Philippine Aid Society » technology

Power Grid Problems in the Philippines may get Worse

admin — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:10:28 +0000

The Philippines frequently has problems with electrical supply. The metro-manila area has brownouts regularly; I experienced some while I was there. The Philippine Star reports that El Niño may make the power problem worse:

MANILA, Philippines – The power supply problem in the country may worsen because of the El Niño phenomenon, Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes warned yesterday.

Because of below normal rainfall, hydroelectric plants, which generate most of the country’s power requirement, are suffering outages.

Electricity generated from hydroelectric plants is cheaper, but during the dry spell, the government may need to get power from other sources.

Mobile Banking on the Rise in the Philippines?

admin — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 22:53:50 +0000

As I know first hand from dealing with banks in the Philippines, there seems to be endless amounts of red tape and useless banking regulations that make it abnormally difficult to do business there. Very few Filipinos, per capita, have personal bank accounts compared to western nations. The government, in my opinion, needs to take steps to encourage private banking which will in turn result in better saving and spending habits. This would be an overall aid to their economy.

While many Filipinos do not have a personal bank account, they do have a cell phone. CGAP reports that an increase in mobile banking may be on the horizon for developing nations like the Philippines.