Invest in agriculture, local, foreign firms urged
AGRICULTURE Secretary Proceso J. Alcala has asked big Filipino and foreign corporations to plunk in more money in agriculture.
Alcala made the pitch during a recent breakfast meeting with officers and members of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), led by Peter Wallace, a longtime Manila resident and a member of the Australia-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce, at the Philam Life Tower in Makati City.
Tesda opens info desks in Robinsons Malls
ROBINSONS Malls will no longer be just a place to shop: Spaces will be allocated inside the malls, which will serve as information desks on the programs and technical-vocational courses offered by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda).
Cebu to have its own ‘Mall of Asia’ by 2015
AFTER inaugurating its lifestyle mall in Bonifacio Global City last week, SM Prime Holdings Inc. announced it is set to open its next premier shopping center in Cebu by 2015, casually referring to the project as the Mall of Asia in the South.
Can Pacers stop LeBron James?
THE Indiana Pacers eliminated the New York Knicks on Saturday to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2004. Whether they can beat the Miami Heat and advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000 comes down to one thing: Whether or not they can stop LeBron James.
‘No to plastics’ campaign helps keep Isabela town clean, its residents happy
SAN MATEO, Isabela—While the neighboring City of Santiago is still conceptualizing the use water hyacinths as raw materials in making native handicraft, this riverside town has long been using the water parasite in the production of indigenous handicraft to minimize the widespread use of plastic bags in town.
News
Warning out on Luzon power crisis
Businessmen have warned the government that the financial losses now being suffered by Mindanao as a result of the crippling power outages there may be replicated in premier investment centers of Luzon unless “swift and decisive” steps are taken to meet the rising demand for electricity in these areas.
Real-estate developers oppose DOF bid to trim tax perks for mass housing
The biggest umbrella organization of real-estate developers in the country said the Department of Finance’s (DOF) bid to remove mass housing from the sectors enjoying tax perks under the annual investment blueprint runs counter to government programs aimed at making housing affordable.
Opposition-led provinces not on list of coconut-levy fund beneficiaries
THE Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) and the claimants movement Coco Levy Funds Ibalik sa Amin (CLAIM) on Monday assailed Malacañang not only for trying to use money that doesn’t belong to it but also to “reward” provinces that backed its gubernatorial candidates in the May 13 elections.
NGCP to complete Leyte facility upgrade in first quarter
THE National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), the country’s sole power-lines concessionaire, said on Monday it is set to complete the 138-kiloVolt (kV) Ormoc-Maasin transmission line project by the first quarter next year.
The tourism phenomenon
APART from the tourism phenomenon, the housing phenomenon covers mainly cities and major municipalities, although key players in the industry are increasing their presence in other areas, especially the hometowns of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who now represent a significant market for housing developers.
Chinese premier visits India to boost ties
NEW DELHI—Just weeks after a tense border standoff, China’s new premier visited India on Sunday on his first foreign trip as the neighboring giants look to speed up efforts to settle a decades-old boundary dispute and boost economic ties.
Business
Cebu to have its own ‘Mall of Asia’ by 2015
AFTER inaugurating its lifestyle mall in Bonifacio Global City last week, SM Prime Holdings Inc. announced it is set to open its next premier shopping center in Cebu by 2015, casually referring to the project as the Mall of Asia in the South.
Biotech crops risky to consume, says former pro-GMO scientist
A DECADE after retiring from his job as a research scientist at Agriculture Canada, Dr. Thierry Vrain, a former promoter of genetically modified organisms (GMO), has warned that eating biotech crops are essentially risky.
Philam Life portfolio to be allocated more to real estate
LEADING life-insurance firm Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co. (Philam Life) has allocated a bigger portion of its investment portfolio to real estate, which is closely watched by regulators in anticipation of a more problematic sector down the line.
Fashion, passion find home on Neon Island
ALYSSA LOYZAGA GIBBS and her best friend Aira Medina established their clothing business called Neon Island primarily to express their love for fashion. For Gibbs and Medina, arts and fashion are the two things that made their bond strong through the years. But establishing Neon Island was never in their career road map as they took courses in college that were not quite related to fashion.
Empowering SMEs through technology
ELECTRONICS powerhouse Samsung and telecom giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) seek to empower Filipino small- and medium-scale entrepreneurs (SMEs) even more under a program that makes full use of technology to optimize productivity and output.
Malaysia developing green technology as AEC niche
THE Malaysian economy, which grew from its agricultural roots, is rediscovering possibilities in business solutions that promote green technology.
Sports
Spurs crush Grizzlies in West finals opener
THE San Antonio Spurs went bear hunting and easily bagged a team of Grizzlies. Tony Parker collected 20 points with nine assists, and the Spurs buried a franchise-playoff-record 14 threes en route to a 105-83 domination over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday in the opener of the Western Conference Finals.
Lifestyle
All the light moves
FROM soaring birds to the swirling skirts of Flamenco dancers, unusual flashes of inspiration lend romance and poetry to the lighting elements by QisDesign. The young Taiwanese brand may have debuted only four years ago, but it has already raked in an impressive cache of 87 design awards, including Red Dot, iF and Good Design.
‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ wings in at No. 1 but not at warp speed
STAR Trek Into Darkness opened atop the US box office, though its debut didn’t quite make the jump to warp speed that Paramount Pictures executives expected.
Of rocks and things
AN ecotourist’s delight.
That’s probably the best way to describe Northern Samar.
It’s a coastal region blessed with so many beaches, caves and rock formations, waterfalls and hot springs, as well as popular historical and religious sites fashioned by the creative minds and hands of men.
Features
For Nivea’s country manager, the beauty of the Philippines is not just skin-deep
SOME say Manila is not the best destination in the Philippines. But for several foreign tourists and business executives who already visited the country, Manila is the place to be as it is where marble meets dust, where passion finds success.
End-to-end pharmacovigilance is a must–Unilab
NOT all medicines—even those with the same generic names—are created equal. And in numerous cases, the difference—particularly in quality, divides the line between life and death for patients.
For first time, stem cells are produced from cloning technique
WASHINGTON—For the first time, scientists have created human embryos that are genetic copies of living people and used them to make stem cells—a feat that paves the way for treating a range of diseases with personalized body tissues, but also ignites fears of human cloning.
Alveo launches maiden residential condo in Circuit Makati
CIRCUIT Makati, Ayala Land’s masterplanned entertainment and leisure district rising in the country’s premier financial center, will offer its first landmark residential condominium development under the Alveo Land brand.
Embrace the cold call
IN the course of researching my new book, Reinventing You, I gained a newfound respect for the merits of cold calling. Ringing up total strangers on the phone doesn’t have to be a sleazy sales tactic. Instead, it can simply be a way to connect with someone you might not otherwise have access to.
ADMU, Epictech partner to include Syspro ERP in curriculum
THE Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) has recently entered into a partnership with Epictech Inc., a business solutions provider, to integrate the Syspro Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) suite into its curriculum.
Sacrificing the Great Barrier Reef for mining, port development
SYDNEY—Mining and port development coupled with decreasing water quality along Australia’s northeastern coast are threatening the continent’s World Heritage-listed tourist drawcard, the Great Barrier Reef.
Rooftop generators may cause yet another industrial disaster in Bangladesh
DHAKA—As Aleya Begum sewed pants for 11 hours each day, vibrations from a power generator shuddered across the roof of her Dhaka garment factory.
Five ridiculously easy ways to reduce your carbon footprint
IN the news last week were stories about how the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has hit a record high, exceeding the long-feared 400-parts-per-million milestone, US scientists announced.
So, what’s the big deal about CO2 and why should we be alarmed?
Climate change is happening…so what?
NEW YORK—Seven in 10 US citizens believe climate change is real and happening now. Yet most have never even contacted a government official about the issue, let alone volunteered with an environmental organization or taken other action.
Africa, Asia see boom in priests as Europe withers
VATICAN CITY—The number of Catholic priests in Africa and Asia has shot up over the past decade while decreasing in Europe, mirroring trends in the numbers of Catholic faithful that helped lead to the election of Pope Francis as the first non-European pope in over a millennium.
Understanding cholesterol and the role of magnesium, sulfur in our health
CHOLESTEROL is widely thought as bad for the health. But this notorious fat, which is associated to heart problems, is essential to the body, said Mary Jean Netario Cruz, an integrative-health consultant.
Graphic
View
Cook
Health & Fitness
