BusinessWeek Mindanao (March 7-8, 2022)

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Volume XII, No. 113

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Briefly Work efficiency FOUR barangay leaders in Cagayan de Oro City have observed work efficiency and improvement in serving the public because of free access to Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) network.

In a statement Wednesday, Lapasan Barangay Chairperson Julito Ogsimer said his barangay was one of the beneficiaries of the Wi-Fi project of Smart Communications Inc., which also forged a retail partnership that provides additional sources of livelihood for the communities.

Barangay Tablon Chairperson Billy Kid Auza said the public Wi-Fi service helps barangay workers and residents with their online transactions and students with distance learning.

EU-funded program COTABATO City – The European Union (EU)-funded Support to Bangsamoro Transition (SUBATRA) Program turned over on Wednesday P27 million worth of information and communications technology (ICT) equipment to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao's (BARMM) Office of Chief Minister (OCM) Ahod Ebrahim and the regional parliament.

The SUBATRA-donated equipment included laptops, desktop computers, projectors, printers, communications equipment, office furniture, and conference tables.

Engr. Mohajirin T. Ali, Bangsamoro Planning and Development Authority (BPDA) director-general, said that through the donated equipment, they hope employees of the concerned agencies would be able to provide good services and improve and streamline their respective operations.

Special settlement A “special settlement arrangement” is being firmed up for the trading of capacity in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) for the scheduled energization of the P52-billion Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP), or the link-up of power grids in the two islands as concretized by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

In a briefing with reporters, Engineer Robinson P. Descanzo, chief operating officer of the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP), noted that a differentiated pricing settlement will have to be formulated by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) as system operator NGCP already kicks off the energization and testing of the interconnected Visayas and Mindanao grids.

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Oro mayor set to retain vax card policy in malls

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AGAYAN de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno, in an online briefer Saturday, said he would rather continue requiring the public to show their coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccination cards when entering shopping malls.

The city’s top official made the statement when asked if he was in favor of the pronouncement of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to allow people in areas under Alert Level 1 to enter malls even without Covid-19 vaccination cards.

“To be very honest about it, I would still prefer to require the vaccination card because the vaccination is not just for themselves but also for their loved ones," Moreno said in the vernacular.

In his previous statement, the mayor thought the implementation of the no vaccination card policy inside malls in POLICY/PAGE 11

CATCHING THE SUNSET. Among the areas in the SOCCSKSARGEN region, the municipality of Glan in Sarangani province has an extensive coastline where one can catch the setting of the sun. For this young boy, though, catching fish with a rod line is what excites his late afternoon. mindanews photo taken 1 march 2022 by jules l. benitez

Turning MILF camps into productive ecozones: still much work to be done

By BONG S. SARMIENTO, MindaNews

KORONADAL City – The transformation of the six recognized camps of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) into peaceful and productive economic zones has remained largely unfulfilled after a decade of discussions, a third party observer admitted Thursday.

Heino Marius, chair of the Third Party Monitoring Team (TPMT), said the finalization of the Camps

Transformation Plan and the Camps Transformation Investment Plan “have been agreed very recently.”

“We would expect that the Bangsamoro Normalization Trust Fund (BNTF), which is now in place and which has been operationalized (last year), could also hopefully play an important role in working towards turning these camps into peaceful, productive communities,”

he said in a hybrid press conference.

Marius said the discussions ab out t he B ang s amoro normalization trust fund can be found in documents way back 2012, but it was only last year that the fund was operationalized.

The transformation of six MILF-recognized camps into productive economic zones is part of the confidencebuilding measures contained in the Annex ECOZONES/PAGE 11

New Covid-19 vax strategies to start in CDO

WELCOME TO CAMIGUIN. A welcome sign in Mambajao town welcomes tourists and visitors to Camiguin. photo's by gerry lee gorit

T H E c i t y g o v e r n m e nt of Cagayan de Oro will implement new vaccination strategies against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) to improve the immunization output in the city.

“We are strategizing our vaccination efforts here in the city for us to address those missing numbers of our first dose target.” Dr. Ted Yu Jr. the city health office (CHO) medical officer, said in an

online briefer on Friday.

Yu said the city government will start the house-to-house Covid-19 vaccination for senior citizens, as well as in bus terminals for other priority groups on March 7.

Yu clarified that the house-to-house vaccination, through the city’s Covid-19 mobile vaccination team, will cater to non-ambulatory senior citizens.

Meanwhile, the VAX/PAGE 11

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BFAR helps unify aquaculture fish breeders in Agusan Sur BUTUAN City – The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in Caraga (BFAR-13) has facilitated the unification of aquaculture breeders in Agusan del Sur into one association.

In a statement Thursday, the BFAR-13 said at least 20 private fish nurseries and hatchery operators and four hatcheries operated by the local government units in the area have formed into a group dubbed as Agusan del Sur Freshwater Fish Breeders Association.

“The group is composed of nursery and hatchery operators from 13 municipalities and one city in Agusan del Sur covering a total of 230 hectares of

aquaculture-producing areas in the province,” the BFAR-13 said.

The officers of the association were formally inducted on Tuesday in Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur, the agency added.

In the same statement, BFAR-13 Senior Aquaculturist Edgardo Balambao welcomed the convergence of the different aquaculture nurseries and hatchery operators in the province.

“The association is a requirement that BFAR and the private sector can complement each other for the provision of hybrid fish breeders by the agency, and the compliance of hatchery HELPS/PAGE 11

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Duterte starts campaign for poll picks on Mar. 25 T HE ruling party Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) on Friday announced that President Rodrigo Duterte will start campaigning for his national and local candidates on March 25, the start of the campaign period for locally-elected positions.

"As chairman of the PDP-Laban, President Duterte will be taking a more proactive role to promote its 6,592 national and local candidates these coming weeks of the campaign period," PDPLaban president Alfonso Cusi said in a statement.

"The President told

THE ART OF VOTERS INTERACTION. The campaign period for local candidates has yet to begin officially on March 25, but several pocket rallies or mini-consultation/ fora are allowed in many areas to enable wannabes to interact and immerse with voters. 'Iya-iyag paningkamot', so they say. This one taken as Cagayan de Oro City councilor wannabe Ian Achas, currently Brgy. Puerto chair, took his time out talking to a pocket crowd in Zone 5, Bugo on Thursday last week.

us that he will be giving his full support to all our candidates in this year's elections. Once elected, we will continue all the programs and advocacies of President Duterte from the national to the local level. We are after all the 'Patuloy na Pagbabago Coalition'," he added.

Cusi said the PDPLaban will formally launch its "11-point Agenda for Continuity" in a proclamation rally.

The PDP-Laban earlier adopted the 11-point Agenda for Continuity consisting of promoting peace and order, bolstering national defense and foreign relations, ending the pandemic, sustaining economic growth, generating jobs, reforming education, decentralizing government, pushing for

federalism, and waging war against corruption, poverty and communist rebellion.

"We will reiterate that only the PDP-Laban party is for the true continuity of all President Duterte's legacy programs and advocacies for Filipinos," the party president said.

"These are unprecedented achievements and programs that we want to continue for the next generation. And people could never deny these accomplishments. They are everywhere. The proof is out there and the survey shows it all. We can deliver on our promises," he added.

Cusi, Duterte's Energy secretary, said no president or administration has ever accomplished as much.

He cited the administration's Build, Build, Build program, institutionalization of free education from kindergarten to college, Universal Health Care and Malasakit Centers, free irrigation for all farmers, creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and whole-ofnation approach to end local communist armed conflict.

"These legacy programs are very important to all Filipinos. And definitely, our PDP-Laban senators will continue to champion and protect these accomplishments through the PDP-Laban's 11-point Agenda for Continuity," Cusi said.

Days earlier, Duterte said he will not endorse any candidate for President to "stay neutral" in the May elections.

"Kung magtanong kayo kung may i-endorse ako (If you ask if I would endorse anyone), I may or I may not. But preferably, I'd like to stay neutral. Ibig sabihin wala akong susuportahan na kandidato (This means I will not support any candidate)," he said in an interview with Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar.

"Unless, again, having said that, I'll say it again, it will be a compelling reason for me to go out and tell the people what it is. I'd like to bide my time. I'm not in a hurry," he added.

The PDP-Laban is currently seeing its members divided into two factions — one led by Cusi and the other headed by Sen. Emmanuel Pacquiao.

Duterte, whose six-year term in the country's top office is coming to an end, is backing the Cusi wing, CAMPAIGN/PAGE 10

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CorporateWorld

DOE welcomes EO on nuclear power

T

HE Department of Energy (DOE) has welcomed the signing of Executive Order 164, or the inclusion of nuclear power in the country’s energy mix, as this will address the high electricity rate and secure energy for the future.

“We thank the President for seeing merit in the DOE’s recommendation to consider integrating nuclear energy into our country’s energy mix. Since we want a stable, reliable, and sustainable energy resource, I believe that nuclear is the way to go,” DOE Secretary Alfonso Cusi said in a statement.

In a press conference Thursday, DOE Undersecretary Gerardo Erguiza Jr. said nuclear power is cheaper and cleaner than other sources of energy

and will help the country in achieving energy security.

Erguiza, chairperson of the DOE Nuclear Energy Programme Implementing Organization (NEPIO), added that the EO provides four cornerstone approaches in developing the Nuclear Energy Program (NEP).

These include establishing a national policy on nuclear energy that could withstand changes in administration; legislative framework by institutionalizing the NEP; alignment with international standards in which the NEP will be formulated under the guidance of the International Atomic Agency; and public awareness and acceptability by conducting strong public consultation and information

Easing of foreign ownership to fast-track recovery: DTI DEPARTMENT of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez has welcomed President Rodrigo Duterte's signing of Republic Act 11647, amending the Foreign Investments Act, as this will usher in recovery from the pandemic.

The new law will allow more equity for foreign investors that will establish their businesses in the

country.

"We in the economic team have always been in favor of reasonably opening up the economy and liberalizing as many restrictions that hinder the continuous and fast growth of the economy,” Lopez said in a statement Friday.

The trade chief expects to attract more foreign RECOVERY/PAGE 10

campaigns promoting scientific findings on the benefits of nuclear energy use.

“Adopting a nuclear program is not just about constructing nuclear power plants. It is a matter of energy and national security. Should it be decided in the future that the Philippines is fit and finally ready to embark on its nuclear energy journey then, we would be able to look back and appreciate this landmark issuance,” Erguiza said.

Drawing away from Bataan plant Although the EO still includes the potential of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) in the NEP, the DOE official said the EO is drawing away from the old but unused power plant.

“We recognized the fact that BNPP was very much polarized,” Erguiza said, adding that the policy has focused on whether or not to include nuclear power in the energy mix and not on the rehabilitation of BNPP which received widespread safety concerns in the past.

The BNPP is designed for two nuclear reactors with a capacity of 650 megawatts each, he said.

Erguiza said the country is in talks with Russia, South Korea, and the United States on the use of small modular reactor (SMR) technology.

Cusi and other DOE officials are set to travel to the US to seal a deal on SMR study.

New technology Erguiza said the policy will

also help the government to pursue new power installations across the country.

There were around 15 locations identified even in the 1980s that are viable for nuclear power– Bataan, Cagayan, Quezon, Puerto Princesa, Negros Occidental, General Santos, Zamboanga del Norte, and Sulu.

Erguiza said the industry has learned from the past accidents globally involving nuclear power plants, such as the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster in the US in 1979, the Chernobyl accident in 1986, and the Fukushima disaster in 2011.

He said the new technologies on nuclear power “has almost been perfected” over the years. (PNA)

Exporters urged to maximize FTAs to boost trade, investments FILIPINO exporters are encouraged anew to maximize free trade agreements (FTAs) between Asean membercountries and trading partners to enhance trade and investment opportunities.

But Jan Redmond Dela Vega of the Department of Trade and Industry-

Bureau of International Trade Relations said that apart from markets of the United States and Japan, there is also potential in the Asean.

“In terms of our performance and in terms of our agreements that are existing, we only have those in place which are the Asean FTAs. And in

recent years, we see that the Asean market is also a very important component or very important trading partner of the Philippines…,” he said in a recent virtual forum.

Dela Vega identified top exports to Asean which are still electronic products and manufacturing goods, such

as other machinery and transport.

“Looking into these FTAs that we have, there is also potential for other goods and also services that we can export to other markets, not just within Japan, China rather but also within Asean,” he added.

MAXIMIZE/PAGE 10

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Opinion

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We Are Consciousness

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BUSINESSWEEK MINDANAO CORPORATION Publisher DANTE M. SUDARIA President/CEO ALLAN MARIO MEDIANTE Vice President for Corporate Affairs

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ORLAN R. RAVANERA Prior to taking a form (body), a human being is consciousness (spirit), a being who is connected with the Unseen Being. Indeed, we are all embodied spirits, more spirit than body having been created in the image and likeness of the Creator, the Formless, the Eternal. This is a truism that must be the basis of our existence so that the development of the spirit must be the priority rather than be enslaved to the whims and caprices of the body.

It is sad to note that humanity’s mindset has been captured by unbridled materialism and consumerism which does not only run counter to the essence of our very own spirituality but can be likened to the workings of an auto-immune disease syndrome (AIDS) where no less than the body’s defense mechanisms are attacking vital organs.

Indeed, whatever be the form, all life is sacred, each one carrying a sense of divinity as all creation is a reflection of the Creator, of the Formless, Unseen Being. Thus, every time you eat – be it red or

white – please reflect for a while that that meat came from a life form that once did breathe, having experience in its own right pleasure and pains, exposed to the wonders of life, having felt the warmth of the sun, the coolness of the wind, the brightness of the moon and the stars at night, taking food from the loving touch of the raisers and finally, had to succumb to the pains of shedding blood as its throat head to be cut – all because you must eat and live.

When one has to cease breathing, be it flora or fauna, so that the Homo Sapiens have to live, i.e. giving up one’s life so that another creation can live, that unescapable drama of life must be reflected upon by all of us that somehow contributes to the sacredness of life that only our Creator knows its reason for being.

Perhaps that too should be in the mind of a hungry lion before eating a cornered prey especially if that victim is a human being.

One has to die so that another creation has to live.

That alone may justify the killing of an animal. Life for life. But when the flora and fauna are massacred to prove one’s dominion over nature, to be sacrificed to the altar greed and profit or worse, for sports, that is a categorical manifestation of a human being having been made in the image and likeness of God, to be reduced to a mere beast! We decimate our forest, pollute our rivers and bays; we produce food yet

contaminate our water table following costly agricultural technologies tied up to the heavy use of toxic chemicals; modern living adopting lifestyle that makes of a throw-away society – all done in the name of development.

That kind of development which is based on high veneration to the profit motive can only be described as ruthless and futureless which has made the impossible now possible which is the end of life on earth. Biodiversity embracing the billions of life forms has tremendously decreased as these life forms which have evolved on earth for billions of years are now extinct. As the earth warms and the oceans rise, we are now confronted on how to feed, clothe and house the exponentially growing earthlings that will reach the 9.5 billion mark in 2050.

If our way of making a living is killing Mother Earth because it is just all about how to respond to bodily needs, that kind of madness has totally disregarded man’s spirituality.

In fact, the growth-at-allcost development strategy is rooted on the brutal, jungle-like philosophy of the “survival of the fittest,” “fittest” being the most aggressive, the strongest – all physical qualities.

Humanity is now so engrossed in form or object consciousness, totally forgetting who we truly are: consciousness rooted to the Eternal, to the ONENESS of life in the Universe. This world

is a world of form which are transient and impermanent.

What matters is that Spaciousness, the Stillness that is the very essence of life.

Indeed, as consciousness we must develop our spiritual qualities, unfettered from compulsive thinking of the egoic mind. Life after the life of form will be one of Stillness Consciousness, thus we must develop spiritual qualities as these are what are the essentials when we will leap to the Great Beyond to that transcendental dimension of spirituality in the loving embrace of the Creator.

Indeed, material wealth will have no bearing in that dimension where oneness, love, ser vice, kindness, honesty, integrity and all spiritual qualities matter, ending up in God’s loving embrace! Knowing thyself as pure consciousness, then you will discover who truly you are.

When you discovered who truly you are as deep consciousness, the words of Jesus will indeed put to reality the biblical truism that “the Kingdom of Heaven is within you.” That vast spaciousness is within each one of us. Can you not feel that? Be unfettered from deep unconsciousness spawned by unbridled materialism, then transcendental dimension awareness looms in the realm of great stillness. Then, breathe deeply and feel the essence of life deep within your body that is rooted in the Being. Try it and be liberated RAVANERA/PAGE 11

Why Ukraine matters to the ordinary Filipino

Oro Chamber

Famous failures Think a minute… All of us at times feel like we will never achieve the full success in our career that we want. But it helps us to know that nearly every successful person had to overcome huge hurdles before they reached his or her goal of success. One of them said: “History has shown that most winners went through heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won simply because they refused to become discouraged or deterred by their defeats."

John Grisholm is a bestselling author of novels, some of which have been made into Hollywood blockbusters such as The Firm, The Pelican Brief, Runaway Jury, and his first book, A Time to Kill. Yet in the beginning it was rejected by 29 different publishers! When it was finally printed by a small, unknown publisher, it sold only 5,000 copies, compared to all of his books since, each of which has sold in the millions.

Michael Jordan is considered by many to be the greatest basketball player of all time, yet in high school he was cut from his team because

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We are not just Form

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RUFINO T. MAGBANUA Vice President for Business Development

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THINK A MINUTE

JHAN TIAFAU HURST the coach said Michael was too short to play.

Thomas Edison, the great inventor, has over 1,000 inventions and patents to his name. He failed 2,000 times in trying to invent the incandescent light bulb.

When reporters asked him about his 2,000 failures he replied:”I never failed once.

Inventing the light bulb just happened to be a 2,000-step process.”

In 1954, Elvis Presley sang once for Jimmy Denny, a professional music producer and manager. Afterwards he told Elvis: “You ain’t goin’ nowhere… son. You ought to go back to drivin’ a truck.”

Elvis, of course, ignored this FAILURES/PAGE 11

Until recently, my knowledge of Ukraine (Crimea in particular) was limited to what I picked up in high school. My English teacher, who also happened to be my mother, Sofia Rivera Bunye, asked her class to memorize “Charge of the Light Brigade”

by Alfred Lord Tennyson.

The “Charge of the Light Brigade” was about the most famous battle of the Crimean War. The battle took place in Balaclava in the Crimean Peninsula, the southeastern part of present-day Ukraine.

The Crimean War (18531856) was originally fought between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. Later, England, France and the Kingdom of Sardinia, fearful of the growing influence of Russia, joined the war on the side of the Ottoman Empire.

Russia lost to the coalition.

Historians now rank the “Charge of the Light Brigade” as one of the worst military debacles. Because of miscommunications, the British Light Brigade consisting of around 670 officers and men frontally attacked a well-fortified position defended by a superior force of Russians and Cossacks.

As a result of a murderous barrage of “cannon to right

of them, cannon to left of them, cannon in front of them”, nearly half of the attackers were either killed or wounded. Thanks to Tennyson, however, the military blunder, which nearly annihilated the “noble 600” as they “rode into the valley of death”, is now glorified. In the Philippines, the surviving commanding officers of the ill-fated unit would have been raked over the coal in endless Congressional investigations.

Fast for ward to t he present.

Ukraine used to be part of the Soviet Union. When the USSR disintegrated, Ukraine declared its independence from the Soviets in 1991. But Russia considers Ukraine very strategic. Russia pays a huge sum yearly to Ukraine to base the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the port of Sevastopol which is located in the Crimean Peninsula.

The Ukrainian population is sharply divided among those who are pro-West (Western Ukraine) and those who are pro-Russia. (Eastern and Southern Ukraine) Until 2014, Ukraine was ruled by a pro-Russia government under Viktor Yanukovych. A political crisis commenced in November

that year when the pro-Russia government rejected a trade deal with the European Union only to enter into a similar agreement with Russia.

Thousands of angry Westernleaning protesters took to the streets and eventually deposed the pro-Moscow Yanukovych.

On the pretext of protecting ethnic Russians, who comprise the majority of the population in Crimea, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent in troops to the Crimean Peninsula. Putin’s incursion drew immediate condemnation from the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom. While the situation did not escalate into military hostilities between the West and Russia, diplomatic and trade sanctions were imposed against Russia by the Group of Seven.

During the ensuing years, efforts to deescalate the situation were initiated through the so-called Minsk Agreements – a series of international agreements to end the war in in the Donbas region of Ukraine.

The agreements consisted of a package of measures, including a ceasefire, withdrawal of heavy weapons from the front

SPEAKING OUT

IGNACIO BUNYE line, release of prisoners of war, constitutional reform in Ukraine granting selfgovernment to certain areas of Donbas and restoring control of the state border to the Ukrainian government.

While fighting subsided, it never completely stopped.

In December 2021, Russia demanded a legally binding promise that Ukraine would not join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and threatened militar y response if the demand is not met. Rejected, Russia re t a li ate d by of f i ci a l ly recognizing the pro-Russia Luhansk and Donetsk people's republics on 21 February 2022. The following day, Russian president Vladimir Putin declared that the Minsk agreements "no longer existed". Russia then invaded Ukraine on 24 February UKRAINE/PAGE 11

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SSS statement on the influx of members, claimants in SSS branches The Social Security System (SSS) said that the agency has already addressed the influx of transacting members in certain SSS branches in the National Capital Region (NCR), especially in SSS Diliman Branch.

SS made the statement after a media report showed claimants camping outside the SSS Diliman Branch along East Avenue in Quezon City.

“We have accommodated all the transacting members who flocked in several of our SSS branches. We are in 100% operation capacity since all our employees are reporting in the office,” SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Aurora Ignacio said.

Ignacio said that they will continue to monitor the influx of members in SSS branches.

“We will evaluate the situation to determine if there is a need to extend its servicing hours and extend its daily operations until Saturday,” she added.

Likewise, SSS renews its call for members,

claimants, and the transacting public to use the agency’s online facilities such as My.SSS and SSS Mobile App for their various SSS transactions.

“We urge them to fully maximize its online facilities, especially the My.SSS portal. There are more than 30 member services available on My.SSS. They can even access some of these services on the SSS Mobile App,” Ignacio said.

Even before the pandemic, SSS have been shifting our core and business processes towards digitalization.

In 2011, SSS started accepting online submission of several SSS transactions through My.SSS, an online service portal which can be found on the SSS website (www.sss.gov.ph).

Since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, SSS has accelerated the shift of its over-thecounter transactions through its various online platforms using the member’s My.SSS account and SSS Mobile SSS/PAGE 10

Shelo's Event caters Services any occasion Interview with MARK FRANCISCO

1) What is the complete name of your company?

- SHELO'S EVENT SERVICES 2) What is your complete name and age?

- SHELONIE CABONEGRO MORAL, AGE 30 3) How did you start as an event organizer? What year?

- Back when I was in Manila, I worked as an event staff of a hotel and restaurant. That's where I first learned my skills and when I came back to CDO, I decided to start my own business as a Kids Party event stylist and started it with balloon decorations. That was year 2017.

4) How did you transition from being a kids party organizer to a wedding organizer?

- Organizing a wedding is really my dream that's why I started it right after I learned the basic. Someone from my facebook asked me and made an inquiries about wedding and that was the time that I grabbed the opportunity.

5) Aside from the pandemic, can you name the challenges of being a wedding organizer here in CDO and how do you overcome these on a day-to-day basis?

- I need to have a lot of patience and understanding because I faced different people that has different personalities each day and I need to have those qualities to have a good customer relationship.

6) Can you mention all your packages?

- Intimate Wedding Packages - Civil Wedding Packages - Silver Wedding Packages - Gold Wedding Packages - Platinum Packages - All-In Packages 7) How assured are we the public of the quality of your suppliers? How did you vet and choose all your suppliers?

- As a wedding organizer, I am very particular when it comes to my supplier because I want my wedding to be perfect all the time. I have different suppliers and I can assure that they can provide what I need. Before

Republic of the Philippines Regional Trial Court Misamis Oriental 10th Judicial Region Branch 38 Cagayan de Oro City IN RE: PETITION TO CANCEL DOUBLE REGISTERED BIRTH CERTIFICATE 2003-341

SPEC. PROC. NO. R-CDO-21 00100-SP

ELENE LASCO LUMACANG-ORTIZ

Petitioner LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR OF EL SALVADOR CITY,

Respondents.

----------------------------------------------------/ ORDER Finding the petition for cancellation of birth certificate of petitioner to be sufficient in form and in substance, the same is hereby given due course and set for initial hearing on March 31, 2022 at 9:00 o’clock in the morning at the Session Hall of this Court on which date, time and place, all persons who may have any opposition to the petition herein sought, may appear to show cause why said petition should not be granted.

Let this Order be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the Province of Misamis Oriental once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks prior to the date of hearing.

Likewise, let this Order be posted for at least ten (10) days prior to the date of hearing at the bulletin Board of this Court, the Provincial Capitol of Misamis Oriental and the City Hall of El Salvador City, Misamis Oriental.

Furnish copies of this Order and the Petition to the Offices of the El Salvador City Prosecutor, Solicitor General, and the Local Civil Registrar of El Salvador City SO ORDERED February 21, 2022 at Cagayan de Oro City

BWM: March 7, 14 & 21, 2022

(SGD) EMMANUEL P. PASAL Judge

they became my supplier, I examine them thoroughly by asking some things and testing their products like for example my flower supplier, I always got fresh and beautiful flowers from them.

8) Give us the reasons that we will choose you as our wedding organizer over your competitors. Unsa imong edge?

- Well, based on my customers feedback I am really hands on from planning to on the day event. I work with love and compassion because this is where God put me in.

6

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Exhibits “A” to “L”) are attached as Annexes B, C, and D and made an integral part hereof. Plaintiff intends to present additional witnesses if necessary.

PRAYER

Republic of the Philippines REGIONAL TRIAL COURT OF LANAO DEL NORTE 12th Judicial Region BRANCH 07 Tubod, Lanao del Norte NATIONAL GRID CORPORATION SPL. CVL. ACTION NO. 153-07-2021 OF THE PHILIPPINES,

Plaintiff,

– for –

- versus Expropriation LITE GO, represented by: LIKING GO; SPOUSES OLIVER U. GO and CHARLOTTE C. GO,

Defendants. x--------------------/ TO:

SUMMONS BY PUBLICATION LITE GO Represented by LIKING GO Tagueguiron, Lanao del Norte G R E E T I N G S!

WHEREAS, on December 6, 2021, the Court issued an order granting the petitioner’s Motion to Serve Summons by Publication, which reads as follows: “On record is a Motion for Leave of Court to Effect Service of Summons by Publication to defendants Lite Go represented

by Liking Go. Finding the same motion to be proper and in order after plaintiff complied with the requirements of the rules, the same is hereby granted. Let summons by publication be served to defendants Lite Go represented by Liking Go whose last known address is at Tangueguiron, Lanao del Norte SO ORDERED.” WHEREAS, Complaint reads: COMPLAINT (With Urgent Prayer for Issuance of Writ of Possession) Plaintiff, National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), by counsel, respectfully states that: 1. Plaintiff is a private corporation created and existing under Philippine laws, with principal office address at NGCP Building, Quezon Avenue corner BIR Road, Diliman, Quezon City. It may be served with notices and other court processes through its Right-of-Way Department (ROWD) – Mindanao Division, Maria Cristina, Iligan City, copy furnished the afore-mentioned principal office.

2. Pursuant to Republic Act (R.A.) No. 9511, plaintiff was granted a franchise to operate, manage and maintain, and in connection therewith, to engage in the business of conveying or transmitting electricity through a high-voltage back-bone system of interconnected transmission lines, substations and related facilities, systems operations, and other activities that are necessary to support the safe and reliable operation of a transmission system and to construct, install, finance, manage, improve, expand, operate, maintain, rehabilitate, repair and refurbish the present nationwide transmission system of the Republic of the Philippines.

3. Under Section 4 of the same law, plaintiff was granted the power of eminent domain, subject to the requirements of the Constitution and existing laws.

4. Plaintiff is engaged in the business of transmitting electric power from the generating plants of power producers to distributors. As such, plaintiff’s business is imbued with public interest.

5. To address the country’s growing power demand and ensure continuous, reliable and efficient power supply, there is a need to interconnect the three (3) major power grids of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao into a single national grid. Aside from the sharing of systems reserve, the interconnection will also help optimize utilization of indigenous energy resources such as natural gas in Luzon, geothermal in the Visayas and hydro in Mindanao. Owing to this necessity, plaintiff must immediately construct the transmission lines that will transmit power to distributors of electricity not only in Mindanao but also in Luzon and Visayas. This undertaking is for the use and benefit of the public and part of it is known as the MINDANAO-VISAYAS INTERCONNECTION PROJECT (MVIP), integral part of which is the KOLAMBUGAN-LALA 230kV TRANSMISSION LINE PROJECT (Project).

6. The said MVIP of NGCP is the first project certified by the Department of Energy (DOE) as an Energy Project of National Significance (EPNS) pursuant to R.A. 7638 of DOE Act of 1992, as amended, entitled to all the rights and privileges provided under Executive Order No. 30, series of 2017, as evidenced by the Certification dated 8 May 2018 issued by the Energy Investment Coordinating Council. Hence, the immediate completion and energization of the said project is critically important.

7. Defendant Lite Go is of legal age, Filipino, and a resident of Brgy.

Tangueguiron, Tubod, Lanao del Norte, where he may be served with summons, notices and other processes of this Honorable Court or through his representative, Liking Go, who is a resident also of the same Brgy.

Tangueguiron, Tubod, Lanao del Norte.

8. Defendants Spouses Oliver U. Go and Charlotte C. Go are both of legal age, Filipinos, and residents of 88 Diamond Circle, St. Michael’s, Banilad, Cebu City, where they may be served with summons, notices and other processes of this Honorable Court. They are impleaded herein as defendants pursuant to Section 1, Rule 67 of the Revised Rules of Civil Procedure, being the alleged claimants of the subject property and the improvements therein.

9. Plaintiff intends to expropriate portion of a parcel of unregistered land situated in Brgy. Tangueguiron, Tubod, Lanao del Norte. The said property is declared in the name of Lite Go, per Tax Declaration (TD) No. H-230036 (22). It is more particularly described below together with the total affected area sought to be expropriated consisting of 2,810 square meters, as shown in the attached Sketch Plan and Technical Descriptions, to wit:

WHEREFORE, premises considered, plaintiff most respectfully prays of this Honorable Court to:

Copies of the BIR Zonal Valuation applicable to the subject property, Report on the Counts of Improvements, Sworn Statement of Ownership/ Undertaking with Waiver of Rights/Quitclaim with Acknowledgment Receipt, as proof of payment of the affected improvements are attached and made integral parts of this complaint.

10. To enable plaintiff to construct and maintain the Project, it is both necessary and urgent to acquire, upon payment of just compensation, the portion of the subject property, to ensure stability and reliability of the power supply in Mindanao and other regions of the country.

11. Plaintiff negotiated with defendants for the acquisition of the affected portion of the subject property and to pay the cost of improvements therein that may be damaged by the construction of the transmission line project.

While defendants already accepted and received the amount of Php140,842.05 representing payment for the affected improvements, no agreement, however, was reached between the parties as to the compensation for the portion of the subject lot property.

12. Considering the urgent need for plaintiff to enter the subject property to implement and commence the necessary construction activities for its Project, plaintiff has no other recourse but to file the instant complaint.

13. Section 13 of R.A. 11361, provides that Rule 67 of the Revised Rules of Civil Procedure governs plaintiff’s expropriation cases. Under Section 2 of Rule 67 of the Revised Rules of Civil Procedure, plaintiff may already enter and possess the portion of the subject property during the pendency of the expropriation case.

14. Section 2 of Rule 67 of the Revised Rules of Civil Procedure states that: “SEC. 2. Entry of plaintiff upon depositing value with authorized government depositary. – Upon the filing of the complaint or at any time thereafter and after due notice to the defendant, the plaintiff shall have the right to take or enter upon the possession of the real property involved if he deposits with the authorized government depositary an amount equivalent to the assessed value of the property for purposes of taxation to be held by such bank subject to the orders of the court. Such deposit shall be in money, unless in lieu thereof the court authorizes the deposit of a certificate of deposit of a government bank of the Republic of the Philippines payable on demand to the authorized government depositary.”

[Emphasis supplied] 15. In compliance with the notice requirement, plaintiff notified defendants through a Letter Offer of its intention to file an expropriation case if the possession over the subject property cannot be timely secured and/or issues regarding compensation for the subject property cannot be resolved except through judicial intervention. Plaintiff further serves, simultaneous with the filing of the instant Complaint, a Notice to Take Possession (attached as Annex “A”) upon the defendants.

1. ISSUE a Writ of Possession in plaintiff’s favor; authorizing plaintiff to enter and take possession of the property subject of this complaint that will be affected by the construction and implementation of the Project, consisting of a total area of 2,810 square meters, more or less, as described in paragraph 9 hereof; demolish the affected improvement and/or structures standing therein; order all defendants to vacate the same; directing the Philippine National Police (PNP) to assist plaintiff in the implementation of the said writ of possession so that project construction can immediately commence even during the pendency of the case; direct the Registry of Deeds for the Province of Lanao del Norte to enter the Writ of Possession in the Primary Entry Book and annotate the same in the Registration Book pursuant to Section 69 of Presidential Decree No. 1529; 2. ISSUE an Order of Expropriation declaring that the plaintiff has a lawful right to take possession and acquire the affected property specified in paragraph 9 hereof; 3. After the determination of just compensation, to authorize the payment thereof by plaintiff to defendants after deducting the capital gains and documentary stamp taxes for the transfer of the affected portion of an unregistered lot in the name of plaintiff, all other outstanding taxes under the National Internal Revenue Code, and all outstanding realty taxes and dues under the Local Government Code, which plaintiff shall remit to the Government; 4. ISSUE a judgment after determination of just compensation, declaring plaintiff as the lawful owner of the affected portion of an unregistered lot consisting of a total area of 2,810 square meters, more or less, described in paragraph 9 hereof; 5.

DIRECT: a. The Registry of Deeds for the Province of Lanao del Norte to record in its Registry Daybook (Primary Entry Book) and Registration Book the Order of Expropriation and Judgment rendered by this Honorable Court in this case with respect to the portion of the subject property sought to be expropriated herein, pursuant to Section 113 of Presidential Decree No. 1529. b. The Municipal Assessor of Tubod and/or Provincial Assessor of Lanao del Norte to cancel Tax Declaration No. H-230036 (22) and issue new and separate tax declaration in the name of plaintiff covering the portion of the subject property sought to be expropriated.

Iligan City for Tubod, Lanao del Norte, June 14, 2021.

NATIONAL GRID CORPORATION OF THE PHILIPPINES Power Center, Quezon Avenue cor. BIR Road Diliman, Quezon City

By:

(WFH) LUIS MANUEL U. BUGAYONG PTR No. 0599223 – 01/04/2021 – Quezon City IBP Lifetime No. 010191/Rizal Chapter MCLE Compliance No. VI-0012003 Roll of Attorneys No. 38002

16. To comply with the deposit requirement, plaintiff, notwithstanding that R.A. 10752 does not specifically apply to it, shall deposit with the Honorable Court an amount equivalent to the 100% of the BIR zonal value of the land sought to be expropriated in the total amount of EIGHTY-FOUR THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED PESOS (Php84,300.00), consistent with the purpose of the said law and OCA Circular No. 113-2019 to simplify the deposit requirement in expropriation cases for the benefit of the defendants and in the interest of immediate implementation of the Project intended to benefit the public.

(WFH) GORDON S. MONTOJO PTR No. 0599215 – 01/04/2021 – Quezon City IBP Lifetime No. 010193/Quezon City MCLE Compliance No. VI-0012024 Roll of Attorneys No. 44910

17. Upon deposit of the provisional amount, plaintiff would have fully complied with the requirements for the issuance of a writ of possession as mandated by law.

(WFH) JULES BOY R. VALDEZ PTR No. 0599221 – 01/04/2021 - Quezon City IBP Lifetime No. 012616/Quezon City MCLE Compliance No. VI-0012045 Roll of Attorney’s No. 63350

18. In a long line of cases and OCA Circular No. 113-2019, once the above requirements are complied with it, it becomes the ministerial duty of the trial court to issue the writ of possession in favor of the plaintiff, without need of any further hearing. Thus, as cited in the said OCA Circular: “Municipality of Cordova v. Pathfinder Development Corporation emphasizes the mandatory issuance of the writ of possession upon the receipt of the required deposit. “No hearing is actually required for the issuance of a writ of possession, which demands only two (2) requirements: (a) the sufficiency in form and substance of the complaint; and, (b) the required provisional deposit x x x x Upon compliance with these requirements, the petitioner in an expropriation case is entitled to a writ of possession as a matter of right and the issuance of the writ becomes ministerial.” (Emphasis supplied).

RIGHT-OF-WAY DEPARTMENT – MINDANAO DIVISION NATIONAL GRID CORPORATION OF THE PHILIPPINES Maria Cristina, Iligan City By:

19. Moreover, it must be emphasized that an expropriation proceeding is an action quasi in rem, wherein the fact that the owners of the property are made parties is not essentially indispensable insofar as it concerns the immediate taking of possession of the property and the preliminary determination of its value, including the amount to be deposited.

20. An action quasi in rem names a person as defendant, but its object is to subject that person’s interest in a property to a corresponding lien or obligation. In a proceeding quasi in rem, jurisdiction over the person of the defendant is not a prerequisite to confer jurisdiction on the court, provided that the latter has jurisdiction over the res.

21. The purpose of summons in actions quasi in rem is not the acquisition of jurisdiction over the defendant but mainly to satisfy the constitutional requirement of due process. Since the issuance of writ of possession is exparte, ministerial, and non-litigious in nature, the issuance thereof, even prior to the service of summons, will not violate defendants’ right to due process as the same can be done even without defendants’ participation.

Besides, the issuance of a writ of possession does not prevent defendants from raising objections to and defenses against the expropriation of their property.

22. Plaintiff intends to present three (3) witnesses, namely: a) Engr. Licinio B. Capili, b) Mr. Nolito L. Notar, and c) Mr. Michael E. Encarnado to establish, among others, NGCP’s authority to exercise the power of eminent domain, the propriety of its exercise in this case, and the bases for the determination of the just compensation. Copies of their Judicial Affidavits (with attached

(SIGNED) KERTH JOSSEF M. ABLANQUE PTR No. 9890045 – 01/06/2021 – Iligan City IBP Lifetime No. 012019 MCLE Compliance No. VI-0011641 Roll of Attorneys No. 60170 (SIGNED) JUNELLA G. LIMPANGOG-ABARQUEZ PTR No. 9890044 – 01/06/2021 – Iligan City IBP No. 128123 – 01/04/21 – Iligan City MCLE Compliance No. V-0022527 Roll of Attorneys No. 58980

NOW THEREFORE, the above mentioned Defendant is hereby summoned and required to file with the Clerk of Court, Regional Trial Court, Branch 07, Tubod, Lanao del Norte, Philippines, his ANSWER to the above-quoted complaint within sixty (60) days from publication of the summons and to serve copy of the said answer upon plaintiff’s counsel at his given address indicated in the complaint. Defendant is further reminded of the provision in the IBP-OCA Memorandum on Policy Guidelines dated March 12, 2002 to observe restraint in filing a Motion to Dismiss and instead allege the grounds thereof as defenses in the Answer.

Tubod, Lanao del Norte, February 21, 2022.

BWM: Feb. 28, March 7 & 14, 2022

(SIGNED) FLORENCE O. PEROCHO Legal Researcher II/OIC – Clerk of Court

7

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Republic of the Philippines REGIONAL TRIAL COURT OF LANAO DEL NORTE 12th Judicial Region BRANCH 07 Tubod, Lanao del Norte NATIONAL GRID CORPORATION SPL. CVL. ACTION NO. 116-07-2021 OF THE PHILIPPINES, Plaintiff, – for –

- versus Expropriation LITE GO, represented by: LIKING GO; SPOUSES OLIVER U. GO and CHARLOTTE C. GO, Defendants. x--------------------/ SUMMONS BY PUBLICATION TO: LITE GO Represented by LIKING GO Tagueguiron, Lanao del Norte G R E E T I N G S! WHEREAS, on December 6, 2021, the Court issued an order granting the petitioner’s Motion to Serve Summons by Publication, which reads as follows: “On record is a Motion for Leave of Court to Effect Service of Summons by Publication to defendants Lite Go represented by Liking Go. Finding the same motion to be proper and in order after plaintiff complied with the requirements of the rules, the same is hereby granted.

Let summons by publication be served to defendants Lite Go represented by Liking Go whose last known address is at Tangueguiron, Lanao del Norte.

SO ORDERED.” WHEREAS, Complaint reads: COMPLAINT (With Urgent Prayer for Issuance of Writ of Possession) Plaintiff, National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), by counsel, respectfully states that: 1. Plaintiff is a private corporation created and existing under Philippine laws, with principal office address at NGCP Building, Quezon Avenue corner BIR Road, Diliman, Quezon City. It may be served with notices and other court processes through its Right-of-Way Department (ROWD) – Mindanao Division, Maria Cristina, Iligan City, copy furnished the afore-mentioned principal office.

2. Pursuant to Republic Act (R.A.) No. 9511, plaintiff was granted a franchise to operate, manage and maintain, and in connection therewith, to engage in the business of conveying or transmitting electricity through a high-voltage back-bone system of interconnected transmission lines, substations and related facilities, systems operations, and other activities that are necessary to support the safe and reliable operation of a transmission system and to construct, install, finance, manage, improve, expand, operate, maintain, rehabilitate, repair and refurbish the present nationwide transmission system of the Republic of the Philippines.

3. Under Section 4 of the same law, plaintiff was granted the power of eminent domain, subject to the requirements of the Constitution and existing laws.

4. Plaintiff is engaged in the business of transmitting electric power from the generating plants of power producers to distributors. As such, plaintiff’s business is imbued with public interest.

5. To address the country’s growing power demand and ensure continuous, reliable and efficient power supply, there is a need to interconnect the three (3) major power grids of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao into a single national grid. Aside from the sharing of systems reserve, the interconnection will also help optimize utilization of indigenous energy resources such as natural gas in Luzon, geothermal in the Visayas and hydro in Mindanao. Owing to this necessity, plaintiff must immediately construct the transmission lines that will transmit power to distributors of electricity not only in Mindanao but also in Luzon and Visayas. This undertaking is for the use and benefit of the public and part of it is known as the MINDANAO-VISAYAS INTERCONNECTION PROJECT (MVIP), integral part of which is the KAUSWAGAN-LALA 230kV TRANSMISSION LINE PROJECT (Project).

6. The said MVIP of NGCP is the first project certified by the Department of Energy (DOE) as an Energy Project of National Significance (EPNS) pursuant to R.A. 7638 of DOE Act of 1992, as amended, entitled to all the rights and privileges provided under Executive Order No. 30, series of 2017, as evidenced by the Certification dated 8 May 2018 issued by the Energy Investment Coordinating Council. Hence, the immediate completion and energization of the said project is critically important.

7. Defendant Lite Go is of legal age, Filipino, and a resident of Brgy.

Tangueguiron, Tubod, Lanao del Norte, where he may be served with summons, notices and other processes of this Honorable Court or through his representative, Liking Go, a resident of Brgy. Tangueguiron, Tubod, Lanao del Norte.

8. Defendants Spouses Oliver U. Go and Charlotte C. Go are both of legal age, Filipinos; and residents of 356 Saint Michael Road, Brgy. Kasambagan, Banilad, Cebu City, where they may be served with summons, notices and other processes of this Honorable Court. They are impleaded herein as defendants pursuant to Section 1, Rule 67 of the Revised Rules of Civil Procedure, being the alleged claimants of the subject property.

9. Plaintiff intends to expropriate portion of a parcel of unregistered land situated in Brgy. Tangueguiron, Tubod, Lanao del Norte. The said property is declared in the name of Lite Go, per Tax Declaration (TD) No. H-230036 (22). It is more particularly described below together with the total affected area sought to be expropriated consisting of 10,175 square meters, as shown in the attached Sketch Plan and Technical Descriptions, to wit:

of the just compensation. Copies of their Judicial Affidavits (with attached Exhibits “A” to “L”) are attached as Annexes B, C, and D and made an integral part hereof. Plaintiff intends to present additional witnesses if necessary.

PRAYER WHEREFORE, premises considered, plaintiff most respectfully prays of this Honorable Court to: Copies of the BIR Zonal Valuation applicable to the subject property, Report on the Counts of Improvements, Sworn Statement of Ownership/ Undertaking with Waiver of Rights/Quitclaim with Acknowledgment Receipt, as proof of payment of the affected improvements are attached and made an integral part of this complaint.

10. To enable plaintiff to construct and maintain the Project, it is both necessary and urgent to acquire, upon payment of just compensation, the portion of the subject property, to ensure stability and reliability of the power supply in Mindanao and other regions of the country.

11. Plaintiff negotiated with defendants for the acquisition of the affected portion of the subject property and to pay the cost of improvements therein that may be damaged by the construction of the transmission line project.

Defendants received the payment of the improvements in the amount of Php458,666.71. However, no agreement was reached between the parties as to the compensation for the portion of the subject property.

12. Considering the urgent need for plaintiff to enter the subject property to implement and commence the necessary construction activities for its Project, plaintiff has no other recourse but to file the instant complaint.

13. Pursuant to Section 13 of R.A. 11361, Rule 67 of the Revised Rules of Civil Procedure governs plaintiff’s expropriation cases. Under Section 2 of Rule 67 of the Revised Rules of Civil Procedure, plaintiff may already enter and possess the portion of the subject property during the pendency of the expropriation case.

14. Section 2 of Rule 67 of the Revised Rules of Civil Procedure states that: “SEC. 2. Entry of plaintiff upon depositing value with authorized government depositary. – Upon the filing of the complaint or at any time thereafter and after due notice to the defendant, the plaintiff shall have the right to take or enter upon the possession of the real property involved if he deposits with the authorized government depositary an amount equivalent to the assessed value of the property for purposes of taxation to be held by such bank subject to the orders of the court. Such deposit shall be in money, unless in lieu thereof the court authorizes the deposit of a certificate of deposit of a government bank of the Republic of the Philippines payable on demand to the authorized government depositary.” [Emphasis supplied] 15. In compliance with the notice requirement, plaintiff notified defendants through a Letter Offer of its intention to file an expropriation case if the possession over the subject property cannot be timely secured and/or issues regarding compensation for the subject property cannot be resolved except through judicial intervention. Plaintiff further serves, simultaneous with the filing of the instant Complaint, a Notice to Take Possession (attached as Annex “A”) upon the defendants.

16. To comply with the deposit requirement, plaintiff, notwithstanding that R.A. 10752 does not specifically apply to it, shall deposit with the Honorable Court an amount equivalent to the 100% of the BIR zonal value of the land sought to be expropriated in the total amount of THREE HUNDRED FIVE THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED FIFTY PESOS (Php305,250.00), consistent with the purpose of the said law and OCA Circular No. 113-2019 to simplify the deposit requirement in expropriation cases for the benefit of the defendants and in the interest of immediate implementation of the Project intended to benefit the public.

1. ISSUE a Writ of Possession in plaintiff’s favor; authorizing plaintiff to enter and take possession of the property subject of this complaint that will be affected by the construction and implementation of the Project, consisting of a total area of 10,175 square meters, more or less, as described in paragraph 9 hereof; demolish the affected improvement and/or structures standing therein; order all defendants to vacate the same; directing the Philippine National Police (PNP) to assist plaintiff in the implementation of the said writ of possession so that project construction can immediately commence even during the pendency of the case; direct the Registry of Deeds for the Province of Lanao del Norte to enter the Writ of Possession in the Primary Entry Book and annotate the same in the Registration Book pursuant to Section 69 of Presidential Decree No. 1529; 2. ISSUE an Order of Expropriation declaring that the plaintiff has a lawful right to take possession and acquire the affected property specified in paragraph 9 hereof; 3. After the determination of just compensation, to authorize the payment thereof by plaintiff to defendants after deducting the capital gains and documentary stamp taxes for the transfer of the affected portion of an unregistered lot in the name of plaintiff, all other outstanding taxes under the National Internal Revenue Code, and all outstanding realty taxes and dues under the Local Government Code, which plaintiff shall remit to the Government; 4. ISSUE a judgment after determination of just compensation, declaring plaintiff as the lawful owner of the affected portion of an unregistered lot consisting of a total area of 10,175 square meters, more or less, described in paragraph 9 hereof; 5.

DIRECT: a. The Registry of Deeds for the Province of Lanao del Norte to record in its Registry Daybook (Primary Entry Book) and Registration Book the Order of Expropriation and Judgment rendered by this Honorable Court in this case with respect to the portion of the subject property sought to be expropriated herein, pursuant to Section 113 of Presidential Decree No. 1529. b. The Municipal Assessor of Tubod and/or Provincial Assessor of Lanao del Norte to cancel Tax Declaration No. H-230036 (22) and issue new and separate tax declaration in the name of plaintiff covering the portion of the subject property sought to be expropriated.

Iligan City for Tubod, Lanao del Norte, 8 February, 2021.

NATIONAL GRID CORPORATION OF THE PHILIPPINES Power Center, Quezon Avenue cor. BIR Road Diliman, Quezon City

By:

(WFH) LUIS MANUEL U. BUGAYONG PTR No. 0599223 – 01/04/2021 – Quezon City IBP Lifetime No. 010191/Rizal Chapter MCLE Compliance No. VI-0012003 Roll of Attorneys No. 38002 (WFH) GORDON S. MONTOJO PTR No. 0599215 – 01/04/2021 – Quezon City IBP Lifetime No. 010193/Quezon City MCLE Compliance No. VI-0012024 Roll of Attorneys No. 44910

17. Upon deposit of the provisional amount, plaintiff would have fully complied with the requirements for the issuance of a writ of possession as mandated by law.

(WFH) JULES BOY R. VALDEZ PTR No. 0599221 – 01/04/2021 - Quezon City IBP Lifetime No. 012616/Quezon City MCLE Compliance No. VI-0012045 Roll of Attorney’s No. 63350

18. In a long line of cases and OCA Circular No. 113-2019, once the above requirements are complied with it, it becomes the ministerial duty of the trial court to issue the writ of possession in favor of the plaintiff, without need of any further hearing. Thus, as cited in the said OCA Circular: “Municipality of Cordova v. Pathfinder Development Corporation emphasizes the mandatory issuance of the writ of possession upon the receipt of the required deposit. “No hearing is actually required for the issuance of a writ of possession, which demands only two (2) requirements: (a) the sufficiency in form and substance of the complaint; and, (b) the required provisional deposit x x x x Upon compliance with these requirements, the petitioner in an expropriation case is entitled to a writ of possession as a matter of right and the issuance of the writ becomes ministerial.” Emphasis supplied.

RIGHT-OF-WAY DEPARTMENT – MINDANAO DIVISION NATIONAL GRID CORPORATION OF THE PHILIPPINES Maria Cristina, Iligan City By:

19. Moreover, it must be emphasized that an expropriation proceeding is an action quasi in rem, wherein the fact that the owners of the property are made parties is not essentially indispensable insofar as it concerns the immediate taking of possession of the property and the preliminary determination of its value, including the amount to be deposited.

20. An action quasi in rem names a person as defendant, but its object is to subject that person’s interest in a property to a corresponding lien or obligation. In a proceeding quasi in rem, jurisdiction over the person of the defendant is not a prerequisite to confer jurisdiction on the court, provided that the latter has jurisdiction over the res.

21. The purpose of summons in actions quasi in rem is not the acquisition of jurisdiction over the defendant but mainly to satisfy the constitutional requirement of due process. Since the issuance of writ of possession is exparte, ministerial, and non-litigious in nature, the issuance thereof, even prior to the service of summons, will not violate defendants’ right to due process as the same can be done even without defendants’ participation.

Besides, the issuance of a writ of possession does not prevent defendants from raising objections to and defenses against the expropriation of their property.

22. Plaintiff intends to present three (3) witnesses, namely: a) Engr. Licinio B. Capili, b) Engr. Nolito L. Notar, and c) Windsor C. Abaga, Sr., to establish, among others, NGCP’s authority to exercise the power of eminent domain, the propriety of its exercise in this case, and the bases for the determination

(SIGNED) KERTH JOSSEF M. ABLANQUE PTR No. 9890045 – 01/06/2021 – Iligan City IBP Lifetime No. 012019 MCLE Compliance No. VI-0011641 Roll of Attorneys No. 60170 (SIGNED) JUNELLA G. LIMPANGOG-ABARQUEZ PTR No. 9890044 – 01/06/2021 – Iligan City IBP No. 128123 – 01/04/21 – Iligan City MCLE Compliance No. V-0022527 Roll of Attorneys No. 58980

NOW THEREFORE, the above mentioned Defendant is hereby summoned and required to file with the Clerk of Court, Regional Trial Court, Branch 07, Tubod, Lanao del Norte, Philippines, his ANSWER to the above-quoted complaint within sixty (60) days from publication of the summons and to serve copy of the said answer upon plaintiff’s counsel at his given address indicated in the complaint. Defendant is further reminded of the provision in the IBP-OCA Memorandum on Policy Guidelines dated March 12, 2002 to observe restraint in filing a Motion to Dismiss and instead allege the grounds thereof as defenses in the Answer.

Tubod, Lanao del Norte, February 21, 2022.

BWM: Feb. 28, March 7 & 14, 2022

(SIGNED) FLORENCE O. PEROCHO Legal Researcher II/OIC – Clerk of Court

8

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MON-TUE|MARCH 7-8, 2022

Bela Padilla shines in 366

DIRECTORY

HOW do you move on after a heartbreak? How long does it take to pick yourself up and live your life again? VIVA Films brings you “366,” a film about love, pain and starting life and love anew, and the directorial debut of Philippine Cinema’s Queen of Hearts Bela Padilla.

In “366,” a woman named June (Bela Padilla) has 365 days to get over her exboyfriend Pao (JC Santos). Her neighbor, Marco (Zanjoe Marudo), suggests they do things that June and Pao have never got to do and agrees to be her proxyboyfriend. Soon, they learn to move forward in life and in love... one day at a time.

Actress, Writer, and now adding to her many titles, Director Bela Padilla is one of the most sought-after actresses of this generation, and has worked across different platforms and genres over the past 14 years. Her passion for storytelling and drama has led her to outstanding and unforgettable acting performances in films such as “Camp Sawi,” “I America,” “Luck at First Sight,” “100 Tula Para Kay Stella,” “Meet Me in St. Gallen,” “The Day After Valentine’s” and “On Vodka, Beers, and Regrets” just to name a few, thus earning the title “Philippine Cinema’s Queen of Hearts.”

Her passion for storytelling and drama also led her to writing critically-acclaimed scripts for films like “Camp Sawi,” “10000 AFFIDAVIT OF SELF-ADJUDICATION

A PUBLIC SERVICE BY:

That I am the legal heir of RAUL A. DE LA RAMA and JUANA M. DE LA RAMA, who died within any last will and testament on June 13, 2021 and June 11, 2021, that at the time of their deaths, the decedents had no debts, liabilities or obligations to any persons, agency or institution; that the decedents at the time of their deaths left with A. Transfer Certificate of Title Lot No. T-18061, B. Transfer Certificate of Title Lot No. T-45168 situated in the Barrio of kauswagan, City of Cagayan de Oro, Island of Mindanao, C. Transfer Certificate of Title Lot No. T-38142, D. Transfer Certificate of Title No. T-38141, E. Katibayan ng Orihinal na Titulo Blg. 132367, situated at Brgy. Pagina, Jagna Bohol; F. A Savings account at Development Bank of the Philippines with a Savings Account No. 5-23148810-6, G. A time deposit certificate at Development Bank of the Philippines with Time Deposit Certificate No. 1536729; H. A savings account at Union Bank of the Philippines with Savings Account No. 109563837652; I. A savings account at Landbank of the Philippines with Savings Account No. 2416-2283-05; and has been the subject of an AFFIDAVIT OF SELF-ADJUDICATION, filed by the heirs of RAUL A. DE LA RAMA and JUANA M. DE LA RAMA, per DOC #274; PAGE #55; BOOK #43; Series of 2022 under the Notarial Registry of ATTY. ROWELL B. VALLEDOR. BWM: March 7, 14 & 21, 2022

Hours,” “Fangirl Fanboy,” and “Luck at First Sight.”

And now, she gets the chance to showcase her limitless creativity as she acts, writes and directs for the movie “366.” Helping Bela is the prolific film and TV director, Irene Emma Villamor, who serves as the Creative Producer for “366.” A close friend and a colleague to Bela, she has devoted all her knowledge in creating well-loved romance movies and she makes sure that Bela’s vision of the film is effectively translated onscreen.

According to Bela, she was inspired to write the story of “366” after traveling to Maldives and learning about the story of a Filipino couple challenged by fate. This made Bela wonder what it feels like to be in the Filipina’s shoes and how will she move on. Bela says that “366” is her take on moving on in life and in love: it’s hard, but it is possible one day at a time.

Catch another

exceptional acting, and be one of the firsts to watch the directorial film debut of Bela Padilla in “366.”

Streaming online on April 22 on VIVAMAX Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Macau, Vietnam, Brunei, Maldives, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the USA, the Middle East and Europe. And get the best VIVAMAX viewing quality with TV casting.

For local subscriptions, you can subscribe using the VIVAMAX app and for P149, you can watchall-you-can for 1 month, and you can pay using your Debit or Credit card, GCash, or PayPal account that’s linked on your Google, Apple and Huawei App Gallery account.

You can also subscribe online at www. vivamax.net, select a plan and you can pay through PayMaya, Debit or Credit card, GCash,

GrabPay or at any ECPAY partner outlets near you.

You can also add to cart VIVAMAX on your next online shopping at Shopee, Lazada, PayMaya and ComWorks Clickstore.

You can also pay your VIVAMAX subscription plans at any Authorized outlets near you: Load Central, Comworks and Load Manna.

You can also call your local Cable Operators to subscribe to VIVAMAX: Aklan Cable Television Co., Inc. Cebu Cable HD, Cable Link, Cotabato Cable Television Network Corp., Concepcion Pay TV Network Inc., Sky Cable, Fiber, BCTVI, Paradise Cable Television Nework, Inc., Wesfardell Connect and Zenergy Cable TV Network Inc. More affordable, more ways to subscribe, more time to watchall-you-can so #SubscribeToTheMax now to the best Pinoy Movie Streaming App, VIVAMAX!

PIGSAG-AN NHS HONORS HIGAONON TRIBE WITH PANIKA AS LANDMARK By: RUBY JANE O. ROXAS

“ PA N I K A” i s a h e a d d r e s s o f Higaonon women which symbolizes sacred responsibility to champion cultureal heritage. This is proudly worn as their identity which shows determination and love for the people and their ancesral domain.

The school of Pigsag-an National High School used this symbol as a landmark situated at the frontage area of the school, to show respect to ou r to ou r d e ar Hi g a onons residing in the barangay.

Made from used roof sheets and bamboo poles with the finishing paints of color red, yellow, white, and black all patterned to the tribe’s aesthetics.

Pan i k a i s a l s o a s y mb o l of our response to the needs of our I P brot he rs and s iste rs i n t he communty. The beauty of Panika mirrors the beautiful hearts of Pigsag-anons. It ser ves as a monumental miestones in bringing about education to the community’s doorsteps and bounds.

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9

Elegy for a Kagay-anon Uptown Pioneer

Rodolfo Luciano Meñes 23 November 1947-19 February 2022

RODOLFO LUCIANO MEÑES (23 November 1947-19 February 2022)

O

NE of Cagayan de Oro’s pioneers who built up Uptown Cagayan de Oro has passed on, but his legacy lives on in the township he helped establish which perfectly embodies the city’s trailblazing spirit, and his various engagements in civic society organizations where he was a well-respected voice.

Rodolfo Luciano Meñes was born in Magalang, Pampanga, but grew up in Sampaloc,. Manila. He was a true-blue Atenean who got his grade school to college education at the Ateneo de Manila (University).

He got his MBA degree from the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) and spent his entire career in real estate.

He started with Bancom, the Philippines’ first investment bank during the 70’s, where he was responsible for landmark projects such as Harrison Plaza and Cebu Reclamation. While working at Bancom, he married Celine Ongpin in 1981, whom he met while working with Jose T. Pardo.

Rudy next moved to Greenfield Properties, the United Laboratories real estate company managing EDSA Central, and later to San Miguel Properties, and Legacy Homes.

In June 1995, he joined the Investment Capital Corporation of the Philippines (ICCP) and moved to Cagayan de Oro to help establish the Pueblo de Oro Township.

At a time when Cagayan de Oro was still a sleepy town in the 1990s, ICCP recognized the potential global competitiveness of Cagayan de Oro and chose to locate its 360-hectere Pueblo de Oro Township in an area which had hitherto been brush and pastureland.

In tandem with ICCP visionary Guillermo D. Luchangco, Rudy

and the PODC team brought in key investors foremost among of which was SM City Cagayan de Oro, the first SM Supermall in Northern Mindanao, and the anchor locator for the Pueblo de Oro Business Park.

Another pioneer at Pueblo Business Park was Concentrix Philippines (which started in 2005 as Link2Support), the first ever call center in Cagayan de Oro. Now renamed Concentrix, it has expanded the original 2,500 square meter facility with 250 seats to over 2,000 at present.

Still another pioneer locator in the Pueblo Business Park was the Primavera Residences condominium, the first project of Filipino-Italian joint venture Italpinas Development Corporation in Mindanao established in 2010.

Two of the city’s leading educational institutions have also moved into the Township: Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan now expanded with its XU Basic Education Complex with the Preschool, Junior High, and Senior High Schools (Academic Track

and ALGCIT), and Corpus Christi School grade school and high school Pueblo de Oro Campus.

“Besides his awesome work in the company that assigned him to be in Cagayan de Oro, he also spent an extraordinary amount of time for the local advocacies we have in the chamber, in industry, in promotion such that today you see from what used to be a ranch barely fifty years ago, you see the uptown area is already known as Pueblo,” shared Engr. Elpidio M. Paras, former Oro Chamber President. “We used to just hunt birds around this place, and now it has been transformed. This is the legacy I believe that Rudy leaves us.”

“Rudy joined Pueblo de Oro Development Corporation on June 1, 1995 as Vice President and stayed with us until his retirement on November 30, 2012, at which time he was already a Senior Vice President,” recalls Mr. Luchangco. “However, he remained connected with us as a Consultant until May 26, 2015, a testament to our regard for his contributions to our Company.

Thus, Rudy spent 20 years with us.”

Barely two decades and six years on, the Pueblo de Oro Township has grown into a selfsufficient 400-hectare township with no less than sixteen residential communities, a burgeoning business park, top educational institutions, world-class all-weather golf course designed by renowned architect Robert Trent Jones II, and a bevy of other business establishments that has made it a truly, self-sufficient central business district, leisure and sports hub in one, helping make the Uptown area the new Makati of Cagayan de Oro. A Well Respected man But Rudy’s contribution in making Cagayan de Oro one of the Philippines top ten highly urbanized cities extended far beyond his professional role in Pueblo de Oro. “A born leader and civic spirited, Rudy joined Orochamber, Promote CDO Foundation and Rotary,” said Ruben A. Vegafria, PCCI Region X Governor, during a testimonial in a requiem mass sponsored by the Oro Chamber. “These are the organizations that cemented our long friendship and mutual respect for each other. Like me, he was a bit of a serious/reserved type of a guy and that probably explains why we both find pleasure in the company of like-mended fellows like Elpie Paras, Ralph Paguio and the late

Rudy and Celine with their apos Celina, Mikaya and Stella Noble.

Happier days with Promote CDO stalwarts.

Ghaye Alegrio.”

“Rudy, Ralph, Elpie, Ghaye, and myself, were part of a ‘’Revolving Chair” at Orochamber and Promote CDO since we were all heavily involved in CDO and Northern Mindanao’s tourism, trade and investment promotion and managed the CDO City annual “Kagay-an Festival” for over half a decade,” he added.

Vegafria recalls how Rudy as Oro Chamber president in 2010 led a coalition of local business organizations in a one day business shutdown in protest against the tax bureau’s oppressive tax assessment collection practices which resulted in the transfer of the then BIR Regional Director.

“During that year the whole business community of Region X was having difficulties in dealing with exorbitant tax assessments with the tax bureau,” recalls former Oro Chamber President Efren T. Uy, who was president of the Misamis Oriental Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (MOFCCCII) during the time.

“Through his leadership skills, we were able to convince the different chambers of our neighboring cities and provinces to organize a coalition of chambers in Northern Mindanao. The collective act was done by having a successful one-day business holiday, the so-called “Sira Protesta”, to protest against the tax bureau. And that achievement was credited to his excellent leadership,” Uy stressed.

This was just one of the reasons why Rudy was appointed Private Sector Representative to the Regional Development Council, Region 10 from 2010-2016, and PCCI Regional Governor in 2012 – 2013.

In another instance, Vegafria cited Rudy’s key role as PODC Vice President and General Manager in facilitating the donation of a 2,800 meter lot within Pueblo de Oro Township to the Oro Chamber during his tenure as Oro Chamber President in April 20, 2006. Fittingly enough, the office building was completed and officially occupied on June 2, 2008 during the term of Rudy as Oro Chamber President .

“Oro Chamber is among a few chambers in the Philippines which owns its own building and office. It stands as a living testament of the Oro Chamber’s past and present officers, trustees, staff and

members, whose hard work, loyalty and dedication brought us to where we are in the chamber movement today,” Vegafria noted. “Today, Oro Chamber building stands with pride in the middle of Cagayan de Oro’s landscape and is popularly now known as the Oro Chamber Business Development Centre.”

The two friends paths again intersected when Rudy became Rotary Club of West CDO president in RI year 2002-2003, the same year that Vegafria served as District Governor of RI District 3870.

Besides hosting a successful

of hesitation (hahaha). When we would go on trips, he would offer the best seats (window seat).”

“On trips with the Oro chamber or promote CDO, he would help the younger and more able guys with their luggage. He always gave me flowers on Valentine’s Day, our anniversary. Even when he was sick and unable to buy flowers himself, he would he would ask my daughter or son-in-law to buy flowers for me.

My mother lived with us when we were in Manila up to the time we moved here to CDO. He always welcomed my Mom to every home

With former President Fidel V. Ramos, and media friends at Hotel Koresco, October 17, 2008.

Rotary Discon district conference, RC West CDO also hosted the first Oro Open Golf Tournament at Pueblo de Oro Golf & Country Club, which was eventually institutionalized as an annual fund raising project of the club for many years. Not the least, he was seconded to the RC of Uptown CDO where he became its charter president.

“I remember Rudy as a kindhearted and affable gentleman,” said Mr. Luchangco. “He was also a striking figure and loved his family and went to great lengths to make sure they were always well taken care of and protected. After retirement, he and his family continued to be associated with us through his residency in the Golf Estates of Pueblo de Oro. We will sorely miss his presence.”

“Rudy was the kindest most generous husband, Dad, and Papoo,” his wife Celine recalls. “I would test him at times, asking for his last lychee in his Buko-Lychee and he would freely give it with no tinge

we had, always making sure she had her own room, would drive her and pick her up when she had mahjong.

He was so genuinely nice.”

Rudy is survived by his wife Celine with whom he has two children (Michelle, married to Joseph Roa Noble, and video director/editor Daniel; Melizza, his daughter from his first marriage, married to Ken Lugod Albolote of Cagayan de Oro, and six grandchildren.

“In this dog-eat-dog, highly competitive world, where looking out for yourself, being abrasive, being overbearing and proud, is looked at as an asset, Rudy was the complete opposite. He remained humble, despite all his achievements and successes, he never failed to attribute the glory to our Lord Jesus Christ whom he surrendered his life to in 1985,” Celine shares.

“I am grieved by the passing of the love of my life, my soul mate, but am comforted that the Lord has welcomed Rudy with the words “well done, good and faithful servant”.

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Campaign... whose initial candidate for President was Sen. Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go. G o, h o w e v e r, l a t e r withdrew his bid, leaving the Cusi wing without a candidate for the country's highest post.

Pacquiao, meanwhile, is vying for the presidency and filed his certificate of candidacy under the Probinsiya Muna Development Initiative party amid the PDP-Laban issue.

The Duterte-backed PDPLaban wing has adopted the President's daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara DuterteCarpio, as its candidate for vice president.

Duterte-Carpio is running under the Lakas-CMD party, with former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. as standard-bearer.

The tandem, dubbed as the BBM-Sara UniTeam, has consistently led pre-election surveys for their respective positions.

COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Ignacio said that there is an existing online branch appointment system. Members may use the appointment system to indicate the preferred date and time that they want to be accommodated in their chosen SSS branch.

Further, SSS debunks the misconception that processing of claim and loan applications is faster in SSS Diliman Branch than in other SSS branches. It clarifies that the speed of processing their SSS transactions is based on the completeness of the documents they have submitted.

The “File Anywhere” policy is still in effect so they can transact at the nearest branch of their choice. Currently, there are 58 branches in NCR, about 135 branches in Luzon, 44 branches in Visayas, and 44 branches in Mindanao.

“We want to assure our members that we are continuously finding ways to improve our processes to better serve our members,” Ignacio concluded.

from page 5

from page 3

from page 2

SSS...

App which can be done 24/7 at the comfort of their homes or offices. It is in line with SSS’ brand campaign “ExpreSSS” to provide a simpler, faster, safer, and more convenient transaction to minimize their exposure to

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D e l a Ve g a s ai d t h e Philippines is a party to seven Asean FTAs including those with China, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand, India, and Hong Kong, and the Asean Free Trade Area

EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF BANK DEPOSIT KNOWN ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS: That we ANGELICA C. WOO of legal age, Filipino citizen, married and a resident of Libona Bukidnon and ANNETTE C. RATUNIL, of legal age, Filipino citizen, married, and a resident of Cagayan De Oro City: WITNESSETH: That we are the sole and only heirs of the late ADELA C. ROA who died on August 19,2020 at Maria Reyna-Xavier University Hospital, Cagayan de Oro City; That the deceased left no debts and no will of testament, but left a estate which consists of her BPI Main-Velez Branch, Cagayan De Oro City, bank account with Savings account No _____________ That the estate of the deceased is not subject to any existing lien, encumbrances, lis pendens, garnishment, attachment, injunction, execution, or any debt or obligation; That by way of this Extrajudicial Settlement of Bank Deposit of the deceased, we hereby EQUALLY PARTITION among ourselves the above-mentioned Bank Deposit of the deceased, pursuant to the Civil Code of the Philippines and Rules of Special Proceedings of the Revised Rules of the Court of the Philippines; That we hereby undertake to indemnify, defend and hold PNB, its subsidiaries, affiliates, their respective successors and assigns and each of their respective shareholders, directors, officers, employees and agents (collectively, the Indemnified Persons”) harmless from any and against any and all loss, obligation, damage, penalty, judgment, claim, deficiency, expense, interests, penalties, attorney’s fees, and amounts paid in settlement to which any Indemnified Person may become subject arising out of or relating to the release/withdrawal of the aforementioned savings account of our deceased mother Adela C. Roa; That this document will be published once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in Misamis Oriental.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, parties have hereunto set their hands this 19th day of February, 2022 at Naawan, Misamis Oriental, Philippines.

BWM: Feb 28, Mar 7 & 14, 2022

(AFTA).

He said once the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement entered into force, “we also see potential, wider areas of cooperation and more simplified rules of the game in dealing in terms of our trade.”

The RCEP agreement entered into force on January 1, 2022 for 10 signatory states, namely – Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam, Australia, China, Japan, and New Zealand.

The deal was ratified by President Rodrigo Duterte last September 2 and is under Senate deliberations to secure concurrence.

D e l a Ve g a s a i d t h e country currently also has two bilateral non-Asean FTAs with Japan and European Free Trade Organization (EFTA) member states of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

“What these FTAs do is to simplify, provide a ‘super highway’ that exporters can avail of when dealing with external partners or when venturing outside of the country. At the same time, it also attracts investment, being part of an FTA arrangement.

And also (these) complement e x ist i ng e f for t s of t he government to improve the business environment,” he added.

Dela Vega said FTAs enhance access to markets EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF ESTATE KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS: That the late RICARDO ROA who died intestate on January 27, 1983 at Cagayan de Oro City, decedent CECILIA IDOL-ROA who died intestate on July 24, 2001 at Cagayan de Oro City and NORMA ROA-CABATINGAN, deceased sister of the above-named HEIRS, during her lifetime, was already adjudicated by their deceased parents 80 square meters from the whole area covered by Transfer Certificate of Title No. T-4770, at the time of their death, the decedent RICARDO ROA, left a real property with Transfer Certificate of Title No. T-4770; the above-named HEIRS are now desirous of adjudicating unto themselves the remaining 320 square meters, Lot 1- B-1; Area= 100 SQ.M to BUENO I. ROA (Residential), Lot 1-B-2; Area= 89 SQ.M. to ORLANDO I. ROA (Residential), Lot-1-B-3 Area= 58 SQ.M. to JAMIE I. ROA (Residential), Lot 1- B-4; Area= 59 SQ.M. JOSE I. ROA (Residential) and has been the subject of an EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF ESTATE, filed by the heirs of RICARDO ROA, CECILIA IDOL-ROA and NORMA ROA-CABATINGAN, per DOC #165; PAGE #33; BOOK #1; Series of 2021 under the Notarial Registry of ATTY. JOANE THERESE B. GALES. BWM: Feb 21, 28 & Mar 7, 2022

of trading partners and new ones, and provide safe or improved “rules of the game”.

“We also see recently in the FTAs that the Philippines engaged on is adoption of rules particularly not just with specific goods but also in terms of dealing with electronic commerce so we see here that at the same time, there is also disciplines that could assist our businesses or exports through for example, prote c t ion of intellectual property rights and enforcement,” he said.

A p a r t f r o m F TA s , D e l a Ve g a s a i d o t h e r trade engagements of the Philippines include the G e ne r a l i z e d Sy ste m of Preferences (GSP) and cooperation mechanisms.

Sherrylou Marzo, manager of Export Marketing and Sales Section at Century Pacific Food, said the different FTAs and GSP have benefited her company, with tuna and sardines as its biggest exports.

“To all small and medium enterprises, I really encourage (you) to avail this preferential tariff since it will really help you because it will minimize taxes on goods… at the same time it’s also an advantage on your part so that you could be competitive in terms of pricing,” she said. (PR)

Recovery... from page 3

investments with the enactment of the bill into law.

Lopez added that this is an opportune time for foreign businesses to expand their EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF ESTATE OF THE LATE LEONARDO DELA CAMARA LLOREN KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS: That the late LEONARDO DELA CAMARA LLOREN who died on June 9, 2020 in Cagayan de Oro City, and Married to Luz Jubas Lloren (deceased) without any last will or testament; that said decedent at the time of his death left a house and lot; the said real property with Transfer Certificate of Title No. T-103100 (residential Building) situated in the Barrio of Gusa, City of Cagayan de Oro, Island of Mindanao, containing an area of SEVENTY-EIGHT (78) square Meters, more or less, and that said deceased left Deposit of money in his savings account with the Bank of the Philippines Island (BPI)-Lapasan Branch, Lapasan, Cagayan de Oro City under Account Name: Leonardo Lloren and Account Number: 0021731473-44 and has been the subject of an EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF ESTATE OF THE LATE LEONARDO DELA CAMARA LLOREN, filed by the heirs of LEONARDO DELA CAMARA LLOREN, per DOC #223; PAGE #45; BOOK #05; Series of 2022 under the Notarial Registry of ATTY. PRINCESS KIMBERLY V. UBAY-UBAY. BWM: Feb 28, Mar 7 & 14, 2022

operations in the Philippines with the help of the new policy, as well as the full reopening of the economy as Metro Manila and key areas in the country, embrace the new normal.

“In d e e d , we c an n ot overemphasize the importance of a major shift in mindset and economic policy direction. For the country to lead a path to recovery amid Covid-19, we have been a consistent advocate for the amendment of this passage which aims to lessen barriers for foreign entry and is expected to hasten the country’s economic growth through foreign investment,” Lopez said.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, approved foreign investments in the country’s i nv e s t m e nt p r o m o t i o n agencies (IPAs) for 2021 increased by 71.5 percent to P192.34 billion from P112.12 billion in 2020.

The top foreign sources of investment pledges last year were Singapore at P80.17 billion, the Netherlands with P26.9 billion, and Japan with P24.47 billion.

On the other hand, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported that foreign direct investments rose 52.5 percent from January to November last year at USD9.2 billion.

(PNA)

DA preps recovery, rehab of ASF hit areas in Normin CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY --The Department of Agriculture (DA)-10 has conducted environmental swabbing in some African Swine Fever (ASF)-affected areas in the region in preparation for the recovery and rehabilitation program.

A total of 39 barangays in the cities of Iligan and Cagayan de Oro were subjected to environmental swabbing starting February 2022 as part of the process of the hog sentinel program.

DA-10 ASF Focal Person Julesben Caesar Maquiling, DVM said environmental swabbing is the process of collecting samples from the pig pens and surrounding areas of previously ASF-affected backyard raisers.

Said samples were then submitted to the Regional Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (RADDL) of DA-10 subject for laboratory analysis to determine whether it is safe to put sentinel pigs.

EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF ESTATE WITH ABSOLUTE SALE KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS: That the late MAJALAH CECILIA E. BEJA who died on July 11, 2012 at Cagayan de Oro City, died intestate, without Will or Testament and without any outstanding debts in favor of any person or entity, MAJALAH CECILIA E. BEJA, together with DATE G. BEJA, is the absolute and registered owner of two parcels of land with Transfer Certificate of Title No. T-31115 situated in (the Brgy. Of Barra, Municipality of Opol, Province of Misamis Oriental, Island of Mindanao, containing an area of SIXTY FIVE (65) square meters, more or less and Transfer Certificate of Title No. T-31116 containing an area of SIXTY FIVE (65) square meters, more or less, and has been the subject of an EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF ESTATE WITH ABSOLUTE SALE, filed by the heirs of MAJALAH CECILIA E. BEJA, in favor of OMAIRA PANGANDAMUN ALUG, per DOC #313; PAGE #63; BOOK #LXXIX; Series of 2018 under the Notarial Registry of ATTY. NOEL G. BACAL. BWM: March 7, 14 & 21, 2022

Maquiling added that prior to the 20 days of environmental swabbing, one-month cleaning and disinfection were conducted to ensure that the place is clean and safe where the hogs will be placed.

DA-10 Regional Executive Director Carlene C. Collado said local government units (LGUs) can declare their respective areas as ASF-free after validation by the provincial veterinary office and/or DA-RFO 10, as stipulated in the DA Admin Order No. 30, series of 2021, “Guideline on the Recovery and Declaration of Freedom from ASF for Local Government Units” signed

by DA Secretary William D. Dar. Collado added that declaration of ASF-free zoning can be upgraded from red to pink or infected to buffer zone following the DA AO 30 guidelines, and eventually lifts zoning status from pink to yellow after the sentinelling program.

He stressed that the rehabilitation program’s purpose is to increase pig production and subsequently stabilize pork supplies and prices.

For this, Collado urged all hog raisers to strictly follow biosecurity protocol in the farm to make the repopulation program successful.

(DA-10/PIA-10) EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF ESTATE OF THE LATE RED OCTAVIANO KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS: That the late RED OCTAVIANO who passed away on June 11, 2021 in Kabasalan, Zamboanga, Sibugay, owned and left behind a parcel of land (fishpond, with Transfer Certificate of Title No. T-17-388 situated in the Barrio of Gusawan Monching, Siay, Zamboanga del Sur, comprising an area of Fifty Thousand (P50,000.00) Square Meters, more or less and has been the subject of an EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF ESTATE OF THE LATE RED OCTAVIANO, filed by the heirs of RED OCTAVIANO, per DOC #469; PAGE #94; BOOK #129; Series of 2022 under the Notarial Registry of ATTY. FELIX D. LACUBTAN. BWM: March 7, 14 & 21, 2022

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Ravanera... from page 4

from compulsive thinking of the egoic mind that has brought forth mankind’s collective insanity that had killed its own kind in the 20th century alone more than 100 million human beings out of two world wars and the cleansing of Hitler and Pol Pot. With that new consciousness, the divine purpose of the universe will unfold for a new earth!

Failures... from page 4

“professional” opinion, and went on to become the King of Rock n’ Roll.

L ong b efore G e orge MacArthur became a famous general in three major wars, he was rejected two times by the Westpoint military academy! But he kept trying and was finally accepted; and after graduating he marched into the history books as one of the greatest army generals ever.

Every human being fails many times! But the ones who become successful do not allow their failures to stop them from eventually reaching their potential and living their lives to the fullest.

If you will ask Jesus, the One Who gave you your abilities and potential, He will help you with His power to become all He created you to be.

He will even use your past mistakes to strengthen and teach you how to live His right, successful way every day, for the rest of your life.

Just think a minute.

Ukraine... from page 4

2022.

Because of globalization, it is a given that any instability in other parts of the world will somehow affect the Philippines. The impact on the Philippines, of course, will be a function of the extent, duration and timeliness of the resolution of the crisis.

Here are some possible short term consequences of the conflict.

We had an estimated 400 Filipino nationals in Ukraine before the current crisis.

While the DFA has assisted most to either return to the Philippines or evacuate to safer nearby havens, about 141, mostly Filipinas with Ukranian husbands, have chosen to remain in the embattled country.

On the positive side, the ongoing crisis could spur gold prices higher as investors seek a safe-haven asset. I say positive because the Philippines maintains a substantial portion of its international reserves in gold.

Expected to exert negative impact are the spike in oil prices and possible holdback of foreign portfolio investments from the local stock market due to risk aversion.

A possible further weakening of the peso against the dollar will be neutral over-all. Depreciation will be bad for importers and borrowers in foreign currency and that includes the national

government. On the other hand, peso depreciation will be good for dollar earners such as OFWs and the BPO sector. It will also be positive for the BSP when it revalues its dollar-denominated assets.

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Policy... from page 1

in areas under Alert Level 1 might affect the ongoing vaccination drive of the national government.

Despite the city being placed under Alert Level 1, Moreno assured the public that the local government continues to enforce safety protocols considering that other areas in the Northern Mindanao region are still under Alert Level 2.

“If we are talking a b o u t s a f e t y, w e h a v e to remember the saying that no one is safe unless e v e r y b o d y i s s a f e ,” h e added.

The city and Camiguin province are the only areas in Region 10 that are currently under Alert Level 1 from March 1 until March 15 this year.

The provinces of Misamis Oriental, Bukidnon, Lanao del Norte, Misamis Occidental and Iligan City are still under Alert Level 2.

DILG Undersecretar y Jonathan Malaya earlier clarified that vaccination cards would still be required in establishments considered as 3Cs (closed, crowded, closed-contact) areas.

Malaya also said there is nothing wrong if the malls in the Alert Level 1 areas are still requiring vaccination cards.

As of March 4, the city has already recorded 533,870 fully vaccinated individuals. This is equivalent to 88.98 percent of the city’s total target population of 599,929.

Of the fully vaccinated, 1 0 3 , 7 7 8 i n d i v i du a l s or 19.80 p ercent f rom t he target population already received their booster shots; while 23,147 other individuals have been administered their first dose of the vaccine.

In addition, Dr. Ted Yu Jr., medical officer of the City Health Office (CHO) here, said they have not yet received the memorandum from the DILG regarding the said policy. (PNA)

Ecozones... from page 1

on Normalization of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).

The CAB is the final peace agreement signed by the government and the MILF after 17 years of negotiations.

The six MILF enclaves recognized by both parties are camps Abubakar asSidique in Maguindanao, Bilal in Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur, Omar ibn alKhattab in Maguindanao, Rajamuda in North Cotabato and Maguindanao, Badre in Maguindanao, and Busrah Somiorang in Lanao del Sur. The BNTF was formally launched in May 2021 by the MILF-led Bangsamoro government, together with officials from the then Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process and the World Bank, which was chosen as fund administrator by the Philippine government and the MILF. During the launching, Ndiamè Diop, World Bank country director for Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, said the fund will assist the MILF combatants and their communities achieve their desired quality of life in a peaceful and inclusive manner.

The amount of the fund was not disclosed during the launching, but Diop said the international donors that had pledged support for the fund included the European Union, Australia, Canada, United Nations and Japan.

7th Public Report On Thursday, the TPMT, which was established in 2013 with a mandate to monitor and review the implementation of the peace agreements between the Philippine government and the MILF, issued its 7th Public Report, covering the period from November 2020 to January 2022.

In a statement, the TPMT noted a steady progress in advancing the peace process in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao ( BA R M M ) , w h i c h w a s created in 2019 following the ratification of Republic Act 11054 or the Organic law for the BARMM. The key achievements during the reporting period include the adoption of two more priority codes (Civil Service Code and the Education Code), the transfer of Cotabato City into BARMM administrative structures, regular interaction between the national government

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and the Bangsamoro government through the Intergovernmental Relations Body (IGRB), the issuance of an amnesty proclamation including for members of the MILF and the launch of the 3rd round of decommissioning of MILF forces, the TPMT said.

T h e s e a ch i e ve m e nt s were obtained even though implementation of the peace process during the reporting period was slowed down by the COVID-19 pandemic and the debate in Congress to extend the transition period of the BARMM from 2022 to 2025.

Several dimensions of the peace process are still at an early implementation stage, the TPMT said, adding that the challenge of realizing sustainable peace by 2025 remains great and should not be underestimated.

Looking forward, the T P M T e n c ou r a g e s t h e following steps to consolidate the implementation of the peace process: • Adopt priority legislation ideally within the originally defined timeframe prior to June 2022; • Us e t h e IG R B t o methodically address pending issues and proceed with the operationalization of remaining IGR mechanisms; • Address normalization on the basis of synchronized actions combining all its different elements. Most importantly, resolve questions related to the provision of socio-economic packages for decommissioned combatants and agree on guidelines for the entry of MILF and MNLF into the PNP; • Ensure that the National Amnesty Commission can begin operations as soon as possible; • And, strive for greater security and prevention of violent incidents, whether involving rido, resource conflicts or extremism, through holistic and strategic measures.

The TPMT said it is convinced that the peace agreements remain the cornerstone of peace in Mindanao.

“Building a comprehensive, inclusive and sustainable peace in Mindanao is the key inheritance which the parties can leave to future generations. Their strongest underlying commitment

and continued allegiance to the letter and spirit of the agreements is the best guarantee of success,” the body said. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)

Vax...

from page 1

vaccination in bus terminals, particularly in the Westbound Bus Terminal in Barangay B u lu a , a n d t h e Ag or a Integrated Bus Terminal in Barangay Lapasan, will cater to individuals aged 12 years old and above with no comorbidities.

Yu said the city’s Covid-19 vaccination team will be conducting a dry run for the vaccination in bus terminals on Saturday for an anticipated smooth rollout and to identify possible challenges that may arise during the activity.

The city government will also start the drive-thru vaccination which will be held in SM Uptown and Downtown Premier to cater to senior citizens who are having difficulty getting out of their vehicles.

As of March 3, the city has already recorded 533,577 fully vaccinated individuals. This is equivalent to 88.94 percent of the target population of 599,929.

Of the fully vaccinated, 103,006 indiv idu a ls or 19.3 percent have received their booster shots. These boosted individuals make up 17.16 percent of the target population have received their booster shots.

Another 23,369 other i n d i v i du a l s h av e b e e n administered their first dose of the vaccine.

No vax card When it comes to the non-requirement of Covid-19 vaccination cards in establishments in areas under Alert Level 1, Yu said they are still waiting for the official document from the Department of the Interior and Local Government on the matter.

New Omicron variants In the same online briefer, the CHO reported the fourth batch of Omicron variant cases here that involved three returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs).

Yu s a i d t h e R O F s comprised a male and two female residents from this city, particularly in the villages of Bugo, Lapasan, and Iponan.

Samples of the three new Omicron cases underwent testing at the Philippine Genome Center in Manila from January 14 to 16.

The CHO received the results on February 28.

“Out of the three, two are certified recovered and the other one has a negative RT-PCR test, and all of them are fully vaccinated,” Yu said.

The CHO has recorded a total of 10 close contacts of the ROFs and they are currently under monitoring with the help of the respective barangay health emergency response teams for possible flu-like symptoms.

Overall, the city government has recorded a total of 47 Omicron variant cases, of which 42 were tagged in this city, while the five others are re-tagged cases.

(PNA)

Helps... from page 2

operators to accreditation requirements,” Balambao said.

He added that the union of aquaculture nurseries and hatchery operators will also ensure that local aquaculture growers are supplied with better quality strains of tilapia fry and fingerlings.

Gloria Paguntala, the group’s elected president, is optimistic that their cluster will bring more benefits to the nursery and hatchery operators in the province.

“The network of fish breeders can strategically collaborate to address the issue of insufficient supply of freshwater fish fry and fingerlings in the province,” Panguntala said, as quoted in the BFAR-13 statement.

The agency also pointed out that cooperation between the BFAR and private hatchery operators is among the strategies outlined in the Regional Tilapia Commodity Roadmap.

“The roadmap highlights the potential of Agusan del Sur, with its abundant freshwater resources, as a major supplier of freshwater fry and fingerlings in the Caraga region,” the BFAR13 said.

It a d d e d t h a t t h e development of hatcheries in Agusan del Sur is a threeyear intervention of the BFAR through the Special Areas for Agricultural Development program that started in 2019 with an allocation of PHP2.1 million worth of aquaculture inputs. (PNA)

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MON-TUE|MARCH 7-8, 2022

Aboitiz Group and GCNP strengthen support for post-pandemic recovery of MSMEs

T

HE Aboitiz Group further strengthened its commitment to support the postpandemic recovery journey of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the Philippines, through its strong and proactive participation in the Global Compact Network Philippines (GCNP). The GCNP is the local entity of the

United Nations Global Compact that is tasked with aligning and championing Philippine sustainability initiatives on an international level through policy proposals, sustainability advocacies, and accessible initiatives.

Ana Margarita “Ginggay” Hontiveros, Vice President for Reputation in Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. (AEV) represents the

Aboitiz Group and sits on the Board of Trustees of GCNP. In the recently-held General Assembly and election of Board Members, GCNP recognised that the Philippine economy has yet to surmount the business challenges brought about by the pandemic. With its election of new board members, GCNP aims to inject the group’s initiatives with new Ana Margarita “Ginggay” Hontiveros, Vice President for Reputation in Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. and member of the Board of Trustees of the Global Compact Network Philippines (GCNP), speaks during its General Assembly held on March 1, 2022.

insights and thought leadership that will help the country align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and further develop a sustainable business landscape in the Philippines.

Aboitiz Group leads the Private Sector Champions (PSC) under the “Prosperity” pillar that directly benefits the Filipino MSME sector.

The PSC focuses on financing, supply chain sustainability, business continuity management, diversification, and market access in support of the “10-in-10 Business Agenda for MSME Recovery and Resilience” promoted by the GCNP. Speaking at the GCNP General Assembly, Hontiveros emphasized the vital role leaders play in ensuring an equitable, sustainable, and inclusive business landscape for Filipino MSMEs. “The most important decisions that businesses can make today to benefit MSME recovery and resilience in the country is improving business value chain inclusions.

By doing so, we can expand the market access of MSMEs and create more opportunities for them to thrive,” she said. As an example, Hontiveros cited the benefits of focusing on agriculture-based solutions, which she says can aid MSME recovery while also helping to address natural resources scarcity and food insecurity.

The Aboitiz Group recognizes the interconnectedness of the 17 SDGs and the importance of addressing different Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) concerns in order to achieve the SDGs. As a strong advocate for the SDGs, the Group integrates action-based initiatives into #OneAboitiz

Sustainability Framework. To highlight, AboitizPower has set to grow its renewable energy portfolio to 4,600MW over the next 10 years, with a goal of a 50:50 balance between its renewable and thermal capacities by 2030, which aims to address the pressing concerns of Climate Change (SDG 13) and access to renewable and affordable energy (SDG 7). The AboitizPower renewable energy journey is part of the Group’s larger climate transition strategies that work to lower greenhouse gas emissions of the company.

Meanwhile, the Aboitiz Group also continues to promote decent work and economic growth (SDG 8) through its participation in the 10-in-10 business agenda and enterprise development programs linking communities to entrepreneurship, capital and market access.

Hontiveros' holdover in the board selection is joined by the newlyelected GCNP board members, Ma. Vicki Tan of Ayala Corporation (re-elected), Dr. Hian Ho Kua of Manila Doctors Hospital (re-elected), Maria Luz 'Yayu' Javier of Philippine Marketing Association (re-elected), June Cheryl CabalRevilla of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (newly elected), and Dennis Montecillo of International Care Ministries Foundation (newly elected).

Hontiveros brings to the GCNP Board her decades-long expertise in sustainable development and is a direct link to the sustainability initiatives of the Aboitiz Group.

Visit www. sustainability.aboitiz. com to learn more about the Aboitiz Group’s sustainability initiatives.