BusinessWeek Mindanao (December 13, 2019)

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Briefly PAL’s new routes PHILIPPINE Airlines (PAL) subsidiary Air Philippines Corp., also known as PAL Express, has agreed to serve the DavaoManado and Zamboanga-Kota Kinabalu routes starting March 31 next year, Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol, chair of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), said over the weekend.

“We are looking forward to these new linkages,” said Mr. Piñol, noting that these flights will boost trade and partnerships between Mindanao and the rest of the Brunei-IndonesiaMalaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMPEAGA).

Mr. Piñol said they have been working to enhance economic ties in the sub-region, especially with Indonesia and Malaysia.

Transport project THE DAVAO City government is considering how to raise the P2.8 billion in counterpart funds for the P18.66-billion Davao Public Transport Modernization Project, which was among the six projects approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board on Nov. 29.

Ivan C. Cortez, City Planning and Development Office coordinator who was part of the team that defended the project before the board, said the city will be considering funding it internally or taking a loan for the project, also known as the high priority bus system (HPBS).

Local governments are typically required to pay for a share of major projects to ensure they have a stake in its success.

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ESPITE various tariff roadblocks, the country’s banana exports totaled 3.593 million metric tons (MT) in the first 10 months of 2019, up nearly 41% from a year earlier, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

According to preliminary PSA data, banana exports rose 40.79% year-on-year.

In October, exports totaled 408,060 MT. The 10-month total was EXPORTS/PAGE 19

Workers pack freshly harvested bananas in Mindanao.

CLI to spend P10B for 3 projects in Davao

By CARMELITO Q. FRANCISCO, Correspondent

DAVAO C i t y — C e b u Landmasters, Inc. (CLI) is investing about P10 billion for its three projects in the city next year, its top official said yesterday.

At t he inaugurat ion of the showroom of the Paragon Davao, Jose Franco QUEEN. A queen is all smile as she accompanies here contingent who participated in the street dancing competition that serves as one of the highlights of the 3rd Kaadlawan Festival of Villanueva town, Misamis Oriental.

There are at least 11 barangays that participated in the competition. photo by gerry lee gorit

B. Soberano, CLI executive vice-president and chief operations officer, said the money will be used for the developments of the Paragon Davao, the Davao Global Township (DGT) and the Lyceum of the Philippines PROJECTS/PAGE 19

MODERN PUJs. Passengers sit comfortably in one of the public utility units during the launching of modernized PUJs of Oro Transport Cooperative (OROTSCO) in Cagayan de Oro on Tuesday.

OROTSCO has 15 new units that will ply the Bugo-Opol route starting December 15, 2019. photo by gerry lee gorit

Modern PUVs offer comfort to Cagayan de Oro passengers

By JIGGER JERUSALEM, PNA

PEOPLE who got to ride a modern public utility vehicle (PUV) here have nothing but praises for the new mass transit system, which will soon cater to the city and neighboring town’s commuters.

For Anita Labis, 66, who has been riding the jeepney

all her life, taking a seat in an air-conditioned coaster was a surprise.

“This is nice. The seats are comfortable. It’s spacious,” Labis said on Wednesday, as the new PUV slowly made its way to Barangay Bugo.

Bugo is on the other PUVS/PAGE 19

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Local

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FRIDAY|DECEMBER 13, 2019

Surigao del Sur fisherfolk launch ice plant, cold storage business

B

UTUAN City – On top of their main livelihood, the 27 members of the Alingit Fisherfolk MultiPurpose Association, Inc. (AFMPAI) in the Surigao del Sur town of Lianga have ventured into managing their ice plant and cold storage business.

Situated in Purok 1, Barangay Poblacion in Lianga, the Lianga Ice Plant and Cold Storage Facility is a PHP4.4 million project granted to AFMPAI by the

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 13 (Caraga) through its Kabit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KalahiCIDSS) program.

AFMPAI president Andres Pelenio said the project is a big help to the organization as it will provide its members with additional income.

“Though we are having some difficulty in managing this project because we are new on

this, we are hopeful that in the coming days we can get used to the daily routine of managing this project,” Pelenio told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Wednesday.

Pelenio said DSWD13 has also provided them with training and lectures on management, including the handling of the project’s finances.

The ice plant and cold storage project was formally turned over to the organizations on December 8 by DSWD Undersecretary

for Special Concerns Camilo G. Gudmalin and DSWD-13 Director Mita Chuchi Gupana-Lim. In a statement on Wednesday, DSWD-13 said the project would benefit 849 families or 4,226 individuals in the area.

The ice plant and cold storage facility, the agency added, would cater to fisherfolk,

public market vendors, local businessmen, and residents of Lianga, including its neighboring municipalities.

The AFMPAI was formally registered with the Department of Labor and Employment on May 7, 2014.

Pelenio said their market for ice has already reached the nearby towns of Barobo

and San Agustine in Surigao del Sur. He also expressed optimism that they could open their market in the provinces of Agusan del Sur, Agusan del Norte, and Surigao del Norte.

Pelenio cited DSWD13 for the project with the assurance that the organization would take care and manage the project properly. (PNA)

MATI City -- The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) and the provincial government here agreed on Tuesday (December 10), to start the Agarwood Protection and Propagation Program to

save the province's fabled "million-dollar" tree.

In his Facebook post on Wednesday, Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said that Governor Nelson Dayanghirang has informed him that

Agarwood Tree, locally known as "Lapnisan," grows wild in the province but is now threatened by poaching because of the highly-valued resin produced from the tree.

"Governor Dayanghirang brought up Agarwood during my meeting yesterday (Tuesday) with the members of the Indigenous People's communities, mostly Kalagan, where the MinDA presented the Green Mindanao Project which proposes tree farming in critical watershed areas," he said.

He added that the governor asked about the propagation of Agarwood since it is growing wild in the mountains of the PROTECT/PAGE 19

MinDA, DavOr join hands to protect 'million-dollar tree'

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3 SteelAsia sees capacity Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings at 2.5-M tons by 2021 buys stake in Mindanao hospital M Advertising and Editorial E-mail : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com Contact nos. : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776

FRIDAY|DECEMBER 13, 2019

STEELASIA Manufacturing Corporation expects capacity to hit 2.5 million tons in 2021 as it expands operations.

SteelAsia VicePresident and Head of Business Development Raphael C. Hidalgo told reporters at a media event that the company produced almost 2 million tons this year. Its new operations in Compostela, Cebu will expand its production capacity after it goes into operation in late 2020.

“So 2021 will be the real one where you see the number go up. In terms of capacity, we’re going to add another one million tons.

But this isn’t one million tons for the present — it’s one million tons for the future. So maybe it will give us an additional half million tons.”

The steel industry in the Philippines is currently dominated by rebar production. SteelAsia plans to expand to other steelmaking, rolling, and fabrication and cold processes. This would address demand through STEELASIA/PAGE 19

CorporateWorld

ETRO PACIFIC Hospital Holdings, Inc. (MPHHI) is taking a majority stake in the operator of a 100-bed hospital in Butuan, Mindanao.

Its listed parent Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) told the stock exchange on Wednesday that MPHHI has completed a share purchase agreement with three families owning 576,257 shares in Santos Clinic Inc. (SCI).

The shares represent 67% of SCI, which owns and operates Manuel J. Santos Hospital (MJSH) in Mindanao.

MPHHI bought the shares from the Santos, Vesagas and

Villareal families, which are heirs of the hospital founder Manuel J. Santos. The company offered to buy their shares at P563.77 each.

“We, the scions of Dr. Manuel J. Santos, are very pleased and excited to partner with MPHHI, the largest private hospital network in the country, and we welcome the MVP Group to Butuan City,” family representative Terence “Ompet” S. Vesagas was quoted in the statement as saying.

“We chose a partner that we know preserves and enhances the legacy of the hospitals in its portfolio… We look forward to increasing our footprint in

Northeastern Mindanao and further continuing the mission of my late grandfather,” Mr. Vesagas added.

With the new Mindanao-based hospital, MPHHI has increased the number of hospitals in its portfolio to 15, joining the likes of Manila Doctors Hospital, Asian Hospital and Medical Center, Makati Medical Center, Cardinal Santos Medical Center and Davao Doctors Hospital.

“We thank the Santos, Vesagas, and Villareal families for allowing us to invest in their esteemed hospital, and for their continued active participation in both the Board and management of SCI,”

MPHHI President and Chief Executive Officer Augusto P. Palisoc, Jr. was quoted in the statement as saying.

Earlier this week, MPHHI also announced completing the P35.3billion investment of United States-based Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Singapore fund GIC Private Ltd. in the company.

Part of MPHHI’s expansion plans is growing its hospital portfolio, subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures.

MPIC is one of three Philippine subsidiaries of Hong Kong’s First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being PLDT, Inc. and Philex Mining Corp.

More British companies keen on business opportunities in PH

MORE British companies are keen on doing business in the Philippines, encouraged by the country’s growing economy and availability of an educated workforce.

British Chamber of Commerce Philippines (BCCP) Executive Chairman Chris Nelson said that in the last

five years, over 2,300 British companies expressed interest in retail particularly food, infrastructure, and education and training.

“I anticipate new companies will be coming.

And also what we are trying (to do) as well is to grow the business of existing companies,”

he said in an interview Tuesday.

The BCCP is continuously promoting other business opportunities, including healthcare and business consultancy; and other growth areas such as manufacturing, energy, and environment through various events.

“UK (United Kingdom) companies are looking more at Southeast Asia.

What we are trying to do is to make sure they look at the Philippines as their primary destination,” Nelson said.

He said British firms consider the Philippines a “very attractive” market for investors given its robust

economy and Englishspeaking population.

Nelson also cited the country’s ease of doing business law while pushing for the passage of the bill amending the Retail Trade Liberalization Act. A bill has been filed in the Senate proposing to bring down the minimum BUSINESS/PAGE 19

4

Opinion

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NELSON CONSTANTINO

WITH the external threats reportedly gone with the wind, Martial Law in Mindanao is no longer relevant and therefore the lifting is well justified.

Martial Law has to end but not without its downside.

First to suffer was the image of Mindanao, portrayed in the international community as a terrorist haven.

Foreign investments halted and the ‘Build, Build, Build’ economic mantra for Mindanao grounded.

To u r i s t s a r r i v e d i n trickles thanks but no thanks to travel ban effected by countries vocal to the human right issues of the DU30 administration.

Travel bans had made t ou r i s t s a n d i nv e s t or s apprehensive about coming to Mindanao.

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Chance or choice Think a minute…There was a man who was the owner of the only hair salon in his little town. He cut and styled the hair of almost everybody in town and his business was quite successful. Then, a big modern hair salon moved to his town right across the street from his little shop. This new, big salon advertised in the newspapers and posted signs all over town that read: “$6 haircuts!

Everything for only $6!”

S o on a l m o s t a l l h i s customers began going to the new salon across the street for $6 haircuts. The owner of the old hair salon knew he could never afford to beat the big new salon’s price of only $6. But then he thought of a way to turn things around and win his customers and business back. He had a local sign company paint him a big sign which he put in front of his hair salon. It read: “We FIX $6 haircuts!”

We all have problems an d go t h rou g h t ou g h times. It’s the people who respond and handle those problems positively who end up succeeding in life. It’s

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THINK A MINUTE

A nd t a l k i ng ab out investments, there never w a s e n ou g h e c on om i c development in Mindanao basically aimed at improving infrastructure, enhance connectivity and ensure balanced economic activity alongside with other growth centers in the country.

Captains of industries has unlocked their power to fuel Mindanao as the next mecca of industrial development but their effort has minimal ripple effect to crow about.

With martial law out, Big Business is again ‘dreaming big’ of making Mindanao globally competitive through the improvement of connectivity and access to local and global markets.

It plans to invest in manufacturing, agriculture, electronics, tech voc and other

business related programs that will propel Mindanao’s march to sustainable socioeconomic development.

Further, their dream continues in making Mindanao globallycompetitive through the placements of advanced technologies and trends by luring drivers of industries to locate permanently their investments in Mindanao.

The challenge is now up for all Mindanaoans, not just for the business community -- to pursue socio-economic development initiatives through the four development corridors: Northern Mindanao Development C o r r i d o r, S o u t h e r n Mindanao Development Corridor, Western Mindanao Development Corridor, and the Bangsamoro Development Corridor.

UNRUFFLED

RUFFY MAGBANUA These growth corridors are perceived as it were to provide greater access and connectivity that can reduce transportation costs, raise the level of income, provide job opportunities and improve t he comp et it iveness of farmers and producers alike.

M o r e o v e r, g l o b a l industries like the long overdue China Integrated DOWNSIDE/PAGE 19

Our limited time on Earth

JUN AYENSA

Motoring Editor

FRIDAY|DECEMBER 13, 2019

The downside of martial law

Editor-in-Chief

GILBERT Y. CHAO

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KLAUS DORING Most of us tend to think of time as linear, absolute and constantly “running out” – but is that really true?

And how can we change our perceptions to feel better about its passing?

Wh i l e b e c om i ng 6 6 already, I use think about my age. Yes, it's only a number.

I know. “Time” is the most frequently used noun in the English language. We all know what it feels like as time passes. Our present becomes the past as soon as it’s happened; today soon turns into yesterday. If you live in a temperate climate,

each year you see the seasons come and go. And as we reach adulthood and beyond, we become increasingly aware of the years flashing by.

While keep on thinking about age and its consequences, I came along with Claudia Hammond, author of Time Warped: Unlocking The Secrets Of Time Perception.

She wrote that although neuro-scientists have been unable to locate a single clock in brain that is responsible for detecting time passing, humans are surprisingly good at it. If someone tells us they’re arriving in five minutes, we have a rough idea of when to start to look out for them. We have a sense of the weeks and months passing by.

As a result, most of us would say that how time functions is fairly obvious: it passes, at a consistent and measurable rate, in a specific direction – from past to future.

Of course, the human perspective of time may not be exclusively biological, but

rather shaped by our culture and era. The Amondawa tribe in the Amazon, for example, has no word for “time” – which some say means they don’t have a notion of time as a framework in which events occur. (There are debates over whether this is purely a linguistic argument, or whether they really do perceive time differently.)

Meanwhile, it’s hard to know with scientific precision how people conceived of time in the past, as experiments in time perception have only been conducted for the last 150 years.

Physics tells a different story. However much time feels like something that flows in one direction, some scientists beg to differ.

In the last century, my very favored Albert Einstein’s discoveries exploded our concepts of time. He showed us that time is created by things; it wasn’t there waiting for those things to act within it. He demonstrated that time is relative, moving more

slowly if an object is moving fast. Events don’t happen in a set order. There isn’t a single universal “now”, in the sense that Newtonian physics would have it.

It is true that many events in the Universe can be put into sequential order – but time is not always segmented neatly into the past, the present and the future.

Some physical equations work in either direction.

Here, I strongly agree with Claudia Hammond.

O ne asp e c t of t i me perception many of us share is how we think of our own past: as a kind of giant video library, an archive we can dip into to retrieve records of events in our lives.

But psychologists have demonstrated that autobiographical memory is not like that at all. Most of us forget far more than we remember, sometimes forgetting events happened at all, despite others’ insistence that we were there. On EARTH/PAGE 19

Mary's Immaculate Conception and us JHAN TIAFAU HURST not luck that controls your life! It’s your own choices that make you happy and successful. You see, “Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out.” No matter what happens these people keep going, because sooner or later “Tough people win over tough times.”

Remember, the same heat that melts butter also hardens clay. The difference is in their response. How about you? How do you respond? How do you handle the heat of problems and tough times in your life?

No matter which way the ball bounces, it’s still your game. So today, if you’ll CHANCE/PAGE 11

Of course, this is the biggest privilege given to a human person. Mary, of all people, was exempted from original sin from her conception in the womb of her mother, St. Anne, and remained immaculate, unstained by any sin all throughout her earthly life.

The basis for this dogma is, first of all, the general acceptance of this belief in the early Christians. Of course, the Church authorities had to come up with the theological basis for this dogma and succeeded in doing so.

In the gospel, Mary was addressed by Archangel Gabriel during the An nu nci at ion t hat she was “full of grace.” That assertion from a most reliable messenger of God can already tell us that Mary was not lacking in grace even from the moment of her conception.

We have to remember that

original sin is not a sin that a person commits. It is rather a state of being conceived and born without God’s grace as we were meant to be in the original design of God before the sin of our first parents. With this dogma of the Immaculate Conception, we affirm our belief that Mary was conceived and born already in the state of grace.

Besides, as the one chosen from all eternity to be the mother of the Son of God who had to become man, it is but fair to presume that she must be filled with grace from the beginning without any stain of sin. Also it can be presumed that the inclination to sin that is associated with anyone who lacks grace was not with her all throughout her life.

The question to ask now is whether in the whole lifetime of Mary, she was exempted

from the usual condition of man where temptations, sin and all sorts of evil abound, and if she could manage to remain immaculate all throughout her life.

I believe the answer to this question is, No to the first, and Yes to the second conjecture. Like Christ, with whom she was so identified that no one else could attain a better identification, she had to grapple with all the temptations, sins and evil in the world.

We can even say that next to Christ, she it was who was exposed and tried by all the dirt in a world that is alienated from God. And still she remained immaculate, sinless!

How could she manage?

Again, I believe that it was her perfect identification with Christ that enabled her to remain immaculate all throughout her life. She

HINTS AND TRACES

ROY CIMAGALA reflected in a perfect way the love that Christ showed to all of us and commanded us to emulate.

It was this love that both exposed her to all the evils in this world and protected her from all of them. It is the love that we have to learn to develop ourselves, with God’s grace and our effort.

We may not be immaculate like Our Lady, but we can always try to follow her, CONCEPTION/PAGE 19

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FRIDAY|DECEMBER 13, 2019

ADB maintains PH’s 2019, 2020 growth forecast

T

HE Asian Development Bank (ADB) has maintained its economic outlook for the Philippines this year and next year even after the economy picked up steam in the third quarter.

In its Asian Development Outlook Supplement released Wednesday, the Manila-based bank said growth forecasts remained at 6 percent for 2019 and 6.2 percent for 2020.

“GDP (gross domestic product) growth is seen accelerating in fourth quarter of 2019 and throughout 2020, supported by investment as more infrastructure projects come onstream. Accommodative

fiscal and monetary policies will support domestic demand,” it said.

The domestic economy, as measured by GDP, grew to 6.2 percent in July to September, bringing average growth in the first three quarters to 5.8 percent.

The pickup was supported by a rebound in government expenditure, particularly on infrastructure; and sustained robust private consumption.

The Philippine economy expanded at a slower pace of 5.5 percent in the second quarter due to the continuing effect of about four-month delay in the passage of the 2019 budget, coupled with the ban on public works and

other spending leading up to the May elections. President Rodrigo Duterte signed the 2019 budget only in April.

The ADB maintained its growth projection for the Philippines while it revised down slightly growth forecast for Southeast Asia this year and 2020 given economic weakening in Singapore and Thailand.

Meanwhile, the Bank also kept its inflation forecasts for the Philippines at 2.6 percent this year and 3 percent for 2020.

The average inflation in the first 11 months of the year stood at 2.5 percent, still within the government’s 2 to 4-percent target band. (PNA)

Dominguez eyes positive outcome for proposed '20 national budget FINANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III is optimistic of a fresh start in 2020 vis-à-vis the outcomes of budget deliberations.

“Clearly, much improvement over last year so we’re quite pleased that we will start the year with honest to goodness 2020 budget rather than what happened this year,” Dominguez said in a

briefing after the 177th Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) meeting at the Department of Finance (DOF) Wednesday.

Both the House of Representatives and the Senate approved and ratified the proposed P4.1-trillion national budget for next year.

This is a change from what happened to this year’s national budget,

which was approved only last February and signed into law last April 15.

The delayed approval of the budget hampered the government’s ability to spend according to program and negatively affected the infrastructure program.

This was aggravated by the construction ban during the election period thus, economic growth averaged at 5.8

percent in the first three quarters, below the government’s trimmed range of 6 to 6.5 percent for the year.

Economic managers remain optimistic of within-target growth this year as the government continues to implement its catch-up spending program to address the weaker growth in the first half of the year.

(PNA)

Economic team lowers 2019 growth goal to 6-6.5% ECONOMIC managers on Wednesday trimmed the range of growth target to 6 to 6.5 percent this year, and 6.5 to 7.5 percent for 2021-2022 partly due to fiscal prudence.

In a briefing after the 177th Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) meeting at the Department of Finance (DOF) office in Manila Wednesday, National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon attributed the “tighter” growth target band for this year to the belowtarget output in the first half of the year.

“For the year, we’re actually proposing a tighter band because we already have the first to third quarter numbers.

But we still think the range of 6 to 6.5 percent because if we say it’s 6-7 (percent) then, it’s no longer credible given that we already have the first three quarters,” she

5

Banking&Finance

said.

Edillon said economic managers “want to stick (to) prudent fiscal management” and at the various tax reform programs and revenue projections, among others.

“We want to maintain a fiscal deficit to GDP (gross domestic product) ratio of 3.2 percent and also we want to make sure that does not balloon. This growth is consistent with the fiscal prudence,” she added.

Growth, as measured

by GDP, averaged at 5.8 percent as of September this year, below the 6.5 to 7.5 percent set in the DBCC meeting last July.

The 2021-2022 target band was 7 to 8 percent.

GDP posted a slower growth in the first two quarters, with the first quarter figure decelerating to 5.6 percent from quarterago’s 6.3 percent, and the second quarter to 5.5 percent.

Authorities attributed the weaker output to the impact of the delay in the approval of this year’s national budget, which prevented the government to spend on its infrastructure program, among others.

With this, economic managers implemented a catch-up spending program, which resulted in growth recovery in the third quarter to 6.2 percent.

Economic managers also maintained growth forecast at 6.5 to 7.5 percent in 2020.

Aside from the GDP, the DBCC also revised the Dubai crude oil price assumption for this year from $60-75 per barrel to $63-64 per barrel, and the 20202022 assumption from $60-75 per barrel to $55-70 per barrel.

The Philippine peso to US dollar exchange rate was adjusted from P51 to P53 this year to P51-PHP52; while the 2020-2022 levels were

changed from P51-P55 to P51-P54.

Rate of the one-year Treasury bill (T-bill) was also cut from 5.5 to 6.5 percent during the DBCC meeting last March to 5.1 to 5.3 percent; the 2020-2022 rates from 5 to 6 percent to 3.5 to 4.5 percent.

Growth of exports of goods was adjusted from 2 percent previously to 1 percent this year, and from 6 percent to 4 percent for 2020.

Exports growth for 2021-2022 was kept at 6 percent.

Services exports growth was maintained at 9 percent for 2019 until 2022.

Import of goods growth for this year was slashed from 7 percent to 2 percent, but maintained at 8 percent for 2020-2021.

Services imports growth assumption was reduced from 3 percent to 2 percent for this year, but is still at 4 percent for 2020 and 5 percent for 2021. (PNA)

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BDO – COGON Sky hi Bldg JR Borja St. Cogon, Cdoc 8577963/ 725209/ 725203 BDO – OSMEÑA Osmeña corner Ramon Chavez St. Cdoc 724567/8563727 BDO – LAPASAN Lapasan Highway Cdoc 8563233 /8563234 / 725178 BDO – RN- PELAEZ George Town CyberMall Rn Pelaez Blvd Kauswagan Cdoc | 8562617/729052 BDO – CARMEN Maxsuniel cor.V Neri St. Carmen, .Cdoc 8584854 /8581133 BANK OF COMMERCE- VELEZ Akut- Velez St.Cdoc | 8564371 / 726880 BANK OF COMMERCE- LAPASAN

CM Recto Ave. Lapasan, Cdoc, 8563991/727731

BPI FAMILY SAVINGS BANK RER kauswagan,HW Cdoc 8573733 /722519 BPI FAMILY SAVINGS BANK Gaston Park Cdoc | 8801518 BPI – LAPASAN Cm Recto HW Lapasan Cdoc 724076/ 8524602 BPI- VELEZ Velez-JR Borja St.Cdoc 8564213/722406 BPI – CAPISTRANO Capistrano St. Cdoc 8574264/8574263 BPI- COGON Osmeña St. Cdoc 8571297/8571298 CHINA BANK –GAISANO 745887/745880 CHINA BANK- JR BORJA JR Borja St. Cdoc 8572212/8573274 CHINA BANK- LAPASAN CM Recto Lapasan HW Cdoc 8561325 /722240 CHINA BANK – CARMEN Max Suniel, Cor. Yakal St. Cdoc 8583903/723091 CHINA BANK – DIVISORIA RN Abejuela St. Divosoria Cdoc 8575759/722641 CITY SAVINGS BANK TS Fashion Ave.Justo Ramonal Corner St.Cdoc 2316060/ 2316059 CHINATRUST Suite U&5 G/LGateway Tower Lapasan Lkk Cdoc 8521846/8521844 D’ASIAN HILLS BANK HW. Lapasan Cdoc | 8564201/ 8564201 D’ASIAN HILLS BANK Vamenta Carmen Sts. Cdoc | 8585366 DBP – CORRALES Corrales Ave., St. Cdoc | 8572087/722649 DBP – CAPISTRANO JR Borja Capistrano St. Cdoc 8567776/722819

PBCOM Tiano-HayesSt. Cdoc | 726519/8571558 PLANTERS DEVELOPMENT BANK

Tiano Bros St. Cdoc | 727083 /727082 PHILTRUST BANK Ramonal OsmeñaSt. CDO 8807234/2316694/2316695 PNB- CORRALES Corrales Avenue Cdoc | 729500 / 729723

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PNB- CARMEN Elipe Bldg.Carmen, Cdoc | 8583158/ 8584203 PNB- LKK LKK Lapasan, Cdoc | 8564347/722872 PNB CDO– DIVISORIA Tiano Bros.Cruz Taal St., Cdoc 722861 /722816 PNB CDO– LAPASAN LKK Center Lapasan, Cdoc | 8564732 / 723992 PNB CDO– COGON LKK Center Lapasan, Cdoc 8571991/ 723992 PHILIPPINE POSTAL SAVINGS BANK, INC. bels_domingo@yahoo.com.ph Rizal Chavez Cdoc 8572194/725438 PS BANK Velez Corner A. Mabini St., Cdoc 8574183/725184 PHILIPPINE VETERANS BANK Tiano-Abejuela St. Cdoc 722644/8573386 QUEEN CITY DEVELOPMENT BANK, INC. Sacred Heart Mont. Cm RectoAve., Cdoc 8562390 RCBC- VELEZ Velez-Borja St. Cdoc | 8564982/8568888 RCBC- COGON Simplex Bldg. Osmeña St. Cdoc 8562888/725863/8521329 RCBC- LAPASAN Cm. Recto Lapasan HW. Cdoc 8561888/722449 RCBC- LKK Gateway, Tower 1 LkkCenter, Cdoc 8563707/722449 RCBC SAVINGS- CARMEN Walingwaling St.,Carmen St. Cdoc 8585793/ 8586248 RCBC SAVINGS- VELEZ Velez St. Cdoc | 729083/8562460 RCBC SAVINGS- AGORA 8807891/8807892 RURAL BANK OF CABADBARAN, Inc.

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EAST WEST BANK #5 Juan Sia Bldg. Apolinar Velez St.Cdoc 8578801/720081

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EAST WEST BANK Cogon De Oro Constraction Bldg. LKK Drive 8500339/8500331

STERLING BANK OF ASIA Tiano Velez St. CDO | 8528171/8528168

ENTERPRISE BANK INC. Centro Mariano Bldg Osmeña St. Cdoc 723869/ 3093395 FIRST CONSOLIDATED BANK CM Recto Ave., Cor.Agudo Road Cdoc 8565360/2316678 LBP – CAPISTRANO Capsitrano St. Cdoc | 8565515/727678 LBP – VELEZ LunaVelez St. | 723549/8563198 LBP – PUERTO Puerto Cdoc | 8558858 MAYBANK JR Borja Tiano Cor. Bldg. Cdoc 8574439/726060 METRO BANK- DIVISORIA Pabayo Abejuela St. Divisoria Park, Cdoc 724783/8576999 METRO BANK- VELEZ A. Velez St. Cdoc | 8561724/726054 METRO BANK- JR BORJA JR Borja St. Cdoc | 8572999/724415

UCPB BANK- LAPASAN Osmeña Corner Lkk Drive, Cdoc 85771842/ 725135 UCPB BANK- VELEZ Velez Corner C. Pacana St. CDO 8564474/8564527 UCPB BANK SAVINGS-CAPISTRANO

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UCPB BANK SAVINGS- OPOL Gf forever Books Bldg.Bulua National CDO 754519/8588063 UNION BANK Lapasan Cm.Recto Cdoc | 8566847/8563805 WEALTHBANK Velez Gomez St. Cdoc | 8568942/722174 1ST VALLEY BANK Vamenta Blvd. CornerLirio St. Carmen, Cdoc 8501871/ 8584146 OROBANKERS CLUB Inc. Pnb Carmen | 09151850242

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Environment NASA's treasure map DENR: Gov’t alone for water ice on Mars can’t solve garbage crisis

T

HE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) called for concerted efforts by all stakeholders and citizens in solving the country’s perennial garbage problem, saying the government could not do it alone.

“Solid waste management is not the government’s responsibility alone, it is everyone’s business,” said DENR Undersecretary for Solid Waste Management

FRIDAY|DECEMBER 13, 2019

and Local Government Units (LGU) Concerns Benny Antiporda.

Antiporda, who also chairs the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC), issued the statement after DENR Secretary Roy A. Cimatu declared that the country, particularly Metro Manila, “is in the middle of a garbage crisis.”

Cimatu’s declaration comes amid government efforts to revive the heavily polluted Manila

Bay, which is the repository of trash and untreated sewage from households and businesses in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Without concerted efforts, Antiporda said the situation threatens to get worse. “We shouldn’t wait for the time when there are more trash than fish in the ocean,” he said.

Antiporda said the LGUs play a crucial role in solid waste management, having been tasked to ensure proper waste

segregation and disposal under Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.

The law requires LGUs to come up with their respective 10-year Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP) and convert open dumpsites into sanitary landfills, Antiporda noted.

He said the NSWMC had fast-tracked the approval of SWMPs of hundreds of LGUs nationwide, while the DENR shut down some open dumpsites and filed criminal and administrative charges against local officials allowing the operation of these dumpsites that pose serious threat to the environment and public health.

The DENR official said that citizens could also help in solving the garbage problem by observing proper waste segregation and disposal, and not throwing rubbish anywhere.

“If we do not properly manage our waste, it can end up in drains and rivers, and eventually makes its way to the sea,” Antiporda pointed out.

Antiporda said that efforts to rehabilitate Manila Bay would be futile if there is no effective implementation of solid waste management in the localities surrounding the historic water body.

NASA has big plans for returning astronauts to the Moon in 2024, a stepping stone on the path to sending humans to Mars. But where should the first people on the Red Planet land?

A new paper published in Geophysical Research Letters will help by providing a map of water ice believed to be as little as an inch (2.5 centimeters) below the surface.

Water ice will be a key consideration for any potential landing site. With little room to spare aboard a spacecraft, any human missions to Mars will have to harvest what's already available for drinking water and making rocket fuel.

NASA calls this concept "in situ resource utilization," and it's an important factor in selecting human landing sites on Mars.

Satellites orbiting Mars are essential in helping scientists determine the best places for building the first Martian research station. The authors of the new paper make use of data from two of those spacecraft, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and Mars Odyssey orbiter, to locate water ice that could potentially be within reach of astronauts on the Red Planet.

"You wouldn't need a backhoe to dig up this ice.

You could use a shovel," said the paper's lead author, Sylvain Piqueux of NASA's Jet Propulsion

Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "We're continuing to collect data on buried ice on Mars, zeroing in on the best places for astronauts to land."

Buried Treasure on Mars Liquid water can't last in the thin air of Mars; with so little air pressure, it evaporates from a solid to a gas when exposed to the atmosphere.

Martian water ice is locked away underground throughout the planet's mid-latitudes. These regions near the poles have been studied by NASA's Phoenix lander, which scraped up ice, and MRO, which has taken many images from space of meteor impacts that have excavated this ice. To find ice that astronauts could easily dig up, the study's authors relied on two heatsensitive instruments: MRO's Mars Climate Sounder and the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) camera on Mars Odyssey.

Why use heat-sensitive instruments when looking for ice? Buried water ice changes the temperature of the Martian surface.

The study's authors crossreferenced temperatures suggestive of ice with other data, such as reservoirs of ice detected by radar or seen after meteor impacts. Data from Odyssey's Gamma Ray Spectrometer, which is tailor-made for mapping water ice deposits, were also useful.

MARS/PAGE 7

Greenland ice losses rising faster than expected Greenland is losing ice seven times faster than in the 1990s and is tracking the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's high-end climate warming scenario, which would see 40 million more people exposed to coastal flooding by 2100.

A team of 96 polar scientists from 50 international organisations have produced the most complete picture of Greenland ice loss to date. The Ice Sheet Mass Balance Inter-comparison Exercise (IMBIE) Team combined 26 separate surveys to compute changes in the mass of Greenland's ice sheet between 1992 and 2018.

Altogether, data from 11 different satellite missions were used, including measurements of the ice sheet's changing volume, flow and gravity.

The findings, published today in Nature today, show that Greenland has lost 3.8 trillion tonnes of ice since 1992 -- enough to push global sea levels up

by 10.6 millimetres. The rate of ice loss has risen from 33 billion tonnes per year in the 1990s to 254 billion tonnes per year in the last decade -- a sevenfold increase within three decades.

The assessment, led

by Professor Andrew Shepherd at the University of Leeds and Dr Erik Ivins at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, was supported by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

In 2013, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicted that global sea levels will rise by 60 centimetres by 2100, putting 360 million people at risk of annual coastal flooding. But this new study shows that Greenland's ice losses are rising faster than expected and are instead tracking the IPCC's highend climate warming scenario, which predicts 7 centimetres more.

Professor Shepherd said: "As a rule of thumb, for every centimetre rise in global sea level another six million people are exposed to coastal flooding around the planet."

"On current trends, Greenland ice melting will cause 100 million people to be flooded each year by the end of the century, so 400 million in total due to all sea level rise."

"These are not unlikely events or small impacts; they are happening and will be devastating for coastal communities."

The team also used regional climate models to show that half of the ice losses were due to surface melting as air temperatures have risen.

The other half has been due to increased glacier flow, triggered by rising ocean temperatures.

Ice losses peaked at 335 billion tonnes per year in 2011 -- ten times the rate of the 1990s -- during a period of intense surface melting. Although the

rate of ice loss dropped to an average 238 billion tonnes per year since then, this remains seven times higher and does not include all of 2019, which could set a new high due to widespread summer melting.

Dr Ivins said: "Satellite observations of polar ice are essential for monitoring and predicting how climate change could affect ice losses and sea level rise."

"While computer simulation allows us to make projections from climate change scenarios, the satellite measurements provide prima facie, rather irrefutable, evidence."

"Our project is a great example of the importance of international collaboration to tackle problems that are global in scale."

Guðfinna Aðalgeirsdóttir, Professor of Glaciology at the University of Iceland and lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's sixth

Melting icebergs by the coast of Greenland (stock image).

Credit: © kavring / Adobe Stock

assessment report, who was not involved in the study, said: "The IMBIE Team's reconciled estimate of Greenland ice loss is timely for the IPCC. Their satellite observations show that both melting and ice discharge from Greenland have increased since observations started."

"The ice caps in Iceland had similar reduction in ice loss in the last two years of their record, but this last summer was very

warm here and resulted in higher loss. I would expect a similar increase in Greenland mass loss for 2019."

"It is very important to keep monitoring the big ice sheets to know how much they raise sea level every year."

(Story Source: Materials provided by University of Leeds. Note: Content may be edited for style and length./www. sciencedaily.com)

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7

Billboard

MIRACLE IN CELL NO. 7 “Miracle in Cell No. 7” is set to unfold on the big screen this Christmas, and this early, the public’s reaction to this movie top-billed by Aga Muhlach is nothing short of phenomenal.

On November 12, 2019, the teaser was released in various social media pages of Viva Films and garnered 3 million views in just 5 hours.

The views more than doubled to 7 million in 16 hours, then reached 9.6 million in just 24 hours of its release. Two weeks later, as of Nov 25, 2019, record shows an impressive 18.4 million views across all media platforms.

Is it a miracle to have that kind of enthusiasm from the audience? Maybe not, especially when many are already familiar with the original “Miracle in Cell No. 7”, the heart-wrenching, highest grossing film

Mars... from page 6

As expected, all these data suggest a trove of water ice throughout the Martian poles and mid-latitudes. But the map reveals particularly shallow deposits that future mission planners may want to study further.

Picking a Landing Site While there are lots of places on Mars scientists would like to visit, few would ma ke prac t ica l la nd i ng sites for astronauts. Most scientists have homed in on the northern and southern mid-latitudes, which have more plentiful sunlight and warmer temperatures than the poles. But there's a heavy preference for landing in the northern hemisphere, which is generally lower in elevation and provides more atmosphere to slow a landing spacecraft.

A large portion of a region called Arcadia Planitia is the most tempting target in the northern hemisphere.

The map shows lots of blue and purple in this region, representing water ice less than one foot (30 centimeters) below the surface; warm colors are over two feet (60 centimeters) deep. Sprawling black zones on the map

in South Korea in 2013 and currently ranks No. 7 in the list of Korea’s highest grossing domestic films of all time.

Directed by Nuel C. Naval (A Secret Affair, This Time), this official entry to the 2019 Metro Manila Film Festival stays faithful to the original plot.

Aga plays a mentally-ill man who is wrongfully charged with sexually assaulting and murdering a little girl who happens to be the daughter of a highranking official (Tirso Cruz III). Joselito, the

represent areas where a landing spacecraft would sink into fine dust.

What's Next?

Piqueux is planning a comprehensive campaign to continue studying buried ice across different seasons, watching how the abundance of this resource changes over time.

The more we look for nearsurface ice, the more we find," said MRO Deputy Project Scientist Leslie Tamppari of JPL. "Observing Mars with multiple spacecraft over the course of years continues to provide us with new ways of discovering this ice."

JPL manages the MRO and Mars Odyssey missions for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built both orbiters.

JPL built and operates the Ma rs C l i mate S ou nder instrument. THEMIS was built and is operated by Arizona State University in Tempe. The Gamma Ray Spectrometer was built and is operated by the University of Arizona in Tucson.

(Story Source: Materials p r o v i d e d b y NA S A / Je t P ropul s ion L aborator y.

Note: Content may be edited for style and length./www. sciencedaily.com)

character played by Aga, has a very loving daughter named Yesha (Xia Vigor) who is left with nobody now that he is in prison.

In all his innocence, Joselito wishes to be with Yesha even in prison. With his fellow inmates already softening up on him, they device a plan to smuggle his young daughter inside the cell. Their success in pulling it off, the bond that is formed between Joselito and the men, the affection they have for the little girl, and how she brings out the best in them -- all these put together may be the miracle in cell no. 7.

Their strong connection lives on even years later when Yesha, already a lawyer (Bela Padilla), is

determined to clear his father’s name.

The appeal of “Miracle in Cell No. 7” to Pinoy audiences is not just in the storyline, but in the humor and in the all-star cast as well.

Playing Aga’s inmates are critically acclaimed character actors Joel Torre as Boss Sol, Jojit Lorenzo as Bong, Mon Confiado as Choi, JC Santos as Mambo, and Soliman Cruz as Tatang Celso. Awardwinning actor John Arcilla assumes the role of the prison chief, Johnny. Aga expressed his gratitude for the experience of working with “such great actors” in a “super fun set”, giving special mention to director Nuel Naval.

The most crucial part of the movie is set at Christmastime,

and it will surely tug at everyone’s heartstrings.

One dramatic scene revealed in the teaser is that of Yesha feeling sorry for not having a Christmas gift for her father. Joselito then points out that Yesha is already a gift just as she is because he feels very much loved by her.

“It’s a very touching, heart melting movie…I suggest you watch this beautiful movie,” wrote Tirso Cruz III when he posted a photo with Aga on Instagram. That father-daughter scene alone already proves his statement to be true.

Aga’s brilliance is not lost on Bela Padilla, who calls this opportunity of working with him a “dream come true”. In an interview conducted

by ABS-CBN News,

Bela said, ““There’s really a magic around Kuya Aga…k ahit look test lang he sparks something onscreen. I was watching his videos and amazed na amazed na ako, wala pang lines humahanga na ako.”

On Christmas Day and for the entire length of the MMFF, we all deserve a family drama that’s high on entertainment value and shows what great love can do. Have faith that “Miracle in Cell No. 7” is that kind of movie. Be assured by Aga Muhlach’s caption to his Instagram post on November 13, the day after the teaser was released. For the millions who support the film, he wrote a simple yet powerful message: “We won’t fail you.”

The Police Regional Training Center 10 led by Lt. Col. Edison Revita held a Christmas outreach at their headquarters in Cagayan de Oro City last Tuesday. During the occasion, the police trainees also held a wall painting and a caroling contest. photo by mike sia

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Friday | December 13, 2019

2019 OUTSTANDING MEGA ENTREPRENEURS

Mags Cue

Consultant, Mesa CDO, Owner-operator, Mags and Chairperson, National Search - Mutya Pilipinas

CAGAYAN DE ORO

M

ags Cue is married to Oliver John Yu Cue of Cotabato City who manages family businesses here in Cagayan de Oro. They are blessed with three kids, all boys.

A former commercial model, Mags Cue is the person behind her own ladies fashion apparel brand, MAGS. Now boasting twenty-two branches nationwide, Mags has also focused on the food business by franchising her first restaurant, Mesa, and opening it to the Cagayan de Oro market. This natural fashionista got her entrepreneurial roots from her family’s tailoring and dress shop with its decades of existence. Known for her beauty, she has participated and judged in numerous beauty pageants such as Miss Iligan, Miss Iloilo and Mutya ng Pilipinas. This being said, Mags is more than just a pretty face.

The birth of Mags Boutique She really didn’t have any plans to open a business.

Since she was living a life of a pure housewife, she was left alone in the house while her husband goes to work everyday for a family owned business. Out of boredom, she decided to venture into her own boutique.

Business is not new to her. Her parents had a dress shop that exported baby dress and a tailoring shop where everything was made, from school uniform to basketball jerseys. They also had a restaurant.

In 2003, Mags started with a boutique in a 40 square meter space at De Leon Plaza, in downtown Cagayan de Oro. It was not a clothing line yet but something that almost had everything under the sun like Christmas decors and toys. She was happy that there were lots of

customers that kept coming back who requested her to open a branch in malls. That inspired her and so she considered to establish her own label. In 2004, the clothing line for women Mags Boutique was born at Limketkai Mall.

Going National Since the demand in CDO is really high, Mags Boutique expanded in other key cities. Its first branch outside CDO is at SM City Davao. Today, Mags Boutique has 22 strong branches nationwide. The latest one opened last December at Robinsons Place Butuan.

Greatest Achievements Mags love for fashion paid off when she was awarded as one of the Best Dressed Women of the Philippines 2013 held at Makati Shangrila. Some of the most notable past recipients of this award are Dr. Vicky Belo, Margie Moran, and Dawn Zulueta.

Another great accomplishment of Mags is the strong performance of Mags Boutique nationwide. It has constantly been recognized by SM Malls as one of their most consistent tenants that achieves and even exceeds sales quota. It has established itself as a trusted brand.

Today, Mags Boutique has been the official casual wear of Mutya ng Pilipinas and in other prestigious beauty pageants in the country such as Miss Cagayan de Oro and Miss Dinagyang in Iloilo City.

“As a businesswoman, it is not the number of branches that I have but the appreciation of our customers. Everytime na sasabihin nila na I love what I wear and promote sila ng promote. That is one of the best achievements that I have.”

Beverly Dayanan President & CEO, Contempo Property Holdings, Inc.

I

N ORDER to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure. Success is not what you accomplish in life, it’s about what you inspire others to do!

From extreme poverty to a billion fortunes is an apt description of how Beverly Morales Dayanan had lived her rags-to-riches life story. The once homeless girl from Davao Oriental has risen to become one of Philippine’s top real estate developer all from her personal struggle and hard work.

Little as five years old, and second to the eldest of seven siblings, Beverly would

run errands like fruit selling before she would attend her classes so her siblings could have something for the day.

Her poverty-stricken family lived a hand-to-mouth subsistence and children take turns attending school due to hardship at that time. And Beverly had to do something to rise up from that situation.

Today, she is one of the youngest real estate developers the Philippines has seen, and is currently the only Cebuana developer that received back-toback international awards for her leadership and entrepreneurship acumen in this largely male dominated industry. But before her climb to the corporate success of building and selling homes,

Beverly had to endure long hardships in her growing up years before attaining the success that makes her a benchmark for many aspiring young business people in the Philippines.

At a young age, she became a self-made billionaire owning, building and managing home projects totaling over billions of pesos in value. Beverly Morales Dayanan is the Founder, CEO and President of Contempo Property Holdings Inc., a premier real estate development company based in Cebu, Philippines which owns and manages Bamboo Bay Community, a billion pesos real estate development in Cebu catering to the middle-end market. She also owns and manages Sunberry Homes, Inc. a horizontal real estate development in Mactan, Cebu catering to the economic and mass housing market.

Today her expanding home project networks and land assets totaling close to billions of pesos makes her the richest self-made real estate developer in Cebu

DAVAO ORIENTAL

and becoming one of the country’s most successful woman entrepreneur in the housing industry.

Once homeless and growing up with extreme poverty, Beverly didn’t allow adversity to tear her dreams apart. Looking back at her humble origins she knew education was a key to success. She went to school as a working student and got scholarships consistently from elementary until finishing college. In between schooling, she took odd jobs like restaurant server to support her younger siblings to school. In her early high school years, she worked as a laundry girl for a nunnery to raise allowance for her school projects and that of her siblings.

Her tremendous hardships did not stop Beverly from dreaming big. She earned an AB Political Science degree at the University of San Carlos in Cebu on a full college scholarship. After graduating in college, she pursued a career in banking starting off as a teller. When she realized

her tellering job would take a long time before she can be promoted to a managerial designation, she left to work at a non-life insurance firm for five years becoming a top insurance manager in her area in Cagayan De Oro City.

She then returned to banking again as a branch manager for 5 years before embarking on setting up a business pursuit.

In 2006 she left the banking industry to establish her first venture into real estate business with her company ProHomes. Within five years at ProHomes she constructed and sold more than 3,000 homes valued at over 3-billion pesos or U$65million in revenue.

In 2012 after divesting her shares with ProHomes she then set up her very own solo owned company; Contempo Property Holdings Inc. and in 2013 launched Bamboo Bay Community, her billion pesos’ flagship property development in Cebu.

In 2014, she built Sunberry Homes Inc. to handle her economical and socialized mass housing brand.

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First Cine de Oro Film Festival exalts Kagay-anon films to World Cinemaverse A

By RODIELL VELOSO & MIKE BANOS

FTER a long wait, local films made by local filmmakers take their rightful place with first ever Cine de Oro Film Festival.

From December 15-18, cineastes will enjoy 12 films from Cagayan de Oro, other Filipino and World filmmakers at the Limketkai Cinemas in Cagayan de Oro City.

Six films will compete in the main short film section showcasing movies from Kagay-anon filmmakers: Mama (Adrian Manapil), Timbang (Tat Soriano), Maskara (Benjinel Jampit), Ako, Tao (Michael Edillor), Baruganan (Angelo Dabbay), and Ang Reyna Nga Wala’y Saput (James Murillo Elaco).

On the other hand, six films will vie in the festival’s open competition: Kalipay (Arnel Rox Aguirang & John Carlou Romanos, Nabunturan), Baynte Noybi (Dysel Rose Sumandac, Nabunturan), Mountain To Cry For (Khurshid Kalabud Jr., General Santos), Ang Pagbalik sa UgatHinungdan (Keisha Halili, Davao), Budots: The Craze (Jay Rosas & Mark Limbaga, Davao) and Abi (Lindon Roy Trangia Songahid, Nabunturan).

The Festival opens December 15 with the screening of the film Markado: The Moon Devourer by multi-awarded Kagayanon filmmaker and Cine de Oro Festival Director Joe Bacus at Limketkai Cinema.

The film is considered a milestone for Mindanao cinema as it is the first fulllength feature film to come out of Cagayan de Oro decades after Lorenzo M. de la Serna’s Sa Imong Lawas ug Dugo.

Bacus notes that with Cine de Oro, he aims to educate Kagay-anons' taste in cinema, stressing the importance of taking our place in Southeast Asian Cinema.

“Even though it is still our first year holding this festival, we will be relentless in our pursuit of making a festival in Cagayan de Oro that will be a platform for aspiring filmmakers to develop their talents. We will give them the opportunity to watch not only the very best of Mindanao cinema, but also Southeast Asian cinema as well,” he said.

Besides the twelve films in competition from Mindanao, there will also be a showcase of awardwinning short films from internationallyrecognized Filipino filmmakers such as Sheron Dayoc, Remton Zuasola, Keith Deligero, and Bagane Fiola, among others. As a bonus, movie goers will also enjoy watching a showcase of Asian and European short films.

On December 18, the film festival concludes with a screening of Julienne Ilagan's Kauyagan: The Way of Life, considered a milestone for Mindanao cinema as it is the first fulllength feature film by

a female Mindanaoan.

The festival's jurors for the main competition include award-winning Mindanaoan filmmakers Gutierrez Mangansakan II and Bagane Fiola and artist, activist and sculptor Antonio ‘Jojo’ Hesumaria Sescon.

The jury for the Open Competition includes awardwinning Malaysianborn Philippinesbased filmmaker Bradley Liew, award-winning Filipino production designer Benjamin Padero, and Thai auteur Phuttiphong

Aroonpheng.

Cine de Oro Film Festival is organized

by Imoortals and Blackfish Productions with the support of Limketkai Center, Limketkai Mall, Limketkai Cinemas, Limketkai Luxe Hotel, Kanto, Cagayan de Oro City

MEDIA PARTNERS

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Sikat ka Higala

By SHERYL MACALE

On Dec.9 2019 42 graduates accomplished for Bread and Pastry Production NC2 and Cookery with The Skills and Employment Press Corps under TESDA Region10.

It was its first scholaship grant for Molugan El Salvador Misamis Oriental.

TESDA has been an arm in implementing TESDA Abot Lahat Program.

As President of the PressCorps it also my contribution to help the institution penetrate its roots to the unreachable. Students were given the opportunity to attain skills in their community. Trainers from Sweethouse Pastry School conducted the training Headed by Chef Christine Nobillos with the full support of the Head Chef Mich Uapal.

Phillipine World Academy conducted its training under Cookery the Vice President of PWA Fred Limbaga and its trained Chefs has rendered a rigid

training for the students.

During this trainings the students were able to grasp the basic in preparation and production Students were able to prepare intricately on baking and Pastry as well as the cookery learning in demand catering menus.Giving skills to our community is a gateway for opportunities. They will be able to get a National Certificate 2 requirement for abroad and employment in hotels.

We equipped them with knowledge and competence to be globally competitive.

Our trainers passed the curtailed Trariners Methodology able to complete the stantards of Training worlwide.The Regional Director Tarhata S. Mapandi came and inspired our Graduates. This will open the doors to their success and endless possibilities.

My honor and priviledge to serve this community and the people.This is only the

begginning and trainings will also open in January 2020 this time DressMaking NC2,Electrical Installation and Maintenance NC2 and SMAW NC1.

After Brgy Moulugan we will proceed to another Baranggays until we reach the whole city of El Salvador.

I salute the Provincial Director Mira Luna Lopez and the focal Mira Luna Calibo for this initiation.

They have put all the efforts in making this a reality.

TESDA is a force to be reckoned with. It will come to you free of service.It is a mandate that we have to comply.

Follow the directives of the Director General Isidro S.Lapena who in its capacity sincere enough to reach the lives of every Filipino.I would like to thank the Brgy.

Captain Arnold Macarandan.

Administrator LadyRose Umadlao,the Councilors Norie Enerio,Kag. Emma Ebora Ditas Canoy and the rest of the council, Secretary Roel Guianan who have work so hard under pressure.

To our students Sikat Kayo mga Higala.Teach someone become Successful its the fullfillment of your success.

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FRIDAY|DECEMBER 13, 2019

OUR AWARDEES: MOST OUTSTANDING MINDANAO BUSINESS LEADER IN AGRI-BUSINESS, CORPORATE CATEGORY

LAPANDAY FOOD CORPORATION MOST OUTSTANDING MINDANAO BUSINESS LEADER IN BANKING & FINANCE, CORPORATE CATEGORY

ONE NETWORK BANK

MOST OUTSTANDING MINDANAO BUSINESS LEADER IN HEALTH FOOD PRODUCTION & MARKETING, CORPORATE CATEGORY

AMLEY FOOD CORPORATION

MOST OUTSTANDING MINDANAO BUSINESS LEADER IN HOUSING & REALTY DEVELOPMENT, CORPORATE CATEGORY

PUEBLO DE ORO DEV’T CORP.

MOST OUTSTANDING MINDANAO BUSINESS LEADER IN HOTEL, RESORTS & TOURISM INDUSTRY, CORPORATE CATEGORY

DAKAK BEACH RESPORT

MOST OUTSTANDING MINDANAO BUSINESS LEADER IN HOTEL, RESORTS & TOURISM INDUSTRY, CORPORATE CATEGORY

PEARL FARM RESORT DAVAO CITY MOST OUTSTANDING MINDANAO BUSINESS LEADER IN AGRI-BUSINESS, INDIVIDUAL CATEGORY

MT. KITANGLAD AGRI-VENTURES, INC. (MKAVI) MOST OUTSTANDING MINDANAO BUSINESS LEADER IN BANKING & FINANCE, INDIVIDUAL CATEGORY

D‘ ASIAN HILLS BANK

MOST OUTSTANDING MINDANAO BUSINESS LEADER IN HOTEL, RESORTS & TOURISM DEV’T, INDIVIDUAL CATEGORY

DUKA BAY RESORT INC.

MOST OUTSTANDING MINDANAO BUSINESS LEADER IN HOTEL, RESORTS & TOURISM DEV’T, INDIVIDUAL CATEGORY

EDEN NATURE PARK

MOST OUTSTANDING MINDANAO BUSINESS LEADER IN MEGA-ENTREPRENEUR CATEGORY

LIMKETKAI GROUP OF COMPANIES MOST OUTSTANDING MINDANAO BUSINESS LEADER IN MEGA-ENTREPRENEUR CATEGORY

ZEALEP INC.

MOST OUTSTANDING MINDANAO BUSINESS LEADER IN SME ENTREPRENEUR CATEGORY

SPECIAL AWARDS:

DOT-10, Dir. Catalino E. Chan III VIP Hotel Dynasty Court Hotel Alma Mae Roa Mimi Parrel Pimentel BOARD OF JUDGES: ARIEL SEBELLINO - Exec. Director, Philippine Press Institute RUDOLF A. KOTIK - Chairman, RK Franchise Consultancy, Manila MA. THERESAS ALEGRIO - President, Oro Chamber PED QUIAMJOT - Manager, Pryce Plaza Hotel RUBEN VEGAFRIA - President, Promote CDO NELSON CONSTANTINO - Editor in Chief, BusinessWeek Mindanao

SLERS

MOST OUTSTANDING MINDANAO BUSINESS LEADER IN TRANSPORT SERVICE INDUSTRY

YANSON GROUP OF COMPANIES

MOST OUTSTANDING MINDANAO BUSINESS LEADER IN BROADCAST INDUSTRY

RADIO MINDANAO NETWORK

MOST OUTSTANDING MINDANAO BUSINESS LEADER IN SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

PARAS FAMILY

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FRIDAY|DECEMBER 13, 2019

AWARDEES: NESTLE

PRYCE PLAZA

AYALA LAND INC.

SONY APPLIANCES

CEBU PACIFIC AIR INC.

UNION GALVASTEEL

Airlines Industry

Home Bldg & Materials Industry

COCA-COLA BOTTLERS PHILS INC.

SUN CELLULAR

Food Processing Industry

Housing & Real Estate Industry

Beverage Manufacture

SAN MIGUEL BREWERY Beer Industry

DEL MONTE PHILIPPINES Agro Industry

RIZAL COMMERCIAL BANKING CORP. (RCBC) Banking & Loans Services

GOTHONG SOUTHERN Shipping & Cargo Services

Hotel Industry

Appliance Industry

Mobile Comm. Service Provider

MY SOLID TECHNOLOGIES

Cellular Phone Manufacture

MX3

Herbal Industry

SUPER 5

Public Transport Industry

SM PRIME HOLDINGS

Malls & Superstores Industry

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FRIDAY|DECEMBER 13, 2019

CONGRATULATIONS! To The

2014 Mindanao Business Leaders

Awa r d e e s

SUMIPRO PHILS. INC. Agri-business

1ST VALLEY BANK Banking & Finance

FICCO Cooperative Banking

SALAY HANDMADE PAPER INDUSTRIES INC. Social Entrepreneur

JCA REALTY Service Entrepreneur

ANAKCIANO, INC. LECHON MANOK NI SR. PEDRO Food Production Entrepreneur

ALROSE GROUP OF COMPANIES Food Manufacture & Marketing

ABROWN COMPANY Housing & Realty Dev’t

ROYAL MANDAYA HOTEL Hotel Industry

WORK AREA BUSINESS CENTER Business Entrepreneur YULO TEE/ GTY MKTG. Trading Entrepreneur

ORO ASIAN AUTOMOTIVE CENTER CORP. Transport Industry

DAHILAYAN ADVENTURE PARK Resorts & Tourism Dev’t

DENNIS UY

ITALPINAS Alternative Energy

President & CEO of PHOENIX PETROLEUM PHILS., INC.

Mega Entrepreneur

IN COOPERATION WITH A S I A N H I L L S G R O U P O F C O M PA N I E S

ALSO BROUGHT TO YOU BY

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FRIDAY|DECEMBER 13, 2019

CONGRATULATIONS 2015 AWARDEES!

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FRIDAY|DECEMBER 13, 2019

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FRIDAY|DECEMBER 13, 2019

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FRIDAY|DECEMBER 13, 2019

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FRIDAY|DECEMBER 13, 2019

LIST OF AWARDEES Best CSR Program:

Transport & Auto Industry Leaders:

Resort Industry Leaders:

CEPALCO STEAG State Power Inc. SM Cagayan de Oro

Pabama Transport Corp, Bukidnon MGM Motors Mindanao, Inc., Davao ISUZU Cagayan de Oro

Dahilayan Adventure Park, Manolo Fortich Club Tara Kampo ni Juan, Bukidnon

Outstanding Cooperatives:

Tourism Industry Leaders:

Agro-Industry Leaders:

ORO INTEGRATED COOPERATIVE, CDO TAGUM COOPERATIVE, Tagum City DEARBCI – Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon

Fantasyland Travel & Tours, Dipolog City Seagull Resort, Davao City Seven-Seas Resort, Cagayan de Oro City

REBISCO, Manollo Fortich, Bukidnon Bounty Fresh Corp., Cag de Oro TADECO (Tagum Agricultural Devt Corporation)

Electric Cooperatives:

Outstanding Women Business Leaders

Micro Entrepreneurs:

Davao del Sur Electric Cooperative, Inc. Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative, Inc. Siargao Electric Cooperative, Inc.(SIARELCO) Outstanding Mega-Entrepreneur: Mags Lopez Calpito Cue Ms. Beverly Dayanan Jalosjos Group of Companies

Ms. Irene Floro, President, Oro Chamber, Ms. Sholai Lim, PWDC chair of Comval Ms. Jacintza Cellona, President of (RIC) Women Association (SIURICWA) Lanao Norte Hotel Industry Leaders: Mallberry Suites Hotel, Cagayan de Oro Hotel Tavern, Surigao Margarette Business Hotel, Bukidnon

Cucina de Oro Pizarella, Cagayan de Oro Necy Ann Ty, Davao City Social Entrepreneurs: Len Cabili, Iligan City Joe Green Project, Davao City Anthill, Davao City

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FRIDAY|DECEMBER 13, 2019

Exports... from page 1

close to the record 3.631 million MT in the same period of 2014.

Top markets for Philippine bananas include Japan, China, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Iraq, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia.

China accounted for the largest share with 1.288 million MT, up 42%, yearon-year. Japan took in 1.169 million MT, up 47, yearon-year, and South Korea 461,736 MT, up 40% yearon-year.

Philippine Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PB GEA) Executive Director Stephen A. Antig said for the major plantation firms which his organization represents, exports are actually on a downtrend year-on-year.

“In the case of the PBGEA members, volume for the last 9 months decreased by 8% compared to that of 2018.

If the trend continues, total exports might be just about 110 million boxes by the end of the year. All told, this is not a good year for the industry,” he said in an e-mailed response, and noted that 110 million boxes is equivalent to 1.4 million MT, solely of the Cavendish variety. Top markets are Japan, South Korea, China, t h e Mi d d l e E a s t , Ne w Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Mongolia and the United States.

He said the industry is beset by climate change, pests and diseases, drought, and flooding.

Banana growers are also pushing the government to intervene to lower South Korean and Japanese tariffs, which risk eroding the Philippines’ market share in those countries.

Philippine banana exports are levied a 30% tariff by South Korea and 8% to 18%

by Japan. The industry’s target tariff for South Korea is 5% at most, a level it reckons will help the industry grow.

(PNA)

Projects... from page 1

University (LPU) township.

Both the Paragon DGT are the partnership of the company with the landed YHES, Inc., the company of on e of t h e bi g g e s t property owner clans in the city, the Huang-Villa Abrilla-Tan. Their first partnership was MesaTierra Garden Residences, also a condominium project.

On the Paragon Davao, the company is putting up its second of the seven towers after selling about 90% of the 554-unit first tower, or about P2 billion, said Mr. Soberano.

At the 25-hectare DGT, the company is investing in the development of the first phase that will include setting up access roads and a retail component which will offer a “unique retail experience (that is) very homegrown, meaning very upscale but affordable by all,” he said,

adding that the component will be modeled after a mall in Los Angeles, USA which is “hayahay (comfortable).”

Another part of the first phase development of the DGT, which used to be a golf course, will also include a civic center whose designer will be a top architect that will make the project “a cultural museum for Davao.”

Mr. Soberano also said that part of the money will also be used in the development of another access road and the first residential tower of the two-tower LPU township.

Saying the company has enjoyed fast takeup of its projects, Mr. Soberano said that its experience in real estate development as well as in its partnership with the YHES, Inc. has contributed to its better than expected revenue.

“Our locations are best in class locations and future proof,” he said, explaining that the locations are marketable as they are closer to places of work and schools.

PUVs... from page 1

end of the loop that will take passengers from here to Barangay Igpit, Opol town in Misamis Oriental, a 24.7-kilometer stretch of national highway, coastal thoroughfare, and diversion road.

Ken Punta, 21, a student at a state-run university, said: “I will definitely choose this modern PUJ over the old ones. I hope all our PUJs are like these.”

Labis and Punta are just two of the random passengers that have taken a free ride on the 15 modern PUVs, owned and operated by the Oro Transport Services C o op erative (Otrosco), during its launch on Tuesday.

Cagayan de Oro is the third city in Mindanao to adopt the PUVMP, with the cities of Butuan and General Santos implementing this mass transport modernization.

Looking like a mini-bus than a jeepney, the new PUV can seat 25 persons and still have room for at least five standing passengers.

The fare for the Bugo-Igpit destination is P33, with the minimum fare of P9 and the discounted rate for senior citizens, students and persons with disabilities at P7.

Both enjoying discounted fares, Labis and Punta said they do not mind paying for higher fare as long as they are getting their money’s worth.

The modern PUVs are compliant with the Omnibus Franchising Guidelines of the Department of Transportation (DOTr), said Aminoden Guro, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board-10 (LTFRB-10).

“Under the Omnibus Franchising Guidelines, new PUVs must be equipped with global positioning system, dashboard camera, CCTV, Wi-fi, an automatic fare collection system, and other amenities that will make the passengers’ trip comfortable and convenient,” Guro said.

He said Orotsco is the first transport cooperative

that has acquired the new PUJs but other groups will soon adopt the PUVMP in the coming months.

“O t he r c o op e r at ive s and corporations are just waiting for the local public transport route plan being drafted by the RTA [Roads and Traffic Administration] to be completed,” Guro added.

Orotsco general manager Samuel Abella said they manage d to avai l of a P32-million loan from the Development Bank of the Philippines to acquire the 15 PUVs, payable in seven years.

Once the modern PUVs will become the preferred mode of transportation in the city, Abella said they may add more units once demand will increase.

He said their income will be systematized as “tap cards” will be made available to passengers so they will no longer pay cash as fare. These cards will be reloadable in authorized outlets.

The cooperative’s drivers, he added, will now be paid weekly instead of the daily rental or “boundary.”

Abella added they are just waiting for the tap card provider to calibrate their automatic fare collection system machine and to orient their passenger assistance officers and drivers as they will be using new technologies that will be installed in the new PUVs. LT F R B c h a i r m a n Martin Delgra III said the PUVMP is the agency’s biggest step to achieving modern, comfortable and environment-friendly PUVs plying the country’s streets.

“It is the government’s largest non-infrastructure p ro g r a m t h at a i m s t o modernize and transform the public transportation in the country, a transportation system that we can all use with ease, comfort and be proud of,” said Delgra, in his message during Tuesday’s launch.

Meanwhile, Medel Afalla, officer-in-charge of the Office of the Transport Cooperatives, s aid PUVMP do es not only refer to modernizing the vehicles but more on upgrading and reforming the entire public transport systems for responsive and efficient operations.

“Change in our behaviors and ways of providing service and doing business are also crucial,” he added. (PNA)

Protect... from page 2

province "I have long heard of the incredible value of Agarwood but I dismissed it as another tall tale and another getrich-quick product which victimized farmers in the past," Piñol said.

"When I checked on the available information about Agarwood did I realize the value of the tree whose resin is processed into perfume, and resin is believed to have medicinal value," he added.

Following the recommendation of Dayanghirang, MinDA will craft the Davao Oriental

Agarwood Protection and Propagation Program to conser ve the remaining Lapnisan trees in the forests of the province.

"Had I not traveled to Davao Oriental to present the Green Mindanao Project, how would I have known that the tale about Agarwood is true and that the tree grows wild in the mountains," he said.

Piñol added that Lapnisan or Agarwood also grows in other parts of Mindanao and there is a need for its protection and propagation as it could generate more income for the locals.

"Once again I have to emphasize that officials like me must really get out of our air-conditioned offices and travel to the neglected parts of the country," he said.

He added: "We might just find the answers to the problems of poverty in the countryside by talking to people and discovering new things." (PNA)

SteelAsia... from page 3

the local production of beams, sheet piles, and angles, among other steel products — instead of importation.

The company is also currently working on its initial public offering, as it plans to go public within two years.

“We started preliminary work already on the corporate side, but going out and starting process with SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) hindi pa (not yet),” Mr. Hidalgo said.

research on this, persuading people they remember kissing a giant green frog or that they once met Bugs Bunny in Disneyland (as he’s a Warner Bros character, so this can’t have happened).

Even recounting an anecdote to our friends can mean our memory of that story goes back into the library slightly altered.

So we shouldn’t curse our memories when they let us down. They’re made to be changeable, in order that we can take millions of fragments of memories from different times of our lives and recombine them to give us endless imaginative possibilities for the future.

Thank you very much Claudia Hammond. I changed my opinion when it comes to time. My limited time on earth. +++ Email: dor ingklaus@ gmail.com or follow me in Facebook, Linkedin or Twitter or visit my www. germanexpatinthephilippines. b l o g s p o t . c o m o r w w w. klausdoringsclassicalmusic. blogspot.com.

Conception... from page 4

since by following her, we ultimately follow Christ. She is actually the shortest, easiest and surest way for us to be with Christ and to be like him, unafraid of all the evils in the world and bold enough

to conquer all of them.

May we have this love that can embolden us to reach out to those who are lost, unafraid of the effort and the dirt that may be involved in doing so. If we want to at least minimize our sinfulness and work more in reaching out to the others, we have to learn to have the real love, the one Christ and Mary are showing us. roycimagala@ gmail.com

Downside... from page 4

Steel Mill project at Phividec are seen to generate jobs by the thousands.

Infra projects consisting of ports and airports improvements, interregional and intermodal roads, bridges, and roll-on, roll-off shipping facilities, among others are expected to highlight the last three years of the Duterte administration.

On one hand, the economic agenda and policies of the government i.e. its build, build, build infrastructure mantra must be sustained for job creation and opportunities for the country in particular, and the island of Mindanao in general.

Needed badly now is a strong, no nonsense political will for this grand plan to take off the ground. (ruffy44_ph2000@yahoo. com)

Business... from page 3

paid-up capital for foreign firms engaged in the retail trade business.

“Retail liberalization will gonna very good for us. And obviously, what we would like to see is further liberalization of the economy, reduce what they call the investment negative (list), obviously (so) you can get more companies investing here,” he added.

The negative list refers to the list of economic sectors where foreign ownership and participation in the Philippines are regulated.

(PNA)

Earth...

Republic of the Philippines Province of Misamis Oriental Municipality of Manticao -o0oOFFICE OF THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR PUBLICATION NOTICE RA 10172

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC

CCE-0068-2019

DATE: DECEMBER 11,2019

In compliance with Section 5 of R.A. No. 9048/RA 10172, a notice is hereby served to the public that EDITHA BAJAO PANORIL has filed with this Office a petition for correction of GENDER from MALE to FEMALE in the birth certificate of JESSIEL BAJAO PANORIL who was born on AUGUST 25, 2003 at Poblacion, Manticao, Misamis Oriental and whose parents are ALFREDO LASOLA PANORIL and EDITHA SADSAD BAJAO. Any person adversely affected by said petition may file his written opposition within this office not later than DECEMBER 30, 2019.

(SGD) DOROTHEO O. LACBAIN,JR. Municipal Civil Registrar

BWM: December 13 & 20, 2019

from page 4

occasion even the reminder does nothing to jog our memories.

Several years ago, I started writing my biography. With Beethoven under palms. The great German composer and me under palms. Wow. Meanwhile, I found out: as we lay down memories, we alter them to make sense of what’s happened. Every time we recall a memory, we reconstruct the events in our mind and even change them to fit in with any new information that might have come to light. And it’s much easier than you might think to convince people that they have had experiences which never happened.

The psychologist Elisabeth Loftus has done decades of

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IN-DEPTH

Friday | December 13, 2019

Irene L. Floro, RN, PhD

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Corporate game changer with a heart

H

ER one year stint as president of Oro Chamber was a game changer.

Guided by her catchwords IRENE, she was able to raise the bar of good governance in managing the affairs of one of the country’s most dynamic business organizations — the Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Inc or simply called Oro Chamber.

IRENE means Innovate, Renew, Empower, Notable and Engage.

Wtih compassion, she had put in place her branding acumen, that is, a persistent and proactive corporate mindset with a heart.

First, she pushed hard for the INNOVATION of the productivity and competitiveness of the Chamber’s members through the Orobest innovation program in collaboration with various stakeholders and partners for small and micro enterprises.

Further, her leadership had invested on projects like the Tanker Calibration aimed at increasing revenues for the Oro

Philosophy in life ‘I see the world out there with so many opportunities. The choices are plenty. I just have to be careful which one is best for me’

Most proud of Looking at the internally displaced persons of Marawi growing, consuming and selling vegetables few months after we have trained them in organic farming. l SMI has trailblazed TVET education in Mindanao. It has expanded its network of local and international partners and played a prime leadership role in the organization of the sector in Mindanao. l Through our original and innovatove Skills On Wheels, we were able to make skills training accessible for indigenous people and other marginalized groups. l Wi t h Jo b f i t Wo r k f o rc e Solutions, we were able to link our graduates to employment, both domestic and international. l With SMILES Foundation, we were able to facilitate creation of enterprises for sustainable livelihood/income opportunities. l

Chamber.

Second, she had RENEWED the Oro Chamber’s commitment as the voice of business in Cagayan de Oro vis-avis taking on issues and concerns on improving the business climate such as taxation and government regulations.

Third, Ms. Floro had EMPOWERED the members to get involved in all events and activities of the Chamber. She championed for the vibrant participation of members in innovation, competitiveness and market trends developed through the years.

Fourth, because of her hands-on management, there was a NOTABLE improvement in assets, collection and facilities,

increase in membership, and staff capacity building programs.

Fifth, her ENGAGING role as the first lady president of Oro Chamber has passionately worked wonders in creating an effective and business climate thus placing sustainable value to local businesses in the region.

Under her belt, Irene Floro has an academic backgrounds in Biology and Nursing, a masters in teaching and a Ph.D. in Leadership and Management, all of which had provided her the positive and proactive outlook towards her blooming career and personal life.

Dr. Irene Floro is President and CEO of at

least seven companies — Skills Mastery Institute, Neofine Trade, Versatile Security Agency, ICA Trading Corp, Jobfit Workforce Solutions, Jirish Agro Industrial Corp, and Sterling Events Corp, but her passion for communitybased skills training is never-ending, seeing the need for it to prosper in her hometown Mindanao. RTM