CTTMO...

was keen on partially opening 2024 the first 10.7-kilometer central portion of the 45.5-kilometer Davao City Bypass Construction Project by accelerating ongoing excavation activities in the construction of a twin tube road mountain tunnel.

The Davao City tunnel, with a north portal in Barangay Waan and a south portal at the other end in Barangay Matina Biao, is a major component of the 10.7-kilometer contract package 1-1.

The tunnel construction works for the Davao City Bypass Construction Project started at the north portal on November 19, 2021, in the southbound direction, and on December 10, 2021, in the northbound direction.

Other than the tunnel, contract package 1-1 involves the construction of a four-lane road with a length of 7.9 kilometers; three pairs of bridges with a total length of 500 meters including the Davao River Bridge; two underpasses and two overpasses; 12 waterways culverts; and four at-grade intersections.

“These projects are all aimed to enhance the transfer of people, goods, and services and contribute to boosting the economy all for the benefit of the people in Davao Region,” Cordon said.

Cordon also said that DPWH 11 is working on the P44.5 billion worth of other infrastructure projects allocated this year for projects that include roads, bridges, flood control, multipurpose buildings, and water supply, among others.

celerated growth of the services sector, agriculture, forestry, and fishing.

“The better performance of the economy is indicative of the efforts of both the government and the private sector to restore the regional economy’s high-growth trajectory by boosting economic activity and production and helping businesses grow, while creating more and better-quality jobs, improving infrastructure, and accelerating poverty reduction,” she said.

FROM 3

“Mao na ang dapat ipahimangno nato sa mga drivers na dapat mu-follow gyud ta sa traffic rules and regulations kay para mabawasan nato ang risks sa traffic accident (That’s why we should remind our drivers–that we should really follow the traffic rules and regulations so that we can reduce the risks of traffic accidents),” he said. CIO

CREATION... FROM 3

nila nga nurses. They need nurses sa Japan just like in the US and other countries. Naa silay bridging school diri na i-establish so after maka-graduate sa bridging school mu-qualify na sila na dalahon katong mga would be employees didto sa Japan,” she said.

Ortiz said these are just among the gains of the sisterhood agreement between Davao City and Sennan City, which was signed by Duterte and Sennan City Mayor Yamamoto Yuma in Sennan City, Osaka, Japan on April 25, 2023.

“Hopefully, in the near future naay result ang ties ng Davao City and Sennan City in the field of investment and business. Kana nga mga opportunities na ginapangita, although, I observed na ang Sennan City is more on agricultural. Hope maka partner ta sa ilang businessmen didto,” Ortiz said.

In an earlier interview, Councilor Bernie Al-ag, who was among the delegation to Japan, bared that the city government of Davao is exploring with All Nippon Airways (ANA) a planned establishment of Osaka-Davao direct flight from Kansai International Airport.

By Maya M. Padillo

PEZA... FROM 5

April 2023 investment pledges surged by 162.37 percent to PHP20.56 billion from PHP7.83 billion in April 2022.

The biggest chunk of the investment approvals came from the PHP19.7-billion manufacturing of biomass fuel products made from Buyo-buyo (Piper

PH’s... FROM 4

derstand the factors that contribute to the problem then we will be able to offer better solutions in the future,” Tupas said.

The first phase of this project aims to seek knowledge and better understanding of the problems according to Tupas.

The funding will include equipment used for the studies and to the operations for the study.

For DMSF president Atty. Alberto Rafael Aportadera the ReDMatCH project is the beginning in their goal of establishing similar permanent facilities in the school.

“We look forward that this will be the center for research and development here in Mindanao and we have just started,” Aportadera said. (PIA/RG Alama)

MORE... FROM 4

ment, called the Philippines’ first quarter economic performance “very encouraging.”

“The country is leading the region, and the Philippines is a rare bright spot in a slowing global economy,” according to Galang.

He stressed that the “best news is the turnaround of agriculture back to positive growth.”

The dean said that policymakers should take advantage of the apparent optimism created by the agriculture sector’s 2.2 percent growth last quarter to encourage more farmers to plant high-value crops.

He explained that the easiest way to address poverty among small farmers and farm workers is to have them plant crops that command generous financial returns. (PNA) demic-induced recession in the second quarter of 2021, when it booked a growth of 12%.

Diokno said the government’s Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF) aims to bring down the debt-to-GDP ratio to less than 60% by 2025 then further down to 51.1 percent in 2028, and reduce the budget deficit to 3.0% of GDP by 2028.

“On the fiscal side, the government is committed to a fiscal consolidation path and will continue the implementation of the government’s infrastructure development program of 5 to 6 percent of GDP annually…,” he said.

“The MTFF is our blueprint to reduce fiscal deficit, promote fiscal sustainability and enable robust economic growth,” he added.

The Finance chief also said that the budget deficit-to-GDP ratio stood at 4.84% in the first quarter of 2023, down from 6.41% in the first quarter of 2022.

CONTINUED...

FROM 4 easing in the rate of price increases in the coming months, with monetary authorities eyeing the return of inflation rate to within the government’s 2 to 4 percent target band starting in the last quarter of this year, is also a plus to domestic economic output. aduncum shrub).

He, however, said risks to inflation remain and these include the impact of looming El Niño, which is expected to lower agricultural output and increase prices.

Authorities said the dry spell is seen to start around June or July this year and last until the first quarter of 2024.

The projected employment from April 2023 pledges is at 2,233 jobs.

“We believe that we are now reaping the results of the ongoing investment missions of President Ferdinand (R.) Marcos (Jr.) and his administration’s investment initiatives and it is now up to us to follow through the pledges,” Panga said.

The PEZA chief said that with the recent foreign trips of President Marcos, the investment promotion agency expects to register more foreign investments.

DOE... FROM 5

ble yellow alerts in June.

The Luzon grid experienced yellow and red alerts this week due to the tripping of Masinloc Units 1 and 2.

The DOE said more than 600 MW of power supply were lost due to this forced shutdown.

With the reoperation of the Ilijan plant, Guevara said the power supply in Luzon will increase by 10 percent.

The power plant has not been in operation since June last year due to its retrofitting works.

Guevara added that the agency has asked power plant operators to reschedule their maintenance after the dry season to avoid power interruptions.

She said the DOE is facilitating investments in renewable energy (RE) projects to meet their target operation this year.

For 2023, the energy official said some 1,000 MW of RE projects will go online.

“Possible cut in Fed (Federal Reserve) and local policy rates for the coming months of 2023 and in 2024 would also help reduce borrowing/financing costs and, in turn, support faster economic/ GDP growth,” he added. (PNA)

REDEMPTION... FROM 12

“I just want to be very polite. You all saw what happened. That’s just an unwritten rule, that’s just culture. And it’s not even coaching ethics, it’s just ethics. Just ethics, right? So, you know, if he wants to— if the other coach wants to make a fool of himself, then that’s on him. That’s not our problem,” said Reyes.

Singapore will look to play the spoilers’ role but it will be a difficult task, having lost to Cambodia, 85-60, and Malaysia, 9370, in their previous contests.

Action also continues for Gilas Women when they face Vietnam at 11 a.m. (12 noon Manila time).

BPI... FROM

5 growth of 6.3 percent in the first three months this year, higher than the 6.1 percent pre-pandemic average growth.

“This could mean that revenge spending is still present in the economy, possibly offsetting the impact of inflation,” it said.

The BPI said “weaker pressure on the margins of businesses may give them the opportunity to focus more on capital spending.”

“Consumers may be able to spend more on discretionary items,” it added. (PNA)

By the time I wrote this piece, one slot for the Western Finals was already clinched by the Denver Nuggets. The other slot is still to be decided by the two California protagonists. Meanwhile the Eastern part of the playoff is being played according to the script except for the spoiler made by the Miami Heat who dispatched the favored Bucks in the first round.

Now the interesting part. The Beasts of the East.

The four remaining protagonists in the East are all history rich teams with championship pedigrees. The Celtics who took the helm as the top seed with the exit of Bucks, the New York Knickerbockers, the Sixers

CHITO MALABANAN JABONG!

NBA PLAYOFFS - BATTLE OF THE UNDERDOGS

of Philadelphia and the Miami Heat.

If stats would be the basis to predict the winners, easily the Nuggets and the Celtics would have been the shoo in finalists for this year’s edition, but the NBA Playoffs is much more than that. All the unpredictable, all the intangibles would have to be factored every game since teams in playoffs will be facing each other multiple times and adjustments can be arranged every game. The only thing that matters in the end is the hunger and the heart. All teams can zero each other in terms of offensive plays and defensive strategies and the only thing that matters in the end is the heart. The team with the biggest fight- ing heart always win.

For this year’s NBA playoff, the teams that create much noise are the teams that belong to the bottom part of the draw. The teams that participated in the Play In tournament, the teams that barely made it to the playoffs which was decided only on the final day of the eliminations. Ideally, it would have to be Nuggets in the West and the Celtics in the East but as the playoffs progresses it showed the kinks on the pretenders to the crown. The Celtics flaw is so glaring, their mediocre defense and their inability to close a tight ending is becoming predictable. Meanwhile, the Nuggets reliance on the Joker (Nikola Jokic) is taking its toll unless the other start- ers begin to take part in the game.

Most noticeable however are the two underdogs who have gone to many cliffhangers and now holding up their own against more fancied rivals. The purple and gold team of my kumpadre

Neil Bravo, more popularly labeled now as the Lebron Lakers and the Navy Seals of Coach Spoelstra also known as the Miami Heat.

Barring any untoward injuries and other acts of gods, the Lakers will be marching on in the Western Finals and the Heat in the East. It would be an interesting NBA Finals though. Battle of the Underdogs- NBA Finals.

But first the Lakers would have to contend with the

Nuggets.

With the King at the helm and his equally hungry for recognition bunch of team mates playing their current brand of basketball, nothing is impossible.

Now the Miami Heat. The Heat will be battling the beast in the East ,which still to be decided by the Celtics and the Sixers. As Coach Erik would say “just drop them in parachute and they will compete”. The Heat have literally passed thru the eye of the needle to reach this far and so far they have paraded the biggest weapon among the prospective finalists. Their Big Fighting Heart.

And so it is. Battle of the Underdogs in NBA Finals, Anyone?