Difference between revisions of "General Santos City News November 2011"

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General Santos City News November 2011 (view source)

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==Socoteco II power rates up==
*Source: http://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2011/11/26/socoteco-ii-power-rates-up/
* Saturday| November 26, 2011
:by    Edwin G. Espejo
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/26 November) — Electricity costs went up by at least P0.31 per kilowatt hour for November following the disruption of power supply early in the month as shown in the latest billings released by the South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative (Socoteco II) this week.
Socoteco II institutional services manager Geronimo Desesto said power costs went up following a P0.238 spike in the generation charge imposed by Therma Marine Inc. from where the utility firm sourced its supply shortfall when one of the two power plants of STEAG in Misamis Oriental was shut down for preventive maintenance.
Transmission and systems losses costs also increased by P0.07 pushing the power rate increase to P0.31 per kwh (kilowatt hour).
“Tamaas din ang transmission cost kasi tamaas ang generation charges.  Sa Therma Marine natin kinuha yung kulang,” (Transmission and systems losses costs also increased because we sourced our shortfall from Therma Marine) Desesto explained.
The cost of electricity is expected to drop in the December billing of Socoteco II.
Socoteco II general manager Rodrigo Ocat however said power rates could go as high as P6.24 per kilowatt in February next year when the power sales agreement between the electric cooperative and Therma Marine takes effect.
At the moment, Socoteco II is charging its consumers an average of P5.45 per kilowatt hour to include value added tax.
Ocat said they have entered into a contracted with Therma Marine Inc. for an 18-megawatt supply to cover up for the announced reduction of supply from the National Power Corporation (Napocor or NPC).
Therma Marine is owned by the Aboitiz Power group which purchased two of NPC’s power barges that have combined capacities of 220 megawatts.
The NPC had earlier announced that it can only supply up to 70 percent of total requirements of Socoteco II starting next year, according to Ocat.
Supply could go down further upon notice because of the delicate and declining available capacities from NPC’s generating plants.
Socoteco II needs a base load capacity of at least 70 megawatts by early next year.  The power distribution firm however has a peaking requirement of 107 megawatts.  Demand for power supply is expected to increase once mall giant Shoe Mart (SM) opens in the second quarter of next year.
Power supply and sales agreement between Socoteco II and NPC have been shortened to three years due to precarious and declining generating capacities of the state-owned power company.
Socoteco II has also entered into a power supply agreement with the Alcantara-owned Sarangani Energy Corporation (SEC) which is building a 200-megawatt two-phased coal fired power plant in Maasim, Sarangani.
The power plant is expected to start generating electricity late 2014.
Representatives from both Socoteco II and SEC said they expect power supply to stabilize and power rates to go down once the new power plant begins commercial operation.
Investors and stockholders of SEC were in Maasim Friday to lead the groundbreaking ceremonies of the power plant project which is estimated to cost a total of US$450 million or P19.4 billion. (Edwin G. Espejo/MindaNews)
==PACQUIAO WATCH: Red Flags==
*Source: http://www.mindanews.com/mindaviews/2011/11/19/pacquiao-watch-red-flags/
*Saturday| November 19, 2011
:by    Edwin G. Espejo
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/18 Nov) – In journalism parlance, red flags are warning signs.
Manny Pacquiao’s “uncomfortable victory” over Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez certainly points to ominous writings on the wall for the Filipino boxing icon.
At this point, there is no telling if Pacquiao’s popularity has already reached a point where there is no other way but down.
Performances that leave doubts to his ability to rampage over opponents will surely take their toll on his popularity as a rallying figure of the Filipino people, both as a world class athlete and a rising politician.
The Filipino people, judging by the debate generated by his not-so-popular win over Marquez, were divided for the first time last Sunday. Maybe not equally divided but a line was clearly drawn inside the house.
At this stage of his boxing career, Pacquiao is coming to the realization that, at one point or another, he will lose not only a step. He will soon find himself at the receiving end of punishments atop the ring either by his own doing or coming off another fresh, younger and stronger challenger if he stays longer than he should in the sports.
For all the knockouts he had recorded over the course of his 59 professional fights, he also absorbed a lot of punishments. The many sparring sessions he had to log to keep himself in top condition as he gears up for a fight are as punishing, maybe even more, than the actual fight themselves. These are the wear and tear factors that many boxing fans often conveniently forget or gloss over.
Manny is an epitome of a world class athlete when in the thick of training. But he also indulges in some splurges that will eventually take their toll on his physical well being.
Boxing is a cruel contact sports that can turn even the sturdiest fighter into an ageing warrior overnight.
Pacquiao is far from being one, for now. He may still be the same fearsome brawler-turn-finesse-fighter three or four fights down the road. But the bells are now tolling. He will have to decide soon when to put a stop to the beatings he had to absorb to secure a victory satisfying to his fans, a one standard he has set so high that a narrow decision win is actually viewed as a loss.
The same may be said of his political stock. For as long as he keeps winning, Pacquiao will continue to tickle the imagination of the Filipino people. He is a rallying figure for majority of poverty-stricken Filipinos. For many, Pacquiao is the hope majority of the Filipinos never even had.
But once he loses his luster as a prime fighter, many will nitpick on his frailties and vulnerabilities. The many untold stories about his personal life will no longer be glossed over by the accolades he is now getting atop the ring.
Pacquiao needs to bounce back from the third episode of his rivalry with Marquez with a satisfying and convincing win in his next fight. Whoever it may be that Top Rank and Team Pacquiao choose. In fact, he needs to keep winning until he decides to finally retire from boxing.
He needs to leave behind a legacy of winning before he finally goes for a national elective post by the time he is eligible, either in 2016 or in 2022.
He needs to feed on the cult persona he has built over the years of his boxing conquest.
But most of all, he also needs to clean the house of hangers-on, sycophants, freeloaders and opportunists.
Because like it or not, these will be the same people who will eventually destroy the house that Pacquiao built. (MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. Edwin G. Espejo writes for asiancorrespondent.com.)
==Newspaper executive killed in General Santos City==
*Source: http://www.cmfr-phil.org/2011/11/16/newspaper-executive-killed-in-general-santos-city/
*16 NOV 2011
:by    CMFR
CMFR/PHILIPPINES – The circulation manager of a newspaper in General Santos City was shot dead by a motorcycle-riding gunman outside his office last 11 November 2011. General Santos City is part of South Cotabato, a province approximately 1049 kilometers south of Manila.
An unidentified gunman shot Alfredo “Dodong” Velarde Jr. in front of the compound of the local newspaper Brigada News at around 3:45 a.m. (local time). In a repeat of a common pattern in the killing of journalists and political activists, the gunman fled on a motorcycle driven by another unidentified man. Velarde was rushed to the hospital but was dead on arrival.
According to media reports, Velarde and his companion–who escaped unharmed–were waiting for the guard to open the gates of the newspaper’s compound when the incident happened.
Inquirer.net reported that the closed-circuit television camera installed at the gates of the compound recorded the arrival of Velarde’s car but the place where he parked his vehicle was not visible to the camera. The security camera also recorded the arrival of the two motorcyle-riding suspects, but failed to record where they stopped and the attack itself.
A police officer who refused to be identified told Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) that the police have yet to identify the gunman despite the compound’s close circuit television camera because the gunman’s face was covered.
Ernie Gabonada, station manager of Brigada FM station, the radio station of Brigada News, told CMFR that Velarde had a dispute with local tabloid dealers. He also said that the victim had been sued by two teenagers for frustrated murder. But Gabonada said he did not know who was behind the killing.
Meanwhile, lawyer Froebel Kan Balleque, spokesperson and counsel of Brigada News, told CMFR that the killing of Velarde might have been work related because “May rivalry or competition na nangyayari sa loob (There’s rivalry or competition inside the company).”
Balleque also said that Benjardi Mantele, acting regional director of PNP Region 12, has formed a special investigation group to investigate the killing.
If his killing was work-related, Velarde will be the sixth journalist and media worker killed in the line of duty in 2011. One hundred twenty-three journalists and media workers have been killed in the Philippines since 1986.
==PACQUIAO WATCH: Here we go again==
==PACQUIAO WATCH: Here we go again==
*Source: http://www.mindanews.com/mindaviews/2011/11/15/pacquiao-watch-here-we-go-again/
*Source: http://www.mindanews.com/mindaviews/2011/11/15/pacquiao-watch-here-we-go-again/
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After all, only Pacquiao gave him the real chance to prove his greatness. Fellow Mexicans and contemporaries Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera avoided him while the three were on their peak. They robbed him of his early entry to boxing stardom. Pacquiao gave him two chances.
After all, only Pacquiao gave him the real chance to prove his greatness. Fellow Mexicans and contemporaries Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera avoided him while the three were on their peak. They robbed him of his early entry to boxing stardom. Pacquiao gave him two chances.
Nothing to be ashamed of even if he went down in two controversial fashions. (Edwin G. Espejo writes for www.asiancorrespondent.com.)
Nothing to be ashamed of even if he went down in two controversial fashions. (Edwin G. Espejo writes for www.asiancorrespondent.com.)


==PACQUIAO WATCH: Slim to none==
==PACQUIAO WATCH: Slim to none==
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