More than a third of businesses nationwide have benefited from e-commerce last year based on a National Statistics Office survey, a government press release said.

In its 2008 Survey on Information and Communication Technology, the agency said 32.4 percent e-commerce transactions were recorded last year.

The NSO said this includes receiving orders, placing orders, or both receiving and placing order over computer network channels.

DOT's 2009 guest projection
revised because of recession

About two million more tourists could have visited the country if not for the global recession, the Department of Tourism claims in a government press release.

The DOT said three million tourists from abroad would have visited the country by the end of the year but for the worldwide financial crisis that is just beginning to wane.

Tourism Undersecretary Oscar Payabyab, said in the press release that the DOT originally targeted five million foreign tourists but the agency revised the projection due “to the contraction of outbound tourist traffic in our usual market, particularly Japan and Korea .

Delayed bonuses hit

Former labor undersecretary Susan Ople said the inexplicable delay in the release of Christmas bonuses to government workers particularly public school teachers and local government workers was a “huge disgrace” that should be immediately rectified by the Department of Budget and Management, a press release from her office said.

Ople, head of the Blas F. Ople Policy Center, noted that several public school teachers from all over the country including in Metro Manila, have complained about the delay in their Christmas bonus with no less than the Department of Education confirming it while pinning the blame to the Department of Budget and Management.

The Ople Center said it also received the same complaints from PSLink, a federation of government unions headed by Annie Geron.

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