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Dietary supplement is a product that contains vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, enzymes, and/or other ingredients intended to supplement the diet. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has special labeling requirements for dietary supplements and treats them as foods, not drugs.

Manufacturers and distributors of dietary supplements and dietary ingredients are prohibited from marketing products that are adulterated or misbranded. That means that these firms are responsible for evaluating the safety and labeling of their products before marketing to ensure that they meet all the requirements of DSHEA and FDA regulations.

Wars of ancient history were about possessions, territory, power, control, family, betrayal, lover's quarrel, politics and sometimes religion.

But we are in the Modern era and supposedly more educated and enlightened .

Think about this. Don't just brush off these questions.

Why is RELIGION still involved in WARS? Isn't religion supposed to be about PEACE?
Ask yourself; What religion always campaign to have its religious laws be accepted as government laws, always involved in wars and consistently causing WARS, yet insists that it's a religion of peace?

WHY??

There are only two kinds of people who teach tolerance:

The Bullies. They want you to tolerate them so they can continue to maliciously deprive you. Do not believe these bullies teaching tolerance, saying that it’s the path to prevent hatred and prejudice.
The victims who are waiting for the right moment to retaliate. They can’t win yet, so they tolerate.

Comelec urges PWDs to register thru PWD lane

Source: http://www.pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?article=1671336798341
Saturday, May 12, 2012

by Catherine T. Apelacio

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, May 12 (PIA)-- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) here is hopeful there will be a big turnout of registration coming from persons with disabilities (PWDs) sector with the establishment of a PWD lane.

To facilitate the voter's registration of PWDs, Comelec-GenSan has brought its PWD lane to the barangays to make things easier for the differently-abled persons to register at their convenience.

The strategy, Comelec-GenSan said will encourage PWDs to get actively involved in the 2013 mid-term elections.

Based on its record, there has been registration already from the sector particularly coming from barangays City Heights, Buayan, Katangawan, Labangal, Fatima, and Calumpang. GenSan has 26 barangays.

According to Rexie Magsano from the Office of Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento, the voter registration for PWDs focused on specific regions on monthly basis “to create awareness on PWDs right to suffrage and electoral reforms dealing with the accessibility of election related activities and information.”

He said Comelec is giving special priority to PWDs nationwide to be able to register without difficulty in their respective area. Comelec is also giving elderly and pregnant women special consideration during registration.

Last March 2012, the PWD voter registration focused in Visayas.

For Mindanao (Regions 9-13) the PWD voter registration has started last April 2012. Comelec GenSan and Sarangani started the special PWD registration in April.

Aside from the special registration, Comelec GenSan said they have actually started bringing their registration activity down the barangays since May of last year yet not just to cater the differently-abled individuals but also the general public, as a whole, who are qualified to vote.

Magsano said a nationwide PWD voter registration shall be held in July 2012 to highlight the regional activities.

The Comelec offices in GenSan and Sarangani also underscored that PWDs can also register at their offices anytime today until October 31, the last day for registration through the PWD lane.

Both offices have urgently called PWDs or any Filipino citizen to come out and register as early as possible. (CTApelacio/PIA General Santos City)

Manny Pacquiao graces Hollywood premiere of GMA Films' 'The Road'

Source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/257852/pinoyabroad/gmainternational/manny-pacquiao-graces-hollywood-premiere-of-gma-films-the-road
Friday, May 11, 2012

by Andrei Medina, VVP, GMA News

Boxing icon and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao was one of the big name celebrities who showed up at the Hollywood premiere of GMA Films' horror movie "The Road," directed by Yam Laranas and starring Rhian Ramos and Marvin Agustin.

In a report on GMA News' "24 Oras" newscast, Pacquiao said: “It’s a good experience to be here and I’m supporting my friend Rhian and I love it."

Also at the premiere were the Kapuso stars who were part of the movie — Agustin, Ramos, Alden Richards, and Derrick Monasterio.

The movie, about a ghostly encounter on a deserted road in the woods, premiered in Los Angeles on Wednesday night (Thursday morning in Manila).

In the "24 Oras" report, Ramos said: “The thing about all of the premieres that I go to, I remember and cherish them of course, in my heart. This though feels like it’s something that’s going to go down in history, as a Filipino.”

Agustin, on the other hand, said, “This is the first time, first ever Filipino film that will be shown commercially here in the States so we're very happy, we're very proud, I’m very proud to be part of this film.”

"The Road" is set in a supernatural universe. The story begins in 2008 when three teenagers disappear at night on a deserted road.

Their disappearance triggers a reinvestigation of a 12-year-old murder that happened on the same road. As the investigation grows deeper, gruesome stories of abduction and murders surface.

According to report of the news site the New York Times, "the dead are unquiet and the living are terrified in “The Road,” a powerfully atmospheric blend of ghostly encounters, horrific situations and missing-persons mysteries. "As the film crawls backward in time and deep into haunted real estate and family sickness, the color palette becomes more dense and the themes more explicit," the report said.

"Though not without flaws — the wrap-up is a little rocky — this grisly tale earns its scares the old-fashioned way: by making our spines crawl instead of our stomachs churn," it added.

Discover other beach resorts in Glan

Source: http://travel.mindanao.com/2012/05/discover-other-beach-resorts-in-glan/
Thursday, May 10, 2012

by Cocoy Sexcion/SARANGANI INFORMATION OFFICE

GLAN, Sarangani (May 10, 2012) – From General Santos City on the way to Glan, there are other resorts to be discovered. In this photo, Warlito Tanedo, Sarangani Information Office photographer, takes a portrait of Kikai at the resort named after her in barangay Lago, Glan – the Kikai Resort. Aside from white sand beaches in Gumasa, Glan also offers black fine sand and white pebbled beach resorts lined with century-old mangrove trees along the stretch of barangay Kapatan to barangay Tango. These resorts also offer overnight accommodation. For more news and updates, please visit the Province of Sarangani . Come and enjoy Sarangani Bay Festival on May 18-19, 2012.

Newest ecopark and beach resort opens in Sarangani

Source: http://pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?menu=2&webregion=R12&article=1671336538326
Wednesday, May 9, 2012

by Catherine T. Apelacio

GLAN, Sarangani, May 9 (PIA) -- A new ecopark and beach resort has recently opened in Sarangani, adding to the growing list of tourist attractions in the province.

BelMar Eco Park and Beach Resort opened for business on Tuesday, May 8, in time for the May 18 to 19 Sarangani Bay Festival, the biggest beach festival in Mindanao.

The resort is located in barangay Kapatan just along the national highway from General Santos City going to the town proper of Glan and to the white-sand beaches of Gumasa, main venue of Sarangani Bay Festival.

It boasts of a good view of prominent landmarks in Soccsksargen such as Sarangani Bay and Mt. Matutum.

BelMar, short for the owners’ names Annabelle and Marcelino, has a resto bar and coffee shop, pasalubong center which sells local products and delicacies, a recreation center and conference rooms.

Guests can enjoy snorkeling, boating and beach tour where century-old mangrove trees line the white-pebbled beachfront.

Right now, BelMar Ecopark and Beach Resort has a total of six overnight cottages, two air conditioned and four non-air conditioned rooms with a capacity of six persons per cottage. It also has a mini zoo and children’s park which makes the place ideal for visitors and guests of all ages.

“Today is a very memorable day for the tourism industry particularly in the tourism industry of Glan,” said municipal councilor Dr. Tranquilino Ruiz III, “the opening of BelMar means that Glan is really going high in terms of tourism.”

Ruiz, who is also the Sanggunian committee chair on tourism, led the ribbon-cutting ceremony assisted by owners Annabelle and Marcelino Tangaro Jr. during the resort’s opening program.

“I really appreciate the investment of Mr. and Mrs. Tangaro in our beloved municipality and I hope this will trigger more investments in our place,” Ruiz concluded.

The resort is managed by Annabelle and Marcelino who are presently living in General Santos City. Both were born and raised in Glan.

“It is a dream come true for us. It just started with a simple plan and now here it is,” said Marcelino. “We immediately started the construction on October 28, 2011 after acquiring the property in July of the same year.”

For more information about the resort, you may contact 09089297183. (PIO-Sarangani/PIA General Santos City)

Flood, landslide alert up in Sarangani

Source: http://pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?menu=2&webregion=R12&article=1671336288958
Tuesday, May 8, 2012

by (PNA)

LDV/AVE

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, May 8 (PNA) - Disaster response teams in Sarangani province have been placed on full alert in the wake of the sporadic heavy rains in the area since last week that already triggered flashfloods in two coastal municipalities.

Ben Solarte, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) chief, said Tuesday their personnel have been closely monitoring the situation in identified landslide and flood-prone province due to the continuing rains triggered by a trough of low pressure area (LPA) affecting Mindanao.

“We advised our residents (in disaster-prone areas) to be alert and if possible, relocate to safer areas,” he said.

On Monday, five communities in Malapatan town were submerged in floodwaters due to the swelling of a river in the area.

The municipal government reported that floodwaters from the Tuyan River swept Puroks Pulot, Bagong Silang, Talisay, Chico and Pag-asa in Barangay Tuyan early Monday following the heavy rains in the area.

Mohamad Adir Harid, Tuyan barangay chair, said they already requested the immediate repair and expansion of the area’s drainage canals to resolve the perennial flooding there.

Last week, three residents of Barangay Tuyan were killed in a flashflood along the Tuyan River. The victims were reportedly crossing the river when they were swept by rampaging floodwaters coming from the upland area.

In Alabel town, portions of Barangays Poblacion and Ladol were also flooded last week due to the swelling of a creek in the area at the height of the heavy rains.

Based on a weather advisory issued Tuesday morning by the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), Mindanao will continue to experience “mostly cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms” due to the trough or extended region of LPA affecting the area.

Dante Ariola, senior weather forecaster of the Pagasa station here, said local residents should expect some rains in some parts of the area, especially in the afternoon.

“It’s important for those in the critical areas to prepare for possible floods and landslides that may be triggered by the continuing rains,” he said.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Region 12 had identified the coastal areas of six of Sarangani’s seven municipalities as prone to flooding during the rainy season.

Among the area’s identified in the MGB’s flood hazard map as highly vulnerable to flooding were portions of the coastal villages of Maitum, Glan, Maasim, Kiamba, Alabel and Malapatan towns as well as several low-lying areas in Malungon town.

MGB-Region 12 said the flood and landslide-prone areas were Baliton, Burias and Margus Grande quadrangles in Glan; Kling, Lebe and Lumuyon quadrangles in Kiamba; Kraan quadrangle in Maitum; and Lun Grande quadrangle in Malapatan.

5,000 incoming grade-schoolers to undergo reading program

Source: http://pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?menu=2&webregion=R12&article=1671336288958
Monday, May 7, 2012

by (Beverly Paoyon-PIO Sarangani/PIA 12)

ALABEL, Sarangani, May 7 (PIA) -- Around 5,000 incoming Grades 2 and 3 pupils from all over Sarangani are set to undergo a 15-day remedial reading program to prepare them for the opening of classes in June.

The “Sarangani Big Brother: Reading is Fun!” was designed by the Quality Education for Sarangani Today (QUEST) program of Governor Migs Dominguez to assist the Department of Education (DepEd) in reducing the number of “frustrated readers” in the province.

Frustrated readers are those who can identify words but have inadequate or no comprehension at all.

More than 1,000 youth volunteers or “big brothers and big sisters” fondly called as “kuyas” and “ates” will help the 288 teachers this year in mentoring and conducting read-along sessions.

Three volunteers from Thailand and one from Turkey are also joining the youth this year from the American Field Service Organization, an organization which provides future leaders exchange program to promote global citizenship.

Nuth Sonthipanyahul, 16, from Bangkok, and three other foreign youth volunteers do their share through storytelling and teaching children to read.

“It is tiring but fun. It’s good to make them (children) happy,” Sonthipanyahul said.

However, he observed quite a disparity of the children like those in Jose Warlito Berba Primary School they visited in sitio Kityan Gamay in Malungon.

“In the city everyone has food, has money to buy their own food but here, they don’t have,” he said.

“They have to walk like four kilometers five kilometers a day and then they have nothing to eat and the school is just made of wood and they study under the trees, something like that. It’s very bad.”

When asked what he wanted to contribute to these children, he said it should be “education” and teaching them to speak “English because if you can speak English you can go anywhere around the world. You give them more opportunity to work and have a better future.”

“Children are the future of everything. If you give them good life then they will be good,” Sonthipanyahul added.

Elif Gurcinar, an 18-year-old youth volunteer from Turkey, said that more interventions from the government are needed, “because some of the schools are really bad. Classrooms are not enough. Not enough materials.”

She said SBB is a laudable intervention of Sarangani to help its slow readers and, “a lot of volunteers are also coming to assist the children. It’s very helpful in their pronunciation. We teach them also English words and letters and how to pronounce them correctly. We also read stories with actions because sometimes they could not understand.”

Malungon Sangguniang Kabataan chairman Earl Jared Galvez said, “I observed that these children wish to become volunteers themselves volunteers when they grow up like their big brothers and big sisters.”

Galvez recounted, “Our experience here is more difficult because we have to climb some mountains, cross several rivers, experienced falling from motorcycles, and almost falling into ravines several times but the overall feeling of helping the children is heart-warming.”

At least, he said, the youth are involved not only in sports activities but also with SBB where, “we are able to touch their (children) lives,” by helping them how to read.

He then hoped that a few years from now, “no Grade 2 and 3 would be frustrated readers” and that SBB would no longer teach remedial reading classes but would instead focus teaching children advanced lessons to hone knowledge and skills of these children.

Jenneth Ruta, a Grade 1 teacher holding SBB class in Lun Padidu Elementary School in Malapatan said “It’s very difficult to deal with those pupils because some of my pupils cannot identify letters in the alphabet.”

To address this, Ruta said she conducted a one-on-one approach with the kids just to make them read.

“During my first day, I started with the alphabet, then the sounds, before I was able to make them read words,” Ruta noted.

SBB is very helpful because students are not only taught to read but also to develop their comprehension skills, she said.

QUEST program manager Annalie Edday said, “Reading comprehension makes the difference between a passing and a failing grade in school. It is one of the most crucial skills for children to master.”

“By Grade 3, children can probably comprehend simple texts but need to work on more advanced comprehension, including summarizing and analysis,” Edday said.

By reading frequently, she said, is one of the “most effective things children can do to improve reading comprehension in Grade 3, but there are enrichment activities to make frequent reading more powerful.”

“Sarangani Big Brother: Reading is Fun!” is a whole day remedial reading program from April 17 to May 8 implemented in partnership with the DepEd, QUEST, Sangguniang Kabataan and the Alcantara Foundation. The rest of the sponsors this year are Synergia Foundation, Sagittarius Mining Corp. and World Vision.

Palawan and Compostela Valley are replicating Sarangani Big Bother in their own provinces to jumpstart their education reform program.

Floods kill three, level crops in Sarangani, South Cotabato

Source: http://www.mindanaotimes.net/floods-kill-three-level-crops-in-sarangani-south-cotabato/
Sunday, May 6, 2012

by Allen V. Estabillo/MindaNews

GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Three persons were killed while close to 30 hectares of farmlands were devastated as flashfloods hit anew several villages in three municipalities in Sarangani and South Cotabato provinces in the last three days.

Len Bartolome, OCD-12 civil defense officer, said the floods, which affected the towns of Malapatan and Alabel in Sarangani as well as Banga town in South Cotabato, were triggered by sporadic heavy rains in the area since Tuesday.

On May 1, the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council of Malapatan town in Sarangani province reported that three residents of Barangay Tuyan were killed following a flashflood along the Tuyan River.

The victims were reportedly crossing the river when they were swept by rampaging floodwaters coming from the upland area.

The remains of victims Lel Londong, 18, and Bating Masalon, 15, were earlier recovered in a nearby village but the third victim, identified as eight-year-old Jason Londong, has remained missing.

On Wednesday night, floodwaters submerged portions of Barangays Ladol and Poblacion in Alabel, Sarangani due to the swelling of a creek in the area.

The affected areas covered four puroks that were also hit by flashfloods earlier last month due to the overflowing of the Molo Creek.

In Banga town, flashfloods also swept Barangays Kusan and Lambingi on Wednesday afternoon, a belated report from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) of South Cotabato said.

Isidro Janita, PDRRMC chief, said the floods destroyed 26.7 hectares of cornfield in Barangay Lambingi as well as various properties and infrastructure in Barangay Kusan.

He said 12 farmers from Lambingi and two families from Kusan were directly affected by the calamity, which left an initial estimated damage of P200,000.

Janita added that the municipal government of Banga and the PDRRMC have conducted damage and needs assessment in the area as well as sought assistance for the victims from the Department of Social Welfare and Development Region 12.

Pacman remains as richest solon=

Source: http://pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?menu=2&webregion=R12&article=1681336095936
Saturday, May 5, 2012

by Ben R. Rosario

Manila, Philippines – World boxing hero Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao earned about P218 million last year to retain his title as the richest congressman with a total net worth of P1,352,689.980 last year. Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano’s income dropped by P24,764 to remain as the poorest congressman. He reported a net worth of P46,947 against his 2010 total of P75,711.

These were gathered from the summary of the Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) submitted by 284 congressmen who beat the deadline for the submission of the document last Monday. Many of the lawmakers who occupied the Top 10 richest House member in 2010 upped their incomes for 2011. Among them were Reps. Imelda Romualdez Marcos (KBL, Ilocos Norte), from P623 million to P932,800,000; House Speaker Feliciano R. Belmonte Jr., from P283,291,016 to P726,218,220, and Alfredo Benitez (NPC, Negros Occidental) P624,847,943 to P686,152,015. They were ranked No. 2 to 4 among the wealthiest lawmakers in the country. The difference of some P444 million in Belmonte’s net worth makes him the biggest earning lawmaker in 2011. Former President now Pampanga Rep. Gloria M. Arroyo became poorer as she submitted a net worth of P131,642,291.26. She claimed a wealth remainder of P137,922,797 during the preceding year. Rounding up the Top 10 richest solons were Reps. Julio Ledesma (NPC, Negros Occidental), P555,069,000; Martin Romualdez (Lakas-Kampi-CMD, Leyte), P474,111,941; Augusto Syjuco (Lakas-Kampi-CMD, Iloilo), P302,075,651; Henry Cojuangco (NPC, Tarlac), P200,639,175; Rodolfo Farinas (NP, Ilocos Norte), P195,780,000; and House Minority Leader Danilo E. Suarez of Quezon, P179,534,628.

3,000 couples join mass wedding in Malungon, Sarangani

Source: http://pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?menu=2&webregion=R12&article=1681336095936
Friday, May 4, 2012

by (PGFruylan with reports from MIO Malungon-PIA 12, Sarangani)

MALUNGON, Sarangani, May 4 (PIA) -- Around 3,000 couples have already been wed through the “Kasalan ng Bayan” as part of the weekly ‘Lingap sa Barangay’ program of the local government.

Reports from the Municipal Information Office (MIO), Local Civil Registrar Lydia Erasmo revealed that the number of “live-in” couples getting married from the 31 barangays in the area has increased because of the intensified campaign of the administration on the importance of matrimony and the benefits they could get from the local government.

Mayor Reynaldo Constantino repeatedly explained that a lot of benefits can be enjoyed by “live-in couples” from the municipal government if they get married such as free education, PhilHealth medical assistance, livelihood and other programs for the family members.

Constantino clarified that the only requirement of the municipal government to avail of the different programs is to present the marriage contract or marriage certificate of the wedded couple as he encouraged other unmarried partners to take advantage of the said program for the benefit of their family.

“Kasalan ng Bayan” is one of the services of the local government for the residents of the municipality where Constantino, along with other representatives from different agencies of the government visit even the remote areas of the town to deliver basic public services especially to the least served people in Malungon.

Sarangani town wants more power

Source: http://www.rappler.com/nation/4707-sarangani-town-wants-more-power
Thursday, May 3, 2012

by EDWIN ESPEJO

SARANGANI, Mindanao - The municipal council of Alabel has asked the Department of Energy (DoE) to order the National Power Corp (Napocor) and the National Grid Corp of the Philippines (NGCP) to give it priority in the dispatch of the electricity generated by the 55-megawatt Southern Philippine Power Corporation (SPPC) amid continuing power supply load curtailment being implemented by South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative (Socoteco II).

The Alcantara-built and operated bunker-fired SPPC is located in Baluntay village in Alabel, Sarangani.

SPPC went on commercial stream in 1998 under the build-operate-own (BOO) scheme, but all power supply it is generating is already contracted to Napocor. Its supply contract with Napocor will end in 2016.

In a resolution unanimously approved by the Sangguniang Bayan (municipal council), the local legislative body cited Section 5(i) of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act 7638, otherwise known as Department of Energy Act of 1992, which allows the host town to get 25 percent of the available capacity generated by SPPC in times of energy shortage.

Alabel and the rest of Sarangani, along with General Santos City and the South Cotabato towns of Tupi and Polomolok, are under the distribution franchise of Socotecto II.

Councilor Joel Aton said Alabel, capitol town of Sarangani, has an average monthly consumption of 1,953,500 kilowatt hour.

Aton said DoE has sent word it will dispatch personnel for technical evaluation.

Preferential treatment

Socoteco II resorted into daily rotational brownouts of up to four hours following advice of reduced supply from Napocor.

Socoteco II manager for institutional service department Geronimo Desesto said supply from Napocor went further down from 75 MW to 45 MW in April, prompting the cooperative to purchase a total of 30 MW additional power supply from Therma Marine Inc.

Alabel is among a growing number of local government unit demanding preferential treatment from power plants located in their areas.

Last month, Kidapawan threatened to launch protest actions if their demand for power supply from the Philippine National Oil Company-Energy Development Corporation is not met.

Kidapawan, which is experiencing brownouts of up to eight hours daily, is host to the 110 MW Mt. Apo Geothermal Plant.

Last month, President Benigno Aquino III attended the Mindanao Power Summit in Davao City which tackled the worsening power crisis in the island.

The President however told Mindanao residents they will have to pay more for steady power supply.

Mindanao’s actual and available capacity is now down to less than 1,200 MW, or some 170 MW less than the peak demand of 1,350 MW.

The deficit in power supply has been blamed on antiquated and poorly maintain hydro-electric power plants and the sale of other Napocor generating assets that included the two power barges to Therma Marine. Power Barges 117 and 118 have a combined capacity of 200 MW. - Rappler.com

Sarangani Bay Fest features Zumba Beach Party on May 19

Source: http://www.pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?article=1671335938981
Wednesday, May 2, 2012

by (SARANGANI INFORMATION OFFICE/PIA GENERAL SANTOS CITY)

GUMASA, Glan, Sarangani, May 2 (PIA) -- The first SarBay Fest Zumba Beach Party is set on May 19, Saturday at Gumasa in Glan, to be conducted by licensed Zumba fitness instructors Vicky Javier and John Ri Romero both of the Beefit Gym and Aerobics from Davao City.

“Come and join the inaugural staging of the world’s phenomenal fitness program in the biggest beach party here in Mindanao,” said Javier, also a member of the Zumba Instructors Network.

It is a two-hour, non-stop fitness program that is mainly sponsored by the provincial government of Sarangani under Gov. Migs Dominguez and supported also by the office of Congressman Emmanuel Pacquiao.

Expected to join are 100 fitness buffs coming from Davao City, General Santos City, and Sarangani Province.

“Aside that it is a good exercise, you will really enjoy dancing to the Zumba music and dance steps,” said Romero, also a hip-hop and modern dance instructor.

Registration fee is only P200 with free giveaways, certificate and raffle.

The first SarBay Fest Zumba Beach Party is one of the big events of Sarangani Bay Festival on May 18 and 19.

SarBay Fest, the biggest beach festival in Mindanao, kicks off with the 15-kilometer swim-across-the-bay, dubbed as “Sarangani Bay Invasion 2012” on May 18.

Pacquiao lone billionaire in House of millionaires

Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/185343/pacquiao-lone-billionaire-in-house-of-millionaires
Tuesday, May 1, 2012

by Gil C. Cabacungan

For the second year running, Manny Pacquiao—the man with the golden fists—has won the distinction of being the richest among the 287 mostly millionaire members of the Philippine House of Representatives. Ricardo Bering, chief of the House’s record management section, said this was based on the 2011 statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) filed before the deadline on Monday by the House members. “His net worth even increased last year. He is still the richest here,” Bering said of the Sarangani representative, whose powerful fists have won him eight boxing division titles and worldwide fame. Bering said Pacquiao, who claimed a personal fortune of P1.134 billion in his 2010 SALN, reported an increase in his net worth in 2011. Bering declined to give exact figures since House leaders have not given the go-signal for the public disclosure of the SALNs. Lone billionaire Based on the 2010 SALNs, Pacquiao was the richest member of the House last year—and the only billionaire in the chamber. His assets then consisted of P397.933 million in real properties and P736.3 million in personal and other properties. He had no liabilities. In contrast, Anakpawis Representative Rafael Mariano was the poorest lawmaker, with a net worth of P75, 711. Pacquiao was reported to have earned at least $15 million each from his fights with Shane Mosley and Juan Manuel Marquez in 2011, aside from his earnings from commercial endorsements, businesses and as a member of Congress. Increased scrutiny Pacquiao’s increasing wealth is expected to highlight further the supposed steep plunge in his tax payments, which media reports said fell from P100 million in 2008 to only P7 million in 2009. The Bureau of Internal Revenue has filed charges against Pacquiao for his alleged failure to submit proper documents on his earnings. Pacquiao has questioned the filing of the case, saying it was baseless. House Secretary General Marilyn B. Yap said that almost 100 percent of the House members had filed their SALNs as of 5 p.m. yesterday. Yap said her staff would validate the SALNs before releasing information to the public. Yap also said she had noticed a marked increase in the net worth reported by lawmakers in the face of increased scrutiny by the public and media as a result of the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona in connection with his assets. More conscious now “Our members have become more conscious of the SALN. That’s why they have made an effort to make a complete report this time,” said Yap. Pacquiao topped the list of 10 richest House members last year. That list included Negros Occidental Representative Alberto Benitez, who was worth P624.847 million; Ilocos Norte Representative Imelda Marcos, who was worth P623.6 million; Negros Occidental Representative Julio Ledesma, P555.069 million; and Leyte Representative Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, worth P475.611 million. Also in the top 10 were Iloilo Representative Augusto Syjuco, worth P294.602 million; Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., worth P283.291 million; Tarlac Representative Enrique Cojuangco, P199.593 million; Ilocos Norte Representative Rodolfo Fariñas, P195.78 million; and Iloilo Representative Ferjenel Biron, P165.996 million. Former President and Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was the 17th richest representative with a net worth of P140.212 million. Aquino’s assets Malacañang on Monday said President Benigno Aquino III and almost all of the members of his Cabinet had filed their SALNs. “We expect all of them to comply with the deadline,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said, adding that Mr. Aquino filed his SALN on April 24. Vice President Jejomar Binay and Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. have also filed their SALNs. In his SALN for 2010, Mr. Aquino declared a net worth of P54.9 million. This represented a P4.8-million increase from the previous year. Mr. Aquino has said the increase in his income came from his share of the property owned by his late mother, former President Corazon Aquino. Corona’s SALN Lacierda said the Palace was hopeful that Corona, whose ouster from the Supreme Court is being supported by Malacañang, would disclose his SALN as promised by the Chief Justice’s lawyers. “We certainly hope so because that would be in compliance with the constitutional provision on disclosure and filing of SALNs,” Lacierda said. He said he would be interested in taking a look at Corona’s SALN.

50 swimmers set for “Sarangani Bay Invasion 2012”

Source: http://www.pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?article=1671335764579
Monday, April 30, 2012

by (Jun Ramos /PIO Sarangani/PIA General Santos City)

GUMASA, Glan, Sarangani, April 30 (PIA) --Ten teams will vie for the top honors and cash prizes during the “Sarangani Bay Invasion 2012” otherwise known through the years as Swim-Across-the-Bay, the opening salvo of the May 18-19 Sarangani Bay Festival (SarBay Fest).

For the 15-kilometer swim across Sarangani Bay, a mass will start at 5:00 am from Kamanga Beach, Maasim to Reycon Beach in Tango, Glan on May 18.

“Sarangani Bay Invasion 2012” is open to all swimmers (amateur and professionals) with minimum age of 14. A group of five swimmers comprises a team.

The registration fee of P2,000 per team covers boat rental and gasoline. Deadline for registration is on May 4, 5:00 pm, at the office of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office at the Capitol in Alabel (look for Nemrad Butil (083) 5082267, 09163232397 or 09306534953).

The first three teams to reach the finish line at Reycon Beach in Tango, Glan shall be declared winners with the 1st prize of P50,000, 2nd prize – P35,000, and 3rd prize – 25,000, all with medals and trophies. All finishers shall be awarded with the medal of “Invaders” and consolation cash prize of P6,000 each team.

“Ten teams are sure to compete for the 15-kilometer swim,” said organizer Nemrad Butil.

Butil disclosed the Gensan Torpedoes are deploying three teams, Koronadal City has two teams, while some teams are composed of local swimmers from Tinoto and Kamanga, Maasim.

“University varsity swimmers from Manila and Davao are also joining the teams of Koronadal and Gensan,” Butil said. “This year a team from a Manila triathlon club might join.”

Butil said the Philippine Navy, Coast Guard, Philippine National Police–Maritime, Red Cross, and teams from provincial and municipal government offices shall assist as perimeter boat marshals.

During its debut on May 18, 2006, only three teams out of six finished the swim across Sarangani Bay.

SPES-TWSP convergence program to cover 21 LGUs in Region 12

Source: http://www.pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?article=1611335668078
Sunday, April 29, 2012

by Danilo E. Doguiles

KORONADAL CITY, South Cotabato, April 29 (PIA) -- A total of 21 municipalities in three provinces of Soccsksargen region will benefit from the initial implementation of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)-Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Convergence Program on poverty alleviation.

The program brings together DOLE’s Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES) and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority’s Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP) to provide training and employment opportunities to the marginalized sector of the society, especially the out-of-school youth (OSY).

Based on a list provided by the office of DOLE 12 Regional Director Chona Mantilla last Friday, the SPES-TWSP Convergence Program will cover 11 municipalities in North Cotabato, eight in Sultan Kudarat, and two in Sarangani.

In North Cotabato, beneficiary OSYs should come from Aleosan, Midsayap, Tulunan, Alamada, Arakan, Banisilan, Kabacan, Libungan, Magpet, Matalam, and President Roxas.

Interested and qualified OSYs in Kalamansig, Bagumbayan, Colombio, Esperanza, Isulan, Lambayong, Lebak, and Senator Ninoy Aquino municipalities of Sultan Kudarat may also avail of the training and employment program.

On May 1, the program will be launched in General Santos City for the municipalities of Malungon and Alabel in Saragani Province where the first 42 scholarship grantees come from.

Director Mantilla said more municipalities may be included in the coming months.

“We have requested for the inclusion of the municipalities of Lake Sebu, T’boli and Sto. Niño in South Cotabato,” Director Mantilla said, adding that they are now awaiting approval of this by Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz.

Under the program, beneficiary OSYs who “may also be an occupationally disabled worker, a person with disability, a displaced worker, or a victim of trafficking, illegal recruitment or child labor,” will undergo mandated 20 to 52 days of technical vocational training in TESDA-identified institutions.

As in the original SPES program, DOLE will pay each beneficiary 40 percent of the prevailing minimum wage in the region for every day of training.

The amount, according to the program guidelines, may be used as a training allowance or as capital to purchase the OSY’s starter kit.

More than 400 scholarship slots may be opened in Soccsksargen Region this year for OSYs interested in techvoc trainings that will be identified by TESDA 12. The program is open to OSY’s between 15 to 25 years old, whose family income (including his, if any) does not exceed the latest annual regional poverty threshold level for a family of six, as determined by the National Economic Development Authority.

Applicants should have reached high school level to be able to participate in the program.

Interested individuals need to submit to the nearest DOLE or TESDA office the needed documents. For more information, you may refer to the nearest DOLE Field Office or Public Employment Service Office or provincial/district office of TESDA. (DED-PIA 12)

Rep. Pacquiao lauds success of Glan cattle project

Source: http://mannypacquiao.com/news/rep-pacquiao-lauds-success-of-glan-cattle-project
Saturday, April 28, 2012

by Nonong Baliao

Glan, Sarangani Parovince———World Boxing Champ and Sarangani lone district Rep. Emmanuel “Manny” D. Pacquiao has expressed elation with the success of his P8-million cattle dispersal project in this municipality. In a statement, the first-term congressman lauded the local government unit (LGU), headed by Mayor Victor James B. Yap, Sr., for helping him bring the project under his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to a successful implementation. “Despite the slings and arrows and brickbats thrown their way, the local officials of Glan, led by my good friend and staunch political ally, brother Tata Yap, have proved themselves up to the task and worthy of my support,” said the congressman, who is deep in training up north for his next title bout in the United States on June 9. The project, started in 2010, was the subject of a lot of controversy whipped up by a disinformation campaign launched by a vested group out to drive a wedge between the congressman and Mayor Yap in an apparent bid to wrest political control in the next elections. But the records and statistics are incontrovertible. Two years into the project implementation, the Municipal Agriculture Office, headed by Mrs. Virgie Musa, has come out with a definitive report showing that all 14 barangay beneficiaries have received their respective allocations. According to the report, all but 13 of the 188 cows that had already been dispersed to a corresponding number of individual recipients are alive and in good condition, and only 13 had either died or could not be accounted for. This town was a recipient of the 2011 Seal of Good Housekeeping Award given to LGUs which have religiously complied with all the provisions of the Anti-Red Tape Act as well as the Full Disclosure Policy of the Department of Interior and Local Government with regard to project implementation and financial transactions. “Simply put, there were no overpricing and other purported irregularities in the purchase and distribution of the cattle as being peddled by our political detractors,” said Mayor Yap, this year’s “Gawad Sikap” awardee as one of the most outstanding municipal mayors of the Philippines. Most of the cows are already ripe for breeding, and under an agreement with the local government, which shouldered the transport cost and other ancillary expenses, the first calves will be farmed out to other beneficiaries. “The individual recipients may keep the mother cow until the next breed, which they may keep, but will then have to return the mother cow to the LGU for re-dispersal, and so forth, down the line,” said Mrs. Musa. A parallel project–this time involving the distribution of “pakura” fishing boats to 108 small fishermen in the town’s 16 coastal barangays–has also gone through its initial phase. “Our poverty alleviation program is right on track, thanks to Congressman Manny and other like-minded officials who truly care for our people in Glan. Other similar projects, designed to generate jobs and provide livelihood, are either in the works or already being implemented as I speak,” said Mayor Yap.

GEM-USAID turns over trading facility to Malapatan, Sarangani

Source: http://pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?menu=2&webregion=R12&article=1671335430552
Friday, April 27, 2012

by (CTA/PIA General Santos City)

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, April 27 (PIA) -- The United States Agency for International Development’s Growth with Equity in Mindanao (USAID-GEM) turned over Thursday approximately P2-M worth of trading facility to the municipal government of Malapatan in Sarangani Province. USAID Deputy Mission Director Reed Aeschliman led the turn-over of the facility to Malapatan municipal government. This will be used by Balungis Women’s Association who specializes in weaving as prime beneficiary of the project. Aeschliman was assisted by Senator Loren Legarda, Secretary Luwalhati Antonino, chair of Mindanao Development Authority and Sarangani Governor Migs Dominguez. USAID also turned over six handlooms and other related weaving materials to the association. Aeschliman said USAID projects in Mindanao are designed to help accelerate economic growth in the conflict-affected areas of the region in support of the Philippine government’s peace and development initiatives. The construction of the trading center stemmed from the municipal government of Malapatan and the women’s association asking the assistance of USAID because they “did not have an appropriate facility in which to display and sell their woven products.” Thus, the USAID-GEM Program “constructed a trading center that now serves as a dedicated space for weaving, displaying and selling the woven fabrics.” About 67 percent of the project cost was funded by USAID while the remaining fund was respectively shared by the municipal and provincial governments of Malapatan and Sarangani. Dubbed Balungis Trading Center, the facility aims to help organize production and sales of the products of women and other woven produce in the area. The agency will also organize a workshop on product design, packaging and marketing for the women weavers, USAID-GEM told PIA General Santos City. According to the Department of Trade and Industry, the woven products of Balungis women’s association are also being eyed for promotion to fashion designers in Cebu and Manila. In her message, Senator Legarda who is chair of the Senate Committee on Cultural Communities, commended “weaving communities in the country for preserving the tradition of weaving as she encouraged local governments to support such initiatives.” “To the members of the Balungis Women’s Association, I laud you for keeping the tradition of weaving alive, for passing on the skill to your children, and for choosing this industry to be part of your daily living,” she told the women’s association, whose 25 members are wives and relatives of former Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) combatants. Legarda also enjoined the local governments to support the weaving industry to preserve and safeguard the Filipino heritage bringing it into “full bloom again.” Meanwhile Governor Migs Dominguez also expressed his appreciation to USAID-GEM for supporting the women’s association of Malapatan urging the beneficiary to maximize the use of the facility and make extra effort to double their production. To date, USAID has constructed more than 1,400 infrastructure projects in Mindanao and will be adding approximately 150 more by the end of 2012. The continuing pouring in of projects in conflict-ravaged area in Mindanao, USAID said show the sustained commitment both of the Philippine and U.S. governments to promote peace and development in the region.

Present tax records, Pacquiao told

Source: http://www.tempo.com.ph/2012/present-tax-records-pacquiao-told/#.T5kObLMzDQA
Thursday, April 26, 2012

by Jun Ramirez

Manila, Philippines – The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) urged boxing champion Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao yesterday to present his 2010 tax records and avoid protracted court battles. Cotabato Revenue Regional Director Rozel Lozares exhorted the boxing icon to heed his request so he can concentrate on his training for his fight against Timothy Bradley in Las Vegas, United States in June. Lozares said Pacquiao need not personally present his ﬁnancial statements as they can be sumitted through his lawyer or accountant. He said the criminal complaint will be dropped as soon as Pacquiao submits the documents. It was learned that a lawyer of Pacquiao has met Cotabato revenue officials but he did not bring his client’s records. Lozares said the Cotabato prosecutor’s office has yet to set the preliminary investigation of the contempt charges he filed against Pacquiao. The charges arose from Pacquiao’s alleged refusal to present his books of accounts and for ignoring the subpoena that the BIR issued against him. Pacquiao’s lawyers, however, argued that their client did not receive such subpoena.

PCG defended 'M/Y Sarangani' from harassment -- Nolcom chief

Source: http://www.zambotimes.com/archives/46760-PCG-defended-MY-Sarangani-from-harassment-Nolcom-chief.html
Wednesday, April 25. 2012

by (PNA)

DCT/scs/PFN

MANILA — Despite being outnumbered and outsized by its foreign counterparts, the Philippine Coast Guard's "BRP Pampanga" (SAR-003) valiantly defended a National Museum-hired yacht against harassment at Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal by Chinese vessels, Northern Luzon Command head Lt. Gen. Anthony Alcantara said on Tuesday. Alcantara explained that this took place on April 14 when an unidentified Chinese vessel approached the "M/Y Sarangani" and demanded that the Filipino ship stop its mission which was to conduct an archeological survey in Panatag Shoal. "Upon receiving word of the harassment, BRP Pampanga positioned itself at the mouth of Panatag Shoal and thereby demonstrated to the Chinese vessels that it is willing to protect the M/Y Sarangani," the Nolcom chief said. Due to the efforts of BRP Pampanga, the M/Y Sarangani was able to complete its mission and departed from the area on April 20. "I think they were well taken care of by our Coast Guard when they were out there," Alcantara said.

Region 12 high-risk to climate change impact

Source: http://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2012/04/22/region-12-high-risk-to-climate-change-impact/
Sunday| April 22, 2012

by Bong S. Sarmiento

KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/21 April) — Southwestern Mindanao is highly at risk in a changing climate condition, with increased rainfall and rising sea levels, an official warned on Friday. Herlita G. Caraan, National Statistical Coordination BoardRegion 12 chief, said that more rainfall, an increase in temperature and rising sea level would hit the area in the medium term (2020-2050). In a fact sheet, NSCB-12 warned of worse flooding, landslide and storm surges affecting hundreds of villages in the region as a result of climate change. Based on a mid-range scenario simulations by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), rainfall in Region 12 was predicted to increase in 2020 by as much as 14.8 percent and 15.6 percent by2050. The increased rainfall was projected to happen during the north-east monsoon season (December to February) and during the transition of seasons from September to November. “These periods will be wetter and with potential for increased flooding, storm surge and landslide,” Caraan said. According to the geo-hazard maps from the regional Mines and Geosciences Bureau, at least 300 barangays in the region are high-risk to flooding as they are located near major river tributaries and low land zones. TheMGB-12 also classified some 200 villages in elevated areas and those near sloppy areas as high-risk to landslides. Forty-eight coastal villages are vulnerable to storm surges while 26 other have high potential for tsunami, it added. Region12, also called the SOCCSKSARGEN region, consists of the provinces of South Cotabato, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan and Cotabato. Temperatures are expected to increase across all four seasons though it would be much hotter during the summer season (March to May) across all provinces in the region, theNSCB-12 said. PAGASA further projected an annual mean temperature increase from the observed baseline by 0.9oC to 1.3oC in 2020 and from 1.9oC to 2.5oC in 2050 in Region 12, it said. Health authorities have warned that warmer temperatures would result to increase risks to infectious diseases like malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever and encephalitis. “More people will be vulnerable to cholera as algal blooms may occur more frequently. Red tide in coastal waters will become more frequent and widespread,”the report said.

For rising seawater, the NSCB-12, citing a Greenpeace report titled “The Philippines: A Climate Hotspot,“ said that an estimated 11,664,000 square meters of land in Region 12 will be vulnerable to a one-meter sea level rise. Areas most likely to be affected are coastal areas in Sarangani, SultanKudarat, General Santos City, including Cotabato City as 70 percent of the city’s total land area is below sea level, the NSCB-12 said. Ronald Flores, executive director of the Office of Civil Defense, urged the local government units in Region12 to put up their respective Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Offices (LDRRMO). The OCD has been conducting regional consultation for LGUs to effectively implement Republic Act 10121 or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management of 2010. (Bong Sarmiento/MindaNews)

Mendoza: Why Pacquiao left Noynoy to join Binay

Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/sports/2012/04/21/mendoza-why-pacquiao-left-noynoy-join-binay-217360
Saturday, April 21, 2012

by Al S. Mendoza

FROM Lakas to NP, LP and now UNA. Those are the four political parties thus far for Manny Pacquiao.

Does that make Pacquiao a turncoat, a political butterfly?

The last Lakas stalwart was Ate Glue, the former president now serving as a representative from Pampanga.

During her nine-year reign at the Palace, Ate Glue’s regular visitor was Pacquiao.

It became almost customary for Pacquiao to drop by Ate Glue’s old residence by the riverbanks every time he came home from a conquest overseas.

When he first ran for congressman in GenSan in 2007, Pacquiao was under the Lakas banner.

Unfortunately, he lost to Darlene Antonino-Custodio.

Pacquiao next aimed his political guns in Sarangani, the land of birth of his wife, Jinkee.

In 2010, he won the lone congressional seat in Sarangani, running under Manny Villar’s Nacionalista Party.

But Villar lost to Noynoy Aquino, the standard bearer of the Liberal Party.

Not long after, Pacquiao switched camps again, moving over to Noynoy’s LP.

Observers said, Pacquiao “is so young, but so wise already to the ways of the political arena.”

You want political survival, you seek to secure favors from the powerful, join the ruling party: LP.

But, alas, the Noynoy-PacMan romance would prove to be short-lived.

Just very recently, Vice President Jojo Binay said Pacquiao has joined the UNA (United Nationalist Alliance).

UNA is an alliance forged between the PDP-Laban (Binay’s party when he defeated Mar Roxas for vice president in 2010) and Erap’s PMP (Partido ng Masang Pilipino).

“PacMan is our gubernatorial bet in Sarangani in the 2013 election,” said Binay, the UNA chieftain who is highly-touted as running for president in 2016.

Pacquiao’s fans have asked me: What might have prompted PacMan to bolt Noynoy’s LP?

I have a guess: PacMan felt he didn’t get any help from Noynoy regarding the boxing icon’s recent row with the taxman.

You might probably say, “What a flimsy reason.”

Excuse me, but to a guy like Pacquiao, friendship is really “walang iwanan,” or BFF if you will, as in “Best Friends Forever.”

The masa would almost always think that way.

5 foreign vessels enter shoal

Source: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=798783&publicationSubCategoryId=63
April 20, 2012 12:00 AM

by Alexis Romero

MANILA, Philippines - Three foreign vessels and two small boats have been spotted in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal in addition to the two Chinese maritime vessels involved in a standoff with a lone Philippine Coast Guard ship.

Northern Luzon Command chief Lt. Gen. Anthony Alcantara said the three foreign vessels were sighted on Wednesday, the same day Philippine-commissioned vessel MT Sarangani left the area after conducting an archaeological survey. The vessel left Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, the current impasse has little or no effect on Filipino workers in China, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said.

“I think it’s the quality of our workers there who, despite political tensions, are just continuing their work,” Baldoz said.

“A summary report submitted to me said there are three vessels but these are not Filipino vessels. There are also outrigger boats outside and inside the lagoon,” Alcantara reported. He said they could not tell whether the small boats were of local or foreign origin. Alcantara clarified that the departure of the vessel had nothing to do with China’s demand for Philippine ships to leave the shoal.

“Perhaps their research has been completed. The ship was just commissioned by the National Museum,” he said.

It was the National Historical Commission of the Philippines which commissioned the Sarangani. Its passengers included nine French nationals and three employees of the National Museum.

Alcantara stressed, however, the situation in the area was stable and no unusual incidents were reported.

Masinloc, Zambales Mayor Desiree Edora said Zambales fishermen were now avoiding Panatag Shoal for fear of getting harassed or arrested by the Chinese or caught in an armed confrontation between Chinese and Filipino forces.

“My secretary interviewed the fishermen and it’s been a while since they sailed there because they are afraid that a confrontation might ensue,” she told dzMM radio reporter Edwin Sevidal.

Edora said they have yet to coordinate with the military or the Foreign Affairs department regarding the matter.

Panatag Shoal is 124 nautical miles from Zambales and is within the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to which China is a signatory.

On April 8, eight Chinese fishing vessels were spotted in the shoal, prompting the Navy to send its largest warship BRP Gregorio del Pilar to the area to check on the vessels.

The ship reached the shoal on April 10 and its crew boarded the fishing vessels where they found live sharks, corals, and giant clams.

But before the Filipino sailors could arrest the fishermen and seize their catch, two Chinese “surveillance” ships arrived and stopped them. The fishing boats were able to flee with their illegal harvests.

The Del Pilar eventually left the area to replenish supplies and was replaced by the smaller and lightly armed BRP Pampanga of the coast guard.

Aside from the Chinese ships, an aircraft – also believed to be Chinese – had reportedly buzzed a Filipino fishing vessel.

Baldoz, meanwhile, recalled that Filipino workers felt no backlash even after the Rizal Park hostage tragedy in August 2010 that left eight Hong Kong tourists dead. The incident briefly soured relations between the Philippines and China.

Labor department records show there are 26,772 Filipino workers in China, mostly doctors and professionals.

“We don’t send that many OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) to China. They are mostly going there as tourists and try their luck to gain employment and just convert their visas into working visas upon getting jobs,” she added.

Encouraging

At Malacañang, Presidential Communications Secretary Ricky Carandang said President Aquino had a chance meeting with Chinese Ambassador Ma Keqing to whom he expressed his feeling of satisfaction that both sides were willing to talk to resolve the issue.

“He told her that it was encouraging that both sides continue to talk,” Carandang said.

Chinese embassy spokesman Zhang Hua, for his part, said his country prefers friendly consultations over discussing the issue before a United Nations-backed tribunal.

“We want friendly efforts to solve it,” Hua told The STAR.

Sen. Francis Escudero, meanwhile, said he supports proposals for the Philippines to have a joint exploration with China in the disputed islands in Palawan.

Escudero stressed that issues involving the Panatag Shoal and the West Philippine Sea should be resolved through diplomatic means.

Escudero recognized that Congress has the power to allow the administration to launch a war against China, but it is not choosing that option.

“Somebody asked me the question on why Congress is not doing anything. I know we have the sole power to declare war. The reason why Congress is quiet on it (is) because we don’t want to declare war,” Escudero said.

Come budget deliberations, Escudero said he expects explanations from defense and foreign affairs officials about the developments on the maritime disputes.

“I think the briefings will come during the budget deliberations and then we have more information with respect to the actions that the government has taken through the international organizations that we have brought this matter up with,” the senator said.

Escudero recommended that both China and the Philippines should agree on joint exploration. He said profits may be shared equally or the Philippines may bat for a bigger share. He said there is no reason to fight over areas that might yield no oil or gas or minerals.

He said accusing China of bullying is only worsening the problem.

“I think the President was being factual when he made the statement in connection with our position in relation to China,” Escudero said.

He said the Philippines has ordered only two new aircraft while China has more than 2,000. – With Christina Mendez, Pia Lee-Brago, Sheila Crisostomo

Sarangani Launches Mahin Summer Festet

Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/178517/ex-sarangani-governor-6-others-charged-with-graft
April 19, 2012, 4:35pm

by newsinfo.inquirer.net

GLAN, Sarangani (PIA) — Glan’s Mahin Festival kicks off vacation fun in Sarangani with another series of summer activities that would climax with a sunset-to-sunrise beach party in the famed Sarangani Bay Fest next month to be held in the white sands of Gumasa.

The successful maiden celebration of Mahin Festival last year triggered expectations of a bigger crowd to the three-day festivity which started yesterday, April 19, until April 21.

Lumba sa Kabayo (horse race), Palupad Tabanog (kite flying), Bangkarera (boat race), Pintados (body painting), beach volleyball and football, Bikini Open, concerts (featuring Blakdyak) and fireworks display are the lined-up activities that are certain to fire up the excitement of local folks.

Yesterday’s events were held at The Grove Beach in barangay Tango while in the next two days, it will be at the Coco Beach in Gumasa.

Mahin is a festival unique to the town of Glan which brings back traditional beach activities the townsfolk have been fond of doing since then like horse racing at the shoreline.

Ex-Sarangani governor, 6 others charged with graft

Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/178517/ex-sarangani-governor-6-others-charged-with-graft
5:12 am | Wednesday, April 18th, 2012

by Leila B. Salaverria

Philippine Daily Inquirer

The Office of the Ombudsman has filed graft charges against former Sarangani Governor Miguel Escobar and six other provincial officials for the questionable purchase of 30,000 textbooks without public bidding. Escobar was charged for approving two textbook purchases, involving 15,000 books for each transaction, in 2002 and 2003. Charged with Escobar for the first purchase was Provincial Social Welfare Development Officer Hermelo Latoja, who acted as the attorney in fact for textbook supplier Institute for Youth Volunteers Service and Early Childhood Development Inc. For the second purchase, charged along with Escobar and Latoja were Committee on Awards members Teresa Alvarado, Wahid Diama, Sittiehawa Marohomsalic, Cesar Cagang and Vivencia Telesforo. The Sarangani officials have denied the allegations against them in their respective counteraffidavits. Sarangani province first bought 15,000 copies of the textbook ABC My Practice Book I in November 2002 for P1.5 million, and bought 15,000 copies of ABC My Practice Book II in June 2003. The 2002 transaction was considered an emergency purchase, which was why the textbooks were bought directly from the supplier. But Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales said the emergency purchase was unjustified.

Sarangani hills ideal for paragliding, say experts

Source: http://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2012/04/17/sarangani-hills-ideal-for-paragliding-say-experts/
Tuesday| April 17, 2012

by Allen V. Estabillo

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/16 April) — Paragliding experts are promoting Sarangani province’s hilly landscape as a prime spot for the aerial adventure sport.

French national Armand Dard, a visiting professional paragliding instructor, said they found the hills straddling the Sarangani Bay, especially those located in the coastal villages of Maasim town, as a first-rate paragliding flight site. “This is my second time in the Philippines and my first time in Sarangani. Last year I did some paragliding in Carmona, Cavite and also in Boracay but this place, which I discovered one month ago is a better flight site,” Dard said. Dard and a newly-organized team of local paragliders have so far tried out the hills along a ranch owned by the San Andres Fishing Industries (SAFI) in barangay Seguil in Maasim, which is about 30 minutes away from this city. “It has comfortable takeoff and landing sites. Its big landing site is comfortable for beginners and you can fly almost every day,” he said in a report released by the Sarangani Information Office. Dard has been conducting international-standard paragliding trainings to members of the newly-formed Sarangani Paragliding Club. Michelle Solon, Region 12 tourism council chairperson, said they now consider paragliding as “the next big thing” in the region. Region 12, which also known as the Soccsksargen Region, covers the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, North Cotabato and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan and Cotabato.

“What is the next big thing in Region 12? We are crossing our fingers — I believe in a heartbeat, it’s going to be paragliding in Sarangani,” she said. “Who said there is no wind around Sarangani Bay? On the contrary, there is enough wind!” added Solon, who had tried sky sports paragliding. Joseph Oncada, vice president of Sarangani Paragliding Club said they started paragliding in the area in September last year. “To those who want to become pilots, or just want to experience flying in tandem, we offer training and tandem flights,” Oncada said. For a short flight, which is about 10 minutes, enthusiasts will need to cough up P2,300 and around P3,000 for a 15 to 20-minute flight, he said. On May 18, Oncada said the Sarangani Paragliding Club will have a paragliding accuracy competition as part of the upcoming celebration of the two-day Sarangani Bay Festival. (Allen V. Estabillo/MindaNews)

Palawan, Comval replicate Sarangani Big Brother

Source: http://www.pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?article=1671334558968
Monday 16th of April 2012

by (Beverly C. Paoyon and Serafin N. Ramos Jr./PIO Sarangani/PIA General Santos City)

ALABEL, Sarangani, April 16 (PIA) -- Sarangani Big Brother (SBB) “Reading is Fun!” enters its “Season 5” this week with two provinces replicating the program this year.

SBB “Reading is Fun!” is a 15-day reading program run by the provincial government’s Quality Education for Sarangani Today (QUEST) program designed to assist the Department of Education (DepEd) to improve reading skills of “frustration readers” among incoming Grade 2 and 3 pupils.

“Frustration readers” are those who can identify words but have inadequate or no comprehension at all.

The activity is a whole day remedial reading program from April 17 to May 8 implemented in partnership with the DepEd, QUEST, Sangguniang Kabataan and the Alcantara Foundation.

QUEST recently held two days of training for teachers who will conduct the reading classes. Each of the 309 teachers will handle an ideal class size of 35 pupils.

During the training, Governor Migs Dominguez thanked the teachers for their “passion and commitment” to make SBB successful.

“Let’s remember the first time we make them (children) read,” Dominguez told the teachers as he stressed the importance of continuously motivating children to learn to read.

Compostela Valley Province also sent nine youth leaders and 12 teachers to join the training as they would replicate SBB starting this summer vacation which would be called “Summer Big Brother: Reading is Fun! Season 1”.

After a series of benchmarking of local officials, DepEd officials and private sector in Sarangani which was arranged by Alcantara Foundation, Compostela Valley decided to replicate QUEST. Comval started with an Education Summit last January.

Palawan was also set to launch this month its Palawan Big Brother, patterned after SBB.

In early March, QUEST program manager Annalie Edday was instructed by Governor Dominguez to email the activities of QUEST to Palawan Governor Abraham Mitra because he was interested to replicate QUEST.

A QUEST team led by Edday flew to Palawan on March 19-22 to present QUEST and help Palawan organize its education reform program.

This summer, Palawan will have its PBB (Palawan Big Brother: Reading is Fun! Season 1).

“PBB is the kickoff project of the Palawan education reform program,” Edday said.

In Sarangani, Edday noted the improvement in the performance of the “frustration readers” after they have completed the reading program.

“I am so happy that they feel the sense of belongingness as they enrolled in the next grade,” Edday said.

She said every year different modules are used in the summer classes as additional inputs are being introduced.

QUEST also designed a volunteer program to tap youth volunteers who will assist teachers in facilitating the activities from the modules.

“Teaching young children to read is the most critical educational priority facing the province,” Edday said. She explained SBB “will help schools and children uplift their performance in reading.”

“By teaching all children to read well by the end of the third grade, we will ensure that all students that advance to later grades are well prepared to achieve their full academic potential,” Edday added.

Edday said SBB was successful in helping DepED eliminate the frustration and instructional readers among incoming Grade 2 and 3 pupils.

“For years it has produced good result; for 4 years, this program has engaged 855 teacher volunteers, 2,166 youth volunteers and has made 17,983 pupils better readers,” Edday disclosed.

“We are happy that we have numerous volunteers from General Santos City, seven scholars of American Field Studies and one German volunteer this year,” Edday reported about the SBB volunteers training.

The program was first thought to make “reading as fun,” said Edday, “but since there are quite a number of frustration readers so we made SBB season 4 as a remedial reading program.”

SBB was launched in 2008 in which Governor Dominguez said the first concern then was how to harness the spirit of volunteerism among the youth “to be able to make them contribute in the community.”

“Masarap makatulong bumasa at buksan ang mga mata ng mga bata and teach them to dream big!,” Dominguez told the volunteers in Alabel during the volunteers training last year.

For the past three years, SBB became a channel in unifying the school’s community and utilizing the collective efforts of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) of the province.

The governor has pointed out that “success lies in education. It opens up boundaries we think impossible. Education from elementary to high school up to college will ensure better future.”

In 2011, QUEST pre-test and post-test results showed a 55 percent increase of the pupils’ reading level from “frustration readers” (36%) to the right reading level (91%) and were ready to enter Grade 3.

Every year, the reading skills of pupils were improving because of Sarangani Big Brother. SBB has become successful through volunteer youth and members of the Sangguniang Kabataan.

“SBB taught me to become someone - to be a builder of this nation. I learned to embrace the beauty of imparting knowledge,” volunteer John Logos Guiang from Maitum town said.

During its second season of Sarangani Big Brother “Reading is Fun!” one of the youth volunteers in Maasim Elementary School was Aimee Aragon, then a 15-year old incoming first year college student.

“I am blessed to be given the opportunity to share my knowledge and experiences for the little children like I was, and I’m very happy to be an ‘Ate’ (big sister) for them,” Aragon said.

The Panlalawigang Pederasyon ng Sangguniang Kabataan (PPSK) launched the month-long reading program in the summer of 2008 among elementary pupils while instilling the value of volunteerism among “mentors”.

Right from SBB’s first season, Alcantara Foundation has already been one of the partners together with the SK, DepEd and the local government in the implementation of the program.

The rest of the sponsors this year are Synergia Foundation, Sagittarius Mining Corp. and World Vision.

'Respect Pacman's decision to join PDP-Laban'

Source: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=797118&publicationSubCategoryId=63
April 15, 2012 12:00 AM

by Evelyn Macairan

MANILA, Philippines - A Catholic Church official asked the public yesterday to respect the decision of Sarangani representative and boxing champ Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao to join the political party Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Laban (PDP-Laban) of Vice President Jejomar Binay.

Marbel South, Cotabato Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez said Pacquiao is old enough to make decisions on his own.

“Pacman is mature and intelligent. Respect his decision,” Gutierrez said.

Sarangani province is one of the areas under the Diocese of Marbel, South Cotabato, which the bishop heads.

Gutierrez said his statement stems from his concern about the faith and morals of people, rather than politics.

Pacquiao was earlier reported to be leaving the Liberal Party of President Aquino to join Binay’s camp.

The 33-year-old boxer-turned-legislator is reportedly being groomed to be the PDP-Laban’s gubernatorial candidate in Sarangani in next year’s elections.

Pacquiao might take his oath as party member of PDP-Laban before his next fight with Timothy Bradley in June.

Sarangani good site for paragliding

Source: http://pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?menu=2&webregion=R12&article=1611334373192
Saturday 14th of April 2012

by Cocoy Sexcion

MAASIM, Sarangani, April 14 (PIA) -- Sarangani is a good flying site for paragliding said Armand Dard, a French national and a visiting paragliding professional instructor.

"This is my second time in the Philippines and my first time in Sarangani. Last year I did some paragliding in Carmona, Cavite and also in Boracay but this place which I discovered one month ago is a better flight site,” Dard said.

The flying site is located at SAFI Ranch 1 in barangay Seguil, less than 30 minutes drive from General Santos City.

The flight site is overlooking Sarangani Bay.

“It has comfortable take off and landing sites,” Dard noted. “It also has big landing site comfortable for beginners and you can fly almost everyday."

Dard is conducting paragliding international standard trainings to members of the newly-formed Sarangani Paragliding Club.

“You ask what is the next big thing in Region 12, we are crossing our fingers -- but I believe in a heartbeat, it’s going to be Paragliding in Sarangani. It is definitely a number 1 for fun!” said an exuberant Michelle Solon, chair of the Regional Tourism Council.

“Who said there is no wind around Sarangani Bay? On the contrary there is enough wind!” added Solon who has tried sky sports paragliding.

Joseph Oncada, vice president of Sarangani Paragliding Club said they started paragliding in September last year, “and this is the newest sport in the country."

"To those who want to become pilots, or just want to experience flying in tandem, we offer training and tandem flights," Oncada said.

A short flight or a maximum of 10-minute flight would cost P2,300. “For a long flight or 15 to 20-minute flight, we charge P3,000," Oncada added.

Oncada said the Sarangani Paragliding Club will also have a paragliding accuracy competition on May 18 in time for Sarangani Bay Festival.. (DED-PIA 12/CSexcion/Sarangani Information Office)

Land Bank relocates Alabel branch to Sarangani

Source: http://callcenterinfo.tmcnet.com/news/2012/04/13/6257017.htm
April 13, 2012]

by John Anthony Concepcion

Apr 13, 2012 (Datamonitor via COMTEX) -- Land Bank of the Philippines has relocated its Alabel branch to a more spacious facility at the Provincial Capitol Complex of Sarangani, to expand its network.

"LANDBANK's strategic network expansion is consistent with our thrust to provide banking services to the unbanked and underserved areas in continuous pursuit of countryside development," said LANDBANK President and CEO Gilda E. Pico.

LANDBANK first established its presence in Alabel in 1996 with its first branch at the Provincial Capitol Gymnasium. Among the clients of the branch are the local government of Alabel, the provincial government of Sarangani, and the neighboring municipalities of Malapatan, Glan, and some barangays of Malungon, along with rural bank and micro and SME clients.

"This forms part of our financial inclusion program which we are aggressively pursuing as we hope to bring banking services closer to underserved and unbanked areas. This will likewise benefit the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps beneficiaries since they will no longer need to travel out of their towns to withdraw their cash grants," said LANDBANK President Pico.

The MOU was signed by Maitum Mayor Elsie Lucille Perrett, Malungon Mayor Reynaldo Constantino, Rural Bank of Kiamba President Teresa Falgui, and LANDBANK First vice president for Mindanao Branches Joselito Gutierrez, for the installation of automated teller machines (ATMs) in the six other municipalities of Sarangani, namely Glan, Kiamba, Maasim, Malapatan, Malungon, and Maitum.

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‘BIR is right going after Pacquiao’

Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/175693/%E2%80%98bir-is-right-going-after-pacquiao%E2%80%99
7:58 pm | Thursday, April 12th, 2012

by Frances Mangosing

INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Following the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s filing of the tax evasion case against its former poster boy, boxing icon and Representative Manny Pacquiao, half of INQUIRER.net readers think it was only the right thing to do. In a poll conducted between March 29 and April 12, 51.73 percent or 2,682 answered “BIR is only right to go after Pacquiao” to the question, “What do you think of the BIR’s tax case against Manny Pacquiao?” However, 32.15 percent or 1,667 thought it could be talked over by answering “BIR and Pacquiao should settle the case amicably.” Meanwhile, 16.12 percent or 836 voted that “Pacquiao is right in calling the BIR move as harassment.” In March, the BIR filed a tax evasion case against Pacquiao, for his alleged failure to submit complete tax records for the year 2010. It said that Pacquiao ignored summons issued by the BIR office in Central Mindanao asking him to explain his failure to submit complete tax documents. Pacquiao cried foul over the case, claiming that it was “without basis” and a form of harassment. “The institution of the case against me is plain and simple harassment. Contrary to public perception, I am not charged with Tax Evasion or Tax Fraud. That is farther from the truth. Over the years as a boxer, a product endorser and a businessman,” he said in a statement. Pacquiao said the BIR violated its own rules when it served the subpoena to a person unknown to him. He also asked why the BIR served the subpoena in General Santos City when he is now a resident of Sarangani. The boxing sensation, who topped the taxpayer’s list in 2008, made a 30-second television commercial for BIR in 2009 reminding citizens to pay their taxes.

PNoy PREEMPTS ENERGY SUMMIT, APPROVED MORE COAL-POWERED PLANTS

Source: http://www.newsflash.org/2004/02/hl/hl111735.htm
APRIL 11, 2012

by John Anthony Concepcion

DAVAO CITY, APRIL 11, 2012 (MANILA STANDARD) Written by Christine F. Herrera - Critics bare ‘midnight deals’ on coal power plants

President Benigno Aquino III has approved “midnight deals” to build more coal-fired plants in Mindanao days ahead of an Energy Summit here, locking the island into a dirty source of power for decades, lawmakers and environmentalists said Monday.

“The Mindanao Energy Summit was supposed to give the stakeholders options for short- and long-term solutions to the power crisis, but no option is being offered because the contracts for coal are already a done deal,” Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño said.

“Is there a conspiracy to ram fossil-fuel power as the solution? Would this not reduce the power summit to a farce, giving Mindanao consumers no choice but to stick to more expensive, dirty, non-renewable power?”

Von Hernandez, Greenpeace Southeast Asia executive director, said environmental compliance certificates were hastily approved for the coal plants despite opposition from the communities in Mindanao.

“The hasty approval … confirms earlier suspicions that pro-coal business interests were out to capitalize on the current crisis to railroad government approval of such environmentally sensitive projects that should have undergone better scrutiny,” Hernandez said.

Agham Rep. Angelo Palmones, who comes from Cotabato, urged Congress to exercise its oversight powers to review the deals.

At a pre-summit conference last week, Energy Undersecretary Josephine Patricia Asirit said some 700 megawatts would be generated from the coal-fired power plants and that the 100-megawatt Iligan diesel plant owned by the Alcantaras would be revived pending clearance from the Audit Commission.

Asirit said Mindanao had a daily demand of 1,200 megawatts and a shortfall of 100 megawatts, and that demand was growing at 50 megawatts yearly. Some 1,400 megawatts would be in the pipelines for Mindanao from October 2012 to 2014.

Asirit identified the coal-fired projects as a 200-megawatt coal-fired plant by Conal Holdings of the Alcantaras in 2014, a 200-megawatt coal-fired plant by STEAG in the last quarter of 2014, a 300-megawatt coal-fired plant by Therma South of the Aboitizes in 2014, and a 15-megawatt oil-based plant by EEI Power Corp. in October 2012.

The 50-megawatt Mt. Apo 3 geothermal plant and a 5-megawatt wind farm would also be operational by 2014 and 2015, respectively.

Providing extra power would be the eight-megawatt Cabulig hydroelectric plant by Minergy, a 35-megawatt biomass facility by Green Power Bukidnon in 2013, the 225-megawatt Agus 3 hydroelectric plant by Lanao Hydropower Development Corp. in 2015, the 20-megawatt Tagoloan hydroelectric plant by Mindanao Hydro Power Corp. in 2016, and the 12-megawatt Tamugan hydroelectric plant by Hedcor in 2018.

Asirit said coal and diesel would make up the region’s base load because of the unreliability and seasonality of the hydrothermal plants.

Only 350 megawatts was approved for geothermal and other renewable energy sources.

Coal, power barges and diesel cost P9 a kilowatt hour compared with P2 for hydroelectric power and P2.80 for geothermal power.

Citing Asirit’s presentation at the pre-summit conference, Hernandez said the Energy Department had confirmed that four coal plants and one coal power plant expansion were in the pipeline for Mindanao.

“One of the plans [was] approved early this week, ironically, with a promise from the President to expedite the construction process of the harmful facility. Last November 2011, the government gave the go-signal for a coal plant in Sarangani, and before that in July, [President Aquino] was guest of honor in the inauguration of another coal facility in the Visayas.

“Should the other projects in Mindanao push through, President Aquino’s administration would have approved more coal plants than any of his predecessors.”

“With this midnight approval, the government has succeeded in creating a truly agonizing Holy Week scenario for the people of Mindanao, replete with episodes of sacrifice, false prophets, and public betrayal.”

Hernandez reminded the President of his campaign promise to support the development of renewable energy and to phase out coal-fired power plants.

“We thought this administration would approach this problem with a greater measure of integrity and sophistication,” Hernandez said.

“On the contrary, he has allowed coal pushers in his team to overturn his pledge as evidenced by the [Energy Department’s] existing plans to build an unprecedented number of coal plants during his term. The President should be advised that each coal plant he builds edges out the opportunity for the people of this country to harness clean and renewable power.”

Greenpeace claims there is no such things as “clean coal plants,” and that there were no commercially available technologies that could remove mercury, a deadly neurotoxin that accumulates in the environment and in the food chain, or carbon dioxide, which causes climate change.

Casiño, meanwhile, said he had learned that in an April 4 pre-summit meeting in Davao, Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras ordered Mindanao’s electric cooperatives to buy expensive power from the privatized power barges at P14 a kilowatt hour, with the government shouldering P9 per kilowatt hour.

Almendras, he said, also reportedly ordered local government officials to immediately approve the environmental compliance certificates for at least two new coal-fired power plants in Mindanao.

“If that is the case, then the power summit would just be a rubber stamp... which forces consumers to pay an additional 50 to 80 centavos per kilowatt hour for their electricity due to the manipulations of favored private power generators like Therma Marine Inc. owned by the Aboitizes, ” Casiño said.

He said he found it strange that the government was willing to subsidize diesel power at P9 a kilowatt hour when it would be cheaper and more sustainable to subsidize solar and other renewable energy sources.

Asirit told the pre-summit conference that power rate increases were inevitable.

“What makes Mindanao different from Visayas and Luzon is its rich potential for renewable energy, from solar, hydro, geothermal to biomass. Why not tap these instead of the more expensive and dirty fossil fuel technologies?” Casiño said.

Also on Monday, administration Senator Serge Osmeña III chided the electric cooperatives for opposing the privatization of the government-owned plants on the island, saying it was mandated by law. He his view that the people of Mindanao had been enjoying subsidies for too long.

“The Mindanao cooperatives have their own version of the economic law of supply and demand,” Osmeña, chairman of the Joint Congressional Power Commission, told the Manila Standard in a text message.

“They demand subsidized electricity and the rest of the country must supply. What about the rest of the population who have been paying market rates for almost 10 years?”

The senator was reacting to the position paper submitted by the 33-member Association of Mindanao Rural Electric Cooperatives, which urges the government to forgo plans to sell its power plants in Mindanao to prevent a spike in energy prices.

Osmeña said the privatization of government-owned plants was mandated by law to attract the private sector to enter the power generation business.

“Private owners do not and cannot afford to compete with government, which can operate at a loss,” he said.

Last 2 Pacquiao fights fail to impress Ariza

Source: http://sports.inquirer.net/39983/last-2-pacquiao-fights-fail-to-impress-ariza
10:06 pm | Tuesday, April 10th, 2012

by Romina S. Austria

Philippine Daily Inquirer

Manny Pacquiao’s strength and conditioning coach said he is far from impressed with the Filipino ring superstar’s two fights last year. And the last thing Alex Ariza wants is an unprepared Pacquiao battling the unbeaten American Timothy Bradley on June 9 for the Sarangani congressman’s WBO welterweight belt at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. “We can’t have a bad camp,” Ariza told boxingscene.com. “(Pacquiao’s) physical conditioning is very important. This must happen all the way.” Pacquiao will defend his WBO title for the fourth time against the unpredictable Bradley, with the Ring magazine’s pound-for-pound king heavily favored to bag his 55th professional victory in 60 fights. The eight-division world champion prevailed via ho-hum unanimous decisions over Joshua Clottey in March 2010 and Shane Mosley in May 2011 before besting Juan Manuel Marquez for the second time via an unpopular majority decision six months later. “He’s (Bradley) a high-volume puncher who’ll come forward,” Ariza said. “Bradley’s not a technical guy like Marquez. He fights somewhat like Manny. That’s why I think it’ll be an explosive fight.” Ariza said Pacquiao, who has started light training in Manila and General Santos City, runs the risk of losing focus for his clash with Bradley because of his various activities outside the ring. The Colombian conditioning guru also said starting camp on April 16 in Baguio City could be “a little late” for Pacquiao even though he sees a hungrier, more motivated Pacman this time. “It’s up to Manny how he’d prepare against Bradley,” Ariza said, adding he knows Pacquiao wants to prove something in his coming fight. Meanwhile, world junior welterweight contender Ruslan Provodnikov (21-1, 14 KOs) will join Pacquiao’s training camp in Baguio. The Russian is expected to arrive in the country on April 22. Provodnikov will travel back to Los Angeles with Pacquiao and head trainer Freddie Roach in early May to continue training at the Wild Card Gym. Despite his apprehensions, Ariza said he is confident the Pacquiao-Bradley bout will be a short one. “Manny’s competitive spirit will take over,” Ariza said. “How he trains will impact on how he does against Bradley. “If he trains properly, Manny could blow that guy away in less than five rounds.”

Sarangani floods affect 100 families

Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/04/09/12/sarangani-floods-affect-100-families
04/09/2012 6:13 PM | Updated as of 04/09/2012 6:42 PM

by Jay Dayupay and Rhea Lara, ABS-CBN News SOKSARGEN

MANILA, Philippines – More than 100 families in Poblacion, Alabel, Sarangani province were affected by floods triggered by strong rains last Saturday.

Raging floodwaters inundated Purok 4, Sitio Cogonal and Purok Tagumpay, prompting several residents to flee their homes.

Around 50 hectares of agricultural products were also destroyed.

In Barangay Kawas, motorists were stranded due to an impassible bridge.

Road repairs are ongoing.

The residents have returned to their homes but they fear that more rains in the coming days will trigger floods anew.

Police rescue two abducted security guards in Sarangani

Source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/254194/news/regions/police-rescue-two-abducted-security-guards-in-sarangani
April 8, 2012 9:37am

by LBG, GMA News

Local authorities on Saturday rescued in Sarangani province two abducted security guards, a police report said.

Mark Lantin and Daniel Bolunos were released unharmed by their captors on Saturday morning, some 29 hours after they were abducted by armed men at the Rosa Farm, Sitio Nakolel, Barangay Lago in Glan town at 4 a.m. on Good Friday.

Reports reaching Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Dir. Gen. Nicanor Bartolome from Central Mindanao said a crisis management committee – composed of personnel from Glan Municipal Police Station, Sarangani Police Provincial Police Office, Regional Intelligence Division and local government authorities – was convened immediately to secure the safe release of the captives.

At the same time, PNP units had conducted operations to limit the movement of the abductors within a smaller area.

Chief Supt Benjardi Mantele, PNP Regional Director in Central Mindanao, said the two victims were brought to Barangay Congan before their abductors were prompted to release the victims unconditionally due to police pressure.

Mindanao farmers get tractors, threshers from gov’t

Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/173113/mindanao-farmers-get-tractors-threshers-from-gov%E2%80%99t
7:43 pm | Saturday, April 7th, 2012

by Leila B. Salaverria

Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines—Farmers in Mindanao have received nmearly P21 million worth of farm equipment from the Department of Agriculture intended to help them produce more crops and earn more money. The department said in a news release that it recently awarded 177 pieces of farm machinery and equipment, such as tractors and threshers, to farmers’ groups and irrigators’ associations in Region 12 or the Soccsksargen (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City) Region. The DA shouldered the bulk of the cost of the equipment through the farm mechanization component of its Food Staple Sufficiency Program. Under the program, the DA paid for 85 percent of the cost, while the beneficiaries shouldered the remaining 15 percent. Assistant Agriculture Secretary Dante Delima said another set of farm machines and equipment was scheduled to be awarded to another batch of farmers in August this year. Delima, who was present in the recent turnover to the beneficiaries, called on the farmers to maximize the use of their new equipment in their field preparation, planting, harvesting and other farm operations so that these would be faster and more efficient. He also said they should take care of the machines, which are meant to increase their production and income. DA Region 12 Director Amalia Jayag-Datukan said the department would create a team to monitor the farmers and irrigators groups to ensure they are using the new equipment efficiently and are seeing to their maintenance. The bulk of the machines and equipment went to 126 farmers’ groups. They received five units of four-wheel drive tractors, 112 hand tractors, and 37 rice threshers, collectively worth P18.5 million. Five outstanding irrigators’ associations received nine hand tractors, seven hermetic cocoons, and seven portable dryers, which are worth P2.43 million.

Pacquiao steps aside for the true Champ

Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/-depth/04/06/12/pacquiao-steps-aside-true-champ
04/06/2012 12:47 PM | Updated as of 04/06/2012 12:47 PM

by www.abs-cbnnews.com

MANILA, Philippines – Core members and volunteers of ABS-CBN Christian Fellowship were still busy setting up for the 7 p.m. March 29 fellowship when I received a phone call at 4:30 pm from our guest speaker. “Malapit na kami diyan sa ABS,” Sarangani Congressman and world boxing champ Manny Pacquiao said.

“Huh? Ang aga niyo,” I answer.

“OK lang,” he said. “Gusto ko i-testing iyong Powerpoint presentation ko.”

In less than 5 minutes, a convoy of 4-5 vehicles pulled up the driveway of the ABS-CBN compound bringing the members of Barangay Pacquiao - Manny dressed in a suit, Jinkee in a gorgeous yellow lace dress, their 4 kids, Jimuel, Michael, Princess and Queenie and their yayas, his security detail, executive assistant Stephanie, and Pastor Jeric Soriano.

A crowd quickly gathers when word of his arrival spread. ABS-CBN employees left their workstations to stare, get a picture or shake the hand of the 8-division boxing champ. Even the kids are greeted with cheers and well-wishes. Manny obliges the fans while slowly working his way to the Dolphy Theater.

Once there, Manny introduced the Pacquiao Word Worship team, led by his wife Jinkee, his staff, security and some friends. All of them are wearing Team Pacquiao T-shirts. The team practice their line-up of praise and worship songs such as Power of Your Love, Here We Are, Shine Jesus Shine, and Walang Hanggang Pasasalamat.

Manny briefly goes through his presentation with Pastor Jeric who has been intensely teaching the Sarangani congressman. He gives Pacquiao the nod – he’s good to go. Before the service, the organizers gather as a group and say a prayer asking for the Holy Spirit to empower the speaker, the musicians and everyone involved.

Packed theatre

The Dolphy Theatre is packed even before the fellowship starts. The worshippers come out and lead the people in worship before I formally introduce the Pacman on stage. He started off by greeting everyone with his big smile.

“Kumain na ba kayo? (Have you eaten?)” he asked, earning a chuckle from the audience.

Manny then encouraged them with a Bible verse. “OK lang. Sabi sa Biblia, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Pacquiao then shared his dream where he heard God speaking to him: “Anak , bakit ka lumayo sa akin? (My child, why have you gone astray?)”

Manny did go astray as his boxing career soared.

“Umiinom, sugal, bar, babae...,” he said

He then added: “That old Manny Pacquiao is gone and the new Manny Pacquiao has come.”

‘I didn’t understand the Bible’

Manny attributes his spiritual awakening and transformation after truly discovering the author and subject of the Bible, Jesus Christ.

He said he repented from his sin, rededicated his life to Jesus and went on a quest to learn as much as he could about his Savior and how to get closer to God.

“When I first read the Bible, I couldn’t understand it. I wanted a bible study in the morning and in the afternoon. I felt my day wasn’t complete if I didn’t read the Bible,” he shares.

Manny moved on to his presentation and for the next 45 minutes, he shared how the Word of God, when read, meditated and followed, turned his life around.

The Pacman shared one Bible verse that made an impact on his life. Joshua 1:8 “Keep this book of the Law always in your lips. Meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

“The Bible is spiritual food that feeds your Spirit man,” Manny explained.

“The old Manny, when tempting thoughts would come to me, I had no power to say ‘No.’ Now I do,” he added.

Turning point

It was 4 months ago when Manny declared inside the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles that he wanted to turn his life around. He hasn’t looked back since.

Pastor Rice Brooks in Las Vegas shared to him about the Word of God one week before his fight with Juan Manuel Marquez. Pacquiao fell in love with God, and everyday after, I could see his eyes sparkle whenever he learned a new truth and precept.

He glued himself to the Bible and prayer, and rededicated himself to his family. Round by round, he pounded away at his old habits. Today, Manny walks around with his iPad equipped with Bible apps. He also shares pages of Bible verses he has memorized.

“Marami na akong mga weapon!” he exclaims to everyone who’s listening.

Pastor Jeric Soriano said Manny has carried his discipline in boxing training to his study of the Word of God.

“He is extremely diligent and determined,” he said.

Pacquiao said another one of his favorite Bible verses is Jeremiah 29:11. “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”

He explained: “Dati dasal ako ng dasal. Simba ako every Sunday pero Monday to Saturday lahat ng kalokohan ginagawa ko. Hindi natin maloloko ang Panginoon.”

His wife, Jinkee, was all smiles as she listened to her husband preach for the first time.

“Ang Holy Spirit na kay Manny na talaga. Happy ako at lahat kaming pamilya. Ang saya na talaga,” he said.

Bible studies in his Manila and General Santos City homes are frequent. Pacquiao also likes to listen to an audio bible with portable speakers in his vehicle.

In his sermon, Pacquiao is stretching his arms wide to the audience.

“God loves us so much. That’s why he even died for us.’

“Famous athletes like Jeremy Lin, Tim Tebow and now Manny Pacquiao are all sharing about God. Why me? Because the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ is near.”

Dig deep into the Word

Pacquiao ended his sermon by bowing down in prayer and asking all who want to begin a new life with Jesus to join in.

‘Lord, maraming salamat sa iyong pag-ibig. Sorry sa lahat ng kasalanan ko. I give my life to you Jesus. The old is gone, the new me has come. Thank you. I love you, God,” he said.

He then joins his group in singing a couple more of his favorite praise and worship songs.

“Diva for the Lord” Dulce belted out a powerful number while Pastor Jesse Dedel prayed over the Pacquiao family, encouraging Manny to press on till the end.

Celebrities and top management attended the fellowship but the night did not belong to them. In the end, even the 8-division world boxing champion stepped aside to give glory to the true champion – the Lord Jesus Christ.

Pacquiao also encouraged Filipinos to dig deep into the Holy Scripture during Holy Week.

“Dig deep and truly have a life changing experience with God by committing to read His Word and obeying it. He has a solution for every situation and nothing is impossible with God,” he said. “Believe! Don’t live in unbelief.”

Pacquiao has said before that he plans to retire soon since he has nothing left to prove inside the ring. Indeed, his boxing conquests may soon come to an end but his new journey of victory in Christ is just beginning.

Go Gumasa for the biggest beach party this summer - Asian Correspondent

Source: http://cebusandman.typepad.com/philippines_travel_news/2012/04/go-gumasa-for-the-biggest-beach-party-this-summer-asian-correspondent-1.html
April 5, 2012 at 7:27 AM

by COCOY SEXCION

Tired of the maddening crowd of Boracay? The crash commercialism of Panglao? Or the prohibitive and princely price tag of El Nido? Save your bed and dine budget and get more adventurous. Pack those bags and fly farther south for a summer retreat where one gets the most rural of the setting, yet lusts for one of nature’s few remaining unspoiled beauties. Welcome to Gumasa in Sarangani, home to Mindanao’s biggest beach party – the Sarangani Bay Festival.

Crossing the 15-kilometer Sarangani Bay channel

It is in this part of Mindanao where you can still frolic in the most powdery white sands, watch beach volley and soccer, build sand castles, snorkel and skinny dip in crystal-clear sea waters and party all night long. On the side, shout your hearts out as you cheer for your favorite 5-man relay team swim and race against many others in the shark-infested Sarangani Bay, a distance of 15 kilometers across the channel. (Don’t worry. The sheer number of sea crafts, swimmers and spectators are driving those sharks away.) Oh, lest you forget, watch dolphins playfully swim with the human tankers at a safe distance. When there are no sharks, there are dolphins, period. Gumasa, they say, is what Boracay was 25 years ago when the world-known tourist destination was not yet, well, as crowded as it is today. When being in with the Boracay beach crowd means spending half a year’s salary for a Metro Manila minimum wage earner for a two night stay good for two. You can spend half of that and stay in Gumasa for four days. That’s practically more than half the price tag of Boracay! But, dig this. You can happily bring home along with you the bragging rights of telling friends when you grow those grey hairs that you were there in Gumasa when one can practically own the place by his or her lonesome during off seasons. That is one of life’s priceless moments and memories. Just ask Supreme Court administrator Midas Marquez who was at the bay festival two years ago and was seen tightly clasping a bottle of ice cold San Mig Lights while watching Cueshe live on stage. Or Tina Muñoz Palma who had her moment with youthful Sarangani Gov. Miguel Rene Dominguez along the beach front one breezy and cloudy afternoon the year before. Talkback host and Bantay Bata mover Tina Muñoz Palma of ANC and ABS-CBN Foundation with Sarangani Gov. Miguel Rene Dominguez

Dominguez said the late Filipino rock icon Karl Roy once suddenly popped out from the crowd and went upstage to jam with the local band. Eric Gancio of the lamented and missed Yano band is a regular performer here. Eric is a friend of the governor. Recent Pinoy Big Brother fourth placer Paco Evangelista is also a regular at the bay festival. Sarbay, as organizers have coined it, now proudly owns the tag as Mindanao’s biggest beach party and Gumasa is the resident host of Sarangani Bay Festival.

The festival itself has become the province’s great leveler – where a farmhand can rub elbows with celebrities. Where Sarangani’s officials are part of the crowd – not the crowd. “I think we can claim it has become the bigger beach party in the country where people party literally from sundown to sunrise,” the governor said. Dominguez said, last year, the bay festival was able to attract 35,000 local tourists – up from 6,000 in 2006. Have you seen your vice governor break dance on stage in your place? Try Gumasa. The bay festival was one of the first activity concepts pushed by Dominguez immediately after he was elected governor of the province for the first time in 2004. Sarangani province however shares the bay with nearby General Santos City. (Sarangani six coastal towns are evenly separated by Gensan) After failed attempts to jointly host Sarbay with General Santos, Dominguez gave his signal to proceed with the concept that has now become a buzzword in Mindanao. Mindanao today. The world tomorrow. This year’s Sarangani Bay Festival has been shortened to two days – May 18-19. This should give visitors enough time to enjoy the serenity of the place and explore other places before and after Sarbay.

Side tours The bay fest is adventure enough but if one wants to extend his stay, he or she can para-glide and get an eagle eye’s view of the blue waters of Sarangani Bay. The Tan brothers of SAFII Group of Companies are offering this latest craze to hit Sarangani.

Lemlunay's infiniti pool

If one is a dive enthusiast and wants to explore the earth’s remaining frontier, there is the Lemlunay Dive Resort operated by the Partridge family in Tinoto Maasim, also in Sarangani. The Tinoto Wall is dubbed as one of the best dive spots in Mindanao. The wall drops more than 500 feet you can almost “see” the abyss. Lemlunay also offers world-class accommodation with an infiniti pool to drool for.

Rep. Manny Pacquiao shooting the La Union rapids

If security arrangement can be made, a trek into the hidden waterfalls of Kiamba town or a visit to one of the pre-historic burial caves of Maitum will be a big bonus.

Nalus Falls in Kiamba

But you can still wet your butt in white-water rubber-tubing adventure in La Union, Maitum. Sarangani Rep. Manny once said the 1.5 kilometer stretch of rapids ride was one like he never had before. Unfortunately, until Manny retires from boxing, you will not get to see him at the festival as he often fights during the month.

How to get there and some tips

Travel light. You do not have to dress up and bring your costly gears. After all, Gumasa is a backpacker’s ultimate paradise. Book a flight from your place of origin to General Santos City. There are at least four flights daily from Manila and back and two flights from Cebu on some days. Taxis at the airport are available. Drivers however are not keen on using the taxi meter, though. Haggle with them. Airport to downtown fare should not be more than P300. You can ask the driver where to bring you to the hotel or inn that best suits your taste or budget. Don’t look for 5-star accommodation. There is none yet in the city. You can make arrangements with the hotel front desk for transfer accommodation to one of the beach resorts in Gumasa. If you are to join the bay festival, an outdoor carry-on portable tent is advisable if you cannot have prior bookings. You may inquire with event organizers at stipc@yahoo.com or call Telefax (083) 508-5230 or 508-5244.

From being No. 1 taxpayer in 2008, Pacquiao slides to 135th spot in 2010

Source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/253833/news/nation/from-being-no-1-taxpayer-in-2008-pacquiao-slides-to-135th-spot-in-2010
April 4, 2012 2:35pm

by KBK/VS, GMA News

From being number one in 2008, Sarangani Rep. and world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao slid to the 135th spot among the country’s Top 500 individual taxpayers in 2010, latest data from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) showed.

Pacquiao, who is currently at loggerheads with the BIR, paid only P9,190,691 in taxes in 2010 despite having a taxable income of P504.5 million, the bureau said.

In 2008, Pacquiao paid over P125 million, making him the top taxpayer for that year.

The eight-time world champion is currently facing a criminal case for obstructing a tax investigation into his earnings, a case that he said has cost him a fortune in endorsements.

The case was filed by the BIR last February after Pacquiao allegedly failed to submit proper documents about his earnings from boxing matches and his numerous commercial endorsements.

The BIR, through the agency’s regional director Rozil Lozares, issued a Letter of Authority to the boxing icon requiring him to submit documents regarding his earnings. Pacquiao allegedly failed to comply.

The BIR wants to investigate Pacquiao’s 33 tax records, including his annual income tax return in 2010, his book of accounts, list of assets, as well as his earnings from his fights against Antonio Margarito and Joshua Clottey.

GMA News Online called Pacquiao's business manager Rex "Wakee" Salud over the phone, but the boxing champ's camp is still to issue an official statement as of this posting.

Pacquiao’s tax payments substantially declined to some P7 million in 2009 from P125 million in 2008–a drastic drop that got the bureau curious.

Pacquiao has vowed to fight the case in court and accused the BIR of singling him out for harassment.

According to the latest BIR list, businessman Vicente Lao was the top taxpayer for 2010. He had a taxable income of P235 million that year and paid taxes of P75 million.

After Lao, businessman Rolando Hortaleza placed second with P69.665 million in taxes. Filmmaker Carlo J. Caparas, once the subject of a tax case filed by the BIR, came in third with P65.670 million in taxes.

For non-individual taxpayers, communications giant Smart Communications topped the list with P11.456 billion for 2010. Other top corporate taxpayers were Chevron Malampaya LLC (P4.378 billion) and Shell Philippines Exploration (P4.327 billion).

Nestle and San Miguel placed fourth and fifth, with P4.277 billion and P4.206 billion, respectively.

Journalist wants libel raps dismissed

Source: http://www.zambotimes.com/archives/45853-Journalist-wants-libel-raps-dismissed.html
Tuesday, April 3. 2012

by (PNA)

DCT/PTR

MANILA — A Mindanao-based journalist has sought the dismissal of the libel case filed against him by the alleged friend of world boxing champion Sarangani Rep. Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao. In his 13-page counter-affidavit, Edwin Espejo, contributor for MindaNews and Asian Correspondent, said that "it is, therefore, imperative upon the fiscal or the judge as the case may be, to relieve the accused from the pain of going through a trial once it is ascertained that the evidence is insufficient to sustain a prima facie case or that no probable cause exists to form a sufficient belief as to the guilt of the accused." Espejo is facing an P18-million libel case filed against him by Mohammad Aquia, former head of the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) in Central Mindanao. In his article, Espejo allegedly mentioned Aquia as an accused of running a carjacking syndicate who sought refuge in Pacquiao's house in General Santos City to evade arrest. The article was published online. In his counter-affidavit, Espejo said that libel cannot be committed by means of the Internet pointing out that under Article 353, the definition of libel "did not comprehend the rise of the interface of advanced telecommunications technologies with the internet." Espejo said that such deficiency is recognized by the Senate thus Senator Manuel Villar filed on Jan. 18, 2011 a bill penalizing internet libel. He added that there is also no malice when he wrote the article because Aquia is a public figure and he does not know him personally. Espejo, through his legal counsel Romel Bagares, director of the Center for International Law Philippines, said that a United Nations Committee on Human Rights report stated that criminal libel in the Philippines is contrary to the country's obligations under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Likewise, Bagares also said that they have yet to receive summons from the Office of the City Prosecutor in General Santos about the alleged P75-million libel case filed by Pacquiao against Espejo. "Our information is that Rep. Pacquiao filed his complaint together with Mr. Aquia," Bagares said. "In any case we reiterate our earlier call on Rep. Pacquiao to take this opportunity to work with journalists in pressing for the decriminalization of libel in the country," he said. "This is an opportune moment for Rep. Pacquiao to show solidarity with Filipino journalists," Bagares added.

Mindanao chambers look to strengthen role in investment facilitation

Source: http://www.zambotimes.com/archives/45759-Mindanao-chambers-look-to-strengthen-role-in-investment-facilitation.html
Monday, April 2. 2012

by zambotimes.com

CEBU CITY-Chambers of commerce in Mindanao should take a stronger role in drawing trade and investment to their respective areas. This was the consensus among the Mindanao chamber officials who attended a “cross-learning” seminar organized in Cebu City by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), and the U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID), through its Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program. The seminar drew executives from established chambers of commerce in Davao, Cagayan de Oro, and Zamboanga, as well as from smaller, newer chambers, from the provinces of Sarangani and Surigao and the cities of Butuan, Pagadian and Kidapawan. Representatives from Naga, Iloilo, and Cebu business chambers also attended the activity. Participants exchanged best practices on chamber revenue generation, policy advocacy, and trade and investment facilitation, focusing on the successful experience of the Cebu Investment Promotion Center. “We are in the process of reviewing our city’s investment code, and it was particularly useful to learn more about Cebu’s highly focused approach,” said Raymund Salangsang, president of the General Santos City chamber. “GenSan has well-established fisheries, agriculture and IT sectors that bring in business, but we really should distinguish between domestic and foreign investors and their differing requirements,” Salangsang said. He also proposed a more subregional approach towards attracting investors. “Some industries cannot be contained in just one city,” Salangsang said. “GenSan is already the commercial and transport hub for surrounding provinces, so why not help businesses to locate or expand there? It works out to everyone’s benefit.” “We looked at our respective strengths rather than try to replicate what other cities are doing,” said Mercedes Lourdes Quisumbing, president of the Pagadian City-Zamboanga del Sur Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Inc. “We are a small city in a highly agricultural area, with only a small wharf, but with established supply routes to Cebu and Cagayan de Oro,” Quisumbing pointed out. “Rather than focus on direct exports, we studied how we fit into the supply chain,” Quisumbing said. “Given our large coconut production base, for example, there are opportunities for investors in coco semi-processing.” The Mindanao chambers are currently working with local governments and national line agencies to develop investment databases for their respective areas. This would include information on available raw materials, people support, costs of doing business, investment incentives, and other economic and market information. “Some local governments are still not aware of the extent to which their chambers of commerce can help bring in investment,” said Quisumbing. “There has to be a good working relationship between the business community and government to make sure everyone is on the same investment track.” Public-private collaboration is expected to be further bolstered by the recent agreement between PCCI and the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) to share resources and technical expertise to promote investment. This builds on an earlier partnership agreement between the two organizations to jointly formulate policy recommendations for enhancing the competitiveness of key economic sectors. For chamber executives at the Cebu seminar, however, it was clear that a supportive policy framework will best succeed in attracting business to a particular area if its local stakeholders—both government and the private sector—work together to identify and strengthen their comparative advantages.

Two Bible preachers: One unknown, the other famous

Source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/253457/news/metromanila/two-bible-preachers-one-unknown-the-other-famous
April 1, 2012 3:04am

by EARL VICTOR L. ROSERO

He boarded the air conditioned bus at the stop under the EDSA Cubao MRT station. Respectably dressed he was in leather shoes, black slacks, and light blue long-sleeved shirt complete with a necktie.He walked down the aisle, stood at the mid-section of the bus and then pulled out of his black bag – a Bible.

The unknown man, Jessie, spoke clearly though he did not or could not make eye contact with the other passengers – most of whom tried to ignore him but the sense of hearing cannot be shut down.

Some of the commuters had earphones on and preferred to look out the window. But every now and then some passengers would sneak a glance at him and seemed to listen.

Gazing at the bus preacher evoked contrasting mental images of another man – world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao – who now adeptly quotes from the Bible by chapter and verses every time the opportunity presents itself.

Evangelization on wheels

The preacher on the bus would later identify himself to GMA News Online as Jesse Gannabon. He said he is a pastor-in-training of the Pentecostal Missionary Church of Christ Fourth Watch with office in Marikina.

Jesse spoke clearly though he did not or could not make eye contact with the other passengers – most of whom tried to ignore him but the sense of hearing cannot be shut down. Some had earphones on and preferred to look out the window.

But every now and then some passengers would sneak a glance at him and seemed to listen.

Jessie’s preaching followed a three-part outline. First, he introduced why he was there. Then he cited a few Bible passages and endeavored to explain them. Lastly, he asked for donations.

After his preaching, Jessie consented to an interview. He said he has been a missionary for three years now of the Pentecostal Fourth Watch.

As the interview proceeded, the other passengers were now intently listening.

He also said he did the preaching on the bus everyday, whole day from about 8 a.m. to late afternoon around 4 p.m.

Jessie said he preached because it was a commandment of God.

As the bus approached the intersection of EDSA and Ortigas Avenue, he collected the envelopes he handed out, thanked the passengers, and got off the bus.

A new calling

Like the bus preacher, Pacquiao quotes the Bible quite often now. But unlike Jesse, Pacquiao has a weekly television variety show and hordes of media people following him every day.

So confident and inspired Pacquiao is about his new calling that he recently led a Bible sharing session on the premises of the GMA Network Center.

Months ago, whenever he got to speak during Mass at Quiapo Church in Manila, he would just give profuse thanks and say that for every big problem, he “has a bigger God.”

Now, the Pacman expertly throws not just punches, but also quick Bible quotes and some advice.

He credits Jeric Soriano, a recently ordained pastor of the Alabang New Life Christian Center, for his being a “changed man” and his newfound love for learning from the Bible.

The Pacman was with Soriano on stage at the ordination last January.

Pacquiao had also revealed that his home has become a venue for Bible study sessions with friends and neighbors in Sarangani province and General Santos City.

Auxiliary Bishop Pablo David of Pampanga has revealed that the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines has asked Pacquiao to be a Bible ambassador of the CBCP.

“Manny has always been very religious and we are happy that he is deepening his faith and his understanding of the Bible,” said David, who is chairman of the CBCP’s Commission on Biblical Apostolate.

“That’s why I asked him if he could partner with us in promoting the reading of the Bible among Catholics,” Bishop David also said. — GMA News

arangani Archived News]]== The older news reports are kept here

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-<center>[[Sarangani, Philippines|<font size=4>'''Sarangani'''</font>]] - [[Sarangani Archived News|<font size=4 color=green>'''Archived News'''</font>]]</center>
+<center>[[Sarangani Province, Philippines|<font size=4>'''Sarangani'''</font>]] - [[Sarangani Archived News|<font size=4 color=green>'''Archived News'''</font>]]</center>
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-==Smart way of living for tribal women==
+==Comelec urges PWDs to register thru PWD lane==
-*Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/lifestyle/2011/10/25/smart-way-living-tribal-women-186936
+*Source: http://www.pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?article=1671336798341
-*Tuesday, October 25, 2011
+*Saturday, May 12, 2012
-:by Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper
+:by Catherine T. Apelacio
-LIFE is not easy for a group of B'laan women in Sitio Bolol Kilot, a fishing village identified as one of the sacred sites in Alabel town, Sarangani Province.
+GENERAL SANTOS CITY, May 12 (PIA)-- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) here is hopeful there will be a big turnout of registration coming from persons with disabilities (PWDs) sector with the establishment of a PWD lane.
-Every day, they tend to the kids and keep house while waiting for their husbands, fathers or brothers to come home from fishing, never quite certain if earnings from the day's catch will be enough to sustain the needs of the whole family.
+To facilitate the voter's registration of PWDs, Comelec-GenSan has brought its PWD lane to the barangays to make things easier for the differently-abled persons to register at their convenience.
-Hence, many of them are members of the Bolol Kilot Tribal Women Association, which, with the help of the Provincial Government's Indigenous People's Development Program (IPDP), is a registered organization of the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole).
+The strategy, Comelec-GenSan said will encourage PWDs to get actively involved in the 2013 mid-term elections.
-They want to contribute to the family income, and with the help of Smart Communications Inc. (Smart), it looks like they have found a new livelihood.
+Based on its record, there has been registration already from the sector particularly coming from barangays City Heights, Buayan, Katangawan, Labangal, Fatima, and Calumpang. GenSan has 26 barangays.
-"The partnership with Smart involves an assimilation of traditional custom and contemporary material," IPDP project development officer Toto Terando said.
+According to Rexie Magsano from the Office of Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento, the voter registration for PWDs focused on specific regions on monthly basis “to create awareness on PWDs right to suffrage and electoral reforms dealing with the accessibility of election related activities and information.”
-"The B'laan women will use their skills in weaving to create colorful bags and souvenir items using old tarpaulins," he added.
+He said Comelec is giving special priority to PWDs nationwide to be able to register without difficulty in their respective area. Comelec is also giving elderly and pregnant women special consideration during registration.
-Smart is engaged in a nationwide effort to manage and transform post marketing wastes through community-based up-cycling initiatives under Kabalikat sa Kalikasan, the company's CSR program for the environment.
+Last March 2012, the PWD voter registration focused in Visayas.
-This is a conscious response of company to the government's call for the implementation of Solid Waste Management (SWM).
+For Mindanao (Regions 9-13) the PWD voter registration has started last April 2012. Comelec GenSan and Sarangani started the special PWD registration in April.
-Almost half of the 70 members of the association have already undergone whole-day training on Solid Waste Management by Binggirl Clemente of Earthday Network Philippines, a non-government organization that advocates ecological awareness.
+Aside from the special registration, Comelec GenSan said they have actually started bringing their registration activity down the barangays since May of last year yet not just to cater the differently-abled individuals but also the general public, as a whole, who are qualified to vote.
-This was followed by a three-day workshop on basic bag making and design by Siony Adam of the Malapatan Association of Sarangani Producers. After the training, the women were able to produce 25 woven tarpaulin bags ready for display.
+Magsano said a nationwide PWD voter registration shall be held in July 2012 to highlight the regional activities.
-To boost the association’s livelihood program, Smart donated an industrial sewing machine and plastic sealer. The group will also continue to receive old tarpaulins from Smart so that they will have a steady supply of material for their new trade.
+The Comelec offices in GenSan and Sarangani also underscored that PWDs can also register at their offices anytime today until October 31, the last day for registration through the PWD lane.
-The Small and Medium Enterprise Development Council of the Provincial Trade and Industry Office will help the association market the products.
+Both offices have urgently called PWDs or any Filipino citizen to come out and register as early as possible. (CTApelacio/PIA General Santos City)
-An interagency financial management training and action planning will also be given to the association in order to sustain the livelihood program.
-Smart's tarpaulin bag-making initiative is aligned with the local government of Alabel’s pro-earth program starting with its "No Plastic" campaign that encourages the locals to use containers made of corn husks in the public markets.
-Smart is also working with the provincial government on the restoration of a 200-hectare forestland within the watershed of Alabel. The town's Calminda watershed is the biggest in Sarangani Province.
@@ Line 85: / Line 82: @@
+==Manny Pacquiao graces Hollywood premiere of GMA Films' 'The Road'==
+*Source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/257852/pinoyabroad/gmainternational/manny-pacquiao-graces-hollywood-premiere-of-gma-films-the-road
+*Friday, May 11, 2012
+:by Andrei Medina, VVP, GMA News
-==Glan Vice Mayor is this year’s GAWAD awardee==
-*Source: http://pia.gov.ph/?m=7&r=r12&id=60490
-*Saturday, October 22, 2011
-:by GLAN Info and News Service
+Boxing icon and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao was one of the big name celebrities who showed up at the Hollywood premiere of GMA Films' horror movie "The Road," directed by Yam Laranas and starring Rhian Ramos and Marvin Agustin.
-GLAN, Sarangani, Oct 22 (PIA) -- A national awards-giving body has chosen Dr. Vivien B. Yap as this year’s Best Municipal Vice Mayor of the Philippines.
+In a report on GMA News' "24 Oras" newscast, Pacquiao said: “It’s a good experience to be here and I’m supporting my friend Rhian and I love it."
-Yap was cited by the Gawad League of Vice Mayors Information and Research Services for her “exemplary achievements in the pursuit of her chosen career both in politics and in the field of medicine, where she demonstrated exceptional quality of leadership, imbued with lofty idealism, courage and impeccable record in public service, thereby contributing much to the socio-economic development of Glan and the uplift of the living condition of her constituents.”
-The awarding ceremony for this year’s Gawad LVM awards was held at the Manila Hotel last September 17, but due to unavoidable circumstances, Yap was unable to attend and receive the Plaque of Recognition in person.
-“I’m not really at ease being put on the spot, in the limelight, just because I am doing what I am supposed to do, in the first place,” she said.
-Yap is the author of a special ordinance declaring every April of the year as Mahin Festival Month in Glan, adding a new dimension to the beach festival craze now spreading all over the region.
-She also helped craft, among other major ordinances and resolutions, the new Local Tax Code, which substantially cut down business and license fees but at the same time expanded the town’s tax base with more investments and businesses opening up because of the lower taxes.
-She had been a barangay captain and an ex-officio provincial board member, aside from being a practicing physician doing mostly charitable work, before she was elected as the town’s second highest official in the May 2010 elections. (GLAN Info and News Service/PIA General Santos City)
-==Water in Brgy. Tinoto unsafe for drinking==
+Also at the premiere were the Kapuso stars who were part of the movie — Agustin, Ramos, Alden Richards, and Derrick Monasterio.
-*Source: http://pia.gov.ph/?m=7&r=r12&id=60127
-*Thursday, October 20, 2011
-:PIA Press Release
+The movie, about a ghostly encounter on a deserted road in the woods, premiered in Los Angeles on Wednesday night (Thursday morning in Manila).
+In the "24 Oras" report, Ramos said: “The thing about all of the premieres that I go to, I remember and cherish them of course, in my heart. This though feels like it’s something that’s going to go down in history, as a Filipino.”
+Agustin, on the other hand, said, “This is the first time, first ever Filipino film that will be shown commercially here in the States so we're very happy, we're very proud, I’m very proud to be part of this film.”
-TINOTO, Maasim, Sarangani, October 20 (PIA) -- Provincial health officer Dr. Antonio Yasana today declared all sources of water within barangay Tinoto “not fit for drinking purposes.”
+"The Road" is set in a supernatural universe. The story begins in 2008 when three teenagers disappear at night on a deserted road.
-Meanwhile, Mayor Jose Zamorro said a municipal vehicle was already shuttling containers of drinking water from the poblacion to the diarrhea-stricken village.
-All drinking water hauled to the village will continue water treatment using “Waterine Solution” for drinking purposes until the situation has been totally stabilized.
-“The situation is manageable, meaning we are addressing the needs of the community,” said Yasana. “We do not want that there will be more (diarrhea) cases that will be happening.”
-On Monday, Dr. Jaileen Milar, municipal health officer, reported that diarrhea cases started to occur on October 11 with one diarrhea death reported on the same date. Another two deaths were reported on October 15 and 16 and the cases of diarrhea escalated to 46.
-On Tuesday, the total number of cases reached 254 but mostly outpatient due to “mild presentation” of the illness. As of today, Milar said only 18 diarrhea patients were admitted at Maasim Municipal Hospital.
-Fishing is the main livelihood of the people in barangay Tinoto. Their water source is from two peddling tankers coming from Bawing, General Santos City and Siguel, and two local water systems.
-At a meeting presided over by Yasana this morning, an internal crisis committee (ICC) was created to plan and implement “immediate actions” even as the diarrhea outbreak subsided.
-Yasana told the ICC that the existing water source in Tinoto can be used for washing and laundry only and not even for washing dishes or kitchen utensils.
-“What is definite is that all the water sources are infected, contaminated with coliform bacteria,” Yasana said, based on initial result of microbiological test of Tinoto’s water sources.
-Health workers were continuing surveillance in the village. “We have enough drug supplies. So as of the moment, what I can say is that the situation is manageable,” Yasana said.
-Yasana also recommended the construction of a communal toilet. He said there were “no sanitary toilets among the majority of the residents with no proper waste disposal.”
-“Most of the patients interviewed do not practice simple and proper hygiene practices such as handwashing,” Yasana said. “Many were observed to have dirty long nails.”
-The village has been declared under a state of calamity for the barangay government to use its 5-percent calamity fund.
-The ICC would meet again Thursday to discuss civil works for the rehabilitation of water system and construction of communal toilet. (Sarangani Information Office/PIA GeneralSantos City)
-==Sarangani eyes leaked reservoir pipelines in diarrhea outbreak==
+Their disappearance triggers a reinvestigation of a 12-year-old murder that happened on the same road. As the investigation grows deeper, gruesome stories of abduction and murders surface.
-*Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=380263
-*October 19, 2011, 2:24 pm
+According to report of the news site the New York Times, "the dead are unquiet and the living are terrified in “The Road,” a powerfully atmospheric blend of ghostly encounters, horrific situations and missing-persons mysteries.
+"As the film crawls backward in time and deep into haunted real estate and family sickness, the color palette becomes more dense and the themes more explicit," the report said.
+"Though not without flaws — the wrap-up is a little rocky — this grisly tale earns its scares the old-fashioned way: by making our spines crawl instead of our stomachs churn," it added.
+==Discover other beach resorts in Glan==
+*Source: http://travel.mindanao.com/2012/05/discover-other-beach-resorts-in-glan/
+*Thursday, May 10, 2012
+:by Cocoy Sexcion/SARANGANI INFORMATION OFFICE
+GLAN, Sarangani (May 10, 2012) – From General Santos City on the way to Glan, there are other resorts to be discovered. In this photo, Warlito Tanedo, Sarangani Information Office photographer, takes a portrait of Kikai at the resort named after her in barangay Lago, Glan – the Kikai Resort. Aside from white sand beaches in Gumasa, Glan also offers black fine sand and white pebbled beach resorts lined with century-old mangrove trees along the stretch of barangay Kapatan to barangay Tango. These resorts also offer overnight accommodation. For more news and updates, please visit the Province of Sarangani . Come and enjoy Sarangani Bay Festival on May 18-19, 2012.
+==Newest ecopark and beach resort opens in Sarangani==
+*Source: http://pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?menu=2&webregion=R12&article=1671336538326
+*Wednesday, May 9, 2012
+:by Catherine T. Apelacio
+GLAN, Sarangani, May 9 (PIA) -- A new ecopark and beach resort has recently opened in Sarangani, adding to the growing list of tourist attractions in the province.
+BelMar Eco Park and Beach Resort opened for business on Tuesday, May 8, in time for the May 18 to 19 Sarangani Bay Festival, the biggest beach festival in Mindanao.
+The resort is located in barangay Kapatan just along the national highway from General Santos City going to the town proper of Glan and to the white-sand beaches of Gumasa, main venue of Sarangani Bay Festival.
+It boasts of a good view of prominent landmarks in Soccsksargen such as Sarangani Bay and Mt. Matutum.
+BelMar, short for the owners’ names Annabelle and Marcelino, has a resto bar and coffee shop, pasalubong center which sells local products and delicacies, a recreation center and conference rooms.
+Guests can enjoy snorkeling, boating and beach tour where century-old mangrove trees line the white-pebbled beachfront.
+Right now, BelMar Ecopark and Beach Resort has a total of six overnight cottages, two air conditioned and four non-air conditioned rooms with a capacity of six persons per cottage. It also has a mini zoo and children’s park which makes the place ideal for visitors and guests of all ages.
+“Today is a very memorable day for the tourism industry particularly in the tourism industry of Glan,” said municipal councilor Dr. Tranquilino Ruiz III, “the opening of BelMar means that Glan is really going high in terms of tourism.”
+Ruiz, who is also the Sanggunian committee chair on tourism, led the ribbon-cutting ceremony assisted by owners Annabelle and Marcelino Tangaro Jr. during the resort’s opening program.
+“I really appreciate the investment of Mr. and Mrs. Tangaro in our beloved municipality and I hope this will trigger more investments in our place,” Ruiz concluded.
+The resort is managed by Annabelle and Marcelino who are presently living in General Santos City. Both were born and raised in Glan.
+“It is a dream come true for us. It just started with a simple plan and now here it is,” said Marcelino. “We immediately started the construction on October 28, 2011 after acquiring the property in July of the same year.”
+For more information about the resort, you may contact 09089297183. (PIO-Sarangani/PIA General Santos City)
+==Flood, landslide alert up in Sarangani==
+*Source: http://pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?menu=2&webregion=R12&article=1671336288958
+*Tuesday, May 8, 2012
 :by (PNA)
 LDV/AVE
-GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Oct. 19 (PNA) – Health authorities in Sarangani are eyeing the leaks in the damaged pipelines of a village reservoir as possibly behind the water contamination that caused a diarrhea outbreak in a coastal community in Maasim town during the past several days.
+GENERAL SANTOS CITY, May 8 (PNA) - Disaster response teams in Sarangani province have been placed on full alert in the wake of the sporadic heavy rains in the area since last week that already triggered flashfloods in two coastal municipalities.
+Ben Solarte, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) chief, said Tuesday their personnel have been closely monitoring the situation in identified landslide and flood-prone province due to the continuing rains triggered by a trough of low pressure area (LPA) affecting Mindanao.
+“We advised our residents (in disaster-prone areas) to be alert and if possible, relocate to safer areas,” he said.
+On Monday, five communities in Malapatan town were submerged in floodwaters due to the swelling of a river in the area.
+The municipal government reported that floodwaters from the Tuyan River swept Puroks Pulot, Bagong Silang, Talisay, Chico and Pag-asa in Barangay Tuyan early Monday following the heavy rains in the area.
+Mohamad Adir Harid, Tuyan barangay chair, said they already requested the immediate repair and expansion of the area’s drainage canals to resolve the perennial flooding there.
+Last week, three residents of Barangay Tuyan were killed in a flashflood along the Tuyan River. The victims were reportedly crossing the river when they were swept by rampaging floodwaters coming from the upland area.
+In Alabel town, portions of Barangays Poblacion and Ladol were also flooded last week due to the swelling of a creek in the area at the height of the heavy rains.
+Based on a weather advisory issued Tuesday morning by the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), Mindanao will continue to experience “mostly cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms” due to the trough or extended region of LPA affecting the area.
+Dante Ariola, senior weather forecaster of the Pagasa station here, said local residents should expect some rains in some parts of the area, especially in the afternoon.
+“It’s important for those in the critical areas to prepare for possible floods and landslides that may be triggered by the continuing rains,” he said.
+The Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Region 12 had identified the coastal areas of six of Sarangani’s seven municipalities as prone to flooding during the rainy season.
+Among the area’s identified in the MGB’s flood hazard map as highly vulnerable to flooding were portions of the coastal villages of Maitum, Glan, Maasim, Kiamba, Alabel and Malapatan towns as well as several low-lying areas in Malungon town.
+MGB-Region 12 said the flood and landslide-prone areas were Baliton, Burias and Margus Grande quadrangles in Glan; Kling, Lebe and Lumuyon quadrangles in Kiamba; Kraan quadrangle in Maitum; and Lun Grande quadrangle in Malapatan.
+==5,000 incoming grade-schoolers to undergo reading program==
+*Source: http://pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?menu=2&webregion=R12&article=1671336288958
+*Monday, May 7, 2012
+:by (Beverly Paoyon-PIO Sarangani/PIA 12)
+ALABEL, Sarangani, May 7 (PIA) -- Around 5,000 incoming Grades 2 and 3 pupils from all over Sarangani are set to undergo a 15-day remedial reading program to prepare them for the opening of classes in June.
+The “Sarangani Big Brother: Reading is Fun!” was designed by the Quality Education for Sarangani Today (QUEST) program of Governor Migs Dominguez to assist the Department of Education (DepEd) in reducing the number of “frustrated readers” in the province.
+Frustrated readers are those who can identify words but have inadequate or no comprehension at all.
+More than 1,000 youth volunteers or “big brothers and big sisters” fondly called as “kuyas” and “ates” will help the 288 teachers this year in mentoring and conducting read-along sessions.
+Three volunteers from Thailand and one from Turkey are also joining the youth this year from the American Field Service Organization, an organization which provides future leaders exchange program to promote global citizenship.
+Nuth Sonthipanyahul, 16, from Bangkok, and three other foreign youth volunteers do their share through storytelling and teaching children to read.
+“It is tiring but fun. It’s good to make them (children) happy,” Sonthipanyahul said.
+However, he observed quite a disparity of the children like those in Jose Warlito Berba Primary School they visited in sitio Kityan Gamay in Malungon.
+“In the city everyone has food, has money to buy their own food but here, they don’t have,” he said.
+“They have to walk like four kilometers five kilometers a day and then they have nothing to eat and the school is just made of wood and they study under the trees, something like that. It’s very bad.”
+When asked what he wanted to contribute to these children, he said it should be “education” and teaching them to speak “English because if you can speak English you can go anywhere around the world. You give them more opportunity to work and have a better future.”
+“Children are the future of everything. If you give them good life then they will be good,” Sonthipanyahul added.
+Elif Gurcinar, an 18-year-old youth volunteer from Turkey, said that more interventions from the government are needed, “because some of the schools are really bad. Classrooms are not enough. Not enough materials.”
+She said SBB is a laudable intervention of Sarangani to help its slow readers and, “a lot of volunteers are also coming to assist the children. It’s very helpful in their pronunciation. We teach them also English words and letters and how to pronounce them correctly. We also read stories with actions because sometimes they could not understand.”
+Malungon Sangguniang Kabataan chairman Earl Jared Galvez said, “I observed that these children wish to become volunteers themselves volunteers when they grow up like their big brothers and big sisters.”
+Galvez recounted, “Our experience here is more difficult because we have to climb some mountains, cross several rivers, experienced falling from motorcycles, and almost falling into ravines several times but the overall feeling of helping the children is heart-warming.”
+At least, he said, the youth are involved not only in sports activities but also with SBB where, “we are able to touch their (children) lives,” by helping them how to read.
+He then hoped that a few years from now, “no Grade 2 and 3 would be frustrated readers” and that SBB would no longer teach remedial reading classes but would instead focus teaching children advanced lessons to hone knowledge and skills of these children.
+Jenneth Ruta, a Grade 1 teacher holding SBB class in Lun Padidu Elementary School in Malapatan said “It’s very difficult to deal with those pupils because some of my pupils cannot identify letters in the alphabet.”
+To address this, Ruta said she conducted a one-on-one approach with the kids just to make them read.
+“During my first day, I started with the alphabet, then the sounds, before I was able to make them read words,” Ruta noted.
+SBB is very helpful because students are not only taught to read but also to develop their comprehension skills, she said.
+QUEST program manager Annalie Edday said, “Reading comprehension makes the difference between a passing and a failing grade in school. It is one of the most crucial skills for children to master.”
+“By Grade 3, children can probably comprehend simple texts but need to work on more advanced comprehension, including summarizing and analysis,” Edday said.
+By reading frequently, she said, is one of the “most effective things children can do to improve reading comprehension in Grade 3, but there are enrichment activities to make frequent reading more powerful.”
+“Sarangani Big Brother: Reading is Fun!” is a whole day remedial reading program from April 17 to May 8 implemented in partnership with the DepEd, QUEST, Sangguniang Kabataan and the Alcantara Foundation. The rest of the sponsors this year are Synergia Foundation, Sagittarius Mining Corp. and World Vision.
+Palawan and Compostela Valley are replicating Sarangani Big Bother in their own provinces to jumpstart their education reform program.
+==Floods kill three, level crops in Sarangani, South Cotabato==
+*Source: http://www.mindanaotimes.net/floods-kill-three-level-crops-in-sarangani-south-cotabato/
+*Sunday, May 6, 2012
+:by Allen V. Estabillo/MindaNews
+GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Three persons were killed while close to 30 hectares of farmlands were devastated as flashfloods hit anew several villages in three municipalities in Sarangani and South Cotabato provinces in the last three days.
+Len Bartolome, OCD-12 civil defense officer, said the floods, which affected the towns of Malapatan and Alabel in Sarangani as well as Banga town in South Cotabato, were triggered by sporadic heavy rains in the area since Tuesday.
+On May 1, the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council of Malapatan town in Sarangani province reported that three residents of Barangay Tuyan were killed following a flashflood along the Tuyan River.
+The victims were reportedly crossing the river when they were swept by rampaging floodwaters coming from the upland area.
+The remains of victims Lel Londong, 18, and Bating Masalon, 15, were earlier recovered in a nearby village but the third victim, identified as eight-year-old Jason Londong, has remained missing.
+On Wednesday night, floodwaters submerged portions of Barangays Ladol and Poblacion in Alabel, Sarangani due to the swelling of a creek in the area.
+The affected areas covered four puroks that were also hit by flashfloods earlier last month due to the overflowing of the Molo Creek.
+In Banga town, flashfloods also swept Barangays Kusan and Lambingi on Wednesday afternoon, a belated report from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) of South Cotabato said.
+Isidro Janita, PDRRMC chief, said the floods destroyed 26.7 hectares of cornfield in Barangay Lambingi as well as various properties and infrastructure in Barangay Kusan.
+He said 12 farmers from Lambingi and two families from Kusan were directly affected by the calamity, which left an initial estimated damage of P200,000.
+Janita added that the municipal government of Banga and the PDRRMC have conducted damage and needs assessment in the area as well as sought assistance for the victims from the Department of Social Welfare and Development Region 12.
+=Pacman remains as richest solon==
+*Source: http://pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?menu=2&webregion=R12&article=1681336095936
+*Saturday, May 5, 2012
+:by Ben R. Rosario
+Manila, Philippines – World boxing hero Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao earned about P218 million last year to retain his title as the richest congressman with a total net worth of P1,352,689.980 last year.
+Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano’s income dropped by P24,764 to remain as the poorest congressman. He reported a net worth of P46,947 against his 2010 total of P75,711.
+These were gathered from the summary of the Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) submitted by 284 congressmen who beat the deadline for the submission of the document last Monday.
+Many of the lawmakers who occupied the Top 10 richest House member in 2010 upped their incomes for 2011.
+Among them were Reps.
+Imelda Romualdez Marcos (KBL, Ilocos Norte), from P623 million to P932,800,000; House Speaker Feliciano R. Belmonte Jr., from P283,291,016 to P726,218,220, and Alfredo Benitez (NPC, Negros Occidental) P624,847,943 to P686,152,015. They were ranked No. 2 to 4 among the wealthiest lawmakers in the country.
+The difference of some P444 million in Belmonte’s net worth makes him the biggest earning lawmaker in 2011.
+Former President now Pampanga Rep. Gloria M. Arroyo became poorer as she submitted a net worth of P131,642,291.26. She claimed a wealth remainder of P137,922,797 during the preceding year.
+Rounding up the Top 10 richest solons were Reps. Julio Ledesma (NPC, Negros Occidental), P555,069,000; Martin Romualdez (Lakas-Kampi-CMD, Leyte), P474,111,941; Augusto Syjuco (Lakas-Kampi-CMD, Iloilo), P302,075,651; Henry Cojuangco (NPC, Tarlac), P200,639,175; Rodolfo Farinas (NP, Ilocos Norte), P195,780,000; and House Minority Leader Danilo E. Suarez of Quezon, P179,534,628.
+==3,000 couples join mass wedding in Malungon, Sarangani==
+*Source: http://pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?menu=2&webregion=R12&article=1681336095936
+*Friday, May 4, 2012
+:by (PGFruylan with reports from MIO Malungon-PIA 12, Sarangani)
+MALUNGON, Sarangani, May 4 (PIA) -- Around 3,000 couples have already been wed through the “Kasalan ng Bayan” as part of the weekly ‘Lingap sa Barangay’ program of the local government.
+Reports from the Municipal Information Office (MIO), Local Civil Registrar Lydia Erasmo revealed that the number of “live-in” couples getting married from the 31 barangays in the area has increased because of the intensified campaign of the administration on the importance of matrimony and the benefits they could get from the local government.
+Mayor Reynaldo Constantino repeatedly explained that a lot of benefits can be enjoyed by “live-in couples” from the municipal government if they get married such as free education, PhilHealth medical assistance, livelihood and other programs for the family members.
+Constantino clarified that the only requirement of the municipal government to avail of the different programs is to present the marriage contract or marriage certificate of the wedded couple as he encouraged other unmarried partners to take advantage of the said program for the benefit of their family.
+“Kasalan ng Bayan” is one of the services of the local government for the residents of the municipality where Constantino, along with other representatives from different agencies of the government visit even the remote areas of the town to deliver basic public services especially to the least served people in Malungon.
+==Sarangani town wants more power==
+*Source: http://www.rappler.com/nation/4707-sarangani-town-wants-more-power
+*Thursday, May 3, 2012
+:by EDWIN ESPEJO
+SARANGANI, Mindanao - The municipal council of Alabel has asked the Department of Energy (DoE) to order the National Power Corp (Napocor) and the National Grid Corp of the Philippines (NGCP) to give it priority in the dispatch of the electricity generated by the 55-megawatt Southern Philippine Power Corporation (SPPC) amid continuing power supply load curtailment being implemented by South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative (Socoteco II).
+The Alcantara-built and operated bunker-fired SPPC is located in Baluntay village in Alabel, Sarangani.
+SPPC went on commercial stream in 1998 under the build-operate-own (BOO) scheme, but all power supply it is generating is already contracted to Napocor. Its supply contract with Napocor will end in 2016.
+In a resolution unanimously approved by the Sangguniang Bayan (municipal council), the local legislative body cited Section 5(i) of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act 7638, otherwise known as Department of Energy Act of 1992, which allows the host town to get 25 percent of the available capacity generated by SPPC in times of energy shortage.
+Alabel and the rest of Sarangani, along with General Santos City and the South Cotabato towns of Tupi and Polomolok, are under the distribution franchise of Socotecto II.
+Councilor Joel Aton said Alabel, capitol town of Sarangani, has an average monthly consumption of 1,953,500 kilowatt hour.
+Aton said DoE has sent word it will dispatch personnel for technical evaluation.
+Preferential treatment
+Socoteco II resorted into daily rotational brownouts of up to four hours following advice of reduced supply from Napocor.
+Socoteco II manager for institutional service department Geronimo Desesto said supply from Napocor went further down from 75 MW to 45 MW in April, prompting the cooperative to purchase a total of 30 MW additional power supply from Therma Marine Inc.
+Alabel is among a growing number of local government unit demanding preferential treatment from power plants located in their areas.
+Last month, Kidapawan threatened to launch protest actions if their demand for power supply from the Philippine National Oil Company-Energy Development Corporation is not met.
+Kidapawan, which is experiencing brownouts of up to eight hours daily, is host to the 110 MW Mt. Apo Geothermal Plant.
+Last month, President Benigno Aquino III attended the Mindanao Power Summit in Davao City which tackled the worsening power crisis in the island.
+The President however told Mindanao residents they will have to pay more for steady power supply.
+Mindanao’s actual and available capacity is now down to less than 1,200 MW, or some 170 MW less than the peak demand of 1,350 MW.
+The deficit in power supply has been blamed on antiquated and poorly maintain hydro-electric power plants and the sale of other Napocor generating assets that included the two power barges to Therma Marine. Power Barges 117 and 118 have a combined capacity of 200 MW. - Rappler.com
+==Sarangani Bay Fest features Zumba Beach Party on May 19==
+*Source: http://www.pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?article=1671335938981
+*Wednesday, May 2, 2012
+:by (SARANGANI INFORMATION OFFICE/PIA GENERAL SANTOS CITY)
+GUMASA, Glan, Sarangani, May 2 (PIA) -- The first SarBay Fest Zumba Beach Party is set on May 19, Saturday at Gumasa in Glan, to be conducted by licensed Zumba fitness instructors Vicky Javier and John Ri Romero both of the Beefit Gym and Aerobics from Davao City.
+“Come and join the inaugural staging of the world’s phenomenal fitness program in the biggest beach party here in Mindanao,” said Javier, also a member of the Zumba Instructors Network.
+It is a two-hour, non-stop fitness program that is mainly sponsored by the provincial government of Sarangani under Gov. Migs Dominguez and supported also by the office of Congressman Emmanuel Pacquiao.
+Expected to join are 100 fitness buffs coming from Davao City, General Santos City, and Sarangani Province.
+“Aside that it is a good exercise, you will really enjoy dancing to the Zumba music and dance steps,” said Romero, also a hip-hop and modern dance instructor.
+Registration fee is only P200 with free giveaways, certificate and raffle.
+The first SarBay Fest Zumba Beach Party is one of the big events of Sarangani Bay Festival on May 18 and 19.
+SarBay Fest, the biggest beach festival in Mindanao, kicks off with the 15-kilometer swim-across-the-bay, dubbed as “Sarangani Bay Invasion 2012” on May 18.
+==Pacquiao lone billionaire in House of millionaires==
+*Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/185343/pacquiao-lone-billionaire-in-house-of-millionaires
+*Tuesday, May 1, 2012
+:by   Gil C. Cabacungan
+For the second year running, Manny Pacquiao—the man with the golden fists—has won the distinction of being the richest among the 287 mostly millionaire members of the Philippine House of Representatives.
+Ricardo Bering, chief of the House’s record management section, said this was based on the 2011 statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) filed before the deadline on Monday by the House members.
+“His net worth even increased last year. He is still the richest here,” Bering said of the Sarangani representative, whose powerful fists have won him eight boxing division titles and worldwide fame.
+Bering said Pacquiao, who claimed  a personal fortune of P1.134 billion in his 2010 SALN, reported an increase in his net worth in 2011. Bering declined to give exact figures since House leaders have not given the go-signal for the public disclosure of the SALNs.
+Lone billionaire
+Based on the 2010 SALNs, Pacquiao was the richest member of the House last year—and the only billionaire in the chamber.
+His assets then consisted of P397.933 million in real properties and P736.3 million in personal and other properties. He had no liabilities.
+In contrast, Anakpawis Representative Rafael Mariano was the poorest lawmaker,  with a net worth of P75, 711.
+Pacquiao was reported to have earned at least $15 million each from his fights with Shane Mosley and Juan Manuel Marquez in 2011, aside from his earnings from commercial endorsements, businesses and as a member of Congress.
+Increased scrutiny
+Pacquiao’s increasing wealth is expected to highlight further the supposed steep plunge in his tax payments, which media reports said fell from P100 million in 2008 to only P7 million in 2009.
+The Bureau of Internal Revenue has filed charges against Pacquiao for his alleged failure to submit proper documents on his earnings. Pacquiao has  questioned the filing of the case, saying it was baseless.
+House Secretary General Marilyn B. Yap said that almost 100 percent of the House members had filed their SALNs as of 5 p.m. yesterday. Yap said her staff would validate the SALNs before releasing information to the public.
+Yap also said she had noticed a marked increase in the net worth reported by lawmakers in the face of increased scrutiny by the public and media as a result of the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona in connection with his assets.
+More conscious now
+“Our members have become more conscious of the SALN. That’s why they have made an effort to make a complete report this time,” said Yap.
+Pacquiao topped the list of 10 richest House members last year.
+That list included Negros Occidental Representative Alberto Benitez, who was worth P624.847 million; Ilocos Norte Representative Imelda Marcos, who was worth P623.6 million; Negros Occidental Representative Julio Ledesma, P555.069 million; and Leyte Representative Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, worth P475.611 million.
+Also in the top 10 were Iloilo Representative Augusto Syjuco, worth P294.602 million; Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., worth P283.291 million; Tarlac Representative Enrique Cojuangco, P199.593 million; Ilocos Norte Representative Rodolfo Fariñas, P195.78 million; and Iloilo Representative Ferjenel Biron, P165.996 million.
+Former President and Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was the 17th richest representative with a net worth of P140.212 million.
+Aquino’s assets
+Malacañang on Monday said President Benigno Aquino III and almost all of the members of his Cabinet had filed their SALNs.
+“We expect all of them to comply with the deadline,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said, adding that Mr. Aquino filed his SALN on April 24.
+Vice President Jejomar Binay and Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. have also filed their SALNs.
+In his SALN for 2010, Mr. Aquino declared a net worth of P54.9 million. This represented a P4.8-million increase from the previous year. Mr. Aquino has said the increase in his income came from his share of the property owned by his late mother, former President Corazon Aquino.
+Corona’s SALN
+Lacierda said the Palace was hopeful that Corona, whose ouster from the Supreme Court is being supported by Malacañang, would disclose his SALN as promised by the Chief Justice’s lawyers.
+“We certainly hope so because that would be in compliance with the constitutional provision on disclosure and filing of SALNs,” Lacierda said.
+He said he would be interested in taking a look at Corona’s SALN.
+==50 swimmers set for “Sarangani Bay Invasion 2012”==
+*Source: http://www.pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?article=1671335764579
+*Monday, April 30, 2012
+:by   (Jun Ramos /PIO Sarangani/PIA General Santos City)
+GUMASA, Glan, Sarangani, April 30 (PIA) --Ten teams will vie for the top honors and cash prizes during the “Sarangani Bay Invasion 2012” otherwise known through the years as Swim-Across-the-Bay, the opening salvo of the May 18-19 Sarangani Bay Festival (SarBay Fest).
+For the 15-kilometer swim across Sarangani Bay, a mass will start at 5:00 am from Kamanga Beach, Maasim to Reycon Beach in Tango, Glan on May 18.
+“Sarangani Bay Invasion 2012” is open to all swimmers (amateur and professionals) with minimum age of 14. A group of five swimmers comprises a team.
+The registration fee of P2,000 per team covers boat rental and gasoline. Deadline for registration is on May 4, 5:00 pm, at the office of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office at the Capitol in Alabel (look for Nemrad Butil (083) 5082267, 09163232397 or 09306534953).
+The first three teams to reach the finish line at Reycon Beach in Tango, Glan shall be declared winners with the 1st prize of P50,000, 2nd prize – P35,000, and 3rd prize – 25,000, all with medals and trophies. All finishers shall be awarded with the medal of “Invaders” and consolation cash prize of P6,000 each team.
+“Ten teams are sure to compete for the 15-kilometer swim,” said organizer Nemrad Butil.
+Butil disclosed the Gensan Torpedoes are deploying three teams, Koronadal City has two teams, while some teams are composed of local swimmers from Tinoto and Kamanga, Maasim.
+“University varsity swimmers from Manila and Davao are also joining the teams of Koronadal and Gensan,” Butil said. “This year a team from a Manila triathlon club might join.”
+Butil said the Philippine Navy, Coast Guard, Philippine National Police–Maritime, Red Cross, and teams from provincial and municipal government offices shall assist as perimeter boat marshals.
+During its debut on May 18, 2006, only three teams out of six finished the swim across Sarangani Bay.
+==SPES-TWSP convergence program to cover 21 LGUs in Region 12==
+*Source: http://www.pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?article=1611335668078
+*Sunday, April 29, 2012
+:by  Danilo E. Doguiles
+KORONADAL CITY, South Cotabato, April 29 (PIA) -- A total of 21 municipalities in three provinces of Soccsksargen region will benefit from the initial implementation of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)-Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Convergence Program on poverty alleviation.
+The program brings together DOLE’s Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES) and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority’s Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP) to provide training and employment opportunities to the marginalized sector of the society, especially the out-of-school youth (OSY).
+Based on a list provided by the office of DOLE 12 Regional Director Chona Mantilla last Friday, the SPES-TWSP Convergence Program will cover 11 municipalities in North Cotabato, eight in Sultan Kudarat, and two in Sarangani.
+In North Cotabato, beneficiary OSYs should come from Aleosan, Midsayap, Tulunan, Alamada, Arakan, Banisilan, Kabacan, Libungan, Magpet, Matalam, and President Roxas.
+Interested and qualified OSYs in Kalamansig, Bagumbayan, Colombio, Esperanza, Isulan, Lambayong, Lebak, and Senator Ninoy Aquino municipalities of Sultan Kudarat may also avail of the training and employment program.
+On May 1, the program will be launched in General Santos City for the municipalities of Malungon and Alabel in Saragani Province where the first 42 scholarship grantees come from.
+Director Mantilla said more municipalities may be included in the coming months.
+“We have requested for the inclusion of the municipalities of Lake Sebu, T’boli and Sto. Niño in South Cotabato,” Director Mantilla said, adding that they are now awaiting approval of this by Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz.
+Under the program, beneficiary OSYs who “may also be an occupationally disabled worker, a person with disability, a displaced worker, or a victim of trafficking, illegal recruitment or child labor,” will undergo mandated 20 to 52 days of technical vocational training in TESDA-identified institutions.
+As in the original SPES program, DOLE will pay each beneficiary 40 percent of the prevailing minimum wage in the region for every day of training.
+The amount, according to the program guidelines, may be used as a training allowance or as capital to purchase the OSY’s starter kit.
+More than 400 scholarship slots may be opened in Soccsksargen Region this year for OSYs interested in techvoc trainings that will be identified by TESDA 12. The program is open to OSY’s between 15 to 25 years old, whose family income (including his, if any) does not exceed the latest annual regional poverty threshold level for a family of six, as determined by the National Economic Development Authority.
+Applicants should have reached high school level to be able to participate in the program.
+Interested individuals need to submit to the nearest DOLE or TESDA office the needed documents. For more information, you may refer to the nearest DOLE Field Office or Public Employment Service Office or provincial/district office of TESDA. (DED-PIA 12)
+==Rep. Pacquiao lauds success of Glan cattle project==
+*Source: http://mannypacquiao.com/news/rep-pacquiao-lauds-success-of-glan-cattle-project
+*Saturday, April 28, 2012
+by  Nonong Baliao
+Glan, Sarangani Parovince———World Boxing Champ and Sarangani lone district Rep. Emmanuel “Manny” D. Pacquiao has expressed elation with the success of his P8-million cattle dispersal project in this municipality.
+In a statement, the first-term congressman lauded the local government unit (LGU), headed by Mayor Victor James B.  Yap, Sr., for helping him bring the project under his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to a successful implementation.
+“Despite the slings and arrows and brickbats thrown their way, the local officials of Glan, led by my good friend and staunch political ally, brother Tata Yap, have proved themselves up to the task and worthy of my support,” said the congressman, who is deep in training up north for his next title bout in the United States on June 9.
+The project, started in 2010, was the subject of a lot of controversy whipped up by a disinformation campaign launched by a vested group out to drive a wedge between the congressman and Mayor Yap in an apparent bid to wrest political control in the next elections. But the records and statistics are incontrovertible.
+Two years into the project implementation, the Municipal Agriculture Office, headed by Mrs. Virgie Musa, has come out with a definitive report showing that all 14 barangay beneficiaries have received their respective allocations.
+According to the report, all but 13 of the 188 cows that had already been dispersed to a corresponding number of individual recipients are alive and in good condition, and only 13 had either died or could not be accounted for.
+This town was a recipient of the 2011 Seal of Good Housekeeping Award given to LGUs which have religiously complied with all the provisions of the Anti-Red Tape Act as well as the Full Disclosure Policy of the Department of Interior and Local Government with regard to project implementation and financial transactions.
+“Simply put, there were no overpricing and other purported irregularities in the purchase and distribution of the cattle as being peddled by our political detractors,” said Mayor Yap, this year’s “Gawad Sikap” awardee as one of the most outstanding municipal mayors of the Philippines.
+Most of the cows are already ripe for breeding, and under an agreement with the local government, which shouldered the transport cost and other ancillary expenses, the first calves will be farmed out to other beneficiaries.
+“The individual recipients may keep the mother cow until the next breed, which they may keep, but will then have to return the mother cow to the LGU for re-dispersal, and so forth, down the line,” said Mrs. Musa.
+A parallel project–this time involving the distribution of  “pakura” fishing boats to 108 small fishermen in the town’s 16 coastal barangays–has also gone through its initial phase.
+“Our poverty alleviation program is right on track, thanks to Congressman Manny and other like-minded officials who truly care for our people in Glan. Other similar projects, designed to generate jobs and provide livelihood, are either in the works or already being implemented as I speak,” said Mayor Yap.
+==GEM-USAID turns over trading facility to Malapatan, Sarangani==
+*Source: http://pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?menu=2&webregion=R12&article=1671335430552
+*Friday, April 27, 2012
+:by (CTA/PIA General Santos City)
+GENERAL SANTOS CITY, April 27 (PIA) -- The United States Agency for International Development’s Growth with Equity in Mindanao (USAID-GEM) turned over Thursday approximately P2-M worth of trading facility to the municipal government of Malapatan in Sarangani Province.
+USAID Deputy Mission Director Reed Aeschliman led the turn-over of the facility to Malapatan municipal government. This will be used by Balungis Women’s Association who specializes in weaving as prime beneficiary of the project.
+Aeschliman was assisted by Senator Loren Legarda, Secretary Luwalhati Antonino, chair of Mindanao Development Authority and Sarangani Governor Migs Dominguez.
+USAID also turned over six handlooms and other related weaving materials to the association.
+Aeschliman said USAID projects in Mindanao are designed to help accelerate economic growth in the conflict-affected areas of the region in support of the Philippine government’s peace and development initiatives.
+The construction of the trading center stemmed from the municipal government of Malapatan and the women’s association asking the assistance of USAID because they “did not have an appropriate facility in which to display and sell their woven products.”
+Thus, the USAID-GEM Program “constructed a trading center that now serves as a dedicated space for weaving, displaying and selling the woven fabrics.”
+About 67 percent of the project cost was funded by USAID while the remaining fund was respectively shared by the municipal and provincial governments of Malapatan and Sarangani.
+Dubbed Balungis Trading Center, the facility aims to help organize production and sales of the products of women and other woven produce in the area.
+The agency will also organize a workshop on product design, packaging and marketing for the women weavers, USAID-GEM told PIA General Santos City.
+According to the Department of Trade and Industry, the woven products of Balungis women’s association are also being eyed for promotion to fashion designers in Cebu and Manila.
+In her message, Senator Legarda who is chair of the Senate Committee on Cultural Communities, commended “weaving communities in the country for preserving the tradition of weaving as she encouraged local governments to support such initiatives.”
+“To the members of the Balungis Women’s Association, I laud you for keeping the tradition of weaving alive, for passing on the skill to your children, and for choosing this industry to be part of your daily living,” she told the women’s association, whose 25 members are wives and relatives of former Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) combatants.
+Legarda also enjoined the local governments to support the weaving industry to preserve and safeguard the Filipino heritage bringing it into “full bloom again.”
+Meanwhile Governor Migs Dominguez also expressed his appreciation to USAID-GEM for supporting the women’s association of Malapatan urging the beneficiary to maximize the use of the facility and make extra effort to double their production.
+To date, USAID has constructed more than 1,400 infrastructure projects in Mindanao and will be adding approximately 150 more by the end of 2012.
+The continuing pouring in of projects in conflict-ravaged area in Mindanao, USAID said show the sustained commitment both of the Philippine and U.S. governments to promote peace and development in the region.
+==Present tax records, Pacquiao told==
+*Source: http://www.tempo.com.ph/2012/present-tax-records-pacquiao-told/#.T5kObLMzDQA
+*Thursday, April 26, 2012
+:by  Jun Ramirez
+Manila, Philippines – The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) urged boxing champion Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao yesterday to present his 2010 tax records and avoid protracted court battles.
+Cotabato Revenue Regional Director Rozel Lozares exhorted the boxing icon to heed his request so he can concentrate on
+his training for his fight against Timothy Bradley in Las Vegas, United States in June.
+Lozares said Pacquiao need not personally present his ﬁnancial statements as they can be sumitted through his lawyer or accountant.
+He said the criminal complaint will be dropped as soon as Pacquiao submits the documents. It was learned that a lawyer of Pacquiao has met Cotabato revenue officials but he did not bring his client’s records.
+Lozares said the Cotabato prosecutor’s office has yet to set the preliminary investigation of the contempt charges he filed against Pacquiao. The charges arose from Pacquiao’s alleged refusal to present his books of accounts and for ignoring the subpoena that the BIR issued against him.
+Pacquiao’s lawyers, however, argued that their client did not receive such subpoena.
+==PCG defended 'M/Y Sarangani' from harassment -- Nolcom chief==
+*Source: http://www.zambotimes.com/archives/46760-PCG-defended-MY-Sarangani-from-harassment-Nolcom-chief.html
+*Wednesday, April 25. 2012
+:by  (PNA)
+DCT/scs/PFN
+MANILA — Despite being outnumbered and outsized by its foreign counterparts, the Philippine Coast Guard's "BRP Pampanga" (SAR-003) valiantly defended a National Museum-hired yacht against harassment at Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal by Chinese vessels, Northern Luzon Command head Lt. Gen. Anthony Alcantara said on Tuesday.
+Alcantara explained that this took place on April 14 when an unidentified Chinese vessel approached the "M/Y Sarangani" and demanded that the Filipino ship stop its mission which was to conduct an archeological survey in Panatag Shoal.
+"Upon receiving word of the harassment, BRP Pampanga positioned itself at the mouth of Panatag Shoal and thereby demonstrated to the Chinese vessels that it is willing to protect the M/Y Sarangani," the Nolcom chief said.
+Due to the efforts of BRP Pampanga, the M/Y Sarangani was able to complete its mission and departed from the area on April 20.
+"I think they were well taken care of by our Coast Guard when they were out there," Alcantara said.
+==Region 12 high-risk to climate change impact==
+*Source: http://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2012/04/22/region-12-high-risk-to-climate-change-impact/
+*Sunday| April 22, 2012
+:by Bong S. Sarmiento
+KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/21 April) — Southwestern Mindanao is highly at risk in a changing climate condition, with increased rainfall and rising sea levels, an official warned on Friday.
+Herlita G. Caraan, National Statistical Coordination BoardRegion 12 chief, said that more rainfall, an increase in temperature and rising sea level would hit the area in the medium term (2020-2050).
+In a fact sheet, NSCB-12 warned of worse flooding, landslide and storm surges affecting hundreds of villages in the region as a result of climate change.
+Based on a mid-range scenario simulations by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), rainfall in Region 12 was predicted to increase in 2020 by as much as 14.8 percent and 15.6 percent by2050.
+The increased rainfall was projected to happen during the north-east monsoon season (December to February) and during the transition of seasons from September to November.
+“These periods will be wetter and with potential for increased flooding, storm surge and landslide,” Caraan said.
+According to the geo-hazard maps from the regional Mines and Geosciences Bureau, at least 300 barangays in the region are high-risk to flooding as they are located near major river tributaries and low land zones.
+TheMGB-12 also classified some 200 villages in elevated areas and those near sloppy areas as high-risk to landslides.
+Forty-eight coastal villages are vulnerable to storm surges while 26 other have high potential for tsunami, it added.
+Region12, also called the SOCCSKSARGEN region, consists of the provinces of South Cotabato, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan and Cotabato.
+Temperatures are expected to increase across all four seasons though it would be much hotter during the summer season (March to May) across all provinces in the region, theNSCB-12 said.
+PAGASA further projected an annual mean temperature increase from the observed baseline by 0.9oC to 1.3oC in 2020 and from 1.9oC to 2.5oC in 2050 in Region 12, it said.
+Health authorities have warned that warmer temperatures would result to increase risks to infectious diseases like malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever and encephalitis.
+“More people will be vulnerable to cholera as algal blooms may occur more frequently. Red tide in coastal waters will become more frequent and widespread,”the report said.
+For rising seawater, the NSCB-12, citing a Greenpeace report titled “The Philippines: A Climate Hotspot,“ said that an estimated 11,664,000 square meters of land in Region 12 will be vulnerable to a one-meter sea level rise.
+Areas most likely to be affected are coastal areas in Sarangani, SultanKudarat, General Santos City, including Cotabato City as 70 percent of the city’s total land area is below sea level, the NSCB-12 said.
+Ronald Flores, executive director of the Office of Civil Defense, urged the local government units in Region12 to put up their respective Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Offices (LDRRMO).
+The OCD has been conducting regional consultation for LGUs to effectively implement Republic Act 10121 or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management of 2010. (Bong Sarmiento/MindaNews)
+==Mendoza: Why Pacquiao left Noynoy to join Binay==
+*Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/sports/2012/04/21/mendoza-why-pacquiao-left-noynoy-join-binay-217360
+*Saturday, April 21, 2012
+:by   Al S. Mendoza
+FROM Lakas to NP, LP and now UNA. Those are the four political parties thus far for Manny Pacquiao.
+Does that make Pacquiao a turncoat, a political butterfly?
+The last Lakas stalwart was Ate Glue, the former president now serving as a representative from Pampanga.
+During her nine-year reign at the Palace, Ate Glue’s regular visitor was Pacquiao.
+It became almost customary for Pacquiao to drop by Ate Glue’s old residence by the
+riverbanks every time he came home from a conquest overseas.
+When he first ran for congressman in GenSan in 2007, Pacquiao was under the Lakas banner.
+Unfortunately, he lost to Darlene Antonino-Custodio.
+Pacquiao next aimed his political guns in Sarangani, the land of birth of his wife, Jinkee.
+In 2010, he won the lone congressional seat in Sarangani, running under Manny Villar’s Nacionalista Party.
+But Villar lost to Noynoy Aquino, the standard bearer of the Liberal Party.
+Not long after, Pacquiao switched camps again, moving over to Noynoy’s LP.
+Observers said, Pacquiao “is so young, but so wise already to the ways of the political arena.”
+You want political survival, you seek to secure favors from the powerful, join the ruling party: LP.
+But, alas, the Noynoy-PacMan romance would prove to be short-lived.
+Just very recently, Vice President Jojo Binay said Pacquiao has joined the UNA (United Nationalist Alliance).
+UNA is an alliance forged between the PDP-Laban (Binay’s party when he defeated Mar Roxas for vice president in 2010) and Erap’s PMP (Partido ng Masang Pilipino).
+“PacMan is our gubernatorial bet in Sarangani in the 2013 election,” said Binay, the UNA chieftain who is highly-touted as running for president in 2016.
+Pacquiao’s fans have asked me: What might have prompted PacMan to bolt Noynoy’s LP?
+I have a guess: PacMan felt he didn’t get any help from Noynoy regarding the boxing icon’s recent row with the taxman.
+You might probably say, “What a flimsy reason.”
+Excuse me, but to a guy like Pacquiao, friendship is really “walang iwanan,” or BFF if you will, as in “Best Friends Forever.”
+The masa would almost always think that way.
+==5 foreign vessels enter shoal==
+*Source: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=798783&publicationSubCategoryId=63
+*April 20, 2012 12:00 AM
+:by  Alexis Romero
+MANILA, Philippines - Three foreign vessels and two small boats have been spotted in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal in addition to the two Chinese maritime vessels involved in a standoff with a lone Philippine Coast Guard ship.
+Northern Luzon Command chief Lt. Gen. Anthony Alcantara said the three foreign vessels were sighted on Wednesday, the same day Philippine-commissioned vessel MT Sarangani left the area after conducting an archaeological survey. The vessel left Wednesday night.
+Meanwhile, the current impasse has little or no effect on Filipino workers in China, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said.
+“I think it’s the quality of our workers there who, despite political tensions, are just continuing their work,” Baldoz said.
+“A summary report submitted to me said there are three vessels but these are not Filipino vessels. There are also outrigger boats outside and inside the lagoon,” Alcantara reported. He said they could not tell whether the small boats were of local or foreign origin. Alcantara clarified that the departure of the vessel had nothing to do with China’s demand for Philippine ships to leave the shoal.
-Dr. Antonio Yasaña, Sarangani health officer, said Wednesday they found numerous leaks in the pipelines of the village’s reservoir that could have triggered the contamination of the drinking water of hundreds of households in Barangay Tinoto in Maasim since last week.
+“Perhaps their research has been completed. The ship was just commissioned by the National Museum,” he said.
-Yasaña and provincial sanitary engineer Ruben Pelones were dispatched to the area earlier this week by Sarangani Gov. Miguel Rene Dominguez to investigate the cause of the outbreak, which already caused the death of three children.
+It was the National Historical Commission of the Philippines which commissioned the Sarangani. Its passengers included nine French nationals and three employees of the National Museum.
-As of Wednesday morning, the Municipal Health Office (MHO) of Maasim reported the number of residents who were affected by the outbreak so far reached 254.
+Alcantara stressed, however, the situation in the area was stable and no unusual incidents were reported.
-It said 54 of the victims were still confined at the Maasim District Hospital but were already in stable condition.
+Masinloc, Zambales Mayor Desiree Edora said Zambales fishermen were now avoiding Panatag Shoal for fear of getting harassed or arrested by the Chinese or caught in an armed confrontation between Chinese and Filipino forces.
-In an ocular inspection, provincial and municipal health and sanitary personnel found out that the damaged pipeline that runs from Barangay Tinoto’s reservoir passes through a dried up creek that usually gets flooded following heavy rains.
+“My secretary interviewed the fishermen and it’s been a while since they sailed there because they are afraid that a confrontation might ensue,” she told dzMM radio reporter Edwin Sevidal.
-A portion of the creek, which showed traces of dumped household and human wastes, reportedly gets flooded with sea water during high tide, submerging the leaked pipelines.
+Edora said they have yet to coordinate with the military or the Foreign Affairs department regarding the matter.
-“The water pipelines coming from the water reservoir harbor damages/leaks, which theoretically might be the cause of contamination that caused the diarrhea outbreak,” an evaluation report released by the Sarangani health office said.
+Panatag Shoal is 124 nautical miles from Zambales and is within the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to which China is a signatory.
-Yasaña said they initially recommended the immediate repair and rehabilitation of the village’s reservoir’s damaged pipelines to stop the water contamination.
+On April 8, eight Chinese fishing vessels were spotted in the shoal, prompting the Navy to send its largest warship BRP Gregorio del Pilar to the area to check on the vessels.
-He said they directed village officials to strictly impose proper waste disposal in the area and work for the immediate construction of communal toilets in each purok or cluster of houses.
+The ship reached the shoal on April 10 and its crew boarded the fishing vessels where they found live sharks, corals, and giant clams.
-“These are immediate solutions that should be addressed to prevent a similar problem in the future,” the health official said.
+But before the Filipino sailors could arrest the fishermen and seize their catch, two Chinese “surveillance” ships arrived and stopped them. The fishing boats were able to flee with their illegal harvests.
-Dr. Jaileen Milar, Maasim MHO chief, said they are set to inspect the village’s reservoir to check the quality of the facility and its stored water.
+The Del Pilar eventually left the area to replenish supplies and was replaced by the smaller and lightly armed BRP Pampanga of the coast guard.
-The MHO earlier submitted the water samples from the area for laboratory tests but the results were not yet available.
+Aside from the Chinese ships, an aircraft – also believed to be Chinese – had reportedly buzzed a Filipino fishing vessel.
-“We continued with the treatment of the affected residents and also took some rectal swabs just to rule out cholera. But I doubt whether this was caused by cholera because the manifestations of the illness was not that much intense,” she said.
+Baldoz, meanwhile, recalled that Filipino workers felt no backlash even after the Rizal Park hostage tragedy in August 2010 that left eight Hong Kong tourists dead. The incident briefly soured relations between the Philippines and China.
-In the meantime, Barangay Tinoto chair Rajik Kudarat said they continued rationing potable water to the affected households pending proper clearance of the area’s water supplies.
+Labor department records show there are 26,772 Filipino workers in China, mostly doctors and professionals.
-The office of Sarangani Rep. Emmanuel Pacquiao earlier commissioned a truck to supply potable water to the affected residents from the Pacquiao-owned Pacman water treatment and refilling facility.
+“We don’t send that many OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) to China. They are mostly going there as tourists and try their luck to gain employment and just convert their visas into working visas upon getting jobs,” she added.
-==Diarrhea outbreak hits Sarangani==
+Encouraging
-*Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/10/18/11/diarrhea-outbreak-hits-sarangani
-* 10/18/2011 7:16 PM
-:by Report from Jay Dayupay, ABS-CBN SOKSARGEN
+At Malacañang, Presidential Communications Secretary Ricky Carandang said President Aquino had a chance meeting with Chinese Ambassador Ma Keqing to whom he expressed his feeling of satisfaction that both sides were willing to talk to resolve the issue.
-MANILA, Philippines – Diarrhea cases in Barangay Tinoto, Maasim, Sarangani have reached 254, health officials said.
+“He told her that it was encouraging that both sides continue to talk,” Carandang said.
-The outbreak has left 3 children dead, while 54 others remain hospitalized.
+Chinese embassy spokesman Zhang Hua, for his part, said his country prefers friendly consultations over discussing the issue before a United Nations-backed tribunal.
-According to an official report by the provincial health office, the village's leaking water pipelines may have been the cause of contamination, which led to the outbreak.
+“We want friendly efforts to solve it,” Hua told The STAR.
-Together with barangay officials, an ABS-CBN News team discovered one damaged pipeline measuring about 100 meters long.
+Sen. Francis Escudero, meanwhile, said he supports proposals for the Philippines to have a joint exploration with China in the disputed islands in Palawan.
-Authorities said the pipeline becomes submerged in floodwaters during strong rains.
+Escudero stressed that issues involving the Panatag Shoal and the West Philippine Sea should be resolved through diplomatic means.
-Aside from animal feces in the vicinity of the pipeline, human feces were also found in the area.
+Escudero recognized that Congress has the power to allow the administration to launch a war against China, but it is not choosing that option.
-The barangay chairman of Barangay Tinoto Rajik Kudarat, however, said the pipeline does not belong to the village.
+“Somebody asked me the question on why Congress is not doing anything. I know we have the sole power to declare war. The reason why Congress is quiet on it (is) because we don’t want to declare war,” Escudero said.
-“Gusto naming ipaayos ito, pero hindi naman ito sa amin. Dapat ‘yung may-ari nito, sila na ang mag-ayos,” said Kudarat.
+Come budget deliberations, Escudero said he expects explanations from defense and foreign affairs officials about the developments on the maritime disputes.
-Health officials are recommending a common toilet area for the residents of Barangay Tinoto to monitor sanitation in the area.
+“I think the briefings will come during the budget deliberations and then we have more information with respect to the actions that the government has taken through the international organizations that we have brought this matter up with,” the senator said.
-Residents are also advised to boil drinking and cooking water to kill bacteria.
+Escudero recommended that both China and the Philippines should agree on joint exploration. He said profits may be shared equally or the Philippines may bat for a bigger share. He said there is no reason to fight over areas that might yield no oil or gas or minerals.
-Maasim’s sanitary inspector also assured residents that the area’s water reservoir will be inspected.
+He said accusing China of bullying is only worsening the problem.
-==Malacañang defends promotion of Sarangani Rep. Pacquiao==
+“I think the President was being factual when he made the statement in connection with our position in relation to China,” Escudero said.
-*Source: http://www.tempo.com.ph/2011/malacanang-defends-promotion-of-sarangani-rep-pacquiao/#.TpxC-Jv7gVA
-*Oct 17th, 2011
-:by Tempo
+He said the Philippines has ordered only two new aircraft while China has more than 2,000. – With Christina Mendez, Pia Lee-Brago, Sheila Crisostomo
-MANILA, Philippines (PNA) — Malacanang defended the basis of the promotion of Sarangani Congressman and Filipino boxing icon Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao to lieutenant colonel in the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) reserve force amid criticisms from groups questioning his qualifications in earning the rank.
+==Sarangani Launches Mahin Summer Festet==
+*Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/178517/ex-sarangani-governor-6-others-charged-with-graft
+*April 19, 2012, 4:35pm
+:by  newsinfo.inquirer.net
-Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, during a regular press briefing at the Palace on Monday, said that there are corresponding ranks for government leaders who are also military reservists whether they are appointees or elected officials.
-“The position of Congressman Pacquiao, who was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, was due to his position as a congressman, yun po ang recommendation ng AFP…” Lacierda said.
-“May mga basis po yan sa AFP… it was not for no other reasons that he (Pacquiao) was promoted, it was because of his position as congressman… and as a reservist and a congressman he is entitled to the position of Lieutenant Colonel,” Lacierda added.
-When asked if Pacquiao was commissioned through “palakasan” system, Lacierda downplayed the idea as he stated the basis of the Filipino boxing champion’s promotion.
-“Wala pong palakasan, just to give you an example of the elected officials and their ranks… a senator, congressman, provincial governor… they have the rank of lieutenant colonel, presidential appointees, department secretaries, Supreme Court, Court of Appeals Justices and the members of the Constitutional Commission, the ambassador… they also have the rank of lieutenant colonel,” Lacierda said.
-“Kapag undersecretary major po, MTC, RTC judges… major, ang city mayor po is also a lieutenant colonel if he is a mayor of a highly-urbanized city and then ang city vice mayor major din po, so there are corresponding ranks po to the positions that you have in government, so wala pong palakasan ito,” he further noted.
-Lacierda said that criticisms on Pacquiao’s promotion by several groups may have stemmed from lack of the necessary information.
-“I think hindi po na-explain ng maayos ito… that is the reason why may mga ganoong klaseng criticisms kung bakit ang laki ng promotion ni Congressman Pacquiao,” Lacierda said.
-Pacquiao was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel from Senior Master Sergeant, which took effect last September 21, based on the recommendation of the Army.
-Pacquiao was first enlisted in the Army reserve force with the rank of sergeant on April 1, 2006 on the recommendation of Brig. Gen. Alexander Yano, who used to be a brigade commander in Sarangani. Yano served as Armed Forces chief before retiring in 2009.
-Six months after his enlistment, Pacquiao was promoted to the next rank of technical sergeant and on Oct. 7, 2007, then he was promoted to master sergeant. He was elevated to the rank of Senior Master Sergeant on May 4, 2009.
-==Soldier, NPA rebel killed in Sarangani clash==
+GLAN, Sarangani (PIA) — Glan’s Mahin Festival kicks off vacation fun in Sarangani with another series of summer activities that would climax with a sunset-to-sunrise beach party in the famed Sarangani Bay Fest next month to be held in the white sands of Gumasa.
-*Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/10/13/11/soldier-npa-rebel-killed-sarangani-clash
-*10/13/2011 6:25 PM
-:by abs-cbnNEWS.com
+The successful maiden celebration of Mahin Festival last year triggered expectations of a bigger crowd to the three-day festivity which started yesterday, April 19, until April 21.
-SARANGANI, Philippines - A communist New People's Army (NPA) rebel and a government trooper were killed in a gunbattle in Sarangani province on Thursday, the military said.
+Lumba sa Kabayo (horse race), Palupad Tabanog (kite flying), Bangkarera (boat race), Pintados (body painting), beach volleyball and football, Bikini Open, concerts (featuring Blakdyak) and fireworks display are the lined-up activities that are certain to fire up the excitement of local folks.
-Troops belonging to the Philippine Army's 102nd Division Reconnaissance Company and 73rd Infantry Battalion were on patrol in Glan town when they enountered the NPA rebels in Datal Bukay village just before noon.
+Yesterday’s events were held at The Grove Beach in barangay Tango while in the next two days, it will be at the Coco Beach in Gumasa.
-An MG-520 attack helicopter reinforced the government troops, said Colonel Leopoldo Galon, spokesman of the military's Eastern Mindanao Command.
+Mahin is a festival unique to the town of Glan which brings back traditional beach activities the townsfolk have been fond of doing since then like horse racing at the shoreline.
-The body of the slain rebel, who has yet to be identified, was later found in the area.
+==Ex-Sarangani governor, 6 others charged with graft==
+*Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/178517/ex-sarangani-governor-6-others-charged-with-graft
+*5:12 am | Wednesday, April 18th, 2012
+:by    Leila B. Salaverria
+Philippine Daily Inquirer
-Soldiers also recovered an M-16 rifle, an M-14 rifle, a handheld radio, an improvised scanner, a Claymore mine, a grenade, a solar charger, and documents at the site.
-The name of the slain soldier has been withheld as his family has yet to be notified, Galon said.
+The Office of the Ombudsman has filed graft charges against former Sarangani Governor Miguel Escobar and six other provincial officials for the questionable purchase of 30,000 textbooks without public bidding.
+Escobar was charged for approving two textbook purchases, involving 15,000 books for each transaction, in 2002 and 2003.
+Charged with Escobar for the first purchase was Provincial Social Welfare Development Officer Hermelo Latoja, who acted as the attorney in fact for textbook supplier Institute for Youth Volunteers Service and Early Childhood Development Inc.
+For the second purchase, charged along with Escobar and Latoja were Committee on Awards members Teresa Alvarado, Wahid Diama, Sittiehawa Marohomsalic, Cesar Cagang and Vivencia Telesforo.
+The Sarangani officials have denied the allegations against them in their respective counteraffidavits.
+Sarangani province first bought 15,000 copies of the textbook ABC My Practice Book I in November 2002 for P1.5 million, and bought 15,000 copies of ABC My Practice Book II in June 2003.
+The 2002 transaction was considered an emergency purchase, which was why the textbooks were bought directly from the supplier.
+But Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales said the emergency purchase was unjustified.
-==Glan stages 12th Lubi-Lubi Festival==
+==Sarangani hills ideal for paragliding, say experts==
-*Source: http://pia.gov.ph/?m=7&r=r12&id=58694
+*Source: http://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2012/04/17/sarangani-hills-ideal-for-paragliding-say-experts/
-*Tuesday, October 11, 2011
+*Tuesday| April 17, 2012
-:by PIA Press Release
+:by   Allen V. Estabillo
-GLAN, Sarangani, Oct 11 (PIA)--The twelfth staging of the Lubi-Lubi sa Glan Festival last October 8, was a rousing success, with
+GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/16 April) — Paragliding experts are promoting Sarangani province’s hilly landscape as a prime spot for the aerial adventure sport.
-previous Lubi-Lubi combined.
-Throughout the week-long festivities, which hit the ground running on October 1, the festival area, particularly the party zone, was thronged with revelers out for a good time, and the kiosk operators and vendors had never it so good, making a killing from sales on foods, drinks and other fun items.
-“The festival mood was unprecedented. People from all walks of life, from far and wide, turned up in almost all events we had put on for this year’s celebration. I promise you we will go one better next Lubi-Lubi,” said Mayor Victor James “Tata” Yap, Sr.
-The festivities opened at 7 p.m., October 1, with a great basketball game at the Atty. Enrique D. Yap, Sr. Cultural Center, followed by a pop & rock concert at Plaza Rizal by the DXMD band.
-Day 2 and 3 saw two other great basketball matches and a Moro song and dance contest, which the town’s multi-ethnic public enjoyed to the
-hilt.
-Early morning of Day 4 was greeted with a fun run from the Municipal Ground to the Marker, where a Thanksgiving Mass was held, then back to the municipal gym at 7 p.m. for the Global Glanians Social Night, where they danced the night away. Another concert, featuring the town’s very own Glanians Band and sponsored by SMB/Coca-Cola, wrapped up Day 4.
-October 5 was literally a red-letter day for the SK Federation of Board Member James P. Yap, which conducted a blood-letting at Glan Training Center between 8 a.m. and 12 noon. At 1 to 6 p.m., it was the turn of the senior citizens and the womenfolk for their own show and celebration.
-Serving as finale for the day’s events was the hilarious DOBLE KARA & Hip-Hop Dance Contest conducted jointly by the SK Federation and Bombo Radyo at the Atty. Enrique D. Yap, Sr. Cultural
-Center.
-Day 6 and 7 came and went with amateur boxing, basketball and concert,on the one hand, and a safari photo contest, coco fun game, the much-awaited Mutya ng Glan and another concert, featuring the highly popular Alamid band, on the other.
-On Day 8, Foundation Day, it was showtime, kicking off with a civic military parade at 7:30 a.m., followed by the spectacular Lubi-Lubi
-street dancing, the basketball final, a disco concert and a dazzling fireworks display that had the crowd "star-gazing" until the wee hours
-of the morning.
-“The festival was beautiful while it lasted. We look forward to the next Lubi-Lubihan sa Glan,” said a visitor, who came all the way from
-North Cotabato.
-This only goes to show that the Lubi-Lubi sa Glan is here to stay.(Glan Information and News service/PIA General Santos City)
-==MOA for $100-M waste-to-energy plant inked==
+French national Armand Dard, a visiting professional paragliding instructor, said they found the hills straddling the Sarangani Bay, especially those located in the coastal villages of Maasim town, as a first-rate paragliding flight site.
-*Source: MOA for $100-M waste-to-energy plant inked
+“This is my second time in the Philippines and my first time in Sarangani. Last year I did some paragliding in Carmona, Cavite and also in Boracay but this place, which I discovered one month ago is a better flight site,” Dard said.
-*Wednesday, October 05, 2011
+Dard and a newly-organized team of local paragliders have so far tried out the hills along a ranch owned by the San Andres Fishing Industries (SAFI) in barangay Seguil in Maasim, which is about 30 minutes away from this city.
-:by PIA Press Release
+“It has comfortable takeoff and landing sites. Its big landing site is comfortable for beginners and you can fly almost every day,” he said in a report released by the Sarangani Information Office.
+Dard has been conducting international-standard paragliding trainings to members of the newly-formed Sarangani Paragliding Club.
+Michelle Solon, Region 12 tourism council chairperson, said they now consider paragliding as “the next big thing” in the region.
+Region 12, which also known as the Soccsksargen Region, covers the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, North Cotabato and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan and Cotabato.
+“What is the next big thing in Region 12? We are crossing our fingers — I believe in a heartbeat, it’s going to be paragliding in Sarangani,” she said.
+“Who said there is no wind around Sarangani Bay? On the contrary, there is enough wind!” added Solon, who had tried sky sports paragliding.
+Joseph Oncada, vice president of Sarangani Paragliding Club said they started paragliding in the area in September last year.
+“To those who want to become pilots, or just want to experience flying in tandem, we offer training and tandem flights,” Oncada said.
+For a short flight, which is about 10 minutes, enthusiasts will need to cough up P2,300 and around P3,000 for a 15 to 20-minute flight, he said.
+On May 18, Oncada said the Sarangani Paragliding Club will have a paragliding accuracy competition as part of the upcoming celebration of the two-day Sarangani Bay Festival. (Allen V. Estabillo/MindaNews)
-GLAN, Sarangani, Oct 5 (PIA) — The local government here has signed a memorandum of agreement with a big German ecological firm, which will put up a $100-million ultra-modern solid waste management and disposal plant at this burgeoning resort town in the south under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme.
-Herhof-German has agreed to construct and develop waste management disposal plant facilities using a highly reliable and safe technology from Germany called “Stabilat-R Method” of converting waste to energy.
-The agreement also provides that Herhof will own, operate and maintain all Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) Stabilat-R plant facilities that the company will develop here for municipal solid waste processing, waste-water treatment, sewage sludge, leachate treatment for landfills, methane/biogas extraction, hospital waste plant, thermal treatment of secondary fuels, gasification processes, anaerobic treatment and possible power-generation technologies or the so-called “EVA Power Plant.”
-To ensure the successful operation of all its future facilities as well as help generate local employment here, the company will conduct employee training programs on maintenance, safety and over-all plant management and will only hire bona fide residents as workers and plant operators provided they are qualified in accordance with the Labor Code the Philippines.
-The local government, on the other hand, will allow Herhof untrammeled use of its present landfill at Barangay Mudan for 25 years, renewable for another 25 years, as construction site of Phase 1 of the project at no cost to the company.
-If the local government can bring in 1,000 tons of garbage daily at the six-hectare municipal dumpsite within two years from the signing of the agreement, an additional area of at least nine hectares will be provided to the company for its power plant facility under the same terms and conditions.
-“This agreement could serve as a catalyst that will catapult Glan as the next boom town in Mindanao. Imagine the jobs, revenue and ancillary enterprises that a $100-million investment can generate,” said Mayor Victor James B. Yap, Sr., who signed the agreement on behalf of the local government.
-When already in place, the project will also serve as a major revenue-earner in that other towns, cities or provinces can make use of the facilities for their own garbage disposal after paying the dumping charges or “tipping fees”, with the town and the company sharing the income equally.
-With the minimum daily requirement of 1,000 tons of garbage in the bag because of the additional load from outside sources, the company will start Phase II of the project--the power plant facility, which will use treated and recycled garbage as fuel.
-The agreement also provides that when the company recoups its investment after 25 years of operation, it shall turn over its facilities to the local government under the BOT scheme.
-Signing for Herhof were William J. Lima, president of TIG Green Technology Mindanao; and Michael C. Jimenez, president of Zehira USA, LLC. (GLAN Information and News Service/PIA General Santos City)
-==Philippine mango industry gets backing==
-*Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/336582/philippine-mango-industry-gets-backing
-*October 4, 2011, 2:35pm
-:by NONOY E. LACSON
-GUMASA, Glan, Sarangani, Philippines — Agriculture Secretary Proseso Alcala guaranteed growers of Philippine mango with his department’s support as he graced the 13th National Mango Congress at Isla Jardin del Mar resort in Gumasa.
-“Rest assured that the DA (Department of Agriculture) will continue with support programs including the establishment and rehabilitation of nurseries and foundation scion grove, household and village processing assistance and crop
-improvement especially for climate change adaptability,” Alcala told 322 registered delegates on Friday at the closing of the three-day mango congress here.
-Alcala reported a seven percent growth in the annual production of mangoes in 2010 which was reportedly “prompted by the continuous flower induction in Central Luzon, CALABARZON, Bicol Region and all the Visayas regions.”
-However, a decline of 5.3 percent during the early months this year was noted. He said this was caused by the changing weather conditions and the early rainy season which may have been triggered by climate change.
-Last year, fresh mango exports reached 20,115 tons worth US$15.2 million. The country also exported dried and processed mangoes at 3,600 tons and 9,328 tons, respectively. The combined exports of fresh, dried, and processed mangoes last year earned a total of more than US$50 million, according to the Secretary.
-Despite these figures, Alcala still noted a shortage in supply and urged growers and producers to plant more. He challenged them to surpass last year’s produce considering that the DA is working with the sector “in improving, handling and transport systems.”
-Alcala valued the importance of this year’s congress theme, “Positioning the Philippine Mango Strongly in the World Market,” to be relevantly timing with the huge demand for Philippine mango.
+==Palawan, Comval replicate Sarangani Big Brother==
+*Source: http://www.pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?article=1671334558968
+*Monday 16th of April 2012
+:by   (Beverly C. Paoyon and Serafin N. Ramos Jr./PIO Sarangani/PIA General Santos City)
-“I-ayos lamang po natin na matugunan po ang mga kailangan gawin ng industry upang patuloy na tangkilikin ng ibang bansa ang ating mangga. Ito po ay para sa inihahangad ng industry ng mangga sa pandaigdigang pamilihan at maging sa Pilipinas,” Alcala said.
-Major mango producers in the country are Ilocos Region, Zamboanga Peninsula, Central Visayas, Central Luzon, and SOCSKSARGEN (South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, and General Santos) area.
+ALABEL, Sarangani, April 16 (PIA) -- Sarangani Big Brother (SBB) “Reading is Fun!” enters its “Season 5” this week with two provinces replicating the program this year.
-==Secretary Alcala assures support for Philippine mango industry==
+SBB “Reading is Fun!” is a 15-day reading program run by the provincial government’s Quality Education for Sarangani Today (QUEST) program designed to assist the Department of Education (DepEd) to improve reading skills of “frustration readers” among incoming Grade 2 and 3 pupils.
-*Source: http://pia.gov.ph/?m=7&r=r12&id=57257
-* Monday, October 03, 2011
-:by  Beverly Paoyon
+“Frustration readers” are those who can identify words but have inadequate or no comprehension at all.
-GUMASA, Glan, Sarangani, Oct 3 (PIA) -- Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala guaranteed the Philippine mango industry with his department’s support as he graced the 13th National Mango Congress at Isla Jardin del Mar resort in Gumasa.
+The activity is a whole day remedial reading program from April 17 to May 8 implemented in partnership with the DepEd, QUEST, Sangguniang Kabataan and the Alcantara Foundation.
-“Rest assured that the DA (Department of Agriculture) will continue with support programs including the establishment and rehabilitation of nurseries and foundation scion grove, household and village processing assistance and crop improvement especially for climate change adaptability,” Alcala told the 322 delegates on September 30 at the end of the three-day congress.
-Alcala reported a seven percent growth in the annual production of mangoes in 2010 which was reportedly “prompted by the continuous flower induction in Central Luzon, CALABARZON, Bicol Region and all the Visayas regions.”
-However, a decline of 5.3 percent during the early months this year was noted. He said this was caused by the changing weather conditions and the early rainy season which may have been triggered by climate change.
-Last year, fresh mango exports reached 20,115 tons worth US$15.2 million. The country also exported dried and processed mangoes at 3,600 tons and 9,328 tons, respectively. The combined exports of fresh, dried, and processed mangoes last year earned a total of more than US$50 million, according to the Secretary.
-Despite these figures, Alcala still noted a shortage in supply and urged growers and producers to plant more. He challenged them to surpass last year’s produce considering that the DA is working with the sector “in improving handling and transport systems.”
-Alcala valued the importance of this year’s congress theme, “Positioning the Philippine Mango Strongly in the World Market,” to be relevantly timing with the huge demand for Philippine mango.
-“I-ayos lamang po natin na matugunan po ang mga kailangan gawin ng industry upang patuloy na tangkilikin ng ibang bansa ang ating mangga. Ito po ay para sa inihahangad ng industry ng mangga sa pandaigdigang pamilihan at maging sa Pilipinas (We should arrange it in a way that we can address the needs of the industry, so other countries can continue supporting our mangoes. This is for the mango industry to position itself strong in the world and local market),”Alcala said.
-Major mango producers in the country are Ilocos Region, Zamboanga Peninsula, Central Visayas, Central Luzon, and SOCSKSARGEN (South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, and General Santos) area. (PIO Sarangani/PIA General Santos City/CTA)
-==Villagers in Sarangani build bridge in name of fallen son==
+QUEST recently held two days of training for teachers who will conduct the reading classes. Each of the 309 teachers will handle an ideal class size of 35 pupils.
-*Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/336272/villagers-sarangani-build-bridge-name-fallen-son
-* October 1, 2011, 4:37pm
-:by MICK M. BASA
+During the training, Governor Migs Dominguez thanked the teachers for their “passion and commitment” to make SBB successful.
-MALUNGON, Sarangani, Philippines -- Conquering the tip of one of the province's highest plains, the Lumad villagers in Sitio Sabangan spend three hours walking from the town towards where they are from, a neighborhood of Tagakaulo tribes some 600 meters above the ocean.
+“Let’s remember the first time we make them (children) read,” Dominguez told the teachers as he stressed the importance of continuously motivating children to learn to read.
-Some are fortunate enough and drive motorcycles that traverse through the rough terrain circling the mountain. The road gets tough when rain falls as it gets slippery for the wheels with the deadly mountain edge just around the corner.
+Compostela Valley Province also sent nine youth leaders and 12 teachers to join the training as they would replicate SBB starting this summer vacation which would be called “Summer Big Brother: Reading is Fun! Season 1”.
-It's the usual picture these indigenous peoples (IP) paint in this landlocked municipality in Sarangani.
+After a series of benchmarking of local officials, DepEd officials and private sector in Sarangani which was arranged by Alcantara Foundation, Compostela Valley decided to replicate QUEST. Comval started with an Education Summit last January.
-When they reach their village, a wide river lies just before the first shanty sits at the other side of the ground. During rainy days, the river turns into a roaring torrent, something villagers worry about.
+Palawan was also set to launch this month its Palawan Big Brother, patterned after SBB.
-Fifteen-year-old Robert C. Dialuna, Jr. tried to cross the raging current earlier last year but was washed down by the deadly stream. His body was found three days later, Esterlina Dialuna, his mother, said.
+In early March, QUEST program manager Annalie Edday was instructed by Governor Dominguez to email the activities of QUEST to Palawan Governor Abraham Mitra because he was interested to replicate QUEST.
-Another 10-year-old school girl Darlene B. Tako fell just a few weeks ago, but was saved when she was seen clinging to a large rock downstream.
+A QUEST team led by Edday flew to Palawan on March 19-22 to present QUEST and help Palawan organize its education reform program.
-Finding a solution they believe they alone could solve, villagers here built a 26-meter bridge with the help of private funding and named it after the fallen boy whose memory still lingers a year after he passed away.
+This summer, Palawan will have its PBB (Palawan Big Brother: Reading is Fun! Season 1).
-"It's amazing that people here can make their own bridge without anyone constructing it for them. We hope this could be replicated in other towns," said Jonathon Bentley-Stevens, president of Bentley House International, an organization that recently partnered with Belgium-based WeForest to plant 10 million trees in the province while those who plant it get livelihood for every seedling they grow.
+“PBB is the kickoff project of the Palawan education reform program,” Edday said.
-==Philippine mango industry positioning “strongly” in world market==
+In Sarangani, Edday noted the improvement in the performance of the “frustration readers” after they have completed the reading program.
-*Source: http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=1&t=1&id=56891
-* Friday, September 30, 2011
-:by  James Konstantin Galvez
+“I am so happy that they feel the sense of belongingness as they enrolled in the next grade,” Edday said.
-GUMASA, Glan, Sarangani, Sept 30 (PIA)-- Mango industry players are positioning Philippine mango strongly in the world market by maximizing efficiency in the cost service and logistics areas, an industry officer said.
+She said every year different modules are used in the summer classes as additional inputs are being introduced.
-Virginia de la Fuente, president of the Philippine Mango Industry Foundation, Inc., also urged mango stakeholders – mango growers, contract sprayers/financiers, input suppliers, nursery operators, exporters/traders, processors and logistics providers to “unite and actively participate in all our advocacies and undertakings for the improvement of, if not to save our mango industry and position our Philippine mango strongly in the world market.”
-She appealed to the Department of Agriculture to “empower and capacitate the mango industry associations and for any other industry association for that matter by consulting the industry leaders in planning exercises to prioritize and craft programs, providing reasonable grants to implement and achieve plans through the national organizations and instituting control mechanism.”
-De la Fuente said Mindanao has the “potential” for mango production with SOCSARGEN (South Cotabato-Sarangani-General Santos City) having the largest number of hectarage and production.
-“Because of this climate change I am now campaigning that mango production will be made here in Mindanao,” de la Fuente told delegates at the 13th National Mango Congress Wednesday (September 28).
-“Mindanao produces only 35% of the total national production but we have the potential,” she said.
-Sixty-five percent of the produce is coming from Pangasinan and the rest of Luzon.
-In a message to the delegates, Rep. Manny Pacquiao said the mango congress is an indication for a stronger partnership to “heighten commitment to increase the competitiveness of the Philippine mango in world market and develop more production areas in Mindanao.”
-Pacquiao also asked mango industry players “to maximize the production and export potentials of the Philippine mango industry. We will utilize this mango congress as a dynamic platform to learn as much as we can to ensure the strongest position in the world market.”
-The three-day mango congress being held at world-class Isla Jardin del Mar resort in Gumasa ends on September 30. (PIO Sarangani/PIA General Santos City/CTA)
-==Alcantaras plant 5,000 mangroves in Saranggani==
+QUEST also designed a volunteer program to tap youth volunteers who will assist teachers in facilitating the activities from the modules.
-*Source: http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/business/top-business-news/8245-alcantaras-plant-5000-mangroves-in-saranggani
-* Thursday, September 29, 2011
-:by  James Konstantin Galvez
+“Teaching young children to read is the most critical educational priority facing the province,” Edday said. She explained SBB “will help schools and children uplift their performance in reading.”
-THE Philippines’ biggest producer of bangus fry planted 5,000 mangroves in Sarangani Bay as its contribution to the International Coastal Clean-up Month.
+“By teaching all children to read well by the end of the third grade, we will ensure that all students that advance to later grades are well prepared to achieve their full academic potential,” Edday added.
-The Mindanao-based Alcantara group is engaged in aquaculture and agribusiness in Sarangani, power generation and power plant management in Sarangani and Zamboanga, and property development and services in other regions.
-It has been an active player in the economic development of Mindanao and other regions for over 50 years. “The agri-business unit of the Alcantara group has been relying on Sarangani Bay, so in return, we would like to preserve and protect the bay not only for our benefit but for the benefit of the people in Sarangani as well,” said Richlie Lyndon Magtulis, executive director of Conrado and Ladislawa Alcantara Foundation Inc.
+Edday said SBB was successful in helping DepED eliminate the frustration and instructional readers among incoming Grade 2 and 3 pupils.
-Hundreds of volunteers converged at Barangay Poblacion in Malapatan, Sarangani on September 16 to clean up the bay and plant 1,000 seedlings. “This activity is our contribution to the international coastal clean-up celebration and this is also part of the commitment of the Alcantara group of companies to plant 50,000 mangroves all around Sarangani Bay from 2011 to 2013,” said Magtulis.
+“For years it has produced good result; for 4 years, this program has engaged 855 teacher volunteers, 2,166 youth volunteers and has made 17,983 pupils better readers,” Edday disclosed.
-Officers and personnel of different companies under the Alcantara group participated in the activity along with employees of the Sarangani provincial government, barangay officials, teachers and personnel of the Departments of Education, of Interior and Local Government, as well as the 73rd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army, the Malapatan Police Station and social welfare beneficiaries.
+“We are happy that we have numerous volunteers from General Santos City, seven scholars of American Field Studies and one German volunteer this year,” Edday reported about the SBB volunteers training.
-==Pacquiao supports renaming of Sarangani capitol==
+The program was first thought to make “reading as fun,” said Edday, “but since there are quite a number of frustration readers so we made SBB season 4 as a remedial reading program.”
-*Source: http://www.philstar.com/nation/article.aspx?publicationSubCategoryId=67&articleId=731294
-*September 27, 2011 12:00 AM
-:by Rose Tamayo-Tesoro
+SBB was launched in 2008 in which Governor Dominguez said the first concern then was how to harness the spirit of volunteerism among the youth “to be able to make them contribute in the community.”
-BAGUIO CITY ,Philippines  – World boxing champion and Sarangani lone district Rep. Emmanuel Pacquiao does not oppose the proposed renaming of the Sarangani Provincial Capitol as James L. Chiongbian Capitol Building in honor of the late congressman, who founded it.
+“Masarap makatulong bumasa at buksan ang mga mata ng mga bata and teach them to dream big!,” Dominguez told the volunteers in Alabel during the volunteers training last year.
-“Okay naman sa akin at maganda naman ‘yung move,” said the boxing legend who is training here for his fight with Mexican boxer Juan Manuel Marquez.
+For the past three years, SBB became a channel in unifying the school’s community and utilizing the collective efforts of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) of the province.
-The renaming of the provincial capitol, which is provided under Draft Ordinance No. 2011-7-08, said the provincial capitol is one of the prominent infrastructure programs initiated by the late congressman.
+The governor has pointed out that “success lies in education. It opens up boundaries we think impossible. Education from elementary to high school up to college will ensure better future.”
-The Sarangani capitol building was erected in 1993 and inaugurated in 1996 during the incumbency of Chiongbian's wife Priscilla, as governor.
+In 2011, QUEST pre-test and post-test results showed a 55 percent increase of the pupils’ reading level from “frustration readers” (36%) to the right reading level (91%) and were ready to enter Grade 3.
-Sarangani was created as a new province from the third district of South Cotabato in 1992.
+Every year, the reading skills of pupils were improving because of Sarangani Big Brother. SBB has become successful through volunteer youth and members of the Sangguniang Kabataan.
-The draft ordinance said a space will also be provided outside the provincial capitol building for the institution of a statue, signage, memorabilia, and/or any landmarks representing the late congressman and his accomplishments not only for the province of Sarangani but also the whole Socsargen area
+“SBB taught me to become someone - to be a builder of this nation. I learned to embrace the beauty of imparting knowledge,” volunteer John Logos Guiang from Maitum town said.
-==Sarangani to adopt “JLC Capitol Building” tag==
+During its second season of Sarangani Big Brother “Reading is Fun!” one of the youth volunteers in Maasim Elementary School was Aimee Aragon, then a 15-year old incoming first year college student.
-*Source: http://pia.gov.ph/?m=7&r=r12&id=55943
-*Friday, September 23, 2011
-:by Friday, September 23, 2011
+“I am blessed to be given the opportunity to share my knowledge and experiences for the little children like I was, and I’m very happy to be an ‘Ate’ (big sister) for them,” Aragon said.
-ALABEL, Sarangani, September 23 (PIA) – Sarangani will soon name the Sarangani Provincial Capitol as JLC Capitol Building in honor of its founder, the late Rep. James L. Chiongbian as soon as an ordinance calling for such is passed.
+The Panlalawigang Pederasyon ng Sangguniang Kabataan (PPSK) launched the month-long reading program in the summer of 2008 among elementary pupils while instilling the value of volunteerism among “mentors”.
-The ordinance drafted and jointly sponsored by Board Members Eugene Alzate, Cornelio Martinez, Elmer de Peralta, Alexander Bryan Reganit, Hermie Galzote, Eleanor Saguiguit, Virgilio Clark Tobias, Limuel Gacula, Benedicto Ruiz II, Abdulracman Pangolima, George Perrett, Arman Guili and Victor James Yap Jr. noted that other than the world-class coastal highway, the Provincial Capitol Building serves as a prominent feature of the province’s infrastructure development achieved under the initiative of the late Rep. Chiongbian.
-Sarangani was created in 1992 as a new province from then the 3rd District of South Cotabato.
-“As a new province at that time, Congressman James L. Chiongbian tirelessly accessed funds and implemented social and economic infrastructure like farm-to-market roads, bridges, flood control, school buildings, spring and water development, irrigation, municipal hospitals, sea walls and ports,” according to the draft ordinance.
-“He granted scholarships to poor but deserving students of the province, provided livelihood programs and sponsored and co-sponsored hundreds of House bills with local and national applications.”
-In addition, the ordinance stated that “enough space” would be provided “outside the main Provincial Capitol building for the institution of a statue, signage, memorabilia, and/or any landmarks representing the late Congressman James L. Chiongbian and his remarkable accomplishments for the Province of Sarangani and the whole SOCSARGEN area.”
-The ordinance also provides for activities to be conducted honoring the deeds of the late Congressman during foundation anniversaries of the province, with appropriation to be included in the regular subsidy of the provincial government.
-The Sarangani Provincial Employees Union through its president Anacleto Saya-ang has expressed support to the ordinance.
-In a letter sent to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, Saya-ang said “we in the Sarangani Provincial Employees Union (SPEU) are very much supportive to the draft ordinance of the honorable board members naming the main Provincial Capitol Building of the Provincial Government of Sarangani as Congressman James L. Chiongbian (JLC) Building.”
-Aside from the creation of Sarangani as a province through Republic Act No. 7228, Congressman Chiongbian also authored Republic Act No. 5412 otherwise known as the Charter of General Santos City. (PIO Sarangani/PIA General Santos City/CTA
-==Sarangani project==
+Right from SBB’s first season, Alcantara Foundation has already been one of the partners together with the SK, DepEd and the local government in the implementation of the program.
-*Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/335271/sarangani-project
-*September 22, 2011, 5:14pm
-:by  JOSEPH JUBELAG
+The rest of the sponsors this year are Synergia Foundation, Sagittarius Mining Corp. and World Vision.
-GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines — The ABS-CBN Foundation Inc., through its “Sagip Kapamilya” program and in partnership with the local government and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), will construct an P800,000 worth of school building in a hinterland village in Barangay Datal Tampal in Malungon, Sarangani.
+=='Respect Pacman's decision to join PDP-Laban'==
+*Source: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=797118&publicationSubCategoryId=63
+*April 15, 2012 12:00 AM
+:by Evelyn Macairan
-The amount for the two-classroom school project will be provided by the ABS-CBN Foundation Inc. while the AFP National Support Command (NADESCOM) and the 1002nd Army Brigade will undertake the construction of the building.
-==Hundreds join coastal clean-up, mangrove planting==
+MANILA, Philippines - A Catholic Church official asked the public yesterday to respect the decision of Sarangani representative and boxing champ Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao to join the political party Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Laban (PDP-Laban) of Vice President Jejomar Binay.
-*Source: http://pia.gov.ph/?m=7&r=r12&id=54859
-*Sunday, September 18, 2011
+Marbel South, Cotabato Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez said Pacquiao is old enough to make decisions on his own.
+“Pacman is mature and intelligent. Respect his decision,” Gutierrez said.
+Sarangani province is one of the areas under the Diocese of Marbel, South Cotabato, which the bishop heads.
+Gutierrez said his statement stems from his concern about the faith and morals of people, rather than politics.
+Pacquiao was earlier reported to be leaving the Liberal Party of President Aquino to join Binay’s camp.
+The 33-year-old boxer-turned-legislator is reportedly being groomed to be the PDP-Laban’s gubernatorial candidate in Sarangani in next year’s elections.
+Pacquiao might take his oath as party member of PDP-Laban before his next fight with Timothy Bradley in June.
+==Sarangani good site for paragliding==
+*Source: http://pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?menu=2&webregion=R12&article=1611334373192
+*Saturday 14th of April 2012
 :by Cocoy Sexcion
-MALAPATAN, Sarangani, September 18 (PIA) -- Hundreds of volunteers gathered at the coast of barangay Poblacion for a coastal clean-up and mangrove planting and growing activity Friday (September 16) in observance of the month-long international coastal clean-up celebration.
+MAASIM, Sarangani, April 14 (PIA) -- Sarangani is a good flying site for paragliding said Armand Dard, a French national and a visiting paragliding professional instructor.
-“Today, we are going to plant 1,000 mangrove seedlings. This activity is our contribution to the international coastal clean-up celebration and this is also part of the commitment of the Alcantara Group of Companies to plant 50,000 mangroves all around Sarangani Bay in the next three years from 2011 to 2013,” said Richlie Lyndon Magtulis, executive director of Conrado and Ladislawa Alcantara Foundation Inc. (CLAFI).
-“We are doing this because we are very dependent on Sarangani Bay for our businesses. For almost 50 years, the Agri Business Unit of the Alcantara Group has been relying on Sarangani Bay, so in return, we would like to preserve and protect the bay not only for our benefits but for the benefit of the people in Sarangani as well,” Magtulis added.
-The event was spearheaded by CLAFI in partnership with the local government of Malapatan and provincial government of Sarangani through its Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office. It was participated in by volunteers from Department of Education, Malapatan Police Station, 73rd Infantry Battalion, social welfare beneficiaries, Department of Interior and Local Government, and barangay officials and employees of the host barangay.
-“This is all part of our campaign under the peace and development outreach program of the battalion. We are helping the LGUs and the community in the conduct of environmental protection,” said Lt. Nestor Valenzuela, commanding officer of the Alpha Company, 73rd IB.
-“Rest assured that the 73rd IB will continue to support any activity with regards to preservation and protection of the environment,” he added.
-In Sarangani, there are 27 different species of mangroves out of the 54 endemic in the whole country, said provincial environment employee Jopy Caneda in his briefing on mangroves and solid waste management.
-He said that in Sarangani, 300,000 kilos of waste are generated everyday, 70 percent of which are biodegradable and almost 20 percent percent of those that are plastics are thrown in the bay.
-“Since it’s coastal clean-up celebration, let’s manage our waste and start cleaning our bay,” Caneda said. (PIO Sarangani/PIA General Santos City/CTA)
-==Sarangani town holds public dialogue on mining project==
+"This is my second time in the Philippines and my first time in Sarangani. Last year I did some paragliding in Carmona, Cavite and also in Boracay but this place which I discovered one month ago is a better flight site,” Dard said.
-*Source: http://208.184.76.173/nation/article.aspx?publicationsubcategoryid=67&articleid=727209
-* September 15, 2011 12:00 AM
-:by The Philippines Star
+The flying site is located at SAFI Ranch 1 in barangay Seguil, less than 30 minutes drive from General Santos City.
-SARANGANI , Philippines – Malungon town in this province hosted the other day a public consultation and dialogue between more than 2,000 participants and the proponent of the Tampakan copper-gold project, which is set to be the biggest mine ever to operate in the country.
+The flight site is overlooking Sarangani Bay.
-The public consultation is part of the regulatory process required of Sagittarius Mines Inc. (SMI), government contractor for the Tampakan mine, as it seeks an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) for its mining project set to commence operation in 2016.
+“It has comfortable take off and landing sites,” Dard noted. “It also has big landing site comfortable for beginners and you can fly almost everyday."
-The transmission lines and pipelines, part of the key facilities for the Tampakan mine, will pass through Malungon town and SMI is required to obtain endorsement from the municipal government.
+Dard is conducting paragliding international standard trainings to members of the newly-formed Sarangani Paragliding Club.
-Malungon town is 37 kilometers north of General Santos City, the nearest city, and belongs to the province of Sarangani.
+“You ask what is the next big thing in Region 12, we are crossing our fingers -- but I believe in a heartbeat, it’s going to be Paragliding in Sarangani. It is definitely a number 1 for fun!” said an exuberant Michelle Solon, chair of the Regional Tourism Council.
-In an earlier interview with the local media, Malungon Mayor Reynaldo Constantino said the local economy has already felt the initial benefits of the Tampakan mine in terms of livelihood and employment opportunities.
+“Who said there is no wind around Sarangani Bay? On the contrary there is enough wind!” added Solon who has tried sky sports paragliding.
-Constantino also emphasized that the project endorsement would come from the community itself with the municipal government merely “exercising” it.
+Joseph Oncada, vice president of Sarangani Paragliding Club said they started paragliding in September last year, “and this is the newest sport in the country."
-“The people of Malungon will collectively decide if we will support this project or not,” he said.
+"To those who want to become pilots, or just want to experience flying in tandem, we offer training and tandem flights," Oncada said.
-For his part, Malungon Vice Mayor Benjamin Guilley encouraged the participants to use the activity as an opportunity to dialogue with the project proponent.
+A short flight or a maximum of 10-minute flight would cost P2,300. “For a long flight or 15 to 20-minute flight, we charge P3,000," Oncada added.
-==Sarangani capitol building to be named after late Rep. James Chiongbian==
+Oncada said the Sarangani Paragliding Club will also have a paragliding accuracy competition on May 18 in time for Sarangani Bay Festival.. (DED-PIA 12/CSexcion/Sarangani Information Office)
-*Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=372508
-*September 14, 2011, 8:47 pm
-:by(PNA) DCT/scs/AVE
+==Land Bank relocates Alabel branch to Sarangani==
+*Source: http://callcenterinfo.tmcnet.com/news/2012/04/13/6257017.htm
+*April 13, 2012]
+:by John Anthony Concepcion
-GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Sept. 14 (PNA) – Sarangani’s landmark provincial capitol building will soon be named in honor of the province’s “founding father,” the late Rep. James L. Chiongbian.
-Sarangani board member Eugene Alzate said they passed an ordinance during its regular session on Tuesday officially naming the main building of the provincial capitol complex in the province’s capital town of Alabel as the James L. Chiongbian Building.
+Apr 13, 2012 (Datamonitor via COMTEX) -- Land Bank of the Philippines has relocated its Alabel branch to a more spacious facility at the Provincial Capitol Complex of Sarangani, to expand its network.
-He said the move was mainly in recognition of the late lawmaker’s pioneering efforts that led to the establishment of Sarangani as a new province in 1992.
+"LANDBANK's strategic network expansion is consistent with our thrust to provide banking services to the unbanked and underserved areas in continuous pursuit of countryside development," said LANDBANK President and CEO Gilda E. Pico.
-“History shows that our province was created through the initiative of Congressman Chiongbian so we deemed it appropriate to dedicate the provincial capitol building in his honor,” Alzate told reporters.
+LANDBANK first established its presence in Alabel in 1996 with its first branch at the Provincial Capitol Gymnasium. Among the clients of the branch are the local government of Alabel, the provincial government of Sarangani, and the neighboring municipalities of Malapatan, Glan, and some barangays of Malungon, along with rural bank and micro and SME clients.
-Sarangani was officially established as a new province on March 16, 1992 based on Republic Act No. 7228 authored by Chiongbian, who was then representative of South Cotabato’s third congressional district.
+"This forms part of our financial inclusion program which we are aggressively pursuing as we hope to bring banking services closer to underserved and unbanked areas. This will likewise benefit the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps beneficiaries since they will no longer need to travel out of their towns to withdraw their cash grants," said LANDBANK President Pico.
-R.A. 7228 carved out seven municipalities under South Cotabato’s third district and created them as a new province.
+The MOU was signed by Maitum Mayor Elsie Lucille Perrett, Malungon Mayor Reynaldo Constantino, Rural Bank of Kiamba President Teresa Falgui, and LANDBANK First vice president for Mindanao Branches Joselito Gutierrez, for the installation of automated teller machines (ATMs) in the six other municipalities of Sarangani, namely Glan, Kiamba, Maasim, Malapatan, Malungon, and Maitum.
-Chiongbian later served as the first representative of Sarangani’s lone district and his wife Priscilla as its first provincial governor.
+http://www.datamonitor.com Republication or redistribution, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without prior written consent. Datamonitor shall not be liable for errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon
-Alzate said while serving as Sarangani representative, Chiongbian lobbied for the allocation of P55 million out of the infrastructure funds of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for the construction of the provincial capitol building.
+==‘BIR is right going after Pacquiao’==
+*Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/175693/%E2%80%98bir-is-right-going-after-pacquiao%E2%80%99
+*7:58 pm | Thursday, April 12th, 2012
+:by  Frances Mangosing
+INQUIRER.net
-He said the late lawmaker was able to include the funding for the capitol building’s construction in the DPWH’s budget as a member then of the House of Representatives’ public works and appropriations committee.
-The whitewashed Sarangani provincial capitol building is considered as among the primary landmarks and tourist attractions of the province.
-The building has been dubbed the reenacted “White House” in southern Mindanao with its grand neo-classical design that was reminiscent of the American colonial era provincial capitols.
+MANILA, Philippines—Following the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s filing of the tax evasion case against its former poster boy, boxing icon and Representative Manny Pacquiao, half of INQUIRER.net readers think it was only the right thing to do.
+In a poll conducted between March 29 and April 12, 51.73 percent or 2,682 answered “BIR is only right to go after Pacquiao” to the question, “What do you think of the BIR’s tax case against Manny Pacquiao?”
+However, 32.15 percent or 1,667 thought it could be talked over by answering “BIR and Pacquiao should settle the case amicably.”
+Meanwhile, 16.12 percent or 836 voted that “Pacquiao is right in calling the BIR move as harassment.”
+In March, the BIR filed a tax evasion case against Pacquiao, for his alleged failure to submit complete tax records for the year 2010.
+It said that Pacquiao ignored summons issued by the BIR office in Central Mindanao asking him to explain his failure to submit complete tax documents.
+Pacquiao cried foul over the case, claiming that it was “without basis” and a form of harassment.
+“The institution of the case against me is plain and simple harassment.  Contrary to public perception, I am not charged with Tax Evasion or Tax Fraud.  That is farther from the truth.  Over the years as a boxer, a product endorser and a businessman,” he said in a statement.
+Pacquiao said the BIR violated its own rules when it served the subpoena to a person unknown to him. He also asked why the BIR served the subpoena in General Santos City when he is now a resident of Sarangani.
+The boxing sensation, who topped the taxpayer’s list in 2008, made a 30-second television commercial for BIR in 2009 reminding citizens to pay their taxes.
-Meanwhile, Alzate said they have set the re-dedication and marking of the capitol building’s new name during the province’s 9th MunaTo Festival and 19th foundation anniversary celebration in November.
-He said the upcoming event will serve as launch pad for Sarangani’s preparations for its 20th anniversary as a province next year.
-==Mango growers seek market supremacy==
-*Source: http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/news/regions/7188-mango-growers-seek-market-supremacy
-* Tuesday, September 13, 2011
-:by JULMUNIR I. JANNARAL CORRESPONDENT
-COTABATO CITY: Sarangani hosts the 13th National Mango Congress that will run from September 28 to 30, the conference lead organizer said on Monday.
-Fred Dumasis, president of the Sarangani Federation of Fruit Industry Associations, Inc. said the gathering of mango growers aims to increase the competitiveness of Philippine mangoes in global markets.
-“We would like to highlight this sub-region, especially Sarangani, as a viable location for off-season mango production,” Dumasis said.
-The congress with the theme, “Positioning the Philippine Mango Strongly in the World Market” will provide updates on export market requirements, the latest production technologies, and best production practices. It will also showcase areas in Mindanao with the potential for mango production.
-Japan and Hong Kong remain the biggest buyers of Philippine mangoes, accounting for 51 and 31 percent, respectively, of mango exports, according to the recent report by the Mindanao Fruit Industry Council (MinFruit).
-Other countries where Philippine mangoes have gained a market foothold are South Korea, the U.S.A., Singapore and China.
-About 500 growers, processors, consolidators, exporters and ancillary service providers from across the country are expected to attend the congress, which will be held in the resort town of Glan in Sarangani Province, an emerging mango producer and tourist destination in Southern Mindanao, according to Dumasis.
+==PNoy PREEMPTS ENERGY SUMMIT, APPROVED MORE COAL-POWERED PLANTS==
+*Source: http://www.newsflash.org/2004/02/hl/hl111735.htm
+*APRIL 11, 2012
+:by John Anthony Concepcion
-Luzon remains the country’s primary producer of carabao mangoes, accounting for 64 percent of production, while Mindanao accounts for 23 percent, according to MinFruit.
-Dumasis said that Mindanao’s contiguous production areas and agro-climatic conditions, particularly in the southern part of the region, make it an ideal location for year-round, typhoon-free mango production.
+DAVAO CITY, APRIL 11, 2012 (MANILA STANDARD) Written by Christine F. Herrera - Critics bare ‘midnight deals’ on coal power plants
-He also emphasized investment opportunities in mango industry support services, such as hot-water treatment and vapor heat treatment plants and packing houses.
+President Benigno Aquino III has approved “midnight deals” to build more coal-fired plants in Mindanao days ahead of an Energy Summit here, locking the island into a dirty source of power for decades, lawmakers and environmentalists said Monday.
-The Mango Congress is supported by MinFruit, the Department of Agriculture (DA), and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
+“The Mindanao Energy Summit was supposed to give the stakeholders options for short- and long-term solutions to the power crisis, but no option is being offered because the contracts for coal are already a done deal,” Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño said.
-USAID, through its Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program, has partnered with MinFruit and the DA to enhance the production methods used by fruit and vegetable farmers across Mindanao, while linking them with prospective local and foreign buyers.
+“Is there a conspiracy to ram fossil-fuel power as the solution? Would this not reduce the power summit to a farce, giving Mindanao consumers no choice but to stick to more expensive, dirty, non-renewable power?”
-The conference delegates are also expected to submit recommendations to the national government on how industry stakeholders and government agencies can work together to ensure the mango industry’s continued growth and expansion.
+Von Hernandez, Greenpeace Southeast Asia executive director, said environmental compliance certificates were hastily approved for the coal plants despite opposition from the communities in Mindanao.
-==Sarangani, Israel traders forge ties==
+“The hasty approval … confirms earlier suspicions that pro-coal business interests were out to capitalize on the current crisis to railroad government approval of such environmentally sensitive projects that should have undergone better scrutiny,” Hernandez said.
-*Source: http://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2011/09/12/sarangani-israel-traders-forge-ties/
-* Monday| September 12, 2011
+Agham Rep. Angelo Palmones, who comes from Cotabato, urged Congress to exercise its oversight powers to review the deals.
-:by Bong S. Sarmiento
+At a pre-summit conference last week, Energy Undersecretary Josephine Patricia Asirit said some 700 megawatts would be generated from the coal-fired power plants and that the 100-megawatt Iligan diesel plant owned by the Alcantaras would be revived pending clearance from the Audit Commission.
+Asirit said Mindanao had a daily demand of 1,200 megawatts and a shortfall of 100 megawatts, and that demand was growing at 50 megawatts yearly. Some 1,400 megawatts would be in the pipelines for Mindanao from October 2012 to 2014.
+Asirit identified the coal-fired projects as a 200-megawatt coal-fired plant by Conal Holdings of the Alcantaras in 2014, a 200-megawatt coal-fired plant by STEAG in the last quarter of 2014, a 300-megawatt coal-fired plant by Therma South of the Aboitizes in 2014, and a 15-megawatt oil-based plant by EEI Power Corp. in October 2012.
+The 50-megawatt Mt. Apo 3 geothermal plant and a 5-megawatt wind farm would also be operational by 2014 and 2015, respectively.
+Providing extra power would be the eight-megawatt Cabulig hydroelectric plant by Minergy, a 35-megawatt biomass facility by Green Power Bukidnon in 2013, the 225-megawatt Agus 3 hydroelectric plant by Lanao Hydropower Development Corp. in 2015, the 20-megawatt Tagoloan hydroelectric plant by Mindanao Hydro Power Corp. in 2016, and the 12-megawatt Tamugan hydroelectric plant by Hedcor in 2018.
+Asirit said coal and diesel would make up the region’s base load because of the unreliability and seasonality of the hydrothermal plants.
+Only 350 megawatts was approved for geothermal and other renewable energy sources.
+Coal, power barges and diesel cost P9 a kilowatt hour compared with P2 for hydroelectric power and P2.80 for geothermal power.
+Citing Asirit’s presentation at the pre-summit conference, Hernandez said the Energy Department had confirmed that four coal plants and one coal power plant expansion were in the pipeline for Mindanao.
+“One of the plans [was] approved early this week, ironically, with a promise from the President to expedite the construction process of the harmful facility. Last November 2011, the government gave the go-signal for a coal plant in Sarangani, and before that in July, [President Aquino] was guest of honor in the inauguration of another coal facility in the Visayas.
+“Should the other projects in Mindanao push through, President Aquino’s administration would have approved more coal plants than any of his predecessors.”
+“With this midnight approval, the government has succeeded in creating a truly agonizing Holy Week scenario for the people of Mindanao, replete with episodes of sacrifice, false prophets, and public betrayal.”
+Hernandez reminded the President of his campaign promise to support the development of renewable energy and to phase out coal-fired power plants.
+“We thought this administration would approach this problem with a greater measure of integrity and sophistication,” Hernandez said.
+“On the contrary, he has allowed coal pushers in his team to overturn his pledge as evidenced by the [Energy Department’s] existing plans to build an unprecedented number of coal plants during his term. The President should be advised that each coal plant he builds edges out the opportunity for the people of this country to harness clean and renewable power.”
+Greenpeace claims there is no such things as “clean coal plants,” and that there were no commercially available technologies that could remove mercury, a deadly neurotoxin that accumulates in the environment and in the food chain, or carbon dioxide, which causes climate change.
+Casiño, meanwhile, said he had learned that in an April 4 pre-summit meeting in Davao, Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras ordered Mindanao’s electric cooperatives to buy expensive power from the privatized power barges at P14 a kilowatt hour, with the government shouldering P9 per kilowatt hour.
+Almendras, he said, also reportedly ordered local government officials to immediately approve the environmental compliance certificates for at least two new coal-fired power plants in Mindanao.
+“If that is the case, then the power summit would just be a rubber stamp... which forces consumers to pay an additional 50 to 80 centavos per kilowatt hour for their electricity due to the manipulations of favored private power generators like Therma Marine Inc. owned by the Aboitizes, ” Casiño said.
+He said he found it strange that the government was willing to subsidize diesel power at P9 a kilowatt hour when it would be cheaper and more sustainable to subsidize solar and other renewable energy sources.
+Asirit told the pre-summit conference that power rate increases were inevitable.
+“What makes Mindanao different from Visayas and Luzon is its rich potential for renewable energy, from solar, hydro, geothermal to biomass. Why not tap these instead of the more expensive and dirty fossil fuel technologies?” Casiño said.
+Also on Monday, administration Senator Serge Osmeña III chided the electric cooperatives for opposing the privatization of the government-owned plants on the island, saying it was mandated by law. He his view that the people of Mindanao had been enjoying subsidies for too long.
+“The Mindanao cooperatives have their own version of the economic law of supply and demand,” Osmeña, chairman of the Joint Congressional Power Commission, told the Manila Standard in a text message.
+“They demand subsidized electricity and the rest of the country must supply. What about the rest of the population who have been paying market rates for almost 10 years?”
+The senator was reacting to the position paper submitted by the 33-member Association of Mindanao Rural Electric Cooperatives, which urges the government to forgo plans to sell its power plants in Mindanao to prevent a spike in energy prices.
+Osmeña said the privatization of government-owned plants was mandated by law to attract the private sector to enter the power generation business.
+“Private owners do not and cannot afford to compete with government, which can operate at a loss,” he said.
+==Last 2 Pacquiao fights fail to impress Ariza==
+*Source: http://sports.inquirer.net/39983/last-2-pacquiao-fights-fail-to-impress-ariza
+*10:06 pm | Tuesday, April 10th, 2012
+:by  Romina S. Austria
+Philippine Daily Inquirer
+Manny Pacquiao’s strength and conditioning coach said he is far from impressed with the Filipino ring superstar’s two fights last year.
+And the last thing Alex Ariza wants is an unprepared Pacquiao battling the unbeaten American Timothy Bradley on June 9 for the Sarangani congressman’s WBO welterweight belt at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
+“We can’t have a bad camp,” Ariza told boxingscene.com. “(Pacquiao’s) physical conditioning is very important. This must happen all the way.”
+Pacquiao will defend his WBO title for the fourth time against the unpredictable Bradley, with the Ring magazine’s pound-for-pound king heavily favored to bag his 55th professional victory in 60 fights.
+The eight-division world champion prevailed via ho-hum unanimous decisions over Joshua Clottey in March 2010 and Shane Mosley in May 2011 before besting Juan Manuel Marquez for the second time via an unpopular majority decision six months later.
+“He’s (Bradley) a high-volume puncher who’ll come forward,” Ariza said. “Bradley’s not a technical guy like Marquez. He fights somewhat like Manny. That’s why I think it’ll be an explosive fight.”
+Ariza said Pacquiao, who has started light training in Manila and General Santos City, runs the risk of losing focus for his clash with Bradley because of his various activities outside the ring.
+The Colombian conditioning guru also said starting camp on April 16 in Baguio City could be “a little late” for Pacquiao even though he sees a hungrier, more motivated Pacman this time.
+“It’s up to Manny how he’d prepare against Bradley,” Ariza said, adding he knows Pacquiao wants to prove something in his coming fight.
+Meanwhile, world junior welterweight contender Ruslan Provodnikov (21-1, 14 KOs) will join Pacquiao’s training camp in Baguio. The Russian is expected to arrive in the country on April 22.
+Provodnikov will travel back to Los Angeles with Pacquiao and head trainer Freddie Roach in early May to continue training at the Wild Card Gym.
+Despite his apprehensions, Ariza said he is confident the Pacquiao-Bradley bout will be a short one.
+“Manny’s competitive spirit will take over,” Ariza said. “How he trains will impact on how he does against Bradley.
+“If he trains properly, Manny could blow that guy away in less than five rounds.”
+==Sarangani floods affect 100 families==
+*Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/04/09/12/sarangani-floods-affect-100-families
+*04/09/2012 6:13 PM | Updated as of 04/09/2012 6:42 PM
+:by  Jay Dayupay and Rhea Lara, ABS-CBN News SOKSARGEN
+MANILA, Philippines – More than 100 families in Poblacion, Alabel, Sarangani province were affected by floods triggered by strong rains last Saturday.
+Raging floodwaters inundated Purok 4, Sitio Cogonal and Purok Tagumpay, prompting several residents to flee their homes.
+Around 50 hectares of agricultural products were also destroyed.
+In Barangay Kawas, motorists were stranded due to an impassible bridge.
+Road repairs are ongoing.
+The residents have returned to their homes but they fear that more rains in the coming days will trigger floods anew.
+==Police rescue two abducted security guards in Sarangani==
+*Source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/254194/news/regions/police-rescue-two-abducted-security-guards-in-sarangani
+*April 8, 2012 9:37am
+:by  LBG, GMA News
+Local authorities on Saturday rescued in Sarangani province two abducted security guards, a police report said.
+Mark Lantin and Daniel Bolunos were released unharmed by their captors on Saturday morning, some 29 hours after they were abducted by armed men at the Rosa Farm, Sitio Nakolel, Barangay Lago in Glan town at 4 a.m. on Good Friday.
+Reports reaching Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Dir. Gen. Nicanor Bartolome from Central Mindanao said a crisis management committee – composed of personnel from Glan Municipal Police Station, Sarangani Police Provincial Police Office, Regional Intelligence Division and local government authorities – was convened immediately to secure the safe release of the captives.
+At the same time, PNP units had conducted operations to limit the movement of the abductors within a smaller area.
+Chief Supt Benjardi Mantele, PNP Regional Director in Central Mindanao, said the two victims were brought to Barangay Congan before their abductors were prompted to release the victims unconditionally due to police pressure.
+==Mindanao farmers get tractors, threshers from gov’t==
+*Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/173113/mindanao-farmers-get-tractors-threshers-from-gov%E2%80%99t
+*7:43 pm | Saturday, April 7th, 2012
+:by  Leila B. Salaverria
+Philippine Daily Inquirer
+MANILA, Philippines—Farmers in Mindanao have received nmearly P21 million worth of farm equipment from the Department of Agriculture intended to help them produce more crops and earn more money.
+The department said in a news release that it recently awarded 177 pieces of farm machinery and equipment, such as tractors and threshers, to farmers’ groups and irrigators’ associations in Region 12 or the Soccsksargen (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City) Region.
+The DA shouldered the bulk of the cost of the equipment through the farm mechanization component of its Food Staple Sufficiency Program. Under the program, the DA paid for 85 percent of the cost, while the beneficiaries shouldered the remaining 15 percent.
+Assistant Agriculture Secretary Dante Delima said another set of farm machines and equipment was  scheduled to be awarded to another batch of farmers in August this year.
+Delima, who was present in the recent turnover to the beneficiaries, called on the farmers to maximize the use of their new equipment in their field preparation, planting, harvesting and other farm operations so that these would be faster and more efficient.
+He also said they should take care of the machines, which are meant to increase their production and income.
+DA Region 12 Director Amalia Jayag-Datukan said the department would create a team to monitor the farmers and irrigators groups to ensure they are using the new equipment efficiently and are seeing to their maintenance.
+The bulk of the machines and equipment went to 126 farmers’ groups. They received five units of four-wheel drive tractors, 112 hand tractors, and 37 rice threshers, collectively worth P18.5 million.
+Five outstanding irrigators’ associations received nine hand tractors, seven hermetic cocoons, and seven portable dryers, which are worth P2.43 million.
+==Pacquiao steps aside for the true Champ==
+*Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/-depth/04/06/12/pacquiao-steps-aside-true-champ
+*04/06/2012 12:47 PM | Updated as of 04/06/2012 12:47 PM
+:by www.abs-cbnnews.com
+MANILA, Philippines – Core members and volunteers of ABS-CBN Christian Fellowship were still busy setting up for the 7 p.m. March 29 fellowship when I received a phone call at 4:30 pm from our guest speaker. “Malapit na kami diyan sa ABS,” Sarangani Congressman and world boxing champ Manny Pacquiao said.
+“Huh? Ang aga niyo,” I answer.
+“OK lang,” he said. “Gusto ko i-testing iyong Powerpoint presentation ko.”
+In less than 5 minutes, a convoy of 4-5 vehicles pulled up the driveway of the ABS-CBN compound bringing the members of Barangay Pacquiao - Manny dressed in a suit, Jinkee in a gorgeous yellow lace dress, their 4 kids, Jimuel, Michael, Princess and Queenie and their yayas, his security detail, executive assistant Stephanie, and Pastor Jeric Soriano.
+A crowd quickly gathers when word of his arrival spread. ABS-CBN employees left their workstations to stare, get a picture or shake the hand of the 8-division boxing champ. Even the kids are greeted with cheers and well-wishes. Manny obliges the fans while slowly working his way to the Dolphy Theater.
+Once there, Manny introduced the Pacquiao Word Worship team, led by his wife Jinkee, his staff, security and some friends. All of them are wearing Team Pacquiao T-shirts. The team practice their line-up of praise and worship songs such as Power of Your Love, Here We Are, Shine Jesus Shine, and Walang Hanggang Pasasalamat.
+Manny briefly goes through his presentation with Pastor Jeric who has been intensely teaching the Sarangani congressman. He gives Pacquiao the nod – he’s good to go. Before the service, the organizers gather as a group and say a prayer asking for the Holy Spirit to empower the speaker, the musicians and everyone involved.
+Packed theatre
+The Dolphy Theatre is packed even before the fellowship starts. The worshippers come out and lead the people in worship before I formally introduce the Pacman on stage. He started off by greeting everyone with his big smile.
+“Kumain na ba kayo? (Have you eaten?)” he asked, earning a chuckle from the audience.
+Manny then encouraged them with a Bible verse. “OK lang. Sabi sa Biblia, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
+Pacquiao then shared his dream where he heard God speaking to him: “Anak , bakit ka lumayo sa akin? (My child, why have you gone astray?)”
+Manny did go astray as his boxing career soared.
+“Umiinom, sugal, bar, babae...,” he said
+He then added: “That old Manny Pacquiao is gone and the new Manny Pacquiao has come.”
+‘I didn’t understand the Bible’
+Manny attributes his spiritual awakening and transformation after truly discovering the author and subject of the Bible, Jesus Christ.
+He said he repented from his sin, rededicated his life to Jesus and went on a quest to learn as much as he could about his Savior and how to get closer to God.
+“When I first read the Bible, I couldn’t understand it. I wanted a bible study in the morning and in the afternoon. I felt my day wasn’t complete if I didn’t read the Bible,” he shares.
+Manny moved on to his presentation and for the next 45 minutes, he shared how the Word of God, when read, meditated and followed, turned his life around.
+The Pacman shared one Bible verse that made an impact on his life. Joshua 1:8 “Keep this book of the Law always in your lips. Meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
+“The Bible is spiritual food that feeds your Spirit man,” Manny explained.
+“The old Manny, when tempting thoughts would come to me, I had no power to say ‘No.’ Now I do,” he added.
+Turning point
+It was 4 months ago when Manny declared inside the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles that he wanted to turn his life around. He hasn’t looked back since.
+Pastor Rice Brooks in Las Vegas shared to him about the Word of God one week before his fight with Juan Manuel Marquez. Pacquiao fell in love with God, and everyday after, I could see his eyes sparkle whenever he learned a new truth and precept.
+He glued himself to the Bible and prayer, and rededicated himself to his family. Round by round, he pounded away at his old habits. Today, Manny walks around with his iPad equipped with Bible apps. He also shares pages of Bible verses he has memorized.
+“Marami na akong mga weapon!” he exclaims to everyone who’s listening.
+Pastor Jeric Soriano said Manny has carried his discipline in boxing training to his study of the Word of God.
+“He is extremely diligent and determined,” he said.
+Pacquiao said another one of his favorite Bible verses is Jeremiah 29:11. “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”
+He explained: “Dati dasal ako ng dasal. Simba ako every Sunday pero Monday to Saturday lahat ng kalokohan ginagawa ko. Hindi natin maloloko ang Panginoon.”
+His wife, Jinkee, was all smiles as she listened to her husband preach for the first time.
+“Ang Holy Spirit na kay Manny na talaga. Happy ako at lahat kaming pamilya. Ang saya na talaga,” he said.
+Bible studies in his Manila and General Santos City homes are frequent. Pacquiao also likes to listen to an audio bible with portable speakers in his vehicle.
+In his sermon, Pacquiao is stretching his arms wide to the audience.
+“God loves us so much. That’s why he even died for us.’
+“Famous athletes like Jeremy Lin, Tim Tebow and now Manny Pacquiao are all sharing about God. Why me? Because the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ is near.”
+Dig deep into the Word
+Pacquiao ended his sermon by bowing down in prayer and asking all who want to begin a new life with Jesus to join in.
+‘Lord, maraming salamat sa iyong pag-ibig.  Sorry sa lahat ng kasalanan ko. I give my life to you Jesus. The old is gone, the new me has come. Thank you. I love you, God,” he said.
+He then joins his group in singing a couple more of his favorite praise and worship songs.
+“Diva for the Lord” Dulce belted out a powerful number while Pastor Jesse Dedel prayed over the Pacquiao family, encouraging Manny to press on till the end.
+Celebrities and top management attended the fellowship but the night did not belong to them. In the end, even the 8-division world boxing champion stepped aside to give glory to the true champion – the Lord Jesus Christ.
+Pacquiao also encouraged Filipinos to dig deep into the Holy Scripture during Holy Week.
+“Dig deep and truly have a life changing experience with God by committing to read His Word and obeying it. He has a solution for every situation and nothing is impossible with God,” he said. “Believe! Don’t live in unbelief.”
+Pacquiao has said before that he plans to retire soon since he has nothing left to prove inside the ring. Indeed, his boxing conquests may soon come to an end but his new journey of victory in Christ is just beginning.
+==Go Gumasa for the biggest beach party this summer - Asian Correspondent==
+*Source: http://cebusandman.typepad.com/philippines_travel_news/2012/04/go-gumasa-for-the-biggest-beach-party-this-summer-asian-correspondent-1.html
+*April 5, 2012 at 7:27 AM
+:by  COCOY SEXCION
+Tired of the maddening crowd of Boracay? The crash commercialism of Panglao? Or the prohibitive and princely price tag of El Nido?
+Save your bed and dine budget and get more adventurous.
+Pack those bags and fly farther south for a summer retreat where one gets the most rural of the setting, yet lusts for one of nature’s few remaining unspoiled beauties.
+Welcome to Gumasa in Sarangani, home to Mindanao’s biggest beach party – the Sarangani Bay Festival.
+Crossing the 15-kilometer Sarangani Bay channel
+It is in this part of Mindanao where you can still frolic in the most powdery white sands, watch beach volley and soccer, build sand castles, snorkel and skinny dip in crystal-clear sea waters and party all night long. On the side, shout your hearts out as you cheer for your favorite 5-man relay team swim and race against many others in the shark-infested Sarangani Bay, a distance of 15 kilometers across the channel. (Don’t worry. The sheer number of sea crafts, swimmers and spectators are driving those sharks away.) Oh, lest you forget, watch dolphins playfully swim with the human tankers at a safe distance. When there are no sharks, there are dolphins, period.
+Gumasa, they say, is what Boracay was 25 years ago when the world-known tourist destination was not yet, well, as crowded as it is today. When being in with the Boracay beach crowd means spending half a year’s salary for a Metro Manila minimum wage earner for a two night stay good for two.
+You can spend half of that and stay in Gumasa for four days. That’s practically more than half the price tag of Boracay! But, dig this. You can happily bring home along with you the bragging rights of telling friends when you grow those grey hairs that you were there in Gumasa when one can practically own the place by his or her lonesome during off seasons. That is one of life’s priceless moments and memories.
+Just ask Supreme Court administrator Midas Marquez who was at the bay festival two years ago and was seen tightly clasping a bottle of ice cold San Mig Lights while watching Cueshe live on stage. Or Tina Muñoz Palma who had her moment with youthful Sarangani Gov. Miguel Rene Dominguez along the beach front one breezy and cloudy afternoon the year before.
+Talkback host and Bantay Bata mover Tina Muñoz Palma of ANC and ABS-CBN Foundation with Sarangani Gov. Miguel Rene Dominguez
+Dominguez said the late Filipino rock icon Karl Roy once suddenly popped out from the crowd and went upstage to jam with the local band. Eric Gancio of the lamented and missed Yano band is a regular performer here. Eric is a friend of the governor. Recent Pinoy Big Brother fourth placer Paco Evangelista is also a regular at the bay festival.
+Sarbay, as organizers have coined it, now proudly owns the tag as Mindanao’s biggest beach party and Gumasa is the resident host of Sarangani Bay Festival.
+The festival itself has become the province’s great leveler – where a farmhand can rub elbows with celebrities. Where Sarangani’s officials are part of the crowd – not the crowd.
+“I think we can claim it has become the bigger beach party in the country where people party literally from sundown to sunrise,” the governor said.
+Dominguez said, last year, the bay festival was able to attract 35,000 local tourists – up from 6,000 in 2006.
+Have you seen your vice governor break dance on stage in your place? Try Gumasa.
+The bay festival was one of the first activity concepts pushed by Dominguez immediately after he was elected governor of the province for the first time in 2004.
+Sarangani province however shares the bay with nearby General Santos City. (Sarangani six coastal towns are evenly separated by Gensan) After failed attempts to jointly host Sarbay with General Santos, Dominguez gave his signal to proceed with the concept that has now become a buzzword in Mindanao.
+Mindanao today. The world tomorrow.
+This year’s Sarangani Bay Festival has been shortened to two days – May 18-19. This should give visitors enough time to enjoy the serenity of the place and explore other places before and after Sarbay.
+Side tours
+The bay fest is adventure enough but if one wants to extend his stay, he or she can para-glide and get an eagle eye’s view of the blue waters of Sarangani Bay. The Tan brothers of SAFII Group of Companies are offering this latest craze to hit Sarangani.
+Lemlunay's infiniti pool
+If one is a dive enthusiast and wants to explore the earth’s remaining frontier, there is the Lemlunay Dive Resort operated by the Partridge family in Tinoto Maasim, also in Sarangani. The Tinoto Wall is dubbed as one of the best dive spots in Mindanao. The wall drops more than 500 feet you can almost “see” the abyss. Lemlunay also offers world-class accommodation with an infiniti pool to drool for.
+Rep. Manny Pacquiao shooting the La Union rapids
+If security arrangement can be made, a trek into the hidden waterfalls of Kiamba town or a visit to one of the pre-historic burial caves of Maitum will be a big bonus.
+Nalus Falls in Kiamba
+But you can still wet your butt in white-water rubber-tubing adventure in La Union, Maitum. Sarangani Rep. Manny once said the 1.5 kilometer stretch of rapids ride was one like he never had before. Unfortunately, until Manny retires from boxing, you will not get to see him at the festival as he often fights during the month.
+How to get there and some tips
+Travel light. You do not have to dress up and bring your costly gears. After all, Gumasa is a backpacker’s ultimate paradise. Book a flight from your place of origin to General Santos City. There are at least four flights daily from Manila and back and two flights from Cebu on some days.
+Taxis at the airport are available. Drivers however are not keen on using the taxi meter, though. Haggle with them. Airport to downtown fare should not be more than P300.
+You can ask the driver where to bring you to the hotel or inn that best suits your taste or budget. Don’t look for 5-star accommodation. There is none yet in the city. You can make arrangements with the hotel front desk for transfer accommodation to one of the beach resorts in Gumasa. If you are to join the bay festival, an outdoor carry-on portable tent is advisable if you cannot have prior bookings.
+You may inquire with event organizers at stipc@yahoo.com or call Telefax (083) 508-5230 or 508-5244.
+==From being No. 1 taxpayer in 2008, Pacquiao slides to 135th spot in 2010==
+*Source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/253833/news/nation/from-being-no-1-taxpayer-in-2008-pacquiao-slides-to-135th-spot-in-2010
+*April 4, 2012 2:35pm
+:by KBK/VS, GMA News
+From being number one in 2008, Sarangani Rep. and world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao slid to the 135th spot among the country’s Top 500 individual taxpayers in 2010, latest data from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) showed.
+Pacquiao, who is currently at loggerheads with the BIR, paid only P9,190,691 in taxes in 2010 despite having a taxable income of P504.5 million, the bureau said.
+In 2008, Pacquiao paid over P125 million, making him the top taxpayer for that year.
+The eight-time world champion is currently facing a criminal case for obstructing a tax investigation into his earnings, a case that he said has cost him a fortune in endorsements.
+The case was filed by the BIR last February after Pacquiao allegedly failed to submit proper documents about his earnings from boxing matches and his numerous commercial endorsements.
+The BIR, through the agency’s regional director Rozil Lozares, issued a Letter of Authority to the boxing icon requiring him to submit documents regarding his earnings. Pacquiao allegedly failed to comply.
+The BIR wants to investigate Pacquiao’s 33 tax records, including his annual income tax return in 2010, his book of accounts, list of assets, as well as his earnings from his fights against Antonio Margarito and Joshua Clottey.
+GMA News Online called Pacquiao's business manager Rex "Wakee" Salud over the phone,  but the boxing champ's camp is still to issue an official statement as of this posting.
+Pacquiao’s tax payments substantially declined to some P7 million in 2009 from P125 million in 2008–a drastic drop that got the bureau curious.
+Pacquiao has vowed to fight the case in court and accused the BIR of singling him out for harassment.
+According to the latest BIR list, businessman Vicente Lao was the top taxpayer for 2010. He had a taxable income of P235 million that year and paid taxes of P75 million.
+After Lao, businessman Rolando Hortaleza placed second with P69.665 million in taxes. Filmmaker Carlo J. Caparas, once the subject of a tax case filed by the BIR, came in third with P65.670 million in taxes.
+For non-individual taxpayers, communications giant Smart Communications topped the list with P11.456 billion for 2010. Other top corporate taxpayers were Chevron Malampaya LLC (P4.378 billion) and Shell Philippines Exploration (P4.327 billion).
+Nestle and San Miguel placed fourth and fifth, with P4.277 billion and P4.206 billion, respectively.
+==Journalist wants libel raps dismissed==
+*Source: http://www.zambotimes.com/archives/45853-Journalist-wants-libel-raps-dismissed.html
+*Tuesday, April 3. 2012
+:by   (PNA)
+DCT/PTR
+MANILA — A Mindanao-based journalist has sought the dismissal of the libel case filed against him by the alleged friend of world boxing champion Sarangani Rep. Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao.
+In his 13-page counter-affidavit, Edwin Espejo, contributor for MindaNews and Asian Correspondent, said that "it is, therefore, imperative upon the fiscal or the judge as the case may be, to relieve the accused from the pain of going through a trial once it is ascertained that the evidence is insufficient to sustain a prima facie case or that no probable cause exists to form a sufficient belief as to the guilt of the accused."
+Espejo is facing an P18-million libel case filed against him by Mohammad Aquia, former head of the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) in Central Mindanao.
+In his article, Espejo allegedly mentioned Aquia as an accused of running a carjacking syndicate who sought refuge in Pacquiao's house in General Santos City to evade arrest.
+The article was published online.
+In his counter-affidavit, Espejo said that libel cannot be committed by means of the Internet pointing out that under Article 353, the definition of libel "did not comprehend the rise of the interface of advanced telecommunications technologies with the internet."
+Espejo said that such deficiency is recognized by the Senate thus Senator Manuel Villar filed on Jan. 18, 2011 a bill penalizing internet libel.
+He added that there is also no malice when he wrote the article because Aquia is a public figure and he does not know him personally.
+Espejo, through his legal counsel Romel Bagares, director of the Center for International Law Philippines, said that a United Nations Committee on Human Rights report stated that criminal libel in the Philippines is contrary to the country's obligations under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
+Likewise, Bagares also said that they have yet to receive summons from the Office of the City Prosecutor in General Santos about the alleged P75-million libel case filed by Pacquiao against Espejo.
+"Our information is that Rep. Pacquiao filed his complaint together with Mr. Aquia," Bagares said.
+"In any case we reiterate our earlier call on Rep. Pacquiao to take this opportunity to work with journalists in pressing for the decriminalization of libel in the country," he said.
+"This is an opportune moment for Rep. Pacquiao to show solidarity with Filipino journalists," Bagares added.
+==Mindanao chambers look to strengthen role in investment facilitation==
+*Source: http://www.zambotimes.com/archives/45759-Mindanao-chambers-look-to-strengthen-role-in-investment-facilitation.html
+*Monday, April 2. 2012
+:by  zambotimes.com
+CEBU CITY-Chambers of commerce in Mindanao should take a stronger role in drawing trade and investment to their respective areas.
+This was the consensus among the Mindanao chamber officials who attended a “cross-learning” seminar organized in Cebu City by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), and the U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID), through its Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program.
+The seminar drew executives from established chambers of commerce in Davao, Cagayan de Oro, and Zamboanga, as well as from smaller, newer chambers, from the provinces of Sarangani and Surigao and the cities of Butuan, Pagadian and Kidapawan. Representatives from Naga, Iloilo, and Cebu business chambers also attended the activity.
+Participants exchanged best practices on chamber revenue generation, policy advocacy, and trade and investment facilitation, focusing on the successful experience of the Cebu Investment Promotion Center.
+“We are in the process of reviewing our city’s investment code, and it was particularly useful to learn more about Cebu’s highly focused approach,” said Raymund Salangsang, president of the General Santos City chamber.
+“GenSan has well-established fisheries, agriculture and IT sectors that bring in business, but we really should distinguish between domestic and foreign investors and their differing requirements,” Salangsang said.
+He also proposed a more subregional approach towards attracting investors.
+“Some industries cannot be contained in just one city,” Salangsang said. “GenSan is already the commercial and transport hub for surrounding provinces, so why not help businesses to locate or expand there? It works out to everyone’s benefit.”
+“We looked at our respective strengths rather than try to replicate what other cities are doing,” said Mercedes Lourdes Quisumbing, president of the Pagadian City-Zamboanga del Sur Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Inc.
+“We are a small city in a highly agricultural area, with only a small wharf, but with established supply routes to Cebu and Cagayan de Oro,” Quisumbing pointed out.
+“Rather than focus on direct exports, we studied how we fit into the supply chain,” Quisumbing said. “Given our large coconut production base, for example, there are opportunities for investors in coco semi-processing.”
+The Mindanao chambers are currently working with local governments and national line agencies to develop investment databases for their respective areas.
+This would include information on available raw materials, people support, costs of doing business, investment incentives, and other economic and market information.
+“Some local governments are still not aware of the extent to which their chambers of commerce can help bring in investment,” said Quisumbing. “There has to be a good working relationship between the business community and government to make sure everyone is on the same investment track.”
+Public-private collaboration is expected to be further bolstered by the recent agreement between PCCI and the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) to share resources and technical expertise to promote investment.
+This builds on an earlier partnership agreement between the two organizations to jointly formulate policy recommendations for enhancing the competitiveness of key economic sectors.
+For chamber executives at the Cebu seminar, however, it was clear that a supportive policy framework will best succeed in attracting business to a particular area if its local stakeholders—both government and the private sector—work together to identify and strengthen their comparative advantages.
+==Two Bible preachers: One unknown, the other famous==
+*Source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/253457/news/metromanila/two-bible-preachers-one-unknown-the-other-famous
+*April 1, 2012 3:04am
+:by  EARL VICTOR L. ROSERO
-GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/11 Sept) – Sarangani businessmen have forged a sisterhood pact with their Israeli counterparts on Friday in a bid to boost agriculture using the latter’s advanced technology.
-The sisterhood pact was signed by the Sarangani Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SarCham) and the Israel Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ICCP), the provincial information office reported.
-It stipulated that Israel would be “the economic partner for the southern part of the Philippines in realizing a harmonious domestic and international trade and industry, specifically on agri- and aquamarine culture.”
-Ferdinand Sarfati, ICCP executive director, said Israel has “one of the best technologies in the world specifically on agritech, the foremost among those they could offer aside from tourism.”
-Israel is just the size of Palawan with 65 percent desert, he said, yet his country was still able to “export fruits, vegetables, and other things” to Europe and North America “by just actually utilizing 35 percent of (our) land area.” This, he explained, was what advancement in technologies could do.
-ICCP president Josef Gueta said the bilateral relations with Sarangani could have potentials “for developing agriculture and tourism” in the area.
-Gov. Miguel Rene Dominguez noted the success of Israel in many fields of industries, which resulted in breakthroughs in technology, is an advantage not only for Sarangani but for the entire Region 12.
-“The biggest challenge of Philippine agriculture today lies primarily on the ability to adapt to major trends especially in the use of technology, therefore, Sarangani would make the most out of the agreement with ICCP to “shift to cultural practice to adapting new technologies,” Dominguez said.
-With effective partnerships and system technology transfer, he expressed hopes that Sarangani would soon be the “front door” for the rest of Mindanao.
-SarCham president Cherrylin Marie Espinosa expressed optimism that partnering with ICCP would facilitate trade, industrial cooperation, and joint ventures in the future.
-Nenita Barroso, Department of Trade and Industry director for Sarangani, said the sisterhood pact would also “increase foreign tourist arrivals and tourism investments in Region 12, generate livelihood projects and result to higher market share of Sarangani products.”
-According to the sisterhood pact, core programs like symposia, seminars, workshops, and business conferences on agri and water technology would be initiated to commence first quarter next year.
-These activities shall encourage participation from top agricultural players in SOCCSKSARGEN area, exporters, small and medium enterprise, and entrepreneurs.
-SOCCSKSARGEN or Region 12 covers the provinces of South Cotabato, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani and the cities of General Santos City, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan and Cotabato. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
-==Sarangani, Israel ties to advance agri-fishery tech==
+He boarded the air conditioned bus at the stop under the EDSA Cubao MRT station. Respectably dressed he was in leather shoes, black slacks, and light blue long-sleeved shirt complete with a necktie.He walked down the aisle, stood at the mid-section of the bus and then pulled out of his black bag – a Bible.
-*Source :http://pia.gov.ph/?m=7&r=r12&id=53533
-*Saturday, September 10, 2011
+The unknown man, Jessie, spoke clearly though he did not or could not make eye contact with the other passengers – most of whom tried to ignore him but the sense of hearing cannot be shut down.
-:by Beverly Paoyon
-ALABEL, Sarangani, Sept 10 (PIA-- The sisterhood agreement between Sarangani Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (SarCham) and Israel Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ICCP) would result to advancement on agri-fishery technology for Sarangani, a trade official said.
+Some of the commuters had earphones on and preferred to look out the window. But every now and then some passengers would sneak a glance at him and seemed to listen.
-Engr. Nenita Barroso, trade and industry provincial director, added the sisterhood ties would “increase foreign tourist arrivals and tourism investments in the area (SOCCSKSARGEN), generate livelihood projects and result to higher market share of Sarangani products.”
-SarCham and ICCP executives signed the sisterhood agreement on Friday (September 9) to expand opportunities for business and trade particularly on agriculture.
-Ferdinand Sarfati, ICCP executive director, said Israel has “one of the best technologies in the world specifically on agritech,” the foremost among those they could offer aside from tourism.
-Israel is just the size of Palawan with 65 percent desert, he said, yet his country was still able to “export fruits, vegetables, and other things” to Europe and North America “by just actually utilizing 35 percent of (our) land area.” This, he explained, was what advancement in technologies could do.
-ICCP president Josef Gueta said the bilateral relations with Sarangani could have potentials “for developing agriculture and tourism” in the area.
-Governor Migs Dominguez said the success of Israel in many fields of industries which resulted in breakthroughs in technology is an advantage not only for Sarangani but for the entire Region 12.
-According to the governor, the “biggest challenge of Philippine agriculture today lies primarily on the ability to adapt to major trends especially in the use of
-technology,” therefore, Sarangani would make the most out of the agreement with ICCP to “shift to cultural practice to adapting new technologies.”
-With effective partnerships and system technology transfer, Dominguez was hoping that Sarangani would soon be the “front door” for the rest of Mindanao.
-SarCham president Cherrylin Marie Espinosa expressed optimism that partnering with ICCP would facilitate trade, industrial cooperation, and joint ventures in the future.
-The agreement stipulated that Israel would be “the economic partner for the southern part of the Philippines in realizing a harmonious domestic and international trade and industry by encouraging business to businessmen working and linkaging” specifically on agri- and aquamarine culture.
-Core programs like symposia, seminars, workshops, and business conferences on agri and water technology would be initiated to commence first quarter next year. These activities shall encourage participation from top agricultural players in SOCCSKSARGEN area, exporters, small and medium enterprise, and entrepreneurs.
-SOCCSKSARGEN or Region 12 covers the provinces of South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, and General Santos City. (PIO Sarangani/CTA/PIA General Santos City)
-==National Greening Program Launched in Sarangani==
+Gazing at the bus preacher evoked contrasting mental images of another man – world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao – who now adeptly quotes from the Bible by chapter and verses every time the opportunity presents itself.
-*Source :http://ariellalisan.com/2011/09/07/national-greening-program-launched-in-sarangani/
-*Wednesday, September 07, 2011
-:by Ayel
+Evangelization on wheels
-ABOUT 200 trees were planted as representatives from different sectors gathered yesterday for the launching of the National Greening Program in Sarangani in Sitio Masasato, Bagacay, Alabel, Sarangani Province.
+The preacher on the bus would later identify himself to GMA News Online as Jesse Gannabon. He said he is a pastor-in-training of the Pentecostal Missionary Church of Christ Fourth Watch with office in Marikina.
-The tree-planting activity was pursuant to Executive Order 26  of Pres. Benigno S. Aquino that mandates the implementation of the National Greening Program to reduce poverty, promote food security, environmental stability and biodiversity conservation, and enhance climate change mitigation and adaptation.
+Jesse spoke clearly though he did not or could not make eye contact with the other passengers – most of whom tried to ignore him but the sense of hearing cannot be shut down. Some had earphones on and preferred to look out the window.
-“The program seeks to plant 1.5 billion seedlings in 1.5 million hectares of public land,” OIC Provincial Environment Officer Eduardo Saladero said during the briefing.
+But every now and then some passengers would sneak a glance at him and seemed to listen.
-More than 150 participants composed of local government officials, representatives from various government agencies, and students from Alabel National Science High School planted coffee, mahogany, and narra trees in the one hectare of land, owned by former Barangay Captain of Bagacay, Bienvenido Torres.
+Jessie’s preaching followed a three-part outline. First, he introduced why he was there. Then he cited a few Bible passages and endeavored to explain them. Lastly, he asked for donations.
+After his preaching, Jessie consented to an interview. He said he has been a missionary for three years now of the Pentecostal Fourth Watch.
+As the interview proceeded, the other passengers were now intently listening.
+He also said he did the preaching on the bus everyday, whole day from about 8 a.m. to late afternoon around 4 p.m.
+Jessie said he preached because it was a commandment of God.
-“Aside from planting trees, we should also mitigate the problem of shifting cultivation or the kaingin system,” Environment Committee Chairman Eleonor Saguiguit said.
+As the bus approached the intersection of EDSA and Ortigas Avenue, he collected the envelopes he handed out, thanked the passengers, and got off the bus.
+A new calling
+Like the bus preacher, Pacquiao quotes the Bible quite often now. But unlike Jesse, Pacquiao has a weekly television variety show and hordes of media people following him every day.
+So confident and inspired Pacquiao is about his new calling that he recently led a Bible sharing session on the premises of the GMA Network Center.
-From the site of the tree-planting activity, several patches of land with burnt down vegetation can be seen.
+Months ago, whenever he got to speak during Mass at Quiapo Church in Manila, he would just give profuse thanks and say that for every big problem, he “has a bigger God.”
-“We are not only planting trees; we are growing trees,” Saladero explained. ”We have to make sure that these trees will not die.”
-The local community will be tapped to take care of the trees and they will be recipients of the Conditional Cash Transfer of the Department of Social Welfare in return.
+Now, the Pacman expertly throws not just punches, but also quick Bible quotes and some advice.
+He credits Jeric Soriano, a recently ordained pastor of the Alabang New Life Christian Center, for his being a “changed man” and his newfound love for learning from the Bible.
-==Glan Police Station feted with national award==
+The Pacman was with Soriano on stage at the ordination last January.
-*Source :http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=7&r=r12&id=52858
-*Tuesday, September 06, 2011
-:by Jenefer Heneral
+Pacquiao had also revealed that his home has become a venue for Bible study sessions with friends and neighbors in Sarangani province and General Santos City.
+Auxiliary Bishop Pablo David of Pampanga has revealed that the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines has asked Pacquiao to be a Bible ambassador of the CBCP.
+“Manny has always been very religious and we are happy that he is deepening his faith and his understanding of the Bible,” said David, who is chairman of the CBCP’s Commission on Biblical Apostolate.
+“That’s why I asked him if he could partner with us in promoting the reading of the Bible among Catholics,” Bishop David also said. — GMA News
-GLAN, Sarangani, September 6 (PIA) -- For bagging the Best Police Station of the Year award for 2010, the Glan Police Station is the current toast of the town.
+arangani Archived News]]==
-On Monday (September 5), the Barangay Council of Glan Poblacion, headed by Barangay Chairman Nazarius Wata, presented a resolution commending the Glan Police Station for being a national awardee as the Best Municipal Police Station for 2010.
+The older news reports are kept [[Sarangani Archived News|here]]
-“It is befitting to recognize the accomplishment of people who made outstanding performance that brought honor to this municipality… Said feat, as can only be attained with dedication and commitment… is worth emulating and befitting of commendation,” Resolution No. 0027, sponsored by Barangay Kagawad Jose Cania, Jr., read in part.
-In a report, Chief Inspector Jaime Tabucon, Glan police chief, told Mayor Victor James “Tata” Yap, Sr. that he received the plaque of merit for the award from President Noynoy Aquino himself at Camp Crame in Quezon City last August 8 at the 110th Police Service Anniversary celebration.
-Tabucon said the Glan Police was adjudged as Best Municipal Police Station in the entire country for its outstanding performance in the field of police operations and administration in line with the PNP’s Integrated Transformation Program, thereby contributing immeasurably to the attainment of the overall mission and objectives of the Philippine National Police.
-“We are dedicating this award to Mayor Yap, who has been very supportive of all our peace and order programs and activities, particularly on community relations,” said Tabucon.
-For his part, Yap said the authorities had been successful in crime prevention and law enforcement mainly because of the cooperation of the community, particularly the schools and non-government organizations, resulting in "a citizenry that is vigilant and aware of the goings-on in their community."
-“I am particularly proud of this award because it came under my watch, in the first year of my administration at that,” said Yap as he praised Tabucon and the entire Glan police force for their “dedication to duty and service.”
-But Yap said that because of the award, the Glan Police Station “has now an added responsibility to perform better and validate public perception that, indeed, Glan is one of the safest, if not the safest town, to live in in this part of the archipelago.”(GLAN Information Office/PIA General Santos City/CTA)

Difference between revisions of "Sarangani News"

Latest revision as of 13:58, 12 May 2012

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