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Domestic aviation rebounds this year
The local aviation industry, which was badly hit by the global health crisis, is seen to achieve full recovery this year. This was according to the International Air Transport Association in a recent forum organized by the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines. During the Aviation Forum last week, Yuli Thompson, area manager for the IATA in Southeast Asia, said the Philippines and the rest of the Asia Pacific region’s aviation market is swiftly recovering and seeing a consistent rise in terms of growth in international and domestic travel. Thompson said passenger traffic trends for international flights in the Philippines were logged at 75 percent of 2019 levels as of June 2023. As for the Asia Pacific passenger forecast, Yuli maintained that domestic travel will fully recover in 2023, while international travel will occur sometime in 2026. Further, Asia Pacific will be seen to lead in traffic growth in the next 20 years. “However, overcoming current challenges riding on the current momentum, and meeting full recovery will require strong interventions from all players in the aviation sector,” he said. Infra investments For his part, Cebu Pacific Air chief executive officer Michael Szucs emphasized the need to invest in infrastructure, citing that “Philippine carriers will need to quadruple in size to cater to growing demand.” In her keynote speech, Secretary Grace Poe urged stakeholders to support necessary infrastructure investments, especially following the air system glitch incident earlier this year. The senator called for the acquisition of a new Communication, Navigation, and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management. Poe also recommended the hiring of a third-party maintenance provider for the CNS/ATM system. “It is my hope that the government, the private sector, and other stakeholders can work together and collaborate on air transport projects which will not only generate economic growth but also provide our people with excellent and affordable public services that can improve the quality of life for all,” she said. Also filed by Poe is Senate Bill 1121 which proposes the creation of a Philippine Transportation Safety Board. Under the directive of the current Marcos administration, Department of Transportation Undersecretary for Aviation and Airports Roberto Lim highlighted the government’s key priorities, including aviation safety and strengthening of learning institutions. Lim further noted the agency’s priority of strengthening the Civil Aviation Training Center and engaging with the private sector as close partners for Air Transport Skills Training and Development. “If we are able to train our air traffic controllers, we would not only meet our own requirements, but the requirements of other countries. We can develop this on an institutional basis,” said Lim. Open up the industry Kurt Edwards, director general of the International Business Aviation Council, also raised the fact that much could be gained “by opening the industry and making it more known to people.” In terms of managing safety risks, Captain Manuel Antonio Tamayo, director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, shared initiatives to advance safety capabilities in the aviation sector through the State Safety Program. The program employs a risk-based approach to regulations, capacity building and integration of a new organizational structure for monitoring and evaluation. Meanwhile, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista stressed that the DOTr’s goal to rehabilitate the Ninoy Aquino International Airport through a public-private partnership agreement, which he said, will present a “landmark opportunity for economic growth, improved infrastructure, and a world-class travel experience.” Added Bautista, “We are also developing regional airports, such as the unsolicited proposals for the operations and maintenance of the Bicol International Airport, Bohol-Panglao International Airport and Laguindingan Airport.” The post Domestic aviation rebounds this year appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Artefino: Empowering Women Artisans in the Countryside
All it took to start the trailblazing Artefino were five ladies of passion and commitment, three of whom, joined us in a special episode of PairFect, the online show of the DAILY TRIBUNE. [gallery columns="4" size="full" ids="176285,176284,176283,176282"] These ladies are achievers in their own right and have been at the forefront of causes that have continuously benefited the society. Mita Rufino has been the top honcho of the Filipino Heritage Festival which has been going on for 20 years. Maritess Pineda was president of the number one Zonta chapter in this part of the country and region, Zonta Club of Makati and Environs. For the longest time, she was engaged in the export business and was active with the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions, the export promotion arm of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry. Cedie Vargas heads the Lopez Group Foundation and is the executive director of the Lopez Museum and Library. [caption id="attachment_176287" align="aligncenter" width="789"] Fiesta throw blankets. | Photograph Courtesy of Ig/abel Philippines[/caption] Our interview article with the three ladies, which we started yesterday, continues in this issue. Here follows our interesting exchange. DAILY TRIBUNE (DT): Tell us about your personal passions outside of Artefino. What else keeps you occupied. Mita: I’m with the Filipino Heritage Festival. We work with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. We have our programs and events throughout the Philippines. Our main objective is to bring awareness of our cultural heritage to the whole country if we can. One of our major projects is the Youth Forum participated in by around 60 young students. Last May, we had it in Negros Occidental and we had six cities that joined in. We are trying to make them aware about the different heritage and all forms of cultural heritage, tangible or intangible, in their own areas. We get reports now from them and we discuss how we are going to help them out. This is something which I feel is going to be quite interesting for the youth. We will be 20 years old next year. We’re hoping to go to Ilocos. We would also like to work with Artefino because Artefino is part of our heritage. For next year, another project will focus on our local trees, indigenous hardwood and local. We’re working with the Metropolitan Museum for that one. And, of course, I am active in church and with the Zonta. My time is really full from morning to evening. Sometimes I just ask myself, “Wow, what will I do now? I have to report this, I have to report that.” That’s what’s keeping me quite busy. Maritess: I think what has helped me a lot in doing my share in Artefino is the fact that I was 20 years with CITEM. In the beginning when we were starting in my export business, I would ask the support of CITEM. It gave me a very good perspective of how it is to come up with fairs like this. We used to do it here and abroad. I was 20 years in export and I was part of the board of CITEM for quite a number of years. I was among the pioneers during the time of Mina Gabor, who was the one who trained me. She was the one who trained me how to give a talk to 3,000 women and producers from Bacolod. I refused at first but they said, “No, you will just talk to a few people in a small room.” So, I agree but, at the CCP, I found out there were 3,000 women. Sabi ko doon sa asawa ko, “You stay at the back. Then you will be the only one I will look at and no one else.” I really picked up a lot of things from Mina. She really made our handicraft industry very strong. And because of that, I was able to bring that know-how into this fair. Other than that, I’m very active in the arts. I have been a collector since 1972. That’s my passion. Also, being the granddaughter of Amang Rodriguez, serving the community is really part of my DNA. It is really second nature for us, we in the Artefino, to do anything we could to empower women and their communities so that they could be self-sufficient by putting up their own social enterprises. Something that would inspire their children to follow suit and not leave their parents’ and grandparents’ crafts for another profession or livelihood. Cedie: I think the best way to describe me is just like an arts and culture advocate. And that sort of ties everything that I do whether it’s in the media or the Lopez group foundation including the Lopez Museum and Library and other foundations outside of the Lopez Group. But what excites me is when I can tie all these together into a few projects. One of the bigger advocacies of the Lopez Group is environmentalism. Whether you’re saving the marine reefs or mangroves or saving the trees. They intertwine and it’s exciting when you are able to create a project that will marry all your different advocacies. You know, you have passion, you have commitment in what you are doing. DT: Tell us about your family lives. Are you mothers? Are you grandmothers? Are you single? Mita: I am single now. I just lost my husband two and a half years ago. I have four kids. Three girls, two of them in London, and one boy. My daughter, Maritoni, is a ballerina and she teaches ballet. My son, Chino, anchors a sport show and he promotes motorcycles. Maritess: I have four children. One is abroad working in hotels. And three of them are here. I already have three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Now that they’re all grown up. I have time for all these things. I’m free to do what I want. Cedie: I’m a mother. I’m a grandmother. I have four children and four grandchildren. By the end of the year, I will have six grandchildren. I think what I’m trying to define now is my role as a grandmother. I involve my children and even my grandchildren in this advocacy that I have. Whatever it is that I strongly believe in, I try to expose them to that. Two of my children are with the Lopez group. DT: Can you tell us about someone, a craftswoman, you have empowered? Maritess: We can tell you that we started our first grantee, Sarah Juan, for our Artefino Foundation. Mita: We helped this one designer because she is really good. Cedie: And enterprising. Mita: She works with the community in Davao. Mita: She was our first beneficiary. They were able to come up with a line-up of jackets that were beaded and that sold very well in Artefino. She has two stores now — one in Rockwell and the other in Greenbelt. Cedie: A lot of our brand partners have amazing stories. That’s what interested us in them. That’s why we put up Artefino and the Artefino Foundation because of their amazing stories. DT: It turned out there are a lot of creative Filipinos. Cedie: Yeah. They just need that extra push. Yeah. DT: This year, who will Artefino benefit? Maritess: Well, like we have Anya Lim. She’s from Cebu. Actually, we visited the place. We visited the area, her community and we saw how the ladies, mostly elders, work and help one another. Mita: That particular lady, said to me, “Ma’am, now I can buy a TV because I have already sent my apos to school. Now it’s for me naman to have a television.” Cedie: They are trying to teach us how to weave. We tried. It’s so hard. Mita: It’s a great workout, though. Maritess: Kailangan ng great coordination, eh. Kamay at paa. Mita: You have to move with the rhythm of the loom. Maritess: It was very nice talking with them because they were really telling us their whole stories. Cedie: They were sharing as mothers. They invited us to go back. Maritess: Kasi they were able to send their children and grandchildren to school. So, malaking bagay, 'di ba? Now that the children know that they could earn on weaving, they are willing to learn the trade. Mita: What we’re hearing in different places is that even the men, when they come home in the evening, help out also. Cedie: You know, the men have actually strong hands. The weaves are tighter. DT: What makes this edition of Artefino special? Mita: We are into reused, recycled and repurposed products. Actually, the original person who did all these years ago was Patis Tesoro. She was the epitome of all this without calling it repurpose or recycle. Basta she would pick up any kind of material. Puwedeng kurtina, puwedeng mantel. She would put it together, buburdahan niya. And because of that, we decided to feature her here as the Ms. Patis Tesoro. DT: Thank you very much. It has been our pleasure. We are happy that you have helped a lot of women and at the same time are paying tribute to trailblazing women like Patis Tesoro. With you, ladies, there is indeed hope for our countrymen, especially our creative industry workers in the mountains and seashores of our country. Mabuhay kayong lahat! The post Artefino: Empowering Women Artisans in the Countryside appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Largesse
It is a French word for extreme generosity. Generosity is a Christian virtue of being liberal in giving. It is a virtue from within a person that leads him to GIVE to another person SOMETHING HE HAS OR OWNS as an act of free will, without obligation, duress, or imposition from without. But Senate Bill 2002 raising wages across the board in all regions for all workers is perceived by a great number of citizens as a contrived largesse or false generosity by legislators who will be GIVING SOMETHING NOT THEIR OWN. This prevailing sentiment may be unfair but difficult to deny due to the author’s dogmatic defense of SB 2002. Employers tirelessly tried to reach out to the author and his partisans to warn them that this kind of “gift” will trigger widespread business closures and disincentivize new investments resulting in massive job losses and economic decline. Such a legislated wage adjustment undermines established processes and standards in determining the equitable determination of wage levels for each region, a tripartism function of the regional wage boards as created by law. Another persistent perception is that these legislators are misinformed, misguided, or simply don’t care a fig. Repeatedly, the employers who directly contribute to the attainment of that elusive dream of growth and total development have been trying with might and main — and a whole lot of good intentions — to convince legislators of the need to look at the bigger picture, the greater common good, and not to miss the forest for a few trees. Probably, the Comelec’s strict rule on election overspending and the difficulty of raising political contributions may have driven the reelection or promotion-seeking legislators to resort to electoral clientelism and patronage politics by filing populist bills that cost them nothing with the hope that the voters will be impressed and remember to shade their names on the ballots during election day. Unfortunately, there is unintended damage to millions of workers, namely, workers in the informal sector, fisherfolk, farmers, street vendors, market vendors, public transport drivers, and countless nameless part-time workers, who never benefit from any mandated wage increase. They will fall victim to the ensuing inflation caused by the wage adjustment. Interestingly, they far exceed the number of beneficiaries of the legislated minimum wage by a ratio of 10 to 1. All of these victims are franchised voters. The ruinous impact of this wage bill will make economic recovery a hopelessly futile exercise. The sad part is that despite the frantic effort of economic managers and businesses to compete globally after the pandemic, a legislated wage hike across the board nationwide is like hanging a dead albatross around our necks. And sadder still is the fact that even if we hope to survive the folly of this self-destructive wage adjustment, it will merely bring the country back to the bottom rank of the world economy as all of our global competitors are unhampered by a similar investment-killing legislative audacity. The ruinous impact of this wage bill will make economic recovery a hopelessly futile exercise. Maybe our honorable lawmakers could be persuaded to recognize the crippling impact of this wage bill that will irreparably harm the present and future generations of employed and new entrants to the labor market. Hopefully, employers, labor and legislators could agree to see the bigger picture, gloss over each one’s selfish and vested self-interest, and champion the common good that serves the best interests of all in the long run, especially for the country’s financial health and economic development. The voluntary withdrawal of SB 2002 by its author will be a real largesse and a most generous gift to the nation and all its workers, and we can move forward towards inclusive economic prosperity where everyone will be lifted out of poverty. The post Largesse appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Dialogue sought over `no permit, no exam’ policy
The Council of Teachers and Staff of Colleges and Universities in the Philippines or COTESCUP on Tuesday suggested a sectoral dialogue among government, school administrators, teachers and students in deciding on policies for the country’s education system. In a Radyo Pilipinas interview, COTESCUP lead convenor Rene Luis Tadle said that the government has mostly been responsive to private schools in crafting policies in the conduct of operations and business in the education sector, but less attention has been given to teachers and students. “We feel that government agencies have become hostage to the private sectors, especially private schools. They listen to them more than the teachers and students who are also key stakeholders in the education system,” Tadle said. Tadle was mainly talking about their stance on the proposed bills that ban the practice of ‘No Permit, No Exam’ policies which prevent students who have pending payments from taking their exams. COTESCUP has already released a statement on Monday refuting the concerns of the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations of the Philippines over the effects of such laws in the operations of private schools. During the interview, Tadle recalled the case of Behavioral Sciences student Kristel Tejada from the University of the Philippines-Manila, whose suicide in 2013 over problems in the payment of her tuition, leading to her filing a leave of absence prior to her death. “Let me tell you directly, the youth are not to blame for the obligation of the parents to pay such fees, that they will be the one carrying the burden that would cause them such embarrassment,” he said. He expounded on their group’s arguments against the concerns of private school groups such as COCOPEA, saying that they could actually collect tuition fees, which has been a recognized power of educational institutions. “If a student wasn’t able to pay on time, they can actually collect that. They have the transcript. They are allowed to hold the TOR of the student until the student pays. In fact, they could also refuse enrollment for the student. There are ways to collect fees later. It will take them a little time, but the law is enough for them to collect,” he explained. Tadle also urged lawmakers to pass a piece of legislation compelling private educational institutions to release financial statements, saying that while such schools are benefitting from the assistance given by the government, teachers are still bearing the brunt of low salaries. Meanwhile, the Davao Association of Catholic Schools said in a statement that the Senate version on the banning of the ‘No Permit, No Exam’ policy – Senate Bill Number 1359 – provides a ‘deceptive’ perception of it being pro-student, arguing that it will not solve the issue and students and parents will still need to settle such payments. Signed by DACS President Br. Noelvic Deloria and DACS Advocacy Chairperson Fr. Joel Tabora, the organization proposed more scholarships, soft long-term loans, assistance in innovative research and entrepreneurial investments, and aid in providing adequate facilities and equipment to schools. “Students disadvantaged by poverty are not helped by postponing their contractual obligations. Legislation can alleviate the obligations for the deserving, or remove them altogether. It is wise to allow the private schools to continue operating their schools in the manner they, their clientele and their stakeholders freely agree on,” they said in a statement. The post Dialogue sought over `no permit, no exam’ policy appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Solid friendship makes seven people co-founders of Cebu’s newest milk tea craze
Did you know that some of the world’s most established brands were founded by powerful partnerships between friends? And although some people may not agree because of shared control, starting a business with your pals can create successful business plans. After all, two heads are better than one. What more if there are seven? Take […] The post Solid friendship makes seven people co-founders of Cebu’s newest milk tea craze appeared first on Cebu Daily News......»»
JG Summit core profit soars in 2023
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A pilgrimage of self-love and reflection for business leaders
A pilgrimage of self-love and reflection for business leaders.....»»
Palarong Pambansa 2024 earns support from Mandaue, Cebu business leaders
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Rama to meet with council, LFC over RPT revision
CEBU CITY, Philippines –City Mayor Michael Rama is planning to meet with legislators and the Local Finance Committee (LFC) to discuss the general revision of the real property tax (RPT) code after he returns from his business trip to Taiwan. “I wish they will find time that once I come back, we will have a.....»»
Negros Island Region: NegOr governor welcomes reformation of NIR
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Negros Oriental Governor Chaco Sagarbarria welcomed the passage of the bill seeking to reform the Negros Island Region (NIR). Speaking to reporters at the sidelines of the Regional Development Council in Central Visayas (RDC-7) at the Capitol Social Hall on March 14, Sagarbarria said reviving the NIR would greatly benefit local.....»»
FUJIFILM Expands Presence in Cebu
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Attendance of 4 lawyers in Mandaue session questioned
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Cristy Fermin agree kay Bong: Aanhin pa ang damo kung wala na ang kabayo?
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87th Charter Day: Commemorating Cebu City’s founding anniversary
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Rep. Wilbert Lee: P20 per kilo of rice still possible
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New road to Cebu Business Park, creek rehab eyed
New road to Cebu Business Park, creek rehab eyed.....»»
Why planned power boost to Cebu Island welcomed and needed
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu — A business leader in Cebu’s industrial and logistics hub welcomes a firm’s plan to give the island a power boost with its planned expansion and construction of its power facilities. Mark Ynoc, incoming president of the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), told CDN Digital in a message, why the.....»»
Authentic System Solutions streamlines processes and workflows
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Rama says Singapore trip is official business, not vacation
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Biz Leaders Welcome Coal-Fired Power Plant Expansion in Toledo City to Prevent Outages
Business stakeholders in Cebu welcomed the expansion project of a coal-fired power plant in Toledo City as a way to prevent outages that happened in Aklan early this year. They said that concerns about the environment will be “outweighed” by the economic benefits that will come with more power supply considering the dwindling reserves in […].....»»