CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
BUSINESS: Citibank tests mobile-phone service LIFE: Colors of Malaysia C1 SPORTS: Que grabs Malarayat lead A8
B1
Vol. XXII No. 123
H
MST Vol. IV No. 101
MAKATI, Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija and Tagbilaran City in Bohol are the best places in the country to live, work or start a business, a study conducted by the Asian Institute of Management shows. The three cities were among the 25 top performers in the institutes 2007 Philippine Cities Competitiveness Ranking Program. Cities were ranked separately according to three sizesmetro, mid-sized and small. Quality of life is one of six cat-
Survey: Makati, Cabanatuan, Tagbilaran best cities to live in
egories in the AIM survey. The others are cost of doing business, dynamism of the local economy, human resources and training, infrastructure and responsiveness to business needs. Unlike in previous years, AIM did not rank the cities based on total performance. Quality of life takes into account social welfare, peace and order, the quality of the living environment and amenities. Cabanatuan and Tagbilaran ranked first in their respective city sizes, rating 7.17 and 7.97, respectively, on a scale of 10. The average rating in their city sizes was 6.31 and 6.43, respectively. Makati ranked second in quality of life among metro cities, with a rating of 6.98, higher than the average of 6.06 in its size. Cabanatuan was credited for its good access to commercial banks, low or non-existent informal fees, and efficiency in dealing with crime. Tagbilaran was recognized for its low or non-existent informal
Next page
Standard TODAY
SATURDAY, July 5, 2008
16 Pages 3 Sections P15.00
Manila
5 6/45 31 31 Mega Lotto 28 P13.9m+ EZ2 3 DIGIT 26 2 8 0 39 12 4 DIGIT 4 1 3 4 42
Manila, Philippines www.manilastandardtoday.com mst@manilastandardtoday.com
GSIS offers P20,000 in Inflation at 14-year high; emergency assistance gasoline up by another P1
THE Government Service Insurance System is extending emergency loans of up to P20,000 to government workers devastated by typhoons Cosme and Frank, the state-run pension fund said yesterday. It said it was making the loans available in response to President Arroyos call to help the provinces affected by the typhoons. We hope that by making this program available, we can somehow ease the pain of those who suffered great losses because of the recent calamity, GSIS president Winston Garcia said. He said the loans would be made available to members working in government offices in Samar, Pangasinan, La Union, Iloilo, Antique, Capiz, Aklan and Baguio City. The loans carry an interest rate of 8 percent a year and are payable in three years in equal monthly installments. The installments start on the fourth month after the money is drawn down. Qualified members have until Aug. 4 to apply for the loan, the pension fund said.
Lawrence Agcaoili
Tagbilaran Mayor Dan Neri Lim
Cabanatuan Mayor Alvin Vergara Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay
n Coming up next:
Higher bus, taxi, jeepney fares
FOOD and fuel price hikes pushed inflation up to 11.4 percent in June, the highest level in 14 years, with rice prices soaring by 60.5 percent in Metro Manila and gasoline prices breaking past P60 a liter, the government said yesterday.
THE aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan left the Sulu Sea and the waters around Panay island Monday, after helping provide relief to victims of typhoon Frank. Before the groups departure, senior officers of the Armed Forces thanked the more than 40 members of the strike groups humanitarian assistance support team in a special ceremony.
US aircraft carrier leaves Philippine waters
We simply cannot put into words how grateful we are for your operational assistance, said Gen. Alexander Yano, Armed Forces chief of staff. At the Philippine governments request, US President George W. Bush ordered the Navy ships to respond quickly and help the Armed Forces bring relief to Panay. Staging from the groups flagship, the Nimitz-class nuclearpowered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, aircraft Carrier Air Wing 14 provided a heavy lift capability that was vital to transporting food, potable water and medical supplies from Iloilo airport to sites around the island. Air crews in cargo craft and helicopters flew 332 sorties around Panay and delivered more
FAST FACTS
LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT Total labor force
(thousands) Labor force participation rate57,389 Employment rate 63.4% Unemployment rate 92.6% Underemployment rate 7.4%
Jan 2008 Oct 2007 Jan 2007 56,864 63.2% 93.7% 6.3%
56,145 64.8% 92.2% 7.8%
Total employed (thousands)
Male Female
Oct 2006
Jul 2006 Oct 2005
33,257 20,136 13,122 17,523 11,916 3,818 11,841 5,009 16,407 32,875 20,203 12,673 16,553 12,158 4,165 12,171 4,883 15,821
33,185 20,419 12,766 Wage and salary workers 16,759 Own account 12,094 Unpaid family worker 4,332 Agriculture 12,164 Industry 4,895 Services 16,126
Source: National Statistics Office STANDARDTODAYgraphics
Missed your copy of Manila Standard Today? Call or text our Circulation Hotline at 0917-8848655 or email: circ@manilastandardtoday.com
TV reporter Cecilia Drilon, who was held hostage for nine days in June, has been suspended for three months for ignoring instructions not to proceed to the Sulu hideout of the Abu Sayyaf bandits, sources at the ABS-CBN network said. Drilon and two cameramen were released after her family paid ransom. Drilon, who had publicly apologized for her infraction after she and her team were released, had offered to resign, but management rejected her offer, the same sources said. Both ABS-CBN spokesman
ABS-CBN suspends Drilon, wins poaching suit
Ramon Osorio and ABS-CBN News head Rosario Sofia Villa declined to comment when reached. Despite her suspension, Drilon is still working on a documentary about their kidnapping, and writing a day-to-day diary of their captivity for the online edition of ABS-CBN News, the sources said. Also yesterday, a Quezon City court rejected a breach-of-contract suit filed by GMA Network Inc. against Luchi Cruz-Valdes, ABS-CBNs head of news production and current affairs. The court also dismissed GMA Next page
than 519,000 pounds of supplies to typhoon victims. The four ships with Reagan positioned themselves around the island and served as fueling stations to keep the relief mission going. This was a mission that was tremendously rewarding for our sailors, Rear Adm. Phil Wisecup said. The air crews flew 20 Next page
And no respite appeared at the pump as distributors prepared to raise diesel by P2 and gasoline by P1 a liter, and cooking gas by P1 a kilogram this weekendfor the 18 time this yearfollowing skyrocketing world oil prices. Socio-Economic Planning Secretary Augusto Santos said the continuous price increases of cereals and fuel sent last months inflation rate to the highest since May 1994, when consumer prices rose 11.5 percent. The National Statistics Office said tuition increases contributed to the price spiral. Santos said the latest figure brought the average inflation rate for the first six months to 7.6 percent, higher than the governments target of 3 to 5 percent for the whole year. Deputy presidential spokesman Lorelei Fajardo said food price increases may seem to be the order of the day, but the government will not tolerate hoarders and vultures who will prey on our consumers. Its always a concern when inflation goes up, but it was exth
pected, Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo said. We would really like inflation to be as low as [it could go], and the good thing is, under the Arroyo administration, weve actually seen an average inflation rate that is lower than in previous administrations. The central bank had predicted the double-digit inflation. In a statement two days earlier, it also projected inflation to average between 7 and 9 percent for the year, above the governments target. It projected inflation to decline to 4 percent to 6 percent in 2009. The bank holds its next interest-rate setting meeting on July 17, and it said it may further tighten lending as inflation quickened. The bias is toward tightening, Deputy Gov. Diwa Guinigundo told reporters. Inflation has become more of a concern. The bank raised its key rate for the first time in more than two years last month, to 5.25 percent, after inflation rose to 9.6 percent in May. To ease the burden on the transport sector, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board said it would recommend an increase in taxi, jeepney and bus fares. The agency said it may grant a petition by taxi operators to raise their flag-down rate by P10, bringing it to P40 from P30 now. The National Economic and Development Authority said the prices of cerealsmainly rice and cornincreased by 42.2 percent in June from the same month a year ago, compared with a rise of 31.4 percent in May. Fuel prices rose 22 percent in June from a year ago, up from an increase of 18.2 percent in May. Next page
Luchi Cruz-Valdes
Cecilia Drillon