Money in the Net

It's amazing how the word "money" is being searched in the internet. That probably is why a lot of blogs talk about money-making.

My entries in keywording Show Me the Money in Cebu is steadily making it's way on the top rankings and Making Cows Turn to Cash is on top of the SEO too. This just shows that not only are we looking for money and opportunities of money the traditional way but also on the internet. Indeed, there are a lot of opportunities that can be found on the net and not just in Cebu, it simply takes a lot of patience, perseverance and little luck for the internet to show you the money.

Updates from Cebu City Map

Even amidst calls for a president’s resignation, Cebu City Map has stood firm on its thrust to be always mean business for its inhabitants. The weekend, more specifically Friday, Cebuanos saw one of the more attended public gathering relating to the Philippine’s current events. It did caused quite a headache for motorists like yours truly but all taken into consideration, it was business as usual in the Cebu City Map.

A wonderful news for the Cebu City is the recognition as being one of the awardees of the Gawad Galing Pook 2007 along with nine other cities in the country. Cebu City’s “strengthening the justice system in the grassroots” was picked among the 19 finalists evaluated last November. Ten were chosen as recipients of the award, which recognizes local government units (LGUs) “for outstanding and trailblazing local governance programs” and thus Cebu City was included. Further details of which can be found here.

It is always refreshing to hear such positive news amongst chaotic and sensational happening in the country’s capital. Still, much is being talked about with regards to the NBN-ZTE deal and it is always a welcome to the senses, especially if these are close to your heart such as your hometown. It is always is great to note that even beyond the confusion, it is still business as usual in Cebu City Map.

Updating Cebu City Dates

This calls for great for a celebration. I just noticed that this humble cebuano blogger got PR 3. Pinch me if I'm dreaming, otherwise Yippee!

Will this beautiful development mean better income opportunities? I don't know but sure do hope so. For more than a week of cubicled playground absence, simply meant that got a new to experiment, twist and tweak. My previous posts mentioned about a funny yet exciting attempt to launch a cebuano website. During the days of Cebuano Blogging absence meant days spent on mygoldendagger.com. I have named it Cebu Imaginations.

I do hope you could drop by sometime on the site and give me your ideas or opinion about it. Be expecting you guys there on my Cebu Imaginations.

Cebu City Blogging: A Stage Higher

This will be a quick one as I did not intend to post an entry. I'm bringing my blogging experiment to the next level! Nope, it will not be about improving my entries in terms of grammar or content. It will still be the same old mine-style blogging, and it will still be an add-on if visitors would continue reading my posts even if how terrible it may be. LOL! And I hope I get to share too some of the exciting stuffs that happens on this CEBU CITY BLOGGING, and better yet, give a vivid picture of that.

Now, going back to the purpose of this post. By bringing this blogging experience to a higher level means that I have already purchased a domain name and have availed of a web hosting service. Nothing extra-ordinary about that BUT as I have previously posted an entry on how I was enticed to setting-up a blogger account because of the opportunity to learn about web design, I think I can learn more if I set-up a website on my own. Though I may not be entirely starting from scratch as I intend to use available templates but this is going to be a great experience for me. It may even be quite messy and time-consuming but I wouldn't mind the hassles considering the tons of new things I will learn in the process. Already, I have made quite a lot of blunders and I think my webhost's support team has already flag a description beside my username with "Pain-in-the-part of the body". For the past two days now, I have probably emailed the tech support guys some of the most stupid questions a website-developer-wannabe would ever dare to ask, LOL!

Still, I'm really very much excited about the whole process and as I said, this will be quite messy, fortunately not for me but for my webhost. LOL! And with the hours I've spent trying to learn web development, I have learned so many new stuffs. I just hope I would learn faster than those tech support guys losing their patience on me.

(See, I'm supposed to be doing some CEBU CITY BUSINESS stuffs this late in the evening but I can't stop talking about my experiment. Can't wait to have it all done and then do some more! Still I think I am well within the tolerable level of web-development-addiction as the wife haven't complained yet but already too, she's quite worried on the spendings of the Digital SLR project. LOL!) Ah! Boys will always be boys!

TRANSACTING CEBU BUSINESS TO THE WORLD

A great valentines day gift to all our OFWs and those who are planning to find better pastures outside of the country. Yesterday, VALENTINES DAY, the Philippine Overseas Employment Authority suspended the implementation of the new rule on direct hiring of Filipinos by Foreign Companies based outside the country. I posted an entry with regards to this new POEA rule here. This is great news as prospective employers of Filipino Skilled Workers will have lesser red tape in hiring directly from the Philippines.

Just so I could get the word out especially to my friends who are working abroad. This is great news really! You can find the full text of the memorandum HERE.

CEBU CITY MAP UPDATES THE WORLD

Just to update the Cebu City Map to the World, some exciting things are unfolding locally and nationally. I just don't know if we ought to be happy about or brace ourselves for yet another power struggle. Nah, I'd better leave politics to politicians, better they have something to do at least! I'm talking about the nonstop tale of the ZTE DEAL for the supposed NATIONAL BROADBAND NETWORK PROJECT of the Philippines. Just another reason to shout for a change of President. Exciting really!

Locally, there's the BANILAD-TALAMBAN FLY-OVER project in my beloved CEBU CITY. Apparently, that is how we CEBUANOS are going to solve the traffic problem in said area. Can't wait for it be done or see where this traffic problem ends up. I just don’t know what it is with CEBU CITY and transportation. If we don’t get problematic about traffic congestion, we worry about car smuggling. Exciting again!

On my blogging front, my blog on MAKING COWS TURN TO CASH is still creating traffic. Might have hit some good SEO stuffs on FINANCIAL RATIO there. On the CUBICLED world, our number warrior are already busy with INCOME TAX COMPUTATIONS. Locally, the enforcing agency on top of ITR FILING is the BUREAU OF INTERNAL REVENUE while in the US is the INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE. Those are quite boring stuffs! LOL!

At this time of the year, SUMMER SEASON would have already been starting but rain still pours in quite frequently. Nevertheless, CEBU CITY MAP is just the right stuff for me.

CEBU CITY MAP ISSUES OF THE WEEK

There are two huge issues in the country these days. These things definitely involve politics though one of them directly affects the Filipino people more than the other, and of course includes the CEBU CITY MAP.

Issue number one is about the looming power war for the SPEAKERSHIP OF THE LOWER HOUSE OF CONGRESS. The battle for dominance and influence will be shown most probably this afternoon as CONGRESS may do voting on who, between the current speaker JOSE DE VENECIA JR. and challenger CONGRESSMAN NOGRALES of DAVAO CITY, will lead the Philippine Lower House. Though both are affiliated with the PRESIDENT GMA, both have been holding their own caucauses to convince fellow congressmen to take to their sides for a now definite HOUSE SPEAKERSHIP BATTLE. As CEBUANOS in the CEBU CITY MAP, we now only witness on the sidelines the power war that may start this afternoon. My hope is that may these two distinguished gentlemen always remember that whatever they are fighting for may benefit the majority of the FILIPINO PEOPLE and not just the select few who only wants to expand their influence and richness at the sake of a PHILIPPINE STABILITY.

Issue number two is the issue on a new law affecting our OFWs. It says:

Stricter rules on direct hiring of OFW was issued recently by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. The rules which takes effect on January 15, 2008 allows direct hiring of OFWs by foreign employers only upon approval by the Secretary of Labor and subject to screening of employers and employment contract verification by the Labor Attaché or the Philippine Embassy.

Direct hiring may be allowed only for members of the diplomatic corps and of international organizations, government officials of m inisterial level, and employers who are hiring on one-time or trial basis. The number of employees to be hired directly shall not exceed 5.

More on this new can be found at this link.

I think this adversely affects the competitiveness of our OFWs in finding jobs outside of the country. I just hope the benefits further outweigh the disadvantage that this new law may bring to the CEBU CITY MAP and to the Filipino working population.

Cebu Sinulog, Me and this Cubicle

My last post was last Friday prior to the Sinulog 2008 weekend. My Sinulog was different this time though as there were things I was able to do last year that I wasn't able to do now, but that was most probably because of the scattered rains during Saturday and Sunday. Nevertheless, I was able to do the things I thought I should join in, and not only me but the relatives as well. In fact, my nieces were able to have their photos taken together with my uncle who joined the San Diego Dance Group contingent (as he always does and most definitely on Sinulog 2009 and so on).

I purposely didn't post an entry last Monday and Tuesday because I simply got burned-out with all those SEO experimenting that I did last week. I didn’t also want to post an entry when I just felt that I have nothing to talk about, I just felt burned-out and felt a loss of topics to write about. I realized that beyond all the SEO maximization that I do on this blog, I should have written more, and I should write more. My goal for this blog is to post relevant topics and enriching topics not only personally but of my profession, but aiming for that simply burns me out.

Interestingly, there are key words that I think I should focus more on, not only of the wars of Abs-Cbn and Gma as I miserably failed on that experiment. As I believe I am already way out of the Valentine's day gift ideas and Valentine's day surprises SEO maximization that I fell I would rather leave the same to those who's good at the topic. My topic on financial ratio analyses are still getting hits from time to time especially on my "Show Me the Money" posts or "Making Cows turn to Cash". At least these gives me the stamina to continue on this thriving blog and focus on what I have always planned for it since.

Though this is clearly niching but this might just have to be case of Cubicled Playground. I may as well have to focus on being a work related blog or business blog as this is what I feel I could be good at anyways. As boring as it may sound, seem or really is, that that may simply have to be Cubicled Playground - Business Blog niche. Oh, perhaps until such time I realize my project on getting my hands on those DSLR cameras.

Of Teleseries and Reality

It's not that I am a die-hard fan of whichever of the two GIANT TV NETWORKS at war. I just happen to be a buff of horror movies, and wherever there is one showing, I will try my best to watch it even if that means following a TELESERIES. I am talking about the television series "Patayin sa Sindak si Barbara". It's shown in Abs-Cbn while Gma shows Kamandag during that time-slot.

I have mentioned in a separate post that during the Sinulog week, my relatives on my mother's side usually hold the annual clan reunion as this is also the time when most of our relatives from abroad comes home to Cebu. Yesterday, my Lola's sister and Uncle arrived from Chicago. They said SINULOG is on full swing IN CEBU as they themselves were greeted with SINULOG dancers upon arriving at the Mactan International Airport. They were actually on one of the balikbayan trips scheduled to arrive on that day.

As customary for my clan, we welcome the arriving relatives in throngs at that airport. Among those who even fetched my Grand Aunt and Uncle were my nephews and nieces. Lucky for them - my nieces and nephews, I mean, they were the first ones to receive news of their pasalubongs.

Lola: Girls, I have a surprise for you!
Nieces: Yehey! What is it Mommy?!
Lola: I brought you baby dolls!
Nephew: Hala! Patayin sa Sindak si Barbara!

My nieces though were happy that they'd have something in store for them when they arrive home, were already frightened of the thought already.

As expected, it took the whole family the entire afternoon to convince my nieces that the dolls were beautiful and far from what they saw in television. The nieces were so afraid upon seeing the dolls that they cried when they saw it.

It's freaking similar, looked really like the one used in the show!

Sinulog in Cebu Tag!

Francine tagged me on this. This could be a breather from my post experiments and my UPDATES FROM CEBU about SINULOG. (hehehe, still managed to put in something from my experiment after all).

How long have you been blogging?

I started about June last year with the same title but used the wordpress platform. My Cubicled neighbor Novz showed me some of the cool stuffs he was able to do with his blogger site so I shifted to that sometime November.

What inspired you to write a blog, and who are your mentors?

I find it easier to give out talks rather than write that I think is why I went into blogging to develop more my writing skills. I was more enticed on the programming/HTML aspect of blogging rather than blogging itself that I joined the bandwagon but I know I was way too late than the rest of the blogging world. I started out with blogging from a lot of inputs from my good friends the Magnificent Perez and Novz and by reading about blog develop from everywhere else.

What are the 3 things that you love about being online?

1. the tons of information the helps me both personally and professionally.

2. the interaction with readers who from time to time comment on my posts.

3. the sense of ownership that I feel of whatever appears on my blog.

What are the three things that you struggle with in the online-world?

I honestly don't feel any struggle with blogging or being on-line. I always find myself on the learning end with the new stuffs I learn from other bloggers or from the news, which is simply superb. I guess being in front of a computer at least eight hours a day, blogging becomes a welcome refreshment from the routines of a CUBICLED setting.

Business will soon be as easy as ABC

As a person with a career in finance, there are instances that friends ask me on opinions which would relate to their finance needs. One common question that I get from friends which would relate to finance or finance statutory compliance, especially now that it is January, is with regards to Business Permits.

I was able to attend a convention mid-2007 which mentioned about Cebu City’s Business Permits processing steps faster. The topic was handled by the government agency’s head, who incidentally was also a member of the professional organization which I belonged to. By that time then, the presentation focused more on the initial steps being undertaken by the Department of Trade and Industry Region VII, which is located here in Cebu City, to hasten the processing of regulatory requirements in opening a business.

Today I came across an article updating what I have learned of the said endeavor. Let me take you to it:

This project is spearheaded by the Department of Trade and Industry’s National Economic Research and Business Assistance Center in Region 7 (NERBAC). The focus of this department is to streamline business permitting and licensing process to aid new entrepreneurs in complying with government requirements, which is envisioning a one-stop shop for this processing.

Providing a one-stop-shop for business registration (sole proprietorships), permitting and licensing, the department has housed the four mandatory agencies: Social Security System, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Phil Health, and Pag- IBIG under one roof plus the addition of Cebu City government representatives to make processing and procurement of business permit a step easier and more convenient. With this, new applicants for business permits and licenses are spared from the usual tedious process of going from one office to another.

The process that will be undertaken by new registrants would involve registering business names with DTI, registering with the four mandatory agencies and securing a business tax payment certificate that will be needed to later on acquire a Mayor’s permit after certain requirements are complied within 60 days. On this scenario, an applicant can process his application in one day on those five government offices.

This definitely is a clear sign of the government’s desire for entrepreneurs to be globally competitive by reduced cost and less bureaucracy. This is a very welcome news for the City’s business community as this steps are usually the most time consuming process that an a new business undertakes. Further, this will encourage regulatory compliance to even those micro-sized businesses that will in effect benefit the country through its tax and licenses payments. Resorting to fixers to process this mandatory requirement will definitely minimized, if not totally eradicated as this would show entrepreneurs that working out the requirement themselves is not that difficult.

My two thumbs up on this innovative idea!

Updates from the Queen City of the South, Philippines

It is good to note that Cebu City is once again noticed for it's potential for being a Business Hub in Asia, as it ranked eighth of the Top 10 Asian Cities of the Future, in a list by the Finance Direct Investment (FDI) magazine of the Financial Times Group. Cebu City also ranked fourth in the list of 10 most cost-effective cities, seventh in the best quality of life category and second in development and promotion, next only to Singapore. To read more on the story, the link is here.

Preparations for the Sinulog grand parade on Jan. 20 are in place with around 13,000 police officers and deputized volunteers to secure the festivity. As of the last count, there are already 24 contingents which have registered for the grand parade, and a few more expected to sign up in the coming days. It is also final that the inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC), who became famous via YouTube on their "Thriller" dance performance, will not be able to join the Sinulog grand parade citing security reasons by the Cebu City Mayor. Tomorrow, Saturday, and on Sunday will be held the Sinulog sa Kabataan sa Lalawigan and Sinulog sa Kabataan sa Dakbayan, respectively. A parade will kick-off at 1pm on both days from Capitol Site going to the Cebu City Sports Center, upon which the presentations of the various contingents will be held. This would be composed of school children, competing in two categories - the elementary and secondary level categories.

All the President's Men

Internet headlines are buzzing about the Iowa caucus as primary elections in the US go into full swing. This is one of the many steps that the United States goes through in the process of selecting its 44th President. Here are the bets from both parties:

Democrats

1. Joe Biden
2. Hillary Rodham Clinton
3. Chris Dodd
4. John Edwards
5. Mike Gravel
6. Dennis Kucinich
7. Barack Obama
8. Bill Richardson

Republicans

1. Rudy Giuliani
2. Mike Huckabee
3. Duncan Hunter
4. Alan Keyes
5. John McCain
6. Ron Paul
7. Mitt Romney
8. Fred Thompson

All eyes are now in Iowa's caucus as both parties' candidates will be voted on. Already, there are candidates pulling out of the race. Updates of which are found here.

Updating Cebu City

With cellular phones still part of the must haves that every Filipino wishes for, undoubtedly we still are the texting capital of the world. We don't use cellular phones mainly for calls, but we mostly use it for short messaging service (sms) or most popularly known in the Philippines as text messaging. Here is an article from Sunstar Daily on the still text-crazed Filipinos and why the Philippines is still the texting capital of the world.

New Year's celebration is actually just the start of grand festivities for Cebu as this still continues until the third week of January for the Sinulog celebration. This festival complementarily infuses religious and civic activities in one grand celebration which formally starts at about the first day of the Novena mass for the Senor Sto. Nino (Baby Jesus) up to the day of the street parade which we call as the Sinulog.

One controversial move that's making headlines also the past few days is the request of the Provincial Government to have the provincial jail inmates join, at least, on the Sinulog dance showcase as guest presentors. As you may have read or perhaps seen over the net, these Cebu Provincial Jail Inmates made record by dancing Michael Jackson's Thriller and showed it via YouTube (But that’s nothing compared to an appeal on Britney Spears’ Fan on YouTube). They even made it to Time Magazine's list of top videos for 2007, or something sounding-like-that award. For anyone privy to Cebu politics, the governor and the city mayor aren't the best of friends, so I'd leave the math to you.

And talking about that celebration, it's such a boo-hoo that I haven't been able to get that dreamed and dreamt DSLR Camera yet so I think I'd have to pass on my good friend's invitation, the Magnificient Perez and his cousins, on joining the photoshot contest during the Sinulog. That would have been a blast.

Another interesting item today is Cebu's know newscaster and journalist Leo Lastimosa, arrested on the count of Libel. It came from a case filed by the Governer of Cebu Province against the said newsman. Here's the rest of the story from The Freeman Newspaper.