor to pay the passport fees.

Data capturing section follows where applicants would have their photo, thumb mark and signature taken, which the agency said only takes around six minutes for the biometrics to be taken.

The DFA added service windows to streamline the application process. In the data capturing section one, there are now 60 windows from a former 12. They said the new system has been getting positive feedbacks thus far.

The DFA encourages passport applicant to use the appointment system for quick and comfortable service. They can check the requirements by logging in at the DFA website or by calling their hotline (02) 737-1000 which is open 24 hours. During office hours, the DFA help lines to call are (02) 831-8971, (02) 551-4437, (02) 551-4402, (02) 834-4855 and (02) 834-4424.

A new consular building was recently opened by the agency in Bradco and Macapagal Avenues in Aseana Business Park, near the Mall of Asia. This new facility is the home of the ePassport, electronic authentication system, electronic visa system, and digitalized consular records system.

The DFA also said that there are a total of 18 DFA Regional Consular Offices spread around the country providing consular services to Filipinos outside Metro Manila. The 18 regional offices are located in Bacolod, Baguio, Batangas City, Butuan, Cagayan De Oro, Cebu City, Cotabato, Davao, General Santos City, Iloilo City, Legaspi, Lucena, Puerto Princesa, San Fernando in La Union, San Fernando in Pampanga, Tacloban, Tuguegarao, and Zamboanga

“Filipinos who reside in the provinces need not come to Manila to get a passport. They only have to go to the DFA regional office nearest to them and avail of the same fast and efficient services,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said.
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ICTSI to issue $250 million 10-year bond

Roy — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:20:57 +0000

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.

To arrange its maiden overseas debut, ICTSI tapped the services of foreign banks HSBC and JP Morgan. It has already started the fund-raising with an investors briefing in Manila recently. Top officials and bank arrangers are set to hold another road show in Hong Kong and Singapore.

The reception for the overseas bonds were said to be warm, so much so that they were oversubscribed during the Manila leg of the road show. The company will issue the bonds shortly after the Asian road show.

ICTSI will use the funds raised from the bond issue to fund the construction of existing and new terminals and pay debts.

The new securities will not be registered by the company in the United States nor in the Philippines. Instead, ICTSI plans to list the bonds on the Singapore Securities Trading Ltd.

Incorporated in 1987, ICTSI which is led by businessmen Enrique Razon Jr., was established to operate, manage and develop the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT), which handles international container cargo at the Port of Manila.

The company, and its subsidiaries, provides cargo handling and related services to container, storage facilities and services, and roll-on roll-off (Ro-Ro) and anchorage services to non-containerized cargo or general cargo.

Aside from MICT, the company also runs the Mindanao Container Terminal in Misamis Oriental, the Makar Wharf in General Santos, the Cubi Point at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone in Zambales, and Sasa International Port in Davao City.

ICTSI, and its subsidiaries, also operates in Brazil, Poland, Madagascar, Japan, Indonesia, Syria, China, Ecuador, Colombia, Georgia, Brunei and Argentina.

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Local banks help raised P14B for Panay power plant

Roy — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 07:56:18 +0000

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 of Metrobank.

The deal is the second-biggest peso-denominated project loan facility to be purely funded by local institutions. The biggest was the P16-billion deal raised by Cebu Energy Development Corp., another Metrobank affiliate, for its power plant in Toledo City, Cebu.

FMIC was able to get the commitment of local banks for a 12-year loan to PEDC. These banks include Allied Banking Corp., Bank of the Philippine Islands, China Banking Corp., Land Bank of the Philippines, Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., Philippine National Bank, Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co., Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. and the Union Bank of the Philippines. The loans represent about 70 percent of the funding of the project.

PEDC expects the power plant to be finished and already in operation in six to nine months time, and it will use “clean coal” technology. FMIC president Francisco Sebastian said that once completed, the power plant would make brownouts in the Visayas history as the new facility would account for 80 percent of the existing power generation capacity of the island.

Formosa Heavy Industries will be the one to build the new power plant by PEDC. It will also undertake the engineering design and procurement. The Metrobank group hopes to recover the costs from the project over a 25-year period.

PEDC is a subsidiary of Metrobank group’s Global Business Power Corp. Its president Jesus Alcordo said that despite the fuss over renewable energy, clean coal technology was still much more competitive.

The Metrobank group, at present, is still looking for opportunities in power generation, said chairman Antonio Abaca, adding that they prefer investing in new power plants rather than acquire old ones.