Cruise lines eye PHL as cruise ship destination

 Entertainment
Jul 172014
 
Cruise lines eye PHL as cruise ship destination

Courtesy Call. Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. paid a courtesy call recently on Rep. Paul Ryan (Republican, Wisconsin) as part of the Philippine Embassy’s efforts to reach out to American lawmakers and discuss developments in Philippine-US relations, particularly the ongoing rebuilding efforts in areas devastated by Typhoon Haiyan. (Philippine Embassy Photo by Elmer G. Cato) MIAMI – Three of the world’s leading cruise companies – Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Lines – have expressed interest to help develop the Philippines as a cruise ship destination. This was disclosed by Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. after meeting with senior officials of the three cruise industry leaders during a recent economic diplomacy mission to Florida. In his report to Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. Del Rosario, Ambassador Cuisia said officials of the three companies provided feedback on how the Philippines could become a cruise destination that would provide their guests with a unique and memorable experience. “The cruise giants were open to working with the Philippines in destination development while they discussed infrastructure requirements, “ Ambassador Cuisia said. During the meeting, Ambassador Cuisia took the opportunity to highlight with the cruise line executives notable destination possibilities in the Philippines particularly Vigan, which is now vying to be one of the Seven New Wonders of the World. A favorite tourist destination in the northern Philippines, Vigan has been described as “the best-preserved example of a planned Spanish colonial town in Asia” and is the only Philippine city on the list of heritage sites Read More …

Metro Manila survives Glenda better than it did Milenyo

 Entertainment
Jul 172014
 
Metro Manila survives Glenda better than it did Milenyo

Office workers cross a flooded street using makeshift floats during heavy rain at the financial district of Makati, south of Manila, Philippines on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2013. Flooding caused by some of the Philippines’ heaviest rains on record submerged more than half the capital Tuesday, turning roads into rivers and trapping tens of thousands of people in homes and shelters. The government suspended all work except rescues and disaster response for a second day. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Typhoon Glenda, the first major weather disturbance to directly hit Metro Manila in years, brought strong winds and torrential rains to the capital region, peeling off roofs of houses, uprooting trees, and causing a prolonged and widespread power outage. Metro Manila, however, managed to go through the typhoon with less damage than what it got in 2006 with Typhoon Milenyo. Milenyo hit Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon on September 28, 2006, killing 213 people and injuring hundreds more. PAGASA said that its Science Garden in Quezon City accumulated only 60 millimeters of rain brought by Glenda as of 2 p.m. Wednesday. This figure was significantly lower compared to the 334-millimeter rainfall poured by Tropical Storm Ondoy over Metro Manila in September 2009, and the 323-millimeter rainfall brought by monsoon rains in August 2012. Power had been restored to 24 percent of Metro Manila’s consumers, including those in Quezon City, Mandaluyong, Makati and Muntinlupa. The region was placed under Public Storm Warning signal No. 3 late Tuesday night and experienced Read More …

Rhian gets back on track

 Entertainment
Jul 172014
 
Rhian gets back on track

Rhian Ramos (MNS photo) Actress Rhian Ramos will don her red racing suit again to try and out-speed other celebrity racers in the second leg of the 2014 Toyota Vios Cup slated on July 25 to 26 at the Clark International Speedway. This will be her second competitive match after completing the first leg last May. She is up against Sam YG, Fabio Ide, Jinno Rufino and Phoemela Barranda. While Rhian doesn’t expect to emerge as champion, she made it clear that she will definitely try her best. She shared, “Kasi ‘pag race na mismo, iba ‘yung feeling, parang lumabas pagiging competitive ko na I didn’t know I had coz I didn’t think I was a competitive person (before).” Rhian counts Phoemela as her toughest opponent – although she is quick to point out that she is not intimidated by her. The proud newbie declared, “I’m not the best but I’ve never come in last.” She has allotted her Tuesdays solely for training, driving all the way to Pampanga to do so. Crashing in her previous race has been traumatizing for the actress. She admitted mulling about quitting; still, her love for the sport prevailed. “When I’m practicing, naiisip ko ‘yung fear. But during race proper lahat ng fear nawawala, I just become obsessed in overtaking whoever is in front of me,” she said. Although ineligible to take home prizes that contenders who bring their own cars without sponsors have the chance to win, Rhian nevertheless said, “My prize is Read More …

Cebuanos build on-demand contact center startup

 General
Jul 172014
 
Cebuanos build on-demand contact center startup

CREATING a call center company in just two to three hours might seem impossible but a Cebuano startup is making that possible. Mark Anthony Lapuz and Vince Loremia, who have had years of experience in the business process outsourcing industry in Cebu, opened their own startup KallFly, an “on-demand contact center market place. “ KallFly, which gained the support of Singapore-based Joyful Frog Digital Incubator (JFDI), bridges the traditional call center system and the virtual workforce. Lapuz, the founder, said, “it connects businesses with experienced home-based call center agents.” KallFly now has 520 virtual call center agents, 95 percent of them Filipinos, whom interested companies can tap anytime after signing up. Nine companies, from Australia, United States, Singapore, and Philippines, have already availed themselves of KallFly’s services. Companies who are looking for more call center agents or even those who have not ventured into the business yet can sign up in KallFly’s website where they can upload their script and grant access, launch agents and immediately start the operation. Lapuz said companies will just have to pay $1.5 per hour to KallFly and $2.5 per hour to the call center agent. This is half the cost required in setting up a traditional call center company, he said. According to a document forwarded by Loremia published by JFDI, it usually takes two weeks for a new client to set up a new job campaign under the traditional contact center process. The clients have to pay for over provisioned capacity, with a Read More …

The inurement predicament

 Economy
Jul 162014
 

“THUS, as a matter of efficiency, the government forgoes taxes which should have been spent to address public needs, because certain private entities already assume a part of the burden. This is the rationale for the tax exemption of charitable institutions. The loss of taxes by the government is compensated by its relief from doing public works which would have been funded by appropriations from the Treasury (The Rationale for Exempting Nonprofit Organizations from Corporate Income Taxation by H. Hansmann, as cited by the Supreme Court in the case of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue vs. St. Luke’s Medical Center, 2012).”

Publicity stunt?

 Entertainment
Jul 162014
 
Publicity stunt?

WHILE the fans of the Popstar Princess have been overjoyed upon learning that their idol is in a relationship with Kapamilya actor Matteo Guidicelli, some have expressed reservations that the admission could just be a publicity stunt. Last month, a number of viewers were shocked when they heard Kapamilya singer-actress Sarah Geronimo confirming her relationship with a fellow Kapamilya artist in an interview with ABS-CBN’s Sunday showbiz talk show, The Buzz. Though, rumors about them were already circulating since January. “O sige, sasabihin ko na po. Boyfriend ko po si Matteo,” she said. Sarah even admitted that their term of endearment for each other is “Mahal.” The initial reaction of viewers can be associated to the well-publicized standpoint of her parents, especially of her Mommy Divine, when it comes to having a romantic relationship. It can be recalled that her supposed romance with Rayver Cruz and Gerald Anderson didn’t push through due in part to the alleged negative opinions and restrictions of her parents, particularly that of her mother’s. So when the 25-year-old Kapamilya star revealed that Matteo is already her beau, a number of people couldn’t believe that she was actually doing such move. As for Matteo, he shared on his interview with Yahoo! Philippines that the courtship wasn’t easy and he needed to hurdle some challenges. “There were lots of challenges. But I didn’t let it affect me because Sarah is worth it,” he said. When asked how she won the heart of Sarah, he said that it Read More …

Cristine Reyes is dating again

 Entertainment
Jul 162014
 
Cristine Reyes is dating again

CRISTINE Reyes (MNS photo) CRISTINE Reyes said that she and a foreign guy are dating exclusively. Although she is still hesitant to reveal the identity of her suitor, Cristine said he is different from the men she dated in the past. “Nakita ko na iba siya sa lahat. He has a lot of wisdom and maraming bagay na natututunan ako sa kanya,” she said. “Siguro kasi he’s out of the business, so nakikita ko na sa kanya, ‘Ah, this is life pala,” she added. The 25-year-old actress revealed that she is contemplating on her future family life and said that she could not ask for more when it comes to her showbiz career. “Sa ngayon, happy na ako, kuntento na ako kung anong meron ako. I guess I’m working for myself. Hindi na ako naghahangad ng kahit ano pa,” she added. Meanwhile, former sweethearts Reyes and Derek Ramsay are back together on the big screen via Viva Films’ romantic drama flick “Trophy Wife”. The actress said there were awkward moments while filming the intimate scenes of the movie but they eventually made it work. She recalled a particular bathtub scene. “Unang una ang daming tao sa set. Hindi ka talaga pwedeng makapag-act doon na parang merong something na kasi maraming tao at nakakailang talaga,” she said. The two became a couple in middle of last year but they both decided to call it quits after dating for a month. Despite the breakup Ramsay and Reyes remain as friends. “Trophy Wife,” Read More …

Science to the rescue of the coconut industry

 General
Jul 162014
 
Science to the rescue of the coconut industry

Insect outbreaks Insect outbreaks occur when new strains/species of insects are introduced into areas where they have no or very few natural enemies. However, eventually nature corrects itself; biological control agents appear and multiply in sufficient numbers to control the invaders. But this new state of equilibrium could take years and by then farmers would have suffered heavy losses. The new coconut scale insect (CSI) devastating coconuts in Batangas, Laguna, Cavite and Quezon has been identified as Aspidiotus rigidus, which is different from the more common Aspidiotus destructor. The immediate challenge to the CSI outbreak is to arrest/contain the further spread of CSI from the current adversely affected areas to the rest of the country. The idea is to reduce CSI population, slow down its spread in order to give the time for the insects’ natural enemies to multiply. Scale insects are naturally preyed upon by wasps, coccinelid beetles, earwigs and lacewings, and also infected by fungi. Our key agricultural research agencies (PCA, UPLB and PCAARRD-DOST) are working double time to artificially rear these potential biocontrol agents in great numbers to release them in outbreak areas. Nevertheless, their efforts are relatively puny considering the gravity of the situation. Their efforts should be multiplied ten-fold to make a difference. Contact vs systemic pesticides Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Scale insects are ubiquitous pests on many crops. They are relatively easy to manage/control with commercially available pesticides. In fact household detergents and oils which are inexpensive and safe Read More …

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