Amazon.com opens first customer service office in Philippines

MANILA - Amazon.com said Tuesday it launched its first customer service office in the Philippines, creating 300 new jobs and up to 1,000 more by year-end at its base in Cebu City.

The world's largest online retailer is betting on customer service in the Philippines as government and industry officials prepared to shift over 1 million BPO workers to higher skilled roles that will not be replaced by artificial intelligence.

The site will provide support for Amazon customers in North America and the United Kingdom. It employs customer service associates, team managers and group managers, the internet giant said in a statement.

"We are excited to be investing in Cebu and working with such talented people, especially since Filipinos are known to bring high levels of experience and passion to their work,” said Amazon vice president for Worldwide Customer Service Tom Weiland.

The Philippines has hosted Amazon Web Services since 2016 and the country is "integral" to the growth of the cloud platform in Southeast Asia, the company said.

The company said job opportunities for its customer service operations in Cebu are posted on its website.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Hunt on for Cebu road rage suspect, lookout order issued

The primary suspect in a Cebu City shooting incident has been placed on immigration lookout bulletin, a day after he shot a nurse because of a traffic altercation.

Immigration authorities placed David Lim, son of a famous businessman in Cebu City, under its lookout list after shooting 33-year-old Ephraem Nunal Montalbo. The incident was caught on video.

Red Marinas, head of Immigration Port Operations Division, said all ports of exit have been alerted to implement the lookout bulletin order (LBO). The LBO will also be implemented in sea ports with international routes or destinations.

A person subject to an LBO will be barred from leaving the county until authorities concerned are notified.

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña has offered a P100,000 reward for any information that would show Lim's whereabouts.

Osmeña, quoting the Bureau of Immigration, said Lim's passport "has not been used in the past 48 hours."

"For his own safety, I highly encourage Mr. Lim to give up. Unless he wants to spend the rest of his life hiding in Sulu, he has no future here. If he is in Cebu, we will find him," said Osmeña.

"You can help too. If you have any reliable info on the whereabouts of him or Tamae Takahashi, let Kons. Tumulak know at 0917 722 6221. We'll make it worth your effort," he added.

-- With reports from Raoul Esperas

source: news.abs-cbn.com

How Obamacare helps boost BPO employment in PH

MANILA – More and more Filipino nurses are finding jobs in Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs) firms following the US Supreme Court verdict upholding Obamacare, or the Affordable Care Act.

According to Pasig City Representative Roman Romulo, chairman of the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education, the Philippine units of Dublin-based Accenture plc and New York-based EXL Service Holdings Inc. have increased their hiring of Filipino nurses, mainly for deployment to their global delivery centers in Cebu City.

"Both firms are signing up Filipino nurses with US licenses as well as those who have passed the NCLEX but still without US licenses," said Romulo.

Romulo said both firms provide a wide range of outsourced business support services to American health insurers. Accenture has 16 delivery centers in the Philippines, while EXL has three.

"There's no question Obamacare is driving US health insurers to transfer additional contact center, insurance claims processing, clinical support analysis, medical coding, and other non-core, business support jobs to the Philippines, either through independent BPO providers, or through in-house back offices,'' Romulo said.

Meanwhile, Romulo said UnitedHealth Group Inc. is also enlisting Filipino nurses and other fresh college graduates for training and employment opportunities as transition managers, assistant managers, team leaders, specialists handling health care accounts, customer service representatives and medical coders, whether certified or not.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Kris Aquino's food finds: 'Super duper sarap' Cebu lechon

"Super duper duper sarap." These are the words that Kris Aquino used to describe the lechon sold at a restaurant in Cebu City.

On Monday's episode of "Kris TV," Aquino and her celebrity co-hosts, Erich Gonzales and Daniel Matsunaga, visited Rico's Lechon at Acacia Street in Cebu City.

Aquino said she has been convincing the owner of Rico's to bring the restaurant to Manila.

Watch the video to see Aquino, Gonzales and Matsunaga eat lechon from Rico's.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Good-looking Cebu native draws shrieks on 'Voice PH'

MANILA - A singer from Cebu City was an instant hit among the studio audience and netizens who were tuned in to the episode of "The Voice of the Philippines," which aired Saturday.

Jose Manuel Cubil stole the hearts of many with his good looks, launching his name shortly after his performance to among the top local trends on the microblogging site Twitter.

Even coach Lea Salonga couldn't help but whisper to her fellow coaches: "Ang gwapo."

But don't mistake him for just a pretty face, Cubil managed to turn the chair of coach apl.de.ap with the first two notes of his audition piece -- Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody."

"You got me on the first two notes. It wasn't all perfect but that's what I'm looking for -- imperfections -- so that I can challenge myself to make it perfect," the Black Eyed Peas member said.

"Maganda 'yung boses mo. Natunugan ko na nga na gwapo ka," quipped coach Sarah Geronimo. "Ako baka may hinahanap lang ako, kung ano lang 'yung tatama sa puso ko. Pero nandoon naman na," she explained of her decision not to turn her chair for Cubil.

The former "Pilipinas Got Talent" contestant eventually chose to be part of the team of Lea Salonga, who also turned her chair for Cubil. The Broadway star tried to convince Geronimo to do the same, whispering, "Sabi ko sa iyo, gwapo eh."

Salonga explained that she loved Cubil's stripped down version of the song, but also noted that there is much room for improvement.

In an attempt to woo Cubil towards her team, she promised to help the singer find the 'perfect' genre for him.

"We can allow for exploration kung saan talaga tatama 'yung boses mo, kung saan talaga nabubuhay 'yung puso mo. Pero maganda kang kumanta." she said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Actual collapse of church belfry

A Bayan Patroller films the collapse of the belfry of the Basilica Minore de Santo Nino in Cebu City during the magnitude 7.2 earthquake on Tuesday.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

2 people shot, killed in Philippine court

A Canadian man fired his gun in a Philippine courtroom Tuesday, killing two people and wounding another before being shot fatally, authorities said.

It was not clear whether the man turned the gun on himself after the shootings or was shot by police in Cebu City, capital of Cebu province.

ABS-CBNnews.com reported the man killed two people and wounded an assistant prosecutor before turning the gun on himself. Another report said he was shot by a responding policeman.

The ABS-CBN said the attacker fired his weapon inside the Marcelo Fernan Hall of Justice, killing two people, identified as Rene Rafols, a pediatrician, and his lawyer Jovian Atias, who died at the scene.

Later the gunman wounded assistant city prosecutor before turning the weapon on himself, the report said. The prosecutor was reported in critical condition at a hospital.

The Philippine Star reported the 65-year-old gunman had been accused of malicious mischief and was at the court for a hearing. But the reason for his sudden outburst was not known immediately.

The Star said initial reports indicated that while the hearing was on, the gunman pulled out a firearm and shot the complainant, Rafols, and his lawyer Atias.

The Star said a responding police officer later shot the attacker. It quoted other reports as saying the assailant also was battling a deportation case.

The report said it was not clear how he managed to bring a gun inside the court.

source: upi.com

Nearly 1M attend Calungsod thanksgiving Mass

MANILA, Philippines – A sea of people estimated to be at least 800,000 are attending the thanksgiving Mass in Cebu City for newly-canonized Filipino Saint Pedro Calungsod on Friday.

Some 1,500 police and military personnel have been deployed to secure the shrine built for Calungsod.

President Benigno Aquino and Vice President Jejomar Binay are expected to join the celebration.

Catholic bishops and ranking representatives from the Vatican are also attending the mass scheduled this afternoon.

Parishes across Cebu are holding processions in honor of Pedro Calungsod.

Calungsod was canonized in October by Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican.

He is the 2nd Filipino saint after San Lorenzo Ruiz. -- ANC

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Dengue cases in Central Visayas up 64.6%

CEBU CITY, Philippines – The number of dengue cases in Central Visayas rose to 4,019 from January to July 7 this year, up 64.6 percent from 2,441 recorded during the same period last year, the Department of Health (DOH) in Region 7 said.

Cebu City accounted for nearly half of the cases and the most number of deaths in the region.

In a report by the Regional Epidemiological Surveillance Unit (RESU), based on the records of government hospitals and other units, the region tallied 25 deaths due to dengue from Jan. 1 to July 7, 2012, compared with 16 during the same period last year.

The patients were as young as one-month old and as old as 87 years. Most of the patients were below six years old.

Dengue is caused by a virus transmitted by carrier mosquitoes that breed in clean, stagnant water.

Patients afflicted with dengue show symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, body and joint pains, nausea, vomiting, and rashes.

The RESU noted that the most number of cases were from Cebu City with a total of 1,858 cases and 11 deaths, or 45.5 percent of the total number of dengue cases in the region.

Lapu-Lapu City had three deaths, the second highest in the region, and 167 patients.

Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental province had the second highest number of cases with 247 and one death, while Minglanilla town in Cebu xame third with 198 cases and one death.

The other towns and cities in the top 10 list are Talisay City, Liloan town, Mandaue City, Toledo City and Consolacion town in Cebu, as well as Bayawan City in Negros Oriental.

Health officials, through its anti-dengue campaign advocacy, urged the public to get rid of breeding places for mosquitoes that include unused flower vases, discarded tires and water dispensers, among others.

source: interaksyon.com

Cebu City fire leaves 2,000 people homeless

CEBU CITY, Philippines -– Some 2,000 people were rendered homeless in a fire that hit a thickly-populated area in General Genes St. in Barangay Suba, Cebu City on Friday morning, the biggest so far during the month observed as Fire Prevention Month.

Fire officials said at least three persons were injured while scrambling to safety.

Some individuals sustained minor burn injuries, while an elderly resident reportedly suffered from a heart attack.

Cebu City Fire Marshal Aderson Comar said at least 153 houses, mostly made of light materials, were gutted, while four others were damaged in the closely packed area, causing damage initially placed at P1.1 million.

Comar said they received the alarm at 7:16 a.m. and declared the flames under control at 8:40 a.m. Mopping-up operations continued until Friday afternoon.

The blaze, which allegedly started inside a house used for pot sessions, was raised to a Task Force Alpha alarm.

Investigators still have to confirm reports that the fire began when an unattended lamp was knocked over by a child.

Narrow alleyways, live wires, and the rush of moving residents made it hard for firefighters to do their jobs.

Comar also raised as among their problems a broken-down fire truck placed in nearby San Nicholas Police Station.

“The lack of equipment is an old issue. We can do nothing about it. Our solution is to maximize what we have,” Comar said.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said he wants the three-meter easement from the creek in Barangay Suba to be restored and the entire area re-blocked, so fire trucks and other large vehicles won’t find it hard to enter the community when needed.

“But it doesn’t mean they will be dislocated since most of them belonged into the housing project. However, I am urging them to follow our orders for everyone’s sake,” he said in Cebuano.

Rep. Tomas Osmeña (Cebu City, South District) visited the area Friday and promised to hand cash assistance of at least P10,000 each to families whose houses were destroyed.

The Pasil Fish Port and the barangay’s sports complex were used as temporary shelter for the survivors, said Suba Barangay Captain Rogelio Resurreccion.

A state of calamity was declared Friday for the swift release of funds that will serve as aid to the fire victims.

The city government’s Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS) monitored and distributed packed breakfast, lunch and supper to the affected families on Friday.

source: interaksyon.com

BPO players set UK roadshow

CEBU CITY, Cebu, Philippines – To maintain Cebu’s strong competitive advantage in the global business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, industry players here are set to conduct a roadshow in the United Kingdom (UK) to present Cebu as an investment destination.

Joel Mari Yu, managing director of the Cebu Investment and Promotions Center bared they will be partnering with the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) for the roadshow scheduled mid-2012.

“It is only logical to target the UK for its potential investors because it is the only English-speaking country in the Eurozone,” Yu said.

According to Yu, BPO stakeholders here are now tapping other markets apart from the United States following the submission of a bill pending in the US Congress that seeks to discourage US-based companies from outsourcing.

US House Bill 3596 or the Call Center and Consumers Protection Bill discourages outsourcing by making those that outsource ineligible for federal grants and loans for five years.

The said Bill states that companies must be required to disclose physical location of agents in customer service and allows the option to be transferred to a local agent. Companies failing to report overseas locations risk paying a penalty of $10,000 a day.

“But there is a bigger untapped market out there apart from the US and the UK is an example of that. It will not be difficult to sell Cebu to UK investors because of our track record in the global BPO industry,” Yu pointed out.

Cebu City has been in Tholons’ top 10 list of outsourcing destination, staying in the ninth spot as an emerged destination for global outsourcing for two years in a row.

Tholons is a strategic advisory firm for global outsourcing and investments.

Yu said part of their strategy to entice more UK companies to outsource here is by naming the big names in the IT industry that have set up their offices in Cebu.
“Nothing sells better than being able to identify who is already here,” he added.

source: mb.com.ph