| Sunday, 28 February 2010 15:56 |
| The advent of internet has opened countless opportunities for every discerning businessman. Creative Online Media Inc. chief executive officer Dennis Ng saw an opportunity in the services sector by providing a platform for doing business. Ng created redpages.ph to allow small and medium enterprises to sell their products and look for suppliers through the internet. Now, redpages.ph is the fastest growing marketplace in the Philippines providing an online marketplace. 
There are already 17,000 Philippine companies that have been pre-listed in the redpages.ph for a limited exposure of their company for free.
“Purchasers need not scan the telephone directory and call each one of them for quotations. All a purchaser has to do is post their buying leads for suppliers to see and send their quotations, Buyers can post unlimited buying leads at no cost,” Ng said SMEs are entitled to feature up to five products. Each company can upload products, photos and company profile. But, for a company to be assigned its own website plus unlimited number of product postings, they have to upgrade by paying an annual fee of P8,888.
Users can view mini-webpages and listings in over 30 industry categories and nearly 350 product categories from agriculture to funerals and so much more. The company also offers 1,005 design templates to choose from to suit a particular company’s business. All companies under the premium listing are given specific website. Once a company has decided to upgrade into the premium list, it would be subjected to a verification procedure by a third party to ensure that all the listed companies are legitimate businesses. Creative Online has engaged the services of Dun & Bradstreet, a US-based company that provides international and US business credit information and credit reports, for the authentication process, which is done on an annual basis. “Our primary objectives are to promote e-commerce within the Philippines and utilize the internet to link businesses with international buyers, vendors, trade facilitation bodies and government institutions. We hope to enable Filipino businesses to create a place for themselves in the e-world and get their share out of this fast growing trade channel,” said Ng. The company is also engaged in search engine optimization by continually updating Yahoo and Google of their listed companies so that searches would automatically redirect to the redpages website and put their companies on top the list. True enough, redpages.ph always comes among the top links for every search for a Philippine company.
“On our part, we are making selling and buying easy,” said Ng. Ng expects to list 500 companies by end this year and at least 2,000 by next year. There are estimated 1.3 million domestic enterprises that can be listed into the redpages. Ng could only dream that they would someday become the Alibaba of the Philippines, but who knows? Alibaba provides B2B for Chinese firms with an estimated listing of 4 million now although China has 30 million SMEs. There are long term goals including listing in the stock market, but for now Ng would rather concentrate on the strengthening and building their capacity. |
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Redpages.ph, the way to do business
BPI Family Savings teams up with Robinsons Land on housing loans
| Written by Erik de la Cruz / Reporter |
| Wednesday, 31 March 2010 19:14 |
| BPI Family Savings Bank (BFSB), the thrift bank unit of Bank of the Philippine Islands, has partnered with Robinsons Land Corp. in offering what they describe as the best financing deals for prospective home buyers. BFSB and RLC officials on Tuesday announced their partnership and the deals they will offer between now and June, and painted an upbeat outlook for the local housing sector. Alfonso Salcedo Jr., president and chief executive officer of BFSB, said demand for home loans remained “strong” and that he continued to expect the bank’s housing loan portfolio to grow between 10 percent and 15 percent this year. “We’re well within that projection. The pipeline looks very encouraging,” he said at a news briefing. Frederick Go, president and CEO of Robinsons Land, said demand in the property sector was still coming from the retail and residential segments. “I really see a good [year] for the property industry as a whole,” he told reporters. Property developers remain aggressive in building homes given the housing backlog in the Philippines, and target in particular those cash-rich overseas Filipinos. After the success of its Housing Madness promo in Bacolod and Cagayan de Oro, where it brought together developers under one roof to offer special home-financing deals, BFSB will hold a similar event this time with Robinsons Land, from April 9 to 11 at Robinsons Place Manila and Robinsons Galleria in Ortigas. Robinsons Land will exhibit more than 20 projects during the event. Jocelyn Sta. Ana, BFSB senior vice president and head of retail mortgage division, said the bank will offer “very competitive” interest rates of as low as 8.0 percent to home-loan applicants. That rate applies on the first year of the loan, while a fixed rate of 8.75 percent is applicable over the subsequent years for a five-year loan. The bank can extend a loan equivalent to up to 80 percent of the net selling price of the housing unit, depending on the buyer’s capability to pay. Processing of loan application can take up to five days if all documents required are presented. Such rates, according to Sta. Ana, are more attractive compared with regular published rates for a five-year loan, which are usually as high as 9.5 percent applicable on the first year and 10.25 percent for the next four years. Prospective home buyers can apply for loans with maturities of five, 10, 15, 20, or as long as 25 years. Salcedo said prospective buyers of Robinsons Land units can avail themselves of loans from BFSB until June. He said local interest rates were expected to go up in the second half of the year, when the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is widely expected to tighten its monetary policy through hikes in policy rates. Robinsons Land, Go said, will also offer discounted prices to prospective buyers. |
Cebu’s tourism enterprise to open first sea-based water theme park
| Written by Willy Rodolfo III / Reporter |
| Wednesday, 31 March 2010 19:21 |
| CEBU is set to open its first sea-based water theme park as the tourism enterprise that brought brands like Island Souvenirs and Island Banca Cruises launches its first venture into property development. Talima Adventure and Water Park on Olango Island off east Mactan is currently on its dry run and should open to the public before the end of April, Islands Group chief executive Jay Aldeguer said. More than just a beach destination, Talima brought in more than P10 million worth of water-recreation systems from inflatables to traditional watersport equipment. “In order for Cebu to compete with our neighbors in Asia, we have to constantly develop new products and new attractions. We have to constantly innovate,” Aldeguer said. What will be opened to the public will only be phase 1 of the development, with succeeding land-based expansions ready to respond to the public’s acceptance of the project. The water park has more than a hectare of property ready for development. Among the attractions of the park are the giant inflatable slide, the “iceberg” eater trampolines and glass-bottomed boats, among others. Olango Island is already popular on its own with its world-renowned bird sanctuary, a vital stopover for migratory birds, and is one of the biggest and richest in the region. Fish sanctuaries surrounding the island is also a popular destination for tourists with its rich marine life and lively fish interaction activities. With this in mind, Aldeguer appointed an environmentalist and marine biologist to oversee the Talima project to assure that all development is pegged on the environment and not the other way around. “Some projects complete their development first then adjust the environment. We base our development with the environment-protection atmosphere first,” he said. The property managers are also internationally certified safety and rescue officers to ensure reliability of the equipment and activities. Marketing manager Carlo Borromeo said the initial fees for the park is P250, which covers both the entrance fee and the use of the facilities. Talima is just a 10-minute cross by boat from mainland Mactan. |
Monday, March 22, 2010
Government allots P100 billion for stimulus plan
By Lawrence Agcaoili (The Philippine Star) Updated March 23, 2010 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - The government is spending P100 billion this year to pump prime the economy that was battered by the full impact of the global economic crisis last year, Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said yesterday.
Teves told participants of the forum hosted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) yesterday that the funds for stimulus spending this year had already been incorporated in the 2010 budget that was signed into law by President Arroyo last Feb. 9.
“The Philippines will be spending P100 billion for stimulus projects for 2010,” Teves said.
He added that the government would not resort to additional borrowings to finance the pump priming activity.
The DOF chief told reporters that the additional spending would be concentrated on major infrastructure projects such as telecommunications, power, and water.
Last Feb. 9, President Arroyo signed the P1.54-trillion national budget for 2010. This year’s approved budget was eight percent or P115 billion higher than last year’s P1.426- trillion budget.
The Department of Education (DepEd) got a share of P174. 9 billion followed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) with P135.6 billion, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) with P66.45 billion, the Department of National Defense (DND) with P57.84 billion, and the Department of Agriculture (DA) with P41.17 billion.
The Arroyo administration implemented a P330-billion Economic Resiliency Plan (ERP) last year to cushion the impact of the global economic crisis. This year’s budget for the stimulus program was less than a third of the amount spent last year.
The stimulus spending coupled with weak tax collections brought about by the slackening domestic output translated to a record budget deficit of P298.5 billion or 3.9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) last year from P68.1 billion or 0.9 percent of GDP in 2009. The domestic output as measured by the GDP eased to 0.9 percent last year from 3.8 percent in 2009.
This year, the government hopes to trim the budget deficit to P293 billion or 3.5 percent of GDP as it expects the GDP to expand between 2.6 percent and 3.6 percent.
Teves told reporters that it is not yet clear whether the Philippines would have to continue spending more next year to boost domestic activity.
“We’re hoping the world recovery will be strong enough that the stimulus program that we had in 2009 and and in some extent in 2010 will not be needed as they were in those two years,” he stressed.
Economic managers are set to unwind its fiscal and monetary stimulus measures with the improving domestic economy.
“We don’t know yet whether an exit strategy is in order after 2010,” Teves added.
On the other hand, monetary authorities continued to phase out liquidity enhancing measures due to clearer signs of increasing momentum in economic recovery. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), however, kept its key policy rates unchanged at record lows.
The BSP’s Monetary Board slashed its key policy rates by 200 basis points between December of 2008 and July of 2009 as part of its accommodative stance to cushion the impact of the global financial crisis on the domestic economy.
However, it has phased out several crisis-related measures including the reduction of the peso rediscounting budget to P40 billion from P60 billion as well as the restoration of the loan value of all eligible rediscounting papers to 80 percent from 90 percent of the borrowing bank’s credit instrument.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
RECOGNITION OF FRESA AS AN INTERIM APO
Professional Regulation Commission
Manila
RESOLUTION NO. 2009-538
Series of 2009
RECOGNITION OF THE FEDERATION OF REAL ESTATE SERVICE ASSOCIATIONS (FRESA) AS AN INTERIM ACCREDITED PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION OF REAL ESTATE SERVICE PRACTITIONERS (APORESPs)
WHEREAS, on June 29, 2009, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo approved and singed into law Republic Act No. 9646 entitled as “An Act Regulating the Practice of Real Estate Service in the Philippines, Creating for the Purpose a Professional Regulatory Board of Real Estate Service , Appropriating Funds therefore and for other Purposes”, known as “The Real Estate Service Act of the Philippines”;
WHEREAS, Section 4, Article II of R.A. No. 9646 states, to wit:
“ Section 4. Creation and Composition of the Board. – There is hereby created a Professional Regulatory Board of Real Estate Service, hereinafter referred to as the Board, under the supervision and administrative control of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), hereinafter referred to as the Commission, composed of a chairperson and four (4) members who shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines from the three (3) recommendees chosen by the Commission from a list of five (5) nominees per position submitted by the accredited and integration professional organization of real estate service practitioners: Provided, That two (2) of the members of the Board shall represent the government assessors and appraisers”.
WHEREAS, pending accreditation of an integrated professional organization of real estate service practitioners (RESP’s) by the Board subject to approval by the Commission pursuant to Sec. 34, Art. IV of R.A. 9646, there is a need to recognize an interim APO for the RESP’s that shall submit the list of nominees for the first composition of the Board to the Commission from whom the latter shall officially forward the ranked recommendees through issuance of a Resolution to the President for her appointment of the said composition;
WHEREAS, on October 21, 2009, the different organizations of RESPs held a meeting presided by the Commission Chairman to choose the Federation of Real Estate Service Associations (FRESA) who shall apply for accreditation as the interim APO for the RESPs by the Commission; and
WHEREAS, it was agreed that should FRESA be accredited as the interim APO, this Commission shall automatically disaccredit it after the accredited and integrated professional organization (APO) of RESPs shall have been constituted in accordance with Sec. 34, Art. IV of R.A. No. 9646;
NOW, THEREFORE, the Commission RESOLVES, as it hereby RESOLVED, to recognize the FEDERATION OF REAL ESTATE SERVICE ASSOCIATIONS (FRESA) as INTERIM Accredited Professional Organization of Real Estate Service Practitioners; and accordingly, to issue thereto a Certificate of Accreditation upon payment of the prescribed fees therefor;
FUTHER, RESOLVED, that FRESA, after its accreditation, shall submit the list of five (5) ranked nominees per position to the Commission from whom three (3) thereof shall be chosen and recommended by the latter to the President for her appointment in the light of Sections 4, 6 and 7, Art. II of R.A. No. 9646 pursuant to Sec. 42, Art. V. Thereof and in performing other tasks prior to the constitution of the accredited and integrated professional organization of RESPs;
FURTHERMORE, RESOLVED, this Resolution shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following the full and complete publication thereof in the Official Gazette or any newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines.
Let a copy of this Resolution be furnished FRESA for its information, guidance and dissemination to RESP’s Associations thereunder.
Done in the City of Manila, this 23rd day of November, 2009.
(Sgd. ) NICOLAS P. LAPENA, JR.
Chairman
(Sgd. )RUTH RANA-PADILLA
Commissioner
(Sgd.) NILO L. ROSAS
Commissioner
Published : Manila Standard Today
(MST)Nov. 27, 2009
(from file of Atty. Ariel Martinez, http://realestateserviceact.blogspot.com/2009/07/normal-0-false-false-false-en-ph-x-none_27.html)
DTI / PRC issues Joint Announcement on Expired Licenses
Real Estate Brokers, Appraisers and Consultants
The Department of Trade and Industry [ DTI ], along with the Professional Regulation Commission [ PRC] has issued a joint announcement as provided under DTI Memorandum No. 031 dated January 12, 2010 regarding the status of licenses of real estate brokers, appraisers and consultants which have expired or will be expiring.
The said announcement is seen to address the question of many practitioners whose licenses have expired as to the status of their licenses considering that there are still no implementing rules and regulations under the Real Estate Service Act which became effective last July 30, 2009, particularly on the renewal of expired licenses as the practitioners have nowhere to go to renew their licenses as of the present time.
Under said memorandum, an announcement has been made, as follows:
ANNOUNCEMENT
TO ALL REAL ESTATE DEVELOPERS
& REAL ESTATE SERVICE PRACTITIONERS
“Pending the appointment of the Chairman and Members of the Professional Regulatory Board of Real Estate Service (PRBRES), pursuant to Republic Act No. 9646, all Real Estate Brokers, Real Estate Appraisers and Real Estate Consultants, whose licenses issued by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) expired on December 31, 2008 and onwards, are required to file their application for registration without examination under Section 20, Article III of R.A. No. 9644 [sic? 9646] from January 12, 2010 to July 30, 2011, stamped received by the Professional Regulation Commission and/or the PRBRES. Such application shall be deemed proof of authority for the lawful exercise of their profession until such time that the PRC and the PRBRES shall have approved it."
As a guide, under R.A. No. 9646, Sec. 20, Article III, real estate service practitioners are given a period of two (2) years from the effectivity of R.A. No. 9646, or from July 30, 2009 to register with the PRC without taking any examinations. Said Section 20 provides that:
“SEC. 20. Registration Without Examination. – Upon application and payment of the required fees, the following shall be registered, and shall be issued by the Board and the Commission a certificate of registration and a professional identification card without taking the prescribed examination:
(a) Those who, on the date of the effectivity of this Act, are already licensed as real estate brokers, real estate appraisers or real estate consultants by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) by virtue of Ministry Order No. 39, as amended: Provided, That they are in active practice as real estate brokers, real estate appraisers and real estate consultants, and have undertaken relevant CPE to the satisfaction of the Board;
(b) Assessors and appraisers who, on the date of the effectivity of this Act, hold permanent appointments and are performing actual appraisal and assessment functions for the last five (5) years, have passed the Real Property Assessing Officer (RPAO) examination conducted and administered by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) in coordination with the Department of Finance (DOF), and have undertaken relevant CPE to the satisfaction of the Board; and
(c) Assessors and appraisers who, on the date of the effectivity of this Act, hold permanent appointments and have at least ten (10) years actual experience in real property appraisal or assessment and have completed at least one hundred twenty (120) hours of accredited training on real property appraisal conducted by national or international appraisal organizations or institutions/entities recognized by the Board and relevant CPE to the satisfaction of the Board.
Those falling under categories (b) and (c) shall register with the Board after they shall have complied with the requirements for registration as real estate appraisers: Provided, That those seeking to be licensed to a new credential level shall be required to take the pertinent licensure examination.
Those so exempt under the aforementioned categories shall file their application within two (2) years from the effectivity of this Act: Provided, That the renewal of the professional identification card is subject to the provisions of Section 17 hereof.” [ emphasis and underscoring supplied ]
The concern raised at the start of the year by real estate service practitioners is where and how do they renew their licenses which have expired as of December 31, 2009. Simply put, what is the status of their expired licenses and whether they are still considered “licensed” and still with a valid license and may they continue to practice their profession now as a real estate broker, real estate appraiser or real estate consultant.
The said memorandum is supposed to have clarified the above concern in that since the Professional Regulatory Board of Real Estate Service [ PRBRES ] has not been formed to date and therefore there are still no implementing rules and regulations, those with expired licenses [ as of December 31, 2008, as per the memorandum ] still have the authority for the lawful exercise of their profession until such time that the PRC and PRBRES shall have approved their application.
Note however that the application referred to in the memorandum only states that such application will be considered a proof of authority to continue their practice in the meantime that the PRBRES is not formed yet and there are still no implementing rules and regulations.
It is submitted that even without such application, one is still considered to have the authority for the lawful exercise of their professions either as a real estate broker, real estate appraiser and real estate consultant until the PRBRES shall have been formed and the the promulgation of the implementing rules and regulations under R.A. No. 9646, and if proof is required, as in the case of developers who are accrediting or hiring real estate brokers, all the real estate broker has to do is to file said application and have it received by the PRC.
---------------
MEMORANDUM
For : ALL REGIONAL AND PROVINCIAL
____ DIRECTORS/CARETAKERS
From : VICTORIO MARIO A. DIMAGIBA
______Director
Date : 14 January 2010
Re : Announcement to Real Estate Developers and
____ Real Estate Practitioners
____________________________________________________________________________
In reference to the attached self-explanatory announcement issued by PRC Chairman Nicolas P. Lapena and the above-signed, please disseminate the same for the information and guidance of all concerned.
Thank you very much.
ANNOUNCEMENT
TO ALL REAL ESTATE DEVELOPERS
& REAL ESTATE SERVICE PRACTITIONERS
“Pending the appointment of the Chairman and Members of the Professional Regulatory Board of Real Estate Service (PRBRES), pursuant to Republic Act No. 9646, all Real Estate Brokers, Real Estate Appraisers and Real Estate Consultants, whose licenses issued by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) expired on December 31, 2008 and onwards, are required to file their application for registration without examination under Section 20, Article III of R.A. No. 9644 [sic? 9646] from January 12, 2010 to July 30, 2011, stamped received by the Professional Regulation Commission and/or the PRBRES. Such application shall be deemed proof of authority for the lawful exercise of their profession until such time that the PRC and the PRBRES shall have approved it.
For the guidance of all concerned, the contact address of the PRC is P. Paredes St., Sampaloc, Manila,
Attention : Office of the PRB Secretary
________________________________
________________________________
Manila, 12 January 2010
(Sgd. ) NICOLAS P. LAPEŇA, JR. ___ (Sgd.)VICTORIO MARIO A. DIMAGIBA
_______Chairman__________________________ Director
Professional Regulation Commission _________________Bureau of Trade Regulation & Consumer Protection
__________________________________________________DeDepartment of Trade and Industry
[ Cebu ] Developer improves business park
By Katlene O. Cacho
A CEBU-based property development and leasing company will build another facility in its business park to further attract potential tenants and markets.
“The move of enhancing the Oakridge Business Park by putting up a commercial building will further strengthen the business operation as this will cater to the business tenants and to the public as well,” said Edmun Liu, chief executive officer of Oakridge Realty Development Corporation during the groundbreaking ceremony held last Friday.
The Oak Tree Drive, is a commercial facility that has 628 square-meter leasable space. Liu said the facility can house three tenants. The company, he added, is currently on negotiations with certain outlets and chains that have shown interest in renting the commercial space.
Oakridge Realty Development Corp. is the developer of Oakridge Business Park, a three-hectare property located on A.S. Fortuna Street in Banilad.
Aside from putting up a facility, Liu said they will also widen and enhance the entrance of the business park with a “green theme” to make it more attractive to potential tenants.
Oakridge Business has a total leasable area of 18,000 square meters with already 90 percent occupancy.
“We are also in the preliminary stages of negotiations of potential tenants who wish to occupy the remaining spaces of the building,” he said.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on March 1, 2010.
Pag-IBIG readies more loans for housing
THE HOME Development Mutual Fund, commonly called the Pag-IBIG Fund, has hiked its allocation for housing loans by 10.5% this year, as it expects more people to tap the fund for their housing needs.
Pag-IBIG Chief Executive Officer Jaime A. Fabiana told reporters on Tuesday that P50.5 billion is available for housing loans this year, up from the P45.7 billion extended to members in 2009.
“We expect an increase in housing loans because of the affordability of the loans and reduced interest rates,” he said in a telephone interview yesterday.
Interest rates of Pag-IBIG housing loans were slashed in April last year with the aim of making the loan program more affordable to members.
Interest rates have been reduced from 10.5% to 8.5% per year for loans of over P750,000 up to P1 million, and to 9.5% per year for loans of over P1 million up to P1.25 million.
“Despite the economic slowdown last year, housing loans increased,” Mr. Fabiana said.
Pag-IBIG housing loans grew by 34% last year from P34 billion in 2008.
“We think housing loans will continue to grow this year,” Mr. Fabiana added.
The Pag-IBIG Fund was formed in 1978 through a presidential decree.
It is mandated to provide affordable housing finance to its members.
The Pag-IBIG Fund will be issuing P12 billion worth of five-year bonds next month, the proceeds of which would be used to refinance its P7 billion worth of maturing obligations as well as to support its lending operations. -- Louella D. Desiderio