BusinessWeek M I N DA N A O CREDIBLE
Volume XII, No. 115
Market Indicators
AS OF 6:00 PM MARCH 10, 2022 (THURSDAY)
FOREX US$1 = P52.23
PHISIX 6,989.88
X X Briefly
0.10
12.15
cents
points
Canadian fund THE government of Canada will contribute about P178 million to a sustainable development project in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). In a document dated March 7, the World Bank said Canada will provide the equivalent of $4.38 million in Canadian dollars for the Bangsamoro Normalization Multi-Donor Trust Fund over the next three years. The World Bank in May last year said it started to manage the trust fund receiving foreign financing for BARMM development. The fund is expected to support the peace process in the region and boost the local economy through resources from development partners.
Fake meds AUTHORITIES seized some P3.5 million worth of counterfeit medicines in a recent raid in Ozamiz City, police said. In a phone interview late Tuesday, Col. Michelle Olaivar, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office Northern Mindanao (PRO-10) said the law enforcers did not expect to find a big number of both prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicines stored inside the suspect’s house identified as Leonardo Duma Jr. in that city. The police raiding team, together with personnel from the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), searched the house of Duma, 56, in Purok 6, Barangay Calabayan based on three search warrants issued by a local court on March 5.
Power rates hike POWER GENERATORS expect higher coal and fuel prices driving power rates upward, after the price of thermal coal hit $446 per ton on March 3, the Department of Energy (DoE) said after consultations with the industry. In a statement on Sunday, the DoE said it met with power generators to seek ways to address the impact of higher costs. “According to the Philippine Independent Power Producers Association (PIPPA), their initial estimates indicate that the price of fuel may (drive rates to) P9/kWh, (after) the price of coal (on March 3 hit) $446 per ton,” the DoE said.
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Normin begins to lure investors for start-ups
T
HE Department of S c i e n c e a n d Te c h n o l o g y No r t h e r n M i n d a n a o (DOST-10) is drawing up measures to attract more investors for local start-ups.
In an inter view Wednesday, DOST-10 Director Alfonso Alamban said having investors or venture capitalists directly supporting budding entrepreneurs in the region is one of the "weak spots" that they intend to address as part of its Regional Inclusive Innovation Centers (RIICs). "Start-ups or technology-based businesses are usually developed by students and professors in universities, and they reached out for possible investors that could help them materialize their ventures," he said. The DOST's role in RIICs was part of the partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the INVESTORS/PAGE 11
RUSH FOR FUEL. Vehicles line up at a gas station in Cagayan de Oro City on Monday on the eve of another hike of fuel pump prices. mindanews photo by froilan gallardo
Lifting of restrictions will revitalize economy: MinDA By ANTONIO L. COLINA IV, MindaNews
ROSES FOR LENI. Many supporters of Vice President Leni Robredo are first time voters who braved the little drizzle bringing with them roses during the rally in Butuan City Wednesday night. photo by froilan gallardo
DAVAO City – The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) hopes the lifting of all coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions in Davao City will revitalize the local economy after two years of stunted growth caused by the impact of the pandemic on the local industries. MinDA Assistant
Secretary Romeo Montenegro told MindaNews on Wednesday that the lifting of restrictions was a welcome development after two years of tight quarantine controls implemented to control the spread of the infections, as these regulations took a heavy toll on the economy. ECONOMY/PAGE 11
Michael Regino appointed new SSS head
A MINDANAOAN has been appointed as the new President and CEO of The state-run pension fund Social Security System (SSS). SSS Commissioner and former mining
executive Michael Regino who hails from Zamboanga City has assumed the presidency of SSS replacing outgoing president and chief executive Aurora Cruz-Ignacio who was re-assigned to the state-run Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) as a member of the Board. This was announced Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, who chairs the policy-making Social Security Commission (SSC) which oversees the SSS. Regino was among the campaign contributors of President Rodrigo Duterte in 2016 and was appointed SSS commissioner that same year, where he was said to be the labor sector’s representative to the SSC. Ignacio, on the orher hand, was appointed SSS chief in 2019 when former REGINO/PAGE 11
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