BusinessWorld (Philippines) articles from May 2011

BusinessWorld (Philippines) archives from May 2011

Katrina Halili returns to TV.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Jeffrey O. Valisno Katrina Halili admits she is not used to acting in front of the camera anymore, having been away from the spotlight for quite some time following the controversial sex video that leaked to the public in 2009. ...

Sometimes it's a good thing to be a loser.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Jeffrey O. Valisno After producing the local versions of reality shows like Big Brother and Fear Factor, Lopez-led ABS-CBN Corp. hopes to reproduce the success of yet another international franchise. This time, the network is...

Freedom Climb 2011 set in June.
May 31, 2011... FREEDOM CLIMB 2011, set on June 11 to 12, will once again put the Philippines in global map, as participants from all over the country work together to achieve the Guinness World Records for the Most Number of People on Mountain Ascent in...

SM North EDSA opens renovated Sky Garden.
May 31, 2011... SHOPPERS at SM City North EDSA can look forward to their own corner of the sky when the Sky Garden, the most innovative and exciting part of the mall's renovation formally opened its doors to the public. A long elevated curvilinear park at...

Multiply Commerce offers online shopping space.
May 31, 2011... FROM ITS beginning as a social networking site where millions of people went to share photos and videos, Multiply has evolved into the largest online shopping site in the Philippines with the introduction of Multiply Commerce. Multiply...

PEOPLE.
May 31, 2011... MDA&Co. elects new managing partner, CEO MANABAT DELGADO AMPER & Co. (MDA&Co.), the Philippine member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd., announces the election of Greg Navarro as its new managing partner and chief executive...

COURTSIDE.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Anthony L. Cuaycong Scottie Pippen should not have said it, of course. Having seen action alongside all-time great Michael Jordan throughout his prime, he should have been moved to exercise prudence and made sure not to put forth...

GIVE AND GO.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Michael Angelo S. Murillo In successive fashion last week, the breakout National Basketball Association season of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Chicago Bulls came to an end. A year that saw them go far and achieve much than what many...

SPECIAL FEATURE: LEED-Certified Properties.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Katrina Paola B. Alvarez Long before electric fans and air-conditioning came about, humans simply used windows to channel cool air into their homes. The word "window" itself is rooted in the Old Norse vindauga, which literally means...

SPECIAL FEATURE: LEED-Certified Properties.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Victoria T. Vizcarra IT'S NOT EVERYDAY that environmental ends and design du jour converge, but the upcycling trend is sweeping craft-savvy artisans and treehuggers alike. The term didn't come about until 2002, when it was coined...

SPECIAL FEATURE: LEED-Certified Properties.
May 31, 2011... Byline: ] Hannah M. Muralla IF THE 1850S Villavicencio mansion in Taal, Batangas, could talk, it might tell the tale of how Filipino revolutionaries like Andres Bonifacio and Miguel Malvar planned their battles within its walls, or how it...

SPECIAL FEATURE: LEED-Certified Properties.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Katrina Paola B. Alvarez PHOTOS OF PLAYFUL PANDAS and scrambling baby sea turtles may melt the heart of even the hardiest wildlife hunter, but cuteness isn't the only reason to keep endangered species alive. Regardless of its size or...

SPECIAL FEATURE: LEED-Certified Properties.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Anna Patricia G. Valerio THE GREEN STAMP of approval from the US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) may be a hot topic among developers these days, but for those who want to go beyond playing...

SPECIAL FEATURE: LEED-Certified Properties.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Hannah M. Muralla WHAT'S THE TRADE-OFF for consuming a slice of marbled, tender steak more often than the occasional treat? A lot, it turns out. Aside from the health risks associated with eating too much meat - among them heart...

SPECIAL FEATURE: LEED-Certified Properties.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Anna Patricia G. Valerio THE WORD "environment-friendly" has been thrown around so carelessly these days that it has displaced another important but lesser-heard term: greenwashing. Coined by environmentalist Jay Westerveld in a...

House committee OK's bill to fine cybercrimes.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Noemi M. Gonzales THE HOUSE committee on information and communications technology (ICT) yesterday approved a bill that will safeguard information on the Internet. The still unnumbered bill, a consolidation of nine measures, seeks...

TO TAKE A STAND.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Rafael M. Alunan III "Take nothing but pictures. Leave nothing but footprints. Kill nothing but time." It was another dream come true for Oscar M. Lopez (OML). Making things happen is in his genes. The seed took root years ago from...

FENCE SITTER.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Antonio R. Samson The phrase "clinical cuisine," though seldom used and probably never heard of by you before, is an oxymoron. No, that is not a moron deprived of oxygen. It is a seemingly self-contradicting combination of words, like...

FRAMEWORK.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Elfren Sicangco Cruz Do family firms interpret the roles of accounting and auditing differently from nonfamily firms? Do auditors interpret their role vis-a-vis the family firms differently? How does family involvement in...

MAP INSIGHTS.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Manuel A. Alcuaz, Jr. New Comelec Commissioner Gus Lagman has come under the guns of a bunch of columnists who question his lack of ardent support for full automation and criticisms of the Smartmatic PCOS. Some of them claim that Gus...

COMMENTARY.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Winston A. Marbella At the time of the 1969 moonwalk by the Apollo astronauts, Pope Paul VI made history by sending the first papal radio message to astronauts hurtling through space. Some 40 years later, one Saturday in May 2011,...

Auction raises only P1.5B.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Ann Rozainne R. Gregorio THE GOVERNMENT did not sell one-year Treasury bills and made just a partial award of three- and six-month papers at the auction yesterday as investors placed bids higher than the yields at the secondary...

New BSP rules allow banks to outsource ATM upkeep.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Diane Claire J. Jiao BANKS can now outsource the servicing of their offsite automated teller machines (ATM) to third-party service providers, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said. The central bank released Circular No. 723,...

EastWest Bank Q1 earnings slide 7%.(Financial report)
May 31, 2011... EASTWEST Banking Corp. suffered the same fate as other banks, as lower trading gains ate into its bottom line in the first quarter. In a statement, EastWest yesterday said it posted a net income of P443 million in the three months to March,...

Peso tracks euro, rises to P43.315:$1.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Ann Rozainne R, Gregorio THE PESO strengthened against the dollar yesterday, tracking the euro that gained against the greenback on news that US jobless claims had risen. It gained five-and-a-half-centavos to settle at P43.315 per...

Stocks sustain rise to third trading day.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Neil Jerome C. Morales A COMBINATION of bargain hunting and a respite from bad news from abroad allowed the stock exchange to extend gains for a third straight trading day yesterday. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) added...

Diokno quits; Aquino sees faster reforms in prison system.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Johanna Paola D. Poblete and Nathaniel R. Melican EMBATTLED BUREAU of Corrections Director Ernesto Diokno yesterday resigned from his post over the controversial outside trips of a former local official convicted of homicide. ...

Energy, Spratlys up in Brunei visit.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Johanna Paola D. Poblete PRESIDENT BENIGNO S. C. Aquino III yesterday said he will raise potential tie-ups in the energy sector, particularly in natural gas, and discussing security issues in the South China Sea during his official...

Shell raises pump prices, cooking gas price lowered.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Emilia Narni J. David with AFP THE SERIES of pump price cuts over the past weeks was halted yesterday after Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. announced higher prices effective today. Prices of unleaded gasoline are up by P0.50 per...

DFA points to BSP glitch in passport.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Romer S. Sarmiento GENERAL SANTOS CITY - The local consular office of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) yesterday blamed a technical glitch on the production process in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) as reason for delayed...

Nonperforming officials eyed for other positions, says Aquino.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Johanna Paola D. Poblete CABINET OFFICIALS will be evaluated and those found lacking in performance will be given new positions, said President Benigno S. C. Aquino III yesterday, following reports of possible changes over recent...

Aviation body confident of boosting inspection capability.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Kathleen A. Martin THE PHILIPPINES' civil aviation regulator expects to complete training of enough qualified inspectors - a key requirement for a safety rating upgrade from the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) - before that US body's...

South Korean funding sought for P15-B Iloilo river project.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Francis Allan L. Angelo ILOILO CITY - The planned P15-billion Jalaur River Multipurpose Project II in Iloilo province may soon secure South Korean government assistance, Senator Franklin M. Drilon said in a public meeting here last...

Blue crabs dwindling.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Sarwell Q. Meniano TACLOBAN CITY - The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the Philippine Association of Crab Processors, Inc. (PACPI) will release today hatchery-grown blue swimming crab juveniles into the waters of...

Halal 'lifestyle' pushed in Mindanao.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Carmelito Q. Francisco DAVAO CITY - The tourism industry is pushing for the development of "a halal lifestyle," particularly in Mindanao, as part of efforts to lure more tourists from predominantly Muslim countries. Susan C. Palad,...

Tourism dep't claims foreign visitor count on track to goal.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Nathaniel R. Melican THE DEPARTMENT of Tourism (DoT) said yesterday that foreign tourist arrivals reached about 1.31 million in the four months to April, nearly half the full-year target and about 13.33% more than what was recorded in...

Importance of mobile services for dev't cited.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Eliza J. Diaz THE PHILIPPINES has been cited by a United Nations (UN) report for developing mobile money transfer services, which the global agency deemed an effective model for remittance-dependent economies. "Remittances have...

Alternative livelihood needed.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Louella D. Desiderio THE GOVERNMENT should offer alternative livelihood for tobacco farmers, who may see incomes fall after planned higher cigarette taxes are imposed, speakers said in a forum yesterday. Speaking in a tobacco...

LET'S TALK TAX.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Lina P. Figueroa People are generally averse to paying penalties. Aside from the additional financial burden, many people are reluctant to admit that they are guilty of noncompliance for a number of reasons. In many cases, the...

Lopez conglomerate hikes capex tenfold for power projects.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Neil Jerome C. Morales LOPEZ-LED First Philippine Holdings Corp. will increase capital spending by more than tenfold this year to upgrade its geothermal plants and solar panel factory even as the company expects earnings to drop by a...

Manila Water allots P1.02B for pipe replacement program.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Emilia Narni J. David EAST ZONE water concessionaire Manila Water Co., Inc. will spend P1.02 billion to replace old pipes with wider variants and put up new reservoirs in a bid to increase delivering capacity to residents south of the...

Local Panasonic arm records 781% profit surge.(Financial report)
May 31, 2011... ELECTRONICS MAKER Panasonic Manufacturing Philippines Corp. reported a profit surge for its fiscal year ending in March as technical accounting policies allowed it to slash tax expenses. Panasonic Manufacturing posted a 780.5% increase in net...

Manila Jockey lists more shares.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Neil Jerome C. Morales LISTED MANILA Jockey Club, Inc. listed nearly P300 million worth of common shares on the local stock exchange yesterday. Proceeds from the P287.49-million share listing "will be used to pay [for the...

4 power assets acquired.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Emilia Narni J. David AN ABOITIZ Power Corp. unit has acquired four floating power plants from its private operators, the company said in a disclosure yesterday. Therma Mobile, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Aboitiz Power,...

Jollibee Foods completes purchase of US-based Chowking.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Neil Jerome C. Morales JOLLIBEE FOODS Corp. yesterday said it has completed buying back all franchised Chowking stores in the United States for $16 million in line with plans to take greater charge of expansion of the dim sum brand in...

House Body to Discuss Bill Legalizing Divorce
May 31, 2011... Byline: Noemi M. Gonzales THE HOUSE of Representatives is set to discuss tomorrow a bill seeking to legalize divorce, another measure frowned upon by the Catholic Church similar to the Reproductive Health Bill. This, after Malta, a...

MMDA gives deadline to quit smoking.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Noemi M. Gonzales THE METROPOLITAN Manila Development Authority (MMDA) yesterday kicked off a one-month intensified information campaign against smoking in public places preparatory to strict implementation of the policy starting July...

Court stay sought on nickel mining operations.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Nathaniel R. Melican GROUPS OF indigenous people in two provinces in Mindanao have filed a petition for Writ of Kalikasan (nature) at the Supreme Court against the operation of nickel miners whose projects have polluted rivers and...

MILF prisoner release pressed.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Amilbahar S. Mawallil ZAMBOANGA CITY - The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) yesterday reiterated its call for the government to release rebels detained as political prisoners in line with a commitment obtained during a meeting of...

Palace mystery tree declared a heritage icon.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Johanna Paola D. Poblete A CENTURY-OLD Balete (fiscus concinma) at Malacanan Palace was yesterday declared a heritage tree and symbol of the country's commitment to the United Nations (UN) Decade on Biodiversity and International Year...

Underspending curbs growth (Economy expands by 4.9% in Q1, down from.
May 31, 2011... Byline: Judy Dannibelle T. Chua Co and Diane Claire J. Jiao ECONOMIC GROWTH eased to 4.9% in the first quarter, pulled down by factors such as government underspending that analysts said have placed the 7-8% target for 2011 at risk. The...

Proposed Legislation Seeks to Boost Copyright Protection
May 31, 2011... Byline: Noemi M. Gonzales A MEASURE that seeks to provide an environment where it is safe to distribute and license copyrighted works was approved on third and final reading yesterday by the House of Representatives. The move follows...

Banks, trust firms told to file daily NDF transaction reports.
May 31, 2011... THE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) has directed banks and trust firms to submit non-deliverable forward (NDF) reports daily instead of weekly in a bid to curb volatility in the peso-dollar exchange rate. In Memorandum Circular No. 28...

Senators ratify measure capping GOCC execs' pay.
May 31, 2011... THE SENATE yesterday ratified a bill streamlining compensation at state-owned firms, with the House of Representatives expected to follow suit later this week. Malacanang was non-commital as to when President Benigno S.C. Aquino III would be...

BRIEFS.
May 31, 2011... Airline bares promo CEBU PACIFIC slashes its fares with a 50% off seat sale to all international and domestic destinations from May 31 to June 3 or until seats last, for travel from Aug. 1 to Oct. 31. "We are putting more than 500,000 seats...

SPECIAL FEATURE: 21st Century Business-friendly Cities.
May 30, 2011... Byline: Katrina Paola B. Alvarez Going south is rarely a voluntary move for businesses. But rather than allude to a sinking venture, Davao City is using the expression to lure in more investors, employing a blossoming entrepreneurial...

SPECIAL FEATURE: 21st Century Business-friendly Cities.
May 30, 2011... Byline: Victoria T. Vizcarra DAVAO IS CURRENTLY the sixth most popular travel destination in the country. And rightly so: the region famous for its durian is also packed with sightseeing hot spots and verdant landscapes for both tourists and...

SPECIAL FEATURE: 21st Century Business-friendly Cities.
May 30, 2011... Byline: Victoria T. Vizcarra BETWEEN INVESTORS coming in and buildings coming up, Davao City's administrators are now paying more attention to improving the living conditions of its urban poor. Out of the P4.11-billion annual budget set...

SPECIAL FEATURE: 21st Century Business-friendly Cities.
May 30, 2011... Byline: Katrina Paola B. Alvarez MOST CITIES push development to the very edge of their borders, but Davao's largely agricultural economy has led to a land use plan that just might be unique in the country. A drive south on the...

SPECIAL FEATURE: CCAP's Annual Conference.
May 30, 2011... Byline: Katrina Paola B. Alvarez Credit card programs may get a bad rap for entangling customers in a web of debt, fine print, and fees, but for all their shortcomings, these schemes have also made it much more convenient for responsible...

SPECIAL FEATURE: CCAP's Annual Conference.(Conference news)
May 30, 2011... Byline: Victoria T. Vizcarra IT'S HIGH TIME cardholders think before they swipe, said Amando M. Tetangco Jr., governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). "Credit discipline provides the framework within which we can exercise sound...

SPECIAL FEATURE: CCAP's Annual Conference.(Conference news)
May 30, 2011... Byline: Katrina Paola B. Alvarez CREDIT CARD firms and merchant establishments keep trotting out new measures to secure their clients' purchases, but fraudsters and thieves can prove equally crafty in finding cracks to slip through. Just...

KBP strengthens protection of child in broadcast media.
May 30, 2011... THE KAPISANAN ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP), the industry association of the broadcast media, is set to approve new provisions of its broadcast code to reinforce current standards on programming related to children. The new guidelines...

Youth leads health awareness drive.
May 30, 2011... EIGHT PUBLIC high school students from eight Mindanao provinces were hailed as Youth Health Champions and will promote health-seeking habits among residents of their respective communities. Ace Suganob, Lala National High School, Lanao del...

First Metro inaugurates investors center.
May 30, 2011... FIRST METRO Investment Corp., the investment banking arm of the Metrobank Group, has opened its first Investors Center as part of its plan to broaden its market base, particularly in the retail sector. The Investors Center is located at the...

PEOPLE.
May 30, 2011... PSIA director named CHEd committee member THE COMMISSION on Higher Education (CHEd) has recently appointed a top executive of the Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA) as a member of the Technical Committee on Computer Science...

BRIEFS.
May 30, 2011... Entrepreneurship forum set THE PHILIPPINE Development Foundation is hosting the "PhilDev Forum: Innovation and Entrepreneurship for a Globally Competitive Philippines" on June 14 at the InterContinental Manila. The forum focuses on concrete...

WEALTH MANAGER.
May 30, 2011... Byline: Karen Joyce Q. Ang Recommendation: Buy on correction A LOCAL brokerage firm has advised equity investors to wait before buying shares in Philweb Corp. as the stock's share price is expected to drop. Philweb's share price has...

WEALTH MANAGER.
May 30, 2011... Byline: Marielle Dianne S. Misula Recommendation: Buy A BROKERAGE firm has advised investors to buy shares in the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) as it is expected to retain market dominance with its acquisition of a majority...

WEALTH MANAGER.
May 30, 2011... Byline: Daniel Anne Nepomuceno-Rodriguez Recommendation: Buy on weakness A BROKERAGE firm has advised investors to buy shares in GMA Network, Inc. but at a cheaper price, given the stock's lackluster price action lately. "GMA is a...

WEALTH MANAGER.
May 30, 2011... Byline: J. Albert Gamboa If we're not careful, the Philippines might soon be overtaken by Vietnam in terms of economic growth. The socialist country's gross domestic product (GDP) per capita reached $3,100 in 2010 compared to our $3,500. Over...

WEALTH MANAGER.
May 30, 2011... Byline: Anthony Pangilinan A tweet I sent out last Saturday, in desperation: "In my new radio- cable TV show at TV5: mixing radio, TV, Twitter, SMS, Facebook (FB), on- screen texts/posts, phone-in calls, & live guests. Whew! My kids would...

WEALTH MANAGER.
May 30, 2011... Byline: Donald Lim Given the proliferation of social networking sites, it seems that e- mail marketing has become passe. Does it still work for marketers? The advent of the Internet gave birth to e-mail. In my opinion, even before Web...

WEALTH MANAGER.
May 30, 2011... Monday, 30 May - Last day for REGISTRATION of computerized books of accounts and other accounting records in CD-R, DVD-R or other optical media properly labeled with the information required under existing revenue issuances together with...

COURTSIDE.
May 30, 2011... Byline: Anthony L Cuaycong What a difference a month makes. When the 2011 Play-offs began, Derrick Rose was the toast of the National Basketball Association. The Bulls had just clinched the best regular-season record on the strength of his...

CHESS PIECE.
May 30, 2011... Byline: Bobby Ang 46th Capablanca Memorial Havana, Cuba May 10-21, 2011 1-2. GM Vassily Ivanchuk UKR 2776, GM Le Quang Liem VIE 2687, 6.5/10 3. GM Dmitry Andreikin RUS 2687, 5.5/10 4. GM David Navara CZE 2702, 5.0/10 5. GM...

Bags that won't break your back.
May 30, 2011... Byline: Jeffrey O. Valisno Whether it's for travel, outdoor adventure, or simply for daily use, toting around a bag full of stuff is not only tiresome - it could also lead to serious back complications. It may all start off as a simple...

TAKE TEN.
May 30, 2011... Byline: Behn Cervantes Solo is named appropriately so. His parents -- my grandnephew Chelu and his wife Ana married when they were of age. Actually, they wed when they were approaching middle age. Both had made it a point to enjoy single...

Pushing the envelope.
May 30, 2011... Byline: Raoul J. Chee Kee Two of the most popular shows at Philippine Fashion Week have always been Design Fusion and Visions & Trends. The designers in these group shows are usually younger and their creations are often described as...

Distributor of upscale fashion items introduces more brands to local.
May 30, 2011... Byline: Carmelito Q. Francisco DAVAO CITY - Vogue Concepts, Inc., a company that brings in foreign products, including upscale European fashion names, is planning to add more brands to its list. The company has just established its shops...

SPECIAL FEATURE: Trusted Names in Serviced Apartments.
May 30, 2011... THE SERVICED APARTMENTS industry in Metro Manila is gradually making its way to the top of the corporate world's list of preferred living spaces. As it is, the capital is already a playground for expatriates who are drawn to its cheaper cost...

SPECIAL FEATURE: Trusted Names in Serviced Apartments.
May 30, 2011... Masters at marrying the comforts of home and the lightning-quick service of premiere hotels, the Ascott Limited (Ascott) has been in the serviced apartments business for years before it touched base in local shores roughly a decade ago. ...

Prices seen staying flat without catalysts.
May 30, 2011... Byline: Kathleen A. Martin SHARE PRICES are seen moving sideways this week sans major catalysts at home and from overseas, analysts said. "Technically, the market leaves investors on the sidelines waiting for a more convincing signal that...

Debt repayment still high (Microfinance NGOs boast 95% rate).
May 30, 2011... Byline: Antonio Siegfrid O. Alegado MICROFINANCE has continued to enjoy a high repayment rate - proof that the poor make good debtors - but industry players stressed a need for vigilance given the practice of "multiple borrowings." "We...