Monthly Archives: March 2013

PLASTIC fantastic or personal loan – the debate over which is the best way to borrow has never been greater.

MANILA, Philippines—Don’t use the students and out of school youth that will be hired under the government’s summer jobs program for political activities.

DOLE, DOE issue orders after deadly landslide in EDC complex in Leyte TACLOBAN CITY—The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in Eastern Visayas and the Department of Energy (DOE) have ordered an indefinite stop to work on the site of a landslide in Energy Development Corp.’s (EDC) geothermal complex in Kananga, Leyte.

Southern hospitality, cost of living and central location luring call centers to DFW Customer service call center jobs, long outsourced to workers overseas, are coming back to the United States and bringing employment opportunities to the Metroplex.

THE DEPARTMENT of Labor and Employment (DoLE) yesterday said it wishes to reach 180,000 beneficiaries under the Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES) this year, up from its target of 140,000 in 2012.

Most PH firms now hiring as they gear up for expansion Now is the best time to go job hunting in the Philippines because most local companies are planning to expand their businesses this year, according to JobStreet.com.

The Philippines needs to achieve more reforms in trade to better participate in the upcoming ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), Asian Development Bank (ADB) representatives said in a live chat event on Thursday.

Timeline of the Sabah crisis (UPDATED March 13, 2013) – Sabah on Borneo island has been the subject of a tug-of-war between descendants of a Sulu sultan and Malaysia. The crisis took a violent turn this month after Malaysian troops attacked members of the Sultanate of Sulu who arrived in Sabah on Feb. 14 to…

Malaya Business News Online – Philippine Business News | Online News PhilippinesMalaya Business News Online – Philippine Business News | Online News PhilippinesCredit rating agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P) yesterday announced it has revised higher growth prospects for the Philippines and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

MANILA, Philippines – To scale up educational and training programs and equip employable talent pool with industry-standard skills, the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) and Commission on Higher Education (CHED) signed a memorandum of agreement to integrate the Service Management Program (SMP) course into the curriculum of 13 state universities and colleges (SUCs).

MANILA, Philippines – A crisis management committee activated by President Aquino when the Sabah stand-off began has drawn up contingency plans in case of forced deportation or mass evacuation of an estimated 500,000 Filipinos from the disputed territory.

MANILA, Philippines – With its glistening white, powdery sand, the Philippines’ Boracay Island has been named best beach in Asia for 2013. Participants in a poll on popular online travel guide Trip-Advisor described Boracay as “a stunningly beautiful white powder sand beach (with) crystal clear, warm water that you can laze on for days on…

MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court (SC) has junked with finality petitions filed by several groups seeking to stop political dynasties.

Purisima said: “ If you are not a part of global supply chains, then you will probably be not competitive and you’ll probably be out of the loop.” Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said that there is a need to put up more infrastructure, improve the cost of doing business in the country, and invest in…

INSTEAD of my column, I have reproduced below “The Catholic Vote, Anyone?,” an essay written by Ramon D. Echica, PhD. The opinions expressed in this essay assume great significance to me because he is Dean of Studies of San Carlos Major Seminary in Cebu. In other words, he is a priest. He received his doctorate…

The Board of Investments (BOI) has removed microenterprises from the list of businesses that can qualify for tax and other perks under this year’s Investment Priorities Plan (IPP). A microenterprise is a business that has assets of under P3 million and so is the most feasible that the poor can put up.

IN 2011, the Philippine government targeted a budget deficit of ₱290 billion, equivalent to 3.2% of gross domestic product (GDP). It was so slow in implementing authorized public projects, that it ended up with a deficit of ₱197.8 billion, or ₱92.2 billion lower. By any standard, 2011 was a bad year. But 2012 was not…

LONDON — As western economies hit another pothole in their stuttering post-crisis recoveries, pressure to step up economic policy intervention to tackle entrenched unemployment may be building.

THE GLOBAL economy is on the road to recovery this year, but the continued surge of volatile capital inflows to Asia could threaten the region’s growth prospects, a credit rater said.

THE 17-nation eurozone sank further into recession in the last three months of 2012 as the debt crisis continued to exact a heavy price, official data shows.

The Philippines is the only country in Southeast Asia that is enjoying a surplus in trade in services, according to the Economic Insight: South East Asia report of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (Icaew).

To mark International Women’s Day on 8 March, which focuses on ‘violence against women’, the ILO is highlighting the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace – an often subtle but disturbing form of aggression.

Country focusing on sending skilled manpower in hospitality, wellness sector Salaries of Filipino household service workers are likely to shoot up as UAE residents will have to compete to hire one.

Geothermal plant mishap toll now 12 TACLOBAN CITY—Rescuers have recovered four more bodies at the landslide area inside the geothermal complex of the Energy Development Corp. (EDC) in Kananga town, Leyte.

THE PHILIPPINE government is committed to strong, sustainable and inclusive growth. The latter means that the poor should not be left behind in the development process. Since the government does not collect annual poverty incidence data, the measure that comes nearest to individual welfare is employment. A decent job gives an individual a more than…

The Philippines plans to propose legislative measures to ease curbs on foreign direct investments and help reduce unemployment, Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.

COOPERATION among Asian economies has strengthened in response to global financial and euro zone debt crises, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) but more has to be done to address overlapping free trade agreements and non-trade barriers.

A “CORRIDOR” framework of monetary policy will enable the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to better manage liquidity and interest rate volatility, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) representative in the country said last week.

Everyone wants their contact center to be customer-centric. However, many aren’t, because they are stuck with outdated operational strategies that no longer work in today’s customer care landscape. With the rapid evolution of communication channels and technologies, organizations have to change their approach to engaging and retaining customers, to stay relevant and competitive.