More tariff-free ICT products Philippines sees huge benefits from new WTO deal

 Economy
Dec 192015
 
More tariff-free ICT products Philippines sees huge benefits from new WTO deal

More tariff-free ICT products Philippines sees huge benefits from new WTO deal MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is poised to benefit substantially from a tariff free trade of information and communication (ICT) products following a landmark expansion of the Information Technology Agreement (ITA). A group of 53 WTO members, including the Philippines, finalized the agreement to expand the product coverage of the ITA last Dec. 17 during the 10th WTO Ministerial Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said the agreement now covers the elimination of tariffs for new generation semi-conductors, global positioning system (GPS) navigation equipment, and medical equipment such as magnetic resonance imaging products and ultra-sonic scanning apparatus.  Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo said the ITA expansion represents a huge step forward for innovation and economic growth globally. “It will deliver huge benefits to the Philippines in terms of improved productivity and market access, particularly for the electronics and semiconductor industry. The agreement makes our country more attractive to potential foreign direct investments particularly from key ICT players such as US, Japan, and EU,” Domingo said. The 201 products covered by the expanded ITA have  annual trade worth over $1.3 trillion, and currently account for about 10 percent of total global trade. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Under the terms of the agreement, the DTI said the 53 WTO member-participants agreed to reduce tariffs on covered goods beginning July 1 next year, with around 65 percent of these tariff lines eliminated Read More …

ERC going paperless

 Economy
Dec 192015
 
ERC going paperless

MANILA, Philippines – The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) plans to implement paperless transaction to speed up the process and improve operational efficiency. “We intend to put in place a system so all submissions will be done electronically,” ERC chairman Jose Vicente Salazar said. He noted work on upgrading the system is already in progress.  “This is transparency. Our intention is to have a new image of the ERC and that we should be able to do something about access,” Salazar said. He said the ERC is working with the World Bank, which will provide technical assistance to upgrade the system. The ERC asked the World Bank to send their people, composed of an IT expert, procurement expert, regulatory expert to form a technical working group together with their internal personnel. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “If that will happen in January, hopefully we will be able to finish this in three to four months. This team will come up with a study for this,” he said. Putting in place an electronic system will complement the increase in manpower of the power regulator. Salazar said the ERC hopes to double its manpower to 508 from the current 220. A study on this was approved by the power regulator, which will be submitted to the Office of the President (OP) for clearance. The ERC is currently undergoing a validation process for over 2,700 unresolved cases as part of efforts to reduce the huge backlog. Salazar said the agency Read More …

Meralco plans to bid out 250-MW peaking power

 Economy
Dec 192015
 
Meralco plans to bid out 250-MW peaking power

MANILA, Philippines – Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is eyeing to conduct a competitive bidding for nearly 250-megawatt (MW) of capacity to augment peaking power supply in its franchise area in time for summer of 2016. The country’s largest power distributor has received three proposals for peaking power supply, which will be put for a price challenge, Meralco president Oscar S. Reyes told reporters in an informal briefing. “We’re publishing a price challenge for an interim power supply agreement in the order of about 245 MW,” he said. The three power firms that submitted unsolicited proposals are Toledo Power Corp. for 28 MW, Panay Power Corp. for 45 MW and 1590 Energy Corp. for 170 MW, for a total of 243 MW. Meralco will publish an invitation for price challenge and will be accepting offers until Dec. 28. The supply will cover the February to July period, specifically the trading intervals 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. from Mondays to Saturdays. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Whoever gets it, we will enter into interim PSA,” Reyes said. The agreement will commence once the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) approves the deal and will expire on Feb. 27, 2017, which can be extended for up to three years. The auction is part of the distribution utility’s way of complying with the Energy department’s directive of conducting competitive selection process (CSP), the company’s top official said. “We try to work within the [CSP] framework to see if it works,” Reyes said. Read More …

BPO industry on track to breach $21-B revenues

 Economy
Dec 192015
 
BPO industry on track to breach $21-B revenues

BPO industry on track to breach $21-B revenues MANILA, Philippines – The country’s business process outsourcing (BPO) industry is expected to generate a little over $21 billion in revenues this year, higher than the $18.9 billion raised in 2014. For 2016, the sector’s revenues are seen to reach $25 billion. Revenues from the BPO industry have been growing in double digits which are seen to surpass the dollar contributions of overseas Filipinos in two to three years. Last year, personal remittances from overseas Filipinos reached $26.9 billion, maintaining the average single digit growth rate. According to Pinnacle Real Estate Consulting Services Inc., the BPO sector is expected to end the year with a total of 1.2 million employees. Next year, industry is targeted to grow to 1.3 million jobs. Apart from the BPO companies’ direct need for real estate, investors can also look to benefit via renting out to traditional offices and commercial and retail establishments intending to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the market composed of BPO employees. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Pinnacle Research also noted a brisk take-up of approximately 200,000 square meters of office space in the past three months, most of which were pre-leased. The overall vacancy rate of major business districts in Metro Manila is still below five percent even with the new buildings coming online. Makati office spaces still command the highest rents, but with the influx of modern Bonifacio Global City (BGC) buildings, there is a Read More …

Oliver Tolentino comes to Pia Wurtzbach’s rescue with gown

 Entertainment
Dec 182015
 
Oliver Tolentino comes to Pia Wurtzbach’s rescue with gown

Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach rehearses for the upcoming Miss Universe telecast while at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday. The 2015 Miss Universe contestants are touring, filming, rehearsing and preparing to compete for the pageant in Las Vegas, to be televised on December 20.(MNS photo) Hollywood Filipino fashion designer Oliver Tolentino snapped into action to rescue the Philippines’ candidate for the Miss Universe pageant when she was facing the prospect of not having an evening gown for today’s preliminaries. Tolentino, who was on vacation after the successful grand opening of his new Beverly Hills boutique last weekend, received a panicked phone call from Las Vegas just a day before the preliminaries. People with Pia reported that an off-the-rack gown purchased by the organizer did not fit the Philippine bet and she had no real alternative. According to Tolentino, “I’m in Aspen on vacation when my cell phone rang as I was skiing down the mountain. I took the call and told them I would do whatever I could to help the Philippines. I had 9 gowns from the new Beverly Hills boutique sent that afternoon to Las Vegas in order for Pia to have as many choices as possible for the right design, and of course, to make sure something fit,” added the designer. “I was told Pia loved a red-orange silk crepe de chine mermaid gown with a bodice fully embellished with red Swarovski crystals and a front slit at the center,” reported Read More …

Nine killed as Typhoon Nona causes chaos in central Philippines

 Entertainment
Dec 182015
 
Nine killed as Typhoon Nona causes chaos in central Philippines

Residents assess the damage brought by typhoon Nona at Barangay Pigcale, Legazpi City, Albay on Tuesday. Wide areas of the central Philippines plunged into darkness as ‘Nona’ barreled into the coconut-growing region, causing severe damage in infrastructure and agriculture. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Nine people were killed and hundreds spent the night huddled on their roofs in the central Philippines as floods generated by a powerful typhoon inundated villages, disaster officials said on Wednesday. Typhoon Nona (international name: Melor) had paralyzed Manila by late Tuesday, with floodwaters chest-deep in some areas disrupting train services and causing traffic gridlock on major roads. Five people were listed as missing. The typhoon was about 150 km (95 miles) northwest of Mindoro island, just to the south of Manila, with winds at its center of 130 kph (80 mph). Volunteers pack relief rations at a DSWD warehouse in Pasay City, before distribution to Nona-affected families in central Philippines on Tuesday. DSWD listed a total of 22,897 families who are currently staying in evacuation centers in Regions V and VII. (MNS photo) Mindoro Governor Alfonso Umali said in a radio interview four people were killed in what he described as one of the strongest typhoons to hit the province in years. Another five people were killed in Northern Samar, where Nona first made landfall further south. About 90 percent of the province was affected, said disaster official Jonathan Baldo. “Many people will spend Christmas in evacuation centers without power and potable water,” Baldo said. Read More …

SC sets oral arguments on Poe case for January 19

 Entertainment
Dec 172015
 
SC sets oral arguments on Poe case for January 19

Presidential candidate Grace Poe, her running mate Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero, and veteran lawyer Lorna Kapunan (extreme left), acknowledge crowd after the tandem endorse Kapunan’s senatorial bid on Friday (Oct. 23) at the Balay Kalinaw in UP-Diliman, Quezon City. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Sen. Grace Poe, a presidential aspirant in the 2016 elections, will have to spend Christmas and greet the new year without a final Supreme Court ruling on a disqualification case filed against her by Rizalito David. The court, sitting in a special en banc session, has decided to hold next month the oral arguments on the petition by David, a defeated senatorial candidate in 2013 who is seeking to reverse a Senate Electoral Tribunal ruling declaring Poe as a natural-born Filipino and thus qualified as a senator. In a media briefing, SC spokesman Theodore Te said the oral arguments were set for January 19, 2016. Meanwhile, the nine-member SET composed of senators and Supreme Court justices was given 15 days from receipt of notice to comment on David’s petition. The high court had earlier been urged to rule with dispatch on cases regarding Poe’s qualification before the printing of ballots for the 2016 national and local elections. (MNS)

Duterte insists Mar is not a Wharton graduate

 Entertainment
Dec 172015
 
Duterte insists Mar is not a Wharton graduate

President Benigno S. Aquino III with Liberal Party (LP) standard bearers Mar Roxas and Leni Robredo are greeted by supporters outside the Manila Cathedral as they walk to Commission on Election building to file their Certificate of Candidacy, Thursday, (October 15). Tomorrow, Friday, (October 16) is the deadline of filing of candidacy for the 2016 elections. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday night insisted that one of his presidential rivals, Liberal Party (LP) standard bearer Mar Roxas, is lying about his academic background. “That’s my simple truth na hindi talaga siya sa Wharton,” Duterte told reporters after a dinner meeting with congressmen members of the National Unity Party in Quezon City. Duterte said that after hearing Roxas “boast” about being an alumnus of Wharton, he had it checked. “We had it checked actually. Si Mar, [sa] University of Penn. Undergrad siya don, he was taking special courses. Ang wharton kasi pala is MBA, masters ‘yan. Di siya pumunta roon. He was never there, but he was using Wharton,” the mayor insisted. He said that during the meeting with NUP, two congressmen who went to Wharton told him that they did not see Roxas in the prestigious school. “Pero meron dito, I will not reveal the names, dalawang congressman na nagpunta ng Wharton. Sabi nila hindi talaga nila nakita. Sabi nila hindi talaga,” he added. Duterte said that his revelation against Roxas’ claim that he was a Wharton graduate could be the reason why the Read More …

Denise is ‘Your Face’ Season 2 grand winner

 Entertainment
Dec 172015
 
Denise is ‘Your Face’ Season 2 grand winner

Denise Laurel (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) — Actress Denise Laurel may not have won any of the weekly competitions in the second season of “Your Face Sounds Familiar.” On Sunday, she scored the biggest win when she was declared the grand winner at the hit celebrity competition’s live finale at Resorts World Manila. Laurel captured the hearts of the viewers, earning 27.51 percent of votes for her impersonation of Beyonce during the final performance show on Saturday. “I just want to say thank you to our Lord, who loves all of us so much. Without Him, we are nothing,” she said. She took home P2 million, half of which will be donated to her chosen charity, Caritas Manila. Singer Michael Pangilinan, who impersonated Adam Levine of Maroon 5, came in second with 23.87 percent of votes. Sam Concepcion, who impersonated Justin Bieber, came in third, KZ Tandingan as Lady Gaga came in fourth, while rocker Kean Cipriano came in fifth for his impersonation of Ricky Martin. The three other celebrity performers — Eric Nicolas, Kakai Bautista and Myrtle Sarrosa — also had one last chance to perform on the “Your Face” stage. The three came out on stage as the Bee Gees doing a disco medley of ’70s dance hits. (MNS)

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