Sex at 50?

Did you know 1: The most common consumer complaint received by the Bureau of Trade Regulation and Consumer Protection is defective cellphones, most of which were purchased in one tiangge or another.

Scams, including those using cellphones, are pretty low in the list.

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Did you know 2: For most Filipinas, sex stops at 50 – or should. That’s one of the findings of the Pfizer Global Study on Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors. The global study surveyed men and women from 40 to 80 years in 29 countries.

Here’s why. One, 50 is about the time women reach menopause. Two, if women never enjoyed it (in part because of their partner’s limited technical repertoire), then menopause is as good an excuse as any (better than a headache) to say no – permanently.

Pfizer is, of course, best associated with viagra, which treats erectile dysfunction. While a hot item, viagra is, however, is not the top revenue earner for Pfizer Phils. That goes to a medicine to lower the cholesterol level.

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Microsoft Phils. is currently going through a reorganization.

You see, the company has not been meeting its revenue targets even as it pays its people top peso. Said another way, the overhead of the Philippine operations has become untenable, especially when it’s not delivering the goods.

One of the first things new Microsoft head Kevin Hou has implemented is core time. While the old flex time culture fosters – to some extent creativity and productivity, it also means that many of the workers are not at their working stations during most hours of the day when the rest of the Philippines is working.

Given the lower than target revenues, there’s also a real fear within Microsoft that Mr. Hou might discover that he doesn’t need as many expensive warm bodies to get the job done.

Then, where would such so-called hotshots who have outpriced themselves in the marketplace go?

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Ferdinand de la Cruz is the new guy handling the cellphone business at Globe Telecom.

Within the Ayala group, Ferd de la Cruz started out in a forgettable job at Ayala Land, Inc., then moved around to other assignments in other companies where he showed his stuff and eventually impressed Globe president Gerardo Ablaza, Jr.

Globe, of course, is not just into cellphones (although that’s what it’s known for). Gerry Ablaza’s kingdom also encompasses landlines (which competes with the likes of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.) and wireless (which deals with applications and such).