Creating the Possible

Our Full Support

2007-11-06T17:42:00.000+08:00

It's ridiculous that there are some who criticize our soldiers for acting too hastily, fighting a war when there are ongoing peace talks. The southern campaign is a war that must be fought, and resolved quickly in favor of the Republic. Criticizing the war does not help. Only the full support of the people of the Republic for our fighting forces will help to quickly resolve this war.

Those who say the war jeopardizes the peace process do not understand the situation in Mindanao. They do not understand that there are different groups active in the South each with different approaches and objectives. Most of these groups want peace and development.

They want their fair share of the 7.5% GDP growth, the highest in twenty years, that we, as a nation, have just achieved. They want prosperity like their Muslim brothers in Malaysia, and they know that to have that prosperity, there will have to be a negotiated peace.

The opponents in this campaign are not those with whom we are having peace talks with.
General Esperon has made this very clear, and reports in the field confirm, that he and our fighting men are exercising every precaution to avoid non-combatant casualties.

The war is with the Abu Sayyaf, the radicalized bandit group of less than fifty fighters that has consistently shown total disregard for civilians, foreign tourists, and our soldiers. This is the group that massacred almost an entire town, Christians and Muslims alike, in Zamboanga in 1990. This is the group that raided Dos Palmas, and Sipadan Island in Malaysia.

This is the group that engaged in numerous kidnappings, the proceeds of which were allegedly used to fund the 9-11 attacks in the United States.

They are not well regarded even among fellow muslims. The MNLF and MILF, our partners in the peace process, distance themselves from Abu Sayyaf.

Their only ties are with the equally radical Al-Queda, and their Indonesian counterpart, Jemaah Islamiya, perpetrators of the deadly Bali bombings.

Their ties reveal who they are, these are groups without negotiable issues, instead they are driven by delusions of an apocalyptic future, where peoples of the world: Muslims against the West, Muslims against fellow Muslims, fight each other, and from this anarchy will they emerge victorious to rule the world. Whatever is left of it after their madness.

We wish the military Godspeed in eradicating and capturing these deluded, and dangerous, bandits who have no regard for others, be they Christian or Muslim. They have no place in our Republic.

The MNLF and MILF, on the other hand, are presenting negotiable issues: Autonomy (since granted under the ARMM), muslim ancestral domains, Sharia communities and societies in their homelands, with schools, hospitals, and Sharia civic institutions. These are reasonable, tangible issues that can be negotiated in an environment of peace and prosperity.

Let's hope that the President returns from Malaysia with billions of dollars in pledges for development in Muslim Mindanao. Malaysia manages a large portion of the estimated $800Bln in assets looking for Sharia compliant investments.

There is plenty that aid from fellow Muslims can deliver in terms of building the social infrastructure of underdeveloped Mindanao: Madrasah schools, mass housing, hospitals, roads, irrigation, and communications can be built with investments and technical assistance from our progressive Islamic neighbor.

The war with the Abu Sayyaf has cost our armed forces over fifty brave lives. These soldiers are fellow Filipinos like you and me. They had dreams for themselves and for their families. They've sacrificed their dreams to defend the Republic.

Whenever we hear of tragic news, such as a major typhoon, a landslide, or earthquake, we Filipinos get together and help each other in whatever way we can. These soldiers have families, and children in school. They had dreams for their children, and it is now up to us to fulfill them.

Our brave fighting men deserve no less. When they put themselves at risk to defend the Republic, they should be confident that people of the Republic stand behind them to help fulfill their dreams for their loved ones.

Malaysiaku Gemilang: 50 years of Merdeka

2007-11-06T17:36:00.000+08:00

On August 31, 1957, at exactly 12:01 AM a new South East Asian Nation was born out of the formerly British ruled Malayan Peninsula. It would be joined six years later by Sabah and Sarawak as a result of a referendum where residents voted to help create the Federation of Malaysia.

Singapore and Brunei would later break away from the federation to chart their own destinies, but both maintaining strong cultural and economic ties with South East Asia's most vibrant nation.

Join Malaysia as it celebrates fifty years of Merdeka (Independence) and celebrate the diversity of their tri-cultural nation of Malays, ethnic Chinese, and South Asians as they present the evolution of their uniquely unifying Malaysian heritage.

An impressive lineup of events is planned beginning with an International Fireworks Competition in the government center of Putrajaya, midway between the airport and Kuala Lumpur.

Make this a whole day affair with shopping, good food, watersports, and savor the inspiring “Putrajaya Floria Festival of Blooms” a garden festival commemorating fifty years of a nation in bloom.

August 31st is the big day as Malaysia celebrates “Malaysiaku Gemilang!,” Glorious Malaysia with a myraid of parades cultural performances, street shows, and carnivals.

Although many events are scheduled in Kuala Lumpur, each of Malaysia's thirteen states have their own festivities ensuring that no matter where you'll be in Malaysia, there will be a celebration nearby.

The main events will be held in Merdeka Square in Kuala Lumpur along the Putrajaya waterfront. The King's Palace in Kuala Lumpur will hold an open house for visitors, followed by a grand parade attended by their Majesties, the King and Queen of Malaysia, Prime Minister Badawi, dignitaries and the public. A spectacular fireworks display is scheduled in Putrajaya, followed by a free open air concert on the eve of Merdeka.

The week after that, on September 7-9, Kuala Lumpur hosts the International Military Tatoo Exhibition. Military tatoos are precision drills by various national honor guards spread out of three thrilling nights, with many visitting dignitaries from various governments from around the world.

And if that's not enough, Malaysia's numerous theme parks operate year round: Aquaria right inside the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centrenear Petronas, Sunway Lagoon Resort midway between Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, or Genting Highlands, along the border with Pahang State. For a more genteel experience take a trip to Cameron Highlands, a plantation style resort northeast of Kuala Lumpur.

For more information on exciting year around events in the“Visit Malaysia 2007” program, visit http://www.tourism.gov.my/

Fly to Malaysia and celebrate Merdeka with Cebu Pacific's affordable flights four times a week. Cebu Pacific, the only Philippine airline flying to Malaysia, now has more seats to Kuala Lumpur with the fielding of its new 179-seater Airbus A320.

Point of Origin

2007-11-06T15:21:00.000+08:00

Mattel's recall of 18.2 million products, including Barbie playsets, Polly Pocket, Dora the Explorer, Fisher Price and Sesame Street toys is just the tip of the iceberg.

Mattel takes pride in its position as the world's most trusted toy company, and was quick to announce the recall following reports of problems with product safety.

If a company as careful with toy quality as Mattel can be caught off-guard with safety issues from toys manufactured in China, how much more for other toys sold in our country?
Apart from the Mattel recall, several toy companies also announced recalls of products ranging from bibs to children's address books.

The Department of Health warns parents to look for the “PS” product safety seal in all the items they buy, including toys for children. Yet, how many of the toys we see in stores, discount shops, and the “bangketa” carry the PS mark?

The big toy companies may be announcing a recall, but who is going to recall the millions of cheap plastic dolls and other toys purchased in discount stores and the bangketa?
Many of these toys, cheap rip-offs of licensed characters, are sourced from China.
China's safety problems stem from a lack of any credible monitoring process. It's a big country, with hundreds of thousands of small manufacturers, operating in a largely unregulated environment.

Documentary fraud is rife. Chinese manufacturers gleefully put down on paper anything that the buyer wants to see, whether or not that's really what's in the product. That's like buying a Diploma in Recto University.

Mattel's specifications called for lead free paint, their contract manufacturer sought out a supplier of lead-free paint—his best friend, who betrayed him by substituting cheaper leaded paint.

Sometimes these substitutions can be deadly, as was the case with the rampant substitution of toxic diethylene glycol with the safe glycerine in toothpastes, cough syrups, and hair care products.

I'm not so worried about the brand name toothpastes, it's the discount specials, and the free hotel toothpaste that I'm worried about. Haven't you noticed that some hotel toothpaste seem to have a slightly different texture? There has already been a recall by a supplier of hotel toothpastes.

In some cases, the manufacturer unilaterally changes the design without informing the buyer, as in the case of the 450,000 China made tires recalled last month in the US.

The agreed upon design required a “gum strip” to hold the tire belts in place in use. The manufacturer conveniently decided to omit the gum strip in later revisions of the design, resulting in a tire that did not meet safety standards.

How many of these substitutions and safety omissions are occurring is anyone's guess. China is the Wild West when it comes to manufacturing standards. It's a problem they will have to fix, and will eventually.

In the meantime, it's up to our own regulators to ensure the safety of locally available products through tests and monitoring of available products.

It used to be easy to tell where a product originated: American products proudly proclaimed “Made in the USA,” Japanese electronics proudly announced “Made in Japan,” and Philippine goods proudly stated “Philippine Made.”

Now, things are not so clear. Many products in the supermarket say “Distributed by (name of company),” or “Made for (name of company),” but not where its made.

Where are these “Made for (name of company)” really made? If they're made by someone else, did the brand owner validate the manufacturers claims with independent tests, or did they just rely on a document from the “honest” manufacturer?

If I recall correctly, there's supposed to be a country of origin label on the item, not merely an ambiguous “Distributed by...” or “Made for...” Yet, many supermarket goods, and bangketa goods don't mention their true country of origin.

In fact, that labelling should be extended to include sourcing of ingredients, e.g. “Made in the Philippines with ingredients from China, Australia, and the United States.” That would be clearer, and more helpful to the consumer. It would certainly make it easier to act if there's another product safety scare.

Get rich quick! Guaranteed!

2007-08-26T21:16:00.000+08:00

THERE IS NO SUCH THING as a risk-free investment, but there a many who promise fantastic returns on supposedly risk-free terms. Fools believe them, and fools and their money are soon parted.

How does a pyramid scheme manage to entice so many otherwise prudent people to invest?
First, there’s the hook. Extraordinary Returns. Celebrity Investors. The earliest participants always make money as it is their word of mouth that attracts the gullible into supporting the scheme.

Pyramid schemes work by paying out the fantastic returns to early investors from "investments" made by downstream investors. Sooner or later, as the pyramid grows, there will no longer be enough "new investors" to support the ever widening base, and the pyramid collapses.

The proponents and the upline disappear, all feigning ignorance of the scheme, while the last in always, and inevitably, lose their money.

The Securities and Exchange Commission differentiates between pyramid investment schemes and multilevel marketing enterprises in the following way:

If most of the commissions are earned by recruiting new investors, salespersons, or clients, then it is an illegal pyramid. If, however, the commissions are derived from the sales of genuine products, then it is a possibly legitimate multilevel marketing business.

This is where the line is drawn: Commissions from recruitment = Illegal pyramid, commissions from product sales = possibly legitimate multi-level marketing business.

Tupperware, Sara Lee, and Natasha are examples of multi-level marketing programs. Many people make good income from legitimate MLMs, but it requires extreme determination and unique personality skills, so they’re not for everyone.

Pyramid schemes claim legitimacy by saying the money will be used for "telecommunications," "pawnshop lending," "gold investment," etc.

Think about your own business experience: Can any business that obtains funds at more than 100% per annum possibly be viable? Yet, these pyramid schemes promise guaranteed returns of up to 4.5% per day! The only guarantee is that you’ll never see your money again.

Another scam is foreign exchange trading.

Only large banks trade in large foreign exchange transactions and with good reason: Each transaction is in the millions of dollars, and the movement is in the tenths of a percent. On a million dollars, they will make or lose ten dollars. This is not a market where retail investors can effectively participate in.

The only relevance of foreign exchange movements to retail investors is in determining how to balance your assets: How much should I keep in peso assets? How much should I keep in dollar assets? How much should I keep in euro assets?

"Forex Shops," claim to provide leverage of up to 98%, explaining that a 2% movement allows you to double your money. They’re not so enthusiastic about explaining that it also means that a 2% movement THE WRONG WAY means you’ll lose ALL YOUR MONEY.

The Forex houses know this, that’s why many are not even real traders at all.

They’re bucket shops, pooling all the investors funds in a "bucket," paying out the winning trades, but profitting from the high probability that most trades will lose money. When currencies move strongly in one direction and their clients make paper profits by being on the right side, they simply close down, taking the bucket with them.

Our Securities and Exchange Commission has good material on avoiding investment scams here and here. Yet, with bank interest rates at all time lows, are there reasonably safe and legitimate means to make money?

First, extinguish the notion that there is such a thing as a risk free investment.

US treasury bills and bonds, considered the gold standard of low-risk investments carry foreign exchange risk: Just ask anyone who purchased dollar assets in 2005: They’re now down around 20% visa-vis the peso (Asia’s best performing currency over the last two years), and around the same amount vis-a-vis the Euro.

With interest rates in the low single digits, there’s also the opportunity cost. And unless you’ve purchased your bills through a legitimate banking channels, there’s also the risk that what you’re holding might be fake.

Peso treasury bills offer slightly higher rates, and the retail treasury bill market offers a safe way to participate. Want more? Then you’ll need to accept risk.

Refusing to accept risk is why many people fall for these scams: they’re dissatisfied with the low interest rates of legitimate instruments, so they’re willing to hand over their money to anyone making unrealistic promises of "risk-free" investments.

Promises are made to be broken. Unrealistic promises aren’t worth the saliva they’re said with.
Philippine T-Bill rates hover around 5% annum. These are the lowest risk investments available. Anything higher than that involves higher risk.

Incredibly high returns of 4.5% per day have infinite risk because they’re so obviously scams.
That doesn’t mean that one should not seek out higher returns. The stockmarket, the real estate market, and investing in businesses, have provided higher returns over the past five years.
Stocks and real estate are asset classes that exhibit cyclical behavior.

There are times when people think the world is about to end, and they can purchased cheap. There are times when people are willing to pay ridiculous prices for stocks and real estate.
Anyone who purchased PLDT shares in 2002 would have made twelve times their money.

Meralco shares are up seven-fold.

Real estate investments in small condominiums would have provided healthy rental revenues from call center employees looking for affordable digs near their places of work. Real estate investments in vibrant secondary cities outside Metro Manila would also have provided stellar returns.

Fortunately, we’re still somewhere midway through the current upcycle, last week’s price declines notwithstanding. We’re definitely not at the beginning of another "Asian Crisis," as this time the money is here in Asia, not running off to the United States to feed a dot-com bubble.

Both real estate and stocks still have some upside. The stockmarket’s "Price to Earnings Ratio" is still roughly half what it was at its peak in 1995, and real estate in areas where new infrastructure has been built (i.e. Along the MRT lines and along new highways) has good upside.

At HSBC’s Young Entrepreneur Awards last month, each of seven countries presented their winning business plans. I couldn’t help but think that of all the teams, Hong Kong’s had the best chance of obtaining funding for their proposals and transforming them into viable businesses.
That’s the nature of successful economies like Hong Kong’s. They understand risk, so are willing to invest money in promising businesses.

So, even if Bangladesh won over-all, and the Philippines won best presentation, it’s unlikely that their ideas will ever go beyond the paper stage for lack of funding. We deny capital to honest entrepreneurs, yet willingly hand over money to whoever shady character promises dubious risk-free investments.

Recognizing and managing risk is the key to above average returns. Risk exists everywhere: Get over it. Once you’ve done that, then you can make informed decisions about where to put your money.

Not everyone needs to become a risk management expert to invest wisely. Universal banks offer Investment trusts that specialize in particular asset classes: Fixed income instruments, Corporate debt, Listed equities, and soon, Real Estate Investment Trusts. The experts at established banks are well-trained to do the asset selection for you and their private bankers can help you determine the optimum balance of asset classes based on your needs.

For anyone below thirty years old, a whole life investment policy, one that pays you a lump sum at the end of a number of years, is also a sound investment. That lump sum can be used as downpayment for a real estate purchase later on.

Directly investing in a business is also another option. There are hundreds of entrepreneurs with bright ideas looking for funding. Your friends might be planning a business. Seek them out, meet with them, try to understand their business plans, and use your own experience to evaluate their business risk. If it’s acceptable to you, then consider investing in exchange for equity.

Just be realistic. Some businesses succeed, but many fail.

Out of every five investments, two will go sour, two will muddle through, and one will succeed beyond everyone’s wildest dreams.

Even businesses that fail have some value: They may have assembled a good team that could be effective working on some other idea, or that entrepreneur you’ve helped may move on to bigger things and offer you more favorable terms.

Diversification is another key to obtaining higher returns. Don’t place all your eggs in one asset class. Invest a little in promising startups, buy a small piece of real estate, place some money in stocks, either directly, or through a managed investment trust, but keep a little in low risk treasury bills or time deposits with a reputable bank.

Just remember: There is no such thing as a risk -free investment, and anything that promises a return higher than 5% annum has higher risk, but because risk can be managed, it’s possible to obtain higher returns from your money. Just don’t be stupid and fall for obviously fradulent schemes.

If, however, you’d still like to put your money into one of those "get rich quick" guaranteed scheme, drop me a note, I’d like to talk to you about a bridge I’m selling...

Delay No More!

2007-07-31T18:59:00.000+08:00

In the ”legacy phase” of the Arroyo presidency, its time we get our acts together and get moving, before the distractions of the 2010 Presidential race drag us even further behind our neighbors.

Here's a list of things that should be “Delayed No More!”

Genuine commercial banking and finance. Make it clear to banks that they should no longer expect government to borrow the money in their vaults. Encourage them to develop commercial banking competence, including credit risk analysis, so they can finance deserving Small and Medium scale enterprises and entrepreneurs.

With the current set-up, they'll soon run out of places to put deposits, given the preference of OFWs to borrow overseas where interest rates are lower, and requirements less stringent. Banks need to invest in educating their target markets on the proper use of credit and finance. Be proactive. Start with college kids.

Delay No More!

Needs driven housing. There's a real estate boom in the P500T to P5Mln segment, not the P30Mln segment. Our working and professional classes need affordable, quality housing, with easy access to mass transport, not gold plated bathroom fixtures.

Delay No More!

Speaking of Transportation. Where's my loop?

For that matter, where are all the other Mass transit lines that are supposed to crisscross Metro Manila and other major metropolitan areas? Pay off the old ones, then ask for financing to build new ones through a Build-Operate-Transfer scheme.

Mandate that major shopping malls and office complexes integrate public transport hubs away from congested city streets, just like they do in other major cities.

Delay No More!

Encourage greater participation in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market to effectively lower the price of electricity. Napocor needs to review its supply contracts, and ditch those sweetheart coal deals, both to remain competitive and to get good prices for the plants it chooses to sell.

Delay No More!

Implement local government policies to encourage economic activity in neighborhood communities and reduce the need for residents to commute long distances to find livelihood opportunities.

Compel government agencies to immediately act on implementing rules and regulations for enacted laws, particularly those which impact the SME sector. We have passed several good laws, such as the Barangay Micro-Business Enterprises Law, but these are being ignored for lack of implementing rules and regulations.

Delay No More!

Overhaul the Education Curriculum.

Grade School graduates need to know the three 3R's. Reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic, and know typing and math tables by heart. They should also have basic communications skills in both English and the local language.

High school graduates need practical wisdom and basic skills to be productive upon graduation. Business math, computer and livelihood skills of their choice, such as auto mechanics, crop raising, animal husbandry, or crafts.

Students spend more time studying two novels by Jose Rizal about oppression in the Spanish period, than taking up the subject “Technology, Livelihood, and Entrepreneurship.” No wonder kids leave school brainwashed into helplessness only to become radicals in college. Get over it, Spain is our friend now, change the focus to practical skills that are needed today.

Delay No More!

Develop a National Broadband Strategy that encourages interconnection among government offices, schools, small telcos, and other businesses in each province through regional Internet Exchanges, not merely a National Broadband network that operates independently of everyone else's. Use the network to deliver updated educational curricula, e-governance services, and practical business information.

Delay No More!

Review the recently enacted VoIP Law.

With all its compromises and safety nets for imagined issues, it prevents operators from offering VoIP services to their largest market: Overseas Filipinos and others needing a local number in the Philippines. Let's get away from that habit of watering down good ideas into unworkable implementations. All the restrictions in the VoIP Law merely cripple our operators vis-a-vis overseas competitors operating in more liberal policy environments.

Delay No More!

Deal with the killings.

Regardless of whodunit, there's a lot of dead bodies, and a lot of perpetrators going scot-free. It is a lack of determined detective work, arrests, and convictions that are cultivating a culture of impunity. All these dead bodies are making aid donors, investors, the media, and the general public uneasy. A lot of smart people with the potential to contribute to our society are ending up dead. We really need to stop this.

Delay No More!

Deal constructively with insurgencies.

Use military force against any armed group, regardless of ideology, that targets our soldiers or oppresses our people, but constructively engage groups that are willing to discuss issues on the negotiating table.

Much of these groups are local insurgencies responding to local issues. Some don't even have issues. Do you still believe that there's a unified, indivisible, insurgency? Resolve each regions' insurgency separately by dealing with the issues and make it clear that the use of arms is unacceptable.

If the issue is with awarded lands and former landlords, remember how US Federal troops were used to deal with recalcitrant Alabama Governor George Wallace's attempt to block school integration. Land reform is a national law, and the nation has the right to use national resources to enforce these laws, even over the objections of powerful locals.

In the meantime, avoid tagging community organizers “communists.”

Community organizers are not communists, even if they were, work with them to turn their community organizations into cooperatives by offering all the assistance they need to become viable businesses. Use the agriculture and SME lending programs of the Land Bank and DBP to win them over to the mainstream. Embrace local economies by holding countryside agriculture and trade fairs in military camps.

Delay No More!

Unilateral Open Skies for airports outside Manila.

We've built the airports and spent hundreds of millions for each one. There's no sense in preventing reputable international airlines from using them. It's not an issue of whether or not Philippine carriers can fly to a provincial airport from Manila. No one wants to fly to Manila from Davao, just to take a flight to Brunei, and vice-versa. Open skies mean more flights directly into the regions. The sooner we can open our skies, the better.

Delay No More!

With all this fuss (and dead bodies) over Terminal 3, we haven't noticed that the NAIA runway has become terribly congested. Up to a dozen aircraft are waiting to take off and land at the busiest times. It's time we started talking about a new airport. Perhaps we could do in Sangley what they've done in Chek Lap Kok.

In the meantime, there aren't any major problems with the old Terminal 1 that renovations can't fix, at least until the entire airport must be relocated because of runway congestion. Kai Tak's old terminal building served Hong Kong well until Chek Lap Kok opened, and it's about the same size as our existing terminal.

Perhaps, if we made it clear that we may have to eventually close NAIA's runway due to congestion, there will be greater willingness to resolve the issues of Terminal 3.

Delay No More!

Decongest Manila's port and port to user roads to allow more efficient transport of goods in and out of the country. Develop International ports in every one of our major islands to directly route our imports and exports to their destinations.

Delay No More!

Automate the elections. Three years is not a long time for a major project. Perhaps we should review our basic assumptions on how we're going to do it: Use the nationwide cellular network to carry the data-it's already in place. Use modified smartphones as voting devices-they're cheap and don't depend on mains power, a challenge in many voting precincts. Create voting software using an open source model so every potential critic can review the source code to verify that the software does what it should-count votes. However it's done, it should be in place by 2010. We don't have any more teachers to sacrifice to ruthless local politics.

Delay No More!

And finally, one for the legislators. It's embarrassing that we had to spend one hundred fifty million pesos for each law that you've passed in the last Congress, many of which were bills to rename your hometown's main road after your grandparents. You ran for office as legislators, focus on legislating the crucial economic and policy reforms that our country so badly needs.

Delay No More!

Mabuhay Smiles wins at Regional Awards

2007-07-18T14:28:00.000+08:00

Three young ladies from the University of Philippines-Diliman bagged the “Best Presentation” award at the recently concluded HSBC Young Entrepreneur Awards Regional Finals held June 25 at the bank's Asian headquarters in Central, Hong Kong. The prize was one of only two awards at the finals.

“Mabuhay Smiles,” a business plan promoting dental tourism in the Philippines was created and presented by Joyce Anne Cruz, Cristine Limbo, and Reynaline Tugade. The trio had earlier won the Gold Prize in the Philippines leg of the HSBC awards, entitling them to compete with other best entries of Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

First-time participant Bangladesh won the top prize, “The Best of the Best” Award, for their proposed industrial waste management company. Zeeshan Rahman, Joydeep Choudhury, and Baizeed Nur, from Dhaka University, seek to establish relationships with large industrial waste producers to help them properly manage their waste products.

Comprising the board of judges were Ms. Margaret Leung, Group General Manager and Global Co-Head for Commercial Banking, HSBC; Mr. Ronald Arculli, Chairman of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Mr. Henry Fan, Esq., Executive Director at CITIC Pacific, Mr. Christopher Pratt, Chairman of Swire Pacific, and Mr. Alan Zeman, the “Father of Lan Kwai Fong,” and the appointed chairman of Ocean Park, Hong Kong.

The Silver and Bronze winners from each country were also flown in to lend moral support to the competing gold teams, as well as participate in a week of insightful and educational lectures and tours.

The Philippines Silver team winners were Kenn C. Reyes, JC Lazaro, and Ton Mannag with their proposal for calcium supplements from tuna bones abundant in General Santos City. The Bronze team winners were Ann Rachelle Cruz, Ma. Cristina Gonzales, and Rocyl Bagsic with their proposal for a bio-gas generation project using pineapple wastes in Tagaytay and Alfonso, Cavite.

Professor Bee-Leng Chua headlined the list of prominent lecturers. Prof. Chua is with the Department of Management at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, a project coordinator with the Global Entrepreneurship monitor, and an active member of CUHK's Center for Entrepreneurship.

Mr. K.O. Chia, President of the Hong Kong Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, provided the students with insights on running successful businesses, from his years as a venture capitalist with Walden International, Apple Computer, and HP-Agilent.

A tour through Hong Kong's Science and Technology Park was next on the agenda. HKSTP, whose technology driven infrastructure, support facilities, and clustered laboratory services are designed encourage the development of technology startups and enhance the competitiveness of Hong Kong's industries, is located right next to CUHK.

Frederic Yung, Senior Manager of the Business Development and Incubation Support Division, led the lecturers, explaining the functions of HKSTP in relation to Hong Kong's leading edge competitive industries.

Tham Chee Lung, Director of the Angel Connection Team which pledges to bridge the gap between Angels, Entrepreneurs, and Venture Capitalists, explained the processes behind obtaining funding for business proposals. Chee-Lung has over twenty years experience in sales, market research, human resources, and general management with both multinationals and home-grown corporations.

The next day it was off to Ocean Park for some fun with the rides, but not until after a session with Ocean Park President Tom Mehrmann, who detailed the turnaround achieved by Ocean Park following debacle of SARS in 2003.

From Ocean Park in the southside of Hong Kong, the whole group dashed across the territory to Cathay Pacific City in Chek Lap Kok for a tour of flight operations and a talk by Tony Tyler, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Officer Designate. Mr. Tyler revealed that Cathay Pacific's cargo and passenger turnover has doubled since the handover, and predicts that Hong Kong will continue to be a mor international gateway into China and Asia.

Shenzhen was the final item on the agenda with visits to Kingdee Software International, a leading provider of enterprise management software and e-business applications, and ZTE Corporation, a global provider of fixed line, mobile telecommunications, and data network solutions. ZTE is the controversial lead entity for the Philippines' national broadband network.

Keeping everything organized were the indefatigable volunteers from CUHK, Theresa and Kelvin, who successfully led, organized, motivated, and cajoled the large group of students of eight nationalities and six countries all around Hong Kong and neighboring Shenzhen, making sure everyone made their meetings, had breakfast, and had a generally fun and exciting learning experience during the HSBC awards.

The Billion Dollar Industry

2007-07-13T18:44:00.000+08:00

Published in the Manila Bulletin, 19 November 2006. House Bill 5769 was passed by the committee and presented to the floor. However, Congress ended in March 2007 and was unable to deliberate the bill. A new Congress will deliberate the bill from July 2007.

The government, in the meantime, pursues a policy of using open source to create a platform for e-governance.

The United Nations has since cited the Philippines as the 17th most ready for e-governance, out of a field of 191 countries.

Rep. Teddy Casino's House bill 5769 is a welcome surprise for many who have been lobbying for the adoption of free open source software in the Philippines.

While still a diamond in the rough, House Bill 5769 is a landmark bill that places us at the level of progressive countries like Peru, Germany, France, India, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and several U.S. States that have passed similar bills promoting the use and development of Free and Open Source Software.

When software is described as “free and open source” what does it mean?

Free and Open Source refers to a development model for making software. It is not a technology platform, as naysayers would like to call it to confuse the issues. It is a way of doing things in the Bayanihan spirit.

Open Source software is free to the community because it is the community that creates it.

This means that it is easy to distribute without worrying about complex commercial licensing fees and schemes. Second, freed of licensing restrictions in commercial software, it is easier to build upon to create for-profit services, that can be offered to the global market, earning dollars and euros.

In the Open Source model, even if the software is free, services created with the software can be very profitable. Yahoo, Amazon,Google, Apple, AOL, SUN and IBM are examples of technology leaders that have built upon open source to create globally marketable businesses.

Tech giant IBM came out strongly in support of open source software during the bill's public hearing.

Governments have also successfully built upon open source platforms t ocreate low cost systems for effective e-governance. It is the model followed by our fellow ASEAN members Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore,and Vietnam to create web accessible e-governance platforms.

TheDepartment of Science and Technology came out strongly in support of open source software during the bill's public hearing.

Use open source software, such as LAMP (Linux, Apache, Mail,PostgreSQL), to provide a way for SMEs to handle their books of account on the Web, and you've addressed tax leakages in this sector while providing a service to the small entrepreneur.

Rep. Junie Cua, Chairman of the House Committee on Trade and Industry, wondered why there is a need for a bill to promote a free, and possiblysuperior product, which by logic should be widely accepted.

Sir, first let me say that the Open Source development model IS very widely accepted. Proof of this is the Internet. 60% of the Internet’s Websites run on Apache, a free Open Source Web server. Many other Web technologies are open sourced.

The real reason for an Open Source bill is accelerate the adoption of the Open Source model and its products in the government and the education system. We need to accelerate e-Governance, we need to train millions of kids how to use computers on a shoestring budget, we need to train hundreds of thousands of programmers with code made available by the Open Source model.

But, how does the government go about adopting open source software?

First off, the bidding process for Information Technology must be technology neutral. A bid specification that says: “An Intel Pentium Computer, 2Ghz orfaster, with licensed Windows operating system, MS Office, AdobePhotoshop, and Norton Anti-Virus” is not technology neutral, because it is overly specific about the brands and technology of the requirements.

A bid specification that says “A computer rated at XX Gigaflops (orSpecMarks, or any other combination of recognized performancestandards), with a licensed graphical operating system, a WordProcessor, Spreadsheet, or Office suite capable of creating and savingfiles in an open standard format file, a Graphics editor, and ananti-virus program” is technology neutral.

Second, since Open Source software is free, it should be the default configuration of any government computer purchase. Need specific commercial software? Go ahead, buy it. Just make sure you've able to justify the expense to the Commission on Audit and tothe people.

Head over to http://osswin.sourceforge.net/ and download freeWindows software, install it, and evaluate it. Check outhttp://www.softwarefor.org/ for a ready made compilation of free andOpen Source software.

Get your free Office suite at http://www.openoffice.org/ and ditch pirated copies of Microsoft Office. Free Open Source software offers a superior alternative to pirated commercial software.

Migration costs can be minimized by following a step by step migration plan. This is the approach being taken by France and Singapore in theirOpen Source migration plan. Novell, http://www.novell.com/ has downloadable examples of migration plans, as do many other sites on theInternet.

The easiest part of IT systems to migrate are the backroom servers. The users won't notice changes and the systems administrator probably already knows how to do it.

The next easiest parts are the applications running on Windows or Mac computers. Existing computers can be used as-is, and users need only minimal retraining. I've seen high school kids switch easily betweenMS Office and OpenOffice.org without issue. Tip: Just say it's a newversion.

Atty. Teddy Kalaw, who came as a representative of the PhilippineInternet Commerce Society, also espoused his views as Secretary-General of the IP Coalition, as well as his own. Atty. Kalaw says that thePhilippines is “one of the few countries without software patents.”

Sir, allow me to rephrase that: The Philippines is one of the growing list of countries with an ENLIGHTENED Intellectual Property policy that doesNOT allow software patents. It's already been discussed in the Intellectual Property Office and they've determined that in the interest of national development, we shall follow the progressive European model.

Software patents havebeen rejected in the European parliament as rent-seeking and stifling to innovation.

The lengthy and costly patent process favors those with the most money,and not those with the best ideas. Patents protect ideas, but ideas don't run on computers. Programs, working implementations of ideas, run on computers and programs are adequately protected by copyright.

Legislators in the United States, one of the few countries WITH software patents, is asking the Patent Office to review Software Patents, following a flurry of frivolous and rent-seeking softwarepatent lawsuits, including one that almost debilitated U.S. EmergencyServices.

Many U.S. Companies, such as SUN, IBM, Novell, and Google, are licensing their patents free of charge to the Open Source community to prevent others from claiming similar patents to undermine Open Source software.

It is a common misconception that Open Source software is public domain. It is not, Open Source software is copyrighted, just like commercial software. Products or services created on open source platforms are just as well protected by Intellectual property laws. The difference is in the rights the authors grant to licensees.

Rep. Casino says Open Source is like a recipe: A closed source carinderia serves pinakbet, an open source carinderia serves Pinakbet AND gives the recipe. Why would they do that?

Perhaps because you may review the recipe and suggest a better Pinakbet, or perhaps you will quote it in a recipe book, giving the carinderia free publicity. Or perhaps the Carinderia would like people to learn how to cook so he'll have cooks to hire when he expands to the next town.

Open Source means that a program's source code, like a recipe, or a building plan, is publicly available. It can be reviewed, studied, modified, and improved by the community. It can be used as a tool to train future programmers. Code in Open Source is the same as code in Closed Source on the same technology platform.

Make Open Source ubiquitous, like theFoundation of IT for Education (FIT-ED) is working to do, and you've created future programmers for both Open Source and Commercial software.

Today's Open Source hackers will be writing tomorrow's Windows 2010.

Software piracy is no longer the the biggest problem facing commercial software publishers, it is the lack of qualified software developers. India forecasts a shortage of 100,000 skilled programmers by 2010 andPhilippine Software Industry Association created 14,000 jobs in 2005,and aspires to grow to 100,000 jobs by 2010 with industry revenues of One Billion Dollars.
That means finding 86,000 people who have had prior experience programming.

Closed source commercial software provides nothing to practice with, while Open Source does provides the tools and the knowledge.

Training programmers with Open Source software been India's model for quite sometime, and they've been at the billion dollar mark for quite some time.

Go Go Go Negosyo!

2007-07-13T18:40:00.000+08:00

The book launch of Go Negosyo, Joey Concepcion's 50 Inspiring Entrepreneurial stories, was graced by no less than President Gloria Arroyo, to whom the importance of creating an enterprising Filipino culture is top priority.

Fifty individuals are featured, embodying what Prof. Andy Ferreria calls “The Entrepreneurial Spirit.”

Not only business owners are featured, as one expects, but also a selection from each of the three incarnations of entrepreneurs, as defined by Ferreria: The Classic entrepreneur, imbued with passion for an idea identifying a suitable market opportunity and having the capability to create products and services; the Corporate entrepreneur, be-suited executives who apply entrepreneurial principles to their work; and the Social entrepreneur, whose business strive to help others.

Stories of Classic Entrepreneurs are in abundance: Hair and Beauty magnates, brothers Ricky and Lester Reyes, Mozcom's William Torres, Splash's Roland Hortaleza, Island Souvenirs Jay Aldeguer, Bench's Ben Chan, Jollibee's Tony Tan CakTiong, French Baker's John Lu Koa, Figaro's Pacita Juan, National Bookstore's Socorro Ramos, Cibo's Gaita Fores and Julie's Bakeshops' Julie Gandionco.

Corporate Entrepreneurs Jaime Zobel De Ayala, applying entrepreneurial principles in the group's daily operations, the Lopez Family of ABS-CBN and Meralco, and Industry stalwart Raul Concepcion.

Among the Social Entrepreneurs are PlantersBank's Jesus Tambunting, pioneers of Small Business (SME) lending; Iliac Diaz of Pier One Seaman's Dorm, which provides clean affordable temporary accomodations to seafarers; and Vivienne Tan of the Entrepreneur's School of Asia.
Ricky Reyes, with his Isang Gunting, Isang Suklay programs, and livelihood training programs also fits into this category. In doing good, social entrepreneurs do well themselves.

Belonging in all categories, are tycoons John Gokongwei, Jr. and Henry Sy, whose massive empires create opportunities for entrepreneurs and start-ups: whether as dealers of their manufactured products, tenants of their giant malls, and clients of their bank's SME lending programs.

At the end of each short story are invaluable lessons gleaned by Prof. Ferreria from each entrepreneurs' life story:

“Build your enterprise around your passion. See if your passion has a market. Alternatively, check if fulfilling habits of customers who pay is your passion.” from Jay Aldeguer; “Entrepreneurs choose an enterprise not because of the money but because it is something they like.” and “Leveraging on current resources is a hallmark of an entrepreneur.” from Paolo Bediones. “Dare to be different, but make sure you are making a difference in the market and the company financials.” from Larry Cruz.

“When there is a shortage of supply in the market, there is opportunity.” and “If you want to earn more, delegate to others, but make sure your cost of delegation is less than the revenue of the delegated work.” from Socorro Ramos; “Social entrepreneurshipis something all classic entrepreneurs must go for.” and “Entrepreneurs have a positive outlook, they see opportunity in crisis.” from Ricky Reyes.

For several years, we have belabored under the idea that our economy is going nowhere. Is it really? Or is there already a yet unseen revolution ready to burst out and feed this nation for many lifetimes?

With the Go Negosyo program, we may just be on the verge of an economic renaissance, witnessing the birth of a new economy, with people trained not to look for jobs, but to look for opportunities, and create enterprises that create jobs.

Ticket to Ride

2007-07-13T14:10:00.000+08:00

Visit Hong Kong's most popular attractions on only HKD$50(P325)/day? Yes, with the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway's HKD50 tourist pass which offers 24 hours of unlimited rides on the MTR System, you've got a Ticket to Ride!

Only bonafide tourists that have been in Hong Kong less than 14 days may purchase a tourist pass, so you'll need to show your passport at the MTR ticket booth. The ticket includes a flyer with suggested MTR destinations, but feel free to plan your own itinerary around the MTRs speedy train service.

The KCR network isn't included in the tourist pass, but you can always buy a KCR ticket and hop on if it takes you to where you're going (or to get back to the MTR system).

You'll never get lost in Hong Kong as long as you can find an MTR station, either on foot or via
minibus going to an MTR station (look for the MTR logo on the bus destination card). Areas near MTR stations have signs pointing to the station.

If you need directions to an MTR station or a destination, ask the staff at a chain store, such as
McDonald's, 7-Eleven, Watson's or Giordano, or look for a shop with the Quality Tourist Services Seal.

It doesn't matter which MTR station, as long as you find one (walking along Nathan Road for example, will usually bring you to the areas of different MTR stations), just take the train to where you need to go.

An unused pass remains valid for 30 days, but once used, expires after 24-hours, so plan ticket
purchases, and journeys, accordingly. At the end of 24 hours, the turnstile returns the ticket as a
souvenir. Late morning to early afternoon is the best time to clock the pass' first use, so you'll still have a few hours to run around in the morning of the next day.

If your pass runs out at the wrong time, a regular ticket back costs around HKD10, unless you find yourself at the distant Tsuen Wan, Tung Chung, Disneyland or Po Lam Stations, where tickets to Central are around HKD20-30, so plan your last trips. If you're going to be in Hong Kong another day, it may make more sense to purchase and clock in another tourist pass.

All routes allow reasonable amounts of luggage (about as much as airlines allow as carry on), and
plenty of shopping bags, but it's best to avoid the lines going out of Central and Admiralty during rush hour (from 5-6pm). The Tung Chung, Airport Express, and Disneyland resort lines allow baggage but be sure to use the station elevators instead of the escalators for safety. All stations provide facilities for wheelchairs (lifts and special turnstiles, etc.) and differently-abled passengers, with braille maps and footmarkers.

Tourist maps with directions to popular area attractions are posted at each MTR station. Major Stations in Central, Admiralty and Tsim Sha Tsui have system wide maps listing tourist destinations in other areas.

MTR Stations have multiple exits identified by letters and numbers, most exit to the street, and some exit inside buildings (particularly on the Island line), so check the station map for the correct exit to your destination. Some destinations are five to fifteen minutes walk away from the station.

Many stations function as underground walkways crossing streets, entering one exit allows you to reorient yourself on the maps and re-emerge at another part of the district.

Exceptions are the Central, Causeway Bay, and Tai Koo stations, where exit areas are divided into sections. Be sure to check the Station maps within the paid areas: Emerging from the wrong turnstile may not allow you to retrace your steps within the station and you'll have to re-orient yourself above ground.

The Hong Kong MTR System consists of five lines and the exclusive Disneyland Resort Line: Island Line on Hong Kong Island, the harbour crossing Tsuen Wan, Tsuen Kwan O, and Tung Chung Lines, and the Kwun Tong Line from central to eastern Kowloon.

The Island Line runs along Northern Hong Kong Island with stops along the tourist, shopping,
business, and government destinations on the Island. Stations from Sheung Wan to North Point are closely spaced and above-ground walking ten minutes in one direction usually take you to the area of the next station.

Interchanges: Airport Express and Tung Chung Line at the Central Station. The Tsuen Wan line at Central and Admiralty Stations, and the Tseung Kwan O line at North Point and Quarry Bay Stations.

Sheung Wan Station is the western terminus of the Island line where Shun Tak Centre and the Hong Kong-Macau and mainland China Ferry Piers are located. The Western Market is a restored early 20th Century building with stalls selling local handicrafts and fabrics. Nearby, along Bonham Strand, Wing Lok Street, Des Veoux Road West, and Ko Shing Street are dozens of dried seafood and tonic shops with Abalone, scallops, ginseng, and traditional Chinese medicine stores. The mid-levels escalator is equidistant from the Sheung Wan and Central Stations.

Central Station, with three internal sections, covers a wide expanse of the Island's main business
district. There's West Central, from the mid-levels escalator, going up to the SoHo (South of
Hollywood) bar and restaurant district. An underground walkway connects to Hong Kong Station and the IFC Mall. Nearby are Exchange Square (with a bus terminal to Repulse Bay, the Peak, and other Island destinations), Jardine house, with its iconic round windows, and World Wide House, where Philippine shops and money changers abound.

Mid-central is the focal point of this year's Winterfest, Santa's Town, and home to the Island's
institutions: The Mandarin Oriental, Statue Square, Legislative Council, HSBC and Standard
Chartered Bank Headquarters, the China Club (in the old Bank of China Building) and Prince Building, The Landmark Mall, and 9 Queen's Road with their high-end shops; uphill to the gas-lit Duddell Street, Foreign Correspondent's Club, and Lan Kwai Fong.

Walk uphill from east Central to the new Bank of China Building, to the Old French Mission, St. John's Anglican Cathedral, and the Peak Tram station.

Admiralty Station has a transport hub to the south side of the Island (with busses to Aberdeen,
Stanley, Ocean Park, and Shek O), Office complexes and the high-end Pacific Place Mall, and an
escalator leading up to Hong Kong Park, the Museum of Tea Ware, and the Visual Arts Centre.

The Hong Kong Marriot, Shangri-la, and Conrad Hotels are also located here. Queensway Plaza provides a bridgeway to eastern Central and is filled with boutiques, specialty stores and cafes.

The whole of Admiralty is interconnected by walkways and underpasses so there is little reason to cross streets. Take the underground walkway to Three Pacific Place and the triangular Methodist Church to get to Starstreet, a new lifestyle district with an artistic flavor full of cafes, clubs, and art galleries.

Wanchai Station takes you to the Wanchai Computer Center and nearby 298 Computer Center also sells digital photo accessories.

Nearby Tai Yuen street specializes in children's toys for kids of all ages.

Wanchai's former red light district at Lockhart, Luard, and Jaffe Roads have been replaced by
collection of trendy bars, traditional hot pot eateries, and fancy restaurants.

Walk north to find the Immigration Bureau, the Inland Revenue Service, Convention Center, and the Trade Development Council. The Arts Centre Pao galleries nearby showcase contemporary art. The Golden Bauhinia Square along the waterfront commemorates Hong Kong's return to China.

Nearby, there is a Star Ferry Terminal to Tsim Sha Tsui and Hung Hom (Whampoa Gardens, the mall with the concrete ship).

Causeway Bay Station brings you the heart of the Island's main shopping district. The northern
waterfront area has the Excelsior Hotel, the World Trade Center Mall, Sogo Department Store, and various specialty malls. The once-quiet southern section going towards Happy Valley, brought to life by the massive The Times Square mall, is full of local designer shops, chinese and ethnic restaurants, and quaint boutique hotels.

Causeway Bay is best appreciated on foot, in a walking tour starting at Sogo, crossing Lockhart road behind (where you can find HKD50 collapsible bags to bring home your extra loot), going North to the World Trade Center, then east to Fashion Walk. Go south to the In Square at Windsor House, where you'll find fashions and computers, then walk back towards Sogo, crossing Hennessy Road towards the southern half.

Jardine's Bazaar street is Causeway Bay's street market, with an assortment of clothes and bags for the value shopper. Walk further south towards Times Square Mall, with its shops and casual dining restuarants, or visit the local fashion designer shops around Russell, Sharp and Yiu Wa Sts. Other attractions in this area are the Lee Gardens and Leighton Centre shops, and the dozens of small chinese cafeterias lining the streets.

Walk further south to the Happy Valley Racecourse, with its racing museum and scheduled races (visit http://www.hkjc.com/ for schedules) is a must see if you're a horse racing fan.

Tin Hau Station provides direct access to Victoria Park and the Tin Hau temple built by the Tai family in the early 18th Century. South of Victoria Park and accessible from Causeway Bay is the Hong Kong Central Library, which offers books, multimedia resources, and quiet coffee shops.

North Point Station abounds in delicious streetside cafeterias, chinese restaurants, and specialty
shops. Primarily residential, it's similar to Causeway Bay without the congestion.

Quarry Bay Station takes you to the office district for tech companies and the warranty repair and parts depots of the major electronics and camera distributors.

Tai Koo Station connects directly to Tai Koo Shing Cityplaza Mall, built on the site of the Swire
Group's early 20th Century sugar mill, and one of Hong Kong's largest shopping malls with a wide variety of mid-priced Hong Kong chain stores.

Sai Wan Ho Station brings you to the Hong Kong Film Archive Museum, which archives, conserves, catalogues, and exhibits the products of Hong Kong's movie industry. A computerized catalogue system provides quick access to the thousands of pieces on store.

Shau Kei Wan Station brings you to the Museum of Coastal Defense in the 19th Century Lei Yue Mun Fort feauturing a 600-year history of Hong Kong's Coastal defense since the Ming and Qing periods.

Chai Wan Station is the eastern terminus of the Island line. The Law Uk Folk Museum, is a 200-year old Hakka Village House filled with rural furniture and farm implements is a short walk away.

The Tsuen Wan Line crosses the harbor, running from Central in Hong Kong Island to Tsuen Wan in the Western New Territories. Stations from Tsim Sha Tsui to Prince Edward are closely spaced and walking in one direction along Nathan Road takes you to the area of the next station.

Interchanges: Airport Express and Tung chung Line at Central Station; HK Island line at Central and Admiralty Station; Kwun Tong Line at Yau Ma Tei, Mongkok, and Prince Edward Stations; Tung Chung Line at Lai King Station; KCR West rail at Mei Foo station; Underground walkway to KCR East rail from Tsim Sha Tsui Station (use the Mody road underground path which has a motorized walkway).

Tsim Sha Tsui is the southernmost tip of the Kowloon Peninsula and Hong Kong 's famous tourist strip. It stretches from the Harbour City, Cultural Centre and Avenue of Stars area to the Hillwood SoHo/Knutsford Terrace nightlife district and extends east to TST East.

Tsim Sha Tsui Station is in the middle of the district, near the southern end of Kowloon Park.

Like Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui is best appreciated on foot. Follow the walking map in the Hong Kong Walks guidebook for a tour that takes you around Tsim Sha Tsui, ending in either north at the Jordan Station or south at the Star Ferry Terminal. Must go places along the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront are Harbour City for mid to high end shopping, the Cultural Centre for events, the Space Museum, the Science Museum, the Museum of Arts, and the Avenue of Stars.
Visit the most elegant Peninsula lobby for some afternoon tea, and stroll through Nathan Road, but ignore the tourist traps and touts along the Golden Mile. You'll find more shops going west along Haiphong or Peking roads, or going east along Cameron Road and Granville streets (where surplus shops abound), or in the Miramar Shopping Centre and along Park Lane.

There are also interesting shops along Carnarvon road leading up to Knutsford Terrace, Kowloon's answer to the Island's Lan Kwai Fong.

An underground motorized walkway along Mody Road connects to the Tsim Sha Tsui East district, KCR East Rail, Rosary Church, a favorite Sunday meeting place of Filipino residents and tourists and shopping at DFS, Empire Center, and TST Centre; and several world class hotels.

The Jordan, Yau Ma Tei, Mong Kok, Prince Edward Stations bring you to different parts of the
street market and value shopping district on either side of Nathan Road between Jordan Road and Prince Edward Road West.

Start north, alighting at Prince Edward Station around noon, and walk east, first is the gold fish
market, then Fa Yuen street, further East is the Flower Market and Bird Market, but unless you're a real bird fancier, this is best avoided lest any of the birds carry pesky viruses.

Fa Yuen is the value market (open from 10:30 am to 10:30 pm) with men's and women's clothes for as little as HKD5. Ever wonder where some clever vendors of the adjacent Ladies Market on Tung Choi street get cheap merchandise to sell for HKD10?

Walk south along Fa Yuen Street until you reach Argyle street, the heart of Mongkok. Walk west towards Nathan Road to visit the Ladies Market (open noon-11:30pm) for clothes, accessories, and beauty products, Sai Yeung Choi Street South for Photo and Electronics shops, and the Mongkok Computer Centre for your IT needs.

If you need to get back to the MTR, Mongkok Station is at the corner of Argyle and Nathan.

Reach Nathan by walking west through either Argyle or Dundas street (at the southern ends of the market streets), then walk south towards Yau Ma Tei and visit the specialty malls along the way. Beware of the street touts offering pirated DVDs.

Just past Yau Ma Tei Station, go west on Man Ming or Wing Sing to find the start of the Temple
Street Night Market (open 4pm to midnight, but best visited from 5-7pm) which abounds in cheap gadgets and curios. Numerous eateries offer filling and affordable meals, but English skills, and hygiene standards vary.

If you're early, visit the Jade Market which closes at 5pm. It's four streets west at Kansu and Battery streets. This is a fun place to browse and buy something inexpensive, but think twice before buying pricey “real jade” unless you consider yourself a Jade expert.

Walk back east towards Nathan Road to the Yue Hwa Chinese Products Emporium, at the corner of Jordan and Nathan Road, and Jordan Station. Take the MTR to bring your shopping bags to the hotel, or follow the Tsim Sha Tsui walking tour route through Hillwood, Knutsford Terrace, Granville Road, then back to Nathan down to the waterfront Avenue of Stars.

Sham Shui Po Station is for the electronics and computer hobbyist. Go to Golden Computer Centre, New Capital Computer Centre, and Dragon Center for low priced computer goods, nearby Apliu street for hobby electronics, industrial control devices, and Cheung Sha Wan Fashion Street, for China-style fashion.

Cheung Sha Wan Station brings you to the Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb. Unearthed in 1955, it has been converted into a museum showing artifacts from the early 12th Century Han period.

Tsuen Wan Station is the eastern terminus of the line. Nearby is the Kowloon Panda hotel. The Sam Tung Uk Museum is a restored 200-year old rural walled village with an ancestral hall, two rows of side houses, and four period houses displaying handicrafts and agricultural implements of the Hakka people. At Hoi Pa Village, The Old House, built in 1904, is a fine example of Southern Chinese village architecture.

The Kwun Tong Line runs from Yau Ma Tei in Central Kowloon to the eastern New Territories up to Tiu Keng Leng.

Interchanges: Tsuen Wan line at Yau Ma Tei, Mongkok, and Prince Edward; KCR East Rail at Kowloon Tong; Yau Tong and Tiu Keng Leng to the Eastern Harbor crossing Tseung
Kwan O line.

Kowloon Tong Station brings you to Festival Walk, a 90,000 sq.m. Mall filled with family
entertainment and Hong Kong's largest Ice Skating Rink.

Twenty minutes walk, or a short taxi ride, from Lok Fu Station is the site of the Kowloon Walled
City. Once an semi-lawless, high-rise slum, it was transformed into an award-winning park in 1995, featuring a museum housed in the restored offices of the Qing Dynasty Assistant Magistrate. Nearby is the new Kowloon City Plaza mall.

Wong Tai Sin Station brings you to Wong Tai Sin Temple, Hong Kong's version of Quiapo Church, where thousands of devotees flock to ask favors from the Chinese goddess Wong Tai Sin, and other dieties of the Confucianist, Buddhist, and Taoist philosophies. Fortune tellers abound just outside the temples, but prices vary, so check first lest your fortune be spirited away.

Diamond Hill Station brings you to Chi Lin Monastery, a 30,000 sqm Tang Dynasty style monastery featuring tranquil rock gardens and ponds and the adjacent Nan Lian Garden, recreated from an ancient village in Shanxi province is a leisure park featuring a museum of wood architecture and recreated Chinese classical timber structures made without iron nails.

Choi Hung Station exit C2 and minibus 1A take you to the rural retreat of Sai Kung Town, now a
trendy collection of European and Asian seafood eateries. A promenade connects the town to beaches and a lovely view of offshore islands.

Kwun Tong Station takes you near the old airport, now a golf driving range, and the APM Millenium City mall with over 170 lifestyle outlets, and restaurants that stay open until 2AM.

Yau Tong Station and minibus 24 take you to Lei Yue Mun Seafood Bazaar, a fishing village popular for seafood and al-fresco dining.

The Tseung Kwan O Line runs from North Point on Hong Kong Island, crosses the harbor at the east then runs along the eastern new territories northward to Po Lam.

Interchanges: Island Line at North Point and Quarry Bay, Kwun Tong Line at Yau Tong and Tiu Keng Leng.

Hang Hau Station exit B1, then minibus 101M, is an alternate route to the rural retreat of Sai Kung Town.

The Tung Chung Line is the newest MTR line. It runs from the Hong Kong station which is linked by underground walkway to Central Station, up to Tung Chung on Lantau Island.

Tip from the locals:
Save HKD70, and enjoy a quick ride to the airport from Central by taking the MTR to Tung Chung instead of the Airport Express, then take a 5-minute ride on the S1 Airport Bus.

Interchanges: Island Line and Airport Express at Hong Kong/Central Station, Airport Express at Kowloon and Tsing Yi, KCR West Rail at Nam Cheong, Disneyland Resort Line at Sunny Bay, and the Ngong Ping Skyrail at Tung Chung

Hong Kong Station is linked to Central Station by underground walkway and right beneath IFC
Mall, Star Ferry terminals to Tsim Sha Tsui, and Hung Hom (Whampoa Gardens), and the Outlying Islands Ferry to Cheung Chau, Lamma, and Lantau Islands.

Kowloon Station takes you to the western portion of the newly reclaimed and still undeveloped west Kowloon Peninsula. Walking east will take you to the China Hong Kong City mall and ferry pier, just north of Harbour City, and walking further east takes you to Nathan Road via Kowloon Park.

Tsing Yi Station is on an Island between Kowloon and Lantau Island, offering dramatic views of the Tsing Yi and Tsing Ma bridges linking the airport and Lantau Island to the rest of Hong Kong. The Maritime Square mall features the Snowman Fantasia where you can make your own snowman.

Sunny Bay Station is the interchange to the Disneyland Resort Line. Visit Disneyland Theme Park (park admission ticket required), or stroll (for free) in the adjacent Disney Gardens, Inspiration Lake and the scenic Disney Ferry Terminal , or dine at the picturesque Disneyland Hotel or glitzy Disney Hollywood hotel. Express buses to and from Central and other parts of Hong Kong are available the Disneyland station.

Tung Chung Station is near the airport and gateway to Lantau Island destinations. The Citygate
Outlets mall has dozens of outlet stores of well-known name brands offering discounts of up to 70% on end of season items. Take the Ngong Ping Skyrail or Bus 23 to The Giant Buddha, Po Lin Monastery, and Nogong Ping Village; or take Bus 11 to visit Tai O fishing village, one of the oldest inhabited villages in Hong Kong, with a wide assortment of seafood specialty products.

©2007 Maccess Corporation. The information in this document was current at the time of its writing and was obtained from sources deemed reliable. Use this information at your own risk, the authors assume no responsibility for any loss or damage resulting from the use of this information. If you do get lost, look for an MTR/KCR/LRT station and take the train back. If you need help, ask for assistance from a branch of 7-11, McDonald's, or Giordano. If you need to make a call, buy a HK SIM Card and put it in your phone.

The Grandeur of Hyundai.

2007-07-13T14:00:00.000+08:00

The second of two marketing articles written for Hyundai Motors. Published in the Manila Bulletin, 13 July 2007.

If your notion of Hyundai cars are excellent value for money, you're absolutely correct. If you think they're unremarkable econoboxes, think again.

They've been faking it all along, making best-selling value-priced automobiles while quietly investing billions of dollars in advanced research developing a complete range of remarkable, outstanding, environmentally friendly and technologically superior motor vehicles.

Hyundai Motors is the world's sixth largest automaker with ambitions of leading the industry in green technology. The Hyundai Motor plant in Ulsan, South Korea is the largest integrated motor vehicle complex in the world. For 2007, Hyundai Motors leads in more vehicle segments in Strategic Vision's Total Quality Index, with the Azera, Entourage and Santa Fe earning top marks.

All these are the results of a strategy, began in 1998, to establish Hyundai Motors as a leading global brand. They acquired the then-ailing Kia Motors brand, returning it to profitability by 2005 with remarkable new models built with Hyundai technology.

They used to buy diesel engines from Mitsubishi, but after improving on the technology, today, Mitsubishi buys diesel engines from them. That's why, unlike other vendors, Hyundai ofers diesel engine options on most of its locally available vehicles.

In 2004, Hyundai Motors tied Honda in JD Power's initial brand quality survey of new cars. In the 2006 JD Power ranking, the Hyundai brand ranked 3rd overall, just behind Porsche and Lexus, and beating long time rival Toyota.

Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI) is Hyundai's authorized dealer in the Philippines. Starting with the venerable and best-selling Starex, HARI now offers a wide range of award-winning Hyundai vehicles for every vehicular need.

The Getz is Hyundai's compact runabout car, with prices starting below five hundred thousand pesos. Available in fuel efficient 1.1 and 1.3 liter gasoline engines, and a Common Rail Diesel Injection variant, the Getz is a favorite among young people and corporate fleet buyers.

The Getz has won Awards for Best Small car in Australia (2003, 2005) and Scotland (2003). In 2003, it won Best Budget Car in the UK “What Car?” Magazine's round-up,and in the UK motoring program “5th Gear.” It was the best selling car in Denmark in 2003 and it's been voted the “Car of the Year” award in Portugal (2004).

The Elantra/Avante is for the junior executive with a flair for fresh, dynamic styling. According to Cars.com: "Hyundai gives the Elantra more standard features than its competitors get, prices it lower and throws in the market's most generous warranty to boot. Trim levels include the GLS, sporty SE and premium Limited."

The Tuscani is Hyundai's sports coupe, with a stylish, sporty design prominent in its chiseled nose, wedge-shaped profile, sculptured sides and a sports-tuned dual muffler. Buyers have a choice of an economical 2.0 liter 4-cylinder engine and a high performance 2.7 liter V6.

The Sonata is Hyundai's high-performance mid-range executive car, featuring the powerful 3.3 liter V6 engine of Hyundai, that promises to launch the car from zero to 100 km/h in less than 6.6 seconds. In the 2006 Canadian Car of the Year Awards, it was awarded best new family car under C$35,000.

The flagship Grandeur/Azera is the most luxurious sedan. Ideal for the accomplished executive, featuring leather seats, all-power features, a wood-panelled dashboard, and optional 17” wheels. Car and Driver notes the Grandeur/Azera has slightly more rear legroom than a popular mid-range German luxury sedan.

The Grandeur/Azera uses the same powerful V6 found in the Sonata. The power is sent to the front wheels through a five-speed automatic transmission with "Shiftronic" manual gear selection.

The Azera was named “Best New Family Car (OVER C$35,000)” in the 2006 Canadian Car of the Year Awards, matching the recognition won by the Sonata in the below C$35,000 category, and achieving for Hyundai the rare honor of besting adjacent categories.

HARI carries Hyundai Motors' complete range of SUVs: From the competitively priced Tucson to the Grand Luxe VeraCruz, easily, and justifiably mistaken for ultra-luxury German SUVs.

Don't turn Japanese until you've checked out the best-selling Hyundai Tucson (Too-son) and save over a hundred grand compared with Japanese SUVs.

When it was first introduced in the US, demand was so great that Hyundai's plants were running at full capacity just to meet demand. The Tucson won Canadian Car of the Year Best New Crossover award in 2005, and offers outstanding value in its category.

Save a fortune and enjoy a full range of luxury features standard in the mid-size Santa Fe. Unlike the converted pick-up trucks in its class, the Santa Fe is a true crossover featuring a monocoque integrated chassis and a luxury car like ride.

For ultimate luxury in large SUVs, Hyundai offers the high-end VeraCruz, an elegantly sculpted exercise in power and style. In design and creature comforts, the Veracruz is an undisputed winner with spacious interiors, leather seats, all power features, and seats for seven.

Safety features--electronic stability control, side and head air bags, front-seat active head restraints, rear-seat head restraints, and antilock brakes--are standard.

And if that full range of vehicles—the Getz runabout, the Elantra/Avante, Sonata, Grandeur/Azera sedans, and the Tucson, Santa Fe, and Vera Cruz SUVs—is not enough, Hyundai has a few more surprises in store for 2008 with a remake of the venerable Starex, and the revolutionary i30, which is already making waves in Korea and Europe.

40 Years of Passion Heading to 400

2007-07-13T13:52:00.000+08:00

One of two features for Hyundai Motors, written following a familiarization tour of Hyundai Motor's operations in Korea.

Delegates from China, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, and the Philippines, were flown in for a hectic first-hand look at the passion that drives Hyundai Motors.
It was a whirlwind tour of South Korea for the more than one hundred delegates, and revving everyone up for the company’s ambitious target of four hundred percent sales growth.
The first two days were relatively easy, but little did we know that Hyundai intended to break the speed limit as the week went on.
In Seoul, we visited both modern and ancient Korea with a visit to the "Blue House," Korea’s Presidential Palace, then to Gyeongbokgung Palace, built in 1411 during the Joseon Dynasty.
Then, it was off to shopping at Itaewon, near the US Military barracks. If you’re homesick, there’s a Philippine store and eatery right beside our embassy.
Dinner was a memorable introduction to Korean merry-making tradition, as we were introduced to Shoju, and the customary toast of "We-HaYoo," to go with our choice of grilled beef and pork.
I eat neither, so I joined what we would later call the "ASEAN" table, with other non-carnivorous South East Asians. That would come in handy later on, being the only table with various nationalities, we toasted ASEAN and Hyundai’s four hundred percent growth forecast in this market.
The Shoju we were toasting with is nasty stuff. Its effect on your sense of balance is wildly disproportionate to its alcoholic content.
Thankfully, the next morning we found ourselves on Korea’s Hyundai built bullet train zipping across the country at 300 km/h and I was able to get some sleep.
Busan is Korea’s second largest city and the country’s largest port. The Korean stuff you have gets to you through Busan. Hyundai’s cars don’t pass through Busan, but more on that later on.
Boemoso Buddhist Temple is Korea’s most beautiful. Set amidst verdant mountains, it was worth the hour long drive from Busan proper. Buddha’s birthday is celebrated on May 2nd, and the numbers of delegates going to pay homage, as opposed to visiting tourists, made me realize just how widespread the Buddhist philosophy is.
The next day would be the big day, at least from the point of view of our hosts. It was the day they would show us their pride: Ulsan, otherwise known as the city that Hyundai built.
Starting in 1947 as a civil engineering firm, Hyundai chose Ulsan, then a sparsely populated rural town, to build what would later become Hyundai Heavy Industries, which today makes the world’s largest ocean–going ships.
Hyundai Motors would follow in 1967, and soon an entire city was on the rise, built almost entirely by the company.
Hyundai has its own massive port in Ulsan, where the massive ships it’s built load its cars which get to the port on highways that it built. There’s even a Hyundai Hotel and a Hyundai Department Store.
This company really plans way ahead into the future.
At the showroom of Hyundai Heavy, there’s a scale model of an ecofriendly Hyundai acropolis, an ultra-modern city system built on a small footprint that Hyundai hopes to build a few hundred years into the future.
Hyundai Motor’s Ulsan plant is the world’s largest integrated auto manufacturing plant. In it they make all their flashy new models: The Veracruz, Santa Fe, and Tucson SUVs, the Korea-only EQUUS limousine, Grandeur and Sonata executive cars, Tuscani coupe, the Getz and Vistro small cars, as well as their popular Starex vans.
Having shown us their "town," Hyundai finally felt that it was time for us to relax and sent all of us off to Jeju.
Located just off the southern tip of the peninsula, Jeju is Korea’s Big Island.
Three times the size of Singapore, it’s where Koreans go for R&R, which plenty of local color and recreational sports. It’s also a favorite location for shooting those ubiquitous koreanovelas.
We stayed at the Haevichi Resort, a members only resort partly owned by, you guessed it, Hyundai. It’s located right on the beach used in "Stairway to Heaven," and right next to the Jeju Folk Village used in "Jewel in the Palace."
The Paradise Hotel in Jeju was unlike anything else we’ve seen in Korea.
Built to resemble a Spanish Villa, it didn’t have any of the sharp edged geometric architecture features common around Korea.
In fact, when the Filipino band started playing our favorite tunes we felt right at home.
The Bonsai garden in Jeju should not be missed. Built over thirty years by a then young man from the mainland who worked days and nights in this once remote location, the Bonsai Garden is the world’s largest, and arguably the most beautiful of its kind.
Back at the Haevichi, it was time to prepare for the culminating event, the grand Gala night (as if all the previous events had not been as grand).
Hyundai SVP SS Chang was there to deliver the closing remarks as well as a challenge to the dealers to exceed their sales targets.
Hyundai New Zealand head Heinz Weissner, a Hyundai dealer for 25 years, delivered his bit, but the highlight was when our own Marife Agudo, SVP and COO of Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (Hyundai Philippines) asked the question that was on everyone’s mind: "What does the slogan, "40 years of Passion heading for 400" mean?"
"400 percent sales growth, of course!" exclaimed Marife.

Why They Kill.

2007-06-03T20:17:00.000+08:00

I LIKE GOOGLE EARTH. With Google Earth, I can view satellite photos of anywhere in the world, and anywhere in the Philippines.

I can see roads, bridges, and buildings that are supposed to be there. Strangely though, there seem to be a lot more roads and bridges in local government maps than satellite pictures reveal.

Where have these roads and bridges in official maps gone?

Ever noticed how in some rural areas the pavement of a secondary road ends fifty meters from a highway, or how an otherwise continuous road has an inexplicable ten meter gap somewhere in the middle?

Locals explain the gap as "the commission," or the part of the road that didn’t get built because someone pocketed a portion of the road’s budget.

Try another trick with Google and Google Earth: Look up the Metro Manila (or Metro Cebu) addresses of some provincial mayors, then zoom into their palatial residences. Pay particular attention to the exclusive villages.

Where does all of this money to build these mansions come from? Surely, the Mayor of a small town can’t be earning this much!

The Asian Development Bank warns that too many of our local government are overly dependent on the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) provided by the National Government, rather than finding ways to raise funds for themselves.

The IRA is intended to be used for development projects of the local governments: TO BUILD roads, to build schools, to undertake projects for the improvement of the community.

It can amount to hundreds of millions of pesos a year, enough to build farm-to-market roads, hook up the town to the Internet, build a community college, a sports center; or it can be diverted and used for personal profit.

Local Government Units are fully capable of raising their own funds, which they can do in three ways: Real Estate Taxes, Business Permits, and use of the town’s patrimony.

But, in many small towns real estate taxes are inexplicably low; at least until one understands that in many small towns the local officials are also the town’s largest landowners.

Message to the ADB: Some small towns don’t raise real estate taxes because the Mayor doesn’t want to tax himself.

How some get to be the largest landowner is a story in itself because under the Mayor’s office is the local land registry.

Of course, at some point the real owner is going to notice a problem, but this process can take decades, and in the meantime, the property can be leased or even sold to an unsuspecting buyer.

That’s why it’s always prudent to check with the National Land Registry in Quezon City when offered a rural property with a local registry title.

A friend returned from overseas to find a palatial mansion built on her family property in a small town up north. They still held the National Registry title, but lo and behold, the local registry listed the mayor as the owner.

When confronted, the mayor offered to return the property and correct the local registry, but only if they paid for "improvements!"

When the local ruling family owns many of the businesses, attracting competition is the last thing on their minds, so don’t expect much from business permit fees. When a town is underdeveloped, with few roads, and little human capital from an absence of a decent community college, there won’t be many businesses there.

The town’s patrimony are another gold mine for corrupt local officials.

Some exploit the town’s natural resources for themselves, possibly explaining why we have thousands of hectares of denuded mountains. Another is to use the towns’ property for personal agriculture and commercial activity. It’s good to use idle land, but the revenues should go to the town’s coffers, not personal pockets.

Then there’s jueteng and other local rackets. Where it still exists, whoever is elected is assured a large chunk of the profits, shared, of course, with whoever is needed to keep things running smoothly.

These kinds of things show what a profitable endeavor running a small town can be.

With funds from the IRA running to a hundred million added to land grabbing via the local registry plus personal exploitation of the town’s assets and whatever else can be obtained from illegal rackets, it’s easier to understand why there are those willing to kill in order to win a local election.

It’s the business model of corrupt local politicians: Clear out the competition with guns, goons and gold, and reap the spoils if you’re successful.

Another Google company I like is YouTube.

Anyone with a video camera (and that includes many cellphones) can take videos and post them online for anyone to view. Videos of the family, friends, interesting happenings; and videos of political promises, campaign speeches, and blatant electoral fraud.

I expect to see hundreds of these videos popping up on YouTube very soon, if they haven’t already been posted. I’m especially looking forward to a video done by Pinikpikan’s Carol Bello, which earned her a couple of death threats in Abra.

Because YouTube is global, these videos will certainly be reviewed by foreigners, those referred to as "not understanding the Filipino electoral culture." Understanding our culture of guns, goons, and gold is always a challenge.

It’s not a challenge to Filipinos to understand, our challenge is choosing not to have any part of this stupidity. That’s why many of us simply move somewhere else, or work overseas, so we can earn enough to move our families somewhere else.

Foreign rights organizations will no doubt have something damaging to say again about all the deaths.

So will foreign investors, who we all hope will "understand Filipino culture" so they can bring their billions here.

The body count in the last election is close to two hundred. It’s troubling that political partisans are killed, but it’s horribly disgusting when teachers, the stewards of our youth, become targets because of their "required" role in our antiquated electoral processes.

DepEd’s Jesli Lapus blames Comelec’s failure to automate elections as the reason teachers are put in harm’s way. The plan to automate elections has been around at least as long as that unopened Airport Terminal, yet neither seems nowhere near resolution. There are just too many issues with hundred million peso contracts that we can’t seem to get anywhere with them.

We market ourselves as a leading outsourcing center with a large pool of technical talent, yet we can’t even automate our own elections to keep teachers out of harm’s way.

Why hasn’t the Comelec consulted with the DoST, the National Computer Center, and the University of the Philippines?

There’s already such a shortage of teachers that we can’t afford to lose a dozen or so with each election because some crook is so desperate to win at all costs.

Lessons from Kuala Lumpur

2007-05-12T20:43:00.000+08:00

Asia’s three major ethnic groups are well-represented here: The native Malays, and long ago immigrants from the Indian subcontinent and China. That Malaysia is able to productively harness their disparate cultures to create South East Asia’s richest economy is an impressive achievement.

Malaysian nationalism is at the forefront of everyone’s consciousness. Citizens are Malaysian first; Malay, Chinese, or Indian second.

There is a strong determination to succeed in the manner of their former European colonial masters, yet remain distinctly Asian. Muslim faith and values permeate, but a mix of hard nosed common sense, and the best of other nationalities work together to create a country that is as progressive as it is traditional.

Unlike other South East Asian countries, there are no major insurgencies in Malaysia.

There are occasional voices of protest, but these are mostly on specific issues and constructive criticism always has the end goal of finding a solution rather than creating obstructions.

We could look to Hong Kong and Singapore for guidance and inspiration, but these small territories have unique sets of challenges. It is far easier to limit corruption, for example.

With economies built on trade, it’s far easier to promote free trade vis-a-vis protectionism.

Malaysia is more like us: A resource rich nation, with a Malay majority, and distinct regional communities. Like us, they have had to deal with issues of economic strategy, local vested interests, oligarchies, and other issues similar to ours.

"We will deliver on promises," says Prime Minister Abdullah Bin Ahmad Badawi, on pledges to streamline the bureaucracy. Not just motherhood statements, but detailed announcements on the standards and procedures they will follow to deliver.

Pay suppliers within 14 days, for example. To achieve this target, the prime minister’s office didn’t just mandate 14 days, it actively worked to streamline procedures: If three people were needed for approvals before, ways were found to reduce this number to one or two, while following sound financial practices.

Implementation of critical projects in Education, Health, and National Defense costing less than five million Ringgit (P70Mln) may be implemented directly by the agency instead of passing through the Public Works Department, avoiding red tape for small, but essential, infrastructure items.

Improvements to the Internal Revenue Board’s filing system for better performance. The Philippines does have an advantage: Our payment system is already handled by banks, a convenience Malaysia is just starting to implement.

Pursuing e-governance has several advantages: Being able to reach a larger number of citizens, even overseas, and allowing government offices to be transferred to less congested locations as people have less need to visit government offices.

Malaysia’s government center is in PutraJaya, which means "Steward of Success" in Malay, located around 80 Kms south of Kuala Lumpur where land is cheaper, and the presence of a large community drives development in the area.

Government department heads are required to review their mandates and determine on a regular basis if they have been successful or somehow, "lost their way."

The heads are required to visit frontline staff and observe the quality of public service, and challenge themselves to upgrade service quality. For call-in requests, government telephones must be answered by the third ring.

Improving education to be more responsive to the needs of the economy. Not just formal education, but continuing education from high school, to financial responsibility, to workplace safety and ethics.

"Education should help students be more independent after graduation," says the Higher Education Ministry.

A 20-hour basic business course created in cooperation with the private sector will be required in High School. The Ministry says it has already prepared training modules for the teachers’ use.

Schools are also to be given greater freedoms to pick and advertise for teachers and staff, as well as source external services such as coaches and trainers.

They are allowed to choose an area of focus e.g. Sciences, arts, sports, etc. Some schools will be allowed to develop clearly defined specializations.

Parents are encouraged to actively participate in Parent-Teachers Associations, while schools will be encouraged to compete for excellence with other schools, both public and private.

On financial education, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak encourages banks and financial institutions to teach personal financial management to young people, many of whom have filed for bankruptcy due to excessive credit card debt.

Educating young adults on prudent financial management makes more sense than simply being more selective about issuing credit cards, and complaining about the levels of personal bankruptcies.

On workplace safety, the Deputy PM says that all the most modern and sophisticated tools will not help workplace safety if human behavior is not changed for the better.

Education in the workplace include teaching workers that negligence will not be tolerated and safety cannot be compromised.

Malaysia is one of the least corrupt countries in Asia, ranking above China, South Korea, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, and this year’s bottom dweller which is the Philippines.

A police officer and lance corporal were charged with seven counts of corruption for seeking twenty-two thousand Ringgit (P28,000) and a Nokia 7610 cellphone in bribes. Wow, being charged just for receiving a cellphone!

Also, the accountant of a former deputy minister was charged with cooking the books. No one is above the law in Malaysia.

Police Inspector General Tan Sri Musa Hassan plans to add another 60,000 men not by simply saying so, as we tend to do but by making investments in Malaysia’s five police training colleges, and devising a better scheme to attract recruits.

Supt Zulkifli Mohamed of the Kuala Langat area focuses on foot patrols and building close ties with local residents. Although he notes that the increased presence will result in higher reported crime incidence, he promises not to suppress the figures and work towards genuine crime reductions.

Think about that the next time a local police station discourages you from reporting a crime, reducing crime figures doesn’t mean reducing the reporting of crime.

The environment is a priority. Kuala Lumpur is carved out of a rainforest. Despite its development, the rainforest thrives. City highways course through virgin rainforests, and development is tightly controlled.

Much of Malaysia’s non-manufacturing wealth comes from the rainforest and preservation is a national objective.

Pahang State notes that it is more profitable to preserve its rainforests than harvest timber. Adjacent Selangor State (where Kuala Lumpur is located) may pay up to RM70Mln a year for water from Pahang’s forest watershed versus the RM7Mln it earns per year from logging.

Selangor also notes that water consumption can be reduced by 500 million cubic meters a day if broken and old pipes were repaired, and alternative water sources identified.

In line with this, the National Water Resources Council says that certain types of structures (buildings, factories, schools, and bungalows) should install a rain water harvesting system for use in watering plants, washing cars, and flushing toilets. Use of treated water can then be limited to drinking and personal hygiene.

It’s interesting to note that flood water drainage and crop irrigation are handled by one department, which is developing a long term plan to address flooding issues.

Structural plans include building dams, catchment ponds, and reconstructing rivers by widening, deepening, and where needed, re-curving them. They also plan to construct storage warehouses near floodprone areas to store emergency equipment for relief operations.

Sarawak in Eastern Malaysia (that’s just below our province of TawiTawi) has strict rules on the issuance of open burning permits for agricultural and plantation wastes to reduce the amount of haze in the air.

According to the new rules, permits can only be used once, and the agency will set the time and the date for each permit holder in turn.

Air quality is Malaysian cities is very good. In Kuala Lumpur, there is some traffic but it is a much smaller city than Manila, with a mere three million residents. The entire population of Malaysia is an easily managed 27 million people.

When a country has that much fewer people, it’s far easier to handle, but more importantly, it’s essential that the population be enabled and productive by sound policy making and sound physical infrastructure.

There are few bottlenecks in this country where GDP is a nearly first-world ,000 per annum (ours is a measly ,700 per annum).

In Kuala Lumpur and other major cities, there are efficient public transport systems, with multiple interconnected mass transit railways. Outside the cities, wide European style highways allow easy movement of people, agricultural produce, and industrial goods.

By most measures, Malaysia has already surpassed its neighbors, but the drive to improve competitiveness is still there, only this time, it is measuring itself against China, India, and most of Europe.

Being competitive is not just beating an opponent, it is continually striving--there will always be other competitors up the ladder, and in other parts of the world. The Prime Minister’s latest message is crystal clear: "Let us all compete and raise our standards higher and better."

European envoy Thierry Rommel says: "Malaysia is an ideal place to invest, despite the emergence of Vietnam and China. There is room for improvement in terms of reducing red tape, improving logistics, and investments in human capital, but Malaysia is among the most competitive countries in Asia."

The Value of Water

2007-04-19T19:00:00.000+08:00

We don't think much about it other than that we expect it to flow from our taps on demand. We leave the it running when brushing our teeth, cleaning our cars and homes, and doing our laundry. We use potable treated water for flushing our toilets, or pouring into the ground for watering plants, and washing driveways.

While the world’s water is stuck on the planet with all of us, the all of us part of the equation is increasing. Furthermore, fresh potable water is getting harder to find. There’s plenty of water, but only if you like it filthy or salted.

Almost half the world's people face serious fresh water shortages, and of those that do get water, only half again have access to truly potable water that doesn't cause disease.

The forecasts for water availability are appalling, but the problem is complex with no easy answers. The lack of water is a bigger problem than global warming, terror attacks and new diseases combined.

There are many proposals to deal with existing and looming water shortages, but too many focus on mega-engineering projects like dams and pipelines, and less on rebuilding natural systems like forest watersheds and wetlands to conserve and provide water resources.

Pahang State in Malaysia had a Eureka moment when it realized it could sell water from forest watersheds to adjacent Selangor State for 70 Million Ringgit (P980Mln) annually, ten times more than the 7 million Ringgit (P98Mln) it earns from logging. Ergo, Pahang is exiting the logging business and entering the water business, selling water to Malaysia's most populous state.

Unfortunately, many Philippine forests have been stripped bare by loggers in cahoots with corrupt government officials, and the small patches that remain are barely adequate for watersheds.

Replanting may help, but forest watershed ecosystems are not just ipil-ipil trees planted by politicians seeking photo opportunities, but complex systems of trees, shrubs, vines, and ground crawlers that have developed over hundreds of years.

These spongelike ecosystems capture water from rain, from dew, and mountain streams gradually releasing water into the environment as clean rivers and underground water reservoirs.

Sadly, our depleted landscape merely funnels muddy rainwater into the valleys, occasionally triggering landslides that kill hundreds, on its way back to the sea.

A research analyst points out that as much as we complain about the high price of oil, the price of potable water has risen at a faster rate.

We used to be able to stick a pipe into the ground and expect potable water, if we couldn’t, there was always cheap, potable NAWASA (the state water utility) juice.

Those days are long gone.

Many subdivisions have to rely on expensive trucked in water, and when was the last time you believed you could safely drink water from the tap? Don’t forget to buy a gallon of filtered water on the way back, wil’ya?.

Checked your water bill lately? It’s now around P26/cubic meter for treated water. Analysts say this could easily double or triple over the next ten years.

As recently as ten years ago, it was six pesos per cubic meter, and tap water was potable. If gasoline changed as much, we’d be paying P52/liter for dirty gas.

If we instead compared the price of filtered water and gasoline increased as much, we'd be paying five hundred pesos a liter for gas.

The truth is that we cannot increase the supply of fresh water, which is why it’s getting more expensive.

There are more and more people, and people are moving into areas that used to be sustainable watersheds. The human imprint on the planet is getting much bigger than the ecosystem that supports us.

Most fresh water comes from rain, which rushes down denuded mountains on its way back to the sea to become undrinkable seawater. Desalination plants work, but they are expensive to run and leave behind mountains of salt.

The only thing we can change right now is how we use water. Conserve water, close the faucet while brushing your teeth, use a pail, not a hose, to wash your car.

We all know the drill.

These little measures help, but are sadly nowhere near enough. The
global fresh water situation is already too grave.

Agriculture is the biggest consumer of fresh water, accounting for 70%
of consumption, yet offers the greatest potential for conservation.
Techniques pioneered in the desert regions of the midwestern U.S., and
the middle east show water savings of as much as ten fold for every ton
of produce.

In Asia, flood irrigation is most common--and most wasteful. It is
essential for growing rice in the developing world, but less essential
for other crops. Overhead and drip irrigators help conserve water (and
expensive fertilizer) when growing vine, shrub, and tree crops.

Harnessing what would otherwise become floodwater is another plentiful
source of agricultural water.

Several countries saw the sense of that decades ago and combined the
agency handling flood control with the one handling irrigation. It’s
all about water management: Control the huge volumes of floodwaters
and divert them to storage areas for distribution to agricultural
lands.

Industry and residential uses account for 30% of water consumption, but
there is so much waste of treated potable water for uses that simply
don’t require it.

Water engineers classify water into three categories: Whitewater,
which is treated and generally potable; Graywater, which has some
impurities and therefore not potable, but which has not come into
contact with food scraps and toilet waste; and Blackwater, which is
wastewater containing toxic chemicals or toilet waste destined for
septic tanks and other treatment facilities.

Re-using graywater offers the greatest potential for conserving water
at the residential and industrial sectors.

Sources are plentiful, and the uses are many: Stored rainwater,
condensate from airconditioners, rinsewater from the washing machine,
used water from bathtubs and showers are all forms of graywater that
can be used for flushing toilets, cleaning cars and floors, and
watering lawns.

There is no sense in wasting potable whitewater for flushing toilets.

If you’ve ever stayed at the Excelsior in Hong Kong, you’ve seen
graywater at work. Toilets at the hotel, and many others in Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Middle East use graywater for flushing.

In California, “graywater” laws require buildings and apartment
complexes to install graywater plumbing for flushing toilets and
watering lawns. Countries in Europe, notably Germany, have similar
requirements.

Malaysia is currently debating laws requiring buildings and residential
apartments to catch and store rainwater for use in flushing toilets,
washing cars, and watering lawns. The laws limit use of treated pipe
water to drinking and personal hygiene.

Another plus is that with numerous rainwater catchments, there will be
less rainwater to drain away, alleviating city flooding.

We may not have these laws yet, but there is no reason why we can’t
build these systems into new homes or retrofit them into existing
homes.

Think of all the graywater sources in your home: Rainwater,
bathwater, airconditioners, and the washing machine. How much
additional plumbing would you need to store this water and divert it to
toilets and a faucet in the garage?

You may not even need plumbing: It could be as simple as placing your
washing machine near a frequently used toilet and diverting rinsewater
to the flush tank. Or placing it in the garage and draining rinsewater
into a bucket for washing the car or watering lawns. Or diverting the
drain hose from the airconditioner, or rainwater pipe, into a storage
pail or drum.

For more information on graywater and its uses visit this site. Waterwise promotes water conservation in the United Kingdom.

Sun Safety

2007-04-11T15:46:00.000+08:00

SUMMER IS HERE and many of us are looking forward to spending days by the beach and under the sun.

While we all need some sunshine to help our bodies produce Vitamin D, too much sunshine can cause premature skin aging, eye damage, immune system suppression, and skin cancer. Even young people can develop skin cancer.

Most individuals get 25% of their total lifetime exposure to sunshine before the age of 18, and just two blistering sunburns are enough to double our lifetime skin cancer risk.

Repeated sun exposure can cause the skin’s outer layer, the epidermis, to become thick and leathery, with wrinkles and furrows, particularly on the face.

Compare the skin on your upper forearm with the skin on your lower forearm, and you’ll see the effects of prolonged sun exposure. Notice the difference in texture and skin thickness?

Not all individuals burn at equal rates. White and fair skinned individuals are in greatest danger of burning; their skin is unable to produce enough melanin even after several days of sun exposure. These are individuals whose skin quickly turns red, without tanning.

Darker skin produces enough melanin to offer some protection, but will still burn, dry, and peel off with too much sun exposure.

The culprits are the three types of ultraviolet rays emitted by the sun: UVA, UVB, and UVC.

UVA rays are not blocked by the ozone layer and account for most of our sun exposure. UVB, and UVC rays are mostly blocked by the ozone layer, but if you’re visiting countries in the north and south, note that the ozone layer has been thinning, resulting in increased cases of skin cancer.

Remember, sunlight,and the UV rays still get through even in winter and colder climates.

Here are some basic tips to protect yourself:

Limit your exposure between the hours of 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., when the sun is strongest. Play golf, tennis, and swim in the early morning or late afternoon.

Use a broad spectrum sunblock, with SPF of 15 or greater, particularly for children, who tend to stay out in the sun for longer periods.

Apply sunblock 30 minutes before venturing out into the sun and reapply every hour or so, particularly if you are swimming or perspiring heavily.

Use a higher SPF sunblock on areas that need extra protection like the tip of your nose, your ears, your shoulders and upper forearms and your back.

Babies below one year of age should stay out of the sun— period. Their little bodies cannot tolerate high-SPF sunblock lotions whose chemicals may be absorbed through the skin, so the best protection is to keep them out of the sun, and have them wear a small hat if you need to carry them under the sun.

Wear a good pair of sunglasses, one that specifically provides UV protection, to protect your eyes and wide-brimmed sun hats to protect your face and provide some shade from the heat.

Polarized sunglasses offer extra protection from glare, but should not be used for driving.

(The Polarization interacts with the glass of your car’s windshield creating false rainbows)
Encourage children, in particular, to wear hats when playing in the sun.

Check with your physician if you are taking certain drugs such as tetracyclines, diuretics, and tranquilizers which may increase your sensitivity to the sun. Birth control pills are also known to increase sun susceptibility.

Take multivitamins and extra doses of antioxidants a few days before planned sun exposure to increase sun tolerance.

An additional five hundred milligrams to one gram of Vitamin C , 400 I.U. of Vitamin E, and 5,000 I.U. of Vitamin A (or lots of carrots) a day for three days before, during, and after your beach trip will increase your sun tolerance and help healing of mild sunburn.

If despite these measures, you’ve developed some form of sunburn, estimate the extent of the injury with this guide:

If skin is deep pink, with sensations of heat and burning, the sunburn is mild and should be treated by applying cool towels and a cool bath.

If skin is red, with itching and stinging, with visible strap lines, the sunburn is moderate.

Aside from cooling down with cool towels and a bath, take an aspirin every four hours, and apply an aloe vera (sabila) based cream.

If the skin is bright red with blisters, and the patient is running a fever and nauseous, the sunburn is severe. Seek medical attention.

While waiting, cool down the patient with cool towels or a cooling bath. Pat skin dry, do not rub sunburned skin. Take an aspirin every four hours, and apply aloe vera gels. Cooked oatmeal also makes an effective balm for severely burned skin.

Excessive sun exposure may also result in sun stroke, a severe life threatening medical emergency that occurs when the body’s heat regulating mechanism breaks down or is unable to cope with excessive solar heat.

Young children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable, as are diabetics, and individuals under the influence of alcohol.

Symptoms of sunstroke include: hot, dry, flushed skin. A lack of sweating (due to the breakdown of the body’s heat control system).

Rapid breathing and/or pulse. High body temperature and headache. Mental disorientation, ranging from agitation to lethargy and stupor.

Severe sunstroke victims may convulse, lose consciousness, and even die if corrective steps are not taken immediately.

The primary treatment goal is to bring down the body temperature by immersing the victim in a cooling bath, applying cool sheets and towels, or sponging down the victim with cool water.
Apply ice packs, if available to the neck, armpits, and groin areas. Call a doctor or emergency medical services at your location.

Fan the person to increase air flow and evaporation. When some body heat has been dissipated, gently elevate the feet to increase blood flow to the head. Massage the arms and legs to encourage blood flow throughout the body.

If the person is conscious, have him sip a glass of cool water or soft drink. Do not administer liquids to an unconscious victim.

Continue monitoring the body temperature until medical help arrives.

The body temperature of sunstroke victims may fluctuate and rise again even after a cooling bath.

To avoid sunstroke, drink plenty of fluids and pace your exposure to the hot sun, particularly if you’ve spent most of your time in the office shielded from the sun.

With sun safety consciousness and awareness of emergency procedures for sun and heat related injuries, we can all safely enjoy the abundant summer sunshine.

Rabies Awareness

2007-04-03T18:45:00.000+08:00

March is the (Philippines') Department of Health's Rabies Awareness Month.

Rabies is an terrifying and fatal neurological disease. Once symptoms are apparent, there is no cure and there is a rapid progression to death. Bring your pets in for free vaccinations at your local Animal Health and Safety Center, and consider vaccinations for yourself and your family if you live in an area with Rabies, or plan to go camping and mountain climbing this summer.

Spelunkers (Cave Explorers) beware! Rabies can be acquired by inhaling the virus laden air found in caves with large numbers of bats.

Because it is slow progressing in the initial stages, Rabies may start days or even weeks after exposure through an animal bite, lick on broken skin, or scratch or, beer drinkers beware, by eating parts of an infected animal. By then, it is too late.

Fortunately, vaccination is a simple and effective means of protecting yourself, your family, and your beloved pets from Rabies. Most towns and municipalities have a free rabies immunization program for domestic animals, all you need to do is bring your pet to a nearby animal health and safety center.

Metro Manila and the Bicol region are known to be rabies hotspots. Consider vaccination if you intend to visit places with Bats and stray animals, or go camping and mountain hiking. Even popular Boracay has had known Rabies cases in both people and animals.

The cost of a preventive Rabies vaccine is far less than the cost of post-exposure Rabies vaccination. Bat bites, for example, frequently go unnoticed. That bat that brushed against you during a hike may have just inoculated you with his Rabies-infected saliva.

All animal bites are a medical emergency. Seek treatment as soon as possible. Even previously vaccinated individuals will need follow on treatment following an exposure.

Thankfully, new Rabies vaccines are painless, requiring only short-needle injections to the arms or buttocks, unlike older types which required daily intra-abdominal injections.

Many towns and all hospitals have bite centers that can administer the initial Rabies shots, then refer you to another center or hospital for follow-on treatment, a series of hassle-free shots over a period of a month.

"Shameless People."

2007-03-05T15:11:00.000+08:00

The shameless attempt by lawyers of multinational drug company Pfizer to interfere during the hearing of House Bill 6035, popularly known as the "Cheaper Medicine Bill" reveals the extent that these companies will go to protect their exhorbitant margins.

It shows the tragic extent that some Filipinos will go to betray our country’s interests to protect their paychecks.

Rep. Teddy Boy Locsin was correct to show Pfizers lobbyists the door, as a fuming Representative Ferjenel Biron (4th District, Iloilo) called them "shameless people."

HB 6035, certified as urgent by no less than President Gloria Macapagal, seeks to make changes in the Intellectual Property Code to allow the parallel importation of drugs sold cheaper elsewhere.

These are the same drugs sold here, but because of different pricing models in different markets, many drugs sell for as much as 80% less in other countries.

To understand why this is so, one needs to understand the pricing models that drug companies use.

The manufacturing cost of each pill, or bottle of syrup, is usually a mere fraction of the selling price.

Medicine which sells for fifty pesos a tablet may cost only five pesos to produce. The rest of the wholesale price, as much as 80%, goes to amortizing the research, development, and marketing costs of the drug.

Because some countries have well-crafted laws to limit excessive margins, multinational drug companies have lower prices in these countries.

In countries where they can get away with it, they price as aggressively as they can.

They also use expensive sales tactics, employing hundreds as "medical reps," providing them with fleets of cars to regularly visit medical doctors and aggressively push their products. Drug companies also routinely sponsor "medical conventions," and "educational trips," free to doctors but paid for by the exhorbitant retail drug prices.

Some doctors say med reps can be persistent—and annoying.

St. Luke’s Hospital parking has a sign: "Medical Reps are not allowed to park here." Otherwise, the cars of the medical reps would fill up the parking spaces.

The World Trade Organization specifically emphasizes that safeguards should be written into Intellectual Property Laws as they are not intended to be used to create quasi-monopolies within countries.

In WTO’s view, IP laws mean no one else can copy the brand name and product (if still under patent), but it does not mean that it is a license for a multinational to charge exhorbitant prices in one country while charging far less for the same product in another.

IP laws are not intended to prevent the importation of identical goods from a country where prices are lower. Nor are IP laws intended to create opportunities to "extend" patents that have expired elsewhere.

Says Celine Charveriat, head of Oxfam’s Make Trade Fair campaign:

"The (multinational drug) industry is fighting hard because developing country markets, especially in Asia, are vital for its future growth and these medicines under dispute are so valuable. These disputes put monopolies and profits over public health, which is exactly what world leaders promised would never be allowed to happen under WTO intellectual property rules."

Last year, Pfizer sued Roberto "Obet" Pagdanganan of the Philippine International Trading Corporation (PITC), the heads of the Bureau of Food and Drug, other government agencies in their personal capacity, despite the fact that they were fulfilling official functions by importing Norvasc from India, not for sale, but for product testing.

Norvasc’s patent expires in June 2007 and the our existing laws allow parallel importation when that happens.

All Chairman Obet was doing was ensuring that when the patent does expire, the Indian version of the drug would have been tested and approved by the Bureau of Food and Drug and other relevant agencies.

This is known as "early working" of a patent in anticipation of a change in the patent.

A precedent was set in 1983 in the United States when Roche sued Bolar Pharmaceuticals, which was preparing a generic version of a Roche drug whose patent was due to expire. Bolar was not yet engaged in the sale of the drug, it was merely preparing for the patent expiry. The Roche suit was successful and delayed the entry of a generic equivalent for up to eighteen months.

However, recognizing the flaw in the patent law, the U.S. Congress created the Bolar amendment, which recognized that potential competitors have the right to "early-working" to prepare for the expiration of a patent, effectively overturning Roche’s court victory.

Several countries have since implemented similar changes (early Australia, Canada, Argentina, Israel), and recently the European Union has required member states to do so as well. Drug companies can no longer sue people or companies preparing for the expiration of their patents.

The Philippines has no express provision for "early working," however, it has been the de-facto practice for several years and has never been challenged before the Pfizer lawsuits.

The President herself has had to shoo away drug company lobbyists during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Obet has recently announced that PITC will increase generic drugs importation from R115 Mln to R400 Mln by the end of March 2007, and will focus on the creation of 4,000 Botika ng Bayan outlets specializing in generic drugs.

He laments that generics comprise only 3% of our drug market. In other countries, generics account for as much as 70% of the drug market.

We salute your determination, Madame President and Sir Obet!

The passage of House Bill 6035 will mean cheaper drugs for Filipinos and cheaper drugs for the Department of Health’s medical programs.

In the meantime, there is plenty that we can do as drug consumers to ensure that we get the most value from our medicine budget.

Many doctors are not aware of the market prices of drugs recommended by medical representatives.

If the drug prescribed carries a "shocking" price tag, immediately contact your doctor and ask him for a cheaper equivalent. You may find that some may even be surprised that the original drug sells for so much, and will gladly issue a new prescription for less expensive drug.

Second, be aware that there are also fake drugs. Purchase only from reputable drugstores, and you’ll have little to worry about. Caution: many of Internet Drugstores sell fake drugs.

However, the possibility of fake drugs getting into the market is not an excuse to prohibit the importation of cheaper genuine drugs. IP Laws prohibit fake drugs, even after H.B. 6035 passes into law.

But, most importantly, stay healthy. Eat a proper diet, with minimal red meat, fair amounts of fish and poultry, and lots of fruits and vegetables. Then, no matter what local drugs will cost, it won’t affect you as much.

And when you do need to buy maintenance drugs, ask a relative who lives abroad to buy them for you from a reputable drugstore overseas, at least until local drug prices go down and there are less of those Rep. Biron calls "Shameless People."

Let them do it!

2007-03-01T16:22:00.000+08:00

The Cable TV operators convention at the Dusit Hotel on March 1st has one overriding theme: Broadband Internet and the right to provide the service over cable TV networks to their thousands of subscribers throughout the nation.

Broadband over Cable was the world's first broadband service, pre-dating the DSL technology of the telephone companies by at least a year. In the United States, the first broadband subscriptions were over Cable TV networks.

In the Philippines, however, this medium for providing high-speed Internet is underdeveloped with only Metro Manila cable providers PLDT-affiliated Sky/Home Cable and Destiny Cable offering the service.

Why is this so?

It certainly couldn't be for any technical reasons: Cable Broadband is a mature, cost-efficient and proven technology that has reliably delivered high-speed Internet to areas worldwide that telephone companies have been unwilling or unable to service.

The Cable TV association are lobbying the NTC to allow them to provide this service, correctly pointing out that they already have the infrastructure in place to offer this service. The problem appears to be regulatory in nature, with the NTC requiring an investment of P10 Million from the cable companies to “qualify” for the privilege.

The millions of pesos in investments in the cable TV infrastructure should already qualify cable operators, but these investments do not count, according to the NTC. The P10 Million should be invested in Internet equipment, they say.

But with the cost of Internet equipment falling, Internet providers would be hard pressed to spend P10 Million pesos to establish a network. Internet equipment that cost millions a decade ago can be purchased at computer shops for less than ten thousand pesos.

More so when the provider already has a viable infrastructure on which to deliver the service, which is exactly what the Cable TV operators association is lobbying for: That their existing investments in their cable network be considered as fulfilling that investment requirement. Their Internet service runs on their existing networks after all!

To economists, such unneccessary regulatory restrictions are deemed protectionist, designed to protect another sector that provides equivalent services and create barriers to new entrants with more efficient alternatives. The restrictions are also rent-seeking, allowing the competing sector to charge higher prices than would be if the technologies are allowed to compete on a level playing field.

It is also horribly hobbles our national competitiveness, at a time when governments worldwide are racing to connect their entire countries to the Internet. The Association correctly points out that many members operate in areas where telephone services are scarce and the operating telephone companies don't have the capacity to provide DSL. Having Cable TV operators as partners in the delivery of Internet services throughout the archipelago is essential to National competitiveness.

If your view of the Internet is reading online news, checking email from friends, and watching videos on YouTube, you may miss the reason why the Internet is so essential to modern economies.

For manufacturing companies, it is a way to keep in touch with the latest industry trends, a way to search for and communicate with suppliers and purchasers. For farmers, it is a way to study the latest agricultural technologies, a way to obtain accurate weather information, a way to identify markets and correctly price products. For service companies, it is a way to market services, and deliver those services to the global marketplace.

For students, it is a way to learn outside the classroom.

Think about the situation in rural areas, with hardly any libraries and educational materials around, then think about the impact of the Internet in a rural barangay (perhaps in the barangay hall or public school). Many schools in developed countries publish their educational materials online, free for downloading: With widespread Internet access, a student in Mindanao has the same access to materials as a student in New York, or Hong Kong, or London.

The CITC and DOST's promotion of the cooperative Philippine Open Internet Exchange makes it easier for SMEs to join and build our nationwide Internet (previously limited to large national operators). Encouraging more sectors to provide Internet services increases participation and promotes its success, and consequently the success of the nationwide technology corridor.
Now is not the time for the government to be limiting which sectors should or should not be providing Internet access.

Any sector, that due to advances in technology, can provide Internet, should not be restricted from doing so, either overtly or through the creation of needless restrictions.

Ten years ago, who would have thought that one could walk into a shopping mall with a laptop to get free wireless Internet? Who would have thought that in hundreds of cities worldwide, one need only turn on a laptop to get free wireless Internet?

Neither should the telephone companies be complaining, and myopically attempting to “defend their turf.”

Ask yourselves: If we let the cable TV companies provide broadband Internet services to areas we cannot serve, couldn't we then offer virtual telephone lines over the Internet via their infrastructure?

Revenues without capital expenditure. As many businessman will tell you, this is a good thing.
Just ask AT&T Vonage and Broadvoice: These companies offer virtual US phone lines registered as local in any city in North America to anyone in the world with access to an Internet connection.

Now, reverse the situation and ask yourselves: How many Filipinos worldwide would love to have a virtual local phone number in Manila (or Bacolod, or Legaspi City, or Cebu, or Baguio, or Davao) that they can access over the Internet wherever they are, be it in the US, the Middle East, Europe, or Asia?

Wired Magazine calls Filipinos “The World's Largest Virtual Nation,” yet we don't have anything close to “The World's Largest Virtual Telephone Network.” We should. Think of the Dollar and Euro revenue. Bling! Bling!

Real PCs and a Real Internet

2007-02-16T16:43:00.000+08:00

We're excited about two developments in the technology arena, something that will affect all consumers and help to improve our lives.

First, is the empowerment of our youth and office workers through a genuine low-cost PC initiative, and second, are the concrete moves to create a real Internet in the Philippines.
The PC4All initiative is a result of a review of the failed PC ng Bayan initiative of 2005.

Wheareas the older PC ng Bayan was an ugly commodity PC loaded with expensive commercial software, the new PC4All is a sleek compact unit loaded with free, industry-standard, open-source software.

With a price of P25,000, the 2005 PC ng Bayan was little more than a thinly disguised attempt to sell expensive technology, and inappropriate commercial software, to poor teachers, cash-strapped schools, and starving students. Nakalimutan na ang konsiyensiya para lang kumita, and the resulting PC ng Bayan wasn't even cheaper than commercially available PCs.

At a mere P10,000, the 2007 PC4All complete with operating system, office software, web browser, monitor, keyboard, and mouse, is a genuine endeavor to improve technology access in schools, teachers, students, and government offices.

Credit goes to CITC head Ramon Sales, whose private sector experience has been invaluable in identifying critical issues and crucial directions for Philippine IT Policy.

More importantly, the PC4All runs on open source software, and compatible open source applications, providing opportunities for students to study, analyze and build upon the openly available source code.

The Philippine Software Industry Association ambitiously proclaims that it will employ 100,000 programmers in 2010, up from 14,000 in 2006, so the education system better ensure that today's students have access to open source computer code for study and practice.

Beyond education, employing the low-cost PC4All in government offices will make it easier to adopt technology driven solutions for e-governance. Using a Web Browser, government agencies can update records, and the people can check on their accounts and filings with government via the Internet.

The second exciting development is the move, spearheaded by the Department of Science and Technology's Advanced Science and Technology Institute, to create a real Internet in the Philippines.

As it is, our Internet is a mere branch of the real Internet. When a user accesses another user on a rival network, the data travels all the way to the United States where the real Internet is then back to the country on a nother cable to the rival network.

Having a real Internet means that all the Internet Service Providers and all the major users are interconnected locally, and not dependent on a fragile cable off Taiwan. Ever since that cable broke on December 26, Internet access has been spotty, and the latest pronouncements are that it won't be fixed until February 21st.

PLDT says they didn't plan for redundancy because such events only happen once every one hundred years. Technology failures also happen rarely, around once every several hundred thousand hours, but that doesn't mean that responsible businesses should ignore the need for back-ups and failsafes.

Imagine if your bank told you one day that your account has been wiped out because their system failed and they didn't have a back-up “because these kinds of things only happen once every one hundred years.” In the future, would you rely on that bank?

The problem with the hundred year argument is that failures can happen at the worst times, just when we need it most, such as during an earthquake, a time of war, or other calamity.

Better redundancy, fault-tolerance, and lower cost of Internet access is the goal of the PHOpenIX, a joint project of DOST-ASTI, Globe Innove, Cisco Systems, and the international organizations Packet Clearing House of the US and Consulintel of Europe.

PHOpenIX is a non-profit cooperative operation. Members of PHOpenIX share operating costs and bandwidth among themselves, and invite others to join them through their website.

ISPs and heavy bandwidth users, such as call centers and call center property developers are encouraged to hook up with PHOpenIX and share their bandwidth in exchange for better Internet performance and reliability.

Previous telco-run Internet exchanges where really just repackaged Internet subscriptions that rendered independent ISPs vulnerable to price-squeezes. It did not serve its purpose because all the bandwidth still originated from the owner of the Internet exchange (and that infamous cable off-Taiwan).

Looking ahead, a truly cooperative PHOpenIX provding redundant, reliable Internet nationwide opens doors of opportunities: Outsourcing in provincial areas, and server farms for the rest of the world maintained by local IT engineers.

Another benefit is that ISPs would be inclined to encourage customers to contribute to the Internet, not merely use the Internet, in order to boost their inbound traffic. Business users would be encouraged to provide services, and ISPs would be inclined to lower the prices of business Internet subscriptions, as more inbound traffic into their network improves their standing among peers in the Internet Exchange.

Furthermore, a PHOpenIX linked ISP in Mindanao may consider links (via cable or microwave) with counterparts in East Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei, or to Papua New Guinea, Guam, and Australia to the East, strategies a dominant Manila-based telco is not likely to consider.

Imagine Technology Embracing Lives.

2007-02-16T16:35:00.000+08:00

The catchy marketing slogan is nice, and when it's the cornerstone of a corporate social responsibility that touches the heart it's even better!

Launched in 2003, Samsung's Digital Hope has awarded over US$1.65 Million to 38 organizations in Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Australia, benefitting over 600,000 youth and persons with disabilities.

Bridging the Digital Divide is the goal of Digital Hope, winning it the coveted PRISM Award in 2005 for best Corporate Social Responsibility Program.

With two categories, Digital Hope supports programmes that either assist people living with disabilities to lead richer lives through technology or help the youth to achieve their dreams through the use of technology to improve their lives and their community.

Creativity and innovation are the main criteria for selection:

Does the project creatively and innovatively use information technology as a means to promote or develop the lives of the youth or disabled?
How does the project impact the quality of life of a significant number of people?
Is the project sustainable to provide long-term benefits for the youth?
Does the target group adopt ownership of the project, thus contributing to its sustainability?

For 2006, The Knowledge Channel for youth education, and ATRIEV (Adaptive Technology for Rehabilitation, Integration, and Empowerment of the Visually Impaired) are Digital Hope's Awardees chosen by a selection panel composed of Margie Moran-Floriendo of the Women's Commission on Mindanao and Habitat for Humanity, Paulo Benigno “Bam” Aquino of the National Youth Commission, and Paolo Manzano of Hardware Zone Magazine.

The urgent need to improve the quality of education is the driving force behind the Knowledge Channel. Founded in 2000 by Rina Lopez Bautista, it is the first and only educational channel in the Philippines reaching 1,699 public schools in 57 provinces and millions of viewers on cable television.

Samsung's Digital Hope grant money will be used to develop three components of the Knowledge Channel's operation:

Programming--the acquisition, production and airing of fourteen hours of instructional videos anchored on the DECS' grade school and high school curriculum;
Access—providing the Knowledge Channel through cabling in cooperation with local cable operators or via satellite in remote areas; and
Support programs--teacher guides, and training & evaluation programs.

KCFI applied for and was awarded two million pesos by Samsung for this endeavor. In addition, Samsung will be providing dozens of television sets to schools for receiving the knowledge channel.

Beyond these three components, the Knowledge Channel also works with grant money from the US AID for Madrasa (Muslim-based) teaching programs in 150 schools in Mindanao, with a special focus on Peace education & conflict resolution combined with practical livelihood education.

To reach non-school audiences, the Knowledge Channel is provided free to hundreds of cable operators, and in remote areas and depressed communities, schools are encouraged to offer their viewing facilities to adults and out of school youths on weekends.

“Helping the Blind See Through Computers” is the focus of ATRIEV (Adaptive Technology for Rehabilitation, Integration, and Empowerment).

Founded in 1994 by blind computer experts, ATRIEV is supported by the Overbrook School for the Blind in Philadelphia, USA, the Nippon Foundation of Japan, and Christofel Blindenmission (Christian Blind Mission) of Germany.

Its local partners include the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the STI Foundation, with whom it has developed five-month computer training programs for the blind.
Education in adaptive computing is its main offering, through ATTRAC (Adaptive Technology for Training, Resource, and Access Center), which provides preparatory courses for secondary and technical education for the blind. ATRIEV's technology relies on the use of computerized voice software that reads out items on the screen, together with touch typing skills that eliminate the need for visual inputs while operating a computer.

Upon completion of the courses, ATRIEV's beneficiaries can enrol in regular schools, and seek employment in numerous industries. With ATRIEV, blindness no longer is a handicap to a bright future.

Julius Serrano, is ATRIEV's first blind computer science graduate, finishing in 2005 and winning multiple awards and recognitions along the way: “Best in Systems Analysis and Design” in 2002, “Best Programmer” in 2004, and the “Manuel Villar Excellence Award for IT Students” in 2005.

Doc Mike is Asia's first blind medical transcriptionist, with a better than 98% accuracy score. Today he works for Total Transcription Solutions, Inc., who says he performs as well as his sighted peers.

Krissy Bisda lost her sight at age twelve. Not discouraged by potential employers who saw her diability more than her ability, Krissy trained at ATRIEV and with the help of the foundation she now works at Teletech solutions, which has an active equal opportunities employment program.

JR is a graduating student in computer engineering at STI, but his unique musical skills reveal an equally promising future in digital music.

Already self supporting as a composer of ringtones, musical jingles, and songs, JR uses computers and electronic keyboards to compose and create soulful music.

Move over, Stevie Wonder! JR captivates the audience with his soulful voice and self-arranged musical compositions.

For more information on ATRIEV, visit their website (maintained by their blind webmaster) .

Technology has many uses, but imagine a world where technology helps people with disability lead richer lives, and helps further the education of the youth. With Samsung's Digital Hope Program, it's not that hard to imagine...

Gasp!

2007-02-16T16:28:00.000+08:00

Been feeling heavy lately?

Listless and without energy? It's in the air.

As the cold winds from China's winter drift overSouth East Asia, it creates a blanket over our cities that lock inlocal pollution, creating a choking smog hanging over the cities.

You can see it when you look out the window in the morning, and you can feel it when you breathe. It's a phenomenon known as thermal inversion, which stalls the normal process of convection that drawspollutants away from the cities.

Unfortunately, there is already precious little we can do about it.

We already have the clean air act, which has helped reduce pollutionfrom private cars, but we still have the choking diesel fumes fromjeepneys, trucks and busses, and choking fumes from oil burningtwo-stroke motorcycles--long since outlawed in other countries.

The World Bank estimates that for Metro Manila's population of 9 million, 1,300 deaths, 45,000 emergency room visits, 11 million restricted activity days, 35 million respiratory symptom days, at a cost of over Five Billion Pesos are due to the negative health effects of Air Pollution.

Extrapolating this data to our country's other major cities, and the cost of air pollution is a staggering P21.5 Billion Pesos. We already have Clean Air Laws in place (which have resulted in a decrease in the previously high levels of lead in the air), and a recently passed bio-fuels bill, but the combination of economic growth,increase in number of vehicles, lack of political will to reform the transport sector, and seasonal meteorological phenomenons mean we'll just need to find ways to cope.

Air filtering devices are widely available, from costly HEPA certified filters, which remove even pathogenic bacteria from the air, to more affordable particulate filters which remove suspended particles from the air.

The World Health Organization says the suspended particulate levels in Metro Manila are dangerously high, something that in annoyingly obvious when dusting shelves--not just of dust, but that slimy oily film that covers most household objects.

The first step in coping with the air pollution is to get a good,reliable air filter. HEPA filters are the best, with prices to match,but even the more common filters will result in a large improvement in home air quality. Ensure that the device is matched to the size of the room you'll most frequently use it in.

If you use airconditioning, install a micropore filter, such as 3Ms Filtrete over the airconditioner's regular filter. An airconditioner's regular filter is designed to protect the airconditioner, not the quality of the air you breathe. 3M's Filtrete, with it's micropore fiber traps many particles that would otherwise get into your lungs.Maintaining an environment of clean air at home will help you sleep andrelax. If you've frequently awoken with mild headaches, your home's air quality may be the cause.

There are similar air filters for your cars, and many modern cars already have these filters built-in. Either way, it's important that these filters be regularly maintained, but competent technicians, notsome neighborhood hack who "fixes" it by removing the air filter.

Of course, you can do your share to minimize your contribution to air pollution by ensuring that your car, stove, and other fuel burning devices in your household are well maintained.

For households with known asthmatics and elderly residents, a standby medical oxygen kit is a worthwhile investment, as is a home nebulizer. Like a fire extinguisher, you'll never know when you'll need these, but when you do, it may save lives.

For your own health and those of your loved ones, try to schedule a trip to a less polluted area at least once a week, whether it is a visit to the seaside, nearby Sta.Rosa or Tagaytay, or north toPampanga. A good multivitamin and extra vitamin C will help maintain respiratory immunity, as will eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables.

Many of us have no choice but to live in this polluted city, and there is already precious little we can do to reduce the pollution level. The best we can do at this stage is protect ourselves and ensure that our home environments are, at the very least, still livable.

Disconnected!

2007-01-17T15:38:00.000+08:00

For days after the December 26, 2006 Taiwan Earthquake much of South
East Asia was disconnected from today's vital utility: The Internet.
Call centers shut down, emails bounced, Christmas pictures and videos
couldn't be shared, and manufacturing plants sat idle.

Several weeks later, the Internet is still mind-numbingly slow.
Experts predict it will take at least until the end of January for the
situation to normalize.

Back-up links have been powered up, but these are apparently limited in
number and capacity. The large telcos that regulators let operate
Asia's Internet simply couldn't foresee the need for such redundancies.

Regulators couldn't foresee that the Internet works best with a
multitude of interconnected small operators, not with a handful of
giant telephone companies relying on a limited number of fat pipes
branching off the real Internet.

It is an Asian problem, a structural weakness of Asian economies as
significant as the structural weaknesses that created the financial
crisis of the late 1990s.

It is a weakness that has been embarrassingly exposed, created when
regulatory agencies gave in to large telcos claims that they needed
"protection" before making the investments to connect to the Internet.

It is a perfect example of the problems created by what Economic
Planning Secretary Romulo Neri calls "regulatory capture," when the
industries being regulated manipulate rules to their own advantage,
instead of being guided by the country's need to be competitive.

We've seen how vulnerable we are in the hands of a dominant telco that
makes a credible claim to having the country's most advanced Internet
network. Break that advanced network's link, its single point of
failure, and we might as well all go on holiday.

Originally designed by the the United States Defense Department's
Advanced Research Projects Administration (ARPA) to connect the US
military, universities, and vital businesses, the Internet is built to
survive a nuclear war through a mesh of redundant connections.

In the real Internet, each node connects to numerous other nodes, and
losing one link has little effect--the technology auto-magically finds
another route via another node.

The redundancy is strengthened by adopting alternative technologies to
easily damaged cabled connections: Broadband wireless, microwave,
cellular, and satellite. More importantly, the links are two-way, with
each node supporting traffic to other nodes.

The very nature of that structure implies that the Internet must be
predominantly hundreds of small interconnected providers. More
providers = more redundant connections to each other. Stupidly allow
the old-fashioned oligopolistic telco business models, and you've
forced the fault-tolerant mesh structure into a hierarchical structure
with single points of failure.

Asia's hierarchical Internet, like the branches on a tree during a
storm, break away easily and can't even survive a deep sea earthquake.

It may have been an earthquake that caused last month's loss of
connectivity, but consider how vulnerable we are if our major telco's
Internet link to Japan's NTT is cut intentionally, for geopolitical
reasons?

In his last column, my uncle, Max Soliven, warns that Japan, although
presently docile and a major benefactor, has a dark side and can turn
on a dime from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hide. As more and more businesses use
the Internet as a vital tool, have we handed over our economy's on-off
switch to a wartime adversary?

Japan may no longer go back to its militaristic ways, but the mere
possibility and the vulnerability we have foolishly allowed are real
business risks. Even risk-averse Japanese investors consider that
possibility in their country evaluations.

Attention Regulators: The real Internet is composed of hundreds of
nodes, providers, and backbones connected to each other in a mesh
network of cabled, wireless, and satellite links.

We need links to several countries, owned by a multiplicity of
providers so no single entity controls our part of the Internet. We
need to encourage two-way local interconnectivity, so that providers
and vital institutions are redundantly connected to each other via
wired and wireless technologies.

It is not enough that we are a branch off the Internet at the mercy of
a vulnerable solitary link: For the sake of national security and
economic competitiveness, bring us the real Internet, with mesh
connections across the nation, and multiple connections via cable,
wireless, and satellite to other countries across the region.

As a result of the Taiwan earthquake, China announced that it will
install multiple routes to the Internet by the middle of this year.
Previously connected only through Japan, China will encourage internal
links among its providers and connect directly to Southeast Asia (via
Hong Kong), India, Europe, Russia, and the United States.

With a superior Internet infrastructure, better access to financing,
and 1.3 billion people, all China needs to do to trample all over our
outsourcing industry is learn English.

Rediscover Hong Kong!

2006-12-18T17:34:00.000+08:00

To many Filipinos, it’s the destination of their first overseas journey. Only ninety minutes away by plane, Hong Kong is the the leading Asian destination for Filipino tourists, businesspeople and migrant workers.

Asia’s premiere International center, Hong Kong is ever-changing and always exciting. Seven million people live here, including about a million expatriates, and a hundred thousand kababayans, placing us among the top non-Chinese ethnic group in the territory.

Our kababayans occupy a wide range of positions from domestic helpers, to mission workers, to musicians, entrepreneurs, and professionals in major Hong Kong companies. Even most of Mickey’s performers in Disneyland are Filipino!

If all you’ve seen in Hong Kong is Tsim Sha Tsui, with maybe a peek at Causeway Bay, and The Peak, there’s still so much more to Hong Kong that will amaze you!

The highly developed public transport system in Hong Kong ensures that it’s easy to get around and plan your own tours whether on foot, by cab, by ferry, or Mass Transit. And with Hong Kong’s advanced road and transit network, you’ll rarely waste time b eing stuck in traffic.

In the arrival area, right after customs, be sure to pick up a handful of Hong Kong Tourism Board’s free brochures: The essential Hong Kong Visitor’s Guide with a comprehensive overview of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Walks do it yourself walking tours guide to the scenic and shopping districts, The Hong Kong Family Fun Guide with directions to major family attractions and children’s shopping districts, the Hong Kong Leisure Guide for Business Travellers with information on major shopping malls, dining centers, local nightlife, and sport venues.

Don’t forget the free maps for everyone in your travel group, and go ahead, get extra copies for friends in Manila planning a visit to Hong Kong.

Many of these guides are available online as well. There are even downloadable interactive versions for Windows CE and Palm PDAs available on the site.

Hi-tech Hong Kong offers the Mobile Host service, a guided audio tour delivered via your mobile phone for for 72 hours of service. For details, read the Mobile Host guidebook and be sure to purchase a local SIM card at a 7-11 to avoid prohibitive roaming charges. Your Hong Kong friends will also appreciate being able to contact you without IDD charges.

Local SIMs vary from HKD50 to HKD100 depending on features (more expensive SIMs offer free IDD to selected countries — North America, and selected European countries, but not the Philippines).

For special interests, there is the Hong Kong Museums and Heritage Guide with directions to local museums and sites of archeological interest; the 2006 Winterfest Guide for the seasonal events until January 1st; the Hong Kong Jockey Club Guide for Horse Racing aficionados, also available online at http:// ; the Newsletter of the Hong Kong Museum of Art; and the Disneyland brochure.

The ever helpful Hong Kong Tourism Board also has two public centres to provide the latest information on tourist activities, and help you plan itineraries, or book HKTB sponsored tours.

On Kowloon side, visit the HKTB Info Center at the Star Ferry Terminal. On Hong Kong side, visit the HKTB Info Center inside the Causeway Bay MTR Station. There is also a visitor hotline +852 2508 1234, available 8am-6pm daily, to assist with your travel queries.

Also, HKTB has organized the Quality Tourism Services seal of approval, that requires merchants to provide only genuine products with clearly displayed prices, present accurate product information and/or menus in food establishments, and employ staff with extensive product knowledge.

The QTS sign makes it easy to find shops and restaurants to trust, just look for it prominently displayed in establishments that have qualified for this exclusive recognition.

Among Hong Kong’s must–visit attractions are four major theme parks with exciting adventures for everyone:

Disneyland Hong Kong on Lantau Island, is the first in a territory that doesn’t require visas from Filipino travellers. Join Mickey and friends as they welcome you into their magical kingdom, and invite you to stay at picturesque Disneyland Hotel or glitzy Disney Hollywood Hotel.

Ngong Ping 360 Theme Park on Lantau Island is built right next to the world’s largest sitting Buddha. Enjoy a vegetarian lunch at the Po Lin Monastery, enjoy the serenity of the Temple grounds, then journey through the culturally themed village and watch enlightening shows about the life of Buddha. Then take a cable car ride on the Ngong Ping Skyrail with panoramic views of Lantau Island, Chek Lap Kok Airport, and the South China Sea.

Ocean Park in Aberdeen, Hong Kong Island, has more than 40 parkwide rides and attractions, spread out over six main areas: Lowland Gardens, Kid’s World, Marine Land, Headland rides, Adventureland, and Birds Paradise. Take a scenic cable car ride to see stunning performances by seals, dolphins and sea lions, the Atoll Reef with its huge coral aquarium, and the all-new sea jelly aquarium, the first in Asia.

The Wetland Park builds upon existing wetland ecosystems in Tin Shui Wai, NT, Hong Kong. With 60 hectares of opportunities to learn about wetlands, it features outdoor exhibits, boardwalks, and bird hides.

Over 250 different species have been recorded in the park, so you’re sure to see something new each time! A 10,000 sqm. visitor’s centre features interactive exhibits to illustrate the biodiversity of wetlands and mangrove areas and issues related to human culture and conservation.

History buffs will appreciate the 80 declared monuments in Hong Kong, including thousand year old stone carvings, ancient Chinese temples and villages, 19th Century colonial buildings, forts and lighthouses, some in city centres, and many easily accessible by the public transport system.

The diversity of Hong Kong surprises even the most jaded traveller.

Located on the south side of the Island in the quiet town of Shek O, the Shek O Beach offers white sand and the clean waters of the South China Sea. On weekends, the beach is filled with locals having beach barbecues, so its best to go on weekdays to enjoy the beach or savor the fresh seafood cuisine.

The outlying islands of Cheung Chau and Lamma also offer a glimpse of a more relaxed seaside lifestyle, with good hiking and beaches, and delicious fresh seafood restaurants. Yung Shue Wan town on Lamma has a refreshing mix of Western and Chinese style seaside bars and restuarants.

Then, of course, there’s the shopping!

In Hong Kong, you can dress like a million bucks for a million bucks, or spend much less, depending on where and how you shop. For the fashion shopper, Hong Kong offers three distinct shopping venues:

The premiere shopping districts in Central and select high-end malls feature the world’s fabled brands at prices guaranteed to bust your credit cards. But, hey, if you’ve got to have it, Hong Kong’s highend shops gladly oblige!

The mid-market shopping districts are where most Hongkongers shop. These are mainly in East and West Central, Causeway Bay, and in major malls in Tsim Sha Tsui, Tai Koo, and Whampoa Gardens, featuring a mix of local brands and affordable international brands.

Also, in this mix are specialty shops in Causeway Bay and Mongkok that offer high quality unbranded and unknown brand goods from around the world, from leather goods, cocktail dresses for ladies, and office suits for men.

Then, there’s the bargain hunters’ paradises, centered around the specialty street markets in Fa Yuen St., Tung Choi, and Temple Sts. in Mongkok, and the market at the expat enclave of Stanley on the Island’s south side. All offer a dizzying mix of designer label over-runs (be sure to check for small tears and stains, as the items are not returnable), out of season items, lowcost clothes from China, cheap gadgets and curios.

Technology is no longer the bargain it once was with Manila prices more or less in line with regional prices, but Hong Kong offers a wider selection of hard to find items for photo and computer hobbyists. Specialty malls in Wanchai, Causeway Bay, Mongkok, and ShamShuiPo are the best places to shop.

Remember to check equipment for compatibility with our own standards, and if it matters to you, verify that the warranty is honored worldwide. Electronics goods legally imported into Hong Kong are accompanied by an English language manual. Goods with foreign language (usually Japanese or Korean) manuals are often grey market imports without warranty.

Like fashion, eating out in Hong Kong can be affordable. Western fastfoods, like Mcdonald’s, have the cheapest eats in Hong Kong, as does 7-11 with its delicious Chinese rice bowls.

But for a real Hong Kong adventure, try out the little Chinese noodle and congee shops, dim sum parlors, and hot pot restaurants of West Central, Causeway Bay, Wanchai, North Point and Mongkok. English skills vary, so look for the QTS seal for the assurance of an English Menu.

For ethnic cuisine, stroll the streets of Tsim Sha Tsui, Causeway Bay, and Central Hollywood and SoHo districts for small regional restuarants. Times Square in Causeway Bay offers a variety of casual dining resturants in the upper floors.

Hong Kong’s nightlife has something for everyone, whether it’s a quiet dinner at a fancy restaurant, dining alfresco near the the sea, or joining a boisterous crowd at a trendy nightspot.

Visit the highend restaurants in Central, The Peak or Repulse Bay for some quiet dining, and if you’re in town for business, be sure to drop by the Captain’s Bar at the Mandarin Oriental, where the expat community unwinds daily from 5-8 pm.

For dining by the sea, try the seafood markets in Lei Yue Mun, or Sai Kung or the tourist oriented floating restaurants in Aberdeen.

Hong Kong’s trendy nightlife centers around bars in the Lan Kwai Fong and SoHo districts, the newly redeveloped artsy cafes of Starstreet next to Pacific Place in Admiralty, and Knutsford Terrace in northern Tsim Sha Shui.

Visit Cafe Havana at Knutsford and enjoy their delicious buffet, then groove to the beat of Mang Tony’s pop and reggae band, one of dozens of Filipino bands performing in Hong Kong.

And when you’re done with the weekend nightlife, Sundays are a time to relax in Hong Kong, to visit an outlying Island: Cheung Chau or Lamma via the ferries at Central; or take a bus to Stanley to savor the relaxed European Cafe lifestyle. But don’t forget the late afternoon mass at Rosary Church in Tsim Sha Tsui East, where our kababayans, both residents and tourists, congregate to see who’s in town.

(Photos taken with a compact, affordable and near professional quality Olympus SP-500 series digital camera, courtesy of Nancy Harel & Associates, Axis Distribution, and Olympus Imaging Corp.)

The World of Jade

2006-12-02T17:37:00.000+08:00

Part of the Beijing Series of Articles, the result of a media Tour organized by Sponsors Philippine Airlines, Panda Travel, Marco Polo Hotels, and American Tourister Luggage.

The World of Jade

When polished and professionally worked, it is a beautiful luminous gemstone. For many, it symbolizes love and virtue. For the Chinese, it symbolizes the Confucian virtues of wisdom, justice, and compassion, although its first known use was in arrowheads and axes.

The Aztecs and many other pre-Columbian American cultures valued it more highly than gold. In many cultures, from the Egyptians to the Maoris of New Zealand, it is believed to be a lucky, protective stone.

Trade with the East brought this gemstone to Europe in the 16th Century, but it was the Spaniards, who found another source in Central America, that gave its name: Piedra de Hijada, later shortened to simply "Jade."

But it's not always what you think it is.

Until about 1786, most Jade in China was Nephrite, a similar looking mineral, but with a different composition. In fact, both minerals look so similar that it was only in the late 19th Century that it was determined that the "Jade" in China was a different "Jade" from that mined in Burma.

In Mandarin, Jadeite is known as "ying yu," hard Jade, and Nephrite is known as "ruan yu," soft Jade. The word "Yu," by itself, means precious ornamental rock, a description that can be applied to any valuable stone.

True Jade is Jadeite, a sodium-rich aluminous pyroxene, obtained mainly from northern Burma, but with minor sources throughout the world. Jadeite is a metamorphous rock formed under specific conditions of high-pressure and low temperature.

The colors of jadeite vary: Yellow to gold, pink to blue lavenders, rusty reds, light to dark greens, pure white, brown, and black are jadeite colors. It is slightly harder than Nephrite, with a hardness rating of 7.

Nephrite is a fine-grained, calcium-rich, magnesium and iron aluminous amphibole with a hardness of 6.5. It is also a metamorphous rock, but unlike Jadeite, it does not require specific conditions of pressure and cold to form. It is available in fewer colors than Jadeite: Creamy white, and shades of green, brown and black.

Some colors of Nephrite are hard to distinguish from Jadeite by visual inspection, but an ultraviolet money checker can distinguish the two: Jadeite flouresces weakly like human teeth, Nephrite does not flouresce. The sheen of a finished piece is another distinguishing feature: Jadeite is glass like, while Nephrite finishes to a fine luster.

In the US, only Jadeite and Nephrite can be labelled "Jade," but disreputable traders often mislabel other more common stones "jade varieties" to confuse the unwary. Reputable dealers will not use the following misleading terms: Amazon Jade, Colorado Jade: Green Feldspar; American Jade: Californite (Green Idocrase); Mexican Jade: Green-dyed Calcite; Indian Jade: Adventurine; Korea Jade: Serpentine; Oregon or Swiss Jade: Chalcedony; and Transvaal Jade: Green hydroglossular garnet.

Most of these stones are softer than Jadeite and Nephrite and will not scratch glass (hardness 5) .

The best Nephrite from China is a creamy white variety known as "mutton fat." Spinach Nephrite, the color of the cooked vegetable, is also popular. Ancient Chinese jade items made before the 1800's are usually Nephrite.

Believed to preserve the body after death, Chinese emperors had burial suits made of Nephrite, and filled their tombs with items of this material.

Since 1786, true Jadeite has been imported into China from northern Burma. Every year, the Myanmar Gems Enterprise holds an auction of rough Jade for registered Jade dealers. Jade dealers are seasoned gamblers: The rough stone looks like an ordinary boulder with a small window ground into the surface, only when the stone is cut up will the buyer know whether he's purchased a valuable raw material or a low grade rock.

Burmese Jadeite quickly replaced Chinese Nephrite as the Imperial variety of Jade because of its superior luminosity, translucency, and hardness, hence its prestigious status in Chinese jewelry, where it is sold alongside local Nephrite. Before the 1800s, only Chinese Nephrite was considered true Jade, but the adoption by the Imperial household of the Burmese Jadeite reversed the situation.

Imperial Jade is the most expensive, colored a specific emerald-like green with an inner glow not found in other stones. The more uniform the green in an Imperial Jade piece, the greater its value. Some pieces can be worth millions, and it is rare that you will find a true Imperial Jade quality piece except in Museums.

Uniformity of color usually enhances value, but there are also unique color patterns that are highly sought after. The next most valuable colors are in the pink to lavender range, followed by the lighter and darker greens. Spotty greens (moss in snow) are highly sought after.

Because certain colors are more valuable than others, some merchants dye the Jade. Dyed jade is difficult to detect with the naked eye, but a magnifying loupe will show color accumulation along grain boundaries in a dyed stone. A Chelsea filter, a tool of Jade merchants, will show red streaks in a dyed stone.

When buying a piece that is claimed to be natural in color, have the seller mark on the receipt or certificate that the Jade is "natural color."

Microscopic flaws, dark spots, veins, splotches, and cracks in a Jadeite piece may dramatically reduce an item's value, but honest dealers price their items accordingly, noting the item's characteristics in the certificate of authenticity.

Jade pieces with barely detectable flaws provide excellent value as jewelry accents, but a true collector will want only the most perfect items.

Surface waxing is the only method of enhancement acceptable to serious collectors, but bleaching and acid treaments, dyeing, and heating may be used to alter the material.

It is important that if any of these techniques (other than waxing) are used, these are disclosed by the Jade merchant as these may reduce its value as a collection item.

Given the pitfalls of buying Jade, it is important to deal only with reputable merchants and Jade factories. Honest dealers price accordingly and describe the characteristics of the item you've purchased in the receipt or accompanying certificate. They will not misrepresent an item in order to obtain a higher price, but will take the time to explain why seemingly identical items have widely varying prices.

Visits to reputable Jade and Jewelry factories are included in many of Panda Travel's China Tours. Through its partnership with China Panorama, Panda Travel provides an affordable, exciting and informative perspective of Ancient and Modern China.

Philippine Airlines flies four times weekly to Beijing. For extra Mabuhay Miles credits, book your stay at a Marco Polo Hotel, and bring along American Tourister luggage. American Tourister is Samsonite's value priced line of durable luggage.

The Never Ending Story

2006-12-02T17:34:00.000+08:00

As a result of this and other similar articles, Philippine National Oil Corporation created and implemented a sustained rehabilitation program for the affected areas.

The Never Ending Story

Over a hundred square kilometers of marine sanctuary and rich fishing
grounds are threatened by yet another oil spill off Guimaras, the
second so far this year.

International Maritime Law requires that environmentally dangerous
cargo, such as fuel oils, be transported only in double hulled ships to
minimize tragedies such as these.

Petron was quick to point out that as cargo owner, they have no
liability. This, of course, did not sit well with the Justice
Department, which points out that Petron also selected the shipping
company, knowing full well that the ships transporting their cargo had
single hulls.

We take such irresponsible liberties with our environment, and so soon
after the President had declared the area of the spill as the tourism
hub of the country.

Millions are being spent today to clean up this mess. But the effects
of this disastrous oil spill go far beyond today's news.

Oil spills go far beyond the immediate effects of the visible oil. The
seas off Guimaras will produce less fish for the next twenty years.
Hectares of lush coral remain covered in sludge.

And those local hires, working with little protective gear for P150/day
have just acquired a lifetime of potential health problems in the
bargain.

But, it will all be forgotten by then.

The fishermen and the local laborers are little people. Their lives
have forever been affected by this tragedy, but once the headlines are
gone, they will be forgotten.

When the Exxon Valdez spilled ten million gallons of oil in 1989, the
clean up took over ten years, and the legal claims continue seventeen
years later, centered around punitive damages of $5Bln, or Exxon's
single year profit in 1989.

This is aside from the $2Bln Exxon already claims to have spent in the
clean-up and $1Bln paid out to various civil claimants, mainly
businesses damaged by the viscous oil.

Are these enough? Not according to some experts. The damage to the
environment and local businesses has run into tens of billions of
dollars, and seventeen years later, there is still much work to be
done.

None of these can be handled by a quick fix solution.

Mopping up the oil is an immediate concern, but longer term approaches
to repair the local environment and provide support to the displaced
local economy are essential. Corals and affected businesses do not
miraculously re-grow when the visible oil is gone.

The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, http://www.evostc.state.ak.us/ created by the State of Alaska handles the long term management of the oil spill's damage to the environment and the rich fishing grounds off
Alaska.

The Philippines Super-Tourism Program

2006-12-02T17:22:00.000+08:00

Super-Tourism!

Super-Tourism is how Undersecretary Phineas Alburo defines the Department of Tourism's strategy to develop the Tourism Super Region defined in President GMA's 2006 SONA. Comprising Regions 5,6,7,8 and Palawan, the Super Region includes the country's most popular tourist destinations.

Going beyond the traditional approach of simply marketing the Philippines as a tourist destination, the DOT's wholistic strategy incorporates the whole spectrum of tourism-related issues.

"Infrastructure first, Programs second," says Alburo, explaining the DOT's new role coordinating tourism related infrastructure projects of DOTC and DPWH. "We need to focus on building the roads, bridges, and RO-RO Seaports going to tourist destinations, next, we need to involve the local communities in providing tourist services."

Aside from the usual beaches and resorts, the tourism strategy aims to develop tourism products in three areas: 1) Heritage Sites comprising old Spanish fortresses, historical churches, homes, and estates. 2) Wellness and Spa resorts where tourists can relax and provide employment to hundreds of wellness professionals. 3) Medical Tourism, in coordination with the Department of Health, encouraging foreign nationals to avail of our value priced, yet state of the art, medical facilities.

U.S. Tourists comprise the bulk of foreign arrivals at 40%, but Alburo would like to see more third generation Filipino-Americans visit the Islands. "Many of these Filipino nationals have never seen the land of their ancestry. We would like to invite them over to visit the Philippines and bring their mainstream American friends," says Alburo.

Third generation Filipino-Americans are more likely to invest in the Philippines, according to DOT's studies, investing in Philippine real estate and helping Philippine based relatives establish businesses.

The next most important audience are the Koreans and the Japanese, many of whom fly directly to Cebu for rest and relaxation. Cebu's International Airport handles 42 International flights a week, 21 of which travel routes to Korea and Japan.

Intra-South East Asian tourism is also booming. With direct flights to Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Taipei, Cebu is the preferred destination for recreational tourists looking for a quick getaway.

Another important market, according to Alburo, is the so-called M.I.C.E. Market: Meetings, Incentive travel, Conventions, and Exhibitions. The forthcoming ASEAN convention is an extraordinary example of convention tourism. With two thousand official delegates, and four thousand expected guests, the ASEAN summit will help promote Cebu and the Philippines to the entire region.

Promoting local tourism is another key element in the tourism strategy. Local tourists help maintain the tourist infrastructure by providing a year round market for tourism service providers. The DOT identifies two segments in the local tourism market: The first are tourists from other parts of the country, and the second are tourists from within the provinces themselves.

"Many Cebuanos have not seen the northern and southern ends of the island, and we encourage them to traverse the island to visit resorts and other interesting spots," says Alburo. "The same is true of any other island in the Philippines, and encouraging local travel helps develop the infrastructure to service all kinds of tourists."

Involving the local communities is another key element in the wholistic strategy.

"We're encouraging local communities to train tour guides and produce souvenirs, while encouraging tour operators to avail of local services. For instance, we actively discourage operators from bringing along packed lunches, directing them to local caterers and restaurants for their tourist meals," says Alburo, citing their current pilot project in the Olango Island nature reserve near Mactan.

Alburo is also encouraged by our discussion about liberalizing the telecommunications infrastructure, something he promised to discuss with the DOTC and NTC during their next meeting.

If we can provide free and low-cost Community Internet access in our tourist spots, Alburo believes it will encourage tourists to stay longer, and provide the community with up-to-date information on the latest industry trends.

When the Department of Tourism talks about marketing the Philippines, that's just tourism, but when it takes a wholistic approach, considering every aspect of the tourism experience, and involves the local communities as partners, they've gone one step beyond into a strategy that can only be called Super-Tourism.

Cebu: Island Republic, The Culture of Boom

2006-12-02T17:19:00.000+08:00

The market was busy the day Magellan first landed. Merchants from Thailand, China, and the East Indies noisily bartered their wares of silk, ceramics, iron and bronze for the natives' produce of pearls, tortoise shell, gold and spices, paying little attention to the political circus then unfolding.

Rajah Humabon, eager to find a way to avoid paying tribute to the Sultan of Sulu, accepted Magellan's offer of protection and allowed himself to be baptized a Catholic. Thus began our conversion to become the leading outpost of Christianity in Asia.

Of course, that did not stop the Cebuanos from continuing robust trade with the Buddhist Siamese and the Malay Muslim communities.

Then, as today, Cebu is a melting pot for Asians of different persuasions, including the Chinese. With the arrival of the Hispanics, Cebu welcomed them too, creating a melting pot culture disparate in its origins but unified by common values of trade and entrepreneurship.

Cebu City's metropolitan area has grown to encompass two other cities, Mandaue City and Lapu-Lapu City on Mactan Island. When the President chose Cebu as the site of the Philippines' Southern Capital, Cebuanos were quick to point out that in the early years of Spain's rule, Cebu was the Philippines' capital, and the move is simply modern-day recognition of its historic place.

In the last three decades, Cebu has led the country in economic growth, with rates averaging 20% above the national figures. It has its own International Seaport, the busiest outside Manila, with direct ports of call to Asian centers Hong Kong and Singapore.

As the country's most popular tourist destination, the International Airport in Mactan handles 42 direct flights a week from Hong Kong, Singapore, Narita (Japan), Incheon (Korea), Pusan (Korea), Doha (Qatar), Taipei (Taiwan), and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).

Tourist spots throughout Central and Southern Philippines are also a short trip, by land or sea, away from Cebu. Bohol province, with its pristine beaches and spectacular dive spots is a thirty minute ferry ride away.

Long marketing itself abroad as an island in the Pacific, Cebu has managed to insulate itself from the political storms occasionally distracting Imperial Manila. That doesn't mean Cebuanos don't involve themselves in their own politics: Cebuano TV regularly broadcasts provincial and city council sessions. Cebu business, after all, relies on the local governments, headed by Provincial Governor Gwen Garcia, and City Mayor Tommy Osmena, to maintain their business friendly environment.

In Cebu, entrepreneurs and businessmen are the local heroes. In this culture, it is the home-grown entrepreneurs who endorse products on print ads, billboards, and local TV. It is this kind of role-modelling that has developed Cebu into the Central Philippines' center of trade and commerce with leading positions in electronics exports, furniture manufacturing, mining, and now, business process outsourcing.

Big Business has also found its way to Cebu: Major Property developers Ayala Land, Robinson's Land, and Federal Land are all here, eager to develop quality office and residential spaces for the City's booming outsourcing industries and growing population. The Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry envisions their metropolis as the software, and e-services hub not just for the Philippines, but for the entire Southeast Asia.

The old golf course, converted to the Cebu Business Park in the 1990s, wanted for locators until outsourcers discovered Cebu. Then it became a boomtown. The old airport at Lahug, converted into a business park also in the 1990s, is Asiatown I.T. Park, with purpose built developments hosting international call center operators.

Two decades ago, Rustan's was the only Manila based department store operating in Cebu, followed by Robinson's in the late-1980s. Today, SM and Ayala both operate large malls in the city, competing with the home-grown Gaisano Malls, and the dozens of pocket malls that line the city streets.

These pocket malls play an important role in the continuing boom, providing incubators for hundreds of start-up businesses, a preferred career path for many young Cebuanos. Visit any of these little malls to experience the ideas of Cebu's innovative entrepreneurs, themselves an invigorating mix of old-money and new talent.

From unique gift shops to delicious restaurants and exciting watering holes, Cebu's entrepreneurs are constantly testing new concepts. Many, like Bo's Coffee Corner, Julie's Bakeshop, Penshoppe, Oxygen, and Island Souvenirs have become nationally recognized brand names.

Bright ideas are the currency of Cebu's continuing boom and the value creators of Cebu's economy are its export designers, people like furniture designer Kenneth CoBonPue, Asia Design Awardee 2005, and Ma. Concepcion Barba, who with her daughters, and one-time student Belinda Mangayon, comprise Vanya Creations, a leading exporter of fashion and costume jewelry.

Cobonpue's designs have gained international recognition, filling the celebrity homes of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, with cameo appearances in the latest James Bond flick "Casino Royale," while Vanya's creations have made the fashion pages of Vogue, Elle, and every devil wearing prada edited magazine.

Julia Barba of Vanya laments that Chinese manufacturers often try to copy their designs, sneakily attempting to photograph their products at trade shows in Milan, Tokyo, and Paris. "I must have the most photographed palms in the world," says Barba, describing attempts to fend off would-be pirates from photographing their wares at trade shows.

Competition and copycats are a threat, but Cobonpue deals with IP violations creatively: "We're constantly creating new designs, if they copy our designs, by the time they make it to market, they're selling fakes of last year's designs."

The process of reinvention is key to Cobonpue's success, next year's designs may carry elements from last year's ideas, or be entirely fresh. It is the combination of old and new that creates excitement, the use of traditional materials with new forms, or new materials with traditional forms.

This same process of reinvention keeps the boom times rolling in Cebu: Combining old with the new, guided by a centuries old tradition of trade and commerce.

The Grand Dame has a New Name

2006-12-02T17:03:00.000+08:00

Written for Federal Land, and the Marco Polo Plaza Cebu, following a media familiarization tour.

The Grand Dame has a New Name

She towers majestically over Metro Cebu in Nivel Hills, Lahug, an unmistakeable landmark in a remarkable city. Formerly the Cebu Plaza, she is now the Marco Polo Plaza Cebu.

Acquired by a consortium led by Metrobank and Federal Land in 2002, Chairman George Ty takes a personal interest in this landmark project, carefully overseeing, along with Federal Land General Manager Reynaldo Villar, the Grand Dame's P800 Million renovation.

Marco Polo signed on as the hotel's operator in July 2005, the group's second hotel venture in the Philippines and eighth worldwide. Marco Polo, based in Hong Kong and one of Asia's fastest growing hotel chains, brings international hospitality standards to Cebu.

Most of the exterior structure remains intact, including the hotel's signature scenic elevator--a tribute to the original architects' forward looking design. Elegant furnishings from Cebu Plaza were spruced up and retained, and where needed, new pieces contracted from Cebu's leading furniture manufacturers.

The refurbished Grand Lobby ranks among the country's most elegant, and is certainly above anything else in Cebu. The hotel's Grand Ballroom and function rooms, lavishly upgraded to modern standards, remain a favorite for Cebu's premiere business and social events. The hotel's 329 rooms have been upgraded to Marco Polo standards, with central airconditioning and modern amenities, including broadband Internet.

For business travellers, the Marco Polo Plaza Cebu offers the Continental Club, an 81-room virtual hotel within a hotel. Guests at the Club avail of extra perks at the exclusive Club lounge on the 24th floor which offers all day snacks, wireless Internet access, a boardroom with multimedia facilities, and express check-out.

Marco Polo Plaza Cebu is a major host in the forthcoming ASEAN Summit in December and several countries are competing to book their delegations at the hotel. Given the size of each delegation and their unique requirements, the hotel can only accommodate three or four countries during the summit, "but we're glad to know that we're the first choice of several countries." says PR Manager Carlo Borromeo.

Gearing up for the ASEAN Summit is what's kept the hotel's 368 person staff busy since it opened for business in January 2006. It has since hosted several important functions: Metrobank's International Conference, the Philippine Anaesthesiologists Convention, and its own Inauguration on April 27, with no less than President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo cutting the ribbon.

The main market of the hotel, in line with the President's SONA program for tourism is the MICE market, or Meetings, Incentive Travel, Convention, and Exhibits, but it also has a generous share of the leisure travel market, says General Manager Hans Hauri, who ensures that Marco Polo's standards of service are maintained.

The hotel boasts three F&B outlets: The trademark Cafe Marco, the Lobby bar, and Garden Terrace beside the pool. The Garden Terrace, with its outdoor stage, is a popular venue for Cebu society's outdoor events.

Overseeing the hotel's food service is Executive Chef Luke Gagnon, a Canadian with over fifteen years experience in Asia's best hotels, from the Excelsior in Hong Kong, to the various Shangri-La Hotels (including Mactan), Sutera Harbor in Malaysia, and now, the Marco Polo Hotel Cebu.

Chef Gagnon enjoys cooking in Cebu where he can find the freshest ingredients and organic vegetables from a contract supplier. He loves the Cebu Mango, "the best in the world," and incorporates it into many dishes from appetizers to salads and entrees, and of course, desserts.

Walking into the Cafe Marco, one could easily proclaim this Cebu's best hotel buffet, but be careful not to let the Chef hear you: "This is not a Buffet!" proclaims Chef Gagnon, "In a buffet, you get food which is several hours old, at the Cafe Marco, food is cooked on demand by our chefs, and always served fresh and delicious."

There are many exciting things in store for the hotel's 7.5 hectare property. Federal Land, owner of the hotel property, foresees further development of the area into a premiere business, leisure, and residential complex within the city. "This is in line with our main business as a quality property developer," says General Manager Villar, "We are currently fixing up the low-rise area, formerly a sports complex and apartelles, and studying redevelopment possibilities."

"But rest assured," Villar adds, "...the Grand Dame, now the Marco Polo Plaza Cebu, will always be the property's flagship and a prestigious Cebu landmark for decades to come!"

The Emergency Revolution

2006-08-07T02:26:00.000+08:00

Published in the Manila Bulletin, 12 March 2006, two weeks after a State of Emergency was declared due to political unrest.

The Emergency Revolution

IT’S WHAT YOU DO in a State of Emergency that reveals where your priorities lie.

For President Gloria Arroyo, that meant taking the time last February 25 to rally the troops at the "Go Negosyo" Entrepreneurial Fair.

Accompanied by Presidential Adviser on Entrepreneurship Jose Concepcion III, and Presidential Adviser on Job Creation Arthur Yap, the President was warmly greeted by both aspiring and established entrepreneurs, who she referred to as "patriots," creating livelihood opportunities and feeding families.

Entrepreneurial development is key to the President’s 10-point program of governance.

According to the Department of Trade and Industry, Entrepreneurial Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) ensure a more equitable distribution of income, disperse economic activity to the countryside, and are a potent force in the war against poverty.

SMEs account for 99.6% of firms registered nationwide, and employ 69.9% of the labor force.

But why focus on entrepreneurship?

For one, entrepreneurial start-ups are amazing creators of economic value, in percentage terms, start-ups create more economic value than any other stage of the business life cycle.

Seasoned entrepreneurs can start up valuable businesses with nothing more than a business plan, creating a return on investment approaching infinity. Quite an advantage for a country that is perennially starved of capital.

Second, because of OFW remittances, we have one of the highest savings rates of any country in the world at 28%.

By actively promoting entrepreneurship, we provide channels for the conversion of savings and overseas remittances into productive enterprises, creating opportunities and jobs.

Republic Act 9178, The Barangay Micro Business Enterprises Law (fondly known as the BaMBE Law) is the cornerstone of the government’s SME program.

Under this Law, businesses capitalized below Three Million Pesos are eligible for Income Tax Holidays, access to preferential credit (from Land Bank, DBP, the Small Business Guarantee and Finance Corporation, and the People’s Credit and Finance Corporation), listing in the Local Government’s BMBE directory, and other perks.

To qualify as a BMBE, all you need to do is fill out the BMBE form downloadable from the DTI website (http://www.dti.gov.ph click on the "SME Agenda" Link along the lower left column), and submit it together with your business registration documents to your City or Municipal Treasurer, and pay the BMBE registration fee.

One note on the BMBE Program: Not all local governments are aware of it, and even among those that are, offices in some LGUs pretend it doesn’t exist.

Make sure you speak directly with the City Treasurer’s Office. They are the implementing office at the local level, but if you still have problems, contact DTI’s SME Center in your region.

A directory can be found on DTI’s website.

To help you out on your entrepreneurial venture, the government has volumes of information and technical assistance for you.

From DTI’s SME Agenda home page, you can find a startup business plan, a document with the programs and services for SMEs, and the 2004-2010 Development plan for SMEs. Review these documents for a guide on the specific programs you can avail of.

From the Technology and Livelihood Resource Center Home Page (http://www.tlrc.gov.ph), you can find training resources, class schedules, and other useful information. TLRC’s offerings are good investments for anyone serious about starting a business.

From the DOST home page (http://www.dost.gov.ph), find the training catalog of the technology training center, and links to free software for your business.

Most startup businesses can’t afford the prices of commercial software, but don’t be tempted to use pirated software — piracy is illegal and will get you into trouble sooner or later.

Use DOST’s Bayanihan Linux or Ubuntu Linux, the free OpenOffice.org suite, and other free software for Windows and Macintosh.

Other sites that are useful for SMEs are the Cottage Industry Technology Center, UP- Institute of Small-Scale Industries, the Technical Education & Skills Development Authority, and the DBPs SME page.

The National Government’s programs to promote entrepreneurship are a great start, unfortunately, these may not yet be enough.

SMEs contribute a mere 32% in value added to GDP, an under-performance compared with Japan (56%), China (60%), South Korea (46%), and Indonesia (63%).

For many small entrepreneurs, the only government they see is at the local level, yet how many local government units (LGUs) actively promote the National SME Agenda?

Many have job fairs, hoping to earn points with the hungry masses, yet few have activities that promote genuine entrepreneurship and true livelihood opportunities for their constituents.

The Barangay Micro Business Enterprise Law encourages local governments to take a pro-active stand towards entrepreneurship by simplifying registration procedures and creating a directory of registered microbusiness enterprises.

Many LGUs have simple enough registration procedures, but how many LGU websites have directories of BMBE’s?

Hardly any.

City and municipal treasurers both inside and outside Metro Manila lament that although their office implements the BMBE Law by issuing certifications, other offices in some LGUs are hardly enthusiastic about it, reluctant to promote it, with others even discouraging businesses from availing of it.

Another issue for small businesses is the cost of administrative compliance.

Any duly registered business has to make two filings with the BIR each month, four filings a year with the Local Government, and about half a dozen other filings a year with relevant agencies.

For medium and large scale businesses, the cost of compliance is negligible, but for the MicroEntrepreneur with limited resources, compliance costs can be debilitating and a bane to the productivity of the microenterprise.

Perhaps in the spirit of the BMBE Law, offices such as the BIR can limit these filings to once a quarter for BMBE certified businesses.

It will be a great help to micro-businesses and may even improve the tax take.

For the National Government’s proentrepreneurship program to be efective, it's important that the programs reach the frontlines.

Pitting these resources online is a great start: It conveniently circumvents any obstacles between the programs and their intended audience; but ultimately it is the enthusiastic involvement of LGUs and regional offices of government that will determine the success of the SME agenda.

State of Emergency or not, we are in a crisis, and we need a revolution to resolve the crises of poverty and lack of opportunity.

Entrepreneurship is that revolution: and Revolution that involves us working hand-in-hand with the National Government’s pro-SME agenda.

Any lesser agency, regional authority, or local government office that hinders this cause should be stomped on like the so many cockroaches that they are. They are the real cause of poverty.

Destructuring the (Philippine) Economy

2006-08-01T14:59:00.000+08:00

Published in the Manila Bulletin on 23 July 2006. It describes the debilitating distortions and bottlenecks holding back development in the Philippines.

MasterCard economist Yuwa Hendrick Wong said it: "Nowhere in Asia can you see this juxtaposition -- the lack of opportunities for talented people due to domestic politics, or the political elite propagatingtheir interests. Hundreds of medical doctors took retraining to work asnurses overseas ... they are prepared to downgrade their skills inorder to work overseas. All these allow the elite to do nothing.”

Despite endless restructurings, we're still the sick man of Asia. Reforms are pursued, but only when the same beneficiaries havepositioned themselves to milk the economy under the restructured structures.Our level of economic development, once compared with Japan, thenMalaysia and Thailand, is now ranked with Vietnam and Cambodia. We may soon be ranked at the bottom together with Burma and Bangladesh.

We need to pay infrastructure obligations we've contracted, so we can continue improving our infrastructure. We need to be able toefficiently move goods around, and ensure that our highly trainedprofessionals don't spend half the day stuck in traffic.

Nothing kills an economy's productivity, and depresses wages, more than bottlenecks. And when wages for the most highly skilled become lowerthan the wages for menial work overseas, people will leave.

We need to stop subsidizing what should not be subsidized, and stop borrowing to fund deficits incurred by inefficiently run white elephants. Consumers pay for it anyway: That artificially low pricemeans a deficit which drives up inflation, making everyone worse off.

We need to deny favored groups the protection of automatic exchangerate adjustments, and the privilege of charging consumers for inefficiencies, while ensuring that the small economic players—smalltraders, small transport operators, and neighborhood businesses—are assured their right to a fair economic return.

We have the second highest power rates in Asia, next to Japan. Our power generation and distribution system is inefficient, with systems losses in the double digits.

Also, since I don't know of any other businesses, or any wages, that are indexed to the exchange rate, I wonder why utilities are allowed topass on foreign exchange risk to poor consumers.

We have among the highest fees for Internet access in the world, andthe terms are onerous: Mandatory two-year contracts, mandatory bundled services for things we don't need, unreasonable deposits, and more.

The government's push for Voice over IP is a great idea. VoIP is how the world communicates. Unfortunately, you can't get the Internet you need for VoIP without getting the bundled phone line that it replaces.

The NTC needs to put its foot down: Broadband should be available onits own, without mandatory bundling. NO service contract should require a commitment of more than a year, and there should be a three monthopt-out period. In the world of broadband Internet, telcos regularly advertisefantastic speeds: 2,000, 4,000, 8,000 kbps and charge accordingly.

Delivered speed is a different matter. My own connection maxes out at800kbps, less than half of what I've been promised.

And I'm not the only one complaining: The Internet is full of websites dedicated to customer complaints about poor (and overpriced) Internetaccess in the Philippines.

In major cities worldwide: San Francisco, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei,and many others, one can just open a wireless equipped laptop and be connected, oftentimes for free. Chairman Bayani F., has a great idea for Metro-wide Wireless Internet, but he'll need to speak with the NTC first to dismantle the restrictions that prevent us from helping build a wireless city: We're prohibited from doing so by our provider contracts.

By law, telcos in the US can't put those restrictions on commercial contracts. If you have a commercial line, you can share, resell, and distribute your connection. That's why even small towns have Wireless Internet provided by the community. In Africa, towns are being connected to the Internet and the Phonesystem using commonplace wireless technologies such as HSPDA (cellularwireless) and Wi-Max (long range wireless). More importantly, these are being done by small town businesses: National Franchise notrequired.

Yet, while we endure structures that guarantee returns for big players,our policies down-regulate the income of small players. We pretend the oil crisis doesn't exist by keeping transport fares low, much to the chagrin of the taxi and jeepney operators who have families to feed. Low transport fares may seem good on the surface, but it comes at a price: An inefficient and uncomfortable transport system that encourages the use of private cars.

We can't even pay the creditors for the EDSA MRT because the faresbeing charged are too low, which means no one is going to finance the other MRTs that we need. And because the system can't afford newturnstiles, our professionals spend an hour each day queueing to enter the system. So, those who can afford to use their cars, still do so; and the rationale for the MRT—to keep cars off the road, doesn't happen.

When the DOTC, for the Nth time announced yet another Pasig River ferry system, it realized it had a problem: Because MRT fares are so low, there was no way they could price river ferry fares competitively with the MRT for the river system to be viable.

Depressing Public Utility vehicle fares also create their own problems:The vehicles are ill-maintained and uncomfortable, once again, encouraging the use of private cars. Low fares don't matter much if you're a professional and can't get around. Artificially low fares also mean the drivers have very little disposable income to spend, depressing the economies of the neighborhoods they live in. Low fares also encourage trip cutting, “kontrata,” and other shenanigans to get an extra buck to feed their families.

Economists talk of the multiplier effect: Spending in one area leads to greater spending in another area, and then to the economy as a whole. This is a valid concept, except it doesn't work here: the multiplier is absorbed by inflated utility prices, and neutered by the economic repression of the small players.

About the only ones benefitting from the low fares are the outsourcers,who think nothing of hiring people from 100 km away. They're the oneslaughing their way to the bank, paying a tenth of what they would payoverseas. If transport fares weren't so repressed, do you think the outsourcers would be locating in the large business centers? Of course not, they would be nearer the residential areas of cities and towns, acting as catalysts for a more balanced pattern of economic development instead of contributing to the congestion of the cities.

Healthy neighborhood economies are the best way to save precious oil.

And since the game would change--with higher value added outsourcing remaining in the city, and lower value added outsourcing moving nearer the neighborhood--the outsourcers would be encouraged to explore other value added services. As Filipino Silicon Valley Entrepreneur Dado Banatao said: “We shouldn't be training software engineers to be telephone operators.”

Let's end this endless process of RE-Structuring--the lie has been exposed. What we need is a DE-structuring of the economy.

We need it so that we can distribute economic opportunity, we need it so we can have lowerprices through greater efficiency, we need it so we can have productivity driven wage increases.

In the 1990s, we celebrated as foreign investors upped our countryallocations—the amount of investible funds we were alloted out of any given portfolio. At it's peak, that was 8%. Today, it is around 2%.

Yuwa Hendrick Wong may be the only one to say it publicly, but other economists are saying the same things in private, otherwise they'd be on a plane rushing to invest in the Philippines.

=======================

I received some feedback via eMail from friends in the International Investment Community.

"Powerful Stuff!" - Telecom and Structured Finance Head of a major European bank

"You are so correct!" - Director of a global business restructuring practice.

"Brilliant and incisive!" - UK based fund manager covering Asia.

Pangarap ni Ige (Ige's Hope) for Streetchildren.

2006-07-17T14:42:00.000+08:00

Published in the Manila Bulletin on 17 April 2005.

Streetchildren are a major problem in Philippine urban centers. They arrive in the cities for various reasons, oftentimes falling prey to the various hazards of living on the street.

Pangarap shelters provide a wholesome environment for these children to go. The shelter works to feed and educate the children and reintegrate them into their communities.

I know Ige Ramos from the Philippine Macintosh community. He is an acclaimed graphic artist who has dedicated time from his busy schedule to help street children.

Pangarap ni Ige (Ige's Hope) for Streetkids

By ALEX S. TIMBOL

If you're a successful graphic artist and book designer responsible for much of what is called contemporary Philippine design, what would you do to celebrate your birthday?

Ige Ramos, president of Ige Ramos Design Studio, creator of hundreds of published works, several dozen coffee table books, and internationally renowned "NewMedia" artist, celebrated his birthday with 100 children at the Pangarap Center for Street Children in Pasay City.

Instead of gifts, Ige requested his guests to bring toys, books, beddings, and clothes for the children.

"I already know what I'm going to do when I retire!" proclaims Ige, who has been helping the Foundation for the last fifteen years.

His contacts in the CCP, where he used to work, help Ige arrange dance classes with Ballet Manila, art workshops, and other skills development programs for the children. He also actively solicits for the shelter from among his business' clientele.

Started in 1989 by the Sons of Mary, Ina-anak, Inc., and the Ladies of Charity of Pasay, the Pangarap Foundation is accredited by the Department of Social Welfare and Development as a child caring agency, and is certified as a donee institution by the Philippine Council for NGO Certification.

The Foundation has residential shelter operations in Pasay City (for boys) and Taguig City (for girls), a Community Development Center in Paliparan III, Dasmarinas, Cavite, and affiliated Centers offering alternative education and other services to children working in the streets.
Bro. Francisco Tanega, executive director of Pangarap Foundation, emphasizes that while cash donations are welcome (they have hundreds of mouths to feed every day!), donations of clothes, books, beddings, and useable furniture are also accepted.

The foundation even welcomes donations of personal time for skills development programs for the children.

Children come to the shelter from different sources. Many are referred by other social welfare NGOs, but a third of them are walk-ins who had heard about the shelter on the street.
Many of these children are runaways fleeing from dysfunctional or non-existent families.
Others have been brought to the big city, promised schooling and jobs, then abandoned or abused by relatives and "family friends."

Boys stay at Pangarap in Pasay City, while girls are processed and placed in Pangarap's facility in Taguig City.

The Center is careful to screen walk-ins through interviews and psychological profiling, citing a previous incident when an thief, posing as a street child, arrived in the morning and then attempted to break into the Center's storeroom.

It is an even sadder postscript that the thief turned out to be part of a gang with "Police Protection."

Hoy, mahiya kayo! (You should be ashamed of yourselves!).

Upon being accepted into the Center, the child is put through a program of "stabilization," starting with three square meals a day.

"Most kids improve their outlook instantly when they don't worry about their next meal," says Bro. Tanega.

With the help of the older kids, the new child is integrated into the community, participating in value formation activities, skills development workshops, and helping with the chores around the shelter.

The Center's regimen of waking times, school hours, chore times, study hours, and sleeping time help the child recover from his experience on the streets.

After successfully undergoing the recovery program, he is enrolled at any of the nearby schools to continue his education. The center pays for school related expenses until the high school level, and accepts sponsorships for individual children.

Sponsored children can continue to Technical & Vocational courses at Don Bosco and other institutions or may choose to pursue a college degree.

"The kids are here voluntarily," says Bro. Tanega.

Each child signs a contract with the center promising good behavior, participation in group activities, and helping out with the chores in exchange for board and lodging at the shelter.

"We're not a reformatory," stresses Bro. Tanega, fending off requests from well-to-do families to place problem kids under his care.

"There are other places better equipped for them.Pangarap provides a positive environment for kids with nowhere to go. In most cases, that's what a child needs to grow into a productive member of society."

The boys themselves have developed quite a reputation in their Pasay neighborhood, being always courteous, responsible, and willing to help.

They've had to raise the fences to discourage female admirers from oogling the boys, which distracts them from their chores.

"The neighborhood girls know that our boys make good husbands!" notes Bro. Tanega proudly. "They're hardworking, well-mannered, and do housework!"

Pangarap's ultimate goal for each child is to return them to a positive home environment.

"Simply sending the child back doesn't work." says Bro. Tanega.

"Once we've located the child's family, we pay them a visit and try to determine the reasons the child has left. Our outreach program includes counselling families on parenting skills."

Only when the Center is sufficiently convinced that the child can return safely are they reintegrated.

When the child is returned, the Center's staff continues supervision with frequent visits to evaluate the family's progress.

If livelihood is an issue, the Center works with other NGOs to provide livelihood assistance to the entire family.

The many awards and recognitions Pangarap has received for its work are just added frills. The real rewards are in developing the children's God-given ability to be self-reliant, responsible, and caring, and extend those values to their families and local community.

"Each child we send back is an ambassador," says Bro. Tanega, "He provides us a link to help us participate in the healthy development of that community."

The Pangarap Foundation is located at 2503 Taft Ave., cor. Escobal Street in Pasay and can be reached at Tel. Nos. 834-1061 &amp;amp;amp; 551-3733; and by eMail. The Sons Of Mary have a website here.

==============

I received the following eMail 20 April 2005 from Kevin Connolly about the article. Mr. Connolly is the country representative of Hope For Children, a British Foundation actively supporting the Pangarap Shelters.

Dear Alex,

I cannot tell you how surprised Ige and I were to read your full page
spread on Pangarap Shelter in last Sundays Manila Bulletin.

Brother Francisco called me immediately, and we both agreed that is was truly an informative and well rounded article.

Thank you on behalf of the children, and you are always assured of a warm welcome at Pangarap.

Kevin Connolly,
Hope for Children,
Philippines Representative

The Cancer Diet

2006-07-16T16:33:00.000+08:00

Published in the Manila Bulletin 04 September 2005.

Authored by Alex Timbol/Maccess Corporation

The Cancer Diet

So, you or someone you know has cancer?

Cancer is no longer the death sentence it used to be. With medical technology and greater knowledge of how the body works, cancer is a treatable disease.

The key is to tilt the odds in your favor. When first diagnosed with cancer, you will be referred to an oncologist, or cancer specialist. His job is to evaluate your cancer, perhaps run more tests, in order to "stage" it.

Stage ONE is the earliest stage of cancer. Ninety percent of Stage 1 cancer patients survive and eventually become cancer free.

While easily treated, stage one cancers are usually asymptomatic (without symptoms). They can only be detected as part of a routine medical examination.

Stage Four defines a cancer that has spread extensively (mestastasized). Because traditional medicine offers little to Stage Four patients, these patients have the greatest motivation to explore complementary and alternative approaches to a cure.

People have survived Stage Four cancers, but it takes determination to live and beat the odds.

Creating a body environment hostile to cancer cells, together with traditional medical approaches of chemotherapy, radiation, and eventually, surgery, tilts the odds in your favor and is key to fighting cancer.

Unlike ordinary cells, cancer cells are different. They multiply rapidly, they don't use oxygen, inefficiently burning glucose to create the lactic acid rich environment in which they thrive, while starving the rest of the body of nutrition.

This process called the "cachexia cycle" is what kills cancer victims.

Your doctor can only do so much with chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. Each approach has its strengths and drawbacks:

Chemotherapy is best for preventing further growth of the main tumor and its spread throughout the body, but the treatment is toxic, and if used alone, may require doses high enough to create their own problems.

Radiation attacks the tumor mass directly, but does nothing for free-floating cancer cells looking for a place to colonize.

Surgery physically removes most of the cancer, but may leave behind enough cells at either the tumor site or in the blood to start new cancers elsewhere.

Because surgery deceives the body into thinking that the cancer is gone, production of natural anti-cancer factors are reduced, encouraging the proliferation of the remaining cancer cells.

Up-to-date doctors will use a neoadjuvant approach.

These are the doctors you need to get. These modern doctors use low-dose chemo to stop tumor growth and kill off free floating cancer cells, radiation to attack the main mass (and allow a reduced chemo dose), and, if needed, surgery to remove whatever remains.

If you believe your doctor is not open to, or unfamiliar with, modern approaches, consider getting another doctor because it is your life and your money that is at stake.

Your doctor is also going to need your help. He is not a magician and you will need to work with him to beat your cancer.

Use the Internet to research everything you need to know about your particular type of cancer.

Discuss your research with your doctor and how you can work together to defeat your cancer.

A good place to start is at the Life Extension Foundation, which is run by a board of doctors and scientists. The site has extensive discussions of complementary treatment protocols supportive of medical cancer treatments.

Learn more about "Alternative" approaches, but be skeptical if it requires you to forego traditional medical treatments. "Complementary," which works together with medical approaches, offers the best odds.

Fortunately, many "Alternative" approaches involve simple lifestyle changes which you can do to help you resolve your cancer.

The first and most important lifestyle change to make when you have cancer is GO VEGETARIAN. STOP EATING MEAT.

That means no meat, even meat mixed into vegetables. Some fish is okay, but not dried fish, shrimps, and crabs. Red meat is a definite no-no. Red meat has an amino acid profile that feeds cancers directly, making them more robust.

More importantly, eating meat increases your body acidity. Cancers thrive in acidic body environments.

Eat tofu, tokwa, and drink lots of soy milk. Genistein, a protein in soy has potent anticancer effects.

Forget about athritis concerns with soya. This is a myth. Vegetable proteins contribute far less to uric acid levels in the blood than animal proteins. You may even find your athritis gone after a few weeks of a meatless diet.

Eat your veggies, particularly cruciferous vegetables: Cabbage, brocolli, cauliflower. Carrots, onions, and garlic also have potent anti-cancer components.

Seventh Day Adventists, who are encouraged to pursue a meatless, soy-rich diet have significantly lower rates of cancers, athritis and heart disease.

Eat lots of fruits. Better yet, start your day with fruits to cleanse your digestive system. Enzymatic fruits, such as papayas, pineapples, mangos, kiwis, and strawberries are the best.

This is particularly important when you are taking chemotherapy. Your liver, which processes toxins created by chemo flushes them out through your intestines. Fruits and lots of water wash these toxins out of the body.

Psyllium husk is another important food item. This is becoming popular nowadays, sold as C-Lium, Colon Cleanse, Metamucil, Fiber-ade, etc. This is effective at reducing the toxicity and duration of side effects with chemotherapy.

Chemo works by killing fast growing cells, mainly the cancer cells, but it also ruins blood cells, causing anemia and decreased resistance to infection, hair cells (causing hair loss), and the cells of the intestinal lining, causing nausea.

By taking Psyllium in the morning, not only will you wash away the toxic by-products of chemo, but you'll also gently scrub away the dead layer of intestinal cells. Removing this dead layer reduces nausea, and more importantly, allow your intestines to quickly resume efficient absorption of nutrients.

Preventing anemia is a critical factor. Cancer itself causes anemia, and so do chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery (if there is substantial bleeding) --a double whammy.

A good doctor will monitor your blood's hematocrit level. It must be in the normal range at the very least.

Your doctor can prescribe drugs to fix this, but simply eating plenty of "talbos ng kamote, alugbati," and "munggo" may dramatically improve your blood readings.

Yoghurt, at least three times a week, also helps to maintain healthy glutathione levels, needed by the immune system to fight off infection and kill free floating cancer cells. The helpful bacteria in yoghurt also helps restore intestinal function after chemo.

Apart from diet, strategic vitamin supplementation helps maintain good health and a strong immune system, both of which are essential to keep the odds in your favor.

Search the Internet for the terms "Stockholm protocol Cancer" to find details of a vitamin plan that supports cancer treatment.

The protocol is comprehensive, and recommends vitamins that are easy to find in any health food store or vitamin shop. Vitamins A, C, E, CoQ10, Fish Oil, melatonin and calcium, plus a high potency multivitamin, form the core of the program.

If you are taking chemo, add milk thistle capsules, an herb that helps your liver process chemo related toxins.

Except for melatonin (taken at bedtime) it is best to take these vitamins in divided doses, in the morning with breakfast and in the evening after dinner.

Once again, if your doctor is opposed to the idea of taking vitamin supplements, seek a second opinion as it is your life that is at stake.

Most studies of vitamin supplements and cancer treatments show improved responsiveness to treatments and reduced duration and intensity of side effects.

It has not shown that supplements interfere with cancer treatments, and instead, may result in quality of life improvements while undergoing treatment, i.e. greater energy, fewer side effects, etc.

Fighting cancer is a multi-step process, a sequence of two steps forward, one step back, until you reach the ultimate goal of defeating cancer.

Modern medicine provides some of the tools, but ultimately it is your body that will rid itself of cancer.

By lifestyle and diet modification, and complementary nutritional support, your body can quickly restore its immune system functions and greatly increase the success rate of modern medical treatments.

For Lance Armstrong, cycling champion and testicular cancer survivor, defeating cancer means to maintain one's health and outlook while undergoing cancer treatment. As he says: "Live Strong."

The Reforms must continue

2006-07-13T15:05:00.000+08:00

Originally published in the Manila Bulletin on 10 July 2005 at a time of political turmoil in the Philippines. The first of two parts on Philippine Leadership and Reforms.

The article stresses that the political situation and personalities are secondary to the more pressing need to continue with economic reforms. The Philippine leader is also not merely the leader of the Country, but needs to earn leadership of the Global Filipino Nation, which includes the global Filipino diaspora, wherever they may be.

Authored by Alex Timbol/Maccess Corporation

Consumers' Post
Ethel Timbol

The Reforms must Continue

That so many influential and credible individuals, previously willing to wait out this crisis, would call for PGMAs (Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo) resignation has caught many by surprise. Yet, in this time of rapidly moving events, it is easy to lose sight of the road we need to take as a nation.

Nowhere among the reasons put forth for PGMAs resignation are the fiscal, economic, and policy reforms put forth under her administration.

That we need these reforms is beyond debate. That their current proponent, PGMA, is entangled in a crisis, does not mean that we should not pursue these reforms.

The Philippines still continues to be the sick man of Asia. We have too much debt from a government that is perpetually in deficit, too many poor people from an economic structure that fails to provide an equality of opportunity, and the crime rate is alarming.

Nor will it matter who implements these policies. Whether or not it is PGMA or the next President, whenever that may be.

The reforms needed have been pretty much agreed upon. Eliminate the budget deficit. Streamline the bureaucracy. Devolve power to local governments. Liberalize the economy.
Provide equality of opportunities. Guarantee free and fair elections. Assure peace and order, while protecting the exercise of Constitutionally guaranteed freedoms.

Various groups have made it clear: Follow the constitutional succession. No martial law, no coup d'etats, no people power revolts.

That means the Vice President becomes President should PGMA resign. Mr. Noli de Castro would do well to keep in mind that he is the successor because, and only because, he is the current Vice President.

He should seamlessly continue the business of government, and appoint the best Cabinet he can find.

Doing his best to keep the next elections free, fair and beyond reproach would also be a good idea.

We applaud the military and Chief of Staff Efren Abu for reaffirming their loyalty to the Constitution amidst this crisis. We are confident that they will uphold their pledges to preserve the Institutions of the Republic.

Protect us, the people, from any destabilization efforts and grabs for power, yet understand our need to peacefully express our constitutional rights within the political framework.

The Presidency is not the most powerful position in the land.

That power belongs to the people and the Filipino nation, wherever we may be. What the Presidency really is, is the position with the most responsibility:

The responsibility to effectively manage the business of government, and to pursue the reforms so badly needed, and to provide the opportunities we need to fulfill our potential as a global nation.

Heart Health

2006-07-13T14:42:00.000+08:00

Originally published in the Manila Bulletin on 26 June, 2006 in support of the HeartSafe program of Cardiac Science, and their PowerHeart product line, represented in the Philippines by Junna Industrial Corporation.

Authored by Alex Timbol/Maccess Corporation

Consumers' Post
Ethel Timbol

HEART HEALTH

Up to 92% of Filipinos are at risk for serious heart disease, according to a recent study by the Philippine Heart Association. Of these, over half are not aware of any heart problems until tragedy occurs.

The forties and fifties are peak years for cardiac events as sins of the past? bad diet, poor sleeping habits, smoking, a sedentary lifestyle, work and home stress?take their toll.

Ideally, protecting your heart and health should start in the twenties, but it's never too late to start.

Dr. Nathan Pritikin had his first heart attack in his 40s, the result of years of poor diet and bad habits. His doctor, and his own training, told him that he had less than a year to live.

Determined to overcome his condition, he shifted to a low-fat, almost meatless , favoring vegetables and whole grains. When Dr. Pritikin died in 1985 at the age of seventy, an autopsy showed that his previously clogged arteries were cleared of obstruction. He had the circulatory system of a healthy young man!

Under different names and with minor variations, Dr. Pritikin's diet principles, are recommended by almost every medical and health professional today.

Start your day off with fresh fruits or cereals. The fiber in fruits and cereals (oatmeal is the best!) helps clean you up inside. Your liver disposes of excess cholesterol through bile fluids.

Fiber helps by sweeping it away before your intestines can dutifully re-absorb it.

Milk and dairy products are nutritious, but not a good idea in the morning.

Casein, the protein in milk, takes a long time to digest, and calcium will make you drowsy.

Take your glass of milk, and cheese plates in the evening, when your body has the time to digest it, and the calcium lulls you into a restful sleep.

Stay vegetarian for lunch, go slow on rice, unless it's red rice, and eat more veggies: Greens (lettuce, kangkong, alugbati), gourds (upo, ampalaya, patola, etc), brocolli, cauliflower, carrots and tomatoes.

Eat more veggies than any meat. Much more. Much much more.

Eat garlic. Love garlic. Garlic tones the muscles, including those in your heart. Your other half will understand if it means many more years together.

If you must, have red meat only in the evening, but remember, either way, it?s negative health points. If you can stick with veggies, tofu, fish, & chicken until dinner, so much the better.

Nightcaps are the time for a glass of skim milk and some cheese. The milk helps you relax after a long day.

Nutritional supplements are a good idea, just don't go overboard.

The Life Extension Foundation is a sound reference for nutritional supplementation.

Start on a daily high potency multivitamin/multimineral with at least a couple of milligrams of B vitamins. There are dozens of brands in pharmacies, health stores, and your favorite PX store.

Multi-level marketed vitamins are usually overpriced, but some are very well formulated.

The number of nutrients is not as important as the proper combinations of essential nutrients. Multis are not a substitute for a good diet, but they help on those days you just can't eat right.

Once you've started on a good multi, consider adding specialized supplements.

Nobel Laureate Dr. Linus Pauling, who died at the ripe old age of ninety, says Vitamin C added 20 years to his life (He was diagnosed with prostate cancer at seventy).

The US National Institute of Health says that most people can safely take up to two grams of Vitamin C a day. Whether you want to go that high or start low (around 200 milligrams a day), remember that it is best to take half in the morning and the rest in the evening.

Not really a supplement, but very useful, is Psyllium. Psyllium has fourteen times the soluble fiber of oatmeal. It will remove cholesterol and toxins from your digestive system like a rotorooter, and help maintain regularity.

Like clockwork.

Psyllium is usually mixed with water, but you can mix the coarse powder into your fruit juice, regular cereal, even use it as a thickener for sauces.

Vitamin E has received some bad press of late, until the Journal of the American Medical Association debunked the metastudy stating that the benefits far outweigh possible risks.

If you must know, the supposed problem is that pure Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherols) displaces other tocopherols (e.g. gamma-tocopherols). This is only an issue with synthetic vitamin E (pure alpha-tocopherols), natural vitamin E normally contains mixed tocopherols.

If you aren't taking milk at night, take Cal-Mag supplements. Calcium is for your bones, and magnesium helps maintain normal heart rhythm.

Taking calcium alone displaces magnesium in your body, so the two are usually combined into a single tablet.

Calcium should help you sleep, but if you still can't, try taking Melatonin, the body's natural sleep hormone. Older people produce less of it, leading to insomnia. Doctors today prescribe melatonin for sleep problems instead of traditional sleeping pills.

CoEnzyme Q10 improves oxygen utilization in the heart. In Europe and Japan, it is the standard prescription for congestive heart failure and has been proven to improve heart function by up to 20%.

Most healthy people don't need CoQ10--a good thing, as this is an expensive supplement; but for anyone with heart problems, it can be a lifesaver.

Individuals taking cholesterol lowering "statin" drugs should also take CoQ10. "-statin" drugs deplete the body?s natural stores of CoQ10, causing fatigue and encouraging angina attacks, according to the Life Extension Foundation.

One "statin" producer, acknowledging the problem, recently filed a patent to include CoQ10 in its product.

Beyond a healthy diet and supplementation plan, do you live in a "heart safe" environment?

A heart safe environment is a place where maintaining a healthy heart comes naturally, and has the resources to deal with any potentially life-threatening cardiac events.

If it is easy for you to maintain a heart healthy diet, then you are in a "heart safe" place.

Fruits, veggies, tofu, and other healthful goodies should be readily available in nearby markets. If you do decide to eat out, it should be easy to find places with healthy options on the menu.

If you live in the San Juan/Mandaluyong area, check out Vegefoods along Luna Mencias street. Apart from delicious soy milk, taho, tofu, vegemeats and other products in the factory outlet, there is also a vegetarian canteen that serves tasty & affordable healthy meals.

A heart safe environment has the facilities to allow you to engage in heart healthy activities.

It could be as basic as a safe, well-lighted neighborhood sidewalk. A short evening stroll helps relieve everyday stresses. If taken with family, friends and neighbors, evening strolls become opportunities for bonding, for sharing ideas, and strengthening relationships.

A heart safe environment has accessible resources to deal with common cardiac events. Not only in the home and neighborhood, but in the offices you work in, the malls you visit, and the hotels and sports clubs you frequent.

Do they have trained personnel to deal with sudden cardiac emergencies?

The answer may surprise you.

Because the Philippines doesn't have its own equivalent of the United States "Good Samaritan" laws, many public places are not equipped to deal with most types of medical emergencies. Quite alarming considering that we market ourselves as a retirement destination.

What are "Good Samaritan" laws?

Simply put, "Good Samaritan" Laws require that persons trained in first aid render assistance during a medical emergency, while protecting them from liability if the rescue event is unsuccessful.

What the absence of these laws mean for us is that in the Philippines, most public places are so worried about liability, that they adopt a "hands-off" policy, intentionally doing nothing more than to call an ambulance.

Only basic first aid for wounds and scrapes, nothing more. If the customer in a mall, hotel, or golf courses collapses, they?ll call the hospital, but will make no attempt to administer even basic CPR.

This is unfortunate, even more so for the victim. Every minute that passes since the cardiac event reduces survival odds by 10%.

Obligated to provide care but protected from liability by "Good Samaritan" laws, malls, buildings, and sports centers in the United States make sure they have trained personnel and equipment on hand.

Given the recent high stress levels of our congressmen, perhaps it's time they considered proposing a similar set of laws. After all, it would be sad if they suffered a cardiac event while out in a public place whose management has opted not to provide life-saving facilities.

Personal Safety in a Terror Attack

2006-07-13T14:08:00.000+08:00

Originally published in the Manila Bulletin on 20 February 2005 following the Valentine's Day attack in Makati City and Davao City in the Philippines. This article is dedicated to the victims of the attack.

Authored by Alex Timbol/Maccess Corporation.

Consumers' Post
Ethel Timbol

Personal safety in a terrorist attack

Last Monday's metro bombings in Makati, Davao and General Santos remind us once again that we live in a troubled world.

While we applaud the recent move of the police to place marshalls on public transport, this should have been done a long time ago, not just against terrorists, but also against bus holduppers.

Let's also hope that the police will do some real police work and find real suspects, not merely round up "usual suspects."

In the meantime, it's important for us to realize that personal safety begins with us.

Personal awareness is the most important thing you can do for your own safety.

Be aware of your surroundings and pay more attention to where you are and how you should react in an emergency.

Whether you are at home, in school, at work or in a mall, you should know how to get help, where the emergency exits are, including how to get there.

Train yourself to notice things that are strange or unusual.

If you notice anything strange or unusual, do not confront the situation. Call the attention of security personnel, whether mall guards, or the local barangay police.

When boarding a public bus, make a visual check for unattended packages.

If you see an unattended package, discreetly call the attention of the bus conductor.

Make a mental note of passengers carrying large packages. Politely call their attention if they get up to leave without their packages. They may have just forgotten, but if they ignore you and continue to leave the bus, call the attention of the bus conductor.

Riding in the MRT and LRT is relatively safer with passengers and packages screened for explosives, but remember that the foyer areas are vulnerable and an attractive target with dozens of people lining up for the security check.

Do a quick scan for unattended packages in the foyer area, and if necessary, call the attention of security personnel.

If possible, use another entrance that has fewer people and that will allow you to quickly enter the secured area.

The same is true in malls, while the inside of malls are relatively safer, the queues for the security checks outside the doors are not.

If there is another entrance with a shorter queue, use that instead. As much as possible, don't use a crowded entrance. Malls have multiple entrances, and at least a few others should have shorter queues.

After last week's bombings, mallgoers rushed out of the Glorietta Mall in a panic. Don't!

The inside of a mall is one of the safest places to be. In the Bali Bombing, a small bomb triggered a stampede out into the street where the terrorists exploded an even larger car bomb that killed hundreds.

With all the security precautions mall operators have put in place, any attack will likely be outside the mall, which is exactly where you don't want to be rushing to.

Even if there is an incident within the mall, it is likely to be small and easily contained by the trained security personnel, so it is better to remain inside the mall.

Every mall has well marked safety areas: Emergency exits, holding areas, etc.

Some malls have emergency phone numbers. If you regularly visit a mall, make sure these emergency numbers are stored in your cellphone.

When visiting a mall, make a mental note of the mall?s features: Emergency exits, information counters, uncrowded areas, etc. Mentally draw escape routes to these areas from your current location.

Think about where you can go during any of the following emergencies: Terror Attack, Earthquake, Fire, or even Air Crash.

Avoid crowds, but if you must go to a crowded areas or to an event such as a concert, pay close attention to your surroundings. If possible, go with a group and stay with your group.

Identify and make a note of the locations of exits and security personnel. Try to stay along the edge of the crowd and avoid the middle where you could have trouble exiting.

Most importantly, if you suddenly feel uncomfortable, follow your intuition and just leave for a safer place.

For parents with children in school, ask if your school has an emergency plan and who are the persons in charge of it.

Find out the school's emergency contact information: Telephone numbers, email addresses, Instant Messaging addresses, and, if possible, the cellphone numbers of emergency coordinators.

Make sure the school has your updated contact information.

Go over the school's emergency plan with your children and make sure that they are familiar with it. Do they know where the school's emergency exits are? Where the holding areas (usually a basketball court or large gym) are?

Do they know how to contact you in an emergency and how to go to a pre-agreed meeting place in the school if you have to fetch them?

In your neighborhood, familiarize yourself with the people living near you. Get to know your barangay officials and the barangay police patrol.

If you know the people in your neighborhood, it will be easier to spot suspicious persons loitering in your area.

Make sure that the cellphones of your family members have the emergency numbers of your area: This means the barangay office, your local police and fire departments, and nearby hospitals. Post these numbers in a conspicuous place at home.

Preparedness is the best way to deal with the threat of terrorism. By being prepared, we blunt the effectivity of the terrorists and minimize the threat to our personal safety and that of our loved ones.

Building the 24-hour city

2006-07-12T23:38:00.000+08:00

The phenomenal growth of outsourcing creates stresses and demand on the City that need to be addressed for growth to continue. It is not merely a government issue: Outsourcing companies also need to take a role by hiring local, instead of mandating daily hundred kilometer trips for their employees.

This article was originally published in the Manila Bulletin on 06 June 2005. Authored by Alex Timbol, Maccess Corporation.

Consumers' Post
Ethel Timbol

Building the 24-Hour City

President GMA's directive to study the feasibility of operating the MRT and LRT around the clock is a positive step to boost our competitive position in global outsourcing.

Let?s hope the MRT and LRT figure this out while "studying" the matter:

Rails and trains depreciate and incur interest expenses 24 hours a day, hence every hour that the system is shut down means zero revenues to offset continuing fixed costs.

For the last five years, we've been marketing the Philippines as a round the clock business outsourcing center, yet it's taken this long to figure out this basic logistical requirement:

Providing safe, efficient, end-to-end transportation to the thousands of people working around the clock.

The local outsourcing industry is growing in excess of one hundred percent per year, so the number of people working the late shift doubles every year.

Moving these people around safely and efficiently in the early hours will be a major challenge for both Metro Manila's chief executives and the outsourcing centers.

Beyond the MRT and LRT, there is also a need to wholistically address late night commuters? end-to-end travel needs. We need to provide these workers with safe, reliable paths from home to office and vice-versa.

We need to work with call center operators to tune their hiring practices so that workers, particularly nightshifters, have shorter travel distances.

Some call center operators, with facilities in Alabang, Makati, Ortigas and Libis, require workers to shift locations at a day's notice!

That's a 100-kilometer distance!

Here's a tip for outsourcers: Hire local in the areas you need people. It will put less strain on the city, and more importantly, on your workers. They will be more productive, and greatly reduce the likelihood of being robbed, raped, or killed on the way to work. No amount of PR Spin is going to help you if your policies put workers in harm?s way.

To build the 24-hour city we need to encourage the growth of support industries: 24?hour shops and eateries, safe rest areas or "hang-outs," and round the clock access to information & services.

That's easy to say, but it will take a thorough review of local government policies, since many cities have archaic laws that discourage round the clock operations.

Most of these services will, and should, be provided by the private sector, creating opportunities for entrepreneurs and workers, but the key enablers, safety, security, and appropriate policy direction, are still the responsibility of government.

Police and other emergency services need to be alert and accessible around the clock.

The Text Police and Text Fire campaigns are a step in the right direction. So are online government services, which by definition, are available 24/7 from any nearby Internet Cafe.

Key transport terminals need to be identified and provided with round the clock security and traffic control. Even the so-called "last mile" to workers? homes should likewise be secured by local barangay police.

In November last year, photojournalist Mike Llorin was killed in a midnight drive-by shooting at a Quezon City gas station by a Green Pajero and Owner Jeep without license plates.

Four years ago, Claudine Feliciano was abducted, raped, and murdered an hour before midnight by a gang in a van also without license plates.

While we are aware of the MMDA's campaign to apprehend plateless vehicles some months ago, this daytime campaign seems to have fizzled.

Shouldn't this campaign be restarted, particularly at night?

Any vehicle without license plates (or questionable plates, e.g. a newer "V," "W," or "X" plate on an old vehicle), should immediately be suspect, particularly in this day and age of terror alerts.

Kahit anak ng General or Government Official, hindi exempted!

Many of these "plate-less" vehicles are used for crimes against persons, so police should verify that passengers, particularly women and children, are willing riders and not kidnap victims.

Commercial carpark should not allow entry to vehicles without proper plates. The plateless van that abducted Claudine parked in an Alabang mall?s carpark while they selected a victim. "No Plates, No Park" should be the rule!

Speaking of malls, we've noticed that some have a practice of cordoning off sidewalks when they are closed for the day, forcing commuters to walk on the road or highway at night. This is even worse than sidewalk vendors!

Calling MMDA: The sidewalk campaign should also go after mall operators who use sidewalks as private buffer zones. Ang sidewalk para sa tao! (Sidewalks are for people).

In a modern city like Hong Kong, you'll notice the profusion of pedestrian overpasses and walkways. As much as possible, these urban centers are designed to keep pedestrians on a level separate from vehicular traffic.

In Hong Kong, private enterprises are encouraged to build or improve pedestrian overpasses and provide in-building transport terminals.

They are given tax incentives, while they benefit from the increased pedestrian traffic. In exchange, they are required by law to operate the walkways and terminals 24 hours a day.

Sana ganyan din dito, since we?ve seen many privately built over- and under-passes that close as early as 8pm (and open as late as 10 am: Perhaps to save 'wear and tear" on the floor during rush hours.)

Becoming a 24-hour city is a deliberate process. It goes beyond the rhetoric promoting the Philippines as a global outsourcing destination and involves substantial coordinated planning involving the national government, the local government, and the private sector.

With the outsourcing industry growing at triple digits, bottlenecks and threats to the security of night shift workers are surfacing. Hopefully, those involved will be able to recognize, identify, and resolve these in time.

Unless we deliberately plan the 24-hour city NOW, the late night economy will soon choke and we will miss another opportunity for economic growth. -ASTimbol

(Alex S. Timbol is president of Maccess Corp., a management consulting company. The late Mr. Llorin and Ms. Feliciano were personal friends.)

Fire Prevention

2006-07-12T23:23:00.000+08:00

Originally published in the Manila Bulletin on 13 March 2005. March is the start of the really hot Summer Season in the Philippines, and is Fire Prevention Month. This article is dedicated to the brave and dedicated members of the Bureau of Fire Prevention and the various Volunteer Fire Brigades in the Philippines.

Consumers' Post
Ethel Timbol

Fire Prevention Month

It's March again, and Fire Prevention Month.

With the start of the hot and dry summer season, the risk of fires increases. How prepared are you and your family to prevent, and if necessary, survive a fire?

Electrical fires, kitchen fires, and candles are the most common causes of house fires.
Check your home?s electrical wiring system. Are all your fuses and circuit breakers in good shape?

Check your fuse box, do you have proper fuses and none of those quick fix jumpers you slipped in when the fuse last blew?

Electrical circuits, wirings, and devices are designed with specific loads in mind and exceeding this load will cause overheating and possibly, a fire.

Immediately shut off and replace switches that are hot to the touch. Have an electrician determine the cause of the overheating and upgrade either the switch or the wiring.
If your electric fan is older than two years, there is a risk the fan may overheat and burst into flame, particularly if you?ve had the motor "rewound." Many rewinders remove the thermal fuse that prevents the fan from overheating and igniting, so it may be better to buy a new electric fan once the motor gives way.

It?s important to keep the fan clean and well lubricated, and the same is true with airconditioners. Clean fans and air-conditioners are more efficient and save electricity.
Since a fan may catch fire, it is important to use it away from flammable items such as curtains and most upholstery.

Poor quality extensions cords and even good quality overloaded cords can start a fire. Use extension cords wisely!

Never buy cheap 20 peso extension cords found in tiangges! Your extension cords should carry the "PS mark." The PS mark is your assurance that these products have been tested to comply with sound electrical standards.

Extension cords have varying wire gauges, where a lower number has a thicker wire. Most house wiring has a 10 or 12 ga., much thicker than a typical extension cord.
General purpose extension cords should be at least 18 ga., which have a safe load of 800 watts. Compute the total load of the devices plugged into the extension cord by adding the wattage figures usually found on the device.

Your extension cord should be at least as thick as the cord of the device you are plugging into it.
Some appliances, such as refrigerators, airconditioners, etc., should never be used with an extension cord. If you don't have a plug near the appliance, have a qualified electrician install an outlet near the appliance.

Never lay an extension cord under a rug or carpet where it will be stepped on, fraying the insulation and possibly causing a fire. Route it out of harm's way.

Kitchens are another source of house fires. If you use a gas stove, check your fittings monthly, and have your gas hose replaced yearly.

The rubber in these hoses tend to deteriorate over time, especially in a hot country such as ours. Install and use a safety device. In Quezon City, these devices are mandatory.

Microwave ovens, oven toasters, electric stoves, and refrigerators should be on separate outlet circuits. If there is only a limited number of outlets, don?t use high drain appliances plugged into the same outlet at the same time.

When cooking, don?t wear an outfit with long, loose sleeves which could catch fire.

Keep your kitchen organized and safe. Matches and lighters should be kept in a tin canister with a lid in a cool place out of the reach of children. Teach young children that fire is a tool, and not a toy.

When frying in oil, have the pan lid nearby so you can use it to shield yourself from spattering oil and cover the pan if the oil catches fire.

It is also a good idea to keep a jar of baking soda near the stove, and a small box of sand under the sink. Either can be used to douse an oil fire.

Being able to quickly extinguish a kitchen fire will prevent it from becoming a neighborhood disaster.

A gallon jug of water nearby is also handy, but never pour water onto burning oil! Use it only for wetting rags and the surrounding area.

If you can afford a fire extinguisher, keep a dry chemical type (good for wood, oil, and electrical fires) in the kitchen.

Smoke detectors are also a good investment. They cost very little, yet can be real lifesavers. Place a unit just outside the kitchen (not inside as normal cooking will trigger it), and another one just outside the bedrooms.

While bedrooms are relatively lower risk areas, evaluate the furnishings in the room: Are the curtains made of fire resistant materials? Are all of the electrical wiring (including extension cords) of good quality and properly laid out (e.g. not under the rugs).

It is important that each bedroom have at least two exits: The regular doorway, and a fire exit, whether a window exit or a route to another part of the house.

Window fire exits should leave to a way to descend to street level, whether through a metal ladder or a thick rope. Keys to the fire exit should be kept in a visible area within the room, but away from a window where they may be stolen.

Practice a fire escape drill at least once a year with all the members of the family, and designate a place outside the house, such as a nearby tree or street sign, that you can rendezvous in a home emergency.

If you live in a condominium, ask your building administration about their fire procedure.

Know the location of fire safety equipment, such as hoses and extinguishers. Even if you cannot operate these, if would help firefighters if you could direct them to the locations of these equipment.

Smokers should NOT smoke in the bedroom and if possible, in the entire house. Set up a smoking corner in a comfortable balcony or patio. There are many good reasons not to smoke inside the house other than fire safety. Your family's health is the main one.

Candles are another major cause of fire. Always use fat short candles, which are safer than long slim candles. Burn them in an appropriately sized glass container and place them on a flame proof surface away from any draperies. Never leave a burning candle unattended, particularly if you have pets or small children in the house.

Many households use the summer months as an opportunity to do repair and remodelling jobs around the house. Because of modern technology, new materials can help make your house fire resistant.

Fibre cement board, for example, should be used in place of plywood. Use asbestos free fiber cement board. If you can afford to take down plywood partition walls and ceilings and replace these with fiber cement boards, do so.

GI steel framing can also replace the wooden framing within your interior walls.

Walls and ceilings made of fiber cement and GI framing will not burn and will prevent a fire from spreading to an adjacent room for up to an hour.

Inspect electrical wiring while the wall coverings are off. If the wiring is more than 20 years old, consider replacing it. Vinyl insulation deteriorates and may be damaged by rats.

Electrical outlets and conduits near the floor should be relocated to waist level if your area is prone to flooding. In the rooms that need them, add outlets with new lines to the circuit breakers.

Paints also help improve your home's fire resistance. Interior and exterior walls should be painted with latex, which is non-flammable. Latex can also be applied on plywood if a primer is applied before the paint.

An even better choice is "Fire resistant" latex paint, which contains ceramic crystals that prevent the spread of fire.

If you plan to use thermal insulation, fiberglass is non-flammable,while HDPE foam burns. Use HDPE foam only if it has aluminum foil laminates on both sides.

For a little more money, consider installing a home sprinkler system using your existing plumbing and heat sensitive nozzle heads. A home sprinkler system will likely stop a small fire from spreading, saving your life and most of your property.

Unfortunately, it is possible that you may still find yourself in a fire situation.

First and foremost, STAY CALM, and THINK QUICKLY BUT CLEARLY. Your ability to think and act quickly and clearly will save lives, including your own and those of your loved ones.
Fires grow out of control faster than you expect.

In less than a minute, a small flame can transform into a major fire. Keeping a clear head will help you decide whether the small fire can be controlled and extinguished, or whether you should immediately leave the area.

Act fast! A typical home can fill up with thick black smoke in several minutes.

More fire deaths are caused by smoke inhalation than the flames themselves. If you must move through smoke, crawl with your head low and close to the ground. There is always a few inches of clear air near the floor.

If you encounter a closed door, feel around the edges of the door for heat. Touch the doorknob. If it is hot, or if you can sense heat around the edges, DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR.

Use the rooms? secondary exit, such as a fire escape. Even if the door feels cool to the touch, open it slowly. If smoke and flames come in, slam it closed immediately.

If you must charge through smoke and flames do it with a thick wet blanket over your head, but only as a last resort. If your clothes catch fire, remember the STOP, DROP, and ROLL rule.

STOP running, DROP to the ground, and ROLL to smother the flames.

If you find escape impossible, go to the nearest bathroom. Most bathrooms are made of concrete, and supply two things needed to survive. The first is water, fill any containers in the bathroom with water. If possible throw water into the adjoining room.

The other thing the bathroom provides is breathable air. Air? This may sound disgusting under normal conditions, but if the bathroom fills up with smoke, the drain system still contains breathable air.

Keep a small length of washing machine plastic tube in your bathroom. Put one end in your mouth, and the other end flush against the drain of the sink. Use a rag to seal the sink end, and breath in through your mouth.

For your info, there are professionally made survival kits based on this principle that have a face mask, drain coupler, and air filter.

If you are caught in a fire in a public place, such as a mall or cinema, the first thing to do is THINK CLEARLY. Quickly verify whether or not there really is a fire or other emergency, then decide what to do.

Visually identify the exit points and the paths to those points, but realize that in many cases, staying in place may be the best option.

Fires are preventable using common sense and informed knowledge. Fires are also survivable, if you have the sense and the knowledge to think clearly and quickly.

(Alex S. Timbol, president of Maccess Corporation, a management consulting firm, while doing research for this article, was impressed by information found in the websites of the Tacloban City FD, and the Region VII (Central Visayas
FD).

Beyond Taxes

2006-07-12T23:06:00.000+08:00

The second of two parts on Tax policy and public revenue generation. This article was originally published in the Manila Bulletin on 24 April 2005, after the passage to the Revised Value Added Tax bill in the Senate, and prior to its submission to the joint legislative committee of the House and the Senate. The Senate version incorporated many of the recommendations of the first article in this series.

Consumers' Post
Ethel Timbol

The government fund drive

BEYOND TAXES. It's April 24, a week after the Annual Deadline for Tax Payments. I hope everyone filed their proper taxes and didn't try too hard to exploit loopholes.

Kudos to the Senate for retaining the existing VAT rate and focussing on removing exemptions.
As we've said before, the VAT system is a chain, whose integrity must be assured to be effective. Raising the rates in a system full of loopholes merely increases the rate of tax avoidance.

And enough with those investors threatening to leave the country if they don?t get tax exemptions. If they can't run a viable business like the 99.999% of the economy that isn?t tax exempt, perhaps it?s better they left. Hasta la Vista, Bobo!

The Executive says it still needs an estimated R60Bln to bridge the budget gap. With such a huge and troublesome deficit, it should look beyond taxes into other sources of substantial revenue.

Are there other ways for the government to raise revenues outside taxes?

Radio Spectrums, Transportation Franchises, and Government Lands are all part of the national patrimony, entrusted to government by the Constitution.

Like any good company, it is the govern-ment's duty to manage these assets to maximum advantage for its coffers.

Radio spectrums are used by both government and private entities for broadcasting and communications. AM & FM Radio, broadcast TV, Two-way radio, and cellular phones all use parts of the radio spectrum.

In the Philippines, use of these parts of the radio spectrum are awarded through a system of congressional franchises. Under this system, the right to use a part of the radio spectrum is granted through a congressional bill.

While government does not get any money from the granting of the right, one wonders how much "persuasion" it takes to approve a franchise.

Compare this to other countries where parts of the radio spectrum are auctioned off to the highest bidder.

No lobbying, no backroom deals, it?s simply he who gives the most money directly to the government treasury gets the right to put up a radio station.

Perhaps the government should consider auctioning off new broadcast radio frequencies to generate funds.

There is certainly no technical reason why we can?t have more radio stations in the AM & FM band, for example, since other cities have many more stations than we do in Metro Manila.
Same too with communications bands. When the Europeans opened up the 3G cellular bands, the auctions generated billions of dollars for the governments.

BILLIONS of dollars!

That?s how much companies are willing to pay for the right to run 3G cellular services, and that?s enough to wipe out a significant portion of our foreign debt.

Another potential money maker is transportation franchises.

In modern cities, such as New York, London, Hong Kong, and Singapore, taxis are authorized not by a franchise, but through a medallion system. A number of medallions, determined by market need, are auctioned by the regulators each year.

As a result, the government gets higher revenues. A side bonus is that with medallions costing more than the vehicle itself, operators ensure that their drivers are disciplined and follow the rules lest the regulators confiscate their costly medallions.

Another bonus is that there are more routes, and that the routes are up to date, not holdovers from the pre-WWII era.

In other countries, regulators annually review the bus and minibus route network. Whenever it is determined that a new route is required, the government, you guessed it, auctions off the right to operate these routes to the highest bidders.

There is a check and balance here, because if the authorities create a useless route, no operator will bid for it, and the government won?t get any money.

If you?ve been to Hong Kong, or Singapore, or London, you?ve probably admired the marvelous road system of elevated highways, flyovers, loading bays, and so on.

An interesting tidbit about these road systems is that taxpayer?s money is not used for the development of these advanced roads.

Taxes are used for education, police services, and the running of government, but not for the construction of freeways. The road network is financed in other ways, as it is their view that the cost of road construction should not be bourne by non-road users.

A road user?s tax is a component of road financing, but the primary component, quite interestingly, is REAL ESTATE. Whenever the governments in these countries build a highway, it makes sure it owns much of the land through which the highway passes.

Once the highway is built, it then auctions off the land to the highest bidder, usually a property developer who can add the most value to the property, because it also increases the value of remaining lands the government still owns.

Through this cycle of building highways, selling alienable land to the highest bidder, these governments are able to build extensive road networks that enhance the productivity of their economies.

By managing the sale of property assets, governments are also able to manage urban development, encouraging development in areas with greatest need, and stabilizing property prices (much to the relief of banks) by releasing more land when prices are high.

Like it or not, the nation is in an extraordinary crisis. There is a massive public sector deficit that needs to be addressed.

Extraordinary problems require extraordinary solutions beyond taxes.

Perhaps the national government should look at examples set by Local Government Units. Because LGUs tax powers are limited by law, LGUs have been creative in finding alternative means to raise revenues.

Parking fees, event rentals (e.g. city stadiums), and co-development projects (commercial areas and low-cost housing on LGU land) help LGUs generate funds for services to its constituents.
Taxes are like toll fees, there is only so much one can charge before people start looking for alternative routes (i.e. tax evasion).

The examples cited earlier are just some of the potential revenue earners the National Government has at its disposal. There are others, but government needs to think outside the box and expand beyond "toll collection."

Like any well managed company, the National Government should generate operating revenues from wise management of assets, so that it taxes less, yet obtains the resources it needs to provide services to its people.

by ALEX S. TIMBOL, president of Maccess Corporation, a management consulting firm that helps companies think outside the box.

A VAT full of problems

2006-07-12T22:37:00.000+08:00

The first of two parts about Taxation and Tax Policy in the Philippines.

Originally published in the Manila Bulletin on 06 Feb 2005.
Authored by Alex S. Timbol, Maccess Corporation

Consumers' Post
Ethel Timbol

A VAT full of problems

THE VAT. Despite protests from consumers, economists, and some legislators, the Value-Added Tax increase bill has speedily passed through the House, and is now on its way to the Senate.

If it does not encounter significant opposition in the Senate, it will become law and consumers can expect an additional 2% hike for most items.

The administration says that the VAT increase is necessary to balance the budget. But will it?

"An increase in Tax rate works only if there is an efficient tax administration."

An increase in Tax rate works only if there is an efficient tax administration. Otherwise, the increase merely penalizes those who already pay the proper taxes, and encourages further tax evasion.

How exactly do tax cheats get away with it? In the Philippines, tax evasion has become a game with many businesses finding ways of avoiding having to issue the document that shows that they pay their taxes: The Official Receipt.

Oftentimes we are given an "Order Slip," or a "Delivery Receipt," or a "Sales Invoice," or a "Job Order," any of which, they claim, is as good as a receipt, but under the law is NOT!

Bars and restaurants are the biggest offenders in the "Sales Invoice" and "Order Slip" racket!

Most hope their guests are either is such a rush or too drunk to notice that these are not Official Receipts. Some bars even physically threaten guests who demand Official Receipts!

Other bars issue receipts so infrequently that they "qualify" for an exemption that allows establishments with sales below P200,000/year to opt for non-VAT registration.

Non-VAT registration means receipts are subject to a flat 3% turnover tax, without input tax credits.

It also means the receipt cannot be expensed as Input VAT, conveniently eliminating the main reason why the customer would want the receipt in the first place.

This would be fine if we're talking about neighborhood eateries, but we've seen non-VAT receipts from large bars and fancy restaurants!

That makes me wonder just what exactly do they serve in these places that tax inspectors believe that these multi-million peso establishments have sales of less than P200,000/year!

"Delivery Receipts" are the favorite of computer shops, particularly discount resellers. Since price competition is tight, these companies advertise prices as "VAT-exclusive," a clear violation of Tax law.

A receipt from them "costs" 10% over the advertised price!

It makes one wonder how these imported products get to our shores, since the VAT system is designed so that the importer pays most of the VAT.

The retailer, whose markup (or Value Added) is typically 5%, is liable only for a tenth of that, or half a percent of the item's price, and therefore shouldn't be too concerned about issuing official receipts since most of the VAT would have been paid by his suppliers.

Now, if the importer did not pay the proper taxes... eh, anong tawag duon?

"Job Orders," and "Service Orders" are the ploy of choice for repair shops and service providers, such as laundromats. Oftentimes, they just stamp Paid on the Job order without ever issuing the Official Receipt.

The only time an establishment should not issue an OR to the customer is when the purchase is paid by credit card, in which case it should issue a "Credit Invoice," instead.

The "Official Receipt" is issued to the card company instead. Good Luck getting banks to demand a receipt because it means the merchant will just move to another servicing bank.

The consumer, in turn, is supposed to get an Official Receipt from the card issuer.

In these days of electronic fund transfers, how will the consumer get his OR? If you've paid your credit card bill, your bank should send you an Official Receipt, not just a payment slip or deposit slip.

Remember, unless it says "Official Receipt," it is not a receipt and that establishment is one reason why the government is raising taxes.

Another problem is fake and unreported Official Receipts or Cash Invoices.

These are particularly bad for the tax collection effort, because ORs and Invoices are used as proof that the supplier has paid his proper taxes--creating a supposedly airtight chain ending with the consumer.

Have you ever bought pre-paid cards?

Today, you can buy pre-paid cards for many things, not just for cell phones, there are Landline cards, Internet Cards, Donation Cards, Gift Cards, and so on. Have you ever been able to get a receipt for any of these cards?

Many of the shops which sell these cards don't issue receipts, and our inquiries reveal that the distributors don't issue receipts either, because the suppliers of these cards don't issue them either. Yet many of these prepaid card issuers are claiming zero tax liabilities because of huge input tax credits with minimal reported output tax sales!

Perhaps the BIR should require that the pre-paid card itself be the official receipt!

That's both the elegance and liability of a VAT system.

The elegance is that if the supplier or importer or producer doesn't issue receipts, the distributor will still issue the receipt and pay the tax, or the retailer will issue the receipt and pay the tax.

The liability is that if there is collusion from the supplier or importer to the distributor to the retailer not to issue receipts, no tax will be collected at all!

Most of the 121 countries with a VAT system rely heavily on technology to validate input and output VAT claims.

We've said previously in this column that the government should look to free open-source software, not only because of potential savings running into the billions of pesos, but also because it will speed up the implementation of critical technology projects, such as a tax verification system.

Without an integrated system, the BIR has no way of verifying if VAT inputs were actually paid. Even the VAT reporting system is faulty, since the BIR does not require filers to provide the VAT registration of Input Tax claims.

Perhaps the BIR should start here: Requiring Input Tax claims to be documented with VAT registration numbers. This way, it can verify if suppliers are indeed declaring their sales.

Hopefully, our more responsible legislators and government officials will see that the real problem is inefficient tax collections, too many exemptions, and defective rules and procedures.

The Department of Finance estimates that tax leakages are almost as high as the actual tax collected. This means that the government could collect almost twice as much money if it can plug these leakages. This is certainly more than a 2% increase in the VAT rate may provide.

Perhaps our legislators should also review the exemptions under the VAT law. Some of these exemptions have no basis for being there.

It is interesting to watch these congressional debates: there is bound to be quite a few legislators lobbying that such and such industry, whose importance to the economy is often overstated, to lobby for "exemptions."

It almost like playing follow the money, where one wonders what the connection is between the legislator and the industry he is championing.

Please, Messrs. legislators, enough with the exemptions, we pay our taxes, and let?s make sure everyone else does, no matter how self-important they imagine themselves to be to our struggling economy!

Properly implemented, the VAT is no more onerous a tax burden than a turnover tax.
In many ways, a VAT system is superior to a turnover tax because it limits the total tax in the supply chain to the VAT rate, which in our case is 10%, and encourages the growth of small businesses and subcontractors. So why have exemptions?

All these exemptions make for a very complicated tax system.

More importantly, it allows discretionary judgements.

When does a business fall under an exempted category and when does it not? Is it up to the discretion of the taxman? Hmmm... I wonder how much it would take for a business to move from one category to another.

Also, all this complexity with exemptions, and now, multi-tiered tax rates threaten to further complicate the tax system. Complex system lead to lower compliance. Figure that out. The more convoluted the tax system becomes with all these exemptions, multi-tier rates, and what-not the more difficult and costly it is to collect the proper taxes.

Remove the exemptions, fix up the tax administration, have the BIR review its implementing guidelines, and try to collect most of that tax leakage before burdening us with a tax increase. We voted for you, Messrs. Legislators, and we?ll remember how you voted on these tax bills.

And to you, my fellow consumers:

Always demand a receipt when paying! I mean a real OFFICIAL RECEIPT, not a "Service Invoice," or "Order Slip," or "Job Order," or "Delivery Receipt!"

If the establishment demands an additional payment for an Official Receipt or steadfastly refuses to issue an Official Receipt, call the BIR?s call center to report the violation, making a note of the establishment?s name and VAT registration (which sometimes appears on the other documents to make them look official).

Tax evasion means HIGHER TAXES for those who do pay their taxes, ... and that usually means us!

Firewire is a form of SCSI

2006-07-12T22:14:00.000+08:00

Originally published in Quadlist--a mailing list for Macintosh Quadra users. Republished in lowendmac.com in 2000. Authored by Alex Timbol, Maccess Corporation.

FireWire Is a Form of SCSI

This article was posted to Quadlist by Alex Timbol. It is reprinted here with his permission.

FireWire is a version of the SCSI-3 spec, which defines both serial and parallel implementations.

While it is true that the SCSI versions that run on parallel busses transfer 8-bits (SCSI-1, SCSI-2), 16-bits (SCSI-2 Wide), or 32-bits (SCSI-2 Ultrawide) per cycle, it does not necessarily follow that it is faster than a high performance serial implementation, such as FireWire or FibreChannel.

The main problem with parallel data bus implementations is crosstalk among multiple data lines (8,16, or 32 lines).

Crosstalk effectively limits the clock rate of the SCSI bus as higher clock frequencies result in tighter coupling among the signal lines, and consequently higher crosstalk.

Crosstalk is responsible for the bus length restrictions and cable shielding requirements of conventional SCSI cable. It is the brick wall that limits performance on existing parallel data bus implementations.

A serial bus does not have a problem with crosstalk because there is only one data line.

Without crosstalk as an issue, a serial bus can run at a higher clock rate and take advantage of complex waveform encoding - allowing each wave cycle to carry more than one bit of data by altering not only each pulse's amplitude, but also its phase, frequency and zero crossover points - over relatively simpler and cheaper cabling.

Another advantage of the serial bus is that interrupting a single data stream is easier to do, allowing less costly implementations of hot swap functionality.

On parallel busses, hot swapping requires complex buffering and expensive connectors such as SCA (used in high end hard disks), which are designed to simultaneously break all electrical connections to avoid damaging bus components.

In the early days of computing, parallel data busses, which could move entire words (as opposed to bits) of data, were preferred over serial busses to compensate for the slow data rates of older bus controllers. With today's high speed serial bus controllers, controller speed is no longer a speed limiting issue.

In the future it may be necessary to combine the benefits of high speed bus controllers with the advantages of parallel busses by using a crosstalk resistant medium such as fiber optic cable, but at the moment, there is no reason to do so, given the gigabyte data rates that have been achieved by high speed serial implementations.

Say NO to Software Piracy

2006-07-12T20:58:00.000+08:00

Originally Published in the Manila Bulletin, October 24, 2004.
Archive Here. Authored by Alex Timbol, Maccess Corporation

Consumers' Post
Ethel Timbol

SAY NO TO SOFTWARE PIRACY

Up to 72% of the software in local computers is pirated, according to the Business Software Alliance, an industry watchdog composed of leading commercial software vendors. With Office applications selling for up to twenty five thousand pesos per user license, and illegal copies at fifty pesos, it is tempting to use pirated software.

But what if I told you that there is a FREE legal alternative to pirated commercial software? And what if I told you that this is compatible with your existing computer? And that this is as good as, if not better, than commercial software, and is used by millions of people worldwide?

Welcome to the world of Open Source, where quality software is free.

Open Source software is a child of the Internet age: The result of millions of volunteers working together to create a public collection of quality software. CNN, in its technology forecast, cites Open Source as a leading trend for 2004.

Indeed, the world?s most successful e-Businesses: AOL-TimeWarner, Yahoo!, Amazon, & eBay build their businesses on it, crediting Open Source for their ability to rapidly develop new online products. Amazon's Chief Techie Al Vermeulen, revealing the secret to his IT strategy, states unequivocally that companies should "embrace Open Source."

The world's largest technology companies: IBM, Hewlett-Packard, SUN, Intel, Apple, & others support Open Source. IBM and HP are the largest enterprise integrators of Open Source solutions and their massive data centers, including several in the Philippines, run almost exclusively on Open Source.

Even Apple junked its old MacOS, in favor of the Open Source based futuristic MacOS X, proving that even traditional tech companies can benefit from Open Source.

These industry leaders do more than promote Open Source software, they also contribute substantially: Donating funds, resources, and "Opening" programs to the movement.

AmericaOnLine contributed the code-base of Netscape, which has since evolved to the Mozilla and Firefox Web Browsers. Leading publications praise Firefox, citing high performance, improved security, and advanced features missing from built-in Web Browsers.

SUN contributed the code base of StarOffice, the foundation of the wildly popular OpenOffice.org

With over seven million downloads, the free OpenOffice, available in dozens of languages, is fast becoming a global standard in word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software.

In the Philippines, thousands of small and medium sized companies are adopting Open Source software. And why not? Workstations & office servers can be installed without expensive software licenses.

Even major businesses are migrating to Open Source software: One financial services conglomerate reportedly saved BILLIONS by shifting to Open Source software.

With this groundswell of support for Open Source software, we can't help but wonder why the Department of Education is pushing computers with expensive commercial software to school teachers.

For half DepEd's price of P25,000 ($490), any competent computer shop can sell a similar white box PC with an Open Source operating system and applications.

Prefer a commercial operating system? Add a commercial operating system for P5,000 (USD 90), and use Open Source applications for a price that's still below DepEd's offering.

But that's really missing the point, if Filipinos are going to develop IT skills, why are we limiting ourselves to training teachers and students to be USERS of commercial software? Are we trying to create software developers, or data clerks and typists?

Open Source software gets its name from the fact that program blueprints, or "Source" are OPEN-ly available. The part of software that runs is called the binary. Only computers understand it.

Commercial software includes only the binary, while the "Source" remains a tightly guarded secret of its publisher.

With Open Source, inquisitive teachers & students may examine a program's Source to learn how it works, and even try their hand at adding new features. Modifying commercial software is illegal, and impossible without access to the source code. With Open Source, technology transfer is assured, and the country trains software developers.

Vietnam, which launched its own low-cost PC initiative, actively endorses Open Source to its educators. Apart from the lower cost of the Vietnam PC, they are also quite clear on why they chose Open Source: It allows users to learn how it is made and commercial software does not. Perhaps Sec. Abad should look into this and seek the advice of NGOs promoting Open Source.

Of all the government agencies, only the Department of Science and Technology has been waving the Open Source flag. The DOST endorses it because they see it as a way for the government to save billions in taxpayers' money. They have even created a version of the Open Source Linux OS, called Bayanihan Linux.

Open Source saves money not only because the software is free, but also because it runs perfectly well on five years old junk PCs in government office stockrooms.

And because Open Source solutions do not require money, Open Source databases, web servers, online transaction systems, and info kiosks may be implemented without having to go through the lengthly process of requesting a budget from our already cash strapped government.

With Open Source, even barangay halls can be computerized, and many government agencies, including some GOCCs would no longer be loss makers, bringing us one step closer to solving the budget deficit.

So much can be saved that the Government of the State of California is shifting to Open Source to help solve its deficit. It is even suing giant commercial software companies (dismissed August 2005)for what it describes as "overcharging." As Gov. Arnold says: "Hasta la Vista, Baby!"

Unfortunately, despite potential savings & productivity gains running to billions, & the promise of faster IT empowerment, many government agencies are reluctant to adopt Open Source, and some are even actively opposing it.

The DTI's Software Patents proposal is one example. Developed in conjunction with commercial software associations, provisions in DTI's version have been rejected in similar proposals in the US, Europe, & Australia as detrimental to Open Source.

DTI's Intellectual Property Office would have us believe that Software Patents are needed to protect software developers. This is nonsense. Commercial software, like this newspaper, is already protected by COPYRIGHT. (As of 2006, the IPO has adopted the European position of NO PATENTS ON SOFTWARE.)

Software Patents are like a newspaper asking to patent the news to protect it from "free" radio, TV, and Internet news. Well, we've had to work a little bit harder, but this 104-year old newspaper has prospered despite "free" radio, TV, and Internet news, and we've done it without having to patent the news! Copyright works just fine.

So it puzzles me that, unlike the governments of Germany, France, Italy, UK, Israel, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, & Vietnam which have adopted policies PROMOTING Open Source, our government is endorsing expensive commercial software to our children's teachers, proposing laws to cripple Open Source, and continuing to spend BILLIONS on commercial software. Hey, that's our money! Let's try to save some of it!

Please, Madame President, Governors, and Mayors: Say "Hasta la Vista, Baby!" to bureaucrats advocating expensive commercial software! Please see through thinly veiled attempts to block Open Source! The best way to end Software Piracy is to promote free Open Source software.

Start at http://www.opensource.org/ to learn more. Read the "Halloween Documents," essays on unsuccessful, yet continuing, attempts to undermine Open Source. Read news reports, case studies, and how governments worldwide are adopting Open Source.

Follow links to find out which Open Source software is the equivalent of your commercial software, then follow these easy steps to try it out yourself:

First, understand that there is no need to erase your hard drive to use it. It runs on the operating system in your computer right now and can be installed alongside your existing software.

Next, obtain a copy of the Open Source software. Open Source developers, e.g. mozilla.org and OpenOffice.org, provide download links. If you don't have an Internet connection, obtain a copy from local Open Source Software & Open Minds Associations. Groups in major schools and universities also distribute the software.

Finally, run the installer & try out the software. Try out its ability to open and save existing files. See how well it handles them. Try out the interface. Open Source software follows the standards of the operating system they work on. If you already use commercial software, then you should feel at home with open source software.

Consider installing it on your office and home computers.

Teach your kids how to use it. Try TuxType, a free typing tutor. Try all the different varieties. Ever wanted to do photo editing and illustration? Try the Graphic Image Manipulation Program, or GIMP, then try Inkscape, Dia, and Blender 3D, and see how useful your computer really is.

Top schools: UP, Ateneo, La Salle, Mapua, AIM, and others, are shifting to Open Source and encouraging students to do so. Familiarizing kids now will help them later on.

If you have already purchased commercial software, you may un-install it, put it back into its original box, and sell it to raise money. Moreover, once you've expunged commercial software, you'll no longer worry about software asset management. With Open Source software, it's just install and forget.

If you've been running pirated software, now is a good time to remove it. Using pirated commercial software is illegal, and exposes you and your business to criminal liability.

If even your operating system is pirated, purchase a license with the money saved with Open Source applications. With a licensed OS & open source applications, you've gone legal at a minimal cost to you and your business. (Filipino made open source business software here.)

You may even consider shifting to an Open Source OS, such as Linux, and never worry about software fees again.

If you are happy with Open Source software, and ecstatic about the money saved, then help spread the message.

A CD of Open Source software compiled yourself costs a few pesos, yet is an excellent Christmas gift to anyone with a computer. Give copies to friends, nearby businesses, the local public school, barangay office, local government, and even the local church.

With free Open Source software, not only are you permitted to copy, distribute, and install Open Source software, but you are ENCOURAGED to do so.

Additional Resources:

Global Perspectives on Open Source (.pdf file)

Open Source Software in the Philippines (.pdf file)