Money Matters
Mindanao 2020 document launched in Cagayan de Oro
Thursday, 17 May 2012 00:00
REPRESENTATIVES from the business, civil society, and government agencies met Tuesday in Cagayan de Oro to draft a road map for the economic future of Mindanao by 2020. Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Secretary Luwalhati Antonino said during the Mindanao Economic Policy forum that many of the issues confronting Mindanao today and the strategic way forward actions that need to be pursued are embodied in the Mindanao Peace and Development Framework plan (Mindanao 2020) which MinDA presented to President Aquino in 2010 as the administration's agenda for Mindanao. In the Mindanao 2020 plan, the economic policies are embodied in the 10-point agenda. "This holistic, integrative and multi-dimensional plan is hoped to transform Mindanao into a peaceful, integrated, cohesive and dynamic isLand-economy that will be at the forefront of our country's sustainable development within the next twenty years," Antonino said.
Antonino added that the blueprint for Mindanao's future goes well beyond economic and infrastructure development, and addresses other dimensions that are integral to Mindanao's holistic sustainable development, such as peace and security, human development, and social cohesion, governance and institutions. Antonino, who was appointed to the position as MinDA Secretary by President Aquino, said the government's policy is to endeavor to pursue progress and transformation for the isLandregion, not only in the context of securing peace amid history of confl ict but also in terms of harnessing its inherently rich economic potentials for the benefi t primarily of Mindanawons. In the formulation of Mindanao 2020, the following guiding principles were adhered to:
Holistic and integrative planning, which addresses the social, economic, environmental, cultural, political/institutional and spiritual dimensions of human welfare as interrelated and mutually reinforcing concerns; Environment and natural resources as the foundation for the peace and development roadmap to the future of Mindanao, implying that these must endure and be judiciously sustained into the future; Considerat ion for the larger national, regional and global context, i.e. planning with full consideration of the dynamic changes in the national and international Landscapes; Subsidiarity, asserting that units of governance closest to the people must be the primary determinants of actions and interventions to address problems and issues that begins in communities; Pluralism and cultural diversity as a strength that can be harnessed through appropriate attitudes and motivation;
Paramount importance of good governance in effectively addressing injustice and poverty, and in promoting sustainable development; Participation of women and youth as essential elements for the success of various peace and development interventions; Affi rmative action and a preferential option for Mindanao to redress traditional injustices and restore confl ictdamaged facilities and institutions; Sensitivity to the various dimensions of confl ict in addressing traditional challenges; and Wide ownership secured through a participatory plan formulation process, critical to gaining wide support towards its successful implementation.
Antonino added that it may sound like an ambitious plan for Mindanao, but that Mindanao 2020 is fi t for the people of Mindanao. "We should dream, we should not be content with what we have now, and this is not for ourselves but for our children, they will benefit these policies," Antonino said. Sam Chittick, governance advisor of the Austalian Assistance for International Development (AusAID), said "Mindanao must change. That the opening sentence of the Mindanao 2020 report sets out the fundamental challenge for everyone here today, and all those interested in future growth and peace in Mindanao. This statement, through the voice of all Mindanawons, challenges each of us to consider what we've done, what we are doing, and what we can do to help change the fundamental dynamics that have constrained Mindanao for decades."
Chittick added that the Mindanao 2020 is a labor of love for many people "including some of the best and brightest minds of Mindanao, like Dr. Ciel Habito, Ella Antonio, Fr. Bert Alejo, Fr. Jun Mercado, Dr. Ric Eguia, Marian Roces, Edtami Mansayagan, Samira Gutoc, and Dean Tony La Vina," Chittick said. Chittick added that these authors were responsible for many consultations around Mindanao, and a large part of their role was listening to the desires of the varied interests of Mindanawons. Antonino said the Mindanao Economic Policy forum would hopefully be able to fruitfully discuss, validate and supplement the observations and analysis contained in the policy papers so as to generate shared consensus, offer alternative perspective and recommendations.
She added that the policy papers will be presented by experts from the Brain Trust led by former National Economic Development Authority director Dr. Ciel Habito, whose team had assisted MinDA in the formulation of the Mindanao 2020. "In line with this, the administration of President Aquino is truly committed to give Mindanao the attention it deserves in the pursuit of our social development and poverty alleviation initiatives, apart from our general thrust for inclusive growth and widely-shared economic development," she said.
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CEB named 15th largest low-cost carrier in world
Tuesday, 15 May 2012 00:00
THE Philippines' largest national fl ag carrier, Cebu Pacifi c, ranked 15th in Airline Business Magazine's list of the world's top 75 low-cost carriers (LCC) based on 2011 passenger numbers. CEB also ranked 15th in 2010. According to Airline Business Magazine's May 2012 issue, CEB fl ew 11.9 million passengers in 2011, with a 13.6% passenger growth compared to 2010. CEB bested other LCCs in Asia such as India's Spicejet (no. 19), China's Spring Airlines (no. 23), Thai Air Asia (no. 24), Tiger Airways (no. 29) and Indonesia Air Asia (no. 33). The world's three largest LCCs are USA's Southwest, IreLand's RyanAir and UK's EasyJet. In its special report on LCCs world-wide, passenger traffic among the leading 75 LCCs in 2011 jumped by nearly 12% to 727 million passengers. LCC passengers are highest in Europe with 37.1%, while North America (29.5%) and Asia- Pacifi c (21.6%) come in at 2nd and 3rd respectively. Load factors, which refer to how full planes are, among more than 50 reporting carriers in 2011 were at 81%. CEB posted a load factor of 86.3% in 2011.
"CEB is the only Philippine carrier to make the list, which is a testament to our growing route network and number of passengers served. We will continue to expand our services for the benefi t of more travelers, especially with our planned long-haul operations in 2013," said CEB VP for Marketing and Distribution Candice Iyog. Between 2012 and 2021, Cebu Pacifi c will take delivery of 22 more Airbus A320 and 30 Airbus A321neo aircraft orders. It will also lease up to 8 Airbus A330-300 aircraft to serve new markets beyond the range of CEB's current fl eet of Airbus A320 aircraft. "With over 720 million LCC passengers worldwide, CEB will continue to differentiate itself with its fun culture and trademark low fares to all the destinations we serve. We look forward to increasing the LCC market in the Philippines and beyond, enabling everyone to fl y," she added. CEB currently operates 10 Airbus A319, 20 Airbus A320 and 8 ATR-72 500 aircraft. Its fl eet of 38 aircraft - with an average age of 3.6 years - is one of the most modern aircraft fl eets in the world. It fl ies to 32 Philippine destinations including Boracay, Coron, Cebu, Palawan and Siargao, and 19 international destinations: Bangkok, Beijing, Brunei, Busan, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong, Incheon, Jakarta, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Macau, Osaka, Shanghai, Siem Reap, Singapore, Taipei or Xiamen. For bookings and inquiries, guests can go to www.cebupacifi cair.com, or call the reservation hotlines (02) 7020-888 or (032) 230-8888. The latest seat sales and promos can also be found on CEB's offi cial Twitter and Facebook pages.
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DOLE to HS grads: Go for tech-voc
Tuesday, 15 May 2012 00:00
FRESH high School graduates should consider taking technical-vocational courses, said Department of Labor and Employment regional director Johnson Cañete. He said taking technical-vocational skills is more practical over taking academic courses such as nursing. "The industry needs these (technical- vocational) skills," he stressed. Technical-vocational Education involves trainings that specialize in specific skills especially in agriculture, fi sheries, machineries operation and technology. Gerry Quiblat, senior technical Education and skills development specialist at Tesda-10, said taking tech-voc skills is more practical because of the short time it takes and the knowledge and skills it pays off. Quiblat said technical-vocational Education is referred to as post-secondary Education, but is different from taking college courses since trainings at Tesda are specialized and take shorter time.
He added that in Tesda "there is no room for mistakes," since the trainings are "competency- based," meaning the trainings are "anchored on the ability or competency to learn." He said that when a trainee fails to comply with all necessary requirements of a certain level or "competency," then he or she is made to retake the training. There is also recognition of prior learning. During the beginning of the training, a trainee is first made to take a competency assessment and certifi cation, so that it will be determined if he or she is knowledgeable enough to skip fi rst few levels of competencies. Meanwhile, according to Dr. Juanito Demetrio, supervising Education program specialist at the Commission on Higher Education (Ched-10), among the hard-to-fi ll Jobs are mining, aeronautics, geology and software engineering. He said that this is because no School offers these courses.
He also enumerated the undersubscribed areas - those that have less number of Enrollees, which are science and technology, agriculture and fi sheries. "Gamay ang interesado. Wala'y ganahan mag-enrol," he added. Based on a study conducted by Ched, oversubscribed courses are business administration, Education, nursing, hotel and restaurant management, and information technology. Furthermore, Demetrio said that incoming college freshmen should choose what they want, rather than Enroll in courses which they don't particularly like. He said, quoting a line from a foreign fi lm, "Make your passion your profession."
By HANIAH KRYS ILUPA and ZAIRNEE ARANI SALIC
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Philippine IT-BP industry hits 2011 targets, grows 24%
Monday, 14 May 2012 00:00
THE Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) announced recently that the Philippine information technology and business process (IT-BP) industry ended 2011 with US$11-billion in revenues, or 24 percent higher than in 2010, and employed 638,000, or 22 percent more employees in the same period. "We hit the targets projected in our Road Map 2016," pointed out new BPAP president and CEO Benedict Hernandez. "This is a good start to our fi ve-year plan to grow at average of 20 percent a year-above projected global annual growth rates of 10 percent to 15 percent," he said. At a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20 percent, IT-BP will become a US$25-billion industry by 2016, contributing about 9 percent of GDP and capturing 10 percent of the global IT-BP market share, he added. The country's world No. 1 status in contact centers was further strengthened by impressive growth reported by the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP), also headed by Hernandez. The contact center sector ended 2011 with 416,000 employees providing US$7.4-billion in services to the world. Already the largest contact center hub in the world, the sector posted a healthy 21 percent growth in 2011 and remained the largest sector of the Philippines IT-BP industry at 65 percent of total industry. The Healthcare Information Management Outsourcing Association of the Philippines (HIMOAP) also produced impressive numbers that combined expansion and a first attempt to measure healthcare information management outsourcing (HIMO) services being done across a range of business process companies. A preliminary survey indicated that as much as US$277- million worth of HIMO services were provided to global endusers from the Philippines, with the sector employing 24,700. Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA) president Nora Terrado reported a high 37 percent growth in revenues from IT outsourcing, compared with just 11 percent in employment growth. Anecdotal indicators also point to strong demand for Philippine IT services into 2012.
The Animation Council of the Philippines Inc. (ACPI), however, revealed that the sector lost out to some contracts as global competition heated up in back-room animation services, particularly from countries like China that subsidize animation operations. ACPI reported that its sector shrank by 10 percent to US$128-million in revenues in 2011 but it maintained its headcount at about 8,600 animators. ACPI has been running its annual animation competition, Animahenasyon, for the past four years to encourage local animators to produce original animated fi lms and cartoons. Some of the winners have been featured on local cable channels such as the Knowledge Channel. The Game Developers Association of the Philippines (GDAP) reported that their fi rst competition also uncovered many young talented game developers. GDAP members have also produced games that have gained followers in the online world. The game development sector grew by 13 percent in 2011, reaching US$8- million in revenues and employing almost 1,400.
Raymond Lacdao, BPAP's Executive Director for Industry Affairs, added that companies providing engineering services from the Philippines saw a 5 percent increase in revenues and employment in 2011 ending the year at over 9,000 employees providing US$172- million worth of services. This is a second consecutive year of positive growth after a contraction in 2009, refl ecting a recovery in global markets for construction and engineering design. Finally, BPAP Senior Executive Director Gillian Virata reported that non-voice BP and knowledge process (KP) services grew by 24 percent in 2011 to over US$2-billion in revenues and almost 130,000 employees. "These numbers are somewhat deceptive because we reclassifi ed a chunk of high-value, non-voice services to HIMO," explained Virata. Overall, Virata pointed out that the data shows that the industry has been steadily moving into high-value services.
"This year there was a relatively sharp spike in the revenue- to-employee ratio for ITO and also for HIMO (compared with the ratio for transcription), which increased the ratio overall for total industry," he said. This trend is in line with BPAP's growth plans which are aligned with government's plans for the industry. Hernandez concluded by acknowledging that hitting the industry's targets for 2016 would "not be possible without the strong government support that we are now experiencing." Government has already granted P450 million in subsidies for training through the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) led by Secretary Joel Villanueva. DOST's ICT Office (ICTO) Deputy Executive Director Alejandro Melchor III also reported that P350-million has been allocated by the ICTO to support the IT-BP industry.
The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has also approved the offering of BPAP's Service Management Specialization Track starting June 2012 and has allocated about P125-million to SUCs to implement IT-BP programs. BPAP has also received support from Budget Secretary Butch Abad, Education Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro, Labor Secretary Linda Baldoz, Trade Secretary Greg Domingo, PEZA Director General Lilia de Lima, BOI undersecretaries Adrian Cristobal and Cristino Panlilio, as well as from legislators such as Senator Edgardo Angara and Reps. Freddie Tinga and Roman Romulo. "The support has been overwhelming and we are beefing up our team and resources to be able to effectively manage the programs that we have developed and that government is supporting," explained Hernandez. "With this support, comes great responsibility; we are investing in resources that will ensure we make good on our commitments to government and all our other development partners," he said. "A key success factor," Hernandez said, "is our ability to engage our members and other stakeholders in these programs as volunteer leaders and team members, sponsors, and contributors." PNA
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Sun Cellular enhances postpaid experience with add-on plans
Wednesday, 09 May 2012 00:00
TRUE to its promise of maintaining its streak of best-value offerings, postpaid leader Sun Cellular beefs up its line-up of add-on services to enhance the postpaid experience. "We aim to make the postpaid experience much more personalized and much more suitable to our customers with varying lifestyles. Hence, these add-on plans have been designed to upgrade the standard subscription via specialized service inclusions," says Ricky G. Peña, Senior Vice President for Postpaid, Broadband, New Business and Marketing Services of Sun Cellular. Offered to current Sun postpaid subscribers, these addon plans may be availed for minimal charge additions to the standard monthly service fee.
Among these add-on services are the Sun Anti-Bill Shock Plans for mobile Landline, internetwork texts and mobile internet. First introduced to the market by Sun Cellular, these include a special charging feature that caps at a particular amount and combats the occurrences of unexpected high bills. For example, Anti-Bill Shock Text All Plan 199 gives a subscriber 1,000 SMS to other network for just P199/month. SMS beyond that will be charged P1 each, and if the subscriber exceeds 1,350 SMS, charge will be capped at P549/month, and he can text unlimited beyond that. Other plans include: Anti- Bill Shock Mobile Landline that guarantees unlimited Landline calls for only P249/month, and Anti-Bill Shock Mobile Internet which you can get for as low as P149/month with 20 hours of surfi ng.
Sun Cellular also offers addon plans to cater to BlackBerry smartphone users. These include the BlackBerry Social 299 with unlimited BlackBerry Social service and the Full BlackBerry Service 350. Both add-ons have been integrated with the Anti-Bill Shock feature which imposes a charge cap of P749 for mobile internet browsing. And for postpaid subscribers with relatives and friends abroad, Sun offers the IDD Add-on with discounted IDD rates to select international zones for only P50 on top of the monthly fee. Recently, Sun has also made available the TRIO Addons with special call and text allocations to Smart and Talk n' Text subscribers. For only P99 per month, Sun postpaid subscribers may either choose the Text Add-on with 1,000 texts or the Call Add-on with 50 minutes of calls to Smart and Talk n' Text subscribers. And for a combination of both, Sun offers the TRIO Combo with 1,250 texts and 50 minutes of calls to Smart and Talk n' Text at P199 per month. "These innovative offerings, supported by our extensive network development efforts all contribute to our continuing efforts to enhance customer experience. Expect us to come up with more compelling and relevant propositions that will translate to closer customer engagements - this has been our trademark in the market place," concludes Peña. Sun Cellular is a member of PLDT.
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