Tuesday, July 3, 2012

JCI Senate Phils throws in support for responsible mining


Davao City-The JCI Senate Philippines yesterday came out in the open and declared its support for responsible mining in the Philippines even as the Chamber of Mines disputed adverse claims that the country’s mining industry caused the degradation of some areas in Palawan.

“JCI is coming out in the open on its advocacy on responsible mining,” Zamboanga del Sur Governor and JCI Senate Philippines National President said during the JCI-sponsored Forum on Responsible Mining held at the Grand Menseng Hotel in Davao City.

The Forum attracted more than a thousand participants coming from various sectors of society including the pro-mining, anti-mining, government, media, the academe and advocacy groups.

“The falling of the trees in Palawan is not due to mining but the continuing harvest of timber for domestic consumption and the conversion of forest land for agriculture development,” was the declaration made by Chamber of Mines of the Philippines Chairman Art Disini when he gave an overview of Philippine Mining.

Disini also blamed the continuous establishment of human settlements to accommodate the increasing population of the province (which has an annual growth rate of 3.5%) for the degradation of Palawan’s forests.

He also debunked claims made by non government agencies that mining will compete with Palawan’s agriculture saying that “rice and corn farming in Southern Palawan is not commercially feasible due to the lateritic soil” in the area. The high iron and nickel content of laterites, he added, made soil nutrient poor.

Disini said claims that the mining industry will have a great impact on Palawan’s tourism is not true since “the existing large scale mines in Palawan are too far away from the ecotourism sites to have any impact on tourism.” He said there are no large scale mining companies operating inside the key protected areas of Palawan.

Father Joel Tabora, President of the Ateneo de Davao University, however said that when one speaks of responsible mining, it should be discussed in relation to agriculture and this was not taken up during the Forum.  Tabora, who said thousands of hectares of rice farms will be affected by mining because mining activities will affect the hydrology of the area. He also said that any mining forum should tackle its effects on the environment and on the indigenous people.

Chamber of Mines of the Philippines VP for Communications Rocky Dimaculangan said they believe that a mining company is deemed to have subscribed to environment protection once it has complied with the government requirements on Environmental Impact Assessment, Environmental Compliance Certificate, conducts reforestation project, conducts water quality monitoring and similar activities.

It can be recalled that the Ateneo also previously sponsored a mining summit which became controversial because it invited only pro-mining groups. Tabora however said that the Ateneo will continue to hold forums on mining in the future but will surely invite the Chamber of Mines.












DOE conducts public consultation in Davao for safe renewable energy dev't.


The Department of Energy (DOE) conducted Thusday last week a public consultation in Davao City for the proposed new department circular appropriately titled “Renewable Energy Safety, Health and Environment Rules and Regulations (RESHERR)” which will hopefully be approved before the end of the year. 
“The new circular, which is yet to be approved by the DOE Secretary, is part of DOE’s proactive stance in ensuring the safety of the operations of renewable energy sources,” Renewable Energy Management Bureau (REMB) Director Mario C. Marasigan said. There is an existing rules and regulation, he added, but it only covers geothermal energy so the proposed circular will expand on the sale law and will cover all renewable energy sources including hydro, geothermal, biomass, wind, solar and soon ocean energy.

Marasigan said this is a reminder to all those involved in the renewable energy industry to be ready for any eventuality or emergency that may challenge their operations in the long term. He said it is practical to update the old rules and regulations  since geothermal used to be under a different bureau before, but is now placed under the jurisdiction of the REMB.

The proposed rules and regulations comes as a result of the enactment into law of Republic Act 9513 or the Renewable Energy Act in 2008. The new circular aims to “ensure the adequate safety and protection against hazards to health, life and property as well as pollution of air, land and water from Renewable Energy operations,” he added.

The final consultation is scheduled in Manila next week, after which a consolidation of all the concerns and consultation results will be made by the Bureau. After which, it will be submitted to the DOE secretary for approval. Once published, the new circular will have the force of law.

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Davao cooking lessons at TRUST Depot

photo courtesy of Ken
Getting frustrated with the routinary recipes you always put on your table?  You can now add some magic touch to your regular menu and get the kids more excited to your cooking by joining Booboo Maramba in one of her cooking lessons slated at the TRUST Depot along Quimpo Boulevard every Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

The series of cooking lessons started last Monday, June 25 and will run for several more week until the middle of July this year. Booboo is an authority in Davao City when it comes to fondant cakes but more than her expertise in that area, she has proven to be a witty lecturer of sorts. I wouldn't even use lecturer because she delivers her cooking lessons in a funny informative way, giving you bits and pieces of her domestic life in the process.

The 3,000-square meter TRUST Depot is not only a hardware that comes complete with all the construction materials you need but it has also become a multipurpose store that sells school supplies and yes, baking equipment!

If you want to try your hands in baking or cooking, then catch Booboo in one of her lessons. But if you just want to get some goodies for the kids and the whole family without a sweat then contact Mommy's Kitchen at 09223168118 (SUN) or 092139036778 (SMART) for your orders. Choose from the following yummy cupcakes that melt in your mouth---chocolate cupcake, chocolate chip cupcake, banana cupcake, banana oatmeal cupcake, red velvet cupcake, carrot cupcake.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Air Asia now flies Davao-Clark Daily


Davao City is looking forward to a more robust tourism industry with the start of Air Asia’s daily Davao-Clark flights. Beginning March 28, Air Asia will from Davao to Clark and vice versa, two times a day.

As a fitting launch for its Davao-Clark and Kalibo-Clark flights, Air Asia has allotted up to 20,000 for its promotional fare, good for travel from March 28, 2012 to January 31, 2013.

“This is very good for Davao’s tourism,” Department of Tourism XI Art Boncato said. Boncato earlier hinted about the plans of Air Asia to open up its Davao-Clark flight after it got its airline carrier operating certificate.

Air Asia CEO Marian Hontiveros said she is confident about the potential of Davao City as a tourism destination.

The opening up of direct flights between Davao and Clark is expected to speed up sisterhood talks between the two cities, and in effect increase passenger traffic between them.

With the entry of Air Asia, there are now three airlines offering Davao-Clark flights. Air Philippines have recently started its Davao-Clark route while Cebu Pacific also has a Davao-Clark route albeit on a limited basis.

In the meantime, Davao City is preparing for three international air summits later this year including the Asia Air Access Forum, will be participated in by regulatory bodies and airline officials who will present their plans for the region, the Airline CEO Summit where the Chief Executive Officers of the various airlines will discuss plans to connect the BIMP-EAGA (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines-East Asean Growth Area), and the Air Network Forum which is a venue for business to business interaction among the industry players.

“We are expecting around 200 participants mostly tourism players and the civil aviation authorities,” Boncato said. Other countries involved in the BIMP-EAGA will also be invited including China, Japan and Australia.
Expected to participate in the Airline Summit are Garuda Airlines of Indonesia, Malaysia Airline, MAS Wings, Royal Brunei Airline and the airlines operating in the Philippines including PAL, Cebu Pacific, Zest Airline, Air Philippines and Sea Air.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Ms. Universe runner-up Shamcey Supsup at PAL Interclub launch




Ms. Universe runner-up Shamcey Supsup just made the Philippine Airlines' (PAL) announcement of the start of the PAL Interclub at Marco Polo Hotel, more interesting. PAL Interclub, which is the longest and the oldest running team golf tournament in the country, expects 1,500 participants in
the two divisions, the Senior Division which will start on February 16, and the Regular Men's Division which will start on February 22.

PAL vice president for marketing support Felix Cruz said the golf tournament is expected to pour in up to P60 million to the city's coffers in terms of the plane fare, accommodation, meals, souvenirs, caddy, shopping and other related expenses of the golfers and their supporters.

"This is a big boost to Davao City's economy, aside from the fact that it will promote the city as an ideal place for sports tourism," he said.
Supsup admitted she was never the sporty type as she only played piko, taguan, tumbang preso and other games popular in the rural areas while she was growing up in General Santos City. However, she said, it was the same discipline practiced by the athletes which helped her surmount life's challenges, including the Ms. Universe search.


Radical changes in BMBE law to benefit SMEs-Casiño


The House Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Development is eyeing radical changes to Republic Act 9178 or the Barangay Micro Business Enterprises (BMBE) Act of 2002 once the amendatory bill is approved.

“We are looking at very radical revisions in the BMBE Law that will strengthen the small and micro entrepreneurs in the country once the amendments are approved,” Committee chairperson, Representative Teddy Casiño said yesterday during a public hearing on the amendatory bill held at the Grand Menseng Hotel in Davao City.

This is the third leg of a series of public hearings held in Congress and in Cebu last year. The fourth and last public hearing will be held in Central Luzon, after which the amendatory bill is expected to be passed on third reading at the plenary.
Casiño said it is high time to amend the BMBE Law as it has been a failure and has failed to live up to its goals of providing incentives to the small and medium entrepreneurs. He said that in Davao City alone, only 44 entrepreneurs have registered under the program out of the thousands of small business owners in the city. Of this, he added, only seven have been granted income tax exemptions in 2011.

“There are many complaints about the implementation of the BMBE Law and one of this is the P1,000 payment for the certificate which is required to be registered under the law,” Casiño said. And even if the entrepreneurs get registered under the program, he added, they do not get tax exemptions from the national government because of the strict policies of the Bureau of Internal Revenue when it comes to tax exemptions.

He said the small businesses do not even enjoy benefits in the local level because they do are still required to pay local taxes and fees. They do not even have benefits in terms of credit, he added, because the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported that no special facilities were created for them under the program.
“Small businesses in Davao have to wait for a long time for the approval of their applications for tax exemptions since these are being processed in the national level,” he said.

The amendatory bill is pushing for the automatic exemption of the small businesses under the BMBE Law both in the local and national taxes and fees for a period of between two to six years. Once this is implemented, he said, small businesses no longer have to pay certain fees to the local government like Mayor’s permit, business permit, garbage and other fees.

“We want them to be automatically exempted from the local charges and taxes but this is where the problem comes in since most local government units are apprehensive about the possible reduction in their income,” he said.

Casiño however said that a consensus among the LGUs they have talked to during the public hearings show that the exemptions may be allowed for small business with capitalization of less than P200 thousand and for a specified period only. After the maximum six-year period of exemption, then they have to pay, headed.

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