Furniture designs ‘pirated’
ARE Filipino furniture exporters losing their designs to their Chinese counterparts?A Chinese business service provider said Filipino designs are not just being copied, their designers are also being pirated.
Henry Hwang, chief executive officer of Business One Global Trade Center (B1GTC), said a good furniture designer can get paid up to US$6,000 a month. On top of that, companies will also have to shoulder housing and other expenses.
Aside from losing designers, the good designs being displayed in trade shows can easily be copied.
Professionals asked to stay in country, take advantage of growing KPO industry
PROFESSIONAL nurses, lawyers and accountants need not go abroad in search of high-paying jobs, an official said. They can stay in the country and maximize the business opportunities offered by the growing knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) industry, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) BPO/IT committee chairman Jerry Rapes said.
Limpag: Bootstrap new media
DURING the frenzied days leading to the initial launch of the project to data tag Cebu’s tourism and heritage sites using QR or quick response codes, it occurred to me to look into the possibility of geo-encoding articles and having these displayed automatically on a map.
Location data was already something that my wife, Marlen, and I kept track of because we agreed to make this part of the metadata of our articles. But what we had was just a system to link the names of establishments like hotels and restaurants in our e-books to map points that would load a map application (this is slowly being implemented in our e-guidebooks).
BMBE Law suffers from flaws
THE House committee on small business and entrepreneurship development is bent on amending the Barangay Micro Business Enterprises (BMBE) Law, which Bayan Muna Representative Teddy Casino described as a failure.
Armscor presents Caracal pistol
THE Armscor Shooting Center Inc. Davao takes pride in its array of quality firearm and ammunition products.
Ever since the Davao City branch of the gun manufacturing company Arms Corporation of the Philippines opened business in 2006, it has provided the Mindanao market with competitive firearms and ammunition that earned rave reviews from its clients and dealers in the region.
Prices of flowers to double starting today
GIVING of flowers is the best gift that romantic partners could get during Valentine’s Day celebration. Most lovers express how they love each other through flowers. That’s why flower vendors could not be blamed to take advantage of raising the prices of their display unlimitedly and uncontrollably.
Bank of Commerce turns over 6,000 ATM cards to coop
THE Bank of Commerce (BOC) Lapasan branch in Cagayan de Oro City turned over Thursday 6,000 automated teller machine (ATM) cards to the Del Monte Agrarian Reform Beneficiary Cooperative (DEARBC).
Emma Lim Lo Suy, BOC’S area head for Mindanao, said the bank’s management was overwhelmed by the number of accounts it catered so far in its tie-up ventures with local groups.
PhilHealth starts hiring nurses at P15,000 a month
THE state-run Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) has started hiring registered nurses to provide “personalized customer care” to members and dependents at point-of-service or in hospitals where they seek treatment.
PhilHealth president and chief executive officer Dr. Eduardo Banzon said the nurses will be employed as part of the firm’s Customer Assistance, Relations and Empowerment Staff (Cares), and receive a monthly compensation of around P15,000, plus health insurance coverage.
Feastings
YEARS ago, the late National Artist Alejandro Roces came out with a coffee table book about the fiesta culture of the Philippines.
International hotel opens in Angeles City
THE Tune Hotel, an international chain of hotels, has opened its first five-star 160-room hotel in Angeles City on Friday.
Inflation to settle within target
FOLLOWING the drop in inflation rate to 3.9 percent in January 2012, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said the rate is seen to settle within the Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016 target of three to five percent for 2012, using the 2000-based Consumer Price Index (CPI) series.
Exports dropped 20.7%
PHILIPPINE exports dropped sharply in December last year as the crucial electronics sector struggled with soft demand in Japan, the United States and other key markets, official data showed Friday.
Export earnings fell 20.7 percent year-on-year to $4.2 billion in December, dragging the decline for all of 2012 down to 6.9 percent, the National Statistics Office said in a statement.
Architect urges urban planners to rethink ‘sprawl development’
RATHER than expand territories by building exclusive communities in the suburbs, a US-based architect is pushing for development that allows homeowners to be nearer to the city centers.
Senen Antonio, partner and director of business development of Duany Planter-Zyberk (DPZ) and Co., in a forum organized by the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc., said today’s urban planners have succumbed to “a disease called sprawl.”
Chamber begins search for its 2012 awardees
NOMINATIONS are now being accepted for the 17th Grand Chamber Awards of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI).
The awards are meant to recognize and highlight entrepreneurs who are key players in making businesses flourish in Cebu. It also aims to inspire aspiring entrepreneurs to emulate the character and excellence the awardees exemplify.
Homegrown music school seeks international accreditation
ENTREPRENEUR Pia Salonga-Chiong Quisido plans to have her music school, Salonga School of Rock, certified by the Rock School UK to position the facility as one of Cebu’s premier schools for pop and rock music.
“The accreditation would give more credibility to the school, although we have already proven to the industry our capability of producing good talents. This will also give us an edge over other rock music schools in the country,” Quisido said in an interview.
Almirante: Voluntary resignation
Dominador A. Almirante Labor case digest
PETITIONER Ma. Joy Teresa O. Bilbao was a flight attendant of respondent Saudi Arabian Airlines assigned to work at the Manila office. Together with 10 others, she was transferred to Jeddah.
Breast cancer detector now at Oro med
PATIENTS with diagnostic mammogram needs will no longer travel outside the city as the Cagayan de Oro Medical Center (COMC), one of the city’s most trusted medical institutions, now offers state-of-the-art mammogram service.
CEB posts close to 50% market share
THE Philippines’ largest national flag carrier Cebu Pacific (PSE: CEB) continues to serve the most number of Filipinos with close to 50-percent market share in top three cities outside Manila in 2011.
CEB posted 48-percent domestic market share in Cebu, where it operates the most extensive network with more than 500 weekly flights between Cebu and 19 domestic destinations. These routes allow passengers to take direct flights from Cebu to the Bicol Region, Northern Mindanao, Palawan and North Luzon, among others.
Be a cupid and have a combo Valentine’s treat!
TIRED of the same old and overused gimmicks on Valentine’s Day? Looking for new and unique ways to celebrate hearts’ day? Make your Valentine’s Day this year a memorable and fun event with your loved ones through the following combo feats:
1. Text and beyond! Why stop at text messages when you can send so much more? Relay your love through your mobile phone with a combination of text messages and MMS. Video or voice-record a short but sweet message to make it more personal and memorable.
Samsung tops smartphone manufacturer in 2011
DESPITE Apple claiming the top spot in the fourth quarter of 2011 with the launch of its iPhone 4S, Samsung closed 2011 as the year's top smartphone manufacturer with 94 million units shipped and a market share of 19.1 percent, IDC's Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker research has found.
Trade department exec says companies complied freeze order
DEPARTMENT of Trade and Industry (DTI) provincial director for Misamis Oriental Eliza Pabillore said Thursday establishments in Cagayan de Oro complied with the freeze order it released during the aftermath of Tropical Storm Sendong.
Pabillore said major groceries and supermarkets in the city positively responded to calls of freezing the prices of basic commodities badly needed by the victims.
She said they did not even spare convenient stores from regular inspection and monitoring.
“So far, it was good. Generally, we have no problem about the compliance,” she said.
Mindanao topographic maps up for validation
THE Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) presented for validation newly completed digital maps of Mindanao during the “Topographic Mapping for Peace and Development in Mindanao” 2nd Technical Coordinating Committee (TCC) Meetings held recently all over the island.
Mr. Yutaka Kokofu, Topographic Map Project Team Leader of Jica, reported the successful production of new digital topo-maps covering all regions of Mindanao, copies of which were distributed to local government units (LGUs) and line agencies for validation.
Implement organic agriculture program
ORGANIC farming advocates urged President Benigno Simeon Aquino III on Tuesday to take the lead in implementing the National Organic Agriculture Program to scale up production areas for safe, healthy foods and food products through organic farming.
Tune Hotels sets foot on Philippine shores with opening of Angeles Hotel
ANGELES CITY -- Global value hotel chain Tune Hotels has spread its wings to the Philippines with the official opening of Tune Hotel Angeles City here Friday.
City collects P220,000 in fine from waste segregation law
THE City Government of Davao has collected some P220,000 in administrative penalties since the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) started implementing the "No segregation, No collection" policy in July last year.
