The Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Ronnel Domingo has an article today about eight cities that made it to the Institute for Solidarity in Asia’s list of business-friendly cities.

ISA is headed by Jess Estanislao, one of the few persons in this country most qualified to make this list. Estanislao is known by most as the chief economic manager of the Aquino administration, first as socioeconomic planning secretary and later as finance secretary. What few people know is that he has a PhD from Harvard University, where he was also a teaching fellow and a research fellow.

I included this little snippet because ISA’s public governance system and scorecard is patterned after Harvard’s scorecard for LGUs. Any ranking of the country’s cities will fall down like a pack of cards if there is even a tiny hint that the judging process is arbitrary. Who else but Jess can ensure that the list is bullet-proof?

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An INQUIRER.net feature today from MoneySense magazine tells the story of an overseas Filipino worker who has successfully jumped into entrepreneurship back home. Being a woman myself, and someone who is often faced with the temptation of working abroad or migrating, hotelier Annabella Wisniewski wowed me when she terrorized someone claiming to be part of the mafia in New York with, well, her bluff on the Asian mafia. An absolutely tantalizing moment. Here’s an excerpt:

I worked in Hilton, Marriot, and Scotts, did international consulting for Horwath and HOSTS, and developed The Ascott (of then Scotts Holdings), the first successful luxury service apartment concept in Singapore. This made me the first Filipino and first woman on the board of directors of that company. I also helped my mother with her business.

I learned that not only are foreigners more competitive, but they’re also more exacting about standards. You have to make it on your own merits, and that makes you more professional.

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The entrepreneur in this article from the Philippine Daily Inquirer is an elementary graduate and yet was able to build a successful business. Read on:

This city southeast of Manila is known as the best cutlery producer in the Bicol region, making scissors, bolos, knives and even razors, grass cutters and other farm tools.

But not known to many, located in the outskirts of the city are furniture makers who make unique and useful home furnishings.

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Big business is upbeat on the economy. Are small business owners feeling the same way?

MANILA, Philippines–The business community remains upbeat about the Philippines’ prospects amid the challenges posed by globalization and the controversies in the political arena, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said Wednesday.

The optimism is being fueled to a significant degree by the partnership between the public and private sectors that is essential to sustaining the country’s rapid economic growth, the PCCI said.

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Your best friend has great work ethic, unquestionable integrity, skilled in managing a company and appears to have all the qualifications of a business partner. You know best, after all, she is your best friend. But it’s a common dilemma: do best friends turn out to be the worst business partners?

Reality shows different stories. Some of the best companies in this country were born out of friendships (or at least were nourished by friends and business partners.)

There’s SGV & Co., of course, with the legendary business partnership between Wash Sycip and Fred Velayo, who were classmates at the Burgos Elementary School from Grade 1. Some other friends and business partners featured in the Philippine Daily Inquirer through the years are those of Precy Florentino and Kuh Ledesma (Music Museum Group, Inc.), Global Wireless Connections by Jeremy Obial and Arthur Policarpio, and Marvin Agustin and Raymund Magdaluyo’s Sumo-Sam restaurant.

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