Tabije: Intellectual arrogance

ONE of the news items of late is the statement of the AFP's spokesman that they will recommend that boxing great Rep. Manny Pacquio be included in the GRP-MILF negotiating panel. One of the prominent reactions is that of Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile. He says, in so many words, that despite all the unprecedented and unbelievable boxing accomplishments of Manny, he doesn't deserve such job.

Food from your ornamental garden

A FLOWER, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants. The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds.

Oro, agri agency teams up for 'Bagsakan Center'

THE Cagayan de Oro City Council passed a resolution on Wednesday allowing the City Government to enter into a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Agriculture (DA) for the establishment of a P1.1 million Bagsakan Center (BC) in the city.

560 skilled workers needed abroad

THE Public Employment Services Office (Peso) recently announced the urgent hiring of 560 skilled workers needed for overseas employment.

Juvy Paza, Peso manager, said EEI Corporation, a global corporation engaged primarily in construction, is in need of 120 mechanical engineers and 90 civil engineers, aged 24 to 45 years old, for assignment in Saudi Arabia.

BPI holds Auto Madness in Oro

FROM November 25 to 28, 2010, BPI Family Savings Bank Auto Madness is revisiting Cagayan de Oro for the latest installment of its Auto Madness event at the Limketkai Center.

During the Auto Madness, car buyers are assured of the best rates and the best protection for their investment through BPI Family Auto Loans' offer of a free one year comprehensive insurance with Acts of God coverage.

Strong peso ‘bad for economy’

THE government may be glad about the peso’s performance, but an exporter is warning authorities about its bias for a strong currency.

Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) national chairman Paterno Dizon said they are crossing their fingers that the Philippine Government will take a new and harder look at the exchange rate policies being adopted by nations like China and Vietnam.

Forgery

ON March 3, 1999, respondent Vicente Randy Ramil prepared a capital expenditure (capex) form for external fax modems and terminal server and endorsed it to Marivic Villanueva for the signature of petitioner’s vice president, Ricardo T. Po. When the form was transmitted to the purchasing office, the genuineness of Po’s signature was doubted. Respondent was suspected to have committed the forgery. Consequently, he was dismissed from the service. Was the dismissal justified?

Ruling: No.

SM launches movie site

SM Cinema last Thursday unveiled to Cebuanos its new website, which allows viewers to reserve and pay for tickets.

SM Cinema’s assistant vice-president for sales and marketing Allan Florendo said the new SM Cinema website at www.smcinema.com is an information portal that makes the movie watching experience more convenient.

CEB offers Bangkok, bus routes seat sale for Jan-Mar travel

THE Philippines' largest national flag carrier, Cebu Pacific (CEB), holds a seat sale to Bangkok and traditional Philippine bus routes from November 19-22, 2010 or until seats last, for travel from January 1-March 31, 2011.

Free FTA forum slated on Monday

TO LET more stakeholders understand further the free trade agreements (FTAs), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will conduct an FTA information session on November 22 at the Royal Mandaya Hotel in Davao City.

China Bank marks 90th year with cuts in interest rates

CHINA Bank, the country's first privately-owned commercial bank, celebrated its ninth decade successful operations through nine promotions and activities.

The series of anniversary festivities kicked off with China Bank dropping the interest rate for HomePlus Loan to a low 7.5 percent annually fixed for the first year.

Global software firm to tap Filipinos

BRIMMING with confidence in the country's software engineers, a leading global security and infrastructure software provider inaugurated its lone Asian research and development office in the Philippines.

BPI introduces banking via broadband stick

ELECTRONIC banking leader Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) encouraged current and future clients who are in the lookout for speed and mobility to do free one-year transactions through Globe broadband.

Marie Josephine Ocampo, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of BPI, said the launch of the limited edition BPI 24/7 Globe Tattoo would surely empower consumers to do banking using the latest Internet technology.

No need to tap Pacquiao as tourism endorser

MALACAÑANG on Friday welcomed criticisms on the government's new tourism campaign slogan as it declined to refer boxing superstar and Sarangani Representative Manny Pacquiao as tourism "poster boy."

"I think with or without a designation, si Representative Pacquiao is already a sort of, hindi naman po poster boy, pero marami na pong naka-identify, if not po, 'yong buong mundo, na-identify na po si Representative Pacquiao as one of the icons po from the Philippines," Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte told Palace reporters.

Dancing attendants meant to show airline’s ‘fun culture’

WHILE it was popular on YouTube, the dancing flight attendants of Cebu Pacific was just an experiment, the airline said.

RG Orense, Cebu Pacific corporate communications manager, said they tried the dancing flight attendants to show the airline’s “fun culture.”

China Bank to open seven more branches in Mindanao

CHINA Banking Corp. is set to open seven more branches in Mindanao by next year.

WB exec confident grants won't go to politicians' pockets

COTABATO CITY -- A World Bank official in the Philippines expressed confidence that grants they have extended to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) will not go into the pockets of the local leaders as feared by some groups.

Water treatment facility seen to boost business

GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has accredited a water testing and waste water treatment laboratory facility in nearby Sarangani, a move seen to help the local business sector, officials said.

China eyes Tagum City as culture, commerce center

TAGUM CITY -- The Chinese government sees Tagum City as a vibrant partner for an exchange of culture and commerce.

Ayala sets aside P1B for 1016 Residences

AYALA Land Inc. (ALI) yesterday announced the coming of another Ayala Land Premier project to the Cebu Business Park (CBP) this year.

Developer Ayala Land Premier, ALI’s high-end residential brand, has earmarked P1 billion as investment for the development of 1016 Residences, a 27-storey residential building. The project will stand on a 2,389 square meter (sqm) property with a 900 sqm footprint. It will house 109 units with 11 special units.

I.Protect: Non-registrable marks

Clint Fabiosa & Ana Liza Villamor

SECTION 123.1 of the Intellectual Property Code lists other names or symbols that are not registrable and could not be appropriated by the user:

Oro to lower amusement tax to 10 percent

THE City Government of Cagayan de Oro is set to implement a reduction in the amusement taxes paid by all movie houses and other related establishments from 30 percent to 10 percent starting January next year.

WB grants Armm $30M

COTABATO CITY -- The World Bank granted a $30 million loan to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) as part of the National Government's aim to reduce poverty and to support mechanisms for the promotion of a peaceful and safe environment in the conflict-affected areas in the region.

China Bank posts P3.75B growth

CHINA Banking Corporation (China Bank) posted a sturdy growth of 17 percent, equivalent to P3.75 billion from January to September this year.

Government to pour in major Mindanao agri infra projects

WITH its strong agribusiness potentials, Mindanao remains on top of the National Government's priority in agricultural development with more agri-related PPP (public-private partnership) projects coming into the region, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.

DTI asks small enterprises: Invest inpackaging to increase product sales

TO entice more buyers, an official of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is encouraging micro, small and medium enterprises to invest in packaging.

Hotels, restaurants show off attractions in Lapu-Lapu event

ABOUT 19 hotels and restaurants showcased their best cuisines and cultural entertainment in the Tourism Nite in Lapu-Lapu City last Monday.

Waterfront Airport Hotel and Casino (WAHC) manager Hembler Mendoza said the event was organized to showcase Lapu-Lapu’s best resorts to further draw in more international and domestic tourists.

Ng: Dynamics of competition

ONE interesting thing in the information and communications technology industry is how the dynamics of competition change.

There was a time when Google executives were directors of Apple and vice versa. They were allies in some respect, but right now, they are competitors. Obviously, Apple is now using AdMob and getting revenues from advertisements and Google is now their number one competitor for smartphones.

Simplified remittance scheme for Filipinos in Japan

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III said Filipinos in Japan will soon be relieved from high remittance fees as the government tapped Japan Post Bank to ease its cost and cut processing time starting next year.

Dole warns of delayed wages, benefits

THE Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) warned employers against instances where salaries and benefits of their workers are being delayed.