General Santos City News January 2012

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DSWD 12 to promote public-private partnership in its livelihood programs

By. Dennis G. Domingo II


GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Jan 31 (PIA) -- The Department of Social Welfare and Development has called on its regional and provincial offices to strengthen network building strategies in view of implementing sustainable livelihood programs of the government. Vergil Cabugayan, PDO III of the DSWD central office, emphasized during a recent program evaluation and planning that Public-Private Partnership must be enhanced through networking efforts of program planners and implementers of livelihood programs. “A public-private partnership exists when public sector agencies join with private sector entities such as companies, foundations, academic institutions or citizens and enter into a business relationship to attain a commonly shared goal that also achieves objectives of the individual partners,” Cabugayan explained. Cabugayan told participants of the regional planning that DSWD has engaged with some private groups to participate in the government’s livelihood programs for poor families and communities. One example Cabugayan cited was the Bahay Kubo Project that committed to provide trainings and seminars to the clients of Jose Fabella Center for an innovative vegetable planting to be used for food consumption and livelihood income for pilot project and roll-out to CCT beneficiaries located in urban areas. Another one, he said, was the Irraya Farm Project that is committed to provide trainings, technology and farm inputs to agri-projects of conditional cash transfer beneficiaries in Palawan and Eastern Samar. Some international engagements, according to Cabugayan, include JICA through PinoyME Foundation that assisted in the development of the Community Driven Enterprise Development Operations Manual for the Sustainable Livelihood Program and JSDF that supports funding from JSDF for its project entitled "Community Enterprise Development as Pathway Out of Poverty". Cabugayan also discussed Community Driven Enterprise Development, concentrating on four stages of business success: business sustainability and local economic development Stage; business development; resource mobilization and business operations; and business management. “I enjoin you to conduct environmental scanning within your community and look for opportunities in order to get the support of local groups,” he said. Among those who attended the livelihood program planning were project development officers, provincial and municipal social welfare and development officers, some monitoring and evaluation officers and convergence program staff. (DEDoguiles/PIA 12/DSWD12)






Feature: Celebrating nature’s bountiful wealth in Maitum’s 5th Bangsi Festival

By. CT Apelacio


GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Jan. 30 (PIA)---Maitum’s 5th Bangsi Festival offered more fun this year as it opened Thursday (Jan 26) to celebrate the bountiful wealth of the sea and the lush forest that Mother Nature endowed to the town. Maitum is one of the seven municipalities of Sarangani that has advanced itself as one of the promising tourist destinations of the province so far. The event which carries the theme“Yamang Dagat Pahalagahan, Kalikasan Pangalagaan” kicked off with coastal clean up at Yabes beach a day before it started, said municipal accountant and information officer Beth Ramos. “Kung di natin protektahan ang karagatan, there’ll be no festival to celebrate anymore kasi wala ng mahuhuling bangsi (flying fish)---and this of course includes first and foremost the protection and preservation of the upland environment,” she said. Bangsi Festival is celebrated annually to honor the town's fisherfolk. Maitum’s coastal communities are engaged in fishing- mainly flying fish which is abundant in the area. Ramos said bangsi is a leading product of the town. “In fact it is Maitum's One Town One Product (OTOP) for a long time now making the municipality a top producer of marinated flying fish, locally known as bulad, in SOCKSARGEN.” As OTOP area, Maitum produces in large scale the so-called “marinated and half dried flying fish,” a value-added by-product that provides lucrative income to coastal residents as the brand turned “popular pasalubong and breakfast fare” for travelers and excursionists. Ramos said almost all coastal households—thousands of them “depend on bangsi industry” for livelihood. She said it’s usually the women or the wives who are involved in fish drying and marinating while their men or husbands are into fishing. On Friday (Jan 27), the culmination day, residents and festival guests basked at a ton of fresh flying fish distributed for the bangsi street grilling (Sugba-sugba sa Dalan) held at the town’s main road. Sarangani photojournalist Cocoy Sexcion said the “guests and visitors were enjoined to grill and eat all they can for free.” “Rain or shine the bangsi festival rocks. The warmth of the people, the delectable delicacies, the green surroundings and kaing (eating) full of bangsi wrap up in a colorful festival activities create a memorable experience. I will be more than glad to come back,” said CPA-Lawyer Lit Anyog. Governor Migs Dominguez and Congressman Manny Pacquiao also joined town officials in the celebration. The celebration was capped by a street dancing showdown which was won by the dancing troupe from Edenton Mission College, Incorporated-college department. The first runner-up title was awarded to the high school department of the same school. Another noteworthy highlight of the festival was the Maitum Photo Safari, now on its 8-year of capturing the rich culture and heritage of Maitum. Organizer Beth Ramos described her brainchild project photo safari contest as “stable.” “It’s already institutionalized and continuously growing with the assistance of friends from here and abroad,” she said proudly. Other notable activities of the festival included the Sand Sculpture, Lumba Bugsay/Langoy; SME’s Showcase/Trade Fair; Drum and Lyre Competition; Ms. Teen Maitum 2012; Bangsi Amazing Race; Aquatic Dance Contest; Bangsi Cooking Contest; Slowest Drag Race; and Disco sa Kalye/Community Night. (CTA/PIA General Santos City)






Magnitude 4.5 quake rocks General Santos

By. sunstar.com.ph


DAVAO CITY -- General Santos City has been shaken by a magnitude-4.5 quake Sunday morning, state seismologists said.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the quake, tectonic in origin, was traced at 8:06 a.m. 57 kilometers south of General Santos City. The depth of the tremor was 384 kilometers.

No aftershocks and casualties were reported.

The Philippines sits in the Pacific Ring of Fire where continental plates collide, causing frequent earthquakes and volcanic activities. (Sunnex)

COMMENT: Pacquiao the Boxer in Congress (1)

By. Patricio P. Diaz


(First of Four Parts) GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 27 January) – Manny Pacquiao, the multi-titled world boxing champion, and Emmanuel D. Pacquiao, the representative of the lone congressional district of Sarangani, are two persons in one man. As boxing champion Manny Pacquiao is super; as congressional representative, Emmanuel D. Pacquiao has still to prove his worth trying – granting that he does – to round the square peg that he is to fit into the round hole that is the Congress. The boxer is more popular than the congressman; to the entire Philippines and the world, both are known as “Manny Pacquiao”. The rise of Manny to the top of the boxing world is spectacular and awesome; his transformation from rags to riches is legendary; and his entry into Congress is truly the “Filipino” in Philippine politics. The Boxer As told in various media accounts, as a poor boy, Pacquiao ventured to live life in Manila streets. At the age of 14, he earned his board and lodging as a member of the Philippine national amateur boxing team where he chalked a 60-4 win-loss record. In 1995, at the age of 16 – weighing 98 pounds and standing at 4 feet, eleven inches – he started his professional boxing career with the Vintage Sports Blow by Blow. Three years after, on December 4, 1998, he knocked out Thai Chatchat Sasakul to win the WBC and Lineal World Flyweight Title. This was his first weight division world title. On November 13, 2010, he beat Antonio Margarito to capture the vacant WBC Super Welterweight (also Light Middleweight) World Title – his eighth weight division world title. By this, he holds the distinction as the only boxer to reign in eight weight divisions – from the 112-lb. flyweight division to the 154-lb. super welterweight division in a span of twelve years. During this span, he lost twice while beating all title holders, contenders and challengers in the eight weight divisions since his second loss on March 19, 2005. When did he win the six other weight division world titles? IBF Super Bantamweight (122 lbs.), June 23, 2001; The Ring Featherweight (126 lbs.), November 15, 2003; WBC Super Featherweight [also The Ring Junior Lightweight] (130 lbs), March 15, 2008; WBC Lightweight (135 lbs.), June 28, 2008; The Ring Junior Welterweight [also IBO Junior Welterweight] (140 lbs.), May 2, 2009; and WBO Welterweight (147 lbs.), November 14, 2009. For this feat of par excellence, Manny Pacquiao was acclaimed by the Filipinos as their living national hero. It is said that time and work stopped nationwide during his fights as all crowded before television sets. He received three most prestigious awards from the President, two from the House of Representatives, one from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and honors from the governments of Manila and General Santos City. From American sports writers and organizations he received prestigious awards and citations. He had the distinction of having been granted audience by U.S. President Barack Obama in the White House. It is unbelievable! He had humbled all great Mexican boxers – three of them the pride of Mexico – yet, according to the account of sports journalist Ronnie Nathanielz (Philippine Daily Inquirer, September 12, 2011), he received “fantastic welcome last week from Mexican fighting fans and members of parliament, who pushed and shoved each other to get close to the international boxing icon”. More than the honors he has reaped – including recognition from living greats in the boxing world – he inspired several Filipino boxers to excel in international arena; and he erased in the last six years the prejudice against Oriental boxers in the American press. In 2006, I was in Portland, Oregon when Manny fought Eric Morales for the third time on November 18, 2006. No major television network or newspaper carried the event. I had to surf Philippine Daily Inquirer to know the result. That is no longer the case now. Rags to Riches Pacquiao’s transformation from rags to riches is legendary. When he first went to Manila in the early 1990s, it was said he lived in the streets striving for survival. Now, according to one of his publicists, on top of having several mansions in Metro Manila and a fleet of luxury cars, he has a home in Forbes Park, the exclusive preserve of the most elite of the elite in the country. He gives his wife and mother gifts in million-peso tags on their birthdays – on his wife’s latest birthday, a P25-million yacht. In US dollars, he is multimillionaire; in Philippine pesos, a multi-billionaire. His fame has attracted multimillion peso commercial endorsements. These and the more fights in the next few years will keep his riches piling up. Pacquiao doesn’t just spend his billions in lavish life. Gensan News On Line Mag of January 15, 2012 reveals his investments in General Santos City: two large parcels of land, one for his radio station and the other for a hotel; a block along Aparente St. corner Provido Village in Barangay City Heights where now stands one of his two commercial buildings and a hotel soon to open; and a variety of other (at least seven named) business establishments. Not mentioned is a farm in Malungon, Sarangani. Manny Pacquiao should be emulated for rising out of rags onto riches. With guts, he has overcome poverty; literally, he earned his billions with his sweat and blood. But Pacquiao’s story does not stop here. Riches breed ambition for power fanned by the fame riches naturally brings. Yielding to this ambition, Pacquiao emerges in a new person with a new story.

SOCSKSARGEN government unions protest “oppressive” budget memo

By. COCOY SEXCION


GENERAL SANTOS CITY (January 27, 2012) - Government employees’ unions from all over SOCSKSARGEN launched a signature campaign among their members Wednesday (January 25) in a petition protesting Budget Circular No. 2011-05 they dubbed as “oppressive”. The Department of Budget and Management issued Budget Circular No. 2011-05 on December 26, 2011 providing for supplemental guidelines on the grant of Collective Negotiation Agreement (CNA) incentives. The guidelines stipulate that “savings from only the following MOOE (Maintenance and Other Operating Expense) items may be used as fund source of the CNA incentives such as Travelling Allowance, Communication Allowance, Repair and Maintenance, Transportation and Delivery expense, Supplies and Materials and Utility expense.” The unions claimed the granting of CNA incentives has become impossible under the accounts mentioned which were usually used up at the end of each year, according to Anacleto Saya-ang. Saya-ang, president of Sarangani Province Employees Union (SPEU), also said that savings would unlikely happen for the MOOE fund source which are reduced by 10% yearly. Not to mention the continuing hikes of oil prices and other supplies needed for operation. The government union leaders highlighted the “oppressive” budget circular in the petition presented January 25 during their regular monthly meeting at Mindanao State University High School campus. The union leaders represented the entire SOCSKSARGEN (South Cotabato-Sultan Kudarat-Sarangani-General Santos City). Also present during the meeting were Nur Juanday, president of General Santos City Employees Association; Tomas Robles, presiding officer and president of Public Sector Employees Alliance of SOCSKSARGEN; Felix Cabuguas of Philippine Independent Public Sector Employees Association; Edward Barrios, president of Surralah Municipal Employees Union Association; and Edna Guiñares, president of Tupi Municipal Employees Union and other municipal employees union leaders from provinces of South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat. The petition was addressed to President Benigno Aquino, the Secretary of Department of Budget and Management and the Public Sector Labor Management Council. “The Order is a violation to the resolution of PSLMC (Public Sector Labor-Management Council) in which the DBM is just a member,” said Robles. “By doing this petition, more or less, other members of PSLMC will be aware that their resolution is violated by the DBM circular.” Robles added. The PSLMC, constituted under Executive Order No. 180, is composed primarily by the Secretaries of Justice, Budget and Management, Labor and Employment and the chairperson of Civil Service Commission with sectoral representations for the NGA’s GOCC, LGU and SUC. The unionists target to finish the signature drive before the end of the month. The signed petition will be submitted to PSLMC in time for its meeting in Manila this February. Exact date is yet to be confirmed said Ramon Villa, SPEU director. For more news and updates, please visit to www.sarangani.gov.ph

DSWD-12 delists 11,367 ‘unqualified’ 4Ps beneficiaries

By. (PNA)

LAP/AVE


GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Jan. 26 (PNA) – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Region 12 or the Soccsksargen region has delisted some 11,367 households from the beneficiary database of the national government’s conditional cash transfer program due to inclusion errors, fraud and other eligibility problems.

Bai Zorahayda Taha, DSWD Region 12 director, said the move is part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to cleanse the anti-poverty program, which is also known as Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps, of unqualified beneficiaries to ensure that it would only benefit the “poorest of the poor” households in the area.

“This is a continuing process and we’re currently reviewing and verifying various complaints regarding questions on the status or qualification of some of our beneficiaries,” she said.

Taha, who acts as regional program manager of 4Ps, said the review and verification of the beneficiary list is a component of the grievance redress system or GRS that was adopted by the agency to address concerns and complaints regarding its overall implementation.

The DSWD central office ordered last year a nationwide review of the 4Ps’ beneficiary list due to the confirmed inclusion of unqualified beneficiaries into the program.

In Region 12, program implementers noted that a number of unqualified beneficiaries such as teachers, barangay officials and other government workers, among others, had been “erroneously included” in the program.

Most of the inclusion errors reportedly happened during the encoding of the results of the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction or NHTS-PR survey, which was used in the selection of the beneficiaries.

Taha said the delisted beneficiaries were all from the 32 municipalities and two cities in Region 12 that were covered by the program last year.

Region 12 covers the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, North Cotabato and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan and Cotabato.

DWSD-12 also serves beneficiaries in Marawi City, which is part of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, but no household-beneficiary from the area has been so far delisted.

Based on their 2011 annual report, Taha noted that Sultan Kudarat province posted the most number of delisted beneficiaries with 3,734 households followed by South Cotabato with 3,594, Sarangani with 2,543, North Cotabato with 975, General Santos City with 310 and Cotabato City with 211.

Aside from the inclusion errors, she said some of the beneficiaries were taken off from the list due to duplication or double entry, transfer to area that is not covered by the program, fraud, increase in household income and failure to submit to the GRS mandate.

The official said 1,433 household-beneficiaries in the region were also delisted last year for completing the program’s three-year cycle while 10,393 others were also purged due to their failure to fully comply with the 4Ps registration process.

“These (10,393) were part of the program’s target coverage and have undergone the initial processes but eventually failed to complete their registration,” she said.

Meantime, Taha said they resolved 5,379 complaints related to the program’s implementation in the region last year out of the 9,064 cases that they received.

She said 3,685 cases were still undergoing the resolution process through the GRS.

“Most of the complaints were on payment issues and we addressed them with the conduct of massive updating and retroactive payments. The complaints concerning payments were significantly reduced during the last quarter of 2011,” Taha said.

She added that they also received cases of alleged extortion by their municipal links on the beneficiaries and misuse of the cash grants.

4Ps is a poverty reduction and social development strategy of the national government that provides conditional cash grants to “poorest of the poor” households to improve their health, nutrition and education particularly of children aged 0-14 years.

The program provides beneficiaries cash grants of P500 a month for health and nutrition expenses and P300 a month per child for educational expenses. A household with three qualified children could get P1,400 monthly.






4Ps cash grants in Region 12 reach P1.075-B in 2011

By.(PNA)

FFC/AVE


GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Jan. 25 (PNA) – The national government has released a total of P1.075 billion in cash grants last year to beneficiaries of its continuing conditional cash transfer program in Region 12 or the Soccsksargen region and portions of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Bai Zorahayda Taha, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Region 12 director, said Wednesday the funds were released directly to 148,660 “poorest of the poor” households in the area that were covered by the government’s flagship anti-poverty initiative Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps.

In Region 12, she said the program has so far served 145,421 households in 32 municipalities and two cities as part of the national government’s anti-poverty convergence strategy.

Region 12 covers the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, North Cotabato and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Cotabato, Kidapawan and Tacurong.

It also covers 10,719 households in Marawi City in Lanao del Sur, which is part of the ARMM, Taha noted.

Taha said they will continue with the program’s expansion in the area this year based on an earlier commitment made by President Benigno Simeon Aquino III.

“We’re currently targeting to enlist 96,695 more household-beneficiaries in 15 identified expansion areas,” she cited in their 2011 annual report.

Taha said the enlistment of new beneficiaries is presently ongoing in Tacurong City and and Isulan town in Sultan Kudarat; Koronadal City, Tupi, Tantangan, Tampakan, Surallah, Polomolok and Norala in South Cotabato; and, Kidapawan City, Kabacan, M’lang, Libungan, Makilala and Midsayap in North Cotabato.

Additional beneficiaries were also being enrolled in Alabel town in Sarangani and Palimbang in Sultan Kudarat, she said.

From last year year’s target of 2.34 million households, the national government has set the expansion of 4Ps to 3.04 million households this year as part the fifth phase of its implementation.

The national government earlier increased the program’s budget from P21.19 billion this year to P39.5 billion next year to cope with its planned expansion.

4Ps is a poverty reduction and social development strategy of the national government that provides conditional cash grants to “poorest of the poor” households to improve their health, nutrition and education particularly of children aged 0-14 years.

The program provides beneficiaries cash grants of P500 a month for health and nutrition expenses and P300 a month per child for educational expenses. A household with three qualified children could get P1,400 monthly.

In his visit to the Philippines late last year, World Bank Group president Robert Zoellick backed proposals to expand the government’s food subsidy program for the lowest-income households, saying the country’s economic growth should also benefit the poor.

He described the 4Ps as a “prudent safety net” for poor families, especially in tough economic times.

The World Bank has supported the nationwide rollout of the 4Ps since its launching in 2008 as a primary poverty reduction initiative of the national government.

Rookie cop, civilian charged for possession of illegal drugs, firearms

By. (PNA)

FFC/AVE


GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Jan. 24 (PNA) – Police authorities in Sultan Kudarat province filed charges on Tuesday against a rookie policeman assigned in Cotabato City and a civilian who were arrested for alleged possession of illegal drugs, unlicensed firearm and explosives at a checkpoint in Isulan town last Friday.

Senior Insp. Eugenio Malilin, Isulan police chief, identified the suspects as Police Officer 1 Morshed Manibpel, 27, who was listed as an active member of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Maritime Group-12’s special reaction unit, and Nasrula Pamanag, 28, a resident of Talitay town In Maguindanao.

He said the two were charged before the Provincial Prosecution Office for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Dangerous Drugs Law and Republic Acts 8294 and 9156 for illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

Malilin said the suspects were arrested after they allegedly yielded some 11 packs of suspected metamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu worth around P500,000 during a search at a police checkpoint along the national highway in Barangay Kenram in Isulan town.

He said they also seized from the duo a government-issued lite M-16 Armalite rifle, an unlicensed .45 caliber handgun, a fragmentation grenade, assorted live bullets and some P40,000 in cash.

“He (PO1 Manibpel) was wearing his full PNP uniform that time and we found the illegal drugs hidden underneath his pants,” Malilin said in a radio interview.

The police official said they intercepted the suspects based on a report they received Friday morning from the Police Regional Office’s 12’s intelligence unit that a “uniformed man” carrying stashed illegal drugs was then en route to Isulan town aboard a private vehicle.

He said they immediate set up checkpoints along the town’s entry and exit points and conducted a search on vehicles passing the area.

Malilin said they later stopped PO1 Manibpel and Pamanag while they were on their way to the town proper of Isulan aboard a maroon multicab truck.

“It turned out that the uniformed man identified in the report was a PNP member – PO1 Manibpel,” he said.

Malilin added the intelligence report noted that PO1 Manibpel allegedly came from a drug-related transaction in Koronadal City before he was arrested.

Gensan vice mayor Vice Mayor Nograles urges residents to unite against climate change

By. Pops Gumana-Fruylan


GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Jan 23 (PIA)— Vice Mayor Shirlyn Bañas-Nograles urged residents here on Tuesday “to agree on precautionary measures” to combat the ill-effects of climate change. In a privilege speech delivered before members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, Nograles noted that only few are taking climate change seriously despite the recent frequency of global catastrophes like earthquakes, typhoons, droughts and floods that claimed thousands of lives. “The signal of climate change is still barely detectable and it is time for us to agree on precautionary measures sufficiently robust to ensure the worst fears are never realized,” she said. The vice mayor pointed out that what happened in the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan recently is a lesson must learned. “Many have died in flashfloods and mudslides unleashed by the storm, while thousands of survivors are crammed in evacuation centers,” she explained. Nograles also recalled the fear that welcomed the city in the dawn of 2012 after the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) announced “of widespread rains over Eastern and Southern Mindanao that may cause flash floods and landslides due to low pressure area sighted east southeast of Gensan.” There was a widespread “call for immediate solutions to ensure the safety of everyone especially in areas that will be affected by flashfloods,” the vice mayor narrated. To mitigate the possibility of flashflood in the city, Nograles said it is high time to discuss the reestablishment of drainage systems in Gensan, which is one of the identified causes of floods in the area. She explained that the reestablishment of the present drainage system in affected barangays in the city and the development of a better drainage system will curb flooding problems and will benefit the business industry and household as well. Meanwhile, the vice mayor challenged everyone to take responsibility, alter lifestyle, and do something to address the problems on climate change before “the next generation will look back upon us and despise us.” “We call on those who are in-charge not to hesitate, not to fall into dispute, not to blame each other but to seize opportunity from the greatest modern failure of politics. This should not be a fight between the rich world and the poor world, or between east and west. Climate change affects everyone, and must be solved by everyone,” she emphasized. (PGFruylan/PIA-Gensan)

General Santos City journalists arm themselves

By. JERRY N. ADLAW


GENERAL SANTOS CITY: Fearing that more attacks would be launched against them, media practitioners here have started to arm themselves following the murder of local tabloid publisher Christopher Guarin earlier this month.

At least 11 shooting incidents this month and the reported presence of an assassin tasked to kill 10 journalists have compelled members of the media to take up arms as they fear that the local police may not be able to protect them.

Mayor Darlene Antonino-Custodio of General Santos City has directed Chief Supt. Benjardi Mantele, director of Police Regional Office 12, to investigate reports that a gun-for-hire group—its members reportedly come from the cities of Cagayan de Oro in Misamis Oriental province and Tagum in Davao del Norte province—are in the city to kill more media practitioners.

Ronald Mascardo, publisher of the local weekly tabloid Balita, disclosed that he had been receiving death threats after Guarin was killed.

According to him, he has received text messages warning him that he would be next.

Custodio has urged members of the media to be vigilant and coordinate with the police if they believe that the threats against them are serious, but some of them have opted to buy guns for their protection.

GenSan earns P149M from business permits

By. Allen V. Estabillo


GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/20 January) – The city government has generated some P149 million in revenues from the application and renewal of business permits during the last three weeks, an official said Friday. City Administrator Jose Mariano Gonzales said the figure was based on the total payments made as of Thursday by local business owners that availed of the city government’s one-stop shop for renewal and application of business registration that opened last Jan. 2 at the city hall lobby here. He said this year’s income so far is only P15 million short of the P164 million generated by the local government in the entire 2011. The city government has not yet released the figures regarding the number of businesses that have applied and renewed their registrations since the one-stop-shop would still be open until late Friday (Jan. 20) evening. “We’re on track towards meeting or even exceeding that target since a number of investors have already signified to roll out their ventures and projects this year,” Gonzales said. He said three more hotel projects will commence this year while the city’s biggest shopping mall, KCC Mall of GenSan, has signified to begin its expansion before the end of the year. Gonzales said a hotel would reportedly be built within the SM City General Santos mall complex, which is slated to open within the first half of the year, while another investor is also building another one along the Jose Catolico Avenue here. The third hotel would be built by Microtel hotel chain, he said. An official of the city’s business chamber earlier said three call center companies are expected to expand this year at the newly-opened Mabuhay Information Technology Park here. Meantime, City Permits and Licensing Division chief Geraldine Zamora said the one-stop-shop for the application and renewal of business registration is so far running smoothly due to new innovations earlier introduced by the local government. She said they have cut down the renewal and application process by eliminating the notarial requirement for their clients’ documents. Zamora said they also opened last month a pre-registration for their prospective clients through forms that were made available online. (Allen V. Estabillo/MindaNews)

BIMP-EAGA Friendship Games slated Dec. 8-11

By. philstar.com


MANILA, Philippines - Saranggani and General Santos City will host the seventh Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines-East Asian Growth Areas (BIMP-EAGA) Friendship Games set on Dec. 8-11 for athletes aged 21 and below.

The event was finalized in a meeting hosted by Philippine Sports Commission and chaired by PSC commissioner Chito Loyzaga, representing BIMP-EAGA Council and PSC chairman Ritchie Garcia.

Events to be played are athletics, lawn tennis, badminton, sepak takraw, swimming and table tennis.

The Games, which will be jointly hosted by the province of Saranggani, headed by Gov. Miguel Rene Dominguez, and General Santos City, with lady Mayor Darlene Antonino-Custodio, is part of BIMP-EAGA’s program of promoting relations between the member countries of East Asia growth areas through sports. More than 500 athletes and officials are expected to come for the three-day competition. A 3K, 5K and 10K friendship run was also held last week to launch the event.

The Philippines will be fielding athletes from Mindanao and Palawan while Indonesia’s participating focus areas are in Sulawesi, Kalimantan, Papua, and Gorontalo. Malaysia will have athletes from Sabah, Sarawak, and Labuan while Brunei, which hosted the last edition of the games in 2008 also confirmed its attendance.

“We had a very productive meeting and right after this council meeting, we will already start working on the details of the event, including tournament format and rules and regulations. We will have a technical working group meeting in Manila by April and a final meeting by the ministers’ group in September prior to the staging of the games in December,“ said Loyzaga.

The meeting also named Ismail Hashim, Deputy Permanent Secretary of Brunei’s Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, as next BIMP-EAGA chairman.

To help promote the event and generate more participation from the focus areas, there are plans to hold roadshow presentations to be jointly handled by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and the city of General Santos.






Dubai market for processed pork products eyed

By. Dani Doguiles


KORONADAL CITY, Jan, 19 (PIA) -- Processed pork products from Socssksargen Region or Region 12 could soon be exported to United Arab Emirates where the same products can also be sold to other countries, an official of the Department of Agriculture said. Evelyn Jaruda, feeds and veterinary drugs control officer of DA-12, said that initial shipment destination of “pork-in-a-box” will be to Dubai City. Dubai City, she said, offers a potential market for meat products because of the large population of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) there . Residents of the city also include other nationalities such as Indians who also include pork meat in their diet. She explained, as an open city, Dubai allows entry of pork products. On January 3, DA-12 organized a meeting between local hog raisers and the country’s agriculture attaché to Dubai City, along with DA’s national director for agribusiness and marketing, to inform the local hog industry of “this major potential.” Jaruda did not name both officials of DA. “This month, we will start sending samples of processed meat to Dubai,” she said, to determine if local products pass the requirements of the market partner in Dubai. This partner, she said, could also facilitate marketing of the products to other countries. “This means that demand for our processed meat products is really large,” she said . She, however, confirmed that initial volume of pork-in-a-box to be exported has not been set. Jaruda added that they have already accredited several hog farms in General Santos City, Koronadal City and other parts of South Cotabato, which may provide the initial products for export. “We are also looking into linking this opportunity with our backyard hog raisers,” she said. DA and the Bureau of Animal Industry will work together in assuring that the local livestock industry are able to cope with the market demands and market standards, she said. Jaruda also said that the meat products that will be exported to Dubai will come from surplus production. If the agreement pushes through, Soccsksargen Region will be the first to export processed pork meat to Dubai. Local market of pork products from Soccsksargen Region include Davao City, Davao Oriental, Caraga, Cebu, Leyte, Samar, and Manila. (PIA 12)

Task force sees arrest of brains behind broadcaster's slay

By. Edwin G. Espejo


GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- City Police Director Cedrick Train said they are closing in on the mastermind behind the slaying of a newspaper publisher and are ready to file murder case against the suspect once they have completed their investigation.

Train heads Task Force Guarin, which was created to conduct the probe on Christopher Guarin’s killing.

The city police director declined, however, to give details, saying they do not want to jeopardize ongoing manhunt and pursuit operations.

He hinted, though, that Guarin's murder may not be issue-related, as it might have something to do with the victim's publication and newspaper business.

Tatak Bigtime News, published by the slain mediaman, is one of at least five local dailies in General Santos.

On the evening of January 5, a gunman riding on tandem ambushed Guarin, who was on his way home with his wife and daughter.

Wounded in the first volley, Guarin tried to drive away from his killers but stopped after the gunman chased and continued to fire at his car.

He alighted from his car and tried to plea to the gunman who finished him off by firing more shots.

Guarin died on the spot from at least five gunshot wounds.

The slain publisher was buried Sunday, January 15, amid continuing calls from the local media here to immediately arrest the killer, including the mastermind.

Police authorities said they have already subjected the slugs and empty shells recovered from the crime scene to laboratory tests and are now looking if these will match up with evidences recovered from other unsolved killings in the city.

This developed as the bounty, raised by journalists here for the arrest of the mastermind behind Guarin's killing, rose to more than P88,000 following an additional P20,000 donation from a concerned citizen who declined to be identified.

Local media practitioners here have chipped in to raise reward money for the surrender of the gunman who they said should identify the mastermind.

A prominent personality here, who also requested anonymity, earlier pledged P50,000 for the arrest of Guarin's killer and mastermind.

The amount is expected to rise as more pledges are being made.

Train said they will also recommend the amount of reward money to the Department of Interior and Local Government for the capture of the mastermind.

Guarin was the 10th mediaman killed in General Santos City since 1986, a Philippine record.

He was also the 150th killed since 1986 when various media organizations began recording media killings in the country and the first journalist slain this year.

Various media organizations blamed the prevailing culture of impunity to the unsolved media killings in the country.

Region 12 public high schools lack 725 classrooms -- NSCB-12

By. (PNA)

DCT/FFC/AVE/RSS


GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Jan. 17 (PNA) -- Classrooms for public high school students have been found wanting in Region 12, with a shortage of 725 to meet the standard classroom-to-student ratio (CSR) of one is to 45, statistics released recently showed.

Herlita Caraan, National Statistical Coordination Board regional chief, said public secondary schools in the region are presently in dire need of more classrooms.

Region 12 or 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.

“Crowded classrooms have been a perennial problem in most public schools in the region most particularly in public secondary schools,” she said, citing data from the Department of Education (DepEd).

The standard CSR in the Philippines is one classroom for every 45 students as prescribed by Republic Act 7880 entitled “An Act Providing For the Fair and Equitable Allocation of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports’ Budget for Capital Outlay.”

In a fact sheet released by NSCB Region 12, the CSR in the area for the school years 2006-2010 remained way above the standard of 1:45.

The region’s CSR averaged 1:52 in SY 2006-2007 though it slightly improved to 1:49 in SY 2010-2011, it noted. Among the provinces and cities, worst off in terms of CSR are Sarangani at 66 students per classroom, Sultan Kudarat at 63, and Tacurong City at 62 in SY 2010-2011.

The biggest improvement in CSRs in the five previous school years was noted in Kidapawan City at 1:63 in SY 2006-2007 to 1:44 in SY 2010-2011.

A decline in CSRs was posted by Sarangani (1:61 to 1:66), Sultan Kudarat (1:58 to 1:63) and Tacurong City (1:60 to 1:62) for the same comparative period.

Conforming to the CSR standard as of SY 2010-2011 were General Santos City with CSR of 1:40, Cotabato City (1:43), Kidapawan City (1:44), and South Cotabato (1:44). Both Cotabato City and General Santos City, however, have adopted three shifts of classes per day, which indicate that there is in fact a real shortage of classrooms in the said cities.

If a single-shift was adopted to meet the 1:45 standard CSR, General Santos City needs 173 more classrooms and Cotabato City, 91 classrooms. Other areas with wide classroom gaps are Sarangani (185), Sultan Kudarat (182), North Cotabato (64), Tacurong City (31) and Koronadal City (21).

Overall, Region 12 is in need of 725 additional classrooms in order to meet the standard CSR on a single shift per day as of SY 2010-2011.

Slain GenSan newspaper publisher laid to rest amid calls for speedy justice

By. (PNA)

DCT/FFC/AVE


GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Jan. 16 (PNA) -– Slain community newspaper publisher Christopher Guarin was laid to rest in nearby Polomolok town in South Cotabato on Sunday afternoon amid calls from his family and colleagues for faster police investigation and the immediate arrest of the gunmen and masterminds behind the killing.

In a requiem mass at the Saints Peter and Paul Parish Church in Barangay Lagao here, Guarin’s wife Lyn reiterated her calls for the immediate arrest of the two suspected hired gunmen and the brains behind the murder.

“I just want justice for my husband. I know God will make them pay for it,” she said in between sobs.

The funeral mass was joined by around 200 family members, friends, colleagues and city officials led by Vice Mayor Shirlyn Banas.

Akbayan partylist Rep. Walden Bello and Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) board trustee Mario Aguja made a brief stop at the parish church and later joined several Akbayan activists who showed up with placards seeking justice for Guarin and other victims of media killings in the country.

Around 50 vehicles carrying streamers calling for speedy justice for Guarin’s murder later joined the funeral motorcade from this city here to the Holy Garden Matutum Memorial Park in Polomolok town.

Guarin, 41, was gunned down last January 5 in front of his wife and daughter while they were on their way home in Barangay Lagao here at around 10:30 p.m.

Wounded, Guarin tried to drive away but stopped after the gunman continued to fire at his vehicle.

He then alighted and tried to run but the killers finished him off. Guarin sustained multiple gunshot wounds and died on the spot.

Guarin, who is publisher and editor of daily tabloid Tatak News, was a former reporter and station manager of radio stations Bombo Radyo and RGMA Super Radyo, respectively, and was a block timer of the Radio Mindanao Network station here before he was killed.

Senior Supt. Cedric Train, city police director, said they were already following up some leads into Guarin’s killing but admitted that they don’t have enough evidences yet to warrant the filing of cases against any suspect.

“We will solve this case, that’s an assurance. As of now, were investigating all possible angles related to this,” he said.

Chief Supt. Banjardi Mantele, Region 12 police director, earlier declared that the killing was not work-related but motivated by a personal grudge against the victim, a statement immediately rebuffed by the local media.

Speculations have also emerged pointing to alleged business rivalry as motive.

In November, Guarin was questioned but later cleared by police investigators over the killing of Brigada News circulation manager Alfredo Velarde Jr.

“We’re leaving all matters related to the investigation of this case to the police. But we’re calling on them to speed up their investigation and make the necessary arrests the soonest possible time,” said Edwin Espejo, chair of the local chapter of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP).

“The delay (in the police investigation) will only give time for the suspects to cover their tracks,” he added.

Meantime, Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP)-General Santos chapter president James Catalan said on Sunday that the reward money raised by the local media for the arrest of Guarin’s killers has already reached P70,000.

A local politician who requested anonymity initially pledged some P50,000 last week for the reward money.

Catalan said several residents and local media entities made additional pledges for the fund, which City Mayor Darlene Antonino-Custodio had also vowed to augment later on.





Thousands of Cotabato children benefit from “Handog Tsinelas”

By. Pops Gumana-Fruylan


GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Jan. 15 (PIA) -– Thousands of children from the different municipalities of Cotabato province received pairs of slippers from the “Handog Tsinelas” program of Governor Emmylou “Lala” J. Taliño-Mendoza. On Wednesday, more than two thousand elementary pupils in Poblacion, Carmen accepted their late Christmas presents through brand new pairs of colorful slippers. “Handog Tsinelas” has given away a total of 2,191 pairs of slippers to 798 pupils from Northwest Elementary School (NES) and 1,393 pupils from Carmen Central Elementary School (CCES), according to a report from the provincial government of Cotabato. The program is a late Christmas gift-giving from the provincial government with a purpose of not only handing out foot wears to children, but to cheer and give joy to the residents as well. In the municipality of Antipas, 261 slippers were given away to children of Barangay Canaan while 258 senior citizens and other barangay residents were given goods such as rice and medicines. Late last month, the governor personally handed presents to more than 500 children in Barangay Sibsib in Tulunan Municipality. Each child was able to bring home a gift pack and a pair of slippers as a Christmas gift. In barangay New Panay, Pigcawayan, more than 300 kids also received wrapped gifts and slippers from the provincial government; while bags of rice, variety of medicines, caps and calendars were also given to adult residents including senior citizens. Meanwhile, the governor also led the distribution of gifts and handed rice, medicines, slippers, calendars and hats to children and adults in Libo-o, Mlang More than 300 children ages 3-12 years old, and an estimated 75% of residents who were in attendance were entertained by the exciting activities lined-up by the provincial government. “This is just part of our commitment in pursuing a sound program for children where every child is treated equal,” the Local Government of Cotabato province quoted the governor as saying Thousands more slippers, donated by the provincial government and partners from the private sector, are expected to be given away to children in the next visit of the governor to other barangays in the province. (PGFruylan/PIA-Gensan with reports from LGU Cotabato province)

MinDA calls to strengthen Mindanao LGU’s risk management capacities

By. PIA Press Release


GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Jan 14 (PIA) -- Local Government Units (LGUs) in Mindanao need to scale up its disaster risk management capacities in light of occurrence of series of natural calamities that struck the island's danger prone areas. The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) recently convened recently concerned agencies to come up with programs to strengthen the capacities of Mindanao LGUs in disaster preparedness and response to avoid a repeat of loss of lives resulting from the recent spate of natural disasters that hit Mindanao. MinDA chair Luwalhati R. Antonino initiated discussions on the current capability of Mindanao’s local government units to interpret information, anticipate needs, and prepare against natural disasters and manage risks. “What I’d like to see is for us to map out a program of what needs t be done and coordinate to help the LGU’s in their efforts of prevention, mitigation, and adaptation,” Antonino said. She stressed that some local officials may lack technical expertise in interpreting weather data and warnings. “There is a need to ‘wake up’ local chief executives, but we have to assist them. It’s not just preparedness, but also looking into the causes and what we can do now.” Director Ronald Flores, executive officer of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) pointed out that more than response, rehabilitation, and recovery, the LGU risk management focus must now be more inclined to prevention, preparedness, and mitigation, such as in foreign countries like Japan. Flores said that while LGU’s have their contingency plan, some of them are wanting in the aspect of implementation. Thus, there is a need to take stock of the level of preparedness of the LGU’s being the primary disaster managers. Dr. Marquiesa Reyes, also of OCD central office, noted that geo-hazard mapping is just the first step, stressing the importance of identifying current areas of vulnerability and the adverse effects of tropical storms. She further noted that more important in the planning is to focus on increasing resilience of settlements and the people against effects of natural calamities. The inter-agency body agreed on building and sharing accurate and updated data, particularly 3-D maps using LIDAR technology, including a protocol of analysis of data, for circulation to all local government units. Antonino emphasized the need for a more intensive information and education campaign among the LGU’s on interpretation of storm signals and information on what authorities need to do to prepare against such calamities. She cited the existing program of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) as a basis and called on the involvement of more agencies. The coordination meeting was also held as part of the validation of activities under the “MindaNOW! Nurturing Our Waters” program of MinDA, a river-basin and watershed management program that also seeks to institutionalize the LGUs capacity building and strengthen their planning capabilities on environmental sustainability. Among the agencies involved include OCD, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA). (DED/PIA12/MinDA)





More cops eyed for GenSan, nearby areas

By. (PNA)

LAP/FFC/AVE


GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Jan. 13 (PNA) – Concerned with the rising unsolved cases of killings here and the neighboring areas, Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) chairperson Secretary Luwalhati Antonino has pushed for the assignment of additional policemen in the area.

Antonino, who hails from this city, said in a radio interview that the recent killings perpetrated by motorcycle-riding gunmen were considered alarming and showed the need for more intensified law enforcement and security operations.

She specifically cited the killing of local community newspaper publisher Christopher Guarin last January 5 and of city traffic enforcer Oliver Dayap the following day.

Guarin was gunned down by two motorcycle-riding gunmen while on his way home while Dayap was shot by another suspect while earlier on duty in front of a shopping mall here.

“I already had discussions with (Interior and Local Government) Secretary Jesse Robredo for the possible assignment of additional policemen here and other parts of Region 12 because the area really needs them,” Antonino said.

In the meantime, she appealed to local residents to help local policemen in preventing the occurrence of crimes by becoming more vigilant, especially in reporting the movements of suspicious personalities.

The city and several other parts of Region 12 or Southwestern Mindanao have been reeling from a series of shooting incidents in the last two years, most of which appeared to be the handiwork of suspected guns-for-hire.

Region 12 covers the provinces of South Cotabato Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, North Cotabato and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Cotabato, Kidapawan and Tacurong.

Last year, the city government enacted an ordinance banning the carrying of firearms in public places and commercial establishments as part of its efforts to resolve the gun-related violent incidents in the area.

ARMM to undertake reforestation of 2,500 hectares forestland

By. CT Apelacio


GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Jan 12 (PIA) -- Massive reforestation activities in the five provinces of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is in the offing after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) committed a financial assistance of P49.6 million. Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Ramon Paje himself signed an agreement with ARMM newly-installed acting governor Mujiv Hataman Monday. The fund will be used to reforest some “2,500 hectares of denuded and open forestland” in the provinces of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and Basilan. Aside from the fund allocation, DENR will also provide technical assistance to ARMM. The joint collaboration is under DENR’s National Greening Program (NGP), which envisions the planting of 1.5 billion trees covering about 1.5 million hectares by 2016. The program started in 2011 pursuant to Executive Order No. 26 signed by President Benigno S. Aquino III. Paje believed that the program will impact on the region’s “social and economic challenges” toward an effective and improved ecological governance. Paje also attributed the venture to President Aquino’s order to assist ARMM in the “management” of its lush forest reserve which is touted still as its premier natural source of wealth to this day. Taking on the experiences of other regions recently ravaged by Tropical storm Sendong, Hataman said he considered the NGP as “major tool to address illegal logging in ARMM.” He said he can use the program to deviate the interest of his upland constituents from illegal logging activities since it “offers alternative livelihood to forest-based communities.” Hataman attributed, however, the “lack of livelihood opportunities in the uplands” as the main reason why many of his constituents there have been lured into joining the illegal practice. The program, according to him will be implemented first in the upland as priority areas. Hataman also vowed to comply with all the guidelines and policies involving the joint venture, saying he will do his best to implement what is expected of him as the newly local chief executive. To ensure smooth and accurate implementation of NGP, DENR personnel, from time to time, shall undertake monitoring and evaluation of ARMM’s implementation of the program as well as its management and utilization of funds. (CTA/PIA General Santos City)

Breastfeeding corners in buses in Region-12 eyed

By. CT Apelacio


GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Jan 11 (PIA) -- Buses all over the region will soon have their own designated “breastfeeding corner” in recognition of the law that upholds the right of a mother and her child to provide and be fed anytime even in transit. This is in line with Republic Act 10028 otherwise known as the "Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009" which enjoins all private institutions, government agencies, including government-owned and controlled corporations to put up lactation stations. The law also provides tax incentives to all private establishments and even government agencies that provide lactation corners for working mothers. According to Department of Health (DOH), RA 10028 also mandates all health and non-health facilities, establishments or institutions to designate lactation stations along with appropriate facilities such as lavatory for hand washing, refrigeration for storing breast milk, electrical outlets for breast pumps, a small table; and comfortable seats for working mothers. In support of the law, the Regional Development Council (RDC) 12 has passed a resolution last year “requesting the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) 12 to issue a directive requiring all bus operators in Region 12 to designate a breastfeeding seat/corner inside buses.” The RDC-12 Social Development Committee has recommended that bus operators reserve the “third seat by the window” of the bus as breastfeeding station. Recently, the LTFRB XII, in response to the resolution, issued a directive to bus operators in the region enjoining their compliance. The directive orders bus operators to put a “signage” on designated seats as provided by the management so that they will be exclusively “occupied by the lactating mothers.” The RDC-12 believes the move will create a “mother-baby friendly ride,” that is favorable for both as it provides “privacy” for breastfeeding mothers to nurture their babies properly. RA 10028 also apportions 40 minutes for every 8-hour working period for nursing employees to “express milk” in addition to the regular meal time-off. (CTA/PIA General Santos City)

GenSan getting 32 mw less of electricity from NAPOCOR

By. Allen V. Estabillo


GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/9 Jan) – The National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR) has cut down its power allocation for this city and nearby areas in Sarangani and South Cotabato provinces by 32 megawatts (mw) as a result of the dwindling capacity of its hydropower plants in Mindanao, an official of distribution utility South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative (Socoteco II) said. Rodolfo Ocat, Socoteco II general manager, said the NAPOCOR reduced its contracted power supply to the cooperative’s service area starting this year due to the unstable condition of its maintained power plants, especially the hydropower plants in Bukidnon and in the Lanao provinces. Socoteco II’s service area covers this city, the entire Sarangani province and two municipalities in nearby South Cotabato. “NAPOCOR’s power supplies to the Mindanao grid was actually on the decline since last year, that’s why we started looking for other power sources to cover for the deficit,” Ocat said. In May last year, Socoteco II initially signed a supply deal for a standby power of 18 mw from the Aboitiz-owned Therma Marine Inc. (TMI) in anticipation of NAPOCOR’s power load cuts. Ocat said the additional power supplies from TMI have reduced the area’s deficit of 14 mw, which is currently felt during the peak hours. Last week, Socoteco II issued an advisory that it is implementing rotating brownouts of 45 minutes to one hour daily within its service area as a result of the deficit. To help ease the situation, Ocat said the cooperative is presently negotiating with TMI for an additional supply of 5 mw. “(TMI) initially signified to move one of its power barges in Visayas to Mindanao to accommodate our request for additional supplies,” he said. Ocat said the cooperative is also waiting for the anticipated operationalization later this of the Iligan Diesel Power Plants 1 and 2, which were put on sale since last year. The power plants, which were previously owned by NAPOCOR, were acquired by the local government of Iligan through levy due to the company’s failure to settle its real property tax dues. “If it resumes operation by the third or fourth quarter of the year, then I think we’re safe here,” he said. Ocat said the streaming of additional power from the diesel plants will not only erase the area’s deficit but would also cover for the requirements of the new establishments that are being put up in the city. He specifically cited the P2.5-billion SM City General Santos mall complex, which is slated to open during the first half of the year, and several new hotels and commercial buildings. Citing their projections, he said the opening of SM and other establishments this year will require another 7 mw to the city’s power requirements, which grows at an average of 4.2 percent annually. “We’ve foreseen that the growth of our power requirements will be abnormal or beyond the average this year and even until next year due to the opening of SM mall and other establishments,” he said. Ocat said they expect the situation to normalize in three years, in time for the projected commercial streaming of the initial 100 mw of the 200-mw coal-fired power plant of the Sarangani Energy Corporation (SEC) in Maasim town in Sarangani. The $450-million coal power plant is being built by Conal Holding Corporation, which is backed by the Alcantara Group and Thailand’s Electricity Generating Public Company Limited. Socoteco II signed a power sales agreement with SEC in June last year for the streaming of 70 mw of power from the coal plants by 2014. (Allen V. Estabillo / MindaNews)

GenSan cops step up security operations after recovery of improvised bomb

By. (PNA)

LAP/FFC/AVE


GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Jan. 9 (PNA) – Local police and Army units have stepped up their security operations here and the neighboring areas following the recovery of an improvised explosive near the city’s commercial district on Sunday afternoon.

Senior Supt. Cedric Train, city police director, said Monday they intensified their security patrols in key areas of the city to avert possible movements from suspected terror groups that were behind the foiled bomb attack in the area.

He said the explosive, which was made up of a live 81-mm mortar shell and attached to a triggering and timing device, was recovered at a grassy roadside in front of the Chua Bldg. along Narangita Street here at around 2 p.m. Sunday.

The bomb, which was covered by wires, was initially found by a local resident who immediately notified a duty security guard nearby.

It was later detonated by responding elements from the city police’s explosives ordnance disposal or EOD unit through water disruption.

Chief Insp. Leo Sua, Pendatun police station chief, said they found some shredded papers printed with Bangsamoro Youth Movement and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) near the site.

The BIFF is the armed wing of breakaway Moro rebel faction Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement, which is led by former Moro Islamic Liberation Front leader Ameril Umbra Kato.

Kato group had been blamed by police and military authorities as behind the recovered explosives in South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat provinces since last month.

Col. Jose Kakilala, head of the Army-led Joint Task Force GenSan, said they have assigned additional personnel to secure various public areas in the city and intensified the inspections on vehicles and passengers that were entering the city.

The task force earlier established checkpoints on the city’s four main entry and exit routes.

Meantime, City Councilor Dante Vicente urged residents to remain vigilant and be cautious about possible suspicious movements of some individuals.

“We don’t know as to who or what group is behind all these and it will help a lot if all of us will remain vigilant,” said Vicente, who chairs the council’s peace and order committee.

He advised residents to immediately report to the local police should they notice suspicious movements from certain individuals or if they find unattended items like bags or boxes within their areas.






Task force to probe GenSan journalist's slay

By. abs-cbnNEWS.com


MANILA, Philippines – Police have formed a task force to investigate the killing of print and broadcast journalist Christopher Guarin in General Santos City.

Initial investigations showed that a personal grudge may have been the motive behind the killing.

Freddie Solinap, a co-host of Guarin in his radio program, told the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) that the slain media worker received a text message carrying the threat on January 5.

Guarin read the threat on air, which went, "Wag kang lumabas [ng istasyon], papatayin kita (Do not get out of the station, I will kill you)."

Guarin was driving home with his family when he was ambushed by motorcycle riding gunmen Thursday night.

He was rushed to the General Santos City Hospital but doctors declared him dead on arrival.

His wife was grazed in the arm by a bullet while his daughter was unharmed.

Guarin was former manager of the defunct dxBB RGMA Super Radyo General Santos and a former commentator at dyWB Bombo Radyo General Santos.

He is the first media practitioner killed in 2012 and the 10th under the current administration, according to Rowena Paraan, executive coordinator of the NUJP-International Federation of Journalists Media Safety Office.

Guarin's death brought to 150 the number of journalists killed in the Philippines since 1986, Paraan added. -- With a report from ANC





GenSan newspaper publisher gunned down

By. (PNA)

scs/AVE


GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Jan. 6 (PNA) – A publisher of a community newspaper here was shot dead while his wife was wounded in an ambush by suspected hired gunmen late Thursday night, the police reported.

Senior Supt. Cedric Train, city police director, identified the fatality as Christopher Guarin, 42, publisher of local daily tabloid Tatak News and former station manager of defunct radio station RGMA Super Radyo in this city.

The police official said Guarin, his wife Lyn and nine-year-old daughter AC were on their way home aboard their white Kia Pride sedan at around 10:30 p.m. when they were waylaid by two motorcycle-riding gunmen at the junction of Purok Sunrise and Naval Subdivision in Barangay Lagao here.

Guarin’s wife said they were approaching the junction area when the suspects, who were aboard a white Honda XRM motorcycle, suddenly closed in on their vehicle and shot her husband once.

The bullet partially hit her husband in the head and her right arm before it exited their vehicle, she said.

She said her husband immediately stopped the vehicle, told her and their daughter to duck and ran out, saying “I’m their only target.”

“He ran away from our car but the suspects followed him and shot him several times. I heard him shouting 'enough,' 'enough' while pleading for his life, before the suspects pumped more bullets on him,” Lyn said in the vernacular.

Lyn said they immediately brought her husband to the nearby city district hospital but he was pronounced dead by hospital personnel upon arrival.

Police Officer 2 Gerald Mark Oliver Jubelag, investigator of the Lagao police station, said the victim sustained six gunshot wounds on his head and body from a .45 caliber handgun.

He said the suspects, who did not wear any mask, immediately sped away towards the outskirts of the city.

Jubelag said that based on accounts from the victim’s wife, the motorcycle used by the suspects carried a license plate ending with number “41.”

“We’re currently drawing up the cartographic sketches of the suspects based on accounts from the victim’s wife and some witnesses,” he said.

Meantime, Freddie Solinap, manager of Guarin’s daily tabloid Tatak News, said the victim received a death threat through text messages several days ago.

The victim, who also anchored with Solinap a blocktime radio program promoting a herbal medicine brand at Radio Mindanao Network’s dxMD station here, received a threat via text message while on air two nights ago that told him “not to go out of the radio station because they will kill him.”

He said Guarin, who appeared very surprised with the threat, even read the message on air and explained that he had not been doing anything wrong since his program was only promoting a medicine brand.

“I really can’t think of anybody who would do this to him. He was a very quiet person and had no known enemies,” Solinap said.

Lyn confirmed that her husband received a prior death threat but they just took it lightly “since we don’t have any enemies.”

But she confirmed that Guarin was earlier summoned for questioning by police investigators in its probe on the killing last November 11 of Brigada News circulation manager Alfredo Velarde Jr.

She said probers included Guarin in its investigation for being a “competitor” of Velarde’s newspaper.

“But nothing came out of it and we considered it closed case since my husband had not even met the victim prior to the incident,” she added.

Guarin, who originally hailed from Maco town in Compostela Valley, came to the city in the mid-90s after he was hired as reporter of radio station dxES Bombo Radyo.

He worked for three years at Bombo Radyo, where he met his wife, before moving to dxBB Super Radyo as its chief reporter.

Guarin was promoted to program supervisor, assistant manager and was the station’s manager when it closed down about five years ago.

In the May 2010 elections, Guarin ran but lost his bid for a city council seat under an opposition slate here.

Rotating power outage to hit SW Mindanao

By. Bong S. Sarmiento


GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/04 January)—With the power situation in Mindanao under “Red Alert” status, a rotating power interruption is expected to hit this city and neighboring provinces as the projected supply deficiency continues to worsen on Wednesday. Joy Celeste Alora, information officer of the South Cotabato Electric Cooperative II, said the Mindanao grid has insufficient supply due to the reduced generation capacity of the National Power Corp. NPC operates hydropower plants that provide over half of the island’s power supply. “SOCOTECO II will implement rotating brownouts lasting for 45 minutes to an hour in its franchise area,” Alora said in a radio interview. “Unless there will be new power producers, supply won’t become stable. Our power supply is now in a precarious situation because of ageing power plants,” she added. SOCOTECO II serves this city, the whole of Sarangani province (seven towns) and Polomolok and Tupi in South Cotabato, or SOCSARGEN. The power generation deficiency in Mindanao has prompted the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) to resort to load curtailment in the last few days. Based on the NGCP outlook as of 6 a.m. Wednesday, the island’s system capacity stood at 1192 megawatts (MW). The projected peak load was pegged at 1269 MW, hence a deficiency of 77 MW or a 92% increase from Tuesday’s shortfall of only 6 MW. In effect, the deficiency puts Mindanao’s power system condition under “Red Alert” status. “Red Alert” refers to the system condition where the contingency reserve is zero or a generation deficiency exists, NGCP explained in an earlier statement. Mindanao was placed last November under “Yellow Alert,” a system condition where the total of all reserves is less than 13.2% of the required capacity. When system reserves are more than sufficient to meet the reserve requirements of the grid, the system is considered to be under normal condition. The system alert, and the corresponding power curtailment, if any, is lifted once demand recedes or once there is enough available capacity coming into the grid from the power plants. In a phone interview, Milfrance Capulong, NGCP communications officer for Mindanao, said the generation deficiency experienced in the Southern Philippines started last January 1. However, she declined to give details when asked for the reasons of the generation deficiency reportedly from the NPC, saying she’s not privy to such matters. But Capulong noted that power demand in Mindanao is on a rising trend, thus helping strain the supply. She could not say until when the NGCP, the private operator of the country’s power transmission network, would implement the load curtailment on electric distributors across the island. Capulong also stressed the need to put in place additional power generation facilities to serve the growing needs of the island. To date at least, three companies—Aboitiz Power Corp., Sarangani Energy Corp., and San Miguel Corp.—have bared plans to put up coal power plants in different locations in Mindanao. These coal-fired power plant projects, however, have been facing resistance on concerns over human health and the environment. (Bong Sarmiento/MindaNews)





Gov prods use of internet to monitor weather situations

By. CT Apelacio


GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Jan 4 (PIA) -- The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) in Sarangani has found the internet useful in monitoring weather situations in the country. PDRRM Officer Buenaventura Solarte said Gov. Migs Dominguez has told him often to use all available technology like the internet to monitor weather condition such as the low pressure area (LPA) monitored in neighboring General Santos City. He said LPA has affected the province but was happy to note that it is weakening by citing PAGASA’s weather bulletin. “It is all cloudy here (Sarangani) but no rain,” said Solarte. According to him, the province has been touching base with all the Municipal DRRMCs to ensure that all information and updates are properly coordinated at the barangay levels. “It’s the MDRRMCs that the province is closely coordinating with since they are our partners in the ground,” Solarte told PIA General Santos City. He said PDRRMO has activated all information links with all sectors such as the media, the Philippine Information Agency based here, the municipal information officers, and the MDRRMCs at the seven municipalities. “We also advised people with no let up to be ready and opt for safety instead as well as warned fishermen to be cautious and not go fishing for the meantime,” he said. Solarte acknowledged that people are wary about hearing weather forecast because of what happened recently to Cagayan de Oro and Iligan Cities, which the provincial government assisted with some P500,000.00 worth of relief goods. LPA, though not a typhoon, is basically threatening as it brings moderate to heavy rains and may trigger flashfloods and landslides in some vulnerable areas, he explained. But “it’s a welcome development and we are thankful that there is no rain in Sarangani despite the existence of LPA.” Solarte also hailed people in Sarangani for their continuous vigilance and high level of awareness on various situations around them. (CTA/PIA General Santos City)

PRO 12 hails personnel as “modernong katipuneros”

By. Pops Gumana-Fruylan


GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Jan. 3 (PIA) --- PCSupt Lester Camba, Officer-in Charge of the Police Regional Office (PRO) 12 liken the works of police personnel in the region with that “katipuneros”. Camba branded dedicated policemen as “modern katipuneros” who combat criminalities and lawlessness instead of Spaniards. “We are tasked to serve our country for the public and be like pillar of indisputable humanitarian organization like Dr. Jose Rizal himself,” Regional Public Information Office quoted Camba, as saying. During the commemoration of Rizal Day over the weekend, Camba led other personnel in paying tribute to the sacrifices, courage and gallantry of the national hero. He said the martyrdom of Rizal may serve as an apparent paradigm especially in the profession as police officers. “May the battle of this great person be an inspiration to everyone and the commemoration of his death be remembered with honor and glory,” Camba said. Meanwhile, regional public information officer Supt. Resty Damaso, revealed that the commemoration of the death of Dr. Jose Rizal is anchored on the theme, “Rizal: Haligi ng Bayan.” Damaso expressed his admiration to the national hero who sacrificed his life in order for the Filipinos to attain freedom, by saying “he never waved his right to independence, so that his country men may walk again with dignity and pride.” He challenged police personnel to repay the sacrifices of Rizal by rekindling the fire of nationalism in their hearts, working harder, and continue to defend liberty and freedom against threatening forces. “The freedom that he once fought for is the freedom were enjoying now and the democracy that he even gave up his life for, is the same democracy that we are now proud of,” Damaso explained. (PGFruylan/PIA-Gensan)

Dolefil Caravan of Hope visit northern Mindanao to give relief goods

By.Gwyn Ebol & CT Apelacio


GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Jan. 2 (PIA) -- Almost 5,000 families were given a ray of hope this holiday season by “Dolefil Caravan of Hope,” which visited both the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Valencia in Bukidnon. Dolefil's Caravan of Hope left Dolefil Gym for the second wave of relief operations Friday (Dec 30), carrying with them all the hopes aspired by Dolefil employees for the victims of Tropical storm Sendong in northern part of Mindanao. During the first wave of relief operations, 45 volunteers consisted of members of the Dolefil Kaugnay, Dolefil Mountaineering Club, as well as the company's partner cooperatives, left aboard three commuter vans en route to a ten-hour trip to Cagayan de Oro City. Soon after, three ten-wheeler trucks followed suit, carrying a P4.5 million worth of relief goods. The trucks were loaded with Dole canned pineapple products, rice, noodles, other canned food items, plastic mats, blankets/quilts, and boxes of bottled water distributed to at least 3,120 family-beneficiaries. The volunteers themselves distributed the relief goods to various evacuation centers in Cagayan de Oro City, bringing smiles to families left homeless by tropical storm Sendong. In Valencia City, aids amounting to P1.2 million were also extended by the company to families identified hard-hit by the storm. In a statement, Dolefil Human Resources division director Atty. Melquiades Hernandez III, said “it was heartwarming to note the outpouring of support from Dolefil employees, unions, cooperatives and other business partners who unselfishly shared their blessings for the benefit of the typhoon victims just in time for the Holidays.” According to Hernandez, Dolefil employees have collectively raised over P1 million, which was used to purchase basic necessities such as rice and water to benefit thousands of homeless families in the area. Hernandez said the act was not only part of Dolefil’s corporate social responsibility but as an individual act of kindness and in solidarity with the Filipino people “in this season of love and sharing.” (Dolefil/PIA General Santos City)

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