BusinessWorld (Philippines) articles from December 2006

BusinessWorld (Philippines) archives from December 2006

WEEKENDER.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Anna Barbara L. Lorenzo What started out as a simple firecrackers business is now creating a big bang in the global pyrotechnics industry. La Mancha Pyro Productions was established as a...

WEEKENDER.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Hernani P. de Leon Davao City - In this city of 1.4 million people, mere possession of a firecracker, or any other form of pyrotechnics, could mean a jail term. Since four years ago, a...

WEEKENDER: going out.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Raoul J. Chee Kee and Jeffrey O. Valisno These days, there are so many ways to ring in the New Year. You can book a table at a five-star hotel, hie off to Baguio, Tagaytay or Boracay to...

WEEKENDER: movies.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Jet Damaso MOVIE REVIEW Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo Directed by Jose Javier Reyes One of the three movies in this year's film fest to receive an A rating from the Films Ratings...

WEEKENDER: movies.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Alicia A. Herrera MOVIE REVIEW Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah: Ze Moveeh Directed by Joel Lamangan Starting out as a graphic novel by Carlo Vergara which became a surprise hit with its...

WEEKENDER: movies.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Jeffrey O. Valisno MOVIE REVIEW Super Noypi Directed by Quark B. Henares In the year 2075, the Philippines will have flying vehicles all over Luneta. Tricycle fare would be...

WEEKENDER: movies.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Jeffrey O. Valisno MOVIE REVIEW Enteng Kabisote 3: Okay Ka Fairy Ko! The Legend Goes On and On and On Directed by Tony Y. Reyes Vic Sotto hopes to hit the jackpot three times...

WEEKENDER: movies.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Raoul J. Chee Kee MOVIE REVIEW Shake, Rattle and Roll 8 Directed by Rahyan Carlos, Topel Lee and Mike Tuviera For all its inanities, Regal Films' Shake, Rattle and Roll series...

WEEKENDER: movies.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Anna Barbara L. Lorenzo MOVIE REVIEW Mano Po 5: Gua Ai Di Directed by Joel Lamangan With four films preceding it, the plot of Mano Po 5: Gua Ai Di is rather easy to figure out....

WEEKENDER: movies.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Jeffrey O. Valisno MOVIE REVIEW Tatlong Baraha Directed by Toto Natividad Watching Violett Films' film fest entry, Tatlong Baraha (Three Cards), is a gamble. You walk into the...

WEEKENDER: movies.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Raoul J. Chee Kee MOVIE REVIEW Ligalig Directed by Cesar Montano I asked around what the English translation of Ligalig was and was told it meant unease, anxiety or dread....

WEEKENDER: movies.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Anna Barbara L. Lorenzo MOVIE REVIEW Matakot Ka sa Karma By Jose Javier Reyes Karma is defined as the "cosmic principle according to which each person is rewarded or punished...

WEEKENDER: staying in.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Jennifer O. Cuaycong It's difficult to convince groupies that Chris Botti is actually a middle-aged musician who has been around the block longer than I have, when all they can see is his...

WEEKENDER: environment.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Jane L. Sardoma Governor Generoso, Davao Oriental - Residents and environmentalists in this town believe losing the richness of nature resonates with losing local charm to attract tourists...

WEEKENDER: marketing.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Digital marketers unite The biggest players in the digital market space have banded together to protect Filipino consumers from the proliferation of unwarranted, relentless and 'spammable' con...

WEEKENDER: marketing.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Beverly T. Natividad If today's mania for gaming and social networking through the Internet are indications, advertisers should recognize the need to put their ads on the computer screen....

WEEKENDER: marketing.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Nanette Franco-Diyco I attended the Christmas party of Adobo Magazine, tagged as the Philippine advertising and brand communications magazine at People's Palace in Greenbelt a week before...

WEEKENDER: health.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Lymphatic filariasis is the second leading cause of permanent, long- term disability in the world. Identified as a major health problem since 1907, lymphatic filariasis is a severely disabling and...

WEEKENDER: health.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Constipation is a very common condition among Filipinos. Unfortunately, like other constipation sufferers around the globe, Filipinos are still unaware of the real causes of this condition and its...

WEEKENDER: travel.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Robert Leonoras Bacolod City - Just three hours from this city is the Punta Bulata Resort, which boasts of being a low-cost alternative to Boracay for Negrense tourists. Owner Miren...

WEEKENDER: travel.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Henrylito D. Tacio Being a tropical country, the Philippines has only two seasons: dry and wet. In the United States and in other temperate countries, there are four seasons: spring,...

WEEKENDER: travel.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Shane Gee Mati, the rich municipality of Davao Oriental in Mindanao, has the nation's biggest coconut plantation. With over 105,000 inhabitants, Mati is arguably the coconut capital of...

Dollar deposits hit 3-year high.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Paolo Joseph L. Lising Deposits in the foreign currency deposit units (FCDU) of banks have reached a new three-year high, the central bank said yesterday. In a statement, the Bangko...

BDO president takes over EPCI top post.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Maria Eloisa I. Calderon The Equitable PCI Bank (EPCIB) board has appointed Banco de Oro Universal Bank (BDO) President Nestor V. Tan as bank president, a post vacated by Rene J....

Bankard gives RCBC 1 billion shares of stocks.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Maria Eloisa I. Calderon Bankard, Inc. is increasing its authorized capital stock to two billion shares from 600 million to revive its profitability. But the Yuchengco subsidiary, which...

Blue chips drive stocks to near 10-year high.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Allan E. Lalisan with AFP Most blue-chip stocks posted strong gains yesterday, causing the stock market to breach almost 10 years of record highs for the second consecutive trading session....

Equality remains elusive for disadvantaged groups - ILO.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Ira P. Pedrasa Much has been done to promote equality at work since the country adopted the "labor-friendly" 1987 Constitution, the International Labor Organization (ILO) has said. It can't...

IN THE WORKPLACE.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Reylito A.H. Elbo With another year about to end, I'd like to deviate momentarily from our usual Q&A format to summarize what I've written in Elbonomics - a variant of Murphy's Law ("If...

COURTSIDE.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Anthony L. Cuaycong Don't ask me why New Jersey head coach Lawrence Frank escaped a fine after he charged the court and had to be restrained by his assistants following his team's...

GIVE AND GO.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Michael Angelo S. Murillo First of two parts There is no way to describe the year that is about to end for Philippine sports as but "brimming." Proof of this is that up to now - two...

CHESS PIECE.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Bobby Ang One of the legends of the chess world, David Ionovich Bronstein, died last Dec. 5, 2006, in Minsk at the age of 82. We definitely cannot do him justice in the space of two columns,...

Universal McCann official cites need for sensitivity to market.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) A full sphere of communications and client partnerships, with technological evolution, are the main points of Universal McCann's business platform titled "Next Thing Now." In his recent visit to the...

Pag-IBIG bags ARAW Award.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) State housing financing agency Pag-IBIG Fund bagged a bronze trophy for its "Tapat sa Pag-IBIG" campaign during the recent awarding ceremony for the 2006 ARAW Values Advertising Awards (AVA). ...

BRIEFS.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Asiatrust banking hours Selected Asiatrust branches will be open to serve the public on Dec. 30-31, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Asiatrust branches with Saturday banking are in Antipolo, Roosevelt,...

Siemens enhances internal control systems.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) The Siemens supervisory board, audit committee and managing board in a recent meeting defined a set of measures designed to examine and improve Siemens' worldwide compliance and internal control systems....

CONSUMER GUIDE.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Enchanted Kingdom fireworks Enchanted Kingdom Fireworks, distributed by Platinum Fireworks with license from the Enchanted Kingdom, carry the same patterns that are presented weekly at the theme...

TAKE TEN.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Behn Cervantes I guess my favorite Christmas carol is "Away In a Manger." I recall being taught that lovely carol by my mother when I was a child. Thus, it is lovingly etched in the deepest...

Holiday plus.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Plus-sized women don't have to settle for ill-fitting clothes especially when greeting the new year. Instead of using safe and boring black, businesswoman Peachy Jacob-Lumacad suggests checking out some...

Martial arts tilt to be aired live on RP TV for first time.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Jeffrey O. Valisno For those who still do not know what UFC means - aside from a local ketchup brand - it stands for Ultimate Fighting Championship, a US-based mixed martial arts...

Exercise is top resolution for '07, particularly for Filipinos.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Jennee Grace U. Rubrico Getting more exercise is the top New Year's resolution for 2007 and Filipinos appear to be the most determined worldwide in this respect, a survey by global research...

Asia Web snafu highlights dependencies.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Ian Timberlake, AFP and Maricel E. Estavillo Singapore/Manila - The chaos in Asia's Internet service sparked by an undersea earthquake shows the region's cable network is too fragile and...

Last of IMF debt to be paid off.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Paolo Joseph L. Lising The Philippines will exit the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) post program monitoring ahead of original April 2007 schedule as it prepays the remaining...

Peso, stocks set for strong finish.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Ma. Eloisa I. Calderon and Allan E. Lalisan The peso and stock markets are primed for an excellent finish to 2006 as both recorded fresh peaks yesterday. These gains are expected to continue...

Double-digit October gain reverses slump in imports.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Benjamin V. Buco, Jr. Merchandise imports bounced back in October following a September slump, posting a double-digit increase, as the peso continued to appreciate against the dollar and...

... but manufacturing output continues to disappoint.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Josephine B. Valle Manufacturing put up a dismal performance in October as output dipped further, National Statistics Office (NSO) data show. Factory output, as reflected by the volume...

ASEAN subgroup to strengthen cooperation, targets China.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Carmelito Q. Francisco Davao City - The Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) will sign a framework agreement for cooperation on the sidelines of the...

El Nino impact on rice output downplayed.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) The persistence of drought-causing El Nino until the first quarter of next year should not have much effect on rice production and inventories, National Food Authority (NFA) Administrator Gregorio Y. Tan...

Energy department restricts oil, gas exploration offers.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) The Department of Energy (DoE) said in a statement yesterday that it will not accept proposals for oil and gas exploration outside the Philippine Energy Contracting Round (PECR). The Energy...

VECTOR.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Sonny Coloma Nearly lost in the din of the acrimonious public debate on Charter change was the transition in the leadership of the Supreme Court. In fact, some observers surmised that the...

FENCE SITTER.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Antonio R. Samson The morning after Christmas features discarded boxes and gift wrappers and opened Christmas card envelopes. We immediately note the decline in volume, not just of gifts,...

STREETWISE.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Carol Pagaduan-Araullo The year is ending and a new one is just around the corner. For those who are able, for the most part, to take control of their lives, having set out with clear-cut...

RULE OF LAW.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Augusto R. Bundang We've heard it before: Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it. We keep on committing the same mistakes over and over again simply because we fail...

Fighting back.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) More than half of the 45 reporters, columnists, editors and publishers the First Gentleman, Jose Miguel Arroyo, has sued for libel filed a civil class action suit against him yesterday, December 28. ...

ONE MAN'S MEAT.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Benjamin G. Defensor The prayer meeting called by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines on the Sunday before Christmas answered the Gospel for that day: "'And the multitudes...

Checks sought on use of school-feeding funds.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Reagan D. Tan Three Cabinet secretaries yesterday defended the appropriation of over P4.7 billion for the school-feeding program in the P1.126-trillion 2007 budget, even as the Senate...

TAXWISE OR OTHERWISE.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Lourdes S. Cajolo At yearend, it is customary to take stock of things and sort out life's position, either on an individual, national or global level. We usually look back and ponder at...

Finance dep't presses for perks streamlining by February 9.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Bernardette S. Sto. Domingo The Finance department is pushing for the passage of the fiscal incentives rationalization bill before Congress ends sessions on Feb. 9, citing a "very small...

Nueva Ecija takes over unfinished road project.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has transferred to the Nueva Ecija government the responsibility of completing the Junction Maharlika Highway-Jaen-San Isidro Road after a private...

Non-tax revenues dip 7% in Jan.-Nov.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Bernardette S. Sto. Domingo The government had raked in close to P100 billion in non-tax revenues from January to November, down 6.657% from P103.992 billion collected in the same period...

MacroAsia to expand aircraft bay for $6M.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Allan E. Lalisan Listed holding company Macro-Asia Corp. said it would spend about $6 million next year to expand its aircraft maintenance hangar by building an aircraft bay to add to its...

VECO to buy back shares for P500 each.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Karen Flores-Garcia Cebu City - The Visayan Electric Co. (VECO) is offering to buy 400,000 common shares of stock from stockholders at P500 each, or 250% of the P200 par value per share, for...

Aboitiz Transport ready to settle debts with SuperFerry sale.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Maricel E. Estavillo With the sale of its two vessels now almost complete, shipping firm Aboitiz Transport System (ATS) Corp. said it is now in a position to settle up to 60% of its...

A Brown to invest P25 million in mining venture Monte Oro.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Allan E. Lalisan Publicly listed A Brown Co., Inc. disclosed Wednesday that its board has approved an additional investment of P25 million in mining venture Monte Oro Resources and Energy,...

Microsoft program to aid OFWs.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Karen Flores-Garcia Cebu City - By January, a Microsoft Philippines program aims to cut by 60% the cost of communication between overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their families as well...

Negotiations with Jinchuan for Nonoc mines still on.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Beverly T. Natividad Despite delays in negotiations with Chinese investors to rehabilitate the mothballed Nonoc nickel mines, local mining operator Philnico Industrial Corp. said that talks...

Senate to investigate PTIC sale.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Reagan D. Tan Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr., yesterday filed a resolution calling for the Senate to investigate the sale of government shares in the Philippine...

BUSINESS CASE LAW.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Judge Artemio S. Tipon (Ret.) A check for US$7,500 payable to Eva Alviar ("Alviar") was encashed by her daughter Melva Gonzales ("Gonzales") with Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC). Since...

Surveillance cameras.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Zamboanga City - The city council will study the feasibility of putting up a P12-million surveillance camera system in the city proper to help police maintain security, catch criminals and keep peace and...

Tourism forum.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Davao City - The Davao region's participation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Tourism Forum 2007 is seen to attract more foreign tourists, said Arturo Boncato, Davao Tourism...

Rate adjustment refund.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Zambaonga City - Electric power consumers in Mindanao are entitled to a refund of the purchasing power adjustment that their respective electric cooperatives have been charging them. There are about...

Islamic fest.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Cagayan de Oro City - Roughly 30,000 poor Muslim families in Mindanao will be able to celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid-ul-Adha. Muhammad Rizal Dalkilic, Philippine representative for the Istanbul...

Graft sentence.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) The Sandiganbayan's third division sentenced the other day a municipal treasurer to a maximum of 20 years imprisonment for using public funds to pay a loan in 1994. In a 38-page resolution penned by...

MILF denies Palace claim on Bangsamoro territory.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Davao City - Responding to news items from Malacanang, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) yesterday said it "has not softened its demand to have a wider territory for the proposed Bangsamoro...

Indigenous peoples aware of ancestral domains, lands.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Most of the indigenous peoples (IPs) who responded to a survey conducted by the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights are aware of their rights to ancestral domains and lands. In the...

Yearender: Economic strides for Mindanao, still not a banner year.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Mindanao Bureau Davao City - The year 2006 was relatively peaceful for Mindanao with economic strides achieved on several fronts. These, however, do not mean it was a banner year for the...

Journalists file class suit vs FG for attempt to curtail freedom.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Paul C.H. How Thirty-five media practitioners and three print organizations filed yesterday a civil class action suit against First Gentleman (FG) Jose Miguel T. Arroyo, whose 10 libel suits...

Chopper down in Zambo due to engine trouble.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Felino M. Santos Zamboanga City - An Air Force helicopter gunship went down in Edwin Andrews Air Base in Zamboanga City yesterday morning due to engine failure, injuring its passengers,...

US helping to identify Janjalani's alleged remains.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Alexis Douglas B. Romero and AFP Armed Forces Chief Gen. Hermogenes C. Esperon announced yesterday that United States assistance is in full swing in helping to identify the remains believed...

New public officials named.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) The President has appointed Solicitors Eric Remegio O. Panga and Magtanggol M. Castro to replace Assistant Solicitor General Nestor Ballocillo who was assassinated with his son earlier this month...

Mindanao communications also down.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Michael D. Banos and Hernani P. de Leon Cagayan de Oro City - Bad news for business process outsourcing firms and heavy online service users in Mindanao. It will take two to three weeks to...

Palace asks police to crack down on 'bazooka'.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Reagan D. Tan and Iris Cecilia C. Gonzales With a recommendation from the Department of Health (DoH) that a 'bazooka' noise cannon is the culprit in the increase of nearly 100...

Makati traffic rerouted for Dec. 31 revelry.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) The Makati department of public safety announced yesterday that the Ayala Ave.-Paseo de Roxas intersection will be closed starting Saturday, Dec. 30, to prepare for the city's New Year festivities. The...

Bomb in Tacurong.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Gen. Santos City - Four persons were injured when a bomb exploded around 3 p.m. yesterday at a shopping store in Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat. Acting Mayor Eladio Sustiguer said the bomb went off at the...

Ormoc fire death toll.
December 29, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Tacloban City - The National Bureau of Investigation started on Wednesday its official investigation into the fire that claimed at least two dozen lives at a department store in Ormoc City. As this...