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==CDO hosts Senior High School summit==
*Source: http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/2601429520082/cdo-hosts-senior-high-school-summit-
*Monday, April 20, 2015
:(CIO/PIA10)
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, April 20 (PIA) -- The city government of Cagayan de oro is now ready in hosting the Senior High School Summit slated on April 21, in partnership with the League of Cities of the Philippines and Department of Education (DepEd), Division of Cagayan de Oro.
The summit’s theme is “Uswag Kagay-anon! Yes to Senior High School.” Cagayan de Oro, along with 10 other cities in the entire country, was chosen as a pilot area for the implementation of senior high school program.
Education Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro, Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista, President of the League of Cities in the Philippines, and other local chief executives are expected to grace the event.
The summit, which is part of the City LEADERS (Lead, Educate, Advocate, Design, Effective and Responsive Senior High School) Project, aims to show the achievements of the 10 pioneer cities in their preparation for the Senior High School implementation, and to formalize partnership among establishments supporting the program.
The “CITY LEADERS Gearing for Senior High School” is initiated by the League of Cities of the Philippines and funded by The Asia Foundation with support from the Australian Embassy.
DepEd is very grateful to Mayor Moreno’s tremendous help, particularly the construction of 309 classrooms in just 20 months in office.
According to Mayor Oscar Moreno, more schools will be built by his administration, with the help and support of the Local School Board, to answer the 500-classroom shortage which was not given priority over the past years.
==P89 wage increase In Northern Mindanao pushed==
*Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cagayan-de-oro/local-news/2015/04/19/p89-wage-increase-northern-mindanao-pushed-403258
*Sunday, April 19, 2015
:(Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro)
CAGAYAN DE ORO -- Workers in Northern Mindanao are pushing for the P89 wage increase in the region to cope with the soaring prices of basic commodities.
On Friday, April 17, the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) regional office, through the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board (RTWPB), and the National Economic Development Agency (Neda) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) conducted a public hearing to provide stakeholders a platform to discuss the impact of the daily minimum wage increase petition.
With the petition, the daily minimum wage will be P395 from the current P306.
:High economic growth
During the public hearing, Neda-Northern Mindanao Director Leon Dacanay Jr. updated the audience of the economy in the region since 2013. He emphasized that Northern Mindanao has maintained its P250 billion economic growth and its Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) of P55.06 billion, which remains to be the highest among Mindanao regions.
Dacanay, who is also the vice chairperson of RTWPB-Northern Mindanao, said the value of rice production increased to 8.79 percent or 3.9 billion metric tons, resulting in the stabilization of the rice prices in the middle of 2014.
Dacanay cited that in the coconut industry, the nut production in the region has increased to 1.18 percent or P1.8 billion from 2013 to 2014, while the copra production remained stagnant with 0.03 percent or P438,852. The overall production of major crops like vegetables, fruits and root crops rose to 4.4 percent or 7.8 million metric tons last year.
But Dacanay said that despite the high economic growth, the magnitude of poor people continues to rise although the employment rate is relatively stable.
"Inflation rate continues to fall since the decline of the world oil prices that started in the middle of last year. However, the purchasing power of the peso declined by 3.6 centavos as of February 2015 from June 2013," he said.
:Soaring prices of basic commodities
In the public hearing, the Associated Labor Union–Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) presented its petition for the P89 increase and the reason why it should be granted to the workers.
According to Nicandro Borja, regional vice president of ALU-TUCP, 42 percent of a worker’s daily wage goes to food.
The 42 percent of the minimum daily wage in the city is P128.52. "And when you subtract that amount to P306, the amount left for the worker would only be P177.56 per day," Borja said.
With the continuing rise of the prices of basic commodities every day, workers are left destitute with what they can take home to their families given their minimum starvation “dying wage,” he said.
He added the daily minimum wage is insufficient especially that workers spend the expenses on the transport fare and meal plus the payment of electric and water bills.
If a worker has children who are students, their budget would be divided to the tuition, as well as the “baon” or allowance of the children, he said.
Aside from those expenses, a worker also spends for clothing, medicines and/or vitamins and and [of course] recreation, he added.
“And if their family does not have a house, they would [again] slash out their budget to paying the monthly rent,” he said.
:No dramatic surge of prices on basic commodities
But the DTI said there is no dramatic incident where the price of the basic commodities has increased.
Lawyer Fel Lester Brillantes, DTI-Northern Mindanao chief of Consumer Welfare Division (CID), said that in the comparative price monitoring report from the second quarter of 2014 to the first quarter of this year, the products monitored like canned goods, instant noodles, iodized rock salt, flour and processed canned pork have maintained their suggested retail price (SRP).
The DTI considers a red flag when the increase of prices is more than 10 percent.
Brillantes said not all products are monitored by DTI because there are other implementing agencies like the Department of Agriculture (DA), which monitors prices of agriculture produce.
“In the case of the daily minimum wage of 306 pesos, investors may look at this as preference in choosing where to invest. And that is our advantage,” Dacanay said.
He added that the capacity of the region to give a wage increase depends to more than 95 percent of small and medium enterprises, which need to be taken into consideration.
Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce president Cerael Donggay said the P89 minimum wage increase is too much.
“The increase should not be too drastic to prevent an adverse effect to the business sector. Maybe a P4 increase will do,” Donggay said.
==Batang Gilas rout Brunei, stay unbeaten in SEABA U-16==
*Source: http://www.philstar.com/sports/2015/04/18/1445390/batang-gilas-rout-brunei-stay-unbeaten-seaba-u-16
*Saturday, April 18, 2015 8:00 pm
:(philstar.com)
CAGAYAN DE ORO – Batang Gilas showed mercy against its opponents from Brunei composed of Grade A students and players who have just started playing basketball, but the Filipinos still went business as usual in securing their third straight win in the SEABA Under-16 Championship yesterday with a 113-31 triumph at the Xavier university gym here.
The Filipinos scored 42 points in the first quarter and despite showing compassion against their rivals by playing token resistance on the defensive end, their firepower were still too much for their rivals, who could only score three points in  the first period.
That lone basket came from Tristan Jared Lai Yung Chee, an outstanding student from Brunei and the youngest player at the age of 14.
By the end of the first period, the outcome had already been settled as the Filipinos moved a win away from sweeping the tournament presented by MVP Sports Foundation, SMART Communications, Maynilad, Rio Verde Water Cagayan de Oro City, and Rough Rider Jeans Clothing in partnership with the Department of Tourism Promotions Board headed by COO Domingo Ramon Enerio III and the local government of Cagayan de Oro headed by Mayor Oscar Moreno.
Earlier, the Pinoys have secured a berth in the FIBA Asia Under-16 Championship following its win over Thailand Friday. The Batang Gilas team can sweep the tournament with a win against Indonesia today.
Seven players finished in double figures for the Philippines led by Victor Berjay’s 17. He also grabbed 12 rebounds to become one of two Batang Gilas played finishing with a double-double performance.
The other player who ended up with a double-double was JG Gomez de Liano, who had 14 points and 14 boards.
Other players in double figures for the Philippines were Will Gozum (16), Sian Dave Ildefonso (11), Kris Harvey Pagsanjan (10), Samjosef Belangel (10), Rhayyan Amsali (10).
Earlier, Indonesia clobbered Thailand, 71-53, for its second win in the event.
==Modern international port terminal to rise in CDO==
*Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=3&rid=753832
*Friday, April 17, 2015
:By Aida Raut [(PNA), CTB/CD/AR/EBP]
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, April 17 (PNA) -- A state-of-the art passenger terminal will soon rise at the Macabalan Port area here, a lawmaker said Friday.
Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, of the 2nd District here, said that the construction of the passenger terminal worth some P 350 million will likely commence on June 2015.
He said that the port terminal would be designed to cater to the needs of both domestic and foreign tourists who are expected to flock to Mindanao via the port of Cagayan De Oro City.
“The modern passenger port terminal, equipped with air condition and walkalator, would be the first in Mindanao,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said that the passenger port terminal would be constructed under the government, public and private partnership program and is expected to be able to accommodate tourist “cruise ships”
He said that the contractors have set the groundbreaking for the commencement of the project next month.
==Oro power utility assures 'no more brownout'==
*Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cagayan-de-oro/local-news/2015/04/16/oro-power-utility-assures-no-more-brownout-402755
*Thursday, April 16, 2015
:By Grace Cantal-Albasin, Froilan Gallardo
BEGINNING today, Cagayan de Oro Electric Power and Light Co. (Cepalco) lifts the rotational brownout it enforced in the city since April 10 after the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM), formerly the National Power Corporation (NPC), has added another 30 megawatt to Cepalco’s daily requirement to run the city’s power needs.
Last week, Cepalco was only receiving about 60MW-70MW compelling the power utility to resort to load shedding since its own power sources were insufficient to supply the 150MW to power its franchise area.
Marilyn Chavez, Cepalco’s senior manager for Customer and Community Relations, told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro by phone Wednesday that PSALM could now provide 100MW to Cepalco. “Finally, Cepalco has ironed this out and we assure our customers that there’ll be no more power curtailment beginning tomorrow (Thursday) even if the load that PSALM provides is still short of 50MW. Cepalco’s Minergy, independent power producer, the Cabulig hydro and solar power will be sufficient to provide the city’s power demand,” Chavez said.
The neighboring Iligan City and Lanao del Norte haven’t experienced power curtailment which left Cagayan de Oro residents and the business sector wondering why there was insufficient power supply here lately.
Last year, the city experienced only minimal rotational brownout despite the Mindanao power curtailment after the Steag’s coal-fired power plant generators conked out. Steag supplies 210MW to the Mindanao grid.
:Hydro sources drying up
Pulangi River in Bukidnon and Lake Lanao, major sources of hydropower electricity in Mindanao, is rapidly drying up worsening the power situation in some cities of Mindanao already reeling with daily rotational brownouts.
Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) director Romeo Montenegro said the water level in Pulangi River in Bukidnon went down to 280.85 meters above sea level, way below the baseline limit of 286 meters as of Tuesday.
As a result, Montenegro said the hydro plant in Pulangi is now capable of producing only 30MW of electricity out of its 250MW rated capacity.
“It (Pulangi hydro plant) is not out, but it is producing only 30MW because there is no more water except silt,” Montenegro said in a text message.
Cagayan de Oro reeled under a daily eight-hour rotational brownout in its franchise area in Cagayan de Oro and the towns of Jasaan and Villanueva in Misamis Oriental that began Tuesday.
Pagadian City and nearby province of Zamboanga de Sibugay are also under severe power curtailment, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines said Wednesday.
To make matters worse for Cagayan de Oro and Pagadian cities, the newly completed 150-megawatts Boiler Unit 2 of Therma South Inc. (TSI), a power plant owned by the Aboitiz Power in Davao City, failed to go on line when it sustained damages during the Mindanao-wide blackout last Easter Sunday, April 5.
Prior to that, Cepalco secured a 20-megawatt supply from TSI supposedly to alleviate the critical power situation in Cagayan de Oro.
The same thing happened to Lake Lanao where, Montenegro said, the prolonged dry spell of weak “ El Nino” has reduced the electricity output of the six cascading hydro plants along the Agus River.
“All Agus plants are running but some units are derated or having reduced output,” he said.
Montenegro said water level in Lake Lanao had plunged to 699. 82 meters above sea level.
He said the maximum water level for Agus hydro plants to operate safely without damaging its machineries is 702 meters above sea level.
“Cepalco’s current load portfolio cannot cover high demand because of the summer heat,” Montenegro said.
Pulangi and Agus River in Lanao provinces supplies more than 52 percent of the electricity in Mindanao
Cepalco vice president Ralph Paguio said even with their standby power plants and the Independent Load Producers (ILP), they do not have enough electricity to cover their entire franchise area.
“This force us to resort to power curtailment to equitably share whatever supply there is,” Paguio said.
He said they offset the shortfall with from Cepalco’s coal plant, Minergy which produces 42 megawatts of electricity and participating ILP firms in Cagayan de Oro.
Paguio said still there is a shortfall of electricity they could not meet.
Aboitiz communications officer Wilfredo Alfredo III said the electricity supply from Therma South could have ease the situation in Cagayan de Oro.
“The brownouts could have been cut to only two hours not eight hours,” Wilfredo said.
In a statement, Aboitiz Power said the sudden loss in last Easter Sunday’s Mindanao-wide blackout caused the damage at the TSI Unit 2 boiler which was scheduled to go on line this month.
TSI president Benjie Cariaso said repairs can run up to ten months but he added that their Unit 1 coal plant is still scheduled to operate in June 2015.
Cariaso said repairs to the Boiler Unit 2’s air-preheater as well as the electrostatic precipitator can run up to 10 months delaying its commissioning.
==CDO malls, hotels now required to provide PWDs with free wheelchairs==
*Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=2&rid=753134
*Wednesday, April 15, 2015
:(PNA), JBP/CD/AIDA RAUT/CD/EDS
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, April 15 (PNA) -- Malls, hotels and bus terminals in Cagayan De Oro are now required to provide free use of wheelchairs for persons with disabilities (PWD), a city official said Wednesday.
City Councilor Dante Pajo, chair of the City Council Committee on Health and Sanitation, said they have approved Ordinance No. 12936-2015 during the council’s regular session Monday.
He said that under the ordinance the management of all hotels, malls, resorts, and bus terminals here are now required to provide wheelchairs to PWDs for easy accessibility.
The local legislators also remind owners of the establishments to provide ramps and parking spaces for PWDs.
City Councilor Ramon Tabor, of the committee on laws and rules, said that the Office of the Building Official should strictly enforce the provision of ramps for PWDs in all buildings in the city.
Tabor also bats for the strict implementation of the parking spaces allotted for PWDs in malls and establishments in response to reports that able-bodied persons parked vehicles in PWDs' parking spaces.
He said that the city council must also approve a corresponding ordinance that will penalize the violators of the PWDs parking space law.
==Plan to develop 28-curtain water falls in CDO underway==
*Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=6&rid=752765
*Tuesday, April 14, 2015
:By Ercel Maandig [(PNA), CTB/CD/EM/EDS]
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, April 14 (PNA) – Plan to develop the 28-curtain water falls in the hinterlands of Tignapolo-an, 42 kilometers southwest of here, is now underway, village chief Jay Roa Pascual said on Tuesday.
Pascual said that the waterfall known in local dialect as “Sinulom” (flock of black ants), connects 21 rapids that feed the Cagayan De Oro River’s white waters.
He said that the “Sinulom Waterfall” is an hour ride from downtown Cagayan De Oro City through rocky roads and rough ride of about 2.5 kilometers from the village’s main road.
Unlike the other waterfalls in the country whose source is an open lake or the flowing river, the source of the Sinulom Waterfalls is a fresh water spring that comes out of the bowels of the earth, Pascual said.
The Sinulom Waterfalls are located in a 5-hectare cove where the 28 curtains of water falling from a height of about 250 feet. The community residents simply pitch the safe, clean and fresh water spring for drinking, he said.
Actually, Pascual said that the road access to the area is the only problem before the development of the Sinulom Waterfall as a new tourist destination.
He said that there is a move in the City Council now to fast track the appropriation for the construction of a farm-to-market road in the area.
When developed as a new tourist destination, the Sinulom Waterfalls could generate jobs and livelihood for local residents and income for the village, Pascual said.
==How CDO's Iponan River is recovering from mining==
*Source: http://www.rappler.com/nation/89619-iponan-river-recovery-mining
*Monday, April 13, 2015 5:54 pm
:By Bobby Lagsa (Rappler.com)
The environment offices of Cagayan de Oro City and Opol town, both in Misamis Oriental, have aggressively made arrests and filed cases vs illegal miners
CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – The continuous operations of the Cagayan de Oro City Local Environment and Natural Resource Office (CLENRO) against illegal hydraulic mining along the Iponan River has resulted in the gradual recovery of the river's ecosystem.
Mining along the Iponan River has been a long-drawn battle between miners and the local government units of Cagayan de Oro City and Opol town in Misamis Oriental.
Illegal mining operation in the remote villages of both LGUs continued unabated for more than 15 years, turning the river dark brown and earning it the monicker "chocolate river."
Miners used water pumps or hydraulic jets to extract minerals from the hills. Heavy equipment, such as backhoes , were then used to pile the dirt into a washer to filter the gold dust.
Illegal hydraulic mining causes direct and indirect damage to the ecosystem, and the most significant impact of these mining activities is its effect on water quality and the availability of water sources.
The excessive use of water jets causes soil erosion that eventually flow into the river, making it brown and turning the river shallow.
CLENRO chief Edwin Dael said that the anti-mining drive has led to the filing of multiple cases against operators, arrests, and the confiscation of hundreds of waters pumps and heavy machinery and equipment.
“This is a continuing implementation of the laws on mining and for the protection of the ecosystem,” Dael said.
As the CLENRO clamped down on illegal mining, police and military assistance provided protection for the advocates and officials due to security threats.
On April 6, 2015, army and police officers spotted at least 5 armed men guarding an illegal mining site, which they suspect are part of well-funded operations – the ones that are remaining in the area, said Dael.
“Where can you find an illegal mining operation where backhoe, dump trucks, motorcycles are present? The poor cannot afford such equipment,” Dael said.
Their accomplishment report to the city government showed that expensive machinery that are expensive. “A single pump, the cheapest is at least P10,000. Add the hundreds of meters of hoses, which are also expensive,” Dael said.
Dael added that these operators also abused their laborers, but they have kept quiet, fearing for their lives if they divulged who the operators are.
In the war against illegal mining, two anti-mining advocates were killed. Datu Sandigan Fausto Orasan, tribal leader of the Higaonon tribe in the area was killed on September 11, 2014. His fellow anti-mining advocate Danilo Linsagan was killed two months later.
The two were former miners who turned their backs on mining and went further by being defenders of their ancestral lands.
:Positive results
Residents along the Iponan River in Barangay Canito-an also attest to the positive effect of the operations against mining.
Children take turns diving in a drift log in San Simon, while women do their laundry along the river. “For a very long time we couldn't wash our clothes in the river, because it was full of dirt, but now we can wash again,” a resident said.
Dael said they thought that it would take at least 10 years to make the river clear again, but they did it 20 months into the current administration. “It was like a mission impossible to rehabilitate the river,” he recalled.
That the Writ of Kalikasan and Writ of Continuing Mandamus filed by the civil society organization SULOG in court in 2012 – months after Typhoon Sendong killed thousands in the city in 2011 – also helped.
Dr Lesley Lubos, director for research and publication of the Liceo de Cagayan University, however, cautioned that the green color of the river now does not mean that the river has fully come back to life.
“It needs further scientific study to determine the state of the river,” Lubos, who holds a PhD in Biology, said.
She said unless there is a science-based study on the "disturbance" of the ecosystem, its state could not be fully verified.
Lubos added that displacement of wildlife species will have far-reaching effect; soil erosion and siltation will also affect the ecosystem of the seas.
Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno, in previous interviews, always emphasized that the state of the environment is non-negotiable.
Moreno said people must learn to take care of the environment to prevent another Sendong.
As part of the rehabilitation program of the city government, the government undertook the concreting of the 20-kilometer road that connects the 5 hinterland barangays to provide better access.
“Most of the residents were not involved in farming because the cost of transporting [their produce] to the city was expensive and they were at the losing end, that’s why they ended up in illegal mining,” Moreno said in an earlier interview.
“Now you can see farming activities because now they can transport their produce in a safer, cheaper, and more convenient way,” Dael added.
==Uratex opens new plant in CDO==
*Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/uratex-opens-new-plant-in-cdo/
*Sunday, April 12, 2015
:By Camcer Imam
Experience luxury and comfort in your sleep with Uratex Foams' newest mattress collection, The Hamptons Mattress Class. The collection includes Hamptons Premiere, Hamptons Prestige, Hamptons Mystique and Hamptons Royale, 4 models that redefine prestige and elegance to suit different tastes in style--from the basic to the more intricate. Enjoy the sweetest dreams from the Hamptons Mattress Class that suits for you.
RGC Group of Companies has opened its manufacturing plant and showroom for its foam brand Uratex in Cagayan de Oro.
“Establishing a manufacturing plant and showroom in CDO is part of our commitment to expand our business in Visayas and Mindanao, and support the continued development in the region,” Eddie Gallor, executive vice president of RGC Group of Companies, said.
Gallor said Uratex is also eyeing to open production centers in Tacloban, Butuan, Iligan and General Santos City.
Uratex  is the country’s largest manufacturer of commercial and automobile polyurethane foam products and is considered as one of South East Asia’s leading foam brands, and a consistent recipient of “Most Trusted Brand” Platinum award since 2009.
==Cagayan de Oro to host SEABA U-16 tournament==
*Source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/468218/sports/basketball/cagayan-de-oro-to-host-seaba-u-16-tournament
*Saturday, April 11, 2015 6:13 pm
:By MARISSE PANALIGAN / RAF (GMA News)
Cagayan de Oro City will be hosting the Southeast Asia Basketball Association (SEABA) Under-16 Tournament, the qualifier for the FIBA Asia U-16, on April 14 to 19.
National team Batang Gilas, who won the past two championships since the bi-annual event was introduced in 2011, will defend their title against teams from Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.
The games are set to be played in Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan, which produced PBA great Jojo Lastimosa and San Miguel Beer forward Nelbert Omolon.
In a press release, the Department of Tourism expressed their support for the event, especially assuring the safety of the delegates following the Mamapasano clash that occurred last January.
Domingo Ramon Enerio III, the Chief Operating Officer of the Tourism Promotions Board, also joined the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) officials in the FIBA World Cup hosting workshop held in Switzerland last December.
Cagayan de Oro Mayor Oscar Moreno, who also serves as the chairman of the SBP, assured that the capital city of Misamis Oriental is ready to host the event.
==More poor families to get basic services==
==More poor families to get basic services==
*Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cagayan-de-oro/local-news/2015/04/10/more-poor-families-get-basic-services-401855
*Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cagayan-de-oro/local-news/2015/04/10/more-poor-families-get-basic-services-401855
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