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Volume XII, No. 151
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Briefly Roads for eco-tourism BUTUAN City – This fastgrowing Northeastern Mindanao city is hoping more and more tourists would be attracted to visit its Zoological and Botanical Park in the northeastern part with the construction of an access road leading to the park. “A big help to our tourism and expected more tourists will visit this area,” said Butuan City Mayor Engr. Ronnie Vicente C. Lagnada. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) paved a road to provide better access to Sumile Zoological and Botanical Park in Barangay Sumile, Butuan City.
'Mandanas' THE Regional Development Council in Northern Mindanao (RDC-10) on Tuesday approved the communications plan for the “Mandanas-Garcia” devolution setup for local government units (LGUs) in the region. The approval by the RDC10 Regional Communications and Advocacy Committee included information and education activities for LGUs and other public sectors so that they are better apprised of the devolution's advantages and the changes it brings. “We will organize town hall meetings and information caravans; we can have that in a faceto-face setting if Covid-19 protocols allow us,” Franklin Gumapon, the committee chair, said.
'Gun for rice' THE police's “Armas Baylo Bugas” (gun for rice) initiative here has resulted in the surrender of 42 illegal firearms this month alone. Maj. Evan Viñas, Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (COCPO) spokesperson, said 18 different types of undocumented firearms were turned over to the 10 police stations here from May 22 to May 29. In an interview Tuesday, Viñas said the campaign aims to convince gun holders to surrender their illegal firearms in exchange for 25 kilos of rice.
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4 RE projects in Mindanao to bid for capacity auction O By MYRNA M. VELASCO, Contributor
N LY f o u r o f the 73 projects approved by the Department of Energy (DOE) as qualified bidders for the 2,000 megawatts of renewable energy (RE) c ap acities were from Mindanao.
INDIGNATION RALLY FOR 'BAKWITS'. Students stage a protest on the streets of Marawi City during the fifth anniversary of the start of the Marawi siege, to dramatize the plight of thousands of residents still living in temporary shelters. mindanews photo by froilan gallardo
No open pit-mining in DavOr protected areas, says DENR D AVA O C i t y – T h e Department of Environment and Natura l Res ources (DENR-11) and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB-11) clarified Tuesday that not a single open-pit mining exists within Davao Oriental's protected areas. The agencies issue d the clarification after an environmental advocacy g roup c a l l e d on l o c a l authorities to move toward the full closure of an openpit mining project in Davao Oriental located near the prote c te d are as of Mt. Hamiguitan and Pujada Bay. Davao City-based Interfacing Development
Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS) said it was alarmed over reports that the Pujada Nickel Open-Pit Mining Project straddles the Mount Hamiguitan Wildlife Range, a UNESCO Heritage Site and protected by the Republic Act 9303, and the Pujada Bay Protected Seascape and Landscape. However, DENR and MGB said the Austral-Asia Link Mining Corporation a n d Ha l l m a r k M i n i n g Corporation (ALMC/HMC), both in Barangays Cabuaya and Macambol in Mati City, are nickel mines with valid and existing Mineral Production Sharing Agreements (MPSA).
They also don't employ the open-pit mining method, according to DENR and MGB, as they use “strip or contour mining method only.” DENR and MGB's joint statement also clarified that an environmental compliance certificate was issued to ALMC/HMC, based on the study of the environmental climate of the area. In addition, they said both ALMC/HMC are under care and maintenance status and have not operated since 2016 and that their locations fall outside the MINING/PAGE 11
The bidding process, to be administered by DOE in compliance with the Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) policy of the government, is slated to be held on June 17. In a statement, the DOE said that the RE capacity tendering for Mindanao grid attracted four qualified bidders for 50MW biomass capacity; five bidders for 50MW hydropower capacity; and two bidders for 100MW solar capacity. For Luzon grid, 32 projects being undertaken by various companies had been qualified to join the bidding AUCTION/PAGE 11
DAR extends 'ConVerge' to help more NorMin farmers THE Department of Agrarian Reform in Northern Mindanao (DAR-10) said Tuesday it has been given a one-year extension in implementing the agency's Convergence on Value Chain Enhancement for Rural Growth and Empowerment (ConVerge). “They (national government and the Inter national Fund for Agricultural Development or IFAD) gave us until December 2022 for the completion (of the projects); it was extended because of the (Covid-19) pandemic,” DAR-10 Director Zoraida Macadindang said
during a press forum. Macadindang said ConVerge was implemented in 2015 as a poverty-alleviation program for farmers who are agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in the region. She said the program is funded by IFAD for P2.3 billion, which also includes the ARBs in Regions 9 and 11. Six sustainability plans have been prepared after the termination of the project that will continue to support ARBs in the program areas of Camiguin, Misamis Oriental, and Bukidnon provinces, she HELP/PAGE 11
SUN DRYER. A farmer dries yellow corn along the highway in Barangay San Rafael, Talakag, Bukidnon. mindanews photo by gregorio c . bueno
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