Logitech Opens First Brand Store in Philippines

Swiss peripheral products company Logitech recently opened its first brand store in the Philippines at the Cyberzone technology area of SM Megamall. During the opening, Logitech unveiled new products such as new Logitech keyboards, a software for video-call streaming, wireless mouse and a host of others. In the store, customers can actually touch, demo and use their products on display. The brand store is being managed by Villman Computer; however, all products inside the store are for display and demo purposes and possible sales will be referred to Logitech’s sales channel partners in the country.

Source: Philstar.com.

40 Richest Persons in the Philippines

Henry Sy tops the list with $4 Billion at 86 years of age followed by Lucio Tan at $2.3 Billion who is 72 years old. Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala is third at $2 billion with fourth by Eduardo Cojuangco at $840 million. At fifth is George Ty at $830 million.

Click here to read the entire list at the Catanduanes Forum site.

Filipino Parents Spanking a Child Will Soon Go to Jail

The Anti-Corporal Punishment Act of 2009 (House Bill 6699) was filed this July by its author, Representative Nikki Prietto-Teodoro of the 1st district of Tarlac, with already 56 co-authors in the House, has gone through its second reading and is expected to be approved this year.

This bill will prohibit Filipino parents from using physical force to reprimand their children, including (wow!) harsh verbal assaults and (degradingly) humuliating their child for bad behavior. Child Rights Ambassador of Plan International Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski expressed support for a law that will protect children. Reacting to a comment that corporal punishment is sometimes brought about by poverty, Jaworski said, “No amount of poverty is a justification for corporal punishment.”

Corporal punishment has been the norm of many parents in the Philippines since time-a-memorial. Spanking and famously hitting children with slippers (“tsinelas”) are common sights in Filipino households, a way to correct unwanted bad behavior of the child.

Article 45 of the Child and Youth Welfare Code allows corporal punishments as long as these are “just and reasonable” and “moderate in degree.” However, those are vague words. Current laws only defend the child from severe harm.

The bill seeks to define corporal punishment as the use of physical force, forcing a child to undergo physical, painful or damaging acts, neglecting a child’s basic needs (such as starvation), use of external substance harmful to the child, forcing a child to undergo hazardous tasks, confinement (in unsafe places), and verbal assaults, threats or intimidation. This bill also covers the similar illegal acts conducted in schools, institutions, youth detention centers, and offices.

Sources: ABS-CBN News | TUCP

APO Concerts in Texas and California

Houston TX – Saturday, October 17, 2009 7:30 PM – Stafford Civic Center
VIP Tickets at $125 includes Dinner – Other tickets at $66, $45

---

Dallas, TX – Sunday, October 18, 2009 5:00 PM – Granville Arts Center
VIP Tickets at $120 includes “Meet and Greet” with the APO – Other tickets at $90, $75, $55

---

Hayward, CA – Friday, October 23, 2009 — Doors open7:00 PM, Show starts 9:00 PM
Chabot College Performance Arts Center
Limited VIP Tickets at $100 – Other tickets at $65, $45

Resorts World Manila Opens

---

- political advertisement -

---

…

Philippine billionaire Andrew Tan and Star Cruises Ltd. opened their $700 million Resorts World Manila, which is expected to double the gamblingtables in the city.

The venture will tap Star Cruises’ network of more than 2.5 million customers and will bus in people from outside Manila. The casino opens in spitting distance from the NAIA International Airport Terminal 3. The venture, Travellers International Hotel Group Inc., opened the first floor of a three-level casino at a complex that will include hotels and a shopping mall.

Source: Bloomberg.com.

---

-- advertising --

---

Former Philippine President Fidel Ramos in Thailand

Former President Fidel V. Ramos recently attended the 50th anniversary of the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Bangkok held at the Grand Hyatt Erawan on August 19. The AIT conferred the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Technology on him in May 1998. During his four-day stay in Thailand, he also met with the Filipino community working and living in the country.

Source: Department of Foreign Affairs.

The Go Negosyo Youth Entrepreneurship Summit on 9/11

The Go Negosyo Youth Entrepreneurship Summit will be held on September 11, 2009 at the SMX Convention Center in the Mall of Asia. The summit is a one-day forum cum expo which hopes to spark that entrepreneurial spirit among the youth. There’ll be forums with experienced Go Negosyo entrepreneurs and mentors who will be sharing tips and advice on opportunity-seeking, marketing, financing, product development, and all the basics of going into business. Government leaders will also be sharing their views on the need for entrepreneurship development in the country.

Admission is free and the event is open to everyone, including the not-so-young or young-at-heart. LOL! This event is organized by the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship, the NGO behind the Go Negosyo advocacy.

As a Participant, you can attend the event and be inspired by the Go Negosyo mentors. Learn the basics of putting up a business, and grab the chance to ask these established mentors questions on how you can put your dream business.

As an Exhibitor or Sponsor, you can showcase and expose your products and services to 20,000 youth, let your brand be associated with the advocacy and enjoy cost-efficient media values.

Certificate of attendance will be issued upon request after the event. For certificate requests, please e-mail youthsummit@gonegosyo.net prior to attending the event or call (02) 637-9347 and look for Myra Lorredo.

To register for the summit, simply drop by the event and fill-out the registration forms. Drop those registration forms at the designated drop boxes for a chance to win exciting prizes.

The summit is also searching for the “Go Negosyo Most Inspiring Young Entrepreneur.” You can also nominate a deserving candidate who is a Filipino, below 35 years old, and has established and managed a business that has been operating for at least three (3) years. The winners are determined by a panel of judges headed by the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship, who reserves the right to screen and determine awardees.

Source: Go Negosyo.

August 24, 2009 Philippine Economy Update

Click here to read the article.

About Randell Tiongson:  Randell is an Entrepreneur and a Personal Finance Coach & Educator. He is President & COO of Personal Finance Advisers Philippines Corp. and co-founder of http://www.income-tacts.com, the country’s premiere personal finance on-line forums. It’s an on-line community that is dedicated to the financial education of Filipinos. It now has over 2,300 members in 1 year’s time. He is also Director of the Registered Financial Planner Institute Philippines (local chapter of RFPI, Ohio, U.S.A.). Randell has 20+ years of experience in the Financial Service Industries – Banking, Mutual Funds & Insurance. He is a columnist for the Business Mirror and a contributor for Moneysense Magazine and UNO Magazine. A featured speaker for educational institutions like the Asian Institute of Management, Ateneo, De La Salle, Mapua University, University of Santo Tomas, La Salle Greenhills; De La Salle University, University of the Philippines and various conferences and companies, he appears as a resource person for various TV shows like TV Patrol, Bandila, Mornings at ANC, Shoptalk, Business Nightly, Light Talk, Sis, Umagang Kay Ganda, etc. Randell has been married for 18 years with 4 children.

Read and subscribe to his blog at http://www.randelltiongson.com.

Video: How to Invest in Stocks in the Philippines

Roger Groh is the founder of Groh Asset Management and speaks about investing in stocks in the Philippines.

Kadayawan sa Davao Festival

The 24th Kadayawan sa Davao, an annual thanksgiving celebration for a bountiful harvests centered on the importance of “communion with the Earth.” The festival has two main components: the Lumadnong Kasaulogan (Indigenous Peoples Festival), which is the core of the Kadayawan Festival showcasing the indigenous peoples’ culture and arts and the Subay sa Lumadnong Kagikan (Contemporary Indigenous-motivated celebrations) that showcases the impact of the indigenous culture and traditions to contemporary artists and communities. The Kadayawan sa Davao is celebrated from August 17 to 23.

Source: CBCP News

Where in Queens are the Pinoys?

There are 75,352 Filipinos in the city of New York (2005-2007 survey) of which 60% reside in the borough of Queens. Wow! This makes the migrant Filipinos the fourth largest group of Asians in the entire city. For “Filipino businesses,” you can find many congregated along Roosevelt Avenue at Woodside, Queens.

Read the article in Nomadic Pinoy and see the pictures for yourself.

Asia Journalism Internships

The Asia New Zealand Foundation (www.asianz.org.nz) is offering three journalism internships at Asia-based news media organisations. Applications are now open for the two or three month long internships which are to be undertaken in 2010. The three host media organisations are the Philippine Star in Manila, CNBC Asia in Singapore and the International Herald Tribune in Hong Kong. Note that the internships are unpaid. The Asia New Zealand Foundation will provide $NZ5000 to cover return flights with the balance to go to accommodation and other expenses. Participants will be generally responsible for their own travel, insurance, accommodation and living expenses during the internships.

For more information, click here to read the New Zealand site Scoop.

“Us Girls” August Awards on August 20 at Eastwood

Studio 23’s magazine show, Us Girls, will be having their ” Us Girls ” August Awards this coming Thursday, August 20 to be held at the the New Eastwood Mall in Libis, Quezon City. Categories like Face of the Year, Most Fashionable, Make-up Artist of the Year and Stylist of the Year will be their base to determine this year’s winners. Watch out as hosts Iya Villania, Megan Young and Angel Aquino recognize the best in Philippine fashion this year.

Source: Grabeh.com

Pag-IBIG Overseas Program for Overseas, Migrant or Naturalized Filipino

The Pag-IBIG Overseas Program (POP) is a voluntary savings program which aims to provide Filipino overseas contract workers, immigrants and naturalized citizens the opportunity to save for their future and the chance to avail of a housing loan of as much as two million Pesos. Membership under the Pag-IBIG Overseas Program (POP) shall be open to all Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) with valid visas or employment contracts. Likewise, it shall be open to Filipino immigrants and to Filipinos naturalized in other countries.

Click here to read more at the “Pinoy Around the World” blog.

NEXUS Allows Employees to Register With Comelec on Paid Company Time

NEXUS has launched a 100% Employee Voters Registration Program where every eligible voter in the company is allowed to register with the Commission on Elections by taking a day off to register. That day will not be deducted from their vacation leaves. Employees who are already registered voters, being responsible citizens, are also entitled to a paid day off. In addition, the first fifty employees to submit their official voter registration documents to Human Resources get free tickets to Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds starring Brad Pitt, which opens in October.

Click here to read the JessicaRulesTheUniverse.com article.

Filipino Migrants Crucial for New Zealand’s Dairy Industry

A Mid Canterbury dairy farming leader says it would be frightening to think about where New Zealand’s dairy industry would be today if it was not for a migrant workforce. Former Mid Canterbury Federated Farmers dairy section chairman Dean McConnell said the Filipino workforce was performing a vital role in the dairy industry and filled a serious gap in staffing on dairy farms. “If we didn’t have them, we would have really struggled. In fact, it would be frightening to think of what would have happened if we didn’t have the migrant workers irrespective of the standard of them.”

Filipina Belinda Dewe, of Timaru, has formed a “shelter and cultural” group called the South Canterbury Filipino Association. It links with a similar Mid Canterbury organisation to look after the interests of Filipino farm workers.

For more on the article, read the Otago Daily Times.

Filipino Language Classes in California High School

Otay Ranch High School in Filipino-populated Chula Vista has a lot of Filipino classes available, in addition to offering Japanese. It is becoming useful as a diaspora language. The prevalence of the Filipino language classes may be because of the naval base in San Diego which gave birth to a lot of Filipinos working there and becoming immigrants and citizens of the United States.

Click here to read Jeff’s article.

TFC now on mobile in Japan

ABS-CBN’s ‘The Filipino Channel’ (TFC)  is bringing the latest news and the best in entertainment to Filipinos in Japan on mobile. TFC subscribers on mobile will now have the chance to be updated with ABS-CBN’s latest news and entertainment scoops, variety shows, drama series, movies and sports events on the palm of their hands through compatible mobile phones within the country.

Read more at abs-cbnnews.com.

Philippine HR Professionals Summit 2

A gathering of the Philippines’ Human Resources practitioners, recruiters and recruitment providers will be held on August 26 and 27, 2009, at the Crowne Plaza Galleria in EDSA. Featured speakers include Cecilio Pedro, President and CEO of Lamoiyan Corporation, the makers of Happee Toothpaste, Grace Abella-Zata, Managing Director of the Corporate Executive Search, Inc., Hans Montenegro, Associate Director of Human Resources for The Nielsen Company, and many more.

Regular rate for the two-day summit is 7,995 Pesos + VAT. For reservations and inquiries, call Porter and Miles, Inc. at telephone numbers 706-1307, 986-3631, 706-1321, 706-1392 or mobile phone number 0916-425-1870. You may also e-mail any of the following: sophia_porterandmiles@yahoo.com, sophia_pmi@yahoo.com or phia05@gmail.com.

Pinoy Friendster Day on August 15

Friendster is the biggest, most influential online social networking site in the Philippines. In fact, I have never met a call center agent who doesn’t have a Friendster account (yet). It’s no surprise that an “eyeball” event will be staged on Saturday, August 15, 2009, at the SM Mall of Asia for all Friendster-ians and Friendster-ettes.

Click here for the promotional YouTube video of Pinoy Friendster Day.

Top 10 Emerging Influential Bloggers

Janet Toral, a mainstay in the Philippine internet world, set up a project called the “Top 10 Emerging Influential Bloggers” in the Philippines and around the world. Bloggers who want to join can nominate their top 10 blogs that qualify where an event was staged to announce the Top 10 winners.

Kelvinonian Ideas 2.0 won as one of the top winners. Click here to read his article and view his photos of the event.

Cory was RP’s gift to the world

Corazon C. Aquino will go down in history as one of the best presidents the Philippines ever had, businessman Joey de Venecia III said yesterday.

“She is more than just an icon of democracy as everyone calls her, she was the country’s gift to the world,” de Venecia said.

The widow of the late Senator Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Aquino Jr. was the inspiration of the Edsa Revolution of 1986 which restored the country’s democratic processes. Also known as the People Power revolution, the event inspired the peoples of numerous countries to peacefully remove unpopular leaders in the decades that followed.

“President Aquino’s commitment to democracy was absolute,” de Venecia said, “Because of her, the Filipino people will never again allow anyone to deprive them of their freedoms, their rights, and their civil liberties.”

The ZTE-NBN whistleblower said his own willingness to fight against insurmountable odds would not have been possible without the previous battle that Cory Aquino fought and won in 1986.

“The ‘impossible dream’ that Cory dared dream, and Ninoy before her, taught us a lesson we must never forget,” according to de Venecia. “All of us must be willing to march into hell if need be for a heavenly cause,” he added, borrowing the words of a song that was a favorite of Cory and Ninoy Aquino.

The son and namesake of former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. said the late president was a personal friend of their family. “My thoughts and prayers are with the Aquino family at this most difficult time.”

He called on the government to work with the Aquino family in insuring a fitting farewell for the former president. De Venecia said political rivalries must be set aside during the one week period of national mourning announced by Malacanang. He also asked the public to unite in giving everyone’s “Tita Cory” the proper exit that she so richly deserves.

“I guess we can all take comfort in the fact that she is now reunited with her beloved Ninoy,” de Venecia said.

Cory Aquino’s Advise to Filipino-Americans

“I thought of Cory as Jawaharlal Nehru once said of Mahatma Gandhi, the light has gone out of our lives and there is darkness everywhere,” says writer of blog Trueversy.com. After assuming the presidency of the Philippines, Cory Aquino visited San Francisco on September 23, 1986 and spoke to 4,500 members of the Filipino community at a banquet held at the Moscone Center. The writer/blogger was chair of the committee which hosted the largest banquet ever held for a visiting head of state in San Francisco history, and tells the story therein.

Click here to read the Trueversy.com article.

A New International Airport for Boracay

A private company names Aklan-Romblon Properties Corporation (ARPC) is going to build an international airport very near the island of Boracay. The airport will be constructed on Carabao Island in San Jose, Romblon, and will cost some six billion Pesos. This means pump-boat travel time to the famous beach resort island will drastically be reduced. ARPC has already purchased about 120 hectares of land for the airport project and has also fenced its perimeter. Though still in design phase, detailed drawings will be submitted to the Philippine Department of Transportation and Communication within 60 to 90 days. No word yet as to when the airport will be operational but the DoTC’s office has already granted locational clearance for the project.

Philippines to Participate in Brunei Trade Expo and Ministerial Meeting

Nearly 50 delegates from the Philippines, led by Secretary Jesus G. Dureza, are participating in the Trade Expo 2009 and Ministerial Meeting in Brunei. The Philippines has five booths showcasing handicraft products, fashion accessories, bags, bottled sardines and small and medium industries products at the Trade Expo held at the International Convention Centre in Berakas.