Businessweek Mindanao jan 6

BusinessWeek

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www.businessweekmindanao.com Issue No. 37, Volume III • January 6-8, 2012

Market Indicators

AS OF 5:44 P.M., JAN. 4, 2012 (Wednesday)

FOREX

PHISIX

US$1 = P43.71

4,487.77 points

; ; Briefly 6 cents

65.55 points

Alsons in Davao

LISTED company Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc. (ACR) intends to develop into a residential and commercial estate a P1.22-billion, 21-hectare property in Davao City’s Lanang District, starting 2013.

There is a real estate boom in Davao, especially Lanang — residential, commercial and industrial district — which Alsons wants to join, with the Ayala and SM groups having commercial properties there.

“We first want to see property demand prospects before we firm up our plans,” ACR chief financial officer Luis Ymson Jr., said. “The property is large that anything is possible.”

Armm investment

COTABATO City -- Despite sporadic skirmishes between government forces and Moro rebels and the recurring kidnapping cases in most part of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao last year, investors still poured in P1.7 billion in investments.

Lawyer Ishak Mastura, chair of the ARMM’s Board of Investments, the biggest investment was the capital input from the EA Trilink Corporation, a regional telecommunications outfit based in Marawi City.

Almost 80 percent of the total investment generated in 2011 came from the telecommunication company which poured in P1.5 billion.

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Power outages seen as shortfall continues Davao City posts lower investment in fourth quarter

By BUTCH D. ENERIO Correspondent

T

HE Mindanao grid will be short by about 100 Megawatts (MW) of power in the next few days owing to the increasing demand and low production coming from AgusPulangi hydro power complex.

System operator National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) on Wednesday issued a red alert notice for the grid, advising distribution utilities to expect as much as 100 MW power curtailment Mindanao-wide especially during peak hours.

Mindanao consumes around 1,400 MW of power during peak hours.

The diesel power plants of Therma Marine Inc. in Nasipit, in Agusan del Sur and Maco, Compostela Valley are expected to fill in the shortage especially for distribution utilities who signed with the facility for backup power.

Aboitiz Power (AP) said in a statement that other distribution companies like Davao Light and Power Co. will not be much affected since its embedded power POWER/PAGE 9

By CARMELITO Q. FRANCISCO Correspondent

REBUILDING LIVES. A flood victim tells his story of the Sendong devastation to European Union–Philippine Red Cross delegation who visited Cala-cala, Macasandig, Cagayan de Oro City where most of the houses were washed away by the flood. In photo are (from left) CDO Red Cross Chair Antonio Soriano, EU Ambassador Guy Ledoux, Richard Gordon and Red Cross personnel.

PHOTO BY BUTCH ENERIO

EU vows to help rebuild lives of Sendong victims their homes, and the many whose loved ones perished when tropical storm SendTO bring back the dignity ong ravaged communities of the thousands who lost in Mindanao, mostly those

By BUTCH D. ENERIO Correspondent

More doctors needed to handle leptospirosis THE D epar t ment of Health (DOH) has sent additional doctors from Metro Manila to Northern Mindanao Medical Center in Cagayan de Oro following reports of increasing numbers of people afflicted with leptospirosis.

“Right now Health Secretary Enrique T. Ona sends doctors from Metro Manila to augment per-

sonnel in attending leptospirosis patients,” said DOH Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag.

Tay a g , a l s o D OH spokesperson, said there was a need to put up tents considering the increasing number of leptospirosis patients in the hospital.

He said of the 85 leptospirosis cases everyday, about 50 were DOCTORS/PAGE 8

along riverbanks more than two weeks ago, the European Union (EU) in collaboration with the Philippine VICTIMS/PAGE 9

DAVAO City -- The city gove r n me nt approve d about P3.4 billion in new investments from January to September 2011, about P100 million lower than the amount approved for the entire 2010.

The figure comprises last year’s aggregate investments with incentives since the city government suspended the granting of perks to new projects during the last quarter of the year.

The decision to suspend the granting of incentives came about early last year after it was reported that the internal revenue allotment (IRA) of the city would be cut by over P300 million as a result of the granting of cityhood to 16 municipalities.

This year, the city’s IRA allocation is P2.5 billion out of the expected P5.2-billion total, as per data from the Department of the Budget and Management’s Web site In 2011, the city’s IRA allotment was roughly P2.8 billion.

Jason D. Magnaye, chief of the Davao City Investment and Promotions CenINVESTMENT/PAGE 9

P-Noy OKs P1.16-B to rehabilitate NAIA

By ALLAN M. MEDIANTE Executive Editor

PRESIDENT Benigno S. Aquino III has approved the allocation of P1.16 billion to boost the revival of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 (NAIA-1) as a world-class transport facility in a bid to increase tourist arrivals in the country.

Budget and Management

Secretary Florencio B. Abad said the fund will be used by the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) for urgent structural retrofitting and other rehabilitation work, as well as the construction of a rapid exit taxiway.

“If we are to revive NAIA1, we must first address the structural integrity of the terminal for safety of NAIA/PAGE 8

BusinessWeek Economy 2 January 6-8, 2012 infra Agusan Norte farmers given palay, corn seeds Butuan’s projects to be MINDANAO

Abastillas also said this will help the farmers increase their income, especially if the province will experience good weather compared to the previous year.

The PAO chief said some 86 bags of hybrid rice and 138 bags of corn seeds are set to be distributed to ensure that farmers will have an early harvest.

In an earlier interview, the official said they were not able to achieve their target of planting 4,710 hectares of corn, and instead, they

By ROBERT E. ROPEROS Contributor

BUTUAN City -- Due to the low production of corn in 2011, the Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO) of Agusan del Norte is set to distribute hybrid palay and corn seeds to farmers in the province.

According to PAO chief Maria Abastillas, this move is to help the farmers in the province to increase their rice and corn production this year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR to all!

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were only able to plant some 4,574.5 hectares due to the series of flooding experienced by the province in 2011.

Abastillas also said that out of the 4,710 hectares planted, only 3,467.8 hectares of which were successfully harvested.

The official said the distribution of the aid hybrid palay and corn seeds are part of the program of the provincial government on farming and agriculture development.

finished in 2012 BUTUAN City -- “Infrastructure projects for this city are set for completion this year,” said Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Butuan City District Engineering Office (BCDEO) chief Engr.

Nicolas Alameda.

Engr. Alameda said their office is determined to finish the projects they started in 2011 before 2012 ends.

Specifically, Alameda said the drainage systems which are placed in different strategic areas in the city, as well as the construction of Bancasi-Dumalagan and Ampayon-Sumilihon Roads are among the priority projects set for completion.

Alameda said as early as first quarter of this year, they will continue the construction of the said projects.

“Thus, it is expected that these will be used as early as possible,” he added.

However, Alameda stressed that if these will not be completed on the first quarter, they will see to it that said projects will be finished before the end of this year.

BusinessWeek

MINDANAO

January 6-8, 2012

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Companies

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BusinessWeek

MINDANAO

State-run medical facilities in South need doctors, nurses

By CARMELITO Q. FRANCISCO, Correspondent

D

AVAO City -- The region’s two biggest state-run medical facilities need additional physicians and nurses this year, an official said.

Globe Telecom officials, led by Rob Nazal (standing leftmost), Corporate Social Responsibility Head; and Ernest Miraflor (standing 3rd from left); led the turn-over of the Globe Bridging Communities SIM cards to the Mindanao Emergency Response Network, headed by Adona Orquillas (seated leftmost), Executive Director of the Ranaw Disaster Response and Relief Assistance Center) last December 20, 2011 in Iligan City.

Carlito U. Pillerin, Davao Regional Hospital administrator, said based on the Department of Health (DoH) plan, the region will need an additional 100 doctors and about 300 nurses.

More than a third of the nurses will be deployed to the regional hospital and the rest to the Southern

Philippines Medical Center, which is regarded as Mindanao’s premier government medical facility.

“Our worry is where to get those doctors because we can easily recruit nurses, ” said Mr. Pillerin who also serves under Tagum Citybased Health Assistant Secretary Romulo A. Busuego.

Mr. Pillerin said most of the new local doctors prefer the higher-paying private hospitals, with a new doctor working in the government earning only between P200, 000 and P500, 000 annually depending on expertise.

This predicament was confirmed by Dr. Jonathan A. Alegre, president of the Davao Medical School Foundation, who said that new graduates consider going abroad after completing their hospital residency in the city.

“It is hard to lure them back because of the low pay, ” Mr. Alegre said.

The DoH, to address the issue, will be coordinating with the Philippine Medical Association on ways how to lure doctors to serve in state-run hospitals especially in the regions, said Mr. Pillerin.

The recruitment of additional medical personnel is doubly important for the Davao Regional Hospital as it opens its cancer center on Jan. 8. -- carmelito q. francisco

Globe powers Mindanao’s mergency response network

Aboitiz bags steel firm’s supply pact

GLOBE Telecom, through its flagship Corporate Social Responsibility programme Globe Bridging Communities (Globe BridgeCom), partners with the Mindanao Emergency Response Network (MERN), giving the latter’s member-organizations telecommunication connectivity to expediently conduct relief operations.

MERN is a network of 15 Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) organized to provide rapid relief for displaced families during times of crisis. Through its partnership with Globe,

A SUBSIDIARY of Aboitiz Power Corp. has sealed a deal with a Pampanga steel f ir m to provide power for 20 years, the company said in a statement.

Therma Luzon, Inc., a subsidiary of Aboitiz Po w e r, w i l l p r o v i d e 40-megawatts (MW) to Melters Steel Corp. in Pampanga.

“Ab o i t i z Po w e r i s pleased to partner with Melters steel to provide the reliable energy that will power up and grow

MERN has become a Globe BridgeCom SIM partner-with 200 SIM cards that feature special call and sms rates designed to serve their communication requirements. MERN will also coordinate with Globe for relief efforts for victims of Typhoon Sendong.

“Efficient telecommunications is integral in relief operations for proper coordination and dissemination of information,” said Rob Nazal, Corporate Social Responsibility Head of Globe Telecom, “The Globe GLOBE/PAGE 8

their business,” said Luis Miguel O. Aboitiz in the statement.

T h e p ow e r s upp l y agreement is for 20 years.

Therma Luzon will provide power to Melters Steel’s smelting plant in San Simon, Pampanga.

Therma Luzon holds the independent power producer administrator contract for the 400- MW Pagbilao coal-fired power plant in Quezon.

Aboitiz Power, bidding for Therma Luzon, won the contract for the

Pagbilao plant in 2009. It was declared the highest bidder with an offer of $691 million for the power plant.

Melters Steel is a steel smelting company that produces steel billets from recycled metals.

“Melters is looking forward to a long and mutually beneficial partnership with Aboitiz Power.

We are confident that through this long-term partnership, Melters will be in a better position to compete in the steel

manufacturing industry,” said Ricardo Lim, general manager of Melters Steel.

The company previously had a contract for power supply with the National Power Corp.

For the nine-month period ending September 2011, the consolidated net income of Aboitiz Power fell 12% to P16.2 billion from the P18.5 billion due to the decline in the selling price of energy and a one-time loss from dollar-denominated loans.

“Typhoon Sendong” Latest Update is now available ON-LINE www.fo10.dswd.gov.ph or e-mail us: fo10@dswd.gov.ph

Visit our website:

On the right panel of the Home page, click the link to view or download the latest updates.

Click to view the latest Disaster Report

Click to download (in PDF) the latest Disaster Report

Click to view the Map of Affected Areas

BusinessWeek

MINDANAO

January 6-8, 2012

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January 6-8, 2012

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ACCOUNT MANAGERS/AGENTS BUREAUS/AGENTS CEBU CITYͳ RAUL CARDONAͳ 0927ͳ2251300 MANILAͳ ESCUADROͳ0917ͳ5111724 DAVAO CITY ͳJUN JESSIE PALABAOͳ 0910ͳ6681733 CAGAYAN DE ORO ͳ RIZA O. ARESͳ0905ͳ7495220 0920ͳ9600223 BUTUAN CITY ͳ OBET SAMONTEͳ CEBU CITYͳ RAUL ANN CARDONAͳ BUKIDNON ͳ MARY NOBLE0927ͳ2251300 ͳ 0916ͳ7276618 DAVAO CITY ͳCITYͳ JESSIE 0910ͳ6681733 VALENCIA EDPALABAOͳ BAUL ͳ 0920ͳ9019294 BUTUAN CITY ͳROBERTO ARJAY FELICILDA ͳ 0949ͳ328ͳ4099 OZAMIZ CITYͳ ATTY. CANTAGO JR. ͳ 0918ͳ8070707 BUTUAN ͳ OBET SAMONTEͳ 0905ͳ7495220 MIS. OCC. ͳ CITY MARISA M.ͳMANLAPIGͳ 0928ͳ9538828 BUKIDNON ͳ MARY ANNRAMOSͳ NOBLE ͳ0926ͳ1691016 0916ͳ7276618 GINGOOG CITY ͳ WILLY VALENCIA CITYͳ EDFELICILDAͳ0906ͳ7389130 BAUL ͳ 0920ͳ9019294 WEST MIS. OR. ͳ JUN OZAMIZ CITYͳ ATTY. CANTAGO JR. ͳ 0918ͳ8070707 EAST MIS. OR.ROBERTO ͳ JESSIE DAHAY ͳ 0935ͳ9058038 MIS. OCC. ͳ MARISA M.ͳMANLAPIGͳ 0928ͳ9538828 LUCRESIA JERUSALEMͳPUERTO,CDO WESTREGION MIS. OR.ͳ SONY ͳ JUN FELICILDAͳ0906ͳ7389130 ARMM SUDARIAͳ ͳ 0917ͳ3247258 ARMM ͳ SONY SUDARIAͳ ͳ 0917ͳ3247258 ILIGANREGION CITY ͳ LENNETH V. GULAͳ 0918ͳ2986719 ILIGAN CITY/LANAO ͳ JEFFREY OPONDA ͳ 0935ͳ2796817 ILIGAN CITY ͳ ROLLY TOMAWISͳ063ͳ223ͳ8366 MARAWI CITY CITY ͳͳ ASA ASA MADALEͳ MADALEͳ ͳͳ 0916ͳ1590131 0916ͳ1590131 MARAWI PAGADIAN AL FRANCISCO ͳ 0912ͳ8484037 LANAO CITYͳ DEL SUR ͳ SAHRIA MARUHOM CAGAYAN DE ORO ͳ JOE PALABAO 0905ͳ1569709 MARANDING ͳ ELEANOR TAPITANͳͳ0926ͳ1888871 CLAVERIA ͳ DAVID SUDARIAͳ 0926ͳ1096831 ZAMBO CITY ͳ CAMCER I. ORDOÑEZͳ 0908ͳ7804348 AGUSAN SUR ͳ MANUEL EGAY ͳ ͳ0925ͳ213ͳ1640 PAGADIAN CITYͳ AL FRANCISCO 0912ͳ8484037 IPIL, ZAMBOANGA SIBUGAY ͳALBERTO ALCORIZA Member: CAGAYAN DE ORO ͳ JOE PALABAO ͳ 0905ͳ1569709 PUERTO, CDO ͳ VICTOR ALCOVERͳ 0926ͳ9778513 CLAVERIA ͳ DAVID SUDARIAͳ 0926ͳ1096831 -Philippine Press Institute MANOLO FORTICH, BUK. ͳ ALFONSO LEDESMA

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EVERY new year poses new challenges. We’ve been through this routine for quite some time now. But I must say that this new year presents to us challenges that are more complex and complicated, more tricky and deadly.

This must be due, at least in part, to the accelerated pace of technological development, as well as a population that is growing not only in number but also in both sophistication, on the one hand, and ignorance, confusion and error, on the other.

B ot h contrasts and conflicts that are getting sharper, on the one hand, and the subtle process of homogeneizing and uniforming people mindlessly, on the other, are taking

place.

I find this combination of factors very intriguing, indeed. Some people can know a lot yet miss the point.

Others can know little yet continue to be wise. And now, at the back of our minds, we ask, and who is going to judge who is right and is who is wrong?

There now on seems to be a crisis on what norms and standards to follow these days, what values and in what order they have to be upheld and defended. Many people seem to be guided solely by purely subjective criteria.

Which reminds me of what St. Paul once said: “The spiritual man judges all things, and he himself is judged by no man.” (1 Cor 2,13) It’s an intriguing affir-

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BusinessWeek MINDANAO

A Great Woman THINK a minute…

There was a young married couple who really struggled to make enough money just to live on. One day the husband took all their money and bought a small service station. His wife Jane did not think this was a smart, good investment. She knew her husband did not have the experience, knowledge or time to manage the service station.

Well, she was right. Their station soon went out of business and she and her husband lost everything they owned!

The husband came home that evening very discouraged, expecting his wife to be angry and remind him that she had told him not

to do it. But he was so surprised when she sat down with him and said, “I’ve been doing some figuring.

You don’t smoke or drink alcohol, but if you had, we would have lost just as much money as we did with the service station. Don’t worry, let’s just forget it.”

This is a true story. That wife could easily have hurt, even destroyed, her husband’s self-confidence that evening. He was already feeling like a failure. But instead she let him know she still believed in him.

Friend, our husband needs to know that we respect and support him, especially when he fails or faces opposition.

He needs to know that

we’re on his side no matter what happens or the mistakes he makes.

We need to make our home a safe place so that our husband always knows he won’t be criticized and put down when he comes home.

If we could guard and control our words and attitudes, just think how peaceful and happy our home and marriage would be.

But it’s not easy to learn self-control and always accept and respect your husband, even though he has faults and weaknesses. That’s why it’s only with Jesus Christ’s kind of love that we can do it. If you’ll ask Jesus to forgive you for not being the wife you should,

On a cold weather you can feel temperature rising SCIENTIFIC data on climate mitigation are just guidelines for adaptive measures to be undertaken by a government or any private entity for developmental planning or for the protection of long term investments. The inputs can be miscalculated or even exceed expectation as the world is rotating.

Historians in Cagayan de Oro use past events chronicled in the city history or remembered on their minds to determine mitigated flooding and its devastating effect. Architect Felino “Jun” Palafox, a noted urban environmental planner and award winning building designer admitted that a weather cycle may not necessarily follow history.”

Great floods may not happen every 50 or 100 years, it could happen in 99 years or maybe tomorrow”. That is why most of his work is environmentally designed to follow the contour and landscape of nature. We cannot go against nature. We

have not acquired the human technology to reverse the wind. We can induce rains through clouds seeding but we cannot control the volume of raindrops.

Disasters brought by weather disturbance if we head to warnings or take precautions can be minimized. Disasters are force of nature while deaths are the making of men. It’s not all an act of God alone but negligence of those who ignored warnings. For whom did PAGASA issued the weather bulletin 24 hours prior to typhoon “Sendong’s “impact to Northern Mindanao? To whom do people look at and listens to take the evasive actions?

It’s not PAGASA who was giving the warning but the officials who must carry the authority to execute the warnings.

How the business climate in Cagayan de Oro was affected by the disaster, the Bureau of Internal Revenues (BIR) tax take in the 1st quarter of 2012,

will determine the macro effects of a disaster that has a reverberating effect after 120 days to the local economy?

On January 19, 2012 when the Chinese Lunar calendar welcomes the year of the water Dragon, Cagayan de Oro City, as in the past use to get visits by Chinese tourist either from Manila or from Hongkong.

It is barely 12 days and we still have to see how the city can rise and clean up.

But is there anything done to put a semblance of what we used to be before December 17, 2011? Are the public markets clean and free of garbage and stink?

Temperature will rise as the mud and trash are not yet removed from flood hit communities? The threat of disease and epidemic are there to continue.

Of course the city government has Dump Trucks, Bulldozers and Back hues.

Or at least it could lease one. Private contractors doing business with the city

Sizing up the challenges mation that for sure will be questioned, if not rejected, by sceptics, agnostics and atheists.

But I believe in it—it’s the spiritual man, the one vitally connected with God, who knows things objectively. In the end, it’s the kind of spirit one submits himself to that would guide him in his decisions. So I always bat for spiritual formation and development more than anything else, without disparaging the other requirements.

The virtues of prudence and discretion have never been so needed as during these times. The demands of charity have become more nuanced. We have to careful with our rash judgments and our reckless speech.

So many things are just happening in the micro and macro levels of our life,

in the personal and social aspects, in the spiritual and moral and the material worlds. Today’s ballistic development in technology actually requires a corresponding radical maturation of our spiritual life. But we can observe hardly any correspondence between the two.

We have to learn how to distinguish and integrate things properly, putting them in their right places, order and hierarchy. This is not going to be an easy task, but neither is it impossible.

We need to learn how to hold our horses and restrain our emotions, moderate our urges, and how to think, judge and reason properly, as well as how to speak and express ourselves with tact and courtesy in spite of our differences.

We have to learn how to

dialogue with the different parties on different issues.

The more interaction, the better. The more linkages we have among ourselves, the better for us. We have to foster the culture of dialogue.

We need to know more the range and intricacies of the now in-thing of tolerance—in the fields of culture, law, religion, politics, etc., without falling into chaos and disorder, and without forgetting that there are certain things that remain absolute and unchangeable in spite of the constant flux in life.

We need to know more about the scope and limits of our rights—to expression, to privacy, personal and social development, etc. We have to be more sensitive to the fine lines involved in the discretionary part of our

THINK A MINUTE

JHAN TIAFAU HURST He will help you to start changing and learning to love the way He does.

Only Jesus can help you always give your husband the respect and confidence he needs from you to become the real man you need and want him to be.

Just think a minute…

TRAVERSING THE TOURISM HI-WAY

PED T. QUIAMJOT government have more of this equipment. Why they were not mobilized? There were funding flowing to the city cuppers coming from the national government, private donations, international aids and the so called calamity funds, etc. The neighboring municipalities that were not affected by flooding have also this equipment plus Fire Trucks that could plush out the mud. Why they were not rented or borrowed from their political allies.

Last December 31, 2011, when news of Leptosoriasis outbreak was reported in the local papers, I visited a government hospital which was full then a private hosQUIAMJOT/PAGE 7

HINTS AND TRACES

FR. ROY CIMAGALA laws. This appears to be abused quite openly lately.

As we can see, challenges that pose problems to us are actually opportunities, chances and windows for us to develop the appropriate virtues, attitudes and skills. They provide us with the occasion and the spur to bring our knowledge, wisdom and maturity to the next level. We should never say enough.

CIMAGALA/PAGE 7

BusinessWeek

January 6-8, 2012

MINDANAO

Reflections for this year DEMOCRACY – the rule of the popular president.

Is this correct? The answer of course is an overwhelming yes but what about the three equal pillars of democracy and its independence? Are not the three pillars a check and balance to absolute rule?

A qualitative assessment of any of these pillars will sure have a poor showing should we consider public opinion over the decades.

Corruption given that this is endemic needs reform but where do we begin and who should we start with.

The executive by large has been tainted accordingly with the incarceration either way of the former president – but didn’t we do this as well with former former?

Who is clean and who lives in a glass house. The strategic attack on the Chief Justice by the President no less is equally polarizing considering of course on which side of the fence you sit on.

The impeachment is a political procedure not judicial and yet the legals

are all over the place with conflicting opinions confusing the public.

At this point I too am beginning to feel “mang mang” considering the legal luminaries and their assertions.

The national government is not the only issue that requires our attention but local governments as well.

The oligarchs that have maintained power both economically and politically continue to amass the required majority for them to stay in power given our Comelec.

The integrity of the new imported electronic systems utilized for clean elections now suffers with no less a senator replaced with the next in line. Should not all mandates be questioned of its integrity as well?

Even the Chief Justice is questioned by legals no less the legislative branch (committee on justice) on his integrity to have accepted his position. So who is correct and who is fooling us all or is this the way democracy is supposed to work. Personally as a broadcaster I am

beginning to feel insecure assuming absolute power is implemented towards critiques. Am I in trouble as well?

It is interesting absolute power is given to those that have the popular vote – or perceived to have the popular vote regardless of competence or performance.

Is this the strategic path to recovery for an ailing economy? Or do we have a thriving and successful economy?

A public relations strategy and professional reputation management qualifies all lies and hides the truth for sure but how are we to know if media is a conspirator as well in truth perceptions. After all perception is truth is it not, so we are told?

The masses are too preoccupied with hand to mouth existence and poor education has mired them into endless poverty.

Government spending is promised once again to jump start the economy – will this be the answer to our economic woe?

The world’s economic

SUPERBRANDING

HARRY TAMBUATCO and financial standing is for sure to suffer for 2012 coupled with the Arab Spring that refuses to end, the raging wars the US of A continues to promote, the entry of the off-spring of a dictator in the Koreas and of course the mounting natural disasters that continue to prevail. This will most likely only aggravate our situation.

If only we begin to focus on what is crucial i.e. food production, new energy, water resource, risk reduction and effective response and re-building, the economy, etc., then I would be certain we would be on the right path. Till then we are entertained by the circus that refuses to leave town.

Big Mak loses to McDonald’s in trademark battle IMITATION is considered the highest form of flattery, but not so when it is committed against an enterprise who has first created goodwill and carved a niche in the market through advertising investments, product development, and other intensive operations. An entity which has built a name over the years through hard work only to find out that another entity has copied its name or symbol stands to lose to this competitor who has taken undue advantage of the reputation associated with the trademark.

The trademark therefore becomes a property right, the exclusive use of which ought to be, and is, legally recognized in accordance with the basic tenets of equity and fair play. Otherwise, the appropriation of the mark, along with the reputation the public associates with it, results to unjust enrichment at the very least.

Consumer trust or patronage of a genuine good or service is born out of a fulfilled satisfaction from the product’s quality. If so

satisfied, the consumer only has to look for the product’s distinguishing mark among the other competing articles in the market. An imitation confuses the public as to the origin of the goods or services and leads them to purchase the articles marked by the infringer under the impression that it is the real thing. If the imitation somehow fails to live up to the consuming public’s expectation, there is reason to believe that the patronage of the product will drop, to the damage and prejudice of the entity which produced the original. If the spurious mark passes the courts’ scrutiny for infringement, the imitation may be further scrutinized to see if it falls under the broader category of unfair competition. Legally, therefore, imitation is not flattery, but a crime.

The law provides the requisites of trademark infringement as follows: (1) the validity of plaintiff ’s mark; (2) plaintiff ’s ownership of such valid mark; and (3) the use of the mark or its colorable imitation by the alleged

infringer which results in likelihood of confusion.

The third requisite is the most critical. In arriving at the existence of such likelihood, courts are to apply either the dominancy test or the holistic test, both of which are grafted from American jurisprudence.

However, the tests have proved to be conflicting, such that when applied to the same set of facts, each yields a result contrary to that of the other. This can be seen from the rulings in Converse Rubber, Del Monte, Asia Brewery, Emerald Garment, and Nestlé all of which will be examined in my next articles. The judicial challenge therefore is how to arrive at a choice between the two tests, that is, developing a test to determine which test to be used.

On August, 2004, the Supreme Court issued a verdict in McDonald’s Corporation v. L.C. Big Mak Burger, Inc. abandoning the holistic test in favor of the dominancy test in determining the existence of confusing similarity, a factor

Nature: Friend of Foe? MAN has the mind to know, the will to resolve, the senses to feel. Yet, it is true that he never learns?

Is this why he continues to fall, to hurt and to die even – despite all supposedly learning experiences he has in the course of time?

Does he find it irrelevant if not futile to know better from his mistakes, to do better next time around?

Why? There seem to be two fundamental reasons for this phenomenon – without appealing either to the profound or the supernal. And these reasons are both in the socioeconomic sphere.

There are the poor and miserable people. Many of them do not learn because of necessity that gives them no easy choice, no ready option. They do not have the luxury to choose where and how to live, what to do or when to abstain from doing.

This is a basic reason why there are many of them who build their houses beside dirty creeks, who live in dangerous places, who deem it convenient to disregard the onslaught of floods, mudslides and other mortal natural calamities. They cannot afford to learn.

There are the affluent and able people. Some of them do not learn because of avarice. Never mind if their business and industry precisely cause significant danger to the health and bring havoc to the life of the impoverished and weak.

It does not really matter when their big profits are exactly the big loses of pathetic families and rural communities. This is the root cause of their illegal mining of long standing and irresponsible logging in the otherwise protective and beneficial forest. They can afford not to learn – due to their covetousness.

And this brings to focus the question – Nature:

of trademark infringement.

The irony lies in the High Court’s consideration of factors pertaining to the mark as a whole, including the similarity of the food products which carried the marks and the intention behind respondent incorporators’ use of the trademark Big Mak. The Supreme Court’s decision in McDonald’s should be read as one that indeed abandons the holistic test in favor of the dominancy test, pursuant to the intent of the framers of the Intellectual Property Code, although the Court’s application should from page 6 be criticized for bordering Our life here is always into holistic. on the go. We should never Email sara.suguitan@ think we know enough, or gmail.com that our formation has already reached its maximum level. We have to remember that with our spiritual nature, we are oriented toward GLOBE Telecom recently made its per kilobyte (kb) and valid for 30 for data use even if they exceed give our postpaid subscribers the infinite. Our capacity days. The plan is available in three variants: PowerSurf 99 (50MB), PowerSurf 299 (300MB) and PowerSurf 499 (1 GB). With the P999 bill cap, subscribers will not be charged above P999 each month for excess usage regardless of their PowerSurf plan subscription.

This means that for as long as a postpaid subscriber is registered to any PowerSurf plan, they don’t need to monitor their usage strictly because they can be confident that they will never pay more than P999

their respective plan’s MB limit.

“Bill shock has always been a concern for most of our postpaid subscribers using smartphones, especially those who use data. Our new worry-free plans, headlined by the P999 bill cap, show that Globe truly values superior customer experience by proactively addressing bill shock and helping subscribers cope with their data usage,” said Joanna Africa, Head for Portfolio Management of Globe. “With the bill cap on PowerSurf in place, we

peace of mind when they surf on their handsets – may it be an iPhone, Android or BlackBerry.

For as long as they are registered to any of our PowerSurf plans, they can enjoy mobile browsing without racking up an expensive bill.”

Activate Globe Postpaid PowerSurf by visiting any Globe Store, calling the Globe Hotline at 7301000 or texting POWERSURF 99/ POWERSURF 299/POWERSURF 499 to 8888.

Friend or foe?

Nature is a great friend of man when he cares for the environment, when he preserves the fruitfulness of the earth, ascertains the cleanliness of the air and the purity of the waters. In other words, the natural resources are there for man to preserve and benefit from – not to waste, much less to ruin them due either carelessness or greediness.

Otherwise, nature becomes his persistent for, a forceful once indeed.

Again. It is not a secret that nature is for the use and good of man – not the other way around.

But it belongs to man to nurture nature so that this remains his friend and benefactor. A friend is not for bullying, much less for ruining. Nature is a wonderful friend to have.

But when mistreated, the same becomes a big foe indeed. This is the lesson after lesson, year after year that man can and should learn from. Otherwise, nature would look at him as its mortal enemy, and would wherefore understandably angrily seek to cause his lamentation if not destruction.

Incidentally, all impressive and wonderful man-made laws in favor of preserving nature simply constitute a big farce when law enforces are either sleeping on their job or selling their trust! What’s new?

Cimagala...

to know and to learn, to exercise our freedom, knows no limits, though a certain law governs it.

Let’s always remember that our freedom can go in two ways—either for good or evil, for greater freedom or deeper slavery as when we sink in the world of different addictions which are also noticing these days.

Quiamjot...

waiting their turns to be examined by few and lean medical staff. Many Doctors have taken their leaves. I thought a national calamity was declared days before but holidays are business as usual for out of town trips and shopping for the New Year’s bang. What has happened to our city?

Globe launches bill cap on data plans

Postpaid PowerSurf plans even better with the implementation of a P999 bill cap to help users to avoid bill shock. With the new billing policy, postpaid subscribers registered to any of the PowerSurf plans need not worry about exceeding their allocated megabytes (MBs) because charging stops at P999.

Postpaid PowerSurf is a mobile internet plan that gives Globe Postpaid subscribers MBs of mobile data, consumable

7

from page 6

pital to get a vaccine shot but could not get in due to long lines of sick and desolate patients waiting their turns for medical attention.

There were dying persons in the emergency wards, sick and crying children were

8

January 6-8, 2012

Aggie News

BusinessWeek MINDANAO

Farm dep’t to spend at least P10M to produce corn flour

T

HE AGRICULTURE department plans to initially spend P10 million next year to start commercial production of corn flour, a ranking official said on Wednesday. “ The department is allocating initially P10 million to start up the production of corn flour to be sold to bakeries,” Edilberto M. de Luna, assistant secretary for field operations and coordinator for the department’s national corn program, said in a

telephone interview.

He said that following successful trial use earlier this year by Julie’s Franchise Corp., owner of Julie’s Bakeshop chain, of corn flour for the production of pandesal, the department will begin making the ingredient in commercial

quantity within the first quarter of 2012.

Mr. de Luna recalled that the department partnered last August with Julie’s Bakeshop for the trial use of corn flour, which involved making pandesal with a mixture of 25% corn flour and 75% wheat flour.

He said corn flour will be produced by the Institute of Plant Breeding (IPB), a research institute of the University of the

Philippines-Los Baños.

“It will be produced by IPB, but later on we would want to expand production in other areas,” Mr. de Luna said.

“We are pushing for the use of corn flour in pandesal-making not only because of its nutritional value but also because it is cheaper compared to wheat flour,” he added.

Mr. de Luna noted corn flour sells for an average

Rebokon Food Terminal offers affordable and quality food products

By GIDEON C. CORGUE

FARMERS and fisherfolks need not worry where to bring their products plus the added assurance of fair market price for their harvest because of the opening of the Rebokon Barangay Food Terminal (BFT) in Dumalinao, Zamboanga del Sur. DA/PAO Assistance The BFT is a barangay-based food depot which offers safe, affordable and quality food products to better serve the needs of the local folks.

With the assistance of the Department of Agriculture (DA-9) and the provincial agriculturist office (PAO), a barangay food terminal (BFT) was established in Rebokon, a coastal barangay of Dumalinao, Zamboanga del Sur, endowed with abundant natural resources, picturesque sceneries and rich fishing grounds.

Access to local market Barangay chairman Patrocinio M. Ancajas said during his first term of office and upon consultation with members of the barangay council, he took the lead of improving the BFT which was constructed by the previ-

NAIA... from page 1

lers. That will provide a firm foundation for further improvement work to ensure efficient, convenient and comfortable travel,” he said, echoing earlier statements of DOTC Secretary Mar Roxas that structural improvements for NAIA-1 will be prioritized.

“The acceleration of the NAIA-1 rehabilitation, as well as the reconfigura-

Mission... from page 10

skills and dedication in its efforts to relieve the suffering of the afflicted population,” said Ambassador Ivo Sieber at a press briefing in Cagayan de Oro. Sieber said their contribution to provide clean water and to assure water supply in various evacuation centers will make a difference in the lives of many.

He also commended

ous administration, to respond to the demands of the farmers and fisherfolks because they lack access to alternative market for direct selling of their produce.

“Ang mga mag-uuma ug mangingisda gikan sa mga kasilinganang dapit sama sa barangay San Agustin ug Tubo-pait mogasto ug dako sa ilang pamasahe pagbaligya sa ilang mga presko nga abot gikan sa uma padulong sa Pagadian City busa kami nakahunahuna nga ipalambo ang BFT (The farmers and fisherfolks from the neighboring barangays of San Agustin and Tubo-pait used to spend more for transport costs in delivering their fresh farm produce to Pagadian City thus, we decided to improve the BFT),” Arancajas reported.

“Gawad Saka 2011” National Awardee With the continuous monitoring and assistance of DA personnel and the active support of Mayor Ace William E. Cerilles on the project, Ancajas said the council believed that the BFT has improved its services to the clientele, enough to catch the judges’ attention thereby making them win in the Search for ‘Gawad

Saka’ 2011 as an Outstanding Barangay Food Terminal.

Ancajas was one of the 22 winners who received cash awards and agri-fishery project grant ranging from P150,000 to 350,000, as well as a Presidential citation and Gawad Saka trophy.

No less than President Benigno S. Aquino III led this year’s “Gawad Saka” awarding ceremonies and honored the country’s outstanding farmers and fisherfolks at the Rizal Hall, Malacanang Palace on December 13, 2011.

Ancajas received the award together with Mayor Ace William Cerilles.

Affordable and quality food products for the marginalized sector With the establishment of the BFT, Ancajas said quality food products such as fresh meat, fish, fruits, and vegetables at affordable prices were made available to the public specially the marginalized sector of our society.

“Kada semana mamaligya ta ug karneng baboy, mga utanon, isda ug uban pa aron nga ang mga kabataan nga nag-eskwela

P31 per kilogram on retail, about P5 cheaper than wheat flour.

He also claimed that white corn, from which the flour is derived, has low glycemic index, hence, beneficial especially for those concerned over their risk of developing diabetes.

Finally, Mr. de Luna said this is another initiative aimed at expanding the market for the country’s

sa Day Care Center makakaon sa masustansya nga mga pagkaon (Every week, we will sell meat vegetables, fish, and other food items in order that the children at Day Care Center can eat healthy foods),” Ancajas said.

Anchored on BFT’s objectives to create employment opportunities through its livelihood components, it has employed two (2) sales ladies to assist customers in buying goods.

“Naka-hire ang BFT ug duha ka mga tindera aron nga makatabang pagbaligya. Sila makadawat ug 10% gikan sa halin sa pagpaninda ug kini makatabang usab pagdugang sa ilang abot. ( The BFT was able to hire two sales ladies to assist in selling goods. They receive 10% of sales and it helps augment their family income),” Ancajas explained.

Scholarship to poor but deserving students The BFT also sponsored a scholarship program to poor but deserving students in Rebokon National High School to help them finish their studies.

“Nag-sponsor usab kami ug scholarship sa duha ka anak sa kabus nga among katagilungsod tungod kay buot namo nga makatabang kanila aron nga makahupot sila sa tukma nga edukasyon ug maayo nga trabaho.

Ang duha ka scholars anaa

corn farmers.

The Bureau of Agricultural Statistics has reported that corn production nationwide totaled some 5.489 million metric tons (MT) as of end-September, 16% more than the volume reported in the same ninemonth period last year.

The government expects the country’s corn production to total some 7.26 million MT by yearend.

karon nagtungha sa Rebokon Agricultural and Vocational High School( We have also sponsored two scholars from our place, poor but deserving students who are enrolled at RAVHS because we want them to acquire proper education and a good job),” Ancajas said.

With the prizes that the BFT has received, they are planning to put up a “buy and sell business”.

“S a pre myo ng a am ong nadawat, nagplano kami nga mohimo ug “buy and sell” business. Among paliton ang mga produkto sa uma ug pangisda sa mga mag-uuma ug mangingisda aron nga dili sila mogasto ug dako sa transportasyon ug aron ang mga paninda mapahimuslan sa among mga mulupyo ug silingan (With the prize that we received, we are planning to put up a buyand-sell business. We will buy the farm and fishery products of our farmers and fisherfolks for them not to spend much on transportation and to make the goods available and accessible to our local residents and neigbors),” he said.

Ancajas expressed his gratefulness to Mayor Cerilles for the active support he extended to the BFT saying that without the chief executive’s support, they would not have achieved the honor of being a “Gawad Saka” 2011 national awardee.

tion of the funding mix for the project, was due to the sense of urgency displayed by Secretary Roxas,” he added.

The Budget Chief said the P1.16 billion was sourced through a reallocation from the Public-Private Partnership Support Fund in the DOTC’s budget for 2011.

Of the total amount, P340 million will be used for urgent str uc tural retrofit to improve the structural integrity of

the NAIA-1 building, so that it will be compliant with the 2010 National Structural Code of the Philippines. According to D OTC, the NAIA1 which was originally designed for 4.5 million passengers per year now services 7.3 million passengers annually.

Meanwhile, P500 million has been allocated for architectural, engineering and interior design and works to improve the airports internal facilities.

This will not only mean the replacement of wornout interiors but also the increase of immigration counters.

To address runway congestion, P300 million of the total fund will be used for the construction of a rapid exit taxiway.

This does not only address travel delays but also enhances safety. Lastly, P20 million will be used for the complete rehabilitation of all 72 toilets in NAIA-1.

Doctors...

the cooperation with and the support offered by the national and local Philippine authorities, the Philippine Red Cross, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as well as that of NGOs and the private sector, in particular HOLCOM and Nestle.

Team leader Claudio Valsangiacomo confirmed that the delivery of materials and the provision of training will assure a continued supply of clean water to a

large number of temporarily displaced and otherwise affected.

The assistance provided by the Swiss emergency team comprises of: the installation of 12 water tanks in different evacuation centers both in Cagayan de Oro and in Iligan, as well as in the Provincial Hospital in Cagayan de Oro; The delivery of a complete facility for water analysis (laboratory) and the training of local profession-

als of the Cagayan de Oro Water District (COWD); The training of chlorination of water truck drivers of COWD and the Cagayan de Oro Fire Department; The assistance to the COWD during rehabilitation of production wells damaged by the flood; and The undertaking on January 3-4 of a cleaning exercise in lower Balulang (Angella) with the active involvement of the local community and in collabo-

ration with HOLCIM. The assistance offered by the Swiss Government to the flood victims of Sendong as cash and in-kind technical contribution amounts to a total Swiss Francs 300,000 (approximately P15 Million).

Over the past 10 years, the Swiss government has assisted the Philippines to respond to the effects of numerous natural disasters with a total support of more than P90 million.

from page 1

while the rest were discharged for home treatment, he said, hence estimating to reach 900 cases leptospirosis in CDO alone.

He is also awaiting for the report of leptospirosis cases in Iligan.

Tayag said reports reached him that many of the patients went to hospitals only after three days of getting sick.

He also assured of suf-

ficient drugs for leptospirosis patients.

Tayag said that those leptospirosis patients were the one’s who forgot to take the antibiotics given to them even during first week of tropical strom “Sendong”, citing they were busy attending fixing their homes and other matters.

Meanwhile, Tayag said they were awaiting for updates in leptospirosis in CDO of which there were five confirmed deaths.

Globe... from page 4

Globe BridgeCom SIM allows our partners to build a network of contacts and make calls and SMS at special rates.”

To date, Globe relief efforts has reached over 12,000 families in Dumaguete, Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, with cash donations alone from the company and funds raised

by Globe employees reaching over P2-Million.

BusinessWeek

MINDANAO

Congress Watch

January 6-8, 2012

9

Bill that punishes life sentence for illegal loggers approved Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez pushes creation of anti-corruption body.

Oro lawmakers seek passage of bill creating body against corruption LAWMAKERS have urged the House of Representatives to fast-track the passage of a bill creating a National Independent Commission Against Corruption whose members will come from non-political sectors with “untainted integrity.”

House Bill 2903, authored by Reps. Rufus Rodriguez (Cagayan de Oro City) and Maximo Rodriguez Jr. (Partylist, Abante Mindanao), is among the many vital measures pending with the House Committee on Government Reorganization chaired by Rep. Cesar Jalosjos (3rd District, Zamboanga del Norte).

“In the Philippines, anti-graft bodies were created in an effort to curb corruption. However, these anti-graft bodies lack the real independence that an anti-corruption body requires. They just become part of the already bloated and corrupt bureaucracy,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said the

Investment... from page 1

Center, said on Monday had the city government continued approving new applications until the end of the year, it would have approved an additional P2.5 billion in new investments, or P5.9 billion for 2011.

Mr. Magnaye was confident that even with the suspension of the incentives, new projects especially in property development, would still be pursued.

He said the suspension of incentives will continue until the end of 2012. By then, the city government would assess its impact on revenues as well as actual project investments.

Among those approved last year was the hotel component of the 10-hectare joint venture mixeduse project of the Ayala Land Inc. and the Anflo Management and Investment Corp. The Abreeza shopping mall part of the project was opened in May last year.

Even before the suspension of the incentives, both Mr. Magnaye and Mayor Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio

bill will create an “unimpeachable anti-corruption agency with personnel that is currently selected from the civil society and is subject to strict disciplinary codes and anti-corruption check.”

“Is there a need to create another body to fight corruption? Yes, but it must have real independence and the powers to implement its mandate,” Rodriguez said. “Corruption kills and adds to global insecurity and the risks of war. Corruption increases poverty, curbs freedom, undermines human rights and distorts trade.”

Rodriguez noted that the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index showed levels of perceived corruption are high in most nations of the world.

“People can tell stories about how corruption in its worst form, notably the abuse of public office for private gain, takes a daily toll on their lives,” Rodriguez said. pushed for the suspension in the granting of incentives to real estate development, noting that project developers were so aggressive in pursuing their projects even without perks.

Both officials also want property development to focus on areas outside of the developed zones where raw land is still priced low.

In an earlier interview, Mr. Magnaye and Roberto P. Alabado III, city planning and development officer, said it would be better if new commercial business districts be developed instead of concentrating development in already crowded areas.

The objective is to declog the center of the city as well as create new areas for economic activities. In the past, the city government tried to attract new investments specifically in remote population districts by passing an ordinance that would have doubled the incentives for locators in those areas.

However, despite the ordinance, not many investors explored areas outside the city proper. -- carmelito q. francisco

THE House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading a bill imposing life imprisonment to people engaged in illegal logging in the country.

House Bill 5485, authored

by Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez (2nd District, Cagayan de Oro City) shall provide protection, rehabilitation and sustainable management of the country’s forests.

Under the proposed Sustainable Forest Management Act of 2011, harvesting, gathering or collecting timber or other forest products from any forestland with a market value of more than P500,000 and without authority from the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will be declared illegal punishable with life imprisonment.

Rodriguez said any person who shall buy logs, fl itches and lumber from economic saboteurs and use them in government infrastructure projects will also get life imprisonment.

Under the bill, people who illegally acquired forest products with a market

value of less than P500,000 shall be punished with imprisonment ranging from prision mayor minimum period to reclusion temporal minimum period and a fine equivalent to ten times the value of the said forest product.

Likewise, persons who are guilty of unlawful occupation of forestlands, illegal conversation of municipal parks, communal forests and tree parks, falsification of reports, inventory scaling and forest survey, unlawful operation of sawmills, unlawful possession of devices used by forest officers, unauthorized introduction of logging tools and equipment inside forestlands, and nonpayment of forest charges will get a prison term of 12 years and a fine of not more than P500,000.

“As of year 2000, the leading cause of forest disturbance is illegal cutting, with a total of 4,920 hectares of land destroyed, the highest incidence since the 1990s,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said the country lost resources worth P48.6 billion to harvesting

and other logging activities while the conversion of forestland to non-forest use accounted for P20.4 billion in losses.

“Also contributing to the decline in stocks were forest fires, accounting for P439 million, and the natural death of trees, which accounted for P5.9 billion.

Demand for agricultural land is also one of the main reasons that forests continue to be erased at the rate of 13 million hectares a year.

By 2005, forests were estimated at 47 percent of the total land, from 51 percent in 1990. From 1990 until 2000, the rate of deforestation of the Philippines is 1.4 percent,” Rodriguez said.

“Therefore, the bill seeks to restore our forest to its old grandeur and richness by implementing a plan for sustainable forest management,” Rodriguez stressed.

“The use of natural resources requires a balancing act between present and future consumption, especially amidst scarcity and depletion,” Rep. Susan Yap (2nd District, Tarlact), one of the authors of the bill,

said. “The government must be mindful of the needs of future generations and must therefore practice conservation to ensure long-term sustainability,” Yap said.

“Forests house diverse species and natural resources that contribute to economic well-being, them being the source of income for many local communities as well as for daily consumption,” Yap said.

The co-authors of the bill are Reps. Maximo Rodriguez, Jr. (Party-list, Abante Mindanao), Juan Edgardo Angara (Lone District, Aurora), Angelo Palmones (Partylist, AGHAM), Danilo Ramon Fernandez (1st District, Laguna), Erico Aumentado (2nd District, Bohol), Iggy Arroyo (5th District, Negros Occidental), Jesus Celeste (1st District, Pangasinan), Teddy Brawner-Baguilat Jr. (Lone District, Ifugao), Mel Senen Sarmiento (1st District, Eastern Samar), Diosdado Arroyo (2nd District, Camarines Sur), Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (2nd District, Pampanga) and Arthur Defensor Jr. (3rd District, Iloilo).

Power...

Victims...

plants like its diesel complex in Bajada, Davao City and the Sibulan run-of-river hydro plant of Hedcor Inc. in Sta Cruz, Davao del Sur, are providing much needed energy for its customers.

Production from the Agus-Pulangi complex in Lanao and Bukidnon continued to be affected by low rainfall and lack of maintenance of the facility resulting to “generation deficiency.”

According to NGCP, while the installed capacity of the seven power plants in complex is 982 MW, the peak capacity is only 725 MW. Milfrance Capulong, NGCP communications officer for Mindanao, said that lack of supply during the system peak in the island would lead to a load curtailment.

“Load curtailment gridwide is 50 MW [megatwatts] based on the December 2011 load to maintain matrix of NPC/PSALM [National Power Corp./ Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corp.,” she said in an advisory.

AP is proposing to build a 300-MW coal-fired power plant in southern Davao City to address the current shortage and the future needs for power in Mindanao.

Manuel Orig, first vice president for Mindanao Affairs of AP, said the facility is aimed at providing reliable and affordable power to the grid without being climate and weather-dependent.

Cross (PRC) will see to it that their lives will be rebuilt in their new homes.

The EU diplomats together with the officials of the PNRC were here Wednesday to assess the progress in the relief assistance and announced the relocation of the flood victims to a safer place where those qualified will have a new house on a lot that the PRC and other line agencies have already identified.

The EU Commission through its Humanitarian Aid Department provided P180M, while the bilateral contributions of the embassies of Spain, P79,680,510; Germany and Italy P28,255,500; Belgium and Finland, P22,604,400; Netherlands P19.7M; Ireland P5.6M; FranceP2.8M; The Czech Republic P3.9M;

Denmark P2.3 M, Luxembourg P2M, and the Austrian Embassy P.4M. The overall total relief assistance of the EU have reached more than P388M, the largest foreign contribution to the the Sendong victims nearly equaled the P442M that EU contributed for emergency assistance for the many disasters that hit the country last year.

EU Ambassador Guy Ledoux said that the overall EU humanitarian contribution is the confirmation of the EU’s solidarity with the Philippines.

The EU was first to respond to provide immediate aid to the typhoon victims as three experts from European Commission Humanitarian Aid went to Cagayan de Oro two days after the devastating flood that displaced families, that as of press time, totaled 641,000, particularly in this city, Iligan City and Bukid-

non.

Richard Gordon, PRC national chair man said that the construction of 1,400 houses in Cagayan de Oro would be on a seven hectare lot somewhere in the city and would be inaugurated within six months.

In northern Mindanao, the updated tabulation conducted by the Nationa Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council shows that there are 27,219 houses that were destroyed by typhoon Sendong wherein 9,144 houses were declared totally damaged.

Gordon, said that all the building materials will be provided and the only contribution from the beneficiaries is their ‘sweat equity’ in building their houses.

“We have to bring back the dignity of the flood victims especially the poor to live in a decent house far from where they were devastated.”

Gordon said.

from page 1

from page 1

DE ORO PACIFIC HOME PLUS CORP. BULUA BRANCH IS NOW OPEN ON SUNDAYS

De Oro Pacific Home Plus is now hiring for Accounting and Encoder jobs!

Qualifications: Male / Female Graduate in any business course Graduate in any computer course Computer literacy is an advantage for the accounting graduate Must have pleasing personality Must be Honest, Committed, Positive and Hardworking Can work with low supervision Can work under pressure Excellent interpersonal and communication skills in both written and oral.

If you think you've got what it takes, Interested applicants may submit their RESUMÉ/ APPLICATION LETTER WITH TRANSCRIPT OF RECORDS to: The Manager De Oro Pacific Home Plus Lapasan High-way, Cagayan de Oro City

10

January 6-8, 2012

10 Nice Tips to Save Lives Written by a Cop for Our Own Safety

Everyone should take 5 minutes to read this. It may save your life or a loved one’s life.

In daylight hours, refresh yourself of these things to do in an emergency situation...

This is for you, and for you to share with your wife, your children, & everyone you know.

1. Tip from Tae Kwon Do : The elbow is the strongest point on your body. If you are close enough to use it, do! 2. Learned this from a tourist guide. If a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse, DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM. Toss it away from you.... Chances are that he is more interested in your wallet and/or purse than you, and he will go for the wallet/purse.

RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION! 3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car, kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like crazy.. The driver won’t see you, but everybody else will. This has saved lives.

4. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping, eating, working, etc., and just sit (doing their checkbook, or making a list, etc. DON’T DO THIS!) The predator will be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get in on the passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go. AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR , LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE..

If someone is in the car with a gun to your head DO NOT DRIVE OFF, Repeat: DO NOT DRIVE OFF! Instead gun the engine and speed into anything, wrecking the car. Your Air Bag will save you. If the person is in the back seat they will get the worst of it. As soon as the car crashes bail out and run. It is better than having them find your body in a remote location.

5. A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot, or parking garage: A.) Be aware: look around you, look into your car, at the passenger side floor , and in the back seat. B.) If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger door. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars.

C.) Look at the car parked on the driver’s side of your vehicle, and the passenger side.. If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard/policeman to walk you back out. IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. (And better paranoid than dead.)

6. ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs.

Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot. This is especially true at NIGHT!) 7. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times; and even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN, Preferably in a zig -zag pattern!

8. As women, we are always trying to be sympathetic: STOP! It may get you raped, or killed. Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good-looking, well educated man, who ALWAYS played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often asked ‘for help’ into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim. 9. Another Safety Point: Someone just told me that her friend heard a crying baby on her porch the night before last, and she called the police because it was late and she thought it was weird.. The police told her ‘Whatever you do, DO NOT open the door..’ The lady then said that it sounded like the baby had crawled near a window, and he was worried that it would crawl to the street and get run over.

The policeman said, ‘We already have a unit on the way, whatever you do, DO NOT open the door.’ He told her that they think a serial killer has a baby’s cry recorded and uses it to coax women out of their homes thinking that someone dropped off a baby.. He said they have not verified it, but have had several calls by women saying that they hear baby’s cries outside their doors when they’re home alone at night.

10. Water scam!

If you wake up in the middle of the night to hear all your taps outside running or what you think is a burst pipe, DO NOT GO OUT TO INVESTIGATE! These people turn on all your outside taps full blast so that you will go out to investigate and then attack. Stay alert, keep safe, and look out for your neighbors!

Misor•Today

BusinessWeek

MINDANAO

Strategic action planning after tropical storm ‘Sendong’ bared

By PELETA B. ABEJO Contributor

SOCIO-Economic Planning Secretary Cayetano W. Paderanga, Jr. met with Misamis Oriental Governor Oscar S. Moreno and Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Vicente Y. Emano on January 3, here and informed the chief executives about the Strategic Action Plan (SAP) that the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is currently preparing for the rehabilitation and recovery of the affected areas in Northern Mindanao after Typhoon Sendong.

This action plan shall focus on what is exactly going to happen in the next three (3) months. Emphasis was placed on the development and rehabilitation of the Cagayan de Oro and Iligan river basins.

Both Governor Moreno and Mayor Emano responded positively to the NEDA initiative and expressed full support and commitment in assign-

ing their respective focal persons to participate in the strategic action planning activities that shall be conducted soon.

Sec. Paderanga, together with Director Susan Rachel G. Jose of the NEDA Regional Development Coordination Staff, also met with the NEDA regional office

staff and NEDA Caraga Director Carmencita S. Cochingco to guide them on the major aspects that need to be considered and prioritized in the preparation of the SAP focusing on the development and rehabilitation of the Agusan, Cagayan de Oro and Iligan river basins in partnership

with the regional line agencies and local government units.

“We should start looking at what needs to be rehabilitated. It is very important to ensure that the physical framework for Cagayan de Oro and Iligan are done right away as basis especially in the relocation of affected families,” Sec. Paderanga said.

He added that proper documentation of the damages shall be ensured as it is very important in determining the needed interventions.

NEDA-X Director and Regional Development C ou n c i l ( R D C ) Vi c e Chair Leon M. Dacanay, Jr. stressed on the need to make the RDC and the affected communities aware of the existing risks for them to decide which option they should take to avoid damages in the future.

Sec. Paderanga ended his meeting with the staff with a note to “work wisely and smartly to make our work count.”

Swiss team completes its mission to assist the victims of TS ‘Sendong’ THE Swiss emergency team, which has assisted in the relief efforts in cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan in the wake of tropical storm ‘Sendong’ since December 22 will complete its mission on January 05.

The team, composed of six members, supported the local officials in the re-establishment of the wa-

ter supply for the city of Cagayan de Oro and for the evacuation centers in both Cagayan de Oro and Iligan.

The total amount of assistance provided by the Swiss government amounted to Php15 Million.

In the wake of the tragic devastation afflicted by TS ‘Sendong’ (Washi) on Eastern and Northern Mindanao

and Negros Oriental in midDecember, the Swiss Government, in support of the national and international relief efforts, immediately dispatched a team of four water and sanitation experts and two logistics experts from the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit to the most

affected areas in Northern Mindanao.

After two weeks of targeted activities in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, the team will return to Switzerland on January 05, this year.

“The Swiss emergency team has shown tremenMISSION/PAGE 8

Republic of the Philippines REGIONAL TRIAL COURT OF MISAMIS ORIENTAL 10th Judicial Region BRANCH24 Cagayan de Oro City OFFICE OF THE PROVINCIAL SHERIFF SHERIFF’S NOTICE OF SALE FILE NO.2011-593 Upon extra-judicial petition for sale under Act 3135 as amended filed by ORO INTEGRATED COOPERATIVE, mortgagee against SPS.NATALIE AND JOHNSON TAN, mortgagors,of#046 Vamenta Zone 7,Bulua,Cagayan de Oro City, to satisfy the mortgage indebtedness which as of December 5,2011, amounts to p.391,051.03,excluding penalties, charges, attorney’s fees and expenses of foreclosure, the undersigned sheriff will sell at public auction on January 16,2012, at 9;00 in the morning or soon thereafter at the main entrance of the hall of justice, Hayes Street, Cagayan de Oro City, to the highest bidder, for cash and in Philippine Currency, the property with all its improvement to wit: TRANSFER CERTIFICATE OF TITLE NO. T-172476 A PARCEL OF LAND (Lot 35337-C,Psd-10-038454, portion of lot 35337 Cad- 237,Cagayan Cadastre), situated in the Barangay of Bulua, Cagayan de Oro City Bounded on SE. along lines 1-2 by Lot 35337-E (Road Right of Way), of the Subdivision Plan Psd-10-038454; on the SW,, ALONG LINE 2-3 by Lot 6248,Cad-237,Containing an area of TWO HUNDRED THIRTY SIX (236) square meters more or less.

Prospective buyers may investigate for themselves, in the event of Auction Sale cannot take place for whatever legal reason the sale will proceed on the following day, without further notice, posting and publication, the title here in above describe and encumbrance thereon, if any there be.

Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines, December 13, 2011.

THE EX-OFFICIO PROVINCIAL SHERIFF

FOR YOUR ADVERTISEMENTS PLACEMENTS CONTACT

TERESITO C. ESTENZO Sheriff IV BWM: DECEMBER 23, 30, 2011, Jan . 6, 2012

MINDANAO

BusinessWeek

Billboard

January 6-8, 2012

11

HOTELS RESTAURANTS

A Brown extends help to flood victims NEWS CAPS A DAY after Tropical Storm Sendong badly hit Cagayan de Oro, A Brown Group of Companies immediately mobilized its available manpower resources and equipment facilities to barangays Balulang, Macasandig, Tignapoloan and in Opol, Misamis Oriental.

A Brown, Mindanao’s leading player in real estate and agribusiness development, has silently b een working roundthe-clock since day one, providing water, clothing, food, and other form of assistance not only to its affected employees but also to the hundreds of families displaced by the recent floods.

For over a week, A Brown dump trucks were deployed in barangays Macasandig and Balulang to help in the clearing of debris that littered all over, many of which came from destroyed houses and structures.

The comp any has also responded to the request of Opol Mayor Dexter Yasay for help by sending its fire truck carrying potable water to barangays Iponan and Barra, two of the badly hit areas in Opol.

A Brown also sent one bulldozer in Tignapoloan, Cagayan de Oro to help in the clearing operations of the main road leading to the barangay, isolated for over a week due to massive landslides.

A Brown Group Chair Dr. Walter W. Brown has expressed new hope for the city as it prepares to rebuild itself from the wrath brought about by Tropical Storm Sendong.

Dr. Brown who sits in the Board of Trustees of Xavier University said the city’s reconstruction mode gets on high gear as he cited the collabora-

By Laurel Media/RTM

Pryce Plaza Hotel

Carmen Hill, CDO, Tel. No.722791 to93/858-4537 E-mail:reservaƟons@pryceplaza.ph

Hotel Koresco

Pueblo de Oro Golf Course,CDO, fax. No. [088] 858-9748

tel. Nos. 858-9748 to 54, E-mail:hotelkoresco@yahoo.com

Mallberry Suites

Limketkai Drive ,CDO, Tel. No. [088]854-3999 / 854-7999 E-mail:info@mallberrysuites.com

Dynasty Court Hotel

Tiano-Hayes Sts. CDO, Tel. No. 726876 / 726962 / 857-5410 E-mail:dynasty@philcom.ph

The Marigold Hotel Velez cor. Luna Sts, CDO Tel Nos. 856-4320, 726937

PLANNING FOR RELOCATION SITE. Elpie Paras (left) and Robert Pizarro (2nd from right), two of Cagayan de Oro’s leading business leaders plan out for the relocation site in Sitio Palalan, Lumbia, a 5-hectare property owned by Xavier University. The area was made available for resettlement of some 1,000 families rendered homeless by killer-typhoon Sendong that devastated the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan.

Marco Resort Tel. No. 732182 / 855-220

VIP Hotel

A.Velez St. CDO, Tel. No. 726080 / 726590 / 856-2505 E-mail: info@theviphotel.com.ph

Philtown Hotel

Makahambus-Velez St. CDO,Tel. No. 723089 / 856-1813

De Luxe Hotel

Capt. V. Roa St. CDO, Tel. No. 726527 /857-2144

Maxandrea Hotel

J.R. Borja St. CDO, Tel. No. 729943/ 857-2244 / 857-4154

Grand City Hotel

A.Velez- Sts. CDO Tel. No. 723551 / 723658 / 857-1900

Country Village Hotel

Carmen, Cag. de Oro Tel. No. 71-22-03, 71-22-01, 7122-05

Southwinds Hotel

Capt. V. Roa Sts.CDO,Tel. No. 727623 / 724803 / 856-2036 E-mail:i_agudo@hotmail.com

Apple Tree Resort and Hotel

Taboc, Opol, Misamis Oriental, Tel. Nos. 754525/ 754263/ 3091986, Fax No. (8822) 754497 CALL FOR UNITY IN TIMES OF CALAMITY. A Brown Group Chair Dr. Walter W. Brown has called on all sectors during the groundbreaking ceremony of the 5-hectare relocation site donated by Xavier University in Lumbia, Cagayan de Oro to join hands in extending whatever help as Cagayan de Oro rebuilds itself from the wrath left by Tropical Storm Sendong. Dr. Brown sits in the board of trustees of Xavier University.

tion being undertaken by various business and private groups to help in the rebuilding efforts as quickly as possible.

In a related development, A Brown Group President Robertino E. Pizarro said the company’s sense of community involvement had long been a corporate practice and its quick response to the recent calamity had

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proved once again that its social commitment is a never-ending corporate oblgation, extending help in whatever it can without fanfare.

Pizarro said the company, in partnership with Oro Chamber, Xavier University and the Philippine National Red Cross was actively involved in laying the ground for a 5-hectare relocation site

in Sitio Palalan, Lumbia, Cagayan de Oro. A Brow n prov ided technical assistance for t he site de velopment including master planning and the provision of e ar t h-mov ing machineries to fast-track the completion of the relocation site for the hundreds of homeless victims of Tropical Storm Sendong, he said.

PANEDOTTE PASTRIES

Pearlmont Inn

Limketkai,Drive,CDO Tel. No. 729111 / 856-2654 / 729455

Red Palm Inn

EVChaves Building, Capistrano corner Cruz Taal Sts. Cagayan de Oro City Tel. No. 721197 and 8562671 Cell No. 0908-885-5643 Email: redpalm_inn07@yahoo.com

Chali Beach Resort

Cugman,CDO,Tel. No. 723929 / 855-2108 E-mail:chali_beach@yahoo.com

Nature Pensionne

Toribio Chavez Sts., CDO Tel. No. 723598 / 723718 / 857-2274

NEW DAWN PENSIONNE Velez-Macahambus Sts, CDO Tel Nos. 8571776, 721776 email : gchreservaƟon@yahoo.com

Malasag Eco Tourism Villages Cugman, CDO Tel. No.855-6183 [088]309-3752

TREAT YOURSELF TO THAT WELL DESERVED REST & RELAXATION & BRING THAT YOUTHFUL GLOW BACK TO LIFE.

BASTA MASAHE - GOLDEN BLIND!

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Golden Blind Masseurs Honest to Goodness Shaitsu & Sweddish Therapeutic Massage Services complemented with Facial Strokes, Accupressure and Reflexology.

GOMEZ-PABAYO STS., infront of CHANA BEAUTY SALON Tel. Nos. 856-4841 or 857-4659

Present this ad and get P20.00 off from our regular rate.

PANEDOTTE PASTRIES are available at Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, just in front of the Senior Citizens Center in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental with Tel Nos. (08822) 740-211, (088) 856-2419; Cell Phone Nos. 0917-706-2247 and 0917706-1516, or visit them at 162 M.H. del Pilar –Velez Sts., Cagayan de Oro City Available at GAISANO SUPERMART and at LUMBIA AIRPORT PRE DEPARTURE AREA

LOT FOR SALE BEACH HOUSE

Baloy, Cagayan de Oro City

By appointment only Tel. #: (088) 855 3898

BusinessWeek

12 January 6-8, 2012

MINDANAO

BENMORE FOUR CASKS BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY BenMore Four Casks Blended Scotch Whisky is a product of Scotland and owned by the world-renowned spirits producer, Diageo (makers of famous brands like Johnnie Walker, Baileys, Smirnoff among others).

It is called FOUR CASKS because it is distilled in four (4) different types of oak casks (sherry cask, bourbon cask, charred cask and refilled cask) to achieve depth a n d c o m p l e x i t y, and give harmony between mellow tastes and scotch aroma, including malt and peat aroma with the hint of smokiness.

BORGY MANO-

TOC is the Philippine brand Ambassador of BenMore Four Casks Blended Scotch Whisky. He exemplifies what BenMore Four Casks stands for in terms of boldness in character, the versatility and style it exudes and the integrity it can command. It is the first time for Borgy to endorse a liquor product. Borgy explained “I’ve never really found something that I could stand behind… I’ve never really found an alcohol that I felt I could promote personally because I actually drink it… I’ve always been a Scotch drinker, and I finally found the right product, a quality product that is affordable…”

Borgy is currently on a nationwide BenMore B a r To u r s a m p l i n g the best way to en-

joy this deluxe whisky (straight-up, on the rocks, or mixed with water, with iced tea, with cola or with tonic/ soda). Borgy is also featured on various billboards situated in key cities nationwide.

The high quality taste coupled with

the details that were painstakingly incorporated on the premium design of both the bottle and the individual box packaging (embossed with BenMore Iconic Stag) is offered at a very remarkable price point which only ranges from

around P360 to P390 for every 700ml bottle. That is very affordable considering that this is a product of Scotland.

These reasons made BenMore Four Casks Blended S c o t c h Whisky the perfect choice for gift giving this Yuletide Season and for personal and group consumptions for whatever occasions!

Come 2012, log on to the official website (www.benmorescotchwhisky.com) will be accessible for more information about BenMore, the world of Scotch Whisky and t h e d i ffe r e n t B e n -

m o r e m i xe s . I t will also feature a dedicated Borgy’s Corner where one can check out the countrywide footages and pictures of the BenMore Bar Tour.

BenMore Scotch Whisky is available at Compadres Bar at Pryce Plaza and in many other leading bar joints in Cagayan de Oro City.