Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – The parent firm of Philippine Airlines (PAL) expects to post profit in the fourth quarter, coming from a net loss in the third quarter, amid anticipated increase in passengers during the holiday season. PAL president and chief operating officer Jaime Bautista told reporters on the sidelines of the 60th Assembly of Presidents of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines that while the carrier expects October to still be a lean month for travel, passenger volume would likely pick up in November and December. “Half of November is lean (and) half is going to peak, but December will be peak. So, the (fourth) quarter, we’re expecting to be a profitable quarter,” he said. PAL Holdings Inc. incurred a net loss of P2.01 billion in the third quarter last year, a turnaround from the P247.90 million net income posted in the same period a year ago. While revenues went up year-on-year in the third quarter, total expenses rose. Revenues grew six percent to P27.78 billion in the third quarter from P26.21 billion last year. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Total expenses, meanwhile, climbed 14.9 percent to P29.57 billion in the third quarter from the previous year’s P25.73 billion. For the January to September period, net earnings of PAL Holdings reached P2.60 billion, down 57 percent from the P6.11 billion a year ago. Revenues for the nine-month period reached P85.35 billion this year, a 3.5 percent increase from the P82.48 billion in the same period last Read More …

I just finished reading the handwritten suicide notes of Francisco Villa, Jr., an official of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and the older brother of my colleague Charie Villa. It’s sad to hear of someone who had to take his life because he couldn’t see himself acceding to corrupt practices in his workplace. That’s not how it is supposed to be. The good guys should multiply and drive the bad eggs out of our civil service. But l also just read that a deputy customs commissioner was killed in an ambush as he drove home from work. I was told he was a pretty good guy too, a rarity in his agency. The late ERC director Villa wrote a series of three suicide notes starting on Aug. 23, addressed to “my dear Lord Jesus,” a prayer for deliverance from his situation. He expressed worries about his role in reviewing procurement contracts at the power industry watchdog. “I have fears about my BAC (Bids and Awards Committee) work,” he wrote. “Our mistakes may bring on (Commission on Audit) observations and disallowances…” He wrote that his “greatest fear in the Bids and Awards Committee is the AVP by Luis Morelos which the chairman and CEO, Jose Vicente B. Salazar, chose through a rigged selection system. That will be a criminal act.” In his first note, Villa asked the Lord’s help as he “cannot physically bring himself to work” at the ERC due to “fears” about his work as chief of the agency’s Read More …

President Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping greet each during a bilateral meeting at the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Summit in Lima, Peru on November 19. REY BANIQUET/ Presidential Photo MANILA, Philippines – Credit Suisse said President Duterte’s pivot to China would bring in more investments as well as tourists and is positive for the sustained economic growth of the Philippines. In a report, Michael Wan, economist at Credit Suisse, said the country’s pivot toward China is net positive for the gross domestic product (GDP) growth as well as balance of payments (BOP) position for next year.  Wan explained the strategy of the Duterte administration would bring in more foreign direct investments and tourism from China next year and outweigh the potential decline in flows from the US in the near term.  Credit Suisse sees the country’s GDP expanding 6.4 percent next year.  The report said around $1-to $4-billion or 0.3 to 1.2 percent of GDP of the $15 billion investment pledges made during Duterte’s visit to China have the potential to start in 2017.  Likewise, Credit Suisse said it does not expect a sharp slowdown in US investments due to the pivot toward China strategy as well as the shocking victory of Republican Donald Trump. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1  “This implies a two-to six-fold increase in current investments from China, and compares with the Philippines’ typical annual total FDI inflows of $6-to $8-billion. While the US is still the Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The head of Cebu-based conglomerate Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. urged the country’s millennials to nurture their potential as they could be the next business leaders. “Nurture your potential. Explore your natural curiosity about the world and your interest in the diversity of people. For this interest can inspire visionary initiatives even beyond our borders,” AEV president and CEO Erramon Aboitiz said during the opening of the 11th Aboitiz Future Leaders Business Summit (AFLBS) held in Cebu recently. The summit, which carried the theme “Filipino Youth, Global Leaders: Driving Business Excellence to Secure a Better World for the Next Generation,” gathered 91 students from all over the country or 58 from Luzon, 20 from Visayas and 13 from Mindanao. Aboitiz said the AFLBS delegates were already in a prime position to foster their leadership skills. “You millennials already have what it takes to become global leaders. We trust that this leadership summit will further motivate you to aspire to be a positive change agent for the greater good. Envision yourself to be a global leader in the future, making a difference both here at home and abroad,” he said. “When you step out of the halls of your university and enter the real world, may you always be constantly aware of the transforming role of your actions not only in your place of employment, but also in the communities you affect,” he added.           

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Tourism (DOT) plans to come up with a database, which will list all destinations in the country in response to the ever-changing preferences of tourists and tourism investors. “We are starting with an extensive inventory of our destinations so we will know who offers what and what are the capabilities of each destination to deliver on expectations,” Tourism Undersecretary for regulation, coordination and resource generation Alma Jimenez said.  Jimenez said the initiative would pave the  way for more innovative tourism products and guide tourism development programs. “The more important priorities we are addressing include establishing the database and doing the required analytics to make sure we have all the information about every destination at our fingertips,” she said. “This will allow us to quickly react to inquiries and even tourism investments,” she added. According to Jimenez, the DOT’s direction is currently centered on customized and niche-specific marketing and promotion campaigns. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The agency has organized special project development teams who would create niche products to introduce more tourism segments to the traveling market. Jimenez said the DOT was developing tourism offerings focused on various thematic clusters, such as fitness, fun, family, farm and faith tourism. “The overall direction is to create a country tourism program and enable the regions to cross-sell, promote each other and get real tourism numbers up,” she said.