P15.00Issue No. 40, Volume III • January 20-22, 2012

Solar power projectsTWO solar power projects are in the pipe line of Davao del Sur’s investment leads for 2012, expecting to boost the economy and augment the power supply needs of the province. Provincial director Engr. Edwin Banquerigo of the Department of Trade and Industry reported that two private investors in solar power generation would put up their facilities respectively in the municipalities of Sta. Cruz and Hagonoy, this province. Banquerigo told the media in today’s Kapihan sa PIA that the PhilNew Energy would pour in about P7-8 billion worth of solar-powered facili-ties in Barangay Darong, Sta. Cruz. Though the Department of Energy has approved power generation of up to 50 mega watts, the DTI official said the facilities of PhilNew Energy would generate 35 mega watts power from the solar energy.

Silicon ValleyDAVAO City ’s entries to the ON3 Pitching Competition, Piclyf and Radgreen Solutions were two of the three Grand Prize winners who will be brought to Silicon Valley for a three-month exposure, im-mersion, and funding mission. ICT Davao President Bert Barriga announced this earlier today as both entries landed at the top spot and bested all the other start-up companies from other parts of the country. The competi t ion was aimed to look for potential ideas generated from the innovative minds of Filipinos that can be developed for introduction to the global markets.

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‘Power forces’ behind supply contracts delay

Rep. Rufus Rodriguez fuming mad over what he called as “powerful forces” behind efforts to delay the privati-zation of the power barges that would supply power to Mindanao.

Despite the country’s vast human resources, still the Philippines pays less in terms of salary and renumerations. FILE PHOTO

By NELSON V. CONSTANTINO, Editor-in-Chief

CAGAYAN de Oro Rep. Rufus Ro-driguez has warned that “powerful forces” in government and the elec-

tric power industry could be behind the delayed action on the supply contracts of power-generation firms that would provide the power needs of Mindanao.

ers as it would mean higher electricity rates. Why would the government sell these power barges when it could use them to be sent to any area suffering power out-ages, like in Cagayan de Oro City in Mindanao which suffered severe floods just recently?” Rodriguez said. He said he suspects those behind the privatization of PSALM’s power barges wanted to make a “fast buck” from the Mindanao power crisis. The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) however said it is exhausting all ef-

Rodriguez, who is vice chairman of the House en-ergy committee, said these “forces” are exerting efforts to increase pressure on the government to privatize electric power barges owned by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management

Corp. (PSALM) so these could be moved to Mind-anao and earn quick bucks for their new owners. “Powerful and influ-ential people are pushing for [privatizing the power barges.] I warn them, this won’t be good for consum-

Amreco to look into Mindanao’s

energy futureBy MIKE BAÑOS,Correspondent

THE Association of Mindanao Rural Electric Cooperatives will host the maiden edition of an annual congress which seeks to mainstream challenges and issues to Mindanao’s Energy Future. The one-day congress will focus on renewable energy, rural electrification and development at the Grand Caprice Restaurant and Convention Center, Limketkai Center, Cagayan de Oro City on January 26, 2012. Clint Django Pacana, executive direc-tor of the Association of Mindanao Rural Electric Cooperatives (AMRECO), said some 300 participants from the group’s 33 member cooperatives have committed to join the “Congress of the Advocates for Renewable Energy, Rural Electrification and Development.”

PH ranks third in lowest salary hikesTHE PHILIPPINES is the third country with the lowest outlook for salary hikes this year, two foreign recruitment firms said. The study conducted by

India-based recruitment plat-forms MyHiringClub.com and NriJobPortal.com said the gen-eral salary level in the Philip-pines would increase by 4.21% in

2012, placing third in the list of countries with lowest outlook, next to Bulgaria (4.03%) and Vietnam (4.13%).

Energy dept awaits study on Leyte-Mindanao projectTHE Department of Energy (DOE) is still waiting for the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines’ updated feasi-bility study on the Leyte-Mindanao Interconnection Project (LMIP), Energy Undersecretary Josefina Patricia Asirit told reporters. The DOE official said

in an interview that the LMIP has been included in the NGCP’s third regula-tory period and approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). Asirit said the NGCP will need to update the feasibil-ity study on the LMIP and they also need to come out

with the terms of reference for the engagement of the group to who will undertake the study. “We have to wait for the feasibility study. It will determine the project’s fea-sibility and timetable. Even if the government wants to

POWER/PAGE 10

PH/PAGE 10 AMRECO/PAGE 10

ENERGY/PAGE 7

2 BusinessWeekMINDANAOJanuary 20-22, 2012 EconomyEconomy

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MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR to all!

DAVSUR/PAGE 9

COMVAL/PAGE 7

DavSur earns P1B from investments in 2011By CARINA L. CAYON, Correspondent

DAVAO City -- The downpour of in-vestments was noted good in 2011 for Davao del Sur, bringing in over P1.2

billion worth of various businesses that rose in the province.

specifically within the Sta. Cruz and Digos City were considered investment and job generators for the prov-ince,” he said. From the investments last year, he said that a total of 3,466 jobs were provided to the residents of Davao del Sur. In 2010, the employ-ment generated reached to 1,108, he added. Banquerigo also reported a bullish performance of the export industry that earned a total of US$16.542 million, marking an increase of about

Provincial director Engr. Edwin Banquerigo of the Department of Trade and Industry reported this, say-ing the accomplishment in investments last year exceeded DTI’s targets by ten percent. During yesterday’s Ka-

pihan sa PIA, Banquerigo attributed the success to the various innovative projects and to the strategies focus-ing on generating bottom-line outcomes as undertaken by the provincial office of DTI. “Big ticket investments

145 percent compared to 2010’s US$11.372 million. The export sales largely came from the earnings of the coconut coir products which met high demands abroad for textile produc-tion, he stated. Aside from the coco coir, Davao del Sur also exports other agricultural products such as banana chips and mangoes. The xylose product, a sweetener extracted from coconut shells and gener-ated from the CJ-Toyota

Tsusho Xylose Plant in Sta. Cruz, has also been provid-ing earnings to the export industry in the province. DTI’s accomplishment report of 2011 stated that the xylose plant operation has generated approximately more than US$24 million in export sales since 2010. The company has also provided US$1.5 million in workers compensation that covers 200 employees, the report said. In the domestic sales,

Comval overshoots investment target

By RUDOLPH IAN G. ALAMACorrespondent

DAVAO City -- The Com-postela Valley Province overshot its investment target for 2011 by a whop-ping 159%. Faustino Diabordo, Of-ficer-in-Charge of Depart-ment of Trade and Industry Compostela Valley office bared that the province reg-istered P516-million worth of investments in 2011. The DTI has pegged an invest-ment target of P400-million. Diabordo said that in-vestments came from the bananas, mining, palm oil and rubber. He said that the banana industry posted more investments than min-ing, although if the small-scale mining investments were counted in then mining would rank first in capital investments. Currently, the agency is advocating responsible mining particularly dur-ing the aftermath of the January 5 landslide which killed more than 30 people in a small-scale mining area in Pantukan town of the province. Diabordo said that the Department is urging small-scale miners to follow strictly the no-habitation policy. Meanwhile DTI Comval is focusing on the develop-ment of the silver jewelry

3BusinessWeekMINDANAO

January 20-22, 2012

4 BusinessWeekMINDANAOJanuary 20-22, 2012 CompaniesCompanies

TOPS launches 11th store nationwide in Cag. de Oro

By MIKE BAÑOS, Correspondent

TOPS (The Off-Price Store) had the grand launch of its 11th store nationwide last Jan. 14, 2012 at South Bank Plaza

found at the corner of Don Apolinar Velez and Yacapin street.

Ang said. “TOPS makes the world’s leading brands accessible to the ordinary Filipino consumer at least as 80 percent off their original prices at boutiques.” Mr. Ang said TOPS was inspired by similar discount outlet shops abroad such as Marshalls, Ross and TJ Maxx but was reformatted for the local market and packaged into smaller and more convenient store loca-tions. Among the brands car-ried by TOPS are Levi’s, Puma, Express, LeeCooper, Barbie, G-Star, American Eagle, Aeropostale, Melissa, Billabong, Jack & Jones, H&M, New York Com-pany, Elle, Armani Exchange (EX), Replay, Crocs, Tommy Hilfiger, Ann Taylor, Junk Food, and Seven7 which can be had for as little as P400-1,000. According to its company website, TOPS began as a fresh concept right after

Star Trends sold “Urban Outlet”. The stores were situated not in malls, but in areas not usually identified as retail store spaces. This break in monotony and the professional manner in which merchandising and marketing were handled led to the steady rise of the first store. By the fourth store, the company decided to go solo and brake away from Star Trends, formally incorpo-rating The Off-Price Stores Corp. in August of 2007. In 2009 The Off-Price Store created the acronym TOPS and redesigned the logo to jibe with the mercurial world of retail. “The best Brand names and quality you recog-nize, a dressing room all to yourself, someone to help if you need it, a place where you can spend less without getting less, that’s why TOPS was created,” Mr. Ang said.

The local franchise is owned and operated by the Dalkilic family, specifi-cally brothers Mahmut and Rizal, who also set up the Turquoise Turkish Restau-rant at SM and some other businesses based in the city. The opening of the city’s first TOPS store was graced by no less than TOPS Presi-dent and CEO Jonas “Bols” T. Ang, who is the brain behind successfully setting up the nationwide chain far from the madding crowd. “Cagayan de Oro is our 11th store nationwide and we are also opening a 12th this weekend in Subic,” Mr. Ang said. Other TOPS Stores can be found in Bel-Air Village

in Makati, Blue Wave Mall in Marikina, Blue Wave Strip Mall in Pasay, QC Congressional, QC Com-monwealth, Piazzo Sorrento in Bacolod, Asiatown IT Park in Cebu, Red Square in Iloilo, Cash and Carry in Palanan, Makati; and Rufino street in Cotabato, TOPS is also branded as The Off-Price Store for its specialty in selling factor overruns of branded apparel and accessories but Mr. Ang clarifies this doesn’t mean TOPS is selling seconds or merchandise which don’t meet quality standards. “We’d like to believe we are advocating practical fashion with TOPS line of branded overruns,” Mr.

CEBU COMMISSARYFast growing national pizza chain Pizza Pedricos is building a new commissary in Cebu to support its network expansion of stores in the Visayas and Mindanao regions this 2012. Shown here with the Pizza Pedricos Cebu Business Support Team is Managing Director Mr. Kerwin Tansekiao (7th from left) leading the dedication ceremony. Re-cently awarded a special citation on Product Innovation by Entrepreneur Magazine Philippines for its unique 4-PIZZA-IN-A-BOX concept, Pizza Pedricos is now enjoyed in over 100 outlets nationwide and is growing its network to 200 outlets this 2012.

GLOBE Telecom is report-edly the most popular ser-vice provider for mobile browsing in the country, according to a survey jointly conducted by Yahoo! South-east Asia and Nielsen. The cellular firm yes-terday cited results of a yearly consumer study, Ya-hoo! Net Index 2011, which used a two-part structured questionnaire to determine Internet usage and behavior that included mobile Inter-net, or access of the Internet via the mobile phone. The study, now on its third year, surveyed a total of 1,500 respondents across all socio-economic classes and living in 22 major cities in the country. The Yahoo! survey also revealed that the Philip-pines is the only country in Southeast Asia where

Globe most popular in Philippines: Yahoo! Surveywomen make up a higher proportion of mobile In-ternet users than men at 57 percent versus 43 percent. It also disclosed that growth in mobile Internet activ-ity came from the youth segment and those from the lower economic groups who use affordable handsets bundled with bite-size voice and data plans for sending e-mails, social network-ing, instant messaging, and search engines. “Accessing the Internet on mobile is rapidly grow-ing across Southeast Asia. By and large we see similar trends across the region in terms of use and access at home, the young demogra-phy, affordable handsets and bite-sized prepaid data plans all driving mobile Internet growth,” said David Jeffs, head of Insights for Yahoo!

Southeast Asia. “As more Filipinos access the Web via mobile, this will allow telecom companies achieve economies of scale and bring down tariffs, in turn adding further stimulus to mobile Internet growth.” Globe hopes to keep its mobile data business growing amid the rapid penetration of social media and availability of more affordable smartphones. As of end-September last year, the company’s mobile browsing revenues rose to over P1.4 billion. “Mobile browsing has definitely revolutionized the Philippine telecom-munications industry with the growing demand for an easier and more accessible way to be connected to the World Wide Web,” said Globe President Ernest Cu.

GMA Network sees P3B net income in 2012GMA Network Inc. on Wednes-day said it expects its net in-come to grow sharply this year, aft er posting a sharp drop in earnings in 2011. Felipe Gozon, chairman and chief executive of GMA, told reporters that the company’s net income this year is likely to hit around P3 billion from P1.8 billion in 2011. Gozon attributed the sharp increase in net income this year to the “big improvement” in ad-vertising sales and nationwide program ratings compared to 2011. He added the company already secured 70 percent of its expected advertising sales target in 2012 as early as January. Th e network’s net income of P1.8 billion in 2011 was lower than its P3-billion profi t guidance. Gozon blamed the decline in net income to the cutback in advertising expenditures of multinational companies brought about by the US and Europe crises. “We lost around P1 billion if you compared to 2010 [net income], but if you remove the political ads, we earn at around a little less than P1 billion,” Gozon said. In 2010, the company’s net income amounted to P2.8 billion. In the third quarter of last year, GMA’s net income fell by 10 percent to P525 million in the July to September period from P583 million last year. Th is brought the company’s nine-month earnings to P1.58 billion, down by 30 percent from P2.72 billion in 2010. Revenues amounted to P10.11 billion, down by seven percent from P10.88 billion last year. Airtime revenues from TV and radio contributed the bulk at P9.25 billion, up 16 percent from last year. (pna)

STEAG State Power Inc (SPI) is a special purpose company created to own, build and operate the Mindanao Power Plant. It is majority owned by Evoni k Steag GmbH

which is part of the German conglomerate Evonik Industries AG based in Essen, Germany.

Evonik is the creative industrial group with busi-ness operations in over 100 countries around the world. It is a global leader in specialty chemicals, an expert in power generation, and one of the largest private residential real estate companies in Germany.

Steag, which is Evonik’s Energy Business Area, is Germany’s fi ft h largest power producer. It special-izes in the production of electricity from coal and renewable sources.

As a full-service provider, it focuses on engineer-ing and consulting skills in the design, building and operation of ultra-modern power plants worldwide.

With more than 70 years experience in the power industry, it has developed over the years into a suc-cessful international Independent Power Producer (IPP).

It employs a workforce of about 4,600 in its 66 business locations in ten countries worldwide (Ger-many, Turkey, Philippines, Colombia, Poland, Singa-pore, India, USA, Brazil and Nigeria) and generating a combined sales revenue of €2.574 billion.

In line with its corporate strategy of reducing shareholding in its international power plant projects to not less than 51% and to operate these power plants jointly with reliable local partners, Evonik Steag GmbH divested shares in the equivalent of 34% of the outstanding capital stock of SPI last November 2007 to a Philippine publicly listed company Aboitiz Power Corporation (APC). Evonik remains as SPI’s majority shareholder at 51% while the remaining 15% is held by La Filipina Uy Gongco Corporation.

UPDATE : BusinessWeek Mindanao’s Partners

OUTSTANDING ENTREPRENEURS & BUSINESS LEADERS AWARDS 2012

WORKBOOKS FOR OUT OF SCHOOL YOUTH: About 900 workbooks were turned-over to the local school board of Villanueva Misamis Oriental for the implementation of the Alternative Learning System (ALS) Program.

ENGAGING PARTNERS IN CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP: STEAG State Power Inc Presi-dent and CEO Dr. Bodo Go-erlich addresses hundreds of partners, program benefi ciaries and stakeholders during the 2009 CSR Partners Gathering held in Cagayan de Oro City.

Educational TV: Pupils of Nang-ka Elementary School in Vil-lanueva, Misamis Oriental get a sneak preview of educational TV episode during simple turn-over rites of the company’s ETV Project recently.

Developing Special Interest in Science and Technology: With their “Emission Reducer from Recycled Materials Project”, fourth year students of Villanue-va National High School won the best Science Investigative Project during the recently con-cluded Search for Villanueva Young Scientists.

STEAG’s recent community empowerment projects :

5BusinessWeekMINDANAO

January 20-22, 2012CompaniesCompanies

and universities such as the University of the Philippines and Ateneo de Manila Uni-versity. Prominent private and public hospitals in the region, which offer high-quality healthcare services, are also located here. The city also boasts of lively commercial and recreational centers, en-

SMDC brings modern living to the next level in QC

PROPERTIES

CONVENIENT, progressive, energetic are some ways to describe Quezon City. Many Filipinos have decided to plant roots in this bustling metropolis as everything they need, and more, can be found here. Quezon City is home to some of the country’s most prestigious schools

Top students find top-notch homes in Blue Residences. Nestled on the corner of Katipunan Avenue and Aurora Boulevard, the condominium project is conveniently located near Ateneo De Manila University, University of the Philippines and Miriam College.

Mezza II rises at the corner of Aurora Boulevard and Araneta Avenue in the heart of Sta. Mesa.

two schools. The properties have a Student Lounge with Internet access, perfect for intense study sessions or a bit of rest and relaxation. At the Recreation Room, residents can let their hair down and engage in chess, billiards, or table tennis matches with their friends. For University Belt stu-dents, Sun Residences is their best bet. Sitting on the Quezon City-Manila border, it allows residents conve-nient access to schools in the area, as well as to medical institutions and commercial establishments. It is easily accessible via private and public transportation, and is only a few minutes away from the MRT and LRT stations. It also boasts of hotel-like amenities and Wi-Fi-enabled common areas where students can catch up with their schoolwork or lounge with their friends. Cozy homes Perfect for young profes-sionals and start-up families, Princeton Residences in New Manila is conveniently located near Gilmore’s cy-ber hub and retail havens Greenhills and Araneta Shopping Center. Princeton Residences sits right beside the LRT 2 Gilmore Station which makes easy access to top educational institu-tions along Katipunan and University Belt with just a train ride away. Individuals exhausted from a day at school or work can find respite at Grass Residences, located

tertainment and nightlife hubs, and a smorgasbord of dining options. Harnessing these perks, SM Development Corpora-tion (SMDC) handpicked Quezon City to be the loca-tion of many of its premier condominium offerings. These condo projects boast of five-star amenities that

customers can have at af-fordable prices and easy-financing schemes. Home options Blue Residences and Berkeley Residences are ideal for students complet-ing their degrees at Ateneo de Manila and Miriam Col-lege. Located along Katipu-nan Avenue, it is near the

REAL PROPERTIES

Realty app unveiledAYALA LAND Premier has introduced its first application for smartphones which report-edly allows potential buyers to check out the features of their Park Terraces condominium complex in Makati City. The app will serves as an “innovative brochure” for the three-tower residential enclave. “Part of the [app] features a sneak preview of Ayala Land, Inc.’s major redevelopment for Ayala Center,” the developer added in a statement.

Resort units completedUPSCALE LEISURE devel-oper Landco Pacific Corp. has recently turned over the third building of its resort-themed condominium complex in Sucat, Muntinlupa City to buyers. Sales of units at the so-called Chelsea Tower 3 were said to be fueled by the completion of the South Luzon Expressway Skyway, a press statement showed recently. TRIbeca Private Resi-dences, which was built on a 9.7-hectare lot in partnership with developer ATR Kim Eng Land, Inc.

Bayside condo launchedREAL ESTATE firm Moldex Realty, Inc. aims to redefine the Manila Bay landscape with its recently-launched Grand Riviera Suites condominium, which aims to benefit from its strategic location on Roxas Boulevard in the city of Manila. The 55-storey condominium dubbed Grand Riviera Suites boasts of a six-level podium built above ground level, ensuring safety and security in case of flooding. Amenities include three pools, open lawns and gardens, gazebo, pool deck, recreation room, children’s playroom, func-tion room, and gym.MODERN/PAGE 9

TOPS (The Off-Price Store) had the grand launch of its 11th store nationwide last Jan. 14, 2012 at South Bank Plaza found at the corner of Don Apolinar Velez and Yacapin street.

The local franchise is owned and operated by the Dalkilic family, spe-cifically brothers Mahmut and Rizal, who also set up the Turquoise Turkish Restaurant at SM and some other businesses based in the city.

The opening of the city’s first TOPS store was graced by no less than TOPS President and CEO Jonas “Bols” T. Ang, who is the brain behind suc-cessfully setting up the nationwide chain far from the madding crowd.

“Cagayan de Oro is our 11th store nationwide and we are also opening a 12th this weekend in Subic,” Mr. Ang said.

Other TOPS Stores can be found in Bel-Air Village in Makati, Blue Wave Mall in Marikina, Blue Wave Strip Mall in Pasay, QC Congressional, QC Commonwealth, Pi-azzo Sorrento in Bacolod, Asiatown IT Park in Cebu,

TOPS launches 11th store nationwide in CDO

Mr. Kerem Serbetci cuts the ceremonial ribbon during the grand opening of TOPS Cagayan de Oro last Jan. 14, 2012. Also in photo are ( left to right) Mr. Darby, Mr. Jonas Ang, Ms.Aysel, Mr.Mahmut Dalkilic,Mr. Rizal Dalkilic and Ms. Fatima Dalkilic

PHOTO BY MIKE BAÑOS, NPN

Mr. Jonas Ang, Pres & CEO of The Off-Price Store Corp. poses for posterity with the principals of TOPS Cagayan de Oro during the grand launch last Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012. Also in photo (L-R) are Mr. Darby, Ms. Banu Dalkilic, Ms.,Aysel, Mr. Mahmut Dalkilic, Ms. Fatima Dalkilic and Mr. Rizal Dalkilic. PHOTO BY MIKE BAÑOS, NPN

Red Square in Iloilo, Cash and Carry in Palanan, Makati; and Rufino street in Cotabato,

TOPS is also branded as The Off-Price Store for its specialty in selling fac-tor overruns of branded apparel and accessories but Mr. Ang clarifies this doesn’t mean TOPS is selling seconds or mer-chandise which don’t meet quality standards.

“We’d like to believe we are advocating practical fashion with TOPS line of branded overruns,” Mr. Ang said. “TOPS makes the world’s leading brands

accessible to the ordinary Filipino consumer at least as 80 percent off their original prices at bou-tiques.”

Mr. Ang said TOPS was inspired by similar dis-count outlet shops abroad such as Marshalls, Ross and TJ Maxx but was reformat-ted for the local market and packaged into smaller and more convenient store locations.

Among the brands car-ried by TOPS are Levi’s, Puma, Express, LeeCooper, Barbie, G-Star, American Eagle, Aeropostale, Me-lissa, Billabong, Jack &

Jones, H&M, New York Company, Elle, Armani Exchange (EX), Replay, Crocs, Tommy Hilfiger, Ann Taylor, Junk Food, and Seven7 which can be had for as little as P400-1,000.

According to its compa-ny website, TOPS began as a fresh concept right after Star Trends sold “Urban Outlet”. The stores were situated not in malls, but in areas not usually identified

as retail store spaces. This break in monotony and the professional manner in which merchandising and marketing were handled led to the steady rise of the first store.

By the fourth store, the company decided to go solo and brake away from Star Trends, for-mally incorporating The Off-Price Stores Corp. in August of 2007. In 2009

The Off-Price Store cre-ated the acronym TOPS and redesigned the logo to jibe with the mercurial world of retail.

“The best Brand names and quality you recog-nize, a dressing room all to yourself, someone to help if you need it, a place where you can spend less without getting less, that’s why TOPS was created,” Mr. Ang said.

6 BusinessWeekMINDANAOJanuary 20-22, 2012

IGNACIO BUNYE

SPEAKING OUTSPEAKING OUT

OpinionOpinionCreatures of Habit

PED T. QUIAMJOT

TRAVERSING THETRAVERSING THETOURISM HI-WAYTOURISM HI-WAY

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THINK A MINUTETHINK A MINUTE

Maya declaration on inclusive finance

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Saving lives: the climate change summit

THINK a minute… You’ve probably heard the expression “A leopard can’t change its spots.” This, of course, is true of leopards. But is it true of people? Can people change? Are we humans just creatures of habit? Do we not have any control over our actions and habits? One guy said, “Bad habits are like a comfortable bed: they’re easy to get into, but hard to get out of.” Someone else said: “The chains of habits are too small to feel until they’re too strong to break.” So ‘breaking the mold’ of our bad habits takes eff ort, yet one of the greatest freedoms in life is

the freedom from bad habits. Habits are like the roads we take through life every-day. The problem is that not every road takes us where we need to go. Ac-tually, our routes through life often become our ruts in life. We end up stuck in them and find it hard to dig ourselves out. That’s why we must change our bad habits as soon as possible before they become our ‘second nature’. You see, our habits become our character and our character becomes our life. As one wise person said: “First we make our habits, then our habits make us.” But we humans don’t like to change, do we? So

we come up with excuses, like: “I can’t be different; that’s just the way I am.” Or we say: “I was born this way.” And the good ol’ say-ing: “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” But that’s just it: we’re not dogs or animals. In fact, we’re the only creatures who have the freedom and power to change and choose the kind of person we become. So what habits do you need to start changing today? You know, there’s one bad habit you need to change first, that will help you change all your other habits. It’s the habit of liv-ing your own way, instead of your Maker’s way. He’s

the only one who knows the road to the best, most satisfying life for you. So today, won’t you ask Jesus Christ to forgive you, and to take full charge of your habits and life? Just think a minute…

FOR three years in a row, from 2009 to 2011, the Economist Intelligence Unit Global Microscope on Microfinance has named the Philippines as the best in the world in terms of regulatory framework for microfinance. The Philippines has also been consistently in the top 10 (out of 55 countries) overall, which include other criteria such as supportive institutional framework and stability. This year and in the years to come, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) – as the country’s central monetary authority – has vowed to nurture this en-abling policy and operating environment that will al-low more “unbanked” and “underbanked” Filipinos to

enter the formal financial system. In fact, the BSP has pub-licly committed to pursue financial inclusion – side by side with its role of pro-moting price and financial stability – through a special “commitment.” The BSP Commitment, posted on the Alliance for Financial Inclusion’s (AFI) website, presents the cur-rent challenges to financial inclusion in the country and highlights the key areas of fi-nancial inclusion: The need for a wide range of financial services, the important role of technological innovation, partnerships and linkages, as well as consumer protec-tion. The AFI, the leading global independent network of policymakers committed

to financial inclusion, held its third annual Global Pol-icy Forum (GPF) in Riviera Maya, Mexico, on September 28-30, 2011. The Forum, attended by over 250 policymakers from 65 countries, provided an opportunity for AFI mem-bers to self-assess progress made in financial inclusion policymaking, identify chal-lenges, and share concrete policy objectives for 2012 and beyond. To institutionalize the members’ action plans to-ward achieving their objec-tives, the GPF culminated with the Maya Declaration – an expression of the AFI network’s commitment to further deepen global fi-nancial inclusion.

As one of the members of the global network, the BSP was encouraged to create its own set of com-mitments that will serve as its framework in reaching its financial inclusion goals. According to the BSP’s Commitment, the central monetary authority will fos-ter an enabling environment that will make it possible for all adults to have a deposit account. At present, only half of the Filipino adult population have their own deposit accounts. The BSP described this move as “a basic and con-crete goal of financial inclu-sion.” “Such a relationship will make it possible for them to conveniently save and

undertake a wide range of other financial transactions: From credit, to payments and remittances, to micro-insurance,” the BSP said in its Commitment. Central to the realization of this goal of fi nancial inclu-sion, the BSP explained, will be the coordinated initiatives of fi nancial regulators to encourage the roll-out of in-novative fi nancial products and services by the private sector that are responsive to the requirements of the poor in a safe, sound, and sustainable manner. “We will also massively expand the touch points of access to financial services throughout the Philippine archipelago beyond bank branches through innovative

channels like micro-banking offices, non-bank agent net-works, and a well-developed e-money ecosystem,” the BSP stressed. The Bank will likewise take proactive initiatives to ensure that Filipino consum-ers are always adequately informed, protected, and able to enjoy the full benefits of their financial success.

THE weather phenomenon in Northern Mindanao is affecting travel and tourism business in the region. In Butuan City last January 7, 2012, a commercial plane carrying the party of Vice President Jejomar C. Binay return to Manila in spite of entering already the Butuan air space.

Zero visibility was the reason. Low pressure area somewhere in the Pacific was pulling the cold air from the enter tropical con-vergence zone in Northern Luzon to the eastern part of Mindanao. The new weather pattern brings thick clouds and rains to the region. Early morn-ing, heavy fogs envelopes Cagayan de Oro City.

Historically, In January of 2011, the total flights cancellations in Cagayan de Oro from Manila and Davao recorded 13 flights of the A320 types of air-crafts that were either di-verted to Mactan Cebu or returned to Manila.

Smaller QA-400 air planes originating from Cebu managed to sneak in and came in delayed after seating for hours at the Mactan Airport wait-ing for clearance from the Cagayan de Oro control tower. Airline flights can-

cellations last year brings in losses to both airlines and destinations. The airline company in terms of fuel and back loads for their return flights to Manila. While the destinations, in terms of hotel revenues and transport business.

It also makes oppor-tunities slip on the hands of businessmen. The total losses if quantified will amount to millions of pe-sos of failed transactions creating an impact to the local economy as a result of the slowdown of business.

The weather cycle is repeating this year with more powerful gusty winds that could develop into a tropical depression. A tropical depression, we all know, is a probable disaster that could bring death and destructions to government infrastructures and private properties.

Weather disturbance is not only inherent to Northern Mindanao. It is common to Northern Luzon and to the Southern Bicol region. Typhoons hit us an average of 22 cyclones per year. Flooding and continues rains even occurs in Central Mindanao in spite of the high mountain ranges that protects the fer-tile valleys. No one is safe

anymore from the wrath of the weather. The disaster brought by Typhoon “Sen-dong” is just one of the painful examples. There could be more disasters in the future?

Some government of-ficials were quick to align their strategies of gover-nance. A weather climate mitigation summit is called for by Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel that will be funded by the govern-ment. The government agencies that are involved like the DENR, the DOST, Department of Agriculture and the DILG are expected to be at the forefront. In fact all government agen-cies and local government units must be involved to delineate their roles in saving life and protecting the economy.

Many government offi-cials are also callous and in-sensitive to climate change disasters.

In Cagayan de Oro City a maverick Alderman spon-sored a resolution to stop the hydraulic mining activi-ties in the upper Barangays that empty its tributaries to the Iponan River. But before he could raise his arguments, his motion was voted out. Of course, he belongs to the minority

party, what do we expect?In politics, it’s wheel-

ing and dealing. Scratch my back and I will scratch yours. Never mind if the residents of Pagatpat, Ip-onan were in rooftop flood water. Never mind if the adjacent communities, Bloomingdale, Westfield, Virginia Homes and Coca-Cola Village were in waist deep mud, all coming from the over flowing Iponan River. What causes the silt-ation of the Iponan River?

The Barangay Chairman himself, Capt. Anthony Brilleta and his Barangay Council passed a resolu-tion after the 2009 flood-ing, urging City Hall to intervene and stop the Hydraulic Gold Mining in the upper delta of the Barangay Iponan. Did City Hall care?

7BusinessWeekMINDANAO January 20-22, 2012

The Blame Game“He who blames others, has a long way to go on his jour-ney. He who blames himself, is halfway there. He who blames no one, has arrived.”

- Chinese Proverb.

of natural disasters. The collective effort of the en-tire human race is needed to prevent the threatening climate change catastrophe. This requires centuries of untiring, relentless, unself-ish dedication to save our dying planet. It demands that our hearts be purged of the sins of greed, avarice and selfishness. It calls for obedience to the time-honored laws written in stone, and to reacquaint ourselves with the Giver of those Laws. Unless we come back to God on bended knees and acknowledge Him as the True Ruler of the Universe,

THE Filipinos have many admirable traits. Notewor-thy of these is our unsink-able spirit in the face of suf-fering and defeat. We have a strong survival instinct. But the outstanding virtue which we are extremely proud of is our Bayanihan spirit. This Bayanihan vir-tue is exemplified by our desire to help people in need, even at the cost of our own selves. Centuries of Christian influence and a culture of religiosity has marked us as a God-molded country. From the trials of Sen-dong came forth the true

treasures of Cagayanons - their golden hearts. These are hearts burnished with the gold of charity and generosity. From the mud of affliction bloomed the flower of affection. We joined hands as a unified force, carrying those who have fallen, forgetting our own pain in response to the greater need of another. It was a sterling moment for Filipinos, and a crowning glory for Cagayanons in particular. Alas, how quickly the sweet fragrance of brother-hood is blown away by the putrid stench of divisiveness

this sick planet will never get well, and life as we know it will be a living hell.

honing local jewellers in Comval while silver-craft MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises) are joining in trade fairs. DTI is also urging the local government to assign people to their investment promotions office so as to assist prospective investors and businessmen.

Conval...from page 2industry, which is the pro-vincial OTOP (One Town One Product). He cited that silver is plentiful in the province as it is widely ignored because of gold’s high prices. The DTI is currently

and discontent. How fragile is the vigor of noble hearts when bullied by the muscle of disruptive minds. After the initial euphoric and heroic display of unity, our famous crab mentality raised its deadly claws. In-stead of progressing into the second phase of crisis man-agement which is to repair, rebuild and rehabilitate, we have deteriorated into the phase of blame-shifting, finger-pointing and mud-slinging. What can be gained by tearing people down, heap-ing blame on local leader-ship, and generally turning into a lynch mob? Our

leaders are not magicians and fortune-tellers. Let us uphold principles over personalities. The goodwill we have gained should not be care-lessly squandered away by vicious words and sinister schemes. In this time of crisis, it is callous to pre-cipitate another crisis of a political nature. This is the time to build not destroy, to unite not divide, to heal not hurt. We have to face the in-convenient truth that not the mayor, not the presi-dent, not Pag-Asa, not even the 90 million Filipinos can halt the ominous onslaught

mission loop connecting the Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao grids, which would enable the defer-ment of additional basel-oad plants and lower the system production cost due to the overall pooling of resources. During the Arroyo Ad-ministration, the Depart-ment of Energy (DOE) urged the NGCP to invest and put up the multi-bil-lion peso Leyte-Mindanao Interconnection Project. Former Acting Energy Secretary Jose Ibazeta said before that NGCP should do it, as it will ensure stable supply of power in the grid by giving the Visayas grid to export power to Mindanao through these lines. “With respect to energy security, NGCP should push through with this project though the project cost will have to be passed on to consumers making them pay for more,” Ibazeta said. But of course, he added that the cost to be passed-on to consumers will have to reviewed and approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). “But we expect NGCP to undertake this project to help avert power shortages in the future,” Ibazeta said. Before the 25-year con-cession of Transco was privatized, the LMIP was supposed to be included in the list of projects the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will finance for 2003, which the latter cancelled after the government decided to defer it. The Transco board then pushed the need to put up the LMIP as it was deemed to link the Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao grids.

Energy...from page 1

have the LMIP put up, the government still has to make sure that the ap-propriate studies have been made to ensure that the interconnection will be effective,” she said. Asirit added that they cannot compromise the project and that it’s im-portant to ensure that the project is implemented in the most cost-efficient way possible and not burden-some to consumers. “The project is still on track and cannot be delayed. If it can be fast tracked to make the imple-mentation efficient, then we will push for it as well. We will exploit all means for as long as the project will not be a burden to consumers,” Asirit said. Henry Sy Jr., NGCP President, said they are ready to advance the cost for the P24-billion Leyte-Mindanao Interconnection project (LMIP). “We will advance the needed amount on a stag-gered basis as soon as the ERC approves our petition. As soon as we obtain the ERC approval, he NGCP will carry out the first phase of the LMIP, which is the implementation of a feasibility and techni-cal study that will take six months to one year to complete,” he said. Before the NGCP took over operation and main-tenance concession of the National Transmission Corp. (Transco) in 2009, the latter estimated the LMIP to cost them $275 million to build. The LMIP is supposed to be the final phase in the completing the trans-

8 BusinessWeekMINDANAO

January 20-22, 2012 Corp. NewsCorp. News

The Association of Mindanao Rural Electric Cooperatives will host the maiden edition of an annual congress which seeks to mainstream chal-lenges and issues to Mind-anao’s Energy Future. The one-day congress will focus on renewable energy, rural electrification and devel-opment at the Grand Caprice Restaurant and Convention Center, Limketkai Center, Cagayan de Oro City on Janu-ary 26, 2012.

Del Monte Philippines, Inc. engages in processing, manu-facturing, and packing pineapple and tomato products. The company offers pineapple solids, aseptic juices, pineapple crush, and concentrates. It also processes various tomato products and low-acid bean products. The company was founded in 1926 and is based in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines. Del Monte Philippines, Inc. is a subsidiary of Del Monte Pacific, Ltd. The Del Monte Pineapple Plantation is among other com-panies engaged in pineapple, banana plantation and other tropical fruits which are located in Bukidnon province. The province is considered to be the food basket in Mindanao and is a home to the finest and sweetest pineapple in the country.

The first Del Monte plantation is located in Camp Phil-lips, a community situated in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon. It is also where the Del Monte Pineapple Plantation is located. Del Monte Philippines has a vast field of pineapples covering around 9000 hectares of land. A wide area of the place is planted with pineapples that stretch from horizon to horizon. Upon entering Camp Phillips, one would be able to see a big pineapple statue, a perfect spot for picture taking. One can look around the vast area without seeking any permission from Del Monte as it is open to the public. Inside Camp Phillips, one would be able to see the American style housing project built by the Americans (previous owners of Del Monte) for Del Monte employees. Del Monte Philippines belong to the Del Monte Pacific (DMPL) Group, which is a group of companies that caters

UPDATE : BusinessWeek Mindanao’s Partners OUTSTANDING ENTREPRENEURS & BUSINESS LEADERS AWARDS 2012

DEL MONTE PHILIPPINES INC.to today’s consumer needs for premium quality, healthy food and beverage products. It innovates, produces, markets and distributes its products worldwide. The DMPL Group owns the Del Monte brand in the Philippines where it enjoys leading market shares for canned pineapple juice and juice drinks, canned pineapple and tropi-cal mixed fruits, tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce and tomato ketchup. With its 23,000-hectare pineapple plantation in the Philip-pines, 700,000-ton processing capacity and a port beside the Cannery, Del Monte Pacific’s subsidiary, Del Monte Philippines, operates the world’s largest fully-integrated pineapple opera-tion. It is proud of its long heritage of 85 years of pineapple growing and processing. It has long-term supply agreements with some of the Del Monte trademark owners and licensees around the world. Del Monte Pacific and its subsidiaries are not affiliated with other Del Monte companies in the world, including, Del Monte Foods Co (USA), Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc, Del Monte Canada, Del Monte Asia Pte Ltd and these companies’ affiliates. To learn more about Del Monte worldwide. Del Monte Pacific is 78.7%-owned by NutriAsia Pacific Ltd (NPL). NPL is owned by the NutriAsia Group of Companies which is in turn majority-owned by the Campos family of the Philippines. The NutriAsia Group is the market leader in liquid condiments, specialty sauces and cooking oil market in the Philippines.

Bank of the Philippine Islands (Spanish: Banco de las Islas Fili-pinas, commonly known as BPI; PSE: BPI) is the oldest bank in the Philippines still in operation and

is the country’s third largest bank in terms of assets, the country’s largest bank in terms of market capitalization, and the country’s most profitable bank. It is owned by the Ayala Corporation - the largest conglomerate in the Philippines, and is based in Makati’s Central Business District, on the corner of Ayala Avenue and Paseo de Roxas. BPI is also the oldest bank in Southeast Asia and has a long and distinguished history that spans over a century. It has either influenced or has been influenced by many nations, including parts of the former Spanish Empire, especially Mexico, and the United States. While it is considered by many as an old institution, BPI is try-ing to promote itself as a dynamic institution that caters to its various clients, which hail from various sectors of Philippine society. BPI also pioneered rural banking in the Philippines, as its countryside banking operations preceded that of many other banks’ rural banking operations by many years. Today, it maintains a large rural branch network, with some branches dating bank to the Spanish or American colonial periods. Its branch network of 831 branches is by far the largest branch network of any bank in the Philippines. The bank has received several awards from various financial magazines, such as Euromoney the Far Eastern Economic Review, The Banker, Euromoney, Finance Asia, and Global Finance . Its most recent award was from Asiamoney. In April 2010, which the bank was awarded as the Philippines’ Strongest Bank. In 2009, the bank bags 10 awards as the Best Domestic Bank; Best Local Cash Management Bank in the Philip-pines as voted by Small-Sized Corporations; Best Local Cash Management Bank in the Philippines as voted by Medium-Sized Corporations; Best Local Cash Manage-ment Bank in the Philippines as voted by Large-Sized Corporations; Best Domestic Provider of FX Services in the Philippines as voted by Corporates; Best Domestic FX Provider of FX Prime Broking Services in the Philippines as voted by Corporates; Best Domestic FX Provider of Single-Bank Electronic Trading Platform.

AMRECO Congress aims for increased awareness for Mindanao’s Energy Future Clint Django Pacana, ex-ecutive director of the Associa-tion of Mindanao Rural Elec-tric Cooperatives (AMRECO), said some 300 participants from the group’s 33 member cooperatives have commit-ted to join the “Congress of the Advocates for Renewable Energy, Rural Electrification and Development.” AMRECO’s 33 member co-operatives accounts for 1,941, 554 residential consumers in Mindanao. Twenty seven of the

member coops are hooked up with the island’s transmission grid while another six operate in the off-grid islands sur-rounding the main Mindanao island. “We are advocating rural electrification as the way to address Mindanao’s chronic power shortage,” said Mr. Pacana in an interview with media. “Towards this end, we have grouped presentations according to good governance, knowledge products, finance

& investments, and the role of civic organizations in so-ciety for the duration of the congress.” Presentations on Good Governance kick off the working sessions with “Sitio Energization” by National Electrification Administration (NEA) Administrator Edita S. Bueno, Transparency of Distribution by Energy Regu-latory Commission (ERC) by Chairperson Zenaida G. Ducut and “Updates on the

Privatization of the Agus and Pulangui Hydro Electric Plants” by Deputy House Speaker and JCPC Member Rep. Lorenzo R. Tanada III. Public discussions on Knowledge Products follow with “Research and Study Grants for the Mindanao Power Sector” by USAID-CENERGY, “Research on Mindanao Power Sector” by Prof. Rowaldo del Mundo of the UP-National Engineer-ing Center, “The Mindanao

Power Institute” by Dr. Ri-cardo E. Rotoras, president of the Mindanao University of Science and Technology and PASSUC. Public discussions on Fi-nance and Investment are next with “Aggregation – A Business Model for Mindanao Electric Cooperatives (Mr. Edgardo R. Masongsong) and “Development of Renew-able Energy Power Plants by Electric Cooperatives” (Engr.David A. Tauli).

9BusinessWeekMINDANAO January 20-22, 2012Congress WatchCongress Watch

REP. RUFUS RODRIGUEZ REP. MAXIMO RODRIGUEZ

Lawmakers seek protection of coral reefs in BIMP-EAGA

Coral reef destruction has proven to be a major issue within the BIMP-Eaga region.

THE Committee on Ecology is final-izing a bill that

seeks to protect and con-serve endangered marine species in the Brunei-In d on e s i a - Ma l ay s i a -Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) by giving stiffer penalties to violators. C ommittee Chair-man Rep. Danilo Ramon Fernandez (1st District, Laguna) said a techni-cal working group is already crafting a bill out of House Resolu-t ions 1128, 1233 and 1363, emphasizing the urgent need for stiffer penalties to arrest the rampant cases of illegal harvesting of corals and other environmentally damaging activities in the Philippine territorial seas. Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, (2nd District, Cagayan de Oro City), who proposed the crafting of the bill, also recommended to the committee to conduct an ocular inspection of the contested waters around the Pag-asa Island in the Kalayaan island chain this January. House Resolution 1128 filed by Rodriguez directs the Committee on Ecol-ogy to conduct an inquiry in aid of legislation, on

the reports that the Phil-ippines is very vulnerable to coral reef degradation while HR 1233 filed by Rep. Emmeline Aglipay (Party-List, DIWA) di-rects the Committee on Aquaculture and Fisher-ies to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, into the continuing i l legal exportation and exploita-tion of Philippine corals, as well as the degradation of Philippine reefs. On the other hand, HR 1363, filed by Rep. Rachel Arenas (3rd District, Pan-gasinan) directs the Com-mittee on Ecology and the Special Committee on East Asean Growth Area to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, on the harvest and illegal trade of endangered marine

species in the coast of BIMP-EAGA islands in Mindanao and Palawan, resulting in the destruc-tion of sea bed. The said coast is protected by the convention on the inter-national trade in endan-gered species (CITES). All three resolutions were already adopted by the House of Representa-tives. Rodriguez filed the resolution after three tons of illegally harvested corals were seized in Cebu on March 10, March 31 and April 9, 2011. Citing reports, Rodri-guez said an American firm called “Shell Hori-zon”, allegedly engaged openly in the bulk sale of illegally exported cor-als, “in blatant disregard

of their acquisition in violation of Philippine law and the provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna.” Rodriguez added that Shell Horizon identi-fies itself as the “Largest Wholesaler of Seashells and Seashells products, Finest Quality Seashells and Souvenirs” in the United States, a statement which clearly shows that the firm is engaged in commercial enterprise, and not research or edu-cation, as specified in Sec. 3 of the Philippine Fisheries Code giving exemption or permit to research institutions to gather in limited quan-tities for scientif ic or research purposes, except those coral species listed in CITES. Rodriguez, Aglipay and Arenas a l s o ex-pressed concern over reports that at present, only about 5% coral reefs remain in excellent con-dition, and even those not in danger from human hands are threatened by coral bleaching caused by climate change, the past year having seen the biggest bleaching to occur in the Philippines seas since 1998.

Oro lawmakers seek insurance payment

for damaged vehicles

CAGAYAN de Oro congress-man Rufus Rodriguez and Abante Mindanao party-list Representative Maximo Ro-driguez have asked the Insur-ance Commission to order companies to pay the proceeds of insured vehicles that were damaged by Tropical Storm Sendong. The two solons, in filing House Resolution 2022, said the payment should be made even if these vehicles do not have Acts of God coverage. The two Rodriguezes said although there are still no reports yet as to the actual number of vehicles damaged by “Sendong”, they said it is safe to assume that the number reached to hundreds and that majority of these vehicles are not covered by Acts of God insurance and are therefore not entitled to compensation from insurance companies. “Either as an act of lib-erality and goodwill or as an exercise of police power, it directed that these insurance

companies pay the insurance even those without Acts of God coverage in order to help these victims recover and not add to the already huge burdens they are shouldering,” Rufus Rodriguez said. An Acts of God car insur-ance policy refers to events out-side of human control “which cannot be prevented” and is used to identify coverage for, and property damage result-ing from such events, which include tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, lightning, straight-line winds and hail. Maximo Rodriguez said “Sendong” has caused tre-mendous damaged, including loss of lives and destruction of property and vehicles, last December 17 in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan cities. The Rodriguez brothers added that while “Sendong” caused flooding in 29 ba-rangays in Cagayan de Oro, part of those submerged in water are the vehicles of the residents of these barangays.

increase of more than 400 percent from the 414 assisted MSMEs in 2010. The DTI official also men-tioned a100 percent compli-ance to the fair trade and industry laws (FTL) among business operators in Davao del Sur. Banquerigo attributed this achievement to DTI-Davao del Sur’s massive consumer education campaign, which resulted to consumer empow-erment, saying that traders are now more vigilant of the FTL.

DavSur...from page 2DTI-Davao del Sur reported an accomplishment of over P242 million from the new and existing businesses. Banquerigo said that DTI has provided various inter-ventions and special proj-ects to develop and increase business confidence of the micro, small and medium entrepreneurs in the province. He said that his office has assisted a total of 1,794 MSMEs last year, noting an

courts, jogging paths and landscaped gardens. Designed with the mod-ern family in mind, Mezza Residences and Mezza II Residences boast of spacious living areas, high ceilings, and picture windows. Other amenities include outdoor

Modern...from page 5

SM City North EDSA. Homeowners can revitalize with the variety of country club facilities such as elegant cabanas, clubhouse, swim-ming pools, badminton

function decks with private function rooms, adult and kiddie pools, playground area, garden with gazebos, and lawn and barbecue area. Both are also conve-niently located near SM City Sta. Mesa, providing home-owners with everything they

need—from supermarkets and banks, to restaurants and shops—within arm’s reach. With a variety of condo projects to off er, SMDC surely has the perfect match to any hopeful Quezon City home-owner’s need and lifestyle.

10 BusinessWeekMINDANAOJanuary 20-22, 2012 Misor•TodayMisor•Today

NBA clinic set January 19THE Misamis Oriental provincial government has announced that the 2012 Jr. NBA Clinic in Cagayan de Oro City originally sched-uled for January 21-23, 2012 at the Xavier Uni-versity-Ateneo de Cagayan campus is pushing through at an earlier date and dif-ferent venues. “We earlier informed Jr. NBA officials of our intent to postpone the event in deference to the recent Sen-dong disaster and needed to use what would have been our equity in the project for relief assistance,” said Gov. Oscar S. Moreno. “However, they offered to shoulder our counterpart equity and in addition,

also conduct NBA Cares in some evacuation centers and affected areas.” The revised schedule will start on Thursday, January 19, 2012 with the 2012 Jr. NBA Coaches Clinic from 1-3PM with US-based NBA Coach Mar-tin Conlon, followed by basketball clinic for boys and girls 10-14 years old from 3-5PM at Basketball Clinic, ACSAT Gym, Max Suniel St. Carmen, Cagayan de Oro City.This will be fol-lowed on Friday morning, January 20, 2012 with an NBA Cares activity at the Provl Capitol Park before flying back to Manila in the afternoon. NBA Cares is the league’s

global community outreach initiative that addresses important social issues such as education, youth and family development, and health and wellness. The NBA and its teams support a range of programs, partners and initiatives that strive to positively impact children and families worldwide. As part of the league’s mission to demonstrate leadership in social respon-sibility, NBA Cares reaches communities through phi-lanthropy, hands-on service and legacy projects. Since October 2005 when NBA Cares was launched, the league and teams have raised more than $165 million for charity, provided more than

1.7 million hours of hands-on service, and built more than 625 places where kids and families can live, learn or play in communities around the world. Meantime, should you already wish to register, please contact the Office of the Governor, Misamis Provincial Capitol, Don Apolinar Velez St., Cagayan de Oro City. Look for Ms. Suzette Gentallan, tel. no. (8822) 745-5283 or email sgentallan@yahoo.com. Registrations are also ac-cepted at this URL: www.jrnba.com.ph. You may also contact Coach Jun Noel through cellphone no. 0917-324-8777.

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Republic of the PhilippinesREGIONAL TRIAL COURT

12TH Judicial Region, Branch 21Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte

IN THE MATTER OF THE ADOPTION OF MINOR, GE-ARNIE ABA PISON, SPL. PROC. NO. 21-462

CHILD OF SPS. ELENIE ACTUB ABAAND ROGER D. PISON (DECEASED),

SPS. MANUEL R. CATUBAY andMELGIN P. CATUBAY, FOR: “ADOPTION” Petitioners,- versus -

THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR OF LALA,LANAO DEL NORTE, and

THE ADMINISTRATOR AND CIVIL REGISTRAR GENERAL, NATIONAL STATISTICS OFFICE (NSO),EAST AVE., QUEZON CITY, METRO MANILA, Respondents.x- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - /

O R D E R Before this Court is a petition for adoption filed by the petitioners spouses Manuel R. Catubay and Melgin P. Catubay on January 3, 2012 essentially praying that after due notice, publication and hearing, a judgment be entered adjudging that the minor child, GE-ARNIE A. PISON: (1) be freed from all legal obligations of obedience and maintenance with respect to his natural parents, (2) that he be declared for all legal intents and purposes, the child of herein Petitioners; (3) that the middle name and last name of said minor be changed to PISON and CATUBAY, respectively, to conform to the last names of the Petitioners. Finding the petition to be sufficient in form and substance, the same is hereby set for initial hearing to April 04, 2012 at 8:30 o’clock in the morning at the session hall of this Court, RTC, Branch 21, Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte. Let this order be published before the hearing at least once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the province of Lanao del Norte at the expense of the petitioner. The Office of the Department of Social Welfare and Develop-ment, Iligan City is hereby directed to conduct a case study on the petitioners and the minor to be adopted, as well as the natural parents, and submit a report relative thereto on or before the scheduled initial date of hearing. Any interested party is hereby directed to come to Court on the hearing of the petition and bring proof why the same should be denied. Furnish copy of this Order to the office of the DSWD, Iligan City; the Office of the Solicitor General, Makati City; the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor of Lanao del Norte, the petitioners and the natural parent of the minor to be adopted.

SO ORDERED. Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte, Philippines. January 11, 2012.

SGD. ALAN L. FLORES Acting Presiding Judge

EXTRA JUDICIAL PARTITION WITH WAIVER

Notice is hereby given that the intestate estate of the Late DIONESIO O. RECOLITO who died on November 2, 1910 at Libertad, Misamis Oriental, died without leaving a will and left no debts; left parcels of land more particularly bounded and described as follows; “A parcel of land situated at Initao, Misamis Oriental, covered by ARP No. 21-0001-00282 Property Index No. 052-21-0001-009-04; Lot No. 175-P, declared under the name of RECOLITO, DIONESIO (HRS OF), containing an area of 2,070 SQUARE METERS, more or less, is the subject of EXTRA JUDICIAL PARTITION WITH WAIVER among LUCINA R. CABIGQUEZ, legal age, married, resident of Libertad, Misamis Oriental and DONATO RECOLITO, legal age, married, resident of Villanueva, Misamis Oriental, are the legitimate surviving heirs, hereby waives our rights and participations of the above-described properties in favor to SACRIS O. RECOLETO under Notary Public of BUENAVENTURA E. SAGRADO as per Doc. No. 422; Page No. 85; Book No. 88; Series of 2011.

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strives to resolve these applications expeditiously, it is constrained to await the termination of the hearing process and complete submission of the data requirements, both in keeping with the requirements of due process,” he said. Meanwhile, the Department of Energy (DOE) noted that Min-danao is expected to suffer a shortfall of 100 megawatts this year, repeating severe power out-ages during the summer months of 2010 due to the long drought. The supply shortfall, accord-ing to the energy department, is projected to increase to 600 megawatts by 2014 and has at-tracted new investments in the energy- generation business. The DOE said there are cur-rently several power generation projects lined up for Mindanao, which includes the 50-megawatt (MW) Mt. Apo 3 geothermal and 5-MW Camiguin wind project of Energy Development Corp., Green Power Davao and Green Power Cagayan de Oro’s 35-MW biomass plant (17.5 MW each), 225-MW Agus 3 hyro project, Conal Holdings’ 200-MW coal plant in Sarangani, Aboitiz Power’s 300 MW coal plant in Davao. These plants, however, need to secure power-supply contracts with distribution utilities and electric cooperatives to make their project viable. The supply contracts need to be filed and approved by the ERC. As of Tuesday, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines data showed that Mindanao has no power reserve as power demand is at 1,236 MW while available capacity was only at 1,215 MW.

Power...from page 1efforts to ensure the timely ap-proval of supply contracts of power-generation firms to help secure the power needs of Min-danao. ERC Executive Director Atty. Francis Saturnino Juan said the regulatory body would expedite action on energy projects to ad-dress power outages that have hindered Mindanao’s growth in decades. “We have the new generation capacities built in the Visayas to demonstrate this commitment,” he said. Juan said the ERC’s mandate is to review the power-supply agreements entered into by the distribution utilities with the generation firms for the supply of electricity to their customers and balances the interest of the distribution utilities, generation firms and the consumers. “The ERC determines the reasonable generation cost as-sociated with these purchases for inclusion in the distribution utilities’ generation charge to its captive customers. The ERC allows a rate that is sufficient to allow the generation company’s recovery of its reasonable costs and a reasonable return on its invested capital,” Juan said. He said that if the documentary requirements and other needs are submitted to the ERC without delay by the proponents and if the proceedings are not protracted, “the early resolution of the case is facilitated.” “Hence, even while the ERC

(6.86%).Questionable basis

Sought for comment, Vicente R. Leogardo, Jr., director-general of the Em-ployers Confederation of the Philippines, said an outlook for salary hikes was question-able. “Th ere are a lot of things that must be considered. Are we computing based on entry-level wages or not?” Mr. Leogardo said in a phone interview. “As for the ranking, what is the basis of comparison?” he added. Mr. Leogardo then pointed out that in terms of minimum

PH...from page 1

Worldwide average Th e country’s salary in-crement outlook is also far below the worldwide average, placed at 10.19%, foreign news organization Emirates 24/7 reported, quoting the study. Th e Philippines was fol-lowed by its neighboring countries Th ailand (5.16%), Malaysia (5.67%) and In-donesia (5.91%). Others on the list with lowest salary increase outlooks were Portu-gal (6.19%), Austria (6.21%), Norway (6.37%) and Bahrain

wage, the Philippines pays higher compared to other countries in Southeast Asia. “Our minimum wage rate is higher than that of China, Indonesia, Bangkok, Cambodia or Vietnam,” Mr. Leogardo said. According to the study, the ranking was based on comparisons of the total an-nual cash compensation and remuneration information provided by 5,326 companies in 31 diff erent countries from Dec. 15 to 31, 2011. Despite the euro zone crisis, European countries dominated the list of coun-tries with the highest ex-pected salary hike this year. Denmark topped the list with a 16.49% rise in salary. It was followed by Ireland (16.27%), the United King-dom (16.27%), Switzerland (15.76%), Belgium (15.57%) and Germany (15.45%). Others on the list were Australia (14.79%), the Unit-ed States (14.21%), Hong Kong (14.19%) and India (14.03%).

AMRECO’s 33 member cooperatives accounts for 1,941, 554 residential con-sumers in Mindanao. Twenty seven of the member coops are hooked up with the is-land’s transmission grid while another six (6) operate in the off -grid islands surrounding the main Mindanao island. “We are advocating rural electrifi cation as the way to address Mindanao’s chronic power shortage,” said Pacana in an interview with media. He added, “Towards this end, we have grouped presentations according to good governance, knowledge products, fi nance and invest-ments, and the role of civic organizations in society for the duration of the congress.” Presentations on Good Governance kick off the working sessions with “Sitio Energization” by National Electrifi cation Administra-tion (NEA) Administrator Edita S. Bueno, Transparency

Amreco...from page 1

of Distribution by Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) by Chairperson Ze-naida G. Ducut and “Updates on the Privatization of the Agus and Pulangui Hydro Electric Plants” by Deputy House Speaker and JCPC Member Rep. Lorenzo R. Tanada III. Public discussions on Knowledge Products follow with “Research and Study Grants for the Mindanao Power Sector” by USAID-CENERGY; “Research on Mindanao Power Sector” by Prof. Rowaldo del Mundo of the UP-National Engineering Center; and “Th e Mindanao

Power Institute” by Dr. Ri-cardo E. Rotoras, president of the Mindanao University of Science and Technology and PASSUC. Public discussions on Finance and Investment are next with “Aggregation – A Business Model for Mind-anao Electric Cooperatives by Edgardo R. Masongsong; and “Development of Renew-able Energy Power Plants by Electric Cooperatives” by Engr.David A. Tauli. Th e day’s session closes with a public discussion on the Role of Civil Society with Organizations by Herbie Gomez.

11BusinessWeekMINDANAO

January 20-22, 2012TourismTourism

NEWS CAPSBy Laurel Media/RTM

LOT FOR SALEBEACH HOUSE

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Pryce Plaza HotelCarmen Hill, CDO, Tel. No.722791 to93/858-4537

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Hotel Koresco Pueblo de Oro Golf Course,CDO, fax. No. [088] 858-9748

tel. Nos. 858-9748 to 54, E-mail:hotelkoresco@yahoo.com

Mallberry SuitesLimketkai Drive ,CDO, Tel. No. [088]854-3999 / 854-7999

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Dynasty Court HotelTiano-Hayes Sts. CDO, Tel. No. 726876 / 726962 / 857-5410

E-mail:dynasty@philcom.ph

The Marigold HotelVelez cor. Luna Sts, CDO

Tel Nos. 856-4320, 726937

Marco ResortTel. No. 732182 / 855-220

VIP HotelA.Velez St. CDO, Tel. No. 726080 / 726590 / 856-2505

E-mail: info@theviphotel.com.ph

Philtown HotelMakahambus-Velez St. CDO,Tel. No. 723089 / 856-1813

De Luxe HotelCapt. V. Roa St. CDO, Tel. No. 726527 /857-2144

Maxandrea HotelJ.R. Borja St. CDO, Tel. No. 729943/ 857-2244 / 857-4154

Grand City HotelA.Velez- Sts. CDO

Tel. No. 723551 / 723658 / 857-1900

Country Village HotelCarmen, Cag. de Oro Tel. No. 71-22-03, 71-22-01, 7122-05

Southwinds HotelCapt. V. Roa Sts.CDO,Tel. No. 727623 / 724803 / 856-2036

E-mail:i_agudo@hotmail.com

Apple Tree Resort and HotelTaboc, Opol, Misamis Oriental,

Tel. Nos. 754525/ 754263/ 3091986, Fax No. (8822) 754497

Pearlmont InnLimketkai,Drive,CDO

Tel. No. 729111 / 856-2654 / 729455

Red Palm InnEVChaves Building, Capistrano corner Cruz Taal Sts.

Cagayan de Oro CityTel. No. 721197 and 8562671

Cell No. 0908-885-5643Email: redpalm_inn07@yahoo.com

Chali Beach ResortCugman,CDO,Tel. No. 723929 / 855-2108

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Nature PensionneToribio Chavez Sts., CDO

Tel. No. 723598 / 723718 / 857-2274

NEW DAWN PENSIONNEVelez-Macahambus Sts, CDO

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A shopping hotspot for the Year of the Dragon

IN line with this year’s Chi-nese New Year festivities, Tutuban Commercial Center, the favorite shopping desti-nation in Manila, will host a variety of fun activities with its tenants and patrons to welcome the coming Year of the Black Water Dragon. Being located in the busi-est trading district of Manila, it has become a tradition for Tutuban Commercial Center to welcome the coming Chi-nese New Year with dragon and lion dance, fi recrackers lighting and fi reworks dis-play. Th is annual celebration is a display of respect and high esteem for the rich cul-tural tradition of the Chinese community in and around the Tutuban Commercial Center. Like any other important Holidays in the country, things needed and related to the celebration of the coming Chinese New Year can be found in Tutuban Commercial Center. From assorted fruits to Tikoy, from auspicious lucky charms to hard-to-fi nd imported tex-tiles, they all can be found in Tutuban Commercial Center. Merchants from Tutuban are sure to provide shoppers with all kinds of charms and trinkets to ensure continu-ous luck for the whole year. Tassels with diff erent kinds of stones, lucky coins and knots, favorite jade jewelries and other lucky giveaways are readily available for bargain hunters and patrons this season. Tutuban’s wide range of merchandise also showcases unique Feng Shui fi gurines that are suited to bring luck for the new year. Th e Lucky Rat with Coin in Mouth, Arowana Fish on Coins, and Money Frog Wealth Pot are just some of the fi gurines that can attract the fl ow of money to any household or business. Th e Phoenix and Eight Galloping Horses, on

the other hand, are known to bring success to its owner. But if you want the luck for wealth, success and health all in one item, then you should look for the Laughing Buddha. You can see it wear-ing a red robe, carrying coins and gold ingots which signify a great infl ow of wealth. It also carries a calabash that keeps away sickness and ill-health, while the amulet it carries around its neck brings luck and prosperity. Th e Laughing Buddha is also a reminder to take every chal-lenge optimistically even at

the most tense situation, and to keep a positive outlook in life. But then again, the most important lucky charm that you can have is your family and friends so share with them a box of tikoy, a sweet and sticky Chinese that has become the favorite delicacy even by full-blooded Pinoys to keep the bond stronger than ever. And to welcome the New Year right, aside from get-ting all those lucky charms set to your house, let all the positive energies fl ow into

your home by removing all the clutter. Keep only those things that you really need and box everything away those things that only take space. Re-organizing your things and the layout in your house would be a good idea, as it is believed that the fl ow of energy this coming year would be diff erent; just make sure that you consult a Feng Shui expert. Tutuban Commercial Center, too, is in the process of redevelopment to give its shoppers an even better Pinoy shopping experience as it expands even further to provide more spaces for po-tential tenants and of course, more shoppers. But as it is, it’s still hassle-free shop-ping, with its multi-story parking area, comfortable and convenient shopping via the airconditioned mall and mall-wide security as Tutuban sees to it that you can shop as worry-free as possible. And with this coming New Year, better changes are sure come at Tutuban Commercial Center.

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12 BusinessWeekMINDANAOJanuary 20-22, 2012

A Scooter for Every Rider“The Honda Scoopy, a beautiful new com-pact scooter, combines style and substance to meet the demands of an increasingly diverse motorcycle community”

A BEAUTIFUL new scooter by Honda is making a state-ment on Philippine city roads, and it’s only fitting that brand ambassadors Ramon “RJ” Jacinto and Patricia Grandidge have been chosen to personify it. The new Honda Scoopy is a stylish compact scooter engineered to deliver excel-lent city cruising perfor-mance. Launched recently by Honda Philippines, Inc. ( H P I ) , the Scoopy boasts of trendset-ting de-sign, val-ue-driven features, and e n h a n c e d riding ef-f i c i e n c y. More im-portantly, it

rep-r e -s e n t s H P I ’ s commitment to meet the demands of an increasingly diverse motorcycle com-munity.

complete with airbrushed electric guitars—for Jacinto and, for Grandidge, a pink and purple modifi cation of the scooter, accented with cupcake patterns. The Honda Scoopy is poised to win over even more motorcycle users. Lightweight, compact, built with a durable aluminum chassis, and polished with design stylings that evoke both the timeless design of classic scooters as well as the metropolitan high-street vibe, the Scoopy appeals naturally to a wide range of riders. It’s also available in a range of color options (pearl metalloid white, pearl angel yellow, cheerful pink metal, candy rose red, and asteroid black metallic), thus empowering the market with freedom of choice and expression. A scooter with features for every rider To Jacinto, who continues to manage his own radio sta-tion, guitar store chain, and music lounge, the Scoopy serves as the perfect vehicle for getting around the metro.

Th e scooter’s 4-stroke, fuel-effi cient air-cooled engine strikes the balance between performance and economy; the electric/kick starter sys-tem and cutting-edge CDI ignition, meanwhile, mo-bilize the motorcycle in an instant. As Jacinto cruises be-tween his studio, office, stores, and stage, zipping quietly and smoothly around Metro Manila on his Honda Scoopy, design innovations like an ergonomic platform, dual pillion steps, and an enhanced brake combina-tion system keep him (and his guitar) safe and secure at all times. Grandidge, on the other hand, relies on the Scoopy to showcase her individuality as well as to demonstrate that she is truly a woman of substance. When not modeling, she runs her own confectionery business, and is thus as comfortable deliv-ering cupcakes on the sleek scooter as posing in front of a camera. Cushy seating, spa-cious legroom, and generous underseat storage make the

Hon-d a Scoopy a practical vehicle of choice; a trendy set of headlights and tail light, meanwhile, ensures greater visibility on the road, even in dim or night-time riding conditions. Going hand-in-hand with Grandidge’s graceful arrivals are additional safety features like an exclusive auto side stand switch that stops the engine to avoid accidental ac-celeration when the Scoopy is being parked, a truly innova-tive feature that can be found only in Honda scooters, plus a functional parking brake lock that makes handling easy when mounting the motorcycle’s stand. It is by equipping the Honda Scoopy with these features—and more—that Honda is able to broaden its

It is a community that happens to include rock-and-roll legend Jacinto and sweet and sassy model-entrepreneur Grandidge. While one is known for his signature guitar riff s and radio-friendly melodies, and the other for her su-permodel good looks and entrepreneurial savvy, both share a common passion for

motorcycles. It thus comes to no surprise

that Honda’s two newest brand ambassadors

now prefer to ride and

arrive in style us-ing their

o w n

c u s - t o m Honda Scoopys: a rock-and-roll-inspired version—

appeal to motorcycle users of all kinds. Of course, there’s also the face that the new scooter, as one will notice at fi rst sight, is oozing with style, making it irresistible to the rock-and-rollers, the sweet and sassy, and every-one else in between.

MotoringMotoring