Club 888 Celebrates 10th Year Anniversary

Club 888 is presently celebrating its 10th year anniversary at the Sarangani Room of The Marco Polo Hotel. The Club meets at the said hotel every Wednesday to tackle various issues related to business not only in Davao but also in Mindanao.

Noynoy Aquino Declares Presidential Bid

Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III declared his decision to run for president in the 2010 elections an hour ago at Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan, the same place where his mother former President Corazon Aquino took her oath last February 25, 1986.
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Aquino said he has invited Senator Manuel Roxas to be his vice president but is still awaiting for Roxas' decision. Roxas, who has previously declared his intention to run for President, gave way to Aquino in case the latter decided to run for President. He did not however disclosed if he was prepared to be Aquino's Vice Presidential running mate.

His uncle, former Senator Butch Aquino, said the Aquino family is supporting Noynoy all the way. He said they were keeping quiet before but once Noynoy has made his decision clear, the whole family is behind him.

$30M Power Barges to Ensure Mindanao's Power Supply

Aboitiz Power Corporation has recently purchase two power barges worth $30 million to ensure Mindanao's power supply within the next few year.

This was bared byAboitiz Power President and Chief Executive Officer Erramon Aboitiz during a press conference held at The Marco Polo Davao yesterday.

"These two power barges are expected to play a key role in ensuring power supply in Mindanao," Aboitiz said. Mindanao's power supply is predominantly sourced from hydropower, he added, but in case of El Nino or if the water dries up then the barges will come very useful.

The two power barges, which are currently operational and located in Agusan and Maco, Pantukan in Compostela Valley Province, will be able to deliver 200 megawatts.

“Clearly power shortage is a threat,” Aboitiz said. “The two power barges will take care of it. The power barges are a good stopgap measure.”

A Power Summit is being planned for November this year to prepare for any power crisis in Mindanao which, according to the Mindanao Business Council, is already feeling the crisis. The power crisis in Mindanao has also been confirmed by Department of Energy undersecretary Zamzamin Ampatuan.

Then there was Noynoy

Senator Noynoy Aquino was in the city today to visit and confer with family friend Atty. Jesus V. Ayala, known to be a staunch supporter of his father Benigno Aquino before, and also of President Corazon Aquino.

Aquino first had a breakfast meet with the Lizada's at Bistro Rosario and then proceeded to the JVA office at Juna Subdivision. He met with Ayala for about an hour and talked with the media for a few minutes since he has to meet with Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and then fly to Zamboanga City.

"I am still contemplating my decision. kung ako lang matagal na sana ako nag-desisyon; ang kaso I have to consider my siblings and the other people who are showing their support for me and my family," Aquino said.

He said he is set to go on a retreat in Zamboanga and will meet with Sister Agnes of the Carmelite Congregation in Zamboanga City. Whatever his decision will be regarding the 2010 elections, he said it will have a spiritual component.

First there was Chiz

Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero was in the city last week for the Presidentiables Forum held at the Grand Regal Hotel. Only three of the supposedly Presidentiables joined the Forum among them Escudero, Senator Loren Legarda and Nicanor Perlas.

Escudero said he has not yet decided which position to vie for in the 2010 elections but said he will abide by his Party's decision.

On top of Escudero's priorities is an increased budget for agriculture not only for Mindanao but for the whole country as well. He said the reason why Mindanao could not attain long lasting peace is the lack of economic opportunities here. With an increased agriculture budget, he said, there will be more farm to market roads, increased production and lesser dependence on imports.

Power crisis in Mindanao now a reality-DOE

The Department of Energy confirmed that the supposedly looming power crisis in Mindanao is already happening.

This was the revelation made by DOE undersecretary Zamzamin Ampatuan, who said the power crisis everyone is talking about already exists and will get worse if the agencies and companies concerned are not able to provide a solution by end of the year.

“Indeed there is a shortage.” Ampatuan said the critical period has been known to the government, especially from the DOE’s point of view, as early as 2007. But for Mindanao, he added the critical period has already started this 2009 but the solution is still unclear.

He said the immediate solution identified by the government includes the putting up of new power plants. However, he said, only three power plants are actually committed but it will take about three years to get all of them done.

Among the three projects are the Sibulan Hydro which is currently being done, the Mindanao 3 at the peak of Mt. Apo which is on the way to completion and the Kabulig Hydro which is experiencing some problems

“And even if these guaranteed power plants are completed they will still be short of the projected shortage of around 400MW,” Ampatuan said.

The Conal Holdings Corporation of the Alcantaras has unveiled a $450 million coal-fired power plant in Sarangani Province, which can generate up to 200MW of power but Ampatuan said this would be up by 2013 and would probably be enough to sustain the requirement to be subsistent.

The DOE projected a peak demand of at least 1,525MW for the Mindanao power grid and that projection does not even include the increase in demand when the big malls like Robinsons and SM City start to operate in General Santos City.

National Grid Corporation of the Philippines Gensan manager Manuel Jamoy earlier said that they are projecting a required capacity of 2,556MW for the Mindanao Grid by 2014.

He said Mindanao needs new power plants by December but even the DOE is at a lost as to where this power requirement can be sourced from. “By December we are not expecting any new power plant to be up,” he said.

The projected operation of the Sibulan plant will be a little solution, he said, but it will not address the whole problem that we will face by December.
“The challenge of putting up something quick is very serious,” he said. While the country is faced with another political exercise in 2010, there is only one thing that will address the problem of a power crisis in Mindanao and the whole country and that is to be more efficient in terms of power usage.

A DOE program is eyeing to save between 400 to 500MW of power, which is equal to one power plant, through the used of incandescent bulbs. Also included in the solution is the construction of energy-efficient buildings.

“These are quick solutions that are immediately doable; everybody can be a participant from the poorest to the richest,” he said. If all of these are adopted, he added, we can save as much as 2000MW of power in one year.