BusinessWeek Mindanao (September 13-14, 2021)

BusinessWeek M I N DA N A O CREDIBLE

Volume XII, No. 40

Market Indicators

AS OF 6:00 PM SEPT. 11, 2021 (SATURDAY )

FOREX

PHISIX

US$1 = P 49.865

6,970.51

X X Briefly

0.60

46.49

cents

points

Funding for youth projects COTABATO City – The Bangsamoro Youth Commission of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BYC-BARMM) has encouraged regional youth organizations to submit project proposals for possible funding from the commission and its partner development agencies.

In an interview on Friday, BYC chairperson Marjanie Mimbantas Macasalong said the project proposals are for positive community transformation.

“The overall project dubbed ‘Ideation Impact Challenge: Connecting Minds, Creating the Future 2021' is a call for the youth who advocate for community peacebuilding and development in the BARMM,” he said.

Convention Center THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) on Wednesday announced the completion of the Cagayan de Oro City Convention Center's main building, 20 years after the start of its construction.

The inauguration was made public through a canned video presentation and uploaded via DPWH Region 10's Facebook page.

Secretary Mark Villar said a total of P1.335 billion is needed to meet the requirements from Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) for the convention center to become globally competitive.

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Govt pushes for power contingency measures www.businessweekmindanao.com

Mon-Tue|September 13-14, 2021

Thank you for trusting us!

By MYRNA M. VELASCO, Contributor

A

PROTECTION LAYERS. Amid the threat posed by the highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19, this medical worker puts on layers of protection before reporting for duty at a hospital in Davao City on Friday, 10 September 2021. mindanews photo

Bukidnon govt eyes to open biomolecular lab

Poll fever intensifies in Lanao Sur as filing of candidacy nears

MALAYBALAY City – The installation of a biomolecular laboratory for COVID-19 swab tests at the Bukidnon Provincial Medical Center (BPMC) here has been completed and the facility can OPEN/PAGE 11

By FROILAN GALLARDO, MindaNews

By MINDANEWS

MARAWI City – Election fever here has intensified with only 19 days left until October 1, the first day of the filing of certificates of candidacy for the May 2022 polls.

FTER massive power interruptions that affected more than 1.5 mi l lion Filipino customers as an aftermath of tropical storm Jolina, Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi is calling on all power industry players to intensify their preparations and reinforce contingency measures to minimize brownout incidents and damages the next typhoon – Kiko – might cause.

The energy chief similarly asked all power utilities to speed up repair works in areas pummeled by the recent storm, so electricity services can finally be brought back in the homes of suffering consumers.

“We are asking all the energy public utilities and industry players with their facilities affected by tropical storm Jolina to fast-track their restoration activities, and at the same time, prepare and be ready for the incoming typhoon Kiko,” Cusi stressed.

The energy secretary primarily directed the Department of Energy’s (D OE) Task Force on Energ y MEASURES/PAGE 11

Hu g e t a r p au l i n s o f presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, have mushroomed in every street leading to FILING/PAGE 10

AgSur town locks down 4 sub-communities BUTUAN City – Four areas in Barangay Patin-ay in Properidad, Agusan del Sur will be placed under granular lockdown due to increased SEIZED FIREARMS. Major General Romeo Brawner Jr., commander of the 4th Infantry Division, checks the 15 firearms seized from NPA rebels in San Fernando, Bukidnon last week. photo by froilan gallardo/mindanews

infections of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), the local government unit confirmed on Saturday.

Purok 1, 2, 3, and 5 will be locked down for 14 days starting Saturday, according to Resolution 292021 signed by Mayor Eric Mellana who also heads the Municipal Inter-Agency Task Force (MIATF) addressing

Covid-19.

As of Friday, Prosperidad has 315 active cases. Of the 1,274 total cases, 927 have recovered and 32 have died.

The Provincial Capitol, the DO Plaza Memorial Hospital, and various government offices are located in Barangay Patin-ay.

The MIATF convened AGSUR/PAGE 11

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2

Local

Kadiwa hubs in Caraga help stabilize food supply: DA B UTUAN City – The Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita (Kadiwa) initiatives have played a vital role in the efforts of the government to secure food for households especially during the pandemic in the Caraga Region.

The Department of AgricultureCaraga (DA-13) has recognized the contributions of Kadiwa initiatives particularly carried out by the different farmers’ associations and cooperatives in the area.

“Amid the pandemic and community-wide lockdowns, hundreds of agri-fishery food suppliers served as front-liners who ensured that food is made available and accessible to communities,” the DA-13 said in a statement.

Thousands of consumers in Caraga have availed essential food and products right at the premises of their homes made possible through the partnership of the agency and various cooperatives and associations, it added.

In 2020 when lockdowns were

imposed to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), the Kadiwa-OnWheels initiatives had served around 12,026 consumers in different barangays of Butuan City, based on the latest data from the DA-13.

A total of 49 Kadiwa farmer suppliers joined the Kadiwa-OnWheels program who sold 31,421 kilograms of agricultural products that earned them P3,193,488 income last year, the data added.

A separate Kadiwa-OnWheels was also established at the Robinsons Place in Butuan last year that served 1,215 individuals, sold 5,652.50 kilograms of food products, and generated an income of around P724,768.

The Kadiwa-On-Wheels continued until 2021 that also served the different barangays in Butuan City, especially those affected by the continued imposition of quarantine protocols.

As of August 2021, the program was able to serve 6,540 consumers,

sold at least 13,169 kilograms of food products, and total gross sales of P1,487,036.

A Kadiwa-On-Wheels was also established at the SM City in Butuan this year that benefited 580 individuals, sold at least 3,955 kilograms of food products, and gross sales of P289,557 pesos.

Various government agencies also brought agriculture-based food products to communities last year through the Kadiwa-SaPamahalaan initiatives, the DA-13 said.

In 2020, the Kadiwa-SaPamahalaan served 1,412 beneficiaries and generated a gross income sale of P624,131.

As of August this year, the initiative of government agencies has generated around P47,147 gross sales.

DA-13 director Abel James Monteagudo recognized the efforts of the farmers as they continue to serve the people of Caraga during the health crisis.

STABILIZE/PAGE 11

BALINGASAG, MISAMIS ORIENTAL National Highway Balingasag, Barangay 4, Balingasag, Misamis Oriental Mobile Number/s: 0933-823-3161, 0933-823-3304 Tel. Number: 333-5161 CAGAYAN DE ORO P&J Lim Building, Tiano Kalambagohan St., Barangay 14, Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental Tel No. (08822) 727-829 / 231-6629 Telefax No. (088) 856-1947 Mobile No. 0933-823-3303 / 0943-708-7065 CAGAYAN DE ORO WAREHOUSE Warehouse 7, Bonbon Road, Kauswagan, Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental Mobile No. 0917-825-4149 / 0943-708-7065 CARMEN, CAGAYAN DE ORO Vamenta Blvd., fronting CEPALCO, Carmen, Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental Tel. No. (088) 233-2011 Mobile No. 0933-823-3159 CORRALES, CDO Corrales Ave., Barangay 29, Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental Telefax No. (088) 231-2055

DIVISORIA, CDO A. Velez St., Barangay 9, Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental Telefax No. (088) 856-1947 Mobile No. 0917-841-4000 / 0933-823-3164 GINGOOG CITY G/F Wyne Militante Bldg., Lugod St., Barangay 22, Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental Telefax No. (088) 861-0104 Mobile No. 0933-823-3168 LAPASAN, CDO National Highway (FICCO Bldg.), Lapasan, Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental Tel. No. (088) 231-6739 Mobile No. 0933-823-3160 PUERTO, CDO Purok 6, Puerto, Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental Tel. No. (088) 859-0574 Mobile No. 0943-708-7537 CAMIGUIN B. Aranas St., Poblacion, Mambajao, Camiguin Telefax No. (088) 387-0491 Mobile No. 0943-708-7539

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MisOcc Subanen farmers receive agri livelihood assistance intended for their strawberry farm and other high value crops production. (DA-10)

DA-10 provides agri livelihood aid to Subanen farmers in MisOcc The Subanen tribe of Don Victoriano, Misamis Occidental received agri livelihood assistance provided by the Department of Agriculture (DA)-10.

Through DA’s Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD)

and High Value Crops Development Program, DA-10 Regional Technical Director for Operations Carlota S. Madriaga turned over the greenhouse garden nets, plastic mulch, plastic seedling trays, polyethylene bags, hand

A SEED storage facility worth P7.11-million will rise in Valencia City, Bukidnon by February 2022.

In a Facebook post on Friday, officials of the Valencia City government and the Department of Agriculture (DA) 10 (Northern Mindanao)

led the groundbreaking ceremony, signaling the start of the construction of the seed storage facility in Nutriland Purok 1, Barangay Pinatilan.

Valencia City Vice Mayor Policarpo P. Murillo said the city has 30,000 hectares of agricultural area, of which 11,000 hectares are devoted to rice production.

According to DA-10's database, the storage facility has a total area of 320 square meters, with cold storage of 160 square meters and ambient of 160 square meters.

Funded by DA’s Rice Program, it has a 99ton capacity for the cold storage of rice seeds, while 156 tons for the ambient. The cold storage is intended to prolong the shelf life and improve the quality of the seeds up to about two years.

According to DA-10 Bukidnon Provincial Operations Center Chief, Dr. Janet D. Lopez, the DA welcomes "requests for agri-assistance to make farming communities become more productive."

(PR)

P7.11-M seed storage facility to rise in Bukidnon

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) 231-6739 CARMEN BRANCH Vamenta Blvd., Cagayan de Oro City Tel. # (088) 231-2011

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CorporateWorld

Car sales down 11.5% in August

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EHICLES sold declined 11.5% in August to 15,847 from 17,906 units sold in the same month a year ago, data from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) showed.

Passenger cars sold fell 10.3% to 4,894 from 5,454 units in August last year.

Commercial vehicle units sold in August decreased 12% to 10,953 from 12,452 in the same

month last year.

CAMPI attributed the results to the decline in economic activity and consumer spending, worsened by the stricter two-week lockdown in the National Capital Region and nearby provinces.

“The message of this bleak performance is worth noting: stricter lockdown strategy in response to curbing the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic affects the auto industry’s recovery this year,” CAMPI President Rommel R.

Gutierrez said in a statement.

“The industry targets to achieve total sales of 295,400 units or 20.9% growth than the actual sales recorded last year,” he noted.

From January to August, vehicles sold grew 37.8% to 170,112 units from 123,489 units in the same period in 2020.

Passenger cars sold increased 53.1% to 54,402 from 35,523 in 2020. Commercial vehicles sold went up 31.5% to 115,710 from 87,966 previously.

Del Monte Pacific swings to profit with $18M LISTED Del Monte Pacific Ltd. reported an $18.3-million profit for the first quarter of its 2022 fiscal year, a reversal of the $3.2-million loss incurred in the same period last year.

In an e-mailed statement on Thursday, the company said its sales for its first quarter ending July went up by 12% year on year to $462.1 million from $413.1 million.

“We will continue to grow revenues through an innovative product portfolio, more product availability from better distribution and expanded sales channels including e-commerce,” said Joselito D. Campos, Jr., managing director and chief executive officer of Del Monte Pacific.

Del Monte Foods, Inc.’s net profit amounted to $4.8 million, swinging

form a $14.3-million loss incurred in the same period last year. It made up 65% of the group’s sales with $298.1 million.

The product offerings launched in the past three years accounted for 4.8% of Del Monte Foods’s first-quarter sales. Its recently launched products include Del Monte Fruit Infusions and Joyoba Bubble Tea, as well as Del Monte Veggieful Riced Veggies for its frozen foods segment.

“Del Monte Foods’ turnaround last year has set it on a path to higher profitability as our team executes against our strategy of increasing higher-margin branded sales and reducing noncore sales,” Mr. Campos said.

Meanwhile, Del Monte Pacific’s “second largest and most profitable

subsidiary,” Del Monte Philippines, Inc. (DMPI) saw its profits surge by 37% to $25.6 million as sales went up by 20% year on year to $176 million, benefitting from a reduced corporate tax rate.

Majority of DMPI’s sales were recorded in the Philippines reaching $92.1 million, “2% higher in US dollar terms but 2% lower in peso terms” but is 16% higher than its sales in the first quarter two years ago.

Despite seeing an uptick in its convenience and dessert segment, a slowdown in its health beverages and snacks segment offset the growth.

However, DMPI’s international sales also rose by 40% to $67.8 million driven by packaged fruit and beverages, as well as premium packaged pineapple in the United States and S&W packaged

products in Asia.

“Our fresh pineapple exports to Asian markets have also recovered and delivered growth through expansion in offline and online channels,” said Mr. Campos.

Del Monte Pacific deferred the initial public offering (IPO) of DMPI amid market volatility due to the country’s coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation.

The IPO had aimed to raise around P44 billion.

For the meantime, DMPI plans to focus on product expansion.

In August, DMPI launched a joint venture (JV) with Vietnam Dairy Products JSC (Vinamilk) to allow its entry into the dairy market in the Philippines.

“The JV will import products from Vietnam, PROFIT/PAGE 10

PH, Asean manufacturing activities decline THE Philippines, along with other Southeast Asian nations, recorded a slowdown in manufacturing activities in August amid the surging cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and increasing Delta variant in the region.

IHS Markit reported Wednesday that the Philippines’ manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) in August declined to 46.4 from 50.4

in July.

IHS Markit said the manufacturing PMI last month was the first deterioration since May and one of the sharpest decreases for 15 months.

Despite the deterioration in manufacturing activities, the Philippines’ PMI is higher than Asean’s average manufacturing score of 44.5 and only behind Thailand’s index of 48.3 whose manufacturing

sector also slowed down last month.

Myanmar’s manufacturing index in August was at 36.5, Vietnam at 40.2, Malaysia at 43.4, Indonesia at 43.7, and Singapore at 44.3.

IHS Markit economist Shreeya Patel said the deterioration of the country’s manufacturing conditions came as no surprise after the announcement of enhanced community

quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila and also tightening of community quarantine measures in nearby provinces last month.

"Factories and their clients in the (Mega) Manila area once again paused their production lines in a bid to curb the spread of the new Delta variant,” Patel said.

IHS Markit recorded production volumes fell DECLINE/PAGE 10

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Opinion

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BUSINESSWEEK MINDANAO CORPORATION Publisher DANTE M. SUDARIA President/CEO ALLAN MARIO MEDIANTE Vice President for Corporate Affairs RUFINO T. MAGBANUA Vice President for Business Development VICENTE C. DELA VICTORIA Vice President for Operations JOE FELICILDA Vice President for Administration JOE PALABAO Vice President for Marketing ROSE MARY D. SUDARIA, PhD Vice President for Finance MIKE BAÑOS Vice President for Digital

THE PH Senate has become a playground of divide and rule.

And these particular kind of mantra at the Senate is happening right now as we get nearer to 2022.

Practically poisoned by their ambitions to lead and conquer, these politicos (read: tradpols) are trapped of their personal agenda.

IN these extraordinary times of living dangerously, socmed serves as the venue of political black propaganda.

Their bashings are nonstop, like king crabs, one bad Filipino trait that drags us

KIM'S DREAM

Editor-in-Chief

MIKE BAÑOS

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Regional Editor - Caraga

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A sobbing chieftain of the Higaonon Manobo Talandig Tribe in Tagbac, Talakag came to me lately asking for help because his new born grandbaby was born deformed with imperforate anus and if not operated soon will die.

A year or so ago, as I went around Mindanao, there were outpourings of information of many newly born babies without legs or arms. Based on my verification, I can only surmise that the abnormal g rowt h of fetus inside the womb of the mother has something to do with contaminated water the

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The wonders of work (pt.1) Think a minute . . . The famous writer George Bernard Shaw said: “When I was a young man I observed that 9 out of 10 things I did were failures. I didn’t want to be a failure, so I did 10 times more work!”

All successful people say the same thing: “Luck is what you make of it with hard work.” As important as a good education is, it does not guarantee success. In every kind of career there are successful people who had little natural talent to begin with, but the most important thing they had was the desire and discipline to keep working toward their full potential and success.

T h e re i s s i mp l y n o substitute for hard work.

Even if you naturally know how to charm and get along with people, you still must do the work and finish the job well. If you are naturally smart in school, you still have to spend time and effort learning the new knowledge.

If you do not have a lot of natural talent or ability, then you must work even harder.

It is a clear, vital fact of life.

A good worker’s best

THINK A MINUTE

JHAN TIAFAU HURST friend is time. He learns not to waste or misuse his time, because he knows if he “kills time” he kills his chances for success! The great inventor Thomas Edison often worked when most people slept. In fact, Edison usually did not sleep more than 4 hours a night. He said that too much sleep made him lose time, opportunities, and ideas.

Most of us cannot work that many waking hours of every day, so we need to learn to make even better use of our time. The Greek philosopher Plato said: “One of the saddest things in life is a man who spends much of his time on things that are not important.”

WONDERS/PAGE 11

MON-TUE|SEPTEMBER 13-14, 2021

Playground of Divide and Rule

NELSON CONSTANTINO Motoring Editor

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down to nowhere.

And this is not unusual as the election fever gets hotter by the day.

Tearing each other down in order to attain something is reflective of an envious mindset.

People with crab mentality are everywhere.

You can encounter them on social media, where they are always busy criticizing instead of appreciating.

Crab mentality is a way of thinking of a person who always try to pull down others, not wanting them

to succeed, nor level up.

It’s a metaphor that refers to the crabs in a bucket.

They always fail individually and collectively.

Crab mentality is also an attitude that clings on the phrase ‘if I can’t have it, neither can you.’

People who have this kind of mentality are arrogant and plain stupid.

They tend to regard themselves as special, trying to brag that they are superior from the rest.

A person with a crab mentality has the habit of

UNRUFFLED

RUFFY MAGBANUA feeling threatened by the growth of others.

Simply put, arrogance is their worst enemy. (ruffy44_ ph2000@yahoo.com)

Drink Now, Die Later pregnant women have been drinking from the watersheds.

Well, it would have been safe not to drink water taken from the faucet, that is, if they have enough money to buy mineral or bottled water.

Of the four elements of nature (fire, water, wind and earth), it is water that s y mb ol i z e s l i fe s i mply because there could be no life anywhere else in the cosmos without water. Water is so essential, so precious that we sometimes can’t help but be poetic about it. Indeed, “the passion of the heart burns so hot that without the cooling breath of the lungs, the flames of the heart would devour not only itself but also the entire world. Thus, next time you drink a glass of water, or bathe, or shower, or wash your hands, next time you pass a river or a stream, a lake, or an ocean, think of the healing merciful powers of water.”

For those residing in Mindanao, those poetic lines

may not apply as water may not have a healing power at all but may in fact, mean deformities of fetus, sickness or perhaps, slow death. Why is this so?

We l l , a g r i c u l t u r a l companies operating some two hundre d t hous and hectares of vast plantations in Mindanao on top of the eight sub-watersheds in Bukidnon which comprise the Cagayan de Oro watershed are heavily using chemicals as fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides to mass produce fruits to supply the consumerist lifestyle of the people in advanced countries. This method of farming called “conventional agriculture” that relies on the massive use of chemicals is still the mode of production in our country even such has already been banned in neighboring Asian countries for the harm done to the environment and to the health of the people. In fact, many of these trans-national corporations are already

banned to enter Puerto Rico for causing cancer.

There are even chemicals already banned abroad but are still being used in our country. How’s this? What is bad for the Japanese or Koreans is good for the Filipinos? Those smacks of discrimination, isn’t it? Well, what else is new? No less than the President of the Food Agriculture Organization, Dr. Kent Carpenter has described the Philippine Archipelago before “as the center of the center of marine life on earth.” But not anymore as the archipelago has just become the dumping ground of toxic garbage from Canada, Korea and Australia. During the Martial Law years, our seas were the site of Muro-Ami (illegal fishing) by Japanese trawlers. Perhaps, there is truth to that contention that “the Philippines is a nation of coward people.”

Before I be accused of sounding a false alarm, it DRINK/PAGE 11

Muntinlupa's Outstanding Teachers Congratulations Jason Albaro, Teacher III, Muntinlupa National High School Main (Muntinlupa City), for having been chosen one of this year’s Metrobank Foundation's Outstanding Filipinos.

Mr. Albaro, a STEM ( s c i e n c e , t e c h n o l o g y, engineering, and mathematics) educator, was recognized for being the program director of the “I DID IT!” (Invention Driven Instructional Design and Innovation Transfer). This program “balances formal instruction with a progressive learning experience for students. Through this, he encourages students and professionals to innovate and invent solutions that can cause a change in society.”

The first chlorella micro-farm in the Philippines and the rehabilitation of Muntinlupa’s small recreational lake are cited as among the successful projects from the program.

"Not once but twice!", beamed Dr. Rante Calalang Marmeto, who until recently was the principal of Muntinlupa National High School. Dr. Marmeto was referring to the win of Mr. Albaro and the earlier achievement of another MNHS teacher.

Albaro is the second awardee from the Muntinlupa National High School, my alma mater.

In 2017, Ma. Regaele A. Olarte was conferred the same award by Metrobank Foundation. Ms. Olarte has been teaching physics (Teacher I) at the Muntinlupa National High School and is now a supervisor at the Muntinlupa DepED office.

Met rob an k Found at ion recognized Ms. Olarte for her advocacies in and out of the classroom.

In school, she champions invention-driven instruction, which encourages creative thinking and problem-solving skills among her students.

A budding inventor, she has designed classroom equipment using readily available materials. Working with DepEd, Ms. Olarte has authored K to 12 learner’s modules and teachers’ guides for Grades 9 and 10 nationwide. She has also served as a writer for national achievements tests in Physics.

Outside school , Ms. Olarte actively participates in outreach programs of her church and works with the DENR and the Earth Day Network Philippines as focal person for their

carbon footprint mitigation campaign.

Here is a flashback to other Muntinlupa winners in the Metrobank Foundation’s Outstanding Filipinos.

The first Muntinlupeña to break into the Metrobank roster of awardees was Rowena Raton-Hibanada, better known as Awee, who is now a professor at the Philippine Normal University.

At that time (2008) , Ms. Raton-Hibanada was teaching at Muntinlupa’s Pedro E. Diaz High School.

She holds degrees in Secondary Education major in Social Sciences (PNU, 1994), Masters in Teaching Social Sciences (PNU, 1998), Masters in Education major in Values Education (University of Asia and the Pacific, 2012), and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Management (De La Salle University Manila, 2017).

In 2008, she was the country’s representative to the International Teacher’s Conference in Brunei. She was a Fellow of the International Leaders in Education Program—administered by Fulbright Philippines and the International Research and Exchanges Board. In 2010, she finished the program at

SPEAKING OUT

IGNACIO BUNYE the University of Minnesota in the US. In 2015, she worked as a Mentor Consultant for PBED-AusAid Scholarship for teachers. She was a module writer at the School of Tomorrow and she has written School Enhancement Materials (Alitaptap) for the Diwa-First Asia Company Philippines. Since 2006, she has served as a volunteer teacher at the Children’s Church of Victory Christian Fellowship in Alabang and in Every Nation Campus Muntinlupa.

Another awardee (in 2017) was Winona Y. Diola, a Grade 5 science teacher at the De La Salle Zobel School in Ayala Alabang, Muntinlupa. In 2012, Ms. Diol a sp e arhe ade d t he adoption of Mobile Learning TEACHERS/PAGE 11

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5

Banking&Finance

PH current account surplus eyed until at least 2022

AN analyst of S&P Global Ratings forecasts the surplus in the country’s current account to continue at least until 2023, which will back the country’s external setting.

Andrew Wood, director for Asia Pacific Sovereign Ratings and S&P Global Ratings lead analyst for the Philippines, said the country registered a current account surplus even during the pandemic, a turn-around from posting deficit in recent years.

“We do believe that’s going to remain the case for at least one or two more years, which will continue to support the external settings. And we expect this to remain strong over the next few years,” he said during the virtual economic briefing

by Philippine economic officials for Japanese investors on Tuesday.

The country registered CA deficits in recent years due to stronger growth in imports amid SURPLUS/PAGE 10

DEPARTMENT of Finance (DOF) Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said Monday government debt and its share of domestic economic output rose last year due to pandemicrelated spending but this remained fiscally viable and sustainable.

In his speech during the virtual House of Representatives’ Ways and Means Committee briefing, Dominguez said

the proportion of debt to gross domestic product (GDP) of the country rose by 15 percentage points last year from a recordlow 39.6 percent prepandemic.

“It is important to note that about 25 percent of our domestic economy consists of government spending. If we did not increase the level of public spending through borrowings, the domestic

BSP collects P859-M from bank penalties

M

ONETARY penalties collected by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) from violations among BSPsupervised financial institutions (BSFIs) amounted to around P859 million from 2018 until 2020.

In a virtual briefing on Thursday, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said PHP7.2 million of the said

amount were imposed on directors, trustees, officers/or employees of the regulated institutions.

“Top violations include non-compliance with BSP issuances on mandatory credit and other BSP regulatory requirements,” he said.

He noted that violations of banking laws as well as BSP rules and regulations “result in safety and soundness

concerns and are rooted on issues in corporate governance, oversights and management of the BSFIs’ business,” he said.

“These violations are meted with appropriate monetary penalties to instill sound and prudent governance practices.

Sound governance practices promote the stability of the Philippine banking system,” he said.

He said the central

bank has set standards that govern BSFIs to ensure that risks are effectively managed and that these institutions are operating safely and soundly.

Latest regulations hiked the monetary penalties for transactional violation from P30,000 to a maximum of P1 million and P100,000 per calendar day for violations that are continuing in nature.

PENALTIES/PAGE 11

economy would have collapsed. This event would have inflicted a far more painful toll on our people,” he said.

Last year, the government borrowed about P2.7 trillion, majority of which was sourced onshore.

Dominguez said it is the right time to borrow “to fund our people’s needs” but clarified “we must use borrowings in

a prudent manner” such as increasing the capacity of the health care system as well as the productive sectors.

“If we do not do these things, the economy will collapse even further,” he added.

Dominguez also cited the need to spend wisely, such as on infrastructure programs “because infrastructure investments DEBT/PAGE 10

THE CENTRAL BANK advised the public to check their banknotes amid reports of circulating counterfeit P1,000 bills.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in a statement on Thursday enjoined the public to scrutinize the security features of their banknotes to ensure their genuineness, noting it is verifying reports on social

media platforms about alleged counterfeit P1,000 bills.

It noted that the New Generation Currency banknotes are equipped with the latest anticounterfeiting technology and “improve the visual and tactile differentiation of each denomination”.

“To ascertain the genuineness of the NGC ADVISES/PAGE 10

Rise in PH debt still fiscally BSP advises public to check banknotes’ viable, sustainable: DOF chief genuinenes

6

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MON-TUE|SEPTEMBER 13-14, 2021

BDO ramps up digitization efforts with BDO Pay B DO UNIBANK has broadened its roster of digital banking channels with the introduction of a mobile payment app that links directly to the client’s BDO account and credit card—making banking even more convenient, safer and responsive to its clients’ needs.

Called BDO Pay, this app will enable clients to use their savings account or credit card to do contactless payments for bills, to online sellers and various

stores nationwide.

With this newest initiative, BDO clients need not move in and out of different apps just to transfer money from one account to another.

Moreover, having a mobile payment app linked directly to a client’s bank account allows the former to save from paying cashin fees repeatedly.

BDO clients with existing online banking account can easily use BDO Pay by just downloading the mobile app from Google Play, App Store or Huawei

Protecting education, protecting the future

AppGallery. For existing clients with no online banking account, they are encouraged to sign-up first via online.bdo.com.ph and enroll. Once the online banking account is activated, clients can already download the BDO Pay app and start using it.

Meanwhile, nonBDO clients are invited to open a BDO account to experience the features of the said mobile payment app.

Digital upgrades to better customer journey BDO, which currently operates the most number of

branches and ATMs in the country, has been enhancing its technology and security infrastructure to deliver its products and services in a faster, simpler and more secure way for the clients.

“The digital initiatives do not only revolve around technology infrastructure, but also the revamp of operational processes and the engagement of experts to enable the Bank to be more agile and responsive to its clients’ needs,” said BDO. During the height

of the pandemic, the Bank saw a substantial increase in usage of its BDO Online Banking and Mobile Banking channels as they provide BDO clients instant and easy access to all their BDO accounts, namely, credit cards, deposits, loans, and investments.

The widespread adoption of the mobile and online banking habit is rising rapidly around the world largely due COVID-19.

This has propelled the banks to embrace the advantages of digital banking and give their clients the ability and control to do bank transactions and

payments without the need to visit a branch.

In the Philippines, Filipinos are becoming more and more comfortable with cashless payments and doing online banking transactions in the new normal. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) targets to bring 70% of adult Filipinos into the banked population by 2023, and hopes that 50% of transactions—in terms of volume and value— done digitally.

Know more about BDO Pay by visiting bdo.com. ph/mobile/personal/ digitalbanking/bdopay.

DANIELA D. DOSDOS Teacher III Balulang Elementary School

TECHNOLOGY is likely to shape the lives of this generation especially when it comes to their education.

Here’s taking a looking at some ground-breaking trends that will help shape the future of education and in turn the future of children in the coming years.

Te c h n o l o g y i s advancing at a rapid pace.

It has influenced every sector, and education is no exception. By 2025, 1/3rd of the global population is going to be made up by the youngest generation: Generation Alpha, also known as the iGeneration. Generation Alpha is considered to be the children born between 2010 and 2025.This will be the first generation entirely born in the 21st

century. These children are considered to be the most technologically savvy demographic till date.

In the whole bid to help shape the future of education for children, new age EdTech platforms are contributing in many ways. With online tutoring picking up rapid pace, there are unique digital platforms that help students connect with the right tutors. It provides students with the option of taking classes anytime, anywhere through its online (for private schools) and modular option. It also aids in personalising the learning experience through a total customisation of the mode, time and place of learning.

It offers students complete control over their pace of learning.

Data science, an emerging computing field

By MARYGIL A. ORION

DATA science lies at the nexus of statistics and computer science applied to a particular field such as astronomy, linguistics, medicine, psychology or sociology. The idea behind this data crunching is to use big data to address ot h e r w i s e u ns olv abl e problems such as how health care providers can create personalized medicine based on a patient’s genes and how businesses can make purchase predictions b a s e d o n c u s t o m e r s’ behavior.

As with any powerful to ol, t h e re s p ons i bl e application of data science requires training in how to use data science and to understand its impacts.

While data science is a relatively new field (still being defined as a discipline), guidelines exist

for training students in data science.

Data s cience is an interdisciplinary field that uses scientific methods, pro cess es, a lgor it hms and systems to extract knowledge and insights from noisy, structured and unstructured data and apply knowledge and actionable insights from data across a broad range of application domains.

One of the biggest challenges in working data science is the number of different languages and applications you’ll need to learn. Unlike some fields of technology where it has been possible to focus on one or two platforms, the interdisciplinary nature of data science means you’ll need to learn at least a half dozen languages and use all of them in combination.

STUDENT’S INTRINSIC VS EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION JAYSAMAE M. AWITIN Lumbia Central School, T-I

Consider the best class that you handled. What were the things that made the classroom a wonderful place to teach and to learn? What do you see as the teacher’s responsibility in engaging students? What are the factors that drives the success of their learning course? These questions raised were grounded in the pit of motivation. Motivation is a ‘driving force’ through which people strive to achieve their goals and fulfil a need or uphold a value Mullins (2002). It has two different types the intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic and extrinsic types of motivation have been widely studied, and the distinction between them has shed important light on both developmental and educational practices. In this review we revisit the classic definitions of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation considering contemporary research and theory.

The word “intrinsic” means that something is inherent by nature. It is sometimes referred to as “inner”, which refers to something coming from within. Intrinsic motivation is an inner drive that propels a learner to pursue an activity, not for external rewards, but because the action itself is enjoyable. In other words, a student is motivated by the fun, challenge or satisfaction involved with an activity, not for an outside outcome, pressure or reward. The phenomenon of intrinsic motivation was first acknowledged within experimental studies of animal

behavior, where it was discovered that many organisms engage in exploratory, playful, and curiositydriven behaviors even in the absence of reinforcement or reward (White, 1959). These spontaneous behaviors, although clearly bestowing adaptive benefits on the organism, appear not to be done for any such instrumental reason, but rather for the positive experiences associated with exercising and extending one’s capacities.

According to Ryan & LaGuardia in 2000 Academic Press intrinsic motivation is not the only form of motivation, or even of volitional activity, but it is a pervasive and important one.

From birth onward, humans, in their healthiest states, are active, inquisitive, curious, and playful creatures, displaying a ubiquitous readiness to learn and explore, and they do not require extraneous incentives to do so. This natural motivational tendency is a critical element in cognitive, social, and physical development because it is through acting on one’s inherent interests that one grows in knowledge and skills. The inclinations to take interest in novelty, to actively assimilate, and to creatively apply our skills is not limited to childhood, but is a significant feature of human nature that affects performance, persistence, and well-being across life’s epochs Extrinsic motivation is a construct that pertains whenever an activity is done to attain some separable outcome.

Extrinsic motivation thus contrasts

with intrinsic motivation, which refers to doing an activity simply for the enjoyment of the activity itself, rather than its instrumental value. However, unlike some perspectives that view extrinsically motivated behavior as invariantly nonautonomous, SDT proposes that extrinsic motivation can vary greatly in the degree to which it is autonomous. For example, a student who does his homework only because he fears parental sanctions for not doing it is extrinsically motivated because he is doing the work to attain the separable outcome of avoiding sanctions. Similarly, a student who does the work because she personally believes it is valuable for her chosen career is also extrinsically motivated because she too is doing it for its instrumental value rather than because she finds it interesting. Both examples involve instrumentalities, yet the latter case entails personal endorsement and a feeling of choice, whereas the former involves mere compliance with an external control. Both represent intentional behavior, but the two types of extrinsic motivation It is easy to be idealistic when comparing the two forms of motivation and putting intrinsic on a higher pedestal. But a ‘self-fulfilling’ society that runs on autopilot where each of us are perfectly self-motivated is a perfect picture, an ideal world. In a practical sense, both forms of motivation are required for the community to function properly on vary in their relative autonomy.

7 DOST-X to host a M'nao Symposium for Sci-Tech Advancements T Advertising and Editorial E-mail : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com Contact nos. : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776

MON-TUE|SEPTEMBER 13-14, 2021

HE Department of Science and Technology – X (DOST-X) will host the Mindanao Cluster Symposium of the Philippine Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology (PhilAAST) 70th Annual Convention on September 09, 2021, 2:00 in the afternoon.

The Mindanao Cluster Symposium will serve as a venue to discuss topics revolving around the convention’s theme, “Enhancing Response to Current and Future Pandemics through Science Technology, and Innovation”. DOST 10 invited speakers to talk about business recovery, mathematical modelling

for Covid-19 predictions, and higher education in the new normal.

Mr. Ruben Vegafria, president of Oro Chamber of Commerce, will share about the program called OROBEST: Business Recovery Innovation for Development and Growth of Enterprises and how it helps

Medium, Small, and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) during the pandemic.

Faculty researcher Dr. Randy Caga-anan of Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) will talk about his research on mathematical modelling to predict Covid-19 disease progression.

He will also be giving insights on how vaccination rates affect herd immunity in the country.

Commissioner Aldrin Darilag of Commission on Higher Education (CHED) will share about how the agency redefined higher education in the new normal.

Mayor Oscar Moreno of Cagayan de Oro City and Dr. Jayrold Arcede, faculty researcher from Caraga State University, will also grace the event to provide additional viewpoints on the topics to be presented.

The Mindanao Cluster Symposium will be participated by researchers, science and technology enthusiasts, faculty members, students, and industry representatives.

DOST-X aims for these attendees to learn from the innovations to be presented and in turn influence them to also engage themselves in various science and technology initiatives.

PhilAAST aims to promote and broaden the base of scientific

What the Pandemic is Teaching Us for Our Education System

By BAYANI ROTURAS JR

Despite the strong calls to suspend the classes last year because of the pandemic, the Department of Education deliberately continued them. And it was a rightful decision not merely because the Filipino children deserve a continuous education; but because, more importantly, we need to reflect meaningfully about the condition of our education.

The COVID-19 is teaching us that we need to empower the three major players of our education: the teachers, the parents, and the students. The pandemic is showing us the truth: the teachers are diligent but loaded with tasks that are not learner-centered, the parents are dedicated but need advice and assurance, and the students are eager learners but lack sufficient learning skills.

The Filipino teachers are resilient and obedient yet they are less appreciated in this pandemic period. Even some politicians claimed that the teachers are receiving their salary while doing less of their job. What the majority of the public do not know is that teachers had been striving to finish their daily tasks of completing the modules for every subject: collating the pages, folding, stapling, others printing and binding. Apart from complying with these tasks, the teachers were finding ways to supplement the learning of their students by writing summative tests, performance tasks, conducting online classes and calling every student even during night times. Most of these out of their initiative. If the teachers were given more time and resources to focus on communicating with their students, more students could have been assisted.

Meanwhile, many parents miscalculated the situation and decided not to enroll their children last school year making their children this year way behind their previous classmates. In addition, it is more unfortunate that face-to-face classes are still far from being perspicuous this school year. Despite that, it is unfair to blame these parents for their decision for there was no one to guide them nor guarantee that the modular or the online classes could work.

The rest of the parents did enroll their children but they either left their students unmonitored or “overassisted.” Both situations resulted in the reality that the grades of the students last year were not a real reflection of what the students have and have not learned.

The students also struggled. They could not catch up with the “new methods” and the “heavy tasks.” This proves that Filipino students, most especially those in public schools, are not used to productive learning. This compliments the statistics that the students in public schools are poor in reading and comprehension. This reveals that the students are not familiar with technologybased education.

The pandemic, be it man-made or a natural phenomenon, was something out of our control. And this leaves us to the part of blaming no one. Nevertheless, we need to reflect and listen to its important messages. For education, the pandemic is teaching us one important lesson we must act upon: Education is a tripod, without one of its legs, the teacher, the parent, or the student, it can never stand strong. We have a new school year to start anew.

advancement in the country. It is an organization committed to the promotion of science consciousness among the people and to serve as the harbinger of science and technology in the country.

The members of PhilAAST are researchers from different fields of science aiming to share their findings with fellow scientists, and the Filipino community.

Aside from being a part of a distinguished organization, the

members are also able to associate with the other members in relation to their specific fields of interest. This can assist them in their respective professions and research projects.

PhilAAST is open to member applications.

As a non-profit and non-government organization, PhilAAST operates using funds from membership fees, annual dues, sponsorships, and donations. (Ella B. Nadela, SRS I-DOST-X)

How do educators cope up during a pandemic Sittie HAIMA R. PANANDIGAN

PARENTS and school staff can then make decisions about the next stages of action. This can be discussed with their child to allay any fears they may have about seeking further help from medical or mental health services.

It may include booking a session with the child’s or psychologist.

Teachers are considered as heroes of education amidst the pandemic When the Department of Education (DepEd) announced that “education will continue” even amidst a pandemic, teachers knew that they have a very crucial role to play in ensuring that learning will not stop.

True enough, when the DepEd came up with the Basic Education – Learning Continuity Plan l as a response to the impact of the coronavirus disease ( C ov i d - 1 9 ) p and e m i c in the education sector,

teachers became education frontliners.

My teaching styles include localizing and simplifying our lessons to make it more understandable to our learners. we don’t compromise the quality in delivering the essential competencies especially under the distance learning setup.

In School Year (SY) 2020-2021, DepEd i mp l e m e nt e d f o r t h e first time the delivery of learning using alternative modalities.

Since schools were shut down in March 2020 due to the threat of Covid-19, the conduct of face-to-face classes was already out of the equation when the SY 2020-2021 opened on October 5.

For t he f irst t ime, millions of children have to attend their classes at home through multiple learning delivery modalities.

Implementation of distance learning THELMA DUMANGAS MAGSINO Master Teacher I Tablon Elementary School

WILL distance learning work in the Philippines?

That is the big question as the country is faced with the challenge of restarting school in the face of the rampant COVID-19 pandemic. What is the best alternative to classroom learning which has become untenable due to the risk of virus contamination?

DepEd has proposed two main approaches: blended learning that allows for a combination of face to face, online and modular learning deliver y and distance learning which is delivered through online printed modules that go to the homes of the students.

As exp ec ted, s ome teachers in the provinces h av e e x pre s s e d t h e i r

reservations, saying more time and resources are needed for them to adjust.

They may not be prepared to handle the new systems.

Another problem is the lack of access to a stable Internet connection if it is available at all. Likewise, wary are families who are reeling financially from the pandemic, requiring children to have online classes would be an extra burden.

Assumi ng Inte r ne t connectivity is there, the bigger challenge is content and the method to be used in delivering it. There are concerns about the quality and accuracy of the learning modules to be used and the effectivity of the implementation process.

8

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MON-TUE|SEPTEMBER 13-14, 2021

Republic of the Philippines REGIONAL TRIAL COURT OF MISAMIS ORIENTAL 10TH Judicial Region Branch 38 Cagayan de Oro City JULIET A. MADRIAGA, NORMA A. LOMIBAO, FE A. LACRE, JUVY A. GABULE, & HEIRS OF ROMEO ALEGARBES, Plaintiffs, -versus-

CIVIL CASE NO. R-CDO-19-03365-CV

For: Judicial Partition of Real Estate with Cost And ATTORNEY’S FEES NELSON ALEGARDES, MAXIMO D. ALEGARBES, SUSAN A. PADERNA, GINA A. ASPILLAGA, MINVIE D. ALEGARBES & HRS. OF ESPIRIDION ALEGARBES, JR., Defendants. x-----------------------------------------------/

2. The Defendants are also of legal age, Filipino, with the following residence where they may be served with summons and other processes of this Honorable Court, thus: 2.1 GINA A. ASPILLAGA-married, resident of B5 L10 PNRS Barra, Opol, Misamis Oriental; 2.2 SUSAN A. PADERNA- married, resident of Sihayon, Sta. Cruz, Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental; 2.3 NELSON D. ALEGARBES & MAXIMO D. ALEGARBES- both, married, residents of Zone 16, Belayong Sta. Cruz, Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental.

2.4 MINVIE D. ALEGARBES- single, currently a resident of Toronto, Canada, and whose last known address in the Philippines is at Zone 16, Belayong Sta. Cruz, Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental.

2.5 Surviving children of the deceased ESPIRIDION ALEGARBES JR., namely: 2.5.1 JOEMAR A. ALEGARBES- married, resident of Zone 16, Belayong Sta. Cruz, Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental; 2.5.2 JUNIÑO A. ALEGARBES- married, resident of Zone 16, Belayong, Sta. Cruz Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental.

2.5.3 JENARISA A. ALEGARBES- single, resident of Talakag, Bukidnon; 2.5.4 JOHN MIGUEL A. ALEGARBES- Single, resident of Zone 16, Belayong Sta. Cruz, Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, 2.5.5 JAMICA A. ALEGARBES- single, resident of Zone 16, Belayong Sta. Cruz, Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental; 2.5.6 JASMIN A. ALEGARBES, minor, resident of Zone 16, Belayong Sta. Cruz, Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental; 2.5.7 JEPRIL JESUS ALEGARBES, minor, resident of Zone 16, Belayong Sta. Cruz, Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental.

2.5.8 JUSHUA ALEGARBES, minor, resident of Zone 16, Belayong Sta. Cruz, Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental.

SUMMONS BY PUBLICATION 1.

2.

MINVIE D. ALEGARBES Add: Mississauga, Ontario, Canada JENARISA A. ALEGARBES Add: Zone 16, Belayong Sta. Cruz, Tagoloan, Mis. Or. GREETINGS: WHEREAS, a Motion for Leave of Court to Effect Extraterritorial Service of Summons was filed

by Plaintiffs alleging among others that the defendants above-mentioned could not be served with summons per Certification of Non-Residency dated February 4, 2021, issued by Barangay Sta. Cruz, Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental and Joint Affidavit executed by the Plaintiffs on May 7, 2021.

JASMIN A. ALEGARBES JEPRIL JESUS ALEGARBES and JUSHUA ALEGARBES are minors and are currently under the care and custody of their elder siblings JOHN MIGUEL ALEGARBES AND JAMICA ALEGARBES.

The deceased ESPIRIDION ALEGARBES, Jr. died intestate on 11 February 2020. (A copy of his death certificate is integrally attached hereto as Annex “D”).

ANTECEDENT FACTS

WHEREAS the Court granted the same in its Order dated August 13, 2021.

WHEREAS a copy of the Complaint sought to be published is hereto attached as Annex “A” THEREFORE, you are hereby required, within sixty (60) days after publication of this summons, to file with this Court and serve on the plaintiffs your answer to the Complaint. You are hereby reminded of the provision in the IBP OCA Memorandum on Policy Guidelines dated March 12, 2002 to observe restraining in filing a motion to dismiss and instead allege the grounds thereof as delivered in the answer. If you fail to answer within the time fixed, the plaintiff will take judgment by default and may be granted the relief applied for in the complaint.

WITNESS the Honorable Judge EMMANUEL P. PASAL, this 20th day of August, 2021, Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines.

Republic of the Philippines REGIONAL TRIAL COURT OF MISAMIS ORIENTAL 10TH Judicial Region Branch 38 Cagayan de Oro City JULIET A. MADRIAGA, NORMA A. LOMIBAO, CIVIL CASE NO. FE A. LACRE, JUVY A. GABULE, & HEIRS OF ROMEO R-CDO-19-03365-CV ALEGARBES, Plaintiffs, -versus- For: Judicial Partition of Real Estate with Cost And ATTORNEY’S FEES NELSON ALEGARBES, MAXIMO D. ALEGARBES, SUSAN A. PADERNA, GINA A. ASPILLAGA, MINVIE D. ALEGARBES & HRS. OF ESPIRIDION ALEGARBES, JR., Defendants. x-----------------------------------------------/ AMENDED COMPLAINT COME NOW, the Plaintiffs, through the undersigned counsel and unto this Honorable Court, most respectfully aver, thus: THE PARTIES 1. The Plaintiffs are all of legal age, Filipino, with the following residence where they may be served with processes of this Honorable Court, thus: 1.1 JULIET A. MADRIAGA- widowed, resident of Brgy. Dela Pax Pasig City. She is herein represented

by NORMA A. LOMIBAO, pursuant to the Special Power of Attorney integrally attached hereto as Annex “M”.

1.2 NORMA A. LOMIBAO-married, resident of B5 L2 Opal St., PNRS Barra, Opol, Misamis Oriental; 1.3 FE A. LACRE- married, resident of B49, L10, Johndorf Subd., Barra Opol, Misamis Oriental; 1.4 JUVY A. GABULE- married resident of Zone 6, Pulot Poblacion,Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental; 1.5 HEIRS OF ROMEO ALEGARBES, namely: 1.5.1. ANITA ALEGARBES, surviving spouse of Romeo Alegarbes, resident of Belayong, Sta. Cruz Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental (A PSA copy of the Marriage Certificate is integrally attached as Annex “A”) The surviving children of the deceased Romeo Alegarbes, namely; 1.5.2 RICHELL ALEGARBES-TANHAY, married, resident of Purok 4, Maygatasan, Bayugan City; 1.5.3 ROMEO L. ALEGARBES, JR., married, resident of Carmen, Cagayan de Oro City; 1.5.4 RONEL L. ALEGARBES, married, resident of B14 L4, Xavier Heights Subd., Cagayan de Oro City; 1.5.5 RUTH ALEGARBES-ESCOTO, married, resident of Cebu City; 1.5.6 RIZA ALEGARBES ARITAÑO, married, and resident of Davoa City; 1.5.7 ROSELIE ALEGARBES –BUTIHEN, married, and resident of Minongan, Quezon, Bukidnon; and 1.5.8 ANN ALEGARBES-RUFON, married, resident of Butuan, City.

The deceased ROMEO ALEGARBES died intestate on 21 August 1996. (A copy of his death certificate is integrally attached hereto as Annex “B”)

The heirs of Romeo Alegarbes is herein represented by FE A. LACRE who shall sign the Verification and Certification of Non-Forum Shopping in their behalf, pursuant to the Special Powers of Attorney integrally attached hereto as Annexes “C” to “C-7”.

3.

4.

The Plaintiffs and Defendants area co-heirs and co-owners, by virtue of intestate inheritance from the decedent VICENTA DELA ROSA ALEGARBES, who died on 01 September 2010. A copy of the Death Certificate of Vicenta D. Alegarbes is hereto attached as Annex “E”.

The decedent died without issue and without any outstanding debts, and left certain real properties located at Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, more particularly described as follows:

PARCEL 1: Transfer Certificate of Title No. T-6252 A parcel of land (Lot 191-A Psd-10-002049, being a portion of Lot 191, Pls-799, Tagoloan Public Land subdivision) situated in the Barrio of Sta. Ana, Municipality of Tagoloan, Province of Misamis Oriental, Island of Mindanao. Bounded on the NW., along line 1-2 by Lot 190., along line 2-3 by Lot 185, both of Pls-799, Tagoloan Public Land Subdivision, on the NE., SW., along lines 3-4-5-6 by Lot 191-C along line 6-1 by Lot 191-B, both of the subdivision plan Psd-10-002 049. Beginning at the point marked “1” on the plan being N. 66 deg. 46’E., 3086.52 m. from BLLM No. 1, Pls-799, Tagoloan Public Land Subdivision;xxx Copies of the Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) No. T-6252 and Tax Declaration No. 08-14-0005-03605 are hereto attached as Annexes “F” and “G”, respectively.

Parcel 2: A parcel of lot with improvements , Located at Sta Ana, Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, consisting of six hundred sixty-two square meters (662 sq.m.), covered by Tax Decalaration (TD) No. 08-14-0008-06166 and 08-14-0008-06167, respectively.

Copies of TD No. 08-14-0008-06166 and 08-14-0008-06167 are hereto attached as Annexes “H” and “I”, respectively.

5. The Plaintiffs desire that the above estate be partitioned between the plaintiffs and defendants.

6. The Plaintiffs have requested the defendants that the above-described real estate be extra judicially partitioned between them by mutual agreement, but the said defendants refused and continues to refuse to do so despite repeated verbal demands.

7. Earnest efforts were made by the plaintiffs for the parties to reach an amicable settlement, however the same served futile as the defendants are not willing to settle amicably.

8. Several complaints have already been filed by some of the Plaintiffs against the Defendants for encroaching on part of their properties and preventing them from enjoying their share. Certified copies of notices and minutes issued by the Office of the Lupong Tagapamayapa of Brgy. Sta Cruz, Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental area integrally attached as Annex “J” to “J-4” 9. At one time, sometime in 2016, the defendant MAXIMO ALEGARBES threatened Plaintiff JUVY A. GABULE and her Husband for planting on the common property located near the house of MAXIMO. Thus, a criminal case was filed by JUVY GABULE against the defendant MAXIMO ALEGARBES for other light threats before the Municipal Circuit Trial Court (MCTC) of Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental where he was convicted in the Judgment of the Honorable MCTC dated 10 May 2019, promulgated on 11 October 2019. Copy of the Judgment is attached as Annex “N” and the Order of Promulgation as Annex “O”. Authenticated copies of the same shall be presented during trial.

10. Thus, Plaintiffs lodged a complaint before the Office of the Lupon Tagapamayapa, Barangay Santa Cruz, Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental for conciliation proceedings. However, no settlement was reached among the parties. A copy of the Certificate to File Action is herein attached as Annex “K”.

11. With no other recourse left, the Plaintiffs are forced to file the instant action for partition before this Honorable Court so that the abovementioned properties may be partitioned in accordance with law.

12. Plaintiffs hired the services of a lawyer who charged them the amount of Twenty Thousand Pesos (P20,000.00) as acceptance fee, and One Thousand Five Hundred Pesos (P1,500.00) for every court appearance. A copy of the Schedule of Proposal is attached as Annex “L”.

NAMES OF WITNESSES TO BE PRESENTED 13. The plaintiffs will be presenting the following witnesses, to wit: a) JULIET A. MADRIAGA, b) NORMA A. LOMIBAO, c) FE A. LACRE, d) JUVY A. GABULE, & e) ANITA ALEGARBES; and f) reserved witnesses.

14. The witnesses a, b, c, d & e will be presented to prove and substantiate the allegations in their complaint – which shall prove that the plaintiffs and defendants are co-heirs and co-owners of the subject properties; that they wish the subject properties to be partitioned between the herein parties fairly and equally. They will also be corroborating each other; and shall be testifying on other related matters.

15. The reserved witnesses (witness f) shall corroborate the testimonies of the other witnesses on matters which are relevant and material to the instant case.

16. The Judicial Affidavit of the following witnesses were taken and integrally attached hereto, as follows:

Annex “P”- Judicial Affidavit of FE A. LACRE;

Annex “Q”-Judicial Affidavit of JUVY A. GABULE

Annex “R”- Judicial Affidavit of NORMA A. LOMIBAO

(Reserved);

Annex “S”- Judicial Affidavit of ANITA ALEGARBES

(Reserved); and

Annex “T”- Reserved Judicial Affidavits.

17. The Judicial Affidavits of the remaining witnesses could not be duly taken considering that the

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country is currently under community quarantine due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and most of them are either living outside Cagayan de Oro City, or are senior citizens who area vulnerable to the said disease.

DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE IN SUPPORT OF THE COMPLAINT 18. The Plaintiffs will be presentating the following exhibits or documents in support of the allegations in the pleadings:

PLDT and Smart conducted a bead-making workshop for the Manobo, Higaonon, and Maranao IP communities in Kalilangan, Bukidnon to provide livelihood opportunities and preserve their local culture.

PLDT, Smart upskill IP communities, sustaining livelihood

P

LDT and its wireless arm Smart Communications Inc. (Smart) are enabling indigenous communities to revive lost traditions amid the scourge of the pandemic. In a recent two-day workshop, PLDT and Smart helped indigenous communities in Kalilangan, Bukidnon celebrate their unique heritage through beadmaking, helping regain their cultural identity and create livelihood opportunities.

Facilitated by the Tigwahanun artisans of San Fernando, Bukidnon, youth and leaders from the Higaonon, Manobo and Maranao tribes rekindled their passion for the heirloom craft, as they revisited how to create beautiful, beaded accessories. The workshop also included training on basic digital skills, where participants learned about the role of photography and online marketing in promoting and selling their beaded jewelry online.

The workshop is part of a broad program of PLDT and Smart to leverage on digital technologies to improve the lives and livelihood of its communities such as farmers and fisherfolk, Indigenous Cultural Communities, and MSMEs and usher them into the digital economy.

The art of beadwork, traditionally crafted by the tribes in Bukidnon, has been a dying practice within the Kalilangan IP community.

“Our elders used to create these beautiful beadworks in the past, but they lost their confidence due to discrimination and we eventually lost the tradition,” said Indigenous People (IP) youth leader Jun Mark Suguipit of the Manobo tribe.

Suguipit said, “As a youth leader, I am happy that I have a role to play in preserving our culture.

When we go back to our respective communities, we will teach the other

IP members, so we can sustain our learnings from the workshop.”

Trainer Cresilda Solin-ay encouraged the trainees to own their culture and be proud of it. “Our culture bears significance in the identity of Bukidnon.

We should not forget where we came from,” she shared.

The training will also provide better livelihood opportunities for the tribes. “The IPs have also been affected by the COVID-19 health crisis. The beadmaking workshop will benefit the community as an additional source of livelihood amid the pandemic,” said Municipal IP representative Hon. Mirimbae Barazar. “Social media and the internet will be a big help to the IP community, especially with public movement restrictions due to the ongoing pandemic.”

She also expressed her gratitude to PLDT LIVELIHOOD/PAGE 10

Smart conducts a basic digital workshop to help the trainees sell and promote their beaded accessories online.

A. Marriage Contract of ROMEO ALEGARBES and ANITA LLENO; B. Death Certificate of ROMEO ALEGARBES; C. SPA of RICHELL ALEGARBES-TANHAY; C-1. SPA OF ROMEO ALEGARBES, Jr.; C-2. SPA of RONEL ALEGARBES C-3 SPA OF RUTH ALEGARBES-ESCOTO; C-4 SPA of RIZA ALEGARBES-ARITAÑO; C-5 SPA of ROSELIE ALEGARBES-BUTIHEN; C-6. SPA of ANN ALEGARBES-RUFON; C-7. SPA of ANITA ALEGARBES D. Death Certificate of ESPIRIDION ALEGARBES, Jr., E. Death Certificate of VICENTA ALEGARBES; F. TCT No. T-6252; G. TD No. 08-14-0005-03605; H. TD No. 08-14-0008-06166; I. TD No. 08-14-0008-06167; J. Notice of Hearing issued by the Office of the Lupong Tagapamayapa of Sta. Cruz, Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, addressed to GABULE, JUVY A.; J-1. Notice of Hearing issued by the Office of the Lupong Tagapamayapa of Sta. Cruz, Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, addressed to GABULE, JUVY A.; J-2 to J-4. Minutes of the conciliation proceedings; K. Certificate to File Action; L. Schedule of Legal Fees dated October 2, 2019; M. SPA of JULIET A. MADRIAGA; N. Judgment in Criminal Case No. 2017-7624 and 7625.

O. Order of Promulgation in Crim. Case No. 2017-7624 and 7625; P. Judicial Affidavit of FE A. LACRE; Q. Judicial Affidavit of JUVY A. GABULE; R. Judicial Affidavit of NORMA A. LOMIBAO (Reserved); S. Judicial Affidavit of ANITA ALEGARBES (Reserved); and T. Reserved Judicial Affidavits.

PRAYER WHEREFORE, above premises considered, it is most respectfully prayed of this Honorable Court that, after due hearing, a Decision be rendered as follows: a. Ordering the partition of the above described real properties between the Plaintiffs and Defendants, share and share alike; b. The Defendants be ordered to pay the Plaintiffs the amount of P20,000.00 as attorney’s fees and P1,500.00 for every court appearance, and any other costs, and expenses of the proceedings.

Such other relief and remedies just and equitable under the premises are likewise prayed for.

Cagayan de Oro City, July 7, 2020.

Republic of the Philippines } Cagayan de Oro City } S.S JOINT VERIFICATION/ CERIFICATION AGAINST SHOPPING WE, JULIET A. MADRIAGA rep. by NORMA A. LOMIBAO, HEIRS OF ROMEO ALEGARBES, rep. by FE A. LACRE, NORMA A. LOMIBAO, FE A. LACRE and JUVY A. GABULE, all of legal age, Filipino Citizens, and residents of Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, Philippines, under oath state that: 1. We are the Plaintiffs in the above captioned case; 2. We have caused the preparation of the above Complaint; 3. We have read and understood the material allegations therein and the same are true and correct of our own personal knowledge or based on authentic documents; 4. The pleading is not filed to harass, cause unnecessary delay, or needlessly increase the cost of litigation; the factual allegations therein have evidentiary support or, if specifically so identified, will likewise have evidentiary support after a reasonable opportunity for discovery; and 5. We further testify that: (a) we have not theretofore commenced any other action or proceeding or filed any claim involving the same issues or matter in any court, tribunal, or quasi-judicial agency, and (b) to the best of our knowledge, no such action or proceeding is pending therein; (c) if we should thereafter learn that the same or similar action or proceeding has been filed or is pending before the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, or any other tribunal or quasi-judicial agency, we undertake to report such fact within five (5) days therefrom to the court or agency wherein the original pleading and sworn certification contemplated herein has been filed.

BWM: Sept. 6 ,13 & 20, 2021

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Filing... from page 1

the Lanao del Sur provincial capitol compound here with the message, “Sara Tano” (we are with Sara).

Not to b e outd one, small tarps of her presumed political rival, Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno, also dotted the landscape here — some mischievously placed beside Sara’s tarps.

While political tarps among local candidates have yet to appear on the streets, rumors are circulating of local politicians preparing their war chests for the local elections to buy votes, commit fraud and violence.

“The going rate right now is P15,000 to P20,000 for every voter in small municipalities with fewer voting population,” Drieza Liningding, head of the Marawi Consensus Group, said.

Liningding said the war chest of local politicians could run to P1 billion if you run for governor of the province. The budget would be smaller in elective posts for municipalities, he said.

He said with COVID-19 restrictions limiting faceto-face campaigning, local politicians would resort to vote buying in the 2022 polls.

The C ommission on Elections considers Lanao del Sur which has 556,791 registered voters as of 2019, “an election hot spot” in previous elections.

Confict Alert, an international conf lict monitor i ng NG O, s ai d its 2019 report that vote buying always fueled election violence.

In the 2019 senatorial and local elections, Conflict Alert reported vote buying ranging from P300 to P3,000 in Marawi City and different municipalities in Lanao del Sur. Aside from vote buying, the remnants of Dawlah Islamiyah Maute group could pose a major threat in the 2022 elections in the province.

Brig. Gen. Jose Marie Cuerpo, commanding general of the Army 103rd Infantry Brigade said they received reports that the Maute group would sell their services to politicians in the coming elections.

“This is a strong possibility since the Maute group no longer has the international support that had given them firearms and money,” Cuerpo said.

“Supporting local politicians in exchange for money and guns is the next

Republic of the Philippines Province of Misamis Oriental MUNICIPALITY of BALINGOAN Office of the Municipal Civil Registrar NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC CCE-0003-2021 (RA 10172)

August 25, 2021

In compliance with the publication requirement and pursuant to OCRG Memorandum Circular No. 2013-01, guidelines in the implementation of the Administrative Order No. 01 Series of 2012 (IRR on RA 10172).

Notice is hereby served to the public that RESTY COSTUNA BIENTO has filed with this office a petition for Correction of Sex from FEMALE to MALE in the Certificate of Live Birth of Resty Costuna Biento at Balingoan , Misamis Oriental and whose parents are JOSE WILLIE D. BIENTO and CECIL YBANEZ COSTUNA. Any person adversely affected by said petition may file his/her written opposition with this Office not later than September 15, 2021.

(SGD) ENGR. ELIZABETH P. YANSON Municipal Civil Registrar

BWM: Sept. 6 & 13, 2021

Republic of the Philippines) City of Cagayan de Oro )Sc. AFFIDAVIT I, NILO T. ORIT, of legal age, Filipino citizen, married and a resident of Cagayan de Oro City, after having been duly sworn to in accordance with the law, do hereby depose and say: That I am the previous proprietor of LEVEL AND SQUARE ENGINEERING AND GENERAL SERVICES with business address at National Highway, Casinglot , Tagoloan , Misamis Oriental under DTI No. TRN 9234225 with Certificate No. 05628070, issued on Nov. 16, 2021 and valid until November 16, 2023; That I changed the trade name of the above mentioned business from LEVEL AND SQUARE ENGINEERING AND GENERAL SERVICES to LEVEL AND SQUARE CONSTRUCTION AND GENERAL SERVICES INCORPORATED; That on May 2, 2020, Securities and Exchange Commission issued a Company Reg. No. CS201965138 to LEVEL AND SQUARE CONSTRUCTION AND GENERAL SERVICES INCORPORATED; That I hereby state under pain of perjury and without any intent to mislead the public that the change of business name of from LEVEL AND SQUARE ENGINEERING AND GENERAL SERVICES to LEVEL AND SQUARE CONSTRUCTION AND GENERAL SERVICES INCORPORATED done in good faith and not to defraud any creditors and that I have no outstanding and pending financial obligations; That I am executing this affidavit in order to attest to the truth of all the foregoing facts.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand on this 7th day of September 2021, Cagayan de Oro City.

NILO T. ORIT Affiant SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN, to before me on this 7th day of September 2021, Cagayan de Oro City.

step for them,” he added.

Cuerpo said the Maute group had previous experience of supporting local politicians before they attacked Marawi in 2017.

The remnants of the Dawlah Islamiyah Maute group number around 20 to 30 fighters and are being led by Faharudin Hadji Satar alias Abu Zacaria.

Cuerpo said the militants operate across the mountain ranges of Pualas town in Lanao del Sur to Tangcal town in Lanao del Sur. He said the militants would pose a major threat to the coming elections.

Profit... from page 3

and market them under a co-branded label through DMPI, leveraging the trust and affinity built for the Del Monte brand among Filipino consumers, as well as DMPI’s extensive distribution network and long-standing relationships with leading retailers and distributors throughout the country,” Del Monte Pacific said.

The company believes it is “well-positioned” to continue the momentum it achieved in the previous fiscal year.

Del Monte Pacific reversed its losses to generate $63.3 million in profits for its fiscal year ending April, swinging from an $81.4-million loss incurred the previous year.

The company expects to generate a higher net profit for this fiscal year.

“In an environment with increased emphasis on health and wellness, [Del Monte Pacific] is well-positioned to respond to consumer needs, given our nutritious, long shelf-life products which enable consumers to prepare meals at home and build their immunity,” Mr. Campos said.

On Thursday, Del Monte Pacific shares at the stock exchange declined by 1.47% or 20 centavos to close at P13.42 each.

Decline... from page 3

i n Au g u s t am i d l owe r customer demand.

Travel restrictions and closure of some businesses also led to lower output requirements and shedding of employees, the report added.

M e a n w h i l e , manufacturers’ outlook for the next 12 months remains positive even after it fell to a four-month low in August.

“On a brighter note, firms’ expectations towards the

outlook remained optimistic owing to hopes that the latest downturn is only temporary.

Looking at prices, easing input costs suggests that the sharp price pressures seen since the start of the year are starting to ease,” Patel said.

Overall business optimism in the region hinges on the faster rollout of Covid-19 vaccines.

“As with all regions, vaccinations remain paramount to controlling the spread of the disease and the associated variants.

Policymakers have once again reiterated the importance of inoculating the population, which it endeavours to do by early next year. Firms will hope shocks to the supply of vaccines are brought under control to prevent this being pushed back again,” Patel added. (PNA)

Surplus... from page 5

the continued increase in demand in line with the economic expansion.

Wood said S&P analysts forecast that the country’s external settings will continue to support the economy’s credit ratings, which to date stood at BBB+ with stable outlook.

He said economic recovery of the domestic economy “is somewhat delayed”, adding “we do expect for the pace of the recovery and momentum to pick-up steam beginning next year.”

S&P forecasts a below 5-percent growth, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), for the Philippine economy this year.

But it expects a 7.7-percent domestic economic expansion for 2022 as the government achieves vaccination goals.

Wood said the credit rater expects the Philippine economy, once it regains its strength, to be among the fastest growing economy in the region starting 2022 on expectations of stronger pickup of domestic investments, consumption, and exports.

“We expect GDP per capita to come back to roughly where it had been by the end of 2019 at the end of this year. And then to continue to achieve new highs beyond that,” he said.

He added the pace and scale of economic recovery will be significant on the trajectory of its credit ratings.

Wood said the credit rater considers domestic economic growth to be supportive of the country’s credit ratings.

“We expect faster nominal GDP growth to be supportive of f is c a l cons olid at ion over that same period of time, which will entail much lower fiscal deficits and a stabilization in the government’s debt stock over the next three years,” he added. (PNA)

Debt...

from page 5 have the highest multiplier effect on economic growth.”

The government touted its infrastructure program, “Build, Build, Build”, as a major priority to ensure the sustainability of domestic growth.

T he c u r re nt administration increased infrastructure investment to around 5 percent of GDP from around 2.8 percent in the previous governments.

Dominguez said the financing program will remain to be sustainable and b or rowing wi ll b e prudent to fund both the e c o n o m i c i nv e s t m e nt s and the pandemic-related programs.

He said domestic borrowings will continue to account for the bulk of the financing given the high liquidity situation in the economy.

“Both the Department of Finance and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas are in sync in ensuring that fiscal and monetary tools in our arsenal are kept sharp and ready even for a protracted global health emergency,” he added. (PNA)

Advises...

from page 5 banknotes, the public is advised to use the FeelLook-Tilt method to check the security features,” the BSP said.

The central bank last year unveiled the enhanced NGC bills that have different engraved horizontal bands for each denomination.

Besides other security features, the P500 and the P1,000 bills also have a

roller bar effect on their value panels, which makes counterfeiting more difficult.

Under Republic Act No. 10951, counterfeiters of Philippine currency could face imprisonment of at least 12 years and one day and a fine not exceeding P2 million.

“From January to June 2021, t he BSP le d f ive successful law enforcement operations that resulted in the arrest of 14 individuals and the filing of nine separate criminal charges,” the BSP said.

“The BSP also regularly conducts public information campaigns to educate the public on the design, security features, and proper handling of Phi lippine c ur renc y as well as relevant laws, policies, and programs,” it added.

Livelihood... from page 9

and Smart for supporting their initiative. “We are re a l ly t han k f u l for t he opportunity to help our youth and tribal leaders and for the respect given for our culture. We hope the Magbabaya (Creator) will reward you for your help,” she added.

PLDT and Smart have been supporting IP communities throughout the years with programs ai me d to pre s e r ve and enrich their unique culture, and initiatives that open economic opportunities for t heir communit ies.

Wi t h t h e c o r o n a v i r u s pandemic disrupting how we live, PLDT and Smart are committed more than ever to help the publics they serve so they may survive and thrive in the new normal.

P L D T a n d S m a r t ’s livelihood programs are aligned with the commitment to support t he 1 7 Un ite d Nat i ons Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), particularly SDG #1: No Poverty, and SDG #8: Decent Work and Economic Growth.

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Wonders... from page 4

So why waste one more minute of what is left of your life? Ask Jesus to forgive you for not living the way you know you should. Then ask Him to take charge of your character and way of living.

Since He is your Maker, He knows how to help you work hard, and work smart, so your life will work right— according to His awesome plan for you. Just think a minute.

Drink... from page 4

is but proper to raise this point scientifically and categorically. There is a law of nature that says, “Everything goes somewhere else.” Based on that principle, it is my contention that all those non-biodegradable toxic chemicals, while vanishing from our sights, are finding their way in the air, into our water-tables and ultimately, into our bodies.

Some chemicals don’t just seep down unnoticed to the watershed; these are washed down the river then, to the sea, particularly mercury used to extract gold before in the uplands to Cagayan de Oro during the height of illegal mining activities. Mercury is ingested by small fish and the small fish is ingested by big ones. In each food chain, mercury is bio-magnified; when the fish with biomagnified mercury is made as “kinilaw,” “sinugba,” again, there is bio-magnification in our bodies that would cause cancer or heart attack. My doctor-sister working in a hospital in Cagayan de Oro has told me that many are dying of cancer and stroke.

I wonder how many have gotten cancer or died of stroke not knowing that these carcinogenic chemicals are the culprit.

It has been my advocacy and contention since the ’90 when we were taking direct actions to protect Mot her E ar t h toget her with environmental groups, NGOs, and church-based org aniz at ions t hat our watersheds, rivers, air and soils are already contaminated with toxic chemicals. That truism had been bombarded by the mainstream media including a shocking news, stating “that in Davao, of the eight kinds of pesticides, seven of which are banned internationally, were found in the air and water samples obtained from the rivers and the communities of Tawantawan, Manuel Gu ai ang a and D a l i a on Plantations, all of which are situated near banana plantations.”

Wate r s ampl es have been checked and found to b e cont aminate d in Davao. Cagayan de Oro is similarly situated or even worse than Davao, being surrounded by thousands of hectares of plantations using chemicals intensively.

The only difference is that water examinat ion has been conducted there, we have yet to do that in our

beloved city to check on how contaminated our water is.

With the increasing number of those dying of cancer and stroke and that of many babies being born deformed, perhaps the Cagay-anons must be braved enough to demand that our watersheds be examined.

Indeed, water is life. If it is contaminated, it becomes a poison, a harbinger of death.

Teachers... from page 4

better known as Awee, who is now a professor at the Philippine Normal University.

At that time (2008) , Ms. Raton-Hibanada was teaching at Muntinlupa’s Pedro E. Diaz High School.

She holds degrees in Secondary Education major in Social Sciences (PNU, 1994), Masters in Teaching Social Sciences (PNU, 1998), Masters in Education major in Values Education (University of Asia and the Pacific, 2012), and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Management (De La Salle University Manila, 2017).

In 2008, she was the country’s representative to the International Teacher’s Conference in Brunei. She was a Fellow of the International Leaders in Education Program—administered by Fulbright Philippines and the International Research and Exchanges Board. In 2010, she finished the program at the University of Minnesota in the US. In 2015, she worked as a Mentor Consultant for PBED-AusAid Scholarship for teachers. She was a module writer at the School of Tomorrow and she has written School Enhancement Materials (Alitaptap) for the Diwa-First Asia Company Philippines. Since 2006, she has served as a volunteer teacher at the Children’s Church of Victory Christian Fellowship in Alabang and in Every Nation Campus Muntinlupa.

Another awardee (in 2017) was Winona Y. Diola, a Grade 5 science teacher at the De La Salle Zobel School in Ayala Alabang, Muntinlupa. In 2012, Ms. Diol a sp e arhe ade d t he adoption of Mobile Learning Devices as a learning tool in their school. She tasked her students to create landscape designs for the school garden and design prototype domes for endangered plant species.

She also creates her own iTunes U Courses, which enable students and other

teachers to learn science in unconventional ways. She is very active in her school’s Project E.A.R.T.H. (Each Act of Recycling Today Helps).

The surge continues Twenty months after the discovery of COVID 19, here is a score of what we don't know and what we know about the disease.

What we don't know – -We don't know when this pandemic will end.

-We do not know when vaccines for individuals 18 years and below will become available.

-We do not know if we can mix-match different vaccines.

-We still do know if booster shots would be needed by individuals who are already fully vaccinated.

What we know – -The Philippines has recorded the highest reported infected persons on a single day – 22,820 last September 8.

-The same is true for Singapore which reported the most coronavirus cases in more than 1 year.

-Despite the availability of vaccines in the U.S., many are still anti-vaxxers. Much to the disgust of President Joe Biden, nearly half of Americans are not fully vaccinated, allowing the Delta variant to persist.

- The importation and arrival of vaccines in the Philippines is still agonizingly slow.

Note: You may wish to share the foregoing article via Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In or Viber.

Measures... from page 1

Resiliency “to coordinate and ensure quick power restoration to affected areas of tropical storm Jolina, at the same time, initiate all preparations for typhoon Kiko.”

Yet given the dangers faced by crews and teams doing field restoration activities, Cusi also extended appreciation to the ‘hard work’ and extra efforts of power utility workers, “especially to the people on the ground, for their commitment to help bring normalcy back to those heavily hit by the typhoon.”

In an update provided by the DOE, it cited a report of the National Electrification Administration (NEA) that more than 1.06 million household customers have lost power service at the passing of storm Jolina on Tuesday and Wednesday (September 7 and 8).

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The department qualified though that as of Thursday morning (September 9), electricity ser vice restoration already hovered at 45.38-percent — or about 482,303 households already got their power supply back.

The more than 1.0 million customers who experienced brownouts in the service domains of the electric cooperatives, had been on top of the more than 500 end-users who were also distressed with power service interruptions in the franchise area of Manila Electric Company – primarily those in Batangas, Cavite and Laguna.

NEA indicated that the areas plunged into ‘darkness’ included those in the service areas of Batangas II Electric Cooperative (BATELEC II); Marinduque Electric Cooperative (MARELCO); Ticao Island Electric C ooperative (TIELCO); Masbate Electric Cooperative (MASELCO); Biliran Electric Cooperative (BILECO); Samar Electric Cooperatives I and II (SAMELCO I and II); Eastern Samar Electric Cooperative (ESAMELCO); and Leyte Electric C ooperatives (LEYECO) III and V. The DOE further noted that for affected customers in Masbate, restoration of their electricity service may last until September 30; while those served by SAMELCO may have full restoration of power supply starting Friday (September 10).

With the impairments sustained by power facilities that then triggered the brownouts, Cusi is directing the power companies to take no chances in the next anticipated wallop of typhoon Kiko, which is seen to be even stronger than the last weather disturbance.

B a s e d on fore c a s t s , typhoon Kiko will have maximum sustained winds of 185 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center; and gustiness of up to 230 kilometers; and has been spotted at east of Baler, Aurora as of Thursday morning.

Open... from page 1

start operating this month, a health official said.

D r. Mi g u el A nton i o P r a nt i l l a , B P M C c h i e f of hospital told the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Board) during

its session on Tuesday that they have calibrated all equipment at the laboratory.

He said the facility can handle up to 1,000 samples per day.

He said they are just waiting for the signing of a memorandum of agreement b etween the provincial government and the Northern Mindanao Medical Center and the license to operate from the Department of Health, which will be issued after an inspection.

Prantilla added they already asked Gov. Jose Mar i a R . Zu bi r i Jr. t o negotiate with a company for the collection of hazardous medical wastes from the laboratory.

Provincial Board member Nemesio Beltran Jr. said the facility should be opened soon so that samples taken from suspected COVID-19 patients in the province need not be brought to Cagayan de Oro City for RT-PCR tests.

He noted that patients have to wait for three to five days to know the test results.

Prantilla also told the SP that all beds for COVID-19 cases at BPMC were already occupied, and over 100 patients were waitlisted.

He s a i d 9 2 p e r c e nt of the patients were not vaccinated against the virus and only seven percent were inoculated.

Dur ing t he s ame SP session Provincial Health Officer Dr. Gar y Guido Tabios Jr., responding to a query from Beltran clarified that not all individuals who died in their homes were COVID-19 cases.

He said most of those who died at home suffered from other illnesses like hypertension, stroke and diabetes which worsened due to lack of medical care.

He said the y were suspected of having contracted COVID-19 because their family members only revealed the symptoms related to the virus not the comorbidities.

But Tabios admitted that there were confirmed COVID-19 cases who died in their homes while trying to recover because they could no longer be accommodated in hospitals and isolation facilities. (MindaNews)

AgSur... from page 1

on Friday to finalize the guidelines for the granular lockdown.

Families who have members who tested positive for Covid-19 will receive aid from the local government.

Only one household member, so long as he or she is negative of the virus, will be allowed to go out to buy essentials during the two-week period.

Those considered Authorized Persons Outside Residence may also go out.

As of Friday, Agusan del Sur has 2,150 remaining active cases out of the 8,128 confirmed Covid-19 infections, 5,761 recoveries, and 217 deaths. (PNA)

Stabilize... from page 2

"In t his t ime of t he pandemic, the maximum effort that we can contribute to our affected farmers and fishers is to support what they offer. Because through this, we can deliver what is mandated to us, to produce food for the country, and to uplift the lives of our farmers, who are our heroes in these times," Monteagudo said.

He added that the Kadiwa program is designed to make sure food is available in hig h ly p opu late d or urbanized areas, create direct market linkage from f ar m e rs to c ons u m e rs , and extend services on the marketing and entrepreneurial capacities of the local farmers and fisherfolk. (PNA)

Penalties... from page 5

Diokno said the new guidelines task the BSP to also impose a fine of no more than three times the profit gained or loss avoided due to the violation.

“This is aimed at ensuring that violation of laws, rules and regulations shall not be used by BSFIs as a tool to attain economic advantage,” he added. (PNA)

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Pueblo de Oro breaks ground for The HUB at Bamboo Lane

L

EADING Cagayan de Oro developer Pueblo de Oro Development Corporation (PDO) held groundbreaking rites for its newest commercial center, The Hub at Bamboo Lane on September 10, 2021.

The three-story commercial building will have an anchor grocery tenant on the ground floor with al fresco dining and commercial and office spaces on the second and third floors. Other features include car and motorcycle parking slots, and restrooms on every floor.

Following the principles of “New Urbanism”, The Hub is envisioned as a community center serving the needs of residential subdivisions while avoiding the hustle and bustle of the congested downtown area.

The Hub is strategically located at the junction of San Agustin and PN Roa Sr. Avenues within the valley portion of the Pueblo de Oro Township. It will give residents

in villages such as Bamboo Lane, Familia Apartments, Forest View Homes, San Agustin Valley Homes, Westwoods, and other nearby communities the convenience of having everything they need only a short distance away from their homes.

The Hub is part of the 400-hectare Pueblo de Oro Township, a master planned community in Uptown Cagayan de Oro City composed of several upscale and exclusive residential subdivisions, reputable educational institutions such as Xavier University (Ateneo de Cagayan) and Corpus Christi School, the par72 championship Pueblo de Oro Golf & Country Club, and the St. Francis Xavier church.

Commercial operations at The Hub are targeted to start by the middle of 2022.

For lease inquiries, please contact the Pueblo de Oro Sales & Marketing Department at 858-8976.