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www.businessweekmindanao.com Issue No. 74, Volume III • May 21-24, 2012

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Market Indicators

AS OF 5:46 P.M., MAY. 11, 2012 (Friday)

FOREX

PHISIX

US$1 = P43.25

4,879.42 points

33 cents

;

137.60 points

;

Briefly MRDP extension

DAVAO City -- The National Economic and Development Authority’s (NEDA) Investment Coordination Committee has endorsed a two-year extension for the Mindanao Rural Development Program’s (MRDP) Phase 2, which was supposed to end this year.

Arnel V. de Mesa, deputy program director, said NEDA’s approval was necessary for the World Bank, the program’s main funding source, to consider the extension. “The Philippine government only needs to comply with the protocols [of the bank],” De Mesa told reporters here Monday.

Mr. de Mesa added the “good performance and substantial list of pipeline projects are among the factors in getting the nod” from NEDA.

LNG facility

THE ENERGY department is planning to recommend the construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure in Mindanao, an official said on Friday.

The department said initial recommendations from a World Bank study showed there is potential for the use of natural gas in Mindanao.

“Based on the World Bank study, they’re looking at a floating storage and regasification unit with a component for a short pipeline that will run along certain industrial zones in Mindanao,” said Energy Undersecretary Jose M. Layug, Jr. “What we need to do now is study carefully the cost efficiency of the project because we want to make sure that as we propose developmental projects in Mindanao, it’s something the people of Mindanao can afford,” he added.

By CARMELITO Q. FRANCISCO, Correspondent

D

AVAO City – An industry leader has admitted that finding new markets for the Davao region’s banana industry in the near term would be difficult.

Stephen A. Antig, executive director of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA), said the distance between unexplored markets and the Philippines is the problem.

Last week, President Benigno S.C. Aquino III instructed Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala to explore new markets for the region’s banana growers after China imposed BIG LOSS. Banana growers fear the recent Chinese actions on blocking Filipino ex- new restrictions on the enported bananas from entry not only have far reaching effects on employment. FILE PHOTO try of Philippine bananas.

This came amid a territorial dispute over Scarborough Shoal.

Even as over 150 container vans of bananas from Mindanao were blocked entry in Chinese ports for alleged phytosanitary issues, a new set of requirements that would mean additional cost to small growers has been imposed by the Chinese government effective June 1.

PBGEA has been aggressively seeking new markets BANANA/PAGE 9

Kitaotao hydropower to ease Mindanao power shortage

By RUBY LEONORA R. BALISTOY Correspondent

MALAYBALAY City -- Hedcor Bukidnon, Inc. and the municipality of Kitaotao is now working to develop a hydroelectric plant, which would help ease nagging problems on power shortage in Mindanao every summer season.

Gregorio Jabonillo, Hedcor’s Vice President for Business Development, said this run-of-river hydroelectric project will harness the Sita and Simod rivers in Kitaotao town in Bukidnon,

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as a source of power with a combined installed capacity of 28.2 megawatts.

“Data showed that the Kitaotao hydro power plant, if completed, will generate 160 million kilowatt hours annually, which could somehow help address problems on Mindanao’s power shortage,” he said.

Meanwhile, in his message during the signing of the memorandum of agreement (MOA) of said project, Kitaotao Mayor Rodito Rafisura said that the power shortage will worsen if no power sources

are added soon.

“Mindanao is very dependent on the power supply that comes from the Agus and Pulangi hydro electric plants in Lanao and Bukidnon respectively.

Consequently, during long droughts or low rainfall, the production of these facilities is affected and Mindanao is always plunged into rotating brownouts. There is therefore a need to build more power plants,” he said.

“It has been reported that some 52 percent of Mindanao’s total power HYDROPWER/PAGE 9

By BONG FABE, Correspondent

Global Mindanaw Polytechnic, Inc. (GMP) — in an effort to put flesh to its development programs for the grassroots of Mindanao.

Formally launched last week on the 16th anniverNGO/PAGE 9

Partnership Development NGO opens Public-Private Dr. Cherry Mae Limbaco, DepEd Division SuperinMayor Juliette T. Uy and Ms. Ma. Teresa technical, vocational school tendent, Alegrio, Steag State Power Community Relations THE peace and development civil society group Balay Mindanaw Group of NGOs recently launched the newest and youngest member of BMG — the

Manager (left to right) share a light moment after pouring fresh cement into the time capsule during groundbreaking rites for the Tambobong-Balacanas National High School in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental over the weekend. The new school, initiated by Mayor Uy, has been recognized by the DepEd and is the recipient of a 4-classroom donation from Steag State Power Inc. Advertorial

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May 21-24, 2012

Economy

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MINDANAO

Livestock and poultry production in Region 10 up by 6.10%

By RUTCHIE C. AGUHOB, Distributor

OZAMIZ City -- A total production of 364,359 metric tons (MT) in live weight of livestock and poultry was noted in Northern Mindanao last year.

This volume of production is actually 6.10 percent higher compared to the 343,418MT in live weight of livestock and poultry in the previous year, Engr. Carlito A. Baclayon, Regional Statistics Officer of the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS), region 10, said.

Posting the highest volume of production for the year was on swine with 144,473MT, followed by chicken, 127,929 MT, chicken eggs, 36,632 MT, cattle, 35,224 MT, carabao, 8,326 MT, goat, 6,726 MT, duck eggs, 3,501 MT, and duck, 1,548 MT. In terms of growth in production, however, chicken posted the biggest increase of 7.69 percent,

followed by goat, 6.83 percent, carabao, 6.09 percent, chicken eggs, 6.08 percent, swine, 5.83 percent, duck eggs, 2.46 percent and cattle, 2.31 percent.

But decline in the production of ducks was noted, from 1,586 MT to 1,548 MT or down by 2.40 percent, Baclayon said.

During the 4th quarter of 2011, the volume of production in live weight of livestock and poultry was also noted at 105,101 MT posting an increase of 6.81 percent compared to the production of 98,401MT in the same period of the previous year.

Again, swine maintained its lead over the other livestock and poultry with its production of 41,879MT, followed by chicken with 37,308MT, chicken eggs, 11,239 MT, cattle, 9,459 MT, carabao, 2,458 MT, goat, 1,595 MT, duck eggs, 863 MT, and duck, 300 MT. In terms of growth in production, during the 4th quarter of 2011, however, chicken eggs posted the biggest increase with 11.50 percent, followed by carabao, 8.23 percent, swine, 6.76 percent, chicken, 6.39 percent, duck eggs, 4.99 percent, goat, 4.32 percent, and cattle, 4.12 percent.

Planned Davao sales mission to Beijing cancelled: DoT

By RUDOLF IAN G. ALAMA Contributor

DAVAO City -- The planned June sales mission to Beijing spearheaded by the Department of Tourism Region XI (DOT-XI) has been cancelled as tensions between the two countries over disputed areas in the West Philippines Sea spills over to tourism.

Eden Larano, Chief Tourism Operations Officer of DOT-XI said that they had been advised by the tourism attaché in Beijing that the schedule of the sales mission is “too close for comfort.”

The Davao Cultural Festival in the Chinese capital was supposed to be held from June 11 to June 30.

Although there has been no official memo yet from their Chinese tourism counterparts, Chinese travel agencies and tour

operators had been advised to suspend promotions to the Philippines. Larano, however, clarified that there is no travel ban issued by the government of China barring its citizens to visit the country.

The travel cancellations started in May 10 amidst concerns on the safety of Chinese citizens amidst protest actions against China, an offshoot of the standoff between the two countries at the disputed Scarborough Shoal, a reef 124 nautical miles west of Zambales, which is being claimed by China.

According to figures from the Department of Tourism, about 1,500 to 2,000 Chinese tourists have cancelled their flight to the country since May 10.

Among those affected included bookings in Boracay, Bohol, and Cebu.

Larano said that they had hoped to equal or surpass the success of the previous sales mission to Beijing held in June last year. The 2011 Davao Cultural Festival held in Marco Polo Beijing resulted in Davao being featured in Chinese broadcast media particularly the Chinese national television network CCTV, attracted interest among Chinese tour operators and travel agencies plus a chartered flight of Chinese executives on a company incentive visit.

China is the fourth largest market for Philippine tourism next to South Korea, the United States, and Japan. In Davao Region, China ranks third in the East Asian market next to Japan and South Korea. According to Larano an average Chinese tourist stays in the country for 3.5 days and spends about P4,000 per day.

BIR-Marawi tops 1st Q target by 16%

By APIPA P. BAGUMBARAN Contributor

MARAWI City -- A total of P94.51 million was collected by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) District 102 in the first quarter of 2012, surpassing its collection target of P81.58 million for the

quarter.

This figure is also 37 percent higher compared to the P69.03 million it collected during the same period of last year, said Revenue District Officer Aminoden Macarampat.

Collections from income taxes contributed the largest

share to the total collections posting P71.36 million, up by 38 percent or P19.81 million from the collection in the same quarter of 2011.

This was followed by valueadded taxes at P19.79 million which exceeded the P15.76 million collection last year by P4.03 million or 26 percent.

Revenue from other taxes also went-up by 88 percent, from P1.59million to P2.98 million while percentage taxes climbed to P379,500, exceeding the P132,000 collection last year by 186 percent.

Macarampat said the success in its collection performance was attributable to the intensified information tax campaign they have conducted.

“Aside from carrying-out tax mapping of business establishments, we also conducted door-to-door information campaign and explained the benefits of paying taxes,” he said.

He added that close coordination with the Landbank and Philippine National Bank in the area, and with local government units, from the provincial to barangay level, also contributed to their positive performance.

BusinessWeek

MINDANAO

Companies

High Court asked to stop order on Export Bank assets THE Supreme Court has been asked to enjoin the implementation of the Court of Appeals’ order to stop the seizure of the assets and properties of Export and Industry Bank (EIB), amid a pending case holding the bank liable for unauthorized sale of over P1.46 billion worth of shares of several firms in DM Consunji Inc. (DMCI).

The petitioners - Pacific Rehouse Corporation, Pacific Concorde Corporation, Mizpah Holdings, Inc., Forum Holdings Corporation and East Asia Oil Company Inc. - asked the SC to set aside the appellate court’s April 26 ruling that nullified two orders issued by a court in Makati last year.

The case stemmed from allegations of the 5 companies regarding the unauthorized sale of said DMCI shares made by their broker, EIB Securities, Inc. The Makati RTC issued an order on August 26, 2011 directing the garnishment of P1.47 billion, representing 32.18 million DMCI shares at P45.55 per share against EIB Securities. It also authorized the sheriff to acquire the shares from the Philippine Stock Exchange at the cost of EIB Securities Inc. and Export Bank.

This was supposed to cover all holding money, properties, and personal belongings owned by Export Bank and EIB Securities.

In its 38-page petition

review, the petitioners argued that the CA should have stopped EIB’s petition for violating the rule against forum shopping.

“One of the grounds invoked by petitioners for the dismissal of the petition... is the filing by respondent bank and its wholly-owned subsidiary, EIB Securities, of multiple petitions both praying for a TRO and a writ of preliminary injunction and for setting aside the orders...of the RTC of Manila. The Court of Appeals, however,totally ignored this issue and did not bother to rule on it in its assailed decision,” the petition said.

The petitioners also claimed EIB tried to transfer its properties and shares in Arthaland Corporation while the case was pending before the CA. “Unless respondent Exportbank is enjoined from

transferring its properties, it will continue to do so and the bank’s depositors and creditors including petitioners who are entitled to the return of their 32,180,000 DMCI shares pursuant to the final and executory decision of this Honorable Court...would be deprived of their right to be paid their credits n the liquidation of Exportbank should the PDIC decide that the bank can no longer be rehabilitated,” the petitioners added.

EIB is currently under receivership of the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC). EIB was placed under receivership by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas due to its inability to service maturing time deposits because of insufficient liquidity.

EIB had P15.98 billion in deposits covering 50,052 deposit accounts when it was ordered closed.

May 21-24, 2012

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May 21-24, 2012

Companies

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MINDANAO

Party-list solon pushes Mobile Phone Subscribers Bill SAYING that mobile phone companies now owe their subscribers P3 billion from failing to lower interconnection charges as ordered by the National Telecommunications Commission last November, partylist Rep. Teddy Casiño has urged the House of Representatives to immediately pass House Bill 5653 or the Mobile Phone Subscribers bill to protect the rights of mobile phone subscribers.

Casiño said that “among the numerous instances where these telecommunication service providers (telcos) defied NTC was when they refused to implement a 20-centavos deduction on interconnection charges for SMS (text messages) which the

NTC ordered effective on November 30, 2011.”

House Bill No. 5653 seeks to promote the rights of mobile phone subscribers by regulating prices, requiring telecommunications service companies to provide detailed billing of both prepaid credits and

postpaid consumption, number portability, lowered pulse rate and other service improvements for the benefit of our consuming public.

“The true costs of mobile phone ser vices are hidden in the untransparent pricing of Smart and Globe, which enables them to impose onerous charges.

Prepaid subscribers often are left blind as to how their credits were consumed, if they were indeed consumed at all prior to the load expiration, which in itself is a dubious practice. Postpaid subscribers meanwhile bewail a lack of transpar-

ency on the charges levied against them as found in billing statements. These issues among others have to be addressed and it has to be done now,” he added.

“To date the estimate is almost P3 billion have yet to be refunded by the telcos to their subscribers due to unauthorized text charges. This data is extrapolated from the latest financial reports provided by the telcos themselves reveal a gross income of at least P200 million per day from text messaging services. Assuming half of the text messages are between telcos and subject

to interconnection fees, the 20-centavo reduction in said fees would mean the telcos have been overcharging their consumers

by P20 million per day, or a total of P3 billion for the 4 and a half months that the NTC order remains unimplemented,” said the progressive solon.

“This is a conservative estimate considering the fact that as text capital of the world, some 1.5 to 1.8 billion text messages a day are sent in the Philippines.

In some of our computations, the overprice even reached five times this amount,” Casiño ended.

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES REGIONAL TRIAL COURT 10TH JUDICIAL REGION BRANCH 28 MAMBAJAO, CAMIGUIN In the Matter of Petition for Issuance of New Owner’s Duplicate Copy of Original Certificates of Titles (OCT) Nos. 8698, 8699, 8702, 8703 and 9827 in lieu of the Lost Ones,

MISC. CASE NO. 109

TEODOMILA CASIMIRO by her AttorneyIn-fact, MA. DOLORES M. RIGONAN, Petitioner, x-------------------------------------------------------- / ORDER Petitioner, Teodomilia Casimiro by her Attorney-in-Fact, Ma. Dolores M. Rigonan, of legal age, Filipino, married and resident of No. 21 Guyabano St., Project 2, Brgy. Quirino 2-B, Quezon City, 1102, Metro Manila, thru counsel, states that parcels of land, duly registered in the office of the Register of Deeds of Camiguin under Original Certificates of Titles Nos. 8698, 8699, 8702, 8703, and 9827 are owned by her mother Josefa R. Casimiro who passed away last 20 January 2012.

That the owner’s duplicate copy of the OCT’s of the aforesaid parcels of land were lost and despite earnest effort to locate them, the same was of no avail. The fact of such loss was duly registered in the office of the Registry of Deeds of Camiguin.

That petitioner had not entered into any transaction involving the subject parcels of land and the said titles do not contain any encumbrance.

It is the main thrust of the petition that after hearing the Owner’s Duplicate of the Original Certificates of Title which have been lost be declared null and void and a new Owner’s Duplicate of Original Certificates of Title Nos. 8698, 8699, 8702, 8703 and 9827 be issued in lieu thereof under the same terms and conditions as contained in the original on file.

The petition being sufficient in form and substance is hereby set for hearing on July 5, 2012 in this Court’s Session Hall, to start at 8:30 o’clock in the morning.

Let copy of the petition together with all its annexes and of this Order be furnished The Register of Deeds at Mambajao, Camiguin; The Administrator, Land Registration Authority at Quezon City; and Provincial Prosecutor of Camiguin.

The Process Server of this Court is directed to post copies of this Order in the 1.) Bulletin Board – Public Market, Mambajao, Camiguin; 2.) Bulletin Board – Municipal Hall, Mambajao, Camiguin; 3.) Bulletin Board – Provincial Capitol, Mambajao, Camiguin; and 4.) Bulletin Board – this Court.

Let copy of this Order be published at petitioner’s expense once a week for three consecutive weeks prior to the date of hearing in any newspaper of general circulation in the Province of Camiguin.

Any person or entity whose interests might be adversely affected by this proceeding may file written opposition within a reasonable time prior to the date of hearing and appear personally during the hearing to substantiate the same.

SO ORDERED. Done at Mambajao, Camiguin, this 3rd day of May 2012.

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PAL offers all-in low-fare promo PHILIPPINE Airlines (PAL) has raised the ante in an ongoing price war among local carriers as it offers the first no-hidden charges, all-in low-fare promo for all domestic and selected international destinations - the first marketing effort since San Miguel Corp. bought into the flag carrier.

In a statement, PAL said the one-way tickets from Manila to any point in Luzon are slashed to P1,376. Flights to the Visayas go as low as P1,443, while those to Mindanao, P2,003.

All-in fares from any point in Luzon to Manila start at P1,393, while flights from Visayas to Manila could be had for P1,460, and from Mindanao to Manila at P2,020.

Round-tr ip tickets from Manila to select international destinations are similarly reduced: Bali, $376; Bangkok, $319; Beijing, $380; New Delhi, $718; Fukuoka, $546; Guam, $396; Ho Chi Minh, $300; Hong Kong, Macau or Taipei, $240; Jakarta, $342; Melbourne, $837; Nagoya, $565; Osaka, $525; Shanghai, $370; Singapore, $305; Sydney, $856; Tokyo, $566; and Xiamen, $270.

Flights from Cebu to Tokyo would cost $670.

The promo tickets are all for economy class and must be used between June 13 and September 30, except those for Guam which are valid between August 16 and December 15.

San Miguel last month sealed the acquisition of a 49 percent stake in PAL and its low-cost unit, Air Philippines Express.

The diversifying foodand-beverage conglomerate said its investment would help fund PAL’s re-fleeting program.

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MINDANAO

May 21-24, 2012

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May 21-24, 2012

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MINDANAO

Bread and Butter THINK a minute…

There was a baker who bought his butter from a local farmer. One day the baker decided to weigh the butter. He was surprised that the farmer had been giving him less butter but still charging him the same price. The baker got very angry! He told the farmer he was a dishonest crook and took him to court.

In court the judge asked the farmer: “Do you have measuring weights and scales? The farmer answered no. So the judge asked: “Then how do you weigh the pound of butter you sell to the baker?”

The farmer said: “When

the baker started buying butter from me I wanted to help him too, so I started buying his bread for my family. Since then I’ve been using the baker’s 1-pound loaf of bread as the weight to measure my butter. So if the weight of the butter is wrong, that means the baker has been dishonest and selling less than a full pound loaf of bread to me!”

Many of us are quick to see the faults and wrongs of others, but we’re slow to see and admit our own. In fact, many times we draw attention to other people’s problems and faults precisely because we don’t

want to face our own. We think we’re wise experts at knowing what’s wrong with ever yone else, yet we’re completely blind to our own weaknesses and character flaws.

But even if that other person does have something wrong with them, our own wrong of judging them can be even worse than what we’re judging them for! This is why Jesus Christ warned us that we will end up being judged by the same judgment we made on someone else! But if we will honestly admit to Jesus what’s wrong with our own character and way of living, Jesus will

THINK A MINUTE

JHAN TIAFAU HURST forgive us and give us His inner power. He can start fixing and changing our heart, so we’ll be free to genuinely love others instead of looking for their faults.

Just think a minute…

WANTED: Courage and Glory CHINA cancelled their tour groups going to the Philippines? Cebu Pacific through their spokesperson reported reduction of flight frequency of their half empty A-320’s to Beijing and vice versa as a result of the latest action of the Chinese government restricting their nationals to travel to our country. Air Philippines Express which has been flying to some Chinese Cities of Xiamen has also stopped their thrice weekly flights. The Chinese authorities two weeks ago issued travel advisories to their nationals living and already in the country to refrain from going out in the busy streets of Manila.

Our Department of Tourism is calm on this issue and is not alarmed and considers the incident as routinary travel bulletin of foreign countries to their citizens. China as of 2011, rank number 4 in the tourist arrivals of the Philippines hitting more than 243, 137 visitors, the highest mark was registered during the Chinese Lunar New Year of February. The Chinese

arrivals help DOT achieve the 3.9 Million tourist arrivals in 2011. Chinese tourists also drive revenues of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) rise to P36.65 Billion in 2011 with an increase of P5.19 Billion compared to 2010.

But whether it is a diplomatic row or a dispute on territorial sovereignty as the reason for the travel advisories, we leave that to our Department of Foreign Affairs who are perhaps more competent to handle and resolve the issue while the marketing gurus of the Department of Tourism plan their course of action.

However, for our layman’s language, travel to a foreign country for tours or leisure depends on the refutation and stability of a destination. “How is everything going on?” or “Nihao?” a question asked too rarely, and yet strikes as one of the most important question we should ask from our Chinese and other foreign visitors.

Questions are elicited

because if there is a problem, we can fix it before our foreign guests’ leaves or return to their countries. It is an opportunity to engage our guests or find ways to enhance their stay. Yet many of us don’t ask at all and assume that everything is fine when it is not right.

In our social science, the books say, refutation is what people say about us. In the tourism business, refutation is what our foreign visitors say about our country and our people. Increasingly, foreigners are voicing and seeking opinions on travel review sites and social networks, propelling refutation to a level of importance that rivals pricing, location and brand in influencing a decision to buy the destination.

There is much that we can do to manage refutation.

But there is more that the Government should do for the stability of a nation.

Are we posturing to go to war with China? Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, say so that we must “prepare for war”. With all confidence he can say that because he

TRAVERSING THE TOURISM HI-WAY

PED T. QUIAMJOT knows the value of stability being a former Defense Minister and has the guts as a Lawyer to define sovereignty. Should America commit their resources under the Mutual Defense Agreement? Hell no! We have seen US State Secretary Hillary Clinton announce on a White House Press Conference that the US will not interfere in the resolution of the conflict between China and the Philippines and “the territorial dispute should be resolved through peaceful bilateral relations of both countries”.

That sends back the DFA QUIAMJOT/PAGE 7

Seeking the truth

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BusinessWeek

WE have to be clear about how to develop our relationship with the truth. We just cannot sit around and wait for truth to come to us. The ideal relationship is when we seek the truth, love it, follow it. But, of course, we have to be clear first about what truth is, how to recognize it, where it can be found.

Nowadays, people are aware that there many kinds of truth. You have truths that come from the physical sciences, or from the social and political sciences, or from our legal system. There are also truths that just come from our common sense, or from our direct contact with people, things and events.

Because of these kinds of truth, we are also quite aware that there are truths that are stable, and others not so, being subject to some changes and are therefore evolving. There are truths that we consider big, others

small, some very important, others not so, etc.

There are many sources from which the truth can come to us. We just have to realize that truth has a range and scope that spans from the here-and-now to eternity, that covers the material and spiritual, the natural and supernatural, the created and contingent truths on the one hand, and the absolute, necessary, primary and ultimate truth, on the other.

We have to be wary when we confine ourselves in our appreciation of truth to what is only here-andnow, material, natural and contingent. That, I’m afraid, is the predicament of many of us, a predicament that we need to solve and get rid of.

As we can readily realize, we are equipped to know the truth. We have senses that can immediately capture the sensible, material realities.

We have intelligence that can discern intelligible and spiritual (non-material) realities like essence of things, the causes and effects of things, etc.

In pursuit of the truth, we can see, hear, feel, intuit, then think, judge, reason, discuss, argue, conclude, discover, invent, etc. We just have to realize also that we actually are also wired for faith that would enable us to discern not only spiritual realities but also supernatural ones. We can enter into the world of mysteries which are also truths, in fact, a higher kind of truth.

Faith enables us to accept truths that are beyond our capacity to see, hear and touch, and even to understand. Faith makes us accept truth through belief. What our Lord told the doubting Thomas is illustrative of faith.

HINTS AND TRACES

FR. ROY CIMAGALA “Have you believed, Thomas, because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” (Jn 20,29) Even in our ordinary, daily life, we use some kind of faith, because we simply have to trust people rather than go through the tedious process of investigating and studying as to whether this CIMAGALA/PAGE 7

BusinessWeek

May 21-24, 2012

MINDANAO

Quiamjot... from page 6

DFA to their planning desk to review and consider other diplomatic options careful that an economic catastrophe may not result should they blunder and mishandle the situation. Meanwhile, Philippine Banana exports are subjected to more pest “contamination” scrutiny and were left rotting in the Dalian Ports of China.

Refutation and stability of this country really count much more with the competence of our leaders in the exercise of judgment to handle this crisis. Their sound decisions must prevail over the interest of more than 92.3 Million Filipinos.

Cimagala... from page 6

woman, for example, is really my mother or not, or whether the cook really serves me food and not poison, etc. We are wired for faith.

We just have to go all the way to the scope of faith and find that at the beginning and end of it, we will find God himself, the Creator, who made the universe, the author of all reality in all its infinite richness and variety of aspects and levels.

In short, we cannot really be in the truth unless we are in God. We cannot seek the truth unless we seek God. The problem we have is that we dare to know, study and use the truth without God, or ignoring him, at least.

As a result, we get some aspects of truth that ultimately depend on us simply.

And since we are not stable, not to mention that we are often affected adversely by passions, if not dominated by malice, then the truth we see, study, invent and use, cannot be the truth that is the real truth.

It would be at best a contingent truth, a relative truth, detached from its stable and ultimate moorings, and therefore can be shifty, unstable and vulnerable to be misused and abused. This is what we see around, and thus we are also quite in a mess.

We need to have some kind of revolution in our attitude towards truth. There has to be a conscious, deliberate effort to seek God who actually revealed himself fully in Christ and continues to reveal himself to us in the Holy Spirit. Unless, we do this, our affirmations of truth will always be suspicious.

Why, for example, do we make an oath before God when we say something really important?

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7

Feel The Hotness?

ONE of the most common complaints that we often hear, whether in children or adults, is FEVER. In one’s lifetime, I should say, that, we each would have had our encounters with it. The normal body temperature , for adults is somewhere at 37 0C, while that of children, it may range from 37 0C to 37.2 0C. One’s temperature indicates a normally functioning and healthy body. It is variable, being lower during the early morning hours and may be a bit higher in the late afternoon and early evening. One’s activities is another determinant, too. If one were involved in sports and is highly active, the temperature may be higher than that of those who live a very sedentary life. The emotional status, type of clothing ( if too bundled up and overly protected with layers of clothing ), humidity and even the temperature of the place or room, these too will have an effect on the body.

Fever, is but a simple sign that something out of the ordinary is happening inside your body. When the temperature deviates from that of the accepted range, it is supposed to alert one of a possibility that there may be a medical condition that needs to be examined.

Although, this supposition must be taken with caution.

For, there are instances when the rise in temperature is only a response to the environmental changes: like, when it is very humid and hot, one may feel feverish.

The body’s temperature just like other signs and symptoms, would do well to be examined and placed in the proper perspective.

It is worth knowing that, monitoring the temperature is valuable in evaluating the cause. Fever may be described as continuous if the temperature reading is mostly the same throughout the day, or intermittent , which means it is present only at certain periods.

There are certain types of

infections that will present with either a continuous or intermittent pattern. Fever, as we know, can be caused by infections , which may be bacterial, viral or parasitic.

The rise in temperature and the duration will likewise vary as to causative organism. Certain drugs and medications can cause fever.

It is not uncommon to find a patient who has been on medications, whose fever may not resolve despite the fact that he/she may have been given already antimicrobials! Once, the drugs are temporarily withdrawn, lo, and behold, the fever resolves. Certain medical conditions like blood disorders, and those with the big C, may manifest as fever.

Fever alone, minus any other signs and symptoms may be treated with antipyretics, which can be obtained over the counter.

But, when the fever lasts for more than 3 days, or when, this may be accompanied by sweating, chills, headache, muscle aches, neck pain and

rigidity , loss of appetite and weakness, or convulsions, then, it is a MUST that you get to see your Friendly Doctor immediately.

Certain tests will be done, once, it is ascertained that one is febrile. This includes a complete blood count, which from the differentials , the Attending Doctor would be given an idea of whether the cause is a bacteria or a virus. I suggest platelet count to be included, especially during the months when Dengue is a disease that must be considered.

Urinalysis and chest xray DIAO/PAGE 8

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May 21-24, 2012

BusinessWeek MINDANAO

PAHIBALO ALANG SA TANAN Ang Pag-IBIG Fund naghatag karon ug PENALTY CONDONATION PROGRAM alang sa mga buhatan nga na delinkwente o’ wala pa naka rehistro sa ilang kompaniya ug mga trabahante, isip pagtuman sa Republic Act 9679 o’ mas nailhan sa ngalan nga Pag-IBIG Fund Law. Ang RA 9679 mao ang balaod nga nag mando sa pag-rehistro sa mga buhatan ug mga trabahante niini, isip mga aktibong miyembro sa Pag-IBIG Fund.

Busa tuman na sa balaod ug ayaw na paglangan.

Lihoka na karon ang inyong aplikasyon sa pagpamiyembro sa Pag-IBIG Fund!

Ang mga aplikasyon sa PENALTY CONDONATION PROGRAM paga-dawaton sa Pag-IBIG Fund hangtud Hunyo 30, 2012 lamang.

Alang sa dugang kasayuran, mahimo mutawag sa telepono numero 726348, 722800, 8561861 to 62 local 211, 218 o’ 219. Mahimo pod mubisita sa among buhatan sa Pag-IBIG Fund Cagayan de Oro Branch, Pag-IBIG Fund Building, J.R. Borja Mortola Sts., Cagayan de Oro City.

FIBECO @ 40 FOUNDING ANNIVERSARY, May 13, 2012 Malampusong guipahigayon ang ika 40 ka tuig nga pagkamugna sa FIBECO uban sa tema nga “”We continue to make lives better” ang programa nagsugod kini sa Mayo 1 ge ablihan kini pina agi sa Plant and Grow a Tree sundan dayun kini sa sports competition pag ka Mayo 13 mao ang grand celebration sa maong kalihokan .

BusinessWeek

May 21-24, 2012

MINDANAO

Banana... from page 1

for fresh bananas for over three decades now, but succeeded mainly in China, which has a huge consumer sector. Efforts to penetrate Australia, another major market over a decade ago, have been unsuccessful due to phytosanitary restrictions aimed at protecting its own banana industry.

Mr. Alcala said the Philippine government is sending a team to China to discuss these issues as well as invite Chinese government representatives to visit the country to see how the industry is complying with the requirements. The problem is affecting small banana growers, including cooperatives, whose facilities are inferior compared to big plantation members of PBGEA. Mr. Aquino during a visit, assured banana growers that the government will help them comply with the requirements after it was learned that a small grower would need at least P500,000 to put up a packing plant, one of the new requirements set.

The Chinese market, which used to buy inferior quality bananas, has matured in recent years and is now buying class A bananas, or higher quality and more expensive fruits such as those sold to Japan.

Mr. Antig said that before tensions started in March, about 1.2 million boxes were

shipped weekly to China at a price of about $4 per box.

D at a f rom P B G E A showed the industry shipped about 70 million boxes, or over $250 million to China last year, two-thirds of which came from small growers who are non-members of the association. Mindanao’s banana industry exports close to $800 million worth of fresh bananas annually, the bulk or over half of this going to Japan.

Kitaotao... from page 1

comes from the Agus and Pulangi hydroelectric complex. And there are projections from independent think-tanks that by 2014, the power shortage will be more than 400 megawatts,” he explained.

“So, before it becomes even worse, Hedcor and the local government unit of Kitaotao shall be partners in this endeavor, with one goal to pursue the hydro project,” the mayor said.

R afisura added that Bukidnon, being the host province, will also benefit from the project through generation shares, farmto-market roads, health services and employment opportunities.

Hedcor Inc., Aboitiz Power Corporation’s hydropower arm, is the largest developer of run-of-river hydropower plants in the country with 19 hydropower plants in Benguet, Ilocos Sur, and Davao.

NGO... from page 1

sary of BMG, the GMP is a TESDA-accredited and SECregistered vocational technical school that was specifically established to help in the fulfillment of the vision of BMG. Ariel Hernandez, senior director of Balay Mindanaw Group, said that the conceptualization of the GMP began four years ago.

“The seed for this venture began to germinate four years ago as we tried to find other ventures that we think will contribute to the fulfillment of the vision of Balay,” he said.

Hernandez, also the executive director of the Katilingbanong Pamahandi sa Mindanaw Foundation, Inc. (KPMFI) that has been a member of the BMG for six years now, said that GMP is the fruit of years of trying to find ways to help solve the problem of poverty in the rural agricultural areas of Misamis Oriental and elsewhere.

“Balay is very close to the rural community … and through the years we have been trying to find ways to help farmers find other sources of income…. Agricultural investment will always be there. But the farmers having other sources of income, this will help solve poverty,” he stressed.

GMP, to be administered

by Fleurabelle “Flong” Torres, will provide farmers and their children viable skills that they can exploit to augment their income from the land, he explained.

Hernandez explained that

GMP was established to (1) provide technical vocational education and training programs, especially to poor rural households in Mindanao; (2) take the lead in providing globally competitive, excellent and tradable skillful Filipino workers with passion for socio-economic development such as alleviating poverty and building peace; (3) provide the highest possible quality of professionalism in education and training that is market-driven, relevant to industry needs and at par with national and international standards; (4) be sought on its expertise in innovative community-based technology and entrepreneurship development by those who demand the highest caliber of human resources and by those potential entrepreneurs, hence, it is the Center for Mindanao Technopreneurship; and (5) partner with like-minded and like-hearted institutions, especially with technical vocation and financial institutions coming from public and private sectors to ensure the viability and sustainability of its programs and projects.

“I hope that GMP will not just provide them with skills but through it they will be able to use these skills for livelihood and entrepreneurship,” said GMP Board Member Irene Floro, president and CEO of the Skills Mastery Institute (SMI).

Floro, who helped BMG establish GMP, also said that the GMP “will help BMG attain its vision, mission and goals for Mindanao, the Philippines and the World.”

Teddy Sabuga-a, Provin-

cial Peace and Order Council executive director, expressed hope that through the GMP, BMG will attain more heights in its “fight” to achieve genuine peace for Mindanao, the Philippines and the World.

He said that the provincial government of Misamis Oriental is ready and willing to help BMG attain its VMG through GMP by providing scholarships to deserving

9

students.

Sabuga-a said that the GMP is a great complement to the BMG’s peace efforts in the countrysides of Mindanao, as he noted that insurgency is the fruit of many factors, particularly inequities and lack of resources.

At present, GMP is offering courses on massage therapy, housekeeping, household services, and food and beverage.

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10

May 21-24, 2012

Congress.Watch

BusinessWeek

Lawmakers laud Taiwanese relief operations during disasters LAWMAKERS representing areas badly affected by cyclones “Sendong” and “Pedring” have cited the government of Taiwan for its relief operations to help the thousands of storm victims in many parts of Mindanao and Luzon in the past two years.

In a recent appreciation reception, eight members of the House of Representatives expressed gratitude for the “Love from Taiwan” Humanitarian Donation, which granted 300 tons of rice and various relief goods.

Raymond L.S. Wang, Representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines (TECO), along with David Shih, President of the Taiwan Association in the Philippines (TAP); and Wayne Chi of the Rice Donation

Committee of the TAP, accepted House Resolution No. 2363, which expresses the sincerest gratitude of the House of Representatives to TECO and the Taiwan Association for their donation.

The resolution was signed by Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, Cagayan de Oro 2nd District; Rep. Benjo A. Benaldo, Cagayan de Oro 1st District; Rep. Jesus Crispin Remulla, Cavite 7th District; Rep. Pedro M. Pancho, Bulacan 2nd District; Rep. Linabelle Ruth Villarica, Bulacan 4th District; Rep. Leopoldo Bataoil, Pangasinan 2nd District; Rep. Victor Yu, Zamboanga del Sur 1st District; and Rep. Carlos Padilla, Nueva Vizcaya Lone District.

Since 2008, Taiwan has given at least US$700,000 in cash and kind donations, as well as 7,300 tons of rice amounting to US$7 million in the retail market, to assist the Philippines in relief operations during calamities.

More than 12,000 underprivileged Filipinos have also received free medical services from medical missions regularly dispatched to the Philippines from Taiwan.

Several local government units in the Philippines have also received

PANEDOTTE PASTRIES

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

Cagayan de Oro 1st district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez leads congress members in honoring Taiwanese officials cited for their relief operations during typhoons Sendong and Pedring. (From left) Ambassador Raymond L.S. Wang, Representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines (TECO); Mr. David Shih, President of the Taiwan Association in the Philippines (TAP); and Mr. Wayne Chi of the Rice Donation Committee of the TAP.

donations of fire trucks, city buses and ambulances.

The Taiwan government has also underscored the importance of education and built 15 e-learning centers

in the country in 2008.

During the reception, a turnover ceremony was also held for 40 computers that Taiwan is donating to enhance computer educa-

tion in the country.

Wang expressed hope that this will help bridge the digital divide and empower the underprivileged in the Philippines.

MINDANAO

Diao...

from page 7 chest xray are among the basic tests. Of course, depending on the clinical impression, there may be other diagnostic tests that maybe requested for by your Clinician.

Treatment is usually symptomatic. To lower the temperature, antipyretics are the standard of care. For those with known allergies to certain components of the drug ( though, it is quite not so common to find patients who have known allergies to antipyretics, I have seen patients who cannot be given antipyretics ), giving plenty of liquids, a lukewarm or sponge bath and loosen the clothing, will help ease the condition of the patient. It is not advisable to use ice cold water or an alcohol rub to sponge, as this will worsen the situation by causing shivering and chills.

Other medications may then be given, targeting the underlying source of the problem.

Fever, being a very common ailment, must not be treated lightly. Nor should one make a big fuss over it. To know when to seek consultation, and understand the basics of immediate and practical home cares for the more common ailments, is wisdom indeed....

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May 14-17, 2012

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May 21-24, 2012

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