JCI Update: 2011 TOFIL Nomination Site Launched

"Nominating your bet to this year’s The Outstanding Filipino (TOFIL) Award is now just a few clicks away. Simply visit www.tofil.ph and click on the “Nominate” button. The TOFIL Award is a joint project of the JCI Senate Philippines and Insular Life.

The awards program recognizes exemplary Filipinos, 41 years and above, who have excelled in their fields of endeavor and have contributed significantly to uplifting the lives of the underserved. The online nomination is a fresh step for the awards program.

It intends to ease nominations and submission of entries, and increase awareness of the awards program, especially among the online community of Filipinos. Deadline for submission of nominations is on August 31. Visit www.tofil.ph or www.facebook.com/pages/The-Outstanding-Filipino-TOFIL for more details."

Womens' Causes Update:Gender sensitivity is alive and well in tech-voc training | The Manila Bulletin Newspaper Online

Gender sensitivity is alive and well in tech-voc training | The Manila Bulletin Newspaper Online: "TESDA and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) signed last week in Makati City a letter of understanding for a partnership project in mainstreaming gender sensitivity and life skills in vocational training.

Signatories are TESDA Director General Joel Villanueva and Ugochi Daniels, country office head, UNFPA. They also signed the TESDA Annual Work Plan for the ongoing Youth, Employment and Migration Program (YEM).

This project builds on the accomplishments of the Gender-Responsive Economic Actions for the Transformation of Women (GREAT) Project where TESDA partnered with the Philippine Commission on Women and the Canadian International Cooperation Agency.

The GREAT Project aims to create and support a gender-responsive enabling environment for women’s economic empowerment, particularly those in micro enterprises."

Wellness in Trade & Industry: DTI continues Free Trade Areas (FTA) info drive

PIA daily news in English, Tagalog, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Ilocano, Waray, Pangalatok from around the Philippines: "The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) launched yesterday a second round of information session to provide information relevant to respective industries. It was also aimed to engage the business sector to increase utilization of Philippine preferential trade agreements.

“ Even developed countries spend over 60 information sessions to ensure that their exporters would have the knowledge on how to utilize the benefits of FTA,” said Bureau of Export Trade Promotion Director Senen M. Perlada.
Philippines, he added, should do the same in information dissemination so that benefits cited in FTAs will be greatly utilized.

At the moment, Philippines as a member of ASEAN has 7 existing FTAs namely, AFTA, China (ACFTA), Korea (AKFTA), Australia-New Zealand (AANZFTA), Japan (AJCPA and PJEPA), and India (AIFTA)."

Wellness in Tourism: DOT steps up efforts to boost investments in tourism | Inquirer Business

DOT steps up efforts to boost investments in tourism | Inquirer Business: "“Investments in tourism via TEZs (tourism enterprise zones) are a win-win for the industry, with developers rewarded for responsible development initiatives. We have, therefore, made Tieza incentives as attractive as possible,” Tourism Secretary Alberto Aldaba Lim said.
Tieza draws its mandate to designate and oversee TEZs from the Tourism Act of 2009 (RA 9593), specifically from Section 64. It is governed by a board chaired by the tourism secretary.
Tieza’s incentive package compares favorably to those offered by other investment promotion agencies such as the Board of Investments and Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza). For instance, Tieza offers an income tax holiday for investors of six years, extendable for another six years, compared to BOI’s three to six years and Peza’s four years. Some incentives, like tax reduction for social responsibility initiatives conducted by a TEZ, are available only under Tieza.
A company needs to invest a minimum of $5 million, exclusive of the cost of land acquisition, to qualify for incentives. In “extremely meritorious cases,” Tieza may accept a lesser amount if deemed sufficient for the requirement of the project."

Children's Causes Update: Photos: Kobe Bryant Visits Manila | Denver Post Media Center — Denver, Colorado, Photos and Video

Photos: Kobe Bryant Visits Manila | Denver Post Media Center — Denver, Colorado, Photos and Video: "Los Angeles Lakers player Kobe Bryant embraces a boy during his interaction with his fans Wednesday July 13, 2011 at suburban Taguig city east of Manila, Philippines. Bryant is in Manila for the third time to kick off his five-city tour that would take him to Seoul and various cities in China. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)"