P855M ADDITIONAL FUNDING PROPOSED FOR SOUTHERN NEGROS AIRPORT

PBBM: Ormoc airport upgrade to spur growth in Eastern Visayas

President Ferdinand R. Marcos expressed optimism that the development of Ormoc Airport will bring more progress not only to the city but also to the Eastern Visayas region.

This, after Marcos inspected the rehabilitated Ormoc Airport after gracing the city’s 75th Charter Day anniversary celebration held at the Ormoc City Superdome in Leyte.

“President Ferdinand R. Marcos on Thursday said opening the Ormoc Airport to commercial flights will usher in more development in the city and the Eastern Visayas region,” Malacañang said in a press release.

In September, Leyte 4th District Rep. Richard Gomez asked the Department of Transportation to help Ormoc City encourage airline companies to serve the Manila-Ormoc route. The total area of the airport’s passenger terminal building has been expanded from 150 to 1,350 square meters.

The airport’s 2,042m x 36m runway underwent developments from 2018 to 2020 such as asphalt overlay and strip grade correction project and runway widening.

Developments included the renovation of the passenger terminal building destroyed by Super Typhoon Yolanda in 2013, as well as the construction of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines administration building.

The Ormoc Airport is currently being upgraded with the construction of the landing area and taxiway, and the expansion of its Apron. The PHP329-million project is expected to be completed in March 2023.

Once completed, Ormoc airport will be able to accept bigger commercial aircraft.

“The rehabilitation and renovation of Ormoc Airport and other airports in the country, under the supervision of the Department of Transportation - Philippines and Department of Tourism - Philippines, is part of the administration’s program to strengthen the Philippine tourism sector,” the Office of the President said in a separate Facebook post.

P855M ADDITIONAL FUNDING PROPOSED FOR SOUTHERN NEGROS AIRPORT

The construction of another airport in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental is underway soon with additional national government funding to complete the more than PHP1-billion project.

Sixth District Provincial Board Member Jeffrey Tubola, a former city councilor, said on Tuesday the Department of Transportation (DOTr) has proposed the inclusion of PHP855 million in the 2023 national budget for the completion of the project, including the passenger terminal.

“Light planes can now land there with the construction of the 1.32-kilometer runway,” Tubola said over the Provincial Capitol’s Radyo Negrense.

The development of the airport, situated on a 104-hectare lot in Barangay Hilamonan, began in 2007.

Previously, the DOTr allocated PHP90 million for the airport project aside from the PHP120 million budget by the city government and the PHP30 million financial assistance from the provincial government.

“Kabankalan is a progressive city, it’s in the center of Negros Island which is a strategic location,” Tubola said.

It is a border city of Negros Occidental in the south alongside Mabinay town in Negros Oriental.

“The Dumaguete City airport is a bit far while the Bacolod airport has already transferred to Silay City,” Tubola said.

Asiamoney names URC the Philippines’ most outstanding consumer staples company

One of Asia’s leading financial publications has, for a second year in a row, named Universal Robina Corp. (URC) as the Philippines’ most outstanding company in the consumer staples sector.

Asiamoney handed the award to URC, one of the Philippines’ largest food manufacturers, after an exhaustive survey of the region’s top capital movers and financial experts.

URC won the same award last year.

“This award affirms the high, consistent quality of our products and services, the trust and faith of our customers and the grit and resilience of our workforce,” said URC president and CEO Irwin Lee.

Asiamoney is a top source of news, commentaries and data services for international capital markets.

Its latest survey covered over 1,000 fund managers, analysts, bankers and ratings agencies. In total, 5,787 votes were received for publicly listed companies across 13 markets in Asia.

The results recognized 191 companies as being the most outstanding in their respective sectors and markets.

The poll was designed to acknowledge listed firms that have excelled in areas such as financial performance, management team excellence, investor relations and corporate social responsibility.

“While we are humbled by the recognition from the various fund managers, analysts, bankers and ratings agencies who took part in the voting, we would like to acknowledge the efforts of all our stakeholders - employees, suppliers, customers, and consumers - who have helped us persevere through the last two years of the pandemic,” said Lee.

“The company will continue to work diligently to become the leading food and beverage sustainable enterprise from the Philippines,” he added. “We’re building new legs and entering new spaces with innovation as our growth engine.”

Lee said with the Covid-19 pandemic now receding in the background, “URC enters this new chapter with gratitude, knowledge and a newfound vigor to sprint toward our vision for a sustainable future”.

Universal Robina Corporation (URC), makers of longstanding well-loved Pinoy brands such C2, Great Taste, Piattos, Maxx Candy and Cream O, was named by Asiamoney as the Philippines’ most outstanding company in the consumer staples sector, for the 2nd year in a row.

20-MW SOLAR PROJECTS IN PEZA ZONES EYED

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) has partnered with the Upgrade Energy Philippines, Inc. (UGEP) to develop solar energy projects within economic zones.

In a statement, the investment promotion agency said PEZA officer-in-charge Tereso Panga and UGEP president and chief executive officer Ruth Yu-Owen signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) last Sept. 22 to put up solar energy projects inside PEZA zones.

“PEZA welcomes partnerships like this which promote the goal of environment-friendly industrialization,” Panga said.

The first phase of the partnership involves the conduct of feasibility studies in Cavite Economic Zone (CEZ) and Baguio City Economic Zones (BCEZ) to determine the viability of putting up solar projects in these ecozones.

This, as UGEP aims to build a 10-megawatt solar project for CEZ and BCEZ to generate and sell solar power to the end consumers through the distribution utilities inside the ecozones.

On the other hand, PEZA will be providing necessary assistance to UGEP for the conduct of the studies, identification of land for the solar projects, and the registration of its projects under PEZA pursuant to the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Law and the Renewable Energy Act of 2008.

“Promoting the use of renewable energy is extremely paramount in our country so we can save billions of pesos ,” Panga added.