BusinessWeek Mindanao (May 19-25, 2013 Issue)

Hope in the Pinoy vote?

The search continues

Opinion: “Election Realities”

Opinion: “To be on the same page”

Weekend Family Sojourn at Seda BGC

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‘Under growing economy, savings streak stands still’ May 19-25, 2013

Volume III, No. 193

Savings’ share to growth remains just above 20% and among Asian region’s lowest

By LADY GLORYNNE FONTAMILLAS

PEOPLE’S pockets are supposed to be bulkier in a growing economy. With the added financial lift then flicker hopes of an additional piggy bank ceramic, or another passbook by a cooperative member.

Well, says a member of the Novaliches Development Cooperative (Novadeci), saving has been “my thing” for nine years now. “The cooperative’s my preference,” she says, glancing over the printed passbook, her nth, upon placing another saved amount on a Friday morning. She benefits from taxfree perks from saving in cooperatives that this country’s cooperative code provides.

That saver is an exception, if financial education gurus are to be believed. Old habits die hard for consumerism-addicted Filipinos: saving for many of us is not in our culture, even under this age of newfound economic prosperity.

A research conducted last February by Citibank showed that Filipinos improved their financial quotient, tagged as “financial well-being;” Citibank thinks, citizens now understand the value of budgeting, retirement planning and saving.

Contrast that to the quarterly consumer expectations survey data of this country’s

central bank: They save more, then less, then more and less again. What about investing, the next best thing to do to buoy one’s savings?

Not even a tenth of Filipinos do so.

So even before and during the term of President Aquino, when the Filipino middle class had been bombarded with financial education information, and over-five million Filipino poor had been ably assisted by microfinance (that forces them to save), savings’ share to this country’s growth remains just above 20 percent —among the Asian region’s lowest.

That has been the reality, says financial guru Randell Tiongson. “The problem is we (Filipinos) have remained consumer-driven.”

Tiongson had been converted into a saver.

“I went through all the mistakes” in handling money, he says. From his epiphany he had travelled across the country and abroad to knock on changing Filipinos’ financial mindsets.

His blog also makes Tiongson’s financial SAVINGS/PAGE 11

A nation and her trapped Anti-poverty program’s challenge: underemployed workers Deepening the help

By CHELIN EMMANUELLE HERNANDEZ

Underemployment has been Maricel Velasco’s lifeline for over a decade now. Her home-based manicure and pedicure services have helped Velasco’s children stay in school. (Photo by Chelin Emmanuelle Hernandez, The Filipino Connection)

Maricel Velasco, 41, dips a thick ball of cotton with a bottle of nail polish re m ove r, S e at e d above her Maricel was her client, whose creamy, toned legs she stretched out to Maricel’s lap. The client has her eyes and hands clutched on her iPhone 4, as Maricel dabs the acetone-soaked cotton on the woman’s toes with her brown, stubby fingers.

For half an hour, the woman did not move from her expensive, flowery furniture —so did Maricel, seated on a purple plastic stool. With her client, Maricel had her big and brown eyes glinted; her round, jolly face resembled the sun, framed by her dark hair in a tight bun.

This half-an-hour work routine by Velasco has WORKERS/PAGE 11

By JEFFREY GEORGE UDARBE

THE heavy downpour rain possesses a charm of its own, but Larci Loyola likes the splash of rain.

“Rain is God’s gift,” says the full-time housewife, thus naming her seven children before this natural occurrence.

Pant aw id Pam i ly a beneficiary Larci Loyola is blessed with the lift that the government’s major antipoverty program offers to her and her family. But

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for some economists, if beneficiaries like Loyola have made some of her children finish high school, government should not settle with just letting children finish elementary schooling. If rain’s a boon for Loyola, so is a five-year program that’s been raining blessings for her family: the government’s largest anti-poverty program, the Pantawid Pamilya, the local nomenclature of the worldfamous conditional cash transfer (CCT) approach.

It has been that long HELP/PAGE 11

Pantawid Pamilya beneficiary Larci Loyola is blessed with the lift that the government’s major anti-poverty program offers to her and her family. But for some economists, if beneficiaries like Loyola have made some of her children finish high school, government should not settle with just letting children finish elementary schooling.

(Photo by Jeffrey George Udarbe, The Filipino Connection)

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May 19-25, 2013

Hope in the Pinoy vote?

The search continues

By JAN EIDRIENNE DE LUIS and JEREMAIAH OPINIANO

JOSE Victor Torres missed this year’s vote.

He did it on purpose, announcing as early as on the eve of this year’s elections.

“However which way I force myself,” says this college instructor of history who hails from Imus, Cavite, “I don’t see any worthy candidate, especially if you do not know what’s at the back of his image during the campaign.”

So for the first time since the 1992 national elections, there’s no Jose Victor Torres lodging a vote. Voters like Torres were unlike many Filipinos who had their index fingers inked purple in this year’s election. But for these non-voters, such ranting strikes at the heart of a nation’s search for change —especially under a corruption-combating President.

And in a country where t h e re i s st i l l re p or te d vote-buying, flying voters, election-related violence, and mudslinging among candidates on election day, not even automated elections can’t stop usual, serious offline glitches that mark Filipino voting.

The search continues for “political maturity” among voters. On Facebook, that’s buzzing (says a lady user : “Here’s to hoping

for a corrupt-free country and dignified leaders for a brighter tomorrow”).

“But it’s always the same message,” contends Torres. “”No matter how much some candidates want to change things, it is still the same thing that people want…

They still elect candidates on the same agenda that did not change for decades.”

To Atty. Takahiro Kenjie Aman of the Legal Network for Tr ut h f u l E l e c t i ons (LENTE), 5Ps—in Filipino language— mark the criteria of Filipino voters: pera, p ers ona lidad, p ami lya, puwersa, plataporma (money ; personality of candidates; family lineage, t h at’s a s s o c i at e d w i t h what Filipinos refer to as “traditional politics;” political forces; and platforms).

He did not say if these are in chronological order, but Aman disagrees that there’s a “developing political maturity at this point” in the country.

Are Filipinos able “(to elect) officials based on merit… or choose your official without regard to merit?”

And the candidates that come from political families which did “more harm than good,” as well as the votebuying, are the signs that the Philippines and her voters are “not yet” politically mature”.

“So long as our elections

have not achie ve d t he transparency, accountability and credibility that (are) necessary, then we cannot say we are politically mature,” Aman told The Filipino Connection.

But the Philippines is in a corruption-busting era under President Aquino, whose nearly-three year presidency has brought the country back to the league of growing Asian nations.

Isn’t this kind of president enough push for political maturity?

Torres isn’t pushed that much by Aquino’s clamor, especially given what he says the “limited” senatorial candidates whom voters were made to choose this year.

“If the choices (voters) have are the same smorgasbord of p olit icians, not hing will happen (wala ding mangagayari).”

Aquino’s TEAM PNoy had a slate of 12 that is a mix of regulars and newcomers from the Liberal Party and guest candidates from other parties. On the other side are candidates from Vice President Jejomar Binay’s United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) slate. There are some renowned senatorial bets, wishing to be independent candidates, as well as others from “change advocate” groups like Ang Kapatiran

NAMFREL PRESCON. The National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections in Cagayan de Oro has continuously mobilized its monitoring arms during the elections last May 13 and held regular press conferences to keep the media updated. photo by karen mae liñan , liceo university intern

and Democratic Party of the Philippines.

But Aman credits Aquino for teaching Filipinos “to hope once more for a better country.” (His non-profit electoral group, LENTE, had its former executive director Louie Tito Guia appointed as commissioner of the Commission on Elections weeks ago.) Yet the change may not be as automatic as what a precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machine will tell the voter when the ballot is approved.

“The confidence that the administration gave paved the way for the ‘elite class’ of our democratic society to be bolder in pushing for their advocacies,” Aman says.

“But still, a bigger part of the population still has not reached that level of maturity

yet.”

Maybe that “bigger part of the population,” Torres thinks, is looking now for a “hero”. On the part of politicians, who seem to project that they are “saviors and heroes” to bring them out of problems, many voters think public service “is a one-man job”.

And so today’s younger voter generation had Facebook to hurl election reminders —to their threeto-four-digit-numbered friends. The majority of the target recipients who don’t have Facebook accounts, are handing out flyers in front of schools on Election Day, or had been seen or heard handing out moneyf illed envelopes before campaigning ended.

“Filipinos will only be

politically mature as soon as they realize the value of casting their votes. Most of the poorer Filipinos are held in bondage by vote-buying, or by threats or intimidation, or by ignorance. But poverty and other factors are not the only hindrance to achieving political maturity,” said Aman.

Torres is just one of the many Filipinos who chose to let their voices be heard through social media instead of their ballots, making it sure that the message gets across clearly and accurately without glitches and twists. Sorry but the “worthy choices” are scant this year, says Torres. “It’s the first time I saw a line-up of lousy candidates. Paano ka ba naman gaganahang bumoto? (How can you be motivated to vote?)

Face-lifting of CDOC national highway starts MEMBERS of the Maintenance Crew started the facelifting of the national highway here two weeks after DPWH-10 Regional Director Evelyn Barroso gave the instruction to do it on Cagayan de Oro City’s stretch of highways.

The project is being undertaken though a concerted effort of the Regional Maintenance Division and Cagayan de Oro’s 1st and 2nd DEOs, Maintenance Engineers that instructed their field men to rush to the site to implement the order.

Acting Regional Maintenance Engineer Virgie G.

Nayve took time in supervising the work of the field men and sees to it that the instructions were properly executed.

Areas to be improved are the roads within the stretch from Barangays Puerto to Bulua. The island of the road near Gaisano and Centrio malls will be raised to emphasize its structure and for more visibility to the motorists. To prevent pedestrians from crossing, plants will be placed thereat. The structure will also be painted with the DPWH standard color for added beauty and visibility.

Members of the DPWH-X Maintenance crew cleans up the drainage canal along the national highway of Kauswagagan in preparation for the rainy days.

A resident of this place, Director Barroso wants to see Cagayan de Oro City with a clean national highway, well paved roads, painted curbs and gutters, and canals cleared of garbage and debris.

With the on-going improvement, DPWH 10 Regional Office has this to say: “We are appealing to the public to please bear with us in this temporary inconvenience in your trips and travels. Our office is requesting for your understanding and cooperation in giving a face lift to Cagayan de Oro City national highway.” (Sandra v. flores, Information officer/spokesperson)

“Facelifting” of CDO City road is started with the repair/ improvement of the island of the national highway. Photo shows work being done at the Gaisano area.

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may 19-25, 2013

Recuerdos de Searsolin

By Dr. Anselmo Mercado

From X U s ou rc e s and SEARSOLIN staff I gathered that SEARSOLIN will be tentatively closed (suspended) for a year to allow for physical renovations and improvements and to plan for future programs as well (some kind of “structural adjustments”). By April 30, XU will completely take over SEARSOLIN. All current staff will be retired.

Since its foundation in 1964, SEARSOLIN has been an independent entity or unit under the umbrella of the College of Agriculture of XU (certainly one of Fr. Masterson’s significant legacies). The “Impossible Dream” was personally chosen by him to be the theme song of SEARSOLIN. For the creation of SEARSOLIN and its accomplishments, Fr. M was given the Magsaysay Award for International Understanding. MISEREOR of Germany fully funded SEAROLIN since its inception in 1964 until 1996 when it began to phase out its financial assistance. A thorough evaluation was done at that time, and a “think tank” team of highly respected individuals known in the development circles was formed to think through and put a relevant, sustainable program in place after MISEREOR. It was then that we revised the program from an “integrated” format (a MUST for all SEARSOLINers to undergo the 7 1/2-month long formation of rural-social development leaders), to a “modular” format that offered six independent modules, each one a-month long, the modules chosen for their

relevance in development in developing countries in Asia, Africa and Pacific Island countries. The modular version had given leaderparticipants flexibility to choose one or two or any combination of modules according to their needs, time and funds. It was a unique training model, one that offered flexibility to participants, financial affordability to participants and their fund-sponsors, and time factor (duration of time available to participants to be out of their regular work to undergo training).

The “think tank” team also recommended for Xavier University to take up a greater responsibility and role in the care of SEARSOLIN.

By Year 2000, SEARSOLIN was operating on its own using its accumulated assets lodged in the Xavier Science Foundation (the financial arm of the XUCA which Fr. Masterson created for that purpose - to help sustain the XUCA “complex” with all its integrated units). When MISEREOR phased out, other agencies mainly in Europe (DANCHURCHAID of Denmark, ESP of Germany, and a fe w others) and Georgetown U of USA were giving scholarship grants to SEARSOLIN particpants.

However, the scholarship grants were limited, not enough to get the breakeven number of participants to maintain SEARSOLIN’s yearly operations.

That is SEAROLIN’s history in a nutshell - 49 years of producing rural social leaders in Asia, Africa and the Pacific. The impact of its alumni/ae has been

remarkably impressive.

Perhaps we can liken it to a good tree that has grown well and yielded quite a lot of good fruits. Somehow the good old tree would yield no more, and it’s time to rejuvenate it. Some trees need just pruning of their branches; others need to be radically cut. Next year will be SEARSOLIN’s 50th Year anniversary. Hopefully, new shoots will come out of it, and the tree will start to invigorate.

(The author is a former director of SEARSOLIN. - Ed)

SUMMER’S END. Local tourists enjoy the last few days of summer at a popular resort in Barangay Andap, New Bataan, Compostela Valley Province on May 26, 2012. mindanews photo by ruby thursday more

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May 19-25, 2013

Celso Regencia is new Iligan City Mayor

By Sony V. Sudaria

Iligan City -- Police Senior Superentendent, Celso Gumera. Regencia # 8 indenpendent was proclaimed

new Mayor elected Iligan City, last May 14, 2013 with a gaining votes 43,586 in 176 precints all over the

city again him closer rival.

Atty. Joerich Cuevas City Board of Canvassers ViceChairman and Atty. Moli

Bayo Ramirez certificate of canvass of votes and proclaim mayor of winning candidates for Iligan

Salamat sa suporta ug pagsalig among kadaugan, inyong kaayuhan.

MABUHAY MGA KATAWHAN !!!

P/SSUPT. CELSO G. REGENCIA Mayor-Elect, Iligan City

City Mayor and Vice Mayor elected Ruderic C. Marso obtained 41,110 votes the same the highest number of votes legally casted for the said office ComelecCommission on election city election supervisors.

Regencia told the suporters during the mass victory hedded Monsinior Jemar Vera-cruz during the mass at Corpus Christi

church celdran village, Tubod Iligan City that peace and order in Iligan with save Iligan City movement people agains crime and corruption. Ug walay sa kausaban diha sa insakto nga padulngan, dinhi sa atong krusada sa kabus alagaran, diha sa panginabuhian. Ug panag-inigsoonay oban sa pagpalambo ning syudad sa Iliganong katawhan.

FOR YOUR ADVERTISEMENTS PLACEMENTS CONTACT

I humbly thank all Maranaos in Lanao del Sur for your overwhelming support. In compliance with your mandate. Together, we will work for the well-being of the poor, farmers, the unemployed, the downtrodden, the youth, students, teachers, senior citizens, and all those who need help.

May Allah bless us all!

Re-elected Gov. MAMINTAL ALONTO-ADIONG, JR.

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CongressWatch BusinessWeek5 Y O U R N O R T H E R N A N D S O U T H E R N M I N D A N A O B U S I N E S S PA P E R

may 19-25, 2013

City Election Officer Palmer Palamine and City Prosecutor Fidel Meycauyag proclaim Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez (2nd from right) the official winner of the race for Cagayan de Oro’s 2nd Congressional District at the SP session hall, 14 May 2013, at the conclusion of the canvassing of votes by the Board of Election Canvassers. Also proclaimed were Klarex Uy,1st district (4th from right), City Mayor Oscar Moreno (3rd from right). Also in photo is City Comelec Division Superintendent Elena Borcillo (2nd from left). photo by mike baños , npn

Rep. Acharon to push General Santos as separate congressional district

By Allen V. Estabillo

GENERAL SANTOS CITY — The re-filing of a bill that seeks the separation of this city into a new congressional or legislative district will be the top priority if reelected South Cotabato (1st District) Rep. Pedro Acharon Jr. when the 16th Congress begins its sessions on July 1.

Acharon said his office is now preparing the necessary requirements for the filing of the measure, which sets the reconfiguration of the first and second legislative districts of South Cotabato to pave the way for the creation of a new legislative district in the area.

“The city has long been qualified to have its own separate legislative district, so (the passage of) this measure is long overdue,” he said.

The official said the separation into a new district also augurs well with the city’s development goals and direction.

Acharon, who is a former mayor of this city, was reelected last May 13 for a second term to the House of Representatives under the administrationbacked Liberal Party-Nationalist People’s Coalition-Achiever’s with Integrity Movement (LPNPC-AIM) ticket.

He convincingly won over reelected Sarangani Rep. Emmanuel Pacquiao’s younger brother Rogelio of the People’s Champ Movement-United Nationalist Alliance.

Acharon initially filed House Bill (HB) 6038 or “an act reapportioning the composition of the first and second legislative districts in the province of South Cotabato and thereby creating

a new legislative district from such reapportionment,” on March 19, 2012.

It was referred to the House committee on local government on May 7 but failed to get past the preliminary discussions until the 15th Congress went on recess last February for the May 13 elections.

S outh C otabato (2nd District) Second District Rep. Daisy Avance-Fuentes, who co-authored HB 6038, earlier admitted that they ran out of time to have the measure calendared for committee hearings as it was filed “quite late.”

Fuentes, who was elected governor of South Cotabato, expressed support for the refiling and passage of the bill during her campaigns.

Her successor at the House, close ally Ferdinand Hernandez of the LP-NPC, had also endorsed the separation of this city into a new legislative district.

Under HB 6038, the present composition of South Cotabato’s first and second congressional will be reapportioned to carve out a separate or lone congressional district for this city.

The first district presently comprises this city and the municipalities of Tupi,

Tampakan and Polomolok in South Cotabato.

The second district is composed of Koronadal City and the municipalities of Tantangan, Banga, T’boli, Surallah, Sto.Nino, Norala, and Lake Sebu in South Cotabato.

The proposed measure provided that South Cotabato’s first district will be reshaped, comprising the towns of Polomolok, Tupi, Tampakan and T’boli.

Koronadal City, which is a component city and capital

of South Cotabato, and the six remaining towns will compose the province’s second district.

This city, which has a population of 538,086 based on the 2010 census, has long been classified as an independent and highly-urbanized locality but

has remained a part of South Cotabato’s first congressional district.

It was originally a component of the undivided Cotabato empire province until Congress approved its charter in 1968. (mindanews)

The Regional Election Board of Canvassers formally proclaimed Mujiv Hataman and Rashid Lucman as elected governor and vice governor, respectively, at 10:00 o’clock, May 17, 2013, at the Regional Legislative Assembly. Hataman garnered a total of 444,227 votes while Lucman got 472,417 against their opponents who each garnered some 200,000 votes from the different provinces under the ARMM. Regional secretaries, directors, friends and family members of the winning candidates attended the proclamation. The winning duo expressed their thanks and gratitude to voters who entrusted their votes and trusted them.

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May 19-25, 2013

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Opinion Election Realities

ou are probably fed up with posts about the recent elections. Unfortunately, the effects of May 13 will DANTE M. SUDARIA affect the country for the next generation and beyond Publisher in terms of infrastructure, laws, policies and projects. It ROSE MARY D. SUDARIA, Ph.D. is this batch of elected leaders which will make or break General Manager our salary structure, registration processes, documentary requirements, even traffic rules. Despite the existing CHENG ORDOÑEZ laws and the repeated howling of election watchdogs, the Editor-in-Chief following realities can be gleaned from our midterm polls: NELSON CONSTANTINO ALLAN MEDIANTE 1. Buying and selling votes are traditional customs Executive Editor Managing Editor legitimized by poverty. The widespread vote trading further shows us two things: one, that politicians have a lot of Ruel Pelone CLIFFORD SANTILLAN money and, two, that voters need money. Who gives the Online editor RONALD B. MASTAIL politicians the funds for the voters? Some say the money Layout Artists comes from jueteng. Some trace the money from public CHRISTINE CABIASA funds. In Aga Muhlach’s instance, he said the money came Copy Editor Crystaline pino from the conditional cash transfer program (still public Advertising funds). It could also have come from the re-alignment of ATTY. MARIO T. JUNI the budget previously allotted for election lawyers. With the Cell No: 09352379999 automation in place, there is almost no need for politicians Cris diaz Juni Law Office mike baños to engage lawyers and paralegals to watch over the now Cruz Taal St., SHAUN YAP UP automated counting and canvassing.

Cag. De Oro City Sub-Editors After the May 13 elections comes the payment of tuition Legal Counsel fees, and a long stretch of uncertainty for many who live The BusinessWeek Mindanao is published by day to day on a gross monthly wage of P8,000. Less taxes.

BusinessWeek Mindanao Advertising and Promotions Less social security deductions. Less other government every Sunday with office address at Tanleh Building, contributions before you can start to spend on food, rent Abellanosa, Cagayan de Oro City. It is registered with the and transportation. To be given P500 by each candidate Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Region 10 with is an easy way to survive. For that day or two.

Certificate No. 00875701, and with Business Permit No. 2. Television networks win big time in elections. ABS2013-10946, TIN No. 946-396-807 – Non VAT. Tel. Nos.: CBN posted increased advertising revenues for January(088)8578447, 74-5380, 0923-432-0687, 0917-7121424 March 2013 in the amount of P4.4 billion due in large part to political ads. GMA’s advertising revenues likewise Website: www.businessweekmindanao.com increased, hitting the amount of P2.950 billion. One can E-mail : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com only speculate that the campaign expenditures was financed by big businesses, and allowed by the Supreme Court ruling that removed airtime limits.

Member: 3. Town hall meeting or meeting de avance is an endangered specie. A meeting de avance is not the same as a Philippine Press Institute political rally or a campaign sortie. In a town hall meeting, candidates are placed side by side with their fellow candidates vying for the same position. They introduce themselves, present their platforms, debate between themselves and answer questions openly from the registered voters of the area. There are almost no longer such opportunities now.

4. Elections are both a familiarity and popularity contest.

May 13 was not an issue-driven elections. It was not defined by the RH issue, the dynasty issue or even religious issues. hink a minute…Some There may even be no such thing as a Catholic vote or even you ng ch i ld ren were A Minute an Iglesia ni Cristo vote that can drastically decide who will asked this question: “What

By Jhan Tiafau Hurst be elected. It is really about name recall and popularity. is a conscience?”

Enrile was a familiar name that fell out of favor because of A 6-year-old boy said he numerous smear campaigns. Muhlach is a familiar name thought it was “the bad feeling that perhaps wasn’t popular among the voters in Cam Sur. you get when you kick girls So is Anabelle Rama’s. Being a showbiz personality or a and puppies.” scion of a political dynasty is a must and a plus.

A 9-year-old said your conscience is “a voice inside that says ‘No’ when you want to beat up your little brother.”

A guy was giving his friend advice on how to make a emocracy cannot succeed unless those who express decision. He said: “You’ve their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real got to follow your conscience. safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.” FRANKLIN It’s like the little man inside you telling you what’s right D. ROOSEVELT and wrong. Just do whatever your little man tells you to But what does it mean to choose wisely? Should adverse do.”

His friend answered: “No, that won’t work for me. My criticism be characteristic of our government leaders; is it suffice to say the Filipinos have not chosen wisely? little man’s an idiot!”

It’s like the popular song about a person who’s committing A democracy is the will of the majority and as of late adultery that says: “How can this love be so wrong if it feels have chosen dynasties, anti-Catholic Church teachings, so right? If lovin’ you is wrong, I don’t want to be right!” succumbed to vote buying and worst of all; agreed via Our feelings and conscience are NOT always a good recall to the popular candidates who have spent hundreds of millions to acquire the national positions they have been guide to show us what’s right and wrong.

Since everyone one of us has the tendency to be self- declared into. centered in one way or another, we’ve damaged and confused The following by Alex P. Vidal/ House-of-Representatives: “We always maintain that it is not healthy for democracy our conscience.

So we often tell ourselves that certain wrong things if the government’s executive and legislative branches are always in honeymoon stage. are right so we won’t feel guilty about doing them.

A person can be very wrong even though he doesn’t More danger lurks if they end up as lovers. Rubber stamp legislatures have been used to circumvent the law feel wrong or guilty.

For example: Adolph Hitler had 6 million Jews tortured and tolerate excesses and abuses committed by heads of executive branch. and murdered just because of their race!

Presidents, governors, mayors, village chiefs (barangay But he did not show any guilt for all the evil he did.

Does that mean he was not guilty of all those wrongs, kapitanes) already wield awesome power. If the legislative branch is under their beck and call, democracy will agonize; just because he didn’t feel guilty? check and balance will go down in skid row.”

Of course not!

You and I can tell a small lie, cheat on our taxes, school The issues are characteristic of our present leadership exams or customs duty, or get away with a little stealing. considering the popularity of the President.

But that does not mean it’s right, or that we will never The legislative and the local governments are now allied with the Liberal Party that is synonymous of the be caught and punished.

The fact is we’re still guilty of doing those wrong things, presidency.

Are we now doomed with the absolute of powers that even if everybody else is doing it.

So because we cannot depend on our conscience or are now in place strengthened by the recent elections?

The answer is YES? Further according to Vidal; “It’s Hurst/PAGE 7 not healthy for democracy if some newly elected senators

Don’t follow your conscience

T

THINK

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5. Mismanaged elections o the public result in inconvenience. It may know must be an underlying theme

By Atty. Sara Jane A. Suguitan of our government services to make sure that all who avail of them must fall in lines of at least one kilometer long for as long as at least one hour. Polling precincts were jampacked from morning until evening on May 13. This was already a problem in 2010. Comelec also foresaw the stalling of PCOS machines, yet, Comelec did not prepare for it. It could have relocated the polling precincts to basketball courts, gymnasiums and conference rooms. It could have removed the bottleneck caused by limiting only 10 people to fill the ballot in a classroom at a time (hell, let hundreds of people fill their own ballots at their own time in any classroom and let them line up to the PCOS machine). It could have trained the public school teachers who stood as Election Inspections months ahead of time and ran election drills left and right to make sure they are prepared. Some teachers got to see the machines only on the week before May 13, during the “final” testing and sealing, meaning final to the Comelec but a first to the teachers. (It must be noted however, that international election observers were given first class treatment complete with look, feel and touch of the PCOS machines and a one-on-one with the Comelec Chair.)

Comelec could have solved 2010 problems creatively, but no! Comelec has decided not to recognize that they conducted elections in a grandly inconvenient manner for all of us concerned, including their personnel.

6. A peaceful election is one with only 51 people dead. That’s 3 down from 2010 elections’ dead count of 54. That’s what the Comelec implied when Chairman Brillantes gave himself a pat on the back and declared that the election under his chairmanship was the “best” and the most “peaceful”. I for one would personally prefer to hear Chairman Brillantes acknowledge all concerns and commit to work on those areas for improvement. Will it not be music to our ears if he says, “We will now allow the source code review and examine the glitches. We will work on training election inspectors every year so that they will be more prepared in the next elections. We will push for the updating of election laws and rules to adopt to the changing times. Lastly, we will work towards a 2016 elections with a goal of zero lives lost and zero victims of election-related violence.” But, NO! What we keep hearing is “I will resign!” and “I will sue the critics!” The first is a lie; the second has no leg to stand on. A note to the Comelec media team: Choose a spokesperson who is not pikon in order to shield the Chairman from throwing rather embarrassing tantrums before reporters.

Jaded democracy

SUPER

will proclaim to high heavens that they owe their victory to B randing President Noynoy Aquino,

By Harry Tambuatco who feverishly campaigned for the ruling Liberal Party bets before the May 13 midterm elections.

C i t y, pr ov i nc i a l a n d municipal councilors who attribute their victory heavily on the backing of their standard bearers for governor and mayor are also guilty of waltzing with the executive branch at the expense of the principle of inter-independence”.

ENLIGHTENMENT or do we mean EDUCATION? Education is always the key to save the people from poverty and oppression.

But do we have a sustaining education for the mass base in this country?

No less the comelec that is mandated to educate are remiss of this duty restricting their enlightenment mandate on how to use the “pcos” and the violations under the law (of which they are first to violate) rather than to teach and educate the majority on the ills of dynasties and the singular and absolute authority of one over the three branches of government.

“Baron De Montesquieu, a central figure during the Age of Enlightenment, had warned that when the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person, or in the same body of magistrates, there can be no liberty; because apprehensions may arise lest the same monarch tambuatco/PAGE 7

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Hurst... from page 6

feelings every time, we need Jesus Christ to be our guide Who can clearly show us what’s right and wrong every day.

Today, even though you have not felt very guilty, you now understand that you are guilty of living your own way.

You know that you’ve done wrong things: wrong thoughts, words, and actions.

Maybe they were even things you thought were not wrong because many other people do them.

Yet the good news is Jesus Christ will still forgive you and start changing your life if you let Him. So why not ask Him to take full control of your life and help you start living His way every day?

It’s t he way you ca n finally have real peace in your conscience, and the satisfaction of living the right, successful way.

Just Think a Minute …

Tambuatco... from page 6

should enact t y rannica l laws to execute them in a tyrannical manner.”

“The advocate of the t heor y of sepa ration of powers had warned further

that “there would be an end of everything were the same man or the same body, whether of the nobles or of the people, to exercise those three powers, that of enacting the laws, that of executing the public resolutions, and that of judging the crimes or differences of individuals.”

This article should awaken the “illlustrados” of the country be it for businessmen, bankers, entrepreneurs, the educated and civil society but is it possible they too are part of the band wagon that takes from the people rather than to gives back to the people.

The Church has lost its charm and influence amongst its f lock ot her t ha n to participate in Sunday masses.

The past elections have proven there is no longer a Catholic vote nor is there a Church following based on the doctrines the faith is anchored on.

The danger here is what we call a sustaining model to maintain a sufficient market where the very market is bled to a point we lose it all together.

A social responsibility is to maintain to sustain the pillars of a free market economy to draw talent from, a workforce and the market for consumerism.

Our democracy is jaded!

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES REGIONAL TRIAL COURT 10TH JUDICIAL REGION BRANCH 28 MAMBAJAO, CAMIGUIN IN THE MATTER OF ADOPTION OF A MINOR CHILD KATHREN JOY TIMBAL WITH CORRECTION OF ENTRY OF HER CERTIFICATE OF LIVE BIRTH,

Opinion

During the latest press conference hosted by the Oro Chamber last Friday at a local hotel, President Efren Uy reiterated the group’s opposition to the premature opening of the Laguindingan Airport (now rescheduled for June 15) due to the adverse effects the 50 percent drop in flights due to the Visual Flight Rules to be implemented in the facility would devastate Northern Mindanao region’s economy.

Laguindingan would replace the Lumbia Airport in Cagayan de Oro. In his presentation, Mr. Uy cited figures which show that Lumbia is the fifth busiest airport in the country with 28 daily flights, 1.3 million passengers and 22.2 million kilograms of cargo a year as of 2010.

Latest figures from CAAP we sourced through NEDA-10 show the passenger volume as of 2012 shot up 10.3 percent to 1.622 million from 1.471 million in 2011 while cargo volume jumped up even more by 34.42 percent from 16,231 metric tons to 2011 to 21,818MT in 2012.

Mr. Uy showed us a table where the number of flights to be affected by Laguindingan’s Visual Flight Rules (VFR) operations could be affected.

This counted six flights in the morning and ten in the evening. I have a problem accepting these figures at their face value for a number of reasons.

First, even if it is operated under VFR, the contention that inclement weather would rule out early morning and evening operations at Laguindingan is not entirely accurate.

During my stint in the Cagayan de Oro-Iligan Corridor Special Development Project Office, we worked closely with the Dept. of Transportation and Communications to bring this airport to fruition and learned a lot about the need for it. One of this was its lower altitude compared to Lumbia airport.

In fact, Lumbia’s altitude was one reason why it could never be expanded because when the cloud cover was lowered by inclement weather, it became inoperable.

Not so with Laguindingan airport which is practically at sea level which allows aircraft to fly below the usual cloud cover and land/take off when the same conditions had already shut down Lumbia airport.

Second, I am not comfortable using the flight schedule from Lumbia to project the number of flights to be affected

by VFR at Laguindingan.

They are two distinct airports with starkly different operating parameters and it wouldn’t be accurate to

ORDER Petitioners, through counsel, allege that they are all of legal ages and residing at Yumbing, Mambajao, Camiguin. Husband-petitioner, an Italian National and wifepetitioner a Filipino Citizen got married last July 2, 2012. Petitioners seek to adopt Kathren Joy Timbal, a 9 years old-minor child who was born on July 17, 2003. Kathren Joy is the illegitimate daughter of wife-petitioner having given birth without the benefit of marriage with her live-in partner Virgilio R. Sugue, Jr.. The consent of the child’s biological father who is nowhere to be found cannot be had because he abandoned the child since infancy up to the present, without any information whether he is still alive.

Petitioners possess all the qualifications and none of the disqualifications to adopt.

Petitioners also seek to correct the middle maiden name of the mother of the child to be adopted which is erroneously recorded as “Torillo” when it should be “Tadina” in her Certificate of Live Birth.

The petition for adoption being sufficient in form and substance, is hereby set for hearing in this Court’s Session Hall, at Lakas, Mambajao, Camiguin on July 24, 2013 to start at 8:30 o’clock in the morning. The correction of entry in the child’s Certificate of Live Birth, however is hereby not given due course for lack of jurisdiction.

Let copy of the petition and of this Order be furnished the Regional Director of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Region X, Cagayan de Oro City, for the preparation and confirmation of the child and home study reports and submit the same before the date of hearing as well as to conduct counseling sessions with the natural parents on the matter of adoption of the adoptee and accordingly submit a report therein before the date of hearing; and another copy of the petition and of this Order be furnished the Office of the Solicitor General, the Provincial Prosecutor of Camiguin, the Local Civil Registrar of Mambajao, Camiguin, the Local Civil Registrar of Makati City and the biological parents for any step they may deem best and proper to take in this Petition.

Let copy of this Order be published at petitioners’ expense once a week for three successive weeks before the scheduled hearing in any newspaper of general circulation in the Province of Camiguin.

Any person or entity opposed to the petition in this case may file written opposition at any reasonable time before the scheduled hearing and personally appear during the hearing to show cause why the petition shall not be granted.

SO ORDERED. Done in Mambajao, Camiguin, this 19th day of April 2013.

(SGD.) RUSTICO D. PADERANGA

Judge

BWM: May 12, 19 & 26, 2013

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may 19-25, 2013

To be on the same page H

project Lumbia’s flight sked ammer to Laguindingan and assume and A nvil VFR would result in cancelled

By Mike Baños flights.

Like comparing apples with oranges, to use the worn out cliché.

In fact, during the prescon, an airline representative said they have already considered the VFR protocol for Laguindingan and would be cancelling their late evening flight but would be adding back an early morning flight to take up the slack.

I believe the more prudent and rationale tack for the Oro Chamber to take is to ask the airlines now operating from Lumbia for their revised flight skeds for Laguindingan, and only then can we know for certain how VFR would affect the present volume of passengers and cargoes passing through Region X and ergo, make our subsequent arguments about lost business and revenues plausible.

The chamber should also consider other airlines like Zest Air/Air Asia have already indicated their plans to run new flights and are even now offering promos online for its flights into Laguindingan.

Consider further, how the new airport’s planned volume for 2022 of 1.6 million has already been exceeded last year and we have our work cut out for us.

Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Region X Governor Rodolfo L. Meñes said private sector investors have already expressed a high degree of interest to bid for the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) contract for Laguindingan which is up for privatization as well as undertake similar Private-Public-Partnerships (PPP) which would undertake expansion projects for the passenger and cargo terminals, runway extension and the shuttle service for passengers from the aircraft to the terminal.

That sound good but at this point, perhaps the first thing to do is to get that revised flight schedules for Laguindingan from the airlines and start from there. And of course, chart a Plan B just in case CAAP and DOTC makes good of their threat to commence operating Laguindingan Airport using VFR by June 15.

People from all walks of life troop to LOTS FOR LESS Davao

SPL. PROC. NO. 475

DANIELE BUGLINO and MEI LYNN TIMBAL-BUGLINO,

Petitioners. x- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -/

BusinessWeek

LOTS FOR LESS - the name evokes impression. Lots for less Davao is a center of experience and innovation.

Having laid the foundation for sound operation during its formative years and having demonstrated its capability for profitable operation, “Lots for Less Davao” continues to adopt innovations, which result to maximum utilization of its resources.

LOTS FOR LESS is instrumental in Davao City’s progress and has proven that stable peace and order condition and the concerted efforts of the local government and private sectors can slowly but surely strengthen economic boom.

In LOTS FOR LESS DAVAO, a warehouse sale along Lizada Street and in Lanang Davao Metropolis, pleasure is for anybody’s taking.

There are always different kinds of commodities you may want to take home. Visiting “Lots for Less” has become everybody”s favorite pastime. Just look as the thick crowds that troop to “Lots for Less”. They range from bulk buyers to bargain hunters, housewives and merchants, professionals and students , rich and poor, young and old.

The LOTS FOR LESS standards in serving the consumers

D

P

and the harmonious and ointers of cordial employee relations the H idden G ate are actually the yardstick for

By Tom Caballero effective customer service and satisfaction. These maybe attributed to “ LOTS FOR LESS” idea of responsive personnel program. Lots for less is very cognizant that its human resources constitute a principal asset to ensure a high degree of manpower competence and morale in functional area and at all levels of this warehouse sale.

Today, :LOTS FOR LESS” performance is very satisfactory resulting to an improvement in financial gain. As of its continuing success one of its personnel simply smiled and said “Our clients are our reason for being”, To earn this continued patronage, trust and confidence, we provide them with personalized and caring service.

Retirement and inflation

o you plan to retire someday? Whether it is by choice or by force, whenever that retirement comes, most people say they plan to. But have you started with strategies to get there as planned? Most say they haven’t thought about it.

Some people have this big dream in life – to be able to retire earliest and at the youngest possible age.

As Jim Rohn says, if you’d like to do what you want to in life as long as you can, then you’d better be doing the things that you have to as quick as you can!

Accumulate enough money by then so you need not worry that much about money again.

For the detractors, money is of course not the most important thing in this world.

But as Zig Ziglar would say, our need for it is as close to oxygen!

Among the most important factors to consider when projecting realistic future retirement figures is the increasing cost of living due to inflation.

For the past 30 years, Philippine inf lation rate Financial D octor averaged 6% per annum.

By Adonis Agcopra Granting you are now age 45 and desires to “retire” at age 60, you have 15 years to go.

At 6% projected annual inflation, if you look forward to living a lifestyle based on a current monthly cost of living of PhP50,000 (PhP600,000 a n nu a l ly), t hen e x p e c t to spend approx i mately PhP120,000 each mont h (PhP1,440,000 annually) by the time you retire!

Then we ask: How long do you expect to last?

Based on your personal life goals as well as your family

THE

agcopra/PAGE 10

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May 19-25, 2013

Weekend Family Sojourn at Seda BGC

By Mike Baños

I

n the course of my travels as a writer, I have often brought my family along with me so they too could experience the beauty and wonders of our fair and beautiful country.

Most recently, I had the chance to experience a weekend at the new Seda B onifacio Global City courtesy of our friends in Seda, (thanks Berr y Marfori!) With me were my wife Gardy, and my sons Leon and Jules.

Seda B GC and its siblings in Cagayan de Oro (Seda Centrio), Davao (Seda Abreeza) and soon in Nuvali are billed as business and lifestyle hotels. How that would sit with a family out on vacation, here’s what my wife and children had to say.

Gardy is the manager of the UCCP Guesthouse, a hostel near the UCCP C agay an de O ro Cit y Church, and is a writer in her own right, having

previously published lifestyle articles and romantic fiction in some of our women’s magazines.

“Whenever I go on a trip, I always look for an X-factor of the place I’m staying. A special touch or flavor, perhaps, which makes my stay worthwhile and nudges me to come back sometime.

A recent trip to Manila last April led our family to Seda BGC. It got me again: the thrill of first time. First time to actually be in Global City. First time to spend our last day in Manila in a plush hotel. First time for my sons to meet up their buddies and cousins in a different city. And first time to sleep in a suite room!

From their lobby all the

eLounge Those wonderful Seda pillows

way to our suite room on the 11th floor, I started doing my mental checklist, a habit that turns on when I stay in hotels: Hotel lobby, check!

Spacious, comfortable, sparse, with a curious brass giraffe guarding the main door, plus a free internet/ pc area for guests (my boys gave that kicking thumbs up). Front Desk, check!

It’s her job to smile and be accommodating. Bellman, check! He’s expected to be polite and entertaining.

Elevator, two checks! It’s one of the most pleasant, smo oth ele vator rides I’ve ever had. Hallways, check! Specially noted the classy art deco and wall treatments.

Suite room now, and my stor y’s just getting started: lo and behold! three checks instantly for a well designed space! The kitchen, two checks! Spells comfort for coffee or tea time, hot or cold whatever pleases you. The living area, two checks with enough room to lounge around, watch NBA or just work at the desk. The master bedroom: three checks with a luxurious cozy bed, another TV (! ) The closet, two checks! The handy electric iron and board was a plus, not common

Seda BGC Front Desk

in other hotels I’ve been to, even for Southeast Asia.

The bathroom, two checks: big b at htub, excel lent toiletries, hair dryer and neat storage. Well, seems everything here just exceeds my expectation! Still, I need to find what Seda BGC has which makes it beyond par...that fine fiber to finally say, ahhh...silky cocoon.

I was musing on this as I slowly lay in the bed and then I found it : that X-factor, the fine fiber of Seda which would make me wish to come back... ten checks, twenty checks! drum rolling....it’s the PILLOWS. Yes, ladies and gentlemen. simple and basic it may seem, but pillows are all it takes for a sleeping log like moi. What would good would a million dollar bedroom be if the pillow won’t make you sleep and dream? Yes! Seda pillows are the best memory I will take home with me.

Yes, dinner at Misto was also a pleasant experience but that is another story.”

Leon, 26, is studying advanced software programming at Informatics Institute: “I had to keep my mouth from gaping during my brief stay at Seda BGC. The place had a very conservative yet grandiose design to it, from the hotel lobby to the top floor lounge. The rooms that my family and I stayed in were very comfy and well-furnished and had everything that a traveler might need during his/her

Lobby

stay.

The hotel staff were also very courteous and excellent at their work.

The chef, in particular, cooked up many deliciously unforgettable dishes. Hands down, the food I tasted there was the best I’ve ever had and could undoubtedly be bragged about as worldclass cuisine.

Overall, I’d happily give SEDA a double thumbsup. To anyone who might ask me which hotel to go to, I would definitely recommend SEDA BGC without a second thought.”

Jules, 22, just finished his B.S. Chemistry at Mindanao Institute of Science and Technology and is now undertaking a review for his upcoming board exam: “My brief overnight stay at Seda B onifacio Global City could only be described as spectacular.

The services and facilities were superb and the people working there were very helpful and pleasant. The beds were very comfortable and the view was great and

the room overall gave a homey feeling.

Not the least, I truly appreciate the security system with the rooms and the usage of the elevator being exclusive for guests only, exception for the roof deck and the second floor with the swimming pool and gym which were open to the public.”

So how’s that for an endorsement? Personally, the edge I believe Seda BGC has over similar hotels in Metro Manila (and believe me, I’ve done the whole kit and caboodle from the lowest to the highest) is its service. Courteous without being unobtrusive, Filipino hospitality at its best. Discreet if you may, from the bellman that whisks your luggage to your room to the front desk, to waiters (who actually wait on you), you will be pampered without being bothered.

Seda B GC is at the corner of 30th Street and 11th Avenue, BGC, Taguig City.

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BusinessWeek

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May 19-25, 2013

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Motoring

Toyota sales up 33% from previous year Manila, Philippines, May 9, 2013 — Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. experienced a 33% increase in sales during the first four months of the year, compared to the same period last year. All in all, TMP sold a total of 23, 395 units garnering 41.3% of the market, according to the latest CAMPI report.

For the month of April, TMP registered a total of 6, 334 units. Furthermore, the company has maintained its lead in both the Passenger car segment and Commercial vehicle category selling 1,990 units and 4,344 units respectively.

Toyota’s line-up proved to be strong as several models took the top spot in their Toyota Innova maintains its hold as the number MPV model for Toyota Motor Philippines respective categories. The Corp. photo courtesy of wikimedia.org

FIBECO Board of Directors’ Accomplishment Report of 2012 THE Board of Directors of FIBECO, Inc. takes upon good governance yielding toward sustainability of electric service to each and every member consumer within the franchise area. In fulfillment thereof, the Board is mindful of its inherent power to decide cooperative policies subject to the oversight review of the National Electrification Administration (NEA); thus, has set the directional perspective of the organization intertwined with the Board’s functional responsibilities.

On policy directions, the board has achieved the following: (1) Adopting the e.ICPM ( Enhanced-Integrated Computerized Planning Model) of the Cooperative for the year 2012-2016 and approving the annual work plan for 2021; (2) Requesting NEA for technical assistant in the preparation for the organizational reconstructing in FIBECO, Inc.; (3)Creating the Plantilla positions of Asssistant General Manager, Assistant Area Manager, Executive Assistant and Executive Technical Assistant appropriating funds therefor and for other purposes; and (4) Adopting the retirement plan rules and regulations of Fibeco based on the scheme promulgated by NEA. Furthermore on the legal responsibility vis-a-vis power supply plan, the following are there achievements: (1) Authority to enter power Sales Agreement for the mini Hydro Power Plant projects of FIBECO; (2) Authority to sign the renewable Energy Service Contract entered into by FIBECO and the Department of Energy for the development of the Maramag and Muleta Mini Hydro Power Plants; (3) Authority to file with the energy Regulatory Commission on the Sale for Resale Agreement with BUSECO for the Available electric power of FIBECO computed as excess and appropriating funds for the purpose; (4) Authority to enter into an energy Power Purchase Agreement/Power Supply Agreement with Filinvest Development Corporation Utilities Inc. for the 15 MW power supply for and in behalf of FIBECO; (5) Approving the organization of Project Companies and to form a joint stock corporation therewith for the development and operation of mini hydro and Bio-energy power plant project s of FIBECO; (6) Authority to sign the application for registration with the securities and exchange Commission(SEC) on the project companies formed and organized by FIBECO; (7) Authority to enter into contract with USAID for the conduct of Biomass Resource Assessment in Mindanao to be undertaken by FIBECO ; (8) Acquisition of the 69 KV line in consortium with BUSECO; (9) Formation

of the BECO Foundation for the CSR of FIBECO and BUSECO; (10) Authorizing power supply agreement with king Energy Generation Inc. and Crystal Sugar Company , Inc.; and (11) Approving the buying out of PULANGIIV hydro power plant with stakeholders.

Also, on their internal control operations, it includes: (1) Approving the budget of 30th AGMA of FIBECO; (2) Adopting the 2011 Audited Financial Statement of FIBECO; (3) Granting cash incentive benefits to the officers and employees for garnering the best Achievement Awards from NEA; (4) Appropriating the needed amount for the development and operation of project companies of FIBECO subject to reimbursement from their respective investors; and (5) Increasing the budget for Renewable Energy investment from 3M to 10Mretroactive April 2012.

FIBECO also provides employees and officers benefits to: (1) Granting the Anniversary Bonus to the Officers and Employees at P10, 000 each and P2, 000 each to Probationary, Outsourced and Security Guards and appropriating P2, 864,000 for the purpose; (2) Granting cash incentive benefits to the officers and employees in the amount of P 25,000 per officer/employee and P5, 000 per probationary, casual & outsourced employees for garnering the best Achievement Awards from NEA; (3) Approving the grant of benefits for December 2012 in the amount of Fourteen Million One hundred Thirty five thousand two hundred forty Six pesos ( P14,135,246) intended for the officers, employees, and other personnel of FIBECO and appropriating funds for the purpose; and (4) Submitting to NEA for approval the allowances due the FIBECO Board of Directors as proposed by the management and appropriating funds for the purpose.

Aside from the employees, the consumers also acquired advantages: (1) Authorizing the release of funds for the 3rd MSEAC Congress; (2) Authorizing the release of funds for BAPA capability building and training; (3) Organization of FIBECO Barangay Member Consumer Electrification Committee; (4) Authorizing the release funds for the holding of forum on different barangays which are identified as SEP beneficiary prior to implementation; and (5) Authorizing the mobilization and the release of funds for the member Consumer Empowerment and Leadership Program (MCELP).

Now, FIBECO abides to do more for this year for the common good.

Toyota Vios continues to be the top-selling vehicle in the country with 1,476 units sold for the month of April.

The Toyota Innova on the other hand, maintains its hold as the #1 MPV model with sales of 1,245. “ TMP experienced positive sales across the board, seeing continued strength with our locally manufactured Vios leading

the charge,” said Michinobu Sugata, President, Toyota Motor Philippines. “2013 is forecasted to be another record breaking year as reflected in the performance of the industry in the 1st four months of the year. We can expect this trend to continue as the Philippines shows growth in its economy and specifically the automotive industry.”

Agcopra... from page 7

medical history, would you probably last until age 75?

Having this projected scenario, by the time you retire at age 60, what assets do you think should you have accumulated by then to support your 15 years of retirement?

How much should its worth be?

Accurate mathematical computations can simulate these projections.

Based on t he law of averages, a friend once shared this perception.

Of a l l t he resou rces at our disposal, the most important three seems to be time, energy and money.

The usual story goes this way. In our younger years, we have so much time and energy, yet we don’t have that much money.

In our mid-life years, we still have energy and (if we are industrious enough) our personal assets begin to accumulate, but it seems like we have so little time to do

all the things we would like to do.

In our later years, we have time (and hopefully, we still have money), yet our energy is already on its way down.

From this observation, one last very important question goes: When retirement comes and your energy has waned, do you expect to be able to support yourself with your own money, or would you like to go through the struggle of being dependent to someone else?

These are questions worth seriously pondering. Start creating a plan to support the future and senior you.

Your future is in your hands.

Do it now!

---- (Dr. Adonis Agcopra, MBA, CIS, RFC® is with the IARFC and is portfolio director of AFIC Meridian Consultants. URL: www. aficfinancialconsultants. c o m .

E m a i l : aficfinancialconsultants@ outlook.com - Ed)

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Advertising and Editorial E-mail : businessdailymindanao@gmail.com Contact nos. : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776

may 19-25, 2013

Savings...

from page 1 mess ages spre ad li ke wildfire. From his talks, Tiongs on s aw Filipinos’ hunger to do something “spentworthy” for their future.

But after all the years of teaching and preaching, the odds remain formidable: Tiongson, in his hunch with Philippine economic growth on the backdrop, thinks Filipinos are still not wise financial managers.

The “small percent” of Filipinos savers, for Tiongson, belong to the upper-income market, and who are “exposed to financial education” (an agendum that, Tiongson claims, no senatorial candidate pushed for in this year’s electoral campaign). “Those who save are more of the exception than the rule,” he says.

Like Novadeci member Veronica Cañares, also queuing at Novadeci’s headquarters, found near a district wet market. Novadeci’s members, mostly workers in the informal economy like market vendors and micro-entrepreneurs, are now 30,000 strong, with some of them trying to coast along just above poverty.

“We still can save and earn in our own ways,” Cañares said.

“We should not be dependent on the government for our future.”

Workers...

from page 1 has been her full-time thing “for a long time”, a decade to be

exact, she says. As of late, her home-serviced manicure and pedicure service nets Velasco P300 a day; Sundays are a hit, hauling for Maricel P500 or more.

At around the same period of time that Velasco has been part of what labor analysts refer to as “underemployed,” the number of this army of workers continues to grow —even to an all-time high of 8.546 million after the July 2012 round of the Labor Force Survey. As of the January 2013 round of the LFS, announced last March (the same time economic managers trumpeted a 6.6 percent growth for 2012), there are some 7.934 million underemployed workers.

Being underemployed, says economist Dr. Fernando Aldaba of the Ateneo de Manila University, is a precarious situation. These workers do not have “good quality jobs” —jobs that are regular, with assured security of tenure, and provide a gainful wage, says the labor economist.

This lack of good quality jobs is a major reason there are more underemployed and more who are poor, Aldaba said, pointing to the strong links between underemployment and poverty (that even persists up to this current government of Benigno Simeon Aquino III).

S o Vel as c o has b e e n walking the underemployment tightrope as the breadwinner of a family that includes livein partner Johnny (who’s unemploye d) and s e ven children. She lives at a house

owned by an extended family member here, with no light bulbs for the night, not even electric fans. “Paypay na lang, magtiisna lang (Make do with using a paper fan). I’m just glad I have somewhere to live and am not renting,” said the native of Sorsogon.

Upon moving to Manila, Velasco was once a domestic helper for a lawyer, then the former nursing student in Sorsogon learned tailoring at a vocational school upon the employer’s prodding. She nailed a first crack at a full-time job, at the lawyer-employer’s firm St. Raphael’s, that sells uniforms and goods at a Shoemart outlet.

The shop, however, closed in 2000, forcing Maricel to work at a salon in Pasay City (a “pretty stable job” that pays her P12,000 monthly, she says).

But since her children were skipping classes at Epifanio High School, Maricel had to make the tough choice: she quit the salon. Then being a home-service manicurist had been her thing, making her “handle my own time.”

“I don’t care anymore if I don’t earn much, and if I have to struggle for money,” Velasco said, in a low-toned voice. “I want (my children) to get better jobs than what I am doing.”

Not make them a part of the fifth of the country’s labor force who is underemployed (like Velasco), and the some seven percent who are unemployed.

More so, becoming poor: recent poverty figures from the 2012 round of the triennial Family

Help...

from page 1 already —five years— since Larci, whose husband Raymund is a contractual factory worker, was spotted as a beneficiary. Her eldest daughter is now a year away from a college diploma in information technolog y ; another daughter’s soon to start a computer secretariat course. Five others are in pr i m a r y a n d s e c on d a r y schooling —and making these children of Pantawid beneficiaries stay in school

OFFICE OF THE PROVINCIAL SHERIFF SPL. PROC. NO.21-467 NOTICE OF EXTRA JUDICIAL SALE

FOR: “CORRECTION OF ENTRIES”

WEALTH DEVELOPMENT BANK CORPORATION,

Mortgagee,

-versus-

-versusTHE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR OF KAPATAGAN, LDN, Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte, Respondent. x--------------------------------------------/

FILE NO. 2013-114 FOR: EXTRA-JUDICIAL FORECLOSURE OF REAL ESTATE MORTGAGE

SPS. EDWIN L. VILLAMOR and BERLINA P. VILLAMOR

Mortgagors.

X- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -/

ORDER

A verified petition for Correction of Entry in the Birth record of Japhet Pasco Mancao in the Local Civil Registry of Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte, was filed by petitioner Japhet Pasco Mancao on June 4, 2012, praying this Honorable Court that after due notice, publication and hearing, judgment shall issue by ordering the Local Civil Registrar of Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte to: 1. CANCEL the entry “FEMALE” as found in the space for sex in the birth certificate of JAPHET PASCO MANCAO, and the correct one be made and enterd as “MALE”; 2. Issue a new and corrected birth certificate; and 3) FORWARD a copy of the corrected birth certificate of the said JAPHET PASCO MANCAO to the National Statistics Office (NSO).

The verified petition being sufficient both in form and substance, the same is hereby set for initial hearing to June 07,2013 at 8:30 o’clock in the morning at the session hall of this court. Let this order be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the province of Lanao del Norte once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks at the expense of the petitioner.

The Local Civil Registrar of Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte, and any person who has an interest in the petition may file his/her opposition thereto within fifteen (15) days from notice of this petition or from the last day of publication of this order.

Further, let this Order be posted for fifteen (15) consecutive days prior to the date of hearing on the bulletin board of the Municipal Hall of Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte; on the bulletin board of barangay Margos, Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte where the petitioner is residing, and on the bulletin board of this court.

The petitioner is directed to notify this Court of the publication of this order three (3) days before the scheduled hearing date.

Furnish copy of this Order to the Solicitor General, Makati City, the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor of Lanao del Norte, the Local Civil Registrar of Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte; Atty. Markson E. Divino, PAO Office, Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte and Japhet E. Mancao, Purok 2, Margos, Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte.

SO ORDERED.

April 19, 2013.

Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte.

BWM: May 6, 12 & 19, 2013

Income and Expenditures Survey showed that the 2012 p over ty le vels remained unchanged with 2006 levels.

The current tack of the government is what Aldaba refers to as “inclusive growth,” hoping that this generates more quality jobs —especially t hroug h manufac tur ing .

Yet recently, on Labor Day, President Aquino thumbed d ow n app e a l s by l a b or groups for a wage hike and for tax breaks for minimum wage earners (in 2012, the Department of Labor and Employment has been implementing a two-tiered wage increase scheme across the regions).

So the daily ray of hope in Velasco’s walking of the underemployment tightrope?

She sets aside either a P20 or a P50 bill everyday. “Basta may maitabi (For as I long as I save),” she says, after finishing her client that Sunday —and heading off to the next.

Republic of the Philippines REGIONAL TRIAL COURT OF MISAMIS ORIENTAL 10th Judicial Region Branch 18 Cagayan de Oro City

Republic of the Philippines REGIONAL TRIAL COURT 12TH Judicial Region,Branch 21 Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte IN RE: PETITION FOR CORRECTION OF ENTRY IN THE BIRTH RECORD OF JAPHET PASCO MANCAO.

JAPHET PASCO MANCAO, Petitioner.

(SGD.) ALBERTO P. QUINTO Acting Presiding Judge

11

Y O U R N O R T H E R N A N D S O U T H E R N M I N D A N A O B U S I N E S S PA P E R

Upon extra-judicial petition for sale under Act 3135 as amended, filed by WEALTH DEVELOPMENT BANK CORP., Mortgagee, against SPS. EDWIN L. VILLAMOR and BERLINA P. VILLAMOR, Mortgagors, with residential address at Godsend Bldg., Zone 6, Bonbon, Cagayan de Oro City, to satisfy the mortgage indebtedness which as of February 5, 2013, amounts to ONE MILLION FIVE HUNDRED FIFTY ONE THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED EIGHTY NINE PESOS and 88/100 (Php 1,551.389.88) inclusive of interest and penalty, the undersigned sheriff will sell at public auction on May 31, 2013 at 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., at the Regional Trial Court, Branch 18, Room 117, Hall of Justice, Cagayan de Oro City, to the highest bidder for CASH and in Philippine Currency, the following property described below, including the residential/commercial building and all existing improvements found thereon, to wit: TCT No. T-169536 A PARCEL OF LAND (Lot 22315-B, Psd-10-003748, being a portion of Lot 22315, Cad-237, Cagayan Cadastre) situated in the Barrio of Bonbon, City of Cagayan de Oro, Island of Mindanao, containing an area of ONE HUNDRED FIFTY THREE (153) SQUARE METERS, more or less.

All sealed bids must be submitted to the undersigned on the above stated time and date.

In the event auction sale cannot take place for whatever legal reason, the same will proceed on the following working day, without further notice, posting and publication.

Prospective buyers may investigate for themselves the title herein above described and encumbrance thereon, if any there be.

Cagayan de Oro City, April 23, 2013.

FOR THE EX-OFFICIO PROVINCIAL SHERIFF

(Sgd.) NIZA P. TACANDONG

Sheriff IV BWM: May 6, 12 & 19, 2013

is the program’s condition for getting those grants.

L i ke ot her ident if ie d Pantawid beneficiaries, at least in her area in this city’s urban neighborhood, Loyola gets P1,400 monthly. She and Raymund also diligently attend monthly family development sessions (FDS), being taught tips on how to handle money and what are the duties of being parents. “These (FDS) were a big help,” she says.

S o a g re e s an i mp a c t evaluation conducted by economists Nazmul Haudhury, Jed Friedman and Junko Onishi of the World Bank: Pantawid Pamilya, on the overall, is meeting its objective of helping to keep poor children in school by increasing enrolment among younger children (311 years old), and increasing attendance among 6-17 year olds.

No contest to that obser vation, says a team of Filipino economists led

by Dr. Celia Reyes, writing for the government “think tank” Philippine Institute of Development Studies. But crunching an annual poverty indicators survey data during years before and during Pantawid’s implementation (2007 and 2011, respectively), school participation rates remained the same: high up to age 14, then getting lower when children reach 18 years old.

While school participation is a specific item, Reyes’ observation jives somewhat to the first semester results of the National Statistics Office’s 2012 Family Income and Expenditures Survey (FIES).

Current poverty incidence levels went back to their 2006 levels —only easing a little (27.9 percent in 2012 versus 28.8 percent in 2006, with the difference covering some 700,000 households).

Government officials were taken aback by this news.

President Aquino and his team of spokespersons adjusted statement after statement of what do these results mean to the government’s anti-poverty programs. And DSWD? Says Secretary Corazon Soliman: “This is a challenge (for the DSWD) to improve -- the national anti-poverty program of the Aquino administration.”

So CCT as a “life buoy” or salbabida, Soliman adds, ain’t “the only solution to poverty” since ot her gover nment programs like employment, livelihood, shelter, education, health, and agriculture are also needed.

If CCT ’s approach is such, contends Reyes and her team, why not deepen the Pantawid program instead of expanding the coverage of beneficiaries? (Currently Pantawid beneficiaries were some 2.3 million big during the first run in 2008, and currently some 3.1 million beneficiaries benefit —reaching some 7.5

million children in almost all of the Philippine archipelago.

The t arget’s 3.8 mi l lion beneficiaries by year’s end.)

The PIDS economists mean that if the CCT program aimed to make children finish elementary schooling, why not stretch the assistance to existing beneficiaries by targeting their children to finish high school? Reyes logic is simple that Filipino economists have long proven: if education’s a passport to gaining incomes, a high school diploma is a big lift.

They have data to back it up, comparing Pantawid beneficiaries versus nonbeneficiaries who are poor: both of these households’ children who remain in school are high when at 14, then their school participation rates diminish when they’re getting old.

“Due to the financial burden of supporting till the child finishes high school, it is also worthwhile considering starting the education support at a higher grade.” If DSWD follows Reyes’ suggestion, high school graduates’ wages will increase by 40 percent more compared to those who only got elementary schooling, Reyes and her team said.

That will increase Pantawid families’ chances of breaking intergenerational poverty, the PIDS economists contend.

Take 38-year-old Larci: her second child will enrol the two year secretarial course this June. Two of seven children now breaking into college education.

The Pantawid Pamilya Program is financed by loans from donors like the World Bank and the Australian government. Since 2007, Pantawid has spent already P120 billion, with some P44.2 billion alone for this year, the final leg of the five-year program’s first round.

Pantawid has been Larci Loyola’s bridge to a better situation these past five years, as well as more than a decade after leaving a first husband who allegedly battered Lara when food’s not on the table.

That’s when the mother and daughter sought refuge from Larci’s mother, then Larci went to high school best friend Raymund to be consoled. Larci became a grocery store, the place where Raymund worked in construction, and became a couple.

And all these past five years of being blessed with grants and taught lessons from the Pantawid program, pursed lips from the longhaired housewife have been this mother’s bridge to the daily travails of life. “Don’t show your children you’re weak because they will become weak,” Larci says.

“Show you’re sturdy,” she adds, with a charming laugh that bellowed inside the humble Loyola household.

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Y O U R N O R T H E R N A N D S O U T H E R N M I N D A N A O B U S I N E S S PA P E R

May 19-25, 2013

“We Grow Minds”

HEALTH AWARENESS CAMPAIGN FOCUSES ON ‘DOUBLE TROUBLE’

By CHENG ORDONEZ, NewsCon Director

THE Department of Health (DOH) has been quick in recognizing the gravity of the HIV-AIDS/TB epidemic worldwide by mobilizing the required commitment and resources for sustainable national and local responses through the program dubbed as “Double Trouble.”

The Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) and the German Doctors Hospital have supported the undertakings of the DOH to combat HIV/AIDS and TB in Region 10, where local health agencies have been implementing HIV/AIDS and TB activities under a comprehensive approach with other health agencies, which are all working as part of emergency Plan for AIDS and TB, now known to be high-risk “classmates”.

TB has also been identified as the “leading opportunist” in HIV/ AIDS cases with infections.

In partnership with other health agencies in the local government and private sector, DOH 10 initiates awareness and prevention activities, including initiatives to prevent mother-to-child transmission and the prevention of sexual transmission of the HIV virus (abstinence and “be faithful” programs, condoms/other prevention initiatives). Other interventions include the prevention of medical transmission of the HIV virus (blood and injection safety). These activities are also integrated into all care and treatment activities, including HIV counselling and testing services.

The backbone of the preventive program in HIV/AIDS starts with the awareness that HIV/AIDS can be prevented. For treatment, it includes antiretroviral drugs and services to eligible patients, as well as laboratory support for the diagnosis and monitoring of HIVpositive patients.

For TB, activities are designed to reduce TB transmission, improve diagnosis, and manage multi-drug-resistant-TB cases, especially among HIV positive patients. Routine HIV testing is also a priority in TB Directly Observed Treatment Short-Course (DOTS).

A person afflicted with a combination of Tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS, which weakens the immune system, is considered by medical experts to be at high risk.

People who are co-infected with both HIV and latent TB have an up to 50 times greater risk of developing active tuberculosis disease and becoming infectious compared to people not infected

with HIV. People with advanced HIV infection are vulnerable to a wide range of infections and malignancies that are called ‘opportunistic infections’ because they take advantage of the opportunity offered by a weakened immune system.

Tuberculosis is an HIV-related opportunistic infection. A person that has both HIV and active tuberculosis has an AIDS defining illness, according to physicians who explained the seriousness of the complication to media practitioners at the weekly BWM News Conference (NEWSCON), Friday, May 17, 2013, at Tanleh Building, BWM Media Center, along Abellanosa Street, Consolacion, Cagayan de Oro City.

There are several important associations between the epidemics of HIV and tuberculosis as explained by the resource persons during the NEWSCON: TB is harder to diagnose in HIV-positive people; TB progresses faster in HIV-infected people; TB in HIVpositive people is more likely to be fatal if undiagnosed or left untreated; TB occurs earlier in the course of HIV-infection than other opportunistic infections.

For some people it can be difficult to take drugs for both tuberculosis and HIV at the same time.

Some anti-HIV drugs can also interact with some tuberculosis drugs making the treatment more difficult. It is important that the tu-

Dr. Arlene Esling

Dr. Joselito Retuya

Dr. David Mendoza

Dr. Evelyn Magsayo

provider has advised. If the drugs are not taken regularly, the bacteria can become resistant to the drugs and this can be dangerous. Multidrug resistant TB (MDR-TB) is when the bacteria has become resistant to anti-TB drugs. It is more difficult to treat MDR-TB as well as being considerably more expensive.

To ensure thorough treatment, physicians who were guests at the NEWSCON recommended that Ms. Fritzie Caybot-Estoque the patient takes his or her pills in the presence of someone who berculosis treatment is taken regu- can supervise the therapy. This aplarly and exactly as the health care proach is called DOTS (directly

observed treatment, short course).

DOTS cures tuberculosis in 95% of cases.

What are multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) and extreme drug resistant TB (XDR-TB)?

When a strain of tuberculosis bacteria is resistant to two or more ‘first-line’ antibiotic drugs it is called multi-drug resistant TB or MDR-TB. When it is resistant to three or more ‘second-line’ antibiotics as well, it is classed as extreme drug resistant tuberculosis, or XDR-TB. Drug resistance usually arises when tuberculosis patients do not or cannot take their medicine as prescribed, and drugresistant mutations of the bacteria are allowed to replicate. People can also catch MDR and XDR-TB from others.

XDR-TB is even more serious.

If someone has XDR-TB, it means they are resistant to three or more of the six available second-line drugs too. This can make it virtually impossible to formulate an effective treatment regime for them.

Many people with XDR-TB will die before it is even realised that they have the extreme resistant strain.

-------------------------------------VALUABLE INFORMATION: • Equip yourself with the basic knowledge about HIV and AIDS • Put into practice the appropriate preventive measures from HIV infection • Take on and promote a healthy lifestyle.

If your negative: Remain aware, uninfected, and healthy.

If your positive: Remain aware, healthy, and productive.

HIV/AIDS begins with an infection. The infection is caused by

a virus (not a bacteria); attacks the immune system; may be transmitted sexually; has prolonged asymptomatic period With the above information, remember these figures: 3 - 4 - 4 - 5 THREE (3) - MODES TRANSMISSION

OF

1 - Unprotected, penetrative sex 2 - Blood and blood products -blood transfusion, organ transplant - sharing needles in injecting drug use 3 - Mother-to-child (Parent-tochild) - during pregnancy, delivery or breastfeeding FOUR (4) BODY FLUIDS • Blood • Semen • Vaginal fluids • Breast milk FOUR (4) - REQUISITES OF HIV TRANSMISSION E - Exit S - Sufficient S - Survive E - Enter FIVE (5) - MEANS OF PREVENTION A – Abstain from sex.

B – Be faithful to your partner.

C – Correct and consistent use of condom.

D – Do not use illegal drugs or share needles.

E – Educate yourself.

As of the period January – March, 2013, DOH 10 revealed there were 16 cases of HIV/AIDS or Asymptomatic in Northern Mindanao, involving one female, 15 males.

PANELISTS:

Dr. Evelyn Magsayo Program Manager for HIV/AIDS Dr. Arlene Esling XUCHCC TC Head, German Doctors Hospital Dr. David Mendoza Chief Epidemiology Dept.

DOH-CHD 10 Dr. Joselito Retuya Chief, City Social Hygiene Center Ms. Fritzie Caybot-Estoque MOCAN Chairperson & Director, Liceo Center for Community Dev’t

MODERATORS:

Mr. Emiliano Galban, Jr. Regional Info. Officer, DOH Mr. Joe Felicilda Editor-in-Chief, Mindanao Star

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