Beware: Online libel included in Cybercrime Law

MANILA, Philippines — President Benigno Aquino III has recently signed the cybercrime bill into law, which includes provisions penalizing libel committed online, InterAksyon.com learned Friday.

In a text message, Taguig Rep. Sigfrido Tinga confirmed thatAquino has indeed signed the bill into law on Wednesday. Tinga is the chairman of the House committee on ICT, and one of the proponents of the bill in the lower house.

No official copy of the new law that was actually signed by the President is available as of press time.

Taiwan, China oppose Philippine plan to rename South China Sea

MANILA – China and Taiwan opposed the Philippine plan to rename South China Sea as West Philippine Sea.

Late Thursday, Hong Lei, spokesman of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said South China Sea "has been for a long time a geographic name universally recognized by the international community, and is widely accepted by countries all over the world and by international
organizations such as the United Nations."

Job: Nursing grads willing to work in healthcare outsourcing

MANILA - The local healthcare information management outsourcing sector expects its workforce to almost double this year as it continues to attract unemployed nurses.

According to the Healthcare Information Management Outsourcing Association of the Philippines, the number of nurses hired by its member-firms would surge to 43,000 by yearend from 24,700 last year.

PAL proposes new Manila international airport

MANILA - Philippine Airlines will propose to government the establishment of a new international airport in Manila, the flag carrier's president said on Thursday.

On the sidelines of PAL's stockholders' meeting, Ramon S. Ang said the new airport will have four runways and will span 2,000 hectares.

He said the company is in talks with a Korean contractor for the project, and aims to complete construction in 3 years.

Chinese, not Pinoys, eroding India's BPO leadership, says consulting firm

MANILA - China, and not the Philippines, is eroding India's dominance in the business process outsourcing space, according to a Canada-based IT consulting firm.
“The outsourcing market is positioned to continue to thrive and grow, but the relative positions of the respective players are changing. If current trends continue, China is on target to overtake India as the dominant BPO player, potentially within the next two to three years,” said XMG Global in its mid-year report on the outsourcing industry.
The consulting firm said China has exhibited the fastest growth among the top three outsourcing destinations, expanding 43.5 percent and 63.6 percent in the last two years.

Online Shopping Tax: Will e-invoicing be a boost or bane to e-preneurs?

With the emergence of e-invoicing, online traders are expressing mixed reactions to the move of Bureau of Investigation (BIR) of taxing online entrepreneurs.

E-preneurs favoring the move explain that it will help keep online purchasing more secure. “The e-invoice system will filter the brands that sell online, meaning legitimate purchases only,” says Kato Chua Ednacot of moonshinegarb.multiply.com.

Starting September 1, 2012: BDO will impose P2 fee for every depositor's ATM withdrawal

Starting September 1, it will cost a BDO depositor P2 every time he/she withdraws his/her own money from any BDO terminal.
The new fee advisory was being flashed on the bank's 1,596 ATM-network as each terminal dispensed wads of cash for the duration of the four-day weekend.