Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – Harbour Centre Port Terminal Inc. (HCPTI), the operator of Manila North Harbor, is pumping in close to P200 million to improve the efficiency of the 79-hectare Harbour Centre port complex to serve as an alternative to the congested ports of Manila. HCPTI chairman and chief executive officer Reghis Romero II said the company is upgrading its facilities and equipment to become a viable alternative to ease the gridlock and the flow of goods in the Port of Manila. “With the expansion of its existing infrastructure, upgrading of its computer systems, acquisition of new equipment and maintaining its ISO certification, HCPTI is now ready to rise to a new and greater challenge – to ease congestion, modernize so that we can develop more room for growth,” Romero said. He pointed out that HCPTI is currently embarking on a dredging project to expand the capacity of its port to accommodate more ships and increase the volume of bulk cargoes needed by industries. To do that, he said HCPTI is fabricating a bulk conveyor system and expanding its storage containment facility to accommodate more cargo. According to him, the company also provided new cargo handling equipment to ensure better handling capacity: Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “For faster bulk handling, HCPTI has acquired 15 tonner forklifts and more will be delivered within the year. HCPTI is also introducing the latest technological innovations to help its customers track their cargoes as well as ensure smooth operations in Read More …

Eastern Samar starts to feel Ruby’s rain, winds; evacuations continue . A satellite photo taken and released by EUMETSAT on Friday, December 5, shows Typhoon Ruby (Hagupit) closing in on Samar Island. Eastern Samar started to experience heavy rains and strong winds from Ruby Saturday morning, even as the government continued evacuation efforts for thousands of people. Many also sought shelter in churches, schools and makeshift facilities. AFP/EUMETSAT 2014 At least six domestic airports in Eastern Visayas and Bicol were closed Saturday due to bad weather conditions from Typhoon Ruby (Hagupit), as opposed to the previous four. Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines deputy director general Rodante Joya told radio dzBB’s Sam Nielsen the airports have been secured for Ruby’s wrath. Joya said the closed airports include: Calbayog Legaspi Catarman Naga Masbate Tacloban Joya said the airport fire trucks had been moved to a safe place while communication equipment was covered to protect them from rain. He said the CAAP will inspect the airports before allowing them to resume operations. Parts of Bicol and Eastern Visayas are under storm signals due to Ruby, which is expected to make landfall on Eastern Visayas before dawn Sunday. The Department of Transportation and Communications have also canceled flights to and from Masbate, Surigao and Catarman in Northern Samar earlier in the day. At least 29 areas have been placed under storm signals – including the areas where the closed airports are located – before noon Saturday as Ruby continues to move toward central Read More …

IT feels strange, to the point of being surreal. Here we are, barely a year out of the most damaging storm ever to hit the Philippines. And again, we are staring at the prospect of another, just as equally devastating weather disturbance, trying to retrace the steps of the one that went before it a year ago. Strange, too, to hear the name that has been chosen for this incoming weather system. While we were accustomed to hearing meteorologists talk about the “hagupit ng bagyong Yolanda over our airwaves,” I am not sure “hagupit ng bagyong Hagupit” would have quite the same ring to it. Nevertheless, poetic rhyming or not, it promises to be just as destructive as the one that went before it. We’ve all heard of the expression “like watching a train wreck in slow motion.” Oneknows it is going to come, one can see it coming, but there is very little one can do about it. Except, to get out of the way, of course. Getting out of the way, it seems, is our only option these days. As people living in a land renowned for devastating natural phenomena of every kind, it is almost inescapable that we will be subject to these furies of nature every now and again. And nature being nature, it will not care where these furies pass. Whether it be through human habitation, or remote and far-flung locations. The only problem, it seems to me, is that we are now having to Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – SM Prime Holdings Inc., the integrated property development arm of tycoon Henry Sy, is earmarking P7 billion for the construction of two new office buildings early next year. The two projects will beef up the SM Group’s office portfolio by 160,000 square meters in gross floor area (GFA) upon completion by 2017, SM Prime senior vice president for commercial properties Dave Rafael said in an interview yesterday. Rafael said the company will invest P3.5 billion each for the two stand-alone towers, with each building composing of 25 to 30 floors and a GFA of 80,000 square meters. Although he did not disclose the exact location of each development, Rafael said one would be constructed in Quezon City along EDSA, while the other would rise in Ortigas. Rafael said the projects are seen to cater to the growing demand for office space, particularly of the business process outsourcing sector, in Metro Manila.  “BPO market is still very strong. However, we need to be careful in choosing locations for our office buildings. There should already be guaranteed tenants for each planned location,” he said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 For the two office projects that will break ground next year, Rafael said SM Prime is currently in talks with several potential tenants already although no deal has been reached to date. SM Prime launched yesterday its latest office building called SM Cyber West Avenue, a 15-story structure located in EDSA corner West Ave. in Quezon Read More …

The Court of Appeals has affirmed its earlier decision allowing a Manila court to continue hearing the murder case against 10 Navy officers and enlisted personnel accused in the death of Ensign Philip Andrew Pestaño in September 1995. In a two-page resolution penned by Associate Justice Ramon Bato Jr, the CA’s former Seventeenth Division denied a motion for reconsideration filed by the accused seeking to reverse a June 17 ruling of the CA siding with the Manila Regional Trial Court. “Acting on the motion for reconsideration… against the resolution of this Court dated June 17, 2014 which denied outright the petition for certiorari on the grounds stated therein, the arguments advanced by the petitioners are the very same arguments in their petition for certiorari, all of which had been duly considered and resolved by the Court,” the CA said. “It would be an exercise in futility to be repeating our discussion thereof,” it added. Pestaño was found dead aboard the BRP Bacolod City docked off Manila in 1995. While a supposed suicide note was found on his body, his family suspected foul play. The ensign’s father Felipe claimed his son had discovered the BRP Bacolod was supposedly used to deliver illegal drugs, logs and firearms. In its original petition with the CA, the accused soldiers claimed the Manila RTC committed grave abuse of discretion and violated their constitutional right to due process and liberty when it denied their motion to quash the murder case filed against them by the Office Read More …