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Cebu Province News March 2015 (view source)

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==DTI: Cebu to get over P19M for 18 shared service facilities==
*Source: http://www.philstar.com/cebu-business/2015/03/20/1435633/dti-cebu-get-over-p19m-18-shared-service-facilities
*Friday, March 20, 2015 12:00 am
:By Carlo S. Lorenciana (The Freeman)
CEBU, Philippines - Cebu is getting over P19 million this year for 18 shared service facilities from the trade agency to be given to poor communities in the province to drive up the productivity of small entrepreneurs.
Seven of the proposed SSFs have already been approved amounting to P4.4 million while the other 11 are still up for approval, Department of Trade and Industry Cebu said. The proposals for approval could amount to P14.7 million.
DTI Cebu business development chief Elias Tecson said these facilities will start to be implemented by third quarter as they are yet in the procurement process, bidding, among others.
Tecson claimed the government process is relatively long.
Data from the department also suggested that some of these proposed SSFs still need business plan from the proponents, revision of proposals and are up for endorsement.
"For the 11 proposals [for approval], they are for further deliberation in the regional and national level. Others especially those projects reaching P5 million will be approved at the national level," he told The FREEMAN in an interview.
He said the agency is yet to formally launch six SSF projects funded by the 2014 budget this year but explained these machines have already been given to the project partners -- mostly cooperatives of small producers.
Yesterday, DTI Cebu turned over a P498,000-worth of SSF to the 200-member Mag-uumang Nagkahiusa sa Sam-ang ug Magdugo in Toledo City for technology upgrading of the agri-based products of its farmer members.
The farmer association is involved in the production of coconut products.
The SSF which started in 2013 is a big part of micro, small and medium enterprise development program of the trade department to provide small players with machinery and knowledge under a shared system.
==VECO to put up energy conservation infographics==
*Source: http://www.philstar.com/cebu-news/2015/03/19/1435235/veco-put-energy-conservation-infographics
*Thursday, March 19, 2015 12:00 am
:By Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon / FPL (The Freeman) | Updated March 1
CEBU, Philippines - The country’s second largest power distributor, Visayan Electric Company, will be tapping shopping malls and companies to put up infographics on how to save electricity.
VECO spokesperson Theresa Sederiosa said that the infographics will be posted in strategic areas at the mall especially on empty walls.
Sederiosa, who is also the company’s reputation management manager, said that these infographics will also contain data on appliances wattage and the equivalent amount.
“For example, among ibutang sa infographics kung pila ka wattage ang magamit sa kani nga appliance ug pila ang mabayran,” Sederiosa explained.
Aside from letting the public know how to conserve electricity, they should also be educated on how much electricity they are wasting.
“Dapat the public should know also how much electricity they are wasting which we will also put in our infographics,” Sederiosa added.
Sederiosa said electricity consumption is expected to rise this summer.
“Electricity rate is expected to increase by P0.30 to P0.35 per kilowatt hour by May and it will be reflected in the June billing cycle,” Sederiosa said.
She said even if electricity rate will increase by that month, power consumers still have an option to conserve energy and eliminate, if not minimize, its wastage.
“Bisan pa mosaka ang presyo sa kuryente, kung gamay ra ang imong kunsumo, gamay ra gihapon ang imong bayranan,” she said.
==DOT 7 exec says opening of Korean consulate in Cebu to boost tourism==
*Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=6&rid=745459
*Wednesday, March 18, 2015
:(PNA), FFC/EB
CEBU CITY, March 18 (PNA) -– An official of the Department of Tourism (DOT) 7 said the opening of the Korean Consulate in Cebu on Tuesday will further strengthen the tourism exchange between Cebu and Korea.
DOT 7 Director Rowena Montecillo said she believes the Korean consulate’s presence in Cebu signifies serious commitment in terms of boosting trade and tourism relationship between two countries.
Korea is the country’s and Cebu’s top source tourism market.
Last year, it kept its position as leading source market with 1.17 million visitors, up by 0.83 percent from its arrivals of 1.16 million in 2013.
In Region 7, Korea logged 600,904 arrivals, which is 12.08 percent higher than 536,155 arrivals in 2013.
Tourism arrivals in Central Visayas reached four million up by 15.51 percent from 3.49 million in 2013.
There are more than 30,000 Koreans residing in Cebu.
The consular office of Korea will cover the entire Visayas, including tourism areas of Cebu, Iloilo, Bohol and Boracay.
The consular office in Cebu will also be issuing visas for Korea, so those from the Visayas and Mindanao need not go to Manila to get a visa.
==DSWD 7 allots PHP9M for skills training of 450 4Ps beneficiaries==
*Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=2&rid=745167
*Tuesday, March 17, 2015
:(PNA), FPV/EB
CEBU CITY, March 17 (PNA) -- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 7 has allocated PHP9 million for the skills training of an initial 450 beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), an official said.
DSWD 7 Director Mercedita Jabagat said the agency has forged a partnership with the Global Powerskills Development and Assessment Center Inc. (GPS) for the program.
The skills training falls under the agency;s Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP), she said.
The 450 4Ps beneficiaries from the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu and Cordova town will undergo skills training on housekeeping, bar-tending and food and beverage services at the GPS in Mandaue City.
The training costs PHP20,000 each or PHP9 million for the 450 individuals.
It covers the amount equivalent to the training cost per program per beneficiary, including training kits, basic employment requirements and allowances on food, uniform and transportation during the duration of the training.
The GPS has started conducting briefing and orientation for the first batch of 50 enrollees and other capability building activities.
Training would last up to two months.
==Cebu Capitol gives farmers plastic drums to prepare for El Nino==
*Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/local-news/2015/03/15/carcar-loan-p600m-build-city-center-397710
*Monday, March 16, 2015
:(PNA), FPV/EB
CEBU CITY, March 16 (PNA) -- The Cebu Provincial Government is giving farmers plastic drums and encouraging them to install their own water catchment as the El Niño phenomenon starts.
Cebu Provincial Agriculturist Roldan Saragena said the plastic drums were distributed through the local government units (LGU) under the department’s “Go Organic” program to store water.
Among the recipients are the City of Naga, Moalboal, Consolacion and Moalboal.
Saragena advised farmers to have a water catchment pond especially those in the mountain barangays so that whenever it rains, water will be stored and will be used later in case the drought will worsen.
Earlier, Engr. Oscar Tabada of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) in Mactan said the province is now experiencing a weak or mild El Niño.
Saragena said the farmers in the province are used to the summer heat.
He said the Cebu Capitol’s Farmer Scientist Training Program taught farmers “climate resilient trials” by introducing crop varieties, aside from corn, that they can plant during the dry season, including sweet potato, peanuts and monggo.
“If corn will be affected by El Niño, at least, there are other crops that farmers can harvest,” Saragena said.
He also said the Cebu Capitol allocated P10 million for the premium insurance for crop damage, including accident insurance for the farmers and fishermen under the province’s Agri-Fisheries Insurance Program.
The Capitol tapped the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. for the insurance program.
At least 31,000 farmers and fishermen are insured under the program as of Dec. 22 last year.
==Carcar to loan P600M to build city center==
*Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/local-news/2015/03/15/carcar-loan-p600m-build-city-center-397710
*Sunday, March 15, 2015
:(Sun.Star Cebu)
THE Carcar City Government wants to borrow P600 million from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) to build the Carcar City Center’s phase one in Barangay Poblacion III.
A new city hall, public transport terminal and public market will rise at the site once the construction of the first phase is done.
City Ordinance 4-15, which confirms the loan application of Carcar City, is pending at the Provincial Board (PB) for review.
PB Member Grecilda Sanchez, chair of committee on budget and appropriations, said they will determine if the City has the capacity to pay for the loan before approving the ordinance for loan application.
Sanchez told Sun.Star Cebu that they will have to check what the City pledged as collateral.
:Policy
Section 56 of the Local Government Code of the Philippines states that “three days after approval, the secretary to the Sanggunian Panlungsod or Sangguniang bayan shall forward to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan for review, copies of approved ordinances and the resolutions approving the local development plans and public investment programs formulated by the local development councils.”
According to the ordinance, which is scheduled for the PB regular session today, Carcar can loan P600 million, or depending on the
“borrowing capacity per Bureau of Local Government Finance certification or winning bid price, whichever is lower and for the purpose of ratifying the loan agreement” entered into by the City, from the DBP.
In an interview, Carcar Mayor Nicepuro Apura explained that Carcar can apply for a loan from DBP of up to P600 million.
But if ever the winning bidder offers a lower amount for the project, then that would be the amount released by the bank.
The loan is payable in 15 years with a three-year grace period.
:Cost
Apura said building the city hall will cost P350 million, while the terminal and market will be P90 million and P160 million, respectively.
“The City has acquired 8 to 10 has. land in Poblacion III to start the City Center’s first phase in the amount of P50 million,” Apura said in Cebuano.
He said the ideal lot for the City Center is 30 hectares.
During his state of the city address on July 7, 2014, Apura said he and his fellow city officials had a groundbreaking for a New City Hall inside the proposed City Center a day before his speech.
The City Center, which will cost around P2 billion, will also have a sports complex, livestock auction market and spaces for commercial establishments.
Apura said after the PB reviews the ordinance, the signing of the loan agreement will follow.
==Disaster text blast system==
*Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/local-news/2015/03/14/disaster-text-blast-system-397549
*Saturday, March 14, 2015
: By Rolando C. Balondo Jr. (NSU AB Comm Intern)
THE Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) 7 partnered with a telecommunications firm to improve the spread of information during disasters.
OCD 7 and Smart Communications Inc. launched the Smart Infoboard as an “advanced and efficient way” of exchanging information for disaster risk reduction and management.
Smart describes the Infoboard as “a web-based solution that offers various short messaging service facilities with different functions and capabilities catering to the needs of a particular community.”
It is essentially a text blast system that OCD 7 may use in relaying weather updates, earthquake bulletins, precautionary measures and other disaster-related messages to local disaster councils and other registered Smart clients.
OCD 7 Director Olivia Luces said that the Infoboard is also useful in circulating the office's programs, services and advocacy on disaster preparedness.
"With the Smart Infoboard, we will be able to give reliable information at the right time, right place and to the right community because a well-informed community is a safer community," said Luces.
She said that teaming up with Smart is in line with Republic Act 10121 or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010.
Priority
Disaster management has become a priority in the country following the Nov. 8, 2013 super typhoon Yolanda, where more than 7,000 people perished and at least a million homes were lost.
Central Visayas, particularly the provinces of Cebu and Bohol also experienced a 7.2 magnitude earthquake on Oct. 15 of the same year.
The text blast system was launched last March 3 at the OCD 7 in Paradela Building, N. Bacalso Ave., Cebu City with Luces and Smart senior manager for community partnerships Nova Concepcion.
The Infoboard was originally used to announce the suspension of classes with Smart's partners in the academe.
OCD 7 decided to partner with the communications firm to address disaster threats in the region.
The agency's name will appear as sender of a text message to guarantee authenticity.
This is a special feature of the Infoboard, which registers names of partner offices and agencies.
OCD 7 encourages local disaster councils and the public to interact through the Infoboard by providing updates in the community level in cases of calamity.
Smart, Talk 'N Text and Sun Cellular subscribers may register to get updates from the Infoboard.
OCD 7 pays Smart P10,000 a month for the Infoboard system.
Smart turned over the same service to the Cebu Archdiocese last year as the latter prepares for the International Eucharistic Congress next year.
==South Korea visa applications accepted in Cebu starting March 18==
*Source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/451849/pinoyabroad/news/south-korea-visa-applications-accepted-in-cebu-starting-march-18
*Friday, March 13, 2015 4:08 pm
: By Joel Locsin / LBG (GMA News)
Starting next Wednesday, March 18, Cebuanos who want to go to Korea need not go to Manila to obtain a visa.
Consul General Lee Ki Seog said this as South Korea established a consulate in Cebu, GMA Cebu's Alan Domingo reported.
The new facility will provide consular services to people in the Visayas, the report said.
Lee also said the consulate will attend to the needs of Korean nationals in the Visayas, noting many of them visit Cebu.
"You have good (resorts) in Mactan area, Bohol and Boracay and you have very good natural resources," he said.
==Over 21,000 jobs up for grabs in Cebu Capitol job fair on March 15==
*Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=2&rid=743945
*Thursday, March 12, 2015
: (PNA), FPV/EB
CEBU CITY, March 12 (PNA) -- A total of 21,653 jobs are up for grabs in the Cebu provincial government’s job fair on Sunday, at the Cebu Capitol social hall.
The job fair was initiated by the Cebu Capitol’s Public Employment Service Office (Peso) to help graduating students land a job.
The job fair will be held in coordination with the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) 7 and the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) 7.
Julius Chua, Labor and Employment Officer III of Peso, said 28 licensed agencies are joining the job fair.
Chua said overseas hiring includes household service workers, skilled and technical manpower, hoteliers, construction workers, service crew, maintenance technicians, information technology (I.T.) personnel, nurses and medical and hospital staffs.
He said the countries in need of workers are the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (K.S.A,), Taiwan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Burma, Bahrain, United Kingdom (UK), Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Australia, Singapore, Brunei, China, Japan, Congo, Macau, Mozambique, Suriname, Maldives and Oman.
Chua said they now have over 700 registered applicants since their opening in January this year.
“As of now, the unemployment rate here in Cebu has already minimized compared to last year’s,” says Chua.
He said they continuously disseminate information through advertisements and through their official social media accounts such as Facebook.
==Tech-voc on the upswing in Cebu==
*Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=1&rid=743348
*Wednesday, March 11, 2015
: (PNA), FPV/PR/EBP
MANILA, March 11 (PNA) -- In a city regarded as the country's alternate metropolis with a continuously booming economy, Cebu's youth could be sitting in a sweet spot.
Industries are growing and tourism is up, which could translate to job and entrepreneurial opportunities, according to Director General Joel Villanueva of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
There is a missing element though for the youth to have a crack at employment — skills.
A series of activities in Cebu City and the nearby Mandaue City that included skills demonstration, fun run and link-up with the private sector showed that TESDA was going full blast in making technical vocational (tech-voc) education accessible and available to the future workforce, Villanueva said.
"For 2015, Cebu gets a funding of Php75.78 million for the education of 7,375 scholars. This represents 51 percent of the total budget of Php149.12 million for the entire region targeting close to 15,000 scholars," Villanueva said.
The scholarships are lodged in four programs of TESDA — Training for Work Scholarship Program, Private Education Student Financial Assistance, the Bottom-up Budgeting, ​and Special Training for Employment Program, ​he said.
"Education underpins all economic development. It's the tool of the most ambitious governments in these technological times," Villanueva added.
The TESDA chief noted the feat achieved by two Cebuanos — Ingrid Ponce and Myrna Pitaluna — after they graduated from their respective courses.
For lack of money, Ponce could not go to college and thus, enrolled in a tech-voc course that few women engage in - shielded metal arc welding and gas metal arc welding. Finding her niche in this trade, Ponce landed in a job in Japan, which changed the life of her family.
Pitaluna of Toledo City also finished shielded metal arc welding and added heavy equipment operation to her skills. She took additional training to be a certified assessor and trainer. She was awarded as Idol ng TESDA in 2013.
The March 5 event in Cebu was carried out through the Training Trabaho Program, which intensified its tech-voc education campaign to bring in more people to avail of the programs of TESDA.
The event kicked off with a series of media guesting by Villanueva, who explained the various programs of TESDA and how the public can access them.
This was followed by the showcase of the skills of the trainees in cookery, food and beverage servicing, household services and barista. Villanueva, a holder of National Certificate, also joined the skills showdown with his skills in coffee making.
The TESDA chief shared the boodle fight lunch with the trainees.
TESDA also signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Metro Wear Inc. for the training of its workers and with ABS-CBN to help promote tech-voc through various media activities.
On March 7 at the Cebu Business Park, Villanueva joined the fun run organized by the Cebu Association of Private Technical-Vocational Institution aimed to raise funds for the transportation and food allowance of scholars.
Villanueva said that TESDA would continue being active in organizing tech-voc-related events in the city with the help of the local government unit and the private sector.
The Skills Demonstration activity was organized with the assistance of the University of Cebu led by the its president, lawyer Augusto Go, its chancellor, Candice Gotianuy, and administrators of technical vocational institutions (TVIs) and TESDA technology institutes (TTIs) who took part in the demo.
The Fun Run was organized by the TVIs and TTIs and various national government agencies — Department of Health, Department of Labor and Employment, Bureau of Customs, Philippine National Police-Regional Training Center VII, Naval Forces and Provincial Environment and Natural Resources office.
==DOT backs eco-tourism zone for Ga-as, Balamban==
==DOT backs eco-tourism zone for Ga-as, Balamban==
*Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/business/2015/03/10/dot-backs-eco-tourism-zone-ga-balamban-396808
*Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/business/2015/03/10/dot-backs-eco-tourism-zone-ga-balamban-396808
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