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Volume XII, No. 77
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Power coops up in arms vs X DLPC franchise expansion Briefly Thank you for trusting us!
Market Indicators
AS OF 6:00 PM DECEMBER 7, 2021 (TUESDAY)
FOREX
PHISIX
US$1 = P50.41
7,130.74
0.05
cents
X
75.55 points
Market for Davao coconut, cacao
DAVAO DE ORO agricultural commodities could do well in South Korea market if producers bolster their research and development and ensure stable supply and delivery, a trade official said. “I challenge MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) to look into R&D… Unless we have a strong R&D, we will continue to be dependent on foreign investors, and foreign investors are also more attracted to countries with strong R&D,” Jose Ma. S. Dinsay, commercial counsellor of the Philippine Trade and Investment Center-Seoul, said during the two-day hybrid Davao de Oro Investment Conference 2021 last week. He cited coconut and cacao as among the province’s products that can be developed for further export.
Red tide warning THE Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) issued red tide warnings for Carigara Bay, Leyte and Litalit Bay, San Benito, Surigao del Norte after the waters tested positive for paralytic shellfish poison. The BFAR said in its 33rd shellfish bulletin dated Dec. 2 that other areas still positive for red tide include Mariveles, Limay, Orion, Pilar, Balanga, Hermosa, Orani, Abucay, and Samal, Bataan; Dauis and Tagbilaran City, Bohol; Guiuan and Matarinao Bay, Eastern Samar; Dumanquillas Bay, Zamboanga del Sur; Baroy, Lanao del Norte; and Lianga Bay, Surigao del Sur. All types of shellfish and Acetes sp. or alamang harvested from areas affected by red tide are unfit for human consumption. Other marine species from the same waters can still be consumed with proper handling.
T
By CHRIS PANGANIBAN, Contributing Editor
AGUM City — Protests have snowballed against the granting of the congressional franchise to the Aboitiz-owned Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC), which is expanding its operation to six towns and two cities in Davao del Norte and Davao de Oro provinces.
Mario Angelo S otto, general manager of the Northern Davao Electric Cooperative Inc. (Nordeco), and Engr. Emmanuel Galarse, Nordeco supervisor who helped unify the electric c o o p e r a t i v e’s f e u d i n g factions two years ago, said in a position paper that granting the franchise to DLPC through House Bill
No. 09978 would double the electric rates of households in its distribution charges. A manifesto, signed by 94,000 Nordeco members, said the privatization of the areas covered by the DLPC franchise application would adversely affect the national government’s Sitio Electrification Program (SEP) and deprive more than 600
still-to-be-energized sitios under Nordeco operation. The Davao del Norte chapter of the National Center of Electric Cooperative Consumers, Inc. also supported Nordeco’s move, saying the SEP would no longer be given subsidies by the national government once it is operated by a “privateFRANCHISE/PAGE 7
TFBM: 95% of Marawi major infra projects done by June 2022
THE construction of road networks in the war-torn city of Marawi is in its final stages of completion, the Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM) reported on Saturday. In a statement, TFBM chairperson and housing czar, Secretary Eduardo del Rosario said he is satisfied with the "progression of the massive rehabilitation efforts" in the city. Del Rosario noted that the ongoing rehabilitation work slowed down slightly due to inclement weather in the city in the past four months. He remained optimistic that despite PROJECTS/PAGE 7
MALAYBALAY IN DECEMBER. You know it's December with the mere sight of Lumad carolers and their ethnic instruments in the streets of Malaybalay City. mindanews photo taken december 6, 2021 by h. marcos c. mordeno
SRP adjustment THE Department of Trade Industry (DTI) needs to set new suggested retail prices (SRPs) for basic necessities to reflect increased consumer demand, food manufacturers said. In a statement Friday, the Philippine Chamber of Food Manufacturers Inc. (PCFMI) said: “The last release of the SRP bulletin happened in September 2019. As a result, food manufacturers are struggling to keep up with the increasing demand with the upcoming Christmas season,” PCFMI said. “There is a need to regularly update the SRPs of basic commodities to help food manufacturers recover from the losses due to the pandemic,” PCFMI First Vice President Helen Grace Baisa said.
COVID-19 IN CHRISTMAS. Christmas lanterns hanging at the Freedom Park in Malaybalay City provide a somewhat inappropriate backdrop to the sight of residents queuing for vaccines against COVID-19 on Monday, Dec. 6, 2021. mindanews photo by h. marcos c. mordeno
Anxiety deepens among bakwits with delay in passage of Marawi Compensation Bill By FROILAN GALLARDO, MindaNews
MARAWI City — Tears welled from the eyes of Sittie Almairah Pangarungan Daud wetting the veil of the black hijab she was wearing. “I might lose my chance in owning a house. My fou r ch i l d re n w i l l not
have a home,” Daud said at a sheltered rotunda in downtown Marawi. Police dispersed Daud and her fellow bakwits or Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) — around 500 of them — when they staged a rally
to push the Senate to pass the Marawi Compensation Bill. “The police took our tarps and placards, and threatened the IDPs with detention,” Marawi Consensus Group leader Drieza Liningding said. Not wanting trouble,
Drieza said, the IDPs decided not to continue the rally, and went home peacefully. The House of Representatives already passed its version of the measure, House Bill No. 9925, last Sept. 6, providing for compensation to owners for the loss of and damages
to their properties during the five-months fighting in Marawi City in 2017. The Senate version is still pending at the special c om m it t e e on Ma r aw i rehabilitation chaired by Senator Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa. ANXIETY/PAGE 7
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