Davao del Sur News

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PNoy set to give policy directives on Mindanao power issue

President Benigno Aquino III is set to meet the power industry stakeholders from different regions in Mindanao today in the Mindanao Power Summit at Waterfront Insular Hotel, this city.

Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras, in a press conference held yesterday, April 12, confirmed the attendance of President Aquino in the summit organized by the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) today.

"The President wants to find solutions to this power problem as fast as we can but to make sure not to jeopardize all these efforts," said Almendras.

MinDA Chair Luwalhati R. Antonino will give the overview of the summit, while Almendras will present the Mindanao Power Situation Outlook.

Industry sector representatives such as the Association of Mindanao Rural Electric Cooperatives, Business Sector/Mindanao Alliance, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Mindanao, local government units, civil society groups, and Mindanao lawmakers are also set to present various issues to be addressed by the department.

President Aquino will give his response to the issue and concerns to be raised by the stakeholders during the morning session. Policy directives are expected from him to directly answer concerns of the stakeholders.

Almendras also said that the President will make an announcement today about information and transparency.

"We hope that we could make these solutions work together. I don't want to pre-empt the outcome of the summit but our aim is to come up with both short and long term solutions to this problem," he added.

Antonino appealed to the public that the President’s visit tomorrow will be spared from any other issues, saying that the power situation will be the only agenda, which she saw as a pressing concern worth giving prior attention.

She said the President would be asking and discussing with sectoral leaders in line with their presentations of short- to long-term measures “that stakeholders wanted acted jointly by the government and the industry players.”

About 300 guests are expected to attend the power summit today, composed mostly of national and local government officials and representatives from the various sectors in the society.

ON3 Pitching Competition Mindanao on

DAVAO CITY- The Science and Technology Advisory Council (STAC) in Sillicon Valley, United States of America is calling for entries to the 2nd “ON3 Pitching Competition Mindanao” slated on April 13-15, 2012 at Martha’s Place, Brokenshire College, Madapo Hills, Davao City.

This is in partnership with the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Davao Incorporated, Department of Science and Technology (DOST) 11, Department of Trade and Industry-Davao City Field Office (DTI DCFO), Davao City Local Government Unit (LGU) and Plug and Play Tech Center.

The ON3 Pitching Competition is a business plan competition among start-up companies and students involved in technology including consumer web, Internet, mobile, wireless, social media, gaming, software, clean, and biotech.

Companies must have: 1) an authentic and owned IP with at least 2 founders who aim to solve a real and big problem; 2) an existing product, with market traction and revenue; and 3) must be looking for funding and/or global business development.

Winners will represent the region and become one of up to 20 companies to compete in the national finals during the Science and Technology Week this coming July in Manila and will have a chance to win a three month immersion program in Silicon Valley, USA and allowance.

A mentoring session on how to make an effective pitch will be conducted by Jojo Flores of Plug and Play Tech Center based in Sillicon Valley, USA to those who will qualify in the competition.

Interested start-up companies may submit completed ON3 Pitching form with Executive Summary to jojo@plugandplaytechcenter.com on or before April 13, 2012. Entry forms are available at DTI-DCFO at telephone number (082) 2240511 local 208 and look for Arriel Nengasca.

Video draws interest on Davao’s tourism sites

The tourism video commissioned by the Department of Tourism Region XI and posted on social media sites has drawn interest to several tourism attractions in the region.

“Many are already asking and inquiring on how to go to these sites,” DOT-XI Regional Director Art Boncato describes the reception to the video when it was first posted on social networking sites like Facebook and Google Plus.

The DOT-XI commissioned South Spot, a Davao City-based production company to make the 3-minute regional version of the It’s More Fun In the Philippines video which shows breathtaking locales situated in the region these included islands, mountains, waterfalls, caves, beaches, forests, indigenous culture, peculiar wildlife, man-made attractions and other points of interests.

Boncato said that many have been inquiring about Aliwagwag falls in Davao Oriental which is among the many sites featured prominently in the video. He also said the office got inquiries about surfing in Davao from those who have watched the video.

"What the video showed is that marami pa pala mapupuntahan dito sa Davao (that there many places to visit in Davao.)" Boncato added.

Mark Glenn Cabrera, a college student and blogger says that the video will surely entice more tourists in coming to Davao. “It (video) captured the essence that Davao boasts of many ideal destinations for tourists to check out. “

For Davao City-based travel blogger Olan Emboscado the video is a great way of promoting the many must-see, must-experience places in the whole region.

“It showcases what the Region really is - a great place of great interests from Highlands to Islands. From verdant mountains to pristine white sand beaches, from exotic waterfalls to beautiful underwater world - things we enjoyed so much in our region,” Emboscado said adding that the video further inspired him to travel to other locales featured in the video.

Emboscado who writes travel stories in his widely-followed blog the Travel Teller praises the DOT for utilizing the internet to spread the video.

“People are now into Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and other social media networks. Photo sharing and dissemination of information could be done effectively. Also, most of the tourists these days are inspired to visit one destination because they have read and seen in it on social media networks,” Emboscado added.

For his part Boncato also said that aside from attracting tourists the video also makes the stakeholders aware of these beautiful places and jumpstart the initiative in making these places more accessible to visitors.

ICT group seeks more innovative businesses

DAVAO CITY- The ICT Davao, an umbrella arm of Information Technology stakeholders in Davao City seeks the growth of more innovative industries in the city.

According to Sam Matunog, president of the Davao Software Industry Association said that they are encouraging more businessmen to become angel investors or venture capitalists so as to build a culture of innovations in the city.

An angel investor is a business capitalist who provides a capital start-up for persons with innovative ideas, while a venture capitalist invests in a product or a start-up company with strong market potentials.

They have also launched ON3 Pitching Competition to promote innovation in business. It is organized by the ICT Davao together with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-11), Department of Trade and Industry-Davao City Field Office (DTI DCFO), city government of Davao and the Silicon Valley-based Plug and Play Tech Center.

The event is a business plan competition where individuals or groups pitch their products or ideas which are either classified as green solutions, biotechnology or ICT (Information Communication Technology).

The ON3 Pitching Competition will be held this coming April 13 to 15 at Martha’s Place in Brokenshire College, Davao City.

During the first day, pitchers are made to undergo a conference with pitching coaches. The second day is the contest proper where the pitchers will present their products or ideas to a panel of judges led by Deny Roja, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist.

Shortlisted pitchers will then compete in the nationwide contest during the Science and Technology Week this July in Manila. Top three pitchers will then go for an immersion program in Silicon Valley, California.

Last year two of the three shortlisted pitchers came from Davao City. Piclyf, a photo-blogging application and RAD solutions, a green technology alternative to hospital waste incinerators.

Matunog hopes that the ON3 will lure more start-up companies out in the open. He said that there were 11 pitchers in 2011 and he hopes they would double in number by this year's ON3.

Matunog a local venture capitalist himself said they could come up with success stories from start-up companies during the event so as to encourage and inspire more local businessman to look into investing in innovative businesses in the city.

Duterte Prioritizes Welfare Of Constituents

DAVAO CITY– Acting City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte disclosed that public interest remains his top priority in governance.

Speaking in his public affairs program, “Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa” on Sunday, he pointed out that he will support his daughter, City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, if she’s correct in implementing the law.

Duterte said he will also point out the errors if the mayor is wrong in her actions.

“This is government. This is not our property. We are working here for the people,” he pointed out.

Duterte admitted that indeed there was a disagreement between him and the city mayor in the implementation of the gun ban which suspended the license to carry firearms outside residence last March due to its constitutional infirmities.

He said he was against the move because of its implication on due process and equal protection of laws, two important constitutional guarantees to the lives of the people.

Even when the mayor is his daughter, Duterte said he cannot just keep silent on matters of public interest.

Duterte said he also expects the mayor to criticize him and the City Council if they also commit mistakes in the performance of their duties.

He said the mayor has a mind of her own even during her growing up years.

“I did not raise my daughter as a robot. I expect her to go up as a lawyer, and if she thinks her stance is right, fine. Let’s debate on it so that the people will know, because it will be the people who will benefit from it at the end of the day,” Duterte said.

Earlier, Duterte-Carpio said she could have disproved the vice mayor’s opinion on the legality of the gun ban in court being the only entity that can rule on the legitimacy of any measure.

She said she felt awkward responding to the issues raised by the vice mayor on the gun ban in public because she wanted to maintain her respect for elders.

Defense academy to launch information drive in Davao City

DAVAO CITY- A five-member delegation from the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP) will visit Davao City on April 25, 2012, to introduce the Masters in National Security Administration (MNSA) Program in the region.

Dubbed “MNSA Information Drive”, the NDCP has been conducting pro-active, aggressive, nationwide marketing initiatives nationwide.

Areas visited include Batanes, Cebu, Bohol and Bicol and Ilocos Regions.

A total of 300 executives from different government agencies and private organizations are expected to attend any of the three MNSA info drives in Davao (April 25, 9-11AM), Gen Santos City (April 26, 9-11 AM) and Koronadal (April 26, 2-4PM).

The MNSA is a free one-year full-time academic scholarship program consisting of the thirty-nine (39) units of multi-disciplinary courses involving the political, economic, socio-cultural, techno-scientific, environmental, and military dimensions of national security; three integrating courses of national security management, policy science, and research methods; and a master’s thesis.

Qualified nominees are recruited in their capacities as national defense leaders, senior officials of government agencies and local government units, and top level executives from the private sector.

For more information with regard to the MNSA Program and the MNSA Information Drive, you may contact Segfrey D Gonzales through telephone nos. (02) 912.9125 or (02) 911.6001 loc 4558. You may also log on to the NDCP website at: www.ndcp.edu.ph.

DOE Assures Power Supply Improvement

DAVAO CITYThe Department of Energy (DOE) has assured energy stakeholders in Mindanao that the government is taking its best efforts in addressing the power situation in the island.

DOE Undersecretary Josefina Patricia Asirit made the assurance during the Mindanao Energy Stakeholders Meeting on Tuesday here, as she presented DOE’s undertakings and recommended solutions to improve the power supply in Mindanao.

Asirit told power distributors and electric cooperatives across Mindanao of the current power supply deficit of 100-160 megawatts in the Mindanao grid from 360 MW during the previous months.

As part of the short-term solutions to this condition, Asirit said DOE is pushing for the re-opening of the Iligan Diesel Power Plant (IDPP), which has been closed since June 2010 pending evaluations and clearance by the Commission on Audit (COA).

Once operational, IDPP is expected to produce an initial power of 20-30 MW and may increase up to its full capacity of 100 MW upon rehabilitation, Asirit stated.

“We hope we can put it online within the next four months, if not earlier,” she told the media in a press conference held after the stakeholders’ meeting on the same day in this city.

Another short-term solution being mulled by DOE is the transfer of power barges as stop-gap measures needed in Mindanao.

Asirit said two power barges are up for transfer next year that would provide 120 MW and 70 MW respectively. “This would certainly be more than enough to help augment the 200 MW shortfall,” she said.

She said there is one power barge existing with a 32-MW capacity but is only generating 5 MW due to its location in a cement plant.

The rest of the existing power barges also with a 32-MW capacity each require maintenance to operate full generation capacity, she added.

DOE’s short-term solutions include the installation of the Mindanao Coal-fired Power Plant of the STEAG State Power, Inc. which has a 10 MW un-contracted capacity, and the acceleration of energy efficiency program.

Asirit explained that these short-term solutions are temporary just as not to hamper the development of the industry, while DOE is also making efforts for the long-term solutions.

In averting the power situation in Mindanao from becoming a crisis in the future, DOE saw the need for technical rehabilitation and upgrading of power generation plants to generate more power.

The DOE official said the 180-MW Pulangi Complex run-off river hydropower plant will need to be repaired starting this month to operate in its full generation capacity.

For the period of April to May, Pulangi river will be at its lowest water elevations which will reduce power generation of about 100-130 MW.

However, Asirit clarified that Pulangi Complex is still generating in its full capacity of 180MW as of this time, and explained that the rehabilitation plan is aimed at preventing the plant from further damage.

Combined power sources lead to minimal power cost hike in Mindanao

DAVAO CITY- Power consumers in Mindanao may only have to pay additional 50 to 80 centavos per kWh to their electricity cost as electric cooperatives have started getting supply from power barges like Therma Marine.

During the stakeholders’ meeting initiated by the Department of Energy (DOE) yesterday at the Grand Regal Hotel, this city, Energy Undersecretary Josefina Patricia Asirit explained that consumers will only have to pay a very minimal additional amount from the generation of power from expensive technologies like power barges and blending it with power generated from Mindanao plants.

At present, there are two power barges in Mindanao operated by the Aboitiz-owned Therma Marine Inc. (TMI).

The government instructed for the blending of the cheap power generated from Agus and the costly power generated from power barges and diesel plants as an immediate solution to the power shortage.

“The cost of power is cheapest here in Mindanao. And even if rate adjustments will be made, consumers in Mindanao will just have to pay P3.50 as power cost, still way cheaper than the existing approved rate in Luzon and Visayas which runs from P5 to P6,"

The official clarified that consumers need not worry on certain claims that rate adjustments could go as high as P12 per kWh. “You will just be paying the cost of the blended mix.”

Asirit cited the experience of some electric cooperatives which showed that the increase in the power cost runs at 50 centavos per kwh.

“This is the easiest solution we could think of but it also comes with a manageable cost,” she said.

The energy department is asking the consumers to bear with these adjustments as the stakeholders are doing both short- and long-term solutions to this power shortage.

Energy officials expect these adjustments to be temporary as the government pursues to find other sources like the rehabilitation of the Agus-Pulangi hydropower complex and the building of more power plants in Mindanao.

DavSur town all set for environment festival

DAVAO CITY- The Municipality of Sta. Cruz will be holding the 12th staging of the Pista sa Kinaiyahan (Nature’s Festival) this coming April 26 to 29.

The festival will feature events which are geared towards environmental preservation and conservation. Among the activities include, an art and fashion exhibition featuring recycled materials converted to art works, Mangrove planting, and Mt. Apo clean-up.

Pista sa Kinaiyahan will also feature adventure sporting events aimed at promoting Sta. Cruz as an ideal eco-tourism site in the region.

The festival’s main event is the 2nd International Mt. Apo Boulder Face Challenge set this coming April 28 to 29. The extreme sports adventure race will combine four extreme sports disciplines: mountain biking, trekking, white water tubing, and running. This race involves teams to traverse the coastal areas of Sta. Cruz and climb up to the peak of the country’s highest mountain Mt. Apo at 10,000 feet above sea level.

About 46 teams from Australia, Vietnam and Singapore have slated their intention to participate in the race. They will have to beat the record of 22 hours 51 minutes and 42 seconds set by a team from Carmen, Davao del Norte, the inaugural champions during the initial staging of the event last year.

According to Municipal Councilor Fernando Ugdoracion, the local government has budgeted P500,000 for the 2nd Mt. Apo Boulder Face Challenge, which is being also supported by the Department of Tourism. The event has already gained acclaim as one of the toughest eco-adventure races in the country.

Davao women to lead campaign vs junk foods

DAVAO CITY- Members of the Mothers for Peace Movement in Mindanao (M4P) will take the lead in a “food revolution” campaign or the fight against junk foods in city schools starting July this year.

M4P will launch the Mothers for Peace SuperFood Carts in Davao City in time for the Nutrition Month celebration in July in a bid to promote healthy foods organically produced and cooked by the city’s rural women.

Patmei Ruivivar, program officer of the Mindanao Commission on Women (MCW) that organized the M4P, disclosed this during the Kapihan sa PIA on March 30 featuring women issues in observance of the Women’s Month.

Ruivivar said the campaign will also support the city government’s ordinance that bans junk foods in schools.

“The food revolution campaign will start in schools to educate parents on healthy foods, and help them change the eating habits of their children,” she stated, mentioning that the Assumption College of Davao is one that adheres to no-to-junk foods policy inside its school campus.

She said the Mothers for Peace SuperFood Carts will be installed in different schools in the city to sell nutritious and delicious foods in food carts.

Davao City will be the pilot area for this health and at the same time economic enterprise for women in Mindanao as part of MCW’s Mothers for Peace Social Enterprise Program.

MCW launched this enterprise program during the Women’s Market that brought more than 20 women’s groups and food producers all over Mindanao in time for the women’s month celebration on March 8 this year in the city, Ruivivar said.

MCW, established in 2001 by Mindanao women leaders, is a non-government organization that advocates for Mindanao peace and development agenda from women’s perspective. The M4P is MCW’s grassroots base.

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