DOE and Philippine Companies Win ASEAN Energy Awards

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Department of Energy (DOE) Undersecretary Loreta G. Ayson was awarded in the recently held ASEAN Energy Awards 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for her valuable contributions in forwarding energy cooperation as Senior Official on Energy (SOE) leader of the Philippines.

Usec. Ayson was awarded a trophy for Excellence in Energy Management along with eight other ASEAN leaders from different countries during the Awards Night last October 7 as part of the Joint Gala Dinner of the 33rd ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting and the ASEAN Energy Business Forum 2015.

The ASEAN Energy Awards, which started in 2000, is Southeast Asia’s prestigious annual awards program that recognizes outstanding work for excellence, creativity, practicality and dedication to a cause in the field of energy.

Usec. Ayson has been with the DOE since 1979 and has served in various capacities until she was appointed as Undersecretary in 2008. She has handled the DOE’s programs on energy efficiency and conservation, alternative fuels, energy research testing and laboratory, information technology management, as well as administration, legal and finance, including the supervision of the DOE Field Offices. She also served as Chairperson of the Policy Advisory Board of the Philippine Efficient Lighting Market Transformation Project and the Project Director of the Philippine Energy Efficiency Project (PEEP). Currently, she handles the Energy Policy and Planning Bureau and the Gender and Development (GAD) Focal Point System.

Emerging Trends In PH Real Estate To Be Discussed In Upcoming Summit

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The rise of millennial travelers, Filipinos’ increasing spending power, and aggressive expansion of commercial property developers in cities outside Metro Manila -- these are just some of the key trends that will discussed during the upcoming 4th Asia Pacific Real Estate Investment Summit (APREIS), to be held at Solaire Resort & Casino on October 22.

Moderating the discussion on these emerging trends on Philippine real estate is Jacqueline van den Ende, managing director of global property website Lamudi Philippines (www.lamudi.com.ph).

The discussion’s panelists include key people from different sector of the real estate industry. They include Al Legaspi, chief operating officer of Ayala Land Hotels and Resorts, who will share insights on the opportunities and challenges facing the country’s hospitality sector; Henry Co of First Philippine Industrial Park who will discuss industrial real estate; Lars Wittig of Regus Philippines and Michael McCullough KMC MAG Group, who will both tackle office real estate; Joseph Ramil Lombos, chief financial officer of DMCI Homes, to discuss the residential sector; and Lourdes Alano of Robinsons Land and Shaun Kwan of Trakomatic, to share their insights on the key trends in retail.

Among the burning issues to be tackled on during the discussion is how the Philippines can compete with established its Southeast Asian neighbors in terms of attracting foreign visitors, how the country can sustain buoyant consumption to maintain retail boom, and the opportunities for investors in the office sector.

CHED Welcomes Passage of UniFAST Law

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The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) welcomes the passage of the Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST) through Republic Act No. 106871 which was signed on October 15 by President Benigno S. Aquino III. The Commission hails it as a Landmark Social Legislation of the Administration benefiting Filipino youth.

Designed to unify all modalities of publicly-funded Student Financial Assistance Programs (StuFAPs)—Scholarships, Grants-in-Aid and Student Loans—for Tertiary Education, the UniFAST rationalizes the allocation, utilization and client-targeting of government resources and improves access to quality higher and technical education for those who need it. It shall also serve as the ultimate national human resource development mechanism and strategy that will direct beneficiaries to priority courses needed for economic growth and development. Further, it insulates any StuFAPs modality from political labeling or partisan affiliation.

The idea of a harmonized financial assistance program emerged more than five years ago as a proposal of the NEDA-Social Development Committee, but the real work took place in 2013 after a comprehensive study was conducted by the Philippine Institute of Development Studies. CHED’s current Higher Education Reform Agenda, which deemed UniFAST a priority strategy for access, gave the necessary impetus. The Commission provided continuous technical assistance to both the Lower and Upper Houses of Congress in the formulation and eventual enactment of the Law.

The UniFAST will be governed by a Board composed of the heads of CHED, DOST and TESDA as co-chairs, with the head of DepEd and representatives from DOLE, NEDA and NYC as members. The Board, with the support of a technical secretariat, will ensure program sustainability and safeguard student welfare. It will see to it that standard-setting, client- targeting, fund allocation and prioritization are based on supply/demand situations, prices and inflationary factors, the government human resources development plan and current trends in internationally-shared human resources.

Issued this 21st day of October 2015 at the Higher Education Center Building, C.P. Garcia Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City.

(signed)
Patricia B. Licuanan, Ph.D.
Chairperson