Businesses That Last - Planters Development Bank
Businesses That Last - Planters Development Bank
Businesses That Last - Planters Development Bank
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FEATURE<br />
Davao Rock<br />
RFT Enterprises<br />
SME FOCUS<br />
What kind of leader are you?<br />
How to organize your sales force<br />
The art of outsmarting<br />
LIFESTYLE<br />
Be the best that you can be with<br />
life-enriching seminars<br />
A PLANTERSBANK PUBLICATION FOR ENTREPRENEURS VOL. 11 • ISSUE 01 • JANUARY 2013<br />
<strong>Businesses</strong> <strong>That</strong> <strong>Last</strong><br />
Surviving adversities, building timeless enterprises<br />
The Jarinas of INTECO<br />
Philippines and ARK Diversified<br />
and Auto Motors Group
SME | 2
Are you patient enough to make your<br />
business grow?<br />
While some start-up ventures can go from zero to 60 in<br />
no time flat, most businesses still have to be cultivated the<br />
old-fashioned way: with time, effort, and lots of hands-on<br />
learning along the way. So if you are not the patient kind, you<br />
may not last. Particularly when adversities strike. And strike<br />
they will.<br />
Fortunately, patience has its rewards, and it can be in the<br />
form of a rock-stable business that can stand the test of time.<br />
This is something that we see in our featured companies<br />
for this issue. The subject of our cover story, INTECO, has<br />
grown through the years and defied naysayers to become the<br />
country’s leading distributor of a popular Japanese automotive<br />
brand. Our story on RFT Enterprises, meanwhile, tells the tale<br />
about a man who was eager to have his own business for<br />
the longest time, and finally got to build it—better late than<br />
never. And speaking of rock-stable businesses, Davao Rock is<br />
the success story of a husband and wife team who took on<br />
sacrifices to build a solid foundation for their firm.<br />
As always, we are committed to also sharing tips and insights<br />
that we hope can help make your business run even better.<br />
You’ll find out what kind of a leader you are, and what<br />
the advantages and disadvantages of your leadership style<br />
might be. You’ll learn why you may actually have the right to<br />
check on your employees’ e-mails. And we’ll show you some<br />
creative ways to set up your corporate entities.<br />
<strong>Planters</strong>bank has always been committed to helping build<br />
strong SMEs. We hope that this issue helps you in your quest<br />
to make your business grow.<br />
Ambassador Jesus P. Tambunting<br />
Chairman and CEO<br />
<strong>Planters</strong> <strong>Development</strong> <strong>Bank</strong><br />
SME | 1
SME<br />
Staff Box | Contents<br />
PUBLISHER<br />
<strong>Planters</strong> <strong>Development</strong> <strong>Bank</strong><br />
EDITORIAL ADVISER<br />
Victoria Tambunting-Alfonso<br />
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF<br />
Bobby F. Banaag<br />
EXECUTIVE EDITOR<br />
Olive B. Ramirez<br />
CIRCULATION MANAGER<br />
Joy C. Ursua<br />
contributor<br />
Therese Gutierrez<br />
03 Around the World<br />
04 Newsline<br />
06 Bizbeat<br />
18 Cover Story INTECO Philippines<br />
22 Feature Davao Rock<br />
25 Feature RFT Enterprises<br />
28 Save Mother Earth Gift ideas that love the Earth back<br />
29 Lifestyle Live the right life!<br />
30 Worth Reading Of startups and survivals<br />
31 Tax Calendar<br />
32 Billboard<br />
EDITORIAL CONSULTANT<br />
Art Ilano<br />
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER<br />
Lurisa Villanueva<br />
MANAGING EDITOR<br />
Maita de Jesus<br />
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT<br />
Pam Brooke Casin<br />
JR. ART DIRECTOR<br />
Kimberly Claire Bernardo<br />
SR. GRAPHIC ARTIST<br />
Reggie Goloy<br />
GRAPHIC ARTIST<br />
Maud Villanueva<br />
Illustrations by Darlanne Sue Ong<br />
08 SME Focus:<br />
Leadership<br />
Advertising<br />
Sales<br />
Organization<br />
Write to us!<br />
Send us a line or two at info@<br />
plantersbank.com.ph and be the<br />
lucky feedback sender to WIN<br />
this exclusive “I love SMEs”mug.<br />
Case Study<br />
Technology<br />
Strategy<br />
Taxation<br />
SME | 2
SME<br />
Around the<br />
World<br />
New Ideas from<br />
Everywhere<br />
By Pam Brooke A. Casin<br />
New research shows<br />
top three priorities for<br />
small businesses<br />
Google Inc. has recently revealed key<br />
priorities for small businesses in 2013.<br />
In its research, Google found that small<br />
business workers plan to work more<br />
efficiently, increase communication with<br />
colleagues and customers, and leave<br />
work on time more often this year as<br />
part of their New Year’s Resolutions.<br />
Gathering opinions from over 3,500<br />
small business employees in the UK,<br />
France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the<br />
Netherlands, Google said that over three<br />
quarters or 80% made work-related New<br />
Year’s Resolutions.<br />
Said resolutions, are in fact, a reflection<br />
of the frustrations voiced by small<br />
businesses about working practices in<br />
2012, where 71% of small business<br />
employees saw life at work “tough,”<br />
lacking teamwork, and with long<br />
working hours. The study further showed<br />
that a third or 38% of workers said<br />
that their workload was heavier in 2012<br />
compared to 2011.<br />
Communication and administrative<br />
struggles also proved cumbersome for<br />
the employees, with unnecessary tasks<br />
holding them back from maximizing their<br />
potential. Over 71% of employees also<br />
aired their frustrations over gathering the<br />
whole team together to discuss projects.<br />
But while some businesses still believe in<br />
the power of traditional communication<br />
methods like e-mail, phone, and<br />
meetings, tech-savvy businesses are now<br />
employing online organizational tools for<br />
better interaction among employees—<br />
proving that they now have a better<br />
understanding of how “collaborative<br />
technology” can benefit the workplace.<br />
Ireland: NPRF unveils<br />
new funds for SME sector<br />
The National Pensions Reserve Fund<br />
(NPRF) promised to provide up to<br />
€500m to three new funds to invest<br />
in Irish businesses and to loan and<br />
help restructure troubled SMEs.<br />
The first fund, the SME Equity Fund,<br />
will have a total size of €300-350m<br />
and will aid “healthy” businesses<br />
who still want to grow. It is managed<br />
by Carlyle Cardinal Ireland in Dublin.<br />
The second fund, the SME<br />
Turnaround Fund, will have €100M,<br />
with €50m coming from the NPRF,<br />
and will invest in “under-perfoming<br />
companies which are near the point<br />
of insolvency, but have the potential<br />
for financial and operational<br />
restructuring.” It is managed by<br />
Better Capital, which will set up a<br />
Dublin office.<br />
The third fund, the SME Credit<br />
Fund, will have a fund size of<br />
€450m, with NPRF committing<br />
€175-325m depending on the<br />
amount coming from third-party<br />
investments. Managed by BlueBay<br />
Asset Management, it is seen to lend<br />
money to larger SMEs and mid-sized<br />
companies.<br />
UK: Worcester Local<br />
Enterprise Partnership<br />
urges SMEs to apply for<br />
grant aid<br />
SMEs in the United Kingdom have<br />
been urged by the Worcestershire<br />
Local Enterprise Partnership (WLEP) to<br />
apply for innovation voucher funding.<br />
A project by the Technology Strategy<br />
Board Initiative, the Innovation Vouchers<br />
program offers SMEs grants of up to<br />
£5,000 “to explore new ideas with a<br />
specialist knowledge provider.”<br />
WLEP chair Peter Pawsey said,<br />
“Innovation is the lifeblood of SMEs<br />
and this is a great opportunity for<br />
Worcestershire entrepreneurs to take a<br />
leap forward.”<br />
Said grants will provide funding for<br />
businesses “to work for an external<br />
expert for the first time,” who will<br />
help them gain new knowledge for<br />
innovation, development, and growth.<br />
<strong>Businesses</strong> that will be awarded<br />
with grants will have the chance to<br />
collaborate with expert suppliers—<br />
universities, further education colleges,<br />
research and technology organizations,<br />
technical consultancies and Catapult<br />
centres, design advisers and intellectual<br />
property advisers.<br />
SME | 3
SME<br />
Newsline<br />
Fil-Cebuano Business Club meets with <strong>Planters</strong>bank chair<br />
Officials of the Filipino-<br />
Cebuano Business Club<br />
Inc. (FCBI) during their<br />
recent visit to Manila<br />
paid a courtesy call to<br />
<strong>Planters</strong>bank chairman and<br />
CEO Ambassador Jesus P.<br />
Tambunting. The officials,<br />
headed by FCBI president<br />
Rey Calooy, also took the<br />
opportunity to discuss<br />
initiatives of the FCBI<br />
and seek the support of<br />
<strong>Planters</strong>bank via technical<br />
and financial assistance<br />
as they expect further<br />
growth of the SME<br />
sector in Cebu. One<br />
of the projects of<br />
<strong>Planters</strong>bank in Cebu is<br />
the SME Business Park, a<br />
45-hectare land located<br />
in Naga City, Cebu that<br />
entitles locators to have<br />
their own industrial lot<br />
while enjoying special<br />
economic zone incentives<br />
like tax and duty-free<br />
privileges. “<strong>Planters</strong>bank<br />
has always remained<br />
focused in serving the<br />
needs of our Filipino<br />
SMEs that is why part<br />
of our thrust is to<br />
offer beyond banking<br />
programs that will<br />
help the SMEs better<br />
manage their business<br />
and become globally<br />
competitive,” says<br />
Ambassador Tambunting.<br />
A custom home made possible by a custom housing loan<br />
Owning a dream home can<br />
now be an affordable reality<br />
with <strong>Planters</strong>bank Home Loan.<br />
Seeing the rising number<br />
of Filipinos wanting to have<br />
a house they can call their<br />
own, <strong>Planters</strong>bank designed<br />
its home loan to offer flexible<br />
payment terms and rate fixing<br />
periods to give their clients<br />
the peace of mind to continue<br />
living comfortably in the house<br />
they worked hard for.<br />
<strong>Planters</strong>bank Home Loan may be used for the following:<br />
• Acquisition of vacant lot, house and lot, townhouse or<br />
condominium unit<br />
• Construction, expansion or renovation of residence<br />
• Refinancing of existing housing loan with other<br />
banks<br />
• Reimbursement for recent acquisition of residential<br />
property or construction of residence<br />
Those interested to avail or have inquiries may call <strong>Planters</strong>bank<br />
Direct at (02) 812-5325, email info@plantersbank.com.ph or<br />
visit www.plantersbank.com.ph.<br />
<strong>Planters</strong>bank joins OFW Summit<br />
The Villar Foundation, in partnership with Go Negosyo<br />
recently staged the 2nd OFW & Family Summit at the World<br />
Trade Center with <strong>Planters</strong>bank supporting the activity as one<br />
of the exhibitors.<br />
The event provided various business and investment<br />
opportunities for the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and<br />
their families to help them manage and further grow their<br />
hard-earned resources. The summit also provided a venue to<br />
help them network with business owners, franchise holders,<br />
and other groups that can help them start their own business.<br />
SME | 4
<strong>Planters</strong>bank appoints Carlos<br />
Borromeo as its new president<br />
<strong>Planters</strong> <strong>Development</strong> <strong>Bank</strong> (<strong>Planters</strong>bank) announced the<br />
appointment of Carlos M. Borromeo as President and COO<br />
of the bank effective January 1, 2013.<br />
“We believe in Carlos Borromeo’s leadership capabilities,<br />
which are consistent with our mission and vision to develop<br />
and enable entrepreneurs in the country,” said <strong>Planters</strong>bank<br />
chairman and CEO Ambassador Jesus P. Tambunting.<br />
The appointment of Borromeo, a business professional<br />
who now has over 22 years of banking experience in<br />
both front-line and support functions, is also seen to<br />
augur well for small and medium scale enterprises as it<br />
signals a renewed commitment from the bank to continue<br />
offering services tailor-fitted for budding entrepreneurs.<br />
Borromeo, 46, first joined the bank in January 2012 as<br />
executive vice president and chief financial officer. An<br />
alumnus of Ateneo De Manila University with a Bachelor<br />
of Arts degree in Economics, Borromeo also holds a<br />
Masters in Business Management from the Asian Institute<br />
of Management, graduating with High Distinction. A<br />
Student Achievement Awardee from the Asian Wall Street<br />
Journal, Borromeo has since coached and mentored<br />
bank management trainees from a number of financial<br />
institutions. He has also conducted trainings in Asset Liability<br />
Management for both the Money Market Association and<br />
BAIPHIL.<br />
In accepting his appointment, Borromeo said, “I am honored<br />
and delighted to be able to lead <strong>Planters</strong>bank, the country’s<br />
lead bank for SMEs, to greater heights this year even as I<br />
look forward to working with the company’s dedicated<br />
employees to bring innovative products and personalized<br />
services to our clients all over the country.”<br />
<strong>Planters</strong>bank is currently the largest privately-owned and<br />
managed development bank in the Philippines with total<br />
assets of over P50 billion and a nationwide network of 74<br />
branches. Its prestigious international shareholders include<br />
the World <strong>Bank</strong>’s International Finance Corporation (IFC),<br />
the Asian <strong>Development</strong> <strong>Bank</strong> (ADB) and the Netherlands<br />
<strong>Development</strong> Finance Company (FMO).<br />
Academy for entrepreneurs launched<br />
<strong>Planters</strong>bank continues to strengthen its advocacy to enable entrepreneurs with the<br />
launch of the SME Academy, a nationwide roadshow which aims to teach SME owners<br />
the necessary “hard skills” to better manage and grow their business.<br />
The academy did a pilot run in Cagayan de Oro and Baguio with life and personal<br />
finance advocate, Randell Tiongson, teaching SMEs the basics of financial management.<br />
Tiongson spoke in great length about how personal finance directly affects an enterprise’s<br />
cash flow. “The key to creating a positive roadmap to financial wealth is knowing where<br />
the business is financially, deciding where the enterprise wants to go, formulating a<br />
suitable budget that meets the needs of the company and keeping tab of progress,”<br />
according to Tiongson. “While these things are simple and rudimentary, it is easy to<br />
forget these basic steps. While the business is at its early stages, it is best to look at the<br />
financials already,” added Tiongson.<br />
Randell Tiongson<br />
The SME Academy is a spin-off of the highly successful SME Speaker Series which<br />
focuses on motivational talks for entrepreneurs. The <strong>Planters</strong>bank SME Academy, on the<br />
other hand, is more about teaching the entrepreneurs the necessary skills in Marketing,<br />
Accounting and Finance, Taxation, Human Relations, and the like. The academy is set<br />
to tour more key cities this year.<br />
SME | 5
Bizbeat<br />
Business opportunities<br />
for SMEs<br />
By Herbie M. Sancianco<br />
2013 will definitely be a great year (by<br />
my reckoning) as there are strong signs<br />
that the Philippine economy remains<br />
bullish in the near term. This bodes well<br />
for the small business entrepreneur.<br />
Here are some business opportunities<br />
that I expect to do well this year.<br />
SHORT COURSE EDUCATION<br />
As small businesses<br />
grow, there will be a<br />
clear need for good,<br />
qualified talent to man<br />
the various positions in<br />
many companies.<br />
Should new talent be<br />
in short supply due<br />
to their qualifications,<br />
many companies may<br />
tend to add more<br />
responsibilities to their<br />
staff pool or shift some<br />
of the star performers<br />
to other departments.<br />
These reassignments are<br />
usually a preparation<br />
for the employee<br />
concerned to move up<br />
the corporate ladder.<br />
security services, foreign-language and<br />
automotive repair, among many subjects,<br />
will see a lot of strong interest.<br />
STAFF RECRUITMENT SERVICES<br />
Staff recruitment is a long and arduous<br />
process, particularly if a company needs<br />
a lot of fresh talent for new positions,<br />
or even replacements for resigned or<br />
promoted employees.<br />
magnet for bulk talent recruitment. Call<br />
centers, labor-intensive manufacturing,<br />
and fastfood companies are often the<br />
In some cases, the small<br />
business owner may<br />
realize that there will be a great need<br />
to have the person’s skills updated so<br />
that he or she can be adept to handle<br />
the growth – be a better ship captain,<br />
so to speak.<br />
Hence, business and technical service<br />
schools that offer short courses for<br />
key functions such as marketing, sales,<br />
accounting, human resources, culinary,<br />
But while there are many college<br />
graduates out there, there are also<br />
many companies that are experiencing<br />
a shortage in the supply of qualified<br />
talent due to the mismatch between<br />
job qualification requirements and<br />
applicants’ credentials.<br />
Job fairs that are sponsored by local<br />
governments or industries can be a<br />
SME | 6
key participants. Many however say that<br />
going to these job fairs is like digging<br />
exhaustively for gold, in that there’s a need<br />
to carefully screen so many applicants<br />
before you get the very few that will<br />
eventually qualify.<br />
Thus, staff recruitment services will be<br />
a flourishing small business for many<br />
veteran, and perhaps retired, human<br />
resource experts.<br />
Online recruitment companies are also<br />
doing extremely well since, for the price of<br />
their prescribed fees, corporate recruiters<br />
can receive pre-screened applicants that<br />
will fit their hiring requirements. Payment<br />
is rather easy if the head of corporate<br />
recruiting has a credit card.<br />
GERIATRIC CARE SERVICES<br />
The Philippine population is now seeing<br />
more people reaching their senior citizen<br />
age, particularly those who were born<br />
after the Second World War. The latest<br />
NSO statistics suggest that the birth rate<br />
is slowing down while the senior citizen<br />
segment is slowly rising.<br />
Hence, a company that’s devoted to this<br />
health care sector will see good business<br />
up ahead. This in a way will slowly<br />
resolve the glut of jobless nurses as far<br />
as this business model is concerned. This<br />
business idea can also be tied up with<br />
an HMO company that in turn may have<br />
this as a new and added service.<br />
Such a company is a multiplier force that<br />
augments what hospitals cannot provide for<br />
this market segment. Home care services will<br />
also be growing in demand as it provides<br />
the convenience of primary care right at a<br />
patient’s home.<br />
AUTOMOTIVE I.T. CARE<br />
SERVICES<br />
The mechanical performance of cars today<br />
(and in the future) are basically controlled<br />
by computer boxes which activate every<br />
time drivers turn on the ignition key.<br />
Typhoon Ondoy paved the way for a new<br />
business opportunity, where technical<br />
experts who are particularly honed in<br />
automotive computer engineering were<br />
sought out as an alternative to buying<br />
a new computer box that costs a lot of<br />
money. So desperate were some of these<br />
motorists who could not afford a new box<br />
that they would even beg laptop computer<br />
repair shops to have a look at their cars’<br />
computer boxes!<br />
Car tune-ups of tomorrow will include<br />
computer box diagnostics service apart<br />
from changing the oil and spark plugs.<br />
While the major auto dealers have this<br />
as an in-house service, this service is not<br />
yet widely available as an independent<br />
business enterprise.<br />
Automotive repair shops can have<br />
computer box diagnostics as an added<br />
service to their portfolio, or it can<br />
become a standalone service. Location<br />
will be a key business recipe for success,<br />
however. This business idea sounds like a<br />
niche market for now, but not for long.<br />
HOME REPAIR SERVICES<br />
Getting a good carpenter, mason or<br />
even a plumber to undertake general<br />
home repair work is proving to be<br />
more difficult to do nowadays. It’s like<br />
finding a good, honest and hardworking<br />
household help.<br />
There are many blue-collared workers like<br />
these that are now overseas as OFWs,<br />
hence the short supply of talent locally.<br />
A company that has a pool of these talents<br />
is a good business idea particularly where<br />
their services are in great demand during<br />
summer and after every imaginable storm<br />
that hits this country every year.<br />
TAILORING AND ALTERATION<br />
SERVICE<br />
This small enterprise business seems to be in<br />
short supply nowadays.<br />
While there is a dearth of mass-produced<br />
clothes available for sale in many<br />
department stores, there is still a niche<br />
market that is looking for good tailoring<br />
shops. There is still a growing demand for<br />
custom-made men’s pants or long-sleeved<br />
monogrammed shirts, and alteration or<br />
repair services for off-the-shelf clothes<br />
bought from the department stores.<br />
The demand for alteration services includes<br />
short-sizing pants’ waistlines or repairing<br />
the overall fit of dresses, repairing zippers<br />
and re-donning new buttons.<br />
Tailoring shops are visibly found in the malls<br />
and specializes in men’s formal business<br />
attires or barongs with the promise of<br />
24-hour turnaround times. They are, of<br />
course, expensive due to the space that<br />
they rent from the malls. Others are found<br />
in obscure places as these are home-based<br />
single proprietor small enterprises that<br />
thrive on customer endorsements and their<br />
immediate community.<br />
So there you have it. Just remember<br />
the saying, “Necessity is the mother of<br />
invention, and the opportunity to make<br />
money has just begun!”<br />
Think about it.<br />
Mabuhay ang negosyante!<br />
The author has over 20 years of experience in<br />
advertising, marketing, and sales operations.<br />
He owns and manages Market Bridges, Phils.<br />
Inc., a full marketing services company. He can<br />
be reached at mbpidmbc@i-manila.com.ph or at<br />
tel. nos. (+632) 886-4122 to 23.<br />
SME | 7
SME Focus<br />
Leadership<br />
What kind of<br />
leader are<br />
you?<br />
Leaders are made, not born. Find out<br />
which one you turned out to be.<br />
By Portia Marie Silva<br />
There are many types of leaders<br />
that exist within work environments<br />
and these are usually dependent<br />
upon the goals and orientations of<br />
the organization. The culture that<br />
work leaders harbor depends upon<br />
the management skills they exhibit<br />
and the demands they have for<br />
their peers and subordinates. Most<br />
companies train a variety of leaders<br />
to put in command under their several<br />
departments, which have different<br />
objectives as well.<br />
Despite the different approaches<br />
in handling conflicts, decisionmaking<br />
strategies and regrouping,<br />
each leadership style can contribute<br />
to the overall development of the<br />
company if understood and honed<br />
appropriately. Listed below are the<br />
eight most common leadership types<br />
found in companies.<br />
Autocratic Leadership<br />
The most extreme and independent<br />
type, autocratic leaders feel privileged<br />
to exert tremendous power over their<br />
team members. Managers under this<br />
type of leadership usually impose<br />
on those who are not of equal<br />
designation and often discourage<br />
input and feedback from others.<br />
While autocratic leaders are very<br />
difficult to work with, they take<br />
full responsibility of their decisions<br />
and actions.<br />
Team members are generally put<br />
down by autocratic leadership.<br />
Since they are not treated as part<br />
of the team, they feel like outsiders<br />
whose creativity and experiences<br />
do not matter to the company. This<br />
style of leadership benefits routine<br />
work the most.<br />
Participative Leadership<br />
Participative leadership is also known<br />
as democratic leadership, where all<br />
team members are highly encouraged<br />
(if not required) to participate in team<br />
efforts such as brainstorming sessions,<br />
evaluation activities and training<br />
programs. Leaders of this type are openminded<br />
and accommodating because<br />
they feel that they inspire the growth of<br />
the company.<br />
Those who are lucky enough to be<br />
put under participative leaders express<br />
genuine respect and loyalty. They enjoy<br />
working not only in the company, but<br />
under their democratic leader. Work that<br />
values quality more than productivity<br />
need participative leaders.<br />
Laissez-Faire Leadership<br />
Passive leaders are defined under the<br />
style laissez-faire, a French phrase that<br />
translates to “let them do.” This is the<br />
type of leader who believes that his/her<br />
members will be most efficient when<br />
left alone to accomplish the task and<br />
make decisions on behalf of everyone.<br />
In many ways, laissez-faire leaders allow<br />
their members to identify their own<br />
goals, move on their own pace and<br />
figure out their responsibilities when<br />
they can.<br />
Only veterans and highly-skilled<br />
employees will be effective under<br />
this type of leader. Otherwise, the<br />
organization will fail to meet its<br />
collective quota and work performance.<br />
SME | 8
Bureaucratic Leadership<br />
Leaders who abide by the rules<br />
and regulations and who never<br />
fail to work by the book are called<br />
bureaucratic leaders. This kind of<br />
leadership does not welcome new<br />
ideas and only believes in the matters<br />
stipulated by the organization. They<br />
do not tolerate rejection and want<br />
their subordinates to always follow<br />
their lead.<br />
Members do not favor this kind of<br />
leadership and often feel irrelevant<br />
towards the job that they are doing.<br />
The inability of the leader to show<br />
flexibility and consideration for<br />
others tend to favor very technical/<br />
machinery work and work that<br />
involves cash handling.<br />
Relations-Oriented Leadership<br />
Boosting the morale and the<br />
credibility of the team members is<br />
one of the most apparent qualities<br />
of relations-oriented leaders.<br />
Managers like this have the best<br />
interests for their subordinates<br />
and often think of his or her team<br />
members first before himself or<br />
herself. Relations-oriented leaders<br />
put so much faith in the people<br />
who make up the organization<br />
because they believe that someday,<br />
these people will be the ones to<br />
carry on the company later on.<br />
Relations-oriented leaders are<br />
usually effective in most agency and<br />
creative companies, where team<br />
effort and unity are a must.<br />
Charismatic Leadership<br />
There are leaders who are wellloved<br />
by their peers and mentors<br />
because of the positive energy and<br />
enthusiasm they bring to the table.<br />
These people are called charismatic<br />
leaders for they are a joy and<br />
pleasant to work with. Charismatic<br />
leaders, however, sometimes appear<br />
to have more faith in himself or<br />
herself more than they do in their<br />
respective teams. They believe that<br />
a happy team stems from having a<br />
happy leader.<br />
Work that requires long-term service<br />
and loyalty to the company need<br />
charismatic leaders. Otherwise, its<br />
people will suffer and feel lost once<br />
the head abandons ship.<br />
Transactional Leadership<br />
When you do something good,<br />
you get a reward. When you<br />
fail or make a mistake at your<br />
task, something will be deducted<br />
from your package. This is how<br />
transactional leaders operate. They<br />
have an understanding that people<br />
will act if you motivate them with<br />
concrete returns.<br />
This is evident in most short-term<br />
or contractual employer-employee<br />
relations since the timelines are<br />
tight, perfection and productivity<br />
are often most needed.<br />
Transformational Leadership<br />
Considered as the most inspiring<br />
and genuine leadership style of<br />
all, transformational leadership is<br />
where the leader communicates<br />
well with the team. The leaders<br />
who fall under this type extend<br />
the responsibilities and challenges<br />
to members and make sure<br />
communication within the team<br />
is always transparent. He or she<br />
expresses a collective sense of<br />
vision with his or her members<br />
to make sure the tasks exceed<br />
expectations. Transformational<br />
leaders do not feel the need to<br />
impose and often allow each<br />
member to shine by rotating areas<br />
of responsibility.<br />
Transformational leaders are trained<br />
by most huge corporations for<br />
success. Organizations have proven<br />
that having these kinds of people<br />
rake in great members, productive<br />
results and positive character that<br />
attract good business.<br />
SME | 9
SME SME Focus<br />
Focus<br />
Advertising<br />
Make your flyers count<br />
Get your business out there through the help of a piece of paper<br />
By Portia Silva<br />
Sure you’ve already spread the word<br />
about your business to a couple of<br />
family members and close friends. But<br />
just imagine the challenge of promoting<br />
your business to the huge market that’s<br />
just waiting to be tapped.<br />
While most marketing gurus will<br />
recommend start-up entrepreneurs to<br />
invest in online marketing (i.e. Facebook<br />
advertisements, blog banners, etc.),<br />
research shows that a lot of clients<br />
still appreciate it when they encounter<br />
traditional advertising. And this can<br />
come in the form of flyers. This is very<br />
tricky though, because unattractive and<br />
seemingly unnecessary flyers tend to end<br />
up in the trash. So here are a few tips on<br />
how you can make your flyers stand out<br />
from the rest.<br />
Use colorful graphics with a<br />
witty headline<br />
Nobody likes clutter. It’s confusing,<br />
unfocused and messy. To really catch<br />
people’s attention, pick a central<br />
creative image that will go hand in<br />
hand with your product or service<br />
headline. You can add details and other<br />
minor information in your flyer, but<br />
be careful not to use up all the white<br />
spaces in your advertisement. White<br />
space is important too. It lets the eyes<br />
rest and actually helps to highlight your<br />
message.<br />
Make it big, bold and bright<br />
If you want your flyer to be seen,<br />
invest in size and shade. Choose a flyer<br />
material that is huge, thick and, at the<br />
same time, handy. It also very important<br />
to make a statement through the color<br />
of your chosen material. Yellow and red<br />
are the top attention-grabbing colors;<br />
black is often viewed as a daring color<br />
for flyers. When it comes to the text, be<br />
sure to have all the information printed<br />
in bold font like it’s screaming, “Come<br />
and get me.”<br />
Give a compelling offer<br />
Consumers are drawn to sales,<br />
discounts and free gifts, especially<br />
if you’re offering something pricey.<br />
People’s attraction towards a product<br />
or service comes when there is<br />
value in the things that they are<br />
patronizing. This most definitely<br />
applies to the information placed on<br />
your flyer. If you’re a restaurateur,<br />
why not offer a free dessert buffet<br />
pass for two for the first 50 diners,<br />
for instance? And if it’s a spa home<br />
service you’re offering, add one hour<br />
to the massage when they avail of the<br />
service from 2pm-4pm.<br />
Let them reach you<br />
Many, if not all, consumers are online<br />
now. People are spending half of their<br />
days in social media networks, online<br />
journals and other web portals. It<br />
will be helpful then to include your<br />
business’ Facebook account, Twitter<br />
handle and website. Being visible<br />
online will not only give your clients<br />
an assurance that they are dealing<br />
with a legit entrepreneur; being visible<br />
online will also provide you with<br />
opportunities to interact with your<br />
clients.<br />
Put premium on quality<br />
Always put yourself in the shoes of<br />
your target consumers when making<br />
final decisions on the different<br />
elements of your flyer. Imagine how<br />
you would like a flyer to look and<br />
feel like. Remember to evaluate the<br />
quality of your paper, printing and<br />
proofreading. Go through your final<br />
flyer thrice to make sure the overall<br />
look is the one that you’re most<br />
satisfied with.<br />
And make sure that if you did receive<br />
one of your own flyers, you’d actually<br />
want to read it.<br />
SME | 10
SME Focus<br />
Sales<br />
How to organize your sales force<br />
By Art Ilano<br />
You’re building your business and<br />
you soon realize that you need to put<br />
together a sales team. The question<br />
now is, how do you organize them in a<br />
logical manner?<br />
Here are the three generalized ways for<br />
organizing your sales force.<br />
1. By territory<br />
Commonly used when your objective<br />
is to cover as much geographic area as<br />
possible, territorial sales organizations<br />
involves giving a fixed and definite<br />
territory per sales person. For instance,<br />
the simplest way to organize a<br />
nationwide sales force is to have<br />
regional sales managers for Luzon,<br />
Visayas and Mindanao. And then they<br />
take care of handling their respective<br />
territories.<br />
The most important thing to keep in<br />
mind when using this structure is that<br />
the territorial boundaries should be<br />
very clear to everyone. Avoid being<br />
vague about where the boundaries lie<br />
as this would inevitably lead to turf<br />
wars between your sales people as<br />
they argue over who services these<br />
questionable areas. And you wouldn’t<br />
want that.<br />
2. By client<br />
This is a popular sales structure<br />
especially for service organizations,<br />
such as ad agencies and software<br />
developers. Each sales person is<br />
given a list of clients that he or she<br />
will take care of, no more, no less.<br />
Depending on how much time it takes<br />
to provide attention and care to a<br />
client, this could be a pretty short list<br />
per sales person.<br />
If your objective is to provide as much<br />
pampering to your clients as possible,<br />
then it is to your interest to keep each<br />
sales person’s list as sparse as possible.<br />
Also, remember that this structure only<br />
makes sense if your clients require a<br />
lot of personal contact, coordination or<br />
servicing.<br />
3. By product<br />
Finally, you could structure your sales<br />
group through product specializations.<br />
Here, each sales person becomes an<br />
expert in a particular product or service<br />
that you are offering.<br />
This structure makes sense only if<br />
your products happen to be complex,<br />
requires lots of training to understand,<br />
or require special selling skills. If so,<br />
you’d rather that your sales people<br />
specialize so that they become experts<br />
on specific products. Otherwise, they<br />
will not be as convincing when pushing<br />
products to your clients.<br />
Q: “How many sales people do I need?”<br />
A: Simple math can help you answer this.<br />
Ingredients<br />
• Target length of time for the average sales<br />
call (T)<br />
• Total number of clients that you want serviced<br />
(C)<br />
• Target number of sales calls per client per<br />
month (Q)<br />
• Number of monthly work hours per sales<br />
person (H)<br />
Procedure<br />
Multiply Q, the total number of sales calls per<br />
client per month, by the total number of clients<br />
(C) that you have, and by the length of time per<br />
sales call (T) in hours, including travel time.<br />
This gives you N, the total number of manhours<br />
required to service all your clients per<br />
month.<br />
Divide N by the total number of work hours per<br />
month per sales person (H). Round up the result<br />
and you get your ideal number of sales people<br />
to hire!<br />
SME | 11
SME Focus<br />
Organization<br />
Setting up “designer” corporate entities<br />
By Art Ilano<br />
Anybody can start a corporation. <strong>That</strong><br />
is, anybody with four friends to spare<br />
because you need five people to start<br />
a corporation. But what few people<br />
bother to do is get creative with their<br />
organizational structures and entities.<br />
Now why would you want to do that?<br />
Well, mostly because there are certain<br />
advantages that you could avail of,<br />
depending on what you want to<br />
achieve.<br />
Here are some examples.<br />
Selective ownership<br />
You promise co-ownership to a<br />
potential industrial partner for an<br />
enterprise with high capitalization.<br />
However, you don’t trust him that<br />
much. So how can you offer coownership<br />
without risking everything<br />
that you have at stake?<br />
This will normally be a tricky situation.<br />
Imagine fueling the business with<br />
millions of pesos in capital assets,<br />
where the potential partner demands,<br />
say, a 20-percent ownership. Imagine<br />
the nightmare that would happen if<br />
the business will have to be liquidated<br />
(especially if it was the partner’s<br />
fault), and the partner still gets a fifth<br />
of everything.<br />
So here’s a possible solution. Instead<br />
of setting up just one entity, set up<br />
two companies. One company will be<br />
owned only by you and the people<br />
you really trust. Let’s call it Company<br />
A. The other one, Company B, will<br />
include your industrial partner.<br />
Now comes the interesting part.<br />
Make Company A own all the capital<br />
assets of the planned enterprise. And<br />
then give it a lease relationship with<br />
Company B, wherein Company B<br />
will be paying monthly expenses to<br />
Company A for the use of the assets.<br />
Result: Your partner still gets 20<br />
percent of Company B’s earnings<br />
(after lease payments), without<br />
having to be the instant part-owner<br />
of millions in capital assets. Problem<br />
solved!<br />
New profit centers<br />
Let’s say your corporate enterprise,<br />
Company C, is now successful<br />
SME | 12
selling widgets to stores nationwide.<br />
Along the way there, the company<br />
managed to put up a killer sales<br />
force. The problem is that your sales<br />
force is idle half the time.<br />
You realize that you can make a<br />
little extra income by hiring out your<br />
sales force to those in need of a<br />
crack sales team. This means a whole<br />
new set of books, however, as your<br />
sales force will now start giving you<br />
income rather than just being an<br />
expense.<br />
Pulling them out into a new corporate<br />
entity, Company D, is one way to keep<br />
things clean and orderly. Whether or<br />
not Company D’s management is the<br />
same as that of Company C (assuming<br />
compensation won’t be an issue),<br />
what’s important is that Company D<br />
now is its own entity on paper, with<br />
its expenses cleanly separated, and<br />
can be a wholly owned business of<br />
Company C.<br />
Holding company<br />
Imagine that you’re a serial<br />
entrepreneur and you’ve now<br />
managed to find yourself with<br />
quite a number of businesses that<br />
you yourself are running. Good<br />
luck letting go. History shows that<br />
oftentimes, these kinds of setups<br />
lead to businesses that don’t last<br />
once the owner retires.<br />
What you need to do is to let go of<br />
the reins so that someone else can<br />
run it for you. But maybe you don’t<br />
want to let go completely. Maybe<br />
you want to let go of only a couple<br />
of businesses or so. However you<br />
want to do it, it helps if you slowly<br />
transform your business into the<br />
structure of a holding company.<br />
A holding company is essentially<br />
an investment company, where<br />
each individual business is now<br />
considered as an “investment”<br />
that is being run by someone<br />
else. The simple way to set up a<br />
holding company: First, create<br />
your parent corporation. Next,<br />
spin off each business (when<br />
you’re ready) into its own<br />
corporate entity, owned by the<br />
parent corporation and run by a<br />
seasoned professional.<br />
The good thing about this setup:<br />
you can run the spinoff company<br />
from a distance, simply giving<br />
your seasoned professional a<br />
target for the year that the pro<br />
has to achieve or else. Then<br />
you can sit back and relax (or<br />
at least have a less stressful<br />
existence).<br />
The other bonus of this structure:<br />
it is easier to sell off a specific<br />
business unit because, if it is<br />
its own separate entity and it’s<br />
organized well enough, it becomes<br />
a modular business that can easily<br />
be let go of.<br />
SME | 13
SME Focus<br />
Case Study<br />
“Are we still a cabinet<br />
business?”<br />
By Art Ilano<br />
Wellspar Corporation* has come a long<br />
way. What began as a refurbisher of military<br />
surplus metal beds has evolved into a fullscale<br />
metal fabricator. And where it once<br />
focused on making filing cabinets and<br />
shelf racks, today Wellspar has become<br />
a recognized supplier of data cabinets<br />
for telecommunication firms and for I.T.<br />
use. These data cabinets are used to stack<br />
sophisticated equipment such as servers<br />
and network storage devices. Smaller firms<br />
may buy one or two of these, but larger<br />
firms can buy in bulk, often procuring<br />
roomfuls of data cabinets when setting up<br />
their systems.<br />
What’s more, the boom in the call center<br />
industry has proven to be a windfall<br />
for Wellspar. Beginning with the large<br />
multinational installations, the company has<br />
seen the market expand further to smaller<br />
“mom and pop” call center operations with<br />
just 30 seats or so. They may not buy in<br />
bulk, but the number of aspiring startups<br />
made up for it.<br />
But now Gaspar Tinio*, the proprietor, is<br />
faced with a problem. While sales of data<br />
cabinets had seen phenomenal growth<br />
in the late 1990s and most of the 2000s,<br />
his sales people are now complaining<br />
that it is becoming more and more<br />
difficult to push for volume orders.<br />
The reason: rather than sourcing<br />
their I.T. needs in-house, more<br />
and more enterprises are<br />
now “going into the cloud,”<br />
or relying on online data<br />
storage and services.<br />
Gaspar stared wistfully at<br />
his cavernous factory floor,<br />
with its scores of metal<br />
benders, punchers and<br />
cutting machines, all of which represented a<br />
significant capital investment.<br />
“If the cloud is where people are going,<br />
then shouldn’t we be going there too?”<br />
asked his eldest son one day while having<br />
dinner. This got Gaspar thinking: should he<br />
fight it out in his current market, or should<br />
he now consider branching out to new<br />
business directions?<br />
ANALYSIS<br />
Generally, the decision point for the<br />
company will involve figuring out what<br />
the company mission is to begin with. Is<br />
it in serving the information needs of the<br />
market? If so, then perhaps Gaspar’s son is<br />
right and perhaps they should find a way<br />
to assist in bringing the “cloud” to the<br />
market. But it isn’t as simple as that.<br />
Companies can have either a resourcecentric<br />
or a market-centric approach to its<br />
mission. A market-centric mission means<br />
figuring out what the market wants and<br />
finding a way to bring this to them. For<br />
instance, a company with a mission of<br />
providing “leisure” to its market has a<br />
pretty wide leeway as to what products<br />
and services it will engage in, mainly<br />
because “leisure” is such a broad term.<br />
Such a company may end up providing<br />
everything from sports equipment to<br />
hotels to travel tours.<br />
On the other hand, a resource-centric<br />
mission involves focusing on one’s<br />
resources and maximizing their use and<br />
potential. For instance, a business whose<br />
key resource is the owner who happens<br />
to be a superlative chef is likely going<br />
to focus on all things food. It has no<br />
business branching out to automobiles,<br />
technology products, or stationery. Its core<br />
competence lies in food preparation so the<br />
business will circle around this. Possible<br />
growth opportunities? Perhaps ready-toeat<br />
frozen meals, catering, and signature<br />
canned foods.<br />
In the case of Wellspar, the core<br />
competence seems to lie in its metal<br />
fabrication capabilities and skills. If the<br />
pattern of history is to be followed, where<br />
it once was making filing cabinets<br />
and the like before branching into<br />
data cabinets, then perhaps the<br />
future lies in identifying other<br />
possible opportunities that<br />
involve metal fab. And not<br />
venturing into the cloud,<br />
as Gaspar’s precocious<br />
maid has suggested.<br />
*All names have been<br />
disguised to protect<br />
the subjects’ identities.<br />
SME | 14
SME Focus<br />
Technology<br />
Your employees’ e-mails<br />
could be your property<br />
By Karmina de Ungria<br />
How far can a company go in saying “that’s<br />
mine?” In the age of easy transaction of<br />
information, companies have taken the<br />
initiative in laying down the law when it<br />
comes to company e-mails. It is essential<br />
to protect company information in an<br />
increasingly competitive market,<br />
especially when employees are<br />
unaware of the possible risks of<br />
outbound e-mails that might<br />
contain potentially sensitive<br />
information. A company<br />
does have legal rights over<br />
employees’ e-mails, the<br />
key would be how to go<br />
about it. In the event<br />
that management<br />
decides to take action,<br />
here’s what a company<br />
should remember:<br />
1. DO remind<br />
employees that any<br />
transactions done<br />
during company<br />
time, resources, and<br />
equipment, which includes<br />
the company servers,<br />
equates to company property.<br />
This might not sit well with<br />
them, particularly because, in<br />
reality, personal communications do<br />
and will occur during company hours. But<br />
you’re just laying down the facts.<br />
A 2007 survey by Forrester’s consulting revealed that 20<br />
percent of outbound e-mails contained information that posed<br />
legal, financial, or regulatory risk. Now that’s worth your<br />
attention.<br />
2. DO disclose what you can and can’t do. Should you decide<br />
to use software to track company e-mails, make sure to<br />
specify this in the employees’ handbook. In the legal case<br />
of Stengart v. Loving Care Agency, Inc. (www.pisaurolaw.<br />
com), the court ruled in favor of the agency, declaring that<br />
employees’ e-mails were company property and could<br />
therefore be used as evidence.<br />
The curious thing about the case was that the e-mails in<br />
question were sent out using Ms. Stengart’s private Yahoo<br />
e-mail account, but using the company server. The company<br />
was able to get a hold of the e-mails by using software that<br />
saved copies of the e-mails. This time, the NJ<br />
Supreme Court ruled in favor of Stengart,<br />
since it was not declared in the<br />
company’s policies that it was saving<br />
images of her personal e-mails.<br />
Do make sure that employees<br />
are informed of the specific<br />
tracking activities made<br />
regarding their internet<br />
usage.<br />
3. DO consider the<br />
nature of work that<br />
the company is in.<br />
It will not help to<br />
be paranoid with<br />
every e-mail that the<br />
employee sends out,<br />
and it would affect<br />
the level of trust that<br />
an employee would<br />
have with its employer<br />
if every move made<br />
is monitored. Consult<br />
with an IT professional<br />
about what monitoring<br />
software is available that<br />
would best serve the nature<br />
of the company. There<br />
might be software that can<br />
automatically filter keywords<br />
in e-mails that may carry potential sensitive<br />
information. This would be helpful as opposed<br />
to manually going through each employee’s e-mails.<br />
4. DO have employees sign a waiver. This would be a<br />
good start in order to raise employee awareness of the<br />
seriousness of not abusing company property. Waivers can<br />
be signed before employees go onboard.<br />
Being upfront with policies will help dictate employee<br />
attitudes in the use of company e-mails. And it may<br />
minimize the need for you to be paranoid about their<br />
e-mail use.<br />
SME | 15
SME SME Focus<br />
Focus<br />
Strategy<br />
The art of outsmarting<br />
By Karmina de Ungria<br />
Competition is healthy. It forces<br />
businesses to be continuously<br />
innovative and on their toes. But it<br />
sure would help if you can predict<br />
your competitor’s reactions to your<br />
actions. The question now is, can you<br />
really predict what your competition<br />
will do next?<br />
As Kevin P. Coyne and John Horne’s<br />
article “Predicting your competitor’s<br />
reaction” says, “to understand how<br />
competitors will respond to your next<br />
move, evaluate the situation in their<br />
terms— not yours.” The two authors<br />
boiled down the best way to predict<br />
a competitor’s reaction by answering<br />
these three questions:<br />
1. Will the competitor react at<br />
all?<br />
According to Coyne and Horne, a<br />
competitor is likely to apply only<br />
the most rudimentary or basic game<br />
theory in interpreting your next move.<br />
Or they might not even react at all.<br />
If this is the case, then you need not<br />
fear much. Recognize opportunities<br />
for growth for your company and do<br />
not be satisfied in making only small<br />
changes when you can afford to take<br />
bigger steps to secure your lead in the<br />
market. Assess your competitor’s likely<br />
rudimentary reaction and already take<br />
that into consideration as you put<br />
your strategy together.<br />
2. What options will the<br />
competitor actively consider?<br />
What may look irrational to you might<br />
make sense to your competitor, so<br />
first learn the habits and decision<br />
making of your competitor’s CEOs<br />
and key personnel, along with the<br />
results of their decisions in past<br />
ventures. Companies are still run by<br />
people, and people tend to move<br />
in habitual patterns. Uncovering<br />
patterns in your competition’s<br />
behavior can help you predict their<br />
likely countermoves. And once you<br />
have these countermoves in mind,<br />
you can then counter them too!<br />
3. Which option will the<br />
competitor most likely choose?<br />
In most cases, a decision will be based<br />
on the option that will turn in the<br />
most profits. This will be the most<br />
obvious decision for companies, which<br />
may also cause them to overlook other<br />
market shares and other potential<br />
areas for growth. A majority of firms<br />
would only sample a small portion<br />
of the market share and base their<br />
decisions from there. Think outside the<br />
box and look for opportunities that<br />
your competitor might have taken for<br />
granted.<br />
“The key is to focus on understanding<br />
how a competitor actually behaves<br />
rather than on the theory of how<br />
everyone should behave,” say the<br />
authors, who then go on to remind<br />
us that “a competitor that you can<br />
predict, is a competitor you can learn<br />
to outsmart.”<br />
Source: http://hbr.org/hbr-main/resources/<br />
pdfs/comm/fmglobal/predicting-yourcompetitors-reaction.pdf<br />
SME | 16
SME SME Focus<br />
Focus<br />
Taxation<br />
VAT audit checklist for<br />
non-large taxpayers<br />
By Joanna Grace P. Manuel<br />
After the end of a taxable year, especially<br />
after filing the annual income tax return,<br />
taxpayers are usually anxious to check<br />
their compliance based on the filed tax<br />
returns. This year, because of the mandatory<br />
disclosure of the details of paid taxes<br />
in audited financial statements, it has<br />
become easier for taxpayers to check their<br />
compliance with tax regulations. One can<br />
easily check if a company will receive a<br />
Letter of Authority (LA) from the Bureau<br />
of Internal Revenue (BIR) by comparing its<br />
records of sales/expenses to its filed tax<br />
returns. This is precisely how the BIR will<br />
determine the list of taxpayers that shall<br />
undergo value-added tax (VAT) audit for<br />
2012.<br />
The BIR has recently issued Revenue<br />
Memorandum Order No. (RMO) 20-2012<br />
for the VAT audit program which would be<br />
piloted for taxpayers under revenue regions<br />
of Caloocan, Manila, Quezon City and<br />
Makati for the pilot roll-out. The program<br />
aims to:<br />
• increase collection and enhance<br />
voluntary compliance by focusing on<br />
quality audit of VAT returns;<br />
• broaden the tax base by identifying<br />
buyers and sellers of goods and services<br />
subject to VAT and<br />
• provide audit trail for transactions of<br />
VAT taxpayers.<br />
The taxpayers will be selected based on the<br />
following criteria:<br />
• VAT compliance is below the<br />
established 2010 or 2011 industry<br />
benchmarks;<br />
• VAT returns for the succeeding<br />
quarters show a substantial decrease in<br />
tax payment;<br />
• VAT returns reflect substantial input<br />
taxes from importations and local<br />
purchases, such as when the total<br />
purchases claimed exceed 75% of the<br />
total sales;<br />
• no VAT return filed in any quarter or all<br />
of the quarters in 2011;<br />
• VAT returns reported as “No<br />
operations” wherein ocular inspection<br />
will be conducted to verify whether the<br />
business exists;<br />
• taxpayers with a history of declaring<br />
excess input tax carry over for all<br />
quarters of 2011;<br />
• Non-submission of summary list of<br />
sales and purchases for any of the<br />
quarters in 2011;<br />
• substantial sales but showing net loss;<br />
• significant under declaration of<br />
sales uncovered as a result of the Tax<br />
Compliance Verification Drive and/or<br />
other programs;<br />
• those with declared exempt sales due<br />
to the availment of tax incentives or tax<br />
exemptions and<br />
• other taxpayers selected by the<br />
head of the VAT audit team subject to<br />
approval by the regional director.<br />
The selection will be performed by a VAT<br />
audit team (one team per revenue region),<br />
which is composed of at least 25 Revenue<br />
Officers -- Assessment including Group<br />
Supervisors who is headed by the Chief<br />
of the Assessment Division. Authorization<br />
to conduct the audit will be given only to<br />
the VAT audit team. The team will submit<br />
a list of taxpayers to be audited for the<br />
first two quarters to the regional director<br />
for approval with markings on which<br />
selection criteria each taxpayer is qualified<br />
in. For qualified taxpayers, the LA will be<br />
issued for each taxable quarter or for two<br />
quarters through the recommendation of<br />
the VAT audit head.<br />
If the selected taxpayer has been<br />
previously selected in the Revenue<br />
District Office (RDO) for regular audit<br />
of all internal revenue taxes in 2011 or<br />
any prior year, significant findings on the<br />
audit of VAT is to be communicated to<br />
the Chief -- Assessment Division for risk<br />
identification. On the other hand, if the<br />
LA for the VAT audit and subsequently the<br />
taxpayers becomes a candidate for regular<br />
audit in the RDO based on the selection<br />
criteria under the annual audit program,<br />
the request for LA for regular audit should<br />
not include the VAT liability. In this case,<br />
the VAT audit team should transmit a<br />
copy of the VAT audit findings to the RDO<br />
conducting the regular audit to determine<br />
their relevance and effect to other tax<br />
liabilities.<br />
All the basic audit procedures for VAT<br />
audit prescribed in different Revenue Audit<br />
Memorandum Orders are to be strictly<br />
observed by the revenue officers involved<br />
in the audit. Regular audit procedures, such<br />
as understanding the nature of the business<br />
through observation and interviews, are<br />
also to be undertaken by the BIR. Included<br />
in the procedures is the sampling and cross<br />
checking of the details of sales/output<br />
tax and purchases/input tax against the<br />
books and records of the buyer and seller/<br />
supplier. This is the normal audit procedure<br />
conducted by the BIR in coming up with<br />
computation of tax deficiencies wherein a<br />
comparison is made between the amounts<br />
declared per tax returns and the amounts<br />
recorded in the taxpayer’s books of<br />
accounts.<br />
Although one of the criteria for being<br />
included in the list of taxpayers to be<br />
audited is the non-submission of summary<br />
list, taxpayers who failed to submit<br />
summary lists will still be required by the<br />
Revenue District Office to submit diskettes<br />
or hard copies containing the information<br />
on their suppliers and buyers for the 1st<br />
and 2nd quarter of 2012.<br />
The same with the regular audit, the VAT<br />
audit cases may also be referred to Legal<br />
Division for the issuance of Subpoena<br />
Duces Tecum for failure to submit<br />
documents, issuance of legal opinion for<br />
difficult legal issues, or for filing or criminal<br />
action.<br />
With the release of the VAT audit<br />
program, the BIR underscores the key<br />
role of tax compliance in avoiding tax<br />
assessments. Accordingly, taxpayers<br />
should check their VAT compliance<br />
by reviewing the returns filed so they<br />
could determine the necessary course<br />
of action.<br />
Source: Punongbayan & Araullo (P&A).<br />
P&A is an audit, tax and advisory services<br />
firm and is the Philippine member of Grant<br />
Thornton International Ltd. Website:<br />
www.punongbayan-araullo.com<br />
SME | 17
SME<br />
Cover Story<br />
Generation Dealership –<br />
“Be a part of the family that cares”<br />
By Reynard Ong<br />
business foretelling the bright future it had<br />
before it. Industrial & Transport Equipment,<br />
Inc. or simply INTECO was born in 1965.<br />
INTECO was established at a time when things<br />
had seemingly gone awry. The memory of<br />
that gory episode when the Japanese took<br />
over the country was still fresh. Many were<br />
apprehensive about patronizing Japanese<br />
products. The key players then were Ford,<br />
Mercedes, and International Harvester. The<br />
chances of penetrating the industry with a<br />
lesser known brand were pretty slim.<br />
L-R: Ryan, Tony, and Ray Jarina. A family that cares, the Jarinas make sure that they service their<br />
customers the best and most efficient way possible.<br />
Mission Statement<br />
It is not a question of how many vehicles<br />
an automotive dealership sells as much<br />
as the number of accomplished missions.<br />
Most, if not all successful businesses, owe<br />
their triumphs to their faithfulness toward<br />
their mission statements. Prof. Luis Cruz III,<br />
a former instructor at the Asian Institute of<br />
Management, said that it may be likened<br />
to a road map giving directions, as well as<br />
instructions as to how one should steer<br />
the wheel. As for Industrial and Transport<br />
Equipment Inc. (INTECO Group of Isuzu<br />
Dealerships) and ARK Diversified and Auto<br />
Motors Inc. T/A Chevrolet Commonwealth, the<br />
mission is clear:<br />
“It is our mission to professionally, effectively,<br />
and continuously respond and satisfy our<br />
customers, adequately develop and train our<br />
people, change and grow with opportunities,<br />
adhere to the needs of our society, and<br />
operate in an ethical manner, which results<br />
in maximizing our profits and return on<br />
investment.”<br />
Test of Time<br />
Far East Motor Corp (FEMCOR), the<br />
forerunner of INTECO, was organized<br />
by a group of businessmen engaged in<br />
transportation, construction, logging, feeds<br />
milling, and trading—HR Lopez Company,<br />
Villa Rey Transit, Victory Liner, De Dios<br />
Transit, Cotabato Bus Company, Vita Rich<br />
Manufacturing Co. and Vic Lumber—became<br />
the first users of Isuzu buses and cargo dump<br />
trucks. With terrible road conditions, poor<br />
handling, and harsh economic conditions, the<br />
operations of FEMCOR were badly damaged<br />
and discontinued operations. Tony Jarina<br />
gambled his stakes nevertheless and turned<br />
adversity into an opportunity. He revived the<br />
While it is true that there was indeed difficulty<br />
in earning the trust of the consumers, certain<br />
situations would compel truck users to try a<br />
new product if the need arose. INTECO entered<br />
the scene at the time when a shortage of<br />
supply for commercial vehicles was greatly<br />
felt and the prices of American and European<br />
brands continued to go up, causing a good<br />
number of haulers to try the Isuzu brand.<br />
Business began to pick up and Isuzu was slowly<br />
considered and recognized by the market.<br />
Isuzu, after all, is known for engine reliability,<br />
fuel efficiency and high resale value. INTECO<br />
would soon after pioneer the distribution and<br />
servicing of Isuzu vehicles in the Philippines.<br />
The departure of General Motors Philippines<br />
in 1986 was marked by economic turmoil as<br />
many companies withdrew from the country<br />
because of political instability as well as the<br />
growing distrust and uneasiness of the Filipinos<br />
to the Martial Law regime. Tony Jarina never<br />
lost heart and persisted amid trying times. He<br />
continued to provide parts and other services<br />
to keep Isuzu customers loyal to the brand.<br />
And the company survived. By 1989, when<br />
the market finally improved, Isuzu Motors<br />
Japan and INTECO brought in a new batch of<br />
vehicles, and the Isuzu pickups in particular<br />
became very popular even to retail customers.<br />
With the resurgent local demand, Isuzu<br />
Philippines Corporation was established in<br />
1996. With this came an influx of legendary<br />
vehicles such as the Hilander, Fuego, the<br />
Trooper, and the N-series four to six wheeler<br />
trucks. From 1997 to 2012, the Crosswind,<br />
DMAX, Alterra, and F-series trucks were added<br />
SME | 18
Mr. Tony Jarina founded INTECO despite many difficulties, back when the country was<br />
apprehensive of patronizing Japanese products such as Isuzu vehicles.<br />
to Isuzu’s wide range of commercial vehicles<br />
line-up to compete with the strong and deeply<br />
rooted Toyota and Mitsubishi.<br />
It was during this period that Ray Jarina<br />
returned to the Philippines. He graduated from<br />
the General Motors Institute in Flint, Michigan<br />
in 1985 and worked at Grand Chevrolet in<br />
Glendora California until 1987. From 1987 to<br />
1998, he was with Nissan Motor Acceptance<br />
Corporation and the Infiniti Division of Nissan<br />
Motors USA in Carson, California. Ray has a<br />
BA Economics degree from Ateneo and a MBA<br />
from the Peter Drucker Graduate School of<br />
Business in Claremont, California.<br />
Using his US education and automotive<br />
experience, Ray initiated computerization<br />
of accounting, sales, and service systems,<br />
implemented financial audits and control,<br />
strengthened sales and service human assets,<br />
and instituted new marketing programs into<br />
INTECO’s veins. Consequently, INTECO was<br />
selling over 2,700 units per year. And with<br />
the very active and priceless participation of<br />
Mrs. Ada Jarina, Tony’s wife who is fondly<br />
called by the employees as “MAM”, INTECO<br />
upgraded its Isuzu INTECO EDSA and Isuzu<br />
INTECOQuezon Avenue sales showroom<br />
and service facilities, expanded coverage<br />
and operations to the cities of Dagupan,<br />
Pampanga, Urdaneta in Pangasinan, and<br />
Baguio Mountain Province.<br />
Executive Director Ada Jarina is a CPA who<br />
sees to it that no assets of the company are<br />
wasted. Under her watch, all receivables are<br />
collected and the purchases of parts and other<br />
materials are properly canvassed and obtained<br />
at reasonable prices. She ensures that company<br />
premises, workshops, and other facilities are<br />
in good working condition and in presentable<br />
order. “MAM” is very strict but very generous.<br />
She is all praises for employees who do their<br />
work well.<br />
Industry<br />
The automotive industry is one of the key<br />
factors of any country’s economic and financial<br />
growth. Due to positive 2013 economic<br />
indicators, the Chamber of Automotive<br />
Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc (CAMPI)<br />
forecasts 184,248 in new vehicle sales for<br />
2013, an 11.6% increase from 2012. The<br />
selling of brand new cars and trucks is the<br />
most competitive industry in the country.<br />
The fact that INTECO proved its resilience,<br />
reliability, and steadfastness even in the wake<br />
of adversity, the name has spoken for itself.<br />
The reputation they’ve earned and worked<br />
so hard for turned out to be more effective<br />
than all marketing strategies combined. It is a<br />
tradition that transcended time and lived on<br />
from each generation. Having established, that<br />
only change is constant, to stay in the game, it<br />
is necessary to be abreast with what is current.<br />
One cannot simply lag behind and embrace the<br />
“bahala na, pwede na yan” fatalism, especially<br />
at a time where the trend shifts so rapidly that a<br />
fad can be obsolete in a millisecond.<br />
With this philosophy, Isuzu Philippines<br />
continues to hold at least 10% market share of<br />
the total brand new commercial vehicles sold<br />
nationwide. And INTECO today, with its five<br />
sales showrooms and service and parts facilities<br />
located in Quezon Avenue, EDSA, Pampanga,<br />
Dagupan, and Urdaneta in Pangasinan,<br />
account for 19% of all brand new Isuzu models<br />
and 32% of all brand new Isuzu Trucks sold in<br />
the country.<br />
Generation Marketing<br />
As the industry becomes more and more<br />
competitive, it is inevitable to have more players<br />
at the table especially as the demand increases.<br />
Moreover, technological innovation surface one<br />
after the other and it is important to meet your<br />
competitors head on.<br />
It is Tony Jarina’s belief that “You are your<br />
brand.” People must see how passionate and<br />
satisfied you are with whatever you are selling.<br />
As for INTECO, they marketed their products and<br />
services by way of building lasting relationships<br />
with their customers. When you build<br />
relationships, you also build confidence, and<br />
along with that, you build trust. With trust you<br />
get repeat customers, from where you get loyalty.<br />
SME | 19
SME<br />
Cover Story<br />
wheeler trucks, buses, and tractor heads,” said<br />
Ryan who was exposed to and researched on<br />
the globally more competitive US automotive<br />
industry.<br />
Ryan’s engine specifications and pricing<br />
research, product field work testing, and<br />
countless customer interviews bore much fruit<br />
paving the way for ARK Diversified and Auto<br />
Motors Group T/A Chevrolet Commonwealth.<br />
Sales showroom, service, parts facilities<br />
are currently under construction along<br />
Commonwealth Avenue in Barangay San<br />
Antonio, and completion is scheduled this first<br />
quarter of 2013.<br />
Tony’s first grandson, Ryan Anthony Jarina,<br />
an alumnus of La Salle Greenhills Batch HS’06<br />
and a BA Political Science degree holder from<br />
the University of Las Vegas Nevada (UNLV),<br />
recognizes that the Filipino youth of today is<br />
becoming more enterprising. Ryan observed<br />
that his customers are engaged in business with<br />
much aggressiveness that even in their 20s,<br />
they manage to become giants themselves.<br />
This is driven perhaps by the access they have<br />
to a plethora of information coupled with their<br />
daring, progressive minds, moving them to<br />
think out of the box to provide solutions to the<br />
simplest problem.<br />
Though initial customer contact and interface<br />
have significantly changed from grandfather<br />
Tony Jarina’s days to grandson Ryan’s generation<br />
of high computer literacy and real-time Internetnetworking,<br />
both Tony and Ryan strongly<br />
believe that face-to-face personal attention<br />
is key to relationship building. Despite the<br />
evolution in the laws of supply and demand, as<br />
well as developments in product, pricing and<br />
services, the Jarinas believe that customers are<br />
forever first priority.<br />
Customers, who were satisfied with the vehicle’s<br />
performance and the kind of pampering they<br />
have received, share their experiences and word<br />
about INTECO spreads like wildfire. Feedback<br />
and testimonials would attest to the fact that<br />
INTECO lives up to their promise that to this day,<br />
after 50 years, they have not only withstood<br />
the test of time, but they keep getting better<br />
and better at what they do. This made them the<br />
company that “knows Isuzu best.”<br />
Customer-first Philosophy<br />
Ryan’s conceived philosophy of “Being Part of<br />
the Family that Cares” goes beyond the buyersupplier<br />
relationship. It evolves simply in the<br />
value “caring for our customers.” This ideology<br />
can be seen in every license plate frame of every<br />
satisfied customer.<br />
It has been Ryan’s aim to personalize the<br />
customers’ experience and make them part of<br />
the family. He created an environment where<br />
customers simply feel at home and would<br />
always like to come back. Products and services<br />
are customer focused, and personal attention<br />
is individually given. It is not surprising that<br />
this dealership group won the loyalty of their<br />
customers who have patronized a wide range<br />
of services being offered. The goal is to reach<br />
the level of trust and confidence that when<br />
a product comes from them, customers are<br />
assured of its quality, durability, and service<br />
support. Knowing what the customer wants<br />
makes it possible to tailor everything it does to<br />
please customers.<br />
Dedicated to provide extreme satisfaction,<br />
Ryan saw the need to broaden horizons to<br />
accommodate a fast-changing customer<br />
requirement: “It becomes necessary to offer<br />
our customers the wider product line choices<br />
from passenger cars, pick-up trucks, AUVs, small<br />
SUVs, big SUVs, commercial four wheeler to ten<br />
Thus, from gas powered small cars like<br />
the Spark, Sonic, Aveo, Orlando, Cruze, to<br />
the sporty V6 or V8 Camaro, to small SUV<br />
Captiva, to the legendary AUV 2.5 Diesel<br />
Direct Engine Crosswind, to pick-up trucks<br />
3.0 CRDI DMAX and 2.8 Duramax Colorado,<br />
to midsize SUV Trailblazer to big SUVs 3.0<br />
CRDI Alterra, 5.3 5.2 4x2 Traverse Tahoe and<br />
Suburban, to 3.5ton- 15ton GVW N-series to<br />
F-series commercial vehicle trucks, the dealer<br />
group can now offer it all.<br />
Although INTECO and ARK hold the only Isuzu<br />
and Chevrolet banners in the country, they are<br />
operating independently and each company has<br />
its own sphere of responsibilities.<br />
Challenges to a Family Business<br />
The Jarinas feel blessed to have members of<br />
their family interested not only with the business<br />
per se, but the passion for automotive as well,<br />
so much so that INTECO lived on for three<br />
generations and counting.<br />
There are those family businesses that die a<br />
natural death as the younger generations move<br />
to different fields of profession, or simply lacked<br />
the desire to keep the sails up with the blowing<br />
wind. However, this dealer group has survived<br />
and successfully managed from one generation<br />
to the next. How and why? The Jarinas shared<br />
their secret.<br />
Communication plays a vital role not only<br />
in business but within the family as well.<br />
Sometimes, even parents know very little<br />
about their children. If there is something you<br />
can contribute and you’re confident about it,<br />
it is necessary to step up and share what you<br />
have. Whether or not family members have<br />
reservations on any sort of proposition, it is<br />
something that should be gambled on after<br />
research and discussion. Failure to communicate<br />
SME | 20
the accomplishment of both short- and longterm<br />
objectives.<br />
Core Values<br />
If money is considered the bloodline of the<br />
business, core value is the meat. It makes them<br />
who they are. It sets them apart from the rest.<br />
Their core values drive them to achieve their<br />
goal, and it gives them a sense of purpose.<br />
<strong>Businesses</strong> especially SMEs require the full<br />
attention and commitment of its owners. The<br />
owner must man it himself. He is expected<br />
to surmount every challenge to keep the<br />
business alive.<br />
INTECO Philippines’ Quezon Avenue headquarters. To date, INTECO has branches in Balintawak,<br />
Pampanga, Dagupan-Pangasinan, and Urdaneta-Pangasinan.<br />
can sometimes lead to petty factions and<br />
disaster that could affect the business as whole.<br />
Though each one has a specific function, it<br />
is expected of them to move beyond their<br />
quarters and lend a hand wherever it is needed.<br />
Much as a family moves together to achieve<br />
a harmonious relationship inside their home,<br />
the same principle follows in business. A family<br />
business is a team, and each one should be<br />
actively involved and know every aspect of it.<br />
In a family business, similar to family life, there<br />
must always be a leeway should anything<br />
go wrong. These mistakes are charged to<br />
experience and added to one’s learning.<br />
Tolerance is stretched to its limit so as to<br />
accommodate these misgivings. In short, admit,<br />
learn, and move on.<br />
A person doing what he does best is expected<br />
to perform at optimum levels simply because<br />
he knows what he is doing. The job must fit<br />
his expertise. Not only will labor be distributed<br />
equally among children, but it eradicates envy<br />
and any form of rivalry. It creates a harmonious<br />
and peaceful relationship amongst kin, and each<br />
one will have an area that he can call his very<br />
own. It’s also a form of damage control as it<br />
prevents human errors and “honest mistakes.”<br />
<strong>Last</strong> and most importantly, disagreements<br />
do happen, sometimes more often than not.<br />
Nevertheless, the success of a family business<br />
requires family members to have strong degree<br />
of individual respect for and from each other.<br />
This can only be achieved if there is a sincere<br />
and deep appreciation of every family member’s<br />
contribution, hard work, and sacrifice towards<br />
The core values of any business drive<br />
it to its success. Handed down from<br />
Tony to Ray to Ryan is having the deep<br />
sense of purpose and the strong level of<br />
commitment in adhering and fulfilling<br />
responsibilities. Those values earn respect<br />
and loyalty of the employees. Much as<br />
the company introduced the idea of a<br />
“family” in the business, central to it is a<br />
strong regard for all members of the team.<br />
They are the inspiration in preparing the<br />
business to take the competition headon.<br />
Inteco Group of Isuzu Dealerships<br />
and ARK Diversified and Auto Motors<br />
Inc. T/A Chevrolet Commonwealth thrive<br />
on its employee family base. Identifying<br />
the employees’ strengths and weakness<br />
as well as capitalizing on the former, tips<br />
the scale towards the achievement of<br />
goals. The dealer group invests more on<br />
people because these people know how<br />
to reciprocate the love and care they’ve<br />
received. It has been the Jarinas’ practice to<br />
be sympathetic to the needs of all employee<br />
family members. Yes, deficiencies do<br />
happen, and in certain instances cut deep.<br />
But wounds heal in time and the job has to<br />
be done. Again, more than anything else, it<br />
is the loyalty not only of the customers, but<br />
more importantly the employees’ that made<br />
the dealer group where it is at today.<br />
Inteco Group of Isuzu Dealerships<br />
Isuzu Quezon Avenue (02)926-7481, (02)920-3115<br />
Isuzu EDSA (02)363-3180, (02)364-8762<br />
Isuzu Pampanga (045)961-7880, (045) 860-1210<br />
Isuzu Dagupan (045)522-0358, (045)515-4299<br />
Isuzu Urdaneta (075)656-2891, (045)568-4861<br />
Chevrolet Commonwealth<br />
(02)709-7340, (02)925-4211<br />
Visit us at our websites:<br />
www.intecophil.com<br />
www.chevroletcommonwealth.com<br />
PHOTOS BY DAKILA ANGELES | GROOMING BY Chuchie Ledesma<br />
SME | 21
SME<br />
Feature<br />
A story built on strong grounds:<br />
Davao Rock<br />
By Therese Gutierrez<br />
<strong>Development</strong> site of Playa Azalea, a high-end residential resort subdivision located at IGACOS<br />
(Island Garden City of Samal), Davao del Norte.<br />
Rock (n). a stone of any size.<br />
For Alejandro Adaptar however, it<br />
meant something much more. It meant<br />
something solid, unwavering, unmoving.<br />
When he was younger, this Civil<br />
Engineering graduate from the<br />
University of Mindanao dreamed of<br />
owning a company of his own. As he<br />
dealt with suppliers in his line of work as<br />
project engineer of various construction<br />
companies, a business name with the<br />
word “rock” caught his attention. “It<br />
just struck me,” he said. “A rock is<br />
something hard and solid. It symbolizes<br />
a strong foundation.” <strong>That</strong>, he said, was<br />
the philosophy he intended to start his<br />
business with—to build the company on<br />
rock-solid ground.<br />
With the strong desire to strike out<br />
on his own, he put up Davao Rock in<br />
1988. “I knew that the training and<br />
exposure from the various projects<br />
that I handled would prove to be<br />
valuable.” And it was. The Davao<br />
Rock office—an imposing threestorey<br />
building in Obrero, Davao<br />
started in a rented six-by-six meter<br />
area with one table and two chairs<br />
and one telephone line. Mr. Adaptar<br />
smiles as he recalls his humble<br />
beginnings. “My wife and I built<br />
the business through dedication,<br />
determination and hard work.”<br />
The journey he said, was not a walk in<br />
SME | 22
Davao Rock headquarters located at No. 27 Lacson Street, Bo. Obrero, Davao City less than 1 kilometer from Abreeza-Ayala Mall at JP Laurel<br />
Avenue, Davao City.<br />
the park. “I woke up each day with a<br />
goal, and throughout the day, it was<br />
non-stop work,” he shares. It became<br />
a routine for Mr. Adaptar to plan<br />
for the next day’s activities. His wife,<br />
Grace, a graduate of BS in Commerce<br />
from the Ateneo de Davao, also had<br />
her share of sacrifice to bear. “From<br />
the very small capital we invested, we<br />
had to make ways for the money to<br />
roll,” she recalls. The husband and wife<br />
team momentarily forgot their wants<br />
and denied themselves of material<br />
happiness. They were in it for the long<br />
haul. “We aimed for lifetime success,”<br />
they promised.<br />
Alejandro’s “training” in his mother’s<br />
sari-sari store helped, serving as<br />
his grounding for doing business.<br />
But success, he says, was built on<br />
hard work and the providence of<br />
God. Admittedly a risk taker, this<br />
entrepreneur manages about one<br />
hundred workers and a handful of<br />
project employees and lives by the<br />
management philosophy of “teaching<br />
people how to catch fish.”<br />
Riding his off-road vehicle and making<br />
his way through uneven terrain to<br />
check on his various project sites is all<br />
part of a day’s work. With thick mud<br />
on his shoes, Mr. Adaptar surveys the<br />
landscape and smiles. His latest project<br />
is the upscale La Luz off the coast of<br />
Davao, in pristine Samal Island. The<br />
project, he said, will be ready sometime<br />
next year, with most of the lots already<br />
bought.<br />
With almost childlike wonder, he<br />
stands atop a hill overlooking the bay<br />
and shakes his head. He still could<br />
not believe that he actually got this<br />
far. “When we started Davao Rock,<br />
I recalled my connections in various<br />
government agencies. I started with<br />
“The journey, he said, was not<br />
a walk in the park. “I woke<br />
up each day with a goal, and<br />
throughout the day, it was nonstop<br />
work,” he shares.”<br />
supplying concrete hollow blocks,<br />
sand, gravel and labor contracts.” He<br />
tried to build a name for Davao Rock.<br />
“I wanted people to know that they<br />
can trust our company.” He and his<br />
wife would often go over newspapers<br />
looking for announcement bids from<br />
government agencies. With the bidding<br />
procedure, he said, everyone gets a<br />
fair chance. Soon, private companies<br />
started to call Davao Rock for various<br />
projects. “Over the years, the company<br />
SME | 23
SME<br />
Feature<br />
Mr. Adaptar with the Davao Rock team<br />
Mr. Adaptar and wife Grace with their children (from right) Annaleen, Angeleen, Aileen<br />
and husband Ernesto<br />
acquired and continues to acquire<br />
equipment to improve our capabilities,”<br />
he shares.<br />
Of course, behind his success is his<br />
“rock.” “Ever since Davao Rock<br />
started, it has always been the two of<br />
us who manage the business,” says<br />
Mr. Adaptar of his wife, Grace, who<br />
handles the Accounting while Mr.<br />
Adaptar does Marketing and Project<br />
Management. “We started the business<br />
together with our meager savings—<br />
with everything that we both have.”<br />
Alejandro is proud that his wife is very<br />
supportive in every financial decision he<br />
makes for the business.<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Adaptar have also found<br />
a good partner with <strong>Planters</strong>bank.<br />
“<strong>Planters</strong>bank is very supportive of<br />
all the projects we joined. The bank<br />
provides them and their company with<br />
valuable financial assistance, especially<br />
when they have big contracts.<br />
“<strong>Planters</strong>bank is my business partner all<br />
throughout the years.”<br />
At the end of each day, this “family<br />
man,” as he is fondly called by<br />
colleagues in the industry, knows how<br />
to bond with his family. “I never miss<br />
a family birthday!” he quips. Sundays,<br />
he adds, are allotted for his family.<br />
“No matter how busy I am, I make<br />
sure I have a day for my wife and three<br />
daughters.” The proud daddy says his<br />
daughters call him their “idol.” He<br />
adds, “Maybe they are inspired by my<br />
life—from what I have been through<br />
and who I am now.”<br />
Ten years from now, he foresees<br />
Davao Rock as a thriving family<br />
company, with him as the<br />
consultant. “We will be a big<br />
time contractor and a real estate<br />
developer.” With his determination,<br />
faith and focus, his company is on<br />
his way to more success.<br />
“We started the business<br />
together with our meager<br />
savings—with everything that<br />
we both have.” Alejandro<br />
is proud that his wife is very<br />
supportive in every financial<br />
decision he makes for<br />
the business.”<br />
“We have each other,” he says,<br />
smiling as he looks over to his wife.<br />
Their “rock” is more than a business<br />
philosophy—it is the partnership<br />
that they have, the family they have<br />
nurtured and the business they started<br />
to together. They are each other’s<br />
cornerstone and anchor – their rock<br />
that keeps each other grounded. Solid,<br />
unwavering, unmoving.<br />
Davao Rock is located at No. 27 Lacson<br />
Street, Bo. Obrero, Davao City. They can<br />
be reached through (+6382) 227-5187 or<br />
through davaorock@yahoo.com.<br />
SME | 24
SME<br />
Feature<br />
Ruben Tena: Living His Dream<br />
By Reynard Ong<br />
Ruben Tena of RFT Enterprises proves that one can never be too old to attain one’s ultimate dream.<br />
Many aspiring business owners can be caught<br />
up in thoughts of their “what could be’s”<br />
and “what could have beens”. The trouble is,<br />
more often than not, dreams remain figments<br />
of imagination unless, of course, they do<br />
something about it. Case in point: Ruben<br />
Tena of RFT Enterprises.<br />
Ruben actually grew up in an environment<br />
far different from any business setting. He<br />
came from a family that embraced a life of<br />
simplicity. His father served at the provincial<br />
capitol of Camarines Sur as a cashier while<br />
his mother was a regular housewife. Even<br />
then, he dreamed of only two things:<br />
pursuing law or venturing into business.<br />
Seeing that the idea of him becoming a<br />
lawyer is far-fetched, he resolved to take<br />
the other path.<br />
After earning his undergraduate degree in<br />
1966, Ruben applied in San Miguel but was<br />
refused the position. He taught English and<br />
Physical Education subjects for a while at<br />
the Ateneo de Naga University, until he met<br />
his lady luck under the guise of Becky, his<br />
future wife.<br />
It so happened that Becky’s father held a<br />
position at the San Miguel Corporation,<br />
and he did the roster of witnesses in their<br />
wedding. Thus, a year after, in 1977, he<br />
reapplied in San Miguel, whereupon he<br />
qualified for the position he was aiming<br />
for. He started his career in Naga but was<br />
reassigned thereafter in Masbate Bislig,<br />
Surigao then in Camiguin. Two years later,<br />
he was promoted to supervisor and was<br />
transferred to Northern Mindanao, Cagayan<br />
de Oro where he served for next 23 years.<br />
Business ventures<br />
Ruben was earning handsomely in San Miguel<br />
but he definitely wanted more. He tested the<br />
waters and engaged in several businesses.<br />
He tried going into food and beverage - the<br />
Tabing Dagat Restaurant, which he later gave<br />
up as he had trouble wearing different hats at<br />
the same time and the stress wrought by the<br />
restaurant business was unbearable. Together<br />
with a partner, he also tried to put up a<br />
SME | 25
SME<br />
Feature<br />
Monterey Piggery somewhere in Bukidnon<br />
which, likewise, did not flourish because<br />
of water problems. His wife couldn’t help<br />
but ask him why he kept on investing in<br />
businesses that were not even an inch<br />
close to his expertise. To that he answered,<br />
“kasi gusto kong kumita agad.”<br />
In spite of his failed attempts, he never ran<br />
low on cash. Before he went into battle, he<br />
made sure that he had sufficient rounds of<br />
ammunition. When Ruben and Becky were<br />
still starting out in life, they agreed to set<br />
goals for themselves. “I told Becky that in<br />
five years’ time, we should have a house. I<br />
was able to obtain a loan from San Miguel,<br />
so natapos. Nakapagawa kami ng bahay.<br />
In the next five years, we should complete<br />
the house, we should have a car, and<br />
everything... Now comes ten years. Ngayon,<br />
meron ka nang bahay, meron ka nang<br />
sasakyan, kumpleto ka na, sabi ko ano pa’ng<br />
kulang? WE SHOULD SAVE.”<br />
Mr. Tena was hands-on with the dealership and knew the ins and outs of his business until he<br />
underwent a heart bypass operation in 2006.<br />
He gave his wife a target monthly budget to<br />
hit a certain amount by the end of every year.<br />
This they did and they had a good start. They<br />
may not have reached the target amount but,<br />
as Ruben recounts, “At least meron siyang<br />
na-save at ang mahalaga she learned the art<br />
of saving, because if she wasn’t determined<br />
enough, she would not have been able to<br />
save what she had. Kaya nung mga sumunod<br />
na taon meron ng irony. Dahil marunong na<br />
siya, ayaw naman niya ako bigyan!”<br />
Because they were efficient in managing their<br />
household cash flow, they had enough capital<br />
to put up their businesses. They were very<br />
liquid that they did not even feel the need to<br />
borrow.<br />
“I was very ambitious then but was noticed<br />
late in my career. I was 55 when I decided<br />
to retire... ayoko na... pagod na ako...”<br />
His manager suggested that if he wishes<br />
to retire, he should consider an alternate<br />
source of income. He was offered the<br />
remaining area for dealership at the very<br />
heart of Cagayan de Oro (CDO). This he<br />
saw fit since he was adept in this field and<br />
his family was based in CDO as well. He<br />
knew deep down that the grand dream he<br />
so longed for was not very far from reach.<br />
With sufficient resources, ample knowledge<br />
and unwavering enthusiasm, he gave it<br />
another try.<br />
It helped that Ruben knew the nitty-gritty,<br />
nooks, cracks and crannies of the business<br />
by heart. “Ako ang sales supervisor ng mga<br />
dealer noon so alam na alam ko kung anong<br />
klaseng negosyo ito. Alam na alam ko dahil<br />
ikaw ang may control sa business,” says<br />
Ruben. “When I was still in San Miguel, ako<br />
ang nag-aadvice sa mga dealer... I am learning<br />
from their mistakes.”<br />
He used his retirement benefit as collateral<br />
to close his first deal. “In San Miguel, when<br />
you enter this business, you are supposed to<br />
be collateralized and then they will hand you<br />
the stocks on credit... as of now, we have<br />
real estate, dollar accounts, and the Letter<br />
of Credit we obtained from <strong>Planters</strong>bank,<br />
all on collateral,” explains Ruben. Even as a<br />
cash dealer, he is still required to collateralize<br />
an asset, but this time, since he pays in cash,<br />
the value was tremendously reduced to more<br />
than half the original amount. Ruben explains,<br />
“Bilang cash dealer, hindi na ako umuutang<br />
sa kanila. Binibigay ko na ang cash sa kanila.”<br />
It was also a big help that the people in<br />
<strong>Planters</strong>bank Cagayan de Oro were so<br />
efficient in assisting us and ensured the fast<br />
processing of our LCs. In fact, even the<br />
Finance Group of Northern Mindanao were<br />
impressed at the speed by which our LCs<br />
were processed,” adds Ruben.<br />
Increases in collateral is defined by the<br />
inflation of spirits and alcohol. So as the price<br />
of beer shoots up so does the value to be<br />
collateralized. The trend of price increases has<br />
SME | 26
delegated the tasks to a select few whom<br />
he trusted. His wife Becky was in charge of<br />
matters involving cash flow and accounting,<br />
his brother-in-law was in charge of sales,<br />
while the overall of operations was manned<br />
by a colleague from San Miguel. But the<br />
general manager and all the other people<br />
involved can only do so much as ultimately,<br />
the decision and final say is still his. “They<br />
cannot go about with any decision without<br />
my knowledge.”<br />
When RFT Enterprises was first established, they manage to deliver around 15,000 cases of<br />
San Miguel productsper month.<br />
been seen to happen every two years. Price<br />
inflation has become even more troubling<br />
for the business, especially with the recently<br />
passed sin tax law in tow. Though it has not<br />
yet been implemented, companies like San<br />
Miguel have already anticipated the additional<br />
taxes and had made the necessary price<br />
adjustments.<br />
Getting started<br />
The role of a dealer is to ascertain that the<br />
goods are distributed to the outlets in an<br />
efficient and systematic fashion. It is his<br />
responsibility to meet the sales quota as<br />
dictated by San Miguel. As to how it will be<br />
achieved is at the dealer’s discretion. He is<br />
expected to make customer satisfaction his<br />
top priority as measured by promptness in<br />
delivery, proper penetration, sufficient supply<br />
of goods and the leeway given to earn.<br />
He started with three routes. Each route<br />
comprises of a salesman, a driver, and a<br />
helper. Each month, he manages to dispose<br />
an average of 15,000 cases which swelled to<br />
50,000 cases per month, consequently adding<br />
more routes in a matter of 10 years. They had<br />
no trouble with their inventory even if beer<br />
was perishable as his stocks last for only two<br />
months at the most. Meeting the quota has<br />
never been a problem to them. In fact they<br />
are very determined to achieve this since they<br />
get bonuses and commissions for hitting or<br />
exceeding the target. In excess of the quota,<br />
they get get an additional cash incentive on<br />
top of the operational expense allowance for<br />
every case. He catered to almost everyone,<br />
from wholesalers down to the smallest retailer,<br />
but he opted to concentrate on the small<br />
players instead. He explains that while channels<br />
like wholesalers buy in bulk, they generate<br />
less profit from them since they are entitled to<br />
larger discount privileges, especially when they<br />
pay in cash. The sari-sari stores on the other<br />
hand, since they buy in small volumes, have<br />
little or no access to these special discounts.<br />
Ruben was really hands-on with the business<br />
up until 2006 when he underwent a triple<br />
heart bypass operation. Since the business<br />
is stressful, the doctor advised him to forget<br />
the business but it is not easy to do it.<br />
Heading the doctor’s advice, he had other<br />
people to manage the business for him. He<br />
Asked if he had any plans of expanding or<br />
growing the business in the coming years, he<br />
said that there is none. In fact he does not<br />
have control over it since dealership areas<br />
are determined by no less than the company<br />
itself, San Miguel. Secondly, he feels that<br />
his health is already failing him and adding<br />
more stress might not exactly be helpful. The<br />
closest option would be to establish another<br />
business, but he thinks this to be unnecessary<br />
since his business is doing rather well. In fact,<br />
the business was doing so well that other<br />
employees of San Miguel followed suit.<br />
Though many chose to follow his footsteps<br />
and became dealers themselves, there<br />
was really no competition since everyone<br />
is assigned their own area to handle and<br />
they cannot, in any way, go beyond their<br />
boundaries and encroach on other areas.<br />
A word of advice<br />
Ruben says that if there is one lesson<br />
he could impart, it is the importance of<br />
saving. He regaled us with the story of his<br />
first encounter when he asked his father<br />
for a birthday treat. “Sabi ko, birthday ko<br />
po pwede po ba ako makahingi ng pang<br />
birthday? Sabi ng tatay ko, diba binibigyan<br />
kita ng weekly budget? Bakit hindi ka<br />
nag-ipon kung alam mong meron kang<br />
pagkakagastusan... Nanghina ako pero<br />
hindi ako nagalit.” He saw the wisdom<br />
behind it and took it to heart. From then<br />
on, he began saving and preaches the same<br />
lesson to this very day. After all, he wouldn’t<br />
have made it this far if he had not first few<br />
seeds he gathered and planted.<br />
RFT Enterprises is located at Hayes<br />
Street, Pinikitan, Barangay 36, Cagayan<br />
De Oro City, Misamis Oriental. They can<br />
be reached through (+6388) 858-3466.<br />
PHOTOS BY MIKE SIA<br />
SME | 27
SME<br />
Save Mother<br />
Earth<br />
Love Thy Earth<br />
By Pam Brooke A. Casin<br />
If you’re the type to give gifts to your<br />
loved ones even when there’s no special<br />
occasion, it’s best if your gifts speak of<br />
something that you’re truly passionate<br />
about, something that the receiver will not<br />
only remember you by but is representative<br />
of your advocacy, too.<br />
Of course you won’t want to appear like<br />
you’re imposing and pushy, right? No<br />
worries. These days, there are a lot of stores<br />
offering functional (not to mention pretty)<br />
items that will surely please even your most<br />
discerning family members and friends. But<br />
the best places to look nowadays are those<br />
that sell eco-friendly products. Let’s face it:<br />
Leading the “green” lifestyle is probably the<br />
easiest yet most pressing lifestyle change that<br />
one can undoubtedly adhere to.<br />
Here are two local eco-friendly stores that sell<br />
items that love you and the Earth back, too.<br />
Human Nature<br />
One of the most popular and wellreceived<br />
earth-friendly shops in the<br />
country, Human Nature is the brainchild<br />
of Gawad Kalinga volunteers Anna<br />
Meloto-Wilk, Dylan Wilk, and Camille<br />
Meloto.<br />
Anna’s penchant for using “green”<br />
products started with her first child when<br />
she and British husband Dylan decided<br />
to use cloth diapers upon learning that<br />
disposable ones contain toxic chemicals<br />
and take around 500 years to decompose.<br />
The Wilks then observed a need for<br />
“natural” and “ethically-acquired”<br />
products in the market and decided to<br />
collaborate with a “natural formulator” in<br />
creating Human Nature’s first product line.<br />
Camille, meanwhile, a freelance make-up<br />
artist then felt the desire to contribute to<br />
the country and teamed up with her sister.<br />
She joined Anna in the US and researched<br />
throughly on organic products and how<br />
to bring them to the Philippines. They<br />
launched their flagship store in the country<br />
three years ago and is now making lots of<br />
Filipinos here and abroad happy.<br />
Human Nature is foremost known for<br />
their range of organic hair and skin<br />
products, but they also a range of home<br />
care items such as bottles of dishwashing<br />
liquid as well as a line of protective care<br />
products like sanitizers, bug sprays, and<br />
bug shields in sweet-smelling scents.<br />
They also showcase proudly Filipino-made<br />
crafts and items such as notebooks, pens,<br />
herbal pillows, and ground Sulu coffee to<br />
name a few.<br />
http://www.echostore.ph/index.php/products/<br />
http://humanheartnature.com/buy/index.php/body-care.html<br />
ECHOstore<br />
A concept shop in Bonifacio Global<br />
City, Taguig City, ECHOstore also sells<br />
fair trade and green products “to help<br />
drive livelihood to the marginalized”<br />
while helping the planet out. This, the<br />
shop does by embracing their so-called<br />
four P’s: people, planet, profit, and<br />
pneuma (spirit that gives passion to<br />
continue a mission-led business). ECHO<br />
stands for environment, community,<br />
hope, and organization. Just like<br />
Human Nature, ECHOstore sells<br />
various body care, home care, and<br />
goodies all produced organically. The<br />
shop also serves as avenue for Filipino<br />
entrepreneurs, designers, and artisans<br />
to sell their items.<br />
SME | 28
SME<br />
Lifestyle<br />
Live the right life!<br />
By Pam Brooke A. Casin<br />
Most of the time, we forget that the key<br />
to success and fulfilment lies within us,<br />
that the power to reach our ultimate<br />
dreams and life goals lie not on the<br />
people who surround us—our bosses,<br />
colleagues, friends—but on us. It’s quite<br />
difficult to grasp that, though. A majority<br />
of Filipinos are just naturally keen on still<br />
attributing their triumphs by either sheer<br />
luck or quick and impulsive decisions<br />
gone right.<br />
However, with the right kind of attitude<br />
and mindset, we can forego that accepted<br />
wisdom and start realizing happiness and<br />
excellence are a direct result of our hard<br />
work, commitment, and passion to be<br />
the best. Thankfully, there are tools to do<br />
just that. One example is to attend lifeenriching<br />
seminars and training programs.<br />
These sessions promise to harness the<br />
inner and highest potential of attendees<br />
toward achievement and self-importance.<br />
One such organization that enables<br />
Filipinos to live the lives they most deserve<br />
is Unleash International. Established in<br />
1994, Unleash International (formerly<br />
Shepherd Philippines Corporation),<br />
has been conducting and facilitating<br />
licensed programs for various industries<br />
in the country. Their programs tackle<br />
“leadership, productivity, customer<br />
services, team excellence, higher work<br />
standards, work values, strategic<br />
directions” and hope to properly<br />
motivate Filipinos to excel not just in their<br />
respective careers and in their personal<br />
endeavours as well.<br />
For those dedicated on becoming<br />
successful entrepreneurs, on the other<br />
hand, BusinessCoach, Inc. is duly<br />
organized corporation that can provide<br />
Filipinos the right skills to be enterprising<br />
and achieve entrepreneurial success.<br />
Founded in 2008, BusinessCoach,<br />
Inc. gathers a reputable selection of<br />
experts and speakers from all fields,<br />
trades, and professions. Its vision is to<br />
provide valuable business and strategic<br />
programs that are “applicable, timely,<br />
and significant” for the betterment of<br />
managers’ and entrepreneurs’ lives.<br />
Here is a roundup of some programs you<br />
may want to attend:<br />
• Unleash the Highest Potential of<br />
Your Life – A three- to four-day licensed<br />
seminar and workshop that will help you<br />
to be the best that you can be with the<br />
right amount of passion, dedication, and<br />
energy.<br />
• Unleash the Highest Potential<br />
of Your Money – A one- to two-day<br />
licensed seminar and workshop that will<br />
help you manage your money, cut down<br />
unnecessary expenses, and learn different<br />
factors affecting your financial situation.<br />
• Unleash the Highest Potential of Your<br />
Team – A three-day licensed seminar and<br />
workshop that will help managers and<br />
supervisors to understand what it means<br />
to be an effective leader, to tap the highest<br />
potential of team members, and to be able<br />
to accomplish tasks efficiently.<br />
(Source: http://www.unleashinternational.<br />
com/services.php)<br />
SME | 29
SME<br />
Worth Reading<br />
Of startups and survivals<br />
Keep your businesses afloat with these fine reads.<br />
By Pam Brooke A. Casin<br />
Lean Startup (Hardcover)<br />
Eric Ries<br />
Php 1,040.00<br />
Most new businesses just don’t<br />
have what it takes to survive the<br />
fierce competition in the market.<br />
Most of the time, they fail to adapt<br />
to changes and to the needs of<br />
their clientele so they inevitably<br />
close shop. Change your business’<br />
fate by grabbing Eric Ries’ The<br />
Lean Startup. A book which triumphs the “lean startup”<br />
approach, it teaches entrepreneurs to start and sustain their<br />
own businesses amidst “conditions of extreme uncertainty”.<br />
It’s now a method that is being adopted across the globe,<br />
transforming the way companies are built and new products<br />
are launched.<br />
The book also dishes out insights from lean manufacturing,<br />
which is heavily dependent on “validated learning”, “rapid<br />
scientific experimentation”, and “counter-intuitive practices<br />
that shorten product development cycles.” Said methods,<br />
according to Ries, are effective in learning what customers<br />
really want. The “lean startup,” when adopted by a company,<br />
enables it to shift directions, alter business plans, and innovate<br />
visions with agility.<br />
Trump Never Give Up:<br />
How I Turned My Biggest<br />
Challenges Into Success<br />
(Hardcover)<br />
Donald Trump<br />
Php 898.00<br />
In this book, Donald Trump, one of<br />
the most successful and influential<br />
entrepreneurs of our time, tells the<br />
most dramatic stories of his biggest<br />
challenges, lowest moments, and<br />
worst mistakes and how he changed<br />
his fate’s course by turning defeat into victory. Each chapter<br />
captures an inspirational and aspirational story from Trump’s<br />
career and ends with expert opinion and coaching from adversity<br />
researcher and author Paul Stoltz. A thought-provoking read,<br />
Never Give Up is the perfect book to help you manage and<br />
overcome life’s challenges and personal weaknesses.<br />
Onward: How Starbucks<br />
Fought For Its Life Without<br />
Losing Its Soul (Paperback)<br />
Howard Schultz<br />
Php 765.00<br />
A New York Times bestseller, Onward<br />
relates the story and leadership<br />
lessons behind the comeback<br />
of global coffee phenomenon<br />
Starbucks. Written by Starbucks CEO<br />
Howard Schultz, the book is an insightful read about how<br />
Starbucks survived one of the most tumultuous economic<br />
periods in American history, achieving profitability and<br />
sustainability without sacrificing humanity.<br />
Bounce: The Art of Turning<br />
Tough Times Into Triumph<br />
(Hardcover)<br />
Keith McFarland<br />
Php 882.00<br />
Bouncing back from a failure<br />
seems hard enough as it is. If that’s<br />
the case, what about companies<br />
that use difficulty to bounce<br />
back stronger than before? Keith<br />
McFarland’s Bounce offers fresh<br />
and unconventional ways to use<br />
adversities to make yourself and your company better and<br />
tougher. It rejects traditional, heard-it-before pieces of<br />
advice and draws in inspiration from the work of M.I.T. social<br />
scientist Ed Schein, the film Saving Private Ryan, as well as his<br />
own experiences as a CEO in leading companies as a clever<br />
and practical approach in resolving conflicts and defeating<br />
obstacles. What’s good about it is that each key idea<br />
presented in the book can also be applied to your personal<br />
life as well.<br />
ALL BOOKS AVAILABLE AT FULLYBOOKED.<br />
SME | 30
SME<br />
Tax Calendar<br />
MARCH DEADLINES<br />
1 Friday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING/FILING<br />
• 1604E - Annual information return of creditable income taxes withheld/<br />
income payments exempt from withholding tax for CY 2012<br />
e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/PAYMENT<br />
• 1702Q - Quarterly ITR for CQ ended December 2012<br />
SUBMISSION<br />
• Engagement letters and renewals or subsequent agreements for financial<br />
audit by independent CPAs for FY beginning May 1, 2013<br />
2 Saturday – LAST DAY OF e-SUBMISSION<br />
• Summary lists of sales/purchases by VAT-registered taxpayers (all eFPS<br />
groups) for TQ ended January 2013<br />
SUBMISSION<br />
• Inventory list for FY ended January 2013<br />
• PEZA - ITR filed with the BIR on February 15, 2013 by PEZA-registered<br />
enterprises for FY ended October 2012<br />
REGISTRATION<br />
• Computerized books of accounts and other accounting records in CD-R,<br />
DVD-R or other optical media, and affidavit on the post-reporting<br />
requirements for CAS for FY ended January 2013<br />
5 Tuesday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/PAYMENT<br />
• 2000 - DST for February 2013<br />
SUBMISSION<br />
• Summary report of certifications issued by the<br />
President of NHMFC (RA 7279) for February 2013<br />
8 Friday – LAST DAY OF e-SUBMISSION<br />
• eSales report by taxpayers using CRM/POS and other sales machine with<br />
TIN ending in an even number for February 2013<br />
SUBMISSION<br />
• Transcript sheets of ORB for distilled spirits, wines, fermented liquor,<br />
tobacco products, oil, automobiles, and cigarette paper for February<br />
2013<br />
10 Sunday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/PAYMENT/<br />
REMITTANCE<br />
• 1600 - Withholding VAT/PT for February 2013<br />
• 1606 - Withholding on transfer of real property other than capital assets<br />
for February 2013<br />
FILING and REMITTANCE<br />
• 1601C, 1601E, 1601F and 1602 - Withholding return on compensation,<br />
EWT and FWT for February 2013 (non-eFPS taxpayers)<br />
e-SUBMISSION<br />
• eSales report by taxpayers using CRM/POS and other sales machine with<br />
TIN ending in an odd number for February 2013<br />
SUBMISSION<br />
• Transcript sheets of ORB for mineral products for February 2013<br />
• A sugar cooperative’s list of buyers of sugar for February 2013, together<br />
with a copy of certificate of advance payment of VAT made by each<br />
buyer appearing on the list<br />
• Information return on releases of refined sugar by the proprietor or<br />
operator of a sugar refinery or mill for February 2013<br />
DISTRIBUTION<br />
• 2306 - Certificate of VAT/PT withheld for February 2013<br />
• 2307 - Certificate of creditable PT withheld for February 2013<br />
REMITTANCE<br />
• PhilHealth - ME-5 contributions for February 2013<br />
• SSS - R-5 contributions for February 2013 of employees with SSS<br />
identification numbers ending in 1 or 2<br />
11 Monday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING<br />
• 1601C, 1601E, 1601F and 1602 - Withholding return on compensation,<br />
EWT and FWT for February 2013 (Group E)<br />
12 Tuesday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING<br />
• 1601C, 1601E, 1601F and 1602 - Withholding return on compensation,<br />
EWT and FWT for February 2013 (Group D )<br />
13 Wednesday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING<br />
• 1601C, 1601E, 1601F and 1602 - Withholding return on compensation,<br />
EWT and FWT for February 2013 (Group C )<br />
14 Thursday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING<br />
• 1601C, 1601E, 1601F and 1602 - Withholding return on compensation,<br />
EWT and FWT for February 2013 (Group B)<br />
REMITTANCE<br />
• HDMF - M1-1 contributions by employers whose names start with letters<br />
A to D for February 2013<br />
15 Friday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING<br />
• 1601C, 1601E, 1601F and 1602 - Withholding return on compensation,<br />
EWT and FWT for February 2013 (Group A) e-PAYMENT<br />
• 1601C, 1601E, 1601F and 1602 - Withholding return on compensation,<br />
EWT and FWT for February 2013 (all eFPS groups)<br />
e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/PAYMENT<br />
• 1702 and 1702-AIF – Annual ITR and AIF for corporations and<br />
partnerships for FY ended<br />
November 2012<br />
• 1704 - IAET for FY ended February 2012<br />
FILING and PAYMENT<br />
• 1707A - Consolidated CGT return for shares not traded in the stock<br />
exchange for FY ended November 2012<br />
REGISTRATION<br />
• Bound computer-generated/loose-leaf books of accounts and other<br />
accounting records for FY ended February 2013<br />
e-SUBMISSION<br />
• Summary list of machines (CRM-POS) sold by machine distributors/<br />
dealers/vendors/suppliers for TQ ended February 2013<br />
FILING<br />
• SEC - AFS for FY ended November 2012 by corporations whose securities<br />
are registered under RSA or SRC<br />
SUBMISSION<br />
• PhilHealth - RF-1 remittance report for February 2013REMITTANCE<br />
• SSS - R-5 contributions for February 2013 of employers with SSS<br />
identification numbers ending in 3 or 4<br />
17 Sunday – LAST DAY OF SUBMISSION<br />
• PEZA - AFS filed with the BIR on February 15, 2013 by PEZA-registered<br />
enterprises for FY ended October 2012<br />
19 Tuesday – LAST DAY OF REMITTANCE<br />
• HDMF - M1-1 contributions by employers whose names start with letters<br />
E to L for February 2013<br />
20 Wednesday – LAST DAY OF FILING and PAYMENT<br />
• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for February 2013 (noneFPS taxpayers)<br />
e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/PAYMENT<br />
• 2551Q - PT for TQ ended February 2013<br />
DISTRIBUTION<br />
• 2307 - Certificate of EWT for TQ ended February 2013<br />
REMITTANCE<br />
• SSS - R-5 contributions for February 2013 of employers with SSS<br />
identification numbers ending in 5 or 6<br />
21 Thursday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING<br />
• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for February 2013 (Group E)<br />
22 Friday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING<br />
• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for February 2013 (Group D)<br />
23 Saturday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING<br />
• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for February 2013 (Group C)<br />
24 Sunday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING<br />
• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for February 2013 (Group B)<br />
REMITTANCE<br />
• HDMF - M1-1 contributions by employers whose names start with letters<br />
M to Q for February 2013<br />
25 Monday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING<br />
• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for February 2013 (Group A)<br />
e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/PAYMENT<br />
• 2550Q - VAT for TQ ended February 2013<br />
e-PAYMENT<br />
• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for February 2013 (all eFPS groups)<br />
SUBMISSION<br />
• Summary lists of sales/purchases by VAT-registered taxpayers (noneFPS<br />
taxpayers) for TQ ended February 2013<br />
• Sworn statement of manufacturers or importers on the volume of sales<br />
per brand of alcohol and tobacco products for December 2011 to<br />
February 2013<br />
REMITTANCE<br />
• SSS - R-5 contributions for February 2013 of employers with SSS<br />
identification numbers ending in 7 or 8<br />
29 Friday – LAST DAY OFSUBMISSION<br />
• BOI - Transcript sheets of ORB by qualified jewelry<br />
enterprises for FY ended February 2013<br />
30 Saturday – LAST DAY OF FILING<br />
• SEC - AFS for FY ended November 2012 by corporations whose securities<br />
are not registered under RSA or SRC<br />
SUBMISSION<br />
• Inventory list for FY ended February 2013<br />
• PEZA - ITR filed with the BIR on March 15, 2013 by PEZA-registered<br />
enterprises for FY ended November 2012<br />
e-SUBMISSION<br />
• Summary lists of sales/purchases by VAT- registered taxpayers (all eFPS<br />
groups) for TQ ended February 2013<br />
REGISTRATION<br />
• Computerized books of accounts and other accounting records in CD-R,<br />
DVD-R or other optical media, and affidavit on the post-reporting<br />
requirements for CAS for the FY ended February 2013<br />
31 Sunday – LAST DAY OFREGISTRATION<br />
• Manual books of accounts and other accounting records if using new<br />
books for FY beginning April 1, 2013<br />
PAYMENT<br />
• LGU - Payment of real property tax in full or first installment for 2013<br />
REMITTANCE<br />
• SSS - R-5 contributions for February 2013 of employers with SSS<br />
identification numbers ending in 9 or 0<br />
• HDMF - M1-1 contributions by employers whose names start with letters<br />
R to Z for February 2013<br />
APRIL DEADLINES<br />
1 Monday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/PAYMENT<br />
• 1702Q - Quarterly ITR for TQ ended January 2013<br />
2 Tuesday – LAST DAY OF SUBMISSION<br />
• Engagement letters and renewals or subsequent agreements for financial<br />
audit by independent CPAs for FY beginning June 1, 2013<br />
5 Friday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/PAYMENT<br />
• 2000 - DST for March 2013<br />
SUBMISSION<br />
• Summary report of certifications issued by the<br />
President of NHMFC (RA 7279) for March 2013<br />
8 Monday – LAST DAY OF e-SUBMISSION<br />
• eSales report by taxpayers using CRM/POS and other sales machine with<br />
TIN ending in an even number for March 2013<br />
SUBMISSION<br />
• Transcript sheets of ORB for distilled spirits, wines, fermented liquor,<br />
tobacco products, oil, automobiles and cigarette paper for March<br />
2013<br />
10 Wednesday – LAST DAY OFe-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/PAYMENT/<br />
REMITTANCE<br />
• 1600 - Withholding VAT/PT for March 2013<br />
FILING and REMITTANCE<br />
• 1601C, 1601E, 1601F and 1602 - Withholding return on compensation,<br />
EWT and FWT for March 2013 (non-eFPS taxpayers)<br />
• 1603 - FBT for CQ ended March 2013 (non-eFPS taxpayers)<br />
• 1606 - Withholding on transfer of real property other than capital assets<br />
for March 2013<br />
e-SUBMISSION<br />
• eSales report by taxpayers using CRM/POS and other sales machine with<br />
TIN ending in an odd number for March 2013<br />
SUBMISSION<br />
• Transcript sheets of ORB for mineral products for March 2013<br />
• A sugar cooperative’s list of buyers of sugar for March 2013, together<br />
with a copy of certificate of advance payment of VAT made by each<br />
buyer appearing on the list<br />
• Information return on releases of refined sugar by the proprietor or<br />
operator of a sugar refinery or mill for March 2013<br />
DISTRIBUTION<br />
• 2306 - Certificate of VAT/PT withheld for March 2013<br />
• 2307 - Certificate of creditable PT withheld for March 2013<br />
REMITTANCE<br />
• PhilHealth - ME-5 contributions for March 2013<br />
• SSS - R-5 contributions for March 2013 of employers with SSS<br />
identification numbers ending in 1 or 2<br />
11 Thursday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING<br />
• 1601C, 1601E, 1601F and 1602 - Withholding return on compensation,<br />
EWT and FWT for March 2013 (Group E)<br />
12 Friday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING<br />
• 1601C, 1601E, 1601F and 1602 - Withholding return on compensation,<br />
EWT and FWT for March 2013 (Group D)<br />
13 Saturday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING<br />
• 1601C, 1601E, 1601F and 1602 - Withholding return on compensation,<br />
EWT and FWT for March 2013 (Group C)<br />
14 Sunday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING<br />
• 1601C, 1601E, 1601F and 1602 - Withholding return on compensation,<br />
EWT and FWT for March 2013 (Group B)<br />
REMITTANCE<br />
• HDMF - M1-1 contributions by employers whose names start with letters<br />
A to D for March 2013<br />
15 Monday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING<br />
• 1601C, 1601E, 1601F and 1602 - Withholding return on compensation,<br />
EWT and FWT for March 2013 (Group A)<br />
e-PAYMENT<br />
• 1601C, 1601E, 1601F and 1602 - Withholding return on compensation,<br />
EWT and FWT for March 2013 (all eFPS groups)<br />
e-FILING and e-PAYMENT/REMITTANCE<br />
• 1603 - FBT for CQ ended March 2013 (all eFPS groups)<br />
e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/PAYMENT<br />
• 1700 - Annual ITR by individuals not qualified for substituted filing and<br />
marginal income earners for CY 2012<br />
• 1701 and 1701-AIF – Annual ITR and AIF of self-employed individuals,<br />
estates and trusts for CY 2012<br />
• 1701Q - ITR for self-employed individuals, estates and trusts for CQ<br />
March 2013<br />
• 1702 and 1702-AIF – Annual ITR and AIF by corporations and<br />
partnerships for CY 2012<br />
• 1704 - IAET for FY ended March 2012<br />
• 2200M - Excise tax for mineral products for CQ ended March 2013<br />
FILING and PAYMENT<br />
• 1707A - Consolidated CGT return for shares not traded in the stock<br />
exchange for CY 2012<br />
REGISTRATION<br />
• Bound computer-generated/loose-leaf books of accounts and other<br />
accounting records for FY ended March 2013<br />
e-SUBMISSION<br />
• Summary list of machines (CRM-POS) sold by machine distributors/<br />
dealers/vendors/suppliers for TQ ended March 2013<br />
SUBMISSION<br />
• List of medical practitioners of hospitals and clinics for CQ ended March<br />
2013<br />
• List of OFW remittances by local banks and non-bank money transfer<br />
agents for the fourth quarter of 2012<br />
• PhilHealth - RF-1 remittance report for March 2013<br />
• PEZA - AFS filed with the BIR on March 15, 2012 by PEZA-registered<br />
enterprises for FY ended November 2012<br />
REMITTANCE<br />
• SSS - R-5 contributions for March 2013 of employers with SSS<br />
identification numbers ending in 3 or 4<br />
19 Friday – LAST DAY OF FILING<br />
• SEC - AFS for FY ended December 2012 by corporations whose SEC<br />
registration numbers end in 1 or 2<br />
REMITTANCE<br />
• HDMF - M1-1 contributions by employers whose names start with letters<br />
E to L for March 2013<br />
20 Saturday – LAST DAY OF FILING and PAYMENT<br />
• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for March 2013 (non-eFPS taxpayers)<br />
e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/PAYMENT<br />
• 2551Q - PT for TQ ended March 2013<br />
SUBMISSION<br />
• List of OFW remittances by local banks and non-bank money transfer<br />
agents for the first quarter of 2012<br />
DISTRIBUTION<br />
• 2307 - Certificate of EWT for CQ ended March 2013<br />
PAYMENT<br />
• LGU - LBT second installment for CY 2013<br />
REMITTANCE<br />
• SSS - R-5 contributions for March 2013 of employers with SSS<br />
identification numbers ending in 5 or 6<br />
21 Sunday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING<br />
• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for March 2013 (Group E)<br />
22 Monday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING<br />
• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for March 2013 (Group D)<br />
23 Tuesday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING<br />
• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for March 2013 (Group C)<br />
24 Wednesday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING<br />
• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for March 2013 (Group B)<br />
REMITTANCE<br />
• HDMF - M1-1 contributions by employers whose names start with letters<br />
M to Q for March 2013<br />
25 Thursday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING<br />
• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for March 2013 (Group A)<br />
e-PAYMENT<br />
• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for March 2013 (all eFPS groups)<br />
e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/PAYMENT<br />
• 2550Q - VAT for TQ ended March 2013<br />
SUBMISSION<br />
• Summary lists of sales/purchases by VAT-registered taxpayers (non-eFPS<br />
taxpayers) for TQ ended March 2013<br />
• Sworn statement of manufacturers or importers on the volume of sales<br />
per brand of alcohol and tobacco products for January to March 2013<br />
REMITTANCE<br />
• SSS - R-5 contributions for March 2013 of employers with SSS<br />
identification numbers ending in 7 or 8<br />
26 Friday – LAST DAY OF FILING<br />
• SEC - AFS for FY ended December 2012 by corporations whose SEC<br />
registration numbers end in 3 or 4<br />
29 Monday – LAST DAY OF<br />
e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/PAYMENT<br />
• 1702Q - Quarterly ITR for TQ ended February 2013<br />
30 Tuesday – LAST DAY OF REGISTRATION<br />
• Computerized books of accounts and other accounting records<br />
in CD-R, DVD-R or other optical media, and affidavit on the<br />
post-reporting requirements for CAS for FY ended March<br />
2013<br />
• Manual books of accounts and other accounting records if using new<br />
books for FY beginning May 1, 2013<br />
e-SUBMISSION<br />
• Summary lists of sales/purchases by VAT-registered taxpayers (all eFPS<br />
groups) for TQ ended March 2013<br />
SUBMISSION<br />
• Inventory list for FY ended March 2013<br />
• BOI - Transcript sheets of ORB by qualified jewelry enterprises for FY<br />
ended March 2013<br />
• PEZA - ITR filed with the BIR on April 15, 2013 by PEZA-registered<br />
enterprises for FY ended December 2012<br />
REMITTANCE<br />
• SSS - R-5 contributions for March 2013 of employers with SSS<br />
identification numbers ending in 9 or 0<br />
• HDMF - M1-1 contributions by employers whose names start with letters<br />
R to Z for March 2013<br />
SME | 31
SME<br />
Billboard<br />
Anti-Corruption Training Video for SMEs Now Available On-Line<br />
The video consists of lectures and scenarios, interspersed<br />
with multiple-choice quizzes. Among the topics it covers<br />
are: Understanding Corruption, The Business Case Against<br />
Corruption, Implementing an Effective Anti-Corruption<br />
Program, Individual Measures for Avoiding Corruption<br />
Situations, and Collective Action.<br />
An anti-corruption training video for SMEs is now available<br />
online: www.businessesfightingcorruption.org. This<br />
e-learning tool provides SME owners and employees with<br />
a basic understanding of corruption, its causes, and its<br />
consequences. It also offers practical guidance on avoiding<br />
corruption and how to respond in potential corruption<br />
situations.<br />
www.businessesfightingcorruption.org<br />
The running time of the video is 39 minutes. At the end of<br />
the video, there is a final test consisting of 10 multiple-choice<br />
questions. The test will be graded instantaneously upon<br />
completion, with 80 percent as the passing score.<br />
The online training video is free, but registration is required. It<br />
includes a feature that will provide companies that register with<br />
a company-specific administrator page. Through this page, the<br />
company will be able to monitor which of their employees have<br />
taken the training course and their test results. The company<br />
administrator page will display up to the latest five scores of an<br />
employee.<br />
The training video is also available in DVD format. It is being<br />
offered at the subsidized price of 150 pesos, including delivery<br />
charges within the Philippines. To order a DVD, please e-mail<br />
rvrcvstarrcenter@aim.edu or call the Hills Program at (02) 892-<br />
4011, ext. 248 or 2016.<br />
The training video was produced by the Hills Program on<br />
Governance at the Asian Institute of Management, with<br />
sponsorship from the Center for International Private Enterprise<br />
in Washington, D.C.<br />
Design Week Philippines<br />
March 11-17, 2013<br />
SMX Convention Center,<br />
Pasay City<br />
A one-week celebration of creativity and<br />
design, Design Week Philippines aims<br />
to promote the design and aesthetic<br />
capabilities of Filipino entrepreneurs as<br />
well as showcase the country as one<br />
of the leading knowledge centers in<br />
design and tourism destinations in art,<br />
culture, and heritage the world over.<br />
The trade show also aims to tell Filipinos<br />
the importance of design and artistic<br />
innovation in a particular business<br />
or endeavor and how it can actually<br />
generate revenue, too.<br />
This show gathers food<br />
manufacturers, traders, retailers,<br />
agents, distributors, NGOs,<br />
cooperatives, institutional suppliers,<br />
allied businesses, support businesses,<br />
and government agencies.<br />
Worldbex<br />
March 13-17, 2013<br />
World Trade Center,<br />
Pasay City<br />
One of the most anticipated trade shows<br />
in the country, the Worldbex brings<br />
more than 800 exhibiting companies<br />
from the construction sector. It features<br />
different varieties of building materials,<br />
electrical engineering tools, IT and<br />
telecom equipment, interior design<br />
themes, real estate services, and home<br />
renovation systems. It also offers<br />
informative seminar sessions facilitated<br />
by local and foreign industry speakers.<br />
Manila International<br />
Auto Show<br />
April 4-7, 2013<br />
World Trade Center, Pasay City<br />
An annual venue for potential car<br />
buyers and car enthusiasts, the Manila<br />
International Auto Show exhibits the<br />
latest models and significant concepts<br />
from premiere auto makers in the<br />
country. With the theme of “Crossing<br />
Boundaries,” the show aims to forge<br />
industry cooperation and provide<br />
stimulus to create demand in the<br />
automotive industry.<br />
Manila FAME<br />
March 14-17, 2013<br />
SMX Convention Center<br />
An awaited exhibition in the country,<br />
Manila FAME gathers all topnotch<br />
Philippine-made products that have<br />
high aesthetic values and sensibilities—<br />
those who can be celebrated here and<br />
abroad. Partnering with Manila Now,<br />
Cebunext, and Bijoux Cebu, Manila<br />
FAME provides a one-stop shop for<br />
visitors who want to purchase highquality<br />
furniture, home furnishings,<br />
gifts, and fashion items.<br />
SME | 32
SME | 33