BusinessWorld (Philippines) articles from December 2011

BusinessWorld (Philippines) archives from December 2011

WEEKENDER.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Sam L. Marcelo By the time you finish reading this story, a child with a facial deformity will be born somewhere in the world. This child will not be able to suck milk from his mother's breast, making him susceptible to malnutrition....

WEEKENDER: going out.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Jeffrey O. Valisno EVENTS * The Magical Musical Makati New Year Countdown 2012 Dec. 31, 5:30 p.m. Ayala Ave. cor. Makati Ave., Makati * The Star Drop at Eastwood Mall Quezon City Countdown Dec. 31, 6 p.m. Eastwood Mall...

WEEKENDER: going out.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Aubrey E. Barrameda To use a Roman candle - one of the traditional fireworks allowed in the country - one only needs to hold it on one end, ignite the other end, point it upwards and wait for it to shoot stars in the sky. ...

WEEKENDER: movies.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Jeffrey O. Valisno The controversial last-minute replacement to the roster of entries to this year's Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) emerged as the most victorious movie in Wednesday night's award rites. Manila Kingpin: The...

WEEKENDER: movies.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Eliza J. Diaz MOVIE REVIEW Shake, Rattle and Roll 13 Directed by Chris Martinez, Richard Somes and Jerrold Tarog Regal Films Producers should have pulled the plug on the Shake, Rattle & Roll franchise a long time ago....

WEEKENDER: staying in.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Sam L. Marcelo BOOK Noli me Tangere By Jose Rizal Vibal Foundation With the publication of the first critical edition of Jose Rizal's Noli me Tangere, it is now possible to peruse the entire unexpurgated Spanish novel that...

WEEKENDER: staying in.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Noel Vera DVD REVIEW Cave of Forgotten Dreams Directed by Werner Herzog Werner Herzog's first-ever 3-D feature, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, begins with the camera gliding down a row of what look like vines; it lifts up in the...

WEEKENDER: environment.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Aubrey E. Barrameda JUSTICES representing judiciaries across Southeast Asia have agreed to draw up a plan for cooperation in addressing legal issues arising from environmental challenges the region faces, the Asian Development Bank...

WEEKENDER: environment.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Reyan L. Arinto TACLOBAN CITY - The regional office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Eastern Visayas has entered into a 25-year memorandum of agreement with Dangkalan Pacific Beach Resort in Taft,...

WEEKENDER: health.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Reiner W. Gloor THIS YEAR, the government reminder to reduce firework-related injuries comes with an appeal. In the aftermath of tropical storm "Sendong", the Health department has urged the public to donate to relief efforts to...

WEEKENDER: marketing.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Nanette Franco-Diyco You can expect the least number of paid ads on television during the last few days following Christmas Day. This is expected because the bulk of advertisers have naturally poured the remaining of the year's...

WEEKENDER: marketing.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Terence A. Hockenhull Dealing with price issues at the present time is somewhat disheartening for many salespersons. The reality is that there is much less money in the local economy now. Curtailed spending on infrastructure and...

WEEKENDER: travel.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Jessica Anne D. Hermosa THERE ARE said to be two types of cities in this world: those you take vacation leaves for and those you visit for work. People save up for Paris. They plan holidays for Amsterdam. And only when the euro...

WEEKENDER: going out.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Sam L. Marcelo VISIT The Rizal Fountain Noli Me Tangere Garden, Rizal Park, Manila Many a martyr has lost his life in Rizal Park, including the eponymous National Hero Dr. Jose Rizal who was executed there exactly 115 years...

WEEKENDER: going out.
December 30, 2011... To reduce the numebr of injured further, the health department launched Aksyon: Paputok Injury Reduction, or APIR, a campaign under which they gave the following major reminders on fireworks use: 1. It is dangerous to use fireworks. 2....

GIVE AND GO.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Michael Angelo S. Murillo The weekend at hand will see the world's transition from the old year to the new. It will be a time spent taking stock of the things that had happened in the year that is about to end as well as prepping for...

COURTSIDE.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Anthony L. Cuaycong The Celtics haven't spent any time at the bottom of the Atlantic Division in the Big Four Era, so their current predicament is understandably unnerving their most fidgety fans. A 0-3 start to an abbreviated season...

Coffee board sets harvest tours.
December 30, 2011... DESPITE WEATHER conditions brought about by climate change, the Philippine Coffee Board (PCB) members will continue with their "Pick Red" advocacy of teaching farmers to pick only red or ripe coffee cherries this harvest season. This initiative...

TCL LCD TVs hit 10M sales worldwide.(Company overview)
December 30, 2011... TCL CORPORATION ends 2011 with yet another milestone as the company's latest LCD TVs have exceeded record-breaking sales of 10 million sets worldwide, the first outstanding feat of such for any Chinese TV manufacturer to date. Zhao Zhongyao,...

Pru Life UK extends payment deadline.
December 30, 2011... IN RESPONSE to President Benigno S. C. Aquino III's appeal to extend due consideration to families and individuals affected by typhoon Sendong (international name: Washi), British life insurer Pru Life UK is providing policyholders living in the...

MEDICard opens Colorectal Specialist Clinic.
December 30, 2011... MEDICARD recently opened its Colorectal Specialist Clinic - a first in the HMO industry. Located at the MEDICard Lifestyle Center at the corner of Paseo and Buendia St., Makati, the clinic offers the latest technology and expertise in...

CONSUMER GUIDE.
December 30, 2011... PictureBooks partners with HP Philippines PICTUREBOOKS was recently launched in partnership with Hewlett-Packard Philippines. Led by Atty. Jose Agaton Sibal, Central Books' president and chief executive officer, the colorful event was...

BRIEFS.
December 30, 2011... New aircraft bared CEBU PACIFIC (CEB) ends 2011 with the largest aircraft fleet in the country. CEB currently operates 10 Airbus A319, 19 Airbus A320 and 8 ATR-72 500 aircraft. CEB's fleet of 37 aircraft - with an average age of 3.6 years -...

TAKE TEN.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Behn Cervantes Most Filipinos celebrate the Eve of Christmas rather than the 25th itself. Therefore, the day of Christmas is rather anti-climactic. Children, along with their parents, are excited on the eve before Christmas. It is...

Telecoms company offers tweet service this New Year.
December 30, 2011... SMART COMMUNICATIONS again gives Filipinos a new means to "#xpresslove" online. Using the hashtag #xpresslove, everyone can share their resolutions, bucket lists, thoughts, wishes, hopes and musings for 2012 on the official #xpresslove portal at...

BSP raises ceiling on micro-credit.
December 30, 2011... THE BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has raised the existing cap on microfinance loans to allow banks to provide more financing to clients. In Circular No. 744 dated Dec. 28 and posted on its Web site yesterday, the BSP added...

Peso climbs on 2011's last trading day.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Neil Jerome C. Morales THE PESO strengthened yesterday, the last trading day of the year, amid profit taking and higher demand for the local currency in preparation for the long weekend. The local currency gained 13 centavos to...

GSIS extends P626-M loans to Sendong-hit members.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Diane Claire J. Jiao THE GOVERNMENT Service Insurance System (GSIS) has released more than half a billion pesos in emergency loans to members affected by tropical storm Sendong (international name: Washi). The pension fund for...

Storm-affected banks to enjoy relief.
December 30, 2011... THE BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is extending relief to banks in areas affected by tropical storm Sendong so these lenders can in turn extend assistance to their clients. In a statement, the central bank said the relief measures apply to...

PSEi climbs on last trading day of 2011.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Franz Jonathan G. de la Fuente with AFP THE STOCK MARKET ended the year on a positive note, defying the slump in foreign markets as investors staked out positions ahead of the long weekend. The Philippine Stock Exchange index...

Insurers extend grace period for clients hit by Sendong.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Diane Claire J. Jiao LIFE INSURANCE companies have granted a 60-day grace period for policyholders affected by tropical storm Sendong (international name: Washi) to give them more time to pay their premiums. The Philippine Life...

FCDU loans jump 26% as of September.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Neil Jerome C. Morales LOANS EXTENDED by banks' foreign currency deposit units (FCDUs) jumped by more than a quarter as of end-September compared to a year earlier, latest central bank data showed. In a statement on Thursday, the...

External debt stays manageable - BSP.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Neil Jerome C. Morales THE COUNTRY'S outstanding external debt in relation to the gross domestic product and gross national income remained at manageable levels as of end-September. Specifically, the external debt ratio, or...

Gov't invites firms to bid for P10.53-M terminal.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Kathleen A. Martin THE GOVERNMENT has invited firms to bid for the construction of a P10.53-million passenger terminal building and management office at the Port of Sindangan in Zamboanga del Norte, a Philippine Ports of Authority...

Manufacturing improvement program helps 67 SMEs.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Sarwell Q. Meniano TACLOBAN CITY - The government's manufacturing improvement program has already assisted 67 small and medium enterprises in Eastern Visayas engaged in food and furniture processing in the past four years, the...

Agro-fishery losses due to floods in Negros Occidental reach P12.8M.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Nanette L. Guadalquiver BACOLOD CITY - Losses to crops and fisheries in Negros Occidental due to floods in the past days have reached P12.8 million, according to data of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) released late...

Private building projects increase by 5.4% in Q3.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Trishia P. Octaviano THE NUMBER of private building projects nationwide increased by 5.4% to 25,255 in the third quarter of 2011 from the 23,970 recorded in the same period last year, latest data from the National Statistics Office...

Quarantine officials step up vigilance.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Louella D. Desiderio THE BUREAU of Animal Industry (BAI) has ordered quarantine officials at all ports of entry to be more vigilant by conducting more thorough inspections of passenger bags and packages to prevent the entry of chicken...

Fewer Philippine patents granted in 2010 despite rise worldwide:.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Eliza J. Diaz THE PHILIPPINES lagged in terms of intellectual property grants last year as the rest of the world rebounded from 2009 levels on innovations in electrical and computer technologies, according to the annual report of the...

DBM releases P90.3M for farm dept's scholarship program.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Diane Claire J. Jiao THE DEPARTMENT of Budget and Management (DBM) has released P90.3 million for the Department of Agriculture's (DA) scholarship program to support 1,050 students in agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary...

VANTAGE POINT.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Luis V. Teodoro If the Aquino III administration ignored warnings from the environmental and science communities long before Sendong that a disaster was coming in Mindanao, it wouldn't be any more unique than past administrations. ...

FENCE SITTER.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Antonio R. Samson Occasionally, when reading the news, we forget now who are the people in charge of the economy or if anybody in government is even paying attention to it. It is so little mentioned in media reports or even in...

SURVEIL.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Amina Rasul ZAMBOANGA - Tomorrow, we welcome 2012. In less than 24 hours, the tragedies and scandals of 2011 will be part of our memories, which will continue to haunt us if not exorcised. After monitoring the devastation of...

FEATURE.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Pablo S. Trillana III ONE HUNDRED fifteen years ago today, in the early morning of December 30, 1896, Dr. Jose Rizal, for allegedly leading the revolution against Spain, was marched to Bagumbayan to face the firing squad. By 7:03 he...

TRADE TRIPPER.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Jemy Gatdula It was James Thurber who once insightfully said: "One martini is alright, two are too many, and three are not enough." And this being a somewhat wettish December, this adage also comes to mind: "I must get out of these...

2nd Resorts World complex planned.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Franz Jonathan G. de la Fuente THE RESORTS arm of conglomerate Alliance Global Group, Inc.is looking to begin work at its second integrated tourism estate next year, a ranking official said yesterday. "We plan to start next year....

AgriNurture moves to sell shares to US giant Cargill.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Louella D. Desiderio LISTED AgriNurture, Inc. (AgriNurture) suspended the trading of its shares yesterday until Monday as it moved to finalize the buy-in of Black River Capital Partners Fund (Food) LP, a fund managed by the private...

Farm supplier prepares IPO.
December 30, 2011... IN WHAT could be among the first listing debuts for 2012, farming supplement distributor Calata Corp. has filed a prospectus with regulators for a P270-million initial public offering. Calata, a Bulacan-based retailer of seeds and feeds,...

Meralco to spend up to P11 B in 2012.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Emilia Narni J. David DISTRIBUTION UTILITY Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will spend up to P11 billion, primarily to put up more transmission infrastructure, an official said. The company will use the amount to build more...

San Miguel Energy submits draft supply pact to ERC.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Emilia Narni J. David THE POWER arm of San Miguel Corp. has petitioned the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to approve a power supply agreement with Mountain Province Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Mopreco). Regulators have set a...

Vista Land eyes higher capex for next year.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Franz Jonathan G. de la Fuente REAL ESTATE firm Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc. may ramp up capital spending next year as it looks to further improve existing developments south of Metro Manila, a ranking official said late last...

Mining stalled.
December 30, 2011... TACLOBAN CITY-The provincial government of Leyte has held off from giving its blessing to the commercial mining operation of NICUA Mining Corp. until officials from four towns covered by the project give their feedback. Leyte first district...

Dividends declared.
December 30, 2011... LIBERTY FLOUR Mills, Inc. will award cash dividends to its stockholders in January, the company told the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday. In a disclosure, the company said its board of directors, in its meeting yesterday, approved the...

Business name changed.
December 30, 2011... LISTED SHIPPING firm ATS Consolidated, Inc. will be changing its name for the second time this year, the firm yesterday said in a disclosure to the stock exchange. ATS Consolidated's board of directors, during a special meeting held Dec. 28,...

Stocks offered.
December 30, 2011... HOMEGROWN FIRM Jollibee Foods Corp. has listed an additional 21,100 common shares as part of its stock option plan for employees, filings to the local bourse showed. The Philippine Stock Exchange said Jollibee Foods listed 20,100 common shares...

Job-related injuries down by 15%, gov't survey shows.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Daniel Anne Nepomuceno-Rodriguez WORK-RELATED injuries in the country declined by 15.0% in 2009 as more companies instituted stricter compliance with labor standards. Results of the 2010 Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics...

Training outfit eyes China, Indonesia.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Carmelito Q. Francisco DAVAO CITY -The Joji Ilagan Career Center Foundation, which operates several schools here, is studying expansion to China and Bali, Indonesia. Joji Ilagan-Bian, chairman, said the foundation is now...

IN THE WORKPLACE.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Reylito A. H. Elbo I am a department manager of one middle-size bank. Slaving for the organization is a difficult task, much more if you have a "toxic" boss. After 17 years of working for the same company since college, I'm...

Former Reds reintegrated in Bukidnon.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Ann F. Noble MALAYBALAY CITY, BUKIDNON - At least 90 former rebels last Tuesday received financial assistance from the provincial government under its intensified reconciliation and peace program. Bukidnon Governor Alex P....

Foreign aid for Sendong victims reaches $12.6M.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Aubrey E. Barrameda FOREIGN AID for the victims of tropical storm Sendong (international name: Washi) has already reached $12.6 million as of Dec. 28, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported yesterday, adding that more...

N. Cotabato, Davao families flee floods and landslides.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Louie O. Pacardo and Joel B. Escovilla TACURONG CITY, SULTAN KUDARAT - Several families were forced to evacuate as floods hit riverside towns in North Cotabato, whereas thousands more in the Davao Region sought shelter after their...

Civil society groups in Mindanao advocate community-based disaster.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Louise G. Dumas CAGAYAN DE ORO - A civil society initiative from the different regions in Mindanao takes a different approach to relief operations, one anchored on community support. "What we have here are communities that are not...

Suspect in Italian priest slay nabbed.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Aubrey E. Barrameda and Mariae Francesca C. Ramos THE NATIONAL Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has nabbed the suspected hired killer who gunned down an Italian missionary priest in Mindanao in October, government officials said...

Policeman dead after shoot-out with vendors.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Mariae Francesca C. Ramos with Aubrey E. Barrameda A POLICE OFFICER died and another was wounded in a shoot-out incident involving an alleged Muslim group selling illegal firecrackers in Quezon City yesterday noon. Several armed...

No arrogance in drafting list - Valte.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Noemi M. Gonzales MALACANANG DEFENDED President Benigno S. C. Aquino III's order to his legal team to draw up a list of possible replacements for Chief Justice Renato C. Corona, who will be tried at the Senate impeachment court in...

Arroyo facing graft charges over scrapped broadband deal.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Antonio Siegfrid O. Alegado with AFP FRESH GRAFT charges have been filed against former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo over a scuttled multimillion-dollar broadband deal with a Chinese telecommunication company. "The Office of...

Gov't defers lifting worker deployment ban to Nigeria.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Aubrey E. Barrameda THE GOVERNMENT has deferred the lifting of a deployment ban to Nigeria in light of the recent bombings in the African country. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) yesterday said it has recommended to the...

No new year furlough for ex-president.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Aubrey E. Barrameda FORMER PRESIDENT now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (2nd district) will welcome the new year in her detention room at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center after a regional trial court failed to tackle her...

Corona seeking hearing before trial.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Antonio Siegfrid O. Alegado CHIEF JUSTICE Renato C. Corona has requested for a hearing to determine evidence on charges filed against him prior to the start of impeachment trial next month, an official said yesterday. "Mr. Corona...

Officials asked to study geohazard maps.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Reyan L. Arinto TACLOBAN CITY - Local government in Eastern Visayas have been asked to study geohazard maps and implement the necessary measures to minimize the impact of natural disasters on lives and properties, an official said. ...

Additional poor areas to benefit from program.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Noemi M. Gonzales ADDITIONAL POOR communities will benefit from an expanded infrastructure program for far-flung areas next year, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said yesterday. A statement from the agency...

More killed despite drop in road accidents.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Carmina Angelica A. Valeroso ROAD ACCIDENTS decreased by a nearly a fifth in the January-November period but the number of fatalities rose by 11%, data from the Philippine National Police Highway Patrol Group (HPG) showed. A total...

Share prices up slightly, peso flat as 2011 closes.
December 30, 2011... Byline: with Neil Jerome C. Morales LOCAL financial markets ended 2011 mixed, with share prices eking out a single-digit rise and the peso flat in a year marked by renewed global volatility. As trading for 2011 ended yesterday, the...

Integrity pledge list nears 1,000; PPP deals eyed.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Eliza J. Diaz COMMITMENTS to the private sector-led Integrity Initiative are expected to be presented to President Benigno S. C. Aquino III next month, with a proponent of the anti-corruption campaign hoping signatory companies will...

BSP to remain watchful; rising global risks noted.
December 30, 2011... THE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) will continue to be watchful of global developments given their potential impact, highlights of this year's final policy meeting showed. "Going forward, the Monetary Board noted that there is a need to...

COURTSIDE.
December 29, 2011... Byline: Anthony L. Cuaycong First off, let's get one thing clear: two games does not a season make. Still, Heat fans have plenty of reasons to rejoice. In the first away-and-home outings of their favorite ballers, they found ample cause to...

Local markets scorecard bared.
December 29, 2011... PARALLEL WITH Armenia, Kenya, China, and Russia, the Philippines has been a part of a international effort to identify and address barriers that keep small businesses from participating in the property markets, focusing on property rights and...

Eton Properties presents business projects.
December 29, 2011... ETON PROPERTIES Philippines, Inc. (EPPI) has achieved a lot in its close to five years in the business - launching a total of 43 distinctive projects in the Philippines encompassing residential, township, commercial and office developments in...

First Metro voted as best local bond house.
December 29, 2011... FIRST METRO Investment Corporation, the investment banking arm of the Metrobank Group, has been voted as the Best Domestic Bond House in the Philippines by The Asset Publishing and Research Ltd. in its Triple A Country Awards for 2011. It is...

PEOPLE.
December 29, 2011... Sterling Bank names Treasury Group head STERLING BANK of Asia announced the appointment of former foreign bank treasurer, Cecilio Paul San Pedro, to head its Treasury Group as executive vice-president and treasurer. Mr. San Pedro was...

BRIEFS.
December 29, 2011... Medical center opens AFTER THREE years of construction, the Tacloban Doctors Medical Center (TDMC) has finally opened along Congressman Artemio Mate Avenue to serve the health care needs of Tacloban's more than 250,000 population. "We have...

What are you doin' New Year's Eve.
December 29, 2011... Whether you want your New Year's Eve loud or the other way around, there is no need to go very far to celebrate as the metro offers a variety of options from the solemn, to the filling, to the most heart pumping. MAKATI At the Dusit Thani...

Metro Manila Film Festival 2011: Getting exactly what you expect.(Movie review)
December 29, 2011... Byline: Antonio Siegfrid O. Alegado MOVIE REVIEW Enteng ng Ina Mo Directed by Tony Y. Reyes Star Cinema/ APT Entertainment/M-Zet Films (BusinessWorld is coming out with a series of reviews of the Metro Manila Film Festival movies...

Metro Manila Film Festival 2011: Role reversal.(Movie review)
December 29, 2011... Byline: Noemi M. Gonzales MOVIE REVIEW My Househusband Directed by Joey Reyes OctoArts Films He who holds economic power wields political power, or so says Marx on state relations, but this may also hold true inside the bedroom as...