Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – Dominant carrier and multimedia service provider Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) is spending $2 million to double the international bandwidth capacity of the $500 million Asia-America Gateway (AAG) cable system linking the Philippines directly to the US. PLDT president and chief executive officer Napoleon Nazareno said the upgrade to the 100G per wavelength technology would allow PLDT to support more industry requirements as well as further enhance the quality of experience of customers.  “With the deployment of 100G technology in this international link, we will be able to extract more capacity out of our existing fiber cables and support the delivery of high-bandwidth services and applications. This will give our customers the benefits of a much faster and resilient global transport network,” he said. The additional investments would double the current bandwidth capacity of the only transpacific cable that directly links Southeast Asia and the Philippines to the US mainland. PLDT was a lead investor with $50 million out of the $500 million AAG Cable System running 20,000 kilometers of high-bandwidth optical fiber linking Southeast Asia directly to the US. The AAG consortium consists of 19 parties providing connectivity between the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Hong Kong SAR, Guam, Hawaii and the US West Coast and seamless interconnection with other major cable systems connecting Europe, Australia, other parts of Asia and Africa and using Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) technology to provide upgradeable, future-proof transmission facilities for telecommunications traffic. Business ( Article MRec Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has extended an additional P690-million loan to the local government of Camarines Sur to support the various development programs of the province. Specifically, the financial assistance would be used to fund P300 million worth of infrastructure projects. Another P200 million would also fund the construction of  a food terminal while P100 million would finance Internet-based curriculum and connectivity of public schools. The loan would also finance various tourism development initiatives worth P50 million and for the completion of various priority projects worth P41.9 million. DBP previously financed various infrastructure, school buildings and facilities, mini-hospital/ health centers, IT park and tourism projects of the LGU, including the world-renowned Camarines Sur Water Sports Complex and Gota Beach Resort in Caramoan Island. The assistance to the Camarines Sur LGU earned for the DBP the Most Outstanding Local Economic Development Project award from the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific in 2011. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 It also catapulted Camarines Sur into the country’s top tourist destination from 2009-2010. In April this year, DBP also granted a P268.502-million loan to the Camarines Sur IV Electric Cooperative (Casureco IV) to partially finance its capital expenditure requirements that will lead to the improvement of the distribution system’s capacity, efficiency, reliability and safety. The project will also address the load requirement of new customers, overloading of transformers, and dilapidated kilowatt-hour meters. The DBP loan will also be used Read More …

Staying outdoors exposes our bodies to the harmful elements, and the same holds true even within the protective shell of a vehicle. Vulnerable parts of our physique such as our skin, hair, and eyes may remain exposed to harsh sunlight, wind, and pollution; and although we may not immediately feel its ill effects, these stresses pose cumulative damage to our bodies over time. Having said that, I would like to touch a subject that is seldom discussed when it comes to driving and commuting—hair damage. As vain as it may sound, it is a reality that for many people, further hair quality deterioration results as collateral damage from the daily commute. Of course some situations are more damaging than others—such as, say, driving your car with the top down; being part of the top-load of a jeepney (a regular occurrence in the provinces); hanging out at the upper level of an open-top tourist bus; or even just driving with only a glass moonroof over your head. But simple daily bad habits are already enough to pose collective damage to your hair…and so I decided to go get us some expert hair advice from a long-time top stylist and friend, Chastine Fitcher Isidro. Chastine has had a lengthy and remarkable career in hairstyling—he has gathered acclaim and highly specialized knowledge with regards to hair after pursuing studies in the United Kingdom. He studied in institutions such as the Toni&Guy Academy (UK), the Alan D Education Academy, and the Mahogany Hair Dressing Read More …

DAVAO CITY — The city government plans to invite interested companies to locate in a soon-to-be established industrial economic zone.

MANILA, Philippines – A Mindanao-based legislator has filed a  bill which seeks to increase the graveyard shift pay of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) employees from 10 percent to 25 percent of their basic salary. Maguindanao Rep. Zajid Mangudadatu said House Bill 4414 seeks to ensure that BPO employees are properly compensated for the risks they are exposed to in working from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. “BPO employees are often exposed to stress because they take calls of agitated or angry customers.  They likewise make calls to customers of their companies for purposes of addressing concerns, making sales or other matters that require a lot of activity, resulting in undue stress.  “In addition, most BPOs operate during the night and this adds to the employees’ exposure to health hazard,” Mangudadatu said. He said that he is optimistic BPO owners and operators can afford the additional graveyard shift pay for their employees. “It should be highlighted that BPOs are owned and operated by foreigners and are in Philippine Economic Zone Authority-accredited locations.  This proposed increase is just a small price to pay for owners and operators of BPOs, some of whom enjoy tax benefits for being located in PEZA-accredited locations,” Mangudadatu said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 He noted that the existing applicable provision in the Labor Code of the Philippines only mandates an additional pay of 10 percent for work done from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. His bill, however, proposes that all BPO employees shall Read More …