BusinessWeek Mindanao (March 18-19, 2022)

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BusinessWeek M I N DA N A O CREDIBLE

Volume XII, No. 118

YOUR MINDANAO-WIDE BUSINESS PAPER

RELIABLE

www.businessweekmindanao.com

IN-DEPTH

Fri-Sat|March 18-19, 2022

P15.00

PPA bids out management X X contract for Pagadian port Briefly

Market Indicators

AS OF 6:00 PM MARCH 17, 2022 (THURSDAY)

FOREX

PHISIX

US$1 = P52.31

7,026.45

0.10

6.53

cents

points

T

New cash aid

DAVAO City – The Department of Finance (DOF) has rejected proposals to suspend the excise tax on fuel as a way to reduce the impact on consumers of spiraling oil prices in the world market, asserting this move would instead end up subsidizing the expenses of affluent families more than those of low-income households. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III informed President Rodrigo Duterte during a meeting here with Cabinet officials on Tuesday night that the suspension of fuel excise taxes would lead to a massive revenue loss of PHP105.9 billion, or about a half-percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) this year. This expected depletion in revenues would imperil the government’s currently strong fiscal position and further widen the budget deficit, especially at this time when global interest rates are rising, and would force the government to borrow more to fund its programs intended to provide improved social services, create more jobs, and invigorate the economy.

New SRP mulled THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is still looking into revising the latest suggested retail price (SRP) list to reflect the impacts of increasing oil prices into costs of basic and prime goods. During the Laging Handa public briefing Thursday, DTI Assistant Secretary for Consumer Protection Group Ann Claire Cabochan said some manufacturers are already seeking for increment on SRPs of their products, but the agency has to carefully study releasing a new price bulletin. “So, titingnan po natin muna kung justified iyong increase (So we will look into if the proposed increase is justified),” Cabochan said.

Hog repopulation THE Department of Agriculture (DA) is batting for an executive order (EO) to ensure continuity of its African Swine Fever (ASF) hog repopulation effort. “Bantay ASF sa Barangay” (barangay ASF watch), the department’s flagship hog repopulation program, is the main initiative the DA is seeking to make more permanent. Its partners in hog repopulation are local government units, hog raisers, and the private sector. Currently, 42 provinces have agreed to implement the program, which involves the adoption of strict biosecurity measures.

HE bidding for the 15-year management contract for the Pa g a d i a n Po r t i n Zamboanga del Sur has just been opened by the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).

CLEAN AND CHEAP POWER. The Agus VI hydroelectric plant at the foot of Maria Cristina Falls in Iligan City.

Ka Leody pushez cleaner, cheaper power for M'danao

mindanews file photo by bobby timonera

The bidding includes the management and operation of the cargo handling, roll-on/rolloff (RORO) services, and other port-related services of the Port of Pagadian, the PPA said in its invitation to bid. The project will also require contracts for ancillary and other related services, stevedoring services, bagging services, storage management, waste and shore reception facility management, water distribution services, and the operation of a weighbridge facility, among others. The PPA noted that the PORT/PAGE 11

By ANTONIO L. COLINA, MindaNews

DAVAO City– Presidential candidate Leodegario “Ka Leody” De Guzman has pushed for cleaner and cheaper sources of electricity for Mindanao. In a statement de Guzman said renewable sources, such as the Agus hydroelectric power plants, could bring down the cost of power in Mindanao. “Nakiisa si Ka Leody sa mamamayan ng Mindanao

na nananawagan ng muling pagpapagana sa Agus hydroelectric power plant p ara ib ab a ang presyo ng kur yente (Ka Leody is one with the people of Mindanao in calling for the operationalization of Agus hydroelectric power plants to lower electricity),” he said. But Assistant Secretary Romeo Montenegro of the Mindanao Development CHEAPER/PAGE 11 DANGEROUS CROSSING. A family struggles to cross the damaged Merila Bridge in Iligan City early Thursday (17 March 2022). The bridge was damaged during the nonstop rains that hit many parts of Mindanao on March 6 and 7. mindanews photo by bobby timonera

BARMM lawmaker pushes for use of solar energy in gov’t housing C O TA BAT O C it y – A Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) regional lawmaker has filed a bill seeking to install solar power systems in all socialized housing projects across the region. “This is to help generate savings on electric bills amid the high cost of living,” B angsamoro Transition Authority parliament member Amir Mawallil said in a statement Wednesday.

Mawallil, in his B angsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) Bill 178, said qualified end-users can protect themselves from possible volatility of the energy market and contribute to the development of green energy. The measure also seeks the support of the BARMM government in fulfilling its mandate and institutionalizing the construction of renewable

energy systems. Mawallil said the solar energy system will supply the electric power requirements, as an accessory use, to provide secure, clean, and environment-friendly power services in urban and rural areas in the region, especially in settlements for the disadvantaged, the homeless, those who have been victims of conflicts and atrocities, and internally SOLAR/PAGE 11

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