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Flowers
galore. Baguio
City has no Pasig River, but that did not deter officials
and community leaders from holding their own fluvial
parade—at Burnham Park. The parade was part of the
monthlong Panagbenga celebration.
--MAURICIO VICTA |
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‘Power cost to drive out business’ |
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SHOULD power
rates remain uncompetitive within the first half of the
year, some semiconductor and electronics companies could
consider leaving the country by the second semester. |
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Oil
firms eye filing MR with SC on ruling to eject depot |
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THE possible
loss of lives in case of terror attacks should the oil
terminals remain in Pandacan is something oil companies will
not argue against, Edgar Chua, country chairman of Pilipinas
Shell Petroleum Corp., told the BusinessMirror Thursday.
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Strong peso hurts furniture exports; 5,000 jobs lost |
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FORTY
furniture-exporting firms in
Cebu have closed down in the past two years not only due to
tougher competition but mainly owing to the strengthening
peso and declining demand from the
US
market. The number represents some 35 percent of the number
of furniture companies in Cebu. |
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ZTE
refuses to attend Senate hearings |
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ZTE Co. of
China has served notice it will not attend ongoing Senate
hearings on the controversial national broadband network (NBN)
project, saying it would rather seek redress of grievance
before the “proper juridical bodies.” |
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‘Only the guilty will shun Senate probe’ |
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THE
announcement by China’s telecoms giant ZTE Co. that it
preferred appearing before the “proper juridical body”
rather than the Philippine Senate in connection with the
ongoing inquiry into the aborted $329-million national
broadband network (NBN) deal drew adverse reactions
Thursday. |
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AHI
status in limbo with regulator |
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HAD
Amsterdam Holdings Inc. won the controversial and allegedly
overpriced $329-million national broadband contract, it
could have undertaken its first business since its
incorporation in 2002.
But
unluckily for the company, which lost the deal to ZTE
Philippines, a subsidiary of ZTE Ltd. Inc. of China, it may
lose its certificate of incorporation as a company
registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
for being nonoperational for five years. |
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Assassination plot vs. GMA? |
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IN a move
quickly denounced by government critics as one meant to
blunt mounting protests against corruption, the Presidential
Security Group (PSG) started reviewing all presidential
engagements scheduled in the coming weeks, citing fresh
reports of a “possible” assassination attempt by terrorists
against President Arroyo. |
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‘If
I threatened Lozada, why was he playing golf?’ |
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FORMER
Commission on Elections chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. on
Thursday belied the claims of Senate witness Rodolfo Noel
Lozada Jr. that he was threatened by the former. Abalos
revealed records from Wack-Wack Golf and Country Club
showing that the latter still frequented the place
afterward. |
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NTC
has no right to hit media on Garci |
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SEN. Joker
Arroyo on Thursday asserted that the Senate, after
conducting an inquiry two years ago, had already affirmed
that the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) cannot
revoke franchises of media outlets for playing the “Hello,
Garci” tapes detailing phone conversations between President
Arroyo and former Comelec commissioner Virgilio Garcillano
about alleged vote-rigging in the 2004 elections. |
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US
renews warning vs. travel to RP |
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THE US State
Department has renewed its warning against travel to the
Philippines, citing alleged heightened threats of terrorist
attacks, particularly in
Mindanao and Sulu.
“US citizens
contemplating travel to the
Philippines
should carefully consider the risks to their safety and
security while in there, including those due to terrorism.
While travelers may encounter such threats anywhere in the
Philippines, the southern island of Mindanao and the Sulu
Archipelago are of particular concern,” the State Department
said in its latest travel advisory posted on its web site. |
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US
grant to upgrade weather gear |
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WASHINGTON
said it was allocating a grant of $381,000 (P15.49 million)
for the improvement of the Philippine Atmospheric,
Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa)
meteorological and hydrological telecommunications system
used for early monitoring of potential weather hazards. |
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MORE STORIES ... |
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FROM left,
University of the Philippines professor Benjamin Diokno,
Shell Petroleum Corp. president Ed Chua and Neil Elias,
country director of LogicalCMG, join the European Chamber of
Commerce of the Philippines’ panel discussion on Philippine
Business in 2008 at a Makati City hotel. According to Diokno,
Philippine GDP growth will be slower this year.
--NONIE REYES |
