SOLID Group Inc. (SGI) r e c e nt l y l a u n c h e d t h e My|House Project last May 6, 2011 (Friday). A breakthrough project that can help solve the country’s housing
problem by providing the most affordable, durable and decent housing to the Filipino People. Imagine a home that’s safe, can withstand harsh
;
My|House: Building the Future
VICE President Jejomar Binay (middle) with Elena Lim (left), and Joseph Lim (right), the father of David Lim, the owner of My|Phone, lead the ceremonial cutting of My|House.
weather conditions like fires and typhoons and which can be built in just one day. The new my|house features modern, modular homes that FUTURE/PAGE 21
BusinessWeek
YOUR LOCAL ONLINE BUSINESS PAPER
www.businessweekmindanao.com
Issue No. 1, Volume III • May 16-22, 2011
Mindanao food sector seeks wider markets
Market Indicators AS OF 4:15 P.M., MAY 13, 2011 (Friday)
FOREX
PHISIX
US$1 = P43.125
4,292.11 points
19.90 points
;
;
0.015 cents
P10.00
Briefly Aboitiz takes risk
A TOP official of AboitizPower said the company is ready to face the consequences and risk its P25 billion investment if projections on Mindanao’s power shortage are wrong. Bobby Orig, First Vice President for Mindanao Affairs of Aboitiz Power, said this in response to accusations that the power crisis facing Mindanao is contrived. “Of course, we could be wrong with the projections,” Orig said. “But it is much better to commit a wrong that results in oversupply of power than to commit a wrong that results in shortage of power.” Orig said that if there is an oversupply of power, only investors like AboitizPower will suffer as they could not sell the electricity that their power plants will produce.
By NELSON V. CONSTANTINO, Editor-in-Chief with MIKE BAÑOS, Correspondent
F
OOD producers in Mindanao are making headways in aggressively promoting their products in various expositions in an effort to further expand their reach, both domestically and abroad.
Last week, Mindanaobased food enterprises, including fruit and vegetable exporters, joined the 3-day International Food Exhibition (IFEX) held at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City from May 12 to 14. Likewise, on May 19, the group will also participate in the 1st Visayas-Mindanao Fruit and Vegetable Market Encounter in Cebu City.
Metropac hospitals in Normin
THE HEALTH care group behind conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp. plans to beef up its network of five hospitals with two more this year, an official said. “We are looking at [one or two in] Northern Luzon. We are also looking at two in Central Luzon, two in Southern Luzon and two in Northern Mindanao,” Augusto P. Palisoc Jr., executive director and head of the hospital group, said in a chance interview at the sidelines of the conglomerate’s briefing on firstquarter results. The group, which already owns Makati Medical, Cardinal Santos, Davao Doctors, Riverside Medical Center and Our Lady of Lourdes hospital in Sta. Mesa, had earlier said it wanted to run 15 hospitals in the next three to five years.
In a joint statement released earlier, the Mindanao Development Authority and the US-funded Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) program said about 70 Mindanao-based food producers are joining the two events with more than 300 exhibitors from across the country. Among those who participated in last week’s event and presumably in the Cebu MARKETS/PAGE 21
Tamano is new dean of Liceo U Law By MOZART PASTRANO
PRIVATIZING MINDANAO’S HEPs. Rep. Dina Abad, co-chair of the Joint Congressional Power Commission (JCPC), explains Congress’ intention to establish a more economically viable and strong position on the issue of privatization of the Agus and Pulangui hydropower complexes in Mindanao during a recent forum in Cagayan de Oro City. PHOTO BY MIKE BAÑOS, NPN
Privatization not needed to lure new power industry investors
Wage hike
THE wage board in Northern Mindanao may decide in a meeting this week on a petition to adjust minimum wages. Myrna B. Callo, supervising labor and employment officer of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in Region 10, said the board will meet on May 17 to discuss the issuance of a new wage order, with a possible consensus to be reached on the same day, she said on Friday. A technical working group composed of representatives from the DOLE, DTI, NEDA, DoE and 26 other organizations met on Wednesday to discuss the wage order, she said.
By MIKE BAÑOS Correspondent
THE increasing volume of investments in the power generation sector is sufficient proof the government doesn’t need to privatize the Agus and Pulangui hydroelectric power plants in Mindanao to attract additional capacity in
the industry. “Th is highly commendable commitment on the part of the Aboitiz group of companies to invest in a 300-MW coal power plant in Davao City also puts to the lie the proposition that the privatization of the Agus-Pulangui is needed in order to attract
investments in the power sector in Mindanao,” said David A. Tauli, vice president of the Coalition of Mindanao INVESTORS/PAGE 21
LAWYER Adel Fadel Abbas Tamano has been appointed the new dean of Liceo Law. This was learned from the Office of the President of Liceo de Cagayan University, Dr. Mariano M. Lerin. Atty. Tamano is a partner of the law firm of Kapunan Tamano Javier & Associates. He lectures on legal writing at the Ateneo Law School, FULL STORY/p.9
Atty. Adel Fadel Abbas Tamano
CdO is financially broke Green condo for ‘pantawid pasada’ to rise in CdO
A HIGH-RISE residential building with an eco-friendly City Councilor Alden Ba- design and features is set to cal, chair of the city council rise in Cagayan de Oro in the committee on public utilities, next few months. This af ter t he recent who described the city as totally not capable to fund launching and groundbreakany new undertaking, such ing of the proposed 10-storey eco-friendly condominium, as the PTAP. dubbed Primavera Councilor Bacal BROKE/PAGE 17 CONDO/PAGE 21
By JOE DEL PUERTO FELICILDA, Editorial Consultant
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THE city government of Cagayan de Oro is somewhat reluctant to give a counterpart to the tricycle component of Pantawid Pasada or Public Transport Assistance Program (PTAP). This could be gleaned from the pronouncement of
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