BusinessWeek MINDANAO CREDIBLE
Volume VII, No. 140
Market Indicators
As of 5:10 pm April 20, 2017 (thursday)
FOREX
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US$1 = P49.709
10.6 cents
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7,522.98
66.00 points
Briefly Chocolate museum DAVAO City -- Visiting Mexican Ambassador to the Philippines Julio Camarena Villasenor said that the chocolate museum located in Malagos is a representation of the deep ties between Mexico and the Philippines. The Mexican envoy visited the museum yesterday (April 12) as part of his itinerary in Davao City which included meeting with local government officials and local businessmen. The chocolate museum is located inside Malagos Garden Resort, an inland nature resort and cocoa plantation about 28 kilometers from Davao City’s downtown area. Ambassador Villasenor was impressed with the museum which contains historical anecdotes about the origins of chocolates. Chocolate originated from Mexican Aztecs where it eventually reached Spain after Mexico was colonized by Spanish conquistadores.
ICT Davao DAVAO City -- The group of ICT (Information Communication Technology) stakeholders in Davao is proposing a training program aimed at adding more IT workers to the growing demand in the city. Belinda Torres, corporate secretary of ICT Davao said they have submitted a proposal to Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte on their SWIT (Skills for Work in IT) program. “SWIT is a training program whose objective is to train 700 qualified talents and be employed.” Torres said. The trainings will delve on those needed by the current competency demand of the account, among these competencies are software development, game development.
Drought-resistant KORONADAL City -- With the temperature on the high, the City Agriculture Office here has urged farmers to plant crops that are resilient to drought as the summer season intensifies. Ma. Emelita Miguel, city agriculturist, said with the summer season at its height, farmers, particularly rice growers should “allow their farms some time-out period” during this time when water supply is limited. Instead of the regular crops, farmers may plant mongo, string beans and similar crops that can withstand inadequate irrigation, she said, emphasizing further that besides providing income these leguminous crops could also fertilize the farms.
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Friday | April 21, 2017
By ANTONIO L. COLINA IV, MindaNews
D
AVAO City – A group of cooperatives in Mindanao appealed to President Rodrigo R. Duterte to support their plan to construct a hydropower plant in Agusan del Sur and bid for the Agus and Pulangi hydropower complexes.
CHOICE CUTS. A fish vendor chops a whole fish into the choice of cuts for the waiting customer at the Buenavista Public Market in Agusan del Norte on April 19, 2017. photo by jun ayensa
E d g ard o T. Si l ag an , chairperson of the 1 Mindanao Energy Cooperatives (1MIECOOP), told “Wednesdays at Habi at Kape” that this is the first time for cooperatives to venture into power generation, a field already dominated by a few large players. “Mr. President, we, the Mindanao-based cooperatives want to own the hydropower plants which we hope you would support because this
will give us social justice, equitable distribution of wealth, peace and prosperity, and job generation,” he said. He s aid putt ing t he hydropower plants under the management of the cooperatives instead of the major players will bring down the cost of electricity. “If under the cooperatives, the board of directors and even the members will have the say not to increase the operate/PAGE 11
Oro barangays asked to segregate wastes or face Ombudsman’s wrath By MARK FRANCISCO, Staff Writer
CAGAYAN de Oro City local environment and natural resources officer Edwin Dael strongly urged barangay officials to strictly implement waste segregation as stipulated in the Solid Waste Management Act or face legal action by the Ombudsman. Dael made the statement during the opening of the city’s new sanitary landfill beating the May 2017 deadline set by the Ombudsman following complaints by the Solid Waste Management Commission against big cities in the country for noncompliance of Republic Act (RA) 9003. Dael said that while City Hall has complied with the law, individual barangays would be scrutinized by the Commission next. This early, the city government
is already assisting barangays in the implementation of waste segregation by setting schedules for City Halloperated garbage trucks to collect segregated wastes separately, thereby instilling discipline to the public. Dael however was apprehensive that this may not be enough, saying that barangay councils have the duty to establish their own materials recovery facility as well as massive educational drive for waste segregation at the household level. The city government last Tuesday inaugurated the new sanitary landfill in barangay Pagalungan, closing down the decades-old open dump in barangay Carmen which was considered earlier as a hazard by the Solid Waste Management Commission.
Mine dam will not collapse, mining firm assures Lopez By CHRIS V. PANGANIBAN, Contributing Editor
Philsaga Mining Corp. president Raul Villanueva (right with safety helmet) briefs Environment Secretary Gina Lopez about the safety of the mine dam while she took a brief tour in the area. chris v. panganiban
ROSARIO, Agusan del Sur--- A top executive of a gold mining company here has allayed fears of a dam collapse that would hit a public school down below saying the mine waste tailing ponds could withstand even an intensity seven earthquakes apart from their plan to build another second embankment dam in July this year. Lawyer Raul Villanueva, president of Philsaga Mining Corporation, assured Environment Secretary Gina collapse/PAGE 11
Mt. Talomo and Mt. Apo in the background (left), and downtown Davao City in the foreground, as viewed from Samal Island. mindanews file photo by bobby timonera
Davao City mulls ecotourism, cultural plan for Mt. Talomo By ANTONIO L. COLINA IV, MindaNews
DAVAO City – City Mayor Sara Duterte said they are mulling over a comprehensive ecotourism and cultural plan for Mt. Talomo to regulate trekking activities and protect the watershed and the nesting site of the Philippine Eagle. This developed after the city government received reports of illegal trekkers who would scale up Mt. Talomo as a jumpoff point to Mt. Apo Natural Park. “However, for those who wish to visit the mountain, the public is informed that a comprehensive ecotourism and cultural plan will soon be rolled out. This will cover regulations that will ensure that the watershed area is protected from human activities that are
injurious and destructive to the environment,” Duterte said in a statement Tuesday. She appealed to trekkers and guides to stay away from Mt. Talomo and find other entry points to Mt. Apo, which was officially reopened last April 12 in three trails – Kidapawan City, Magpet in North Cotabato, and Sta. Cruz in Davao del Sur. Duterte said the cultural plan is now being taken up by the city government, Department of Tourism (DOT) 11, and Philippine Eagle Foundation, but added they are planning to tap and manage cultural activities of the Bagobo community. cultural/PAGE 11
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