Traders selling all types of shellfish bound for Davao City should get accreditation first before selling their products here or pay from one to three thousand pesos as penalty.
“The ordinance on mandatory testing of shellfish is now being implemented in the city by the different agencies involved and we are urging market vendors and malls to buy shellfish only from accredited suppliers,” councilor Peter Laviña told Mirror yesterday.
Among the agencies in charge of making sure that all shellfish being sold in the city come from accredited sources and are safe from red tide includes the City Agriculturist Office, the City Veterinarian (because they have an aquaculturist) and the City Health Office.
Laviña said there is only one group of supplier that has an accreditation to sell shellfish in the city and that is the Certified Shellfish International or CSI owned by Alex P. Beronio. Another group is applying for accreditation, he added.
“All shellfish bound for Davao City no matter where it is coming from should undergo laboratory testing to make sure these are safe for human consumption,” he said.
He said the agencies involved should be more proactive in making sure that the various stores selling shellfish in the city bought their supplies from the accredited supplier only.
While the ordinance is considered strong, he said, he admitted that there is as yet no mechanism to make sure that all the entry and exit points in the city are monitored for shellfish supplies that are coming in.
“This is the job of the agencies involved so they should be more proactive in implementing the ordinance and making sure that only shellfish that have undergone laboratory testing are sold in the city,” he said.
Laviña said shellfish traders who are caught selling shellfish sourced from non-accredited suppliers can be penalized by paying a fine of from one to three thousand pesos. This is not to mention the possible criminal case that would be filed against them by the possible victims, he added.
He also urged consumers to be more vigilant and to ask the stores where the shellfish they are selling came from. The consumers can even ask the sellers to show them the purchase receipt to make sure the shellfish came from the accredited source.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Global BPO firm eyes Davao as its new location
A New York-headquartered Business Process Outsourcing firm is eyeing Davao City as its third and newest location in the Philippines. The other two offices are located in Manila and in Clark, Pampanga.
“The company is looking at the possibility of establishing an office here in Davao and they have met with us already to inquire about the investments opportunities here in the city,” DTI XI National Economic Research and Business Assistance Center director Teolulo Pasawa told Mirror. Another prospect for its new location is Iloilo City.
Sutherland Global Services provides contact center and back-office outsourcing to its clients worldwide. It has a total of 12,500 employees distributed in various locations including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Mexico, Canada, India and the Philippines.
“We have briefed them on the advantages of locating their business here in the city such as the good peace and order condition and the availability of qualified potential workforce,” Pasawa said.
If plans pushes through, he said, Sutherland Global Services is looking at the possibility of establishing an office with an initial 500 seats. More than 70 percent of Sutherland’s clients belong to the Fortune 500 companies in the areas of retail, financial services and information technology.
The city is becoming a favorite location for top BPO companies. GCom is already operating 250 seats with a view to increasing this to 450 seats later on. Another company, Link to Support, will start operating next month. It will start with 200 seats but with a projection of 2000 seats later on.
Big BPO companies are those with capitals of over P150 million. Pasawa said there is still a great demand for BPO workers in the city not just in the areas of call center operations but also in support services.
“The company is looking at the possibility of establishing an office here in Davao and they have met with us already to inquire about the investments opportunities here in the city,” DTI XI National Economic Research and Business Assistance Center director Teolulo Pasawa told Mirror. Another prospect for its new location is Iloilo City.
Sutherland Global Services provides contact center and back-office outsourcing to its clients worldwide. It has a total of 12,500 employees distributed in various locations including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Mexico, Canada, India and the Philippines.
“We have briefed them on the advantages of locating their business here in the city such as the good peace and order condition and the availability of qualified potential workforce,” Pasawa said.
If plans pushes through, he said, Sutherland Global Services is looking at the possibility of establishing an office with an initial 500 seats. More than 70 percent of Sutherland’s clients belong to the Fortune 500 companies in the areas of retail, financial services and information technology.
The city is becoming a favorite location for top BPO companies. GCom is already operating 250 seats with a view to increasing this to 450 seats later on. Another company, Link to Support, will start operating next month. It will start with 200 seats but with a projection of 2000 seats later on.
Big BPO companies are those with capitals of over P150 million. Pasawa said there is still a great demand for BPO workers in the city not just in the areas of call center operations but also in support services.
Friday, November 17, 2006
“Deal or no Deal?” DCCCII not keen on deciding PCCI issue yet
The Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Incorporated is not yet enthusiastic about reconsidering their decision to disaffiliate with the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“I have not yet met the Board of Trustees of the Davao Chamber after I met with PCCI officials headed by president Donald Dee,” DCCCII president lawyer Bienvenido Cariaga told Mirror yesterday.
Dee, along with other PCCI officials met with Cariaga after Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte brokered a talk between the two parties. Duterte was hoping that they can patch things up after DCCCII declared its disaffiliation from PCCI last month.
PCCI Mindanao officials headed by newly installed Area Vice President Estrellita Juliano-Tamano earlier said they are inviting the DCCCII again to join and recognize the latter as the biggest chamber in Mindanao.
“We will welcome them with open arms; past is past and we have to move on and act for the betterment of Mindanao,” Tamano said. She also said the new PCCI Mindanao officers are ready to work to unite a fragmented Mindanao business group.
Cariaga however said Tamano’s group has not made any attempt to talk to them or contact them before or even after they had the press conference in the city last Wednesday.
“It’s good that they want us to affiliate with them again but I was just wondering why they did not call on us while they were in Davao if they really wanted to reconcile,” he said.
Cariaga said it is still too soon to call a Board Meeting and discuss the reconciliation offer made by PCCI considering what happened between the two chambers.
It seems that no deal has yet been resolved between the two chambers as the DCCCII still claims that PCCI failed to conduct a consultation while the latter still claims they have done everything possible to conduct a consultation.
“I have not yet met the Board of Trustees of the Davao Chamber after I met with PCCI officials headed by president Donald Dee,” DCCCII president lawyer Bienvenido Cariaga told Mirror yesterday.
Dee, along with other PCCI officials met with Cariaga after Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte brokered a talk between the two parties. Duterte was hoping that they can patch things up after DCCCII declared its disaffiliation from PCCI last month.
PCCI Mindanao officials headed by newly installed Area Vice President Estrellita Juliano-Tamano earlier said they are inviting the DCCCII again to join and recognize the latter as the biggest chamber in Mindanao.
“We will welcome them with open arms; past is past and we have to move on and act for the betterment of Mindanao,” Tamano said. She also said the new PCCI Mindanao officers are ready to work to unite a fragmented Mindanao business group.
Cariaga however said Tamano’s group has not made any attempt to talk to them or contact them before or even after they had the press conference in the city last Wednesday.
“It’s good that they want us to affiliate with them again but I was just wondering why they did not call on us while they were in Davao if they really wanted to reconcile,” he said.
Cariaga said it is still too soon to call a Board Meeting and discuss the reconciliation offer made by PCCI considering what happened between the two chambers.
It seems that no deal has yet been resolved between the two chambers as the DCCCII still claims that PCCI failed to conduct a consultation while the latter still claims they have done everything possible to conduct a consultation.
BIR Davao Region ups 3Q collection by P1B
The Bureau of Internal Revenue Region 19 has exceeded last year’s third quarter tax collection by 25.72 percent or roughly P1 billion.
“The Davao Region has collected a total of P5,074,024,665.28 billion from January to October this year,” BIR Collection Division Chief Norma Remorin told Mirror yesterday.
BIR Region 19 consists of Tagum, Davao City, Mati and Digos. However, Remorin said that Davao City accounts for 73 percent of the region’s total collection.
“This is a 25.72 percent or roughly P1 billion increase from the P4,025,812,295.31 billion collection during the same period last year,” she said.
Remorin said the regional office has exceeded their tax collection goal for the said period by P47 million. However, she added, we have a very high collection goal that the amount collected has only exceeded the goal by only 0.94 percent.
She said this is the result of a converted effort from the whole BIR Region. It is really the District Collection Office that’s in the battlefront but everyone is really working hard to make the grade, she added.
“The Davao Region has collected a total of P5,074,024,665.28 billion from January to October this year,” BIR Collection Division Chief Norma Remorin told Mirror yesterday.
BIR Region 19 consists of Tagum, Davao City, Mati and Digos. However, Remorin said that Davao City accounts for 73 percent of the region’s total collection.
“This is a 25.72 percent or roughly P1 billion increase from the P4,025,812,295.31 billion collection during the same period last year,” she said.
Remorin said the regional office has exceeded their tax collection goal for the said period by P47 million. However, she added, we have a very high collection goal that the amount collected has only exceeded the goal by only 0.94 percent.
She said this is the result of a converted effort from the whole BIR Region. It is really the District Collection Office that’s in the battlefront but everyone is really working hard to make the grade, she added.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Davao got best deal with Schaefer-Duterte
The purchase of garbage bins by the city government of Davao may have raised a howl among councilors who found the price tag a bit too steep but Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said the city got the best deal from the seller.
"They are the expert in garbage equipment all over the world," Duterte said referring to SSI Schaefer Philippines, the company from which the 20 thousand garbage bins were earlier purchased.
SSI Schaefer is a German company which boasts of subsidiaries in twenty two countries. It has completed at least 800 projects all over the world and is ISO 9001 certified.
Duterte said Davao got a very good deal from Schaefer because their garbage bins have a lifespan of 15 years. The amount borrowed by the city to purchase the bins is payable for 8 years, he said, and Schaefer matched this with an eight0year warranty.
"This means that if the garbage bins are damaged or destroyed within that period then they will replace the bins," he said.
He said the garbage bins are also reasonably priced at P6,000 each compared to a local company selling garbage bins at a higher price and without warranty.
Dabawenyos can also expect an increase in the number of the city's garbage bins with the council approval of Supplemental Budget 3 which includes the P120 million budget for the city's solid waste management and collection system.
"Kani pang mga taga Davao nga gusto taga atbang sa ilang balay naa'y basurahan," Duterte said. The new garbage bins which will still be up for bidding will consist of 6,084 pieces of 240-liter garbage bins, 2,240 pieces of 360-liter garbage bins and 1,260 pieces of 660-liter garbage bins.(lovely a. carillo)
The purchase of garbage bins by the city government of Davao may have raised a howl among councilors who found the price tag a bit too steep but Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said the city got the best deal from the seller.
"They are the expert in garbage equipment all over the world," Duterte said referring to SSI Schaefer Philippines, the company from which the 20 thousand garbage bins were earlier purchased.
SSI Schaefer is a German company which boasts of subsidiaries in twenty two countries. It has completed at least 800 projects all over the world and is ISO 9001 certified.
Duterte said Davao got a very good deal from Schaefer because their garbage bins have a lifespan of 15 years. The amount borrowed by the city to purchase the bins is payable for 8 years, he said, and Schaefer matched this with an eight0year warranty.
"This means that if the garbage bins are damaged or destroyed within that period then they will replace the bins," he said.
He said the garbage bins are also reasonably priced at P6,000 each compared to a local company selling garbage bins at a higher price and without warranty.
Dabawenyos can also expect an increase in the number of the city's garbage bins with the council approval of Supplemental Budget 3 which includes the P120 million budget for the city's solid waste management and collection system.
"Kani pang mga taga Davao nga gusto taga atbang sa ilang balay naa'y basurahan," Duterte said. The new garbage bins which will still be up for bidding will consist of 6,084 pieces of 240-liter garbage bins, 2,240 pieces of 360-liter garbage bins and 1,260 pieces of 660-liter garbage bins.(lovely a. carillo)
CAP gets respite after court approves rehabilitation
The College Assurance Plan can now focus on making the company stronger without fear of being dissolved after the Makati Regional Trial Court approve its application for rehabilitation.
CAP applied for rehabilitation September last year after it was flooded with claims from plan holders for the payment of its obligations as they fall due.
“At least the plan holders are assured of a court declaration that CAP has to pay its obligations although payment could not be expected to be made all at one time,” Securities and Exchange Commission Davao officer in charge Atty. Javey Paul Francisco told Mirror yesterday.
Francisco said he has not seen a copy of the decision of the rehabilitation court. However, he said that rehabilitation cases usually involve suspension of payments although it is suspended in the sense that the payment will be made at a specific schedule.
“I have not yet seen the court’s decision but if CAP will be ordered to pay its plan holders then the payment would not be made all at one time because if that happens then the company would no longer have assets to rehabilitate itself,” he said.
A company which is under rehabilitation and which is ordered to pay all its creditors all at one time will no longer have the capability to rehabilitate itself but will face liquidation already, he added.
CAP applied for rehabilitation September last year after it was flooded with claims from plan holders for the payment of its obligations as they fall due.
“At least the plan holders are assured of a court declaration that CAP has to pay its obligations although payment could not be expected to be made all at one time,” Securities and Exchange Commission Davao officer in charge Atty. Javey Paul Francisco told Mirror yesterday.
Francisco said he has not seen a copy of the decision of the rehabilitation court. However, he said that rehabilitation cases usually involve suspension of payments although it is suspended in the sense that the payment will be made at a specific schedule.
“I have not yet seen the court’s decision but if CAP will be ordered to pay its plan holders then the payment would not be made all at one time because if that happens then the company would no longer have assets to rehabilitate itself,” he said.
A company which is under rehabilitation and which is ordered to pay all its creditors all at one time will no longer have the capability to rehabilitate itself but will face liquidation already, he added.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
At least P1.5 million will be shelled out by the 150 participants of the three-day BIMP-Mindanao Ride for Peace which starts today.
At least P1.5 million will be shelled out by the 150 participants of the three-day BIMP-Mindanao Ride for Peace which starts today, November 16, 2006.
“We are going to ride through places in Mindanao that are not often visited by locals and tourists alike,” said biker Jimmy Gomez during a press conference with the bikers yesterday at the Marco Polo Hotel.
The event, which is now on its third year, aims to promote peace, tourism and investment in Mindanao by bringing riders from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines to travel around key points in Mindanao using their motorbikes.
“We are riding to promote peace in Mindanao but this is not to say that there is no peace in Mindanao,” Gomez said. Rather, he added, we are telling Asia that there is peace here and that it is one of the best places in Asia to travel by motorcycle.
Riders all the way from Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia have shelled out $8,000 or roughly P40 thousand for the shipment of one container containing ten motorbikes. The almost 23 foreign riders would have spent an estimated more than P8 thousand for the shipment of their motorbikes from Sandakan, Malaysia to Zamboanga which is their entry point.
“Each rider will spend at least P10,000 for the whole three-day travel from Davao to Zamboanga,” said Eduardo Tombo, event chair. He said the group had minimal sponsorship which helped them with some miscellaneous expenses, he added.
The bikers are expected to travel 1,700 kilometers of land from Davao to Zamboanga, with overnight stays in Cotabato City, Dapitan and Iligan before proceeding to Zamboanga City. The Philippine bikers will then travel the whole 1,700 kilometers back to Davao after they send off their foreign counterparts in the Zamboanga port.
The bikers will be passing by Datu Paglas, Camp Abubakar, Malabang, Ipil, Pagadian and some other areas that no Mindanaoan would brave traveling even by car during the early days of Mindanao as a war-torn area.
Tombo said the Philippine bikers will return the favor by joining the foreign riders in Pontianak during the Big bike Festival in Borneo in May next year.
The BIMP-Mindanao Ride for Peace will be highlighted by the donation of a multi-purpose building at Camp Abubakar in Maguindanao.
“We are going to ride through places in Mindanao that are not often visited by locals and tourists alike,” said biker Jimmy Gomez during a press conference with the bikers yesterday at the Marco Polo Hotel.
The event, which is now on its third year, aims to promote peace, tourism and investment in Mindanao by bringing riders from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines to travel around key points in Mindanao using their motorbikes.
“We are riding to promote peace in Mindanao but this is not to say that there is no peace in Mindanao,” Gomez said. Rather, he added, we are telling Asia that there is peace here and that it is one of the best places in Asia to travel by motorcycle.
Riders all the way from Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia have shelled out $8,000 or roughly P40 thousand for the shipment of one container containing ten motorbikes. The almost 23 foreign riders would have spent an estimated more than P8 thousand for the shipment of their motorbikes from Sandakan, Malaysia to Zamboanga which is their entry point.
“Each rider will spend at least P10,000 for the whole three-day travel from Davao to Zamboanga,” said Eduardo Tombo, event chair. He said the group had minimal sponsorship which helped them with some miscellaneous expenses, he added.
The bikers are expected to travel 1,700 kilometers of land from Davao to Zamboanga, with overnight stays in Cotabato City, Dapitan and Iligan before proceeding to Zamboanga City. The Philippine bikers will then travel the whole 1,700 kilometers back to Davao after they send off their foreign counterparts in the Zamboanga port.
The bikers will be passing by Datu Paglas, Camp Abubakar, Malabang, Ipil, Pagadian and some other areas that no Mindanaoan would brave traveling even by car during the early days of Mindanao as a war-torn area.
Tombo said the Philippine bikers will return the favor by joining the foreign riders in Pontianak during the Big bike Festival in Borneo in May next year.
The BIMP-Mindanao Ride for Peace will be highlighted by the donation of a multi-purpose building at Camp Abubakar in Maguindanao.
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