Sep 162016
 
DTI lays out win-win proposal vs ‘endo’

The Department of Labor and Employment reported there are currently 5,150 registered contractors and subcontractors deploying more than 416,000 workers to not less than 26,000 principals. STAR/File photo MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has come up with a win-win solution for businesses and workers in line with President Duterte’s mandate to end labor contractualization and end-of-contract or “endo” schemes. Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez presented the so-called “win-win structure” of labor relations Thursday during a consultation involving government officials on labor and trade, business leaders and selected legislators. The win-win structure involves workers, service providers and companies. “We have come up with an alternative structure, and the premise of this is that the workers’ benefits will be assured and will be protected. We also have to balance it with the need to have a business-friendly policy environment that will generate jobs and attract investments. In other words, the structure should be in favor for both business and labor,” Lopez said. “We basically have two set-ups, one is the company hires directly the workers, the labor. The other option is if it is not direct hire via the company, the principal or the company will outsource it to service providers. Service providers will then hire the workers and they will have the direct employer-employee relationship,” he added. Through this win-win set-up, Lopez said workers can be hired by service providers as regulars, receiving full benefits such as leave credits, 13th month pay, as well as retirement, social Read More …

Sep 162016
 
Philippines prods US to include travel goods in GSP list

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the country renewed its petition to the US during his meeting with Deputy US Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Holleyman II at the recently concluded 13th ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in Laos. STAR/File photo MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines has urged the US anew to include travel goods on the list of duty-free products under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the country renewed its petition to the US during his meeting with Deputy US Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Holleyman II at the recently concluded 13th ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in Laos. “On our end, we’ve re-presented the request and the justifications on the travel goods. We requested for the inclusion of travel goods on the US GSP and we have a request to reconsider. It is moving already. It’s in the process, up for consideration,” Lopez said. The Philippines was unable to secure the US government’s nod to include locally manufactured travel goods in the GSP program – a preferential tariff system given by the US to its trade partners – on its annual review released last June. The country’s earlier petition which the USTR deferred seeks to include travel goods such as luggage, handbags, pocket goods, backpacks, sports and travel bags. “The only concern why it was excluded is that they are saying that the Philippines is not a least developed economy. But for us, we’re saying we are still developing and we need support and Read More …

Sep 162016
 
Splash seeks to extend tender offer

MANILA, Philippines – Splash Corp. is seeking an extension of its tender offer period to give shareholders more time to consider their options. The company launched a tender offer for the remaining shares held by minority investors at P3.10 per share. The move is in preparation for its plan to voluntary delist from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE). Splash asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to extend the tender offer period to Oct. 5 from the original deadline of Sept. 20. “The request for extension is being made pursuant to Securities Regulation Code Rule 19.9.9 and in order to give the stockholders more time to consider their options and to decide whether they wish to tender their shares given that the tender offer is being conducted pursuant to the company’s intention to voluntarily delist from the exchange,” Splash said. The company is targeting to delist from the PSE on Oct. 7. Splash applied for delisting because of the low trading volume of its shares over the last 24 months, the response of the investing public to the ongoing share buy-back program, and the company’s desire to avoid telegraphing its business plans to its competitors. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 As of July 5 this year, the company’s public ownership stood at 26.66 percent. “After the termination of the tender offer…the company’s public ownership is expected to fall below the prescribed 10 percent minimum public ownership,” Splash said. The company reported a net income of P98.84 million Read More …

Sep 162016
 
TV5 sets focus on news, sports

MANILA, Philippines – Broadcast firm TV5 intends to put more focus on news and sports under a new head as it looks to break even by 2019. “Most likely, we’ll focus on news and sports, maybe with a bit of entertainment. But basically, the emphasis should be on news and sports,” TV5 chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan told reporters. He also said the firm is still hopeful it could achieve break even by 2019. TV5 was initially looking to break even by 2017, but the target has been pushed back to 2019. Former PBA coach Vincent “Chot” Reyes has been named as the new president and CEO of TV5 effective Oct. 1. Reyes is replacing Emmanuel Lorenzana who is retiring from the post. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 As TV5 is looking to put more focus on sports shows, Pangilinan said Reyes’ experience would be beneficial to the company. “He is very digital, it turns out. You wouldn’t expect a coach to be so digital but he is very digital so, he now heads the digital initiatives of TV5. He’s been, not only for TV5, but also other parts of the group which require digital content especially, video content. He’s been helpful in other parts of the group,” he said. MediaQuest Holdings Inc., the multimedia arm of PLDT Inc., acquired TV5 in 2009.

Sep 162016
 
MAILBOX: IC clarifies ‘Unholy Alliance’

Gentlemen, This refers to the article entitled “Unholy Alliance” written by Mary Ann Reyes published in the Sept. 14 issue of The Philippine STAR – Business section regarding the alleged failure of the Insurance Commission to act on the complaints filed by Steel Corporation of the Philippines (“SCP” for brevity). We would like to take this opportunity to clarify matters in relation to the issues raised in the article. First, the insurance claims of SCP are pending before the regular courts, one in the Regional Trial Court of Batangas City and another in the Regional Trial Court of Makati City. The cases involve claims to recover insurance proceeds for material damage due to fire and business interruption losses provided under the insurance policies. At present, the cases are being heard and decisions are yet to be issued by the respective courts. There is no way for the Insurance Commission to assume jurisdiction and hear the cases because the claims exceed the jurisdiction amount of P5 million provided under Section 439 of the Insurance Code, as amended by RA 10607 which took effect on Sept. 20, 2013. Second, what is pending before the Insurance Commission are administrative cases seeking the suspension and revocation of licenses of the insurance companies who issued the insurance policies involved in the incident. These cases do not seek to recover insurance proceeds for material damage due to fire and business interruption losses provided under the insurance policies. Thus, the decisions in these cases will not effect Read More …

Sep 162016
 
Change is not coming

What a tagline! Everywhere I go in the country, I open the line and say, “Change is….” and everyone in my audience will complete the line and say, “Change is coming.” It ranks as popular as the phrase, “It’s more fun in……the Philippines,” as my audience would declare and then smile and laugh about it. There are so many changes happening in the political scene and in the business scene, but what about changes that are not coming, at least in the immediate future? Well, let’s take a careful look into these things. Here are the things that will not change: 1. EDSA traffic will still be a problem and it would take time and immediate measures to improve the situation. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 2. Some politicians will still lie and steal, even though there is a higher sense of consciousness and apprehension these days. 3. Business will continue to be uncertain. 4. Business competitions will continue to rise. 5. Price competitions will always be there. 6. Technology will still churn out things that will change consumer behavior and will threaten many established industries. 7. You and I will grow old. 8. Life will still be laced with challenges and trials and the pace of it will add more stress to many of us. On the other hand, these are the good things that will not change: 1. Life is beautiful, especially if you wake up every morning and realize it is a gift Read More …

Sep 152016
 
PLDT SME Nation names 2016 #BeTheBoss awardees

From left: AVP and Head of Community Engagement and Marketing Communication Gabby Cui, PLDT VP and Head of SME Nation Mitch Locsin, Boss for Innovative Solutions Matthew Cua of Skyeye, Boss for E-Commerce Barni Rennebeck of The Sexy Chef, Bosses for Social Responsibility Melanie Go and Hindy Weber with PLDT Group Chair Manuel V. Pangilinan (center), Bosses for Social Media Jill Borja, Nadine Fanlo, and Jaime Fanlo joined by Rappler CEO Maria Ressa, and PLDT EVP and Head of Enterprise International and Carrier Business Eric R. Alberto PLDT/Released MANILA, Philippines – The 2016 search for the country’s next generation of digital business leaders has finally come to a close, and PLDT SME Nation, the micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) arm of PLDT, Inc., concluded the competition with the announcement of the new batch of game-changing entrepreneurs at the #BeTheBoss Awards Night last September 9 at the Conrad Hotel Manila. The #BeTheBoss Awards, now on its second year, recognizes promising Filipino entrepreneurs leading through tech innovation and digital integration in their business. “It’s amazing to see the number of revolutionary MSMEs we have in the country. We received double the amount of nominations from last year’s competition,” enthused PLDT VP and Head of SME Nation Mitch Locsin. “And with over 24,000 votes that came in, we can very much observe how technology continues to play a key role in the growth and success of the Filipino MSME.” From over 600 nominations, this year’s #BeTheBoss Awards highlighted 12 finalists who exhibited Read More …