MANILA, Philippines - IBM yesterday announced the appointment of Mariels Almeda Winhoffer as president and country general manager for IBM Philippines, the first Filipina to hold the highest post in the American giant technology firm.

She succeeds James Velasquez who has been appointed Director, Maintenance and Technical Support, IBM Global Technology Services IBM ASEAN. The appointment will take effect immediately.  

Born and raised in Manila, Alemda Winhoffer started her career in IBM 26 years ago most recently serving as Client Advocacy Executive for IBM Corp., where she reported directly to the chairman and provided support for global client engagements.

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines has the inherent attractiveness and ability to seize upcoming business opportunities as it steps up as the next favored destination in ASEAN.

According to Synovate’s business consulting head for the Philippines, and Singapore group director, Anand Kumar, the Philippines needs to immediately seize this opportunity.

The Philippine government, he said, must come up with more incentives for setting up manufacturing hubs. It must also address its steep electricity rates to lure more foreign direct investment (FDI).

BALER, Aurora, Philippines – Senator Edgardo J. Angara is pushing for a holistic and science-based approach to disaster management as he underscored the importance of crafting a comprehensive, information-driven plan which the Philippines should implement to deal with natural disasters brought about by climate change.

“The recent devastation in Northern Mindanao should only underline the necessity of such a project,” he said.He stressed developing a high overall level of preparedness against disaster requires the cooperation of all government agencies. Partnerships with local governments must be developed, and training and planning for emergency response provided.

Believing that a strong science education in this country can help propel the growth of its economy, the Bonifacio Art Foundation Inc. (Bafi) has recently unveiled the country’s first world-class science museum.

Dubbed as The Mind Museum, this ambitious project is targeted to be at par with other world-class museums, from its sleek futuristic building design down to the numerous interactive exhibits that will be made available to the public by summer of 2012.

Sitting on a 12,500-square-meter prime lot of the JY Campos Park on 3rd Avenue in Bonifacio Global City, the P1-billion project was conceived as early as 2006 by Bafi, the group in charge of Bonifacio Global City’s public art program.