Mintal Comprehensive HS lass wins P10k during 1st Zozobrado Oratorical Contest

A student of the Mintal Comprehensive High School in Tugbok, Davao City won the coveted P10,000 has prize during the Grand Finals of the 1st Jesus Zozobrado Oratorical Contest held at the Mintal Gym last Friday, December 7, 2007.

"Sa dakong timog ng Mindanao, may isang lungsod na hinirang, and likas niyang kayamanan ay walang kapantay. Mga bundok, dagat, lupain, laging sagana sa pagkain, at ang magagandang tanawin, kadluan ng aliw" was the beginning statement of Beverlyn Benigno's winning oratorical piece. "What a beautiful and fitting description for Davao City," Benigno said.

Benigno, who bested several other students from selected schools in the 3rd District, mentioned the different attractions of Davao City including the Eden Nature Park, Philippine Eagle Center, Puentespina Orchid Garden Resort in Malagos and Pearl Farm in Samal

The theme for the Grand Finals: "Davao, A Land of Bounty and Progress, Today and Tomorrow". The judges: Stephen Manangan of ABS CBN, Jimmy Cerajoles of the Department of Education and Atty Rea Tiongson.

All Set For Mintal's Fiesta on Dec. 8

December 8,Saturday will definitely be an exciting day for residents of Mintal, Davao City as they celebrate their fiesta which coincides with the Immaculate Conception. As early as last week, a small carnival has already been set up near the market. This is far from the Disneyland Carnival known to those who have enough money to visit the place once or maybe more in their entire lifetime. Nonetheless, this simple carnival continues to give joy to the residents of the 3rd District particularly in Mintal.
Lots of ukay-ukay vendors have also filled the street making it harder for the vegetable vendors to look for a space suitable enough to sell their wares. But no one's compaining as the very affordable second hand (supposedly--snce not all are hand me downs especially the seleted ones)clothes are boon to market goers of Mintal.

Banco Davao depositors question BSP’s auction of foreclosed assets today

The over 30 thousand depositors of Banco Davao (which was taken over by All Asia Bank when it closed down) are questioning the sale by auction of the foreclosed assets of the bank amounting to P94 million.

The auction sale is expected to take place today at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas unless the depositors manage to get a temporary restraining order from the court.

Financial consultant Myrna Valdez said the foreclosure of the land, all of which are prime lands, is questionable considering that the landowners who used their properties as collateral were still paying the amortizations. If a total loan of P94 million were approved by the bank for these lands, Valdez said, it is safe to assume that the value of these properties could be triple that amount.

She said it is also highly questionable for Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation to sell these properties when they have not submitted their financial statements for the past years.

Drug delivery firm now in Davao; makes P400M in 2006

A Philippine company which has pioneered in the delivery of medications all over Metro Manila and Metro Cebu is now in Davao City.

MedExpress is like your ordinary drugstore but the main difference is that they do not sell their medicines physically. Instead, customers can just dial their 225-55-55 Hotline for Davao City and they will be immediately connected to the drugstore’s Call Center in Manila.

“There are at least three benefits one can get from the MedExpress Drug Store,” MedExpress business development manager Carlo Lorenzana told members of the media during the Davao Press Club Kapehan held at SM’s Cafe Rysus yesterday.

One of these benefits, he said, is convenience since customers can order their medicines through the Hotline number and then have their orders delivered for free provided the bill reaches P700 or above. For purchases below P700, the drugstore charges a delivery fee of P30, but with a P70 discount on the first delivery purchase.

The company, which has earned P400 million in revenues in 2006, boasts of having a call center that is operated by licensed Pharmacists. This allows them to provide medication counseling to their clients every time they purchase a prescription medicine. Aside from that, Lorenzana said, the drugstore also has a medication compliance program which reminds clients when they have to replenish their maintenance medication.

“We also keep a confidential medication history of our clients which means we keep a record of the medicines purchased from us which can be accessed by the customer when needed,” he said.

The delivery drugstore also accepts credit cards as their delivery personnel have wireless terminals for credit card verification. They also give the legally required discounts to senior citizens provided the patient submits a copy of their Senior Citizens ID for one-time verification.

MedExpress is the outsource pharmacy of PLDT and San Miguel so they are also planning to put up a drive through outlet for their Davao clients. It has seven branches in Metro Manila and one each in Cebu, Davao and Jakarta, which is franchised outlet.

If I had $25 for Christmas....

Dabawenyos, what would you do if you had an extra $25 or P1,000 for Christmas? PinoyMoneyTalk is giving away just that for Christmas and if you want that extra cash then just complete the sentence…

If I had an extra P1,000 ($25) this Christmas, I would…

There are two ways to win.

One is to complete the sentence and post the comment up to December 7, 2007. Winners will be announced the next day during the Christmas Party of PMT and will be posted on the site after the party.

Or, you can just write a post in your blog abut the contest, link to the PMT site and win $12 or P500.

Me, I would be selfish for once and spend it on myself! Maybe, go to the nearest salon and have my hair rebounded as I’ve been having bad hair days lately due to the antiques of Papa Trillanes, the oil price hike, bills to pay, etc. etc

City Gov't. Employees To Get Addt'l. Cash Gift

Christmas has come early for the employees of the Davao City government after city administrator confirmed last week that the cty is giving them an additional cash gift for the holidays.

Regular city government employees will get a P5,000 cash gift while contractual workers will get a P2,000 cash gift. Avisado said the cash gift will be released second week of December in time for the Christmas vacation.

So is this an addition to the P5,000 cash gift being given by PGMA to all government employees every year? Merry Christmas indeed!

Prices Of Vegetables In Davao Up

The prices of vegetables in Davao City have gone up since the third week of November and traders said they expect the price to continue to go up until the Christmas season is over. Traders also said the onslaught of typhoon Mina is also responsible for the rise in vegetables prices although the city is not affected by the typhoon. at all.

Lettuce, Brocolli and Cauliflower are among the highest priced vegetables with Lettuce being sold in Bankerohan market at P120 per kilo, Brocolli at P100 per kilo and Cauliflower at P90 per kilo. This is almost a P30 increase per kilo compared to the previous price of the three vegetable which played at P70-P80.


Ampalaya is now being sold at P35 per kilo, Luya or Ginger at P35 per kilo and Carrots at P30 per kilo. Onion is priced from P68 to P75 per kilo depending on the quality. The price of Tomato and Talong has remained quite low at P20 and P25 per kilo respetively. Kalabasa is more affordable at P10 per kilo.

These are the prevailing prices at the bagsakan area in Bankerohan so higher prices of vegetables sold in other markets (like in Mintal or Matina markets) can be expected.