Typhoon Pablo which made landfall late December 3 on Mindanao have left an estimated P34 billion damage and a death toll of 1,050 including 354 still unidentified bodies. On top of that, at least 2,662 were injured while 838 others remain missing. It is the strongest tropical cyclone to ever hit Mindanao, making landfall as a Category 5 super typhoon with winds of 160 mph. The largest number of fatalities comes from Compostela Valley followed by Davao Oriental, where 603 and 391 died, respectively. According to the NDRRMC, a total of 711,682 families or 6,243,998 persons in 34 provinces were affected by Pablo. Nearly 170,000 houses were damaged leaving 11,000 people homeless and are still inside evacuation centers. According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), the estimated cost of damages brought by Pablo reached P26.5 billion from agriculture produces and P7.8 billion from private properties. Reports from Department of Agriculture (DA) estimated that the damage to crops and other farm products reached P10.3 billion from different agricultural sectors. DA reported that 71,644 metric tons of bananas valued at P6.43 billion planted over 22,559 hectares of farmlands were damaged. Moreover, the corn sector reported as loss 54,536 metric tons of corn planted over 27,582 hectares of farmlands amounting to P955.33 million. Hogs and poultry sector reported over P410 million in losses. Damage to high-value crops and the fisheries sector reached P135.63 million. The coconut sector initially accounted losses valued at P766.82 million from 14,929 hectares of coconut plantations. But a recent report from Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) estimated a total loss of P8 billion from the coconut industry in Davao Region. In line with this, different sectors from agricultural industry seek help from the government. The Department of Agriculture has awarded over P1 million worth of subsidy for the rehabilitation of Pablo-stricken farmlands in the province. The subsidy includes 5,000 bags of certified rice seeds and 1,000 bags of open-pollinated and hybrid corn seeds, as well as, four bags of ammonium sulfate per hectare. Moreover, the agriculture department is also giving away an assistance of P1,500 per hectare for the clearing operation of damaged banana plantations, aside from supplying the tissue cultured banana plantlets. Also, the National Government contributed P10 million...
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A client posted an interesting topic regarding hiring tips for small business owners based on an article written by Peggie Arvidson-Dailey entitled 10 Hiring Tips for Small Business Owners. I just got 8 out of the 10 tips, since the rest may not necessarily be applicable to small business owners in the Philippines. I hope this will help you. Don’t expect to hire a replica of you! Each person you meet and interview will be a living, breathing human, with their own habits, mannerisms and even ideas! This is fine – -as long as their ideas and habits are not philosophically opposed to yours. Know exactly what you expect from your new hire. Before you advertise for help, sit down and write a job description. List your goals for the new hire…By spending time working through your thoughts on hired help you are setting yourself up for a great working relationship. If you can clearly articulate the job to all applicants, they will have the opportunity to determine if this is a mutually agreeable fit. Be sure to concentrate on specific job-related descriptions, and not subjective information. Determine what type of manager you are! It’s imperative that you’re honest about your work style. Set aside time. Plan to advertise, interview and train until you find the RIGHT person. (SECRET TIP: If you find the right person – Hire them right away and then find work for them! Never pass up a great hire!) Determine your time-off policy. Just like you, your team members will need time off – whether to recover from the flu or just to recharge. Create a disciplinary and review process. Whether you need to tackle issues of poor performance, or chronic absenteeism — have a policy in place before you bring on your first team member. Create a Fact Sheet for Applicants that you can provide along with an application to interested candidates. This sheet should cover your basic job description, expectations and hiring process. Create your training program. Whether a detailed manual or one-on-one training for a specified period of time – make sure you have a written outline. Your training program should include all aspects of the job you expect your new hire to complete. Many misunderstandings and frustrations occur simply because a new hire didn’t understand...
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“Ethics and Excellence” is the theme for the 67th Annual National Convention of Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) held in Butuan City, Philippines last November 28 to December 1, 2012. The event focuses on the importance of ethics and excellence in the practice of CPAs in their selected profession – Commerce and industry, Education, Public Practice, or Government. In the event, a speech by Teresita J. Herbosa was delivered focusing on Ethics and Excellence. In her speech, it was stressed that one cannot exist with the other. According to her, upholding Ethics and pursuing Excellence is appropriate and timely to address the challenges of modern times where regulations and standards become more stringent, competition within profession abound, and where the public demands more from the professional services of the accountants. She further said that these are the present day realities that accountants find themselves in and how they respond to these challenges reflect the values that they espouse. In a nut shell, they must excel but they must always keep their core values intact. There are many examples of great leaders who were “excellent” yet failed due to lack of ethics. For the past decades, various scandals involving large companies like Enron Corporation and WorldCom, along with its auditors, have collapsed. The root cause of these collapse can be summarized in one word — Greed. It is sad to mention that most, if not all, of its leaders are graduates of prestigious universities and have various awards, and are considered “Excellent” in their profession. Despite all of these, they lack integrity, which is one of the most important factor of leadership. They neglected ethics and chose to be under greed instead. With all of these scandals that happened, governing bodies, not just in the US, but all around the world, became stringent with their laws and focused on strict implementation of Ethics. As defined, Ethics involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct. Professional ethics is a set of standards adopted by a professional community. Professional ethics are regulated by standards, which are often referred to as codes of ethics. As professionals, CPAs adopt a code of ethics that govern them when providing a service to the public. The code of ethics...
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What: PICPA Annual National Convention 2012 Who: To all Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) and non-CPAs who want to be updated with the current development and issues confronting each sector and the accounting profession, in general. Where: Almont Hotel’s Inland Resort, Butuan City When: November 28 to December 1, 2012. Schedule of Activities. How much: Pre-registration is P5,500 and on-site registration is P6,000 How to register: Just log on to the official site of PICPA Annual National Convention 2012 and register either online or offline. Procedures are as follows: Online: Fill up the Online Registration Form. Pay registration fee through bank. Deposit payment at account No. 002-000137012 under the name 67th PICPA Annual National Convention. Fax the deposit slip at the following numbers: (085)342-1580, (085)341-1062, (085)342-1495; or email a scanned copy at 67thpicpaanc@gmail.com. Wait for a call or e-mail for confirmation. Offline: Download the 67th PICPA ANC Form Print the registration form and manually write and fill it up, legibly. Pay registration fee through bank. Deposit payment at account No. 002-000137012 under the name 67th PICPA Annual National Convention. Fax the deposit slip at the following numbers: (085)342-1580, (085)341-1062, (085)342-1495; or email a scanned copy at 67thpicpaanc@gmail.com. Wait for a call or e-mail for confirmation. Why register: PICPA Annual National Convention 2012 has become a vital spark for the Institute. It has been the most attended and most specially planned event of PICPA. It serves as a venue for discussion of current development and issues confronting each sector and the profession, in general. The technical sessions are designed to bring in new knowledge and enhanced competency to the members. ANC also serves as an opportunity for fellowship and camaraderie among members from different parts of the country. The theme of PICPA Annual National Convention 2012 is “Ethics. Excellence.” It is an affirmation of PICPA’s core values of integrity, professional excellence, innovation, discipline, teamwork, social responsibility and commitment. With these two mighty words, every professional accountant is reminded and challenged to live out his profession as ethical and excellent as possible. Speakers are experts from different sectors. Key Note speaker is Hon. Teresita J. Herbosa, the Chairperson of the SEC, who will discuss about “Ethics and Excellence”. One of the guest speaker for the event is Robert Gilfoyle, hub-leader for Vietnam and Regional Coordinator for the Corporate Financial Reporting Agenda of World Bank, who will...
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What: Manufacturing Technology Davao 2012 Who: To all domestic and international manufacturers and distributors who want to display the full range of manufacturing machinery, plant-floor automation technology and support products… and to all individuals who want to have business with these companies. This is for companies looking for a one-stop source to all of their manufacturing and technology needs. When: November 29 to December 2, 2012 (see detailed schedule below) Where: SMX, Bajada, Lanang, Davao City For the 6th year, Mindanao opens the “Manufacturing Technology Davao 2012” which is the biggest and most comprehensive machinery and technology show in the region. It will be organized by the Global-Link MP Events International Inc., the expo is set to attract thousands of trade buyers from various allied industries. The event expo will converge three of the city’s technological industries such as Agri Tech Davao, Metal Hardware Wood Mach Davao and Water Technology Davao. It will also feature the Total Office Products Show (TOPS) Davao, Print & Label Davao, Plastics & Packaging Davao, Davao International Travel Expo, and Davao Food Expo. Among the exhibitors will be suppliers, manufacturers, exporters, traders, professionals, end-users, and service providers who are looking to explore and establish their businesses in Mindanao. Last year, Manufacturing Technology Davao was held from May 26-28 at the Convention Hall of the Bangko Central ng Pilipinas, Davao City. It showcased sub shows which includes T.O.P.S. Davao – Total Office Products Show, Woodmach Davao – Woodworking & Furniture Making Technology, and the Davao Food Expo – Food & Food Processing and Packaging Technology. Read more at BusinessDiary and...
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