BusinessWeek MINDANAO Best in Business and Economic Reporting Philippine Press Institute Civic Journalism Community Press Awards 2013
Volume V, No. 20
Market Indicators
As of 5:54 pm July 22, 2014 (Tuesday)
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Grassroots budgeting BUTUAN City -- To ensure that government funds are downloaded at the grassroots level, the regional office of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in Caraga has recently launched the Grassroots Participatory Budgeting (GPB). The activities which were held in separate venues: Municipalities of Gigaquit and Mainit in Surigao del Norte was graced with the municipal officials as well as top officials of TESDA-Caraga spearheaded by regional director Florencio F. Sunico, Jr. In his speech, TESDA-Surigao del Norte OIC provincial director Liza B. Budtan said GPB, which was formerly called “Bottoms-Up Budgeting” in 2012 where during this time, the Technical-Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Programs was not yet included and only in 2013 where the said program was given one of the priority programs of the Aquino administration. Budtan said the GPB was made possible through the efforts of the respective local government units in empowering their constituents by providing them with skills training to be productive citizens in their locality and will be given the opportunity to work and earn a living.
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Wednesday | July 23, 2014
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More RE sources seen boost M’nao capacity By CARMELITO Q. FRANCISCO, Correspondent
A
T least 1,700 megawatts (MW) from renewable energy sources are expected to form part of Mindanao’s power capacity by 2018 if several of 157 proposed projects are approved this year and proponents start work promptly.
“If approved within the next six months, (these projects) will eventually provide us a good energy mix by 2018 as construction would run between two to three years,” Romeo M. Montenegro, Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) public affairs head, said in a recent interview. MinDA launched an online facility in February t h rou g h w h i ch proj e c t prop onents can submit proposals and get real-time
updates on their applications. Most of the renewable energy projects proposed are hy d ro e l e c t r i c , M r. Montenegro noted. Hydro pl ant s prov i d e ha l f of Mindanao’s power supply, which yesterday was put at 1,273 MW against an estimated 1,326-MW peak demand, leaving the island with a 6-MW deficiency. San Lorenzo Builders and Development Group, Inc. is among those with a proposed Sources/PAGE 11
LEARNING THE HARD WAY. Students from the Bukidnon, Manobo, Matigsalog and Talaandig tribes and children from settler families attend a class on Economics under Doanie Sulda, in a makeshift classroom at the Mindanao Tribal School in Panadtalan, Maramag, Bukidnon. The school was awarded a relocation site of four hectares in the middle of a sugar cane plantation last February. It also teaches customary laws, traditional farming and alternative health. mindanews photo by pam chua
Tigerair launches Manila-CDO flights
Tax amnesty TANDAG City -- The amnesty program for real property taxes in Surigao del Sur has been extended until the year 2014 ends. Provincial Treasurer Wenifreda Perez said that this is by virtue of Sangguniang Panlalawigan Resolution No. 457 Series of 2014 passed on July 1, 2014 entitled “Extending the tax amnesty on the payment of interest, basic and special education fund (SEF) of real property tax delinquencies in the province of Surigao del Sur from January 1 to June 30, 2014 to July 1 to December 31, 2014.” The granting of the same has been in effect since the start of this year through Resolution No. 73 dated September 9, 2013. However, Perez claimed that while on the one hand such move is indeed favorable to their tax collection campaign, citing 79 percent accomplishment of the P82 million 2014 real property tax goal with yet five municipalities left to submit report for the first half, but on the other hand, it also brings tremendous burden on their part to hit their tax goal for the ensuing year.
THE
FAMILY TIME. A father hands over his baby to his wife before heading off to their fish cage aboard a baroto (wooden boat) in Barangay Lumbocan in Butuan City in this file photo. (MindaNews File Photo)
CEBU Pacific Air (CEB), through its network made wider with Tigerair Philippines, expands its domestic network with t he l aunch of Tigerair Philippines’ Manila-Cagayan de Oro flights last 15 July 2014. Utilizing an Aurbus A320 aircraft, the Manila-Cagayan de Oro maidedn f lig ht departed NAIA Terminal 4
The DAP Express: P32B not on GAA By Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism
AT LEAST P32.23 billion of taxpayers’ money had been released under the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) for projects and activities that had no funding cover or were not enrolled as approved expenditure items in the national budget or General Appropriations Act (GAA)
for 2011 and 2012. As far as the available documents allowed, PCIJ reviewed the list of the DAP-funded projects of the Department of Budget Management against budget items enrol le d in t he agency’s appropriations for 2011 and 2012 that received DAP monies.
This review focused on DAP projects that DBM had identified in official documents listing DAPfunded projects. T he s e DA P- f u nd e d projects without appropriations cover include: The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas under Governor Amando M. Tetangco, Jr. dap/PAGE 11
in Manila at 10:00 a.m. and landed in Cagayan de Oro at 11:30 a.m. The return flight departed Cagayan de Oro at 12:30 p.m. and landed in Manila at 2:00 p.m. “ Tigerair Philippines re m ai ns c om m itt e d t o providing the travelling public more travel options and low fares. The launch of firect flights to Cagayan de Oro increases accessibility to northern Mindanao,” said Atty. Leilani de Leon, Tigerair Philippines chief legal and corporate affairs. Cagayan de Oro is a key
government, commercial anf tourism hub in the region. It is the gateway to ecoadventure attractions such as white water rafting and canopy walks, and is a rapidly developing city with myriad shopping and hotel options. Tigerair Philippines now operates approximately 220 weekly flights to one international and eight d ome st i c d e st i n at i ons : Hongkong, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Iloilo, Kalibo, Manila, Puerto Princesa and Tacloban. It utlizes a fleet of four Airbus A320 aircraft.
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