Archive for July 2008
High price hampers switch to energy-saving lamps
By Jesus F. Llanto
Researcher, Newsbreak
July30, 2008-The high price of alternatives to incandescent lamps and a lack of information campaign have discouraged Filipinos from switching to more energy efficient lamps, business executives and environmentalists said during the launch of an energy conservation program.
During the launch of Bright Light campaign, Rico Gonzales, chief executive officer of Philips Philippines said a major constraint in promoting the use of the energy-saving compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) is its higher price compared to the incandescent lamps.
Gonzales said that Filipinos, particularly those from the C, D and E class, still prefer incandescent lamps because CFLs are four times more expensive. He estimates that while the price of incandescent lamps ranges from P20-25 the price of CFLs can reach as high as P100.
“Those from the C, D, E classes see the P20 but not the savings from the energy efficient lamps,” Gonzales said.
US recession “opportunity” for call centers: experts
By Jesus F. Llanto
Researcher, Newbreak
July 28,2008–Philippine call center companies should treat the recession in the United States as an opportunity rather than as an obstacle for growth and expansion, industry experts and an economist said.
During the Call Center Expo and Conference held recently, executives from call center companies said they believe that the ongoing recession in the United States, where a huge chunk of Philippine business process outsourcing or BPO clients are, will be beneficial in the long run since it will create more opportunities for the country.
Dan Reyes, president of Sitel and director of the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) said that the US recession may have some negative impact only in the immediate term.
“There may be reduced demand in certain industries but the need to reduce costs may likely lead to more outsourced work to countries like the Philippines,” he said.
Felipe Medalla, an economics professor at the University of the Philippines, said that the BPO industry is “recession proof”.
Manila’s Arroyo makes history: The most unpopular post-Marcos president
By Jesus F.Llanto
Newsbreak, Researcher
June 24-2008-President Gloria Arroyo will deliver her 8th State of the Nation Address (SONA) amid her very low and negative satisfaction rating and a public perception that her administration is the most corrupt in the entire Philippine history, according to a leading survey outfit Pulse Asia.
Arroyo, the longest serving president since Ferdinand Marcos, has been performing very badly in opinion surveys and is making—and breaking records—when in comes to satisfaction ratings.
As far as net satisfaction ratings of post-Marcos presidents are concerned, Arroyo holds four records: she is the first post-Marcos president to receive a negative rating; she is the only president since 1986 who received a negative satisfaction rating for the longest time; she is the president who received the lowest rating at start of her administration; and she is the one who received the lowest rating among the four presidents since the fall of Marcos regime.
The latest survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) proves Arroyo’s very low satisfactory rating. It showed that Arroyo is the most unpopular post-EDSA president after her net popularity rating crashed to -38 and broke her old record of -33 in May 2005
Call centers should hire home-based workers—expert
By Jesus F. Llanto
Researcher, Newsbreak
July 24,2008-Philippine call centers are urged to try home-based 
operations to curb high attrition rate and increase employee satisfaction.
During the Annual Call Center Expo 2008, an expert on business process outsourcing (BPO) urge Philippine call center companies to hire work-at-home agents or home-based employees to solve the high turnover rate in the industry.
William Dieu, senior research analyst from callcentres.net, said that companies can lower attrition rate and foster high agent satisfaction if they will allow home-based operations.
“The Philippines should think about the benefits of hiring home-based agents,” Dieu said. He added that working from home also allows employees to save on transportation cost, especially now when prices of fuel are soaring.
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Photo: www.newsbreak.com.ph
BPOs build talent pool through CSR programs
By Jesus F. Llanto
Researcher, Newsbreak
July 22, 2008-It is like hitting two birds in one shot.
Faced with a shrinking talent pool, business process outsourcing (BPO) companies are using their corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs not just to help local communities but also to attract and train potential employees.
During the CSR Conference 2008 held in Makati recently, BPO executives said that more than improving the lives of communities, most of their CSR programs, particularly those that focus on education, have helped them build potential pool of workers and meet their demand for skilled workers.
Industry experts said most of their external CSR programs put emphasis in education and training of college students to address the mismatch between the quality of the supply of workers and the needs of the industry.
BPO firms have undertaken educational projects like establishing schools that offer free training on information technology (IT), donations of computers to schools, and offering and sharing technical expertise in drafting courses in colleges and universities.
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Photo: www.newsbreak.com.ph
Jobless officials, confusing poll preparations follow province’s dissolution
Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/ShariffKab.jpg/300px-ShariffKab.jpg
By Jesus F. Llanto
Researcher, Newsbreak
Thursday, 17 July 2008–Local officials in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) warned Thursday that the Supreme Court (SC) decision voiding the creation of Shariff Kabunsuan province by the regional legislature would cause leadership problem and unemployment in the province.
According to local officials interviewed by abs-cbnNews.com/Newsbreak, the tribunal’s decision will cause some of the elected officials and government employees in Shariff Kabunsuan to lose their jobs since the province will be reverted to Maguindanao, its mother province.
The High Tribunal, voting 8-6, voided a law enacted by the ARMM’s lawmaking body –the Regional Legislative Assembly (RLA)– in August 2006 that established Shariff Kabunsuan. It nullified Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Act 201, which created the province by carving out eight municipalities from the first legislative district of Maguindanao and was ratified in a plebiscite in October 2006.
The SC argued that since the creation of provinces and cities require the creation of legislative districts, and only Congress—not regional and local bodies—can create or reapportion legislative districts—the creation of Shariff Kabunsuan province by the RLA was against the Constitution.
The resolution reduces the number of provinces in ARMM to five. ARMM is composed of Maguindanao, Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, Lanao del Sur, Basilan (excluding Isabela City) and the city of Marawi .
Supreme Court voids creation of Shariff Kabunsuan
By Jesus F. Llanto
Researcher, Newsbreak
Wednesday, July16,, 2008–The Supreme Court has declared the creation of the province of Shariff Kabunsuan in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao void and ruled that the power of ARMM’s legislature to create provinces and cities is unconstitutional.
http://uberpedia.org/wiki/Shariff_Kabunsuan
Wednesday, 16 July 2008
The SC, in an 8-6 vote, declared void Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Act 201, which created the province of Shariff Kabunsuan, which was carved out of Maguindanao province.
“Only Congress can create provinces and cities because the creation of provinces and cities necessarily includes the creation of legislative districts,” the 33-page decision penned by Justice Antonio Carpio reads.
The SC ruling said that creation of province or a city “inherently involves the power to create a legislative district.” Creating a province or a city without creating a legislative district, the decision said, is unconstitutional because the Constitution mandates that a province or a city with at least 250,000 inhabitants is entitled to at least one representative.
The ruling said that only Congress can create or reapportion a legislative district. “Congress exercises these powers through a law that the Congress itself enacts and not through a law that a regional or local legislative bodies enact.”
