That you are reading this blog at all today means that citizen-journalism, mass media, communications and the inter-web have come a long way since you could only get your news from the paperboy on your porch in the morning.

Somehwere in between print and the blogosphere was a site called Pinoylife. It was the first of its kind at the time -- an online magazine dedicated to Filipino life, specifically Filipino-American life through the eyes of the younger generation.

Moonie Lantion was the Editor-In-Chief/Webmaster and some stuff I remember him covering was The Debut (making fun of Dante Basco), Rex Navarrete's earliest performances and I remember he even reviewed Lolo's Child. Remember the classic article "The Pinoylife Guide to Not Being a Kuya"? That was Moonie. Moonie was a blogger before it was commonly called a 'blog'.

Back in the day, for those of us who were brash Filipino-Canadian college kids in Toronto trying to forge some sort of conciousness north of the border, Pinoylife gave us something to shoot for -- an example of what a new generation of Filipino Youth could look like if we embraced culture, heritage and community and fused it with our own modern sensibilities, attitudes and influences. It showed us a shade of what kind of community we could become. (For an old-skooler like me, looking back on those days and seeing that today we have KPC, things like Clutch, Baggage by PMC not to mention each and every person who makes the scene work in this city... it makes me more happy than anyone can ever believe. Look, we did it!)

Then, at some point -- Pinoylife disappeared, and so did Moonie.

Meanwhile, we got working and years later (and I really speak for Toronto), it's obvious that we've come a lot closer to getting to realizing that vision. It's years later and things have changed so much as far as the media and how we get our information.

Again, this blog is evidence that we've got so much power to express ourselves at our fingertips -- and we should use that power by blogging and communicating every chance we get.

It's only fitting that after all these years... Pinoylife.com - the site that started it all (for me, at least)... is back. The best thing though, is that now it's not the only voice out there in cyberspace reppin' for our team.

That other voice is YOU!

IT BEGAN as an after-work romp, a nightout to cap a long, hard day at the office. There was Geylang, of course, but it was too far from the office, and it was sort of cliché already to be going there. We weren't tourists anymore, and we were just looking for a place to unwind without getting too bummed out we wouldn't know how we got home the morning after and where our hard-earned money went. So, heeding the advice of a Pinoy mate who, in his 10 years, had explored every nook and cranny of Singapore, we wound up in this little corner called Tanjong Pagar.

I can bore you here right now with the many things and trivias the place is known for – like how it used to bridge the docks with the old town, or its historic Jinkricksha station (the old main rickshaw depot that now houses one of Jackie Chan's restaurants), or that it used to be the district represented in Parliament by the man himself, Lee Kuan Yew – but you can already Google these things up.

What makes Tanjong Pagar unique, I think, is this little, quaint restaurant known as Kamayan, its name a reference to the way we Filipinos like to eat our tuyo with a small plate of kamatis, itlog na pula and sibuyas as sawsawan – with our hands.

The place is open for about 18 hours a day, and it serves dishes that will give Nanay's adobo and sinigang na baboy a run for their money. The prices are a steal – S$4 for a bowl of rice and two ulams, plus a Coke! – and the place's pretty much the same in layout and feel as those carinderias taxi and jeepney drivers love to troop to in Quiapo and Timog for some things to warm their stomach and feed their tsismoso and usisero minds. But that's not what makes Kamayan a special place.

As in many places that strike us and leave more than just a good impression, it's the people who go to Kamayan that makes it one of those special corners of this vast, complicated, suffering world where we feel like we leave a tiny part of ourselves each time we go there.

During most of the day, Kamayan plays host to the regulars: office-weary Pinoys working in the district's tall, gleaming towers, Singaporeans egged by their Pinoy mates to try out some Filipino delicacies. It pretty much looks like any regular kopitians through most of the day.

When it hits 3am, however, they start coming, first in trickles – in pairs or in small groups. Then by 4am, the taps open and they pour in, a horde of exhausted, hungry, young women coming out of those glitzy bars tucked inside Tanjong Pagar's and Duxton Hill's rows of shophouses, exploding into a cacophony of boisterous banter in a language all their own and transforming Kamayan into a noisy family reunion, a mini barrio fiesta.

Uy, be, naka-quota ka ba?

Ay, naku, puro buraog!

Kailan ka naman e-exit sa JB?

Di ko nga alam, eh. Kulang pa nga pambayad ko sa Dragon kay kuya Robin. Hay, naku, be...

There, they are stripped of all that's superficial that goes with their “trabaho” – make-ups rinsed, their micro-minis, tank tops, halters, high-heel shoes and faux jewellerey tucked neatly inside plastic bags. They are a noisy, raucuous bunch, making tsismis about who went out with who or made a scene at the club, laughing, checking out the competition, spying warily at the crowd for trouble.

There, reality catches up with them. They are no longer these pretty young things providing company to testosterone-laden young men, manic depressive middle-aged men and senility-fighting old men. At Kamayan, they are someone's mother, wife, sister or daughter.

http://flippininspore.blogspot.com/

The heat surrounding our discussion of Filipinos in Hollywood (or lack thereof) shines a light on an issue that has been on our minds for a while now -- that is Diversity in Media. We can all admit that we've come a long way since the days of lily-white airwaves. Even still, we must admit that we've got a long, long way to go.

While the discussion continues on the other thread, I thought it a great opportunity to showcase another blog that I frequent - SCHEMA MAG. According to it's own description, Schema Mag is "an online platform about ethnic cool in the New Canada and beyond".

Even cooler, the site is run by a new friend of mine -- Alden Habacon. Again right from Schema, Alden's bio reads as following: "Alden is currently the Manager of Diversity Initiatives for CBC Television. In this role, Habacon contributes to program development, various community partnerships, new media applications and other CBC Television initiatives that advance the reflection of Canada’s diversity on-air and behind the scenes."

Alden is the latest Filipino who has tried in some way to actively address the diversity issues in Canadian TV (others include FLIP TV's Anthony Domingo, Digital Sweatshop's Caroline Mangosing and Romeo Candido, and yours truly).

I think the bottom line is, "we're trying", but the bigger story is "we can't stop".

by  DARIO AGNOTE
Kyodo News

SINGAPORE -- The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) is set to adopt a raft of measures to get member-countries to work together in dealing with common security challenges when it gathers here for its annual meeting this week.

The fresh measures are meant to put decision-making on a fast track and foster ''concrete and practical cooperation'' among the 27 members of ARF, the Asia-Pacific region's premier multilateral security organization, according to official documents.

The innovations are hoped to make ARF more relevant and responsive to new global challenges, a discussion paper circulated by Singapore, the chair of this year's meeting, says.

''ARF member countries should consider how to reinvigorate the ARF in the dynamic regional security environment in which it operates,'' says the paper, adding that the grouping has to develop a clearer vision that will guide its future direction up to the year 2020.

A concept paper issued in 1995 envisioned ARF moving gradually through three stages: confidence-building measures, preventive diplomacy and, eventually, conflict resolution.

Deeper activities

The latest paper stresses the need to advance towards preventive diplomacy ''in a phased and prudent manner'' while continuing with confidence-building measures, and for its members to engage in deeper regional cooperative activities.

''The ARF participants should consider the merits of the ARF developing institutional features like the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization so as to make it more effective,'' it says.

The ARF, whose core members include the 10 ASEAN countries and the United States, was established in 1994 after the end of the Cold War to promote dialogue and cooperation on security.

But while dialogue among member-countries has been robust and sometimes fiery, cooperation between and among its members has been variable.

Some countries with long-standing defense and security ties like the Philippines, the United States, Singapore and Japan have had no trouble working together in foiling terror plots and sharing intelligence reports. But practical cooperation is often still saddled with lingering, deep distrust.

Some ARF members have ''privately lamented'' that the ARF is slow in making decisions, making it ''not responsive to fluid developments in the real world.''

''There are no clear provisions on how the ARF could quickly respond to an urgent situation or crisis,'' the paper says, adding this problem has caused ''funding problems as some countries must synch this slow decision-making process to their fiscal cycles.''

The assessment paper has identified at least six ''problems'' saddling the regional security grouping today that need to be confronted head-on, including its ''lack of concrete and practical cooperation,'' its ''slow decision-making'' process and lack of focus.

For instance, it notes that proposals for ARF activities are often put forward as early as October or November, but are not implemented until approved by the ARF in July or August of the subsequent year.

''The ARF requires more concrete and practical cooperation projects based on the collective needs identified in the ARF process,'' says the paper, stressing the need for the ARF to focus on issues like counter-terrorism, transnational crime, disaster relief, non-proliferation and disarmament, maritime security and peacekeeping.

''Special expertise (in these areas) is necessary,'' it notes.

ARF expansion

On the expansion of the ARF, the paper stresses the need ''to develop innovative ways and means to enhance its relevance to all its participants.''

It says ARF must maintain the so-called ''flexible moratorium'' in dealing with countries who have outstanding applications like Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic and Afghanistan.

''The expansion of ARF from 18 to 27 participants over the years has led some countries to complain that the forum has become too unwieldy, and that the dynamics have been affected with discussions becoming less informal and interactive,'' the paper says.

''However, some countries suggested that we should look into the creation of observer-status for those countries interested in ARF activities, and that the ARF unit should look into this possibility,'' it says.

On the increasing number of ARF meetings, the paper has voiced concern that some smaller countries are unable to attend every single meeting.

To be relevant, the paper says ARF needs to further study these measures and implement those which are ''suitable and appropriate'' to the region.

Strengthen ASEAN and non-ASEAN

To ensure that ARF remains as the premier regional security institution, the paper stresses the need to strengthen both ASEAN and non-ASEAN participants' role in the ARF process.

'Although ASEAN has undertaken the obligation to be the 'primary driving force' of the ARF, a successful ARF required the active participation, support and cooperation of all participants. ASEAN must always be sensitive to and take into account the interests and concerns of all ARF participants,'' it says.

''In this regard, some ARF countries need the support of better-endowed ARF participants, especially funding and convening meetings where possible in ASEAN countries,'' it says.

The ARF comprises the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam -- plus Australia, Canada, the European Union, New Zealand, the United States, Russia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, Pakistan, North Korea, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Bangladesh, Japan, China, and India.

Source: ABS-CBN News Online, http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=125901, July 22, 2008

Stocks closed higher Monday as the recent pullback in oil prices provided investors "temporary" relief, but gains were capped amid persistent worries over the health of the United States economy and rising inflation.

The broader all-share index gained 14.13 points or 0.93 percent at 1,530.96.

Gainers outpaced losers, 55 to 32, with 52 stocks unchanged.

A total of 860.7 million shares worth P1.5 billion were traded.

"Last week saw a significant correction or drop in oil prices. This buoyed local and overseas markets. Although, this may be temporary as oil prices are likely to go up again," said Joseph Roxas, president of Eagle Equities.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery fell 41 cents Friday to settle at $128.88 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after hovering above $147 levels in the week ago. In early Asian trade, it rose 82 cents to $129.70 a barrel.

Inflation, largely pushed by skyrocketing oil and food prices, is running at 14-year highs. It hit 11.4 percent in June and is expected to peak above 12 percent this year.

On Thursday, the central bank raised its interest rates by half a percentage point, tightening policy for a second month in a row, to combat inflation.

Roxas said today's low turnover reflects that the only few players left in the market were trading with extreme caution. "Most of them have gone out already," he said.

Investors are keeping a wary eye over more corporate results from big US financial firms this week. Among them are Bank of America and Wachovia Corp. Also on tap are profit reports from Apple, Yahoo and Boeing.

The Dow ralled 3.6 percent on Friday, bouncing back from four weeks of heavy losses. The Federal Reserve's move to give open credit to mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which were on the verge of collapse, somehow helped eased market concerns.

"It remains to be seen if the US rally would be sustained, given that more quarterly losses are expected from companies. Wall Street will also likely correct after Friday's rally," Roxas noted.

Index heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. rose P10.00 or 0.42 percent to P2,415.00.

Ayala Corp. jumped P10.00 or 3.9 percent to P267.50. Its units also ended in positive territory.

Property giant Ayala Land Inc. edged up P0.10 or 1.2 percent to P8.60 while Bank of the Philippine Islands climbed P1.00 or 2.6 percent to P39.00. Globe Telecom, the most actively traded issue, advanced P20.00 or 1.97 percent to P1,035.00.

Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., the nation's biggest lender, soared P1.50 or 4.9 percent to P32.00.

Source: ABS-CBN News Online, http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=125873, July 22, 2008

Few years back up to present, there are countless incidents that threatened the foreigners and as well as the economy. The peace and order, the lack of understanding among government officials, and the cases filed against high ranking government authorities are just some of the reasons why investors and tourists refuse to go to our country. On the television, we can see journalists being kidnapped and these are not only local journalists, these are also foreign newsmen.

Graft and corruption is rampant. Dishonesty. Lies.

How can they trust us if some of our fellowmen can not be trusted?

How can we promote that our country, filled with natural resources, is the best place to live in?

With the present economic status and the peace and order situation in the country, the question is, do we need to spend more on advertising our country?

I'm realizing that my attention on Philippine national development is actually a reflection of my own dream for myself: an existence and a future more prosperous than my past. Funny how the things we do ultimately teach us about ourselves and our inner desires.

Since this blog and since the correspondence with some of you that it has allowed me to enjoy, I have slowly been more and more open-minded about the direction of my professional life. The sharing we do has enabled me to see and think about what I truly want; it has allowed me to peel off layers of past expectations, past self-perceptions. 

What started out to be a blog to help drum-up optimism on the Philippines that I feel is lacking out there is turning out to be a pretty effective excuse for me to think more deeply and honestly about what I want in life. This blog is helping me understand what I truly want out of life. It allows me to filter issues that distract.

But because this blog remains a space created for you, for us, I hope you have also been entertained by a few of my original posts about Clinton, Obama and Pacquiao. I promise there are more of those original posts to come. I'm still just getting comfortable with informal posting.

Fianlly, this isn't intended to be a revelation of my next steps, just a long-winded "Thank You" to those of you who daily encourage me to keep this blog going, and as a result, allow me to think about things more clearly.

Pacquiao to keep WBC lightweight title

Filipino boxing hero Manny Pacquiao has already made up his mind to keep his newly acquired WBC lightweight belt and continue to fight at the 135 pound division.

This means that he will surrender his WBC super featherweight title which he won from Mexican rival Juan Manuel Marquez last March via split decision.

"Nagbigay na ako ng instruction sa aking abugado na ipaalam sa WBC na ang 135 pound championship belt ang idedepensa ko... so ang 130 pound championship belt na napanalunan ko noong March ang igi-give up ko," he said.

(I have already instructed my lawyer to inform the WBC that I will defend by 135-pound [division] championship belt… so this means the 130-pound championship belt I won last March will be given up.)

Pacquiao is bent on leaving the super-featherweight division, since he is already having great difficulty making 130 lbs.

He said he feels more comfortable at 135 lbs, and in fact has dared anybody to challenge him for the crown.

World Boxing Council president Jose Sulaiman earlier has given Pacquiao until July 28 to decide on which title to keep should he face Mexican Humberto Soto.

"The present double WBC world champion at lightweight and super featherweight, Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines, must announce by July 28 which title he has decided to keep," the WBC said.

Sulaiman said if Pacquiao decides to relinquish the lightweight title, then he should defend the super-featherweight crown against Humberto Soto in his next fight.

The Filipino boxing superstar will be flying to the US next week to meet with Top Rank promoter Bob Arum and finalize talks about his possible fight with Soto on November.

Pacquiao also assured his fans that he will also push plans to climb the welterweight division and fight England’s prized fighter Ricky Hatton. With a report from Dyan Castillejo, ABS-CBN News

Source: ABS-CBN News Online, http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryID=125412, July 17, 2008

abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak

The survey studied 55 countries using 331 criteria grouped into four categories: hard economic performance, government efficiency, business efficicieny and infrastructure.

Of the four categories, the Philippines ranked highest—31st—in business efficiency but lowest in infrastructure (48th). It landed on the 42nd and 41st spot in economic performance and government efficiency, respectively.

The Philippines, however, ranked very low in infrastructure and education indicators. It ranked 52nd in education, 54th in basic infrastructure, and 53rd in basic infrastructure.

Under the infrastructure subcategory, the Philippines ranked lowest among 55 countries in the pupil-teacher ratio in secondary education. Similarly, it ranked 54th in the secondary school enrolment, and percentage of health spending in the gross domestic product.

The percentage of public expenditure on education in the GDP is also the second lowest among the 55 countries. The World Bank estimates that education spending in the Philippines was equal to 3.2 percent of GDP in 2004. The figure is below Malaysia’s 8 percent and Thailand’s 4.2 percent.

In the business efficiency category, the Philippines ranked 31st. It ranked  15th in labor market sub-category due to the availability of skilled labor, and the Filipinos’ high level of flexibility and adaptability when facing new challenges.

Among the 55 countries, the country ranked 3rd in the availability of skilled labor and 5th in flexibility and adaptability of people. The country, however, ranked very low in labor force participation (52nd), and overall productivity (53rd).

Economic performance

Meanwhile, the Philippines ranked 42nd in economic performance. The study noted improvements in the economy like the 7.3 percent growth in GDP. However, the country ranked very low in subcategories like diversification of economy (52nd) and GDP per capita (54th).

Youth unemployment, the survey showed, is also among the weaknesses of the Philippines. The country landed on the 51st spot in this subcategory as a result of a large number of unemployed young people. Data from the National Statistics Office showed that of the 2.9 million unemployed Filipinos as of April 2008, 51.2 percent belongs to the 15-24 age bracket.

High risk of political instability, unsatisfactory government policies on transparency, and inefficient transport of goods pulled down the country’s ranking in government efficiency to the 41st spot.

Still behind its neighbors

Despite the improvement in the rankings, the Philippines is still lagging behind most of its Asian neighbors. The survey showed that the Philippines is behind Singapore (2nd), Hong Kong (3rd), Taiwan (13th), China (17th), Malaysia (19th), Thailand (27th), India (29th) and South Korea (31). However, it ranked higher than Brazil (43rd), Russia (47th) and Indonesia (51st).

“The good news is we have improved but the bad news is so has everybody else,” said Francis Estrada, president of the Asian Institute of Management, adding that some Asian countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Taiwan also managed to improve their ratings this year.

Thailand climbed six notches in the ranking from 33rd in 2007 to 27th this year while Malaysia landed 19th this year, four notches higher than its ranking last year.

More challenges

The study also noted that for the Philippines to sustain or improve its ranking, it should pursue education policies that will develop world-class workers, complete its priority infrastructure projects, improve its creative human capital, and mitigate the impact of food, energy and climate change security issues.

“The challenge is not to improve the rankings but to create better environment for business and people,” said Cesar Bautista, co-chair of the National Competitiveness Council.

Bautista added that despite the growth in the economy, the Philippines is not attracting foreign direct investments comparable to its neighbors in Southeast Asia and is competitive only in few sectors. He added that there is also imbalance in the distribution of economic activities.

Source: ABS-CBN News Online, http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/topofthehour.aspx?StoryId=125250, July 16, 2008

Imagine a World without Filipinos

"We have to remember that we are very much dependent on the Filipinos around us. We could die a slow death if they choose to leave us."

• 1, 019,577 workers in Saudi Arabia
• 20% of the world seafarers - 1.2M Filipino sailors
• 23% of the world's nurses

Not mention the millions of domestic helps!

Of course our fellowmen will not leave their jobs to go back, not until Philippines is in great shape. In fact, although they are not considered as a 'domestic product/services' for statistical purposes, the dollar remittances are keeping us afloat.

What made me think though is the corellation of our collaboration with the Middle East. Similar to the rice crisis the government was able to strike deals to major suppliers such as Vietnam and Cambodia because most of the top producers came to the Philippines to study how to grow rice - through IRRI. And now with the oil crisis, following the same leverage can't we get bargain to middle eastern producers since we supply them of quality workforce.

Tit for Tat.

Friday, 30 May 2008

The Philippine Council for Industry and Energy Research and Development (PCIERD) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) announces the specific areas where it will focus its resources on in 2008. Some of these areas are continuing but most were identified from last year’s consultations with industry as well as from PCIERD’s planning activities. These areas respond to the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) of the government particularly on economic growth and job creation and the ever consistent priority on energy.

ENERGY

The PCIERD’s role in the promotion of the use of biofuels has been emphasized in the Biofuels Law. It can be recalled that with the positive result of the pilot coco-methyl ester (CME) commercial plant in Romblon, the PCIERD pushed for the use of 1% CME blend with diesel. The PCIERD has developed the roadmap on all research and development (R&D) related activities for the development of biofuels.

The Biofuel R&D program that it has submitted to the National Biofuel Board (NBB) entails S&T infrastructure support for the Biofuel Act that will cover from biofuel technology search, assessment, validation & documentation, alternative feedstock identification & development, feedstock raw material & biofuel analysis, performance testing of biofuel from different feedstocks, techno-economic viability assessment of biofuel production plant, technology promotion and transfer.

Aside from biofuels, PCIERD will continue its activities on the development of renewable energy such as micro-hydro, solar, wind, natural gas and marine. Except for marine energy, the PCIERD has demonstrated the viability of micro-hydro in communities far from the grid, solar power for irrigation, wind turbines installed in Pagudpud and Basco, Batanes by private entities and now with the 180 buses that will ply the South Manila Corridor using natural gas.

The PCIERD is also bent on promoting energy conservation with the aim of making it a way of life of the Filipinos.

BIOTECH

Like energy, the food sector is one of the areas that PCIERD continues to develop in terms of new products and technologies that use the country’s abundant food sources and with the application of biotechnology.

The PCIERD will thus look into food biotech, functional food as well as for the health-conscious who clamor for natural and wellness products.

ENVIRONMENT

The past two years saw very erratic weather conditions in the country and worldwide. The El Niño and La Niña phenomena and the increased number of super typhoons literally wrought havoc to the economic activities of the country. With the pressing issues and concerns on climate change, the DOST, through PCIERD will continue to address all these concerns relating to the environment as well as educate the public on these occurrences including disaster management. One of the critical areas affected by variable weather conditions is water. Either there is over supply that they have to release water from the dams or the dams almost get dried up. This in turn affects our power supply. The PCIERD shall look into the development of a sustainable water management program.

SPECIAL PROGRAMS

While the PCIERD has set to put its resources and generate more funds to implement the above plans on food biotech, energy and environment, it shall also see to it that the programs it has nurtured through the years will be sustained. Considered as its special programs are the upgrading of testing laboratories, packaging, food safety, the virgin coconut oil (VCO) program as well as the high impact programs identified like coco coir and tropical wines and carbonated beverages.

Other Priority Areas (OPA)

In order that all its sectoral areas are covered, the PCIERD will not veer away from giving technical support to medium scale and micro-enterprises (MSMEs), give color to natural dyes, make ethnic foods become popular, develop indigenous materials and come up with more indigenous housing designs and materials.

All these plans and programs cannot be funded using a portion of the DOST budget allocation alone. Thus, with its linkages and the twinnings that it has established and will continue to firm up, the PCIERD shall look into collaborative undertakings with the private sector, the international science community as well as with academe and other g overnment agencies in order to come up with at least P250 million to implement the above activities.

Source: Philippine Council for Industry and Energy Research and Development (PCIERD) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), http://pcierd.dost.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25&Itemid=27

Reuters

A group of American, Australian, Spanish and Filipino investors have committed to invest $300 million to develop a 40 megawatt geothermal power plant in a southern Philippine province, a representative of the group said.

The group, called Guidance Management Corp (GMC), will initially spend $8 million to conduct geological surveys before drilling exploratory wells at the Amacan geothermal prospect in Compostela Valley province in the southern Mindanao region, Joaquin Rodriguez, GMC's chairman, told reporters on Thursday.

"We will spend roughly around $300 million to develop the initial 40 MW capacity of the area, but we're hoping that it could be more than 40 MW," Rodriguez said.

The Energy department has awarded GMC a 50-year contract to explore geothermal projects in an area totaling nearly 47,500 hectares in Compostela Valley.

The Philippines, the world's second-largest producer of geothermal energy after the United States, has 22 active volcanoes and sits on the seismically active Ring of Fire.

The country has an installed geothermal capacity of slightly more than 1,900 MW, but the government estimates the Philippines has untapped geothermal resource of at least 2,600 MW.

The Philippines wants to raise its geothermal capacity to 3,131 MW by 2013.

Geothermal power currently accounts for around 18 percent of the energy needs in the Philippines.

Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes said studies from the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory have shown the Philippines' geothermal resources has a capacity to generate 200,000 MW of power.

GMC also operates two coal mining projects in the central province of Negros, holds a geothermal service contract in the northern Kalinga province, and a $150 million biofuels project.

Another company that received a service contract from the government on Thursday was Basic Energy Corp, which will explore geothermal prospects in Mabini, Batangas province south of the capital.

The Mabini project, covering 3,841 hectares, has an energy resource that could possibly fuel a 20 to 40 MW power plant.

A third company, Biliran Geothermal Inc, has plans to spend $15 million to develop a geothermal project covering 22,394 hectares in the central Visayas region. The area is estimated to have at least 100 MW of geothermal energy.

Growing concern about greenhouse gas emissions released by conventional power plants, high oil prices and growing power demand have fuelled the popularity of geothermal power.

Source: ABS-CBN News Online, http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=124782, July 10, 2008

Click to read more ... ]]> http://rbvergara.wordpress.com/?p=247 Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:05:05 +0000 rbvergara http://rbvergara.wordpress.com/?p=247

...if you have an article related to Philippine development; Filipino, Filipino American, or Filipino Diaspora issues; politics her and abroad affecting Filipinos; Filipino boxers; Filipino martial arts, and Filipino humor that you would like to share using my blog, please feel free to post, or email to me at rbvergara@gmail.com.

Salamat.

BY Ben Arnold O. de Vera Researcher

The Philippine franchising sector accounts for a significant part of the country’s gross domestic product, and is a key driver of the country’s economic growth, the Philippine Franchise Association (PFA) said.

Local franchising business has accounted for 5 percent of the GDP for the years 2005 to 2007, putting in an estimated P106.75 billion to Philippine economy, according to a collaborative study carried out by PFA and the University of Asia and the Pacific.

The study also revealed that some 200,000 franchise stores all over the country employs, on the average, four to five employees per outlet, thus providing jobs to about one million Filipinos.

PFA also noted that franchising activity has not only been prominent in the metropolitan areas, but also in the countryside. “There are many well-known national brands that originate in the regional areas,” said Bing Limjoco, PFA chairman, citing Julie’s Bakeshop, which started operations in Cebu and currently the largest bakery chain in the country.

The PFA study also showed that many of the prominent local franchises began as small and medium enterprises until they grew into large-scale corporations, among which are fast-food giant Jollibee, which started out as an ice cream parlor, and Max’s Restaurant, which was initially a family business.

Moreover, some 30 Filipino franchise companies are expanding overseas, especially in the Asean region, US, Canada, the Middle East, China, India and UK, said Robert Trota, PFA president. Trota said that local-based franchisers such as Red Ribbon Goldilocks, Bench and Kamiseta, among many others, are already competing globally, adding that Filipino food, clothing and services franchises are on a par with international brands.

According to PFA, the Philippines is now the fourth in the world and the leader in the Asean region in terms of the number of franchise concepts and franchise outlets.

Source: The Manila Times Online, http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/july/10/yehey/business/20080710bus2.html, July 10, 2008

SINGAPORE - Fitch Ratings on Tuesday commented that while operating fundamentals of the Philippine banking system have improved over the past four to five years thanks to the progress in resolution of NPLs, improved capitalisation and enhanced regulation, it nevertheless continues to be weak owing to a volatile operating environment and the lack of a sustainable earning assets profile.

The agency noted that despite the recent improvements, the Philippine economy remains weak due to limited fiscal flexibility, high inflation and persistent political uncertainty.

In a special report on the Philippine banking system to be published soon, Fitch noted that a salient feature of the Philippine banking system has been the historically weak demand for bank credit (comprising 33% of GDP in 2007).

This could be attributed to the dominance of the services sector and to a lesser extent the agrarian sector, which require relatively less investment outlay as well as limited activity in the consumer banking space.

Even though banks have recorded higher lending growth over the last two years, the agency believes this momentum may not be sustainable due to the more challenging operating environment in the future. As such, a rather high 25% of the banking system assets are allocated as investments, mostly in government debt securities, which has resulted in the banking system depending on trading income.

However, the agency observes that such dependence in the present rising interest rate environment could erode the banks' earnings through lower trading gains and possibly even actual or mark to market losses.

Since the implementation of the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) Act in 2002, the system's gross non-performing assets (NPA)/total assets ratio improved to 5.9% at end-2007 from 13.2% at end-2002. The SPV Act, which expired in May 2008, facilitated the reduction in NPLs, but had a lesser impact on reducing foreclosed properties.

Due to the current less benign economic environment, the resolution of foreclosed properties is likely to remain slow and loan quality may even start to somewhat deteriorate although NPLs were well reserved at 80% at end-2007.

The capitalisation levels in the system provide moderate support for the Philippine banks to weather the higher operating-environment related risk. The various types of capital instruments, which were raised since 2006 have helped to preserve the capital adequacy ratios against the negative impact of Basel II accord, which was adopted in July 2007.

The Philippine banks have presently adopted the standardised approach for credit risk and the basic indicator approach for operational risk.

While the Philippine banking system consists of 847 banks, including more than 700 rural & cooperative banks, the core of the banking system is formed by 38 universal and commercial banks that account for 87% of the system assets, with the top three banks accounting for nearly 33% of the system assets.

Following the consolidation among some of the larger banks over the past few years, ownership concentration has increased with some large private banks being majority-owned by Filipino business families with other significant business interests.

While such ownership concentration could lead to conflicts of interest and is potentially a concern, Fitch notes that standards of corporate governance in the Philippines have somewhat improved over the years, albeit at a gradual pace.

Source: ABS-CBN News Online, http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=124561, July 10, 2008

The National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) remains confident that the country's growth projections will be met this year, despite a global economic slowdown and high commodity prices.

The government initially expected economic growth, as measured by gross domestic product, to come in between 5.7-6.5% this year. To attain this, NEDA Director General Augusto Santos said, the government was prepared to forego its plan to balance the budget this year, to prop up spending to the tune of P75 billion on projects such as infrastructure and social services.

But because of the unabated rise in commodity prices, Santos said the government may have to revisit its goals for the year in September, and revise targets to factor in effects of the global downturn. 

Finance Secretary Margarito Teves earlier announced that the government was revising its growth projections for the year, widening its target to 5.7-6.6%, as it expects the global downturn to hit the economy hard in the second half before tapering off next year.

Santos added that the government is also looking at revising inflation targets from 3-5% to 7-9% for 2008, factoring in the transport fare hike to be implemented on Friday this week. 

He explained that transport costs constitute second-round effects to inflation, such that every 1% increase in transport fares translates to a 0.017% increase in inflation.  The current P7.50 to P10.00 fare hike for jeepneys, for example, already constitutes a 10% increase.

"But we are hoping that inflation will taper off towards the latter part of the year, as oil price movement is expected to slow towards the fourth quarter," said Santos.

Santos said that the government has so far never missed its targets, and at the very least, has always been able to hit the lower end of its target range.

Source: ABS-CBN News Online, http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=124637, July 10, 2008

Some smart-ass kids have made a response to that, saying  "Those hungry people will not get full whether I finish my food or not."

Well, that's not entirely true.

If you are a documentary lover, probably you have heard about the Philippine delicacy, pagpag--food, particularly meat,  scavenged from the trash bins of restaurants and other food establishments and then re-cooked to become an entirely new dish.

Sometimes, in small carenderias (eateries) pagpag is also sold in the form of our favorite local dishes adobo, afritada, and caldereta at a much cheaper price than ordinary viands.

What surprised me is that the practice of eating pagpag is not at all new. A certain Adelina Carballo of Tondo, 55,who tends a small store, admitted that she has been eating 'pagpag' for 12 years now.

A documentary presented by GMA-7's Emergency emphasized the dangers of eating food from garbage, which contains bacteria that can not be killed in the cooking process, such as salmonella.However, the poor people who proudly eat pagpag could not care less about bacteria, because these left-overs are better than what they usually had to eat in the past.

In documentaries I have seen, the process of making pagpag begins with the collection of garbage outside restaurants, usually fast food chains that serve chicken. There is always a dump of garbage somewhere that people can dig up.I guess that's the first problem.

Do these restaurant management people know that their garbage is being rummaged at?Do they purposely put the garbage out on the streets for the people to feast on? Do they think by doing so they are doing the poor a favor, putting them at risk of diseases and food poisoning?
Proper garbage segregation and disposal, people. That's what we should all do.
According to some pagpag collectors, certain restaurants and hotels in Ermita, Manila really do give out left-overs to them. That doesn't make pagpag cleaner.
And to you, the restaurant customer, make it a point to finish your food--every single morsel of it. Some restaurants charge people who don't finish the food they take on eat-all-you-can buffets. That's not a bad idea. And if you absolutely can't finish it, take it home. Somebody else might eat it, or maybe your dog.
And so, what about these people who thrive on pagpag? What would they eat now?Would I rather they die of hunger?
If we really wanted to help the poor, there are many other ways that produce long-term effects. But not feeding them pagpag.