Davao City News September 2012

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Davao City - Archived News

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

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

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

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

WHY??

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

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

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

New local, foreign apparel brands cram surging Davao City economy

By Manuel T. Cayon (Reporter)

DAVAO CITY—US- and European-branded apparel makers have joined the Davao City-bound bandwagon, eyeing a slice of the surging economy of this fourth most populated city in the country.

The French shoe wear Sledgers was the latest to mount a foothold although its presence was tested in the shelves of a classy department store, showing better sales performance than Cebu, in a first three-month assessment after being opened.

Some families were seen buying basic and fashion-made shoes immediately after a media launch of its store in SM City in Ecoland on Wednesday night, with one middle-aged buyer telling a female reporter that he was elated that “an elegant but durable brand is already here with us.”

Sledgers is known for its “elegance and lightness, but we also have other men’s accessories such as wallets, belts and calling cardholders,” said Patrick Giron, brand manager of Sledgers Philippines.

The brand is on display in 42 channels nationwide, with four standing stores at the Mall of Asia, TriNoma Mall, SM City Cebu and SM City Davao.

Sledgers’ confidence in the $4-billion Davao economy could be shown on its store space, the biggest so far with its 78-square-meter (sq m) space. This is bigger than Cebu’s 60 sq m, TriNoma’s 38 sq m and Mall of Asia’s 37 sq m.

In only three months when the product was displayed at another classy store, Sledgers has already 300 cardholders. There were 4,000 holders nationwide.

The Sledgers was only among the many other foreign brands opening this year, first when the SM Ecoland opened 10 years ago, followed this year by the opening of the Ayala-owned Abreeza Mall and on September 28, of SM Lanang Premier, the second mall in the city and the first luxury mall in Southern Philippines.

For the Primer Group of Companies, which markets Sledgers and more than 100 other US and European brands in the Philippines, eight travel, sports and fashion apparels started operating this year with the Abreeza Mall opening, and two more, Sledgers and Mountain Hard Wear, opening with the SM Lanang Premier.

Sledgers was founded in 1921 in France by John Sledgers, combining French style and comfort. It displays a range of styles from basic leather shoes, casual loafers and elegant dress shoes. Each store carries 80 to 90 styles.

Opening of SM Davao offers 10,000 jobs

(PNA), GHG/DIGNA D. BANZON/LDP/UTB

DAVAO CITY,Sept. 29 (PNA) -- Some 10,000 new jobs are up for grabs following the opening of the SM Lanang Premier and the Radisson Hotel here on Friday.

SM Prime Holdings president Hans T. Sy said "we have been very aggressive in Mindanao because we saw the potential in the island. What we are doing in China is also what we are doing here," he said.

Sy led the opening of SM Lanang Premier on Sept. 28 and had the new landmark inaugurated on Sept. 27 along with the first IMAX threatre, the first Forever 21 store in the region, an SMX Convention Center.

"It will also feature the Science Discovery Center. The Radisson Hotel will open in February 2013," he said.

The Park, an outdoor event venue was, simultaneously opened to the public. It has a breathtaking 122 meters musical fountain and a Skygarden with greens, water features, and restaurants.

Sy said the purchasing power in Mindanao is strong and this can be seen in the study they made per transaction basis.

"I'm giving them reason to spend by offering new market to make the economy rolling," he said.

Sy said next year they will have two projects in Mindanao where another mall will be built in Cagayan de Oro City and in Butuan City with a capital expense each at P2 billion.

"The Cagayan mall will be similar to that in Olongapo City with 1.7 hectares area of multi-level type while Butuan will have an area of 90,000 square meters," he said.

"What we are doing is to invest back the cash we generated in the 46 malls and not just borrow funding for reason of expansion," he said.

Sy also emphasized that all their projects come with sustainability even as he said that features of water collection and recycling is one major component in all the malls that they operate both here and abroad.

Davao City vice mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte said "the opening of SM Premier mall showed to the world that our city is the right investment area and a peaceful city to do business."

NGOs push to revive use of brown rice in Davao City

(PNA), GHG/ANTHONY S. ALLADA/LDP/UTB

DAVAO CITY, Sept. 28 (PNA) -- Representatives from a non-government organizations (NGOs) recently conducted an advocacy campaigning for the use of the brown or unpolished rice as regular diet of every Filipino.

The group held an Organic Food Fair and conducted brown rice cooking demonstrations through the assistance of the Most Institute and St. Dominic de Savio-Gourmet Bites.

Celebrity advocate "Tado" joined Oxfam and Dakila during the campaign in Davao which was highlighted by food sampling of brown rice recipes developed by participating culinary schools.

City Agriculture Office (CAO) officer-in-charge Leonardo Avila III said the city government of Davao fully supports the campaign.

"Brown rice is healthy and in fact, it was included in the regular diet of the Filipino people long before white rice came. It is ideal for people with diabetes since it has lower sugar content," he said.

Brown rice is good source of a protein called lysine. It is also rich in Thiamine, which is good for breast feeding mothers, he said.

Marie Nunez, Oxfam public campaigns manager, said "the milling of brown rice has less wastage which results to increased production and supply. This could reduce our dependence on rice importation."

"This will definitely help us achieve the country's goal of rice self-sufficiency," Nunez said.

Oxfam and Dakila also launched the campaign in Dumaguete City before they came in Davao City.

French shoe store sees positive growth of Davao market

(PNA), LAM/DDB/LDP/DMY

DAVAO CITY, Sept. 27 (PNA) -- A foreign brand of shoes is optimistic of the Davao market as it showed an increasing growth since opening last March here.

Brand manager Pat Giron of Sledgers said their Davao store, which is their biggest store in the country, made a better showing than Cebu on its sales for the first three months since it opened.

Sledgers was founded in 1921 in France by John Sledgers and for 90 years is consistent with its philosophy of providing elegant and comfortable and technology enhanced men's footwear to its customers.

Giron said most of their buyers are conscious that the shoes they buy are comfortable to wear even as he said they offer both comfort and style (elegance) in each pair of shoes that they manufacture.

Health aspect is also being considered with some items that come with features of anti-bacterial where the insole can be slipped off for air drying and has a property that eliminates odor.

"New technology is also infused making the pair of shoe extra light as it uses special kind of rubber that is made in Italy and about 40 percent lighter compared to other shoe brand. Premium cow leather is used in shoes as it is more durable while calf leather for accessories which is softer," he said.

He said the Davao store in SM is among the four free standing stores in the country with one in Cebu and two in Manila at the Mall of Asia and in Trinoma while the brand is also being carried in 42 channels.

"It earned 4,000 members under its loyalty program and this covers about half of the business in the Philippines," he said.

He said other than the kind and quality of the products, customer service is another factor that they offer to customer aside from the freebies that buyers get.

He said their customer sales assistants (CSA) go on regular training especially on handling customers in the Apex school in Manila even as he said that CSAs share to customers what to look for and the benefits they get in buying the right kind of shoes.

Giron said they have varied styles of about 80 to 90 styles in each store of basic leather shoes, casual loafers, elegant dress shoes and their collections come either Spring and Summer or the Autum-Winter Collections.

He said they have plans for expansion to other places in Mindanao and considers locating in a new mall that is opening in Cagayan de Oro City.

ICT-BPO firms to conduct job fair in Davao City

(PNA), GHG/JGQ/LDP/DMY

DAVAO CITY, Sept. 26 (PNA) -– About 16 Information and Communication Technology-Business Process Outsourcing (ICT-BPO) firms will conduct an exclusive job fair on Oct. 1- 2 at the Holy Cross of Davao Gymnasium here.

ICT-Davao president Lizabel “Wit” Holganza said the industry needs about 3,500 for immediate employment in the fourth quarter of 2012.

ICT Council executive vice president Bert Barriga said the ICT-BPO industry in the country has generated about half million jobs for call centers alone and about 800,000 for the entire industry.

In Davao City, he said BPO industry continues to experience impressive growth with existing locators currently engage in expansions.

Barriga said Opinionology, VXL Global are needing about 4,000 square meters of space intended for the expansion of their operations.

He also named some BPO firms who are eyeing to locate in Davao City among others, Stream Global, US Photo Parts, and Ring Central.

The growth of the IT-BPO sector results to the need of more call center agents, he said.

Participating at the fair are Concentrix, Cyber City Teleservices, Sutherland, SixEleven, Sycore, Callbox, Opinionology, VXL, NextBPOSolutions, Focusinc, Outsource Link, RJ Teleservices and from the non-voice--The Philippine College of Technology-Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (TESDA) Training Institute, MTC Academy, Reliance Transcription and Zipit Solutions.

Holganza said the job fair welcomes all job seekers from all schools in the Davao Region.

Davao City offers tax exemptions to new investors

(PNA), GHG/DDB/LDP/JPDMY

DAVAO CITY, Sept. 25 (PNA) – The Davao City government will give more incentives to new investors who will to put up businesses in remote areas in the third district of this city.

Davao City Investment Promotion Center (DCIPC) chief Jason Magnaye said investors who will set up business in Calinan, Baguio, Paquibato and Marilog areas can avail of the city’s tax exemptions for five years, including business sales tax and real property tax.

He said the city also amended the Davao City Investment and Incentive Code (DCIIC) to attract investors.

"We wanted to encourage business in these areas," Magnaye said.

He said possible investment for the four preferred areas are processing facilities and infrastructure for agri-business.

"This is of the priority areas for investments underscored in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the investment and incentive code of the city," he explained.

"Investors outside these areas can enjoy three years of business tax and two years of real property tax exemptions," he added.

"Investment climate in the city remain bullish with the improvement of peace and order situation and the stability of local laws," he said.

PRC urges professionals to renew licenses at SM mall

By Carina L Cayon (PIA-11/Carina L. Cayon)

DAVAO CITY, Sept. 24 (PIA) -- The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) in the region has urged professionals to renew licenses as it offers faster and more efficient ID renewal system which has recently been made available at SM City Davao.

PRC-XI Regional Director Josephine Villegas-Liamzon said establishing the PRC ID Renewal Center at SM mall would provide comfort and convenience for professionals to renew and claim their IDs.

In the ceremonial opening of the center on September 21 at the Customer Service Area at the ground floor of SM Department Store, Villegas-Liamzon explained that the center would address the long queues and congestion of applications for ID renewals at PRC offices.

Villegas-Liamzon told the media that the center is open during mall hours from Mondays to Sundays, even in certain holidays.

She said applicants who would like to renew their licenses as SM mall would have to shell out a meager convenience fee of P20 which will go to SM, apart from the regular application fee of P450 required by the PRC.

With the system put in place, processing time is reduced from 3-4 hours to at least two minutes or up to a maximum of ten minutes, said SM Department Store Branch Manager Pedro Sam.

Sam said the period of claiming the IDs is seven working days after the application, adding that professionals could get their IDs at the center beyond government office hours.

Faodziyah K. Camsa, a registered nurse from Cotabato, said it just took her five minutes to apply for the renewal of her license which expired in July 2012.

Camsa was among the 20 professionals who availed of the renewal service at the PRC ID Renewal Center at SM City Davao on September 21, PRC Commissioner Jennifer J. Manalili said.

Manalili said about 400 applications of renewal have already been processed after the launching of the PRC ID Renewal Center earlier this month in other SM malls such as in Mall of Asia and SM Marikina.

She said PRC has inked partnership with the Bureau of Treasury and SM Mart, Inc. on August 6, 2012 for the implementation of the ID renewal system at SM malls which is part PRC’s e-Service campaign.

PRC Chair Teresita R. Manzala explained that the processing undertakes online application system where database from PRC Central Office is linked to the database of SM mall.

Once the license subject for renewal is found valid, there is an automatic computation of arrears if there is any, Manzala expounded during the launching of the center in Davao.

“PRC has the total control of all procedures,” she stated.

Manzala was grateful of the partnership with SM Mart, Inc. which did not only provide for the space but also supplied for free the necessary equipment including computer hardware and software for the online system.

She said the PRC ID Renewal Center at SM City Davao was the 20th to be established in the entire nation.

Board placer turns down juicy job offer to teach

By Manuel T. Cayon (Reporter)

DAVAO CITY—A second placer at the recent board examination for agricultural engineering in a southern Mindanao school turned down a juicy offer of a private company to “give back” to his alma mater.

Admitting that teaching is not his forte, new agricultural engineer Ryan Art M. Tuling, 20, said he would teach for a start at his alma mater, Southern Philippines Agri-Business and Marine and Aquatic School of Technology (Spamast).

His decision came at a period of low interest among high-school graduates to take up agriculture courses, leaving many unfilled rooms in the country’s agricultural schools, and forcing many non-agriculture schools to close their agriculture courses.

Tuling placed second in the board examination for Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Engineering graduates, from among the 293 board passers. Some 530 agri-engineering graduates took the board exam on August 21 this year.

Tuling’s average score of 81.7 percent was one point shy of the top rank, but it was more than enough to put his alma mater in the country’s league of top performing schools in agri-engineering, a statement from Spamast said.

The last time that a Spamast agricultural-engineering graduate placed among the top passers in the examination was in 2008, when the examinee placed third.

Spamast did not disclose the detail of the private firm’s offer to Tuling who said his decision to teach was a move “to return the favor [to the school].”

Dr. Irvin Generalao, Spamast President, already offered Tuling a post in the agricultural engineering department of the state-funded tertiary school.

Tuling is the third and only boy among the four children of Mario and Carmelita Tuling of Sulop, Davao del Sur. He did not show any signs of academic excellence in his elementary and high-school years, according to his father.

“We are very proud of him,” the older Tuling said.

Spamast threw a victory party for Tuling and his fellow board passers at its satellite campus in Digos City last week. Tuling was given a P10,000 cash incentive from the school’s administration.

Spamast said that despite the dwindling number of agriculture students in colleges, “agriculture and agri-business will remain the primary growth driver for Mindanao’s economy in the next 20 years according to the Mindanao 2020 Peace and Development Framework Plan [Mindanao 2020], the island-region’s peace and development road map for 2011 to 2030.”

“Studies show that Filipinos dislike farming in general, labeling it as a menial and humiliating chore,” the school said in a statement, adding that the school would contribute to producing the manpower “in order to sustain the island-region’s growing economy.”

Tuling said that agriculture may not look enticing for many high-school students, “but I want to change that notion by building a good career in this field.”

In 2008 the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development launched the program “Enhancing the Demand for Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resources [AFNR] Graduates through Science and Technology (S&T)” where Spamast actively participated.

“We see to it that our programs cater to the demand of the entire AFNR industry not just in Mindanao but for the rest of the country,” Generalao said. “And they can also consider enrolling at Spamast, too, where tuition and other fees are affordable and students are assured of quality education.”

Aside from Agricultural Engineering, Spamast also offers Bachelors of Science in Agri-Business, Agricultural Technology, Agro-forestry and Agri-business management, among other courses.

Its main campus is located in Malita, Davao del Sur with satellite campuses in Digos City; Kapatagan (also in Digos City); Sulop, Davao del Sur; and Buhangin in Davao City. In Photo: Dr. Irvin G. Generalao (left), Spamast president, congratulates Ryan Art M. Tuling for placing second in the agricultural engineering board examination during a victory party thrown by Spamast for its board passers in its Digos City satellite campus recently.

112 job vacancies at City Hall

(PNA), LAM/JGQUIROS/LDP/UTB

THE Davao City Human Resource and Management Office (HRMO) posted a total of 112 vacant job positions that need to be urgently filled up.

Based on HRMO data, a large chunk of the job vacancies at the City Hall has been requested by the City Mayor's Office, followed by the City Administrator's Office, and the City Engineer's Office.

Erwin Alparaque, HRMO chief, earlier said the city eyes to hire more employees to augment the need for manpower to various departments at the City Hall.

From positions that don't require a bachelor's degree to positions that require a degree and extensive experience, applicants can really chose from among the wide range of the vacant jobs at the City Hall.

As of the latest HRMO inventory, in order to effectively carry out and maximize its clientele services, the city needs at least 2,831 plantilla personnel. But as of last week, the city has only 2,250 plantilla workers.

Apart from the plantilla positions, the city also has a total of 8,468 job order positions.

"Daghan man ug interesado sa mga position, wala lang jud mag qualify (There were lots of interested applicants for various positions, but only few possess the qualification)," Alparque said.

He said the vacant positions include those employees who have already resigned, retired or those who have been promoted or have been transferred to another office. (Jereco O. Paloma)

AFP joins 2012 Peace Day in Davao City

(PNA), LAM/JGQUIROS/LDP/UTB

DAVAO CITY, Sept. 21 (PNA) -- The active participation of the military in Friday’s International Day of Peace or “Peace Day” celebration here led by various peace advocates makes it unique and special from previous years’ celebrations, according to Madett Gardiola of the Brahma Kumaris, one of the event core organizers.

Brahma Kumaris is a non-government and non-sectarian organization that focuses on developing spiritual dimension.

“Ten years ago, a few groups were celebrating peace day in Davao City minus the security sector particularly the military. But the military’s participation in this year’s peace day celebration makes the difference,” Gardiola said.

International Day of Peace is an annual event observed worldwide every 21st of September, as mandated by the United Nations, in order to dedicate to the promotion of peace, justice, and respect of human rights.

Gardiola said the military’s participation for the first time in this year’s Peace Day celebration signals the security sector’s “openness to ongoing peace initiatives”.

In fact, she said the military led by Eastern Mindanao Command (EastMinCom) Lt. Gen. Jorje Segovia has the biggest booth of all the 26 participating peace groups that joined the Peace Fair at the SM Annex Activity Center purposely to promote peace initiatives.

The Security sector also took center stage in the Peace Concert which featured the EastMinCom bands and musicians from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the same venue.

Gardiola said the military’s active participation this year formed part of the sector’s bayanihan framework that focuses on building relationships.

The impressive number of participating groups also indicates the increasing awareness of the public on peace initiatives.

“More people are doing peace today,” Gardiola said.

Segovia said the military has shifted from its traditional military campaign for peace into outreach programs to communities and now joining peace groups in promoting peace.

He cited the Youth for Peace Summit being initiated by the military in the provinces as one of the military’s peace campaign reforms.

Graduates of the said summit formed the Youth For Peace Movement, which also actively participated in the Peace Fair, Segovia said.

“If there is one group who wants to end the war, it’s the military, because we are always away from our families,” Segovia said.

The Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID) led by executive director Gus Miclat said IID together with its allied local and regional networks including the Mindanao Peaceweavers (MPW) and the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict- Southeast Asia (GPPAC-SEA) joins the rest of the world in calling for a celebration of peace and a stop to the destruction and violence that conflict and war brings.

Engaged in dialogue and peace-building for a quarter-century, IID treasures every effort and measure whereby the message of peace and an end to war resonate in the minds and hearts of men and women.

IID noted that Sept 21 which is also the day former President Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law forty years ago is just apt to be the day marking the call for global peace.

“Martial Law struck a blow that still reverberates strongly with a number of us to this very day. Yet we should also note that despite this history we have moved on with manifest hopeful steps forward,” IID in a statement said.

The Mindanao Peoples Caucus (MPC), in partnership with the Generation Peace Youth Network (GenPeace) joined the celebration.

“Now that peace is everyone’s primary concern, we discourage any efforts to spoil or sabotage this, in order to protect private vested interests. It is time that we give utmost importance to the general welfare and the safety of our civilians, women, and children. We call on everyone to maintain our respect to others regardless of faith, color and race,” MPC and GenPeace further said in a statement.


SM City’s newest branch takes malling to a new level with green architecture

(PNA), LAP/LOVELY A. CARILLO/LDP

DAVAO CITY, Sept. 20 (PNA) -- SM City’s newest premier mall in Davao City, which is set to open on September 28 this year, takes malling to a new level with the adoption of green architecture components in the construction of the SM City Lanang Premier.

“We have installed a rain-catchment system capable of handling 550 cubic meters of water in accordance with the new city ordinance requiring a rainwater catchment system for all new constructions,” SM City Lanang Premier mall manager Clarice Lapena said during a press conference held recently, in preparation for the September 28 opening of the new mall.

Ordinance No. 0298-09, series of 2009, which mandates the proper harvest, storage and use of the city’s rainwater, was authored by former City Councilor Leonardo Avila III.

“Establishments that will construct rainwater catchments in their projects are set to receive tax rebates from the government while violators will be penalized,” he said.

Avila earlier said the rainwater catchment system will help mitigate flooding and canal erosion in the urban areas.

Meanwhile, Lapena said the RCS will prevent the overloading of the creek near the area.

The mall has also adopted other green architecture components such as the use of glass pavers in the open parking area. Glass pavers are considered an environment-friendly option as they are recycled from glass bottles. With proper sandblasting, the glass pavers become slip-resistant and provide maximum water absorption characteristics. The use of glass pavers in the mall’s open parking space results in minimum water run-off, Lapena said.

LED lights, which are more efficient and cost-effective since they last longer than the ordinary light bulbs, are used throughout the mall. Louvers were also used to deflect and block daylight, making the indoor cooling system more efficient, he said.

And to minimize carbon monoxide emission, SM City has installed park finders in the parking lot. The gadget will help drivers maximize their fuel use as they will easily determine the availability of a parking space when there is a green light or the red light if it is occupied, he further said.

City agriculturist cites bamboo industry's economic, environmental benefits

(PNA), LAP/JUDY G. QUIROS/LDP/UTB

DAVAO CITY, Sept. 18 (PNA) -- Davao City Agriculture Office chief Leonardo Avila III is eyeing to develop bamboo as a lucrative industry in the city and eventually in the rest of Davao Region.

He said aside from being a potential source of income, bamboo also has ecological benefits as it minimizes soil erosion and stabilizes river banks.

Having this in mind, Avila looked at China’s strategy in boosting its bamboo industry as role model and guide.

Speaking at a press conference Monday, Avila said during a recent visit to China, he learned how the Chinese government planned, supported, and developed Moso (bamboo species in China) to become one of its economic drivers.

“China was able to plan, study, do research on its bamboo, that’s why its bamboo contributes 15 percent of its Gross Domestic Product,” Avila said, adding that China’s bamboo industry helped improve the country’s economy.

He said doing the same strategy is possible for Davao City’s bamboo.

“There is a big possibility to adopt similar strategies in Davao City because it has a huge potential for bamboo industry. What we need is research,“ he pointed out.

He said he will include bamboo in the city’s list of priority agriculture products and industry, conduct an inventory to determine how big are the areas planted to bamboo in the city and to know what bamboo species are being grown in the city.

Bamboo has a variety of economic uses such as for handicraft and furniture; farm implements; fishpen, fish cages and other fishing gears; banana props; musical instruments; pulp and paper; and house construction.

Aside from these, young shoots of some species are edible, Avila said.

He noted bamboo shoots are currently being exported to Japan, making bamboo production a potential source of income for agroforestry farmers.

Avila is looking at the vast banana plantations in Davao Region as a potential local market for bamboo.

Bamboo poles are widely used in banana plantations. With an estimated 100,000 hectares of banana plantation in Davao Region, the demand for bamboo of the banana plantations alone is already a big potential market.

According to a recent report, there are 12 genera, consisting of 49 species of bamboos that are growing in the Philippines - 30 erect species and 19 climbing species. Nine erect bamboo species are presently utilized by industries for various purposes.

RDC 11 recommends major upgrade of DIA

(PNA), /JGQ/SSC

DAVAO CITY, Sept. 17 (PNA) -- The Regional Development Council (RDC) in Region 11 has recommended a major upgrading of the Davao International Airport (DIA) to maintain its world-class brand of airport facility, according to Maria Lourdes Lim, RDC 11 chair and regional director of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA 11).

The recommendation, submitted to the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), identified the upgrading and extension of the runway and improvement of the terminal building.

Lim said the recommendation for improvement is aimed at ensuring the convenience and safety of the public.

She also said RDC included in its recommendation the establishment of more fire extinguishers and solution to the traffic flow problem.

“We have to maintain certain standards of international airports that’s why RDC looked into the facilities of DIA and came up with certain recommendations. The recommendations are working in progress,” she said.

Meanwhile, Lim said RDC 11 has received proposals to convert the old Davao airport terminal building into a cargo handling facility.

She said investors have expressed interest to relocate to DIA if the if the proposal is realized.

DFA inaugurates new Mindanao office in Davao City

(LBG, GMA News)

Filipinos based in Mindanao who need to transact with the Department of Foreign Affairs can now do so with the agency’s new headquarters at a mall in Davao City.

On Friday, DFA Undersecretary Rafael Seguis formally inaugurated the DFA Mindanao’s new headquarters at SM Davao, the department said in a news release.

“The new facility is a result of the Public-Private Partnership arrangement between the DFA and mall-developer, SM Prime Holdings. It had its soft opening last September 03 and became fully operational on September 10,” it said.

Seguis said the opening of the new office reaffirmed the DFA’s “commitment to achieve world class service for the Filipino people.”

With a floor area of 800 square meters, the state-of-the-art facility provides efficient passport and document authentication services to 300 applicants daily.

It is open Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., for both processing and releasing of passports and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., for passport releasing.

The Davao Regional Consular Office is headed by its Officer-in-Charge, Flora Belinda Bacosa.

DFA Mindanao was established on March 15, 1994 as DFA South with the birth of the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines-East Asia Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).

It was later renamed DFA Mindanao on March 18, 1999 to reinforce the DFA’s focus on the development of Mindanao.

Present at the inauguration were Rep. Karlo Nograles, lawyer Zulaika Lopez representing Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, and Vice Mayor Al David.

Also there were Davao Oriental Governor Corazon Malanyaon and other officials and representatives of DFA Manila, the Davao City government, and regional offices of various government agencies, foreign consulates in Davao, and local business executives.

DFA opens office in Davao mall

By Rudolf Ian G. Alama (PIA/RG Alama)

DAVAO CITY Sept. 15 (PIA) -- The Department of Foreign Affairs opened on Friday, Sept. 14 its Regional Consular Office in SM City Davao.

Described as a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between SM chain of malls and the DFA, this is the second DFA satellite consular office opened in an SM Mall.

In August 31 the National Capital Region East passport office was opened in SM Megamall. The SM Davao office is the second of its kind in the country.

The former RCO was located in a rented building in Jacinto Street in Davao City.

Ms. Flora Belinda Bacosa OIC of the Regional Consular Office in Davao City said that though the former location is nearly equal in size with the new SM office but the latter is much sleeker and better designed with larger space for clients than in the previous office.

Bacosa said they used to entertain 300 clients per day in their former office, now they are expecting 400 clients a day in their modern comfortable office.

SM Supermalls president Annie Garcia said the office is rental free for a period of 10 years plus the construction of the office was borne by SM, the mall also provided DFA Davao with a brand new Toyota van to be used in the various functions of the Department. She said the Department will gain P1.04 billion worth of savings for the next ten years under the MOA with SM.

She added the move to have a DFA office in SM is an innovation in customer satisfaction where the mall is envisioned to be a one-stop shop for the public.

DFA Undesecretary Rafael Seguis said that the mall offices is part of the DFA commitment to improve consular services and bringing DFA services closer to the public. Seguis said that by 2013 another service will introduced in the mall offices- the authentication of documents.

Seguis said that if the office can now authenticate documents, clients would no longer have to go and send their documents in Manila, thus saving time and money.

Microsoft Helps Davao SMEs with IT productivity

By Julia Jasmine Madrazo-Sta. Romana (TJD, GMA News)

The Microsoft IT Roadshow landed in Davao City on September 12 at the Grand Men Seng Hotel with the aim of helping small and medium scale industries (SMEs) and local government units (LGUs) improve their productivity with IT, specifically with the tools that they probably already have at their disposal and the tools that Microsoft will be launching in the coming months. Davao City is the second stop of the 15-city, 2-month road show which started last week at Gen San last Sept 10.

Three of Microsoft most valuable professionals in the Philippines —EuferPasion, John Erwin Magno, and ElczarAdame, shared with the entrepreneurs and LGUs employees present the different ways to use Microsoft tools to help do more with less time. Employees, business owners and students alike can now improve work and business productivity, without the need fora developer or IT expert.

Tips and Tricks

It was such a surprise to those present how the most widely used Microsoft tools like Word, PowerPoint, and Excel actually had these little tricks that can improve productivity. Mr. Magno showed how underutilized these tools were when he demonstrated the different functionalities that these applications have that most people didn’t know about. Just some of the functionalities demonstrated were complex image editing in Microsoft Word, video editing for PowerPoint, and data analysis tools like sparklines, slicers, and pivot tables in Excel.

Another underutilized tool in the Microsoft Office Suite, demonstrated by Mr.Adame, is SharePoint. SharePoint is a web application platform that allows businesses to collaborate, share documents and applications, automate process flow, file management and website creation. Businesses can now have an online collaboration tool that they can create in minutes and it comes integrated with all the Microsoft applications needed for business such as InfoPath and Visio. This platform is already being used by companies like InfoSys and Energizer to help strengthen collaboration, improve customer response time, and increase team productivity.

Windows 8 Presentation

The participants were also given an in depth look of the capabilities of Windows 8, which is expected to be released this October 26 PC brands HP, Samsung, Acer, Dell, Sony, Lenovo, among others. Mr.Pasion boasted of the operating system’s speed, fluidity, and seamless integration with web applications. He shows how Microsoft was able to keep the tried and true applications that PC users love but make them more dynamic and useful across all types of devices. He demonstrated how the versatility of Windows 8 allows anyone to work or play from anywhere, using any device, without losing touch of their personalized settings and preferences.

Along with the presentation of Windows 8 is a preview of Office 2013 and SkyDrive, Microsoft’s cloud storage system.

Davao: Key IT Location

Ms. Laurie Mae Rivera-Moreno, BG Lead for Windows Client, was touched with the reception they got from the Davao City. “We were very happy with the warm reception we got from Davao. IT is really thriving here. Davao has a strong ecosystem of IT pros and developers. You have a very talented developer pool. That’s why Davao is always on ouritinerary.

This roadshow is also to enable our partners and train them so they can support the Davao community. We want to make sure our technical people are trained so they’ll know how to support the thriving IT community here.”

The road show will continue on until Oct 12 where they will be visiting 13 more cities. The next stop will be Cagayan De Oro on Sept 14, then to the Visayas on Sept 17-21. The road show will then be making the rounds all over Luzon and Metro Manila from the Sept 24 to Oct. 12.

The road show is part of Microsoft’s digital literacy campaign “AngatPinoy, AngatNegosyo, AngatPilipinas!” and their mission of teaching SMEs to use IT to make Filipino businesses more competitive. — TJD, GMA News

The agency budget of DSWD has increased a ten-fold over the last 10 years from P5.38 in 2003 to P53 billion in 2013, but Paragamac explained the need to harmonize the implementation of the KC, 4Ps and SEA-K through Tatsulo Program, to maximize resources and to serve more poor families.

The KALAHI-CIDSS takes a common-drive development framework of poverty alleviation strategy; the SEA-K has long been the livelihood assistance program of DSWD while the newest 4Ps program grants cash assistance to address the immediate needs of poor households listed under the National Household Targeting System (NHTS).

Davao Region is out of the list of regions with high incidence of poverty among families, based on 2009 survey which ranks CARAGA, the Autonomous Regions in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), Region IX, Region V and Region VIII among the top highest in poverty incidence.

None of the provinces in the Davao Region are among the rank of poorest provinces which include Zamboanga del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Maguindanao and Masbate.

But taking a closer look at the poverty situation of the Davao Region, DSWD has registered more a total of 43,2380 categorized under the levels of survival, subsistence and self-sufficiency based on the Social Welfare Indicators (SWI) which measures the status of well-being of poor families.

Most of these households, at 55.88 percent, fall under survival level; 42 percent under subsistence level while only 0.02 percent of these households are categorized as self-sufficient.

For LGU info officers and media practitioners to fully understand Tatsulo, overviews on 4Ps, KALAHI-CIDSS, Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) are being discussed by regional program officers, after which interactive discussions are held.

Part of the discussions is the National Community-Driven Development Program (NCCDP) which seeks to institutionalize the community-driven development (CDD) approach in implementing poverty alleviation projects in all LGUs.

DSWD XI builds alliance with info officers, media practitioners

By Jeanevive D. Abangan (PIA-11/Jeanevive Duron-Abangan)

DAVAO CITY, Sept. 13 (PIA) -- The Department of social Welfare and Development (DSWD) XI is stepping up information dissemination of its three major poverty alleviation projects as it forges alliance with media practitioners and local government information officers.

DSWD XI has conducted a two-day orientation from September 11 to 12 for LGU information officers and media practitioners on the convergence framework of its unified poverty alleviation strategy dubbed Tatsulo DSWD Convergence Program.

Bearing the symbol of a torch, the Tatsulo groups together the three major poverty alleviation programs of DSWD, namely, the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS), the Self-Employment Assistance-Kaunlaran (SEA-K), and the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.

DSWD has been implementing the programs but it now rolls these out in a convergence strategy to provide a wholistic approach of easing the plight of the poor.

“There is a need to strategically pool together the expertise and resources of the Department to achieve greater impact in poverty reduction,” convergence team head Merlinda Paragamac said in her presentation.

The agency budget of DSWD has increased a ten-fold over the last 10 years from P5.38 in 2003 to P53 billion in 2013, but Paragamac explained the need to harmonize the implementation of the KC, 4Ps and SEA-K through Tatsulo Program, to maximize resources and to serve more poor families.

The KALAHI-CIDSS takes a common-drive development framework of poverty alleviation strategy; the SEA-K has long been the livelihood assistance program of DSWD while the newest 4Ps program grants cash assistance to address the immediate needs of poor households listed under the National Household Targeting System (NHTS).

Davao Region is out of the list of regions with high incidence of poverty among families, based on 2009 survey which ranks CARAGA, the Autonomous Regions in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), Region IX, Region V and Region VIII among the top highest in poverty incidence.

None of the provinces in the Davao Region are among the rank of poorest provinces which include Zamboanga del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Maguindanao and Masbate.

But taking a closer look at the poverty situation of the Davao Region, DSWD has registered more a total of 43,2380 categorized under the levels of survival, subsistence and self-sufficiency based on the Social Welfare Indicators (SWI) which measures the status of well-being of poor families.

Most of these households, at 55.88 percent, fall under survival level; 42 percent under subsistence level while only 0.02 percent of these households are categorized as self-sufficient.

For LGU info officers and media practitioners to fully understand Tatsulo, overviews on 4Ps, KALAHI-CIDSS, Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) are being discussed by regional program officers, after which interactive discussions are held.

Part of the discussions is the National Community-Driven Development Program (NCCDP) which seeks to institutionalize the community-driven development (CDD) approach in implementing poverty alleviation projects in all LGUs.

Commercial market and transport hub to rise in Davao City

(PNA), GHG/DDB/LDP/EBP

DAVAO CITY, Sept. 12 (PNA) -- A commercial market and a transport hub will soon rise here and will transform the city into a bustling commercial center.

Lapanday Properties Philippines, Inc. represented by its president Tomas Lorenzo and Northbank Holdings’ president Simeon P. Marfori II signed on Tuesday a memorandum of agreement (MOA) that will paved the way for the construction of the center.

Marfori said the project will include a transport terminal, open area bazaars and bargain centers, fresh and wholesale markets and multi-purpose pavilions.

It will also feature landscaped parks and promenade.

A gasoline station is incorporated in the center and the terminal could accommodate both three-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles.

"We will do this by phase where full development could happen 10 to 15 years from now," he said.

Ricardo Nicanor Jacinto, project manager of the Lapanday projects also said access is very important and this is being done by partnering with both the government and the business community in the area.

He said they are coordinating with the barangay officials with the road project even as he said that they have pledge P1.5 million for land acquisition.

He said the road project to link barangays Tigatto, Mandug and Wa-an, all in the third district here, to the city proper would need P14 million.

“This is a case of private and public partnership where barangays officials are coordinating with other business sector for the success of project,” he said.

Tigatto barangay captain Raul Bicong said they already made representation with the city government and discussed the proposed project with Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.

He said the mayor was pleased with their initiative of linking with the private sectors.

Bicong said the City Engineers Office has already made an assessment of the area and they were asked to submit the road project proposal.

He said the project is an improvement of the Macadam road that will connect to the city proper.

"The access road is very important. This will serve the people residing in the area where, in my barangay alone, there are seven subdivisions and two relocation sites for the informal settlers," he said.

It is projected that in the coming years demand for more transport will rise as population could go up to 200,000.

Lapanday Properties is owned by Lorenzo family that develops the township project Ciudades, which is Mindanao’s first township development.

The Northbank Holdings, meanwhile, has a record of developing the market area in Bankerohan of this city and other projects like memorial parks, market commercial center and other real property projects.

Upcoming 2-day Davao golf tourney to benefit thousands of disadvantaged patients

(PNA), LAM/LTREYES/LDP/EBP

DAVAO CITY, Sept. 11 (PNA) -– The two-day 10th Anselmo M. Ferrazzini Memorial Golf tournament that will benefit thousands of disadvantaged patients will be held on September 15 and 16 at the Apo Golf and Country Club here.

Tournament organizer Anton Ferrazzini said proceeds of the tournament will help thousands of poor, disabled patients, burn victims, those suffering from eye defects, congenital anomalies and other diseases through the Maharlika Charity Foundation.

He said big prizes await winners like the four brand new Yamaha Vega motorcycles, two Tour Edge golf sets and one Panasonic 32 LCD TV, which are up for grabs as hole-in-one prizes to be raffled off in case nobody wins.

"Yes, in case nobody wins, we will raffle them also during the awarding and bar chow at the clubhouse on Sept. 16," he said.

The other raffle items are five turbo broilers, five microwave ovens, five KDK stand fans, three Electrolux vacuum cleaners, five Samsung DVD players, two Phillips vacuum cleaners, five Samsung cellphones, four Extreme Magic Sing, five Panasonic washing machines, three water dispensers, two Toshiba LCD Television 24”, one .5-hp Koppel airconditioner, one 7-cu. ft. Panasonic refrigerator and one LG 32” LCD TV.

Ferrazzini said the tournament is a much awaited event in Davao City as golfers are treated with food and drink extravaganza right on the fairways. This event is presented by Merco and Selecta and co-presented by Ralph’s Wines & Spirits and Golf FX. Premium sponsors are Emcor Inc., C.M. & Sons Food Products, Inc., L.V. Ledesma Construction, Coca-cola Bottlers Phils., Inc. and CIMEM.

The major sponsors are Davao Light and Power Co., Unifruitti Growers Services Inc., ArkiSource Trading, Citi Hardware, L.A. Arizola Construction, One Pharma Inc., Cortess Printing, Transcycle, Emceli Property Holding, Swiss Deli, UMBN, Nanany Bebeng Restaurant, Enterprises Bank, Felcris Supermarket, Cong. Anton Lagdameo, Lou's Cafe, LCG Mktg., Phils., Stronghold Insurance, Golf Masters, Future Option (Magnolia), Ferna Corp. and Tagum Agriculture Development Company (TADECO).

Shotgun tees Off on Sept. 15, Saturday, 9 a.m. and on Sept. 16, Sunday, 6:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Each team shall pay an entry fee of P 5,000 or P 2,500 per player.

Registration is going on at the Rancho Palos Verdes Golf & Country Club, Apo Golf & Country Club, Davao City Golf Club and MERCO at J.P. Laurel and Cabaguio Avenue.

Participants are entitled to giveaways, a polo shirt and an umbrella, to be claimed at MERCO, J.P. Cabaguio Avenue (look for Ms. Maricel). Deadline of registration and payment is on September 12. Registrants will be served on a First-Come, First-Served basis and no reservations.

For more information, please call Ms. Maricel at 221-7313/0920-963-3228, he said.

Seaside school recipient of Greening Facilities

(PICE PIO)

ALEDIA, LASANG, DAVAO CITY – As part of its commitment to the protection of the environment, the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers (PICE) – Davao City chapter once again turned over one rainwater tank and ten garbage bins to a seaside village elementary school of Aledia, Paquibato District, Lasang, Davao City last Saturday.

The project aims to raise the level of awareness of the school and the community on proper waste disposal and management by providing each recipient school adequate garbage bins and provide rainwater collector tank for water supply conservation.

Engr. Erdsan Rene S. Suero, chapter president said that this is already their sixth month of conducting the greening existing school project that started last April under the auspices of the Project Green Engineering Philippines (PGEP) with the leadership of DPWH Undersecretary Romeo S. Momo, PICE national president.

Other recipient schools of the same greening facilities in the region are Diego Silang Elementary School of Matina Aplaya, New Carmen Elementary School of Tugbok, Gatungan Elementary School of Bunawan all in Davao City, Nawan Primary School of Malita North district, Davao del Sur and recently Ladian Elementary School of Marilog district in Davao City.

BOI to launch 2012 investments priorities plan roadshow in Davao

(PIA-11/Carina L. Cayon/BOI)

DAVAO CITY, Sept. 10 (PIA)-- The Board of Investments (BOI) is set to kick-off its 2012 Investment Priorities Plan (IPP) Roadshow in the city on Thursday (Sept. 13), packaged to encourage stakeholders.

In a press statement, BOI said the roadshow embarks on a revamped approach this year, as an opportunity to rally other key partners and agencies to be an integral part of IPP.

“It is our way of conducting a personalized and harmonized interaction with our stakeholders in light of the usual bureaucratic approach,” Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Adrian S. Cristobal Jr. said in a statement.

BOI said the 2012 IPP lists the priority sectors that are eligible for incentives and these include agriculture/agribusiness and fishery; creative industries/knowledge based services; shipbuilding; mass housing; iron and steel; and energy.

The other priority sectors also include infrastructure and public private partnership; research and development; green projects; motor vehicles; hospital and medical; disaster prevention, mitigation and recovery projects and strategic projects.

The 2012 IPP, which was signed by President Aquino in June, is “strategically calibrated” to beef up the previous year’s investment generation by presenting new initiatives that will address the existing economic environment and challenges, BOI stated.

It said the IPP is premised on four critical areas such as job generation, enhanced delivery of social services, international competitiveness, and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The roadshow’s theme this year states, “A New Day for Investments: Coherent, Consistent, and Creative,” to sustain the economic gains of the investment landscape of the country.

The roadshow in Davao City will be held at the Apo View Hotel.

BOI bared that other venues are already scheduled for the rest of September, October and November, to include Butuan City, Baguio City, Bacolod City, Cagayan de Oro City, Tagbilaran City, Puerto Princesa City, Naga City and Tacloban City.

The National Capital Region will have its IPP roadshow on October 18 at the Philippine Trade Training Center in Pasay City.

BOC-Davao improves revenue collection

(ASA)

THE Bureau of Customs-Davao has continued a good showing in surpassing its collection target for the month of August this year, even as the over-all collection of BOC, the country’s second largest collection agency next to the Bureau of Internal Revenue, failed again to hit the target.

BOC-Davao District Collector Martiniano Bangcoy said that they collected P467 million above from its quota of P435 million or a surplus of 7 percent.

“It is always my policy to my personnel to strive hard, work overtime to meet our monthly goals if not surpass them,” Bangcoy said.

In July, only Davao and Clark ports hit their respective targets with Davao port registering the biggest surplus with 16%. The other 15 ports including the Port of Manila, which recorded the biggest deficit, failed to hit their targets.

The BOC has yet to report the number of ports to recover from their shortfall but according to Bangcoy he received a text message that aside from their port, seven others were able to meet their monthly goals.

In another report, Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon blamed two long holidays and weather-related disruptions that contributed to their failure to bounce back from a series of months of missing their collection target.

The BOC only collected P22.307 billion in August — slightly more than the P22.152 collected in August 2011, but P6 billion lower than the target for the month of P28 billion.

Biazon cited the holidays in August 21 and 27, and the Southwest monsoon rain that caused record floods in the National Capital Region and neighboring areas that resulted in suspension of work in the top ports in the capital.

“In effect, we only had 19 working days in August 2012, compared to the 23 days in August 2011,” Biazon said.

The August collections brought the agency’s 8-month revenue take to P190.04 billion, 10.5% more than a year ago.

The BOC is tasked to collect P347 billion this 2012, a target that is increasingly becoming difficult to meet. It is tasked to collect P397 billion in 2013.

Job matching organized for Australian, New Zealand alumni

By Rudolf Ian G. Alama (RGA/PIA 11/ETIsidro)

DAVAO CITY, Sept 8 (PIA) -- The Philippine Australian Alumni Association (PA3i) is conducting a job matching event exclusive to Australian and New Zealand alumni on Saturday, September 8, 2012, 1-5 p.m., at the IDP Training Center, 7th Floor, Dona Salustiana Tower, 104 Paseo de Roxas, Legaspi Village, Makati City.

This is in partnership with the Australian-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, Inc. (ANZCHAM) and the IDP Education Pty. Ltd.

ANZCHAM Vice President for External Affairs John Casey said their chamber believes that now is the most opportune time to actively promote and build education, training and labor relationships between the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand. Some 20 Australian and New Zealand companies have registered to participate.

"As we will showcase our top member companies who are looking to expand their talent pool and fill their current job vacancies, alumni can take advantage of this event to network and expand connections and relationships with Australian and New Zealand companies," Casey said.

PA3i National President Arvin Yana, on the other hand, said, "while most of us at PA3i are employed or engaged on various fields, it always pays to check on what is out in the job market for us, specifically the Australian job market in the country, so that we may choose to diversify our career options."

Yana said aside from job opportunities, this would also be another perfect time to reunite, network with fellow alumni, and even make business opportunities or partnerships.

Davao City Hall to strictly implement 'No noon break'

(PNA), FFC/ASA/LDP/MEC

DAVAO CITY, Sept. 7 (PNA) -- The City Hall here is set to strictly implement the "No Lunch Break" policy as prescribed by a national law for all government offices in the country.

This came after several complaints from the public that some departments are closing their offices during lunch time.

In a memorandum dated Aug. 29, Acting City Administrator Zuleika Lopez said all departments of the City Hall were reminded that there should be personnel who will attend to their clients' needs even during lunch breaks.

Lopez cited Republic Act No. 9485 otherwise known as the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007 aims to improve the efficiency of the services rendered by all government offices across the country.

"As such, you are requested to device appropriate working schedules to attend to clients who are within their premises during lunch break," Lopez said.

The "No Noon Break" policy has been followed by all departments of the City Hall when the Civil Service Commission (CSC) has issued a memorandum circular in 2009 mandating all government offices to implement what the law provides.

Davao City’s next food-for-work project: Buy non-biodegradable plastics

By Lorie Ann A. Cascaro(MindaNews)

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/ 06 September)— “Plastik ka, paliton ta ka” (You’re plastic, I’ll buy you).

Mayor Sara Duterte said Thursday that would be the battle cry for the second type of food-for-work program that the city government would soon launch as a way to reduce plastic waste in the city.

In a text message, Duterte said the city government will buy all non-biodegradable plastic waste as a way to reinforce the plastic ban.

The banning of non-biodegradable plastic and polystyrene foam as food and beverage containers began last June 28, as stipulated in the Davao City Ecological Solid Waste Management Ordinance of 2009.

Duterte said the “Plastik ka, paliton ta ka” food-for-work project will include plastics that are non-recyclable such as sachets and junk food wrappers, among others.

“It will be rolled out soon, given that type 1 has been successful and widely accepted. We’ll move to the non-recyclable plastic wraps. Isa ni nakita nila nga bulk sa basura (This has been determined to comprise the bulk of wastes),” she said.

In the type 1 food-for-work program, a beneficiary, selected by the City Social Services and Development Office, receives P150 worth of grocery items for three hours of work a day.

Beneficiaries clean up clogged canals near coastal areas that were identified by the City Engineer’s Office as flood-prone areas. The City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) is part of the project.

Duterte said the implementing guidelines for the type 2 food-for-work program are still being crafted.

Lawyer Joseph Dominic Felizarta, CENRO chief, said at the regular I-Speak forum Thursday that many people had benefited from the type 1 food-for-work program.

The program, which aims to help the poor and at the same time promote proper waste disposal and cleanliness in the city, has some 60,000 beneficiaries from 90 barangays, an earlier report said.

Felizarta said that non-recyclable plastics and other residual wastes compose 18 percent of the total 410 tons of wastes collected daily in the city.

There is a slight increase in the total amount of wastes from 380 tons daily since the implementation of waste segregation because malls in the city have expanded, he added.

But generally, there has been a significant decrease from the previous 500 to 700 tons of waste collected daily, Felizarta noted.

At least 430 violators of the plastic ban had been apprehended since its implementation, he said.

To ensure that plastic manufacturers are complying with the law, CENRO plans to purchase a machine worth at least P1 million that can distinguish non-biodegradable from biodegradable plastics, Felizarta said.

CENRO will propose it during the meeting of the solid waste management board next month, he added.

Currently, the local government is determining bio-plastics through a laboratory test that yields results in three to six months.

Felizarta said that Holcim Philippines, Inc. has expressed interest to build a processing plant here that will mix non-recyclable plastics with the ingredients use to produce cement.

Hedcor rebuilds community footbridge in Davao City

(PNA), LAM/ASA/LDP/UTB

DAVAO CITY, Sept. 5 (PNA) -– AboitizPower’s hydropower company reconstructed the footbridge recently damaged by flashflood in Barangay Mintal, at the third district of this city.

Hedcor vice president for Mindanao operations Rolando Pacquiao said the bridge was built across the Talomo River. It has a span of 34 meters that divides Purok 14 and accesses farmers’ products to the markets and connects the residents and children to schools, offices and churches in the area.

Pacquiao said Talomo River supplies Hedcor’s 4.47-megawatt run-of-river Talomo Hydropower plants.

He said the rebuilding of the footbridge costs about P200,000, was funded by Hedcor, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AboitizPower and the Aboitiz Foundation, Inc., the Aboitiz’s arm for corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects.

Mintal Barangay Captain Ramon Bargamento II thanked Hedcor for the generous assistance of reconstructing the bridge.

“There are number of families on the other side of the river living and grew up and they really need the bridge,” he said.

Pacquiao said more CSR activities and development projects will be expected for the future beneficiaries in the third district of Davao City with the proposed 11.5-MW Tamugan Hydropower project of Hedcor.

As of May, this year, Hedcor has already allotted P25 million for community social projects nationwide. It operates and maintains a total of 19 run-of-river hydropower plants in Benguet, Ilocos Sur and Davao with a total capacity of 155 megawatts, he said.

City's tax collection nears P1B mark in H1

(JOP)

DAVAO City's local tax collection for the first semester this year has already reached to almost a billion peso mark, representing 75 percent of the city's total collection in 2011.

Data furnished to Sun.Star Davao from the office of the acting City Administrator Zuleika Lopez showed that the city's tax collected as of June 30 is pegged at P984,264,247.80, which is already 75 percent of the P1,309,094,976.10 total tax collection recorded last year.

Lopez said she is confident the city will exceed last year's collection generated from local taxes and other income-generating initiatives of the City Hall, including city-owned enterprises.

For the second semester of this year, the city sets a conservative target of P381,469,952.16 to be collected from local taxes.

"The City Government will ensure that targets will not only be met, but also surpassed," Lopez said.

Large chunk of the city's tax collection for this year was generated from business taxes amounted to P559,715,207.04, representing 56 percent of the city's revenue collected from local taxes for the first semester of this year.

For the entire 2011, the city has collected a total of P767,691,913.95 from business taxes alone.

The city also collected a total of P297,820,111.81 from current and prior real property tax, combined.

DFA to open new consular office at Davao mall

(DFA)

MANILA — The Department of Foreign Affairs’ (DFA’s) Mindanao office and its Regional Consular Office in Davao City (RCO Davao) have moved to a new location at the 3rd Floor of SM Davao.

The facility’s soft opening will be on September 03, while full operations will begin on September 10.

In a statement it said the new office, once fully operational, is set to accommodate 300 walk-in passport applicants daily. The office will initially accept passport applications only but will soon provide document authentication services.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario hails the opening as yet another milestone in the Department’s continuing efforts to provide exceptional, accessible and convenient services to the public. The opening of DFA Mindanao-RCO Davao at SM Davao comes after the successful inauguration of the DFA-National Capital Region (NCR) East Satellite Office at SM Megamall last August 31.

The Davao office will be open from Monday to Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. for both processing and releasing of passports and on Sundays, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., for passport releasing.

RCO Davao is headed by its Officer-in-Charge, Flora Belinda Bacosa.

For questions and comments, please call (082) 285-4885 or (082) 285-5190.

City to hire 300 more workers

By Jereco O. Paloma

MORE than 300 vacant plantilla positions in the City Government are still open for applicants, chief of the Human Resource and Management Office (HRMO) of the City Hall said.

HRMO chief Erwin Alparaque said those positions remained vacant for several months already.

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He said the City Hall should meet its total work force of 2,831 positions, but as of Thursday only 2,520 plantilla positions are so far been filled up.

Apart from the plantilla position, the city also has a total of 8,468 job order positions.

"Daghan man ug interesado sa mga position, wala lang jud mag qualify (There were lots of interested applicants to various positions, but only few possess the qualification)," Alparque said.

He said the vacant positions include those employees who have already resigned, retire or those who have been promoted.

He said these positions are from all 19 departments and units under the City Hall that provides vital services to the public.

Alparaque said he is hoping that these posts will be filled up soon for the city to maximize its services and programs implementation to its constituents.

A large chunk of the vacancies at the City Hall has been requested by the City Mayor's Office, followed by the City Administrator's Office, and the City Engineer's Office.

DOST-11 strengthens food safety program

By Carina L Cayon (PIA-11/Carina L. Cayon)

DAVAO CITY, Sept 1 (PIA) -- The Department of Science and Technology in the region recently expanded the composition of its Davao Food Safety Team (DFST) as it took in additional members to beef up the program on food safety.

The fourth batch of DFST members together with the current officers and members took their oath of office during the re-launching of the team on August 24 at the D’Leonor Hotel, Davao City.

DOST-XI Regional Director Anthony Sales said widening the team’s membership aims to have bigger pool of experts and supporters for the food safety program.

The team is composed of professionals from various government agencies, local government units, academe, industry sector and civil society organizations, Sales told the media in an interview.

It is also important to note, he added, that the team is well represented by regulation agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS), and Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA).

DFST provides trainings and consultancy to all food handlers such as restaurants, karenderia, hotels, and other food businesses as well as food processors, Sales said.

He emphasized the need of strengthening the team following a DOST-XI study result conducted last year revealing that street foods sold by vendors in Davao City were highly contaminated with pathogenic organisms.

The alarming result served as basis for City Councilor Bernie Al-ag to propose the Street Food Ordinance regulating and imposing standards on street foods in the city.

Sales said part of the provisions of the Ordinance requires all street food handlers to undergo food safety training before a business permit would be issued.

He said DOST has developed training modules for street vendors, which he said would be used by the City Health Office once the Street Food Ordinance would be in place.

As part of the regular training program on food safety, Sales said they have targeted 50 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to be trained this year.

“We are more than half way already of the target,” he stated, adding that a thousand individuals have also availed of the training program since January 2012, and the number may increase before end of this year.

The DOST regional director said some DFST members have also been trained by German and Swedish experts on food safety.

He also bared a schedule of food safety training for the first batch of food caterers in September this year, saying that this was in reaction to the recent food poisoning at the Ateneo de Davao University.

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