FIVE ASIAN countries, including the Philippines, have improved energy efficiency by 30%, a new report from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said.
Aug 232013
Aug 232013
DAVAO CITY
Aug 232013
A collective sigh of relief has swept over the entire metropolis at the reluctant departure of those fierce monsoon rains that descended on us last Monday. I say reluctantly because, even as Pagasa has declared the official exit of typhoon Maring, many areas were still experiencing heavy, heavy downpours all of Tuesday and Wednesday. When the skies cleared last Tuesday, my wife and I bravely set out for the office, but the rains came back all too soon. EDSA, though, was clear of vehicles and flood-free. Many of our employees couldn’t even set foot outside of their homes, especially those residing in Marikina and Cainta. We had no work for three whole days because the floods in those areas fully subsided only last Thursday, which wrought havoc on our air-tight work schedule. Now we’re scrambling like crazy to get back on track. Oh well. Thankfully, many areas remained flood-free as well, like most of Paranaque and Alabang. However, several vehicles were stranded along the South Luzon Expressway near the Southwoods Exit in Binan City. Southwoods itself, the golf club, was flooded, a first in its long history of existence. Traffic here was terrible because many light vehicles got stranded at the exit as the flood waters rose to “unnavigable” levels. It looked like a war zone, a friend who lives in the area reported. Biñan, Sta. Rosa and San Pedro took the brunt of Maring because the rains poured since Sunday. In Sta. Rosa alone, 15 out of the 18 Read More …
Aug 232013
MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) is set to order the rebidding of the proposed P60-billion light rail transit line 1 (LRT1) extension project next week after only one bidder submitted a non-compliant bid last Aug. 15. Michael Arthur Sagcal, DOTC spokesperson, said in a text message that the joint special bids and awards committee (SBAC) of the agency and the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) is expected to convene and pass a resolution ordering the rebidding of the biggest infrastructure project of the Aquino administration. The resolution to formalize the recommendation of the joint SBAC would be submitted to Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya as the committee failed to meet this week due to the floods caused by the heavy rains brought about by southwest monsoon and typhoon Maring. “The SBAC will convene next week to formalize its recommendation on our next steps. It was unable to convene this week due to notice requirements which the work cancellations prevented,” he said. The DOTC is looking at rebidding the project as allowed under the Built-Operate-Transfer (BOT) law without sacrificing the original timetable of the project under the public private partnership (PPP) scheme. In case of a re-bidding, a single-stage process is possible in order to meet the original deadlines,” Sagcal said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Under a single-stage process, he explained that all interested parties would be required to submit the prequalification documents together with the technical and financial proposals. Last Read More …
Aug 232013
MANILA, Philippines – Money parked in the central bank’s Special Deposit Accounts (SDAs) hit P1.77 trillion as of Aug. 2, rising week-on-week despite Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) efforts to push away funds from the facility. The amount was slightly higher than the P1.75 trillion recorded as of July 26, BSP data showed. However, this was lower than the P1.79 trillion recorded in end-June and the P1.85 trillion seen in end-May. The central bank introduced SDAs in late 1998 to mop up excess liquidity in the financial system. But the falling interest rates prompted investors to park their funds in the facility instead of putting money in other financial instruments. As a result, the BSP has cut SDA rates by 150 basis points this year to two percent. It has also ordered the removal of 30 percent of individual deposits in the SDA by July 31. A total phase-out of these individual deposits, estimated to account for P1 trillion of the facility, was also ordered by November. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Emilio Neri Jr., lead economist at the Bank of the Philippine Islands, noted concerns hounding the markets may be discouraging investors to pull out their funds from the SDA facility. “There’s the aspect of the somewhat cautious mode of the market given equities are actually seeing a sharp reversal and investors would probably want to park their funds in more conservative instruments,” Neri said. “When the mood of the market shifts to more optimism, Read More …
Aug 232013
There are many heroes in my life, people I look up to in business, and in the field of training and consultancy. There are many leaders whose faith walk has inspired me to take the things of God seriously and who have helped me enjoy the life I live today. I’ve had the chance to learn from all of them. When it comes to public speaking, Zig Ziglar is my hero. He stands taller than anybody else in the field. His wit, his humor, his commitment to Christ, and his values to family and country have influenced and molded me to be the speaker that I am today. I never had the pleasure of meeting Zig Ziglar in person, but his books, audio materials and DVD’s greatly inspired me. Thus, I look up to him as my hero. Many years ago, our consultancy company had the opportunity of representing Ziglar’s sales training programs. It’s amazing to see that people still find relevant today the things he had taught and shared with his audiences. Values are timeless. Values don’t change. As I give parenting talks all over the country, I’ve observed that even parenting styles have changed. Some are for the better; unfortunately, some aren’t. This is why I’ve decided to share this article with everyone, so we may all raise successful kids. This is an article by Zig Ziglar entitled “Manners Do Matter”: Today, good manners are something we rarely practice. However, good manners, including the expression of gratitude, are one Read More …
Aug 232013
By Paolo G. MontecilloPhilippine Daily Inquirer 10:48 pm | Friday, August 23rd, 2013 The government is confident that the economic impact of recent calamities that shut down the country’s financial centers this week, however minimal, can be recovered in the third quarter. In a statement, Department of Finance’s (DOF) Chief Economist Gil S. Beltran said the agriculture sector likely took the brunt of the effects of tropical storm Maring and Typhoon Labuyo. Despite this, Beltran said floods that hit Metro Manila and most parts of Luzon would have minimal impact on output for the third quarter. “Losses from the two major typhoons that hit the country in the third quarter can be recovered,” Beltran said. According to the Department of Agriculture, combined damage to agriculture by Typhoon “Labuyo” and the southwest monsoon—as enhanced by tropical storm “Maring”—amounted to P2.6 billion, equivalent to 0.09 percent of projected third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP). Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines. Short URL: http://business.inquirer.net/?p=139933 Tags: Business , calamities , economy , floods , Philippines Factual errors? Contact the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s day desk. Believe this article violates journalistic ethics? Contact the Inquirer’s Reader’s Advocate. Or write The Readers’ Advocate:
Aug 222013
MANILA (Mabuhay) – President Aquino said that flooding would not be eradicated completely even with flood mitigation projects underway given the huge amount of rainfall. Aquino pointed out that floodwaters easily subsided, at least in areas where his convoy passed through Monday morning – from Malacañang in Manila to the Ateneo de Manila University campus […]
Aug 222013
The streets surrounding the Old Plaza of Orange County will come to life on labor day weekend with this year’s edition of Orange International Street Fair with at least 15 ethnic groups vying for the attention of more than 400,000 visitors expected to join the crowd at the summer event that debuted in 1973 and […]
Aug 222013
DR. TESS MAURICIO, America’s Favorite Dermatologist and founder of M Beauty clinics, made waves at the Ms. Philippines USA 2013 beauty pageant held on August 18 at the La Mirada Theater of Performing Arts. Interviewed by pageant host and KTLA anchor Cher Calvin, Dr. Tess engaged Cher and the audience with an eloquent and inspiring […]