Cebu City and Province - Compiled Threads [Archive] - Page 3

rustyboi

May 18th, 2005, 07:48 PM

DOT secretary’s office to be in Lahug by 1st quarter
Feb. 23, 2005

THE office of the tourism secretary will finally be transferred to Cebu by the end of this quarter.

Tourism Secretary Joseph “Ace” Durano said the national office of the Department of Tourism (DOT) will be located in a new building at the Ecotech Center in Sudlon, Lahug.

On the sidelines of the launching of the “Meet and Assist” program (MAP) at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport last Monday, he said the transfer of his office to Cebu will mean faster implementation of DOT programs and solutions to problems concerning Cebu’s tourism industry.

He cited the room supply shortage problem of the industry.

Durano said he had personally presented the DOT’s plans to the Sy Group of SM Prime Holdings Inc., among others, to gain their confidence in the country’s tourism industry.

He said SM Prime Holdings is pushing through with its hotel project.

“They are upbeat on tourism now. They said they will push through with their project as soon as they have the funds needed (to finish the construction),” he said.

Durano said about P1 billion is needed to complete the interior structure of the hotel, which is located in the SM City Cebu complex at the North Reclamation Area.

Some P300 million has already been spent for the external part of the building.

Last month, Marissa Fernan, SM City Cebu senior assistant vice president for mall operations, said SM is aggressively looking for a partner for the hotel project.

“We’d like to open it as soon as possible. We prefer having a management company because we’re not in the business of running a hotel,” she said.

Finishing work on the hotel will take about six months once a management contract is finalized, she said.

Durano said he is also encouraging Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. (Metro-bank) to look for buyers to operate the defunct Cebu Plaza Hotel (CPH).

Metrobank president Antonio Abacan Jr. earlier said the bank is now talking to two parties that have expressed interest in buying the hotel.

He said a local group composed of a major stockholder of a telecommunications company and a Manila-based property developer is more aggressive than the group from Hong Kong.

CPH closed in 2003 after its owner, Pathfinder Holdings Philippines Inc. (PHPI), turned it over to Metrobank in payment of PHPI’s P900-million debt. PHPI had used CPH as collateral for its loan.

SM Prime Holdings’ 22-story hotel, on the other hand, was constructed during the 1997 Asian crisis. It was originally set to be a Sheraton hotel.

One of its contemporaries, Cebu Hilton Resort and Spa, finally opened earlier this month.

DOT 7 Regional Director Aurora Patria Roa is also encouraging local investors to invest in hotels, specifically resort hotels, in anticipation of a surge in tourists in Cebu.

She told Sun.Star more rooms will again be needed this summer, as Korean Airlines has arranged for twice a week charter flights between Cebu and Korea.

Roa said the DOT had already referred many convention organizers, who would have wanted to hold their events in Cebu, to Manila, due to the lack of rooms in the province.

rustyboi

May 18th, 2005, 08:03 PM

SM Sheraton International Hotel
rear view

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/sm%20cebu/Photo_051405_013b.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/sm%20cebu/Photo_051405_022.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/sm%20cebu/Photo_051405_018.jpg

Edmundtanso

May 18th, 2005, 10:18 PM

will be nice to have the sheraton operational.....

rustyboi

May 18th, 2005, 11:54 PM

Another American BPO opens Cebu office

AN American information technology (IT) service provider has transferred its Japan office to Cebu to take advantage of the province’s high IT literacy rate.

According to Farcite Services Inc. president Jonathan Corners, Farcite is set to employ about 100 IT specialists in its Cebu office located at the Keppel Building in the Cebu Business Park.

Literate

He said Cebu’s 93 percent literary rate, its hosting of six universities offering computer and IT courses, and high livability standards encouraged Farcite to relocate its office to Cebu.

Farcite is a business process outsourcing (BPO) company providing the IT needs of clients worldwide. The company has been serving automotive and export-import firms located in Europe, the United States and Asia.

“We help companies worldwide sustain their competitive advantage through effective utilization of high technology. We also want other IT companies (BPOs) in the world to relocate here in Cebu,” Corners said.

Corners said the firm is banking on software systems that include Object Oriented and Design, Rational Rose, Visual Web Design, Cisco IOS, UZK, SQL Server, Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.

Farcite and the Department of Science and Technology 7 have been discussing possible cooperation to strengthen government-academe-industry linkage so they may be able to keep pace with the technological and human resource requirements of the IT sector.

Upgrade

Corners said the company is willing to support the upgrading of the level of IT skills and education in Central Visayas.

This development comes on the heels of the local government and private sector’s efforts to promote Cebu as a premier IT destination in Asia. (JBN)

KulasKusgan

May 19th, 2005, 04:54 PM

looking for some cebu pics on the net & found these:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/sleepwalker_uno/cebu/cebutaoisttemple.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/sleepwalker_uno/cebu/laflorentina.jpg

edifice_complex3

May 19th, 2005, 08:08 PM

Korea chooses Cebu for telenovela shoot
By Aurelia l. Castro
Sun.Star Correspondent

KOREAN J Plus Media has chosen Cebu over Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia as the shooting location for its new telenovela.

“Cebu will get $2.2 million worth of commercial value for the 40-minute airtime it will have on this telenovela that will be shown not only in Korea but also in other countries like Japan and China. This will greatly promote Cebu,” said Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Joseph Durano yesterday at Shangri-La’s Mactan Island Resort.

Two of the 16 episodes of “Return Single” will be shot in Cebu.

During their seven-day stay in Cebu, the crew will shoot in different locations like the Mactan-Cebu International Airport, Shangri-La, Mactan hospital, South Road Properties, and Ayala Center Cebu. They will also tour Cebu and Bohol.

Durano said the DOT had allocated P2 million for the 70 Koreans,
including the production team, talents and media.

“There are 10 representatives from different Korean media outlets who came for this press conference, tour and the telenovela production,” said Maricon Basco-Ebron, DOT’s Asia Pacific regional manager on travel trade sales and promotions and head of Team Korea.

“The P2 million we are spending for hosting the Korean crews and media is part of our promotional efforts in making the Philippines a top tourist destination. It’s nothing compared to the $2.2 million commercial value and return it will create in promoting Cebu and the Philippines as well,” Durano told Sun.Star.

Ebron explained that after J Plus Media chose the Philippines, it first considered Subic and Palawan. But it was Cebu that met its technical and other logistics requirements.

For this breakthrough, DOT’s Durano repeatedly gave credit to the depart-ment’s marketing team.

“It’s another milestone for Philippine-Korean tourism. Korea recorded a 25 percent increase in tourist arrivals in March and 41 percent in April. It surpassed Japan as the top Asian market to the Philippines last month,” said Durano.

The Japan market was declining but is growing again. Japan tourist arrivals grew by 11 percent last month, said Durano.

“We want to sustain our double-digit growth. Our goal is to hit the mark of five million tourists by 2010,” he added.

Korea has become one of the Philippines’ primary sources of tourists, owing to its popularity as a destination for family vacations, honeymoons, golf and diving activities, and English language studies.

The DOT aims to get half a million Korean tourists by the end of 2005
and one million by 2010.

To accommodate the influx of tourists, the DOT’s Durano does not consider airline seat capacity as an immediate problem.

“We have good regulations on charters. Getting new rights is a country-to-country bilateral agreement, and it takes time. What we are doing for the meantime to fill the gaps is to have chartered flights,” he said.

edifice_complex3

May 19th, 2005, 08:20 PM

CCCI mulls spending millions to promote Cebu in global arena

by Ehda M. Dago-oc
May 19, 2005

To further put Cebu in the international tourism and investment map, the government and private sectors are poised to spend millions of pesos to promote Cebu as a brand.
Following the introduction of global daily International Herald Tribune (IHT) to Cebu market, the business sector through the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) in commitment of cooperation with the Cebu City government will raise money to get an effective audience attention through putting advertising materials about Cebu in the IHT.

With circulation of about 240,918 worldwide, Cebu expects to get greater attention from international decision makers, as well as high-end travelers as the new hub for tourism and investments.

CCCI president Robert Go is urging businesses especially the over 700 CCCI members to cooperate in this ambitious move as well as solicit full support from the government to lure more foreign arrivals, and business interests to Cebu.

“I would like to encourage the business players to support us in putting Cebu in the international map as preferred tourism and investment destination,” Go said.

The IHT team led by its regional director for marketing Josette de Gabriel said that the newspaper is now considering Cebu as their potential market.

“Since the Philippine government made Cebu as the center for tourism, we see a big market potential here, and we also observed that a lot of industries here are serving the international market,” de Gabriel said.

The IHT team was here in Cebu Tuesday to present its newspaper product as one of the most effective tools to promote Cebu globally, to both private and local government sectors.

Jack Gaisano, president of Vicsal Development Corporation, the operator of Metro Gaisano department store chain has committed to contribute significantly to promote Cebu through IHT.

Cebu will have to spend an approximate P1.5 million to get a full-page colored advertising in the IHT to be ran four times, accompanied with good advertorial materials on important information about Cebu.

Vice Mayor Michael Rama in an interview said the city government is ready to support this promotion project, after all the city has spent millions of pesos through Cebu Investment and Promotions Center (CIPC) to promote Cebu in the global arena.

“Why can’t we allocate fund for the sake of promoting Cebu in the international market? I’m sure the return-of-investment would be much rewarding,” Rama said.

IHT is an international, independent, general-interest, English language newspaper for opinion leaders and decision-makers around the globe.

It combines the extensive resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 29 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 180 countries.

Founded in Paris since 1887, the IHT is part of The New York Times Company since January of 2003.

Cebu, which is known as the private sector-led province, will again take significant attention to international market with millions of pesos to be invested, a marketing strategy that will be again be led by private sector

kiretoce

May 19th, 2005, 08:22 PM

:applause: Great news for Cebu and for the Philippine tourism industry! :applause:

rustyboi

May 19th, 2005, 10:24 PM

Korean wants to develop 5-star resort in Mactan
Friday, May 20, 2005

A KOREAN investor is now actively searching for prime beach property in Mactan Island that will be developed into a five-star resort hotel.

“I believe he is serious about this project because he really traveled all the way from Korea to visit me and ask for my help. A businessman who exerts that effort is serious,” said Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Korea to Cebu Augusto Go.

Go said those who are interested to sell their beach property in Mactan may send a letter of intent, sketch of the property and photocopy of the title of the property to “Mr. Investor, c/o Korean Consulate.”

Department of Tourism (DOT) 7 Regional Director Aurora Patria Roa has been urging investors to invest in five-star resort-hotels, which Cebu does not have many of.

She said the low supply of resort rooms compared to the demand is the reason the rates of resorts in Cebu are high compared to those in Thailand and other tourist-oriented countries in Asia.

Tourism Secretary Joseph Durano yesterday expressed optimism that Cebu will be able to accommodate all the tourists it is working hard to attract.

“Our challenge now is building more room capacity. In Cebu, I’m optimistic because Cebu Plaza (Hotel) and Sheraton Hotel will soon open. Hilton Resort recently operated already, while Coral Reef is another place that can be opened. And right next to Alegre resort in Sogod, the 150-room Cebu Club Pacific will also soon open,” Durano told Sun.Star on the sidelines of a press conference to welcome a production outfit shooting a Korean telenovela in Cebu.

In the next two years, the DOT chief expects an additional 700 rooms to be available in Cebu.

Records show that as of last January, Cebu had a total of 5,485 hotel rooms and 1,637 resort rooms, including those from establishments not accredited with the DOT.

rustyboi

May 20th, 2005, 05:51 PM

Greenbelt in Ayala Center Cebu soon

Getting a big chunk of revenue generation from its commercial and retail arm, Ayala Center Cebu (ACC), Cebu Holdings Inc. (CHI) is poised to expand the shopping mall before the end of this year, to embrace the improving retail trend in Cebu.

CHI chairman Jaime I. Ayala announced this move yesterday on the sidelines during the company's stockholders meeting held at the City Sports Club.

CHI reported a total of P641 million in total revenues last year, a 19 percent improvement over P538.2 in 2003. Consolidated net income increased by eight percent than the previous year.

Ayala Center Cebu, its shopping mall arm, reported consolidated revenues of P333.4 million, which is a 54 percent contribution to the CHI 2004 income.

"We are looking at expanding large area of the Ayala Center," Ayala said adding that this plan is going to start early next year, in order to accommodate more tenants.

However, Ayala did not give specific expansion plan details of the mall, only said that the company is willing to spend on the huge mall extension as CHI noted a brisk revenue performance.

"We are full already, we wanted to give additional spaces for interested retailers or tenants," Ayala stressed.

Currently, ACC is only capable of hosting at least a little over 300 tenants, excluding the kiosks, and smaller stalls usually located in the middle of the mall's hallway.

In his report before the company's shareholders yesterday, CHI president Rene D. Almendras said an effective mix of shopping and dining outlets, as well as successful marketing initiatives and response to customer feedback has been the key to the mall's continuously improving performance, increasing gross income revenue by 15 percent to that of the previous year's.

After 10 years of operating the Ayala Center Cebu, it is only now that the company confidently announced its plan to pursue huge expansion of its mall operations.

The original plan was to extend the mall stretching in the vacant lot, now utilized as the parking area of shoppers and Marriott Hotel guests, and designated entry-point of tourists.

Growing at 15 percent gross sales a year-on-year, the over-all revenues from mall operations were outstanding in all aspects; from building to land lease, entertainment center, cinema, food choices, and carpark.

Almendras also reported the good performance of other CHI operations, including the commercial lot sales in the 50-hectare Cebu Business Park (CBP), the sell-out of remaining Park Tower Two units, the sale of sportsclub shares, and the sterling performance of Marriott Hotel.

CHI's subsidiary Cebu Property Venture and Development Corporation (CPVDC) contributed 16 percent to the company's net income from revenues generated out of lot sales and eOffice building rentals, which will also provide recurring income.

Part of CHI's future plans is the transformation of the Ayala lagoon area to a world-class leisure, wining and dining destination in Cebu. --> sounds like Greenbelt is on its way to Ayala Cebu soon... very exciting!

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/cebu-sample02.jpg

rustyboi

May 20th, 2005, 10:48 PM

Korean television show to help market Cebu, RP *updated*
By Irene R. Sino Cruz and Regina Aguilar

TOURISM Secretary Joseph Ace Durano considers having a Korean television production do their location shooting in Cebu as a marketing coup for the province and the Philippines.

Durano said the country spent only P2 million or about $100,000 to sponsor the location shooting of the TV series Returned Single.

He estimated that the cost of airtime for the exposure given to Cebu will reach $2.2 million, which is already more than half of the department's total promotion budget.

Durano said the island of Cebu will be featured in an international Korean telenovela, which is expected to beef up global promotion efforts of the tourism industry.

Korea-based J. Media Plus Production is currently filming two of its 16-episode Korean mini series entitled "Returned Single" here in Cebu.

"It will certainly generate publicity about the Philippines particularly Cebu as a tourist attraction," said Durano during a press conference held Thursday at Shangri-La's Mactan Island Resort.

The mini-series will be shown in South Korea, China, and Japan, which are the country's primary target tourists. Durano said that the tourism department has saved a lot of money for international promotions of the country.

Cebu will have a 40-minute shot in the first episode of the mini series with scenes taken in Shangri-La's Mactan Island Resort, Mactan-Cebu International Airport, South Reclamation Project, and Ayala Center Cebu.

According to Maricon Ebron, Head of DOT's Team Korea marketing team, the production staff of the mini series went first to several tourist spots in the country but it's only Cebu that met the requirements for the shooting of the telenovela.

"We showed them Subic but the place did not fit the plot then to Palawan in El Nido but the island did not meet the logistical requirements for the production," said Ebron.

"Returned Single" is the first Korean telenovela to shoot here in Cebu likewise making the island as the first destination in the country to be featured in an international mini series, Ebron said.

Its Korean lead actor Kim Sung Tacek, who also starred in the noontime Korean drama "Irene" aired in GMA-7, noted the warmth of Filipinos.

"I am so amazed with the friendliness of the Filipinos," he said.

Now on its fourth day of shooting, the production team and actors of the mini series will stay until Sunday.

Along with them is a bunch of reporters from Korea's 10 different media outfits, which are expected to boost Cebu's exposure to Korean tourists.

With these developments, Durano believes to attract more Korean tourists, which already registered the highest arrivals in the country especially Cebu, including Japanese and Chinese markets that will also see the mini series.

"Returned Single" is a story about three ladies and one male who all separated but are looking for love the second time around.

Korea has become a major tourism market for Cebu and the Philippines. In Cebu, Koreans have overtaken the Japanese as the leading source of tourists. For the month of March 2005, arrivals from Korea rose by 25.6 percent.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/cebu-sample02.jpg

naughtyins0mniac

May 21st, 2005, 02:04 AM

i have a question...

are there freeways or a road like edsa in cebu?

wornout

May 21st, 2005, 12:50 PM

i think the cebu south coastal road is very much like EDSA. Although it is a coastal road, this road which stretches from minglanilla a town in the south of cebu city to cebu city hall in cebu city's downtown area will be the major backbone of the road networks in cebu once all the necessary construction is completed ( the subway approach from near plaza independencia is still unfinished, same with the continuation of the road in minglanilla). In this sense, this road will eventually become like cebu's edsa. But for now, cebu will have to do with the old and not so wide cebu south road or the provincial highway. I hope that somebody can post an updated picture of the Crown Regency along Osmena Blvd., as well as with Club Ultima Bldg beside it. From what i heard this building will have 45 floors and will become the tallest building in Cebu when completed. ParkLane International Hotel is also constructing a hotel in Escario St., I hope that somebody can post a rendering or a photo of the construction site. Is it also true that SM and Ayala will be building new malls in the SRP? Any rendering of the Cebu Sports Village in the SRP? Are they going to build a big Grandstand and Track Oval there? How about CITEX-Cebu International Trade and Exhibitions Center? Has construction started? Can anybody post an updated picture of the Asiatown I.T Park here, the last time I went to cebu last year, I saw a lot of construction going on, I wonder how the buildings there eventually look like. Thank you guys...this is my first post. hehehe. just really got excited when i found this forum. sensya na. hehehe

noli

May 21st, 2005, 01:15 PM

Cebu's exponential growth has put Cebu's water resources to its limit. Last time I heard, Cebu was trying to get its supplemental water from the Inabanga River in Bohol. It was not successful though because of potentially serious ecological problem to the vicinity of the river. I guess, Cebu has to look south, i.e. farther south, to the big Agusan River to solve its water problem. But this is surely going to involve a very, very long pipe.

rustyboi

May 21st, 2005, 04:35 PM

Can anybody post an updated picture of the Asiatown I.T Park here, the last time I went to cebu last year, I saw a lot of construction going on, I wonder how the buildings there eventually look like. Thank you guys...this is my first post. hehehe. just really got excited when i found this forum. sensya na. hehehe

Hi fellaz! welcome to Metro Cebu thread! i noticed there's only a few cebuanos around here. i hope there's someone (cebu-based) who could keep us posted regarding the city's development. nwayz, i actually got few photos from a company (eTelecare International) which is currently operating in Asiatown IT Park. it was their grand opening in Engineering Sciences Building, 3rd Flr - 7th Flr.

@noli: yup its true, same with electricity consumption. but those concerns were already addressed by the government. another problem Cebu is facing right now i should say is the shortage of hotel rooms. there has been numerous developments regarding world-class hotels beefing up their operations in cebu and ongoing construction of Park Lane hotel, Sheraton hotel, Crown Regency Fuente, Club Ultima, Pacific Hotel, etc.

rustyboi

May 21st, 2005, 05:00 PM

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/asiatown/site.gif

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/asiatown/theproject2.jpghttp://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/asiatown/theproject1.jpg

The Asiatown IT Park covers almost 24 hectares and is developed into an integrated mixed used business park and economic zone. The central superblock is envisioned to house the library, performing arts theaters, restaurants and cafes.

Support facilities and the educational institutions are reserved at the northern side beyond the specialized exporters’ row along the park’s main thoroughfare.

The Asiatown IT Park has mixed-use lots for sale as well as office space for IT locators on a rental arrangement:

Mixed-used lots

Asiatown IT Park lots can be developed for facilities such as office buildings, residential buildings, exporters and commercial showrooms, hotels, school and hospital.

E-offices

Pre-engineered modular building systems that provide offices for rent to cater to locators who want to move as soon as possible into a technically ready structure.

Globe Telecom Plaza
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/asiatown/globecebu.jpg

The Village
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/asiatown/thevillage2.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/asiatown/thevillage3.jpghttp://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/asiatown/thevillage1.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/cebu-sample02.jpg

rustyboi

May 21st, 2005, 05:01 PM

Asiatown IT Park set to have more buildings
March 2005

The only information technology (IT) park outside Metro Manila will soon have more buildings to accommodate locators this year.

According to Cebu Holdings Inc. (CHI) president Rene Almendras, lot owners in the Asiatown IT Park have decided to construct the buildings on their own.

“They have awakened to the fact that the demand for more buildings in the park is increasing,” he told reporters.

Almendras said Cebu Property Ventures and Development Corp. (CPVDC) is also willing to develop Phase 2 of Asiatown and construct buildings on it if the need arises.

Phase 2 will be about five hectares.

CHI is the mother company of CPVDC, the developer of Asiatown.

In a separate interview, Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro) expert Atsuo Mizayaki said the facilities in the IT Park, specifically the buildings, “are poor” compared to those in China.

Almendras conceded that this was so.

He, however, said China’s IT parks, the construction of which is supported by the Chinese government, have many available buildings for locators because the Chinese government builds without considering the demand.

IT people

“We (in Asiatown) build according to demand. Our facilities might not equal those of China, but we have the people (needed by IT and IT-related companies),” he said.

Mizayaki earlier said Cebu has “very good” software engineers.

Almendras said Asia-town has been receiving lots of inquiries from foreign companies planning to outsource some of their backroom operations, such as accounting, medical transcription and software development, to Cebu.

Lifestyle

He also said retail development in Asiatown will be made to suit the lifestyle of the employees of locators in the IT park, especially the call center agents.

“Call center agents mostly work at night and go out of their offices at six or seven in the morning. We will be opening restaurants and coffee shops that open during these times of the day to suit their needs,” Almendras said. (JBN)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/cebu-sample02.jpg

rustyboi

May 21st, 2005, 05:21 PM

Cebu has become one of the fastest growing I.T. markets in the world

CPVDC posts 15 percent growth, vows support for Cebu's IT industry
BY EHDA M. DAGO-OC

CEBU Property Ventures and Development Corporation (CPVDC), developer of the AsiaTown I.T., Park posted a 15 percent growth in revenue in 2003, primarily due to Cebu's position as one of the hot locations for business outsourcing in Asia.

The Ayala-controlled I.T. Park generated total revenue of P75 million last year, an improvement by 15 percent over year 2002's P65 million.

CPVDC president Rene D. Almendras attributed the favorable performance of the company last year to the eOffice lease transactions and the sale of two lots at Asiatown.

During the CPVDC annual stockholders meeting Friday, Almendras said the company's net income of P25 million is also higher by 19 percent against the previous year's P21 million.

"Last year's accomplishments prove that we believe in Cebu's potentials and that we will continue to place our bets on new opportunities to sustain Cebu's I.T. growth momentum," Almendras said in his president's report.

He said that the year 2003 saw key transactions in the top-drawer facility, the eOffice building, with a total of over 11,130 square meter of office space taken including those occupied by NEC Telecom Software Phils. Inc. and Tsuneishi Technical Services (Phils.) Inc.

The 63-hectare AsiaTown gained interest from several business process outsourcing (BPO) companies last year, such as call center PeopleSupport Philippines Inc. which hosts and integrates best-of-breed customer care technologies in a mission-critical environment. It also expanded its area in less than three months of operations and signed up for three additional spaces early this year.

Japanese-owned Epson Precision Philippines, a company engaged in software research and development for Epson printers worldwide, signed a 3-year lease contract in July 2003 and moved in and started its operations in a 504-square meter space in February of this year. This is Epson's first software development hub located outside Japan.

Another newcomer in the eOffice facility occupying a 1,512 square-meter area is National Cash Register Cebu Development Center, a wholly owned subsidiary of the NCR Corporation group of companies.

Almendras said that this American firm-locator is engaged in software research and development of Point-of-Sale systems used in major retail chains in the US and other countries worldwide. It is the only detached Research and Development Center in the NCR organization.

"With the entry of these software and outsourcing firms, Cebu's well-educated and cosmopolitan populace has benefited from the recruitment spree of the eOffice locators which generated a workforce of a little over a thousand last year and is expected to double before 2004 ends," Almendras stressed.

He said in the future, more of these IT-enabled firms shall tap the fresh I.T. labor supply that Cebu churns out every year, he added.

ignificantly, Almendras disclosed that due to this development, close to P300 million was poured in as fresh funds when these firms set up shop at Asiatown which he added proves that Cebu has become one of the fastest growing I.T. markets in the world.

Last year, CPVDC has stepped up its technical infrastructure to suit the high-speed communication skills, access control and optimum networking facilities, which is way beyond the fundamental requisites in an I.T. Park, Almendras said.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/cebu-sample02.jpg

rustyboi

May 21st, 2005, 06:06 PM

The Engineering Sciences Building
Asiatown's version of Makati's e-Services bldg a.k.a. PeopleSupport bldg.
Surprisingly, they both have similarities... the color and boxy look.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/asiatown/asiatown04.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/asiatown/asiatown03.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/cebu-sample02.jpg

chymera00

May 22nd, 2005, 12:42 PM

Wow that looks like a nice place to go to school in ... Also, nice banner

rustyboi

May 22nd, 2005, 12:54 PM

Asiatown IT Park
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/asiatown/asiatown07.jpg

eTelecare opening @ Engineering Sciences Building
November 2004
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/asiatown/asiatown02.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/asiatown/asiatown01.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/asiatown/asiatown06.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/cebu-sample02.jpg

dudz

May 22nd, 2005, 04:01 PM

cebu is unstoppable!!! great banner there, rusty18

rustyboi

May 22nd, 2005, 09:36 PM

cebu is unstoppable!!! great banner there, rusty18

thanks chymera and dudz.. hoping to see it one of these days as an ssc banner! hehe :)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/cebu-sample02.jpg

bagel

May 22nd, 2005, 10:35 PM

The banner onslaught from the Philippines forums continues. :) Way to go!

rustyboi

May 23rd, 2005, 12:29 AM

Cebu is No. 1

US chamber satisfied with Cebu’s growth, envoy says

CEBU CITY (PNA) — United States Ambassador to the Philippines Francis Ricciardone Jr. gave Cebu his vote of confidence amidst the financial crisis threatening the country.

“I love coming to Cebu. Cebu is No. 1. Cebu is beautiful,” Ricciardone told reporters after paying a courtesy call on Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia last Thursday.

The US envoy said the American Chamber of Commerce “is satisfied with the booming economic growth of Cebu.”

He said he had talked with American businessmen and discussed with them “how to boost American-Cebuano trade and investment.”

“What President Arroyo is doing in drawing our attention to Cebu is the right thing to do,” the ambassador said as he promised to help bring in more investors to the province.

Ricciardone, who is in town to attend a photo exhibit and a jazz concert and to visit American establishments, said Cebu has a good reputation for business.

He described the Cebuanos as a “happy and peaceful people.”

With Garcia looking on, Ricciardone showed reporters the Cebu-made Timex watch he was wearing.
“I have been wearing this Timex watch for two years. It is made in Cebu. I show this to everybody even when I go back to the United States,” he said.

Timex has a plant at the Mactan Export Processing Zone (MEPZ) in LapuLapu City.

Ricciardone noted that another American firm, Lexmark, which also has a plant inside MEPZ, is expanding operations in Cebu.

“Lexmark, another American company, is very happy here. In fact, it has extended its operation not only on sales but also employment because it has found a good place to invest in,” he said.

On the financial crisis now gripping the Philippines, Ricciardone said the US government is willing to help the country but how it should be done is all up to the Filipino leaders.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/cebu-sample02.jpg

olineil

May 23rd, 2005, 04:15 AM

Hello guys...nice photos there...Cebu thread is getting very bz eh...
Heres some SRP road (South Reclamation Project) shots my wife took a month ago...its a phne camera, sorry for low quality...

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y201/olineil2/Picture35.jpg http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y201/olineil2/Picture34.jpg http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y201/olineil2/Picture33.jpg http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y201/olineil2/Picture32.jpg http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y201/olineil2/Picture29.jpg http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y201/olineil2/Picture22.jpg http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y201/olineil2/Picture21.jpg http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y201/olineil2/Picture20.jpg http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y201/olineil2/Picture19.jpg http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y201/olineil2/Picture18.jpg http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y201/olineil2/Picture17.jpg http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y201/olineil2/Picture16.jpg http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y201/olineil2/Picture15.jpg http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y201/olineil2/Picture12.jpg http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y201/olineil2/Picture11.jpg

enjoy....

ryanr

May 23rd, 2005, 07:26 AM

Impressive stuff for Cebu!! Very good news.:okay: Let the infrastructure projects keep rolling in to Cebu so that investment prospects will prosper. Go Cebu!

btw, excellent banner:)

KulasKusgan

May 23rd, 2005, 03:15 PM

coastal area will definitely the next landmark of cebu. cebu deserves nothing but world-class infra projects.

ReDeYEs

May 23rd, 2005, 08:58 PM

PB finally votes: Split-Cebu wins

The Cebu Provincial Board (PB) has finally spoken and, with a vote of 8-7, supported the move to divide Cebu into smaller provinces.

The resolution is one of the requirements of the House committee on local government before it tackles the three bills filed by three Cebu congressmen for the creation of their districts into separate provinces.

It also ended three months of long suspense on their stand on the three-split Cebu House bills.

Those who voted for Cebu’s division for development of “forsaken” towns were PB Members Carmiano Kintanar, Jose Ma. Gastardo, Joevn Mon-digo, Antonio Almirante, Estrella Yapha, Victoria Corominas, Bacaltos and Gabriel Luis Quisumbing.

PB Members Juan Bolo, Rosemarie Durano, Alfred Francis Ouano, Teresita Celis, Ramon Martin Calderon, Victor Maam-bong and Agnes Magpale believe in the “strength of a united Cebu.”

But Capitol consultant Pablo John Garcia said in an interview that it’s still a long way to go to before the plan to divide Cebu is realized.

“It was not monumental. We have expected that. It was one step of a journey of a thousand miles because what is critical is the favorable resolutions from the component cities and municipalities of the district that wants to become a province,” he said.

Caucus

The PB came up with a pre-session caucus agreement not to discuss the merits of the proposal on the floor, and then voted nominally to support the move.

Swing vote was PB Member Raul Bacaltos, whose stand was not known until Vice Gov. Gregorio Sanchez Jr. refused his persistent request that he be made to vote last.

Those who supported the plan anchored their sentiment on three things: Cebu is a big province and “difficult to manage,” there is currently an inequitable distribution of resources that will be answered with the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) of new provinces, and it should be the people who must decide through a plebiscite.

Yapha, wife of Rep. Antonio Yapha (3rd district) and author of the pending bill for the creation of Cebu Occidental, adopted the logic contained in the rationale for Cebu del Sur: The present Cebu is too big and difficult to govern. Like lighting a candle, only the area nearest to it gets the better illumination.

Three more candles

“Creating three more provinces is just like lighting three more candles to add to the original one,” Yapha said.

“Cebu is too unwieldy, taking into account its population and area… Decentralization of resources and leadership will surely bring essential projects to distant, forsaken municipalities,” said Almirante.

Almirante is an ally of Rep. Simeon Kintanar (2nd district), who is pushing for the Cebu del Sur bill.

For Mondigo, who comes from the fourth district that Rep. Clavel Martinez wants to form into Cebu del Norte, dividing Cebu “will develop a culture of excellence, as new provinces will outdo each other for better performance.”

Plebiscite

Bacaltos, Quisumbing and Corominas all believe that the people should be given the chance to decide for themselves in a plebiscite.

“I will not dictate on the people of the second, third and fourth districts on whether they should create their own provinces. They are in the best position to determine their own fate,” Quisumbing said.

Maambong, who lost in his move for a resolution against the division, fought it out by raising the possibility of Sanchez moving to create a tie, which he said is not prohibited by law.

But Almirante objected to this, and they ended up allowing Sanchez to make his position known without influencing the result of the voting.

In advancing his side, Maambong answered the point on the plebiscite by saying that democracy could even be mob rule sometimes.

“Sometimes, democracy is demo-crazy. As leaders, we should lead the people to positions supported by facts and figures,” Maambong said.

Magpale, meanwhile, said they could always fight for transparency and equitable distribution of resources without breaking Cebu.

“With my experience, I know this is not the solution. I saw the province grow from an income of P265 million in 1992 to more than a billion now. There is strength in our unity, we got the National Government to notice us,” she said.

Setback

Resigned to the fact that there was nothing he could do to alter the outcome of the PB sentiment, Sanchez told the board that the move will surely mean a “setback” in the development of the towns in the proposed new provinces.

He said businessmen will surely invest in what will remain of Cebu because it is where the international airport and the ports are located.

Bringing business to the areas in the second, third and fourth districts would mean they have to deal with a separate bureaucracy.

“And who in this body can assure that in the next five years the country’s economy will improve? If it goes down, do you think the share in the IRA will be the same? What will remain of Cebu will be luckier because they will have more than P1 billion assets,” said Sanchez.

Last March, Sanchez already warned that the PB may support the move to split Cebu, saying political alliances with sponsor-congressmen may be stronger than town resolutions junking the proposal.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/

:ohno:

sloid

May 24th, 2005, 12:53 AM

hello.... my first post!! ^^

ugh. separating cebu is a bad idea!!! i just hope something VERY GOOD would turn out from that separation.

rustyboi

May 24th, 2005, 08:45 PM

Mactan to build new terminal
May 24, 2005

The Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) will build a new international terminal in anticipation of the doubling of the number of airport passengers in the next five years.

MCIAA General Manager Adelberto Yap announced this yesterday as he led media workers in the blessing and inauguration of the mobile asphalt batching plant.

The batching plant will supply materials to the P83-million asphalt overlay project of the airport runway.

Yap said they are currently catering to 2.5 million passengers a year. But Robert Go, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) president, foresees the number to double by 2010.

At present, the existing terminal building being used for both domestic and international operations has only four bridges because this is designed for domestic flights.

(The bridges are areas where tubes are connected to the aircrafts during boarding and disembarking time.)

Yap said the MCIAA often has to guide domestic aircraft to the remote parking area during arrivals of wide-bodied aircraft of Philippine Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Qatar Airlines.

“In transition, while we are finalizing the construction of Terminal Two, we are going to put up two bridges at the north side of the existing terminal building,” Yap said.

Hotels

Optimistic that the CCCI’s projection will come true, Yap said they will construct the additional facilities now before they are actually needed.

Yap said that because of the increasing airport passengers, businessmen want the immediate opening of Cebu Plaza Hotel and SM-Sheraton Hotel. “We have to work closely,” he said.

To continue airport operations despite the asphalt overlay project, the asphalting job will be done from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. three times a week, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. four times a week. The project is due for completion by July.

Because the asphalt dries quickly, the batching plant is installed beside the runway for its immediate application during working time.

24 hours

“If we want to work 24 hours a day on the project, we have to close the runway, so there will be no flights for forty five days. So we work only on blocktime when there are no flights,” Yap said.

The modern batching plant being used produces asphalt that dries one hour after its application.

The batching plant, which Socor Construction acquired from Singapore, can produce about five dump trucks of asphalt per setting at about P70,000 per metric ton.

As preparation, Socor removed the paint and scraped the rejuvenated old asphalt overlay. After the new asphalt overlay is done, it will be repainted.

Included in the removal is the rejuvenated runway, which cost MCIAA P10 million last year. (EOB)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/cebu-sample02.jpg

rustyboi

May 24th, 2005, 10:19 PM

Living in Cebu

The quality of life is an important factor people consider when they decide to settle in Cebu.

http://www.cebuinvest.com/en/img/page9a.jpg http://www.cebuinvest.com/en/img/page9b.jpg
Quality housing is abundant in Cebu and rentals are less expensive than other cities in the region. Normal power, water and communications including IDD telephone lines, mobile phone services and cable TV are available.

http://www.cebuinvest.com/en/img/page10e.jpg http://www.cebuinvest.com/en/img/page10f.jpg
A full range of sophisticated treatments is available at major hospitals in Cebu.

Health care is of a high standard, with well qualified doctors, pharmacists, dentist and nurses on call. State of the art medical diagnostic equipment is used in Cebu's hospitals.

The education system is good with excellent schools to tertiary levels. Many Cebu universities are of an international standard.

http://www.cebuinvest.com/en/img/page10a.jpg http://www.cebuinvest.com/en/img/page10b.jpg
Cultural events such as the Sinulog festival pictured left, dance, art and music are an integral part of life in Cebu.

Fresh foods arrive daily thanks to the multiple shipping and air links between Cebu and the rest of the world. The variety of goods available ensures international standard shopping with competitive prices.

http://www.cebuinvest.com/en/img/page10c.jpg http://www.cebuinvest.com/en/img/page10d.jpg
Shopping centers and food malls are similar to those found elsewhere in the world, with large carparks and air-conditioned comfort

The cosmopolitan nature of the population is reflected in the restaurants and clubs in the city, offering an exciting choice of dining and entertainment.

Public transport is plentiful but crowded and many residents prefer to drive their own vehicles. The computerized traffic control system (only in Cebu) speeds traffic through the city, even in peak hour periods.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/cebu-sample02.jpg

dominique

May 25th, 2005, 01:12 PM

a great round of applause!!! awesome pics guys...Cebu is indeed the undisputed Philippines' best...literally cebu has a terrain and landscape similar to hongkong. I am confident in the near future cebu will be like HK in most respects...

pls read this article...

Cebu to become next HK?

CEBU CITY Cebu’s business community hopes to transform Metro Cebu into the next Hong Kong with the construction of an underwater tunnel, a new port and a monorail to attract more tourists.
Robert Go, president of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the chamber is finalizing the details and design of the master plan, which the group hopes to present to the public next month.
“We want Cebu to have a facelift to attract more tourists. We want it to be an investment haven of the country. It is a very ambitious plan,” Go said.
Among the group’s plan is the construction of an underwater tunnel that will connect Cebu to the municipality of Cordova on Mactan Island, which the chamber plans to be the new site of an international port.
It also envisions a monorail, “smaller” than the trains used in the Light Rail Transit system, which will bring people straight to downtown Cebu City from the Mactan-Cebu International Airport in Lapu-Lapu City.
With this, the CCCI board and the tourism core group, after consultations, proposed the transfer of the Carbon Public Market to the South Reclamation Project (SRP).
“We want the SRP to be alive,” Go said.
Besides setting up a boardwalk from the North Reclamation Area to the SRP, the business group will also push for the construction of an international port in the municipality of Cordova so ocean liners and cruise ships doing tours in Southeast Asia could dock there.
“We are envisioning that we will look like Hong Kong in 20 years,” Go said.
He said the chamber has “picked” many brains and hired architects to make the designs for the plan, which the group hopes will get government approval and an endorsement for funding by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
Go said the chamber has not yet consulted the mayors, but he is optimistic that it will get their support since the project will highly benefit the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu and Talisay and the town of Cordova.
The support of government leaders is needed since the project will be carried out using a loan.
Go, the vice chair of the Regional Development Council in Central Visayas, said he will endorse the project to the infrastructure development committee of the council to get their opinions and suggestions.
--PNA

rustyboi

May 25th, 2005, 10:50 PM

a great round of applause!!! awesome pics guys...Cebu is indeed the undisputed Philippines' best...literally cebu has a terrain and landscape similar to hongkong. I am confident in the near future cebu will be like HK in most respects...

Welcome to skyscrapercity forums sloid and dominique! thanks for the article! sure sounds exciting, undoubtedly cebu's dream will realize in the near future. it has full of surprises. next thing we know, cebu is already a separate country! hahaha
:jk:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/cebu-sample02.jpg

sloid

May 26th, 2005, 12:05 AM

(COUNTRY’S FIRST) CPA to build monorail transit soon

Shuttling at the Port of Cebu will soon be swift, safe and easy now that plans are underway to build the country’s first monorail transit system. Never before have shuttle services been provided in Cebu’s century-old port until Thursday when Cebu Port Authority general manager Mariano Martinez made the official disclosure.

“We have signed a memorandum of understanding with Northwest Steel to undertake detailed feasibility studies for the monorail transit system,” said Martinez during the exclusive 30-minute interview with .

Signed on September 16, the memorandum of understanding involves Northwest Steel to undertake feasibility studies on the elevated monorail system including ridership statistics, route planning, and fare structure. It is also expected to make recommendations on right-of-way requirements, parking locations, engineering design and aesthetic and visual impact of the monorail to the Cebu Port Complex and its environs.

Used in many parts of the world like in Disneyland and in Japan, a monorail is essentially a single rail that serves as a track for passenger or freight vehicles. In most cases, rails are elevated, but monorails can also run at grade, below grade or in subway tunnels. It can have two or three passenger cars attached to the rail that operates with electricity.
End-to-end
Cebu’s monorail transit system will span four-and-half-kilometers of elevated rails suspended with pylons or vertical columns to support monorail guideways. It will be an end-to-end stretch from piers 1 to 6 with at least four platforms for pick-up and disembarking. It promises to do away with the hassle of walking from the ship to pier gates and takes the edge off of having to haggle with trisikad drivers in moving from pier to pier. The monorail transit system will also provide connecting arteries from the waterfront to the main thoroughfares of the city.

A keeper of the flames in putting a human component in waterfront operations, Martinez brings mass-based shuttle with his oft-repeated one-liner, “I want to give the ship-riding public a sense of decency.”

Enhance not spoil.
Decency it is. But a monorail transit system gives more than that. It is aesthetic because monorail guideways are constructed with narrow beams that enhance rather than spoil the environment. Unlike heavy rails in subways where passengers are blocked from scenic landscape viewing or light rails that require a spider web of overhead wires, monorails are built with designs that blend with urban environs.

Monorails are safe because its cars run on grade-separated guideways that prevent derailment most conventional rails suffer. Since these are suspended, it is free from the accidents and congestion of surface traffic causing no injuries or deaths and no system down time.

Monorails are powered with electricity, making these pollution-free. Running on rubber tires, these are quite.
That simple.

Will it take long to build? Monorails are easy to build causing less disruption to surrounding business and residential environments. All that has to be done is dig a hole, drop in a pre-built support pylon, truck in the track and fasten it into place — that simple. Martinez said that with the feasibility study underway, actual construction starts in December and will take approximately six months to complete.

Will it cost much? There is no price tag yet on project costs until the feasibility study is completed. But then price tags will mean little when in building the tracks of the future, the port is freed from decades of antiquated and chaotic operations. Only keepers of the flame with the political audacity for the human component in the waterfront could have thought of building the country’s first monorail. — Ruth G. Mercado

rustyboi

May 26th, 2005, 12:47 AM

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ceb/2005/05/26/article_132446_may26.jpg
Coastal road to stay closed, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña announced yesterday.
Above, work on the tunnel component of the road goes on near the Aduana and Malacañang sa Sugbo.
(Sun.star photo/Allan Cuizon)

rustyboi

May 26th, 2005, 01:02 AM

CEBU as an oil-rich province?

Why not, according to the Department of Energy (DOE), which sees potential oil and natural gas reserves in the Tañon Strait.

DOE Undersecretary Guillermo Balce predicted that the Tañon Strait would soon produce at least 300,000 barrels a day, or 100 million barrels in a month.

"Hypothetically, this means $5 billion in gross income," he said.

Balce said the national government is bound to get 60 percent of the net income of private firms that successfully find oil in Cebu.

The remaining 40 percent will go to the private company, with which the DOE had entered into as service contract. Given these figures, Cebu, under the Local Government Code, is entitled to a 40 percent (at least $240 million) of the national government's 60 percent (at least $360 million), Balce said.

In Palawan, Balce said Shell is producing 20,000 barrels a day from Mamplaya, or 40 million barrels in a month.

Balce said the government is not spending a cent for the exploration in southwestern part of Cebu along Tañon Strait. He said the contractor spends for the exploration and would only get its compensation once it discovers oil or gas in the area.

Balce said Presidential Decree 87 allows the government to enter into a service contract with private companies on exploration and extraction of oil.

It is still the government, through the DOE, that is doing the activity, he said.

During the oil exploration, the government does not pay the contractor who spends for the gathering and the translation of data.

"We pay them a fee of 40 percent of the net income from the oil that they will recover, when there is already extraction or production of oil."

"Kung wala, eh di wala. That is how risky the oil exploration business is. Kaya walang local na pumapasok dyan eh. Mahal ang bayad nila eh, per hour," he said.

In this Cebu and Negros exploration project alone, Balce said it cost Japex (Japan Petrolium Exploration Co. Ltd.) $6 million and Forex (Forum Exploration Inc.) $3 million.

The two companies used the R/V Veritas Searcher in doing their seismic survey.

At this point, DOE and the two contractors said they need not get an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Ismael Ocampo, chief of the petroleum resources development division of DOE, said the seismic survey is done using the "ultrasound method," where an airgun blows compressed air to the seabed to generate sound waves.

The sound waves will be absorbed by the rock formation beneath the seabed, and will be echoed back to the steel cable that have receivers to record the sound waves.

The recorded sound waves will indicate whether there's oil in the area.

In the Tañon Strait, Balce said the oil or gas reserves could be deposited one to three kilometers below the seabed in "sedimentary basins."

Balce and Ocampo said the exploration would not affect the dolphins and the whales in the area.

Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources explained that the Tañon Strait has become a natural habitat of dolphins and whales, "but the kind that are not very sensitive to sounds."

Balce said though that the next stages of exploration, which will involve drilling, would be a different story.

Balce said it was in 1896 that the first oil drill was found in Toledo City.

Alegria town, which was drilled in 1960-70s, produced at least one barrel a day, he said.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/cebu-sample02.jpg

rustyboi

May 26th, 2005, 01:08 AM

Internet café business in Cebu getting back on feet
May 26, 2005

After the decline in the number of Internet café operators in Cebu due to the stiff competition, which triggered price wars, and other concerns, the number is up again.

“There are now around 600 to 700 Internet cafés in Cebu City. That’s a number that is better compared to the last couple of years,” said Felix Cogal Jr., president of the Internet Café Association of Cebu (Icac).

In 2003, there were around 500 Internet cafés in Cebu City. Icac members have increased to 350 from 170 in 2003.

“The Internet café business in Cebu is back again. If there were a number of them that closed some time ago, there are also now a great number of Internet cafés that are opening,” he said in an interview yesterday.

Even the growing number of individuals having their own Internet connections at home has not threatened Icac members.

“There are still many people in Cebu who go to an Internet café because they don’t have their own computers and Internet connection,” he said.

Security

One reason for the gradual revival of the business is the improved security cafes now have in their computers.

“We now have software to protect our computers from unofficial changing of our computer settings where they can put destructive viruses that destroy our computers,” he told Sun.Star.

In the past, Internet café owners who didn’t know much about technical problems had to pay technicians to solve them. The cost of hiring technicians to fix computer bugs added to the financial burden of the café operators, leading to the closure of their business.

Another concern of Internet cafes is the competition posed by the dominant telecommunications carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT).

Netopia, the Internet café brand of PLDT, is a tough competitor for small Internet cafés, said Cogal.

“One reason users would choose Netopia is that most of them offer per-minute rates for Internet usage, while almost all the other Internet café centers charge for Internet usage of at least 30 minutes.

That’s their edge,” he said.

However, only those cafes near Netopia Internet café centers are affected, he added.

There are eight Netopia Internet café centers in Cebu, including those in SM City Cebu, Southwestern University, Osmeña Boulevard and P. del Rosario Street.

A source from Netopia said that as of last count, the Netopia Internet café centers in the country had reached around 160.

“We will also soon open more Netopia (cafes) in the Banilad and Colon areas,” she said. (ALC)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/cebu-sample02.jpg

rustyboi

May 26th, 2005, 01:15 AM

I hope someone here could give us updates / developments of the ff:

Park City Central Hotel
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/parkcitycentralhotel.jpg
i got this from emporis website but no details available
30+ storey twin towers

A Lucio Tan co.'s 55-storey office/commercial building
any renderings? updates?

Manrose Place, Business Center
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/manros_new2.gif
this will be across St Therese College in Mango Ave. any updates?
it looks like a 20+ storey bldg.

Park Lane Hotel
any renderings and construction updates? this is somewhere gorordo ave. right?

Club Ultima Towers
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/ClubUltimaCebu.jpg
any photos? the last time i was there, the first bldg (24-storey) topped off na.
any updates on the second bldg (40-storey regency hotel)?

King's Island Hotel, Mactan
an affiliate of Club Ultima... any photos? i saw a rendering on our membership brochure and it looks huge and grand.
a superstructure in a man-made island connected with two suspension bridges.
it will also have an underwater restaurant and bar. swheeet!

International Academy of Film and Television
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/bigfootschool.jpg
a world-class film school, any photos and construction updates?

Whattabout the Fisherman's Wharf similar to San Francisco Bay area, Cebu Boardwalk Mall, Cebu Megadome, Underwater Tunnel, Cebu monorail transit... These are just few of a hundred developments going on in Cebu. watch out for more! wait, i forgot about DisneyLand which is supposed to open in Cebu. too bad, Hongkong won the bidding! :) but the news was a very long time ago, almost a decade ago when i was in pre-school. hehe.. Disneyland Hongkong by the way will open later this year! cheers! :D

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/cebu-sample02.jpg

rustyboi

May 26th, 2005, 02:22 AM

CEBU is the country's top business and leisure destination

In spite of travel warnings, tourists continue to visit RP; Koreans, Chinese, Japanese comprise bulk of visitors
By MARS W. MOSQUEDA JR.

CEBU CITY — Despite the travel advisories issued by several countries against visits to the Philippines, foreigners from the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Australia continue to visit the country.

Tourism Undersecretary Phineas Alburo, speaking at the PIA Kapihan sa Turismo, expressed confidence that the travel advisories issued by the western countries would not affect the aggressive international campaign of the Department of Tourism (DoT) to market the Philippines as a tourist haven in Asia.

A study conducted by the World Tourism Organization (WTO) concluded that despite threats of terrorism all over the world, tourists continue to travel as long as they see that the authorities are on top of the situation.

Koreans, Japanese, and Chinese comprised the largest group of foreigners traveling to the Philippines, particularly Cebu.

Of the 2.4 million tourists who arrived in the country last year, 1.7 million visited Cebu, and 700,000 opted to visit Boracay.

This development was officially announced by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo before members of the Cebu and Manila press during a media interaction in Daanbantayan, Cebu early this month.

The DoT is concentrating its global marketing efforts on the promotion of the Philippines in North Asia, specifically Japan, China, and Korea where there are no travel advisories being issued against the Philippines, said Undersecretary Alburo.

However, Alburo said that the DoT is not abandoning North America and Europe.

The "Balikbayan Program" of the DoT lures Filipinos residing or working abroad such as the United States, Canada, and Europe to take advantage of the familiarization package tours in their homeland, the tourism official said.

For this year, the undersecretary said, the DoT is targeting 2.5 million tourist arrivals and is optimistic to achieve a target of five million tourist arrivals by 2010.

President Arroyo, who opened the Philippine Investment Conference in Cebu last March, reported that tourism is one of the prime movers of economic growth aside from energy and power, ICT, outsourcing, and mining.

The President said that the government is pushing two investment opportunities in Cebu in the fields of business process outsourcing and tourism, noting that Cebu is dubbed as the premier city and province of Central Philippines.

Here are some of the banners I made for Cebu... :D

Olango Island, Cebu
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/cebuphils03.jpg

The Osmeña Peak
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/cebuphils02.jpg

Cebu City
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/cebuphils.jpg

ReDeYEs

May 26th, 2005, 02:58 AM

Welcome to skyscrapercity forums sloid and dominique! thanks for the article! sure sounds exciting, undoubtedly cebu's dream will realize in the near future. it has full of surprises. next thing we know, cebu is already a separate country! hahaha
:jk:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/cebu-sample02.jpg

Viva Republic of Cebu!!! :jk:

edifice_complex3

May 26th, 2005, 04:18 AM

Edmundtanso

May 26th, 2005, 04:52 AM

park city central hotel looks good, i hope it is under construction or be built soon, i see cebu as the a main tourism area in the country. here i go again, i just really hope that the gov't officials of cebu have a master plan done for the metropolis so it wont be like another metro manila

rainierrizal

May 26th, 2005, 12:01 PM

CEBU City, Philippines Vs Putrajaya, Malaysia

Vote For CEBU

LINK to:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=216962

KulasKusgan

May 26th, 2005, 08:46 PM

@ Rusty: beautiful banners. nindot.

http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=217071

PENANG VS CEBU...

naughtyins0mniac

May 27th, 2005, 01:54 AM

cebu will have monorail? when?? nice..

rustyboi

May 27th, 2005, 02:36 AM

Yup! another country's first. initially, it will only be within the Cebu International Port complex (Pier I - Pier 6 i think), approx 5 kilometers long. this is actually part of Cebu's masterplan. soon, the rest of the metropolis will be accessible thru the monorail system. lapulapu city is definitely included on the plan, does this mean another Mactan bridge on the making? wow!

since the monorail is built within the sea port complex, it will look pretty much like this:
http://faculty.washington.edu/~jbs/itrans/haneda.jpg
Google

allow me to repost the previous article posted by sloid:

Shuttling at the Port of Cebu will soon be swift, safe and easy now that plans are underway to build the country’s first monorail transit system. Never before have shuttle services been provided in Cebu’s century-old port until Thursday when Cebu Port Authority general manager Mariano Martinez made the official disclosure.

“We have signed a memorandum of understanding with Northwest Steel to undertake detailed feasibility studies for the monorail transit system,” said Martinez during the exclusive 30-minute interview with .

Signed on September 16, the memorandum of understanding involves Northwest Steel to undertake feasibility studies on the elevated monorail system including ridership statistics, route planning, and fare structure. It is also expected to make recommendations on right-of-way requirements, parking locations, engineering design and aesthetic and visual impact of the monorail to the Cebu Port Complex and its environs.

Used in many parts of the world like in Disneyland and in Japan, a monorail is essentially a single rail that serves as a track for passenger or freight vehicles. In most cases, rails are elevated, but monorails can also run at grade, below grade or in subway tunnels. It can have two or three passenger cars attached to the rail that operates with electricity.

End-to-end
Cebu’s monorail transit system will span four-and-half-kilometers of elevated rails suspended with pylons or vertical columns to support monorail guideways. It will be an end-to-end stretch from piers 1 to 6 with at least four platforms for pick-up and disembarking. It promises to do away with the hassle of walking from the ship to pier gates and takes the edge off of having to haggle with trisikad drivers in moving from pier to pier. The monorail transit system will also provide connecting arteries from the waterfront to the main thoroughfares of the city.

A keeper of the flames in putting a human component in waterfront operations, Martinez brings mass-based shuttle with his oft-repeated one-liner, “I want to give the ship-riding public a sense of decency.”

Enhance not spoil.
Decency it is. But a monorail transit system gives more than that. It is aesthetic because monorail guideways are constructed with narrow beams that enhance rather than spoil the environment. Unlike heavy rails in subways where passengers are blocked from scenic landscape viewing or light rails that require a spider web of overhead wires, monorails are built with designs that blend with urban environs.

Monorails are safe because its cars run on grade-separated guideways that prevent derailment most conventional rails suffer. Since these are suspended, it is free from the accidents and congestion of surface traffic causing no injuries or deaths and no system down time.

Monorails are powered with electricity, making these pollution-free. Running on rubber tires, these are quiet compared to Manila's MRT and LRT.
That simple.

Will it take long to build? Monorails are easy to build causing less disruption to surrounding business and residential environments. All that has to be done is dig a hole, drop in a pre-built support pylon, truck in the track and fasten it into place — that simple. Martinez said that with the feasibility study underway, actual construction starts in December 2005 and will take approximately six months to complete.

Will it cost much? There is no price tag yet on project costs until the feasibility study is completed. But then price tags will mean little when in building the tracks of the future, the port is freed from decades of antiquated and chaotic operations. Only keepers of the flame with the political audacity for the human component in the waterfront could have thought of building the country’s first monorail. — Ruth G. Mercado

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/cebu-sample02.jpg

mhe-ann

May 27th, 2005, 03:52 AM

looks cool. :okay:

sandrin

May 27th, 2005, 05:24 AM

Hey Rusty...Post all the Pictures of Cebu here !!!!!!

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=217071&page=2&pp=20

ryanr

May 27th, 2005, 10:41 AM

kiretoce

May 27th, 2005, 05:01 PM

I agree. An MRT system will be better in the long run compared to a monorail system. An MRT will provide more ridership numbers and can handle the daily grind. Monorails are just for short hops within a designated area (ie. theme parks and/or city centers).

rustyboi

May 27th, 2005, 06:43 PM

Nice banners Rusty.
My Korean-American friend here in LA said that Cebu is very popular in Korea.
He said that their image of Cebu is that of a paradise where honeymooners go. I was elated to hear that of course. But I almost fell off from my chair when he asked me if I know Sandara Park.

thanks edifice_complex3! ahehehe :D wow that's great news! i really cant believe Cebu is so popular in South Korea. Korean establishments are all over the metro including restaurants, bar (sunflower city), spa resorts, and soon a korean five-star resort hotel in Mactan. currently around 80 Koreans are in cebu to shoot a TV soap opera to be shown all over asia. they were looking for Sandara Park as well to join them hahaha... and guess what, the South Korean President will have a state visit in Cebu later this year. I agree with Mr. Robert Go: Manila has always been the site for state visit from leaders in different countries, and this is the start wherein Cebu takes the spotlight and get higher attention from other countries, starting with the Korean state visit.

as far as i can remember, a korean company is actively involved in developing a theme park beside the cebu boardwalk complex. nice :)

Upcoming Korean President visit
seen to boost Cebu trade links
by Ehda M. Dago-oc
May 27, 2005

The upcoming visit of South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun to Cebu this coming December is seen to increase growth of Korean tourist arrivals and investments here, while strengthening the partnership between Cebu and Korea.

Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) president Robert L. Go said the business sector is going to prepare for the visit of the Korean leader in order to further market Cebu’s attractiveness as vacation and leisure as well as investment hubs to Korean nationals.

Go said he was informed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo recently that the Korean government is interested to bond further with the Philippines, especially Cebu.

With some problems regarding the illegal business practices of some Korean nationals here in the Philippines, significantly in Cebu, Go said the coming of its President here is expected to help Cebu forge a closer tie up with Korean government to avoid further problems.

The visit of Korean leader Roh Moo Hyun is the first state visit to Cebu that ever happened in the recent years.

This means that Cebu has been getting greater attention, especially in the field of tourism and investments, Go said.

The Korean tourist market is fast growing in Cebu. Korean-owned businesses are also flooding, Go said more is expected to happen after the Korean President visit to Cebu this coming December.

The country’s capital city-Manila has always been the site for state visit from leaders in different countries, Go said this is the start wherein Cebu takes the spotlight and get higher attention from other countries, starting with the Korean state visit.

There are already thousands of Korean nationals staying in Cebu, as students, vacationers, or businessmen. Go said it is but proper that Cebu will have a formal partnership with Korean government.

Also, by that time of the visit, Cebu could market not only the tourism destinations, but also the investment capabilities of Cebu to host foreign companies.

He said one of the highlights is to show the Korean government, the availability of 300-hectare South Road Properties (SRP), and other investment sites, such as IT Parks, economic zones, among others.

Next to the Japanese tourists, Korean nationals are the second largest foreign visitors in the province.

From January to February of this year Korean arrivals to Cebu grew by 19 percent to a total of 20,746 arrivals, compared to 17,449 last year.

Go said even without the closer relationship with Cebu and Korea, there are already significant number of big Korean investments that are coming in such as the Korean Electric Power Corporation (kepco).

Earlier, tourism private sector players are seeking the government’s intervention over the unscrupulous Korean traders here victimizing fellow Korean visitors.

Tourism players mostly travel agents expressed their disappointments over the overcharging of hotel and other service rates to the visiting Korean tourists, by the Korean traders based in Cebu.

Former president of Cebu Association of Tour Operators (CATO) Cecille Sa-a said the lack of Filipino-Korean speaking guides, pushed these Korean opportunists to do business in the Philippines, especially Cebu and make money through over-charging and cheating their co-Koreans.

These problems are expected to be curtailed once Cebu could work closely with the Korean government.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/cebu-sample02.jpg

rustyboi

May 27th, 2005, 07:04 PM

Indeed, whatever happened to Park City Central Hotel? I've seen that a long time ago and until now its not yet completed. It has a very nice design.

Lucio Tan will build a 55 storey building in Cebu? Sweet. I'd like more info and updates on that. Manrose Place looks cool too.

A monorail? Thats cool...but werent the original plans a MRT for Cebu? Personally, i'd perfer a MRT for long term mass transportation.
We also heard that Makati will get a Monorail to BGC before...i dont know if it will procede.

Park City Central sure looks elegant but unfortunately i cant find any updates regarding the hotel. About the 55-storey building, they say its an Allied Bank building and that's the only info i could get. i also read somewhere that the government is in favor of building a monorail transit system because it is more "bagay" for cebu.. they have yet to finalize it though. the size of cebu (population and land area) is less than half of metro manila so i think a monorail system will do. LRT/MRT will require a spider web of overhead wires, a major turn off. :( the metro also has numerous alternative mode of transportation and if ever the city gets too congested, by that time cebu can already afford to build a subway system if we were to base the recent developments of the province. :D anywayz, im confident the urban planners know what is best for cebu.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/cebu-sample02.jpg

kiretoce

May 27th, 2005, 07:22 PM

Gov't eyes new airport in Cebu
Inquirer News Service | May 27, 2005

THE DEPARTMENT of Transportation and Communication has proposed construction of a new air passenger terminal in the central Philippines city of Cebu, as passengers are expected to increase to five million in the next five years, Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza said, citing a projection by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

But for the meantime, the government is considering a P500-million expansion of the existing terminal, Mactan Cebu International Airport general manager Adelberto Yap said.

"We are really bursting at the seams," Yap told the Inquirer. "There are days when three 747s would be arriving at the same time. It is really standing room here."

The Cebu airport authority has spent P123 million to rehabilitate the runway, which should be completed in July, to accommodate bigger aircraft, Yap said.

The P500-million terminal upgrade will be enough to add four air bridges and expand the terminal to a size sufficient for the projected passenger growth in the next three years, he said.

However, a new airport terminal is needed to meet further growth after the third year, Yap said.

He said the Cebu airport served 2.5 million passengers last year, and the number has been growing steadily.

Mendoza said international passengers increased 27 percent last year from 2003, and domestic passengers increased nine percent.

He noted that the Cebu airport has only one terminal building that serves both domestic and international flights.

Yap said the air terminal was originally designed to handle domestic flights only, but more than eight airlines use it as takeoff and landing point for several international flights.

sloid

May 28th, 2005, 12:14 AM

^ i hope that the new terminal would be as modern as the ones found in hk, seoul. and wow, cebu is improving a lot, wish when i go back, everything planned would be done. ^^

sloid

May 28th, 2005, 01:53 AM

ABS-CBN Picks IAFT To Train 50 Camera Operators

ABS-CBN, the Philippines' largest broadcasting network, picks the International Academy of Film And Television (IAFT) in Cebu as the official training center for its fifty new camera operators. Jun Visbal, Head of Account Management, Engineering Division of ABS-CBN and Caesar A. Ditan, IAFT Marketing Director recently signed the Memorandum of Agreement.
Under the agreement, the fifty cameramen will take the "Camera Operators Course," a six-week intensive training program conducted at the IAFT facility in Cebu City. This hands-on course focuses on both the technical and creative aspects of operating the camera. It is a holistic approach: planning, producing, acquisition, and non-linear editing using Final Cut Pro. At the end of the course, each student will have his own professional reel. Rigorous training has already begun for the 4th batch of cameramen under Hollywood professional, Rick Robinson.

Rick Robinson has been in the film industry for over 18 years. He has over 20 television shows, 38 feature film credits, countless commercials, movie videos and documentaries to his credit. Clients include Paul McCartney, Madonna, Cher, Whitney Houston, Michael and Janet Jackson, and Stevie Wonder. Jun Visbal, who spearheaded the program said, "Rick is not only technically superior. He's a nice guy. He understands the Filipino psyche. That's why the cameramen love to work with him.

ABS-CBN continues to pursue professionalism not only in hiring, but also in the training of their cameramen. "We go through lengths to fly, house, and train the cameramen in IAFT in Cebu for six weeks. That keeps them focused as they are away from distractions. That's how committed we are," adds Jun Visbal. "We signed up because we believe IAFT can help us improve our craft and produce quality outputs."

"This training course is part of IAFT's Corporate Training Program. These programs are tailor-made according to your requirements and expectations, on all aspects of filmmaking and television," says Caesar Ditan, IAFT's Marketing Director. "I was told the 1st and 2nd batches of the cameramen are now deployed! We're glad and proud that ABS-CBN put their trust in us," he adds. The International Academy of Film and Television anticipates more participants from ABS-CBN in the coming months ahead. Together, IAFT and ABS-CBN are making huge steps in providing world-class quality entertainment. For inquiries, call (032) 412-6090 or send an SMS to 0927 482-5501. More information can be found at www.study-film.com.

So, is the IAFT campus in mactan operational??

taken from the official site..

The International Academy of Film and Television (IAFT) is a film school that offers courses which combine theory, practice, and application. We offer our students the experience of hands-on-training with Hollywood professionals who serve as our faculty mentors. We also offer our students the opportunity to have applied industry experience with our sister company Bigfoot Entertainment. Our expectation is to train quality industry professionals who can then be recruited to work in Bigfoot Entertainment or other industry-related businesses.

We are located on the island of Cebu in the Philippines. Cebu is a safe island that offers our students breathtaking sites. One of the unique sites is the underwater life. Our elective course, Underwater Photography, allows our students to become certified divers and capture underwater footage. We are proud to offer this unique course to our students.

Our mission is to create a stable learning institution that includes hands-on learning, the use of state-of-the-art equipment, and guidance from expert film industry professionals from Hollywood and around the world. We will nurture the specialized, individual talents of students and encourage them to become creative and thoughtful practitioners in the world of digital and visual arts.

Our vision is to become a leader in Southeast Asia and in producing world-class filmmakers.

Is the IAFT in cebu like the headquarters or something?? or is it THE ONLY one??

rustyboi

May 28th, 2005, 02:52 AM

^nice! thanks for the article! IAFT is a film school owned and operated by an american company. they have chosen cebu as their first campus outside the US. it is currently the only one campus :D as mentioned, they wanted to expand soon in other south-east asian countries. i doubt that will happen soon though.

actually the mactan campus is still under construction. they are currently holding their classes and trainings in their sister company's building (Bigfoot Communications Complex) located in cebu city. an article says the mactan campus had its soft launch and students can already use the facilities like the sound stage, edit suites, etc.. It will be fully operational by Sept 2005.

here's the article:

Beginning September 2005, IAFT will offer dormitory housing to our students. We will provide safe and affordable living quarters on our Mactan Island campus. The dorms will be nestled on the beach front of Mactan Island. Students may choose to share a room or have a private room. There is one bathroom per room. If students have a roommate preference, they will be allowed to request that roommate on the housing form. Both students must request one another as roommates.
IAFT is fortunate to be housed in the Philippines where the cost of living is low and affordable. In turn, our dorms have also been priced affordably.

The dorms will be equipped with a common kitchen and lounge areas. The dorms will be secured and have security on the premises and electronic key access.

dudz

May 28th, 2005, 06:25 PM

the monorail system is definitely cool and construction is just 6 months...that is fast!:okay:and an expansion of the airport terminal and a new one in the next three years...that's a lot of public works for cebu!!! :cheers1:
just wanna ask, what international airlines serve cebu?

OtAkAw

May 28th, 2005, 06:39 PM

WOW! A monorail system would be perfect for cebu! Wait, I have a question although it's out of the context: Can't people build a subway system for metro manila? I mean, most major cities of the world have subway train systems and manila doesn't have one!
Cebu is developing at a very amazing and fast pace! cant wait to see the developments!

chymera00

May 29th, 2005, 02:02 PM

wla pa nga subway sa Manila, may monorail na ang Cebu ... impressive ...
It would be cool to have one in our country ... but what about the Maglev cars (Magnetically suspended hovercrafts) ANC did a feature on. The inventor was Cebuano and said Cebu was likely to have a Meglev highway ...

chymera00

May 29th, 2005, 02:03 PM

The Osmeña Peak
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/cebuphils02.jpg

Osmena Peak pla pangalan nya ... it was certainly, the highlight of my Cebu visits followed by Ayala Center, Plantation Bay, and the Taoist Temple

rustyboi

May 29th, 2005, 08:40 PM

^yup! The Osmeña Peak or TOP. but people call it TOPS. there's actually a newer place to hangout similar to Tops called Mountain View Resort. near to that place is a very nice restaurant overlooking the city. wish i could go back to that place! :)

MEGLEV? never heard of it but sure sounds cool!

queetz@home

May 29th, 2005, 09:14 PM

I just hope the Cebu monorail planners don't pick Bombardier to build it. The monorail in Las Vegas is a technological disaster and a major embarrasment to the company and the city. ;)

Jimbu

May 30th, 2005, 05:08 PM

DOTC to build int’l terminal in Cebu

by Ruth G. Mercado
May 30, 2005

Though without a timeline, the transportation department has announced plans of building a new international terminal at Mactan flagging what could be a takeover by the Manila International Airport Authority on Cebu operations.
Transportation and communications secretary Leandro Mendoza said improving airport facilities and other transport systems is a “must” to spur commerce and tourism. Volume of international passengers at Mactan have reportedly increased by 27 percent between 2003 and 2004 prompting the transportation department to “anticipate future needs and work accordingly to meet these.”

Talks are rife that the sudden announcement by the transportation department of building a new international terminal at Mactan may well set the stage for the MIAA to directly supervise international airport operations.

For close to 50 years since the Mactan Cebu International Airport opened in the 1960s, there has been only one terminal building serving domestic and international flights. The Cebu airport was originally designed to handle domestic flights only.

Should the new international airport become operational, DOTC plans to convert the original terminal exclusively for domestic destinations. It is uncertain if this was discussed with the MCIAA board.

The secretary was silent on when construction of the new international terminal will start and what its features will be.

EO 341.

Last year, President Gloria Arroyo signed Executive Order 341 authorizing the MIAA to exercise administrative supervision and control of all international airports in the country. Both MIAA and MCIA are under the umbrella of the transportation department.

Plans to build a new international terminal in Cebu came close at the heels after aviation guru Avelino Zapanta boded industry doom unless there is matching and compatibility between airport and aircraft configurations. He said the country “will be left behind” so long as there is no cohesive and responsive airport and aircraft masterplan that includes developing terminals.

With close to 40 years in the aviation industry, Zapanta who was once president and chief operating officer of the Philippine Airlines said he has not seen an airport development plan in the country. During his stint with PAL, Zapanta threatened to stop PAL operations in Cebu unless the Mactan runway is renovated.

Air Transportation Office chief Nilo Jatico said there are plans to construct and restructure the country’s network of airports but that meager government subsidies are holding back plans from being materialized.

Baring plans to build an international terminal at Mactan is the first serious and definitive move to expand Cebu’s airport. While there is no timeline yet, it is also unclear how international operations at Mactan will be done after the president ordered to place this under MIAA supervision.

kiretoce

May 30th, 2005, 06:34 PM

just wanna ask, what international airlines serve cebu?

Silk Air (subsidiary of Singapore Airlines) service from SIN
Cathay Pacific Airways service from HKG
Qatar Airways service from DOH via SIN
Malaysia Airlines service from KUL

OtAkAw

May 31st, 2005, 04:17 PM

I just hope the Cebu monorail planners don't pick Bombardier to build it. The monorail in Las Vegas is a technological disaster and a major embarrasment to the company and the city. ;)

Why?

ryanr

May 31st, 2005, 07:12 PM

Why?

Because Bombardier's Las Vegas Monorail broke down a lot, therefore its unreliable.

queetz@home

June 1st, 2005, 06:16 AM

ThisFire

June 1st, 2005, 06:42 AM

that's a disaster

OtAkAw

June 1st, 2005, 08:57 AM

OtAkAw, imagine this. You are in a crowded monorail standing just by the door staring at its large windows to admire the view. The train stops all of a sudden in the middle of the route, opens its doors and next thing you know, you are in front of a 30 foot drop and the only reason why you didn't fall is because its not THAT crowded that people would inadvertently push you out. Just an example of some of the mishaps that happened in the Las Vegas Bombardier monorail. Never mind parts of it falling from the train down towards unsuspecting tourists and vehicles down below.... ;)

That's really horrible!!!!
You should punish the builders of that monorail by boiling them alive to death or strangulating them using chicken wires or perhaps feeding them to live and hungry lions! they should die first before anybody else does with the monorail they built! (Don't take this too seriously, hehehe :) )

dominique

June 1st, 2005, 11:43 AM

though its late but I would like to say thank you to rusty18 for that great cebu photos and banners. He deserves our most profound commendations for that tough job!

Anyway I just wonder why chymera keeps on attaching the monicker "Queen City of the South" to Iloilo. That title was crowned to cebu when she was enthroned to that stature long time ago.. With due respect to chymera let's move on and stop dwelling in the past...

here's an interesting article...

Runway Repairs Begin 'Massive' Reforms at Cebu Airports
By Richard A. Ramos
Expect smoother operations and drastic reforms at the Mactan-Cebu airport in the coming months as ex-general Adelberto Yap, the newest general manager of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA), is hell-bent on implementing large-scale changes and shake-ups in his quest for better and more efficient management of all airport properties.

Such reforms are deemed crucial in light of Cebu's stature as a national and international tourism hub.

First on the agenda is the start of the long-delayed overlay of asphalt along the 10,000-foot airport runway. Several months ago, the Mactan runway was the bone of contention among foreign airlines such as Cathay Pacific and Qatar Airways. The runway's rough surface was said to be damaging to their plane tires. Philippine Airlines also tried to bring the problem to light a few years ago, threatening to pull out its flight operations from the Mactan airport unless the runway was fixed to their satisfaction.

"The overlay process started last week and is expected to be finished before mid-July this year barring any untoward incident such as the weather and other elements," Gen. Yap told reporters last week. A dry surface is needed in order for the asphalt to set immediately.

"Working from 9 pm - 5 am three times a week, and 9 pm - 3 am four times a week, we expect an average asphalt outlay of 70-80 meters per day. More importantly, no foreign flights will be affected since work starts after they leave and ends before their arrival," Yap added. A new batching plant that mixes the asphalt at the rate of five cement mixers per hour has also saved time and money.

However, costs originally pegged at P83.5 million have escalated to P122 million. This is partly due to the removal of the several dozen electrical fixtures along the runway. This would necessitate another overlay once these lights would be restored to their ground position.

Low-cost airlines.
Another factor necessitating the immediate repair of the runway is the entry of no less than four low-cost airlines.

Two are from Korea. Asiana Airlines is due to fly in four times weekly beginning July 8, and Korean Airlines is scheduled to ply the Cebu-Innchon route starting July 18. Both companies will utilize the wide-bodied 747 aircraft which will require smoother runways.

Two other low-cost airlines, Mandarin Airlines from Taipei and Far Eastern Transport from Kaohsiung, China have already started operations last month. Mandarin Airlines now flies from Taipei to Cebu three times weekly.

The entry of these low-cost airlines is expected to increase outbound tourists as well because ticket prices are 30-40% cheaper than those of the regular airlines.

A new admin building.
Also in store for the airport sometime in the third quarter of the year is the construction of a new administration building situated directly across the Waterfront Mactan Hotel. The space is presently occupied by a Korean duty free store whose contract is set to expire next month.

Presently, the airport terminal houses nearly all the airport offices including the security agencies, janitorial, accounting, other government agencies, and many others.

"These are non-income generating offices. And we need more space to be leased out to more concessionaires such as the low-cost airlines since they badly need office space. Right now we cannot accommodate them," he explained.

Yap estimated that P60 to P70 million will be needed for the new building. Funds have been in place for years, he said, but nothing has been done. To make way for more revenues, some offices will be evicted from the airport terminal over a period of time.

The airport manager likewise expressed surprise earlier upon learning that many of the airport concessionaires are owned by only a few proprietors listed under different names. He vowed transparency in the next bidding process, determined to levy penalties on multiple establishments listed under the same name.

"One owner has four outlets, and another has five outlets. We cannot allow this to happen again. Maybe we can make such a violation a part of their contract so they will think twice due to their possible eviction," he declared.

A new economic zone.
Yap put forth his plan of applying for a new economic zone for the airport in order to avail of many perks and benefits that will redound to the airport. He revealed that he used to manage the Clark airport, an economic zone, prior to his present position.

"One can bring in imported equipment, vehicles, and such tax-free in an economic zone. Not just the airport management, but the locators as well. This is the primary reason why Asian Spirit and SEAir have chosen Clark to be their main headquarters. All service vehicles, even the fire truck, was brought in tax-free," he related.

Talks have already started with Philippine Export Zone Authority chair Lilia de Lima on the proposed change of status for the Mactan airport.

Yap also bared plans to rehabilitate small airports and runways in smaller towns in Cebu such as Bantayan Island, Camotes, Badian, and Toledo since all these fall under his jurisdiction. The budget for refurbishing will be sourced from the MCIAA income, the Provincial Government, local congressmen, and the Air Transportation Office, which Yap used to head.

ryanr

June 1st, 2005, 03:39 PM

Thats very good:okay: Its about time they fix the airport runway, i've heard complaints about it for several years now.

Jimbu

June 1st, 2005, 07:05 PM

Cebu–Taiwan charter flight to intensify visitor arrivals

MANILA, May 31 (PNA) - The Philippine is strengthening its presence in the Taiwanese market as the first Kaohsiung-Cebu flight finally took off on Monday to signal the start of more tourist arrivals in the country this year and beyond.

”This new development widens the travel access to the Philippines and positions Cebu as a viable destination for visitors coming from Taiwan. With the charter flights in place, it will definitely enthrall the Taiwanese tourists to visit the different island of the country.” Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano said.

The charter flight from Kaohsiung to Cebu via Far Eastern Air Transport (FAT) initially brought 175 tourists from southern Taiwan to the Philippines.

The DOT is mobilizing local tour suppliers to ensure the best service for the Taiwanese visitors.

There will be five more flights from Kaohsiung to Cebu next month.

Durano said Cebu is an excellent destination for Taiwanese tourists because of its premium service facilities coupled with rich cultural heritage and finest beaches.

”Cebu is one of the best places in our country to visit. I am sure the tourist will enjoy their stay in our country because Cebuanos are noted for their warmth and generosity,” Durano said.

He is convinced that Taiwanese tourists will marvel at the preserved historical wonders of Cebu such as the San Pedro Fort and Basilica, a turn-of-the-century building, and the famous Cross of Magellan, among others.

The new Cebu-Kaohsiung chartered flights compliment the DOT’s thrust of increasing tourists arrivals in the country and make it the ideal vacation gateway and cultural destination in Southeast Asia.

The other Philippine destinations that have direct links from Kaohsiung are Manila via China Airlines and Laoag via FAT Air. (PNA)

kiretoce

June 1st, 2005, 07:52 PM

Cebu is beginning to "spread its wings" as the alternative (maybe even a much more attractive) gateway to the Philippines. :okay:

kiretoce

June 2nd, 2005, 08:49 PM

Korean Air, Asiana set flights to Cebu
Inquirer News Service | Jun. 02, 2005

South Korean carriers will fly regularly to Cebu starting in July to take advantage of strong interest among Koreans to travel and explore the Visayas, the head of the Mactan Cebu International Airport said.

Asiana Airlines will mount four weekly flights from Incheon, Korea, to Cebu starting July 13 and Korean Air will fly twice weekly starting July 18, said airport general manager Adelberto Yap.

"The Korean airlines are going to bring in more tourists to the region," Yap said. "More foreign airlines are planning to use Cebu as their hub from the Visayas and this is why we want to beef up the facilities."

South Korean visitor arrivals in the Philippines recorded a 25-percent increase in March and 41 percent in April, surpassing Japan as the top Asian market of the Philippines.

More than 10 million South Koreans travel each year. Tourism Secretary Ace Durano is targeting about half a million of them to visit the Philippines in 2005.

Yap said the Cebu hub had been catering to other foreign airlines as well.

He said the airport was turning out to be like that in the Clark Special Economic Zone, north of Manila, which has become a favorite among low-cost carriers.

Singapore's Tiger Airways has signified interest to fly between Cebu and Singapore, and Malaysia's AirAsia is interested in Cebu-Kuala Lumpur and Cebu-Kota Kinabalu.

Other budget carriers such as Taiwan's Mandarin Airlines and China's Far Eastern Transport started Cebu services in April, Yap said.

Mandarin Airlines flies from Taipei to Cebu three times a week, he said.

Other carriers flying overseas from Cebu are Philippine Airlines, Cebu Air Pacific, Qatar Airlines, Malaysian Air and Silk Air.

The increasing activity at the Cebu airport prompted the transportation department to propose building a new terminal. The Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry said passengers using the Cebu airport would reach five million over five years.

Yap said that for the meantime the government was looking at a P500-million expansion of the present terminal.

The Cebu airport has one terminal building that serves both domestic and international flights.

rustyboi

June 4th, 2005, 08:29 AM

@kiretoce: yup, cebu has its own perks which make the city very attractive. i'd prefer cebu to remain an alternative destination in the country both for business and leisure. i cant imagine cebu to become another metro manila in the future. its better to be different, at least people outside the country can still see the difference between manila and cebu. :D

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/cebuphils.jpg

rustyboi

June 4th, 2005, 08:32 AM

CBM job fair to generate 10,000 call center workers
By Regina Aguilar

AMID reported shortage of qualified workers for the call center sector, the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) is holding today the first-of-its-kind job fair.

Call center companies and other information technology companies earlier disclosed they encountered difficulties in getting the right people for their companies.

Some firms said they have to go outside Cebu to complete their manpower requirements.

CCCI's Cebu Business Month (CBM) 2005 kicks off today at the Ayala Activity Center through the Amazing Job Race.

CBM will gather top information technology (IT) companies here in Cebu to conduct the Amazing Job Race, a three-day job fairwhich is one of the event's highlights.

"We designed a concept where students and non-working Cebuanos can get a call center job in an entertaining way," said Amazing Job Race chairperson Odette Jereza.

Jereza added that they want to change the misconception that it's difficult to land a job in a call center.

The idea for the Amazing Job Race, she said, came after the Cebu Investment Promotion Center (CIPC) challenged the Academic Consortium for English Proficiency to supply 10,000 employees for the call centers in Cebu.

Both universities and IT companies will participate in the job fair.

The participating universities include the University of Southern Philippines, University of the Visayas, University of Cebu, University of San Jose-Recoletes and University of San Carlos.

On the other hand, the IT companies participating in the job fair are Convergys, Sykes, People Support, Western Wats and Bigfoot Global Inc.

The grand opening salvo begins today with a motorcade at 10 a.m. from Ayala Center to the uptown area, followed by a program at 11 a.m. at Ayala Activity Center.

At 3 p.m., TV personality and quizmaster David Celdran will host an IT quiz bowl called Whiz Quiz with college student contestants majoring in IT courses.

A live concert featuring world-class Cebuano talents Luke Mijares and Raki Vega will cap the grand salvo in the evening at the Lagoon Area of Ayala Center Cebu.

CBM 2005 overall chairman Francis Monera said that the chamber is gradually increasing awareness of the annual event in other parts of the country.

Last February, the CCCI had a roadshow in Glorietta in Manila to drum up interest in the CBM 2005, Monera said.

The event's major sponsors include Innove Communications, Globe Telecom, ABS-CBN, Cebu Pacific, city and province of Cebu, Media G8way Corporation, Southwall, Businessworld, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Cebu Holdings Inc., and Ayala Center Cebu.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/cebuphils.jpg

Edmundtanso

June 4th, 2005, 05:29 PM

cool.....so will see more office buildings

bai1521

June 5th, 2005, 03:59 AM

nice photos here! will post my own soon.

KulasKusgan

June 5th, 2005, 04:23 AM

welcome bai! hope to see more Mactan pics.

bai1521

June 5th, 2005, 05:35 AM

While my own pictures aren't available, may you enjoy the sights of Plantation Bay!

http://plantationbay.com/Picture/main/joypost.jpg

http://plantationbay.com/Picture/pictures/p04002.jpg

http://plantationbay.com/Picture/pictures/terrace_bfast02.jpg

absent-minded

June 5th, 2005, 06:13 AM

sweeeet...! there is really so much going for Cebu! can't wait to see those office and infrastructure proposals put up... and I wanna see renderings of the new airport terminal!

bai1521

June 5th, 2005, 08:33 AM

The renderings of the new airport terminal would be nice to see but then, who wants to see that when there are these all around...

Experience the charm of the Mactan girl!

http://plantationbay.com/Picture/spa/spanew1.jpg

http://plantationbay.com/Picture/common/mainspa1.jpg

just holler if you want to see more :)

the_sailor_977

June 6th, 2005, 06:11 PM

WOW, an international terminal for Cebu. A great news then!!! I wish it to be very soon! It was some times that I had wished that the government is going to expand Cebu's existing airport for these reasons:

1. Cebu is an international gateway, after Manila and therefore, it should be directly accessible from any points of Asia-Pacific.

2. Cebu is the top destination for tourism, and therefore, should provide an easy and immediate connection for international tourism. The city also has been always the preffered site for many national and international conventions and conferences.

3. From the economic point of view, Cebu is an economic powerhouse housing numerous companies generating millions of dollars of revenues. The city also is very booming and expanding, with millions of new investments.

bai1521

June 6th, 2005, 08:53 PM

These are the two advertisements one will see upon arriving in the Cebu airport. Ads courtesy of Globe Telecom.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid171/p5025919d0d435bd9a4b09c9275a4a6ec/f3d664b3.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid171/p238c588a403aa4f3d8aa6d29b25dc828/f3d664b7.jpg

edifice_complex3

June 7th, 2005, 01:18 AM

Welcome to this forum bai1521.
I'm glad that finally we have a Cebu-based member.
I'm looking forward to your postings and keep us updated on any developments in our little metro.
Mabuhi ang kaliwat ni Lapu-lapu.

bai1521

June 7th, 2005, 02:09 AM

Thanks for the welcome. I'm not Cebu based though. Mactan-based is more like it. :) Speaking of Lapu-Lapu, does anyone here know if Lapu-Lapu the warrior was named after the fish (lapu-lapu)? Or was the fish named after the warrior? Your opinions please.

sloid

June 7th, 2005, 03:14 AM

^lol, nice question. i think the fish was named after the warrior, hehe, coz before, i don't even think they really had names for the fish and maybe years later when they saw those kind of fishes they named it after lapu-lapu since he is a hero, they just had to name something in honour of him.. then maybe later on they thought that his name deserves to be more honoured so they decided to name the city lapu- lapu.. ^_^, such a dumb answer but that's what i think.. i'm just makin it up btw.. hehe

just a question bai, are the hilton towers in mactan fully operational now?? and if they are, are there lots of people??

bai1521

June 7th, 2005, 04:02 AM

rustyboi

June 7th, 2005, 04:39 AM

hi bai1521! welcome to the skyscrapercity forums! nice... pretty mactan girl, is she ur chic? hehe.. i'm from lapulapu as well. silingan ra diay ta. finally, a cebu/mactan-based forumer! :D

any updates on the International Acad of Film and TV complex in mactan? i'm excited about the project since im planning to enroll underwater photography next year!

bai1521

June 7th, 2005, 05:33 AM

simply_me

June 7th, 2005, 07:30 AM

never been to cebu though my bloodline originated from this gorgeous city. so nice to see more pix and hope i could visit someday

tyronne

June 7th, 2005, 07:54 AM

is Lapu-Lapu City the only city that occupies Mactan Island? or are there any other towns/cities situated on that island?

thanks.

bai1521

June 7th, 2005, 07:59 AM

Gorgeous city it is. More pics of gals from the area (specifically Plantation Bay). N.B: Cebu is known for the many families of Chinese descent who are the captains of the province's commerce. The Gokongweis, Chiongbians, Gaisanos, and the Gothongs are among the more prominent clans we've heard of.

Here are other photos:

http://plantationbay.com/Picture/common/mainspa2.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid171/p7132d5456c1fd2c7158ee0e86484e6a2/f3d6db82.jpg

olineil

June 7th, 2005, 08:00 AM

thanks for the welcome. i've been running around places and haven't really kept track of the ongoing developments esp. the Bigfoot project. I didn't know u guys are so intense on the developments in this forum. lol ! will ask around.

i have to admit. i'm more into the human side of things rather than the actual edifices hence am a bit clueless to some of the updates on projects.

regarding the girl in photo, she's just a model. as stated, i just ripped it from the plantation bay website. i can post more photos of the same subject for the others to see the beauty (beauties) of Mactan.

http://plantationbay.com/Picture/spa/girlontubflowers.jpg

http://plantationbay.com/Picture/spa/massage_1.jpg

Hello there Bai! Welcome to the forum...Nothing against your post, to make things clear this forum site is especially done for Skyscraper, infra, construction and developments of cities, etc...We finally landed wif someone based in cebu so this is great. At least u get to post developments there in blow by blow account....Cheers...

bai1521

June 7th, 2005, 08:02 AM

is Lapu-Lapu City the only city that occupies Mactan Island? or are there any other towns/cities situated on that island?

thanks.

Cordoba is another town on Mactan. Basically these are the ones really on the map.

bai1521

June 7th, 2005, 08:12 AM

Hello there Bai! Welcome to the forum...Nothing against your post, to make things clear this forum site is especially done for Skyscraper, infra, construction and developments of cities, etc...We finally landed wif someone based in cebu so this is great. At least u get to post developments there in blow by blow account....Cheers...

thanks olineil. regarding the blow by blow account, will try my best to update you folk but am afraid this won't even last long as i'm winding down the days on the island (destination confidential). my heart will always be for mactan though. cebu comes in only second.

it's been fun posting here and will continue to do so as the facilities permit. sadly though in my next destination, internet access is quite unheard of :)

tyronne

June 7th, 2005, 08:20 AM

Cordoba is another town on Mactan. Basically these are the ones really on the map.

i see, thanks :)

Peksman

June 7th, 2005, 02:07 PM

last i heard of hilton, it's not really fully operational. a number of cebuanos with foreigner spouses have been coming back quite often over the first part of the year trying to check on some finishes to their units. what i mean is they weren't too happy with some of the standard finishes i.e., granite counter tops, bathroom fittings etc. not that these were substandard, they just wanted a different color or type, or even might have wanted to throw in a multi-nozzle jet shower.

hope to hear more comments on the lapu-lapu name

You have to make a distinction between the three Hilton towers. Only one of the three towers is a hotel. The other two towers condominium developments. These condos are the ones I think Bai1521 is talking about in the quote above. I don't think these condos are near completion yet, particularly tower 3.

However, I believe that the hotel itself is more or less fully operational. I just got sent some pictures of the hotel today and the pictures indicate that everything is up and running.

rustyboi

June 7th, 2005, 02:12 PM

all three towers are currently in pink right? im pretty sure it will be repainted white soon. all of its renderings are white in color anyway. :D

edifice_complex3

June 9th, 2005, 09:55 PM

Bigfoot Entertainment to help local film industry

Bigfoot Entertainment will support the Philippine film industry through Bigfoot Partners, its film-financing subsidiary, which will put up a fund to boost Filipino film projects.

Bigfoot Entertainment seeks to stop the decline in film production in the Philippines because it sees the potentials of Filipino filmmakers and talents.

The Film Academy of the Philippines reported that only 54 full-length features were shown in theaters last year—dropping from the average of 82 Filipino films yearly from 2002 to 2003, and 164 films annually between 1996 and 1999.

Daphne Chua, Bigfoot Entertainment public relations and marketing communications director, said the fund is open to all proponents of Filipino film projects who meet Bigfoot’s project requirements.

Michelle Mastrorio, Bigfoot Entertainment vice president, said the company is also helping to put Cebu on the map.

“We are building up the city and making it known globally by inviting other foreign filmmakers and film students to come and study in Cebu,” she said.

Bigfoot Entertainment is the parent firm of Bigfoot Productions, Bigfoot Production Services, International Academy of Film and Television (IAFT), Bigfoot Partners and Bigfoot Soundworks.

Relocate

The IAFT is now relocating to its multimillion-dollar 8,200-square-meter facility in Mactan, Cebu that houses the latest technology and equipment for film production. The facility will be fully operational by September, said Chua.

Other projects eyed for completion this year in the 19,000-square-meter area purchased by the Bigfoot Center in Mactan are a hotel, restaurant and dormitories, said Mastrorio.

IAFT offers courses for aspiring filmmakers and industry professionals with Hollywood filmmakers as faculty mentors.

After around a year of operation, IAFT has trained more than 100 students.

Mastrorio said IAFT will have groups of foreign students, like Koreans, coming to study in Cebu.

Bigfoot Entertainment chief operating officer Matthew Lubetich said more local jobs can be created as local artists hone their skills in the film industry and get an international market.

****************************

Pretty weird since the rendering posted some time ago did not show the hotel & restaurant. Anybody can post the rendering of the whole complex?
Maybe bai_1521 can share some pictures?

Peksman

June 10th, 2005, 06:40 PM

all three towers are currently in pink right? im pretty sure it will be repainted white soon. all of its renderings are white in color anyway. :D

Here's additional proof that the Hilton Cebu is now really open. You can finally access the hotel on the Hilton website. This was not the case when we stayed there in February.
http://www.hilton.com/en/hi/hotels/index.jhtml?ctyhocn=CEBHIHI

I am just wondering why the Hilton Cebu never had a big launch in the press, particularly among the national dailies. I remember when the Shangri-la opened on Mactan a few years back, everyone was talking about it. They had press releases like anything. Same with Plantation Bay. Even the not-yet-built Shang in Boracay is generating more buzz, and to think that project is at least 2 years away from completion.

Very few people have heard of the Hilton Cebu, particularly in Manila. The only promotional material I have seen in Manila about the Hilton Cebu was in a Korean restaurant. Could the Hilton be so buzzing with so many Korean tourists on their hands that they feel no need to publicize their existence to the rest of the country? Granted when I was there, I saw at least five separate foreign media crews (they were either Japanese, Koreans or Chinese TV people) taking videos of the place.

In any case, I like the pink color. It really grows on you after a while. It is particularly beautiful on a perfectly blue cloudless day.

rustyboi

June 11th, 2005, 11:41 AM

@edifice: nice one! it seems that bigfoot has so much confidence with the city's development that they've included a hotel and a restaurant (not sure if its inside the complex). all their past articles didnt mention about those plans except the dormitories. the dorms are actually at the back of the building, facing the sea front.

anyway, here's the closest rendering of IAFT i could get. it doesnt include the dormitories, a restaurant and a hotel. i just have to repost it. :)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/bigfootschool.jpg

rustyboi

June 11th, 2005, 12:09 PM

Could the Hilton be so buzzing with so many Korean tourists on their hands that they feel no need to publicize their existence to the rest of the country?

In any case, I like the pink color. It really grows on you after a while. It is particularly beautiful on a perfectly blue cloudless day.

Good thinking peksman, and yup its true and ur right. cebu has long been suffering of hotel room shortagse. the way i see it, hilton caters most to foreigners especially from the u.s., korea, japan and china. maybe that explains why the hotel doesnt feel the need to publicize in manila.

i think the two residential towers are already sold right? they said more than 90% of the owners are Cebuanos. :cool:

Yeah i agree, pink is not so bad. it will definitely look lovelier seeing Paris Hilton enjoying the sun by the beach. ooooohh :naughty:

another thing i noticed, they've included spa facilities in the hotel thus now called Cebu Hilton Resort and Spa. :)

rustyboi

June 11th, 2005, 12:23 PM

International IT convention expects over 2,000 delegates
by Ehda M. Dago-oc
June 11, 2005

The upcoming International Conference and Exhibition on Business and ICT (CEBU IT 2005) in Cebu expects to round up over 2,000 local and foreign delegates.

The three-day “mega” event, which will run from June 22 to 24, dubbed as one of the largest ICT conventions being held here is also seen to strengthen Cebu’s brand as an ICT and eServices investment hub in Asia.

The congress and exhibition show, which will take place at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino in Lahug, is the flagship event of the Cebu Business Month (CBM 2005) celebration organized by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI).

CCCI president Robert Go said the congress would serve as one of the important venues that would strengthen Cebu’s brand as an ICT and eServices investment hub to the global clients.

“We would like to capitalize on Cebu as a brand, and highlight Cebu’s strength in ICT. The global market should know our capabilities in this field,” Go said.

Go said that through the three-day ICT Congress, ICT players in the Philippines could forge strong alliances with major global ICT players.

At least 36 IT and IT related organizations are joining the “mega” event for this first ever ICT convention held in Cebu.

Organized in cooperation with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Board of Investments (BoI), Cebu ICT 2005 is one of the series of activities organized by CCCI in conjunction with month-long CBM 2005.

Carrying the theme “Asia’s Emerging Role as a Global Center for ICT and IT Enabled Services”, the conference aims to address issues related to Asia’s emergence as a technology and ITES (IT Enabled Services) hub.

The event’s chairman Bonifacio Belen said the conference and exhibition also targets to promote Asia as a global ICT and ITES center bringing together key ICT and ITES executives from around Asia and the world for the three days of high-level discussions and interaction.

“The exhibition will showcase the products and services of global, regional, and Philippine ICT and ITES providers, contractors, and support industries,” Belen said.

Senior IT and ITES executives from Asia, the United States, and Europe are expected to participate as delegates in the conference.

Invited resource speakers from some of the world’s most respected ICT and ITES organizations include India’s National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) and Gartner executives.

NASSCOM president Kiran Karnik will be the presenter for a panel discussion on “Opportunities and Threats for Asia’s Emerging IT and ITES industry.

Datuk Dr Mohamed Arif Nun, chief executive officer (CEO) of Malaysia’s Multimedia Development Corporation, a developer and operator of the Multimedia Super Corridor, will also keynote one of several principal discussions.

Plenary and panel discussion topics also include global IT and ITES trends and strategic issues, next generation networks and their impact on the IT and ITES industry, and the role of venture financing in IT and ITES hub development.

Business matching sessions will also be held to facilitate networking among participants and assist buyers in identifying vendors that meet their specific business requirements.

The government’s Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) will only conduct sessions during the conference on the development of a Philippine cyber-services corridor, which CICT commissioner Damian Domingo Mapa will participate in as a panelist.

According to Mapa, the session will discuss a campaign initiated by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to promote economic development that is focused on new centers of knowledge located all over the Philippines.

“As part of the campaign, we will set up 15 to 20 new ICT and outsourcing hubs from Baguio to Zamboanga,” Mapa said.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/cebuphils.jpg

sloid

June 12th, 2005, 04:26 AM

hey guys, just wanna ask, is the construction for the monorail in cebu finished, or undergoing??

chymera00

June 12th, 2005, 01:27 PM

Cebu City Hall pledges P3M for SEA Games

CEBU City – The Cebu City government pledged to allocate P3 million to fund its hosting of the 23rd Southeast Asean (SEA) Games. Organizers are hoping to get the local private sector to pour in more funds for the event.

Councilor Sylvan Jakosalem said Mayor Tomas Osmeña vowed to give P3 million to the organizing committee, which will help cover the P10 million needed for the holding of some of the sports events here.

In a visit to the City Hall on Thursday, Philippine SEA Games over-all committee chairman Roberto Pagdanganan said they expect to get more aid from the private sector rather than from the national government.

Unlike the 1991 hosting of the SEA Games where the government shouldered a bulk of the expenses, 70 percent of the Pl billion funding for the event this year will come from the private sector.

"We expect the private sector to also be involved. We want to keep the cost minimal. We want to pursue excellence, yet remain austere and creative," Pagdanganan told reporters after his meeting with the mayor.

The Pl billion is said to be only five percent of Vietnam's total budget when it hosted the 22nd Southeast Asian Games.

Cebu will host trainers and athletes who will compete in taekwondo, karate, dancesport, sepak takraw and mountain biking during the 23rd Southeast Asian Games on November 27 to December 5.

There will also be a separate opening ceremony here simultaneous to the one that will be held at the Luneta Park on November 27.

Jakosalem said they expect to spend some P10 million for the opening ceremony, accommodations, food and uniform of the officials and athletes who will compete in the events that will be held here.

Apart from the city government funding, the provincial government and other local government units are also expected to help shoulder the expenses for the event.

Jakosalem said from the private sector, Globe Telecom has pledged P100 million for the hosting of the SEA Games.

wornout

June 13th, 2005, 08:33 AM

rustyboi

June 14th, 2005, 12:09 PM

hi guys, anybody who has any update on the Sports Village in SRP? I hope somebody can show us photos. I also read somewhere in the net that DELL COMPUTERS will be building their own research lab and call center/BPO HUB in Asiatown I.T. Park in Lahug. I hope that somebody will be able to confirm this. Have they started construction? I also hope that somebody can post a picture of TAFT I.T. PARK in Mandaue Reclamation as well as provide info on who are the locators in the I.T. PARK. Thanks everybody.

holy smeeggle, no way! really? Dell research lab in Asiatown? cool! but sadly, i don't think Dell's gonna set up a callcenter hub (anywhere in this world). cost-cutting po ngayon ang Dell on their phone support (customer service and tech support) so i think its impossible for them to expand further. they're gradually lessening inbound call volume worldwide apparently on their less than expected profit.

Taft IT Park in mandaue is building an IT center similar to e-office modules in Asiatown. A lot of callcenters are reportedly interested in leasing up spaces.

Yup! does anywhere have any info's regarding the sports village? i heard they are putting up the "fisherman's wharf" in the vicinity. a yatch club will be up north, in cebu boardwalk together with the cebu megadome, cebu doc university, cebu theme park and retirement village :D

Jimbu

June 14th, 2005, 06:55 PM

Wanna buy a condo? Check this out.

http://www.citylightsgardens.com/overview.htm

dominique

June 15th, 2005, 08:19 AM

nice website jimbu. 2 twenty storey buildings soon to rise beside the 2 existing citylight towers. That's great. Is construction going on now? Anyone who has an update on this? Thank you so much...

Jimbu

June 15th, 2005, 04:55 PM

nice website jimbu. 2 twenty storey buildings soon to rise beside the 2 existing citylight towers. That's great. Is construction going on now? Anyone who has an update on this? Thank you so much...

The site development plan in this website shows 7 towers.
http://cebu-online.com/realty/citylights/
http://citylightstowers.tripod.com/

wornout

June 15th, 2005, 07:42 PM

Jimbu

June 16th, 2005, 08:30 PM

Investors eyeing resorts, hotels

An international hotel management company is talking with three investors who are each planning to put up a hotel or resort in Cebu for a possible management partnership.

According to Hong Kong-based Agon Hotels and Resorts Ltd. (Agon) country representative Fay Paras, Agon has had initial discussions with the said investors.

She said Agon executives have also seen the SM group-owned hotel, formerly a partnership with Sheraton Hotel, and the defunct Cebu Plaza Hotel (CPH).

Paras, though, did not say if Agon is interested to talk with the SM group or the Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., owner of CPH.

If Agon’s partnership with a Cebu property will push through, the company will recommend for the property to bring the Best Western (BW) hotel brand.

BW is one of the world’s largest hotel chains with more than 4,100 hotels in 83 countries and territories. It is a membership association of independently owned and operated hotels. BW provides marketing, reservations and operational support to its members.

Paras said Agon has been working with BW in many of the properties it is currently managing, including the Best Western Astor Hotel, formerly the Astor Hotel, located in Makati City.

Agon, she added, signed a partnership agreement with the local owner of Astor hotel for Agon to manage the hotel according to BW standard. (JBN)

rustyboi

June 17th, 2005, 06:45 AM

thanks for the reply rusty,

but hey, I think that it's actually one of the moves of DELL in order for them to cut on costs. they are transferring their call center/bpo hubs to the philippines and other countries outside the US. This way they are able to cut costs by hiring people with the same expertise and paying them at 1/8th the cost that they would be spending in the US. That is why call centers and bpo companies are putting up their businesses in the philippines and india.

yup i agree but while call volumes are consistently going up, Dell is cutting off calls routed to call centers in philippines and india (actually worldwide). that is why they are actively promoting chat-based support instead of live-phone support. too bad.. the fact that its already a huge savings in outsourcing, the bottomline is... they just wanted more profit. :sleepy:

sugarboy

June 17th, 2005, 09:43 PM

Originally Posted by dominique
nice website jimbu. 2 twenty storey buildings soon to rise beside the 2 existing citylight towers. That's great. Is construction going on now? Anyone who has an update on this? Thank you so much... The site development plan in this website shows 7 towers.
http://cebu-online.com/realty/citylights/
http://citylightstowers.tripod.com/

Does anyone have an update on this? I emailed the contacts at the website but the response was wanting in terms of info. They also do not have a sales team here in Manila. Tsk, tsk, too bad.

Virtute

June 23rd, 2005, 05:28 AM

Here's my contribution to the Cebu thread. Pics taken in 2003.

Fort San Pedro:

First to give you a little history of the spanish fort.....(taken from http://www.cebucentral.com)

FORT SAN PEDRO - The smallest, oldest tri-bastion fort in the country. This served as the nucleus of the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines. It has a total inside area of 2,025 sq. meters. The walls are 20 feet high, 8 feet thick and the towers are 30 feet high from the ground level. Work was first started on May 8, 1565 with MIGUEL LOPEZ DE LEGASPI breaking the ground. After the battle of Manila Bay, Commodore George Dewey turned the fort to the local Cebuanos, then it became an American Warwick Barracks during the American Regime which was later converted into classrooms where the Cebuanos received formal education. During World War II, from 1941 to 1945, it served as fortification for Japanese soldiers, when the battle for liberation was fought, the fort served as an army camp . After 1950, Cebu Garden Club took over and fixed the inner court into a miniature garden. For a couple of years it also housed the Cebu City Zoo. In 1978 to August 15, 1993, it housed the offices of the Department of Tourism and the Philippine Tourism Authority. At present, it is under the care and administration of the PTA and now houses the National Museum that showcases the San Diego shipwreck & Fort San Pedro diggings.

http://www.montinola.org/pics/skyscrapers/cebu/san_pedro.1.jpg
The outer walls on the left side of the Main entrance.

http://www.montinola.org/pics/skyscrapers/cebu/san_pedro.2.jpg
Main entrance.

http://www.montinola.org/pics/skyscrapers/cebu/san_pedro.3.jpg
Backside of the Main Entrance.

http://www.montinola.org/pics/skyscrapers/cebu/san_pedro.4.jpg
(wider view) Backside of the Main Entrance.

http://www.montinola.org/pics/skyscrapers/cebu/san_pedro.5.jpg
In the Main entrance hallway (the 1st and 2nd floors) there is a museum dedicated to the fort.

http://www.montinola.org/pics/skyscrapers/cebu/san_pedro.6.jpg
On the top side of the Main Entrance, and also the Captain's quarters.

http://www.montinola.org/pics/skyscrapers/cebu/san_pedro.7.jpg
The walls of Fort San Pedro. Notice the stepping stone and the walls which slopes down. Perfect position to shoot from above.

http://www.montinola.org/pics/skyscrapers/cebu/san_pedro.8.jpg
One of the many canons of Fort San Pedro.

http://www.montinola.org/pics/skyscrapers/cebu/san_pedro.9.jpg
The other side of the fort facing inland.

http://www.montinola.org/pics/skyscrapers/cebu/san_pedro.10.jpg
Another canon facing the sea.

http://www.montinola.org/pics/skyscrapers/cebu/san_pedro.11.jpg
A watch tower on one of the corners of the fort.

http://www.montinola.org/pics/skyscrapers/cebu/san_pedro.12.jpg
A canon facing inward. To protect the fort from inland direction.

http://www.montinola.org/pics/skyscrapers/cebu/san_pedro.13.jpg
The center and marching ground of the fort.

Extra Pics:

http://www.montinola.org/pics/skyscrapers/cebu/parian.jpg
The Heritage Monument in the Parian District, Cebu City.

http://www.montinola.org/pics/skyscrapers/cebu/cebu_church.jpg
Cebu Cathedral, near the Heritage Monument and Calle Colon (Colon St.)

overtureph

June 23rd, 2005, 01:08 PM

I was fortunate enough to visit Cebu twice. Cebu is one of the best places that I have been to and one of the best travel destinations in our country. Cebuanos are very kind and helpful. In other words, both the people and place impressed me.

It is a place where one could be in a bustling and exiting metropolis then in the next minute you could be in a tropical paradise. It is also a mixture of the old and the new. I don't think one could ever get bored in Cebu. For me, it is an excellent travel destination. Cebuanos are very lucky to have a place like Cebu.

Viva Cebu!

By the way, I'm from Luzon and have live for some time in Metro Manila.

overtureph

June 23rd, 2005, 01:58 PM

Here are some old pictures of Cebu.

Calle Colon

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/colon.jpg

Fort San Pedro

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/pedro9.jpg

I believe this is the Old Cebu Cathedral

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/phil-cebuchurch.jpg

It is unfortunate that Cebu have lost a lot of it's heritage structures (probably a majority of our towns and cities have). Like for instance going to downtown Cebu, there are very few heritage or historical buildings. Like Calle Colon, although being the oldest street in the country, I could not find any old or colonial era structures in that area. It's lined with generic or bland looking structures which leaves much to be desired in terms of aesthetics. Even the monument indicating the street as being the oldest is ugly.

I am puzzled as to why the Basilica of the Sto. Nino seems to have a grandstand or stadium in front of it. It is very much out of place with the design and heritage value of the church or rather the church complex. The whole compound looks very congested. It would have been better if they have built a garden and fountain instead of that ugly looking structure. The Magellan monument also looks neglected and seems to be out of place in that area. The place should have been improved. Another church in the downtown area, the Cebu Cathedral seems to have maintained it's original facade design when it was rebuilt (why was the old one demolished?). But the interior is so modern and lacks the beauty in its design. There's this old house which is adjacent to the Cathedral (it's on the right side if your facing the church) which could be re-used and restored and conserved. While the Patria de Cebu building (I hope I remembered it right) is down right ugly.

Fort San Pedro is very nice. It is one of the few forts that I have visited that is beautiful. It probably is one of the most preserved forts in the country. (There are also 2 beautiful forts which I can cite, Fort Santiago in Manila and Fort Nuestra Senora del Pilar in Zamboanga City.) Although the park outside the fort should be re-greened and vastly improve. Casa Gorordo is also nice to visit. Thanks to the Aboitiz Foundation for restoring and conserving it.

We should all be concerned in safeguarding our remaining heritage structures which connects us to our past. In addition, we are fortunate that Carcar was able to preserve it's church (beutiful interior) as well as it's old houses. I also here and (have seen in pictures) that Argao and Boljoon have beautiful churches.

Virtute

June 23rd, 2005, 11:34 PM

Yes, I've visited the Magallanes Monument in Cebu and I was a bit disappointed in its decrepit state, nothing like old postcard pics. We have many old landmark buildings but we dont' know how to keep them. We build other edifices around them blocking and not knowingly destroying the beauty that was once there. One example is the Jaro Plaza in Jaro, Iloilo. The ugly structures that use to be open green grass. The only true looking plaza in Ioilo now seems to be in La Paz and that's because it has a very wide open space for people to enjoy. But the more building structures they put in plazas, the more it looks like a regular city block than a plaza made for people to stroll and enjoy trees, grass, plants, statues and open spaces.

edifice_complex3

June 24th, 2005, 01:00 AM

Cebu Tourism Group launches roadmap
By Aurelia l. Castro
Sun.Star Correspondent

The Cebu Tourism Core Group (TCG) of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) has identified 15 “safe, clean, compelling, attractive, friendly tourism clusters” that are just a few hours’ travel from Cebu City.

The clusters were presented during the launch yesterday of the TCG’s tourism roadmap at Shangri-la’s Mactan Island Resort.

Dubbed as Cebu Plus, the tourism clusters include Cebu/Mactan, Southeast Cebu (Carcar to Oslob/Mantalongon), Southwest Cebu (Badian/Pescador/Moalboal), North Cebu (Bogo, San Remegio, Bantayan, Malapascua), Northeast Cebu (Danao, Carmen, Camotes), Bohol, Dumaguete/Siquijor, Boracay, Bacolod/Iloilo, Palawan, Tacloban/Guiuan, Surigao/Siargao, Zambo-anga/Iligan/Dipolog, Camiguin/Cagayan de Oro, and Legaspi/Sorsogon.

Cebu will serve as the hub, with the rest of the areas as spokes, complementing one another in promoting tourism, said Xavier Aboitiz, TCG chairman.

The roadmap was launched as part of TCG’s vision of getting and dispersing five million tourists, of which 3.5 million will be foreign tourists, into Cebu Plus (www.cebuplus.com) annually by 2010.

The roadmap followed McKinsey Report’s eight critical factors for tourism product development that are vital to the establishment of a sustainable global tourism industry.

The critical factors discussed were air access, accommodations, security and environment, infrastructure, local access, tourism clusters, attractions/activities, and culture of tourism.

Investments

“This thrust is also designed to encourage more investments for the industry and other related sectors…. We also identified areas that need to be improved, like our infrastructure facilities,” including the road system, nautical highway and provincial terminals, said Robert Go, president of CCCI.

On the accommodation factor, the TCG aims to expand Metro Cebu/Mactan’s about 5,300 rooms to more than 12,000, or Cebu Plus’ rooms to 18,000 from the current 7,000, using a mix of three- to five-star accommodations.

Even now, rooms are already opening in Daan Bantayan Resort (100 rooms), Hilton Cebu resort (100 rooms, with 150 more rooms expected this month) and the Park Lane Hotel near Ayala Center Cebu (over 200 rooms this year).

Sumilon Resort in southern Cebu has opened with 12 rooms. The 150-room Crown Regency Suites in Mactan has also opened.

Furthermore, discussions on a deal between Metrobank and a buyer for Cebu Plaza Hotel are 70 percent complete; while SM management is looking for a partner for its 460-room hotel in its complex.

dominique

June 24th, 2005, 05:24 AM

hey guys pls help me how to post pics. I read the thread on how to post pics but I couldnt find the "post image" button above the text box mentioned. Im glad to receive help fom you. thanks

dominique

June 24th, 2005, 05:38 AM

That's true. Unlike Manila's Lito Atienza, the city government in Cebu does not have the passion to beautify the city. Osmena Blvd. needs a facelift badly. The squalor of the aging fuente osmena is unmatched by the rotundas of other cities outside the country. Hi tech lamp posts similar to that of Roxas Blvd should be built in Cebu's night life districts. Cagayan de Oro have already this along Divisoria area. Puerto Princesa in Palawan have beautiful lamp posts along their main thoroghfare - Rizal Blvd.

I also believe that Colon area badly needs an underpass to eliminate pedestrian congestion...

Whoa...so many dreams for Cebu...my beloved Cebu!

KulasKusgan

June 25th, 2005, 02:48 AM

@ dominique: copy the img from photobucket then paste on "post reply"

congrats to all cebuanos! cebu banner is up. good work rusty.

Lili

June 25th, 2005, 05:49 AM

rustyboi

June 25th, 2005, 01:00 PM

Cebu has gone a long way
By Janette Toral
Digital Filipino

MATURING INDUSTRY. Way to go, Cebu! Congratulations to the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Department of Trade and Industry, and Board of Investments for the Cebu ICT 2005 that is ongoing at Waterfront Cebu City Hotel.

This is the biggest event to date with 36 implementing institutional partners. Hats off to Bonifacio Belen of Cedf-it for achieving such a feat. This event is an important sign that we are maturing as an industry or sector. We are gradually unifying.

Cebu has gone a long way from only a handful of companies four years ago, with nearly 60 software and IT-enabled service companies today.

This growth has provided nearly 10,000 job opportunities. With
Manila-level salaries and lower cost of living, our IT professionals are enjoying higher purchasing power than ever before.

As the sector freely unifies, we hope we’ll be inspired to pursue greater things, looking beyond ourselves to our country and the next generation of IT leaders.

E-Commerce Czar. Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Juan Santos just announced his office’s renewed commitment to leading the implementation of the E-Commerce Law.

This is great news. There are so many concerns right now in this area that only the DTI is capable and empowered, as stated in the law, to address them.

These include the creation of policy guidelines in the area of data privacy and initiating intervention to make e-commerce accessible to small and medium enterprises, among others.

He also challenged the private sector to take the lead in this area and prepare to have ICT representation in the General Agreement of Trade in Services negotiation.

Nasscom president Kiran Karnik expressed his support in that area and sees it as an opportunity where the Philippines and India can closely collaborate. He also agreed to Sen. Mar Roxas’ message of using ICT by businesses to boost domestic market demand and improve the local economy.

BayanTrade at five. Last Tuesday, BayanTrade celebrated its fifth anniversary.

The entity has evolved from being an IT company to a full business process out-sourcing supply chain global service provider.

Facilitating trade with multinational companies has really put BayanTrade at a different level from its peers in the field.

Focus on building blocks. I got the chance to participate in the Government CIO Forum facilitated by the Commission on ICT, Microsoft and the CIO Forum, an organization composed of government ICT personnel. The forum gave the opportunity to participants to come up with programs, plans and projects in the area of security, governance, and integration.

One concern raised by the National Computer Center is that e-government funds are not fully used, resulting at times in the non-pursuit of initially identified projects. From that concern, the best insights came out.

Several participants expressed the need for government agencies to work on the ICT requirements within their own offices first before they can even think of interconnecting with fellow agencies or departments.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Congratz people of Cebu! The City's banner is SSC's header of the day! :cool: hoping to see more Cebu banners in the future! :cheers:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/cebuphils.jpg

ReDeYEs

June 26th, 2005, 12:40 AM

Cebu Board Walk

http://www.cebuplus.com/Cebu/centerpiece1.jpg

Cebu Heritage Project

http://www.cebuplus.com/Cebu/boardwalk.jpg

http://www.cebuplus.com/Cebu/boardwalk2.jpg

http://www.cebuplus.com/Cebu/boardwalk3.jpg

INTEGRATED TRANSPORT SYSTEM

http://www.cebuplus.com/Cebu/lrt.jpg

Metro Cebu Corridor?
Tourism Corridor Centerpieces
Cebu Boardwalk
Cebu Heritage Project
Kawit Tourism Facilities?
Relocation of Carbon Public Market?
Integrated Transport system
International Port of Cordova?

http://www.cebuplus.com/Roadmap/cebu/cebu.htm

edifice_complex3

June 26th, 2005, 01:32 AM

Congrats, rusty. Your banner made it.
Di na gyud ka masayon-sayon.

sandrin

June 26th, 2005, 03:50 AM

This is just perfect. And the Cebuanos speak-out.
Buti pa ang mga Visayan hindi sumasamba sa mga artista, no doubt President Gloria won in the Visayas because Visayan people don't idolize showbiz characters.
Di kagaya sa Manila lalo na sa San Juan at ibang parte ng QC na sinasamba ang mga artista, nakakadiri talaga. Pero meron din naman na galing Visayas na pumupunta sa Manila at napapagaya o nahahawa sa mga taga-Luzon na sumsamba na rin sa mga artista.

Kailangan talaga Patayin ang Artista-Culture mentality ng mga taga Luzon.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cebuanos angry over fraud rap
By Ferliza Contratista
The Philippine Star 06/26/2005

CEBU — Stung by insinuations of electoral fraud "that shamed Cebu before the whole world," political and business leaders of the province have signed a manifesto declaring fourth district Rep. Clavel Asas-Martinez persona non grata.

Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, three of the island’s six city mayors, 25 town mayors, 16 vice mayors and the president of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry affixed their signatures to the manifesto in a hastily called ceremony at the Capitol the other day.

The show of solidarity was reminiscent of the support Cebuanos gave Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. in the wake of calls for his impeachment two years ago.

Garcia initiated the call for the signing of a manifesto two days after Martinez claimed that massive cheating in the May 2004 elections occurred in Cebu.

Martinez, whose husband Celestino Jr. lost the gubernatorial race to Garcia, made the claim in the course of a congressional inquiry into allegations that President Arroyo committed electoral fraud to beat the late Fernando Poe Jr. for the presidency.

The allegations stemmed from the emergence of an audiotape, now being circulated widely by critics of the President, of alleged wiretapped conversations between her and Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano where they supposedly discussed her winning margin.

Because Mrs. Arroyo won by a million votes in Cebu, the same margin by which she won the presidential race, it appears that it was the Cebu vote that catapulted her to Malacañang.

But by claiming massive cheating occurred in Cebu, Martinez, in effect, now puts that victory in question.

Martinez said she has a tape to prove her claim.

Reacting to the manifesto, Martinez was quoted as saying that she was not bothered by it, adding that those who cheated in the 2004 elections should be the ones declared persona non grata.

Mayors Tomas Osmeña of Cebu City, Thadeo Ouano of Mandaue City, and Socrates Fernandez of Talisay City swiftly responded to Garcia’s call and signed the manifesto.

Danao City Mayor Ramon Durano III would have wanted to also sign the manifesto, but he arrived late for the meeting.

Also affixing their signatures were the mayors of the towns of Alcantara, Ginatilan, Boljoon, Ronda, Alegria, Tudela, Samboan, Daanbantayan, Badian, Alcoy, Argao, Poro, Pilar, Catmon, Liloan, Carcar, Borbon, Minglanilla, Dumanjug, Moalboal, Alegria, Samboan, Alonguinsan, Balamban and Cordova, and the vice mayors of San Fernando, Naga, Sibonga, Minglanilla, Dalaguete, Alcoy, Boljoon, Oslob, Malabuyoc, Badian, Moalboal, Alcantara, Ronda, Dumanjug, Aloguinsan and Balamban.

Robert Go, president of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which counts roughly a thousand businesses as members, also signed the manifesto, as did Adelberto Yap, manager of the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority.

The mayors of Lapu-Lapu City and Toledo City were reported by their staff as having prior commitments. It remained unclear if they were for or against Martinez’s claims.

In the manifesto, the signatories "condemn in the strongest terms possible the baseless, unfounded, reckless and irresponsible statements of Martinez claiming there was cheating in the May 10, 2004 elections in Cebu."

"We resolve to declare Rep. Clavel Asas-Martinez, for this grave insult to the people of Cebu, persona non grata to the Cebuanos," the manifesto stated.

The signatories attested that as leaders of the province of Cebu, they were "witnesses to the fact that the May 10, 2004 elections in Cebu were generally clean, honest and orderly."

They said they can also "state for certain that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo won by over a million votes over her closest rival."

Despite these well-documented facts, they said, "Martinez still made bare and generalized accusations, unsupported by any evidence, and all made under the cloak of parliamentary immunity."

This, according to the signatories, is a clear abuse of parliamentary privilege, adding that Martinez showed a "clear, selfish, personal and political motive" to put a cloud of doubt over the elections in Cebu where her husband lost in his gubernatorial bid.

"To allow this egregious insult upon the President and the Cebuanos to go unpunished would be an affront to the forcefulness, the steadfastness and the consistency with which we, the undersigned leaders, have defended the President’s leadership and legitimacy," the manifesto stated.

"We should not be subjected to the spectacle of a horrifying woman in a tantrum," said Garcia after the manifesto-signing.

Osmeña said Martinez’s actuations seem to be getting out of hand.

He said it is already bad for Cebuanos to be treated as second-class citizens, it is worse to be called cheaters.

"The election returns may not be one hundred percent accurate, or there may be minor anomalies here and there, but it is not because of that that (Mrs. Arroyo) won," Osmeña said.

He said what made Mrs. Arroyo win was the deep sense of values of the Cebuanos who, he added, would never allow an actor to win.

He cited the case of former President Joseph Estrada who never won an election in Cebu.

"We have all the right to be angry. First, we are being treated as second-class citizens. Now we are called cheaters. If they want a fight, tell them Mayor Tomas Osmeña is longing for a fight," he said.

Ouano said the people of Mandaue City have no doubt over the legitimacy of Mrs. Arroyo’s presidency and could not have thought of anyone more fit to lead among the choices available in the 2004 elections.

Naga Vice Mayor Valdemar Chiong, who heads the League of Vice Mayors, said, "This is, indeed, a very sad moment since we are being accused (of being) cheaters by a fellow Cebuano."

Meanwhile, Cebu City south district Rep. Antonio Cuenco described Martinez’s charge as "reckless, wild, totally false, and without factual or legal basis."

Cuenco said even fellow Cebu Reps. Eduardo Gullas, Simeon Kintanar, Raul del Mar and Nerissa Soon-Ruiz all refuted the statements of Martinez.

"She has no right to accuse Cebuanos of cheating. We vigorously deny this," Cuenco told The Freeman.

Cuenco, however, said the phrase "persona non grata" may be inappropriate since it is only applicable to undesirable aliens as a basis for their deportation. Nevertheless, he said he agrees with its use to condemn Martinez’s actuations.

"Whatever words they used, I nevertheless agree with that. We had clean elections here," Cuenco said. — With Mitchelle Calipayan/ Freeman News Service

ReDeYEs

June 26th, 2005, 05:09 AM

^^
If i'm not mistaken, but C. Martinez wanted a separate province out of Cebu.

"This is, indeed, a very sad moment since we are being accused (of being) cheaters by a fellow Cebuano." Naga Vice Mayor Valdemar Chiong

C. Martinez- Greedy and a traitor to the Cebuanos!

kennethologist

June 26th, 2005, 06:01 AM

OMG how true!... i'm really impressed with cebuanos' stand on these issues.

visayan people really don't give a big deal to the artistas... they see artistas as artists and nothing more... pero sana don't generalize ung buong luzon, it sounds so... un-unifying. I from come quezon city and i'm not visayan yet i don't make samba the artistas. blame the peeps na nasa position d2 na kinocorrupt yung minds ng mga taong alam na nga nilang kulang sa laman not the people.

eazyboy

June 26th, 2005, 09:32 AM

highlight ko lang
----------------------
Cebuanos angry over fraud rap

Martinez, whose husband Celestino Jr. [B]lost the gubernatorial race to Garcia[B], made the claim in the course of a congressional inquiry into allegations that President Arroyo committed electoral fraud to beat the late Fernando Poe Jr. for the presidency.

well.. may agenda talaga, natalo naman pala kasi yung husband niya sa gubernatorial race

sandrin

June 26th, 2005, 10:00 PM

The funy thing is that it has been reported that even Cebu Rep. Clavel Martinez now has her own “mutant tape” with a male, Visayan-accented voice supposedly telling Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano to push the proclamation of candidate Gwendolyn Garcia as Cebu governor, even before the counting was finished. Three Visayans are said to be the alleged suspects here.....So is this supposed to be the 5th or 6th tape...... see producing a wiretapped audio tape is that easy.

edifice_complex3

June 27th, 2005, 12:29 AM

I've posted these pictures in the old Cebu thread. I wonder where the ampitheater (posted by ReDeYes)is in these renderings?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/edifice_complex/CBW-CAM_2-3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/edifice_complex/CBW-CAM_4-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/edifice_complex/CBW-CAM_5.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/edifice_complex/CBW-FRONT_PERSPECTIVE.jpg

tyronne

June 27th, 2005, 08:15 PM

Jimbu

June 27th, 2005, 09:04 PM

Light rail transit study for Cebu soon ready

Cebu may be a step closer to getting a 16-station light rail transit (LRT) system that will connect the southern and northern parts of the province.

“DOTC expects that the feasibility study will be given by the end of this month,” said Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) Assistant Secretary for Planning and Project Development Robert Castañares.

“After the review of the study, the project proposal will be endorsed to the Investment Coordinating Council of Neda (National Economic and Development Authority) for final approval and execution,” he said.

Castañares was in Cebu Friday to present the DOTC’s plans for the next five years in line with the national government’s medium-term Philippine Development Plan.

During the Regional Tourism Congress at the Cebu Grand Convention Center, he said the DOTC had signed and executed a memorandum of agreement with a group of investors in December 2003 to conduct and validate a feasibility study for the LRT project.

The construction of the LRT along the center of Cebu will start in Tabunok. It will go through Talisay, passing along N. Bacalso Ave., before finally connecting to the Cebu North Road up to Consolacion.

Castañares said the Cebu LRT project is expected to increase accessibility and provide a more efficient transport alternative in the heavily congested Metro Cebu.

On aviation, the DOTC official voiced plans to construct a second passenger terminal building at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport.

“The plan for the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority to aggressively pursue the construction of the second passenger terminal building to accommodate more flights will complement the Department of
Tourism’s master plan to attract five million visitors,” he said.

Castañares presented the conceptual design of the proposed P6-billion Iloilo airport as the basis for the Cebu terminal because right now the new Mactan-Cebu terminal building is still in the planning stage.

For international traffic rights, the country has a total of 15.1 million seat entitlements, of which only seven million are currently being used, 2.7 million by two Philippine carriers and 4.3 million by 30 foreign carriers.

In an interview last week, Civil Aeronautics Board Deputy Executive Director Carmelo Arcilla said around 300,000 air seats are available monthly for Cebu, but the utilization is not more than 20,000.

The places with specific entitlements to Cebu are Brunei, Australia, Indonesia, Hongkong, Nepal, Palau, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Japan, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.

The USA, Korea, China, Canada, Egypt, Kuwait, Macau, Belgium, Germany, Pakistan, Switzerland, Russia, France, Netherlands and Nauru have open points or roving points entitlements to Cebu.

The Philippines aims to draw five million foreign tourists annually by 2010. Last year, it drew about 2.29 million foreign tourists.

Cebu and its neighboring tourist destinations that are part of the tourism clusters called Cebu Plus are also aiming to get five million tourists by 2010. But they expect only 3.5 million of these to be foreign tourists. (ALC)

rustyboi

June 28th, 2005, 09:12 AM

http://img27.photobucket.com/albums/v80/artwalk/cebu/cebu7.jpg
Homegrown

http://img27.photobucket.com/albums/v80/artwalk/cebu/cebu9.jpg
Ayala Entertainment Center
Brix Cafe, Ratsky's, LeSoleil, EastWest, HapJaps, etc.

http://img27.photobucket.com/albums/v80/artwalk/cebu/cebu10.jpg
Ratsky's

http://img27.photobucket.com/albums/v80/artwalk/cebu/cebu3.jpghttp://img27.photobucket.com/albums/v80/artwalk/cebu/cebu1.jpg
The TOP

http://www.wayblima.com/crossroads.jpg
Crossroads
Vudu, HighLife, IO and restos like Krua Thai, Chicken Bacolod, etc.

Casbah pics

http://www.wayblima.com/party-casbah-band.jpg
Live band

http://www.wayblima.com/party-casbah-sheesha.jpg
sheeshas awaiting use

http://www.wayblima.com/party-casbah-tobacco.jpg
the good stuff: sheesha tobacco

http://www.wayblima.com/party-casbah-shoes.jpg
take your shoes off, have a sheesha, grab a beer

http://www.wayblima.com/party-casbah-date.jpg
you and me and a sheesha at casbah

Banilad Town Center
http://www.math.admu.edu.ph/~raf/pcsc05/venue_files/image005.jpg
A new hangout place near University of Cebu (blue bldg), beside the Country Mall (right). haven't been there but they say a lot of restos will soon open in that area. yellow cab pizza, gloria jeans and starbucks recently opened. btw, Northgate mall is right beside the University of Cebu bldg. where Sinners and Saints bar is located. highly recommended, top of the line sound system, modern interiors, great food, also where best local bands converge. :okay:

absent-minded

June 28th, 2005, 10:24 AM

cool stuff from Cebu!! is the boardwalk in those renderings under construction or is it still only a proposal? I think we heard about that before, but I'm not too sure... nice to hear about progress on the planned LRT and the MCIA expansion too!! I wanna see the renderings for the new Iloilo terminal that they're taking the MCIA's T2 from.

Jimbu

June 28th, 2005, 04:25 PM

Metrobank closes deal
on Cebu Plaza Hotel
by Irene R. Sino Cruz

METROBANK has finalized a deal with an international hotel management company with regards the planned re-opening of the Cebu Plaza Hotel, Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano said.

"Metrobank and the Marco Polo group have finalized their deal. Marco Polo will be running Cebu Plaza," bared Durano.

According to the Marco Polo Hotel Group website, the group is a Hong Kong based hotelier founded in 1986 and a wholly owned subsidiary of Wharf Holdings Ltd., which is one of Hong Kong's leading property investor.

The Marco Polo Hotel Group is among the market leaders in the management and operation of hotel properties.

The group plans to operate additional hotels in prime locations within the Asia-Pacific region, the website bared.

Durano earlier disclosed that Metrobank planned to re-open the Cebu Plaza Hotel by the fourth quarter of this year.

The projected re-opening will be in time for the Advertising Congress slated in late November.

The re-opening of the Cebu Plaza Hotel will help alleviate the growing shortage of international standard rooms in Cebu, a concern that has affected efforts to sell Cebu as a tourist destination.

Durano has been talking with Metrobank and the SM Group to convince both to start operations of their properties.

The SM Group owns a still unopened hotel property beside SM City Cebu.

Durano said he learned that the Sheraton Hotels and Resorts has reconsidered its decision to forego its agreement with SM Group with regards to the said hotel property.

"Sheraton will go ahead," he told Cebu Daily News.

Starwood Hotels Worldwide Inc., which owns the Sheraton brand, plans to open 70 hotels in 2005 and 2006, according to the group's website.

Another good news for Cebu is the recent announcement by Filinvest to implement a resort project in Mactan, Durano said.

"Filinvest is embarking on a P500 million resort development in Punta Engaño. This will add to the capacity," he said.

In a bid to encourage investments in tourism-related infrastructure, Durano said the Department of Tourism would offer incentives and fast-track the processing of papers for projects.

He cited the importance of increasing capability since the shortage in accommodation affects promotion efforts in addition to driving up prices.

"Central Visayas needs 2,000 rooms yesterday," he added.

rustyboi

June 28th, 2005, 04:43 PM

wow, nice one jimbu.. thankz for the article.

so its SM-Sheraton International Hotel after all. nice to hear that... great news for cebu! its like everyday we're hearing a lot of good cebu hotel news. not to mention the 36-storey Regency Hotel in fuente osmeña which will open 2 years from now. exciting... :cool:

Jimbu

June 28th, 2005, 04:53 PM

i would love to see Cebu's tall skyscrapers built behind this structure in the near future :D

Cebu Doctors University is building a six-storey 150 class rooms in their 2.5 hectare Boardwalk property. The construction has started but which part of
the Boardwalk it's not described in here:
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/e-magazine/events/aroundtown3.html

rustyboi

June 28th, 2005, 05:01 PM

^actually it's right behind the boardwalk mall. i saw its construction a couple of months ago when i went there.. :D

rustyboi

June 30th, 2005, 10:58 AM

Chamber Awards Laud Global Entrepreneurs
June 30, 2005

http://www.fedge.net/~zdeschanel/images/misc/monique8.jpg
International Couturier Cebuana Monique Lhuillier

This year’s Chamber Awards has given full recognition to individuals and institutions who have contributed in putting Cebu to the international map as well as establishments that showcased an example of brave entrepreneurship that fears no giants.

The recent Grand Chamber Awards held at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel, conferred on businesses and individuals that primarily pull up Cebu’s prestige in entrepreneurship, especially in the worldwide market.

A special distinction award was given to International Couturier Cebuana Monique Lhuillier, in fashion and design entrepreneurship.

Lhuillier placed Cebu in the prestigious International designing scene. She also heralded the rise of the Filipino in the global fashion feats through her flourishing boutique collections carried in North America, Asia, and the Middle East.

The Cebu business community lauded Lhuillier’s impeccable talent in fashioncraft and entrepreneurship, and become the model of the creative sensibility and fortitude of the Filipina, which captured media mileage and patronage.

Another special citation award on Ecology-Friendly Tourism Establishment conferred on Plantation Bay Resort and Spa.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/cebu%20hotels/plantation03.jpg

Plantation Bay, has pioneered the offering of wellness services including its famous Spa to its guest, thus slowly making Cebu as the wellness or Spa center in Visayas region.

“Plantation Bay is a benchmark for promoting Cebu as the Wellness and Spa destination and achieved international recognition as one of the premier resorts in the Philippines,” said CCCI vice president Clarito P. Fruelda, who presented the award.

Also, Plantation Bay which is 100 percent Cebuano-owned five-star resort, is praised by the business community, for having built and maintained its world class facilities and resources with concerns on ecology and the protection of the environment, demonstrated in clean and beautiful landscape, fishponds and marine life, a sewage system and natural beaches.

Meanwhile, Budding entrepreneur Steve Benitez, the brains behind the successful Bo’s Coffee Club, has further put the foundation of Cebuano brave entrepreneurs who is able to compete with international players in the local scene, that despite the entry of Coffee chain giants, Bo’s Coffee Club continues to grow profitable.

http://photos7.flickr.com/8289830_5c1ed61ed6_m.jpg

Benitez, is this year’s Entrepreneur Success Story in Cebu, his utilization of the best local beans and milk from the Cebu Dairy Fresh has boosted the self-sufficiency and industry of dairy producers and farmers.

“He inspires the youth to create business perspectives and translate them to productive entrepreneurship to help accelerate economy and employment,” said award presentor Carlos Co.

Benitez’ passion and entrepreneurial energy as well as youthful dynamism gave birth to Bo’s Coffee Club, a chain of specialty coffee shops, with 22 outlets all over the country.

Another special citation was given to the first private-sector led tourism marketing arm, the Cebu Visitors and Convention Bureau (CVCB).

CVCB, founded by tourism leader Patrick C. Gregorio, has been able to effectively brand Cebu as a Convention and Events Destination Hub. IT develops international linkages that take spotlight and attention in the international market.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/bigfootschool.jpg

Other awardees included Bigfoot Global Solutions Inc., for its long term investments in Cebu to promote IT-related projects; the International Academy of Film and Television to encourage foreign film producers to come to Cebu; Tourism Entrepreneur of the year award conferred on Arcadio C. Alegrado of Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort; Anos Fonacier having pioneered the establishment of the Cebu Plaza Hotel, the first premiere hotel in Cebu, and the chain of resort hotels; like Tambuli East and West Beach Club, Cebu Beach Club, Argao and Bohol Beach Clubs, among others.

Two large conglomerates Aboitiz Group of Companies, and Ayala Group of Companies were recognized with Special Distinction Awards.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/skyscrapercity-cebu.jpg

KulasKusgan

June 30th, 2005, 04:12 PM

^ Yeah, Monique Lhuiullier is in demand in US Fashion i guess. Ive heard her clients are mostly Hollywood celebrities.

tyronne

June 30th, 2005, 07:13 PM

^ Yeah, Monique Lhuiullier is in demand in US Fashion i guess. Ive heard her clients are mostly Hollywood celebrities.
yeah, she was once a guest of Oprah on her show and it was interesting how Oprah pronounced her last name: Loo-li-yey. i dont know if that's the right way pero sa atin kasi basta basahin mo yun na yun hehe!

kiretoce

June 30th, 2005, 07:30 PM

yeah, she was once a guest of Oprah on her show and it was interesting how Oprah pronounced her last name: Loo-li-yey. i dont know if that's the right way pero sa atin kasi basta basahin mo yun na yun hehe!

Correct! That's how it's phonetically pronounced, it's a French name. :)

tyronne

June 30th, 2005, 08:01 PM

Correct! That's how it's phonetically pronounced, it's a French name. :)

Cebuana Loo-li-yey Pawnshop. LOL it sounds kinda more sosi hehe :D

KulasKusgan

July 1st, 2005, 07:23 PM

^ Yeah, Monique Lhuiullier is in demand in US Fashion i guess. Ive heard her clients are mostly Hollywood celebrities.

while Loo-li-yey Pawnshop is in demand among pinoys. plus theyre tied up with western union.

rustyboi

July 2nd, 2005, 09:46 AM

its pronounced here in phils as LU-HIL-YER :D

britney spears is among monica's hollywood clients..

KulasKusgan

July 2nd, 2005, 06:22 PM

KulasKusgan

July 2nd, 2005, 06:33 PM

almost all major hotel brands are in Cebu... Marriott, Hilton, Shangril & Waterfront...

Mango

July 3rd, 2005, 06:30 AM

Taken from manilabulletin
HILTON
Another world-class resort in Cebu
By MARS W. MOSQUEDA JR.

Cebu is the traveler’s fantasy of a tropical island come true - balmy weather, pristine beaches, crystalline waters, and luxurious resorts with all the frills of modern living. Its immediate surroundings are home to some of the best dives in this part of Asia, with world-class dive sites like Boyong Reef, Cordova Reef, House Reef and Marine Sanctuary off Gilutungan Island.

Mention Cebu and an endless list of possibilities immediately conjure in one’s imagination. With hundreds of thousands of tourists regularly visiting Cebu for fun, leisure, and relaxation, there’s not a doubt that the island is the undisputed holiday capital of the country.

And if you think that you’ve been to Cebu’s destinations and done that, think again. A new boutique resort and spa, nestled on a private beach on Mactan Island, is now attracting tourists from the different corners of the world.

The Hilton Cebu Resort & Spa, an added attraction to Cebu’s list of world-class destinations, is a French Mediterranean-inspired, 246 guestroom resort and spa within a complex of three post-modern buildings in coral pink with rooftops painted in murano blue.

Superbly located at the tip of the most beautiful coral island of Mactan, Hilton basks in year-round sunshine and offers its pampered guests an exclusive tropical beachfront and a variety of water sports.

The brand new hotel is part of a 3-tower complex that includes residential condominiums and service apartments. The complex design is French Mediterranean-inspired with its solarium lobby and live foliage designed by California-based architect Roberto Viggayan and tropical landscaping by internationally renowned Belt Collins of Hawaii.

Clear, sapphire waters lap the white sand beach, which gives way to a landscaped garden and the luxury of this boutique resort on an island that is renowned for its reef diving locations.

Of course, with Hilton’s world-famous hospitality and the allure of the spa calling, one may not want to leave this luxurious oasis that is complete with superb restaurants, bars, and entertainment centers.

"You will never get tired of the smorgasbord of gastronomic delights at Hilton Cebu Resort & Spa," says Marketing Communications Manager Reno Bacolod.

You can soak up the tropical ambience and sea breezes at the Vanilla Beach Café, bask in the laid back aura of Sapphire Pool Bar with its delicious snacks and exotic drinks. Casual dining overlooking the Marina is the order of the day at Manny O’s Restaurant or indulge your taste buds with delectable Asian and Western seafood cuisine at the Seas Seafood Restaurant before a nightcap at Pink Lobby Lounge bar.

The variety of trendy modern restaurants with open kitchens were designed by the renowned Dan Kwan for an ultimate dining experience.

The Hilton Cebu Resort & Spa boasts of 246 stylishly appointed rooms including one and two bedroom suites, deluxe rooms, Executive Floor rooms and Executive Club lounge. All rooms are air-conditioned and feature private balconies, mostly facing the ocean. All suites and rooms also feature cable TV, in-room video games, IDD telephone, high-speed Internet access, and fully stocked mini-bar.

So many activities are on offer including beach games, diving, snorkeling, island-hopping, jet skiing, parasailing, windsurfing, water skiing and tennis. For leisure, there is a full service health club equipped with a professional gymnasium and steam room.

The resort is just ten minutes from the Mactan International Airport and 25 minutes from cosmopolitan Cebu City, with its vibrant nightlife, extensive shopping malls, and 24-hour casinos.

"Hilton Cebu Resort & Spa is indeed the perfect place you’d rather be," says Bacolod.

rustyboi

July 3rd, 2005, 07:12 AM

almost all major hotel brands are in Cebu... Marriott, Hilton, Shangril & Waterfront...

to add: sheraton international, crown regency, park lane and soon marco polo :)

@ Mango
thanks for the article Mango!
this is all i can say: Hilton is Beautiful. the body, skin tone, tempting and hot. no, i'm not referring to Paris Hilton. :jk:

reposting images:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/cebu%20hotels/midpic1.jpghttp://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/cebu%20hotels/midpic4.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/cebu%20hotels/midpic3.jpghttp://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/cebu%20hotels/midpic2.jpg

rustyboi

July 3rd, 2005, 08:14 AM

Manila developer sells condotel units in 5-building Mactan resort project

In one and a half year’s time, the 547-unit Lancaster Cebu Resort Residences will be fully operational.

That’s what Lucy Yu, sales and administration officer-in-charge for Pacific Concord Properties Inc. (PCPI), said in an interview Monday.

The five-building Lancaster Cebu Resort Residences is the first project in Cebu of PCPI, a developer based in Manila.

“We just launched this project early this year. We are currently selling 53 units of Lancaster Cebu and aim to sell 200 units next year,” said Yu.

Lancaster Cebu Resort Residences, located just a few minutes away from the Mactan-Cebu International Airport, is the Kiener Hills condotel project unfinished by its previous developer a few years ago, said Yu.

Kiener Hills was a project of Primetown Property Group Inc., which encountered financial difficulties after the 1997 Asian crisis. Primetown’s petition for rehabilitation was approved by the Regional Trial Court in Makati City last Jan. 28.

Lancaster Cebu has a lobby, pool area, bar and café, among other amenities. Its studio-type, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units range in price from P2.4 to P4.3 million.

“The units are fully furnished. Buyers won’t have to worry about spending more on furniture, kitchenware and other basic utilities,” Yu told Sun.Star.

PCPI’s targets for Lancaster Cebu are foreigners who want to come to Cebu for a vacation, overseas Filipino workers who want to own a home in Cebu, and businessmen from Manila and other cities outside Cebu who don’t want to pay high rates in big hotels on their regular visits to do business in Cebu, Yu said.

“Buying a unit in Lancaster also means an investment. We will give our buyers the comfort of owning their own residential condominium but also give them the choice of placing their unit in PCPI’s rental pool, which will give them rental income when they are not using the unit,” she said.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

LANCASTER CEBU
Mactan Island, Philippines

http://www.tampaarea-homes.com/images/lancaster_cebu_elev.gif

The Lancaster Cebu is an EXISTING development located in Mactan Island close to the Days Inn Hotel in Barangay Pusok, Mactan [Cebu City]. The properties location is within 5 minutes travel time from Cebu International Airport and 20 minutes from Cebu City center.

http://www.tampaarea-homes.com/images/lancaster_cebu.gif

Pacific Concord Properties, Inc., the owner/developers of the Lancaster Suites, Manila, recently concluded negotiations and has taken over the existing developed improvements for the Lancaster Cebu Resort Residences. With Certificates of Occupancy, Individual Condominium Certificates of Title and updated Licenses, The Lancaster Cebu Resort Residences is consisting of some more or less 1.5 hectares of land with four [4] existing five [5] story buildings and one [1] six story building laid out in clusters containing a total of some 540 condo units all with a standard floor area of 36sqm [380sq ft].

http://www.tampaarea-homes.com/images/lancaster_cebu_park.gif

The project and all existing developments will undergo, commencing this January 2005, a very major re-development consisting of a very substantial investment by Pacific Concord Properties, Inc., not only in terms of capital infusion but more importantly a complete and extensive architectural modification to upgrade the buildings and complete same to the standard required for inclusion as a signature "Lancaster" Resort and Condotel product with Swimming Pools and other superior relaxation and recreational facilities.

The Lancaster Cebu will replicate the same high design standards, quality and conceptualization to that the company established and is implementing in the ongoing 24/7 construction, management and development of the Lancaster Suites - Manila.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/skyscrapercity-cebu.jpg

Mango

July 3rd, 2005, 08:54 AM

to add: sheraton international, crown regency, park lane and soon marco polo :)

@ Mango
thanks for the article Mango!
this is all i can say: Hilton is Beautiful. the body, skin tone, tempting and hot. no, i'm not referring to Paris Hilton. :jk:

reposting images:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/cebu%20hotels/midpic1.jpghttp://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/cebu%20hotels/midpic4.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/cebu%20hotels/midpic3.jpghttp://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/cebu%20hotels/midpic2.jpg

you are welcome@rusty18. Wow! Hilton is really beautiful and I dont mean
Paris either :D
I have been to Cebu only once back in 1997 and stayed in Marriot Hotel and went to this gimmick place:FUEL, nandiyan pa ba yun?

Btw, here inTokyo, most travel agencies have only Cebu brochures, no boracay, palawan, etc. That is sad, though for the Philippines' tourism as a whole.

ReDeYEs

July 3rd, 2005, 02:30 PM

^^
Most Japanese think that Cebu is a country in itself.

Jimbu

July 3rd, 2005, 06:20 PM

http://photobucket.com/albums/a340/Jimbu/th_Bantayan.jpg After Mactan, Bantayan Island maybe the next beach to be developed. The President was also telling this to the developers when she was in Cebu. This island is part of the "North" cluster:
http://www.cebuplus.com/clusters.htm

Jimbu

July 3rd, 2005, 08:22 PM

“Friendship Bridges” financing discussed

by Wenna A. Berondo
July 4, 2005

Talks for financing the construction of the “Friendship Bridges,” or bridges connecting Cebu, Bohol and Negros Oriental provinces has started, said Bohol Governor Erico Aumentado, former head of the Regional Development Council, during RDC’s meeting in Tagbilaran City over the weekend.
RDC is now negotiating for funds with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation to finance the construction of the bridges and that a feasibility study for the project has been undertaken, he said.

Aumentado however did not divulge the cost of the project and when it would be constructed but he said the RDC, during his term as its chairman last year, already approved the project.

“This is a matter of regional cooperation for faster economic growth,” Aumentado said of the project, which he said could spur faster economic growth and activities around the three island-provinces of Central Visayas.

With bridges connecting the three island-provinces, Aumentado said trade and commerce would be accelerated. “Travel time from one island to another would just take around 30 to 40 minutes,” he said.

Aumentado said a bridge would be constructed from Cordova island of Cebu to Getafe in Bohol, and between these points the actual bridge would be about one kilometer long across the Olango channel. The many islands between Getafe and Olango would be connected through viaducts, he said.

Another bridge, about seven kilometers long including a viaduct, would be constructed between Santander town in Cebu and the nearest town across Negros Oriental, he said.

Aumentado said the firm, Pacific Consultants International, is conducting the feasibility study of the project without cost to the RDC. The PCI is doing it for free enabling the RDC to save at least P50 million for such works.

Previoulsy, there were already reports that no government agency had taken seriously the idea of the project, the reason why the construction of the Cebu-Negros Oriental bridge failed to take off then.

But Aumentado was optimistic that the project will materialize, with the joint efforts of the RDC and local officials of the three island-provinces.

Jimbu

July 4th, 2005, 04:15 PM

BRIDGES TO LINK VISAYAS ISLANDS
By Wilfredo Rodolfo III

An ambitious plan to construct bridges to connect the islands of Cebu, Bohol and Negros Oriental has been revived, Central Visayas governors announced over the weekend.

According to Bohol Governor Erico Aumentado, a feasibility study on the project and negotiations for possible funding by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) have begun in earnest.

"The bridges will definitely promote commerce and industry between the islands," Aumentado said.

He said that with the bridges in place, travel time from Bohol to Cebu, which now takes two hours by fast seacraft, would be reduced to around 30 minutes.

The Bohol governor said the cost of the project could not be estimated until the completion of the feasibility study, which is being conducted by Japanese firm Pacific Consultants Inc.

The feasibility study, which is expected to be finished in one to two years, will cost P50 million, he said.

The firm, reportedly one of the top three consulting companies in Japan, was also the consultant for Metro Cebu Development Projects (MCDP) 1 and 2, and in the formulation of the Bohol master plan, Aumentado said.

The plan to build bridges to connect the three provinces has earned the support of the Central Visayas Regional Development Council (RDC). Last Friday in Tagbilaran City, the RDC in mass motion endorsed the project to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

GOVERNOR'S SUPPORT

According to Negros Oriental Governor George Arnaiz, who is also the chairman of the RDC, eight other governors in the Visayas have expressed support for the project.

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia and Siquijor Governor Orlando Fua were absent during the quarterly RDC meeting and were unable to comment on the plan.

The endorsement had come minutes before the RDC expressed its support for President Arroyo amid allegations of election fraud during last year's polls and calls for her resignation.

According to Governor Aumentado, the plan is to link Bohol to Cebu with an 18-km concrete bridge-causeway, connecting Getafe town in Bohol and Cordova town in Cebu.

The Bohol-Cebu link will traverse the islands of Banacon, Calubayan and Olango.

The seven-km Negros-Cebu bridge on the other hand will connect Santander town at the southernmost tip of Cebu to San Jose town in Oriental Negros.

SKEPTICS

Cebu City Planning Officer Nigel Paul Villarete said the plan to connect the Visayas islands was first discussed in the 1990s, but the project was shelved because of its exorbitant cost.

"People were skeptical about the cost vis-à-vis the benefits," said Villarete who was serving at the infrastructure development section of the National Economic Development Authority (Neda) 7 when the plan was first brought up.

The idea, however, refused to die until recently, when the Visayas governors started talking again about benefits from linking the islands.

Part of the plan is to link Iloilo to Guimaras then to Negros, Cebu and Bohol.

Villarete, however, is skeptical about the project because of the conditions of the waters separating the Visayan islands.

He said the San Jose-Santader connection, for instance, would have to be built over a deep channel close to the southern tip of Cebu. The area is also known for its strong currents, he said.

"The feasibility of the project would have to deal with the deep channel and the strong currents," said Villarete, a structural engineer.

ONE OF THE DEEPEST

As to the proposed Cebu-Bohol link, Villarete warned that the Olango-Mactan Channel "is one of the deepest in Asia."

"We need to take these things into consideration this early," he said.

Villarete suggested that planners start thinking of a combination of a bridge and ro-ro boat terminals to connect the islands.

"Although we are still inefficient, compared to the rest of Asia, we have the best shipping system," Villarete said.

He proposed that a bridge be built from Getafe in Bohol to Olango, and then ferries would have to serve those crossing into Cordova town in Mactan.

noli

July 4th, 2005, 04:45 PM

Apparently, there seems to be no communication going on between Central Visayas and Western Visayas. This report concerns only the Central part, no mention of Panay and Guimaras. They will have more leverage if two smaller units unite as one bigger unit. The way I understand, these units are going to be the one responsible for the contract and hence the expenses, not the national government, which is good. With the impending adoption of federal government, these regions must be able to transact business with international organizations or governments on their own so that infrastructure projects will move faster.

Also Villarete's suggestion to use combinations of bridges and ro-ro to be worth looking at if Olango Channel indeed is very deep. Also, the distance between Pulupandan and Guimaras is also very wide even with Inampulagan island in between.

Jimbu

July 4th, 2005, 08:47 PM

Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Roperos: Unity bridges
By Godofredo M. Roperos
Politics lso

If we are serious about achieving national unity, we need to be practical about many things, including the fact that we are an archipelago with more than 7,000 islands. The idea of bringing the islands together is formidable enough, and the recent proposal to construct bridges to connect some of the islands together might be feasible. But at this point, it is not financially possible, although not as improbable as some think.

I buy the proposal of the governors to connect the big islands in Central Visayas through bridges. Some might think the idea is ridiculous and impossible to do, but so was the thought before of connecting Opon town in the island of Mactan with mainland Cebu. If I am not wrong, I think it was a man surnamed Racuyal who first floated the idea. He wanted to be president and launched his candidacy. But for a few voters, the electorate laughed at the proposal as truly out of this world.

Many years later, the idea became an economic imperative between the islands, and the bridge, nay bridges, became a reality. When the late Cebu City Mayor Serging Osmeña first talked about reclaiming the northern foreshore of the city. A number believed it was impossible, while a few thought the city mayor was off his rockers. I recall the raucous controversy that attended the project that embroiled almost everyone in the city’s leadership, right in the middle.

The declaration of martial rule cut the imbroglio short, and Mayor Serging had to leave for the United States to escape incarceration along with many other Filipinos critical of the Marcos regime. But work on the reclamation project had gone on. Today, the north reclamation is not only an economic boon, it has expanded the city’s landscape. Think of a crazy dream of one man coming true.

And now comes the collective vision of Central Visayas governors who have picked up the idea that had been kept in the shelves where those considered “impossible dreams” have been entombed. Like something that has been raised from oblivion, the idea has now gained a level of possibility that may soon lead to its realization. An 18-kilometer bridge between Cebu City and Jetafe, Bohol is no longer something to laugh at or consider as impossible to do. Modern technology has made this possible to accomplish.

Of course, the bridge that connects Santander to San Jose, Negros Oriental — which is less than 20 kilometers from Dumaguete City, the provincial capital — would be much easier to implement, and would cost much less. I expect that this project would be done earlier. Definitely, it would boost the economic fortunes of both provinces, But the plan, however, has practically left out the six-municipality island of Siquijor which has, unluckily enough, a population of less than a hundred thousand only.

Somehow, I believe, there is a kind of “tyranny of size” involved here. This is a situation that decidedly needs balancing. When the three bigger provinces would be like one, the smaller Siquijor would be left out. What compensation would its three bigger brothers extend to the Siquijor, also the youngest among the four since it became a province only in the ‘70s?

Whatever will become of the planned bridges, let us hope that these would make this nation a lot less fragmented, with more opportunities for bonding among the inhabitants. It’s important that the “islanders” would not be as politically belligerent as they are now, especially those who live in the national capital. But then, isn’t the territory of the national capital region contiguous from the very beginning, yet in spite of this, there is still so much belligerency in the people’s heart?

noli

July 4th, 2005, 10:05 PM

sloid

July 4th, 2005, 10:24 PM

I found these really cool satellite images so I decided to share it with you guys. ^___,^

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/jwfromdawest/Group%202/cebu2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/jwfromdawest/Group%202/northerncebu.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/jwfromdawest/Group%202/centralcebu.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/jwfromdawest/Group%202/southerncebu.jpg

sloid

July 4th, 2005, 10:29 PM

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/jwfromdawest/Group%202/olangoisland.jpg
olango island

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/jwfromdawest/Group%202/mactanisland.jpg
mactan island

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/jwfromdawest/Group%202/northernmetrocebu.jpg
northern metro cebu

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/jwfromdawest/Group%202/metrocebu.jpg
metro cebu

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/jwfromdawest/Group%202/southernmetrocebu.jpg
southern metro cebu

Credits to Google Maps

rustyboi

July 5th, 2005, 12:39 PM

Asiana Airlines Cebu-Korea flight commences next week

by Ehda M. Dago-oc
July 4, 2005

Asiana Airlines has officially announced to open its first international direct flight from Cebu to South Korea this coming July 16, 2005.
Hyunil Kim, Asiana Airlines general manager-Cebu sales office said the airline will have a four-times-a-week flight frequency from Cebu to South Korea, starting the second week of this month.

Kim said the airline is anticipating the bulk of Korean nationals wanting to make Cebu as their premier vacation destination, primarily because of the beaches and resorts.

“We enjoy what you have here in Cebu that we do not have in Korea, the nice beaches, and resorts” Kim said.

He said the airline is touching base in Cebu for a stronger and longer commitment, saying that once traffic improves they are ready to add more flight frequencies.

Asiana Airlines is the second international airline to open up direct flight in the last three years. In 2003, Qatar Airways opened a direct flight from Cebu to Doha, Qatar, via Singapore.

Cebu has long wanted to invite more international airline companies to open international flight accessibility especially that the province has served as the international gateway in the Visayas and Mindanao.

In an interview with CAB deputy director Carmelo L. Arcilla he said aside from Asiana Airlines, another airline company has been given permit to open flights in Cebu, the Korean Airlines have been granted extra section flights permit for Cebu recently.

Under the air agreement between Philippines and Korea only 17 flights per are allowed, because this number has already been exhausted, Arcilla said CAB has given these two airlines extra section flight entitlements for Cebu.

This means, that both Asiana Airlines, and Korean Airlines can start its plan to offer four times a week, and two times a week direct flight from Cebu to Inchoon, Korea.

Of the two Korean based airline companies, only Asiana Airlines has officially announced the opening of their commercial operations in Cebu.

Once Asiana Airlines starts the four-times a week frequency, Cebu will have three airline companies operating direct flights to Korea, the Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific (CEB).

CAB said that there are 30 airlines authorized to offer flights from Cebu to mostly international routes. Of the 300,000 available air seats per month, only a little less than 20,000 are being utilized.

Why are these airlines not using their entitlements? Arcilla said it’s a question of profitability and business decision.

Cebu has now become not only a vacation get-away hub for Koreans, but it also serve as the center for offshore education sites of Korean nationals thus, the flooding of English learning schools for Koreans in Cebu.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/skyscrapercity-cebu.jpg

rustyboi

July 5th, 2005, 12:43 PM

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/jwfromdawest/Group%202/metrocebu.jpg
metro cebu

Credits to Google Maps

cool images! the South Reclamation Project is very much visible. never thought it could be that huge... :cool: nice job sloid! :okay:

rustyboi

July 5th, 2005, 12:48 PM

^^
Most Japanese think that Cebu is a country in itself.

As they say: Viva Republic of Cebu! :D

kiretoce

July 5th, 2005, 05:19 PM

As they say: Viva Republic of Cebu! :D

If all this talks and rumors of the country breaking up into smaller independent units, it just might happen for Cebu! :lol: :jk:

Jimbu

July 5th, 2005, 07:26 PM

If these region(s) would like to have these bridges built then they ought to have the backbone to shoulder the expenses, not the national government.

This is just like the case of a grown up child who incessantly complains that he is not getting any respect and after a while would ask his dad for some money.

If Luzon has LRT, railways, NLEX, SLEX and Mindanao also plans to have modern railways to connect major cities then Visayas deserves this project. If the feasibility study comes out favorably and NEDA approves the project then there's a good chance that this project will materialize thru "BOT". Anyway, the feasibility study worth P50 million is free. It is not mentioned however if it covers Iloilo to Guimaras then to Negros, Cebu and Bohol. They said 8 governors approved of the plan.

noli

July 5th, 2005, 08:57 PM

Just recently, I saw a picture of a span bridge that's supposed to built by German entities for the Guimaras Strait. Very nice bridge. I just can't remember the website. All I just did was type "Guimaras Strait Bridge."

Jimbu

July 5th, 2005, 09:53 PM

Bridge project: Two birds with one stone!

by Valeriano S. Avila
July 6, 2005

I'm sure that our readers would like to know why the so-called "Friendship Bridges" have already made the front-page news in our local dailies, as if it was already an ongoing project. Actually, this idea originally stemmed from the dreams of those who cross the Tañon Strait connecting the island of Negros to Cebu, where at its nearest point near Bato, Santander and Amlan in Negros Oriental is only seven kilometers wide. If you've traveled there, at one point you too must have asked yourself, "Why not build a bridge to cross the Tañon strait?" I too have asked that question many times.
This stretch may be too long for a bridge, (the famous Golden Gate Bridge is 4,200 ft long, while the longest Bridge in the World, the Akashi Kaikyo in Japan is 6,670 ft long) but we won't know that until we have a feasibility study ranging from the depth of the strait to the strength of the current. If not a bridge, perhaps a tunnel? If you imagine that the Chunnel Tunnel linking France to England is about 26 miles long, a tunnel across the Tañon strait would be a piece of cake! That's if we have the money to buy a cake… right now we just can't afford it!

This idea ended up in the Regional Development Council (RDC) because often, dreams like the 1st Mactan Bridge became a reality because once upon a time, Sen. Sergio "Serging" Osmeña dreamed of it and made his dream come true. When traffic across the Mactan channel became unbearable, we too dreamed of a 2nd bridge and because a lot of us dreamed of this… 10 years later, the bridge was there!

As for that "bridge" linking Cebu to Bohol, let me point out that this is not really a bridge (I hope you saw the photo I sent to The FREEMAN which appeared on page 5 yesterday) in the strict sense of the word, rather this project looks more like a causeway that would bring Bohol closer to Cebu. You can see this in many American movies, which links Florida to the Key West islands. But first we have to find out at what point Cebu is closest to Bohol and where we can find shallow areas where a causeway can be built and where the water is too deep, a bridge can be constructed.

A feasibility study would determine whether if at all this project is feasible or doable? There is a deep gorge between Olango and Mactan Island, which is impossible to link with a bridge but it can be a combination of causeway or even a tunnel. This is something that already exists between Sweden and Denmark and if they could do it there, it can also be done here, except for one very small problem… they have the money to do that project while we're flat broke!

However, let me point out a better reason why we should do this project, a reason why this project can pay for itself… water. Remember those old plans to link Cebu to Bohol so we could get fresh water from Inabanga, Bohol? Well, that should be more than enough motivation for us to give this project serious consideration. As we all very well know, the fresh water river in Inabanga flows out into the sea, throwing precious water into waste and if only we could harness that, Cebu would have water and Inabanga could develop from a sleepy town into another metropolis!

The project calls for constructing a water pipeline along the causeway and as we get to the closest part, the pipeline can go underwater. But unlike the old plan, perhaps this time the underwater pipeline will only take less than 10 kilometers to Cebu. As for the project cost, since we in Cebu are willing to pay so much for every liter of water, all the more that this project becomes viable and it should be our best motivation to push for this project. You can say that we are hitting two birds with one stone in this project!

Incidentally, one of the reasons why this project suddenly has resurfaced is due to a joint meeting at the newly opened Hilton Hotel last June 21-22 by the political leaders, not just in Region 7, but Region 6 and Region 8 which included Gov. Salvacion Perez of Antique, Gov. Rahman Nava of Guimaras, Gov. Rosette Lerias of Southern Leyte, Gov. Jericho Petilla of Leyte, Gov. Ben Evardone of Samar and Gov. Milagrosa Tan of Western Samar, Gov. George Arnaiz of Negros Oriental, Gov. Gwen Garcia of Cebu and the various municipal mayors of Negros Oriental.

That unprecedented meeting ended up with a Joint Declaration for the Development of the Visayas, which now resulted in the cooperation by the chairmen of the Regional Development Council (RDC) of Regions 6,7 and 8 to identify high impact projects that would benefit the Visayas. Oh, did I tell you that this was not the only issue placed on the table… that someone blurted out a Visayas Independence idea? Hmmm, that too is a thought!
* * *

Jimbu

July 5th, 2005, 10:31 PM

noli

July 6th, 2005, 02:14 AM

This cooperation by the chairpersons (not chairmen, there are some women there) of the RDCs is a welcome news. It's high time for our regions to flex their muscles and start to be more proactive instead of just relying on the national government to do the job for them. Independence? Can we settle for broad autonomy?

rustyboi

July 7th, 2005, 03:36 PM

Shangri-La Mactan opens $4M Chi Spa village, Asia's Largest
by Ehda M. Dago-oc
July 7, 2005

Shangri-La’s Mactan Island Resort has officially opened its US $4 million spa facility in Cebu—the largest spa facility in Asia called Chi Spa Village.

The opening of this facility in Cebu is seen to further put Cebu’s name in the international map, as the Spa destination is Asia, said Department of Tourism (DOT-7) regional director Patria Aurora Roa.

The over one-hectare Spa facility of Shangri-La is the first huge spa investment done by the company in all its worldwide operations, thus, its grand opening recently was attended by the President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Although operated by an international resort chain, Chi Village is highlighting the traditional Filipino massage called “hilot” to add a Cebuano or Filipino ingredient in the facility, said Shangri-La Mactan general manager Timothy Wright.

Located adjacent to the hotel property, the Chi Spa Village features extensive spa gardens and treatment pavilions; six luxurious villas measuring 135 square meters complete with private patios, sunken bathing tubs and relaxing lounges, and eight garden suites.

“We want to be at the best of the Asian region. The opening of this Spa Village is expected to boost Cebu’s attractiveness to international tourists,” he stressed.

According to the resort’s director for communication Neil Rumbaoa, the Chi Spa Village is not just a mere Spa facility, but it caters to Spa enthusiasts who really know what Spa is.

With the luxury of space is one of the defining characteristics of CHI, the Grand Spa Villa measures 200 square meters replete with an open air tea house and a treatment suite that can accommodate up to four people.

Incorporating CHI’s signature “spa-within-spa” concept, all the villas feature private bath, shower, steam and changing areas.

Currently, there are already few dozens of Spa facilities in Cebu. These are attracting foreign customers like the Japanese, Korean, Europeans, and also domestic patrons.

But, the Chi Spa Village of Shangri-La Mactan offers a more sophisticated Spa concept with equipment facilities and services are at par with the international standard.

Rumbaoa said if the Resort would utilize its worldwide marketing promotion for Chi Village facility through its international networks of Shangri-La resorts and hotels around the world, to attract large number of foreign tourists here.

This upscale and full-blown Spa facility Chi Spa Village in Shangri-La’s Mactan property is the second Chi spa to open since the brand was launched in 2004. The first Chi spa opened in Shangri-La Hotel, in Bangkok, in 2004.

However, Rumbaoa stressed that the Chi Spa in Shangri-La Mactan is the largest facility among the other nine Chi Spa’s located in different Shangri-La properties around the world.

Cebu Association of Travel Operators (CATO) president Alice Quiblatin said the Chi is another very important tourism asset in Cebu especially that the province is positioning to lure high-end or quality tourists.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/skyscrapercity-cebu.jpg

richard fischer

July 7th, 2005, 08:20 PM

hi sloid,
can you post the link to the google maps of the philippines for all of us to enjoy ?
salamat !

sloid

July 8th, 2005, 05:33 PM

^ maps.google.com

then just type manila on the search bar. though it says manila, it actually includes most parts of the philippines.

you're welcome =D

Jimbu

July 8th, 2005, 06:14 PM

http://maps.google.com/

Type: Cebu Philippines

chymera00

July 9th, 2005, 03:53 PM

KulasKusgan

July 9th, 2005, 06:00 PM

Really nice article ... I hope Region 7 will have their dreams realized and I also hope Region 6 will share the same enthusiasm in the project ^^

Kung sa totoo lng, magandang idea yung Visayan Independence. Just look at our current political situation mainly brought about by protests in Luzon (mainly in Manila) Magulo!. Dito the government is loved and supported, we feel somehow isolated from the "Nation" because MetroManilans want GMA out yet it is not truly of National Concern.

kung sa totoo lng, we have power, we have food, we have a very educated and hard working work force, we have history and culture, we may have oil (Palawan), we have the best tourist spots in the world, we have modern conveniences, we have natural resources (marine and forest) we have everything there is to need of an independent country!

the same sentiment with mindanaoans. mindanao can also stand on its own. i read it somewhere that 65% of philippines' GDP comes from mindanao. or why not a combined force... lets make it a federal republic of vismin. just a thought.

fundraiser

July 9th, 2005, 06:13 PM

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b384/peejay_domek/pinkhilton.jpg

freshest fic of hilton, taken just a few hours ago....

chymera00

July 9th, 2005, 06:13 PM

the same sentiment with mindanaoans. mindanao can also stand on its own. i read it somewhere that 65% of philippines' GDP comes from mindanao. or why not a combined force... lets make it a federal republic of vismin. just a thought.
I think 65% is exaggerated ... but yeah that could be a possible reality if our political situation gets even worse.

fundraiser

July 9th, 2005, 06:19 PM

one cold morning at cebu CBD

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b384/peejay_domek/cbd4.jpg

fundraiser

July 9th, 2005, 06:22 PM

same cold morning, hehe

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b384/peejay_domek/cbd.jpg

chymera00

July 9th, 2005, 07:08 PM

Its very foggy :) Thanks for the pics ^^ Hilton is really nice

absent-minded

July 9th, 2005, 09:36 PM

nice pictures...! haha! I never thought cebu could look like that. I always thought it was always nice and sunny... haha!

and the pink Hilton cluster actually looks pretty good!!

rustyboi

July 10th, 2005, 11:37 AM

one cold morning at cebu CBD

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b384/peejay_domek/cbd4.jpg

wow, nice shot fundraiser! :bow: looks too un-philippiney... feels like ur in freezing seoul. hehe

where'd u take this photo? i'd like to see a sunny and clear version from where you took this! :D

fundraiser

July 10th, 2005, 03:06 PM

tnx, actually i was on a boat nung kinuha ko yang pic na yan.... yang foreground is part na ng pier, ganda lang ksi ng backdrop na mountain tapos may fog, hehehehe, medyo nabw*s*t nga lang ako when it started to rain kasi i was hoping to shoot a bright, sunny pic... kaso ganyan nga, pero ok lang naman kinalabasasan eh

another shot... (panorama) w/ cebu plaza in the middle (soon to be managed by the marco polo group) citylights garden at the right and the CBD at the left

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b384/peejay_domek/now2.jpg

cebu harbor

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b384/peejay_domek/now3.jpg

archietect

July 10th, 2005, 06:07 PM

PLEASE I NEED HELP... does anyone know if there is an existing COMPREHENSIVE LAND USE PLAN for CEBU CITY??? i need it badly.. please... please.... :bash:

sloid

July 11th, 2005, 12:47 AM

awesome pictures fundraiser =D. I didn't remember that cebu was that mountainous. with addition of more tall skyscrapers, i can see cebu looking like hong kong in the future.

wornout

July 11th, 2005, 01:12 PM

my favorite building is Cebu is the GLOBE TELECOM-INNOVE' PLAZA.

LEXMARK'S RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT HEADQUARTERS FOR ASIA I THINK IS LOCATED IN THAT BUILDING.

absent-minded

July 12th, 2005, 01:20 PM

which one is the Globe Telecom Innove Plaza in those pictures? and I never knew Lexmark did R&D stuff here in the country. I thought they just manufactured their ink here. cool... haha!

rustyboi

July 13th, 2005, 09:38 AM

which one is the Globe Telecom Innove Plaza in those pictures? and I never knew Lexmark did R&D stuff here in the country. I thought they just manufactured their ink here. cool... haha!

Lexmark has been operating in Cebu for quite sumtime... AFAIK, they also have a lab in MEPZ mactan.

Globe Innove Plaza is the Blue and Beige bldg beside the dark red office tower (Keppel Bldg). :D

rustyboi

July 13th, 2005, 09:40 AM

City wants to lure Manila investors to Cebu

Banking on the sound political climate here, Cebu City officials will ask investors to do business in Cebu instead of Manila, where political unrest dampens investment opportunities.

Acting on orders of Mayor Tomas Osmeña, City Hall’s Public Information Officer Nagiel Banacia said they will publish an ad in a national daily urging investors to come to Cebu.

It will be more advantageous for businessmen to invest in Cebu rather that in Manila “because there is so much chaos and rallies there and it may affect businesses.”

“Unlike Manila, we have a good political situation and it’s a good place to invest in. Like what the mayor said, this is the time when Cebu will soar, when Manila is facing many problems,” Banacia told reporters yesterday.

Taking the lead of the City’s elected officials, 25 City Government department heads and some 400 rank-and-file employees at City Hall signed yesterday the manifesto supporting Arroyo.

Banacia said they hope to get the majority of the City’s 5,000 employees to sign the manifesto, copies of which were posted in bulletin boards at City Hall.

He said the signing of the manifesto is purely voluntary and no one will be forced to join the call to rally behind the beleaguered President.

Additional security measures will be in place at City Hall during the City Council’s regular session this afternoon.

Councilor Sylvan Jakosalem said he requested for police personnel in case militant groups hold their rally there.

“Security at City Hall will be beefed up because we will have the session and they might go there. Local anti-GMA groups know that members of the council support the President. But of course, maximum tolerance will be observed,” he told Sun. Star Cebu.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/skyscrapercity-cebu.jpg

Jimbu

July 13th, 2005, 04:47 PM

Echaves: Responsible tourism
By Lelani P. Echaves

His lecture presented the hardware; I`ll present the software.”

So began my good friend Alice Kintanar-Queblatin, president of the Cebu Association of Tour Operators and president of her own outfit, the Southwind Travel and Tours, Inc. The occasion was the annual Alumni Institute of the UP Alumni Association–Cebu chapter on the theme “Mainstreaming Responsible Tourism.”

Ambitious, impressive and financially demanding, to say the least. How else to describe the roadmap? Springing from Cebu’s twin-thrust of being the tourism center for the Visayas region and even the country, and being the ICT hub for Southeast Asia, Cebu will have built a second passenger terminal building, linked Consolacion to Talisay via the Cebu LRT, put up the regional tourism congress, and constructed friendship bridges connecting Cebu, Negros Oriental and Bohol.

In that future just five years away, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) president Robert Go said the Mactan International Airport would be operating 24/7, have two runways, and two world-class terminals. More 5-star hotels, resorts and pension houses will emerge. Local access will have improved tremendously via airports, seaports, even major malls. And a culture of tourism will have forged the best cooperation between the tourism sector and the Department of Education.

With all these in place, bringing in 5 million tourists by 2010 would be easy. Of these, 3.5 million would be multinationals while 1.5 million, local tourists.

In her response, Cebu Provincial Board Member Agnes Almendras-Magpale referred to Phuket, Thailand and Bali, Indonesia as models for the Philippines, not just for their quality as tourist destinations but also as models of cooperation. Developing Phuket was government-initiated while Bali was initiated by the private sector. As chair of the Cebu provincial committee on tourism, and as an advocate for the protection of women and children, Magpale looked forward to that time when sex tours and “hubo-hubo” will have totally disappeared from tourism and marketing brochures and promos.

absent-minded

July 14th, 2005, 01:34 AM

great news...! it's nice to see how the private sector is so involved in Cebu!

the news about the airport expansion is pretty exciting stuff!! haha! if that really does happen within five years, those five million tourists will for sure bypass Manila and head straight for Cebu... unless Manila too carries out its own improvements.

rustyboi

July 14th, 2005, 11:13 AM

Top Wi-Fi hotspots of Globequest in country found in Cebu
July 14, 2005

Nine out of the top 15 of Globequest’s hotspots in the country are in Cebu.

Innove Communications Inc.’s wireless service Globequest has rolled out 50 wireless fidelity (Wi-fi) hotspots nationwide, 20 percent of which are located in Cebu.

Hotspots or hot zones are areas that provide clients with Internet access over a wireless local area network via Wi-fi, a facility that connects a computer to the Internet without using telephone lines.

Globequest’s hotspots in Cebu are in the Ayala Entertainment Center, Mactan-Cebu International Airport, Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino, and City Sports Club Cebu, among others.

In a press conference, Innove Communications Inc. head for corporate business group Jesus Romero said Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino has contributed the highest revenue in the use of its Wi-fi facility. This was attributed to the various travelers and hotel guests that need to gain access to the Internet.

“If not the number one nationwide, Waterfront Cebu is consistently in the top five hot zones nationwide every month,” he said.

More hotspots

Romero revealed that Globequest will roll out more hotspots in the next few months. Soon to have Wi-fi access in Cebu are six Supercat terminals, all outlets of Bo’s Coffee, and Gloria Jeans Coffee in Banilad Town Center.

In an interview last week, Earl Versoza, manager of Supercat for Central Visayas, said enabling the Supercat terminals with hotspots gives its mobile market the convenience and availability of getting an Internet connection while traveling.

“We (Innove and Supercat) share the same A and B market. It doesn’t just benefit Supercat travelers but also those taking SuperFerry and Cebu Ferries,” he said.

Innove’s Romero said the company supports the Arroyo administration’s 10-point agenda that includes the creation of six to 10 million jobs by 2010, decentralization of development and decongestion of Metro Manila, “with special focus on Cebu, the home of Innove Communications’ corporate headquarters,” a statement said.

“We are creating business in the country, and part of this effort is putting up infrastructure in different areas not only in Metro Manila but also in Cebu, Davao, Dumaguete, Cagayan de Oro.... That’s our contribution,” Romero said.

Romero also said the pace of growth in Cebu is faster than in the other cities in the country.

“Some two years ago, our sales team in Cebu generated only about less than five percent of our revenue. Now it has grown four times higher,” he said. (ALC)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/skyscrapercity-cebu.jpg

overtureph

July 15th, 2005, 12:21 AM

From the Philippine Star

Big, indeed
By Jessamine Villareal
The Philippine STAR 07/11/2005

CEBU–It’s the first of its kind in Southeast Asia. The $5-million International Academy of Film and Television in Mactan has a Dolby studio, Foley stage, six digital editing suites, a computer laboratory with animation and sound design software plus a 600-square meter sound stage. All in all, that’s 8,200 square meters that local filmmakers and international film students have access to.

"Cebu is the pilot. We hope to open IAFT branches in Vietnam, France, and the United States," said John Joseph Mercado, chief executive officer of Bigfoot Global Solutions, Inc. and five other companies under the Bigfoot Group based here.

In the $8-million Bigfoot Center, 25 flat screens are casually placed in the common areas. All employees have free access to a coffee shop called BigBucks and to a spa. The gym occupies one whole floor and boasts of a hip-hop instructor brought in from the United States.

"The whole management team regularly meets at the gym," said Mercado, who works out twice a day, either by lifting weights or boxing, for an hour and a hour. "Even hallway conversations are very productive."
Growth
Bigfoot is the brainchild of its chairman Michael Gleissner, who made his money from handing over the biggest book-selling company in Germany to Amazon and from investments in internet companies.

The company started as an e-mail forwarding and directory search company in 1995. Since then, it has invested $25 million in the country to become a one-stop shop for the communication needs of over two million clients all over the globe.

Bigfoot Global is the outsourcing company for both Bigfoot Communications, which offers fee-based telecommunication services , and CleverLearn, which teaches English and Mandarin online. Last year, Bigfoot Comm generated revenues of $2.3 million; this year, the projected revenue is $3 million.

Started as a 15-man operation, Bigfoot Global’s manpower has grown to over 500, consisting of software developers, marketing officers, administrative and creative staff, customer service personnel, and English language content creators from at least 10 countries.

In 2004, the company established a contact center with 100 agents to give email support and handle calls of portfolio firms to and from the United States and the United Kingdom. United Internet, a 25-billion euro firm listed in Germany and the biggest web hosting company in the world, is among its clients.

The Cebu operation is connected to Belgium and New Jersey, USA by international private leased circuits provided by GlobeQUEST, the corporate business group of Innove Communications.

"The business is growing. We are hungry for data. We have 65 servers in Korea and 47 servers in Los Angeles," said Mercado. "We intend to expand our call center business and marry it with out other services. We will teach Mandarin and English to people in Germany, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, and Taiwan over the phone. We’ll have technology- sharing applications and add more value. We love the language learning space."
Language
CleverLearn has built tools for learning English in non-English speaking countries, the fifth biggest business in the world.

For one, its Clicktionary–a tray application that allows users to click on words and get an instant translation–has 130,000 users in Germany alone.

For another, it has married brick and mortar with technology, opening premier English language centers in China, Vietnam, Germany, and Korea. This month, the company will be offering its new concept, Mandarin language for non-Chinese. The price is steep at P65,000 for 32 hours of one-on-one training, but the results are guaranteed.

Already, the company has established a factory for language learning content on various platforms from flash animation on personal computers, web tools, testing facilities, and games on PDAs and mobile phone, animation, and movie DVDs.

Bigfoot has also developed a 25-megabyte program called MovieLearn, which automatically divides a movie into chapters with corresponding subtitles in English. It provides the meaning and pronunciation of every word and sentence uttered in the movie. It also determines the kind of speech of every world while the meaning of a sentence is presented with cartoon graphics.

"It’s a real kick-ass application in the United States and we are launching it in Asia with the movie, ‘Pretty Movie," at HK$320," said Mercado.
Management Style
Despite its many projects, the Bigfoot organization is lean. No member of the management team, for example, has a secretary or assistant.

"We don’t pay the highest salary. To work for us, you have to want to work for us. But we have people who left us to work for others only to come back in four months. They say they missed the environment. We are very informal here. We dress the way we want. Everyone’s on first name basis. We know what we’re responsible for. We combine the creativity of American dot-com with the structure of regular company," said Mercado, who, at 40, favors jeans and the casual shirt rolled to his elbows but who fully intends to grow his hair much longer when his kids graduate from university.

dominique

July 18th, 2005, 08:22 AM

hi guys. I was in Iloilo last July 13 and proceeded to Cebu on the 14th. Well of course when in Cebu that was the most opportune time for me to check all those on going constructions unfortunately 12 noon kami umikot and its too hot. Di na ako bumaba sa taxi kasi baka iitim ako and avioded direct sun exposure. I managed to take some shot thru my cellphone kaya lang di maganda. Also ang laki ng nabayaran ko sa taxi sa kakaikot. Anyway here's un update. Nakarating na rin ako ng Elizabeth Mall (e-mall) para syang cleaner and of course newer version ng isetann recto most especially with all those students roaming around. Fronting e-mall in the corner of leon kilat at del rosario (if im not wrong) i saw an on-going demolition parang former abs-cbn area yata yun and an announcement "on this cite will rise the A.C.T. and I.T. Mall para syang 18 storey buliding. Then I proceeded to Club Ultima skeleton pa rin yung isa and i haven't seen the structure of Regency hotel yet.
Regarding the Park Lane Hotel, construction is in full swing nasa 5th level na. It is located pala just beside the newest flyover on archbishop reyes street. From a distance para syang part ng cebu business park because of its close proximity. I have also noticed that there is a print showing "on this site will rise the Union Bank regional headquarters" located within the Cebu Business Park.
About the Cebu Boardwalk when I passed the area i havent seen the vertical structure yung perimeter fence lang yung nakita ko showing the Cebu Boardwalk logo. Maybe they're still busy doing the underground construction.
Nagpahatid din ako sa Banilad Town Center, but i was a bit disappointed with the place. Maliit lang pala sya. Much smaller then the Metrowalk in Pasig pero parang ganun ang style. Robinson's Supermarket ang anchor dun which had its grand opening last friday (July 15). Dapat dito ako maglunch kaya lang few choices kaya di na ako bumaba at nagpahatid na lang ako at the nearby Gaisano country mall.
On the way to the airport last Thursday I was scanning the place about Lancaster, too bad di ko sya nakita.
Well I guess that's my short Cebu sojourn, Im sorry its not accompanied with pictures. Next time I'll try my best to get some.
Thank You.

rustyboi

July 18th, 2005, 10:41 AM

Asiana Airlines makes it Cebu

by Ruth G. Mercado
July 18, 2005

Slightly after midnight of Sunday, Asiana Airlines completed its maiden flight to Cebu making its A321 the first aircraft to touch down on the newly renovated Mactan runway. The touch down signals the runway is now fully operational after five months of overlay work.

Seoul-based Asiana Airlines serves the Inchon-Cebu-Inchon route four times weekly on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Flight schedules are in the evenings leaving Inchon airport at about 10 and arriving Mactan at dawn of the following day. Inchon is a four-hour flight to Cebu.

With increased inbound Korean tourism in recent months plus Asiana’s entry in Cebu, tourism regional director Patria Aurora Roa sees an upsurge in Korean tourists that is outpacing Japanese arrivals. Roa described Korean tourists to be “holiday seekers and honeymooners” with preference for resorts.

Even with blazing headlines of political friction in the country, Koreans are unaffected. They continue to have strong preference for the Philippines as their Asian vacation destination. “Korean tourists arrive on schedule,” Roa said. Asiana’s A321 that touched down on midnight of Sunday had close to 200 passengers onboard including children.

The multi-awarded Korean national carrier serves some 17 countries, 54 cities and 63 routes on passenger international flights and 14 countries, 19 cities and 16 routes on international cargo. In Korea alone, Asiana serves 12 cities and 17 routes as of July last year.

Regional manager Hyun Il Kim said Asiana has served the Philippine travel market since 1994 flying Manila to Seoul 11 times weekly afternoon flights and four times weekly evening flights. The carrier also serves Manila to Pusan twice weekly and five times weekly on the Clark-Seoul route.
Best runway, best manager.

Korean transport attaché Park Jong Heum and Asiana’s regional manager Kim said what bolstered optimism and reinforced confidence in flying to Cebu is the dynamism and partnership with Mactan airport general manager Adelberto Yap. Korean transport and airline officials had apparently known Yap during his stint as general manager at Clark and Subic before his Cebu assignment.

Yap is responsible for initiating renovation and rehabilitation of the runway subverting senseless court battles that plagued and blocked rejuvenation work for 15 years. It took Yap some five months for the runway makeover to get done, making this fully operational in time for Asiana’s maiden flight.

The airport authority board admires Yap as “the best general manager the airport authority has ever had.” While Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Robert Go who fondly calls Yap an action man said, “we have the best runway, the best airport, the best general manager.” Asiana Airlines knew where they had landed.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/skyscrapercity-cebu.jpg

mhe-ann

July 18th, 2005, 12:14 PM

ei, @dominique, thanks for the updates. next time, we'll wait for your pictures ok? :)

Edmundtanso

July 19th, 2005, 05:20 AM

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b384/peejay_domek/pinkhilton.jpg

freshest fic of hilton, taken just a few hours ago....

wooh....what a color!

absent-minded

July 19th, 2005, 05:28 AM

cool... so the runway rehabilitation at Cebu-Mactan is already complete. that's pretty fast!! with the MCIA's new GM, I'm sure the expansion plans for the airport there will push through as necessary. and hopefully with the improved runway, the airlines that are contemplating on entering Cebu will decide to open up services there too...

bustero

July 19th, 2005, 05:59 AM

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b384/peejay_domek/pinkhilton.jpg

freshest fic of hilton, taken just a few hours ago....

wow that's really pink.

are the facilities 5 star, is room size big.

where is it exactly , on mactan near shangrila?

bustero

July 19th, 2005, 06:02 AM

PLEASE I NEED HELP... does anyone know if there is an existing COMPREHENSIVE LAND USE PLAN for CEBU CITY??? i need it badly.. please... please.... :bash:

I've not done a project there. BUT for sure there is. As cebu is a regional administrative center plus the 2nd largest metro area, I'm sure the functions there are devolved, try the city planning office, am not sure if they have it online, like the other cities here in MM but down there they should have it. The other Place would be HLURB but as it's devolved it may actually be an extension of city hall. IN any case either of these two institutions would have it.

dominique

July 20th, 2005, 12:00 PM

Nice Article here. pls. read...

East Visayas: The Queen Reigns
By Jasmin Suma-oy in Cebu
NEWSBREAK Contributing Writer

For all its grumbling about economic and political matters being decided by “imperial Manila,” the province of Cebu has been the object of similar resentment from adjoining provinces in Central Visayas and, to a certain extent, the next-door region of Eastern Visayas. The jealous neighbors, however, will have to come to terms with the realities of an “imperial Cebu” if the proposed merger of Regions 7 and 8, to form the East Visayas state under a federal Philippines, is to work.
Although its natural resources are not rich enough, Cebu—the city and the province—has what it takes to shepherd the region to economic progress.
Cebu province, home to more than half of the Central Visayan population, accounts for 80 percent of the region’s industrial output. Although the province depended on its share in the national government’s tax collection for 67 percent of its 2003 budget, that dependency on the internal revenue allotment (IRA) was the lowest among provinces in the region. The IRA supported 85 percent of Negros Oriental’s expenditures, 89 percent of Bohol’s, and 96 percent of Siquijor’s.
Cebu City, the provincial capital known as the Queen City of the South, operated on a budget of over P2 billion, but only 36 percent of that came from the IRA.
Five of the eight special economic zones in Central Visayas are located in Metro Cebu and produce electronics, other industrial goods, electrical equipment, and furniture for export. The factories at the Mactan Economic Zone manufacture the bulk of the first three products, but Cebu City might be able to double that output when investors start setting up on the city’s 300-hectare South Reclamation Project.
Ninety percent of the country’s shipping companies are based in Cebu, while the capital city hosts offices of national government agencies and branches of all the Metro Manila banks.
In other words, Cebu City and the local government units surrounding Metro Cebu have all the infrastructure that propelled Metro Manila into becoming the country’s economic hub.
“If the other areas agree and acquiesce to the economic primacy of Metro Cebu and consider complementation and integration of their economies with Metro Cebu, then advances can be made,” says Paul Villarete, formerly an economic development specialist with the National Economic and Development Authority in Region 7 (Central Visayas).
“Whether we like it or not, economic output is generated by urban areas. The moment a ‘suburb’ recognized itself as such and contributed to the whole [regional economic exchange], its own development is likewise imminent,” Villarete says.
Villarete, now Cebu City’s planning and development officer, doesn’t see much difficulty in the recognition of Cebu’s supremacy within Central Visayas. The economies of the other provinces have been linked with Cebu’s for some time, he says. The difficulty—and unacceptability—might come from the proposal of federalism advocates to annex Region 8, one of the poorest regions, to Central Visayas.
Joel Mari Yu, managing director of the Cebu Investment Promotions Center, points out that Cebu’s economic growth has not been hampered by its lack of certain natural resources, like water. This is because the investors who come to Cebu, particularly those that locate in the Mactan Export Zone, are not resource-seeking investors. These are efficiency-seeking investors, who come because Cebu has the basic infrastructure and workforce to support their kind of operation.
He says Cebu may be a small island, but it does not lack the space for the kind of investment that it is looking for. Cebu’s biggest development opportunities are in foreign investments, tourism, and information and communication technology (ICT), he says. “Cebu will generate the money to buy the resources that it needs, even water.”
Indeed, Cebu is showing more potential. Foreign investments, mainly responsible for the so-called “Ceboom,” continue to come in. Fast ferries and bulk carriers have become important export products of the province after the West Cebu Industrial Park, which houses two shipbuilding companies, started operations in Balamban in 1993.
Mitsumi Cebu Inc., a manufacturer of electronic parts located in Danao City, is one of the largest single manufacturing enterprises in the country in terms of employment, having around 17,600 workers.
ICT-related enterprises are on the rise, too. Cebu has over 30 Internet Service Providers and has the highest density of Internet users in the country. IT-enabled services providers like call centers, medical transcriptions, and data digitizers also abound in the province.
The tourism- and agriculture-based economies of Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor have complemented Cebu’s industry- and technology-based economy. Between these provinces is easy access by sea.
Home-based industries, mostly of the micro and cottage types, play a vital role in Bohol’s economy.
But what is increasingly gaining influence on Bohol’s economy is tourism. Famous for its Chocolate Hills and white beaches, Bohol is fast growing as a destination of both domestic and foreign tourists.
Bohol, a major food source of Central Visayas, devotes around 45 percent of its land area to agriculture. The Ubay Stock Farm is the largest livestock-breeding center in the country. The Philippine Starch Industrial Corp. and the limestone from the Philippines Sinter Corp. export their products to Taiwan.
Negros Oriental is the leading producer of sugarcane and coconut. Thus, among its major export products are copra and sugar molasses.
Tourism is also a growing industry in Negros Oriental. Dolphin and whale watching, scuba diving, mountain trekking, and world-class golf courses are among its tourist attractions.
The province has identified two sites for special economic zone development, which if proclaimed by the President would be the first special economic zones outside Cebu. One is the Bais City Ecozone in Bais City; the other is the Polo Ecocity Special Economic Zone in the adjacent city of Tanjay.
Siquijor, the smallest province in Central Visayas, has very limited arable land. As a result, it depends on neighboring provinces for food.
Fishing and tourism, which are still underdeveloped, are the potential economic drivers of Siquijor.
The varied but complementary economic activities of these provinces have made the region the third largest contributor to the country’s trade output.
The economy of Central Visayas is dominated by services and industry, which account for not less than 29 percent and 52 percent of the region’s Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP), respectively. Industrial and consumer goods are the region’s top dollar earners.
From 1990 to 2002, the regional economy grew at an annual rate of 3.9 percent. This is higher than the national economy’s average annual growth rate of 3.2 percent for the same period. In absolute terms, Central Visayas’ GRDP increased from P47.2 billion in 1999 to P74.9 billion in 2002, or almost double in 12 years.
The 2000 Census puts the population of Central Visayas at 5.7 million, making it the country’s fifth most populous region.
The growth of the per-capita GRDP in the last 10 years is an indication that the regional economy grew faster than its population.
For Cebu’s success to be replicated in the neighboring provinces, Villarete says political leaders in these provinces should recognize their people’s entrepreneurial potentials. Cebu province is ahead economically because Cebuanos are entrepreneurs, he says.
The other factor, he says, is that Cebu’s growth is primarily led by the private sector and not by the public sector.
This is where the difficulty of merging Regions 7 and 8 comes in. “The structure of their economies is so different that we cannot transplant what is in Cebu to Region 8,” says Yu, who also served as director of the Department of Trade and Industry in Central Visayas.
He says that to try to disperse Cebu’s development to the other provinces would mean “re-engineering the entire development process” because Cebu’s potentials are different from those of Region 8’s.
Villarete notes that in the past decade or two, the poorest regions in terms of level of poverty of its population, percentage-wise, have always been Regions 5, 8, 6 and 7, in that order.
“Knowing that, we come to a realization that Region 7 itself does not place high in the ranking of richness and is even at the lower rungs in spite of the fact that it has Metro Cebu within itself. So adding a fellow ‘poor’ region to make a state will surely make it less viable economically,” he says.
Geographically, he sees that the difficulty of sustaining this part of the state will be aggravated by the fact that the economic activities of the Samar provinces have never been linked with those of Metro Cebu.
Villarete observes, however, that there could be a way of linking the two regions should it become necessary. He says Region 8’s potential is in the fact that it has a far better road transport network than Region 7—actually an unutilized asset, he says. If sea transport is improved such that economic produce can be easily transported within the Region 8 provinces and the Port of Cebu, which is an international port, then there will be improved economic activity and better output levels.
But, he says, Eastern Visayas should first concede that, in the meantime, it would have to be one of Cebu’s suburbs.

Jimbu

July 21st, 2005, 12:29 AM

Nice Article here. pls. read...

East Visayas: The Queen Reigns
By Jasmin Suma-oy in Cebu
NEWSBREAK Contributing Writer

But, he says, Eastern Visayas should first concede that, in the meantime, it would have to be one of Cebu’s suburbs.

I guess Imelda Marcos will concede so she could run as State Governor.

kiretoce

July 21st, 2005, 05:33 PM

Mactan runway is A380-capable
by Ruth G. Mercado July 21, 2005

Mactan may be the only airport in the country with a runway capable of accommodating superjumbo, the Airbus 380 and other new generation aircraft. Mactan beats airports in Manila and Subic on A380-capable runway.

Adelberto Yap, general manager of the Mactan Cebu Airport Authority, said A380 capabilities of the renovated runway allows the superjumbo jet to land and maneuver where distance is not a problem.

The 600-ton Airbus 380 is the world’s biggest and the first aircraft to have two decks. Hailed as a triumph in design and engineering that took 11 years to prepare and an overshot budget of $13 billion, the Airbus 380 can accommodate 555 people and up to 840 with the size of its hull.

With length of 73 meters, wingspan of 79.8 meters and height of 24.1 meters, the A380 offers spacious in-flight shopping and houses a lounge, bar, showers, gymnasium, libraries and an onboard waterfall. The behemoth jet promises to be fuel-efficient and quite when flying with minimal noise emissions.

The renovated Mactan runway has a length of 3,300 meters and width of 45 meters with full parallel taxiways of 23 meters in width. The 316-meter centerline distance between runway and taxiway allows the superjumbo to maneuver in its 80-meter wingspan.

Yap said runway length is no problem for the A380 as it can land and take off on short distance. The former air force pilot who was once manager of the Subic airport said the rehabilitated Mactan runway can accommodate two approaching aircraft without touching each other’s wings. It has capabilities for other new generation aircraft like Boeing’s 777.

In comparison, runways at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport were configured for DC 8s and DC 10s, while Subic runways are short. Yap said that what restricts the Airbus 380’s landing and take off is that “Subic has maneuvering and space problems.”

US logistics giant, Federal Express announced last week that it was pulling out its Asia-Pacific hub in the country and moving it to China. Though FedEx did not explicitly explain why it was closing its operations in the country, there were heavy insinuations that it may have been due to runway limitations. Yap said Subic has shorter runway than Mactan and there are no expansion areas for cargo hangars.

The logistics giant is also purchasing Airbus 380s where the Subic runways are not big and long enough to accommodate these.

Yap said the only limitation for the A380-capable Mactan runway is docking the aircraft. He said configurations of the Mactan terminal are incompatible with double decker jets. “We don’t have double decker aero bridges, unless we fashion one.”

Plans to build terminal facilities configured for double deck aircraft are in the pipeline. Certainly for Cebu, having an Airbus 380 on its airport is no pipe dream.

rustyboi

July 21st, 2005, 10:51 PM

nice articles dominique & kiretoce!

I'm dying to see this babe roaming around Mactan airport someday! :drool:
http://www.linternaute.com/savoir/diaporama/airbus_a380/images/decollage.jpg

dudz

July 22nd, 2005, 04:40 AM

tsk tsk...that's bad news for subic...i thought they're relocating to clark?
but yeah, would love to see those giants flying philippine airspace and landing on our airports. good for mactan! they have the runway and hopefully the double decker aero bridges!!

rustyboi

July 25th, 2005, 08:34 AM

Firms upbeat on prospects at Banilad Town Center

BANILAD Town Center (BTC) formally opened last Friday, with its locators optimistic about business there.

The opening was done in tandem with the opening of Robinsons Supermarket’s second outlet in Cebu.
Robinsons Supermarket is BTC’s anchor store.

BTC will face competition from other malls in Cebu City, including the Gaisano Country Mall, located just a few meters away, Ayala Center Cebu, SM City Cebu, JY Square Discovery Mall, Raintree Mall, Coco Mall and Elizabeth Mall. But its locators are unfazed.

Krua Thai Inc. president Anthony Ballreich said the company has put in a substantial investment in its biggest Krua Thai restaurant so far, at the BTC.

Showing her optimism, Gloria Jean’s Coffees franchisee Lalaine Espiritu, in a separate interview, also said the Gloria Jean’s Coffees-BTC branch has added breakfast to its menu to meet the demands of the BTC market, mostly the A-C crowd.

Bo’s Coffee has also transferred its Banilad branch to BTC to capture the market in the area.

According to Ballreich, Krua Thai-BTC is the fourth company-owned restaurant of the Thai food chain. It has six other branches, which are franchised, in other areas in the country.

Krua Thai’s two-story BTC branch, which has a floor area of 460 square meters, has function rooms on the second floor that can accommodate 160 persons. Its ground floor area can seat 140 persons.

Ballreich said the function rooms were meant to cater to the needs of the restaurant’s corporate clients, which comprise 40 percent of its market in its three existing company-owned branches located in Mactan, SM City Cebu and Crossroads mall.

rustyboi

July 25th, 2005, 09:31 AM

michaelsinjin:Yes, the Ayala SouthMall Cebu will be in the South Reclamation Project, a km or 2 away from SM City Cebu...

Ayala Southmall would be in South Reclamation Project while the Boardwalk mall is gonna be on the opposite side, in the North Reclamation Area.

Updates, well... 2 new worldclass dining spots have opened recently in the lagoon area. They are TABLE7 and CAFE HAVANA...which adds up to STARBUCKS COFFEE... Opening Soon are GLORIA JEAN's COFFEE, MERK's ENTERTAINMENT, SEGAFREDO, SUBWAY, GLORIA MARIS, SEATTLE's BEST COFFEE, etc... So they're kinda transforming the Lagoon Area into a somewhat Greenbelt in a Park...

Jimbu

July 25th, 2005, 10:18 PM

michaelsinjin:Yes, the Ayala SouthMall Cebu will be in the South Reclamation Project, a km or 2 away from SM City Cebu...

From SM to Plaza about 2 km+
The tunnel component 0.97 km
Causeway Section 4.9 km

So if you sum up:
SM to SRP should be about 8 km.

edifice_complex3

July 27th, 2005, 02:50 AM

I hope that in not so distant future, more buildings will rise in this part of the city.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/edifice_complex/cebu01_5.jpg

edifice_complex3

July 27th, 2005, 02:58 AM

Could somebody confirm if this is the oldest house in Metro Cebu? The website where I found this picture says that it is located somewhere in Pari-an district.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/edifice_complex/Oldesthouse.jpg

rustyboi

July 27th, 2005, 07:41 AM

I hope that in not so distant future, more buildings will rise in this part of the city.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/edifice_complex/cebu01_5.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v653/olineil/cebu%20march/Picture034.jpg

one of my favorite shots... by olineil :cool:

Mers

July 27th, 2005, 01:39 PM

Ang ganda! namiss ko tuloy ang cebu. Do you guys have pics on the south reclamation area? It's not fully furnished (parang bahay..heheh) nung pagpunta ko dun ehh.
Hope next year, I can go back to Cebu for a vacation. Although I have a bad experience there, nahold-up ako sa jeep..huhuhuhu. They got all my possessions, ni wla na ako pamasahe pauwi ehh, nanghingi na lng, kakahiya. But at that moment, parang ang kapal ko..hehe

KulasKusgan

July 27th, 2005, 02:08 PM

Hope next year, I can go back to Cebu for a vacation. Although I have a bad experience there, nahold-up ako sa jeep..huhuhuhu. They got all my possessions, ni wla na ako pamasahe pauwi ehh, nanghingi na lng, kakahiya. But at that moment, parang ang kapal ko..hehe

did you go to cebu all by yourself? isama mo naman kami next time. hehe.

Mers

July 27th, 2005, 02:18 PM

SUre bah..hehe. Yes, ako lng mag isa, ang laki-laki nga ng bag ko, wla ako tagabuhat.
I'm living with my aunt there, sa Talisay city, ang hometown ni Teban at Goliat..heheh :D

mhe-ann

July 27th, 2005, 03:11 PM

Hope next year, I can go back to Cebu for a vacation. Although I have a bad experience there, nahold-up ako sa jeep..huhuhuhu. They got all my possessions, ni wla na ako pamasahe pauwi ehh, nanghingi na lng, kakahiya. But at that moment, parang ang kapal ko..hehe
ha? na-hold-up ka? buti di ka sinaktan. hirap talaga ng buhay ngaun. critical times are hard to deal with.

Jimbu

July 27th, 2005, 04:20 PM

sloid

July 27th, 2005, 06:53 PM

http://img273.imageshack.us/img273/4571/jy18aa.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/8474/jy25vf.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/3725/jy30hg.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/2715/jy45iz.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Whoa! Isn't that too much!?

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/3585/jy61de.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/1215/jy54bw.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

and the point of this post:

Thanks to Jerry Yan, Cebu got tourists from Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand and other parts from Asia. Haha.

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*****
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Credits: Prince Kangta of Solid07.net

kiretoce

July 27th, 2005, 07:46 PM

Who's Jerry Yan? :dunno:

Jimbu

July 27th, 2005, 07:56 PM

Cebu DOT office opens for business

by Wenna A. Berondo
July 27, 2005

Tourism Secretary Joseph “Ace” Durano officially declared open the Cebu office of the Department of Tourism last week, designating undersecretary Phineas Alburo as point person or action man.

Alburo, also a Cebuano, is the former director of the DOT-7 office.

In an interview with The FREEMAN, Alburo said the office located at the ground floor of the Civil Service Commission in Sudlon, barangay Lahug, Cebu City had a soft opening last July 1.

“We want the public to know that we are already operational,” he said adding that, “we will be serving constituents in the islands of the Visayas and Mindanao and provide support to different regional tourism offices and local government units.”

The DOT Cebu office will also respond to special tourism concerns and issues as well as serve the Office of the Cabinet officer for regional developments for Region VII.

Shortly after his appointment as tourism secretary, President Arroyo also named Durano as cabinet officer for regional development in Central Visayas, automatically making him a member of the Regional Development Council.

“This is part of the decentralization of government offices to make them more accessible to the people. If there are concerns in the region, we will be there to assist. We welcome requests from local governments,” Alburo said.

While the construction of their office at the South Reclamation Project is stalled because of the dispute between Cebu City and Talisay City, they will hold office in Sudlon, he said.

The DOT also launched recently the “Cebu Plus”, a marketing strategy to promote Cebu as a tourist destination to meet the target of five million tourists by 2010.

The recent McKinsey report identified Bohol and Cebu as top tourist destinations in the country, chosen by both local and foreign tourists.

edifice_complex3

July 27th, 2005, 09:03 PM

Who's Jerry Yan? :dunno:

Rico Yan's brother. LOL.

rustyboi

July 28th, 2005, 10:19 AM

http://img273.imageshack.us/img273/4571/jy18aa.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

haha... di mo akalain nasa Cebu pala toh... galing :okay: compare mo kaya crowd ng Cebu from anywhere else in the country, parang ang laki ng difference? :? buti pa mga internat'l fans... may Jerry na sila, may sidetrip vacation pa.. :D

p.s. bakit pa kse pinagkakaguluhan kapatid ni rico yan? umabot pa ng hongkong.. :dunno:

Mers

July 28th, 2005, 02:18 PM

ha? na-hold-up ka? buti di ka sinaktan. hirap talaga ng buhay ngaun. critical times are hard to deal with.

Yes, grabe talaga.. Kanya-kanya diskarte sa buhay, pati masama ginagawa para lng mabuhay. Di naman ako nasaktan, buti nlng, tinutukan ako ng baril, binigay ko agad bag ko. Because of that, one week din akong di lumabas ng bahay...hehe.Paranoid! Bahala na c Lord sa kanila..

Mers

July 28th, 2005, 02:26 PM

Patay na segurado ang nang hold-up sa iyo. Inubos na ng mga vigilantes. Na salvaged na iyon.

If sa Davao nangyari yun, cguro,hehe. But infairness, Davao is a safe place to live in. May vigilantes group ba sa cebu? Cebu death squad (CDS) lol...hehe

Mers

July 28th, 2005, 02:36 PM

Who's Jerry Yan? :dunno:

Jerry Yan, is one of the members of F4- a boy band from Taiwan. They were popular because of the Meteor garden fever... pero actually, di daw cla sikat dun sa Taiwan, sa Pilipinas lng..hehe. Jerry endorses bench, kaya ganun.

KulasKusgan

July 28th, 2005, 06:19 PM

SUre bah..hehe. Yes, ako lng mag isa, ang laki-laki nga ng bag ko, wla ako tagabuhat.
I'm living with my aunt there, sa Talisay city, ang hometown ni Teban at Goliat..heheh :D

Teban & Goliat!!! i used to watch "Si Got Da Wanderpol" when I was a kid.

Nice transformation from "Teban & Goliat" to "F4". :)

dominique

July 29th, 2005, 05:48 AM

San Pedro: A glimpse of Cebu
By Art R. San Pedro

LAST July 11 to 14, 2005, local officials of Bacolor headed by Mayor Buddy Dungca, Vice Mayor Diman Datu, Municipal Councilors Pogi Caballa, Ogie Dizon, Noel Serrano, Amable Bengco, Boy Alfonso, Joy Rivera, Bong Matic, SK president Jaycel C. Galura, ABC president Ric Galban, DILG officers Jackie Pelayo and Rose Camaya, together with this columnist-Municipal Council Secretary visited Cebu on a LAKBAY ARAL.

It was no junket but basically a learning experience. The resilience and political maturity of the Cebuanos is something we in Pampanga can learn a lot from. It has all the basic elements of a progressive and nearly self-reliant province. It is not surprising why Cebu was given the moniker Queen City of the South. With its facilities and disciplined people, I am not surprised why it is the favorite haven for seminars and conventions. Cebu may not have the cozy climate of Baguio, but the totality of its attractions make it a favorite tourist destination.

Arroyo Watch: Sun.Star blog on President Arroyo

In our four (4) day tour in the different places in Cebu, I did not lose sight of the fact that I am a journalist with special interest in observing and writing about the political situation obtaining in the province. It is a complete contrast to Metro Manila. I have seen with my own eyes that GMA is well received and respected in Cebu. The situation presents a sharp contrast to the shouting and anarchy in Metro Manila. The million majority of the Cebuanos gave GMA in the last election is no fluke but real. There was no massive cheating in Cebu. If the province of Cebu was a microcosm of the whole country, there would be no doubt about the victory and legitimacy of GMA as president of the Filipino people.

Self-proclaimed messiahs of the opposition would be ashamed to call for the President's resignation if they feel the situation in Cebu. These lackeys of the opposition and those who have made protesting in the streets as their cottage industry would be taken aback by the fact that they are stopped from shouting for the President's resignation. The Cebuanos, just like the Kapampangans, gave the President a resounding mandate. So resounding is her mandate in Cebu and Pampanga that those who are against the President have absolutely no legal and moral right to impugn the exercise of our sovereignty. No one, not even from President Cory nor Senate President Drilon can impugn and trample our sovereignty.

Cebu is the picture of a house in order. It is a place where the people are pro-active. The policy of its leadership is well received and respected by the people. If you are a tourist you can board a taxi and be not afraid that the taxi driver will abuse you. Name your destination and he will deliver you safely, promptly and unharmed. You can walk the city streets and be comfortable that nobody will slash your pocket.

There are political dynasties headed by the Osmeñas, Garcias, Ramas, Duranos, Cuencos, etc. These politically powerful families also wield a big influence on the business climate. Their political families and their wealth bear a lot on the political and economic profile of the province and city. Yes, they have their vested interests to protect, but when the greater interest of their province and nation is at stake, they set aside these petty differences and act as one. This is the famous solidarity of the Cebuanos. Time and again, they have been put to a test that their unity made them overcome.

No offense meant to the people of Metro Manila, but I think the Cebuanos show more political maturity. They are not easily carried away by passions and instigation. They are capable of discernment. I am not surprised if the ugly face of poverty is not as prevalent in Cebu as in Metro Manila. The Cebuano blood that binds the people makes them easily manageable. The center of leadership wields a strong influence in the lives of the people. I find no obstructionism and rebellion in the fabric of their character.

The anarchy spreading in Metro Manila puts the metropolis in self-destruction. Its social, economic and political problems keep compounding with each passing day. The political leadership is only human. It tends to be sympathetic to those showing harmony and cooperation to its policies and leadership. The political leaders of Cebu are only too good in this department, reading the temperament of the times.

It was our first Lakbay Aral in four years under Mayor Buddy Dungca. We may not have seen everything in Cebu but it has given us the bird's view on how to manage our internal affairs and how we can support the National Government in good or in bad times.

In a brief discourse before Provincial Secretary Annie Pasaylo, my friend, I said "We in Pampanga have come to Cebu to observe how things are in the presidential province."

She got my message!

Peksman

July 29th, 2005, 04:56 PM

MARCO POLO PLAZA HOTEL

Foreign tourist arrivals in Cebu grew by 21 percent from January to May this year, proving the lure of Central Visayas destinations despite the political and economic crisis the country is facing.

Department of Tourism (DOT) 7 Director Aurora Patria Roa said the growth was also experienced even if tourism players in Hong Kong, Phuket in Thailand and Bali in Indonesia introduced cheaper tour packages.

Roa is also happy with the reported reopening of the Cebu Plaza Hotel, which she hopes will answer the room shortage problems in Cebu.

However, the Marco Polo Hotel Group, which will operate Cebu Plaza Hotel and which plans to rename it as Marco Polo Plaza Hotel, has postponed “indefinitely” the scheduled contract signing on July 25.

This was revealed yesterday by Investor Relations Global, the firm doing public relations for Metrobank, whose unit Asia Pacific Management Corp. owns Cebu Plaza.

Roa hopes, though, that the reopening will take place in time for the 19th Philippine Advertising Congress, which Cebu will host this November.

“We’re happy it’s going to reopen. The DOT and the tourism industry players, even the local government of Cebu City and Mayor Tomas Osmeña, are delighted about this,” she said.

Cebu needs an additional 2,000 rooms to cope with increasing tourist arrivals, especially with the entry of chartered direct flights from Incheon, Korea four times a week starting last weekend.

More jobs

Cecille Sa-a, president of the Cebu Travel and Tours Association, said the reopening of Cebu Plaza will not only help the industry and provide more rooms for guests but will also help generate jobs.

When sought for comment, Aissa dela Cruz, former press relations head of Cebu Plaza Hotel, said that if the new management decides to reopen only the high-rise building, they might need a workforce of about 300.

Roa, however, said she is optimistic that tourist arrivals will increase further, which is why she keeps egging hotel owners to put up more rooms.

“I hope the major players will come. (But) with what’s happening in Manila, nag-wait and see sila nga ma-settle na and the issues will be settled,” she said.

Still coming

However, she is glad that the political crisis sparked by allegations of electoral fraud against President Gloria Arroyo is not affecting tourist arrivals in Central Visayas.

Koreans still topped the list, DOT 7 records of visitor arrivals show, reaching a total of 46,818 during the first five months of the year. Last year, arrivals reached only over 38,000.

“Koreans apparently opted to come to Cebu after they had gone to the other countries. Cebu is also so near so it is a preferred destination for weekend trips and even during wintertime,” Roa explained.

Japanese tourists ranked second highest, with a total of 46,579 arrivals during the period. There was a 21 percent increase from last year’s figure of over 38,000.

The number of tourists from the United States, Taiwan and the United Kingdom also grew by two to 10 percent.

There were decreases in the number tourists from Hong Kong, Germany and China, though.

Forumwalker

July 29th, 2005, 05:57 PM

If sa Davao nangyari yun, cguro,hehe. But infairness, Davao is a safe place to live in. May vigilantes group ba sa cebu? Cebu death squad (CDS) lol...hehe

oo.. the toll was 71 or 17. pero i think it was 71 already.. it's been like months na since vigilante style killings occured. at least wala na masyadong fratwars.

KulasKusgan

July 29th, 2005, 08:45 PM

oo.. the toll was 71 or 17. pero i think it was 71 already.. it's been like months na since vigilante style killings occured. at least wala na masyadong fratwars.

wow. i cant believe humahabol na pala sa Davao ang Cebu as to number of vigilante victims.

edifice_complex3

July 29th, 2005, 09:08 PM

International culinary congress to help promote Cebu to tourists

To help promote Cebu as a tourism hub in Asia, the Cebu Visitors and Convention Bureau (CVCB) will convene the first International Culinary Congress (ICCON) 2005 on Sept. 22 to 23 at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.

During a press briefing, ICCON 2005 project director and CVCB trustee Bernadette Jingco said at least 500 participants are expected at the “unprecedented culinary event.”

Expected to join the congress are participants from culinary schools and institutions from the Asia Pacific, students taking courses allied with hospitality management, food service practitioners, and representatives from local and foreign culinary clubs and food industry organizations.

In a statement, CVCB founding chairman Patrick Gregorio said the city government of Cebu and the Department of Tourism are its partners.

The congress aims to teach professionalism in food service. It will also give the message that Cebu is home to many culinary icons and can produce qualified food service professionals.

Jingco said speakers from abroad will ensure that the congress is “highly educational and interactive.”

A Kitchen Party will be a highlight of the congress.

“It will showcase the specialties of ICCON’s partners and show that … Cebu may just be the next culinary hub in Asia,” said Christopher Sagun, project assistant.

ICCON’s partners are Cebu Hilton Resort and Towers, Shangri-la’s Mactan Island Resort, Plantation Bay Resort & Spa, Laguna Garden Restaurants, Creative Cuisine Catering Services, Casino Español de Cebu, Dessert Factory, and the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.

edifice_complex3

July 29th, 2005, 09:09 PM

Metrobank to invest P100M for ‘new’ Plaza
A P100-million air conditioning system and refurbished bedrooms are some of the features Cebuanos can expect when Cebu Plaza Hotel reopens under a new name and management in a few months.

The Marco Polo Plaza Hotel will open either late this year or early
next year and will be managed by the Marco Polo Group of Hotels of Hong Kong.

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña announced yesterday the landmark hotel will undergo extensive renovation and will be one of the best hotels in the city.

“The owners said their budget for the renovation keeps going up and up but they will push through and it’s going to be one of the best hotels in Cebu,” he told a news conference.

Due to business losses, Pathfinder Holdings Philippines Inc. (PHPI) was forced to close Cebu Plaza Hotel in March 2003.

PHPI, which used Cebu Plaza as a collateral for its loan, turned it over to Metrobank in payment for a P900-million debt.

Also yesterday, the Philippine Stock Exchange reported that the board
of directors of First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC), which is the investment banking subsidiary of Metrobank, approved the investment of P175 million, representing a 35 percent equity interest, in Cathay International Resources Corp.

Cathay International owns Cebu Plaza Hotel, FMIC told the PSE.
Last Thursday, Osmeña and Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia were in Manila to represent the local government in the signing of the memorandum of agreement with the Marco Polo group.

Cebu Plaza’s reopening would also translate to more jobs specifically for residents of the city.

“They will hire the best that they can hire. They are even considering hiring those currently working in the hotels,” Osmeña added.

The mayor said the new owners want to have the soft opening later this year but he doubts it can push through considering the amount of work that has to be done.

Aside from the refurbished bedrooms, the hotel will also have bigger swimming pools and its plumbing system will also be replaced.

Much as the owners want to retain the old name and logo of Cebu Plaza, considered to be one of the oldest landmarks in Cebu, Osmeña said they could not do so since they do not own the name.

When the hotel was mortgaged to Metrobank prior to its closure in 2003, the propriety rights and patent of Cebu Plaza were not included in the agreement, the mayor explained.