Bosch opens Davao hub

Bosch officially marked its foray in Mindanao as it opened the Bosch regional business hub along Roxas Avenue in Davao City Monday. This is the first hub for Bosch in Mindanao. It opened its Cebu business hub last May to serve the Visayas market.

"Davao has strengthened its position as the financial and services hub of Southern Philippines and this presents new market opportunities for Bosch's diverse portfolio of solutions," Bosch Philippines Managing Director Joseph Hong said.

A local presence in Davao, he said, will enable us to effectively serve our customers across the Mindanao region including the provinces of Cagayan de Oro, Surigao and Butuan.

Hong said the new business hub will serve as a showroom for various Bosch products including their power tools, security and safety systems. It will also serve as a technical training facility for their distributors and other stakeholders.

Bosch is also set to open today its second Bosch Diesel Service in Bajada. Bosch has two Bosch Car Service workshops and two Bosch Diesel Service centers in Davao City and Davao del Norte.

SM to bring Science Discovery Center to Jinjiang, China by 2014

SM Prime Holdings, Inc. is set to bring the Science Discovery Center to Jinjiang, China by 2014. This will be the third SM Science Discovery Center in the country and the first outside the Philippines.

Science Discovery Center head Arturo C. Carballo said this is part of SM Prime’s plans to have 10 malls in China by 2014. There are six SM Malls occupying a total space of 797,545 square meters in China with specific locations in Xiamen City in Fujian, Jinjiang City in Fujian, Chengdu City in Sichuan, Jiahe Road in Xiamen City, Suzhou City in Jiangsu and the latest in Chongqing City which opened in December 2012.

The first SM Science Discovery Center opened at the SM Mall of Asia in Manila in 2007 while the second Center opened in Davao City’s SM Premier this month.

“This is one of the most modern science centers with a Planetarium powered by the Digistar 5 projector system; the full-dome Planetarium alone costs P700,000,” Mr. Carballo said. This is even more modern than most Science Centers in the United States which only uses the Digistar 3 system, he added.

The Davao Science Discovery Center occupies a 2,000-square meter space but compared to the 158 seating capacity for MOA’s Planetarium, Davao’s Planetarium can only seat up to 80 people. But while the Center in Manila has only 9 galleries, Davao has up to 10 interactive galleries on geology, Biology, the Body, Climate, Energy, Transportation, Technology, Engineering and The Future.

“The Science Discovery Center in Davao is expected to cater not only to Dabawenyos but also to the whole of Mindanao,” he said.  Based on their studies on the Mindanao market, they have decided to lower down the entrance fees from P330 for walk-ins in Manila to only P250 for walk-ins in Davao City.

Mr. Carballo said they have met with officials of the Department of Education as well as Vice Mayor Paolo Z. Duterte and they agreed to provide a special rate for public schools. He said Pasay City exempted the Discovery Center in MOA from the amusement tax so they were able to provide public school students there with a low rate of P180.  We are trying to get a much lower rate for Davao public school students, he added.

Department of Tourism XI Regional Director and Assistant Secretary Arturo P. Boncato, Jr. said the Discovery Center brings with it more opportunities for the city as it will provide educators with a unique, tech-based platform when teaching the youth about concepts in science, technology and other related topics.

“It will help the city sustain its advantage not only in business and tourism, but also in education,” he said. The investment came at a most opportune time, he said, given the recent economic boom brought about by the influx of investments and tourism.

Amreco-supplied areas in Mindanao assured of 300MW supply by 2017

The different provinces in Mindanao relying on the different electric cooperatives for their power supply are assured of a 300-MegaWatt supply by 2017 but are at a quandary as to where to source power from now up to 2015.

“We have already contracted with GN Power and the Amreco-PSAG (Association of Mindanao Rural Electric Cooperative- Power Supply Aggregation Group) for our projected 300-MW demand for 2017,” Amreco President Sergio C. Dagooc told BusinessWorld Tuesday.

Amreco is composed of 33 electric cooperatives, six of which are considered SPUG or Small Power Utilities Group located in different Mindanao islands such as Jolo, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Dinagat and Basilan. The six cooperatives have their own generators while the 27 others rely on the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

All the six electric cooperatives are under the National Power Corporation (NPC) as per Republic Act 9136 which mandates the NPC to operate power plants in isolated islands in the country.

He said Amreco accounts for 60% market share or an estimated 1,941,554 residential consumers in Mindanao. The rest of the market is accounted for by private electric companies like the Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC) and the Cagayan Electric Power and Light Company, Inc.(CEPALCO).

Mr. Dagooc said 80% of their member cooperatives are Triple A cooperatives which means these are “financially, technically and institutionally stable.” However, he added, 20% of its members are hard-up electric cooperatives located in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Among the top cooperatives are servicing the Davao Region namely Davao del Sur Electric Cooperative (Dasureco), Davao Oriental Electric Cooperative (Doreco) and the Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative (Daneco) which used to be a top-performing cooperative before it got embroiled in its present controversy.

Twenty-seven of the member coops are hooked up with the island’s transmission grid while another six operate in the off-grid islands surrounding the main island of Mindanao.

“While most of our member cooperatives are doing good we have to unify our resources to help ailing members such as those in the ARMM,” he said.

Amreco-PSAG Executive Director Clint Django Pacana said these cooperatives are non-stock, non-profit organizations that rely on the P6,000 monthly dues of its members for its continued operation. This is mainly the reason why PSAG was formed and do business in the power industry, he added.

Amreco recently conveyed to Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla its opposition to the Price Determination Methodology (PDM) of the Philippine Electricity Market Cooperation (PEMC) which will be used by the Interim Mindanao Electricity Market (Imem).

Mr. Dagooc said while they are not against Imem’s implementation, they are protesting some of its provisions. The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) approved last September PEMC's Pricing and Cost Recovery Methodology (PCRM) which allows the use of the PDM in the establishment of power rates. He said they are protesting the rule which states that “the Imem Day-Ahead Price (Idap) shall correspond to the highest offer price fully or partially scheduled for the particular Imem trading interval."

Mr. Dagooc said this will leave the power distributors with no choice but to pay for the highest power rates no matter their choice of power generator and its previously offered rate.

Davao Food Safety ordinance still buried in Council records

A proposed Food Safety Ordinance that will ensure the safety of street foods in Davao remains buried in the records of the City Council despite a 2011 study which found out that only 10% of streets foods here are safe for consumption while the rest contained pathogenic bacteria.

The said study (which also included Cagayan de Oro and Laguna) was conducted by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Centre for International Migration and Development (CIM) in 2011 to find ways to improve the sector.

“The last time I heard, the proposed ordinance has undergone first reading in the council under councilor (Bernard) Al-Ag who was then the chair of the Committee on Health,” Food and Drug Administration (FDA) XI Regulatory Officer Arnold G. Alindada said. However, the committee heads for the 17^th City Council changed with the Health Committee now under Councilor Joselle Villafuerte.

“I have just talked with councilor Villafuerte and she said she will pull it out, study it again and will push for its approval,” Mr. Alindada said.

Once passed, the Food Safety Ordinance will appropriate a specific budget for the training of sanitary inspectors. While the FDA has jurisdiction only over processed food products and not ready-to-serve food from restaurants and caterers, Mr. Alindada said they are pushing for the approval of the Food Safety Ordinance.

Robert L. Oconer, Chief of the Davao City Environmental Sanitation Office, said he has recommended for the removal of food, fruits and other vendors even before election (May 2013) but both Mayors (former Mayor Sara Z. Duterte and Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte) instructed him to just let them be for as long as they are regulated.

He said they conduct a quarterly education of vendors and are proud that they have followed the rules in terms of wearing hairnets, personal hygiene and complied with the procurement of health certificates.

“Even before the study was made we were already monitoring the food vendors making sure that they comply with the sanitation requirement,” he said. Mr. Oconer said that in his 21 years as a sanitation officer, he has never received a complaint about the food vendors in the city.

But sans the Food Safety Ordinance, Mr. Oconer has issued this warning to all those buying and eating street foods “eat at your own risk.”

Former DOST XI Regional Director and now RECORD Foundation Managing Director Ma. Delia M. Morados said she looks forward to the day when Davao’s street foods will have the same high-level of sanitation comparable to HongKong and Malaysia. She said it would be great to see all the street food vendors gathered in an air conditioned place where the sanitation officers can inspect them regularly.

Ms. Morados is one of the editors of the book “Mindanao Conference on Existing and Emerging Issues on Food Safety” which was launched in the city on July 30, 2013. The book tackles all the food safety issues discussed during the 2008 Conference including the role of the government and the private sectors in ensuring food.

Creation of Housing Department pushed

The 16^th Congress is urged to create the Department of Housing and  Urban Development (DHUD) to allow the government more efficiency in the coordination of its housing programs.

“Creating the DHUD will promote the efficient management and development of land resources and enhance coordination and integration of plans, programs and projects of the government in housing and urban development,” Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Deputy Secretary General Atty. Wendel Avisado said.

Avisado said the bill creating the DHUD was passed during the 3^rd and final reading of the 15^th Congress but did not take off in the Senate. Its creation will simplify all the processes required to make the government’s housing programs work.

At present, he said, there are various shelter agencies under the HUDCC umbrella. These include the HDMF or Pag-IBIG which funds the housing of its members, National Housing Authority which produces housing units, SHFC which funds socialized housing for the informal sector, HLURB which regulates and oversees land use plans, NHMFC which mobilizes funds and HGC which guarantees funds.

He said the creation of HUDC is important especially now that the housing sector is faced with many challenges including the urbanization of the Philippines which is now at 49% and is expected to increase to 65% by 2030.

“With urbanization comes critical issues like high poverty incidence, environmental degradation, lack of urban housing and proliferation of slums and informal settlers,

” he said. The country’s housing needs was 3.5 million in 2010 and is estimated to reach 5.7 million units by 2015, he added.

Avisado said the scarce availability of non-flood prone land for socialized housing especially in Metro Manila have compounded the challenges that come with urbanization.

While the HUDCC has adopted strategies to address these issue and concerns, he said, there is still a need to create the DHUD.

OSHDP pushing for socialized housing condominium

The Organization of Socialized Housing Developers of the Philippines (OSHDP) is pushing for the inclusion of the condominium as a socialized housing project through an amendment in Republic Act 7279, paving the way for socialized housing condominiums.

Under the law, socialized housing referred to “housing programs and projects covering houses and lots or home lots only, undertaken by the Government or the private sector for the underprivileged and homeless citizens.”

“Housing for the poor remains sluggish and if the Aquino administration wants to address this problem and provide safer and disaster-resilient communities for the marginalized sector then this will be a significant legislation,” OSHDP President Atty. Ryan T. Tan told BusinessWorld during the second day of the OSHDP and HUDCC 4^th national Convention held at Marco Polo Hotel.

Mr. Tan said housing problems in the country remain huge, with 600,000 informal settler families all over the country and 104,000 in NCR alone. The need for housing is also increasing faster than actual production of housing units, he added.

He said amending the law will encourage private sector developers to build 5-story socialized housing condominiums that can house hundreds of people compared to only a few families that occupy horizontal housing developments. With buildings or condominiums included in RA 7279, private sector developers will be able to build socialized housing condominiums and include them as their compliance under Section 18 which requires developers to allocate 20% of their project area or project cost to socialize housing.

“Private sector developers will also be able to enjoy the tax exemptions once socialized housing condominiums are included in the law,” he said.

Mr. Tan said such legislation is very timely because climate change has compelled the government to do something about the informal sectors especially in Metro Manila.  Providing incentives to private developers has a social benefit because it will give the government an option when it comes to relocating the informal sectors living near the waterways and in esteros, he said.

By now, he said, it is obvious that relocating the informal sector outside of Manila is not working because they just flock back to Mania and sell the land or home lots awarded to them. In-city or on-site development for urban centers is the way to go, he added.

He said lots in Manila and in other major cities are expensive but somehow, private developers will be able to lower the cost with socialized housing condominiums.

OSHDP has submitted its proposal to HUDCC and is willing to initiate the filing of the proposed bill that will not only make condominiums more affordable to the marginalized sector but will also help the government solve its problem on the informal sector.

Engr. Carol R. Angel, Regional Manager of the National Housing Authority, said they are supporting OSHDP’s move because this will greatly benefit not only Metro Manila but also urban areas like Davao where there are no socialized or even lost cost condominiums. 

“Low income earners do not want to be relocated far from their workplace because that will be double expenses for them in terms of living allowance or transportation cost,” she said.

Mr. Tan said it cannot be denied that there is a gap between policy statements and actual housing related government programs for the poor. Private sector participation is always at its highest when state policies call for it, he said, and this legislation will be effective in bridging this gap.

Construction industry a big boost to Mindanao’s economy

The conduct of the 4^th PhilConstruct Mindanao at the SMX Convention Center on September 5 to 7, 2013 (with over 100 exhibitors) has put into perspective the impact of the construction industry on Mindanao’s economic growth with an estimated worth of P40 Billion.

“We have 700 contractors registered with the Board and 60% are based in Davao,” Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Davao City Director Teolulo T, Pasawa said. The distribution of wealth is not trickling down, he said, so it is pulling its resources to the construction industry since it has a bigger multiplier effect.

Event Chairperson Engr. Ramon F. Allado said there may be a similar number of contractors not registered so it is possible that we have at least 2000 contractors here with close to half a million workforce. Mindanao, he said, is the single biggest producer of construction workers who are trained here and are sent to other parts of the country and of the world.

“The construction industry provides money for the local economy with a 15 times minimum multiplier effect in terms of suppliers, workers, lodging establishments and other support facilities,” he said.

Mr. Allado said there is a boom in Mindanao construction industry today, especially in Davao. There are two 300-MW coal-powered plants in full construction in the Region today, he said, with Therma South’s project 40% completed and SMC Global Power Holdings Corporation’s project in Malita just starting out. Two more coal-powered plants in Misamis and South Cotabato will start constructing soon, he added. “That’s only the power sector eh yung mining sector pa.”

He said the tourism sector is another big user of the construction industry with various tourism construction projects going on and many that are yet to be developed.

Mr. Allado said the Department of Education (DepEd) has completed the public-private partnership (PPP) bidding for 20,000 classrooms in Mindanao. Sector, which comprises almost the other half of Mindanao with 10,000 classrooms to be built in one and a half years.

“All of these spell at least P40 Billion for Mindanao alone,” he said.

The booming construction industry is one of the reasons why the organizers have decided to make PhilConstruct Mindanao a yearly event every September. With more than a hundred innovative suppliers of equipment, technology suppliers, materials and tools, the stakeholders of Mindanao’s construction industry need not go to Manila or Cebu to get the latest in construction technology, he said.

Mr. Pasawa said “Davao is a very good market for the construction industry with a 2.4% growth per annum, 1.5 million people and vast availability of land that is seven times larger than Cebu and three times larger than Metro Manila.”

He said the city has a very reliable 24/7 power supply which is also among the country’s cheapest at P6 per kilowatt-hour (kwh) (beaten only by Lanado del Sur) compared to the almost P8 per kwh in Cebu. The city has also consistently ranked at the top of the Most Competitive Cities Survey by the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), he added.

Davao City has a very vibrant construction industry, he said, that DTI has established desks and officers for regulatory purposes including the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board which handles registration and the Construction Manpower Development Authority which handles arbitration cases.

Kadayawan sa Davao not over yet

The City Tourism Office will only be able to quantify Davao City’s gains from the conduct of the Kadayawan Festival 2013 after August 31, 2013 since there are still festival-related activities that will be conducted up to the end of the month.

“We are still coordinating with the hotels as to their occupancy rate during the Kadayawan Festival but until the festival-related activities are over then that will have to wait,” City Tourism Officer Ma. Felisa Marques said. “We are also doing an exit survey on the airport arrivals but as of now me humahabol pa na tourists,” she added.

Marques said the main events of the Kadayawan namely the Indak-Indak sa Kadalanan and the Pamulak Parade may be over but there are still many Kadayawan-related activities that are on-going and still to be conducted.

On top of this is the 2013 Phoenix Accelerate Vega Hot August Races slated at the Speed City Drag Strip in Maa Diversio Road on August 31 and September 1, 2013. This racing event is a battle among drag racers in the Pro Class, Sportsman Class, Clubman Class and Quick Eight.

The Drag Race may just be the biggest legal drag race in Visayas and Mindanao with around 80 participants from Cebu and major cities in Mindanao.

Marques said Dabawenyos and visitors can still enjoy the on-going Kadayawan-related activities and shows such as the Durian Festival at SM Premier Lanang up to August 25. The eat-all-you can durian festival at P150 is still on-going so those who want to indulge in durian can still try the King of Fruits, she said.

The Agri-Trade Fair at SM City Ecoland which features plants and a bountiful harvest of fruits in season is still on-going at the SM Car Park until August 27. She said “we should strengthen Kadayawan especially now that this is being replicated in many parts of the world including Japan.”

She said that even before the Kadayawan officially closes, they are already conducting meetings to prepare for the next festivals in the city such as the Paskuhan sa Davao and a bug summer festival which will be launched in conjunction with the Summer Fest.

Marques said Davao City’s strength lies in domestic tourists who make up 93 percent of the arrivals. One percent of tourist arrivals in the city are Balikbayans while only 6 percent are foreign tourists comprising of Americans, Australians, Japanese and Koreans.

DOH intensifies campaign with rise in Reg.XI dengue cases

The number of dengue cases in the Davao Region has increased from 5,900 in 2012 to 6,937 as of August 3, 2013 prompting the Department of Health (DOH) XI to intensify its campaign versus dengue.

“We may have a higher rate of dengue this year but we have less mortality this year compared to the previous year,” DOH Health Advocacy and Promotion Cluster officer-in-charge Divine Hilario said during Monday’s Kapihan held at SM City Annex.

A total of 63 persons died from dengue last year but this was reduced to only 47 this year, Hilario said.

Dengue is still on top of the Department’s priority list and they are intensifying their campaign again dengue. They have also enhanced the 4 o’clock habit to encourage people to clean their surroundings.

“It should not be taken literally that people should clean only when the clock strike but this is just a reminder to the people keep their surroundings clean,” she said.

Almost 50 percent of this year’s dengue cases were reported in Davao City with 3,822 cases and 23 dead. Like the past years, she said, Buhangin is still a hotspot maybe because it has a larger area of coverage.

Hilario said the following dengue cases were also reported: Davao del Sur with 932 cases and 12 dead, Compostela Valley with 846 cases and 7 dead, Davao Oriental with 736 with 2 dead and in Davao del Norte with 601 cases with 3 dead.

She said that while dengue and chikungunya are both mosquito-borne illnesses, people should watch out for dengue as it is more deadly. Both illnesses have the same vector mosquito and have the same symptoms though, she added.

“The bad thing about chikungunya is that it can last longer for a month or two—some people even suffer from arthritic pain caused by this illness for two years,” she said. However, she added, people can be inflicted with chikungunya only once but dengue can inflict them many times since there are four strains of dengue.(

DOH to conduct surveillance of stem cell facilities in Davao Region

The Department of Health (DOH) XI is set to conduct a surveillance of all establishments in the Davao Region that are offering stem cell treatments without the proper authorization.

“At present there are no facilities in the Region that have been authorized by DOH to perform stem cell treatments,” DOH XI Licensing Officer Alex F. Daba said during Monday’s regular Kapihan held at SM City Annex.

The move is in accordance with Administrative Order 2013-0012 providing the Rules and Regulations Governing the Accreditation of Health Facilities Engaging in Human Stem Cell and Cell-Based or Cellular Therapies in the Philippines which was released by Health Secretary Enrique T. Ona on March 18, 2013. However, the AO becomes effective only 15 days after its approval and publication.

“As with any new technology there is a need to regulate stem cell treatment in order to protect the public from unscrupulous people who might not be properly trained and authorized to conduct the procedure,” he said.

Secretary Ona’s AO indicated that stem cell-based therapies have existed for the past four decades and some have been proven to be effective in some medical conditions. “Stem cells that come from the bone marrow or blood gave already been routinely used in transplant procedures to treat patients with cancer and other disorders of the blood and immune system,” the AO said.

The AO was issued after a survey conducted by DOH-Bureau of Health Facilities and Services (BHFS) that five hospitals and some ambulatory clinics were providing stem cell services to patients for various indications.

Mr. Daba said they have received reports that even here in the Region, there are facilities including hospitals and clinics conducting the stem cell therapy. However, he added, they still have to verify those reports through the conduct of the surveillance.

“As of now all we can do is to comply with the surveillance and then create a Master List of these facilities,” he said. They are set to meet with the different hospitals and clinics in Davao next week to inform these facilities about the new guidelines so that they will discontinue providing the said treatments.

With the issuance of Secretary Ona’s order, he said, all the unauthorized facilities providing stem cell treatment are unauthorized and should be advised to stop.

“The primary goal of the AO is to prevent the introduction, transmission and spread of communicable disease by ensuring a minimum quality of service rendered by hospitals and other health facilities in human stem cell therapies,” he said. This will also ensure that human stem cells and other cell-based therapies are safe and effective for their intended use, he added.

Mr. Daba said hospitals may already have licenses to perform the regular health services but they still need authorization from the DOH to perform stem cell therapy. Without such authorization, he said, these hospitals are not allowed to provide such services.

He said authorized hospitals and clinics are required to comply with the guidelines set by the Bioethics Advisory Board (BAB) which is chaired by the DOH Secretary. There are already two applicants for the region and once approved, DOH will release a Master List of facilities authorized to perform Stem Cell Therapy in Region XI.

One of the more serious proponents of stem cell therapy is Davao del Norte District 1 Representative Antonio del Rosario who is pushing for the establishment of a Stem Cell Research and Storage Facility in Mindanao through House Bill 5037.

Prior to the May, 2013 elections, del Rosario said the Bill has been approved by the Science and Technology Committee and is pending with the Technical Working Group.

“Stem cell technology is already available in the Philippines but only in private and expensive hospitals such as the Makati Medical Center and St. Luke’s,” he said. Mr. del Rosario is a survivor of stage-3 lymphoma or cancer of the lymph nodes.

Del Rosario said he has already met a leading stem cell expert working in the United States who happens to be a Filipino. But while the said expert is open to the possibility of heading the Facility, he is concerned about the financial support of the government to the Facility.

Davao is RP’s new gastronomic destination

The city has a reputation for being one of the best destinations when it comes to adventure tourism. However, no one will argue that it is also fast becoming one of the country’s top gastronomic destinations.

Those who have visited Davao City for the past ten years will tell you never to leave without trying Luz Kinilaw’s sinugbang panga and buntot. The budget-conscious foodies also raved about Taps and the fastfood’s famous vinegar and pepper sauce. And who can forget eating durian along the sidewalks of Uyanguren?

With the construction of malls in the city came the various specialty restaurants and fastfoods from Manila. While the newbies provided a variety of gustatory options for Dabawenyos and their visitors, the homegrown food providers still kept to their traditions and prevailed.

“We are becoming the country’s new gastronomic destination thanks to the many home-grown food entrepreneurs in the city,” Department of Tourism (DOT) XI Regional Director Art Boncato said. This, he added, has never been more emphasized than during the Kadayawan Festival which is a celebration of good harvest for Dabawenyos.

photo courtesy of DOT XI

Kadayawan street food festival

One of the very first components of the Kadayawan when it started in 1986 is the street food festival which was held at the junction of Roxas Avenue and C.M. Recto Street. “This was a Kadayawan staple which has been replicated every year,” Mr. Boncato said. The street food festival was actually an extended and a more glamorous version of the various barbecue stalls in the city.

Kadayawan, which is celebrated during the month of August every year, is itself all about the bountiful harvest of food including the fresh seafood, vegetables and fruits that abound in the city. After all, it is during this month and hereafter that you will see the streets with bukags (the native baskets) filled with colorful and delicious fruits in seas. During this month, it is natural to see trees alongside the streets teeming with luscious red rambutan and durian. It is easy to be tempted to just pick up the fruits from these trees as they hang beyond the gates.

Mr. Boncato said through the years, the city has developed its own unique blend of gustatory concoctions that can only be referred to as the Davao flavor. Kadayawan 2008 started featuring the local food choices through Ka-an Mindanao or the Indigenous Food Fiesta. This featured the indigenous cuisine of the city.

Durian Festival

Another Festival staple is the 15-day Durian Festival slated from August 10 to 25, 2013 at the SM Premier in Lanang. “We wanted to feature the different varieties of durian not only to let people taste these varieties but also to educate them,” Durian Industry Council of Davao City chairperson Larry Miculob said.

Visitors to the city can get their fill of fresh durian through the eat-all-you-can-durian at P150. For those who just want to satisfy their craving without overindulging, the P40 per kilo price for durian is good enough. The agricultural fair at Ecoland also features a durian booth where visitors can buy durian at P50 per kilo and eat the fruit at the durian tents provided by the exhibitor.

Mr. Boncato said the Davao Fruit Craze also opened at Abreeza Mall just in time for the Kadayawan. “Visitors will get the chance to enjoy all their favorite fruits including pomelo, mangosteen, banana and other fruits in season right at the mall,” he said. This is clearly a proof that August is indeed a season of harvest in Davao, he added.

One of the events that showcased Davao as a real gastronomic destination not only during the Kadayawan Festival but all throughout the year is the three-day Gourmet Collective which opened at SM Lanang Friday.

“This is the first effort to gather the gourmet chefs of Davao to showcase their tastiest specialties,” Mr. Boncato said. Among the food choices on display are the concoctions of Bangkok Wok which showcased Thai Cuisine, Cellar de Boca which served Spanish-inspired food using Davao’s very own brown rice and Monica Floirendo which served Mexican-inspired food.

AWS certification in Davao to make RP welders world class

Filipino welders are known for their world-class skills but the establishment of the American Welding Society (AWS) Test Facility Center in the city will make them more competitive in the world market.

“The ASW Certification is recognized by companies in the Middle East so a welder who has this certification can immediately get employment there without retesting,” Technical Education and Skills Development Authority(Tesda) XI Regional Director Gaspar Gayona said in an interview.

The Testing Center was established after the signing last year of a

memorandum agreement between Tesda and the Middle East Industrial Training Institute in the United Arab Emirates (MEITI-UAE). AWS has accredited MEITI-UAE as an international agent for AWS certification and as a certified welding fabricator.

“This is the only center in the Philippines so even those from Luzon and Visayas who want to get AWS Certification can get tested here in Davao,” he said.

Mr. Gayona said Dabawenyo welders, or even Filipino welders who get hired in Middle East countries only have their NCII (National Certification II) which is not enough. What happens, he said, is that they are still retrained outside and their skills reassessed in the Middle East.

“We want our welders to be ready for employment when they reach the Middle East and the other countries requiring welders so we asked our partner in Abu Dhabi to bring the assessment agency here in Davao City,” he said.

The AWS Accredited Test Facility possess all the minimum test facilities required by AWS when it comes to the personnel, equipment and the accreditation test for welders.

Tesda Director General Joel Villanueva said the MOA between Tesda and MEITI-UAE aims to upgrade the skills of Filipino graduates of technical-vocational education trainings like welding. Up to P20 million worth of training equipment was provided by MEITI-UAE to help welders become world-class.

Among the first trainees of the 10-day free American Welding Society-Certified Welding Inspector (AWS-CWI) Preparatory Examination Seminar held in the city last May are Dabawenyos. Mr. Gayona said all Tesda trainors all over the country were among those who took the certification exam last July 29, the results of which are yet to be released.

“The result of the exam will help us determine if we need to make changes in our curriculum so that our welders can level up to the global standards,” he said. The AWS-CWI certification is recognized by the world’s welding industry so welders with AWS certification will have an edge over the others, he added.

Mr. Gayona said welders are highly in demand all over the world including the construction industry, shipyard industry and fabricator industry. He said the various technical and vocational trainings provided by Tesda aside from welding open new world of opportunities for Dabawenyo workers.

Tesda XI is eyeing 62 thousands graduates under the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) program year after it achieved its target of 58 thousand graduates in 2012. Out of the 58,000 TVET graduates last year, around 85 percent were expected to get certification assessment.

However, Mr. Gayona said not all of the TVET graduates will take an assessment exam for a variety of reasons.”Some will undergo more training since they are not yet confident about their skills while others will be concerned with their finances,” he said.

He said 65 percent of their graduates last year got certified and 60 percent of those who were certified are now employed mostly in the metals and engineering industry. Tesda XI conducted a profiling of priority industries last year to help solve the problem of job mismatch and came up with five priority industries for the region including metals and engineering, tourism, agriculture, information and communication technology and construction.

Mr. Gayona said the profiling will help ensure that the graduates of the TVET program will find jobs after their graduation. Tesda is also closely working with the priority industry clusters to determine the available jobs and compare these with the existing skills of the graduates.

DOE more concerned about oversupply of power in Mindanao

Mindanaoans may be worried about having enough power supply now and in the future but the Department of Energy (DOE) seems to be more worried about the oversupply rather than shortage of power in Mindanao once all the power plants are completed and operating by 2015.

“The companies, when they see an oversupply of power and lesser demand then they will delay the implementation of the projects,” Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla said in a press conference at SM Convention Center in the city Friday.

Even President Benigno S. Aquino III was confident when he announced Thursday during the opening of the 22^nd Mindanao Business Conference that “Right now, we are on track to end the energy deficit by 2015—during which we foresee Mindanao to already have a surplus.”

The recurring power problem in Mindanao is one of the main concerns of the business sector which confirmed that this is one of the issues that has always been included in the annual business conference. Minbizcon conference director John Gaisano said that “unless the national government addresses this concern this will be a recurring theme in the next business conferences.”

Petilla said unless the power investors delay their projects when they see an oversupply, Mindanao will definitely have a power supply surplus by 2015.  Most of the power projects eyed by the government to solve Mindanao’s power woes are reliant on coal.

Among the major projects being eyed by the government to provide surplus power supply in Mindanao is the 300-megawatt Aboitiz (Therma South) owned coal-power plant in Davao City. First phase of the project, with a 150-MW output, is expected to be completed by third quarter of 2014.

Coal power plant

Petilla also mentioned the 200-MW power plant being built by the Sarangani Energy Corps (Alsons Group of Companies) in Maasim, Sarangani Province which can supply the power demands General Santos City, South Cotabato, Sarangani and other Mindanao areas.

“Filinvest is also set to come up with a 270-MW plant but we are not counting them yet until they submit their papers,” he said. Filinvest Development Corporation (FDC) is set to construct a P30-billion coal power plant at the Phividec Industrial Estate in Misamis Oriental which is expected to initially general 270 MW of power by 2016. The second phase of the project eyes the production of 135 MW by 2018.

The government owned and controlled corporation Phividec Industrial Authority has signed a 28-year contract with the FDC in April this year for the lease of 84.4 hectares of land where the coal power plant will be located.

Petilla said SMC Global Power Holdings Corporation (San Miguel Corp) is also set to build a 600-MW coal power plant in Malita, Davao del Sur but will start with an initial output of 150MW by 2015. SMC president Ramon S. Ang informed the Philippine Stock Exchange last month (July) that SMC Global project just broke ground in time for the completion of the plant by 2015. Petilla however said SMC has not really started out full-blast.

He suggested the setting up of a smart and effective forecasting system taking into consideration the behavior of the people and their electricity consumption considering that power plants are big investments and they take some time to build.

Coal production in the Philippines

When asked about the possibility of the ban on open pit mining affecting the coal power plant projects, Petilla said that the ban is more of a local government unit policy than a DOE policy.

“We are not banning open pit coal mining,” Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Chairperson Lualhati R. Antonino said. She added that Semirara (Semirara Mining Corporation) is an open pit mine and supplies a huge percentage the total coal production in the country.

The country has scattered coal deposits in Cebu, Surigao and Zamboanga but the largest is in Semirara Island in Antique. As such, Semirara has been identified by the DOE as the largest coal producer contributing up to 92 percent of the local coal production. The Philippine Energy Plan (PEP) reported in 2006 that coal production has increased by 34 percent the 2003 level of 2.0 MMMT (million metric tons) to 2003 level of 2.7 MMMT.

The DOE website pegged the country’s coal consumption at 9.5 MMT in 2006, 73 percent went to power generation, 22.5 percent used in cement production and 3.75 percent for other industries.

While the coal power plants are facing opposition not only from environmentalists but also even from the LGUs with local legislations banning open pit mining, Mr. Petilla said that “if there is a national significance then the national government can step in.”

Innovators urged to join 2nd Startup Davao

  

Dabawenyos who have innovative ideas that can make life better are encouraged to join the 2^nd Startup Weekend slated at Ingenuity, Centron Building, Quirino Avenue in Davao City on August 9 to 11, 2013.

“If you have innovative projects no matter how crazy they are and even if you do not have technical knowledge then you should join the Startup Weekend,” event head organizer Dulce Rose Lada said. People from all walks of life should join the Startup because even if they do not know how to make the web or mobile applications, they can team up with other IT professionals to push for their projects, she added.

Startup Weekend is a movement of entrepreneurs who are learning the basics of discovering startups and launching them into successful ventures.

Lada said the last time they had the Startup, a nurse who was fed up with the system of getting numbers  and waiting in line for such number to be called became part of a Startup Project which created an App which sent a message to the person next in line in the queue. So instead of that person lining up to wait for his or her number to be called, we now have the practical App, she added.

She said that subject to the payment of a minimal registration fee, everyone can join the Startup weekend including businessmen, web designers, software developers, product managers and all those interested to make a pitch for their ideas.

“The entrepreneur mentors will share their time and expertise to aspiring entrepreneurs to help their Startups success,” Lada said. The mentors, she added, will act as coaches who will help the teams design and carry out effective experiments, analyze the data they collect and guide them to come up with a solid startup.

Among the mentors of the 2^nd Startup Weekend are Christopher John Cubos- founder and CEO of Philippine Global Outsourcing, June Millan- CTO of Ingenuity Technology Consulting,Eliza Magno-President of Illumedia, Tina Amper-World Startup Report Global Organizer, David Overton-Symm.ph founder, Pia Angeli Bernal-Social Enterprise Investment at Kickstart Ventures Manager and Ray Rubio-CubePixels CEO.

Malu Barry back in Davao concert scene after 19 years

Homegrown talent Malu Barry is set to perform at the Nobi Alfresco Bar at Quimpo Boulevard in Davao City tonight, July 20, 2013. This will be the first time in 19 years for Barry. The lounge act "A Song for You" will be directed by Norie Sayo, with special guests "The Don".

Barry became popular in Manila's entertainment world in the early 1990s because of her husky voice which is reminiscent of the world-famous singer Karen Carpenter. She has also appeared in several films including The Untold Story: Bizconde Massacre, Anabelle Huggins Story and Laro sa Baga among others.

Davao to install 130 more CCTV’s worth P100M in time for Kadayawan

Davao City is set to install additional 130 close circuit television (CCTVs) worth P100 million in its bid to reach its goal of up to 300 CCTVs all over the city in the future.

“The cameras which will be designed by IBM will be installed for protection and traffic management,” Public Safety and Security Command Center Chief, Retired P/Chief Superintendent Francisco Villaroman said during the iSpeak Media Forum held at the Davao City Hall Thursday.

He said there are at present around 130 CCTV cameras all over the city. These and the additional ones will ensure that the urban centers and the main intersections are properly covered, he said.

“We really need the CCTVs to be up especially in time for the Kadayawan,” he said. The Kadayawan Festival will kick off on August 9 and will culminate on August 17 and 18.

However, he said, the new cameras will be installed on installment basis. The executives from IBM Manila were in the city Wednesday and met with the Abratique Group to coordinate the installation of the CCTVs, he added.

Villaroman said these are no ordinary CCTVs because these are sophisticated and multifunction cameras that can be used as evidences in court later on for traffic violation or even criminality. “The CCTVs are so sophisticated that if we are looking for a certain vehicle color, it will be easy to monitor all vehicles with that specific color and we can check their plate numbers,” he said.

The new CCTVs will make Davao a model around the world when it comes to these types of cameras, he said. This is also the first time that IBM will design such a camera and not even Makati has this type of camera, he added.

Once the additional CCTVs are fully installed, he said, we will request more IT and engineering personnel to man the center which is now operating on a 24-hour shift with 12 hours each shift. Villaroman said there is a plan to still operate 24 hours but on three shifts, with 8 hours per shift to make the people more efficient in monitoring the cameras.