DOH-7 chief proposes annual urine test for public schools‘move aims to address rising incidence of kidney diseases’
By Fayette C. Ri�en
CEBU CITY, June 19 (PIA) -- With the rising incidence of kidney diseases, the Department of Health (DOH) 7 wants to partner with the Department of Education in requiring public schoolchildren to undergo annual urinalysis examination.
Urinalysis is the simplest tool to detect early kidney dysfunction, DOH 7 Regional Director Asuncion Anden bared.
According to the DOH 7, kidney failure is the 10th leading cause of mortality rate in Central Visayas. In the national level, it is the 9th leading cause of deaths among Filipinos, according to the National Kidney and Transplant Institute.
“Diabetes is the top factor that causes kidney disease followed by hypertension and then glumerulonephritis,” said Anden during a recent Philippine Information Agency Kapihan.
In order to prevent chronic kidney dysfunction, one must prevent diabetes, Anden stressed.
Anden also said that 50 percent of the 9,769 patients diagnosed with primary renal disease in 2010 were diabetic and that only 514 patients underwent regular dialysis treatment due to expensive costs.
The DOH-7 chief said one causative factor of diabetes is obesity and that most children today prefer eating fast foods, which are quite unhealthy.
“We want to educate and promote kidney care starting with the young," she said. Urinalysis test can help in early detection of the disease, and costs only P100, Anden added.
But with over 300,000 public schoolchildren in Central Visayas, this would involve bigger funding allocation for the free urine test.
“This is just my proposal which I (want to elevate) to our Central Office,” said Anden.
“If the SIN Tax Bill becomes a law, big revenues could be generated from it through taxes. In fact, for the first year alone, it is said that government stands to earn P40 billion which could then be spent for more worthy programs and projects,” stressed Anden, adding that with more revenues, funding allocation for her proposal would no longer be a problem. (FCR/PIA 7-Cebu)
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Japanese investors eye PH for franchise investments
By Fayette C. Riñen
CEBU CITY, June 19 (PIA) -- A group of Japanese investors is eyeing the Philippines for possible business investments including franchising amid the financial crisis in the United States and Europe.
Bing Sibal-Limjoco, vice chairman of the Philippine Franchise Association (PFA) said the Japanese businessmen have confirmed their attendance to the "Franchise Asia Philippines 2012 International Conference" on July 25 to 29 at the SMX Convention Center in Manila.
The Franchise Asia Philippines (FAP) International Expo, the biggest franchise event in Asia and initiated by the PFA, will gather franchisors and potential investors in the field of franchising not only from within the country but from across the globe, Limjoco further said.
Last year, Limjoco spearheaded the Philippine hosting of the FAP Expo 2011, which brought into the country notable names of the international franchising community as well as the world’s top franchise brands, which reaffirmed the Philippines’ position as among the frontrunners in global franchising.
Limjoco said around 100,000 foreign delegates from over 30 countries and more than 50,000 trade visitors successfully participated and attended last year’s FAP International Expo.
“This year, we hope to gather more international delegates and more trade visitors as the business of franchising has now become a lucrative investment,” she added.
One of the goals of the PFA is for a large-scale expansion of franchising and for the sector to become the top dollar earner through the export of top Philippine franchise brands, bared Limjoco.
“We are looking for Cebu brands to be in the global franchising market and not just Island Souvenirs,” disclosed the PFA official.
Island Souvenirs is a homegrown Cebu brand that ventures into shirts, which now have outlets in countries abroad.
The opening of the PFA-Cebu Office has witnessed the membership of 17 companies mostly in the food business. There are, however, Cebu establishments that are already PFA members as they registered in Manila such as Julie's Bakeshop. (PIA-Cebu)
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Phl franchise sector provides over 1M jobs
By Fayette C. Riñen
CEBU CITY, June 19 (PIA) -- Over one million Filipinos have gained employment from the franchising sector, as the Philippine Franchise Association (PFA) aggressively pushed for the expansion of the industry to generate more jobs.
PFA President Elizabeth Pardo-Orbeta bared that as of last year, 1.1 million Filipinos have been employed nationwide by the franchise sector largely composed of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
In 2000, the number of employed in the franchise sector was recorded at 274,482, she said.
“In a span of 11 years, the franchise sector has given 825,518 additional jobs to Filipinos,” disclosed Orbeta.
The volume of franchises in 2000 was at 30,498, which grew to 125,000 in 2011 while the number of franchisors 12 years ago was only at 598, which slightly doubled last year at 1,300.
“The turnover of sales in US dollars rose by more than 200 percent from $3 billion in 2000 to $11 billion last year,” revealed Orbeta.
“This just goes to show how lucrative the business of franchising has become adding that “franchising has become a preferred investment option,” said Orbeta.
Orbeta said the franchising sector is a partner in jobs creation contributing much to the Philippine economy.
The PFA president cited major popular fast food chains Jollibee and Max Fried Chicken, as well as Mr. Quickie, which are PFA member-establishments. “Jollibee has over 1,500 outlets nationwide employing an average of 55 employees per outlet while Max has more than 110 branches with an average of 28 employees and Mr. Quickie on the other hand, has 190 outlets with a minimum of three workers. These franchise-companies alone employ almost a million workers,” bared Orbeta.
Orbeta also said that the volume of jobs created by the franchise sector does not include the number of indirect employment given such as indirect suppliers to the franchise-companies.
The business of franchising has a very positive growth, as PFA officials stressed that with the growth of the Philippine economy, this is the time to take advantage and invest in the franchise business to provide more jobs to Filipinos.
Just last week, PFA officials were in Cebu to announce the opening of their Cebu Office as part of their aggressive campaign to promote the business of franchising here and abroad. (PIA-Cebu)