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INFOBYTES THE OFFICIAL E-NEWSLETTER OF THE PHILIPPINE INFORMATION AGENCY-7 | WWW.PIA.GOV.PH VOL. 2 | NO. 12 June 28, 2013
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CV economic performance on a high in 2012 By Rachelle M. Nessia
CEBU CITY (PIA) -- Central Vi s a y a s s h o w e d s t r o n g e c o n o m i c performance in 2012 spurred by the “impressive” performances from the region’s key industries, according to the National Economic and Development Authority-7 (NEDA). In a report submitted to the Regional Development Council (RDC), NEDA-7 said the major growth drivers in 2012 in the region were industries of IT/ Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), tourism, construction, real estate, and retail trade. Construction sector was upbeat last year as data from the National Statistics Office showed a larger number of new projects were issued building permits in 2012 compared to 2011. Negros Oriental recorded the largest number of new construction projects with 277. Cebu, with 153 new projects, ranked next. NEDA attributes the high addition of new construction projects in Negros Oriental to various reconstruction works following the damage on infrastructure caused by two major natural disasters in the province. Real estate, which also boosted the region’s economy last year, saw a revenue growth triggered by an increase in residential properties. In Cebu alone, the real estate revenue growth rate was pegged at 18.8% in the third quarter of 2012. Data from the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board show that in 2012, some 14 residential condominium projects were issued licenses to sell. These projects, all located in Cebu, involve 5,212 units valued at P5.17B. The market for residential condominium in the region is seen to further increase in the next few years as
an additional 100 condominium buildings are projected to be finished by 2015. Another 170 to 200 buildings are also seen to be completed by 2017. Tourism, on the other hand, was on a high in 2012 as a 14.6% increase in visitor arrivals was recorded in Central Visayas. Total domestic and foreign visitor arrivals in 2011 was at 2.5 million while in 2012 it jumped to 2.9 million. Among the four provinces in the region, Cebu recorded the largest tourist arrivals with 2.2 million in 2012, from only 1.9 million in 2011. As for the IT sector, the number of employees employed in this industry continues to rise with the entry of new companies and the expansion of existing
ones in the region. Records from the Cebu Investment Promotion Center show that a total of 17 new foreign BPO companies opened its doors in Cebu. NEDA projects the regional economy to grow faster in 2013 mostly due to the recent national elections in May. NEDA noted in the same report that regional economic activity tends to peak during election years due to the massive election spending. Positive reviews and good ratings received by the Philippines from various international organizations and rating agencies are also seen to further drive up the region’s economy this year, according to NEDA. (RMN/PIA Cebu)
DOLE-7 Regional Director Chona Mantilla said the department’s internal quality auditors will field teams per field office or divisions during the regionwide audit next month. Each team shall audit the 32 processes enrolled for ISO certification. “However, no team member shall audit his own office to preclude any doubt of collusion and favoritism,” said Mantilla. DOLE-7 Quality Management
Representative Maria Grace V. Diaz is confident that the processes will be packaged to ensure ISO compliance. The training covered the familiarization of the process manuals; inputs on applicable theories on internal quality audit; and actual supervised audit. Lead trainer was DOLE-7 ISO Consultant Remedios Cagulada, an accredited Lead Auditor of Anglo Japanese American Registrars Inc. and International Register of Certificated Auditors. (PIA Cebu)
DOLE-7 to start regionwide internal quality audit in July
CEBU CITY (PIA) -- Twenty internal quality auditors of the Department of Labor and Employment-7 (DOLE) underwent a three-day Internal Quality Audit training in preparation for its regionwide internal quality audit in July. The training mobilized auditors to craft a plan that will monitor, measure, analyze, and recommend for DOLE-7’s process improvement based on the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
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