BusinessWeek Mindanao (January 11, 2021)

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Volume XI, No. 92

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Bamboo summit DAVAO City - The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) will convene bamboo stakeholders from all over the region in a face-to-face and virtual Summit on January 19 to organize the Mindanao Bamboo Industry Council.

Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said in a public announcement Friday, that the Mindanao Bamboo Summit will be held at the Development Bank (DBP) of the Philippines Conference Hall in Cagayan de Oro City where the major stakeholders, including representatives of the different agencies, will meet face-to-face.

He said that representatives of the Department of Environment and Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) are expected to provide inputs on how their agency could support the Mindanao Bamboo Industry.

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Gov't bids out railway mngt to Chinese firms www.businessweekmindanao.com

Monday|January 11, 2021

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HE Transportation department has invited shortlisted Chinese consultants to submit bids for the project management consultancy services contract of the Mindanao Railway Project (Tagum-Davao-Digos segment).

T h e D e p a r t m e nt of Transpor tation (DoTr), “pursuant to the applicable executive agreements between the government of the Philippines and

the government of the People’s Republic of China, intends to apply the sum of P3,094,251,412 being the approved budget for RAILWAY/PAGE 7

CDO to allocate P500-M for Covid-19 vaccines THE lo ca l gover nment here has joined other local government units (LGUs) that have allocated a portion of their budget to purchase coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines.

In his daily press briefing on Thursday, Mayor Oscar Mo r e n o s a i d t h e c i t y government is considering setting aside P300 million to P500 million for the Covid-19 VACCINES/PAGE 7

VIVA NAZARENO! The replica or the “callejeron” of the Black Nazarene is placed on the back of a truck for the motorcade from the Nazareno parish church in Barangay Lapasan in Cagayan de Oro City on Friday, 8 January 2021. City Hall and Church officials canceled the annual procession of the Black Nazarene bu allowed a motorcade of the religious icon around the city at the start of the curfew. mindanews photo froilan gallardo

No 'Traslacion' in CDO this year, just a motorcade during curfew

Agri survey BUTUAN City – The Philippine Statistics Authority in Caraga (PSA-13) is set to start vital agriculture surveys in the region.

In a press statement on Wednesday, the PSA-13 said it will start this month the Palay and Corn Stock Survey (PCSS1), the Farm Prices Survey (FPS), and the Monthly Palay and Corn Situation Reporting System (MPCSRS) for 2021.

“The PCSS1 aims to generate estimates of the current stocks of rice and corn in farming and non-farming households,” Rosalinda Apu

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Philippine Press Institute Civic Journalism Community Press awardee for the following: 2013 Best in Business and Economic Reporting 2014 Best in Environmental Reporting 2017 Best in Business and Economic Reporting 2018 Best in Business and Economic Reporting

By FROILAN GALLARDO, MindaNews

IN previous years, thousands of devotees would fill the streets during the procession or “Traslacion” of the Black Nazarene here. This year, the

Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro and the city government canceled the yearly ritual to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

TRASLACION/PAGE 7

First phase of Bukidnon airport nears completion TUPAD SUBSIDY PROGRAM. Deputy House Speaker Cong. Rufus Rodriguez (2nd Dist.. Cagayan de Oro City) facilitates the release of funds under the Department of Labor (DOLE) Tupad Bayanihan 2 orogram being distributed as cash subsidy to workers displaced and forced out of works due to Covid-19 pandemic. The distribution, held at Nazareth Gymnasium on Friday, January 8, 2021 is led by the congressman's wife Cagayan de Oro City Councilor Bebot Rodriguez and Nazareth Brgy. Chairman Janjan Rodriguez. photo by gerry lee gorit

THE "Phase One" development of the planned airport terminal in Bukidnon province has reached a 98 percent completion rate, according to the local chief executive of Don Carlos town

on Thursday.

Mayor Victoria OntanillasPizarro shared the engineering earthworks for the project are almost complete, while "Phases AIRPORT/PAGE 7

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Iconic PH eagle 'Pag-asa' dies

D

(From left) Department of Tourism 10 director Marie Elaine Unchuan (left), Claveria (Misamis Oriental) mayor Meraluna Abrogar and Miss Kuyamis 2021 third runnerup Angeliza Navajo reopens the popular Claveria viewdeck along Route 955, for the first time since the pandemic began. photo courtesy of claveria lgu

BALINGASAG, MISAMIS ORIENTAL National Highway Balingasag, Barangay 4, Balingasag, Misamis Oriental Mobile Number/s: 0933-823-3161, 0933-823-3304 Tel. Number: 333-5161 CAGAYAN DE ORO P&J Lim Building, Tiano Kalambagohan St., Barangay 14, Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental Tel No. (08822) 727-829 / 231-6629 Telefax No. (088) 856-1947 Mobile No. 0933-823-3303 / 0943-708-7065 CAGAYAN DE ORO WAREHOUSE Warehouse 7, Bonbon Road, Kauswagan, Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental Mobile No. 0917-825-4149 / 0943-708-7065 CARMEN, CAGAYAN DE ORO Vamenta Blvd., fronting CEPALCO, Carmen, Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental Tel. No. (088) 233-2011 Mobile No. 0933-823-3159 CORRALES, CDO Corrales Ave., Barangay 29, Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental Telefax No. (088) 231-2055

AVAO City – The Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) on Friday announced the death of “Pag-asa”, the first Philippine eagle to be bred and hatched in captivity. He was 28 years old.

“The Philippine Eagle Foundation is sad to announce the passing of beloved Philippine eagle, Pag-asa. He succumbed to infections associated with Trichomoniasis and Aspergillosis.

Both diseases are fatal for raptors. Although treatment was done over a week ago, he continued to deteriorate and died at 8:03 p.m. on January 6,” the PEF said in a statement.

Pag-asa was bred

DIVISORIA, CDO A. Velez St., Barangay 9, Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental Telefax No. (088) 856-1947 Mobile No. 0917-841-4000 / 0933-823-3164 GINGOOG CITY G/F Wyne Militante Bldg., Lugod St., Barangay 22, Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental Telefax No. (088) 861-0104 Mobile No. 0933-823-3168 LAPASAN, CDO National Highway (FICCO Bldg.), Lapasan, Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental Tel. No. (088) 231-6739 Mobile No. 0933-823-3160 PUERTO, CDO Purok 6, Puerto, Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental Tel. No. (088) 859-0574 Mobile No. 0943-708-7537 CAMIGUIN B. Aranas St., Poblacion, Mambajao, Camiguin Telefax No. (088) 387-0491 Mobile No. 0943-708-7539

through artificial insemination and hatched through combined artificial and natural incubation techniques.

He was named after the Tagalog term for "hope" by the PEF team as awareness of conservation efforts on the endangered Philippine eagles increased after his hatching.

He was the first offspring of Philippine eagles Diola and Junior.

Then 29-year-old Diola laid the egg, and Junior, who is found in Agusan, donated the sperm.

She sat on the egg for 12 days before it was transferred to an incubator.

“Pag-asa would have turned 29 years old on Jan. 15, 2021. He was the first-ever Philippine eagle bred and hatched in captivity using the cooperative artificial

insemination (CAI) techniques. Pag-asa’s birth – the culmination of 14 years’ worth of research – heralded hope for the critically endangered species and the entire conservation mission,” the foundation said.

Years after he was hatched, the PEF reached yet another milestone with Pag-asa in the form of his first and only offspring, “Mabuhay”, who was also bred and hatched through CAI. Even after he retired from breeding, Pag-asa lived his life as an icon of hope for Filipinos, young and old, and was a constant inspiration to the people working tirelessly to save the country’s national bird from extinction, the PEF added.

“Pag-asa was gone too soon indeed, but his legacy lives on,” it said. (PNA)

No street dancing in Butuan’s ‘Kahimunan Festival’ this year BUTUAN City – The annual celebration of the “Kahimuan Festival” here will still push through with limited activities due to the continued threat of the coronavirus disease 2019

(Covid-19).

The festival is celebrated annually starting January 15 in Barangay Libertad here to honor the feast of the Santo Niño. The Santo Niño Shrine is also located in Barangay Libertad.

“This is the first time that we will not be able to (fully) celebrate the Kahimuan Festival, especially the street dancing activities, due to the threat of the Covid-19,” said Libertad Barangay Chairperson Menchie Diaz-Rosario in an advisory on Friday.

She said Butuan City is placed under the modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) and that gatherings of people are still prohibited.

The ban on social gatherings, Rosario said, is among the health protocols strictly implemented here to fight the spread of Covid-19.

However, she said honoring the feast of Santo Niño through the yearly festivity will continue as daily novena masses will still pursue with a limited number of persons allowed inside the shrine.

A motorcade on Jan. 15 will still continue with the approval of the city government and will be conducted in strict observance of health protocols.

In January last year before the pandemic struck, around 400,000 FESTIVAL/PAGE 6

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CorporateWorld

NGCP ready to ‘take steps’ towards IPO NATIONAL Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) is pressing onward with preparations to hold its initial public offering (IPO), the power grid operator’s spokesperson said, prompting analysts to look into the company’s attractiveness.

“We were previously advised that market conditions may not be ideal at the moment, but we continue to take steps to prepare for an eventual IPO,” NGCP spokesperson Cynthia P. Alabanza said.

She added that the privately owned company has always been preparing for its public listing since

2014, while keeping in mind its “compliance to its franchise.”

Asked about the estimated size of the IPO and other details, Ms. Alabanza said that nothing was definite, and that she was not at liberty to disclose more information.

In 2019, Ms. Alabanza told the Senate that the IPO was delayed because of the absence of price control arrangements, pending disputes among state agencies, and the public threats against NGCP’s concession.

The National Transmission Corp.

(TransCo) said on Thursday that it welcomed

NGCP’s long-overdue public listing.

“We welcome NGCP’s long-overdue IPO, which — if indeed forthcoming — we hope to be in keeping with the spirit of the law, which is to strengthen power consumers’ rights through a fair distribution of NGCP’s ownership to the Filipino People,” Transco President Melvin A. Matibag said.

Two years ago, the state-led TransCo asked the Energy Regulatory Commission to deny NGCP’s petition to defer its IPO, saying that the grid operator should not be allowed to benefit

from its inaction on the provisions of its franchise.

INVESTORS WEIGH NGCP’S APPEAL AAA Southeast Equities, Inc. Research Head Christopher John Mangun said that the IPO would be attractive to investors as it would come

from a “utility company that has been favored by long-term investors and institutions.”

Asked about Synergy Grid & Development Philippines, Inc. (SGP), which was previously seen as the vehicle firm for NGCP’s backdoor listing,

Mr. Mangun said it was one option that could be considered, but it would in turn affect dividends.

“The backdoor [listing] through SGP was one option that they were leaning towards from the beginning since the NGCP/PAGE 6

DEMAND for connectivity has spiked during holidays in the new normal, according to telecommunications provider Globe Telecoms (Globe) on Thursday.

In a statement, Globe said internet traffic steadily increased from November until the end of 2020 with a 12 percent spike in customer’s usage

during Christmas Day and New Year’s Day especially on Facebook live and video, based on the company’s internal data.

“Virtual get-togethers, online masses, concerts, distance learning, popular online sale events like 12.12 among others, were supported by Globe’s improved network infrastructure,” it said.

For the rest of 2020, it said virtual interactive apps like Zoom and Skype were consistently used during the weekdays with a slight drop on weekends, suggesting that more of its customers use these apps for working from home and distance learning.

1,300 new cell sites In response to the heavy demand for internet

connectivity in 2020, it said some 1,300 new cell sites were built in the previous year while 11,529 sites were upgraded to 4G or LTE for faster data connectivity.

This was made possible by the "Bayanihan to Recover as One Act" and the Joint Memorandum Circular No. 1 of the INTERNET/PAGE 6

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it is setting up a new testing facility for cement this year to strengthen the country’s testing capabilities.

In an interview with radio program 'Konsyumer ATBP.' on Saturday, DTI Bureau of Product Standards (BPS) director Neil Catajay said the agency allotted budget

for the testing facility for cement as well as other equipment for testing of products that need certification. “’Yong sa pag-set-up ng testing facility for cement ng BPS, ang target natin ay matapos natin within the first semester of the year. Ongoing ‘yong ating procurement ng mga equipment para pag third FACILITY/PAGE 6

DTI sets up testing Mobile internet traffic spiked during new normal holidays: Globe facility for cement

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Opinion

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Marriage medicine (Pt. 1) Think a minute . . . None of us wants to fail. So we must make sure we are not following the formula for failure, which includes our wrong thinking, attitudes, actions and basic way of living. Don’t forget, “The cost of failure is higher than the price of success.”

The first rule for failing: Have no goals in your life.

Do only the minimum of what you absolutely must do. Don’t try to find a better way of doing things. Just do what is easy for you. But remember: “You’re not a failure until you’re satisfied with being one.” People who started with nothing and made themselves successful made a decision to change the way they were living. “If you don’t want more out of life, you’re guaranteed not to get more.”

Rule number two on how to fail: Put off until tomorrow what you can do today. If you ever feel motivated to make a good change in your life, just wait until the mood leaves you, then you will end up doing nothing. Research done at a leading university showed that what makes

THINK A MINUTE

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Cong. Ray Umali: An amazing environmental champion “From time to time, there appear on the face of the earth men or rare and consummate excellence who dazzle us by their virtue, and whose outstanding qualities shed a stupendous light. Like those extraordinary stars of whose origins we are ignorant, and of whose fate, once they have vanished, we know even less, such men have neither forebears nor descendants, they are the whole of their race.

He firmly believed in the oneness of all of God’s cre at ion , in t he inte rconnectedness of all beings and that protecting the vanishing species is the highest form of worship.” He had been carrying inwardly that power of stillness, endowed with spirit of oneness with nature. Now that he has recently leaped to the Great Beyond, he is now in the loving embrace of the Essence of all essences, the Unmanifested, the Eternal

Being, the Creator called God. Endowed with that spirit of oneness with all that exist, that breath, and that moves, he was right that we are not separate fragments in an alien universe but connected as one to something that is so vast, so sacred and so immeasurable. Feel that connection with Unseen Being, the Creator and you have no other alternative but to stand bravely for all of God’s creation.

Upon hearing of the news that Cong. Ray Umali who was a good friend, a kindred spirit in the environmental movement, had just passed away, what aptly came to my mind was the 12th stanza of a 17th century poem written

by Thomas Grey entitled, A Poem Written on a County Churchyard also known as a cemetery, to quote: “Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid, some heart once pregnant with celestial fire, hands that the rod of empire might have

sway’d, or walked to ecstasy the living lyre.”

Indeed, Cong. Umali’s heart had been oozing with that “celestial fire” and his wonderful life had given credence to Khalil Gibran’s poetic lines, to quote: “When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music. . . And what it is to work with love? It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart, even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth.” In my sorties with him traveling around Mindanao to promote One Mind anao Energ y C ooperative Federation to debunk the use of coal, his presence was always so inspiring to our cooperatives and environmentalists, always emitting positive energies even amidst pressures. He had always been calm but firm.

Titles, social standing and financial wealth - these are what were described by King

KIM'S DREAM

ORLAN R. RAVANERA Solomon as meaningless, utterly meaningless because in the final analysis, who we are is defined not by these trappings but the principles that we ardently believe-in and are willing to die for.

In a society so enamored in self-promotion, in superficial appearances and trivialities as exemplified by almost everyone running for public office, there is an amazing leader whose pro-people and pro-environment advocacies have come of age. He was an environmentalist par CHAMPION/PAGE 11

Hottest year on record In addition to the pandemic, there is another topic that we often lose sight of: the climate change. Well, you can already guess: 2020 ties 2016 as the hottest year on record.

A war m w inter and autumn have made the previous year the hottest ever recorded, the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service has found.

The Arctic continues to warm more quickly than the planet as a whole. The last decade was the hottest on record globally.

Ave r a ge global temperatures in 2020 stood at 1.25 degrees C (2.7 degrees F) higher than pre-industrial levels, according to the service. The years from 2014 to 2020 were the hottest on record with both 2020 and

2016 hitting the record for the single hottest year.

Scientists urged governments and corporations to drastically slash their emissions in order to have any chance of achieving the 2015 Paris Agreement and to avoid a catastrophic climate change crisis.

"The extraordinar y climate events of 2020 and the data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service show us that we have no time to lose," said Matthias Petschke, Director for Space in the European Commission, the EU's executive arm.

The biggest jump was seen in the Arctic Ocean and the north of Siberia, where temperatures soared to an unprecedented six degrees above the former average.

The report also revealed that carbon dioxide emissions continued to rise, reaching a new high of 431 parts per million by the end of the year.

Ye s , n a t u r e a l w a y s strikes back. The figures are particularly alarming because, unlike in 2016, they were reached without the help of the El Nino weather event which added up to two tenths of a degree to the record four years ago, according to NASA and the UK's Met Office.

The increase in temperature has brought with it other extreme climate events such as droughts, heatwaves and floods. We have seen enough of the latter in the Philippines. The new year also brought us many storms and floods, especially in Mindanao.

In 2020, the world was

HAVE MY SAY

KLAUS DORING also hit by a record number of hurricanes in the Atlantic, to the extent that the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) ran out of letters to name them. The 2020 record came despite global lockdowns which led to a dramatic 7% drop in emissions.

"Since CO2 accumulates HOTTEST/PAGE 7

When weakness becomes a source of strength JHAN TIAFAU HURST us successful is more our attitude than our ability.

The evidence showed that 93% of our success comes because of our motivation, attitudes, and choices; but only 7% is because of our skills and knowledge.

The third rule for failing is to be negative. “Failure can go to your head.” When you keep thinking negative thoughts about yourself and reminding yourself of your past failures or how you might fail if you try something new, you guarantee your own failure! But the good news is, “Your past failures can also be signs that guide you to your future success. Some of the best lessons we ever MEDICINE/PAGE 7

THAT Pauline statement, "For when I am weak, then I am strong," (2 Cor 12,10) should make us feel reassured and consoled every time we are hounded and burdened by all sorts of difficulties and troubles, including when we are tempted and fall into sin.

We have to know what exactly St. Paul meant by those words. What we can readily see is that he made all these predicaments a reason for him to go to Christ, to identify himself more closely with Christ who went all the way to making himself like sin without committing sin just to save us. (cfr. 2 Cor 5,21) We have to learn how to react to all these negative and evil elements in our life from the point of view of our Christian faith, and never just from our own estimation of things that would often lead us to be scandalized, to feel bad and discouraged, and to run away from the one who

can resolve everything for us, including those we cannot anymore resolve.

Our faith in God can still work and function even if we are down spiritually and morally, because it is, first of all, a gift from God who will always give it to us irrespective of how we have been behaving.

We should just try our best to receive it and to correspond to it as best that we can.

With that faith, we know that God is always merciful.

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him,” we are told.

(Jn 3,17) And Christ himself said, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (Lk 5,32) And there still many other passages and parables that reiterate that ever-available mercy of God for all of us.

We have to learn how to react properly when we are bothered by our weaknesses,

temptations, when we fall into sin and are hounded by all kinds of difficulties, trials and challenges. We have to consider these predicaments as golden opportunities to get closer to Christ, to identify ourselves more intimately with him.

So, instead of running away from God because of these predicaments, we should rather run fast toward him, asking for light and help, for forgiveness if we already have fallen into sin. It’s only then that these predicaments can become sources of strength.

We have to be wary of our tendency to run away from God due to shame or fear, for that can only mean that we are being tricked by the devil or are simply being guided by our own very limited and error-prone estimation of things rather than by our Christian faith.

If we react with faith, then we can still have hope and practice charity despite the worst predicament that we can

HINTS AND TRACES

ROY CIMAGALA fall into in this life. If we react with faith, we can fulfill what St. Paul recommended when we have to deal with all sorts of evil in the world. And that is that we can put on the whole armor of God. That way we put ourselves in the best condition of “being strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” (Eph 6,10) There is a certain invincibility that we can enjoy even in the midst of all the cuts and wounds that are unavoidable in our earthly struggles.

5 Land Bank increases Withdrawal of pandemic measures November agri lending prudent, data-driven: BSP B Advertising and Editorial E-mail : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com Contact nos. : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776

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STATE-lender Land Bank of the Philippines further increased its loan releases to agriculture sector in November last year, the Department of Finance (DOF) announced.

In a statement, the DOF said that Land Bank disbursed additional P1.44 billion worth of loans to farmers, agribusiness enterprises and other beneficiaries in November 2020.

The additional releases during the month brought Land Bank’s total lending to agriculture to P231.67 billion in the first 11-months of last year, equivalent to 94.5 percent of its P245 billion full-year goal.

Land Bank also reported to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III that it assisted 2.59 million farmers and fisherfolk as of November, more than double compared with the same period in 2019 and above their two million target for last year.

Cecilia Borromeo, Land Bank president and chief executive, explained that the assistance packages given to borrowers were in the form of soft loans, subsidies and training programs.

Of the loan releases,

Banking&Finance

about two-thirds or P144.13 billion went to small, medium and large agribusiness enterprises, while the remaining third, or P87.54 billion, went to small farmers.

Fisherfolk, meanwhile, secured P37.38 billion in loans while the agri-aqua related projects of local government units as well as government-owned and controlled corporations received P50.16 billion.

Small farmers and fishers borrowed P1.34 billion through direct lending, while conduits such as cooperatives and farmers’ associations, rural financial institutions and other lending mechanisms received loans amounting to another P36.04 billion.

As of November, Land Bank also provided P8.31 billion in loans through programs it has been administering for the Department of Agriculture.

Meanwhile, for programs it has been administering for the Department of Agrarian Reform, the Land Bank has provided P65 million as of November.

Of the 2.59 million farmers and fisherfolk assisted, 717,241 small farmers were assisted LENDING/PAGE 6

ANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno said on Thursday any move to end measures to address the pandemic’s economic impact will be made cautiously and will be data-driven.

In his speech during the 27th membership meeting of the Rotary Club of Manila, he said recovery from the virus-induced global health problem, which led to economic contractions around the world, is tough.

“But this pandemic, as with other challenging periods in our history, has once again revealed our resilience and fortitude as a nation.

We will use this resilience to continue working hard in ensuring that our country will sustain a stable recovery from the pandemic,”

he said.

Among the measures that BSP implemented to help cushion the pandemic’s impact are the 200 basis points reduction in the BSP’s key policy rates, which to date is at record-low of 2 percent; the up to 200 basis points cut in banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR), and the authorization for banks’ micro, small and medium (MSME) lending as reserve requirement compliance for a limited time.

Amid the 10-percent economic contraction in the first three quarters of 2020, signs of recovery are slowly showing up, Diokno said, tracing this partly to the continued improvement of domestic fundamentals before the pandemic hit.

He said domestic growth, as measured by gross domestic

product (GDP), averaged at 6.4 percent from 2010 to 2019.

“The robust growth of the domestic economy in recent years was achieved in an environment of generally stable inflation and was anchored on purposeful structural reforms,” he said.

Improvement on the country’s external payments position, record-high international reserves, improved external debt metrics, and healthy public finances were attributed to prudent policymaking.

The domestic banking system remains stable and sound and is “well-functioning based on all metrics, he said.

“These robust fundamentals gave us the monetary and fiscal space to navigate the first few months of this crisis,” he added.

(PNA)

MSME loans used as alternative reserve compliance hit P134.8B BANKS CONTINUED to increase their lending to small businesses in November, taking advantage of the central bank’s relief measure to consider these loans part of their compliance with their reserve requirements (RR).

“MSME (micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises) loans used as alternative compliance with reserve requirements reached P134.8 billion as of Nov. 26. This represented a 9.8% share of total RR,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)

If interested, contact:

Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said in his speech at the virtual Kapihan sa Manila Bay on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Mr. Diokno said loans to large enterprises used as reserve compliance reached P29.1 billion or 1% of total RR. The BSP in April

DANICA SUDARIA

allowed MSMEs loans to be counted as part of banks’ reserve requirements in a bid to boost lending to the sector, which was hit severely by the pandemic crisis.

MSMEs accounted for 99% of the roughly LOANS/PAGE 6

dannycarosesudaria0512@gmail.com 0936-046-2356

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Festival... from page 2

devotees and visitors from the different towns and provinces in the region flocked at the shrine in Barangay Libertad and joined the religious activities, the motorcade and procession, and the street dancing.

“Kahimunan” is a Manobo term that means “to gather”.

(PNA)

NGCP... from page 3

owners are the same and it would consolidate their holdings, however it would significantly impact dividends as the public would have indirect ownership over the company rather than direct through IPO,” Mr. Mangun said.

Rizal Commercial Banking C orp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said that the attractiveness of NG C P’s prop o s e d I P O would depend on various factors. These include its pricing, industry standing, financial performance, overall valuation, and future business or industry prospects, and the public interest or security involved in the industry or business.

Meanwhile, Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis A. Limlingan said that investors would most likely find the IPO “attractive if it is reasonably priced, given prevailing market conditions.”

He also said that NGCP has a business model that investors would be interested in.

“Their power transmission operations is also an attractive business mo del, w hich investors would have a keen interest in,” he said.

Internet... from page 3

Anti-Red Tape Authority ( A R TA ) , a n d o t h e r government agencies.

“A r e a s needing connectivity the most were being addressed with new site builds including Lanao del Sur, Sultan Kudarat, Antique, Iloilo, Leyte, Palawan, Aklan, Maguindanao, Cotabato, Misamis Oriental, and Davao del Oro,” Globe said.

For home broadband, it has built about 600,000 broadband lines in 2020, a 55 percent improvement from 2019.

It also touted an 80 percent 5G coverage in Metro Manila aside from its availability in 17 key cities nationwide through 1,031 sites.

More upgrades in 2021 To provide its customers with better mobile and broadband data speeds, Globe is set to ramp up its investments i n tel e c om mu n i c at i ons infrastructure in 2021 with plans to install more than two and a half times the number of fiber-to-homes compared to 2020.

For mobile, Globe plans to build 2,000 sites including in-building s olutions, par tnerships with independent tower companies, and new cell sites.

"Glob e will likewise continue to expand its 5G

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footprint as more 5G-capable devices enter the market.

The aggressive rollout of 5G will happen this year in more cities and municipalities nationwide," it said.

With a better data network in place, it said services such as Voice Over LTE (VoLTE) and Voice Over WiFi (VoWiFi) are also seen to improve and will deliver clearer voice calls, faster call setup, and “near-zero dropped calls.”

VoLTE and VoWiFi were initially being rolled out in the National Capital Region and in other parts of Luzon and will be implemented in the Visayas and Mindanao this year. (PNA)

Facility...

from page 3 quarter pwede na tayong mag-conduct ng testing (For setting up a testing facility for cement by BPS, our target is to finish within the first semester of the year. Our procurement of equipment is ongoing so that in the third quarter, we can conduct testing),” Catajay said.

He said the BPS taps third party testing laboratories to test cement products to be sold in the domestic market.

The countr y has two testing laboratories for cement, he added.

Catajay added that the BPS also accepts product standard testing done overseas from foreign laboratories which are recognized by an accreditation body that are signatories to the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation.

As i de f rom c ement , Catajay said BPS is adding testing equipment for steel products.

He said the BPS also eyes to expand the mandatory certification for e-cigarettes, personal protective equipment, face masks, and air purifiers.

“We are looking at adding these products for mandatory certification that’s why we are preparing the equipment to test these products,” Catajay said. (PNA)

Lending... from page 5

through the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance and Financial Subsidy to Rice Farmers programs.

Through the Land Bank Countryside Development Foundation, the lender was also able to train 98,639 farmers in unbanked mu n i c ip a l it i e s to h e lp improve their financial literacy.

In terms of economic activity, the support to the agriculture sector through loans for the construction of irrigation systems and postharvest facilities accounted for P104.19 billion or 45 percent of the P231.67 billion in lending support to this sector.

Loans... from page 5

one million business establishments in the country as of 2018, based on data from the Department of Trade and Industry. They also accounted for 5.7 million or 63.19% of

new jobs in the same year.

In May, the central bank began to count lending to pandemic-hit large enterprises as alternative compliance with banks’ reserve requirements.

The relief measure is only applicable to credit disbursed to businesses with asset sizes of more than P100 million but are not part of a conglomerate.

The BSP in December capped credit to MSME and large enterprises that banks could utilize as alternate reserve compliance at P300 billion and P425 billion, respectively.

Mr. Diokno has said the caps were meant to ensure that bank loans used for alternate reserve requirements were in line with liquidity conditions.

The central bank last year reduced the reserve requirement ratios of banks by a total of 300 basis points (bps) as a relief measure to boost liquidity during the crisis.

Broken down, it lowered the reserve requirement of big banks by 200 bps to 12%, while the reserve ratios of thrift and rural lenders were trimmed by 100 bps to 3% and 2%, respectively.

The Department of Public Works and Highways Lanao del Norte Engineering District 2 turned over on Thursday (January 7) a 40-bed capacity isolation facility in Barangay Sagonsongan, Marawi City with Mayor Majul Gandamra (center in black blazer), Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong, Jr., (to his right) and DPWH Usec. Emil Sadain (to his left) . (Photo credit: DPWH LNED 2)

DPWH turns over isolation facility to Marawi, Lanao Sur

By DIVINA M. SUSON

MARAWI CITY ----- The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), through Lanao del Norte Engineering District

(LNED) 2, turned over on Thursday (January 7) a 40-bed capacity isolation facility in Barangay Sagonsongan.

District Engineer Alykhan Ali said the DPWH built the facility to help the provincial government of Lanao del Sur and the local government unit of Marawi in the response to the rising COVID-19 infections observed after the holiday season.

Engr. Alykhan Ali, LNED 2 District Engineer, said the P3 million multipurpose building of LGU Marawi has 40 cubicles each provided with its a hospital bed, electric fan and convenience outlet.

There are two common toilet rooms and two shower rooms each for male and female patients.

This is the second isolation facility the DPWH constructed in Lanao del Sur. In October 20 last year, the agency turned-over a 60-bed capacity isolation facility in Marantao town worth P4 million.

"The DPWH is mandated to help LGUs in the country in constructing isolation facilities to support their efforts to curb the spread of

COVID-19 infections," Ali said.

Marawi Mayor Majul Gandamra said the facility is a big help especially in isolating returning residents to Marawi and Lanao del Sur and those who are suspect individuals who have been exposed.

"Pero kahit may mga isolation facilities tayo, I am still hoping that our constituents will continue to follow health protocols for their own safety," Gandamra said.

In the early parts of the pandemic, the provincial government of Lanao del Sur converted 100 housing units in Barangay Sagonsongan into a screening and quarantine facility for returning residents going home to their town. These were supposed to be turned over by the National Housing Authority (NHA) to the Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM) when the pandemic started.

The city government had also converted the 60-bed capacity building built and donated by the Ayala Foundation originally intended to be used as a a community-based drug rehabilitation facility.

7

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Medicine... from page 4

learn are from our mistakes.”

If you want to change your life, you must first change your way of thinking about yourself and the kind of life you want. If you get the right picture of yourself in your head, then your character, attitudes, and behavior can start to match that right picture.

Since you only live once, why not make it the right, best life you were designed to have and enjoy? Ask your Maker to help you stop your wrong thinking and habits that cause your life to fail. Then ask Him to start changing your heart, so you can start learning to think and live His way—since it is the only way you can be truly successful both personally and professionally. Just think a minute . . .

Hottest... from page 4

in the atmosphere like water in a bathtub, if we turn down the tap by 7%, the CO2 level just rises a bit more slowly," Stefan Rahmstorf, head of Earth system analysis at the German Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, told AFP. "We need to shut off the tap to get a stable climate again."

Even if every country were to stick to their pledges from the Paris Agreement, global temperatures would still reach an increase of 3 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. A really sad outlook into the future for all of us and the following generations. +++ Email: doringklaus@gmail. com or follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin or visit my www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www. klausdoringsclassicalmusic. blogspot.com.

Champion... from page 4

excellence who began his stint in public office as a planning officer of NEDA, then, became a political leader in Oriental Mindoro who have led in healing the blighted province back to life. Look up to the forest in that province, some 26 million trees have already been planted in the uplands when he launched the project.

Unified Tree of Life (UTOL) together with his brother launched on December 12, 2012. Most importantly, his mindset had triggered the liberation of the poor from poverty when he launched the project, Poverty Alleviation, Reduction and Elimination ( PA R E ) , a d v a n c i n g a de velopment p aradig m that is people-centered, sustainable, inclusive and socially equitable. He was a very strong advocate to transform so-called Electric Cooperatives into memberconsumer-owned (MCOs) genuine cooperatives to rectify five decades of social wrong committed against the 11 million MCOs throughout the country. He was against the establishment of coalfired powered plants and

supported the creation of One Mindanao Energ y Cooperative Federation for the Mindanawons to be empowered to control power generation and not the multi-national corporations.

His advo cac y was that electricity is a means to life and it must be owned, managed and controlled by the members themselves.

That for him is the DNA of the cooperatives which is value-based, members-owned, and sustainable anchored on the principle of prosperity for all and no one shall be left behind.

He was a humble, calm but passionate leader whose vision to advance ecological integrity, social justice and equity has indeed come of age. A transformative leader for people, planet, prosperity and peace. He was called RU –Reynaldo Umali, the one to lead in making life better for the poor and the oppressed, all for the greater glory of God. Indeed, a strong army can conquer a kingdom but the strongest army in the world cannot stop an idea, a great leader –Mr. Reynaldo Umali – who is a strong countervailing force against climate change, Cong.

Ray, you have championed the cause of Mother Earth that is now being sacrificed to the altar of greed and profit by an insane ideology called corporate globalization. As the earth is now in the cataclysmic planetary emergency facing its sixth extinction due to climate change, I am so honored to have worked and advocated with you Cong. Ray! Where ever you are now, once with us and now with the stars and always in the loving embrace of God, we express our heartfelt gratitude for your courageous environmental advocacy! Listen to the shout of the environmentalists and cooperative movement nationwide: WE LOVE YOU CONG. RAY! Indeed, what you have fought for in your solitude will be re-echoed by the multitude – soon!

Railway... from page 1

the contract to payments under the contract for the project consultancy services of the Mindanao Railway Project: Tagum-Davao-Digos Segment,” according to the department’s General Bid Bulletin No. 2020-01, posted on its website.

The department said

offers received in excess of the approved budget for the contract will be automatically rejected at bid opening.

Detailed design and works must be completed within 17 months, the DoTr said, with 33 months set as the period for the contractor to be engaged in pre-construction activities and the defects notification period.

“Bidders should have completed a contract of similar nature and side to the project,” it said.

The shortlisted consultants are: China Railway Design Corp. and Guangzhou Wanan Construction Supervision Co., Ltd. Consortium; China Railway Liuyuan Group Co., Ltd.; and CCCC Railway Consultants Group Co., Ltd. Bidding would be conducted through limited competitive bidding pro ce dures using nondiscretionar y “pass/fail” criterion, according to the Dec. 9 notice of eligibility and shortlisting addressed to the shortlisted consultants.

“A c o mp l e t e s e t o f bidding documents may be downloaded free of charge from the website of the DoTr from 09 December 2020 until 9:00 a.m. of 04 January 2021, provided that bidders shall pay the non-refundable fee… in the amount of P75,000 not later than the submission of their bids,” the notice said.

The railway project, one of the Duterte administration’s priority infrastructure projects, was originally scheduled to start construction in January 2019 but right of way issues, mainly in Davao City, held back the timetable.

The P82.9-billion railway’s first phase, covering the 100.2-kilometer TagumDavao-Digos segment, is financed through an official development assistance package from the Chinese government.

Vaccines...

from page 1 vaccinations program.

"I think that the city may need to allocate P300 million to P500 million for the vaccination and we will have to set aside funds for that,” he said.

However, he said a specific number of the population and the timetable from procurement, delivery, to the administration of the vaccines should also be put into detail.

The decision to acquire the coronavirus disease 2019

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(Covid-19) vaccines by local government officials came amid reports that a new variant has emerged in some parts of the world.

“We (will) be meeting with all City Hall departments concerned on our commitment to the national government in the vaccine rollout program.

There are already some local governments that specified a certain amount for the vaccination but we in the city want to make sure that we can commit the funds,” Moreno said.

Aside from Cagayan de Oro, other local governments in Mindanao which have recently announced the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines for their residents are the cities of Zamboanga, Davao, and Iligan, and Lanao del Sur province.

Moreno said the Department of Health and other national government a g e n c i e s h av e a l r e a d y co ordinated with them regarding the vaccination program.

“Already, the national government through the Department of Health (DOH) asked for our data and our own program in relation to the vaccine rollout,” he said.

(PNA)

Traslacion... from page 1

In lieu of the procession, the Archdiocese brought out the life-size replica or the “Callejeron” of the Black Nazarene from the Nazareno parish church in Barangay Lapasan and placed it on the back of a truck for a motorcade around the city on Friday night.

The city government made sure that devotees would not be around by holding the motorcade at the start of the daily curfew at 10 p.m.. The city’s curfew is from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Only a few devotees dared brave the risks of infection outside the church at around 6 p.m., their candles lit, as they waited for the start of the motorcade.

Late Friday afternoon outside the Nazareno parish church, sellers of religious paraphernalia complained of poor sales. “We will be lucky if we sell 500 pesos today,” a vendor said.

Before the COVID-19

pandemic, the Feast of the Black Nazarene drew thousands of devotees from the city and other parts of Mindanao since it started in 2008.

The only one of its kind in Mindanao and a much tamer version than that of Quiapo in Manila, devotees from all over Mindanao who cannot afford the cost of traveling to Quiapo, would flock to this city instead.

The procession Friday night was the second during the pandemic when the life-size image of the Black Nazarene was brought out for a motorcade.

On Good Friday, April 10 last year, the religious icon was also taken out of the church for a procession in the city, also during the curfew Father Der John Faborada, spokesperson of the Cagayan de Oro Archdiocese said their parishioners have continued to cling on to their faith in the midst of this highly contagious disease.

“We see our masses are well-attended despite the limitations of social distancing and our confessionals are full,” he said.

Faborada said the archdiocese has also adapted to the situation by livestreaming their masses and other religious rites.

“We are engage d in the social networks and Facebook. We have a local radio station to send our message,” he said.

The Archdiocese, he added, also responded to the call for food assistance by Lumads (Indigenous Peoples) in the hinterland villages and by the victims of the 2011 Typhoon Sendong who were relocated in Barangay Lumbia.

Faborada also said they are training first responders who can immediately help victims of abuse and suicide cases. “ T h e p an d e m i c h a s reared its ugly side. There is a rise in cases of wifebeating and suicide. The Archdiocese is responding to these problems,” he said.

Airport...

from page 1 2 and 3" are about to begin this year.

"For the Phase 4, the construction of the (airport)

terminal building, we will fund it from the 2021 general (national appropriations allotment) budget," she said, during the Network Briefing News with Secretary Martin Andanar, chief of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO).

She said the land acquisition from private property owners is now at 85 percent, and the relocation of affected families is almost complete.

Ontanillas-Pizarro said they have plans to improve the infrastructure projects in their municipalities, including the funding of the construction of a commercial mall, sixlane municipal roads, and installation of street lights and traffic closed-circuit televisions (CCTVs) to complement the construction of the terminal.

The airport project is located in Barangay Maraymaray, about 7.3 kilometers away from the town's commercial center, with an area of 149 hectares.

Based on the recent report from the National Economic Development Authority in Region 10 (Neda-10), about PHP20 million was allocated for the initial site acquisition in 2015, which was undertaken by the municipal government.

In 2017, additional funding of PHP34 million was provided for the ongoing acquisition.

T h e D e p ar t m e nt of Transportation also forged a Memorandum of Agreement with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines for the improvement of landside and airside facilities of the airport amounting to PHP630 million. (PNA)

8

Feature

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THIS WEEK IN LOCAL HISTORY

122nd Anniversary of Fiesta Nacional in Cagayan de Misamis

T

HE 10th of January 2021 will be the 122nd Anniversary of the first raising of the Filipino flag at the Casa Real when the five-man Concejo Provincial of the revolutionary government assumed

office.

The members of the Concejo were chosen in accordance with Aguinaldo’s decree of June 18, 1898. On that occasion, the newly installed municipal head, Toribio Chaves y Roa recited the poem

Pinahanongod, and explained the meaning and symbols of the flag.

This historic event is celebrated in a marker installed by the National Historical Institute (now the National Historical Commission of the

Philippines, NHCP), in front of the Executive House (original site of the Casa Real), and mentioned in another found at the Hayes Street frontage of the Casa del Chino Ygua (acknowledged as the oldest existing

Casa Real

residence in Cagayan de Oro) which recounts how on January 10, 1899, patriotic Kagayanons celebrated independence through a Fiesta Nacional as a sign of support for the Philippine revolutionary government headed by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo.

The Kagay-anons gathered in front of Ygua’s house, marched around the poblacion playing music, made speeches at the Casa Real (the governor’s residence), fired cannons and raised the Philippine Flag for only the second time in Mindanao. (Montalvan, 2002).

According to heritage activist Antonio Julian Montalván II, the local townsfolk were buoyed by an edict from Aguinaldo to hold local elections in Cagayan de

Misamis in December 1898 (which was not true for the rest of Mindanao).

“There were 2 distinct traits of that historic event,” Montalvan said. “There was the boom of cannonades (celebrating freedom from Spanish colonialism) and there was the participation of Higaonon indigenous peoples who came down from the hills.”

The float "La Libertad de Filipinas" symbolized that freedom and passed by the Casa Real from the street that was henceforth called Victoria to signify the victory of the Philippine Revolution.

Later, Governor Jose Roa y Casas wrote to Aguinaldo and called the event the great "Fiesta Nacional" of Cagayan de Misamis.

NHI Marker on First Flag Raising 10 January 1899