Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – The Center for Global Best Practices (www.cgbp.org) is holding a special seminar titled, Refresher Course on Business English for Professionals and Executives scheduled on Aug. 16 and 17, 2016 at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel, Mandaluyong City. This back-to-basics intensive course for professionals, senior executives and entrepreneurs will help them refresh their memory and re-sharpen their skills once again to master the world’s language for business. This unique program will feature Prof. Lucris Carina Agnir-Paraan, Ph.D. She finished her doctorate degree, major in English Studies at the University of the Philippines in Diliman where she was awarded the “Outstanding Dissertation” of the College of Arts and Letters. She earned her MA in Language and Literature at the University of the Philippines in Baguio where she graduated with a 1.007 GPA. Her AB in Philosophy was also earned at UP Diliman, and she graduated high school at the International School of Kuala Lumpur where she was the first Asian and first woman editor-in-chief of the school paper. She conducts regular public and in-house English refresher workshops and seminars on business communication and verbal skills. Her program is limited to 40 participants and pre-registration is required. For more details, visit www.cgbp.org to see other best practices seminars including Write Right for Positive Results, Master Class on English Pronunciation and Effective Presentations, Super Memory Program for Executives and Professionals and many more. Contact CGBP at (02) 556-8968 / 69 (Manila); (032) 512-3106 / 07 (Cebu) and (074) 423-5148 (Baguio).

FARM machines and equipment stored in Department of Agriculture (DA) warehouses located across the country will be released within two months, the agency’s chief said.

Jordan Clark, left, and Lewis Gutierrez sit in Prospect Park as they talk about their new “Pokemon Go” business in the Brooklyn borough of New York. They are among the new entrepreneurs who offer their services as “trainers” for the game at $20 per hour – logging onto a client’s “Pokemon Go” account and effectively running up their score while a client is stuck at work or sitting in class. AP/Ezra Kaplan NEW YORK — Too busy with your real life to play the hit augmented reality game “Pokemon Go”? For a price, some entrepreneurs will play the game for you. New ads are popping up on Craigslist nearly every day from people who say they will log on to your “Pokemon Go” account and effectively run up your score while you are stuck at work or sitting in class. On a recent July afternoon, two 24-year-old Pokemon “trainers,” Lewis Gutierrez and Jordan Clark, walked through Brooklyn’s Prospect Park with their eyes glued to their phones, tapping and swiping away to catch virtual Pokemon for clients paying about $20 per hour for the service. Gutierrez, who described himself as a welder and writer, said he began by helping relatives with the game after it was released in the U.S. in early July. Then he put a post on Craigslist advertising his services professionally.  He said he was immediately inundated with requests from potential customers and had to recruit Clark, a part-time wine purveyor, to help. “I couldn’t even do it Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – American multinational conglomerate 3M is bullish on its prospects in the Philippines under the new administration and aims to continue pouring in more investments in the areas of manufacturing and research and development (R&D). “We’re very positive as to where the country is headed in the future. It’s just a great time to be in the Philippines. There are a number of reasons why we like the Philippines, (and why we plan) to continue to do business, continue to invest, and continue to expand,” 3M executive vice president for international operations Hak Cheol Shin said at the opening of the 3M Philippines’ Global Service Center (GSC) in Bonifacio Global City yesterday. The country’s growing middle class and its stable economy and government were among the factors Shin cited as driving 3M’s optimism in the Philippines. “The stability of the government has been quite good, and we see even better conditions coming specially with the new president. Stability is important so we can predict what’s going to happen in the next month or next year,” he said. “The other thing we like in the last few years is the amount of investments in infrastructure because infrastructure is critical. Everytime I come here there is actual development from roads, highways, and new cities,” Shin added. Reflecting 3M’s strong confidence in the Philippines is its newly opened GSC in Bonifacio Global City, one of the firm’s only three shared service hubs worldwide. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: Read More …

The previous leadership at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) came out with a memorandum requiring coal plant developers to secure a clearance from the CCC and the office of Sen. Legarda to have their environmental compliance certificates (ECCs) approved. Philstar.com/File photo MANILA, Philippines – The permit process for coal-fired power plants just got harder as project proponents now need to get additional clearances from the Climate Change Commission (CCC) and the office of Sen. Loren Legarda, who chairs the Senate Committee on Climate Change. The previous leadership at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) came out with a memorandum requiring coal plant developers to secure a clearance from the CCC and the office of Sen. Legarda to have their environmental compliance certificates (ECCs) approved. The new requirement was confirmed by some power developers. Quezon Power Philippines Ltd. (QPPL) managing director Frank Thiel said he is aware of the new DENR memorandum on coal-fired power plants but has not yet read it. But definitely, this will add a new layer to securing of 156 permits for coal plant projects, he said. In a text message, Aboitiz Power Corp. president and COO Antonio Moraza said he came across the memorandum, which seemed “like an odd requirement.” Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “It was signed during the previous administration. So will the current administration regularize this?” he said. Meanwhile, GN Power COO Ariel Punzalan said this would be an addition to an already tedious Read More …