The big-ticket infrastructure projects currently rolled out by the government will create an additional 1.6 million jobs this year, President Duterte’s infrastructure managers said on Wednesday. Public Works Secretary Mark Villar told the Asia Infrastructure Forum 2021 the government’s “Build, Build, Build” program had so far created as public infrastructure spending was doubled to 5…
Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) has teamed up with the Department of Trade Industry (DTI) to offer collateral-free term loans to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in need of lifeline during this prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. In a press statement, BPI business banking head Eric Luchangco said the collateral-free loan facility for SMEs signified…
As the Philippines rebounds from the pandemic, strengthening labor market programs will be critical to help workers and enterprises make the transition. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippines was experiencing its longest-ever economic and job expansion. There was remarkable growth in wage and salary employment (a measure of modern employment), growing at an average…
After a year of doom and gloom brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, local business leaders are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Eric Teng, president of the Restaurant Owners of the Philippines (Resto PH), an organization of restaurant owners; Wick Veloso, new president of the Bankers Association of the Philippines; and…
Binamira, who has seen his fair share of crises being a management consultant, conserved as much cash as he could, thus the painful but necessary decision to not renew for now the leases for 35 percent of Zubuchon’s branches. After all, movement restrictions as part of measures to contain the virus meant not enough foot…
As a kid, summer meant total freedom from the responsibilities of school, which for me meant climbing trees to pick and enjoy the fruits in season. To this day, bayabas, santol, aratilis and mangga are the comfort foods that I eagerly await each summer. I have always had a close kinship with the outdoors, whether…
Yes we want to change things fast, but in a slow way. And what inspires us to do so is our being part of Slow Food (www.slowfood.com), a grassroots movement to eat good, clean and fair food. How is going slow possible? In Palawan, a friend started what is inspired by Israel’s kibbutz—a commune type…
Filipinos are becoming increasingly comfortable with using so-called QR or “quick reaction” codes when paying for purchases or making money transfers from one person to another—a sign that the “cash heavy” local economy is well on its way to “cash light” one. In particular, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno pointed to the…
For over a year now, we’ve seen so many home-based food businesses start and flourish during the pandemic. Every sushi bake, ube-cheese pan de sal, sourdough bread, Basque burnt cheesecake and whatever else you have ordered and enjoyed come with untold stories—how these businesses started, the people behind them and what keeps them going. Here…
Accounting for the majority of the total businesses in the country and generating more than half of the country’s total employment before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March of last year, the health of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) is as much a concern for the Philippines as the physical well-being of its population.…