LGUs urged to develop adventure tourism niche

By Ehda M. Dagooc
Tuesday, September 30, 2008

The Department of Tourism sees adventure tourism as another emerging revenue stream for Cebu with the potential of its nature-based sites.

Both the local government units and the private sector in Cebu are urged by DOT to capitalize on the province’s adventure tourism potential.

DOT secretary Joseph "Ace" Durano said this tourism component could usher in opportunities for capitalists as tourists nowadays are now more interested on adventure-type activities in the Philippines.

In the United States, adventure tourism is a US$450 million industry.

The Philippines, which has ample sites to develop for this type of tourism component, is seen to generate more tourism revenue from this while providing local residents, especially rural people with livelihood from tourism revenues.

Cebu for instance, according to Durano has not yet maximized its potential in providing adventure or nature-based tourism activities, describing it as "still very small scale", unlike other places in the Philippines, specifically Palawan.

Durano urged LGUs in Cebu, and private sector players to start capitalizing on this avenue, as every town in the province has all the resources to develop its own "adventure tourism" attraction, may it be trekking, bird watching, island hopping, caving, among others.

"This is not a capital intensive investment. Part of the adventure is to preserve the authenticity of the place, and its culture. Thus, there is a need for LGUs and the private sector to partner in this area," Durano said in an interview over the weekend.

For DOT, Durano said there is an existing program of which part of the component is to equip LGUs in taking advantage of its nature-based sites to develop “adventure tourism" attraction, via its Grassroots Entrepreneurs for Eco-Tourism (GREET) program.

Cebu, which has gained its prestige as the center for tourism in the Philippines, should immediately take advantage of this emerging tourism revenue stream for tourism, Durano said.

The secretary said that there are a lot of activities that will be developed into "adventure tourism" attraction from Southern to northern parts of the province, including the West.

Durano mentioned that the Toledo City area could develop a lot of adventure tourism activities, the town of Alegria should also develop caving and bird watching adventures, among other activities.

Durano said DOT will help LGUs in developing several activities that are geared towards adventure tourism, such as equipping the local residents and community in running such service.

In Bohol, DOT is actively cooperating with the LGUs to train and equip local people in tourism service exposure, as well as providing them with gears to start up an activity that will be part of tourists' come-on.

Durano emphasized that part of the adventure is to preserve the authenticity of the service, and activity itself, like a local resident should be in the front line, and speaking English with the local accent is already a good presentation.

Also, DOT will help LGUs to activate a very effective program in protecting the natural resources for sustainability of the sites, Durano said.

Durano, was the guest of honor during the formal opening of Islands Banca Cruises in Mactan Island, the first professionalized island-hopping service in Cebu that aims to jumpstart the development of adventure tourism in the Province.

Developers urged not to fret over the US subprime crisis

By Rhia de Pablo
Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Troubled with the impact of the US financial crisis which resulted from the previous housing bubble, Filipino developers are urged by Vice President and Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council chairman Noli De Castro to continue investing on residences for the Filipinos.

Along with this plea, De Castro announced the good news in the recently concluded Housing National Developers Convention and Exhibition held in Cebu that the price ceiling for socialized housing package will be increased from P300, 000 to P400, 000 as a new order will soon be out.

De Castro said that despite woes in the United States about recurring financial situations caused by the bubble in its housing sector, Filipino developers still have several reasons to be joyful.

He said that despite the increase of the price ceiling of the socialized housing package, Pag-Ibig will still continue to provide the six percent interest of every minimum housing loan so that they can maintain the consistencies of their policies to make housing accessible to many Filipinos.

He said that they are “on track” in keeping interest rates at the lowest under any government housing institution.

“Crisis is still far from over and this year still continues to be challenging for us but as we continue to see these global developments of financial crisis we should not be alarmed because with our partnership and policies on housing the sector still have reason to remain optimistic,” De Castro pointed out.

He also noted that the increased loan allocation of the Housing Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) otherwise known as Pag-Ibig will give developers good reason to continue building houses as they are assured that these will be taken out.

De Castro said that from last 2001’s P10 billion allocation, Pag-Ibig has been given P30 billion loan allocation this year and that they have exceeded the P15 billion marks for guaranteed housing loans already.

“We have been able to cut red tape on the housing permit processing and we have already started implementing the instruction of the President’s SONA that SSS and GSIS should increase its investment for housing,” he said.

There is no crisis in the past that the Filipino people are not able to overcome. Now, will we expect a slowdown in the sector with these economic crises at hand? We have gone through mistakes in our past and we have leaned from these mistakes so the housing sector is stronger and we know better,” he said.

He added that with the collapse of our United Housing Lending program in the past as well as the asset participation certificates (AFC), the sector should now be able to manage risks and be able to take prudent measures.

Other future plans that the Government will pursue that will be beneficial to the housing sector will be the issuance of the first mortgage backed securities and the review of housing policies for loopholes, he said.

“Building and owning a home is not just a matter of personal investment but it’s a part of fulfilling a dream Everything is in place to keep the housing sector moving forward and it’s now up to the sector kung maduduwag tayo sa financial crisis (if we will be afraid of the financial crisis),” the vice president said.

FLI proposal for SRP not yet approved

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

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Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña yesterday said that once Filinvest Land Inc. will start developing a portion of the South Road Properties this will surely spur economic development for Cebu.

But the mayor however said that the multi-billion peso business proposal of FLI is not yet “good as approved” although the city government and company have already gone through dozens of discussions.

Although the mayor has not yet approved the proposal, he said that the basic thrust of SRP is to create an entertainment/lifestyle venue that would induce the rich and famous people in other parts of the country or abroad to make Cebu as their second home.

FLI’s proposal to invest at least P80 billion in the SRP complements such thrust as it will build high-rise hotels, residential buildings or condominiums, a medical and retirement facility, and commercial areas, among others.

“It is easy to invest where they live,” the mayor said.

Another thrust of the SRP is to create an environment wherein the rich residents, who will be living in the high-rise structures, do not have to bring their own cars.

Osmeña said that the city will establish a transportation system, wherein new air-conditioned buses will be used to transport the residents in going places within and outside the SRP.

Air-conditioned buses will also be provided if the residents will go the airport. Such will also be provided motorcycle cops and personnel from the Special Weapons and Tactics to ensure the safety of these residents.

“Anyone who invests at SRP is actually lucky. That’s why we are very selective on what are the investments that will be put up at SRP. We are packaging here the future of Cebu,” the mayor said.

FLI is one of the largest real estate companies in the Philippines. It is a publicly listed, full-range residential developer.

FLI’s is offering for an outright purchase of ten hectares worth P2 billion as it also offers a joint venture with the city government to develop a 50 hectare out of the 300 hectare SRP property.

The Cebu South Reclamation Project now called South Road Properties is a project of the government of the Philippines funded by a loan thru the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund.

In 1995, Cebu City is designated as the implementing agency of the project and a sub-loan agreement was undertaken between the city government and the Land Bank of the Philippines.

The city government is paying P700 million this year as payment of its SRP loan. The city will be paying such amount until the next four years and its payment will be reduced to P250 million in the next 15 years.

So far, the only income of SRP is P25 million which represents the lease payment of Bigfoot for 25 years. — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon /NLQ

China Bank Savings to put up 30 branches

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

China Bank Savings is looking to establish at 30 branches by 2010. In fact, it will be operating six by the start of 2009.

Four branches will be located in Metro Manila and another in Cebu. The sixth branch is already located in the former head office of Manila Bank in Ayala, Makati. The opening of the remaining 22 branches will be spread out next year until the end of 2010.

“We are very excited about China Bank Savings and the huge growth potentials in its identified market segments,” Samuel L. Chiong, senior vice president of China Banking Corp. (China Bank) and concurrent president of China Bank Savings, said.

China Bank acquired Manila Bank, with 75 branches (27 of which were operational at the time of acquisition), in June 2007. From December 2007 to February 2008, China Bank converted and integrated 20 of Manila Bank’s branches into the China Bank branch network, and closed and consolidated six branches with existing China Bank branches.

It will use the remaining branch licenses to expand the networks of both the main bank and the savings bank.

China Bank Savings is positioned to be an alternative to traditional banking.

Targeting entry level and start-up customers up to asset accumulators, the thrift and savings bank will be offering products and services that match different life stages like basic deposit products for those building up their savings, basic loan products to fund personal dreams or augment cash flow problems, investment products, and more.

It will be focused on the retail side of the business, offering banking products and services that the main bank will not, such as kiddie savings account or installment loans.

It also has a distinct image from the main bank as it targets a different niche, focusing more on the retail market. The savings bank will be projecting an image that is more vibrant, friendly, family-oriented, and accessible, to be conveyed in its logo, merchandising materials, and even its personnel.

For the meantime, it maintains the same product range offered by the acquired Manila Bank, with some modifications on the rates and/or terms. It will also continue to run on Infoserv banking system until the fourth quarter of this year, when it will be upgraded to the Dimension core banking system.

“We are replacing the existing technology to improve and enhance the thrift bank’s operations. It is our goal to consistently provide our customers with top-notch services and exceed their expectations, so we need not only the manpower but also the latest technology to make it happen,” Chiong said.

China Bank Savings will eventually expand its services to include phone banking, Internet banking, mobile banking, as well as offer products such as debit cards, special savings accounts.

Sterling Bank launches Visa credit cards

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

The Sterling Bank of Asia (Sterling Bank) has collaborated with Visa International to offer the New ShopNPay Visa debit cards.

The ShopNPay Visa debit card is the first EMV chip Visa debit card to be issued in the Philippines. The EMV chip is an added feature to the ShopNPay card that provides better security against fraud. It is more difficult to duplicate thus better protecting the cardholders from theft.

The ShopNPay Visa Debit card is an all-in-one account that offers the flexibility of a day-to-day transaction account with the added convenience of access to the Visa worldwide network or to any BancNet payment facility. It aims to change the way of paying for bills and purchases — the cashless way.

It also comes in a prepaid option, which can be loaded and used to make purchases everywhere Visa and BancNet cards are accepted. The debit card has increasingly been gaining popularity because of the convenience and security it offers cardholders. The ShopNPay card may also be used to make online purchases.

The Sterling Bank of Asia branches are located in the following locations: Ayala Avenue-Makati, Sen. Gil Puyat-Makati, Makati Avenue-Makati, Greenhills, Banawe, Masangkay-Binondo, San Fernando-Binondo, Ongpin, Grace Park-Caloocan, Valenzuela, Iloilo, Bacolod, Cebu-Fuente Osmeña, Cebu-Magallanes, Emerald Avenue-Ortigas, Davao-Monteverde and Quezon Avenue.

Metrobank consumer loans up

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

The Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) has reported double digit growth in its consumer lending efforts in the first eight months of 2008.

Auto loans grew by 30.65 percent while mortgage loan availments expanded by 27.65 percent.

“Compared with the volume generated for the first eight months of 2007, our car and home loan availments for the same period this year grew substantially by 30.65 percent and 27.65 percent, respectively. We were able to maximize the marketing capabilities of our extensive branch network which are our primary distribution channels for consumer loans,” Rowena R. Oliveros, Metrobank senior vice president and head of the bank’s Consumer Lending Group said.

Likewise, August year-to-date booking volume posted a 112.75 percent attainment rate versus the bank’s eight-month target.

The consumer loan production volume has shown consistent month-to-month growth with the months of June and July 2008 registering the highest volume.

Oliveros boasted that nearly 87 percent of the bank’s home and car loans were branch-generated. “We have been successful at mining existing clients and depositors, enjoying a lot of repeat business,” she added.

Meanwhile, the bank’s past due rate for MetroCar loans favorably stood at 0.47 percent as of end-August 2008 and 1.72 percent for MetroHome. This was attributed to a good mix of an automated system, strong product policy and credit procedures to address the requirements of target.

Majority of loans still come from Metro Manila, although countryside loan volume is growing coming mainly from the overseas Filipinos.

Metrobank’s net loans and receivables in the first semester expanded by 21.6 percent, or P60.1 billion, due to increased loans in growth sectors such as energy, utilities, telecommunications, financial services, property, and consumer lending.

RCBC Savings eyes 20% loan growth

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

The RCBC Savings Bank (RSB) is optimistic of hitting its 2008 consumer loan portfolio growth this year as its first semester figures continues to grow in double digits.

“The growth came mostly from an expansion in loans and financial assets,” said RSB president Lope Fernandez. “We are looking at growing our consumer loan portfolio by more than 20 percent this year,” he added.

Loan portfolio grew to P30 billion in the first six months of 2008, or a 14.6 percent growth from the P26.1 billion in the same period last year.

The main bulk of growth came from its consumer loan portfolio. It grew by 13.4 percent to P28.1 billion this year from the P24.8 billion in 2007.

The auto loan portfolio increased by 24.9 percent to P9.4 billion from P7.5 billion in 2007. Mortgage loans grew to P18.1 billion, or 9.5 percent from P16.5 billion in the same comparable period in 2007.

The thrift bank of the Yuchengco Group of Companies reported deposits worth P37.3 billion from the previous P35.2 billion.

As of end-June 2008, the bank’s assets ballooned to P44.5 billion, or a 10.5 percent grow from the P40.3 billion in the same period of the previous year.

Capital expanded to P5.5 billion for an unprecedented 43.1 percent leap from P3.8 billion.

This significant rise was brought about by both a P1-billion capital infusion in October 2007 and profit retention. Boosting its double-digit growth is its twin loan promos.

The RCBC Fully Furnished Housing Loan gives qualified home loan applicants free appliances such as flat screen TVs and other prize showcases, while the RCBC Fully Loaded Auto Loan gives away two brand new cars in a grand raffle, have recently been very successful in expanding the thrift bank’s customer base.

Recently, it launched Freedom to Choose Deposit Promo earlier this month where depositors are rewarded a choice of gift checks from various prestigious tie-up merchants for every P25,000 minimum deposit they make. They may even opt for an RCBC MyWallet reloadable cash card as a reward. RSB operates 111 branches nationwide and is a known provider of home, auto and personal loans to qualified borrowers. – Ted Torres

DBP to offer P4.5-B facility for environment

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has been given access to a ¥10-billion (P4.535 billion) facility from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to implement the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects.

The facility will be made available to both private and public enterprises at competitive terms through the retail and wholesale lending windows of DBP.

This marks JBIC’s and DBP’s strengthened partnership in financing CDM projects that contribute to the reduction of global greenhouse emissions, and at the same time, interest investors to monetary incentives through CDM participation,” Reynaldo G. David, DBP president and chief executive officer, said.

The facility finances the acquisition of fixed assets, machinery and equipment; building and plant construction; rehabilitation, modernization or expansion of existing facilities; civil works; and working capital requirements of environment projects.

To qualify for the facility, a project should either be eligible as a CDM project, or have direct or indirec business relations with Japanese enterprises or market.

The CDM is an arrangement under the Kyoto Protocol, which allows industrialized countries with a greenhouse gas reduction commitment like Japan to invest in initiatives that lessen emissions in developing countries as an alternative to more costly emission reduction measures.

The Philippines can shift to new and renewable energy (NRE) projects and in turn, capture the carbon credits to sell as pollution rights to other industrialized countries.

“We should fund climate change programs. We need to invest further in clean technologies especially those that enable carbon capture and sequestration,” David added.

Eighty-seven percent of DBP’s official development assistance (ODA) funds come from JBIC, which has been directed in infrastructure, logistics environment and SME development. — Ted Torres

South Forbes enlightenment

Friday, September 26, 2008

South Forbes Golf City, the largest fully-integrated, self-sustaining, and all-themed golf resort city in the heart of the Metro Sta. Rosa – Tagaytay corridor and recipient of the 2007 CNBC International Property Awards, the world’s most prestigious property awards programme, for Best Golf Community Development, is renowned for creative themed residential developments. And in its newest Balinese-themed enclave, Nirwana Bali, it has combined the ingredients of a tropical resort lifestyle into a home that ingeniously merges the modern and traditional styles intended for a young family — Sanur.

Sanur, which literally means the passion to visit a certain place, was once the setting of grand villas of heirs and heiresses, and has since attracted an international elite that made it a prominent luxury resort area in the Far East.

A Whole New World. From the exterior alone, the warm wood tones and Balinese decorative elements that contrast beautifully with the clean, spare walls and sharp lines of the whole house immediately reveals the perfection of a luxury hideaway.

Upon entering, the immaculate, almost monastic, living room is striking in its calm simplicity. The whole space pays particular attention to surfaces and textures with the ivory sandstone wall where an oil painting hangs, a soft and cozy sectional sofa with Balinese accent throw pillows for a very relaxed ambience, and an abaca rug that breaks up the space and lends warmth to the stone flooring. Full-length sliding doors invite the outside landscaping in — part of the Balinese tropical living experience.

A wooden louver screen divides the living area from the kitchen and dining area yet still allows for ample light and good ventilation. A low glass-top bar allows for a delineation of space as well as a countertop for working or eating. The modern glass dining table with steel base complements the traditional wooden chairs for an uncluttered appearance. Printed drop lighting adds an interesting Asian touch.

Spic and Spa. The master’s bedroom on the second level features contemporary pieces of furniture and accessories with traditional Indonesian wooden panels. The platform bed is framed by an upholstered wall panel in vibrant lemon yellow and chic, soft floral patterns. A floor-to-ceiling wooden-framed picture window is lined with built-in wooden shelving to add life and art to the scenery beyond. Luxurious drapery filters the glare of the bright sun.

A walk-in closet transitions between the bedroom and the toilet and bath. Light-colored stone tile flooring and glass partitions add to the bright and airy feeling while the chaise lounge by the large window allows one to view clothes in total ease.

Your environment shapes you

Friday, September 26, 2008

The trend in today’s property development goes a notch higher as it takes a conscious effort in promoting sustainable development. After all, a built environment has to be in harmony with the natural setting in order to achieve sustainability.

True enough, Federal Land, Inc., the real estate arm of the Metrobank Group, together with Metrobank Foundation, Inc. (MBFI) worked hand in hand to promote creativity and sustainability for the society’s holistic development.

Guided by the advocacy, “Your Environment Shapes You”, MBFI annually holds the Metrobank Arts & Design Excellence Competition in recognition of the country’s talented new artists and designers who espouse sustainability in their works.

For this common goal, Federal Land sponsored the 2008 MADE Interior Design Competition by offering residential units from its prestigious project – Bay Garden Palawan Tower.

Two finalists were chosen recently, and their designs were executed in the units of Bay Garden Palawan Tower, an upscale residential community located at the Metropolitan Park, Diosdado Macapagal Blvd. corner EDSA Extension in Pasay City.

Adrian Del Monte, a Cebu-based designer, transformed one unit of Bay Garden Palawan into a cosmopolitan hut. Aptly named “Casita”, Adrian’s design is inspired by the traditional Filipino nipa hut. The interior space exudes warmth and simplicity. He utilized recycled materials such as car tires woven into a couch. Layers of woven pandan were used as wall accents. Other materials such as old coco shells, capiz, bamboo, buri and abaca adorned the 44-sqm, one-bedroom unit. These materials are combined with modern pieces of furniture. “Casita” is unique blend of the old and new, of the traditional and the modern.

It is simply amazing how one can transform old materials into a work of art.

April Rose Frigillana, an interior designer from Quezon City, believes that built and the natural environment are closely linked together and this can be best achieved through recycling. With her “Nature’s Links”, April enhanced the interiors of Bay Garden Palawan Tower by taking in second hand items and refurbishing them. Capiz windows, wood planks and balusters graced the living room and bedroom while an old sewing machine was recycled into a writing table. April also maximized use of natural lighting by using transparent surfaces. “Nature’s Links” created a “maaliwalas” (clear) atmosphere, making the unit an intimate but refreshing home.

April Rose Frigillina won the grand prize, while Adrian Del Monte took home the special award. They received a cash prize of P200,000 and P150,000, respectively.

Both designs, along with winners in the Painting, Sculpture and Architecture design categories, were showcased during the 2008 MADE Awards Night held at Le Pavillon in Metropolitan Park, along Diosdado Macapagal Blvd., Pasay City recently.

For more information about the Metrobank Art & Design Excellence, call Metrobank Foundation at 898-8856 and look for Mark Alvario or Felipe Fernando III. For a scheduled visit at the Bay Garden Palawan, call 551-0888.

From blueprints to greenprints

Friday, September 26, 2008

“Build and destroy” — in life, it leads to achieving greater things. However, when applied to real estate, it paints a grim picture of depleting natural resources, worsening pollution, and thinning forests.

Aside from destroying the vegetative footprint of construction sites, commercial and residential spaces holds a host of other environmental impacts. Worldwide, buildings account for 17% fresh water withdrawals, 25% wood harvest, 33% carbon dioxide emissions and 40% material and energy use.

This “inconvenient truth” prompted the real estate industry to revisit its current paradigm and create ecologically sound and sustainable practices by increasing the efficiency with which buildings use resources and at the same time, reducing impacts on human health and the environment. Green buildings gained popularity in countries like the United States where as of 2006, 50% of builders are focusing their attention on environmental issues.

Locally, different institutions and private organizations are working towards upholding the tenets of green building. An ideal example is Hunter Douglas, the pioneering leader in window fashions and architectural products, who recently held a design competition entitled “EcoArt, EcoBuild, EcoWatch”. The competition convened students, interior designers and architects to expand the clamor for green buildings in the country.

“As an international group, Hunter Douglas has a global responsibility to protect the environment. We are promoting global awareness to designers, builders, and end-users in conserving natural resources and preserving nature by sharing our eco-friendly products,” said Gigi Lapira, Hunter Douglas Philippines president and general manager.

Hunter Douglas is the world market leader in window coverings and a major manufacturer of architectural products. For more information on Hunter Douglas Window Fashions, visit their showroom at #33 Jade Place, Visayas Avenue , Quezon City or call (02) 924-0220.

Business & lifestyle

Friday, September 26, 2008

Meeting the demands of one’s career and family can be truly difficult for busy professionals who spend a good deal of their day at the office—practically leaving little time to run important errands, go shopping, exercise, or simply indulge in leisurely activities with friends and loved ones.

SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) is about to change all that with its fusion of work, relaxation, and convenience.

This business-lifestyle synergy is part of the design for the OneE-comCenter, a ten-storey building equipped with cutting-edge design and state-of-the-art facilities for the modern office.

Discussing the concept behind OneE-comCenter, Josefino Lucas, executive vice president for real property of SMIC reveals that “The OneE-comCenter adheres to today’s trend of having the workplace closely associated with lifestyle centers. This is meant to allow our new generation of employees to concentrate on their work and still go about their usual lifestyles without wasting so much time on travel.”

And indeed, OneE-comCenter employees get the whole package of real living. Amenities incorporated in the building range from basketball and badminton courts, coffee shops, as well as restaurants that are sure to whet one’s appetite. OneE-comCenter is also connected to the third largest mall in the world, the SM Mall of Asia via a pedestrian bridgeway and is strategically located near the San Miguel by the Bay, an outdoor strip housing dining and entertainment establishments.

Joann Hizon, VP for human resources at EXL Services whose office is on the 6th floor of OneE-com, shares some of the perks of working near the world’s third largest mall. “The benefits of working beside MOA are both personal and professional. Our prospective clients, business partners, and job applicants are impressed when we tell them that we are beside the SM Mall of Asia. It becomes easy for us to entertain our clients and guests. Giving directions to people who wish to visit us is a cinch. Personally, nothing beats the convenience of working beside the mall.”

Meanwhile, APL (American President Lines) director for operations and network Ces Bitare, who holds office at the 9th floor, also shares: “Working right next to the SM Mall of Asia offers a whole new range of experiences for our staff – there’s variety of eating places to choose from. One does not have to drive far to pick up some goodies on the way home; and the area livens up at night—which makes for a good place for people to unwind after a hard day’s work.”

The luxury of location

Friday, September 26, 2008

Location is considered more of a luxury in today’s urban living scenario, with escalating land values determining the worth of a city address. The nearer one’s home is to a major business or commercial district, the higher the price of a property. But residing within a prestigious place of address is commensurate to the advantages one can enjoy, notably convenience and accessibility to places of work and leisure – the requisites of an urban lifestyle.

Among such vibrant areas today is the business district of Ortigas, whose central location doesn’t require residents to travel far to get to their desired destinations. However, due to the thriving commerce, properties are likewise pegged at too exorbitant a price for a middle-class worker or young professional to afford. At this rate, they are presented either with expensive serviced apartments and upscale condominiums or unappealing projects that offer smaller spaces and limited amenities.

PTR Properties, an up-and-coming player in the real estate industry, continues its mission to change the property landscape with its third project. After the unprecedented success of Grand 21 Place and The Fifth at Rafael, the company unveils another valuable development that will cater to the needs of young families and driven professionals who prefer a centrally-located home in Ortigas – One Capitol Residential Condominiums.

An Ortigas condo address is now affordable and accessible for this target market of middle-income earners at One Capitol, strategically located at a street that is linked to the major thoroughfares of Pioneer Street, Shaw Boulevard, and EDSA. Situated within the progressive Barrio Capitolyo in Pasig City, One Capitol is just a block or two away from the Ortigas CBD – an ideal residence surrounded by a thriving business and commercial district set amidst the backdrop of a cosmopolitan and highly-urban lifestyle.

“Residing merely blocks away from one’s office means no early morning hassles from driving along horrendous traffic. One can even walk leisurely while not being pressed for time. At the same time, travel is minimal to nearby business districts of Makati, Libis, and Bonifacio Global City.

Bad news said better

MS.COM By Yoly Villanueva-Ong
Monday, September 22, 2008

In the corporate world, the sad reality is that breaking bad news is par for the course. Donald Trump was not the first or the last to relish saying, “You’re fired!” In the reality show The Apprentice, contenders are eliminated as quickly and coldly as swatting flies. If this is art imitating life, all the more reason to ponder whether there is a gentler way to announce unpleasant information.

Surely there is a more humane way than Trump’s famous two words or how an ad agency CEO in New York supposedly got sacked after a hostile takeover by an aggressive conglomerate. One week after he lost the fight fending against the incursion, the head honcho suddenly found one of his underlings, who apparently helped engineer the coup, occupying his corner office. He was transferred to a dark, dank, windowless room half the size of his original area, several stories below the executive floor. Then he was stripped of the final vestiges of rank: the keys to the private elevator and the executive washroom! He got the hint and eventually agreed to retire. Non-verbal communication can sometimes be even harsher.

There was a time in Pepsi-Cola’s history when CEOs and top management would come and go like MRT trains. Ejection was so rampant in the company that it became a badge of honor among the Pepsi ex-men. The joke was that one wouldn’t succeed in his profession unless he’d been fired from Pepsi! And in fact, most of the executives who were let go for one reason or another ended up being hired in far more lucrative positions in other companies. Of course, not all survive reversals of fortune with aplomb. In fact, some pay the ultimate price, preferring to take their own lives rather than face the aftermath of a cataclysm.

The pink slip is not the only dislocation a career professional can experience. Downsizing or rightsizing; last in, first out; redundancy from mergers; demotion; dissolution of a position or a department due to obsolescence are some other instances. Milder but nonetheless stressful are a poor performance evaluation, major changes like an organizational restructure, a change of bosses or owners, privatization, corporate relocation and forced expatriation.

Then there was the curious case of a major stockholder and partner of a global food and beverage company suddenly selling out because he was unable to run the business. Apparently, he got arrested for his involvement in a pyramid scheme and was serving a 15-year sentence for fraud. To compensate the investors, he had to make amends by selling his other assets. Suddenly, his global partners had a new major stockholder on their board. Thankfully, this does not happen too often.

Shakespeare said, “Though it be honest, it is never good to bring bad news.” Some may remember this dark-humored joke about Lisa and Sheila, two co-eds sharing a room in a boarding house. A courier knocked on their door and said he had a message for each of them. The first was for Lisa. It was a singing telegram from her suitor. He then sang a romantic, soulful ballad that professed undying love and longing for her sweet yes. Lisa blushed, flattered and flustered, while Sheila impatiently waited her turn. The messenger then handed her a brown envelope that was apparently sent by her aunt. But not to be outdone by Lisa, Sheila insisted that the contents be sung to her immediately. The man was hesitant, but Sheila was adamant. He finally gave in and belted out, to the tune of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, “Ay, naku Sheila! Sorry ha! Nasunog bahay niyo! Wala na ang Lola mo!” (Oh, no, Sheila! So sorry! Your house burned down and your granny passed away!)

One might argue that bad news is bad news in whatever language or ditty. But there is a well-documented case study in the Harvard Business School that compared how two companies cascaded the news that they were closing down due to poor performance to their employees and stakeholders. This was a lesson not only in negotiation skills and conflict management but in internal communications, and ultimately, genuine concern for the staff.

Company A and Company B were both losing money year after year. Their stock value had also continuously plummeted. Both employed thousands of employees. The management and board instructed their respective CEOs to prepare the shutdown as judiciously and swiftly as possible, as the companies were bleeding away every day.

CEO A crafted what he considered a well-written memo explaining the company’s quandary to the staff. He gave a 90-day notice, announced and distributed severance pay in accordance with the law, and closed down the company within the three-month timetable that he prescribed. His board was impressed with his expedient handling.

CEO B, on the other hand, decided to take a slower route to prepare for the shutdown. He met with his department heads individually and shared all the vital information about the state of the business. He asked each one what they thought ought to be done. Then he called them all for an offsite gathering so they could vent freely, and asked them for their conclusions. The group agreed that there was no other option but to close shop. The unit managers then gathered their departments to share the information. An exit plan was implemented, complete with training modules and financial advice for what employees could do to stretch their severance pay till the next job. Company B also got in touch with headhunters and gave references for their best talents. The entire process took six months, double the time CEO A took.

In the month following Company A’s end of operations, there was a class suit against the board and top management, a US Department of Labor inquiry and a group protest by several sympathetic labor unions. Media covered all these developments in major publications and TV networks. Every past decision and action of CEO A was put under scrutiny and sensational coverage. Even when he was eventually exonerated from any anomalous transactions, he could not recover from the antagonism and resentment. He had lost too much social capital. This was one case where the bearer of bad news indeed got shot.

CEO B, on the other hand, did not win brownie points from his board for taking a longer time toward the end. But it was time well spent, because the employees understood the situation and appreciated all the efforts the company took to make the bad news more bearable. The staff even offered to be on call should CEO B ever need their services again. In due course, CEO B was able to negotiate a rehabilitation plan. He eventually turned Company B around with the help of most of his former team.

Although bad news is bad news, when mixed with a dose of real sympathy and communication know-how, it becomes easier to swallow.

How to cash in on the global financial turbulence

BULL MARKET, BULL SHEET By Wilson Lee Flores
Monday, September 22, 2008

Bull markets are born on pessimism, grow on skepticism, mature on optimism, and die on euphoria. The time of maximum pessimism is the best time to buy, and the time of maximum optimism is the best time to sell. — Sir John Templeton

Once the mightiest, the US economy is unfortunately in systemic decline due to tragic economic, moral and political decay. Don’t believe what President George W. Bush is saying about it so-called strength; the long-term crisis has just begun. The once-glorious American Century has ended.

For us here in Asia, the world’s fastest-growing economic region, don’t panic. This 21st century is the Century of Asia — of the Chinese economic miracle, of the resource-rich, dynamic ASEAN region, industrial powerhouse South Korea, high-tech leader Taiwan, of Hong Kong and Singapore and Shanghai — New York City’s rivals as global financial hubs — of dazzling Macau and massive, awakening India.

We Asians should always be prepared for a possible global financial hurricane coming from the turbulent US, and also be prepared for unimaginable opportunities.

In these bewildering times of tumult, whether it’s the whole Philippine economy or the government, whether we are entrepreneurs, corporate executives, professionals or housewives, I urge all people to:
• Increase personal or business productivity,
• Be more flexible, adaptable and resilient,
• Cut unnecessary expenses and minimize luxuries,
• Lessen or totally eliminate debts,
• Be more cost-efficient and resourceful,
• Prepare for possible radical changes,

• Always prepare for the worst but hope for the best, and

• Stay liquid and always look for new opportunities.

Radio stations like DZRH and others recently interviewed this writer regarding the earth-shaking Sept. 15 bankruptcy of 158-year-old Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. (the biggest bankruptcy case in US history) and Bank of America’s same-day purchase of the world’s largest brokerage, the troubled Merrill Lynch & Co. Other topics included the biggest US stock market decline since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack and the Sept. 17 news of the US Federal Reserve Board’s unprecedented emergency loan of $85 billion to the ailing American International Group (AIG).

The US economy is in a deepening crisis; will the Philippine economy suffer? Here are my answers to this question:

• The Philippine economy today is not the same as it was 20 or even 50 years ago, when we used to be economically over-dependent on our former colonizer the US for the bulk of our investments and international trade.

I suggest that my former economics professor, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and her officials remind the public that our economy today is less over-dependent on the US, therefore possible fallout from the US crisis will most likely be less also.

Today, the Philippines and most countries in Asia are no longer as disproportionately over-dependent on US business because of the emergence of other economic dynamos in recent years like China, Russia, South Korea, Singapore, Brazil, India and others. Booming China — with four times the population of the US — has already eclipsed both America and Japan as the Philippines’ and even political foe Taiwan’s biggest trading partner.

• Though it will not be as threatening than if it had occurred decades ago, I nevertheless believe that the Philippine economy will suffer some decline due to the fact that the ailing US economy is still the world’s largest and Americans still comprise the world’s biggest market for Asian exports.

Philippine exporters should resourcefully and dynamically target other markets beyond the USA, such as China, the oil-rich Middle East and Russia, Latin America, Europe and other Asian countries.

• I foresee the continuous softening of the once record-high price of oil in the world market, due to a possible lessening of oil imports from the US economy and also those of other major countries with the slowing or even closing down of their many industries. For the short-term, I foresee oil prices stabilizing or even declining further, which could only be good news for our oil-importing Philippine economy.

• Due to spiraling costs and weakening revenues in many US firms, the Philippines should seize this opportunity to encourage more business-process-outsourcing (BPO) and call-center ventures to open nationwide. This might be similar to an epidemic hitting a city, causing so many deaths, but resulting in a great, unparalleled opportunity for funeral parlor entrepreneurs! As the ancient Chinese proverb says, every crisis brings about both danger and opportunity.

• Buy solid, blue-chip Philippine stocks with consistent profit and dividend track records at bargain prices! Buy BPI, BDO, Metrobank, Ayala Corp., Meralco, PLDT, JG Summit and others. Buy low, keep, or sell high in the future.

• In times of global tumult, there will be a bull market for gold, silver and other precious metals, so what are we doing to redouble our efforts in mining? The Philippines used to be a major gold exporter in the American colonial era up to the postwar decades. Let’s build up our mining industry again! This is the best time on earth to weed out unscrupulous, fly-by-night operators or VIP political squatters sitting on numerous unused provincial mining claims. The government and private sector should push for legitimate mining enterprises to invest here now.

• It is laudable that President GMA is providing cash and other emergency assistance to the poorest of the poor, but why not also push more government initiatives like tax reduction and tax relief, outright incentives and other extra support to business people, whether small and medium enterprises, or the big corporations and foreign investors? This period of extreme exigencies requires boldness, innovation and vision from government. Give all-out support to business people so they will invest more now!

• The rise and fall of the US should give our politicians a rude awakening. Politicians in Washington, D.C. have for decades buried America in debt, transforming the US from the world’s biggest creditor into the world’s largest debtor. I urge the national government not only to lessen unnecessary borrowing but also to wisely allocate our VAT and other taxes into paying off our loans.

I urge government to drastically and decisively lessen corruption, pour massive amounts of our taxpayers’ money into infrastructure projects, better education and basic social services, which will enhance economic growth and national productivity. Shoot excessively corrupt politicos, generals and bureaucrats and charge them for the bullets!

Pagcor’s $25-B tourism city to rise in Parañaque

By Michael Punongbayan
Friday, September 26, 2008

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) may now begin construction of the biggest tourism and entertainment city in the country after securing a permit from Parañaque, which is expected to rake in P1 billion yearly in tax revenue from the $25-billion project.

The facility, which is also expected to generate jobs for more than 100,000 residents, will rise on a 150-hectare property on Roxas Boulevard and Coastal Road. The area has been declared a special investment district.

Councilor Jose Enrico Golez and 14 other local legislators have declared the former reclamation area a tourism economic zone through Resolution No. 08-059.

Mayor Florencio Bernabe Jr. said the city government approved the project last week. Pagcor’s partner in the project is the Philippine Economic Zone Authority or PEZA.

He said the proposed tourism and entertainment city will not only generate income for the city but will also provide livelihood for its citizens.

Bernabe said a local ordinance stipulates that Parañaque residents should comprise at least 40 percent of the workforce of new establishments.

“Since this project will employ around 250,000 workers, it will mean at least 100,000 jobs for us here,” he told The STAR.

Bernabe said a Memorandum of Agreement between the city government of Parañaque and Pagcor, through Chairman Efraim Genuino, will be signed to specify and establish the roles and responsibilities of both and the PEZA.

Councilors who agreed to the grand idea of building a tourism and entertainment city in Parañaque said the project “will develop the full tourism potential” of the locality.

According to the resolution passed, the project will make use of 35 lots in a reclamation area along Manila Bay where luxury hotels with casinos, restaurants, malls, convention centers, theaters, cultural centers, museums, amusement parks, residential villages, and even an observation tower will rise.

Councilors noted that the Pagcor charter gives it the right to operate and maintain gambling, casinos, clubs, and other recreation or amusement places, sports, gaming pools, lotteries and the like whether on land or sea within the territorial jurisdiction of the Philippines.

However, they said Republic Act 9487, which amends the same, provides that the operation of slot machines and other gambling paraphernalia and equipment shall not be allowed in establishments that are open and accessible to the public unless located within three-star hotels and resorts.

They added that such establishments should also be accredited by the Department of Tourism (DOT) and authorized by the local government unit concerned.

Bernabe said “investors can now come in” and begin constructing the country’s tourism and entertainment city now that the Sangguniang Panlungsod has given Pagcor and PEZA the green light.

source: philstar

Bid offered on 50 hectares SRP lots

By Linette C. Ramos
Sun.Star Staff Reporter

FOUR years after it started paying for the loan, the Cebu City Government received the first offer to develop a 50-hectare portion of the South Road Properties (SRP), including an outright purchase of 10 hectares worth P2 billion.

Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) submitted to Mayor Tomas Osmeña last night its unsolicited proposal to undertake a joint venture agreement with the City, where the latter will get at least 10 percent of FLI’s gross sales every year.

FLI will invest at least P80 billion in the project, which will include “mid-level to ultra high-end” residential buildings, a medium-rise complex, a cluster of high-rise hotels, retirement and medical facility and commercial areas, said Tristan Las Marias, the firm’s vice president for Visayas and Mindanao.

It also pledged to bring several corporate headquarters to the SRP.

“Given the potentials of the SRP and the business-friendly environment in Cebu City, Filinvest is proud to make an unsolicited proposal for an integrated and master planned development of a 50-hectare portion of the SRP under a joint venture agreement,” Las Marias announced last night.

With the P2 billion projected income from the outright purchase of 10 hectares, the City will have enough funds to pay for more than half of the balance of the loan principal.

The amount, though, will be paid in installment for a period of four to five years.

The City has a balance of some P3.3 billion for the principal of the loan made with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) for the SRP, excluding interests and guarantee fees.

FLI vice chairman Andrew Gotianun Jr. flew to Cebu yesterday to present their proposal to Osmeña, Vice Mayor Michael Rama and the city councilors at the Casino Español de Cebu.

The project will cover some 11.26 hectares of seafront property, prime lots along the South Coastal Road and some interior lots.

Timetable

Although the submission of the proposal is only the first step, the Cebu Investments and Promotion Center (CIPC), the marketing arm of the SRP, hopes to award the project before the year ends.

“This will entail a very detailed activity of evaluating the proposal. If everything goes well, by the end of the year, we will be able to award the project,” CIPC managing director Joel Mari Yu told a press conference last night.

The procedures, however, could take longer than three months.

Yu explained that the proposal, which includes the project proposal and the contractual arrangement, will now be evaluated by the City Government.

Osmeña said the evaluation of the proposal will be “fairly fast” if it is found consistent with the City’s guidelines for joint venture agreements.

If it is acceptable to the City, the proposal will go to the City Council for further review and ratification.

Once approved, the proposal will be offered to the public for the unsolicited bid challenge using the Swiss challenge model.

Challenge

“This means that other developers can challenge FLI’s offer and if the challenger comes up with a proposal that is superior to the original proponent’s, we can ask FLI to match that offer. And if they are not willing to match it, then it goes to the highest bidder,” Yu said.

Interested developers will be given 90 days from the date of publication of the bid to submit their proposals.

Osmeña said, though, that the City will be selective with the challengers.

“While this is open for other developers to challenge, only qualified investors of the same stature and magnitude as (FLI) will be allowed to bid. We will not allow some developers from Samar who want to challenge it to come in. It has to have the same background and track record as (FLI),” he said during the press conference.

The SRP has so far cost the City some P2.76 billion in loan payments, interests and guarantee fees paid to the JBIC and the National Government.

Break

Since its construction began in 1997, the project hit some snags, including delays in the titling as a result of the adverse claims of a portion of the SRP by the Talisay City Government.

The proposed joint venture agreement allows profit-sharing, and a sharing of investment risks at the same time, the mayor said.

“A joint venture simply means partnership. There will be a sharing of profits and the sharing of risks… Under a joint venture, the profits are usually divided but in this case, we are just getting a percentage of the sales, basically 10 percent of the gross sales,” the mayor explained to the media and the City officials.

“Whether or not (FLI) gets profit, we get 10 percent of whatever sales they will get from building units, and we are guaranteed a minimum repayment of the sale price of the lots, plus, plus,” he continued.

Osmeña also guaranteed that the project will take off before his term ends in 2010.

No mad dogs

“And I guarantee you there will be no irong buang (mad dogs) at the SRP,” he said in jest, apparently referring to Capitol officials’ taunts that only rabid dogs are interested in the SRP.

Las Marias said they wanted to invest in the SRP four years ago yet, but the City still did not have the titles to the property, and it was still getting clearance from JBIC, the National Economic and Development Authority and the Commission on Audit.

When asked how long it will take FLI to complete the project, Las Marias said it may go on for many decades, depending on market demands.

If they win the bidding, FLI plans to start construction of the first phase immediately after the awarding of the contract and as soon as they get the permits from government agencies.

The seafront area will be the project’s main attraction and the selling point of the development.

“Everything will be market-driven. Even for the first phase, which will involve five to eight buildings, we don’t know how soon it will be completed. It will depend on what the market wants,” he said.

Everybody loves a winner… or do they really?

BUSINESS MATTERS(Beyond the bottom line) By Francis J. Kong
Saturday, September 20, 2008

A big corporation recently hired several cannibals. “You are all part of our team now,” said the HR rep during the welcoming briefing. “You get all the usual benefits and you can go to the cafeteria for something to eat, but please don’t eat any of the other employees.”

The cannibals promised they would not.

Four weeks later their boss remarked, “You’re all working very hard, and I’m satisfied with you. However, one of our secretaries has disappeared. Do any of you know what happened to her?”

The cannibals all shook their heads no.

After the boss had left, the leader of the cannibals said to the others, “Which one of you idiots ate the secretary?”

A hand raised hesitantly, to which the leader of the cannibals continued, “You fool! For four weeks we’ve been eating Managers and no one noticed anything, but nooooo, you had to go and eat someone they would really miss !!

Does this mean that most managers know less compared to secretaries? I don’t know. But one thing I do know is that there are cannibals in the work place. And these are the people who eat you up with envy and jealousy the moment they see you successful and that your success poses as a threat to their own. Everybody wants to be a winner but winning carries a heavy responsibility. Success is not as easy as you think it is. One of the least expected and most stressful results of success is the antipathy of others.

It’s simply not true that everybody loves a winner. It may however be true that everybody leaves a winner. Winners arouse admiration and envy, but little real affection. “Our apparent love of winners is actually an infatuation that burns brightly during the spring of triumph, but fades quickly in the winter of decline.” Says authors Richard Farson and Ralph Keyes of the book: “WHOEVER MAKES THE MOST MISTAKES WINS.” We’ve heard often that adversity tells you who your friends are. Success does, too. Failure and success both reveal who really cares about us – the ones who stick with us through thin and thick. If anything, success identifies genuine friends more surely than failure does.

Hollywood actress and now TV host Bette Midler says: “The worst part of success is trying to find someone who is happy for you.” When we’re doing well and report that news to others, we would like to think they’ll be happy for us, and that our success will make us more popular. This is seldom true.

Dustin Hoffman once said that if he had known how much success awaited him, he never would have become an actor. The Oscar-winner movie star explained that he began acting expecting to fail. He was mistaken, and sorry about it. Hoffman found that the costs of success included not only a serious loss of privacy, but having to forego the company of failed actors. The latter was especially frustrating. According to Hoffman, failed actors were much better company than successful ones. That’s not true just of actors. In general, those who aren’t successful (on the world’s terms) tend to be better company than those who are. They not only have more sympathy for others, but more time to spend with them.

Success is extremely time consuming. Scheduling becomes a problem. (“I might be able to see you for a quick lunch next month.”) Those who get to the top and want to stay there have little room on their calendars for much else: hobbies, travel, family, friends. A pal is someone you can call, or drop in on, at a moment’s notice. This is seldom possible after one becomes prominent. Those doing well on People magazine’s terms rarely enjoy each other’s company.

“The penalty of success” said Lady Astor, “is to be bored by people who used to snub you.” But to succeed we must and to compete we are compelled to. So here’s the key.

Compete against yourself but learn to celebrate other people’s success. And if you are successful do not let success get into your head but neither should you allow the envious to ruin your day. Do the best you can do but be the best you can be not only in terms of skills but more so in terms or character and attitude and always remember that God has blessed you with sweet success but you should learn to handle it responsibly.

A person is truly great when he is not envious of his rival’s success. And don’t forget, stop envying the man who has everything. That man probably has ulcers too.

(Francis Kong will be the lead trainer for the Dr. John Maxwell’s “Developing the Leader within You” leadership program this September 25-26 at Hotel Intercon Makati. For further inquiries contact Inspire Leadership Consultancy Inc. (632-6872614)

source: philstar

Cebu City takes close look at new bus system

AS FOUR congressmen are pushing for the Metro Cebu Traffic Authority (MCTA), the Cebu City government is taking another step closer to having a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system to ease traffic congestion. A seminar workshop about the BRT is set this Thursday and Friday. Mayor Tomas Osmena has given the go-signal for the BRT study, said executive officer Arnel Tancinco of the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom). The Governor Cuenco Avenue from downtown to Talamban has been chosen as the pilot area. The project is still at the stage of pre-feasibility study. He said the workshop will also tackle what will be done for drivers displaced by the project. City Planning Officer Paul Villarete said, he invited 40 to 60 members of the media for the orientation worshop. He said the BRT system does not use buses similar to those being used today in transporting passengers to the provinces. He said the bus-based system looks something like the light rail transit system (LRT) in Manila but uses bus units. Each bus will have its own lane and station, where passengers pay their fare. The bus will stop only in the station following a strict schedule. If the study is done by November, Villarete said within six months, the city can decide whether to push through with the project. The city's plan to adopt the BRT coincides with the move of four congressmen in Cebu who seek the creation of the MCTA. House Bill 3955 proposed by Cebu city north district Rep. Raul Del Mar creating MCTA would unify the existing traffic enforcement agencies of the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu and Talisay and the towns of Cordova, Consolacion, and Minglanilla under one enforcement body. Villarete said the idea of creating MCTA is good but it has to be studied very well and consultations must be done. Mayor Osmena has also expressed reservations on the MCTA proposal. He said the MCTA will prevent mayors, who would not be elected as chairman of the council from having control over their own individual towns and cities. “It will violate the principle of local autonomy as far as Cebu City is concerned...it is better said than done,” Osmeña said. He is also not amenable in giving-up the Citom for an authority which in this case the MCTA where the city could not have a full control of. /Correspondent Jhunnex Napallacan with a report from Reporter Marian Z. Codilla source: cdn

Cebu could be center of federal gov’t’

	9/12
By Doris C. Bongcac CORRESPONDENT Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia opened yesterday's forum on federalism organized by the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) by declaring that Cebu could very well serve as the seat of a new government. “I don't mean to suggest that in these times of lively discussions on federalism and regional self autonomy that Cebu aims to be the capital of what may be perceived as a future state, but if Governor Sally (Antique Gov. Salvacion Perez) would so move, then I would not object,” said a grinning Garcia. While discussions continue, Governor Garcia said that Cebu could very well become the center of federalism in the country. Garcia said that she and other Visayas governors were already trying to exercise autonomy from the national government while they cooperate with each other under the One Visayas program. Misamis Occidental Gov. Loreto Ocampos, LPP president, said that most of the governors from the Visayas and Mindanao agree on the need to adopt a federal form of government in the country. But they disagree in opinion on how the change should be done — through a constitutional assembly or a constitutional amendment. How a change in government would affect economics in the countryside, local autonomy and address the armed conflict in Mindanao are other vital questions. “We are opening the discussions. Hopefully this would lead to a more serious discussion that would be prioritized in the House of Representatives and also in the Senate. Hopefully we can rally the Filipino nation in drafting a different form of government,” said Palawan Gov. Joel Reynes, the league's executive vice president. Ocampos said governors from Mindanao earlier expressed the desire to adopt a federal form of government to address the Bangsamoro issue. “We are not enjoying the present form of government that we have. So we are looking at alternatives and this is one of the alternatives that we are considering,” said Reynes. Reynes said the LPP was also trying to be cautious since majority of the governors are pro-administration. “Hopefully our friends (from the opposition) would not once again paint this as another step and movement led by the present administration, because it is not,” he said. According to Reynes, the LPP only wanted an alternative to strengthen the present presidential form of government. The forum, Ocampos said was a good venue for them to listen and be informed. Later they intend to involve the different sectors in their discussions. “As of this moment, the LPP does not have any specific, exact or definite position on what is the specific direction of federalism (that we wanted to adopt),” said Ocampos. source: cdn

DEVELOP CEBU FIRST’

	9/20
Island has untapped water sources, say experts By Cris Evert B. Lato Reporter Cebu does not need to tap water from Bohol. Cebu island's 120 rivers and several falls and springs can be developed to supply the water needs for thirsty Cebuanos, said Cebu Vice Gov. Gregorio Sanchez. If Cebu can successfully generate water from these sources and add it to existing capacity, Sanchez said around 500,000 cubic meters will be made available to consumers every day. “That is more than enough supply against the demand,” said Sanchez, a civil engineer. Metro Cebu has a total demand of 300,000 cubic meters daily for its 118,000 water subscribers spread from Liloan town in the north to Talisay City in the south, according to the Metro Cebu Water District (MCWD). Demand is growing two to three percent every year. Sanchez said that if the Capitol’s Trans-axial Highway project will take off, it would be easier to proceed with the engineering works in connecting pipelines to distribute water to different parts of Metro Cebu. No bidding has been held yet or fund source identified for the highway, estimated to cost P45 billion. It is supposed to run through the Cebu mountains from tip to tip, connecting north to south. Armando Paredes, MCWD general manager, said the proposal for water distribution throug the highway was viable but the question would be the cost. The Cebu-Bohol water proposal in the 1990s was shelved after fierce objections were raised by Boholanos and the expensive cost of water to consumers. Last Thursday, former president Fidel Ramos said Cebu should look for alternative water sources. He told a press conference that Cebu should revisit the proposal to pipe in water from Bohol province which he said was mothballed due to what he called as “cultural reasons.” Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado said he would fully support the Bohol-Cebu Water Supply Project if another company decides to pursue it on a build-operate-transfer scheme. Aumentado, who was congressman when the project was pushed in the 1990s, said Cebu leaders should have have collective decision whether or not to support the project to avoid problems. “First things first. Cebu leaders should decide so the project would push through kay basig mag-away-away na pud (because this may lead to conflict again),” said Aumentado. He said foreign consortium, ANGLO and Kinhill Brown & Root, wanted to sell the water from Bohol’s Inabanga River at P23 per cubic meter even if the cost of extracting and bringing water to Cebu was P80 per cubic meter. “But Cebu wanted to buy it at P14 per cubic meter so alkansi na gyud,” Aumentado told Cebu Daily News. Boholanos opposed the project when the proposal was first presented, he said, but officials were able to explain to church and environmentalist groups and residents of the need to help Cebu because doing so, will also spur development in Bohol. “I was the lone public official in Bohol that time who openly came out to support the project. I have always supported Cebu's bid,” he said. He agreed with Ramos that the project cost would lower if the Cebu-Bohol Friendship Bridge will be constructed. The 90-kilometer bridge being pushed by Aumentado will connect Cordova town on Mactan Island, Cebu and Getafe town in Bohol. “From the P5.7 billion project cost of the water supply project, it will perhaps go down to one billion (pesos) because the pipes can pass through the bridge instead of submarine pipes,” he said. But former Bohol governor Rene Relampagos said a series of consultations should be made first before the project pushes through. He said residents of Inabanga and neighboring municipalities strongly opposed the project because they felt that it would only benefit Cebu and their side was not heard. “Before anything will be done about it, stakeholders must be properly consulted so that you can get inputs from all sides,” said Relampagos. Relampagos said Ramos formed a task force at the time to hasten the project. As Bohol governor then, Relampago was a member of the task force. “My primary job was to bring up the sentiments of the Boholanos. There was general opposition due to environmental concerns. Also, it was viewed that development would only focus on Cebu,” he told Cebu Daily News. Under the proposed Bohol-Cebu Water Supply Project, runoff water from Inabanga River in Bohol would be brought to Cebu through a 30-km submarine cable from Bohol to Mactan Island, Cebu.Pumping stations in Mactan would be fed to pipelines and would distribute the water to the consumers in Metro Cebu. Aside from the Boholanos' opposition, the cost and environmental factors had to be weighed, said Paredes of MCWD. The cost of bringing in water from Bohol was pegged at P60 to P70 per cubic meter in the ‘90s when the exchange rate was still P26 to a dollar.Today, the cost would be much steeper with inflatio and the dollar at P47. Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña agreed that bringing in water from Bohol may be feasible but the cost would bleed MCWD. “The problem with major projects like that is that MCWD would go bankrupt overnight. That would be a major risk for MCWD,” he said. He said the project cost is too high and the MCWD may not be able to sell the bulk water from Bohol to its present concessionaires. Avoiding leaks and breakage of the underwater pipes would be another concern, he said, aside from the water needs of MCWD and Boholanos in 30 to 40 years. source: cdn

Firm builds BPO building

RESPONDING to business process outsourcing (BPO) companies’ preference for medium-rise buildings, an information technology/BPO building in Mandaue City was re-designed and re-engineered, such that its number of floors is reduced by half of its original plan but its floor area is expanded.

Originally, the Robinland Business Center in the North Reclamation Area is designed with 16 floors with about 500 square meters of leasable area. The building’s new specifications now include eight floors but it has more than a thousand square meters for lease.

Robinland Inc. vice president for operation and business development Jun Sa-a told reporters yesterday that the changes have affected the timetable of the building construction and increased their investment from P200 million to about P300 million.

After nine months of re-engineering and re-design, Cebu-based real estate company Robinland Inc. formally started the construction of the center last April 8. But work on the building’s foundation—made of 400 pieces of 15-meter long piles that is an equivalent to a five-storey building—started in Dec. 7 last year and was completed in March.

The construction is expected to finish late next month but the finishing works will take three months. Still, locators can start retrofitting as early as November.

So far, six BPO companies, mostly call centers, have expressed interest in leasing spaces in the building.

Green building

Colliers International Philippines director for investment sales Ieyo de Guzman explained that BPOs would go for medium-rise buildings because of their operation and cost-efficiency, space-utilization and harmonization of “green building” features.

Colliers—a property services company and a global affiliation of independently owned real estate service companies that manages 281 offices in 63 countries—is the exclusive agent of the Robinland Business Center.

Colliers is involved in the center’s development from start of planning to day-to-day operations.

Sa-a said the building is equipped with its own sewage treatment plant to recycle water for sanitation and irrigation use. The new façade is also designed to minimize penetration of the sunrays resulting in lower energy requirement for airconditioning.

“It will also use energy efficient lighting systems, maximized collection and utilization of rainwater and will have an operation waste management system,” he said.

Robinland Business Center, although not yet completed, has been featured in a Green Real Estate Guide as one of the Philippine’s first green information technology (IT) building.

Robinland Inc. has tapped the service of architect Tessie Javier of TP Javier Architects and Associates for the building design and has registered the center with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.

After the center, the company will focus on a 6,700-square meter retirement village in Barangay Quiot, Pardo. (NRC)

source: sunstarnews

Tomas gives guidelines to buyers of SRP, expects proposals in 30 days

TWO days after the approval of the guidelines on joint venture agreements involving the South Road Properties (SRP), Mayor Tomas Osmeña turned them over to interested buyers. He expects to accept proposals within 30 days.

Osmeña was in Manila yesterday to submit a copy of the guidelines to the prospective buyers, City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said.

The mayor also disclosed that the City Government will be open to a build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme for the power and water supply at the 290-hectare facility.

New step

In his news conference last Thursday, he said the City will receive unsolicited proposals within 30 days, now that the City’s guidelines on joint ventures have been approved.

“The next step is for proponents to make a proposal that is consistent with the guidelines. As long as it is not in violation with the guidelines, then we will entertain it for bidding,” he said.

City officials had expected to start bidding procedures last August yet, but failed to meet their target.

With the guidelines, Osmeña said the steps to making a sale, lease or development under a joint venture agreement will be “fairly quick,” and that he expects to receive unsolicited proposals within a month.

Osmeña added that the City will not bid out the properties at once and will just wait for buyers to make proposals for the lots they will buy, lease or develop under a joint venture agreement.

The proposals will then be put up for bidding in the form of a Swiss challenge, where other developers and buyers can compete with the original proposal.

And if the proponent loses the bidding, it will be allowed to match the winning bid.

“It’s not in our best interest to do a bidding and then no one will respond. It can be in the form of an unsolicited proposal then the others will just compete, and the proponent can match the winning bid,” Osmeña explained.

But there will be no BOT scheme for real estate, he said.

What will be open for the BOT schemes are the power and water supply, waste management and treatment and the production of steam to produce energy for locators at the SRP.

Once the City accepts a joint venture agreement with any of the interested buyers, it will only be allowed to have less than 50 percent in asset contribution to the venture, as specified in the guidelines the City Council approved last Wednesday.

The assets may be in the form of money, equipment, land, intellectual property or anything of value. (LCR)


source: sunstarnews

There’s a new Web world out there. Here’s how to build business with a variety of social networking tools.

Welcome to Real Estate 2.0

There’s a new Web world out there. Here’s how to build business with a variety of social networking tools.

BY JOHN N. FRANK

When Teresa Boardman left a major Minneapolis-area real estate brokerage in 2005, she saw traffic to her Web site plunge. Most of her Web visitors had found her through the brokerage site, she soon realized.

Looking for a way to increase her online visibility, Boardman turned to a tactic then still relatively unknown to real estate professionals. She started her own blog, a Web-based daily chat with her customers, potential customers, and anyone else interested in hearing about real estate in her St. Paul, Minn., market area. “At the time, I couldn’t find any examples to follow,” she recalls.

Today, Boardman is setting the example. Her StPaulRealEstateBlog.com site pops up first on a list of Google finds when you search for “St. Paul real estate.” She’s getting between 3,000 and 5,000 visitors a week to her blog, and that’s translated into new business.

Ann Marie Clements, with the RE/MAX Realty Group, in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Gaithersburg, Md., has found another avenue for Web-based lead generation. She posted a profile of herself on Facebook, a social networking site. The site was founded in 2004 as a way for college students to connect, but in the past year, Facebook has been reaching out to business people. Within three weeks of her Facebook page’s debut, Clements got a client referral from another Re/Max professional who found her there.

Welcome to the latest incarnation of the Internet. The professionals who simply created Web sites for online exposure are giving way to the next generation of Web users. The tech world has dubbed tools like blogs and social network sites like Facebook as Web 2.0, enabling Web users to connect with one another rather than view content passively.

These tools offer real estate practitioners a new way to market themselves — turning Web 2.0 into Real Estate 2.0. “Real Estate 2.0 really means a conversation with the client or the prospective client,” says Brian Boero, cofounder of 1000Watt Consulting, an Oakland, Calif., real estate technology consultant. “That sits in opposition to Real Estate 1.0, which was really about one-way communication from the real estate professional or brokerage company about their services, their expertise, their brand.”

Major Real Estate 2.0 tools are:

• Blogs: Quickly becoming the most widely used symbol of Real Estate 2.0, blogs are online diaries or commentaries. Blogs can be on a free-standing site you create, a brokerage site, a real estate–oriented site that also includes listings, or a site designed to host real estate bloggers. Costs range from free for a basic blog to $2,500 a year for creating more elaborate, custom creations.

• Wikis: These are compilations of information from a variety of contributors. Real estate pros are creating wikis for their local communities, asking visitors to their sites to comment on schools, shopping, and other topics of interest to buyers and sellers. Web sites such as Inman.com and Zillow.com are also creating real estate wikis, asking real estate professionals to contribute their community insights.

• Mash-ups: This term refers to combining elements from different Web companies on your own site. That could mean combining Google maps with local demographic information. The goal, as with wikis, is to give potential customers community information that will help them decide where they’d like to live.

• Social networks: These are Web communities people join — usually free of charge — through a simple registration process. Members can post profiles of themselves and invite other members to become their friends. MySpace and Facebook are the best known of these sites. Because they were created as places for young people to meet up, these sites still skew toward the tween to college-age crowd, though that’s changing. And social networking is finding its way into the real estate realm. Activerain.com, which hosts real estate blogs, also has a social networking component that has more than 61,000 real estate professionals signed up.

• Videos: YouTube is the best-known video sharing site these days. Its policy forbids commercial use of the site, though real estate videos are popping up there. Real estate sites, such as Coldwell Banker’s ColdwellBanker.com, are also looking to make greater use of video, while third parties such as HGTV are creating new sites with more housing-related video content.

When you’re ready to join the Web 2.0 movement, you can do it on your own, turn to a variety of Web sites ready to help or, if you’re part of a large national brokerage, look to its Web site as your home base.

More tools likely will appear as the Web continues to evolve, but real estate and marketing experts agree that the key to mastering Real Estate 2.0 isn’t simply to focus on the tools. Rather, success involves taking a new approach to marketing yourself and a new realization that old approaches won’t resonate with buyers and sellers who look to the Web first for their real estate information.

The coming of Real Estate 2.0 signals the end of an era when real estate professionals could attract business by promoting themselves while holding on tightly to key information about listings, says Charlie Young, chief operating officer with Parsippany, N.J.–based Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.

“The listing information really is a commodity now. You have to look at how you can augment and bring value to it,” says Young. The most effective real estate bloggers, for example, “promote communities and not themselves. That’s a fundamental shift for a real estate professional who has been brought up in a culture of self-promotion,” Young contends.

Being genuine is the first and most important Real Estate 2.0 rule. Be yourself and let people who like you and your views find you.

Boardman, for example, writes about historic homes because that’s an area of interest for her. She’s found clients with the same interest and thinks they’re easier to work with because they feel they already know her from her blog postings, she says.

Other rules of the Real Estate 2.0 world: Developing leads takes time. Blogging and social networking won’t likely replace face-to-face contact with your sphere of influence. And your 2.0 efforts can overwhelm your day if you don’t manage your time properly.

Create a Brand

Which Real Estate 2.0 tool should you try first? Experts agree you need to take a step back and do some work before you decide. “It’s entirely likely there are real estate professionals out there making a killing using Web 2.0, but I would bet that they have a killer brand behind them,” says Tate Linden, principal with Stokefire, a brand-naming consulting firm in Springfield, Va. “Find a way to differentiate yourself.”

Claude Labbe, ABR®, GRI, with the Flaherty Group in Kensington, Md., consulted with Linden before deciding to position himself as a real estate professional for people who need things done quickly. His tagline, “Realty for Your Busy Life,” is on his Web site and is part of the name of his blog, YourBusyLife.com.He started the blog in the spring of 2007.

“I knew I wanted something to get people to talk to me more,” Labbe says. “Real estate is a contact sport; you have to be with people.”

“If you get over the psychological hurdle of using a computer, it’s really not that much different from what you’ve always done,” says consultant Boero. “Real Estate 2.0 should be a medium that helps you convey your voice and get your image out to a wider audience.”

To be effective, that image needs to be of someone who knows the market inside and out. Put yourself in your prospects’ shoes. What would you want to hear if you were them?, Boero asks.

Ardell DellaLoggia, with Brio Realty in Bellevue, Wash., wants readers of her two blogs to know she’s their advocate. DellaLoggia began blogging as a tester for RealTown blogs on Jan. 1, 2006. “I always say I started blogging because I didn’t like football,” she jokes. Rather than watch traditional New Year’s Day college bowl games, she wrote five blog postings that day.

Today, “all my business comes from blogging,” says DellaLoggia, who does between 20 and 30 trans­actions a year and has done as many as 36 in one 12-month stretch. The steady stream of prospects from blogging has changed how DellaLoggia approaches other parts of her business. Open houses, for example, used to be strictly for attracting new clients. Now, when she does an open house, she’s out to sell the house, not herself, she says.

Her blogs appear on two of the more well-known real estate blog hosting sites — RealTown blogs and the Rain City Guide.

Networking 2.0

While Rain City Guide concentrates on the Seattle area, the unrelated ActiveRain, both are based in Bellevue, Wash., is a national site that allows real estate professionals to put up a blog without charge. Started in June 2006, ActiveRain bridges the space between blogs and social networks, offering a bit of each.

The idea to create an online real estate community complete with blogs was “one of those three-in-the-morning ideas,” jokes Matt Heaton, executive vice president and cofounder of ActiveRain. “We saw this huge need for social networking in the real estate space,” he says.

ActiveRain was conceived as a way for real estate pros to connect with consumers, but it quickly became a place for real estate pros to talk and refer business to each other. “So we embraced that,” Heaton says. “The feedback is just amazingly positive. One associate said he got seven listings in two days off a blog.”

ActiveRain isn’t standing still; in late 2007, a major site revamp was planned. It also was testing Localism.com, a new site to provide local market information across the country. Real estate professionals will contribute information about their markets. Another site, RealtyTimes.com, already offers local market information supplied by real estate pros in its Realty Times Market Conditions feature.

And now a new site, Zolve.com, is hoping to do much the same thing, creating local market profiles — in the form of wikis — that can be as detailed as what people think of a particular teacher in a particular school, says founder Brian Wilson.

Zolve, based in Colorado Springs, Colo., launched in mid-October 2007 with 2,800 members (membership is free). It allows business referrals with contracts on its site creating a digital paper trail for any referral. Wilson has plans to expand to a consumer function that will allow people to rate their experiences with real estate professionals, creating Amazon.com-like ratings of various pros. Sites such as Incredibleagents.com and Realestateratingz.com are already offering agent ratings.

Zolve and ActiveRain aren’t the only sites moving more deeply into Real Estate 2.0. Trulia.com, which began with property listings, now features Trulia Voices, where consumers can ask real estate–related questions and get answers from real estate pros in their area.

“It’s an example of us making interaction online extremely simple, and it has become an extremely effective way for real estate professionals to demonstrate their local expertise,” says Sami Inkinen, founder and chief operating officer of San Francisco–based Trulia. The average question in Trulia Voices receives an answer in 20 minutes, he notes.

Here Come the Caveats

Social networks like Facebook appeal to a younger demographic: Many are years away from home buying. But “those folks will be buying homes over the next 10 years” and so shouldn’t be ignored, says Mike Montsko, president of Weichert Lead Network for Weichert, REALTORS®, in Morris Plains, N.J.

Clements, who got a lead shortly after joining Facebook, learned some of the nuances of social networks when she first tried MySpace. She posted some photos of herself in casual clothes and even an evening dress on MySpace. Those got her e-mail from men wanting to meet her, not something the married Clements was looking for. So when she switched to Facebook, she went with only one photo in a business suit to convey that she was there for business, not casual chatting or dating.

While blogging has its real estate adherents who will tell you about business they’ve garnered from their blogs, social networking isn’t quite at that stage yet.

“Social networking should be left as networking; don’t get your hopes up for more than that. Don’t think this is going to be your bonus check at the end of the year,” says Nick Pacelli, interactive director at the Most Agency, a Newport Beach, Calif., advertising and communications agency that has worked with the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Social networks also are geared for person-to-person interaction, so professionals need to be careful they don’t come off sounding too brand-preachy.

Any Real Estate 2.0 tool you try will take time to gain a following, adds Keith Garner, managing director at the Center for REALTOR® Technology in Chicago. “Experiment but make sure that what you’re doing has some sort of return,” he says. Wait six months to evaluate whether your Real Estate 2.0 efforts are bearing fruit. “You’re shopping your personality out there,” Garner says.

Big Players Are Thinking 2.0 Too

Franchises, large brokers, and others involved with real estate also are trying to carve out space in the Web 2.0 world.

Homescape.com, a listings site, has hired professional journalists to create a blog that looks at real estate news. The site is a division of Classified Ventures LLC in Chicago, which is itself owned by media companies Belo Corp., Gannett Co. Inc., The McClatchy Co., Tribune Co., and The Washington Post Co. Those journalism roots provide it with a point of distinction from other listing sites, one it wants to emphasize with its new journalist blog, says Frank Breithaupt, Homescape’s vice president and general manager.

Scripps Networks, which owns HGTV and HGTV.com among its other media holdings, in December announced the debut of FrontDoor.com, which features a variety of videos on real estate topics in addition to real estate–related stories from its editors.

By the first quarter of this year, it hopes to be syndicating HGTV-produced video features to real estate partner Web sites, says Vicki Neil, vice president of real estate with Scripps in Knoxville, Tenn. The site already is mentioned on HGTV’s main site as a place to browse through home listings.

“HGTV has been trying to evaluate where great brand extensions are. Real estate shows have been doing a great job on our network, consumers turn to us as soon as they buy a home. The next logical step is to grab the consumer and help them through that homebuying process,” says Neil.

Coldwell Banker is partnering with Scripps, investing in videos it can put on its site, says Charlie Young, chief operating officer with Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC in Parsippany, N.J. It’s also working with another company to create neighborhood videos for its site.

On the blog side, Coldwell Banker introduced AgentSpace on its site at the end of 2007, allowing agents to write and post videos and photos, says Young. The company has also been working with its agents to populate a new wiki-like tool that will include surveys about the best attributes of neighborhoods around the country.

Coldwell Banker already has taken one of the largest steps into Real Estate 2.0 with its efforts on Second Life, a virtual reality online world where it set up shop in March 2006. “Our objective was to send a message to the real world that Coldwell Banker was serious about innovation,” says Young. Through July 31, of last year, Coldwell Bankers’ Second Life office had racked up 1.3 million minutes of visitor time. Young notes that the site has yet to attract a large enough number of users to make it a serious source of real estate leads. “At the current moment, I think we’ve learned as much as we can,” he says.

Just a few miles down the road, in Morris Plains, N.J., Weichert, REALTORS®, is workng on its own Web initiatives, including one that will enable its associates to create neighborhood profiles. “I think you’re going to see more and more large brokers incorporating these Web 2.0 principles going forward.” says Mike Montsko, president of Weichert Lead Network for Weichert, REALTORS®.
Among other initiatives, Weichert is working on ways its associates can build neighborhood profiles.

Well-known Real Estate Bloggers

• Teresa Boardman: A blogging pioneer, her site comes up first in searches for St. Paul real estate.
• Dustin Luther: Consultant for real estate professionals about the use of online space and founded Rain City Guide, a real estate blogging site.
• Frances Flynn Thorsen: Runs the Realtygram Blogger, includes video blogs.
• Jeff Turner: Writes Turner’s Perspective.
• Daniel Rothamel: Runs the Real Estate Zebra blog.

SLIDE SHOW

Web Sites That Work


BLOGGING TOOLS & SITES

ActiveRain
The Real Estate Tomato
Blogger.com
RealTown Blogs
TypePad
WordPress