International tennis superstars are set to have matches at MOA Arena from November 28 to 30, 2014.
Sep 012014
Sep 012014
Councilor Charisse Abalos sits down with one of the attendees who is getting her blood taken during the launch of the B Positive movement in Mandaluyong City. The project aims to raise awareness of Hepatitis B and its impact on the lives of Filipinos. MANILA, Philippines – Last July 30, a few days after World Hepatitis Day, Mandaluyong became the first city in the Philippines to initiate the B Positive movement, an advocacy aimed at raising proactive awareness towards Hepatitis B. The launch, which was held in the Mandaluyong City hall executive building, included free testing of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen to some pre-registered and walk-in residents. The event also included free seminars on the prevention and management of Hepatitis B, as well as consultations on what to do in case you test positive for the disease. The Mandaluyong campaign was spearheaded by Councilor Charisse Abalos who said, “The Be In campaign is for societal infusion. We want to include those who tested positive and are being discriminated against – because they are still part of society. And since they are one of us, we are also one with them.” One in every eight Filipino adults has Hepatitis B and it kills more Filipinos faster than HIV and other diseases. It is usually caused by the complications from liver cancer or liver cirrhosis. It is the young who are most susceptible to Hepatitis B, affecting people ages 20 to 49. There are up to 12,000 Overseas Filipino Workers who are rejected from going abroad every year because they test positive. According to Dr. Ira Yu, a consultant with the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, “Hepatitis does not only affect Filipinos. There are roughly four million people around the world Read More …
Sep 012014
MANILA, Philippines – The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) seeks to recover the costs of rehabilitation and repair of its facilities incurred as a result of force majeure events such as bombing incidents and typhoons. In a filing before the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), NGCP sought to recover costs it incurred because of a bombing incident on its facilities in Mindanao and two destructive typhoons that hit the country in October last year. “On Sept. 1 and 26, 2013, NGCP’s transmission assets and other related facilities in the provinces of Maguindanao and Cotabato were damaged due to the bombings perpetrated by lawless elements, respectively,” NGCP said. On Oct. 11-13, Typhoon Santi entered the Philippine area of responsibility with maximum winds of 150 kilometers per hour and gustiness of 185 kph. Due to its intensity and heavy rainfall, NGCP’s transmission assets and other related facilities in the North Luzon area were damaged, it also said in its application. Typhoon Vinta, meanwhile, hit in Oct. 31 and also damaged NGCP’s transmission assets and other related facilities. As a result, NGCP said it spent P3.2 million due to the sabotage incident, P2.6 million for landslide damage as a result of heavy rains, P2.3 million due to Santi and P1.6 million due to Vinta for a total cost of P9.8 million. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “NGCP proposes the force majeure pass-through amount as additional network charges starting in the billing period of October 2014 to December 2015 Read More …
Sep 012014
MANILA, Philippines – GT Capital Holdings Inc. of banking tycoon George S.K. Ty is acquiring 40 percent of the shares held by its banking units Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. and Philippine Savings Bank in a leasing and financing company catering to Toyota vehicles for P2.1 billion. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, GT Capital said it has signed a sale and purchase agreement with Metrobank and PSBank for the acquisition of their respective 15-percent and 25-percent stakes in Toyota Financial Services Philippines Corp. (TFSPC). GT Capital said the share purchase is part of the company’s strategy to invest “in market leading businesses that bring synergy to its current component companies.” As for Metrobank and PSBank, GT Capital said the transaction is in line with their capital planning initiatives under the new Basel III global banking standards. The P2.1-billion acquisition price was derived following an independent valuation exercise and subjected to third-party fairness opinion, the investment holding firm said. TFSPC is one of the country’s leading leasing and financing companies, exclusively catering to Toyota vehicles. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Last March, GT Capital acquired another Toyota cars and parts distributor, buying 62.42 million common shares or 79.84 percent of Toyota Cubao Inc. for P311.5 million. Toyota Cubao, formed in 1989, is one of the pioneering and leading Toyota dealerships in the Philippines. GT Capital posted a net income of P4 billion in the first half of the year, down more than a third Read More …
Sep 012014
MANILA, Philippines – The creation of the Investment Ombudsman Team (IOT) will draw in more investments in the country, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said. “With the establishment of the investment ombudsman office, we advance the policy thrust of the Aquino administration for good governance and transparency, and attract more investors in the country,” DTI Undersecretary Ponciano Manalo Jr. said in a statement yesterday. The IOT was created by virtue of Ombudsman Office Order 327 effective June 1. Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang has been named the investment ombudsman of the IOT. The team is tasked to act on grievances involving delays committed by any of the investment promotion unit agencies in the delivery of frontline services relating to the establishment or conduct of business; complaints in relation to solicitation, demand or request by a government official in exchange for issuance of licenses or permits and release of shipments; complaints on issuance of license or permits to a person not entitled to such; and delays or refusal to comply with directive of the investment ombudsman following grievance proceedings. Board of Investments – Investment Assistance Center (BOI-IAC) executive director Raul Angeles said the BOI, DTI and its attached agencies have already met with the IOT to discuss the details of the order and set related capacity training programs. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 This month, the DTI and its attached regulatory agencies are scheduled to brief the IOT on their mandates and functions as well Read More …
Sep 012014
MANILA, Philippines – The SM Group of Henry Sy is mapping out a plan to build a “future city,” on top of its existing empire of malls and banks in the country, with investments seen reaching over P100 billion for two reclamation projects in Parañaque and Pasay. Hans T. Sy, president of SM Prime Holdings Inc., said the conglomerate intends to integrate the Pasay and Parañaque reclamation projects which will have a combined area of 600 hectares. Sy said the SM Group is currently preparing a master plan for the projects, due within the next three to six months. “Preferably, we want the projects to be integrated so that the outcome will be beautiful. We’re trying to build a future city there. It has to be something different and more attractive,” he said. Through the master plan, Sy said the company would show what can be done in the areas and at the same time clear out environmental issues the project may raise. He said the SM Group has contracted New-York listed firm Aecom Technology Corp., one of the world’s largest engineering companies, for the project’s master planning. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “We are working with them very closely and we give them the ideas we want to do. We now have to justify the whole design including putting into consideration all the environment and climate change issues. We believe all issues should be addressed,” Sy said. The conglomerate, however, would still have to await Read More …
Sep 012014
MANILA, Philippines – DoubleDragon Properties Corp., the joint venture of the founders of grilled chicken chain Mang Inasal and fastfood giant Jollibee Foods Corp., is bringing back to life this year a foreclosed mixed-used property previously owned by Globe Asiatique Realty Holdings Corp. DoubleDragon said yesterday in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange that it has sealed the acquisition of the Skysuites Tower after a “thorough due diligence” with Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) was completed. The Skysuites Tower is a 38-story commercial, office and residential tower situated on a 2,811.60 square meter prime lot at the corner of EDSA and Quezon Ave. RCBC became the holder of the property’s title two months after it was foreclosed in September 2010. DoubleDragon said it aims to re-launch and re-brand the project this year in a plan to make the tower one of the most prominent landmarks along EDSA. The project is expected to pour in a total of P5.2 billion in revenues and is seen to contribute to the company’s net income starting on the second half of the year. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 DoubleDragon said it will continue both the construction and sale of the remaining inventory of the residential units and intends to retain the commercial and office spaces. DoubleDragon’s net income grew more than six times to P84.3 million in the first semester of the year from P13.4 million a year ago on the back of high residential sales and new investments. Read More …
Sep 012014
MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Energy (DOE) is calling for the creation of regional energy plans. Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla said the regional plans would help in the promotion of alternative sources of energy and help promote energy security across the country. “The need for regional energy planning is essential for us to explore potential energy sources and promote regional energy security across the nation,” Petilla said. He said the formulation of regional energy plans is fundamental in the execution of the projects and programs cited under the Philippine Energy Plan (PEP), the country’s energy blueprint. Right now, the DOE is working on the Palawan and Mindoro energy plans. In a recent presentation on the power situationer and outlook, of Palawan, Petilla said the Department of Energy has awarded 25.08 megawatts of renewable energy projects in the province. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 There is also a pending application of 5MW and a potential RE site for 1.7 MW. Majority of the RE projects use solar and hydro electric power. The biggest project is the 10MW Puerto Princes Solar Power Project, earlier awarded by the DOE to Enfinity Philippines Renewable Resources Inc. In the island of Mindoro, meanwhile, the DOE has awarded 189.3MW worth of RE projects the biggest of which is the 48MW Puerto Galera Wind Power Project of the Philippine Hybrid Energy Systems Inc.
Sep 012014
There was a time when our family would go on long weekend getaways a week before Labor Day weekend in order to avoid the rush in flying or driving to our “destinations of choice.” Flying an hour to nearby Sacramento, San Francisco, Phoenix or Las Vegas were popular choices but quite pricey when there’s six of us, so we would research various attractive destinations to go to, at least once a year particularly on a Labor Day weekend before the kids go back to school. One of the places we discovered was driving through the various towns of Napa Valley, which currently is in the news due to the recent 6.0 magnitude earthquake that struck at around 3:30 in the morning on Sunday, August 24th centered in the American Canyon area of Napa Valley. Though the Sunday earthquake “sent more than 100 people to the hospital and some wineries had experiened loss of some of their vintage and treasured wine barrles” according to a CNN Report, a majority of the the region’s vineyards will be opened to visitors because tourists are the key to Napa Valley’s thiriving economy with almost 3 million visitors a year generating around $1.4 billion in revenue, according to the Napa Valley Impact Study. Napa County was established in 1850 with a current population of 136,484 according to the 2011 Census. The County has nine wine-producing towns namely: Calistoga, St. Helena, Yountville, Oakville, Rutherford, American Canyon, Angwin, Lake Berryessa and the City of Napa. In the fifteen years that we’ve trekked to the Napa Valley, we always find new wineries to see due Read More …
Sep 012014
Daniel Padilla (MNS Photo) What is Karla Estrada’s secret in keeping her son, teen heartthrob Daniel Padilla, grounded? The celebrity mom said she herself did not allow Padilla’s popularity affect their relationship as mother and son. “Hindi din naman nagbago ‘yung pakikitungo ko. Hindi ko siya tinignan na sikat na ‘yung anak ko, hindi ko binago,” Estrada said. “’Yung pagmamahal ko sa kanilang magkakapatid, pantay. I guess malaking bagay ‘yon dahil kung makita niyang mas pabor ako sa kanya sa lahat ng bagay baka sakali (lumaki ang ulo ni Daniel).” “Pero hindi. Kasi ito naman talaga (si Daniel) naturally maganda ang puso. Kasi kahit ano naman ‘yung pagpapalaki nating magulang, indibidwal pa din siyang tao. Kung magiging masama siya ay choice niya yon. Nagkataon na ang choice niya ay maging maayos at makinig pa din sa akin,” Estrada added. Estrada noted that aside from being humble, her son is also happy being a homebody. Meanwhile, Estrada said she doesn’t see anything wrong if Padilla decides to change his religion in the future because of Kathryn Bernardo, who is a member of Iglesia Ni Cristo. “Hindi naman napag-usapan kahit kailan ‘yon, hindi ko siya tinanong pero ako naman, open naman ako for the better. Okay sa akin, wala akong kwestiyon sa relihiyon,” she said, adding that she herself wants to study the Koran. For his part, Padilla seemed content with whatever he has with Bernardo right now. “Yun ang tama,” he said when asked why he’s not being linked to other Read More …