Megaworld, the largest office lessor in the country, reports that it is now dominating the office leasing market in Iloilo City, with a remarkable 70% market share based on an internal study conducted in April.

As of end-April this year, the company has a total leasable office portfolio of 100,000 square meters in its nine (9) completed office towers inside the 72-hectare Iloilo Business Park, the company’s premier township development in the city.

These office towers include One Techno Place, Two Techno Place, Three Techno Place, One Global Center, Two Global Center, Festive Walk 1B, Richmonde Tower, One Fintech Place, and Two Fintech Place.

To date, all office towers are 100% occupied by mostly Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies, which Megaworld helped bring to Iloilo for the first time.

“In the middle of the strict lockdowns last year, we have received inquiries for available office spaces in Iloilo Business Park. Quite a number of our existing clients in Metro Manila have had strong interests about expanding in Iloilo. And they were very particular about being inside Iloilo Business Park,” reveals Roland Tiongson, first vice president, Megaworld Premier Offices.

Currently, offices at Iloilo Business Park host BPO companies that cater to healthcare, insurance and finance, security, and customer service, among others.

Last year alone, Megaworld closed lease deals with seven (7) companies that are either first-time locators or existing locators looking for expansion spaces in Iloilo, totaling to almost 28,000 square meters of office spaces.

“Iloilo Business Park covered around 20% of our total office lease transactions in 2020. This is now the brightest spot in our office leasing business, and we are very happy that our Iloilo township has been an attractive location to many multinational companies,” adds Tiongson.

Built on the historic spot of the Old Iloilo Airport, Iloilo Business Park is the biggest master-planned and integrated urban township in the entire Iloilo City that is home to several residential condominiums, shopping mall and commercial centers, hotels, office towers, museum, leisure parks, transport terminal, and even the region’s largest convention center. It has been recognized as the country’s ‘Best Township Development’ during the 2018 Philippines Property Awards.

Megaworld ended 2020 with rental revenues reaching P10.4-billion, and a total leasable office inventory of 1.4 million square meters, excluding office spaces for sale.

This year’s capital expenditure (CAPEX) is 29% higher than the P27.9-billion actual spending last year. Around 76% will be allocated for real estate developments, particularly on the construction of new residential properties, while the remaining 24% will be for investment properties. No amount has been allocated for landbanking initiatives.

“We remain cautious and prudent with our spending as we are still observing how the vaccination program will progress and where this pandemic will be leading us in the next few months. This is a very targeted CAPEX program aimed at optimizing the use of our available cash during this time,” says Kevin L. Tan, chief strategy officer, Megaworld.

This year, the company is launching four (4) residential projects, particularly in its key provincial townships at Maple Grove in Cavite, Capital Town in Pampanga, Iloilo Business Park in Iloilo City, and The Upper East in Bacolod City.

These new residential projects are expected to generate around P8.3-billion in sales.

During the year, the company is also turning over almost 4,000 units and lots from its completed residential developments across the country with a total value of around P60-billion.

These residential projects for turnover are in Uptown Bonifacio, McKinley Hill, McKinley West, Eastwood City, Westside City, Capital Town Pampanga, Iloilo Business Park, and Makati City.

“We look forward to eased restrictions by second half of the year. It’s still wait and see as of this time, but we are optimistic that the domestic economy will bounce back fast once all of these strict quarantine measures are lifted,” adds Tan.

Living up to its commitment to provide jobs that matter across the country, leading online job portal JobStreet is going hyperlocal as it launches its dedicated microsite for Cebu, Iloilo, and Davao as well as its upcoming virtual career fair with the selected Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Regional Offices in time for the upcoming Labor Day.

The initiatives also help boost the job market in provinces as the public is encouraged to decongest Metro Manila following the on-going pandemic.

Jobseekers from Cebu, Iloilo, and Davao can now browse thousands of jobs available in their locality through the respective microsites. Candidates can also learn from work-life guides and advice from JobStreet’s career hub which will be written in their local dialect.

“Many Filipinos recently returned to their provinces because of layoffs or the new work from home arrangements and this caused a shift in the labor market. We’ve also observed that candidates from major provinces have increased their activities in terms of platform website visits, which is why we really targeted to promote local employment and provide them valuable support in their career through their own dialect,” said JobStreet Philippines Country Manager Philip Gioca.

Hyperlocal microsites

The microsite for Cebu offers opportunities from the top industries namely Call Center/IT-Enabled Services/BPO (12.5%), Manufacturing/Production (7.6%), Healthcare/ Medical (6.5%), Education (5.5%), and Construction/Building/Engineering (5.2%). The average salary reported in Cebu is Php 31,487.

Candidates from Davao can apply for jobs with an average salary of Php 28,500 as top industries continue hiring such as Call Center/IT-Enabled Services/BPO (8.7%), Healthcare/Medical (7.8%), Education (7.2%), Food & Beverage/Catering/Restaurant (5.6%), and Retail/Merchandise (5.3%).

Meanwhile, thousands of jobs are also found in Iloilo microsite with an average salary of Php 27,370. Top industries include Healthcare/Medical (13.6%), Call Center/IT-Enabled Services/BPO (9.2%), Education (8.3%), Construction/Building/Engineering (5.6%), and Food & Beverage/Catering/Restaurant (5.3%).

As of 2021, JobStreet earned a 13% growth in average platform visits from Cebu, 56% from Davao, and 44% in Iloilo. Moreover, hirers from the said provinces are gradually picking up. Based on JobStreet Database as of March 2021, job offerings based in Central Visayas grew by 9% from a sharp decline in 2020. Western Visayas recently jumped to 44% increase in job openings, while Davao Region is also recovering with 26% job postings this year. 

Ensuring that the initiative will be advantageous for both local hirers and candidates, JobStreet is also establishing a local team in each province to accommodate queries.

Labor Day Virtual Career Fair

JobStreet continues to support the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in providing livelihood among Filipinos during this period. Following the success of the recent Virtual Career Fair, JobStreet partners with selected DOLE regions to launch another Virtual Career Fair on May 1 to 3.

Over 100 companies from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao have participated in the upcoming Virtual Career Fair, offering thousands of jobs nationwide. Candidates from different regions will also have a chance to experience engaging features such as live chats, on-the-spot interviews with HR representatives, and companies’ virtual booths. In addition, DOLE Regional Offices will accommodate concerns and questions from candidates via chat in the platform.

Jobseekers can join the online raffle as JobStreet goes live on its official Facebook Page on the first day of the Virtual Career Fair on May 1 at 5:00PM.

“We appreciate DOLE and the participating regions for trusting to partner with JobStreet in this initiative. We’re hoping that the Virtual Career Fair would be able to reach out to more jobseekers across the country who are looking for opportunities at this time,” shared Gioca.

The Virtual Career Fair is now open for pre-registration through http://bit.ly/JobStreetDOLEVCF.

About JobStreet 

JobStreet is a leading online job board presently covering the employment markets in Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam. JobStreet currently services over 230,000 corporate hirers and over 15 million jobseekers in its database.

From laid-off factory workers to retail associates and truck drivers, millions of people turned to online learning courses from GitHub, LinkedIn and Microsoft during the pandemic to help prepare for and secure the most in-demand roles, including customer service, project management and data analysis. The announcement, detailed on the Official Microsoft Blog, builds on the company’s efforts to help people by extending through 2021 free LinkedIn Learning and Microsoft Learn courses and low-cost certifications that align to 10 of the most in-demand jobs. The next stage of the initiative sets a new foundation for a skills-based economy through a suite of new tools and platforms designed to connect skilled job seekers with employers.

“Skills will be the new currency in the post-pandemic world. Over the past year, we’ve seen the pandemic affect people all across the world, including those who could bear it the least,” said Microsoft Asia President Ahmed Mazhari. “For us to emerge stronger from the pandemic, reskilling needs to be at the center of our economic reset. Together with LinkedIn, we are doubling down our efforts to re-design work in the region by supporting the development of a more inclusive skills-based labor market, creating more alternatives, greater flexibility, and accessible learning paths that connect people more readily with new job opportunities.”

LinkedIn plans to help 250,000 companies globally make skills-based hires this year through new and existing hiring products. The company will provide both new ways for job seekers to demonstrate their skills and new tools for employers to connect to candidates based on their skill proficiencies including:

• The pilot of LinkedIn Skills Path, a new way to help companies hire for skills. Skills Path brings together LinkedIn Learning courses with Skill Assessments to help recruiters source candidates in a more equitable way — based on their proven skills. LinkedIn is piloting Skills Path with various companies, including BlackRock, Gap Inc. and TaskRabbit, committed to broadening their hiring practices to better include candidates with diverse experiences. 

• New expressive and personalized LinkedIn profile features will help people share more about themselves, their career and goals in a more authentic and engaging way. This includes a video Cover Story that allows job seekers to demonstrate their soft skills to recruiters and hiring managers. Seventy-five percent of hiring managers believe a standard resume is insufficient in evaluating a candidate’s soft skills, and almost 80% believe video has become more important when evaluating candidates.*

• Expanded access to LinkedIn’s Skills Graph will help create a common skills language for individuals, employers, educational institutions and government agencies to help improve workforce planning, hiring and development programs.

Leading developer in VisMin Cebu Landmasters, Inc. (CLI) announced today the groundbreaking of a new mixed-use development offering 21,000 sqm. of gross floor area and incorporating a 182-room international hotel at the heart of downtown Cebu City’s heritage trail.

Named after the historic Catholic recreation center that heavily influenced young professionals in the ‘50s, Patria de Cebu’s redevelopment will offer 4,320 sqm of food, dining and entertainment spaces and 4,400 sqm of offices. The balance will be taken up by Mercure Cebu Downtown set to open in 2024 to be operated by French multinational chain Accor, a world-leading hospitality group.

A collaboration between Cebu Landmasters and the Archdiocese of Cebu, the mixed-use complex was master-planned to revitalize this historic center of Cebu dominated by the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral established centuries ago. Located in front of the cathedral with baroque influences, the new Patria de Cebu was envisioned by architect Jose Pedro Recio to “visually bridge the old and the new,” with the approval of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.

“The final design of Patria de Cebu is a result of a collaboration between the Archdiocese of Cebu, CLI and key stakeholders. It is a celebration of Cebuano history and culture in today’s setting,” CLI chief executive officer Jose Soberano III highlighted.

With the approval of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) to retain the main Patria building in its final design, CLI and the Archdiocese of Cebu commit to preserve the historic edifice of Patria de Cebu–not just its frontage–thereby keeping its rich heritage intact.

New practical structure will be integrated while preserving the heritage of the main Patria building that will have dining, entertainment and office hub while showcasing a large central interior plaza for cultural and other gatherings. Its rooftop will also be a venue for al fresco events.

Mercure Cebu Downtown’s ballroom and meeting rooms will also host social and business gatherings. It will also have a restaurant, executive floor lounge, swimming pool and rooftop bar. It will be operated by Accor, the largest hospitality company in Europe and CLI’s partner in another landmark project at the Cebu Business Park, the five-star Sofitel Cebu City revealed earlier this year.

CLI’s collaboration with the Archdiocese of Cebu covers the development and operation of the mixed-use project for 40 years. The groundbreaking of the complex was timed to also celebrate the 500^th year of Christianity in the Philippines.