P15.00Issue No. 107, Volume III • Sept. 14-16, 2012

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Normin’s fruit prod’nA FRUIT crop production of 718,195.10 metric tons (MT) was noted in Northern Mind-anao, during the first quarter of the year. This volume of produc-tion was 5.13 percent higher compared to 683,128.51 MT of the same period last year, Carlito A. Baclayon, Regional Agricultural Statistics Officer, Bureau of Agricultural Statis-tics (BAS), said. Of these fruit crops, lanzo-nes posted the highest growth of 3,391.85 percent, followed by papaya with 114.19 percent, due to more fruit-bearing trees in Misamis Oriental, during the period.

SUCs on miningBUTUAN City -- State Col-leges and Universities (SUCs) in Mindanao have partnered on a research program on science and technology for responsible mining. The schools developed a research proposal entitled “S&T Program for Responsible Mining in Mindanao.” Among the institutions involved are the Caraga State University (CSU) and three other SUCs in Caraga Region, which make up the Caraga Consortium for Responsible Mining; University of Southern Mindanao (USM) in Kabacan, Cotabato; Mind-anao University of Science and Technology (MUST) in Cagayan de Oro City and the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) in Iligan City. The research is aimed to deliver science-based infor-mation and alternative tech-nologies to promote socially acceptable, environment-friendly, ecologically sound and economically rewarding mining in Mindanao.

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FISH CART. A push cart loaded with malasugi to deliver and sell at Bankerohan Public Market. DAVAOTODAY.COM PHOTO BY MEDEL V. HERNANI

By MIKE BAÑOS, Correspondent

WITH an imminent El Niño episode expected during

the last quarter of the year, Cagayan de Oro appears to be better prepared to meet any power curtailment which may arise in the Mindanao Power Grid next year. Already, local utility Cagayan Elec-tric Power and Light Co. (CEPALCO) has embedded power generation ca-pacity totalling 55.2 megawatts rep-resenting 42.6% of the 130 megawatt (MW) peak power demand of the utility’s franchise area which serves Cagayan de Oro and the Misamis Oriental municipalities of Tagoloan and Villanueva (site of the 3,000 hectare PHIVIDEC Industrial Estate) and Jasaan with 118,139 customers. This capacity was recently upgraded with the operation of the 27.5 MW Wartsila Plant of Mindanao Energy

AP to abide by ERC order cutting rates on barges

ABOITIZ Power Corp. (APC) on Wednesday said it will abide by the regula-tor’s decision reducing the rates of its the company’s power barges in the region. In a statement, APC’s subsidiary Therma Marine, Inc. chief operating offi-

cer Jovy A. Batiquin said the company will comply with the Energy Regula-tory Commission’s order, directing it to refund the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines. “We have decided to not f ile any motion for reconsideration. We won’t contest ERC’s decision,” he

By BUTCH ENERIOCorrespondent

Wahlstrom

R-10’s non-containerized cargo volume up 9.64%

By RUTCHIE C. AGUHOB, Contributor and manager of Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) -10. These cargoes were mostly loaded on delivery trucks that availed of the roll-on, roll-off (RO-RO) services of the ships giv-ing shippers the ease of transporting their goods to other points of destination outside the region. Loading goods on these trucks on their way back, shippers also avail of the ship’s

OROQUIETA City -- A total volume of 3,457,155 metric tons (MT) in non-con-tainerized cargo was loaded on the ships in Northern Mindanao, during the first quarter of the year. This volume of non-containerized cargo was actually higher by 9.64 percent com-pared to 3,153,188 MT, in the same period of 2011,said Necitas G. Layola Jr., engineer

UNISDR : Political leadership No.1 issue in reducing risk

By BONG FABE, Correspondent ing a city’s ability and capability to reduce risk, said a study released last week by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. “Building resilience to disasters requires

(Part 1) LEADERSHIP and political will or the lack of it is the number one issue affect-

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DOT/PAGE 7

Gov’t moves to address concerns on water classification of Lake LanaoBy APIPA P. BAGUMBARAN, Contributor

MARAWI City -- The Environmental Man-agement Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Region 10 gathered here yesterday various stakeholders as it seeks to address the final water classification of Lake Lanao.

best usages. The f ina l water clas-sif ication of Lake Lanao will serve as a guide for the enforcement activities of the government to stop the degradation of the lake, he added. Abubacar said Lake Lanao is currently categorized as Class C since all freshwaters not yet classified are assumed to be Class C. The usage of Class C freshwaters includes the propagation and growth of fish and other aquatic re-sources, recreational water

The conduct of the public hearing, aimed at solicit-ing comments on the most beneficial use and dominant water utilization of Lake Lanao, is the second step before the government can f inally declare the water usage and classification of

the lake, Dr. Sabdullah Abu-bacar, regional director of the EMB-10 said. He said DENR Adminis-trative Order (DAO) No. 34 provides for the classifica-tion of freshwaters so as to maintain their satisfactory condition according to their

activities, and industrial water supply particularly for manufacturing purposes. However, results of the water quality sampling con-ducted by the EMB-10 in 28 sampling stations show that

Lake Lanao passed the Class A classification. Class A freshwaters fall under the Public Water Sup-ply Class II category and can be sourced as drinking water provided they undergo some

treatments in order to meet the National Standards for Drinking Water (NSDW) of the Philippines. Treatments may include coagulation, sedimentation, filtration and disinfection, among others.

DPWH, contractors vow to repair defective roadsBy SANDRA V. FLORES

ContributorBukidnon Third Engineer-ing District also explained that the projects cost more than P50 million, which is only within the ceiling of the regional office. The vice governor, how-ever, argued that the most concrete explanation is the increased thickness on con-crete pavements and how the projects were bid out and awarded to contractors. ARD Berba cited that since last year, the DPWH has increased the requirement of the pavement’s thickness and employed prequalification process and post bidding check. “That is one reason why the DPWH-10 did not accept the project during its turn over,” he said. Berba, who chaired the Bid and Awards Committee clarified that procedures are being strictly adhered to by the department in con-formation to Republic Act 9184 otherwise known as the Government Procurement Reform Act. He explained that by rule, DPWH does not release full payment, and does not return the 10 percent reten-tion cost until after defective projects have been repaired as required by law. He informed the legisla-tive body that repairs are now being done by Ulticon Build-ers Inc. (UBI), the contractor who handled the project. An engineer from UBI contractor, likewise, con-

MALAYBALAY City -- Of-ficials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and contractors in region 10 vowed to repair cracked road portions along Sayre Highway in Bukidnon. Acting Assistant Regional Director (ARD) Efren A. Berba and the three district engineers of Bukidnon shed light on the updates and de-velopments of road projects as requested by Sangguni-ang Panlalawigan Bukidnon headed by Vice Governor Jose Ma. R. Zubiri Jr. Zubiri said he was as-tounded to note that the road concreting projects completed in 2010 revealed so many cracks. “How can you convince me that the roads you con-structed will stay for 20 years, when the longitudinal cracks and splinters are evidently seen?” Zubiri asked. District Engineer Rey Peter Gille of Bukidnon’s First Engineering District explained that the bulk of heavy loaded trucks plying the Sayre Highway contrib-uted and hastened the dam-age of the newly completed project. Leonardo Paulican, head of Bukidnon Second Engi-neering District, however, admitted that the road proj-ects really showed cracks. Acting District Engi-neer Honorato Saldua of

firmed they are already doing repairs. He also admitted that preparation could also be a factor. Zubiri challenged the DPWH officials to imme-diately take actions on said road construction setbacks and expects that repairs be completed at the end of October this year. The two-hour discussion ended with the commitment of DPWH officials and con-tractors to jointly undertake necessary repairs on said defective roads and assured to complete it in targeted month. Also in attendance dur-ing the discussion in the SP were the contactor engi-neers, project engineers of Bukidnon area, Engr. Noel Pacana for Bukidnon 3rd DEO projects, Rosmendo Bongocan Jr. for Bukidnon 1st DEO, Alberto Albit of Bukidnon 2nd DEO, and Evelyn Feniza, programming engineer of the Planning and Design Division of DPWH Bukidnon. Zubiri also followed up on the provincial government’s request for the DPWH to provide weigh bridges to en-sure compliance of the truck weight regulations and the right weight of trucks passing Bukidnon’s main roads. This, after DPWH high off icia ls were invited as guests during the 33rd Regu-lar Session of the Bukidnon Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) recently held here.

DOT eyes more tourists f lying in to Davao region

By JEANEVIVE D. ABANGAN tic and international tourists are expected to f ly their way to Davao Region as the De-partment of Tourism (DOT) currently works to position the Francisco Bangoy Inter-national Airport (FBIA) to serve as an active secondary international gateway of the Philippines. In his talk in a recent convocation at the Bulwagan ng Lalawigan, DOT XI Re-gional Director Art Boncato revealed the plans of DOT to improve the access and con-nectivity of the Davao Region to local and international destinations, maximizing the capacity of FBIA which has been known as Davao International Airport. The DOT is now working closely with the Regional Development Council (RDC) XI, the city government of Davao, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), the Department of

TAGUM City -- More domes-

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Available at:

MARAMAGPurok 1, North Poblacion, Maramag, Bukidnon Telefax No.: (088) 222-5208 Date Opened: August 05, 2004 Store Supervisor: Ma. Rochelle M. Paano

PAGADIAN TIGUMAEMCOR Bldg., National HighwayTiguma St., Pagadian CityTelefax #: (062) 214-1723; 214-4302; 215-3958Date Opened: September 8, 1997Sales Supervisor: Julie to D. Alcalde

PAGADIAN ZULUETAZulueta Bldg., J. Rizal Ave., Pagadian City Fax No.: (062) 214-1462; Tel No.: (062) 214-4996 /214-2822; FSO: 062-2144997Date Opened: September 8, 1989 Sales Supervisor: Marbel M. Crusio

PAGADIAN - CLARK Rizal Ave., Pagadian CityTelefax No.: (062) 214-4758Date Opened: November 22, 2002 Sales Supervisor: Cristy V. Guisado

MARANDINGNational H-way, Mercado St., Maranding, Lala Lanao del NorteFAX No./Tel. (063) Tel. No.: (063) 388-7048 Date Opened: March 14, 1992 Sales Supervisor: Marivic B. Gran

MOLAVEProvincial H-way, Molave, Zamboanga del SurFAX No.: (062) 225-1407

Suzuki 3’s CDO - VELEZVelez St., Cagayan de Oro City Telefax No.: (088) 857-2647 Date Opened: December 8, 1994 OIC: Alner K. Verdida

GINGOOG National Highway, Gigoog CityTelefax no.: (088) 427196 Date Opened: December 08, 2005OIC: Rowena Pacheo

CDO BORJAAndrada Bldg., JR Borja St. Brgy. 32, Cagayan de Oro CityTelefax: (088) 8573140; 8573139Date Opened: July 18, 2006Store Supervisor: Evelyn M. Sumingit

CDO GUSAJVR Bldg.,Sta. Cecilia Subd., Gusa, Cagayan de Oro City Telefax: (088) 22710126; 8571126 Date Opened: Store Manager: Lilibeth O. Hanasan

ILIGAN - SABAYLEBenito Labao cor. Sabayle Sts., Iligan City Telefax: (063) 221-5505; (063) 225-0509 Partyphone # 0973-903342 Date Opened: August 12, 1989 Store Manager: Maria Elena T. Zerna

MALAYBALAYBrgy. Sumpong, Fortich St., Malaybalay City Telefax. No. (088) 221-3424; (088) 813-4754 Partyphone # 0973-903818 Date Opened: April 25, 1996 Store Manager: Carlos E. Abarrientos

VALENCIAHagcol, Valencia, BukidnonFax No.: (088) 828-4127; Telephone No.: (088) 222-2412Partyphone # 0973-903780Date Opened: July 15, 1989Store Supervisor: Narciso F. Tabulong

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Hedcor’s Tudaya hydro plant to start construction soonDAVAO City -- Aboitiz-owned Hedcor Power, Inc. is all set to start construction of its P1.8-billion Tudaya 2 hydroelectric power plant project in the village of Astorga in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur and is now hiring workers, mostly local villagers including members of the local tribe. In a statement, the com-pany said it is prioritizing village residents and mem-bers of the Bagobo-Tagabawa indigenous community for the required 400 workers to build the seven-megawatt (MW), run-of-river project. The project broke ground on Aug. 1 this year and con-struction is expected to last at least 14 months.

ENERGY ADVOCACY Rene B. Ronquillo, Hed-cor chief operating officer, said the company policy is to involve the community where the hydropower plants are located. “As an Aboit izPower company and as one of the largest producers of renew-able energy in the country, the Tudaya Hydro Plant is our contribution to the worldwide effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” he said in a statement.

The company will hire even more workers once Hedcor starts construction for the second phase of the project, the 11.5-MW Tudaya 1 hydroelectric project. He said everybody who will be hired for the proj-ect will be briefed on the company’s environmental advocacy along with a con-tinuous education “on how to respect and care for their lands.” The Tudaya 2 project wi l l generate some 40.5 gigawatt-hours of power each year, enough load to bring electricity to 7,000 homes. Hedcor has a service contract with the Davao del Sur Cooperative, Inc. which will become the main client of the plant. The preliminary explora-tion of the project started in the first quarter of 2010, but

the design process did not begin until late last year. The power plant’s gener-ated carbon neutral elec-tricity is projected to cut greenhouse gas by more than 30,000 tons. The company plans to register it as a clean devel-opment mechanism project under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The convention sells cer-tified emission reduction units to developed countries.

“We were i n for med that members of our tribes have the chance to work for Hedcor. I asked my fellow tribal leaders to screen the aspirants before we endorse them to the company,” Datu Rogelio Manapol, Bagobo-Tagabawa tribal leader, said. He said the hired work-ers would be able to help not only their respective families but the indigenous community as a whole as well. (Courtesy of Joel B. Escovilla, BusinessWorld) MANILA - Basic Energy

Corp.’s bid to develop three geothermal prospects got a boost from the Department of Energy, which cleared the projects. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Basic Energy said the com-pany’s proposal to develop geothermal prospects in East Mankayan, Benguet; Mariveles, Bataan; and Iriga, Camarines Sur have passed the legal, technical and fi-

deals in everything from textiles and machinery to chemicals and food, and Dole are aiming to reach a final agreement this month, the report said. Dole, which says it is world’s largest producer and marketer of fresh fruit and vegetables, posted sales of about $7.2 billion in 2011. The processing opera-tions and Asian fruit and vegetable business – com-prised of production and sales – accounted for about 40 percent of revenue, the Nikkei said. In a statement on its website, Dole confirmed that it was “in advanced negotiations with Itochu Corporation for the possible sale of its Packaged Foods and Asia Fresh businesses. “No definitive agreements have been signed at this time, and Dole continues in discussions with several other parties regarding these assets and others.” AFP

Japan’s Itochu eyes part of Dole FoodJAPANESE trading house Itochu said Thursday it was in talks with Dole Food to buy the US firm’s packaged-foods and Asian fresh fruit and vegetable businesses, reportedly for as much as $1.7 billion. Itochu will set up a new company in Tokyo to pur-chase the operations, subject to a finalized deal, it said in a statement. The companies “are cur-rently negotiating the terms of Itochu’s acquisition of the fruit and vegetable business in Asia and the global pro-cessed foods business held by Dole,” the statement said. The announcement came as the leading Nikkei busi-ness dai ly reported that Itochu would pay as much as $1.7 billion for the units, betting on strong growth for fruits and vegetables among Asia’s burgeoning middle class. Itochu, one of Japan’s biggest trading houses that

“We will be fi nalizing the TOR within the year, but we have until January,” Babaran said, adding that the auction is most likely a “sealed bid.” Th e 3G frequency that the NTC will bid out belonged to Connectivity Unlimited Resources Enterprise Inc., which had to give up the same as a condition to the regulator’s approval of the PLDT group’s acquisition of Sun Cellular operator Digital

NTC restricts 3G auction to telcosTHE National Telecommu-nications Commission has restricted to telecom compa-nies the upcoming bidding for the 3G frequency that the PLDT group recently gave up. Dennis R. Babaran, NTC legal department director, told Interaksyon.com that the regulator would limit the bidding “only to telcos and franchise holders” to avoid “hoarding of frequency.”

Telecommunications Philip-pines Inc. Besides the 3G frequency, CURE also had to give up its cellular mobile telephone systems authority and its Congressional franchise. Th e PLDT group acquired CURE from former trade minister Roberto Ongpin in 2008. Babaran said the TOR will also determine the fl oor price to recover the PLDT

group’s investment in CURE. Th e PLDT group said it in-vested P2.125-billion, which includes advances from Smart Communications Inc. and stockholders. Besides CURE, Smart also has 15 megahertz of 3G frequency; Globe, 10; and Sun Cellular, 10.

US to buy same volume of sugar from PH in 2013THE US will buy the same volume of sugar from the Philippines in the coming year. In a statement, the US Trade Representative Office said the Philippines can ship 138,827 metric tons of sugar to the United States under the country-specific in-quota allocation for the tariff rate

quota of fiscal year 2013. The Philippines received the third highest in-quota allocation next to Dominican Republic at 188,908 metric tons, and Brazil at 155,634 metric tons. The Philippines is one of a select number of countries allowed to ship a limited

amount of sugar to the US on preferential terms. The Sugar Regulatory Administration had said that production would reach 2.3-2.4 million metric tons for crop year 2012-2013, or five percent higher than the 2.243 million in the crop year ending August 2012.

Sugarcane plantation workers in Negross Occidental. The US will buy 138,827 metric tons of sugar from the Philippines.

PHL goes for ASEAN standard on publicly listed companiesTHE Philippines will shift to an international corporate governance scoring system that promotes transparency in publicly-listed companies in the economically bustling Southeast Asian region. The ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard is a project developed by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and funded by the Asian Development Bank. It aims to protect the rights of shareholders and,

said Philippine officials, its use would bolster the coun-try’s image among regional and foreign investors. For the last seven years, Philippine companies have been screened by the non-stock, non-profit Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD), but will shift to the ASEAN Corporate Governance Score-card this quarter, they added. The scorecard, which is already being employed by ASEAN member-states Ma-laysia, Singapore, Thailand

and Indonesia, promotes a more unified corporate ranking and assessment scheme that will showcase the bankability of companies to foreign investors. Fellow ASEAN members Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar have yet to adopt the system. The regional game “What we need to do is to no longer play the Philip-pine game but the regional game,” said ICD Chairman and former Finance Secre-

tary Jesus Estanislao in an interview. “We want to have the same standards which have been regarded as higher standards in [the] stock exchange, so now we are benchmarking on the higher standards,” he added. Estanislao is a lso the Philippine representative to the ASEAN Corporate Gov-ernance Group of Experts. The ICD has worked in close partnership with other business, government, and

civil society organizations to promote and uphold the practice of good corporate governance. The ASEAN Scorecard supersedes the National Cor-porate Governance Scorecard implemented by the ICD. This means that public companies — those that are listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) — will now be screened using more than 190 questions on the areas of rights of shareholders, equitable treatment of share-

holders, role of shareholders, disclosure and transparency and responsibilities of the board. The old scorecard only has 110 questions. The first ASEAN Score-card assessment in the Philip-pines will be done on October 25 and 26. In the new scorecard, bonus points will be added to the companies who have applied best practices or practices that go beyond compliance. Penalty points

DOE gives green light to Basic Energy’s geothermal projects

nancial requirements of the DOE. “These projects are in line with the 2012 business thrust of [Basic Energy] to look into new projects in renewable energy develop-ment and production,” it said. Formerly Basic Consoli-dated Inc., Basic Energy is also engaged in oil and gas exploration, mining and in-formation technology, among

GEOTHERMAL/PAGE 7

COMPANIES/PAGE 7

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Globe Telecom recently updated that the progress of their $790-million Comprehen-sive Network Modernization Program has passed 50%, and the company expects full completion by first quarter of 2013, Globe’s president and chief operating officer Ernest Cu (center) said.

Globe says modernization will result in ‘brand-new’ networkGLOBE Telecom said its $790-million network mod-ernization program is close to 50-percent completion and is on track to complete the change-out throughout the country in the first quarter of 2013. The networks in the fol-lowing areas already have been transformed: South Luzon, Caloocan, Valenzuela, Malabon, Navotas, Apayao, Sulu, Tawi Tawi, Zambo-anga, Sibugay, Sorsogon and Basilan. The change out in Quezon City will be com-pleted by September; Ortigas Business District by October; and Makati by November. Globe president Ernest Cu described the company’s massive modernization effort as “different” in many ways from a traditional transfor-mation that other networks go through. “Others mask moderniza-tion with simply a business-as-usual change-out of old equipment. At Globe, our transformation is very dif-

ferent because it is indeed building a brand new net-work,” he said. Globe said it has effec-tively future-proofed the network with thrice the number of 3G base stations for better call quality and pervasive coverage. Aside from the hard-ware needed to power the new infrastructure, Cu re-ported that Globe has also steadily progressed with the nationwide installation of over 12,000 kilometers of fiber optic cable “the main backbone of providing rapid mobile data streams” which will address issues of slow mobile internet and the over-extended backhaul that most networks are experiencing. “In the Philippines, as we have said many times before in the past, the networks were actually built for text traffic and not for mobile Internet. SMS networks are characterized by very thin backhaul capabilities. Very fast mobile Internet almost

requires purely fi ber optics in terms of backhaul because of the tremendous amounts of data traveling from the base station all the way to the core and out on the In-ternet,” he explained. Cu added that the new network will have “more capacity, lead to quicker, clearer and better quality call and text experience.” “Th ere are a number of challenges that the old net-work is facing today due to changing usage patterns and mobile data preferences of existing subscribers. With our entirely new network, all these inconveniences will be a thing of the past,” said Cu. He also corrected reports pertaining to the moderniza-tion eff orts undertaken by Globe, saying that “for the last fi ve months we have been moving very quickly, updating and installing more than 100 sites a week since April of this year. So we are quite close to 50-percent done in terms of the network change-outs.”

Philippine Business Bank targets P4.2B from IPOPHILIPPINE Business Bank, the thrift bank of the Zest-O group, is looking to raise up to P4.25 billion from its initial public offering scheduled in the fourth quarter.

branches by end of 2013. PBB is 90% owned by the family of Ambassador Alfredo M. Yao. Th e Zest-O group includes beverage company Zest-O Philippines Corp. and budget carrier Zest Air.

In documents fi led with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), PBB will be off ering 101.33 million primary shares at maximum off er price of P41.94 per share. Th is represents 29.5% of the bank’s outstanding capital stock. Th e lead underwriter for the off ering is ATK Kim Eng Capital Partners Inc. Th e bank is planning to use the proceeds to acquire bank branch licenses from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and expand its bank network. At present, PBB operates 71 branches, of which 37 are

in Metro Manila. Th e bank is hoping to have 85 branches by the end of 2012, and 100

Mazda, Berjaya, to grow market in Philippines

SALES of vehicle firm Hyun-dai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI) grew in the eight month period ending August boosted by the robust sales of its passenger cars, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. Hyundai’s total January-to-August sales went up by 19% to 15,735 units this year, from 13,271 units sold in the same period last year. Its passenger car segment was able to post a 59% growth to 9,940 units this year from 6,241 units last year despite an 18% drop in the sales of its light commercial vehicles. Light commercial vehicles include passenger vans and sports utility vehicles. Hyundai sold 5,795 units of light commercial vehicles from January to August this year compared to 7,030 units in the same period last year. “This noteworthy perfor-mance was spearheaded by the i10, Accent and Elantra models that grew by 60%, 57% and 55% respectively. The EON is also picking up

BERJAYA AUTO Philip-pines, Inc., the new dis-tributor of Mazda vehicles in the country, plan to increase the number of its distribution outlets to grow their share of the market, the company said in a briefi ng Wednesday. Th e fi rm signed a dis-tribution agreement with Mazda Motor Corp. which will begin in January next year. “We plan to grow and extend our distribution reach. We will be open-ing new dealerships next year but we are currently assessing how fast we want to grow,” said Berjaya Auto Philippines Chief Execu-tive Steven Tan during the

briefi ng. He added the Philip-pines could be a big growth market for the car brand because of the people’s passion for vehicles. Mr. Tan said Berjaya Auto Philippines will take a status quo stance and will sell the same models that are currently being sold in the country. Th ere are currently nine Mazda dealerships in the country. Mazda is currently being distributed by Ford Motor Philippines. “We chose a distribu-tor that understands our brand strategy and who feel will also target the same kind of market we are looking for,” said Yuji

Nakamine, director and senior managing executive offi cer for global marketing of Mazda. Berjaya Auto Philip-pines was incorporated last Aug. 10. It has an autho-rized capital stock of P10 million divided into 10 mil-lion shares. Th e company is a 40%-owned unit of listed gaming fi rm Berjaya Philippines. Berjaya Philip-pines, fi rst incorporated in 1924 as the Central Azu-carera de Pilar, shift ed its business focus to online lottery in 1998 as Prime Gaming Philippines, Inc. It owns the franchise for Papa Johns restaurant and the social networking site Friendster.

Hyundai sales grow 19% as of August

with an 18% share of total passenger car sales,” the firm said. For the month of August alone, Hyundai posted a 2% growth selling 1,454 units this year from 1,419 units in the previous year.

Sales of its passenger cars grew 72% to 1,014 units this year versus 591 units in the same period last year. Total light commercial vehicle sales for August how-ever dropped 47% to 440 units this year from 828 units

during the same month last year. Hyundai expects the trend for increased interest in its passenger cars to continue towards the end of the year allowing it to meet its targets.

HYUNDAI/PAGE 7

Two carriers seek approval for

surcharge hikeH O N G K O N G -BASED carriers Ca-thay Pacific Airways, Ltd . a nd it s i s ter company Hong Kong Dragon Airlines, Inc. are seeking a permit from regulators to hike fuel surcharge, documents from Civ-il Aeronautics Board (CAB) showed. “Notice is herby g iven that Cathay Pacific Airways, Ltd. has filed with CAB a petition for authority to impose upward adjustment of fuel surcharge on inter-national passenger tickets,” a document dated Sept. 4 showed. A separate docu-

ment dated Sept. 4 a l so showed t hat Dragonair has filed a pet it ion to hike surcharge. Both airlines are asking for $135.50 ( H K $1, 0 5 7 ) s u r-charge from $124.70 (HK$973) for f lights “between Hong Kong and South West Pa-cific, North America, Europe, Middle East, Asian Sub-Continent including Bangkok and Singapore,” sepa-rate notices showed. B e y o n d t h o s e routes, the two air-lines are seeking for a $31.20 (HK$243) sur-charge from $28.10 (HK$219).

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NELSON CONSTANTINOEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

DOLLY PELONEA

FELIX SANTILLAN L A

BusinessWeekBusinessWeekYour local online business paper

E

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.

Learning to Love

JHAN TIAFAUHURST

THINK A MINUTETHINK A MINUTE

Loving in its purest state

THINK a minute…about love. It makes the world go around, right? The problem is that there doesn’t seem to be much going around! Most of us know that to love and be loved is what life is all about. So why is there so little real love in the world? Why have so many of us not learned how? How do I learn to love? It’s simple: until I have been truly loved by someone else, I don’t know how to truly love others. I know what you’re think-ing: “No one has ever loved me like that! I mean really

loved me all the time without conditions, just as I am.” Even our parents and spouse many times fail to love us that way. So how can I ever learn to love? I’ve got some very good news for you. Someone already has loved you like that! You just didn’t know it. We learn to love by see-ing God’s love for us in Jesus Christ. Jesus loves you with-out conditions. No person in history has lived with such a perfect kind of love for others has Jesus Christ did. Real love cannot be done

by slogans or songs. They cannot change our self-centered heart and nature. We all want real love, but none of us is able to give it. That’s why Jesus came: to show us what real love looks like. Jesus has given us the greatest picture and proof of His love for us—by giving His perfectly innocent life for all of our wrongs. So how do you learn to love? Just let Jesus love you. Ask Him to take charge of your heart and life everyday. And as you receive His love and power every day, you’ll start learning how to love

others like that; since you’ll always be getting the love you need from Him. Just Think a Minute…

More than that, Christ actually makes himself the very power that would enable us to love God and others properly. That’s why he once said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” In short, we cannot love properly unless we are with Christ. An immediate practical corollary would be that we should at least be in constant touch with Christ. At least we have to look for him, see his example, be familiar with his teaching, enter into a living relationship with him, for we are told by our faith that Christ is alive. He is no mere historical figure. In fact, he tells us through his apostles, “Behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.” (Mt 28,20) These words should be deeply in-grained in our conscious-ness, so we can act and live according to this truth. And what can we learn from him? How has he loved us? Of course, many, even infinite lessons. But we can cite a few. He adapted himself to our lowly, base and wounded nature. He forgives us all the way, from the bottom of his heart and always. He

took to himself the burden of the consequences of our own sins, again all the way to death, and death on the cross. From these considerations alone, we can learn that we need to think always of the others, because thinking of them is also thinking and loving God himself. Let’s remember that Christ only had one purpose for coming to us—and that is to save us according to the will of his Father. His mission with us is in obedience to his Father. We need to strengthen this attitude of thinking always of the others in our-selves. This attitude will bring us to God, as well as make us forget our own per-sonal miseries which many times really have no objective basis. They are often invented by us, or are self-inf licted, precisely because we tend to think a lot about ourselves instead of the others. We have to clearly see the connection of how loving the others is also loving God, with the implication that we forget ourselves more. We have to understand that whatever personal needs we have to consider—including our need for comfort, some pleasure, etc.—should be considered always in rela-

tion to God and to the oth-ers. Otherwise, we poison ourselves, if we just think in terms of our own selves. And how should we love the others? Well, how does Christ love us? We are told to love without measure. That is the essence of love which Christ exemplified by loving us all the way to the cross. “No one has greater love than he who offers his life for his friend,” he himself says. And that’s quite obvious. Even if we are still sinful, Christ continues to love us, ever willing to forgive us as often as necessary. We have to be wary of our tendency to base our loving on some reason. We need to love even if we run out of reasons for loving. This is the love in its

About Pawnshops(First of Two Parts)

TO say that pawnshops have mushroomed all over the country is an understate-ment. Despite the presence of a variety of banks, pawnshops still play an important role in the economy by “lend-ing” to people who would otherwise fail to qualify for bank loans. Pawnshops are popular among Filipinos who are in quick need of money because loans are granted without the need for a credit investigation. The collateral or the pawned item is the sole basis for granting the loan. However, most of us may still be in the dark about how pawnshops actually conduct their business. In an effort to answer related questions, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas came out with a primer on Frequently Asked Questions on Pawnshops. I am reprinting the con-tents of the primer to help financial consumers who want to know more about pawnshop operations. Frequently Asked Ques-tions on Pawnshops: **What administrative steps or procedure should be followed in opening a pawnshop? A person who wishes to establish a pawnshop must: Register his business name with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Secure a pawnbroker’s license or permit from the local government of the city or municipality where the pawnshop is to be located.

Register with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas before commencing business op-erations. **What are the maxi-mum rates of interest that a pawnshop/pawnbroker can charge on its pledge loans? Effective January 1, 1983, interest rates shall not be subject to any ceiling pre-scribed under or pursuant to the Usury Law, as amended. However, the interest rate that a pawnshop/pawnbroker may collect on its pledge loans must be indicated on the face of the pawn ticket. **Can pawnshops collect interest in advance? Yes, provided that the amount of interest collected in advance does not exceed the equivalent for the agreed maturity period of the loan. For loans with maturities of more than one (1) year, advance interest shall not exceed the interest equiva-lent for one (1) year. **Besides interest, what other charges or fees can a pawnshop/pawnbroker collect on its pledged loan transactions? In addition to interest, a pawnshop can collect service

CIMAGALA/PAGE 7

FR. ROY CIMAGALA

HINTS AND HINTS AND TRACESTRACES

6 September 14-16, 2012 OpinionOpinion www.businessweekmindanao.com

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BUNYE/PAGE 7

We have to make sure that our pursuit for love goes all the way to its purest state. We have to be wary when we get entangled along the way, getting contented only with some relatively good thing, since our goal is to reach the absolute good who is God. “Deus caritas est,” St. John describes the essence of God. “God is love.” We cannot and should not settle for anything less. To aim at this love, we are given some guidelines—the Ten Com-mandments which spell out God’s designs for us. They dispose us to love. But our Lord , Jesus Christ, spells out these Ten Commandments further by telling us that the greatest commandment is to love God with al l our might, etc., and the second greatest commandment is to love our neighbor. He therefore tells us that loving God goes always with loving our neighbor. Both loves cannot be sepa-rated. He reinforced this teach-ing by giving us what he termed as the “new com-mandment,” and that is, that we should love one another as he himself has loved us. Christ, therefore, makes himself the standard of our loving.

Natures wander lustLAKE PINAMALOY in Don Carlos, Bukidnon has the best scenic vistas in its surround-ings every movie producer will be interested to shoot a location. Pryce Plaza in Carmen Hill, Cagayan de Oro, uses the punch line caption for the hotel tours advertising and promoting the Province of Bukidnon to its various foreign clients. Carved from the f lat lands surrounded with high mountainous rain forests and verdant valleys providing a natural feed of freshwater to a foot shaped inland body of water. With more than 60 hect-ares in size and a deep of 3 meters from the edge to 10 meters in the center, it has an estimated water displacement of 6 million gallons per day more than enough to supply the daily needs of as much as a population of half million people. This premise gives

logic to the stakeholders in Don Carlos of the need for the sustainability use of the lake. The local government of Don Carlos has formed the Local Lake Pinamaloy Development Council in the cross road on how the devel-opment of the lake matters to tourism and preservation of natural attraction? Presently, aside from the supply of water requirements to the community, it also served as a tourism site that maintained the ecological balance of the f lora and fauna preserving the lake in its serenity. However, there is a po-tential it can offer for com-mercial undertaking in a modern day wake boarding activity that will propel the Province of Bukidnon to be the number one eco-tourism destination in the country. Don Carlos in Bukidnon as the name suggests must

have been named to honor the great son of the Province, Don Carlos Fortich who be-longs to the early settlers and rancher com sugar planter whose family carved a name in business and politics. Don Carlos is accessible from Cagayan de Oro City with a paved road network passing through the Sayre Highway. It takes 3 hours and 40 minutes by a private vehicle and 5 hours by public transportation. Travel to Lake Pinamaloy and witness the early sun-rise or sunset as the lake water during good weather ref lects the sunlight. It has never been that good feeling the fresh air while savoring life in the countryside with aesthetic green attractions. The Cagayan de Oro Travel and Tours Association (COTTA) in Cagayan de Oro City is among the tourism stakeholders in Northern Mindanao who are actively

promoting the famous tour destinations in the Province of Bukidnon. Popular tourist attractions like the Dahilayan Zip Line, Del Monte Farm Tours and a visit to the Monastery of Transfiguration can be ar-ranged directly across the travel agency counters. The local tour handlers are also selling the Golf destination in Manolo Fortich, the site of national golf events in the recent years.

7September 14-16, 2012 www.businessweekmindanao.com

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Republic of the PhilippinesREGIONAL TRIAL COURT OF LANAO DEL NORTE

12th Judicial RegionOFFICE OF THE CLERK OF COURT EX-OFFICIO SHERIFF

Tubod, Lanao del Norte

NOTICE OF EXTRA-JUDICIAL SALEEJF No.: 168-07-2012

Upon the Extra Judicial Petition for Sale under Act 3135/1508, as amended, filed by the 1ST Valley Bank Inc., Baroy, Lanao del Norte against EDDIE AVILA, Bag-ong Dawis, Baroy, Lanao del Norte to satisfy the indebtedness which as of July 05, 2012 amounting to TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND PESOS (Php 200,000.00) excluding penalties, changes, attorney’s fee and expenses of foreclosure, the undersigned or his duly authorized deputy will sell at public auction on 26th day of October 2012 at 10:00 AM or soon thereafter at the Regional Trial Court, Branch 07, Poblacion, Tubod, Lanao del Norte, to the highest bidder for cash or manager’s check and in Philippine Currency, the following property with all its improvements, to wit:

KATIBAYAN NG ORIHINAL NA TITULO P-13,452

“A parcel of commercial lot with an area of Seven Hundred Forty Four (744) sqr. Meters more or less, situated at Bag-ong Dawis, Baroy, Lanao del Norte.

Lot No. F-123503-366 (Isolated) Bounded on the SE., along lines 1-2-3 by Lot No. 1961-D, Psd-12-026993; and on the SE., along line 3-4 by Lot No. 1961-B, Psd-12-026993; and on the SW., along line 4-5 by Vacant Lot National Highway portion, and on the NW., along line 5-6 by National Highway; and on the NE., along line 6-1 by Vacant Lot National Highway portion. Together with all the improvements found thereon.

“All sealed bids must be submitted to the undersigned on the above stated time and date.

Tubod, Lanao del Norte, Philippines, this September 04, 2012.

For the Clerk of Court and Ex-Officio Sheriff

CONRADO V. HINGCO, JR. Sheriff IV

BWM: SEPTEMBER 14, 21, & 28, 2012

Republic of the PhilippinesRegional Trial Court of Misamis Oriental

10th Judicial Region Branch 38

Cagayan de Oro City

IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION SPEC. PROC. No. 2012-134FOR CORRECTION OF ENTRY IN THE RECORD OF BIRTH OF LESTER R. DAPUSALA (CHANGING THE ENTRY OF THE FOR:SEX FROM FEMALE TO MALE)

LESTER R. DAPUSALA, Petitioner, CORRECTION OF ENTRY IN THE RECORD OF BIRTH -versus- THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR OF CLAVERIA, MISAMIS ORIENTAL, Respondent.x--------------------------------------------/

ORDER

Before this Court is a Petition for Correction of Entry in the Certificate of Live Birth of herein petitioner as to his Gender/Sex, which is Female instead of Male, in the Office of the Local Civil Registrar of Claveria, Misamis Oriental. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that said Petition be set for hearing on No-vember 7, 2012 at 8:30 in the morning at the Session Hall of this Court, on which date, time and place, all persons who may have any opposition to the petition herein sought, may appear to show cause why said petition should not be granted. Let this Order be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the Province of Misamis Oriental once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks prior to the date of hearing. Likewise, let copies of this Order, with Petition attached, be posted by the petitioner on the bulletin boards of this Court, the Provincial Capitol of Misamis Oriental and the Municipal hall of Claveria, Misamis Oriental for at least ten (10) days prior to date of hearing. Petitioner is further ordered to furnish copies of this Order and the Petition to the Offices of the Solicitor General, the Provincial Prosecutor of Misamis Oriental and the Local Civil Registrar of Claveria, Misamis Oriental. SO ORDERED. September 10, 2012, Cagayan de Oro City.

(Sgd.) EMMANUEL P. PASAL JudgeBWM: Sept. 14, 21 & 28

Republic of the PhilippinesREGIONAL TRIAL COURT OF MISAMIS ORIENTAL

10th Judicial RegionBranch 25

Cagayan de Oro City2012-385

OFFICE OF THE PROVINCIAL SHERIFF

NOTICE OF EXTRA-JUDICIAL SALEEJF FILE NO. 2012-210

Upon extra-judicial petition for sale under ACT 3135 as amended, filed by HOME DEVELOPMENT MUTUAL FUND or PAG-IBIG, Mortgagee, with office address at J.R. Borja Street, Cagayan de Oro City, against LUDMILA P. ABUEME, Mortgagor, with postal address at NPC AGUS IV BO DITUCALAN, Iligan City/9-D NPC Compound, Iligan City/c/o Sun Gate Pawnshop Inc., Que-zon Ave., Iligan City, to satisfy the mortgage indebtedness which as of June 22, 2012, amounts to ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY FOUR THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED FORTY EIGHT PESOS & 31/100 (P 184,448.31), as outstanding obligation, inclusive of interest and penalty charges, attorney’s fees equivalent to ten percent (10) % of the total indebtedness plus the foreclosure expenses, the undersigned or his duly authorized deputy will sell at public auction on September 26, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. or soon thereafter, at the main entrance of the Hall of Justice, Regional Trial Court, Branch 25, Arch. Hayes Street, Cagayan de Oro City, to the highest bidder, for CASH and in Philippine Cur-rency, the following property described below, to wit:

TRANSFER CETIFICATE OF TITLE NO. T-190845 “A PARCEL OF LAND (Lot 11, Block 29, Psd-10-039732, being a portion of Lot 1, Pcn-104305-00191, situated at Canitoan, Cagayan de Oro City, containing an area of FIFTY FOUR (54) SQUARE METERS, more or less, with boundaries SW 1-2 by Lot 9, Block 29, NW 2-3 by Road Lot, NE 3-4 by Lot 13, Block 29, SE., 4-1 by Lot 12, Block 29; and all other improvements Existing thereon, registered in the name of LUDMILA P. ABUEME.”

All sealed bids must be submitted to the undersigned on the above stated time and date. In the event the public auction should not take place on the above date stated, for whatever legal reason, the sale will proceed on the next working day without further notice, posting and publication. Prospective buyers/bidders may investigate for themselves the title of the herein described property and encumbrances thereon, if any there be. Cagayan de Oro City, August 22, 2012.

FOR THE EX-OFFICIO PROVINCIAL SHERIFF:

LOVE M. VERDADERO Sheriff IVBWM: AUG. 31, SEPT. 7 & 14, 2012

year; and Air Asia Malaysia for daily flights between Kota Kinabalu and Davao starting November this year. “These are on top of Silk-air’s Davao-Singapore con-nection five times a week,” Boncato said. To bring in more inter-national f lights, DOT is also pushing for a start of charter flights of Air Busan of South Korea from Incheon Inter-natioal Airport to Davao. To further boost arrivals of usual foreign visitors, DOT takes a vigorous promotion campaign in Japan, South Korea, China and the ASEAN markets, bringing into the Davao Region delegations to visit inland and island attractions in various parts of the region. Boncato also eyed the Pacific Asia Travel Associa-tion Fair set in Manila later this year, as a good chance of bringing Asian tourists to visit the Davao Region. “We shall be hosting sev-eral foreign buyers to visit the region and we shall bring them here,” he said refer-ring to Davao Region and to Davao del Norte which DOT has clustered with Davao City as Davao Region’s in-ternational gateway. Aside from Davao City and Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley provinces are grouped together under the Davao Gulf and Coast Tourism Cluster.

DOT...from page 2of Public Works and High-ways (DPWH) and the Office of Congresswoman Mylene Garcia-Albano to institute the needed physical improve-ment of the international airport. The improvement is geared towards achieving the full terminal utilization which presently is placed at 60 percent based on reports from CAAP Davao which also revealed a total of 2.6 million domestic and foreign FBIA arrivals registered in 2011. In line with the thrust to increase airport traffic to an average of 39 f lights a day, RDC XI has created an airport task force and has designated the DOT, the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc (DCCCII), City Govern-ment of Davao and CAAP “to lead in marketing and promotion,” Boncato said. DOT along with CAAP will be taking part in the 18th World Route Development Forum in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates to be appraised with the new global air connections which will be discussed during the gathering of airline planners, tourism organizations and airport authorities around the world. To take advantage of the growing regional markets in the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) , DOT is linking with air-lines operating in the Bru-nei Darrusalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asian Growth Area (BIMP EAGA). Among these airlines is the Wings Air/Lion Air for a f light connection from Davao to Manado, Indonesia; the MAS Wings of Malaysia Airlines for Kota Kinabalu-Davao-Manado triangular route starting December this

purest state, the love lived by Christ. In our daily affairs, let’s see to it that this love is pres-ent, and is the motive and driving force of our actions. Again, this is possible only when we are with Christ.

Cimagala...from page 6

charges equivalent to 1% of the principal loan but in no

Bunye...from page 6

case exceeding five pesos (P5.00). **Can a pawnshop col-lect 2% liquidated damages on overdue loans (loans unsettled despite the lapse of the 90-day grace period)? Yes, provided there is a stipulation to that effect printed at the back of its pawn tickets, duly approved by Bangko Sentral. **If the pawnshop fails to notify a pawner within the 90-day grace period and sells the pawn in a public auction, can it be held liable for the disposition of the pawn? Yes, the pawnshop is li-able for its failure to send the required notice. An administrative case may be filed with the Bangko Sentral and, simultaneously, a criminal and/or civil case with the proper court. (To be continued next week)

others. The three geothermal projects are considered “frontier” areas, which do not have sufficient data or studies on their renewable energy potential. As such the DOE doesn’t auction off these projects in energy contracting rounds. “With the company’s com-pliance with the processing and evaluation requirements of the DOE, the Geothermal Renewable Service Contracts for the abovementioned geo-thermal areas shall be ex-ecuted upon final approval of the DOE,” Basic Energy said. The East Mankayan geo-thermal area lies immediately east of the Cervantes, llocos Sur geothermal block of Pan Pacific Power Phils, Inc., south of the Bontoc-Sadanga block, which is operated by Magma Energy Resources, and immediately south of the Daklan block operated by Clean Rock Energy. The area covers the three prov-

Geothermal...from page 4

will be imposed on firms that demonstrate poor gov-ernance. Attracting investments Having a scorecard or an assessment of listed firms is necessary, as most of the investments flows are global. Investors, Estanislao said, “look for economies where they can trust.” “So instead of attracting $10 to $12 billion a year, we should be attracting $25 to $30 billion a year,” he said. Having local firms with a solid track record would “absolutely” usher in the much-needed investments in the country, “especially now that we are just getting [on] the radar screen of any of the institutional investors,” Estanislao said. Institutional investors are large organizations, such as banks, finance companies, or insurance firms, which pool large sums of money and invest those sums in securities, real property and other investment assets. They are by far the big-gest participants in securities trading, and their share of

Companies...from page 4

inces of Benguet, Mountain Province and Ifugao. The Mariveles, Bataan geothermal area is situated along the West Luzon Vol-canic Arc, which starts from Mt. Pinatubo in the north and extends farther south across the Manila Bay to-wards Batangas and north-eastern Mindoro. Lastly, the Iriga, Cama-rines Sur geothermal area is bounded on the north by the lsarog geothermal block of Philippine National Oil Co.-Renewables Corp. and to the east by the Tiwi geo-thermal service contract area of Aboitiz Power Corp. The area’s landscape is dominated by lriga or Asog Volcano, southwest of Lake Buhi in southern Luzon.

the stock market volume has consistently grown over the years. “Therefore they have to be comfortable with us — that, in fact, many of our companies...use corporate governance principles which are globally accepted,” Es-tanislao said.

“Hyundai has pulled off consistent growth in total sales, particularly in the passenger segment, thanks to the huge demand for our products. We expect this pos-itive trend to extend all the way to yearend, with strong economic fundamentals and HARI dealer network’s push for even more innovative customer care offerings to drive the business full speed ahead,” said HARI President and Chief Executive Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo in a statement. The firm added: “The Philippines posted a robust economic growth of 5.9% in the second quarter of 2012 or 6.1% in the first semester, outperforming most of its regional neighbors. The ser-vice sector was a key growth driver with 7.6% expansion.”

Hyundai...from page 5

Meanwhile, the country’s total corn stock inventory was pegged at 140,600 MT, or 0.9 percent more than last month’s record of 139,400 MT -- but it was 10.5 percent less than last year’s level of 157,000 MT. Relative to last month’s levels, corn stocks in the households went up by 5.3 percent. However, stocks in commercial warehouses decreased by 1.9 percent and stocks in NFA depositories dropped by 37.5 percent. T he volu me of cor n stocks in the households was higher by 21.1 percent from last year’s level, while stocks in NFA depositories increased 1,000 MT. In contrast, stocks in com-mercial warehouses were reduced by 24.2 percent. (PNA)

Stock...from page 8

bers of irrigators associa-tion who are planting their third crops from August to September this year. Na-tionwide, total insurance coverage is P914.95 million with government premium subsidy of P98.9 million. NIA Administrator Anto-nio Nangel said the DA target is 119,000 hectares planted for third cropping that will be harvested by December. Planting in 116,000 hectares have so far been completed, he said. In Negros Occidental, 2,730 hectares are being planted for third cropping by 3,045 farmer-beneficiaries from 48 irrigation associa-

Rice...from page 8

tions. The total amount of premium paid for them was not immediately available.

firmly addressed,” he said. Dri lon said his com-mittee and the Blue Rib-bon Committee chaired by Sen. Teofisto Guingona III would look into fund irregularities committed by the prev ious AR MM leadership. The Commission on Audit has reported to the House that among its 2011 f indings in the Musl im region was the use of P1.8 bi l l ion in cash advances for transactions that were “either denied by suppliers or the suppliers were of questionable existence.” There were a lso pay-ments amounting to P1.1 billion to 112 public works contractors, who did not submit supporting docu-ments or whose documents “may be considered spuri-ous.”

ARMM...from page 9

8 September 14-16, 2012 Agri NewsAgri News www.businessweekmindanao.com

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The Department of Agriculture will provide farmers with a crop insurance package that will help protect them against climate risks.

DA earmarks P98M crop insurance, seed subsidy

THE Dept. of Agriculture has al lotted nearly P100 million worth of insurance and seed subsidy to farmers scheduled to plant under the government’s third cropping program. Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said 91,000 rice farmers, who planted from August to September this year, would receive free insurance and seed subsidy from the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. “This program seeks to assist farmers affected by severe crop damages caused by f looding, typhoon and pests attack,” Alcala said. He said the program complements the efforts of the government to achieve the rice self-sufficiency target.

Based on the data of the National Irrigation Adminis-tration, the program covers a total area of 91,495 hectares. Atty. Jovy Bernabe, PCIC president, said the insurance cover is worth P914,950,000 with P98.91 million premium subsidy coming from the government. “Under the program, farmer-irrigators who will engage in third cropping will be provided P10,000 per hectare free insurance cover-age by the PCIC,” Bernabe added. Alcala, on the other hand, said the country’s rice im-ports have signif icant ly dropped from 860,000 metric tons last year to 500,000 MT this year because of the vigilant campaign and

aggressive action plan of DA towards a more productive and self-sufficient farm sec-tor across the country. Dante Delima, Agri-culture assistant secretary and National Rice Program coordinator, reported the successful implementation of the pilot program for the early cropping in Central Luzon. Delima said rice farmers were able to harvest over 350,000 MT of palay from 150,000 hectares of irrigated lands under the early crop-ping program. “We have validated that over half of those who par-ticipated in the early cropping will be planting their third crop this month,” he added. (PNA)

High rice prices in S. Cotabato martsalarmed officials

KORONADAL City -- Commercial rice in various public markets in South Cotabato province have increased by around P3 in the last several weeks, alarming consumers and local officials in the area.

to farmers and consum-ers. Legaste said that in most markets in Davao, where traders bought rice from South Cotabato, rice price ranged from P31 to P32 but in South Cota-bato and Sultan Kudarat, another rice producers, the price is P34 per kilo. A rice retailer from Koronadal City who re-fused to be named said their prices entirely de-pend on how much they pay the wholesalers. “If they want to sup-press this, they should start from the wholesal-ers,” he said. A miller from Up-per Valley Area said the high price of rice in the past two weeks was on their old stocks that were bought from farmers at P17.50 per kilo. But Legaste refused to accede to such argument. He said: “Traders know the trend. Their stocks only last for few weeks because of the demand from other provinces.” He said they will call a meeting as soon as pos-sible to settle the issue.(PNA)

Reyna ldo Legaste, South Cotabato provin-cial agriculture officer, said Wednesday their monitoring showed that the market prices of rice in the area in the last three weeks ranged from P33-34 per kilo or around P3 higher than their sug-gested retail prices. According to the gen-eral formula presented, Legaste said the suggested retail price of rice is de-termined by multiplying by two the buying price of palay.

As of today, the buying price of palay is P15.50, which means the retail price should have been P31. “This situation is un-fair for our farmers whose products are bought at much cheaper price but are sold at a higher price,” said Legaste, adding that consumers also suffer. He warned rice whole-salers and retailers to cut their prices since they are getting palay at much lower prices -- a situation that is reportedly unjust

Zambo town gets head start on organic farmingTHE AGRICULTURE depart-ment has signed a memoran-dum of agreement (MOA) with a Mindanao local govern-ment unit for a P23.9-million capacity-building project for an organic farming system. A document from the de-partment showed that the project will be located in the municipality of Dumingag, Zamboanga del Sur and will target lowland and upland communities. “Th e project is a participa-tory intervention in agricul-tural production that seeks to promote the agriculture system in its communities through community orga-nizing, intensive advocacy

and capacity building,” the department explained. Among the components of the project are: the construc-tion of a techno-demo farm, education development, com-munity organizing, increased material capacity and obtain-ing third-party certifi cation for farmers and facilities to be used in the project. Potential products of the project will be rice, corn, veg-etables, root crops, rice ducks, rice fish, biofertilizers and earthworms for vermiculture, said the department. Th e project will serve resi-dents from the nearby cities of Pagadian, Ozamis, Iligan and Cagayan de Oro.

Commercial rice in various public markets in South Cotabato province have increased by around P3 in the last several weeks, alarming consumers and local officials in the area.

DA projects to boost Negros rice production

BAGO CITY -- The Depart-ment of Agriculture (DA) turned over P46 million worth of projects to boost rice production and make Negros Occidental province 100% self-sufficient by 2013. Agriculture Secretary Prospero Alcala, who led the turnover to irrigation associations in Barangay Bagroy here Tuesday, said the DA will also provide P6 million, including capital-ization, to establish a rice processing center for the farmers’ cooperative in Bago City. He said rice production

in the province has steadily increased, with the suffi-ciency level reaching 98% from 80% in more than two years. “I hope within this year we can settle it, make Negros Occidental rice sufficient. The farmers are very ag-gressive,” he said. Among the projects ini-tiated was the DA-National Irrigation Administration (NIA)-Philippine Crop In-surance Corp. (PCIC) Third Cropping Project that will prov ide crop insurance incentives to rice farmer-

Rice, corn stock inventory as of Aug. ‘12THE Department of Agri-culture (DA) on Wednesday assured enough supply of rice and corn in the country. In a report, the DA-Bu-reau of Agricultural Statistics said that as of August 2012, the country’s rice stock in-ventory was estimated at 1.62 million metric tons (MT), around 40.6 percent lower than the 2.72 million MT a year ago. It was also lower

by 15.6 percent from last month’s 1.91 million MT. “The total volume of rice stocks would be enough for 48 days. Stocks in the house-holds would be good for 18 days, those in NFA (National Food Authority) deposito-ries would be good for 16 days. Stocks in commercial warehouses would last for 14 days,” BAS said. The data also showed that

withdrawals from households and commercial warehouses resulted to a 21.6 percent and 13.3 percent decline, respectively. Also, the volume of stocks in the NFA depositories, of which 37 percent were imported rice, was lower by 10.0 percent. Comparative estimates with stocks last year indicated reductions in all sectors --

household sector dropped by 6.4 percent, commercial sector by 18.3 percent, and NFA depositories decreased by 64.2 percent. Of the current stock level, about 37.0 percent were with the households, 32.9 percent were with the NFA depositories, and 30.1 percent were with the com-mercial warehouses.

STOCK/PAGE 7

ROCE/PAGE 7

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Rufus wants DOT to turn disputed region into tourist spot

Rodriguez

AMID the ongoing territorial row with China, a lawmaker on Tuesday asked the Depart-ment of Tourism (DOT) to develop the disputed Spratly Islands into a Philippine tourist spot. Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez made this suggestion during plenary debates on the proposed budget of the DOT for next year. “Let’s take a slice of the DOT budget to put up a good airport and build a good port. Put up a hotel, and develop our frontier in our area as a tourist destination. The seas there are very pristine,” the lawmaker said. Rodriguez said the Phil-

claim to these territories. “Hindi ba, you’ve read in the papers, all the way from China, ginagawang tourist destination ito ng mga Chi-nese? Tayo malapit lang, e ‘di gawin din nating tourist destination. Huwag tayong magpapatalo roon,” he said. Chinese state media re-ported over the weekend that the southern Chinese province of Hainan is plan-ning to include the disputed Spratly Islands as part of a cruise route. The Spratly Islands is a string of atolls and islands straddling vital shipping lanes in the West Philippine Sea (also called South China Sea) believed to be sitting

atop vast mineral deposits. It is being claimed in whole or in part by China, Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

DOT chief: It’s PNoy’s call

Tourism Secretary Ra-mon Jimenez, however, said he wants President Benigno Aquino III’s clearance fi rst before marketing Spratlys as a Philippine tourist destina-tion. “The area in question is now under direct control of the President of the Philip-pines. We will take our cue from him… Mag-swimming ka lang dun kailangang mag-paalam, ganun kaselan ang lugar na iyon,” Jimenez told

reporters on the sidelines of the plenary debates. He added that there are still no plans from the DOT to develop the disputed is-lands as a tourist spot. But Rodriguez remained insistent. He said that he is will-ing to give P1 million from his priority development assistance fund (PDAF)—commonly known as the “pork barrel”—to help build structures for tourists on Spratly Islands. He added that he plans to directly write President Aquino to convey his pro-posal to turn Spratly Islands into a Philippine tourist destination.

ippines should allow its do-mestic and foreign tourists to access these disputed islands since these areas are part of

the country’s territory. He added that turning these islands into tourist spots will strengthen the Philippines’

House panel still finalizing SALN guidelinesMONTHS after leading ef forts to oust former Chief Justice Renato Co-rona from his post due to non-disclosure of his statements of assets, li-abilities and net worth (SALNs), the House of Representatives has yet to come up with guide-lines on how the public can gain access to these documents. Bohol Rep. Erico Au-mentado, chairperson of the specia l committee formed to formulate rules and procedures for public access to the SALNs, said the panel is still “final-izing” these guidelines. “We recognize t he right of members of me-dia and of the public to have access to this infor-mation, but we also have

to protect the rights of members of the House to be heard on this mat-ter,” Aumentado said in a phone interview. He added t hat t he committee is sti l l try-ing to “strike a balance” on the release of these public documents. “ T he t a rget rea l ly here is to come up with something that will be acceptable to all parties involved,” he said. The lawmaker further sa id that he and four other members of the special panel will meet next week to come up with a final draft of the SALN guidelines. He added that he hopes the House can tackle it at the plenary after the bud-get deliberations, which

will last until next week. L a s t Ju n e , Hou s e Speaker Feliciano Bel-monte Jr. issued Special Order 05-12 creating a five-member committee tasked to check if House members and employees properly declared their wealth on their SALNs. The move came just weeks after former Chief Justice Renato Corona was removed from his post for fai ling to de-clare properties and sums of money in his SALNs through an impeachment

proceeding initiated by the House. Aside from Aumen-tado, the four other con-gressmen in the panel are: Isabela Rep. Gior-gidi Aggabao, Batangas Rep. Tomas Apacible, Nueva Ecija Rep. Rodolfo Antonino, and Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez. At present, most House members, including Bel-monte and Aumentado, have yet to release full copies of their SALNs to the public.

ARMM removes ‘ghost’ employees, saves P208MCONGRESSMEN learned yesterday that the new lead-ership in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is attaining some success in eliminating its “ghost” employees. ARMM officer-in-charge Mujiv Hataman told his for-mer colleagues at the House of Representatives that since his appointment by President Aquino in December, with-holding funds for personnel found to be non-existent saved some P208 million in payroll money. “In our own education department, we have saved P141 million, which other-wise would have been paid to ghost teachers, while in the public works department, we have generated P47 million in savings,” he said. He said he continues to tell ARMM officers to remove non-existent employees from their payroll. “Pursuant to the Presi-dent ’s d a a ng mat uw id (straight path) policy, we are determined to implement reforms to achieve peace and development, which eluded us for decades,” he said.

The House, upon the motion of Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, approved ARMM’s P13.9-billion budget for next year. Of the region’s outlay, P8.3 billion will go to education. In the past, Hataman said corrupt officials pock-eted payroll money for non-existent teachers and other employees. Education personnel com-pose the bulk of the autono-mous region’s workforce. Hata ma n a nd ot her ARMM officials defended their 2013 budget before the Senate finance committee chaired by Sen. Franklin Drilon last Monday. After the hearing, Drilon said he was satisfied that the new leadership of the region was doing well in its campaign against graft and corruption. “We have confidence in the leadership of Hataman. The OIC governor is our new ghost buster. We are pleased that under the leadership of Governor Hataman, these ghosts are starting to vanish and the corruption is being

P500-M ARMM education fund proposedCAGAYAN de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez has pro-posed to provide additional P500 million for the Mus-lim education fund in the 2013 proposed P13.998-billion budget for the Au-tonomous Region in Mus-lim Mindanao (ARMM). The motion to increase the ARMM’s spending plan for next year was made by Rodriguez during

yesterday’s House plenary deliberations on the Mala-canang’s P2.006-trillion national budget. “I wil l write to the President so that we put up an affirmative educa-tion fund for our Muslim brothers so that they would finish high school and would go to universities in Manila,” he told the plenary session. ARMM/PAGE 7

freedom and the people behind it; foster a general understanding of software freedom, and encourage adoption of free software and open standards; create more equal access to opportunities

Soft ware...from page 11

through the use of participa-tory technologies; promote constructive dialogue on responsibilities and rights in the information society; network with organizations and individuals who share our vision to be pragmatic, transparent, and responsible as an organization.”

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Bukidnon to be implemented by Oriental Energy & Power Generation Corporation; 23MW Lower Bubunawan River Hydro to be implement-ed by First Gen Renewables Inc. (FGRI) and the P1.5 billion 9MW run-of-river hydroelectric power plant of Turbines Resource and Development Corporation (TUREDECO). First Gen Renewables, Inc. (FGRI) is a whol ly owned subsidiary of First Gen which seeks to develop greenfield prospects in the renewable energy market; particularly, for solar, mini and small hydro and wind. FGRI, through its subsidiary FG Bukidnon Power Corpo-ration (FGBPC), owns and operates the 1.6-MW Agusan mini-hydro power plant in Damilag, Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon. The first two projects will be exclusively supplying their 45MW production to CE-PALCO while TUREDECO will operate as a merchant plant. The 54MW output of the three projects is estimated to meet the expected growth in Cagayan de Oro’s power demand in the next nine years.

Power...from page 1

said. TMI is the wholly owned subsidiary of AP and operates two 100-megawatt power barges, PBs 117 and 118, in Mindanao. Their output was sold to NGCP for reserve supply. Last month, the ERC ordered TMI to reduce the rates of PB 117 from P0.77688 per kilowatt-hour to P0.5564 in 2010, P0.5302 in 2011 and P0.5040 in 2012; and that of PB 118 to P0.5150, P0.4912 and P0.4675 for the same years. Batiquin explained that TMI wants to start the refund process as early as possible, and is in the phase of com-plying with all regulatory requirements, notwithstand-ing the reconciliation of the figures involved where the actual refund amount will be submitted to ERC for approval. NGCP is supposed to apply the refund to the bills of electric cooperatives and distribution utilities, which in turn are expected to pass the benefit to end consumers. “With the full coopera-tion of all parties, the entire process should hopefully take four to six months,” Batiquin said. The Mindanao Grid con-tinues to be in critical condi-tion due to inadequate power supply, and the situation is seen to continue until new power plants come online by 2015. AboitizPower is currently developing projects that will add 354 megawatts (MW) of power in Mindanao within the next three years to help address the critical power shortage in the island. The additional capacity will come from the 300-MW clean coal facility of Therma South, Inc. and 54-MW of run-of-river hydro plants to be built by Hedcor, Inc. Both

Rates...from page 1

shorter turn-around time for their stocks to come into Northern Mindanao, there-fore, making way for lesser expenses and faster travel. For the domestic-bound ships, the volume of non-containerized cargo in-creased from 2,126,825 MT to 2,316,455 MT or 8.92 percent, and those for foreign-bound ships, from 2,659,869 MT to 2,960,427 MT, or 11.30 percent. Domestic inbound non-containerized cargo, likewise, increased from 1,100,462 MT to 1,175,755 MT or 6.84 percent, and outbound car-go, from 1,026,363 MT to 1,140,700 MT or 11.14 per-cent. Of the foreign-bound non-containerized cargo, imports increased from 1,349,889 MT to 1,839,082 MT or 36.24 percent, but expor ts decl ined f rom, 1,309,980 MT to 1,121,345 MT or -14.40 percent. During the first quarter, the number of the 20-footer equivalent unit (TEU) con-tainers handled by the ports of the region also increased from 98,797 to 110,902 or 12.25 percent. Of these TEU containers, those handled by the domes-tic-bound ships increased from 68,163 to 78,998 or 15.90 percent, while those handled by the foreign-bound ships also increased from 30,634 to 31,904 or 4.15 percent. Again, of the TEU con-tainers handled by the do-mestic-bound ships, inbound containers increased from 35,126 to 40,912 or 16.47 percent and outbound con-tainers, from 33,037 to 38,086 or 5.28 percent. Of the TEU containers handled by the foreign-bound ships, imports declined from 15,880 to 14,897 or -6.19 per-cent, but exports increased from 14,755 to 15,880 or15.27 percent. On the other hand, pas-senger traff ic during the period was noted to have declined, from 1,673,815 to 1,502,444, or -10.24 percent. Particularly, disembark-ing passengers declined from 857,959 to 777,706 or -9.35 percent while embarking passengers also declined from 815,856 to 724,738 or -11.17 percent.

Cargo...from page 1

Clos, undersecretary-general and executive director of UN-Habitat, in the foreword of the 114-page UNISDR study Making Cities Resil-ient Report 2012, released on September 4. Making Cities Resilient Report 2012—led by Dr. David Satterthwaite, senior fellow of the London-based International Institute for Environment and Devel-opment (IIED)—said that political leadership is more important than a city’s wealth when it comes to protecting the lives and economic assets from disasters. The Report, which ana-lyzed 49 local governments all over the world—including Albay province; San Fran-cisco town in Cebu province; and the cities of Quezon and Makati in Metro Manila—found out that there are six (6) Enabling Conditions for Building Resilience, and these are (1) leadership and political will; (2) sustainabil-ity of institutional capacities and resources at local level; (3) ability to engage in high-impact activities early on; (4) partnerships and city-to-city learning opportunities; (5) integration of disaster risk reduction across sectors; and (6) recognition of the improvements needed to make infrastructure more resilient. “These factors and others form the essential foundations of resilience.” “Building political mo-mentum for risk reduction is a key building block for improving disaster resil-ience. Particularly where substantial changes to the status quo are necessary, political will is vital in terms of introducing new and pro-gressive risk reduction prac-tices and policies. Strong, charismatic local leadership is an important ingredient in building popular support for risk reduction. The ability to engage individuals on a personal level and stimulate the participation of multiple stakeholders is essential to the effectiveness and sustain-ability of disaster reduction plans,” the Report said. “Although no city can ever be entirely safe from natural hazards, they can be more resilient to the destructive forces that claim lives and assets. A resilient city is characterized by its capacity to withstand or absorb the impact of a hazard through resistance or adaptation, which enable it to maintain certain basic functions and structures during a crisis, and bounce back or recover from an event,” it added. Wahlström, UNISDR chief who was in this south-ern Philippine city in a low-profile visit last January to assess the damage wrought by Tropical Storm Washi (Sendong) and the city’s response to it said: “Building resilience is a forward-look-ing, target-driven approach to urban development that uses a wide range of measures addressing all elements of ur-ban systems. Ensuring these targets are met demands all levels of communities and governments work together to ensure the safety of all people

Issue...from page 1

Systems (Minergy) a few months ago and the re-cent commissioning of the $12-million 8MW Cabulig River Hydroelectric plant in Claveria, Misamis Oriental, also operated by Minergy, a CEPALCO affiliate. The utility’s earlier em-bedded power generation units include the 18.9MW Sulzer diesel plant of Min-ergy, 1MW Photovoltaic Plant in Bgy. Indahag and the 7MW Bubunawan Hydroelectric plant in Baungon, Bukidnon. However, the latter is now awaiting rehabilitation after it was severely damaged by the f lash f loods of Tropical Storm Sendong last Decem-ber. “Power demand within CEPALCO’s franchise area has been growing at the rate of four percent a year for the last ten years,” said Richard Ratunil, staff supervisor, rates and energy contracts administration, Control-ler’s Office. “This translates to around 5-6 MW a year growth in demand.” Mr. Ratunil is charged with the planning, organiz-ing, supervision, coordina-tion and review of activities related to the negotiation, preparation, implementation and monitoring of purchase agreements between CEPAL-CO and power suppliers, fuel suppliers for power plants and bulk power customers of the utility. Distribution ut i l it ies around Mindanao have been busy setting up embedded power plants to avoid a repeat of the devastating power curtailments of 2010 which the Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Industries (COCI) said resulted in an estimated P62-billion losses to the island’s economy. Among the utilities which are setting up embedded gen-eration units are the Davao Light and Power Inc., Iligan Light & Power Co., First Bukidnon Electric Coopera-tive (FIBECO) and Bukidnon II Electric Cooperative, Inc. Estimated economic loss-es using the ratio of the Gross National Product (GNP) to the total kWh sold or P144 per kWh in 2010 multiplied by the 430 million unserved kWh in 2010 translates to P62 billion of economic losses for Mindanao, the COCI said. Within the franchise area of CEPALCO cover-ing Cagayan de Oro City and the municipalities of Tagoloan, Villanueva and Jasaan, Misamis Oriental, the reported total unserved energy of 15.6 million kWh translates to P2.2 billion of economic losses using the same ratio. Beyond the looming El Niño episode, three more embedded hydroelectric power plants are now be-ing constructed to address the growth in power demand within CEPALCO’s franchise area. These include the P2.2-billion Culaman run-of-river hydroelectric power project (15MW) at the Sumilao-Manolo Fortich boundary in

are wholly-owned Aboitiz-Power subsidiaries. At present, TMI supplies its power to 23 electric co-operatives and distribution utilities. This has resulted to minimal or zero brownouts in some areas of Mindanao, which used to experience up to 10 hours of brownouts a day.

the political will and inter-vention of active, competent local governments. They must be supported at the national level through strong policies and sustained, suf-ficient financial commit-ments,” said UN Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction Margareta Wahlström and Dr. Joan

and protect the economic, social, environmental, and cultural assets and attributes which define the unique character of each city.” The UNISDR defined a resilient city as one where (1) disasters are minimized because the population lives in homes and communities with organized services and infrastructure that adhere to sensible building codes; without informal sett le-ments built on f lood plains or steep slopes because no other land is available; (2) an inclusive, competent and accountable local govern-ment is concerned about sustainable urbanization and that commits the necessary resources to develop capaci-ties to manage and organize itself before, during and after a natural hazard event; (3) the local authorities and the population understand their risks and develop a shared, local information base on disaster losses, hazards and risks, including who is ex-posed and who is vulnerable; (4) people are empowered to participate, decide and plan their city together with local authorities and value local and indigenous knowledge, capacities and resources; (5) steps are taken to an-ticipate and mitigate the impact of disasters, incor-porating monitoring and early warning technologies to protect infrastructure,

community assets and in-dividuals, including their homes and possessions, cul-tural heritage, environmental and economic capital, and is able to minimize physi-cal and social losses aris-ing from extreme weather events, earthquakes or other natural or human-induced hazards; (6) there is an ability to respond, implement im-mediate recovery strategies and quickly restore basic services to resume social, institutional and economic activity after such an event; and (7) an understanding exists that most of the above is also central to building resilience to adverse envi-ronmental changes, including climate change, in addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. “What makes a city resil-ient to natural and human-induced hazards can be seen as a combination of resilience accumulated through the process of urbanisation and planning, on one-hand, and the result of specif ic ac-tions to reduce disaster risk on the other…A city also builds resilience through the engagement of its gov-ernment, citizens and other stakeholders in the process of disaster risk reduction, where specific actions are taken to identify, manage and lessen the impacts of natural and human-induced hazards,” the report added.

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Butuan’s homegrown university features environmental advocacyBy ROBERT E. ROPEROS

Contributor

BUTUAN City -- Father Saturnino Urios University (FSUU), the fi rst and only homegrown university, will feature environmental ad-vocacy in time with the uni-versity’s Foundation Week celebration from September 11-15. Th e university pays hom-age to mother earth as it celebrates its years of aca-demic excellence and com-munity service. Celebration is anchored on the theme “Sustaining Academic Excel-lence, Achieving Ecological Welfare,” the FSUU founda-tion anniversary Advocacy Committee Head Ivy Flores said. One of the events lined up is the fun run, dubbed “Run and Row for M.E. (Mother Earth),” which will be held on

environment by running and keeping fi t whilst bearing in mind that the same discipline must be afforded for our Mother Earth,” Flores said. Further, Flores said the friendly dragon boat race will show how passion and strong will of many can move the people in the region to achieve greater things while also featuring the majestic Agusan River for better ap-preciation of nature. “As an academic institu-tion, the university takes on the responsibility of sharing the knowledge and building each one’s consciousness on the importance of caring for and protecting the mother earth,” Flores said. FSUU was founded in 1901 by the Jesuit priests led by Father Saturnino Urios. Th e name of the school then was Butuan Parochial School. In 1935, the Missionaries

Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012. It will be capped with the witnessing of the fi rst friendly dragon boat race participated in by Agusan Colleges, Butuan

Doctors College, and FSUU. Flores further said the main objective of the activity is to increase environment awareness along with two

physical recreations. “With such activity, we en-join everyone to be conscious of the things that matter most in life – like health and our

of the Sacred Heart took over the missionary work from the Jesuits, and in 1939, the high school was opened. In 1990, two concrete buildings were constructed in the main campus. Th e four-storey building is where the Engineering and Technology and Nursing classes are held and the two-storey houses the faculty center and chapel. Another four-storey concrete building was constructed in 1997 that is occupied by the high school during the day and the college in the evening. It has 32 classrooms and 15 spaces for laboratories, library and offi ces. Adjacent to it is a gymnasium, which can accommodate 3,000 persons. In 2006, Father Urios College was converted into a university status and was named Father Saturnino Urios University, named aft er the Jesuit priest.

World Software Freedom Day celebration set at Capitol U.

THE A4 Mindanao Al-liance (A4MA) in coop-eration with the CDO IT Group and the CU Com-puter Studies Department celebrates World Software Freedom Day on Sept. 15, 2012 at Capitol University. “We espouse sustain-able technology educa-tion and empowering the general public through the World Software Freedom Day,” said Noel G. Butad, CEO of A4 Mindanao Al-liance. The day-long event features five IT experts at the three computer labo-ratories of the Computer Studies Department of Capitol University. The whole event is offered to the public absolutely free. Among the scheduled presentations are the fol-lowing: • Linux for Fun and Profit, 9:45-11:45AM at the Computer Lab A by Romar Mayer Micabalo, systems administrator/IT consul-tant and IBM Certified Systems Administrator; • Test Driven Devel-opment, 9:45-11:45AM at Computer Lab C by Paul Michael Labis, software engineer and JavaEE ap-plications Expert at Social Media Science Ltd.; • Setting up your own Nginx Webserver, 1:30-3:30PM at Computer Lab A by Jonathan Janairo Doblados, SLMIS System Administrator, Computer and Information Services Office, Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan; and • Internet of Things: Arduino and the Web, 1:30-3:30PM at Computer Lab B with Aryan Lowell C. Limjap, Network Engineer, CU ICTC. Software Freedom Day (SFD) is an annual world-wide celebration of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). SFD started in 2004 and was first observed on 28 August of that year with 12 teams participating.

Since 2006 SFD has been held on the third Saturday of September. Software Freedom Day is an event with hundreds of teams from all around the world running local events to help their communities understand Software Free-dom. One way of joining SFD is to join an existing SFD event. Check to see if there is already a team registered in your area. If there is one, you can always join them and help them to make their events successful. It’s FUN to join SFD! This public education effort is aimed at increasing awareness of FOSS and its virtues, and educating the worldwide public about the benefits of using high quality FOSS in education, government, at home, and in business. Software Freedom In-ternational (SFI) is a non-profit company based in the USA whose primary function is to coordinate Software Freedom Day all around the world. SFI provides support, give-aways and a point of col-laboration, but volunteer teams around the world organize the local SFD events to impact their own communities. All contribu-tors to the success of SFD volunteer their time. Help is always needed to organize SFD. You can help to design marketing materials, spread the words out, decorate the venue, take photos, demonstrate or present about Free Software in the event, etc. “A4 Mindanao Alli-ance shares SFI’s vision to empower all people to freely connect, create and share in a digital world that is participatory, transpar-ent, and sustainable,” Mr. Butad said. “We also share SFI’s objectives for SFD which are to celebrate software

SOFTWARE/PAGE 9

Tangub holds month long fiestaBy RUTCHIE C. AGUHOB

By JORIE C. VALCORZA

TANGUB City -- The town has held month-long town fiesta in honor of St. Michael the Archangel. First in the series of the celebration was the Alay Lakad on September 7, which started af ter “Hataw” at the City Plaza, with a walk around the main streets of the city towards the City Sports Complex, where Tae-Bo exercises took place. Th e program was high-lighted by the formal presen-tation of the 12 candidates for the Miss Tangub City Tourism 2012, each represent-ing a school or organization, namely: Hanie Mae S. Dizon - North District, Janine P. Bayotas- Unifi ed High School, Meryl Mae D. Datoy-Tangub City National High School, Repril R. Paller-Local Gov-ernment Unit, Vielka May J. Marte-Association of Ba-rangay Captains/Sangguni-ang Kabataan and Pretsel D. Gerundio-National Agencies. Claudine P. Lozada-Gov. Alfonso D. Tan College, Mary Joy J. Delmo-Dona Maria D. Tan Memorial Hospital, Wendelyn L. Tulba-Southwest

District, Ferlie J. Pelegrin-South District, Shyn Marie A. Niez-Central District, and Ina Kristine E. Labares-Northwestern Mindanao State College of Science and Tech-nology. Dr. Jennifer Wee-Tan, the new President of the North-western Mindanao State Col-lege of Science and Technol-ogy (NMSC) and Chairperson of the City Tourism Council, said the pictorial of the can-didates have been set at the

Lorenzo Tan Aquamarine Park in Barangay Lorenzo Tan on September 15. Meanwhile, the Annual Ritual of Changing of the Garb of St. Michael has been set on September 20, while the talent presentation of the candidates for the Miss Tangub City Tourism 2012 is on September 23 and the employees’ cultural night on September 25. Also set on September 26 is Radyo ng Bayan’s fi ft h an-

niversary, while the pictorial for Dalit Festival lead dancers is on September 27 at selected venues of the city. Winners of the Miss Tan-gub Tourism 2012 will be proclaimed on September 28, during the pageant night, said Tan, who is also the Chairperson of the Northern Mindanao Tourism Council and Co-Chairperson of the Area Unifi ed Tourism Orga-nization (AUTO) Mindanao Cluster, said.

DOH-10 launch healthy lifestyle campaignCity, Valencia City, Ozamiz City, Oroquieta City, Tangub City and Mambajao, the capital town of Camiguin will participate in the event. “Hataw” is a physical activity guide approved by the health department. Th is year, dancers will do the new Hataw exercise de-veloped by the UP College of Human Kinetics for Filipinos. Other init iat ives un-dertaken include series of healthy lifestyle orientation around the region targeting national government agen-cies, colleges and universities. The same information drive will also be initiated in print, television, and radio. The campaign is designed

THE Department of Health-Center for Health Develop-ment (DOH-CHD) Northern Mindanao kicked off yester-day the revitalized healthy lifestyle campaign dubbed as “Healthy Lifestyle (HL) to the Max.” The DOH announced that the campaign is part of its bid for the National HL Awards 2012. On September 23, a si-multaneous walk and “Hataw sa Northern Mindanao” will serve as the highlight of the region’s entry. Eig ht c it ies such as Cagayan de Oro City, El Salvador City, Malaybalay

to meet the Millennium De-velopment Goals (MDG) 2015 target by way of rais-ing people’s consciousness on healthy lifestyle habits that can prevent and control risk factors in developing non-communicable diseases and to encourage decision makers, government officials and law makers to provide environment supportive to healthy lifestyle. DOH 10 Assistant Re-gional Director Dr. Jose R. Llacuna Jr. admitted that while infectious diseases in the country was not fully illuminated (but was signifi-cantly minimized), records in the region also presents an increase in the number of

non-infectious diseases, such us, heart problems, cancer and diabetes mellitus. “This trend shows the double burden of diseases in the Philippine Public Health System,” he noted. “The hope here is that we can still control or delay the complications of these diseases, what’s important is for people to take care of bodies,” citing further the need to follow the seven healthy lifestyle habits, to include the following: avoid-ance to smoking, alcohol, and illegal drugs; low salt, low fat, high fiber diet; prevent hypertension; doing physi-cal activity; and good stress management.

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