BusinessWeek Mindanao (May 26, 2017)

BusinessWeek MINDANAO CREDIBLE

Volume VII, No. 155

Market Indicators As of 5:00 pm May 25, 2017 (thursday)

FOREX

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US$1 = P49.968

18.3 cents

PHISIX 7,871.65

33.83 points

X

Briefly Shipping project ZAMBOANGA City -- The Regional Board of Investments in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (RBOI-ARMM) has approved the construction of a P33.5 million shipping yard in Tawi-Tawi province.

RBOI Chairperson Ishak Mastura on Thursday said the board granted the Bongao-based J. Sayang Shipping Lines, Inc. to establish a shipping yard to provide services to traders from the ports of Basilan, Jolo, Tawi-Tawi and Polloc, Maguindanao going to Malaysia and other member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Mastura said the shipyard could accommodate 494-metric ton (MT) capacity general cargo vessels.

“The P33.5 million cargo transport project will directly create 23 jobs. The project will aid local traders since there will be easy transport facilitation of their cargoes for market distribution,” Mastura said.

Cebu Landmaster DAVAO City -- Cebu Landmasters, Inc. has inked a deal with Davao City’s Huang and Yuson families for the conversion and development of the 18-hectare Matina Golf Course into a central business district (CBD).

The company is prepring to start the construction of MesaTierra, its first project in Davao City and the 4th in the company’s “Garden Series” condominiums. www. cebulandmasters.com

“We formalized our agreement last week,” Cebu Landmasters President and Chief Executive Officer Jose R. Soberano III said in an interview.

Mr. Soberano said the CBD project will include a shopping mall, hotels, residential condominiums, offices for business process outsourcing companies, and “probably” a civic center as well as educational and health institutions.

Caution for tourists DAVAO City -- The Davao City Tourism Office on Thursday advised tourists to exercise prudence and to go only to main tourism destination sites in the city.

Generose Tecson, City Tourism Office head, issued the statement following the declaration of Martial Law in Mindanao, saying visitors must also be mindful of their safety first.

On Tuesday, Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, as part of the city government’s guidelines, discouraged tourists from going to areas that are not included among the main tourism areas of the city and to always bring their passports and other proofs of identification.

While it is “business as usual in Davao City,” Tecson said recent developments will negatively impact on the tourism industry.

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Groups: Martial Law in Marawi not the solution to conflict

By GERRY LEE GORIT, Reporter

THE declaration of the Mar t i a l L aw w i l l on ly exacerbate the ongoing conflict between government troops and a group of armed men in Marawi City, said a Muslim organization on Wednesday, as the military has declared the situation there as under control.

Pres. Rodrigo Duterte,

who cut short his visit to the Russian Federation, made the pronouncement Tuesday evening after a series of firefight erupted when the military raided a house where Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon who was suspected to be hiding in Marawi.

The raid triggered a gun battle involving soldiers

and armed members of the Maute Group and Abu Sayyaf, who occupied several establishments in the city on Tuesday afternoon.

As of Wednesday morning, reports said a policeman and two soldiers were killed and about a dozen others wounded. It was yet to be determined the number of Abu Sayyaf and Maute solution/PAGE 11

NO TO MARTIAL LAW. Members of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan – Southern Mindanao say no to martial law during a protest rally at the Freedom Park in Davao City Wednesday (24 May 2017). photo courtesy of paulo c. rizal/davaotoday.com)

Mindanao power lines under tight watch: NGCP

By MARK FRANCISCO, Staff Writer

W

HILE the power situation in Mindanao is still normal, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said it is on “heightened alert” after the disturbances in Marawi City, which prompted the declaration of martial law on the Mindanao.

“We’re under heightened alert and are extra vigilant in safeguarding the facilities,” said Cynthia P. Alabanza, NGCP spokesperson, said in a news conference at the company’s head office in Quezon City on Wednesday.

Privately held-NGCP, which operates and maintains the country’s power transmission grid, will be issuing updates on the situation in the area that is affecting how it transmits electricity, she said.

“We monitored a disturbance in one of the facilities servicing Marawi City,” she said, adding that NGCP field personnel were unable to inspect that facilities in the area. “The situation there is a little tense,” she said.

She said that although Marawi City was able to draw power, there was a marked ngcp/PAGE 11

LOCK DOWN. Members of the Rapid Deployment Platoon of the Philippine National Police’s City Public Safety Company and army soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division based in Cagayan de Oro City on Thursday imposed stringent security measures in nearby Iligan City following the Marawi City siege by the Maute Group. photo by gerry lee gorit

Naliyagan fest in Agsur pushes through despite Martial Law

By CHRIS V. PANGANIBAN, Contributing Editor

SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur---The grand celebration of the 8-day Naliyagan Festival 2017 in this province on June 10-17 will push through as scheduled despite

declaration of Martial Law in Mindanao.

Manuel Rosaut, President and CEO of Nalaiyagan Stakeholders naliyagan/PAGE 11

MinDA appeals for sobriety amid Marawi City violence RESCUE TRANSPORT. Passenger buses stand by for evacuation work outside the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office in Iligan City Thursday morning. Many residents from nearby Marawi City have sought refuge in Iligan after the Maute Group attack since Tuesday. mindanews photo by aubrey rocin llamas

DAVAO City -- The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) appealed to the public for sobriety and to refrain from spreading unverified stories and reports that could further aggravate the situation in Marawi

City and the rest of Mindanao.

Members of the Maute Group and the Abu Sayyaf Group clashed with government troops in Marawi City on Tuesday. appeals/PAGE 11

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2

DA turns-over Balingasag Barangay Food Terminal MISAMIS Oriental -- The Department of AgricultureRegional Field Office (DARFO)-10 has recently turnedover to this town a Barangay Food Terminal (BFT) in barangay Baliwagan.

T he more t han Php 21-million BFT comprises t hre e st r uc tures wor t h P10 million, concreted circumferential road worth more than P5 million with c ou nt e r p ar t s f rom t h e provincial and municipal local government units, and P6 million worth of facilities and equipment like cold storage, refrigerated van, elf truck, freezers and chillers, weighing scales, plastic crates, and operating capital

of P410,000 upon start of operation, according to DARFO 10 Assistant Regional Director Engr. Roxana H. Hojas who represented OICRegional Director Carlene C. Collado during the turnover.

“This turnover is timely as it is in line with the Farmers a n d F i s h e r f o l k Mo nt h celebration considering it is a big project. I hope we can do more with this to become fully operational,” Hojas said.

For her part, Balingasag Mayor Marietta R. Abogado, in accepting the BFT project, encourage d t he p e ople to cooperate to unhinge political problem for its terminal/PAGE 11

Economy

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friday|may 26, 2017

Bukidnon coffee industry gears up to push cupping culture in the province T HE Department o f Tr a d e a n d Industry Bukidnon Provincial Office (DTIBUK) in collaboration with a Washington-based international economic development organization dubbed as Agricultural Cooperative Development International and Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance (ACDI/VOCA) gathere d 59 Bukidnon C offee Industr y prime movers to Hotel Valencia, Valencia City on May 15, Monday to discuss great marketing opportunities and to recognize several of the province’s coffee industry achievements.

Thelonnious Trimmell, A C D I / V O C A’s C h i e f of Party, laid the details regarding the First “Kape Pilipino” Coffee Cupping Competition held in Cavite City, Philippines last March.

Through this competition, two of Bukidnon’s coffee producers were given the chance to attend the Global Specialty Coffee Expo held in Seattle, Washington on April 19 to 30. Aside from this, he also explained a few points about the Q-Grader course and presented some of the most noted coffee market opportunities which Bukidnon’s Coffee Industry can take advantage of.

In his talk, Trimmell points out that “there are two main markets for coffee: there’s the specialty coffee market and the commercial coffee market. The specialty coffee market is what we’re really trying to promote

here in the Philippines, based on the specialty coffee associations of America’s cupping system. People buy these kinds of coffee based on the score they receive because of the cupping process that it went through.”

While the commercial cof fee market takes 90 percent or most of the whole buying market, Trimmell emphasized that it has not gone through so much changes in its pricing as compared to how drastic the historic price fluctuations specialty coffee market went through over the years. He also added that it is very cr it ic a l for Bu k idnon’s Coffee Industry Cluster to learn how to take care of their specialty coffee. Most often than not, farmers and producers alike are easily swayed to shift in producing other commodities especially when the price for specialty

coffee goes down. This shift in commodity choice can threaten the existence of specialty coffee varieties due to the decrease in its production and supply.

“We want to ensure that farmers or producers know how to evaluate their coffee.

Buyers buy coffee based on the evaluation of cupping stores, to pay for the right price of that coffee. It is important that farmers know what they have and the value of their coffee. It is one of our goals to train people to know how to evaluate coffee, to understand its attributes and its defects and then come up with that cupping score,” he said.

Atty. Lucky Siegfred Balleque, the Provincial Director of DTI-Compostella Valley, made a few but huge re c om m e n d at i on s t h at participating groups and coffee/PAGE 11

How Technology Has Brought Change By: Faith Kathlynne A. Abucejo, CpE, Lpt

RPN Radyo Ronda Stations Nationwide

CNN Philippines Stations Nationwide CNN Philippines TV-9 Manila CNN Philippines TV-12 Baguio CNN Philippines TV-12 Dagupan CNN Philippines TV-26 Tarlac CNN Philippines TV-10 Iriga CNN Philippines TV-4 Iloilo

CNN Philippines TV-8 Bacolod CNN Philippines TV-9 Cebu CNN Philippines TV-5 Cag. de Oro CNN Philippines TV-5 Zamboanga CNN Philippines TV-7 GenSan CNN Philippines TV-9 Davao

DZBS 1368 Baguio DZRL 639 Batac DZTG 621 Tuguegarao DZKI 1332 Iriga DYKW 936 Binalbagan DYKB 1404 Bacolod DYKC 675 Cebu DXKO 1368 Cagayan de Oro DXKS 1080 Surigao DXKD 1053 Dipolog DXKP 1377 Pagadian DXXX 1008 Zamboanga DXKT 1071 Davao DXDX 693 General Santos

Gone are the days when growing up is a recollection well worth visiting in an attempt to comprehend the concerns facing the children nowadays. Going back, 20 years ago, children used to play outside all day. Children of the past created their own form of play that didn’t require costly equipment or parental supervision.

Children now rely on technology for the majority of their play, grossly limiting challenges to their creativity

and imaginations, as well as limiting necessary challenges to their bodies to achieve optimal sensory and motor development.

The advancement of technology directly affect the natural state of childhood.

Parents rely on technological devices to entertain their children and s omehow becomes their mere interest.

It would be nice if technology is being used in its most proper form rather than abuse its vulnerability.

I remember what Christian L ous L ange once s aid, “technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master”; hence, parents should be heedful about these matters.

CAGAYAN DE ORO MAIN BRANCH P & J Lim Bldg., Tiano Brothers Kalambagohan Sts., Tel. # (08822) 727-829 * Telefax # (088) 856-1947 CAMIGUIN BRANCH B. Aranas St., Poblacion, Mambajao, Camiguin Tel. # (088) 387-0491 CORRALES BRANCH Corrales Ave., Cagayan de Oro City DIVISORIA BRANCH Atty. Erasmo B. Damasing Bldg., #61 Don A. Velez St., Cagayan de Oro City Tel. # (088) 857-3631 LAPASAN BRANCH Lapasan Hi-way, Cagayan de Oro City Tel. # (088) 231-6739 CARMEN BRANCH Vamenta Blvd., Cagayan de Oro City Tel. # (088) 231-2011

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friday|may 26, 2017

‘Oversupply’ forces Cebu Pacific to suspend 3 flights to Middle East C EBU PACIFIC on Wednesday said it will suspend its longhaul service from Manila to three Middle Eastern cities, citing “oversupply” amid intense competition from Gulf carriers.

In a s t ate m e nt , t h e G okong we i - l e d bu d ge t carrier said it will end its Man i l a - R iy a d h s e r v i c e on June 13, while the last Kuwait-Manila flight will be on June 14.

Cebu Pacific’s ManilaDoha-Manila route will mount its last flight on July 1. On the other hand, the last Manila-Riyadh flight will leave on July 2, while the final Riyadh-Manila flight will depart on July 3. “ The ent r y of C ebu Pacific into these markets

benefitted passengers with lower fares and more choices.

Of late, other carriers have aggressively added more flights, which has resulted in substantial oversupply of seats and fares that are so low, hence making the routes unsustainable,” Cebu Pacific Vice-President for Corporate Affairs Paterno S. Mantaring, Jr. was quoted as saying in a statement.

Mr. Mant ar i ng s ai d the airline has to continue reviewing its routes “to ensure their viability.”

“At this point, it makes more sense for us to redeploy the aircraft used for our Riyadh, Doha and Kuwait ser vice to routes where we can further stimulate demand and sustain our low fare offers,” he said.

PLDT Enterprise 1Q revenues up 13% at P8.5B

Holcim PHL sees strong demand amid infra push

LEADING telecoms and digital services provider PLDT Inc. has sustained its leadership in the Enterprise market as its revenues reached P8.5 billion for the first quarter of the year, up 13 percent compared to the same period last year at PHP 7.55 billion, driven by s t rong d e m an d for data and information and communications technology (ICT) services.

Its wireless enterprise revenues grew 15 percent year on year while ICT and fixed services improved 11 percent and 13 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, data and ICT posted a 24 percent growth in the first quarter compared to the same period last year and now accounts for 66 percent of total enterprise revenues.

“We are seeing a growing acceptance and adoption pldt/PAGE 11

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CorporateWorld

HOLCIM Philippines is confident it can meet the anticipated increase in cement demand as the government plans a massive infrastructure program.

Ho l c i m P h i l i p p i n e s President Sapna Sood speaks during the BusinessWorld Economic Forum last May 19.

“When we look at the role of supply and demand in the country, we certainly at the moment believe that there will be a greater demand than supply... We have invested in increasing our capacity and we continuously review it,” Holcim Philippines President Sapna Sood told reporters on Tuesday.

She said the company expects to complete the “debottlenecking” of existing plants by the end of June. This

The airline said it will continue to fly long-haul services to Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Sydney, Australia, “with a view to increasing frequencies to these destinations in the future.”

On Monday, Philippine Airlines said it is temporarily suspending its Manila-Abu Dhabi flights starting July 8.

The Lucio C. Tan-led carrier said the suspension of the Manila-Abu Dhabi service is to allow PAL to undertake route assessment.

PAL continues to fly to Dubai, Doha, Jeddah, R i y a d h , Ku w a i t a n d Dammam.

Aside from stiff comp etition f rom Gulf carriers Emirates, Qatar

would boost its total capacity by a fifth to 10 million metric tons (MT) from its current capacity of 8.2 million MT. In 2015, Holcim Philippines started debottlenecking its facilities, or the process of optimizing a facility by removing items that limit the flow of products to boost its efficiency. Its c e m e nt m anu f a c tu r i ng facilities are located in La Union, Bulacan, Misamis Oriental, and Davao.

While the government has yet to begin work on the major infrastructure projects under the “Build, Build, Build” platform, Holcim Philippines is banking on the private sector to drive growth.

“There’s an ambition there (from the government). There might be a delay, but overall

and Etihad, Cebu Pacific and PAL have also been affected by higher fuel prices and a weaker Philippine peso against the US dollar in the first three months of 2017.

C ebu Air, Inc.’s net income plunged 68% to P1.28 billion in the first quarter, dragged by a 20% rise in operating expenses to P14.302 billion. Revenues went up 5% to P16.86 billion.

PAL, on the other hand, posted a net loss of P1.12 billion in the January to March period, reversing a P2.9-billion profit during the same period a year ago.

Revenues jumped 14% to P33.32 billion, but expenses rose at a faster pace of 32% to P34.35 billion on higher fuel spending, and aircraft lease charges.

the outlook is still there, we’re positive about it,” Ms. Sood said.

Ms. Sood said there are currently no plans to build a new cement plant. “A cement plant normally takes three years to put in. So (there’s a) commitment that needs to be made. So there will definitely be demand for not just us, but also for the industry looking at investing so that supply can keep up,” she said.

Instead of building a new plant, Holcim Philippines is focusing on introducing new products such as “SuperFast Crete,” a fast-setting concrete that takes less than 24 hours to set. This compares to the usual three to seven days it takes for the solution to dry and achieve the required holcim/PAGE 11

When you’re in Davao City, Read:

HOTELS & RESORTS DIRECTORIES

VILLA MARGARITA HOTEL J. P Laurel Avenue, Bajada, Davao City, Philippines Tel. No.: (082) 221-5674 / Fax No. (082) 226-2968 MICROTEL

By Wyndham Davao Damosa Gateway Complex Angliongto Rd., Lanang Davao City 8000, Philippines Tel +63 82 233 2333 / Mobile +63 917 795 3548 www.microtelphilippines.com PINNACLE HOTEL Sta. Ana Avenue, Davao City.

No. (082) 300-5885 Telefax: 300-1881/ 221-3025 Website: www.thepinnaclehotel.com ALU HOTEL M. Roxas Avenue corner Padre Faura Street, Davao City.

Tel No (63 82) 221-5232 / Mobile (O943) 652 3927 Email: aluhoteldavao@yahoo.com info@alu-hotel.com / www.alu-hotel.com GRAND REGAL Km 7 Lanang, Davao City, Philippines Tel. 235-0888 / Fax 235-2335 email: grandregalhotelegmail.com

VIAJEROS ECONOMY HOTEL Patnubay St., Sandawa, Matina, D.C Tel. No. 297-5710 / Telefax (6382) 298-5134 Mobile: 0922.-8268425 Website: www.viajeroseconomyinn.com

ROYAL MANDAYA HOTEL J.Palma Gil St., Davao City 8000 Phils.

Tel. No. (082) 225-8888 / fax No. (082) 225-1885 info@theroyalrmandayahotel.com www.theroyalmandayahotel.com HOMITORI Bangoy Street corner Santa Ana Avenue, Davao City Tel. No. (082) 295-2969 & 295-2471 / Mobile: (0922) 8994646 Email: homitoridvo@gmail.com or Like us on www.facebook.com/pages/Homitori-Davao BIG APPLE HOTEL Brgy. Angliongto, Lanang, D.C. Hotline Nos.: (082) 234-8459 Facebook account: bigapplehotel@ymail.com Email: bigapple_hotel@ymail.com

THE PERIDOT SUITES Carmelite Drive, Lanang, Davao City Tel. no.: (082) 305-6530 / Fax no.: (082) 305-38I2 Email: theperidotsuiles@gmail.com AZIENDA MEO APARTELLE 11 Corner Pioneer and Doña Vicenta Village, Phase 1, Davao City Telefax. No: (082) 227-4119 & 284-6689 Cell Phone No. 09256652626 Website: www.aziendameo.com Email Add: aziendameo@yahoo.com.ph Big 8 Corporate Hotel Visayan Village, National Highway, Tagum City Mobile nos. 09173029063 & 09328539372 Tel. No.: (084)216-0888 Email: info@big8corporatehotel.com www.facebook.com/big8corporatehotel.com www.big8corporatehotel.com HOTEL ELENA Avenida Santos Ave., Nova Tierra Vill, Lanang, D.C Tel. Nos. (082) 233-1941 & 305.8799 / fax No. (082) 233-1887 PARADISE ISLAND Tel. No. (082) 233-0251 & 300-2343 / CP No.: 09209546780 E-mail: paradiseislanddavao@gmail.com MARCO POLO DAVAO C.M Recto St., Davao City davao@marcopolohotels.com www.marcopolohotels.com (63 82) 221-0888 HOTEL ESSE Brgy. 9-A F Torres Street, Davao City Hotline: No: 227-37-73 / Fax: 295-34-85 Website: www.hotelessedavao.com.ph Email Add: hotel_esse_davao@yahoo.com

Miss Carmen 2017 candidates pay a courtesy call on barangay chair Lorna Uy. photo courtesy of carmen barangay council

RUEMANGO APARTELLE & SUITES 516 Mangga St., Juna Subd., Matina, Davao City ruemangoapartelleandsuites@gmail.com www.ruemango.com Tel. Nos.: (082) 295-7175/ 295-7180

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Opinion

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Make Work Work for You Think a minute…Have you heard many people say: “Oh, good! I’m going to work today!”? I sure haven’t. Usually what we say is, “I have to go to work today!” Why? Probably because many people do not enjoy their work. We feel it’s just something we’re forced to do. Our job is like a necessary evil that we must endure so we can feed and care for our family—which, of course, is very important.

No wonder studies show that most people do not do their best at their work or job. It’s also why many people throw away their hard-earned money on foolish gambling like lotteries. They think they have a chance to hit the big jackpot and never have to work again! Then they’ll be free to do nothing the rest of their life. But someone said, “The problem with doing nothing is that you never know when you’re finished!”

However, when it comes to our weekends, not many people say: “Too bad! I have to take the weekend off from work.” You see, it’s all in our attitude and the way we look at something.

So if we’ll approach our work with a positive attitude, being grateful that we even have a job to provide for our family, then we’ll start to appreciate and enjoy our job more. We’ll

THINK

A Minute

Jhan Tiafau Hurst also take more pride in our work and do it better. Then we just might get a promotion or better job somewhere else!

As adults we must work like we did as children when our father was watching. Because our Maker IS watching us all day! He sees our attitude and how well we do our job. Since He gave us our life, health and abilities, He expects us to do our best at every small job we do no matter how unimportant we think it is. So if you’ve not had a good attitude about your work and not done your very best, you can ask Jesus to forgive you today. But He also wants to change you and help you start doing your best at everything you do. It’s then you can finally start fully enjoying all the blessings that God wants to give you. Just Think a Minute…

“…but he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does…”

James 1:25 To better illustrate what this means, let’s begin with a story.

You are an elephant. When you were small, your human owner tied you down a rope upon a fragile rod, which is driven deep into the ground. As a baby elephant, you wanted to be free of the rope and the rod.

You’ve made many, countless attempts to get yourself out of this. But since you were small and the rod was dug deep into the ground, this was not possible. Days passed, your

desire to be free continued with your attempts to get rid of the rope. Months passed, the escape was futile. A few years of trying passed. Until you came to a point that you were convinced you will be stuck there forever.

You surrender. Just when you were big enough to be more than capable of kicking the rod down with little effort.

As Christians in this fallen world, we all have at least one rope tied down to a rod. Some of us have more, in fact. This rod could be financial lack.

We could be stuck in a bad relationship. Stuck in a bad habit. Or we could be simply trapped in the thinking that we will never be better than who we are.

But we forget who we are

in Christ. We forget that we are victorious in many ways and we have overcome whatever rod it is that has tied us down to a rope. GOD’s love has set us free when the blood of JESUS loosened the ropes that held us bondage to the works of the enemy. We were not destined to be tied down. We were destined to be FREE, to be out there and help GOD’s people.

So, pay careful attention to the prompting of the spirit, because it will send you wisdom.

Or else, it will work through someone else who will provide you the wisdom on how you can be free from your bondage.

A family, loved one, or a friend may come to encourage you to move a little bit and you will break through whatever

The Ripple

By AMBongay

it is that’s keeping you tied down. You are no longer a baby elephant. You are a grown Christian. You’ve already got this, because you’ve got Jesus Christ!

This is an excerpt from a preaching by Ptr. Ron Bayron.

One more Duterte option: declare revolutionary government LIFE’S INSPIRATIONS: “… Do not go out to the fields or walk on the roads, for the enemy has a sword, and there is terror on every side…” (Jeremiah 6:25, the Holy Bible).

-ooo DUTERTE CRITICS UNAWARE OF TERROR THREAT: The usual critics of President Duterte have gone to town once again deriding his declaration of martial law in Mindanao 10 p.m.

Tuesday, May 23, 2017, in the aftermath of the violence and mayhem perpetrated by terrorist groups in Marawi City. They say it was merely a part of his overall plan to really place Southern Philippines and ultimately the whole country under his one-man rule.

We l l , t h e y c a n s ay

w hate ver t he y want to say, for that is the essence of democracy which, undeniably and indeed regrettably, is working in the Philippines. The unsinkable truth however is that, the terror that comes from terrorists groups---such as the one that is taking place in Marawi City even while this column is being written---is deadly real, not only in the Philippines but in almost every country in the world today.

The human race is facing an explosion of violence and terroristic acts in a magnitude that has never b e en s e en b efore. The bombing of a concert in the United Kingdom just two or three days ago where 22 have been confirmed killed, and the shooting war and arson

that erupted in Marawi City on Tuesday, are eloquent proof that terrorism is here to stay, and must be dealt with firmly and fast if we are to triumph over it!

-ooo M A RT IA L L AW I N JUST ONE OPTION VS. TERROR: Declaring martial law, actually, is just one of the options open to the President under the emas culated 1987 Constitution. As the commander-in-chief of all armed forces in the country, he has the right to call such armed forces, whenever it becomes necessary, to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion or rebellion.

Then, in case of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it, he may declare martial law in the entire country or in any

K akampi

Mo A ng Batas

Atty. Batas Mauricio part thereof, for a period not exceeding sixty days.

He may also suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus---which writ gives the citizens the right not to be arrested unless there is a warrant against them issued by the courts. These options, however, are greatly batas/PAGE 10

Getting intimate with God This should be a constant concern of ours. How can we get more and more intimate with God every day? This is the most ideal condition that we can and should be in, and we just have to figure out how it can be achieved.

To be sure, this is no pipe dream. This is not only possible and feasible. It is first of all God’s will and he has given us everything so that we can truly get intimate with him, privy to his will and ways.

He loves us no end. Our weakness, our mistakes, our sins, if acknowledged and repented, are no problem to his undying love for us.

In fact, they would even provoke God to love us more, to help us more.

We just have to do our p ar t . Pe rhap s t he f irst thing we have to do is to realize that whatever we are doing, whatever condition we may be in, is always an opportunity to be with and to work with God. This is because God is always present in us. And not only is he present in us in a passive way. He is

actually always intervening in our lives. He is the one mainly directing us and things in general with his ever-abiding providence.

We need to be most aware of this reality and live and act in accord to it. We should not be contented only with fulfilling the technical goals and requirements of our daily work and affairs. While that is necessary, we would still miss the real thing unless we refer everything to God. We should not forget that God meets us in our daily work and affairs which are part of his will for us. The duties and responsibilities that are inherent to our state in life and to our profession, etc., are part of God’s providence over us. It’s there where God actually converses with us.

This truth of our faith should not be ignored. In fact, we have to act on it always. That’s why we need to have the constant desire to dialogue with God in all our work and affairs. We need to know him better and find ways of loving him

better each day.

For this purpose, we have to exert the effort of nurturing the presence of God in ourselves, seeking and renewing the human devices that are so helpful for ke eping a const ant dialogue with him. We have to reach that point where we can truly say we are saying affectionate words to him, praising, glorifying, and thanking him for everything.

We have to be wary of our tendency to simply go through the motions while doing some acts of piety.

Our prayer should be a living encounter with God. This can be proven because such living encounter would unavoidably fill us with joy and peace despite all kinds of problems, setbacks, etc., that we may be experiencing at a given moment.

Besides, we would always be moved and motivated to do whatever we are doing in the best way we can. We would be driven with love that is not afraid to make sacrifices and is always generous in self-giving.

HINTS

and

Traces

Fr. Roy Cimagala We would also have a running apostolic concern for everyone, because our living encounter with Christ in our prayer would lead us to adopt Christ’s mind and heart that only works for the salvation of mankind.

As we said above, we would not simply be interested in meeting the technical requirements of our work.

Our work will always have an apostolic dimension.

We should do everything to get intimate with God. This is the way we can be properly intimate with all the others, and to view and understand things correctly. roycimagala@gmail.com

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friday|may 26, 2017

Banking&Finance

PSEi up, peso weakens after martial law declaration

T

HE Philippine Stock Exchange index ( P SE i ) rem ai n e d strong Wednesday following President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of martial law in Mindanao but the peso shed against the US dollar.

The main stocks index rose 0.33 percent, or 25.68 points, to 7,837.82 points, which a trader attributed to investors remaining positive on the domestic market despite the latest developments in Mindanao.

Martial law was declared in the country’s southernmost island group Tuesday night as government troopers pursued members of the terrorist group Maute in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur.

Armed Forces of t h e P h i l ippi n e s ( A F P ) public affairs office chief, Col. Edgard Arevalo, on Wednesday assured the public that the military is in full control of the situation in Marawi City.

Most of the counters in the local bourse posted increases Wednesday with All Shares tracking the main index after it rose 0.20 percent, or 9.33 points, to 4,671.49 points.

Half of the sectoral indices also registered increases, namely Industrial, 1.16 percent, Property, 0.90 percent, and Financials, 0.21 percent.

On t he ot her hand, Mining and Oil, Services, and Holding Firms declined

by 0.70 percent, 0.36 percent, and 0.19 percent, respectively.

Volume for t he day reached 1.05 billion shares amounting to PHP5.9 billion.

Decliners led advancers at 97 to 94 while 45 stocks did not move.

The local currency was not as strong as the local equities market after it touched the 50-level during the day.

It finished the day’s trade at 49.99 from 49.82 a day ago, which a trader attributed to the Marawi City situation.

The local unit opened at 49.95 and traded between 50.00 and 49.93, resulting in an average of 49.96.

Volume of trade reached USD582.4 million, higher than the USD572 million a

day ago.

The trader expects the local unit to trade between 49.80 and 50.00 against the greenback Thursday.

Meanwhile, ING Bank Manila senior economist Joey Cuyegkeng, in a research note, said the declaration of a state of emergency is more appropriate than martial law in Mindanao.

“The declaration implies that government has lost control of the situation in Mindanao, when in fact the incident is isolated,” he said.

Cuyegkeng cited that the President has repeatedly voiced out a possible plan to declare martial law to fight terrorist activities and peso/PAGE 11

There’s adequate liquidity in the system – Tetangco BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. yesterday said despite continued mixed results in the weekly term deposit auction, there is sufficient liquidity to keep markets satisfied.

Tetangco noted that in assessing the overall liquidity situation – “we judge that there’s adequate liquidity

in the system” but that they will “continue to monitor these (situations) and see if there’s a need to adjust at some point.”

“But, right now, the auction amounts are still appropriate at this point,” he told reporters at the sidelines of the Special Testimonial Luncheon given to him by the Joint Membership Meeting

of seven groups led by the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines as main host.

D u r i n g y e s t e r d a y ’s regular term deposit facility (TDF) auction, the 28 days attracted tenders worth P111.128 billion versus offer of P140 billion. The longerdated tenor continue to be undersubscribed, fetching a

weighted average accepted yield 3.4760 percent. Bid coverage ratio stood at 0.7938.

The 7-days kept up with the market liquidity demand, it had tenders amounting to P68.564 billion versus offer of P40 billion. The weighted average accepted rate was at 3.1918 percent. The bid coverage ratio was at 1.7141. liquidity/PAGE 10

PHL tax effort improves to 13.41% in Q1 ‘17 THE government’s bid to ensure funds for its programs continues to stride, making tax effort to stood at 13,14 percent in the first quarter of 2017.

T h e D e p ar t m e nt of Finance (DOF) reported on Tuesday that tax effort the first three months of the year was an improvement from the 12.99 percent in end-March 2016.

Tax effort, which is the ratio of taxes to gross

domestic product (GDP), is among the primary figures investors look at in an economy vis-a-vis its credit worthiness.

Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran, in his report to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, traced the improvement of the tax effort to rising tax collection efficiency.

The government targets to further improve the tax effort to at least 15 percent of

GDP, a level seen before the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

In particular, tax effort of the main revenue collections agencies in the first quarter of the year got better to 10.36 percent for the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and to 2.91 percent for the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

These were at 10.09 percent and 2.76 percent same period last year for the BIR and BOC, respectively.

During the same period,

ratio of the public debt to GDP went down to 41.87 percent from year-ago’s 43.56 percent and the 42.06 percent as of last December.

The government’s onshore liabilities during the period accounted for 26.84 percent of the economy, lower than the 28.36 percent as of end-March 2016 and the 29.87 percent in end-2016.

Ratio of foreign debt to GDP also went down after improves/PAGE 10

5 OROBANKERS DIRECTORIES CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY

A PUBLIC SERVICE BY:

AMANAH/ISLAMIC BANK V. Neri Street Carmen, Cdoc 858988/8587965 / 722274

METRO BANK- COGON Osmeña Hayes St. Cdoc | 726438/8572057

ASIA UNITED BANK Cor.Camp Alagar Road Lapasan, Cdoc 729678 / 8568893

METRO BANK- CARMEN Max Suniel St. Carmen, Cdoc 8581722/ 8585162

BDO – VELEZ Velez-Rn Abejuela Street, Cdoc 2314246/8572075

METRO BANK- LAPASAN CM Recto Lapasan HW, Cdoc 724461/8561721

BDO – SM G/F SM City, Master Son’s Avenue Upper Carmen Cdoc | 8592623/8592637

METRO BANK- OSMEÑA Brgy Osmeña St. Cdoc | 722014 /8800924

BDO – XU XU Lib. Annex Corrales St. Cdoc 8574108 / 8573796

METRO BANK- CORRALES Corrales Avenue, Cdoc | 8572635/728731

BDO – CDO HAYES Trendline Bldg.,Hayes Street, 8568151/727405

METRO BANK- GAISANO 8561720

BDO – COGON Sky hi Bldg JR Borja St. Cogon, Cdoc 8577963/ 725209/ 725203 BDO – OSMEÑA Osmeña corner Ramon Chavez St. Cdoc 724567/8563727 BDO – LAPASAN Lapasan Highway Cdoc 8563233 /8563234 / 725178 BDO – RN- PELAEZ George Town CyberMall Rn Pelaez Blvd Kauswagan Cdoc | 8562617/729052 BDO – CARMEN Maxsuniel cor.V Neri St. Carmen, .Cdoc 8584854 /8581133 BANK OF COMMERCE- VELEZ Akut- Velez St.Cdoc | 8564371 / 726880 BANK OF COMMERCE- LAPASAN

CM Recto Ave. Lapasan, Cdoc, 8563991/727731

BPI FAMILY SAVINGS BANK RER kauswagan,HW Cdoc 8573733 /722519 BPI FAMILY SAVINGS BANK Gaston Park Cdoc | 8801518 BPI – LAPASAN Cm Recto HW Lapasan Cdoc 724076/ 8524602 BPI- VELEZ Velez-JR Borja St.Cdoc 8564213/722406 BPI – CAPISTRANO Capistrano St. Cdoc 8574264/8574263 BPI- COGON Osmeña St. Cdoc 8571297/8571298 CHINA BANK –GAISANO 745887/745880 CHINA BANK- JR BORJA JR Borja St. Cdoc 8572212/8573274 CHINA BANK- LAPASAN CM Recto Lapasan HW Cdoc 8561325 /722240 CHINA BANK – CARMEN Max Suniel, Cor. Yakal St. Cdoc 8583903/723091 CHINA BANK – DIVISORIA RN Abejuela St. Divosoria Cdoc 8575759/722641 CITY SAVINGS BANK TS Fashion Ave.Justo Ramonal Corner St.Cdoc 2316060/ 2316059 CHINATRUST Suite U&5 G/LGateway Tower Lapasan Lkk Cdoc 8521846/8521844 D’ASIAN HILLS BANK HW. Lapasan Cdoc | 8564201/ 8564201 D’ASIAN HILLS BANK Vamenta Carmen Sts. Cdoc | 8585366 DBP – CORRALES Corrales Ave., St. Cdoc | 8572087/722649 DBP – CAPISTRANO JR Borja Capistrano St. Cdoc 8567776/722819

PLANTERS DEVELOPMENT BANK

Tiano Bros St. Cdoc | 727083 /727082 PHILTRUST BANK Ramonal OsmeñaSt. CDO 8807234/2316694/2316695 PNB- CORRALES Corrales Avenue Cdoc | 729500 / 729723

PNB- LKK MALL NORTH CONCOURSE

LKK Mall N.Concourse Cdoc 8574149/8575682

PNB- CARMEN Elipe Bldg.Carmen, Cdoc | 8583158/ 8584203 PNB- LKK LKK Lapasan, Cdoc | 8564347/722872 PNB CDO– DIVISORIA Tiano Bros.Cruz Taal St., Cdoc 722861 /722816 PNB CDO– LAPASAN LKK Center Lapasan, Cdoc | 8564732 / 723992 PNB CDO– COGON LKK Center Lapasan, Cdoc 8571991/ 723992 PHILIPPINE POSTAL SAVINGS BANK, INC. bels_domingo@yahoo.com.ph Rizal Chavez Cdoc 8572194/725438 PS BANK Velez Corner A. Mabini St., Cdoc 8574183/725184 PHILIPPINE VETERANS BANK Tiano-Abejuela St. Cdoc 722644/8573386 QUEEN CITY DEVELOPMENT BANK, INC. Sacred Heart Mont. Cm RectoAve., Cdoc 8562390 RCBC- VELEZ Velez-Borja St. Cdoc | 8564982/8568888 RCBC- COGON Simplex Bldg. Osmeña St. Cdoc 8562888/725863/8521329 RCBC- LAPASAN Cm. Recto Lapasan HW. Cdoc 8561888/722449 RCBC- LKK Gateway, Tower 1 LkkCenter, Cdoc 8563707/722449 RCBC SAVINGS- CARMEN Walingwaling St.,Carmen St. Cdoc 8585793/ 8586248 RCBC SAVINGS- VELEZ Velez St. Cdoc | 729083/8562460 RCBC SAVINGS- AGORA 8807891/8807892 RURAL BANK OF CABADBARAN, Inc.

#58 Tiano FernandezSt.CDO 727215/ 8563552 *805

SECURITY BANK- OSMEÑA Osmeña St. Cdoc | 8563965/ 723411/728774 SECURITY BANK- LKK Limketkai | 8801258/8801625

EAST WEST BANK #5 Juan Sia Bldg. Apolinar Velez St.Cdoc 8578801/720081

SECURITY BANK- VELEZ Velez Montalvan St., Cdoc | 728334/856632

EAST WEST BANK Cogon De Oro Constraction Bldg. LKK Drive 8500339/8500331

STERLING BANK OF ASIA Tiano Velez St. CDO | 8528171/8528168

ENTERPRISE BANK INC. Centro Mariano Bldg Osmeña St. Cdoc 723869/ 3093395 FIRST CONSOLIDATED BANK CM Recto Ave., Cor.Agudo Road Cdoc 8565360/2316678 LBP – CAPISTRANO Capsitrano St. Cdoc | 8565515/727678 LBP – VELEZ LunaVelez St. | 723549/8563198 LBP – PUERTO Puerto Cdoc | 8558858 MAYBANK JR Borja Tiano Cor. Bldg. Cdoc 8574439/726060

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 10 presents to Balingasag, Misamis Oriental Mayor Marrietta Abogado the first recorded centenarian in the town, 101-year-old Servillano Bedro, who received P100,000 from the national government as congratulatory incentive. Bedro is a veteran barangay kagawad of Binitinan spanning the Garcia, Macapagal, Marcos, Aquino and Ramos administrations from the 1960s through the 1990s. photo by mark francisco

PBCOM Tiano-HayesSt. Cdoc | 726519/8571558

METRO BANK- DIVISORIA Pabayo Abejuela St. Divisoria Park, Cdoc 724783/8576999 METRO BANK- VELEZ A. Velez St. Cdoc | 8561724/726054 METRO BANK- JR BORJA JR Borja St. Cdoc | 8572999/724415

UCPB BANK- LAPASAN Osmeña Corner Lkk Drive, Cdoc 85771842/ 725135 UCPB BANK- VELEZ Velez Corner C. Pacana St. CDO 8564474/8564527 UCPB BANK SAVINGS-CAPISTRANO

Capistrano Corner CruzTaal St. CDO 8524099/722695

UCPB BANK SAVINGS- OPOL Gf forever Books Bldg.Bulua National CDO 754519/8588063 UNION BANK Lapasan Cm.Recto Cdoc | 8566847/8563805 WEALTHBANK Velez Gomez St. Cdoc | 8568942/722174 1ST VALLEY BANK Vamenta Blvd. CornerLirio St. Carmen, Cdoc 8501871/ 8584146 OROBANKERS CLUB Inc. Pnb Carmen | 09151850242

6 BPI Sinag 2017 launched B

By MARK FRANCISCO

PI Foundation once again brings us its most awaited Sinag

2017.

For this year, the annual awards will be called BPI Sinag Accelerate.

BPI Sinag Accelerate targets social entrepreneurs whose enterprises are ready to scale up and expand while deepening their impact in community development.

The program will put special focus on enterprises catering to agricultural accommodations, IP c o m m u n i t i e s , Mu s l i m Mindanao and other marginalized communities.

Awardees will have access to business boot camps and in-depth monitoring, a minimum of P100,000 to P500,000 in the form of cash grants and access to

industry networks and impact investors.

BPI Foundation is looking for entrepreneurs 18 years old and above who are leading a registered social enterprise operating for at least two years which addresses a specific social problem and defined social impact.

The entrepreneur must have the vision to be a nation builder, innovative and entrepreneurial.

Online applications which

can be downloaded at the BPI Foundation website will be accepted until July 7.

Bootcamp dates will be between August 7 to 11 and November 6 to 9.

Announcing of winners and subsequent awarding will be on November 10.

So is your social enterprise ready to scale up?

BPI Sinag Foundation caters to entrepreneurs of all ages looking to make a difference.

Mapúa awarded university status by CHED Mapúa Institute of Technology is now called Mapúa University following the granting of university status by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

Mapúa, founded in 1925 by the country’s first and foremost architect Tomas Mapúa, is a recognized higher education institution for engineering and technology. Its ownership was t ransfer re d to t he Yu c h e n g c o G r o u p o f Companies at the turn of the century.

“The grant of university status caps a protracted process of quality

enhancement in Mapúa education and of research capability building. We feel fulfilled and honored by this award. It behooves us to strive to reach greater h e i g h t s ,” s a i d M a p ú a president and chief executive officer Dr. Reynaldo B. Vea. It h a s a l w a y s b e e n Mapúa’s mission to be among the best universities in the world. In fulfilling this, the university has pioneered the adoption of the outcomesbased education system (OBE) in 2006 in order to fine-tune its programs and align them to international standards. OBE is a learner-

centered approach requiring students to validate their knowledge through measurable outcomes. This benefitted the students as several engineering and computing programs became accredited by the US-based ABET two years later.

With the ABET accre dit at ion, students under the programs can easily pursue further studies and gain career opportunities in countries wherein ABET is recognized.

Mapúa has also gained recognition in terms of its research capabilities, having research projects

that aim to solve problems of industries and communities w or l d w i d e . Wit h t h i s , the number of research publications in reputable and internationally refereed journals has increased, a significant criterion for the university status grant.

In addition, Mapúa has been making strides in its implementation of various international programs and forging linkages across t he g l ob e t h rou g h t he Office of Admissions and International Programs and the Office of International Linkages for Research and Development.

(L-R) School of Graduate Studies Dean Dr. Jonathan W.L. Salvacion; Mapúa President and CEO Dr. Reynaldo B. Vea; Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Bonifacio T. Doma, Jr.; Registrar Lobella G. Damian; and Continuous Quality Improvement Office Director Cesar C. Coronado receive the university status grant for Mapúa at the Commission on Higher Education on May 18, 2017.

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friday|may 26, 2017

The implementation of VISA-FREE entry to the ROC (Taiwan) for Filipinos has been rescheduled to September 2017, and the exact date of the commencement of the implementation of the visa-free treatment will be further announced in September or at other appropriate date this year.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of the Republic of China (Taiwan) has recently announced that the implementation of visa-free entry to the ROC (Taiwan) for Filipinos has been postponed i n ord e r to c ompl e te relevant administrative procedures and intera g e n c y c o ord i n at i on .

MOFA is exp ec ted to release the full details of the implementation of the said visa-free arrangements including the exact date of the commencement of implementing the visafree treatment and its requirements either in September 2017 or at an appropriate date in due course.

Since 2016, ROC (Taiwan) government has adopted a number of visa liberalization measures for the Philippine nationals to visit Taiwan as part of its “New Southbound Policy”. These measures are expected to enhance the bilateral relations, and expand the multi-faceted exchanges and cooperation between Taiwan and the Philippines.

Despite the postponement of the said visa-free policy, since as from October 2016, the P h i l ippi n e s h a s b e e n included in Taiwan’s e-visa program list, for Filipinos who wish to visit Taiwan for tourism or a short visit, they are advised to continue to apply for either free Travel Authorization Certification (TAC), or payable e-visa (single entry: NTD1,632) or the payable appropriate proper visa stamped in the passport (single entr y :P2,400, multiple entry:P4,800). Therefore, for the time being, prior to the full implementation of the visa-free arrangements, Filipinos should still follow the existing visa regulations and procedures to obtain

visa(s) before travel to Taiwan.

In addition, MOFA has decided to further enlarge the eligibility criteria of the ROC (Taiwan) Travel Authorization Certificate ( TA C ) f o r q u a l i f i e d Philippine travellers starting from 1st June this year. Filipinos who have been issued with an ROC (Taiwan) visa (labor visas with remarks “FL” or “X” are excluded) over the recent 10 years may also apply for the said TAC, no need to pay any fee. The said TAC allows multiple-entries to Taiwan, valid for 90 days with every stay up to 30 days.

Dr. Gary Song-Huann Lin, Representative of t he RO C (Taiwan) to the Philippines wishes to emphasize that the g r a nt i n g of v i s a - f re e privilege to Filipinos is one of his priority work plans during his tenure in the Philippines, and that he and his colleagues in TECO will make strenuous efforts to make his dream of closer Taiwan-Philippines bilateral ties come true as soon as possible. It aims to enhance the mutually beneficial bilateral tourism, trade, investment, agricultural, technolog y, economic, c u l t u r a l , e d u c at i o n a l an d p e opl e - to - p e opl e cooperation and exchanges between Taiwan and the Philippines.

R e pre s e nt at ive L i n further pointed out that the postponement is simply for smooth operations, more effective immigration procedure, and the safeguard of security for all passengers. The direction of the visa-free policy remains unchanged. As Taiwan is implementing “New Southbound Policy”, “the Philippines is considered as an important partner of Taiwan, s o we are visa-free/PAGE 10

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friday|may 26, 2017

Italpinas Wins Asia Pacific Property Award the Second Time

Listed sustainable builder Italpinas Development Corporation (IDC) once again received the citation in the Best Mixed-Use Development category at the International Property Awards Asia Pacific 2017.

IDC earned the prestigious award for its soon-torise project at Uptown Cagayan de Oro, Primavera City, after its first development, twin-tower Primavera Residences, located in the same city, won in the same category in 2014.

Uptown CDO is located 150 meter above sea level and is one of the booming districts in Cagayan de Oro. Primavera City, IDC’s second and more ambitious project, is a mixeduse development composed of seven towers.

First phase of the project consists of Towers A and B that is set to be completed in 2018; the last tower is designed to be a high rise hotel.

The design of Primavera City integrates green strategies and systems that aim to reduce overall energy consumption in all towers resulting in long-term savings.

One of its key features is the use of passive cooling technologyshadow and sunlight control, wind cooling and shape

performance.

The project will also harness solar energy from semi-transparent photovoltaic panels to be installed on the roof of the towers.

Another unique, green feature of the development is the use of a water recycling system that aims to make building maintenance and landscape irrigation more eco-friendly and cost-effective.

“Winning at the International Property Awards is an honor but receiving this prestigious recognition for the second time is a big thing”, explained Architect Romolo Valentino Nati, chairman and chief executive officer of IDC. “The success of Primavera Residences has been an inspiration to us. Further reinforcing our green advocacy, Primavera City is a milestone that will offer double the advantage of the previous project,” added Nati.

The Asia Pacific Property Awards is recognized as a mark of excellence for property professionals.

The international competition is judged by an independent panel of 70 industry experts whose criteria include design, quality, service, innovation, originality and commitment to sustainability.

7 Price freeze in effect after Martial Law declaration in Mindanao

Billboard

Following the declaration of Martial Law done by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte in the entire island of Mindanao on 2017 May 23, price freeze on basic necessities and prime commodities is automatically enforced in Regions 9, 10, 11, 12 and in CARAGA. Pursuant to Section 6 of Philippine Republic Act 7581 (also known as the Price Act), prices of basic necessities and prime commodities should remain frozen at their prevailing prices and should be placed under price control once an area is declared under state of calamity or under an emergency situation.

The implementation of price freeze lasts according to the period indicated in the declaration. In this case, the price freeze will run for a period of 60 days unless the president lifts the declaration, the congress revokes Martial Law, or the Supreme Court pushes to null the president’s declaration. Business

owners who will be found guilty of violating the Price Act shall be charged an administrative fine of five thousand pesos (Php 5,000) up to One Million Pesos (Php 1M) or 1 up to 10 years imprisonment.

In line with this, five government agencies are entrusted to monitor prices in the market to ensure consumers can access goods at reasonable prices. These are the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Energy (DOE), and members of the Local Price Coordinating Council (LPCC).

The DTI will monitor prices of basic necessities such as bread, canned fish, coffee, salt, potable water in bottles, processed milk, instant noodles, candles, detergent, laundry soap and prime commodities such as flour, vinegar, soy sauce, processed and canned pork/beef/

poultry meat, toilet soap, basic construction materials, batteries and basic electrical supplies, and school supplies.

Meanwhile, the DA will monitor prices of fresh and dried vegetable and meat goods, feeds, veterinary products, sugar and cooking oil; the DENR is delegated to monitor prices of firewood, charcoal, nipa shingles, plyboard, plywood, and sawali; the DOE

will monitor prices of household liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and kerosene while the DOH will observe prices of drugs and medicines.

All these implementing agencies enjoin business owners to comply with this mandate. Consumers are also advised to seek lists of prevailing prices of basic necessities and prime commodities in their respective areas.

8

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friday|may 26, 2017

IDC’s Miramonti Project supports Rich Batangas

Italpinas Development Corporation (IDC) hosted the Batangas Provincial Investment Council (BPIC) Forum held at the Batangas Provincial Capitol last May 23, 2017.

IDC Chairman & CEO Arch. Romolo Nati presented the company’s soon to rise project, Miramonti.

During the forum, Sto. Tomas Vice Mayor Armenius Silva expressed their excitement for Miramonti as one of the many developments they are expecting this year. At the same time, the municipality of Sto. Tomas is aggressively pushing for its cityhood, which they expect to receive within the year. Vice Mayor Silva added that they are thankful that Italpinas decided to build its third project in Sto. Tomas as it will add

more value and diversity in the area.

“We are indeed excited to launch the Miramonti project and to have Batangas as its location. With IDC’s goal to build its name as a pioneer green real estate developer and to invest in areas with

booming economy, we believe that the position for Miramonti perfectly fits that objective.

Batangas is rich in tourist spots, culture, and history and we are honored to build our first project in Luzon in Sto. Tomas”, Architect

FREE Publication of PRESS RELEASES for corporate accounts to Mindanao Daily News and BusinessWeek Newspapers

Nati explained.

The Batangas Provincial Investment Council is composed of Batangas businessmen and investors. Other speakers of the event were Atty.

Christian Batoon, BPIC (Batangas Provincial

Information and Communication Technology) 3rd District Business Manager, Juan Lozano, Batangas Tourism Council President, and Rene Lopez, Batangas Provincial Information and Communication Technology.

Updates in infrastructure, government projects and key expansion areas in the province were also presented during the event.

To know more about Miramonti and IDC’s other projects, visit www. italpinas.com.

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friday|may 26, 2017

9

National

Road impassable in Valencia due to landslide

D

UMAGUETE C I T Y — He av y a nd c ont i nuou s r a i n s i n t he p a s t f i ve days triggered a massive landslide which rendered a major road artery to the Pa linpinon geotherma l power plants and some mountain barangays in Valencia, Negros Oriental impassable.

Engr. Vicente Omandam, Jr., Senior Manager of the Negros Island Geothermal Business Unit (NIGBU) of the Energy Development Corporation (EDC) that ow n s a nd op er ate s t he power pla nts, d isclosed Thursday morning that the landslide occurred around midnight Wednesday at Sitio Baybayon, Barangay Pulangbato in Valencia.

No casualty was reported at t he road bounded by cliffs on one side and the Okoy River on the other side as it is an uninhabited area.

About 100 cubic meters of oversized boulders, soil, mud and other debris rolled off the tall cliff, blocking the road and with the large rocks and boulders landing in the river.

According to Omandam, EDC-NIGBU immediately deployed heavy equipment, a longside t hat of t he Valencia local government u n it , t o s t a r t c le a r i n g operat ions to ma ke t he road temporarily passable to light vehicles.

Early morning commuters and motorists we r e s t r a n d e d u nt i l a

portion of the road was opened around 8:00 a.m. to allow them to pass.

Engr. Omandam said they expect the road to be fully opened by Friday as clearing of debris would continue w it hout let-up on Thursday.

The huge boulders stuck in the river will be broken down into smaller pieces before being removed, as they would obstruct the r iver a nd cont r ibute to f looding, said Omandam.

The EDC-NIGBU senior ma nager d isclosed t hat massive rainfall over the last five days in Valencia had saturated the rocks and soil, causing it to loosen and which finally gave way late Wednesday evening.

Omandam explained the landslide area was outside of the EDC’s project site, however, the company had to respond immediately for clea r i ng operat ions as it was the main road to their offices and power plants and for the residents of Ba r a ngay s P u ha ga n, Malaunay and Caidiocan up in the mountains.

The clearing operations is part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibi lit y (CSR) of EDC and at the same time its help to the community, he said.

A few yea rs ago, t he road where the landslide We d n e s d a y e v e n i n g occurred is t he same that had collapsed af ter cont i nuous heav y ra i ns inundated t he area,

DFA official downplays impacts of Mindanao martial law

By Leslie D. Venzon

MANILA — The declaration of martial law on the island of Mindanao will have no impact on the Philippine economy as long as it is imposed for a period not e x c e e d i n g 6 0 d ay s , a n official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday said.

In an interview with the Philippines News Agency, DFA Assistant Secretary for ASEAN Affairs Ma. Hellen Barber-De La Vega b elie ved that President R o d r i g o D u t e r t e “d i d the right thing” when he imposed martial law to address security issues in Mindanao.

B a r b e r- D e L a Ve g a said the government, however, needs to ensure that the martial law ends immediately.

“I think that if you will prolong those 60 days, then it will definitely have an impact not just on the 50th anniversary of ASEAN but on trade, on investments, on the attractiveness of t he c ou nt r y to fore i g n investors, and international trade,” she said.

“So I would like to think that that would be the last

thing that the President wants,” she added.

Barber-De La Vega also urged vigilance to ensure public safety.

“So I think that what ne e ds to b e done is to really ask also our public to be vigilant about it; they have the responsibility to ensure that our countr y is safe. So they need to help the government,” she said, asking them to report suspicious activities.

T h e D FA o f f i c i a l underscored the need for people to be united.

“Because it is not just the life of your family that you are securing here, it is the survival of our society, of our country,” said BarberDe La Vega. “We have to help our armed forces, we are all Filipinos.”

The Philippines hosts the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summits this year which coincides with its 50th founding anniversary.

B a r b e r- D e L a Ve g a said the country has not received so far expression of concern from other ASEAN member states over martial law declaration. (PNA)

Omandam confirmed.

EDC is hoping to expand the road to a few meters w ider a s soon a s f u nd s are available but a study has yet to be made on the best stabilization measure for the area, he said.

For her part, Norreen Baut ista, EDC-NIGBU’s A s s i s t a nt M a n a ge r for Community Partnership, E x ter na l Relat ions a nd Watershed Ma nagement (CR EW) d iv ision, cited the company’s partnership w it h t he Va lencia loc a l government unit (LGU) in disaster response.

She assured that EDC w o u l d r e s p o n d t o a ny disasters and emergencies whether inside or part of its project area or beyond, as part of t heir disaster preparedness program and CSR. Mea nwh i le, Va lencia Mayor Edgar Teves admitted the town was susceptible to landslides because of its vast mountains.

T h e m ay or t h a n k e d

the EDC for their quick response in assisting the LGU in the clearing operations.

Mayor Teves also said he wa s ex pec t i ng more landslides in the coming days during strong rains.

Teves stressed the need to put up warning signs

in the area as he further admitted it was difficult to scale that steep mountain a n d it w a s i mp o s s i b l e to i n s t it ut e pre vent i ve measures to prevent more landslides.

For now, the immediate solution will only be to respond to similar incidents

and clear the road when a landslide occurs, he said.

L ong ter m solut ions w i l l a lso enta i l a lot of financing to stabilize the landslide prone areas and t he mayor st re s sed t he LGU can not not afford this, Teves stressed. (Judy Flores Partlow/PNA)

NFA assures enough rice in Marawi City MANILA — The National Food Authority (NFA) assures the public that there is enough rice in Marawi City, which is currently being gripped by a running gun battle between government troops and the Maute terrorist group.

“We assure all residents of Marawi and the rest o f M i n d a n a o t h at w e have enough rice in NFA warehouses in the area. We are ready to issue rice to relief-giving agencies such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) and local government units

anytime they would need it to distribute to the affected residents,” NFA administrator Jason Laureano Y. Aquino said.

As of May 24, the NFA in Marawi City has 38,000 bags of rice in its warehouse.

“We have instructed our field personnel to be ready to respond to any need for rice stocks for the victims.

Our warehouse in Marawi has been padlocked with reinforced security personnel inside to guard the stocks. We also have enough personnel to release them when needed, and we have coordinated with the local police and military

for the safety of our stocks and personnel,” Aquino said.

NFA rice stocks for the whole of Mindanao, which has been placed under Martial Law, currently stands at 1,504,190 bags. The food agency’s offices in other regions, if necessary, is ready to augment the buffer stocks in Mindanao to effectively meet the residents’ rice requirements during the 60-day implementation of Martial Law in the area.

“We shall continue to augment and replenish our rice stocks in Mindanao to ensure that we can meet any need for the staple food

during the duration of this man-made calamity,” Aquino said.

Aquino explained that the NFA’s reason for existence is to ensure that there will always be sufficient rice supply for the people whenever emergencies or calamities strike. “In cases like these, whether the calamity or emergency is natural or man-made, the government, through the NFA, should always be ready to provide the most basic need for food for the affected people. It is one of the most important obligations of government,” Aquino added.(NFA-PR)

Aguirre defends President Duterte’s declaration of martial law in Mindanao Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Thursday defended President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of martial law in the entire Mindanao to neutralize militants linked to attacks carried out by the Maute terror group in Marawi City.

Aguirre said the Chief Executive is in possession of information and reports that are not known to ordinary citizens which could have been used as basis for the declaration. “ The proclamation is in accordance with the Constitution and necessary to avoid the dismemberment of our nation. The President is entitled to be presumed to be regularly performing the duties of his office, of course those who opposed the decision can go to the SC,” Aguirre said when sought for comment.

Under t he 1987 Constitution, the President

has the authority to declare martial in any part of the country or the entire country for a period of 60 days but Congress, voting jointly, may revoke or extend the proclamation.

The high court on the other hand can invalidate the declaration within 30 days after a petition challenging its legality was raised.

But Aguirre said those who oppose the President’s decision are doing so since “they view it as an obstacle to their own agenda” though he declined to elaborate on the matter.

“It’s better that they see the wisdom of the declaration of martial law and support the president,” he added.

When asked if he issued ord e r s or d i re c t ive t o government prosecutors, Aguirre said “Yes. I met with some Regional and City Prosecutors here in Mindanao and we discussed the change

of venue or creation of special courts to protect our judges and prosecutors.”

O n We d n e s d ay, t h e Int e g r at e d B a r o f t h e Philippines (IBP), national organization of lawyers said the proclamation of martial law is within the powers of the President under the 1987 Constitution and appears to have valid basis.

The IBP assured the public that the Constitution provides safeguards to make sure that

martial law “will not result to any diminution of their rights and that civil and judicial authorities will continue to function except in places where the continuation of such functions has been rendered difficult.”

The IBP cited the order of Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno on Wednesday for courts in Mindanao to remain open despite the existing martial law. defends/PAGE 10

10

Batas... from page 4

emasculated, considering the duty of the President to report to Congress on what he had done.

Unknown to many, the President also has a more radical option, which is not in any manner subject to the Constitutional limitations that are found under the Cory Aquino Constitution.

This more radical option is declaring a “revolutionary government”---which means scuttling the Constitution and all other laws, to give way to a more firm and absolute rule by the President.

-ooo DUTERTE CAN SCUTTLE 1987 C HA RT E R , D E C L A R E “REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT”: Throwing away the Constitution and setting up of a revolutionary government where only the President rules is not new in the Philippines. Under more peaceful and therefore less compelling circumstances, these two things have already been done in the country, by

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friday|may 26, 2017

a leader who styled herself as a democracy icon, President Cory Aquino.

In the days after the ouster of President Marcos pursuant to the EDSA power grab in 1986 and after Cory had already consolidated the presidency in her hands with the aid of the United States and its lackeys in the Philippines, she set aside the then existing 1973 Constitution and put up her “Freedom Constitution”, at the same time setting up a revolutionary government.

This Cor y precedent was never contested. It has therefore become part of the law of the land, which remains valid and binding up to now. I believe that the conditions prevailing today--with bold terror groups and lawless elements particularly the drug syndicates and other criminal gangs lording it over---Duterte can---and should---throw away the 1987 Constitution and install a truly “Duterte government”.

-ooo WATCH “ANG TANGING DAAN” AT FACEBOOK: Please watch “Ang Tanging

Daan”, a Bible exposition and prayer session for everyone, in English and Filipino, at w w w. f a c e b o o k . c om / angtangingdaan. Reactions: 0917 984 24 68, 0918 574 0193, 0977 805 9058. Email: batasmauricio@yahoo.com.

Liquidity... from page 5

“ The 7-day tenor is oversubscribed again so there continues to be strong interest in the short term of the curve,” observed Tetangco.

“For the 28 days, the interest rate was basically flat relative to last week and it was also undersubscribed again. Factors behind this will be the unwinding of the trust departments of their placements in the TDF, increased lending by the banks to their corporate clients and also there were private issues prior to the auction so some of the funds went to those issues,” added Tetangco.

The BSP earlier this month adjusted the volume of its TDF and effectively shifting the offer size based on demand. Since the 28day TDF continues to be undersubscribed in contrast to the steady interest in the shorter-dated tenor, its volume was cut from P150 billion to P140 billion while the 7 days’ offer size was raised to P40 billion from P30 billion.

The TDF volume continues to be at P180 billion combined.

Improves... from page 5

it finished the first quarter at 15.03 percent from 15.19 percent same period last year and the 12.18 percent in end-2016.

B eltran said interest payments posted the same trend after it fell 0.25 percentage point to 2.74 percent, as well as expenditures, down 1.42 percentage points to 15.93 percent.

“Fiscal reforms including debt management reforms led to the continuing drop in the debt-GDP ratio,” he added.

(Joann Santiago/PNA)

Visa-Free... from page 6

really making efforts to welcome more Filipino visitors to visit Taiwan, and the postponement of the visa-free arrangements is only intended to conduct seamless operations, facilitate the entry to Taiwan, and enhance security and safety for everyone”, as mentioned

by Representative Lin. For further visa information, you may check the website of TECO in the Philippines at http://www. roc-taiwan.org/ph

Defends... from page 9

“The IBP support all legal means to end this unrest in Mindanao and encourage the achievement of peace through lawful means,” the IBP said in a statement.

Meanwhile, President Duterte assured the public that he will not allow abuses

in the implementation of martial law in Mindanao amid concerns raised on the possibility of human rights abuses similar to those perpetrated during the Marcos era.

“I will assure you I am not willing to allow abuses.

Government is still running, the Congress is functioning, and the courts are open for citizens to seek grievance,” Duterte said in press briefing on Wednesday shortly upon arriving at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport from a shortened official visit to Russia.

The Chief Executive also assured the public that in all decisions and actions, the primordial concern is the safety and welfare of the people.

“It is our Constitutional mandate to enforce the law and provide security.

It is our Constitutional duty to ensure that every family, every community, all Filipinos, are assured to live in peace and harmony.

We will stay true to our mandate and duty, this I can assure everyone,” Duterte said.

The cl ashes er upte d after security forces troops raided the hideout of Isnilon Hapilon, an Abu Sayyaf leader who has been tagged as the head of the terror group in the Philippines.

Duterte said the series of terror acts committed by the Maute group, which include seizing and burning of s e ve r a l gove r n m e nt facilities, establishment of checkpoints within the city and hoisting the flag of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) flag, constituted the crime of rebellion.

The acts committed by the terrorist group also resulted in the loss of lives of government forces as well as the displacement of innocent civilians.

“These things government cannot allow. It is an open defiance and the violence, the atrocities continue.

Government must put an end to this. I cannot gamble with ISIS because they are everywhere. And, you know what is happening or you must be very aware of what happened in the Middle East,” the President said.

With the declaration of martial law, the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus is likewise suspended in the entire Mindanao island, including the provinces of Basilan, Tawi-Tawi and Sulu.

“Checkpoints will be allowed; searches will be allowed; arrest without a warrant will be allowed in Mindanao. And I do not need to secure any search warrant or a warrant of arrest,” President Duterte said.

However, the President said that law-abiding citizens have nothing to worry about the imposition of martial law.

“Remember that this is not intended for the lawabiding citizens. We are the least of your worry,” he said.

“But if you confront government, and my

SSS reduces retirement age for surface and underground mineworkers

The Social Security System (SSS) reduced the age for optional and technical retirement of both surface and u n d e rg rou n d m i n e workers from the previous retirement age of 55 years old to 50 years old in compliance with Department of Labor and Employment(DOLE) D e p ar t m e nt O rd e r (DO) No.167 S-2016.

SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel F. Dooc said that the new policy from SSS reduced the optional retirement to 50 years old and the technical or compulsory retirement to 60 years old for both underground and surface mineworkers. “ We d e e m e d i t necessary to include both underground and surface mineworkers to ensure that social security protection is given to all kinds of mineworkers. We understand the danger of their work and we want them to enjoy the fruits of their hardearned money as early as possible,” said Dooc.

The DO is the order from D OLE implementing Republic Act 10757 otherwise k now n a s “An Ac t Reducing the Retirement Age of Surface Mine Workers from Sixty (60) to Fifty (50) Years, Amending for the Purpose Article 302 of Presidential Decree No. 442, as Amended, Otherwise Known as the “Labor Code of the Philippines.”

Based on the g u i del i nes , su r face mineworkers include only mill plant workers, electrical, mechanical and tailings pond personnel while u n d e rg rou n d m i n e workers are those employed to extract mineral deposits underground or whose workplace is beneath the ground.

To qualify for the SSS retirement benefit, the surface or underground mineworker must orders are one: to enforce t h e l a w. A n d a n y o n e caught possessing a gun and confronting us with violence, my orders are shoot to kill,” he said.

“I said, I will not allow abus es. The cour ts are

have paid at least 120 monthly contributions prior to the semester of retirement. If the mineworker will retire at the age of 50, he should ensure that he has stopped working.

“If the mineworkermember chooses the optional retirement of 50 years old, he must b e s e p ar at e d f rom employment or has stopped working at the time he files his claim.

Otherwise, he will not be allowed to file for retirement benefit or if his retirement claim is already granted, it will be suspended by SSS,” said Dooc.

Aside from the number of contributions, the mineworker should have been employed and certified as underground and surface mineworkers by his employer who must be duly registered with the Mines and Geosciences Bureau.

The certification must also include the workers position title and his job description.

At t h e t i m e o f filing for retirement claim, the mineworker mu s t h ave wor ke d for at least five years, whether continuous or accumulated prior to the semester of retirement but the actual date of retirement should not be earlier than April 27, 2016— the date of effectivity of reduced retirement age.

“We hope that with this new policy, the SSS will be able to extend the benefits that our members need as early as possible. We want our mineworkers to feel that we care for them and we want them to enjoy the money they saved with SSS,” said Dooc.

For more details o n t h e r e t i r e m e nt claim application for underground and surface mineworkers, members may call the SSS Call Center at 9206446 to 55 or email member_relations@ sss.gov.ph.

op en. But anyone now holding a gun, confronting government with violence, my orders are spare no one.

Let us solve the problem of Mindanao once and for all,” Duterte said. (Christopher Lloyd T. Caliwan/PNA)

11

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friday|may 26, 2017

NGCP... from page 1

decrease it its consumption to five megawatts (MW) from 12 MW on regular days.

In an update, the NGCP said power from the Agus 1 Hydro Plant to the Lanao del Sur Electric Cooperative (LASURECO) feeder remained normal. Only 5 megawatts (MW) are being drawn compared to the normal 12 MW loading, it said.

The company noted that it has monitored tripping affecting Marawi City caused by a disturbance at the Mindanao State University (MSU) load-end switching station. Transmission line personnel however could not inspect and fix the affected facility due to the lockdown in the area.

The NGCP assured that the rest of Mindanao is experiencing normal power supply and its personnel are safe.

The company said it is preparing its contingency plans for the next 60 days.

“The rest of Mindanao is under normal operations,” said Ms. Alabanza, who is also NGCP’s head of corporate communications and public affairs.

Solution... from page 1

fighters who were killed.

Jerome Aba, national chairperson of the Suara B a n g s a m o r o, s a i d t h e declaration of Martial Law will only justify the urban militarization and intensified m i l it ar y op e r at i ons i n Marawi.

“Martial Law will only worsen the heightening peace instability in Marawi City as it intensifies and create fresh armed clashes between the state army and the Maute group,” said Aba Wednesday.

“We fear for the lives of the civilians who might get caught in the crossfire. We fear for the effects of war to the civilian population,” he said.

Aba added the Duterte administration should learn from what happened during the siege in Zamboanga City in 2013 where displacement, death, hunger and poverty continues to affect the civilians even after a year.

The declaration of martial rule, Aba said, will also lessen the possibility of resolving the issue through diplomatic and non-militaristic means. “[Suara Bangsamoro] believes that the Moro leaders should pursue conversations with the Maute group and come up with the resolutions how to resolve the ongoing crisis,” he added.

For its part, the human rights group Karapatan has issued its own statement expressing its opposition to Duterte’s declaration. “[Martial Law] will not address the circumstances of the current situation in Marawi, but will aggravate the insecurity in the area. Martial Law is not the answer; it will never result to anything but gross violations of people’s rights,” said Cristina Palabay,

Karapatan secretary general.

Palabay said they are calling for a deeper investigation on the incidents in Marawi, while it condemns the various acts which have endangered civilians.

K a r ap at a n h a s a l s o questioned why Martial Law was declared in the entire island of Mindanao as “it has laid the predicate for full-blown rights violations, akin to the convoluted justifications of Marcos’ Martial Law.” But Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno, who’s the chair of the Regional Peace and Order Council, said he is supporting Duterte’s declaration, saying it is “decisive and focused move, meant to finally bring lasting peace and harmony in Mindanao.”

Moreno, however, is hoping that “the operationalization of martial rule not subvert t h e s ove re i g n p e opl e’s collective will; and neither will it disregard constitutional guarantees, except in cases that are more than reasonably necessary to achieve its sole purpose.”

Naliyagan... from page 1

Foundation, Inc., said in a statement that the violent extremism and it’s ideologies will not stop them from celebrating their culture and heritage highlighted in the Naliyagan Festival.

Rosaut however urged residents in the province to be vigilant and cooperate by reporting to authorities any suspicious acts that may disrupt the celebration amid the declaration of Martial Law in Mindanao.

“In the light of terror attacks in Marawi, the Naliyagan Stakeholders Foundation together with its key partners condemn this senseless act of violence that threatens the people of Mindanao,” he said in a statement.

For his part, Sangguniang Panlalawigan memb er Santiago Cane Jr., chair o f Na l i y a g a n F e s t i v a l Executive Committee, said the proclamation of Martial Law has nothing to do with the celebration of Naliyagan Festival.

Cane said the declaration of Martial Law would even help a more secure celebration with the military and police in full alert against any attempt of violent acts.

“The celebration is noble not evil. Only evil and their evil deeds should have fears in the declaration of martial law,” Cane said.

Organizers are preparing a bigger and colorful celebration since Agusan del Sur will be paying tribute to its 50th founding anniversary and the 25th anniversary of Naliyagan Festival.

Appeals...

from page 1 Military and police forces are on full operation in the area to quell the terror groups.

In a statement, Secretary Abul Khayr D. Alonto, MinDA chair, also condemned the acts of terror perpetrated

by the Maute Group on the people of Marawi City.

“We call on the government to deal with the perpetrators of these horrible acts without any compromise and put them to justice,” he said.

Alonto also expressed full support to President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration putting Mindanao under martial law for 60 days.

The attack is unfortunate as it took place days prior to the observance of the Holy Month of Ramadan, the statement said.

“We cannot let terror, lawlessness, and violence shatter what we have built for Mindanao all these years. We call on our fellow Mindanawons to stay the course – be vigilant, but continue to be warriors of peace by spreading hope not fear,” Alonto said.

He emphasize d t hat now is the best time to set differences aside and work towards helping Marawi City and the rest of Mindanao rise and show the world that Mindanawons can stand as one, even amidst adversities.

“The Mindanawon spirit is resilient. It is without a doubt that we can overcome this atrocity and end up victorious in our fight for justice, equality and peace,” he said. (Alexander Lopez/ PNA)

Terminal... from page 2

successful operation.

“I signed the acceptance certificate this afternoon because this is for you people in Baliwagan so let us be united, do away with politics, but focus ourselves towards development and progress of everyone,” Mayor Abogado said.

As mentioned, the BFT will cater not only products from Balingasag, but the neighboring towns as well, thus making the area the trade center of all agriculture and fishery products from the eastern part of Misamis Oriental.

The turnover was also graced by some DA-RFO 10 regional staff, members of Sangguniang Panlungsod, Barangay Council members headed by Barangay Chairman Ramonito V. Saarenas, Municipal Agriculture Office staff headed by Emma B. Mofar, members of the Balingasag Farmers Federation headed

by Gil Salvaleon, farmers and other guests.(RREPaasa/ DA10)

Coffee...

Cupping Competition in Cavite City, Philippines - Imelda Mendoza, the pre s id e nt of t he Ru r a l Improvement Club (RIC) Federation of Kape Maramag, and Bae Inadlawan also known as Adelina Tarino, the Manager of Indahig Tribal Multi-Purpose Cooperative (ITMPC) - also shared their recommendations based from the learnings they gained from the Global Specialty Coffee Expo held in Seattle, Washington. DTI 10 PR

Holcim... from page 3

strength.

“And so for us now, it’s about understanding what the administration is committing to in terms of infrastructure and then presenting our solutions in a way that will benefit that and make it faster.

That’s one of the things that everyone is looking for is faster cementation,” Ms. Sood said.

Ho l c i m P h i l i p p i n e s reported a 37% decline in earnings to P939.36 million for the first quarter of 2017, as demand for cement slowed amid lower infrastructure spending by the government and tighter competition.

Net sales of cement products fell 12% to P8.81 billion in the first quarter from P10.063 billion a year ago as demand “slightly declined” from the same period in 2016 when infrastructure spending accelerated ahead of the May elections.

PLDT... from page 3

a m o n g o u r e nt e r p r i s e c ustome rs , b ot h l arge, and small and medium businesses, of cloud-based solutions, disaster recovery, and digital services. PLDT is well positioned to meet this need because of the expertise we have assembled through partnerships with leading tech companies and the unmatched capacity and resilience of ePLDT’s data center network,” PLDT Senior Vice President and Head of Enterprise Business Jovy Hernandez said in a statement.

P L D T ’s E n t e r p r i s e business initiated several partnerships with IT industry leaders in the early part of the year to further strengthen its p or t folio of dig it a l business solutions offered to the country’s enterprises including Microsoft and Cisco.

Its digital arm ePLDT

Peso... from page 5

this, he said, will “likely give him more leeway to address the overall peace and order situation in the island, including the activities of not only extremist groups but likely also to address the activity of the armed wing of the Communist party.”

He also said that the impact of this latest

Republic of the Philippines Region X Province of Lanao del Norte Municipality of Kapatagan

from page 2

agencies can consider to support the needs of the coffee industry. Some of these are the following: t he prov ision of hig hquality equipment made by internationally-known brands, the enhancement of product packaging which will allow local brands to compete internationally, the implementation of the cupping culture in line with the number of Q-graders produced in the country, among others.

B oth winners of the

has also added two new data center facilities bringing to nine the total facilities operated by the PLDT Group.

The telco expects to have 10 data centers with a total rack capacity of about 9,000 by the end of the year as it aims to strengthen its leadership in providing data center and managed ICT services.

“PLDT has been expanding its digital infrastructure in line with the roadmaps of key industries to fully serve the growing ICT needs of enterprises and government agencies for disaster recovery, cloud-based digital solutions, and a resilient network that these solutions will leverage on,” PLDT Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer Eric Alberto stated.

Along with its Home s eg ment, PLDT ’s f ixe d line revenues amounted to P16.3 billion, comprising 46 percent of its consolidated service revenues which now exceeds its consumer wireless revenues at 41 percent with P14.75 billion.

“We are growing doubledigit across all business pillars of the enterprise as PLDT remained the preferred expert partner of companies given our relevant digital and cloudbased business solutions that run on our robust fixed and wireless networks,” according to Alberto.

PLDT Chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan has said PLDT will focus on strengthening its fixed services amid its continuing growth.

PLDT aims to spend P 4 6 bi l l i on a s c apit a l expenditure for the year to further expand its network infrastructure through fiber optic connection to improve the delivery of mobile services to its fixed and wireless customers.

It has deployed over 150,000 kilometers of fiber optic lines throughout the country and operates four cable landing stations that serve as gateways for a variety of voice, data, and content traffic. (ABP/PNA)

Office of the Municipal Civil Registrar RA 10172 (GENDER)

NOTICE OF PUBLICATION

In compliance with Rule 7 of R.A. 10172, a notice is hereby served to the public that GLYN CABIGAS CASTAÑEDA has filed with this office a petition for Change of Gender from MALE to FEMALE in the birth certificate of DARYLL CABIGAS CASTAÑEDA who was born on APRIL 3, 2001 at POBLACION, KAPATAGAN, LANAO DEL NORTE and whose parents SAMSON BADILLES CASTAÑEDA and GLYN POTESTAS CABIGAS. Any person adversely affected by said petition may file his written opposition with this Office not later 15 days.

BWM: May 19 & 26, 2017

(SGD) IVY REYES TONGCO Municipal Civil Registrar

development on the financial markets is “likely to be limited and calm (will) likely return after the initial reaction”. “ The problem is that markets are also affected by the surprise Moody’s credit rating downgrade of China by one notch this morning,” he added.

M o o d y ’s I n v e s t o r s Services cut its credit rating on the world’s second largest economy to A1 from Aa3 due to the ballooning debt level of the government but the outlook was changed to stable from negative, citing that risks are now balanced.

A1 is the fifth highest investment grade rating of Moody’s Investors’ Service while the highest is Aaa. (PNA)

E X TRA - J UDICIAL SETTLEMENT WITH A DEED OF ABSOLUTE SALE OF A PARCEL OF LAND Notice is hereby given that the intestate estate of the Late Loreto Galarpe; That the said deceased at the time of his death, left a Parcel of Land situated in TAGBOCBOC, BAYANGA, CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY and more particularly described as follows; TRANSFER CERTIFICATE OF TITLE NO. T-41611, area of TWENTY EIGHT THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED ONE (28,101) SQUARE METERS, more or less. The legal heirs or sole heirs of the deceased LORETO GALARPE is the subject of ExtraJudicial settlement with a Deed of absolute sale of a parcel of Land; is made and entered, represented by his legal wife, LILIA GALARPE, and their legitimate children namely; LORELIE GALARPE LLOBIA, NIEVA GALARPE PAT, JANETH GALARPE SADDAL, and EDGAR C. GALARPE (deceased) represented by his legal heirs, namely; EDEN ROSE D. GALARPE, MARK DAVE D. GALARPE, and ED DAVE D. GALARPE, all of legal age, Filipino citizen, with residence and postal address at TAGBOCBOC, BAYANGA, CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, hereinafter to as the HEIRS/SELLERS; and LIMUEL MINOZA & JERALYN R. MINOZA (spouses), likewise of legal age, filipino citizen, spouses, with residence and postal address at B-8, L-26 & 28 Forest View Homes Upper Carmen, CDOC, hereinafter referred to as the BUYER/VENDEE; That to the best of knowledge and information of the parties hereto, the deceased, LORETO GALARPE LEFT NO LAST AND TESTAMENT and LEFT NO KNOWN DEBTS TO ANY PERSON, FIRM OR ENTITY; That for and in consideration of the sum of TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND PESOS ONLY (PHP 200,000.00) Philippine Currency receipt of said amount is hereby acknowledge by the SELLER/VENDOR after the amount is paid in hand by the BUYER/S or VENDEE/S the SELLER/S or VENDER/S hereby SELL, CEDE, TRANSFER and CONVEY the above-described properties containing an area of TWENTY EIGHT THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED ONE (28,101) SQUARE METERS, more or less in favor of the BUYER/S or VENDEE/S his/her heirs, assigns or successors-in-interest, free from any liens and encumbrances, free from any third-party claimant whomsoever and the same is nontenanted. Under Notary Public of ATTY. EMELITO J. MARQUINO, As per Doc. No. 418; Page No. 83; Book No. XIII; Series of 2017.

BWM: May 19, 26 & June 2, 2017

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Friday | May 26, 2017

Dario makes go-ahead trey as UP subdues EAC to keep record

D

iego Dario hit the goahead basket as UP stays unbeaten in the FilOil Flying V Preseason Premier Cup with a 61-59 win against EAC at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City on Wednesday.

Dario hit a triple with only seven seconds left as the Fighting Maroons preserved their strong finish over the Generals.

UP found itself on the wrong side of a

potential EAC upset early on, trailing 6-19 after the first quarter.

The Maroons, however, limited the Generals to only 10 points in each of the next two frames and crawled back to take a 41-39 lead entering the fourth.

The game would become tight in the payoff period, and it boiled down to the final minute where Noah Webb got a piece of Jerome Garcia’s shot that

eventually set up a Jun Manzo basket to put UP ahead, 58-55, with 24 seconds left.

EAC would then score four straight points through quick baskets by Francis Munsayac and Juju Bautista to retake the lead, 59-58.

But a wild sequence during the inbound made Dario free to take a running trey that went in to give the Maroons the lead back.

Munsayac had one

more chance to keep the Generals in the game, but his potential equalizer rimmed out as time expired.

Dario finished with 14 points to backstop Paul Desiderio’s 18 for UP, which moved up to 3-0. Dario made four three-pointers overall.

Garcia and Munsayac each chipped in 11 markers for EAC, which was sent back to reality following a huge upset of Adamson in its last game. (PNA)

photo grabbed from dario ’ s instagram

(@diego5dario)

Baguio City hosts archery qualifier for 2017 Taipei Universiade Baguio City will play host to the 1st National Students Men’s Archery Championship at the Baguio Archery Range on Saturday, the Federation of School Sports Association (FESSAP) announced on Thursday.

FESSAP executive vice president Robert Milton Calo, who also heads the Universiade preparation and monitoring committee, said the top three finishers in the one-day tournament will join the Philippine contingent to the 29th Summer Universiade, to

be held on Aug. 19-31 in Chinese Taipei.

FESSAP is coordinating with its member schools from the Cordillera Autonomous Region, University of Baguio and the Baguio City Archery Club headed

by John Hongitan in staging the National Students Men’s Archery Championship.

Hongitan has expressed gratitude to FESSAP for giving Baguio City athletes the opportunity to compete in the Universiade, a multi-

sport event organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU).

“The support of the

Flying disc, dance sport get FISU recognition The International University Sports Federation (FISU) has approved the recognition of the World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) and the World Dance Sport Federation (WDSF) in a meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The two sports were welcomed to the University Sports Movement in line with FISU’s newly approved structure, which includes the creation of two sport clusters — combat sports and mind sports.

With the recognition, university competitions organized by the WFDF and WDSF will get FISU endorsement.

Flying disc and dance sport will be joining FISU Family members archery, athletics, badminton, baseball, basketball, 3x3 basketball, biathlon, boxing, bridge, canoe slalom, canoe sprint, cheerleading, chess, cross-skiing, cross-country, curling, cycling, diving, equestrian, fencing, field hockey, figure skating, floorball, football, futsal, golf, gymnastics (artistic and rhythmic), handball, hockey, judo, karate, korfball, match

racing, muay, cross-country skiing, freestyle skiing, water skiing, speed skating (short track and long track), modern pentathlon, netball, Nordic combined, orienteering, roller sports, rowing, rugby, sailings, sambo, Savate, skeleton, ski jumping, ski orienteering, snowboarding, softball, sport climbing, shooting, squash, swimming, synchronized skating, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, triathlon, volleyball, waterpolo, weightlifting, woodball, wrestling and wushu.

Both the WFDF and WDSF are recognized by the International Olympic Committee and are signatories of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code.

“WFDF is extremely honored and pleased to obtain FISU recognition,” stated WFDF president Robert Rauch in a May 24 report at the FISU official website.

“We appreciate the advice and encouragement provided by the respective FISU departments and we thank FISU president Oleg Matytsin and secretary general Eric Saintrond for their

tremendous support. With the popularity and growth of Flying Disc sports at the university level around the world, we look forward to being able to formally contribute to the University sports movement.”

The WFDF, which is the international governing body for flying disc sports, has 75 member countries.

WDSF president Lukas Hinder said, “We gladly take on the challenges of working our way up from being a FISU recognized sport to one that will feature in World University Championships and — in due time — in the Universiade. This recognition provides our sport with the momentum needed to strengthen its structures at this specific level, as many of our athletes are university students.”

The WDSF has 92 member associations, including the Dance Sport Council of the Philippines headed by Becky Garcia.

The Federation of School Sports Association of the Philippines (FESSAP) is a member of FISU. (Jean T. Malanum/PNA)

FESSAP is beneficial to the archers from the City of Pines and we encourage our athletes to do their best during

the Taipei competition and bring glory to the country,” said Hongitan.

Three women archers will also see action in the

Universiade. Loren Chloe Balaoing (right photo) and Shanaya Rose Dangla (left photo), both students from University of Baguio (UB), have qualified after competing in the 1st Asian University Archery Championship in Malaysia last April, while the third athlete, also from UB, will join the team following consultations with UB President Dhanna Kerina Bautista-Rodas.

FESSAP president David Ong will head the archery delegation. (Jean T. Malanum/PNA)

POC releases ‘tentative’ number of SEAGames bound athletes, officials The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) on Thursday released an initial number of 642 members of the Philippine delegation to the 29th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games which will be held from August 19-30 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tom Carassco, a senior POC official and head of the SEA Games Task Force, said the “tentative” number is composed of 493 athletes including 73 members of the developmental pool and 149 officials to include coaches.

The POC official also reported that the Philippine line up is almost 85 -90 percent complete, except for those in the indoor hockey and volleyball, whose lineup are still being finalized.

Host Kuala Lumpur

has required all the other Southeast Asian participating countries to submit their final list of athletes and officials until June 30.

Carassco said the Philippines will be competing in 37 out of 38 sports disciplines lined up for the biennial meet.

He added that Filipino athletes will be taking part in 255 events out of the 405 featured events which will be played in 31 sports venues, spread out in various parts of Kuala Lumpur.

“Let us focus on the prospects of winning gold instead of looking into our problems,” said Carrasco, stressing that his group and the government through the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), the government sports body, are exerting all efforts to give the much needed

support to local athletes and coaches for the country’s descent finish in the region’s biggest sports conclave.

Cynthia Carreon, the country’s Chef de Mission, and her sports committee are hopeful that the Philippines will harvest 50 golds, improving the country’s precious performances.

For the record, Philippines won its first over-all championship with 113-84-94 (goldsilver-bronze) when it hosted the Games in 2005. Years after, the country’s performance dropped to fifth-sixth place. The Philippines placed sixth in the 2015 (Singapore) edition.

The Philippines had its debut in the SEA Games ( Southeast Asian Peninsular Games ) in 1977. (Primo P. Agatep/ PNA)