Philippines will launch Real Time Solution PBR Online Business Registration portal

In a statement, the department said PBR offers a "real time solution" for entrepreneurs who need to transact with several agencies prior to starting a business.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will launch the Philippine Business Registry (PBR) at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Office in Mandaluyong City on 12 March 2012, Monday, to provide a faster and more efficient service to those who will set up a corporation and partnership.

The launching of PBR will be led by DTI Secretary Gregory L. Domingo, together with Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya, SEC Chairperson Teresita Herbosa, and other DTI and SEC Officials.

Entrepreneurs Do NOT need to go to each agency to register their businesses as they are interlinked thru the PBR. These line agencies include the DTI, SEC, Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Social Security System (SSS), Home Development Mutual Fund (PAG-IBIG), and Philippine Health and Insurance Corp (PhilHealth)

The process eliminates red tape, and streamlines business registration.

IN a bid to speed up business registration in the country, the Philippine government has launched the Sole Proprietorship New Registration (SPNR) module of the Philippine Business Registry System (PBRS).

The Philippine Business Registry (PBR) is a government-initiated web-based system that will facilitate business registration-related transactions by integrating all agencies involved in business registration The SPNR allows registration to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Social Security System (SSS), Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG), Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), Local Government Units (LGUs) and other permit/license-issuing agencies.

However, application through a teller at the DTI offices is also available. This involves submission of a filled up application form which may be downloaded from the website or completed and printed by the public online for submission to the PBR kiosks or tellers.

The DTI also announced the fees for registering a New Business Name (BN) New Business Name (BN) registration fees in effect; the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is now implementing the following registration fees for business name registration (original and renewal) depending on the territorial jurisdiction covered in the application:

• For Barangay Areas- ₱ 200.00 PHP (Approx. $4.7 USD)
• City / Municipality- ₱ 500.00 PHP (Approx. $11.7 USD)
• Regional / Provincial Capital- ₱ 1,000.00 PHP (Approx. $23.5 USD)       
• Metro Manila /NCR-  ₱ 1,000.00 PHP (Approx. $47 USD)

For more information, please call DTI Direct at (+63-2) 751.3330.

Those who wish to register their business can go the nearest DTI office or the LGUs in Metro Manila, fill up the application form and in less than 30 minutes, applicants can get their Business Name Registration, Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and Employer Registration Numbers for PhilHealth, SSS, and Pag-ibig, if they are applying as sole proprietorship.

To avail of PBR, applicants need to go to SEC Office and register their corporation/partnership. Then the applicant will proceed to the PBR kiosk located inside SEC's registration area and fill up the PBR Application Form, to be submitted to the teller for processing. The applicant should present their SEC Registration Certificate and Articles of Partnership/Corporation to the teller for verification.

The teller will submit the client's application to SSS, Pag-ibig, and PhilHealth. The applicants will still have to pick up their certificates or employer's registration numbers (ERNs) from the said agencies by presenting their PBR-generated ERNs. This alone saves them the time to line up.

It provides a faster process for business registration, thus strengthening the government's effort of providing quality service to the people and realizing its commitment to curb corruption and reduce red tape in the bureaucracy.

At present, sole proprietorships can already validate existing/register their Business Names (BNs) from the DTI, get or validate their existing Tax Identification Numbers (TINs) from the BIR and employer registration numbers from the SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG through the PBRS.

The PBRS can be accessed via http://www.business.gov.ph

With fewer steps and faster process, PBR will be able to strengthen the government's effort of providing quality service to the people and realize its commitment to curb corruption and reduce red tape in the bureaucracy. Through the PBR, the country will become more attractive to investors and will improve our ranking in global competitiveness.

A program which seeks to make it easier for entrepreneurs to register their businesses launched by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will go nationwide beginning this month.

Dubbed as the Philippine Business Registry (PBR), the trade department said the scheme will already be offered in its regional and provincial offices and at the head office of the Securities and Exchange Commission in Mandaluyong City.

The DTI said that local governments in Metro Manila such as Quezon City, Caloocan and Mandaluyong will also start offering PBR services in their city halls.

DTI Davao Region Director Marizon S. Loreto said this is milestone in business registration that entrepreneurs must take advantage of.

"Since this is a web-based system, this actually serves as a one-stop shop for entrepreneurs who would like to register their business wherein they don't need to visit these offices physically. Thus, business registration now costs less since transportation cost need not be considered anymore," Loreto said.

Loreto added that registration has also become convenient because it can be done anywhere there is internet access like internet cafés, DTI offices with designated PBR kiosks, or even right at their homes/offices.

For further inquiries about the PBRS, clients may call up the nearest DTI office in their areas. DTI Regional Office 11, in particular, can be reached at (+63-82) 224-0511 local 417 or 206. (DTI/Jen Mendoza)

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Philippines tycoon & other 7 - Top 116th richest men in the World 2012

Six business tycoons from the Philippines led by SM group patriarch Henry Sy made it to Forbes Magazine's 2012 list of richest people on the planet.

For the Philippines top $US Dollar Billionaires includes:

• Henry Sy
• Lucio Tan,
• Andrew Tan,
• Enrique Razon Jr.
• Eduardo Cojuangco Jr.
• Roberto Ongpin

Top 10 World's Richest People

1. Carlos Slim Helu & family $69 B (72) - Telecom - Mexico
2. Bill Gates $61 B (56) - Microsoft -  United States
3. Warren Buffett $44 B (81) - Berkshire Hathaway - United States
4. Bernard Arnault $41 B (63) - LVMH - France
5. Amancio Ortega $37.5 B (75) - Zara - Spain
6. Larry Ellison $36 B (67) Oracle - United States
7. Eike Batista $30 B (55) mining, oil - Brazil
8. Stefan Persson $26 B (64)         H&M - Sweden
9. Li Ka-shing $25.5 B (83) diversified - Hong Kong
10. Karl Albrecht $25.4 B (92) Aldi - Germany

In the Philippines, it was the first time for Cojuangco and Ongpin to join the roster of the world's billionaires (in US dollar terms).

Forbes published on March 7 its latest gallery of the world's richest people, an all-time high 1,226 billionaires, who were worth a record $4.6 trillion. When the magazine started this tradition of counting billionaires around the world 25 years ago there were only 140 names.

At the top of Forbes' global list is Mexican Carlos Slim, 72, who has an estimated net worth of $69 billion. Microsoft founder Bill Gates, 56, is second and investment guru Warren Buffet, 81, chair of Berkshire Hathaway, third.

Sy and family ranked 116th richest in the world, cementing his title as the wealthiest man in the Philippines. Forbes estimated his net worth at $8 billion.

Banking, retailing

The 87-year-old Sy leads SM Investments, the dominant player in Philippine banking, retailing and shopping mall development. It is also a fast-growing player in residential and tourism-oriented property development. Sy's group has recently added mining to its portfolio.

Lucio Tan and family ranked 314th on the list with an estimated net worth of $3.5 billion. Lucio Tan, 77, has interests in tobacco and liquor manufacturing, airline, property and banking. He has vast property interests in mainland China and is likewise a big investor in Guam.

Property tycoon Andrew Tan ranked 601st on the global list with a net worth of $2.1 billion. Andrew Tan, 59, built a fortune on real estate development, particularly in offering high-rise residential units to the mass market and in pioneering mixed-use developments to attract business process outsourcing firms.

He has also successfully ventured into the gaming business in partnership with the Genting group of Malaysia. He likewise has consumer-based interests, including a beverage unit and the Philippine chain of McDonald's fast-food stores.

Port operations

Razon, 52, is the fourth and the youngest tycoon from the Philippines with an international rank of 683rd. Forbes estimated his net worth at $1.9 billion. He has built a fortune on international port operations.

Razon has unloaded his interest in the country's electricity transmission superhighway and is now building a casino-hotel complex in Pagcor City. He also has an interest in oil exploration.

Cojuangco, 76, is the fifth Philippine tycoon on the list with a global rank of 960th. The 76-year-old chair of San Miguel Corp. (SMC) has an estimated net worth of $1.3 billion.

Cojuangco has a 15-percent stake in San Miguel which has diversified from its traditional food and beverage businesses into power generation, power distribution (via a minority but significant stake in Manila Electric Co.), oil refining, mining, toll road, airport, banking and telecommunications.

Ongpin's Ashmore

Ongpin, 75, is ranked 1,153rd on the list with an estimated net worth of $1 billion. Ongpin brought in London-based Ashmore as a partner in Philippine investments in recent years. Apart from his interest in San Miguel and Petron Corp., Ongpin is into real estate, mining and recently into banking.

Compared to last year, Sy, Lucio and Andrew Tan and Razon significantly increased their wealth.

Sy was worth $5.8 billion in 2011 while Lucio Tan, Andrew Tan and Razon were worth $2.3 billion, $2.2 billion and $1.1 billion, respectively. With the local stock market outperforming most bourses in the region, the market capitalization of their respective companies has surged.

Counting malls

"The Philippines' richest man, Henry Sy started out in his father's bodega (warehouse) and then opened a shoe store. He now controls the Philippines' largest mall developer, with 42 locations; has five in China, including one that opened last year. Shares in SM Investments, which makes up bulk of his fortune, popped 50 percent in the past year. BDO Unibank, run by daughter Teresita Sy-Coson, is the country's largest bank," Forbes said.

BDO is worth over P1 trillion, the first local bank to breach this mark in asset base. The Sys also own another big bank, China Bank, which is run by the tycoon's sons. The retailing group, operating through a chain of SM Department stores, hypermarts, supermarkets and SaveMore, had a turnover of P148.2 billion in 2011.

Tobacco king

Forbes described Lucio Tan as a "tobacco king" holding over a third in Philip Morris-Fortune Tobacco, a joint venture between his privately held Fortune Tobacco and Philip Morris. The combined entity has an estimated 80-percent share of the Philippine cigarette market. Tan's Asia Brewery is the country's second largest beer maker, according to Forbes.

"A big chunk of fortune comes from Hong Kong-based Eton Properties," the magazine said.

"He got his start as a chemical engineer and mopped floors to pay for school. Tan enjoys flying helicopters," Forbes said.

The publication noted reports that Lucio Tan was in talks to bring in San Miguel to help refurbish the aging fleet of Philippine Airlines. It also noted that three of Tan's companies, Eton Properties, Tanduay Holdings and PAL Holdings, faced delisting by the Philippine Stock Exchange for failing to maintain a 10-percent public float.

Second casino

"Son of a factory worker, Andrew Tan did odd jobs to put himself through college. Saved money he earned as a kitchen appliance salesman to buy a distillery and made his first fortune in brandy. His holding company, Alliance Global, has interests in food and beverage, real estate and gaming. With partner Genting Malaysia, he plans to build a second casino in Pasay City this year," Forbes said.

Cojuangco was described by Forbes as a "former Marcos crony" who controls San Miguel, a food and beverage conglomerate best known for its beer. Forbes noted that San Miguel had spun off its brewery unit in 2007, diversifying into power, infrastructure and heavy industry.

"In 2010, he sold an option to a group of investors to buy him out for an undisclosed sum. The country's Supreme Court has ruled that his stake in San Miguel, which the Presidential Commission on Good Government had alleged he got because of his links with the former dictator, wasn't ill-gotten," Forbes said.

To unload 15%

The Inquirer reported in May 2010 that Cojuangco had made plans to unload his entire 15-percent equity in San Miguel in favor of trusted allies.

The option to buy his shares for P75 per share was given to a holding firm, Top Frontier Investment Holdings. The holding firm is 49-percent owned by San Miguel itself as represented by Cojuangco's trusted lieutenant and concurrent company president Ramon Ang. An investor group, which includes Ongpin, Iñigo Zobel and condiments king Joselito Campos, controls 51 percent.

Forbes noted that Ongpin, a former minister of trade during the Marcos regime, had investments in property, gaming, mining and telecommunications. (His interest in telecoms was recently sold to San Miguel and Ongpin instead took a controlling stake in Philippine Bank of Communications).

Ongpin heads Top Frontier, the entity with a controlling interest in San Miguel. "Last November he appeared before a Senate inquiry over a loan from a state-owned development bank, which he claims was above board. He's a certified public accountant and Harvard Business School graduate," Forbes said.

Aside from the interests mentioned by Forbes, Ongpin has an interest in media being the deputy chair of South China Morning Post in Hong Kong.

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Europe - Japan- Australia pouring in BPO & KPO in the Philippines - broader outsourcing role

The Philippines is the world's call-centre capital, but will need more graduates and better trained professionals if it's to be a major force in the broader outsourcing market, where growth is in providing research and analytics for the legal, healthcare and financial industries.

In little more than a decade, the Philippines has overtaken India in running call-centers, helped by an affinity for the language, culture and work ethic of the United States, its former colonial master.

The number of Filipinos offering a cheery "Have a nice day" while working the graveyard shift to answer calls on behalf of multinational clients such as Citigroup (C.N) and JPMorgan Chase now far exceeds India's 350,000, and the government wants to double the market to $25 billion by 2016, employing 1.3 million workers.

But to do that the Southeast Asian nation must convince investors it has more to offer than just a huge pool of talent speaking English with an American accent.

Research firm Everest Group has forecast the global business process outsourcing (BPO) industry could be worth $220-$280 billion this year, with 90 percent of that in non-voice work - providing more complex skills and services in research and analytics for lawyers, doctors and bankers.

In the Philippines, non-voice work last year accounted for just over a fifth of total BPO revenues of $10.9 billion, but employed a third of the BPO workforce, or around 220,000 people.

"The goal is aggressive but achievable as long as we know one thing: that what got us here won't get us to where we need to be," said Maulik Parekh, president and CEO of outsourcing services provider SPi Global, part of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co (PLDT) (TEL.PS), the country's most valuable listed company.

"A lot of the focus of the tripartite relationship between the government, educational institutions and the private sector has been about English language skills. We need to start to focus on how we can have a thriving healthcare, publishing, finance, human resource, procurement, IT-related BPO," Parekh said.

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Video: Call centre boom: r.reuters.com/fag66s

GRAPHIC: BPO data: r.reuters.com/jeh96s

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India is expected to continue to dominate in outsourcing; with its first-mover advantage and skills in software development, but the Philippines has its eye on the non-voice market's potential.

"While some providers are leveraging the Philippines for non-voice functions, the scale of work is relatively low. However, tremendous market potential exists if service providers can successfully manage talent-related constraints," Nikhil Rajpal, partner at Everest, wrote in a study.

With China, Latin America and other Asian markets such as Malaysia also making strides in outsourcing, the Philippines must ensure it has a steady supply of professionals and highly-skilled workers to offer the more complex, added-value services to meet clients' changing and increasing demands.

In Manila, Cebu and beyond, demand for outsourcing is growing at around 20 percent a year, but the number of local university graduates is growing at only 3 percent, and only 5-8 percent of them are hire-able, based on government data, highlighting a need to re-engineer the country's educational system.

The Philippines has a 10-year basic education system, which the government is looking to extend by two years, by adding a pre-school kindergarten program, to match its Asian rivals.

"The challenge is to be able to supply the human resources to support the industry both from the entry level to middle managers and executives," said Trade Secretary Gregorio Domingo.

The country turns out 470,000 accountants, lawyers, nurses and engineers each year, but that figure is dwarfed by the 4 million college graduates in India and 2 million in China.

INSOURCING

The Americas remain the biggest clients for the Philippine outsourcing industry, accounting for nearly three-quarters of the domestic BPO market, but Europe, Australia and Japan are increasingly knocking at the door for business.

Some local BPO operators worry about the possible impact of U.S. President Barack Obama's election-year pledge to close tax breaks for companies that move U.S. jobs overseas and offer incentives to firms bringing those jobs back home.

But Jose Cuisia, Manila's ambassador to Washington, has sought to allay those fears, saying a pending bill in the U.S. Congress to end job exports lacks support from the Republicans that dominate the lower house of the Congress.

"I don't think that will pass, even in an election year," Cuisia said at a recent forum with Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis, noting that outsourcing backroom functions makes U.S. companies more competitive.

In its 2011 Global Services Location Index, consultancy firm A.T. Kearney ranked the Philippines 9th out of 50 outsourcing destinations, saying: "Politicians are using global services offshoring as an easy scapegoat for current economic woes and high unemployment levels in their home countries, stoking resentment against globalised firms and their host countries."

"Although signs of a slowdown in the growth of global services are evident in this environment, don't expect offshoring to end. In fact, the global services industry's full potential is ready to be tapped."

FORMIDABLE FORCE

The growth in the Philippine outsourcing sector has made it indispensable to the economy and to employment, with local officials citing it as one of the reasons the country escaped recession in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis.

In 2009, when much of the world was reeling from the crisis, the United States invested $1.4 billion in the Philippine BPO sector, up from $986 million a year earlier, central bank data showed.

"The BPO industry is one that takes advantage of the strength of the Philippines, which is its people," Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said.

"It's an industry that not only offers direct employment (but) also supports the real estate industry and the service industry, and, together with remittances from Filipinos working abroad and tourism, will form part of the three strong legs that will be the platform for growth of the Philippines in the next years."

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Philippines stop China from double digit Military Spending intended for War in the Disputed Seas

Wen urged China to enhance ability to take victory in 'local wars': South China Sea

Premier Wen Jiabao urge China to enhance the ability of its military to win "local wars, (South China Sea)"  said, as Beijing grows increasingly assertive about its territorial claims in Asia.

Beijing lays claim to large swathes of the West Philippines Sea (South China Sea) which are also claimed by its smaller neighbors, and must also secure supply routes and new sources of raw materials to fuel its booming economy.

Wen's made his comments at the opening of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's parliament, a day after the government announced military spending would top US$100 billion in 2012 — an 11.2-percent increase on last year.

"We will enhance the armed forces' capacity to accomplish a wide range of military tasks, the most important of which is to win local wars under information age conditions," Wen said in his "state of the nation" speech.

China's territorial disputes with countries including Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have grown rockier in recent years and its neighbors have accused it of behaving aggressively.

The Asian giant already has the world's largest armed forces and its defense budget has seen double-digit increases every year for much of the last decade, rattling the United States, which is forging ahead with plans to expand its own military power in Asia.

Analysts say actual defense spending is probably double the published figure, with funding for modernizing the country's military not included in the budget.

China has made advances in satellite technology and cyber warfare in recent years and invested in advanced weaponry including its first aircraft carrier, a 300-meter-long (990-foot) former Soviet naval vessel that had its first sea trial in August.

But it remains technologically far behind the United States. Wen said Beijing aimed to "enhance our capacity for making innovations in defense-related science and technology and in weapons and equipment development."

"We will vigorously carry out military training under information-age conditions," he told the 3,000 delegates gathered in Beijing's Great Hall of the People.

Philippines asks China to cut military spending for WAR in the disputed Sea

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario urged the Chinese government yesterday not to spend a huge part of its budget for military expansion that could lead to further intrusions into the disputed Spratly Islands of the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea to the government). He said Beijing should instead use its vast financial resources for peaceful purposes.

The Philippine government is impressed with the fast economic growth of China that is likewise benefiting the Philippine economy, he said.

"With this growth, China is also increasing its defense spending, which is its sovereign right to do so," del Rosario said.

But he also said the Philippines was "relying on China to fully utilize its vast global influence in the most responsible way, especially in terms of promoting peace, prosperity and stability in the region."

Beijing announced over the weekend that it would increase its defense budget by 11.2 percent after the US also bared plans to increase budget allocations for military spending by 2013 as part of its comprehensive plans to increase its military presence in the Southeast Asia amid increasing tensions in the disputed islands in the region.

Li Zhaoxing, spokesman of the National People's Congress, said Beijing would increase its military spending to 670-billion yuan ($106.4 billion) in 2012 which is 68-billion yuan more than its 2011 spending.

The US defense budget for the 2013 fiscal year is $613.9 billion, including $525.4 billion in base spending.

The Philippines has been protesting increasing military presence and activities in the West Philippines Sea (South China Sea) and proposed the adoption of a Zone of Peace and Freedom before the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

ASEAN foreign ministers are now drafting a legally binding Code of Conduct in the South China Sea to ease tensions in the disputed Spratly Islands believed to be sitting on rich natural gas, oil and marine resources.

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PHILIPPINES: Women Weather Climate Change

As the world commemorates International Women's Day March 8, 2012, women around the globe are speaking out on various issues that affect them. In light of recent natural disasters and calamities in the Philippines, women are increasingly citing climate change as one of their most pressing concerns. According to the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW)'s executive director Emmeline Versoza, the traditional role played by women makes them one of the most vulnerable populations to climate change.

"During disasters, women attend to the needs of the family and prioritize the safety of family members, especially their children, which makes them more vulnerable," Versoza told IPS.

The Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone nations in the world, with an average of 20 typhoons hitting the country every year. The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction reported that in 2011, a total of 33 natural disasters ravaged various parts of the country, resulting in huge losses of life and massive damages to agricultural produce, infrastructure, and properties.

Tropical cyclones, storm surges, heavy rain, floods and landslides are expected to worsen as a result of climate change, putting people, particularly the urban and rural poor at risk, according to Versoza.

Pangging Santos, Advocacy Officer of Sarilaya, a community-based organization working on women's issues and the environment, told IPS that female farmers are feeling the impact of climate change most acutely.

"Extreme weather events have really been on the rise, which has affected the farming sector. When yields are low, it's usually the women farmers who have to find a way to make ends meet," Santos told IPS.

Irregular rainfall, unexpected droughts and an unusually high incidence of insect infestations have all impacted the agriculture sector, which contributes to a large chunk of the Philippine economy.

Sarilaya works with rural women in Nueva Ecija, an agricultural province in the North dubbed the 'rice granary' of the country. Following several killer typhoons that battered the country, thousands of hectares of rice-farming land and corn plantations were destroyed, affecting local women's livelihood.

"As the men of the farming households sought occupations in the city, it was the women left to tend the fields. As early as six in the morning, they are exposed to extreme heat and harsh weather conditions. Many of the women we've worked with are suffering from urinary tract infections and other health problems that often go untreated," explained Santos.

Meanwhile in urban centers, flashfloods brought by intense rains over the past few years regularly displace thousands of people into cramped evacuation centers, where women and girls face further risks.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has documented cases of child birth in unsafe conditions in evacuation sites during extreme disasters.

At the height of the killer typhoon Ketsana in 2009, Maritess Gural gave birth to her sixth child inside a basketball court, which had been converted into a makeshift evacuation centre. Hours before going into labor, she had been wading in murky floodwaters to save what she could of her family's belongings.

"Fear was the farthest thing from my mind. I told my husband I couldn't leave until I had salvaged our belongings," recounts Gural in the documentary "A Woman's Story" produced by UNFPA.

According to UNFPA added that the risk of sexual violence is also high in emergency situations when "protection mechanisms are absent."

"There have been reported cases during natural disaster of gender-based violence because of the open living conditions in evacuation centers. Women's special needs - such as safety, privacy, separate toilets and gender-sensitive hygiene kits should be taken into consideration by local government during disaster-planning," said Versoza.

In light of the global impact of climate change, PCW highlighted the importance of governance and accountability in their month-long celebration of National Women's Month. The theme "Women Weathering Climate Change" highlighted that disaster risk reduction is everyone's responsibility and underscored women's role as agents of change.

"We want women and local governments to be more informed and prepared for any disaster - because climate change is here. We will be visited by many more typhoons in the years to come and we have to be prepared," said Versoza.

Government agencies and women's community groups gathered in a tree-planting activity to help reforest Marikina watershed, the source of most of the flood waters that inundated Metro Manila during the height of tropical storm Ketsana.

"Women are very active at the village level and they are the ones mobilizing the community to help rehabilitate the watershed and take care of the nursery," said Versoza.

Groups like Sarilaya are also working with women famers to mitigate climate change.

"We're training women to practice organic farming. We've set up a sustainable farm school and established the use of organic (and) traditional rice and vegetable seed banks," said Santos.

Meanwhile, other local governments are stepping up efforts to address climate change.

Late last year, the province of Albay, which is located right in the path of tropical cyclones coming into the country from the Pacific Ocean, set up the country's first Climate Change Academy.

The academy provides training to local government units to study actual preparations, evacuation, and mitigation measures for disasters and evaluate climate risk hazards and adaptive capabilities.

Find out more about the forces behind climate change - but also about the growing citizen awareness and new climate policies towards sustainable development http://ipsnews.net/climate_change/

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Big Manufacturers quitting China for Philippines – PHL rating ups

Philippine officials say rising labor costs in China's southern coast are driving big foreign manufacturers to relocate to the country.

Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo said Tuesday there has also been "very strong" interest from Japanese investors who are looking for tracts of land in Philippine export processing zones. They include electronics, ship building and steel companies.

He said investors relocating to the country include foreign garments factories closing in China. A big company which left the Philippines has decided to return, while another one is seriously considering coming back, he said.

Domingo told a government economic briefing that so far this year the country is seeing "the most we've ever seen" of investor fact finding missions.

China, which after economic liberalization in the 1980s became the world's low-cost factory, is now grappling with rising wages and production costs that have made it less attractive to some foreign manufacturers.

The Philippine officials did not have estimates of the value of the incoming investment or the jobs that would be created. Domingo refused to name the companies that are relocating to the Philippines.

Foreign direct investment in the Philippines totaled ₱87.3 billion pesos ($2.04 billion) in the first nine months of last year, up slightly from ₱79.4 billion pesos ($1.85 billion) a year earlier.

The Philippine economy is forecast to grow 5 percent to 6 percent this year, driven by increased spending on infrastructure and more efficient budget spending, Socio-economic Planning Secretary Cayetano Paderanga said.

Domingo thinks economic growth could exceed 7 percent this year with the stock market achieving a new record high Monday, and strong growth in exports, the outsourcing industry, tourism and investments.

Officials also said the Philippines is estimated to hit its demographic "sweet spot" by 2015, when majority of Filipinos will be of working age, a situation which usually fuels growth.

Philippines seen getting credit-rating upgrade from S&P

Philippines stands a good chance of getting a credit rating upgrade in the short term from Standard & Poor's, which expects the country's debt profile to further improve as the economy grows and revenue collection rises.

In its latest outlook report for Asia-Pacific, S&P cited the Philippine government's focus on shoring up revenue collection and plans to help pump-prime the economy by enticing private firms to invest in infrastructure projects.

Currently, S&P assigns the Philippines a credit rating of BB and an outlook of "positive." This is two notches below investment grade, while the outlook indicates probability of a credit-rating upgrade within the short term if expectations of better indicators materialize.

"The positive outlook is based on our expectation that continued adherence to fiscal consolidation, combined with improved medium-term growth prospects, will further moderate the Philippines' public debt and interest burden," S&P said in the report titled "Asia-Pacific Sovereigns: Mixed Outlook in an Uncertain Year."

The ratio of the Philippines' public sector debt to the country's gross domestic product stands at about 55 percent. The ratio has declined from more than 70 percent in the early 2000s.

The country's economic managers are hoping to bring the ratio down closer to 50 percent or even lower to get a credit-rating upgrade. Such an objective requires making economic growth consistently exceed the rise in the country's debts.

The officials are hoping the Philippines will get investment-grade rating by 2013, claiming that macroeconomic indicators of the country are improving and are just about the same as those of other developing countries that are already enjoying investment grade.

Indonesia, which the Philippines would like to consider as its counterpart, recently obtained an investment grade rating.

"The rating [of the Philippines] could be raised on material progress in achieving a sustainable structural revenue improvement or further strengthening of the public balance sheet, thus reducing fiscal vulnerability," S&P said.

The credit-rating firm said its baseline projection was that the Philippines would be able to post better fiscal numbers over the short term.

However, it stressed that should actual developments on the fiscal front veer away from the baseline projection, the country may see its current rating being kept, if not downgraded.

S&P said the Philippines would likely grow by 4.2 percent this year on the back of government commitments to raise public spending and likelihood of rising investments by the private sector in public infrastructure under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program.

Under the PPP program, the government invites private enterprises to invest in public infrastructure projects. The objective of the program is to fulfill the country's needs for infrastructure without derailing the government's goal of reducing its budget deficit and debts.

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