The Innovators - Planters Development Bank

FEATURE 

Tilah Seed Center reaps success 

SME FOCUS 

Ride the Technology S-Curve 

Entrepreneurial Judo 

Cash or Crown 

TECH REVIEW 

A primer on mobile 

broadband and its 

benefits to your business 

A PLANTERSBANK PUBLICATION FOR ENTREPRENEURS VOL. 12 • ISSUE 02 • APRIL 2013 

The Innovators 

Using technology as a tool for tremendous growth 

Father and daughter 

Angelo and Gaile Balili of 

Questronix Corporation

Toward New Pursuits 

The word technology is way too often associated with high 

technology—computers, information systems, and digital 

devices and gadgets. But technology is not just about 

gadgetry. Rather, it is all about the application of scientific 

knowledge to real world challenges, and about finding 

new and better ways of doing things. And since SMEs in 

particular need every bit of competitive advantage that 

they can get, building a culture of technological innovation 

is something that should be encouraged. 

We’ve put together an issue that hopes to shed more 

light into the application of technology, starting with our 

popular SME Focus articles. We first explain the nature 

of technology by way of the Technology S-Curve (don’t 

worry, it’s easy reading!). We also show you how to take 

advantage of your competitors’ complacency through 

something called Entrepreneurial Judo. Plus, we look at the 

interesting case of what to do when your business deals 

with an old technology that is being killed by a newer, 

cheaper one. 

Our cover stories also touch on the application of 

technology. We feature Questronix, a business that rode 

the information technology wave to great heights. But 

again, high technology is not the only kind of technology, 

so we also present the story of TILAH Seed Center, which 

has embraced agri technologies to provide farmers with a 

better quality of life. 

There’s much more in this issue of SME Magazine. As 

always, we hope that you enjoy it and, more importantly, 

learn something from it that can help you with your 

enterprise, whatever its size. 

Ambassador Jesus P. Tambunting 

Chairman and CEO 

Planters Development Bank 

SME | 1

SME 

Staff Box | Contents 

PUBLISHER 

Planters Development Bank 

EDITORIAL ADVISER 

Victoria Tambunting-Alfonso 

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 

Bobby F. Banaag 

EXECUTIVE EDITOR 

Olive B. Ramirez 

CIRCULATION MANAGER 

Joy C. Ursua 

03 Around the World 

04 Newsline 

06 Bizbeat 

20 Cover Story Questronix Corporation 

24 Feature TILAH Seed Center 

28 Save Mother Earth Is it time to switch to LED lights? 

29 Lifestyle A Benguet Feast Welcomes 

All Hungry Travelers 

30 Worth Reading 

31 Tax Calendar 

32 Billboard 

EDITORIAL CONSULTANT 

Art Ilano 

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER 

Lurisa Villanueva 

MANAGING EDITOR 

Maita de Jesus 

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT 

Pam Brooke Casin 

JR. ART DIRECTOR 

Kimberly Claire Bernardo 

GRAPHIC ARTIST 

Jihan Denise Mallonga 

Illustrations by Jihan Denise Mallonga 

08 SME Focus: 

Management 

Marketing 

Operations 

Case Study 

Write to us! 

Send us a line or two at info@ 

plantersbank.com.ph and be the 

lucky feedback sender to WIN 

this exclusive “I love SMEs”mug. 

Strategy 

Sales 

Taxation 

Entrepreneurship 

SME | 2

SME 

Around the 

World 

Around the World 

By Pam Brooke A. Casin 

South Africa: Growth in 

self-employment rate 

benefiting SMEs 

According to reports, the Absa Small and 

Medium Enterprise (SME) Index rose by 1.4 

index points to 93.4 in the second quarter of 

2012, boosted by growth in self-employment. 

The Absa SME Index is based on 

information taken from different economic 

indicators released by Statistics SA. 

Absa enterprise development head Sisa 

Ntshona said the index disclosed critical 

information which, in turn, allowed SMEs to 

come up with informed decisions essential 

to grow their respective businesses. 

Ntshona also said that self-employment 

increased 1.1 percent in the last 

quarter of 2012, which resulted in an 

estimated 1.2 million self-employed 

business people. 

“The growth in self-employment shows 

that SMEs are also benefiting from low 

interest rates, and would also benefit 

in [the] future if tax relief for them was 

introduced, as this could be positive for 

business formation and sustainability,” 

economist Mike Schussler, who worked 

on the index, said. 

United Kingdom: New 

breed of SMEs ready 

to exploit market 

opportunity 

About two thirds or 65 percent of SMEs 

in the UK have overhauled their working 

habits in reaction to their country’s poor 

economic conditions. 

According to a report from CitySprint, 

SMEs now are implementing and 

imbibing new strategies following the 

turn of economic events in the UK— 

revealing a significant cultural shift 

among the SME community and the 

entry of a new breed of leaner, more 

focused “size zero” businesses. 

The recent study also revealed that a 

quarter or 24 percent of the 700 SMEs 

surveyed are now more open to working 

with other businesses and 14 percent now 

work with more partners; it also identifies 

the emergence of “size zero” businesses— 

firms that are doing away with “non-core 

functions” by embracing outsourcing, 

exchanging services, and sharing expertise 

so as to focus on their key strengths. 

“This more open, collaborative culture 

not only strengthens the capabilities, 

flexibility, and efficiency of SMEs but has 

a wider economic benefit, stimulating 

more opportunities for enterprises as 

‘suppliers,’” Professor Robert Blackburn, 

director of Kingston’s University’s Small 

Business Research Centre said. 

Patrick Gallagher, CEO of CitySprint, 

commented, “Our report shows that far 

from being isolated during the economic 

downturn, there are real opportunities for 

new intra-SME contracts across the sector 

and country and a real sense of optimism. 

Through the work we do, it has been 

really fascinating to see businesses seize 

this opportunity and in many cases, play a 

part in it.” 

Australia: NSW offers 

SME research funding 

The government of New South Wales 

is now offering an innovation funding 

program for small businesses. 

Launched last December, the “Innovate 

NSW” program is supported by $6.7 

million in funding, aiming to boost research 

collaboration between SMEs and “the big 

end of town” (large financial institutions). 

The program is set to grant up to $15,000 

in matched funding for a range of projects 

such as to help companies prove a concept 

to a reference customer or collaborate 

with a NSW research organization to try 

out a new technology. 

It will also provide Collaborative Solutions 

funding of up to 25 percent of project 

costs to a maximum of $100,000 

for consortiums seeking to develop 

technologies that would strengthen 

key sectors in the NSW economy which 

included e-health, online education, 

advanced manufacturing, transport, 

infrastructure, and logistics. 

“The initiative will focus particularly on 

supporting innovative solutions which 

use enabling technologies—including 

mobile, cloud, analytics, sensors, advanced 

materials, and biosciences,” NSW Deputy 

Premier Andrew Stoner said. 

SME | 3

SME 

Newsline 

Plantersbank seal Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) deal 

International Finance 

Corporation (IFC), 

a member of the 

World Bank Group, 

has approved a P1.02 

billion investment 

in a special purpose 

vehicle to purchase 

Plantersbank’s nonperforming 

loans 

thereby increasing 

P l a n t e r s b a n k ’ s 

capability to lend 

to more small and 

medium enterprises 

(SMEs). “Plantersbank 

wants to scale up its 

lending particularly to 

small enterprises in the 

countryside and other 

sectors that promote 

job creation and grow 

local economies. These 

new investments of 

IFC will strengthen 

our balance sheet, 

generate liquidity 

and help us in accessing additional capital so 

that we can achieve that goal,” according to 

Plantersbank chairman and CEO Ambassador 

Jesus P. Tambunting. OPIF Corp. and Altus 

Capital Partners International are co-investors 

with the IFC in the SPV. 

Present during the signing were (from left 

to right, seated) managing director of Altus 

Capital Partners Benjamin Sevilla; Ambassador 

Jesus P. Tambunting; IFC resident representative 

Jesse Ang; (left to right standing) IFC principal 

financial specialist Darryl Dong; Pavan Gidvani 

of Altus Capital Partners; Plantersbank senior 

vice president Joey Acetre and president & COO 

Carlos Borromeo and from the IFC, investment 

officer Eileen Ruiz-Zarate and senior investment 

officer Eduardo Miranda. 

In his speech, Pangilinan discussed how 

social media has levelled the playing 

field for many small and medium scale 

enterprises today so that reaching one’s 

target audience has since become a direct 

experience from company to end-user. The 

mostly northern-based entrepreneurs who 

attended the event were also given tips on 

how to make better use of Youtube, Twitter, 

Instagram, Facebook and other innovations 

to their business model. “Today’s business 

models are a reinvention of the old. If you 

want your business to compete and survive, 

you must be open to innovation,” he said. 

SME Speaker Series brings Business 

Innovation to Pampanga 

Plantersbank brought its “SME Speaker Series” to Angeles City, Pampanga 

recently with the theme “Best Practice to Next Practice, Leading the Way in 

Business Innovation.” No less than Anthony Pangilinan, a renowned motivational 

speaker and chief disturber, was the guest speaker. 

Now on its sixth year, the SME Speaker 

Series is just one of Plantersbank’s 

programs to help strengthen the country’s 

economic backbone, the SMEs, through 

capacity building. The series has since 

been conducted in in key areas in Metro 

Manila, North and South Luzon, Visayas 

and Mindanao, and featured the country’s 

top business and motivational speakers. 

SME | 4

SME Academy for 

entrepreneurs goes to 

La Trinidad 

The SME Academy kicked off this 

year’s run in North Luzon with 

the lecture series as one of the 

opening highlights of the monthlong 

Strawberry Festival in the 

region. Held at the La Trinidad 

gym, the talk also coincided 

with the inauguration of the La 

Trinidad Agro Trade Fair. 

to help guide them on how to 

better manage their business 

- most importantly their 

finances, reconcile balances 

with their Bank, as well as 

provide them with the different 

financing options available to 

get them started with their 

business expansion plans. 

In cooperation with the 

Department of Trade and 

Industry-Baguio/Benguet and 

the Municipality of La Trinidad, 

Benguet, Plantersbank 

brought the SME Academy 

to the province as part of the 

activities of the La Trinidad 

Strawberry Festival. With the 

promotion of the province’s 

tourism, commercial, and 

agro-trade industries as 

among the main thrusts of 

the month-long festivities, the 

SMEs of Benguet were given 

a free seminar on “Financial 

Management 101 for SMEs” 

“Plantersbank has always 

been an advocate of 

entrepreneurship that is 

why we continuously come 

out with capacity-building 

programs that will enable 

our entrepreneurs to further 

grow their business,” says 

Plantersbank executive vice 

president Ma. Agnes J. Angeles 

and one of the invited speakers 

in the academy. “The SMEs 

are also hungry to learn and 

that’s what the Bank has seen 

and heard from our discussions 

with the SMEs around the 

country,” adds Angeles. 

L-R: Municipal Agriculturist representing the local government unit of La Trinidad 

Felicitas D. Ticbaen and DTI-Benguet Provincial Director Freda M. Gawisan presenting the 

token of appreciation to Agnes Angeles and Jeng San Andres of Plantersbank. 

The SME Academy, launched last 

year, is a spin-off of the highly 

successful Plantersbank SME 

Speaker Series which has been 

touring key cities nationwide for 

six years now. The SME Speaker 

Series focuses on motivational 

talks for entrepreneurs while the 

SME Academy is more about 

teaching the entrepreneurs the 

necessary skills in Marketing, 

Accounting and Finance, 

Taxation, Human Relations, and 

the like. The Plantersbank SME 

Academy is set to tour more key 

cities this year. 

Women entrepreneurs on the rise 

The “First Women on the Web 

Philippine Summit” was recently held 

in Taguig to give women entrepreneurs 

a venue to learn about the latest digital 

tools for their business, the use of 

social media, and facilities available to 

help set-up or expand their business. 

Plantersbank executive vice president 

and head of SME Banking Group for 

North and South Luzon Ma. Agnes 

J. Angeles was one of the invited 

speakers. She discussed the 4Cs of 

Credit which a lot of entrepreneurs 

tend to disregard when applying for 

a loan thinking that a good business 

idea is more than enough to get their 

loan approved. The first Women 

on the Web Philippine Summit was 

organized by Google Business Groups- 

Philippines and the Women’s Business 

Council of the Philippines. 

Your Business Loan in as fast as 7 days! 

Entrepreneurs in need of quick funds for their 

sudden business needs now have the speedy 

solution with Plantersbank Small Bizloan. With 

loan approval in just 7 days, SMEs no longer 

need to worry about their finances, allowing 

them to concentrate more on growing 

their business and becoming profitable. 

The Plantersbank Small Bizloan is a 

multi-faceted loan for various financial 

requirements. It can be used for expanding 

businesses, improving cash flows or for 

funding various financial needs. 

• FAST. Approval time in 7 days! 

• AFFORDABLE. Payment term of one 

(1) year to ten (10) years. 

• FLEXIBLE. Borrow from as little as 

P500,000 to as much as P10,000,000 

via credit line or term loan. 

• W O R R Y- F R E E . R a t e s c a n 

b e f i x e d f o r t h e f i r s t f i v e 

y e a r s w i t h n o u n p r e d i c t a b l e 

m o n t h l y d u e s . 

Those interested to avail or have 

inquiries may call Plantersbank 

at (02) 884-7600, email info@ 

plantersbank.com.ph or visit www. 

plantersbank.com.ph 

SME | 5

Bizbeat 

News and trends 

of interest for 

local SMEs 

By Mary Grace Rosas 

Quality of employment 

improved -NEDA 

The National Economic Development 

Authority (NEDA) declared that the 

quality of employment has improved 

based on the growth coming from the 

wage and salary employment, and the 

faster growth of full-time workers in 

comparison to part-time. 

Most of the improvement comes 

from the service and industry sector, 

wherein full-time employment grew 

by 6.5%, and remunerative wage 

and salary employment expanded by 

10.9%. The Socioeconomic Planning 

Secretary also added that most of 

these workers are employed by private 

establishments, meaning small businesses 

or entrepreneurs at work. 

While this enough reason to celebrate, 

there are still loopholes waiting to 

be filled. A number of educated 

individuals remain unemployed, due 

to lack of appropriate skill. Others are 

underemployed, while some are merely 

under contractual basis. 

Currently, the government is looking 

at working together with small 

firms, especially in the agricultural 

sector, to find ways that will better 

the employability of the current 

unemployed. Establishment or more 

businesses as well as training programs 

are only some solutions waiting to be 

ticked off the list. 

NEDA in favor of 

better agri-programs 

The agricultural sector has always been 

a boon in the Philippine economy, but is 

never utilized to its fullest. While hopes 

to improve its role in the poverty issue 

of the country is increasing, programs 

to realize this remain to necessitate 

government attention and improvement. 

In line with this, the National Economic 

Development Authority (NEDA) 

is advocating an evidence-based 

program for a sustained improvement 

SME | 6

in productivity and farm incomes, 

especially for small farmers. 

NEDA wants to use the sector’s potential 

as growth driver and source of poverty 

reduction in pushing for this policy 

change. At the same time, it hopes for 

the National Food Authority (NFA) to 

improve its efficiency in production, 

trading, and marketing of rice. This 

requires substantial improvement 

on productivity and increase of farm 

incomes, especially among small farmers 

and landless workers. 

The upgrade, nonetheless, is expected to 

increase entrepreneurial opportunities, 

contribute to job generation and overall 

economic stability. 

PTTC and SSC tie up to offer 

franchise management course 

The Department of Trade and Industry 

(DTI)’s export and micro, small, and 

medium enterprise’s training arm, the 

Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC), 

and St. Scholastica’s College of Manila 

tie up to provide a program that focuses 

on Franchising Management. 

The course will be offered to new 

franchisors, high-growth business 

owners, existing franchises, and possible 

purchasers of franchise business. 

Franchising has become one of the 

biggest means to expand enterprises. 

From a 5% contribution to the industry, 

it has increased to 35% retail output. 

This makes for a substantial reason to 

provide learning courses for those who 

wish to have their own franchise and 

find out more about the business model. 

The PTTC and SSC designed a 

Graduate Certificate and Diploma in 

Franchise Management approved by 

the Commission on Higher Education 

(CHED), and to be presented by reliable 

resource persons like renowned 

franchising experts, experienced industry 

practitioners, and the like. 

This course will lead to a Master of 

Science, assuring enrollees, such as 

new franchisors, high-growth business 

owners, existing franchisees, and 

possible purchasers of franchise business 

their money and time’s worth. 

Courses and schedules are as follows: 

• Graduate Diploma in Franchise 

Management (Marketing of Branded 

Business on June 4-5, 2013, Financial 

Leverage for the Franchisor/Franchisee 

on June 26-27, 2013, Management 

of Human Resources for Franchise 

Business on July 2-3, 2013, and 

Business Systems Development in 

Franchising on July 9-10, 2013). 

How Competitive Are We? 

Philippine Competitiveness Ranking 

Philippine Competitiveness Ranking 

65 of 144 

43 of 59 

136 of 183 

138 of 185 

107 of 183 

97 of 183 

2012 World Economic Forum 

2012 International Institute for Mngt Dev’t 

2012 Doing Business Survey 

2013 Doing Business Survey 

2012 Heritage Foundation 

2013 Heritage Foundation 

SME | 7

SME Focus 

Management 

Ride the 

Technology 

S-Curve 

The more you know about how technology evolves, 

the better prepared you can be for change. 

By Art Ilano 

Remember when large screen LCD 

TVs were just entering the market? 

Remember how much they were back 

then? You probably shook your head and 

told yourself that there is no way that this 

new technology can become any cheaper 

than old-style tube-type TVs. 

Flash forward to today where, in just 

about any appliance store, you can pick 

up a 32-inch LED TV for a price that 

would have seemed outrageously low 

back then. And as for tube TVs? They’re 

cheaper than ever before alright, but 

they’re also barely available anymore 

and are on their way out. 

The thing is, if you understand the life 

cycle principles of technology, this would 

not have come as a surprise at all. 

The model to look at is called the 

technology S-curve, so called because 

it visually graphs what normally 

happens to an old technology as a new 

technology comes into the picture. 

In the illustration above, an old 

technology (A) is shown to follow 

an S-like curve. This curve is true for 

practically any technology that comes 

out, and what it says is that (1) at the 

initial stages, while the technology is still 

being tinkered with and compounded, 

not much performance gains can be 

seen. But (2) there will 

come a time when 

performance gains 

will become dramatic 

and will come in 

leaps and bounds. 

Finally (3) the growth 

in performance will 

taper off. 

But the really 

interesting thing 

happens when you 

overlay the old technology 

with a newer one (B) that will 

inevitably come about. In the illustration, 

technology B starts off at a certain level 

of performance that is higher than 

when the old technology first began. 

This is understandable: what’s the point 

of working on a new technology if its 

performance is even sub-par compared 

to that of the older technology? 

But just like A, B will eventually gain 

momentum until it grows, performancewise, 

in leaps and bounds. 

And then something happens. At 

some point, technology B will surpass 

BUSINESS 

GAIN 

0 

R&D 

A 

A in terms of performance. When that 

happens, interest in A will wane until it will 

be completely taken over by B. 

Time and again, history is replete with 

examples that support this model. Think of 

how vacuum tubes eventually got replaced 

by cheaper, more efficient transistors in 

radios. Or how the digital camera began 

as a novelty that took blurry shots at low 

resolutions, but then eventually took over 

the entire camera market. Remember 

when the notion that digital would replace 

film was considered laughable by die-hard 

film users? That was just ten years ago. 

V 

L 

SME | 8

Maturity 

TVs will in fact become cheaper than 

tube TVs. Or that digital cameras would 

replace film cameras. At the very least, 

you won’t go into a period of denial that 

could cost you potential opportunities. 

M 

ital 

ife 

L 

D L’ 

So what are emerging tech trends 

now? For one, there is cloud 

computing, where data is stored 

online rather than on personal hard 

drives. Many people still think that 

cloud-based data won’t ever catch on 

in a big way, but it’s now happening. 

So perhaps it’s time to acknowledge 

that the cloud is the new S-curve that 

will replace old storage technologies. 

Movies are also turning digital. Right 

now we still watch movies that are 

shown via big round film reels. But 

the change is already happening, 

and the transition towards digital is 

inevitable. So if you happen to own 

cinemas, then perhaps it’s time to 

stop fighting the future and instead 

embrace it ahead of everyone else. 

The best thing that the S-curve can 

do for you is to give you a reason 

for lessening your skepticism about 

new technologies. Not all new 

technologies will survive of course, 

but if you’re sharp enough, you can 

spot those that will and you can 

then adopt before anyone else has a 

chance to do so. 

At the early stages of any new 

technology, there will first be a period 

of discord and confusion. This happens 

because there will likely be a number 

of inventors, researchers and scientists 

who will be pitching their own 

respective solutions to a given problem. 

Think of the early days of the 

automobile. There were four-wheeled 

cars, three-wheeled cars, and even twowheelers. 

There were cars with seats 

that faced forward and cars with seats 

that were back-to-back. Some were 

electric and some were gas-powered. 

Eventually, however, it becomes a 

survival of the fittest, with the less 

efficient designs gradually being 

weeded out through natural attrition. 

Soon, the “dominant design” emerges: 

four wheels, seats facing forward, gaspowered 

engine. And this becomes the 

official face of the new technology. 

The new technology will try its best to 

look like the old one, if only so that the 

shock of the new will be lessened. This is 

why digital cameras look almost exactly 

like old-style analog ones. Or why jet 

planes look similar to propeller ones give 

or take a few features. And why LCD 

TVs try to contain as many visual cues of 

old TVs as possible. 

But the biggest lesson of the S curve is 

that the new technology, once refined and 

perfected, will eventually overshadow the 

old one. Knowing this, it wouldn’t have 

been difficult for you to believe that LCD 

Did you know… 

…that the United States once had a thriving ice 

harvesting industry? Frozen lakes would be cut 

up and the ice blocks exported abroad. But this 

huge industry was destroyed by the arrival of 

refrigeration technology. 

Should you invest 

in the new? 

If a new technology threatens to make your 

business obsolete, should you bite the bullet 

and join the bandwagon? The S-curve says yes. 

And if you do jump to the new technology, go 

all in and don’t hold back. Staying with the old 

technology will just saddle you with a declining 

market share as the market moves to the new. 

SME | 9

SME Focus 

Marketing 

Check your 

brand strategy! 

There’s more to branding your product than just 

naming it. Here are things to keep in mind. 

By Art Ilano 

The most valuable brands in the world have 

something in common: they all have a consistent, 

purposeful and meaningful brand strategy. The 

same goes for the most valuable brands in the 

country today, whether it be for fast foods, financial 

management or for fuel. 

Sadly, branding is an issue that is not taken much 

into account by many SMEs. The reason: far too 

many entrepreneurs assume that branding is just a 

matter of choosing a trade name for your products 

or services. But it isn’t. Branding is more than just a 

name. We’ll go through the essentials of what you 

need to do in order to have a stronger, richer brand. 

The first step: Know the trademark basics 

It is unfortunate that a lot of business people 

mistake company name for trademark. You’d register 

your company name at the DTI (or the SEC for 

partnerships and corporations) and then assume that 

this is now the name that you’d go do business with. 

It isn’t. A company name is just that, the name of 

your company. And sure you could do business using 

your company name, but you would be missing out 

on the many efficiencies of branding. 

Here’s why: your company name is likely to be some 

boring name such as JLE Enterprises or Wysswing 

Inc. Not exactly the kind of brand that would incite 

interest or excite your market. 

What you need is a trade name, or a trademark. So 

your business name is XYZ Inc, but your products 

will be known as Zinger, for instance, which would 

be a far zestier and memorable brand. While your 

business name is something that you settle with 

the DTI or the SEC, your trademark is something 

that you settle with the Intellectual Property 

Office. The good news is that the IPO is reasonably 

sophisticated today, and you can check out their 

online site, http://trademarks.ipophil.gov.ph/ 

tmonline/, to see if the brand you want has already 

been taken. 

Note that you will also have to define what industry 

categories your products or services belong to. The 

IPO uses the NICE classification system, which you 

can get from the website of the World Intellectual 

Property Organization. 

Second step: Build your brand strategy 

The truth is that the actual brand name may be the 

last thing you will have to consider. That’s because 

before you even decide on your brand name, you 

must first plan out your brand strategy. And it begins 

with a few simple questions: 

• What products and services do you plan to 

offer under your proposed brand, now and in 

the future? You‘d want to know this as early as 

possible because you wouldn’t want to be stuck 

with a brand name that wouldn’t lend itself well to 

your future products down the road. 

• Who are your target markets, now and in the 

future? In the same way, you’ll want to make sure 

that whatever brand you come up with will appeal 

to all your potential target markets. 

• What messages will you want to communicate? 

Is your brand going to be happy? Formal? 

Adventurous? If it were an animal, what kind 

of animal would it be? What attributes should 

it connote? Is it creamy, tasty, fast, friendly, 

environmentally sound, or fragrant? Will it imply 

a specific product, such as cakes or energy bars 

or car parts? List down all the messages that you 

want your planned brand to stand for. This will 

become part of the guide for the next step. 

SME | 10

Third step: Design your brand 

elements 

Now you get to the nuts and bolts of 

actually making your trademark. A word 

of caution: unless you have a good solid 

background in the graphic arts, do not 

try to design your trademark yourself. 

A lot of entrepreneurs think they’re 

saving money by designing their brands 

themselves, but this leads to loss of 

credibility over the long term due to what 

consumers perceive to be amateurish 

branding. Instead, invest in the services of 

a graphic artist. You won’t regret it. 

Things to consider for your brand elements: 

• Your font. It should properly reflect the 

messages that you have mapped out 

for your product. Are you targeting 

the youth? Then your font should be 

young and energetic. Offering a classy 

product? Then you need a stylish font. 

• Brand symbols and icons. A symbol is 

a visual representation of your brand. 

Would it be an animal? An object? 

A stylized letter? A scene? Again, 

whatever it is, it should help achieve 

the elements of your brand strategy as 

mapped earlier. 

• Color palette. What will your official 

color scheme be? Your graphic artist can 

help you out here. Once the palette is 

determined, implementation will now 

be about keeping everything consistent, 

from your communications to your 

packaging and to your products. 

• Materials. What are allowable materials 

for your communications? Will you be 

sending out flyers? If so, what kind of 

paper will you be using? What should 

your signages be made out of? Again, 

your graphic artist can help you here. 

Branding is not as simple as just thinking 

up a name. A lot of work will have to go 

into it if you want to build a brand that 

could stand the test of time. 

Did you know… 

The IPO’s trademark site can also be used for some 

simple intelligence gathering. Want to know who 

owns a particular trademark? Simply search for that 

trademark on their database and you’ll find out! 

SME | 11

SME Focus 

Operations 

Don’t forget to 

GANTT it 

By Valerie Anne Alonzo 

There are so many things to do for your 

project. But which ones must be done 

first? 

If you planned your project using a Gantt 

chart, then it will show you that. 

The first Gantt chart was created in the 

1890s by Polish engineer Karol Adamiecki. 

Fast forward to 1910, American engineer 

and management consultant Henry Gantt 

made his own version of Adamiecki’s 

chart. It became widely known and later 

on, the chart was named after him. 

Back then, however, Gantt charts 

were prepared manually on paper or 

on blackboards. And they needed to 

be laboriously amended or remapped 

whenever there were changes in a certain 

schedule or project. Because of this, the 

effort required to redraw a Gantt chart 

with every little change often led to 

project managers opting out from using 

these at all. 

Fortunately, computers have made the 

editing task much easier. Today, you can 

easily create a Gantt chart using a number 

of project management programs. Or even 

by using a simple spreadsheet. 

Why use a Gantt chart? Because by visualizing 

which tasks come before other tasks, you 

can lay out your timetable in a logical and 

efficient manner, thereby letting you realize 

which activities have to be done immediately 

and which ones can be done later on. 

Get started on your Gantt chart 

Because Gantt charts are now a common 

feature in computer applications, there are 

many ways to create one. The easiest and 

simplest option is to use Microsoft Excel. It 

does not have a built- in Gantt chart option 

but it can be done manually, using each cell 

as a time frame (i.e. one week per cell). 

First, identify the tasks that need to be done 

for your project. Identify key milestones and 

the activities and people involved. 

Next, identify the time frame for each activity. 

Perhaps Activity A requires two weeks while 

Activity B requires three. The most common 

time frame element is the day or the week. 

That is, unless you have a very long term 

project, in which case each cell may represent 

a month instead. 

The Gantt chart becomes most useful when 

you start factoring in the sequence of events. 

For instance, if you know that Activity B 

cannot be done until Activity A is finished, 

then it can only be scheduled after Activity A. 

In the example above, for instance, a 

survey cannot be pretested until the survey 

instrument has been designed. Therefore, 

it gets scheduled on the week after the 

design. Meanwhile, the report preparation 

cannot begin until at least after ocular 

inspections and stakeholder interviews have 

been done. What this tells you is that Carl 

will be idle in the first week. This gives you, 

the project manager, the option to assign 

him to do either George or Spence’s job 

instead, thereby saving you one person from 

the project. 

In the end, the Gantt chart gives you a visual 

timeline for your project. More than that, 

however, it also gives you opportunities to 

optimize the use of your resources. 

A simple Gantt chart can be done via Excel, using each cell as a unit of time. 

SME | 12

SME SME Focus 

Focus 

Case Study 

The Pipes 

of Change 

Their metal pipe business was being eaten alive by cheap plastic pipe technologies. 

Can the company find a way to regain market share? 

By Art Ilano 

Alistair Fabregas* had a big problem. As the head 

of Fabregas Foundry and Fabrication* (FFF), a family 

enterprise that specialized in the making of metal pipes, 

he watched almost helplessly as their market share was 

nearly decimated by the ever-growing acceptance of 

PVC plastic pipes. 

This was particularly infuriating for the forty-year-old 

CEO because their family was proud of the extremely 

high quality of the metal pipes that they have been 

making since the 1940s. 

“Our pipes can last for 80 years,” says the CEO. “But 

that’s being conservative. The truth is that our ductile 

cast iron pipes can last 300 years. Perhaps even more. 

“Compare that to PVC and polyethylene pipes. At best, 

they could probably last 50 years. But the truth is that 

the first thing to go would be their joints. And that 

could happen within just 10 years!” 

But that argument could not suffice as far as their 

market, consisting of government agencies and 

industrial contractors, were concerned. The fact is that 

plastic pipes are several times cheaper than metal pipes, 

and cost much less to install. 

“Sure, the initial costs are cheaper,” says Alistair. 

“But that’s false savings right there. PVC is notorious 

for a number of reasons. It’s sensitive to pH levels 

and chemical reactions. If I accidentally pour drain 

cleaner down the sink, it’s going to destroy the pipe. 

They don’t tell you that. PVC is even a fire hazard. In 

the long term, those pipes are going to be liabilities 

waiting to happen.” 

And yet trying to sell metal pipes has become more and 

more of an effort, with company sales plunging at an 

alarming rate over the years. Alistair is now faced with a 

tough decision: Should the company fight on, or should 

they join the PVC bandwagon?” 

Analysis 

Perhaps the question shouldn’t even be about whether 

or not FFF should join the PVC bandwagon. The 

question should be more about what the company’s 

core competencies are. 

If the core competence of the business lies in its 

technologies, which in this case involves metal foundry, 

then the answer could involve (1) developing a better 

marketing strategy, or (2) branching out to other related 

metal-cast products beyond pipes. Either way, the core 

technology will still be utilized. 

But if the company’s core competence lies in, say, their 

industry connections, then this may be a point towards 

going plastic. A value analysis will therefore have to be 

done: how much capital investment would be needed to 

go PVC, and if it’s more efficient than dropping metal 

fabrication altogether. 

*All names have been disguised to protect the 

subjects’ identities. 

SME | 13

SME Focus 

Strategy 

Entrepreneurial Judo: 

Use your competitors’ 

strengths against them 

The entrepreneurial battlefield is getting tough. 

Management guru Peter Drucker guides 

you how to be at the top of the game. 

By Portia Silva 

When Nintendo released a home video 

game console called the Wii in 2006, 

the gaming industry was never the same 

again. Nintendo had in mind a broader 

demographic than those catered by 

its competitors Xbox 360 by Microsoft 

and PlayStation 3 by Sony. It intended 

to attract casual gamers who normally 

share the console with family and 

friends, as well as penetrate into the 

older (oftentimes forgotten) generations 

of gamers. Nearly after six years of 

consistent and aggressive marketing, the 

Wii finally bested both competitors in 

worldwide sales. 

For most companies, Nintendo’s story 

is just another success story. But in 

the words of management guru and 

prominent writer Peter Drucker, it has 

not only dominated the modern 

gaming industry; Nintendo has “judo’d” 

its competitors out of the battle field. 

Mastering the art of 

entrepreneurial judo 

Judo is a Japanese martial and combat 

that was later turned into an Olympic 

sport, where participants aim to pin their 

opponents to the ground. Variations 

of the sport involve grappling, tackling 

and striking through the calculated 

use of the hands and the feet. Judo 

masters have long claimed that the 

secret to judo success is to look for the 

opponent’s strength 

in every fight. Once 

the opponent has shown 

reliance in using this 

identified strength, the judo 

master attacks unexpectedly 

and leaves the other vulnerable. 

This is when the judo master can claim 

the victory by simply manipulating his 

opponent’s strength towards his own 

downfall. Drucker makes the same 

athletic references when he coined the 

term, “entrepreneurial judo.” 

In his most revered classic, 

“Entrepreneurial Strategies,” the 

management guru likens businessmen 

to judo fighters when “entrepreneurs 

tend to become set in their behaviors.” 

The concept implies that a newcomer 

SME | 14

SME 

enters an economical field established by 

those considered as the market leaders. 

With enough knowledge and offering, 

the newcomer applies his entrepreneurial 

judo skills by targeting areas that the 

market leaders are too busy to cater to. 

Why? Because most of the time, these 

market leaders are too arrogant and 

engaged serving the high-profit end 

consumers. Entrepreneurial judo instructs 

entrepreneurs to attack slowly but surely, 

to never challenge the position of the 

market leader but instead, to occupy 

niches that were initially limited by the 

market’s pioneers. Once the newcomer 

secures these niche territories, he should 

inch his way to dominate the rest 

(especially those occupied by the market 

leader), therefore catching the market 

leader off-guard and about. 

Formula for entrepreneurial 

judo success 

To be able to dominate, Drucker 

carefully specifies three situations where 

entrepreneurial judo impresses and 

deems to be effective. 

1. Overthrowing unresponsive 

market leaders 

When market leaders overlook the 

feedback given by its consumers, the 

people seek alternatives that will listen 

and act on their concerns. Sometimes 

market leaders are just too concentrated 

on making money that they forget to 

interact with their patrons who, in turn, 

feel neglected and or are poorly-serviced. 

For example, when mobile users raise 

concerns about the signal scope of 

the network they’re subscribed to, 

they expect to be accommodated 

immediately. Newcomer network 

provider sees this as an opportunity 

to introduce a product that can likely 

offer stronger signal coverage, therefore 

attracting higher mobile users to switch 

to the newcomer. 

2. Patronizing new technologies 

that understand the needs of 

the market 

Sometimes market leaders forget to 

consider the spending power of the 

whole consumer population that it 

tends to what Drucker describes as, 

“using their leader position to cream 

the market.” The author says that 

when this happens, newcomers grab 

the chance to introduce a similarfunctioning 

item that concentrates on 

what the consumer really needs and 

or wants. 

An example widely-used through 

Drucker’s book is how the Japanesemanufactured 

Xerox machines kept 

their patrons satisfied with their 

reasonably-priced yet highly-efficient 

technologies. Compared to the then 

American-produced equipment which 

sell at almost twice the price of Xerox 

products, the latter truly did judo’d 

their competition early on. 

3. Going through sudden, 

rapid changes in the market 

structure 

Since the principle of entrepreneurial 

judo revolves highly around marketdriven 

strategies, companies have 

to be able to adjust to the changing 

economical times. For entrepreneurial 

judo to effectively work, products 

and services have to be able to offer 

lower costs to consumers when the 

economy takes a plunge. In like 

manner, companies will be able to 

take earning opportunities when the 

economy rises. 

Five bad entrepreneurial habits 

If there is a solution to judo your 

competition, there is also a formula for 

failure (where you can be potentially 

judo’d by your entrepreneurial 

opponents). Drucker outlines five 

business habits to avoid so you can 

remain at the top of your game: 

1. The “NIH” mindset 

In his book, Drucker explains the “NIH” 

mindset by emphasizing, “[It is] the 

arrogance that leads a company or 

an industry to believe that something 

new cannot be any good unless 

they themselves thought of it.” The 

“not invented here” perspective can 

be widely seen in regional markets 

which refuse to accept items and 

technologies that have been developed 

and manufactured elsewhere. Some call 

it patronizing, but Drucker labels it as 

being stubborn. 

2. The “creaming” of 

the market 

When companies have developed 

the habit of running after the big 

customers only, they tend to lose any 

market they have captured altogether. 

Some market leaders have this notion 

that when they have dominated into 

a high-earning niche, they think 

that’s enough to sustain their income 

generations. In truth, such companies 

only “cream” their market and neglect 

the bigger chunk of consumers waiting 

to be served. 

3. The belief in “quality” 

Consumers pay for what they find is 

value for their money. It is not up to 

companies and industries to dictate 

that a product or service was difficult 

to come up with and therefore should 

be priced this high. When selling a 

product, companies should put on 

the thinking cap of a client --- how 

much is my target market willing to 

shell out for this particular good? As 

Drucker puts it, quality is “NOT what 

the suppliers put in;” rather, it is the 

evaluation of the customers about the 

product or service availed of. 

4. The illusion of the 

“premium price” 

Closely related to the bad habit of 

believing in a product or service’s 

“quality,” entrepreneurs should watch 

out for placing what is believed as the 

“premium price” for their offering. 

“What looks like higher profit for 

the established leader is in effect, a 

subsidy to the newcomer,” explains 

Drucker. This also goes to show that 

the prospect of gaining multiple 

earnings is always to the disadvantage 

of a company. 

5. The habit of maximizing 

rather than optimizing 

Companies have the habit of 

“satisfying the whole market” with 

just one item. They forget to segment 

and identify the particular needs of a 

very diverse consumer market, which 

can therefore lead to their downfall. 

Successful entrepreneurs should learn 

to optimize their resources to come 

up with different offerings rather 

than investing on one technology 

across all markets. 

SME | 15

SME Focus 

Sales 

Back in the 

(Proverbial) 

Saddle Again 

(aka Back From Vacation) 

By Adrian Miller 

What do you think about vacations? 

Do you even take them? 

It’s amazing to me but so many folks 

simply don’t ever take vacations. 

Yes, I know the drill. 

You’re busy and being away may cause 

setbacks in your business. Money is 

tight and vacations are just out of the 

question. It takes too much time and 

energy to plan a vacation. Business 

is slow and all of your time is being 

spent on bringing in clients. 

There’s just no way a vacation is in the mix. 

But let me play devil’s advocate here 

and also be entirely forthright: I adore 

vacations. I crave them, need them 

and feel less productive and creative 

when I go for too long without one. 

Am I rich? No. 

Can I always afford the time away? No. 

Do I always go to some exotic locale 

requiring hours of air travel and a 

bucket of money? No. 

So if you are wondering: I do take 

multiple trips spread out over the 

course of the year, some distant, some 

close, some exotic, some, well not 

much more than an overnight trip to 

Philly to the Barnes Foundation (if you 

love Impressionism, a visit to the Barnes 

is enough to transport you away!). It’s 

amazing what a day or two away can 

do for the mind, body and soul. 

Over the years my interests have 

changed and the family/life/work 

circumstances as well (for a long time 

there were two boys that accompanied 

us on many of these trips and 

we needed to accommodate four 

individuals and not just two). 

But despite the ongoing changes to 

my family and business lives one thing 

has remained constant and that is 

the wonderful increase in energyl; 

optimism that comes from taking a 

break from day-to-day responsibilities 

and substituting new people, sights, 

sounds, culture and surroundings. 

What about you? Do you take 

vacations? 

P.S.: Networking can and does happen 

on vacations. People are relaxed and 

conversational and a discussion about 

work and life pursuits away from the 

beach or any other vacation spot often 

ensues. I maintain close contact with 

someone that I met while on vacation 

years ago and, yes, we have done 

some business! 

Adrian Miller is the president of Adrian Miller 

Direct Marketing, a sales training and 

consulting company based in New York. 

Her company provides customized resultsdriven 

training programs to companies 

worldwide. She can be reached at amiller@ 

adrianmiller.com. 

SME | 16

SME Focus 

Taxation 

Appealing an 

assessment 

FDDA was issued by the Commissioner himself, 

thus, the proper appeal was before the CTA. 

Accordingly, the issuing authority is relevant. 

Another notable point is the appeal must 

be to the Commissioner and not with the 

same authorized representative of the 

Commissioner who issued the decision. 

By Charity Mandap 

MORE THAN ever, taxpayers should be 

mindful of their rights and of the remedies 

available to them against tax investigations. 

Awareness of rights includes knowing the 

proper period to file a protest and/or an 

appeal and the proper forum where to file it. 

As in other legal cases, an appeal is also a 

remedy in tax cases. Under the prevailing 

tax laws, an “appeal” normally refers to the 

filing of a Petition for Review with the Court 

of Tax Appeals (CTA). Section 228 of the 

National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) of 

1997, as amended, provides a taxpayer may 

file an administrative protest within 30 days 

from receipt of the assessment, and submit 

all relevant supporting documents within 60 

days from the filing of the protest, otherwise, 

the assessment becomes final. 

If the protest is denied in whole or in part, or 

is not acted upon 180 days from submission 

of documents, the taxpayer adversely 

affected by the decision may appeal to the 

CTA within 30 days from receipt of the 

said decision or from lapse of the 180-day 

period, otherwise the decision becomes final, 

executory and demandable. 

It is significant to note, however, that an 

appeal may also refer to an appeal to the 

Commissioner in cases where the protest 

is decided by the Commissioner’s duly 

authorized representative. Section 3.1.5 of 

RR 12-99 implementing Section 228 of the 

NIRC of 1997, as amended, provides that 

if the protest is denied, in whole or in part, 

by the Commissioner or his duly authorized 

representative, the taxpayer may appeal to 

the CTA within 30 days from date of receipt 

of the said decision, otherwise the assessment 

shall become final, executory and demandable: 

Provided, however, that if the taxpayer elevates 

his protest to the Commissioner within 30 

days from date of receipt of the final decision 

of the Commissioner’s duly authorized 

representative, the latter’s decision shall not 

be considered final, executory, demandable, 

in which case, the protest shall be decided by 

the Commissioner. 

This kind of appeal is in accordance with the 

rule of exhaustion of administrative remedy, 

which requires that an administrative decision 

be first appealed to the administrative 

superiors up to the highest level before it may 

be elevated to a court of justice for review. 

In the recent case of Belle Corp. vs. 

Commissioner of Internal Revenue (C.T.A. Case 

No. 8175, Sept. 18, 2012), the CTA upheld the 

remedy of appeal to the Commissioner. 

In this case, petitioner filed its administrative 

protest against the Formal Letter of Demand 

(FLD)/Formal Assessment Notice (FAN) within 

the 30-day period prescribed by law. On May 

25, 2009, petitioner received a Final Decision 

on Disputed Assessment (FDDA) issued by 

Zenaida Garcia, OIC-assistant commissioner, 

Large Taxpayers Service. Applying Section 228, 

petitioner had until June 24, 2009 within which 

to appeal the decision to the CTA. However, on 

June 24, 2009, instead of doing so, petitioner 

filed an appeal to then Commissioner Sixto 

Esquivas IV. On Sept. 8, 2010, petitioner 

received a Revised Final Decision on Disputed 

Assessment (RFDDA) dated Sept. 2, 2010, 

subject of the petition for review. 

The Commissioner maintained the assessment 

had long become final and executory for failure 

of petitioner to appeal the FDDA to the CTA and 

the appeal to him did not toll the running of the 

prescribed 30-day period to appeal to the CTA 

from petitioner’s receipt of the FDDA, citing the 

case of Fishwealth Canning Corp. vs. CIR. 

On the other hand, the CTA ruled that since 

the FDDA was issued by Zenaida Garcia, OIC- 

Assistant Commissioner, Large Taxpayers 

Service, the appeal to then Commissioner 

Esquivas was with legal basis. Therefore, 

the RFDDA was the final decision that was 

appealable to the CTA. 

Moreover, in the case of Belle, the FDDA was 

issued by the authorized representative of the 

Commissioner, thus, allowing its appeal to the 

next higher level of authority, which was the 

Commissioner. In the case of Fishwealth, the 

In the case of College Assurance Plan Phils, Inc. 

vs. Rene G. Bañez (CTA Case No. 6522, June 

1, 2010), instead of appealing to the CTA, the 

petitioner appealed the FDDA, denying the 

protest by filing a request for reconsideration with 

ACIR-Large Taxpayer’s Service, Edwin R. Abella. 

In this regard, Section 3.1.5 of Revenue 

Regulations (RR) 12-99 implementing Section 

228 of the NIRC of 1997, as amended, provides 

that a final decision of the Commissioner’s duly 

authorized representative shall be considered as 

final, when a protest (request for reconsideration 

of the FDDA of the Commissioner’s 

authorized representative) is filed before 

the Commissioner, and not with the same 

authorized representative of the Commissioner. 

Since in this case, petitioner filed a Request 

for Reconsideration of the FDDA with Edwin 

R. Abella, assistant commissioner of the 

Large Taxpayer’s Service, and not with the 

Commissioner, said FDDA was considered 

as the final decision that was appealable to 

the CTA. The request for reconsideration did 

not toll the running of the 30-day period to 

appeal the FDDA to the CTA. 

Thus, the decision of the Commissioner’s duly 

authorized representative is not considered 

final when the protest is elevated to the 

Commissioner. The request for reconsideration 

filed with the same authorized representative 

who issued the decision causes the decision to 

become final, making it appealable only to the 

CTA. Similarly, the proper forum before which 

the appeal shall be filed is relevant. 

It may be prudent for taxpayers to consider 

exhausting all administrative remedies first 

before resorting to courts. Understanding these 

remedies is the best way to ensure protection 

and exercise of rights as taxpayers. This can 

be done by keeping abreast of the current tax 

issues through seminars, relevant publications 

and seeking the advice of tax experts. 

Source: Punongbayan & Araullo (P&A). 

P&A is an audit, tax and advisory services firm and is 

the Philippine member of Grant Thornton International 

Ltd. Website: www.punongbayan-araullo.com 

SME | 17

SME 

Entrepreneurship 

Cash or Crown 

By Mary Grace Rosas 

Decisions. Decisions. Plagued with the 

question of whether to have more profit 

and immediate company growth or 

maintain control over the enterprise, 

company founders are, more often than 

not, tormented out of their minds. These 

people understand the reality that at some 

point their company must hit its puberty 

stage and soon may be well on its way to 

maturity. However, it is never easy to watch 

one’s creation handled by someone else. 

At the same, it is also difficult to forfeit 

opportunities for better profit acquisition 

and growth, especially if it is a known fact 

that the enterprise is well worth other 

people’s investment. 

When ventures are started, most founders 

live in the bubble that the company will 

grow and mature right before their eyes, 

with the help of their own wits and wisdom. 

For a company to become more profitable, 

investors are taken in to put their own 

money on the line. In having percentage 

on the risks involved in the business, these 

investors are largely capable of delegating 

what in their perspective is best for a proper 

return of investment. Most of the time, this 

means a change of the CEO running the 

show. The fire is lit and the smoke is more 

like an existentialist dilemma for the founder. 

The Parent 

Who does what? In a given enterprise, the 

founder’s wisdom is the root of everything. 

Hence, their title. More than this title 

suggests, though, is the affection these 

people give to their business. It is essential 

to note that when struck with the need 

to choose between being in control and 

more returns, the founders think as parents 

do. The emotional attachment makes the 

decision-making doubly hard, and the idea 

of “made with love” is taken literally. 

Anxiety on the outcome of letting go runs 

high for most Founders, because they 

would rather see the fruits of their labor as 

the person who brought it to its ultimate 

goal. As a parent to a child, they have 

lofty outlooks and faith on the success of 

their venture in their own hands. However, 

the company will run the risk of retarded 

expansion and return of investment. 

Founders who decide to keep the 

company fully under their wing maintain 

established company culture. Fruitfully 

existing employee-employer relationships 

are also kept, and the company remains 

dependent on current runner’s creativity 

and decision-making skills. More than 

anything, the founder even experiences 

an irreplaceable parental fulfillment. This 

is especially true if the founder’s intent 

in starting the company was not rooted 

at the slightest on immediate profit. 

Although the company stays as a small 

enterprise, it maintains its very essence 

and stays on a more profound footing. 

The Entrepreneur 

Belief in the capacity of one’s “offspring” 

means being able to see the company 

morph into the best that it can be. For 

this reason, many founders, although not 

entirely keen on handing the company over, 

still relinquish their control. Mustering all 

courage and logic, this difficult decision can 

change the fate of a company. Not only will 

it usher a new regime, but it will also bring 

the company to the next profit level. 

Unlike the founders who kept running 

their companies, those who decide to 

perceive the change of CEO as something 

beneficial, typically earn more. In 

exchange, they have to give up their 

crown and watch on the sidelines as the 

enterprise expands far and wide. 

The act is a huge compromise as this means 

handing over the company to family, friends, 

or angel investors who could help. It is also the 

founder’s admission of a point of inadequacy 

of skillset that can get the company across. 

This can be turbulent for the company. 

A company is born of a founder’s vision 

and all elements involved are based on 

this ideal, the employees, the system, and 

the culture. Giving up control can cause a 

traumatic rift, especially to loyal employees. 

As there is an admission of inefficiency on 

a certain area of management, doubt is 

created. Instead of a positive turnaround, 

the company may even face failure. 

To be or not to be 

Finding their company in the midst of 

becoming the biggest, most profitable 

venture, but needing to give up reins may be 

the most poignant experience of founders. 

The emotional attachment to their creation 

and the unknown nature of possibilities push 

them into contemplation of true priorities. 

For founders who want nothing but 

unrestricted control over their brood, 

patience and hardwork will be their best 

weapons. Their venture may not grow 

over night, but they will see through its 

every milestone. They are advised to keep 

within their already existing market and 

product line, which their current skills can 

handle. In doing so, there will be no form 

of inefficacy and the company will be 

running on self-assured foundation. 

On the other hand, for founders who 

are eager to see their child grow 

and prosper, open-mindedness and 

courage are key values. A number of 

risks will present itself, yet for the sake 

of their intense desire, they should 

pass these hurdles in flying colors. 

Welcoming investors from other fields, 

new contacts, and new ideas must be 

deemed normal if not innate. This way 

the enterprise will never stagnate. 

But what if? 

Unlike a story with no happy ending, 

the founders may actually find a healthy 

compromise between the need to prosper 

and the desire to stay in control. It only 

requires a thorough review of what the 

company is necessitating. 

Founders who are found to be unfit 

for the role of CEO may start getting 

their noses into what can equip them 

for the job. They can take courses or 

train under the branches of their own 

company. As the saying goes, “one can 

only become a good boss, if one has 

been an employee.” The founders can 

start small. With enough humility they 

can acquire the skills that lag them from 

becoming efficient CEO cum Founders. 

The learning process may take time, but 

at least it will bring their ultimate dream 

into fruition. 

The ultimatum 

Whatever option is taken into 

consideration, founders must keep in 

mind that it is not only their success on 

the line, but also that of the rest of the 

members of the enterprise. Priorities must 

be kept in check, and if there should be 

compromises, it must be made in nothing 

but honest hope for the improvement 

and prosperity of the company and the 

people who make up the company. 

SME | 18

SME 

Tech Review 

Mobile 

Broadband: 

A Primer 

3G. HSDPA. LTE. If you’ve wondered what these stand for, 

here’s a quick guide to wireless broadband. 

By Art Ilano 

Business has gone mobile. With more 

professionals communicating, working 

on their e-mails and sending documents 

via portable devices such as laptops, 

tablets and smartphones, it’s only a 

matter of time before businesses begin 

wondering what the most optimal 

wireless solutions are for transmitting 

critical data. 

Here’s a rundown of mobile 

broadband options available in the 

market thus far, and what they can 

mean for your business. 

2G. Think of this as the Internet in slomo. 

Once upon a time, this so-called 

second generation (hence 2G) standard 

was the state of the art as far as speedy 

net connections were concerned, but 

that was way back during the time of 

dial-up modems (remember those?). 

Today, what we call 2G has actually 

evolved into “2.5G,” and is also 

known as GPRS networks. But it is still 

considered to be a sluggish way to 

get mobile internet. The plus side? It’s 

available practically everywhere. So if 

you’re just out to use instant messaging 

or other text-based applications, such as 

Facebook Messenger or Twitter, then 2G 

is passable. But once you start throwing 

in images or Instagram-type feeds, then 

you’re going to be in trouble. 

2G is available on all mobile networks, 

and practically all net-enabled phones 

will be able to access it. 

3G. This is the most common highspeed 

mobile network that’s available for 

commercial use. But even this so-called 

third generation of mobile broadband has 

a lot of flavors under it. Plain vanilla 3G, 

also known as HSPA for High Speed Packet 

Access, typically hits 1.7Mbps in real world 

speeds. That’s more than ten times the 

speed of 2G. 

A more advanced variant is known as 

HSPA+, or Evolved HSPA. This faster 

variant of 3G can reach up to 6Mbps in 

actual use. That’s over three times as fast 

as regular 3G. 

In many broadband modems, you can tell 

when a connection is HSPA or HSPA+ by 

looking at the light: a dark blue means 

HSPA while light blue means that you’re on 

the faster HSPA+ connection. 

WiMax. You may still hear about this 

occasionally, but let’s just say that WiMax 

is a slowly vanishing standard. WiMax was 

envisioned to be akin to Wi-Fi on a citywide 

At A Glance 

scale, using microwave transmissions. 

However, it is already being eclipsed by 

the aggressive rollout of LTE networks, 

and even the lone widescale WiMax 

service provider in the country is migrating 

towards LTE. One reason: WiMax can only 

promise high speed connectivity (up to 

30Mbps!) if you happen to live close to 

the broadcast tower. Most people will get 

just a middling 1Mbps. 

LTE. The state of the art in high speed 

mobile Internet connectivity, Long Term 

Evolution may very well be the standard 

in wireless broadband for years to come, 

offering speeds of up to 20Mbps at the 

moment, which is over three times faster 

than HSPA+. Great for all kinds of net 

usage, with blazing fast speeds that make 

your videos whiz by and huge downloads 

finish in a flash. The downside at the 

moment: it is still being rolled out, so there 

are still relatively few areas that support LTE. 

Also, so far only the top of the line devices 

can access LTE. But this should be rectified 

over time. 

Service Typical speeds What to know 

2G 

3G (HSPA) 

3G (HSPA+) 

WiMax 

LTE / 4G 

56kbps to 115kbps 

Up to 1.7Mbps 

(over ten times faster than 2G) 

Up to 6Mbps (over three times 

faster than plain 3G) 

Up to 30Mbps (in theory). 

More likely you’ll get 1Mbps. 

Up to 20Mbps 

Better known as 2.5G or EDGE. Available everywhere. 

But good only for text-based data. 

Pretty decent net connection. Not the fastest out there, 

but good enough for surfing and most net uses. 

The best balance of speed and availability. 

Sorry, think of this more as a footnote in the 

history of mobile communications. 

The fastest you can get on a commercial scale. 

However, not yet widely available. 

SME | 19

SME 

Cover Story 

The father and daughter tandem of Angelo and Gaile Balili is one of the reasons Questronix Corporation is at the top of its game. 

Questronix: 

Embracing A Culture 

of Personal Excellence 

Beginnings of Questronix 

The 80’s saw the advent of IT business 

in the Philippines. The industry was 

booming, as IT was starting to make a 

presence in the country. At the same 

time, however, political tensions and 

militant uprisings were at an all-time 

high. Filipinos were in exodus as the 

impending People Power Revolution 

posed a threat to the already 

tumultuous political landscape. It 

happened that a certain foreigner, 

a friend and colleague of Angelo 

Balili, approached him and said, “I 

hate it when people move out of this 

country because it’s such a beautiful 

place to invest in… Perhaps you 

might want to help me out.” Angelo 

was then invited to venture into a 

“data entry conversion” [business] 

and despite the uncertainties of the 

times, he accepted the invitation 

and took it on as a challenge. This 

decision proved to be the catalyst of 

the various business initiatives that 

Angelo later embarked on. 

Ironically, Angelo was never adept 

at computers or anything that had 

to do with IT and all its technical 

intricacies. However, he did not let 

this become an obstacle as he set 

his attention on the business side of 

things, leaving the nitty gritty to the 

experts. He brought in a friend who 

was knowledgeable in IT and had him 

explain how things work. This same 

friend opted to be absorbed by the 

company so he could dedicate his 

time fully and be of greater help. This 

made things a lot simpler for Balili 

who by now had developed a better 

grasp of the business technology. 

In turn, he began to appreciate the 

business even more. He puts it simply, 

“If you cannot be the one, hire the 

best ones.” 

Soon enough, he started hiring 

exceptional talents in the field. 

In a span of three months, Balili 

SME | 20

was able to build the core group 

of the company which consisted 

of programmers, excellent service 

engineers, and highly competent 

management staff. He invested heavily 

in hiring the requisite talent to meet 

the challenges that come along with 

any business initiative. He also did this 

to ensure that if anything went wrong, 

troubleshooting would not be an issue, 

and business would continue as normal. 

This core group became the lifeline of 

the company’s business. In just 18 short 

months, the company rapidly grew 

from a workforce of 11 individuals, 

including Balili, to 1,400 strong. 

It was during this time that the data 

entry company started receiving 

computer related inquiries from a 

variety of callers. Balili was quick to 

identify the potential in this niche. 

He then shared and discussed 

the feasibility of his idea with his 

business partner and the core group 

of engineers he had gathered. 

Thus, Questronix Corporation was 

conceived. As big as the business is 

today, it’s very surprising to know that 

it all started with a humble capital of P 

100,000. Balili proudly shares that over 

the years, not a single centavo was 

added to this amount. The company’s 

operations were self-sustaining and 

helped strengthen its financial might. 

From its inception, the business 

basically took on a life of its own; 

Mr. Balili’s philosophy, as well as his company’s, is all about giving back. At the end of the day, it’s 

all about the number of lives he has touched. 

it grew on its own. He simply kept 

ploughing the funds back over and 

over until the company reached the 

level of success that it enjoys today. 

Questronix aims to maximize 

business potential by providing 

state of the art IT solutions to their 

customers in meeting both hardware 

and software requirements. It 

provides a whole range of computer 

hardware, software, and services 

that ensure maximum efficiency by 

cutting down processing time and 

significantly lowering operational 

costs. Questronix is all for eliminating 

downtime of servers, increasing 

productivity and efficiency, improving 

data storage and security through 

data back-up and system recovery. 

Apart from the equipment it provides, 

it also offers tech-advanced software 

that are tailored to fit any business 

operation. Questronix offers programs 

and systems that cater to everything 

a business may need to improve its 

operating performance. 

Questronix is the perfect partner 

towards growth. 

SME | 21

SME 

Cover Story 

Partnership with IBM 

When the biggest and most respected 

IT company in the Philippines, IBM, 

decided to introduce a new model 

for conducting its business in the 

Philippines and created business 

partnerships, it came as a natural 

consequence that such an esteemed 

institution would only associate 

itself with the best of the best. With 

Questronix’s reputation for having an 

impressive composition of certified 

skilled workers, it only seemed logical 

to pursue a partnership. As such, 

Questronix became the premiere 

business partner of IBM, boasting 

of round-the-clock, 24/7 twohour 

response time for any services 

needed. Regardless of circumstance, 

time and distance, Questronix can, 

will and did deliver. 

As time evolves, so does technology. 

What could be popular and top of 

the line today could easily be obsolete 

and forgotten by tomorrow. In order 

to meet its customers’ new and 

ever-changing demands, Questronix, 

together with its partners, constantly 

conducts research to keep things 

current and in-synch with the latest 

developments in the IT world. Their 

dynamism and devotion grounded 

in fundamental values have paved 

the way for an unending pursuit 

of improvement. Asked if they are 

prepared for the challenges the 

future holds, Angelo boldly replies 

The employees of Questronix hard at work. 

with a resounding affirmation. He 

explains that being in such a dynamic 

industry, one doesn’t really have much 

of a choice but to adapt to change. 

The ability to adapt could spell the 

difference between success and failure 

in such a fast-paced environment. 

Another thing, and more importantly 

Angelo adds, is that Questronix has the 

right people to do the job effectively. 

With a highly competent management 

staff and a strong, reliable, and 

dedicated workforce, the company is 

confident that it can meet whatever 

challenges the future has to offer. 

Competition 

Questronix has been around for quite 

a while (27 years) and has stood the 

test of time. They have been seasoned 

by years of experience in the industry, 

giving them the confidence to face 

their competition. They may not 

necessarily be the cheapest, but top 

companies prefer them because they 

have proven time and again that they 

are the best at what they do. They 

started from the bottom and made 

their way to the top, guided by a 

culture of excellence, the dream of a 

good future, faith in people, and faith 

in God. For years now, Questronix 

has been at the forefront of the IT 

industry and it does not show any 

signs of slowing down. 

Today, 27 years later, the Questronix 

group has grown to six companies 

with investments in agribusiness, rural 

banking, real estate, business process 

outsourcing, and tourism. 

Investing in people 

It is already given that technology 

changes as fast as the clock ticks 

and it will forever be a challenge 

for those in the industry to keep up. 

For Questronix however, the real 

challenge does not lie in obtaining 

the most sophisticated and updated 

products because as mentioned 

earlier, that’s something they 

constantly do. The more challenging 

aspect of the business is finding 

the right people who have the 

right mindset and attitude. Even 

if the ‘right attitude’ isn’t there at 

first, Balili explains that it must be 

shaped in the individual. It must 

be developed in such a way that 

the individual actually lives and 

breathes the company creed, which 

is all about personal excellence. 

“Character is what will carry us 

forward. The things you get by 

compromising on a lot of things 

might provide temporary comfort 

and convenience, but if you look 

at the long run, it is going to stay 

there only for a very short time. Our 

corporate character will determine 

our business destiny.” 

He holds that if one treats his 

employees well, pays them right, 

and makes them partners in the 

SME | 22

company, their maximum potential 

will be unleashed. Know that an 

employee treated well has his own 

way of reciprocating the kind of care 

his employer gives him. 

Every now and then, Angelo Balili 

would go out of his way to spend 

time with his employees. From those 

who work in administration, to the 

rank and file, Balili makes an effort 

to connect with all of them. Deep 

in immersion, he would take public 

transport of various sorts, eat in side 

streets, and even visit his employees’ 

sick relatives. It is very refreshing to 

see, since most employers merely 

appear as a figure of authority to 

their employees. He does these 

things not only to empathize with the 

people, but also to humbly remind 

him of how it is to live that life, to be 

in their position like he once was. 

For him, at the end of the day, it’s all about 

the number of lives he has touched. 

Man of virtue 

Balili was shaped by unfortunate 

circumstances growing up. His 

father passed when he was just in 

fourth grade and his family’s only 

source of livelihood was their farm 

in Mindanao. Life wasn’t easy, to 

say the least. There came a point 

where he had to stop schooling for a 

whole year, after high school, 

due to a lack of funds. This 

was incredibly heartbreaking, 

especially for a young man 

who consistently did well in 

school. Despite everything, 

Balili claims that given the 

chance, he wouldn’t change 

that point in his life. Looking at 

the facts, he was just a young 

country boy who finished 

high school and seemed well 

poised for a humble life in the 

farm. He felt so disappointed 

at not being able to push 

through with college; but even 

when the odds seemed to 

be against him, his spirit was 

never broken. Instead, he used 

these hardships to ignite a fire 

within him. He was not going 

to let his shortcomings define 

him, or get the best of him. He 

used all the negativity to fuel 

his desire to pursue his aspirations. 

He was “dreaming his dreams”, 

motivating himself while working 

on the farm. Driven by his passion 

for learning and his unrelenting will, 

he beat the odds and was able to 

go to college. Earning a scholarship 

grant, he graduated with a degree 

in accounting, cum laude, from the 

Manuel L. Quezon University. Balili 

is a CPA and once worked for the 

most prestigious accounting firm in 

the country (SGV&Co.). He believes 

that your school or the situation 

you’re pushed into doesn’t determine 

success. Success is determined 

by how you live out a culture of 

personal excellence. 

In instances where two applicants 

are applying for the same job, Balili 

has instructed his human resources 

to prioritize the applicant who lives 

in a less upscale community. This is 

because he understands the plight of 

those in need and believes that giving 

these people a job can change their 

family’s fortune forever. This perfectly 

captures the essence of his core 

principle, “Not the amount of money 

I bring into the company, but the 

number of lives I’ve changed.” 

Beyond helping those in need 

For Angelo Balili, deserving the future 

entails doing things right. Nothing 

beats a principled way of doing 

business. Blame it on the system 

or the broken culture most people 

embrace, but Balili’s challenge is to 

take a stand with your head held 

up high. According to him, nothing 

feels better than being able to look 

anybody straight in the eye and telling 

him that you did the right thing and 

that nothing was compromised along 

the way. Cutting against the grain 

may sometimes be painful, but it has 

to be done. At some point in your 

life, he said, you will be rewarded for 

doing the right thing. It only takes 

courage to take that first step. 

Nuggets of wisdom 

“Work hard, set your goals very 

high. Instill in people the culture 

of personal excellence. At the end 

of the day it’s your commitment to 

excellence that will carry you through. 

It will not only benefit the company 

but more importantly, you. If you 

make them feel that they are part and 

parcel of the organization, [and]that 

you feel for them, [then] you get the 

best out of them.” 

Questronix Corporation is located at 178 

Yakal St., Brgy. San Antonio, Makati City. 

They can be reached at (632) 822-7700, 

marketing@questronix.com.ph. Visit their 

website at www.questronix.com.ph. 

Gaile Balili handles finance and brings in the youthful spunk and wisdom in the company. 

Photos by Heidi Pascual-Aquende | Hair and make-up by Ruel Papa 

SME | 23

SME 

Feature 

The Game 

Changers 

By Ruth Manimtim-Floresca 

Known as the home of agricultural research and 

development in the Philippines, Muñoz, Nueva Ecija is a 

strategic gateway to farming communities around the 

region. It is also dubbed Science City since it houses a 

slew of agriculture and environmental agencies—both 

local and international alike. 

Such agencies focus on research and development (R&D) 

in food, biotechnology, and genetics, among others. The 

major livelihood for most locals is rice cultivation. They 

also grow vegetables and fruit-bearing trees, as well as 

raise backyard and farm animals. 

Kennrick Magdangal of the Tilah Seed Center, says 

that it is because of this environment that demand 

for agricultural supplies, such as feeds, chemicals and 

fertilizers, has been a very lucrative business. 

An exclusive circle 

In the 1980s and 1990s, there were only 18 accredited 

seed growers in Maligaya, the barangay where 

Kennrick’s father, Ricardo, was born. Back in those 

days, in order to be an accredited seed grower, a farmer 

must first have at least three hectares of farmland, a 

warehouse, a solar dryer, and a seed cleaner. “In short, 

an ordinary farmer who doesn’t have the capital that’s 

at par with the already existing seed growers cannot 

enter this prestigious circle,” says Kennrick. 

These seed growers enjoy privileges such as access 

to newer seed varieties and the latest farming 

Gloria and Ricardo “Tilah” Magdangal now reap the fruits of their successes. 

SME | 24

technologies. The result of all this is that 

their profit per yield is nearly twice that 

of an ordinary farmer. This is because 

seed growers produce rice seeds 

whereas ordinary farmers produce rice 

grains (palay) which is used for either 

milling or eating. Rice seeds produce 

greater yields than rice grains. 

Farmers could earn more if only they 

had easier access to rice seeds. However, 

back then, seed growers typically sold 

their own seeds at warehouses or 

garages that were far from national 

roads. There was no central market, nor 

was there any easily accessible store for 

these seeds. These logistical limitations 

resulted to farmers simply using palay 

as their seeds, season after season, and 

thereby crippling their yields and making 

their incomes negligible. 

Finding a solution 

This inequality made Ricardo “Tilah” E. 

Magdangal, an agricultural engineer by 

profession, think of becoming a seed 

grower to realize the potential of the 

business and, more so, for the entire 

seed industry. 

“In 1995, after being accredited as a 

seed grower, he and my mother, Gloria, 

put up a store adjacent to our house,” 

recalls Kennrick. And TILAH Seed Center 

was born. 

Prior to establishing the seed center, Tilah 

worked in various government agencies. 

He entered the seed production business 

initially using their six-hectare farmland, 

located along the national highway, 

which he and his wife bought in 1983. 

Gloria resigned from her work as a clinical 

nursing instructor to help set up the 

business and become a full-time mom. 

The trade name, TILAH, came from 

Ricardo’s nickname Kastila, christened by 

his grandfather for his mestizo skin color. 

It was later shortened to Tila and he added 

the “h” suffix to express how happy he 

was with where he was. 

The Magdangals used seeds from their 

farm as initial inventory. When a rural bank 

offered a term loan for a building, the 

couple grabbed the opportunity to build 

TILAH Seed Center is at the heart of farming communities in Nueva Ecija. 

a seed store. “My father focused on the 

seed production while my mother became 

the store manager as well as the sales 

personnel, accounting clerk, secretary, etc. 

at the same time,” says Kennrick. “The 

lack of a kargador even prompted her to 

ask her very first client to carry a sack of 

seeds to his farm tractor.” 

When the demand started growing, the 

couple asked their siblings if they wanted 

to display their seeds in the store, and 

they were able to sell everything. The 

next season, other seed growers started 

stocking their seeds at TILAH too. “Since 

our store is more accessible, their seeds 

got sold out in a few days.” The partner 

seed growers ballooned to a hundred 

because TILAH became a sure market for 

their produce. 

Early challenges 

It wasn’t all smooth sailing at the start 

though. Initially, the Magdangals’ small 

store and makeshift tents and backyard 

sheds were not enough to store seeds. 

Despite covering them with tarpaulins 

and knitted used sacks, piles of seeds 

still got wet when winds and heavy rains 

came. And because their solar dryer 

could not accommodate all the seeds, 

several batches got infested, germinated, 

or were spoiled due to the rains, the 

humidity, and the insufficient sunlight. 

They were as good as gone. 

When PhilRice developed a flatbed dryer, 

which uses dry heat from burning rice 

hull to dry fresh or newly harvested 

rice seeds, in 2008, TILAH realized how 

helpful it would be, especially during 

the rainy season where solar heat is not 

available. The Magdangals quickly built 

three flatbed dryers which, combined, 

could process some 400 bags of 50 kilos 

each in an 8 to 12 hour drying period. 

Energized by this success, the Magdangals 

then constructed a 3,000 square meter 

solar dryer which had the capacity to dry 

500 bags of seeds every day. This was 

complemented by three seed cleaners 

that could remove all unwanted grains, 

with each machine capable of cleaning 

150 bags of seeds a day. 

TILAH moreover constructed a basic 

seed laboratory where they conduct 

preliminary seed testing, which they 

were taught to do by the National 

Seed Quality Control Services. Here, 

seed quality is evaluated in terms 

of moisture content, germination, 

and purity. Meanwhile, the NSQCS 

also certifies the seeds according to 

international standards. 

Growing the business 

as a family 

The store’s success surprised the 

Magdangals: farmers from towns from 

as far as Bulacan, Aurora, Quirino, and 

Ilocos started coming to TILAH. Their 

customers ranged from farmers riding 

tractors and tricycles and commuting on 

buses or jeepneys, to hacienderos riding in 

expensive SUVs. “They all came to TILAH 

because of the seed quality, location, and 

welcoming atmosphere,” says Kennrick. 

SME | 25

SME 

Feature 

When rice biyaheros from Vizcaya, Isabela, 

and Cagayan started buying seeds before 

going home to Isabela from Bulacan, it 

sparked the idea of setting up a branch up 

north in 2006. Thus, Gloria’s cousin who 

lives in Cauayan, Isabela set up a store in 

her garage. 

Implementing more innovations 

Kennrick confessed that he fell in love with 

the business just like his three sisters, who 

are also involved in the family enterprise, did. 

“My first project was to turn the business 

from sole proprietorship to a corporation. I 

am currently handling marketing, legal, and 

business development.” 

The family turned the field at the back of 

their store to a “roofless showroom” or a 

demo farm where clients can see the rice 

varieties in actual field setups. Here, various 

companies rent farm plots every season in 

order to showcase their products.” 

So how else has technology benefited the 

business? This year, TILAH is renovating 

their website to be more farmer-oriented 

as the Internet remains very effective to 

different audiences. “It is through our 

website that the Kampot province of 

Cambodia found us,” says Kennrick. “The 

governor of the province and the minister 

of agriculture of Cambodia invited us to 

bring TILAH to Cambodia because they 

don’t have existing seed systems there.” 

The Magdangals have also maintained 

good relationships with multinational 

agricultural companies, such as Syngenta, 

Pioneer Dupont, DevGen, and Bayer, 

which in turn made them their primary 

distributor for hybrid rice seeds. 

Sticking to principles 

Through the years, TILAH was able 

to build and purchase their needed 

equipment and facilities through 

flexible terms as afforded by banks. The 

Magdangals actually partnered with 

Plantersbank while their children were 

still studying in Manila. “They went to 

Makati to look for banks which can 

help the business grow more. They saw 

Plantersbank’s head office and were 

welcomed immediately by its officers. The 

rest, they say, is history,” says Kennrick. 

“Our relationship with Plantersbank has 

been very productive. They listen to our 

needs and make adaptive and flexible 

programs for TILAH. Plantersbank has 

indeed become our partner for growth,” 

he adds. 

The family is also grateful to PhilRice 

for providing them with considerable 

research and development assistance. 

It is, after all, R&D which has helped 

distinguish and differentiate their 

business. And it will also be R&D that will 

TILAH’s primary philosophy is “Together, we grow.” They make sure their blessings are cascaded to everyone they work with—the 

hardworking farmers included. 

SME | 26

help TILAH as it seeks to expand its retail 

channels, introduce new products and 

services, and strengthen its brand. 

TILAH’s future plans also include creating 

more value for its network of farmers 

and their families, their partner seed 

growers, dealers, retailers, employees, 

and people and institutions that trust 

and grow with them. 

Giving back 

Perhaps what TILAH is most proud of is 

how their partner seed growers grew 

from just one to over a hundred, with 

clients now coming from 25 provinces 

across the country. Their first store has 

given birth to eight family-operated 

branches, 20 exclusive TILAH dealer 

stores, and hundreds of agri-supplies 

dealers nationwide. 

The Balilis (L-R): Kennrick Glenn, general manager/president & chief executive officer; Kathleen 

Gizelle, chief human resources officer; Karen Galilee, chief finance officer; Gloria, general 

manager/vice chairman & corporate treasurer; Ricardo “Tilah”, chairman of the board; and 

Kristine Glaiza, chief operations officer. 

TILAH has also shared its success with its 

employees and partners. Scholarships have 

been awarded to deserving students and 

many of TILAH’s growers now have their 

own homes, vehicles, warehouses, and 

even their own seed centers. 

“Our relationship with them doesn’t end in 

over-the-counter transactions. TILAH seed 

business is a way of life. It’s a community 

and a collaborative culture,” says Kennrick. 

“We see to it that our blessings will 

cascade to everyone we meet and work 

with. That’s our primary philosophy hence 

the trademark, ‘Together, we grow.’” 

TILAH Seed Center is located at 151 National 

Highway, Maligaya Science City of Muñoz, 

Nueva Ecija. They can be reached at (044) 

456-0464, tilahseeds@yahoo.com. Visit their 

website at www.tilahseedcenter.com. 

TILAH Seed Center pioneered the marketing and distribution of rice seeds in Maligaya, Science City of Munoz, Nueva Ecija. 

SME | 27

SME 

Save Mother 

Earth 

In other words LED light bulbs are considered “solid-state 

lighting” technologies, those that emit light from sources 

of solid matter instead of harping on environmental 

elements that can possibly heighten depletion of the 

world’s available natural resources. 

Analyzing LED bulbs 

For starters, LED light bulbs promise to help lessen the 

light bill due to its very low energy consumption level. This 

type of light bulb is known to last longer than any other 

traditional lighting and can stay alive until 50,000 hours of 

consumption (which is equivalent to roughly 20 years). 

In fact, these light bulbs radiate low levels of heat and perform 

better than any other traditional pieces with consistently 

the same high-levels of brightness and intensity qualities. 

Although these are made in many colors, the shade LED bulbs 

reflect may not be as clear as regular lighting. 

Is it time to 

switch to 

LED lights? 

The phenomenon behind energy-saver LED bulbs 

is pushing consumers to make the big switch. 

By Portia Silva 

Like most manufacturers of mass consumer goods, the lighting industry 

has long been pursuing to come up with more energy-efficient and safer 

alternatives to incandescent lights, compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) and 

even to true-to-light (TTL) bulbs. With so much environmental issues 

being discussed at hand, electricity has been deemed to be one of the 

largest contributors to destructive gas emissions in the atmosphere. 

While most buyers have already been using TTL bulbs — the lesser evil, 

so they say — most of these lighting devices still tend to lose 80 percent 

of their energy to heat, meaning these light bulbs perform poorly and are 

more expensive. Because of this, the phenomenon behind light emitting 

diode (LED) light bulbs is curiously stealing the spotlight. 

Introducing LED light bulbs 

LED light bulbs have been around the block for many years as these 

have been used to light household essentials like flashlights, television 

remote controls and digital clocks. Light bulb companies have pegged 

LED light bulbs as the “perfect technology” since LED produces light 

when electrons move around within its semiconductor structure, 

unlike incandescent bulbs that emit light from a vacuum and CFLs 

from gas exposures. 

Producers of LED light bulbs also claim that these types 

of lighting devices are resistant to shock and vibration 

which make these easier to install and program. Unlike 

CFLs that contain mercury components, there are no toxic 

ingredients found in LED bulbs. 

Consumers may complain that LED light bulbs appear to 

be more expensive than your regular lights, since typical 

LED bulb costs at a starting price of P700. But again, 

its life span is incomparable and will help you save on 

replacement costs and electricity expenses in the long run. 

Common types of LED bulbs 

There are a variety of LED light bulbs being sold at the 

market today. Here’s a quick rundown of the commonly 

used LED bulbs in both household and commercial sites: 

Flame tips – These indoor LED bulbs are most ideal for 

indoor applications like restrooms, powder rooms and 

storage spaces. Price range: P700 – P850 

Diffused bulbs – Used for areas with low-light 

applications such as bedrooms, libraries and computer 

dens where lights are left on for extended periods of 

time. Price range: P1,200 – P1,515 

Flood reflectors – Dimmable, cool lighting that are great 

replacements for halogens used in hallways and garages. 

Price range: P1,600 – P1,800 

Tube lights – Ideal for kitchen counters and vanity 

rooms, LED tube lights light up the whole space area. 

Price range: P20,000 up 

The verdict 

The popularity of LED light bulbs accompanies the 

expanding movements towards energy conservation 

and it is thus very timely to try them out. Sure there will 

be a lot of lifestyle changes to be done on your part 

and adjusting to LED lighting may take a while, but 

doing so means that you are investing on your electricity 

consumption as well as helping save Mother Earth one 

LED bulb at a time. 

SME | 28

SME 

Lifestyle 

A Benguet feast welcomes 

all hungry travelers 

By Kristine Gonzalez 

Those who trek to the mountain provinces will 

thank the gods for their good journey. Calajo is 

a welcome sight – a food sanctuary, for those in 

need of rest, nurturing, and a great meal, before 

heading back to the trails. Located in La Trinidad 

Valley along Halsema Highway, it has become a 

local landmark that is conveniently right beside 

the strawberry farms. 

Eunice and Danny Wong created a space that 

serves mouth-watering delights whilst keeping 

to the very essence of their Benguet roots. 

Calajo is a native Ibaloi word that means, 

“welcome” and by happenstance, the name 

of Eunice’s parents, Carlos and Josefa. From a 

small eatery in Pines Grocery, an establishment 

that Josefa put up in the 1980’s, word about 

the delicious and affordable meals became 

popular with the locals and Calajo became a 

cherished community favorite. 

The Benguet way of life blends with the restaurant’s 

casual interiors where the walls are covered with 

photos of the beautiful mountain landscape; it’s a 

mural of the earthy yet supernatural culture that’s 

still a mystery to city dwellers. 

Some of the traditional instruments used in 

everyday Ibaloi living are displayed together 

with the works of local woodcarving artists. 

The elements and scenery add to the charm of 

Calajo. With an amazing amount of light from 

the wide windows and the fresh mountain air 

in the open rooftop, this alone is enough to lift 

the spirits of any tourist who has come a long 

way and who has yet to continue on. 

But it’s the food that takes makes you come 

back for more. “Most of our menu is based on 

native Benguet cuisine. But we introduce other 

things too,” says Eunice. The selection is wide 

enough to provide options for everyone – from 

traditional Filipino favorites, to exotic Chinese, 

and tasty Western dishes. 

The meat dishes can bring any man to the 

brink of delirious ecstasy. The pork inihaw is 

the best seller, as well as the lechon kawali, 

beef salpicao, and crispy pork spare ribs. Their 

choice of salads is a good start to any meal. 

Taco salad, crab-stick salad, potato and chunky 

chicken salad, and the best seller: the Calajo 

Greens, a specially created salad that makes 

use of the local produce and the ever-famous 

strawberry fruit for delectable vinaigrette. 

Craving for some seafood is not a problem. 

The bangus belly sinigang hits the spot with 

just the right amount of sourness, and steamed 

lapu-lapu, sweet and sour fish fillet, and prawns 

with orange glaze at P130.00 each will have you 

rushing back and forget about the eight-hour 

drive. It might come as a surprise, but the meals 

and large servings, make you want to relocate 

to Benguet – value for money is impressive. 

Calajo’s piece de resistance is the dokto, the 

camote or sweet potato common to Benguet. 

Eunice and Danny, who both came from a 

business management background and not the 

formal culinary schools, make an impressive 

line of desserts out of the humble root crop. 

From a simple fried dokto that’s drizzled with 

cinnamon powder, to the more complicated 

dokto cream that melts in your mouth with all 

mashed goodness mixed with whipped cream. 

They’ve also experimented with their drink 

concoctions; fruity carrot with ginger with 

fresh oranges and apples, passionate papaya 

with lemon juice, the energizing nutty apple 

with walnuts and bananas, and banana celery 

fresher’s to refresh the palate. “We just love to 

eat,” Danny laughs. 

Every business will need growth and 

expansion; it’s a natural phenomenon in 

order to evolve. Calajo is no different. Eunice 

and Danny have been long time clients 

of Plantersbank, and with the help of the 

bank, the family-run restaurant with the 

heart as big as their servings acquired the 

resources to build a three-storey stand-alone 

restaurant. “They just go out of their way to 

help you,” shares Eunice. Calajo Restaurant 

opened just last year and has been fully 

booked since with weddings, anniversaries, 

graduation dinners, and other events. 

Hard work, commitment, and gratitude to 

abundant harvests are Ibaloi attributes that 

have helped them generations after, as well 

as the love of socializing in festivities and 

family gatherings. It explains why guests feel 

the warmth of the place that’s so opposite 

the cool climate; there’s willingness to serve 

that keep them happy and coming back for 

more, an acceptance of one’s culture and 

openness to others, genuine sincerity, and 

love of food. It’s a celebration of life itself 

that allows Calajo to welcome all. 

Calajo Food House is located at KM. 

4, Baguio-La Trinidad-Bontoc Road, La 

Trinidad, Baguio City. They can be reached 

at (074) 422-1219. 

Danny and Eunice Wong of Calajo. 

Calajo’s menu is inspired by native Benguet cuisine. Their selection is wide enough to 

provide options for their customers. 

Photos by Carlito taano 

SME | 29

SME 

Worth Reading 

Technology Matters 

Innovation can make your business stand the test of the time. 

By Pam Brooke A. Casin 

Here’s the truth: Businesses have always depended on technology (not 

just the gadgetry or gizmos we use per se) but on constant innovation, 

on being able to come up with cutting-edge ideas and strategies, and 

on the ability to apply know-how vis-à-vis real-world obstacles. Of 

course, a few “techie” tricks up your sleeve won’t hurt, too. 

To help you achieve your business potential whether through 

strengthening your presence in social media sites or through 

changing your working pattern due to paradigm shifts or through 

creating solutions to situation-specific problems, here are some reads 

you might want to check out. 

Business Owner’s Guide to the 

Internet: How to Build a Strong 

Web Presence for your Business 

(Paperback) 

Hugo Barreca and Julia K. O’Neill 

Php 699 

It’s essential to let people know that your 

brand is out there in the World Wide Web, 

especially now that the public is glued to their 

Wi-Fi-capable smartphones, laptops, and tablets more than ever— 

looking to understand what your business is all about. 

The Business Owner’s Guide to the Internet provides you critical 

information on how to use the Web to your advantage. Here, 

authors Barreca and O’Neill dishes out how you can build and 

register your website, select and request your domain, register your 

copyright, develop customer relationships, attract visitors to your site, 

and sell your products and services online. 

Sustainable Excellence: Future of 

Business in a Fast-Changing World 

(Paperback) 

Aron Cramer and Zachary Karabell 

Php 699 

In Sustainable Excellence, Cramer and 

Karabell examine Coca-Cola, Nike, Starbucks, 

and other companies that are continuously 

transforming and reinventing themselves due 

to various paradigm shifts in the business 

landscape—scarcity of natural resources, 

technological advances, and change in consumer expectations, 

among others. 

The book sheds light on how other businesses can follow these 

companies’ initiatives as well as let entrepreneurs know it’s okay to 

change one’s way of doing business to keep your company afloat. 

Idea Stormers: How to Lead and 

Inspire Creative Breakthroughs 

(Hardcover) 

Bryan Mattimore 

Php 1,199 

Businesses need fresh and new ideas to 

survive, but bosses and managers can’t just 

force themselves to brainstorm with their 

team and hope for the best. According to 

Mattimore, “ideation” is both a science and 

an art and “when group ideation processes are well-designed 

and well-facilitated”, anyone can produce new creative and 

implementable options for the company. 

Drawing on his work at over 300 organizations, Mattimore gives 

different techniques and lays the groundwork on how to “ideate” 

and how to apply these methods for your business. It’s a practical 

and smart guide for developing solutions to even the most 

difficult creative roadblocks. 

The End of Business As Usual: 

Rewire the Way You Work 

to Succeed in the Consumer 

Revolution (Hardcover) 

Brian Solis 

Php 1,123 

Doing business today means having the 

mobile web and social media at your 

disposal. In The End of Business As 

Usual, Solis lets us in on the intricate “information revolution” 

happening now and how it has changed the face and future 

of business, media, and culture. Solis also tells that companies 

have to lead and embrace this change to be successful in their 

endeavors and transactions. 

The book is an invaluable guide to entrepreneurs—a veritable 

source of ideas on how to win the hearts and minds of customers 

with new media experiences in order to survive this new era of 

“digital Darwinism”. 

(Source: www.fullybookedonline.com) 

ALL BOOKS AVAILABLE AT FULLYBOOKED. 

SME | 30

SME 

Tax Calendar 

MAY DEADLINES 

2 Thursday – LAST DAY OF SUBMISSION 

• Engagement letter and renewals or subsequent agreements for 

financial audit by independent CPAs for FY beginning July 1, 2013 

3 Friday – LAST DAY OF FILING 

• SEC - AFS for FY ended December 2012 by corporations whose SEC 

registration numbers end in 5 or 6 

5 Sunday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/PAYMENT 

• 2000 - DST for April 2013 

SUBMISSION 

• Summary report of certifications issued by the President of NHMFC 

(RA 7279) for April 2013 

8 Wednesday – LAST DAY OF e-SUBMISSION 

• eSales report by taxpayers using CRM/POS and other sales machine 

with TIN ending in an even number for April 2013 

SUBMISSION 

• Transcript sheets of ORB for distilled spirits, wines, fermented liquor, 

tobacco products, oil, automobiles, and cigarette paper for April 2013 

10 Friday – LAST DAY OF 

e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/PAYMENT/REMITTANCE 

• 1600 - Withholding VAT/PT for April 2013 

FILING and REMITTANCE 

• 1601C, 1601E, 1601F and 1602 - Withholding return on 

compensation, EWT and FWT for April 2013 (non-eFPS taxpayers) 

e-SUBMISSION 


with TIN ending in an odd number for April 2013 

SUBMISSION 

• Transcript sheets of ORB for mineral products for April 2013 

• A sugar cooperative’s list of buyers of sugar for April 2013, together 

with a copy of certificate of advance payment of VAT made by 

each buyer appearing on the list 

• Information return on releases of refined sugar by the proprietor or 

operator of a sugar refinery or mill for April 2013 

DISTRIBUTION 

• 2306 - Certificate of VAT/PT withheld for April 2013 

• 2307 - Certificate of creditable PT withheld for April 2013 

FILING 



REMITTANCE 

• PhilHealth - ME-5 contributions for April 2013 

• SSS - R-5 contributions for April 2013 of employers with SSS 

identification numbers ending in 1 or 2 

11 Saturday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING 


compensation, EWT and FWT for April 2013 (Group E) 

12 Sunday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING 


compensation, EWT and FWT for April 2013 (Group D) 

13 Monday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING 


compensation, EWT and FWT for April 2013 (Group C) 

14 Tuesday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING 


compensation, EWT and FWT for April 2013 (Group B) 

REMITTANCE 

• HDMF - M1-1 contributions by employers whose names start with 

letters A to D for April 2013 

15 Wednesday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING 


compensation, EWT and FWT for April 2013 (Group A) 

e-PAYMENT 


compensation, EWT and FWT for April 2013 (all eFPS groups) 

e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/PAYMENT 

• 1702 and 1702-AIF – Annual ITR and AIF for corporations and 

partnerships for FY ended January 2013 

• 1704 - IAET for FY ended April 2012 

FILING and PAYMENT 

• 1707A - Consolidated CGT return for shares not traded in the stock 

exchange for FY ended January 2013 

REGISTRATION 

• Bound computer-generated/loose-leaf books of accounts and other 

accounting records for FY ended April 2013 

e-SUBMISSION 

• Summary list of machines (CRM-POS) sold by machine distributors/ 

dealers/vendors/suppliers for TQ ended April 2013 

SUBMISSION 

• PEZA - AFS filed with the BIR on April 15, 2013 by PEZA-registered enterprises 

for CY 2012 

• PhilHealth - RF-1 remittance report for April 2013 

REMITTANCE 



16 Thursday – LAST DAY OF FILING 

• SEC - AFS for FY ended January 2013 by corporations whose 

securities are registered under RSA or SRC 




19 Sunday – LAST DAY OF REMITTANCE 


letters E to L for April 2013 

20 Monday – LAST DAY OF FILING and PAYMENT 

• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for April 2013 (non-eFPS taxpayers) 


• 2551Q - PT for TQ ended April 2013 

DISTRIBUTION 

• 2307 - Certificate of EWT for TQ ended April 2013 

REMITTANCE 




• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for April 2013 (Group E) 


• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for April 2013 (Group D) 

23 Thursday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING 

• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for April 2013 (Group C) 

24 Friday – LAST DAY OF 

e-FILING 

• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for April 2013 (Group B) 

REMITTANCE 


letters M to Q for April 2013 


• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for April 2013 (Group A) 

e-PAYMENT 

• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for April 2013 (all eFPS groups) 


• 2550Q - VAT for TQ ended April 2013 

SUBMISSION 

• Summary lists of sales/purchases by VAT-registered taxpayers (noneFPS 

taxpayers) for TQ ended April 2013 

• Sworn statement of manufacturers or importers on the volume of sales 

per brand of alcohol and tobacco products from February to April 2013 

REMITTANCE 



30 Thursday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/ 

PAYMENT 

• 1702Q - Quarterly ITR for CQ ended March 2013 

REGISTRATION 

• Computerized books of accounts and other accounting records in 

CD-R, DVD-R or other optical media, and affidavit on the postreporting 

requirements for CAS for FY ended April 2013 

e-SUBMISSION 

• Summary lists of sales/purchases by VAT-registered taxpayers (all eFPS 

groups) for TQ ended April 2013 

SUBMISSION 

• Inventory list for FY ended April 2013 

• PEZA - ITR filed with the BIR on May 15, 2013 by PEZA-registered 

enterprises for TY January 2013 

• BOI - Transcript sheets of ORB by qualified jewelry enterprises for FY 

ended April 2013 

31 Friday – LAST DAY OF REGISTRATION 

• Manual books of accounts and other accounting records if using 

new books for FY beginning June 1, 2013 

FILING 

• SEC - AFS for FY ended January 2013 by corporations whose 

securities are not registered under RSA or SRC 

REMITTANCE 




letters R to Z for April 2013 

JUNE DEADLINES 

3 Monday – LAST DAY OF SUBMISSION 

• Engagement letters and renewals or subsequent agreements for 

financial audit by independent CPAs for FY beginning August 1, 2013 

5 Wednesday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/ 

PAYMENT 

• 2000 - DST for May 2013 

SUBMISSION 

• Summary report of certifications issued by the President of NHMFC 

(RA 7279) for May 2013 

8 Saturday – LAST DAY OF 

e-SUBMISSION 


with TIN ending in an even number for May 2013 

SUBMISSION 


tobacco products, oil, automobiles, and cigarette paper for May 2013 

10 Monday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/PAYMENT 

• 1600 - Withholding VAT/PT for May 2013 

• 1606 - Withholding on transfer of real property other than capital 

assets for May 2013 

FILING and REMITTANCE 


compensation, EWT and FWT for May 2013 (non-eFPS taxpayers) 

e-SUBMISSION 


with TIN ending in an odd number for May 2013 

SUBMISSION 

• Transcript sheets of ORB for mineral products for May 2013 


tobacco products, oil, automobiles, and cigarette paper for May 2013 

• A sugar cooperative’s list of buyers of sugar for May 2013, together with a copy of 

certificate of advance payment of VAT made by each buyer appearing on the list 

• Information return on releases of refined sugar by the proprietor or 

operator of a sugar refinery or mill for May 2013 

DISTRIBUTION 

• 2306 - Certificate of VAT/PT withheld for May 2013 

• 2307 - Certificate of creditable PT withheld for May 2013 

REMITTANCE 

• PhilHealth - ME-5 contributions for May 2013 

• SSS - R-5 contributions for May 2013 of employers with SSS 




compensation, EWT and FWT for May 2013 (Group E) 



compensation, EWT and FWT for May 2013 (Group D) 

13 Thursday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING 


compensation, EWT and FWT for May 2013 (Group C) 

FILING 

• SEC - AFS for FY ended February 2013 by corporations whose 

securities are registered under RSA or SRC 

14 Friday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING 


compensation, EWT and FWT for May 2013 (Group B) 

SUBMISSION 

• PEZA - AFS filed with the BIR on May 15, 2013 by PEZA-registered 

enterprises for FY ended January 2013 

REMITTANCE 


letters A to D for May 2013 



compensation, EWT and FWT for May 2013 (Group A) 

e-PAYMENT 


compensation, EWT and FWT 

for May 2013 (all eFPS groups) 


• 1702 and 1702-AIF – Annual ITR and AIF for corporations and 

partnerships for FY ended February 2013 

• 1704 - IAET for FY ended May 2012 

FILING and PAYMENT 

• 1707A - Consolidated CGT return for shares not traded in the stock 

exchange for FY ended February 2013 

REGISTRATION 

• Bound computer-generated/loose-leaf books of accounts and other 

accounting records for FY ended May 2013 

SUBMISSION 

• PhilHealth - RF-1 remittance report for May 2013 

e-SUBMISSION 

• Summary list of machines (CRM-POS) sold by machine distributors/ 

dealers/vendors/suppliers for TQ ended May 2013 

REMITTANCE 



19 Wednesday – LAST DAY OF REMITTANCE 


letters E to L for May 2013 

20 Thursday – LAST DAY OF FILING and PAYMENT 

• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for May 2013 (non-eFPS taxpayers) 


• 2551Q - PT for TQ ended May 2013 

DISTRIBUTION 

• 2307 - Certificate of EWT for TQ ended May 2013 

REMITTANCE 



21 Friday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING 

• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for May 2013 (Group E) 


• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for May 2013 (Group D) 

23 Sunday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING 

• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for May 2013 (Group C) 

24 Monday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING 

• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for May 2013 (Group B) 

REMITTANCE 


letters M to Q for May 2013 


• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for May 2013 (Group A) 

e-PAYMENT 

• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for May 2013 (all eFPS groups) 


• 2550Q - VAT for TQ ended May 2013 

SUBMISSION 

• Summary lists of sales/purchases by VAT-registered taxpayers (noneFPS 

taxpayers) for TQ ended May 2013 

• Sworn statement of manufacturers or importers on the volume of sales 

per brand of alcohol and tobacco products from March to May 2013 

REMITTANCE 




• SEC - AFS for FY ended February 2013 by corporations whose 

securities are not registered under RSA or SRC 

SUBMISSION 

• BOI - Transcript sheets of ORB by qualified jewelry enterprises for FY ended May 2013 

29 Saturday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/ 

PAYMENT 

• 1702Q - Quarterly ITR for TQ ended April 2013 

30 Sunday – LAST DAY OF e-SUBMISSION 

• Summary lists of sales/purchases by VAT-registered taxpayers (all eFPS 

groups) for TQ ended May 2013 

SUBMISSION 

• Inventory list for FY ended May 2013 

• PEZA-ITR filed with the BIR on June 15, 2013 by PEZA-registered 

enterprises for TY February 2013 

• Sworn statements of automobile manufacturers, assemblers or 

importers for first semester of CY 2013 

REGISTRATION 

• Manual books of accounts and other accounting records if using 

new books for FY beginning July 1, 2013 

• Computerized books of accounts and other accounting records in 

CD-R, DVD-R or other optical media, and affidavit on the postreporting 

requirements for CAS for FY ended May 2013 

PAYMENT 

• LGU - Payment of real property tax second installment for 2013 

REMITTANCE 


letters R to Z for May 2013 



SME | 31

SME 

Billboard 

POS Facility for SMEs 

SME Interactive Web Solutions Inc. recently 

launched the Super Merchant Express Pay- 

On-Site facility (SME POS) for Small and 

Medium Enterprises (SMEs). 

The SME POS is an electronic payment 

acquiring and processing facility that will 

help make it easier for SME merchants to 

accept card payments through the use of POS 

terminals. With this facility, SME merchants 

are ensured that all payments are exact, 

lessens the problem of having to provide 

loose change and also lessens the risk of theft 

because cash is not kept in the register. 

Aside from these, the SME POS gives 

merchants the following advantages: 

• Accept payments from any MasterCard, 

Visa, BancNet, MegaLink, Expressnet and 

Globe G Cash Cards 

• Earn more with every usage. Lower 

interchange rates compared to other POS 

providers, even with service merchants 

like gas stations, drug stores, groceries, 

etc. 

• Integrate an internet payment gateway 

into online web store 

• Consolidate sales and payments with 

reports provided to the client daily 

• Wireless POS terminals are also available 

for deliveries and remote collections 

All interested businesses may call SME 

Interactive Web Solutions Inc. at (02) 884-7600 

local 3311, or email kctayao@sme.com.ph. 

12th Philippine Robotics Olympiad 2013 

Felta Multi Media, Inc. has started preparations for its annual Philippine 

Robotics Olympiad (PRO), a science, technology and educational 

event which aims to offer our country’s promising elementary and 

secondary students an opportunity to expand their horizons through 

the exploration of robots and robotic systems in schools. Schedule of 

activities are as follows: 

June 7 – Advisory Committee Meeting 

June 21 – Launching Ceremony 

June 28 – Meeting with the Board Judges 

July 19- 20 – Teacher’s Training 

For inquiries, you may visit their website at www.felta.ph or call PRO 

National Secretariat Office: Felta Multi Media Inc. at telephone nos. 

(02) 912-1397, 438-3841 or 438- 1756. You may also email them at 

felta@pldtdsl.net 

Philippine SME Business Expo 2013 

The biggest business expo in the Philippines this 2013, Philippine SME 

Business Expo 2013 aims to strengthen the nation’s growing Small and 

Medium enterprises (SMEs) and Entrepreneurs. The expo will be held on 

May 17-19, 2013 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City, Metro Manila. 

With approximately 500 booths and 25,000 expected visitors, this threeday 

expo and convention will be showcasing the country’s growing SME 

market. This will give exhibitors and visitors the chance to interact with 

each other by presenting their products and different services. 

For more information, log on to: http://philippinesmebusinessexpo.com/ 

Find Solace in Acuatico 

If you are still searching for the perfect summer getaway, Acuatico Beach Resort just maybe the destination you are looking for. 

Located in Laiya , San Juan,Batangas, Acuatico Beach resort offers vacationers the ideal refuge for fun and relaxation. Acuatico 

offers Balinese-inspired villas with well-appointed rooms complete with amenities, an infinity pool, and unique Day Tour areas 

for tourists and guests who want to relax in elegance and style. It serves the best in food and accommodates guests’ requests 

- whether the cuisine be local or international – to suit their tastes. Owned by young entrepreneur couple Noli and Simonette 

Gusi, it boasts of a 700 sqm. infinity-edge pool that seems to assimilate with the blue waters of the adjacent sea, and distinctly 

differentiates it from other resorts in the area. The Infinity Pool is complemented by a Jacuzzi, a kiddie pool and a floating bar at 

the pool’s center. For bookings and reservations, please call 304-9908 or visit www.acuaticoresort.com.ph. 

SME | 32

The Innovators - Planters Development Bank

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