BUSINESSWEEK MINDANAO NOV. 5,2012

BusinessWeek MINDANAO

Issue No. 122, Volume III •

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Cagayan de Oro City

Monday-Tuesday

November 5-6, 2012

P15.00

Market Indicators

As of 5:56 pm ocT. 30, 2012 (Wednesday)

FOREX

PHISIX

US$1 = P41.27

5,397.42 points

X

7.74 points

X

6 cents

Briefly Camiguin’s lanzones

MAMBAJAO, Camiguin -- This island province is synonymous to sweet lanzones. It’s October festivities center on this lucrative industry. After years of study to better improve the shelf life of its renowned fruit, the island now starts introducing a new variety called “camlong” or the Camiguin longkong lanzones.

The camlong is a cross breed of the local variety and longkong - a variety usually grown in Thailand and Indonesia.

Longkong is described to be almost seedless and with a skin or peel that has almost no latex.

Camiguin Governor Jurdin Jesus M. Romualso said that for seven years, they had been doing studies to produce the camlong variety.

DavNor entreps

TAGUM City -- Davao del Norte Governor Rodolfo del Rosario is encouraging entrepreneurs in the province to take advantage of tourism growth in the region by pushing their products to the market.

“There are up to ten flights in Davao City everyday so you can just imagine the number of people arriving in the city on a regular basis,” del Rosario said. Most of these people , he said, won’t stay in Davao City all the time so we have to develop our tourism and be ready when they come.

He said it is so easy to proceed to Tagum City and the rest of Davao del Norte province because of the good road connection from Davao. However, he said, the entrepreneurs from the province should be ready with their products when the tourists come.

S

TAKEHOLDERS in Mindanao’s mainly hydro-based power industry are bracing for the impact of a possible dry spell on power supply next year, an official said.

“Mindanao is facing a precarious power supply situation,” said Romeo M. Montenegro, director for investment promotion and public affairs of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA).

The MinDA official, however, has assured that the current deficit of 278 megawatts (MW) on Wednesday, a fifth of the island’s demand, could be addressed in the short term.

MORE BROWNOUTS. An engineer checks the valve of one of Abotiz Power hydro power plant. With the expected onset of El Niño next year, Mindanao During the 2010 Mindanao power crisis that lasted until May will again be bracing for more brownouts. (file photo)

UN: Climate-related disasters’ cost US$2 trillion since 1992 THE United Nation’s International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) said in a data recently released that total damages of climate-related disasters since the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit up to this year already amounted to US$2 trillion or “approximately 25 years total of Overseas Development Aid (ODA).”

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data showed that ODA from 1986 to 2010 totalled approximately US$1.7 trillion.

The UNISDR data also showed that in 20 years, climate-related disasters have affected 4.4 billion people and killed 1.3 million people worldwide.

The number of disasters-affected people since the first Earth Summit in 1992 is

Sendong devastation.

equivalent to “roughly 64 percent of the world’s population” while the number of people killed is “comparable to over 1,500 airplane (A380 airbus) crashes,” the UNISDR data showed.

This as UNISDR chief Margareta Wahlclimate/PAGE 9

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of that year, power deficiency on the island was from 400 MW to 500 MW with curtailment in several areas extending to as long as 10 hours daily.

Based on projections by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, Mr. Montenegro said, another long dry spell could hit Mindanao by the summer of next year resulting in lower water levels and reduced output by the Agus power/PAGE 9

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PAF Air Base moving to CdO’s Lumbia airport

By MIKE BAÑOS, Correspondent

P.L.

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The PAF’s 15th Strike Wing will be moving its headquarters from the Danilo Atienza Air Base in Sangley Point, Cavite City to Lumbia Airport in Cagayan de Oro City as soon as the Laguindingan Airport in Misamis Oriental is ready to accommodate civil aviation operations from Lumbia. (photo supplied).

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IF plans push through, Cagayan de Oro’s Lumbia Airport will soon be a fullfledged military base.

The Philippine Air Force will be moving its 15th Strike Wing from Danilo Atienza Air Base in Sangley Point, Cavite once the

Laguindingan Airport in Misamis Oriental becomes operational. The PAF base in Sangley is being moved to Mindanao to make way for the transfer of general aviation from NAIA to relieve congestion at the country’s premier airport.

Manila International airport/PAGE 9

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November 5-6, 2012

Economy

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Businessmen call for partnership of Iligan, 2 Lanao provinces

By LORRY V. GABULE, Contributor

ILIGAN City -- A gathering of entrepreneurs here called for collaborative partnership between Iligan City and two Lanao provinces.

Emily M. Pascua, president of the Chamber of Commerce Industry Foundation of Iligan, Inc. (CCIFII), said the activity slated October 30 and 31, at the Celadon Pensionne House, highlighted the month-long celebration of the Iligan Business Month in October.

Members of the business

community were able to express themselves in an open forum that tackled on the four outcome portfolio, mainly, access to market, business environment, access to finance, and productivity and efficiency.

One of the speakers, Aldrico Mañus, president of Alrose Group of Companies,

discussed the leveraging the chamber network for business, while knowledge on productivity and efficiency was shared by Dr. Viel Jose of Vjandep, Cagayan de Oro City.

Vjandep is known for their product known as “pastel.” Jose emphasized to care for employees, give what is due them, and the benefits that would uplift them economically.

Lwayer Jonhson G. Cañete, regional director, Department of Labor and Em-

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ployment-10, pointed out the importance of creativity and innovation towards global competitiveness. He said to consider the modern view of business.

Maricel P. Lagaras, president, Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA), Iligan Chapter, stressed on the

role of ethics in enhancing competitiveness. The social media marketing for small business was presented by XyZa Yape, presiden of the Iligan Bloggers Society.

At the end of the conference was action planning, crafted from among the participants/entrepreneurs

that would establish partnership between Iligan and Lanao areas.

CCIFII spearheaded the celebration of the Iligan Business Month, in partnership with the local government unit of Iligan, the Department of Trade and Industry and business stakeholders, this city.

By CHRISTINE JOY SARMIENTO Contributor

port programs; established supplier-buyer linkages; significant contribution of the banana industry on the hunger and malnutrition mitigation measures of the government; and industry growth and development.

DTI is giving its full support to the first-ever Mindanao-wide banana conference, DTI Regional Director Marizon S. Loreto said.

“This is an event that shows how important convergence is between the government and private sector especially in achieving industry growth and development,” she said.

The two-day forum will tackle the issues and concerns confronting the banana industry such as plant diseases, phytosanitary standards protocol, good agricultural practices and product traceability.

Other topics include integrated management and control of major banana diseases. Discussion on the proposed Banana Research Center shall also be included. Side events

include the Banana Business Café (Business Matching), the Banana Special Setting and the Banana Food Showcase, an exhibition of various banana recipes for commercialization.

Resource persons who are considered experts in their respective fields are invited to grace the occasion and share their insights and expertise to the participants.

For interested parties, they can contact Chug Torres of the Mindanao Business Council (MinBC), the Congress secretariat, at (082) 224-2581 or 225-0763 for more details.

Banana Congress set in Davao A GATHERING of at least 500 banana industry stakeholders from all over Mindanao will be conducted on November 7 and 8 at SMX Convention Center, SM Lanang Premier in Davao.

The stakeholders are composed of growers, farmers, cooperatives, suppliers of production inputs, traders, exporters, logistics players, industry associations, agrarian reform communities, research institutions, academe, other support groups and participants from government agencies and local government units (LGUs), a statement from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.

Spearheaded by the Philippine Exporters Confederation, Incorporated (PhilExport) Davao Chapter, the Mindanao Banana Congress is expected to result in the attainment of five major outcomes, to wit: formulation of the banana industry roadmap; improved access to government sup-

Comval gets P27M medical grant

By BEN D. ARCHE Correspondent

NABUNTURAN, Compostela Valley – At least P27 million worth of medical supplies and equipment was granted to the Provincial Government of Compostela Valley under the Health Facility Enhancement Program by the European Commission through the World Bank.

The new medical supplies and apparatus +include four sets of Mobile Ultrasound Probe, 14 Autoclave Sterilizers, 15 EENT Diagnostic sets with AVR, 14 Bassinets with cart, 12 mechanical beds, 23 delivery sets, 38 dressing carts, 21 examining tables, 41 IV stands, 7 instrument tables, 25 Surgical instruments, 13 rechargeable mobile lamps, 27 adult resuscitators, 27 Pedia resuscitators, 28 sphygmomanometers, 31 adult stethoscopes, 33 Pedia stethoscopes, and 16 wheeled stretchers.

Other hospital equipments that were turned are 1 portable suction apparatus, 34 vaginal speculum sets, 11 weighing scales for adult, 11 Pedia weighing scales, 34 wheeled chairs, 4 anesthesia machines, incubators, 34 pulse oxymeter ventilators, 9 oxygen tanks with regulator gauge, 10 examining lights, 10 bedside tables, 23 emergency lights, 12 airconditioners, 1 gas range, 11 basic ultrasonic heart detector, 11 ward beds, 70 units oxygen guage, 4 surgical head lamps with UPS & AVR, and 3 operating tables.

In addition to hospital apparatus and medical supplies, the province ale acquired 12 power generamedical/PAGE 9

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November 5-6, 2012

Sharp Corp. projects $5.6-B annual loss EMBATTLED Japanese electronics maker Sharp said Thursday it would book a $5.6-billion annual net loss in the wake of a huge restructuring, nearly double its earlier forecast.

Sharp has suffered deep losses in its television business with the maker of Aquosbrand electronics saying it would lose 450 billion yen in the fiscal year to March, dwarfing its previous prediction of a 250 billion yen shortfall.

Sharp also cut its sales forecast to 2.46 trillion yen from 2.50 trillion yen, while saying it lost 387.58 billion in the first half of the current fiscal year to March, from a year-earlier loss of 39.82 billion yen.

Like rivals Panasonic and Sony, Sharp has struggled in its television business amid falling prices and stiff competition from overseas rivals.

Sharp was also struggling in its once-proud liquid crystal display (LCD) business.

“Our business environment continued to be severe, due to drastic price drops of products and devices, production delay of new small- and medium-size LCDs... and a worse-than-expected drop in sales of LCD TVs in Japan and China,” the firm said.

“Sales of LCD TVs fell drastically... This was due mainly to decreased demand in Japan and a drop in sales in China caused by deteriorating Japan-China relations,” it said in a statement.

Tokyo and Beijing have been embroiled in an increasingly hostile diplomatic spat over ownership of an East China Sea island chain with the row sparking a tumble in demand among Chinese consumers for Japan-branded exports.

Japanese manufacturers have also been pounded by the strong yen, which makes their products pricier overseas and shrinks the value of firms’ repatriated foreign income.

Sharp is undergoing a painful restructuring in its efforts to return to profitability, promising thousands of job cuts while cutting wages for employees—from the factory floor to the executive boardroom—and selling real-estate to shore up its bleeding balance sheet. — AFP

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Panasonic projects $9.6-B loss amid overhaul PANASONIC said last week it would book a mammoth $9.6 billion net loss this fiscal year as the Japanese consumer electronics giant undergoes a major overhaul of its troubled business.

While it said it would achieve an operating profit, restructuring costs and writedowns would mean the whopping 765-billion-yen shortfall and Panasonic warned regular dividend payments to shareholders would be temporarily shelved.

The projected loss is close to Panasonic’s record 772.2 billion yen shortfall last fiscal year, one of the worst-ever for a Japanese firm, and a reversal of its earlier vow to return to the black by March next year.

Panasonic’s sales in the six months to September tumbled amid slumping demand for its flat-panel TVs, digital cameras and mobile phones, although there was an uptick in sales of refrigerators and washing machines.

“The global economy continues to contract with much deep remaining uncertainty due to the European financial crisis and

slowdown of the Asian economic expansion including China,” Panasonic said in a statement.

“The electronics industry continued to be difficult with a downturn in digital products, especially flat-panel TVs, and a sales decline in electronic components,” it added.

Despite the global headwinds, Panasonic, like rivals Sony and Sharp which report earnings this week, has suffered in its television business amid falling prices and stiff competition from overseas rivals. It also accumulated debt from the purchase of smaller rival Sanyo.

The television business has razor-thin profit margins with Japanese firms unable to keep pace with rivals such as South Korea’s Samsung Electronics which has blown past Japan Inc. in the lucrative global smartphone market.

Samsung posted a record third-quarter profit of nearly

$6.0 billion, powered by strong sales of its Galaxy smartphones and display panels.

Panasonic, which had earlier said it expected to post a net profit of 50 billion yen in the fiscal year to March 2013, also cut its annual sales forecast on Wednesday by 10 percent to 7.3 trillion yen.

Restructuring expenses

alone in the current fiscal year would be about 440 billion yen, more than 10 times the firm’s original forecast, it added.

Panasonic’s first-half net less grew five-fold to 685.2 billion yen.

Last month Moody’s cut its credit rating on Panasonic, citing the struggling firm’s weak profitability and high debt.

The company has announced a major restructuring of its liquid crystal display manufacturing division, and is reportedly considering shifting all of its mobile phone handset production overseas because of high costs at home.

Reports have said it would abandon its European smartphone business over the next several months.

TWO RIVAL telecommunication firms have cited progress in network improvement, with Smart Communications, Inc. saying it has completed interconnection with Sun Cellular and Globe Telecom, Inc. reporting it has installed a submarine cable to connect the Island of Boracay, separate statements last week showed.

“Smart Communications has recently completed its P71-million Smart-Sun Cellular interconnection project which aims to improve the resiliency of Sun Cellular’s wireless services,” the wireless arm of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) said.

The development, according to PLDT Group Technology Head Rolando G. Peña, is expected to result

in better signal quality for Sun Cellular.

“The establishment of this... ‘fail-safe’ infrastructure gives Sun Cellular subscribers more reliable broadband connections,” Mr. Peña said in the statement.

“The increased interconnection will also dramatically lessen, if not eliminate, service down times.”

During the interconnection process, the PLDT wireless unit established 16 links -- each with a capacity of 10 Gigabits per second (Gbps) -- to connect strategic Smart Communications and Sun Cellular cell sites using high-capacity fiber optic cables, the statement said.

The statement explained that, unlike traditional copper wiring and microwave which transmit data through

electric and radio signals, fiber optics uses pulses of light beamed through thin wires of glass.

“This enables us to pass on the savings to our subscribers while at the same time giving them better services,” said Mr. Peña.

The Smart Communications-Sun Cellular interconnection project is also capable of carrying high bandwidth services such as 4G (fourth generation) High Speed Packet Access Plus (HSPA+).

Sun Cellular, operated by Digital Mobile Philippines, Inc., is the wireless arm of Digital Telecommunications Philippines, Inc. (Digitel).

The National Telecommunications Commission in October last year approved the merger of PLDT

and Digitel, which gave the dominant telco around 70% of the market share and left Ayala-led Globe with around 30%.

Meanwhile, Globe said in a separate statement on Wednesday that “it has successfully interconnected Boracay Island in the province of Aklan through fiber optics”, boosting connections and strengthening network coverage on the island.

The company said the development was accomplished through the Boracay Submarine Cable System, a two-kilometer fiber optic cable with a capacity of 40 Gbps that can be expanded to 100 Gbps.

This can provide “near to limitless transmission capacity, which will result to crystal-clear voice call

and super-fast surfing,” the company said.

Globe Telecom saw its net income fall by 9.64% to P4.97 billion in the first half from P5.5 billion the previous year on higher expenses on the network upgrade program.

PLDT, for its part, also saw profits in the same comparative periods drop 11.38% to P19.47 billion from P21.97 billion due to one-time payouts involving manpower reduction.

Shares of PLDT fell P6 or 0.23% to P2,650 apiece on Wednesday, while those of Globe dropped P10 or 0.87% to P1,140 apiece. Markets are closed on Thursday and Friday, which have been declared non-working holidays in observance of All Saints’ and All Souls’ days.

Telcos cite progress in network upgrade

Hyundai, Kia overstated mileage in more than 1M cars HYUNDAI Motor Co and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp conceded on Friday that they overstated the fuel economy by at least a mile per gallon on more than 1 million recently sold vehicles, and agreed to compensate owners for the additional fuel costs.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found the errors in 13 Kia and Hyundai models from the 2011 to 2013 model years.

The findings were a blow to the two carmakers who have centered their marketing campaigns on superior fuel economy.

About 900,000, or 35 percent, of the cars sold in

the United States through Oct. 31 were affected by the changes in addition to 172,000 cars sold in Canada, Hyundai and Kia said in joint statement on Friday.

“Given the importance of fuel efficiency for all us, we are extremely sorry for these errors,” said John Krafcik, head of Hyundai Motor America. “When we say to Hyundai owners, ‘We’ve got your back,’ that’s an assurance we don’t take lightly.

The mileage on most labels will be reduced by 1 to 2 miles per gallon, with the largest adjustment being a 6-mpg highway reduction for one version of the Kia

Soul, the EPA said.

The South Korean automakers said the changes will result in the 2012 HyundaiKia fleet fuel economy level being reduced by an average of 3 percent, to 26 mpg from 27 mpg.

Customers will receive a debit card that will reimburse them for the difference in the EPA fuel economy rating, based on the fuel price in their area and their miles driven. An extra 15 percent to the amount will be added to acknowledge the inconvenience and owners will be able to refresh their cards for as long as they own their vehicles, the companies said.

The two companies are also planning a full-page newspaper ad for Sunday to apologize for the fuel economy errors, which stemmed from differences in its mileage tests from the EPA’ tests.

In its marketing, Hyundai has touted the fact that many of its models get 40 miles per gallon on the highway.

In the “Save the Asterisks” campaign, Hyundai poked fun at rivals who offered 40 mpg only on specialized, low-volume models.

Now three Hyundai models, the Elantra, Accent and Veloster, as well as the Kia Rio fall short of that mark as will the Hyundai Sonata

and Kia Optima hybrids.

“The fact that the companies’ ballyhooed 40 mpg cars are no longer members of that august club...will be something that haunts the companies for a long time to come,” Edmunds.com

senior green car editor John O’Dell said in a statement.

‘MILLIONS OF DOLLARS’ The automakers did not disclose how much the overall reimbursement program hyundai/PAGE 9

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With Airphil’s pullout in seven key destinations, Cebu Pacific is ready to fill the needed flights.

Cebu Pacific to benefit from Airphil flight pullouts AIR Philippines Express’ decision to abandon key domestic routes is “misguided” and would only benefit its major rival, Cebu Pacific, according to a regional aviation research firm.

In a report, the Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation said Airphil’s move to drop 7 major domestic routes to and from Manila “goes against the grain of typical two-brand strategy at Asian airline groups, which have discovered that they can successfully use their LCCs to operate alongside their full service brand.”

Low cost carriers (LCCs), also known as budget airlines, offer cheaper fares and fewer comforts for passengers.

On October 28, Airphil, which will soon be rebranded as PAL Express, ended Manila flights to and from Bacolod, Cebu, Davao, General Santos, Iloilo, Laoag and Tagbilaran. Airphil is the low-cost carrier of Philippine Airlines, which remains a full-service carrier.

Citing sources in the flag carrier, CAPA said the decision of the new management

to make PAL the only carrier for the 7 key domestic markets is “puzzling” and has raised eyebrows within the group.

The research firm is referring to San Miguel Corp, which early this year acquired half of PAL and Airphil, and assumed management control of the airline group.

“The change in strategy was made by PAL Group’s new owners San Miguel, which took a majority stake in both PAL and Airphil in April, following a recommendation made by LEK Consulting,” CAPA said.

LEK is a UK-based international strategy-consulting firm.

Last July, Ramon Ang, who is president of San Miguel and PAL, said 90 percent of the airline’s flights would be realigned to improve efficiency and profitability. The company expects $300 million in savings a

year from the realignment of routes and aircraft.

The flag carrier incurred P79.39 billion in expenses for its fiscal year ending March 2012, up 10.9 percent from P71.57 billion a year ago. As a result, it suffered a net loss of P3.63 billion, a reversal of the previous year’s net income of P2.53 billion.

Additional capacity not enough While PAL has added seats on the 7 routes that Airphil dropped, the additional seats fail to compensate the number of seats that the budget carrier gave up, CAPA said.

“In some cases, the amount of capacity PAL has added is significantly less than the capacity Airphil dropped, resulting in market share gains for PAL’s LCC competitors,” the research firm said.

Overall, PAL has reduced its domestic capacity by about 10 percent - from about 106,000 seats for the week commencing October 22 to about 95,000 weekly cebu/PAGE 9

Diesel prices may rise P1.35/liter this week

THE price of diesel at the pumps is expected to increase this week following the pre-holiday reduction by oil firms, an industry source said on Friday.

Fernando L. Martinez, Eastern Petroleum Corp. chairman, said there could be a “slight correction” for diesel prices, which oil companies reduced by around P1.35 per liter last Monday.

He however did not indicate by how much diesel prices could increase.

Any adjustment in gasoline prices would depend on this week’s average price movements in the international market.

“I will not have the numbers until Saturday

afternoon,” Martinez said.

Oil companies last Monday reduced prices by as much as P2.15 per liter for premium and unleaded gasoline; P1.70, regular gasoline; and P1.35, diesel and kerosene.

They ascribed the rollback to lower international petroleum prices.

Oil firms import more than 90 percent of their fuel products, making their prices susceptible to adjustments abroad.

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Opinion

November 5-6, 2012

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Anniversary reactions ANNIVERSARIES have a way of evoking emotions and feelings: be it happy or sad.

Man, a social being , at some point in his life, will feel happiness, joy and sadness, pain and loss. Life is made beautiful by these myriad of feelings.

As I write this article, the cemeteries are full of families and friends visiting their loved ones. There are some of us that may be going through an anniversary reaction, wherein the very date of remembering the passing away triggers that pang of sadness and longing for a loved one.

These reactions may not necessarily be evoked by a single date, but can occur with a song, being at a certain place that you usually frequent together.

To grieve for the loss of a family member or someone close to you, is a normal reaction. Grief doesn’t disappear in a matter of hours or days.

Time and again, the pain for the loss of a loved one may be felt, and this is but a reflection of his/her importance of in your life.

To feel as such is never a setback to the process of grieving and healing. Each one of us has a unique way of handling one’s loss, and the coping mechanisms vary from person to person.

For those who may have difficulties rising above the loss, or for those who may have lost a loved one so recently, take heart; for time has a way of healing and in coping, here are

DR. MARY JEAN LORECHE simple tips that may be of help, so that You can once again be your upbeat self.

It is essential that you let yourself feel the pain and all other emotions that come with it. It is in facing the reality instead of staying in the denial stage that will help ease the pain.

There’s no use berating yourself , going over and over again for deeds undone or done when your loved one was still alive. In other words, forgive yourself for your shortcomings. Others may go through the process of grief in a short span of time, while, it may take longer for you.

It does not matter: do not compare or judge yourself. Getting that much needed support from family and friends will help ease the pain, as it gives you a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on.

Keeping yourself healthy by eating properly and being physically active will do wonders to releasing that tension and anxieties for the future. Accepting one’s finiteness and drawing close loreche/PAGE 8

M I N D A N A O

Problems mean progress

THINK a minute…

What’s your problem?

You know that not all problems are bad? In fact, having problems sometimes means you’re making progress.

A big hardware business moved into the same building with another, small hardware store.

The big hardware competitor posted signs all over the building that read: “Grand Opening.”

So not to be beat, the owner of the small hardware business posted a big sign over his store that read: “Main Entrance.” It’s successful people who know that their biggest obstacles often become their biggest

executive Editor

JOE DEL PUERTO FELICILDA Uriel C. Quilinguing Editorial Consultants

BusinessWeek

opportunities.

As one smart man said: “The same big stone that’s an obstacle to a weak person is a steppingstone to success for a stronger person.” The difference is in their attitude and response.

Remember, you are not the only person with problems. Even the lion has to fight off flies! So “Don’t be afraid to face the music just because you don’t like the tune.”

Many years ago, American farmers carried their potatoes in wagons to the market. As their wagons bounced along on the rough, bumpy roads, the big potatoes were always

the ones that ended up on top. And it’s usually the same with people. It’s the people with bigger hearts of faith and perseverance who end up on top, after getting over their life’s bumps and problems.

There’s a saying: “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Yes, problems may detour you and take you off course for a little while, but only you can choose to stop moving ahead. Sometimes we think that our temporary problems are permanent. But if you stay patient and positive, then the end of your problem will become the beginning of your new season of success.

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THINK A MINUTE

JHAN TIAFAU HURST

So why not ask Jesus Christ to take charge of your heart every day. It’s only with Him on your side, and His peace and power in your life, that you can turn every problem into progress.

Just think a minute…

A win-win solution We believe government should extensively review its recent decision to transfer the Philippine Air Force’s 15th Strike Wing from the Danilo Atienza Air Base in Sangley Point, Cavite City to Lumbia Airport, Cagayan de Oro City.

The decision was inked by the Department of Defense with the Department of Transportation and Communication to ostensibly clear 44 hectares of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport now occupied by general aviation, flying schools and fish run operators. All these would be moved to the PAF air base at Sangley which would then move the 15th Strike Wing to Lumbia Airport when the Laguindingan Airport starts operations and can accommodate the civil aviation now operating out of Lumbia.

While we cannot argue against the logic of moving general aviation to Sangley,

we have our reser vations about Lumbia being the best site for the 15thStrike Wing. For instance, has the DOTC and DND considered if the PAF has no value contribution at its current location that it can easily be relocated in deference to the budget airlines boom? Is it not a strategic location for our military base? Similarly, has government extensively considered the value contribution of the move to its new location at Lumbia?

Some of our friends are of the opinion this plan is very feasible as the Lumbia runway can accommodate PAF’s needs without interfering with the Laguindingan airport. They believe Lumbia can also host some of the relocated general aviation services such as flying schools, aircraft maintenance facilities which would complement the future needs of Northern

Mindanao and perhaps play a vital role in even decongesting Mactan’s proliferating flying schools.

Furthermore, the transfer could be economically beneficial to Cagayan de Oro as the Air Force personnel and their families who will be relocated will contribute to the local economy especially to the populace in Lumbia .

People living in Lumbia are worried there would little economic opportunities left when the airport is moved to Laguindingan.

Strategically, the plan looks logical since most of the Air Force missions are directed to the Visayas and Mindanao areas. The Palawan airbase can remain as a strategic point for protecting Luzon and the disputed islands in the West Philippine Sea. With the huge demand for pilots in the global aviation market due to the continued growth of budget airlines,

EDITORIAL

there is also opportunity to have Mindanao based flying schools and training facilities locate in Lumbia.

Laguindingan ostensibly does not have enough space for general aviation as priority will be for domestic and international commercial flights. Lumbia can remain as the general aviation airport for Northern Mindanao. Rather than sell off the Lumbia property to private real estate developers, they would rather have the existing runway and facilities be used by the Air Force and general aviation companies.

However, other people do not share this optimism.

Between Lumbia and Laguindingan, it seems an air base in Laguindingan would better secure the airport from land side (considering its proximity to rebel strongholds in Lanao) and sea side, since it sits on the Western coastline of editorial/PAGE 8

November thoughts NOVEMBER may rhyme with somber and, in a certain sense, it truly is, what with its commemoration of the dead that in our country, thanks be to God, is still widely celebrated and regarded very seriously, if sentimentally.

It’s also the month when the liturgical calendar ends with readings revolving around the end time, thereby casting a pall over it. Indeed, it’s the month when we are encouraged to consider the so-called Last Things— death, judgment, hell and, of course, heaven.

But it actually is a happy month, because it also brings with it the celebration of solemnity of all saints, and somehow brings to the fore this truth of faith about our communion of saints— the reality that we are all united in Christ, those in heaven, those still purifying in purgatory and those still struggling here on earth.

We are one people of God, a family with ties more intimate than what flesh and blood can achieve. And

that’s because we are, by God’s will, children of his, created in his image and likeness. That’s the truth that applies to each one of us and all of us together.

November then highlights the need for us to be more aware of our responsibility for one another.

We are a people. We are a family. We are the Church, the mystical body of Christ, whose members we are, members who need to be vitally united to him and to one another.

We have to realize more deeply that we have a great task to preserve the unity and identity of this family of God. This task falls on everyone of us though in different ways. And one very important and indispensable aspect of this task is to carry out a lifelong work of evangelization.

Evangelization can be described as the vital transmission of the lifeblood of truth that comes from God and meant not only to sustain us but also to lead us to our ultimate perfection

and salvation. It’s truth that brings us not only some worldly benefits, but rather nothing less than heaven.

It’s truth that definitely are not simply abstract ideas or mere intellectual affairs of ours. It’s truth that comes always with charity, that addresses us in our whole being as body and soul, and as children of God, and brothers and sisters to one another.

This truth is nothing other than our faith that gives us the ultimate meaning of everything in our life.

We have to be clear about the fact that nothing in our life is outside the purview of our faith. It’s faith that gives us the whole picture of things, the ultimate purpose of our earthly concerns.

We should disabuse ourselves from the tendency to think that we can arrive at the ultimate definition and understanding of things through our reason alone and our human sciences.

Yes, they are necessary, but always together with faith.

Let’s always remember

hints and traces

FR. ROY CIMAGALA what St. John said: “This is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.”

(1 Jn 5,4) The final victory cannot be in any other.

Evangelization therefore can be a very demanding task, because it frowns upon any attempt to make short-cuts that can achieve a certain degree of efficiency and convenience, but can sacrifice the demands, especially the finer demands of charity.

It demands nothing less than truly internalizing our faith, making it flesh of our flesh, so to speak, so that cimagala/PAGE 9

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November 5-6, 2012

7

8

November 5-6, 2012

Corn sector wants export rules eased STAKEHOLDERS in the corn industry are calling for a more open trade system of the commodity, particularly for exports.

“Currently, while the government has liberalized importation, exports are still subject to more stringent rules,” Roderico R. Bioco, chairman emeritus of Philippine Maize Federation, Inc. (PhilMaize) and chief operating officer of Mindanao Grain Processing Co., Inc., told reporters on the sidelines of the 38th Philippine Business Conference in Manila last week.

“We still have to go through a lot of procedures to be able to export corn, like getting the approval of the NFA (National Food Authority),” Mr. Bioco explained.

“However, for importation, even if we have a surplus in local production, it’s allowed. Importation of alternatives to corn as feedstock, such as feed wheat and soy, can also be done openly.”

The NFA regulates the trade of major agricultural commodities. Under its mandate, it may grant requests for the importation of corn as long as the concerned party is willing to pay the tariff set for inbound shipments.

Exports, however, are not allowed unless the NFA certifies that there is a surplus.

Currently, the Philippines still has a deficit of 179,000 metric tons (MT).

Prospective exporters also have to declare the volume they intend to ship

out to ensure that there will be no local shortage of the grain.

In August, PhilMaize asked the Agriculture department to allow export of yellow corn to enable local producers to take advantage of the high price of the commodity in the world market amid the ongoing drought in the United States. The NFA Council has yet to decide on the matter.

Edilberto M. De Luna, Agriculture assistant secretary and National Corn Program coordinator, said last month that exports could actually start before the year ends on expectations of a bumper corn harvest this year.

The Agriculture department has projected corn production to hit a record 7.819 million MT this year.

In 2011, output totaled some 6.971 million MT, 9.31% more than 2010’s 6.377 million MT. It expects the country to achieve self-sufficiency in corn by end-2013 with output of 8.45 million MT. Next year’s projected output, Mr. De Luna had also noted, would even allow for the export of as much as 200,000-400,000 MT of the commodity.

PhilMaize President Roger V. Navarro also told reporters on the sidelines of the same event that the group is just waiting for the NFA Council’s decision on its proposal. “[Agriculture] Assistant Secretary [Romeo S.] Recide told me that his corn/PAGE 10

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

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Northern Mindanao’s palay production up by 11% in 2Q

By APIPA P. BAGUMBARAN Contributor

OVERALL palay production in Northern Mindanao for the second quarter of 2012 reached 135,536 metric tons.

The figure is higher by 11 percent from the 121,844 metric tons recorded in the same quarter in 2011.

Although palay production in rain-fed areas went down by 17 percent, the 13 percent increase in production in irrigated areas pulled up the overall production, said Engr. Cecilio Y. Clarete, chief economic development specialist of the Knowledge Management Division of National Economic and Development Authority in the region.

He said production in rain-fed areas was posted at 5,875 metric tons from the 7,096 metric tons recorded last year, while production in irrigated areas reached 129,661 metric tons from the 114,478 metric tons in the previous year.

Area har vested also increased during the pe-

The increased yield in Bukidnon was the result of less pest infestation, synchronized planting and sufficient rainfall while that of Lanao del Norte was due to absence of unusual occurrence of pests and diseases, Clarete added.

Meanwhile, the value of palay production for the second quarter was estimated at P2.3 billion,

about 19 percent higher over the previous year’s second quarter value, resulting from increases in both production volume and average farm gate price during the period.

The region’s net rice sufficiency level for the quarter was 62 percent, higher by four percentage points compared to the same period last year.

Department of Science and Technology.

Malunggay, dubbed by many as miracle vegetable, has a high calcium content (four times the calcium in milk) and has been promoted by the World Health

Organization (WHO) for the past 20 years as a low-cost health enhancer in poor countries around the globe.

In the PCAARRD project, the best practices of the “magsasaka siyentista” (MS) and the prescribed science

and technology (S&T) interventions were compared.

The MS practice involves feeding milking cows with concentrates and the forage available in the farm.

On the other hand, S&T practice includes feeding milking cows with concentrates and farm-grown grasses plus supplementation of malunggay foliage at 5 kg per day.

To compare milk production using S&T interventions and MS practice, five cows per practice were used.

Initially, average milk production in MS was higher (10.6 kg) compared with S&T (10 kg). However, early lactation was higher in S&T with 15.8 kg compared with MS practice with only 11.3 malunggay/PAGE 10

Editorial...

security and operational reliability.

Lumbia could be much more valuable to the government if sold or leased to the private sector which can further develop it into a new central business district that is flood free and would decongest build up/development away from the crowded poblacion which sits on a flood plain with a permanent sword of Damocles hanging over its head in the guise of the Cagayan River.

Bottom line, government should consult stakeholders in Sangley Point, Lumbia and Laguindingan about the implications of all these juggling before simply bringing them down on hapless residents like a ton of bricks. We are sure

riod by four percent, from 32,692 hectares to 33,974 hectares.

The average yield likewise went up to 3.99 metric ton per hectare or about seven percent.

Except for Misamis Oriental, the rest of the provinces in the region showed positive growth in yield in both irrigated and rainfed areas.

Malunggay hikes cows’ milk yield

By BEN GINES, JR.

THE Department of Science and Technology- Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) has found that Malunggay (Moringa oleifera) is a forage plant that can improve lactation in dairy cattle.

Banking on the “miracles” of this vegetable, DOST-PCAARRD funded a Science and Technologybased Farm (STBF) Project to demonstrate the value of malunggay foliage as feed supplement to increase milk output of dairy cows and its production as a livelihood option to rural farmers.

PCAARRD is one of the attached agencies of the

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from page 6

Misamis Oriental.

Operations wise also, why transfer a PAF airbase to a weather constrained location like Lumbia when you have a 24/7 location in Laguindingan that’s superior in all weather operations, location and area (Lumbia 150 hectares vs. 417 has. for Laguindingan).

It seems Imperial Manila is more concerned with decongesting NAIA so that with Lumbia ready for immediate occupancy when the domestic operations for civil aviation move to Laguindingan. But then, this again raises the latter’s inherent superiority to the former in terms of location,

Malacañang doesn’t have a monopoly of good ideas and its humble constituents in the regions also have their ten cents worth of wisdom to share that everyone can benefit from.

After all, ‘di ba sabi mo kami iyong boss mo? Pagusapan na muna kaya natin bago mo gawin pare?

Loreche... from page 6

close to the Creator, whatever faith one may embrace, will help one recover from the grief, and the void that is left behind by the passing away of a loved one.

To mourn the departure of someone close to your heart, is a way of letting go and in so doing, it will keep you living in a healthy way.

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Hyundai... from page 4

would cost other than to say it would be “certainly millions” of dollars, Krafcik said.

But the companies estimated that a typical Hyundai or Kia owner in Florida who purchased a car in January and drove 15,000 miles would expend 21.4 extra gallons of gas. That driver would get a payment of $88.03, including the 15 percent premium.

If all 900,000 U.S. owners receive the payments, the program will cost nearly $80 million.

The EPA said it received

Cebu... from page 5

seats for the week commencing October 29.

Airphil in turn increased capacity for Manila flights to and from Kalibo, Tacloban and Legaspi, even as PAL reduced capacity for the same routes.

After the rationalization of routes, PAL accounts for

Power... from page 1

and Pulangi hydroelectric power complexes.

Combined output of the two is about half of the roughly 1,000-MW current available supply.

Climate... from page 1

Wahlström said Thursday that the economic losses inflicted on the United States and Caribbean island states

by Hurricane Sandy underlined the growing threat of climate change to the world economy.

“We can say with a high degree of confidence that those parts of the US and the Caribbean which have

a number of consumer complaints about Hyundai mileage estimates and the agency’s testing staff at a laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan, saw discrepancies between EPA testing results of a 2012 Hyundai Elantra and the information provided by the company.

It then expanded its investigation into other Hyundai and Kia vehicles.

The EPA said it routinely tests up to 200 vehicles a year to ensure their performance matches the mileage and emissions data submitted by the automakers. The agency said relabeling as a result of incorrect data has happened twice since

2000, but this is the first time where a large number of vehicles from the same manufacturer have deviated so significantly.

“I sincerely apologize to all affected Hyundai and Kia customers, and I regret these errors occurred,” W.C. Yang, chief technology officer of Hyundai/Kia research and development, said in a statement. “Following up on the EPA’s audit results, we have taken immediate action to make the necessary rating changes and process corrections.”

The South Korean automakers have submitted a plan to the EPA for cars currently on dealer lots

to be relabeled with new window stickers reflecting the corrected mileage estimates, the EPA said Friday.

Hyundai and Kia said procedural errors at the companies’ joint testing operations in Korea led to the incorrect fuel economy ratings. The EPA said regulators found discrepancies between agency results and data submitted by the automakers.

The automakers also said they are putting in place a reimbursement program for affected current and former vehicle owners to cover the additional costs from the fuel economy change.

Cimagala...

In this regard, it would be good that those who occupy positions of great influence in our society—our politicians, teachers, people in media, celebrities, etc.—be well formed in their Christian faith and give consistent witness to it, not scandal.

The effort to highlight the original and perennial link between faith and reason should be made always. The modern mind, immersed in reasoning, the sciences and technology, needs to see and be convinced of this connection.

Those more intellectually gifted should lead the way in doing this—of course, in all humility, lest they repel instead of attract others.

Medical...

18 percent of total capacity in the domestic market, down from the previous 20 percent.

The PAL Group now accounts for just under 39 percent of domestic capacity, compared with 41 percent prior to the rationalization program.

Four other LCCs operate domestic services in the Philippines and account for the remaining 59 percent of the market, led by Cebu Pa-

cific with a 46 percent share.

The other budget airlines are Zest Airways Inc, Air Asia Philippines and Southeast Asian Airlines.

The Philippines has the highest domestic LCC penetration rate in the world at 80 percent. In the first half of this year, the country had 11 million domestic passengers, with LCCs cornering 79 percent of that market.

CAPA said Cebu Pacific, ZestAir and Tiger Airways affiliate SEAir would be the main beneficiaries of the changes at Airphil.

Earlier, Cebu Pacific said it was open to adding flights or exploring more route opportunities to and from Butuan, Cotobato, Cagayan de Oro, Dumaguete, Dipolog, Legazpi, Puerto Princesa, Roxas, Tacloban and Zamboanga.

tor sets which will be distributed to four provincial hospitals, and selected rural health units (RHUs) to be used during brownouts.

C o mp o s t e l a Va l l e y Governor Arturo Uy said 60 percent of the medical supplies and apparatus will be shared among the four provincial hospitals while the 40 percent will be distributed to different RHUs

in 11 towns of the province.

The medical supplies and equipment were presented to hospital and RHU head and personnel in the province during the recent State of the Children’s Report of Governor Uy held in the Provincial Capitol attended by the provincial and municipal officials.

EC granted the funding in support to the effort of the province aiming to lower the rate of maternal and infant mortality.

“If we don’t do anything now, we might as well brace ourselves for two years of possible rotating brownouts of four to eight hours especially in areas with no embedded or additional contracted capacities,” Mr. Montene-

gro said.

The official presented the island’s power situation during the Cities Development Initiative action planning workshop held last week.

Stop-gap measures that could be implemented, he

said, are a quick rehabilitation and upgrading of the Agus-Pulangi power for an additional 100-MW output, tapping of embedded generators through the proposed Interim Mindanao Electricity Market, or the private sector’s vol-

untary interruptible load program, which is now applied in Davao City.

Another measure likely to be realized soon is the resumption operation of the Iligan power plant next month and a maximum 108-MW output by June

2013.

The Commission on Audit recently approved the sale of the Iligan power plant to Alsons Consolidated Resources, Inc. which will invest another P1.2 billion to rehabilitate its units.

borne the brunt of Hurricane Sandy will be vulnerable to repeat events of this magnitude due to rising sea levels and warmer coastal waters. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has pointed out that this poses a particular threat to tropical small island states.

While it is too early to put a cost on Hurricane Sandy there is no doubt that it will contribute significantly to the upward trend in economic

losses from disasters which requires political commitment if the trend is to be reversed. Economic losses from disasters have grown to at least $1.3 trillion over the last twenty years including $380 billion last year,” said Wahlström in a statement.

In 1992, the UN organized the Earth Summit, a conference on environment and development in Rio de Janeiro to rethink economic growth, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection.

Twenty years later, the UN organized Rio+20 or the United States Conference on

Sustainable Development last June 13 to 22, 2012 in Rio de Janeiro aimed at reconciling the economic and environmental goals of the global community. The Rio+20 was the third international conference on sustainable development as a follow-up to the 1992 Earth Summit and the 10th anniversary of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg.

The UNISDR said the Rio+20 gave the global community “a chance to move away from business-as-usual and to end poverty, address environmental destruction

and build a bridge to the future.”

And “disaster risk reduction (DRR) plays an important part in this future of sustainable development,” it added.

But Wahlström, the UN Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, said Thursday the world seems not to have learned its lessons because “more industry is located in exposed areas and more people want to live in coastal areas” which contributed to the almost tripling of physical exposure to tropical cyclones in the last 40 years.

Despite this, “it is clear that we are not investing sufficiently in making our public infrastructure disaster resilient. We can see from events here along the eastern seaboard of the United States the results of ever-more people living in flood plains suggesting that the economic advantages of living in such an environment must outweigh the perceived risks of flooding,” she lamented.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said that “since 1992, the human population has grown by 1,450,000,000 people.”

Airport...

trol of the Philippine Air Force’s numerous Tactical Operations Groups, including the 10th TOG which is now operating out of Lumbia airport.

The 15th Strike Wing operates the North American Rockwell OV-10A Bronco, SIAI Marchetti SF-260TP/W and McDonnel Douglas 520MG Defender attack choppers, aircraft types which have already been operating out of Lumbia by the 10th TOG. The Aquino administration wants to decongest the NAIA which has been experiencing heavy aviation traffic due to the boom in the domestic airline industry brought by the democratization of air travel by budget airlines. Already, fish runs-flights by piston powered aircraft which transport marine products from the provinces to export markets-have been moved to Sangley since May.

Honrado said 44 hectares of NAIA are now occupied by general aviation including air charter, air cargo, aviation training, aircraft maintenance, and corporate flight operations. Flying schools will be moving out of the area starting next year but the sequential movement requirement of the general aviation services is causing procedural delays in the decongestion of the NAIA. “But we will see still the complete movement of the general aviation, flying schools, and fish runs out of NAIA within the term of President Aquino,” Honrado said, referring to May, 2016.

Seven of the PAF’s 12 bases are located in Luzon and has only one base (Benito Ebuen Air Base in Mactan) in the Visayas, home of the 22oth Airlift Wing. At present, Mindanao has four airbases including the Edwin Andrews Air

Base (Zamboanga, home of the 530th Composite Tactical Wing), Rajah Buayan Air Base in General Santos International Airport at General Santos, the 10th Tactical Operations Group (TOG) at Lumbia Airport in Cagayan de Oro and the TOG Sanga-Sanga in TawiTawi.

Cagayan de Oro’s Lumbia Airport has a total area of 150 hectares and is located 183 meters (601 ft.) above sea level. It is the second busiest airport in Mindanao in terms of air passenger traffic and cargo volume.

It is classified as a Class 1 Principal (Major Domestic) airport by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) and has a 2,454 meter (8,050 ft.) asphalt runway. CAAP -10 figures show it accommodated 12,590 flights; 1,301,502 passengers and 22,244,562 kgs. of cargo in 2011.

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from page 1

Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Jose Angel Honrado recently confirmed the planned transfer of PAF 15th Strike Wing to the Lumbia airport. The transfers have already been approved by the Department of National Defense in a Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of Transportation and Communications.

The 15th Strike Wing is tasked to conduct tactical air operations in support of Armed Forces of the Philippines units. It has 3 major groups: Tactical, Maintenance and Supply, and Air Base. The Wing’s tactical elements included the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 20th Attack Squadrons and the 25th Composite Attack Squadron. Many of these units were forward deployed under the operational con-

from page 6 everything is viewed and understood always in terms of our faith and not just of our reasoning, no matter how brilliantly logical and appealing our reasoning may be.

But it’s also an easy task, because first of all there’s God’s grace that is never wanting.

And we are already given all the means to make this evangelization ever new and fresh, ever relevant and effective. We have the doctrine now well articulated and systematized.

We have the sacraments, etc.

What is needed is our correspondence that is supposed to be generous and unstinting. from page 2

10

Congress

November 5-6, 2012

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Cagayan de Oro solons seek ban on politicians as product endorsers ONE senator endorses a hotdog, a razor and a wristwatch, while another is the face of a computer school. Two others have appeared in television commercials promoting detergent products.

So what’s wrong with politicians working as product endorsers?

A lot, according to two members of the House of Representatives who have filed a bill seeking to penalize public officials, whether elected or appointed, who engage in product advertising, especially in time for election campaigns.

Under House Bill No. 2571, such officials would

be removed from office, disqualified from holding any other government position or from running “for any position in the next election.” They would also be slapped with a “fine in an amount not less than double the amount of the value of the advertisement.”

“Whatever reason these public officials may have in doing such advertisements is immaterial,” said

Representatives Rufus and Maximo Rodriguez in the explanatory note to HB 2571.

“The fact remains that these advertisements give them undue advantage over other prospective candidates.

Further, they may face conflict of interest should an investigation be conducted by them on the products they are endorsing,” they said.

‘In any form or medium’ The proposed law bans the endorsement or advertisement by a government official of “any product or service in any form or medium.”

One of the perennial survey topnotchers among the senatorial candidates, Sen. Francis Escudero, has a number of product endorsements under his name. He is the “brand ambassador” of Frabelle Foods. He was even featured in a cooking demo during Frabelle’s product launch last July.

Escudero also appears in ads endorsing a computer school, a razor, a wristwatch and an herbal supplement.

Sen. Bong Revilla Jr., a movie star who continues to make movies, also endorses a computer university. In the past, Senators Pia Cayetano

and Loren Legarda have appeared in commercials for detergent products.

Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara, who is running for senator under the administration ticket, has appeared in food supplement ads that include his father, outgoing Sen. Edgardo Angara, and his son.

Other senatorial candidates have also come up with their own TV commercials, without necessarily endorsing a particular commercial product.

Sen. Koko Pimentel has an ad encouraging voters to register, while Cynthia Villar

is featured in one touting her livelihood program in Las Piñas.

Risa Hontiveros, a leader of the controversial Akbayan party-list group who is running under the ruling Liberal Party coalition, has a TV commercial promoting the family, which critics in social media have denounced as a form of early campaigning.

The bill’s coauthors cited a provision of the Omnibus Election Code that bars candidates from engaging in an “election campaign or partisan political activity except during the campaign period.”

CARPER extension bid total madness — KMP Padaca

Velasco

2 Comelec commissioners to observe US presidential polls

TWO commissioners of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will go to United States to observe the coming presidential election and also study American campaign spending to be able to implement rules on campaign finances in the 2013 polls in the Philippines.

Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes said commissioners Armando Velasco and Grace Padaca would observe the Nov. 6 US presidential polls and also attend seminars on campaign funding on the invitation of the International Foundation for Electoral System, a non-government organization that promotes free and fair elections.

“They will be attending many sessions so we can learn the process, especially on campaign finance which is very complicated. We really would like to know more about that,” Brillantes said.

The observation tour and seminar will be held in Washington DC from Nov. 4 to 8.

The invitation was addressed to Brillantes and Velasco but the chairman opted to offer his slot to Padaca, who might be assigned to handle campaign finance since she is a certified public accountant. Padaca left for the US yesterday morning.

Velasco, who was scheduled to leave last night, said they would also study election adjudication and the concerns of people with disabilities, among others.

Brillantes added that the US experience might help the Comelec in pushing for the amendment of Republic Act No. 9006 or the Fair Election Act to level the playing field among candidates.

“We really have to amend our system. We want to implement strictly our laws and rules on campaign spending because of loopholes. The

campaign limits there are also not realistic,” he said.

The Comelec is also pushing for a limit in campaign contributions, since elections have become fund-raising activities for some candidates.

At present, the poll body is beset with the lack of a law on premature campaigning so it intends to make up for this by making sure that candidates will not overspend in the campaign.

To start this off, the Comelec issued Resolution No. 9476 or the Rules and Regulations Governing Campaign Finance and Disclosure last June to clarify policies on campaign contribution and expenditures and propaganda.

With the resolution, the agency now refers to “election propaganda” as “any matter broadcast, published, printed, or exhibited which is intended to draw the attention of the public or a segment thereof to promote or oppose, directly or indirectly, the election of a particular candidate or candidates to a public office.”

This is in lieu of the term “political advertisement” in Resolution No. 8758 promulgated in Feb. 4, 2010 which was vague and broad, thus enabling candidates to skirt around the rules.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said Malacañang has no position yet on a bill seeking to prohibit government officials from endorsing products or services, but it is ready to coordinate with the lawmakers who proposed it.

Valte said they have yet to discuss the provisions of House bill no. 2571 authored by Reps. Rufus and Maximo Rodriguez.

“You know this is new. We have not had the chance to discuss this,” Valte said.

Valte said the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) would have

Corn...

inventory of 300,000 per metric ton per month,” said Mr. Navarro.

Mr. Bioco stressed that allowing farmers to “freely” export corn would not only enable local producers to promptly take advantage of situations that raise the price of the commodity in the international market, such as the ongoing US drought, but would also stabilize local prices.

from page 8

recommendation to the NFA council is to allow the export of at least 400,000 metric tons of corn, as we already have a surplus of 1.2 million metric tons for the grains -- meaning not only corn but also alternatives like cassava -- and that for the next four months, we will have a standing grain

to talk to the authors of the measure.

“We’ll let the PLLO coordinate with the sponsors of the bill. The PLLO serves as our liaison (to Congress),” the Palace spokesperson said.

“It will be up to the PLLO to discuss it also with the President,” she added.

House bill no. 2571 bars all public officials, whether elected or appointed, to endorse any product or service in any form or medium.

The authors of the bill said some officials of the legislative and executive branches are “now prematurely campaigning in the guise of commercial advertising and personal advocacies.”

They claimed that the commercials give these officials undue advantage over other prospective candidates.

“No public official shall endorse products which may be deemed to be premature campaigning for public office,” the bill read.

“Likewise, there may be conflict of interest if the public official (is) involved in the investigation of the product endorsed.”

Violators may be removed from office, disqualified from holding any government post or running for any position in the next election or slapped with a fine in an amount not less than double the amount of the value of the advertisement.

Various sectors have criticized politicians who appeared in various commercials, saying they are trying to bolster their images way ahead of the campaign period.

Among the senatorial bets who are endorsing products or who appeared in ads that promote certain advocacies are Senators Francis Escudero, Ramon Revilla Jr., Alan Peter Cayetano and Koko Pimentel, former Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros, Reps. Juan Edgardo Angara and Jack Enrile and Puerto Princesa City Mayor Edward Hagedorn.

Malunggay... from page 8

kg.

During middle lactation, cows fed with malunggay still yielded more with 9.4 kg average production while the MS practice only yielded 8.2 kg.

A lower decline in output of 6 percent was also

A PEASANT group slammed instead of welcomed proposals to extend the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms (CARPER) by another five years, saying that Congress will be merely extending a sham and anti-peasant scheme, describing the proposed measure as “total madness.”

The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) said the Filipino peasantry already had enough of the bogus CARPER and reviving the anti-peasant Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) from its current state of political comatose and giving it another five-year lease in life is total madness, KMP deputy secretary general Randall Echanis said. “This will face intense agrarian unrest and resistance in the countryside and the parliament of the streets,” he added.

The KMP issued the statement in reaction to the bill filed last month

by Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez and his brother, Abante Mindanao Rep. Maximo Rodriguez seeking the extension of the CARP until 2019.

“24 years of the bogus CARP failed to address the monopoly of big landlords over vast tracts of lands. Instead, landlessness and land-grabbing suffered by farmers worsened,” Echanis said.

As if 24 years plus a five-year extension was not enough for the CARP, which has been renamed the CARPER, the House of Representatives wanted the program extended by another five years which the Palace indicated may not be necessary because of the government-imposed deadline on June, 2014 to complete the land reform process.

The House measure called for the extension of CARPER until 2019 to assure that all covered agricultural lands are distributed.

“As far as the Department of Agrarian (DAR) is concerned, the program continues. DAR is moving to achieve its deadline as if there was no proposal to extend and, also, we also made it clear that even if the deadline comes in June, 2014 if the notice of coverage is issued, the process continues,” deputy presidential spokesman Abigal Valte said.

In our discussions before with Agrarian Reform Secretary Gil de

los Reyes, land above 10 hectares are now being issued notices of coverage that will end December 2012, Valte said.

Those below 10 hectares, the target for the issuance of notices of coverage will be on July 1, 2013.

The DAR, however, is ready to appear before the House committee hearings to provide information and to act as resource persons on the proposed measure, she added.

“Only a genuine agrarian reform program that will break the monopoly and control of big landlords over vast tracts of lands and haciendas and its subsequent free distribution to landless tillers will solve the centuries-old landlessness of peasants in the country,” KMP’s Echanis added.

The KMP is pushing for the enactment of House Bill 374 or the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill (GARB) that seeks the “free distribution of lands to the tillers.”

Echanis also described the CARP as “the longest-running and most expensive agrarian reform program in the world and is not meant to address the problem of landlessness and rural poverty. 24 years of CARP is enough.”

The CARP was enacted on June 10, 1988 during the administration of then President Corazon CojuangcoAquino. Activist farmers said the CARP was crafted by Aquino’s family to exempt Hacienda Luisita and other vast haciendas in the country from actual land distribution.

The CARP also includes the operation land transfer (OLT) under Presidential Decree 27, enacted in 1972 by former President Marcos.

“CARP is no less than a milking cow of big landlords. Only hacienderos like Aquino have profited immensely from CARP,” Echanis said citing that “from 1972 to June 2005, total approved Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) compensation to 83,203 landowners for only 1.3 million hectares has already reached P41.6 billion in cash and bonds, or an average of P500,463 per landlord.”

The five-year extension of CARP or CARPER, (2009-2014) also have a P150-billion budgetary allocation.

“Even the DAR’s figures are deceiving. The DAR already listed as accomplishment even those

lands that are still locked in agrarian disputes like Hacienda Looc and Hacienda Yulo in Southern Tagalog, among others,” the peasant leader said.

“For more than 40 years since Marcos’ PD 27, the government’s bogus agrarian reform is coupled by human rights violations and countless cases of massacre of peasants asserting their rights to the land,” Echanis said citing the Escalante massacre in Negros, Lumil massacre in Silang, Cavite; Mendiola Massacre, and Hacienda Luisita massacre, among others,” he said.

In the opening note for House Bill 6614, seeking a five-year extension to CARPER, it noted that the program will likely breach the 2014 target the DAR has only been able to distribute around 32,000 hectares out of its 180,000 target thus far.

The bill has been referred to the committee on agrarian reform.

The KMP held that CARPER is a government program manipulated by big landlords to strengthen control and solidify their monopoly over agricultural lands. The CARPER only prolonged and expanded the control of landlords over land that should have long been given to farmers all over the country, according to the group.

“This anti-peasant law was originally designed and enacted by President Aquino’s family to exempt Hacienda Luisita and evade land distribution. We hope our bishops would not be deceived by President Aquino who is a landlord through and through in orientation and action when it comes to issues of land reform. Implementing the Carper to the hilt will only mean helping the President’s family to again stop the turn over of Hacienda Luisita to the farmer-beneficiares,” KMP said.

“The agrarian reform disputecases of Hacienda Luisita, Hacienda Looc in Batangas, Roxas-Araneta lands in Bulacan, among others, are concrete cases where landlords made use of the Carper to evade land distribution,” according to KMP. “In the three years that Caper has been implemented and the 21 years of its predecessor Carp, majority of Filipino farmers remain landless and continue to suffer feudal and semi-feudal exploitation at the hands of big landowners,” it added.

observed during the middle lactation in the S&T practice compared to the MS practice, which had a decrease rate of 22.6 percent.

This shows that supplementing malunggay foliage to dairy cows can increase milk production considerably during early lactation (1st 100 days) and lower the rate of decrease in milk

yield during middle lactation (2nd 100 days).

Supplementing malunggay foliage to milking cows gave an increased income equivalent to milk production per cow per day of 4.3 kg, 2.75 kg, and 1.74 kg at early, middle and late lactation, respectively.

This means an additional income of P93.81 per cow

per day during early lactation, P60.50 for middle, and P38.41 for late lactation.

Computing the P93.81 net income change per day for 100 days would mean additional profit of P9,381 per cow. Also, the additional P60.50 per cow per day for 200 days would mean a net income change per cow of P12,100. (PNA)

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Maguindanao women’s coop ‘weaves old with new’ in Sarangani GENERAL Santos City -- Maguindanao women clad in brilliantly-colored traditional skirts or malong and head-wraps or tandong, listened intently to Sergio Boero, an Italian specialist who helps producers to market ethnic crafts in the global market, as he explained the concept of “design management.”

“Those who take care of the numbers side of marketing and distribution have realized that they have to work more closely with the designers and manufacturers—people like yourselves,” he said, at the product packaging and marketing workshop organized for the weavers and other women entrepreneurs by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

“When marketing, focus on your culture. Enable the buyer to learn the back story of yourself and what you make,” said Boero, who was pleased to learn from Janaria Magangcong, head of the weavers’ association, that they already had their own website.

“My son is into IT and helped us set it up,” she said proudly.

Janaria’s initiation into the centuries-old craft of Maguindanao weaving began with a handloom brought over by an in-law from Cotabato City, many years ago.

“I didn’t really know how to weave at the time, but it seemed so interesting, I asked to be taught the techniques,” said Janaria, who lives in Malapatan, Sarangani Province. It would be a way of earning extra money for her family, she thought.

Her sister-in-law Antang Magangcong, on the other hand, came into weaving through the traditional path.

“I learned how to weave from my mother, and she in turn, learned from her mother.

It was part of our lives ever since I can remember.”

Other women in the small, rural community of Barangay Balungis followed their example, and eventually they formed the 25-member Balungis Weavers’ Association. Most of them are family

members of former combatants of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

The women had to take turns at using the few handlooms available, storing their handiwork as best they could in a small bamboo shed and in their cramped houses, and packing and repacking them for show to buyers.

Recently, however, the weavers were able to consolidate the manufacturing, storage and marketing of their products into one facility—the Balungis Trading Center built by USAID through its Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program, in partnership with the municipal government of Malapatan and the provincial government of Sarangani.

The GEM Program is

implemented under the oversight of the Mindanao Development Authority.

The weavers’ association will help operate the center, now owned by the municipality, and will be responsible for its day-to-day upkeep and the charging of user fees.

The association was also provided by USAID with six new handlooms, which will enable them to keep up with production schedules as orders come in.

“This means more income for us women and more money for food and our children’s school fees,” said Antang.

Barangay official Raop Harid, himself a former MNLF combatant, expressed appreciation for USAID’s assistance, which supports economic growth and demonstrates the continuing commitment of both the U.S. and Philippine governments to fostering peace in conflict-affected areas of Mindanao.

“This has also helped to recover a tradition that was

almost lost to our community,” Harid said.

In addition to being a source of livelihood, the weaving has been an outlet for the women’s creativity, as they bridge the gap between the old ways and 21st-century buyers.

Janaira described the delight she felt in seeing intricate designs unfurl f rom her loom, and in

combining unusual, nontraditional colors, at which she excels. Like all true artisans, she found herself experimenting with pattern and design.

“What sets the Balungis weavers apart is that they’re flexible and willing to innovate using indigenous techniques,” said Emil Englis, a Davao-based fashion designer and instructor

who is working with the association members to develop new products for the modern consumer market, from table napkins to wallets and brooches.

“Abroad, handcrafted work stands out, but the weavers’ openness to new colors, patterns and concepts allows us to take production to a different level,” added Englis.

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I learned a lot of things on how to become a better broadcaster. Then, all I had was confidence. Now, it’s confidence with knowledge. The activity was a lot of fun. I thought it would be awkward, but I found myself being comfortable with my fellow school broadcasters, and also with our speaker, who never failed to get my attention. He is now my role model of an effective speaker. It is because, through the four hours that I have listened to him, I never, even once, bored and all he said is still clear in my head. It was an experience that I’ll never forget and I’ll treasure forever.”

(Kay Lorenz C. Octobre, Gusa Regional Science High School, Cagayan de Oro City)

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