Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort & Spa, Philippines has launched an unconventional destination meeting package bespoke to dynamic companies on a hunt for an extraordinary business holiday experience in an iconic location—that is, Boracay. Dubbed as “Sunglasses at Work” Meet by Design, this one-of-a-kind offer is a set of customized ideas and setups that transform the usual boardroom sessions, team bonding activities, special events and other corporate requirements into a fun and memorable affair in Boracay. “We have brainstormed on how we can provide our corporate clients a relevant destination meeting and social events experience that they cannot do in a city setup. We took advantage of our prime location with its already inspiring nature and pitched in a quip of mixing business with pleasure,” explained Melissa Santiago, director of events at Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort & Spa, Philippines. For instance, a group can do their strategic planning in a Treehouse Villa endowed with invigorating atmosphere where minds are free to think. After a tedious session, the team may indulge in a 45-minute not-so-usual coffee break either with a quick massage, an arcade game at the Entertainment Centre or beach golf. They may also engage with nature and easily unwind under the sea with coral reef planting or participate in a beach clean-up. When the meetings adjourn, groups may find further inspiration throughout the lush 12.5-hectare property offering a multitude of leisure activities and suitable venues for teambuilding or bonding amidst tranquil gardens and beaches. Having a get together without Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Businesses are against amending the power reform law under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) or Republic Act 9136, the country’s business groups said in a position paper.  “Amending or making changes in the EPIRA is not the problem, failure to implement it properly is,” the different business groups said in the position paper. The signatories are the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines, the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines, Inc., the Korean Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines and the Management Association of the Philippines. The business groups stressed the need to build new power plants, adding that if amendments are introduced, it would create uncertainty and turn off investors.  “Brownouts will be inevitable if we don’t build new power plants. International and local investors and financial institutions won’t invest in an industry where the rules are not known and stable. The national government should announce now that EPIRA will not be amended, as amendment will not solve the present problem, and the government should increase dialogue with industry participants to reduce key uncertainties or changing material rules midstream,” they said. The groups cited for instance, the recent changes in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), the country’s trading floor for electricity. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1  “There were also changes in the rules, such Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) is set to defer the deadline for the submission of bids for the proposed P2.5-billion Integrated Transport System (ITS) Southwest Terminal project. The agency is likely to postpone anew the June 16 deadline to give bidders enough time to prepare their documents as the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board chaired by President Aquino approved the revised terms of the public private partnership (PPP) project only last Thursday. The original deadline of submission was scheduled last May 15 but was moved to June 16 as the DOTC amended the terms of the concession agreement to make it more attractive to prospective investors. The Southwest terminal project situated in a 2.9-hectare property located at the Coastal Road Terminal along the Manila-Cavite Expressway would connect passengers coming from Cavite to other urban transport systems such as the future Light Rail Transit line 1 (LRT) South Extension to Bacoor in Cavite, city bus, taxi, and other public utility vehicles plying Metro Manila. The project would include a passenger terminal building, arrival and departure bays, public information system, ticketing and baggage handling facilities and park-ride facilities. The DOTC pointed out that the proponent would finance, design, construct, operate, and maintain the ITS project for a period of 35 years. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Interested bidders include diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp., conglomerate Ayala Corp. and property giant Ayala Land Inc. , Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. of infrastructure giant Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – National flag carrier Philippine Airlines Inc. (PAL), jointly owned by taipan Lucio Tan and diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC), wants to double its flight frequencies to Canada to be able to serve more passengers.  PAL president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang said the airline would seek the green light from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) to double the number of flights to Canada to 14 from seven after the successful conclusion of air talks last week.  “With the successful conclusion of the government- to- government air talks, we look forward to flying twice daily to Canada and offering our passengers greater flexibility and choice,” Ang said. PAL currently flies seven times weekly to Canada via Vancouver and Toronto .  The Philippines signed its fifth air service agreement this year after successfully concluding talks with Canada last May 28.  CAB executive director Carmelo Arcilla said the new agreement amended the existing Philippine – Canada Air Services Agreement signed last December of 2008 by increasing the frequency entitlement for each country to 14 flights a week from seven flights a week. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1  Both countries also agreed to increased fifth freedom to five per week from four per week and to allow airlines from the Philippines and Canada to enter into a third country code sharing.  The fifth freedom rights allow airlines from a resident country to fly passengers to third countries from a country where it has an Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The number of Filipinos travelling to Korea is expected to grow by 10 percent this year on the back of the country’s favorable economic conditions as well as the growing popularity of Korean pop culture. Korea Tourism Organization director for Manila Sangyong Zhu said in an interview on the sidelines of Korea Night he expects more Filipinos to travel to Korea this year. Last year, the number of Filipino travellers to Korea reached more than 400,000, up 20 percent from 2012. “First factor to growth is the vigorous economy of the Philippines which is quite amazing…The middle class Philippine society is also now fast growing. That is the main factor why the number of Filipino travellers is growing,” Zhu said. In particular, he noted that the corporate incentive tour market from the Philippines is expanding at a fast pace with demand coming from pharmaceutical, insurance and direct selling companies as well as banks. To encourage agents to sell more products, companies send their top sellers or best dealers to Korea as an incentive. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “This is growing here in the Philippines and it is also due to the strong economy of the Philippines,” Zhu said. He noted that Hallyu or Korean pop culture is also seen to help drive the growth as more Filipinos become interested in Korea’s culture as portrayed in Korean pop music and dramas. “Kpop and Koreanovelas will reach a lot of potential for Philippine outbound Read More …