one mindanao - january 20, 2012

2 Friday, January 20, 2012ONE MINDANAO

PIA REGIONAL OFFICESWestern Mindanao (Zamboanga Peninsula)

P. Urro Street, San Francisco DistrictPagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur 7016Telephone no. (062) 215-1480 / 925-0038Cellphone no. 0908-8843404E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]: www.piazampen.blogspot.comFacebook: PIA WesMin Info Bliz

Northern Mindanao

Graces’ Building, Antonio Luna StreetCagayan de Oro City 9000Telefax No. (08822) 72-66-83Telephone no. (088) 856-8178 / 729-594Cellphone no. 0928-5204305 0917-3084969E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]: www.pia-10.blogspot.com

Southern Mindanao (Davao Region)

2/F Kanto Motors Bldg.,Quimpo Blvd., New MatinaDavao City 8000Telephone no. (082) 297-0991 / 301-8580Telefax no. (082) 297-0992 / 304-2044Cellphone no. 0917-7053606 / 0918-9202950E-mail: [email protected]

Central Mindanao (SOCCSKSARGEN)

Provincial Capitol Compound Bautista Bldg., Zulueta St.Koronadal City, South Cotabato 9506Telephone no. (083) 520-0249Telefax no. (083) 228-9736 / 228-9739 / 520-0100Cellphone no. 0921-6873373 / 0928-5204307E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]

Northeastern Mindanao (Caraga)

Vice Mayors’ League of the Philippines Bldg.,J. Rosales Avenue, Butuan CityTelephone no. (085) 341-5285 / 360-1239Telefax no. (085) 341-2370Cellphone no. 0917-7188834Email: [email protected] , [email protected],phBlogspot: www.piacaraga.blogspot.comFacebook: PIA Caraga Updates, PIA Agusan del Norte, Pia Agusan del Sur, Pia Surigao del Norte, Pia Surigao del Sur

Today’s issue... Friday, Jan. 20, 2012 Vol. 1 No. 159

Philippine-Thai leaders recommit to building ASEAN community

January 25: Declared as Iligan Day of Volunteerism and Solidarity

‘It’s more fun in Magandang Gensan’ – GenSan’s new tourism slogan

LGU, pribadong ospital nagkasundo sa pangangalaga ng riparian zone sa Banga

Provincial Blood Coordinating Council exceeds blood requirement target

Feature: Moving on in Sendong’s aftermath

DOST-IX bares highlights of 2011 accomplishments

9US vows wider access for Philippine bananas11

House donors for TS Sendong victims in Iligan pouring in

Apipa P. Bagumbaran, Northern Mindanao

ComVal MSMEs create niche in local market

Davao del Norte Provincial Board urged to declare State of Calamity for province

CT Apelacio, Central Mindanao

Dani Doguiles, Central Mindanao

David M. Suyao, Caraga Region

Danilo Escabarte, Caraga Region

Western Mindanao

14

15

1917

Dipolog supports ‘Barkada Kontra Droga’Franklin P. Gumapon, Western Mindanao

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16

13

Executive Editor ……......... EFREN F. ELBANBUENA Cluster Head, Southern, Western and Central Mindanao Regional Director, PIA Region XI

Managing Editor ……......... ABNER M. CAGA Cluster Head, Northern and Northeastern Mindanao Regional Director, PIA Caraga Region Officer-in-charge,PIARegionX

Associate Editors ……....... NOEMI B. EDAGA Regional Director, PIA Region IX

OLIVIA T. SUDARIA Regional Director, PIA Region XII

Regional Desk Editors …... Jocelyn P. Alvarez, PIA Region IX Elaine O. Ratunil, PIA Region X Rudolph Ian G. Alama, PIA Region XI Danny E. Doguiles, PIA Region XII Robert E. Roperos, PIA Caraga Region

Copy Editors ……………….. Robert E. Roperos, PIA Caraga Region Nora C. Lanuza Molde, PIA Caraga Region

Layout Artists ……………... Gerie Mae G. Coco, PIA Caraga Region Richard D. Atillo, PIA Caraga Region Editorial Advisers :

ATTY. JOSE A. FABIADirector-General

Philippine Information Agency

SEC. HERMINIO “Sonny” B. COLOMAPresidentialCommunicationsOperationsOffice

EDITORIAL BOARD

Cover Story

Davao-based techno-

preneurs get ready for

Silicon Valley

Mai Gevera-MacapagatSouthern Mindanao

Friday, Jan. 20, 2012 Vol. 1 No. 159


January 25: Declared as Iligan Day of Volunteerism and Solidarity

‘It’s more fun in Magandang Gensan’ – GenSan’s new tourism slogan

LGU, pribadong ospital nagkasundo sa pangangalaga ng riparian zone sa Banga




US vows wider access for Philippine bananas

House donors for TS Sendong victims in Iligan pouring in

Apipa P. Bagumbaran, Northern Mindanao

Northern Mindanao

ComVal MSMEs create niche in local marketJeanevive Duron Abangan, Southern Mindanao

Davao del Norte Provincial Board urged to declare State of Calamity for province

Dani Doguiles, Central Mindanao

Danilo Escabarte, Caraga Region

Western Mindanao

Southern Mindanao

222427

2832

page 4Dipolog supports ‘Barkada Kontra Droga’Franklin P. Gumapon, Western Mindanao

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21

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Cover Story

Davao-based techno-preneurs get ready for Silicon Valley

Davao-based makers of a photo blogging site, PicLyf, found their break recently as they bagged one of the three slots who will be

sent to Silicon Valley for a three-month immersion where they could sign business deals with venture capitalists.

by Mai Gevera-Macapagat

5 Friday, January 20, 2012 ONE MINDANAO

PicLyf maker Eric Su described the platform as a site where people could share detailed pictures of their life. “ It’s a fun-to-update life blog, personal catalog and scrapbook rolled into one.” Many would question how differ-ent PicLyf from the popular Facebook and Google social networking sites. Su immediately answered, “ We do not have intention of taking the place of FB or Google. Rather, we focus on our edge which is the photo.” The site en-ables the user to delightfully remem-ber life through the photo portfolio. It took the PicLyf team about two years before setting to formal work. This Davao-based team traversed the hard road until they called it all set for the international market. “ I remember a Singaporean company approached us and offered a considerable amount of money to partner with us in this project. But we

declined realizing that their terms are not that favorable.”, Su said. Through their innovative ideas, the platform now enables users to an-notate photos, tag friends, zoom in on big pictures, react to them in one tap, and keep track of people they follow. The PicLyf team joined the ON3 Pitching Competition last year where-in they were given three minutes to explain their business venture and convince the judges how efficient and significant their product or proj-ect is in the field of information tech-nology. Announced early this month, Pic-Lyf learned that it is one of the three final winners in the said competition and they are scheduled to be exposed and be immersed in Silicon Valley. Su shared how challenging the competition was for them especially with the three-minute time limit given to them.


“ We presented a big product and so it was difficult to sculpt it in a brief presentation. But we did it until the core became obsvious.”, he said. Over all the other entries from other parts of the country, Su be-lieved that PicLyf’s edge was on risk management and possible returns that the product could provides, as these are important considerations taken by any investor. The team hopes to sign deals in the 3-month exposure and im-mersion in Silicon Valley. They do not have a particular target invest-ment amount to bring home from California, however, they are deter-mined to continue upgrading the platform. PicLyf is set to place advertise-ments on the side by February and will seek the help of bloggers to spread the word about this photo diary site.


President Benigno S. Aquino III received more than a billion US dollar on behalf of the Philippine government from its shares in the Malampaya Gas-to-Power project, which is considered as one of the largest and

most significant industrial endeavors in the country’s history.

ACROSS THE NATIONAquino receives more than a billion US dollars government shares from Malampaya Gas-to-Power Project

President Noynoy Aquino receives the Malampaya Deepwater Gas-to-Power’s revenue contribution mock cheque amounting to U.S. Dollar One Billion, One Hundred Thirty Four Million, Six Hundred Sixty Nine Thousand and One Hundred Fifty Seven (U.S. $1,134,669,157.00) to be remitted to the National Treasury during the Symbolic Hand-Over ceremony at the Music Room, Malacañan Palace, Today, January 20, 2012.


During the symbolic handover of the Malam-paya Deepwater Gas-to-Power project’s revenue contribution to the Na-tional Government for the year 2011, President Aquino accepted a mock check containing the ex-act amount of One Bil-lion One Hundred Thirty Four Million Six Hun-dred Sixty Nine Thou-sand and One Hundred Fifty Seven US Dollars ($1,134,669,157) from Edgar Chua, Shell Philip-pines Country Manager.

Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras, who witnessed the turn-over event said that the amount was part of the government’s share from the Malampaya project, a joint venture by the government headed by his department and the private sector.

He added that the share is given annually from the total earnings of the project.

“Joint venture po kasi ang project so may share po ang gobyerno and it

is given every year. Yung 1.1 billion

do l la rs

is the total for 2011,” Almendras said adding that the amount will go directly to the Malam-paya fund that is being managed by the Depart-ment of Finance (DoF).

“That goes to the Malampaya fund po… iba po ang accounting nun, iba po ang treatment dun ng Bureau of Trea-sury,” Almendras noted.

He expressed high hopes that the govern-ment will be receiving the same amount in the coming years if the price and quantity of produce will be stabilized.

Almendras added that the government’s shares will decrease if it will re-invest in Phases 2 and 3 of the project.

“Hopefully, the supply will continue so that’s the same amount of shares and if the price stays as it is that should be the quantity that we should be getting,” Almendras said.

“The only time that it will go down is when we reinvest, kasi di ba we have to invest for the Malampaya Phase 2 and Phase 3…. This is still the original contract

and not the extension yet, there’s a Phase 2 and 3 which will require us to invest so that we can get more gas and prolong the supply of gas because we need gas as much as we can,” he added.

Also present during the event were Finance Sec-retary Cesar Purisima, Philippine National Oil Company Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gemiliano Lopez, Shell Philippines managing di-rector Sebastian Quino-nes Jr. and Shell Philip-pines assistant manager Sabino Santos.

The Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power project is a joint under-taking of the Philippine national government and the private sector. The project is spearheaded by the Department of Energy, developed and operated by Shell Phil-ippines Exploration B.V. (SPEX) on behalf of joint venture partners Chev-ron Malampaya LLC and the PNOC Explora-tion Corporation. (JCL)


The two leaders echoed their recommit-ment in a joint press conference at the side-lines of their Expanded Bilateral Meeting during Thailand Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s

Official Visit to the Philippines

o n

Thursday.The President under-

scored the country’s commitment to build-ing an ASEAN Commu-nity that is founded “on the bedrock principle of compassion and re-spect for the rights and welfare of its peoples.”

“I also informed the

Prime Minister of the Philippines’ major ad-vocacies in the ASEAN, which includes connec-tivity, maritime security, food security, migrant workers’ protection, di-saster management and biodiver-sity,”


The Philippines and Thailand have recommitted their respective country’s efforts towards achieving an ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Community by 2015.


the President said. “I was pleased to

learn about Thailand’s own priorities, and to note synergy and con-gruence in our coun-tries’ thrusts,” he add-ed.

Shinawatra stressed the importance of main-taining a reliable and secure connectivity pro-gram between ASEAN-member countries to ensure that the build-

ing of an ASEAN Community

would be a success.“Both our two coun-

tries reaffirm our com-mitment to Asean com-munities in 2015 and to promote connectivity in the regions. Together, we hope to create an ASEAN community that is people-centered to the regional architec-ture and plays an im-portant role in global af-fairs,” Shinawatra said.

The establishment of a borderless ASEAN Community by 2015 was signed during the

14th ASEAN Summit in Hua Hin, Thailand, in 2009. The creation of the ASEAN Community will be similar to that of the European Union (EU).

The ASEAN is com-posed of 10-member countries namely: Bru-nei Darussalam, Cam-bodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myan-mar, Philippines, Sin-gapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. (RCK)


US vows wider access for Philippine bananas

American officials assured the

Philippine government of more banana imports following the ongoing sanctions against Iran which drastically affected Filipino banana farmers, President Benigno S. Aquino III said on Friday.

In an interview in Mala-canang on Friday, the Pres-ident told reporters that among his discussions with visiting US legislators were the impact of the recent Iran sanction to the Philip-pine banana industry.

The President said 30 percent of the country’s total banana exports go to Iran.

“Pag nagkaroon ng mga financial

transactions na pinahira-pan ang Iran apektado kaagad tayo. So ipinarating natin itong view point na ito sa American congres-sional delegation at pinan-gakuan tayong tutulungan tayo doon para may access na dagdag raw sa Amerika para hindi mahirapan ang ating mga kapatid na nasa pagtatanim ng saging,” the President said.

The President met ear-

lier this week with US Senators John McCain, Joe Lieberman, Sheldon Whitehouse and Kelly Ay-otte in Malacanang. McCa-in, Lieberman and Ayotte are all members of the US Senate Armed Services Committee.

Aside from banana im-ports, the US and the Phil-ippines also agreed for a stronger military cooper-ation following the


visit of the four American senators.

In a media briefing also this week, Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacier-da said the American sen-ators told Filipino officials about the increased Amer-ican military involvement in the Asia-Pacific region. This will also mean more military exercises with the

American allies in Asia-Pacific

area including the Philip-pines.

Lacierda clarified, how-ever, that the US is not es-tablishing any bases in the Philippines.

Lacierda said the Philip-pines also asked for a sec-ond Hamilton class cutter, a request that the US sena-tors vowed to support. The first Hamilton class cutter arrived in the Philippines last August. It is now com-

missioned by the Philippine Navy to protect the coun-try’s waters.

Prior to the visit of Mc-Cain’s group this week, President Aquino also met with several members of the US House of Represen-tatives who also arrived in the country. The visiting US congressmen commended the reform agenda of the Aquino government. (AS)


CDO orders gasoline dealers to freeze prices of gasoline, diesel

The city council here directed an explanation from gasoline dealers for non-compliance of standing order of the state of national calamity in view of the disaster brought by tropical

storm ‘Sendong.’

The Office of the President, on Dec. 20, 2012, issued Proclamation No. 303 putting the entire city under the state of national calamity, following the killer flashfloods that devastated the city on December 17. In a recent forum held in the city, sponsored by the Department of Energy (DOE), Energy Undersecretary Jose Layug said that the department has a standing order excluding the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan from the coverage of rounds of increases in the prices of petroleum products in view of the disaster brought by ‘Sendong,’ until after the lifting of the declaration.

Yet, days after Undersecretary Layug made the announcement, local gasoline dealers implemented oil price hikes to the dismay of the public, especially the motorists. Hence, the order demanding an explanation from local gasoline dealers for their utter disregard of the DOE standing order.


January 25: Declared as Iligan Day of Volunteerism and Solidarityby Melvin T. Anggot

ILIGAN CITY, Lanao del Norte - To signal the start of a multi-sectoral cooperation in rebuilding Iligan particularly building houses for the flood survivors, the local government declared January 25, 2012 as a “Day of Volunteerism and solidarity.”

In the tradition of the Bayanihan spirit the “January 25 build” is open to all volunteers and groups who would like to help flood survivors build their house units in a 15.9 hectare relocation site at Barangay Sta. Elena that will house at least 1,600 families. The City of Iligan spearheads this multi-sectoral activity, which enjoins the cooperation between government agencies and non-

government organizations (NGOs) like the National Housing Authority, DPWH, UN-Habitat and Gawad-Kalinga (GK), among others. Tent Cities, on the other hand, are being set up in various locations to temporarily shelter flood survivors particularly those who lost their homes, while other remain in evacuation centers awaiting resettlement and relocation. (CIO)


House donors for TS Sendong victims in Iligan pouring inILIGAN CITY, Lanao del Norte - Responding to the call for help, several groups pledged to give housing units to Iligan flood survivors caused by tropical storm Sendong.

Foremost is the San Miguel Corporation which pledged to donate 2,500 house units valuing at P500 million. The organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) also committed to give 500 house units. Another 200 houses was earlier pledged by GMA Network, and another 30 units has been committed by the Phil. Economic Zone Authority. The Development Bank of Philippines (DBP), on the other hand, also pledged to donate Seven (7) houses.

This is on top of the 1,600 units to be constructed at the relocation site at Barangay Sta. Elena, this city.Unprecedented in the long history of Iligan, typhoon ‘Sendong’ sent a devastating deluge in the city on December 17, claiming hundreds of lives and wasted properties, infrastructure and agriculture to the tune of more than P600 million. Iligan is no longer drowned by flood, but by tears and troubles of recovering back to normalcy, said city Mayor Lawrence Ll. Cruz. (Melvin T. Anggot)


POEA-XI beefs up campaign vs. illegal recruitment by Carina Cayon

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration

in the region is beefing up its campaign against illegal recruitment in a bid to further prevent Filipinos from being victimized by such act. POEA Regional Center for Min-danao chief Maria Carolina Agdamag said that information campaign on an-ti-illegal recruitment will be intensified this year up to the grassroots level. “We will keep on campaigning and giving-out information,” Agdamag

said during yesterday’s (Jan. 17) Davao Talking Points fo-rum over Radyo ng Bayan. She said the information drive will be in coordination with the national government agencies, local government units and the academe. Agdamag raised the need of collaborating with the other agencies, especially with the LGUs which could help POEA reach out to the vulnerable sectors.

“Mahirap mag reach-out sa grassroots because these are people who are willing to go out kahit alam nilang illegal ang pagka recruit sa ka-nila,” she stated. Agdamag said that the campaign is part of the agency’s program an-chored on the mandate to implement Republic Act No. 8042 or the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995. The Act provides for the insti-tution of “policies of overseas em-ployment and establish a higher


standard of protection and promotion of the welfare of migrant workers, their families and overseas Filipinos in distress, and for other purposes.” Provisions on illegal recruitment fall under Section 6 of RA 8042, which defines illegal recruitment as an “act of canvassing any act of canvassing, enlisting, contracting, transporting, utilizing, hiring, procuring workers and includes referring, contact servic-es, promising or advertising for em-ployment abroad, whether for profit or not, when undertaken by a non-license or non-holder of authority..” In avoiding illegal recruitment, Agdamag advised aspiring migrant workers not to apply at recruitment agencies not licensed by POEA. “They must check with POEA as to the ve-

racity of the agency,” she said. In POEA’s website, among the pointers given to prevent illegal re-cruitment are: not to deal with li-censed agencies without job orders; and not to deal with any person who is not an authorized representative of a licensed agency. It is also advised not to pay more than the allowed placement fee which should be equivalent to one month salary, exclusive of documentation and processing costs. A valid employment contract and an official receipt must also be pres-ent when paying placement fee. Agdamag also disclosed to step up POEA’s program in providing Pre-Employment Orientation Seminar for would-be Overseas Filipino Workers.

ComVal MSMEs create niche in local market by Jeanevive Duron Abangan

NABUNTURAN, COMPOSTELA VALLEY – Micro, small and medium entrepreneurs (MSMEs) in Compostela Valley province created a niche in the domestic market last year as they participated in various trade fairs, exhibits and market matching sessions. In a report, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Compostela Val-ley Project Management Office said that the DTI-assisted MSMEs were able to generate substantial sales as they ventured in various business

activities during which they clinched deals. Some of the trade fairs, during which DTI made arrangement for lo-cal MSMEs to participate, were the Musikahan Festival, Bulawan Festi-val, National Trade Fair, IFEX, Re-gional Trade and Tourism Fair, Na-tional OTOP Fair, Mindanao Culinary Festival, Presyo Diskwento and Na-tional Coco-Coir Fair. From trade fairs at the local, regional and national levels, MSMEs in Compostela Valley raked in P9.72 million sales.


The biggest sale they made was during the three-day 4th Bula-wan Festival during which partici-pating MSMEs generated a total of P963,676 sales out of their jewelry displays, food and beverages and handicraft exhibits. The Cocolife Cooperative of Compostela town was also able to raise a negotiated sale amounting to P300,000 during the International Food Expo( IFEX) at the SM Mall of Asia in May last year. During the National OTOP (One-Town One-Product) Exhibit in Sep-tember last year in Manila, Comval-based MSMEs particularly King Real Soap Manufacturing, Cocolife Coop-erative, H&W Ventures and Jovir’s Jewelry Shop generated a total of sales of P269,425. The same MSMEs also made it big during the Mindanao Trade Ex-hibit (MTE), Mindanao Culinary Festi-val and Davao Agriculture and Trade Expo (DATE) during which they got total cash sales of P217,515. In its participation to the Na-tional Trade Fair in the Mall of Asia, Manila in March last year, King Real Soap Manufacturing raised a sale in of P100,000 from its Virgin Coconut Oil-based insect repellant and VCO perfume. In a market-matching, the Co-operative Handicraft Industry of Nab-unturan (CHaIN) inked a deal with Davao Oriental-based handicraft outlet “Oriental Touch”, resulting to the purchase of 10,000 piece of mats

and other handicrafts amounting to more than P500,000. CHaIN sold P36,000 more of additional abaca-made items to Ori-ental touch for its Pasalubong Center in Pintatagan, Davao Oriental. Among the biggest direct sales was generated by agri-based MSME, YK Technology which last year made a P100,000 sale of its Pangasius. CHaIN also generated a direct sale amounting to P20,000 as it sold some of its native and handicraft products to a souvenir-item buy-er, while Cocolife Cooperative also raised P55,000 direct sales of its co-co-based products to walk-in clients and local exporters. While it went on pitching MSME products during trade fairs and ex-hibits, DTI-Comval also conducted competitiveness enhancement semi-nars and enrolled some MSMEs in its Export Pathways Program (EPP) to push MSMEs to venture the export market. DTI-ComVal report listed 15 MSMEs enrolled last year to the EPP. Nine of the EPP-enrolled MSMEs were from the Municipality of Monkayo; three from Nabunturan, one each from the municipalities of Compos-tela, Mawab and Pantukan. DTI-ComVal also enabled MSMEs to make use of electronic ways of marketing through inviting them to the “Enhancing Competi-tiveness of MSMEs on E-Marketing” training during which nine ComVal-based MSMEs joined.


Davao del Norte Provincial Board urged to declare State of Calamity for provinceby Jeanevive Duron Abangan

TAGUM CITY -The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (PDRRMC) of Davao del Norte is recommending the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) to declare the province under the State of Calamity . Presiding over the PDRRMC meeting this morning, Provincial Gov. Rodolfo P. del Rosario saw the need for rehabilitation of damages to ag-ricultural areas and to infrastructure, and for provision of assistance to af-fected families during the two succes-sive massive flood incidents, occur-ring in late December last year and in early January this year. Philippine Atmospheric Geo-physical and Astronomical Services

Administration (PA-GASA) moved for the declaration of the State of Calamity that was finally carried when Assistant Regional Di-rector Rebecca Lopez explained the criteria for calamity area dec-laration. Based on a guidelines provided by the National DRRMC, calamity-strick-en local government units can declare a state

of calamity when at least 20 percent of the population is affected and in need of assistance; a great number or at least 40 percent of the means of livelihood are destroyed; major roads and bridges are destroyed and impassable for at least a week, thus disrupting the flow of transport and commerce; widespread destruction of fishponds, crops, poultry and live-stock, and other agricultural prod-ucts; and disruptions of lifelines such as electricity, potable water system, transport, communication and other related systems. Basing on reports of the Provin-cial Disaster Risk Reduction Manage-ment Division (PDRRMD) and noting


that the province experienced close succession of floods, Lopez said the situation merited a declaration of a state of calamity. Del Rosario however saw the need to terminate the declaration of the previous state of calamity status pronounced on January 10, 2011, prompting the PDRRMC to adopt a resolution not only recommending the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to de-clare a State of Calamity but also to end the previous declaration. He emphasized such recommen-dation of PDRRMC as “subject to the approval of the Sangguniang Panla-lawigan” which will be on its regular session on Monday. In his report, PDRRMD action officer Sonio Sanchez reported that the flooding incident from Dec. 26 to Dec. 29, 2011 took a toll on crops amounting to P124,441,177. The four-day flooding also brought damages to various infra-structure in a total estimated value of P9,456,250. The flood soaked some portions in the towns of Asuncion , B.E. Dujali, Carmen, Kapalong, New Corella, Sto. Tomas and the city of Tagum , affect-ing 14,689 families in 73 barangays. Just about two weeks after, the

six towns including some portions of Tagum City were again inundated due to continuous rains that poured from January 13 to January 15, due to the tail-end of the coldfront. Sanchez reported the latest flooding incident brought an esti-mated crop damages of P6,548,717 and P680,000 damages to infrastruc-ture. Though only 12,241 families were affected, the recent flood took the life of one Bernardino Elle, 17 years old of Brgy San Miguel in Tagum City . Gov. del Rosario lauded the Re-duce D’ Risk Rescue Team of the provincial capitol along with its allied rescue units for its success in quickly addressing requests for rescue oper-ation. Citing the casualty, he said, that could have been prevented if inten-sive education were done so resi-dents in flood hazard-prone areas would have a mindset of securing themselves first instead of risking their lives. Sonio suggested that evacuat-ed areas should be tightly guarded and be cordoned so no one would be able to enter during the height of flooding.

facts and figures12,241 number of families affected during the

recent flooding in Davao del Norte


Dubai market for processed pork products eyedby Dani Doguiles

KORONADAL CITY - Processed pork products from Socssksargen Region or Region 12 could soon be exported to United Arab Emirates where the same products can also be sold to other countries, an official of the Department of Agriculture said.

Evelyn Jaruda, feeds and veterinary drugs control officer of DA-12, said that initial shipment des-tination of “pork-in-a-box” will be to Dubai City.

Dubai City, she said, offers a poten-tial market for meat products because of


the large population of overseas Filipino work-ers (OFWs) there . Res-idents of the city also include other nation-alities such as Indians who also include pork meat in their diet.

She explained, as an open city, Dubai allows entry of pork products.

On January 3, DA-12 organized a meeting between local hog rais-ers and the country’s agriculture attaché to Dubai City, along with DA’s national director for agribusiness and marketing, to inform the local hog industry of “this major poten-tial.”

Jaruda did not name both officials of DA.

“This month, we will start sending sam-ples of processed meat

to Dubai,” she said, to determine if local prod-ucts pass the require-ments of the market partner in Dubai.

This partner, she said, could also fa-cilitate marketing of the products to other countries.

“This means that demand for our pro-cessed meat products is really large,” she said . She, however, confirmed that initial volume of pork-in-a-box to be exported has not been set.

Jaruda added that they have already ac-credited several hog farms in General Santos City, Koronadal City and other parts of South Co-tabato, which may pro-vide the initial products for export.

“We are also look-ing into linking this op-

portunity with our back-yard hog raisers,” she said.

DA and the Bu-reau of Animal Indus-try will work together in assuring that the lo-cal livestock industry are able to cope with the market demands and market standards, she said.

Jaruda also said that the meat products that will be exported to Dubai will come from surplus production.

If the agreement pushes through, Soc-csksargen Region will be the first to export processed pork meat to Dubai.

Local market of pork products from Soccsksargen Region include Davao City, Davao Oriental, Cara-ga, Cebu, Leyte, Sa-mar, and Manila.

‘It’s more fun in Magandang Gensan’ – GenSan’s new tourism sloganby CT Apelacio

GENERAL SANTOS CITY-- “It’s more fun in Magandang GenSan” is the city’s local version of the Department of Tourism (DOT) campaign “It’s more fun in the Philippines.”


Egay Cadiente, assis-tant department head of the City Economic Management and Coop-erative Development Of-fice (CEMCDO) said the DOT’s new campaign is a refreshing development which describes perfect-ly the kind of ambience the Philippines can of-fer to tourists and balik-bayans alike.

In recognition and appreciation of the new tourism campaign, Cadi-ente said the city govern-ment has then come up its own version dubbed, “It’s more fun in Magan-dang GenSan.”

“There’s more to the

city than just the tuna industry,” he told a local TV station here Friday.

Cadiente said it’s about time the city govern-ment takes on a whole new campaign on pro-moting General Santos City’s tourism and other development potentials to other countries.

The city, according to him is already estab-lished in terms of being a “tuna capital of the Philippines” so it won’t be difficult to promote GenSan in another per-spective .

Cadiente described GenSan’s local version of the national tourism

campaign as an expres-sion of confidence that people both locally and internationally will ap-preciate it. He said in the new one, CEMCDO makes use of the social media to spread the “fun side” of the city.

The promotional cam-paign showcases photos that depict the tourism aspects of GenSan like the tuna industry, vari-ous soft and hard sports that the city already do and host, different fac-ets of entertainment and places to hang around with family and friends along with the slogan it-self.


According to DOT, “It’s more fun in the Phil-ippines” has been well-received by internation-al audience when it was presented at the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) in Manado, Indonesia held on January 10-15 this year.

The country’s new-est slogan takes on the hospitality and genial

character of the Filipi-nos, who are famous for their warm and happy mood wherever they go and whatever situation they are experiencing.

Cadiente, however said, that before the lo-cal version can fully take off, the city government needs to do some prep up activities for the peo-ple here for them to un-

derstand and appreciate the tag line “Magandang GenSan” a lot better.

He said Magan-dang GenSan is not only a mere “slogan or a greeting” but some-thing which capsulizes the natural bounty and endowment of the city, thus, it must be said and remembered by heart.(PIA GenSan)

LGU, pribadong ospital nagkasundo sa pangangalaga ng riparian zone sa BangaKORONADAL CITY- Pumirma ng kasunduan kamakailan ang pamahalaang panlalawigan ng South Cotabato sa pamamagitan ng Allah Valley Landscape Development Authority (AVLADA) at ang pamunuan ng South Cotabato Medical Cooperative Medical Center (SOCOMEDICS) para sa pangangalaga sa isang kilometrong riparian zone sa bahagi ng Banga River sa Barangay El Nonok sa bayan ng Banga, South Cotabato.

Sa pamamagitan ng naturang kasunduan nangangako ang SOCO-MEDICS na isang priba-dong ospital na nakabase sa lungsod ng Koronadal na kupkupin ang lugar at pamahalaan ang pagmi-mintina, rehabilitasyon, at proteksyon ng tabing-ilog.

Kabilang sa gawain ng cooperative hospital sa riparian zone and pag-tatanim ng kawayan, mga bungang kahoy , ‘forest trees’, at ‘Vetiver grass’ na parehong tumulong na

mabawasan ang epekto ng pagbabaha at pagka-bagbag ng gilid ng ilog.

Sa pirmahan ng mem-orandum of agreement, nagpasalamat si Gov. Ar-thur Y. Pingoy Jr. kay Dr. Amelia Pajaro, president ng SOCOMEDICS at sa pribadong sektor sa ka-nilang tulong sa lokal na gobyerno sa mga hak-banging sisiguro sa pan-gangalaga ng kapaligi-ran at pagpigil ng mga sakuna na maaring idulot ng baha at pagguho ng lupa.

Umaasa si Gov. Pin-goy na mas marami pang mga organisasyon, ne-gosyo, at iba pang grupo sa pribadong sektor ang makikipagtulungan sa lokal na pamahalaan sa kaparehong ugnayan.

Sinaksihan ang MOA signing nina El Nonok Chairman magno Reyes Jr., Banga MENRO Elmer Tira, DENR-Banga CENRO Shalimar Disomangcop, AVLADA Manager Silver-io Tandog, at OIC PEMO Seigfred Flaviano. (DE Doguiles)


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DENR donates P4.6 million of confiscated logs

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Caraga has disposed some P4.6 million worth of confiscated logs to the the Department of Education (DepEd), local government unit, the Philippine National

Police (PNP) and military sector.

by Eric. F. Gallego


This represents a total of 1,294 cubic me-ters of logs and 58,317.73 bd.ft of lumber and flitch-es products. Regional Executive Director Leonardo R. Sib-baluca said the DepEd/Technical Skills and Development Author-ity (TESDA) were given about 967.18 cubic me-ters of logs and 58,317.73 board feet of lumber and flitches which it manu-factured into arm chairs. Several officials of public schools have also requested from the DENR for the confiscated lum-ber products for the con-struction of classrooms

last year. These public schools are the Isla Hen-eral Integrated School in Carrascal, Surigao del Sur which requested 21 pieces (1,00.50 bd.ft) of toog species lumber, the Ayoki Elementary School also of Carascal, Surigao del Sur which asked for 181 pieces ( 2,890.50 bd.ft.) of lumber, the Ca-hian Elementary School in Barangay Kapatungan, Trento, Agusan del Sur which requested 444.32 bd.ft of lumber and 17.83 cubic meter of logs worth P 115,905.40 , and the Antongalon Elemen-tary School in Barangay Antongalon,Butuan City

r eque s t ed 500 board ft of lumber. The of-ficials of the Mano-bo Tribal School De-ve lopment Center in B u n a w a n , Agusan del Sur was also granted by the DENR with their request of 4,859.89 bd. ft. of lumber p r o d u c t s and 17.83

cu.m. of logs which they used for the construction of a classroom building. The DENR has also donated 12,608 bd. ft of confiscated lumber prod-ucts and 123.16 cu.m of logs to the provincial gov-ernment of Agusan del Sur which it used for the construction of display booth for Naligayan Fes-tival and to the Municipal Government of Lanuza in Surigao del Sur. The DENR likewise donated a total of 191.48 cu.m of illegal logs and 2,643 bd.ft of lumber to the Philippine National Police and the military.



AGUSAN DEL SUR - The Provincial Blood Coordinating Council (PBCC), in partnership with the Philippine Red Cross Agusan del Sur Chapter (PRC-AdS) and the Provincial Health Office (PHO) of Agusan del Sur has coped with the blood requirements, exceeding its target for the year 2011 by 133 bags, with the Provincial Government of Agusan del Sur (PGAS) giving its full support by shouldering the financial requirements for the purchase of the re-agents used for blood examination.

For the year 2011, the PBCC team has col-lected a total of 2,633 bags of 450 ml. fresh blood thru field donation, replacement, walk-in cli-ents and patient directed with a very little difference of 60 bags compared to last year with 2,693 bags. The blood collection mostly came from field donation where a team of medical technologists from the D.O. Plaza Me-morial Hospital (DOPMH),

led by Napoleon Montejo, Provincial Blood Coordi-nator and PRC Agusan del Sur Chapter, led by medical technologist Ju-lie Lapides regularly con-ducted monthly blood col-lection by municipality. On record, field do-nation reached 2,538 bags, while replacement reached 38 bags, walk-in donors with 27 and pa-tients directed to produce the needed blood, 30 bags.

Not only patients from the province of Agu-san del Sur were served with the blood collected in Agusan del Sur, but also patients from as far as Kidapawan City, where two bags were sent for emergency use. The DOPMH, noted for its facilities and good doctors, has patients also coming from neighbour-ing province, making it the number one consumer of blood with 2,008 bags

by David M. Suyao



consumed as of Decem-ber 2011. Second is the Bunawan District Hospital with 146 bags. The rest went to hospitals in Bu-tuan City, Surigao del Sur, Surigao City and Surigao del Norte. According to records by the PBCC, male donors are dominant than female. Many were also found

positive of Hepa B with 145 samples, Syphilis with 28, Hepa C- 13 and even HIV case with four. Sixty two bags expired, while six are spoiled chylous. The provincial govern-ment set aside P1.5 million budget for the re-agents but because of the increase in its prices, supplementary budget amounting to P1.6

million was released on the fourth quarter of 2011. The 13 municipal government and the lone city of Bayu-gan also share P50,000 every year for the fuel and oil and other travelling ex-penses of the team that travel to all the municipali-ties during the conduct of the mobile blood donation activities.

by Danilo Escabarte

Muddied books, broken chairs and damaged classrooms greeted Jasmin Pagador, 5, and her classmates as they trooped back to Cabili Village Elementary School in Iligan City. Teachers and students tried to salvage

whatever they could in the campus, which was hardly hit by tropical storm Sendong’s fury last December.


Jasmin went to see their room and found its floor still sub-merged in floodwater while the walls were badly damaged. “Is that your room,” Rafael Lopa asked Jas-min in Filipino. Jasmin didn’t reply; she just stared at what was once her classroom. “Gusto mo ipagawa natin yan (Do you want that we will rebuild it)?” he asked again. Jasmin replied with a nod. The Tsunami-like flashflood affected nine-teen classrooms at Ca-bili Village Elementary School, damaged 475 arm chairs, 10 teachers tables and 5 water sani-

tation facilities. Textbooks and other reading materials were buried in mud. Sendong’s wrath may have destroyed school buildings and other vital infrastruc-tures in its path, but has not broken Jasmin’s will to continue her school-ing. Her simple wish is “Maka-eskwela balik (To go back to school).” Rafael Lopa heads the Philippine Busi-ness for Social Progress (PBSP), a non-govern-mental organization which is conducting re-lief and rehabilitation ef-forts in identified schools damaged by Sendong in Iligan and Cagayan de

Oro city. Cabili Village El-ementary School has been one of PBSP’s re-cipient and partner school in implementing education-focused proj-ects. Latest among them was a remedial reading program for students with difficulties in read-ing and comprehension. Jasmin’s wish can come true. With gov-ernment and non-gov-ernment organizations pooling resources to-gether to rebuild what was damaged by Sen-dong; going back to school and moving on is not impossible for Jas-min and the rest of the students who survived Sendong’s fury.


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DOLE-9 hold reorientation on expanded SPES in Isabela City by Rene V. Carbayas

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in Zamboanga Peninsula held, Monday, a re-orientation cum pledging session to institutions and employers in Isabela City

on government’s students’ employment program implementation.


DOLE officer-in-charge in Isa-bela City Wesley Tan said the de-partment is implementing the year-round Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) for 2012, pursuant to Republic Act 9547, an act strengthening and ex-panding the coverage of SPES. Outgoing DOLE-9 Regional Di-rector Ponciano Ligutom said the program aims to help poor but de-serving students pursue their edu-cation by encouraging their em-ployment during summer and or Christmas vacations for secondary level and year-round for tertiary and vocational or technical levels, thereby providing income to fi-nance, augment, or subsidize their studies. “This is the new feature of our program, where students can work year-round provided that this will not affect their studies,” Ligutom stressed. He clarified, however, that the assistance is given to poor students “not because they do deserve it but that no one deserves to be poor.”“Human resource is the best re-

source of the country. It is common knowledge, however, that many of our young people are not in school because of poverty. Thus, the gov-ernment sets up SPES,” he said. He underscored the important role of public and private institu-tions in the success of the program as they are encouraged to employ students and commit to shell out 60% of the student’s minimum wage. When asked about the dearth of would-be employers because of the difficulty to produce the coun-terpart, Ligutom replied quoting that “no one is so rich that does not need, and no one is so poor that can’t give.” Moreover, he said that the in-centive must come from within the person or values of the employer and not from any monetary reward or benefits that the government can offer. He appealed to employers to think more of what they can do to help the youth than for their per-sonal or institutional gains. The new SPES hopes to imple-ment its new feature in releasing government’s share of 40% to ben-eficiaries through the use of a cash card. He said that releasing the money through checks have caused some problems in the old SPES sys-tem. He did not elaborate. DOLE has allocated some P19-million for Zamboanga Peninsula for the implementation of SPES this year. Isabela City gets some 3% share of that or an equivalent of Php572,640.00 allocation. (JPA/RVC-PIA9 ZBST)


Some of the remarkable accomplishments in 2011 were:

The Field Operation Services provided 155 technology interven-tions to MSMEs in the region thru the flagship program Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SET-UP), which is 19% over the target of 130 interventions. Through its local Grants-in-aid program (GIA), DOST-IX implemented 21 community-based projects and funded eight (8) Research & Development Projects. The regional office successfully installed a total of ten (10) units of Automated Weather Stations (AWS) and Automated Rain Gauge (ARG) throughout the region. The AWS are

monitoring stations equipped with different sensors capable of mea-suring wind speed and direction, air temperature, air humidity, air pres-sure, and rain amount, duration and intensity, while ARG system uses a tipping bucket that measures the amount of precipitation or rain that has fallen. It gathers and records the amount of rainfall over a set period of time and automatically sends the data to a central-based station on a pre-determined interval basis. In the 3-day Intellectual Prop-erty and Patent drafting Workshop, DOST-IX has facilitated 4 patent


The Department of Science & Technology Region IX (DOST IX) bared their

accomplishments for 2011 declaring that it was a very productive and dynamic year. Despite the many challenges and demands of their tasks, the department achieved and even surpassed its targets for 2011 through the best practices that DOST-IX incessantly demonstrated over the years. Its tough organizational Core Values such as Excellence, Commitment, Customer-Priority, Innovation, Integrity, and Teamwork (ExCITe) led to the enormous success of the office’s organizational goals.


applications with the Intellectual Property Office. The Year 2011 marked the inten-sification of DOST-IX’s commitment to increase its scholars through the DOST-SEI scholarship. There were at least 698 senior high school students from as far as Jolo, Sulu who sought to hurdle the said scholarship ex-aminations. Moreover, a TRACER has been initiated aiming to track DOST’s scholar-graduates. The DOST-Regional Standards and Testing Laboratory or RSTL served some 1,111 customers in 2011. Out of the 2,311 samples re-ceived for analyses, a total of 4,366 tests were conducted. The RSTL of-fers physical, chemical, microbiologi-cal and metrology testing. The labo-ratories generated / collected testing fees amounting to P2M. The DOST-IX has success-fully renewed its ISO 9001:2008 Certification. The certification (CIP/4068/07/12/552), dated 03 February 2011, and is valid until 02 February 2014, was issued by the Certification International Philip-pines, Incorporated (CIPI), an inter-nationally renowned ISO certifying body. Meanwhile, RSTL – Chemical and Microbiological Laboratories also ef-fectively renewed its 3-year accredi-tation to the ISO/IEC 17025:2005 version and is valid until 2013. ISO/IEC 17025 is the global quality stan-dard for testing and calibration labo-ratories. Another accomplishment of the DOST Regional Office IX in 2011 was

the accreditation from the Philippine Accreditation Office (PAO) - Depart-ment of Trade and Industry for being the 1st ISO 17025 Accredited Me-trology Lab in the Regions. DOST IX was evaluated and has been found to conform with the PNS ISO/IEC 17025:2005 requirements and the PAO condition for laboratory accredi-tation in the field of calibration. The lead government Science & Technology agency spearheaded the launching of the DOST-STII’S Sci-ence and Technology Academic and Research-Based Openly-Operated Ki-osk Stations better known as STAR-BOOKS project. A first of its kind to be implemented in various rural pub-lic schools in the entire Philippines, a total of 8 public schools were se-lected as recipients. STARBOOKS is a stand-alone information kiosk, which provides thousands of digitized S&T resources in various formats without the need for an internet connection. This innovation is said to introduce digitized library materials in the fin-gertips of the Filipinos in the rural communities. DOST-IX maintained its strong linkages with various stakeholders considered as partners. his year, DOST-IX relentlessly commits itself to deliver quality ma-jor products and services consisting of Technology Transfer and Commer-cialization; Analytical Testing and Calibration Services; and S&T Pro-motion, Information, Dissemination and S&T Scholarships right in every community’s frontier. (DOST-IX/PIA9/alt)


Dipolog supports ‘Barkada Kontra Droga’by Franklin P. Gumapon

DIPOLOG CITY - In support to the “Barkada Kontra Droga” (BKD) program of President Benigno S. Aquino, III’s administration, the city government here led by Mayor Evelyn T. Uy is now organizing BKD in every barangay of the city.

BKD is a national anti-drug pro-gram aimed at curbing drug abuse in all parts of the country through the active participation of the public. It also seeks to complement the efforts of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) in their campaign against illegal drugs. The City Information Office (CIO) reported that BKD seminars are now being held in the barangays in coordination with the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), Department of Education (DepED), Sangguniang Kabataan (SK), officers of student

organizations, students, teachers and parents. The seminar tackles the three major issues in the government’s anti-drug campaign program such as the government’s response to the drug problem, effects of drug abuse and the laws on prohibited drugs. BKD was launched in this city in July 2010 with barangay officials, school principals, non-government organizations (NGOs), personnel from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the PNP, with other stakeholders in attendance. (ALT/FPG/PIA- Zamboanga del Norte)

one mindanao - january 20, 2012

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