BusinessWeek MINDANAO
2013 ppi’S Best in Business and Economic Reporting
YOUR Mindanao-wide BUSINESS paper
Volume VI, No. 086
Market Indicators
As of 5:35 pm january 14, 2016 (thursday)
FOREX
PHISIX
US$1 = P47.64
6,408.78
X
10 cents
X
85.37 points
Briefly P52-M BUB projects TO facilitate employment in empowered communities, the Department of Labor and Employment-10 (DOLE-10) released P52.3M to the Local Government Units (LGUs) for the implementation of 49 Bottom-up Budgeting (BuB) projects in cities and municipalities in Northern Mindanao. DOLE-10 Regional Director Raymundo G. Agravante said, “We see to it that we intensify our participation in employment generation as our primary mandate. It is also our goal to develop and capacitate all LGUs and civil service organizations (CSOs) in the implementation of BUB projects to respond to the different needs in the communities.” The release of these funds to LGUs is subject to the following governance conditions: a) not receiving an adverse report from the Commission on Audit (COA); b) compliance with the Full Disclosure Policy; and c) submission of their LGU Public Financial Management Improvement Plan.
2014 ppi’S Best in ENVIRONMENTAL Reporting
M’danao gets P380-B from national budget www.businessweekmindanao.com
Northern Mindanao region gets biggest chunk with P78.53 billion
By ANTONIO L. COLINA IV, MindaNews
M
INDANAO will get P380 billion out of the P3.002 trillion approved national budget for 2016, an official of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) said.
Mindanao’s share this year is 12.7 percent of the national budget. Compared to last year’s P302.4 billion share, the island’s budget increased by 25.7 percent this year. budget/PAGE 11
BUSTLING REGION. Cagayan de Oro City in bird’s eye view, northern Mindanao’s bustling capital. As the biggest contributor to Mindanao’s growth, the northern Mindanao gets the largest share among the island’s regions in this year’s national budget with a total of P78.53 billion mostly allocated for infrastructure development. file photo
$800,000 grant to upgrade Cag. de Oro water services By MARK FRANCISCO, Staff Writer
THE United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is assisting the main local water utility in Cagayan
Islamic banking COTABATO City -- Business leaders in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and in Region 12 on Tuesday expressed optimism for the establishment of the country’s Islamic Banking System. Authored by Anak Mindanao (Amin) Partylist Rep. Rep. Sitti Djalia Turabin-Hataman, HB 5989 is still being deliberated in the House of Representatives. Muslim and Christian business leaders in the region attended yesterday’s first roundtable discussion (RTD) on HB 5989 here. Aside from Hataman, speakers included Salem Ghandour of the Maybank Islamic Berhad in Malaysia and Isidro Sobrecarey of the Amanah Islamic Bank.
P15.00
Friday | January 15, 2016
de Oro City to recoup from its gargantuan losses due to perennial leakages of its pipes. upgrade/PAGE 11
PLANTING RICE. Farmers take advantage of the rain that provide them with an opportunity to plant rice despite the looming threat of El Nino in the region which is predicted to last until the middle of the year. photo by jun ayensa
Food, transport, travel are BIMP-EAGA priorities By CARMELITO Q. FRANCISCO, Correspondent
DAVAO CITY -- The Brunei D ar uss a l am-Indonesi aMalaysia-Philippines-East ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) is putting flesh into the policy
framework that is intended to guide the sub-region’s development strategy from 2017 to 2025 by identifying priority projects to receive investment. Romeo M. Montenegro,
director for investment promotions and public affairs of the Mindanao Development Authority, said officials of the four member countries will meet here on Feb. 23-26 to draft the programs for the framework, approved last priorities/PAGE 11
SUMILAO BROOMS. A vendor sells brooms made of grass at the side of the Sayre Highway in Sumilao town, Bukidnon. mindanews photo by froilan gallardo
vertical home builders enterprises
Patag Highway, Cagayan de Oro City / Tel. No. 858-5789 / Fax No. 850-5020; Cel. Nos. 0919-655-3754, 0923-304-2676; Email: verticalhomebuilders@yahoo.com
Dealer of hardware and construction materials
Product Lines: - Angle Bars - Gl Pipes - C-Purlins - Holow Blocks - Coco Lumber - Carrying Channel - Double Furring Channel - Single Furring
- Acoustic Board - Polycarbonate - Power Tools - God Lumber S4S - Panel Doors - PVC Laminated Panel - PVC Vertical Blinds - Roller Blinds - Wooden Blinds
- Armstrong Vinyl Tiles - Kent Vinyl Tiles - Parquet Tiles - Apo Vinyl Tiles Distributor & Dealer of: - Steel Bars - Holcim Cement - Davis Paint
- Sand & Gravel - Plywood - INdustrial Supplies - Finishing Supplies - Electrical Supplies - Power Tools - Air Compressors
Editorial and advertising email : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com • Cell Number : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776
BusinessWeek MINDANAO
2
2013 ppi’S Best in Business and Economic Reporting
YOUR DAILY Mindanao-wide BUSINESS NEWSPAPER
2014 ppi’S Best in ENVIRONMENTAL Reporting
friday|January 15, 2016
Advertising and Editorial E-mail : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com Contact nos. : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776 Editor: Nelson Constantino
Economy
DENR 10 conducts confab on El Niño measures TO strengthen the implement at ion of t he National Greening Program (NGP) and protection of the forests, the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR), Region 10 recently conducted a Trainor’s Training on “Mitigating Measures in Response to El Niño Phenomenon” in the provinces of Lanao del
BROADCASTING DAILY AT 1368 ON AM BAND AND ON PARASAT CABLE TV AT CHANNEL 5
Norte, Misamis Occidental, Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental and Camiguin. The Trainor’s Training aimed at capacitating the NGP Extension Officers, BantayGubat and other DENR 10 employees in the Provincial/Community Environment and Natural Resources Offices (PENROs/ CENROs) particularly in the occurrence of the forest fire which is one of the effects of El Niño phenomenon. Topics discussed included vu lnerabi lit ies of NGP Plantation and its importance to inclusive growth, People’s Organization Mobilization/ Organization of fire fighting brigade, fire fighting techniques, and reporting and documentation of NGP.
Exec: Gingoog-Claveria-Villanueva road spurs city economic potential By BUBOY PABIA, Contributor
GINGOOG City -- Gingoog City-Claveria-Villanueva Road (GCVR) set to decongest traffic in national highway, lessen fuel consumption, shorten travels and spur economic potentials in the city. This was the statement of Gingoog city mayor Marie de Lara Guingona as she has been backing up for the ongoing implementation of P48,120,000 GCVR) of the national government. Moreso, the realization of this alternative road definitely responds to our famers’ dream paving the way for their economic upliftment, said mayor Guingona. She further said GCVR answers to some causes of poverty being felt by our brothers and sisters in the mountains. Dako gayud
The participants discussed the action plan for the strategies, schedule, responsible persons, fund and activities to be conducted. The resource persons of the trainor’s training include Assistant Regional Director for Te ch n i c a l S e r v i c e s Felix S. Mirasol, Jr., Chief, Compliance Monitoring and Investigation Section Luzviminda G. L egara, Development Management Officer II Rico P. Jebulan, Ecosystems Management Specialist II Henry L. Halina, Jr., and PENRO division chiefs of Technical Services. The El Niño Phenomenon is characterized by unusual increase in ocean surface temperature or warming el niÑo/PAGE 11
kini og tabang sa pagbag-o sa kinabuhi sa atong mga kaigsoonang mag-uuma (This is a significant help for the betterment of the lives of our farmers. Besides, this construction unloads daily hardships of our teachers assigned in far-flung areas. Gasa kining mehoras para sa atong mga driver ug kanatong tanan,” said Mayor Marie (This is intended for our motorists and for all of us). Her executive office has been informed by the Misamis Oriental Field District Engineering Office ( MOF DE O ) he a d e d by District Engineer Marivel Frances L. Ong that this multi-million undertaking falls under the regular infrastructure projects for potential/PAGE 11
Tirso Neri St., Cagayan de Oro City Accommodations and rates
Pinakalami-an!
DALTAN’S KAMBINGAN Kambingan, Bulalohan, Native Manok, Seafoods, Chicken Inasal, Halal. Tiano Corner JR. Borja St. | OPEN 24 HOURS!
Single Room Standard Room Twin-bed room Deluxe Room Suite Room Family Room
-
P650.00 P850.00 P900.00 P1000.00 P1300.00 P1500.00
Features and Amenities Coffee Bar Spa Business Center Laundry Medical Tourism Tel #: 088-309-2222/ 08822-72-2222/ 088-857-4447 Sun Cell #: 0922-821-9728 Email: info@victoriasuitesonline.com Website: www.victoriasuitesonline.com
CAGAYAN DE ORO MAIN BRANCH P & J Lim Bldg., Tiano Brothers Kalambagohan Sts., Tel. # (08822) 727-829 * Telefax # (088) 856-1947 CAMIGUIN BRANCH B. Aranas St., Poblacion, Mambajao, Camiguin Tel. # (088) 387-0491 CORRALES BRANCH Corrales Ave., Cagayan de Oro City DIVISORIA BRANCH Atty. Erasmo B. Damasing Bldg., #61 Don A. Velez St., Cagayan de Oro City Tel. # (088) 857-3631 LAPASAN BRANCH Lapasan Hi-way, Cagayan de Oro City Tel. # (088) 231-6739 CARMEN BRANCH Vamenta Blvd., Cagayan de Oro City Tel. # (088) 231-2011
Advertising and Editorial E-mail : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com Contact nos. : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776 Editor: Nelson Constantino
CorporateWorld
BusinessWeek MINDANAO
2013 ppi’S Best in Business and Economic Reporting
YOUR DAILY Mindanao-wide BUSINESS NEWSPAPER
3
2014 ppi’S Best in ENVIRONMENTAL Reporting
friday|January 15, 2016
Globe boosts growth of PH outbound travels
G
LOBE Telecom is looking to support the growing number of Fi lipinos travel ling abroad either for business or leisure purposes with its partnership with the Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA) for the 23rd Travel Tour Expo, w ith Gl ob e as offi cial telecom partner. Globe will be showcasing its flagship data roaming service RoamSurf which of f e r s f u l l 2 4 h o u r s of unlimited data roaming service that enables worryfree internet connectivity from over 80 countries around the world for its postpaid and prepaid customers. According tothe United Na t i o n s Wo r l d Tr a v e l Organization (UNWTO), Filipinos have been identified as one of the fastest-growing travel spenders among emerging m ar ke t s i n 2 0 1 3 , w it h the countr y’s outbound expenditure growing by 18 percent, second highest in the list of top travel spenders following Turkey, which registered a 24 percent growth. Organized by the Philippine Travel Agencies Association, Inc. (PTTA)
in cooperation with the Department of Tourism and the Tourism Promotions B o ard , t h e E x p o i s t h e biggest event for the travel and tourism industry and is expected to gather over 300 exhibitors targeting travel and tourism trade practitioners, corporate and business t ravelers, holiday travelers, incentive and convention planners, government and business leaders, as well as direct buyers and investors. It will be held on February 5-7, 2016 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City. Founded in 1979 with an aim to foster unity in the travel industry and promote the welfare of its members and the traveling public, the PT TA is a group of outbound travel agencies and inbound tour operators. For this year’s installment of the Travel and Tour Expo, the public can also expect games, entertainment, raffle activities and presentations from participation exhibitors and sponsors aside from great travel deals and offers. “We are off to a great start this 2016 with our partnership with the PTAA. With our shared vision of providing the b est and
most convenient travel experience to the growing Filipino travel population, PTAA and Globe will come together to not only house the most hassle-free and value-for-money travel deals but to ensure that Filipino consumers understand that their trips can be made even more wonderful with our banner roaming product Roam Surf,” s ays C o co Domingo, Vice President for Roaming and International
Business at Globe. Domingo adds, “Roam Surf is the perfect data roaming service for Filipino travelers who want to enjoy the digital life they are accustomed to once they travel abroad. Roam Surf provides tr ue 24 hours of unlimited data while roaming and eliminates the worry of bill shock because of its flat rate of only P599 per day. With Roam Surf, users
can surf, post updates on their social networks, use their apps, share files, and even stream music and videos to complete the travel experience. Roam Surf also comes with a free 30-day travel insurance coverage for a worry-free travel that only Globe can give.” With Globe RoamSurf, Filipino travelers abroad have access to full 24-hour data roaming service for only P599 per day. This
means that data roaming connectivity does not end at 11:59pm. Roam Surf also allows customers to enjoy a complete browsing experience with no limit at ion or us age restriction, allowing users to do music and vide o streaming, as well as file sharing with no additional cost. Subscription to Roam Surf is simple. Postpaid
Globe Telecom Senior Vice President for Consumer Mobile Marketing Issa Cabreira (center) formalizes the partnership of the telco with PTAA President Michelle Victoria (2nd from left) for the 23rd Travel Tour Expo with Globe as official telco partner. Joining them are (L-R) 23rd Travel Tour Expo chair Lulu Velasco, Globe Vice President for Roaming and International Business Coco Domingo and PTAA co-chairman Marciano Ragaza III.
Max’s Group opening up 60 to 80 FREE Photo Session with stores in 2016 here and abroad SM Kids and SM Babies C ASUA L d i n i ng chai n operator Max’s Group Inc. (MGI) plans to open up some 60 to 80 new stores across all its brands both locally and overseas this year, in a bid to reach its 1,000-stores target by 2020. Max’s Group President and
Chief Executive Officer Robert Trota bared the expansion plan after MGI signed a development agreement with its China-based partners from JuYangYiTong of the Zhongfa Group to build at least 15 Yellow Cab Pizza stores in China within the next five
years. Trota said bulk, or 40 to 60 stores, would be opened in the Philippines in 2016, banking on election-related spending by consumers. “We are definitely looking at this year as a good year for Max’s/PAGE 11
British Chamber Chairman Chris Nelson at the breakfast meeting with Rt. Hon. Philip Hammond Foreign Secretary last 7th January 2016 held at Costa Coffee, Bonifacio Global City.
The British Embassy Manila gathered potential investors to the United Kingdom (UK) and key representatives from the Philippine and British business communities for a breakfast meeting with Foreign
Secretary Philip Hammond MP. During the discussions, BCCP Chairman Chris Nelson highlighted the recent initiatives and achievements of the Chamber in assisting
UK businesses interested in the Philippine market. To date, more than 700 British companies have expressed intent in expanding their business in the country.
Capture those precious moments with your loved ones. Get a free photo session and portrait print from any Great Image branches when you buy a minimum of P1,000 single receipt purchase at the Children’s and Infants’ Wear Departments of The SM Store nationwide. Promo runs from January 15 to February 29, 2016. Per DTI FTEB SPD Permit No. 15822. Series of 2016.
BusinessWeek MINDANAO
4
Opinion
2013 ppi’S Best in Business and Economic Reporting 2014 ppi’S Best in ENVIRONMENTAL Reporting
YOUR DAILY Mindanao-wide BUSINESS NEWSPAPER
friday|January 15, 2016
BusinessWeek MINDANAO
YOUR LOCAL ONLINE BUSINESS PAPER
www.businessweekmindanao.com
Businessweek Mindanao Corporation Publisher DANTE M. SUDARIA President/CEO ROSE MARY D. SUDARIA, Ph.D. Vice President for Finance
ALLAN mario MEDIANTE
Vice President for CorporateAffairs
Joe felicilda
Vice President for Administration
joe palabao
Vice President for Marketing
NELSON CONSTANTINO Editor-in-Chief
Cheng ordoñez
gilbert y. chao
Executive Editor
Motoring Editor
BONG FABE
CLIFFORD SANTILLAN
JUN AYENSA
mel-rose codilla
Associate Editor
Layout Artist Advertising
Regional Editor Caraga
ATTY. MARIO T. JUNI
Cris diaz mike baños Uriel quilinguing Contributing Editors
Cell No: 09352379999
Juni Law Office Cruz Taal St., CDO Legal Counsel
MARKETING staff manila office: Unit 310 Valero Plaza, Valero Street, Salcedo Village, Makati City; lani vallido-Marketing Manager ARJAY FELICILDA Marketing Staff - CDO
The BusinessWeek Mindanao is published by BusinessWeek Mindanao Corporation every Monday to Friday with office address at Tanleh Building, Abellanosa, Cagayan de Oro City. It is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under Company Registration No. CS201531633 with BIR Certificate of Registration No. 2RC0000831068, TIN No. 463826-272-000 – VAT. Reg., and with Business Permit No. 201512879. Tel. Nos.: (088)8578447, 74-5380, 0923-432-0687, 0917-7121424 Website: www.businessweekmindanao.com E-mail : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com
Member: Philippine Press Institute
PNoy veto of SSS law political suicide LIFE’ INSPIRATIONS: “… Do not be anxious about anything. But in everything, by prayer and petition, present your requests to God…” (Philippians 4:6, the Holy Bible). -ooo PNOY’s VETO OF SSS LAW POLITICAL SUICIDE FOR LP BET: It is simply unbelievable, and can be considered a political suicide for his Liberal Party and Mar Roxas, his 2016 presidential candidate, for President Aquino to have vetoed the proposed law granting an across the board increase for some two million pensioners of the Social Security System (SSS), citing the probable depletion of SSS funds to pay for the benefits of current members of the agency. The fact is that, the Filipino people know that the government has so much money which Aquino and his officials could readily tap and use, if they sincerely wanted to improve the living conditions of SSS pensioners whose current monthly pension benefits certainly are no longer enough to keep their bodies and souls together. Who among us have not heard about hundreds of billions of annual pork barrel allocations for congressmen and senators who are allies of Aqu i n o ? Wh o h av e not been informed about
the hundreds of billions of yearly government intelligence funds which are spent by many government officials, including Aquino himself, without being held accountable for even a single centavo of them? -ooo TA K E P H O T O S , RECORDINGS, OF RUDE DRIVERS: In this age of technological improvement which enables even the most ordinary cellular phones to take photos and video footages of the things that are happening around us, suing and then successfully prosecuting erring drivers of public utility vehicles--taxi drivers, bus and jeepney drivers---have become quite easy tasks. If the passengers’ phones are capable of recording conversations, then, by all means, the dialogue between the passengers and their drivers should be recorded. As the recording is started, the passengers must announce into their recorders that they are recording the exchange and the conversation. They could simultaneously take photos and footages of what is happening between them and the drivers. I am aware that many drivers are really criminallyminded for one reason or anot he r, and m ay - - - or would---attempt to either
prevent the recording or taking of photos. When this happens, the passengers must exert all effort to preserve their recordings, video footages and photos, for submission to the Land Transportation Office. If the cellphones are destroyed while they are being used, the passengers must immediately write a short story of what happened and that would be sufficient. -ooo “IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING”: Businessman F l o r e n Na g u i t , a p a s t president and fellow member of the Rotary Club of Intramuros of Rotary International’s District 3810, listed down four ways by which a person can maintain good health through 2016 and beyond, and one of them, he said, is by refusing to worry about anything. I can only agree with him. The fact is, as I have been writing here for quite some time now, there is no benefit that one can get from worrying. If we worry, nothing is changed. The truth is, we even become worse than before we started worr ying, for while we are worrying, our blood pressure shoots up and clogs our veins with so much blood. So much blood in the veins could cause them to rupture, leading to strokes or
K akampi
Mo A ng Batas
Atty. Batas Mauricio other debilitating diseases. So, instead of worrying, we must ask God for everything that we need. If we believe that God created everything there is in this world, He has the power to give us what we need. In fact, He can adjust everything--and I mean everything--so that things that looked impossible or difficult at the start become possible or easy to deal with later. Yes, impossible is nothing. -ooo PLEASE LISTEN: “Ang Tanging Daan” (The Sole Way): a Bible study and prayer session online could now be heard, 24 HOURS a day, in the Philippines and the world at www.facebook.com/ angtangingdaan or www. facebook.com/ANDKNK (and look for “Ang Tanging Daan” broadcasts). Phone: 0922 833 43 96, 0918 574 0193, 0977 805 9058. Email: batasmauricio@yahoo.com.
Beware of losing sense of sin
Oro Chamber
The Gifts That Count Think a minute…I know a woman who gets sad when her husband sends her roses! She says: “The only reason my husband gives me flowers is because it’s Valentine’s Day and he thinks he’s expected to. I’d much prefer for him to show his love in the way he talks to me and treats me every day. I wish he’d do the little things like helping me with the kids, taking me out on a date, or just spending some time alone together. I’d be happy if once in a while he’d thank me for all the daily work I do like cooking his favorite food or washing his clothes.” Another woman’s husband was absent-minded and always forgetting her birthday as well as their wedding anniversar y. When her friends asked her what she did on her birthday, she told them that he forgot again. However, then she added: “But last evening we took a long walk together and talked; and that meant much more to me than getting a gift just because it’s my birthday and he was expected to.” Many children buy or make Mother’s Day cards and presents. The mother tells her children how much she likes them; but she remembers how disrespectful and rude
Advertising and Editorial E-mail : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com Contact nos. : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776
THINK
A Minute
Jhan Tiafau Hurst her son was to her the day before. Or how many times she wishes her children would help her with the work around the house without her having to ask them. When love is expressed ONLY on special days that it is expected, it almost can hurt the person receiving it if there is no thoughtfulness and kindness every day. If there are no words of appreciation and love the rest of the year. That’s why Jesus Christ said He would rather have us love Him by obeying and living for Him every day than for us to give a gift to the church once in a while, so we can try and make up for the way we live the rest of the time. Jesus loves us all very much! He always listens to us and forgives us, no matter hurst/PAGE 11
With all this talk and general thrust of the Church today on mercy and compassion, a ver y commendable campaign, I must say, we just have to make sure that we do not lose our sense of sin as a consequence or unintended side-effect. We always have to be wary of the possible bad effects that our good plans and initiatives can have. The world is not perfect. Loopholes, hidden traps, mistakes, etc., can always spoil what other wise is thought of as a very good strategy. We might get too easy and presumptuous about God’s omnipotent and gratuitous mercy that we may not be able anymore to acknowledge sins, ours and those of others, that need to be forgiven. In other words, we might get too intoxicated with divine mercy that initially would lead us to think it would just be ok to commit sin since it will be forgiven anyway, and later on as in a slippery slope, as we get used to committing sin that can get forgiven anyway, we would find ourselves not anymore considering anything as sin. Our conscience would be distorted and would become lax. Little by little, we lose our capacity to hear God’s voice in our conscience. In its place, we would just hear
our own corrupted voice. This can happen because our capacity to identify what is good and evil depends on our relationship with God. If that relationship is not good, or is not healthy and working, then obviously we would have a bad or wrong notion of sin, or even lose the very sense of sin. The Catechism of the Catholic Church has this to say about this point: “To try to understand what sin is, one must first recognize the profound relation of man to God, for only in this relationship is the evil of sin unmasked in its true identity as humanity’s rejection of God and opposition to him, even as it continues to weigh heavy on human life and history.” (386) So what comes to mind is that together with this strong campaign to reassure everyone of God’s mercy should also be an equally strong campaign to heighten people’s sense of sin. This strong campaign to heighten people’s sense of sin can be done by encouraging everyone to have a true life of piety, by having first of all a personal and intimate relationship with G o d, and then by availing of the instruments and practices that would sustain and develop that life of piety. All this should be done in a most delicate way.
Preferably, it has to be done in a more personal way than on a collective way. The latter should be delivered in a positive, encouraging tone. No thunder-and-lightning condemnations, please. Without this working piety, we sooner or later would lose our sense of good and evil, and we would rely simply on our own personal hunches or, worse, on some vague social consensus. While the loss of the sense of sin is usually associated with those who are skeptical or have little or no faith at all, like some self-professed agnostics and atheists, it can also fall on those we generally regard as “good” or “pious” p eople w ho always count on the mercy of God without making the corresponding effort to be with God. In other words, they can be spoiled by an easily presumed divine mercy. At least, with the skeptics, agnostics and atheists, we can easily identify them and be more ready to devise the appropriate means to deal with them. But with the “good and pious” people, it’s harder to know if they are really having a working piety. They are a harder case to handle actually. They can easily mimic piety, and hide their sins and failures by covering them up with their other
HINTS
and
Traces
Fr. Roy Cimagala natural gifts that can act as a decoy insofar as the true state of their spiritual life is concerned. They can appear healthy in many aspects other than their spiritual life and piety. Ever ything therefore has to be done to help everyone develop and keep a working piety. This is the most challenging task for those whose office, calling or position, like priests, parents, teachers, counselors, etc., assign them to render this spiritual help to others. There has to be constant appeal for conversion, a constant call for confession and spiritual direction. People have to be encouraged to make use of some plan of piety that works for them, given their concrete conditions. This is when they can be reassured that God’s mercy is always available and, in fact, is given in abundance. roycimagala@gmail.com.
Advertising and Editorial E-mail : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com Contact nos. : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776
AggieNews
BusinessWeek MINDANAO
2013 ppi’S Best in Business and Economic Reporting
YOUR DAILY Mindanao-wide BUSINESS NEWSPAPER
5
2014 ppi’S Best in ENVIRONMENTAL Reporting
friday|January 15, 2016
More than 100 farmers conferred as SOA on Mushroom graduates
Cagayan de Oro City – A new batch of farmers graduated in another episode of the Department of AgricultureRegional Field Office 10 (DA-RFO 10)’s School-on-the-Air (SOA) program on Mushroom Production and Value-Adding after two months of modular discussion over radio station dXRURadio Ultra. Onehundred twenty-six farmers from the municipalities of Opol, Balingasag, Binuangan, Lagonglong, Manolo Fortich and Libona, who successfully completed the said SOA program from OctoberDecember 2015, were recognized by the department, represented by Carlota S. Madriaga, Chief, Field Operations Division and Mary Grace B. Sta. Elena, Regional Information Officer, in a ceremony on December 21,
2015, in the city to culminate the two-month long program. Among the graduates, six farmers from the municipality of Libona, three from Balingasag and one from Opol,
emerged as the top 10 graduates for maintaining excellent scores from the quizzes and the post-test given to them. The top 10 graduates were: Edna M. Hoag (1st), Lielane
Marie D. Jamaybay (2nd), Evelyn S. Daquiado (3rd), Rosby B. Appare (4th), Elizabeth C. Visto (5th), Dedith G. Mabao (6th), Rhoda N. Jamero (7th), Cerina B. Navales (8th),
Emma E. Juntilla (9th) and Kimberly P. Arbon (10th). This SOA focused on imparting knowledge on how to produce tissuecultured mushroom, as well as how to prepare recipes
that include the use of mushroom, that farmers can use as a source of livelihood to help them improve their productivity and income. # (MCLPaylaga, DARAFIS 10)
BusinessWeek MINDANAO
6
2013 ppi’S Best in Business and Economic Reporting
YOUR DAILY Mindanao-wide BUSINESS NEWSPAPER
2014 ppi’S Best in ENVIRONMENTAL Reporting
Advertising and Editorial E-mail : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com Contact nos. : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776
friday|January 15, 2016
For inquiries, see or call Department of Tourism Region 10, Gregorio Pelaez Sports Center A. Velez Street, Cagayan de Oro City, (088) 856-4048 / 880-0172
Advertising and Editorial E-mail : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com Contact nos. : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776
BusinessWeek MINDANAO
2013 ppi’S Best in Business and Economic Reporting
YOUR DAILY Mindanao-wide BUSINESS NEWSPAPER
friday|January 15, 2016
For inquiries, see or call Department of Tourism Region 10, Gregorio Pelaez Sports Center A. Velez Street, Cagayan de Oro City, (088) 856-4048 / 880-0172
7
2014 ppi’S Best in ENVIRONMENTAL Reporting
BusinessWeek MINDANAO
8
2013 ppi’S Best in Business and Economic Reporting
YOUR DAILY Mindanao-wide BUSINESS NEWSPAPER
2014 ppi’S Best in ENVIRONMENTAL Reporting
friday|January 15, 2016
Banking&Finance
Advertising and Editorial E-mail : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com Contact nos. : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776
Poll-related spending, El Nino won’t cause alarming spike in inflation: BSP I NCREASED spending activity in the economy for the upcoming elections and an intensified El Niño in the first half are not seen to push inflation to unmanageable levels this year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas deputy governor said Monday. Although the BSP is keeping a close eye on several risks, a more robust local economy can absorb increased election-related spending. Also, rice prices
will remain stable following the government’s early rice importation. “Unang una, maraming nagmamatyag kung ang mga kandidato nag o-overspend [First of all, many people are closely tracking the candidates’ spending]. One can argue that some candidates are still overspending. But they are more discreet, more prudent in terms of election spending,” Diwa Gunigundo, BSP deputy governor, told the Plaridel Kapihan sa Maynila.
“Number 2, the economy has als o b ecome more competitive; the supply chain has become more favorable,” he added. Still, the BSP is keeping watch for possible impacts from energy price increases and the depreciating peso. One thing being watched is the possible adjustment in utilities, Gunigundo said. There are pending petitions with the Energy Regulatory C ommission (ERC) for adjustment in the utilities
rate, particularly power coming from PSALM and the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP). If the ERC gives this due course, “that could have some impact on inflation,” the BSP official said. Also being watched is the possible impact of the depreciation of the peso. “The exchange rate passthrough has gone down in recent years but we continue to monitor the impact of the peso depreciation on
inflation.” For other economists, oil prices pose the greater risk to inflation. According to Juan Rafael Supangco, head of research of Angping & Associates Securities, Inc., “the low inflation was actually due significantly to a decrease in oil prices and commodity prices.” But, he noted, other components of the CPI basket “actually went up, so we expect that to continue food, liquor, tobacco - this
year.” Though sp ending is seen to accelerate because of election-related expenses, a continued decline in oil prices will still keep inflation at around 2-2.5%. Inflation leaped to a sevenmonth high in December to 1.5, percent, but the BSP warns that developments related to the US Fed policy and the Chinese contagion also pose risks of tightening liquidity and restricting economic activity in the country.
External developments to continue affecting PH peso this week AN economist of ING Bank Manila said the Philippine peso is not immune to the market’s concerns, thus, the general weakness in the first two weeks of the year. “External factors continue to drive PHP’s weakness despite higher inflation (in December) and sustained
government spending growth in November which would support a favorable 4Q GDP report on January 28,” ING Bank Manila senior economist Joey Cuyegkeng said in a research note. Rate of price increases in the last month of 2015 rose to 1.5 percent, the
second consecutive month of increase after bottoming to 0.4 percent last September and October. Relatively, the domestic economy has been posting improvements after inching up to six percent in the third quarter of the year from the previous quarter’s 5.8 percent
and the 5.5 percent in the first quarter of the year. Analysts said a six percent output in the whole of 2015 remains robust for the Philippines, which is the third strongest economy in the region to date, buoyed by improving fundamentals. Cuyegkeng also warned
Misamis Oriental Gov. Yevgeny Vincente Emano (left) flanks newly-crowned Miss Philippines Earth - Misamis Oriental 2016 Maelyn Joy Unson (fourth from left) and her court Rachel Faye Tagapulot, Anna Grace Alturas, Jiesa Pahunang and Kokia Carpio. The beauties are donning Gil Macaibay gowns. photo by justice broñola, contributor
that the peso’s performance might be affected by the “possible confusion over the signal that the IRC (interest rate corridor) could deliver.” Under the planned IRC, which the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) plans to implement in the second quarter of this year, two standing liquidity facility, namely deposit and lending, will serve as corridor for the central bank rates. It is targeted to be supported by auction-based monetary operations. The BSP earlier said IRC was not expected to result in a change in the BSP’s policy stance as well as the general interest rate levels in the country and instead enhance the effectiveness of monetary policy. It considers the IRC as additional support to the domestic capital market “by providing an enabling environment for increased money market transactions as well as promoting more active liquidity management by individual financial institutions.”
It is also expected to lessen the country’s dependence on reserve requirement (RR) for sterilization, which in turn will help the central bank lower banks’ RR in line with regional levels. Cuyegkeng said implementation of the IRC that involves a cut in the central bank’s overnight borrowing or reverse repurchase (RRP) rate, and even with a steady rate for the special deposit account (SDA), “could be interpreted by the markets as accommodative monetary policy.” “If the first adjustment in the implementation of the IRC involves a RRP and RP rate cut, then market might misinterpret this as monetary easing which would result to moderate PHP weakness,” he said. The economist expects the local currency “to be on the defensive this week”, with a support from higher corporate demand. He e s t i m at e d t h re e support and resistance levels pegged at a range between P46.60 and P47.90.
Advertising and Editorial E-mail : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com Contact nos. : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776
AggieNews
BusinessWeek MINDANAO
2013 ppi’S Best in Business and Economic Reporting
YOUR DAILY Mindanao-wide BUSINESS NEWSPAPER
9
2014 ppi’S Best in ENVIRONMENTAL Reporting
friday|January 15, 2016
R-10 PMIUs urged to install grievance redress mechanism
T
he project monitoring and implementing unit of the provinces (PPMIUs), municipalities (MPMIUs) and cities (CPMIUs) in Region 10 are urged to install Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) in the implementation of the Philippine
Rural Development Project (PRDP) in their respective areas. GRM is an integral project management element that intends to seek feedback from beneficiaries and resolve of complaints on project activities and performance.
During the coordination meeting with Regional Project Coordination Office (RPCO) and the PPMIUs held in Cagayan de Oro City last December, Gay Nanette Aleria, R-10 focal person of the Social Environmental
Safeguard, emphasized the immediate need to install the GRM point person (GPP) at the LGU level especially those with ongoing projects like farm-tomarket roads (FMRs), bridges, irrigation systems, etc. “For those who have not installed
yet their GRM, I hope you can do it soon especially those with ongoing projects,” Aleria said. Aleria mentioned that some municipal and barangay LGUs particularly those implementing year one subprojects, were trained already on GRM in a seminar-
workshop held in July 2015 in Cagayan de Oro City and they are now following through their GRM plan of action like briefing their local chief executives/ barangay chairmen, and designation of GRM point persons. # (Rosie R. E. Paasa, DA-RPCO10)
Cagayan de Oro City, July 2015.PRDP Seminar-workshop on grievance redress mechanism (GRM) that aims to establish a team to handle and resolve grievance issues that may arise adversely affecting environment, individuals and local groups by the implementation of projects under PRDP. Above photos are participants actively responding to the lectures and workshops from lecturers (inset photos) ArnelArreglado, head of Social Environmental Safeguard (SES), PRDP-PSO Mindanao Cluster and Gay Nanette Aleria, SES focal person in Region 10. # (Rosie R. E. Paasa, DA-RPCO10)
R-10 conducts E-VSA training for PRDP implementation Cagayan de Oro City–For the efficient implementation of t h e D e p ar t m e nt of Agriculture’s Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP), the Regional Project Coordinating Office in Region 10 conducted
two-day technical training on Expanded Vulnerability and Suitability Assessment (E-VSA) Tool with Geomapping last December. As explained by Urcesia Creus of I-PLAN(Investment in AFMP Planning at the
Engr. DominisioEliseo, head of Geo-mapping and Governance Unit, DA-RPCO 10 explainingthe geo-mapping technique to the participants, to determine the influence area of the project.
Local & National Levels ), E-VSAis a major planning to ol us e d by PRDP in ranking of municipalities. It assesses its suitability to specific commodity, its vulnerability to typhoon, flooding and drought, and the socio economicconditions of a particular area. Along with the EVSA, is the use of geo-mapping te chnolog yt hatprovides geographical data ofthe influence area of projectslike farm-to-market roads, bridges, irrigation systems, etc., and of monitoring progress thereatto uphold good governance and transparency. Participated in by provincial local government units (PLGUs) and DA Core Planning Team, the training aims to equip them with sufficient knowledge of E-VSA tool,so they can come up
Technical Training on Expanded Vulnerability and Suitability Assessment (E-VSA) Tool with Geo-mapping on December 8-9, 2015 in Cagayan de Oro City participated in by provincial local government units and the DA-10 Core Planning Team. Inset photos are DA-10 Assistant Regional Director Roxana H. Hojas as she gives her message and Engr. Laarni Medina, from the Project Support Office in Davao City, E-VSA resource person.
with an updated Provincial Commodity Investment Plan (PCIP) in January 2016 using this tool. “This training is a very important activity because we will be using this tool for PRDP proposals,”emphasized DA-10 Assistant Regional Director Roxana H. Hojas, in her message.
Hojasexplained thePRDP proposal is based on the Prov inci a l C ommo dit y Investment Plan which seeks for the development of the region’s priority commodities identifying interventions based on value chain analysis (VCA)and expanded vulnerability and suitability assessment.
The E-VSA tool and geomapping technology were ably discussed respectively by Engr. Laarni Medina from the PRDP Project Support Office in Davao City and Engr. DominisioEliseo, head of Geo-mapping and Governance Unit at DARPCO 10. (Rosie R. E. Paasa, DA-RPCO 10)
BusinessWeek MINDANAO
10
Billboard
2013 ppi’S Best in Business and Economic Reporting
YOUR DAILY Mindanao-wide BUSINESS NEWSPAPER
Advertising and Editorial E-mail : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com Contact nos. : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776
2014 ppi’S Best in ENVIRONMENTAL Reporting
friday|January 15, 2016
Battling the Enemy Within
Traditionally, cyber attacks on corporate networks have come from outside the organization. With the growing usage of personal mobile devices and the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT), however, the danger now also comes from the walls within.
By Michael Xie, Founder, President and Chief Technology Officer, Fortinet
The world moves swiftly; the IT security world even more so. Just a couple of years ago, securing the enterprise would basically consist of protecting an organization from external intruders. Today, the battle has changed ground. Education efforts from industry players have created higher levels of IT security awareness in the business world, and more firms have implemented basic security measures that can thwart direct attacks effectively. This development is forcing hackers to up their game by figuring out alternative ways to get their
hands on valuable enterprise assets. One new strategy that is becoming more common across the world is for hackers to gain entry to a corporate network by targeting its weakest points. Such points can include an unsecured employee mobile phone, or a workstation with limited access to corporate data. These weak points typically reside in low value segments of the corporate network. Once the hacker breaks in and gets a toehold, however, he can often navigate to other more valuable parts of the network − which tend to be much more rigorously protected from external
attackers − quite easily. This “lateral movement” modus operandi proves to be effective most of the time because many organizations do not isolate dif ferent segments of the network from one another. Moving from segment to segment is usually a breeze once hackers get into the network. A few trends will make such attacks from within the organization more common in the coming years: 1. The increasing adoption of employee-owned mobile devices in enterprise environments. These are often poorly secured and provide a weak point of entry into the organization for hackers. 2. The exponential growth of IoT devices. Early and even current versions of these devices are not designed with security in mind, and are very tedious if not impossible to secure properly. 3. Advancement in hacking techniques. Internal Segmentation Firewalls Needed T r a d i t i o n a l l y , orga nizations deploy firewalls at the perimeter of the network for protection.
Republic of the Philippines REGIONAL TRIAL COURT OF LANAO DEL NORTE 12TH Judicial Region BRANCH 07 Tubod, Lanao del Norte IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION FOR CANCELLATION OF THE CERTIFICATE OF LIVE BIRTH OF RHUDA SAJONIA PAPELLERO IN THE OFFICE OF THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR OF KOLAMBUGAN, LANAO DEL NORTE, RHUDA PAPELLERO BAROQUILLO, - versus –
SPL. PROC. NO. 307-07-2015
THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR OF KOLAMBUGAN, LANAO DEL NORTE, ` Respondent. x------------------------------------------/ AMENDED ORDER Filed before this Court is a petition for cancellation of the Certificate of Live Birth of RHUDA SAJONIA PAPELLERO in the office of the Local Civil Registrar of Kolambugan, Lanao del Norte praying among others that after notice and hearing, an Order be issued directing the Respondents to effect the cancellation sought for. Petitioner alleges that she is of legal age, married, Filipino, and resident of Baybay, Kolambugan, Lanao del Norte. Respondent is sued in her official capacity as such. Petitioner is the daughter of the late spouses RODULFO LACANG PAPELLERO and ESTERLINA TANAKA SAJONIA who was born on April 22, 1972 in Baybay, Kolambugan, Lanao del Norte. That her mother caused a late registration of her birth on February 1, 2001. But when she went to the Office of the National Statistics (NSO) to secure an authentic copy of her Birth Certificate, she was surprised to find out that her birth was already previously registered in the Office of the Local Civil Registrar of Kolambugan, Lanao del Norte on April 27, 1972, the informant of the same was Perla Betacha. In effect, there is a double registration of her birth before the Office of the Respondent. That while the late registration of her birth was only done on April 1, 2001, she has been using that Certificate of Birth in all his school, personal, and official records and transactions. In her visa application to travel to Japan as a Filipino citizen with Japanese ascents, the Birth Certificate she used is that late registration. But said application to travel Japan is suspended due to the existence of her two (2) Birth Certificates. While there exist a registration of her birth on April 22, 1972, but she was completely unaware of the same. In fact, she never used those facts of birth entered therein but only the facts of her birth recorded in the late registration. That the former registration of her birth became an obstacle and bar her application to travel and much more bar her best interest. In inorder to attain and sustain her best interest and benefits, there is a need to cancel the first Certificate of Live Birth before the Respondent’s office. The cancellation of the same would not prejudice the interest of any person or the government. On the contrary, it will redound to her best interest as well as her family. Set the initial hearing of the case to March 11, 2016 at 8:30 in the morning for the reception of evidence to establish jurisdictional requirements. The Petitioner is hereby directed to publish copy of this Order to a newspaper of general circulation in the province of Lanao del Norte for three (3) consecutive weeks, at her expense. Furnish copy of this Order to the Office of the Solicitor General, Makati City, Public Prosecutor’s Office, Tubod, Lanao del Norte, Office of the Local Civil Registrar of Kolambugan, Lanao del Norte, to Atty. Saturnine Mejorada of Iligan City and to the petitioner herself at her known address, at Baybay, Kolambugan, Lanao del Norte. Let copy of this Order be posted at the Bulletin of this Court and at the Bulletin of the Office of the Local Civil Registrar of Kolambugan, Lanao del Norte. So Ordered. Tubod, Lanao del Norte. January 11, 2016.
BWM: Jan. 15, 22 & 29, 2016
cybercriminals have recruited insiders and developed new attack methods that easily bypass their current security protections. Security and risk professionals today must make security ubiquitous throughout the network, not just at the perimeter. Forrester advocates the zero trust security model, where the network is securely segmented, and all traffic is inspected and logged. With such a model, the information flow between an engineer and his/her marketing colleague seated next to each other, for example, will no longer proceed unchecked. Because these two employees are assigned to different network segments and an internal segmentation firewall (ISFW) is in place, proper policies will be applied and logs will be generated for any traffic traversing between the two departments.
ISFW comprises two kinds of technologies − policy-based segmentation that identifies a user’s parameters, and dynamically and consistently enforces a security policy controlling the user’s access to enterprises resources; and firewall segmentation that divides up the internal network to enable traffic analysis, logging and full security control. An ISFW does not replace the edge firewall. Instead, an ISFW provides multiple touch points within a network in order to provide security between existing network boundaries, or create entirely new segments inside of existing network boundaries. It also improves visibility by letting IT management see all layers of the network in one pane of glass. Depending on the level of security needed between fortinet/PAGE 11
Republic of the Philippines REGIONAL TRIAL COURT OF LANAO DEL NORTE 12TH Judicial Region BRANCH 07 Tubod, Lanao del Norte IN THE MATTER OF ADOPTION OF MINOR NAMED, RENAI ZOUIE ROSE OBIAL GARCINES, AND SYDNEY GARCINES, Residing at Tangueguiron , Tubod, Lanao del Norte AND CANCELLATION OF THE SIMULATED BIRTH CERTIFICATE OF MINOR CHILD, RENAI ZOUIE ROSE OBIAL GARCINES. SPS. RENANTE F. GARCINES AND ROSALINDA O. GARCINES, - versus –
SPL. PROC. NO. 311-07-2015
Petitioners,
THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR OF BAROY, LANAO DEL NORTE, Respondent. x----------------------------------- ---------/ ORDER
Petitioner,
Edge f irewa l ls label a l l external traffic (i.e. Internet traffic) as untrusted, while designating all intra-network traffic as trusted, and handle them in two distinct ways. There are no grey areas; no ambiguity. Un for t u nately t he world isn’t black and white anymore. With the rise of attacks or ig i nat i ng f rom we a k segments of the network, the line delineating trusted and untrusted traffic has blurred. Merely deploying firewalls at the edge of the network is no longer adequate − organizations need to rearchitecture their network such that internal firewalling can restrict malware f low between different segments of the organization. According to research firm Forrester, enterprises have built strong perimeters, but well-organized
(Sgd.) DENNIS P. VICOY Acting Presiding Judge
This is a petition for adoption of minors named RENAI ZOUIE ROSE OBIAL and SYDNEY GARCINES and the cancellation of the Simulated Birth Certificate of minor child, RENAI ZOUIE ROSE OBIAL GARCINES filed before this Court on December 14, 2015, praying among others that after notice and hearing, an Order be issued granting the petition sought for. Petitioners alleged that they are husband and wife, Filipino, and residents of Tangueguiron, Tubod, Lanao del Norte. Respondent is sued in his official capacity. They desire to legally adopt as their children, their nieces, namely: RENAI ZOUIE OBIAL GARCINES and SYDNEY GARCINES, both minors, 7 and 13 years of age respectively. Both were born at Baroy, Lanao del Norte, now residing at Tangueguiron, Tubod, Lanao del Norte. That the biological parents of minor RENAI ZOUIE ROSE OBIAL GARCINES, (Charlito F. Garcines, brother of petitioner and Edith H. Garcines) are not affluent in life. They are both jobless and their daily income are just sufficient for their daily sustenance. On the other hand, the biological mother of SYDNEY GARCINES, named Sheila Marie F. Garcines (sister of male petitioner) is also jobless who got pregnant while she was very young and was abandoned by her boyfriend right after the latter learned of her pregnancy. Hence, few days after Edith H. Garcines and Sheila Marie F. Garcines gave birth to Renai (for brevity) Garcines and Sydney Garcines, they decided to surrender and relinquish the parental custody of the minors to the herein petitioners. Petitioners during their marital union for more than eleven (11) years are childless, although the lady petitioner prior to their marriage had her own TWO (2) children with her former Australian boyfriend namely: DYLAN HENRY O. GREEN and SUNEEL FELIX O. GREEN, 17 years old and 12 years old respectively. DYLAN HENRY being 17 years of age, has given his consent to the proposed adoption. Petitioners have taken cared of, of the minors since they were still few months old and they have given the minors the attention and love of a true and real parents. Petitioners do not fall under the disqualifications of adoption as provided for by law and they are morally fit as well as physically and financially capable of giving the children a bright future. The adoption sought for will certainly serve the best interest of the children. Meanwhile, in petitioners desire to minimize expenses and shortcut the adoption process of RENAI ZOUIE ROSE OBIAL GARCINES, petitioners were compelled to simulate the birth of said RENAI, believing in good faith that by doing such scheme, it would be for the best interest of the child. As the child grew older, they realized that what they did was a big mistake and felt in deep regret of their wrong doing of having simulated the birth certificate of RENAI, by registering their names as the parents of child when in truth, they were not. That there is an imperative need to cancel the birth certificate of RENAI for it contained entries that are false and untruthful so as to avoid confusion as to the identities of the said child. They desire that if and when the petition be granted, the children shall be named RENAI ZOUIE ROSE OBIAL GARCINES and SYDNEY OBIAL GARCINES. Set the initial hearing of the petition to April 4, 2016 at 8:30 in the morning before the sala of this Court. Furnish copy of this Order to the Office of the Solicitor General at Makati City, Office of the Public Prosecutor in Tubod, Lanao del Norte, to Atty. Eleuterio Obial of National Highway, Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte and to the petitioners, at their known address at Barangay Tangueguiron, Tubod, Lanao del Norte. The Department of Social Welfare and Development Office in Tubod, Lanao del Norte is hereby directed to conduct a Home Study and Child Study Report upon the petitioners and the children sought to be adopted, as well as their biological parents. She is directed to submit a report relative thereto, at least three (3) days before the scheduled hearing. Any interested person/s are hereby directed to come to Court on said date and time to show cause why said petition should not be granted. Let copy of this Order be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the province of Lanao del Norte for three (3) consecutive weeks, at the expense of the petitioner. SO ORDERED. December 18, 2015. Tubod, Lanao del Norte. BWM: Jan. 8, 15 & 22, 2016
(Sgd.) DENNIS P. VICOY Acting Presiding Judge
BusinessWeek MINDANAO
Advertising and Editorial E-mail : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com Contact nos. : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776
2013 ppi’S Best in Business and Economic Reporting
YOUR DAILY Mindanao-wide BUSINESS NEWSPAPER
friday|January 15, 2016
Budget... from page 1
Northern Mindanao – composed of Camiguin, Misamis Oriental, Misamis O c c i d e nt a l , L an a o d e l Norte, and Bukidnon – will receive the highest chunk at P78.53 billion, having the biggest contribution to Mindanao’s growth, said Romeo Montenegro, director for Investment Promotion, International Relations and Public Affairs of MinDA. “On account of strong contribution to Mindanao growth, it has the biggest s h are i n t e r ms of t h e need for infrastructure to accelerate further its output in agriculture,” he said during the Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City on Monday. Davao Region (Davao City, Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte, Davao Occidental, Compostela Valley, and Davao Oriental) will receive the second highest budget at 67.6 billion. The Zamboanga Peninsula, composed of the three Zamboanga provinces, will get P66.61 million. The SOCCSKSARGEN – which consists of South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, and General Santos City – will receive P63.2 billion. The Autonomous Region i n Mu s l i m M i n d a n a o (ARMM) will get P53.47 billion. T h e C a r a g a R e g i on (Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, and Dinagat Islands provinces) will get P51.74 billion. Montenegro added that most of the budget of ARMM and Caraga will be allocated for social sector component. “In areas where you need to focus on social services, that’s where you should give and pour in infrastructure projects,” he added. This is the highest share that Mindanao received under the administration of President Benigno Simeon Aquino III, according to Montenegro. “Mindanao can expect an increase in the budget this year in so far as we’ve been getting sustained increase in the budget allocation since the start of this administration,” he said. “We’ve seen an increase in the government spending particularly in major areas. T h i s w i l l t r a n s l at e t o more roads, bridges, and other major infrastructure projects constructed to be able to address Mindanao connectivity requirements,” he said.
Upgrade... from page 1
In a memorandum of agreement signed Wednesday in partnership with the CocaCola Foundation Philippines, the local Cagayan De Oro Water District (COWD) would get a USD800,000 grant for the water district to carry out hydraulic modeling and repair its leaked pipes.
L e a k e d w at e r pip e s drained the COWD of about 80,000 cubic meters of water daily or 49.5 percent of what the water district produces. “The daily water losses is unacceptable,” Ladele A. Sagrado, the COWD spokesperson, said, citing that the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) allows only, at least, a 20 percent non-revenue water. In the agreement, the grant also covers technical assistance for waste water reduc tion strateg y and implementation, mapping an up dated geographic information system database and as well as an updated district metered area design. Sagrado said that a survey of all facilities and customers within the focus areas will first be conducted to update existing records in order to update the COWD’s database. The sur vey includes tagging of watering meters and ultimately leading to the laying of new pipes. Engineering works would be undertaken by Miya, a global leader in optimizing urban water efficiency. The fund would be taken from the “USAID’s Be Secure Project,” a Philippinesspecific program aimed at strengthening the water sector regulatory reform in the country. Part of the fund or PHP458 million would be also be loaned from the governmentowned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP). Sagrado said that the role of the Coca-Cola Foundation is to use the total volume of water saved to offset its own commercial water consumption and reduce its water footprint. She said that the COWD expects to reduce the nonrevenue water by 30 percent once the project is completed in 2017. The signing of the a g r e e m e nt We d n e s d ay was witnessed by USAID Philippines director on environment Jeremy Gustafson, USAID’s B e Secure Project chief of party Mona Greiser, Coca-cola Foundation Philippines president Cecilia Alcantara and the Public Works and Highways Undersecretary Catalina Cabral. (PNA)
Priorities... from page 1
month in Kota Kinabalu. “O u r p r i o r i t i e s a r e consistent with developing Mindanao and Palawan and will provide us leverage with the national government to ensure that the two areas are developed,” Mr. Montenegro said. The projects to be proposed will develop Mindanao and Palawan as food baskets, destinations, and connecting points within the ASEAN Economic Community. “If we improve the ports in Mindanao and Palawan, it will also result in an increase in traffic across BIMP-EAGA and across ASEAN,” he said. At the Kota Kinabalu
meeting, the four countries agreed on the BIMP-EAGA Vision 2025, which is to “develop a resilient, inclusive, sustainable and economically competitive sub-region.” “We continue to recognize that improvement in connectivity is vital for the seamless movement of goods and people from EAGA,” the group said in a joint statement. Mr. Montenegro said the project planned for the Philippines will be presented to the next administration. “This is why it is critical to identify the key projects so that these can be integrated into the priorities of the incoming administration,” he said. The first BIMP-EAGA blueprint was drafted for 2012-2016. Under this framework, the national government implemented several infrastructure projects, including the upgrade of the road between the cities of Davao and General Santos, which both have seaports, and the port in Puerto Princesa City.
El Niño... from page 2
in the center and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. The effects of this phenomenon include reduced rainfall which may lead to drought, stronger typhoons, and higher risk of forest, bush, and grass fires. (SLAboc/ RPAO/DENR10)
Potential... from page 2
the calendar year 2016. “I am very grateful to our district engineer with her batteries of competent workers in extending their hands for the concretization of farm to market roads for Gingoognons,” the lady exec said. (Buboy Pabia/Gingoog media bureau)
Max’s... from page 3
Max’s Group. I think Max Group restaurant brands do well during the election year especially now [that] it is presidential elections. We are looking at great impact to us, on revenues for all our brands,” he told reporters. Trota said the company also aims to add at least 19 to 20 stores overseas this year.
“We will start opening those different stores in the different territories that we recently signed not to mention we are still looking for other areas and prospect… There are continuous talks for different areas,” he said, noting the company signed development agreements for five territories in 2015. Trota identified the Asia Pacific region and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) territory as its top priority markets though it also grows the brands in North America. In 2015, Max’s Group op ene d 79 ne w stores, bringing its network to over 600. Max’s Group’s family of brands include Max’s Restaurants, Max’s Corner Baker y, Pancake House, Yellow Cab Pizza, Teriyaki Boy, Dencio’s, Kabisera, Sizzlin’ Steak, Le Coeur de France, Maple, Krispy Kreme, Jamba Juice, Meranti, and Singkit. Me a nw h i l e , M G I i s ushering the maiden entry of Yellow Cab Pizza in China, now Asia’s biggest food market. “I think we are still looking at consumer spending. China is a big market; $2 billion is a big market. Having new choices, relevant and more exciting choices especially to a billion-dollar market is a great opportunity still (for us),” Trota said. He is optimistic that 200 overseas stores target by 2020 “is very much achievable.” Tr o t a n o t e d t h a t international sales now contribute below five percent to the Group’s total revenues. “But we are looking at obviously in the future, it could be a major contributor to the income level of the Max’s Group,” he added.
Hurst... from page 4
how wrong or hurtful we’ve been. Jesus is just waiting for you and me to choose to love Him in return. He’s patiently waiting for us to spend time alone with Him so we can get close to Him, not just on special days like Christmas and Easter but every day. And as you spend time with Him, Jesus will help you change to become more like Him. Then you can start giving gifts of real love to others, not just on special days, but every day of the year. Just Think a Minute…
Republic of the Philippines LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRY OFFICE Baungon, Bukidnon CCE-0002-2016-RA 10172 Date: January 14, 2016 NOTICE OF THE PUBLIC In compliance with the publication requirement and pursuant to OCRG Memorandum Circular No. 2013-1 Guidelines in the Implementation of the Administrative Order No. 1 series of 2012 (IRR on RA 10172), Notice is hereby served to the public that ANGEL C. ANDORA has filed with this Office a petition for correction of entry in SEX from “MALE” to “FEMALE” in the Certificate of Live Birth of ANGEL C. ANDORA born on February 20, 1998 at Baungon, Bukidnon and whose parents are ADEMAR B. ADORA and ELSIE M. CATAT. Any person adversely affected by said petition may file a written opposition with this Office not later than 30, January 2016. BWM: Jan. 15 & 22, 2016
(Sgd.) EVANGELINE LIBAYNON Municipal Civil Registrar
Fortinet... from page 10
each network segment, the types of protection enabled will vary. Once a firewall is deployed into each segment of an enterprise network, it s pol ic y, log g i ng a nd various modern detection features can help identify and quarantine users that have been compromised. Also, the firewalls would make it much harder for hackers to do reconnaissance and discovery even if they have started to make their way inside the company network. I SF Ws s hou ld work in synchronization with one anot her, leveraging threat intelligence and be complemented by advanced persistent t hreat (APT) detection solutions li ke sandboxing and endpoint security solutions so that actions can be ta ken to identify compromises and quarantine them as soon as they are discovered. Removing the Performance and Cost Barriers Enterprises’ traditional object ions to put t ing a firewall in front of each network segment have been around performance and price. Because intra-network
11
2014 ppi’S Best in ENVIRONMENTAL Reporting
traffic volume can be many times that of Internet traffic volume, not many firewalls have the capability to handle t he work load s w it hout significant latency. Those that can handle it, when deployed in large numbers to cover each network segment within the enterprise, can make the cost prohibitive for many organizations. Today, however, attainable solutions exist. Modern firewalls that leverage custom ASIC chips can be fast enough to handle internal firewalling and be cost effective at the same time. Some may recall that per-port security was all the rage a few years ago, until implementation hurdles put an end to that promise. Current ISFW technology is a step towards reviving that promise. As technologies in switching and access port security evolves and performance improves, we will be able to combine them with ISFW to reach that goal. The concept of internal segmentation firewalling has put the network security industry on the cusp of an exciting era. Firms that want to take their operations − and their business − one step ahead of the competition should take advantage of it.
12
Advertising and Editorial E-mail : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com Contact nos. : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776
friday|January 15, 2016
BusinessWeek MINDANAO
WE ACCEPT
TARPS
STICKERS BusinessWeek MINDANAO
2013 ppi’S Best in Business and Economic Reporting 2014 ppi’S Best in ENVIRONMENTAL Reporting
friday | january 15, 2016
Editor: Cheng Ordoñez
YOUR Mindanao-wide BUSINESS paper
Corporation
0915-563-6246
CSC-HAP awards 2 outstanding public employees in NorMin
C
AGAYAN DE ORO CITY -- The Civil Service Commission (CSC), through its Honor Award Program (HAP), has recognized two government employees in
Northern Mindanao for their outstanding work performances. Dr. Amer A. Sab er, Medical Center Chief I of the Amai Pakpak Medical Center in Marawi City, was
awarded with the Presidential or Lingkod Bayan Award. He received a gold-gilded medallion expertly crafted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), a presidential plaque containing the citation
DUST MITE ALLERGENS CAN RUIN PLAYTIME.
and signature of the President of the Philippines, and cash prize worth P200,000 for his exceptional contributions, resulting f rom an idea or performance that had n at i onw i d e i mp a c t on public interest, security and patrimony. Meanwhile, Virgilio M. Fuertes, a Senior Science Research Specialist of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Region Office No. 10, Cagayan de Oro City was awarded with Civil Service Commission
B1
or the Pagasa Award. This award is given to an individual or group of individuals for outstanding contribution resulting from an idea or performance which directly benefit more than one department of the government. He received a gold-gilded medallion expertly crafted by the BSP, a plaque containing the citation and signature of the Chairperson of CSC, and a cash prize of P100,000. CSC Chairperson Alicia dela Rosa-Bala stated that
they honor individuals for their innovations to improve public service delivery and have proven that work setbacks can be transformed into opportunities and public servants can choose to be agents of change. Meanwhile, CSC Regional Director Adams D. Torres said that the conferment of honor awards aims to motivate or i nspi re gove r n me nt employees to imrpove the quality of their performance and instill deeper involvement awards/PAGE B2
Bayabas barangay chair Eddie Abrogar (ninth from left) and lawyer Lordan Suan (seventh from left) pose with the candidates of Miss Bayabas 2016. photo by mark francisco
Bayabas to celebrate Sinulog in style THE barangay council of Bayabas ably led by the indefatigable Eddie Abrogar will be celebrating Sinulog Festival 2016, this Sunday. The following are the activities for the fiesta – there was the Miss Bayabas 2016 swimsuit competition
KI-A60E-W
REDUCE ASTHMA ATTACKS
with the SHARP Plasmacluster Air Purifier
ALMOST
11 MILLION FILIPINOS SUFFER FROM ASTHMA. THIS MIGHT EVEN INCLUDE YOU OR A LOVED ONE. Source: “Almost 11 Million Filipinos...” - Asthma Insights and Reality in the Asia Pacific Region (AIRIAP), 2008
Powered by the dual purifying function of Plasmacluster Ion Technology which gets rid of asthma-inducing allergens, viruses, bacteria, and molds by up to 99%, and True HEPA Filter which captures asthma triggers as tiny as 0.3 microns like dust, pet dander, pollen, and smoke by up to 99.97% —the Sharp Plasmacluster Air Purifier makes the home safe for asthmatics, with a Seal of Approval from the experts at the British Allergy Foundation.
SharpPhilippines ASC Ref. No.: S004P070815S
last Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. at the fish port area, a hiphop dance competition last Wednesday evening at Bayabas covered court followed by the Miss Bayabas 2016 talent night an evening later at the same venue.
After the talent tilt, there will be a disco party. It’s gonna be DepEd Night on the 15th but everybody has to immediately sleep early in time for the community parade the next day on the 16th. Also on that exciting day will be the Miss Bayabas 2016 coronation night. It will be a more solemn moment by Sunday when there will be a fiesta procession and thanksgiving Mass to simultaneously hold with the Sinulog Festival. S e p a r at e s e r v i c e s w i l l be offered by the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, Roman Catholic Church and the Philippine Ecumenical Church. (mark francisco, lifestyle editor)
BusinessWeek MINDANAO
B2
2013 ppi’S Best in Business and Economic Reporting
YOUR DAILY Mindanao-wide BUSINESS NEWSPAPER
2014 ppi’S Best in ENVIRONMENTAL Reporting
friday|January 15, 2016
Billboard
Advertising and Editorial E-mail : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com Contact nos. : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776
YiLinker opens its virtual doors to online shoppers, entrepreneurs and social media influencers Traffic, parking and huge crowds-- and you haven’t even entered the shopping mall yet. It’s enough to snuff out even the strongest of Holiday spirits. Christmas shopping can be time consuming, stressful and sometimes even dangerous, that is why more and more people are deciding to skip the cashier queues and are opting to shop online instead. After all, where else can you do shopping, even at midnight, while wearing your pajamas? Practical shoppers are also beginning to realize that they can actually save more online compared to conventional shopping because of the added expenses such as eating out, paying for gas and parking, and impulsive buys, etc. YiLinker, the newest entrant to the local e-commerce industry, sets itself apart by revolutionizing the online shopping business with its unique value proposition formerchants and its affiliates. “YiLinker.com aims to innovate and reinvent the e-commerce industry in the Philippines by offering the most progressive products and services that will suit the changing lifestyle of its customers, facilitate a one-of-a-kind selling opportunity for our partners, and give everyone the chance to earn more income via our affiliate program,” says Nelson Liao, CEO of YiLinker Philippines. Liao said the Philippines presented a very good opportunity for YiLinker to establish its very first station
because of the country’s continued growth and strong potential in the e-commerce business. As of the end of 2014, the Philippines has over a hundred million population, 40 percent of which are internet users and over 90% of internet users having their own Facebook account. Liao pointed out that the average Filipino internet user, spends about 53 hours per week on social media, and has an average of 660 friends on Facebook making us one of the top countries when it comes to social media usage. “We want to turn this habit into a business opportunity for every Filipino,” he said. YiLinker connects your business to the world In the current offline traditional selling, merchants or suppliers typically spend for overhead costs such as rent, manpower and marketing promotion.But with the overhead costs increasing every year, generated sales may not be able to sustain costs. The sudden outpour of online stores provides merchants an opportunity to expand their market reach, generating additional revenues on top traditional selling. However, this type of business incurs additional expenses such as online advertising, warehouse, delivery and customer support service.Partnering with popular e-commerce platforms may promise wider exposure but the limited business model is still not enough to provide business owners with higher revenue considering the need to
Yibo the mascot of Yilinker
hire additional manpower to handle the online marketing, advertising and transaction. Understanding the need of every businessman to grow his business while utilizing very minimal cost, YiLinker is revolutionizing the business model of the Affiliate Program. By partnering with thousands of affiliates who will promote products to various social media platforms, YiLinker provides businesses with better exposure and much higher revenue potential. “With the YiLinker Affiliate Program, merchants only need to provide their products with the best price and our thousands of affiliates will be the one to promote
them via social media,” says Liao. Earn passive income as an YiLinker Affiliate For influencers who have a strong media following, the YiLinker Affiliate Program rewards you with additional passive income simply by creating your own account. By partnering with Yilinker, potential affiliates can create and run their own e-commerce business without investment capital. “As YiLinker Affiliates, they do not need to spend a single centavo to start their online business and have passive income,” explains Liao. The program allows Affiliates to set up their own store simply by selectingtheir desired
Nelson Liao, CEO of Yilinkers Philippines
products and promoting them on their social media sites. Affiliates do not have to worry about fulfillment and delivery as YiLinker offers end-to-end service from pick and pack to after sales and customer support. YiLinker will also provide ample training to its Affiliates, help them with marketing strategies and provide support and assistance in categorizing and pricing their products. “We understand the value of our Affiliates that is why we want to establish and sustain professionalism, innovativeness, dependability and healthy working relationships among our team, so we are able to provide our stakeholders (merchants, affiliates and customers) the best services and products they deserve,” said Liao. “For our Affiliates, we offer cost-free selling— from conceptualizing and running marketing
Awards... from page B1
Nelson Liao CEO of Yilinkers and his team
in public service. HA P i s a p r o g r a m organize d by t he Civ i l Service Commission (CSC) that recognizes government officials and employees who showed outstanding work performance. Three award categories are being g ive n u n d e r HA P : t h e Presidential or Lingkod Bayan Award, Outstanding Public Officials and Employees or Dangal ng Bayan Award, and Civil Ser vice Commission or the Pagasa Award. The 2015 Outstanding Public Officials and
promotions, handling warehousing to logistics to collecting payments from your customers. We provide 24/7 customer support for concerns on returns, replacements and refunds for a worryfree after-sales service. No marketing fees, no maintenance costs, no hidden charges,” Liao expounds. YiLinker Affiliates can earn up to 60% commission on net profit of each transaction while enjoying a quick and easy payout system. “We want you to see and feel the fruits of your labor right away, so we will make the pay-out processing faster, easier and real-time.You can check and withdraw your earnings anytime, anywhere,” adds Liao. To learn more about starting your online business or how to become an affiliate, visit www. yilinker.com for more information. E mp l oy e e s re c o g n i z e d 28 individuals and two groups, at the awards rites, held on November 9, 2015, at the Rizal Ceremonial Hall, Malacanang Palace, led by President Benigno S . Aqu i n o I I I . Two of conferred recipients of Honor Award Program (HAP) are nominees from Northern Mindanao. T h e C S C h ol d s t h e annual nationwide Search for Outstanding Public Officials and Employees in the bureaucracy under the HAP, which serves as the bureaucracy’s employee incentives and award system. (Michelle Love Hilario/JMOR/PIA10)
BusinessWeek MINDANAO
Advertising and Editorial E-mail : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com Contact nos. : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776
2013 ppi’S Best in Business and Economic Reporting
YOUR DAILY Mindanao-wide BUSINESS NEWSPAPER
B3
2014 ppi’S Best in ENVIRONMENTAL Reporting
friday|January 15, 2016
Huawei... from page B4
being used to access the internet, Filipinos have developed this “always on” mentality or that need to be always connected. According to a study called Wave7, Filipinos have been using social media platforms 53 hours a week—11 hours more than the total global usage. Thus it comes as no surprise that from being the text messaging capital of the world, the Philippines has now become the social media capital of the world. “Whether it’s to keep in touch with friends and family, share new experiences or meet new people, we are always looking for the best way to connect to the internet,” notes Jose Vega, Sales and Marketing Director, Huawei Device Philippines. “One of the first things people ask about as soon as they arrive at their destination-- whether its a hotel, a restaurant or even at a friend’s house is for the Wi-Fi password, but since not all venues could handle the number of people connecting to their routers, internet connection can be very slow-- that is if you can even connect in the first place. That is why having your own Pocket WiFi device remains the best and most convenient solution especially if you are travelling with your family or friends and need to connect several devices at a time,” he added. “When you get a Huawei WiFi, you don’t have to ask for passwords anymore because you instantly become the hotspot everyone would be searching for instead.” For more information visit http://www.huawei. com/ph/
Huawei Hotspot Hotties Graham, Antoine,Kane,Alex, Ander and Dominic
Huawei Technologies Business Unit Head for Mobile Broadband and Wearables
Huawei Hotspot Hottie Nathan
Huawei Hotspot Hottie Charlie
Huawei Hotspot Hottie Sam
Huawei Hotspot Hottie Hans
Huawei Hotspot Hotties Host, Samantha Purvor
HUAWEI SPARK (E5330)
HUAWEI LIGHTNING (B315) LTE CPE Router
“HUAWEI FLASH (E5573)
The Huawei Flash is an LTE enabled mobile WiFi hotspot highlighted by an exquisite metallic halo button at the center, and one touch play for easy operation. On the front of the device, there are two single LED indicators for battery and signal strength. The Flash can provide internet connection to 10 Wi-Fi enabled devices with download speeds of up to 150Mbps and upload speed of 50Mbps. The Flash is powered by a 1500mAH battery, which can last to up to 5 hours of WiFi usage and up to 300 hours in standby mode. Install the Huawei Mobile WiFi App 3.0, the Flash lets you quickly and easily “share” photos, apps between mobile phones accessed to the same Mobile WiFi. The Huawei Flash supports Cat.4 LTE 4G FDD-LTE 800/850/900/1800/2100/2600MHz, 3G UMTS/DCHSPA+: 850/900/2100MHz, and 2G GSM/EDGE/GPRS: 850/900/1800/1900MHz frequency bands. It likewise supports dual band WiFi 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz.
True to its name, the Lightning supportsfast LTE CAT4 connections of up to 150Mbps. This WiFi router is best for SME requirements as it can deliver maximum speeds of LTE CAT4 150Mbps through its Gigabit Ethernet port. The Lightning’s enhanced Wi-Fi extends wireless coverage and eliminates dead corners and offers wireless access for up to 32 devices. The Huawei Lightning supports peak download speeds of up to 150mbps and upload speed to 50Mbps. On UMTS network with DC-HSPA+ technology, B315 could achieve downlink speed to 42.2Mbps and uplink to 5.76mbps. The Huawei Lightning is also backward compatible with GSM and EDGE.
The Huawei Spark refines both style and size and is world’s most compact 21 Mbps 3G router. The one key design blends elegance and practicality to deliver portable network in style. The Huawei Spark can support up to 10 WiFi devices to access internet with download speeds of up to 21.6Mbps and upload speed up to 5.76Mbps. It likewise boasts of a startup time of just 5 seconds With its 1500mAh, battery the Spark can last up to 6 hours of continuous usage and a standby time of up to 300 hours. It supports 3G DC-HSPA+/ HSPA/UMTS 2100/900 MHz; 2G GPRS/GSM/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
BusinessWeek MINDANAO
2013 ppi’S Best in Business and Economic Reporting
YOUR Mindanao-wide BUSINESS NEWSPAPER friday | january 15, 2016
2014 ppi’S Best in ENVIRONMENTAL Reporting
B4
Taking You to Beijing W
e all love to travel and see the World’s beautiful ancient sites and architectures. Today, I am taking you all to Beijing, China. The city is famous for its palaces, walls, temples, gardens, culture and arts. I visited this city with my husband, Elmer. He had a business meeting somewhere in China so we decided to take a side trip to Beijing before going back to the Philippines. We only had two days
EMPRESS M
by
Michelle Francisco
to go around Beijing. Before we go on a trip, I usually check out the top destinations of that city. Then I make sure that we visit at least five of them. We stayed at The RitzCarlton Hotel. You can never go wrong with The Ritz. Beautiful 5 star hotel, clean rooms, good food, nice location and great service. It’s best to join a tour when you visit Beijing to make it more convenient as not everyone in Beijing speaks English. When you join the tour, you'll have tour guides to explain to you everything you see. But if you plan to go around by yourself, you can always make your itinerary before going then just ask your hotel concierge to write the places you want to visit
in Chinese so that you could show it to the cab driver. Don’t forget to also ask them to write their hotel name in Chinese so you could go back to your hotel by cab as some cab drivers couldn’t understand the English names of the hotels. Then, you can just rent some recorded audio tour guides before entering the tourist sites. This is actually cheaper than joining the tour. Elmer and I had so little time to go around so what we did was we rented a car from the hotel with a chauffeur for the whole day. We went to all the destinations in my list in one day. I just chose the top destinations like The Great Wall of China, Forbidden City, Summer Palace and Tiananmen
www.EmpressMichelleFrancisco.com
The Great Wall of China
Square. It cost us more but it was worth it as we were able to visit all in my list in one day, hassle-free. On our second day, we squeezed in a little shopping. We also checked out their popular exotic street food at Wangfujing Snack Street with a selection of fried insects, scorpions and so on. We didn’t try anything though. But if you’re a big adventurer, you will have fun there. We just had room service for the whole trip. Here are some destinations that we visited and I suggest that you include in your list when you visit Beijing. The Great Wall of China - It’s one of the greatest wonders of the world. It was generally built to protect empires from invasions. We visited the most popular section which is the Badaling. When we arrived, I was amazed at how it was built. Made of stones, bricks, woods and others. Thousands of people visit this everyday. So much history and picture perfect. Forbidden City - It was the Chinese Imperial Palace. Home of the Emperors. There are many halls and palaces there so visit them all if you can to know more about their significance and cultural background. Too much walking though when you visit this place. Wear comfortable shoes and bring water with you.
Summer Palace
Tiananmen Square - Upon exiting The Forbidden City, you could then visit this large square where parades and rallies are held. Located in the heart of Beijing. Summer Palace - They say that this was the playground or summer retreat of the Emperors during their time. You can see the beautiful halls, gardens, pavilions, bridges, temples, lake and so on. Must visit. If you’re in a hurry, I recommend that you see these attractions first. But if you have lots of time then add more places to visit. Check out the
weather before visiting so that you would know what clothes to bring. And, don’t forget to bring a good camera that can take quality photos. There are so many beautiful things to see in Beijing that you must capture. Memories are important so take photos that someday you could look back and smile when you see them. More photos from this trip at www. EmpressMichelleFrancisco. com.
“You don’t have to be rich to travel well.” -Eugene Fodor
You can follow me at the following social media: https://www.facebook.com/EmpressMCF https://instagram.com/ empressmichellefrancisco https://twitter.com/empressmcf
Get a Huawei pocket wifi and be a #HOTSPOTHOTTIE The Huawei Flash, Huawei Spark and Huawei Lightning take full advantage of Huawei’s mobile broadband network compatibility to deliver fast and uninterrupted internet connectivity on-the-go Much like Christmas trees and those lavish decorations with the bright lights, lining up to have your picture taken with a guy in a red suit has become part of the yearly holiday mall events . Mall goers at the SM Mall of Asia, however, were in for quite a different surprise, as instead of Santa Claus, people were taking photos of a group of handsome men in red and white, who instead of gifts were giving out free WiFi--both to the naughty and nice! Later revealed as the
#HuaweiHotspotHotties, these foreign models led shoppers to the Cyberzone event center where Huawei exhibited their latest line of pocket WiFi devices via a mini fashion show. “The #HuaweiHotspotHotties characterize the sleek and elegant look of our new WiFi devices that are guaranteed to make heads turn for a second look, says Charles Wu country manager of Huawei’s consumer business group. “But more than just its refined and stunning appearance, Huawei’s new
connectivity devices also delivers fast uninterrupted 3G and LTE connectivity wherever you go.” Wu said the event was held to educate internet users of the advantages and features of the devices, and let them experience firsthand why people are now asking for a Huawei when purchasing a pocket WiFi. “Everybody wants a reliable internet connection, as the leading global ICT solutions provider, Huawei is known for building telecommunication
networks around the world, as such, our strength lies in designing products that would work best with the current infrastructure of these mobile broadband networks,” says Wu. Audiences who “spotted” these Hotties and uploaded their pictures on social media also got the chance to win their own pocket WiFi devices and other exciting prizes. “Always on” mentality With the continued growth and increase in the number of mobile devices huawei/PAGE B3
Huawei Technologies Country Manager, Charles Wu