Megaworld Lifestyle Malls

Premier real estate developer Megaworld expands its properties with commercial developments recognized as the country’s most admired lifestyle malls. These signature developments are now all part of Megaworld Lifestyle Malls, a collective brand of commercial entities that encompasses urban living all created and developed by Megaworld Corporation. Carrying Megaworld name in the label gives the guarantee of quality and class unique only to these developments. The Megaworld Lifestyle Malls are Venice Piazza at McKinley Hill and Forbes Town Center in Fort Bonifacio, Newport Mall in Resorts World Manila, The Clubhouse at Corinthian Hills,...

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Tailor claims P18-million lotto prize

By MITCH ARCEO June 29, 2011, 4:28pm MANILA, Philippines — A tailor from Iloilo City on Tuesday claimed from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) the P18,860, 232.60 he won in the June 23 6/42 lotto draw, PCSO General Manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas II said. It was learned from the lone winner of the lotto jackpot is a 29-year-old father of two. He has been betting in the lotto for the past one year. The PCSO does not identify lotto winners. Last June 23, he bet P10 the combination 04-30-07-13-42-29. The man bought his ticket at a lotto outlet in GC Lumber, Real Estranzuela Street, Iloilo City. According to the winner, he based...

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Iloilo strengthens local business competitiveness

MORE than 100 entrepreneurs from micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Iloilo province are gathered in Iloilo City from June 28 to 29 for an action planning workshop. Trade department regional director Dominic Abad said local entrepreneurs and representatives from different sectors, government agencies, academe and civil society are attending the workshop to define ways of strengthening MSMEs as backbone of the national economy. Win US $500 cash in Sun.Star’s music video contest Iloilo provincial Small and Medium Enterprises Development Council president Valerie Maravilla said Iloilo is strong in public-private partnership (PPP) and participants are updated on the growth areas of the council from its operation last year. In 2009, the National Statistics Office listed 777,357 SME...

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Entrepreneur says Iloilo MSMEs flourishing with public-private partnership

LOILO CITY, June 29 (PNA) - The city and province of Iloilo have emerged as one growth area in the country where public and private partnership (PPP) is a major factor in the development of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as the backbone of the local economy, according to entrepreneur Valerie Maravilla. Maravilla, who is president of the Iloilo Small and Medium Enterprise Development Council (SMEDC), said the idea of PPP was inspired by President Benigno C. Aquino III to spur economic growth outside of Metro Manila through the private sector cooperation with government. The council has more than 200 entrepreneur members in the city and province engaged mostly in agri-aqua, tourism, processed food, furniture, housewares and furnishings and IT-business process outsourcing. The...

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Jalaur River Project

MANILA, Philippines — The government is negotiating with two Korean firms a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) agreement for the $338-million Jalaur River Multi-purpose Project (JRMP) which will open 12,000 hectares of new irrigated area in Iloilo. The Department of Agriculture (DA) already filed last March with the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) its BOT project plan for the JRMP. “This is being pushed by the national government. Currently we’re looking at two Korean firms for a possible BOT. It’s in the works yet. The Korean firms have yet to come here for a possible agreement, but I cannot yet divulge those that are interested until...

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REPOST: Oton Church on Review

It would have been one of the country’s spectacular churches, if not the most beautiful were it not for a natural cataclysm that razed it to the ground. Oton’s once majestic church, in the form of a Greek cross, was unique as it was the only one with such a plan and architecture blending Byzantine with Gothic and classical elements. The town of Oton was established by the Augustinians in 1572 after Cebu and Manila and was the center of their administration in Iloilo. In fact, the former name of the province is a namesake of the town. It’s name is the hispanized version of ogtong, meaning reef or tidal flat which is a main feature of the area...

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ECSI unveils state-of-the-art Everest Cold Storage

EVEREST Cold Storage Inc. (ECSI) recently unveiled to the public its state-of-the-art cold storage, the biggest in the region. ECSI’s cold storage is the first ever commercial walk-in cold storage in Western Visayas. Its inaugural day kicked off with the formal ribbon-cutting rites led by the owners, popular couple Elias “Toto” and Susan Reyes and stellar guests such as Cong. Jerry Treñas, Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, Vice Mayor Joe Espinosa III and Councilors Lex Tupas and Lyndon Acap. Thereafter, the blessing rites of the whole edifice followed with Fr. Rhodel Nacional, C.M. Adding pomp to the festivity was a short ceremony where...

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Megaworld allots P 25B for 2011 capex

MANILA, June 21 (PNA) -- Publicly listed real estate giant Megaworld Corp. has allotted P 25 billion for its capital and development expenditures in 2011, expecting growth to continue strong as its first five months' performance. Francisco C. Canuto, Megaworld senior vice president and corporate information officer, in a disclosure, said the Megaworld group of companies, through the Megaworld, Empire East and Suntrust brands, sold real estate projects worth P17 billion. Megaworld is the country’s largest residential condominium developer and BPO office developer and landlord, as well as the pioneer of integrated township projects that offer a live-work-play-learn lifestyle. Megaworld is set to unveil Bonifacio Uptown in Bonifacio Global City in the second half of 2011. The mixed-use, high-density,...

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Iloilo flood control project substantially complete

MANILA, June 21 (PNA) -- Construction of the Iloilo Flood Control project in Western Visayas Region is now substantially complete ahead of anticipated schedule. In a report to Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson, project director Patrick Gatan said the flood control project is 96.31 percent complete as against target accomplishment of 95.70 percent for the construction of Jaro Floodway and Improvement of Tigum and Aganan Rivers in Iloilo City. Undersecretary Rafael Yabut said the project, which costs P2.22 billion, started in April 2006 and is scheduled to be completed in December.“The project which is mainly composed of river...

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First regional land use forum to tackle zoning ordinance

by Elsa S. SubongILOILO CITY, June 19 (PIA) –- A regional land use forum, the first ever to be held in Western Visayas, will tackle the significance of zoning ordinance in land use and development.The forum will be held on June 22, at the Iloilo Grand Hotel. This will be sponsored by DILG-6, the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board and the Deutsche Gesellschaft for Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), according to Dir. Evelyn Trompeta of the Department of the Interior and Local Government.Trompeta said the general situation in the region points to weaknesses of the local government units (LGUs) in implementing land use regulations, especially in zoning ordinances.The GIZ has been helping LGUs in the region, through their Environment and Rural Development and Decentralization Programs, with...

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Edgar Sia's Fast-Food Cashout

Edgar Sia's cash-out of his fast-food chain, Mang Inasal, makes him this year's youngest lister.It started in 2003 when smalltown lad Edgar Sia II, then a 26-year-old college dropout, grabbed a tiny spot in the parking lot of a mall, the site of an upcoming food hall. As a frequent customer of McDonald's and KFC, Sia knew what he'd been missing in the fast-food scene: Filipino-style street fare served in a restaurant-type setting. Before long customers were lining up outside Mang Inasal as word spread quickly through Iloilo City about Sia's new eatery. Its charcoal-grilled chicken served with rice wrapped in a banana leaf wasn't like anything...

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Mangrove expert hails Iloilo River dev’t initiatives

The Iloilo city government’s projects on the development of the Iloilo River has earned another praise this time from former Kalibo mayor and three-term congressman of Aklan province, Allen Quimpo.“The initiatives done by Mayor (Jed Patrick) Mabilog are indeed very good. It’s also a good thing that (Sen.) Frank Drilon is there to help (Iloilo City),” he said in an interview. Quimpo, who currently heads the Kalibo Save the Mangroves Association (KASAMA) in New Buswang, Kalibo, Aklan, was one of the participants in the Iloilo River Summit held here in March.He was then Kalibo’s chief executive when mangrove reforestation project started around the mouth of Aklan River in 1990. The successful development of the area in New Buswang has now turned a former sprawling mudflat to a mangrove forested...

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The Iloilo River during the American period

WHEN THE Americans took over the governance of the Philippines, the first major improvement done in Iloilo was with the port in the Iloilo River because of its leading importance in Philippine economic activities at that time. Improvements were provided for by Act No. 641 appropriating $150,000 in United currency for this purpose (Report of Philippine Commission, 1903). Work started in 1904 when the Philippine Commission contracted the J.G. White and Co. to dredge the river from the mouth of the Custom House at a depth of not less than 15 feet at low water and to rebuild the existing retaining wall (Worcester, 1904). Seven hundred eighty-three...

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Iloilo Airport now ready for 'Open Sky' policy

ILOILO CITY, June 15 (PNA) -- The Iloilo Airport of international standards located at the Sta. Barbara-Cabatuan site is looking forward to accommodate international flights with its inclusion in the ‘Open Sky’ policy approved by President Benigno S. Aquino III. On Tuesday the new airport which replaced the old Mandurriao Airport celebrated its 4th year anniversary since commencing operation on June 14, 2007 with Philippine Airlines Flight 139 taking the 6:20 a.m. inaugural flight from Manila. Chief of Staff to the Director General Rodrigo Rodolfo Artuz said Iloilo international flights will soon be materialized as he likewise cited its impact...

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Prospects better for BPO firms

Amigo Terrace Hotel in Iloilo City is PEZA Accredited Bldg. EXPECTATIONS for the outsourcing industry have been scaled down but are better compared to the more uncertain view recently offered for merchandise exports.Officials of the Export Development Council (EDC) and the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) have pegged industry growth for 2011 at 18% and 20%, respectively, down from last year’s 26% surge to $8.9 billion. This compares to merchandise exporters describing their 10% growth goal a "fighting target" given concerns over a recovery in Japan, the unresolved debt crisis in the euro zone and continued unrest...

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Seeking niche in $1B bamboo market

The government is spearheading a "bamboo revolution" to harness the potential of the world’s tallest grass other than as a material for handicraft and enable the country to get a bigger slice of the $8-billion global market for the material.Executive Order 879, which was issued in May 2010, created the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Council (PBIDC) that aims to promote the bamboo industry.The order directed the use of bamboo for at least 25 percent of the desk and other furniture requirements of public elementary and secondary schools and prioritizing the use of bamboo in furniture and other construction requirements of government agencies.In...

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