BLOGGED PHILIPPINES

Beating expectations of both local and international economists, the Philippine economy had grown 7.1% in the third quarter of this year according to the report of National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB). The stunning growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country places the Philippines on top of ASEAN countries, and second to China in Asia (China GDP growth is 7.7%). Here's the comparative list: Philippines - 7.1% Indonesia - 6.2 % Vietnam - 6.11% Malaysia - 5.2 "The beyond expectation third quarter growth was driven by the Services sector with the robust performances of Transport, Storage  & Communication, Financial Intermediation, and Real Estate, Renting & Business Activities supported by the five consecutive quarters of sustained accelerated growth of the Industry and the seemingly weather tolerant Agriculture sector. ",  NSCB reports. Good Governance is Good Economics Meanwhile, Secretary of Finance, Cesar Purisima co...

Image via Wikipedia Brace up for another long weekend next week as the entire nation will commemorate the birth of Andres Bonifacio , a hero who lead fight for Filipino freedom during the Spanish Revolution in the late 1800s. Commonly referred to as Bonifacio Day , this holiday is celebrated annually every November 30 . For this year,  Bonifacio Day  will be celebrated on Friday next week, November 30, 2012 . Please take note that all those who will be required to work on that day shall receive additional compensation according to the existing labor law.

News broke out today confirming rumors that Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and Lucio Tan's Philippine National Bank (PNB) is in talks of merger/acquisition to become the country's largest financial entity usurping Sy-led Banco de Oro Unibank (BDO) in terms of assets. The confirmation was made through independent disclosures to the Philippine Stock Exchange(PSE) early Wednesday morning. BPI disclosure says: " We confirm discussions with the Lucio Tan Group and will make the appropriate disclosures in accordance with the PSE disclosure rules. In the meantime, we request suspension of trading on BPI shares today ." On the other hand, PNB disclosure says: " In reply, we confirm that there have been discussions between the Lucio  Tan Group and the Ayala Group. We will make the appropriate disclosures  within the day once we obtain the necessary board approvals. The formal disclosure will be sent to the regulators in acco...

An earthquake shakes Negros Island as well as nearby areas at around 1:22PM (PhilippineTime) today, November 14, 2012. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reports a magnitude 5.6 earthquake. The epicenter is located 4km (2mi) NNW of Linaon, Philippines. View Larger Map   See the report of USGS here: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usc000dsbw#summary The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHILVOLCS) reports separately a 5.8 magnitude quake. There are no reported casualty or incidents of property damage but it can be expected at the minimum. Also, no tsunami alert was raised. Did you feel the tremor? Tell us your experience by commenting.

Did you know that Cebu Pacific offers the cheapest baggage allowance among the other low-cost airlines when flying domestic? Well, here's a comparison on their baggage pricing and other information you may want to know prior to booking your flight. Weight Cebu Pacific Airphil Express Tiger Airways Zest Air 15 kg 150 400 168 168 20 kg 280 800 280 280 25 kg 450 1200 448 448 30 kg - - 784 784 45 kg 900 - - - Notes : - data above was for domestic travel - all prices are in Pesos - the prices are as of the time of writing and may eventually change. Free Baggage Allowances It is also important to note that there are free baggage allowance offered by some airlines. Cebu Pacific  offers only 7 kg of hand-carry (one hand only) for free. In excess of 7kg, they will ask you to check-in and pay for extra baggage in case you didn't purchase a prepaid package. For other airlines mentioned above, the free check-in ba...

Do you have a Citibank's Cebu Pacific credit card? Well, here's the procedure on how to convert your points to a free flight. Cebu Pacific Citibank Credit Card Redeem free flights with your Cebu Pacific Citibank Card in five simple steps. It’s so easy to convert your CEB points into Cebu Pacific E-Vouchers that you can use to pay for your ticket. 1.Call the 24-hour CitiPhone at (02) 995-9999 for Manila, (32) 234-9999 for Cebu or 1-800-10-995-9999 for other provinces. 2. Wait for the validation email with your E-Voucher password. Use this to authenticate the validation page and you will receive a confirmation email which also includes your E-Voucher number, its expiry date and the amount. 3. Now you are ready to book your free flight. Visit www.cebupacificair.com  and log on as a CEB Club Member. 4. After choosing your preferred flight, click the ‘E-Voucher’ tab on the Payment page and provide your E-Voucher number and its expiry date. Click the ‘Retrieve’ button...

I don't really understand the reason behind the Filipino craze about donuts but, yes, most of us love donuts. And speaking of that toroid cake, there's a new craze in the country, J.CO Donuts Philippines. The company J.CO Donuts & Coffee originated from Indonesia in 2005 and is the fastest growing donut chain in South East Asia. It entered the Philippine market just this year. J.CO Donuts Dethrones Krispy Kreme as Favorite "Pasalubong" Well, it didn't dethroned Krispy Kreme in sales or revenues but it dethroned it as one of the top "pasalubong" of people from Manila going to the provinces and other cities, at least for the meantime. It used to be the green-red-white box of Krispy Kreme Donuts that you usually see in the airports. Now, it's the mocha-orange box of J.CO donuts. Of course, time will come that the "hype" will subside just like what happened to Go Nuts Donuts and Krispy Kreme when they opened their respective stores in the c...