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The Regions BusinessMirror
Monday, July 13, 2015 • Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo A9
PSALM slated to sell ULGPP supply contracts next month GT COSMETICS FOUNDER RECEIVES COUNTRYSIDE ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR AWARD
Leonora Salvane was recently named the Grand Chamber Countryside Entrepreneur of the Year by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI). Salvane also received the Outstanding Professional Award given by the Philippine Institute of chemical engineers, in cooperation with the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), for her exemplary professional and social civic contributions to society and the chemical engineering profession recently. Salvane, founder of GT Cosmetics, said, “I owe all my success to God.” In 1995, with only P500 as initial capital, she produced 50 bars of soap daily that she sold to family and friends. Gradually, the GT Cosmetics brand gained recognition in Cebu and in the Visayas region. In May 2012 GT Cosmetics opened its plant in Marilao, Bulacan, to cater to the Luzon market. GT products are now available in major commercial establishments nationwide. In preparation for future expansion, GT established a bigger plant in Liloan for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations economic integration. GT Cosmetics’s initial foray into the foreign market was in late 2011, when it shipped over 1,000 units of its top-selling soaps to Finland. Present during the CCCI Grand Chamber Awards Fellowship Night in Cebu City are (from left) Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama, Salvane, GT Cosmetics President and CEO Rogelio Salvane Sr., CCCI President Tess Chan and Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III.
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HE Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corp. is pushing through with the sale of supply contracts for the output of the Unified Leyte Geothermal Power Plants (ULGPP) next month, its top official said. “The privatization will proceed,” said PSALM Officer in Charge Lourdes Alzona, who was
referring to the August 12 bid opening for the selection and appointment of an independent
power producer administrator (IPPA) for ULGPP’s bulk output. The investor groups eyeing the ULGPP Bulk IPPA are SPC Power Corp.; Therma Central Visayas Inc.; Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp.; and Unified Leyte Geothermal Energy Inc. The ULGPP is composed of the 125-megawatt (MW) Upper Mahiao, 232.5-MW Malitbog, 180MW Mahanagdong power plants and the 51-MW optimization plants. The ULGPP is covered by power purchase agreements bet ween t he Nat iona l Power Cor p. and the Energ y Development Cor p. Unified Leyte Geothermal owned by the Lopez Group,
IDB: Decommissioned MILF weapons ‘under lock and key’ B M T. C
Mindanao Bureau Chief
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AVAO CITY—A member of the foreign-backed Independent Decommissioning Body (IDB) belied as incompetent the claim of Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that the weapons turned in by the demobilized armed followers of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front were manufactured for ceremonial purposes only and that the MILF continued to manufacture its weapons. Had Marcos attended the ceremonial decommissioning of the MILF forces and turning in of the weapons on June 16, “he could have seen the weapons firsthand,” said retired Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Lt. Gen. Rey Ardo, to rebut the suspicion cast by Marcos on the decommissioning of the MILF forces. Ardo said the IDB “sent out invitations to members of the Philippine government, including all senators, civil-society organizations, and other stakeholders to witness the ceremonial decommissioning event.” “Unfortunately, Senator Marcos was unable to attend due to unspecified reasons,” he said. “Under the watch of the IDB, the decommissioned weapons of the MILF have been placed in secure storage facilities and will remain there until they are finally put beyond use.” The MILF turned in 20 “crewserve” and 55 high-powered firearms in a ceremonial decommissioning of 145 MILF fighters and their weapons in June in Sultan Kudarat town, Maguindanao. Ardo said the decommissioned weapons “are kept under lock and key.” “The weapons will remain where they are in the interim period and there is no danger that they will fall in the hands of lawless elements or will be sold in the black market,” he said, reiterating the integrity of the IDB as the body trusted by both sides as the thirdparty entity. The IDB is chaired by Turkey Ambassador Haydar Berk, and joined by representatives from
Brunei Darussalam and Norway. The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (Opapp) said the decommissioning process “is guided by the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), the peace accord signed by the government and the MILF in March 2014. The CAB stipulates that the MILF weaponry will be put beyond use, while the combatants will transition to civilian lives in a gradual and phased process.” Ardo was quoted in the Opapp statement to belie the claim of Marcos who “made public allegations that 28 of the decommissioned MILF weapons contained paltiks or homemade weapons. He also speculated that the rebel group was still able to manufacture armaments through its ‘weapons factory.’” Ardo said a seven-person decommissioning body “inspected all 75 weapons prior to the ceremonial decommissioning held on June 16 at the old Maguindanao Provincial Capitol. President Aquino, Cabinet officials, regional and provincial government officials, and members of the diplomatic community attended the event.” Ardo commented that “based on my experience and competency as a retired general of the AFP, these are the original weapons used by the MILF in their fight against the government.” He also stated that the weapons “were clearly not manufactured for the sake of the ceremonial decommissioning.” The government chief peace negotiator, Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, also appealed to reporters “to those with proof regarding claims that the MILF are manufacturing firearms and weaponry should immediately coordinate with the security sector or the government cease-fire committee.” “With regard to the allegation that the MILF is manufacturing arms, we also do not want this to happen, so those with information should report to the AFP and the PNP or cease-fire committee so that we can take action,” Ferrer said.
S&R Membership Shopping Club to break ground in CdO in August
C FEEDING THE CHILDREN OF TARLAC The Tarlac Heritage Foundation, through its chairman Dr. Isa Cojuangco Suntay (kneeling at
left), donates groceries and foodstuff to Gabaldon Elementary School, one of the 27 school-benefeciaries of the foundation’s feeding program called “Bayanihan: Kalusugan Tungo sa Kaunlaran.” Through the foundation’s feeding program, over 1,000 children ages 4 to 8 in the province are given food three times weekly. Suntay was assisted by newly retired Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang (standing, third from right). STEPHANIE TUMAMPOS
Tagum confirms construction plan of MPIC’s waste-to-energy venture
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AVAO CITY—The Tagum City government confirmed plans of the Manuel V. Pangilinan’s Metro Pacific Investment Corp. (MPIC) to proceed with its first waste-to-energy venture in the country, saying that its executive has explained the delay in the original plan contained in their memorandum of agreement (MOA) last year. MPIC President and CEO Jose Ma. K. Lim said the waste-to-energy facility would be scheduled “to operate by the first half of 2016 after the initial test runs,” a statement released by the City Information Office said. Lim attended the groundbreaking ceremony on July 9 at Barangay San Agustin in Tagum City, 55 kilometers north of here. He explained the delay in the original plan to their “finalizing the technical details of the plant and that they ran into a few issues involving their engineers and designers, which caused a little bit of delay.” But he assured the crowd at the groundbreaking that the issues “have been resolved and that they will pursue the project as was originally conceived.”
“Financial arrangements with the banks are just being finalized. It’s just a timing issue with the banks when we’ll really get the facility, but as soon as we have that, we will be ordering within a month the equipment that will come into this project,” he said. “If all goes well, by the first quarter of 2016, this plant will be built, with the equipment installed,” he said. The MPIC signed an agreement with the Tagum City government in October 2014, which was one year after the 2013 MOA signing between the city and the Global Green International Energy Philippines Inc. for the construction of the facility. MPIC tapped technology provider Global Green International Energy Philippines Inc. to construct the plant here. The latter is an affiliate of a US entity that has built numerous wasteto-energy plants in South Korea and smaller countries in Southern Pacific. The Global Green web site said it has been into plant designs and solutions to waste problems and turning them into energy during the last 10 years. It said it has partners and projects in Australia,
the Americas, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan and South Korea. The City Information Office said Global Green’s head, Alan Matthews, also made a statement during the groundbreaking and said that “aside from providing the city of Tagum and its residents with cheaper and more efficient energy, the project also aims to clear up the environment by diminishing the volume of waste being dumped at Barangay San Agustin’s landfill site.” The Tagum City project would be MPIC’s first venture into renewable energy through a wasteto-energy project to tap into the problems of solid-waste management, while producing electricity from processing waste. In earlier statements to the press, the MPIC said the conglomerate would like to generate 300 megawatts (MW) in the future through a string of waste-to-energy facilities. It said it would invest up to P700 million for its first plant in Tagum City that would produce 2 MW of power and 10,000 liters of biodiesel per day. It has an option to expand to 6 MW. Manuel T. Cayon
Cebu lawmaker issues warning vs sellers of fake drugs
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L AW M A K ER on Su n day urged the public to become vigilant against counterfeit medicine, following the seizure of fake prescription and over-the-counter drugs from five pharmacies in Cebu. House Assistant Majority Leader and Nacionalista Party Rep. Gerald Anthony Gullas Jr. of the First District of Cebu, citing the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD), said counterfeit medicine may be con-
taminated or contain the wrong or no active ingredient. “They could have the right active ingredient but at the wrong dose. Counterfeit drugs are illegal,” he said, adding, “Law-enforcement agencies should spare no effort in running after syndicates engaged in the illicit manufacture and distribution of fake medicine.” “Counterfeit drugs defraud consumers and may be harmful to the health of patrons. In some cases,
tendered a bid of P215 million for the bulk energy and emerged as the highest bidder but decided to withdraw citing damage of the plants from Supertyphoon Yolanda in November 2013. “Despite the setback due to Yolanda almost two years ago, you have shown the importance and high prospects of this particular bid. “You may seem small in number, but you are among those who been seriously and actively pursuing our privatization program, with some of you already prevailing as winners of government’s power assets,” Alzona said earlier during the ULGPP Bulk prebid conference. Lenie Lectura
they are likely to put at risk the lives of seriously ill patients,” Gullas said. Gullas made the statement after the National Bureau of Investigation confiscated several boxes of imitation medicine during simultaneous raids on five pharmacies in the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Talisay and Naga on July 9. Gullas said the pharmacies were found selling bogus versions of popular branded medicines, such as Amoclav, Calcibloc, Alaxan FR,
Inoflux, Solmux, Solmux Broncho, Aspilets, Biogesic, Diatabs, Tuseran, Neozep, Medicol Advance, Decolgen, Dolfenal, Bioflu, Skelan, Kremil S, Qinolon, Disudrin, Decilone, NeoPyrazon, Ceelin, Enervon-C, Revicon and Myra-E. The spurious remedies and their packaging looked exactly like their genuine versions, he said. “Besides ripping off consumers, the criminals behind these fake drugs also cheat the government of
tax income. “They should be apprehended, prosecuted and put behind bars,” Gullas said. The BFAD should take administrative action against pharmacies found selling fake medicine, regardless of their excuse, he said. “We support small business owners, including licensed pharmacies. But it goes without saying they are supposed to guarantee the authenticity of every product they dispense,” Gullas said. Jovee Marie N. de la Cruz
AGAYAN DE ORO CITY— S&R Membership Shopping Club, modeled after the warehouse membership-shopping chains in the US, will break ground in this trade capital of Northern Mindanao next month. Mayor Oscar S. Moreno revealed this on Saturday during the launch of the second batch of the Leadership Communities (Leadcom 2015) program of the Ayala Foundation Inc. at the Balay Mindanaw Peace Center. “Business opportunities lie ahead of us. S&R will hold its groundbreaking in August somewhere in Bulua,” Moreno said. S&R Cagayan de Oro will be the company’s second branch in Mindanao. The first and biggest in the country in terms of size is in Matina, Davao, which opened in May 2013. All its branches in the Philippines—Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, Congressional in Quezon City, Alabang in Muntinlupa City, Aseana in Baclaran, Cebu and Pampanga—were built according to US standards. This is in accordance with its core concept of delivering world-class merchandize, greatvalue offers, specialty services and exciting membership privileges. S&R offers high-quality products on local and international brand names that guarantee satisfaction, unmatched savings and value for membership. There are two ways to become a member, through business membership, which is open to owner or manager of licensed business; and gold membership, which can be availed of by individuals aged 18 and above. Each member has the following benefits and perks: first picks of imported name-brand merchandise; exclusive deals and discounts; unmatched everyday savings; access to specialty services; and shopping privileges at all S&R branches. S&R offers a wide array of local and imported merchandise, such as baked goods, grocery items, wellness and beauty products, home furnishings, and tire services exclusive to members. S&R boasts of its “Everyday Fresh Section” that carries local and imported fresh, chilled meat products, such as Australian and New Zealand beef, local pork and poultry that are sourced from only one accredited supplier to prevent cross contamination, which usually happens when dealing with multiple suppliers. This section also offers fruits and vegetables that are gardenfresh-quality produce delivered daily from the country’s premiergrowing regions. Its “Food Service Station” also offers piping-hot New York-style pizzas, calzones, churros, hot dogs, cheeseburgers, Blue Bunny ice creams, clam chowder, rotisserie chicken rice and coffee, among others.