Oct 312015
 

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has pushed back anew the date for the submission of the qualification documents for the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board’s (LTFRB)

P298-million Road Transport Information Technology (IT) Infrastructure Project Phase II under the public-private partnership (PPP) program.

The submission date was moved to Nov. 23 from Oct. 30, the DOTC said in a bid bulletin.

The bids must be submitted by 2 p.m. on Oct. 30, at The Columbia Tower in Mandaluyong City.

The date for the submission of the qualification documents for the project has been moved several times with the deadline first set on
Oct. 2, then moved to Oct. 12, and deferred again to Oct. 30.

The project will cover the upgrade of the LTFRB’s existing IT infrastructure.

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It will involve moving to computerized from manual processes, as well
as the development, supply and operationalization of its network infrastructure (hardware) and database, and applications (software).

The project will help clean up existing data of the LTFRB, enhance data collection and processing.

It is also envisioned to facilitate integration within the LTFRB and related agencies, which in effect would lessen the processing time for its transactions, make it easier to access public information and
provide channels for feedback.

The PPP Center said earlier 28 firms expressed interest for the project.

Aside from the LTFRB’s IT project, the government is also offering for bidding another IT PPP deal, the P1.59-billion Civil Registry System (Phase II) of the Philippine Statistics Authority.

The PPP program, which was launched in 2010, aims to address the country’s infrastructure gap, deliver public services and generate
jobs.

The government has so far awarded 10 PPP projects amounting to a total of about P189 billion since the program’s launch.

Oct 312015
 
Smart launches special offer for new iPhones

MANILA, Philippines – Smart Communications Inc. is providing a special offer for the latest Apple mobile phones iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. In a statement, Smart said as a special offer from Nov. 6 to Dec. 31, consumers can get the iPhone 6s for free on Plan 2000 under a 30-month contract.  The plan is inclusive of a super-sized 10GB data allowance for all the videos, music and games as well as all-month surf to access  websites and apps like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Viber, Whatsapp, Line and Messenger. As part of the limited offer, consumers can also get their hands on the iPhone 6s Plus for free on Plan 2499 under a 30-month term, inclusive of super-sized 15GB data allowance and all-month surf which can be enjoyed throughout the duration of the contract. The latest iPhones will also be available via Smart Infinity or Smart’s premium postpaid brand which allows subscribers to get complimentary iPhone 6s 128GB under Infinity Consumable Plan 5000 or two units of iPhone 6s 16GB under consumable LTE Plan 8000. The iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus which have the most advanced chip available in a smartphone, come in four colors:  space gray, silver, gold and the new rose gold. Under Smart’s partnership with Uber, Smart subscribers can have the iPhone 6s Rose Gold 16GB delivered to their doorstep via an Uber vehicle. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 To avail of the delivery service, subscribers just need to click “Request an Read More …

Oct 312015
 
Unilever forges strong partnerships for nationwide sanitation campaign

MANILA, Philippines – Unilever Philippines is renewing its partnership with key organizations in the country to intensify its fight against unsafe water use and poor sanitation. Unilever said it strengthened its partnerships with the Department of Education, Manila Water Foundation, and Knowledge Channel to increase the impact of its health and well-being advocacies that target to save one billion people worldwide. “We all know that last month, the Millennium Development Goal was re-launched as the Sustainable Development Goals. These are the 17 goals that each and every one of us, as residents of this planet, must be able to identify with,” Liza Vengco, Unilever Philippines’ sustainable business and communications manager said. With its renewed partnership with the three organizations, the company said it expects to increase the impact of its initiatives by providing more Filipinos access to hand washing facilities and information on proper hand washing. In the Philippines, Unilever said around 90 percent of households do not practice proper toilet sanitation, while one out of three people do not bother to wash their hands after using the toilet. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 This, in turn, leads to various illnesses, particularly diarrheal diseases, which account for about 1.7 million deaths every year worldwide, the company said. “We hope to lock them (Unilever) in as an annual partner because we are very happy that our visions are so much aligned with theirs. In terms of reach and how we execute the program, I am very positive Read More …

Oct 312015
 
NFA loans hike state-guaranteed debts to P445B in 9 months

MANILA, Philippines – Cash withdrawals by the government rice agency pushed up the amount of debts guaranteed by the National Government on behalf of state institutions as end of September, data from the Bureau of Treasury showed.  Debt guaranteed by the government amounted to P445.2 billion from January to September, up 7.8 percent from the P412.9 billion recorded in the first eight months of the year.  On a year-to-year basis, guaranteed debt declined 2.4 percent from P456.35 billion.  Guaranteed debt refers to the liabilities of state agencies which are given payment assurance by the National Government in case they fail to pay it on time.  These obligations are not included under the official National Government data, until at least the debtor agency fails to pay. During such time, guaranteed debts are turned into assumed liabilities which the government needs to settle.  Hence, guaranteed debts are good gauge of whether the state is being burdened by debts of its own agencies. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1  The Bureau of the Treasury attributed the higher debt to the inclusion of a guarantee” to a loan by the National Food Authority (NFA). The NFA loan amounted to P32.78 billion.  The amount was taken up by the NFA from its credit facilities with state-owned Land Bank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines, the Treasury said.  The loaned amount, in turn, was recorded under domestic guaranteed debts that totaled P137.78 billion, 30.4 percent higher than the P105.7 billion Read More …

Oct 302015
 
What you need to know about Philippines Property Awards 2016

October 30th, 2015 03:11 PM Known as one of Southeast Asia’s most exciting property markets, the Philippines’ biggest real estate awards hold its official press conference on 29 October, at the Namayan Room of the Fairmont Makati, official hotel venue sponsor of the Philippines Property Awards 2016. This is the fourth consecutive year that organiser Ensign Media has held the Philippines Property Awards, widely recognised in the industry for its fairness and transparency. Free to enter, the Awards will begin accepting nominations from developers and the general public on 29 November 2015. For the next six months, the independent judges panel in the Philippines will be looking for the next Ayala Land Inc, Shang Properties Realty Corp or SM Prime Holdings, all former winners of the Best Developer accolade at the annual event. These developers, as well as all past winners in various categories of the Philippines Property Awards, have left an indelible mark on the industry and set a high benchmark by which current and future property developments are measured. Ayala Land went on to claim the Best Developer (South East Asia) title in 2014 during the South East Asia Property Awards grand finals held in Singapore; next year one outstanding developer from the Philippines could win that honor again. Enjoying a rare kind of economic resilience – per Moody’s Investors Service latest outlook report – the Philippines is poised to continue enjoying the benefits of a stronger economy that will eventually trickle down to the real estate industry, Read More …