BusinessWeek Mindanao (December 19, 2013)

BusinessWeek MINDANAO

YOUR LOCAL ONLINE BUSINESS PAPER

www.businessweekmindanao.com

Volume IV, No. 38

Market Indicators

As of 6:11 pm Dec. 18, 2013 (Wednesday)

FOREX

PHISIX

US$1 = P44.26

5,961.55 points

6 cents

X

X Briefly 32.56 points

Poverty survey GENERAL Santos City -- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Region 12 is targeting to start early next year the second round of assessment in the region of the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTSPR).

Gemma Rivera, DSWDRegion 12 assistant director, said Wednesday they are only waiting for the release of the new schedule of the nationwide assessment, which was initially targeted to begin last month in the area.

She said the DSWD central office earlier deferred until early next year the launching of the assessment due to the continuing relief and rehabilitation activities in calamity-hit areas in the Visayas region.

“The schedule is still being arranged but it will not likely start until early next year as our operations are still concentrated on the relief activities for victims of super typhoon Yolanda and other recent calamities,” she told PNA.

14th month pay THE CAGAYAN de Oro City Council has approved an ordinance for the release of more than P70 million for the payment of Productivity Enhancement Incentives of the more than 3,000 City Hall workers here.

Vice Mayor Ian Acenas said on Wednesday said that the approved Ordinance No. 126972013 granting Productivity Enhancement Incentives to all city government employees equivalent to one month salary based on the guidelines issued by the Department of Budget and Management.

He said that the bonus also covers contractual, casual, and job order workers who would also receive P8,000 each.

Acenas said that the City Council also approved Ordinance No. 12701-2013 appropriating P750,000 for the city’s “Students Scholarship Program” and for terminal leave benefits in the 2013 annual budget.

www.businessweekmindanao.com

12:30 PM - 1:00 PM

FREE TV CH. 21 SkyCable Ch. 16 | Global Destiny Ch. 28 Cablelink Ch. 14 | Cignal Ch. 10

Thursday - December 19, 2013

P15.00

Davao’s growth slower; rebound seen by 2016

By CARMELITO Q. FRANCISCO Correspondent

D

AVAO City -- The region’s economic planners projected 8.7% growth by 2016 as they took note of encouraging signs in the local economy, despite the damage exacted by typhoon Pablo in several provinces last year.

ECONOMIC SLUMP. Laborers cross the Ramon Magsaysay Avenue – Lizada Street intersection in Davao City leisurely during a lull in traffic. Davao’s economy has taken a toll from the devastating effect of typhoon Pablo that struck the region last year. mindanews photo by ruby thursday more

Maria Lourdes D. Lim, regional chief of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), said the growth projection is part of the updated Davao Regional Development Plan, which contains specific actions to be taken between next year and 2016.

Ms. Lim said the region has been growing faster economically, even as it expects 5.6% growth this year, compared with last year’s 7.4%.

The expected reduction is largely due to the typhoon that devastated

the banana and coconut plantations of Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental, respectively, in December 2012.

In C omp ostel a Va l le y, for example, Gov. Arturo T. Uy said that the typhoon cost a banana firm about 8,000 hectares that had been ready for harvest. However, Mr. Uy said that the company and several others, including small growers, have already rehabilitated their farms. slower/PAGE 11

PHL economy seen to sustain strong growth of 6.5%-7.5% next year THE Philippine economy is expected to continue expanding by 6.5 to 7.5 p e r c e nt i n 2 0 1 4 f r o m this year’s around 6 to 7 percent growth despite the damage brought about by the earthquake and powerful typhoon “Yolanda” in the Visayas.

“A lt h ou g h l o s s e s i n agriculture resulting from Yolanda devastation are exp ec ted to reduce growth in the first quarter, reconstruction efforts are presumed to contribute to growth,” said Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.

B a l i s a c an e s t i m at e d such efforts are sharing 12 percent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Citing experiences of many countries, Balisacan said recovery and reconstruction programs, once in full blast, generate more economic activities.

He said the rebuilding of shelter and other public and private infrastructure

in the affected areas and the revival of businesses can create employment. “ T h e c ompl e t i on of Reconstruction Assistance on Yolanda (RAY) plan signals the beginning of a full-blown recover y and reconstruction of the economy, lives and livelihood in the typhoonaffected areas,” he noted.

More over, B a lis ac an said that also imperative in sustaining growth over the next three years is the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) Midterm Update.

PDP identifies strategies to achieve higher growth, including building credible institutions, equalizing development opportunities, completing asset reform implementation, creating new growth drivers, improving resilience to natural disasters and accelerating infrastructure development.

In 2013, Balisacan said e conom ic pl an ne rs are economy/PAGE 11

TCPOV Assessor Adrian Chang conducts a sample vehicle assessment on a Toyota Vios during the official launch of Toyota Cagayan de Oro’s Toyota Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles (TCPOV) Program. photo by mike baños

PDIC assures payment for depositors of closed rural bank in General Santos

By MindaNews

GENERAL Santos City — The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) assured on Wednesday it would settle all the covered deposit insurance claims of over

Mindanao Daily NEWS

2,000 depositors of a rural bank here that was placed under receivership earlier this month due to insolvency.

Teresita Gonzales, officerin-charge of the PDIC’s Asset

Management and Disposal Group, said they already started the releases of the deposit claims of the initial depositors of the troubled Sarangani Rural Bank Inc. (SRBI) who availed of the pdic/PAGE 11

northmin . westmin . caraga . davao Your Mindanao-wide Community Newspaper

Editorial and advertising email : businessdailymindanao@gmail.com • Cell Number : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776

BusinessWeek MINDANAO

2

YOUR LOCAL ONLINE BUSINESS PAPER

www.businessweekmindanao.com

thursday - december 19, 2013

Economy

Advertising and Editorial E-mail : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com Contact nos. : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776 Editor: Cheng Ordoñez

Gov’t loses Firm’s plan to manufacture Henares: revenue in higher low-priced cigars opposed tax exemptions, benefits QUEZON CITY –- Health advocates on Tuesday opposed a tobacco company’s plan to produce low-priced cigarettes to compete with cheaper local brands.

At a press conference at the Quezon Memorial Circle, New Vois Association of the Philippines (NVAP) president Emer Rojas said that Phillip Morris Fortune Tobacco Company (PMFTC) has appealed before the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to allow the company to come up with cheaper versions of its leading brand Marlboro to level the playing field against cheaper local brand, Mighty.

Rojas said this will defeat

the spirit of the Sin Tax law that seeks to address the country’s smoking epidemic.

PMFTC claims that sales of Marlboro have dropped significantly because smokers are shifting to cheaper brands like Mighty as a result of higher tax imposed on premium brands. ”You have to remember that the primary objective of the Sin Tax Law is to increase the prices of cigarettes so smokers will chose to quit and that

in the long term we protect public health,” said Rojas.

Dr. Maricar Limpin, representing Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Alliance, Philippines (FCAP), said the government should not allow tobacco companies “to poison the bright future of our children” and everyone must be vigilant and watch out “for incessant maneuverings of the tobacco industry.” ”Lifestyle diseases is not a disease of individual but society, let us not pray for easy life but pray for courageous leaders,” added Dr. Anthony Leachon, vice president of

the Philippine College of Physicians.

The Sin Tax Law celebrates its first anniversary this December that imposed higher taxes on tobacco and alcohol products.

The law seeks to protect the young and the poor from deadly diseases caused by cigarettes such as cancer of the lung, larynx, oral cavity and esophagus, bronchitis, emphysema, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Revenue from the Sin Tax will be used for the universal health care program and livelihood of tobacco farmers.

(PNA)

Moody’s Analytics sees PHL as among world’s fastest economies in ‘14

By Joann Santiago

MANILA -- The Philippines is expected to be one of the world’s fastest economies in 2014.

In a report released Tuesday, Moody’s Analytics said the domestic economy “continues to outperform and will remain one of the world’s fastest-growing economies in 2014.” ”Confidence is high, and investment, both public and private, is driving the economy forward. Demand should rebound quickly a f t e r t y p h o o n Ha i y a n (locally named “Yolanda’),” the report, produced by Moody’s economic research and analysis division and dubbed Asia-Pacific Outlook 2014, said. It was penned by Moody’s Analytics senior economist Glenn Levine.

In the first three quarters of 2 0 1 3 , t he d ome st i c economy churned in a 7.4

percent growth, higher than the government’s 6.0 to 7.0 percent growth target for the year and still the fastest in Southeast Asia.

This, despite a slower growth in the third quarter of 7.0 percent from the previous quarter’s 7.6 percent and year-ago’s 7.3 percent.

For the Asia-Pacific region, the report projects a better output than in 2013, given the improvements in the advance economies.

It projects the region to welcome 2014 with a solid growth but “with a mild tailwind from growing global demand.”

It cited that economies in the region and the rest of the world are slowly getting back to its feet and downside risks to growth are receding.

“Next year should be better than 2013, with most national economies growing

No.: 09161714813 (GLOBE)

near or at potential rates by year’s end,” it said.

The report pointed out that 2013 is generally marred by negative factors such as the lingering crisis in Europe,

the political distraction in the United States that led to fiscal crisis, and the weakerthan-expected growth of China in the first half. moody/PAGE 10

M A N I L A - - B u re au of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Kim Henares is f ir m in her decision that it would be better not to increase the tax exemption on overtime pay, 13th month pay and other benefits from the computation of taxable income.

During the Senate hearing conducted by the Committee on Ways and Me ans chai re d by S e n .

Juan Edgardo Angara on Tuesday, Henares stressed t h at t h e p r o p o s e d t a x exemption increase would eventually do employees more harm than good.

“We m i g ht l o s e ou r economic gains,” Henares said in Filipino. “Ordinary Filipino citizens will also be affected if the economy plummets.”

Nevertheless, she said t hat it w i l l st i l l b e t he Congress to decide whether

to pass the proposed laws to increase tax exemption or not.

A n g ar a , m e anw h i l e , s aid t hat a de cre as e in t a xe s is t he b e st t h i ng t h e g ov e r n m e nt c o u l d do to ease the burden of citizens since prices of all commodities are also increasing quickly.

“We have to look at the whole picture,” Angara said in an interview, adding that the BIR had never really agreed with any proposal for a higher tax exemption in the past.

O n t h e ot h e r h an d , S enate President ProTempore Ralph Recto said during the hearing that to him, extra income will benefit the public.

He mentioned t hat given that a country had national debts, it will not be detrimental as long as it will benefit the country in the long run. (PNA)

Senator Grace Poe (right) poses questions to Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) chairperson Zenaida Cruz Ducut during the Senate Energy Committee hearing on Meralco’s power rate hike on Wednesday (Dec. 18, 2013) at the Senate plenary session hall in Pasay City.(PNA photos by Jess M. Escaros Jr.)LAM/jme

House panel to prioritize fiscal incentives, Customs modernization bills MANILA -- The House Committee on Ways and Means has sought the support of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs in the passage of the panel’s top priority measures for the 16th Congress -t h e R at i on a l i z at i on of Fiscal Incentives Bill and t he prop o s e d Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA).

Mar i k i n a C it y R e p.

Romero Quimbo said he sought the BIR and BOC support during a recent hearing of the panel which was attended by Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares and then outgoing Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon who presented their respective agency’s targets and performance outputs.

“We hope to get your s upp or t f or t h e f i s c a l incentives and the customs modernization bills,” said

Quimbo, the chairman of the committee.

Quimbo said the customs modernization bill has been pending for 21 years and the fiscal incentives bill for 19 years.

“So I think it is time for us to pass them,” he stressed.

T he c om m itte e w i l l formally ask for the BIR and BOC positions on the two bills once it starts hearings on the measures.

During the 15th Congress, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading House Bill No. 4788 or the proposed Customs and Modernization Act of 2011, principally authored by Abante Mindanao Party-list Rep. Maximo Rodriguez Jr. Also approved was HB 4935 or the proposed Investments and Incentives Code of the Philippines principally authored by Rep. bills/PAGE 10

From the transmission firm’s end, most of its repair efforts will be done way ahead of the December 24 deadline committed by Energ y Secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla – in reference to the restoration of power supply in the typhoon-ravaged areas.

NGCP qualified, however, that bringing back electricity service to individual homes or establishments may take longer. But that will already fall into the domain of the distribution utilities or the electric cooperatives.

“To date, most of the Visayas backbone has been restored using emergency restoration system (ERS) as temporary replacement for ngcp/PAGE 10

JUST three months after the launch of its ManilaPhuket flights, Tiger Airways Phi lippines de cide d to discontinue the route after finding it nonprofitable due to low passenger volume, a senior company officer said yesterday. “ We h a v e c a n c e l e d Phuket. We have reviewed this and have found it to be a nonprofitable route,” Jose S. Laurente, Jr., Tiger Air’s

vice-president for commercial operations, told reporters via text.

The route, launched last September, was halted on Dec. 15.

“The average load factor for the route was only 50%.

We need at least 80% to make profit out of it,” Mr. Laurente explained. “ It w a s b e l o w o u r expectations.” carrier/PAGE 10

Manila-Phuket route ends for budget carrier

3

www.businessweekmindanao.com

thursday - december 19, 2013

DAVAO City -- In response to the growth in the retail industry, the Department of Tourism (DOT) 11 regional office initiated the holding of a month-long city-wide sale in major shopping malls in Davao City dubbed “The Big Davao Fun Sale.”

DOT 11 regional director Art Boncato said the activity which will run from March 14 to April 16, 2014 will boost travel industry in the city for it will offer shopping discounts, freebies, and prizes. “ This is par t of the DOT 11’s response to the unprecedented growth in the retail industry of Davao City these past couple of years. More than the dream of making the city number one

when it comes to shopping and dining, this endeavor also aims to improve the image of Davao as a thriving destination for business and investment,” Boncato said.

The big fun sale will be participated by various malls like Abreeza-Ayala Malls, Gaisano Grand Mall, Gaisano Mall of Davao City, Gaisano

Mall of Toril, NCCC Mall, Robinson’s, SM City Davao and SM Lanang Premier. The activity will kick off from March 14 to 16 next year.

Also as part to promote Davao’s tourism, Cebu Pacific comes in as the official airline partner with a special Davao hub seat sale before the year ends.

The Cebu Pacific will launch direct Davao-Bacolod flights on Jan. 5, 2014.

The direct flights to Davao from Manila, Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolog, Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro, Puerto Princesa and Dipolog would give the shoppers the fastest flights and lowest fares, Boncato said. (PNA)

AP RENEWABLES, Inc. (APRI) has bagged two new service contracts covering geothermal concession areas in Mindanao, an official from the Energy department said on Friday last week.

“Two geothermal service contracts were awarded to APRI,” Ariel D. Fronda, t he dep ar t ment’s chief

for Geothermal Energ y Management Division, said in a text message. “These are Kapatagan-Sibulan and Talomo-Tico projects. Both in North Cotabato.”

Besides APRI, the department had also awarded a service contract to Basic Energy Corp. for a geothermal concession area

in West Bulusan, Sorsogon, the company disclosed last week. The area hosts Mt. Bintacan, Mt. Tabon-Tabon, Mt. Sisigon, Mt. Malobago, Mt. Calomoutan and Mt. Sujac.

Energy Undersecretary Ramon Allan V. Oca had said in April that geothermal service contracts involve a

five-year pre-development stage.

Afterwards, the developer has to declare commerciality to proceed to development phase.

T he s ai d phas e c an run from 25 to 50 years depending on the result of the exploration. aboitiz/PAGE 10

Aboitiz unit bags new geothermal deals

ADVERTISE NOW!!! >>> >>> We have the right newspapers for your target market from Class A-E type readers

BUSINESSWEEK

GROUP OF PUBLICATIONS CONTACT US:

09478935776, (088)856-3344, (08822)72-33-44 Tanleh Bldg., Abellanosa St., Consolacion Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines FOR ADVERTISING INQUIRIES CALL:

PROVINCIAL CAPITOL Bangko Sentral

ng Pilipinas PROVINCIAL CAPITOL

VISIT US! NOW A BIGGER PLACE TO SERVE YOU BETTER VISIT US! NOW A BIGGER PLACE TO SERVE YOU BETTER

SABAL Hospital

SABAL Hospital

C.M. RECTO Fly-over

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

ABELLANOSA ST., CDO

C.M. RECTO Fly-over

SHELL Station

UCCP

ABELLANOSA ST., CDO

CAPISTRANO ST. CAPISTRANO ST.

THE repair of the high voltage direct current (HVD C) transmission facility which was affected by monster typhoon Yolanda is due for completion this December 15, according to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.

With ramped up capacity o f t h e Un i f i e d L e y t e geothermal power plant, company officials noted that energization can also be done simultaneously.

The HVDC facility is the link to the sharing of power supply between Luzon and Visayas grids. While the submarine cables were intact, the facility’s converter station i n O r m o c - C ab a c u ng an sustained damage.

YOUR LOCAL ONLINE BUSINESS PAPER

Davao City malls to hold month-long wide sale

VELEZ STREET VELEZ STREET

NGCP to complete transmission repair

BusinessWeek MINDANAO

CorporateWorld

JULIOST. PACANA ST. JULIO PACANA

Advertising and Editorial E-mail : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com Contact nos. : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776 Editor: Nelson Constantino

>>> >>>

MARCOS BRIDGE TO BRGY. CONSOLACION ---->

MARCOS BRIDGE

TO BRGY. CONSOLACION ---->

Church

DANTE - 09177121424

UCCP SHELL Church| 856-3344 | 74-53-80 | 857-8447 StationUS: 72-33-44 CONTACT

www.businessweekmindanao.com

CONTACT US: 72-33-44 | 856-3344 | 74-53-80 | 857-8447

BusinessWeek MINDANAO

4

YOUR LOCAL ONLINE BUSINESS PAPER

www.businessweekmindanao.com

thursday - december 19, 2013

AgriBusiness

Advertising and Editorial E-mail : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com Contact nos. : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776 Editor: Nelson Constantino

9 promotes cassava Mindanao agribusiness eyed DA utilization for livelihood INTERNATIONAL FINANCE Corp. (IFC), a member of the World Bank group, has partnered with Rizal Microbank as it seeks to support the growth of the agribusiness sector in Mindanao.

In a statement Tuesday, IFC said it has inked a memorandum of understanding with Rizal Microbank to boost its financing for Mindanao’s agricultural input suppliers, traders, processors, postharvest facility providers and other small agribusinesses.

“We see great potential in the agricultural sector of Mindanao and consider IFC’s eyed/PAGE 10

By Antonio P. Rimando

DBM: Bridge construction for agri communities gets P2B boost THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has released funds in the amount of P2 billion for the Tulay ng Pangulo Para Sa Kaunlarang Pang-Agraryo Project (TPPKPP) as part of the support ser vices continuously provided by the Aquino administration to Agrarian Reform C ommunities (ARCs) nationwide.

Released to and sourced from the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) budget for FY

2013, the amount will cover bridging materials and related foreign materials that include h-piles and reinforcing steel bars, all of which have already been delivered nationwide.

The bridge program will link various ARCs to mainstream economic venues and promote development potentials through the construction and installation of prefabricated modular steel bridges.

“The Aquino

Administration in keen on sustaining its efforts to r amp up r u r a l an d country-side development by continuously providing assistance to our agrarian reform communities and beneficiaries nationwide.

T h e l at e s t re l e a s e f o r the construction of this bridge will continue to open oppor tunities for agribusiness development by linking our farmers to markets where they can sell their produce, as well as connect agri-communities

to other commercial areas to encourage greater and more productive trade. This is all alongside the government’s other support interventions a i m e d t o i mp r ov e t h e production and income of our farmers,” said Secretary of Budget Florencio “Butch” Abad.

Joint ly impl e me nte d by the DPWH-Bridge Management Cluster (BMC) and the Depar tment of Agrarian Reform (DAR), the TPPKPP covers the boost/PAGE 10

SIRAWAI, Zamboanga del Norte—Eye-catching and tasty Jolly roll, crunchy cassava chips and yucca sticks, appetizing cassavaco conut co okies, sweet c ass av a p olvoron and mout hwater ing c ass ava c a k e w e re t h e re c i p e s demonstrated by specialists from the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Region 9 office during the recent two-day cassava food processing and utilization demonstration in this coastal municipality.

The province is home to both Muslims and Christians.

Amad Na hu l, DA Regional Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Cassava coordinator, said close to 100 Tausug and Visayan women from Sirawai and the neighboring towns of Siocon and Gutalac actively participated in the handson cooking demonstration through its cassava project under the agency’s corn program.

The activity, undertaken in coordination with the Sirawai Rural Improvement Club (RIC), aims at uplifting the living condition of rural women and out-of-school female youths, Nahul said.

He said the demonstration is a stairway to achieve the

government’s goal of making cassava as the countr y’s ot h e r s u f f i c i e nt s t apl e food even as it provides appropriate information on the significance of the root crop.

Manette Daguro, DA regional information officer, quoted Nahul as saying that cassava is one of the most drought-tolerant crops and is rich in carbohydrates, calcium and vitamin C. Nahul said aside from introducing the other ways of utilizing cassava to rural women, he encouraged the demo attendees to eat cassava as staple food aside from rice as the root crop is often described as hunger-resistant to rural consumers.

Sirawai town Mayor Maria Shirley P. Carino thanked the DA regional personnel “for coming to our municipality not only to educate our womenfolk but also to give them opportunities to help augment their family income.

“This is a big help to their husbands whose main liveli ho o d come s f rom fishing,” Carino said.

Daguro said each of the participants was also provided with a booklet o n c a s s av a - p r o c e s s i n g recipes and a certificate of cassava/PAGE 10

Advertising and Editorial E-mail : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com Contact nos. : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776 Editor: Nelson Constantino

Banking&Finance

BusinessWeek MINDANAO

YOUR LOCAL ONLINE BUSINESS PAPER

thursday - december 19, 2013

3 4 th QU AR TER 201

‘Bonifacio’ commemorative coins now in circulation: BSP

50

P

S E M I T N A Y A Lifestyle CAG T he

DE OR O

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said coin was recommended started circulating P10 Andres Bonifacio by its policy-making Monetary commemorative coins since yesterday, Dec. 18. Board (MB) and approved by Issuance of the said legal tender is in line with the nationwide celebration of the national hero’s 150th birth anniversary on November 30.

The central bank said it will produce 10 million pieces of the said coin, which will have the same size as that of the regular P10 coin.

Specifically, the existing P10 coin has a diameter of 26.5 millimetres and weight

of 8.70 grams.

The BSP said the Bonifacio commemorative coin has one side showing the portrait of the hero, and the markings “150 years”, “Republika ng Pilipinas”, and “2013”.

The other side of the coin will have the BSP seal, the hero’s signature, the Bonifacio monument, and the markings “150 years”, “1863-2013”, and “Dangal at Kabayanihan”.

BSP said issuance of the

the Office of the President.

B onifacio, known as the Father of Philippine Revolution, is one of the founders of the Filipino revolutionary group called Katipunan, which is the short word for the Kataastaasan, Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan.

The discovery of the secret society in 1896 led to the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution. (PNA)

PERSONAL remittances from overseas Filipinos (OFs) breached the US$2 billion mark for the seventh consecutive month in October to post an all-time high of US$2.3 billion, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando M. Tetangco, Jr. announced Tuesday.

This represented an 8.8 percent year-on-year rise in personal remittances, the highest annualized monthly growth rate recorded in 2013.

On a cumulative basis, personal remittances from OFs reached US$20.5 billion in January-October 2013, higher by 6.8 percent than the level recorded in the comparable period last year.

The sustained rise in personal remittances

was driven mainly by the 5.5 percent increase in remittances from landbased workers with work contracts of one year or more, accounting for more than three-fourths (75.5 percent) of total transfers for the first ten months of the year. Transfers from seabased workers and land-based workers with short-term contracts likewise rose by 7.5 percent.

Similarly, cash remittances from OFs coursed through banks grew robustly by 7 percent year-on-year to reach record-high level of US$2.1 billion in October.

For the period JanuaryOctober 2013, cash remittances totaled US$18.5 billion, or 6 percent higher

than the level registered in the same period in 2012. Cash transfers from both landbased (US$14.2 billion) and sea-based workers (US$4.3 billion) grew by 5.5 percent and 7.5 percent, respectively.

The major sources of cash remittances were the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Canada, and Japan.2 Sustained demand for skilled and professional Filipino manpower overseas supported the steady rise in remittances for the first ten months of the year.

Prel im inar y d at a f rom the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) indicate d t hat Reach/PAGE 11

BPI losses due to Supertyphoon Yolanda amount to P10 million BANK of the Philippine Islands (BPI) rep or ted minimal damage to its branches in the Visayas totaling some P10 million attributable to Supertyphoon Yolanda.

BPI Senior Vice President Florendo Maranan, also the executive director of BPI Foundation, said the final tally of damage on its network of branches will have been submitted in around a month to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

T h e t h re e br an ch e s in Tacloban damaged by typhoon were BPI’s main

branch along Romualdez, Rizal and Marasbaras district in Tacloban City. BPI was also victimized by looters at one point in emergency period that followed.

“One ATM [automated teller machine] machine was forced open inside Robinson’s mall in Tacloban.

Another ATM machine in Marasbaras was carried away. But, the vaults were intact. BPI Tacloban main branch’s reconstruction costs P5 million. Our estimate for the loss is at P10 million,” Maranan said.

According to the

executive, the main branch in Tacloban was opened two days after the city’s near total devastation. Its Rizal branch will be opened within the week, while the Marasbaras branch was expected to be operational by January.

He said the Marasbaras branch was under lease agreement and as a result the property owner will spend for its reconstruction and they are negotiating for rental fees.

Meanwhile, BPI has turned over the P33 million to the BPI Foundation which will losses/PAGE 10

Spendit at

WHAT’S INSIDE:

KRISPY KREME Opens in CDO VIP HOTEVillL’S Christmas age Tradition NEW THERE’S A KAMBINGAN in the Oro

50

P 4th QUARTER 2013

k e e W s s e n i s u B MINDANAO PHO TO BY S.UY

Personal remittances reach all-time high of US$2.3-B in October 2013

NEEDAY TO ST ER ANOTH DAY?

5

www.businessweekmindanao.com

BWM Magazine

tion for Higher Learning MOSCAT: A Destination Institu

PHOTOS BY GLENN PALACIO

BWM Magazine

BusinessWeek MINDANAO

6

YOUR LOCAL ONLINE BUSINESS PAPER

www.businessweekmindanao.com

thursday - december 19, 2013

BusinessWeek MINDANAO

Advertising and Editorial E-mail : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com Contact nos. : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776 Editor: Clifford Santillan

Opinion

Promoting iron-fortified rice

YOUR LOCAL ONLINE BUSINESS PAPER

www.businessweekmindanao.com

DANTE M. SUDARIA Publisher ROSE MARY D. SUDARIA, Ph.D. General Manager

NELSON CONSTANTINO Editor-in-Chief

ALLAN MEDIANTE Executive Editor

Shaun Uy

cHENG oRDOñEZ

Lifestyle Editor

Associate Editor

CLIFFORD SANTILLAN RONALD B. MASTAIL

SHIELA gosanes Advertising

Layout Artists

ATTY. MARIO T. JUNI

Cris diaz mike baños Uriel quilinguing EditorialConsultants

Cell No: 09352379999

Juni Law Office Cruz Taal St., Cag. De Oro City Legal Counsel

The BusinessWeek Mindanao is published by BusinessWeek Mindanao Advertising and Promotions every Friday to Sunday with office address at Tanleh Building, Abellanosa, Cagayan de Oro City. It is registered with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Region 10 with Certificate No. 00875701, and with Business Permit No. 2013-10946, TIN No. 946396-807 – Non VAT. Tel. Nos.: (088)8578447, 74-5380, 0923-432-0687, 0917-7121424

Website: www.businessweekmindanao.com E-mail : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com Member: Philippine Press Institute

T

Hard Habit to Break THINK

hink a minute…Are you in the habit of putting salt A Minute on your food? Maybe you have

By Jhan Tiafau Hurst a habit of thinking you’re not smart and that you’ll never succeed in life. Don’t forget, your habits control your life.

What we keep doing every day becomes our life! As the saying goes: “Plant your thought and you’ll reap your action. Plant your action and you’ll reap your habit. Plant your habit and you’ll reap your life.”

After awhile, our habits become such a part of us that we don’t even notice when we’re doing anything wrong. So we end up doing wrong things naturally, whether it’s lying, cheating and stealing, gossiping about others, getting drunk, being lazy, or whatever our bad habits are. But the great news is that you can break your bad habits and change your life! You see, just like you learned your old bad habits, you can learn new ones—if you really want to. And, if you get the help and power you need.

Did you know that to get to the moon it takes more power for that rocket to lift off and break away from the earth’s pull of gravity than all the power it needs to travel to the moon and back to earth—half a million miles! That’s how strong the earth’s pull of gravity is. You see, our bad habits pull us down like gravity. So breaking and changing those bad habits is not always easy.

But Jesus Christ has the power you need so you finally can lift off and start breaking away from those wrong habits.

It’s only then you’ll be free to learn new, good habits, such as always being honest, speaking positively about others, enjoying more time getting close to your family members, always doing your best work on the job, reading the Bible and talking to Jesus every day, and getting involved in a church that teaches the truth from the Bible about Jesus, God the Son. These good habits and many others will enable you to live a happy, successful life.

It’s up to you. Remember, if you don’t start to change the hurst/PAGE 10

The Department of Science and Technology is expecting more stakeholders in Soccsksargen Region to promote iron-fortified rice (IFR) as staple.

This after IFR has captured the attention of government agencies, local government units, rice millers and dealers, and food chain business owners in forums specifically dealing on the agency’s rice fortification program.

E a r l y t h i s m ont h , DOST 12 and the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) conducted such forums in General Santos City and Tacurong City in Sultan Kudarat.

Emphasized in these gatherings were scaling up of rice fortification program via technology transfer, rice fortification technology, technology transfer and business planning, and guidelines and policies on food fortification.

D O S T ’s f l a g s h i p program, Small Enterprise and Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP) was also presented.

D OST 12 Regional Director Dr. Zenaida Laidan, in her message, emphasized iron-fortified rice is one of the most significant ways to address

SPECIAL FEATURE BY: DANILO E. DOGUILES

malnutrition.

Encouraged by the information they learned from the forum, the management of CLG Enterprises in General signified intentions to adopt extrusion technology in producing iron premix.

They are proposing a project entitled “Upgrading of Iron Rice Premix and Fortified Rice Production.”

Based on data released by the Bureau of Agricultural St at i s t i c s ( BAS ) a n d considering the ratio of 1 gram of premix in every 200 grams, a distributor that owns a prototype machine for the production of premix with a capacity of 200 kg per batch could supply all the millers in the region, she said.

IFR, a technology developed by DOST-FNRI, contains 6 mg of iron premix per 100 grams of rice.

C onsumption of IFR, according to FNRI could build healthy red blood cells, improve physical and mental performance, prevents anemia, and strengthens body against infections.

Engr. Felix Canoy, manager of National Food Authority in Sultan Kudarat noted

that the taste and color of the FNRI-developed IFR are better than the previously developed iron-coated rice.

S cientist Dr. Imelda Agdepa of FNRI said that in clinical trials conducted to 173 schoolchildren over 6 months, results showed greater increase in hemoglobin in children who consumed IFR than this who did not.

In response to the support DOST 12 got for popularization of IFR, Director Laidan thanked the National Food Authority and other agencies who have contributed or have promised to back the program up.

She also vowed continuous advocacy through conduct of forums, social marketing, as well as information, education and communication campaigns for the commercialization of the IFR technology.

Laidan added that fortification of rice will be implemented via mill enrichment and home enrichment.

For home enrichment program, she explained, the iron premix will be made available through retail stores. This is aimed at making iron-fortified rice available to rural households and communities where access of mill-enriched rice is limited. ( with BTagiticanDOST 12)

Advertising and Editorial E-mail : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com Contact nos. : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776 Editor: Ronald Mastail

Billboard

Globe and Grab Taxi extend Free Booking Fee promo until January 1, 2014!

BusinessWeek MINDANAO

YOUR LOCAL ONLINE BUSINESS PAPER

7

www.businessweekmindanao.com

thursday - december 19, 2013

PARENTS, TEACHERS, KIDS TO BENEFIT FROM NEW WEBSITE ON VALUES :

TREASURES OF THE HEART

A

GrabTaxi cab from a Globe-powered mobile phone, Globe slashes off the P70 regular booking fee for a more affordable and convenient cab-ride!

“With the partnership between Globe and GrabTaxi, we ensure you more value for your money as you navigate through the Metro during these busy times.

And when we saw how delighted our subscribers were when we started this promo, we all decided to extend the offer to January 1, 2014!” said Jenny Granada-Echevarria, Head of Globe Mobile Data Services.

Sure to be safe, GrabTaxi makes it possible for you to share your ride details over Facebook and email, so your loved ones can track your taxi route in real time. The driver’s phone number, plate number, and other important details will be made available to you even before you get in the cab. And what’s more, all cabs linked with the GrabTaxi network is of the finest quality, ensuring you a cool and comfortable cruise throughout the city.

Pair your GrabTaxi app with a mobile surfGlobe Mobile Data Services ing plan to use it to its fullest potential. Grab Head JENNY ECHEVARRIA

s the Holiday intensifies, there is one thing that everybody’s concerned about when the carols start playing and the cool air starts blowing the inevitable Christmas rush all over the Metro.

And with all the hip and happening Yuletide events, mall-wide sales and last-minute shopping coupled with the dreaded waiting game to hail a cab, Globe Telecom, the mobile data service provider of choice, and GrabTaxi the country’s most phenomenal taxi-booking app continue to give the most wonderful deals as they extend their free booking fee promo until the new year rings in on January 1, 2014!

By booking a

Globe subscribers can now use the Grab Taxi app for stress-free holiday shopping and reunion-hopping, plus free booking fee all throughout the holiday season

the Globe PowerSurf99 which comes with 50MB of mobile data good for 30-days. Globe PowerSurf99 is available to both Prepaid and Postpaid subscribers.

To register for Prepaid, text PowerSurf99 to 8888, or PowerSurf 99 to 8888 for Postpaid. For more information on PowerSurf, visit http:// surf.globe.com.ph

businessweekmindanao@gmail.com (088)856-3344 / (08822) 72-33-44

T

hey were first aired internationally in the Philippines by Anak TV, first as Happy Tales on GMA and after several years as Animazing Tales on ABS CBN. Whatever the title of the series, they remained a fascinating collection of enchanting stories for children from the creative imagination of one of the world’s most revered modern thinkers and ideologues, Dr. Daisaku Ikeda.

The world soon took notice of the 17 colorful animated stories because of their rich educational value. Each independent story featured many values for children. The series was eventually broadcast in 25 countries and translated in fifteen languages.

Today, the hugely successful series can be enjoyed online through a dedicated website called “Treasures of the Heart” designed and launched

by Soka Gakkai, the revered organization that Dr. Ikeda leads. The stories are now available in English, Spanish and Chinese. (treasures-ofheart.com) Anak TV highly recommends the website to parents and teachers who will find the site useful because there are adjunct games, quizzes and discussion points. Child users can even post photographs and comments or download colorful illustrations to create calendars, posters, bookmarks, cards and other stationery.

The treasures-of-heart.com website can be accessed easily from any personal computer, smartphone or tablet.

In January, Anak TV will link up with the Department of Education to encourage more teachers to explore and use the website for classroom discussion of values.

BusinessWeek MINDANAO

8

YOUR LOCAL ONLINE BUSINESS PAPER

www.businessweekmindanao.com

thursday - december 19, 2013

Advertising and Editorial E-mail : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com Contact nos. : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776 Editor: Shaun Uy

Lifestyle Moreno Gives Green Light to Christmas Bazaar near Rodelsa Circle E

ffective on Monday, December 16, 2013, the by-pass road adjacent to the old Sports Zone driving range that connects the extension roads of Apolinar Velez Street and Masterson Avenue in Rodelsa Rotunda is turned into a Christmas Trade Fair.

This, after City Mayor Oscar S. Moreno recently issued Executive Order No. 234-2013 establishing a temporary Christmas dry goods market in the said area starting from December 16, 2013 until January 4, 2014.

In his order, Mayor Moreno reasoned that whenever Christmas season is approaching, shoppers always look for

bargain and sale events where they could purchase agricultural products, dry goods, ready-to-wear clothes, footwear, accessories, wares and similar items at lower prices.

While the Christmas industrial-cumtrade fair will promote festive, safe and meaningful celebration, it will also help sellers or small-time traders to augment their income during the Christmas season, the mayor added.

To give convenience and comfort to the buyers and shoppers, Mayor Moreno at the same time ordered the temporary closure of the said road.

(CIO)

COLOR SHOW. The sidewalks in Cogon public Market in Cagayan de Oro City burst into color as vendors start selling Christmas stars and decorations on Dec. 10.

MindaNews photo by Froilan Gallardo

Advertising and Editorial E-mail : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com Contact nos. : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776 Editor: Cheng Ordoñez

Environment

BusinessWeek MINDANAO

YOUR LOCAL ONLINE BUSINESS PAPER

thursday - december 19, 2013

MSF serves super typhoon Yolanda victims TACLOBAN CITY -- The Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), also called Doctors Without Borders, a medical humanitarian organization has provided humanitarian assistance and medical ser vices to the victims/ survivors of typhoon Yolanda.

They have served in five of the most affected areas: Guiuan in the east of Samar island; Tacloban, Ormoc, Sta. Fe and Burauen on Leyte island; and Estancia on the northeastern part of Panay island.

MSF is prioritizing the provision of mobile clinics for isolated inland and coastal communities. Also, the team is advocating on giving primary healthcare and mental healthcare in health centers, evacuaton sites and mobile clinics in identified villages.

MSF psychologists are carrying out 40 mental health

sessions a week, running psychological activities, and raising awareness about mental health issues.

Mobie teams have conducted vaccination to children against polio and measles in parts of Leyte and Panay and targeting children living in the mountanous area in Liberty, a village in the east of Ormoc.

In Samar island, the MSF’s tent hospitals pitched on the grounds of Felipe J. Abrigo referral hospital in Guiuan is fully functioning, with 50-60 in-patients are admitted per week. Maternity, delivery and surgery services are also offered.

“The team have finished distributing tents, hygiene kits, and cooking equipment to people whose houses were destroyed by the typhoon.

We h a v e d i s t r i b u t e d reconstruction kits to 3,000 msf/PAGE 10

Ms. Susan Castillo, president of the Non-Uniformed Personnel Association Inc. (NUPAI) of the Manila Police District, leads the distribution of food packs and assorted grocery items to poor families in the city in the spirit of Christmas on Saturday (Dec. 14, 2013) at the MPD headquarters on United Nations Ave., Ermita, Manila. (PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan)

51 more weather trackers installed in Soccsksargen KORONADAL CITY, South Cotabato -- In line with the efforts of the government to beef up real-time weather monitoring and disaster prevention, the Department of Science and Technology 12 has recently started installation of 51 additional weather tracking devices in identified high-risk areas in different parts of Soccsksargen Region.

“These devices will help communities prepare for disasters by giving them early warning,” said Dr. Zenaida Hadji Raof-Laidan, regional director of DOST 12.

Inst a l l at i on of t he hydrometeorological devices, she explained, is part the Project NOAH (Nationwide

Operational Assessment of Hazards), DOST’s response to the call of President Benigno Aquino III for a more accurate, integrated and responsive disaster prevention and mitigation system, specifically in highrisk areas throughout the country.

Early this month, agency

9

www.businessweekmindanao.com

personnel were deployed to different parts of Soccsksargen Region to begin installation of 39 automated rain gauges (ARGs) and 12 water level monitoring systems (WLMS).

As of press time, DOST 12 has completed set up of 16 ARGs and 4 WLMS in several municipalities of North Cotabato.

Installation of 9 ARGs and 3 WLMS in South Cotabato, 10 ARGs and 3 WLMS in Sultan Kudarat, and 4 ARGs and 1 WLMS in Sarangani are on-going.

Laidan said, installation of the hydromets, which must be completed before yearend,

was coordinated with local governments concerned.

Earlier, DOS 12 installed 8 automated weather systems and ARGs during the first phase of implementation of Hydromet Project in 2012.

“Deployment of these modern weather tracking devices would eliminate subjective weather forecasting through realtime monitoring of weather disturbances and will keep our communities alert to calamities brought about by heavy rains and typhoons,” Laidan said.

ARGs and WLMS are installed along major river trackers/PAGE 10

UNICEF official cites ‘spirit of communities’ hit by Yolanda TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte – After a four-day visit to the Philippines, UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake said he was deeply impressed by the spirit of the people and the communities working with the government, United Nations and other partners to rebuild their lives and their future.

L ake visited Eastern Visayas on December 14 and 15 where he met and spoke with children, teachers and parents at numerous schools, learning spaces, child-friendly tents and vaccination sites in Leyte and Eastern Samar.

He said the massive typhoon disrupted the lives

of nearly six million children and destroyed the homes of 1.4 million children and their families.

“While I had followed the reports of progress closely from UNICEF’s New York Headquarters, no statistics can adequately capture the physical and human challenges that remain,” said Lake.

“I came here not only to see the progress first-hand, but also to thank our UNICEF staff who have been here from the start and will continue to support the rebuilding effort for the long term.”

In a press statement sent to the Philippine Information unicef/PAGE 10

Kerry reaffirms US commitment to help recovery of Tacloban TACLOBAN CITY -- United States (US) Secretary of State John F. Kerry reaffirmed on We d ne s d ay t he U S government’s commitment to help in rebuilding the lives of the survivors of super typhoon “Yolanda” (Haiyan).

Kerr y visited on Wednesday the storm hit Tacloban City to discuss with Defense S ecretar y and National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council Chairman Voltaire Gazmin, city officials and

representatives of various stakeholders on how the US can continue to contribute to the relief and reconstruction work here.

Kerr y arrived at the Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport where he was welcomed

by Gazmin, Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez and Representative Ferdinand Martin Romualdez at 10:15am together with US Ambassador Philip Goldberg, Philippine Ambassador to the United kerry/PAGE 10

ComVal to prioritize shelter for Pablo survivors over infra

Neighbors help each other in putting out the fire or preventing it from spreading by throwing water into still undamaged houses in Purok 4, barangay Port Poyohon in Butuan City on Friday the 13th, 2013. mindanews photo by erwin mascarinas

COMPOSTELA VALLEY – The provincial government here has prioritized on prov i d i ng s h e lte rs to survivors of last year’s Ty p h o o n P a b l o o v e r infrastructure.

Provincial board member Tyrone Uy said in an interview that the

Sangguniang Panlalawigan has authorized Gov. Arturo Uy to sign a memorandum of agreement with the D ep ar t ment of S o cia l Welfare and Development during the board’s regular session last week.

Last week, Uy was acting shelter/PAGE 10

BusinessWeek MINDANAO

10

Advertising and Editorial E-mail : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com Contact nos. : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776

YOUR LOCAL ONLINE BUSINESS PAPER

www.businessweekmindanao.com

thursday - december 19, 2013

ABELLANOSA Lechon House Moody... from page 2 Corner Magsaysay Abellanosa St., Cag. de Oro City MANAGED BY :

KUYA ABS CDO EAGLES CLUB WE ACCEPT ORDERS: LECHON, HALANG-HALANG or SAMPAINA

FREE DELIVERY WITHIN CITY PROPER Contact:

09353742908 / 09265949729 / 0883091150

“Yet there are reasons to believe 2014 will be better,” the report said, noting that “OECD (Organization for E conomic C o op erat ion and Development) leading indicator of economic activity is accelerating.”

Relatively, the looming cut in the Federal Reserve’s US$ 85 billion monthly bond purchases is expected to impact on Asia-Pacific economies but at a lesser extent compared to the volatility experienced in the first half of the year after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke disclosed the possibility of the tapering.

“We expect less financial volatility in 2014, but this outlook is uncertain,” it said, noting that “financial shocks are by definition unforeseen, and even if the source is unknown, some volatility should be anticipated given the parlous state of the global recovery.” (PNA)

Bills... from page 2

LOTS FOR SALE! AVAIL OF CHRISTMAS PROMO & SAVE! VERY AFFORDABLE TITLED LOTS COUNTRY LIKE SETTING – 1 KM BEFORE SM BUY ANY SIZE 100 M2 – 5 HECTARES IN HOUSE FINANCING @ 10% DOWN PAYMENT LOW MONTHLY PAYMENTS, FLOOD FREE!

CONTACT NO. 09263922933 MDN: DEC. 17, 2013 – JAN. 16, 2014

Pryce Plaza Hotel Carmen Hill, CDO, Tel. No.722791 to93/858-4537 E-mail:reservations@pryceplaza.ph

---------------------------------

CHANANTHON BED & BREAKFAST CM Recto Avenue, Cagayan de Oro City Tel. #: 856-81-89 / 309-3095 / 231-2103 Email ad : chananthonbb@yahoo.com Room @ P800.00

COMMERCIAL SPACE FOR RENT

CONTACT PERSON: RAYLYN LANTACA

---------------------------------

NEW DAWN PENSIONNE Velez-Macahambus Sts, CDO Tel Nos. 8571776, 721776 email : gchreservation@yahoo.com

Susan Yap (2nd DistrictTarlac).

B oth measures were approved on Aug. 15, 2011 and transmitted to the Senate three days later.

In the 16th Congress, several bills seeking to m o d e r n i z e c u stoms administration in the country have been referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, among them HB Nos. 5, 10, 166, 1348, 1461, 1583 and 3107.

The CMTA bills seek to set international standards in customs operations, and make import trade transactions faster, predictable, efficient and transparent. They also aim to promote and secure international trade, protect and enhance government revenue, prevent smuggling and other fraud against customs and modernize customs and tariff administration.

The bills also aim to comply with the Revised Kyoto Convention (Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedures) of the World Customs Organization to which the Philippines is a signatory.

Meanwhile, HB Nos. 130, 302, 1788 and 2765 all seek to rationalize the grant and administration of fiscal incentives for the promotion and growth of investments.

Most of the bills seek to empower the Board of Investments (BOI) to be responsible for industry development, policy formulation, investment promotion, and investment facilitation.

The BOI shall formulate an Investments Priorities Plan (IPP) whose activities comply with the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) and Medium Term Philippine Investment Plan (MTPIP) and satisfy the following conditions: s u b s t ant i a l am ou nt of

investments; considerable amount of employment; use of modern or new technology; and installation of adequate environmental protection systems.

Earlier, House Speaker Feliciano B elmonte, in pushing for the enactment of the fiscal incentives bill in the 16th Congress, said revenue losses due to redundant incentives could be as high as one percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

Aside from the fiscal incentives measure, others identified as priority bills in the House this 16th Congress include the establishment of a national transportation policy; the review of the Electric Power Industr y Reform Act; the legislation of the National Land Use Policy; and the amendment of the Government Procurement Act. (PNA)

NGCP... from page 3

toppled steel towers,” the company said.

The affected structures had been massive, but the company said, it was able to stock ERS as part of its disaster preparedness plan.

Yet NGCP emphasized that the ERS structures will need to be replaced with permanent transmission facilities starting next year to keep pace with the design of a secure and reliable power system.

The company will b e integrating planned investment for such in its next regulatory reset filing under performance-based regulation (PBR) by 2015.

Prior to weekend, the transmission company also apprised media that it set up charging stations for cellular phones and other electronic gadgets for the residents of Ormoc City in Leyte.

It can be culled that ‘communications system’ was among the services which suffered total collapse after the hit of the disaster – and such had deep social and emotional implications because it technically cut off people from reaching out to their relatives.

Aboitiz... from page 3

APRI is a unit of Aboitiz Power Corp. (AboitizPower).

The firm acquired the TiwiMakBan geothermal plants -- located in Albay and Laguna -- through a bidding conducted by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. in 2008 after it posted the winning bid amounting to $446.888 million. The company also owns the Negron-Cuadrado geothermal service contract which covers an area that straddles the provinces of Zambales and Pampanga.

Basic holds geothermal service contracts in Mabini, Batangas; Iriga, Camarines Sur; Mariveles, Bataan; and East Mankayan -- which cuts across three provinces in the Cordillera Administrative Region (Benguet, Mountain Province, Ifugao).

AboitizPower is the power generation and distribution arm of Aboitiz Group. Its net income declined 22.26% to P14.6 billion in the nine months to September from P18.78 billion in the same period last year. Basic, which is also involved in oil exploration in Mindoro and Sulu Sea, saw its bottom line swing to a P9.31-million net loss as of September from a P187.66million net income in the same nine months last year.

Carrier...

from page 3 He clarified that the carrier may relaunch the route in the future.

He added that Tiger Air will launch its Manila-Macau route in the first quarter of 2014.

W i t h T i g e r A i r ’s cancellation of its ManilaPhuket service, only Cebu Pacific flies the route at thrice-a-week frequency.

Tiger Air has two Airbus A319s, each with 144 seats, and three Airbus A320s which are 180-seater planes.

Tiger Air flies to Cebu, Bacolod, Iloilo, Kalibo, Puerto Princesa, and Tacloban from its hub in Metro Manila. It flies to Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore via Clark and maintains a KaliboSingapore-Clark service.

Eyed... from page 4

global experience a unique advantage in accelerating the bank’s efforts to extend f i n a n c i n g t o d i f f e re nt va lue chain pl ayers in agribusinesses and small enterprises in rural areas,” Rizal Microbank President Ma. Lourdes S. Pineda said in a statement.

Rizal Microbank -- the microfinance arm of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.

-- offers direct loans to micro-borrowers and small enterprises.

In its four ye ars of operation, the Yuchengco-led bank has extended over P1 billion worth of loans, ranging from P50,000 to P1 million, reaching an estimated 12,000 clients.

In the first semester, it held P300 million in deposits, while revenues stood at P900 million.

Meanwhile, IFC said supporting agribusiness is crucial to the Philippine economy, stressing that the sector has a workforce of 13 million people and accounts for 11% of the country’s total gross domestic product.

The partnership with Rizal Microbank “is in line with the World Bank Group’s thrust to support agribusiness, particularly in regions where more jobs and livelihood need to be created and economic growth has to be more inclusive,” IFC Resident Representative Jesse O. Ang said.

IFC has already invested $150 million in equity in Rizal Microbank to support its efforts to increase lending to small and medium enterprises.

Last September, it also

signed an agreement with CARD SME Bank, Inc., also in aid of the country’s agribusinesses. It is also working with local insurers to provide indemnity insurance to farmers and rural entrepreneurs.

Boost...

from page 4 construction and installation of 418 pre-fabricated steel bridges in selected ARCs nationwide.

Out of this number, Abad reported that DAR has already endorsed a total of 287 bridges for completion. This includes 47 bridge projects in the Visayas region, specifically for regions VI and VII, where families were greatly affected

by Typhoon Yolanda.

“A s w e i m p l e m e n t agri-oriented projects to support our farmers and advance agrarian reform, we continue to mobilize additional assistance and recovery efforts to areas ravaged by Typhoon Yolanda.

This latest releas e will complement ongoing and forthcoming rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in the Visayas region, where we are striving to reestablish sustainable livelihood and restore the area’s vibrant economy the soonest possible time,” Abad added.

Cassava... from page 4

participation after the wellattended activity.

Marites Godoy, one of the attendees, said, “We will no longer stick to the traditional ‘boiled cassava’”—a remark seconded by the other demo participants.

Daguro said a similar c ass ava co ok ing demo, attended by 130 women, was earlier conducted by the DA in Mabuhay town, Zamboanga Sibugay.

Losses... from page 5

be used for the rebuilding and rehabilitation of schools and houses in areas struck by typhoon Yolanda.

BPI Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Fidelina AdanCorcuera said some 30,000 employees contributed to raise P11.5 million. BPI matched ever y peso the lender’s employees gave for the typhoon victims.

BPI Family Savings Bank also held an online bingo game involving several of its branches and donated the game proceeds.

Another P11 million was raised from individuals and organizations outside the bank that was coursed through the BPI Foundation.

The BPI Foundation, likewise, partnered with the Department of Education for the building of schools.

They will also help build homes through the Habitat for Humanity, a non-governmental organization, prioritizing as beneficiaries schoolteachers, whose houses were destroyed by the typhoon. Each house is estimated to cost P200,000.

BusinessWeek MINDANAO

Advertising and Editorial E-mail : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com Contact nos. : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776

YOUR LOCAL ONLINE BUSINESS PAPER

thursday - december 19, 2013

Slower... from page 1

Still, the impact of the typhoon on the coconut subsector has prompted the regional office of the Agriculture department to project f lat industr y performance this year as Davao Oriental lost about 6 million coconut trees.

The province is considered the country’s top coconut producer.

Based on the updated development plan, other regional industries will continue to register growth despite near-term problems in the sub-sectors most hurt

by Pablo. Among these industries are information and communications technology (ICT), property development (including construction) and manufacturing.

The plan also noted that the rehabilitation efforts in typhoon-devastated areas will also contribute to the growth. Construction is a major growth inducer since its inputs can be traced to over a dozen industries.

Economy... from page 1

maintaining a growth target of 6 to 7 percent despite the impacts of natural disasters.

GDP in the first three quarters of the year expanded 7.4 percent, one of the fastest rates in the Asian region.

Balisacan said fourthquarter GDP is expected to slow down to 4.1 to 5.9 percent, factoring in the damage from natural disasters. (PNA)

PDIC... from page 1

agency’s settlement scheme.

She said they reopened the bank on Tuesday to facilitate the two-day claims settlement operations for deposits covered by its maximum deposit insurance of P500,000.

“The settlement only covered deposits that are within the maximum deposit insurance. Claims beyond that amount will have to be settled later on with the bank through its assets,” Gonzales said.

SRBI, which is considered one of the pioneering rural banks in the area, celebrated its 55th anniversary last August 18.

A bank information sheet posted at the website of the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines identified its chairman and president as Francisco L. Laiz, Jr. The bank has a total of 2,407 depositors, most of whom are vendors or stall operators at the city central public market and several small establishments located along P. Acharon Boulevard where it is based.

A PDIC statement noted that 99.99 percent of the bank’s deposit accounts have balances of P500,000 or less and are fully covered by deposit insurance.

It said SRBI’s total insured deposits amounted to P44.80

million or 98.3 percent of the why not ask Jesus to forgive total deposits. you for your old wrong Gonzales said they made habits and way of living? the payout to dep osits Then ask Him to give you amounting to P50,000 and His power to start living His below through postal money right, successful way with order and bank checks for your new good habits. You those within the P50,000 to have nothing to lose and P500,000 range. everything to gain.

The deposit payouts Just Think a Minute… included a seven percent interest set by the agency.

After the settlement from page 9 o p e r a t i o n s h e r e o n families on the islands south Wednesday, the official said of Guiuan, and now preparing the agency will still accept to distribute another 500 kits claims from other depositors to families in Guian City, but they will be required to including boat repair kits to file them at their central those who are needing it,” said office.

Lee Pik Kwan, MSF regional The PDIC took over the communications coordinator. bank’s “assets, records and Meanwhile, MSF’s water affairs” last December 6 based and sanitation (WatSan) on Resolution No. 2022 of the specialists are currently Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ providing water for 20,000 (BSP) Monetary Board. people daily. The WatSan team As the bank’s designated is also cleaning wells in villages receiver, the PDIC was tasked located along the coastal strip to “determine as soon as whose water supplies were possible, but not later than contaminated by salt water 90 days from takeover of the due to flooding and storm bank, whether the same may surge. be rehabilitated or permitted The team assigned in the to resume business.” northern part of Leyte are G onz a l es c onf i r me d also providing 163,290 liters that the bank’s closure was of clean drinking water to triggered by problems with more than 33,000 people and its financial operations. have distributed 76,000 tabs “Based on the BSP’s for chlorinating water. ass e ss me nt , t he b an k’s “MSF teams are continually estimated assets were no doing some repair on damage longer enough to cover or pay he a lt h centers in four for its maturing obligations,” municipalities in Guiuan. We she said. are set to continue our activities SRBI is so far the 18th in the Eastern Visayas region rural bank in the country over the coming months until that was ordered closed and secondary heathcare services placed by the BSP under are restored,” bared Lee. receivership this year due The total MSF international to insolvency. staff on the ground now Owing to this, Gonzales is154 and 300 national staff advised residents to be more approximately, Lee added. cautious in selecting the (VLG/PIA-Caraga) banks where they would put in their investments.

She said the financial from page 9 statements of major banks are basins to provide better usually published in various picture of the country’s surface national newspapers. water in relation to flooding, Gonzales said residents gather and record the amount should look out for banks of time. that offer high interest rates AWS devices measure for deposits or investments. weather parameters, wind “ T h e h i g h e r t h e speed and direction, air interest rate, the riskier the temperature, air humidity, air investments,” she added. pressure as well as rain volume, (MindaNews) duration and intensity.

Data gathered from these devices are sent wirelessly from page 5 through cellular network as approved job orders totaled text message.

675,966 for January-October Each station is equipped 2013, of which about two- with data logger platform fifths (39.7 percent) were GSM Data Acquisition processed job orders mainly Terminal (G-DAT), which for services, production, serves as mini-computer professional, technical, and that controls all functions related workers. and data communications T he mai n c ou nt r i e s of the station. of destination were Saudi The project harnesses Arabia, the United Arab technologies and management Emirates, Kuwait, Taiwan, services for disaster risk Hong Kong, and Qatar. reduction activities being Moreover, the continued offered by DOST through presence of bank and non- the Philippine Astronomical, bank service providers in Geophysical and Astronomical foreign countries through Services Administration , tie-ups and remittance the Philippine Institute of centers contributed to strong Volcanology and Seismology remittance flows. and the DOST-Advanced Science and Technology Institute, in partnership from page 6 with the University of the the wrong habits in your life Philippines National Institute today, your life will likely of Geological Sciences and the never change. So when you UP Colllege of Engineering. die, you’ll still be living the (DEDoguiles-PIA 12/DOST way you are right now. Today, 12)

MSF...

Trackers...

Reach...

Hurst...

11

www.businessweekmindanao.com

UNICEF... from page 9

Agency by UNICEF’s Ms. Kathryn Donovan , it was learned that UNICEF has mobilized experts from all over the world to support the relief effort, increasing the staff on the ground to over 100 people to coordinate a plan for recovery to strengthen services for children.

This will include working with the government and par tners in supp or ting back-to-learning efforts; strengthening the child protection system, working on reestablishing and rehabilitating water systems and the cold chain for delivery of safe vaccines and providing services to children threatened by malnutrition.

Eight days after Yolanda struck, the children’s agency helped restore water to the city and hopes to assist in restoring safe water to more than 60 communities.

The Philippine government re-opened schools in the area on December 2, and principals and educators were already working to help children resume learning even in the absence of books and classrooms. All over the islands, communities are working together to clean schools; 193 classroom-sized tents have been erected for close to 20,000 students, and over 50,000 children are benefitting from UNICEF school supplies.

UNICEF is providing child-friendly tents for children and mother-baby tents staffed with trained volunteers are there to help children process the pain of their experiences. UNICEF is also working closely with teachers and administrators to support the challenges of working with children who have suffered great loss.

The children’s agency has trained 44 police and social workers throughout the affected areas to identify children who have been separated from their families and may be in need of special care.

“None of this could have been done without the support UNICEF has received for the Philippines from around the world, especially from individuals and private sector partners through our national committees,” said Lake. (PIA 8)

Kerry... from page 9

States Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. and other US Embassy Manila officials, and proceeded to Department of Social Welfare and Development Hub on Apitong Road to personally check on the relief operations.

The US Secretary of State also visited the Tent City near the airport to meet with the representatives of the United States Agency for International Development to discuss the US humanitarian assistance being provided to the Philippines.

Kerry stayed in Tacloban for almost three hours before returning to Manila at 12:45

p.m.

Kerry began on Tuesday h i s 2 - d ay v i s it t o t h e Philippines. It was his first visit as US Secretary of State.

During his visit, Secretary Kerry met with President Benigno S. Aquino III and Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario. PND (js)

Shelter...

from page 9 vice governor with Manuel Zamora acting as governor.

The MOA would allow the government to receive funds from DSWD for the financing of a housing and shelter program, from a total of P1.3 billion in funding.

Implementation would start in 2014, the board member said.

“Right now we’re on the stage of shelter rehabilitation phase,” he said.

The target beneficiaries would be Pablo-hit areas such as Taytayan, Compostela,

Monkayo, L aak and Montevista.

Part of the funding would also go to cash-for-work programs, he added.

Uy said that the province is also waiting for funding from the Department of Public Works and Highways. “ The agreement with the national office is for the DPWH to help build the bridges while the province would be the ones to repair the provincial roads,” he said.

In hard-hit Sitio Taytayan in Barangay Andap, New Bataan municipality for example, the bridge that the barangay is using has been built from trees that had fallen from Pablo’s wrath.

Uy said the budget for the bridge in Taytayan has been allocated for 2013, with the appropriation still pending.

Pablo killed more than 40 people from Andap alone, with New Bataan registering more than 350 casualties.

www.johndprovoice.com

BusinessWeek MINDANAO

12

YOUR LOCAL ONLINE BUSINESS PAPER

www.businessweekmindanao.com

thursday - december 19, 2013

Feature

Advertising and Editorial E-mail : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com Contact nos. : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776 Editor: Shaun Uy

Sendong 2nd Year Commemoration

A

holy mass officiated by Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio J. Ledesma and a white lantern memorial parade highlighted a series of activities lined up by the City Government of Cagayan de Oro and private sector in commemoration of the 2nd year anniversary of the devastating typhoon Sendong.

City Mayor Oscar S. Moreno and committee chairperson Ms. Eileen San Juan led the commemorative rites anchoring on the theme: “Beyond Sendong: Rebuilding Lives and the City”.

A tribute honoring the city’s partners in rebuilding efforts preceded the holy mass at the Rodelsa Circle and lantern procession along the city’s main street Apolinar Velez joined by

people from all walks of life.

Other activities include a forum on promoting disaster risk resilience conducted by experts from Environmental Science for Social Change (ESSC) and Xavier University; gift-giving by Safer River Life Saver Foundation and ‘Tabang Medico’ free medical clinic for relocation communities; and an exhibit featuring livelihood programs and cooperative products of Sendong survivors.

It can be recalled that the deadly tropical storm Sendong struck Cagayan de Oro City on the night of December 16, 2011, leaving 734 persons dead, almost 500 still missing, and thousands of families rendered homeless due to rampaging f loodwaters.

[Cagayan de Oro City Info Network]

Performance artists led by Nick Aca dramatize the Typhoon Sendong experience in Cagayan de Oro City Monday evening. The 2nd year anniversary of the killer typhoon was marked in the city with a program held at the Sendong Memorial which pays tribute to the victims of the disaster.

Photo by GERRY LEE GORIT

ROTARY CLUB OF CAGAYAN DE ORO RI DISTRICT 3870 Meeting at Seda Hotel, Executive Club Lounge, 11th floor