Chamber eyes more ties with bankers

THE Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) is planning to woo the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP)-Cebu to enlist as a sectoral member of the chamber, to make access to capital easier for micro-borrowers.

In an interview with reporters, CCCI president Prudencio Gesta on Thursday said the plan to invite RBAP-Cebu would not only boost the membership base of the chamber, but would help address the Cebu market vendors’ need for financial services.

Maria Luisa rebrands project in Mandaue

MARIA Luisa Properties (MLP) re-launched this week the Maria Luisa North-The Heritage, an exclusive 13.6-hectare subdivision in Jagobiao, Mandaue City.

The latest project, developed with residential developer Agro-Macro Development Corp., is built on the former Hacienda Mandaue.

Batuhan: A Pinoy Pope?

DURING the time of the late president Ferdinand Marcos, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) was infamous for making the impossible happen.

Stories were told of towns and cities where the number of votes cast exceeded the actual population, giving rise to the joke that even the dead came back to vote on election day. In fact, the popular crack then was that the Comelec was so good at vote-rigging, a Filipino could be elected pope if it was the poll body supervising the vote count.

CCCI ready for int’l event

WITH less than a month to go until the Confederation of Asia-Pacific Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CACCI) Conference, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Prudencio Gesta is positive that all preparations are in order for the two-day event this March.

Gesta, during the CCCI’s general membership meeting yesterday, said they are about 90 percent ready to host the conference, saying 219 delegates have confirmed their attendance as of Thursday.

Almirante: Dismissal without hearing

Labor case digest

ON SEPT. 12, 2001, petitioner Flordeliza Maria Reyes-Rayel, a c corporate human resources (CHR) director, was dismissed from the service by respondents Philippine Luen Thai Holdings Corp. and L&T International Group Philippines, Inc. for loss of confidence in her ability to promote their interests.

DICT will be ‘just another layer’

INSTEAD of creating a Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Liberal Party senatorial candidate Ramon Magsaysay Jr. suggested the transfer of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) to the Office of the President as a cabinet position.

He told reporters at the sidelines of The Mactan Newtown inauguration last Wednesday that while the creation of DICT is good, the government thinks it is just another layer of bureaucracy.

Cebu Pacific logged 11% passenger growth

CEBU Pacific Air flew 13.26 million passengers in 2012, a company report presented at a tourism event stated.

Assistant corporate communications manager Michelle Eve de Guzman said this is just shy of their 14 million target for the year, registering an 11 percent growth in passengers for the company.

Globe: we were first on cloud

MANY companies are starting to secure their space in the country’s cloud computing realm. However, Globe says “only one can lay claim as being the first to reach the cloud, explore its many dimensions and harness its immense potential.”

Ng: Photo sharing

ONE of the more popular picture-snapping tool currently making the rounds in both Android and Apple devices is an application called Snapchat. It’s an instant messaging tool and you can send videos or pictures together with your message. There is just one slight twist – when you send the picture to your friend, the photo will self destruct – you can set it so that it will automatically delete itself anytime from one to 10 seconds.

Now’s best time to be geek: telco founder tells students

SCIENCE lovers have for long been relentlessly teased by peers who do not share their interest in the field. But the tide is changing, according to a telecommunications official who said that now is a great time to be a geek.

Orlando Vea, president and chief executive officer of Digitel Mobile Philippines, Inc. and founder and chief wireless advisor of Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart), told a group of young scientists that many of the world’s new heroes come from the ranks of nerds.

Megaworld doubles investment

MEGAWORLD Corp. announced yesterday it was doubling its investment in The Mactan Newtown from P10 billion to P20 billion in the next five to seven years.

President Benigno Aquino III and Megaworld chairman and chief executive officer Andrew Tan led the inauguration of the company’s first township in Central Visayas. Top investors from Japan and BPO executives attended the event.

Power tool company launches drive to build basketball courts

POWER tool company Skil launched on Saturday in Barangay Pari-an, Cebu City its Paint the Town Red (PTTR) campaign, which aims to construct one basketball half-court in 40 selected barangays nationwide.

Skil will distribute power tools and hold workshops aimed at generating livelihood projects for participants.

6M passengers went through MCIA in 2012

OVER six million passengers went through the Mactan-Cebu International Airport in 2012, 1.5 million of which were to and from international destinations, growing three percent from the previous year.

Figures posted on their website show there were 752,793 incoming international passengers throughout the year and 757,798 outgoing international passengers.

Globe launches customizable prepaid package in Cebu

GLOBE Telecom launched in Cebu Tuesday night its customizable prepaid package GoSakto.

GoSakto can be availed of for as low as P7, with no price cap. Subscribers can enjoy call, text and surf or a mix of all services in over 2,000 combinations at a 1, 3, 7 and 30-day validity.

Cayetano pledges help for exporters

URGING Filipinos to patronize Philippine-made products is one way of supporting the local export industry, Senate minority leader Alan Peter Cayetano said yesterday.

In his visit to Cebu, Cayetano said he would push for more projects aimed at supporting Cebu’s export industry, particularly the furniture sector, in the midst of the strong currency exchange rate and global market uncertainties.

Toral: E-government

OVER the weekend, I found myself in a situation – I needed to renew my passport because it was already expired. I visited http://passport.com.ph to start the process and book an appointment.

I must admit that the site can be quite intimidating with all of its warnings. You have to read the site content twice in order to know what to do next.

Avida launches another tower

A UNIT of one of the country’s top property developer launched on Saturday the second tower of a residential condominium development at the Asiatown IT Park.

Avida Land Corp. launched Tower 2 of Avida Towers Riala, a 21,246-square-meter residential development in Asiatown IT Park in Lahug, Cebu City.

Business partners put up new school

TWO business partners with a shared passion in teaching and dream of producing a globally-competitive workforce have put up a school that specializes in the formative years of child learning development.

Cathy Salimbangon and Christi Lapradez worked together to open Abbey Park Academy.

UCPB net income in 2012 goes up 22% to P3.73B

THE United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) posted a net income of P3.73 billion for 2012 up by 22 percent from last year’s P3.06 billion as the bank boosted its loan portfolio as well as its trading and securities earnings by triple digits.

Total loans went up by 24 percent to P87.72 billion from P70.52 billion in the same period last year of which the consumer portfolio grew at a very fast pace of 33 percent. Corporate accounts make up 45 percent of the loan portfolio.

Italian fashion brand opens new store in Glorietta mall

TWO years after opening their first store in the Philippines in Cebu, Liu Jo opened the Liu Jo Accessories at The Podium in Ortigas and recently inaugurated another Liu Jo store at the new Glorietta 2 Mall in Makati City.

Globe declares P4.4B in cash dividends

GLOBE Telecom has declared the first semi-annual cash dividend of P33.50 per common share or a total of P4.4 billion, representing 86 percent of 2012 core net income assuming annualized dividends.

The amount translates to a dividend yield of 6.1 percent based on end-2012 share price and is payable on March 12, 2013 to shareholders on record as of Feb. 19, 2013.

Taiwan visitors log biggest increase

THE biggest growth in foreign tourist arrivals in Central Visyas last year came from Taiwanese visitors, figures from the Department of Tourism 7 show.

Taiwanese visitors grew 4.76 percent to 28,923 from 19,980 in 2011, ranking sixth among the top foreign visitors to the region.

Student project wins nationwide innovation contest

A SYSTEM that allows homeowners to monitor and control lights and electrical appliances in their homes from anywhere via mobile technology won the 9th SWEEP Innovation and Excellence Awards last Thursday in Makati City.

President to unveil Mactan Newtown

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III will unveil Megaworld Corp.’s (Megaworld) flagship project, The Mactan Newtown on Wednesday, top officials announced over the weekend.

Aquino will be joined by the company’s top executives, including its chairman and chief executive officer Andrew Tan during the inauguration. Aquino will have a brief tour on the township development.

Making an appearance

A MANILA - based medical oriented beauty clinic, Flawless Face and Body Center (Flawless), announced they are in negotiations with mall operators for their planned expansion here.

Flawless chief executive officer Rubby Sy, in a press conference yesterday, expressed the firm’s intention of putting up branches in malls like SM Seaside City at the South Road Properties, SM Consolacion and Ayala Center Cebu.

Argao entrepreneur credits DTI for leading him to a sweet deal

FOR three years now, Edgar Lanutan, 56, has continued his parents’ legacy in tableya, unsweetened chocolate rounds extracted from cocoa beans.

Guilang Tableya, named after his mother, a maker of tableya since 1948, is a microenterprise in Argao’s food processing industry, recognized over the years as one of the best tableya in town.

With gemstones and readings, practitioner tries her luck

A FENG Shui practitioner has found a favorable venture in gemstones.

Paht chee reader and expert Judith Jade B. Eugenio, 43, launched last week Judith Jade Gemstones and Designs (JJGD) at Parkmall in Mandaue City.

Almirante: A Restaurant pianist is an employee

RESPONDENT Hernani S. Realuyo, whose stage name was Joey R. Roa, was employed in September 1992 at the Legend Hotel Manila’s Tinglaw Restaurant, which belonged to the petitioner Titanium Corp. He was paid per night’s performance, which had been fixed from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. for three to six times a week. He was required to conform with the venue’s motif and had been subjected to rules on employee’s representation checks and chits.

Batuhan: Viva il Papa

AS TREMORS go, this was certainly a big one.

Election campaign boosts sales of printing companies in Cebu

THE elections in May mean good business for printing companies in Cebu.

But competition also becomes stiffer during election season and print orders have declined as observed by officials of two printing companies.