...the preferred BPO site

'PH still among preferred sites for BPOs'

 

By Ted P. Torres,

The Philippine Star

06/21/2013

 

 

MANILA -- The Philippines remains among the preferred sites for business process outsourcing (BPO), according to a leading US-based BPO and information technology (IT) company.

 

Shore Solutions Inc., one of the bigger players in the BPO business, said revenues from the BPO industry in the Philippines is expected to hit $16 billion this year, or almost 20 percent higher than the $13.4 billion last year.

It noted that with increasing demand from prospective investors and subscribers, the industry would need at least 1.3 million direct hires by 2016 from 720,000 last year.

“That should require 516,000 additional seats, and some 2.5 million square meters of additional office space,” Darcey Lalonde, Asia chief executive officer of Shore Solutions said in a forum yesterday.

The industry employed over 720,000 in 2012, with another 1.6 million indirectly.

Expansion has already been noted in the key urban centers outside Metro Manila such as Cebu and Davao.

In Metro Manila, the major BPO centers are in Makati, Quezon City, Manila, Taguig and Mandaluyong.

Lalonde said that the next or third wave of BPOs is targeting key cities in Laguna, Batangas and Bacolod.

However, he said government should consider anew opening up to a limited extent or to select sectors, ownership of land to foreign entities.

...the world's most eco-friendly resorts

 Bacolod resort among world's most 'eco-friendly'

By Kim Arveen Patria

Yahoo! Southeast Asia Newsroom

19 November 2012

A resort in Visayas has proven that it is possible to offer world-class tourism and accomodation services while remaining environment-friendly.

Nature's Village Resort in Bacolod has been named one of the world's top ten eco-friendly hotels this year by international booking website Agoda.

The hotel fetched four out of five stars in the website's ranking system, which is based on customer reviews.

It ranked highest among the 10 hotels in terms of food and dining and hotel cleanliness.

This is the second time Nature's Village Resort gained international attention.

The hotel was also given the "ASEAN Green Star Hotel Award" in 2010, along with other high-end hotels in the Philippines.

"Hotels that once considered 'eco-friendly' to mean a small environmental footprint and conservation of resources are now taking things a step further..." Agoda chief executive Robert Rosenstein was quoted in reports as saying.

This, as he noted that hotels are also increasingly "cleaning up trash, investing in best-practices, actually improving the sustainability of the communities that surround them."

Bagging five stars in the Agoda list are Six Senses Ninh Van Bay in Vietnam, URBN hotel in China, Philea Resort and Spa in Malaysia, The Tongsai Bay in Thailand, and The Park New Delhi Hotel in India.

Alto Hotel on Bourke in Australia, and Casa Camper in Spain on the other hand got four stars each.

Rounding out the list of 10 are Borneo Highlands Resort in Malaysia and the Bangkok Tree House in Thailand, which have three stars each.

..the leader cities

PHL leads in New7Wonders Cities campaign

 

By CARMELA LAPEÑA

GMA News

March 26, 2012

 

 

After the Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR) was named one of the  New7Wonders of Nature, Filipinos are eager to win another of the NewOpenWorld Corporation's (NOWC) competitions.

 

Since the New7Wonders Cities global voting campaign was launched in November 2011, no less than seven Philippine cities are in the top spots in the South East Asia and Oceania category.

 

The picturesque Vigan is ranked first, followed by Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, and Bacolod City. Paranaque City comes in seventh, and is the only one from Metro Manila on the list. 

 

The global vote for New7Wonders Cities began in January with over 1,200 nominees from more than 220 countries. 

 

From March 7 to November 23, the choices are narrowed down to around 300 cities, with one per country, plus the top 77 voted.

 

The finalist phase will begin on Dec. 7, 2012, during which 28 official finalist candidates will be selected by a panel of experts. Voting will continue across the three phases until 2013, when the Official New7Wonders Cities will be revealed on December 7, 2013.

 

The New7Wonders Cities is the third campaign in the New7Wonders movement. Previous campaigns elected the man-made New 7 Wonders of the World and the New7Wonders of Nature.

 

Controversy arose last year when Maldives and Indonesia withdrew their respective entries from the New7Wonders of Nature contest and accused organizers of forcing them to pay “surprise" fees of up to $500,000 or P21.6 million, according to a report from The Guardian.

But Malacañang said the confirmation of PPUR was welcome news.

“Throughout the competition, Filipinos from all walks of life have given time, energy, and resources to this campaign. This effort has raised awareness not only overseas, but nationally as well: visits to the PPUR have increased tremendously. This is proof positive of how effective a national effort of this sort can be: to build awareness, express pride, and achieve results,” the Palace statement said. — RSJ, GMA News

...the Cebu aspiration

Cebu to vie for top spot in 7 Wonders Cities of the World

 

Sun Star 

15 March 2012

CEBU – Cebu City may become even more popular among local and foreign tourists and may just land in the list of the New 7 Wonders Cities next year.

That is, if it can get enough votes to compete with big cities like New York, Paris and Tokyo.

As of Wednesday, Cebu City ranks second among 44 cities in Southeast Asia and Oceania in the search involving some 1,200 cities from 220 countries.

The search and online voting is being facilitated by the New7Wonders, the same group behind the man-made New 7 Wonders of the World and the New 7 Wonders of Nature.

Although it was the first time they heard about the search, officials of the Department of Tourism (DOT) Central Visayas, Cebu City Government and the Cebu Investment and Promotions Center (CIPC) welcomed the nomination.

“Just to be nominated, it would already help promote Cebu City as a tourist destination. Cebu City is different from other cities because for one, it is the seat of Christianity of the Philippines and despite being a highly urbanized city, Cebu City is able to preserve its past, its culture and heritage,” DOT Regional Director Rowena Montecillo said.

The CIPC and Cebu City Tourism Commission (CCTC) chairperson and Councilor Margarita Osmena also count the South Road Properties and the construction boom as contributors to Cebu City’s “wonders”.

The list of Wonders Cities in Southeast Asia is dominated by Philippine cities, with Vigan in Ilocos Sur topping the list, followed by the cities of Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, Bacolod and Paranaque.
On the eighth spot is Sydney, followed by Singapore and Bangkok.

Montecillo said the DOT-Central Visayas will support the campaign to help make Cebu City one of the finalists.

The global online voting started last January with some 1,200 nominees from 220 countries. More than 300 cities will be chosen for the qualification phase (one from each country and the top 77 cities with the most number of votes).

From the top 77 voted during the qualification phase, the New7Wonders Cities panel of experts advises on the selection of the 28 official finalists. Voting for the finalists continues across three phases until 2013. The Official New7Wonders Cities will be announced on December 7, 2013.

No specific criteria were used for the search.

In their official website, Bernard Weber, founder and president of New7Wonders, said the world is experiencing a mass urbanization and for the first time in history, a majority of the global population now lives in cities.

“Given these dramatic developments, New7Wonders Cities will become a catalyst for discussing everything from urban planning to metropolitan governance, from tourism to architecture,” he said in a statement posted in cities.n7w.com, the website that hosts the voting.

For Mayor Michael Rama and Councilor Osmeña, Cebu City’s rich history and cultural heritage and its proximity to world-class beach resorts are just some of Cebu City’s wonders, but its main asset are its people.

“There’s no other place where you will find people who are as warm and hospitable as the Cebuanos, always ready to greet you with a smile. Cebuanos always make you feel welcome,” the mayor said.

“Cebuanos are hospitable and creative and they’re very proud to be Cebuanos… We respect and preserve what we consider old, our heritage, but we also easily adapt to anything new. We adjust to the rest of the world,” Osmeña said.

CCTC officials are excited about the benefits the city can reap from the nomination, just like the boost in tourism that Puerto Princesa City in Palawan reported when it was named one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature earlier this year.

“I just hope we’re ready for it… In terms of infrastructure, we could go faster, we need to catch up,” Osmeña said.

Like the councilor, CIPC managing director Joel Mari Yu said he is banking on the Cebuanos’ penchant for joining text or online voting in winning the search.

While Cebu City has been named by Tholons as one of the 10 best destinations for outsourcing business, and while it enjoys a distinction of “being a city embedded in a resort environment,” it needs to improve some of its systems, like drainage, traffic, garbage collection and public transport.

“Cebu City is a beautiful place but we shouldn’t compare it with other cities like Singapore because everything in Singapore is efficient… But since many of us are fond of online or text voting, I think we have an excellent chance of making it in the final list,” Yu said. (LCR of Sun.Star Cebu)

...the top stude at Oxford Brookes

Filipina excels in prestigious Oxford Brookes

by Danny Buenafe

ABS-CBN Europe

07/14/2011

 

LONDON, United Kingdom – A Filipina student in the United Kingdom has brought honor to the Philippines.

 

The 20-year-old Jean-Marie Baldado is top of the class for senior students who finished the business and management course at the prestigious Oxford Brookes University in London.

Baldado has already achieved many things in life.

A consistent scholar from elementary until high school, Baldado'’s relatives were no longer surprised when she emerged top of the class, beating even the Brits and other foreign students similarly taking up business and management.

Baldado received the rare honorary medal at Oxford, which symbolizes her being a first class honors degree student, the equivalent of summa cum laude in the Philippines.

With a population of 4,000 students, there are more than 300 taking up business management in Oxford Brookes.

Jean-Marie Baldado.

"Hindi naman po sa pagmamayabang, ako lang po yung international student na nakakuha ng first class honors degree," Baldado said, adding that most of the others honored were British students.

Since the family of Baldado is financially hard up, her nurse-aunt, Milagros Galindo, took up the cudgels and answered the huge tuition of Jean-Marie after she passed the entrance exam at Oxford despite a continuing scholarship at the Southville Foreign University in the Philippines.


Jean-Marie's father, a lawyer, died when she was just 11 years old. Her mother, on the other hand, is tending to a small food business in Bacolod.

In high school, Baldado became editor-in-chief of The Bridge, a student newsletter of Southville University, and was heralded youth ambassador of the Philippines by Georgetown University after obtaining a separate scholarship.

Baldado admits it was tough embracing the British Academy System, with barely a year stay in the United Kingdom.

"Dapat gamay ang language. Mahirap for a student na hindi English yung main language to get that kind of honor at the end of the semester," she said.

If Baldado has a choice, she would pursue a Masters course, hopefully in the University of the Philippines or Harvard University in Boston.

She admits, however, that it is now payback time. She said she will help her other 5 siblings and the family of her Aunt Milagros.

"I'm given the opportunity to work for 2 years, so I'll grab it na. Ang plano ko po mag-work sa multinational company dito po sa UK. It's a logical progression in terms of my career path to continue that in the Philippines," Baldado said.

Baldado belongs to the last batch of international students who were granted a 2-year work permit by the UK Home Office.