businessweek mindanao (dec 7-8, 2012)

12
Market Indicators US$1 = P40.85 5,672.70 points X X FOREX PHISIX AS OF 5:34 PM DEC. 3, 2012 (Monday) 5 cents 32.25 points Briefly Fight against pests KORONADAL City -- The De- partment Agriculture in Socck- sargen region is intensifying its fight against pests and diseases on crops in the barangays. DA 12 and the Regional Crop Protection Center (RCPC) has gathered recently more than 1,000 members of Bantay Peste Brigades also called “pest scouts” across Soccsksargen Region in the first Regional Bantay Peste Brigade Forum. Dr. Jesus Binamira, In- tegrated Pest Management (IPM) KASAKALIKASAN program director, said the KASAKALIKASAN National Crop Protection supports the objectives of the Food Staples Self-sufficiency Program (FSSP) of the department. World-class TAGUM City -- The province of Davao del Norte aims to achieve the recognition as a world-class province in four years time. “We hope to make Davao del Norte world-class,” this was said recently by Del Rosario in a press conference at the capitol here. “World-class” is the adjec- tive the province hopes to be described as in four years time,” he said. Del Rosario also said one of the plans is to make Davao Region the nation’s “Rising Global Frontier” down to the grassroots. Illegal trafficking GENERAL Santos City -- The Philippine Overseas Employ- ment Administration (POEA) has tapped the public employment services offices (PESO) of local government units (LGUs) in Region 12 as among the frontlin- ers of its enhanced campaign against illegal recruitment and human trafficking in the region. Chona Mantilla, Depart- ment of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Region 12 director, said that such move is aimed at bringing the campaign down to the grassroots level within the region’s four provinces and five cities. Region 12, which is also known as the Soccsksargen Region, comprises the prov- inces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, North Co- tabato and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan and Cotabato. P15.00 Issue No. 135, Volume III December 7-8, 2012 Friday-Saturday Cagayan de Oro City Editorial and advertising email : [email protected] • Cell Number : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776 NOW every Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays BusinessWeek www.businessweekmindanao.com YOUR LOCAL ONLINE BUSINESS PAPER MINDANAO By IRENE DOMINGO, Reporter W HILE Cagayan de Oro is again battered by a powerful storm much stronger than the one that hit the region nearly one year ago, it’s power distributor, the Cagayan Electric Power and Light Co (Ce- palco) has formally asked the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to allow it to charge its consumers the cost of damages to its facilities brought about by that Dec. 17, 2011 storm devastation. In a petition filed before the Energy Regu- latory Commission (ERC), Cagayan Electric Power and Light Co (Cepalco) said it incurred over P30 million in costs for the restoration and repair of distribution facilities damaged FORMER lawmaker Cynthia Villar receives her token of appreciation and award from Prof. Alem Abdurasad Sarangani (third from left), head of the Member-World Muslim League-Philippines chapter, during the opening and ceremonial cutting of ribbons of Hayfah Palace, Hayfah Bakery, Hayfah Petron, and a TV station (dxKC-RPMD TV) in Marawi City on Dec. 1. Marawi City Mayor Sultan Fahad U. Salic witness the awarding. PHOTO BY SONNY SUDARIA, ARMM BUREAU CHIEF Armm gears up for full-blast forest dev’t to other provinces- Basilan, Ma- guindanao, Sulu and TawiTawi. The ARMM signed a memo- randum of agreement with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources this year for the implementation of the P44 million FLBD project, which is expected to be finished in May 2013. Hataman, said that aside from identifying the A and D and the forest lands, mineral lands and national parks are of importance in the said project. “In this way, we will be able to determine appropriate manage- ment intervention and protect By BUTCH D. ENERIO Correspondent THE Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) on Sunday launched the implementa- tion of its Forestland Boundary Assessment and Delineation (FLBD) project as it gears toward full development of the region’s land area. Mujiv Sabbihi Hataman, ARMM governor, said that the endeavor will demarcate on the ground the boundaries of the alienable and disposal (A and D) lands, particularly the remaining forest. The survey will start from Lanao del Sur and will continue our remaining forest cover a well as develop areas where there are economic potentials.” Hataman said. The FLBD is with a theme “Unang tanda para sa Kagubatan, Simbolo nang Handa, Matatag, Makabago, at Maka-kalikasang Bangsamoro” that will lay down the economic road map of the upcoming Bansamoro Govern- ment. “This forestland marker is important as we lay down our development road map, where areas will be properly identified as potential for agroforestry de- NEW ENDORSERS MyPhone, the country’s leading mobile phone brand recently signed ABS-CBN PBB housemates Ryan Boyce and Karen Reyes as new endorsers. Also in photo is MyPhone Vice President Mr. Richie de Quina. Aboitiz Power increases dividend ABOITIZ Power Corp has increased its dividend pay- out from a third of profit to half. “This new policy changes the previous cash dividend payment ration of 33 percent of previous year’s net prof- its,” Aboitiz Power said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange. At the same time, the company announced a spe- cial dividend of P0.22 per share to stockholders of record as of December 13, 2012. The dividend is pay- able on January 11, 2013. AboitizPower is the power generation and dis- tribution arm of the Aboitiz Group of Cebu, a local con- glomerate with interests in banking, manufacturing, shipbuilding, construction and land development. In 2011, the company earned P21.6 billion, down by 14 percent from P25 bil- lion in 2010 primarily as a result of lower electric- ity sales, foreign exchange losses and loan prepayments. CEPALCO/PAGE 9 ARMM/PAGE 9

Upload: dante-sudaria

Post on 28-Mar-2016

223 views

Category:

Documents


5 download

DESCRIPTION

BUSINESSWEEK MINDANAO (Dec 7-8, 2012)

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: BUSINESSWEEK MINDANAO (Dec 7-8, 2012)

Market Indicators

US$1 = P40.85 5,672.70 points

XX

FOREX PHISIX

AS of 5:34 Pm dec. 3, 2012 (monday)

5 cents

32.25points

BrieflyFight against pestsKORONADAL City -- The De-partment Agriculture in Socck-sargen region is intensifying its fight against pests and diseases on crops in the barangays. DA 12 and the Regional Crop Protection Center (RCPC) has gathered recently more than 1,000 members of Bantay Peste Brigades also called “pest scouts” across Soccsksargen Region in the first Regional Bantay Peste Brigade Forum. Dr. Jesus Binamira, In-tegrated Pest Management ( IPM) K ASA K A L I K ASA N program director, said the KASAKALIKASAN National Crop Protection supports the objectives of the Food Staples Self-sufficiency Program (FSSP) of the department.

World-classTAGUM City -- The province of Davao del Norte aims to achieve the recognition as a world-class province in four years time. “We hope to make Davao del Norte world-class,” this was said recently by Del Rosario in a press conference at the capitol here. “World-class” is the adjec-tive the province hopes to be described as in four years time,” he said. Del Rosario also said one of the plans is to make Davao Region the nation’s “Rising Global Frontier” down to the grassroots.

Illegal traffickingGENERAL Santos City -- The Philippine Overseas Employ-ment Administration (POEA) has tapped the public employment services offices (PESO) of local government units (LGUs) in Region 12 as among the frontlin-ers of its enhanced campaign against illegal recruitment and human trafficking in the region. Chona Mantilla, Depart-ment of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Region 12 director, said that such move is aimed at bringing the campaign down to the grassroots level within the region’s four provinces and five cities. Region 12, which is also known as the Soccsksargen Region, comprises the prov-inces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, North Co-tabato and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan and Cotabato.

P15.00Issue No. 135, Volume III • December 7-8, 2012Friday-SaturdayCagayan de Oro City

Editorial and advertising email : [email protected] • Cell Number : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776

Now

every Mondays,

wednesdays, & Fridays

BusinessWeek www.businessweekmindanao.com

YOUR LOCAL ONLINE BUSINESS PAPERMINDANAO

By IRENE DOMINGO, Reporter

WHILE Cagayan de Oro is again battered by a powerful storm much

stronger than the one that hit the region nearly one year ago, it’s power distributor, the Cagayan Electric Power and Light Co (Ce-palco) has formally asked the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to allow it to charge its consumers the cost of damages to its facilities brought about by that Dec. 17, 2011 storm devastation. In a petition filed before the Energy Regu-latory Commission (ERC), Cagayan Electric Power and Light Co (Cepalco) said it incurred over P30 million in costs for the restoration and repair of distribution facilities damaged

FORMER lawmaker Cynthia Villar receives her token of appreciation and award from Prof. Alem Abdurasad Sarangani (third from left), head of the Member-World Muslim League-Philippines chapter, during the opening and ceremonial cutting of ribbons of Hayfah Palace, Hayfah Bakery, Hayfah Petron, and a TV station (dxKC-RPMD TV) in Marawi City on Dec. 1. Marawi City Mayor Sultan Fahad U. Salic witness the awarding. photo by sonny sudaria, armm bureau chief

Armm gears up for full-blast forest dev’tto other provinces- Basilan, Ma-guindanao, Sulu and TawiTawi. The ARMM signed a memo-randum of agreement with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources this year for the implementation of the P44 million FLBD project, which is expected to be finished in May 2013. Hataman, said that aside from identifying the A and D and the forest lands, mineral lands and national parks are of importance in the said project. “In this way, we will be able to determine appropriate manage-ment intervention and protect

By BUTCH D. ENERIOCorrespondent

THE Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) on Sunday launched the implementa-tion of its Forestland Boundary Assessment and Delineation (FLBD) project as it gears toward full development of the region’s land area. Mujiv Sabbihi Hataman, ARMM governor, said that the endeavor will demarcate on the ground the boundaries of the alienable and disposal (A and D) lands, particularly the remaining forest. The survey will start from Lanao del Sur and will continue

our remaining forest cover a well as develop areas where there are economic potentials.” Hataman said. The FLBD is with a theme “Unang tanda para sa Kagubatan, Simbolo nang Handa, Matatag, Makabago, at Maka-kalikasang Bangsamoro” that will lay down the economic road map of the upcoming Bansamoro Govern-ment. “This forestland marker is important as we lay down our development road map, where areas will be properly identified as potential for agroforestry de-

NEW ENDORSERSMyPhone, the country’s leading mobile phone brand recently signed ABS-CBN PBB housemates Ryan Boyce and Karen Reyes as new endorsers. Also in photo is MyPhone Vice President Mr. Richie de Quina.

Aboitiz Power increases dividendABOITIZ Power Corp has increased its dividend pay-out from a third of profit to half. “This new policy changes the previous cash dividend payment ration of 33 percent of previous year’s net prof-its,” Aboitiz Power said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

At the same time, the company announced a spe-cial dividend of P0.22 per share to stockholders of record as of December 13, 2012. The dividend is pay-able on January 11, 2013. Aboit i zPower i s t he power generation and dis-tribution arm of the Aboitiz Group of Cebu, a local con-

glomerate with interests in banking, manufacturing, shipbuilding, construction and land development. In 2011, the company earned P21.6 billion, down by 14 percent from P25 bil-lion in 2010 primarily as a result of lower electric-ity sales, foreign exchange losses and loan prepayments.

cepalco/PAGE 9

armm/PAGE 9

Page 2: BUSINESSWEEK MINDANAO (Dec 7-8, 2012)

0917-7154399088-856-8562/63

ameNITIeS : ZORBIT * ATV * TREE TOP ADVENTURE BUGGY * BUNGEE

* PICNIC GROUNDS PLAYGROUND * CAFE * LUGE * MINI GOLF ROOM

ACCOMODATIONS

Economy2 Friday - Saturday I Dec. 7-8, 2012 BusinessWeek www.businessweekmindanao.com

YOUR LOCAL ONLINE BUSINESS PAPERMINDANAO

DTI keeps Davao exporters informed on trade documentation proceduresTHE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) conducted a seminar on international commercial terms 2010 (Incoterms 2010) and trade documentation procedures for exporters in Davao City.

ers Confederation (PHI-LEXPORT), Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC) organized this seminar. The seminar organizers tapped re-source speakers from the Department of Finance (DOF), Bureau of Cus-toms (BOC), Philippine International Trading Corporation (PITC) and a brokerage firm. “By learning about common international

trade practices and rules like Incoterms 2010, ex-porters can clearly docu-ment the task, cost and uncertainties related in transport and delivery of their products,” Perlada said. The Incoterms 2010 are the current series of pre-defined commercial terms published by the International Chamber of C om merc e ( IC C) that is widely used in

international commer-cial dealings. These are rules accepted by govern-ments, legal authorities and practitioners world-wide in understanding of most commonly used terms in international trade. These rules aim to reduce or eliminate risks arising from varied interpretation of the rules in trading countries. “This seminar is part of the series of seminars

that we are promoting under the Philippine Ex-port Compet it iveness Program (PECP) that will provide exporters with information useful to their export business transactions,” Perlada said. This seminar gath-ered 105 par t icipants composed of brokers and forwarders, exporters, businessmen, and gov-ernment employees.

“Through this semi-nar, we intend to provide a comprehensive discus-sion on Incoterms 2012 and up-to-date informa-tion to local businessmen on their t ransact ions on returned shipments, abandonment, bonded

warehousing,” Bureau of Export Trade Promo-t ion (BETP) Director Senen M. Perlada said in a statement. The DTI through its office in Region 11 and the BETP in coordination with Philippine Export-

High poverty incidence in R-XI a challenge to dev’t planners

By CARMENCITA A. CARILLOContributor

Plan Roadshow held at the Provincial Government Cen-ter in Tagum City, Davao del Norte Wednesday. Herrera, who presented the Regional Development Plan for 2011-2016, said the Plan is growth-inclusive and will ensure that “no Dabawenyo is left behind.” The Plan aims to bring down the region’s poverty incidence level from the 26 percent level in 2006 to 22 percent by 2016. This can be made pos-sible, he said, through three development strategies in-cluding increased production

TAGUM City -- The high poverty incidence in the Davao Region continues to prove quite a challenge to the area’s development planners despite its proven resiliency during the 2010 global economic crisis. “The high poverty inci-dence of the region, almost one fourth of the region’s families, continues to prove a challenge,” OIC Assistant Regional Director Miguel Herrera III of the National Economic Development Au-thority (NEDA) XI said during the Regional Development

and productivity, improved food security and improved capacities for agricultural governance. Herrera said the RDP targets an average economic growth rate of 7.5 percent annually from 2011 to 2016 following the principle of inclusive growth. This can be achieved, he said, through sustained in-vestment levels in the priority industry clusters including Ag-riculture, Fishery and Forestry; increased labor productivity from 3.8% in 2009 to 4.0% by 2014 and increased family incomes.

Five farmers’ groups get free hermetic cocoons from DA 12

By DANILO E. DOGUILESContributor

farmer groups in General Santos City and South Co-tabato have received free KORONADAL City -- Five

hermetic cocoons from the Department of Agriculture (DA) 12. Zaldy M. Boloron, op-erations division chief and regional corn program co-ordinator of DA 12 said, eight hermetic cocoons, each amounting to P275,000 or a total of P2.2 million, were distributed as grant to the farmer groups under the department’s AgriPinoy Maisan Program Cabuay Pioneer Multi-purpose Cooperative of Gen-eral Santos City, Rang-ay Credit Cooperative of Banga town in South Cotabato and KOMATIKO of Koronadal City received two hermetic cocoons each. Boloron explained these were distributed to the as-sociations as part of the “package of interventions” as beneficiaries of the Vil-lage Type Corn-on-Cobs Dryer under the AgriPinoy program. Mea nwhi le , Farmers and Fisherfolks’ Associa-tion of Koronadal City and the Farmers’ Association of T’bol town, also in South Cotabato were granted one hermetic cocoon each as prize they won in a raff le draw during the 8th National Philippine Corn Congress in Davao City early last month. A hermetic cocoon is a storage system where grains are placed inside an airtight container, which stops oxy-gen and water movement be-tween the outside atmosphere

cocooNS/PAGE 9

Page 3: BUSINESSWEEK MINDANAO (Dec 7-8, 2012)

Economy

3BusinessWeek www.businessweekmindanao.com

YOUR LOCAL ONLINE BUSINESS PAPERMINDANAO Motoring Friday - Saturday I Dec. 7-8, 2012

Honda defers expansion on lower growth outlookTHE assembler of Honda motorcycles in the Philip-pines has put off its expan-sion project amid tempered growth expectations. Generoso J. Paralisan, Honda Philippines Inc as-sistant vice president for external affairs, told report-ers that the company’s plan to jack up annual production to 500,000 next year from the current rated capacity of 400,000 would not material-ize, as domestic motorcycle sales have not been growing as expected, especially with Chinese brands eating into market. Production for export, meanwhile, is not viable as neighboring countries have their own Honda motorcycle manufacturing subsidiaries, Paralisan said. Honda Philippines had already purchased capital equipment for the planned expansion and had gained the nod of the Board of In-vestments to qualify for tax and other incentives. The company produces seven of the eight models sold locally at its plant in the First Philippine Industrial Park in Batangas. Only the CBR 150 is imported from Thailand. A third of parts and components are sourced

domestically, while the bulk imported from other Honda units in Asean, China, India and Japan. Honda is the Philippines’ top motorcycle brand with over 300,000 units sold dur-ing its 2011 fiscal year ending last March and cornering more than half of industry sales, said Sunday Julaton, Honda Philippines national sales and marketing manager. “Solo” motorcycles or those mainly for personal use comprise three-fourths of sales, while the TMX - Honda’s only model catering to the business market – ac-counts for the remainder. The Wave is Honda’s top selling model in the country. Honda Philippines has a 455-store network, half of which are in Luzon. Its

motorcycles are also avail-able at multi-brand outlets nationwide. Julaton said sales for the 2012 fiscal year are expected to have “minimal improve-ment” from last year to reach “almost 400,000.” C ombi ne d i ndu s t r y sales at end-August this year slipped 2 percent with Japanese brands declining 14 percent. Motorcycles from China and Taiwan however bucked the trend with sales up by a fifth in the same eight-month period and market share jumping to 37 percent from last year’s 32 percent. Chinese motorcycles are priced up to 50-percent lower, Julaton said, compared with Honda units whose

hoNda/PAGE 9

Page 4: BUSINESSWEEK MINDANAO (Dec 7-8, 2012)

Corporate.World4 Friday - Saturday I Dec. 7-8, 2012 BusinessWeek www.businessweekmindanao.com

YOUR LOCAL ONLINE BUSINESS PAPERMINDANAO

MANILA, -- The Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur reported that as a follow-up to the successful signing of the Framework Agree-ment between the Philippine Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the Mindanao Devel-opment Authority (MinDA) and the Embassy, in coop-eration with the Putrajaya Chamber of Commerce, will be conducting the Mindanao Business Networking Forum on November 29 at the Ber-jaya Times Square Hotel. “Even since the signing of the Framework Agreement, there has been tremendous interest from Malaysian com-panies on investing in Mind-anao. The forum capitalizes on this interest, and we hope that this would translate to actual sizable investments. We believe that through vigorous economic develop-ment drive, in tandem with the consolidation of peace, Mindanao will not only live up to its name as ‘the land of promise’, but become in fact promise fulfilled,” Ambas-sador J. Eduardo Malaya said in a Department of Foreign Affairs statement. Expected to be present are MinDA Chairman and Signing Minister for Brunei Indonesia Malaysia Philip-pines-East Asia Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Luwalhati Antonino, Autonomous Re-gion in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Governor Mujiv Hataman and other key of-ficials from the region and from Malaysia. They will be accompanied by some 50 businessmen from Mindanao This by-invitation forum aims to present to Malaysian businessmen and women and investors the current trade and investment opportuni-ties in Mindanao, particu-larly in the following sectors: agriculture/agri-business development; tourism de-velopment; infrastructure development, particularly transport, power and renew-able energy; and services, particularly Islamic finance and ICT-enabled services. There will also be a chance for Filipino and Malaysian

Mindanao biz forum slated in K. Lumpur

businessmen to interact in breakout sessions, as well as in one-on-one meetings with their counterparts. Malaysian companies expected to attend include Berjaya Corporation, Genting Plantations, Malaysian Bio-technology Corporation, Malaysia Airport Holdings Bhd, and Philippine Airlines (AirPhil) Malaysia, among others. The Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Department of Is-lamic Development Malaysia, Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Malay-sia, Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) and MATRADE Manila have also confirmed participation in the event. The forum is in coop-eration with the Philippine Trade and Investment Cen-ter-Malaysia, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Regional Govern-ment, Department of Trade and Industry, Board of In-vestments, and Department of Agriculture, MATRADE, and other supporting orga-nizations in Malaysia. It is also supported by the Putrajaya Chamber of Commerce and the Berjaya Times Square. It is also a follow-up ac-tivity to the Philippines-Malaysia Investment Part-nership Forum held last May 29 in Kuala Lumpur, where Vice President Jejomar Binay was the guest of honor and keynote speaker, and the ARMM Mindanao Invest-ment Forum, scheduled on November 23 to 26 in Cota-bato City. Chairman Antonino, Governor Hataman and other members of the Philippine delegation will also be par-ticipating in the BIMP-EAGA and Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) Consumer Fair in Melaka from November 30 to December 2. The Fair will showcase Philippine high-value agri-fishery products and tourism destinations, which will be participated in by 50 ex-hibitors from Mindanao and Palawan. (DFA)

The exports sector contin-ued its rebound this year, albeit subdued, contribut-ing to the two-year high economic growth of 7.1 percent in the third quarter of the year. Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said exports of goods rose by 6.7 percent in the third quarter from a negative 14.8 percent during the same pe-riod last year. This brought average goods exports to 8.1 percent in the first three quarters. "Although the sector's growth was still subdued, the surge in the overseas sales of metal components

(466%), telecommunications (473.8%) and office equip-ment (106%) maybe a sign of renewed vitality in the re-gional production networks, of which we are a part," he said. An economist earlier underscored the importance of participation in regional/global production networks. This provides domestic firms not only access to more ex-port markets but to newer technologies as well. Top dollar earners dur-ing the period also included control instrumentation, of-fice equipment and ignition wiring sets. Losers, on the other hand,

were automotive electronics, other products manufactured from materials on consign-ment basis, electronic data processing, articles of apparel and clothing accessories and components/devices (semiconductors). Balicasan said services exports also rose by a robust 7.6 percent in the third quar-ter, driven by growth in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector. "On the demand side, increased consumer and gov-ernment spending, increased investments in construction, and the third consecutive quarter of growth in external trade contributed to the high-

est quarterly growth since the third quarter of 2012," said the National Coordination Board (NSCB). Balisacan attributed the Philippine third-quarter 7.1-percent gross domestic product, the fastest economic growth in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to the robust performance of almost the domestic sectors. With this, the country is well on its way to surpassing the growth target of 5 to 6 percent this year, he said. Year-to-date GDP already reached 6.5 percent. -- Danielle Venz, PHILEX-PORT News and Features

Goods and services exports post growth in Q3

BPI-MEDIA BUSINESS FORUMMs. Rita Cancchela, BPI Head of Corp. Communications gives her message to media members in CDO during The Financial Welness seminar sponsored by the Bank of Phil Islands on November 26 at Malberry Hotel, Cag de Oro

By Carmencita A. Carillo

PANABO CITY -- What started out as a dream project for the city of Panabo has now turned into a multi-million business for the local govern-ment. Not too many people know that the Panabo City Mariculture Park is a brain-child of Governor Rodolfo del Rosario when he was still the Secretary for New Government Centers during the previous administration. The Park started out with a 1,075-hectare area in 2006 covering the barangays of Cagangohan, J.P. Laurel, and San Pedro but which has been reduced to only 618 hectares as the city needed more area for its sport expan-sion project. The reduction has not affected the bangus production or environment protection in the area. “The park was established not only to provide livelihood for the local fishermen but also to accelerate the area’s economic growth and con-tribute to the country’s food security program,” Regional Fisheries Training Center director Andrew Ventura said. He said the Mariculture Park ’s growth is undeni-able considering that it has almost tripled its income-seed money of only P235.8 million in 2006 to P601.65 million as of 2012. The Park, which is a joint project of the local government of Panabo City and the Department of Ag-riculture-Bureau of Fisher-

ies and Aquatic Resources-11, had a total fish production of 6,998.80 metric tons (MT) in a span of six years, significantly increasing every year from 2.9 MT in 2006 to a high of 1,919 MT in 2009. “Our f lagship commodity is bangus although we also promote high-value species like siganid (danggit) and grouper (lapu-lapu),” Ventura said. The grouper is sold live to local Chinese restaurants but buyers usually complain of a shortage because of the high demand and previously limited production of the grouper. Ventura said the grouper is much more capital-intensive than bangus. While a five-inch bangus fingerling can cost only between P5 to P6, the grouper fingerlings are sold on a per inch basis at P10 per inch. And since the grouper has to measure four inches to avoid slipping out of the fish cages, one grouper f ingerling can already cost P40. The carnivo-rous groupers also eat thrash fish which is more expensive than the commercial feeds for the bangus fingerlings. Exporting the Panabo Ban-gus Unknown to many for-eigners who enjoy eating the delicious fatty belly bangus in the United States, China, and the Middle East, the fish they are eating could have been sourced from Panabo City’s Mariculture Park. Companies like Alsons and Century Tuna source their bangus products from the Mariculture Park and export them. “These companies process

the bangus products into value-added products like bottled bangus, deboned bangus and belly bangus which are highly in-demand in foreign coun-tries,” Ventura said. Century Tuna alone gets 30 to 40 tons of fresh bangus from the Mariculture Park and processes them in General Santos City. While Alsons has its own fish cages in Malita and Malalag, it purchases 500- to 600-gram bangus as well as baby bangus from the Park. Ventura said the bangus from the Park are sold by Alsons and Century Tuna under their own brands so people are not even aware that some of the bottled and marinated bangus they are buying here and abroad are products of Panabo City. Providing livelihood for women, fisherfolks The Mariculture Park also provides livelihood opportuni-ties for Panabo’s women and fisherfolks. The Cagangohan Women’s Association, with the government’s assistance, produces up to a thousand bottled bangus every month, which are sold in the malls and the local market at P95 per bottle. The government provided the initial capital as well as training for the women’s group which is now in its third year of operation. Fisherfolk families also ben-efit from the bangus industry in Panabo. A total of 20 fisherfolk families have been given one fish cage each family for their livelihood project. Ventura said BFAR’s counterparts are the cage structures and fingerlings while the fisherfolks provided

the feed supply at 600 bags per harvest. “We have negotiated with the Land Bank of the Philip-pines which has agreed to provide the fisherfolks with a financing scheme for the purchase of the feeds at 7.04 percent interest for every four months,” he said. The fisherfolks have already com-pleted 100 percent repayment for their first loan for the May, 2011 and August, 2012 period and have reloaned. The families got an average income of P27,000 per month net of their capital. The private investors as well as the Park make sure they hire locals for various tasks in the Park. The locals are either hired to take care of the fish cages, maintain its cleanliness, harvest the bangus and even construct the net. Some are hired for mooring construction works. While the Panabo Mari-culture Project shows all signs of being a success with a fish production of 1,418.20 MT and an income of P123.624 million as of October this year, Ventura said they are also faced with various challenges includ-ing the increasing cost of feeds and competition from unregulated fish cages. How-ever, the income, production and the overall system of the Panabo City Maricul-ture Park is undoubtedly one of the most successful collaboration which should serve as a model to other communities. (RGA/LAC-PIA 11)

Bangus, from a tiny town to the world

ATM Inaugu-rat ion (L-R) PVB VP and CorpComm Head Mike V i l la-Rea l , PVB AVP and Visayas Area Head Daisy Sibya, Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, PVB EVP and BBG H e a d V i c Garcia, and PVB VP and Branch Cen-tral Services Head Alfre-do Santiago.

Page 5: BUSINESSWEEK MINDANAO (Dec 7-8, 2012)

5Friday-SaturdayDec. 7-8, 2012BusinessWeek

www.businessweekmindanao.com YOUR LOCAL ONLINE BUSINESS PAPERMINDANAO

Page 6: BUSINESSWEEK MINDANAO (Dec 7-8, 2012)

Opinion6 Friday-Saturday I Dec. 7-8, 2012 BusinessWeek www.businessweekmindanao.com

YOUR LOCAL ONLINE BUSINESS PAPERMINDANAO

So you don’t fear a Catholic vote?

FR. ROY CIMAGALA

Hints and traces

Perspective

Dealing with your Holiday Debt

THINK a minute… Some parents received this letter from their daughter who was going to university away from home. “Dear Mom and Dad, I wanted to let you know that I’ve fallen in love with a guy named Jim. He’s divorced with 3 kids and does not have a job. I’m moving in with him next week and I’ve decided to drop out of university because I think I’m pregnant.” On the next page she continued: “Mom and Dad, everything I wrote on the first page of this letter is false! None of it’s true! But Dad and Mom, it IS true that I got a C in Biology and failed English. And I need just a bit more money.”

HAVE you experienced the classic “holiday debt hang-over”? The Financial Consumer Affairs Group (FCAG) of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said that this type of hang-over is usually experienced during the months following the Yuletide season — when the shopping, parties, and gift-giving have practically drained most of your finan-cial resources. Worry not, the FCAG has come up with another list of useful tips so you can wipe

Fairly smart girl! Even bad news can sound like good news if you see it from a certain perspective. We help ourselves if we look at our problems and realize that they could be much worse! We don’t have to look far to find someone who is having much worse problems and pain than we are. One question that does not help us to ask is: “Why did this happen to me?” That just makes us angry, bitter and full of self-pity, which only makes our problem seem worse. It can even paralyze us so we don’t move forward in our life. Instead, simply ask yourself: “What am I going to do about it?” Then either change and

fix it, or learn to accept it. Remember the Prayer of Serenity: “Lord, give me the courage to change the things I can, the grace to accept the things I can’t, and the wisdom to know the difference.” But looking at your prob-lem with a positive attitude is only the first step. It’s not enough. We still need someone Who can give us the inner peace and strength we need to make it through, week after week. Someone who will give us the love we need so we do not quit and fail others or ourselves. Only Jesus has that kind of strength and love that never quits. So right now, why not simply ask Jesus to forgive you and take com-

plete charge of your life? He will give you not only His right perspective and peace to accept what you cannot change, but He’ll also give you the inner willpower and courage you need to change those things you can. Just Think a Minute…

Making time timeless

Website: www.businessweekmindanao.comE-mail : [email protected]

The BusinessWeek Mindanao is published by Busi-nessWeek Mindanao Advertising and Promotions every Monday, Wednesday and Friday of the week with office address at Tanleh Building, Abellanosa, Cagayan de Oro City. It is registered with the Depart-ment of Trade and Industry (DTI), Region 10 with Cer-tificate No. 00875701, and with Business Permit No. 2010-5698, TIN No. 946-396-807 – Non VAT. Tel. Nos.: (088)8578447, 74-5380, 0923-432-0687, 0917-7121424

ATTY. MARIO T. JUNIatty. roberto a. cantago jr.

Legal Counsels

DANTE M. SUDARIAPublisher

ROSE MARY D. SUDARIAManager

JOE DEL PUERTO FELICILDAUriel C. Quilinguing Editorial Consultants

RIZA O. ARESLIEZL A. DELOSO

JOE PALABAORENE MIChAEL BAÑOS

Marketing Consultants

NELSON CONSTANTINOeditor-in-Chief

DOLLY PELONEAdvertising

FELIX SANTILLANRONALD B. MASTAIL

Layout Artists

allan medianteexecutive Editor

Member: -Philippine Press Institute

-Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Inc. (Oro Chamber)-Misamis Oriental - Cagayan de Oro Association of Publishers (MOCAP), Inc.

IT’S a question of love. It’s a question of how we under-stand time, how we manage it, what we think its real objective is. We all know that time is some kind of measure that gives us an idea of the past, the present and the future. It gives us an idea of before and after, so basic in our system that we hardly give it any thought. Yes, it’s a very demand-ing and unforgiving element in our life. It simply ticks away, relentless in its march and f low regardless of what happens in the world. And what has passed, has passed definitively, never to return again. We cannot stop it nor make it run faster, unless we take it in a figurative way, or unless a lot of value added is given to it. That’s when we can say we have saved time or have multiplied it. That’s why many peo-ple get nervous when they consider the time element seriously. They invariably describe it as a most pre-cious resource that should

be used most prudently and most productively. But put in the context of the over-all purpose of hu-man life that includes our spiritual and supernatural calling, time acquires even more tremendous signifi-cance that we should know and appreciate. This is when we know that time is first of all a gift from God, indispensable because of our human con-dition. It just did not erupt into existence on its own. We have to be clear about this, because many of us just presume time as given, without making any effort to know where it came from and where it is supposed to go. As a divine gift, it springs from the eternity of God and meant to inhere in it always. It’s not meant to be detached from God’s eternity, unless in our foolishness we choose to distort reality and remove time from eternity. We have to be more aware, in fact, most keenly aware, of this crucial aspect of our time here on earth. Without getting unduly fuzzy about it, we should not be casual in our attitude toward it. In itself, the passage of time has the savor of eternity, to which we are constantly invited to discover and taste. This is the challenge we have, and it requires nothing less than broadening our mind, and grounding ourselves more firmly on our faith, hope and charity. In short, we are supposed

cImagala/PAGE 7

JHAN TIAFAU HURST

Think a minute

Speaking out

IGNACIO BUNYE

Superbranding

HARRY TAMBUATCO

off your holiday debts and still look forward to a bright New Year: •Conqueryourfearandbravely face the situation. The first step — and sometimes the most difficult — is to admit that there is a problem that needs to be fixed. • Assess the damage.Gather all bills and receipts and tally up your debts. •Make a serious planand a firm commitment to pay off and clear all debts within a specific time frame or schedule. •Paydebtsasquicklyaspossible to prevent interest charges from ballooning and to protect your credit stand-ing. Resolve to pay debts as soon as possible. Do not let them carry over year after year after year. •Payasmuchasyoucan.Do not pay just the minimum amount due on your credit card statements. • Prioritize debts. Payhigh-interest debts f irst while paying the minimum

amount required on other debts. This will lessen your overall interest payments and shorten the period of time it will take you to repay your total debt. •Bustopenyourpiggybank. The holiday debt situ-ation can be classified as one of the rainy days that you have been saving for. •Maximizewindfalls.Ifyou have received a raise or earned extra cash, use them to pay off debts. •Don’tpay creditwithcredit. Avoid obtaining loans to pay off your credit card debts, for example. •Keepor lockupyourcredit card for the time being to avoid using it further and accumulating more debts. Use cash for purchases when-ever possible. •Goonaspendingdiet.Trim the budget fat which may include limiting trips to the mall cafe, bringing lunch instead of eating out, or commuting to work. • Sel l some old stuf f

HOW dare you! Interest-ingly enough with the church saturated all over the country and Roman Catholic being predominantly the national religion; to hear a senator say there is no Catholic vote to begin with, so do not fear the church and vote on the RH bill is an act of self-termination. It has to be, consider-ing we are mostly Roman Catholics since birth. Just because the church has not endorsed a single politician or political party does not lend meaning that there isn’t one. Many other break-away evangelists groups may have succeeded in promoting spe-cific candidates so much so that these candidates bear gifts and court their endorse-ments; the Catholic Church has always been prudent and has left politics to the individual. But to announce with

spin doctors in the pockets of big money be it the phar-maceuticals or rich business-men? Elections lend to the en-dorsement of the people and should the two biggest political parties not land their national candidates into positions considering they are both from the same side; this will tell the President who the real boss is! Let us hope he is listening.

through the Internet or by holding a garage sale. This is also one way of clearing up the clutter in the New Year. •Gofordebtrestructur-ing. Negotiate with banks and credit card companies for affordable payment terms or “paylite” schemes to help you pay off your debt. •Itwouldbewisetostartplanning for the next holiday season. Set up a Christmas fund, do your shopping the whole year round, and take advantage of store sales. Do-ing so would spare you from holiday panic and impulse buying, overspending, and suffering another round of financial hangover. The FCAG said that the best advice it could give would be to stay positive. Love and forgive yourself for these “mishaps” and learn the precious lessons that go with every life experience. You may e-mail us at [email protected].

BusinessWeek www.businessweekmindanao.com

YOUR LOCAL ONLINE BUSINESS PAPERMINDANAO

confidence that we should not fear a Catholic vote is total nonsense. Worse would be to go against the dictates of the church with Repre-sentatives voting against its pronouncements. Personally, I take offense and should you not and stand by idly with pronouncements such like these; is intolerable. By 2013 the lections will take its course and the out-come will be forthright. Dy-nasties will finally fall and this will be the doing of no less the Catholic vote. Those who voted to pro-mote the RH bill will suffer its consequences. Candidates who belong to dynasties however numb they have mutated into will feel the wrath of the people. And should this not be the case; all would be lost any-way! There is also the education that needs to be sustaining till Election Day of course.

There are many who do not like dynasties but still do not know the meaning or how far the dynasty issue applies. While there is the first to the fourth level on con-sanguinity the issue re-mains intolerable for father, spouse, sons and daughters. Then there are those who to rotating chairs with their uncles, nephews etc., Ar-ticle II is forthright, there is no need to expound the meaning or the definition of dynasty, it is against our constitution. Our leaders need to be living examples for the people who have given them man-dates. As our president has coined “ikaw and boss ko”; how is it he too does not heed the call of the people against dynasties or against the RH bill? Are the surveys true when TV is endorsed to promote these atrocities against the people? Or is the handiwork of PR firms and

Page 7: BUSINESSWEEK MINDANAO (Dec 7-8, 2012)

7Friday-Saturday I Dec. 7-8, 2012BusinessWeek www.businessweekmindanao.com

YOUR LOCAL ONLINE BUSINESS PAPERMINDANAO

Available at:

BraNcheS addreSS coNTacT NUmBer 1. QapI - cdo J.r. BorJa ST., c.d.o.c. 72-40-58/857-41132. QapI-IlIgaN dY pIco Bldg., lUNa ST. 063-221-3646 0917-632-53053. QapI-ValeNcIa T.N. pepITo ST. 088-828-2090 0917-632-53064. QapI-BUTUaN cor. moNTIlla VIllaNUeVa ST. 085-815-2422 0917-632-53015. QapI-pagadIaN SaN FraNcISco dISTrIcT 062-214-1754 0917-632-53086. QapI-oZamIZ J.p. rIZal cor. laUrel ST. 088-521-0917 0922-650-18797. QapI-SUrIgao magallaNeS ST. 086-826-1170 0917-632-53108. QapI-dIpolog geN. lUNa cor. oSmeÑa ST. 065-212-4327 0922-3045-2909. QapI-geNSaN SUN cITY SUITeS NaT’ hI-WaY 083-301-900210. hapI-oSmeÑa oSmeÑa eXTeNSIoN, 72-63-13/856-401911. hapI-dUmagUeTe marIa crISTINa ST. 035-225-1581 0922-8501-34912. hapI-TagBIlaraN c.p. garcIa aVe. 038-235-3037 0922-8501-87713. SapI-carmeN VameNTa BoUleVard 858-166014. SapI-pala-o PALAO ExTENSION 063-221-2607 0917-632-531315. rapI-capISTraNo capISTraNo ST. 856-492916. rapI-TacloBaN Zamora cor. STo. NIÑo ST. 053-325-9957 0917-632-533917. cQ-lIFeSTYle ceNTer J . r . B o r J a S T . 5 7 - 9 0 0 1 - 0 4 / 714136-37 / 857-9094 0922-822807118. cQaI-ceBU oSmeÑa BoUleVard 032-254-5899 0922-8228-06819. cQaI-IpIl preS. QUIrINo ST. 062-333-2491 0917-632-532120. cQaI-ZamBoaNga ZONE 3, NUñEZ ST., 0922-8501-339 062-992-289021. cQaI-maraNdINg hIghWaY, lala, ldN 063-388-7116 0917-632-533322. cQaI-ormoc aVIleS ST. 053-255-7593 0922-8501-35923. cQaI-SIdaNgaN Zamora ST. 065-224-2802 0917-632-533624. cQaI-TalISaY BUlacao TalISaY cITY 032-272-1192 0922-8228-06525. cQaI-TaYTaY No. 9 rIZal aVe., 02-669-1182 0922-8228-067

and schedules on a daily and weekly basis, etc., not so much for the purpose of effective-ness and productivity as for showing our love for God and for working always in tandem with him. That should be the abiding criterion to use when we start allocating time for the differ-ent things we need to attend to. We have to constantly ask ourselves, “Is this what God really wants me to do at this moment, or for this afternoon, tonight, tomorrow, next week, etc.?” Other guiding questions can be asked: “How much

Cimagala...from page 6

to constantly exercise our faith, hope and charity to fathom the real and ultimate meaning of time, and to con-nect it to the eternity of God. In this regard, we have to take special care on how we manage our time, on what we use it for, etc., for on these questions depends our success or failure to make time time-less, that is, to make it acquire the character of eternity. We have to develop the virtue of order therefore, making appropriate plans

time should I allot to this activity? What precautionary measures should I use to keep me always in contact with God, avoiding being swal-lowed up by the dynamics of an activity?” Related to the virtue of order are other virtues that can be helpful—the capacity to focus on the objectives with intensity and persever-ance, to anticipate things, to be prudent and flexible as circumstances can change along the way, to remain calm and cheerful. We also need to learn how to be patient and optimistic,

as well as resourceful and cre-ative. Most of all, we have to learn how to grow and glow in charity even in the drudgery of a routinary work, and how to handle tiredness and the different forms of pressures, physical, emotional, mental. Making time timeless can indeed be truly exciting, capable of turning the prose of every day into heroic verses of love and dedication. Lastly, we have to find time to rest, and that can only be with Christ who said: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you.” (Mt 11,28)

WTO council concerned had endorsed the continuation of talks “and for members to remain fully engaged so that solutions to the concerns of the remaining few but influential members can be had by the next meeting of the CTG in late March 2013.” Mr. Recide said that “India came out strongly supporting” the Philippines’ request for extension, while Australia, China, El Salvador, Indone-sia, Pakistan, and Thailand endorsed the request of the Philippines “for more time so that the talks can be concluded soon.”

Rice...from page 8

country’s quantitative restric-tions in rice through the special treatment, in view of the criti-cal role that rice plays in the food and livelihood security of the Philippines,” the state-ment read. “Rice is the predominant staple in the Philippines and the primary source of employ-ment for at least 2.4 million farmers, majority of whom are small land-holders subsisting in poverty.” Quoting Mr. Recide, the department noted that the

GENERAL Santos City -- Call-ing it beneficial to the country’s tuna spawning areas, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Re-sources (BFAR) has defended the earlier lifting of the ban on the use of fish aggregating devices or FAD fishing operations by Filipino fishermen in the high seas off the Pacific Ocean. Asis Perez, BFAR national director, said at the ongoing 9th Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) meeting in Manila that the exemption on FAD fishing in Pocket 1 of the high seas in the Western Pacific Ocean has helped ease the pressure on the country’s tuna spawning and nursery grounds. He cited the Sulu Sea and the Sulawesi Sea, which are said to be the spawning grounds of the highly migratory yellowfin

tuna and skipjack in the country. “But we are willing to sit down with everybody to discuss issues related to the opening of Pocket 1 to Filipino tuna fishing vessels,” he said. Pocket 1 is an area of more than 560,000 square miles ofin-ternational waters north of Papua New Guinea and east of Indonesia. Perez said they are still consolidating data catches both inside Philippine waters and the initial landings of tuna catch from the reopened high seas pocket exclusively for Filipino tuna fishing vessels. He said there are marked differences in the sizes of skip-jacks and other tuna-like species caught between two fishing grounds. The initial tuna catch from the high seas, after it was re-

opened recently, are far signifi-cantly longer and larger that those caught inside Philippine waters, he said. Perez said the sample size of the recent catch landing from the said area is still very small for the Philippines to determine its impact to the tuna stock. He also refuted suggestion that more than 400 Filipino fishing vessels are now deployed in the area reopened to the Philippines. Of the 36 fleets allowed to fish in the area, he said only 11 have so far reached the area with some still working on to comply with the stringent requirements of the WCPFC. Perez said the Filipino fish-ing vessels now in the area could not be more than 50 vessels. He also reported that, so far, only 678 metric tons of

tuna catch have been landed at the fish port complex here. Several participating mem-ber countries in the WCPFC meeting are calling for the total closure of at least four high seas pockets that lie across the migratory path of tuna and other tuna-like species. The WCPCS is still dis-cussing a draft conservation management measure that will be submitted to the plenary session. Among these is a four-month closure on FAD fishing and purse seine operations, both in exclusive economic zones and the high seas. WCPFC is currently im-posing a three-month ban on FAD fishing among its member countries and have closed four pockets of high seas in the Western Pacific ocean. (PNA)

BFAR defends tuna fishing ban exemption

Page 8: BUSINESSWEEK MINDANAO (Dec 7-8, 2012)

Agri News8 Friday-Saturday I Dec. 7-8, 2012 BusinessWeek www.businessweekmindanao.com

YOUR LOCAL ONLINE BUSINESS PAPERMINDANAO

http://www.businessweekmindanao.com/ | Advertising: 09177121424 | http://www.facebook.com/BusinessWeek.Mindanao

BusinessWeek MindanaoMEDIA CENTER

Now accepts Political and Business Press Conferences

with assured publications on four newspapers

“WE GROW MINDS”

Mindanao StarBALITAInadlaw’ng Kasayuran ug Kalingawan sa Masa

Mindanao StarBALITAInadlaw’ng Kasayuran ug Kalingawan sa Masa

New technology against banana disease to undergo field testBy BEN D. ARCHECorrespondent

Panama disease with the technical team of the com-pany that developed the solution. Razo said the task force will discuss with the team of the Delfi Agriventures Corp. on the next step to be undertaken after the technology demonstra-tion conducted in Panabo City, Davao del Norte on November 14. Panama disease is a fungal disease that threat-ens to topple down the multibillion banana in-dustry not only in the

DAVAO City – The De-partment of Agriculture (DA) Davao Region is set to run the actual field test of the new anti-fusarium technology to ease the problem on Fusarium Wilt or known as the Panama disease haunt-ing the banana industry in the region. The DA’s Anti-Fusar-ium Task Force headed by Dr. Susan Razo will be finalizing the use of the technology against

region but also in other parts of the country. The application of the new technology involves three processes which include injection treat-ment, soil treatment, and maintenance application using Agrimin Plus, Tierra Green Plus and Tri-focplus products. DA will conduct its f ield demonstration in a one hectare untreated plantation severely in-fested with Fusarium, Razo said. “After a year, let’s wait for the result

first,” she added. If the test yields a better result, Razo said DA will allocate some P1 million for the technology which will be served to small-scale and independent banana growers that could not afford to treat their banana farms against the disease. In times of loss, Razo however said Delfi will be the one to pay the ex-penses. “We will not take the risk if we are not that confident with the tech-nology,” Razo told.

Pineapple that tastes like voconut created

MELBOURNE -- The Queensland Dept. of Ag-riculture has created a new variety of pineapple that tastes like coconut, senior horticulturalist Gar t h Senewsk i sa id Wednesday. Senewsk i sa id t he AusFestival pineapple has been 10 years in the making and was now in the final stages of produc-

tion. “Taste tests tell us that AusFestival is a winner -- it has this lovely co-conut f lavor, which you won’t find in any other pineapple in Australia. “It’s sweet, low acid, very juicy,” he told the ABC. He said researchers did not intentionally cre-ate the coconut f lavor.

PH mission cites gains in rice quota

extension talksTHE PERMANENT Mis-sion of the Philippines to the World Trade Organiza-tion (WTO) has reported some gains in the country’s bid for an extension of its quantitative restriction on rice imports until 2017, the Department of Foreign Af-fairs (DFA) said in a state-ment yesterday. The quantitative restric-tion (QR) allows the Philip-pines to impose higher tariff on rice imports beyond a certain volume. The Philip-pines had secured a seven-year QR extension in 2006. The DFA said the proposal “received strong support from World Trade Organiza-tion (WTO) members….” “During the Counci l for Trade in Goods (CTG) meeting on Nov. 26, the Philippines continued to seek consideration of a request

for a five-year extension (or until 2017) of the special treatment of rice,” the DFA said. “The request would allow the Philippines to continue quantitative restrictions lim-iting rice imports, subject to a reduction of in-quota tariff, agreement on minimum ac-cess volumes, and the conduct of annual reviews.” Agriculture Assistant Secretary for Policy and Plan-ning Romeo S. Recide led the Philippine rice negotiating panel, which also consisted of National Food Authority Officer-in-Charge Ludovico J. Jarina and Ambassador Esteban B. Conejos, Jr., per-manent representative of the Philippines to the WTO. “The Philippine delega-tion underscored the im-portance of continuing the

rIce/PAGE 7

Page 9: BUSINESSWEEK MINDANAO (Dec 7-8, 2012)

CAGAYAN DE ORO MAIN BRANChP & J Lim Bldg., Tiano Brothers – Kalambagohan Sts.,

Tel. # (08822) 727-829 * Telefax # (088) 856-1947CAMIGUIN BRANCh B. Aranas St., Poblacion, Mambajao,

Camiguin Tel. # (088) 387-0491CORRALES BRANCh Corrales Ave., Cagayan de Oro City

DIVISORIA BRANCh Atty. Erasmo B. Damasing Bldg., #61 Don A. Velez St., Cagayan de Oro City Tel. # (088) 857-3631

LAPASAN BRANCh Lapasan Hi-way, Cagayan de Oro CityTel. # (088) 231-6739a

9Friday-Saturday I Dec. 7-8, 2012BusinessWeek www.businessweekmindanao.com

YOUR LOCAL ONLINE BUSINESS PAPERMINDANAO

Republic of the PhilippinesREGIONAL TRIAL COURT OF LANAO DEL NORTE

12TH Judicial RegionBRANCH 07

Tubod, Lanao del Norte

In re: PETITION FOR CHANGE OF LAST SPL. PROC. NO. 272-07-2012 NAME IN THE CERTIFICATE OF LIVE BIRTH OF ORLANDO BUHISAN UNDER THE SPACE “NAME OF CHILD” WHICH HAS BEEN REGISTERED AS ORLANDO BUHISAN SOILO INSTEAD OF ORLANDO BUHISAN ZUELO UNDER THE SPACE “NAME OF FATHER” WHICH HAS BEEN REGISTERED AS FORTUNATO VALIOS SUELO INSTEAD OF FORTUNATO VALIOS ZUELO, UNDER THE SPACE “DATE OF BIRTH” WHICH HAS BEEN ENTERED AS SEPTEMBER 19, 1965 INSTEAD OF SEPTEMBER 19, 1963.

orlaNdo BUhISaN ZUelo, Petitioner. - versus -THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR OF SIQUIJOR,NEGROS ORIENTAL, Respondent.X - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -/

order

A verified petition for Change of Name in the Certificate of Live Birth was filed before this Court on September 5, 2012 by the herein petitioner praying among others that after notice and hearing, an Order be issued directing the Respondent to effect the change of his name in his Certificate of Live Birth. Petitioner alleges that he is of legal age, married, and resident of Pualas, Tubod, Lanao del Norte, Philippines. Respondent is sued in his/her official capacity. Petitioner is the son of spouses FORTUNATO VALIOS ZUELO and MARTINA BUHISAN ZUELO who was born on September 19, 1963 at Tongo, Siquijor, Negros Oriental. That his birth was registered at the Respondent’s office, however, his “last name” was erroneously entered as SoIlo instead of ZUelo. In the same Certificate of Live Birth under the space “Name of Father” the “last name” of his father was also entered as SUelo instead of ZUelo and his ‘date of birth’ was entered as September 19, 1965 instead of September 19, 1963. That the “last name’ of petitioner is ZUelo and that he was truly born on September 19, 1963 as evidenced by his Philippine National Police Identification Card bearing the name SPOI ORLANDO BUHISAN ZUELO and PSSLAI Membership Card. That there is a need to correct and change the entries in the Certificate of Live Birth under the space “date of birth”, his “last name” and the “last name” of father as found in his Certificate of Live Birth to avoid confusion and to confirm to his true date of birth, his last name, and the last name of his father. He has never been charged neither convicted of any offenses or infraction of laws. That the sole purpose of filing the instant petition is to correct his birth record to conform to the true and correct “last name”, the “last name” of his father and his “date of birth”, and not to conceal any identity neither to evade any obligation from any person or entity. Set the initial hearing of the case to January 13, 2013 at 8:30 in the morning before the sala of this Court. Any persons/s interested to the petition may come to Court on said date and time to show cause why said petition should not be granted. Furnish copy of this Order to the Office of the Solicitor General at Makati City, Office of the Public Prosecutor in Tubod, Lanao del Norte, office of the Local Civil Registrar of Siquijor, Negros Oriental, Atty. Florendo B. Opay, counsel for the petitioner, and to the petitioner, Orlando B. Zuelo whose address is at Pualas, Tubod, Lanao del Norte. Petitioner is hereby directed to publish copy of the Order at Business Week Mindanao, a newspaper of general circulation for three (3) consecutive weeks, at his expense. So Ordered. Tubod, Lanao del Norte. November 19, 2012.

(Sgd.) WeNIda m. papaNdaYaN Designate Presiding JudgeBWM: Nov. 21, 28 & Dec. 7, 2012

Republic of the PhilippinesREGIONAL TRIAL COURT

10th Judicial RegionBRANCH 42

Medina, Misamis OrientaloOo

IN RE: PETITION FOR LETTERS OF SP. PROC. CASE NO. 311-MADMINISTRATION OF THE INTESTATE ESTATE OF THE LATE MARLON ANTHONY PANLILIO BAYHON,

PEREGRINO BABIA BAYHON,Petitioner.x---------------------------------------------/

NoTIce To credITorSoF The INTeSTaTe eSTaTe oF The laTe

marloN aNThoNY paNlIlIo BaYhoN

Letters of Joint Administration having been issued in the above-entitled case in favor of peregrINo BaBIa BaYhoN and maIla lIZa BaYhoN BalaBa.

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that notice be, and the same is hereby given, requiring all persons having claims for money against decedent, marloN aNThoNY paNlIlIo BaYhoN arising from contracts, express or implied, whether the same be due, not due, or contingent, for funeral expenses and expenses of the last sickness of the said decedent, and judgment for money against him, to file said claims with the undersigned at the regIoNal TrIal coUrT - BraNch 42, medINa, mISamIS orIeNTal on or before May 31, 2013, serv-ing a copy of the claim to the appointed Joint Administrator at their address at Tup-on, Medina, Misamis Oriental. SO ORDERED. Medina, Misamis Oriental, October 18, 2012.

(Sgd.) ramoNITo o. l. SalISe Acting Branch Clerk of Court

BWM: Nov. 21, 28 & Dec. 7, 2012

Cepalco...from page 1

velopment and establish pro-tected area systems” said Hadji Kahal Kedtag, DENR-ARMM secretary. Hataman said that the participation of Local Gov-ernment Units especially in the Province of Lanao del Sur is critical for the success of the FLBD project. “We earnestly enjoin our Honorable Mayors and their respective Sanggunian Bayan to support us in the imple-mentation of this Forestland Boundary Assessment and Delineation Project. We cannot do this alone and we need to muster all our resources and achieve the involvement of the local of-ficials.” Hataman said. He said that whatever comes out of the project would be for the development of the Bangsamoro people and for the ARMM in general. “Rest assured that your DENR-AR MM with the guidance of our Regional Governor will continue to work for the betterment of our environment not only

Armm...from page 1

by typhoon Sendong last year. To recover the amount, Cepalco proposed increasing its rates by P0.0075 per kilo-watt-hour in 2013, P0.0079 per kilowatt-hour in 2014 and P0.0074 per kilowatt-hour in 2015. Cepalco distributes elec-tricity to the city of Cagayan de Oro, and the municipali-ties of Tagaloan, Villanueva, and Jasaan in Misamis Ori-ental. ERC rules allow utilities to pass the cost of damages from “force majeure events” or acts of nature to their customers. Cepalco said some of its damaged facilities were insured but it has yet to com-plete the required documents that will be used to evaluate and asses the amount that will be indemnified by the company’s insurance agent. “Cepalco will submit the

BPI...from page 11

Remitters...from page 11

for Filipinos to sacrifice and be away from their families to earn income, just as we see families who haven’t moved distribute their income for the comfort of the wider family.” Western Union has been moving money within the Philippines since 1995 and offers 8,800 agent locations in the country. It has a global network of 510,000 agent locations in 200 countries and territories.

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINESREGIONAL TRIAL COURT10TH JUDICIAL REGION

BRANCH 28MAMBAJAO, CAMIGUIN

In the Matter of Petition for Issuance of Original MISC. CASE NO. 118 Copy of Original Certificate of Title No. P-5091,Lot 252, of the Registry of Deeds of Camiguin,

LIZA PATANGAN CHAN, Petitioner, -versus-

ATTY. ALMA CONCEPTION M. PARREÑO,In her capacity as Ex-officio Register of Deeds of Camiguin, Respondent,X - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - /

order

Petitioner, who is of legal age, Filipino, married and resident of Mambajao, Camiguin, thru counsel, states that she acquired ownership over of a parcel of land located at Lang-cangan, Poblacion, Mahinog, Camiguin, identified as Lot No. 252, covered by Original Certificate of Title No. P-5091, in the name of Nicomedes Patangan, duly registered in the Office of the Register of Deeds of Camiguin, thru an Oral Partition before his father’s death last November 2007. That the owner’s duplicate copy of the OCT of the aforesaid parcel of land was lost and despite earnest effort to locate it, the same prove futile. The fact of such loss was duly registered in the Office of the Registry of Deeds of Camiguin. That the subject Original Certificate of Title has not been pledged or used as Col-lateral for any mortgage contract or for any contractual obligation or otherwise delivered to any person or entity to guarantee any obligation and for any other purpose. It is the main thrust of the petition that after hearing the Owner’s Duplicate copy of the Original Certificate of Title which was lost be declared null and void and a new Owner’s Duplicate copy of the Original Certificate of Title No. P-5091over Lot 252 be issued in lieu thereof under the same terms and conditions as contained in the original on file. The petition being sufficient in form and substance is hereby set for hearing on December 11, 2012 in this Court’s Session Hall, to start at 8:30 o’clock in the morning. Let copy of the petition together with all its annexes and of this Order be furnished The Register of Deeds at Mambajao, Camiguin; The Administrator, Land Registration Authority at Quezon City; and Provincial Prosecutor of Camiguin. The Process Server of this Court is directed to post copies of this Order in the 1.)Bulletin Board-PublicMarket,Mahinog,Camiguin; 2.)Bulletin Board-Municipal Hall, Mahinog, Camiguin; 3.)Bulletin Board-Provincial Capitol, Mambajao, Camiguin; and 4.)Bulletin Board – this Court. Let copy of this Order be published at petitioner’s expense once a week for three consecutive weeks prior to the date of hearing in any newspaper of general circulation in the Province of Camiguin. Any person or entity whose interests might be adversely affected by this proceed-ing may file written opposition within a reasonable time prior to the date of hearing and appear personally during the hearing to substantiate the same. SO ORDERED. Done at Mambajao, Camiguin, this 26th day of September 2012.

rUSTIco d. paderaNga J u d g eBWM: NOV. 23, 30 & DEC. 7, 2012

pleasant surprise for the whole cou nt r y a nd we should be all happy about that growth,” he said. The government’s 2013 growth target was a range between five and seven per-cent . Last October, the World Bank (WB) again revised up-wards its growth projection for the domestic economy this year to f ive percent. The forecast was previously upgraded to 4.6 percent from 4.2 percent. Similarly, the Asian De-velopment Bank (ADB) also upgraded its growth projec-tion for the economy this year to 5.5 percent from 4.8 percent after a strong in the first half of the year at six percent. Also, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) sees above five percent growth of the domestic economy this year. (PNA)

uting to wealth distribution across all of the Philippines,” she added. She said “with the same hard work and determination as their international coun-terparts, we are also seeing local migration increase and family coffers strengthened remotely. We appreciate and see first-hand, what it means

amount it will be indemnified by the insurance company as soon as it will be available,” it said. Typhoon Sendong hit the northern part of Mindanao in December last year causing massive f loods and land-slides in the region.—with InterAksyon

for the present generation but for the future generation as well. We will always adhere to the “Matuwid na Pama-mahala Tungo sa ARMM na Masagana’t Mapayapa”. Kedtag said.

range f rom P50,000 to P160,000. Paralisan said the do-mestic motorcycle industry was aiming to sell up to a million units in 2010, but annual sales had stalled at 600,000-700,000. He said motorcycle sales have been rising at a faster rate elsewhere in Asean, with volumes in Indonesia hitting five million units a year, while those in Vietnam and Thailand at two million and 1.5 million, respectively.

Honda...from page 3

sphere and the stored grain. It can be used for paddy, brown rice, and other cereal crops such as corn as well as coffee. According to a literature from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), hermetically sealed grain storage systems improve grain quality and seed vi-ability because they maintain the original storage moisture content and reduce pest dam-age without using pesticides. Seeds can be stored safely for 9-12 months or even

Cocoons...from page 2

longer resulting still in high germination rates and head rice yields are typically in-creased by 10%. Bird and rodent damage are also re-duced. Amalia Jayag-Datukan, regional executive director of DA 12 said, the distribution of the hermetic cocoons is one of the indications of their full support to the achievement

of goals of the Food Staples Seld-Sufficiency Program (FSSP) of the department. The distribution of the storage facilities was held on November 21 , along with the turn-over of P25-million worth of rice combine har-vesters and rice threshers to farmer group beneficiaries under the AgriPinoy Palayan Program.

Page 10: BUSINESSWEEK MINDANAO (Dec 7-8, 2012)

10 Friday-Saturday I Dec. 7-8, 2012 BusinessWeek www.businessweekmindanao.com

YOUR LOCAL ONLINE BUSINESS PAPERMINDANAOLifestyle

As much as we want to showcase our talents through this musicale

for a cause, we want to help and reach out for breast cancer patients and throw awareness to the city that these people (breast cancer patients and survivors) need extra attention to supplement their financial, psychological, and social needs; further to entertain and sustain.

These words blown my silence as I was listening t o D o c t o r i n g t h e L a w forerunners, Atty. Sam Tan and Dr. Mavy De Leon’s response when asked by the members of the press why they decided to conceptualize the show. “We want to help and something must be done to these breast cancer patients”, Atty. Tan stressed.

Doctoring the Law is a special musical production for the benefit of Thrive CDO, a non-stock, non-

profit organization aimed to create awareness on breast cancer and help breast cancer patients at large to stage on December 15 at Rodelsa Hall, Liceo de Cagayan University.

Aside from putting good use of a musical concert t h r o u g h a c h a r i t a b l e e ve nt , t h i s w i l l b e t h e first time also for the two professionals, Atty. Tan and Dr. De Leon to collaborate in a production. They have had private engagements and appearances as guest performers but this will be their first time to be seen performing in public.

At t y. S a m Ta n i s a lawyer, businessman, and a thespian. His experience in theatre includes stints with the Centro Escolar University Dramatic Guild and t r a i n i ng s w i t h t he Repertory Philippines and Tanghalang Pil ipino and has performed in the Oro’s

staging of Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues. Further, Doctoring the Law’ advocacy is very close to Atty. Tan as he personally advocates the fight against cancer after losing both of his parents because of cancer.

On the other hand, Dr. Mavy De Leon is a top-notch nurse and a medical doctor, a fashion designer, model, and a performance artist. Dr. Mavy’s decision to team up with Atty. Sam connotes a special attention for he is aware also of the plight of women in fighting cancer after years of being in the medical world. Dr. Mavy has always been also an artist and a performer during her college years.

With the artists’ heart on breast cancer patients, they did not think twice in choosing Thrive CDO.

T h r i v e C D O w o r k s in partnering with local

government units, schools a n d o t h e r i n t e r e s t e d organizations on bringing women’s health care services, particularly for affordable or free breast cancer screening and surger y to indigent patients.

Alongside with it, the group’s mission is to present fac ts , d isp el myths and provide informat ion on healthcare providers for breast cancer patients in the community, thus educating the public on breast cancer.

Doctoring the Law is directed by Owen Jaen with script by Arlyn Baqui and musica l arrangement by Neil Go.

It is a must-watch. You will be entertained at the same t ime you can help breast cancer patients as proceeds of the show will be given to them. Donations amounts to a minimum of P300 and up.

Doctoring the Law ignites ‘musical show for a cause’

By CHRISTINE H. CABIASA

PressCon Photos by RONALD MASTAIL

ATTY. SAM TANDOC. MAVY DE LEON

BENJIE S. MANUELOWEN JAEN

It has been every little Filipino’s favorite to make inroads on the love for

eating and the love for classic food, be it confined from west or north or from the east’s amour. Everybody loves to eat and loves to experience new touches on typical dishes.

Everybody loves to savor menus foreign in their taste buds. Furthermore, everybody loves this so called stew-sizzled fricassee for time-honored Filipino delicacies served with a modern twist. Now, green light for Kagay-anons as Mesa-The Filipino Moderne fried their way to the City of Golden Friendship bringing mouth-watering cuisines as they opened their first branch at Centrio Mall.

“It is actually the passion for food”, Ricky Dy, owner of Mesa confessed when asked how Mesa was conceptualized. He flew from Manila just to witness the grand opening of his 15th Mesa branch in the city. Mesa was originally pictured as La Mesa with its first resto along Greenbelt established in 2009 with customers allowed to prepare their ordered menus

sizzling hot in their respective dining tables. “La Mesa because simply Filipinos eat in the ‘mesa’, Dy stressed.

In the limelight of successLater on it was shortened to

“Mesa” as patrons bid to have their preferred dishes ready in their dining tables. It does not hindered Mesa owners to expand their business and commitment to serve quality Filipino classics yet urged them to do more and served more. “We do reengineer new menus”, Dy said.

Making new bills of fare for changing customers drew more add ups to Mesa. As they say, business is business yet “being focused on what you do” will bring you to this seven-lettered elusive word called success. Now, Dy has 38 resto units, 80 fast food chains, two high-end restos, institutional accounts, and mall developments nationwide. “I can consider having 15 branches of Mesa in the country as one of my greatest achievements but it is just one of those”, Dy avowed.

Good thing Mesa is in

Cagayan de Oro, now you can taste and experience classic Filipino foods refined with a modern touch with our various way of presenting one-of-a-kind dishes~ Ricky Dy.

At the height of everyone’s enjoyment guzzling up Mesa’s best, three-fold observation in the eyes of the owner, the franchiser Mags Cue, and the diners. The owner has this wide hope that Mesa in the city will be patronized by the Kagay-anons and will truly preserve Filipinos best through time; the franchiser has this vision to expand the store in the neighboring cities and towns of Cagayan de Oro as it was ignited in the city and will continue the mother branch’s commitment on serving quality foods to the Filipino people; the diners (one is this writer) has this perception that people will catch Mesa’s best in response to their commitment.

Honestly, with silver-plattered served dishes at reasonable prices, you can cry your heart out in deep satisfaction and happiness. Satisfaction on the foods being served and unfathomable

happiness when shared with family and friends topped it all.

I’ve been to many restos and grills yet as to this time’s publication, I assure you Mesa is the best so far. It’s as if I’m in Greenbelt, from its cozy ambiance to the well-trained crews, you can say “Ang sarap balik-balikan”. You’ll get stacked on your chairs when you dine at Mesa. I’m running out of words on how to further describe Mesa yet one thing is for sure, no words can describe it. It’s best for family and other social gatherings. You can assure quality dishes, top appetizers, never-been-tasted sea foods presentations, eyes-breaking desserts and coolers, and fit-for-king gratifying meat and fishes menus.

Experience classic Filipino food with a modern twist at Mesa- The Filipino Moderne, Ground Floor, Centrio Mall. Your taste buds will be cut as those aforementioned words reached your tongue, dine at Mesa and mind you maybe you can write a whole of yellow paper reviews for Mesa, all thumbs up.

Devouring a classic success with a modern twist (The Mesa- The Filipino Moderne Fricassee)

Story & Photos By CHRISTINE H. CABIASA

Rondalla Circle of Liceo U serenading the diners with classic Filipino songs.

Diners happily savoring Mesa’s best menus inside the house.

Page 11: BUSINESSWEEK MINDANAO (Dec 7-8, 2012)

BPI sees above 6% GDP for PHL, strong growth for banks in ‘12

11Friday-SaturdayDec. 7-8, 2012

BusinessWeek www.businessweekmindanao.com

YOUR LOCAL ONLINE BUSINESS PAPERMINDANAO

THE Bank of the Philip-pine Island (BPI) sees strong growth both for the domestic economy and the banking industry for 2012. “Banks mirror the econ-omy so if the economy is doing well I think this year the banks will do fine,” Bank of the Philippine Island (BPI) president and chief execu-tive Aurelio Montinola told reporters recently. Montinola projects a five to six percent growth, as measured by gross domestic product, for the Philippines

this year, similar to govern-ment growth goal for the year. “I think anything over six (percent) for the Philippines is good,” he told reporters recently. In the first three quarters this year, the economy reg-istered the strongest growth in the ASEAN region at 7.1 percent, the second fastest in Asia after China’s 7.4 percent. “Clearly we’re doing well. And that’s a credit to the government as well as the

private sector because both sides have worked well to get to that stage,” Montinola said. For 2013, the BPI chief sees a growth of over five percent for the domestic economy. “From our point of view anything above five (percent) should be minimum and anything closer to 5.5 to six is good. And anything above six is a bonus because the base is also low,” he said. “If it’s seven it’s a su-

GOKONGWEI-LED Rob-insons Bank Corp. posted a 23% increase in net income in the first three quarters of the year as its trading income surged. The bank booked a net income of P353.5 million as of September, 23.34% higher than the P286.6 million reg-istered in the same period last year, Robinsons Bank Corporate Planning Head Mykel D. Abad told Busi-nessWorld in an e-mail last Thursday. “Robinsons Bank’s net income was propelled by the expansion of our lending business and higher income from our trading operations,” Mr. Abad said.

Trading gains boost Robinsons Bank income Robinsons Bank ’s net earnings translated to an 8.68% return on equity, or net income in proportion to stockholders’ investment. The bank’s net interest income inched up by 2.58% to P793.6 million as of Sep-tember, with its loan portfolio expanding by 21% to P17.1 billion. Commercial loans ac-counted for 72% of total loans, while consumer loans made up the remaining 28%. Mr. Abad noted that Rob-insons Bank “felt the narrow-ing of spreads from interest earning channels in spite of an increase in loan volume.” Deposits, meanwhile, summed up to P26.7 billion

as of September. Robinsons Bank’s non-interest income, on the other hand, surged by 59.05% to P512.3 million. “The increase primarily came from trading income,” Mr. Abad said, but did not say how much were the bank’s actual earnings from trading during the period. On the expenditure side, the bank’s operating expenses rose by 18% to P812 million as a result of branch expansion, hiring of more employees and information technology investments to position the bank for further growth, Mr. Abad said. Robinsons Bank’s non-performing loan ratio -- or

the ratio of soured loans to total loans -- stood at 4.2%. As of September, the bank’s capital adequacy ra-tio -- a measure of a bank’s financial strength -- was at 23%, safely above the cen-tral bank’s 10% minimum requirement. The bank currently has 64 branches nationwide and it plans to open two more branches by the end of the year. The location of the branches is yet to be deter-mined, Mr. Abad said. Amid a low interest rate environment, which has squeezed the bank’s net in-terest margins, Mr. Abad said Robinsons Bank will focus on “higher-yielding consumer

loans and develop fee-based opportunities in the small and medium enterprises market.” Robinsons Bank is a sub-sidiary of listed JG Summit Holdings, Inc. It used to be a thrift bank until it purchased the Royal Bank of Scotland (Philip-pines) from The Royal Bank of Scotland Plc and the Roy-al Bank of Scotland N.V. through a share purchase agreement in February 2010. A commercial banking license and several branches came with the purchase, which was approved by the central bank and the Securi-ties and Exchange Commis-sion on Dec. 9, 2010 and May 25, 2011, respectively.

Pinoys biggest domestic remitters:

Western UnionFILIPINOS in the country are the largest funders of domestic remittances, said Western Union, which has announced a price drop across all its domestic money transfer services to reward remitters. In a statement, Western Union said more than 80 percent of domestic remit-tances are sent by in-country Filipinos—representing those who are permanent residents as well as domestic migrants who have left their homes in pursuit of employment and other economic opportuni-ties. Around 20 percent of domestic remittances are funded by individuals who have also received inter-national remittances from overseas Filipinos, the intel-ligence said. They are remitted from 143 cities in 78 provinces of the Philippines, with 10 cities—Quezon City, Manila, Makati, Caloocan, Para-ñaque, Pasig, Mandaluyong, Taguig, Pasay and Baguio—taking the lead. “This trend signifies the true Filipino spirit of giving back to family and loved ones—no matter how far and wide our citizens live,” said Patricia Riingen, company senior vice president for Western Union, East and South Asia. “It is also an indicator that the Philippine economy is strengthening with local income generation contrib-

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) local unit has warned that fake bills are in circulation as the holidays nears. Rosemarie C. Yunzal, BSP Tacloban branch ad-ministrative division chief, said they have been recov-ering two to three fake bills daily. “ T h i s c ou nt er fe i t money comes from bank deposits. For us, this is alarming. That only means that somebody is distributing fake bills in the region,” Ms. Yunzal said. The BSP is still con-solidating monthly reports of seized counterfeit peso bills.

BSP warns vs counterfeit billsthe Solicitor-General in the campaign against fake peso notes. The BSP has been dis-tributing posters and other reading materials on the new generation currency and its security features, Ms. Yunzal said. “We will continue to conduct massive informa-tion drive to educate our people on how to recognize genuine banknotes from counterfeits,” she said. The old banknotes will remain in circulation to give enough time for the public to make the full transition to the new gen-eration bills. The new bills are hard to copy because of its security features.

Ms. Yunzal noted that even some bank tellers have fai led to detect the fake banknotes, mostly P1,000 and P500 in denomination.

BSP agents have been working closely with the police, National Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice and the Office of

Metrobank investment banking arm to set up Philippines’ first ETF

THE investment banking arm of the Metrobank group is set to offer exchange-t r a d e d f u n d s ( E T Fs) , considered as the world’s fastest-growing asset class. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, First Metro Investment Corp (FMIC) said its execu-tive committee approved setting up an ETF, subject

to regulatory approvals. FMIC will initially pro-vide the seed capital of P250 million, while First Metro Asset Management Inc will be the fund manager of the ETF. In October, the Securities and Exchange Commission released the implementing rules and regulations of ETFs, expanding the list of

financial instruments that investors can choose from. The SEC defines an ETF as an “open-end investment company that continuous-ly issues and redeems its shares of stock in creation unit in exchange for basket of securities and represent-ing an index whose perfor-mance the ETF endeavors to track.”

Aside from FMIC, two of the country’s biggest lenders - BDO Unibank Inc and Bank of the Philippine Islands - are keen on issu-ing ETFs. The PSE is working with the SEC on new investment products to lure investors in the market and help boost volumes in one of Asia’s smallest equity markets.

remITTerS/PAGE 9

BpI/PAGE 9

Banking & Finance

Page 12: BUSINESSWEEK MINDANAO (Dec 7-8, 2012)