philstar.com – Business Life – Page 6

philstar.com - Business Life

’Tis the season to pay our taxes

Economy

Dec 292013

MANILA, Philippines – I have to admit it. I love what the BIR is doing. No country can progress without adequate state revenue. While nobody likes taxes, it’s the price we must pay to participate in, and benefit from a society. Many are flabbergasted at the recent ads that publicize the highest taxpayers — and by virtue those who are noticeably absent — which the BIR is sponsoring in the leading newspapers. I think it’s fabulous. Let’s put a spotlight on all of it. Nothing purifies better than a bright spotlight. This approach is a proven tactic of the US Internal Revenue Service. In fact, it is fairly well established that each and every tax season, at least one prominent citizen — be it a top athlete or Hollywood star — is arrested and jailed for tax evasion. Why? To send a signal to the entire population that nobody is above the law. Tax avoidance is legal, but tax evasion is not. Just watch in the coming February-April window in the US press. We’ll see at least one famous individual on CNN being led to prison in handcuffs. It is imperative that the internal revenue bureau of any country sends clear signals. Who pays and who doesn’t. And that nobody is above the law. You evade your taxes and you go to jail — pure and simple. Doesn’t matter who you are, who your daddy is. How much money you have. The Philippines is on its way. But there is Read More …

Eco-chic finds a niche

Economy

Dec 152013

MANILA, Philippines – In the Philippines, the name carries the stigma of poverty, filth and tragedy. The place is best remembered for its infamous dumpsite, which claimed hundreds of lives when it leveled nearby slums in an avalanche of trash back in 2000. Over a decade later, a nearby village paints a different picture. Villagers no longer sift through trash; instead, they dabble in textiles. Men print patterns on canvas, which the women then fashion into eco-bags. Welcome to Payatas 13, a village transformed by the power of social entrepreneurship. For the people, by the people Payatas 13 experienced a turnaround when Mike Go, a Gawad Kalinga social entrepreneur, launched Trese back in 2008. The concept was simple: employ local residents, print shirts, and use the profits to fund community projects. After securing a deal to become the official shirt printer of Gawad Kalinga, their product offering diversified with the addition of canvas eco-bags. In fact, the demand for bags has now grown bigger than that of the very popular print shirts. But while Trese attributes its initial success to Gawad Kalinga’s orders, Mike admits that it’s not enough to sustain all of Payatas 13’s community projects. The real profit, he says, comes from corporate patrons who share his vision. Lifestyle Feature ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: As word spread about Trese’s philosophy of grassroots empowerment, organizations with an inclination for philanthropy contacted Mike to order company collaterals. Spreading the good cause Top call center and business process Read More …

Cream Silk: Thinking out of the box with Hair Sonata

General

Dec 012013

Cream Silk: Thinking out of the box with Hair Sonata

Carlos Corrales, Cream Silk assistant brand manager; Dorothy Dee-Ching, Unilever marketing director for hair; Anne Remulla, Cream Silk brand manager; Nel Capila, Unilever head of dDigital; Chesca Silvestre, Nikka Abella, Unilever PR manager, and Apples Aberin, Unilever head of PR for personal care at the Cream Silk Hair Sonata MANILA, Philippines – Strong, beautiful hair is always a sight to behold. Now, it can be used to make music — literally. That’s how Cream Silk proved its point — that hair treated with the conditioner is strong. Cream Silk, the No. 1 hair care brand in the Philippines, gives up to 10 times stronger hair against hair fall. To demonstrate the power of hair that is beyond strong and beyond beautiful, Cream Silk collaborated with internationally renowned bowmaker Archetier Paul S.J. Goh in creating Asia’s first human hair violin bows, using human hair that was strengthened and treated with Cream Silk Conditioner. Last Oct. 17, Cream Silk staged the “Cream Silk Hair Sonata: The World’s First Hair Symphony Orchestra,” a once-in-a-lifetime celebration of beauty, music and art through the biggest and most beautiful demonstration of hair strength in the world. The Cream Silk Hair Sonata was a mixed-media performance headlined by the Hair Symphony Orchestra, a 42-piece orchestra featuring a 10-member female string ensemble, all using the human hair violin bows. Maestro Gerard Salonga of the renowned ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra conducted the symphonies for the evening. Complementing the Hair Orchestra’s serenades were performances by Ballet Philippines as choreographed by Alden Read More …

Robinsons Supermarket & Citi Credit Cards, The payWave of the future in grocery shopping

Economy

Oct 272013

Robinsons Supermarket & Citi Credit Cards, The payWave of the future in grocery shopping

MANILA, Philippines – I hate long queues. I once saw a woman faint in front of me after standing in line for hours in a supermarket (no, she wasn’t pregnant; she simply passed out from exhaustion). Good thing there was a nurse (she was off-duty though) who was also standing in line right behind her. I hate lining up for hours just to pay for a small purchase, like a bottle of suka or patis or a garland of garlic. I often end up abandoning my grocery cart and fuming as I dash out of the store. If you’re like me and you’re a Citi cardholder, you’ll welcome this piece of news with a big sigh of relief: Now making waves is the Citibank Visa payWave, the first contactless credit card payment technology introduced just this September in the country. SHOP, TAP, and GO “We tied up with Citibank payWave because we want to provide our customers the best shopping experience, such as by exploring ways to make shopping fast and convenient,” says Robina Gokongwei-Pe, president/COO, Robinsons Retail Group. “Having the Citibank payWave in our stores will reduce long lines at check-out counters since it would speed up the transaction process. It will be very convenient for our customers who won’t have to struggle to look for small bills and coins to pay for small-ticket items as the card doesn’t have a minimum purchase. Customers also don’t need to sign the receipt for purchases less than P2,000 (but they have Read More …

PH entry makes it to Project Inspire finals

Economy

Aug 182013

PH entry makes it to Project Inspire finals

MANILA, Philippines – Ilaw ng Tahanan, a project designed to train women inmates to produce low-cost solar lamps, brings young Filipino lawyers Margarita N. Gutierrez and Doranne Lim to Singapore for the finals of Project Inspire: 5 Minutes to Change the World, hopefully to win the US$25,000 Women’s Empowerment Grant. Gutierrez and Lim will compete with nine other Project Inspire finalists from Canada, India, Netherlands, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Uganda and United States, whose projects will benefit communities in Asia/Pacific, the Middle East or Africa (APMEA). The 10 finalists were selected based on their sustainability, impact and economic or social benefit, out of this year’s 577 submissions from 62 countries around the world. Jointly organized by the Singapore Committee of UN Women and MasterCard and supported by INSEAD, Project Inspire is a digital and social media driven initiative that encourages young people across the world to empower disadvantaged women and girls. It was launched in 2011, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day and the 25th anniversary of MasterCard in APMEA. Open to 18-35 year olds all over the world, Project Inspire provides a five-minute platform for pitching transformative, sustainable ideas and a grant for the winner to implement the initiatives, which can range from education and skills training, to financial inclusion or social entrepreneurship. It’s the third time Filipinos made a mark on the competition. For Project Inspire 2011, a micro-entrepreneurship program, Hapinoy, won the Grand Prize. Hapinoy equipped underprivileged women with the skills, tools, Read More …

Agri-entrepreneurs for healthier Pinoys

Economy

Aug 042013

Hunger and malnutrition are widespread in many less-developed countries. Globally, it is recognized that the agriculture sector has yet to make progress in improving the nutrition and health of poor farmers and consumers in developing countries. Agricultural practices and policies can be improved and redesigned to maximize its contribution to health and nutrition benefits. It is a good thing that in the Philippine setting, agriculture plays a very important role in the Philippine economy as well as providing the daily nutritional needs of every Filipino. We are seeing more and more agri-entrepreneurs focusing their efforts on agri-produce that contribute to healthier Filipinos. In relation to the celebration of nutrition month, I am featuring some of the most hardworking entrepreneurs who contribute to the success of both agriculture and nutrition of Filipinos. These five agri-entrepreneurs are featured in our book, 50 Inspiring Stories of Agri-entrepreneurs. Mother’s rice Rice is a staple food for Filipinos. Henry Lim Bon Liong is one of the most diligent people advocating for high quality and productivity in rice production. In 1998, Henry, who started with the Sterling card and stationery business, met the “national treasure” of China, professor Yuan Longpin, because of his valuable agriculture research. Inspired by the professor, he started SL Agritech to focus on hybrid rice production, which led to the development of the first line of mestizo hybrid rice. Because of his genuine efforts to improve Philippine rice production, Henry is now supplying the variety that produces the delicious and fragrant rice he calls “Doña Maria,” Read More …

The best misfortune of this entrepreneur’s life

Economy

Jul 282013

The best misfortune of this entrepreneur’s life

Janet Altamarino, chief executive of Ultimate Visa Corporation, is committed to providing Filipinos with a legitimate visa processing service and is the only agency that caters to all visas to other countries. MANILA, Philippines – When life gives you lemons, you can become just as bitter, or you can make lemonade, as the saying goes. Janet Altamarino, chief executive of Ultimate Visa Corporation, did exactly the latter — she made a lot of lemonade, only on a grander scale. Ultimate Visa is the leading visa and immigration consultancy in the Philippines that she and her partner, Atty. Jonnah John B. Ungab, started in Cebu City five years ago. Today, they have already established a second headquarters in Makati City, and have recently been dubbed the Most Trusted Immigration Services Company by the National Consumers’ Choice Awards Council. Altamarino wanted to explore greener pastures abroad as a young graduate. After entrusting her savings to a visa-processing firm, the company disappeared. It happened two more times before she learned her lesson. “You turn the misfortune into an opportunity when you experience difficulties instead of crying over it,” she says. After hearing similar tales, she went on a quest to help other visa applicants in their processing — never again would they be conned. “Most applicants forego the background check on agencies. They sell their business, their assets, others pawn their family home and farmland, and then nothing happens with their applications,” explains Altamarino. “It’s heartbreaking.” “I wanted the opportunity to put up Read More …

The only thing to be afraid of in this world is your mother

Economy

Jun 232013

The only thing to be afraid of in this world is your mother

Fear of failure is a restraining element that runs counter to any change process and improved competitiveness in business and life. Pekka Viljakainen and Mark Mueller-Eberstein, authors of the book No Fear: Business Leadership in the Age of Digital Cowboys, write that fear is a controlling emotion, and that it is an inevitable part of human persona. To go against this sense of dreadfulness, you must have a “no fear” mindset where the emotion is dealt with, recognized, and conquered. Fear equals failure, and the leader who succumbs to that fear performs a serious disservice to the company organization, its employees, and its clients. Changes all over the world mandate leaders to be equipped to adapt to the transitions that are happening in the global community, or go down the tubes. And with the altered global landscape comes new entrants with diverse aspirations as well. They are young, pioneering, and at home with using technology and social media. They are referred to as the “Digital Cowboys” — the first adopters of new technology and innovations. In Western movies, cowboys — the likes of Roy Rogers, The Ringo Kid and The Lone Ranger — were men who rode fast horses to scenes of trouble. They meted out justice when someone got shot at, killed, robbed, cheated or was a victim of a wrongdoing. Armed with as many weapons as possible, cowboys independently executed their judgment and action. People looked up to them for their sense of fairness and viewed them as Read More …

Out-of-this-world teamwork lessons from NASA

Economy

Jun 162013

Out-of-this-world teamwork lessons from NASA

MANILA, Philippines – Businesses and organizations can learn from all walks of life, from winning athletes to musicians and artists, to name a few. Even astronauts. T.K. “Ken” Mattingly is a former NASA astronaut, a member of the Apollo 13 and 16 missions, and was immortalized in the Hollywood blockbuster Apollo 13, in which actor Gary Sinise played him. A few years back I invited Ken to speak to my P&G team about teamwork and how those amazing NASA teams of the 1960s and 1970s took the world by storm with the moon landing, and even “successful failures” such as the safe return of the aborted Apollo 13 mission. And was the lesson a doozy! I’ll let Ken tell the story that illustrates the teamwork theme of NASA: “We were in quarantine right before Apollo 13, so we wouldn’t pick up any illnesses. So we couldn’t see our families or anyone outside. There were many hours of boredom right before launch, so I decided that each night I would go out to the launch pad and study a different part of the lunar module. I would be better prepared than I ever was before. Lifestyle Feature ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “One night, I was out on the pad and I ran into one of our engineers working at 3 a.m. on an electrical panel. The engineer was startled by my presence and demanded, ‘Who are you?’ When I replied, ‘I am Ken Mattingly, the pilot of Read More …

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