THE Philippine Statistics Authority said last week that its 2012 census of the accommodation and food service industries were a P361-billion industry in terms of revenue, led by restaurants and mobile food businesses.
Nov 182014
Nov 182014
MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) is considering the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) as a possible location for the transportation hub to serve public utility vehicles coming from Northern Luzon. Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said VMMC is also being considered as a possible site for the much needed Integrated Transport System – North Terminal. “None yet, we are studying Veterans,” Abaya replied when asked if the government has identified the location of the ITS – North Terminal. The VMMC is along North and Mindanao Avenues and is near the proposed P1.4-billion common station to be constructed in front of the Trinoma Mall of conglomerate Ayala Corp. Abaya said other possible sites for the North ITS is the Manila Seedling Bank at the corner of EDSA and Quezon Avenue as well as the property of the National Housing Authority (NHA) near the Trinoma Mall. The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board chaired by President Aquino has approved the P7.7-billion ITS projects to maximize road usage by reducing vehicle volume and eliminating provincial bus traffic to improve traffic flow along Metro Manila’s major thoroughfares particularly EDSA. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The DOTC has earlier given prospective bidders for the P4 billion ITS – South Terminal at the Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) complex in Taguig City until Nov. 25 to submit their qualification documents. The terminal would connect passengers from the Laguna and Batangas side to other urban transport systems such Read More …
Nov 182014
Vicente T. Paterno, former chairman of the BOI (Board of Investment) (1970-1979), Minister of Industry (1974-1979), and Minister of Public Highways (1979-1980), Senator of the Republic (1987-1992), and, now, private businessman, as founder and chairman of the Philippine Seven Corporation, has written a book about himself, his beginnings and his achievements. “A ‘follow-your-dream’ story.” Entitled On My Terms: The Autobiography of Vicente Tirona Paterno (Anvil, 2014), the book is an inspiring life story of talent put to good use through hard work, family values, competent use of learning, humility, and a strong moral and ethical compass. It is not a “rags-to-riches” story. Paterno’s tale is more romantic: “follow-your-dream” — “On my terms!” as he puts it. “Youth and origins.” Paterno descends from a well-to-do and very comfortable background. He traces his ancestry to an immigrant from China whose immediate descendants succeeded as businessmen. His parents were highly educated professionals – his father a medical doctor who became a highly paid manager, and his mother a Tirona from Cavite, an educator. When war broke out, Paterno was a boy maturing into young manhood, too young to become a soldier but old enough to face the challenges of hardships and survival. He helped his mother provide for the family during those dangerous years. His father was marooned in Hong Kong for the duration of the war. His family and social connections were extensive among the privileged in Philippine society. Ting Paterno married Socorro Paz Pardo who came also from another well-connected family Read More …
Nov 182014
Our public schools are bursting at the seams. Catholic schools, which used to provide quality education, are closing down. Unless you come from a family of some means, chances are you are not going to get a good enough education to move up or even keep your current social status. It wasn’t always that way. My late father was educated from the beginning in public schools and he became a doctor, the country’s top tropical medicine expert in his time. But good public education, during my father’s era, was a priority of the American colonizer. When I was growing up, my father sent me to Paco Catholic School for my elementary education, not so much because the public school system then was not good enough, but because it was his concession to his religion… to give his children a good foundation in Roman Catholicism. But he took us out of Paco Catholic as soon as he could. I had my high school in UP Prep, as good a secondary education as anyone could get at that time. Those were the days when a public school education could be quality education. Today you only get that in the Science High Schools. For everyone else, a public school education at the elementary and secondary level almost dooms you to stay put or even be worse off than your parents. Just take UP today. Despite UP’s effort to democratize admission, kids from better off families still dominate enrollment. It is tough for a high school Read More …
Nov 182014
Commission on Elections chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. has branded ousted Comelec commissioner Augusto Lagman a troublemaker and attention seeker who has nothing new to say. Lagman and his ragtag group have been marching all over town over Comelec’s upcoming biddings for the supply of additional optical mark recognition (OMR) machines and the repair or upgrade of the existing OMR-anchored Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS), as well as over the participation certain groups in these public biddings. Lagman and his fellow Comelec bashers still cannot get over the fact that nobody believes their conspiracy theories of wholesale rigging in the 2010 and 2013 computerized elections using the PCOS machines and Automated Election System (AES)/OMR technology supplied by Smartmatic. Lagman is the ringleader of the Automated Election System Watch (AES Watch) and the newly launched Citizens for Clean and Credible Elections (C3E), both of which want Smartmatic blacklisted from future elections, claiming AES/PCOS-engineered electoral fraud in the past two polls. Aside from the competitive bidding or negotiated contract for refurbishing the used 80,000 PCOS machines, the Comelec recently issued invitations for the bidding for the P2.07-billion lease of 23,000 units of additional OMRs (at P90,000 per unit), and for theP30.75-million lease of 410 units of DRE machines (at P75,000 apiece). Apart from Smartmatic, four more companies namely Indra Sistemas, E-Konek Pilipinas Inc., Election Systems and Software; and Miru Systems Co. Ltd., have expressed interest in joining the bidding. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 It is obvious that Lagman Read More …
Nov 182014
MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) – The Philippine stock market closed today’s session higher as foreign investors remained keen on the local equities. The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index rose by 0.64 percent, or 45.94 points, to 7,275.66, while the broader all-share index gained 0.50 percent, or 21.11 points, to 4,276.05. Trading volume reached 2.25 billion shares worth P8 billion ($178.34 million) with 78 stocks advancing, 88 declining, and 53 unchanged. Of the six counters, only the industrial sector bucked the trend. “Sustained foreign buying buoyed sentiment despite the regional pullback owing to Japan’s third quarter economic growth,” online brokerage 2TradeAsia.com said in its daily stock market comment. Analyst Justino Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said in his daily stock market comment that while Japan’s gross domestic product was disappointing, this could have even boosted sentiments in the local equities. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “There is a general rise in optimism across the region as investors anticipate Japan to implement stimulus actions,” said Calaycay. 2TradeAsia.com said liberalization of bank ownership, efforts to reform the local mining tax sector’s tax scheme and higher remittances from overseas Filipino workers in September propped up the local bourse on Tuesday. Speculation over local firms’ activities overseas also provided an incentive for investors to flock to the market. Stocks in the 30-company index closed mixed. Among those picked up were heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., BDO Unibank, Inc., and Universal Robina Corp.
Nov 182014
MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) – Philippine shares closed 0.64 percent higher today. The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index rose 45.94 points to 7,275.66. The all-share index also went up by 21.11 points, or 0.50 percent, to 4,276.05. Trading volume reached 2.25 billion shares worth P8 billion ($178.34 million). There were 78 gainers, 88 losers while 53 stocks closed flat.
Nov 182014
MANILA, Philippines – The peso slipped against the dollar on Tuesday, closing at 44.965 from the previous day’s 44.89. Total volume transacted at the Philippine Dealing System amounted to $291 million, lower than the $313.3 million posted on Monday. The peso opened Tuesday at 44.93.
Nov 172014
PHILIPPINE telecommunications companies are the most exposed to margin declines next year in Southeast Asia as their profitable text revenue is replaced by data services, a report from the Fitch Ratings credit agency said on Monday.
Nov 172014
INFRASTRUCTURE expenditures grew in August, driven by key agencies’ settlements of payables and spending on rehabilitation projects and military modernization, data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed.