BusinessWeek MINDANAO
2013 ppi’S Best in Business and Economic Reporting
YOUR Mindanao-wide BUSINESS paper
Volume VI, No. 142
Market Indicators As of 6:10 pm May 26, 2016 (thursday)
FOREX
PHISIX
US$1 = P46.66
7,376.38
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12.5
87.57
cents
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X
Halal boost THE agriculture sector got a big boost this week following the enactment of two important agriculturerelated measures. Sen. Cynthia A. Villar, chairperson of the Senate agriculture and food committee, welcomed signing into law by President Aquino of her priority measures – Republic Act (RA) No. 10816 or the Farm Tourism Development Act, and RA 10817 or the Philippine Halal Export Development and Promotion Act. “Although there’s still a lot to be accomplished in terms of legislative support for the agriculture sector, we are thankful to the President for seeing the merit of these bills in helping our farmers and farm workers create additional sources of income,” Villar said. She explained that RA 10816 encourages the development of farm areas to attract tourists for production, educational and recreational purposes.
2014 ppi’S Best in ENVIRONMENTAL Reporting
Duterte warns power firms to shape up www.businessweekmindanao.com
Friday | May 27, 2016
By ANTONIO L. COLINA IV, Mindanews
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MID the Mindanao power crisis, incoming President Rodrigo R. Duterte warned the major power players in the country that they must shape up or else he will open the industry to foreign investors to deliver a sufficient power supply to the island that has long been plagued by power outages. Duterte issued the same warning earlier to telephone companies to work on the country’s slow internet speed. In a late night press conference on Wednesday at the Royal Mandaya Hotel here, the incoming president
said that he will be forced to open the country to investors to bring down the electricity costs. He said consumers take the burden of paying high electricity costs due to the power industry’s penchant
to tap expensive energy sources like coal and diesel but failing to deliver sufficient and reliable power supply. Davao City, for instance, suffered rotational brownouts of up to five hours last month due to the shutdown of the first 150-MW unit of Therma South Inc. (TSI) from April 6 to April 17 and the reduced water levels at the Pulangui River and Lake Lanao because of the El Niño phenomenon. “Kaya sabi ko you shape up. I told you before, shape up because if you don’t and hindi na kaya ng tao, kakainin power/PAGE 11
LIKE A STAR. President-elect and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte signs the cover of a news magazine during a press conference in Legaspi Suites, Davao City. Duterte is known for late night press briefings, meetings and command conferences. MindaNews photo by Toto Lozano
TSI plant shutdown won’t mean blackouts By CARMELITO Q. FRANCISCO, Correspondent
El Niño damages THE 10-month El Niño phenomenon has damaged about 325 hectares of forest lands in Misamis Oriental, the provincial environment office said Wednesday. Aldrich S. Resma, the provincial environment resources officer, said that environment officials are still determining the exact number of trees that were impaired by the long drought. Many of the species that succumbed to El Niño were Narra, Mahogany, Falcata, rubber, bamboo, rattan, Gmelina, coconut, Rambutan and coffee, Resma said. He said that the damage was particularly sustained in the hinterland parts of Cagayan de Oro City as well as the municipalities of Claveria and Opol. (M. FRANCISCO)
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SHALLOW WATERS. A boatman negotiates the shallow waters off Barangay Talisay in the municipality of Hinatuan in Surigao del Sur Friday to ferry picnickers into a swimming area with a sandbar farther from the shore. MindaNews photo by Bobby Timonera
D AVA O C i t y - - T h e maintenance shutdown of Therma South, Inc.’s (TSI) 150-megawatt (MW) plant next month will not likely result in any brownouts in Davao Light and Power Co.’s (DLPC) franchise area because of the improving water levels at the dams hosting the two government hydroelectric plants, a DLPC official said. Based on available data, the water levels at the Agus and Pulangi hydroelectric complexes have improved after the months of drought
brought about by El Niño, s aid R oss ano C. Luga, DLPC spokesperson, at the Wednesdays@Habi at Kape forum at Abreeza Ayala Mall. “We have been able to get the full allocation from (the hydroelectric power complexes of ) the National Power Corp.-Power Supply Assets and Liabilities Management Corp.,” said Mr. Luga. The Aboitiz Power Corp. subsidiary has a contracted supply of about 180 MW from the hydroelectric plants. shutdown/PAGE 11
Real estate brokers in CDO Body drafts road map warned of ‘bogus’ salesperson to boost tourism in By MARK FRANCISCO, Staff Writer
AN official of the local real estate brokers in Cagayan de Oro City on Wednesday warned on the rise of “bogus” salesperson selling land properties here. Shim C. Suan, president of the Cagayan De Oro Real Estate Board, referred to the
“unlicensed” salespersons who sell land properties. “The unlicensed realty a g e nt s a re m i s l e a d i n g customers by overvaluing features and even the prices of the real properties they’re selling,” Suan said. He said that there are a
number of investors who want to move here, but the fake brokers might ruin the city’s reputation. “ T h i s c an r u i n ou r reputation as a progressive city. We know that there are lots of investors who are interested in moving in here and we don’t want them to warned/PAGE 11
Davao countryside DAVAO C i t y - - T h e Davao Region office of the Department of Tourism (DoT) has started drafting a road map to boost tourism in the countryside, focusing on farms, eco-destinations, and cultural villages. Provincial tourism offices have been instructed to
outline their respective focus areas and recommendations for development, Roberto P. Alabado III, DoT-Davao regional director, said last week. Mr. Alabado pointed out that incoming president Rodrigo R. Duterte’s eightboost/PAGE 11
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