Business BoI okays two SME projects By Othel V. Campos THE Board of Investments granted incentives to Sooraj Garments Manufacturing Inc. and Hardware Labs Performance Systems Inc. in a bid to develop small and medium enterprises. The two were the first SME investment projects approved by the agency under its newlystreamlined registration process. The BoI delegated the processing and approval of projects of micro and small enterprises to the executive director for industry development services for projects in Luzon, and to the division chiefs and officers-incharge of BoI extension offices in Visayas and Mindanao. “The delegation of functions aims to speed up processing of applications and thus promote ease of doing business in support of the growth and development of businesses especially MSMEs,” Trade Secretary and BoI chairman Ramon Lopez said. The delegation applies to project activities in agriculture, services, tourism and manufacturing sectors with project cost of P15 million and below. Sooraj Garments is a new export producer of garments with an annual capacity of 808,080 pieces per year. Located at Binangonan, Rizal, the P1.9million project will employ 64 people on a non-pioneer status. Hardware Labs, meanwhile, is a new export producer of cryocell refrigeration cooling at an annual capacity of 780 pieces module. The P4.155million project is located in Mabalacat, Pampanga and will employ seven people on a nonpioneer status. “Given their dynamic and productive characteristics, SMEs are seen as crucial for the country’s inclusive economic growth, employment creation, and innovation,” Trade undersecretary and BoI managing head Ceferino Rodolfo said.
New FIT rate mode proposed By Alena Mae S. Flores
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HE Confederation of Solar Developers of the Philippines is pushing for a new concept in lieu of a third round of feedin tariff to support the sector, an industry official said over the weekend. CSDP president Reynaldo Casas told reporters the move would ensure the sustainability of the solar industry while government debated on whether to issue a new round of installation target and feed-in tariff for solar or not. “The issue of a third FIT is another dimension. CSDP has crafted a concept that we will advocate to the regulatory bodies in lieu of a third FIT—it’s like a principle of auctioning but more regionally. It’s a different concept altogether,” he said. The feed-in tariff is a form of incentive to renewable energy developers as it charges a fixed rate per technology source over a 20-year period. “We have the framework. It’s subject to more validation. We need to validate the concept with regulatory bodies,” he said. CSDP, whose member power plants produce a total of 543 MW of solar electricity and with a combined investment of P45 billion, will formalize and present the concept paper in January. “We are in a hurry because we want to make sure the industry is not in a frozen state as it is
today. Nobody’s moving,” Casas said. Around 300 MW of solar capacity set to be built to meet the March 15, 2016 deadline of the Energy Department were not endorsed for feed-in tariff availment. Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, meanwhile, wants to review the Renewable Energy Law passed in 2008 to determine its impact on the electricity consuming public. atchalian said the RE Law had been existing for over five years “and it’s about time to review this law.” The Joint Congressional Power Commission is tasked to review the RE Law. “Let’s not veer away from the original intention of the law, which is to decrease carbon emissions. We have reduced our carbon emissions,” he said. Gatchalian, who heads the Senate Committee on Energy, said the government should now look at how the reduction impact to the ordinary consumers. “We have to review this. Right now, there is no intensive review, whether the intention of the law and the social benefit to Juan dela Cruz is being met,” he said. Gatchalian said he would convene with his committee next month to initiate the review. “I talked to the counterpart in the lower house, this January we will be convening the JCPC and we will also review the Epira and the RE law. Not only the provisions of the law, the effect of the law to our constituents,” he said. The passage of the RE Law ushered the entry of thousands of megawatts of renewable energy projects under the feed-in tariff scheme.
Samal Island. Ferina Santos
Davao Light energizes cable to connect Samal DAVAO CITY—Distribution utility Davao Light and Power Co. played big brother days before Christmas when it energized the submarine cable connecting Samal Island to mainland Davao, ensuring a more reliable supply of power to the popular tourist destination. Island Garden City of Samal Mayor Al David Uy thanked Davao Light for allowing Samal Island to take advantage of the Davao Light substation in Pampanga district in Davao City as a jump-off point for the submarine cable into Samal.
He said the assistance of Davao Light was more significant considering that Samal Island was not covered by the Davao Light franchise area, but under the Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative. Davao Light executive vice president and chief operating officer Arturo Milan said the AboitizPower distribution utility was more than happy to be a good neighbor to Daneco. “We are happy to support our neighboring communities and to help the people of Samal, our fellow Mindanaoans, so they could cele-
brate this joyful occasion with uninterrupted power supply,” Milan said. “We, in AboitizPower, remain committed to integrate positive social development into our business operations. We are always ready to do our part to contribute in developing a better community for our people” Milan added. He hopes the power connection will further propel the economy of the island, especially with the infrastructure efforts of the national government well under way. The Department of Public Works and Highways
recently announced the allocation of around P1.19 billion for the feasibility study of the Davao-Samal bridge project that will connect the island to the mainland. Samal used to be connected to the mainland until a wayward ship cut off the submarine cable in March 2016. More expensive modular power generating sets were rushed into the island to provide power for the numerous resorts, agribusiness, and commercial establishments in the area. The island has a population of over 100,000 people.
Diosdado Banatao: Success story of a leader and technology innovator EMY G. TIU
GREEN LIGHT THE CEO Series’ sixth guest speaker was Engineer Diosdado “Dado” Banatao. The event was free and open to the public and I was fortunate to attend even if it was held on a Friday morning. Engineer Dado has a wide experience as an entrepreneur and invented the chips that we used in our mobile phones and laptops. He is the managing partner of Tallwood Venture Capital. The early years I was amazed at the life story of Dado. It’s a rags-to-riches story. He came from the north, in Cagayan province. His father was a rice farmer and he was really hardworking so that his children can finish their studies. He studied high school at Great Glory of God where he learned his arithmetic skills and no memorizing but instead they count things like an abacus. Then he went to Ateneo de Tuguegarao where he started to learn from the Jesuits. He left home for his high school studies at the age of 11 and had the discipline to do his home work alone.
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MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016 extrastory2000@gmail.com
After high school, he studied at Mapua Institute of Technology and passed the board exam. After college, he started to looked for the job but can’t find the right job for him. In addition, he turned down the job offer in Manila Electric Co., the traditional employer of electrical engineers. Instead, he found an interesting jobh in Philippine Airlines as a trainee pilot. Designing the chips However, his career as a pilot was short lived. Dado moved to Seattle to work at Boeing as a design engineer in systems integration department for the company’s new commercial airliner. When he got bored, he wanted to study again and go back to graduate school. He took the Graduate Study Program at the University of Washington for 18 months, where he was full time student with full salary for two hours work. Then he transferred to Stanford University where he learned a lot from his Master Degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and this was the beginning of who he is today. Six years later as a design engineer, he started his first company. Unfortunately the company failed because it ran out
of funds. However, he didn’t give up. With the same idea and starting from scratch again, he improved the second company and offer it to the public and this is the beginning of his successful rise in the computing world. He studied the PC inside out and when he faced challenges, he didn’t give up. The more difficult the problems, the more they stay in their office and labs working on the design solutions. Never give up He encouraged DLSU students to study reverse engineering as well as do some designs and challenge themselves to do something new. Most of all, he emphasized that they should not give up: there will always be challenges in life. It is either you give up or challenge yourself. If you give up, you’re done. According to Dado, technology can help eradicate poverty because the only known solution is economic development. And the only solution to economic development is sustainable growth through innovation. To have Silicon Valley in the Philippines, we will need well trained research and design engineers and experts. He also firmly believes that the only known solution to reduce
the gap between rich and poor is entrepreneurship. Dreams for the future He wishes that before he dies, he sees a progressive Philippines. He advocates government funding the right things such as institutions like the university system and considering the innovations to be developed in the country. I’ve learned a lot from Dado and one of this is hard work really leads to success. Let us continue to pursue our dreams, ambitions and aspirations in spite of adversities in life. We should dream, believe, act and achieve. Kudos Engineer Diosdado Banatao! May you inspire more Filipinos. The author is an MBA student at the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business. This essay is part of a journal she keeps in fulfillment of the requirements of the course, Trends and issues in Business and Management: CEO Series. Visit her blog at http://ceoseries.blogspot.com/. The views expressed here are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.
THE PILIPINAS CONFERENCE
From left: With Go Negosyo Founder and Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcio; former Foreign Affairs Sec. Albert Del Rosario; International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI) Chairman and CEO Ricky Razon; Ayala Corp. Chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel De Ayala II and Stratbase ADR Institute Victor Andres Manhit
A year-ender to top all other year-enders, so to speak. And why not? 2016 was a year that will not be easily forgotten in human history. The volatility and the temperament were not just here, mind you, but also in the US, in Europe, and in other parts of the world. To say that “Change is Coming” is rhetorical because, indeed, change has happened and change will definitely stay. The Stratbase Albert Del Rosario Institute for Strategic and International Studies (ADRi) hosted such a yearend conference dubbed “The Pilipinas Conference” that sought to look at the vision and outlook for Philippine economic growth and diplomatic leadership under the Duterte administration. The conference was made up of panel discussions on these primordial topics: federalism, regional security, the economy and Philippine Business in Southeast Asia. I led the fourth Panel Discussion on “The Philippine Footprint in Southeast Asia and Beyond” together with RFM Corporation President and CEO as well as Philippine Center for EntrepreneurshipGo Negosyo Founder and current Presidential Adviser on Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion, Ayala Corporation Chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel De Ayala II, and International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) and Bloomberry Resorts Chairman and CEO Ricky Razon. It’s not often that we get these leaders of industry in one forum; thus, my task was to ensure we maximize their presence and milk them of their views and ideas. We were not disappointed. It was, by far, the most engaging, thoughtprovoking, and profound panel that I have been part of. Indeed, starting from their vantage point as CEOs and captains of industry, all of them were able to eloquently and succinctly share with the audience their respective views; which was clearly culled from a strong academic background, a deep understanding of business and realpolitik. We were taken on an exciting tour of the inevitability of a “ New World Order” and what we must do to prepare for it. My opening salvo was to ask what made these captains of
International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI) Chairman and CEO Ricky Razon, and Ayala Corp. Chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel De Ayala II
With International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI) Chairman and CEO Ricky Razon
Vice President Leni Robredo
industry decide to “expand their horizons” abroad or beyond the Philippines. Striking in this discussion was what Ricky Razon said, that “the easiest place to do business is the one where you make the least money.” Some grain of truth there. Other points of discussion included the preparation that each of their companies did with the forthcoming Trump administration in the US, especially on certain policy pronouncements he has made like, for example, with BPOs and the review of existing trade agreements; the kind of advice they would give the audience and their companies on the “change” that is happening; their take on the present foreign policy thrust of the administration; and about the highly-sensitive topic of change in the form of government and lifting of the restrictive economic provisions of constitution. The responses were varied, but not necessarily unrelated to what each had to say. All points mentioned seem to add up to a whole—a particular direction, a particular framework. I believe all panelists were of one mind in how they wanted business to flourish, in how they expected government to act. It’s just that they expressed these different parts of a whole in different ways. Truly, the kind of year-ender that should cap an otherwise interesting or, shall I venture to say, amazing year. But don’t take my word for it. View it yourself at https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_ gJYvWjozU&t=3501s. Happy Holidays!
Ayala Corp. Chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel De Ayala II
From left: With Go Negosyo Founder and Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion; International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI) Chairman and CEO Ricky Razon; and Ayala Corp. Chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel De Ayala II