Revisiting economic group that is BIMP-Eaga --www.inq7.net

Revisiting economic group that is BIMP-Eaga


By Allan Nawal
Inquirer
Last updated 11:31pm (Mla time) 10/15/2006

Published on page B2-1 of the October 16, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANADO, INDONESIA -- When the Asian financial crisis struck in 1997, the fledgling sub-regional economic cooperation between Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines (BIMP) started to falter.

It had been barely three years since talks aimed at accelerating the growth of the four countries’ least developed areas were initiated.

Under the East Asian Growth Area (Eaga) concept, the provinces of Sulawesi, Kalimantan, Malacca Islands, West Papua in Indonesia, Mindanao and Palawan in the Philippines, Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan in Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam, would foster closer trade and investment relationships.

Former President Fidel V. Ramos, whose administration vigorously pushed the idea of closer ties with the four Southeast Asian neighbors, had projected that the Eaga concept would result in economic growth for Mindanao.

For Ramos, economic growth in Mindanao would also become an effective tool against the Muslim insurgency that has been dogging the Manila government for more than three decades.

Then the currency crisis hit and BIMP Eaga was placed on the back burner.

“Nagkanya kanya muna (They went their separate ways),” was how Efren Abu, the current Philippine special envoy to the BIMP-Eaga, described how members of the sub-regional cooperation behaved at the onset of the financial crisis.

Abu says by that time, nobody was talking anymore about BIMP-Eaga, once hailed as the answer to the woes of the least developed areas of Southeast Asia.

“During the time of President Joseph Estrada, it was totally forgotten,” he said.

When President Macapagal-Arroyo came to power in 2001, the idea of revitalizing the Eaga concept surfaced.

The Mindanao Economic Development Council (Medco) based in Davao City started to pick up the pieces of what was left of the Eaga concept.

Networking with authorities in the three other members of the growth polygon, Medco started to organize trade missions.

By this time, businessmen from General Santos City, who have previously started talks with their counterparts in Indonesia, were making a bold decision.


Mini successes

One group, led by fishing tycoon Doming Teng, trained its sights on Bitung, an hour and a half trip by car from here.

Bitung, strategically located in the rich fishing grounds of Indonesia, looked the most promising place for a tuna cannery plant.

“We exchanged visits several times with our Indonesian partners, practically the output of what we have been doing before in the Eaga,” Teng says.

Three years ago, the partnership materialized and PT Sinar Pure Foods International was born.

With $7.7 million in capital, Teng’s Signal Marine Ventures and its Indonesian partners took over the ailing Pure Foods facilities inside a 4.5-hectare area in Raya Madidir.

Infusing more that $1 million in additional capital to revive the former Pure Foods business, SMV and its Indonesian partners bought additional machinery and improved existing ones, such as a fishmeal factory, an ice plant and a cold storage facility.

PT Sinar’s throughput capacity was raised to 140 metric tons a day although production was only currently at 35-40 MT a day.

“We still have problems with fish supply but we are trying to address that,” Teng says.

PT Sinar markets its canned tuna products to Europe (55 percent), the United States (43 percent) and Japan (2 percent).

Last year, PT Sinar’s revenues were $20 million, making it the second biggest tuna exporting company in Indonesia.

“We are currently developing our Middle East market,” he says.

Teng says his group’s vision was not only to provide world-class products to consumers but also to generate livelihood and employment under the Eaga concept.

On the Indonesian side, PT Sinar’s business has generated 1,000 jobs at the factory alone.

There is also the effect of its activities on other industries such as empty cans producers.

“For local fishermen, we also help them by buying their catch,” he says.

But what about the Philippine side?

Teng says about 80 percent of PT Sinar’s raw materials come from General Santos City.

“Filipino fishermen contribute to the majority of our fish supply. When the financial crisis hit Asia in 1997, the fishing industry in General Santos City was heavily affected. Even in the following years, it hardly recovered,” Teng says.

Marfin Tan of the General Santos fishing industry association said PT Sinar’s business in Bitung has assured the security and continuity of the fishing sector.

Teng says PT Sinar also imports some of its packaging supplies from Mindanao.

“We still lack supplies for packaging materials and spare parts and this causes cost-leaks because they are sourced elsewhere,” he says.

Teng says it would be better if investments in these areas would be made, not only to help PT Sinar lower the cost, but also to help generate livelihood.

A few meters away from PT Sinar, tuna canning company PT Samudra Sentosa stands on a 3.3-hectare area.

Like PT Sinar, the Filipino owners of PT Samudra came to Bitung about three years ago under the BIMP-Eaga concept.

Taking over the existing facilities of a company producing canned vegetables such as asparagus, the General Santos-based Damalerio Group of Companies infused more capital to establish a tuna canning plant.

“We are 100 percent Filipino-owned,” Gary Damalerio, PT Samudra’s operations officer, says.

Like PT Sinar, Damalerio’s company exports its produce to the United States.

“We are also trying to source more fish because we cannot maximize our capacity because of under supply,” he says.

Currently, PT Samudra gets half of its supply from General Santos City.

“We want to see an increase in the future. Our fishermen do not have the capability right now because of lack of fishing boats,” he explains.


Reviving talks

The apparent success of the two companies under the Eaga concept has encouraged government officials to revive talks on economic cooperation.

Abu says upcoming talks—including the one scheduled at the sidelines of the Asean summit in Cebu this year—between Eaga players would center on “doable” things such as trading linkages.

“This is a good start,” he comments.

Sarangani Gov. Miguel Dominguez says he wanted the success of the big businesses replicated, but he wants small and medium enterprise (SMEs) in his province to get into the game.

“The backbone of every economy is the SME sector. We want to tap their potential to improve our local economy,” he says.

Dominguez accompanied the largest delegation of Mindanao businessmen to Indonesia last Sept. 21.

The group included the Labrador couple, whose Cassea’s company produces herbal-based beauty products.

But Christian Widmann, project manager of the German Technical Cooperation, says that while the idea of SMEs being involved in the BIMP-Eaga effort was laudable, it was equally important to bring in more big players.

GTZ is an agency funded by the German government that provides technical support. It started providing technical assistance to the BIMP-Eaga concept in January 2005.

“I am not a big fan of say San Miguel, but we need to have somebody lead the efforts,” Widmann says.

Widmann says although there have been previous talks between BIMP-Eaga players, much still needs to be done to ensure the success of the idea.

He says one of these was for the major players to have a roadmap or common goal and to find ways and means to achieve that goal.

“There should also be more commitment on the side of the governments involved,” he says.

Widmann says the problem that GTZ sees now in the economic cooperation effort was that people making the decisions were not the ones actually implementing them.

“It should be localized,” he says.

Dominguez could not agree more.

He says if the success of the economic cooperation was to be ensured, local government units should be more involved and committed to the success of BIMP-Eaga.





Copyright 2006 Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.







MAPPING THE FUTURE
Country above self


By Evelyn R. Singson
Inquirer
Last updated 11:28pm (Mla time) 10/15/2006


Published on page B2-2 of the October 16, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer



THE STATISTICS THAT I WILL CITE IN my message did not come from me or the MAP. These came from very well-respected and credible organizations like the World Bank, the United Nations and The Economist publication.

We are sometimes tempted to ask ourselves -- why should we care about these statistics compiled and interpreted by these foreign entities? Unfortunately we have no choice but to care and to care enough to do something. International perceptions, as translated into country ratings, are critical considerations in the decision of foreign capital to flow into any country. We need to compete and prove ourselves over and over again to gain, and retain, a piece of the global economic pie.

Emerging markets, of which our country is a part, are playing an ever increasing role in the world economy. As the Economist chart shows, emerging-market countries, which are home to 80 percent of the world’s population, contribute over 50 percent of the world’s output of goods and services.

What the data suggests is that emerging markets are no longer simply manufacturing hubs for advanced economies such as the United States, Japan and Western Europe. With the proliferation of high-speed data transfers and the diminution of telecommunications costs, emerging markets provide business-critical services in the fields of research and development, finance, medicine, law, engineering -- and the list grows.


24th largest economy

Indeed, by the World Bank’s measure of Purchasing-power Parity GDP, the Philippines is actually the world’s 24th largest economy -- considerably higher than its current-dollar GDP ranking of 50th.

Our place among the emerging markets is boosted by the export of services in the form of numerous call centers and BPOs that have become the fastest-growing employers of our young graduates. Owing to rich nations’ proclivity for business process outsourcing and our relative advantage in terms of skilled workers, we are today the world’s 4th largest exporter of IT-enabled services behind India, Canada and Ireland.

Over the years, however, the questions that Filipino policymakers, entrepreneurs and businesspersons shall have to wrestle with are these: what role shall the Philippines play among emerging economies? How do we avert the tragic decline in our ranking in the last 40 years?

In 1960 -- or 46 years ago -- GDP per capita in the Philippines was higher than in Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia and Myanmar. Today, per capita GDP is higher in Taiwan, South Korea and Thailand. Meanwhile both Taiwan and South Korea are already considered Newly Industrialized Economies.

During the past few years, we also have been held in needles by our country’s credit rating, another measure of the credit risk perception by credit rating agencies. Standard and Poors rates the Philippines a “BB-,” whereas Taiwan is rated “AA-,” South Korea is “A,” and Thailand is “BBB+.”

Clearly, these countries have come a very long way from where they were 46 years earlier. Today, they are nearly on par with the developed economies of Western Europe. In contrast, our performance over the same span may best be described as “mediocre.”

Recently, the World Bank published its annual “Doing Business” survey, ranking 175 countries in terms of how the regulatory and legal environment in these countries encourage investors and business.

Unfortunately for the Philippines, it fell by 5 places in a one-year period -- from 121st place in 2005 to 126th place in 2006. So, by the World Bank’s reckoning, it is actually easier to do business these days in Lebanon (86), Bosnia and Herzegovina (95), Vietnam (105) and Iran (120) than it is in the Philippines.

The “Doing Business” survey actually contains a set of 10 sub-rankings. Among these is how the country’s regulations protect investors. Here, the Philippines is ranked 151st -- much worse than its overall ranking. What the survey seems to suggest is that shareholders have better rights-protection in countries such as Timor-Leste, Belarus and Uzbekistan.

The Philippines received a better rating in terms of the ease of paying taxes, ranking 106th. But by this measure, the World Bank says that it is easier to pay taxes in the African nations of Zimbabwe, Eritrea and Nigeria than it is in the Philippines.

The Philippines is in the middle of the pack or even in the upper-third of countries when it comes to enforcing contracts, trading across borders and registering property.

We should pay particularly close attention to our rankings in enforcing contracts since it greatly affects the marketability of our nation as a place for foreign direct investment. At 59th, we are ranked higher than Taiwan, Malaysia and Mexico but lower than Thailand and South Korea, which are ranked 44th and 17th respectively.


Aggressive response

In any case, what do these survey results say about our competitiveness? What has been done in our recent history that has given rise to the perception of outsiders that business conditions in our archipelago are so dismal? More importantly, what can we do to avert this trend -- to send the world the signal that “the Philippines is here and, yes, we are open for your business?”

Make no mistake: the forces of globalization -- the faster movement of manufactured goods, services, ideas and capital -- demand a pro-active and aggressive response. Our failure to acknowledge and act on its inevitability will leave our nation behind, or even worse, consign it to irrelevance.

Therefore maintaining our competitiveness -- our edge, as it were -- is not simply the theme of this year’s MAP CEO Conference but the challenge of our times. If we do not at least sow the seeds that shall ensure our competitiveness in the years ahead, future generations of Filipinos will look upon us with great recrimination and regret.

Of course, as many of you are aware, much of the country’s business environment is determined by our elected representatives and our laws -- things that, as businesspersons, we have very little direct control over.

That said, perhaps it is time for us businesspersons to take a more pro-active role in helping elect the right people into public office. If our political environment is perceived as unstable or unfriendly to business, much of our microeconomic efforts will not bear fruit. It is necessary that the public and private sectors work in tandem and cooperate effectively because it is only through our combined efforts that our country will move out of its undeserved bottom place.

In fact, there are good signs that our economy is improving. Inflation has been declining and that economic growth has been resilient. Net foreign portfolio investments and OFW remittances have enabled the peso to appreciate by 6.1 percent against the US dollar thus far this year.

Furthermore, corporate profits grew exceptionally in the first half of the year and the national government has been successful in keeping its finances under control. All of these developments have led investment banks such as Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers to express confidence that the Philippines is on the right track.

Indeed, there is no doubt in my mind that the Philippines can excel and lead on a global stage.

For instance, Filipino telecommunications firms are regarded with great respect around the world for the way that they have advanced the business model for mobile communications through their innovations in pre-paid credits and mobile e-commerce.

Moreover, the overseas Filipino worker is considered among the hardest-working and most competent in the world. Our nurses, teachers, seafarers and other professionals are on demand in the international markets. But to sustain this demand requires that we keep our reputation as a dependable and credible supplier of world class talents. We should condemn those who seek short-term gains at the expense of our country’s reputation.

Interestingly, while we do not consider them as overseas workers, men like Manny Pangilinan, Manny Pacquiao and Efren “Bata” Reyes, to name a few of our more famous fellow Filipinos, earn much of their income from overseas sources. They bring credit to our nation as world-class talents and their successes in various fields provide strong examples for future generations of Filipinos to emulate.

It is our hope that the business cases and lessons presented here today will buttress and bring your knowledge of management practice to the global level so that you can use these, with great success, in your respective organizations and answer the challenge of our times.

I wish to leave you with a brief story.

Recently, some Filipinos undertook to climb Mt. Everest and naturally, their success has generated great interest in the history of the Everest Expeditions. Certainly, anyone with even a passing knowledge of the Everest Expeditions is now familiar with the names of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, the two men who reached the summit first.

However, fewer people can probably name the leader of the successful expedition of 1953.

His name was Col. John Hunt. It was his meticulous planning, together with the generous team spirit that he fostered throughout the expedition that enabled Hillary and Norgay to reach the summit. Many prior expeditions had failed up to that point because lesser men chose personal glory rather than the common good.

The same is true in the world of business. MAP’s theme “Country Above Self” is the only mindset that will enable our country to achieve and sustain global competitiveness that will bring prosperity to those who participate in the production of wealth.


* * *


(Speech delivered during the 5th MAP International CEO Conference on Oct. 11, 2006. The author is president of the Management Association of the Philippines and eBusiness Services Inc. Feedback at mapsec@globenet.com.ph)





Defying gravity in restaurant industry: 3 success lessons


By Eduardo A. Morato
Inquirer
Last updated 11:31pm (Mla time) 10/15/2006

Published on page B2-3 of the October 16, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

SOMETHING IS FISHY AT Somethin’ Fishy. The Eastwood eatery is defying the law of gravity in the restaurant industry. What goes up, refuses to come down. A lesson or two in the food business can be drawn from this popular dining destination.

Prior to Eastwood City’s opening in 2001, a few bars and restaurants were already attracting crowds to the Libis area and C-5. Megaworld lured customers to its new urban development center with several enticements like free parking, entertainment events, varied food offerings, and a captive community of residential dwellers and office workers. Eastwood boomed as the latest “in place.”

Four years down the road, the Eastwood luster began to fade as competition in neighboring destinations attracted the fickle consumers. The Promenade in Greenhills, Tiendesitas, Metro Walk, SM Hypermart and Fort Bonifacio enticed segments of the Eastwood market with their differentiated appeal. It did not help that parking lots gave way to the construction of new condominiums at Eastwood. Parking fees were charged. Marketing events declined somewhat. Traffic worsened at C-5, demotivating diners. Beer prices were set at a minimum of P45 per bottle. All this reduced the customer count.

Somethin’ Fishy had to find new bait for fishing. One Eastwood opportunity presented itself. The call centers located in the area provided customers with strange working hours and even stranger eating habits. The restaurant opened its doors to tired and hungry night jobbers. It offered eat-all-you-can breakfast buffets from five to ten in the morning for only P80. What Somethin’ Fishy lost in price, it recovered in volume. Later on, the restaurant extended this offering from midnight to 10 a.m. A new “school of fish” bit at the bait. These were “after gimmick” diners gulping food after their bar hoppings or merry makings. Long queues of off-beat but value-seeking customers stormed the off-tangent restaurant operating at ungodly hours. Somethin’ Fishy found the formula for defying gravity.

Of the 40 or 50 casual dining and fastfood restaurants at Eastwood, some 10 to 15 have closed down. However, there is hope for Eastwood locators. A mall is rising inside the complex. More call centers are coming in. Condominiums are being built. This means more captive markets. To the patient and persevering will belong the restaurant spoils. Meanwhile, Somethin’ Fishy is plotting strategies for its lost lunch and dinner markets. It has come up with Filipino “hunger buster platters” and a “swordfish festival at 50 percent off. Combo meals for four persons, with seven to eight viands, are priced between P499 and P769. Bento plates at P150 for lunch and larger servings at dinner for P275 round up their price assault.

An interview with Jom Policarpio, manager of Somethin’ Fishy, yielded a demand estimate of P500 million for Eastwood restaurants in 2005. Eastwood has a large employee population of 13,221 from 197 companies. Twelve call centers provide the off-hour customers. There are 752 families living inside Eastwood. Some 7,962 middle to high income households in nearby subdivisions augment the market base. “Gimmickers” from Metro Manila’s watering holes round up the customer profile. The future of Eastwood seems brighter than its immediate past.

The restaurant and bar industry is subject to the whims of a market always on the lookout for “something new.” When customers leave a place, it is hard to get them back unless fresh excitements lure them anew. Rockwell was “in” for a while, only to give way to the rejuvenated Greenbelt complex which sucked in the crowd from the adjacent Fort as well. Greenbelt has become the diners’ black hole. But then again, Greenbelt at Makati is not just the new “in place”. What is going for it is Makati’s large base of customers since the city is envied as the most densely populated office and residential center in the country. Makati was just waiting for Greenbelt to happen with a vengeance.


Lessons learned

So what are the lessons learned from the restaurant industry?

A large customer base is definitely a must.

More than that, there must be constant renewal and fresh excitement to entice the restless crowd. For budding commercial centers, avoid customer “demotivators” and “dissatisfiers” (e.g. parking difficulty, traffic), especially if the base load is still small.

Finally, look for unusual market segments (e.g.the off-beat customers) or market differentiators (e.g. fantastic customer offerings). Continuously reinvent and reposition the restaurant as often as necessary or as the wind shifts. The creative restaurant entrepreneur should wake up every morning to ask himself one question “how do I make myself obsolete today?”






Copyright 2006 Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.







Dropout raises hogs, earns big bucks, shares secrets


By Yolanda Sotelo-Fuertes
Inquirer
Last updated 11:31pm (Mla time) 10/15/2006


Published on page B2-5 of the October 16, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer



BINALONAN, PANGASINAN -- Some children here who are unable to finish their schooling are encouraged by their parents to just raise hogs to have a source of income.

A Chinese-Filipino from Bulacan, who dropped out of high school because of poverty, raises piglets and now owns one of the biggest hog farms in Northern Luzon.

Danilo Uy, a Pangasinan board member, says he dropped out of Far Eastern University after two years when he was only 14. At 15, he was already working as a salesman of a commodity company in Manila.

“I learned to drive when I was 18, so I became the driver, salesman and delivery boy of the company I worked for. I was on deck to become the sales manager,” Uy says.

But it was found out that he was a high school dropout. Thus, while he was doing well as a salesman, he was taken out of the race.


Chicharon

“I resigned after that and put up a small chicharon (kropeck) factory in Malabon. My father Kiana Uy, one of the early Chinese who migrated to the Philippines, and the other family members were in charge of the production while I sold the product in the Ilocos region and Baguio City,” he says.

The business was good in Baguio and Uy stayed there most of the time until he met Myrna, also a Chinese-Filipino, and they got married in 1970.

Eight years later, Uy decided to put up a chicharon business in a rented 5,000-hectare lot in Barangay Bugayong in Binalonan town.

His wife Myrna operated a canteen in Baguio to augment the income derived from the chicharon business.

As the business was doing well, a problem emerged: The neighbors complained about the smell of rotting waste products from the chicharon factory.

“I told them the waste products would make good food for hogs, which many raised in their backyards. That solved the problem as the neighbors took turns getting the waste products. But another problem cropped up: The neighbors quarreled among themselves about the waste materials, two of whom stabbed each other,” he says.


Going into

Uy decided to buy 10 piglets to consume the waste products. Then he bought 20 more, then another 100.

As the number of the pigs increased, he went to Baguio City to collect waste foods from his wife’s canteen.

He also collected “kaning baboy” from other canteens in the city to feed to the pigs. “I’m able to save up on feeds,” he says.

Uy has several hog breeders and eventually, his hog raising business grew to such proportions that today, several buildings house the more than 1,000 breeders in a bio-secure area in the village.

It is also one of the most modern commercial hog farms in the country, with automatic feeders, a health program and a tight bio-security to prevent bacteria and viruses from wreaking havoc on the farm.

The farm has become a family corporation.

A veterinarian son, Donald, manages the farm. Another son Dennis, mans the office. Daniel is in charge of marketing ingredients of feeds. His other son, Darwin, works as a resident doctor at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City.

Most of the farm’s workers live inside the compound with their families. They are provided with free housing and food.


Pollution control

The farm’s wastes are collected in six ponds and used to fertilize the corn fields. “The manure is applied on the field, killing the weeds there, after which the land is plowed,” Uy says.

Some 120-200 tons of corn are harvested from the corn fields, and the harvest is processed into hog feeds.

“We are not high-tech yet when it comes to corn production. But we intend to hire an agriculturist,” he says.

His father Kiana, now 87, also maintains a vegetable garden from which the family harvests vegetables for their meals.

Many people as far as Baguio City come to the farm to ask for the farm wastes to use as fertilizer, he says.

Uy, president of the Northern Luzon Hog Raisers Cooperative, adopted Sen. Manuel Villar’s secret to success: Hard work and perseverance.

Another tip he readily shares is: When one puts up a business, the owner should not depend on it for the daily expenses, especially during the business’ early days.

“In my case, there was the kropeck factory and my wife’s canteen from which we derived the family’s expenses. Others may try to find employment until the income from the business is stable enough to support the family,” he says.

Other advice he shares is: Do not spend more than you earn. Discipline yourself. Do not gamble.

He narrates a story of a couple who had a booming piggery business until the husband got hooked on gambling. The business collapsed.

Uy’s kropeck factory closed in 1983 when fire struck it.

By then, the 10-piglet backyard piggery meant to consume the waste products of a backyard factory had grown into the biggest hog farm in Northern Luzon and was big enough to support the family.

It was also big enough to support the couple’s scholarship program which has seen at least 60 students through college. Two of these scholars are doctors while others are nurses, engineers and teachers.



Copyright 2006 Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.







For Unilever, making a difference is what counts


By Jerry E. Esplanada
Inquirer
Last updated 04:06am (Mla time) 10/18/2006


SAYING, "Be generous," Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales has appealed to Catholics to chip in and help build the Church of the Risen Christ, described as the country's first environment-friendly church.

Designed by architect Jun Palafox, the church will have solar panels to provide energy, wind towers to take care of ventilation system, and, among other features, waterless composting toilets.

Construction of the P60-million project, in the partly rehabilitated Smokey Mountain former garbage dump in Manila's Tondo district, has been delayed for over two years because of funding problems.

The project has so far received a little over P15 million in pledges from various individuals and groups.

In a videotaped message, Rosales asked Catholic communities here and abroad to help Smokey Mountain residents "make their dream, their church, a reality."

Long before Rosales issued his appeal, consumer goods giant Unilever Philippines had already hooked up with the Smokey Mountain parish to do its share, said SVD priest Benigno Beltran, the man behind the church project.

"Unilever has donated more than five tons of office waste, converted into building blocks at the nearby Pier 18 Material Recovery Facility," said Beltran, fondly called "Father Ben" by the impoverished Tondo residents he has been serving since the late 1970s.

During the project's groundbreaking rites, Unilever chairman and chief executive officer Howard Belton reaffirmed the company's commitment to make a difference in the lives of the 20,000-plus former scavengers of the infamous dumpsite.

The project can expect more waste donations from Unilever, Belton assured the cardinal.

Belton also led about 100 Unilever staff members in a visit to the nearby Pier 18, said to be the "new Smokey Mountain." The Unilever team, however, prefers to call it the "mountain of life."

Officially the temporary waste transfer station of the city of Manila, the 10-hectare property sits near where the Pasig River meets the Manila Bay.

Waste collected from Manila's six districts is taken to Pier 18 before they are moved to the Navotas dumpsite or the sanitary landfill in Montalban, Rizal.

Pier 18 is also home to more or less 1,000 "eco-aides" or scavengers who have put up dwellings alongside several junk shops at the dumpsite.

The team's recent visit to Pier 18 was "aimed at raising awareness of Unilever managers on solid waste management -- with the impact of our product packaging on the environment and our solid wastes on the landfill in mind -- as well as developing an appreciation for both the economic and social relevance of environment programs," said Jike Mendoza-Dalupan, Unilever assistant vice president for corporate relations and
communications.

"Clad in full battle gear, gloves, overalls, boots and optional masks, we first listened to an inspiring talk by Father Ben," Dalupan said. "We were humbled by his commitment and marveled at how he has transformed Smokey Mountain into a progressive community."

Enriched with the SVD priest's passion for the environment, the group headed to its next stop: the Material Recovery Facility, or MRF.

"Run by the Smokey Mountain Cooperative, the MRF collects wastes from partner offices like Unilever and private schools," Dalupan said. "Wastes are dropped off at the MRF where they are segregated by the facility's eco-aides. Segregated wastes are then recycled, sold or composted."

"Working side by side with the eco-aides, Unilever managers dived into the garbage, separating paper, plastic bottles, aluminum cans, even biodegradable remnants," she said. "It was good to see how much of Unilever's packaging, as well as that of our competitors, were collected. It's also good to see how waste segregation helps the community lessen the waste load that is dumped into the landfills."

The group also met the women of Smokey Mountain who have been "trained in creating beautiful bags out of old newspapers and magazines which are sold mainly to foreign markets."

"This livelihood activity enables them to work at home while taking care of the household," said Dalupan. "Some of us gave the folding and weaving of newspapers a try. I have a strong feeling these are now part of the 'rejects' allocation."

The group's third and last stop was Pier 18.

"We call it the Mountain of Life because a number of people depend on it for survival," Dalupan told the Inquirer. "The trek was clearly an eye opener for most of us, seeing first-hand the squalid conditions of their homes made to stand on top of garbage. There, children walked around naked and barefoot, while we walked in the safety and comfort of our boots. We watched as scavengers scrambled for the arriving dump trucks, not knowing whether to feel sorry for them or feel sorry for ourselves as we groped for answers to explain such poverty in our midst."

The weekend initiative complemented "Project Eliminate," the firm's own solid waste management project in its Paco plant, said Chito Macapagal, Unilever general manager for corporate development.

"In Unilever, we make sure that our operations have the minimum possible effects on the environment. Our factory and offices maintain the highest standards, ensuring that the plant does not pollute the air or the water. We have also reduced solid waste by 90 percent. But in 2003, we found out we're still responsible for 1,200 tons of landfill. Not only was this bad for the environment, but costly, too," Macapagal pointed out.

So Unilever created Project Eliminate, he said.

"Through Total Productive Maintenance, or TPM, we're able to reduce waste by 80 percent.

In March 2005, Unilever's goal to reduce by 75 percent the cost associated with its "No solid waste landfill" was achieved.

"We did it through reduction at source and optimization of the recycling processes," Macapagal said. With INQ7.net

Previous stories:
A husky venture that plays by the ear – 10/13/06
‘Pepe’ does wonders for kids – 09/23/06
Getting OFWs and their families to save, invest – 9/16/06





Copyright 2006 Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.








Ayala sells Burger King stake to Lina group


By Elizabeth L. Sanchez
Inquirer, XFN-Asia
Last updated 03:59am (Mla time) 10/18/2006



CONGLOMERATE Ayala Corp. told the stock exchange Tuesday that it had sold its entire majority stake in Burger King franchise owner PFN Holdings Corp. to BK Titans Inc., a company identified with courier service magnate Alberto Lina and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. chairman Manuel Pangilinan.

PFN owns Perf Restaurants Inc., the Philippine franchisee of BK Asiapac Pte. Ltd., the parent company of all Burger King franchises in Asia-Pacific region.

Inquirer sources estimated that the deal brought in P100 million to Ayala, equivalent to Burger King's current capital.

Ayala did not confirm the sources' information, citing confidentiality agreements.

Lina, who holds a majority stake in BK Titans, said in a phone interview: "The objective of the new group is to turn around the business and to make Burger King one of the world's best fast food chains."

Ayala said in a statement: "The sale of PFN is consistent with Ayala's strategy to focus on its core businesses, which include real estate, financial services, telecommunications, utilities, and electronics."

Ayala exited the food business in 2001 when it sold processed meats producer Pure Foods Corp. to beverage and food conglomerate San Miguel Corp. The Burger King business was not part of that transaction.

Since that time, Ayala and BK Asiapac have looked to place the business, which has been hounded by poor sales, in the hands of an ideal owner who is committed to the quick service restaurant industry.

BKT is a company organized by Lina, who heads Airfreight 2100 Inc., sole licensee of Federal Express Corp. in the Philippines since 1985.

Co-investors are Airfreight president Angelito Alvarez, Philippine Basketball Association chairman Victorico Vargas and Tanduay Holdings president Wilson Young.

BKT said it also fully supported the strategy of BK Asiapac and its programs to make the Burger King a leader in the market.

BK Asia-Pacific welcomed the entry of BKT.

"We look forward to working together with BKT towards strengthening the Burger King franchise in the Philippines," said Peter Tan, president of BK Asia-Pacific.

Burger King operates more than 11,000 restaurants in all 50 states of the United States and in more than 65 countries and US territories. With INQ7.net





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