Students urged to join free startups coaching program in Davao Region Public Service Act IRR to take effect April 4

The implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Republic Act No. 11659 or the Amendments to the Public Service Act (PSA) will take effect this April 4 following the approval of an inter-agency group, including the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

The NEDA on Monday released the new rules on the liberalization of public services in the country.

The IRR will facilitate the implementation of the PSA, which sets a clear distinction between the definition of public services and public utilities.

“With the IRR already in place, we see this as a landmark reform that will further improve the country’s position as an ideal investment hub, which will help enhance employment opportunities and allow more Filipinos to benefit from more improved goods and services,” said NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan in a statement.

The RA 11659 enables 100 percent foreign ownership of public services, including airports, railways, expressways and telecommunications.

Studentsin the Davao Region aspiring to establish their own startup businesses are encouraged to avail the free three-month intensive entrepreneurship and technopreneurship coaching program of the Davao City-based business incubator Upgrade Innolab (Upgrade).

It retains the 60-40 ownership rule in public utilities identified in the IRR, which includes the distribution of electricity, the transmission of electricity, petroleum and petroleum products pipeline transmission systems, including sewerage pipeline systems, seaports and public utility vehicles.

The IRR prohibited investments from an entity controlled by or acting on behalf of a foreign government or foreign state-owned enterprises.

The IRR also has provisions safeguarding the country against national security concerns that may rise from merger, acquisition or any investments in a public service.

Moreover, with the implementation of the RA 11659 which was enacted into law by former President Rodrigo Duterte on March 21, 2022, Balisacan said this will attract more foreign investments that will promote market competition, accelerate innovation and generate high-quality jobs.

He reiterated the PSA complements policies and measures, such as the

FPUBLIC, P10

Rob Gumba, Upgrade communications and marketing head, told MindaNews on Monday that the InnoVersity Business Leaders Program (InnoVersity), which is implemented under the Innovation and Development Accelerators Consortium for Startups (IDEAS Davao), seeks to help individuals develop “their business acumen towards building their dream startups.”

Registration is ongoing until March 31. Upgrade is the lead implementer of the consortium.

Gumba said the InnoVersi- ty, which will start from April to June 2023, is an “ideation-to-validation” program where students will be taught about the fundamentals of starting and running a scalable enterprise, refine their startup ideas and validate their markets to see its potential for launch.

The program includes, among others, a series of learning sessions on entrepreneurial mindset, technopreneurship, design thinking, market research and validation, business model canvas and finance, and a deep men- toring session.

He added that that they welcome participants in education, agriculture, sustainability and smart industries, to name a few.

Gumba noted that they hope to have around 50 startup teams, with five members each, for the learning sessions.

At least 10 teams will be picked for deep mentoring and incubation with partner technology business incubators (TBIs) in the city at the end of the program, he said.

He said that TBIs may assist and connect their incubates to potential investors or co-write proposals for possible funding.

“There is usually no direct funding or investments when startups undergo business incubation programs from the TBIs.

PH’s gross int’l reserves level dips to $98.2-B in Feb: BSP

The country’s gross international reserves level dipped in February, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said on Tuesday.

February’s GIR level declined to $98.2 billion from $100.7 billion the previous month, data from the central bank showed.

Despite the decline, the BSP said the latest GIR level represents a more than adequate external liquidity buffer equivalent to 7.4 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income.

The level is also about 5.9 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 3.9 times based on residual maturity.

Economic managers have said that keeping “hefty” reserves would allow the country to timely respond to external shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We learned that digitalization gyud is way to make it faster. There are other approach nga gihimo sa Valenzuela para maging paspas. One yung approach na post audit and post compliance wherein puwede ta maghatag ug permits na katong mga kulang nila na mga requirements tagaan sila ug time but they can start their business right away. Our basis is the ease of doing business na instead na maghulat ang mga tao na iinspect sila, duolon sila sa govenrment agency, tagaan na sila ug three days sa government agency pag dili sila mu-respond sa application automatic approved. Mao to among learning during the benchmarking.”

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GARAY DELIGERO Editorial Consultant

BILLACURA Sports Editor

Call it a Valentine surprise but an invitation dated February 14, 2023, from the Sangguni-ang Panlungsod of Davao has asked us to attend the Committee on Education, Science and Technology, Arts and Culture hearing chaired by Dr. Pilar C. Braga. Of interest in the invite is Item No, 537, a request from the heirs of Tomas M. Tionko to rename Davao City National High School (DCNHS) to Tomas M. Tionko National High School (TTNHS).

In a letter dated November 14, 2022, the heirs of Tionko wrote an “urgent appeal” to change DCNHS’s title in honor of the man who donated the estate where the school stands. The property is a 28,804-square-meter prime land donated on October 30, 1939, out of “pure generosity and benevolence.” In 1950, another donation of 6.2 hectares was added.

The heirs cited parallel cases