Maniolas

Agri-entrepreneur awardee Senen Bacani, author Joey Concepcion, Secretary Francis Pangilinan, Senator Cynthia Villar, Undersecretary Berna Romulo-Puyat, Dr. Jaime Alip and New Zealand Ambassador Reuben Levermore with the over 7,000 participants and delegates inside the World Trade Center The first Agri-Negosyo Summit was a huge success! Over 7,000 participants showed their keen interest in this sector. The various speakers showed that there’s money in agriculture, as exemplified by their respective negosyo models, and how several institutional enablers can assist them.  Over 40 resource persons/ agripreneurs and enablers surely empowered all the participants that day.  The learnings and opportunities have been provided and it is now up to the participants to make good use of them.  The choice is ours. And, as we say, success is for those who want it most. That is why Go Negosyo is promoting agripreneurship, because millions of Filipinos live near lands dedicated to agriculture and they should maximize it. With the Go Negosyo bill now signed into law, agri-negosyo should be a major component in the development of the economy of this country.

MANILA, Philippines – Globe Telecom Inc. and dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) inked a new interconnection pact allowing their subscribers in Sorsogon to call each other without additional charges. Froilan Castelo, general counsel of Globe, said the company, through Globelines, and PLDT are also in talks for similar interconnection arrangements in Zambales, Misamis Occidental and Ilocos Norte.  “We are happy to announce the expansion of Globe Telecom’s interconnection with competition to include the province of Sorsogon, which further enhances our customers’ access to affordable telecommunication services. We are hopeful that such collaboration and cooperation for cost-effective services will further extend to more and more provinces in the country,” he said. Globe and PLDT are now interconnected in Metro Manila, Cavite, Iloilo, Capiz, Batangas, Cebu, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Bohol, Leyte, Davao City, Pampanga, Bulacan, Zamboanga, Laguna, Quezon, La Union, Nueva Ecija, and Benguet, GenSan/South Cotabato , Tarlac, Davao del Norte and Pangasinan. Republic Act 7925 or the Public Telecommunications Policy Act mandates the compulsory interconnection of authorized public telecommunications carriers to create a universally accessible and fully integrated nationwide telecommunications network. The law also encourages more infrastructure investments from the private sector that would benefit the consumers. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The local interconnection between Globe and PLDT allows landline customers of both entities to realize substantial savings as they no longer have to pay for long distance charges when calling one another. Prior to the commercial activation of the interconnection, landline Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is not keen on initiating the filing of a bill that will set a floor price on cigarettes, saying this is more of a health measure than a revenue-generating measure, its top official said. “The minimum floor price on cigarettes is a health measure not a revenue measure, meaning any proposal like this should emanate from the health department, not from the BIR,” said BIR commissioner Kim Henares. While she suggested setting a minimum price for all cigarettes sold in the country, Henares said the BIR would not actively push for it, reiterating it was merely a proposal. “It was just a suggestion because health advocates were complaining about the proliferation of cheaper cigarette brands,” she said. The proposal, if implemented and enacted into law, is seen to support an ongoing campaign to improve the general health level of Filipinos and prevent tobacco manufacturers from selling at a loss. Henares said imposing a minimum retail price on cigarettes would level the playing field and curb tobacco consumption in the country. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The Department of Finance had welcomed the proposal amid the widespread availability of discounted tobacco products in the market. Sales of cut-price cigarettes have soared in the past year despite the passage of the sin tax reform law, which aims to increase the number of smokers who quit. Setting a floor price makes it illegal to trade at a price which is Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The group of taipan Lucio Tan expects to take back full control of flag carrier Philippine Airlines Inc. (PAL) as early as this month. After reclaiming management control of PAL, the taipan’s next move is reportedly to take in Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways as partner. A source said negotiations regarding the buyback of the 49 percent interest of diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) is expected to be completed in the next few weeks, paving the way for the return of full ownership of PAL back to the Tan Group on Aug. 27. The source said talks between the Tan Group and SMC have narrowed down to the value of the buyout as well as the terms of payment. SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang confirmed that the Tan Group had made a formal offer to buy back the conglomerate’s stake in PAL. However, he clarified that negotiations are still ongoing. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Yes, still in talks,” Ang said in a text message. Ang is president and COO of PAL while Tan serves as chairman of Asia’s first airline. Tan chairs the 11-man board of PAL while directors include Lucio Tan Jr., Harry Tan, Michael Tan, Inigo Zobel as well as Ang, Aurora Calderon, Roberto Ongpin, Ferdinand Constantino and independent directors Antonio Alindogan and Enrique Cheng. Estelito Mendoza serves as the airline’s corporate secretary. The Tan Group is reportedly raising close to $1 billion to buy back Read More …