BusinessWorld (Philippines) articles from October 2001, page 22

BusinessWorld (Philippines) archives from October 2001

R&D budget for farm sector.
October 2, 2001... The proposed P400.66-million 2002 budget for the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR), is not enough to fulfill President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's promises in the State of the Nation Address (SONA) for research and development (R&D) in the...

Airlines' fare hike strategy only.
October 2, 2001... The airfare hike implemented by local carriers yesterday is only "temporary" or will be in effect only until the situation "normalizes," Transportation and Communications Secretary Pantaleon D. Alvarez assured. Airline companies...

Gov't keeps growth targets, but.
October 2, 2001... The government is keeping to its economic growth targets for the year, notwithstanding the less optimistic growth projections of multilateral lending institutions. Yesterday, a member of the inter- agency Development Budget Coordination...

Consumer confidence falls to new.
October 2, 2001... Consumer confidence fell for the second consecutive month in September as household outlook for prospects of economic growth and job availability further dimmed in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. ...

BSP may cut rates given tight.
October 2, 2001... Tightening liquidity in the financial system may prompt the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to reduce its key interest rates as early as next week, especially if the September inflation rate remains in check. Meanwhile, new National...

PERSPECTIVE.
October 2, 2001... Second of three parts (My commentary "Endless War," which appeared on Monday, September 17, provoked a great many responses, some of which I would like to share with readers. Some of these letters come from readers in the United States,...

Small oil firms cut prices.
October 2, 2001... Small oil companies are cutting prices starting today, to reflect the drop in world crude prices in the last few weeks and the relative stability of the peso-dollar exchange rate. TWA, Inc., which operates Flying V service stations, will...

SEC readies governance reform rules.
October 2, 2001... The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plans to issue circulars covering disclosure requirements, accounting standards, and investor protection to strengthen its position in enforcing corporate governance reforms. Among the...

Washington's IT sector owes birth.
October 2, 2001... The rise of Washington state in the United States as a technology community is partly due to the so-called Alliance of Angels (AoA), a seed money put together by over 100 investors who provide technology start-ups access to capital. A...

Market Forces.
October 1, 2001... What is happening to our world? That seems to be the question people ask most these days in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on American monuments of economic and military might, the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. ...

Fence Sitter.
October 1, 2001... What do Filipinos talk about when they get together? An as yet unpublished sociological study, "Conversation Piece" delves into this pedestrian subject. The survey limits itself to social conversations, as it is clear what business people...

Dear Editor.
October 1, 2001... The Bush administration is bristling for war. And we understand the anger, the insult, the outrage. After the treacherous attacks inflicted by terrorists on two of its country's landmarks, the World Trade Center in New York, and Pentagon in...

Beyond Brushstrokes.
October 1, 2001... "There is nothing in this world constant, but inconstancy." - Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) Anglo-Irish clergyman and writer The Earth undergoes a continuous process of change. Nature's cycles signify the preordained order of life. The...

Dear Editor.
October 1, 2001... Our rail transport systems are fond of creating their own problems. The LRT has just implemented a new fare collection technique where tokens were replaced with magnetic cards. This caught passengers at a loss because they were unfamiliar...

San Miguel completes due diligence.
October 1, 2001... Despite a number of setbacks, food and beverage conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) has completed its due diligence audit on soft drinks firm Cosmos Bottling Corp. (CBC) of the Concepcion group. A well-placed source told BusinessWorld SMC...

Lexmark is top 5 exporter in Cebu.
October 1, 2001... CEBU CITY - After only a little over a year of operation, American inkjet manufacturer Lexmark International (Phils.), Inc. made it to the list of the top five exporters in Central Visayas region. A report by the Department of Trade and...

Ousted PSE prexy mulling legal.
October 1, 2001... Ousted Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) president Ramon T. Garcia is not about to hand over the reins of the country's sole stock exchange at a drop of a hat. After verbally receiving marching orders from the PSE board of governors last...

Banks seen posting lower income in.
October 1, 2001... Local banks are expected to post lower profits this year and the next as the global economy slows down following recent terrorist attacks on the United States. Also, a major concern is how banks would address the industry's rising...

Equitable PCI further cuts BSP.
October 1, 2001... Equitable PCI Bank trimmed its obligations with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) further after it retired another P1 billion in emergency loans. BSP governor Rafael B. Buenaventura told reporters that Equitable PCI had preterminated...

Equity buyers look at short-term.
October 1, 2001... After piercing new lows the past week, analysts expect bargain-cheap stocks to whet investors' appetite this week. The market's improved yet cautious outlook coincides with the recent passage of a bill against money laundering by...

Pass the anti-money laundering law.
October 1, 2001... These are trying times. The internationalization of illegal trade, organized crime and corrupt practices and their expansion into all sectors of society, the economy and government have recently called attention to the issue of money...

Benpres plans to sell stake in.
October 1, 2001... Benpres Holdings Corp. is planning to include a 22.5% stake in real estate arm Rockwell Land Corp. in its long list of assets that will be put up for sale to service maturing obligations. BusinessWorld learned the company is considering...

Mindanao agribusiness uneasy over.
October 1, 2001... DAVAO CITY - Small- and medium- sized agribusiness entrepreneurs in Mindanao are getting apprehensive over the government's capability to deliver programs and projects that would uplift the farming sector. Romeo Serra, vice-president of...

Bukidnon launches drive vs Malayan.
October 1, 2001... MALAYBALAY CITY, Bukidnon - The provincial agriculture office here last week launched a campaign against the Malayan rice black bugs (MRRB). The bugs have been seriously affecting eight rice-producing barangays in this city as well as...

... as province gears up to be.
October 1, 2001... MALAYBALAY CITY, Bukidnon - This province will soon become a major producer of fresh and processed mangoes with the formation of the Mango Growers Association within the three municipalities of southern Bukidnon. Th target areas for the...

City gov't, dairy body ink pact on.
October 1, 2001... CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY - The city government of Ozamiz and the National Dairy Authority (NDA) recently signed an agreement to undertake the "Maayong Panglawas" milk feeding program for malnourished children. Under the agreement, the city...

Cucumber contract farmers find.
October 1, 2001... Cucumber contract farmers in a barrio in Nueva Ecija have found a new niche for their products by processing and marketing their own produce by themselves during off-season, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)- Nueva Ecija provincial...

Investing in the arts.
October 1, 2001... While investing in the arts is a centuries-old practice, the tradition is not a very popular one in the Philippines. Because art education is integrated with physical education and home economics, generations upon generations have been raised...

Stock Picks for This Week.
October 1, 2001... Stock: Digital Telecommunications Phils., Inc. (DGTL) Recommendation: SELL The country's stock market tumbled all week-long, as investors preferred to hold on to their cash on fears of global economic meltdown. The main Philippine...

Stock Picks for This Week.
October 1, 2001... Stock Pick: Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) Recommendation: BUY At a time when everything seems to grow uncertain by the day, one's prudence is tested when tempting things come along the way. In the case of players in the local equity...

[0] Stock Picks for This Week.
October 1, 2001... Stock Pick: Union Bank of the Philippines (UBP) Recommendation: BUY Once again, the bearish mood prevailed in the local bourse last Friday, causing stock prices to fall to even lower levels. Because of fears of an economic slowdown,...

Weekly Planner.
October 1, 2001... Oct. 1-2 - Statistics convention The 8th National Convention of Statistics will be held at the Westin Philippine Plaza, coinciding with the ASEAN Workshop on Development Indicators and the opening of the 12th National Statistics Month....

Big motor show the highlight of the.
October 1, 2001... The 12th Motor Show International (Philippines) will be held from Oct. 3-7 at the World Trade Center (WTC), Financial Center, Pasay City. The exhibits will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The motor show will be a showcase of the latest...

Bazaar season starts.
October 1, 2001... As Christmas draws ever nearer in this country with the longest holiday season in the world, it is the time of the bazaar. Bazaars often put up in aid of charities, serve as convenient sources for the unusual and perfect gift for Christmas...

Courtside.
October 1, 2001... Let's face it. Victory is contagious. When Ateneo de Manila University took the 1988 Universities Athletics Association of the Philippines seniors basketball championship, for instance, the entire campus seemed to take pleasure in the...

Red Bull Thunder shows old lethal.
October 1, 2001... After starting the PBA Governors' Cup on the wrong foot with two straight setbacks, Commissioner's Cup champion Batang Red Bull is back to the form that wore down mighty San Miguel Beer in the finals of the previous conference for its first...

Briefs.
October 1, 2001... Economics for lawyers Laws and economics are intertwined. Law governs economic transactions. Economic policies, on the other hand, are formulated through legislation and executive decisions. The University of Asia and the Pacific School...

ECCs big barriers to start a.
October 1, 2001... Export leaders are set to seek the help of environment Secretary Heherson Alvarez in easing one of the biggest barriers to starting a business - getting an environment clearance certificate (ECC). This was intimated to the Philexport News...

Landbank-DENR project helps slow.
October 1, 2001... The joint efforts of the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) have contributed to the phase-out of 835.7 metric tons (MT) of Ozone Depleting Potential (ODP). Landbank president and...

Visa Int'l launches secure mobile.
October 1, 2001... Visa International has announced a new global specification that ensures the security of payments made over mobile phones and other wireless Internet devices. The Mobile 3-D Secure specification is a result of Visa's ongoing efforts to...

Take Ten.
October 1, 2001... I was invited to see two one-act plays in a cafe-bar/sing-along whatever somewhere along the Marcos Highway that Friday evening. This particular club was going to experiment with the inclusion of theater in its weekend repertoire. Since Alex...

Style.
October 1, 2001... Liz Claiborne The brand's fall-winter collection includes jackets and skirts in varying lengths. Knits warm up for fall with vests, turtlenecks and belted cardigans in chunky or fine gauge versions. Color combinations range from camel,...

Travelling through time.
October 1, 2001... Last Friday, designer Rajo Laurel held his 3rd gala in five years, but whether or not his collection of Victorian, Edwardian and Op Art-inspired finery will result in more women wearing puffed sleeves and tightly bound corsets is hardly the...

Globe-Digitel row.
October 1, 2001... The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has given disputing firms Globe Telecom, Inc. and Digital Telecommunications Phils., Inc. (Digitel) until Wednesday to come to a mutually agreeable compensation scheme. NTC commissioner Eliseo...

Short voice messaging.
October 1, 2001... To further decongest the system and encourage subscribers to shift to voice calls, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) suggested that telecommunications firms come up with a short voice message scheme that will serve as a...

Output cuts slow industrial.
October 1, 2001... Industrial production slowed slightly in July due to output cuts in the electrical machinery, textile, paper and paper products, and rubber products, data from the National Statistics Office (NSO) show. Manufacturing output, as measured...

Meralco 'liabilities'.
October 1, 2001... Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) may soon fall under the corporate regulator's scrutiny for allegedly making misleading disclosures in its financial reports. In a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), lawyer Leonardo A. Aurelio...

Congress, business expect FATF's.
October 1, 2001... The Philippines narrowly escaped crippling sanctions on its financial sector after it passed a landmark anti- money laundering law over the weekend. BusinessWorld learned that the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the...

RP debt stock hits $50.895B in end-.
October 1, 2001... The country's outstanding foreign debts increased slightly as of end-June as the National Government embarked on more borrowings abroad to fund its budget deficit. At the end of the second quarter, the country's total foreign debt...

PERSPECTIVE.
October 1, 2001... From AK, USA Too Far Gone? I agree with Mr. Bello's analysis of the situation but I fear that Americans are too far gone to listen to reason. As a Filipino-American raised in the US, I know too well how the well- meaning but...

Gov't to sell bonds in Japan,.
October 1, 2001... The government will start selling about $500 million in shibosai bonds to institutional investors in Japan this October, to take advantage of the strong appetite for Philippine bonds in that market. Already, the Department of Finance...

BoI convinces Finance to exempt.
October 1, 2001... The Board of Investments (BoI) appears to have convinced the Department of Finance (DoF) to exempt Asian utility vehicles (AUVs) from a proposed 15% excise tax. "AUVs will be exempted from (excise taxes) especially the basic AUV models....

Estrada goes on trial over capital.
October 1, 2001... Former president Joseph E. Estrada is scheduled to go on trial today on a P4.1-billion plunder charge punishable by death. The Supreme Court may yet stay the proceedings given questions over the legality of the anti-plunder law, and the...

Guingona to skip UN meet.
October 1, 2001... Vice-President and Foreign Affairs Secretary Teofisto T. Guingona Jr. has decided not to attend the United Nations 56th General Assembly scheduled for Wednesday. Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Victoriano. M. Lecaros said that Mr....

Palace support for US backed.
October 1, 2001... The Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) of Central Mindanao has passed a resolution supporting Malacanang's decision to stand behind the United States in its fight against global terrorism. In a resolution dated Sept. 27, the council...

AFP closing in on Abu Sayyaf.
October 1, 2001... The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is confident it will soon engage the main Abu Sayyaf group holding 18 hostages in Basilan as government troops continue to close in on the extremists' positions. AFP spokesman Brigadier General...

China, RP ink extradition treaty.
October 1, 2001... The Philippine and Chinese governments signed an extradition treaty over the weekend which will facilitate the turnover of wanted criminals in the two Asian countries and expedite their trial. The Department of Justice said representatives of...

Boycott by BJMP personnel.
October 1, 2001... Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose D. Lina, Jr. yesterday said he does not believe Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) personnel will push through with a planned mass action today. "I will call them to tell them to...

Jueteng operators arrested.
October 1, 2001... Twelve suspects believed to be part of jueteng operations in Laguna and Cavite were arrested by the Department of Interior and Local Government's Special Operations Group Jericho over the weekend. DILG Secretary Jose D. Lina, Jr. said seven...

GMA pays tribute to seafarers.
October 1, 2001... President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo yesterday paid tribute to some 350,000 Filipino seafarers all over the world for their contributions to the economy. The President attended a mass at the Quirino Grandstand in celebration of the Sixth...

More flights to Clark airport.
October 1, 2001... President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo wants more domestic and international flights to the former Clark Airport in Pampanga and has ordered the Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) to submit proposals to make this possible. In a...

BOT arrangement recommended for.
October 1, 2001... A lawyer has proposed the use of a build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme to solve a funding problem threatening to scuttle the adoption of the national identification system. In a policy paper entitled "The RP National ID System:...

Garbage woes may be over in two.
October 1, 2001... It may only take two more years to resolve the country's garbage problems, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources declared. By giving the methods being advocated under Republic Act 9003 "a chance to work," Environment...

Decision on national ID proposal up.
October 1, 2001... Malacanang will no longer enforce its aim to establish a national ID system via an administrative order (AO) but will instead wait for Congress to legislate the scheme. In a radio interview yesterday, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo...

Fund lack hampering repatriation.
October 1, 2001... As the government readies plans to evacuate thousands of overseas Filipino workers in some Middle East countries, those who do not have proper documents might not be that lucky. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it would be...

Discrepancies in QC's books found.
October 1, 2001... The Commission on Audit (CoA) found discrepancies in the financial records of the Quezon City government amounting to more than P1 billion. In its annual audit report, the CoA discovered P253.03 million audit suspensions and P331.37...

Gov't off the hook on pledge to aid.
October 1, 2001... The government has dropped its plans to provide part of the local airline industry's required insurance cover. Insurance commissioner Eduardo T. Malinis said there's no longer need for the state to extend financial assistance to airline...

Cebu's tourism players concerned on.
October 1, 2001... CEBU CITY - Tourism industry players here have urged airlines and hotel operators to come up with packages that will promote domestic tourism to offset the ill effects of the US war against terrorism on global tourism. Some tour and...

Jan.-Sept. garments exports down.
October 1, 2001... Garment and textile exports went on a downhill in the first nine months of the year as weak purchase orders from European countries and the US continue to take a toll not only on the industry but the export sector in general. Garment and...

South Mindanao employers can only.
October 1, 2001... DAVAO CITY - The best that Southern Mindanao employers could offer with respect to labor's clamor for wage adjustment is P60 per day, an official of the regional labor official recently said. Manuel Roldan, regional director of the...

DoTC implements 31 foreign-assisted.
October 1, 2001... Despite worries concerning the low utilization rate of official development assistance (ODA) funds which, in turn, delays implementation of the government's flagship programs, the Department of Transportation of Communication (DoTC)...

Sugar production recovers from.
October 1, 2001... After three consecutive years of contraction in the production of raw sugar, the domestic sugar industry's output as of end-July expanded by 11.8% to 35.9 million 50-kg. bags from 32.1 million bags in the same period last year, data from the...

Teaching jobs for returning OFWs.
October 1, 2001... The House committee on appropriations is making sure that 10% of the 20,000 new teaching positions to be created next year will be allocated for returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando G. Andaya, Jr.,...

Ticker Talk.
October 1, 2001... The market will have to get used to digesting disappointing numbers while economists worldwide make their respective guesses on the effects of the string of job cuts and how the numbers will take their toll on some of the leading airline and...

Funding agencies ask RP gov't for.
October 1, 2001... Multilateral financing agencies lending soft loans to the Philippines want the government to exempt projects from an existing rule requiring all government contracts worth P50 million and above to undergo evaluation and approval by the...

Roots.
October 1, 2001... People who had known him personally were unanimous in their praise as soon as they learned he had died - former colleagues in the Constitutional Convention of 1934, like Claro M. Recto; members of the Philippine Academy of the Spanish...