BusinessWeek Mindanao (May 25-31, 2013 Issue)

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Petron eyeing to build 1,000 station in 4 years

ASEAN cocoa leads the way Page 2

The Night Stalker: Pasiyo ta MisOr

Rotating brownouts back in Surigao Norte

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BusinessWeek MINDANAO

YO U R N O R T H E R N A N D S O U T H E R N M I N DA N AO B U S I N E S S PA P E R

P15.00

May 25-31, 2013

Volume III, No. 193

P27-B rural dev’t program signing slated on May 28 All Mindanao regions proposed PRDP projects approved

D

Cheng Ordonez, Editor-in-Chief

AVAO CITY -- The National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Board, chaired by President Benigno SC Aquino III, is set to approve the Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP) worth P27 billion, covering 16 regions and 80 provinces in the country, Sherwin B. Manual, information and advocacy specialist of the Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP), in a telephone interview, revealed.

Manual said all regions in Mindanao have been allotted for their respective projects in rural areas under the PRDP. The National Economic and Development Authority – Investment Coordination Committee (NEDAICC) Cabinet Committee and Technical Board (CCTB) jointly approved last month DA’s PRDP with no less than Secretary of Socio-economic Planning Arsenio Balisacan informing, through a communique, Agriculture Secretary Processo J. Alcala. The approved total project cost for PRDP is P27.535 billion

consisting of P20.553 billion loan from the World Bank; P3.579 billion as national government counterpart; P3.118 billion equity of the Local Government Units, and P287 million grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Manual said the approval of President Aquino on Tuesday is merely ceremonial since the technical board of NEDA has already approved it, even as he said that a parallel processing and approval by World Bank follows. “All provinces in Mindanao have been indicated as okay for signing/PAGE 11

ASEAN energy chiefs to discuss inter-connected power grid plan PHNOM PENH -- Leaders of ASEAN p ower ut i lit ies and authorities gathered here on Thursday to follow up the progress of the ambitious ASEAN power grid action plan which was set to inter-connect power lines in the 10 ASEAN member states by 2020. Speaking to reporters after the opening of the 29th meeting of the Heads of ASEAN Power Utilities and Authorities Council, Keo Rottanak, director general of the Electricity of Cambodia, said the meeting enabled the bloc’s member states to be informed of the latest development and development objectives of the energy sector in

each ASEAN country. “Heads of ASEAN power utilities will discuss ways to accelerate the development of energy sector in order to fully realize ASEAN power grid by 2020 under the ASEAN Vision 2020,” he said. Meanwhile, Rottanak said that by 2020, about 80 percent of the Cambodian population would be able to access to electricity. Ith Praing, secretary of state at Cambodian Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energ y, said that the regional power grid interconnection would be the main driver for green energy and reduced damages to the environment. “To achieve this objective, it requires a more effective framework of regional cooperation,” he said at the meeting. Musa Bin Metali, acting director of the Department of Electrical Services of Brunei, said at the ASEAN/PAGE 11

Agriculture Office chief Leonardo Avila III shows the vast potential agricultural lands of Davao City, which has 162,000 hectares of lands classified as agricultural. mindanews photo

Farmers in Barangay Midpapan in Pigcawayan, North Cotabato remove the weeds from their rice field on Wednesday, February 15. Most of Pigcawayan’s lands are devoted to agriculture with rice and corn as major crops. mindanews photo by ruby thursday more

PHL eyed as ‘design hub of Asia’ MINDANAO’S very own Senator Teofisto “TG” Guingona III has lauded the signing of Republic Act 10557, otherwise known as the National Design Policy Law, which he said would spur economic growth in the country. ”The government can utilize and

harness design not only to produce innovative Filipino products, but also to create solutions for social problems,” Guingona, principal author of the newly-signed law, explained. “The term ‘design’ does not refer to mere aesthetics. Ultimately,

in this modern world, design is a problem-solving tool that is geared towards improving the quality of human life,” he added. The new law enforces the policy of the government to enhance the competitiveness and innovation PHL/PAGE 11

Villar launches first plastic recycling factory in the Metro Senator-elect Cynthia Villar wasted no time in fulfilling her promise of creating livelihood to the poor, while protecting the environment. She, together with Las Pinas Rep. Mark Villar and Sen. Manny Villar, recently inaugurated the first Waste Plastic Recycling Factory in Metro Manila, which turns plastic wastes into durable school chairs that could last up to 20 years. “We have a lot of plastic wastes here in Metro Manila. When disposed improperly, these result in clogging of our drainage and eventually cause flooding, spread of diseases, and many others. So we thought of processing these plastic wastes and come up into something useful. That is when I read about this technology in Davao, which processes plastic wastes into school chairs,” relayed Mrs. Villar. Villar went to Davao herself to witness if the technology is really working. Villar/PAGE 11

Mr. Winchester Lemen (in green shirt), inventor of the technology processing plastic wastes into useable school chairs, shows Senator-elect Cynthia Villar and Las Pinas Cong. Mark Villar how the recycling process works during the inauguration of the first Waste Plastic Recycling Factory located in Brgy. Ilaya, Las Pinas. Lemen, President and CEO of Envirotech Waste Recycling, Inc., introduced the technology to Mrs. Villar who brought it from Davao to Manila.

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BusinessWeek Mindanao (May 25-31, 2013 Issue) by Mindanao Daily News - Issuu