BusinessWorld (Philippines) articles from June 2000, page 5

BusinessWorld (Philippines) archives from June 2000

Malacanang says gov't will not backtrack on implementation of road user's tax.
June 23, 2000... Executive Secretary Ronaldo B. Zamora yesterday assured that President Estrada will definitely sign the proposed road user's tax despite the change of heart by some legislators. "Pipirmahan iyon. Tandaan natin na ang Senado at House of...

North Korea-MILF arms deal report not 'low-level', says Orly.
June 23, 2000... Defense Secretary Orlando S. Mercado came short of confirming yesterday that high-powered firearms are set to be shipped to Moro rebels in Mindanao by a supplier from North Korea. In a press briefing, Mr. Mercado also said that the...

Sandiganbayan orders arrest of three former coconut officials.
June 23, 2000... The Sandiganbayan ordered yesterday the arrest of former Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) officials for graft. In an order, the Sandiganayan directed the anti-graft court's sheriff to arrest former PCA administrator Virgilio David,...

Meet with Abu Sayyaf rebels not expected soon.
June 23, 2000... The government team negotiating for the release of 21 mostly foreign hostages held by Moro rebels on Jolo island are not expecting talks with the hostage takers in the next few days. Thus said yesterday Sulu governor Abdusakur Tan, who...

Senate body confirms Cabinet pressure on DoTC to accommodate LRT-II bidders.
June 23, 2000... The Senate ways and means committee confirmed yesterday Cabinet pressure on the Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) to accommodate previously disqualified bidders in the Light Rail Transit (LRT) II project. Documents...

MILF won't abandon bid to establish Islamic state (Despite Estrada threat of all-out war).
June 23, 2000... The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will never abandon its bid to establish an independent Islamic state in Mindanao. This is despite President Joseph Estrada's threat to order an all-out military offensive on MILF camps, an MILF...

Cop killed in encounter.
June 23, 2000... CEBU CITY - A policeman was killed while several suspected New People's Army rebels were believed to have been wounded in an encounter between suspected rebels and patrolling policemen in Bgy. Overlan near Buenavista town in Bohol. P/Insp....

Muslims rally at Crame.
June 23, 2000... Sosyalistang Partido ng Paggawa (SPP), a mass-based socialist party, and Muslims rallied at Camp Crame yesterday to oppose "the Estrada government's all-out war against the Bangsamoro people" and to seek the release of 26 Muslim suspects in...

Pagudpud mayor rapped.
June 23, 2000... Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte mayor Reynolan T. Sales was charged with murder recently for the death of his political foe. Mr. Sales, who is now detained at the Ilocos Norte provincial jail, was charged at the Sandiganbayan for shooting to death...

Roco hits Puno defense.
June 23, 2000... Senator Raul S. Roco criticized yesterday Press Secretary Ricardo V. Puno, Jr. for defending President Joseph Estrada's appointment of high school buddies to sensitive government posts. In his weekly press briefing, the opposition senator...

Port row resolved today.
June 23, 2000... The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) is scheduled to submit today to Executive Secretary Ronaldo B. Zamora its findings and recommendations on questions raised in the P5-billion Batangas port development project. "By (today) we should have...

PESO Cross Rates as of June 22, 2000.
June 23, 2000... one unit Phil Aussie Bahrain Cndn French of currency peso dollar dinar dollar franc Philippines 1.0000 0.0389 0.0088 0.0345 0.1625 Australia 25.7187 1.0000 0.2271 0.8867 4.1793 Bahrain 113.2410 4.4031 1.0000 3.9044 18.4018 ...

BSP Reference Rates as of June 22, 2000.
June 23, 2000... Equivalent Equivalent Equivalent of foreign of US$1 of foreign currency in in foreign currency in Currency US Dollar currency RP peso Convertible currencies with BSP US dollar 1.000000 1.000000 42.693000 Japanese yen 0.009475...

SPECIAL FEATURE: Banking.com: Banking without restrictions.
June 23, 2000... The financial services industry is undoubtedly one of the key industries that the Internet has revolutionized. The banking sector, which actively sits at the forefront of this industry, has certainly no plans of lagging behind. In the...

SPECIAL FEATURE: Banking.com: East-West Bank tailors e-banking services to suit clients.
June 23, 2000... One thing people can't afford to do with the developments in Information Technology is to sit and wait. In industries heavily affected by the emergence of Bluetooth, Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) and Third Generation technology (3G), it...

DA rejects Belgium proposal to solve trade dispute.
June 23, 2000... The farm trade dispute between the Philippines and Belgium is far from over. The Department of Agriculture (DA) has rejected the Belgian government's offer to publicly declare Philippine canned tuna exports as safe for human consumption....

Salomon Smith Barney opens Manila office.
June 23, 2000... Salomon Smith Barney has officially launched its Philippine office in the heart of Manila's financial district to offer equity research and investment banking capabilities covering domestic markets. "The Manila office will add another...

Smart, Sonera in joint venture.
June 23, 2000... Smart Communications, Inc. will be forging a joint-venture agreement with Finnish mobile portal company Sonera Zed Ltd. to provide content for the cellular firm's wireless application protocol (WAP) service. The company has already...

Editorial: Citilog develops video analysis system for traffic management.
June 23, 2000... French company Citilog has designed a video image processing system for traffic management of roads, highways and cities. Making use of the latest technological advances in video sensors and image processing techniques, these systems...

BCDA may negotiate if Boni asset sale fails.
June 23, 2000... In case bidding for its P50-billion Asset Disposition Program (ADP) fails, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) is open to negotiate prices with four property developers earlier shortlisted during the prequalification...

Demand Rates as of June 21, 2000.
June 23, 2000... The interbank demand rate weighted average was 10-11/32%, according to the Bangko Sentral treasury department. Rates quoted by 14 participating institutions ranged from 10-1/16% to 11.0000%, with lenders outnumbering borrowers at 9 to 5....

Only 16 thrifts undercapitalized.
June 23, 2000... The Chamber of Thrift Banks (CTB) yesterday clarified that four thrift banks out of the 20 earlier reported "have already hurdled the requirement" on capital buildup set by the Bangko Sentral. In a statement, the umbrella group of thrift...

PDIC to turn over proceeds from sale of banks this June.
June 23, 2000... The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) is set to turn over this month around P2.6 billion to the National Government. The amount represents proceeds from PDIC's liquidation of two banks that closed down several years ago. In a...

Banks to trade corporate papers next week.
June 23, 2000... The Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) will next week launch the trading of long-term commercial papers (LTCPs) in the secondary market to help investment houses with liquidity problems, while at the same time set up a benchmark for...

BSP relaxes reserves rule, to allow banks week-ago funds (One less excuse to jack up rates).
June 23, 2000... Banks will now have one less reason to charge high interest rates. The policy-setting Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral recently approved a measure that will allow banks to set aside reserves on a "one week-ago" basis. The move...

Road connecting Quezon to Manila via Real completed.
June 23, 2000... MAUBAN, QUEZON - The 3.25-kilometer Mauban-Tignoan road connecting the far-flung barangays of Cagsiay 1 and 2 and San Lorenzo of this town, which will bring them on the path of speedy and steady development, has been completed and will be...

Reynolds Philippines encounters obstacles in servicing debts.
June 23, 2000... Aluminum sheet manufacturer Reynolds Philippines Corp. (RPC) is reportedly encountering difficulties in servicing its more than P1-billion debt to several creditor banks and needs a white knight that would be willing to infuse much-needed...

Philratings rates JG Summit, Robinsons.
June 23, 2000... Local credit rating agency Philippine Ratings Services Corp. (Philratings) said it has retained its credit rating for JG Summit Holdings' outstanding long-term commercial papers (LTCP) worth P2.5 billion. Philratings said JG Summit's...

First Resources eyes majority control of Wincorp parent firm.
June 23, 2000... Yuchengco-owned First Resources Management and Securities Corp. has raised its bid for 80% of Unioil Resources and Holding Co., Inc. - parent company of troubled Westmont Investment Corp. (Wincorp). The firm upped its offer to P170 million...

Piltel finalizing debt talks with Marubeni, bondholders.
June 23, 2000... After getting the nod of creditor banks for the restructuring of its P13-billion debt, cash-strapped cellular firm Pilipino Telephone Corp. (Piltel) will now sit down with Marubeni Corp. to negotiate for the payment of debts owed to the...

Interconnection rules ready by end-June - NTC.
June 23, 2000... The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) said it will finish next week the much-awaited guidelines that will allow telephone companies to easily access each other's networks. In a telephone interview, NTC deputy commissioner...

Newspoint: Held hostage, yet in control.
June 23, 2000... If the idea is to prove the ineptitude of the Estrada government, the Abu Sayyaf appears succeeding. Not that anyone needs any proof to be convinced one way or the other. Since Joseph Estrada's election became a forgone conclusion, the nation...

ERB suspends hearing on Meralco bid.
June 23, 2000... The Energy Regulatory Board (ERB) once again suspended the hearing on Manila Electric Co.'s (Meralco) power rate increase as oppositors asked the inhibition of two commissioners in hearing the case. During the resumption of hearings...

Landco Pacific allocates P10 B for 2 developments.
June 23, 2000... Metro Pacific Corp. (MPC) subsidiary Landco Pacific Corp. is set to start development of two residential resort projects in Batangas estimated to cost between P10 billion and P12 billion. In a press conference held yesterday, Landco...

Vector: Federalism as an alternative.
June 23, 2000... With even one of his harshest critics applauding President Estrada's position, the proposal to recast our present republican structure to a federal system will most probably be consigned to the archives. Indeed, the national leadership must...

Hither and Thither: Playing leapfrog in China.
June 23, 2000... HONG KONG - As the two Koreas started holding hands last week, the world's biggest supposedly Communist nation (China) passed the hat around to the world's capitalist community, and asked the question: Do you want to bet on the possibility of...

Fast Forward: Machismo in Erap's June 30 deadline.
June 23, 2000... The Estrada regime's insistence that an agreement be forged between itself and the MILF by Friday next week is not only unreasonable but downright ridiculous. Obviously, the government still believes its own propaganda line that it can bring...

Rule of Law: Emulating Korea.
June 23, 2000... Had it been some other people, I could perhaps conclude that a summit between two leaders of different and clashing ideologies could very well be branded as mere propaganda or political gimmick at its highest order. But not so for the...

WEEKENDER: Travel Trade East: Philippine airports to be modernized.
June 23, 2000... The biggest and most comprehensive airport exhibition in the region called Airport 2000 Philippines will be held from June 29 to July 1 at the Philippine Trade Training Center on Roxas Boulevard. The exhibition, the first-ever of its kind,...

SPECIAL FEATURE: Sports Utility Vehicles: More features for next-generation SUVs.
June 23, 2000... Following the financial crisis that hit the country a few years ago, sales of most high-ticket products on the market went down as buying power went down. But one segment of the automotive industry continued to sell. Sports utility vehicles...

Confusion over BSP rule causes peso decline.
June 23, 2000... Owing to confusion about a new Bangko Sentral move for a closer monitoring of foreign exchange flows, the peso yesterday shed 21 centavos to average at P42.907 vis-a-vis the US dollar, against P42.693 the other day, with total volume turnover...

SPECIAL FEATURE: Banking.com: UnionBank offers RP's first Internet-based bank account.
June 23, 2000... UnionBank now offers EON, an Internet-based account that changes the rules of banking. EON eliminates the need for branches, passbooks or checkbooks, and transaction slips. Since it is Internet-based, an account holder can do his banking...

SPECIAL FEATURE: Banking.com: Going beyond virtual presence (Service remains clients' prime consideration).
June 23, 2000... True to the archetypal banker, most Philippine banks have chosen to take it slowly but surely in treading the Internet path. This after a heady rush to join the rest of the wired world in offering services over the Internet. To some...

SPECIAL FEATURE: ERICSSON CORPORATE GOLF LEAGUE PHILIPPINES (A Member of the Ericsson Corporate Golf Tour...
June 23, 2000... Recently at CeBit in Hannover, Ericsson unveiled its most colorful mobile phone up to date - the A2618. Apart from being colorful, the A2618 also offers WAP over SMS. The A2618 can be personalized in many ways, by exchangeable snap-on...

SPECIAL FEATURE: ERICSSON CORPORATE GOLF LEAGUE PHILIPPINES (A Member of the Ericsson Corporate Golf Tour...
June 23, 2000... While Ericsson has been known as the telecommunicaitons solutions company, its involvement in sports like tennis and golf is noteworthy. In Asia, Ericsson has been a major proponent in promoting golf as a networking tool for executives...

BankAccounts: Investment house junkies.
June 23, 2000... Haunted by PNB After the anti-climatic ending of the PNB bidding early this month, one would expect that public interest on the bank would now wane. Unfortunately, Finance chief Titoy Pardo says, it hasn't. Speaking to reporters who were...

Paint manufacturer plans local initial public listing.
June 23, 2000... Paint manufacturer Corro-Coat, Inc. is set to join the "short" queue of companies planning to offer shares to the public, bear market notwithstanding. Corro-Coat plans to raise P176.64 million from the planned offering of 138 million...

Dear Editor: So much for land reform.
June 23, 2000... I have relatives in the Visayas, where agriculture was supposed to be a viable alternative in the late '60s up to the late '70s - not for the stereotype hacendero whom city people love to take potshots at with such condescencion, but for...

Editorial: Fence Sitter: Other matters.
June 23, 2000... Meetings usually have an agenda. The list of subjects to be discussed is intended to cue attendees on whether the meeting is important or if they can skip it. It also alerts proponents to prepare a presentation. They may need to massage...

Business Case Law: Renewal of lease.
June 23, 2000... Petitioner leased a piece of land from respondent. The lease contract provides "this lease shall be for a period of 15 years effective June 1, 1979, subject to renewal for another 10 years, under the same terms and conditions." Does the...

McDo's achievers off to Australia for youth camp.
June 23, 2000... Two Filipino students-one from Cagayan Valley and another from Lanao del Norte-have been named by McDonald's to represent the Philippines at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Youth Camp during the Olympic Summer Games in Australia this September. ...

Chess Piece: Creating magic moment: Eugene Torre and the 1974 Nice Olympiad.
June 23, 2000... The 21st Chess Olympiad was held in 1974 at Nice, France, with representatives from 74 countries answering the opening bell. Powerhouse teams from the Soviet Union, US, Yugoslavia and Hungary were the early favorites to win. After the...

Courtside: Coach L. Bird made his mark.
June 23, 2000... It would have been an understatement to argue that Larry Bird was awash with optimism minutes before the start of Game Six of the National Basketball Association finals series. Even as he was, in his own words, "nervous (and) scared," he felt...

Editorial: Take Ten: My Seoul connection - 1.
June 23, 2000... Myong Sup Shim was my roommate for a year in Hale Manoa Honolulu when he and I were there as East West Center (EWC) scholars in 1964. The EWC officials seriously fostered their aim to bring about international understanding so they paired off...

Manila musicians join in a French celebration of music.
June 23, 2000... Fete de la Musique 2000: A French Salute to Filipino Artistry will gather some of the finest musical acts of this generation in simultaneous concerts at the seven establishments at The Fort, in the Fort Bonifacio Global City, on June 24, 9...

SPECIAL FEATURE: Sports Utility Vehicles: Hi-Lander dominates AUV diesel category.
June 23, 2000... The toughest of them all remains unconquered. It's victory once again for the Isuzu Hi-Lander, which maintained its reign in the AUV diesel category for the month of May. Based on the recent TMA (Truck Manufacturers Association) report, a...

WEEKENDER: What makes a great advertising campaign?
June 23, 2000... Second of two parts Coca-Cola In a product category known for bouncy jingles and frothy hijinks, it was the last thing an audience would expect: a moment of genuine drama. But that's what grabbed TV viewers as a little kid connected...

WEEKENDER: The Medium & the Message: Palmolive & DYR halt fiesta traffic.
June 23, 2000... Fiesta celebrations in the Philippines over the years have been extolled by the tourism industry as tourism events. And even with the recent dwindling numbers of tourists in attendance, fiestas still connote festivity and excitement among the...

WEEKENDER: In new book, Jovito Salonga reminds Filipinos of Marcos sins.
June 23, 2000... "The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting." Thus said Czech novelist Milan Kundera in the first few pages of his 1979 novel, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting. Although such a maxim is often cited,...

WEEKENDER: The political gay (SOCIETY: Filipino gays continue the battle for equality and acceptance).
June 23, 2000... On June 26, the gay world celebrates International Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans-gendered Day, and again, gays, lesbians, their partners and their friends take to the streets and proudly proclaim themselves not merely as members of the...

WEEKENDER: kids for peace.
June 23, 2000... "Give peace a chance." These immortal words were uttered by the late lamented British singer-songwriter John Lennon in the 1960s, when he protested against the Vietnam War. From then on, such an appeal was repeated over and over by...

Subic residents assured of dev't programs.
June 23, 2000... SUBIC BAY FREEPORT - Residents of Sitio Agusuhin, Redondo Peninsula in Subic Bay, which hosted the construction of the concrete gravity substructure (CGS) of the Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEX), are feeling more secure with their...

Rizal's vision of education reflected in DECS program.
June 23, 2000... As the country celebrates the birth anniversary of Dr. Jose Rizal, the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) has embarked on a novel program that highlights Rizal's focus on education as key to the nation's progress and survival....

Phisix again slides on weak peso.
June 23, 2000... The peso's calvary, coupled with the drop in other regional markets, shoved local share prices further downhill yesterday as analysts noted the absence of catalysts to spark a market recovery. At the Philippine Dealing System, the...

Redefining the meaning of leisure.
June 23, 2000... New leisure and lifestyle beha-vior is triggering changes in develop-ment planning, Sta. Lucia Realty & Development Inc. president Exequiel Robles said. Affluence, more cosmopolitan attitudes, more sophisticated taste toward service and...

RSBS to pursue Riviera dev't.
June 23, 2000... The Armed Forces of the Philippines-Retirement and Separation Benefits System (AFP-RSBS) is focusing on the further development of its property, Riviera Golf and Country Club in Silang, Cavite, this year. RSBS president Franciso F. del...

DoJ says GSIS Bonifacio land is tax-exempt.
June 23, 2000... The Department of Justice (DoJ) recently ruled that the Gov-ernment Service Insurance System (GSIS) is not liable to pay transfer tax and registration fee for a parcel of land bought from the Fort Bonifacio Development Corp. (FBDC). In...

Fuzzy logic provides key to native energy systems (Award-winning hydropower plant design).
June 23, 2000... Last of two parts The use of fuzzy logic in a mini-hydropower plant may yet prove to be a first in the field of developing indigenous energy systems that adapt well to local conditions. In the mini-hydropower plant developed by the...

Financially distressed cellular firm Piltel inks debt restructuring pact.
June 22, 2000... After almost a year and a half of negotiations, the beleaguered cellular firm Pilipino Telephone Corp. (Piltel) has finally earned the approval of creditor banks for the restructuring of its P13-billion debt. Piltel, together with parent...

Creditor protection in RP worst in region.
June 22, 2000... For its failure to protect the rights of creditors in distressed and mismanaged companies, the World Bank has ranked the Philippines as having one of the worst legal enforcement systems in East Asia. In its latest Philippine report, a...

First batch of lawsuits vs firms in tax credit scam slated.
June 22, 2000... Government prosecutors aim to file by July the "initial batch of cases involving at least two textile firms owned by Chinese-Filipino businessman Faustino Chingkoe," a member of Special Presidential Task Force (SPTF) 156 which is...

FOCUS: Computer software, video CD piracy.
June 22, 2000... First of two parts In the narrow alleys of Virra Mall in Greenhills, San Juan, stacks of compact discs (CDs) on display in makeshift stalls are ready for the taking by bargain hunters who want the latest titles but are not willing - or...

ECC sets new bidding of gov't stake in PNB (Chances of actually selling shares are slim).
June 22, 2000... The National Government may end up exhausting the one-year extension given to it by the World Bank to sell its stake in the Philippine National Bank (PNB). An official privy to PNB's privatization efforts yesterday told BusinessWorld the...

Finance chief says measure necessary.
June 22, 2000... Finance Secretary Jose T. Pardo yesterday defended the proposed road user's tax, saying he government will try to convince Senator Juan Ponce Enrile to reconsider his call that President Estrada veto the measure. In a briefing in...

Legislator wants Congress to rethink road user's tax.
June 22, 2000... Senator Raul S. Roco wants floor debates on the proposed road user's tax reopened to allow lawmakers to reverse their approval of the measure. In a letter to Senate President Franklin M. Drilon, Mr. Roco sought the suspension of rules so...

DA asked to reveal cattle importation records.
June 22, 2000... Cattle-raising firm Dealco Farms, Inc. yesterday challenged the Department of Agriculture (DA) to prove that it does not favor selected cattle importers in its approval of import permits. Dealco executive vice-president Joyce B. Alcoreza...

Central Visayas development council backs two measures.
June 22, 2000... CEBU CITY - The Central Visayas Regional Development Council (RDC 7) has endorsed the proposed Chamber Law and the bill seeking to establish the Philippine Business Registry Databank. Members of the council from the four provinces in...

Taxwise or Otherwise: Investment Priorities Plan.
June 22, 2000... President Estrada recently approved the Investment Priorities Plan (IPP) for year 2000. The new IPP's theme is "Upliftment of the Lives of the Common Filipino by Developing Globally Competitive Industries." The IPP is a list of the...

Growth targets to be kept (Concerns over revenue collections raised).
June 22, 2000... The multi-agency Development Budget Coordinating Committee (DBCC) has agreed to maintain the country's growth targets at present levels despite pressure on the budget and agricultural production caused by the Mindanao conflict. But with...

Rice suppliers seeking higher rate for imports.
June 22, 2000... An increase in the world market prices of rice is stalling government efforts to finally sign contracts for the purchase of 210,000 metric tons (MT) of imported rice, an official of the National Food Authority (NFA) said. NFA deputy...

DoLE nullifies PALEA polls.
June 22, 2000... The woes of Philippine Airlines' 5,800-strong rank-and-file employees union Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA) seem to be never ending. This came after the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) ruled to nullify the results...

Metro Pacific expects sale of Metrovet soon.
June 22, 2000... The foreign buyer of Metro Pacific Corp.'s (MPC) Metrovet, Inc. is set to finalize its due diligence study this month, paving the way for its eventual sale. In an interview with BusinessWorld, MPC chief financial officer Grant S....

PAL to offer more frequent flyer perks to hike capacity.
June 22, 2000... Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) will enhance its frequent flyer program to increase its passenger load factor this year. Eileen J. Galindez, PAL manager for product loyalty marketing, told BusinessWorld in an interview that...

Piltel to focus on marketing borrowed digital technology.
June 22, 2000... Cellular firm Pilipino Telephone Corp. (Piltel) appears to be focusing more on marketing its borrowed digital technology, as it will merely maintain the operations of its existing cellular services. Piltel was able to ride on the...