BusinessWeek M I N DA N A O CREDIBLE
Volume XII, No. 70
Market Indicators FOREX
PHISIX
US$1 = P50.41
7,280.57
0.18 cents
X
18.77
YOUR MINDANAO-WIDE BUSINESS PAPER
RELIABLE
X
points
Briefly Seized cigars
IN-DEPTH
P15.00
Petron's Ang: Buy from independent gas stations www.businessweekmindanao.com
AS OF 6:00 PM NOVEMBER 20, 2021 (SATURDAY)
Mon-Tue|November 22-23, 2021
Longest flyover
No meat shortage DAVAO City – Amid the campaign against the African swine fever (ASF) in Davao Region, the Department of Agriculture – Region 11 (DA11) has assured there would be ample supply of pork meat and its by-products during the holiday season. At a press briefing Thursday, Dr. Karl Laurence Pineda, DA-11 livestock division coordinator, said based on their monitoring, there is currently enough supply of pork meat available from local suppliers, but a spike in market prices is expected due to its high demand during the period. “The farm gate price is at P140-P150. We have a lot of supply from the farms here in Davao Region but the supplier readies it for the Christmas season,” he said.
Thank you for trusting us!
Z
ZAMBOANGA CITY – Lawmen have seized some PHP12.4 million worth of smuggled cigarettes from a warehouse here, a top police official disclosed Saturday. Col. Rexmel Reyes, Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO) director, said the contraband was discovered Friday afternoon at a warehouse in Barangay Divisoria. Reyes said operatives of the ZCPO’s Station 5 and Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) discovered the smuggled cigarettes a day after a portion of the warehouse caught fire.
TAGUM City - The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) on Friday inaugurated here the longest flyover in Mindanao. The 1.035-kilometer infrastructure, which cost PHP2.7 billion, is part of the “Build, Build, Build” program of the Duterte administration. The project which started construction in 2017 is located in the most strategic intersection in this city as it is the convergence point of all vehicular traffic from towns, municipalities, and cities traversed by two major road corridors: Daang Maharlika or the AgusanDavao Road and Surigao Davao Road.
We strive for Excellence!
Philippine Press Institute Civic Journalism Community Press awardee for the following: 2013 Best in Business and Economic Reporting 2014 Best in Environmental Reporting 2017 Best in Business and Economic Reporting 2018 Best in Business and Economic Reporting
A VIEW FROM THE SEA. Fishermen catch fish along Pakiputan Strait, which divides Davao City and Samal Island. In the background are the almost completed condominium projects in Azuela Cove in Lanang, Davao City. mindanews photo
By MINDANEWS
AMBOANGA City – If Zamboangueños find Petron’s prices costly, then they should instead buy from independent gas stations. This was the advice of Ramon Ang, president and chief executive officer of Petron, according to Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco. “I was advised by Petron President Ramon Ang to patronize the independent suppliers with the goal of promoting competitive prices,” she said. The mayor has asked Ang to compete and lower local prices in Zamboanga City by at least 10 pesos. Ang verbally declined this at the House Committee Ways and Means Committee hearing on November 8, where he advised the drivers of jeepneys, taxis, buses and other public utility transports, including tricycles, to buy from the new players. “They are now 40 percent in the industry,” Ang was quoted as GAS/PAGE 11
DA allots P157-M in subsidy to rice farmers in Region 12 GENERAL Santos City -- The Department of Agriculture (DA) has allotted P157 million for the cash subsidy to farmers in Region 12 (Soccsksargen) under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund-Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RCEF-RFFA) program. Agriculture Secretary William Dar said on Wednesday they have started the release of the P5,000 unconditional cash assistance, which will cover 31,000 rice farmers in the region’s four provinces and four cities. He led on Tuesday afternoon the ceremonial launching of its rollout in Soccsksargen in a visit to Tantangan town, South Cotabato province.
Dar said the program mainly benefits smallholder rice farmers or those who are tilling farms with an area of two hectares and below. “This is intended to assist rice farmers who are most badly affected [by the implementation of the Rice Tariffication Law],” he said in a press conference here. The RFFA was launched by the government to provide compensation for the projected income loss of rice farmers due to the drop in palay prices, which reached as low as P13 a kilo in the region in the past weeks. The beneficiaries, who will receive the assistance through Land Bank SUBSIDY/PAGE 10
EASY FISHING. Using a speargun, this fisherman easily catches scabbard fish at Surigao City Port area. mindanews photo by roel n . catoto
As Kagay-anons embrace bicycles during pandemic, CDO prompted to create bike lanes By FROILAN GALLARDO, MindaNews
THE COVID-19 pandemic has prompted many Kagayanons to shift to bicycle as their mode of transportation to work, prompting authorities to create a lane for bikers. B e n e d i c t o R a m i r o, a d m i n ist r at ive of f i c e r of the Roads and Traffic Administration (RTA), said the pilot project extended
from Rodelsa Circle to Velez Street in front of the Vicente de Lara Park. “That is a total of two kilometers along the city’s busiest street,” Ramiro said. The temporary bike lanes are on both sides of Velez Street. Another bike lane was carved out along Vamenta Boulevard in Barangay Carmen. The two lanes along Velez Street and Vamenta run
parallel to each other. “The carving of more biking lanes were just halted because the Department of Public Works and Highways in Region 10 has yet to complete their projects on the proposed streets,” Ramiro said. Eventually, the bike lanes would extend from Barangay Pa g atp at t o B ar ang ay Carmen in the city’s first district for a total of 39 BICYCLES/PAGE 10
Robinsons Mall to rise in Pagadian ROBINSONS MALLS will break ground on a new mall in Pagadian, Zamboanga del Sur on Friday (Nov. 19). The mall operator said in a statement that Robinsons Place Pagadian will located within the vicinity of the city’s Capitol and famous landmarks Plaza Luz and Legislative Building. “Its central location paves the way for more local entrepreneurs and businesses to capitalize on the city’s
growing market and booming economy,” Robinsons Malls said. The mall will have a mix of local and international retail shops, a Food Hall, Robinsons Supermarket, Robinsons Movieworld and Robinsons Department Store. The design of Robinsons Place Pagadian will be inspired by the geometric shapes and colors of the traditional outrigger boat ROBINSONS/PAGE 10
Editorial and advertising email : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com • Cell Number : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776