The damage from the massive earthquake in Japan will definitely have significant impact on the world's third largest economy, but will it derail the Philippines' global economic recovery? While details are sketchy on the extent of the impact, initial figures may already provide the general direction and guide to where the economy is headed.

Latest data showed that market already slipped by 0.14 percent last 14 March 2011 on profit taking following the calamity that hit Japan 3 days before. The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 5.65 points to 3,918.70, while the broader all-share index declined by 0.24 percent or 7.33 points to 2,927.27.

Trading volume reached 788 million shares worth 5.21 billion pesos (119.72 million U.S. dollars) with 64 issues declining, 53 advancing, and 45 were unchanged. Of the six counters, the industrial, holding firm, and the mining and oil sector bucked the trend.

One explanation for this is that investors in the local market immediately tried to exit from their positions at the start of business session.

The composite index also went to as low as 3,888.31 on fears of a massive sell off from Japanese insurance companies who have portfolio investments overseas as claims for damages are expected to flood in.

The market's intra-day low nonetheless attracted bargain hunters who took advantage of the panic selling at the start of trading, trimming down the market's losses to a mere five points. However, this may be artificial.

Japan's situation, coupled with the political uncertainty in Libya, and China's inflation will continue to play a major role in local equities.

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The Philippine business community was shocked to learn about the devastation brought about by the Japanese earthquake and tsunamis that destroyed most of the Honshu coast. Not a few wondered if the country is prepared to mitigate the impact of an earthquake with almost the same intensity in Metro Manila.

According to Emmanuel de Guzman, advisor for Asia Pacific of the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, "The big earthquake is certainly coming. The question is when. No one can tell. It can happen today, tomorrow, or next year. But certainly there will be an earthquake."

Philippines has been struck by several earthquakes in the past, including the Ragay Gulf earthquake of 17 March 1973, magnitude 7; Mindoro earthquake of November 1994, magnitude 7.1; Panay earthquake of 14 June 1990, magnitude 7.1; Casiguran earthquake of August 2002, magnitude 7.3; Moro Gulf earthquake of 17 August 1976, magnitude 7.9; and Luzon earthquake of 16 July 1990, magnitude 7.9.

The Metro Manila Earthquake Impact Reduction Study, undertaken by the Earthquakes and Megacities Initiative, reported that even a 7.2 magnitude earthquake could kill up to 33,000 people and injure 114,000 others if no adequate preparations were made. The study conducted from 2002 to 2004 also estimated that the earthquake could destroy 175,000 of the more than 1.3 million buildings in Metro Manila, cause 500 simultaneous fires, and force three million residents to flee.

In a 2008 interview, Director Renato Solidum Jr. of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said structures, especially residential and medium-size buildings, should be repaired and reinforced to prevent such a scenario.

Solidum said these types of structures were perceived to be less strongly built than high-rise buildings.

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For a family who have seen their business grow from nothing into something big, it is a challenge when they now faced the dilemma of remaining committed to the vision of the founders, while carrying the pressure of making the business flourish through the infusion of new ideas and management style.

For the Fonteleras and Buhains - the family behind the country's leading publishing conglomerate Rex Book Store (RSBI) - the transition to the next generation family management team came with very rewarding results.

"I have always been inspired by the very good example set by my parents. Their passion for work, integrity, and sterling ethics are the very principles that helped me succeed in business," says lawyer Dominador Buhain, president of the Rex Group of Companies. His siblings - Rogelio Fontelera and his wife Rose Ann, Teresita Fontelera-Carpio, and Mario Buhain and his wife Peaches - share this sentiment as they look back at their collective efforts over the past four decades that brought the company to where it is today.

Armed with college degrees and having grown up with a working knowledge of the business, the Fonteleras and Buhains assumed their various positions with acumen. After a fire razed their then-fledgling store in the late ’60s, Buhain took on the selling function as his personal mission to help resurrect the business. Promoting Rex’s products brought him to every corner of the country. Later on, with a Law degree from Ateneo, he set about developing the company’s rules and regulations, which has since become the framework for managing the corporation.

Mario, on the other hand, started Rex Printing with their father Juanito in the early 1970s, after graduating from college. He also spearheaded Rex Commercial, where he assumed the position of general manager, and handled government orders for RBSI. His wife, Peaches, was later on persuaded to leave her career in the banking industry to help in the management of Rex branches.

Rogelio, who now serves as vice president-corporate secretary, mastered the printing process and carved his niche in local publications that he introduced in the 1980s. His wife, Rose Ann, who initiated the Cabanatuan branch that helped widen the company’s reach in Central and Northern Luzon, now heads Rex’s legal materials department.

To Teresita, an educational materials sales advisor, her early experience selling books at the Morayta branch while she was still in school, served her well when she was assigned as sales manager for Rex's first provincial store in Cebu. This exposure helped her build business relationships with various schools and congregations, which in turn contributed to the growth of the business in the Visayas and Mindanao regions.

As Rex Book Store soars past its 60-year mark with flying colors, the Buhains and Fonteleras continue to stand united in their vision for the business. "After several decades in the publishing industry, we remain steadfast in our commitment to the company. With the constant support of the family and our professional team, we will take RBSI to even greater heights - not only by strengthening our foothold on the local market, but also establishing our presence in other countries," Atty. Buhain, who concurrently sits as chairman of the Rex Group of Companies, declares.

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This year's Women's Day theme is "Equal access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women". The theme also mark the occasion when the three Rome-based agencies are organizing a joint event to present the publication titled State of Food and Agriculture 2010-11: Women in agriculture – closing the gender gap for development.

The report was prepared by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in collaboration with IFAD and the World Food Programme. It presents ground-breaking new data on the important roles that women play in agriculture and rural economies.

"The findings presented in the SOFA report should change the course of development investments and outcomes," says Annina Lubbock, IFAD’s Senior Technical Adviser on Gender and Poverty Targeting. "They should make women a more prominent target group and enable us to understand better how their concerns and needs differ from those of men. The importance of in-depth gender analysis cannot be overstated."

Tapping the potential in women

The report examines the role that women play in agriculture and rural economies, and the ways in which they are taking on greater responsibilities as farmers, food producers and providers for their families. It highlights major gender discrepancies in access to assets and economic opportunities, and the benefits for all of closing that gender gap. In addition it proposes policies and interventions that support women on the farm and beyond.

Investing in women can revitalize farming and transform rural economies: this is the message that we and our partner organizations are broadcasting on the occasion of International Women’s Day 2011. The new data from the SOFA report will consolidate the direction IFAD has already taken in supporting women as drivers of agricultural growth.

Women farmers need science and technology

Education and training are the key foundations for women's development, greater gender equality and women’s empowerment. As more women in rural areas take on roles as farmers and heads of household, they urgently need access to technical training and study opportunities to boost their ability to farm productively and run viable businesses.

Many women smallholder farmers have access to improved technologies for use in farming and non-farm enterprise activities, but most women still struggle through their days using traditional technologies that are labour-intensive and consume vast amounts of time and energy. Heavy domestic chores, such as collecting water and fuelwood, divert women's time away from farming tasks and non-farm enterprise activities, and this leads to low agricultural yields and low levels of food security. For this reason, increasing women’s wellbeing is one of the pillars of IFAD’s Gender Plan of Action, and this includes promoting labour-saving technologies.

IFAD has financed research on emerging issues and innovative practices related to gender equality and empowerment of women of women through our grants programme. Over the years, grants have helped improve the way agricultural research is conducted to take into account women’s role in producing science and technology through participatory research and gender analysis.

IFAD's experience shows that women are quick to adopt new technologies that meet their needs and fit their circumstances. In Afghanistan and Pakistan, we funded a programme that helped poor rural women to buy dairy goats and gave them training and access to basic low-cost technologies to process the milk and the wool. Manual or electric butter churns and cream separators, improved ways of preparing yoghurt and better packaging techniques all enabled the women to save time and produce more marketable products. Family health and nutrition improved and the women's incomes increased.

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Nursing courses has been a popular undergraduate field of study in the past years in the Philippines due to the promise of well-paying jobs abroad. Just last August 2010, more than 37,000 new nurses passed the licensure exam given by the Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC) in July.

When resident Benigno Aquino III was elected last year, he was able to immediately secure a commitment of at least 43,650 new jobs for Filipino nurses in the next three years, including some 4,500 in construction related jobs.

The popularity of nursing as a field of study has led to the establishment stiff competition with other major services supplier from other countries, specifically for opportunities in the U.S. Nursing is the largest health care occupation, with more than 1.9 million jobs. Many current nurses are ready to retire or move to other jobs and as the baby boomer population, America's largest age group, continues to age experts predict there will be a nationwide shortage of 800,000 nurses by 2020.

To get ahead in this field and overcome challenges, it pays to grow the individual's nursing career through more education. Going back to school for more education is always an option since most employers offer education benefits.

Another way to improve one's image is to dress well or be fashionable. It's probably one of the most overused phrases in job-security, but also one of the most underutilized by employees: dress for success. In job-security, first impressions are critical. And what a better way to market one's self than to wear luxury scrubs and other must-have accessory for nurses and other medical professionals worldwide.

One source of fashionable nursing scrubs and designer surgical scrub hats is http://www.blueskyscrubs.com. While their line of lab coats can be shipped anywhere in the world, the company hopes to retail blue sky scrubs UK and Canada, in addition to opening blue sky scrubs USA in the future. Their line of nursing scrubs includes women's medical uniforms in two different designer medical scrubs styles as well as one line of fashionable scrub uniforms for men.

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