Maniolas

Still considered as a vibrant economy, the Philippines continues to nurture a growing real estate market. Specifically for resort clubs, condominium buildings, and subdivisions, where the market has been notably shrinking, the competitive landscape is fiercely contested. We see a proliferation of sales agents distributing leaflets at busy intersections, inside malls and other places where people who are likely to buy shares of stocks in upcoming resort clubs, condominium units being constructed, or dream houses in just-cleared lands, can be found. The sales agents have excellent pressure selling techniques that are able to convert curious, prospective customers is to hooked buyers, albeit sometimes reluctantly, and often at a cost. Buyers usually sign contracts without the full knowledge of the terms and conditions that come with what they are buying, or worse, the real condition of the property or share they have pledged to pay through  monthly installments for years. Unfortunately, all those frustrating stories of unfulfilled agreements are made known only when the duped buyers are already in a similar situation. Sad stories How many have gone through the agony of sad stories where, after making the down payment and a couple of monthly installments, the buyer discovers that work on the property has stopped and what remains are unfinished roads and a broken promise. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Or the now familiar case of buyers, after several years of religiously paying monthly installments until fully paid, could not get the title to their respective Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Online job hiring in the Philippines sustained its upward trend, rising by four percent in August on positive economic outlook in the country, an online research firm said. According to the Monster.com, the country’s job market has seen substantial improvement in the past months and is likely to continue its momentum until the end of the year. “The growth is in part due to the recent effective policies rolled out following the elections, as well as the increase in infrastructure projects, creating more job opportunities across the country,” said Sanjay Modi, managing director for Asia-Pacific and Middle East at Monster.com. In particular, the education sector recorded its fourth consecutive double-digit growth as it spiked 27 percent year-on-year in online hiring, the top growth among all job sectors. Purchase, logistics and supply chain roles also registered a 23 percent increase while information technology and telecoms recorded a four percent decline. Customer service saw the most notable decline, falling 23 percent as against the 18 percent growth reported between July 2015 and 2016. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The MEI is a monthly gauge of online job posting activity based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from a large representative selection of career websites and online job listings across the Philippines.

The power regulator commissioned a third party to study and make reconmmendations on the system loss charges aimed to benefit consumers, ERC spokesperson Floresinda Digal said after Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian asked for updates on the reduction of system loss charges during a Senate hearing yesterday. MANILA, Philippines – The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has tapped a third party consultant to do a review on the system loss charges aimed to reduce the pass-on burden to consumers. The power regulator commissioned a third party to study and make reconmmendations on the system loss charges aimed to benefit consumers, ERC spokesperson Floresinda Digal said after Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian asked for updates on the reduction of system loss charges during a Senate hearing yesterday. System loss refers to unbilled power caused by pilferage and physical loss of energy when electricity passes through distribution lines, which can be passed on to consumers as stated under Republic Act 7832, or Anti-Electricity and Electric Transmission Lines/Materials Pilferage Act of 1994. The ERC awarded last month the contract to conduct the system loss review to local consultancy firm PowerSolv Inc., Digal said. Under the terms of reference (TOR), PowerSolv will review how the components of the system loss charge can be segregated into technical and non-technical items as well as study updating the system loss cap, she said. “The first part of the TOR will be a study on how system loss can be segregated to technical and non-technical, including what levels of technical and non-technical, if Read More …

IMPORTERS could once more resort to a voluntary disclosure program for errors in their Bureau of Customs (BoC) records, with a draft memorandum order for the implementation of the post-clearance audit provisions of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) providing for a Prior Disclosure Program (PDP), restoring the bureau’s post-clearance audit functions.

MANILA, Philippines – Passenger traffic at the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) is seen to post a compounded annual growth rate of 10 percent in the next five years as its private operator continues to woo airlines to offer flights to new destinations from Cebu. GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. (GMCAC) president Louie Ferrer said the projection was anchored on the 33 percent growth in passenger volume to eight million last year. “Cebu already has the necessary infrastructure and strong international connectivity. We want to take it a step further by continuously seeking new destinations that can be opened via Cebu, and in doing so open new channels for tourism and trade in neighboring provinces, most especially those in Mindanao,” he said. He said the growth of MCIA would also lead to the development of smaller airports in the southern part of the Philippines. “Airline partners such as Philippine Airlines (PAL) have also re-established regional hubs in Visayas and Mindanao. In fact, with the increased number of visitors, smaller airports connected to Cebu have already seen significant traffic growth,” he said. He added the increase in traffic is being seen more in the connection from Mindanao to Cebu than Mindanao to Manila. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Since GMCAC took over the operations of the MCIA in November 2014, 11 new routes were opened by airlines at the airport. The most recent route launched was China Eastern Airlines’ direct flight to Chengdu in China from Cebu last Read More …