The much-hyped alternative to gasoline-powered transportation has been rolled out in Makati City: Electric jeepneys run along de la Rosa Street on Tuesday, the first day of their regular operation. One of the first to ride the electric jeepneys is Mayor Jejomar Binay. -- Nonie Reyes

E-jeepneys make maiden commercial run in Makati

THE electric-powered jeepneys, or e-jeepneys, finally hit the streets of Makati City, the country’s business capital, following its inaugural commercial run Tuesday morning.

Bizmen fret over spot-zoning

SPOT-ZONING by towns and cities is a great worry for investors, especially now that the Supreme Court had affirmed local government units’ authority to establish them.

This is the message of the Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines, and its chairman, Miguel Varela, has urged the Supreme Court to reconsider its recent decision.

PLDT denies Salim group selling to Li

INDONESIAN businessman Anthony Salim is reportedly in talks with Hutchison Whampoa for the sale of First Pacific’s stake in Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), with the ballpark figure put by sources at US$4 billion.

Exclusive: Saving Petron from foreign control 

PETRON Corp., the only Filipino-owned oil retailer and refiner, can still be saved from the control of foreign groups if businessmen Lucio Tan and Henry Sy Sr., along with other Filipino small stockholders, will not bite into the buy offer of SEA Refinery Holdings B.V., a company registered in the Netherlands.

DFA seen losing big take from visa fees

THE aggressive thrust of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to grant various versions of visas upon arrival with a view to encouraging “potential investors” has raised sticky legal, security and revenue issues, especially concerning other agencies such as the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), whose consular posts are most affected.

Typhoon Frank’s damage now at P10B

DAMAGE inflicted by Typhoon Frank has now reached P10 billion, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) reported on Tuesday.

SLI to resume cargo operations soon

TO prevent cargo-traffic congestion in major Philippine ports, President Arroyo has tasked Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza to hammer out a mutually acceptable arrangement with Sulpicio Lines Inc. (SLI) so the latter could resume cargo operations this week, Malacañang said on Tuesday.

‘Speed up IRA release to calamity areas’

A SENATE leader asked Malacañang to speed up the release of the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) to provinces severely hit by Typhoon Frank so that affected local government units (LGUs) can tap the much-needed funds for emergency relief to disaster victims.

NAT rates improving

EDUCATION Secretary Jesli Lapus on Tuesday attributed the remarkable improvement in the 2008 National Achievement Test (NAT) rates of Grade 6 pupils to the focused policy of the department and the bigger budget last year. Education got the largest share of the national budget with a P149-billion allocation, up from last year’s P137 billion.

Asia registers dramatic rise in colon cancer

ASIANS are more prone to colorectal cancer, popularly known as colon cancer, a study conducted by a team of experts in the field of internal medicine disclosed.

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Pitching jumbo Sean Lee, Airbus head of Regional Communications-Asia, briefs the media on Airbus’s background as the leading supplier of civil airliners to the Philippines, accounting for 75 percent of all passenger aircraft in the country today. Lee, who is in town for a brief visit, said Airbus has offered its A380—described as the most advanced, spacious and eco-efficient airliner in service today—to Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific. Story on page B1. Nonie Reyes