OBSECREI

Negros golfers tee off for Panaad golf fundraiser

More than 120 golfers from all over Negros Occidental gathered over the weekend at the Negros Occidental Golf and Country Club in Bacolod City for the Panaad golf fundraising tournament in celebration of the opening of the province's 15th "Panaad sa Negros" festival over the weekend.

"The vice-mayors of the whole of Negros of got together in support of their cities and municipalities they decided to put this up as a sort of thanksgiving," said NOGCC manager Mark Gaston.

The tournament aims to raise funds in support of barangay projects of the Vice-Mayor's League of the Philippines-Negros Occidental chapter.

The vice-mayors' league is the tournament host. With a report from Marty Go, ABS-CBN Bacolod

RP improves competitiveness but low in infra and education

By Jesus F. Llanto
/Newsbreak

The Philippines competitiveness ranking in the World Competitiveness Yearbook improved and climbed five notches in 2008 but the country continues to rank low in infrastructure and education.

The Philippines ranked 40th out of the 55 countries in the World Competitiveness Yearbook survey of the Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development. This years ranking was an improvement from last year when the country landed on the 45th spot.

The survey studied 55 countries using 331 criteria grouped into four categories: hard economic performance, government efficiency, business efficicieny and infrastructure.

Of the four categories, the Philippines ranked highest�”31st�”in business efficiency but lowest in infrastructure . It landed on the 42nd and 41st spot in economic performance and government efficiency, respectively.

The Philippines, however, ranked very low in infrastructure and education indicators. It ranked 52nd in education, 54th in basic infrastructure, and 53rd in basic infrastructure.

Under the infrastructure subcategory, the Philippines ranked lowest among 55 countries in the pupil-teacher ratio in secondary education. Similarly, it ranked 54th in the secondary school enrolment, and percentage of health spending in the gross domestic product.

The percentage of public expenditure on education in the GDP is also the second lowest among the 55 countries. The World Bank estimates that education spending in the Philippines was equal to 3.2 percent of GDP in 2004. The figure is below Malaysias 8 percent and Thailands 4.2 percent.

In the business efficiency category, the Philippines ranked 31st. It ranked 15th in labor market sub-category due to the availability of skilled labor, and the Filipinos high level of flexibility and adaptability when facing new challenges.

Among the 55 countries, the country ranked 3rd in the availability of skilled labor and 5th in flexibility and adaptability of people. The country, however, ranked very low in labor force participation , and overall productivity .

Economic performance

Meanwhile, the Philippines ranked 42nd in economic performance. The study noted improvements in the economy like the 7.3 percent growth in GDP. However, the country ranked very low in subcategories like diversification of economy and GDP per capita .

Youth unemployment, the survey showed, is also among the weaknesses of the Philippines. The country landed on the 51st spot in this subcategory as a result of a large number of unemployed young people. Data from the National Statistics Office showed that of the 2.9 million unemployed Filipinos as of April 2008, 51.2 percent belongs to the 15-24 age bracket.

High risk of political instability, unsatisfactory government policies on transparency, and inefficient transport of goods pulled down the countrys ranking in government efficiency to the 41st spot.

Still behind its neighbors

Despite the improvement in the rankings, the Philippines is still lagging behind most of its Asian neighbors. The survey showed that the Philippines is behind Singapore , Hong Kong , Taiwan , China , Malaysia , Thailand , India and South Korea . However, it ranked higher than Brazil , Russia and Indonesia .

“The good news is we have improved but the bad news is so has everybody else,” said Francis Estrada, president of the Asian Institute of Management, adding that some Asian countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Taiwan also managed to improve their ratings this year.

Thailand climbed six notches in the ranking from 33rd in 2007 to 27th this year while Malaysia landed 19th this year, four notches higher than its ranking last year.
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More challenges

The study also noted that for the Philippines to sustain or improve its ranking, it should pursue education policies that will develop world-class workers, complete its priority infrastructure projects, improve its creative human capital, and mitigate the impact of food, energy and climate change security issues.

“The challenge is not to improve the rankings but to create better environment for business and people,” said Cesar Bautista, co-chair of the National Competitiveness Council.

Bautista added that despite the growth in the economy, the Philippines is not attracting foreign direct investments comparable to its neighbors in Southeast Asia and is competitive only in few sectors. He added that there is also imbalance in the distribution of economic activities.

“We seem to be focusing too much on services and seem to be forgetting the agriculture,” he said.

ABS-CBN raises US$70,000 in Chicago for Bayanijuan project

Broadcasting network ABS-CBN is doing away with grand celebrations to commemorate its 55th anniversary. Instead, the countrys largest media conglomerate has embarked on a massive social service campaign dubbed as “Bayanijuan” for the entire year.

ABS-CBN Foundation Managing Director Gina Lopez said “Bayanijuan” is the broadcast networks response to the Filipinos clamor for decency in these days of rampant corruption.

She said that the idea is to choose communities that reject corruption as a way of life and reward them.

“We feel that if we invest there and we create a model of excellence, its going to snowball,” Lopez said.

The rewards come in the form of services, provided by Bayanijuan. Among them�”modernized education through “E-media,” help for abused children through “Bantay Bata”, and microfinance programs to encourage business ownership among low income families.

“The idea there is the realization that if you put things together, you make a much bigger difference,” Lopez added.

Fund raising

To make this happen, Lopez embarked on a five-cities fundraising tour in the United States.

In Sundays “Concert for Heroes” in Chicago, Filipino Americans, despite hard economic times, gave at least US$70,000 to fund the Bayanijuan project for Bicol.

“Even though its tight now, but compared to what the people in the Philippines, what theyre experiencing, we are lucky,” said Bernard Bartilad, a finance executive in Chicago.

“When she got up there and told us about how much, how little it would cost to build a house or to feed a child and you saw for yourself how many people immediately raised their hands,” said Cristina Tabora, organizer and Chicago fundraiser.

ABS-CBN Foundation raised at least US$58,000 in New York last May.

Lopez is set to continue the fund-raising drive to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington DC - her goal - to raise at least one million dollars for the Bayanijuan project.

Reports from Don Tagala, ABS-CBN News Chicago

Anscor sells stake in wire, cable unit for P641M

Publicly-listed holding firm A. Soriano Corp. said Tuesday it has sold an 18.34-percent stake in Phelps Dodge Philippines Inc. to Canada-based General Cable Corp. for P641.49 million.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Anscor said it signed a deed of assignment covering the sale of 1.081 million shares in PDPI to General Cable, a New York-listed global supplier of wire and cable products catering to energy, industrial and communications markets.

PDPI is a joint venture established in 1995 by Anscor and Phelps Dodge International Corp., a company that General Cable acquired in the fourth quarter of 2007.

The sale increases General Cable's interest in PDPI to 60 percent from 40 percent. The remaining stake is owned by Anscor.

With revenues of about $100 million last year, PDPI operates one of the largest wire and cable manufacturing facilities in the Philippines. The majority stake acquisition is in line with General Cable's planned expansion in Southeast Asia and other markets. It also supports its operations in Australia, the Middle East and South Africa.

"We are pleased that General Cable will make PDPI a key part of its platform to further its strategic expansion in the region," said Anscor chairman Andres Soriano III.

Metro Manila cools down after downpour

Parts of Metro Manila simmered down somewhat from the dry heat after a heavy downpour Sunday afternoon. Rains experienced around 2:30 p.m. cooled down temperatures, which the weather bureau PAGASA said, could reach as high as 34�°C from 24 �°C throughout the day. The weather bureau said the rainy season is still far from due. It added that no tropical cyclone existing within the Philippine Area of Responsibility as of Sunday. PAGASA also said that an easterly wave is affecting Mindanao. The ridge of a North Pacific High Pressure Area extending across Luzon, it added. Late last week, the weather bureau said Luzon and Visayas could stay generally rain-free save for pockets of light showers in some provinces over the next few days. Much of the central islands including Cebu, Bacolod and Puerto Princesa could continue to enjoy milder weather with just a chance for isolated showers. A ridge of high pressure north of Luzon could keep conditions favorable for travel in Metro Manila, north to Baguio, or south to Clark Zone. Meantime, Filipinos should expect warmer days and nights. PAGASA said the easterly wind, which has become the prominent weather system after the termination of the northeast monsoon, could keep temperatures warm especially at night, well into May or June.