One Stop Shop Business Registry to Cut Red Tape in RP

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Business registration will be easier and a lot faster once the Philippine Business Registry project is implemented.

Department of Trade and Industry-PBR Program Manager Whilmer Morales is now holding a press conference at the Philippine Information Agency, to report on the update of the project, which is expected to be implemented before end of the year.

The PBR is the Philippine government's response to the World Bank report stating that it takes 50 days and 11 processes to register a business in the Philippines.

"This will not only hasten the business registration process but will also lessen red tape in government," he said. The small and medium enterprises are expected to benefit from this program.

Once implemented, the business owner can register his business with the Department of Trade and Industry, which will act on the application in one day. DTI will then pass the documents to the different agencies concerned like the local government unit concerned, Philhealth, SSS, Pag-Ibig and Bureau of Internal Revenue among others.

SM kicks off Kadayawan

Barely a day before the official start of the 2010 Kadayawan sa Davao, SM City Davao is already abloom with everything Kadayawan starting from the weekend sale which ended yesterday.

August 16 is officially the start of Kadayawan sa Davao. SM's Entertainment Center was ready for the festival as it already gave shoppers a preview of the festivities through a pre-Kadayawan photo exhibit by the Camera Club of Davao. Some indigenous costumes were also already on display yesterday.

Halal-Certified Foodsite Up

For a long time, people who required Halal-certified products had to check out the supermarkets and other establishments for proper certification. Those days are finally over, with the launch of a website that features a list of Halal certified food.

Muslims in the Philippines and even all over the world consume only Halal certified products because to them these products are Halal or "legal" and "acceptable". It is considered by the Sharia or Islamic law as permissible.

Among the very first Halal-certified beverage is Tang Instant Drink Mix, which provides a lot of choices when it comes to flavors including pineapple, strawberry, ponkan, grape, mango and the combo flavors of pineapple-orange and orange-mangga. If you're lucky enough to see this in your local supermarkets, then there are also the limited edition Mangga Fiesta in 2009 and the Strawberry Burst in 2010.

Tang, which is produced by Kraft Foods Philippines, has been Halal-certified by two Halal certification bodies. It was first marketed in 1959 in the United States, and was launched in the Philippines only in 1973.

Tang is one of the top choices when it comes to powdered beverages in the Philippines, with a 41 percent value share based on a Nielsen retail audit. It is available in 1-Liter packs and big packs from 200 grams to 1200 grams.

As evident of Tang's popularity, it was used by NASA in 1965 during its Gemini Flights.

So if you want to avoid the hassle of individually checking products for Halal certification right in the department stores, just head on to this foodsite or Get updated on Halal certified food and products in Facebook.

Sun Life Financial Offers More Affordable Insurance For The Common Tao

Are you insured for the future?

A lot of people would say "no" to this question primarily because they do not have extra money to pay for insurance. You just could not blame people for making insurance the least of their considering that there are more urgent financial concerns they should think about.

Sun Life Financial realized the need of the common tao,basically the middle class who cannot afford to pay at least P2.000 monthly for an insurance, so the company launched Sun StartUp, everyone's first step to financial security. And to make the pitch more convincing, they got Piolo Pascual to be their endorser.

"The Sun StartUp Insurance is primarily for those who do not have insurance plans yet," Sun Life Financial Philippines Institutional Marketing Manager Joub Miradora said.

The new insurance product offers affordable payment options and secures the future of your loved ones for less than P5,000 a month. The lowest monthly payment is actually only P384 for a 20-year old male and P365 for a 20-year old female for a coverage of P200,000. You also get a money back feature worth P20,570 and P19,510 after ten years, for the respective rates indicated.

Sun Life has also done away with one of the factors that turns off most people from getting an insurance coverage--paperworks! With the Sun StartUp, you get a simplified application process which only asks four questions from you.

Now, wouldn't you be willing to give up at least P500 a month to secure your family's future?

Live Blogging with ONB President Alex Buenaventura

One Network Bank President Alex Buenaventura is upbeat about the country's future after hearing the State of the Nation Address of President Benigno Simeon Aquino III.

"Never have we had a committed President since the time of President Corazon Aquino and Fidel V. Ramos," he said.

Buenaventura said the Filipino people will be able to see an improvement in the Philippine economy in a few months' time with the perceived increase in investors' confidence to the Philippines and the expected increase in foreign investments here.

Cheez Wiz launches Palamantasan in Davao City

I did not expect my trip to the Buhangin Central Elementary School last July 17 to become a trip back to my elementary school days when I lived for competitions both in essay writing and in poster making. The festive atmosphere and the excitement of the whole school can be felt even from the gates as students dressed in colorful yellow but home-made costumes move from one classroom to another, apparently getting jittery for their scheduled performances after lunch.

The occasion? The launch of Kraft Cheez Whiz Palamantasan ng Sarap. This is the first interschool competition involving grade school students nationwide, in a quest to promote nutrition education.

How about 8 million Filipino malnourished children as inspiration?

“This is actually the first time we are holding this in Davao City, alongside with the Cebu launch,” Kraft Foods Cheez Whiz senior brand manager Paolo Serrano said before the afternoon program started.

Serano said “we want the children to realize the value of nutrition in a fun way so we have prepared creative activities for them”

Students of the Buhangin Central Elementary School participated in the following Palamantasan contests with the specific winners:

Essay Writing Contest
Ella Mae Eborda ( VI-AQUAMARINE)
Jarchitecture or Jar Art
Jayson Tragura (VI) and Sherwin Lance De Leon (VI) for their SUPER CHEEZ WHIZ SANDWICH entry

Sandwich Art
Dave Forro & Mommy Debbie for their recipe PALAMANTASYA HANEP SA PAGMAMAHAL SANDWICH

Cheering Competition CHEEZ CHEERERS with the following members:
Ornalyn Caorte, Tricia Mae Palicte, Carla Dalisay, Angel Mae Manding, Shannen Valenzuela, Krizel Myke Perez, Momina Joy Fiel, Paul Joshua Alicauay, Lindon Osing and Kimberly Mesias.

Speech Choir or Sabayang Bigkas THE 6 TEAM with the following members:
Christian Galendez , Ma. Eula Concepcion Umayao, Jeather Penanueva, Mark Jame Naya, Ryca Madanio, Mechaela Mepiesa, Jessa Lou Bernal, Ivan Bishar, Angelica Coquilla, Alexandra Guitguiten, Mariel Lapitan, Lady Irish Guitguitin, Cherry May Medila, Jeelenee Jayson De Claro, Cristy Cristino, Marialyn Cabase, Jay-Ar Baliong, Angelica Nicole Manriquez, Jasper Marc Chan and Grace Joyce Padios.

“We are encouraging the different schools to Join Palamantasan so they can help promote good nutrition not only to their students but also to the people in general,” Serrano said. Most children are suffering from lack of nutrition—some are underweight while others are undernourished----and by getting their daily dose of Cheez Whiz which contains Calcium, their bones will get the necessary strengthening it requires, he added.

Parents, student and educators alike are encouraged to Make a Pledge to stay away from unhealthy foods and only serve and eat nutritious food.

Buhangin Central Elementary School principal Arturo dela Cruz said he was surprised with the turnout of the Palamantasan since he thought it was just an ordinary activity. It was rally a major event, with tarpaulins strewn all over the school.

“The first time I was told about this even by Kraft Cheez Whiz I said we will just join the easier ones like the essay writing and the sandwich art because the other competitions like Sabayang Bigkas will require more preparation,” dela Cruz said. However, he added, he was assured by the coaches that they will be able to meet the deadline so the school was able to join all the events.

Several schools nationwide have already indicated their commitment to Join Palamantasan and its various events. After all, promoting good nutrition is a very worthy endeavour and with the support of Kraft Cheez Whiz, every Palamantasan event will surely be a big hit!

DSWD to identify poorest of the poor in Davao Region

Will the poorest of the poor stand up?

The new administration under President Benigno Simeon Aquino III, through the Department of Social Welfare and Development, will finally be able to tell who among the Filipinos are really poor once the results of the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) are out by September this year.

NHTS-PR is an information management system that identifies who and where the poor households are.

“We have lots of data on poverty but none which says where and who are the real poor,” NHTS-PR regional focal person Desiree N. Piñgol said. With the use of the NHTS-PR which started March 2009, she said, the government hopes to have a definition of what “poor:” really means.

Just like the Census, hundreds of enumerators will be going from house to house not to inquire how much income the household is getting on a monthly or yearly basis. Instead, they will interview the households based on proxy means variables or factors that represents their economic condition,

There are actually 34 variables that will be considered by the System when making the ranking of the poorest of the poor including the physical condition of the house, ownership of assets, educational attainment of the household members and even their ability to access the basic social services.

“Each of these factors has its own value and it is the system which will rank them to come up with a clear picture of the economic status of the household involved,” she said.

This is actually a convergence of efforts of all the government agencies tasked to alleviate the country’s poverty level, she said. By knowing the real definition of poor and their exact location, she added, the agencies will be able to target the same people who need the government’s help and will ultimately maximize the budget to aid poor Filipinos. The database will also be shared with non government agencies and civil society groups.

Piñgol said there are many government programs and agencies to alleviate poverty in the country and yet poverty incidence is still high. The number of poor Filipinos has ballooned from 4.3 million in 2003 to 4.6 million in 2006.

“Baka hindi na target ng services yung mga totoong mahirap na nangangailangan ng tulong (maybe the programs were not able to target the poorest of the poor who really needs help),” she added.

She said a total of 495,150 families in Region XI have been enumerated. Based on the 2006 Census, they have identified areas where the poverty incidence is more than 50% or less.

Saturation efforts (everyone was included in the survey by the enumerators) were conducted among provinces where there is more than 50% poverty incidence. Random survey was conducted among provinces where there are only pockets of poverty.

Among the municipalities included in the random survey are Don Marcelino, Sta. Maria, Laak, Taragona and Talaingod. Jose Abad Santos and Sarangani were however included in the saturation drive as they have a poverty incidence of more than 50%.

“The result of the survey is expected to be more reliable because every encoder has his own account and all encoded items are validated,” she said. They will then run the Proxy Means Test results which will be posted in the different barangays to make sure it is correct.

She said the local verification committee will verify that the results are indeed accurate.

Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4P)

In the meantime, the DSWD provides temporary relief to the poor Filipino people through the 4Ps or the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program. This is a 5-year poverty reduction strategy of the government that assists the poorest households by providing monthly cash subsidy and is now on its second year. It aims to help improve the health, nutrition and education of children.

“As of December 2009, a total of P271.914 million have been released in Region XI for the Program,” regional 4Ps focal person Merlita A. Paragama said. It has so far reached out to 49,899 beneficiaries.

Under the 4Ps, a household without school children is entitled to a P500 monthly allowance. The maximum amount a family (with children) can get is P4,200 for every quarter.

“We have noted an increase in the enrolment rate in Davao Oriental since the program was implemented in 2008,” she said.

While the 4P program has received a lot of flak for doling out money to the poor, Paragama said the goal of the program is really to provide the immediate needs of the poor families such as money to buy food.

“The program also aims to break the inter-regional cycle of poverty by targeting health and education,” she said. Most people do not appreciate the value of education because what they need immediately is food for their grumbling stomachs.

With the program, children of poor families are encouraged to go to school because they are given the money for their subsistence provided they strictly follow the checklist of the program. If the list of requirements, such as continued schooling is not followed, then they are either suspended from the program or ultimately terminated.