RP may buy 2 nuclear reactors from Korea

Source: Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines - The government may explore the possibility of bringing in from Korea two 1,000 megawatts (MW) units of nuclear power reactor, a source privy to the ongoing talks said.

The source said Congressman Mark Cojuangco who has authored a bill for nuclear energy development in the country, has discussions for the entry of these nuclear power reactors which could amount to $4 billion.

“Rep. Cojuangco went to Korea to express our interest towards the development of nuclear energy as one of the sources of power in the country. There has been initial arrangement,” he said.

The source said to be able to do this, the government has to declare a clearer policy on nuclear energy development.

“There would be a meeting Monday (March 29 ) among the members of the nuclear energy development task force to discuss this,” the source said.

The meeting will discuss the approach that the government will take once it considers bringing in these power facilities into the country.

Once firmed up, he said other details including the location of the power plants would then be discussed.

So far, the province of Pangasinan, the source said, is being considered as a host of the power facilities.

He said the local government of Pangasinan has passed a resolution allowing the province to locate these nuclear reactors with a condition that its power rate would be pegged at P3 per kilowatthour based on the 2009 demand computation.

Aside from Pangasinan, Cebu is also willing to be a host to the nuclear facilities.

The source said it could be an option to the LGUs to undertake the acquisition and the setting up of the nuclear facility with the help of the National Government and/or the private sector.

“It would be part of the discussion on who will shoulder the cost of building these reactors here.  Then the LGU could partner with private sector and jointly sell the produce,” he said.

The source said it could also be an option for the government to negotiate for the purchase on behalf of the LGU and its private sector partner, and “that would be the equity of NG to the project.”

He said the National Government may get a concession rate if it will be the one to get the reactors.

And after declaration of a general direction or policy for nuclear, the source said a feasibility study could commence on the purchase of these reactors.

“Once declared, the feasbility study could be finalized if viable to build the plant.  If we put it in Bataan where the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) is located then we can go to other areas,” he said.

January imports post fastest growth in 7 years

Source: Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines - The country’s imports surged by 30.3 percent in January, the strongest growth in seven years, as purchases of oil products as well as capital and consumer goods improved.

The National Statistics Office (NSO) reported yesterday the country’s aggregate import bill for January reached $4.26 billion, $3.27 billion higher than the $3.269 billion recorded a year ago.

As a result, the country’s trade deficit was lower at $682 million compared to $759 million last year.

The NSO earlier said that the January exports had also grown at their fastest pace in almost 15 years.

Philippine imports are dominated by inputs used by the semiconductor and electronics industry, the country’s biggest export sector and a major contributor to the economy.

Inward shipments of electronics, which accounted for 31.4 percent of the total bill, were up 2.2 percent in January from a year ago. The growth was slower than the 8.5-percent annual rise in December.

Oil imports posted a robust increase of 96.2 percent to $827.92 million from the previous year’s level of $421.93 million. They comprised 19.4 percent of total imports.

Transport equipment, the country’s third top import in January with an 8.9-percent share, likewise almost doubled to $380.22 million, the NSO said.

Imports of capital goods went up 51.4 percent to $1.38 billion while purchases of consumer goods amounted to $545.30 million, a 70.6-percent increase.

Rounding up the top 10 imports were organic and inorganic chemicals, which reached $101.61 million; plastics, $86.54 million; iron and steel, $83.57 million; telecommunication equipment and electrical machinery, $76.25 million; and metalliferous ores and metal scrap, $70.8 million.

Among the sources of the country’s imports, the US was the biggest, with a share of $570.72 million or 13.4 percent of the total bill.

Singapore came in second, followed by Japan, China, and Taiwan.

Last year, overall imports dropped 24.2 percent, in line with the government’s forecast of a 25 percent decline. The government expects imports to climb 13 percent to 15 percent this year.

Merchandise exports, on the other hand, surged 42.5 percent in January from a year ago to $3.58 billion, the highest jump in 15 years, boosted by a 51.2 percent rise in electronics shipments.

Exports are forecast to grow seven percent to nine percent this year after a 21.9 percent drop in 2009.

San Miguel mulls bullet train project

MANILA, Philippines - San Miguel Corp. (SMC) has set its sights on what could probably be its most ambitious and expensive project to date as it spearheads the Philippines’ bid to become the first country in Southeast Asia to build and operate a bullet train.

SMC president and CEO Ramon Ang told The STAR that they have commissioned a group that includes international companies with experience in bullet trains to study the possibility of building a bullet train railway that will run from the north to the south end of Luzon.

As planned, the bullet train railway will run the Laoag-Manila-Bicol route. As for the right-of-way acquisitions, Ang said this will be up to the government.

He revealed that they hope to submit their unsolicited proposal to government by the end of the year.

SMC’s top executive expressed optimism about the possibilities that this venture will present to the country’s tourism industry. “We want to help tourism. If nobody dared, we will,” he said in an interview. A high-speed train service is also expected to help boost not only tourism but also the economy in general.

Travel from Manila to Laoag takes around 12 hours by land. The Philippine National Railways (PNR) has a train service that runs the Manila-Bicol route – the Bicol Express which carries as much as 20,000 passengers daily – although it has not been operational for three years due to heavy damage wrought by typhoons. There are plans to resume operations before President Arroyo’s term ends.

Both the Manila to Laoag and Manila to Bicol lines are also currently accessible by air and there are public buses that ply the two routes.

Running speeds of as fast as 300 kilometers per hour, a bullet train can cut travel time to the far ends of Luzon from Manila significantly. Fares are also expected to be cheaper than plane fares but higher than bus fares.

With SMC’s plan, the Philippines will be pitted against Vietnam in the bid to build Southeast Asia’s first bullet train.

The Vietnam project is estimated to cost $56 million and may choose either the group of Sumitomo Corp. and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, or Itochu Corp. and Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd, all Japanese companies, for the project. The two groups currently run lines in Japan similar to what would be built in Vietnam.

Vietnam is said to be favoring Japanese technology for the 1,555-kilometer Hanoi-to-Ho Chi Minh City line as Vietnam “is geographically similar to Japan with not enough land and too many people, and a long coastal line,” Nguyen Huu Bang, chair and CEO of Vietnam Railways Corp., was quoted as saying.

The Nomura Research Institute has helped with initial studies for the project, and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will fund a feasibility study that will start in June, Vietnam Railways said.

Work on the Vietnam bullet train line is due to start in 2012, with services beginning on the first section by 2020. The high-speed train will probably be financed by a mix of overseas development aid, state funding and public-private partnerships.

A ticket for the full Hanoi-to-HCM City high-speed rail journey may cost about 75 percent of the average current plane fare, Bang said.

China is also working on building high-speed trains to support its surging economy. The country in December opened a high-speed rail link of more than 1,000 kilometers between the cities of Guangzhou and Wuhan.

Back in 2004, South Korea became the second Asian nation after Japan to build a high-speed train service between major cities.

The Tokaido Shinkansen, connecting Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka was inaugurated in 1964 as the first shinkansen (high speed train or bullet train line) and the world’s first high speed train service. At that time the trains already ran at about 200 km/h. Nowadays they reach speeds of 300 km/h.

GM corn production now a multi-billion-peso industry

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna , Philippines – Genetically modified (GM) corn production in the Philippines has become a multi-billion-peso venture.

In 2008 alone, the net national impact of biotechnology maize on farm income was estimated at $49 million (about P2.25 billion).

From 2003, when the government approved the commercial production of biotech corn in the country, up to 2008, the farm level economic benefit of planting GM maize is estimated to have reached $88 million (P4 billion), reported the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA).

New York (USA)-based ISAAA is a not-for-profit organization with an International network of centers designed to contribute to the alleviation of hunger and poverty by sharing knowledge and crop biotechnology applications. The network includes the Southeast Asian center based in Los Baños.

Dr. Clive James, ISAAA founder and current board chairman, reported the significant strides of biotech crops at a recent seminar billed “Global Overview of Biotech/GM Crops 2009: Current Status, Impact, and Future Prospects” held at the Dusit Thani Manila Hotel in Makati City.

Other seminar speakers were Dr. Gelia T. Castillo, a National Scientist; Dr. Emil Q. Javier, former University of the Philippines System president, now president of the National Academy of Science and Technology; Dr. Randy Hautea, ISAAA global coordinator; Dr. Rhodora Aldemita, also of ISAAA; and Isabela farmer Joseph Bonemerito, who gave a testimonial on his success as a Bt corn farmer.

Bt stands for Bacillus thuringiensis, a bacterium that naturally occurs in soil.

Through biotechnology (genetic engineering) technique, a specific gene of Bt has been introduced or inserted in a corn variety. The Bt corn produces its natural pesticide against Asian corn borer, one of the most destructive pests attacking corn in the Philippines and in other Asian countries.

In his 290-page annual report, Dr. James said: “The benefits of biotech maize to Filipino farmers’ livelihood, income, the environment, and health have been well-studied and documented. Farms planting Bt maize in the Northern Philippines have significantly higher populations of beneficial insects such as flower bugs, beetles, and spiders than those planted to conventional hybrid maize.”

Dr. James also cited socioeconomic studies done by Filipino researchers citing the higher incomes derived from planting GM corn over other non-transgenic varieties.

At best, Bt corn has considerably changed for the better the complexion of vast farm areas in the countryside.

Consider Barangay Anao, Mexico, Pampanga.

Anao was once part of a hacienda placed under land reform in the 1970s.

It turned into a “no man’s land” in the early 1990s when volcanic ashes mantled it following the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo.

In recent years, it turned verdant and productive again – thanks to biotech corn, which almost all the farmers in the barangay planted.

The once sleepy hamlet is now a picture of progress, with many of the families having sent their children to college out of their high income from their Bt corn harvest, as gathered by this writer a few years ago.

The success story of biotech corn in the Philippines can also best be exemplified by Sara town in northern Iloilo.

Sara’s once barren hilly grasslands are now lash and productive corn fields planted to GM maize.

When the villagers began planting the “wonder crop” in 2005 through the initiative of the Northern Iloilo Cooperative Corn Producers Association Inc. (NICPAI), only 800 ha were covered.

In just three years, the area, covered by biotech corn soared to 9,300 ha, with the farmers earning at least P40,000 annually, reported NICPAI farmer-leader Nelson Sonza. Farm sizes vary from two to five ha per family.

NICPAI subsequently shot to international prominence when it won PLEDGE, the highest global award given by multinational Monsanto to outstanding projects in agriculture. NICPA’s success story dubbed “From Grassland to Corn Land” won a cash prize of $20,000.

Biotech corn has also catapulted several Filipino farmers to global limelight.

Example is Rosalie Ellasus of San Jacinto, Pangasinan, a petite lady who once worked as a caregiver abroad but eventually became one of the most successful biotech corn growers in the country.

In 2007, Ellasus, now a municipal councilor in her town, was chosen as the first recipient of the Kleckner Trade and Technology Advancement Award (USA) given for “exemplary leadership, vision, and resolve in advancing the rights of farmers to choose the technology and tools that will improve the quality, quantity, and availability of agricultural products around the world.”

Ellasus, a former president of the Philippine Federation of Maize (PhilMaize) farmers, has also been invited in several international forums to talk on her experiences as biotech corn farmer.

Another is Edwin Paraluman of Cotabato, who has been an active advocate of biotech crops here and abroad. He is coordinator of the Asian Farmers Regional Network.

Summing up, ISAAA projected: “Future prospects look encouraging, with several ‘home grown’ biotech products likely to be commercialized in the next three years, including Bt eggplant, biotech papaya, and Golden Rice.”

BSP expects more bank mergers

Source: Philippine Star


BSP expects more bank mergers
By Lawrence Agcaoili (The Philippine Star) Updated March 20, 2010 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said there is room for further consolidation among local banks in order to strengthen the capital base, asset quality, and client base of major players in the local banking industry.

BSP Deputy Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. said in an interview with reporters that studies showed that there are still too many universal and commercial banks considering the size of the country’s economy.

“In fact you wouldn’t say that the banking industry in the Philippines is very concentrated to begin with. Lending agencies even say that the industry is fragmented because for the size of the economy, there is still too many commercial banks at 38,” Espenilla stressed.

Latest data from the BSP showed that head offices of fell further to 797 as of end-September last year from 804 in end-June indicating the continued consolidation of banks as well as the exit of weaker players in the banking system. By banking classification, the head offices of banks consisted of 38 universal and commercial banks, 73 thrift banks, and 686 rural banks.

On the other hand, operating network including branches of the banking system went up to 7,117 from 7,094 due to the increase in the branches of universal, commercial, and rural banks.

Likewise, the central bank reported that the total resources of the country’s banking sector went up by 7.5 percent to P6.421 trillion last year from P5.973 trillion in 2008 due to the sustained growth in deposits particularly in universal and commercial banks.

Total resources of universal and commercial banks went up by 9.1 percent to P5.694 trillion last year from P5.219 trillion in 2008. The industry accounted for about 88.6 percent of the total resources of the banking industry last year.

Assets of thrift, savings, and rural banks retreated by 3.6 percent to P727.36 billion last year from P754.68 billion in 2008 as reports from other banks have yet to come in. The sector accounted for about 11.3 percent of the total assets of the banking industry.

On the other hand, the assets of non-banks went up by 6.5 percent to P1.532 trillion last year from P1.438 trillion in 2008.

In all, total resources of the country’s financial system increased by 7.3 percent to P7.954 trillion in 2009 from P7.411 trillion in 2008.

Espenilla pointed out that monetary authorities would closely watch bigger banks to make sure that

“We have large banks, but I wouldn’t say that any bank here is too big to fail. But at the end of the day, we tend to watch more closely the bigger banks and that’s part of our risk management because you don’t want large banks getting into trouble because that is potentially more dangerous to the system,” he explained.

According to him, banks should be well ran and should be well capitalized.

The BSP and state-run Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) have launched a P5-billion incentive scheme to spur mergers and consolidations in the country’s rural banking industry under its Strengthening Program for Rural Banks (SPRB).

The PDIC has been pushing for the immediate liquidation of closed banks instead of undergoing rehabilitation as only four out of 511 closed banks have successfully been rehabilitated.

PDIC is currently managing 511 closed banks under receivership and liquidation of which only four have been rehabilitated. Of the 81 banks that were ordered closed by the Monetary Board, 27 applied for rehabilitation but failed since 2005.

Furthermore, PDIC earlier expressed concern that of the total 700 rural banks about 179 were under the central bank’s prompt corrective action scheme. On the other hand, 103 rural banks were lacking in capital.

This early, the BSP said it is open to the idea of increasing the P5-billion fund to spur mergers and consolidations in the country’s rural banking industry.

The BSP would contribute P2.5 billion to the common fund while the other half would come from the PDIC.

The fund would be used to extend financial assistance to qualified investors through a combination of subscription to preferred shares, to provide additional capital to reinforce the capital position of the strategic third party investor, and as direct loans.

The program is aimed at promoting the merger, consolidation and acquisition between or among eligible strategic third party investors and eligible rural banks to create a stronger rural banking system that can more effectively serve the countryside.

View previous articles from this author.

RP economic crisis almost over, says DOLE

Source: Philippine Star
By Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star) Updated March 19, 2010 12:00 AM


MANILA, Philippines - The economic crisis affecting the country is almost over, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported yesterday.

Labor officials said the results of the National Statistics Office (NSO) survey indicating substantial growth in employment clearly proved that the country has bounced back from the financial slump.

“Based on the NSO data, the country generated 1.7 million new employment from January last year. The figure is one of the highest employment growth we have recorded in recent years,” officials from the DOLE’s Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES) said.

Despite the fact that more people entered the labor force, the officials noted that the employment growth posted in January was three times higher compared to the 569,000 new jobs generated during the same period in 2009.

“Aside from higher employment growth, the rate of full time employment and the number of wage salary workers went up while the number of part time workers went down as well as the number of self-employed meaning we are in good direction,” the officials added.

Manufacturing and construction industries, sectors that suffered the most as a result of the economic crisis, have also bounced back from the crisis and posted employment growth in January.

Labor officials even considered the rise in number of underemployed or those looking for additional jobs in the January survey as a proof of economic recovery.

“More people looking for additional is actually an indication that people believe that the economy has already recovered and more employment opportunities are available to them,” they explained.

However, BLES officials also warned of minor displacement in the agriculture sector in the coming months due to El Niño.

“El Niño can bring about a rise in unemployment in the agri sector, but it would be temporary and minimal since the affected sector would likely find jobs in the other industries,” they stressed. But Nationalista Party senatorial bet and former Labor Undersecretary Susan Ople said the results of the latest NSO labor force survey was “deceptive.”

“We shouldn’t just look at the numbers but also on the quality of jobs being generated. Most of these jobs are seasonal and contractual, and some are even campaign- or election-driven,” Ople pointed out.

Ople then warned of further increase in unemployment and underemployment rates, particularly in the provinces affected by the on-going power crisis.

According to Ople, the NSO findings that the bulk of increase in employment were in the service sector where labor-only contracting is fast becoming the norm than the exception.

NSO data showed that the number of underemployed reached 7.1 million, equivalent to an underemployment rate of 19.2 percent, up from last year’s 18.2 percent.

“It is quite alarming that though unemployment dropped by just 0.4 percent, the number of underemployed Filipinos went up by 1.5 percent,” Ople said.

The unemployment figures can also be deceptive because the new definition of unemployment excludes those who are no longer looking for work because they are resigned to not finding any, she explained.

Labor partylist group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) also warned of higher unemployment as close to a million college graduates join the labor force next month.

“Of the one million graduates this March, over 90,000 are unlikely to find jobs,” PM chair Renato Magtubo said while noting that he based the projections from past NSO surveys.

Gordon to impose higher taxes on tobacco

Source: Philippine Star
(The Philippine Star) Updated March 18, 2010 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Bagumbayan standard-bearer Richard Gordon would impose higher taxes on tobacco and sees nothing wrong with government giving out condoms to prevent the spread of AIDS.

Speaking to doctors at the presidential forum on health at the Medical City hospital in Pasig Monday, Gordon said he will spend money to prevent HIV but not to control population.

“That is the responsibility of the parents. I am preaching about the quality of population,” he said.

“Population becomes an opportunity to develop our country.”

Gordon asked the doctors whether they would spend money on contraceptives or education.

“We should strengthen our education advocacy ..... But I’m not for abortion,” he said.

China, Brazil and India have managed to develop quality manpower resources from their large population, he added.

Gordon said if elected president, he intends to give the health sector the needed funds from tax on text messaging and increased taxes on tobacco products.

“We would tax tobacco as high as I can,” he said.

“It is being done in other countries as a source of money. You want to smoke but we will not pay for it when you get sick.

“Cigarette smoking is just one facet of our problems.”

Gordon said he does not get any financial support from cigarette companies for his campaign.

Gordon said the collected funds from text messaging and cigarettes will be used to improve the standards of government hospitals and clinics and to pay government doctors salaries of P50,000 a month, and as much as P70,000 a month for surgeons.

He will also give community health workers P3,000 every month in allowances, he added.

By raising the salaries of government doctors, he could stop them from going abroad to work as nurses, he said.

Gordon said he intends to make young doctors serve in the countryside for at least three years before they are permitted to leave for jobs abroad.

“Dapat maglagay ng doktor sa probinsya (Doctors should be placed in the provinces) and then pay them well,” he said.

“Every graduate of medicine in the country should be drafted to serve in the country.

“Dapat magsilbi muna ng three years sa bansa (Three years of service) before they leave the country. People should be able to serve their country.”

On the other hand, Lakas-Kampi standard-bearer Gilbert Teodoro believes in the need to equally promote the natural and artificial methods of family planning.

“There are pros and cons over population advocacy but informed choice must be respected,” he said.

“We have to have a consensus. Government must serve as receptacles of advocacies that promote manageable population growth.” – Mike Frialde, Sheila Crisostomo, Jaime Laude

Chikka gears up for 2010

From left: Chito Bustamante, Chikka CEO with Junie Agcaoili, Chikka Corporate Communications director and Chikka founder, Dennis Mendiola

MANILA, Philippines - Everyone decked in their finest arrived at posh Fiamma Bar in Makati City as it played host to Chikka’s party to welcome 2010 and prepare for its 10th anniversary.

Chikka founder Dennis Mendiola and CEO Chito Bustamante looked back at an exciting decade in the Philippine tech scene, where Chikka helped set the pace by launching its breakthrough text messenger in 2001. The two Chikka pioneers spoke of the shape of things to come in 2010 and beyond where Chikka will definitely define the trend once more in the country’s web and mobile tech scene.

Chikka is better known for launching the world’s first instant messenger to be seamlessly integrated with SMS technologies. Chikka Text Messenger was embraced by the on-line community, including overseas Filipinos, as it united them with the sea of SMS users in the country since 2001.

Chikka’s corporate communications team of Junie Agcaoili and Michelle Pestaño, welcomed guests on arrival and also played emcees at the party themed Glam and Glee. The night peaked as guests and employees poured into the dance floor and grooved to live music. Celebrity guests included reknowned composer Jed Balsamo, Jaymee Joaquin and Dimples Romana.

RP still a biotech 'mega country'

Source: Manila Bulletin

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna, Philippines — Still a biotechnology “mega-country”.

The Philippines planted genetically modified (GM) corn in 450,00 hectares in 2009, sustaining its ranking in the league of the world’s biotech “mega-countries”.

A mega-country is one that plants biotech or GM crops in 50,000 ha or more, as qualified by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA).

New York (USA)-based ISAAA is a not-for-profit organization with an international network of centers designed to contribute to the alleviation of hunger and poverty by sharing knowledge and crop biotechnology applications. The network includes the Southeast Asian Center based in Los Baños.

Dr. Clive James, ISAAA founder and current board chairman, reported that the Philippines devoted 450,000 ha to Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) corn last year, up from 350,000 ha in 2008.

The Philippines initially planted Bt maize in 10,769 ha in 2003 when the crop was approved by the government for commercialization.

Dr. James reported the big strides of GM crops at a recent science forum billed “Global Overview of Biotech/GM Crops 2009: Current Status, Impact, and Future Prospects” held at the Dusit Thani Manila Hotel in Makati City.

Attended by scientists, researchers, academics, industry representatives, and media people, the seminar was dedicated to the late Dr. Norman Borlaug, 1970 Nobel Peace Laureate who was considered the “Father of the Green Revolution”. Dr. Borlaug, a regular visitor of the Philippines over the past few decades, died last Sept. 12 at 95.

“The adoption of biotech maize in the Philippines has increased consistently every year since it was first commercialized in 2003,” ISAAA noted.

It is the first country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region to implement a biotechnology regulatory system for transgenic crops. The system has also served as a model for other countries in Southeast Asia.

The system was formulated in 1990 with the issuance of Executive Order No. 430 establishing the National Biosafety Committee of the Philippines (NCBP).

“Future prospects look encouraging, with several ‘homegrown’ biotech products likely to be commercialized possibility that the Philippines might be the first country to commercialize Golden Rice around 2012,” ISAAA said.

The United States still topped the list of biotech “mega-countries” in 2009.

It planted 64 million hectares of biotech maize, ecosystem, cotton, canola, sugarbeat, alfalfa, papaya, and squash. Devoted for maize was 35.2 million ha (more than the Philippine’s total land area of 30 million ha). Soybean came in second with 31.4 million ha and upland cotton, 3.5 million ha.

Second to the US was Brazil, which planted 21.4 million ha to soybean, maize and cotton. It was followed by Argentina with 21.3 million ha also planted to maize, soybean and cotton.

India ranked fourth with 8.4 million ha planted to cotton. Canada devoted 8.2 million ha to canola, maize, soybean and sugarbeat.

Completing the top 10 biotech crop producers are China, 3.7 million ha; Paraguay, 2.2 million ha; South Africa, 2.1 million ha; Uruguay, 800,000 ha; and Bolivia, 800,000 ha.

The Philippines ranked 11th. The other biotech “mega-countries” are Australia, Burkina Faso, Spain, and Mexico.

The other nations that planted biotech crops in 2009 in lesser areas were Chile, Colombia, Honduras, Czech Republic, Portugal, Poland, Costa Rica, Egypt, and Slovakia.

Globe launches first all-in P10 prepaid load

Source: Philippine Star
By Mary Ann Ll. Reyes


MANILA, Philippines - Globe Telecom has launched another first with its P10 prepaid load for Globe, Globe Tattoo and TM customers that can be used for call, text and Internet services.

The P10 Tingi Load is now sold in easy-to-use and secure scratch cards at various on-the-go channels such as jeepneys and buses, fastfoods and eateries, street vendors, train stations, and practically anywhere out on the road.

The first of its kind in the country, the Globe/TM/ Tattoo P10 Tingi Load makes it truly convenient for customers to top up wherever they go as Globe brings them this new reloading option.

“We are proud to launch the P10 Tingi Load that not only offers customers a very affordable load denomination but also makes reload ubiquitous. You can buy it in a jeepney on your way home, from the fishball or cigarette vendor you meet along the streets everyday,” Globe chief marketing officer Menchi Orlina said.

“It is very easy to use. Just scratch off the protective film and use your Tattoo mobile phone to key in the PIN, and you’re all set. This innovative way to do reload is a product of our customer first policy in Globe. We really want to give our subscribers more convenient and affordable choices for them to stay Globe-connected.”

This innovative Globe offer also empowers the marginalized sector of the community like the tingi and street vendors by giving them added income opportunities, the Globe official pointed out.

Launched early this month, the P10 Tingi Load can be purchased from public transport drivers, selected restaurants, transport stations and also from individuals. The load is valid for three days after the initial use.

The P10 Peso Tingi Load card is exclusively available for Globe Tattoo, Globe Prepaid and TM users.

Risqué business

IT IS TRUE THAT OUR GOVERNMENT IS spending more than P11 billion of our tax (blood?) money for our first ever fully automated elections.

By all counts, the not-so-cheap automation project is a clear “go.” The Comelec answers every bit of criticism against the project rather passionately, careful to protect its credibility. Bet on it, the Comelec is dead serious this time on this risky business.

Well, it is said that the automation will make “cheating” (OK, wholesale fraud) at the precinct and city levels quite difficult. Some say it will be outright impossible. Our tax money goes to something good for once.

So how do the moneyed candidates—particularly those backed up by the billions of pesos thrown by the business sector into the political arena—use their cash to their advantage?

Source: Daily Inquirer
They can still buy votes, surely, but the flavor of the season seems to be the filing of disqualification cases before the Comelec. It is just a matter of getting the Comelec to disqualify your worthiest opponent, and voila, you win the elections easily.

Those political animals can really come up with new ways to cheat.

***

The issue came to light in media when a crusading lawyer took note of the “disqualification” trend. His name is Ferdinand Topacio, one of those who worked on the issuance of the arrest warrants for Sen. Panfilo Lacson and former Batangas Vice Governor Richard Recto. You know—big people!

The point is that this guy does not shy away from tough legal fights as long as he has the goods on those big guys.

Topacio happens to be the legal counsel for incumbent Palawan Governor Joel Reyes, who is running for a congressional seat in the same province.

Surprise—some moneyed groups filed a disqualification case against Reyes. Not only that, the same groups also filed disqualification case against Palawan Rep. Abraham Mitra, who is running for governor. In short, a bit risqué!

Somebody must be out to control politics in the province. As everybody knows, this is the province that stands to get billions of pesos in royalty from the multibillion-dollar Malampaya natural gas find.

Questioned in the cases was supposedly the residency of both Mitra and Reyes. These are the men who have been the governor and the congressman of the province for the past nine years. You mean, they are not from Palawan?

Rumors go around in the business sector about the “cost” of disqualification cases, if you know what I mean.

And so Topacio relayed such unkind damaging talk to the reputation of the Comelec, even directing his concern to its official. For one, as Topacio pointed out, there was a marked increase in disqualification cases. Could the Comelec please look into it?

Now this is a lawyer who came out in the open regarding the issue. He did not hide behind the cloak “anonymity.” A lot of people thought the Comelec, like in the automation project, would take the issue seriously.

How did the Comelec react? Well, in a baffling defensive stance, the Comelec reportedly told the lawyer to prove it. There is a word for this—“cavalier.”

Again, regarding corruption involving the disqualification cases in the Comelec, nobody but nobody else—not even the Lola at the Palace—can ever have the wherewithal to find out the truth. Only the Comelec can.

But as it stands, “prove it” is the only answer we get from the guardian of the sanctity of our ballots.

***

Hiding behind anonymity this time is a “concerned citizen” who apparently wants to destroy the chances of Justice Antonio Carpio to become the next Chief Justice.

As everybody knows, media pitted Carpio against Justice Renato Corona to take the place of retiring Chief Justice Reynato Puno, with Corona supposedly the “boy” of this cute administration of Gloriaetta.

The business community is following the drama miniseries, because most of the cases in the Supreme Court had one way or another something to do with business. You know—contracts, deals and such.

The thing is, nobody can be sure that Carpio will be the choice of the next administration. It is nevertheless certain that he is not the choice of this cute administration.

Now, in a letter to the Judicial and Bar Council, which makes the shortlist of nominees to judicial postings, that “concerned citizen” accused Carpio of using his government position during the time of former President Fidel Ramos to favor Carpio’s wife.

The x-man said Carpio manipulated some government rules to qualify his wife, a Vietnamese by birth, to become a naturalized Filipino.

Carpio’s wife became a permanent resident of the Philippines way way back in 1974—or two years after they were married. In 1978, the Philippine government recognized her as a Filipino citizen when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued her a Philippine passport.

That was about 14 years before Carpio became the presidential legal adviser under the administration of Kuya Eddie.

No wonder, the accuser had to hide behind anonymity. The JBC could have also said, “prove it.” Instead, the JBC gave Mr. X the courtesy of a concrete step by forwarding the anonymous letter to Carpio, who—from what I heard—answered it convincingly point by point.

But on the issue of the sudden rush of disqualification cases in the Comelec, some lawyer risked his reputation—and perhaps even security—by coming out in the open.

I thought that the Comelec reaction ("prove it”) was a bit shifty.

Ayala Land Businesscapes expands BPO footprint to Iloilo

Source: Philippine Star
MANILA, Philippines - Ayala Land, Inc. has signed a 35-year lease agreement with the Pison Group for the development of a two-hectare property located at Riverside Boardwalk in Smallville, Barangay San Rafael, Mandurriao, Iloilo City.

The entire project once completed will consist of three business process outsourcing (BPO) facilities with a total of 19,000 square meters of gross leasable area (GLA). The initial phase will involve the construction of the first building with approximately 9,500 square meters of GLA. Construction is scheduled to start by the second quarter of this year and expected completion is by the first quarter of 2011.

Iloilo City is identified by the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) as one of the Next Wave Cities (NWC) for BPO firms. It has an attractive power, telecommunications, commercial, sea and airport infrastructure and offers one of the lowest rental, power and average base pay rates in the country.

Ayala Land, through its office real estate solutions group, Ayala Land Businesscapes, will develop the biggest BPO facility in Iloilo to date. This move is consistent with the company’s goal of expanding into, developing and redeveloping in strategic areas within attractive growth centers across the country. The project is also expected to generate about 8,000 jobs for the local community.

Ayala Land Businesscapes is at the forefront of providing a complete line of office real estate solutions in the most strategic sites that are developed according to world-class standards and complemented by preferred amenities and the most reliable facilities management services.

RP eyes piece of billion-dollar game development industry

Source: Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines is looking at getting a piece of the billion dollar game development industry as it participates for the first time at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.

According to the DTI, the country’s share in the global game market is projected to reach more than $7 million by the end of 2010. This signifies a 30-percent growth from 2009.

Last year, local game development companies saw the boom for games developed for iPhone and leading consoles and gaming platforms. To cope with the increase in demand for game development and game development services, local companies are expanding and hiring more employees.

There are now over 30 game development and game development services companies in the Philippines, employing more than 600 full time employees, mostly programmers and artists.

DTI noted that the Philippines, with significantly lower cost compared to US and Japan, became the favorite outsourcing hub of most game publishers.

Most game development projects outsourced in the country are end-to-end game development projects, concept art design, character generation and design, in-game animation, game testing and quality control, and game community support.

Local companies are also looking forward to an increase in demand for development of virtual worlds, social networking functionality, and massive multiplayer games.

“Game development is really a big business and joining the fair in the US will help us in expanding our business and showing what we Filipinos can share in the game development industry. The United States is a good market to showcase our talents and creativity in game development than any (other) place in the world because many people (buyers) will definitely be there,” said Niel Dagondon, President and CEO of Anino Games.

Anino Games is the largest game development studio in the Philippines and one of the local companies that will join the Philippine delegation.

Anino Games developed and published more than 20 games for leading consoles and gaming platforms such as Shutter Island, Mystery of Cleopatra, Dream Day Wedding: Married in Manhattan, Turbo Subs, Littlest Petshoppe, and Jumbo Classic to name a few.

“Most of our projects are outsourced from foreign clients… and we are lucky because they recognized that we can offer more than just the low labor costs…we have competitive game developers and artists and we can deliver what they (clients) need,” Dagondon said.

Game development outsourcing is one of the potential-rich niches in the outsourcing scale in the near future, projected to reach $30 billion by 2010.

Asia Pacific is predicted to emerge as a new market for console-based gaming, according to global advisory firm Tholons.

PhilWeb income soars 89% to P818 million

Source: Manila Bulletin
Listed online technology firm PhilWeb Corporation reported an 89 percent jump in its audited net income for 2009 to P551 million as revenues rose 82 percent to P818 million.

“We are committed to deliver an equally dramatic result in 2010 of over a billion pesos in net income,” said Philweb president Dennis O. Valdes in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday.

Valdez said the firm expects to maintain the growth trajectory of its existing core businesses and has launched several new businesses, such as Pagcor's HomePlay, that promise to deliver entirely new revenue streams.

Home Play is the first and only online web site that allows casino gaming in Philippine pesos.

“We are also expecting great things from our new acquisition, Acentic Gmbh, and we are working on an exciting deal with the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office or PCSO to bring Lotto to mobile phones,” said Valdes.

He added that “this year promises to be a busy year as the company will expand internationally in 2010 by providing legal gambling with government franchises throughout the Asian region.” Valdez said the firm will also expand its business process outsourcing services to the casino industry, providing online casino management and operations to foreign principals.

PhilWeb is the dominant player in the local Internet gaming sector. As a technology enabler of Pagcor, it operates the Pagcor e-Games café network and Internet Sports Betting Stations. PhilWeb is also the driving force behind the popular Premyo Sa Resibo program of the BIR. (JAL)

PhilWeb income soars 89% to P818 million

Source: Manila Bulletin
Listed online technology firm PhilWeb Corporation reported an 89 percent jump in its audited net income for 2009 to P551 million as revenues rose 82 percent to P818 million.

“We are committed to deliver an equally dramatic result in 2010 of over a billion pesos in net income,” said Philweb president Dennis O. Valdes in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday.

Valdez said the firm expects to maintain the growth trajectory of its existing core businesses and has launched several new businesses, such as Pagcor's HomePlay, that promise to deliver entirely new revenue streams.

Home Play is the first and only online web site that allows casino gaming in Philippine pesos.

“We are also expecting great things from our new acquisition, Acentic Gmbh, and we are working on an exciting deal with the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office or PCSO to bring Lotto to mobile phones,” said Valdes.

He added that “this year promises to be a busy year as the company will expand internationally in 2010 by providing legal gambling with government franchises throughout the Asian region.” Valdez said the firm will also expand its business process outsourcing services to the casino industry, providing online casino management and operations to foreign principals.

PhilWeb is the dominant player in the local Internet gaming sector. As a technology enabler of Pagcor, it operates the Pagcor e-Games café network and Internet Sports Betting Stations. PhilWeb is also the driving force behind the popular Premyo Sa Resibo program of the BIR. (JAL)