Mining Industry At Center Stage During Davao Mining Summit

The mining industry is at center stage during the two day Mining Summit being held at the Watefront Insular Hotel from September 18-19, 2008. The top agenda during the summit is government bureaucracy vis a vis the approval of mining exploration permits. It is ironic that that the Philippines is known to have large areas with mineral deposits and yet it is not even included in the Top 50 List of countries with large mining investments.

Mindanao Business Council chair Vicente Lao noted the prevailing "red tape" experienced by companies applying for their mining exploration permits. He said the government should look into this and should be less stringent in its regulations considering that a mining exploration application takes from five to ten years before it is even approved.

"The application for mining explorations should not take long because this stage is already a great risk to the investor since there is no guarantee that the site being explored would yield minerals," Lao said.

The MBC is advocating for responsible mining, he said, but said the government should give more support to the industry as it can contribute to the country's economy. He said environmental issues would not be disregarded if only the procedures are simplified and red tape is lessened if not eradicated.

Call Center Jobs Still Hot In Davao City

There are numerous call center work opportunities in Davao City and if you want to get some experience then here's a chance. Dynatech Outsource is looking for call center agents, outbound campaign team leaders, outbound campaign managers and outbound campaign confirmers. The company promises an income of from P10,000 to P20,000 for those who will successfully complete the free training program and will be hired by Dynatech. Make sure you check out the employment terms before you sign on the dotted line though to make sure you have everything in order.

Belly's Grill Customers Still Violating Anti Smoking Ordinance

City Hall should act fast or be the laughing stock of the country for boasting about a non-smoking law that is not being implemented and is being violated even by the police, the very people who are supposed to implement it.

Implementers of the anti-smoking law should closely watch Belly's Grill, a restaurant along Quirino Avenue as well as other establishments in the city for tolerating customers who are violating the law. Owner Mr. Haw has already placed two signs in the open air portion of the establishment indicating that "This establishment is SMOKE FREE". However, clients just ignore the sign and smoke in the premises anyway.

Just last Saturday, two people (male and female) in a group who had children with them went near the playground for children and smoked there in full display of kids and other customers. When asked, the waiter said they are just tolerating the customers because they would not believe them. Also, one waiter said "Parang pulis man kasi yung kasama nila kasi me bukol sa gilid." In fairness to the person with the suspected gun on the side, he was not the one smoking but his companions. And if it is indeed true that he was a member of the PNP then he should have had the decency to tell his friends to follow the law and stop smoking in public.

Bomb Scare Disrupts NCCC Centerpoint Operations

A bomb scare yesterday caused disruption in the operations of the NCCC Centerpoint in Matina after employees and shoppers were asked to leave the premises in a hurry.

Panic ensued in the establishment after the discovery of a bag thought to contain a bomb. Upon investigation of the bomb experts it turned out that the bag contained a cellphone and a baby's feeding bottle and some wires. Experts however claimed this would not explode as the cellphone had no battery and there were no traces of explosive materials on the package.

Braga to DOTC: Prioritize Radar Allocation For Davao Air Transportation Office

Councilor Pilar Braga has passed a resolution today urging Department of Transportation and Communication Secretary Leandro Mendoza to prioritize the Braga to prioritize the allocation of a radar for the Davao City International Airport.

Braga's resolution came in the aftermath of the ill-fated C-130 Hercules aircraft that crashed near Samal Island last August 25. Retrieval operation for the C-130 has been hampered by the lack of radar equipment to track down the aircraft. Davao City's Air Transportation Office control tower does not have a radar to track down aircrafts flying in and out of the Davao International Airport and relies only on radio communication to control air traffic.

Chief Colonel Isagani Silva of the Philippine Air Force Tactical Operations Group earlier admitted the importance of a radar to pinpoint the location where the helicopter crashed. Reports also show that even the Philippine Air Force Tactical Operations Group in the region does not have this equipment.


Even the Philippine Navy and Coast Guard lacks the necessary sonar equipment to determine the location of the helicopter somewhere in the Davao Gulf. Braga said the Philippine Navy makes use of fathometers instead of sonars.

Mang Pandoy Is Dead

Mang Pandoy, the urban poor man who rose to popularity when he was used by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as an example of a Filipino whose economic status would improve once her administration's economig reforms are in place, is DEAD. Still poor, with his family agonizing not only as to his death but as to where to get the money for his burial.

Mang Pandoy died of Tuberculosis, a diseases which the society claims is also curable with continuous medication. But poor as he is even after PGMA's promise catapulted him to the limelight, he could not even prepare for his own casket and burial fees. He could not even purchase his Tuberculosis medications in the first place if ever he knew he had the disease considering he might not have money for medical check up when he was still alive.

Easy for the government to say there are free medications and check up in the barangays but try to go to the barangays and most of those poor souls, underpaid and too lazy to entertain the poor masses, would only give youa run-around and have you accomplish so many forms and requirements it would be easier to just sleep your illness off until you die.

Mang Pandoy's death also signifies the death of thousands if not millions of Filipinos. If not death from lack of hope then death literally from lack of food to satisfy their hungry stomachs. Mang Pandoy's death will temporarily be in the limelight with some government officials if not the Office of the President itself offering financial help for his burial or even for the education of his kids.

But these are temporary, band-aid remedies. And soon enough, his death will be forgotten. In the meantime, poor Filipinos will die everyday from poverty, from illnesses and from lack of economic opportunity.

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