Good News....

[RuSteD]

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Peso surges to 51.65 to $1; stocks up 1.6%

THE PESO surged to 51.65 to the dollar Tuesday from Monday's closing rate of 51.96 to the greenback as political tensions eased, on expectations that the state of national emergency would be lifted soon.

The stock market surged as well, with the main price index jumping 33.6 points or 1.6 percent to 2,122.96. This was the best close of the Philippine Stock Index since Feb. 6, when it ended at 2,133.13.

The peso opened trading at 51.77 to the dollar and hit an intra-day low of 51.815 and a high of 51.64.

http://money.inq7.net/topstories/vie...3&dd=01&file=1

kudos to MIGHTY PANDAK :mrgreen:

good news will be when this is reflected to the prices of basic commodities and if this leads to an oil price rollback.

if not then for the vast majority, this will be just another useless statistic.

go ask the businessmen...

mine is...

DBM releases monthly allowance to all government employees.

[fingolfin]

click for the full story

OFWs make waves from belly of luxury ship to top deck

FROM boiler room to ballroom, from stage to spa, from poolside to pantry, from bar to fine dining. From the belly of the luxury ship to the topmost deck where one could see forever and behold the azure sea and sky of the Mediterranean.

Overseas Filipino workers (OFW) rule the roost, so to speak, aboard the cruise ship Brilliance of the Seas because of their sheer number and also because of their skills, talent, dependability and graciousness. Filipinos comprise about 60 percent of the 853-strong crew that is composed of 51 nationalities.

"Here I earn the combined salaries of four teachers and three security guards in the Philippines," reveals Jerry Dioneo, 36, who works in the dining section. Dioneo who hails from Silay City in Negros Occidental has been on the ship for about three years and is on his fourth contract. Only the Filipino nationals, Dioneo adds, are compelled to allot and remit 20 percent of their earnings to their folks back home. This is stipulated in their contracts.

Of the total 10.8 billion dollars remitted by OFWs in 2005, 1.7 billion dollars came from the sea-based OFWs. The number of Filipino seafarers working abroad as of 2005, is about 250,000 or approximately 20 percent of the world's total.

The rise in the number could be attributed to the inclusion of the Philippines in the International Maritime Organization's "White List" of 72 accredited countries. Being on the list means the country has continuously complied with the standards required for competent seafarers.

[slakker]

Good news....
Nagpa-laser-eye-surgery na si Efren Bata Reyes.

[omad]

complete story

Netherlands to put up more projects in RP
By Aurelia l. Castro
Sun.Star Staff Reporter

Netherlands Management Cooperation Program, now called PUM (Programma Uitzending Managers), targets to increase its number of projects in the country this year.

“There’s room to grow in the Philippines,” said Jan Roben, chief executive officer of PUM-Netherlands Senior Experts, yesterday during its national conference and business opportunity meeting with business and government leaders.

He reported 2,000 pro-jects carried out last year in 80 countries, with the agricultural and agro-industry and food processing sectors as the beneficiaries.

PUM sends Dutch experts to companies in different countries, upon request, to share special knowledge and expertise in the fields of industry, agriculture, trade, management and health care, among others.

[pandisal]

http://www.philstar.com/philstar/News200603140404.htm

Meralco cuts rates by 8.23¢ per kwh
By Donnabelle Gatdula
The Philippine Star 03/14/2006

Utility firm Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) announced yesterday that its generation rate went down by as much as 8.23 centavos per kilowatt-hour (kwh) this month due to better dispatch level from its independent power producers (IPPs).

"Meralco customers have been enjoying an 8.23 centavos per kwh drop in their March 2006 billing. This was a result of higher levels of dispatch of the IPPs in February," it said.

In February, Meralco bought more than 52 percent of its power supply from the National Power Corp. (Napocor) and around 48 percent from IPPs. Monthly rates of the utility firm have a lag time of one month, which means that February rates are being reflected in end-consumer’s billing in March.

Following the automatic adjustment mechanism approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), the generation charge as reflected in customers’ bills move on a monthly basis depending on the cost of generation supplied by Napocor and the IPPs to Meralco the previous month.

In February, the total purchased cost per kwh of Meralco from power sourced from Napocor was P5.9463 per kwh compared to P5.2628 per kwh for electricity sourced from the IPPs.

Generation cost for Napocor-supplied power is higher than that of the IPPs by 21 centavos per kwh. The transmission cost of the IPPs is also lower than Napocor’s by 47.3 centavos per kwh.

Adding it up, IPP-purchased power is cheaper by 68.4 centavos per kwh compared to that supplied by Napocor.

As a result of this lower purchased power cost, even the March system loss charge went down slightly.

Meralco attributed the reduction in generation charge to the improved dispatch of the IPPs which translated to lower cost of generation per kwh.

Records show that the supply of all three major Meralco IPPs increased, translating to rate reductions ranging from 17 to 36 centavos per kwh. Dispatch levels reached 73 percent for Quezon Power and 74 percent for First Gas plants.

"We have said all along that once our IPPs are dispatched at contracted levels, the cost of generation will definitely go down and this will eventually result in lower electric bills," Meralco vice president for corporate communications Elpi Cuna Jr. said.

[grabehbebe]

Meralco drops electricity charges by 8.23c in March

By Riza Recio
http://www.tribune.net.ph/

Lopez-controlled electricity distributor Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) lowered its generation charge for this month by 8.23 centavos per kilowatthour (Kwh), which it said was the result of buying more power from its affiliate independent power producers (IPPs) in February.

Meralco said it purchased last month about 52 percent of its power supply from state-owned National Power Corp. (Napocor) and around 48 percent from the IPPs which sell power at a cheaper rate than Napocor.

Under an automatic adjustment mechanism approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), power utilities are allowed to adjust their generation charges every month, depending on the cost of generation supply by Napocor and the IPPs.

Meralco said its purchased power cost per kwh for the period of January and February used for the March billing was recorded at P4.7984 and P4.8687, respectively on electricity purchased from Napocor. The transmission cost for this period was at P1.1083 and P1.0776, respectively.
Thus, the total cost of power purchased from Napocor was recorded at P5.9067 and 5.9463 per Kwh, respectively.

This compared with power purchased from IPPs during these months registered at P4.9078 and P4.6586, respectively, in generation cost and transmission costs of P0.6602 and P0.6042, respectively or total power cost from IPPs at P5.5680 per kwh in January and P5.2628 per kwh in February.

The IPPs’ higher dispatch resulted also in the improvement of associated transmission charges on a per kwh basis, according to Meralco.

[omad]

Wednesday, March 15, 2006
More BPOs find Cebu attractive - DTI chief

Cebu is a preferred destination of call centers and other business process outsourcing (BPO) companies, according to Trade Secretary Peter Favila.

Favila said call center companies are encouraged to locate in Cebu because there is not enough space in Manila. Leasing an office is also more expensive there, he added.

Favila spoke yesterday during an economic briefing hosted by the Philippine Government’s economic team and officials of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.

Call centers

There are 15 to 16 call centers currently located in Cebu with roughly 4,000 seats, he said.

He also revealed in his speech that during a recent economic managers road show in Japan, a company expressed interest in participating in airport projects in the Philippines including the expansion of the Mactan Cebu International Airport.

“I have invited this group to come over for more serious discussions. That should be a big boost to improve future flow of traffic of goods and people to Cebu, especially as we showcase the province with our hosting of this year’s Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Summit,” he said.

full story

[FK]

Tribal mayor shows democracy works

AS RECENTLY as the 1970s, young Teduray tribesmen in Upi town in Maguindanao province would not be caught speaking the Ilonggo tongue they had learned from their Christian neighbors, or making friends with their Muslim brothers, for fear of displeasing their elders.

In those days, the Teduray tribe (which comprised 44 percent of the population), the Christian settlers (33 percent) and the Muslims (23 percent) steered clear of one another.

Such was the world of suspicion, hostility and even deadly clashes among neighbors that Upi Mayor Ramon A. Piang, a Teduray, grew up in.

He resolved to make certain changes.

So drastic were the changes that as Piang nears the end of his second term as mayor, the third-class municipality of Upi in the southwestern portion of Maguindanao in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is now a prime example of democracy at work.

Piang himself, now 54, has been recognized by the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) as an exemplary individual in the Visayas and Mindanao.

http://news.inq7.net/nation/index.ph...story_id=69450

good read... kanos-a kaha mo daghan mga ingon ani nga leader and ngano kaha dili ta mo demand nga mag ingon ani atong leader?

[grabehbebe]

Interfaith studies in schools

CEBU CITY—The Philippines yesterday pushed a six-point action plan to incorporate interfaith studies in elementary and high schools to promote unity between Christians and Muslims.

In a five-page paper, The Role of Education in Promoting Interfaith Cooperation, the Philippine delegation to the Cebu Dialogue on Regional Interfaith Cooperation stressed the need to start early in removing religious biases among children.
“The Philippines affirms that education has an important role in promoting interfaith cooperation and a culture of peace,” the paper said.

“The ultimate goal of interfaith education is to enable us to learn new ways of thinking and acting based on mutual respect.”

The action plan also advises initiating interfaith projects for students and faculty, training teachers on interfaith understanding, developing instructional materials on interfaith studies, and promoting madrasah or Islamic schools.

“School curricula that are sensitive to societal diversity will help shape the youth’s world view and foster greater awareness of other religions and cultures,” the paper said.
“Our educational system should remove the propensity of people to distinguish in-groups and out-groups in the society.”

The Philippines based its proposal on its commitment to the Declaration of Principles on Tolerance by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization adopted in 1995. “Tolerance is respect for the rich diversity of our world’s cultures and ways of being human,” the declaration says.
The Philippine delegation also stressed the need to prevent marginalizing madrasah schools by recognizing them as part of the national education system and goals.

Madrasah schools have been tagged as “breeding grounds” for terrorists in the south, with young Muslims allegedly being taught early on that they are being discriminated on and should fight back by taking arms.

While the terror tag has yet to be proven, the stigma on madrasah schools and on Muslims in general has remained. Joyce Pangco Pañares

--http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=news06_mar15_2006

:mrgreen:

[omad]

Thursday, March 16, 2006
DOT creates jobs data bank to fill vacancies, improve tourism sector

The Department of Tourism (DOT) is setting up a high-tech hiring system and information technology infrastructure for the Tourism Jobs Fair, which will be held in Cebu City on April 3 to 5.

The fair constitutes the initial phase of the DOT’s “Tourism Jobs (Jobs, Opportunity, Business)” program.

The program is designed to address the lack of qualified talents to fill up job openings in tourism, improve the tourism course curriculum and provide continuing skills training to upgrade the competence of the labor force.

The event will serve as the DOT’s one-stop venue for employers, academe and the labor sector to assess each other’s needs and create an employment match.

Applicants, schools and employers can find more information on the program on www.tourismjobs.ph

The website is available all year round. It will continue to gather vacancy postings from tourism industry employers and applications from jobseekers even after the fair.

full story