Water challenges flow from lack of strict law implementation
By Nickky Faustine P. de Guzman
THE Philippines has 30 water-related government agencies, and yet, around eight million Filipinos still do not have access to potable water.
The most interesting late-night room service around the world
By Chadner Navarro
WE’VE ALL BEEN THERE: bleary-eyed from a long flight that lands after dark, staring down an even-more-exhausting work trip ahead.
Your Weekend Guide (June 23, 2016)
Design talk
“CRAFTING IDENTITITES: Conversations on Design and Filipino Crafts” will be held on June 24, 3 p.m., at W17, La Fuerza Compound, Chino Roces Ave., Makati City. The event’s speakers are Patricia Ma. Araneta and Ino Manalo, with Rita Nazareno, Al Valenciano, and Myra Bituin as resource persons. The event is part of Luis Ma. Araneta 100, a series of talks and exhibits celebrating 100 years of Luis Ma. Araneta.
Guided Tour
AS part of the ongoing open-air exhibit The Prado Museum in Intramuros at Plaza Roma, there will be a guided tour “An Architect at The Prado Museum” on June 24, 5 p.m., with architect William Ti, Jr. The exhibit shows life-size reproductions of masterpieces from The Prado Museum in Madrid and will be on view in Intramuros until September. Admission to this guided tour is free on an RSVP basis at this e-mail: admin@cervantes.es. For more information, call 526-1482 or visit http://manila.cervantes.es or www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila.
OPM concert
#THROWBACK OPM Greatest Hits Live!, a concert featuring Joey Albert and The Company will be held on June 24, 8 p.m., at the Music Museum, Greenhills Shopping Center, San Juan City. Tickets range in price from P824 to P2,575 and are available through TicketWorld.
Singing youth
UNLIMITED VOICES III Concert, featuring young singers Darren Espanto, Elha Nympha, and Jolianne Salvado, with the special participation of the Children’s Paradise Montessori Choir, will be held on June 23, 8 p.m., at the IC3 Convention Center, Cardinal Rosales Ave., Cebu City. Tickets range in price from P522 to P1,881 and are available through TicketWorld.
Nico Santos is proud and out of the box
By Angela Dawson Front Row Features
TELEVISION
Superstore
Wednesdays, 8:30 p.m.
Sony Channel
Transformers: The Last Knight
THE LATEST film in the long-running Transformers franchise, this time, in the absence of Optimus Prime, humans are at war with the Transformers. It is up to Cade Yeager, Bumblebee, an astronomer, and an Oxford University professor to save the world. Directed by Michael Bay, the film stars Mark Wahlberg, Anthony Hopkins, Josh Duhamel, and Laura Haddock. The critics on review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a measly 17%, with the Critics Consensus calling the film “Cacophonous, thinly plotted, and boasting state-of-the-art special effects, The Last Knight is pretty much what you’d expect from the fifth installment of the Transformers franchise.”
MTRCB Rating: PG
Which cities are costliest for expatriates?
THE PHILIPPINE electronics industry is holding on to an export growth target of about six percent this year as the negative factors that weighed on sales in 2016 have dissipated and demand from foreign markets has improved. Read the full story.
Pro tips from a job search site to up your resumé game
The first step to getting rich is having a stable source of income, and for most of us that means getting a job. Fortunately the internet is there to make things easier. Several online platforms have made it easier to connect job seekers with employers, and one of them is Kalibrr.
It might not be as big as its competitors, nor does it advertise jobs outside beyond Philippines, but those interested in working for start‑ups or government might find it the good place to start. Job seekers who dislike being bombarded by the same five or so job recommendations from the same BPO company every time they try to search for their dream job might also find this platform refreshing.
“We’re a start‑up, that’s why we have a sweet spot for them,” Kalibrr customer success manager Faye Castillo told SparkUp during a recruiter training session at their cozy Makati office on May 23.
While SparkUp did not unearth the secrets to their algorithm—which automatically sorts through the data posted by both job seeker and job poster in order to connect them with each other—we did find out about what you have to do to get companies to notice you.

While the website allows you to upload a file of your resumé, whether it’s in text or pdf format, its contents will not be analyzed by Kalibrr’s algorithm. That’s why it’s best to have everything written on your job seeker profile along with your uploaded resumé. Among the filters available to recruiters when browsing through the myriad of resumés in the site are skills, job level, work experience, and educational attainment.
“If you uploaded a resumé as a pdf, we won’t be able to search that on your Kalibrr profile,” explained Ms. Castillo. “That’s why we encourage all job seekers to post everything on their resumé on their profile.”

Kalibrr’s most special feature is its built‑in online assessment tests (because tests don’t end after you graduate). Standardized tests are often a part of the assessment process in job applications and Kalibrr has online tests on different skills such as mastery of the English language and arithmetic on the site, which could give you the extra edge, proving that you are indeed as skilled as you say on your resumé.
“Kalibrr has built in assessments so when someone says in their profile that they have amazing communication skills or very good at this or that, you can take an assessment so that you can prove even before you go to the interview that you actually have that skill,” Ms. Castillo said. “At the same time, recruiters can filter people according to their scores so they can get the cream of the crop.”

There are times when you get points for showing up, and this is one of them. Recruiters want to know that you’re on the market for a new job because why invite to an interview someone who isn’t interested? For most job search sites, activity is as easy as logging in every once in a while.

Sometimes job postings are too good to be true. Sometimes job postings are too vague to seem real. That’s why it’s important to research the company where you want to apply. Most platforms would have measures to prevent phony businesses from posting job ads, but it’s still important to practice due diligence when it comes to whom you plan to send your personal data.
School’s out, or it’s just about to start depending on your academic calendar. But whether you’re a fresh grad or a not‑so‑fresh grad, we wish you luck in finding the job that’s right for you.
Why SMEs remain chill despite tensions all over the globe
With bullets flying in the southern part of the Philippines and in other parts of the globe, are owners of small and medium enterprises (SMEs)—whose money is bound to suffer if worse comes to worst—supposed to be scared?
No, says representatives of the Association of the Filipino Franchisers Inc. (AFFI) during the Pandesal Forum last June 13 at Kamuning Bakery Cafe in Quezon City.
“I think the economy of the Philippines will still grow because there is a lot of market outside, especially now that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has become a very powerful tool for us. There is a very big market outside the Philippines and there are millions of population outside that we can still serve,” said Teresita Lardizabal Ngan Tian, member of AFFI’s board of advisers and President of Lots’ A Pizza.
Ms. Ngan Tian added that positivity is key for business leaders to continuously flourish in the market.
“As entrepreneurs, we always have to be positive. Everything has to be positive no matter what challenges [we face]. That power in us of being positive about things gives us more strength [as we] encounter more challenges in the future and in whatever we do in our business,” she added.
Lots’ A Pizza, for example, eyes to expand its network of more than 100 franchises nationwide this year, focusing on provinces. “With expansion we create a better economy for the Philippines.”
Josephine Co See, AFFI’s vice‑president and President of World of Nuts Corporation, echoes the same sentiment.
“We’re looking forward to a growing Philippine economy,” she said. “We know that there is tension in Mindanao, but we should remain positive as entrepreneurs. We should not stop just because there are tensions in other regions.”
Micro, small, and medium enterprises account for 99.5% of establishments in the Philippines, according to a Department of Trade and Industry statistic . They will continue to contribute not only in the employment aspect, but also in the country’s financial gains with their government-mandated contributions, Ms. See added.
According to her, World of Nuts Corporation is adding nine to its currently 32 branches nationwide this year.
Ricardo Cuna, one of AFFI’s founders and the President of Milkin Corp‑Fiorgelato, said the growing number of AFFI’s member enterprises is a manifestation of the country’s continuously growing SME sector.
“SME’s are the foundation of the Philippine economy. Without the franchise sector, Philippine economy will not be that progressive,” Mr. Cuna said.
For Jerry Ilao, President of Ink All‑You‑Can, business leaders should always look for opportunities amid threats in the country’s business landscape.
“Whatever happens in 2017 and 2018, we should find opportunities and we should always thrive to grow our businesses,” Mr. Ilaw said. “Sure there will be challenges along the way, but that’s what being an entrepreneur is about. Entrepreneurship is being able to stand against all challenges and being able to conquer them.”



