Ms sect d 20170129 sunday

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 29, 2017

Jimbo Gulle, Editor

Roger Garcia, Issue Editor

LGUs

Local Gov’t Units

mslocalgov@gmail.com

AMENDMENT TO ANIMAL FEEDS ACT SOUGHT

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KICK IT. An instructor leads a platoon of the Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Division in a taebo exercise, part of the physical conditioning 8th ID Commanding Officer General Raul F. Farnacio has prescribed for the troops stationed in Maulong, Catbalogan City, Samar. Farnacio even joins the troops in road runs every Tuesday and Friday. Mel Caspe

30 TRADE ATTACHÉS SELLING DAVAO TO REST OF THE WORLD D By F. Pearl A. Gajunera

AVAO CITY—Thirty trade attachés from Asian and Middle East countries recently visited the city to sell Davao to the international market as a potential business destination.

Davao City Investment and Promotion Center chief Lemuel Ortonio said the attachés will be the “indirect marketing officers” of the city in their different countries to encourage investors there to trade in President Rodrigo Duterte’s hometown. Ortonio said the attachés are here to check on the investment concerns of Davao, as he presented the safety and security features of the city to ensure foreign investors it is safe to invest here. “We presented the safety and security of the city because that is very important when we market our investment opportunities here,” he said. Ensuring that Davao is safe will not only benefit the city’s business sector but its tourism aspect as well, Ortonio said, noting his office is leading investors to finance projects in the city’s suburban areas with its downtown “somewhat congested.” Earlier this year, Benito de Leon, Public Safety and Community Command Center chief, said they will convince the Department of Foreign Affairs to encourage different countries to lift their travel advisories to Davao City. Authorities here are better prepared to combat terrorism and ensure the safety of Davaoeños and tourists alike, De Leon said. It is evident that the city is safe “since various big events happened in the city without any eventualities,” he added.

Assistant City Administrator for Operation Lawrence Bantiding said his team is assessing how big an increase in taxes Davao will apply, and its possible impact on the business sector here. If the local revenue code was amended every five years as prescribed by law, Davao would have increased local taxes by 20 percent by now, he said. Bantiding said there is a need to increase local taxes to add funds to the 10-point priority agenda of Mayor Sara Duterte. “The increase of local taxes will be a big help to the city. We can add to the budget of our education, infrastructure ad agriculture programs, among others,” Bantiding said. New businesses in Davao are exempted from paying real property taxes for three years. Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang, the Committee on Finance, Ways and Means chairman, said this is meant to encourage more investors to do business in the city. “It has been noted that Davao City has a very low business tax compared to other cities [in the country],” he said. Dayanghirang also noted the city’s budget would have ballooned to P10 billion if the local revenue code was amended in the last few years. Despite the low business tax rates in the city, the City Treasurer’s Office managed to collect more than P800 million from businesses for 2016. City Treasurer Bella Tanjili said they are expecting Davao’s total collection to go up to P7 billion after their real property Local taxes rising? tax collection in March. Meanwhile, the city government is preparing for the posBantiding revealed that more than P200 million came from sible increase of local taxes, 12 years after the city’s local rev- the top 10 business taxpayers alone, and P96.4 million came enue code was last amended. from the Davao Light Power Co. Inc.

PENDING with the Committee on Agriculture and Food, the Animal Feeds Act of 2016, authored by Deputy Speaker Sharon Garin, seeks to amend the Livestock and Poultry Feeds Act enacted way back in 1956. “The need for a new and better law that is in tune with the demands of the present time is called for as there are a lot of changes brought about by the continued growth of the industry,” Garin, who’s representing AAMBIS-Owa, said in a statement . House Bill 3355 seeks to organize, update, and strengthen the livestock and poultry feeds industry in the Philippines. Some of the amendments proposed are to update many of the outdated definition of terms, policies, and penalties found in the original law passed six decades ago. The proposed amendments also included a better licensing and registration to ensure the quality of all feeds whether for commercial or non-commercial use will be established. “We must acknowledge that the success of the swine and poultry industries of the Philippines is also dependent on the Feeds Industry of the country,” Garin added.

AGROFORESTRY PROJECT BOOST FOR FARMERS, CAGAYAN LGUS By Brenda Jocson SANTIAGO CITY, Isabela—In an effort to help increase income opportunities among local farmers in communities surrounding the Didipio mine in Cagayan Valley as well as propagating forest lands with more trees, an agroforestry company has ventured in establishing an enterprise development through agroforestry projects. Director Lucy Exconde of OceanaGold Sustainable Agroforestry Inc., an affiliate of Australian OceanaGold miner, said that they have developed a central nursery which has already produced more than a million seedlings distributed to tree farmers. She said LGUs, school and government agencies are also recipients of their seedlings of various tree species in support of the establishment of around 1,000 hectares of plantation. In partnership with local government units and community associations in Region 2, Exconde said the enterprise also includes millions of pesos worth commercial tree plantation, wood resources utilization and trade of various agroforestry products which could also be a good source of income to farmers associations.

JAPAN AIDS PAMPANGA HEALTH PROGRAMS

TOP STUDENTS. Awardees of 10MOST (Most Outstanding Students) in Muntinlupa City from 1998 to present gather in the 10MOST Night 2017 at City Hall, as Mayor Jaime Fresnedi and Rep. Ruffy Biazon joined the city’s ‘crème de la crème’ and encouraged the young professionals and students to continue being models of excellence. The next 10MOST batch will be awarded at the Ayala Malls–South Park Activity Center in Alabang.

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga— The Japanese Healthcare system is now being offered as an alternative model for Pampanga by a visiting international liver transplant specialist recently. Dr. Koichi Tanaka of the International Frontier Medical Support said that he is offering the excellent healthcare services of Japan to the province. In a courtesy call to Pampanga Gov. Lilia Pineda, the group discussed mutual support and collaboration between the provincial government and the Japanese government in terms of collaboration for improved healthcare services and critical medical

programs for the people of the province. Tanaka led the group composed of Kozo Kikuchi, president of the International Frontier Medical Support; Takayuki Hiruta, president and director of the Hiruta Riken Co. Ltd. and Cecilio Lagman, coordinator. The Japanese offer was made in the midst of the full blast implementation on Feb. 1, 2017 of the Cuban healthcare system in Pampanga as encouraged by President Rodrigo R. Duterte. The World Health Organization hails the Cuban system as excellent and efficient—as it deals with prevention instead of cure and is free—as mandated by Article 50 of their Constitution.

On the other hand, Japan being a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation Development—a group of semi and rich 30 countries who charge their citizenry 30 percent while the 70 percent is shouldered by their respective governments—is bent on extending their support for the program in the Philippines. Tanaka who had 2,000 liver transplant visited Diosdado P. Macapagal Memorial Hospital in Guagua and Ricardo Rodriguez Hospital annex in Bacolor. The visiting Japanese group were assisted by Dr. Jose Antonio Rivera, provincial health officer; Dr. Eddie Ponio of DPMMH and Dr. Antonio Ong of Rodriguez Hospital, respectively.


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