BusinessWeek Mindanao (April 30, 2015)

BusinessWeek MINDANAO “We Grow Minds”

2013 ppi’S Best in Business and Economic Reporting

Volume V, No. 155

Market Indicators

As of 6:45 pm apr. 29, 2015 (wednesday)

FOREX

PHISIX

US$1 = P44.32

7,825.47 points

6 cents

X

61.1

X

points

Briefly RE venture ALSONS Power Group, the holding firm for Alsons Consolidated Resources, Inc.’s power assets, eyes initial investments of more than P2 billion for its renewable energy venture, which involves putting up its first hydropower plant in Mindanao this year.

To date, Alsons Power Group has service contracts that allow it to build a combined RE capacity of 94 megawatts (MW) that should be spread out across four different sites.

“We have a pipeline of hydro projects that we are currently working on and it shows that we are on the right track as far as the renewable energy initiative of the company. This is something that we will be rolling out.

Alsons is committed to building its renewable energy portfolio,” Alsons Power Group Vice President for Business Development Joseph Nocos said in an interview with reporters.

Birthing place GINGOOG City -- As givers of life to their babies, thousands of mothers in this city must be well taken cared of and assisted by their nearby birthing centers and personnel.

Stressed Mayor Marie de Lara Guingona as her administration has been jointly implementing with the Department of Health (DOH) the two separate initial constructions of birthing homes in barangays Lunao and San Miguel respectively totaling to P2.4 million.

Through the initiative of Mayor Marie Guingona, the amount is sourced out from DOH’s Health Facility Enhancement Program (HFEP) and divided it for a P1.2 million project to the two barangays.

She has signaled the Office of the City Engineer under Felipa Baranda to submit to her office the finished program of works for these birthing homes.

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Thursday | April 30, 2015

Megaworld sees sales to double for Davao project

By CHENG ORDONEZ, Associate Editor

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AVAO City – Real estate developer Megaworld Corp is expecting to double the sales of its township project in Davao City which is being undertaken by subsidiary Suntrust Properties, with the recent opening of its showroom early this week.

“We are expecting that [with the opening now of the showroom], sales would, at least, increase by 50 percent, not just because of the showroom, but because of the growing popularity of the project,” said Suntrust president Atty. Harrison Paltongan.

The P15-billion Davao Park District is a 11.2-hectare township project located along S.P. Dakudao Loop, Lanang, Davao City, formerly the site of the renowned Lanang Golf and Country Club.

Paltongan said the sales has been gaining momentum, and has already reached P1 billion mark in terms of sales, attracting clients--both companies and individualresidents--as locators for its business and residential condominium units.

During the formal opening of its showroom at the ground floor of Suntrust office building in Davao City on Monday, Paltongan said that they are presently on track with their masterplan to set up residential condominiums, commercial and retail strips, office buildings and educational institutions in the next seven years. megaworld/PAGE 11

BRISK SALES. Property giant Megaworld expects to double the sales of its four 21-storey residential condominium projects, One Lakeshore Drive, now under construction at its P15-billion Davao Park District in Lanang in Davao City.

Over 9,000 vacancies await jobseekers on Job Fair

By APIPA BAGUMBARAN, Contributor

HIGH PRICE. Even in the vegetable-producing area of Kitaotao in Bukidnon, vegetable prices have shot up due to the dry spell. Squash, for instance, now costs P30 per kilo when spotted when it used to be only P10 during normal times in this area. mindanews photo by keith bacongco

SOME 9,110 jobs are available in the upcoming 113th Labor Day Mega Job Fair on1 May 2015 at the SM Event Center, Cagayan de Oro City.

This year’s month-long Labor Day celebration in the region is anchored on the theme, “Disenteng Trabaho at Kabuhayan, Alay Natin sa Bayan.”

Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Regional Director Raymundo G. Agravante said Monday that of the confirmed job vacancies solicited, around

4,110 will be available for local employment from 71 participating private companies and government agencies.

Meanwhile, DOLE-10 is expecting around 5,000 job vacancies for overseas employment from eight recruitment agencies, as processed by the Philippine O v e r s e a s E mp l o y m e nt Administration (POEA).

Top job vacancies for local employment are Customer Ser vice Representatives fair/PAGE 11

Filipino account holders increased

By APIPA BAGUMBARAN, Contributor

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) estimates that over three million new accounts were opened between 2011 and 2014.

This estimate is based on the latest edition of the World Bank Global Findex which reveals that 31.3 percent of Filipino adults own a

formal account, up by 4.7 percentage points from the baseline figure of 26.6 percent reported in the 2011 Findex.

Formal account refers to an account held in financial holders/PAGE 11

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E conomy 2 West PH Sea confab moved to May 6 Best in Business and Economic Reporting

Philippine Press Institute Civic Journalism Community Press Awards 2013

thursday|April 30, 2015

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UE to a national concern, the second leg of the nationwide Information Drive on the West Philippine Sea issue originally set on 20 April 2015 has been moved to 6 May 2015 at VIP Hotel, Cagayan de Oro City.

A s s i s t a nt S e c r e t a r y C h a r l e s J o s e , D FA Sp o k e s p e r s on a n d t h e resource speaker of the

forum have to be in Manila during the week pending the appeal of the Philippine government on the Mary Jane Veloso case.

A collaboration project o f t h e D e p a r t m e nt o f Foreign Affairs (DFA) and Philippine Information Agency (PIA), the campaign aims to disseminate information on the issues relating to West Philippine

Sea particularly why the Phi lippine gover nment seeks arbitration from an i nte r n at i on a l t r ibu n a l, our entitlement on the disputed territory and other historical, economic and legal concerns.

Foreign Affairs Spokesperson and Assistant Secretary Charles C. Jose will grace the event to discuss the core issues, the

Marie P. Estabaya

First Solo Art Exhibition (For a Cause)

RHYTHM of NATURE May 1, 2015 At the Clubhouse Morning Mist Village Pueblo de Oro, Cagayan de Oro City

overarching principles that guide Philippine response to the issues, and the steps that are being undertaken by the Philippine Government to address the disputes.

An estimated 200 p a r t i c i p a nt s f r o m t h e different sectors particularly from the academe, National G ove r n m e nt Age n c i e s , fisherfolks, Information officers, local government

through barangay chairmen and the media have been invited.

The Multi-sectoral forum will start from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 nn which will end

with a press conference with ASec Jose. This forum is open to anyone interested.

For details you may call PIA region 10 office at 856-8178.

(JMOR/PIA10)

University Sports Complex to rise in CDO XAVIER University is set to build the Xavier Sports Complex at its Pueblo campus to strengthen its sports development programs for elementary and high school Ateneans.

In a public consultation and scoping at XU Grade School, XU vice-president for administration Br Noel B Cantago SJ, project manager Engr Noemi A Dacudao and pollution control officer Joel F Francisco addressed the various issues raised by parents, teachers, local government units and the communities residing around the construction site.

“The purpose of this event is to gather your thoughts about the construction of the Xavier Sports Complex and respond to the different issues on sanitation, traffic, noise and others,” Br Cantago said to the attendees.

“We will do our best to address your pre-, during and

post-construction concerns.”

The five-hectare sports complex comprises a gymnasium with over 4,500 seating capacity, s emiOlympic size swimming pool and a race track for training purposes, among others.

XUGS-Pueblo principal Emmanuel G. Gomez expressed his excitement on this development project for the basic education community. “ T h e X av i e r Sp or t s C omplex is a concrete example t hat XU aims to meaningfully improve itself especially in providing facilities for its elementary and high school students,” Gomez said.

Details about the start of its construction and expected completion date are still being finalized. A public hearing will be the next step prior to the groundbreaking ceremony. (XU)

CDO Energy Press Corps plans priority projects OFFICERS of the newlyorganized Cagayan de Oro Energy Press Corps (CEPC)

met on April 27, to plan their priority projects for the second quarter of 2015.

The meeting was presided by its President and Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Regional Director Thelma B. Oliver.

One of t he proj e c ts identified is the distribution of learner’s kit to select Grade 1 and Grade 2 pupils on June 15, 2015 in support to the Brigada Eskwela program of the Department of Education (DepED).

The officers agreed that the Brigada Eskwela is a good venue to educate pupils, projects/PAGE 10

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CorporateWorld

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PLDT sets aside P1.3B Megaworld to open two for eighth data center new hotels in Pasay and Iloilo

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EGAWORLD is opening two new hotels this year in Newport City and Iloilo amid the increasing demand for hotel rooms.

In a statement, Megaworld said it will open The Belmont Luxury Hotel Newport by the second half of the year and Richmonde Hotel Iloilo in June this year.

The Belmont Luxury Hotel Newport in Pasay will stand 10-storeys high with 480 well-designed suites. “ We h a v e b e e n experiencing an increasing demand for hotel rooms in Newport City because of its proximity to the Ninoy Aq u i n o Int e r n at i on a l Airport, and of course, the presence of Resorts World Manila. Belmont Luxury Hotel Newport will primarily cater to business t r av e l e r s w h o e x p e c t luxurious hotel experience in a private enclave,” said Francisco Canuto, senior vice president, Megaworld.

Meanwhile, Richmonde Hotel Iloilo will occupy eight levels of the 12-storey Richmonde Tower in the

72-hectare Iloilo Business Park in Mandurriao, Iloilo City.

“We will certainly set the bar of hotel lifestyle i n We s t e r n Vi s ay a s ,” says Carmen Fernando, managing director, Prestige Hotel & Resorts, Inc., the hotel management company o f R i c h m o n d e Ho t e l Iloilo and a subsidiary of Megaworld.

Megaworld has c om m iss i one d worl d renowned architectural firm Gettys to design the hotel’s façade, grand lobby, restaurant and guest rooms.

Gettys took inspiration f r o m t h e c i t y ’s r i c h agricultural roots for the hotel’s design concept.It is same firm has designed s o m e o f t h e w o r l d’s prestigious hotels such as The Peninsula Hong Kong; Hyatt Regency in Cancun, Mexico and Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai.

The business hotel will be the first Richmonde Hotel outside of Metro Manila and will have 151 guest rooms.

It will house a restaurant and deli, function rooms, business center, fitness gym

as well as a lap pool with its own pool bar.

Last year, Megaworld chairman Dr. Andrew L. Tan announced that the real estate giant along with its sister company Travellers International Hotel Group will be building hotels around the country with a total of 12,000 rooms.

In the next five years, both companies will be expanding to an additional 10,000 new hotel rooms, all of which will be in Megaworld’s township

developments. “By the year 2020, we envision our group to be the largest hotel developer in the Philippines,” Dr. Tan said.

At pre s e nt , b ot h Megaworld and Travellers International have already built 1,900 rooms in its existing hotels: Richmonde Hotel Ortigas; Eastwood Richmonde Hotel; Marriott Hotel Manila, Maxims Hotel and Remington Hotel in Newport City; and Fairways and Bluewater in Boracay Newcoast.

Exemption of Filipino Home from real property tax sought A lawmaker is urging Congress to give due course to his proposed exemption of the family home from the coverage of real property tax payment.

“Since the State recognizes the Filipino family as the foundation of the nation, it should also build a solid mantle o f p ro t e c t i o n t o t h e family home,” Rep. Salvio B. Fortuno (5th District, Camarines Sur) declared.

Fortuno is proposing, through HB 1649, to exempt the family home from the coverage of real property tax by amending Chapter 2, Articles 153, 155 and 157 of the Family Code of the Philippines as contained in Executive Order No. 209 as amended.

The Family C ode states: “The Family home, constituted jointly by the husband and the wife or exemption/PAGE 10

PHILIPPINE Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) is spending P1.3 billion to build its eighth Internet data center targeted at business process outsourcing (BPO) and information technology (IT) firms in Central Luzon.

The investment will be done through ePLDT, Inc., its wholly owned information and communications (ICT) subsidiary, and will carry the brand VITRO, according to a statement over the weekend.

The Clark facility in Pampanga, which is expected to be complete by next year, will have a rack capacity of 1,230.

Including the three data centers operated by ePLDT subsidiary IP Converge Data Services, Inc., the newest facility will bring the group’s total capacity to more than 8,000.

“Located in the heart of the Clark ecozone, VITRO Clark will cater to the region’s thriving business communities and planned IT hubs in Central Luzon, that could also ser ve the disaster recovery requirements for other businesses elsewhere,” PLDT said. “[T]he VITRO Clark

facility will boost the growth of ICT-demanding industries in the area like the business process outsourcing, Outsourcing & Offshoring, and retail.”

The new five-storey building will have eight-level access security control and “redundant infrastructure to ensure highest uptime service level.”

VITRO was granted a pioneer status as an Internet data center by the Philippine B oard of Investments.

It provides co-location services, server hosting, hardware and software maintenance s er vices, Web site development and maintenance services, We b c a s t i n g a n d We b hosting, shared applications, data disaster recovery and business continuity services, intrusion detection and IP security services like firewalls and managed firewalls, according to PLDT’s 2014 annual report.

“This new data center will be compliant with global standards,” PLDT Executive Vice-President and ePLDT President and Chief Executive Officer Ernesto R. Alberto was quoted in the statement as saying.

BusinessWeek MINDANAO

Opinion

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4

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BusinessWeek MINDANAO

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T

The Best Policy

hink a minute…A recent survey of questions was given to thousands of people.

Their names were not known or recorded so they would answer the questions honestly.

Out of all these people, 91% said they regularly tell lies.

Half of them call in to their jobs and say they’re sick when they’re not sick at all. In fact, over half of all stealing from stores and businesses is done by their own employees. Another question was this: “What are you willing to do for $10 million?” 25% of the people said they would leave their mate and children, and 7% said they would murder a stranger for $10 million. So in a crowd of 1000 people, there are 70 people who would kill you for $10 million. Think about it!

I asked myself: How much like those average citizens am I? Have I lied to family or friends? Stolen from my workplace? Have I cheated in school or on my taxes?

Broken any of my promises?

If I was guaranteed I could get away with anything I wanted, what would I do? What is my conscience, self-respect, and good character worth?

A famous writer said: “Honesty is like art: you have to draw the line somewhere.”

But the problem is who draws the line? Me by myself? My circumstances and situation?

You see, since all we humans have rebelled and chosen to live our own way, lying, cheating

THINK

A Minute

Jhan Tiafau Hurst and stealing now come rather naturally to us. We do whatever it takes to get what we want.

And if we don’t, most people think we’re weak and foolish!

That’s actually how confused we’ve become.

It all starts with the little dishonest things we say and do regularly. We think it’s just a little white lie or small thing we stole. But soon, being dishonest becomes our way of living. Yet, no matter how much money and prestige we have, we’ve become the poorest person there is. You see, it’s impossible to escape the painful penalty and consequences of all our dishonesty in life— except for one way: Ask Jesus Christ to forgive you for your dishonest heart and way of living. Then ask Him to help you start changing everyday to become a truly wealthy person of integrity. Then He will give you the greatest success in life you can ever have.

Just Think a Minute…

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Happily (N)ever After

I

am o l d - f a s h i o n e d .

Since many years, I love collecting old magazine and news paper clippings. Can you imagine how my office looks like? Anyway, in a very old issue of PHILADELPHIA NEWS columnist Larr y Fields confessed: “I lead a life of wine, women and song (by the way, a wonderful waltz of Johann Strauss!) it’s cheaper than petrol, food and rent!” Mmmhhh....

Some marriages are made in heaven. You know some?

I do. The best of the rest are down-to-earth. Maybe also yours? I was blessed and happy celebrating my 32th wedding anniversary last March 2015... .

Maybe you remember this: “Then the prince swept the lovely young maiden into his arms and carried her home to his castle. And they live happily ever after!”

Indeed, they did. Meanwhile, I met several couples, who would say: happily never after!

What I would like to see is an autonomous in home affairs study of all these title of nobility bearers seven years after their happilyever-after marriages. or even earlier, because the so-called darned and tricky seventh marriage year could be even the first one already.

The truth is that life isn’t made up of the continual highs found in the initial stages of courtship. Of course, flirting is fun and a wide groove existing. But after a while our system needs a rest. Unanimously we’re in the second stage sooner or later and our marriage life needs badly a new outside coating.

All of a sudden, the partner prefers day and nig ht watching a l l t he sports channels, falls asleep while you’re revealing your innermost secrets and even forgets the anniversary for the first or even second time . Just bear in mind: You’ve won each other’s

acceptance and sometimes even feelings terrible gloomy.

This acceptance shouldn’t be undervalued.

Even we see a house that has to be cleaned, many other things have to be organized, and the partner, who looks as fatigued and bored as you feel. Logical question: “That’s it? That WAS it?”

A n d s u d d e n l y, w e experienced the third stage and learned, why it’s worth the ups and downs. Maybe we men don’t mention any more, how incredible she looks, but we enjoy bleating and grousing at her spending innumerable hours putting her together. But then, suddenly, we men are to unload the garbage without being asked for.

Although no marriage is continually blissful - it can be pretty good most of the time.

When we lasted through arguments, money worries, and kid’s problems or slowly but surely coming up mid-life crises, we should face reality

H ave M y Say

Klaus Doring

that our relationship is not always a big day celebration.

I t ’s b e c a u s e t h e fundamental reason for a marriage has outlasted the craziness of day-to-day living: we love each other.

That’s MY idea of “Happily ever after, indeed!” +++ Email: dor ingklau s@ gmail.com or follow me in Facebook or Twitter or visit www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www. klausdoringsclassicalmusic. blogspot.com.

More prayers to help Veloso needed

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IFE’S INSPIRATIONS: “… if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land…” (2 Chronicles 7:14, the Holy Bible).

-ooo MORE PRAYERS TO HELP VELOSO NEEDED: Even as I am congratulating P r e s i d e n t Aq u i n o f o r interceding for a second look

by Indonesian authorities, led

by President Joko Widodo, on the case of Mary Jane Veloso, let us not forget that the fight has just begun.

Veloso after all had not been permanently spared from the firing squad. She was just given a temporary reprieve.

The fac t is t hat, as reports from the wee hours of Wednesday, April 29, 2015 indicated, the final decision

on whether or not Veloso will still be executed on account of her conviction for drug trafficking will depend on the outcome of the cases involving her supposed recruiters in the Philippines who, graciously, already surrendered to the police.

But what if Indonesia will later on say that the cases against the recruiters will have no bearing at all on Veloso’s culpability or liability for the drug trafficking charges with which she was sentenced to die in Indonesia? Consequently, the Aquino government must now act to really help Veloso, and it could start by, first, organizing honest-togoodness prayer sessions, and, second, by sending real good lawyers to assist her.

-ooo PRAYER IS THE ANSWER TO EVERY PROBLEM IN LIFE: I am recommending prayer sessions because I

am personally aware of its awesome powers. A poem I found posted on a table inside a courtroom in Manila sometime in 1983, when I first became a lawyer attending my first-ever court hearing, confirms the power of prayer.

It goes like this: “Prayer is the answer to every problem in life. It puts us in tune with Divine Wisdom, which knows how to adjust everything perfectly. So often, we do not pray in certain situations because from our standpoint, the outlook is hopeless. BUT NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD. “Nothing is so entangled it cannot be remedied.

No human relationship is too strained to bring about reconciliation and understanding. No habit so deep-rooted that it cannot be overcome. No one is so weak that he cannot be strong. No one is so ill that he cannot be healed. No mind is so

K akampi

Mo A ng Batas

Atty. Batas Mauricio dull that it cannot be made brilliant.

“Whatever we need if trust God, He will supply it. If anything is causing worry and anxiety, let us stop rehearsing the difficulty and TRUST God for love, healing and power.”

-ooo 39.9 DEGREES C E N T I G R A D E H E AT ?

READ THE BIBLE: The weather bureau has a dire batas/PAGE 11

Emmanuel and our affections

E

mmanuel, of course, means God-with-us. It is the name given to Christ, the son of God who became man to save us. It’s he who perfectly translates this name into reality. Though he died, resurrected and ascended into heaven, he continues to be with us, in fact, not only in a passive way, but in a most active way. He always intervenes in our life.

God can never be absent in our life. As creator, he is the giver of our very existence and maintains it, since otherwise we would cease to exist. As savior through his son, he re-creates us to free us from the clutches of sin that has deformed us.

Driven by an eternal love for

us, he will always be with us.

We need to train ourselves to be more aware of the constant presence of God in each one of us, among all of us, and in the whole world and the entire creation. He is in every place and in every situation of our life. And he is actually always showing us the way to live each momenthow to think, judge, reason, conclude, etc. All we have to do is to discern his will and ways.

We need to be more aware of this reality that first of all requires faith.

But let’s remember that faith should not just be a purely intellectual and spiritual affair. Since it is meant for us, and we are men with body

and soul, our faith should affect us all the way to our bodily dimension. It should not be stuck in the spiritual level alone. Thus, crucial in this concern is the role of our emotions and passions, our sentiments and affections.

Though only secondary to the role of our intelligence and will, our emotions and af fe c t ions ne ver t heless cannot be neglected, since as our Catechism teaches, they are “the movements of the sensible appetite-natural c omp one nt s of hu man psychology-which incline a person to act or not to act in view of what is perceived as good or evil.”

Our emotions and affections are integral and

HINTS

and

Traces

Fr. Roy Cimagala somehow indispensable in our life, and therefore also in our relation with God and with others which in the end are what our life is all about.

We cannot and should not take them lightly for cimagala/PAGE 11

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Globe Labs supports the Philippine Software Industry Association’s 20th Enablement Seminar

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lobe Labs, the developer community of leading mobile brand Globe Telecom, lends its support to the Philippine Software Industry Association’s 20th Enablement Seminar on April 29 at the Asian Institute of Management Conference Center, Legaspi Village, Makati City as part of its commitment to promote innovation in the industry.

With the theme “Are you mobile ready?”, the seminar is designed to provide an overview of the mobile industry, current operating systems and technologies, market shares, cross-platform development (Android, iOS and Windows) as well as emerging platforms and future trends.

“As the number one mobile brand in the Philippines, Globe puts premium at innovation

and brings this to life in its offers and customer experiences. This motivates Globe Labs to help startups, developers, and businesses expand their market reach through various telco Application Program Interfaces (APIs) that would make communication with clients easier for them.

This is what we want to bring to this seminar,” said Anne Michelle Santos, Globe Labs Project Manager for Digital Media.

The half-day activity gathers experts in Information Technology such as Santos, Markku Kero, CEO of Eqela who has extensive technical expertise and long track record in multiple fields of the software industry; Ramon Pastor, co-founder of Rogomi; Darth Vidar, Mobile Client Software Development Manager at Voyager Innovations, Inc.;

and Joben Rara, Technical Evangelist in Microsoft’s Developer Experience and Evangelism team.

Participants will learn from a lot of insights and sharing of best practices during the plenary sessions and group discussions.

To make the seminar more interactive, there will also be a question and answer portion with the audience.

“We have partnered with Globe Labs in the past and we are glad to once again

receive their support. The development of mobile applications has taken the technology industry by storm so we want to share the knowledge of industry experts to everybody who is interested to be part of this field,” said Karen Reyes, PSIA Program Manager.

PSIA holds Enablement Seminars every quarter to provide insights and to tackle emerging and relevant issues in the software and information

technology sector while also encouraging discourse between industry, academe and government.

PSIA is the major association of Philippine software development firms engaged in IT outsourcing (ITO) and is composed of about 170 members. Its vision is to drive the Philippine software services and products to attain global leadership in market share, mindshare, and innovation.

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More than 9,000 vacancies in Region 10 await jobseekers during Labor Day Mega Job Fair CAGAYAN de Oro City – Some 9,110 jobs are available during the upcoming 113th Labor Day Mega Job Fair on 1 May 2015 at the SM Event Center, this City, the Department of Labor and Employment – X (DOLE-X) Regional Director Raymundo G. Agravante, said Monday.

Of the confirmed job vacancies solicited, Director Agravante disclosed that around 4,110 will be available for local employment from 71 participating private companies and government agencies.

Meanwhile, the DOLE-X is expecting around 5,000 job vacancies for overseas employment from 8 recruitment agencies, as processed by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

Top job vacancies for local employment are Customer Service Representatives (300 vacant positions); Candidate Soldier Course (150); Security Guards (100); Product Support Representatives (100); Officer Candidate Course (80); Officer Preparatory Course (80); Revenue Officers I (56); Business Transcribers (50); Proofreaders (50); Administrative Assistants III (27); Retail Sales Team/Business Developers (25) .

Overseas employment top vacancies include Service Crew (500 vacant positions); Delivery Drivers (500); Security Guards (265); Janitors (250); Food Servers (200); Carpenters (200); and Nurses (100). Most of the overseas job posts are in the Middle East countries.

The DOLE will be joined by members of the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) comprising the DOLE attached agencies--Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO), National Conciliation Mediation Board (NCMB), National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RWTPB), Employees Compensation Commission (ECC), Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHC), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), and POEA. The RCC will provide Help Desks in SM for (1) renewal of professional licenses; (2) receipts of Single Entry Approach (SEnA) Request for Assistance on labor or employment concerns; (3) queries on wages and productivity trainings; (4) queries on OWWA programs; and (5) queries on occupational safety and health trainings.

TESDA-X will facilitate Skills Demo during the event.

Together with the DOLE Provincial Field Offices, the different provincial, city, and municipal local government units, through their respective Public Employment Service Offices (PESOs), various Tripartite Industrial Peace Councils (TIPCs), and other allied-partner agencies will simultaneously celebrate the event in the respective provinces of the region.

Participating jobseekers may avail various pre-employment services such as issuance of birth certificates, clearances, and PhilHealth Cards from the DOLE’s partner agencies--Social Security System (SSS), PhilHealth, and Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

Director Agravante, in an interview with local media, urged jobseekers to be fully prepared when

they participate in the job fair.

“I invite our jobseekers to participate in the Job Fair and ready themselves with their proper business attire, bring multiple copies of resumes, school credentials, certificates of employment, clearances, photos, passport (for overseas applicants), and other pertinent pre-employment documents needed by employers,” Agravante added.

To avoid wasting time in filling-up our Skills Registration System Forms, DOLE-X WMO PFO OIC head, Leila P. Labor said that jobseekers may already pre-register at the Ground Floor (beside the Escalator, near Exquisite) of SM City, which started last Monday, 20 April 2015 until the 28th of April.

This year’s month-long Labor Day celebration in the region is anchored on the theme, “Disenteng Trabaho at Kabuhayan, Alay Natin sa Bayan.”

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Community

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summit conducted People’s Day in Lanao del Sur Youthwith 1001st IB offer free services to the public

M

A R AW I C I T Y, L a n a o d e l Su r --- Government agencies in the province will offer free services to the public on April 29-30, 2015 at the Provincial Capitol Compound as part of the local government’s People’s

Day initiative.

The two-day open house of public services aims to provide free government services and raise awareness on the different services, programs and projects of the government It is spearheaded by the

Provincial Government in partnership with the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Regional Government and national line agencies in the province.

Me d i c a l an d d e nt a l services, circumcision (tuli),

legal services, application for NBI clearance, and registration of cooperatives were just among the free services lined-up during the People’s Day. Aside from free services, releasing of Certificate of Land services/PAGE 11

COMPOSTELA VALLEY – The 1001st Infantry Brigade and Youth for Peace Movement (YFPM) Compostela Valley, in partnership with the Provincial Local Government Unit of Compostela Valley, conducted its first ever Provincial Youth Leadership Summit on April 8-12, 2015.

Bannering the theme, “YFPM Comval: Widening the Right Way for a more Empowered Comvaleño Youth through the Mindanao Youth Agenda” on April 8-12, 2015, attended by 163 leaders coming from different municipal chapters of the YFPM Comval.

The five-day activity aimed to empower the youth to become peace-loving individuals and use this advocacy to help develop the province as they are the next generations’ leaders.

The concept of the activity was also leveled-up from lectures, workshops, and teambuilding, to answer the new and increasing issues of the province through collecting the youth’s ideas in solving these.

T h rou g h l i n i ng t h e concept of the activity in the National Youth Commission’s “Mindanao Youth Agenda” do cument, the activity integrated new strategies that were identified as the

answers to the needs of the youth in the entire Mindanao in which Compostela Valley belongs - to the lectures, and tapped the government agencies to cater these to participants.

At the last day of the activity, the participants together with all the facilitators and personnel of the activity went to B ar ang ay A n d ap, Ne w Bataan, CVP and offered a silent candle-lighting prayer to commemorate the tragedy that happened in the site on 2012 killing hundreds of residents.

The message of the activity was to let the youth realize their roles in protecting the environment; that they can do something as leaders of the next generation in a way they can easily do, so there will be no more lives to be taken by unpredictable natural disasters.

The activity was also attended by the Provincial Governor Arturo T. Uy, Provincial Board Member and YFPM C ompostela Adviser Jayvee Tyron L. Uy, 1001st Infantry Brigade Commander commander Col. Casiano C. Monilla, 10th Infantry Division G7 Lt Col. Norman S. Zuniega sharing their advices to youth leaders in the province. (PIA)

DILG operation ‘LISTO’ intensifies convergence in disaster preparedness

MISOR DAY-CARE WORKERS ANNUAL CONVENTION- GOVERNOR BAMBI B. EMANO and VICE GOVERNOR JOEY G. PELAEZ happily congratulated and recognized all the Day-Care Workers of Misamis Oriental for the latter’s indispensable role and significant contributions in forming the minds and shaping the hearts of kindergarten pupils. The Day-Care Workers’ Annual Convention was held at the Provincial Capitol Ground last April 22, 2015. Vice Governor Pelaez, an educator himself for having served the Department of Education for almost two decades, completely understands the personal sacrifices and dedication required of every day-care worker in the delivery of the first level of primary education to all our young children in the province. (Upper Photo from L to R: General Manager Gerardo Sabal, Jr. of MOISC, Dr. Bebina Casiño, Department Head of the Provincial Health Office, Governor Bambi Emano, Vice Governor Joey Pelaez and some Day-Care Workers.)

DAVAO O R I E N TA L – Municipal Mayors from the ten municipalities and the capital city of Mati converged in taking more proactive approaches in dealing with and recovering from disasters through the Davao Oriental Provincial Convergence Action Planning and roll out of Operation ‘LISTO’held at Mati Baywalk Hotel and Restaurant last April 22, 2015.

Operation LISTO is one of the programs in disaster preparedness initiated by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

It intends to strengthen and capacitate Local Government Units while preserving their flexibility in responding to disasters through proper precautionary guidelines and appropriate actions.

DILG Provincial Director Yvette T. Sunga, during the activity, presented a manual on disaster preparedness divided in three volume types, namely; the checklist of minimum critical preparation for mayors, checklist of early preparations for mayors, and the checklist for Local Government Operations Officers (LGOOs), Chief of Polices, and Fire Marshalls.

Sunga told mayors the significance of capacitating the disaster response system of every municipality. “As mandated by the law, the LGUs are the frontliners in the response to any natural disasters,” she said.

Sunga s aid t hat t he manuals will assist LGUs in formulating disaster preparedness plans, allowing them to determine the extent of their preparedness and to fill in the gaps to meet the minimum levels of readiness to disasters. “These will aid them in planning re sp ons e s, p ar t i c u l arly typhoon disasters, and to identify the lapses and sort of reinforcement they require from the DILG,” she said.

Tolentino explains that the manual also provides a checklist of preparation from dilg/PAGE 11

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Rotarians back BBL, vow to conduct more projects and campaigns for peace

B

AGUIO CITY – Rotary International District 3800 has joined calls for the passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) and vowed to continue projects and public campaigns for peace during a forum on the peace process.

The forum was part of RI District 3800’s District Training Assembly (DISTAS) held at Camp John Hay C onv e nt i on C e nt e r i n Baguio City from April 25 to 26, 2015.

“We support the passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law after resolving the legal and constitutional issues,” according to the District Resolution read during the forum. “ We s e e t h i s a s a n instrument to realize our Muslim brothers’ aspirations

to secure their dignity and identity and attain genuine self-governance within the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of the Philippine Republic,” the resolution adds.

“RI [Rotary International] District 3800 will continue to actively participate in shaping the direction of the peace process through service projects and public campaigns,” the resolution reads.

Present at the forum were members of the legal team of the government’s peace panel in talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Atty. Anna Tarhata Basman and Atty. Sittie Amirah Pendatun. Video messages from MILF Chief Negotiator Mohagher Iqbal and National Democratic

Increase in LGUs’ share from revenues derived from national wealth sought A lawmaker is calling for an increase in local government units’ share from the gross collection of the national government derived from the utilization and development of national resources within their territorial jurisdiction.

R e p. Me l S e n e n S .

Sarmiento (1st District, Western Samar) is author of HB 4720 which seeks to increase such LGU share from 40% to 45% of the gross collection derived by the national government in the preceding fiscal year from mining taxes, royalties, forestry and fishery charges, among others.

“This is just one of the many prop o s a ls u nd e r consideration by Congress that seek to broaden the fiscal resource generation of local government units,” Sarmiento said, clarifying that the increase being sought is in addition to the present internal revenue allotment received by LGUs under the law.

The measure provides that LGUs should also have their 45% share from other taxes, fee, or charges, including related surcharges, interests, or fines, and from its share in any co-production, joint venture or production sharing agreement in the utilization and development of the national wealth within the LGUs’ territorial jurisdiction, Sarmiento said.

HB 4720 seeks to amend Section 290 and 291 of Republic Act 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991.

Granting that the said increase is enacted into law, Sarmiento’s bill also provides that “the shares of the local government units concerned shall be remitted to them directly within ten (10) days after the end of every quarter during the current fiscal year.”

Furthermore, the measure provides that “there shall be a committee composed of the representatives of the tax payers, the Department of Finance, the Department of Budget and Management, and the Local Government Unit concerned tasked to formulate the necessary procedure for the effective implementation of this provision, and which shall submit its report to the Committee on Local Government of both Houses of Congress.”

HB 4720, Sarmiento pointed out, is consistent with the promotion and e n h a n c e m e nt o f l o c a l f i n anc i a l autonomy a s embodied in R.A. 7160 or the Local Government Code.

The bill is under consideration by the House Committee on Local Government chaired by Rep. Pedro B. Acharon, Jr. (1st District, South Cotabato & General Santos City).

Front (NDF) Chief Negotiator Luis Jalandoni were also shown during the forum.

District 3800 is composed of R o t a r y C lu b s f rom Va l e n z u e l a , M a l a b o n , Caloocan, Navotas, Marikina, Mandaluyong, San Juan, and the province of Rizal. The resolution also emphasized the role of Rotary in promoting peace, and called on the public to do the same.

“The first of Rotary’s areas of focus is to promote peace,” the resolution says.

“Rotary has a passion for peace. The masses of the Filipino yearn for peace.

The nation needs peace. We all hunger for peace,” the resolution reads. “It is time to give peace a chance.”

“R o t a r y e nj o i n s a l l

Filipinos to support the attainment of a just and lasting peace,” the resolution reads.

“In our respective communities and in the broader national arena, let us join our voices so that those vested with the power to act, through meaningful dialogue and an inclusive pro cess, can decisively address the root causes of conflict,” the resolution adds.

Basman, reiterated both the government and the MILF’s position that the proposed BBL is not the sole solution to the conflict in Mindanao.

“Neither the parties— not the government or the MILF—conceive the BBL as the sole solution to the decades-old problem,”

National Greening Programs in several Moro areas.

Datu Tungko Saikol, regional director of DENR 12, said the project involves P7 million worth of greening activities in identified reforestation areas Barangay Buliok in Pagalungan and Sambulawan

main components—security, socioeconomic development, and transitional justice and reconciliation—that will a l l ow c on f l i c t - af fe c te d communities in Mindanao to return to peaceful lives wherein individuals can pursue sustainable and me aningf ul liveliho o ds without fear of violence or crime.

Various sectors support the JobStart Philippines Program

Va r i o u s s e c t o r s h a v e expressed support for the passage of the proposed “JobStart Philippines P r o g r a m” t o e n h a n c e the knowledge and skills a c qu i re d i n t he for ma l e du c at i on or t e c h n i c a l training of Filipino jobseekers.

Appearing before the recent hearing of the House Committee on Labor and Employment chaired

by Rep. Karlo Alexei B. No g r a l e s ( 1 s t D i s t r i c t , Davao City), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Director Dominique Tutay said the agenc y is committed to sustain the implementation of the JobStart Program nationwide.

Tutay said the passage i nt o l aw of Hou s e B i l l 5468 would help provide the necessary resources to expand the program on a national scale.

The JobStart Program was launched by the labor department in May 2014 in four localities, namely, General Trias, Cavite; San Fer nando, Pamp anga; Taguig City; and Quezon City.

Tutay said the program is funded by the Government of Canada through a grant arrangement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which oversees and m an age s t h e pro g r am’s pilot implementation on Canada’s behalf.

Narcisa Rivera, representative of the

C a n a d i a n E m b a s s y, s aid C anada is fo c us ed on c ont r i but i ng t o t h e Philippines’ inclusive and sustainable growth agenda.

Rivera said investing in the JobStart Program is an opportunity to address unemployment particularly among the youth.

ADB Program Manager Kelly Bird lamented that for many young Filipinos, the school-to-work transition is associated with substantial uncertainty, and the duration of the transition is ver y slow.

“It takes high school graduates up to four years to find a wage job with only half of them actually landing into a wage job while the remaining half end up in the informal labor sector,” Bird said.

Bird said the slow transition from schoolto-work can damage a y o u n g p e r s o n’s f u t u r e career prospects and can per petuate lifetime poverty for young persons from poor households.

Josua Mata, secretary general of the Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL), suggested the inclusion of a provision in the bill that will ensure employers would not take advantage of the policy to avoid the re g u l ar i z at i on of t h e i r employees and that j obst ar ters w i l l re ceive the same social benefits being received by regular employees.

Myra Nieves,

P7M earmarked for greening projects of Sajahatra Bangsamoro Program KORONADAL CIT Y -The regional office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in SOCCSKSARGEN has recently signed a memorandum of agreement with the Sajahatra Bangsamoro program for the implementation of the

Basman emphasized. “A big part of the solution that the peace agreement offers is in the process of normalization, t hroug h w hich he aling and reconciliation and the upliftment of the lives of the Filipinos in that part of the country can and should happen.”

The normalization process is composed of three

9

in Sultan Kudarat – all in Maguindanao Province as well as in Sitio B’lungan, Brg y. Upper S epaka in Surallah, South Cotabato.

At least 300 hectares of forest lands will be planted to coffee, fruit trees and forest trees.

“The financial support

shall include seedling pro du c t i on , pl ant at i on establishment, monitoring, maintenance and protection.

We will soon enter into an appropriate agreement with the on-site partner Peoples’ Organization,” Director Saikol said. greening/PAGE 11

representative of the Department of S ocial Welfare and Development (DSWD), said the JobStart Program should be included in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Prog ram (4Ps) of t he DSWD. Nieves said the partneremployers should provide the jobstarters overtime

pay and differential pay for working during holidays.

Joseph Noel Estrada, executive director of the C oordinating C ouncil of Pr i v at e E du c at i on a l Associations (COCOPEA), said the JobStart program should be in harmony with the K to 12 program, the country’s new educational framework.

OPAPP: ALL FUNDS ACCOUNTED FOR The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) assures the public that the funds allocated in 2013 amounting to PhP 1.14 billion for the government’s peace and development program, dubbed as the Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) program, are all accounted for.

“These funds were used to sustain the ongoing projects of the government in conflict-affected and conflict–vulnerable communities in different parts of the country. It was unfortunate that some of the funds were unused as of end2013, or liquidation reports were incomplete by end2013 because utilization of funds started late in 2013 as the use of these funds were stopped late 2012 during the Supreme Court’s deliberations on the case regarding the Disbursement Acceleration P r o g r a m ( D A P ) ,” said OPAPP Assistant Secretary for Programs on the Bangsamoro Howard Cafugauan.

Prior to being a subject of a news report, OPAPP has been taking actions on the observations by the Commission on Audit.

“Funds that are not being used, such as the P250 million given to the

AFP for the use of its AFP Engineering Brigade for road repairs and construction in Maguindanao province, are due to the implementing agency’s decision to ensure no controversy would affect the project because they are meant to benefit communities are conflictaffected. The funds remain intact with the AFP as of press time,” Cafugauan added.

OPAPP stressed that the COA observation on projects with no liquidation re p or t or i nc ompl e te liquidation report, such as the P156 million allotted to Northern Samar provincial government are being addressed. Liquidation reports being completed a n d g at h e re d by t h e implementing agencies for submission to OPAPP and COA. The same is also happening in the case of other provinces that received PAMANA funds and have yet to submit c o mp l e t e l i q u i d at i o n reports.

Cafugauan added: “Rest assured that the entire PhP 1.14 billon had been used to benefit the residents of the above-mentioned communit ies t hat are either affected by conflict or vulnerable to conflict because of the presence of rebel groups in those areas.”

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Projects... from page 2

DAILY CROSSWORD

parents, and teachers on transmission line safety and the importance of the power lines of National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

The learner’s kit will consists of a bag, notebooks, paper, pencils, crayon, sharpener, scissors and slippers.

Aside from the learner’s kit, transmission line safety information materials will also be distributed during the activity.

The school beneficiary is not yet identified pending advised from the NGCP District 3 Chief Transmission Line Engineer.

But the group proposed that the school should be located in Kinoguitan or Tagoloan, both in Misamis Oriental and host of the Jasaan-Kinoguitan 69KV line and Abaga-Lugait-Tagoloan 128KV line, respectively.

The press corps officers also planned to conduct an officer’s exposure trip in Abaga Substation and Davao Substation and a meet-and-greet activity with the General Santos-Sarangani Energy Press Corps Officers on the second week of July, this year.

(APB/PIA-10)

Exemption...

ACROSS 1) Letters on an ambulance 4) “Anything ____?”

8) Can’t stand 13) “Fancy that!”

14) Indian flatbread 15) Courageous 16) “Drop everything!” for short 18) Venetian VIP 19) Christmas seasons 20) Collection of information 22) Catalog 23) Under the weather 24) Cheek makeup 26) Discordant, musically 29) Reel’s partner 30) Opinion piece 34) A place to sleep 35) More than big 36) Cape Canaveral cancellation 37) Dresden’s river 38) Bag on the mound 39) “Cogito, ___ sum” 40) Super server, in tennis 41) Turkish honorific (Var.) 42) Mary of “The Maltese Falcon” 43) Young, 1960s Brits

44) Amigo 45) Place in Greece 46) Russian pancakes 48) Extinct flightless bird 49) Intensely passionate 52) Most energetic 57) Disrepute and then some 58) Hindu Mr. 59) Be a monarch 60) Dentist’s direction 61) Husk relative 62) Lobster coral 63) Looped crosses 64) Annexes 65) Have completely ----DOWN 1) “Good grief!”

2) Arizona city 3) Be a good usher 4) Ultimate object 5) Golden Traingle country 6) Reptile of the American West 7) Hurricane heading, sometimes 8) Chasm

9) Groom, in a way 10) Symbol of goodness 11) “Your turn” 12) Balance 17) Rembrandt’s tool 21) Dull 22) Poet W.H. 25) Sayings attributed to Jesus 26) Crosswise, on deck 27) Communications business, shortly 28) Globular 31) ___-cochere (carriage entrance) 32) Encourage 33) Opportunities, so to speak 35) Hulk of wrestling fame 38) Like white water?

42) Hovering over 45) Small glass vials (Var.) 47) Cocktail garnishes 49) Word in the title of a 1970 war film 50) Balder’s dad 51) Skater’s millieu 53) Bibliographical abbr.

54) 100 cents, in some places 55) Not 38-Down at all 56) Adolescent 58) Sheepish reply

daily sudoku

from page 3 an unmarried head of family, is the dwelling house where they and their family resides, and the land on which it is situated.”

Fortuno said that to concretize the mandate of the State to promote the Filipino family as the foundation of the nation, there is need to protect the family home, the place where charity and love begin and all the positive traits of the human being develop and blossom to be great builders of society.

“The stark reality prevailing in our midst has certainly forced some of our countrymen to give last priority or nothing more left to pay for the real property tax that ultimately leads, in worst cases, to foreclosure of their family home,” he pointed out.

Under this circumstance, Fortuno explained, the aforementioned Constitutional guarantee will be rendered meaningless because the very same State which recognizes the family home as the foundation of the nation will be the same State which will foreclose and auction off the family home in case of failure to pay the real property tax.

“The paramount objective of this important piece of legislation is to shield the foundation of the nation from possible wreckage due to economic deprivation by exempting the family home from

payment of real property tax,” the author insists.

Among others, proposed amendment to Article 153 of the Family code is to read as follows: “Art. 153. The family home is deemed constituted on a house and lot from the time it is occupied as a family residence. From the time of its constitution and so long as any of its beneficiaries actually resides therein, the family home continues to be such, and is exempt from PAYMENT REAL PROPERTY TAX OR ANY OTHER TAX ON REAL PROPERTY, execution, forced sale or attachment except as hereafter provided and to the extent of the value allowed by law.” (amendment in capital letters) Likewise, Article 157 as proposed shall read: “Art 157.

The actual value of the family home shall not exceed, at the time of its constitution, the amount of P3-million (from the current P300-thousand) pesos in urban areas, and P500-thousand (from the current P200-thousand) pesos in rural areas, or such amounts as may be fixed by law.”

Furthermore, Article 157 states: “In any event, if the value of the currency changes after the adoption of this Code, the value most favorable for the constitution of a family home shall be the basis of evaluation.”

“For purposes of this Article, urban areas are deemed to include chartered cities and municipalities whose annual income at least equals that legally required for chartered cities. All others are deemed to be rural areas,” the bill provides.

The measure has been referred to the House Committee on Revision of Laws chaired by Rep. Marlyn L. Primicias-Agabas (6th District, Pangasinan).

Batas...

from page 4 prediction for Friday, May 01, 2015, Labor Day. It said temperature will be at 39.9 degrees centigrade, which means it is going to be terribly hot. But I will not tell people to be careful. I will tell them that, while there is time, they must read the Bible’s antidote against “scorching heat”, found in its Deuteronomy 28:2223. Read the Bible and act!

-ooo PACQUIAO-MAYWEATHER FIGHT STAGE-MANAGED? Why am I having the feeling that the results of the Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather May 3, 2015 fight, even now billed as the Fight of the Century, would be “staged-managed” so that there would be more fights between the two fighters in the days to come?

There are millions and millions

of reasons for stage-managing the fight, yes?

-ooo REACTIONS? Please call me at +63 917 984 24 68, +63 918 574 0193, +63 922 833 43 96, or Skype (batasmauricio), Viber (+63 918 574 0193) and Line (+63 917 984 24 68).

Email: batasmauricio@yahoo. com, melaniolazomauriciojr@ outlook.com, mmauriciojr111@ gmail.com.

-30

Cimagala... from page 4

the simple reason that if they are not for God and for others, then they would be against them and would just be instruments of our self-indulgence, something that will spoil us sooner or later.

We can apply in this regard the words of Christ: “He who is not with me is against me and he who does not gather with me, scatters.” (Mt 12,30) These words may strike us at first as quite demanding, but let’s always remember that Christ also has given us everything so we can actually follow his will. All we have to do is to avail of what Christ has given us.

In short, if our feelings and affections are not with him, and because of him with everybody else, then they will be against him and others. They will just be for ourselves, lived and developed at the instance of our own whims and caprices.

Besides, when our feelings and affections are truly grounded on love for God and for others, then we would have more unity and consistency in our life, and avoid the usual tendency of ours to profess one thing and yet do another. We would avoid, in short, hypocrisy, double-life or at least some inconsistency in our life where our actions often belie what we say.

That’s why for us to be more aware of God’s continuing presence in us and to be stably driven by the love that is proper to us, we have to see to it that our relation with him should also be felt, and in fact, felt quite strongly. It’s not enough that our feelings for him are shallow, tenuous and easily overtaken by many mundane things in life.

We need to spend some time training our feelings and affections to conform to our professed belief and love for God and for others.

For this, we have to ask first for the grace of God, then go through the process of meditating the word of God, savoring the tremendous love Christ is showing us through those words.

We have to allow ourselves to burn with love. It should also be a love that knows how to be practical and adaptable to the different circumstances of our life.

Let’s give it a thought and start moving! roycimagala@gmail.com.

April 29, 2015 solutions: Crossword

Sudoku

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Megaworld ... from page 1

“Right now, we are selling One Lakeshore Drive. It’s actually a fourtower cluster. So, we are already on Tower 2. We are already awarding the contracts (for construction of the whole four-tower project),” said Paltongan.

Tower 1 has been completely sold in two months’ time while Tower 2 is 40 percent sold out, generating about a billion in sales, according to Deanna Jean Claveria, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Suntrust Properties, Inc. “We are very confident that we can sell all the four towers within the year based on the velocity of the first tower, which took us only two months to sell, and then the 2nd tower, which is now at 40 percent,” Claveria said.

“We have lots of projects and Davao seems to be selling as fast as the ones we are selling in Metro Manila,” Paltongan said.

“Perhaps, because this is a new project, and we are happy how we are welcomed in Davao, considering this is a township project -- not just an ordinary one tower or two tower-project. We are launching an eleven-hectare township project that has so many amenities (equivalent to) ‘Live-Work-Learn-Relax atmosphere,” he said.

Davao, Paltongan said, is far from being saturated, especially now that condos are opening doors to foreigners, much more overseas foreign workers (OFWs).

“It is a chance for foreigners to acquire up to 40 percent of each of these condominium units, unlike owning a house and lot property by which they cannot transfer the titles in their (foreigners’) names,” Paltongan said.

Paltongan considers as another factor the strong OFW presence, because OFWs are used to staying in condos abroad.

“Migration, OFW-based, locals and neighbors of Davao region form a mixture of locators, with good medical and educational facilities, plus Davao City’s popularity for business process outsourcing,” according to Atty. Paltongan.

“Younger people would generally want to be living in cosmopolitan condos, and Megaworld will not have difficulty establishing one in Davao and finding locators since it is the number one landlord for BPOs in Metro Manila,” said Paltongan.

‘Environment is another One Lakeshore Drive, because we are going to enhance the environment -- the reason it is conceptualized as Live-Work-Learn-Relax -- an ecotourism project, indeed,” Paltongan added.

Megaworld’s residential component of the township development has been partnered with Suntrust Properties Inc., particularly for the establishment of four-tower residential condominium “One Lakeshore Drive.”

Each 21-storey tower will have 350 condominium units, ranging from a 27-sq.m. studio to 76-sq.m. two-bedroom units. The residential condominium project is beside the one-hectare man-made lake at Davao Park District.

The opening of the showroom gives clients a glimpse of the condo units and to reciprocate the overwhelming reception of Davaoeños.

“Our experience is far beyond what we have expected,” Paltongan added.

The sold units on the first residential tower will be turned over to the buyers in the last quarter of 2019.

The township will also have a lifestyle mall, commercial and retail strips and a school.

Davao Park District is Megaworld’s 10th township in the Philippines.

Megaworld’s other townships include the 50-hectare McKinley Hill, the 5-hectare Forbes Town Center, the 34.5-hectare McKinley West, and the 15.4-hectare Uptown Bonifacio, all in Fort Bonifacio; the 25-hectare Newport City in Pasay City which

is home to the famous Resorts World Manila; the 12.3-hectare Woodside City along C-5, Pasig City; the 28.8-hectare The Mactan Newtown in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu; the 72-hectare Iloilo Business Park in Mandurriao, Iloilo City.

Fair...

from page 1 (300 vacant positions); Candidate Soldier Course (150); Security Guards (100); Product Support Representatives (100); Officer Candidate Course (80); Officer Preparatory Course (80); Revenue Officers I (56); Business Transcribers (50); Proofreaders (50); Administrative Assistants III (27); Retail Sales Team/ Business Developers (25).

Overseas employment top vacancies include Service Crew (500 vacant positions); Delivery Drivers (500); Security Guards (265); Janitors (250); Food Servers (200); Carpenters (200); and Nurses (100).

Most of the overseas job posts are in the Middle East countries.

DOLE will be joined by members of the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) comprising the DOLE attached agencies--Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO), National Conciliation Mediation Board (NCMB), National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RWTPB), Employees Compensation Commission (ECC), Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHC), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), and POEA. The RCC will provide Help Desks in SM for 1) renewal of professional licenses; 2) receipts of Single Entry Approach (SEnA) Request for Assistance on labor or employment concerns; 3) queries on wages and productivity trainings; 4) queries on OWWA programs; and 5) queries on occupational safety and health trainings.

TESDA - region 10 will facilitate Skills Demo during the event.

Together with DOLE Provincial Field Offices, the different provincial, city, and municipal local government units, through their respective Public Employment Service Offices (PESOs), various Tripartite Industrial Peace Councils (TIPCs), and other alliedpartner agencies will simultaneously celebrate the event in the respective provinces of the region.

Participating jobseekers may avail various pre-employment services such as issuance of birth certificates, clearances, and PhilHealth Cards from the DOLE’s partner agencies-Social Security System (SSS), PhilHealth, and Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

Director Agravante, in an interview with local media, urged jobseekers to be fully prepared when they participate in the job fair.

“I invite our jobseekers to participate in the Job Fair and ready themselves with their proper business attire, bring multiple copies of resumes, school credentials, certificates of employment, clearances, photos, passport (for overseas applicants), and other pertinent pre-employment documents needed by employers,” Agravante added.

To avoid wasting time in filling-up our Skills Registration System Forms, DOLE-X WMO PFO OIC head, Leila P. Labor said that jobseekers may already pre-register at the Ground Floor (beside the Escalator, near Exquisite) of SM City, which started last Monday, 20 April 2015 until the 28th of April. (Mildred E. Dablio/ DOLE10)

Holders... from page 1

institutions such as banks, cooperatives or microfinance institutions and can be a mobile money account as well. Such account can be used to save money and send or receive payments and remittance.

Worth noting from the 2014 Findex is that there is growth in account penetration across income class, gender, age and educational attainment.

The percentage of the poorest 40 percent of Filipino adults who own a formal account increased by 7.1 percentage points to 17.8 percent in 2014 from 10.7 percent in 2011.

Account ownership in the richest 60 percent rose only by 3.4 percentage points to 40.6 percent in 2014. The increase in account ownership is slightly higher for men, although the percentage with account is still higher for women (37.9%) than men (24.4%).

In terms of age, account penetration is higher for older adults (those aged 25 years old and above) at 35.9 percent compared to 19 percent among younger adults.

While account ownership is higher for adults with at least secondary education (36.8%) than those with at most primary education (18.1%), it is interesting to note that growth is higher for less educated adults.

These gains are a result of continuing efforts in bringing the financial system closer to the people, especially to the disadvantaged segments.

The Global Findex is considered as the world’s most comprehensive database on financial inclusion.

Financial inclusion is a state wherein there is effective access to a wide range of financial services for all Filipinos.

The Findex indicators are drawn from survey data and based on interviews with more than 150,000 nationally representative and randomly selected adults in 143 countries representing more than 97 percent of the world’s adult population.

The results of the 2014 Global Findex will be enriched by the BSP’s first ever nationwide survey on financial inclusion which will be released soon.

The survey has a more in depth look at the state of financial inclusion in the country to complement the high level cross country indicators of Global Findex. (BSP/APB/PIA-10)

Services... from page 8

Ownership Award (CLOA) will also be conducted during the two-day activity.

Other highlights of the People’s Day include display of agricultural products; demo on fish gear making; essay writing contest; market linkaging and business matching; orientation on K+12, Abot Alam and scholarship programs; and the conduct of a peace summit. (PIA-10)

DILG... from page 8

the time a typhoon poses a looming threat in the horizon, to the time it arrives in the locality.

DILG with agencies from NDRRMC formulated a new scheme presented in the first manual called critical preparedness actions consist with ‘Alpha’, ‘Bravo’ and ‘Charlie’.

Every critical preparedness action consists of detailed list of actions for LGUs consumption before, during and after the storm. The classification of the three actions depends on the level of risks and the distance of the concerned area from the breadth of storm in which ‘Charlie’ corresponds to High Risk and ‘Alpha’ at Low Risk.

Meanwhile, Governor Malanyaon urged municipal mayors to take the lead in institutionalizing their respective Local Disaster Risk Reduction Council into office, thus creating regular positions for the office’s operationalization and providing funds thereof.

True to her advocacy over convergence, Governor Malanyaon recalled the union of rescue operation teams during typhoon Pablo with the Philippine Army, Red Cross, National and International Agencies, and non-government organizations.

According to her, the exceptional peoples’ unity in responding, dealing with and rehabilitating from Typhoon Pablo through great resiliency and

synergized efforts of Davao Oriental community, and as to the whole humanity, is a great leap towards advocacy of leaving no one behind.

(PIA )

Greening... from page 9

The agreement was signed at the DENR 12 Regional Office in Koronadal City on March 24, according to a report from DENR 12. Primary signatories to the pact were Director Saikol and Sajahatra Bangsamoro Project Management Team Leader Dr. Taugan Kikay.

The project will be completed in December 2017.

Meanwhile, Dr. Kikay pointed out that they have waited so long for such greening program to be implemented in Bangsamoro communities.

“NGP has made great contributions for our environment but we are still seeing idle mountains,” Kikay said.

“Our objective is to implement the program of President Noynoy Aquino while pursuing the improvement of the lives of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) communities and this complements the livelihood component of the Sajahatra Bangsamoro,” he elaborated.

Sajahatra Bangsamoro is President Benigno S. Aquino’s concrete socio-economic initiative aimed to uplift the health, education and livelihood condition of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) communities.

Meanwhile, Assistant Regional Director for Technical Services Hadja Didaw Piang-Brahim expressed optimism in the realization of the partnership.

“The success lies in your hands.

The DENR will provide financial and technical assistance. You will be the one who will implement the project and we will monitor your accomplishment,” Director Brahim told the Sajahatra Bangsamoro

Program officials and personnel at the MOA signing rites.

Hadzer M. Birowa, director of the SBP-Socio Economic Component also said: “We are so glad that the DENR gives us attention. It was February 11, 2013 that the Sajahatra had signified commitment to the Bangsamoro to include the greening program and the NGP was introduced and explained to the MILF leaders.

“There is a transformation of appreciation. The MILF appreciates the government programs. It is not just pushing the program of DENR but also bridging the gap. The government is pursuing economic development in the Bangsamoro community and the peace process is not separated from this effort,” he added.

He also appealed to the people’s organizations to do their best to meet the targets, saying: “To the

11

POs, you are bringing the name of the MILF, since you are attached to the MILF. It is not good that you are just receiving funds from the government. You are trained on how to implement the program.

“We are bringing the responsibility of the MILF, whatever we receive, we will implement it. There must be corresponding commitment that is why a program is a partnership.”

The Sajahatra Bangsamoro Program which is under the aegis of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) will end on June 30, 2015.

If the MILF Project Management Team will cease operation, the project will still continue until December 31, 2017 but will be supervised by socio-economic unit of the OPAPP. (RHSumagpao/ MCLocsin-DENR XII/DEDoguiles-PIA 12)

RA Form No. 10.1 (LCRO) Republic of the Philippines LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRY OFFICE Province of Bukidnon Municipality of Baungon

NOTICE FOR PUBLICATION

In compliance with Section 5 of R.A. No. 9048, a notice is hereby served to the public that ANNIE S. CABUG has filed with this Office a petition for change of first name from “ ANITA “ to “ ANNIE “ in her Birth Certificate, ANNIE TABOCLAON SALVAN, who was born on June 1, 1959 at Baungon, Bukidnon and whose parents are Romeo E. Salvan and Emilia M. Taboclaon.

Any person adversely affected by said petition may file his written opposition with this Office not later than 15 May 2015.

BWM: April 30 & May 7, 2015

(Sgd) EVANGELINE C. LIBAYNON Municipal Civil Registrar

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