^
+ Follow MILLION-PESO HOLD Tag
MILLION-PESO HOLD
Array
(
    [results] => Array
        (
            [0] => Array
                (
                    [ArticleID] => 396286
                    [Title] => Prescription for poverty (Part I)
                    [Summary] => 



One of our readers forwarded an email containing what is described as a "very interesting, eloquent article written by an American, Barth Suretsky. His observations are interesting and his comments about our culture and his respect and love of the Philippines are nicely written. Due to the worsening situation in our country, let’s hope this will make an impact on other Filipinos who read it."

[DatePublished] => 2007-04-27 00:00:00 [ColumnID] => 133715 [Focus] => 0 [AuthorID] => 1805279 [AuthorName] => Rey Gamboa [SectionName] => Business [SectionUrl] => business [URL] => ) [1] => Array ( [ArticleID] => 395860 [Title] => High credit card rates continue [Summary] => We’ve heard a lot of tragic credit card tales; in fact, these have become too many that we’ve forgotten the moral lesson that accompanies each and every one of them. Were you one of those who had gotten so addicted with swiping those plastic cards that your debts had piled up beyond your capacity to pay?
[DatePublished] => 2007-04-23 00:00:00 [ColumnID] => 133715 [Focus] => 0 [AuthorID] => 1805279 [AuthorName] => Rey Gamboa [SectionName] => Business [SectionUrl] => business [URL] => ) [2] => Array ( [ArticleID] => 392751 [Title] => BPO: A mistaken priority? [Summary] => The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has essentially thrown cold water on the Philippine government’s euphoria over the growing business process outsourcing (BPO) sector.

In its Asian Development Outlook 2007 (released March 27), the ADB says that the industry’s positive features need to be kept in perspective, particularly because "it is highly unlikely that the advent of BPO services signals a paradigm shift that will put the economy on a higher trajectory."
[DatePublished] => 2007-04-02 00:00:00 [ColumnID] => 133715 [Focus] => 0 [AuthorID] => 1805279 [AuthorName] => Rey Gamboa [SectionName] => Business [SectionUrl] => business [URL] => ) [3] => Array ( [ArticleID] => 392334 [Title] => More agri bureaucracy [Summary] => There is a plan for growth in the agri sector, but growth of the wrong kind — the growth of bureaucracy. Here’s the grand plan. The Department of Agriculture (DA) is set on putting up trade and investment desks (TIDs) in so-called key markets worldwide. This on top of the existing and usually one-man agriculture attaché offices in at least five countries: Australia, Japan, Italy, US, Belgium and China.
[DatePublished] => 2007-03-30 00:00:00 [ColumnID] => 133715 [Focus] => 0 [AuthorID] => 1805279 [AuthorName] => Rey Gamboa [SectionName] => Business [SectionUrl] => business [URL] => ) [4] => Array ( [ArticleID] => 390287 [Title] => E-City Manila rises [Summary] => If the objective is to boost tourism and make the Philippines a major player in this competitive sector, there is no reason for the country to dilly-dally on plans that were hatched more than two years ago to transform some 300 hectares of prime property along Manila Bay into a premier entertainment and amusement center.

Even while Macau and Singapore are already forging ahead with their respective but similar plans to capture a sizeable chunk of the tourism and gaming markets of Europe and America, it is not yet too late for the Philippines to play catch-up.
[DatePublished] => 2007-03-19 00:00:00 [ColumnID] => 133715 [Focus] => 0 [AuthorID] => 1805279 [AuthorName] => Rey Gamboa [SectionName] => Business [SectionUrl] => business [URL] => ) [5] => Array ( [ArticleID] => 389767 [Title] => Continuing loss of agri competitiveness [Summary] => WTO director-general Pascal Lamy was in Manila recently apparently as part of an effort to convince its 150 member-countries to craft out a new global trade deal before the end of the year. After a disconcertingly long period of impasse, Lamy spoke with optimism of seeing the negotiating engines a-buzzing once again. He pointed out that discussions are now at a stage that involves number-crunching rather than just mere exchange of words.
[DatePublished] => 2007-03-16 00:00:00 [ColumnID] => 133715 [Focus] => 0 [AuthorID] => 1805279 [AuthorName] => Rey Gamboa [SectionName] => Business [SectionUrl] => business [URL] => ) [6] => Array ( [ArticleID] => 388591 [Title] => Harping on health as an election issue [Summary] => We have a number of comments from our readers covering several issues. Our first one, from [email protected], is a reaction on our column about health as an election issue. Here’s what he says.

"From time to time, an issue or two may dominate American elections, e.g., Iraq in the last and forthcoming elections; and 9-11 several elections before. But health as an election issue is consistently in the top three. This is true in Europe, South America, and most of Asia.
[DatePublished] => 2007-03-09 00:00:00 [ColumnID] => 133715 [Focus] => 0 [AuthorID] => 1805279 [AuthorName] => Rey Gamboa [SectionName] => Business [SectionUrl] => business [URL] => ) [7] => Array ( [ArticleID] => 387908 [Title] => When a promise is not kept [Summary] => Never make a promise you can’t keep. This edict applies not just to people, but even with corporations. This is one simple motto that apparently Globe Telecom Inc., the country’s second-largest phone company, had problems living with.

Globe, which is a partnership of such powerhouse names as Ayala Corp. and Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., started in the second half of 2005 a price offering called the "Unlimitext" that truly made a mark among the country’s text messaging community.
[DatePublished] => 2007-03-05 00:00:00 [ColumnID] => 133715 [Focus] => 0 [AuthorID] => 1805279 [AuthorName] => Rey Gamboa [SectionName] => Business [SectionUrl] => business [URL] => ) [8] => Array ( [ArticleID] => 387440 [Title] => Working together for GM rice [Summary] => The issue of genetically modified (GM) rice has finally reached our shores, but not without controversy. NGOs are now noisily blocking the bid of German multinational company Bayer Crop Science to bring genetically modified rice, which promises better yields, into the Philippines.
[DatePublished] => 2007-03-02 00:00:00 [ColumnID] => 133715 [Focus] => 0 [AuthorID] => 1805279 [AuthorName] => Rey Gamboa [SectionName] => Business [SectionUrl] => business [URL] => ) [9] => Array ( [ArticleID] => 376262 [Title] => Red tape (not for gift wrapping) [Summary] => Red tape — or redundant and unnecessary regulations in government – has often times been cited as one of the main culprits behind the Philippines ’ pathetic ranking in global competitiveness surveys. More often, it is a practice that has often been tied with corruption, an area where we have ranked poorly.

Unfortunately, it is a problem that has lingered. President Gloria Arroyo herself, in her latest state of the nation address, identified reducing red tape in all agencies as among her five comprehensive strategies for global competitiveness.
[DatePublished] => 2006-12-22 00:00:00 [ColumnID] => 133715 [Focus] => 0 [AuthorID] => 1805279 [AuthorName] => Rey Gamboa [SectionName] => Business [SectionUrl] => business [URL] => ) ) )
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